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Currently | Weekend Reading and Writing

currently april 10 2016

Briefly | In direct response to last weekend being really full (so full that I didn’t even get around to a Currently post), this weekend has been deliberately and almost entirely empty. Last Sunday was really fun though — the boyfriend and I met up with my siblings for brunch, shopping and other shenanigans in a town about midway between where we both live. Sibling shout out!

Reading | Yesterday I saw down and read nearly straight through Spinster by Kate Bolick, a fascinating (if sometimes frustrating) memoir/meditation on what it means for a woman to remain single by choice. I feel like I haven’t gotten to just spend an entire day reading for awhile, so that was nice. The other book I’ve been making my way through the last week or so is Rain by Cynthia Barnett, a cultural history of precipitation. It was lovely, but not the kind of book that has a lot of forward momentum, which made for slow going. Oh yeah, and I also finished Girls and Sex by Peggy Orenstein — that one gave me a lot to think about. I’m not sure what’s on the agenda for today, I’m thinking probably The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee.

Listening | I finally finished an audio book this week — American Housewife by Helen Ellis. These short stories were dark and weird and funny and wonderfully produced for the audio book.

Buying | During the trip to the “big city” last weekend, I convinced by companions to make a stop at Barnes and Noble with me. I picked up some fiction I’m really excited about — American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld, Some Luck by Jane Smiley, and Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Blogging | Since my last currently most, I reviewed The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel, wrapped up my March reading, reviewed some historical fiction with intriguing leading ladies, and recommended five books to watch for in April.

Promoting | Are you a book blogger who will be attended Book Expo America 2016 in Chicago? Join the Facebook group we’ve started to help bloggers connect and ask questions before the conference. There’s been some good discussion this week about the autographing schedule — I can’t wait to start putting my plans together.

Promoting IIDewey’s 24-Hour Readathon is coming up on April 23! I remain super psyched… I’m already putting together my book pile (super nerd alert).

Hating | The process of building up calluses for summer shoes is so painful every year. I’m going to have some sandal blisters this week, I can already tell.

Loving | I am still loving the fact that I haven’t re-installed the Facebook or Twitter apps on my phone. I don’t think I realized how much my mood was being dictated by what came up on social media until I stopped going on both so much.

Wanting | I got my hair cut and colored last week (dark brownish red lowlights), and I totally love it. I wish that I could just freeze it exactly as it is now because the style is exactly what I want.

Anticipating | Since I spent nearly all of yesterday reading, I have quite a few writing/organizing tasks to get working on today. I did get laundry, dishes and the grocery store finished already, so really everything today is stuff I want to be doing, rather than stuff I need to be doing. I’m hoping it’ll be a good one!

Happy Sunday, everyone! What are you reading today?

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links through Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of those links, I will receive a small commission.

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  • Sarah's Book Shelves April 10, 2016, 8:21 am

    I loved American Wife – hope it works for you! I’m also interested in reading The Expatriates.

    And – I’m sadly not going to make it to BEA this year, but love the idea of a FB group! I went last year for the first time and had no idea what I was doing…would have loved to have an FB group!

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:53 pm

      I’m hoping as the conference gets closer it’ll be a good resource for people to ask questions and arrange meetups and whatnot. Seeing blogger friends and meeting new bloggers is my favorite part of BEA.

  • Jenny @ Reading the End April 10, 2016, 9:00 am

    Your hair looks wonderful! I reeeally need to go in for a cut, but I’m a) broke from going to see Hamilton and b) trying to put it off a little longer so my hair will still look good when I’m in a wedding in early summer.

    I confess that I was at the library yesterday, with the goal of getting very few books (five, I thought. eight tops, I thought), and I saw The Secret Life of the American Musical on the new-nonfiction shelf and grabbed it. And also a few other things. Maybe I got more than eight books. I don’t have to tell you.

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:52 pm

      Yay, the musical book! I hope you love it. Libraries are dangerous places.

  • Bryan G. Robinson April 10, 2016, 9:09 am

    I had re-added the Facebook app on my phone after Lent, but forgot to take it off since. I finally did that last night, not only because I don’t like the distraction but also because I don’t like the app. It always shows “likes” and “comments” too, which I don’t “like” or like without the quotation marks either. Twitter, I have still, but probably should ditch on the phone too. To be honest, I end up looking at the silly (and often not so silly) Twitter moments more often than I should.

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:52 pm

      That’s kind of what I was finding. I’d see someone complaining about a thing on social media and then have to go down the rabbit hole to see what it was about (which often annoyed me). Not having the option has been good.

  • Kelly April 10, 2016, 3:09 pm

    I’ve read The Expatriates and American Wife and they’re both really good! Loved American Wife, especially though, and psyched for Eligible which is coming out soon. I have Some Luck on my shelf – I’m looking forward to starting both that trilogy and the Elena Ferrente books.

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:50 pm

      My sister is pretty excited for Eligible — I’m hoping she’ll let me borrow her copy once she’s done 🙂

  • iliana April 10, 2016, 5:09 pm

    Love your haircut! I just started The Expatriates last night and so far so good. You’ll have to let us know if you end up choosing it. And, yay, for Purple Hibiscus. Wonderful book.

  • Kailana April 10, 2016, 5:46 pm

    We got snow last night and ended up losing power, so it messed up my morning and I have felt behind all day! Hopefully winter is over and we are on our way to spring…

  • Jeanne April 11, 2016, 7:41 am

    I always love a photo of Hannah! Does she like going out with a leash?

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:49 pm

      Yeah, she definitely does. She knows the leash means going outside, so she’ll usually cooperate to have it put on. It doesn’t seem to bother her much once she’s outside either, she likes exploring the yard.

  • diane April 11, 2016, 10:23 am

    Glad u are enjoying American Wife. For some reason the audio version was a bomb for me.

  • Athira April 11, 2016, 1:48 pm

    LOVE your new haircut!! It looks very good on you!

    You definitely had a great week in reading! I have also uninstalled Facebook and only check the website once a week so I’m pretty thrilled about it too.

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:48 pm

      Thank you! I’m on Facebook a lot at work — I haven’t quite kicked the habit there — but I love not having it on my phone.

  • Michelle April 15, 2016, 10:40 am

    I am getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow and am really looking forward to brightening it up. Plus, sunny and warm weather is on the horizon for the entire weekend. I plan to spend as much time outside as possible!!

    • Kim April 15, 2016, 7:47 pm

      We had our sunny, warm weather during the work week — it’s supposed to be drizzly for most of the weekend. Kind of lame, but at least then I don’t feel bad snuggling up with a book 🙂