In the midst of trying to get Inkstand off the ground, I made the mistake (“mistake”?) of deciding to take on, oh, four books at once. Maybe five. In any case, the website is pretty much ready to go, and my focus is back on the groundwork stuff–a new computer, talking to an accountant, getting in touch with some relatives who may be able to help, all that fun stuff. So maybe I’ll actually get some reading done this week, between all that? We’ll see.
Here’s what I’m reading this week:
Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, by Randall Munroe. I’ve actually been working my way through this book since January. Though I haven’t caught up on it lately, xkcd is one of my favorite webcomics, and I absolutely loved What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. The book should be right up my alley, but . . . it’s really big (physically–the thing is like 8 inches by 12 inches, so it’s hard to hold), and there’s a lot of information. And the info is really good! But I can only read a few pages at a time. I hope to finish it by the end of the year, if nothing else to start my goodreads stats clean on January first.
The Shelf: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading, by Phyllis Rose. I was on a books-on-books kick when I saw this one at the St. Cloud Barnes & Noble. Most books about books are on a specific topic, or favorite books by the author; this one is kind of a random selection–a shelf at a library, LEQ to LES. Ms. Rose has great insights and I’m really enjoying this one. Unfortunately, nonfiction has been taking a bit of a backseat lately.
The Invasion of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen. As excited as I am to get into this one, I think it’s going to have to be set aside (I only got about half a chapter in before getting distracted by Abhorsen), so I can re-read The Queen of the Tearling first.
Abhorsen, by Garth Nix. I intended to take this series slowly, as the books were my go-to when I was stranded at Andy’s with no book of my own (I know, I know). But then I finished Lirael and it was a cliffhanger . . . so I started the next one right away.
Pardonable Lies, by Jacqueline Winspear. I’ve had this one on my massive to-read pile for a while, but I needed a (rather lengthy, I guess) break after Birds of a Feather. I only began this one this week when I was going to the gym and wanted to read while biking, but didn’t want to get any of the others sweaty (The Shelf has a cool textured cover, I just wasn’t far enough into Invasion, and it has a cut-out on the cover, and Abhorsen is borrowed). I’m glad I chose it for right now–it’s a good mystery that isn’t so heavily focused on murder (which the last few edits for my day job were), and Maisie Dobbs is an interesting main character.
I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me. At least it’s all quite pleasant. Here’s hoping for progress this week!