Showing posts with label chatting about books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chatting about books. Show all posts

Monday, May 18

What I'm Reading - May 18, 2026


Here's a quick update on what I've been reading and watching lately. 

I'm currently reading . . .

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Have been working on this one for awhile and it keeps getting shuffled in favor of other things. However, I'm nearing the end now! After a building collapse at an estate sale, Kiera and Gage investigate when there's reason to believe it wasn't an accident. But what could be the motive and who might be the target? There are a lot of variables in this mystery, and I suspect I'll need Kiera and Gage to explain it to me!



The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews - Matthews is another author I can't resist, and this is the fourth  in her current Belles of London series. (Never mind that I haven't yet read the first or third) Stella is a respectable and marriageable young lady but her London seasons haven't been successful, largely because her hair is grey and that's just not fashionable! She feels invisible and her options are running out. A promising young painter, Teddy Hayes, has been determined to paint her portrait, fascinated by her luminous beauty, and at a Christmas house party, the two strike up a friendship . . . and possibly more.



Up Next . . . On the TBR stack . . . 

I really want to watch the movie version of RBC, and hopefully we'll have an evening available to do that soon. That means that it's most likely that I'll pick up that book next. I've got other books on my stack and in my Kindle library that are in the mix as well, but with a move and vacation coming up, I'm being realistic and only listing one here.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - I've read it a couple times before and LOVED it. Looking forward to another re-read!



I finished reading . . . 

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - A novel based on the account in the Bible of Paul casting a demon out of a slave girl and how the church began in Philippi. The slave girl is Mynestra in this story, and she and the other new believers face difficult decisions and challenges to their faith. (Read my review HERE)




Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - I wound up skimming parts of this memoir so that I could finish and get it back to the library, but it was very interesting and enjoyable. Sasha's childhood and teen years were full of uncertainties and changes, and she struggled to connect and belong to a family or community. But after she married and became a mother, the idea to cook her way around the world, a meal from every country, led to her brilliant blog, her success, and her finding peace with her past experiences. (Read my review HERE)





I've been watching . . . 

Hockey games, of course! Not much else over the past couple of weeks. During the Stanley Cup playoffs, there's little else that we are interested in, and my husband's favorite team is still in the mix (at the time of writing, anyway - their series will be decided later today) so we're especially focused.

I've been listening to . . . 

You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck and Ellis Henican - I could have listed this as currently reading, but I've chosen to listen to the audiobook version because it's Selleck himself narrating. I'm loving the story of how he got started in acting and the things he learned along the way. And I just love his voice, though it's more gravelly now than in his Magnum PI days when I first became a devoted fan.


At work I also listen to RadioU and various political and social commentary podcasts, and my own eclectic mix of music on Spotify. 


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What are you reading?


This post may be linked at What's On Your Bookshelf? #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge hosted by Deb's World.

©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat
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Thursday, May 7

April Bookshelf Review



Wow, April went by quickly! Mostly because I was very busy, and we were traveling on a couple of the weekends. We've been intensely focused on finding a house to buy and getting that whole process going, and many evenings were taken up by that pursuit, and one of the things that I put on the backburner as a result was reading. Even though my reading pace has been pretty slow for awhile now, it was still weird and a little embarrassing to realize that there is almost nothing to update as far as books read. 

April's Books Completed and Reviewed

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - Although I wound up skimming a good portion of this memoir, it was definitely a valuable read. Martin's growing up years were marked by uncertainty, upheaval, loss, and grief, but many of her good memories involved cooking and sharing food, being creative in the kitchen. So after a time in culinary school, and as a way to refocus her life as a wife and new mother, she decided to cook a meal from every country in the world, once a week. Followers of her blog Global Table Adventure will enjoy this more in-depth story of who she is and how her journey of cooking the world came to be.  (Read my review HERE)



Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - This New Testament setting novel follows the story of a slave girl from whom the apostle Paul cast out a demon (in the book of Acts). Mynestra chooses to follow Jesus along with the believers Lydia and others, but she is still a slave so living out her newfound faith is complicated. (Review coming soon)




During April  I continued reading:

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are invited to an estate sale and auction of art pieces, and part of the building collapses. It turns out it wasn't entirely an accident, and they take on the investigation of who sabotaged the building and why. I did largely set this aside over the past few weeks, only dabbling in it now and then. 



Where My Books Took Me in April . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness took place mostly in the United States, but the author also lived in Europe for several years.



Oracle of Philippi is set in the New Testament time period, and takes place in the Roman colony city of Philippi, which is in modern-day Greece.



A Tarnished Canvas is set in Victorian Scotland, mostly in Edinburgh.


Coming Up in May!

These are still here on my TBR, and I picked up a few deals for my Kindle recently as well. No idea yet which of ones I'll read next.

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt



 


On my blogs recently . . . 


On A Fresh Cup of Coffee:



This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life and Not In Jersey.





©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat
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Monday, April 6

March Bookshelf Review



I meant to post this several days ago and forgot. So that's embarrassing. Also I only completed ONE book in March, and I'm having trouble understanding how that was the case, but I guess that's how March went. We had a lot going on, and I started off the month with a week's worth of jury duty, during which I don't think I read anything. The next little while looks to be pretty busy too, so I guess I'll have to lower my already ridiculously modest expectations as to how much I'll be able to read. LOL At any rate, here's the summary for the last month.

March's Books Completed and Reviewed

An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy - Josie McFarland lost her job as a Harvey Girl, but she gets a second chance as an in-house detective for the Harvey House after a salesman was found murdered in a room and Josie is tasked with finding the murderer while keeping the Harvey reputation clean.  (Read my review HERE)



During March I started reading:

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - This New Testament setting novel is based on the story in the book of Acts, where the apostle Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl, leading to Paul's arrest. But that's just the beginning of the story! What part might this slave girl have played in the early church in Philippi?



During March I continued reading:

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - I have a feeling I will wind up skimming much of this memoir of Martin's growing up and the experiences that led her to a project of cooking a meal from each of 195 different countries.



A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are invited to an estate sale and auction of art pieces, and part of the building collapses. It turns out it wasn't entirely an accident, and they take on the investigation of who sabotaged the building and why.



During March I shelved . . . 

When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel by Liza Ridzén (translated by Alice Menzies) - I got invested in this novel quickly, but I wasn't able to get far enough before the library told me I had to return it, so it got shelved. I hope I'll remember to borrow it again and finish!



Where My Books Took Me in March . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy took place in Las Vegas, New Mexico in about 1929.




So far, Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness has taken place in United States.
A Tarnished Canvas is set in Victorian Scotland, mostly in Edinburgh.
Oracle of Philippi is set in the New Testament time period, and takes place in the Roman colony city of Philippi, which is in modern-day Greece.


Coming Up in April!

Goodness, I'm not making much progress on my TBR stack! Pretty sure I'll get to at least one of these before April is over. I sure hope so, anyway!

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt



 


On my blogs recently . . . 

Besides the reviews, here on Just A Second you'll find:



And on A Fresh Cup of Coffee:


This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life and Not In Jersey.





©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


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Friday, March 20

What I'm Reading - March 20, 2026


Here's a quick update on what I've been reading and watching lately. 

I'm currently reading . . .

When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel by Liza Ridzén (translated by Alice Menzies) - I haven't even got very far in this novel about the experience of aging and it's already tugging at my heart strings. It's a library book, so I hope I can finish before I have to return it - I think it's still very much in demand.



A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage attend an estate sale of art, and part of the building collapses, injuring many. And there's reason to believe that the collapse may not have been an accident, so they are called upon to investigate.



Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - If you're familiar with Sasha's blog (Global Table Adventure) about cooking a meal from every country in the world, this memoir tells about her childhood and growing up, and the experiences that led to her love of cooking and the decision to embark on that culinary world tour.




Up Next . . . On the TBR stack . . . 

I have an ARC that just arrived for my review, so I will start that one straight away. Other than that, contenders for next up are:

 


I finished reading . . . 

The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews - This is a Victorian era romance, inspired by Beauty and the Beast. A notorious war hero and a shy bookish heiress agree to a marriage of convenience, but as Julia discovers more about her mysterious husband she is both intrigued and terrified. (Read my review HERE)



Lady Susan by Jane Austen - A novella told entirely using letters written between Lady Susan and members of her circle. Lady Susan is a society widow known for being manipulative and flirtatious. (Read my review HERE)






An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy - Josie gets a second chance as a Harvey House employee, this time as a detective. She's tasked with investigating when a guest is found murdered in a Harvey House, and to handle it all discreetly.  (Read my review HERE)





I've been watching . . . We've been watching hockey games, on TV and at the arena. I watched a couple episodes of Jury Duty with my husband but I didn't find it as amusing as he did, possibly because I actually was on the jury of a murder trial at the beginning of the month so everything unrealistic about the show stood out to me. I'm pretty sure we've watched some other shows and maybe even a movie or two recently, but the only one I can think of was the final Kingsmen movie - The Golden Circle or something like that. It was good, and Elton John's cameo bits in it were hilarious, but I think the other two movies in the series were better.

I've been listening to . . . my usual selection of music and podcasts.

***************

What are you reading?


This post may be linked at What's On Your Bookshelf? #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge hosted by Deb's World.

©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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