Books on my "Reading" Kindle shelf

There is nothing better than going to a bookstore or library and just browsing the stands/stacks. Sometimes I think I enjoy that even more than the actual reading! (Well, on second thought...) But really...looking at those shiny covers, feeling the pages beneath my fingertips - it's simply a one-of-a-kind experience.

Now that we have digital shelves, I find myself browsing online web sites, Instagram accounts, library web pages and recommendations at all hours of the day. I really enjoy doing it, but of course it sometimes cuts into my actual reading time. Still, there is just something about seeing a bunch of books together that makes me feel so excited - the possibility, the anticipation, the wonder of just what that book holds between its covers. This, no doubt, leads to my requesting and checking out/buying/downloading so many great titles.

So after looking over my reading apps and realizing that I may have a problem (in a good way), I thought it would be fun to make a list of all the things I currently have downloaded on my phone, iPad and/or Kindle. Some of these I am in the middle of reading, some I just like knowing I have, and others have been renewed or checked out more than a few times. And because I only keep track on my Goodreads account of the books I actually finish, sometimes I wish I had a list of the books I'd been looking at at a certain time in my life.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara | I've been hearing about this one so much that I finally decided I'd better read it. I'm just a few chapters in and so far it's great - good writing and an interesting (true) story.

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt | I honestly wish they had more ebooks at my library by Byatt. I love her writing. That said, I find I don't enjoy her as much digitally as I do when I have her physical books. I think because I like to just linger with her words and stories, and I don't tend to do that on a device.

Mercy Road by Ann Howard Creel | I got this free from NetGalley (my first! Yay!) and am excited to read it. It's set in WWI and is about a woman who becomes an ambulance driver. I like historical fiction and loved The Alice Network (woman spies during WWII) so I think this will be right up my alley.

Habit Stacking by Thomas M. Reed | I keep checking this one out because it has to do with my word this year (habit), but there are so many other books I've gotten into that I just haven't made the time for this one yet. I think there may be an element of procrastination, as well, since I haven't been paying much attention to my word lately.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg | See above.

Making Habits, Breaking Habits by Jeremy Dean | Also chosen because of my word, but this book has been opened. In fact, I'm about a third of the way through. I haven't picked it up recently, but I've really loved it so far - what it tells me about habits, how and why we make them, how and why we break them, and how we might (might!) be able to actually keep them.

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson | Almost finished with this one. It was one of those books I chose mostly for the cover, and was surprised when it turned out to be very fantastical. (I thought it would be more like historical fiction.) I'm enjoying it, even if the last third has gotten a little slow. It's definitely a book you can sit with, one that makes you think, and one that also makes you suspend belief at times. Nothing wrong with that!

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher | I downloaded this last night on a pure whim. I heard a podcast (What Should I Read Next Podcast with Anne Bogel) in which she mentioned this was one of the iconic books of the 80s, and I was quite upset I'd never heard of it! I thought I was such an avid reader, but had never heard of this one. So of course, I just must check it out.

Overrun by Andrew Reeves | I decided to add something educational and nonfiction to my growing list. A few months ago I read a book by a man who cycled around the Great Lakes, and I got interested in the region. This book is about some of the environmental issues the region is facing, more specifically the Asian Carp Crisis. It will be either really fun and interesting, or...not.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides | I've heard so much about this one and had to wait a few months to get it as a request at my library. It's due in a week so I need to read it before it expires! I've heard it's such a page turner that you can read it in a day, but my problem is that I don't have a whole day to read! Ha.

How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson | Added some humor reading to my "pile". I really don't know anything at all about this book.

People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann | My sister Amy got me interested in this blog a few years back. I haven't kept up on it, but thought I might enjoy a book by this blogger. Not sure if this is just her blog content wrapped up in the shape of a book, or if there is something new here, but I think Mann will have something interesting and funny to say.

I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel | Since I just re"found" Anne's podcast and blog, I decided I'd better try one of her books (I didn't know she was an author). I love a good book about reading, and I like Anne's content on both her other mediums, so we're going to give it a try.

We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai | I am participating in a Refugee reading book club and the book for this month isn't available at my library (and I really didn't want to buy it that badly, since it was in essay format), so I thought I'd try this one as a substitute. I haven't even opened it yet, though.

An Odyseey by Daniel Mendelsohn | I cannot remember for the life of me why I chose this one. I'm pretty sure I heard about it on Instagram or a blog or a podcast. I usually only flag or download things that really catch my eye/ear, so there must be something I thought would be good about it, but I can't remember anymore and that has made me reluctant to open it. I need to stop doing that!

Brotopia by Emily Chang | This was a Book Club read for PBS NewsHour Now Read This. When I went to their blog just now I realized the Mendelsohn book is this month's pick (May). So that's where I got that recommendation!

The Au Pair by Emma Rous | Another book I've heard a lot about, waited months on the holds list for, and now have like two days to read because I put it off. I think it may be a thriller type, so hopefully "easy" reading. 

So, folks, there you have it! My TBR list. I will be happy if I read just a third of them. 

Here's to good reading!

Week in the Life 2019 | Saturday Words + Photos

Welcome, weekend! Today was a busy day, but a fun one spent mostly in family. 

It's really hard for me to wake up, so I like to sleep in on the weekend, but then I wake up and feel guilty that I'm eating breakfast at 9 am. Today Andres had to work early and so he was out of the house by 7, which actually meant I ended up getting out of bed earlier than I probably would have otherwise.

Decided to start the day off right with a little treadmill walk. Watched cooking show reruns while I walked.

Stopped at a mile - I really want to go at least a mile (it seems so little!) each time I exercise. Ultimately, my goal would be a 5K every day, but I see that I will need to dedicate a lot more time to that in order to make it happen.

I had my breakfast before the boys got up. Some protein and carbs. There is no fruit in the house, so this was it. The kids got up and had some cereal. They also got interested in the toast I had, so they opened up a jar of peanut butter and made PB & J sandwiches as well. 

Andres was home by 10:30 and got to work on the agrio for today's lunch. We've been invited to his grandma's for Mother's Day and we're going to have a traditional plate of hornado as our main meal.

I decided to take a few minutes to do my nails, but this turned into a big problem, since everyone suddenly needed me for a dozen little chores. I swear, it's pretty sad that you can't just let your nails dry for 20 minutes without being expected to perform everyone's chores. I got angry but tried to get over it quickly. 

Andres made me drive (ha!) even though MY NAILS. Ugh. Whatever. It was a beautiful sunny day, warm already by noon when we left. It felt so good to have the windows open.

The kids do not socialize at these events. Instead, they sit on their phones and play games, then talk to each other telling all kinds of jokes in English. Hmmm, must be annoying to the others but no one says anything. The adult conversation was good, at least.

Bati and Gaby gave everyone these bouquets. They're beautiful even ten days later. 

A champagne toast. All in all, there was quite a bit of alcohol than I'm used to (wine, beer, and Scotch as well).

The meal was actually very delicious. Two kinds of hot sauce (the one made of peanuts wasn't very spicy but was so delicious), and the agrio was absolutely amazing. 

A toast from Andres´s grandmother. 

The whole group. Lots of excitement when Bati and Gaby announced that it's a girl and her name will be Amelia Isabel. 

Dessert was a Colombian treat called merengon. As also, very delicious.

More screen time after lunch.

Andres´s aunt was really happy with the chocolates we had brought her back from our UK trip. She kept reading the package and eventually decided she needed to open them right away and try them. 

Look familiar?

After lunch Laura got everyone involved in a card tournament. The traditional game here is "40" and we played on teams until there was a winning couple.

I was paired with Nico and Agus was paired with Bati (we drew sticks to see who played with who) and Nico even played the role of judge during one of the rounds. Agus got really worried when he saw cheating, so we had to remind him that cheating is a part of the game! (It's definitely a cultural thing and took me years to get used to, but now I think it's quite fun and funny. It definitely makes the game entertaining!)

A couple more rounds but Nico and I ended up losing the championship. Good times!

We got home around 8 pm and then rested a bit before our typical bedtime routine. 

Week in the Life 2019 | Friday Words + Photos

And just like that, it's Friday. Welcoming Friday with open arms, since it is our first full week back and I'm feeling the tiredness.

Early morning wake up. Peluches all over the floor. It's a dark morning.

Pepito got in front of us. He's our neighbor and often leaves at the same time as us. When this happens, it's hard to go around him (and he drives r e a l l y slow), so we often have to put-put behind him. We don't want him to think we're trying to race him or anything!

Happy to be commuting this morning with Andres. I have some demo classes for some prospective teachers, so had to stay a bit later than usual. Andres still has a few more days of staying until 4:45 to make up for the May 1 holiday.

New shoes from Miami are making it obvious that I have some feet problems. They are really crooked. No wonder I can barely walk some days.

Andres asked me to take a picture of the knickknacks on his desk, from all his travels (and a few he got as gifts). As I snapped the picture, he decided to do an "artistic" pose.

Breakfast is the humble frosted shredded wheat this morning. It's so hard each night to get a meal on the table for the kids while at the same time prepping our lunch for the next day (most of the time leftovers but not always), and also prepping breakfast. It's often like cooking or making three meals at once. Exhausting. I'm not one of those people who thinks cooking is relaxing apparently. 

First demo class of the day. I haven't been in the classroom much since TEFL, and I usually enjoy watching teachers. Today I was a bit preoccupied, however. Too many changes and too much stress at work. Trying not to worry all the time (it'll probably work out, like it always does), but also don't want to be blindsided by some major change or upheaval. Still taking it one day at a time.

Found this picture from last night on my phone. Funny boy.

Last night there were not enough leftovers for two meals, so Andrés took me out to "Hay Pan". It's about a 30-minute walk (some uphill) from work, but we took the car. It still took about 15 minutes to get there with traffic.

I had the cazuela de pescado, which came with rice and peanuts. It was so good, very similar in taste to the one my mother-in-law makes. I ate it all and it was VERY filling.

A glass of wine and a Coke Zero to go with it. Great view from this restaurant and just a nice place overall.

Came back for the second demo class. This one was so much more entertaining. 

Getting ready to take off. My desk is full of papers and books that I need to put away or file somewhere.

Came home and Andrés put the kids to work on supper. Agus helped make the "refrito" (tomato, onion, green pepper, cilantro and some water blended up). Agus also peeled the potatoes and, in his own words, "almost cut his finger off".

New shoes for a quick treadmill walk after supper. Need to get back into the habit but my feet protested the whole time. These shoes made my arches and soles of my feet burn and ache. I barely made it through the 30-minute walk.

Andrés hanging out with Agus in Agus's favorite spot before bed.

A little TV as I work up my "nerve" to get on the treadmill.

And I did it! Not quite a mile - I plan to up it to at least one mile a day. That sounds so unambitious but I need to start somewhere...