It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Oct. 23, 2017)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup. YA and middle grade reviews will still be posted on  Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.

Other Than Reading...

This was an interesting week. My brother came down with the flu on Sunday night and laid around listlessly on Monday. I came down with it Tuesday afternoon and didn't really feel better until Friday afternoon. Not leaving the house did have a positive effect on what I finished reading this week. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.

On this past rainy Saturday, my brother and I went car shopping for the first time in ten years. My 2007 Civic has only 70,000 miles and, if I thought I could get up my new driveway in the winter, I would keep it. My steep driveway makes it really unlikely. My FitBit tells me I have done a flight of stairs when I go to the mailbox and back. I intend to keep my new car at least ten years which is certainly possible based on Subaru's reputation for reliability and durability.

We were going to check out a couple of dealerships selling different brands of small SUVs before hitting my first choice - Subaru. But with the weather, we decided to start at Subaru instead. My first thought based on reviews was that I wanted a 2018 Crosstrek but the only one they had with the options I wanted was orange. I couldn't picture myself living with an orange car for ten years. I own nothing orange. I avoid orange.

The salesman suggested that perhaps a Forester would meet my needs and added as an incentive that there was a deal for 0% interest with no costs or fees for six years available for that model. When walking to get to the Forester, I passed a new Outback and asked my brother why I hadn't thought of that one. It also had the 60 month 0% interest deal. We already have a 2003 Outback that we both like. The 2003 is my brother's winter car.

I test drove both the Forester and the Outback. My main concern was for a comfortable ride and good visibility. Both have back-up cameras as standard features which is a nice change from my 2007 Civic in which I can't see either the front of the hood or the back of the trunk. Both have great visibility both in comparison to my Civic and to the Crosstrek. Both rode comfortably. I decided on the Outback though because of one small detail: the speedometer. On the Outback it was digital and easy to see without taking my eyes off the road. On the Forester it was analog and I had to look down, away from the road, to see it and figure out how fast I was going. That just seemed dangerous to me. Also, it was a couple thousand dollars less than the Forester.

So on Monday morning, I need to go to my insurance broker and get insurance for my new Outback. Monday afternoon, I'll pick it up and the salesman will confuse me about what every knob, button, and switch in the cockpit does. (He already showed me the engine to which I said "How nice! An engine." My car knowledge being largely limited to where the gas goes in, where the key goes in, and the dealer's phone number.) I'll try to remember to shoot a picture of my new Crimson Red 2018 Outback for next week.

On the blogs, I am reading from my adult TBR mountain and neglecting my YA blog next week. Nothing on the YA TBR mountain is calling to me (or even seems interesting). I did a lot of whining to myself as I looked over YA TBR Mountain saying: "I don't want to read that... No more fantasy... Why did I ever buy that?" and similar sorts of things. My next YA review book isn't released until Jan. 9 but I'm sure something YA will grab me before then.

Read Last Week

Review Books:

A Spoonful of Magic by Irene Radford - okay urban fantasy; review posted on IoD Nov. 8

Twisted Truth by Melinda Leigh - excellent romantic suspense novella; review posted on IoD Oct. 24

City of Lies by Victoria Thompson - excellent historical thriller; review on IoD Nov. 9

Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda - engaging YA mystery; review on MMTM Nov. 8

From TBR Mountain:

Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson - excellent YA historical fantasy finishes the Gold Seer trilogy; review on MMTM Nov. 10

Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet - excellent fantasy; review on IoD Nov. 11

Austenland by Shannon Hale - interesting romance; review on IoD Nov 16

The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff - great space opera; review on IoD Nov. 15

Currently

An Ancient Peace by Tanya Huff

Next Week

I'll start with these. I may also read more of the Tanya Huff Peacekeeper series or re-read the Others series by Anne Bishop.

The Human Division by John Scalzi (from TBR mountain)

Lure of Oblivion by Suzanne Wright (review book released on Nov. 21)

Reviews Posted

On Inside of a Dog (IoD):

 Blade Bound by Chloe Neill

Mind Game by Iris Johansen

House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick

On Ms. Martin Teaches Media (MMTM):

Make It Count by Tamar Sloan

Fate by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Purchased:

 India Black and the Gentleman Thief by Carol K. Carr completes my collection minus a few novellas.

Immoral by Brian Freeman - recommended to me by a cousin because it is a thriller set in my hometown.

 

 First Year by Rachel E. Carter - free Kindle

An Ancient Peace by Tanya Huff - purchased after finishing The Truth of Valor because I want more Torin Kerr

New on the Review Pile:

 Lure of Oblivion by Suzanne Wright (Nov. 21)

Pathways edited by Mercedes Lackey (Dec. 5)

Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins (Dec. 26)

Dragon Blood by Eileen Wilks (Jan. 2)

The English Wife by Lauren Willig (Jan. 9)

The Policeman's Daughter by Trudy Nan Boyce (Feb. 27)

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton (YA, invited to review, May 22)

Twisted Truth by Melinda Leigh (novella, romantic suspense, Oct. 31)

What was your week like?