One of my goals this year has been to diversify my reading. As I've spent the last 17 years homeschooling anywhere from 1-4 kids, I would probably class my reading choices as 60-70% prereading or reading at my kids' level and maybe 30% for myself. I haven't hated it! And I don't plan to give up reading middle grade or YA books anytime soon, as far as I know. They are just too fun and it's such a great way to have discussions about harder topics with my kids at their level when there's a need. 

That said, I'm also a little squeamish about diving into adult fiction. I've been burnt many times with a book recommendation that is not for me and it usually boils down to the fact that it's content I'm uncomfortable reading whether for extreme language, open door bedroom scenes that I don't want or need to be privy to, violence, etc. It just seems to stick with me. Thank you, vivid imagination.

However, there are GOOD adult fiction books out there and I'm slowly growing a to-be-read list that will keep me busy for a while if I need ideas. I've found a few new kindred (reading) spirits on Instagram and if they make a suggestion, I save it.

Here's a list of a few that I'm looking forward to investigating:

• The Dry by Jane Harper (a mystery series set in Australia)
• Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (I just finished this one and it was good. I'd rate it PG-13 for language and situations that are more adult. I have made a note to look for the sequel to this one when it comes out this fall.)
• Brandon Sanderson has been raved to me by the 6th grade girls in the homeschool group that we are a part of. I'm not sure really what level the book is - maybe YA? - but I've got one of his books here on the shelf from the library and I've promised to check him out. These are the same girls that have gotten me hooked on the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger. I'm up to book 5 (or 6?) in the series and thankfully they each come with a long wait time at the library so I have to pace myself. Each book clocks in around 6-700 pages so they are a commitment!
• The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. Paris, libraries and WWII. This is definitely in my wheelhouse.
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner. I've been recommended Susan Meissner multiple times so maybe this is one of hers I will get to.
• Middlemarch by George Eliot. I'm reading this one next month with a group of women on Instagram and am looking forward to the accountability to get through this monster of a book. 
•  A Study In Scarlet Women (The Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas
• Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah. I've never read a Kristen Hannah book and so I started with one set in winter. However, I have on good authority from several folks that I absolutely must read her book Nightingale, so a used copy of that one is winging it's way to me.
• Six of Crows. I read the Grisha trilogy last year and enjoyed it overall. This book has a series coming out on Netflix and it seems like I'll either really like this or it will be too gruesome for me. 
• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates which I know nothing about!
• And lastly, I'm currently working my way through The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It is an extremely dense historical work of what is referred to as the great migration - when Black Americans travelled from the south to the north to escape Jim Crow laws that continued to exist well after the Civil War. It's eye-opening and excellent but it's not something that I can sit down to read for hours like a relaxing piece of fiction. Some sections are heart-breaking and I for sure have to set it aside every now and then for a breather. 

Now that I look at the list, they still seem to fit into some pretty predictable genres for me. Historical fiction, for one. Mysteries, which will always intrigue me as a former Agatha Christie addict ... if the gore / violence / crime isn't too much. Murder, She Wrote is just my speed if you remember that old show. But there are a few wildcards in there and they are all new authors to me. Happy with these little baby steps I'm making to add some new depth and breadth to my reading and hope there are several winners here in the bunch!

Currently :: January 2021

I always seem to come back to these currently types of posts when I return to the blog after a long absence. Seems like a good way to dip my fingers back into typing and a catch-all of sorts of what's happening right now. And I just plain enjoy them!

Feeling: the chill in the air from outside the house. It was in the low 60s yesterday and it's raining and 36 outside right now. There is the sliiiiiightest chance that this might turn to snow, but I'm not holding my breath.

Listening: to the sounds of Ethan on his gaming headset behind me playing something with his Dad. The TV in the other room where one of the girls is chilling after school with National Treasure. I know we're not the only family whose screen time has ramped up in the months of just being home.

Watching: nothing. I've realized (over the the last 10 months of being home so much), that I really don't watch or like much TV. I have favorite movies that I will watch again and again, and that's about it. Every now and then the rare TV show will come along that I get sucked into. Lately it was the Mandalorian and I loved that it only gave us one episode a week, just like the "old days." We are eagerly waiting on season 3!

Reading: January has been a good reading month. I just finished The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and it was very good! It is a YA story about a girl who inherits a crazy amount of money and she has never heard of the person who left her the money. The book is a suspenseful and very interesting story on uncovering the riddle left for her and the members of the family cut out of the will. If you are a fan of Knives Out, you would definitely like this book, but with less language. (I'd rate it PG-13 for language and a little romantic interest, but I'd let my 15 year old read it).

Cooking: all the soups. Last fall I started (in my head, it's not like a club or anything!) Soup Sunday. Not every week, but on most Sunday nights I have been making a big pot of soup for dinner and then eating on it throughout the week. It's become one of my favorite things. Favorite soups that have made it into the rotation, some several times, are:

Egg Roll Soup from Gimme Some Oven

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili from Whatever blog

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup from Skinny Taste's One and Done Cookbook

Whole 30 Zuppa Toscana

Lasagna Soup (no link)

Podcasting: this year, for my read-through-the-Bible plan, I decided to do the chronological plan that goes along with The Bible Recap Podcast. In general, I'm not a podcast person. It's hard for me to stay focused and listen without taking notes, which defeats the purpose of listening to them while you do other things. That said, the episodes are 5-10 minutes long and I listen to them in the morning right after I do the Bible reading for the day. I've really appreciated the short commentary, and what is pulled from the day's reading. Last year, I read through the New Testament, and then spent the end of the year reading through the gospels, so I have really enjoyed being back in the Old Testament!

Missing: life before masks. I'm not here for the mask argument. Having 3 girls in public school right now and also one foot still in the homeschool world with Ethan, I hear both sides of the argument LOUD AND CLEAR. But I'm ready to see people's faces sooner rather than later. Also missing normal outings like field trips, movies releasing in theaters, and church without social distancing.

Enough listing for one day. Happy Wednesday. :)