Sunday Post - 11/24/13

The Sunday Post is a meme sponsored by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It's a chance to share news.  A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.




The big excitement for this week actually takes place tonight, when the children's and youth choruses I direct and the adult chorus in which I sing present our fall concert.  We had a good "dress" rehearsal this morning (much too early this morning!), and I'm really pleased.  It should go well.

This coming Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving for those of us in the U.S.  Mr. Bookwyrm and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with just the two of us, but we have so much to be thankful for, it will be no less heartfelt for being quiet!  The various branches of our families are all pretty far away, and it just didn't work out to get together this year.  I'll still be fixing a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, though.  A smaller turkey than the behemoths I'm used to cooking, but a turkey nonetheless.  Our daughter, who is in college three-quarters of a continent away, will spend Thanksgiving with one set of my parents and my sister's family (along with a few of her college friends), so she'll be surrounded by family even though we can't be there. We'll see her about two and a half weeks later, when her winter break starts!  

What about you? If you're in the U.S., are you planning a big family get-together, or a quiet Thanksgiving like ours?  However you plan to celebrate, I wish you a very happy, very blessed Thanksgiving!  I also wish a very happy Hanukkah to those of you celebrating that holiday!

Last week on the blog: 

• Wed. 11/20/13: BLOG TOUR: Murderous Matrimony by Jim and Joyce Lavene (guest post, review, giveaway). The giveaway is still open for about 5 more days, so take a look!
• Fri. 11/22/13: Exerpt & Giveaway: The Wanderers, by Cheryl Mahoney (a fellow blogger!)
• Sat. 11/23/13: News & Notes 11/23/13 -- The 2013 National Book Award winners; obituaries for Doris Lessing, Barbara Park, and Charlotte Zolotow, a fantastic essay on Neville's role in Harry Potter, Sesame Street takes on The Hunger Games, and more.

The coming week:

• Mon. 11/25/13: REVIEW: Bastion (Collegium Chronicles) by Mercedes Lackey
• Tues. 11/26/13: Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Things I Am Thankful For
• Fri. 11/29/13: REVIEW: A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (audio review)
• Sat. 11/23/13: News & Notes 11/30/13

New additions to the hoard:   

For review:

Thank you, Scholastic!

Purchased or free for my e-reader:

 From the Library:

Challenges:

I'm participating in the year-long NetGalley Challenge sponsored by Red House Books.  I still need to get a bunch of reviews linked up to this.

I've signed up for the Clean out your E-reader Challenge hosted by Fantasy is More Fun and Because Reading is more fun.  The focus of the challenge is ebook freebies and bargain books, whether downloaded from a retailer like Amazon or received for review through NetGalley or Edelweiss.  I'm hoping this will help me get through some of those Netgalley review copies!  I've read about 5 books this month so far, which isn't as many as I'd hoped.  I'm in a bit of a slump, I'm afraid.  It doesn't help that my e-reader has slowed down to near-glacial pace, so it takes twice as long to turn a page as it used to.