Back with some updates

There has been so much going on over here and so much changing soon. I wish I could say I was reading a lot, but it's feeling like a luxury at the moment.

Family visitLast week, we had my husband's brother and his wife drive down from Boston and stay with us for the week. It had been months since we enjoyed anyone's close companionship for that long so we all enjoyed the time together. We were very sad to say our goodbyes. I hope we can all return to the pre-March era soon.
While they were here, we celebrated the girl's birthday. (I feel like I have been talking about birthdays on this blog for the past many weeks but we are done for the year! Next birthday is in March.) My daughter had wanted a unicorn cake, and that's exactly what we got, so that made her day. For her birthday present, we wanted to take her to a store and get her a bike but stock is incredibly low. Last week, she had just mastered riding a bike (no training wheels, she went straight from balance …

Back with some updates

Whew! A whirlwind two weeks later, I'm finally somewhat less busy. I'm still in India, but slowly getting back to some form of a routine. After two weeks off the grid, I find myself even reluctant to get back online, because of everything that's pending and needs attention.

The wedding went great! It was very tiring by the end of the day, but still fun. I still haven't uploaded the photos yet, but I have one photo available on PhotoBucket (click the link).

A few things that happened during my absence from the blog.

- I had guest-posted over at Alyce's blog, At Home with Books, on the Best and Worst of Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi's Persepolis was my introduction to the graphic novel medium, and it's still one of my favorite graphic books.

- The shortlist for the Indie Lit Awards is up! Since I'm judging in the Fiction category, I can't wait to read the titles! These are the books shortlisted for the Fiction category:

Dance Lessons by Aine Greaney
Cross Currents by John Shors
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene

- I had already posted my favorite reads of 2011 and plans for 2012 before I took my blogging break.

- I haven't read anything so far this year, save for a short story - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The short story medium is still a challenging one for me, and I hope to change that this year. I just started reading Banana Yoshimoto's The Lake today, and so far I'm enjoying it.

I still have a few reviews from last year pending, so I'll post them over the next few weeks as I get my posts written. I don't plan to be OCD about reviewing all of them, because I want to get started on my 2012 reading. What have I missed over the last two weeks?

Comments

zibilee said…

Hey there! Glad to see you back! I am glad that everything went well in India, and that the wedding was a success and a great time! I just downloaded The Lake, and hope to read it soon. I have heard great things about Banana Yoshimoto's writing. Have a great day over there, and don't stress too much! Catching up takes time!

January 17, 2012 at 9:53 AM

Athira / Aths said…

I'm glad to be back as well! It's been a long but refreshing break, and I am more than ready to bounce back to routine. All the books left to read and posts left to be written. :)

January 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM

Delia said…

Congratulations Aths, and welcome back!
I like the photo, I was wondering what a wedding in India would be like, maybe I'll get there someday and see for myself (if not for a wedding at least to visit the country).

I've read The Yellow Wallpaper last year and liked it a lot even though I had a feeling the writer was playing tricks with my mind but then maybe that's the reason why I liked it.
Now I'll go and read your other posts, I have some catching up to do.
Have fun in 2012!

January 17, 2012 at 11:11 AM

bermudaonion (Kathy) said…

Congratulations!! You look gorgeous in that photo!

January 17, 2012 at 11:28 AM

Ti said…

I read a few pages of The Lake months ago and was totally pulled in and then for whatever reason, reading obligations maybe, I put it down. Is that a photo of you? Or the happy couple? So gorgeous.

January 17, 2012 at 11:54 AM

christa @ mental foodie said…

Congrats! Looked like a great wedding! Can't wait to see more :) http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/

January 17, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Helen Murdoch said…

I read The Yellow Wallpaper in college and remember thinking it was very interesting.

Love the wedding photo, congratulations! He has such a nice smile and looks so happy!

January 17, 2012 at 2:16 PM

Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…

Hey! Miss you!

And OMG you look AMAZING! You go girl! Congratulations! I can not wait to see more pictures.

January 17, 2012 at 2:35 PM

Karen Marie said…

welcome back, and congratulations!!! I just found your blog and am SO happy that I did - really looking forward to following you and reading more.

<3,

Karen

conceptualreception.blogspot.com

January 17, 2012 at 3:42 PM

I felt the same thing - that the writer was playing with my head. But I liked it. It was worth reading.

I am only just beginning to catch up on blogs. Thank goodness for Google Reader's 'Mark all as Read'! And I hope you get to visit India some time!

January 18, 2012 at 1:29 AM

Thank you! :)

Thank you! That's a photo of me and my husband. :) We were the ones who just got married 10 days ago.

January 18, 2012 at 1:30 AM

Thanks! :)

January 18, 2012 at 1:32 AM

Thank you so much! I love meeting new-to-me bloggers, so I'm off to check your blog.

January 18, 2012 at 1:35 AM

Thanks!! It's so great to be back! :)

January 18, 2012 at 1:36 AM

Thank you! He does smile all the time that I am pretty grumpy by comparison, lol!

Leeswammes said…

Congratulations, Aths. The picture looks wonderful. Glad you survived the wedding well and I hope you'll be happy in your married life.

[Noticed that the email (with your post) has a copyright notice going until 2011. It's 2012 now...]

Happy reading for the Indie Lit. I'm judge for the Speculative Fiction genre and reading Stephen King right now.

January 18, 2012 at 1:55 AM

Thanks for reminding me about the copyright notice! Need to now remember where all to go and edit that, lol! Managed to survive the wedding, lol! I was getting antsy, but it all went well!

January 18, 2012 at 6:38 AM

Jen @ The Well Read Fish said…

I just added "The Lake" to my wishlist. Have you read "Kitchen?" It was my introduction to Banana Yoshimoto and I loved it!

January 18, 2012 at 12:54 PM

I haven't read Kitchen yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I didn't like Lake as much as I hoped to, but it was still a good one.

January 21, 2012 at 8:09 AM