After weeks of near-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures and so much snow (more than we have ever received in years), we are now in the 50s and it's looking that way for all of next week, woo hoo! Life We seem to have settled into a routine around here. Work has calmed down a bit as well, so you'd think that all this means I should be reading more or dabble in things that sound fun. Sadly no. While I still much relish being able to work from home and having kids safe in school, it would be nice to be able to socialize more with no worry of the virus. Yesterday, we all went for a long walk out in the beautiful weather. On our way, we passed by the park we spent so much time in last year but didn't venture inside because there were so many people in there. I look forward to the day we don't need to do that. Spring break is coming soon and we are seriously considering safe vacation options. We don't have any grand ideas at the moment but we'll be thinking about it more.
So far 2013 has started out well for me. At least, for the first time in over a year, my Goodreads reading challenge widget tells be that I am 1 book ahead. I randomly set 50 as my target for the year, but I expect the actual number may be higher because I am listening to a lot of audiobooks currently. I'm beginning to love listening to nonfiction in the car, especially narrative nonfiction, so I've been eagerly looking at my library catalogs for the next read.

- The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton: I know Morton has many fans and I've always wanted to read one of her books, but it took a book club monthly read to finally get me to pick one of her books. I have to say - I absolutely loved The Secret Keeper, which has quite an intriguing suspense and managed to be a page-turner right to the last page.
- Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool: I picked this one mainly because Vanderpool won the Newbery Award a year or two back and I have pretty good success with Newbery winning authors. Unfortunately, it took a long time before Navigating Early began to hold my attention. I had almost given up on this title.

- The Road by Cormac McCarthy: I spent this weekend getting my ebook collection in order (thanks to Calibre) and found a copy of The Road languishing there. I'm about a quarter into this book and although it took me a while to warm up to the writing, I can see why this book is considered a master - I could almost feel the sense of loss and desolation that is prevalent in this book.
- The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal: I have been listening to this book since the mid of December but that's only because the book is really long and I only listen to about 30-40 minutes per weekday. At this point, I'm wishing for it to get over soon, mainly because the protagonist who has been conning people for years is getting on my nerves and I'm beginning to feel as annoyed as Man of la Book was with him.

- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: I've heard about Mitchell's sagas for as long as I have been blogging and I love sagas! I love anything that spans a century at least and it's interesting how the authors connect things from different time periods. This one may or may not fall into that category but I'm intrigued.
Picked at the Library
- The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
- Atmospheric disturbances by Rivka Glachen
- Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez

Comments
Yes, The Road is SO good. So bleak, but so good. :-)