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Family Time and Changes Galore | Weekly Snapshot

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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 …
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The Week in Books (1/14 - 1/27 2013)

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Last week has been one of the busiest for me at work. I usually never find the need to work more than eight hours a day, but I ended putting in more than that each day this past week, after one of my colleagues resigned. That cut into my blogging time, but I managed to read a good bit.

The Twelve Tribes of HattieThis week I read...
- The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis: I picked this one up after all the hype that has been following this book ever since it was chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one much. There were just too many narrators and the ending felt too weak for me to appreciate this book.
- The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal: A month after popping the first disc into my car stereo, I finally finished this book. Being a long book and being about a character I fervently disliked, The Man in the Rockefeller Suit turned out to be a challenging book to listen to. Although I enjoyed the book as a whole, I felt that the execution could have been better.

Into the WildCurrently I'm reading...
- Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer: After loving Krakauer's Into Thin Air, I picked up Into the Wild to listen to in my car, hoping for a similar treat. Sadly, this book about a kid who walked out into the wild, trying to live freely and then dying two years later in Alaska, isn't as captivating.
- Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane: I had heard some buzz around this one when it first came out. It was even freely available on the author's website for a brief period, but it is only now that I managed to find the time to read it. While this book caters awesomely to my likes (books and computer programming!), the writing is amateurish. Still, it's turning out to be a nice mystery and I'm hoping it will be worth it.

Reviewed (Yikes, just one this fortnight!)
- The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton


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JudithLeeswammes said…
Sorry to see that you didn't like The Twelve Tribes of Hattie very much. I would like to read it, although I also don't like too many characters. I must reconsider!
January 28, 2013 at 5:07 AM
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
I saw Into the Wild the movie and wasn't impressed. I can't imagine how the audio is.
January 28, 2013 at 9:17 AM
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get to try it. I will be curious to hear what you think. I know many others enjoyed the book, so you may too.
January 28, 2013 at 9:53 AM
Athira / Aths said…
I was initially thinking of watching the movie too, but now I don't care after finding the audio book a little dry.
January 28, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
As I'm sure you already know, you're not missing anything ;). The acting is good the story just did nothing for me.
January 28, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Jenn said…
I've heard such good things about Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. I'm curious to see what you think as I typically don't hop on the bandwagon for super popular books until they've been out a while.
January 28, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Athira / Aths said…
I don't either read the hyped up books until much later. I end up not liking the book much usually. I picked Penumbra for my book club. So far it is okay - I hope it picks up soon.
January 28, 2013 at 12:49 PM
Helen Murdoch said…
Sort of an "eh" kind of week. Bummer. I also couldn't deal with Into the Wild after really liking Into Thin Air.
January 28, 2013 at 1:06 PM
JoV said…
Reading and reviewing one book a week seems good enough, as I struggle with that too! :) I love "Into the Wild" and I hope you are touched by it because I did. I have the movie DVD still to watch. Let me know what you think about it.
January 28, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Athira / Aths said…
You're right! I've gone weeks without reviewing, so it is good that I at least had one post out. At the same time, I hope I don't forget to review some of those books I really want to talk about - that happened a lot last year. Still, no pressure - it's nice not to be on a schedule. :)
January 28, 2013 at 6:41 PM
Ryan said…
I really like Jon Krakauer. I think Into the Wild might is his most thought provoking book to date (though Where Men Win Glory comes a close second). Hope you enjoy it.
January 30, 2013 at 7:56 PM
Athira / Aths said…
I like Jon Krakauer too. I've found what little of him I have read to be very thoughtful, well-researched and the man himself very honest. I didn't enjoy Into the Wild very much but I loved reading through some of the philosophical and argumentative sections. I'm definitely craving more Krakauer!
February 4, 2013 at 9:47 AM
Athira / Aths said…
I like Jon Krakauer too. I've found what little of him I have read to be very thoughtful, well-researched and the man himself very honest. I didn't enjoy Into the Wild very much but I loved reading through some of the philosophical and argumentative sections. I'm definitely craving more Krakauer!
February 4, 2013 at 9:47 AM
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