The Week in Books (2/4 - 2/17 2013)

What a slow couple of weeks it has been here. I have been reading all kinds of books - home decor, knitting, but not much fiction or nonfiction. Thankfully, I'm in no rut. Plus I'm in the middle of two intriguing books, just that they are moving slow for no fault of theirs.

This week I read...
- Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: Easily going to be one of my favorite books of this year, I'm still astounded by how close I came to not reading this book. Thank goodness for all kinds of must-read lists. If you haven't thought of reading this one yet, you. simply. must. read. it.
- The Fault in our Stars by John Green: I resolved early this year to finally read this book and see why the whole world of readers is raving about it. Having finished it, I can see what the fuss is about. While I didn't love it fully, boy, you have to be an unruffled person to not be affected by it. The subject of this book is sadly too personal in my home and I found it tremendously difficult sometimes to keep reading.

Currently I'm reading...
- The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling: Last year, while I was busy with packing and moving, I had read and enjoyed a few chapters of The Casual Vacancy. Written in true J. K. Rowling style, I could see the tons of similarities in her writing both in this book and the Harry Potter series. Unfortunately, the book went back to the library unfinished, with my promises to read it soon. This Valentines Day, the darling husband surprised me with this book and a B&N gift card. So far, I'm still retracing my old steps but I'm almost getting to the unread sections.

- We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee: I don't know what it is with narrators that switch their tones suddenly from the mellow to the loud but the narrator of this audiobook has been switching volumes often. Other than that, We Bought a Zoo is actually quite wonderful to listen to. This is the first memoir I'm reading after a long time, and it doesn't feel as bad as I worried it would be.

Purchased...
Don't you just love looking at collectibles editions? I found a few that I really wanted to buy from Barnes & Noble (The Arabian Nights, Gray's Anatomy, War of the Worlds) but decided to wait a bit before grabbing any. Instead, these are what I grabbed:
- Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
- The Submission by Amy Waldman

Abandoned...
- Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason: This book started out well, truly well. Until the characters started acting stupid and not worth their professions or abilities. Such as detectives making such horrible guesses.