Sunday Salon: Signs of Fall

Good morning friends! I lingered in bed this morning, thinking about the past week and trying to figure out what I accomplished, and I'm not sure I have a good answer. A whole lot of running around I guess. There were days when I stumbled across my bedroom and fell into bed, sorta like those zombies in my son's video games. In the true spirit of the fall season, we saw an increase in homework and tests this week, and combined with basketball and football, and various appointments, we saw some late nights. I don't think it is going to get better any time soon so I need to stop complaining, buck up and deal with it. My parents are still in town, so it is insanely helpful to have them available to split chauffeuring duties! Saturday was all about my son's football game (they kicked serious butt) and the Purdue football game (they were on the receiving end of the butt-kicking unfortunately). We all topped off our busy week last night with dinner out at The Capital Grille...steaks, red wine, and lobster mac and cheese baby!

I know you were thrilled that I shared my dead possum friend with you last week. We had another pool casualty this week...a sickly juvenile raccoon fell in and met his demise. My husband WAS around to handle that one. I will spare you the picture of that one, but if you are really interested, you can find it on my Facebook page.

Fall is definitely in the air, and one sign of Fall is the upcoming Book Blogger Appreciation Week, which will be held September 13 - 17. The short lists have been published...congrats to everyone who made the cut. Yes, I am pleased to announce that yours truly is on the ballot for Best Audio Book Blog. Well...I am the ONLY person on the ballot for that award, but still! We have also received our assignments for the Interview Swap, and I will be chatting with Gayle at Everyday I Write the Book. Jenners and I also cooked up a special treat for you all, and will serve it up that week as well.

Another sign of fall? The beloved RIP Reading Challenge hosted by Carl! I hesitated to join because I was feeling lazy, but I really had no good excuses. It appears that 75% of what I read would fall in the horror/mystery/thriller/gothic/supernatural category, so I don't even have to try hard. If you are new to his challenge, you must click through to the link above and check it out. He does such a great job with the artwork and the prizes, and in the fifth season, has a huge number of participants. Methinks this will become my fall tradition.

Have you all heard about what that lovely Beth Fish has been up to? She has started the Audiobook Jukebox, a database blog for audiobook reviews. As you might guess, this got me very excited. I do love my audios, and have been working feverishly to link all of my audio reviews to her site. I finished up this morning. I didn't count them all, but it is slightly obnoxious.

I had a great reading week, despite all the running around. I finished Tana French's In the Woods (words cannot express my love), Helene Hannf's 84 Charing Cross Road (more love), and Coffee and Fate by R.J. Erbacher (!? wild ride). I just started a book that I won from Jen at Devourer of Books and the University of Arizona Press called Innocent Until Interrogation, a fascinating true crime story.

The kids and I are creeping through the audio of Mockingjay, as I steadfastly attempt to avoid the spoilers floating around out there. I accidentally stumbled across one spoiler already, so I am going to have to restrain from all Mockingjay posts from now on. The story is starting out slow, with some recapping of the past two books. I hope it picks up soon.

I finally finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand on audio, praise the Lord. I make it sound horrible, and it wasn't. I was just bored or distracted maybe - could it have been too gentle for my life these days? I listened to and finished A Reliable Wife. Now THAT wasn't boring. But I wasn't totally impressed either. Miserable characters with one-track minds. I am five discs into Tana French's Faithful Place, and am in love with the narrator (Tim Gerard Reynolds). I can't get enough of that Irish accent, and of course French's story-telling just doesn't get any better or more emotional.

I'm excited about a three day weekend. After church today, my mom, my daughter and I will probably be doing a little shopping. My husband and I are hoping for maybe a quick golf game in there somewhere, and a barbecue tomorrow. And reading of course. What do you all have on your agendas?