Sunday Salon: The Busy Sandy Edition

So have I been busier than usual?  Eh, well, maybe not.  But it seems like I've been on the run alot this week.  So here it is in a nutshell.

Monday I thought I had a dentist appointment, but nay, my calendar foiled me.  That would be tomorrow instead.  Wasted some time on that water haul.  I had to stay close to home for several of those annoying appointments where you have to be there and they won't commit to determined times.  I'm having my contractor build a front porch on our house (because when it rains, it comes THROUGH every crack in the front door).  I golfed for the first time in months, and I didn't embarrass myself.  I had to deal with a spot of bother with the school, my son, and some excessive talking.  Details.  Here are some highlights though.

On Tuesday, Heathrow Literary Society was all a-dither because in addition to discussing the absolutely wonderful "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter", we had ourselves a live chat with author Tom Franklin.  He was the most charming, entertaining fellow you could hope for.  Play by play details will be posted tomorrow!  This is the second time I have had an author call into a book club, and it just leaves me euphoric.

Adult Literacy League's Reading Between the Wines silent auction featuring Carl Hiaasen happened on Wednesday night!  Sold out crowds, feverish bidding, and it all just made my heart warm for all the good this cash is going to do for the literacy of Orlando's community.  All of the author-signed books sold out, and in many cases, inspired bidding wars.  A huge thank you to Julie at Booking Mama, Candace at Beth Fish Reads, and Kathy at Bermudaonion for their generous author-signed book donations.   Another day of euphoria (even though I wanted to hack my feet off and leave them in the trash bin by the end of the night).

Then of course, the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon on Saturday.  I was joined by my children for the first six hours, God love 'em.  They participated with (almost) no begging on my part.  My daughter wandered off, baked cookies, then came back for the rest of the evening.  I stayed fairly clear of the computer, and felt pretty productive.  Seriously, hats off to everyone on the cheering committee (the official one and unofficial one) that stopped by to give me a boost.  I'd been looking forward to this event since I did it last year.  Except for long airplane flights, when do you ever get this chance?

So let's talk books.  I worked all week on finishing the audio of "Daughter of Fortune" by Isabel Allende for the TLC tour, and wrapped it up Saturday morning.  Allende definitely has a distinctive style to her writing, and I really enjoyed it.  I just started "The Fifth Floor" by Michael Harvey, the sequel to "The Chicago Way".  I love this gritty crime series that takes place in one of my favorite cities.

In print I read "Me and Jack", Danette Haworth's newest book about a 12 year old boy and his dog growing up during the Vietnam era.  I just love Danette.  I would recommend her books to anyone and everyone, tweens to adults.  I then read (and finished during the readathon) "Little Face" by Sophie Hannah for our next Books, Babes and Bordeaux meeting. Creepy!  Tense!  Echoes of Mrs. Danvers!  For a break, I read "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", a quick and charming read that is going to be interesting to review.  I then picked up and finished "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson, and while I thought it was an excellent YA book, it was harrowing.  Ack.  My last book of the evening (which ended about 1am) was "Recovery" by Alexandrea Weiss.  Some of you may remember the prequel "To My Senses", which I loved.  I've been waiting for this follow-up for some time.  I'm about 60 pages into it at this point.  Lord only knows when I will get all these reviews written.  I was already behind!

So there you have it!  Next week is going to be another fun-filled week as well, most of it revolving around school stuff, my husband being out of town which ramps up my duties, and of course the UCF Book Festival.  This will include an author's reception on Friday night and the actual festival all day Saturday.  I'm hoping to do some Tweeting and Facebooking and blog posting along the way, so watch out for that.

Watcha all doing today?  I'm thinking a catnap after church, then maybe a little shopping with my daughter.  Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!