End of the Year Round-up

Here in Birmingham, we are sitting at about 50 degrees outside, but word is tonight an arctic front is blowing though, plunging us into the 20s. As a certifiable “cold person,” I’m already cold just thinking about those temps. In fact, I’m pretty darn cold here in the 50s, so there may be no hope for me come tomorrow morning. The upside is that it does help foster the Christmas spirit, since it just feels like it should be chilly around the holidays. In the deep south, we know all about Decembers when we run the AC like it’s September, so the crisp air is (sort of) nice. 

Since I last posted here, I finished the first draft of book #2…twice. I finished it a couple weeks before Thanksgiving, but a few days later decided I wasn’t ready to let it sit just yet. I went back in and reworked a couple bits that I knew needing fixing, then officially typed “the end.” My head has still been partly in that story since I was still in my writing workshop the last couple of weeks, but that ended last night so now I can have a true break from Betsy, Ty, and Jenna until January. 

What have I been doing with the extra time on my hands? Reading–a lot! And it’s been fabulous. Since I don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn with my brain firing on (mostly) all cylinders, I’ve been waking up to read. (I still have to wake up early. Even though the kids are in school, I love the early morning quiet hours. Plus, I don’t want to get out of the habit of waking up early since I’ll be back at 5am in Jan.)

Right now, I’m going through a couple different Advent readings. One is Come Thou Long Expected Jesus 

I’m also really enjoying the Advent readings in this month’s selections in Seeking God’s Face. 

Other books I’ve read the last several weeks:

The Last Days of Night–Graham Moore. I never knew the battle surrounding the invention of the lightbulb and AC/DC current could be so fascinating. This is fantastic historical fiction about a time/subject rarely covered. I couldn’t put it down. 

Ah, this book. Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. First book in a long while that’s kept me up reading til the wee hours. All I’ll say is it’s about a spaceship carrying 6 astronauts home to Earth after a two-year trip to Jupiter. (Two years there and back.) It’s also about a man and a young girl stuck in the Arctic tundra. Something big and cataclysmic/apocalyptic has happened on Earth but the characters are so isolated, they have no idea what it is (and neither does the reader). I cannot overstate how much I loved this book. Here’s a link to my review on Goodreads. 

I just finished Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. I don’t read much YA, but this was an unexpectedly charming story. The short chapters (sometimes just a page) made reading “just one more chapter” really easy, and Madeline and Olly are adorable. Almost Rainbow Rowell-adorable. It was a quick read, full of loss and life and longing. Smartly-drawn characters, witty, sweet romance.

Next up is either The Flood Girls by Richard Fifield or Leave Me by Gayle Forman. Unless I find something tempting on the library shelves this afternoon when I go with the girls.

Lastly, quick update on THE HIDEAWAY–we’ve finished all proofing and editing and I’m waiting to receive advance copies from the publisher. Talk about a great Christmas gift! Can’t wait to hold it in my hands. April will be here very soon. Also, I met Jake Reiss of the Alabama Booksmith a few weeks ago, and he’s just as nice and lovely as everyone said he was. Birmingham is lucky to have him, and book people in general are lucky he’s in business. 

This may be it for me here until after Christmas. I’ll try to get another Bookish People Interview up, but it may be January before we have hte next installation, so stay tuned!