current reads – By Her Shelf

By Her Shelf has been suspiciously quiet the last couple of months. My co-contributors and I have all been insanely busy working, writing, creating, teaching, mothering, and, somewhere in the mystical gap in the time/space continuum called “free time,” reading. We’ve been so busy, in fact, we took an unintended extended summer vacation from blogging. While our break was fun, it’s time to get back to bringing you the reading related content you’ve come to expect from us. We’re easing back into regular posting with a brief recap of the amazing things we’ve been working on and what we’re reading these days.

Contributor Alex participated in Camp NaNoWriMo in July. Her work in progress (WIP), Project Pastelitos, now sits close to 30,000 words! She also purchased her ticket to attend BookNet Fest in September. You can also catch Alex’s book related writing on Frolic. Alex is currently reading Second Chance Summer and Next Year in Havana.

Contributor Christina recently launched Other Words Press, offering editing and critiquing services. She’s currently working on her first course, Inspire: From Idea to Draft, which will launch later this year. I’ve had the opportunity to read the modules, and I’m excited for all the aspiring authors who will have their writing lives changed by Inspire. Christina is currently reading Where the Crawdads Sing and loving it.

I’ve been a busy bee. I released The Speaking Season: Poems and Pieces in paperback and kindle eBook. I’ve continued working with authors to publish their books, mostly through formatting and proofreading. I’ve been working on a super secret suite of author related content since December, and I’m finally ready to start releasing it. I’m announcing the first course this month.

After experiencing a hardcore reading slump, I crawled out of the abyss by picking up My Sister, the Serial Killer. I flew through it in two days and started another. I just finished Personal Protection, and it was really good as well. There are few things better than a Julie Miller romantic suspense to get me out of a reading slump.

And that’s what the ladies behind the shelf have been up to and reading. What are you reading now? What or who is your go-to genre, series, or author when you’re experiencing a reading slump?

If you look on my Goodreads account, it will give you a list of seven books I’m currently reading. (o_O) While I’ve been making more of a concerted effort to keep up with my reading on Goodreads, I have to admit my current reading life bears little resemblance to the list you’ll find there. I wanted to give you a real glimpse into my currently reading list, TBR pile, and recent reads. It’s time to take a look at my real reading life vs. my Goodreads account.

Current Reads:

The Promise of Home

I recently visited a used book tent at a Flea Market and they were having a 2 for $1 sale on Harlequin’s Love Inspired books, which I love. I bought and devoured Love Finds a Home by Kathryn Springer. I loved it. According to the Dear Reader note, the next book in the series was about one of the secondary characters I really liked, and it had a good hook. Three books later (hello, reading rabbit hole!), I’m reading my fourth book set in Mirror Lake (in less than five days).

Born a Crime

This is one I have out from the library. I started reading the first chapter the other day and so far it’s really interesting. I also made a print that says “Just waiting for Trevor Noah to realize he’s my husband,” so there’s that.

Come Matter Here

This one is a bit of a cheat. I’m actually slowing reading through a sample of this book and deciding if I want to borrow it or buy it. I haven’t read much, but it’s pretty good so far, and I’ve heard great things.

Currently Checked Out of the Library:

Born A Crime, referenced in Current Reads. Divided Kingdom is a book a listener suggested on a special episode of What Should I Read Next that has an interesting premise. Close Enough to Touch has been in my Goodreads Want to Read for years, so I requested it. Educated and Vox were my FOMO and Buzz Book picks, respectively.

Recent Purchases:

Along with the second book of the Mirror Lake series referenced above, I also picked up Firestarter and Thinner by Stephen King and Finally a Bride by Renee Andrews at the flea market. There are more Love Inspired Titles, but I can’t remember them right now. I saw a kindle deal for I’ll Take You There and snapped it up because the Staple Singers’ music makes up a large part of the soundtrack of my childhood, yet I had no clue it “shaped the Civil Rights Era.” I’m looking forward to it.

Speaking of Kindle Deals:

I purchased these as kindle deals and have yet to dive into them. I started the first essay in All the Lives I Want but got sidetracked by other books.

Recent Reads:

Series:

I went back and closed the loop in my reading of Julie Miller’s The Precinct series, reading books 4-6, which I’d somehow skipped. As I mentioned in current reads, I bought the second book in the Mirror Lake Series, Love Finds a Home, at a flea market and found books 2, 3, 4, and now 5 on kindle. I read and loved three of the six so far and am currently reading the fourth.

Individual reads:

I read more than category romance this month. Since September 14, I’ve also managed to read I’d Rather be Reading (a Get in My Kindle Pick that turned out to be amazing), I Am I Am I Am (a FOMO book that was well worth the buzz), and Vinegar Girl (a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew that kept me turning the pages and proved to be an enjoyable read).

TBR:

Remember God

In addition to the library books and recent purchases (and books that will inevitably jump the line and demand to be read before what I planned to read), there’s this book, Remember God by Annie F. Downs. I actually listened to the audio book I received as a pre-order bonus, but I don’t think of audio books as reading (I know, this is a hot button issue in the reading world. I’m not saying YOU can’t count them however you want on your Goodreads or in your bullet journal, just that I, personally, don’t count them). I loved hearing Annie tell me her story, but it’s a different experience for me to read the words on the page, and I can’t wait to read it.

Your Turn: Does the reality of your reading life match your Goodreads profile? What are you currently reading? What’s at the top of your TBR pile?

Tag: current reads

What We’re Reading

Currently Reading: Goodreads vs. Reality