Monday Malarkey

This is a terrible picture because I used the phone camera and the lighting is kind of pitiful (thanks to a dark, rainy day), so apologies for the poor quality.

Recent arrivals:

• Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard and 
• Yesternight by Cat Winters - both from William Morrow for review
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - purchased

Books finished since last Malarkey:

• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
• The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff

Currently reading:

• Sydney Bridge Upside Down by David Ballantyne - This is one of the books I brought home from Australia, a modern classic by an author from New Zealand. I'm nearly finished and have found it fascinating and somewhat sinister. I like the spareness of Ballantyne's writing.
• Ava's Man by Rick Bragg - I read 30 pages of Ava's Man and have not felt like picking it up, since. It's a quick read and yet . . . maybe just not for me or bad timing. It's the story of Bragg's grandfather, a man he never met but who was so beloved that relatives were rendered mute or brought to tears by his memory for years. I can't quite put a finger on what it is that I disliked about the book. Maybe it's just not right for the moment? I could finish it easily but I don't want to end up hating it, so I think I may set it aside and start on Born a Crime, tonight, instead. 

Last week's posts:

• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (book review)
• Setting Free the Kites by Alex George (book review)
• November Reads in Review, 2016 (One month's reads in brief, plus a cat photo)

In other news:

Well, so much for the hope that I'd manage to post more reviews over the weekend, but I'm happy that I managed to knock out two reviews and a month in review, last week. I did start a third review but didn't finish it. You know how that goes.

I haven't chosen my classic of the month, yet. Although Sydney Bridge Upside Down is considered a modern classic Down Under, it's not one that's been sitting on my shelf for a long time and I prefer to use my goal to read a classic per month as a way to get to those titles that have been patiently awaiting their time. My classic-a-month self-challenge has been a raging success, by the way. I'm so happy about it that I'm planning to continue it in 2017. There just doesn't seem to be any end to the number of classics I haven't gotten around to reading.


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