Reading:

I owe you all an apology. I have really let the blog go this month. I posted only 4 reviews (one for a book I didn’t even finish) and only 1 other Sunday Salon (gone are those leisurely Sunday mornings where I could whip one up last minute). I will try to be a little more organized in October and actually review some books for you.

I feel like I barely read anything in September, but looking back, I managed to finish 7 books. So I suppose I did a little better with the reading than I did with the blogging.

I read:

1. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading
2. Redshirts by John Scalzi (audio)
3. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
4. Messenger of Truth by Jaqueline Winspear (audio)
5. Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
6. Battle Royale by Takami Koushun (audio)
7. The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James

My favorite this month was probably A Million Suns. But Redshirts is a close second.

I am not going to list my other posts for the month. There are so few that you can just look to the right under “Recent Posts.”

Baby

It’s hard to believe Evan is four months old. But he is. And still just an incredibly happy baby. He’s reaching and grabbing, trying to sit up, and sleeping 6-8 hours in one go at night. We’ve gotten into a good work/daycare routine. Our next great adventure is cloth diapering – I’m giving it a trial run in October.

Photo-a-Day

I am still participating in Fat Mum Slim’s Photo-a-Day challenge. Head over to my tumblr to see the September pics.

What have you all been up to lately?

Reading

Well, the fun had to end sometime. Now that I’m back at work, I am not reading nearly as much as I was when I was on maternity leave. Since Evan is also much more alert and active now, I’m not sure how much I’m going to get done on the weekends either. But I did manage to finish six books this month. So I’m not going anywhere yet.

This month I read:

• The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
• Yok by Tim Davys
• A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash (audio)
• The Kill Order by James Dashner
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis
• The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen

• The Iron King
• The Boyfriend List
• Passion
• The Death Cure
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• Insurgent

Baby

Three months old, and Evan continues to just be an awesome baby. He is so easy-going and such a joy to be around (even at 2am). He handled the transition to daycare like a rockstar. He loves watching the older kids (there are four other one- or two-year-olds there with him) and adores his daycare provider. I am very thankful that we found something close to my office. I go over there at lunch most days to see (and nurse) him.

Evan continues to grow and learn. He’s rolling over, reaching and grabbing, and my mom even taught him how to blow raspberries last weekend. I wish he had a doctor’s appointment this month so I could get his official measurements.

My favorite picture of Evan from August:

How was your August? Back to school? Ready for fall?

January ended up being a pretty good reading month for me. Probably because I did all of those mini-reviews in December so I had to keep reading in order to keep blogging. Nothing like a little pressure to get me going. I read a pretty diverse pile of books as well (and look, Ben, only two YA books!).

In January I read:

1. The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar
2. Out of Breath by Blair Richmond
3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling (audio)
4. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
5. Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (audio)
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
7. When Elves Attack by Tim Dorsey (audio)
8. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
9. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

In addition to the links above, I reviewed The Poisonwood Bible, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. I also shared the authors whose next book I am anxiously awaiting, Ingrid Michaelson’s new album, and I posted my 2011 wrap-ups: reading stats and new goals; my favorite albums; my husband’s top ten of 2011; and my favorites of the year.

My favorite book this month was The Fault in Our Stars. Naturally.

I must go now and continue my weekend of doing grown-up things like going to the theater and buying houses and naming babies. But leave me a comment and let me know how 2012 started out for you!

It’s hard to believe but December is here and it’s time to recap November (and soon 2011 – yikes!). Considering how little time I had to spend reading (due to a busy schedule and feeling pretty awful), I was pleasantly surprised to see I finished 5 books in November. Not only that, but I reviewed every print book I finished. I am definitely not on par to hit 100 for the year  anymore (which really wasn’t ever my actual goal anyway) but there is always next year.

In November, I read:

• The Radleys by Matt Haig
• Fallen by Lauren Kate (audio)
• Leisl & Po by Lauren Oliver (audio)
• Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
• Saving June by Hannah Harrington

November Favorite: Saving June (but many of these were really very good). What was yours?

Now I am off to do a million things, which includes decorating for Christmas (yay!). Have a wonderful Sunday.

I just got back from Pittsburgh so I’m posting my Sunday Salon a little late (9pm is stil Sunday). Also, I want to stay consistent with this subpar blogging thing I have going on. Accordingly, there will be no photos.

In October, I read:

1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (audio)
3. Every Step You Take by Jock Soto
4. Supernaturally by Kiersten White
5. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (audio)
6. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
7. I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
8. Goodbye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson
9. Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Hello October. Can you believe it’s time to wrap up September already? At least we’re finally getting some fall weather after my complaints in last Sunday’s post. And by fall weather, I mean highs of only 80 degrees. The windows are open, fresh air has once again entered my home, and I am happy.

I’m going to do the recap a little differently this month so bear with me. I read eight books in September (and actually reviewed half of them!):

• Record Collecting for Girls by Courtney E. Smith
• The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (audio)
• Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (audio)
• Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
• Sloppy Firsts by Meghan McCafferty
• The King’s Speech by Mark Logue (audio)

My favorite book this month was Ready Player One, by least favorite was probably Amsterdam (sorry, Ben).

In addition to the four reviews posted above, I also reviewed these books this month:

• The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson
• Deadline by Mira Grant (audio)
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• The Hunger Games Trilogy audiobooks
• One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
• Divergent by Veronica Roth

For fun, I told you all about the new fall television shows I want to watch and what I think the are the best Buffy episodes. I participated in Book Blogger Appreciation Week where I shared the new blogging friends I have made this year; participated in a blogger interview swap; and explained how blogging has changed my reading. Finally, I posted the books everyone but me has read and the books I want to reread in audio for Top Ten Tuesday.

When I do the wrap-up this way, my month looks much more productive, huh?

What was the best book you read in September?

Are we enjoying the long weekend? After the craziness that was last weekend’s trip up to Michigan, I am in dire need of it. This week did somehow turn out to be uber-productive in the reading realm. I finished FIVE books. Which is crazy talk in my world. I also wrote a few reviews – shocking, I know.

AND…notice anything different around here? Even though I really liked my old theme, I’ve been contemplating a change for a little while. After a little push from a friend, I found a theme I love. It really didn’t even take that much tweaking to become what you see now. Let me know what you think in the comments.

But let’s talk about August. I finished ten books this month: 7 print and 3 audio. Again, kind of crazy talk.

1. Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
2. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and and Margaret Stohl (audio)
3. Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner
4. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (audio)
5. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
6. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
7. Earth (the Audiobook): A Visitors Guide to the Human Race
8. Divergent by Veronica Roth
9. Deadline by Mira Grant (audio)
10. The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

I loved so many of these but my favorite book was probably Vaclav and Lena. My least favorite was Unfamiliar Fishes.

What was the best book you read in August?