December 15 – 28
I didn’t do one of these posts last weekend, so I’ll try to cover the last couple of weeks! I spent my last week at work before the Christmas holidays full of Christmas excitement! I was looking forward to a week off work, time with my family, reading on the train to London (Ontario – I always have to clarify!), and watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music.
My husband and I always exchange our gifts before we do our Christmas travels, just the two of us by our little Christmas tree. This year we did our Christmas morning on Saturday, December 20, since we were leaving to see my parents on the Monday. He knew just what to get me this year: both The Walking Dead graphic novel compendiums! I was surprised and soooo happy!
Then we went out for dinner with our BFFs and despite some issues with the service, we had a great meal!
Monday morning we took the train to London to stay with my parents. My two sisters and my brother in law were there, so along with my husband and I, my parents, their dog, and their rather large cat, there were a lot of us under one roof!
I ate way too much food but it was all so yummy! It was so fun to hang out with my sisters and talk about TV (Over the Garden Wall; Supernatural; Psych) and video games and Dungeons & Dragons. Then my husband and brother in law read The Night Before Christmas out loud to all of us and I think we have a new tradition!!
Christmas morning was super fun, despite my lack of sleep (for whatever reason, I only had 3-4 hours of sleep the night before. Must have been all that Christmas Eve excitement!).
Santa and my family were very good to me this year, and I loved seeing everyone’s reactions to their gifts from me! Then we had lots of turkey dinner, lots of dessert, and then I had a turkey coma.
I got back home yesterday after a long day on the train (8 hours!), but it gave me plenty of time to read and nap, so I enjoyed the trip. Now I’m home, I’ve done all my laundry, but still have to go to the grocery store, and then it’s back to work on Monday. This week went too quickly!
I haven’t spent my bookish gift cards yet, but I’ve received many books via the library, Raincoast Books, and Edelweiss recently:
From the library: Atlantia by Ally Condie
From Raincoast: Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards and The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler
From Edelweiss:
The Cage by Megan Shepherd;
Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway;
Paperweight by Meg Haston;
Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton;
The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi;
The Leveller by Julia Durango; and
Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver.
Looking back, I read more books in the last couple of weeks than I thought: Sabriel by Garth Nix; Pretty Little Liars: Vicious by Sara Shepard (the last in the series!); This Shattered World by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman; and Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer.
Today, I started reading both Authority (sequel to Annihilation) by Jeff Vandermeer, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
I posted a few reviews over the past couple of weeks:
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard;
The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters;
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater; and
Sabriel by Garth Nix.
Coming up this week are reviews of Pretty Little Liars: Vicious and This Shattered World.
I’m looking forward to ending my Christmas vacation with some relaxation and a little more reading time. Happy Sunday!
