Weekly Update: September 14

Is it really mid-month? September has been crazy-busy. That laid back summer weekday pace is behind us and weekends fill up so fast. First, we had an amazing Labor Day with all of our daughters home. Last weekend  was our annual Girl's Outing - an overnight with my mother and all three of my sisters in honor of Mom's birthday. And today, we are off on a day trip to visit Twin A . That should mean a wonderful brunch somewhere in Rhinebeck, NY.

On the reading front:

I finished An American Tragedy  by Theodore Dreiser yesterday! Just under 900 pages and I almost hated to see it end! Published in 1925, it's based on an actual murder which occurred in the Adirondack Mountains of NY in the early 20th century. A couple hundred pages (at least) could easily have been cut, but it was still a great read. I'm glad the Classics Club Spin dealt me this title.

I'm 33% done with A Murder is Announced  by Agatha Christie, but didn't pick it up at all last week while I was focused on  An American Tragedy. It's on my kindle, so that means it will be my bedtime reading this week.

R.I.P. IX - I finally got around to signing up, and will participate in the group read of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson hosted by The Estella Society. I borrowed the book from my library and started it yesterday. Terri sent some very helpful advice - do not read before bed! This is going to be fun.

On the blog recently:
Review - We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
Review -  Beyond the Pasta: Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family by Mark Leslie
Review - The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones
Cookbook Review - Weber's Real Grilling
Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated Classics

In the kitchen:
Fall arrived with a vengeance this week. Last Friday, we flirted with 90 degrees and two days ago we never hit 60.  Comfort food was definitely in order, so I broke out slow cooker and tried  a Crock Pot Potato Soup... it definitely hit the spot!

Watching:
Mostly football right now, but I'm excited about a few upcoming series. First, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History  filmed by Ken Burns hits PBS tonight. Season 2 of The Paradise  begins on Masterpiece September 28. Season 1 is available on Netflix Instant now if you need to catch up or would like a refresher.

Finally, have you heard that Olive Kitteridge, based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout, will be an HBO miniseries? That one is coming in November. We've never paid for HBO... perhaps the time has come.

This should all make the wait for Downton Abbey  a little more bearable. And college basketball isn't very far away, either!


This post will link to It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.