It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 13): 05/13/19

Hosted by Kathryn of Book Date.

The deadline for the summer members' show is rapidly approaching. My mini pieces are too small to easily attach a wire too for hanging, so I decided to combine the four into a temporary larger piece. This is my first time working with a shadow box. I've painted it and gotten the paintings in well enough to photograph the box to submit via email. I have a sturdier hanging solution coming that I'll pick up from the hardware store when it arrives.

My daughter has taken up geocaching. She's working as a program aide at the Girl Scout summer day camp in June. One of the things they're going to be teaching the campers is geocaching. So she needs to practice. Every day this week after school we've gone after a cache. She's also set up one. If you're in the Bay Area, check out Mr. Lizard's Bush.

What I read:

It ended up being a good week for reading even with the geocaching with my daughter. My favorite book this week was You Owe Me a Murder which is a great retelling of Strangers on a Train.

• The Train to Impossible Places: A Cursed Delivery by P.G. Bell; personal collection / research
• The Barrakee Mystery by Arthur W. Upfield; library book
• The Fever King by Victoria Lee; personal collection
• Heartwood Hotel 2: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George
• You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook; personal collection
• The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser; personal collection
• Nursery Crimes by Ayelet Waldman; library book

What I'm reading:

• Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien; personal collection
• A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence; library book
• Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds; personal collection
• The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum; personal collection / research

Up Soon:

• Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali; personal collection
• Royals by Rachel Hawkins; personal collection
• Chicken Girl by Heather Smith; personal collection
• Woman 99 by Greer Macallister; personal collection

Posts and reviews:

• Allegiant by Veronica Roth
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Imbalance, Part One by Faith Erin Hicks
• Canadian Book Challenge: 2019-2020
• CCFF33: siblings to utopia along the Blue Highway: a brief look at the first seven seasons of Supernatural
• Delicious in Dungeon Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui
• The Great Unknowable End by Kathryn Ormsbee
• The Little Guys by Vera Brosgol
• Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
• A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Comments  (24)

Comment #1: Sunday, May 12, 2019 at 23:29:20

Martha Eskuchen

I really like your shadow box. Well done!
We had fun a few years ago in San Francisco geocaching with my stepson. I continued at home for a short time but then let it go.
You have such good reading going on. The Little Guys looks cute.
Hope this is another good week.

Comment #2: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:00:00

Pussreboots

Right now we're sticking close to home — so the East Bay. San Francisco would be too far to go in the time we have in the afternoons. The Little Guys is cute.

Comment #3: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 00:31:37

Greg

Good luck with your art!

Comment #4: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:03:00

Pussreboots

Thank you.

Comment #5: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 01:46:44

Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out

My kids enjoyed geocaching as Scouts. I read Nursery Crimes some time ago, in fact I think I have the first three books in the series

Have a great reading week

Comment #6: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:04:00

Pussreboots

I'm trying to read through my wishlist especially genres that i'm actively covering on my blog.

Comment #7: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 03:34:15

Kathryn Trask

Love the shadow box effect on the paintings. Very effective.

Comment #8: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:09:00

Pussreboots

The paintings are too small to wire hang the way that the gallery wants. So I'm just temporarily putting these four together to make a larger piece. I'll probably repurpose the shadow box for future projects.

Comment #9: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 10:23:35

Cheryl Malandrinos

Oh, that shadow box is lovely. The yellow and purple make the artwork pop.

Many on your list sound good to me: The Train to Impossible Places, The Venderbeekers, and A Question of Holmes. Problem with that last one is I would need to read the other books in the series.

I was an adult before I realized there was another OZ book. I haven't read either, but would love to.

Enjoy your week.

Comment #10: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:12:00

Pussreboots

The shadow box needed so many coats of paint but it was worth the effort. The Vanderbeekers book is the second in the series. Have you read the first? There are many many many more Oz books; the original set written by Baum and then another dozen or so written by Ruth Thompson, and then even a few more after she stopped.

Comment #11: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 12:34:20

Kathy Martin

Geocaching has always sounded like fun. You always have such a nice assortment of books too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

Comment #12: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:15:00

Pussreboots

Geocaching is fun but it's also a time commitment.

Comment #13: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 19:50:09

Hallie

I adored Love From A to Z and Royals! Hope you enjoy them!.

Comment #14: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:19:00

Pussreboots

I'm the fourth chapter in Love from A to Z and am enjoying it. I haven't started Royals yet.

Comment #15: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 20:46:26

Stefanie

Quiet can be good. Sunday was quiet as it ended up we didn't have to dog sit but we had a visit from them for a bit and I just worked on a card. Interesting how you painted inside a shadow box. That's a neat and creative way to present your paintings.

Comment #16: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:21:00

Pussreboots

My paintings are too small to wire hang. The shadow box is big enough. It came unfinished, so I had to either paint it or stain it. I chose to paint it.

Comment #17: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 20:55:13

J

I've fallen so far behind on Supernatural, keep meaning to catchup so I dodge spoilers...but the first seven seasons should be safe (lol). - J from the Wadadli Pen blog (thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy Black Leopard, Red Wolf).

Comment #18: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:23:00

Pussreboots

I don't think the post was too spoilery. I was mostly just looking at the dynamic of Sam and Dean as sibling travelers for my on-going road narrative spectrum project.

Comment #19: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 21:03:00

Yvonne

The Vivien Chien series looks so good. I'm hoping to read it soon. Have a great week!

Comment #20: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:25:00

Pussreboots

The Vivien Chien books are fun cozies.

Comment #21: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 11:49:42

Erin @ cracker crumbs

We used to go geocaching all the time! How cool your daughter is doing it. Maybe I will take my cousin's daughters, they are about the right age to really like it! I'm inspires. I love your art for this week too those bees are awesome!

And I've got to check out your Supernatural post! :)

Comment #22: Wednesday, May 14, 2019 at 09:27:00

Pussreboots

Thanks. There's an app now for geocaching which is different from the last time I did it. The shadow box has the four paintings I've been showing on the blog these last few weeks. They just look more coherent in the box than they do separately.

Comment #23: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 17:23:34

Cheryl Malandrinos

I haven't read the first book in The Vanderbeekers series. I honestly had no idea about all the Oz books. Thanks for sharing.

Comment #24: Monday, May 27, 2019 at 21:35:00

Pussreboots

The second Vanderbeeker book does fill you in on the important plot points of the first. You don't have to read the first one first. But both are very good. If you're curious about the Oz books, the initial core canon is available at Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive for free. Your public library probably also has them.