Sunday Salon: (2 Days) Late Edition

What I'm reading

• in print

I just finished One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, a short-fiction collection by B.J. Novak (yes, Ryan the Temp from The Office, TV nerds, but he was also a writer/producer on the show, so this is not coming from out of nowhere). I'm hoping Shelf Awareness won't decide my review came in too late for them to use it, since the book publishes next week--I'm not usually much for short fiction, but I really enjoyed this. It was "potato-chip reading"--I kept thinking I'd have just a few, but then I'd dig further and further into the bag.

My plans are to pick The Book Thief back up for a few days before starting on a novel for a February TLC Book Tour date and my March review reading for the Shelf.

• on audio

I'm getting to the last section of the Scientology epic I started a little over a week ago. It is fascinating and somewhat terrifying, and covers so much ground I'm already trying to figure out what parts I most want to talk about. It may take some time to pull that post together!

What I'm watching

I'm loving the return of Sherlock, of course, while hating that it's already two-thirds done with its season, and a bit sad that White Collar is ending its season this week.

What I'm writing/blogging

I may be posting somewhat irregularly during February--the shortest month tends to be just a bit overbooked (and not in the good "too many reading choices" way!). The auditors sent me a bunch of spreadsheets to update last week, which means the year-end Busy Season at work is officially under way. I have jury duty next week, and Paul and I will be spending the weekend after next at the Gallifrey One Convention (yes, that is Valentine's Day weekend--we'll be celebrating the love we share for Doctor Who!). I'll prioritize weekly updates like this one (even if they don't make it up on Sundays) and Wordless Wednesday posts at the very least, even if other content is a little sparse during the next few weeks.

What caught my eye (and ear!) this week

• Thanks to Karen aka @Sassymonkey for pointing me to Slacker Radio as one of "35 Resources to Help You Get Organized" she mentioned in a post on BlogHer.com. I keep my music library in iTunes, but I like music apps as discovery tools--not just to hear new and new-to-me songs, but also to help me rediscover songs I've forgotten. Slacker's Adult Alternative station sounds like it was designed with me in mind, but they seem to have programming for all sorts of musical tastes.
• If I ever want to try the book-club thing again, Shannon at River City Reading has some great tips for starting and sustaining one.
• Judge a book by its author--yes or no? The debate is on at Book Riot.

What Else is New?

I didn't officially participate in the Winter Mini-Bloggiesta this past weekend, but if you click on through to the blog from your feed reader--or Facebook, Twitter, or wherever else you usually read my posts--you'll see a brand-new design for the old header, thanks to my gifted in-house photographer/designer/Photoshop guru (and that "in-house" is literal, since we're married and all)! I've augmented that change with a new set of (mostly) matched contact and social-media buttons, which I (mostly) found here.

I will participate in two conferences this year! I registered for Book Expo America (NYC, May 28-31) and BlogHer'14 (San Jose, July 25-26) last week. I've also reserved double-occupancy (2-bed) hotel rooms for each conference, and am officially in Roommate Search mode. If you're planning to go to either BEA or BlogHer (or both?) and would be interested in sharing space, please get in touch with me! Previous conference roommates would probably give me references, if asked. (Kim? Melissa? Maggie?)

Gratuitous Photo of the Week

Saturday, January 25, Ventura, California

How was your weekend? How is your week so far?