Welcome to this week’s Sunday Post. This feature is brought to you by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, so swing by after you are done here and get the full list of participants!
What I Reviewed:
- [21 Jan] Overnight Sensation by Sarina Bowen ★★★★½
- [22 Jan] Playing for Keeps by Jill Shalvis ★★★★
- [23 Jan] Shattered Vows by Kaylea Cross ★★★★
What’s Coming Up:
- Vengeance Road by Christine Feehan
- The Reverse Play by Julia Clarke
- Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts (audiobook)
This Week’s New Releases:
Open Giveaways:
What I Found Online:
This Week’s Book Haul:
ARCs thanks to the authors and publishers:
Audio ARC thanks to Tantor Audio:
Non-Bookish News:
This week was a test in patience for sure! Lots of my coworkers were sick, so it was a trial trying to cover everything. It is really cold and its going to get colder. I can’t seem to shake this cold/sinus infection. So, I’m ready for January to take a hike!
I didn’t get to read much this week either. I was tired at night (when I usually read) so I was only getting through a chapter or 2 before I fell asleep. Thursday night I fell asleep at 7 pm. It was sad! I’ve also had some struggling getting into audiobooks too. Nothing seems to hold my attention for long!! I did finish Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts and it was quite good. Because of all my reading/listening struggles, my goodreads goal is already ‘3 books behind schedule’. Thanks for that, Goodreads…
If you have been watching the news, you might have heard about the incident in DC last weekend involving Covington Catholic. So, I teach at a Catholic school in Cincinnati…about 20 min away from CovCath. To say it’s been interesting is an understatement. We all have had to get lots of reminders about expectations and such so that this never happens to us. Regardless of whether the young man in the video was causing an issue or not, the school has been under fire recently for a few other issues (they have dressed in blackface for basketball games…and this incident wasn’t their only example of poor judgment). Its also an example of a rush to judgement by everyone-even the Archdiocese was quick to throw these kids under the bus. I think there were multiple wrongs in the event-the students wearing those hats just makes them scream ‘white privilege’ and some adult really should have told them it wasn’t a good time to wear those. The group of adults screaming taunts at the kids were obviously not behavior well either. The Native American interjecting himself to help was good, but then to disparage the students afterward was kind of shady.
It’s so sad to see people disparage Catholic education because of the poor behavior of a few schools. This could have happened to any group of teens from public school just as easily. I don’t think the reason they are entitled rich kids is because they attend Catholic school. There are entitled white kids at public schools too. The school I teach at is very diverse, both ethnically, religiously, and economically. Lots of private schools are diverse in these ways, but the ones that become well known are the really elitest private schools and they give everyone a bad name. So, I think all this drama added to the stress of the week too. We had lots of discussions with the students about it-what they thought, what we learned as the story evolved, why you should behave as if your parents will see your actions (because, in this day and age, someone is always filming and your parents WILL see), and how to pray about it. Next week is Catholic Schools Week where we celebrate the joys of Catholic education. In my school, the kids write cards to some of their elementary school teachers, they get free lunch for the week, we have Franciscan friars come to speak to the kids about our Franciscan values and heritage, and we have a 3 on 3 basketball tournament to raise money for St. Vincent de Paul. I’m hopeful this will help us remember why Catholic school is a blessing for so many of these kids who would be in failing schools otherwise.
Ok, so kind of a bummer week…But this week will be better for sure! And look at my book haul! That was a good pull!
So, whats new with you this week? Did you read any of the same books I did? Did you find any great book deals I need to grab ASAP? Let me know in the comments!
I love the cover for Reverse Play. I must check that out!
Sorry your week wasn’t that great. Sinus Infections can actually make you very tired because of the pressure so I can see why are may be falling asleep. At the moment I am best friends with Flonase because my nose is just so stuffed from the staleness in the house. I can’t wait for spring so I can rip open the windows and air out the house.
I hope this week is better for you! I also hope you feel better, Samantha! Happy Reading! xx
Samantha I haven’t seen the news but yes you are right. I also teach my kids to behave and everyone can film today. I hope next week gets way better for you and that you’ll feel less tired. You made me smile with your “I beg your pardon”. I love you US people and I love Brits too. I went to London often and visited US twice by now. Each country has its charm and it is highly entertaining to compare sometimes. Happy Sunday!
Sorry to hear your week was so rubbish. It’s always tough when people are out sick and their work still needs to get done.
I loved the ‘I beg your pardon’ tweet – so true. And when we Brits are really upset with someone, we leave out the ‘Kind’ from ‘Kind regards’ at the end of emails. It’s practically a duel invitation!
It’s all true about “I Beg Your Pardon?” Just sayin’….
Society of St. Vincent De Paul… That takes me back to my childhood! My grandfather was president of our society at church. I was never the religious type (and long ago gave up on the faith he insisted I was raised in) but this made me smile, so thank you.
Jaguars Mate sounds like a good read! Hope this week is a better one for you Samantha!
Where did the month even go?!
Boo for sinus infections, but yeah for Catholic education. I went to Catholic school when I lived in Brooklyn (the public schools were dangerous). Most of my classmates were not white or Catholic for the record. The social climate is to attack first, gather facts later. And this is American. There are plenty of people, who support organizations I do not believe in, but that’s their right as Americans. If they want to wear a hat, they can wear a hat. It’s not an invitation to physically or verbally abuse them. Sorry. I can’t control the way other people act/react, but I try to control myself.
It’s so sad that there so much division going on in the world today. I just wish that everyone just got along for once. I hope this week turns out better for you.
I snorted when I read the “I beg you pardon!” Too funny. Sorry that you are still feeling poorly, Samantha. I hope you can shake it and have an easier time of it next week.
I’m sorry it was a tough week with so much happening. Here’s to a better week with the new books to enjoy! I’m having the same fall asleep so less reading problem too. Anne – Books of My Heart
The Wrong highlander looks sexy as hell. I will have to check that one out. I also will have to grab a freebie or two. I hope you have a wonderful week. I try not to watch the news too much. Just so much I don’t want to hear about and they cover shit stories most of the time or make people overreact for snow. Ughh my hubby usually gives me highlights of things going on.
Mary
Everybody seems to be sick right now. Sorry you had a tough week. I hope this one is better.
Thanks for sharing about the school thing- I did see the news and it did evolve throughout the week, so rushing to judgment obviously is not a good idea! I hope everyone involved learned something valuable, and I’m sure they did. Sounds like you teach at a great school and I hate to see Christian education get a bad rap. Anyway hope you feel better and have a super week!
It looks like you got some good books read, I grabbed up Overnight Sensation as well and really enjoyed it.
I hope you feel better! Thanks for sharing about the school thing, I didn’t get to the see news lately so I wasn’t aware of everything going on. I also grabbed Overnight Sensation. I hope this week is better for you.
Sorry for the rough week. Hope it gets better.