Our vacation is still months away but I can tell you I’m already anxious for some travel adventures. New places, new foods, etc. In the meantime I’m going on a little weekend getaway with one of my best friends!  No exotic location, just a little Texas town where we can do lots of shopping and laughing.

So there may not be a lot of reading happening this weekend but I do think there’s a bookseller in the town so I’ll definitely drop in and see what they have. I promise to report back.

As far as my need for faraway travel is concerned for now I’m reading and both are set in London. A couple of months ago I added Book Lust To Go by Nancy Pearl to my bookshelves and if you can’t decide on a place, pick up this book and you’ll soon be doing some armchair travel. By the way, I picked up this book thanks to an interview I heard on Travels with Rick Steves.

So what about you, where do you wish you were traveling to this weekend?

Today I got an email notice from the library that I have another book ready for pick up. Holds always come in at the same time don’t they? The book waiting for me is Life After Life by Jill McCorkle. I don’t think I’ll get a chance to pick it up until early next week which may work out perfectly as I’m also waiting on another book. Maybe I’ll get lucky and both will be ready when I go.

Amazon also sent me an email with info on new books coming out (or that are just out) on art journaling and mixed media. Next to reading, my other obsession is crafty stuff. I’m constantly popping in at local craft stores and browsing online for supplies. Needless to say, I’m sure I’ll be buying some of the books that are featured in the email.

On my last visit to my favorite indie bookstore I didn’t find a copy of BookPage, it’s been hit or miss lately, so today I happened to catch up online and look what I find out: Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie has a new book out, Americanah. I’ve loved her two other books so you bet this one is going on my booklist.

What books are you excited about today?

Murder in Chelsea is the 15 installment of the Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson and for fans who’ve been following the adventures of midwife Sarah Brandt and police detective Frank Malloy, this will be the book you’ve all been waiting for.

The story begins when Sarah finds out that someone has been asking about Catherine, the little girl she’s been hoping to adopt. And, that someone is claiming to be Catherine’s mother. Sarah is sick with worry but wants to do the right thing and she’ll ask Malloy for his help. Of course this is a murder mystery so someone dies, there’s a murderer to be found and the truth must come out.

Part of the reason I was racing through to the end of this book was not so much the mystery but I wanted to know what was finally going to happen between Sarah and Malloy. The author has been promising that readers would be happy. The series spans two years in the characters’ lives so it’s not really that long but for readers who’ve eagerly read through 14 books, well, it’s been quite a wait. And, waiting that long of time I was expecting a bit more than just a few pages at the end. I won’t post any spoilers but if you read this series I’d love to hear if you thought the resolution worked well?

I also know this is a mystery not a romance but I just really like these characters. I don’t expect mysteries to have a romance element to them but if they do and if they are written so that it doesn’t feel tacked on then I am all for it.

How about you? Do you care if your mystery has some romance in it or do you just want the characters to stick with solving crimes?