A few changes in the stacks have taken place since my last “Currently Reading” post a couple of weeks ago. I am still making my way through My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante but have slowed down a bit because I had some books due back at the library and now I’m focusing on my Persephone read for the Persephone Readathon. Here is a bit about my other reads:

Whitefly by Abdelilah Hamdouchi. This is a crime thriller set in Tangier and featuring Detective Laafrit. Four corpses have washed up on the shores in three days and most figure that they are immigrants who didn’t make it to the Spanish coast but Detective Laafrit notices something about one of those corpses and starts to investigate. Although it’s quite a slim novel, I’m finding that there is a richness to the descriptions that I can easily imagine what the atmosphere is like in the police station where Detective Laafrit works. Will be curious to see how the case is resolved.

Good Evening, Mrs. Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes. Thank you to all of you who recommended I start with this one. I am absolutely loving it. It’s one of those books that I actually feel is going by so quickly and I want to slow it down so I can take in all the descriptions of what daily life was like in England during WWII, in particular from a woman’s viewpoint.

Not pictured is my Kindle read and another book I just started this evening. My Kindle read is Faithless by Kjell Ola Dahl. This is a Norwegian thriller set in Oslo. Inspector Frank Frølich is called to the scene where a woman was dumped, wrapped in plastic. He quickly realizes that he knows her and thinks that their recent meeting may have had something to do with her murder. This one is ok so far, I’m not exactly wowed by it but I am kind of hooked now to see what happens.

Finally for my poetry book this month I picked up The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks, edited by Elizabeth Alexander. I’ve only read a couple of poems here and there by Brooks so I’m excited to dive into this collection and hopefully gain a better picture of her poetry.

Alright there you have it. I definitely don’t need to add any books to this pile but as always I’m thinking of new books I’ve received, library books and my stacks. Would love to hear about your current reads.

I hope you’ve all had a great weekend. We got to try out a new cafe/bakery for lunch (and a treat of course!) and aside from some crafting, I also went to a Fountain Pen meet up!

I know you are probably thinking a what? There is a group for fountain pen collectors and enthusiasts that meets in Austin on a monthly basis. I’m relatively new to the world of fountain pens so a lot of the discussion was way over my head. I thought I had a nice little collection as I have seven Lamy pens and one Faber Castell and yes, my collection is nice but very small compared to the other attendees.

I saw some of the members with pen cases holding at least 20 pens of all varieties and I believe someone had a pen worth $300. Wow. Unless I win the lottery I guess I won’t be buying a pen that expensive but it is fun to see the variety and to find out more about these famous pen companies.

So between passing around pens and trying some different inks and then coming home and working on some stamping projects, my fingers have been constantly covered in ink all weekend! I love it though. I have to say there is something about writing in your journal with a fountain pen. I know some of you out there probably use fountain pens, any favorites or ink favorites? For those of you who would like more info, I strongly recommend visiting Goulet Pens – they have blogs posts dedicated not only to new products but also comparisons between inks and pens.

Finally, did you know that February is InCoWriMo? That’s International Correspondence Writing Month. A month-long event encouraging you to write a letter every day. No emails or text – good, old snail mail! I’m late to the game of signing up but if you want me to send you a letter or postcard let me know. I’d love to surprise you with a little note and maybe even something from my crafty adventures. Just send me an email with your address and I will write you sometime this month!