I’ve been checking out books a lot of books from the library this year. Unfortunately I’ve had to return some without reading because I am not reading fast enough but aren’t those the woes of bookworms?

Here are the books I’ve found on various trips and those I’ve put on hold and have gone to pick up:

Like Family by Paolo Giordano. I’ve read many rave reviews of this one and am looking forward to it.

House of Light by Mary Oliver. I was actually looking for her latest collection but I think it’s on order and I was really in the mood for a poetry book so I chose this one. Plus, this one will count towards the Poetry reading challenge!

Displacement by Lucy Knisley. I’ve enjoyed several of Lucy Knisley’s other graphic novels and can’t wait to dive into this one.

Mosquitoland by David Arnold. I heard about this one from a publisher newsletter I believe. It’s a YA novel about teen on a cross-country journey.

In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward. A case of an unresolved kidnapping re-opened 30 years later.

After the Crash by Michel Bussi. A French crime thriller about a sole survivor of a 1980 airline crash.

The Last Taxi Ride by A.X. Ahmad. This is the second book featuring Ranjit Singh and this is the February selection for my mystery book group. I read the first book late last year and thought it was pretty good so I’m looking forward to this one.

Next time I go to the library I think I’m going to need a bigger book bag to take all of these back. I’m thinking I may need to go on a library ban to read more from my shelves but oh there are just so many tempting titles. I have two more books on hold and those aren’t fiction and/or mysteries but craft books. Of course when I go pick those up I’m sure I’ll have a look around to see what else I can find! So what have you borrowed lately?

I hope you all had a great weekend. This weekend was one for trying new recipes and enjoying some down time. Last week I sent my husband an article I read about the 11 Foods Germans Miss when they’re in the U.S. My husband definitely agreed with most of these and he decided he would try to make one of his favorites for our lunch on Saturday.

He has fond memories of his grandmother standing by the stove preparing Kartoffelpuffer and serving them one after another to him and his brother. This was his first time making these, which are like potato pancakes, and I got to enjoy them. Yum. You have to eat these with applesauce.

Not only that but he also made some Cowboy Cookies and oh my goodness these are delicious. We enjoyed these while watching Bridge of Spies, which we really liked. Good thing I went to the gym after all of these goodies.

In bookish news we stopped by Barnes & Noble today and I discovered Willow & Sage magazine. No, I’m not adding a new craft to my list of hobbies (at least not yet!) but I found a recipe for a sugar scrub. I know we don’t have nearly as cold temperatures as many others do during the winter but nevertheless my skin gets very dry so I would love a nice, moisturizing bath product. I plan to get the ingredients this week and hopefully can have my own spa day at home next weekend. Now that’s something to look forward to right?

My reading is still progressing at a snail’s pace for some reason but sometimes that’s just the way it goes right? I am really enjoying The Secret Place by Tana French but it is a long book. I did sneak in some poetry this weekend from Mary Oliver.

Wishing you a great start of the week!