Guess what arrived at Casa Bookgirl today? Unlikely Traitors by Clare Langley-Hawthorne! Thanks to Danielle who posted about this series recently, I found out that the third book in the Ursula Marlow series was finally out. I’ve been waiting for this since 2008!

In two mysteries Ursula Marlow became one of my favorite sleuths and there were certainly pending issues I wanted to see resolved so I’m very excited to have this. If you haven’t checked out this mystery series I recommend it. Actually you can read a bit more about the author in a guest post I featured. Unfortunately the links to my reviews aren’t working. After I updated my blog last year, I didn’t quite finish updating links, etc. so I need to fix those.

Another new addition to my shelves is the latest Judy Blume book, In the Unlikely Event. I was lucky to get a signed copy from when she came in to town a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to go to the book signing but I’m happy to have my special copy.

Finally, a library hold came through and it’s for latest Elly Griffiths mystery, The Ghost Fields. I love her main character forensic archeologist, Ruth Galloway. This is the seventh book and I can’t wait to dive in.

Can I just say that I would love to start all of these right now? I am still in the middle of several other books and I’d like to at least make a bit more progress in those before adding more to the pile. But I don’t know, holding off on any of these will require a lot of willpower and I have none. So if you had these three which would you start with? Have you read any of these yet?

So have you jumped in on the craze of coloring books for adults? I had read some articles about how coloring books are helping adults deal with stress and anxiety and a few weeks ago one book even made it to the NY Times Bestseller list.

Well, count me in. You know I love artsy/craftsy stuff and last Christmas my husband and mother-in-law gifted me a beautiful Faber Castell pencil set so why not join in the craze? So I recently got the book, Secret Garden by Johanna Brasford, and I love it!

I am a person who easily worries and I deal with a lot of stress being the caretaker of an elderly parent. I’m not going to tell you that this coloring book is a cure but I can say it really is relaxing. I love to get lost in filling in the patterns with beautiful, vibrant colors. Do the colors match, is it all within the lines? Who knows and who cares. This is all about freedom to be creative.

I’ve always said that I wish I could draw and I think this is also a good step for those of you who don’t feel confident enough drawing. Like stencils and rubber stamps, coloring books do half of the job for you. Not only can you color, but you can alter the shapes or create extra designs. I think it’s all about enjoying the moment and nurturing your creativity.

During our last bookstore visit I saw quite a bunch of new magazines that were strictly about coloring. Cloth Paper Scissors even has a special edition on Zen Doodle Workshop, which I actually received at my art journal retreat. This is more about how to make your own coloring templates so that’s neat.

Anyway, I think this weekend calls for some time spent reading and coloring. Hope you have a fabulous weekend and let me know if you have a coloring book to recommend!