Happy Sunday everyone! I hope your first week of the new year is off to a great start and wanted to start the year right be joining today’s Sunday Salon. Thank you to Deb at Readerbuzz for hosting the chat.

What I’m reading: I just started reading The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton. This is for my mystery book group and although I’m just a couple of chapters into it, it’s very good. Lots of tension and suspense.

What I’m watching: We have really enjoyed watching Kleo. She’s smart and tough and she’s a German female assassin. This is has been a bit quirky but I love the setting, Berlin shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now to wait for season two later this year.

What I’m savoring: Over the holidays we tried several new recipes and of course I had to choose a sweet treat to highlight. This delicious banana strawberry bread was just perfect for an afternoon treat with some tea.

What’s on my craft table: Too much stuff! But lately I’ve been really into Gluebooks. I love collecting images from magazines and catalogs and it’s such an easy craft that I can spend just 15-20 minutes either cutting up images or glueing them down and feel like I’ve done something creative. But that’s not all…

What I’m excited about: I signed up for a year-long art course and the first lesson started on Friday. I’m joining other artists in Wanderlust 2024 for a variety of classes in mixed media. I’ll share more about my experience as I take more of the courses.

What is my quote for the week: “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a great week ahead!

A lot of new books were add to my bookshelves in December so I wanted to share a bit about those with you.

I got three books in translation Cockfight by María Fernanda Ampuero; translated by Frances Riddle; Vista Chinesa by Tatiana Salem Levy; translated by Alison Entrekin and Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda; translated by Sarah Booker.

Two crime books I received from publishers are The Hollow Tree by Phillip Miller and The City of the Living by Nicola Lagioia; translated by Ann Goldstein.

For creative inspiration I got Print Workshop by Christine Schmidt, The Creative Act by Rick Burn and Gel Plate Printing for Mixed Media Art by Robyn McClendon.

Finally two books which have been on my radar for a while are the bestsellers Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. I’ve heard such great things about both of these.

I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of these, and did you get any new books for Christmas or over the holidays?