There’s a new magazine that is coming to our home, Afar, which made me put a lot of my other reading on hold yesterday because every time I turned the page in this magazine I wanted to go to a new place.

The issue we have is the May/June issue and has features on Mexico, South Africa, Copenhagen and so many other places. Our yearly trip won’t happen for a while yet and it will more than likely be a shorter one compared to last year’s trip to Germany and Iceland but I’m already looking forward to it.

In the meantime I can read this magazine and pretend I’m in faraway places. Actually my current read, the Larsson book, is taking me to Sweden so that’s a nice adventure. My reading is going very slowly this week but I hope to finish this book soon. Now that I think about it, my next reading adventure will also be in Sweden as I have to read The Fire Engine that Disappeared for book group.

How about you? Read any good magazines lately? I can’t wait to go to the bookstore this weekend and see what’s new on the newsstand.

P.S. – Tomorrow I’ll announce the winner of The Outside Boy giveaway so if you still want to throw your name in the hat, leave a comment here.

Two new books arrived this weekend and I think they’ll be a lot of fun. Have you heard of these or have you read them already?

The first book is Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs by Heather Lende. Five years ago Lende was involved in a near-fatal accident and then a year later she lost her mother to leukemia. Her survival and months of bed rest were the start of renewed reflection. After the physical healing, she also had to do some emotional healing and that is when she turned to her neighbors and friends, residents of Haines, Alaska, to focus on faith, spirituality and life’s little pleasures.

I must say I definitely wanted to read this when the blurb on the book jacket said it was “part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott.” Haven’t read Dillard but Lamott is fab.

The other book is Long Division by Jane Berentson. This is a story made up of 365 days, 23 third graders, and 1 teacher who misses her boyfriend. Annie Harper’s story starts when her boyfriend is deployed to Afghanistan and she’s left alone in Tacoma Washington.

When I first saw this one I actually thought it was a memoir. Anyway, should be interesting.

So those are the new books on my shelf. Now I need to get back to some research. Litlove has passed the torch to me and I get to come up with some selections for the next Slaves of Golconda book discussion. I should have those ready for voting by the end of the week so stay tuned. I’m leaning towards some Classics. What do you think?