...and they lived happily ever after...

I wish you happiness and joy and lots of good reading.  Me, I'm going to try for that "happily ever after" stuff.  And, yes, this does mean THE END.  The blog will remain up, at least until the end of the 2011.  At that point, it will likely go away.  I've closed the comments here, but think I know what you'd say.  Again, my wish is that you will all have a "perfect" reading life.  Ta, ta!  

Catching Up....Reading and stuff for a while

Every year about this time I seem to get the urge to reread books.  I think it's because every year about this time I tend to start getting overwhelmed by holidays and shopping and stuff.  It's not that I don't love the holidays, because I do.  I enjoy spending time with family and, while I am so not a shopper, I do like finding great gifts for family and friends.  I love holiday songs and the cooler weather and preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

This year, we're hosting both holidays at our home for family.  That's a good thing because we have the space and we have a lovely place to share with them.  My mother-in-law has recently had surgery on her knee and she has agreed to let me host the meals.  That's kind of a big deal because she loves to do for family at this time.  Our Thanksgiving plans are still up in the air - number wise anyway.  We may be a small group or a larger one.  Either is OK.  Christmas will be bigger.

I'm still getting a few things settled here.  I've been looking at bedding selections and I still want to have a few more decorative touches around.  We've spent an awful lot this year on house stuff and I've wanted to spread out more expenditures, but we're getting closer to holiday time. 

All this is to say that, if you take a look at my archives, you'll see that I rarely post in November and December.  In fact, except for the first year I blogged (2007), I have taken breaks or even expressed my intention to stop blogging each year since.  I find myself in the same place this year, but I'm going to plan on stepping away for the rest of November and December.  Usually, I seem to get back into the swing as the year end posts come around.  We'll see how that goes.  So.....

See me reading or rereading....see me doing other things....see me not blogging....on a break for a while....a long while....or a short while....but a while.

I'm going to step away from the computer for at least a week (or longer if I can).  No blogging, no reading blogs, no emails except what I must (only must) deal with.  No commenting.  No reading about what's to come in books (especially this).  That's the goal.

Have a lovely holiday time!  I'll probably check in on your blogs now and then.  Here's to a stress free and peaceful holiday season.  I'll likely see you in January.

Waiting on Wednesday (22) - The Betrayal of Trust

This event is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and features books that we are eagerly anticipating. My choice for this week is:

The Betrayal of Trust

by Susan Hill

Publisher: Overlook Hardcover

Available November 10th

6th in the Simon Serailler series

From the publisher's website:

     Susan Hill's readers met the enigmatic and brooding Simon Serrailler in The Various Haunts of Men and got to know him better in the four mysteries that followed. In The Betrayal of Trust, she has written the most chilling and unputdownable book yet. Freak weather and flash floods have hit southern England. The small cathedral town of Lafferton is underwater, and a landslip on the moor has closed the roads. As the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave––and a skeleton––are exposed; twenty years on, the remains of missing teenager Joanne Lowther have finally been uncovered. The case is reopened and Simon Serrailler is called in as Senior Investigating Officer. Joanne, an only child, had been on her way home from a friend's house that night. She was the daughter of a prominent local businessman, and her mother had killed herself two years after she disappeared, unable to cope. Cold cases are always tough, and in this latest mystery in the acclaimed series from Susan Hill, Simon Serrailler is forced to confront his most grisly, dangerous, and complex case yet.

I have meant to read Susan Hill's books for such a long time.  I have several friends who have written about a few - among them SuziQ at Whimpulsive, Jill at Rhapsody in Books, and Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise.  There are likely more as well.  I always love reading about this series and I love the covers - very dark and brooding.  I hope to read the whole bunch in 2012.  Six books are not such a lot to plan for - that's one every other month.  Susan Hill is also the author of several other books, such as - The Woman in Black - with a soon to be released film starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, and Howards End is on the Landing, a book about the author's quest to read from her own shelves.  Have I tempted you to pick up a Susan Hill book?  I hope so.