Sunday Salon: Resolutions and musings

I probably should have posted a resolution post yesterday. Obviously I didn't. I should probably post one today, a day late. But I won't. I have very few resolutions for the coming year and only one that is pertinent to the whole wide world: I resolve to post reviews of all the books I read in 2010 that I didn't get around to posting about in 2010. And really that's more a function of my own anal retentive personality than any feeling for the beginning of the year. But I will eventually get to all those wonderful books I have yet to share with you aside from listing in my sidebar, interspersed, of course, with this year's books. With the year so shiny and new, I have managed to schedule myself into quite a few books already and that's without my usual late rush to join reading challenges so the first few months of the year should be interesting ones indeed! In addition to all the reading I'll be doing, I will likely have some tennis matches (although as it's the Polar Bear league, there are equally good chances that they will be frozen out) and I have a half marathon next weekend that is very likely to turn into a very long walk. I'm probably not likely to do any other really long runs this year but I'm hoping to be in shape enough to do a few shorter ones.

Since I didn't post a list of the bookish goodies under the Christmas tree for me yet, I will beg your indulgence now. From my loving husband, I unwrapped Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard and Delhi by Sam Miller as well as the ever popular B&N gift card so we can pretend for one month at least that I haven't spent a seriously obscene amount at the store. From my sister-in-law came World and Town by Gish Jen. From my sister and brother-in-law came Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson, Casting Off by Nicole Dickson, East Hope by Katharine Davis, and Leopard Rock by Tarras Wilding. And because I am always significantly out-presented by my children, I saved my Secret Santa gifts for Christmas day as well. For the Booklovers Secret Santa, from Liz of Consumed by Books, I received a wonderfully generous package including Talking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield, a Cadbury bar, a package of three small notebooks (perfect to keep in my car for jotting notes) and a CD of Liz's favorite Christmas music which is great and totally appropriate since I listen to Christmas music for a month ahead of time and love to add new renditions into my listening line-up! And from Steve or Sean (I am notoriously bad at reading other people's writing), I received the utterly enticing ARC of Late For Tea at the Deer Palace by Tamara Chalabi, which comes out this month. Pretty special bookish haul if I do say so myself!

As for this past week's reading adventures, I didn't have many since I came down with the hideous and unpleasant cold my niece and nephews so thoughtfully brought to Christmas. I did, however, spend time with Louisa May Alcott as she fell in love one summer, finished learning about the natural world around the Great Lakes (and indeed around me here in the South too), and followed along as one of Britain's first female lawyers learned her craft both in a kidnapping case and a murder trial.

And for right now? Well, it's a toss up between going back to my latest read or singing (dreadfully off key, I might add) with my daughter to her new Singstar Abba game (the boys seem to have darted off to their hidey holes at the merest mention of the 70's pop sensations for some reason).