The RAHM Report for April 3, 2017

As I announced in my Reading with Little Miss Muffet and Little Bo Peep post from last week, I am expecting our third little reader in mid-October. I am 12 weeks now and have been nauseous and exhausted pretty much all day since the start of week 6, so I haven't been reading or writing as much as I normally do. I even took almost an entire week off from blogging, which I don't think I have ever done before! But I'm pushing through, and hoping this pregnancy is more like the first one (no morning sickness at all in the second trimester) and less like the second one (still getting sick at 30 weeks.) In any case, here's what I've been reading the past couple of weeks.

Adult Books

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had downloaded Death at La Fenice to my phone, but nausea has been making it difficult to read on a tiny screen, so I haven't read past the first chapter. I will probably wind up borrowing a physical copy from the library eventually, but not in the near future. Instead, I've decided to read V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. which has been sitting on my nightstand for almost a year. I've only read 60 pages, but I love Kinsey Millhone so I'm sure I'll finish to the end even if it takes a while. I plan to take it with me on our upcoming trip to New York to visit my family.

I also decided to abandon Lois Lenski, Storycatcher. It was too tedious and I just didn't feel like plowing through it. I am sticking with The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn, but my small group didn't meet this past week so I haven't read anymore since my last post. I'll finish it whenever the group does.

The only other adult book I have on the horizon is a copy of Murder of a Sleeping Beauty by Denise Swanson, which I requested from inter-library loan, and which should be available for me within the next day or so.

Deal Me in Challenge

I haven't read a story for the current week yet, but for last week, I drew "Extracts from Adam's Diary" by Mark Twain (♠7). This was fortuitous, as I just read its companion story a couple of weeks ago. As with the companion piece, I felt that the story missed the mark. It did not portray Eden as much of a happiness and seemed to glorify man's fallen state. Obviously, the story is meant to be funny, and it was in many places, but I kept getting distracted by what didn't match up with Catholic teaching. It just wasn't as much fun to read as I was expecting.

Children's Books

I'll have some picture book reviews coming up in the first half of April, so I won't talk about those here. As far as longer works, I've read a few over the past couple of weeks:

• The Treasure Hunt by Meriol Trevor
  This one is not religious, which is unusual for a Meriol Trever book. It actually reminded me a lot of Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parish. Since there wasn't very much to the story, I don't plan to give it a review. 
• Ludmila by Paul Gallico
  I read this at my husband's request, and I liked it well enough, but I was bothered by the notion of an animal going to heaven. I am not going to review this one either, simply because I read it too quickly to give it a good critique. 
• Skippack School by Marguerite de Angeli
  My review is here.
• Sticks Across the Chimney by Nora Burglon
  My review is here.
• The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill
  I'm reading this series to Miss Muffet (age 3) and this was the one we finished recently. Review to come.
• The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley
  I haven't decided yet whether to review this. I gave it three stars, and it definitely had some good moments, but it was not a favorite.

Next on my list are two digital ARCs of new April releases, both of which are third titles in their respective series: First Class Murder by Robin Stevens and Cody and the Rules of Life by Tricia Springstubb. I'm also working on selecting fantasy titles to read for Old School Kidlit and a 1950s Newbery book to read for Newbery Through the Decades.