What's Up Wednesday

It is about 70 degrees out right now, muggy and airless. My azaleas have started blooming. Weeds are springing up in the yard. By the end of the day, I think it will be dropping into the 30s, with the possibility of ice and storms. And so it goes as Houston attempts to leave its version of winter and head into spring.

Reading a number of books at once, in fits and starts as the mood or need strikes:

• Andrew Smith's The Alex Crow, which has already drawn me in because Andrew has this way of making me think about life and the universe and the weirdness of being a human on this planet. 
• Julie Murphy's Side Effects May Vary, which I started awhile back and now am back to. Alice had cancer. Now she doesn't. But the relationships she destroyed -- or tried to-- before and along the way-- are still looming. And then there's Harvey, who loves her. Alice is a prickly, prickly soul.
• The Storied Life of AJ Fikry-- which I like very much. If you are a book person, so will you. AJ, like Alice in Julie's book above, is not a particularly warm and fuzzy soul. But he changes because of his daughter and finding love again and there's a lot of secrets on Alice island. (wow! Alice again!)
• Outlander, book 8, which means I am headed toward 8,000 pages of Outlander. It's the Revolutionary War for Claire and Jamie and Ian and the gang. But back in the future in 1980s Scotland, Roger Mac and Brianna and the kids are having troubles of their own… Plus Quakers and love stories and a lot of Rollo the dog time and yeesh, but young William (aka, Jamie's illegitimate son who thinks he's a British lord) is a jerk sometimes! Over the top. Jumping many sharks, but I adore this series with a full heart. What can I say?

And in other Wednesday news:

• It's Rodeo time here in Houston. Debating which fried food on a stick I should eat when we go. As people do.
• Revising IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THIS. (Soho, 5/2016) Pondering immortality. A lot. Oh my gosh I love this novel. 
• Just over a month until FINDING PARIS. (4/21/15, Balzer and Bray). Pondering why we keep secrets and how hard it is to tell our truths. More on that soon. Pre-order swag giveaway still going on through Blue Willow Books. http://joysnovelidea.blogspot.com/2015/02/finding-paris-pre-order-swag-giveaway.html

Happy Wednesday!