Sunday Salon: Fall is Here!

It's hard to believe Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2011 has come and gone. Although this was my third year, I consider it my second year really because I began my blog shortly before BBAW my first year and, to be honest, it was an over-whelming, kind of confusing week for me.  Very interesting, too, but I don't have a clear idea of anything that went on that week!! Last week was fantastic! I discovered several new and wonderful blogs, got to know many bloggers much better through their interview, read some intriguing posts and found some other bloggers who, like myself, don't know Twitter well but want to learn! Yay! I'd say it was a very productive week I don't know if I'll participate in BBAW every year but I really enjoyed it this year!  I want to be sure to say a Big Thank you to Amy of My Friend Amy for a fantastic job planning BBAW this year!


One other terrific things that happened this week is Autumn arrived early! The weather temperatures dropped almost 20 degrees! During the day it's been sunny and in the low 70s and at night it's dipped into the low 60s, with one night hitting 57 degrees! It's gorgeous. I love this weather so much I feel like I could skip...that's no small feat with crutches or a wheelchair! lolol


The cats have come alive with the cooler weather! They want to play and run and they're eating as if food has been offered to them for the first time after a long fast, especially Bob. He's a big boy but I think 2 large cans of cat food is a bit much. It's such fun to see the cats so happy and playful instead of lethargic from the heat and humidity.


I took a break from posting book reviews and memes this week while participating in BBAW except on Monday when I decided to participate in the Monday Mailbox meme which was fun! I always enjoy reading other bloggers Monday Mailbox posts so I thought it would be fun to participate. Otherwise I used the week to catch up on reviews and to finish a few books I've feel as if I've been reading for too long as well as to start some new books! I finished. I will be posting reviews for Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington and Where You Go by Joan Leegant this week for sure.


I'm reading Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh as part of Erin Reads Reading Buddies project. I'm a bit behind, although, but will be commenting on her first post later today. I'm also reading The True Memoirs of Madame K by Adrienne Sharp which is for the Book Club run by Jen of Devourer of Books and Nicole of Linus' Blanket. I've been reading The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the R.I.P. Challenge. Last but not least, I'm in the very beginning of Into the Woods by Tana French a book I've wanted to read for a while and the R.I.P Challenge offered a perfect reason to do so now! Whew! There are so many books I want to read that it's sometimes difficult to choose at any given time or not to read too many at once!


Today is the Brooklyn Book Festival which I'm hoping to attend for a little while although I'm not sure if I'll be able to...I have to wait and see how I'm feeling in a little while. There were some terrific events around Brooklyn already this week. I'd planned to attend a few such as PEN.org's Literary Pub Quiz held on Friday at St. Ann's Warehouse on Water St. in DUMBO, Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Indie Party at Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, Brooklyn also Friday night, which celebrated some of Brooklyn's best independent book and magazine publishers including A Public Space, Akashic Publishers, Melville House, Ugly Duckling Presse, Umbrage Editions and more. I was really looking forward to those events but I wasn't able to go since I've been having problems with my breathing this week. I'm sure they were a lot of fun! Oh boy does it annoy me that I couldn't go...at least I know that the Brooklyn Book Festival is an annual event and one that is growing in size every year!


Since I brought up the breathing problems I'm having, I might as well mention that I'm scheduled for a catheterization procedure on Tuesday to measure how high the pressure is in my lungs (known as Pulmonary Hypertension). I'm not looking forward to this procedure at all. It's simply unpleasant and uncomfortable but, fortunately, it's same day in/out not over-night. And, based on the outcome, my cardiologist and I can figure out what medication I should be on to help my heart and lungs work with maximum efficiency...so some brief unpleasantness for a long time of good work (fingers-crossed).


If anyone if going to Brooklyn Book Festival, have a fantastic time and hopefully I will run into you there (not literally but I will be on wheels!).


Everybody else, have an enjoyable Sunday!
Happy Reading!