Here we go again.  I think this’ll probably be my second-to-last of these updates, because I’m getting a grip now (slowly).  Somehow I managed to work my way through three books this week.  Don’t ask me how I did it, because this has been one of the most stressful weeks I’ve ever had.  Seriously, pretty much the only thing that got me through Wednesday was an Instagram photo of Britney Spears with her crew cut, and the caption, “If Britney can get through 2007, I can get through today.”  Have you ever had one of those weeks where every single thing seems to go wrong?  The best I could do all week, when anyone asked me how things were going, was to mutter, “I’m surviving.”

The one and only thing that’s gone right for me this week was that I was able to renew Summer for the Gods.  So that one’s now due back… I don’t know.  Later.  What I care about at the moment is the fact that I don’t need to worry about it.  Reading-wise, here’s my (somewhat miraculous) progress for the week:

• Finished The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, which I really, really enjoyed.  I’m looking forward to getting my copy of the author’s new book, The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, from the library just as soon as my hold comes in.  Yep, I went there.  And then there were five.
• I wanted something light and easy, so I went for The Mother-Daughter Book Club and finished it in a day.  Loved the sweet premise of moms and their middle-school daughters forming a book club and reading Little Women over the course of a year.  I had some thoughts about the moms’ un-Marmeelike behavior, and you can read my rant here.  All things considered, though, I really enjoyed this and will definitely be continuing on with the series.  And then there were four.
• Next up, I felt like I needed some Paris in my life, so I grabbed The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris, which was another fast read.  This was spotty for me: there were some parts I found extremely enjoyable and informative, and other parts that bored me or put me off.  But the book worked its magic and I’m now dying for a trip back to Paris.  And then there were three.
• Started She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth and I’m nine pages in.  Yep, only nine: I picked it up on a plane flight but was only able to make it that far before a headache I was battling escalated to the point at which I just had to close my eyes.  Advil helped when I got on the ground, but I ended up working late and didn’t get a chance to read any more last night.  Shame, because the little bit I did read was good stuff: fascinating history written in a great narrative style.  I can’t wait to read more.

So, yeah, between fighting off stress headaches and feeling like everything is otherwise falling apart on me, I’m sort of amazed that I read as much as I did.  Or maybe I’m not – reading has always represented an escape for me, and escape is just what I’ve needed this past week.  Next week… well, it’s shaping up to be another nasty one, and I don’t know that I’ll have much time to sink into a good book.  I think I’ll finish She-Wolves, but I may end up returning Far From the Tree and getting back on the waiting list for that one.  I’m okay with that option, since I have a lot of other books that I am itching to read.  Onward.