As we all know, it's tough to come back from vacation, and I'm finding it especially tough this time.  Last week, I spent it on my in-laws' boat in Boston, Massachusetts, and got a chance to tag along on one of their charters.  Night Rider Charters of Boston is such an amazing treat, and as many of you know from yesterday's post -- I didn't finish Mockingjay because I was lazy!  And now, I have so many books to read that came in while I was out, I'm not even sure where to begin!

So, here's Mailbox Monday -- first created by Marcia at The Printed Page, and it's now on a blog tour!  August is hosted by Chick Loves Lit, and September is going to be hosted by BermudaOnion!  So much fun!  On tap for this week is:

• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, by Laurie Viera Rigler -- I've got a short turnaround time to read this so I can send it off to the next lucky reader on the Crazy Book Tours!  "...Courtney Stone wakes up and finds herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England.  Who but an Austen addict like herself could connect such a fantasy?"  This just sucked me right in!
• J'adore New York, by Isabelle Lafleche -- Yay!  I've been waiting for this one, and I'm so excited!  "When Catherine Lambert, an effortlessly chic Parisian lawyer, receives an offer to transfer to the New York office of her prestigious firm, she unhesitatingly accepts.  A dedicated follower of fashion and everything stylish, she is determined to conquer the high-flying world of Manhattan law -- and love."  Ooh la la -- and the cover is so pretty, too!  Can't wait!
• The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, by Maggie O'Farrell -- Check this out:  "In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend's attempt a commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call:  Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital -- where she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years."  Wha??  Doesn't that sound fabulous?
• Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier -- This is my first du Maurier and I'm taking part in the Daphne du Maurier Challenge, hosted by Book-A-Rama.  You should join!  "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.  So the second Mr. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led he down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast."  Yes!!

What about you?  What are you up to this week, and will you find time time (unlike me last week!) to read?  And more to come on possibly doing a read-along for The Historian!

Happy Reading!

Coffee and a Book Chick

Gorgeous Boston in the background...

This might be why I got the book Mockingjay on Tuesday, the big release day, and still haven't finished it...  I've been incredibly lazy while on vacation in Boston...

My parents-in-law run their yacht chartering business in Boston, Massachusetts, called Night Rider Charters of Boston (you can also click here to get to their Facebook page) and this was pretty much how I spent my time in Boston.  And yes, no excuses, right?  You would think that I would pop open the book and read while on their boat, enjoying Boston Harbor with weather in the 70s and not a cloud in the sky, but all I could do is marvel at everything I looked at:  the Boston skyline, the water, the boat...sigh...then I would fall asleep...

And not to mention that the North End of Boston (Boston's "Little Italy," but is never called Little Italy, it's always called the North End) was holding the annual celebration for St. Anthony's Feast.  All I can say is that if you haven't visited the North End, you must go!  I ate a rice ball (rice, cheese, and spinach -- deep fried and served with marinara sauce), a cannoli, a zeppole, gelato, oh...I could go on and on...!

Night Rider Charters of Boston

And here's more of a plug -- while you're enjoying all of the Italian food and culture in the North End, check out Night Rider Charters of Boston and schedule it for two or three hours to tour around Boston Harbor, go out further into the Atlantic and go whale watching, or anything else!  They host corporate functions/meetings/events, birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and I can assure you that my father- and mother-in-law are fabulous and incredibly hospitable!

Okay, so here's my reading "to do" list -- Mockingjay, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict for the Crazy Book Tours, The Handmaid's Tale for the Classic Reads Read-Along, and what else?  Maybe host a read-along for one of my favorite books, The Historian?  I've got to catch up with Tedious and Brief to talk about scheduling this sometime in the next few months -- wouldn't that be fun?  Would you want to join that read along?

Happy Reading!
Coffee and a Book Chick