WWW Wednesday - Post-Vacation!

San Francisco is a city made for photography, and I had some Instagram fun with my pics! The photos above are some amazing graffiti and murals I found in China Town, where we stayed. (The SW Hotel is wonderful, affordable, and so close to all we wanted to see). 

I also did some reading over the 5 days we were in the City by the Bay.

What I Finished Reading:

I was very lucky to obtain access to the e-galley for Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews, the final book in the excellent Kate Daniels series. The publisher has asked for no promotion or spoilers, so I can't review it here. Suffice it to say that the author does a great job of closing out the series and giving each of the characters a chance to shine!

What I'm Currently Reading:

I am about half-way through Foundryside, the first book in The Founders Trilogy, by Robert Jackson Bennett. A creative and imaginative series starter, Foundryside is set in a world of magical haves and have-nots (but not like Harry Potter)! The powerful Elites in this world have found a way to imbue magical sigils onto inanimate objects which force the objects to react in opposition to the natural laws of physics. They have used this power to attain great wealth. The rest of the population lives in poverty and fear. The main character, Sancia, is a thief who can "sense" the sigils and steals magical items for a price. All is well until she steals something she shouldn't have. Great world-building in the this novel! Oh, yeah: there's a magical talking key named "Clef," too!

I started The Dinner List last night, a debut novel by Rebecca Searle, and stayed up until 2:30 a.m. reading! Of course, the time zone issue was a factor for me, as California is two hours earlier than home, so my sleep schedule is all out of whack. In this book, Sabrina arrives at her 30th birthday dinner to find, other than her best friend, some people she wasn't expecting: her deceased father who abandoned her, a former philosophy professor, an old boyfriend and, strangely enough, Audrey Hepburn! The reader discovers that years before, in college, Sabrina made the titular list of the 5 people with whom she'd most like to share a meal. All of these dinner companions represent certain issues she has never dealt with. The non-linear structure of the novel switches from the dinner party back into the past to establish why these guests are important to the main character. The Dinner List will be published in September by Flatiron Books, and I'm grateful to have received an ARC of this one!

What I Plan to Read Next:

Always a dilemma: I have so many great books on my TBR! I'm really excited about a book coming out next spring by debut author Angie Kim called Miracle Submarine. It looks to be a combination family/community/courtroom drama, and received a nice recommendation from Scott Turow. Plus, that cover!!

Here are some more of my Instagram pics from San Francisco that I particularly liked:

Street scene at night near our hotel in China Town

Golden Gate Bridge peeking out from the fog that I took on the ferry to Sausalito 

Flying book lights courtesy of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

Happy Reading, and Viewing!