It's (Monday was a holiday so now it's) Tuesday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  Yesterday was Victoria Day, a holiday in which we honour Queen Victoria's birthday and recognize the current sovereign's birthday.  Also known as May two-four, it's the unofficial start of summer season and so we celebrated wonderfully with barbecues and fireworks.  And thus, I'm posting this a day late!

Last week was the Bout of Books readathon, and I did pretty well.  I read two of my three goal books and read one additional book as well as finished one I started long ago and then put aside.  Here is what I accomplished:

 

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (review coming soon)

Redemption by Bryan Clay (review here)

The Walking Dead Book One by Robert Kirkman et. al (review here)

Love Wins by Rob Bell (review coming soon)

Here is what I plan to read this week:

The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam (currently reading)

Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English school in Saigon. He is also a bon vivant, a compulsive gambler and an incorrigible womanizer. He is well accustomed to bribing forever changing lists of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of the Chen Academy. He is fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, and quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, choosing instead to read the faces of his opponents at high-stakes mahjong tables.

But when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage, and Laing Jai, a son born to them on the eve of the Tet offensive. Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further and further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.

 Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad

What happens when the tidy, prosperous life of an urban couple is turned inside out by a tragedy with unexpected consequences? After a car crash leaves their friend Marcus dead and his wife Sarah in a coma, Ana and James are shocked to discover that they have become the legal guardians of a 2½-year-old, Finn. Finn’s crash-landing in their lives throws into high relief deeply rooted, and sometimes long-hidden, truths about themselves, both individually and as a couple. Several chaotic, poignant, and life-changing weeks as a most unusual family give rise to an often unasked question: Can everyone be a parent?

The Jane Austen Marriage Manual by Kim Izzo

It is Fall 2008, the recession is in full swing and Kate Shaw is about to turn forty. As an acting beauty editor for a fashion magazine, Kate has glided from contract to contract only to be told that, due to cutbacks, her services are no longer required. Through no fault of her own she finds herself single, homeless and desperate to help her family survive its own financial and emotional crises. Known for her love of all things Jane Austen, Kate is given a freelance gig that changes everything: is it possible, in these modern times—and at a certain age—to marry well?

What starts as an article quickly turns into Kate’s real-life quest. From the polo fields of West Palm Beach to the slopes of St. Moritz and the glamour of London’s social scene, Kate, who gets mistaken for an aristocrat—Lady Kate—chases the man of her dreams, a charming and elegant older financier. But she keeps running into a brooding Englishman, Griffith Kent, who works at an impeccably Austenesque estate called Penwick Manor. Caught between Mr. Rich and maybe Mr. Right, Kate must choose what she really wants out of life: to marry for money or marry for love.

I'm excited to read the first two Canadian books but I'm especially excited to read The Jane Austen Marriage Manual as I haven't read any good chick lit in a while and this one looks promising!