What’s Up Wednesday

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by my friends Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us if you’re looking for something to blog about, or a way to let your blog friends know what’s been going on with you. If you’re participating, make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, others can visit your post and check out what you’ve been up to. And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: Well… I finished Ashes to Ashes, the final book in the  Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. I can’t comment on it yet. Let’s just say… It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had such a visceral reaction to a novel, and I’m still kind of traumatized. I also read Unlit Star by Lindy Zart, which came highly recommended and turned out to be a super emotional romance. Such a pretty cover, right? Now, I’m reading Cristin Terrill’s All Our Yesterdays and it is aMaZiNg. Totally twisty and romantic and unputdownable. I can’t wait to see how it wraps up!

  

What I’m Writing: Nothing! Where Poppies Bloom (which I finally wrote a summary for and posted HERE) is all revised and beautiful. It’s in my agent’s hands. I’m hoping she loves it! I’m celebrating by beta reading for some buddies, and musing my next WiP.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Watching movies… My family and I saw Dolphin Tale 2 (cute but cheesy — not as good as the first) and The Maze Runner (exciting and unpredictable — we really liked it!). Plus, my husband and I watched 12 Years a Slave, which was brutal. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll recover. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it, but prepare yourself for heartbreak.


I’m keeping up with yoga, and I’m learning how to do inversions! I have never in my life tried to hold myself upside down, but I’m getting it. Don’t judge my form — I’m still practicing. Yay for progress! 🙂


I made my first pumpkin-y recipe of the season, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies. My husband: “These really do melt in your mouth.” 🙂

What Works For Me: This week I’m inspired by all of the excitement regarding intellectual freedom, diverse books, and Banned Books Week. I did a post on the topic HERE. Some of my favorite challenged/banned books? To Kill a Mockingbird, Speak, Looking for Alaska, Twenty Boy Summer, The Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the Harry Potter series. What are some of your favorite challenged/banned books?

Tell me… What’s up with you today? 

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32 thoughts on “What’s Up Wednesday”

  2. Jennifer Pickrell says:

    Cookies – yum!

    I see your dog hanging out in the yoga photo. Do you also have pet help when working out at home? I’ve found they are especially “helpful” when trying to hold yourself in the most difficult poses 🙂

    Hope your agent loves POPPIES!

    • katyupperman says:

      My dog is always all up in my business when I do yoga at home. If I get off the mat for whatever reason, she immediately lays down on it. She’s super supportive. 🙂

      Have an awesome week, Jennifer!

  3. leandrajwallace says:

    You look like you’re doing great w/the yoga to me. The only way I could ever be in that position is if oh, I dunno, I was dangling from a giant’s hand or something, lol! And the cookies…I haven’t had breakfast yet and my mouth is watering. Lastly, congrats on finishing WPB and getting it to your agent!

    • katyupperman says:

      Thanks so much, Leandra! I was super scared to go upside down at first, but the forearm stand is surprisingly easy. Seriously! I bet with practice you could get it. 🙂 Have a great week, lady!

  5. Carrie-Anne says:

    I’ve done Yoga in the past, though not recently. It really does help with balance and clearing the head, and with improving mobility.

    I used to do headstands by sliding head-down off my bed. I never was able to do them from scratch in gym class or anywhere else.

    • katyupperman says:

      I can’t kick up into a headstand without the wall yet. I use it until I can gain enough balance to go at it on my own. It’s fun to see progress with each attempt, though! Have a great week, Carrie-Anne!

  6. Fida says:

    I love dolphins so much, I’m a sucker for dolphin movies. I can’t wait to see Dolphin Tale 2! And as you know I can’t wait to read FIRE WITH FIRE!

  7. Kate Scott says:

    I am so impressed with the number of books you finish. It seems like every week you’re announcing you just put the finishing touches on another manuscript. If you need betas, I’d always be willing to read more.

    Have a great week!

    • katyupperman says:

      Ha! I wish! I’ve actually “finished” POPPIES about 34,435 over the last four years. I overhauled it this summer and now it’s really done. At least until I get agent notes. 🙂

  8. Colin says:

    My daughter keeps reminding me that I need to read THE MAZE RUNNER. I’ll get to it eventually… too many books… 🙂

    Favorite banned book? Probably TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

    Have a lovely week, Katy!

    • katyupperman says:

      I actually didn’t read THE MAZE RUNNER before seeing the movie — a rarity for me! It was sort of fun to be surprised in the theater. Let me know what you think if you check it out, Colin!

  9. Krispy says:

    I really enjoyed All Our Yesterdays! The plotting and time travel is so well done. I haven’t read Maze Runner, but the movie does look fun. My sister read the book and liked it until the end, which she didn’t like. BUT she thought the plot would still make a great movie, so she still really wants to see it, haha. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

    I still haven’t seen 12 Years a Slave for precisely that reason. I know it’s going to tear me up. But I do *want* to see it; just have to find the right time/be in the right mood.

    Okay, but to the point, I just read your synopsis for Where the Poppies Bloom and holy moly, it sounds amazing! I love the old-house mystery aspect of it that I totally was not expecting. I hope your agent loves it!!

    P.S. Some favorite banned books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Huck Finn, Harry Potter series (of course), The Hunger Games, Julie of the Wolves.

    • katyupperman says:

      I haven’t read THE MAZE RUNNER either, but I still really liked the movie. It was cool to be surprised! And 12 Years a Slave… It hurt my heart so much. I almost wish I could unsee it, but it’s such an important movie. Let me know what you think once you’ve watched it, Alice.

      THANK YOU for being so kind about POPPIES! I’m nervous about it. Hoping my agent loves it, or at least has some fabulous notes for me (she’s pretty great with fabulous notes, so… :-)) Have a great week, lady!

    • katyupperman says:

      I bet you’ll love ALL OUR YESTERDAYS, Niki! I’d heard tons of good things, but I was still surprised by how utterly awesome it was. Can’t wait to read more from Cristin Terrill. Let me know what you think!

  12. Erin Funk says:

    I had to laugh when I saw that tasty looking frosting on your pumpkin cookies. When I made some last week, we ate them all before I got around to frosting them lol. I’ll have to make another batch.

    I’m glad you liked you guys enjoyed THE MAZE RUNNER. We need to get ourselves to the theatre pronto to see that one! As for Banned Books Week, how ridiculous is it that CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS is on the same list as FIFTY SHADES OF GREY? I mean, really? That should be the first clue something’s off.

    Have a great week!

    • katyupperman says:

      Not all of mine got frosted either, Erin. My daughter didn’t like the frosting — silly girl! And yes, I agree that the challenged book list is bananas. Nobody in their right mind would give a second grader FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY. And CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS is silly as can be, but hardly “violent.” People are hard to understand sometimes. In any case, I hope you have a great week. 🙂

  13. Melanie Stanford says:

    I loved All Our Yesterdays…. until the end! It felt like to me that she broke all the rules she had set in place and it made no sense to me. I’m interested to hear what you think.
    I’ve read all those books you mentioned on the banned list and I can’t believe they were banned. It’s ridiculous.

    • katyupperman says:

      Melanie, by the time I got to the end of ALL OUR YESTERDAYS I was so invested in Finn and Em, I didn’t even care what the author did, so long as she pulled of a HEA for them. I’m such a sucker for well-spun romance! I’d love to read a sequel one day. 🙂 Have a great week, lady!

  14. mandiebaxter says:

    I’m not sure if I should be excited or scared by your reaction to Ashes to Ashes! O.o
    Yay for finishing Poppies. Now…next one, please? 😉
    Yay for being upside down. My head hurts for you! Haha. Cookies look good.

  15. Kris F. Oliver says:

    Mmmm… pumpkin cookies. So nummy looking. And go you on getting Where Poppies Bloom all shiny and into your agent’s hands. You deserve a break…perhaps with mawr cookies. 😉

    Also go you on the yoga. Inversions are one of my favorite things. I think it’s because I’m still 4 at heart and just like to be upside down.

    Glad you liked Maze Runner because I think we’re going to see it tomorrow.

    Hope you have a fantastic week!

  16. Rachelwrites007 says:

    Late to the post here. It’s the Jewish new year so I am taking some time off (okay a week) to blog. 🙂 I loved All Our Yesterdays – I wish there was still a sequel. Oh well. Another fave time travel book of mine is The Time Traveler’s Wife. I’m currently reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd – an adult novel about a white girl and her slave in the 1800s from both their POVs. It’s fantastic.
    Love the pics of the cookies too…mmmmm love pumpkin flavor season 😀

    • Katy Upperman says:

      Happy New Year, Rachel!

      I haven’t read THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, but I feel like it’s a book I’d love. Not sure why I’ve passed it up all this time…?

      Have a great week, lady!

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