(I plan to do a “Currently…” post every other Tuesday. You should join me! Find the origins of the idea HERE.)
Loving
Everything about the photo below: dark chocolate espresso beans and iced chai lattes and pink roses and blush peonies, all of which I splurged on after my very first school visit. My daughter’s teacher invited me to speak with the 3rd graders about writing and publishing and while I totally wanted to do it, I was SO nervous. I mean, I know a lot of the kids and I’ve learned a thing or two about writing over the years, but an actual school visit? Luckily, it went really well. The kids were great listeners and participators, and they asked some really thoughtful questions. I’m super thankful, and already eager to do it again! 
Reading
I’ve been doing lots of reading lately. I recently finished Wonder by R.J Palacio (holy crap — amazing) and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (predictably mesmerizing). Also, how fun is the #FlipThatBook tag on Instagram?!
I’m currently reading The Last Boy & Girl in the World by one of my favorite authors, Siobhan Vivian, and it’s fantastic. It’s a romance with a compelling hook (its setting is a town that’s about to be sunk by a dammed river), and it’s full of interesting girl friendships and swoon and surprises. I’m loving it!
Watching
Parenthood. I’m only, like, nine episodes in, but yeah. It’s fantastic. I love Peter Krause (Six Feet Under — best show ever) and of course I adore Lauren Graham. The writing is perfection and dialogue is amazingly authentic and the relationships all feel so genuine and complicated and lovely. Thanks, Riley Edgewood, for insisting I watch this one; you were right — I love it!
Listening To
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. It’s very clear why this debut won the William C. Morris Award last year — it’s smart and funny and awesomely voice-y. Protagonist Simon is immediately likable, and the audiobook narrator is extraordinary. Recommend!
Thinking About
Our recent vacation to Smith Mountain Lake, which is gorgeous. We shared a condo with friends (our next door neighbors from our time in Monterey) and had so much fun swimming, kayaking, inner tubing, sunning, and eating. I’m already ready to go back!
Anticipating
Copyedits! Kissing Max Holden has finally reached this important step (YAY!), and I’m weirdly excited to see all the ways I’ve misused commas and semicolons and em dashes. 🙂
Wishing
You’ll check out the recently revealed Swanky 17 covers! They’re all so gorgeous — my fellow Swanks are winning the cover lottery all over the place! Find the YA covers HERE and the MG covers HERE.
Making Me Happy
My girlie played Somewhere Over the Rainbow on her guitar during her school’s Talent Showcase and it was pretty much the most adorable thing ever. I’m so proud of her courage and her dedication. She did so well!
Did you post a “Currently…” this week?
Let me know in the comments, and I’ll be sure to visit!
katyupperman.com 
I just finished THE RAVEN KING, too. I’m so sad the series is over – I’m gonna miss those characters! And, agree, WONDER was amazing. It was one of those books that got passed around by the staff at my mom’s school and I had to see what the talk was about.
Yay on your school visit going well! I’ve read a few times to kindergarten classes and that was nerve-wracking enough. I was worried the kids wouldn’t like the stories but they were always such sweethearts.
Congrats to your girlie for her talent show performance! I’m always amazed by people that can play musical instruments. My husband attempted to teach me guitar and my brain-to-hand connection was like: NOPE
Have an awesome week and have fun with copyedits!
Yeah, I’m not musical AT ALL, so I’m pretty awed by my kiddo. She’s currently teaching herself ukulele chords. 🙂 I’m not surprised that teachers at your mom’s school passed WONDER around — it’s so well written and so important and so entertaining. I loved it! Hope you have an awesome week, Jennifer!
Congratulations on your first school visit! How fun! And congratulations to your girlie too. I’m impressed.
I just adored THE LAST BOY AND GIRL IN THE WORLD *swoon* The last three books I’ve read had the best dynamics between friends, both long time and new. Very real and well done.
Have fun with your copy edits!
Here’s my currently…
https://wordpress.com/stats/insights/thewildbleu.wordpress.com
I’ve got about a 1/4 of THE LAST BOY & GIRL IN THE WORLD left to read and I’m dragging my feet because I know I’m going to be sad when it’s over. There’s just something about the dynamics between characters that I’m really loving. Hope you have an awesome week, lady!
Usually I read faster and faster as I get to the end of books, but I slowed TLBAGITW way down too. And I was kind of crushed when it was over. I wanted it to go on and on.
How fun you got to do a school visit! That’s cool.
I just started my first “reread” of THE RAVEN KING by listening to the audiobooks (which are awesome) but I’m now going to use my Audible credit for SIMON. You are the maybe the 5th person to rave about it that I’ve seen.
Have a great week. My Currently post is here: http://www.karimariewhite.com/2016/06/currently_21.html
Oh, I hope you love SIMON! I think you will. 🙂 It’s profound, but super fun, too, which is a really hard combination to nail. Simon has such an awesome voice! Have a fantastic week, Kari!
Congrats on the school visit! The flowers and espresso beans were well-deserved! 🙂 And KMH being in copyedits is so exciting. Closer and closer to being a finished book!
I’m working my way through the Raven Cycle (next up is BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE) and loving the series. So unique and fascinating!
Have a great week, Katy!
http://kaitlinbartlett.blogspot.com/2016/06/currently-hamilton-edition.html
Thanks, Kaitlin! It’s such a relief to be at the copyedits stage! I hope you enjoy BL,LB, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the series once you’re finished with all of the books. Have an awesome weekend, lady!
Wow. So much to comment on here! I’ve missed so much! So glad your school visit was a huge success (not surprised!) and congrats to C on what I’m sure was an amazing performance! And yay for copy edits! Can’t wait to have KMH on my shelf!
Loved all the books you talked about too. And I am totally doing a reread of The Raven Cycle this summer. A slow one. So I can savor all its goodness. 🙂
Enjoy your weekend!
We need to chat about what you thought of the end of The Raven Cycle — I have a lot of thoughts and I’m eager to compare opinions. Hope you’re enjoying your summer so far, and I can’t wait to dive into some serious writing with you. I miss our sprints! Have a great weekend, Alison!