Sunday Salon: New for the Holidays

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I haven't deserted my old computer; I'll still use it but I was overdue for an up to date and much faster web experience. I swear my blood pressure would go up each time I had to wait for a page to load on my trusted oldie. Now hopefully, I can write faster with this more modern one.
I finished reading The Dressmaker: A Novel by Kate Alcott, about the sinking of the Titanic and how the survivors fared during the subsequent investigations into the causes and effects. Based on historical records, the book details the behavior of the "millionaire" survivors who put their own safety first as the ship was sinking, and describes the media frenzy that followed when the details became known. I rated this novel 4.5/5 and recommend it to Titanic history buffs and anyone interested in good storytelling.
A review of the enjoyable cozy, Shoe Done It: An Accessories Mystery by Grace Carroll, was posted last week, one I gave a 3.75. I've been reading other cozies too, some not as enjoyable, either because of the writing or the lack of action that could encourage a reader to flip quickly through to see the ending, as I did with one or two. Too many books, too little time...unless the books are really good.
I wanted to read another historical novel, Victoria Hislop's The Thread, but see it won't be out in the U.S. until early summer 2012, so I've put it back on the shelf.

Next to read will be the ARCs of two well know thriller writers, Leighton Gage's A Vine in the Blood is due out on Dec. 27 and Daniel Palmer's Helpless is due Jan. 31, 2012.

I also received an ARC of The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees, a thriller about computer game reality merging with true reality. My husband has snagged a first read ahead of me as this is just up his alley.

What have you been doing and what do you plan to do this week?