Category: Virtual Nightstand

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 10-9-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

Have you ever seen the full Purrrrina Cat Chonk Chart? I specifically mean the full one because often only the bigger half of the chart gets displayed. Lucifer has never hit even the middle of that chart.

But at least, based on his most recent vet visit, he’s finally moved up from “Chonk Zero” to “Lean and Mean” – not that he’s ever mean in spite of the look on his face at the vet’s this weekend.

But this picture does make it a bit clearer why the boy is named for a demon. Someone is not best pleased in this picture. The good news at the vet was that he’s stopped disappearing. This time last year he only weighed 8 pounds but his bone structure would happily support a much bigger cat. The less good news was that Mr. Senior Cat there has some arthritis in his back hips and legs. Poor baby! I do feel for him – sometimes literally. At 10-ish years old, Lucifer is definitely the Elder Statescat of the household and he never lets us forget it!

For anyone wondering about how the rest of the clowder stack up on the cat chonk chart, George is a Fine Boi, Luna is a Fine Girl, and the still-feuding Hecate and Tuna are both Heckin’ Chonks.

 

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Howloween Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop
Howloween Giveaway Hop
B Review: The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews + Giveaway
A- Review: A Fox in the Fold by Candace Robb
A- Review: Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
Stacking the Shelves (517)

Coming This Week:

Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway Hop
Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden (review)
An Indiscreet Princess by Georgie Blaylock (review)
Extra Witchy by Ann Aguirre (review)
Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 10-2-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

I changed things around a bit from last week. Partly because Travel by Bullet was calling my name, and partly because Sweep of Stars turned out to be a bit longer than I was expecting and it threw my reading plans off a bit. It’s not that the page count was incorrect (I have a print copy and checked) it’s that the print is rather small and the kindle loc count reflects a book that should be at least 100 pages longer and I just wasn’t prepared for that this week.

C’est la vie.

Returning to other parts of my vie (life) I have an adorable picture of a sleepy Luna to share. She likes to cuddle up to my legs while I’m reading – as cats do. She also adores the cushy blanket she’s nesting in. All the cats love the cushy blankie but she seems to get possession of it more than most.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop is Maria G.
The winner of the Falling into Leaves Giveaway Hop is Wendy J.

Blog Recap:

B Review: Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Agatha Christie et al.
B Review: A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan
B Review: In the Shadow of a Queen by Heather B. Moore
A Review: Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi
A+ Review: The Monsters we Defy by Leslye Penelope
Stacking the Shelves (516)

Coming This Week:

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop
Howloween Giveaway Hop
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews (blog tour review)
A Fox in the Fold by Candace Robb (review)
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-25-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

It seems fitting that the Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop ends tonight, on this first fabulous fall weekend. It’s beautiful here in Atlanta, and the temperature has finally dropped down from OMG IT’S HOT to just lovely. It’ll be long-sleeve weather soon!

Speaking of lovely things, here’s a particularly good picture of the lovely Luna, the Princess of Quite A Lot auditioning for the position of Queen of All She Surveys. Hecate is still off grumping in the kitchen window seat and refusing to compete.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or Book in the Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop (ENDS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!)
$10 Gift Card or Book in the Falling into Leaves Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or Book in Fall 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop is Jo

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
B+ Review: Hades: Sentinel Security #2 by Anna Hackett
B Review: Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory
Fall 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Sweetwater and the Witch by Jayne Castle
Stacking the Shelves (515)

Coming This Week:

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Agatha Christie et al (review)
A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan (review)
In the Shadow of a Queen by Heather B. Moore (blog tour review)
Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus (review)
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (audiobook review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-18-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

Banned Books Week begins today, and I can’t even. By that I mean that the whole mess has gotten so far out of hand that when I try to talk about it I end up stuttering in rage. I know I’m not alone. The whole damn point of a public library is that it has something in it to offend everyone. Not because libraries set out to be offensive, but because no matter how much a community’s residents might seem the same on the outside, they still represent many different beliefs and perspectives. And the members of that community will have to go out and deal with the rest of the damn world, which will undoubtedly have even more different perspectives. Reading opens the mind – and that seems to be what so many people who want to censor books are the most afraid of. Or to quote Stephen King, “Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control, about who is snapping the whip, who is saying no, and who is saying go.”

Go forth and read a banned book. Find out just what it is that someone doesn’t want you – or anyone else – to know.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY along with the season!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Falling into Leaves Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop is Christy R.

Blog Recap:

C+ Review: Haven by Emma Donoghue
A- Review: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
B- Review: The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony
C Review: Lucky Girl by Mary Rickert
Falling into Leaves Giveaway Hop
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop Sign Up 2022
Stacking the Shelves (514)

Coming This Week:

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco (review)
Hades: Sentinel Security #2 by Anna Hackett (review)
Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory (blog tour review)
Fall 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
Sweetwater and the Witch by Jayne Castle (blog tour review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-11-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

It’s been a week, hasn’t it?

The World Science Fiction Convention was held last weekend in Chicago. We had intended to go, but after we both came home with COVID from the library convention in June we decided to give Worldcon a pass this year after all. But I did watch the Hugo Awards Ceremony Sunday night. The list of the winners is pretty much everywhere, but if you are interested in science fiction and fantasy and haven’t seen the full list yet, this is a link listing the nominees and the winners.

It still seems strange that Queen Elizabeth II passed. She was starting to seem eternal. While there are mixed feelings about her, her country and her legacy, it does feel like the end of an era. This has reminded me of stories that my parents used to tell about the passing of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was elected president when they were both 4 years old and died when they were juniors in high school. He was the only president a lot of people, especially children and young adults, had ever known. I’ve seen some statistics showing that 9 out of 10 people alive in the world today were born after Elizabeth became queen, so the same sensation multiplied by, well, a lot.

And today is the TWENTY-FIRST anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It HAS been a week, hasn’t it?

Before I close out this post and look ahead to the next week, we all need a cat picture to complete the week. Here are Luna and Tuna, showing exactly why they needed to be adopted as a bonded pair. Looking at their faces it’s also easy to see the family resemblance.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Labor Day 2022
B+ Review: Desperation in Death by J.D. Robb
A Review: The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish
A- Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (513)

Coming This Week:

Haven by Emma Donoghue (audiobook review)
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (review)
The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony (blog tour review)
Lucky Girl by Mary Rickert (review)
Falling into Leaves Giveaway Hop

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-4-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | book reviews> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

You’ve heard of “Jumping Jehoshaphat”? Here’s “Leaping Lucifer”, with the added bonus of a ‘Traveling Tuna” heading for the exit.

For those in the U.S. I hope you’re having a terrific Labor Day Weekend.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Old School Giveaway Hop is Kimberly R.

Blog Recap:

B Review: Bronze Drum by Phong Nguyen
A Review: Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus
A- Review: A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King
Stacking the Shelves (517)

Coming This Week:

Labor Day 2022 (Guest post by Galen)
Desperation in Death by J.D. Robb (review)
Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish (review)
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (review)
Fabulous Fall Giveaway Hop

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-28-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

As far as books go, this week started terrifically and ended well, but middled in the slough of despond a bit. Looking back, I think the biggest issue with both Would You Rather and Small Town, Big Magic was that they were both billed as romcoms and neither of them were. I could even debate whether Small Town, Big Magic was a romance at all. But both books dealt with too many serious issues, and dealt with them seriously, to be romcoms. I think I might have liked both of them a bit more if I’d come in with more accurate expectations. YMMV.

But speaking of expectations, one of the expectations we keep hoping for here at Chez Reading Reality but not yet achieving is peace among the cat clowder. As you can see from the picture above, George and Luna are definitely getting there. It may look like he’s about to bite her throat but they were actually grooming each other – and they are playing together as I type this. Hecate, on the other hand, seems determined to remain in lonely – and very bitchy – solitude. The other day Hecate cornered Luna in my office and big Tuna came rushing to his sister’s rescue. Hecate has been in near total retreat ever since. We’re starting to wonder if there’s enough Feliway in the universe to calm this situation down.

Current Giveaways:

Old School Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Back to School Giveaway Hop is Kelsey

Blog Recap:

A Review: The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher
B- Review: Would You Rather by Allison Ashley
B Review: Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck
B+ Review: The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe
B+ Review: The Shop on Royal Street by Karen White
Stacking the Shelves (511)

Coming This Week:

Bronze Drum by Phong Nguyen (audiobook review)
Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus (review)
A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari (review)
Glam and Glitz Giveaway Hop
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-21-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

I needed a bit of extra time to get this post together this weekend because I was having a difficult time deciding what I felt like reading this week – at least until I prepped the Stacking the Shelves post and decided that T. Kingfisher’s The Seventh Bride and Karen White’s The Shop on Royal Street were the books calling my name that I hadn’t quite been hearing loudly enough up to that point.

So here we are.

But speaking of things just being where they are, here’s a picture of, well, still not peace in our time, but at least a bit of a detente between George and Luna. George and Hecate are both still less than thrilled with poor Tuna’s presence in the house. Not because Tuna has done anything, just that he’s so large and such a big bumbler. He keeps charging up to George, kind of like a big, floppy dog, and George is all “Get away, GET AWAY!”

Luna, on the other hand, seems to be getting along with everyone!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Back to School Giveaway Hop (ENDS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Apple A Day Giveaway Hop is Ashley C.

Blog Recap:

B Review: Star Trek: Picard: No Man’s Land by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson
Old School Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: Becoming Family by Elysia Whisler
B Review: Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews
B Review: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews
Stacking the Shelves (510)

Coming This Week:

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher (review)
Would You Rather by Allison Ashley (blog tour review)
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck (blog tour review)
The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe (review)
The Shop on Royal Street by Karen White (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-14-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

I think this is it for this week? I changed my mind (a LOT) about the end of the week – and may change it yet again before I get there. But this is what it looks like, at least so far!

Speaking of what things look like, this is a picture of Luna, zoombombing one of Galen’s meetings. I love the expression on her face as she looks at him adoringly while trying to figure out where the strange voices are all coming from!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Apple a Day Giveaway Hop (ENDS TOMORROW!!!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Back to School Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A++ Review: Signal Moon by Kate Quinn + Giveaway
B+ Review: Wolf (Sentinel Security #1) by Anna Hackett
A Review: Councilor by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
B- Review: Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor
A- Review: The Last of the Seven by Steven Hartov
Stacking the Shelves (509)

Coming This Week:

Star Trek: Picard: No Man’s Land by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson (audiobook review)
Old School Giveaway Hop
Becoming Family by Elysia Whisler (blog tour review)
Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews (review)
The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-7-22

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

And the picture below says everything anyone ever needed to know about why Luna and Tuna needed to be adopted TOGETHER.

She’s not actually THAT small, although he is THAT big. She was just further down the well between Galen’s legs when he took the picture.

While the clowder has not yet achieved “peace in our time” the rapprochement is proceeding. Although we got a second cat perch for the breakfast nook windows and Hecate is acting like a hen trying to hatch an egg on two separate nests. She lays in one and keeps an eagle eye on the other in case of interlopers. But the hissing and growling have calmed down a fair bit, with the red dot acting as the common enemy for all felines to unite against.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Back to School Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2022 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
A Review: The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman
B Review: The Courier by Ernest Dempsey
B- Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Back to School Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (508)

Coming This Week:

Signal Moon by Kate Quinn (blog tour review)
Wolf by Anna Hackett (review)
Face by Joma West (review)
The Last of the Seven by Steven Hartov (review)
Councilor by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (review)