Category: Virtual Nightstand

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-2-22

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

I’m not quite sure if this week’s coming attractions are actually going to be this week’s coming attractions. The “back to work” week after the holidays is always a bit like that.  The only ones I’m sure about are Where the Drowned Girls Go and The Sorority Murder, because I’ve already finished the one and am committed to a tour for the other because I really liked another book by the same author. Otherwise, we’ll see. The problem is that book hangover from Jade Legacy, which I still can’t get over. I’m looking for another experience that is just that awesome and just that fantastically absorbing and immersive, which is a damn high bar to get over.

And today’s cat picture – which is what at least some of you are really here for – is Freddie with his bewildered face on. I’m not sure what we did to put this expression on his face, but it must have been seriously confounding!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Dashing December Giveaway Hop is Beth S.

Blog Recap:

B Review: Guild Boss by Jayne Castle
B+ Review: Cry Wolf by Hans Rosenfeldt
A++ Review: Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
Top 10(ish) of 2021: Best of 2021
Top 10(ish) of 2021: Most Anticipated Books for 2022
Stacking the Shelves (477)

Coming This Week:

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire (review)
Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews (review)
The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan (blog tour review)
The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian (review)
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-26-21

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

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa. It’s also Boxing Day, at least sorta/kinda, in the U.K. and many current and former Commonwealth countries. It’s primarily known as a shopping holiday. Not exactly like the U.S. Black Friday but not totally different, either.

But there’s Boxing and then there’s BOXING, with or without any Marquess of Queensberry rules. And, there’s kitty-boxing, as pictured below. I want to say that both Hecate and George would be middleweights for cats, but she’s more roly-poly and he would be a lean, mean fighting machine – if he were at all capable of being mean, that is. They’re playing of course, but the expression on Hecate’s face is mighty fierce!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Dashing December Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop is Monique

Blog Recap:

A Review: The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman
A- Review: Ghost of the Bamboo Road by Susan Spann
A+ Review: The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick
A+ Review: Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood
B+ Review: Fire of the Frost by Darynda Jones, Jeffe Kennedy, Grace Draven, Amanda Bouchet
Stacking the Shelves (476)

Coming This Week:

Guild Boss by Jayne Castle (review)
Cry Wolf by Hans Rosenfeldt (blog tour review)
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee (review)
Top 10 of 2021: Best of the Best (feature)
Top 10 of 2021: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2022 (feature)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-19-21

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

Do I start with cat news and pictures or end with the cat news and pictures? Decisions, decisions…

If you missed the story about Jorts, the not terribly bright orange cat, it’s here: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/jorts-the-cat-unraveling-the-wild-saga-of-the-internets-kitty-du-jour/ and was pretty much all over the interwebs for a day. Jorts is adorable. And kinda dumb. But adorable.

George is also an adorable ginger cat. He’s also smarter than we thought. Or possibly hoped. A while back I posted this picture of the shoe cabinet we had to buy because George EATS shoelaces. Not just plays with them, but actually consumes them. Which has a bit too much potential for making a mess of his kitty insides. Kind of like the vet visit that resulted from buttering Jorts in the above story.

There were more than a few people who were on Team George after this picture, certain he would get the better of the cabinet, or us, or both at some point. He has. Friday Galen discovered that George had eaten his shoelaces while he was actually WEARING the shoes. He only discovered his shoelaces were just GONE when he went to tighten his suddenly loose shoes only to learn that there was nothing left to tighten them WITH.

I shelve my shoes among my books. So far, George hasn’t discovered them. At least not YET.

The Hugo Award winners were announced last night in a ceremony at the 79th annual WorldCon, DisCon III, in Washington D.C. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells won both the Best Series Hugo and the Best Novel Award for the latest entry in the series, Network Effect. If you have not met Murderbot, you are in for a treat. The Best Novella winner was the marvelous The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (technically not a Hugo) went to the absolute awesomesauce A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. For the full list of winners, check this link: http://www.thehugoawards.org/2021/12/2021-hugo-awards-announced/

One last bit before the usual recap and prognostication part of the Sunday Post. I normally post a “Best of the Year” list and a “Most Anticipated for Next Year” list. And I will be this year, but I’m holding off until just before the New Year in order to participation in an event hosted by KimberleyFaye Reads, Top 10 of 2021.  I may include the December 25 and December 26 topics as part of my Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Post next weekend, but I’m all in for the December 30: Best of the Best and December 31: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2022 events. Hope to see you there and then!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Dashing December Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Boundaries edited by Mercedes Lackey
A Review: Cyber Mage by Saad Z. Hossain
B+ Review: The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman
Dashing December Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Overlord by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (475)

Coming This Week:

The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman (review)
Ghost of the Bamboo Road by Susan Spann (review)
Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood (review)
Velocity of Revolution by Marshall Ryan Maresca (review)
The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-12-21

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

This is George showing off his “murder mittens”. But he really doesn’t take them out on much of anything except the occasional roll of toilet paper if we’re not vigilant. Freddie, on the other paw, has been going a bit overboard on his “dominance grooming” routine, to the point where he’s given Lucifer a couple of bald spots. It kinda looks like Lucifer’s demon horns are about to bud. If so, Freddie had better watch out!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A Review: When the Goddess Wakes by Howard Andrew Jones
B Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Singular Affair by M.K. Wiseman
A+ Review: The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah
A- Review: The Deadliest Sin by Jeri Westerson
B Review: The Women of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby
Stacking the Shelves (474)

Coming This Week:

Boundaries edited by Mercedes Lackey (review)
The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman (blog tour review)
Overlord by Anna Hackett (review)
Dashing December Giveaway Hop
Cyber Mage by Saad Z. Hossain (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-5-21

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

As a contrast to last week’s picture of Hecate in supreme disgruntlement, this week she’s showing off her skills as a mighty huntress. There are toy mousies everywhere in the house, so obviously her humans are no good at hunting them down. She has to show us how it’s done. And in case you’re wondering, she was absolutely crowing about it to make sure we praised her extravagantly for her prowess!

 

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop is Anne
The winner of the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop is Sarah
The winner of the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop is Laura

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold
B+ Review: Someone Perfect by Mary Balogh
Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Forever Home by Elysia Whisler
A- Review: Observations by Gaslight by Lyndsay Faye
Stacking the Shelves (473)

Coming This Week:

When the Goddess Wakes by Howard Andrew Jones (audio review)
Sherlock Holmes and the Singular Affair by M.K. Wiseman (blog tour review)
The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah (blog tour review)
The Deadliest Sin by Jeri Westerson (review)
The Women of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby (blog tour review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-28-21

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

All the current Giveaway Hops end on Tuesday. Every single one. Just in time for the month of December to bring the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop. 2021 is winding to a close, whether we’re ready or not.

Have you finished gobbling up your Thanksgiving leftovers yet? We gave just a bit of the plain turkey to the cats, just to see what they would do. George was very clear that what he had was FOOD. He’s not just handsome, he’s also INTELLIGENT. This is in contrast to Freddie who thought it was a TOY, and was dragging shreds of it around the house. Freddie was just a bit unclear on the concept, which is actually not unusual. Between Freddie spreading it across the floor and George consuming it ASAP, neither Hecate nor Lucifer had a chance to partake of the treat. Hecate’s very disgruntled face shows EXACTLY what she thought of the whole mess!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Amazon Gift Card from TA Moore and Hex Work
$15 Gift Card or $15 in Books in the Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 in Books in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 in Books in the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)

Blog Recap:

A- Review: The Hookup Dilemma by Constance Gillam
A- Review: Hex Work by TA Moore + Excerpt + Giveaway
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop
Thanksgiving 2021
C Review: Mr. Dale and the Divorcee by Sophie Barnes
Stacking the Shelves (472)

Coming This Week:

Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold (review)
Someone Perfect by Mary Balogh (review)
Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
Observations by Gaslight by Lyndsay Faye (review)
Forever Home by Elysia Whisler (blog tour review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-21-21

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


There’s a fine line between being happily busy enough and enjoying the sound of deadlines as they go whizzing by. A line I usually discover right after I’ve crossed it. And that would sum up things this weekend, as it seems like everything in the universe is due today or tomorrow. And the bathroom remodeling project isn’t quite done, although progress has certainly been made.

The cats have mostly hidden themselves whenever they hear the remodelers coming through the door. I think this picture sums up George’s opinion of the whole thing. He seems to be covering his face with at least two paws and a tail in a vain attempt to make the world go away.

Current Giveaways:

A Secret Never Told by Shelley Noble
$10 Gift Card or $10 in Books in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 in Books in the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop is Antoinette

Blog Recap:

A- Review: The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper
In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
A+ Review: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A- Review: A Secret Never Told by Shelley Noble + Giveaway
A Review: Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
Stacking the Shelves (471)

Coming This Week:

The Hookup Dilemma by Constance Gillam (blog tour review)
Hex Work by TA Moore (blog tour review)
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop
Mr. Dale and the Divorcée by Sophie Barnes (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-14-21

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

There is a certain amount of trepidation at Chez Reading Reality this weekend. The bathroom remodelers are supposed to be here Monday morning to start a job that we signed up for SIX months ago. The supply chain snafu snafus everything. We are looking forward to getting the work done, because we haven’t been able to use the master bathroom shower for six months. BUT this project has been on hold for so long neither of us is going to believe it until we see them arrive.

The thing we’re not looking forward to is several mornings of “All Star Cat Wrangling”. We have a room we can keep them in all day that will have food, water, litter boxes, a big cat tree and a great window for watching the birds and the squirrels. The trick – probably at least a trick and a half – will be getting them all into it. Not that they don’t all spend plenty of time in a room we honestly refer to as “the cats’ room”. But they’re cats. If that’s where we WANT them to be it will be the last place they’ll be interesting in going!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop (ENDS TOMORROW!!!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas
Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: The Powerbroker by Anna Hackett
A Review: Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig
A- Review: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Stacking the Shelves (470)

Coming This Week:

The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper (blog tour review)
In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
Noor by Nnedi Okorafor (review)
A Secret Never Told by Shelly Noble (blog tour review)
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-7-21

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

Did you remember to “fall back” last night or this morning? And does this make sense to anyone anymore? Really?

It was a GREAT reading week. I loved every single book. Isolate and The Riverwoman’s Dragon were both wonderful, but that was to be expected. They are both by authors that I read regularly because they are always guaranteed to give me a great reading time. But Day Zero blew me away. Not only because it’s so good itself, but also because the only other book by this author I’ve read I didn’t really like all that much. That Day Zero was SO GOOD was just a gift.

Day Zero and its hero nannybot Pounce lead me directly to a cat picture, even if George isn’t being terribly heroic here. But George is a ginger, which is as close as I can get to Pounce’s tiger stripes.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
A+ Review: Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill
A+ Review: Isolate by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
A Review: The Riverwoman’s Dragon by Candace Robb
A- Review: A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria
Stacking the Shelves (469)

Coming This Week:

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas (review)
Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
The Powerbroker by Anna Hackett (review)
Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig (review)
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 10-31-21

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

Happy Halloween!

I want to say that this is a picture of George in a costume, but it’s not nearly that well planned. This is George, attempting to “help” his people sort the laundry. He dove into the pile and then burrowed his way back up from the bottom. This picture is the result. George is one of those cats who doesn’t quite get the whole point of “hiding”. He slinks under the bed as if he’s hiding from us, but his tail is so long it’s practically in another zip code, so he forgets that at least half of it is still sticking out where we can see.

Upcoming Events:

SAVE THE DATE! Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop begins November 24th

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams
B Review: The Wedding Wager by Eva Devon
A Review: All the Feels by Olivia Dade
A- Review: A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver
A- Review: Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest
Stacking the Shelves (468)

Coming This Week:

Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill (audiobook review)
The Riverwoman’s Dragon by Candace Robb (review)
A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria (review)
Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas (review)