We’ve been home almost a week, and the cats have mostly forgiven us. They’re still clinging like they are all made of kitty-velcro, but we seem to be forgiven. They just won’t let us out of their sight unless they’re sleeping – and sometimes not even then. It’s nice to be reassured that they missed us because we certainly missed them!

It’s also been a weird week on the blog, doing two spotlights back-to-back to have enough posts to fill my conference absence. But we did a thing at conference. The ALA Reading List committee of which I am a member deliberated for two days and came up with what feels like an excellent list of winners for this year. If you’re curious, or just looking for some excellent reads, check out our list of award winners, short-listed titles and read-alikes at https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/.

Work on next year’s list begins this week!

Current Giveaways:

$25 Gift Card from Rhys Ford and the Back in Black Tour
The Hollows by Jess Montgomery

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Roaring 20s Giveaway Hop is Ken O.
The winner of the Welcome Winter Giveaway Hop is Peggy N.
The winner of the Best of 2019 Giveaway Hop is Will G.

Blog Recap:

Spotlight + Excerpt: Sisters by Choice by Susan Mallery
Back in Black by Rhys Ford: The Blog Tour
B- Review: Careless Whiskers by Miranda James
A Review: Cast in Wisdom by Michelle Sagara
A- Review: The Hollows by Jess Montgomery + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (377)

Coming This Week:

Last Day by Luanne Rice (blog tour review)
The Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop
Back in Black by Rhys Ford (blog tour-ish review)
Golden in Death by J.D. Robb (review)
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (review)

There were two “firsts” this week. This week marked the first time I’ve ever officially used my new “A++” rating – for The Name of All Things. Which was absolutely super-awesome. If you love epic fantasy, the series so far, The Ruin of Kings and The Name of All Things are definitely worth a read. The author gave me the ultimate good news/bad news after she saw my review. I had thought/hoped the series was a trilogy, with book 3 coming out this summer. It’s a Pentalogy (5 book series), so it’s great that there are more coming than I thought but bad that it will be longer before its done.

I’m also pretty sure that this is the first time I’ve ever had three blog hops in a single week. I hadn’t originally planned on quite so many, but I’m off to the American Library Association Midwinter Conference at the end of the week and I needed the breather to get my act, if not together, at least into a single pile. I never seem to have as many round tuits as I really need.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Roaring 20s Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Best of 2019 Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Welcome Winter Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr is Alison
The winner of the Welcome 2020 Giveaway Hop is Deb
The winner of the 3…2…1…Giveaway Hop is Carl

Blog Recap:

A++ Review: The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
The Roaring 20s Giveaway Hop
Best of 2019 Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
Welcome Winter Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (375)

Coming This Week:

St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets by Annie England Noblin (blog tour review)
Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews (review)
Malfunction by Nina Croft (review)
Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter (review)
Last Light by Alex Scarrow (guest review by Amy)

Welcome 2020! Welcome to the first Sunday Post of the new year!

We had a pretty quiet holiday, except for the neighbors across the street exploding fireworks until, well, until much too late for the cats who spent the holiday under the bed.

This will be the first real post-holiday week. So NetGalley and Edelweiss will probably explode with new eARCS and the “Taj Mahal of dumpster fires” in Romancelandia will probably sink to new depths. I wish that second part weren’t true, but it probably is.

And in other news, this is both a leap year and a presidential election year in the US. A situation that is already heating up – literally.

Happy New Year!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the 3…2…1…Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Welcome 2020 Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Dashing Giveaway Hop is Tracie C.

Blog Recap:

20 for 2020: My Most Anticipated Books for 2020
B+ Review: Blood and Blade by Lauren Dane
3…2…1…Giveaway Hop
Welcome 2020 Giveaway Hop
B Review: Mark of Eon by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (373)

Coming This Week:

The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman (review)
The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr (blog tour review)
Atlas Alone by Emma Newman (review)
The Secret She Keeps by HelenKay Dimon (blog tour review)
The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe (blog tour review)

I really have no idea what I’m doing this week, so the “Coming This Week” section is kind of a guess. I’m definitely doing my “Best of the Year” list this week, but the rest feels iffy. I’ve kind of fallen down into a black hole of excellent fanfiction and can’t seem to pull myself away from the event horizon. It’s been that kind of a year. It’s been that kind of year for a couple of years – and next year will probably be even crazier.

I know the Mark Twain version goes “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.” That probably works for people who love dogs. But it’s definitely just as true for those of us who love cats. And I think I need to go pet mine right now!

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop is Edye

Blog Recap:

Dashing Giveaway Hop
A- Review: The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury
B Guest Review: Hard Duty by Mark E. Cooper
A Review: Thunderbolt by M.L. Buchman
A- Review: A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden
Stacking the Shelves (371)

Coming This Week:

The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde (review)
Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield (review)
Best of 2019 (feature)
Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer (review)

This year is definitely winding down. With the holidays coming up, this week is the last full week of pretty much everything. Which leaves lots of time for reading around this house. Also plenty of cats looking for laps – or for toys we hadn’t intended as toys. This morning we found the shower mat dragged out of the shower and halfway across the bathroom. Why any cat thinks something wet and plastic is a toy is anyone’s guess – but someone was certainly DETERMINED.

I’m determined to get a bunch more books read before the end of the year. What about you?

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Meet Me on Love Lane by Nina Bocci is Dianna

Blog Recap:

B Review: My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh + Giveaway
A- Review: Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery by Sharon Ibbotson
A- Review: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
A Review: The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole
B- Review: The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams
Stacking the Shelves (370)

Coming This Week:

Dashing Giveaway Hop
The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury (review)
Thunderbolt by M.L. Buchman (review)
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (review)
A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden (blog tour review)

It’s OMG December. The year is winding down. It’s sorta/kinda winter-ish around here.

But I’m starting to think about end of year things – or rather beginning of year things. I’m thinking about the Read Harder Challenge from Book Riot, and wondering if anyone has any experience about participating in it that they could share? I’m also looking back at some things that used to be around and wondered if there would be any interest if I restarted the “Saturday Situation”. It used to be a great place for promoting giveaways – especially blog tour giveaways for books. I miss that resource being available, so if anyone knows of something similar, I’m very interested.

It seems that I’m just pondering all sorts of things today – including all the wonderful books I have on tap to read this week!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
Meet Me on Love Lane by Nina Bocci

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Black Friday Giveaway Hop is Danielle
The winner of The Cost of Honor by Diana Munoz Stewart is Sharon

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: The Case of the Spellbound Child by Mercedes Lackey
Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: Meet Me on Love Lane by Nina Bocci + Giveaway
B Review: An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow + Excerpt
A Review: Upon the Flight of the Queen by Howard Andrew Jones
Stacking the Shelves (369)

Coming This Week:

My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh (blog tour review)
Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery by Sharon Ibbotson (blog tour review)
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (review)
The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole (review)
The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams (blog tour review)

This is one of those weeks where I’m really sure about the beginning, but not so certain about the end. There will be something, because there’s always something. I’m just less than certain that the something will be the something I’m thinking of at the moment. We just got home from the Thanksgiving weekend and I’m still all about the “Happy Happy Joy Joy” reaction of being home. We missed the cats so much we went to a cat cafe! Which was lovely and we wanted to adopt ALL THE KITTEHS – even the ones that just wanted to be left alone. After all, our Lucifer needs someone to be left alone with!

But speaking of cats, isn’t the graphic for this week’s Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop the cutest thing EVAR?

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Black Friday Giveaway Hop (ENDS TOMORROW!!!!!)
The Cost of Honor by Diana Munoz Stewart

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Gratitude Giveaway Hop is Kelly G.
The winner of the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop is Lori B.

Blog Recap:

B Review: The Cost of Honor by Diana Munoz Stewart + Giveaway
B Review: Mission: Her Freedom by Anna Hackett
A- Review: Mycroft and Sherlock: the Empty Birdcage by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse
Thanksgiving 2019
Black Friday Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (368)

Coming This Week:

The Case of the Spellbound Child by Mercedes Lackey (review)
Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
Meet Me on Love Lane by Nina Bocci (blog tour review)
An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow (blog tour review)
The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy (review)