Tag: Sunday Post

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-26-24

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

This post is the result of a bit of serendipitous procrastination. Or that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I couldn’t quite decide EXACTLY what I’d be reading this week, particular as last week was a bit on the ‘meh’ side. I’m in the middle of three books, two of which I had bailed on at previous points in time, and it just wasn’t looking like a schedule that had the proverbial hope in hell of happening – even with Galen handling the Memorial Day Holiday post on Monday – for which I’m always both grateful and eager to see what he comes up with because they’re always interesting – especially when it takes me a minute or two to figure out how his starting point relates to the particular holiday.

I’ll certainly have things to say about the rest of the week’s books, as those two books I previously flailed and bailed on, while they did get better this time around, didn’t so much redeem the parts that made me bail as they merely got past them. You’ll see.

Speaking of, well, talking about various and sundry issues, this week’s cat picture is of the ‘young guns’ in this clowder, (left to right)  George, Tuna and Luna. We think they’re out on the catio complaining about the neighbor cat that has been coming around and tearing at the screens in an attempt to get in on their very good thing. They don’t seem all that fussed about it – at least so far – but we’ve laid in a supply of screen repair patches, just in case!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

B- #BookReview: A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
B- #BookReview: Dear Edna Sloane by Amy Shearn
B #BookReview: The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
B #BookReview: Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
A- #BookReview: How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djèlí Clark
Stacking the Shelves (602)

Coming This Week:

Memorial Day 2024 (Guest Post by Galen)
The Bodies in the Library by Marty Wingate (#AudioBookReview)
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang (#AudioBookReview)
One Man’s Treasure by Sarah Pinsker (#BookReview)
Fatal Enquiry by Will Thomas (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-19-24

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

I’m in kind of a murder-y mood this week, so a couple of mysteries are definitely on my reading horizon. I have to confess that it might not be the two actually slotted into the schedule – but if it’s not them it will be something similar.

Although, speaking of wanting to murder something – I wish I could figure out what purpose it serves for bogus email addresses to enter one of the giveaways. I do check to make sure that the random entry rafflecopter settles itself on is legit – which takes forever when there are 13,000+ (not a typo, THIRTEEN THOUSAND) entries to let it shuffle through until it hits a real, honest-to-goodness entry by someone who actually did comment. By the end, I was yawning as much as Tuna in this picture below, although Tuna is absolutely, totally, definitely much cuter when he does. As I snapped the picture, he was yawning and stretching SO HARD that he eventually rolled himself off the step. Fortunately for him, he was on the bottom step and just landed on his feet. As they do.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Come What May Giveaway Hop is Brigette

Blog Recap:

A+ #BookReview: How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
B #AudioBookReview: Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner
B #BookReview: In Our Stars by Jack Campbell
Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
A+ #AudioBookReview: When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Stacking the Shelves (601)

Coming This Week:

A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (#BookReview)
Dear Edna Sloane by Amy Shearn (#BookReview)
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood (#BookReview)
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa (#BookReview)
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-12-24

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

Today is Mother’s Day in the United States and Canada, as well as a host of other countries. So Happy Mother’s Day if this is a day that you celebrate.

I may not have human children – and that ship has definitely sailed and is long over the horizon – I do have fur children. Here’s a picture of Luna being the prettiest Luna who ever Luna’ed.

Seriously, could anyone resist that face? Ever?

Moving on from really, really pretty to pretty damn good, this past week was a pretty damn good reading week. For ratings, for this reader and reviewer, the high bar for a book to get over is the leap from A- to Grade A. Lots of books make that A- for me because they are really, really good and I had a really, really good time reading them. For something to get the whole A, it needs to be near perfect, and neither life nor reading life manage that nearly as often. C’est la vie all the way around.

(In Our Stars wasn’t close to perfect, but that’s not why it got shifted to this coming week. It got shifted because it’s publication date isn’t until May 21, so now the review is only one week ahead instead of two. And I’m kind of glad I moved it so as not to break up this lovely week of A- and A books!)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Come What May Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Grade A #AudioBookReview: Funny Story by Emily Henry
A- #BookReview: The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan
A- #BookReview: Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel
A- #BookReview: The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
A- #BookReview: L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future, Volume 40 edited by Jody Lynn Nye
Stacking the Shelves (600)

Coming This Week:

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler (#BookReview)
Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner (#BlogTour #AudioBookReview)
In Our Stars by Jack Campbell (#BookReview)
Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-5-24

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

Yesterday was Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with You!) Today is Cinco de Mayo. Next Sunday is Mothers’ Day. And it’s SPRING! Really, truly spring, whatever that might mean where you specifically are. Here it also means that summer is literally just around the corner and will be springing out any day now.

Today’s picture may look a bit more like Fall – but we won’t be thinking about THAT season for a while around here. Nevertheless, there’s Hecate, definitely looking her witchy best with all of her Halloween-colored fur on display. She’s also been BEING a witch, but that’s something else altogether!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Come What May Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop is Viki S.

Blog Recap:

Grade A #BookReview: Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman
A- #BookReview: People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle
Come What May Giveaway Hop
B+ #BookReview: Knightqueen by Anna Hackett
B #BookReview: My Dearest Mackenzie by Rachel Blaufeld
Stacking the Shelves (599)

Coming This Week:

Funny Story by Emily Henry (#AudioBookReview)
The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan (#BlogTour #BookReview)
Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hende (#BookReview)
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (#BookReview)
In Our Stars by Jack Campbell (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-28-24

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

There are two cats in this picture. Luna is obvious. Luna is seldom anything BUT obvious. However, do you see that shine among the black of the chair cushions? That’s a cat, specifically that’s a Lucifer cat. I have to be very careful about sitting in my own office chair as it is frequently occupied by a stealth Lucifer. A Lucifer who usually refuses to move his fuzzy butt so that I can have my chair back.

Because this was a week where I visited Overcommitment City, and was NEVER in the village of Running-on-Time. I spent a lot of the week in “kitten jail” with my door closed and barred by an unopened box of cat litter that has been sacrificed to this cause. (My office door pushes inward and doesn’t latch. All the cats are more than heavy enough to push it open one way or another – although Lucifer would rather sit outside the door and pout where I can see him through the glass than impinge upon his dignity that way.) Of course the minute I opened that door – the hordes rushed in. If you’re wondering whether only two cats constitutes a horde, the answer is yes, they can. And they are.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

B+ #AudioBookReview: Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
B #BookReview: Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law by Lavie Tidhar
A- #BookReview: Chaotic Aperitifs by Tao Wong
B #AudioBookReview: Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende
A+ #BookReview: A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge
Stacking the Shelves (598)

Coming This Week:

Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman (#BookReview)
People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle (#BookReview)
Come What May Giveaway Hop
Knightqueen by Anna Hackett (#BookReview)
My Dearest Mackenzie by Rachel Blaufeld (#BlogTour #BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-21-24

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

Let’s talk about things like schedule distribution and weight distribution. Sounds boring, doesn’t it? Well, first I have a picture that amply illustrates weight distribution.

Believe it or not, George and Tuna weigh exactly the same. Each cat weighs 14 pounds – which is a lot of cat. Each. But George’s weight is distributed over the length of his rather long body, while Tuna’s well, clearly isn’t. Still, there is a LOT of each of them to love, and they both expect every ounce of it.

(In case you’re wondering, on the ‘Cat Chonk Chart’ the vet has declared George to be ‘A Fine Boi’ while Tuna has crossed into ‘He Chonk’ territory.)

The weight of Reading Reality’s schedule for this week is also a bit chonky, even if it doesn’t seem that way. Because the person attempting to fulfill that schedule seems to have hit overload this week – meaning that what I’m intending may not be what actually appears. We’ll see!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop is Melanie

Blog Recap:

A+ #BookReview: Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton
Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop
B #BookReview: The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar
A+ #BookReview: What Cannot Be Said by C.S. Harris
A- #AudioBookReview: The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan
Stacking the Shelves (597)

Coming This Week:

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz (#AudioBookReview)
Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman (#BookReview)
Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law by Lavie Tidhar (#BookReview)
A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge (#BookReview)
Chaotic Aperitifs by Tao Wong (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-14-24

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

It’s time to bid this year’s Blogo-Birthday Celebration farewell. The posts have posted, the giveaways have all found winners, so it’s back to the usual here at Chez Reading Reality for another year.

Although the usual isn’t quite so usual this past week, as one of my rare ‘D’ graded reviews spewed itself over the blog earlier in the week. There have been a few books over the years that I detested every page but couldn’t put down – and then couldn’t get out of my head – and Space Holes absolutely was one of THOSE. Hence Wednesday’s rant-fest. I’ve heard that the audio makes it better, but I can’t even. I’d rather listen to something I’m actually enjoying – which I am at the moment with The Murder of Mr. Ma.

Staying with that enjoyment topic, we were treated to a rare sighting of the girl cats coexisting peacefully even as they are clearly exhibiting the traits that make that sight so very rare. Luna is looking up, all bright eyed and eager for any attention or her next adventure, while Hecate’s face is firmly fixed in a glower, declaring wordlessly but with a VERY speaking glance that she would much rather be alone – or at least alone with her humans and without any squeaky little interlopers harshing her not exactly mellow.

 

 

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop (ENDS TOMORROW!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of ANY BOOK BY MARTY WINGATE is Betty
The winner of ANY BOOK IN THE BARKER & LLEWELYN SERIES is Leela
The winner of ANY BEST BOOKS OF 2024 SO FAR is Cali
The winners of the LUCKY 13 BLOGO BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY are Anne, Billie, Carolyn, Lisa, Shelly, and Susan

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: The House on Widows Hill by Simon R. Green
B #AudioBookReview: No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson
D #BookReview: Space Holes: First Transmission by B.R. Louis
Grade A #BookReview: A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
A++ #BookReview: Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco
Stacking the Shelves (596)

Coming This Week:

Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton (#BookReview)
Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (#BookReview)
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark (#BookReview)
What Cannot Be Said by C.S. Harris (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-7-24

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

Today is the start of National Library Week. As a part of this commemorative week, tomorrow is Right to Read Day, when the list of the 10 most challenged books of 2023 will be released. For most book lists, I would say I’m looking forward to the list – but not in this case, because there is nothing to look forward to in a list of books that have been challenged – especially in a year when challenges have risen so much and are so obviously pointed at books by or about people of color and LGBTQIA+ people.

On a lighter note, my annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration took place last week. The giveaways will be open until this Friday, April 12 and the winners will be announced in next Sunday’s Sunday Post. And again, my deepest and sincerest thanks to all who participated and everyone who has followed along on this journey.

Last but certainly not least, this week’s cat picture features a brightly orange George on a brightly colored comforter playing ‘pawsies’ with Galen.

Current Giveaways:

Any book by Marty Wingate in the Blogo-Birthday Celebration
Any book in the Barker & Llewelyn series by Will Thomas in the Blogo-Birthday Celebration
Any book from the list of Best Books of 2024 so far in the Blogo-Birthday Celebration
(1) $25 Amazon Gift Card and (4) $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Cards in the Lucky 13 Blogo-Birthday Giveaway
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop
A- #BookReview: A Body at the Dance Hall by Marty Wingate + #Giveaway
A+ #BookReview: The Black Hand by Will Thomas + #Giveaway
LUCKY THIRTEENTH Annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration and #Giveaway!
Blogo-Birthday Birthday Book Celebration and #Giveaway!
Stacking the Shelves (595)

Coming This Week:

The House on Widows Hill by Simon R. Green (#BookReview)
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier by Emily Matchar (#BookReview)
Space Holes: First Transmission by B.R. Louis (#BookReview)
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke (#BookReview)
Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-31-24

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

Today is Easter, so Happy Easter (or Hoppy Easter) to those who celebrate!

Speaking of celebrations, this week marks Reading Reality’s LUCKY 13th Annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration. Reading Reality began on April 4, 2011, as Escape Reality, Read Fiction. April 5 is my own birthday, hence “Blogo-Birthday”. This is, as it has been from the beginning, a Hobbit birthday for both the blog and yours truly, so I’ll be giving books and gift cards away every day this week, starting tomorrow with the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop.

Today’s cat picture is a close up of Hecate and her very pretty copper eyes. It’s also as appropriate for Easter as anything ever gets around here. We have a ritual, involving eggs, that is ALL for Hecate. On Sunday mornings, Galen makes hard boiled eggs for us for breakfast, a process which involves a big bowl of chilled water. Hecate makes a bee line for the bowl of “egg water” the minute the eggs are out of it. It’s just water, with maybe the wisp of essence of egg, but no egg. No salt, no flavoring that we can sense. But it’s all hers! Unless she catches Tuna ‘poaching’ it, that is.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Grade A #AudioBookReview: What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts
B+ #BookReview: A Cast of Falcons by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Cover Reveal: Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa
A- #BookReview: The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
A- #AudioBookReview: The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
Stacking the Shelves (594)

Coming This Week:

Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop
A Body at the Dance Hall by Marty Wingate (#BookReview)
The Black Hand by Will Thomas (#BookReview)
THIRTEENTH Annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration and Giveaway
Blogo-Birthday Birthday Celebration and Giveaway

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-24-24

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

It turned out to be an excellent reading week this week – although I did have a ‘flail and bail’ along the way. I have to admit that the later parts of this coming week are looking a bit shaky as well.

The week after this one, however, is sure and certain and celebratory, because April 1-5 will be Reading Reality’s Lucky 13th Blogo-Birthday Celebration with giveaways every day for the whole week. Come celebrate with me!

I’m celebrating, hopefully you’re celebrating, but George and Tuna are cats so they are much more blasé about the whole thing. Here they are out on the catio with Tuna clearly on overwatch checking out what the neighbors are doing.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop is Anne P.

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: The Graveyard of the Hesperides by Lindsey Davis
Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
A+ #BookReview: The Hellfire Conspiracy by Will Thomas
A- #BookReview: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
A- #BookReview: The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard
Stacking the Shelves (593)

Coming This Week:

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (#AudioBookReview)
A Cast of Falcons by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (#BookReview)
Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa (#Spotlight + #CoverReveal)
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (#BookReview)
To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower (#BookReview)