Tag: Sunday Post

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-7-24

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

I think this is this coming week’s schedule. I’m sure about everything except the Patterson, mostly because this is not my first attempt at reading something by him, but previous attempts have resulted in DNFs. I’m hoping that the classic detective angle will get me to the end of this one, so I can say I finished one if I want to be judgy later. Which is a terrible attitude to be starting a book with, but it’s the one I’ve got.

The picture above is Luna on the catio, being very talkative about something. Or screaming. Or possibly both. I’ve had that expression on my face a LOT this week as I figure out Instagram – or more accurately, figure out the ins and outs of the graphics program (Canva) I’m using to create images for Instagram. Words I’ve got, images, not so much. Not to mention the whole hashtag game. But, as I said in yesterday’s Stacking the Shelves, I do believe I’ve made the transition from ONE step forward, TWO steps back, to TWO steps FORWARD and only ONE step BACK.

That’s progress, isn’t it? (Take a look and you’ll see. I hope…)

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the New Year New You Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

New Year New You Giveaway Hop
24 for 2024: My Most Anticipated Reads for the Year
A Review: Mislaid in Parts Half Known by Seanan McGuire (audiobook)
A- Review: The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz
B Review: The Twilight Queen by Jeri Westerson
Stacking the Shelves (582)

Coming This Week:

Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson (review)
Holmes, Marple & Poe by James Patterson and Brian Sitts (review)
A Body on the Doorstep by Marty Wingate (audio review)
Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts (review)
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-31-23

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

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, tomorrow it will be 2024. Which still seems unreal, as 2023 went by really, really fast. Nevertheless, today is 123123 and this is the last post of the year.

In the words attributed to the immortal Groucho Marx, “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”

It’s also looking like it’s going to be cold, gloomy and just plain nasty this weekend, which makes this picture of Tuna very apropos as he’s definitely brought all the cozy he can into this pose, and we’ll probably spend most of the weekend cuddled up right along with him!

All of us here at Chez Reading Reality, including Mr. Tuna up there, wish you a happy, healthy, safe and snuggly New Year!

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Let It Snow Giveaway Hop is Seyma

Blog Recap:

Christmas Day 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
Best Books of 2023
A- Review: Paladin’s Faith by T. Kingfisher
A Review: Murder at the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose
A+ Review: The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas
Stacking the Shelves (581)

Coming This Week:

New Year New You Giveaway Hop
Most Anticipated Books of 2024
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire (audio review)
The Twilight Queen by Jeri Westerson (review)
The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-24-23

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

Today is Christmas Eve. Once upon a time, this day would be a literal shopping hell on earth. I find myself wondering how much that has changed with online shopping being so ubiquitous.

Whether today is the official or unofficial start of your holiday, or merely part of your holiday weekend. Let me wish you Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas as appropriate for you and yours. (Galen will be doing the Xmas Day post, so this is my opportunity to wish you the very best of the holiday season.

Speaking of the very best, sometime this week I’ll be posting my Best Books list for the year. As soon as I finish Paladin’s Faith to decide whether or not it belongs on the list!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Let It Snow Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Fall 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop is Sherry

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan
A++ Review: Fall by Tracy Clark
A- Review: Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor
Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
B Review: The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper
Stacking the Shelves (580)

Coming This Week:

Christmas Day 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
Paladin’s Faith by T. Kingfisher (review)
Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman (review)
Murder at the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose (review)
Best Books of 2023 (feature)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-17-23

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

Let me start with this picture, because it explains everything a bit too well.

On the one hand, it’s adorable. Lucifer and Luna are sharing space, even if it’s not exactly a cuddle. (We miss seeing cuddle puddles, as this bunch just doesn’t cuddle with each other at all.) On the other hand, it’s kind of a metaphor for my schedule this week, with Lucifer serving as the immovable object, and Luna peeking over his ear with the somewhat semi-planned interruptions to that object. I’m about 3/5ths sure of the week ahead. The other 2/5ths, well, we’ll see…

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Let It Snow Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop is Carl

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull
B Review: The Good, the Bad and the Uncanny edited by Jonathan Maberry
A Review: Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey
A- Review: Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard
A+ Review: To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas
Stacking the Shelves (579)

Coming This Week:

Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan (review)
Fall by Tracy Clark (review)
Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor (audio review)
Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
Paladin’s Faith by T. Kingfisher (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-10-23

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

Today is the third day of Hanukkah, a particularly fraught Hanukkah considering events, not just in the Middle East but also the responses here in the U.S. and elsewhere this year. While the presentation of the image below may be on the cute side, the message should be universal – and is much needed.

 

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Let It Snow Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A Review: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley
A++ Review: Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood
A- Review: The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
Let It Snow Giveaway Hop
A- Review: The Hero She Needs by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (578)

Coming This Week:

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull (audio review)
The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny edited by Jonathan Maberry (review)
Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard (review)
To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas (review)
Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-3-23

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

I had a bit of a “bail and flail” this week, and it made me think of an opinion piece on a review blog that I follow, Crossing the Pond Reviews. The author of the piece was talking about when it’s time NOT to read a book, and that fit perfectly with one of the books I intended to read this week – because I’d read the first two in the series – and I finally came to the conclusion that this particular book needed to go in my ‘Not Finished Yet’ or NFY pile. I DID read the first two, and I did like them both in the end, but I just wasn’t in the mood this week – or possibly this month – for a dystopia that was just that far down the road. I do want to find out how it ends, but not right now.

I kind of had the same reaction this week as one of the books I was planning to review this week got yeeted to the NFY pile before you even saw the list. The tone was just too arch, like way, way too high of an arch, and I’m not in the mood. We’ll see if what you see here is what you get later by this time next week!

The above picture is Hecate, posing in a very pretty little curl. But not nearly so little as the first time we captured her picture in this kind of curl – which Galen actually has on a t-shirt. Still, she’s a very pretty cat, albeit more than a bit on the round side these days, and this curl pose shows off all the beautiful colors on her hidden side.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Black Friday Giveaway is Carolyn D.
The winner of the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop is Debbi W.
The winner of the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop is Peggy N.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Anything with Nothing edited by Mercedes Lackey
B+ Review: Uncanny Vows by Laura Anne Gilman
B- Review: Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah
A+ Review: Shards of Glass by Michelle Sagara
Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (577)

Coming This Week:

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley (review)
Murder Crossed Her Mind by Stephen Spotswood (review)
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett (review)
Let it Snow Giveaway Hop
The Hero She Needs by Anna Hackett (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-26-23

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

It feels like Thanksgiving was early this year. So early, in fact, that there’s nearly and entire additional week of November coming this post-Thanksgiving Day week!

But I couldn’t let the week pass without giving away a little extra something, so Friday’s review of the seasonally apropos Evergreen Chase included a bit of a giveaway to mark the unofficial yet official beginning of the holiday season.

Before this weekend completely slips away, here’s a picture of Tuna being very Tuna, whether he’s showing off his own version of a turkey coma or just being his usual silly self, this was a pose that I absolutely could not resist!

Current Giveaways:

$5 Gift Card or $5 Book in Reading Reality’s Black Friday Giveaway
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
B- Review: Stephen Leeds: Death and Faxes by Brandon Sanderson
B Review: Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty
Thanksgiving 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
B Review: Evergreen Chase by Juneau Black + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (576)

Coming This Week:

Anything with Nothing edited by Mercedes Lackey (review)
Uncanny Vows by Laura Anne Gilman
Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah
Sunset, Water City by Chris McKinney
Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-19-23

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

This was one of those weeks where what I thought I was going to post was what I actually posted. Admittedly, that’s mostly because it was already mostly done at the beginning of the week. It was just that kind of week. This coming week has a bit more uncertainty in it, but I’ve already finished Monday’s book and DAMN that was good. You’ll see.

On the subject of seeing and not seeing, I realized that you’d all been seeing a lot of pictures of Luna and Tuna because they’re willing to pose – or at least sit still – for the human in ‘camera position’. But I caught Lucifer dozing on top of my gaming pillow, and he was too comfy to run off as Galen and I fiddled with lights and camera phones in order to get a shot where it at least looked like he had eyes. Without extra lights his handsome face was just a void. Which, may be a perfect description but not nearly as photogenic as what I had in mind!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop is Heather

Blog Recap:

A- Review: System Collapse by Martha Wells
A- Review: The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers
A+ Review: Calamity by Constance Fay
In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman
Stacking the Shelves (575)

Coming This Week:

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas (review)
Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (review)
Stephen Leeds: Death and Faxes by Brandon Sanderson (audio review)
Thanksgiving 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
Evergreen Chase by Juneau Black (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-12-23

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

I’m in the midst of a ‘reading weekend’ for Library Journal, so this past week fell apart at the end because my ’round tuit’ broke and that ‘so many books, so little time’ thing absolutely bit me in the ass. I needed to get started earlier than I planned and I just didn’t have another book in me, so the results of a previous LJ reading weekend appeared on Friday. I still plan to get to Chaos Terminal, but it will be later in the month.

Today’s cat picture is Luna, who both looks like she’s posing for her closeup AND reminding everyone that cat people are never permitted to go to the bathroom alone. She’s multitasking – that thing I kind of failed at earlier this week.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Twilight Falls by Juneau Black
Spotlight + Excerpt: The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman
B Review: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
B Review: The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow
Stacking the Shelves (574)

Coming This Week:

System Collapse by Martha Wells (review)
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers (review)
Calamity by Constance Fay (review)
In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman (blog tour review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-5-23

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

Did you remember to “fall back” last night? And just how badly do you end up wishing they’d just make up their damn minds and stick to one or the other? I wish we stayed on Daylight Saving Time all year round, but then I’d also enjoy the day more if it started later. People who have to put kids on school buses seem to prefer Standard Time because it’s dark in the morning when they have to get the kids on the bus. I honestly don’t care enough to even argue the point. I’d be thrilled if they’d just pick one and stick to it even if it’s not the one I’d personally prefer. You’d think this would be a popular enough thing that even Congress could pass something, but NOOOOOO.

Rant over until March 10, 2024.

This week ended with a “flail and bail” where I flailed over the last two books I intended to review this week and bailed on both of them. I just hit a wall of “I can’t even” after several days of horror and horror-adjacency in a row, Halloween was OVER and the new month just screamed for different books. So it goes.

A couple of Sunday Posts ago I mentioned that Tuna’s size is a bit hard to measure because he doesn’t seem to pose for pictures where a size comparison can be made. Galen caught the above picture earlier this week with both Luna and Tuna in the frame. Tuna looks huge and Luna looks tiny by comparison. It’s still not a great way of judging Tuna’s size, as Luna isn’t really a small cat. She’s pretty much an average sized cat – she only looks small in comparison to her brother. Which means that Tuna in photo is even larger than he appears!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Silly Pumpkins Giveaway Hop is Will G.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather
B+ Review: The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw
Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Warriorborn by Jim Butcher
B+ Review: Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose
Stacking the Shelves (573)

Coming This Week:

Twilight Falls by Juneau Black (review)
The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman (spotlight + excerpt)
Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (review)
Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske (audiobook review)