The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-18-23

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

For Mother’s Day last month I posted a picture of LaZorra, the one and only momcat we’ve ever had – at least so far. So it seems only fitting that for Father’s Day I post a picture of the only dadcat that we’ve ever had, at least so far and so far as we know. (Who knows what Lucifer got up to while he was living rough!)

It’s also totally appropriate that Erasmus follow his sister LaZorra, because that’s pretty much what he did for his entire life. She had ALL the brains, and he had all the sweet. (Yes, they were a bit like the Egyptian pharaohs, as momcat and dadcat were also brother and sister from the same litter, so we know they shared at least one parentcat themselves.)

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Hello Summer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Come Out & Play Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Berry Good Giveaway Hop is Sherry

Blog Recap:

B- Review: Rose/House by Arkady Martine
A+ Guest Review: Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander
Spotlight + Excerpt: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
A Review: Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman
Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (553)

Coming This Week:

Juneteenth 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
Hiss Me Deadly by Miranda James (review)
Summer Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop
Beach Read by Emily Henry (review)
Hex by Anna Hackett (review)

Stacking the Shelves (553)

This stack and the two following are going to be just a bit shorter than normal. We’re actually going to go on a bit of vacation after the ALA Conference, so I’m getting a whole bunch of posts ‘stacked up’ so you won’t even notice I’m gone!

For Review:
Emergency: Stories by Kathleen Alcott
Empty Theatre by Jac Jemc
In Other Lifetimes All I’ve Lost Comes Back to Me by Courtney Sender
The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle
The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle (Edinburgh Nights #3) by T.L. Huchu
Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares
Warrior of the Wind (Nameless Republic #2) by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Y/N by Esther Yi

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
The Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (audio)


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-11-23

This looks like it for this week. Although, things could change. As they sometimes do. We’re going on a trip in a couple of weeks and I’m already freaking out about making sure there’s content. It’ll work out. Somehow. At least it always has so far! A HUGE thank you to Amy Daltry for coming back after being away from Reading Reality MUCH TOO LONG and helping me out this week!

But speaking of things that worked out to have a LOT of content, I caught Tuna refilling his tank of solar power just outside my office earlier this week. He’s plunked his big self right in the middle of a sunbeam and looks like he’s planning to take on all comers to protect his spot. Which isn’t what happens, as he’s really just a big, fluffy softy – no matter how much it looks like he’s glowering in this pic.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop (ENDS THURSDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Hello Summer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Come Out & Play Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

B Review: The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick
A- Review: The Isolated Séance by Jeri Westerson
Hello Summer Giveaway Hop
Come Out and Play Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Witch King by Martha Wells
Stacking the Shelves (552)

Coming This Week:

Rose/House by Arkady Martine (review)
Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander (Guest Review by Amy)
Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman (blog tour review)
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale (blog tour review)
Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop

Stacking the Shelves (552)

In spite of having lived in Chicago for more than 20 years, I never read The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. We’re going back to ChiTown in a couple of weeks for the American Library Association Conference, so it seemed like the perfect time. If I can manage to get caught up to myself before we go, that is. Although, since we’re driving, if I can talk Galen into listening to the audiobook as we go that would be even better!

For Review:
The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne (audio)
The Art of Destiny (War Arts Saga #2) by Wesley Chu
Day by Michael Cunningham
Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
The Talk by Darrin Bell
These Burning Stars (Kingdom Trilogy #1) by Bethany Jacobs
Three Fires by Denise Mina
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
The Whites of Their Eyes by Michael E. Shay
Wonder Drug by Jennifer Vanderbes

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Bob the Wizard by M.V. Prindle
Rose/House by Arkady Martine

Borrowed from the Library:
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-4-23

Today’s cat picture is Tuna, or as we often call him, Big Tunes. Here he’s showing off his bigness by stretching towards me on the couch. This picture is kind of typical of the big guy, as he looks very large and totally not in charge at the same time!

As sometimes happens, last week’s schedule collapsed a bit at the end due to the siren song of a different book I just decided I wanted to read more after another book just reminded me of it so hard. Books lead to other books, just like cats lead to other cats. Which is probably the story of my ENTIRE life.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop is Shelly

Blog Recap:

Memorial Day 2023 (Guest post by Galen)
B+ Review: The Benevolent Society of Ill Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
A+ Review: A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato
Berry Good Giveaway Hop
A Review: What Darkness Brings by C.S. Harris
Stacking the Shelves (551)

Coming This Week:

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick (blog tour review)
The Isolated Seance by Jeri Westerson (review)
Hello Summer Giveaway Hop
Come Out and Play Giveaway Hop
The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne (review)

Stacking the Shelves (551)

I am experiencing maximum squee! I got an eARC for Bookshops & Bonedust, the Legends & Lattes prequel. Now I’m scared half to death that it won’t live up to the legendary Legends and their accompanying Lattes (along with Thimble’s describably delicious cinnamon rolls). But I’m still very game to find out. Quite possibly this weekend even though the book won’t be published until NOVEMBER.

For Review:
The Archive Undying (Downworld Sequence #1) by Emma Mieko Candon (audio)
Bad Blood (Goddess with a Blade #7) by Lauren Dane
Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree
Hex (Sentinel Security #6) by Anna Hackett
The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club #4) by Richard Osman
Murder Crossed Her Mind (Pentecost & Parker #4) by Stephen Spotswood
Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson
Sherlock Holmes & the Silver Cord by M.K. Wiseman


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-28-23

Happy 3-day Memorial Day Holiday Weekend to everyone lucky enough to have it!

Last week’s reading plan went a bit pear-shaped, just like the week before. It happens but it is so damn frustrating when it does! This week’s just doesn’t have all that many places it CAN go, between the holiday and the blog hop. A chance for a bit of a reset, I hope.

Speaking of hope, here’s a picture of Luna in the process of her own exploration of the catio. She’s posing on the breakfast nook window, hoping to induce her daddy-person to come out and join her. Possibly with his own breakfast!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!!!)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop is Elaine G

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Watching the Clock by Christopher L. Bennett
B+ Review: Dear Chrysanthemums by Fiona Sze-Lorrain
A+ Review: Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow
B Review: Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell
A- Review: The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong
Stacking the Shelves (550)

Coming This Week:

Memorial Day 2023 (Guest post by Galen)
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman (blog tour review)
A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato (review)
Berry Good Giveaway Hop
Marion Lane and the Raven’s Revenge by T.A. Willberg (review)

Stacking the Shelves (550)

Not a big stack this week. I’m not sure whether that’s the result of the summer books being at the forefront – as there are always less of them, or just fewer books that I wanted this time around. Although, speaking of wanting things, after finishing yesterday’s delicious audiobook, The Nameless Restaurant, as I wrote the review I learned that this first Hidden Dishes story was set in the author’s existing Hidden Wishes world. I sensed a theme there, more than enough of a theme to have me buying that earlier series!

This week’s prettiest covers are An Inheritance of Magic and, yet again, The Last Drop of Hemlock, this time in audio. Although The Hexologists manages to be both pretty AND pretty interesting looking.

Have a terrific weekend!

For Review:
Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain
The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
House Gone Quiet by Kelsey Norris
An Inheritance of Magic (Inheritance of Magic #1) by Benedict Jacka
The Last Drop of Hemlock (Nightingale Mysteries #2) by Katharine Schellman (audio)
On Freedom Road by David Goodrich
Ravensong (Green Creek #2) by TJ Klune
Sandymancer by David Edison

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
A Gamer’s Wish (Hidden Wishes #1) by Tao Wong
A Jinn’s Wish (Hidden Wishes #3) by Tao Wong
A Squire’s Wish (Hidden Wishes #2) by Tao Wong
War Cry by Brian McClellan


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-21-23

It’s kind of been one of those weeks, and not just reading wise. Twitter no longer accepts tweets directly from Jetpack, so I have to remember to tweet my posts first thing in the morning. I am NOT a morning person, so it’s going to take a while to make that part of my normal routine as I’m ingesting my caffeine for the day. C’est la vie.

The end of last week’s schedule fell completely apart, hence my desperation move of combining two books I did not like into one relatively short review explaining why they did not work. Then the audiobook I was listening to was turning out to be a bit of a rage listen, so I bailed on that and switched to print. In the end, that worked better, more of a case of it wasn’t a book for me as opposed to please decide who your book’s first person voice is and stick to it. Your reading mileage may definitely vary. (Yes, that’s a Star Trek book coming up tomorrow. I got really frustrated this week.)

(The Bandit Queens is excellent so far, it’s just a bit longer than I was anticipating.)

But someone is having an excellent week. Here’s George, sunning himself on his catio. Although we’ve seen both Luna and Tuna go through the cat flap, it’s clearly become George’s territory and he’s very proud of himself about it!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop (ENDS THURSDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Come What May Giveaway Hop is Bea

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island by Susan M. Boyer
Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
A Review: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
C/D+ Reviews: Short and Unsatisfactory: Books and Reviews 
B- Review: You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg
Stacking the Shelves (549)

Coming This Week:

Watching the Clock (Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations #1) by Christopher L. Bennett (review)
Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow (review)
Dioramas by Blair Austin (review)
Dear Chrysanthemums by Fiona Sze-Lorrain (review)
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (review)

Stacking the Shelves (549)

Not much of a list this week, even if I were counting the ones I have still waiting for covers, which I’m not.  The one I’m looking most forward to, far away, is Fonda Lee’s Jade Shards. I cried over the Green Bone Saga, and I’m still suffering from the epic book hangover almost a year and a half later, so I pretty much automatically sign up for anything related to it. I really hope she keeps them coming. Or goes back. That would be marvelous! <sigh>

The other book I’m looking forward to is Chaos Terminal, because I adored the first book in the series, Station Eternity. The Star and the Strange Moon wins the award for pretty this week (also pretty Gothic-sounding title), and I’m also looking forward to that because I enjoyed The Ladies of the Secret Circus a whole lot, and a whole lot more than I thought I would.

What’s in your stack this week?

For Review:
The African Samurai by Craig Shreve
Chaos Terminal (Midsolar Murders #2) by Mur Lafferty
Jade Shards (Green Bone Saga #0.75) by Fonda Lee
The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow
The Quiet Room (Rabbits #2) by Terry Miles
Shadow Baron (Burnished City #2) by Davinia Evans
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below: