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

Posted on December 26, 2021December 25, 2021 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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!

Stacking the Shelves (476)

Posted on December 25, 2021December 24, 2021 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

In the immortal words of John Lennon, “So this is Christmas…” So Merry Christmas or Happy Christmas to those of you who celebrate this holiday, and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Not a lot of books came in this week, and I expect next week to be just as sparse. A lot of people have the holidays off in one way or another. They’re still not real to me, it’s supposed to hit 70°F here in Atlanta, and pretty much stay that way until at least New Year’s Eve.

This is also the first day of the Top 10 of 2021, hosted by @KimberlyFayeReads. Today’s theme is “Books I Wish I’d Made Time to Read in 2021” and the answer, honestly, is ALL OF THEM. Maybe not the ones in genres and subjects I don’t normally read, but that still leaves all the Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mysteries, Romance, etc., etc., etc. So many books, so little time, and more books and less time EVERY YEAR!

fire of the frost by darynda jones amanda bouchet grace draven jeffe kennedy

screams from the dark edited by ellen datlow

For Review:
Escape from Yokai Land (Laundry Files #12) by Charles Stross
Fire of the Frost by Darynda Jones, Jeffe Kennedy, Grace Draven, Amanda Bouchet (REVIEW!!!)
Quarter to Midnight (New Orleans #1) by Karen Rose
Screams from the Dark edited by Ellen Datlow
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner
Wake of War by Zac Topping
The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev

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 12-19-21

Posted on December 19, 2021December 19, 2021 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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)

Stacking the Shelves (475)

Posted on December 18, 2021December 17, 2021 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

The stacks may be getting shorter as the year winds to a close, but there is still plenty to love in each of them. This particular stack contains not one or two, but THREE books that I’ve been waiting for – one of which I didn’t even KNOW I was waiting for. Those would be The Grief of Stones, Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments and Ghost of the Bamboo Road, which is the book I didn’t know existed but bought immediately upon discovery. And then there’s Last Call at the Nightingale, which has one of the prettiest covers I’ve seen in a while.

Plenty to love, and plenty to read over this holiday season! YAY!

savvy sheldon feels good as hell by shelley noble

our lady of mysterious ailments by tl huchu

last call at the nightingale by katharine schellman

For Review:
Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore
Cold Clay (Shady Hollow #2) by Juneau Black
Cry Wolf (Haparanda #1) by Hans Rosenfeldt
Curfew by Jayne Cowie
The Grief of Stones (Cemeteries of Amalo #2, Goblin Emperor #3) by Katherine Addison
The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz
Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman
Light Years from Home by Mike Chen
Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments (Edinburgh Nights #2) by T.L. Huchu
Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by Taj McCoy
Summer Island by Shelley Noble

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Ghost of the Bamboo Road (Shinobi Mystery #7) by Susan Spann
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (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:ghosts, st

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

Posted on December 12, 2021December 11, 2021 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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!