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

Posted on April 28, 2024April 26, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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)

Stacking the Shelves (598)

Posted on April 27, 2024April 26, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

Yet another eclectic group of books. As always, this is a combination of books for my current committee, books I’ll be reviewing for Library Journal, and books I just plain want to read.

Speaking of which, the book that I’m anticipating the most out of this batch, the one I’ve been salivating over for months, ever since I read the first book in its series, The Kamogawa Food Detectives, is The Restaurant of Lost Recipes. I loved the first book, and I expect to love the second as well. IMHO the prettiest cover is The City in Glass by Nghi Vo, but that’s an accolade that has plenty of contenders this week. The two books I’m most curious about this go around are The Lantern of Lost Memories and We’ll Prescribe You a Cat – and not just because both books have cats on their covers!

living with our dead by delphine horvilleur

safety through solidarity by shane burley and ben lorber

lantern of lost memories by sanaka hiiragi

they were good germans once by evelyn toynton

klaras truth by susan weissbach friedman

number on your forearm is blue like your eyes by eva umlauf

jewish anarchist movement in america by joseph cohen

restaurant of lost recipes by hisashi kashiwai

memories of my life in a polish village by toby knobel fluek

For Review:
The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
Dr. Josef’s Little Beauty by Zyta Rudzka, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
In the Glittering Maw by Joyce Mansour
The Jewish Anarchist Movement in America by Joseph Cohen
Kissing Girls on Shabbat by Sara Glass
Klara’s Truth by Susan Weissbach Friedman
Knightqueen (Oronis Knights #3) by Anna Hackett
The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Letters from Home by Malka Z. Simkovich
Living with Our Dead by Delphine Horvilleur, translated by Lisa Appignanesi
Memories of My Life in a Polish Village, 1930-1949 by Toby Knobel Fluek
Memories of the Lost by Barbara O’Neal
Metamorphoses by Karolina Watroba
The Number on Your Forearm is Blue Like Your Eyes by Eva Umlauf with Stefanie Oswalt, translated by Shelley Frisch
The Punk-Rock Queen of the Jews by Rossi
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes (Kamogawa Food Detectives #2) by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Safety Through Solidarity by Shane Burley ad Ben Lorber
They Were Good Germans Once by Evelyn Toynton (May)
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda
The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown

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 4-21-24

Posted on April 21, 2024April 20, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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!

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)

Stacking the Shelves (597)

Posted on April 20, 2024April 25, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

Clearly, I went down a reading rabbit hole this week and came out with more books. I found yesterday’s book, The Murder of Mr. Ma, every bit as good as that initial review in First Clue led me to believe. I was teased by the inclusion of Judge Dee, decided not to go diving into the Van Gulik translation/interpretation, at least not yet, found the vampiric version by Tidhar, was delighted to discover that they are all really short (also really cheap if you’re interested) and was off to the races. Races which included the first book in one of the author’s signature series as well.

I picked up the audio of Lovers at the Museum strictly for the narrator, as he voiced one of my favorite characters in Mass Effect Andromeda, and got Fourth Wing because I expect that one of these days I’ll want to see what all the fuss is about – although that day is not yet.

The prettiest cover in this week’s stack, hands down, is The Sins on Their Bones. The Best Life Book Club is plenty cute, but Sins is simply gorgeous – as they so often are.

see loss see also love by yukiko tominaga

lovers at the museum by isabel allende audio

and then and then what else by daniel handler

judge dee and the three deaths of count werdenfels by lavie tidhar

judge dee and the limits of the law by lavie tidhar

judge dee and the mystery of the missing manuscript by lavie tidhar

judge dee and the executioner of epinal by lavie tidhar

judge dee and the poisoner of montmartre by lavie tidhar

For Review:
All For You by Dena Reub Romero
And Then? And Then? What Else? by Daniel Handler
The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts
Mother Doll by Katya Apekina
The Mummy of Mayfair (Irregular Detective #2) by Jeri Westerson
See: Loss. See Also: Love by Yukiko Tominaga
The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin
This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher
The Threshold of Dissent by Marjorie N. Feld
To & Fro by Leah Hager Cohen

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi (audio)
China Trade (Lydia Chin and Bill Smith #1) by SJ Rozan
Judge Dee and the Executioner of Epinal (Judge Dee #7) by Lavie Tidhar
Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law (Judge Dee #1) by Lavie Tidhar
Judge Dee and the Mystery of the Missing Manuscript (Judge Dee #5) by Lavie Tidhar
Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre (Judge Dee #3) by Lavie Tidhar
Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels (Judge Dee #2) by Lavie Tidhar
The Locked Coffin (Judge Dee #6) by Lavie Tidhar
Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende (ebook and audio)
Marked by Magic (Tracking Trouble #1) by Lindsay Buroker
Seven Vampires (Judge Dee #4) by Lavie Tidhar

Borrowed from the Library:
Fourth Wing (Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

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 4-14-24

Posted on April 14, 2024April 13, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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)

Stacking the Shelves (596)

Posted on April 13, 2024April 12, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

What a wild and crazy stack this is!

There are several pretty covers, although as usual the pretty ones aren’t pretty in the same ways. My personal favorite is Sorcery and Small Magics, but Buried Deep and Other Stories, The Crescent Moon Tearoom and Wheel of the Infinite are definitely contenders.

The books I’m MOST looking forward to are Darkside and Where is Anybody? – and both for their cynical, snarkastic protagonists. The book I’m definitely the most curious about is The Full Moon Coffee Shop, because it’s about a magical coffee shop run by talking cats – although Sargassa is also making my curiosity bump itch even though there are no cats, at least as far as I know, in that one.

What about you?

scholar and the last faerie door by hg parry

buried deep and other stories by naomi novik

saying no to hate by norman h finkelstein

For Review:
Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
California Dreaming by Noa Silver
Cast in Atonement (Chronicles of Elantra #19) by Michelle Sagara
The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski
Darkside (Planetside #4) by Michael Mammay
The Fan Who Knew Too Much (Kit Pelham #1) by Nev Fountain
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Goyhood by Reuven Fenton
Guide Me Home (Highway 59 #3) by Attica Locke
Home and Alone by Daniel Stern
Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg
An Instruction in Shadow (Inheritance of Magic #2) by Benedict Jacka
Love Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan
My Kaddish by Thérèse Masson
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Sargassa (Ex Romana #1) by Sophie Burnham
Saying No to Hate by Norman H. Finkelstein
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry
Sorcery and Small Magics (Wildersongs Trilogy #1) by Maiga Doocy
Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells
Where is Anybody? (Gideon Sable #5) by Simon R. Green

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 4-7-24

Posted on April 7, 2024April 6, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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)

Stacking the Shelves (595)

Posted on April 6, 2024April 8, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

It’s a lot. I know it’s a lot. It’s so many that they won’t all fit into the Instagram post because no one would be able to read it without a TON of magnification. That being said, the book I’ve been looking forward to the most and the longest is one of the shortest books in the stack – Chaotic Aperitifs. I ADORED the first Hidden Dishes book, The Nameless Restaurant and have been itching for this second book for MONTHS.

The book I’m really, really curious about is The Author’s Guide to Murder by Team W (that’s Williams, Willig and White). The authors are three great tastes that really go great together, and the blurb sounds like it might be a bit of Magpie Murders and I’m certainly here for THAT!

There are several very pretty covers this time around. My personal faves are In the Shadow of the Ship, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, The Summer Swap and To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. The titles that have me shaking my head, at least when seen together, are Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness and Your Presence is Mandatory because I think they’re sending utterly opposed messages.

We’ll certainly see in the months ahead.

crypt of the moon spider by nathan ballingrud

secret mind of bertha pappenheim by gabriel brownstein

my thirty minute bar mitzvah by denis hirson

things that cause inappropriate happiness by danila botha

authors guide to murder by beatriz williams lauren willig karen white

new adventures in space opera by jonathan strahan

in the shadow of the ship by aliette de bodard

to gaze upon wicked gods by molly x chang audio

your presence is mandatory by sasha vasilyuk

For Review:
The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White
A Brutal Design by Zachary C. Solomon
Chaotic Aperitifs (Hidden Dishes #2) by Tao Wong
A Cold War Exodus by Shaul Kelner
Cracking the Nazi Code by Jason Bell
Crypt of the Moon Spider (Lunar Gothic Trilogy #1) by Nathan Ballingrud
Deluge edited by Jamie Stern-Weiner
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (audio)
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes (eARC and audio)
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
Hugging My Father’s Ghost by Zack Rogow
In the Shadow of the Ship (Xuya Universe) by Aliette de Bodard
Liberty Street by Jason K. Friedman
Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot
My Thirty-Minute Bar Mitzvah by Denis Hirson
New Adventures in Space Opera edited by Jonathan Strahan
A Plague of Cholera and Other Stories by Jonah Rosenfeld, translated by Rachel Mines
The Rulebreaker by Susan Page
The Secret Mind of Bertha Pappenheim by Gabriel Brownstein
Shylock’s Venice by Harry Freedman
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #2) by TJ Klune
The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan
Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman
Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness by Danila Botha
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang (eARC and audio)
Victory Parade by Leela Corman
Your Presence is Mandatory by Sasha Vasilyuk

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

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 3-31-24

Posted on March 31, 2024March 30, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 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

Stacking the Shelves (594)

Posted on March 30, 2024March 29, 2024 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

If anything turns out to be horribly awry in this post, I’m blaming it on Luna. She sat on the keyboard and somehow managed to both erase the graphic above AND reduce the display font by 50%. I think I caught everything she oh-so-helpfully did, but it’s hard to be certain when there is a feline agency involved with ANYTHING.