Tag: virtual nightstand

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-4-24

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

We’re still away on vacay, as might be deduced from George’s and Hecate’s suspicious little faces as they hide under the dining room table.

You might not be able to see Hecate unless you know to look for her. That dark tortie coat of hers hides VERY WELL in the shadows.

So the cats are not having a great week, and we miss them as much as they miss us.

This week’s reads were a combination of very good and very interesting – although not necessarily in the same books. And next week looks to be more of the same in that regard.

We’ll certainly see, won’t we?

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Late Summer Giveaway Event
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop is Angela

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: Sentinel Security: Stone by Anna Hackett
#BookReview: The Nightingale’s Castle by Sonia Velton
A- #BookReview: Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
Apple A Day Giveaway Hop
A+ #BookReview: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
Stacking the Shelves (612)

Coming This Week:

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (#BookReview)
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid (#BookReview)
Where Is Anybody? by Simon R. Green (#BookReview)
A Vengeful King Rises by Sophie Barnes (#BlogTour #BookReview)
Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-28-24

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

George probably has exactly the expression below on his face as you are reading this. We’re away on vacation for a bit, and I’m sure George and company are NOT HAPPY about their people being away. Not that George doesn’t look like this at least for a bit every day, as he likes to camp out on the stairs and mourn that his people aren’t paying attention to him on a regular basis. We know they’re getting well taken care of by our regular cat sitters – as we get daily pictures of them all! Which we coo over because we miss them as much as they miss us.

So don’t worry about George, Hecate, Luna and Tuna too much, they’re fine if likely a bit disgruntled. And don’t worry about getting your daily post from yours truly! There are plenty of reviews and other posts queued up for your reading pleasure while we’re away. Just wait and see!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Late Summer Giveaway Event
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop is Anne

Blog Recap:

B #BookReview: Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan
A- #BookReview: Summers End by Juneau Black
B #BookReview: Lost to Eternity by Greg Cox
A- #AudioBookReview: More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa
B #BookReview: In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran
Stacking the Shelves (611)

Coming This Week:

Sentinel Security: Stone by Anna Hackett (#BookReview)
Memories of the Lost by Barbara O’Neal (#BlogTour #BookReview)
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (#BookReview)
Apple A Day Giveaway Hop
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-21-24

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

Last week’s cat pic was of Tuna and George on the stairs, so it seems fitting that this week’s picture be Luna, just being Luna – although she’s kind of wearing George’s concerned, serious face. (Luna contains multitudes)

Recent Stacking the Shelves posts have been rather short, but it sure looks like GIVEAWAY SEASON is in full swing. It’s sort of an Xmas in July thing all over the place! More encouragement – not that I need any – to stay inside out of the heat and READ!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Late Summer Giveaway Event
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Reading Reality’s Early Summer Giveaway Hop is Elizabeth H.
The winner of the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop is Shelly P.

Blog Recap:

A- #AudioBookReview: Earthlight by J. Michael Straczynski
Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop
Late Summer Amazon/Paypal Giveaway Event!
A- #AudioBookReview: The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee
A+ #BookReview: Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair
Stacking the Shelves (610)

Coming This Week:

Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan (#BookReview)
Summers End by Juneau Black (#BookReview)
Star Trek: The Original Series: Lost to Eternity by Greg Cox (#BookReview)
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa (#AudioBookReview)
In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-14-24

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

The belly is not a trap. I say again, the belly – at least the Tuna belly – is not a trap. The George belly, however, most definitely IS a trap. In fact, the whole entirety of the George is a trap as George easily gets over-excited and turns pointy-side out in all directions at the drop of a hat. A hat which George would probably eat if it were a real hat instead of a metaphorical topper.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop (ENDS TOMORROW!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Early Summer Giveaway Event (ENDS TOMORROW TOOOOOO!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: The Mummy of Mayfair by Jeri Westerson
Grade A #BookReview: Penric and the Bandit by Lois McMaster Bujold
A- #BookReview: This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour
B #BookReview: Daughters of Olympus by Hannah M. Lynn
A+ #BookReview: The Price of Redemption by Shawn Carpenter
Stacking the Shelves (609)

Coming This Week:

Earthlight by J. Michael Straczynski (#AudioBookReview)
Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop
Late Summer Event Amazon/PayPal Giveaway!
Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair (#BookReview)
Yoke of Stars by R.B. Lemberg (#BookReview)

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

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

As many Reading Reality regulars may already be aware, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, our beloved Lucifer T. Cat left us to climb the Rainbow Bridge. My post from Wednesday, Bitter to Receive, celebrates a bit of his life with us and pours out the smallest measure of my grief – but I still feel as if I’m on the verge of tears most of the time.

The remaining members of the clowder, Hecate (now eldest as well as grumpiest), George, Luna and Tuna, all circled around and sniffed his carrier after we came home without him, but seem to be settling into their new normal. Their humans are still utterly unsettled.

I’ve been reading ahead a lot these last couple of days, as well as re-reading a whole bunch of comfort reads. It’s one of the ways that I deal with things. Galen’s been playing a good but kind of creepy game, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, and now I’m playing it too. It’s a game about dealing with ghosts, and isn’t that a bit on-target right now – at least for this household?

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Early Summer Giveaway Event
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop
B+ #BookReview: Better Living Through Algorithms by Naomi Kritzer
A- #BookReview: Guard the East Flank by M.L. Buchman
Bitter to Receive
#GuestPost: July 4th 2024
Christmas in July Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (608)

Coming This Week:

The Mummy of Mayfair by Jeri Westerson (#BookReview)
Penric and the Bandit by Lois McMaster Bujold (#BookReview)
This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour (#BookReview)
Daughters of Olympus by Hannah M. Lynn (#BookReview)
The Price of Redemption by Shawn Carpenter (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-30-24

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

It was a very ‘B’ week, with one notable exception. Ivy, Angelica, Bay by C.L. Polk was exceptional, as was the podcast of St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid, the short story that sets it up. Which also led to my discovery of the podcast Levar Burton Reads and now I’m totally hooked.

As you read this, I’m in San Diego for this year’s American Library Association Conference, no doubt adding to the height of my already towering TBR pile. The cats are being taken care of – but we know they still miss us based on how clingy they are when we get back. And we certainly miss them.

But none of us are missing the kitty interloper (kittyloper?) on the outside of the catio screen in this picture – and the number of screen patches has quadrupled since this was taken! Clearly this cat can see that our clowder has a good thing going and he wants to be part of it!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Early Summer Giveaway Event
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

B+ #BookReview: A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas
B #BookReview: Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher
B #BookReview: Pets and the City by Amy Attas
A+ #BookReview: Ivy, Angelica, Bay by C.L. Polk
B #BookReview: Requiem for a Mouse by Miranda James
Stacking the Shelves (607)

Coming This Week:

Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop
Better Living Through Algorithms by Naomi Kritzer (#BookReview, #HugoReview)
Guard the East Flank by M.L. Buchman (#BookReview)
July 4th 2024 (Guest Post by Galen)
Christmas in July Giveaway Hop

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-23-24

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

This week’s books turned out to be good to excellent! And Galen did one of his guest posts and a blog hop started this week so it was a bit of an easy week – also good!

Speaking of good, I’ve been going through this year’s Hugo nominations and picking one nominee per week that I hadn’t already read to read and review. Between Library Journal and Reading Reality it turned out that I’d read a fair number of the novels and novellas during the year, but I don’t read a lot of short fiction unless it’s in a collection – and that usually happens well after the fact.  So far, the short stories and novelettes have ranged from OK to great, so I’m just making my final selections more difficult even if they will be better informed!

The above picture is a combination of “if I fits I sits” – writ rather large – and “possession is 9/10ths of the cat”. There are three cat beds on top of my dresser – as shown above. Lucifer has firm possession of the heated bed on the right as he glares at anyone who even thinks about ousting him from it. The middle cushion is only used when Lucifer doesn’t have possession of HIS bed, so he has a comfy place from which to glare at the interloper. That’s Tuna on the left, the biggest cat in the house in the smallest bed. Because he wants to be Lucifer’s buddy and Lucifer is barely tolerant of that fact. And because Tuna seems to enjoy overflowing his sleeping spots – as his other favorite bed is equally under proportioned to his generous purrson.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Early Summer Giveaway Event
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the SUMMER 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop is Lisa

Blog Recap:

Grade A #BookReview: The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer
A- #BookReview: The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear
Guest Post by Galen: Juneteenth 2024: Ron’s Piece
Summer 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
B #AudioBookReview: The Most Human by Adam Nimoy
Stacking the Shelves (606)

Coming This Week:

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas (#BookReview)
Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher (#BookReview)
Pets and the City by Amy Attas (#BookReview)
Ivy, Angelica, Bay by C.L. Polk (#BookReview, #HugoReview)
Requiem for a Mouse by Miranda James (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-16-24

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

Today is Father’s Day, at least in the United States and a whole lot of other countries. So Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

Galen is a Cat Dad, so this picture of two of the boys investigating something – possibly the location of his Father’s Day present, although that’s a bit of a scary thought. George and Tuna are always adorable, no matter what they are doing!

This week’s reviews weren’t quite as collectively awesome as last week, but there were still plenty of excellent reads. I’m just still bummed that Ghostdrift is the last book in the Finder Chronicles, and this coming week’s The Comfort of Ghosts is the last book in the Maisie Dobbs series. I know that all good things must come to an end – but I don’t have to actually LIKE that fact.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Early Summer Giveaway Event

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: The Runes of Engagement by Tobias S. Buckell and Dave Klecha
B+ #BookReview: We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed
B- #BookReview: The Mausoleum’s Children by Aliette de Bodard
A- #BookReview: The Hero She Craves by Anna Hackett
A+ #AudioBookReview: Ghostdrift by Suzanne Palmer
Stacking the Shelves (605)

Coming This Week:

The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer (#BookReview #HugoReview)
The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (#BookReview)
Juneteenth (Guest Post by Galen)
Summer 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-9-24

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

After a couple of weeks of mostly ‘meh’, this was an absolutely FAN-DAMN-TASTIC reading week. Any week where the LOW grade is A- is just a damn good week all the way around!

Next week is mostly set as well. The one book I’m not sure about is I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons. Not because I’m worried that the dragons won’t be good dragons, but because I’m in the middle of listening to the latest in Suzanne Palmer’s Finder Chronicles, Ghostdrift, and it’s absolutely awesome and I’m seriously getting that compulsion to switch to text just so I can find out what the hell happens that much sooner.

Topping off this beautiful reading week, here’s a bee-you-ti-ful picture of the beauteous Luna showing off her best ‘come hither’ expression. Which is very, very good indeed. Who could resist that face? Certainly not either of us!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Early Summer Giveaway Event

Blog Recap:

Early Summer Giveaway Event
A- #BookReview: The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond
Grade A #BookReview: On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo
A+ #BookReview: Fiasco by Constance Fay
A+ #BookReview: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Stacking the Shelves (604)

Coming This Week:

The Runes of Engagement by Dave Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell (#BookReview)
We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed (#BookReview)
The Mausoleum’s Children by Aliette de Bodard (#BookReview)
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle (#BookReview)
The Hero She Craves by Anna Hackett (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-1-24

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

The attached picture isn’t exactly “Lazy Lions Lounging in the Local Library”, but it’s close. It’s clearly lazy kitties lounging on a willing human – and not that Chez Reading Reality doesn’t resemble a library!

Luna looks huge in this picture, but she’s actually the smallest of the three. Not that ANY of these three are actually small.

This past week, reading wise, turned out to be mostly interesting in all the ways that make “interesting” a euphemism. It ended up being a number of books that didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, and then one I turned to as a saving grace because this week required that something really good get read no matter how deep I had to dive into the virtually towering TBR pile!

I have much higher hopes for this coming week, if only because I’ve already finished most of the books!

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop is Steph

Blog Recap:

Memorial Day 2024 (Guest Post by Galen)
B #AudioBookReview: The Bodies in the Library by Marty Wingate
B- #BookReview: One Man’s Treasure by Sarah Pinsker
D #AudioBookReview: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang
A+ #BookReview: Fatal Enquiry by Will Thomas
Stacking the Shelves (603)

Coming This Week:

Early Summer Giveaway Event
On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo (#BookReview)
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond (#BookReview)
Fiasco by Constance Fay (#BookReview)
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (#BookReview)