Tag: virtual nightstand

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)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-26-24

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

This post is the result of a bit of serendipitous procrastination. Or that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I couldn’t quite decide EXACTLY what I’d be reading this week, particular as last week was a bit on the ‘meh’ side. I’m in the middle of three books, two of which I had bailed on at previous points in time, and it just wasn’t looking like a schedule that had the proverbial hope in hell of happening – even with Galen handling the Memorial Day Holiday post on Monday – for which I’m always both grateful and eager to see what he comes up with because they’re always interesting – especially when it takes me a minute or two to figure out how his starting point relates to the particular holiday.

I’ll certainly have things to say about the rest of the week’s books, as those two books I previously flailed and bailed on, while they did get better this time around, didn’t so much redeem the parts that made me bail as they merely got past them. You’ll see.

Speaking of, well, talking about various and sundry issues, this week’s cat picture is of the ‘young guns’ in this clowder, (left to right)  George, Tuna and Luna. We think they’re out on the catio complaining about the neighbor cat that has been coming around and tearing at the screens in an attempt to get in on their very good thing. They don’t seem all that fussed about it – at least so far – but we’ve laid in a supply of screen repair patches, just in case!

Current Giveaways:

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

Blog Recap:

B- #BookReview: A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
B- #BookReview: Dear Edna Sloane by Amy Shearn
B #BookReview: The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
B #BookReview: Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
A- #BookReview: How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djèlí Clark
Stacking the Shelves (602)

Coming This Week:

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

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-19-24

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

I’m in kind of a murder-y mood this week, so a couple of mysteries are definitely on my reading horizon. I have to confess that it might not be the two actually slotted into the schedule – but if it’s not them it will be something similar.

Although, speaking of wanting to murder something – I wish I could figure out what purpose it serves for bogus email addresses to enter one of the giveaways. I do check to make sure that the random entry rafflecopter settles itself on is legit – which takes forever when there are 13,000+ (not a typo, THIRTEEN THOUSAND) entries to let it shuffle through until it hits a real, honest-to-goodness entry by someone who actually did comment. By the end, I was yawning as much as Tuna in this picture below, although Tuna is absolutely, totally, definitely much cuter when he does. As I snapped the picture, he was yawning and stretching SO HARD that he eventually rolled himself off the step. Fortunately for him, he was on the bottom step and just landed on his feet. As they do.

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Come What May Giveaway Hop is Brigette

Blog Recap:

A+ #BookReview: How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
B #AudioBookReview: Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner
B #BookReview: In Our Stars by Jack Campbell
Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
A+ #AudioBookReview: When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Stacking the Shelves (601)

Coming This Week:

A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (#BookReview)
Dear Edna Sloane by Amy Shearn (#BookReview)
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood (#BookReview)
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa (#BookReview)
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-12-24

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

Today is Mother’s Day in the United States and Canada, as well as a host of other countries. So Happy Mother’s Day if this is a day that you celebrate.

I may not have human children – and that ship has definitely sailed and is long over the horizon – I do have fur children. Here’s a picture of Luna being the prettiest Luna who ever Luna’ed.

Seriously, could anyone resist that face? Ever?

Moving on from really, really pretty to pretty damn good, this past week was a pretty damn good reading week. For ratings, for this reader and reviewer, the high bar for a book to get over is the leap from A- to Grade A. Lots of books make that A- for me because they are really, really good and I had a really, really good time reading them. For something to get the whole A, it needs to be near perfect, and neither life nor reading life manage that nearly as often. C’est la vie all the way around.

(In Our Stars wasn’t close to perfect, but that’s not why it got shifted to this coming week. It got shifted because it’s publication date isn’t until May 21, so now the review is only one week ahead instead of two. And I’m kind of glad I moved it so as not to break up this lovely week of A- and A books!)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Come What May Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Grade A #AudioBookReview: Funny Story by Emily Henry
A- #BookReview: The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan
A- #BookReview: Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel
A- #BookReview: The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
A- #BookReview: L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future, Volume 40 edited by Jody Lynn Nye
Stacking the Shelves (600)

Coming This Week:

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler (#BookReview)
Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner (#BlogTour #AudioBookReview)
In Our Stars by Jack Campbell (#BookReview)
Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts (#BookReview)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-5-24

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

Yesterday was Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with You!) Today is Cinco de Mayo. Next Sunday is Mothers’ Day. And it’s SPRING! Really, truly spring, whatever that might mean where you specifically are. Here it also means that summer is literally just around the corner and will be springing out any day now.

Today’s picture may look a bit more like Fall – but we won’t be thinking about THAT season for a while around here. Nevertheless, there’s Hecate, definitely looking her witchy best with all of her Halloween-colored fur on display. She’s also been BEING a witch, but that’s something else altogether!

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop is Viki S.

Blog Recap:

Grade A #BookReview: Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman
A- #BookReview: People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle
Come What May Giveaway Hop
B+ #BookReview: Knightqueen by Anna Hackett
B #BookReview: My Dearest Mackenzie by Rachel Blaufeld
Stacking the Shelves (599)

Coming This Week:

Funny Story by Emily Henry (#AudioBookReview)
The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan (#BlogTour #BookReview)
Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hende (#BookReview)
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (#BookReview)
In Our Stars by Jack Campbell (#BookReview)

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

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 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)