Today is actually the actual 14th blogoversary for Reading Reality. Tomorrow is my birthday. Having the actual dates partially fall over the weekend has made things weird as far as posting the Celebration Week is concerned. (Next year will be crazier as both days are over a weekend. The celebration will be AFTER.
Nevertheless, today is a day worth celebrating here at Chez Reading Reality as the whole thing began on April 4, 2011 and is still growing strong even though blogs are not nearly the big noise that they used to be. I’m still having a blast with this thing, so we’re still here – and plan to be for the foreseeable future.
Which leads to tomorrow’s birthday. I’ll be 68, something that I’m still having a hard time believing – and occasionally even dealing with. We were supposed to have FLYING CARS by now, and space travel for tourists was supposed to have been an actual thing. Maybe in my next life – or something like that.
In this life, however, I have books and cats. At Reading Reality, we normally talk about the books. Except for the Sunday Post, when one of the cats gets to be the Cat of the Week for the week. Not all cats – and dogs – are as lucky as our cats have been, meaning that they were rescued from whatever unfortunate circumstances they happened to be in and have found a forever home with us. To help more cats as well as dogs and other animals – because Hecate would really prefer to be an only child and we’ve already ruined that for her and enough is more than enough from her perspective – I’m doing a birthday fundraiser on Facebook for Planned Pethood, an organization which provides low-cost spay and neuter services AND wellness care for pets so that they can stay with their people in their forever homes, as well as providing Trap-Neuter-Release traps to help curb the feral population. I’ve already donated, and I hope you’ll see it in your heart to chip in a bit as well.
This is a year when many of us are probably looking for a bit of escape from a reality that just keeps on biting – and that’s something that books are excellent at. Which is why I’ve been giving some away this week.
To make your temporary escape that best that it can possibly be, today, for the PENULTIMATE giveaway of this 14th Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week, I’m giving away the winner’s choice of one of my favorite books this year – so far – to one lucky commenter on this post. As is often the case with me and lists, it’s going to be a bit loosey-goosey in that a couple/three truly excellent books that I’ve already finished come out in the next couple of months, and they are included in this list. AND, several of the books on this list are second or later books in series, because that’s the way my escapes are rolling these days.
Also my escapes this year so far have run very much straight into SF and Fantasy, and that may not be where your escapes trend. So if I’ve missed your favorite genre and there’s a book you’re dying to read, I’d be happy to help you escape to the world of your choice by sending you that book instead of one of mine (up to $25 US).
The Adventures of Mary Darling by Pat Murphy
Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb
Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spotswood
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill
Heir of Light by Michelle Sagara
Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow
The Railway Conspiracy by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan
Remember When by Mary Balogh
The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
Symbiote by Michael Nayak
Tea You At the Altar by Rebecca Thorne
The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
Twice as Dead by Harry Turtledove
Just let me know in the rafflecopter what book you’d most like to have your very own copy of, from my list or yours, in whatever format suits you best. Someone is going to get very lucky, at least reading-wise!
Next year – OMG it’s wild to be talking about NEXT year when this year’s Celebration isn’t ending until tomorrow – the Celebration will take place the week of April 4-10. Come one, come all, and be sure to come back over the year between to see what fabulous books and fantastic giveaways happen in all the months between now and then!
I would pick: Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb
Happy Blog-Birthday 🥰. I’d pick Swordheart.
I’m dying to read Things I Wish I Said by Gracie Graham.
The Railway Conspiracy.
Congratulations, Marlene!! I love your blog 🙂 xo
And Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day !!
maybe Dead in the Frame