I didn’t get a lot this week, but what I got was definitely choice!
For Review:
Fifty Things that Aren’t My Fault by Cathy Guisewite
Gather the Fortunes (Crescent City #2) by Bryan Camp
The Hound of Justice (Janet Watson Chronicles #2) by Claire O’Dell
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Magic Engineer (Saga of Recluce #3) by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (audio)
What is it about traveling? Probably all the recycled air and recycled germs on the plane and in the airport. We both came back from our Thanksgiving trip with whatever crud is going around, and let me tell you, it’s really nasty crud. There’s been a whole lot of coughing, and sneezing, and coughing around here. I keep expecting to cough up my toenails – from the inside. Horrible stuff.
But I still got a few interesting books this week, as I do every week. Reading is definitely my happy place! And WOOT! I don’t know what made me look, but there’s a Jean Johnson book that I managed to miss. And have now started. WOOT!
For Review:
Edge of Eon (Eon Warriors #1) by Anna Hackett
Flare Up (Boston Fire #6) by Shannon Stacey
The Infamous Duchess (Diamonds in the Rough #4) by Sophie Barnes
The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Mahimata (Asiana #2) by Rati Mehrotra
Terminal Uprising (Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse #2) by Jim C. Hines
The View from Alameda Island by Robyn Carr
Who Slays the Wicked (Sebastian St. Cyr #14) by C.S. Harris
Purchased from Amazon:
The Temple (Guardians of Destiny #4) by Jean Johnson
This is two weeks’ worth of stack, and for that time period, it’s not too bad. Or rather, it’s not too big. More books is always good, even if I don’t have time to read all the books I get. So many books, so little time!
For Review:
The American Agent (Maisie Dobbs #15) by Jacqueline Winspear
Duchess by Deception (Gilded #1) by Marie Force
A Duke Changes Everything (Duke’s Den #1) by Christy Carlyle
Faking Forever (First Wives #4) by Catherine Bybee
Hunting Game (Embla Nyström #1) by Helene Tursten
Indian Paintbrush (Carson Chronicles #3) by John A. Heldt
The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
The Lost Puzzler (Tarakan #1) by Eyal Kless
The Sentence is Death (Hawthorne #2) by Anthony Horowitz
Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets by John Woolf and Nick Baker (audio)
The Towers of the Sunset (Saga of Recluce #2) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (audio)
Think of this as the “Comfort Reads” edition of Stacking the Shelves. It’s the Thanksgiving weekend here in the US. By the time you read this, I’ll have been out of town for most of the week, and not picked up much, if anything, from either NetGalley or Edelweiss. And it will be a slow week on both services anyway, because Thanksgiving. This is not a week where a whole lot get done much of anywhere in the US, unless it’s last minute grocery shopping for the ceremonial roasting of the bird – or insane Black Friday Xmas shopping.
So instead of talking about what I didn’t get this week, I thought I’d talk about some of the series that I call “comfort reads”. Series that I’ve started, or am in the middle of, that I turn to whenever I want a guaranteed “great read” of a certain type, or when I just begin to miss hearing the main character’s voice. Looking at the list, quite a few are mysteries. Mysteries, to me at least, are very comforting. Good always triumphs, evil always gets its just desserts, and the detective always goes on to solve crimes another day.
Mystery comfort reads:
Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood – first book in series is Cocaine Blues
Inspector Ian Rutledge by Charles Todd – first book in series is A Test of Wills
Cat in the Stacks by Miranda James – first book in series is Murder Past Due
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear – first book in series is Maisie Dobbs
Romance comfort reads:
Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews – first book in series is Magic Bites
Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs – first book in series is Moon Called
Any book by M.L. Buchman – first book in Night Stalkers series is The Night is Mine
Science fiction/fantasy/urban fantasy comfort reads:
The Saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt Jr. – first book in series is The Magic of Recluce
The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne – first book in series is Hounded (this series is particularly good in audio)
Who do you turn to when you need a comfort read?
Welcome to the pre-Thanksgiving edition of Stacking the Shelves! Thanksgiving feels early this year or maybe it’s just that the holiday seems to have rushed towards me at breakneck speed. It feels like it was summer only yesterday.
I don’t have a lot this week, but one book I’m really glad to see: The Tale Teller by Anne Hillerman. I loved this series (Leaphorn & Chee) when her dad, Tony Hillerman was writing it, and I think I love it even more now that she’s picked it up! Winds of Marque also looks interesting. It’s being billed as Aubrey & Maturin (Master and Commander) in space. That’s been done before (Honor Harrington among others) so I’m curious to see just how well it’s done this time.
For Review:
The Chaos Function by Jack Skillingstead
Christmas Camp Wedding by Karen Schaler
Not the Duke’s Darling (Greycourt #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt
Smoke and Ashes (Sam Wyndham #3) by Abir Mukherjee
The Tale Teller (Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito #5) by Anne Hillerman
The Unquiet Heart (Sarah Gilchrist #2) by Kaite Welsh
Winds of Marque by Bennett R. Coles
The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick
There’s a very tiny kitten trying to eat my ear as a type this. It’s very distracting – alternately ticklish and painful. I had to put her back in her playpen when she nearly succeeding in giving my ear another piercing.
It’s cold and rainy here in Atlanta, so it’s a lovely weekend for reading. And I have plenty of new stuff to choose from!
For Review:
Apollo to the Moon by Teasel E. Muir-Harmony
Cast in Oblivion (Chronicles of Elantra #14) by Michelle Sagara
Christmas Camp Wedding by Karen Schaler
Do You have Kids?: Life when the Answer is No by Kate Kaufmann
Mission: Her Security (Team 52 #3) by Anna Hackett
Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik
Purchased from Amazon:
Blackmark (Kingsmen Chronicles #1) by Jean Lowe Carlson
Bloodmark (Kingsmen Chronicles #2) by Jean Lowe Carlson
Debris & Detritus, the Lesser Greek Gods Running Amok by Patricia Burroughs (Editor), Rhonda Eudaly (Foreward), Max Adams, Toni McGee Causey, Mark Finn, Claire M Johnson, Jeanne Lyet Gassman, Michelle Muenzler , Robin D. Owens, Irene Radford, ChandaElaine Spurlock, Weyodi Squid, Beth Teliho, Antioch Grey, M.J. Butler
Goldenmark (Kingsmen Chronicles #3) by Jean Lowe Carlson
In the Stacks by Scott Lynch
Script of the Heart (Celta’s Heartmates #15) by Robin D. Owens
Unfettered by Shawn Speakman (Editor), Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Jacqueline Carey, Tad Williams, R.A. Salvatore, Naomi Novik, Geno Salvatore, Peter V. Brett, Daniel Abraham, Lev Grossman, David Anthony Durham, Peter Orullian, Blake Charlton, Michael J. Sullivan, Eldon Thompson, Robert V.S. Redick, Carrie Vaughn, Kevin Hearne, Jennifer Bosworth, Todd Lockwood, Mark Lawrence
Unfettered II by Shawn Speakman (Editor), Brandon Sanderson, Naomi Novik, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Michael J. Sullivan, Janny Wurts, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Mark Lawrence, Seanan McGuire , Peter Orullian, Aidan Moher, Erin Lindsey, John A. Pitts, Anthony Ryan, Scott Sigler, Django Wexler, Rachel Caine, Sarah Beth Durst, David Farland, Terry Brooks
Unfettered III by Shawn Speakman (Editor), Tad Williams, Naomi Novik, Megan Lindholm, John Gwynne, David Anthony Durham, Katherine Arden, Callie Bates , Jason Denzel, Carrie Vaughn, Deborah A. Wolf, Anna Stephens, Patrick Swenson, Ramon Terrell, Peter Orullian, Terry Brooks, Lev Grossman, Seanan McGuire, Delilah S. Dawson, Mark Lawrence (preorder)
OK, I know this shelf stack has a certain theme to it. Probably in celebration of the thirteenth and final book of the series coming out in January, the ENTIRE Charley Davidson series popped up on NetGalley this week. Since this is one of those series that has been recommended to me multiple times, I couldn’t resist the impulse to “collect the set” and started reading right away. Not that I’ll be caught up by January, but I’ll make at least a little dent.
So far, I do understand exactly why all the recommendations over the years. It’s a fun read!
For Review:
The Curse of Tenth Grave (Charley Davidson #10) by Darynda Jones
The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson #9) by Darynda Jones
Eighth Grave After Dark (Charley Davidson #8) by Darynda Jones
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight (Charley Davidson #11) by Darynda Jones
Fifth Grave Past the Light (Charley Davidson #5) by Darynda Jones
First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones (review)
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson #4) by Darynda Jones
Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2) by Darynda Jones
Seventh Grave and No Body (Charley Davidson #7) by Darynda Jones
Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson #6) by Darynda Jones
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave (Charley Davidson #13) by Darynda Jones
Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson #3) by Darynda Jones
The Trouble with Twelfth Grave (Charley Davidson #12) by Darynda Jones
Borrowed from the Library:
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This week’s collection is certainly an interesting group! There are two books I’ve already reviewed, which is certainly unusual. And one book that already has two strikes against it. It seemed like I was the only person in the world who did not like Charlie Jane Anders’ All the Birds in the Sky, but I’m already hearing raves about her new one and decided to get the ARC anyway. We’ll see.
For Review:
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 2 by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir and illustrated by Carmen Carnero, Fernando Heinz Furukawa
Pirate’s Passion (Sentinels of Savannah #2) by Lisa Kessler
Unbroken Cowboy (Gold Valley #5) by Maisey Yates
The Women’s War by Jenna Glass
Purchased from Amazon:
The Consuming Fire (Interdependency #2) by John Scalzi (REVIEW) (ebook purchased from Amazon and signed hardcover purchased at author signing event!)
Magnolia Mystic (Sentinels of Savannah #1) by Lisa Kessler (review)
I realized a couple of things this week. Because I finished Endgames, the 12th book in the Imager Portfolio over the weekend, I discovered that I really, really want to read the first three books in the series again. Not just because it’s been 10 years since I read them, but because Endgames is the end of the middle sequence in the world chronology. The series as a whole started at what is now the endpoint of that chronology. I’m really curious to see how what we know now matches up with what the author wrote then.
I also figured out that now that I’ve stopped depressing myself by listening to the news on the radio, I have about 5 extra hours of audiobook listening every week. Plenty of time to run through a whole lot of books! So I grabbed the first three Imager books in audio. I think I must have listened to one or more books in the series at some point, so I’m looking forward to hearing the reader again – and hearing how some of the more tongue-twisting names are actually pronounced!
For Review:
The Cliff House by RaeAnne Thayne
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
Warrior of the World (Chronicles of Dasnaria #3) by Jeffe Kennedy
Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Imager (Imager Portfolio #1) by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Imager’s Challenge (Imager Portfolio #2) by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Imager’s Intrigue (Imager Portfolio #3) by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Seasons of Sorcery by Amanda Bouchet, Grace Draven, Jennifer Estep and Jeffe Kennedy (preorder)
This was going to be another teeny-tiny stack – until Macmillan did a dump into Edelweiss and suddenly I have books! I’ve already started reading Endgames. I’ve loved that series for ten years, and always gobble up the new one as soon as I get my hands on the ARC. I have to wait until February to post the review, but I couldn’t let my treat remain unread for another second.
For Review:
The Best of Us (Sullivan’s Crossing #4) by Robyn Carr
Connections in Death (In Death #48) by J.D. Robb
Death of an Eye (Eye of Isis #1) by Dana Stabenow
Endgames (Imager Portfolio #12) by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
The Flimflam Affair (Carpenter and Quincannon #7) by Bill Pronzini
For the Killing of Kings by Howard Andrew Jones
Miss Violet and the Great War (Strangely Beautiful #3) by Leanna Renee Hieber
Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Shattered (Iron Druid Chronicles #7) by Kevin Hearne (audiobook)