An oldie but a goodie for this first day of August:

Another month ends.
All targets met.
All systems working.
All customers satisfied.
All Staff eagerly enthusiastic.
All pigs fed and ready to fly.

For Review:
The Bright Lands by John Fram
Colonyside (Planetside #3) by Michael Mammay
Fishing for Trouble (Alaskan Diner Mystery #2) by Elizabeth Logan
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland
The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Girl from the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat
Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
The Historians by Cecilia Ekback
My Last Duchess (Wildes of Lindow Castle #0.5) by Eloisa James
‘Nother Sip of Gin (Sinners #7) by Rhys Ford
The Paradise Affair (Carpenter and Quincannon #9) by Bill Pronzini
The Patient by Jasper DeWitt
The Roommate by Rosie Danan
The Tower of Fools (Hussite Trilogy #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Truth of the Matter (Potomac Point #2) by Jamie Beck
The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner (audio)
The Law & the Heart by Kenneth Schneyer
New Girl in Town (Age is Just a Number #1) by Rebel Carter

George went in for his ‘snip and chip’ yesterday. He’s fine. He came home and immediately tried to eat ALL the things and destroy ALL the toilet paper. It took hours for him to calm down. But he’s definitely fine.

The stack embiggened again. Embiggen is such a lovely little word, even if it means the size of the virtually towering TBR pile has grown ever larger. Or especially because!

For Review:
The Ancestor by Lee Matthew Goldberg
Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins
The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader
Breathe the Sky by Michelle Hazen
Everything Here is Under Control by Emily Adrian
The Glass Kingdom by Lawrence Osborne
Hearts and Stones (Celta’s HeartMates) by Robin D. Owens (review)
The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O’Donnell
How to Catch a Queen (Runaway Royals #1) by Alyssa Cole
If the Boot Fits (Cowboys of California #2) by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Kitty’s Mix-Tape (Kitty Norville #16) by Carrie Vaughn
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem (Lady’s Guide #1) by Manda Collins
The Less Dead by Denise Mina
Love and Theft by Stan Parish
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
The Princess Knight (Scarred Earth #2) by G.A. Aiken
The River Home by Hannah Richell
Voodoo Heart by John Everson
When She Was Good (Cyrus Haven #2) by Michael Robotham

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Kickstarter:
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Disdainful Looks edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith (Kickstarter)

When George gets sleepy, he gets very, very sleepy. Especially if he’s just been having the zoomies. Yes, that’s my foot and No, it’s not moving. I have been officially incapussitated.

It’s a good thing that I have plenty to read, as evidenced by this week’s stack. All of these look like fun, but I’m especially looking forward to The Emperor’s Wolves by Michelle Sagara. It’s a side-story in her Chronicles of Elantra series, and I hope that it answers more than few burning questions. We’ll see. Also, I fully admit that I bought A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking for the title. Because reasons. Hint, it’s definitely NOT a cookbook.

For Review:

Any Rogue Will Do (Misfits of Mayfair #1) by Bethany Bennett
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
East Coast Girls by Kerry Kletter
The Emperor’s Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1) by Michelle Sagara
The Grove of the Caesars (Flavia Albia #8) by Lindsey Davis
A History of What Comes Next (Take Them to the Stars #1) by Sylvain Neuvel
It Is Wood, It Is Stone by Gabriella Burnham
Murder in Chianti (Tuscan Mystery #1) by Camilla Trinchieri
The Other Side of the Door by Nicci French
The Selah Branch by Ted Neill
Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Today is the 400th Stacking the Shelves post here at Reading Reality. YAY! The mothership for STS, Team Tynga’s Reviews, passed this milestone a few weeks ago, but I must have scheduled a few Saturdays for something completely different sometime in the wayback.

In  honor of the 400th STS, I have a picture of not one but 3 kitties. Lucifer, as usual, is above it all. Possibly literally as he generally spends the afternoon sleeping on the cat tree almost directly upstairs from where this picture was taken!

For Review:
The Archive of the Forgotten (Hell’s Library #2) by A.J. Hackwith
The Burning God (Poppy War #3) by R.F. Kuang
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
The Ikessar Falcon (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen #2) by K.S. Villoso
The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan
The Museum of Forgotten Memories by Anstey Harris
The Quisling Factor by J.L. Oakley
A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee
Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut #3) by Mary Robinette Kowal (audio/preorder)

It’s the Fourth of July! And it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! At the SAME TIME! I feel like there ought to be a flag on this list and a 10-yard penalty for rushing the season. I understand why there are Xmas books on Netgalley and Edelweiss now, and I even understand why they all come out in September, but it still feels weird. Very weird.

And for today’s picture of George, this is George after Friday’s visit to the vet for his final set of kitten booster shots. He’s getting to be such a big boy!

For Review:
The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh
Christmas at Holiday House (Haven Point #12) by RaeAnne Thayne
Claim of Eon (Eon Warriors #6) by Anna Hackett
The Conductors (Murder & Magic #1) by Nicole Glover
Daughters of Darkness (Jennie Redhead #3) by Sally Spencer
The Fair (Time Box #2) by John A. Heldt
First, Become Ashes by K.M. Szpara
The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry
Happily This Christmas (Happily Inc #6) by Susan Mallery
Hollow Empire (Poison Wars #2) by Sam Hawke
In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce
The Last Christmas Cowboy (Gold Valley #11) by Maisey Yates
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
The Politics of Love by Jen Jensen
Skin Deep (Siobhan O’Brien #1)  by Sung J. Woo
A Solitude of Wolverines (Alex Carter #1) by Alice Henderson
The Stormbringer (Stormbringer #1) by Isabel Cooper
Tools of Engagement (Hot & Hammered #3) by Tessa Bailey

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Kickstarter:
Found Girl (Project Enterprise #6) by Pauline Baird Jones
Girl Gone Nova (Project Enterprise #2) by Pauline Baird Jones
Kicking Ashe (Project Enterprise #5) by Pauline Baird Jones
Lost Valyr (Project Enterprise #7) by Pauline Baird Jones
Maestra Rising (Project Enterprise #8) by Pauline Baird Jones
Steamrolled (Project Enterprise #4) by Pauline Baird Jones
Tangled in Time (Project Enterprise #3) by Pauline Baird Jones
The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Perfect Taste edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith (Kickstarter)

Today’s picture is Lucifer. He is seriously in a mood, as if you can’t tell from the expression on his face. The reason he’s in such a disgruntled state is, as usual, George. Who is hiding behind my back in this picture playing with Lucifer’s tail. Lucifer’s consent is definitely begrudging, but it is consent. When I tried to protect his tail he whipped it out and batted George with it – again. And again. For all we humans know, this might be Lucifer’s “I’m having fun” face. But probably not.

And I have books. In fact, I have several books I’ve been waiting for, as well as a few that caught my interest by surprise. I’m also wondering just how badly the traditional publishing industry is imploding. I have books not due out until well into next year. It feels like the publishers are trying to guesstimate when things will be back to normal, but they’re all using differently calibrated prediction apparatus.

Clearly we are living in, among other things, a prime example of why “May you live in interesting times” is considered a curse and definitely not a blessing.

For Review:
Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) by Seanan McGuire
All the Colors of Night (Fogg Lake #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz
And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall
Better Than People by Roan Parrish
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
Cat Me If You Can (Cat in the Stacks #13) by Miranda James
Chance of a Lifetime (Providence Falls #1) by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets
A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels #7) by Kerrigan Byrne
The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Forgotten Daughter by Joanna Goodman
Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul
Jane in Love by Richel Givney
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries #4) by Sophie Hannah
King of the Rising (Islands of Blood and Storm #2) by Kacen Callender
The Lost Princess Returns (Uncharted Realms #5.5) by Jeffe Kennedy
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Space Station Down by Ben Bova and Doug Beason
Spiteful Bones (Crispin Guest #14) by Jeri Westerson
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
With or Without You by Caroline Leavitt
The Worst of All Possible Worlds (Salvagers #3) by Alex White

Oops! The list embiggened again! I wish there was a phrase that was the reading equivalent of “my eyes were bigger than my stomach” or “my mouth wrote a check that my body can’t cash”. Because “so many books, so little time” doesn’t quite convey the bookish equivalent of either of those sayings. I picked up more books than I can read, because I just can’t seem to resist.

Speaking of things I can’t resist, isn’t the picture of George and Freddie utterly irresistible?

For Review:
Amnesty by Aravind Adiga
Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald
The Bone Shard Daughter (Drowning Empire #1) by Andrea Stewart
Cartier’s Hope by M.J. Rose
The Chill by Scott Carson
The Companions by Katie M. Flynn
Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3) by Lyssa Kay Adams
A Deception at Thornecrest (Amory Ames #7) by Ashley Weaver
Deep State (Hayley Chill #1) by Chris Hauty
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
The Fourth Island by Sarah Tolmie
Heart of Junk by Luke Geddes
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Kept Animals by Kate Milliken
The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao
Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua
Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould
The Poison Prince (Hostage of Empire #2) by S.C. Emmett
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon
Savage Son (James Reece #3) by Jack Carr
The Searcher by Tana French
The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky
Silk Dragon Salsa (Kai Gracen #4) by Rhys Ford
The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey

For today’s George picture I have a cuddle puddle. George desperately wants to snuggle with another cat, but our bunch don’t seem to be same-species cuddlers. George, however, is certainly making his best effort, while Freddie seems to be too sleepy to argue about it.

The lists of books are reducing in size a bit, which is a good thing. Which doesn’t mean I’m not having a difficult time concentrating, because I certainly am. I’ve discovered that once I get into something I don’t have any problems sticking with it, but it’s just hard to settle down and get stuck into something. Maybe I’ll imitate the cats and get myself stuck into a nice nap for a while.

For Review:
The Distant Dead by Heather Young
Faithless in Death (In Death #52) by J.D. Robb
Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Princess and the Rogue (Bow Street Bachelors #3) by Kate Bateman
Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan
A Question of Betrayal (Elena Standish #2) by Anne Perry

Since I know that this is what everyone is really here for, here’s today’s George picture, this time with added Freddie:

He is growing like a weed. He seems to be just a bit bigger every single morning. He’s all legs with big feets, so it’s looking more and more like he’s going to be a very large cat. We’re wondering how Freddie is going to react when George gets to be bigger than he is. Quite possibly overnight.

Aaaand I have some lovely books, including a couple of been waiting for. Although Plain Bad Heroines certainly wins title of the week honors!

For Review:
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
Henry Castlewaite and the Portrait of Doom by Richard Groseclose
The Mask of Mirrors (Rook & Rose #1) by M.A. Carrick
Murder at Queen’s Landing (Wrexford & Sloane #4) by Andrea Penrose
Not Like the Movies (Waiting for Tom Hanks #2) by Kerry Winfrey
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
A Rogue of One’s Own (League of Extraordinary Women #2) by Evie Dunmore
Someone to Romance (Westcott #7) by Mary Balogh
The Switch by Beth O’Leary
The Transatlantic Book Club (Finfarran Peninsula #4) by Felicity Hayes-McCoy
Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
A Cowboy to Remember (Cowboys of California #1) by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang (Kindle First Reads)

Last week I asked if people minded if I continued to post pictures of George and was told to “never stop”. So here’s George, watching the fwapping movements of Lucifer’s tail looking for an opportune moment to pounce. While you can’t see Lucifer’s face in this photo, let me assure you that it conveys the mixed messages of long-suffering “there is no such thing as an opportune moment” with “if you must I’ll briefly allow it.” Lucifer is being surprisingly patient, as this seems to happen most nights. George can’t resist a moving tail, his own or anyone else’s!

But speaking of cats, and managing to connect it with books, The Year of the Cat is from a kickstarter campaign that is going to bring me – you guessed it – 12 months of books of cat stories. This will be GRAND!

For Review:
Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy #5) by Ilona Andrews
His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie
How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K.J. Parker
It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan
The Legal Affair (Singh Family #2) by Nisha Sharma
Lowcountry Boondoggle (Liz Talbot #9) by Susan M. Boyer
Members Only by Sameer Pandya
Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock #5) by Sherry Thomas
My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Nophek Gloss (Graven #1) by Essa Hansen
Tane (Hell Squad #20) by Anna Hackett
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Purchased from Kickstarter:
A Cat of a Different Color (Year of the Cat #1) edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith