The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-5-20 + Giveaway

Posted on April 5, 2020April 5, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

Today is my birthday. And it’s weird to be celebrating a birthday without even the possibility of going out for dinner. It’s not that I generally make a big deal out of it, but it just feels strange not to be able to mark it much at all. And to know that by the time we can go out again, it will be too far in the past to make any sense. This makes all those childhood birthdays when I couldn’t have a party and cake because my birthday often fell during Passover seem like wild extravaganzas in comparison. (Passover this year starts on Wednesday, so I did miss it this year!)

Today is also First Contact Day in the Star Trek Universe. In that version of what would be history, Earth’s known “First Contact” with an alien race will occur on April 5, 2063 when the Vulcans observe Earth’s first warp flight. If this sounds familiar at all, that’s because it’s the event that the Borg are trying to prevent in the movie Star Trek: First Contact. Probably my second favorite of all the Star Trek movies, after Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. And this might be a GREAT day for a rewatch.

But to completely mix my favorite SFF metaphors, while today may be First Contact Day, it is my birthday and, just as every day this past week. it will be a Hobbit birthday. Meaning that I am giving presents instead of getting them. Today’s giveaway is another Barnes & Noble $25 Gift Card, but all of this week’s giveaways are still open, and will be until the end of this coming week.

Live Long, and Prosper!

Coming This Week:

Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr (blog tour review)
Matzah Ball Surprise by Laura Brown (review)
Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine (review)
Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer (review)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-22-20

Posted on March 22, 2020March 22, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

Anyone who has ever believed that cats are aloof and not affectionate has not spent an hour trying to distract a cat who is screaming “I want daddy! Where’s my daddy?” at the top of her little kitty lungs, as well as basically trying to drag her secondary human around the house in the hopes of finding her primary human RIGHT MEOW! (If you’re wondering, Galen is outside mowing the lawn while the sun is shining, because it’s supposed to rain yet again today.)

I hope that wherever you are, you are safe, healthy and not completely stir-crazy yet. And that you are able to maintain yourself, your family and your health insurance in this continuing crisis. We are ALL in this together, no matter how far apart we need to physically be.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Snow Much Fun Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop is Elizabeth H.

Blog Recap:

Snow Much Fun Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights edited by Patrick Weekes
B+ Review: The Sea Glass Cottage by RaeAnne Thayne
B+ Review: Battle Bond by Lindsay Buroker
A+ Review: Knight of the Silver Circle by Duncan M. Hamilton
Stacking the Shelves (384)

Coming This Week:

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (review)
Hearts of Oak by Eddie Robson (review)
Paladin by Anna Hackett (review)
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (review)
Matzah Ball Surprise by Laura Brown (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-1-20

Posted on March 1, 2020March 1, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

I don’t know about where you are, but here in Atlanta March came in like a lamb. 60s and sunny. It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood!

I thought I was going to review Sinister Magic last week, but that’s because I assumed, erroneously, that the book would come out on Tuesday as most books do in the US. It didn’t, it came out on Friday, so I didn’t get my copy until sometime in the wee hours. But I have it now, and I still can’t wait to read it!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the OMG It’s a Giveaway Hop is Nikki M.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Children of the Stars by Mario Escobar
A Review: The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes
A Review: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
A- Review: Finna by Nino Cipri
B Review: The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood
Stacking the Shelves (381)

Coming This Week:

Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop
A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne (review)
One Little Lie by Colleen Coble (blog tour review)
Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker (review)
A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-23-20

Posted on February 23, 2020February 23, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

It’s Sunday and I seem to have fallen down a fanfiction rabbit-hole. Climbing out is always hard. I was having such a good time! But I have more books to read! And a cat who suddenly wants ALL the attention. As they do. Where did the weekend go?

I was also flailing around a bit about this week’s reads – at least until the list of Nebula Awards Finalists came out. That switched things around a bit, especially as I’m trying to decide what to put on my Hugo nominations. I’ll have some answers at the end of the week. Well, some more answers, anyway.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the OMG It’s a Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Wild, Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor is Andrea C.
The winner of the Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop is Shelly P.

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
A Review: The Beast Hunter by Lindsay Schopfer
A Review: Prosper’s Demon by K.J. Parker
A- Review The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy
A Review: Passing Strange by Ellen Klages
Stacking the Shelves (380)

Coming This Week:

Children of the Stars by Mario Escobar (blog tour review)
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood (review)
The Deep by Rivers Solomon (review)
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark (review)
Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-16-20

Posted on February 16, 2020February 16, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

This is one of those rare weeks where there’s no blog hop and no blog tour books. Which means I can read whatever I want, and my wants may change without notice. You have been warned!

My cat Lucifer, who could almost have been the model for the Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop graphic (right color fur, wrong color eyes) tells me to remind you that the hop ends Tuesday. And I ALWAYS do what Lucifer tells me to!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop (ends TUESDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the OMG It’s a Giveaway Hop
Wild Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Last Day by Luanne Rice is Kathy M.

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: The Fate of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy
A- Review: Hell Squad Survivors by Anna Hackett
B Review: Wild Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor + Giveaway
B Review: Sisters by Choice by Susan Mallery
OMG It’s a Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (379)

Coming This Week:

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal (review)
The Beast Hunter by Lindsay Schopfer (review)
The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy (review)
Sword of Fire by Katharine Kerr (review)
Dead Man’s Reach by D.B. Jackson (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-9-20

Posted on February 9, 2020February 8, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

The weather outside is actually quite frightful, and I’m not singing “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” It’s already SNOWING, dammit. I’m writing this one Saturday, this is Atlanta, and it is just not supposed to snow here. As somebody said on twitter, “THERE ARE RULES, PEOPLE.” And we have tickets to see The Eagles tonight, in downtown Atlanta. Which is going to be an absolute mess. And probably even worse in the morning, because this snow is supposed to turn to rain, then FREEZE. And we’ll have freezy skid stuff everywhere. Dammit.

Howsomever, Lucifer is standing in the hallway, pivoting his view from one front window to another, looking extremely grateful to be in here where it’s warm and dry and not out there in the middle of that nasty, cold, wet stuff. He appears exceedingly pleased with his current accommodations.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in The Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop
Last Day by Luanne Rice

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Hollows by Jess Montgomery is Carol L.
The winner of the $25 Gift Certificate in the Back in Black Tour is Bill H.

Blog Recap:

B Review: Last Day by Luanne Rice + Giveaway
The Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop
A+ Review: Back in Black by Rhys Ford
A- Review: Golden in Death by J.D. Robb
A- Review: Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Stacking the Shelves (378)

Coming This Week:

The Fate of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy (review)
Sisters by Choice by Susan Mallery (review)
Wild, Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor (blog tour review)
Hell Squad: Survivors by Anna Hackett (review)
OMG It’s a Giveaway Hop

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-2-20

Posted on February 2, 2020February 1, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

We’ve been home almost a week, and the cats have mostly forgiven us. They’re still clinging like they are all made of kitty-velcro, but we seem to be forgiven. They just won’t let us out of their sight unless they’re sleeping – and sometimes not even then. It’s nice to be reassured that they missed us because we certainly missed them!

It’s also been a weird week on the blog, doing two spotlights back-to-back to have enough posts to fill my conference absence. But we did a thing at conference. The ALA Reading List committee of which I am a member deliberated for two days and came up with what feels like an excellent list of winners for this year. If you’re curious, or just looking for some excellent reads, check out our list of award winners, short-listed titles and read-alikes at https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/.

Work on next year’s list begins this week!

Current Giveaways:

$25 Gift Card from Rhys Ford and the Back in Black Tour
The Hollows by Jess Montgomery

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Roaring 20s Giveaway Hop is Ken O.
The winner of the Welcome Winter Giveaway Hop is Peggy N.
The winner of the Best of 2019 Giveaway Hop is Will G.

Blog Recap:

Spotlight + Excerpt: Sisters by Choice by Susan Mallery
Back in Black by Rhys Ford: The Blog Tour
B- Review: Careless Whiskers by Miranda James
A Review: Cast in Wisdom by Michelle Sagara
A- Review: The Hollows by Jess Montgomery + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (377)

Coming This Week:

Last Day by Luanne Rice (blog tour review)
The Cat’s Meow Giveaway Hop
Back in Black by Rhys Ford (blog tour-ish review)
Golden in Death by J.D. Robb (review)
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-19-20

Posted on January 19, 2020January 17, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

There were two “firsts” this week. This week marked the first time I’ve ever officially used my new “A++” rating – for The Name of All Things. Which was absolutely super-awesome. If you love epic fantasy, the series so far, The Ruin of Kings and The Name of All Things are definitely worth a read. The author gave me the ultimate good news/bad news after she saw my review. I had thought/hoped the series was a trilogy, with book 3 coming out this summer. It’s a Pentalogy (5 book series), so it’s great that there are more coming than I thought but bad that it will be longer before its done.

I’m also pretty sure that this is the first time I’ve ever had three blog hops in a single week. I hadn’t originally planned on quite so many, but I’m off to the American Library Association Midwinter Conference at the end of the week and I needed the breather to get my act, if not together, at least into a single pile. I never seem to have as many round tuits as I really need.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Roaring 20s Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Best of 2019 Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Welcome Winter Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr is Alison
The winner of the Welcome 2020 Giveaway Hop is Deb
The winner of the 3…2…1…Giveaway Hop is Carl

Blog Recap:

A++ Review: The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
The Roaring 20s Giveaway Hop
Best of 2019 Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
Welcome Winter Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (375)

Coming This Week:

St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets by Annie England Noblin (blog tour review)
Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews (review)
Malfunction by Nina Croft (review)
Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter (review)
Last Light by Alex Scarrow (guest review by Amy)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-5-20

Posted on January 5, 2020January 5, 2020 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

Welcome 2020! Welcome to the first Sunday Post of the new year!

We had a pretty quiet holiday, except for the neighbors across the street exploding fireworks until, well, until much too late for the cats who spent the holiday under the bed.

This will be the first real post-holiday week. So NetGalley and Edelweiss will probably explode with new eARCS and the “Taj Mahal of dumpster fires” in Romancelandia will probably sink to new depths. I wish that second part weren’t true, but it probably is.

And in other news, this is both a leap year and a presidential election year in the US. A situation that is already heating up – literally.

Happy New Year!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the 3…2…1…Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Welcome 2020 Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Dashing Giveaway Hop is Tracie C.

Blog Recap:

20 for 2020: My Most Anticipated Books for 2020
B+ Review: Blood and Blade by Lauren Dane
3…2…1…Giveaway Hop
Welcome 2020 Giveaway Hop
B Review: Mark of Eon by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (373)

Coming This Week:

The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman (review)
The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr (blog tour review)
Atlas Alone by Emma Newman (review)
The Secret She Keeps by HelenKay Dimon (blog tour review)
The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe (blog tour review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 12-22-19

Posted on December 22, 2019December 22, 2019 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

I really have no idea what I’m doing this week, so the “Coming This Week” section is kind of a guess. I’m definitely doing my “Best of the Year” list this week, but the rest feels iffy. I’ve kind of fallen down into a black hole of excellent fanfiction and can’t seem to pull myself away from the event horizon. It’s been that kind of a year. It’s been that kind of year for a couple of years – and next year will probably be even crazier.

I know the Mark Twain version goes “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.” That probably works for people who love dogs. But it’s definitely just as true for those of us who love cats. And I think I need to go pet mine right now!