On the one hand, both of us are sick. One of the folks we visited over Thanksgiving had the crud, and now we have the crud. No one is happy about the crud.

On that other hand, in spite of the above, we went to the second night of Elton John’s farewell tour last night here in Atlanta. And it was absolutely awesome. Captain Fantastic is still fantastic, and the show was terrific. I’m so very glad we went, even if we’re both paying for it a bit today. If the tour is coming to your town, get tickets.

And on my alien third hand, it was a damn good week for books. And this coming week includes one of my annual treats, the latest collection of Sherlock Holmes inspired stories edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger. I’m planning to start it this afternoon, and it looks like fun. As always. A cup of tea, a sleepy kitty, and Sherlock Holmes. If I have to be sick, that’s great company to spend the day with!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 Book in the December Of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Black Friday Giveaway Hop is Jennifer R.
The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop is Polly K.
The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Gratitude Giveaway Hop is Allie G.
The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the November of Books Giveaway Hop is Jaime L.

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
B- Review: Mission: Her Security by Anna Hackett
A- Review: Someone to Trust by Mary Balogh
A- Review: An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
B+ Review: Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra
December of Books Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (316)

Coming This Week:

The Frame-Up by Megan Scott Molin (blog tour review)
Winter is Coming Giveaway Hop
For the Sake of the Game edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger (review)
A Duke Changes Everything by Christy Carlyle (blog tour review)
Ask Me No Questions by Shelley Noble (blog tour review)

Did you remember to set your clocks back? Did they all do it for you automagically? I just realized that my bedside clock is only semi-automagic – I have to sync it with my iPhone to get it to automatically reset itself. No wonder I feel like I got enough sleep!

If you live in the US and have not voted yet, don’t forget that this Tuesday, November 6, is Election Day. As a reminder to vote, and that your vote does count, I leave you with the immortal words of Lazarus Long, as promulgated by the late and often great SF writer Robert A. Heinlein:

If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There
may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for
… but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against.
In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you rarely go
wrong.

If this is too blind for your taste, consult some well-meaning
fool (there is always one around) and ask his advice. Then
vote the other way. This enables you to be a good citizen (if
such is your wish) without spending the enormous amount of
time on it that truly intelligent exercise of franchise requires.

Current Giveaways:

Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane by JoAnn Ross
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the November of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card in the October of Books Giveaway Hop is Patricia
The winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop is Lauren B.

Blog Recap:

B Review: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor
B+ Review: Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane by JoAnn Ross + Giveaway
B+ Review: Very Important Corpses by Simon R. Green
November of Books Giveaway Hop
B Review: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Stacking the Shelves (312)

Coming This Week:

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews (blog tour review)
Midsummer Mayhem by Marty Wingate (review)
An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris (review)
Want Me, Cowboy by Maisey Yates (review)
Why Not Tonight by Susan Mallery (review)

There’s a very good chance that one of this week’s reviews is going to be postponed to make room for a review of The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi. I’m in the middle of the audiobook right now and so far it is absolutely awesome. And the man himself is going to be just a hop, skip and a jump away from us this week. On Thursday he’ll be doing a reading in Athens GA sponsored by Avid Bookshop. If you like his writing, or just like SF, and you’re going to be within reasonable driving distance of Athens (or somewhere else on The Consuming Fire tour), Scalzi always gives a great reading and an interesting and amusing time is always had by all.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the October Of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Hero by Anna Hackett is Linda R.
The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop is Dan D.

Blog Recap:

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop
A- Review: When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis
B+ Review: Mission: Her Rescue by Anna Hackett
A- Review: Mycroft and Sherlock by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Whitehouse
B+/C+ Review: Putting the Science in Fiction by Dan Koboldt vs. The Science of Science Fiction by Mark Brake
Stacking the Shelves (310)

Coming This Week:

Six Cats a Slayin’ by Miranda James (review)
The Bartered Brides by Mercedes Lackey (review)
Time’s Children by D.B. Jackson (review)
Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven (review)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (review)

Welcome to the “I have no idea what I’m doing this week” edition of the Sunday Post. I’m sure about tomorrow, because I’ve already finished the book. And I’m sure about Wednesday and Thursday, because I promised that those would be the days. Tuesday and Friday, especially Friday, aren’t nearly so certain. The political mess in the US has me so upset and angry that I’ve been retreating into fanfiction just to get some guaranteed catharsis – because I need to read something where the good guys do win – and Facebook sure isn’t helping at the moment. I’ve also decided to turn off the radio in the car and just listen to audiobooks – because there’s only so much a person can take.

If you have any recommendations for great books that are guaranteed to instantly take me far, far away from this mess (I know it’s only temporary but a bit of distance sometimes is needed), please let me know in the comments to this post. THANKS!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the October Of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop
$25 Amazon Gift Card from Sophie Barnes

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the September Of Books Giveaway Hop is Audrey S.
The winner of Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne is Bn100
The winner of A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates is Linda R.

Blog Recap:

October of Books Giveaway Hop
Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop
B- Review: The Silver Shoes by Jill G. Hall
A Review: The Love that Saved Him by Sophie Barnes + Giveaway
A/A Joint Review with Galen: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Stacking the Shelves (308)

Coming This Week:

Dead Man Walking by Simon R. Green (review)
Robots vs. Fairies edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (review)
Desert Hunter by Anna Hackett + Pets in Space 3 Spotlight + Giveaway (blog tour review)
The Arrows of the Heart by Jeffe Kennedy (blog tour review)
Mycroft and Sherlock by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Whitehouse (review)

I thought that this coming week was Banned Books Week. Saying “I thought” means that I was mistaken, and consequently threw this past week’s schedule in a blender to get a post that at least tangentially touched on books, libraries, banned books or all of the above, and ended up with the marvelous The Library Book by Susan Orlean just a bit early.

This coming week is an easy week for me and hopefully a fun week for you all, as I have not one but two blog hops started this week. Tomorrow is also the first day of October (time for the October of Books Giveaway Hop), which means its not too early for Halloween decorations (or Halloween blog hops!).

It is, as always, a good thing that I have plenty of good books to read, because the current political situation makes me want to hide away in a good book for a couple of years – at least. Not that I wouldn’t emerge to vote – because that is absolutely needed. All of us need to get out and vote. As the current Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, put it (I’m not in Atlanta and couldn’t vote for her), she only won by 823 votes in a city with a population of 480,000 people – admittedly not all of whom are eligible to vote. But still, if it only took 800 more committed voters to change an election, just think what all of us who are incensed by recent events can accomplish!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the September Of Books Giveaway Hop (ends TONIGHT!)
Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne
A Tall Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang is Nicole

Blog Recap:

B Review: Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne + Giveaway
B+ Review: The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas
A Review: The Secrets We Carried by Mary McNear
B+ Review: A Tall Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates + Giveaway
A Review: The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Stacking the Shelves (307)

Coming This Week:

October Of Books Giveaway Hop
Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop
The Silver Shoes by Jill G. Hall (blog tour review)
The Love that Saved Him by Sophie Barnes (blog tour review)
Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira (review)

Looking at this week’s schedule I feel like I should give myself a 10 yard penalty for rushing the season. I have two Xmas books this week’s schedule! The Fall equinox just happened 2 days ago! It’s barely Fall! Even the stores are still focused on Halloween! Why are we talking about Xmas (and SNOW!) already? Does this feel as wrong to you as it does to me?

And that’s not taking into account that I live in Atlanta and it’s been in the 90s this past week. This coming week is supposed to be cooler, with highs merely in the 80s. It’s much too warm to be thinking about the holidays.

One of the things about focusing on books, especially new and forthcoming books, is that it often feels like I’m living in the near future instead of the present. It’s weird. But mostly in a good way. But speaking of the future, I’m working on the Black Friday Book Bonanza Giveaway Hop right now – and that’s scheduled for, you guessed it! the day after Thanksgiving!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the September of Books Giveaway Hop
The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card in the Oh! the Places You’ll Go Giveaway Hop is Chrisy B.

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang + Giveaway
A+ Review: The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
A- Review: Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
B Review: A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd
A- Review: Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh
Stacking the Shelves (306)

Coming This Week:

Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne (blog tour review)
The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas (review)
The Secrets We Carried by Mary McNear (blog tour review)
A Tall Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates (blog tour review)
Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira (review)

It is DragonCon weekend here in Atlanta, and we are not there. We loved the few times we went, but DragonCon has more than 70,000 attendees, and that’s just too many people for me. The 5,000 people at Worldcon always feels like a much more manageable size – we get to see more people, attend more panels and just do more stuff. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

We will probably spend at least part of today at the Decatur Book Festival, which is always fun and interesting and slightly less packed to the rafters. Virtual rafters in this case as most of the DBF is outdoors.

And there are always books to read and kitties to pet and naps to be had for everyone on this last long weekend of Summer.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the September Of Books Giveaway Hop
$25 Amazon Gift Card from Shannon Stacey and Under Control

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the A+ Giveaway Hop is Brittany
The winner of the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop is Gaby

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Good Time Cowboy by Maisey Yates
B Review: The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah
Spotlight + Excerpt: The Wedding from Hell Part 3 by J.R. Ward
A-/B+ Review: What Makes This Book So Great / An Informal History of the Hugos by Jo Walton
B Review: Under Control by Shannon Stacey + Giveaway
September Of Books Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (303)

Coming Next Week:

Oh the Places You’ll Go Giveaway Hop
The Illegitimate Duke by Sophie Barnes (blog tour review)
Undetected by Anna Hackett (review)
Exile of the Seas by Jeffe Kennedy (blog tour review)

I already thought this week was weird, but I just got my first call for a “Best of 2018” list. Wow! This year feels like it’s just barely half over, and we’re already closing the books on it!

This has been a strange week in that we came home from Worldcon Monday night. After listening to one panel where I wanted to get every book they discussed, I started a list. It’s even longer than yesterday’s Stacking the Shelves post, and that was long enough. I didn’t pick up any print books, although I did buy ebooks and grab plenty of eARCs after panel discussions. I also got a bunch of cool t-shirts.

I keep saying that I don’t normally do Spotlights without reviews, but there’s one this past week and one this coming week as well. I signed  up for the Release Day Event for Maisey Yates’ Good Time Cowboy because I love her books, and I’m reviewing the book this week. I’ve also been part of the “teaser tour” for J.R. Ward’s Wedding from Hell prequels to her upcoming firefighter romance, Consumed. The first two prequels teased me enough that I’m definitely planning to read Consumed, so I decided to post this week’s excerpt from the upcoming book. And, I admit, I needed a day’s grace.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the A+ Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose is Ellen

Blog Recap:

A- Guest Review: Sleeping with the Fishes by MaryJanice Davidson
Spotlight + Excerpt: Good Time Cowboy by Maisey Yates
B+ Guest Review: The Gender Game by Bella Forrest
A Review: The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick
B Review: Impostor’s Lure by Carla Neggers
A Review: City of Ink by Elsa Hart
Stacking the Shelves (302)

Coming Next Week:

Good Time Cowboy by Maisey Yates (blog tour review)
The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah (blog tour review)
The Wedding from Hell Part 3 by J.R. Ward (blog tour spotlight)
Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien (review)
Under Control by Shannon Stacey (blog tour review)

The dust is starting to settle at the new house. It’s going to settling for a while, but it is starting, at least. One of the better side effects of the move is that Freddie and Lucifer seem to be banding together more. They slink down the stairs together at night to explore the brave new world, as well as seek out fresh kibble. As soon as we get a new door installed on the back porch, they’ll be able to boldly go where no cat has gone before – at least as far as we know.

The built in shelves in my office now contain my ALA committee books and our fiction collection up to the beginning of the letter G. More shelves are upstairs, just waiting to be loaded with the rest of our library.

It’s definitely an adventure!

Current Giveaways:

Hardcover set of The Wildes of Ludlow Castle series by Eloisa James
(1) $50 Amazon Gift card and (5) $10 Amazon Gift Cards from Suzanne Johnson

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Shattered Silence by Marta Perry is Becky
The winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card in the Scoop of Luck Giveaway Hop is Lisa

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Born to Be Wilde by Eloisa James + Giveaway
A Review: Frenchman Street by Suzanne Johnson + Giveaway
B+ Review: The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O’Neal
B Review: Hard in Hightown by Varric Tethras with Mary Kirby
A Review: The Locksmith’s Daughter by Karen Brooks
Stacking the Shelves (299)

Coming Next Week:

Entropy by Jess Anastasi (blog tour review)
Wedding from Hell: The Reception by J.R. Ward (blog tour review)
Gift of Griffins by V.M. Escalada (review)
Southernmost by Silas House (review)
Meet Me at the Museum by Ann Youngson (review)