Category: Winner announcement

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-2-23

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

We’re back! YAY! The fur-children were VERY happy to see us Friday night, and we were equally happy to see them. The cat-sitter from Reigning Cats & Dogs always sends us pictures, but it is just NOT THE SAME! We missed them terribly by the end.

Howsomever, it looks like some trauma bonding happened while we were away. Here are Lucifer and Luna, firmly ensconced on top of Galen, as Lucifer gives Luna a bit of grooming and she just looks blissed out. And who can blame her? Except possibly her brother Tuna who seems to be a bit left out of the proceedings.

It was terrific to have a bit of a break, as all the posts were queued up before we left. (Sincerest thanks to both Galen and the lovely Amy Daltry for helping to make that happen!) But it is fantastic to be back home. Dorothy was right, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like HOME!”

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop is Chris S.
The winner of the Come Out & Play Giveaway Hop is Marisela
The winner of the Hello Summer Giveaway Hop is Elizabeth H.

Blog Recap:

B Review: War Cry by Brian McClellan
A+ Guest Review (by Amy) Chef’s Choice by TJ Alexander
B Review: A Rogue at Stonecliffe by Candace Camp
C Review: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
B+ Review: Whispers at Dusk by Heather Graham
Stacking the Shelves (555)

Coming This Week:

The Third to Die by Allison Brennan (review)
Independence Day! (Guest Post by Galen)
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay (blog tour review)
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao (review)
Christmas in July Giveaway Hop

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-18-23

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

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

For Mother’s Day last month I posted a picture of LaZorra, the one and only momcat we’ve ever had – at least so far. So it seems only fitting that for Father’s Day I post a picture of the only dadcat that we’ve ever had, at least so far and so far as we know. (Who knows what Lucifer got up to while he was living rough!)

It’s also totally appropriate that Erasmus follow his sister LaZorra, because that’s pretty much what he did for his entire life. She had ALL the brains, and he had all the sweet. (Yes, they were a bit like the Egyptian pharaohs, as momcat and dadcat were also brother and sister from the same litter, so we know they shared at least one parentcat themselves.)

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Hello Summer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Come Out & Play Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Berry Good Giveaway Hop is Sherry

Blog Recap:

B- Review: Rose/House by Arkady Martine
A+ Guest Review: Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander
Spotlight + Excerpt: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
A Review: Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman
Dad-O-Mite Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (553)

Coming This Week:

Juneteenth 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
Hiss Me Deadly by Miranda James (review)
Summer Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop
Beach Read by Emily Henry (review)
Hex by Anna Hackett (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-4-23

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

Today’s cat picture is Tuna, or as we often call him, Big Tunes. Here he’s showing off his bigness by stretching towards me on the couch. This picture is kind of typical of the big guy, as he looks very large and totally not in charge at the same time!

As sometimes happens, last week’s schedule collapsed a bit at the end due to the siren song of a different book I just decided I wanted to read more after another book just reminded me of it so hard. Books lead to other books, just like cats lead to other cats. Which is probably the story of my ENTIRE life.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop is Shelly

Blog Recap:

Memorial Day 2023 (Guest post by Galen)
B+ Review: The Benevolent Society of Ill Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
A+ Review: A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato
Berry Good Giveaway Hop
A Review: What Darkness Brings by C.S. Harris
Stacking the Shelves (551)

Coming This Week:

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick (blog tour review)
The Isolated Seance by Jeri Westerson (review)
Hello Summer Giveaway Hop
Come Out and Play Giveaway Hop
The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-28-23

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

Happy 3-day Memorial Day Holiday Weekend to everyone lucky enough to have it!

Last week’s reading plan went a bit pear-shaped, just like the week before. It happens but it is so damn frustrating when it does! This week’s just doesn’t have all that many places it CAN go, between the holiday and the blog hop. A chance for a bit of a reset, I hope.

Speaking of hope, here’s a picture of Luna in the process of her own exploration of the catio. She’s posing on the breakfast nook window, hoping to induce her daddy-person to come out and join her. Possibly with his own breakfast!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!!!)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop is Elaine G

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Watching the Clock by Christopher L. Bennett
B+ Review: Dear Chrysanthemums by Fiona Sze-Lorrain
A+ Review: Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow
B Review: Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell
A- Review: The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong
Stacking the Shelves (550)

Coming This Week:

Memorial Day 2023 (Guest post by Galen)
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman (blog tour review)
A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato (review)
Berry Good Giveaway Hop
Marion Lane and the Raven’s Revenge by T.A. Willberg (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-21-23

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

It’s kind of been one of those weeks, and not just reading wise. Twitter no longer accepts tweets directly from Jetpack, so I have to remember to tweet my posts first thing in the morning. I am NOT a morning person, so it’s going to take a while to make that part of my normal routine as I’m ingesting my caffeine for the day. C’est la vie.

The end of last week’s schedule fell completely apart, hence my desperation move of combining two books I did not like into one relatively short review explaining why they did not work. Then the audiobook I was listening to was turning out to be a bit of a rage listen, so I bailed on that and switched to print. In the end, that worked better, more of a case of it wasn’t a book for me as opposed to please decide who your book’s first person voice is and stick to it. Your reading mileage may definitely vary. (Yes, that’s a Star Trek book coming up tomorrow. I got really frustrated this week.)

(The Bandit Queens is excellent so far, it’s just a bit longer than I was anticipating.)

But someone is having an excellent week. Here’s George, sunning himself on his catio. Although we’ve seen both Luna and Tuna go through the cat flap, it’s clearly become George’s territory and he’s very proud of himself about it!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop (ENDS THURSDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Come What May Giveaway Hop is Bea

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island by Susan M. Boyer
Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
A Review: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
C/D+ Reviews: Short and Unsatisfactory: Books and Reviews 
B- Review: You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg
Stacking the Shelves (549)

Coming This Week:

Watching the Clock (Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations #1) by Christopher L. Bennett (review)
Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow (review)
Dioramas by Blair Austin (review)
Dear Chrysanthemums by Fiona Sze-Lorrain (review)
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-30-23

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

Another Month Ends:

All Targets Met
All Systems Working
All Customers Satisfied
All Staff Eager and Enthusiastic
All Pigs Fed and Ready to Fly

Remember that with enough thrust, pigs CAN fly. So the above is ALL entirely possible. Not terribly likely – at least not all at once – but possible.

I have a poster on my office wall from Graeme Base’s marvelous Animalia. It will not surprise anyone that the poster is “Lazy Lions Lounging in the Local Library”. As a bit of an  homage, here’s a “Lazy Luna Lounging in the Lap of Luxury”

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Just Because Giveaway Hop is Heather
The winner of the Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop is Angela

Blog Recap:

A- Review: The Way of the Bear by Anne Hillerman
B+ Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry
A- Review: The Comeback Cowboy by Jackie Ashenden, Caitlin Crews, Nicole Helm, Maisey Yates
B Review: The Beach Reads Bookshop by Lee Tobin McClain
A- Review: The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
Stacking the Shelves (546)

Coming This Week:

Come What May Giveaway Hop
The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick (blog tour review)
Tsalmoth by Steven Brust (review)
Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop
For Love of Magic by Simon R. Green (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-16-23

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

I ended up throwing last week’s planned schedule into a blender. I was just having a bad case of being unable to settle on a book, not getting anywhere and not getting anything done. So I went looking for short reads and comfort reads to get me over that hump, which is how Who Cries for the Lost ended up kicking off this coming week.

This week’s schedule had Three Debts Paid inserted into it when I learned of the death of its author, Anne Perry, this past week.

Tuna volunteered for this week’s cat picture. The new comforter he’s posed on was a birthday present from one of my oldest and dearest friends, and he just looked so adorable – and adorably confused – laying on it that I couldn’t resist!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Just Because Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of ANY book by Barbara Hambly is Anita
The winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card is Cali
The winner of one of my or the winner’s favorite books so far is Carl
The winner of The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna is Nadine

Blog Recap:

A++ Review: The Stars Undying by Emery Robin
A+/D Review: The Way Home by Peter S. Beagle
A Review: Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney
A- Review: Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee
A- Review: The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
Stacking the Shelves (544)

Coming This Week:

Who Cries for the Lost by C.S. Harris (review)
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu (audio review)
Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake (review)
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (review)
Three Debts Paid by Anne Perry (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-2-23

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

Come one, come all and WELCOME to Reading Reality’s annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week. This week, on Tuesday in fact, Reading Reality will celebrate its TWELFTH Blogoversary. As Wednesday, April 5 is my own birthday, I like to celebrate this doubly happy occasion with giveaways all week long. So be sure to come back each an every day to see what’s on tap.

The party is starting tomorrow, but in the meantime here’s a picture of Tuna, already all tuckered out from the preparations.

We’ll let him recover for a bit, so the party can get started bright and early in the morning!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop is Viki 

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky
B Review: Her Lost Words by Stephanie Marie Thornton
C+ Review: Sea Change by Gina Chung
A Review: The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
B Review: White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link
Stacking the Shelves (542)

Coming This Week:

One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly (review + giveaway)
Blogo-Birthday Celebration (feature + giveaway)
Favorites of the Year (So Far) Birthday Giveaway (feature + giveaway)
Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop
Just Because Giveaway Hop
The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna (blog tour review + giveaway)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-26-23

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

Luna was sitting on the hearth, looking all bright-eyed and bushy-faced so Galen decided to snap a picture. Tuna just had to find out what was going on, so instead of Luna looking pretty, she’s looking rather confused as she gets photobombed by her brother!

I switched around this past week’s schedule a bit. I had been intending to read One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly, and I’m still very much looking forward to it. But my TWELFTH Annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration is just a week away. I give stuff away every day during the Celebration, so I always look for books or authors I really, really, really want to share with people to review that week. I’ve been reading and loving Barbara Hambly’s work since The Time of the Dark back in the longer ago than either she or I probably want to admit. Which made her latest book a perfect book to include during the celebration! So expect One Extra Corpse in just one week from tomorrow!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Winter 2022-2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop is Carl
The winner of the Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop is Soozle
The winner of the For the Love of Reading Giveaway Hop is Heather

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
A+ Review: The New Guys by Meredith Bagby
B- Review: The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian
A- Review: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
B Review: The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear
Stacking the Shelves (541)

Coming This Week:

And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky (review)
Her Lost Words by Stephanie Marie Thornton (blog tour review)
Sea Change by Gina Chung (review)
White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link (review)
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-19-23

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

The following picture is both adorable and apropos today. This is a rare shot of Hecate and Luna sharing the same space, and it’s perfect for today because we’ll be on our way home from a visit with one of my oldest and dearest friends, someone I’ve known since kindergarten but have not shared the same space with in almost 20 years. We’ve always kept in touch but haven’t been in the same geographic area in literally aeons. I don’t even care if the weather is good while we’re there – although I certainly hope it is. The opportunity to just sit and talk together is, as they say, priceless.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2022-23 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop (ENDS TONIGHT!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop (ENDS TOMORROW!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the For the Love of Reading Giveaway Hop (ENDS THURSDAY!)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop is Debbi

Blog Recap:

C Review: The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
A+ Review: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
B Review: Illuminations by T. Kingfisher
Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Knightmaster by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (540)

Coming This Week:

The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
The New Guys by Meredith Bagby
The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian
The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear
One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly