Tag: Luna T. Cat

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-12-23

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

I’m in the midst of a ‘reading weekend’ for Library Journal, so this past week fell apart at the end because my ’round tuit’ broke and that ‘so many books, so little time’ thing absolutely bit me in the ass. I needed to get started earlier than I planned and I just didn’t have another book in me, so the results of a previous LJ reading weekend appeared on Friday. I still plan to get to Chaos Terminal, but it will be later in the month.

Today’s cat picture is Luna, who both looks like she’s posing for her closeup AND reminding everyone that cat people are never permitted to go to the bathroom alone. She’s multitasking – that thing I kind of failed at earlier this week.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Twilight Falls by Juneau Black
Spotlight + Excerpt: The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman
B Review: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
B Review: The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow
Stacking the Shelves (574)

Coming This Week:

System Collapse by Martha Wells (review)
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers (review)
Calamity by Constance Fay (review)
In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman (blog tour review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-5-23

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

Did you remember to “fall back” last night? And just how badly do you end up wishing they’d just make up their damn minds and stick to one or the other? I wish we stayed on Daylight Saving Time all year round, but then I’d also enjoy the day more if it started later. People who have to put kids on school buses seem to prefer Standard Time because it’s dark in the morning when they have to get the kids on the bus. I honestly don’t care enough to even argue the point. I’d be thrilled if they’d just pick one and stick to it even if it’s not the one I’d personally prefer. You’d think this would be a popular enough thing that even Congress could pass something, but NOOOOOO.

Rant over until March 10, 2024.

This week ended with a “flail and bail” where I flailed over the last two books I intended to review this week and bailed on both of them. I just hit a wall of “I can’t even” after several days of horror and horror-adjacency in a row, Halloween was OVER and the new month just screamed for different books. So it goes.

A couple of Sunday Posts ago I mentioned that Tuna’s size is a bit hard to measure because he doesn’t seem to pose for pictures where a size comparison can be made. Galen caught the above picture earlier this week with both Luna and Tuna in the frame. Tuna looks huge and Luna looks tiny by comparison. It’s still not a great way of judging Tuna’s size, as Luna isn’t really a small cat. She’s pretty much an average sized cat – she only looks small in comparison to her brother. Which means that Tuna in photo is even larger than he appears!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Silly Pumpkins Giveaway Hop is Will G.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather
B+ Review: The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw
Thanks a Latte Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Warriorborn by Jim Butcher
B+ Review: Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose
Stacking the Shelves (573)

Coming This Week:

Twilight Falls by Juneau Black (review)
The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman (spotlight + excerpt)
Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (review)
Super Stocking Stuffer Giveaway Hop
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske (audiobook review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 10-22-23

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

I did switch up one thing last week. I had originally planned to post my review of The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror this past week – at least until all the candy displays at Publix hit me with the clue-by-four that Howloween is coming up SOON and that I had enough horror or at least horror-adjacent books to do a bit of a theme around the howliday. So a switcheroo was made.

Last Sunday’s cat picture was a bit of ‘Tall Tuna is Tall – and confuddled!’ so this week’s picture is ‘Long Luna is Long’ – just not as long as Tuna. We need to get a picture of Tuna with some perspective in it to show just how big he is, but so far he has NOT been cooperative!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Silly Pumpkins Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Silly Pumpkins Giveaway Hop
A++ Review: Generation Ship by Michael Mammay
A+ Review: Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree
A- Review: Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 edited by R.F. Kuang
B+ Review: Keep by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (571)

Coming This Week:

Under the Smokestrewn Sky by (Seanan McGuire writing as) A. Deborah Baker (audio review)
A Duke’s Lesson in Charm by Sophie Barnes (blog tour review)
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: Volume Four edited by Paula Guran (review)
Phantom Pond by Juneau Black (review)
Night Train to Murder by Simon R. Green (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 10-8-23

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

The backyard doesn’t look quite like that at the moment, because Fall is pretty much falling all over the place. The tree cover behind the house is lush for a lot of the year, but now is the time when the leaves start falling with a vengeance and suddenly we have neighbors again.

The cats, of course, find the whole falling leaves thing utterly fascinating. George was in these very seats a couple of nights ago, chirping at the falling leaves in the hopes that they were birds he could lure in. Meanwhile, the catio has become an all-day place for kitties to lounge as the temperatures have begun falling in as much earnest as they ever do around here.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall Seasons of Books 2023 Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A Review: The Hunter’s Apprentice by Lindsay Schopfer
A- Review: Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor
B Review: The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar
Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop
A- Review: The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarns
Stacking the Shelves (569)

Coming This Week:

Indigenous People’s Day 2023: Two Courts (guest post by Galen)
An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka (blog tour review)
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie (review)
A Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett (review)
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (audio review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-10-23

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

I’m sure about every day this week except Wednesday. I’ve already read or listened to all the books, but I didn’t write up Mammoths at the Gates for Reading Reality back when I reviewed it for Library Journal, so I need to do at least a re-skim for this week. It was lovely and adorable and so much fun – like every book in the Singing Hills Cycle so far – but my round tuit just wasn’t fully polished that weekend.

Turning to something  – or someone – else that is rather round, take a look at this recent picture of Luna, Tuna and George. Luna and George are out on the screened-in catio, while Tuna is looking on mournfully from the inside side of the cat door. George and Luna spend a LOT of time out on the catio, especially George, but Tuna doesn’t go out there. We don’t think he actually CAN – or at least that the width of his whiskers is telling him that he won’t fit through the door. Lucifer doesn’t go out because he doesn’t wanna, Hecate doesn’t go out because she’s a grumpy little girl who would much rather be an only child, but it’s pretty clear from Tuna’s face that he wants to REAL BAD but thinks he can’t.

So his sister and her buddy tease him unmercifully about it!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Glam and Glits Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Hello Autumn Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Holiday Kickoff Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Labor Day 2023
B Review: Payback in Death by J.D. Robb
Hello Autumn Giveaway Hop
Holiday Kickoff Giveaway Hop
B Review: Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennett
Stacking the Shelves (565)

Coming This Week:

9/11 (Guest Post by Galen)
Fury by Anna Hackett (review)
Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (review)
An Unsuitable Heiress by Jane Dunn (blog tour review)
Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen MacDonald (audiobook review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-3-23

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

Last week I was not exactly in the village of Running-on-Time when I put the Sunday Post together and I neglected to include a cat picture. Therefore, this week’s picture includes not one but two cats. As an added treat, it’s a picture of the very rare sighting of Hecate and Luna co-existing peaceably and in proximity. They don’t really fight the way the boys do, they just generally refuse to occupy the same space at the same time. The kitty television outside the windows must have been particularly good that day!

This was the first week in quite a while where the books I thought I was going to read were the books I actually read. This coming week is probably the same, if only because there are only three of them. Galen is continuing his series of holiday guest posts tomorrow for Labor Day, and there’s a blog hop on Thursday.

Friday’s book is the second book in the Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations series, after the previously reviewed Watching the Clock. It’s the kind of book I normally pick up at the last minute because I’m desperate – or at least desperately flailing – but this time it’s a deliberate choice because Friday, September 8 is Star Trek Day. I thought about reading more of the Star Trek Autobiographies series (I loved The Autobiography of James T. Kirk, after all) but I’m feeling a bit weirded out by them now because they were all published before Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds happened. Which means those ‘autobiographies’ have been superseded by events that were not yet revealed when they were written. Which led me back to the Department of Temporal Investigations because even though some of those events may have been superseded by later reveals, we wouldn’t know anyway because the whole point of the Department is to smooth over that kind of thing. And the first book was  oodles of fun, so I expect a good reading time no matter what.

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Old School Giveaway Hop is Brigette

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Big Little Spells by Hazel Beck
A- Review: A Duke’s Guide to Romance by Sophie Barnes
B Review: Devil’s Gun by Cat Rambo
A- Review: The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
Glam and Glits Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (564)

Coming This Week:

Labor Day 2023 (Guest Post by Galen!)
Payback in Death by J.D. Robb (review)
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (review)
Holiday Kickoff Giveaway Hop
Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennett (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-6-23

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

I’ve been having a kind of epic book flail for several weeks now. It’s not that I don’t want to read, or even that I don’t want to read the particular books I thought I was going to read. More that I’m having a hard time getting stuck into each book and then flailing around to find one I can get stuck into. (That Galen has found some really fascinating games to play and I can’t seem to resist watching is NOT HELPING!)

If Jade Shards had been three or four – or possibly more – times as long I’d probably still be there because I get hooked into Janloon every time and DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE. Although that’s not the real problem. Life is just in entirely too much limbo right now and that’s not my best thing.

So here’s what I think I’m doing this week. The only two days I’m certain of are Monday and Tuesday. The rest may still be in the lap of the gods.

Speaking of gods, or rather in this case, goddesses, here’s a picture of Luna in one of her favorite positions, smooshed in next to her favorite human.

Current Giveaways:

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

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: Jade Shards by Fonda Lee
Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
A- Review: A Pirate’s Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne
B Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Cord by M.K. Wiseman
B+ Review: Secrets in the Dark by Heather Graham
Stacking the Shelves (560)

Coming This Week:

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon (audio review)
Back to School Giveaway Hop
Blind Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann (review)
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle (review)
North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan (review)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-30-23

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

This week has been weird. Last week was weird as well. Next week will probably be weird too. But at least the books have been good! AND an excellent way to get away from the weird into the bargain. And I have two books I’m super excited about, Jade Shards and A Pirate’s Life for Tea. I really, really need the cozy fantasy vibes of A Pirate’s Life for Tea this week, and well, I’m still so much in mourning over the end of Fonda Lee’s fabulous Green Bone Saga that even the slightest sliver of that world makes my whole month. Which really truly needs some making.

It’s also been egg-frying on the sidewalk hot here in Atlanta, although still not as bad as some places. Here’s a picture of Luna and Tuna who look like they’re melting although I promise they are not.

Current Giveaways:

Summer 2023 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop is Megan

Blog Recap:

A- Review: The Book of Gems by Fran Wilde
A- Review: Murder at Half Moon Gate by Andrea Penrose
A Review: The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair
B- Review: The Horoscope Writer by Ash Bishop
A- Review: Knighthunter by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (559)

Coming This Week:

Jade Shards by Fonda Lee (review)
Apple a Day Giveaway Hop
Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones (review)
A Pirate’s Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne (review)
Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Cord by M.K. Wiseman (review)

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

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

This has been one of THOSE weeks. You know the kind, the weeks where your personal spoon supply runs out on Monday and there’s still entirely too many days to go – every single one of which does its damndest to demand yet more spoons.

So I ended last week flailing for a comfort read, and got so sucked in that I almost picked up the next book in the same series, but that doesn’t usually work for me because as much as I love the world it’s set in, too much too close together usually doesn’t keep me as enthralled as I hope. We’ll see all the way around.

But to keep all of us on our toes, so to speak, here are Luna and Tuna recharging their solar batteries. At least someone is enjoying the overabundance of the stuff, as the humans are mostly just exhausted!

Current Giveaways:

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

Blog Recap:

A Review: Montego by Brian McClellan
A++ Review: Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden
A+ Review: Ebony Gate by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle
B+ Review: Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders
A- Review: Why Kings Confess by C.S. Harris
Stacking the Shelves (558)

Coming This Week:

The Book of Gems by Fran Wilde (review)
Murder at Half Moon Gate by Andrea Penrose (review)
The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair (review)
The Horoscope Writer by Ash Bishop (review)
Knighthunter by Anna Hackett (review)

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