The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-18-24

This week has definitely better. I finally stopped feeling like all I was full of was snot sometime late last Sunday. Clearly, it’s better to be full of piss and vinegar than snot, because you get more done that way. But c’est la vie, it is what it is, etc., etc., etc. The hurrieder I go, the behindeder I get. I’m working on it.

This past week’s books were all just really, really good. I can’t wait to see what this coming week’s books bring, particularly as I’ve been chomping at the virtual bit to dig into The Lantern’s Dance. I remember listening to the first book in the series, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, OMG THIRTY YEARS AGO, and thinking that the concept really shouldn’t work, but damned if it didn’t anyway. And it still does. Does it ever!

Last week’s picture was of Tuna’s sister, Luna, in more-or-less the same upside-down-kitty-face position. (They are biological and not merely adopted siblings from the same litter. You can kind of see the resemblance around the eyes and face although there’s certainly a lot more of Tuna to love.) When Tuna actually posed for me a few days ago, I couldn’t resist snapping him in the same position before he woke up enough to figure out what I was doing. Doesn’t he look winsome as well as handsome?

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Love is in the Air Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop is Angela

Blog Recap:

A+ #BookReview: The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older
Grade A #BookReview: The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow
A- #BookReview: At First Spite by Olivia Dade
A- #AudioBookReview: What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
Wish Big Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (588)

Coming This Week:

Presidents’ Day 2024 (#GuestPost by Galen)
Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita (#BlogTour #BookReview)
The Lantern’s Dance by Laurie R. King (#BookReview)
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai (#BookReview)
Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (#BlogTour #AudioBookReview)

Stacking the Shelves (588)

This week’s covers fall into two categories. Either they’re really pretty or they’re just pretty weird, and not much in the middle. As much as I can’t resist a library, I think the prettiest covers are Daughter of the Merciful Deep and The God and the Gumiho, although I could certainly understand if someone liked Lady Eve’s Last Con better than either. As far as weird goes, well, I was already headed down an internet rabbit hole when I spotted Centaur and Sensibility and decided “what the heck” because seriously, WTF?

After having said all of that the book in this stack I’ve been most looking forward to is the next Gamache book by Louise Penny, The Grey Wolf. Nineteen books in and that series is STILL awesome.

For Review:
Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope
The God and the Gumiho (Fate’s Thread #1) by Sophie Kim
The Grey Wolf (Chief Inspector Gamache #19) by Louise Penny
Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed (ebook and audio)
Centaur and Sensibility (Regency Bestiary for Fine Ladies and Gentlemen #1) by Quenby Olson
Manticore Park (Regency Bestiary for Fine Ladies and Gentlemen #2) by Quenby Olson


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-11-24

I’m at the stage of this cold where I think I’m going to feel better in the morning. And I kinda do, but not nearly enough. So it’s another drippy day here at Chez Reading Reality – and I’m NOT referring to the weather.

It doesn’t help at all that when either of the humans in the house sneeze, ALL the cats jump and run away. If one happens to be the trampoline upon which said jump takes place, the whole operation is less than fun for everyone.

Although, speaking of fun, that’s a picture of a lazy Luna lounging on the gaming chair. It’s a VERY comfy chair. Someone should be getting the benefit of it!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Love is in the Air Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

B- #BookReview: The Holy Terrors by Simon R. Green
B #BookReview: A Murder of Crows by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
A+ #BookReview: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
B+ #BookReview: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen
Love is in the Air Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (587)

Coming This Week:

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older #BookReview
The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow #BookReview
At First Spite by Olivia Dade #BookReview
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher #AudioBookReview
Wish Big Giveaway Hop

Stacking the Shelves (587)

How is it that something that is so ubiquitous it is literally called ‘the common cold’ manages to make a person feel so uncommonly miserable with so little warning? You’d think I’d get plenty of reading done while I’m sniffling and coughing, but looking down to read just makes everything worse. I think it’s finally on its way out, but it feels like it’s taking twice as long to leave as it did to arrive.

Yuck. And I repeat. YUCK.

Something definitely not yucky that I participate in every year is serving on one of the American Library Association’s adult book awards committees. This year it’s the Sophie Brody Medal Committee, which administers “an award to the U.S. author of the most distinguished contribution to Jewish literature (fiction and/or non-fiction) for adults published in the United States” published during the year. In this particular case, published during the year 2024.

Being on one of the ALA book award committees, whichever committee it happens to be in a given year, does influence which books I pick up from NetGalley and Edelweiss, and boxes of books show up at my front door on a regular basis. So the titles that may be under consideration will appear in my stacks, but won’t be noted as such, and this is the last time I’ll mention the committee until the winner(s) are officially announced in January 2025. Which seems like a lifetime from now and already too damn close, both at the same time.

For Review:
The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
Dear Edna Sloane by Amy Shearn
Fervor by Toby Lloyd
The Goldie Standard by Simi Monheit
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier by Emily Matchar
An Intrigue of Witches (Secret Society #1) by Esme Addison
Judaism is About Love by Shai Held
The Kill List (Inspector Anjelica Henley #3) by Nadine Matheson
Mastering the Art of French Murder (American in Paris #1) by Colleen Cambridge
A Murder Most French (American in Paris #2) by Colleen Cambridge
Opening Doors by Hasia R. Diner
Summer’s End (Shady Hollow #5) by Juneau Black
To Be A Jew Today by Noah Feldman
Toward a Holy Ecology by Ellen Bernstein


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-4-24

Well, that old groundhog did not see his shadow on Friday, so he’s predicting an early spring. YAY! Not that it has been all that terribly wintry here in Atlanta, but my friends up in Anchorage have seen over 100 inches of snow – SO FAR! There’s plenty of winter left for more to fall. (If you are wondering, and I wouldn’t be AT ALL surprised if you were, Anchorage gets 75 inches of snow in an average winter. It’s plenty cold up there, but the air is often too dry AND COLD for actual snowfall.)

Also if  you’re wondering, I miss my peeps up in Anchorage. The weather – not so much.

Speaking of chilly weather – or at least chilly enough for the leaves to fall, here’s a peek at the bare tree trunks in our backyard over Luna’s prettily posing purrson. Meanwhile, Hecate is in her favorite window perch, behind the probably empty can of sparkling water, looking on suspiciously and grumping at the world. As she does.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop is Cindy M.

Blog Recap:

Spotlight + Excerpt: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen
A- #BookReview: A Body at the Séance by Marty Wingate
#BookReview: Remember Me by Mary Balogh
Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop
#BookReview: That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
Stacking the Shelves (586)

Coming This Week:

The Holy Terrors by Simon R. Green (#BookReview)
A Murder of Crows by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (#BookReview)
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (#BookReview)
A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen (#BookReview)
Love is in the Air Giveaway Hop (#BlogHop)

Stacking the Shelves (586)

My murder-y mood continues – so when I saw book 5 in the Nell Ward series, A Trace of Hares, come up on Edelweiss I decided to just go for the whole series. I’ll be reading the first book in the series over the weekend, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to get caught up before the Hares hop out.

The most adorable cover in the bunch is the one for Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop – although we’re back at murder again, aren’t we? My heart is divided on ‘pretty’ in this batch between We Speak Through the Mountain and The Doors of Midnight but that’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges, isn’t it?

For Review:
Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop (Halloween Bookshop #1) by Emmeline Duncan
The Doors of Midnight (Tales of Tremaine #2) by R.R. Virdi
Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby
Glory Be (Gloria Broussard #1) by Danielle Arceneaux (audio)
A Trace of Hares (Nell Ward #5) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher
We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
A Cast of Falcons (Nell Ward #2) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
A Generation of Vipers (Nell Ward #4) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
A Mischief of Rats (Nell Ward #3) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
A Murder of Crows (Nell Ward #1) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

Borrowed from the Library:
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (audio)


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-28-24

This week’s cat picture is George, curled up into the tightest kitty-ball his long-legged self can manage. Which is surprisingly small for the size of the cat.

George squeezes himself into this position when the world gets overwhelming and he’s doing his best to cut off the ‘whelm’. It works for him. I wish I could join him but at the moment I can’t bend that way because of last week’s epic fall. My leg is the same color as my hair – which is PURPLE. It’s a great color for hair, not so good for human skin. It is getting better but it’s not been the best week, all things considered. I think my brain finally rebooted around Wednesday, so things are looking up!

This week’s reviews are going to be interesting – for select values of that word as well. I’ve been in a bit of a murder-y mystery mood this year so far, but this week’s reviews have turned out to be nearly all romances – going with the theme of Thursday’s Giveaway Hop and Valentine’s Day later in the month. Although I’m wondering if that will hold – because I’m really enjoying that story about the body at the seance so far. We’ll see as the week goes on.

One other thing to see, or I’m seeing, or however best to put that. I have a question for you all. I’ve started putting the review rating in the title of the post, which is great for Instagram as I work my way through that den of complexity. But I’m struck by how awkward it looks when a book gets a plain ‘A’, no pluses or minuses. Just typing ‘A #BookReview: Title by Author’ tho’ also looks weird because whatever grade it gets its always ‘a book review’ as that’s the whole point.

Anyone have any better ideas? Thanks for following and keeping up with the cat pictures!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

Grade A #BookReview: The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan
A- #BookReview: Port in a Storm by Rhys Ford
Grade A #BookReview: Gryphon by M.L. Buchman
A- #BookReview: The Hero She Wants by Anna Hackett
A+ #AudioBookReview: The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen
Stacking the Shelves (585)

Coming This Week:

A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen (spotlight + excerpt)
A Body at the Seance by Marty Wingate (review)
Remember Me by Mary Balogh (review)
Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming (review)

Stacking the Shelves (585)

So I picked up a couple more books this week than I did last week. What’s a few extra books between friends, amirite? Especially since Enlightenment absolutely ran away with the ‘pretty book cover’ award for this week’s stack!

For Review:
The City of Marble and Blood (Chronicles of Hanuvar #2) by Howard Andrew Jones
Close to Death (Hawthorne and Horowitz #5) by Anthony Horowitz
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho
The Runes of Engagement by Dave Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier #2) by T. Kingfisher (audio)
Yoke of Stars (Birdverse) by R.B. Lemberg

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before We Say Goodbye (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #4) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The Devil’s Brew (Sinners #2.5) by Rhys Ford
Tales from the Cafe (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below:

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 1-21-24

This week started with a bang and ended with an actual, literal, whimper. Seriously, a whole lot of whimpering going on. I was just SO caught up with everything and so thrilled about that fact that something had to go wrong. And it did. I fell, badly, on my way to Pilates, pulled my right hamstring and threw my left shoulder totally out of whack, spent the evening in Urgent Care, Galen had to cancel his business trip this weekend and the cats aren’t sure what to think because their humans are being very weird. So it’s been a couple of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

Which explains why Friday’s post didn’t post until dinner time, because that’s the point where I finally managed to gather my wits and get it together. It’s going to be a VERY quiet weekend.

This picture of Lucifer sums things up perfectly. He’s hiding under the coffee table, looking a bit ragged at the edges and very much like the old man he really is. And this weekend I’m feeling it right along with him!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2024 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the New Year New You Giveaway Hop is Laura T.

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
Winter Wishes Giveaway Hop
Grade A #AudioBookReview: Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
Grade A #BookReview: Demon Daughter by Lois McMaster Bujold
B #BookReview: Random in Death by J.D. Robb
Stacking the Shelves (584)

Coming This Week:

The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan (blog tour review)
Port in a Storm by Rhys Ford (blog tour review)
Gryphon by M.L. Buchman (review)
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (review)
The Hero She Wants by Anna Hackett (review)

Stacking the Shelves (584)

For some reason this stack LOOKED way bigger than last week’s stack – but it’s not. Just one more title.

Also, they are nearly all pretty in their own ways, with the exception of The Atlas Complex. That whole series has had sort of bland covers, the excitement has always been BETWEEN the covers on that one. Although, I have to admit that it’s the kind of excitement engendered by watching a trainwreck or a 10-car pileup. Those characters are ALL such hot messes that I’m still in it at this point just to see how it ends. Because it’s middled in some very weird places and I honestly don’t like ANY of the characters. If they all got exactly what they deserve it would be marvelous. Also bloody, but marvelous.

In Mercy, Rain and Skeleton Song aren’t exactly ‘pretty’ per se either. Pretty fitting for the Wayward Children series, but not exactly pretty in themselves.

If I had to pick, I’d say the prettiest cover in this stack in A Letter to the Luminous Deep, but it’s really hard to pick just one.

What about  you? What pretty and/or pretty interesting books are stacked on your shelf this week?

For Review:
Daughters of Olympus by Hannah Lynn
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan (book and audio)
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
A Letter to the Luminous Deep (Sunken Archive #1) by Sylvie Cathrall
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop #2) by Satoshi Yagisawa
The Nightingale’s Castle by Sonia Velton
The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons
The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (Undertaking of Hart and Mercy #2) by Megan Bannen

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
The Atlas Complex (Atlas #3) by Olivie Blake (book and audio)
In Mercy, Rain (Wayward Children #7.5) by Seanan McGuire
Skeleton Song (Wayward Children #7.7) by Seanan McGuire


If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

Please link your STS post in the linky below: