Category: It’s Monday

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites7 Comments

Thank you to The Book Date for hosting It’s Monday!

This week is a catch-up week for me as I have several books on Netgalley that are past their publishing date, and I’m determined to get those completed. At the same time, I only want to read books I’m enjoying, so I no longer hesitate to DNF and move on if I don’t like something.

Click on the covers for their links to Amazon.

WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW

Dare you enter the stone circle . . .? The world’s most unlikely ghost-busting duo – actress Diana and handsome young bishop Alistair – are back in this spine-tingling paranormal mystery from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author

There are stories about the dilapidated stone circle at Chipping Amesbury, going back centuries. Of people going missing, never to be seen again. Of people found dead inside the circle. Of monsters, and of demons. The villagers may tell the tales with relish to visiting tourists, but a careful observer will notice that there is no transport to the stones, no tours on offer, and the locals stay well away.

Alistair Kincaid, the youngest ever bishop of All Souls Hollow, is an expert in Britain’s ancient stone circles. That’s why, when landowner Sir Neville Chumley announces his plans to restore the circle to its ancient glory, he agrees to take part in a documentary about the project.

WHAT HAVE YOU JUST FINISHED

Stuck in a dead-end bar job in central Tokyo and barely making ends meet, Naomi Kihara’s life turns upside down when her American father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a toddler, dies. Having been brought up to believe he abandoned her, it’s a shock to learn she is his heir. But there’s a catch: Naomi must go live in his hometown for one year. Felix, Nebraska couldn’t be any more different from Tokyo, Japan. And besides, not everyone in town is happy the Johnson property now belongs to the Japanese daughter everyone forgot Mike ever had in the first place. But with the help of her new friends and neighbors, Naomi discovers a strength in herself she never knew existed.

WHAT ARE YOU READING NEXT?

Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes. In her travels, she’s wandered throughout the South, escaping a mental hospital in Alabama, working for a Louisiana circus, and dancing at a hoochy-kootch in Texas. Now for the first time in a decade, she’s allowed her winding path to bring her to the site of her grandmother’s Arkansas farmhouse, a place hallowed in her memory.

She intends only to visit briefly – to pay respects to her buried loved ones and leave. But a chance meeting with a haunted young Vietnam vet reconnects her with the remnants of a family she thought long gone, and their union becomes a catalyst for change and salvation. An abused woman and her daughters develop the courage to fight back, a ghost finds the path away from life, and a sanctimonious predator becomes the prey. In the process, Genevieve must choose between her longing for meaningful connection after years as an outsider and her equally excruciating impulse to run.

Written by a naturalist and set on the land where her family roots stretch back two centuries, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is a haunting story about letting go and the things we leave behind, the power of names, and the ties that bind. It is both harrowing and triumphant, a visceral Southern debut as otherworldly and beautiful as it is unflinching and wry.

HOW ABOUT YOU? WHAT ARE YOU READING?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites13 Comments

Thank you to The Book Date for hosting “It’s Monday!”

Hi everyone! I’m officially retired, but still working on our move. Doug brought down a second U-Haul truck Sunday, and we’re going back Monday to try and get the rest. Our little house is full! The second bedroom is crammed with boxes, and there is some finishing and painting left to do before we unpack a lot of them. But we are here, in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, and I am stoked!

I have been blogging less as life has just been so busy, but I miss it! My posts may be a little shorter but I’m going to try and blog more during this hectic time.

CURRENTLY READING

I’m reading several books for The Historical Novel Society, and they are due in a couple of weeks. I will post about them after the reviews are published November 1st.

WHAT I JUST FINISHED

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

I actually already started the Nora Roberts book, which is the second book in a wonderful series. I’ve usually got more than one book going at a time. The Christmas Tree Farm is one of several Christmas books that are coming out soon. Yep, it’s that time of year.

Question of the Day: What Are You Reading?

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I will keep the blog posts coming!

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading

BonnieReadsAndWrites15 Comments

Welcome to It’s Monday! What are you Reading? It’s hosted by Kathryn from Book Date. This is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.

WHAT AM I READING NOW

I’m reading the final ARC of The Diamonds by Gail Meath. It’s Book 7 of the Jax Diamond series, and it’s out May 15th. You’ll soon see a Q&A with Gail along with my review.

JUST FINISHED

This is the story of a Manhattan family from 1912 to 1965. I read it for The Historical Novel Society so I can’t give my impressions until it is published on August 1st. You can read more about it on Amazon.

NEXT UP

(From Amazon) Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

GENERAL UPDATE

DINANT, BELGIUM

Really beautiful town that I visited this past weekend. I was taking pictures from the Citadel, where there is a museum. Dinant is the home of the Saxophone! My pictures are slow to upload today, so I’ll post more about this later.

How about you? How was your week? What are you reading?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites8 Comments

Thank you to The Book Date for hosting It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

Hi everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t updated in a couple weeks. I’m in Stuttgart, Germany for work. I haven’t had time to do any sightseeing yet, but I’m going to Munich and Dachau on Saturday. Above is Schlossplatz, or Castle Square, in Stuttgart.

WHAT I’M READING NOW

(From Amazon) Set in Manhattan between 1912 and 1965. When idealistic Young Irving Friedman and his beautiful, hard-nosed sister Miriam are forced to leave their brutal father’s home, they must make their way amid the sprawling tenements of the Lower East Side. Trapped in the garment industry’s backbreaking sweatshops, Irving is swept into the dangerous world of union organizing, while Miriam finds unexpected new love. As the years pass and one generation yields to the next, the siblings’ hard-won success is imperiled when an old family secret is unearthed that puts Irv on a collision course with Miriam’s ambitious daughter Shelly. Will secrets from the past destroy their family’s bond, or will they find a way to forgive?

WHAT I AM READING NEXT

(From Amazon) As Paris rediscovers its joie de vivre, Tabitha Knight, recently arrived from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather, is on her own journey of discovery. Paris isn’t just the City of Light; it’s the city of history, romance, stunning architecture . . . and food. Thanks to her neighbor and friend Julia Child, another expat who’s fallen head over heels for Paris, Tabitha is learning how to cook for her Grandpère and her Oncle Rafe.

Between tutoring Americans in French, and sampling the results of Julia’s studies at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, Tabitha’s sojourn is thoroughly delightful. That is, until the cold December day they return to Julia’s building and learn that a body has been found in the cellar. Tabitha recognizes the victim from a party given by Julia’s sister, Dort, the night before. The murder weapon is recognizable too—a knife from Julia’s kitchen.

Tabitha is eager to help the investigation, but is shocked when Inspector Merveille reveals that a note, in Tabitha’s handwriting, was found in the dead woman’s pocket. Now, from the shadows of the Tour Eiffel, to the Childs’ tiny kitchen, to the grungy streets of Montmartre, Tabitha navigates the city, hoping to find the real killer before she or one of her friends ends up in prison . . . or worse.

WHAT I JUST FINISHED READING

(From Amazon) Licinianus is a reluctant soldier in a very unusual family, one whose ancient gods give special powers to twins. His father, a twin himself, earned the gratitude of an Emperor and gained for Licinianus an honor that he does not want: appointment as a tribune in the army. Against his will, Licianius becomes a Roman officer and watches ineffectually while the army in Britannia, depleted by civil war, collapses before the onslaught of the Northern tribes. Only the arrival of the army of the Emperor Constantius saves the province, as Licinianus, receiving the gift of his family’s gods, becomes an almost legendary fighter.

Meanwhile, a strange new religion, Christianity, is permeating the Romano-British world, plunging Licinianus and his twin sister Severiana into yet more conflict. Christianity denies the very gods that give the family its strength, outraging their beliefs and customs. Nevertheless, it casts its spell on the twins’ brother and Severiana’s husband, threatening to tear the family apart.

I hope everyone is doing well! Now that I’m into my third week in Germany, posting on this blog will commence! I’ve just been so busy. Sunday I’m going to post all the pictures I am sure to take at Dachau and in Munich.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites12 Comments

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? Is hosted by The Book Date. It is a place to share all your reading updates.

Update: My most interesting update is I found out I’m going to Germany for work for two months from April to June. I’ll still be blogging from there in my off time and hopefully I’ll have time to travel on some weekends, and you’ll get some interesting photos/posts from me!

I have gone absolutely crazy with book requesting lately. There have just been so many good books offered and they are hard to refuse!

READING RIGHT NOW

The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green

WHAT I”M READING NEXT

NEW BOOK HAUL

I got offered a widget for Nora Roberts’ latest, Mind Games, and had to take it! The way she produces so many great books with such short turnaround is amazing! A Short Walk Through A Wide World is is a Fantasy/Adventure set in 1885 Paris. Nine Lives and Counting is the memoir of Duane Chapman, also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, who writes about losing his wife to cancer. When Grumpy met Sunshine is a “fake dating” romance, and I’ll be listening to the audiobook. I already had The Fortune Seller and The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard, but I got the audiobooks of them as well this past week.

I have way too many books! I’m going to try not to request or accept anything else this week!

How about you? What are you reading?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites14 Comments

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? Is hosted by The Book Date. It is a place to share all your reading updates.

CURRENTLY READING

As usual, I’m in various stages of reading several books. You can click on the covers for buy links and other information.

March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys’ boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds—and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane’s dear friend Elizabeth. Winchester College is a world unto itself, with its own language and rites of passage, cruel hazing and dangerous pranks. Can Jane clear William’s name before her illness gets the better of her?

I’ll be posting the review of Jane and the Final Mystery on Wednesday this week.

What’s in a name?

Her trailblazer of a distant cousin forged a solitary, singular path during and after WWII. Unassuming and somewhat clueless, Christine eventually finds she has to do pretty much the same. A teen fully expecting her Midwestern life would be drab and ho-hum, she meets in Germany an elderly man who offered her a ride – and insight into a legacy she was going to rely on throughout her entire life.

Marrying the wrong guy, divorced, isolated, and responsible for four chronically ill children, she charged forward, brooking no fools to get her children the healthcare and education they richly deserved, even if that meant blackmailing the governor of Iowa. She took on the powers that be (including spooks invading her home for six months), while always striving for the career she pined for.

Throughout all the decades of financial and personal setbacks and the chaos that swirled around her, Christine’s legacy constantly beckoned her: to be worthy of that distant cousin, WWII’s most decorated courier, and of a timeless love story she witnessed.
Christine’s life journey, including her 12 years in Poland (her other homeland), is a stirring testament to determination, imagination, and the power of perseverance.

I should have the review of Confronting Power and Chaos up by this Saturday

Once upon a time, if you wanted to know if a movie was worth seeing, you didn’t check out Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.

You asked whether Siskel & Ebert had given it “two thumbs up.”

On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they’d ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize—the first ever awarded to a film critic—for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. To say they despised each other was an understatement.

When they reluctantly agreed to collaborate on a new movie review show with PBS, there was at least as much sparring off-camera as on. No decision—from which films to cover to who would read the lead review to how to pronounce foreign titles—was made without conflict, but their often-antagonistic partnership (which later transformed into genuine friendship) made for great television. In the years that followed, their signature “Two thumbs up!” would become the most trusted critical brand in Hollywood.

I hope to have Opposable Thumbs reviewed by next Monday, if not before.

Although Layla has finally returned to her family on the other side of the Atrium of the Worlds, she is about to lose the little sister she only just met. As she, Charissa, and Eraina desperately try to wake Princess Sophia from her coma, Hamelin must face the consequences of his rash actions that led the eagle to return him home. Meanwhile, one of Chimera’s evil sons, Landon, still holds the city of Parthogen captive with his army and pack of vicious dogs. As he grows bolder in his attacks against King Carr’s encampment, it’s up to Hamelin and his friends to save not only Sophia but all of Parthogen before Landon’s reinforcements arrive and doom the Land of Gloaming forever.

This is Book 4 of the Hamelin Stoop series, the magical Christian fantasy series about a boy left on the stoop of an orphanage. Reading it in order is best. I’ve just started Book 4 but hope to get the review up by late next week.

BOOK HAUL

I’ve become a big fan of the two authors below. Rachel Kapelke Dale writes such surprising and suspenseful books, and Amy Lynn Green’s historical fiction has become a “must-read” for me. Click on the covers to learn more about the books.

THIS WEEK IN GENERAL

Not too much exciting happened this week. Lots of working and a little baking. I made my own New-England-style hot dog buns in the bread machine and they turned out great. I have discovered an allergy/sensitivity to soy, and apparently it’s in everything, including most commercial bread products, so we have been making our own bread. Sadly it’s in most chocolate too.

Doug and I have been watching Call the Midwife over again. We are on Season 7. They are up to Season 12 now and I think I stopped watching before Season 10 last time.

Beyond that, I’ve just been working, and reading and blogging when I can.

I hope you had a great week!

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites9 Comments

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? Is hosted by The Book Date. It is a place to share all your reading updates.

You can click on the covers to learn more about the books.

I JUST FINISHED

Sadly this one did not live up to the hype for me. My review is here.

NEXT I’M READING

This is part of a series that I have enjoyed so far.

I JUST RECEIVED

I was sent a widget for this one, and I couldn’t resist.

READING UPDATE:

My Netgalley shelf is down to 20! That’s a big deal for me. Trying to keep those books under control.

What about you? Have you received any books you are excited about?