Category: Sunday Post

Sunday Post: Road Trip! #SundayPost #WhatAreYouReading

BonnieReadsAndWrites20 Comments

Thank you to Caffeinated Book Reviewer for hosting Sunday Post. 

I’m back in Cincinnati to watch the Bengals play for the last time this year. Sadly they didn’t make the playoffs, so this is it for this year. My son Alex is with me, and we’re having a good trip.

*Pregame from earlier this season.

I went right back to work after the new year, and this is my last year. I’ve got less than 8 months to go before retirement. I expect the time will go really fast. At least I hope so.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

On Monday I did the 2023 Year End Book Survey. On Tuesday I did Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books of 2023. On Friday I did Book Blogger Hop: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2024. On Saturday I did a Spotlight of False Truth and Dark Truth by C.D. Steele.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

On Monday I will review The Pierogi Peril by Geri Krotow. On Tuesday I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday. On Wednesday I will review Hedging Your Bets by Jane Denker. On Friday I will review The All American by Susie Finkbeiner. I am working on my Top Ten Indie books for 2023, and it will be posted on Indie Weekend.

BOOK HAUL

I picked up some interesting books this week:

(Publisher’s Description)

When you bring back a long-extinct species, there’s more to success than the DNA.

Moscow has resurrected the mammoth, but someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out, again.

The late Dr. Damira Khismatullina, the world’s foremost expert in elephant behavior, is called in to help. While she was murdered a year ago, her digitized consciousness is uploaded into the brain of a mammoth.

Can she help the magnificent creatures fend off poachers long enough for their species to take hold?

And will she ever discover the real reason they were brought back?

A tense eco-thriller from a new master of the genre.

(Publisher’s Description)

A powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there

It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection.

Ada Bunting is a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. Alone and with no resources, she is determined to find a job that will earn enough money for her ailing sister’s surgery. When she sees a young man—Omar—who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid.

John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada’s bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice. 

Searing and empathetic,The Great Divide explores the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers—those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course.

How about you? How was your week and what are you reading?

Sunday Post: Happy New Year’s Eve!

BonnieReadsAndWrites52 Comments

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See the rules here: Sunday Post Meme. I’m also linking up with Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz

Another year is fading away, and with the next one comes my retirement and a whole new life later in the year. I’m definitely excited. Above are some Christmas pictures. Doug took a new Christmas photo of the 3H gang, Hermann, Holly, and Harold. He also got a “Harold carrier” for Christmas and got into the Christmas spirit. The bottom picture is my Jadeite collection used as Christmas dinnerware. We don’t use it often, but I sure love it. 

For now, we’ve got family coming to visit for New Year’s’, so we’re getting ready for them. We also plan to watch some football tomorrow. ROLL TIDE!!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I can’t believe how fast this year passed. I’m going to be posting my Top 10 favorite books of the year very soon. 

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

On Monday I reviewed Christmas Pie by Jodi Taylor.
On Tuesday I reviewed The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
On Wednesday I participated in WWW Wednesday.
On Friday I reviewed Random in Death by Nora Roberts.
On Friday I also participated in Book Blogger Hop.

Next Week on the Blog

I’ll be choosing my Top Ten Books I Read in 2023. I’m going to do two Top Tens, one for Traditionally Published Books and one for Indie Books. 

I’m still choosing my books to review next week so I’ll post that later.

NEW FOR NEXT YEAR

I want to start reviewing Classics as well in 2024, so you may see a review of Pride and Prejudice or Gone With the Wind pop up. I’ve decided to open my mind up to the Romance genre a little bit, but some of them will be Classics.

BOOK HAUL

(Publisher’s Description) The trees that circle Someday Valley near Honey Creek are dressed in their fall finest, providing a pretty backdrop for the local businesses—including the little bookshop loved by schoolteacher Cora Lee Buchanan. There, under the watchful eye of owner Noah O’Brien, Cora Lee and her sister, Katherine, meet each Wednesday. Their talk mostly revolves around one subject: their father, known to everyone in town as Bear.

Both Cora Lee and Katherine worry about Bear Buchanan. They’ve no idea Bear has a secret life of his own. As for the sisters, Katherine, beautiful and self-absorbed, is in search of her third husband, while Cora Lee is in love for the first time. On warm nights, she climbs up to her building’s roof to chat with Noah and listen to the melody of the water below. Yet there is more intrigue afoot in Honey Creek . . .

Andi Delane has arrived in town to hear the last wishes of the father she never met. She was shocked to get a letter from lawyer Jackson Landry, and she has few expectations—of this mysterious will, or of Deputy Danny Davis who’s been assigned to protect her. But fall always brings changes, and this year there will be enough to alter not just the lives of those who call Honey Creek home, but the future of Someday Valley itself . . .

(Publisher’s Description) As daughter of a well-known matchmaker, Catríona Daly is no stranger to the business of love–and sees it as her ticket away from the sleepy village that only comes alive during the annual matchmaking festival. Enter Lord Osborne’s son, Andrew, who has returned to the festival after being disappointed by a rival matchmaker’s failed setup. Catríona seizes the opportunity to make a better match for the handsome man–and for herself!

Cattle farmer Donal Bunratty is in desperate need of a wife after loss left him to handle the farm and raise his daughter on his own. Shy and lacking the finer social graces, he agrees to attend the matchmaking festival to appease his daughter. But when he arrives, it’s not any of the other merrymakers that catch his eye but rather his matchmaker–who clearly has eyes for someone else.

Catríona will have to put all her expertise to work to make a match that could change her life forever. Will her plan succeed? Or will love have its own way?

Sunday Post: Merry Christmas Eve!

BonnieReadsAndWrites48 Comments

Doug took this Christmas picture three years ago, and I use it every chance I get.

Sunday Post is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a place to catch up on the week, share news, and showcase new books. 

It’s Christmas Eve. I’m going to make omelets this morning and we’re having chili tonight. I made some chocolate chip cookies yesterday, and I’m making a chocolate Yum Yum tomorrow. So, with the Christmas candy that’s in the stockings, that’s enough dessert for this week. I’m going to make an Ooey Gooey Butter Cake for New Year’s. I found that recipe in one of my Mom’s recipe books. 

I know I asked about food-related traditions last week, but I was wondering if you have other non-food Christmas or holiday traditions that you follow. One of our favorite traditions is the way we label our gifts. The gift-giver on the label is a hint as to what’s inside. For example, many years ago I gave Doug a DVD player. So the label said To: Doug From: Dick Van Dyke. Because his initials are DVD. Right now I have a gift waiting for me from Elizabeth Zott (fictional characters are allowed), so I assume it’s something regarding science or food. It’s a really fun tradition because we make attempts to guess the present before we open it.

What non-food holiday traditions do you share with your loved ones?

Big shout out to Gail Meath, who made me a new logo for the website. Here it is:

She sent me a few different colors and styles, and I’ll be using them all. I appreciate you so much Gail! The ebook of the prequel novella to Gail’s JAX DIAMOND series, called TWO OF A KIND, is free right now, so pick it up on Amazon HERE while you can.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

Last week I reviewed A Winter By The Sea, did a double review of The Curse of Penryth Hall and Coconut Drop Dead, and also reviewed The Girl Who Tried To Change History. I did a Spotlight of The Finding Machine and participated in Book Blogger Hop.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

I plan to review Pierogi Peril, The Seamstress of Acadie, and The Lily of Ludgate Hill. I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday and Book Blogger Hop. I’m going to be working on a list of my Top Ten Books of 2023 as well, to be posted after the New Year.

BOOK HAUL

I already had the ebook of Random in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts), but I picked up the audiobook this week as well.

I also picked up The Ark and the Dove, The story of Noah’s wife! I’ve never thought about her too much, so this should be interesting.

Have a wonderful Christmas! Remember to share your holiday traditions in the comments below! 

Sunday Post: Holiday Fun #MerryChristmas #HappyHolidays

BonnieReadsAndWrites34 Comments

Thanks to Caffeinated Reviewer for hosting Sunday Post.

Well, little to no posting last week. I was working, and then in my free time I was finishing up reviews for Historical Novels Review, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society. I cannot post those until February 1st.  I also had a stomach thing for a couple of days, and then thankfully when I was feeling better the grandkids arrived Saturday. They have gone home now, but we had some Christmas fun with stockings and gifts.

The holidays are upon us! I hope your preparations are fun, and not stressful! I have a lot of presents to wrap for Doug, and I’m making ham for Christmas dinner with German Potato Salad and Baked Beans. Probably rye rolls. I haven’t decided on dessert. Anyone have a favorite dessert they always make? I made my chocolate peanut butter fudge today. I used to make it every year for my Dad until he passed. It is a recipe that his sister used to use. I found some more recipes of my Mom’s, so maybe I’ll make one of those for Christmas dinner. 

Next week on the blog: I have many reviews to post: Here are covers of some of them: 

BOOK HAUL

Here are the books I have recently received:

This coming week, besides book reviews and some spotlights, I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday and Book Blogger Hop if time permits.

What are your plans leading up to the holidays?

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Sunday Post: Always Thankful

BonnieReadsAndWrites12 Comments

Sunday Post is hosted by @caffeinatedreviewer

I’ve had a few days off for Thanksgiving and they’ve been very restful. I had two great meals with my cousins, both Thanksgiving dinner and leftover lunch the next day. Leftover Lunch should be capitalized, I think. It’s pretty awesome. I’m just resting in the mountains for one more day before my busy work week starts Monday. I hope you all had a great week.

Fall in the mountains is beginning to switch over to winter, as you can see from these photos. The leaves have fallen and the weather is getting colder. The trees will eventually sleep in a blanket of snow off and on until they start to bud in the Spring.

LAST WEEK ON BONNIE READS AND WRITES

Last Saturday I reviewed To Spark A Match for Austenprose PR Book tours.
Last Sunday I did a Spotlight of Miss I Wish You A Bed of Roses by Sherri Moshman-Paganos.
Tuesday I participated in Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Reasons I’m Thankful for Books.
Wednesday I reviewed Inheritance by Nora Roberts.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

Sunday I will review The Cash Countess and Better Dirty than Done for Indie Weekend.
On Monday I will review The Art of Love and Lies by Rebecca Anderson.
On Tuesday I will review Jiddy Vardy for a book tour sponsored by The Write Reads.
On Friday I will participate in Book Blogger Hop if time permits.
There are other reviews ready to go that I will post as well if time permits.

BOOK HAUL

A MURDER MOST FRENCH is the second book in the “AN AMERICAN IN PARIS,” featuring supporting character Julia Child. THE LILY OF LUDGATE HILL is the next book in The Belles of London series by Mimi Matthews. THE WHARTON PLOT is another great novel by Mariah Fredericks, as famed novelist Edith Wharton tries to solve a mystery in Gilded Age New York. I’m looking forward to all of these.

I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!

Sunday Post: Quaking and Baking

BonnieReadsAndWrites27 Comments

Hosted by @CaffeinatedReviewer

Apparently there was an earthquake in my other home city of Bryson City, NC today. It was only a little over 2.0, but quite unusual for that area, I think. I don’t think of North Carolina when I think of earthquakes. The only time I’ve ever felt one, I was in Japan.

This past week, besides work, I’ve done some baking. I made some rye bread in my new bread machine, and it turned out really well. This new machine has a setting for regular cake, so I actually made a loaf-shaped chocolate cake in my bread machine! It turned out really good. We decided to freeze half of it because it’s quite large and there’s only two of us.

Something I learned today: If you buy “vegetable oil,” you’re buying soybean oil. I have developed a sensitivity to soy, including soybean oil and soy lecithin, so I have to read every label. Soy is in EVERYTHING! I had to get soy-free chocolate to make my ganache above, because soy is in most chocolate. Sadly.

I had two more failed attempts at making mayonnaise today. I watch people make it quite easily on the internet, but it’s not working for me. I thought I had it figured out at one point, but I can’t get it to work consistently. Sadly most mayonnaise has soy in it. I refuse to give up, so I went to Sam’s and bought a bunch of eggs. Try, try again.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

On Sunday I reviewed Confronting Power and Chaos by Christine Skarbek. On Wednesday I reviewed The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. On Saturday I provided a spotlight of 2024: Your Year of More.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

I’m very excited about Iron Flame coming out on Tuesday, so I’m putting up a review of Fourth Wing on Sunday. Fourth Wing and Iron Flame are books One and Two of the Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros. If you haven’t read Fourth Wing, read it. It’s the next big thing and deserves every accolade. I haven’t looked forward to the next book in a series like this since Harry Potter. They are even having some midnight release parties in various locations, just like they did with Harry Potter. Language Warning: More “F” bombs than most books that I read.

Tuesday I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday and share “Book Titles that Would Make Great Newspaper Headlines.”

I will be putting up a review of Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich on Wednesday.

Friday I will participate in Book Blogger Hop if time permits.

This weekend I will review at least two Indie titles for Indie Weekend.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK, EVERYONE!

Sunday Post: Back together again!

BonnieReadsAndWrites16 Comments

Check out the rules at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It’s been a long week of work and some reading. Not as much as I’d like, of course. Doug and our three dachshunds are coming home today. He’s been in Bryson City working on the house, so it will be nice to be back together for a while until the next renovation trip.

Doug’s birthday was last week but he wasn’t here, so we’re celebrating it today. Happy 60th birthday, Doug!

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

Monday I did three one-line reviews of The Bakery at Clamshell Bay, The Dead Shall Weep, and So Long as It’s Wild.

Tuesday I participated in Top Ten Tuesday and discussed the Top Ten Books I’m Reading This Fall.

Friday I participated in Book Blogger Hop and discussed how reading has benefited me.

Saturday I reviewed Exodus Team: New Roads for Indie Weekend.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

I have plans to do full reviews of A Tryst in Paris, A Case of the Bleus, and A Traitor in Whitehall. I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday and Book Blogger Hop if time permits.

BOOK HAUL

The Berlin Letters is set during the Cold War. A Christmas Vanishing may be the last Christmas novella by the late Anne Perry, unless she had more written before her death. Sisters of Fortune is set on the Titanic. I’m looking forward to all of them.

That’s my week. How was your week?

Sunday Post: Document Everything

BonnieReadsAndWrites24 Comments

Doug and I started going through my extensive glassware collection yesterday. We went through several boxes in the basement, deciding which ones I wanted to keep, sell, or give away. The keep pile was smaller than I thought it would be. Once we had the keep pile, Doug took pictures of everything and I created a document with pictures and descriptions, and we filled up our first crate, to go into storage at our retirement house. So we made some progress! The sell pile is pretty large, and I have to decide if I’m going to go the Ebay route or another route. It’s mostly glassware, a lot of it collectible like moon & stars. Any suggestions appreciated.

The hard part will be going through what I have displayed right now and see if I want to sell any of it. I have quite a bit on display. I have an extensive jadeite collection that I’m keeping. The picture is below. Ignore the mess and the non-jadeite. This is just a tiny bit of the glassware that I have.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

On Monday, I participated in “It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?”

On Thursday, I reviewed the audiobook of Bright Lights, Big Christmas.

On Friday I participated in Book Blogger Hop.

On Saturday I reviewed Growing a Top-Notch Family Tree by Nancy Blodgett Klein for Indie Weekend.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

I’m trying very hard to catch up, so Indie Weekend may show up in the middle of the week! In addition, I hope to review The Bakery at Clamshell Bay audiobook by Sarah Jane Bailey Five Years After, by William Forstchen, Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer, and Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger.

BOOK HAUL

I was very excited to get The Exchange: After The Firm, by John Grisham, a revisit to the main character of the novel The Firm 15 years later.

I started reading it right away, but sadly it’s been underwhelming. Not what I expected at all. Maybe it will get better.

Sad Passing: Farewell to Jimmy Buffett. Doug introduced me to his music in 1980 when we were in high school and we were huge fans. RIP, Son of a Son of a Sailor.

Hope you all had a wonderful week.

It’s Monday. What Are You Reading?

BonnieReadsAndWrites25 Comments

It’s Monday, What What Are You Reading is hosted by: The Book Date.

Update: Doug and I spent Saturday and Sunday in Bryson City and then back home, a whirlwind trip. We’ve both agreed we’re too old for that stuff.

We’ve realized that since we’re one year from moving, it’s time to start to sort our possessions and decide what to sell, give away, or throw away. I’ve been talking about it, but doing nothing, and that has to change. One year is not that long. We’re downsizing from 2600 square feet to 1000 square feet! Wish us luck.

What Am I Reading?

Just finished: The Reformatory

I just finished The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. This is a powerful book about a reform school for boys that is a chamber of horrors, especially if you are not white. Sadly it’s based on a school that actually existed.

Currently Reading: Exodus Team: New Roads

They aren’t paranormal investigators, just ordinary believers who dare to follow God into dark places.

For Maj Newhouse, life revolves around her faith, her friends, Aimee and Kevin Cole, and her projects at the old barn-but that was before Jason Knight walked through the door. The handsome businessman from Chicago has a problem; he has staked his career on rehabilitating a haunted hotel. An encounter with Kevin has led him to the old barn, and Maj is shocked to learn that Knight expects to hire her and her friends as exorcists for his property! Will Maj’s distrust of the charming stranger and her own self-doubt cripple the newly formed Exodus Team before it starts?

This is a fun mix of Christian and paranormal!

Next up: Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose

In May of 1890, Enola Holmes is finally fully on her own and, no longer hiding from her older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft, attending classes and occasionally pursuing her chosen profession as a scientific perditorian, a finder of lost things and people.

Wolcott Balestier, the representative of an American book publisher, arrived in London on a singular mission—to contract with English authors for their latest works. When Balestier disappears on the streets of London one day, his great friend – Rudyard Kipling—bursts into Enola’s office looking for help in finding him. Brash and unwilling to hire a young woman, instead he turns to Sherlock Holmes. Convinced that evil has befallen Balestier, at the hands of rival American publishers who pirate the works of English authors, he sets the elder Holmes on the trail.

But Enola is not one to accept defeat, especially not to her brother, and sets off on her own—determined to learn the truth behind the disappearance of the young American. Can book publishing truly be so ruthless and deadly or can the missing man be rescued from his apparent fate and returned to his friends and loved ones?

That’s what my current reading plan looks like. How was your week and what are you reading?

Sunday Post: Back Home

BonnieReadsAndWrites32 Comments

Sunday post is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Our senior dog, Holly, resting at home, like me.

After a long work trip, I’m back home. My blogging slowed the last two weeks so I’ll be catching up a lot. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I got up for a few hours and then had to take a long nap. Hopefully I’m all caught up on my sleep now.

Last week I turned 59. That means I’m officially one year from retirement! I hope the year passes quickly. Doug and I also had our 41st wedding anniversary because we got married on my 18th birthday. We are celebrating both today since I’m back home.

During my two weeks in Missouri, my Macbook Air started to fail, and with Doug’s blessing I picked up a new computer. It’s a Macbook Pro! My Air was at least 8 years old so it was time for a new one and I’m liking it so far. Everything from my Air transferred directly to the new computer so I haven’t lost anything.

LAST WEEK

I participated in Sunday Post, did a blog tour for Adventures About to Begin, and yesterday reviewed The Girl Who Lied.

NEXT WEEK

Monday I will review Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains.

Tuesday I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday. This is a genre freebie. The challenge is to pick a genre and build a list around it.

Thursday I will review The Beautiful Risk by Lynn Hightower.

Friday I will participate in Book Blogger Hop and answer the question: Has a book ever enticed you to read more work by the same author?

On the weekend I’m back to Indie Weekend after an absence due to my schedule.

BOOK HAUL

Five Years After is a post-apocalyptic (EMP) thriller. One Christmas Morning is another Christmas book with a “Groundhog Day” style theme. This is my second one of those in the last couple of weeks. I’ll be reviewing the other one, Through the Snow Globe, tomorrow. So Long As It’s Wild is Barbara Jenkins’ memoir of a famous trek across America she made in the 1970s and what was really going on behind the scenes.

That’s how I’ve been doing. How was your week?