BW44: Sunday's Book Babble - Non Fiction November


 

It's week 44 in our 52 Books Quest and this month is Non Fiction November. I failed with my non fiction reading this and have probably only read one non fiction book. Will have to rectify that next year as I have a lot of interesting books on the shelves.

I restarted Archangel’s Light because I always read too fast the first time because I just have to know what’s going to happen. And now on to my slow, absorb and savor read. On my nightstand - this month’s fictional librarian Raymond Ambler in Con Lehane’s 42nd Street Library, my non fiction reads Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke, followed by Letters to a Young Writer (Inspired by Rilke) by Colum McCann. 

So my son asked me to read  Ready Player Two. I'm on page 75 of Ready Player Two and so far it's pages and pages of world building and explanations.

Me to James:  "Does anything actually happen in this story?"

James:  "Don't get bored mom, give it a few more chapters."

Me: "Yes, but does anything happen? What happens?"

James: "I can't tell you. Just keep reading to find out."

Sigh! 


We watched The Nightmare before Christmas (my first time) and it was actually pretty good. And looking forward to watching tomorrow, the return of Dr Who with the Halloween Special.  

Bookish Notes and Links - Crime Fiction and Ancient Wisdom


Sigh! Just finished Nalini Singh's Archangel's Light (#14 in the Guild Hunter) about Illium and Aodhan and fills in their backstory. Already looking forward to reading it again.

I making major progress with my current WIP, so I had some time to to browse the interweb. Which brings us to NaNoWriMo. I'll only be participating in spirit due to being elbow deep in rewriting and editing said WIP. 

However for those of you who are, here are 7 Novels About Writers to Inspire You This NaNoWriMo

Bookish love with an Ode to Librarians: 6 Books Dedicated to a Love of Literature. I have the Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu on my shelves.

Maria of Brainpickings is celebrating her 15th anniversary and decided to change the name to The Marginalian. Have enjoyed reading her posts for quite some time. Lots to ponder and learn, along with getting caught up in following multiple rabbit trails.

For crime fiction aficionado's I know October is almost over, but check out October's Best International Crime Fiction. And for November, the ones to look forward to.

Here's something I stumbled across which history buffs will appreciate. Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers.

And from one of my favorite authors, Jayne Ann Krentz mulls over how she lost control of her Jayne Castle World. Two words - Dust bunnies. πŸ™‚
 

    BW43: Sunday's Book Babble - A Well Read Woman is a Dangerous Creature




     

    It's week 43 in our 52 Books quest and doing the happy dance as we're having lots of rain which should put out all our fires and snow in the mountains. 

    Enjoyed Reread of Chesapeake Bay series by Nora Roberts and moved on to Carnal Innocence which is a murder mystery thriller based in a small town and a serial killer is at large. Scary enough for Halloween.

    “Burned out and still reeling from a love affair gone bad, world-class violinist Caroline Waverly goes to her grandparents’ home in Innocence, Mississippi, for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Instead she finds herself overwhelmed all over again—first by Tucker Longstreet, a charming local with a sideline in no-strings-attached relationships, and then by a deadlier, more disturbing development. 

    For Innocence is being stalked by its very own serial killer, whose brutal knife blows have pierced the veil of tranquility in this sleepy Southern town and left a trail of mutilated female corpses in their wake. When a federal agent arrives to investigate, the town’s deepest secrets bubble to the surface and suspicion turns on Tucker as the most likely suspect. After Caroline finds the latest murder victim floating in the murky waters behind her house, she too is inexorably drawn into the path of a crazed killer who may be closer than she could have ever imagined.”

     Looking forward to Nalini Singh’s Archangel’s Light #14 in her Guild Hunter series which is coming out in a couple days.

    Speaking of Nalini Singh, I was at the grocery store Saturday and happened to be wearing my A Well Read Woman is a Dangerous Creature shirt.   The Gal bagging my groceries who I bonded with in previous visit over the netflix movie Enola Holmes, asked me what were my favorite genres and favorite authors and I clutched. Couldn't think of anything, then almost said all of them, but finally went with Urban Fantasies. Couldn’t remember any names for a moment before Nalini and Faith Hunter came to mind.  Happily she was into urban Fantasies as well so we had a lovely conversation about books.  πŸ˜€

    Ready Player Two still waiting in the wings.  

    Thanks to a friend tell me about about the kindle credit last week, added three books to my kindle stacks: Summer at the Garden Cafe: A Novel (Finfarran Peninsula Book 2) by Felicity Hayes-McCoy,  A Good Day for Chardonnay: A Novel (Sunshine Vicram Book 2) by Darynda Jones; and When Sorrows Come: An October Daye Novel by Seanan McGuire.  Yep, all series books. 

     

    Bookish Notes and Thoughts about 2022

     






    I've got 2022 52 books on my mind a bit earlier than usual.  My annual am I ready to do it again in which the answer is always yes.  Even if my groups gets a year of poetry because I can't think of anything else to write about.  πŸ˜€  However the ideas simmer and percolate and pop.  And more importantly, I so enjoy hearing all about my groups reads and what's happening in their lives and totally love my BAW family so don't want to give that up.  πŸ˜˜ 

    So.... time to start brainstorming goals and ideas for next year.  It's will be my 14th year hosting next year which means a 14 theme or number challenge with 14 or 7 x 2 or 2 x 7.  Or continue the 10 x 10’s,  with the same or different categories

    Goals for the new year?  Maybe read more new to me authors, explore new genres I have yet to read,  different eras, learn something new, clear my stacks and read my own books, or listen to more audiobooks. read more, read less. Declutter or rearrange the bookshelves. Get some new bookshelves or paint our old ones. Heck, maybe we should build a new house to house all our books. πŸ˜   I know I'm going to change my mind half a dozen times on all the challenges for 52 Books. 

    ****

    Finished Library from the Edge of the World.  It got better about 40% of the way through the story and finished it last night.  Now I want to read the second book to find out more. πŸ™‚

    Bev from My Reader's Block has already thrown her Mount TBR Reading Challenge up on her site.  Maybe I'll make it through half a year in 2022 reading through my stacks before I have withdrawal and want to buy more.  So books on the shelves I just haven't gotten too. 

    Next up - Ready Player Two because Kiddo just handed it to me and said 'read it.'  Yes, sir. 



    Guest Post -James M's review of IDW Sonic issue 45

     


    The road to issue 50 is upon us as a story arc looms and Evan Stanley is back in the writer's seat after Ian Flynn's fantastical Zeti Hunt saga. But this time, we're getting a girls' night out three parter with Amy Rose, Tangle the Lemur, Jewel the Beetle and Belle the Tinkerer. The girls do deserve a break, but trouble's not far behind in the form of a late night forest fire. 

    Evan does a masterful job on Ian Flynn's level, even though she's no Ian but is still a good writer. IDW's Sonic comic is proving to be just as entertaining as every other form of Sonic media from over the years, the stories are great and the characters are almost on point with nothing to hold them down. 

    It was also nice to see Amy's Tarot Card abilities be brought up, along with the fact they led her to Sonic in Sonic CD. Hey, that's a Classic Sonic nod, this indicates SEGA is starting to reconsider the Classic-Modern split and has begun to ease up on their strict rules. The future of Sonic is looking brighter with more greatness to come, the end of the issue was very suspenseful too, even the scenes serving as the calm before the storm were the best too. 

    My ideal score for issue 45 is an 8/10, this was fantastic, nothing can ruin the comic now.

    -James M


    BW42: Sunday’s Book Babble - Dystopian Novels


     It's week 42 in our 52 Books Quest and dystopian novels are on my mind today.  Particularly since my son recently read Ready Player Two and has been waiting for me to read it.  We've both watched and read Ready Player One and thoroughly enjoyed them.  So on to the second novel which fits in perfectly with our next two 52 Books Bingo categories - Dystopian and Utopian   There are books set in a perfect Utopian  world which may or may not be a good thing,  The imaginary perfect world which can easily slide into the imperfect Dystopian world. So, one of my missions for our October Spooktacular is to read a dystopian or utopia story. 

    Finished reread of book one and book two in Nora Roberts Chesapeake Bay series. On to book three – Inner Harbor.  Waiting in the wings is Ready Player Two which my son requested I read. 

    Watched The Guilty on Netflix with Jake Gyllenhaal which was excellent and I highly recommend. It was intense, gut wrenching, and captured me from start to finish.   I was under the impression that he couldn’t act after his performance as Mysterio in Spider man. I was wrong.

    Bookish Notes and Links - What keeps me coming back to a story

     

    I'm procrastinating and should be writing but still mulling over the scene, so instead web browsing.

    We asked, you answered: Your 50 favorite sci-fi and fantasy books of the past decade More books to add to my stack. However I already have several books on my shelves yet to be read such as Circe, Piranesi, Three Body Problem. Should probably move them up in the stacks.

    If you're a star trek fan, Brent Spiner has written a book and a trailer shows part of his discussion with Gates McFadden. They've aged gracefully.

    It's award season:

    Nobel Prize for literature: I could do with more readers!’ – Abdulrazak Gurnah on winning the Nobel prize for literature.The HWA Crown Awards shortlists 2021


    The HWA Crown Awards shortlists 2021 - I've already added The Devil and the Dark Water to my stacks. Sounds like a great spooktacular read.

    "It's 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Among the other guests is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret.

    But no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock dies in the night.

    And then the passengers hear a terrible voice, whispering to them in the darkness, promising three unholy miracles, followed by a slaughter. First an impossible pursuit. Second an impossible theft. And third an impossible murder.

    Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

    With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board."

    The movement to put translators’ names on book covers is working.

    Back to Agatha Christie: The Mysterious Affair at Styles and the Inception of Hercule Poirot. My first AC read and so far, the favorite.

    I love to reread and revisit stories. A friend pointed out this article on Argh Ink about Re readability. Go read it and then come back. Finished?

    What keeps me coming back to a story. The writing most of all and how the author paints the picture of the world the characters live in. I have to like the characters, otherwise I don't really care. I love being drawn into their story and the world they build within the book. Do they draw me in and make me laugh or cry and think, I love characters with humor and wit, I love ensemble casts and how they react off of one another. which is probably why I love series books so much. Mix in an intriguing story line with lots of mystery and surprise me with the twists and turns, sometimes spine tingling thrills. I also like ones that really makes me think and I want to read over and over again because I get something new out of it each time.

    😘

    BW41: Sunday's Book Babble - Rediscovering Linda Howard


     
    It's week 41 in our 52 Books Quest and our Fictional Librarian on the month is Hanna Casey.

    Dipping back into a favorite romantic suspense author I haven't read in a long time, Linda Howard, and finished Troublemaker:

    "For Morgan Yancy, an operative and team leader in a paramilitary group, nothing comes before his job. But when he’s ambushed and almost killed, his supervisor is determined to find out who’s after the members of his elite squad—and why. Due to worries that this unknown enemy will strike again, Morgan is sent to a remote location and told to lay low and stay vigilant. But between a tempting housemate he’s determined to protect and a deadly threat waiting in the shadows, keeping under the radar is proving to be his most dangerous mission yet.

    The part-time police chief of a small West Virginian mountain town, Isabeau “Bo” Maran finally has her life figured out. She’s got friends, a dog, and a little money in the bank. Then Morgan Yancy shows up on her doorstep. Bo doesn’t need a mysterious man in her life—especially a troublemaker as enticing and secretive as Morgan.

    The harder they fight the intense heat between them, the closer Morgan and Bo become, even though she knows he’s hiding from something. But discovering the truth could cost Bo more than she’s willing to give. And when Morgan’s cover is blown, it might just cost her life."

    And now reading second book kind of set in the same world with The Woman Left Behind.

    "Jina Modell works in Communications for a paramilitary organization, and she really likes it. She likes the money, she likes the coolness factor—and it is very cool, even for Washington, D.C. She likes being able to kick terrorist butts without ever leaving the climate-controlled comfort of the control room...

    But when Jina displays a really high aptitude for spatial awareness and action, she’s reassigned to work as an on-site drone operator in the field with one of the GO-Teams, an elite paramilitary unit. The only problem is that she isn’t particularly athletic, to put it mildly, and in order to be fit for the field, she has to learn how to run and swim for miles, jump out of a plane, shoot a gun . . . or else she’ll be out of a job...."


    Library at the Edge of the World is waiting in the wings along with Dean Koontz Devoted for October spooktacular.

    BW40: Sunday's Book Babble - October Spooktacular


     



    It's week 40 in our 52 Books Quest and October which means it's time for our OCTOBER SPOOKTACULAR:

    I have the music of The Addams family theme song running through my head today:

    Their creepy and their kooky
    Mysterious and spooky
    Their all together ooky
    The Adams family
    Their house is a museum
    When people come to see 'em
    They really are a screaming
    The Adams family.
    Neat.
    Sweet
    Petite
    So put a witch's shawl on
    A broomstick you can crawl on
    We're gonna play a call on
    The Adams family
    Their creepy and their kooky
    Mysterious and spooky
    Their all together ooky
    The Adams family
    Strange
    Deranged
    The Adams family


    Does it put you in the mood for some spooky or kooky, spine-chilling or thrilling, creepy or cozy, scary or mysterious? Yes, me too.

    Spooky to me doesn't necessarily equal horror. I detest blood and guts horror books or movies. Give me emotion, give me pee in your pants scary moments. Give me tense moments that make you laugh or cry. Give me mind bending stories with devious and conniving characters and lots of twists and turns. Give me stories that make me think and go whoa, I didn't see that coming. Entertain me, thrill me, shock me.

    I think for my spooky read I’m going to dive into the world of Dean Koontz. I have several books on my shelves to choose from.

    Meanwhile I'm currently enthralled in the Wheel of Time with the last book A Memory of Light and happy to see the characters all coming together or coming back for the final battle.