My Two Blessings

Wow. It's week 52 in our 52 books quest and it seems like this year just flew by.  My reading year was a mixture of new reads and reread s. I had a plan at the beginning of the year and was pretty good with writing some reviews until about mid year, then meandered completely off the path.  My goal at the beginning of the year was to read and whittle down my physical stack.  I read a total of 160 of which 42 were physical books and 10 were over 500 pages.  I finished updating goodreads but their numbers and mine don't agree and I'm not quite sure what's up with that.  I was good and read only from my physical and virtual stacks, and stuck to my buying ban until June. Then I went off the rails, especially by the end of the year. 2023 buying ban is now officially in force.   Category breakdown's, (Not including entire series): Fantasy (17), Books about books (14), Science Fiction (11), Romance (11), Mystery (9), historical fiction (8), Thrillers (7),...

 

  Happy Sunday! it's week 51 in our 52 books quest and Wintertime is upon us with the December Solstice.  Whilst we're preparing for Christmas and enjoying hot toddies by the fire, it's Summer in the Southern Hemisphere (those lucky dawgs), and folks are enjoying fruity rum drinks on the beach.  For some reason, I've been in a winter mood all year long, indulging in reads set in frigid cold settings, characters braving the elements, all the while falling in love, finding killers, solving mysteries, or simply exploring.   I discovered a new to me series this year in Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series which is 22 books long but well worth reading.  Once I started reading, couldn't stop.    I finally dove into Katherine Addison's the Goblin Emperor and enjoying the heck out of it. Feel sorry for Maia but he's trying.  I think my winter read will be Vinge's Snow Queen. Another dusty books that I'm finally ready to dive into.  Dad gave m...

  It's book week 50 in our 52 Books quest and our  last 52 Books Bingo Category for the year is  Creativity , my favorite subject. It's time to  unleash your inner Creativity .  Creativity takes all shapes and forms from the physical to the intellectual, from the deliberate to the spontaneous.  Whether you have a creative mind or creative hands, there are a wide  variety of ways to be creative  and things  highly creative people do differently .   What is the  difference between Artistic and Creative ability ?   And then there is  Creative Leadership Lessons from Star Trek .    What do you think?  15 Books About Creativity to Get You Out of a Creative Rut .  One book I revisit over and over is The Artist Way by Julia Cameron which unlocked my imagination.  Creativity books added to my shelves to read through out next year: Another Julia Cameron - Write for Life: Creative Tools for Ev...

Welcome back, Sonic squad. We have two Sonic comics, the second issue of Scrapnik Island and the Tails' 30th Anniversary Special, the latter of which is quite interesting to see at a time when it appears that Classic and Modern Sonic are merging back into one at last. Yes, Ian Flynn confirmed that SEGA has eliminated the Classic-Modern split just like with the two worlds canon nonsense. Y'know what this might mean? MIGHTY AND RAY WILL BE REUNITED WITH VECTOR, CHARMY AND ESPIO AND CO-EXIST WITH MODERN SONIC AND CREW VERY SOON! WOOOO!!!! In fact, Scrapnik Island's the perfect start to the reunification of Classic and Modern, especially since Classic Badniks like Mecha Sonic appear to serve as the villain. Issue two continues the story that started in the first with Sonic and Tails getting to know the Scrapniks and they eventually encounter Mecha Knuckles from the Advance games, who eventually attacks Sonic. Mecha Sonic fights him and, while he ends up beating him, his origina...

  Thought that would get your attention!  LOL!  The third and final book in Darynda Jones Sunshine Vicram series came out called A Hard Day for a Hangover which has some laugh out loud funny moments.  “Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for good.  Like we said, the new day can take a hike.” Now that I've finished  Hard Day for a Hangover,  I want to go back and reread the trilo...

  It's cold and rainy and we're tucked up, nice and cozy with books and family. The best place to be, whether it be physically or virtually.  Thanks to Sandy and Amy we've had a grand year, going on a crime spree.  It's week 49 in our 52 Books Quest and we talking December's Crime Spree recommendations.  I’ve got my eyes are bigger than my stomach syndrome because I want to read all Sandy and Amy’s recommendations.  Think I’ll start with Water like a Stone, now in my virtual stacks and look forward to reading it this month. Currently reading Nora Robert’s The Choice and love the characters and the storyline. Makes me want to live in Ireland and maybe by chance find a portal to the other side. 😊 Waiting on the nightstand is the newest Armand Gamache story, A World of Curiosities . I’m going to check out the first episode of Three Pines on Amazon Prime, think of it as a mystery series separated from the books,  and see how I like it.  Saturday nig...

  Hello December! We are on week 49 in our 52 Books quest and it's time to wrap up our Crime Spree with an assortment of recommendations.  I’ve got my eyes are bigger than my stomach syndrome because I want to read all Sandy and Amy’s recommendations.  Think I’ll start with Water like a Stone, now in my virtual stacks and look forward to reading it this month. I've also decided it's time to hang up my hosting shoes, retired 52 books on WTM and let someone else take the helm. Especially since I've taken over Life and Liturgy and it's so much more work than expected.  The ladies actually expect me to talk more than I have been. LOL!  The internet somehow let's my introverted self be more extroverted online.   Currently reading Nora Robert’s The Choice and love the characters and the storyline. Makes me want to live in Ireland and maybe by chance find a portal to the other side. 😊 Waiting on the nightstand is the newest Armand Gamache story, A World of C...