November 6th-November 12th, 2022
The Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ 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 rules here: Sunday Post Meme
#6 National Child Identification Program
I live in Texas, in an suburban area mere hours away from Oklahoma. Yes, the Bible Belt (there are at least six churches surrounding me) and state where Uvalde happened (about eight hours away from Uvalde!) today from school I got a National Child Identification Program, which means they want me to put in information about my child in case, well, a moron with a gun decides to shoot up an elementary school my son goes to. (For context, my son is six and a half and he hasn't yet lost his top two teeth! He knows a lot but doesn't drive and is in cub scouts. He loves rainbow colors but hates grey, white and black. He also loves and cares for planet earth and loves dogs and wants six kids when he grows up as well as being an architect and he has a love for trains and is getting interested in building legos.) In other words, he is a human being and is more than a statistic or a number. The message that USA is sending: 'Hey, nothing we can do about the shooters so at least make it easier to identify your child.' Gun ownership is more important than going to a safe school. Gun ownership with a gun which has mere metal tube and has no personality besides shooting is more important than my son who has big plans for his life. Gun ownership is more important than parents' feelings for their children. Children aren't important. Guns are important.
Luckily this week we went trick or treating with another girl where my son and I collected a whole bunch of awesome candy, so yeah a lot of Halloween fun. My son is preparing for the boat race this coming Saturday, and on Sunday will include a one hour hike at a local museum which has dinosaurs. Excited? Yes he is.
Last Week On The Blog
Coming Attractions for November 22nd
The Wizard of Eventide by Jon/Kelley Skovron
Summer Lightning by Roberta Silman
There are no Happy Loves by Sergio Olguin
The Bone Flower by Charles Lambert
This Week On The Blog The Autodidacts By Thomas Kendall, The Bronze Drum By Phong Nguyen
New Arrivals At Svetlana's Reads and Views
None
It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
(From The Book Date)
Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
How it works:
I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.
You’ll find the schedule of upcoming TTT topics below so you can plan ahead. I’ll post a Linky here on the blog each week so you can link up your post (if you want). If you don’t have a blog, post your picks in the comment section below! Have tons of fun talking books and getting to know your fellow bloggers!
NOTE: If a weekly topic is listed as a “freebie”, you are invited to come up with your own topic. Sometimes I will give your topic a theme, such as “love”, a season, or an upcoming holiday. That just means that you can come up with any topic you want that fits under that umbrella.
You’re more than welcome to use the Top Ten Tuesday image I designed above (or any of my older/seasonal ones), or make your own that fits your site’s theme.
November 8: Series I’d Like to Start/Catch up on/Finish
1. Earth's Children by Jean Auel: Knowing me, is anyone surprised about this on the list? I am highly intrigued by the series, especially by the fact it takes place about 30,000 years ago so I'm dying to go back to that world and meet historical ancestors. The series has six books, first of which is called The Clan of the Cave bear.
2. Chesapeake Diaries by Mariah Stewart: To be honest I have read the last few book in the series, but I do want to go back and read the rest of the series. Its written more like women's fiction than romance, but I did love journeying through this world and getting to know the culture and lives of the inhabitants. There are twelve books in the series, the first of which is called Coming Home.
3. The Empress of Rome by Kate Quinn: I read her last book, but I definitely fell in love with her writing and the story, which made me want to read the previous three books. Also, a Jewish protagonist in a non WWII setting! The books focus on Roman history after Nero's death. There are four books, first of which is titled Daughters of Rome. And yes, there are LGBTQ characters in her book (the last book I read dealt with a starstruck M/M romance.)
4. Tigress Series by Jade Lee: To be honest I read about perhaps 75 percent of the series, but I didn't read two books. And yes, okay, I need an excuse to go back to my favorite series of white women and Asian men pairings. There are six books in the series, and four of them have a European female/Asian male pairings while one is Asian male/Asian female and the other is Asian female/European male. So yeah, comfort read time.
5. Sano Ichiro Mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland: So I read the last book of the series, and found myself enjoying going back to Japan prior to it being forced by foreigners. The series has a total of eighteen novels and I look forward to getting to know the characters. The first is titled Shinju.
6. Masters of Rome by Colleen McCullough: Fine, I admit, I took a Roman Empire class, and quite recently have read a history of Rome from cover to cover which covered the time before it become an Empire and was a Republic. Masters of Rome focuses on Roman Republic, and anyways, I am dying to know what led up to Julius Caesar. There are seven books in the series, but I will only read five of them, using Margaret George's book, Memoirs of Cleopatra as a substitute for books 6 and seven. The first is titled The First Man in Rome.
7. Plantagenets series by Sharon Kay Penman: Yes, ok, it ties to my college classes loosely and I have a very strong medieval ages fascination. So I have read the first book, but not later ones. Also, okay, young male/older female pairing, and brunnete woman/blonde hero. I also can't wait to get to latter books and witness how everything hits the fan. There are five books in the series, and first one is titled When Christ and His Saints Slept.
8. Swords and Fire by Melissa Caruso: I was seeking stories similar to Dragon Age Origins/ Dragon Age II and this was a series that was mentioned as being close to Dragon Age, which is why I'm excited about reading it. There are three books in the trilogy and the first one is titled The Tethered Mage..
9. The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden: Hmm, fantasy based on Russian folktales? Do sign me up! Although Russia never saw me or my family as Rusians, nor have we ever been treated as native Russians, its still a place I see as home and a place that taught me language and to understand what its like to be different. Aside from that, three books in the series, the first titled The Bear and the Nightingale.
10. Anna Klein Trilogy by C.F. Yetmen: First of all despite the name the main character is a German not a Jew (I made a mistake when I saw the name Klein, and no she's not married to a Jew either.) So its Germany post WW2 when Germans have to face reckoning with deeds, but it focuses a lot on less known aspects of Germany such as the Monuments of Men and special program where Polish children are kidnapped and raised as German children. There are three books in the series the first of which is titled The Roses Underneath..
Shelf Control
Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.
Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.
Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!
Title: Almost a Scandal
Author: Elizabeth Essex
Published: 2012
Length: 353
What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):
Bold, brazen, and beautiful, the Reckless Brides refuse to play by society’s rules of courtship. But—come hell or high water—they always get their man…
A Lady in Disguise
For generations, the Kents have served proudly with the British Royal Navy. So when her younger brother refuses to report for duty, Sally Kent slips into a uniform and takes his place—at least until he comes to his senses. Boldly climbing aboard the Audacious, Sally is as able-bodied as any sailor there. But one man is making her feel tantalizingly aware of the full-bodied woman beneath her navy blues…
A Man Overboard
Dedicated to his ship, sworn to his duty—and distractingly gorgeous—Lieutenant David Colyear sees through Sally’s charade, and he’s furious. But he must admit she’s the best midshipman on board—and a woman who tempts him like no other. With his own secrets to hide and his career at stake, Col agrees to keep her on. But can the passion they hide survive the perils of a battle at sea? Soon, their love and devotion will be put to the test…
How and when I got it: Its an interesting story. It was on a Valentines Day in 2014 when I had a chance to meet my favorite author, Jade Lee. There I also met Elizabeth Essex who told me a bit about her books and I am pretty sure I got this one in thriftbooks to complete the quartet. I got it on February 28th, 2014,
Why I want to read it: I think mainly because it sounds pretty interesting would be a reason, and sometimes it will be good for my brain to read something fun and light.
What do you think? Would you read this book? And if you’ve read it, do you recommend it?
Please share your thoughts!
Books from Backlog
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.
If you would like to join in, please feel free to enter your link, link back to this post, and then spend some time visiting some of the other posts.
This week’s neglected book
Book Title: A Breath of Scandal
Series: Reckless Brides
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genres: historical romance, Regency, England,
Pages: 340
Format: Print
Source: I bought it because it sounded interesting when author showed up at a day after Valentines Day event on February 15th, 2014. I was intrigued because the heroine is a brunette and the hero is blonde (I don't know why they made that cover, but the author confirmed that for me, and I wanted to have more brunette heroine stories,)
Summary:
The Lady is a Knockout
Forced by her family into an engagement with a man she can never abide, Antigone Preston knows only a scandal will save her from a loveless marriage. But knocking a man down to the ballroom floor with her fists brings dangerous consequences. She may have ruined her reputation, but now she’s endangered her heart…
The Officer is a Gentleman
The son of an earl and a career navy man, Captain William Jellicoe has no interest in the frivolities of London—and even less in the institution of marriage. But there’s something steering him toward Antigone. He has never met anyone as brazen and unconventional as…himself. But will he risk it all for a woman who still has the breath of scandal hot on her lips?
Why did I add A Breath of Scandal to my bookshelf? When I talked to the author, she made her books sound pretty fascinating, that's why I added it to my bookshelf. Also, brunette heroine/blonde hero combination!
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?
Let's Talk Bookish
November 11:Do you use your local library? (Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)
Prompts: Do you have a local library you go to often?
I tend to use the library more for my son than for my needs, but yes there is main one that's five minutes away from where i live. I do tend to buy on sale there, through friends of library program.
Does your school/did your school have a library?
Pretty much yes, my schools did have libraries. I grew up in '90s and '00s ('85 born and raised) so at first I went there mostly to check out books, but then for computers.
What are your favorite things about libraries?
I think the fact they have a ton of children's books and graphic novels as well as comics. I honestly had no idea of the versality of books and of how much joy my son gets from reading them. I think I also love the play areas for children or that kids can make new friends they otherwise wouldn't be able to make.
Are there certain books you borrow from your local library more or less often than others?
Mostly I borrow children's graphic novels as well as comics or books for children because of my son. Because of that, I often find myself surprised at getting favorite children's books or how often I find myself delighting in recalling the books I read to my son.
Stacking the Shelves
Book Titles I got this week: (if available)
None
Planned Reviews: (If available. Use pictures)
The Autodidacts by Thomas Kendall
The Bronze Drum by Phong Nguyen
Enjoy your current reads.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark Baker! Thanks so much! So far they're pretty good reads.
DeleteI don't understand that either. So bizarre. I would be furious if I got that. And in the bible Belt too! Although we have a lot of there here as well in the Midwest. Anyway... I've always been fascinated by the Jean auel books, I love the idea of prehistoric times. The Plantagenet book looks great too.
ReplyDeleteHi Greg! Yeah, bible belt too. I am surprised that there wasn't a pamphlet about how talk to your kids about school shooters or anything like that. It's not a requirement or anything, but there is definitely a feeling of wrongness. Plantagenet books are great. I read the one that is pictured and if you are looking for minimally romantic historical fiction but one with tons of actions, then it's a treat! I want to read Jean Auel books too. Maybe one day I can read novels from Jean Auel to 2020s.
DeleteIt's heartbreaking about the guns and children. I would wonder too about the skewed reasoning.
ReplyDeleteHi Harvee, thanks so much. I agree, it's messed up. I was pretty upset when I got that pamphlet. There is definitely a feeling of wrongness about it... at least in my opinion.
DeleteThat's so sad that you have to fill out information to identify your child like that. Ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteHi BookBabeNails, thanks so much. I didn't fill out yet, but yeah, how do you have that kind of conversation with a six year old? And the form is confusing for me too. It didn't give fingerprinting things. It feels as if its getting more and more difficult to live and survive in this world.
DeleteSuper post
ReplyDeleteHi Rajani Rehana! Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it.
DeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that your son has to go to school under these kinds of conditions. Luckily, here in Canada, it's not a concern.
ReplyDeleteI adored The Bear and the Nightingale and didn't know it was the first in a trilogy. Thanks so much for the heads up!
Hi Cheriee Weichel! Thanks so much, although somehow I doubt your wallet is thanking me for letting you know its a trilogy rather than a stand-alone. I hope you'll enjoy the series. And yeah, its frustrating that in USA people won't do what is common sense. I mean, can't they do something about military gun access for civilians? I understand that in wilderness areas or if someone is wealthy then guns are necessary, but why would you need military weapons for those occupations? What is the point even?
DeleteI'd like to read The Bear and the Nightingale! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Poinsettia! Same here. I'd like to travel back to fairytale Russia and perhaps gain knowledge of the country where I grew up for the first eight years of my life.
DeleteI love Kate Quinn books and I've read almost all of her WWII stuff, but not the Rome series-it's hard to find!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/08/top-ten-tuesday-393/
Hi iloveheartlandX! Although I only read one book of hers, I think it speaks volumes to her writing talent that I'm able to remember it many years after I was done. Good luck with starting and/or starting your series!
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