Thursday, February 14, 2019

Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into Stars Uncharted)

I started reading my February TBR poll winner, Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall, this week, and is it ever good!

A ragtag band of explorers are looking to make the biggest score in the galaxy in the brand-new science fiction adventure novel from the national bestselling author of Linesman.
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.
Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy. [Goodreads Summary]

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

The first thing Nika noticed about the man who buzzed the studio bell was his scar. 

My initial thought: Has trouble just walked in the door?




A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

Roystan looked at Snow and Carlos, running out with the rockets. She saw the struggle on his face as he looked at her, and thought he was going to argue, but he didn't. Instead, he clapped her on the shoulder. [56%]



My thoughts: I have yet to reach this spot in the novel, but it sounds like they are in another tight spot.

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Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Have you ever thought about taking a break from blogging? If you have, how long was the break and what did you learn from it? (submitted by Danielle @ PoetryBooksYA)
Oh goodness. I have taken quite a few breaks from blogging throughout the years. Some intentional and some not. Early on in my blogging career, I would plan posts ahead of time if I knew I was going to be away from my blog. I even asked for and posted guest posts to cover a couple of those times. That got to be more work than it was worth though. Usually I plan breaks when I have something going on that I know will keep me away from the computer: a family vacation, out of town company, family obligations, or just when I needed some time off from blogging to catch up and regroup.

I think my longest break from blogging was right around the time my daughter was born. Suddenly my world was upended, and my priorities shifted. It wasn't an intentional break, even my reading suffered significantly. I slowly regained momentum, although never quite like it was during my early years of blogging. I had to find my new normal, balancing being a wife, mother, professional, and life in general.

At first I would feel guilty when I could not spend as much time blogging--or even reading--as I might like. Somewhere in there though, I accepted my new normal. Completely stopping looking at my blog stats helped too. All those many blogger "rules" out there (some of which are contradictory)? I threw them out the window. I do what works best for me and my lifestyle. I am not always the most consistent blogger, and I may take a planned or unplanned break now and then, but I am okay with that.

I am still working on not stressing sometimes when I am not able to keep up with comments or comment on other blogs in a timely fashion . . . 

What about you?



 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!


© 2019, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

44 comments:

  1. Stars Uncharted looks interesting. Also, I take breaks from blogging when I need them.

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    1. Breana - Stars Uncharted is good so far! I am glad I am not alone in sometimes needing a break now and then. Thank you for visiting!

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  2. Very mysterious and intriguing opening line! It sounds like it really throws you into the plot.
    My Friday memes this week

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    1. Louise - It definitely does through you right in! I am really enjoying Stars Uncharted. Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. It's hard to read and blog almost daily especially to a working parent or a homemaker. For me, I'll still try my best to read as much as I can and I'm sure fellow readers will understand if we don't update our blog regularly. I've been slow in my reading and blogging lately; and it doesn't help when my daughters' exams are just around the corner. Well, that's life, haha.

    Hope you enjoy the book and have a great weekend, Wendy!

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    1. Melody - Good luck to your daughter on her exams! We really can only try our best, can't we? Blogging is not always our top priority. Our families always will come first. I hope you have a great weekend too, Melody. Thank you for visiting!

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  4. I've taken breaks before, most of them unplanned. I do have one planned break from a mobile blogging site that I'm taking now and I find that if there's a break, I usually need it. And it's better to take a break than to make myself unhappy forcing blogposts out.

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    1. Eustacia - Yes, I think so too. It is better to take a break than force blogging. I always feel a little better after a break. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. I am the queen of blogging breaks. I think most bloggers take them, even if they don't mean to. And I think they are usually helpful. I've gotten to where I plan mine (mostly). And they are for various reasons. I do know that when I am on a trip or away from my computer, I don't like replying to or making comments from my phone or iPad. Just my own quirk. So, I take a break. However, I also take them when life is really busy and keeping up feels stressful. As to blogging 'rules' - seriously? Why did we ever think there should be rules? Ha!

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    1. Kay - I am not sure where these so-called rules came from. LOL I think some of your attitude about breaks rubbed off on me. Sometimes we need those breaks to help us keep sane. Thank you for visiting!

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  6. I've never really taken a break but I have backed off from the way I used to blog. I thought I had to post something every single day. This is a hobby for us so we don't need to stress over it.

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    1. Kathy - Exactly! We have to do what works best for us--and keep that stress level down. I do this for fun, and I want to keep it fun. Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. Enjoy your book...and thanks for sharing. I haven't yet taken a blogging break probably because I didn't start until I had retired and my kids were grown.

    Have a great weekend, and here's mine:
    “I INVITED HER IN”

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    1. Laurel-Rain - Blogging was definitely a bit easier before I had a child! Life got more complicated after than, my time more scarce--but I wouldn't change that for the world. I hope you have a great weekend too! Thank you for visiting!

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  8. Sounds like an interesting book. I am spotlighting Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch this week. Happy reading!

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  9. Thanks for answering my question! A month needed to raise your child is needed over blogging.

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    1. Dani - She definitely comes first! Thank you for visiting!

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  10. I've never read science fiction and I know I didn't vote for this one, but no question---the cover and title are compelling!

    And you know, Wendy, you should NEVER feel guilty about not blogging, etc. I know when I first set up my blog and started actively following blogs, I used to spend an inordinate amount of time active on probably 175, all to different degrees. It was very enjoyable and I got to know a lot of people, and I sincerely miss a lot of that, but it was unreasonable and I wasn't able to get other aspects of ANYthng done, so had to find a way to still do things, yet not completely disappear. I'm terrible at posting on my blog/s so am incredibly impressed by your activity. Whatever you're able to do that doesn't negatively affect your life is good :D NEVER feel guilty!

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    1. Donna Marie - I enjoy science fiction, but do not read it often. At least not as often as I read other genres. My husband got me into science fiction early on in our relationship (before we were married), introducing me to some of the older authors and books. I never quite took to it as much as I did to fantasy. I'm trying to make up for it now--there's a lot of newer scifi books that appeal to me.

      It can be easy to get caught up in everything that is book blogging, can't it? I sometimes miss those days too--when I was more involved and able to follow so many more blogs. It got to be overwhelming though, especially as my offline life got more busy. So, yeah, I think we both can relate to that. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  11. Most of my blogging breaks have been short and unintentional...like not realizing I wouldn't have Wi-Fi or just being to tired at the end of the of traveling to bother...but then usually I'd have a hard time getting going again once life returned to normal. My Friday quotes come from Life on Mars

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    1. Anne - That's the worst. Not having internet access or Wi-Fi suddenly. I know what you mean about having a hard time getting started after a break. I find that sometimes too. Thank you for visiting!

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  12. Probably not for me, but I hope you love it! Happy weekend!

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  13. When I first started blogging, people said that you needed to put X amount of posts every week in a timely matter. Obviously, I'm very new to blogging, but when I tried to have a concrete schedule with my posts, blogging became less fun. Now I just take breaks when I need them and blog about what ever I want and when ever I want!

    Elle Inked @ Keep on Reading

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    1. Elle - I like your attitude. :-) I think finding what works best for you is the way to go, regardless of what others might say or think. Thanks for stopping by!

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  14. Too frequent blogging can be difficult and time-consuming--not only for the blogger, but for readers who follow several blogs. We all need breaks and flexibility!

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    1. Jenclair - Yes, it really can be. I'm all for flexibility. Thank you for visiting!

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  15. I'm hunkering down this weekend to try and get over my cold with its neverending cough. At least I have a stack of library books to keep me company. I'm starting with Mind Games by Kendra Elliot. After that? Who knows. Have a great weekend! :)

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    1. Lark - I hope you are able to kick that cold right out the door. My cough lasted for what felt like forever, so I feel you. Enjoy your books. I look forward to reading Mind Games! Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. That cover is so pretty! And it looks really interesting. Definitely one I'll be adding to my TBR

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    1. Ash - I like the cover too! The book is good so far. I hope you enjoy if you read it. Thank you for visiting!

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  17. This sounds really interesting. I've been trying to read more sci-fi lately, so I'll have to add this one to my wishlist. Thanks for sharing! Hope you have an awesome week! :)

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    1. Ashley - It was good! I recommend it.I hope you have a great week as well! Thank you for stopping by.

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  18. Sounds like a really interesting science-fiction. Hope you enjoy it and have a lovely week!

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    1. Ashley - I really enjoyed it and was sad to see it end. I hear there might be a sequel. I sure hope so! Thank you for visiting!

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  19. Sounds like a fun book! I think that a break is very much needed from time to time. I have had to take a few shorter breaks over the years and have skipped some days recently just because life gets too busy. I think that everyone just needs to figure out what fits into their life.

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    1. Carole - I think so too. I need breaks now and then. Thank you for stopping by!

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  20. I took a semi-break once about three years ago when I changed jobs. I was going to take a complete break for a couple of months, but because I had my Tell Me Tuesday posters I decided to post that feature once a week, so I wouldn't lose them. I'm glad I made that decision because I think at that point in my blogging, I probably would have quit completely.💻

    I am awed by moms who keep blogging with babies under one year old. If I had been blogging when I had my son I would have had to have take a break, too, and I worked from home! 🚼

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    1. La La - I imagine it would be hard to take a break when you have a regular feature that others count on. I think that's why I could never host something like that myself. I admire those of you who do though! It's such a great community building activity for everyone.

      Thank you for visiting!

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  21. There's nothing wrong with taking a planned break from blogging. Sometimes you just need a mini-vacation.

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    1. Billy - I need a lot of them. If only I could take as many from my actual job. LOL Thanks for stopping by!

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