Thursday, March 11, 2021

Where Is Your Bookmark? (What I Was Reading Then and Now / Time Travel Connect 5 / BBHOP Fun]





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

The air beneath Evelyn's paper mask is hot and damp, and even though a shaft of sunlight from the open barn door reveals sawdust swirling in the air, she pulls the mask up to her forehead and allows herself a breath of cool air. [opening of The Memory Collectors]


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.


She breathes in calm. She's stronger than this object. She is calm, peaceful. She opens wider. A white-hot flash pierces her center like a lightning bolt, and with it a sickening jolt in her gut, and a vision. A pair of hands, knotty pale hands, dirt under the nails, chewed up cuticles, white knuckles clenched around the grip of a gun. The barrel's pointing down at a stack of old paint cans, and a voice echoes inside her brain. How do you like me now? 
The connection breaks. Ev bends over at the waist, fizzy, disoriented. [excerpt from 56% of The Memory Keepers

I currently am reading The Memory Collectors by Kim Neville and am hooked. I wasn't sure at first, but the more I read, the more invested in the characters and story I become. The opening line is from the prologue offering a glimpse into Evelyn's past. It's funny how the mention of a mask up front makes me immediately think of the pandemic, but, of course, that is not why Evelyn is wearing a mask here. I really like the opening, the picture it paints in my mind. I have not yet reached the second excerpt in the novel (I am only about 25% in at the writing of this post), but now I am dying to get there to find out more. 

Perfect for fans of The Scent Keeper and The Keeper of Lost Things, an atmospheric and enchanting debut novel about two women haunted by buried secrets but bound by a shared gift and the power the past holds over our lives.

Ev has a mysterious ability, one that she feels is more a curse than a gift. She can feel the emotions people leave behind on objects and believes that most of them need to be handled extremely carefully, and—if at all possible—destroyed. The harmless ones she sells at Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market to scrape together a living, but even that fills her with trepidation. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Harriet hoards thousands of these treasures and is starting to make her neighbors sick as the overabundance of heightened emotions start seeping through her apartment walls.

When the two women meet, Harriet knows that Ev is the only person who can help her make something truly spectacular of her collection. A museum of memory that not only feels warm and inviting but can heal the emotional wounds many people unknowingly carry around. They only know of one other person like them, and they fear the dark effects these objects had on him. Together, they help each other to develop and control their gift, so that what happened to him never happens again. But unbeknownst to them, the same darkness is wrapping itself around another, dragging them down a path that already destroyed Ev’s family once, and threatens to annihilate what little she has left.

The Memory Collectors casts the everyday in a new light, speaking volumes to the hold that our past has over us—contained, at times, in seemingly innocuous objects—and uncovering a truth that both women have tried hard to bury with their pasts: not all magpies collect shiny things—sometimes they gather darkness. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read The Memory Collectors? Does it sound like something you would like to read? What are you reading right now?

Originally a feature called Last Year I Was Reading created by Maria from ReadingMaria
I liked it enough to continue on my own, but have tweaked it
 to feature Five Years Ago I Was Reading. 
(I would have gone back ten, but I read so little in 2011)

Five years ago this week I finished reading Clea Simon's The Ninth Life, the first in a mystery series featuring a cat and his human, a street girl named Care, who go up against some very dangerous people as they investigate the murder of Care's mentor, a private detective. The novel is narrated by Blackie, the cat, who is trying to remember his own past. Less cozy and more noir, this mystery was entertaining and had several tense moments.


Have you read The Ninth Life? What were you reading five years ago? 


Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books,
read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 
Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

I am not a fan of the time change and yet here we go again (at least for some parts of the world). On Sunday at 2 a.m., I will be springing forward an hour in time (as opposed to falling back). I do enjoy the longer days, I admit. It will not feel like bedtime as soon as I get off work, which is a plus. The upcoming time change got me thinking about time, which inevitably led to time travel and time slip fiction. I thought I would share five such novels with you today, all with the word "time" in the titles. I have only read one of these (The Time Traveler's Wife) and the rest are on my TBR shelf waiting to be read. (Covers are linked to Goodreads.)


A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers


The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger


A Stitch in Time (Thorne Manor #1) by Kelley Armstrong


This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone


Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald


Have you read any of these? Do you have a favorite time travel book you would recommend?


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.

What percentage (roughly) of the books you read do you write blog post reviews for? (submitted by Elizabeth Complex Chaos)

It varies. I think last year it was about 50% give or take because I did not review most of the middle grade and children's books my daughter and I read together. Before I began blogging, I kept a reading journal where I jotted down my thoughts about the books I read. When I started my blog in 2006, my blog became sort of an extension of that. I write and post about every book I read just about, the exceptions being the rare health or work related book I read or the majority of the children's books I have read with my daughter over the years. I reviewed some, but not nearly all. If you count just the books I read for myself for leisure, however, it would be close to 100%, if not exactly that. 

What about you?

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

© 2021 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.

48 comments:

  1. Your current read sounds like an excellent story. I agree with you about the beginning of The Memory Collectors. It does paint a scene.

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    1. Breana - It is good. I like it so far. Thank you for visiting!

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  2. I love the sound of The Memory Collectors. Those snippets really draw me in. Thanks for sharing! Happy reading! :)

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  3. Sounds like an interesting story! Can't wait to read your full review.

    I think I review almost all the books I read, as long as they are new to me/I have something to say.

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    1. Eustacia - I like your posts about your re-reading. :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  4. I can see why The Memory Collectors has you hooked - that is very powerful writing. My children are older, so we no longer share stories, so I blog everything except the DNF's.

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    1. Louise - I really like the writing in The Memory Collectors. I don't generally blog about DNF books, but it's rare I DNF a book. I don't really count those as "read" books. Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. I immediately thought of the Pandemic, too, at the mask mention. Sounds like a good story! Here's mine: “TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE”

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    1. Laurel-Rain - I imagine we will associate masks with the pandemic for years to come. I am enjoying the story quite a bit. It's such an interesting concept. Thank you for visiting!

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  6. I loved The Time Traveler's Wife. Happy reading!

    Lauren @ Always Me

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    1. Lauren - I really liked The Time Traveler's Wife too. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. Your book sounds fascinating! Happy weekend!

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  8. So true about the mask reference--it's becoming engrained in our memories. Your current read sounds fascinating. Enjoy!

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    1. Catherine - It is good so far. Thank you for visiting!

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  9. I read a few time travel books (mostly two series by one author!) I haven't read any of these. I checked out A Stitch in Time from my library, but had to return it before I had time to read it. I hope you like all these books when you read them. They are all ones I've thought about, but have seemed a little too serious for me right now!

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    1. Jan - A Stitch of Time Sounds like a promising start to a new series. I've enjoyed other books by the author. I hope you get a chance to read it at some point (and me too!). Thank you for stopping by!

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  10. The Memory Collectors sounds so good! I read The Time Traveler's Wife years ago, but for the most part, I have a difficult time with time travel books. Have a good weekend!

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    1. Jenclair - Time travel books have grown on me over the years. :-) I hope you have a good weekend too. Thank you for visiting!

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  11. I find myself writing very short reviews for ALL books on Goodreads, king of like your reading journal. And then I blog review about 75% of my other reads skipping children's books or rereads, etc. My quotes are from Fifty Words For Rain

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    1. Anne - I mostly just copy and past my blog reviews into Goodreads at this point. My short reviews turned into novels when I began blogging. LOL In recent years though I've gone back to shorter reviews. Thank you for stopping by!

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  12. Love your list of time-related books! I'm not a fan of the time change either. Why do we still do it? I wish they'd just pick a time and stick with it.

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    1. Lark - Thank you! I don't understand why we still have to do the time change either. It doesn't seem as practical as it once may have been. Thank you for stopping by!

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  13. Great time travel list!! A few are already on my TBR list!!

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  14. The Memory Collectors looks so good! It's definitely one I need to add to my list. I've never been a big time travel fan but there are so many books that look so good that feature time travel. I like the time change in the fall but I can't stand it in the spring. Something about it makes me feel soooo tired.

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    1. Katherine - The Memory Collectors is really interesting. I like it so far. I don't mind the time change in the fall so much either--gaining an extra hour isn't so bad. The spring one is a different story altogether. Thank you for visiting!

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  15. The Memory Collectors sound really good, I will have to move it up my TBR. I am not a big fan of DST either, but what can you do. Have a great weekend.

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    1. Carla - I hope you enjoy The Memory Collectors when you read it. It's more of a serious read compared to my other reads recently. I hope you have a great weekend too. Thank you for stopping by!

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  16. I always said time travel did not interest me till of course the Outlander, Susanna Kearsley's novels and many more. I am hooked now! Thanks for this post.
    Stay safe and have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Mystica - I haven't read Outlander, but I do enjoy Susanna Kearsley. I hope you have a great weekend too. Thank you for visiting!

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  17. I liked the Time Traveler's Wife, but I have not read any of the others you list. I post about nearly every book- the exception nowadays being ones I ditch within the first few chapters and don't feel they're worth a mention. Occasionally I post about books I read with my daughter, but not very often, only if I feel like it. So pretty much same as you!

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    1. Jeane - I generally do not post about the books I do not finish either. Although, to be honest, there aren't too many of those. And I forget about them quickly. Thank you for stopping by!

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  18. I read the Ninth Life awhile ago and enjoyed it. I always like Clea Simon's books and have to get back to them. I hope you have a great weekend!

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    1. Yvonne - I've enjoyed her books too. :-) I hope you have a great week. Thank you for visiting!

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  19. I haven't read any of the time books but your talking about time change reminded me that I guess at some point where i am we'll be falling back! While its a bit annoying when it happens I like the longer days in summer too.

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    1. Kathryn - At least you'll get an extra hour of it. Not that it takes away how annoying it is to have to adjust to the time change. Thank you for stopping by!

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  20. I'm not a fan of the time change but I do like the longer daylight hours too. I really enjoyed how you did the connections to time and loved the Time Traveller's Wife. Such a good book. I'm really curious especially about Time After Time.

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    1. Iliana - Thank you! I really want to read Time After Time too. Thank you for visiting!

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  21. The Memory Collectors sounds fantastic. I will definitely be on the lookout for your review on that one.

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    1. Suzanne - It is good so far! Thank you for stopping by!

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  22. Time travel stories are a hit or miss to me. The Memory Collectors sounds like a good one though and I look forward to hearing your thoughts of it, Wendy.

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    1. Melody - Thank you! I am enjoying it so far. Thank you for visiting!

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  23. I try to review a book when I finish reading it to post on my blog. When I didn't have a blog I didn't review as much. Have a great week!

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    1. Jamie - That is great that you are able to write reviews right after you finish reading. I'm not so lucky. Thank you for stopping by!

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