Musings of a Bookish Kitty: October 2022

Saturday, October 08, 2022

Weekly Mews: Saying Goodbye to Friends & More Witchy Reading

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

The house is so quiet right now. I was the first up this morning and I seem to be the last to head to bed. One cat is stretched out on the floor, belly up, while the other is staring at me, probably trying to send me a telepathic message that I should go to bed too--or more likely to let me know she wants a treat.

It was a decent week. There were routine dentist visits for my daughter and me. Work as usual. School for Mouse. And all the other usual trimmings. We ended the week with a small get together with friends, both to celebrate a birthday and say goodbye. One of our sets of friends is moving across the country. So, there was a mix of sadness in with the joy. It was a beautiful day for being in and around the pool. Although, we were surprised when the clouds rolled in and dropped a few raindrops before rolling away again about five minutes later.

Tomorrow I am hoping I can get some much needed housework done--oh, the joy! I have been limited in what I can do because of my knee. We'll see how it goes. The physical therapy is helping, but there's still some pain and discomfort that comes and goes. I also hope to get in some much overdue blog hopping.

Time for some pool time fun at our friends' house

I always share photos of my cats,

but this time I decided to share photos of my friends' dogs.

This old girl decided to lay on my foot

Read Recently

This past week I finished Witch and Famous (Witch Way Librarian #3) by Angela M. Sanders. I am really enjoying the series.

Reading Now

I currently am reading The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marias. I am not too far in but already loving it.

Up Next

Next up I will be diving into this month's TBR List winner.

A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts and Mere Mortals tied for second place with four votes each while Celestine Martin's Witchful Thinking won with six votes. It looks like my witch-themed reading roll will continue! And this time it will include a merman. I can't wait to dive into Witchful Thinking. Thank you to everyone who voted!

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise).

I hope you have a great week and month of October! Let me know what you have been reading and watching!

© 2022, 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.

Saturday, October 01, 2022

Weekly Mews: Welcoming in October with More Books (Please vote in my TBR Poll!)

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.

My cat is doing everything she can to distract me from writing this blog post. Her favorite place to curl up and purr is on my chest--and it most often happens when I sit down with my computer (or try to eat). She is quite demanding about it too.

On the personal front, work is keeping me extra busy but that doesn't seem like anything new these days. I am losing my office space at work and so spent some time packing, tossing, and boxing up over a decade's worth of stuff. I will be sharing a new office space with seven other supervisors in my office (we'll be taking turns on our in office/out of office work rotation schedules--what that means when more than one of us are there at a time, I can't say). It turned out not to be as bad as I thought it would be and only took me a day as I tried to fit it in between my regular work. The extra strain on my knee was not good though. I tried to be careful, but I have been feeling it ever since. This past week I started physically therapy. I am optimistic I can make a full recovery.

I have some catching up to do blog visiting wise, but I wanted to share with you what I have been reading and watching as of late.

Read Recently

These past two weeks I finished reading several great books. I had fallen behind with my year long reading project, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and decided it was time to catch up. Once I started, I just kept going and finished a couple months early. Sangu Mandanna's novel, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, was such a delight. And I continue to enjoy both the Maggie Hope (Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante) and Witch Way Librarian (Seven-Year Witch) series. Spy x Family, Vol. 8 by Tatsuya Endo was one of my favorite in the series so far. I actually got to read it before my husband and daughter this time!

What did you recently finish reading?

Reading Now

Right now I am reading Witch and Famous (Witch Way Librarian Mystery #3) by Angela M. Sanders. I am enjoying my time in Wilfred, Oregon.

What are you reading right now?

Up Next

I am sticking with the theme of the season--witches (and a merman), ghosts, and vampires (well, formerly at least) for this month's TBR List Poll. which of these three books do you think I should read next?

Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

What does a witch do when life's a bore? You wish for something more.

If wishes were fish, homebody witch Lucy Caraway could open an aquarium and gift shop. When she isn't grading papers over homemade tea blends, Lucy’s leafing through spellbooks to protect her familial magic from complete mayhem. On the eve of her ten year high school reunion, Lucy yearns for more—the soul mate she's searching for, the cute cottage she's coveting, and to be the best version of herself. Fueled by nostalgia and spiced rum, Lucy casts a spell that brings trouble in the form of a big lie and reunites her with her high school crush merman Alex Dwyer.

Like all merfolk, Alex saw the world and all its splendors, destined never to make a home on land. When he's unexpectedly given a jinxed cottage, he returns to his small hometown of Freya Grove, NJ, determined to get his life on track after a string of bitter disappointments. Alex believes a merman needs a house like a fish needs a bicycle. He plans on flipping it and getting as far away from the Grove as his tail can take him. But once he discovers that his new neighbor is the witch who got away, Alex starts to rethink his plan.

As the spell unfolds, baking disasters, flirtatious tea readings, and midnight meetups spark their decade old chemistry, Lucy and Alex wonder whether their newfound love is strong enough to outlast the fleeting power of a wish. [Goodreads Summary]

A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber & Andrea Janes

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America's female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us--and why they haunt us...

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess--America's female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known--though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America's most famous female ghosts, like New Orleans voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, and Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era's fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire --achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation. [Goodreads Summary]

Mere Mortals by Erin Jade Lange

"Two teenage vampires are turned mortal and must face the greatest nightmare of all--high school"--

This hilarious, fresh take on a classic vampire tale follows a pair of hundred-year-old teenage vampires who are turned mortal and must face the greatest nightmare of all—high school.

Charlie and her brother, Reg, have been vampires for…a very long time. For a century, they enjoyed the glitz and glamour of life as members of the wealthiest vampire clan. But now, after one careless mistake, they’ve been expelled from the vampire community and dumped in the middle of Nowhere, Iowa, to live as mortals.

Suddenly Charlie has to deal with zits, tears, and—worst of all—high school. But things start to change when she and Reg find a group of friends, including the deliciously good-looking Dexter. And though Charlie would give anything to be vampire again, she begins to appreciate some of the new experiences that humanity brings too.

But nothing could make them forget the life they’ve left behind. When they’re offered a second shot at immortality, Charlie is desperate to seize it. It’ll just mean a total betrayal of all her new friends, who will have their minds wiped of their memories of her. She can handle that if it means she can live forever…right? [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting! What will you be reading next?

What I Have Been Watching

We are still enjoying She-Hulk and started watching Andor, the new Star Wars series. Masked Singer is back, one of my daughter's favorite shows, and so we have been keeping up with that as well.

I recently watched the PBS three part series, U.S. and the Holocaust, which is very well done. I highly recommend it. It is hard not to see the parallels between what was happening back then to what has been happening in recent years in the U.S.

I also have started watching Grey's Anatomy again. I cannot remember when I stopped watching the show--maybe five or six seasons in. I have been re-watching the first couple of seasons. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the show.