Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Sunday Post: Well Into December

We are well and good into December. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. The sun is shining here, Mouse and her dad are baking cookies, and my computer is acting up, but I am determined to get this post up if it is the last thing I do.

New to My Shelves: My Lit Box arrived in the mail this week, and what a book box it is! This month's book is Zadie Smith's Swing Time. A copy of The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi was thrown in for good measure, which I am also looking forward to reading.

What I Am Reading: I wish I could say I had been reading up a storm, but it was another week of little reading--at least of print books. I have been listening to my audiobook.

What I Am Listening To: I am close to finishing Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn. It is not an easy book to listen to. It's heartbreaking.

What I Am Watching: I am all caught up with the shows I follow. I know quite a few are disappointed with The Walking Dead this season, but the last three episodes have helped me settle me back in a bit.

What's Going On Off the Blog: I thought I was done with my Christmas shopping, but then I remembered the animals. I still need to get a little something for the cats and my mom's dog. I finally mailed out my holiday cards and picked up our mail (since it isn't being delivered to our mailbox right now). Mouse and I wrapped the Christmas presents she bought for our family at the school's holiday shop. She's so proud of her purchases. She wanted me to open the one for me right away, but I suggested we wait until Christmas--now she won't let me peek.

Someone attempted to break into my mailbox (it's a community cluster box) this past week, which means no mail being delivered. Not two nights later, someone ripped a mailbox a block away right out. Mail thievery is definitely at a height this time of year, sad to say. Years ago, when living at my old house, I had a post office box because packages were regularly being stolen from my porch. We haven't had that happen at our current residence, but I've heard from neighbors it is happening. All of this makes me wonder if it might not be better to look into another post office box. Ho hum.

Tomorrow Mouse and I will be attending a Daisy-Brownie tea party, and today we made Nuts & Bolts, as is our family tradition and did a little shopping. I have a Christmas breakfast one day later this week along with the usual work. Let the Holidays begin!

This Week In Reading Mews:

Tell me about what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your week? Do you have anything planned for this coming week?

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 is your best guess that you won't be changing the genres you're currently reading?

My reading tastes are fairly eclectic, and I like to mix genres to avoid burn out on any one genre. My reading tends to circle around fantasy/science fiction/horror, mystery/thrillers, romance, general and literary fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. I like reading books that celebrate diversity, and books set close to home or far away. I have a real soft spot for cross-genre novels. I enjoy both adult and Young Adult novels. I like to read the classics and more contemporary novels. I read the occasional poetry and nonfiction. Nonfiction, in fact, is probably where I get the most picky. I am generally open to trying something new. I like to push myself now and then to read outside my comfort zone.

At certain times, I feel more inclined to read one type of book over another (a light breezy book when I feel overwhelmed, a happily ever after book when I'm feeling particularly sad, an emotional book when I need to release those big feelings, or a thought provoking book when I want to be challenged or inspired, for example). Or it can depend on the setting--am I craving to go back in time, would I rather read something set in the here and now, or maybe I want to be in a completely different time or place, even in the future? Subject matter makes a difference too.

Occasionally I go through genre or author/series binges until I feel myself needing to move on. The two most obvious signs of this happening include slowed-down reading and wandering eyes (I look forward more to the next book I may read than the one I am reading). I learned the hard way how important it was to listen to the cues--lest I take another decades long sabbatical from a particular genre or author.

What about you? Do you tend to stick to the same types of books? Do you ever branch out to try something new? How do you know when it's time to move on to another genre or type of book?

Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme 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 Sunday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow. While I will attempt to post my review that same month, I make no promises--it may go up the following month.

There was little doubt which book would win this one from the start given the time of year it is, and at 66.7% (20 votes), you did not prove me wrong. White Christmas by Rebecca York will be my first Christmas-themed book of the year. Thank you for all who voted! Rebecca Chastain's Curse of the Gargoyles came in at 26.7% (8 votes) and Royal Enchantment by Lia Davis received 6.7% (2 votes).

I am really looking forward to starting White Christmas--hopefully tomorrow (Sunday). It's time I read something light and fun after all my recent serious reads. Thank you again for voting!

White Christmas by Rebecca York

I hope you all have a great week! Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and gives us all a chance to 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.

© 2016, Wendy Runyon of 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.

Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Bookish Thoughts: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

China's turned on herself. ~ Opening of Salvage the Bones

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Bloomsbury USA; 2010

Fiction; 261 pgs

Source:

From Goodreads:

A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch’s father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesnt show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn’t much to save. Lately, Esch can’t keep down what food she gets; she’s fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull’s new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child’s play and short on parenting.

As the twelve days that make up the novel’s framework yield to their dramatic conclusion, this unforgettable family—motherless children sacrificing for one another as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce—pulls itself up to face another day. A big-hearted novel about familial love and community against all odds, and a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty, Salvage the Bones is muscled with poetry, revelatory, and real.

It has been months since I read Jesmyn's novel, Salvage the Bones. I kept putting off writing the review, staring at my notes, unsure how to put my thoughts together. In a break from my usual review, I thought I would just share my notes with you.

I have mixed feelings about Salvage the Bones. It's beautiful, raw, cruel, and heartbreaking.

I hated, hated, hated the dog fighting scenes-- I ended up skimming the longer they went on. The killing of the first puppy (not because of dog fighting) . . . It was awful. As an animal lover, it was hard to maintain any sort of objectivity. I felt physically ill reading the scenes.

Novels like this are so important. This was a window into a world so unlike my own. I really felt for Esch and her situation.

I wish more time had been spent on Hurricane Katrina--that's really the part of the novel that kept me reading. I hadn't realized how quickly Hurricane Katrina came and went. So frightening. There was no time to escape in some instances. So devastating. It really puts things into perspective.

I loved the way the author weaved the myth of Medea into the novel. I could see it--the parallels in events--or rather the female characters in the novel.

I got a good feel of what life was like for the family. Their different roles and relationships with each other. I think the only characters I didn't like were Manny and his cousin. And the dad--although I felt for him in the end.

In the end, I cannot say I enjoyed Salvage the Bones. There are some subject matters that I just can't get past, no matter how natural or ingrained in a culture or society they might be.

Would I read something else by Jesmyn Ward? Absolutely. As long as there's no dog fighting or animal cruelty.

To learn more about Jesmyn Ward and her work, please visit the Goodreads. She can also be found on Twitter.

Monday, December 05, 2016

Where Is Your Bookmark? (& Top Ten New-To-Me-Series Authors Read So Far in 2016)

One of the books I am reading right now is Ninni Holmqvist's The Unit. I thought I would share a bit of it with you today.

Goodreads Summary:

One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty-single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries--are sequestered for their final few years; they are considered outsiders.

In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation. Despite the ruthless nature of this practice, the ethos of this near-future society and the Unit is to take care of others, and Dorrit finds herself living under very pleasant conditions: well-housed, well-fed, and well-attended. She is resigned to her fate and discovers her days there to be rather consoling and peaceful.

But when she meets a man inside the Unit and falls in love, the extraordinary becomes a reality and life suddenly turns unbearable. Dorrit is faced with compliance or escape, and...well, then what?

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon. It is also where I share my first impressions about the book I am sharing.

It was more comfortable than I could have imagined. A room of my own with a bathroom, or rather an apartment of my own, because there were two rooms: a bedroom and a living room with a kitchenette. It was light and spacious, furnished in a modern style and tastefully decorated in muted colors. True, the tiniest nook or cranny was monitored by cameras, and I would soon realize there were hidden microphones there too. But the cameras weren't hidden. There was one in each corner of the ceiling--small but perfectly visible--and in every corner and every hallway that wasn't visible from the ceiling; inside the closets, for example, and behind doors and protruding cabinets. Even under the bed and under the sink in the kitchenette. Anywhere a person might crawl in or curl up, there was a camera. Sometimes as you moved through a room they followed you with their one-eyed state. A faint humming noise gave away the fact that at that particular moment someone on the surveillance team was paying close attention to what you were doing. Even the bathroom was monitored. There were no fewer than three cameras within that small space, two on the ceiling, and one underneath the washbasin.. This meticulous surveillance applied not only to the private apartments, but also to the communal areas. And of course nothing less was to be expected. It was not the intention of those who lived here should be able to take their own lives or harm themselves in some other way. Not once you were here. You should have sorted that out beforehand, if you were thinking along those lines.

Every Tuesday, Jenn from Books And A Beat hosts Teaser Tuesdays at which time participants grab their current read, open to a random page, and share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page while avoiding any spoilers.

Teaser from page 96 of The Unit:

This--this was when my legs finally gave way and I sank helplessly to the floor and just sat there, not moving with my back against the door, and, without being able to stop myself or even keep the noise down, I howled like a mortally wounded animal.

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

The Unit is not a fast paced novel, but it has me hooked. There's a sadness to it. A helplessness. Our heroine is resigned to her fate in many ways, and yet she is still very much alive--and wants to be.

What are you reading at the moment? Is it anything you would recommend?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Broke and Bookish.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten New-To-Me-Series Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016. I had to throw in the series element, otherwise this list would look too much like my top ten list of books read this year--at least so far. Most of the books on this list have a magical element to them, but a few are straight mysteries or romance.

1. Genevieve Cogman ~ I read two of her books this year, The Invisible Library and The Masked City. It was love at first sight. Set in a world of multi-dimensions, this fantasy series is fast-paced and fun with a heroine after a reader's heart: a librarian spy.

2. Kirsten Weiss ~ I read the first in her new series, The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, and it is my absolute favorite cozy of the year.

3, Julia Buckley ~ I was quite taken with my first introduction to this author's work, the first in a new cozy series, A Dark and Stormy Murder, featuring a crime fiction author and her assistant.

4. Susan Spann ~ I enjoy a good historical mystery, and have been wanting to try this author's Shinobi series, featuring a ninja and a Catholic Priest for quite some time. While I still haven't read the first book in the series, I had no problem getting lost in her most recent addition to the series, The Ninja's Daughter.

5. Danielle Monsch ~ This one was a gem of a paranormal romance novel I wasn't expecting to knock me off my feet. Stone Guardian was a lot of fun to read. Who thought a gargoyle could be a love interest?

6. Jaime Lee Moyer ~ I knew I would like the first in her series, Delia's Shadow, and it did not disappoint. Set in one of my favorite cities, San Fransciso, this historical mystery features a woman who can communicate with ghosts. It's dark and so good!

7. Rachel Hartman ~ I finally dived into Rachel Hartman's Seraphina books and what a world she's created! I read both Seraphina and Shadow Scale this year and am anxious to get back to that world, where dragons and humans walk among each other.

8. Elliott James ~ The Urban Fantasy novel Charming was everything it was advertised to be. High in action, funny, and full of interesting mythical characters. I haven't gotten to the other books in the series yet, but I did buy them.

9. Delores Fossen ~ Her Blame It On the Cowboy had the right amount of romance, mystery and action in it to make me fall head over heels for this romance book. I definitely want to explore the other books in the series.

10. Robert Galbraith ~ I am cheating with this one, I know, but how could I leave it out? Maybe the title of this top ten list should be Top Ten Series I Started in 2016. I FINALLY got around to reading the P.I. mystery The Cuckoo's Calling this year and am hooked. J.K. Rowling is definitely not a One Series Wonder.

Have you read any of these authors before? What would make your list of top ten list of top ten authors you read for the first time this year?

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Bookish Thoughts: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss

Friendship can be a minefield. ~ The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss
Midnight Ink, 2016
Crime Fiction (Cozy); 290 pgs
Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Having returned to her hometown in California's wine country, Maddie Koloski spends her days looking for work and avoiding her mother. She reluctantly agrees to manage the paranormal museum in town, a local tourist attraction, when one of her best friends asks for her help. Finding a body on the museum's floor didn't make a great first impression, but it did raise a lot of questions. Especially with her best friend being the number one suspect. Not one to believe in the paranormal, but with an interest in history, Maddie finds herself warming to the museum as each day passes. Soon she find herself not only in the middle of a present day murder investigation, but one from the past as well.

The Perfectly Paranormal Museum was such a delight to read. Maddie is a character after my own heart, and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. The novel is packed with eccentric characters, including ghost hunters, a taxidermist, a detective with a chip on her shoulder (thank goodness her partner has some sense!), a cat who sees ghosts, and a sexy neighbor. I thought the pacing was perfect, Maddie's skepticism realistic, and the story-telling superb. I thoroughly enjoyed The Perfectly Paranormal Museum and am anxious to read more by Kirsten Weiss.

To learn more about Kirsten Weiss and her work, please visit the author's website. You can also find her on Twitter.

Saturday, December 03, 2016

Sunday Post: Goodbye November & Welcome December (TBR Poll Time!)

Happy December! December is one of the busiest months of the year for many of us, me included. This next week is full of meetings and training and a Girl Scouts meeting.

I am both happy and sad to see November leave. It felt like the longest month ever in some ways, and yet it also seemed to go by so fast. How is that possible? I only managed to read four books all month. Considering that is relatively normal for November for me, I suppose that isn't bad. I enjoyed all the books I read/listened to.

My November Reads:

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss

Descent by Tim Johnston

Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

What was your favorite book read in November?

New to My Shelves: I know, I know. Stop buying books. Amazon deals are sometimes hard to pass up. Here are the latest additions to my overflowing TBR collection:

My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis

The Girl From the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

The Murder Game by Julie Apple (aka Catherine McKenzie)

What I Am Reading: It was not a good reading week. I barely made any progress in any of the books I am reading. It was a crazy busy week. I am a little farther in The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist and Lisa See's The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. We won't even talk about the book I am reading for work. I think that is part of what's stumping me. It's on the boring side and so I am reading less because I know I should be reading that one. Homework sucks.

What I Am Listening To: I am making good progress on Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn. I had read several reviews when first considering starting the book that mentioned disappointment in how depressing the book is.Admittedly, it is pretty sad in terms of the subject matter. It's beautifully written though, and I am well invested in the lives of the characters.

What I Am Watching: My Little Pony. Again and again and again.

What's Going On Off the Blog: I met with Mouse's teacher this past week to discuss Mouse's progress in school for the first trimester. She's evidently won over the heart of the teacher--and she made the honor roll! Mouse's tendency to chat with her classmates when she is supposed to be working came up, of course.

This weekend we attended a Girl Scouts' Winter Crafts Event, and Mouse made several different Holiday related art projects. We had a lot of fun. We stopped in at the library on the way home and spent some time reading together.

Most of my Christmas shopping is done and the presents wrapped. Whew. I will be glad when it is all done. We put up the Holiday lights this weekend, all the while Mouse performed for us, dancing and singing to Equestria Girls songs.

Tea Party

What I Am Enjoying: Some hot cocoa and a Hallmark Christmas movie (cheesy, I know).

Last Week In Reading Mews:

Tell me about what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your week? Do you have anything planned for this coming week?

What format do you use to set up your giveaways? Rafflecopter, Google, Leave a Comment for an entry, or some other style?

It is rare I do giveaways anymore. When I do, I use Google Drive. I find Rafflecopter too confusing and cumbersome (even entering Rafflecopter giveaways confuse me!) and counting comment entries when asking people to leave comments to answer has its challenges. Setting up a giveaway in Google Drive is super easy and organized.

What about you? Do you do giveaways? If so, what format do you prefer to use?

Help me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

I almost skipped this month's TBR List Poll since it will be such a busy month. I have had too much this year taking part in this meme, however, and so am striking a compromise. All three choices this week are novellas. Perfect for this time of year when busy is as busy gets, with the holidays, work and the end of the year. Thank you for voting!

Curse of the Gargoyles (Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles #2) by Rebecca Chastain ~ I loved the first in this series and am anxious to read this one. I want to be Mika!

From Goodreads:

Mika was trying to save a gargoyle, not doom the world...

Mika Stillwater isn’t known for her skills with combat magic. As a gargoyle healer, she spends her days mending broken appendages and curing illnesses in the living-quartz bodies of Terra Haven’s gargoyles. But when a squad of the city’s elite Federal Pentagon Defense warriors requests her assistance in freeing a gargoyle ensnared in a vicious invention, Mika jumps into the fray.

No one could have predicted that her involvement would ignite a chain reaction set to destroy the city, the world, and magic itself.

Brimming with epic magic and loveable gargoyles, Curse of the Gargoyles is the second story in the mesmerizing Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles trilogy. Fantasy fans young and old will delight in this highly original world and exciting, action-packed adventure.

Royal Enchantment by Lia Davis ~ I love stories about old houses--and elves! I can't resist a story about a magical world and this sounds so enticing.

Goodreads Summary:

Ava Green has made a name for herself in the real estate world by reconditioning old, historical homes with her partner and friend Jeff. But her newest project, a three-story Victorian in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, promises to be her biggest moneymaker yet. And one she’s undertaking on her own. During her first walk-through of the house, however, she discovers a locked door, and a skeleton key that seems to appear out of nowhere. Unlocking the door, she is transported to a mystical world of fae and mythickal creatures and meets the King of the Morna. The sovereign of the Dark Elves.

King Finn Sylcan has searched for the one who can bring the magick back to his world, Edra, for eons. An old prophecy told of a female of both Dark and Light elven descent, a hybrid both Calim and Morna. It is said she is the only one who can repair the damage the war between the Dark and Light kingdoms caused. But after searching for so long, Finn never dreamed that she’d just show up outside his palace walls. Or that she’d be his mate.

White Christmas by Rebecca York ~ I told my husband this one probably has the edge given it's a Christmas themed book. It does sound fun though, doesn't it? Santa's workshop? A plot to ruin Christmas?

Goodreads Summary:

The snow is coming down so fast, Amelia Parsons doesn't see the speeding car until it's too late. One moment she’s crossing an ice-rutted street in St. Stephens, Maryland. In the next, she's flying into the air, and the world goes black. She wakes, confused, in what appears to be Santa’s workshop during the holiday rush. If that’s not strange enough, a hunky FBI agent named Daniel is there, demanding to know why she’s involved in a plot to ruin Christmas. Can she convince him she's not the villain and then work with him to find the real saboteur?