Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Weekly Mews: A Quiet Weekend & My February TBR Winner

I am playing catch up with commenting and blog hopping, as well as preparing upcoming blog posts. My offline life has just been too busy to fit everything in. I know you understand how that goes. I hope you are all well.

What I Am Reading: I finished a couple books this week: One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews, the third book in the Innkeeper Chronicles, and Susan Elia MacNeal's The Prime Minister's Secret Agent, the fourth book in the Maggie Hope series set during World War II. I enjoyed both immensely. They were the best in their respective series yet.

This weekend I am trying to get a little ahead in Les Misérables and War and Peace before beginning my next book. As today is the kick off of The One With a Twist phase of #COYER Winter Switch Challenge, for which I will be reading solely e-books, it seems the perfect time to start on my February TBR List winner. I also need to start The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez for my Going Postal book group.

What I Am Listening To: This week I finished listening to The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, narrated by Kirsten Potter. Now I know what all the fuss is about.

What I Am Watching: I finished the twelfth season of Supernatural. Dare I hope that the deaths at the end of the season are like all the others and not really the end? I sure hope so! Now I just have to wait for the current season to finish and be released on Netflix. I have also started watching the second season of Travelers, which I am trying to get my mind around a bit. Maybe I should have gone back and re-watched the first season. Mouse has gotten us into Annedroids, an Amazon Prime television show. I am not quite as taken with it as I was with Just Add Magic, but it's cute. Annedroids is about girl who lives in a junkyard and makes androids and her two neighborhood friends.

We are also watching the Winter Olympics. I enjoyed what I was able to catch of the opening ceremonies.

Off the Blog: It was another crazy week at work. I definitely feel like I have earned my weekend. Friday was Mouse's 100th day of school, and she got to present the project she had been working on the past two weeks. She was quite proud of the 100 heart pin board she put together along with the story she wrote about her great grandmother celebrating her 100th birthday last year. Mouse also got to dress up as a 100 year old, gray hair and all. She had a blast.

This weekend will be a relatively quiet one, thank goodness. We had our first cookie booth for the cookie season last weekend, but aren't scheduled for another one until next weekend. And we won't be running around preparing for something dance or school related. Maybe finally we can relax a little. After Karate.

What I Am Grateful For: I have the best cat. She's been especially cuddly lately, and I am loving the extra affection. I am also grateful for blanket/pillow forts and Thin Mints.

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?

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 Saturday 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 (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise).

Thank you for voting in my February TBR poll! I actually was thinking the results would be a little closer than they were. I hope to read all three books this month, but I will definitely be reading the winner first! I may not be able to resist reading the fifth book in the series as well though, so time will tell.

As you can see, Marked in Flesh (The Others, #4) by Anne Bishop is the clear winner, with 51.4% of the vote (18 votes). I am very excited about finally diving into this one. I am not sure why I have been putting it off given how much I loved the first three books in the series.

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful February and Happy Reading!

© 2018, 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, February 07, 2018

Bookish Thoughts: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Her husband's almost home. ~ Opening of The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

William Morrow, 2018

Crime Fiction (Thriller); 448 pgs

Source: Review copy provided by publisher via Edelweiss for an honest review.

Doctor Anna Fox lives alone in Harlem, never venturing outside its walls. It is her safe haven. Anxiety and agoraphobia plague Anna, and so she has found ways to cope as best she can. Her food is delivered. Her basement tenant is a handyman, who helps her around the house when needed. Her physical therapist and psychiatrist meet her at her home. Hiding from the outside and her past, Anna finds comfort in medication and alcohol, and also in watching her neighbors through her windows. She knows their habits and many of their secrets.

When a new family moves in across the park, Anna’s safe but dysfunctional world is rocked. In a drunken haze, she witnesses a terrible crime through the window of the neighbor’s home. Did she really see what she thinks she saw? Or was it just a hallucination?

A.J. Finn takes readers into the mind of Dr. Anna Fox as she grapples with her own illness. The reader knows right from the start Anna is an unreliable narrator. And it had me questioning her take on everything at every turn. There were certain aspects of the novel I figured out right away while others came as a surprise. I liked the way Finn kept me guessing—and glued to the pages of the book. I just had to know. What was real? What was imagined? What was going to happen next?

As someone who experiences anxiety issues and with my background in psychology, I was especially drawn to Anna’s character and the portrayal of her mental illness. Anna herself is a child psychologist, which I thought was genius on the author’s part. It adds a more complex layer to Anna’s character and situation. Anna is very isolated, cut off from just about everyone. She has her online support group, as well as her tenant, physical therapist and psychiatrist, but, really, that’s it. Her fear of leaving her house is palatable. Maybe because I know something about panic attacks from personal experience, I felt her rising anxiety acutely several times throughout the novel.

The Woman in the Window has been described as Hitchcockian for good reason. Anna is a lover of Hitchcock’s films, and there is almost always one playing in the background. It adds to the atmosphere of the novel, which itself is very like a Hitchcock film.

It takes me a couple pages to fall into Anna’s narrative, but once I did, I was hooked. I thoroughly enjoyed The Woman in the Window, and hope you will too.

To learn more about A.J. Finn and his book, please visit the author on Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

Monday, February 05, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest Which I Still Haven't Read

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana at The Artsy Reader Girl.

My Top Ten Tuesday is my Top Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest Which I Still Haven’t Read. I did not start tracking when I began buying books until sometime in 2004, and even then I was not good about logging in the date. So, there are likely books that have been on my shelves for much longer. All these books survived several book weeding sessions--and so I definitely still want to read them. For the sake of today, I will go with the ones I have documented as the oldest by date. Note: I define TBR as To Be Read books I actually own and have on my shelves.

Open House by Elizabeth Berg
(purchased in 2004)

Pope Joan by Donna Wolfolk Cross
(purchased in 2004)

A Great Deliverance (Inspector Lynley #1) by Eizabeth George

(purchased in 2004)

Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb

(purchased in 2004)

Katwalk (Kat Colorado #1) by Karen Kijewski

(purchased in 2004)

Through Wolf's Eyes (Firekeeper Saga #1) by Jane Lindskold

(purchased in 2004)

The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett

(purchased in 2004)

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

(purchased in 2004)

A Share in Death (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James #1) by Deborah Crombie

(purchased in 2005)

10.

The Vampire Files, Volume 1 (Vampire Files #1-3) by P.N. Elrod

(purchased in 2005)

Have you read any of these? What did you think? What book has been on your TBR pile the longest?

Saturday, February 03, 2018

Weekly Mews: Welcome February! (Vote in My February TBR List Poll)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, 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 to Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.

Happy February! I hope your month has gotten off to a good start.

New to My Shelves:

My two latest purchases:

What the Dead leave Behind (A Guilded Age Mystery) by Rosemary Simpson

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

What I Am Reading: I am in the middle of Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews, the second in the Innkeeper Chronicles series. I am really enjoying this series. Mouse and I are also reading the Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries, #1) by Ron Roy, which we started last month.

What I Am Watching: My interest in Blacklist has waned, but I am still enjoying The Good Place quite a bit and The Brave. My daughter has us re-watching Just Add Magic about the teen girls who have been chosen to protect a magic cookbook. I am just sad we have to wait a while for the next season to come out!

What I Am Worried About: My mom. The surgeon was unable to remove all of the cancer during her most recent surgery. It's proving to be more evasive than the doctors expected. My mom said the doctor was crying right alongside her when the doctor gave her the news at her appointment this past week. The battle isn't over yet though. My Warrior Mom isn't about to give up. On the plus side, she will be able to go to Greece this month as planned.

What I Am Looking Forward To: Seeing what the month will hold for me reading wise. It is going to be a crazy month at work, and with cookie sales under way, my free time will be extra limited. I am still holding out hope I can fit in some great books and quality reading time.

What I Am Grateful For: I saw the most beautiful sunrises on my drive to work this past week, and they reminded me of how beautiful life can be even when so much else seems to be going wrong.

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?

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

It is that time again! Thank you to all who voted last month. I enjoyed Wicked Lovely quite a bit and even was able to read the runner up, Clean Sweep. Both reviews will be coming. I really struggled with which books to choose for this month's TBR List Poll. The next and final phase of the #COYER Winter Switch Challenge will be starting just as I close out the poll, and so guess I had better decide which direction I want to go phase The One With a Twist . . . E-books it is!

There are three books I am dying to get to and keep putting off for some unknown reason (because I'm crazy?). They are all part of my favorite series. But which one should I read first?! Could you please help me choose.

Marked in Flesh (The Others, #4) by Anne Bishop

For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs… [Goodreads Summary]

The Lost Plot (Invisible Library #4) by Genevieve Cogman

After being commissioned to find a rare book, Librarian Irene and her assistant, Kai, head to Prohibition-era New York and are thrust into the middle of a political fight with dragons, mobsters, and Fae.

In a 1920s-esque New York, Prohibition is in force; fedoras, flapper dresses, and tommy guns are in fashion: and intrigue is afoot. Intrepid Librarians Irene and Kai find themselves caught in the middle of a dragon political contest. It seems a young Librarian has become tangled in this conflict, and if they can't extricate him, there could be serious repercussions for the mysterious Library. And, as the balance of power across mighty factions hangs in the balance, this could even trigger war.

Irene and Kai are locked in a race against time (and dragons) to procure a rare book. They'll face gangsters, blackmail, and the Library's own Internal Affairs department. And if it doesn't end well, it could have dire consequences on Irene's job. And, incidentally, on her life... [Goodreads Summary]

Pressed to Dress (Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, #2) by Kirsten Weiss ~

Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has the perfect exhibit for the harvest festival—a haunted grape press. But when she’s accused of stealing the press, and her accuser is murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie. Knowing the perils of amateur sleuthing as she does, Maddie is reluctant to get involved . . . until her mother insists she investigate.

Does her mom have a secret agenda? Or is she somehow connected to the murder? Facing down danger and her own overactive imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read any of these? Which one do you think I should lose myself in this month?

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful February and Happy Reading!

Thursday, February 01, 2018

Where Is Your Bookmark? (Best & Least Best of January & a Peek into Clean Sweep)

I finished Clean Sweep by husband and wife writing team Ilona Andrews the last day of January, and have yet to start a new book. I thought I would share a couple of teasers from Clean Sweep as a result. I am not sure how to classify this book. It's more of a cross genre novel mixing urban fantasy, science fiction and mystery. In other words, a book I was bound to enjoy.

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.

Brutus was dead. His body lay under an oak on the Henderson's lawn. A small group of neighbors had gathered around his corpse, their faces sad and shocked.

My thoughts: When I first started the book I had no idea who Brutus was, but it seemed he drew quite a bit of attention. Of course, who would expect to find a body lying under a tree? This opening certainly caught my attention though. I had to know more.

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.

"I've never understood why some guys strip when drunk." Sean grinned.

"It's not funny. I've got a naked drunk vampire running around in my orchard." [56%]

My thoughts: I thought this the perfect scene to share, and it happens just at 56% of my e-copy edition.

What do you think? Does this sound like something you would be interested in reading?

Everyone has a favorite and then we also have something we dislike. Like a coin, there are two sides to every question. Each week, Carrie at The Butterfly Reads and Laura from Blue Eye Books ask participants to list what they like and don't like about that week's topic.

This week's topic is Best/Worst Book Read in January

This is a tough topic this week because I liked everything I read in January. Choosing one best book seems wrong somehow. They were all so good! After much thought, I am going with a collection of poetry that is both beautiful and inspiring, Sunday Sugar by Q. Gibson. It moved me to tears, made me laugh and left me in a good place mentally.

Because I do not have a worst book to fit this category, I am going with a book I enjoyed, but wasn't quite as smitten with as I was with my other reads in January. It was still a very enjoyable book though, and I do recommend it, especially for cozy mystery fans. That would be Claws for Concern by Miranda James.