Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/30/25

Not a big reading week for me, but I did finish one, so let's get to it.

I bought some new-to-me books at the thrift store this week: a suspense, two literature, two SF. I also picked up a new ebook - paranormal romance.  Those should keep me for a while, I think.

Books Read:

30) Primordial Threat by MA Rothman (8/28/25) - SF* - 5 stars.  I hadn't read this author before, although I follow him on FB, but it's not underappreciated.  I snagged it when the author put it on sale for 99c.
No review.  He's got a boatload of reviews and there's nothing I could add that would gain him sales.

No DNFs.

Currently reading... I haven't picked out what I'm going to read next.  The urge is to read the Agatha Christie I picked up on 8/21, but I have so much to choose from right now that I might leave that until I need it.

What's on your reading list lately?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/23/25

I know I haven't been the best reader lately.  I have been the best anything lately, though, so it's not too surprising.  Anyway, let's get to the books...

I picked up 6 new hardcopies - 2 hardcover and 4 paperback - and one new ebook this week.  The ebook is paranormal romance.  The hardcovers are both romantic suspense and the paperbacks are mystery, crime noir, western, and NF.  I found an Agatha Christie I didn't have and hadn't heard of, a Zane Grey, a Don Hamilton, a Victoria Holt, a Phyllis Whitney, and the NF is by J. Edgar Hoover about the Communist menace.  Should be interesting.

Books Read:

29) Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels (8/18/25) - mystery - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I picked this one up in June of 2024 from a thrift store.  It was 50c.
Review: "This took a while to get through, because I was reading other books between stories, but it was an excellent collection for this Poirot-lover."

No DNFs this week.

Currently reading... a SF I'd been looking forward to for a while but didn't have the budget to buy.  Then the author put it on sale for 99c.  Woot.  So far, it's pretty enthralling.

What have you been reading lately?

2025 Books Read

Here we are with my 2025 Books Read post.  I started it a little later than usual this year because it took me a while to finish that first book.  

If you haven't been following along all these years, here's how this post goes.  The books I read are in reverse order - newest first.  * means ebook.  # means 'new to me and underappreciated'.  If there's a number at the end, it's where the book's at in a series.  The links go to Goodreads where I may or may not have written a review.  (Check back on Saturdays for my weekly Reading Wrap-up to see reviews.)

I set my goal for this year's reading at 70.  We'll see how that goes.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's begin...

30) Primordial Threat by MA Rothman (8/28/25) - SF*

29) Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels (8/18/25) - mystery

28) The Devil's Angel by Margaret Bernard (7/26/25) - UF*#

27) Space Academy Dropouts by Phipps & Suttkus (7/6/25) - SF humor*#

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*#

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller

0) Novella by Name Withheld (6/9/25) - SF*

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*#

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian

22) You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (5/29/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

21) On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (5/24/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

20) The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney (5/17/25) - romantic suspense

19) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (5/15/25) - mystery

18) Bill and the Last Cup of Coffee by Lance Lassen (5/8/25) - dystopian action/humor* (I read the ebook, but this is the link to the paperback. In the time between now and when I downloaded the book, the ebook page has been removed and the paperback was set to 'out of print'. :sadface:)

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime*

15) Dr. No by Ian Fleming (4/26/25) - action/hard boiled crime

14) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (4/20/25) - dystopian

13) Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming (4/16/25) - action/hard boiled crime

12) Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke (4/11/25) -  science fiction

11) Murder by the Script by Lisa Pevey (4/8/25) - cozy mystery*

10) Festive Fonts and Fowl Murder by Lisa Pevey (4/7/25) - cozy mystery*

9) The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett (4/6/25) - suspense

8) A Murder in Cursive by Lisa Pevey (4/3/25) - cozy mystery*

7) The Ebony Swan by Phyllis Whitney (4/1/25) - romantic suspense

6) The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip (3/29/25) - fantasy

5) Murder by the Letter by Lisa Pevey (3/27/25) - cozy mystery*

4) Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (3/26/25) - noir crime

3) Moonstruck: Retribution by Silver James (3/20/25) - paranormal romantic suspense*

2) President Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (3/14/25) - noir crime

1) Child Star by Shirley Temple Black (1/8/25) - autobiography

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy this reading journey with me.

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 8/9/25

 Hello!  Sorry I forgot to post last week.  You didn't miss much. Trust me.  Unfortunately, not much has gone on since the last wrap-up either.

I did pick up one new ebook. It's a fantasy I saw on a FB group and it sounded interesting, so I downloaded it.  We'll see.  Due to DNFs, I only have two unread ebooks left. One is an SF and the other is a fantasy.

No Books Read.  That's right, folks, I haven't actually finished reading anything since the last update.  Derp.

DNFs:

8/8/25 - legal thriller - free.  Maybe I was just so irritated after the previous DNF that this one irritated me more than it would've otherwise, but it did irritate me, so there ya are.

8/8/25 - YA Action/Adventure/?? - free.  It was going along fine, introducing all the hero characters and the general premise, but then the scenes with the villains started and meh.  I actually got about a quarter of the way into this one, which cheesed me off.  I hate wasting time on books I won't finish.  Bleh.

8/1/25 -  YA UF - free.  It made me remember why I hated high school.

Currently reading... I think I'll start the next Hercule Poirot story so I can finish that omnibus.  We'll see.

Have you been reading anything good lately?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/26/25

 Yeah, yeah, it's been a while, but then again, it's been a while since I finished a book.  Here's what's happened since last I posted a Reading Wrap-up...

I picked up one new ebook.  It's by a popular author that I've been wanting to read and when I saw he put this on sale for 99c, I snapped it up.  That one's a SF.  I also still have a YA action/adventure, a UF, and a legal thriller to read.  Yay!

Books Read:

28) The Devil's Angel by Margaret Bernard (7/26/25) - UF*# - 5 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Free off Amazon's Top 100 Contemporary Fantasy free list.
Review: "I really enjoyed reading this. It has an interesting premise, a thrilling plot, and intriguing characters. The end and lead-in to the next book(s) was so-so, but not enough to lose it a star. All in all a good book."
Note: Available in Audiobook.

DNFs:

7/15/25 - UF - free.  Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure this was written by AI.  At least I hope no human writes like that.  It was pretty bad.

7/15/25 - UK thriller - free. I don't remember exactly why I DNF'd this puppy.  Lame characters, poor dialogue... something like that because the premise was good.  :shrug:

Currently reading... since I just now finished the UF, I haven't started another ebook.  I'm still working on that Hercule Poirot omnibus.  One story left to go on that, I think.

What have you been reading lately?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/12/25

 Not the best reading week I've ever had, but not the worst either, so let's get right to it.

No new books.  I still have 6 unread ebooks - three urban fantasy, two thrillers, and a YA action/adventure.  And of course, I have scads of unread hardcopies in case of emergency. ;o)

Books Read: 

27) Space Academy Dropouts by Phipps & Suttkus (7/6/25) - SF humor*# - 5 stars. New to me and underappreciated at the time of download.  Free off the Book Barbarian newsletter.
Review: "This is a pretty neat story, with loads of fun characters. I really enjoyed reading it."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... the next story in that Poirot omnibus.  I'm on The ABC Murders.  I'll probably finish it today and then read another ebook.  The omnibus has two more stories after this.  Unfortunately, I didn't notice when I bought it that Death on the Nile has damage to the last third or so of the story - like the top quarter of all the pages was ripped out.  I won't be able to read that.  Good thing I've already read that story in other formats, and I've seen the movies.  Still, damaged books make me sad.  =o(

Okay, your turn.  What's been on your reading plate this week?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 7/5/25

Not the most exciting of reading weeks here.  Eh, it goes like that sometimes.

No new books.

Books Read: 

I didn't finish any books this week.  Well, not free-standing books.  I finished Murder on the Orient Express in that omnibus of Poirot stories, though.  It was awesome, as usual.

DNFs:

7/4/25 - free SF humor - OMG, this was so poorly written I just couldn't even.  It seemed like every single thing a writer can easily catch and fix during edits was missed by this person.  And that was only in the first few pages.  It really bummed me out because I was actually excited about the premise, which is why I downloaded it.  =o\

Currently reading... a different SF humor.  This one is good so far.  I'm over halfway through, so I hope it doesn't take a turn for the crappy.  

What was on your reading plate this week?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/28/25

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by my Saturday Reading Wrap-up!  I hope you find something fun or at least interesting while you're here.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a banner week for finishing books.  

I picked up 8 ebooks this week - all free, of course.  In there are 2 SF, 3 UF, 2 thrillers, and a YA action/adventure.  Should be some fun reading in there somewhere... I hope.  No new hardcopies. 

Books Read:

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*# - 4 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Found this for free off the Kindle Freebies I found Today Facebook group.
Review: "This was a fun story. I loved the premise and, being a former band nerd, the heroine's problem raising money for the music program. But I wasn't 100% keen on the hero's dilemma. I mean, he took care of it, but I think he needed to be more forceful with his father. Be the hero his lady needed him to be. Right then and there. :shrug: It's probably just me."
Additional note: This was a 'magical romance', but there was very little magic or mention of magic in it.

DNFs:

6/25/25 - post apocalyptic - free.  It jumped from 2055 with one MC to 2075 with another MC with no clear connection and then to yet another MC.  Too much in too short a time made it really confusing.  Like I need more confusion in my life. LOL

6/24/25 - suspense - free.  I really wanted to like this.  I'd read several things by this author before and I was thrilled to see this one offered for free on his Facebook page.  Sadly, it read like he either didn't bother to edit it or he ignored his editor's suggestions this time.  I tried, but after a while, I couldn't take it anymore.

6/23/25 - suspense - free.  A suspense is supposed to be quick and... well... suspenseful.  This?  It seemed like the author put every sentence through the 'quotable sentence' generator.  For good story telling, snappy sentences should be sprinkled throughout, not poured on like hot fudge.  (I like hot fudge, so it's over EVERYTHING.)  I gave up after a few pages of slogging through that.

Currently reading... I'm in the middle of Murder on the Orient Express in that Poirot Omnibus I'm reading.  When I finish it, I'll hit the ebooks again.

What was on your reading plate this week?  Yummy things or brussels sprouts?  ;o)

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/21/25

Well, hello there.  It's that time again.  Let's see if I have anything interest to impart today.

I picked up one new ebook this week.  It's a magical romance of some sort that I saw on one of the FB groups I post to.  We'll see how it goes.

Books Read:

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I picked this one up at a thrift store for a quarter.
Review: "Wow. This is an excellent read. Everything I love about Dick Francis with a twist of the likes of Fleming's or McLean's knack for international intrigue thrown in. Definitely more thriller than mystery. And totally awesome as a result."

No DNFs this week.

Currently reading... I started an omnibus of Hercule Poirot stories.  I might read one and then read something else, so a bit of back and forth until it's finished.  Which reminds me... I still haven't finished that HG Wells anthology.  :shrug:  Sometimes life is that way.  I'm currently 7 books behind on my reading goal, so I better get some stuff finished, I guess.

What was on your reading list this week?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/14/25

Hello again.  Not the most exciting of reading weeks, but reading was accomplished and DNFs happened, so here we are.

No new books this week.

Books Read:

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*# - 5 stars. New to me and underappreciated.  Snagged this one for free off Amazon's top 100 free Murder list.
Review: "A fun combination of gritty suspense and cozy mystery! I really enjoyed reading it."

DNFs:

6/11/25 - 25c mystery.  I just couldn't get into it.  Of course, it didn't help that the cover fell off when I started, but that's the risk you take when you buy used books.  I'll repair it and then take it back to a thrift store.

6/10/25 - 25c SF.  It wasn't bad, per se, but I just wasn't in the mood for a story with thinly veiled leftist politics.  Eh, I'm never really in the mood for that.  Back to the thrift store this one goes.

Currently reading... a Dick Francis paperback.  It's different from the other Dick Francis novels I've read, but it's still pretty awesome.  (Yes, it still has a tie-in to horse racing.)  

What have you been reading lately?

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 23

The first week of June went by... whoosh.  And today is already whoosh.  Of course, I got up late, so part of that can be excused.  The rest?  No Excuses.  I'm not really sure how much reading the minutiae of my life interests anyone else, but these posts help me, so there you are.

Anyway, there hasn't been much in the way of writing or editing lately.  Sorry about that, too.  As for marketing... Well... FB, in its infinite wisdom, decided to limit the amount of posts I can do in a row.  I can get 5 out before it tells me that in order to avoid 'spam', it won't let me post anymore for a while.  Not clue as to what amount of time that is.  An hour later, I might be able to get another post or two out, but not always.  The next day I can rinse and repeat with the same or worse outcomes.  Still, I managed to get posts to most of the groups I belong to and Friday, Project Hermes took off - moving 121 that day alone.  Still, with the other drab days added in, I gave away 161 books.  I'll try again tomorrow with Wish Hits the Fan.

Reading went okay, I guess.  I DNF'd more that I would've liked.  See yesterday, but also stay tuned for next Saturday's Wrap Up.

I made oatmeal raisin cookies this week.  Woot.  They turned out a little dry this time around, which sucks and is weird because it's the same damn recipe I've been using since I was a kid.  I also did a round of pulled pork.  Yummers.  I might make pizza today.  Or Cuban sandwiches.

On the activity front, I did three walks for a total of 2.7 miles (27.6 miles for the year so far).  I also moved some plastic tubs around and went grocery shopping.  (And if you don't think shopping is exercise, you're not doing it right.  Or I'm doing it wrong.)  Weight: 173.8

The deer are all getting un-pregnant, although we've only seen babies with Sissy and Lumpy so far.  They'll come around eventually.

I think a couple of my tomato plants might have buds.  Other than that, they're growing big.  Nice plants, but make with the fruiting already. Sheesh.  One of the pepper seeds I planted has germinated and is about an inch tall.  I think it has a friend that is trying to peek through.  Two plants producing green peppers would work for me.  The trees are doing well.  I lost one dogwood to what I assume was a squirrel digging in my pots on the deck.  It also got a cedar tree.  It dug in my walnut and my hickory, but those are fine.  Stupid squirrel.  I have weeding I need to get to this week, which I should've started doing last week.  I'm blaming the rain.

Speaking of rain, we've gotten about 2.5 inches in the past 7 days, with more on the way this week.  Enough already.  Sheesh.

And that's about it for me for now.  I'm sure there's more, but I'm about done sitting at the computer for this morning.  Time to start the day whether I want to or not.  Have a great day!  And feel free to tell me all the minutiae of your week.  =o)

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/7/25

It wasn't the busiest of reading weeks, since I only finished one book, but I did spend some time on a couple books I ended up DNF'ing.  

I picked up one new ebook this week - a suspense novel by an author I'd read before, but it was free, so yay.

Books Read:

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian - 5 stars. New to me but not underappreciated.  I picked this up at regular price from Amazon, so $7.48 for the paperback. (I needed to round out an order to get free shipping and this was it.)
No Review.  What could I say about this book that hasn't already been said?

DNFs:

6/5/25 - free - noir mystery - The beginning of this was written three different ways and they were ALL in the book I downloaded.  Like first draft, then second draft, then final draft.  By the time I got to the third iteration, I was confused and tired of it.  Too much work for what might've been an interesting story.

5/31/25 - free dystopian/SF - I made it over halfway through this and then it got weird, and not in a good way.  Which is too bad because I was really enjoying where it had been heading before it shot off down a murky, ill-advised path.  :shrug:  I paused this to read something else and then decided to just DNF it.  Life's too short.

Currently reading... A little underappreciated cozy mystery.  I'm not sure yet if I'll finish it.  The beginning has the same problem as that noir mystery I DNF'd this week - repeating info, which is annoying but not as bad as here as with the noir.  We'll see if it gets better.

What have you been reading lately?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/31/25

Whoa... last day of May.  Where's the time going this year?  

Last week, I stopped at the thrift store and picked up 4 books for a dollar - mystery, suspense, fantasy, and NF.  The NF was Trees of Missouri, and it's awesome.  It didn't even look like it had been opened, but the spine is light like it's been sitting in the sun.  Hubs was very impressed that it was only a quarter.  No new ebooks this week.

Books Read: 

22) You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (5/29/25) - action/hard-boiled crime - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Got this for a quarter at a thrift store.
No Review.
Extra note: This is the last of the Bond paperbacks I picked up.  I probably won't be reading more of these unless I happen across some at a thrift store.

21) On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (5/24/25) - action/hard-boiled crime - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Got this for a quarter at a thrift store.
Review: "I really should take a star away for what Fleming did at the end of the book, but I can't. This is an awesome story, so well written and thrilling. Lucky for me, I have #12 sitting right here to start, so I can find out if James really does exact some justice."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... a SF/dystopian ebook.  So far, it's pretty interesting.  As long as it stays that way, I'll finish it.  If not, into the DNF bin it goes.

What's been on your reading list this week?

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 21

 I missed last week, which messed me all up, but I'm pretty sure last week was week 21.  Anyway, here goes...

I did some writing.  Not much, so don't get yourself too excited.  Still, it was better than nothing.  I also did some marketing.  Woot.  

Loads of reading, but not many books finished to show for it.  Hey, I did remember to do a Reading Wrap-up yesterday, so go look at that.  I finished a book yesterday, but that'll be on this week's wrap-up.

Last Sunday, I made pizza.  Yesterday, I made pulled BBQ pork.  Woot.  Other than that, nothing exciting to speak of in the baking/cooking category.  I really need to get off my butt and make cookies for Hubs.  He's earned them.

On the activity front, I walked three times for 3.2 miles worth (20.10 YTD), I gardened some, and did a bit of cleaning.  Weight: 172.4, down 1.2 from last week, so whatever I'm doing is working.  Increase activity, decrease food intake.

Gardening... Well, I've been working on cleaning up the rock path in front of the front flower bed.  That's slow going.  Lots of shoveling to turn the rocks over and then bending to pick out the weeds, then smoothing it down and tamping it down.  Patch by patch, so it's still walkable between exertions.  (I can't do the whole path at once anymore.)  Week before last, I repotted a bunch of the little trees into bigger pots.  They seem happy.  My tomatoes are getting big.  I'm seeing some new growth on most of the little trees.  And yesterday, I planted green peppers seeds from the green peppers I used to make deconstructed stuff peppers.  If they grow, they grow.  If not, not much time or money wasted.  

Yesterday, we saw our first fawn of the year.  It was Lumpy's!  Yay!  Then later, when I went for my evening walk, I heard a fawn beeping and looked for it, and there it was with what had to be Sissy.  (She's so tame, it had to be her.)  Double yay.  They had to have been born within the last couple of days.  Aww.  Unfortunately, it's been raining.  And raining.  And raining.  I'm a little worried about those little babies.  They're so tiny. 

Also, we had a HUGE raccoon on our porch the other night.  That hasn't happened in a while.  And we had bobcats tussling in the backyard one night.  Spooky, but cool. 

Okay, I think that's it for me.  I'm sure other stuff happened.  (Like I turned 55 in there somewhere and we had an anniversary.  Oh, and I got TTW's print version approved and up for sale.)  I'll try to be better about posting this week.  I hope you have a happy rest of the weekend and a nice Memorial Day.  :hugs:

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/24/25

Sorry I missed last week, but here we are today.  Unfortunately, it's not going to be the most exciting of wrap-ups, even given that it's two weeks worth.

I got a new book in the mail yesterday - Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Phillip K Dick.  I hope it's the actual Dick story and not a rewrite based off the movie.  We'll see.  I also snagged a bunch of free ebooks (4 to be exact) - All in the crime genres.  And I bought a copy of my new release - in ebook and in paperback.  I'm up to 37 books acquired this year and $40.53 spent.  Woot.

Books Read:

20) The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney (5/17/25) - romantic suspense - 4 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Picked this one up at the thrift store for $2.
Review: "The writing and the story were pretty good. I enjoyed the characters and most of the premise. She got a little 'woo-woo' in this one with the spiritual stuff for my liking, though."

19) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (5/15/25) - mystery - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I got this one from the thrift store for $1.
Review: "I bought this not realizing I'd read it before (and already had the exact same copy). I didn't catch the mistake until I was about a third of the way through. It was even better the second time around, even if I did know who did it."

No DNFs.

Currently Reading... On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming.  I'd hoped to have it finished last night, but sleep called.

What have you been reading lately?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/10/25

 Hey, I know it's late, but I have an excuse.... well, several of them really... and it IS still Saturday.  

This week, I didn't get any new books, unless you count the fact that I just ordered a copy of my brand-new, never before seen or published book THICKER THAN WATER.  Yep, that's one of my excuses.  I've been working on getting the book published.  Another excuse was groceries.  A third excuse was planting my new tomatoes... but that's neither here nor there.  Let's just get on with it...

Books Read: 

18) Bill and the Last Cup of Coffee by Lance Lassen (5/8/25) - dystopian action/humor* (I read the ebook, but this is the link to the paperback. In the time between now and when I downloaded the book, the ebook page has been removed and the paperback was set to 'out of print'. :sadface:) - 5 stars.  New to me and so underappreciated it's not even available anymore.  I got this for free off of one of Amazon's top 100 lists.
Review: "I read this book in the e-version and it had a different cover, but I can't find it on Amazon anymore, so I'm leaving a review here. Not sure what happened there. I hope the author puts it back up because this is an amazing book.

I found it on one of Amazon's 'top 100 free' lists and gave it a try. I'm so glad I did. It's an amazing story. Sure, the humor doesn't stay amped up throughout the book, but that's probably a good thing because sustained giggling can be bad for your complexion. Anyway, this is so much more poignant. I loved the characters, I loved the premise, and I loved the ending. The plot was unique, the pacing was spot-on, and the writing was solid. I inhaled this, ignoring my husband and both cats, and stayed up late to finish. (Which was a bad idea because even after I closed the book, I couldn't stop thinking about it.)

Please, Mr. Lassen, if you're seeing this, bring the book back into print. And thank you for letting me read it."

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I got this from a thrift store for 25c.
Review: "All the twisty-turny action you can expect from a James Bond novel. I loved it."

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime* - 5 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  I got this for free off my Amazon wishlist - placed there after a friend recommended it on FB.
Review: "This is a most excellent and brilliant story with an interesting little treat at the end. A well-written novel with awesome characters and an intelligent plot. I inhaled it. I only wish I'd read it when it was first recommended to me and I put it on my wish list. Better late than never, I guess. It's definitely worthy of 5 stars and every glowing recommendation I can give it to anyone who'll listen."

DNFs:

5/5/25 - free SF - this was supposed to be a hard-boiled crime in outer space, so I was super jazzed to read it.  Unfortunately, the formatting was SOOOO bad, I couldn't get past the first chapter.  I'm not sure what the author was thinking, but every page (assume Word pages) had 'Chapter 1 Continued' and then the chapter's title.  I'd read like 4-5 paragraphs and BLAMMO I'd get hit with that again.  Plus, the author left extra spaces between every paragraph.  It was most disconcerting.  I hope he gets it fixed for future readers, but I never go back to check once I DNF an ebook. =o(

Currently reading... an Agatha Christie I picked up at the thrift store.  So much yummy Poirot goodness.  Squee.

What was on your reading list this week?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/3/25

Well, here we are again at the Saturday Reading Wrap-up, and I actually remembered to post.  Yay.

I picked up two old hardcopies this week - an Agatha Christie in paperback and a Phyllis Whitney hardcover.  No new ebooks this week.

Books Read: 

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime* - 5 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  Picked up for free off my Amazon Wishlist and put on there after the recommendation of a friend.
Review: "This is a most excellent and brilliant story with an interesting little treat at the end. A well-written novel with awesome characters and an intelligent plot. I inhaled it. I only wish I'd read it when it was first recommended to me and I put it on my wish list. Better late than never, I guess. It's definitely worthy of 5 stars and every glowing recommendation I can give it to anyone who'll listen."

15) Dr. No by Ian Fleming (4/26/25) - action/hard boiled crime - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Got this one from a thrift store for 25c.
Review: "Excellent story!"

No DNFs.

Currently reading... Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.  It's pretty good. But I wouldn't have expected anything less.

What was on your reading list this week?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 4/26/25

Sorry I'm late.  I mean, it IS still Saturday, so I'm not as late as I was last week.  (You know, when I didn't post at all?)  Anyway, here's the wrap-up:

I finally picked up some new ebooks this week.  I got an urban fantasy, a regular SF, a humorous SF, and a dystopian SF.  No new hardcopies.

Books Read:

15) Dr. No by Ian Fleming (4/26/25) - action/hard boiled crime - 5 stars. Not new to me or underappreciated.  Picked it up for 25c at a thrift store.
Review: "Excellent story!"

14) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (4/20/25) - dystopian - 5 stars.  Not new to me or underappreciated.  I picked this one up in June of 2024 for 25c from a thrift store.
No review.

13) Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming (4/16/25) - action/hard boiled crime - 5 stars.  Not new to me under unappreciated.  Got this for 25c from the thrift store.
Review: "Wow. I'm so glad I picked this up to read. I know I saw the movie at some point, even though I don't remember it. The book is so much better than any of the movies I do remember, though. Less fantastic and more down to Earth, the way a good gritty crime novel ought to be. This book is awesome and I'm looking forward to reading more of the James Bond novels."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... the urban fantasy ebook I picked up.  I just opened it, so no clue how it's going to go.  Tune in next time.  

What have you been reading lately?

Monday Update - Week 16

 Since yesterday was a holiday, here's a Monday Update...

No writing or editing.  Yes, I have been thinking about writing, but that's usually only when I'm trying to get some sleep.  I did some marketing for SLEEPING UGLY, which was free last week, but I didn't move as many as I would've liked.  :shrug:  I forgot to set anything up for this week.  We'll see if that changes.

I did some reading, but I forgot to post my Saturday Reading Wrap-up.  I'll do a two-weeker this Saturday.

No baking this week.  Yeah, I meant to make a cake for Easter, but that didn't get done.  I did make some awesome stuffed chicken breasts for dinner yesterday, which went into the oven, I maybe that counts. Or maybe that just counts for next Sunday's update.  Derp.

On the activity front, I started the week gangbusters, but then dropped to nada.  So, yeah, 4 days of activity - mostly weeding gardens and stuff like that.  I did one hard target walk, which brings my total mileage for the year to 6.55 miles.  That's kinda pathetic, but I'm not whipping myself over it.  I'm doing other active things.  And my gardens are starting to look good, so yay.

Speaking of gardens, I got the shade bed and the cedar bed weeded.  (Okay, Hubs did most of the cedar bed, but it's weed-free now.)  Then I planted the seeds I had intended for the cedar bed.  I also bought some more seeds to go in there, which I'll try and get to today.  If the rain is actually finished.  

Speaking of plants, I have 4 viable dogwood trees in pots.  They're only about 3 inches tall, but they've each got two leaves beyond the seed leaves and one of them is working on a second set of leaves.  Also the two cedar trees - Cecile and Clyde - are doing well, with plenty of new growth.  

And the rain... Oh holy crap did it rain.  Sploosherama big time.  The dogwoods and the cedars are currently hanging out in the sunroom.  I didn't want them to drown, poor things.  

Okay, I think that's it for the news of last week.  I need to get motivated this morning, but my gumption won't turn over.  It sputters and dies every time I try it.  ;o)

Have a great day and if you're motivated, feel free to drop a comment.  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 4/12/25

Hello again.  This was a banner week for reading.  I don't think I've read this many books in one week in years.  Yay.  And reading this much means I'm now only 7 books behind schedule.  Woot.

No new books acquired. I'm out of unread ebooks, though, so I need to rectify that.

Books Read:

12) Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke (4/11/25) -  science fiction - 4 stars.  New to me - I don't think I've read anything by Clarke before - but not underappreciated. Picked this one up at the thrift store for 25c.
Review: "This was an interesting enough story, but there was no real plot. It's just the tale of a 16-yr old boy's short time at a space station of the future. Things happen and he reacts to things. I was expecting something a little more exciting, I guess. All in all, I did enjoy the story, though."

11) Murder by the Script by Lisa Pevey (4/8/25) - cozy mystery* - 5 stars.  Not new to me, since this is the fourth book of this series I've read in the past few weeks.  I got this one for free, which prompted me to buy the first three books.
Review: "Another fun installment of this series. I really enjoyed it. The characters are all just as awesome and quirky as they were at the start. I loved the plot. It's just good, clean fun all the way around."

10) Festive Fonts and Fowl Murder by Lisa Pevey (4/7/25) - cozy mystery* - 5 stars.  Not new to me or underappreciated, but I'm sure it could always use more readers.  I picked this one up at full price with the first two after getting the 4th one for free.
Review: "Another fun installment of this series. I'm really enjoying reading them all. In this one, the stakes are higher because Buck's in trouble, which makes it fun. And like all good cozies, it all works out in the end. Yay."

9) The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett (4/6/25) - suspense - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I mean, it's Ken Follett, after all.  I got this one from a thrift store for 25c.
Review: "I wasn't sure this was going to be all that great a book when I first started it, but man, was I ever wrong. It's not the kind of work most people know Ken Follett for, but it's pretty brilliant. The final twist really sealed the deal on this being a five-star read for me. Like I said... brilliant."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... I finished the SF last night with minutes to spare before bedtime, so I didn't start anything else.  I don't know what's next.  I have tons of unread books to chose from, though.  

What was on your reading list this week?