#The Sunday Post - Last of Sunday of March is Here- Let's Make it Count!

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

How was your week?  I hope it was nice and low stress. I hope some of you got vaccinated or made your vaccination appointments. I am now eligible in my state and so the hunt is on- so far no dice! This upcoming week I have a routine surveillance CT scan. I would like to get the vaccine once that is done because the vaccine ramps up your immune system and that can make a CT scan look funky and I don't want any funkiness on my scan. I want boring unremarkable pictures of my insides.

I spend some time this week laying out my reading and reviewing plan for April.  Along with April Showers I'll be reading and sharing some good-looking books! 

Release Date 4/6/2021

Historical Romance - obviously! Out March 29, 2021

The second book in the Booklover's B&B Mysteries.  Out June 8, 2021

Plus a bunch more!  

In April I am planning to start spring cleaning my Goodreads shelves. Do you plan to engage in some cathartic spring cleaning this year? 

Sunday Already? #TheSundayPost : Week 2 of 2021!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

I hope you had a nice week!  In running news, I got my Yaktrax so I can run in snow and ice and not fall. This should help ensure that the weather is nice and I won't need the fancy new running accessory!  I also survived my first doctor's appointment of the year. I'll likely write about that another day, the situational anxiety of going to see a Medical Oncologist--good times. 😟

This week I read books like it was my job - links to this weeks posts and reviews are here:

*Monday I took up the#COYER Challenge!

*Tuesday A Cozy Mystery Review

*Wednesday Recipe and Audio Book Review

*Friday #NationalBubbleBathDay and a Mystery/Romance

Coming up this week:

-Book review of Confessions of a Curious Shopkeeper by Elizabeth Green (COYER Seasons Challenge book) 

-AudioBook Review of an Audible Original and a Website for getting audiobook discounts & Winter Decor talk. 

-Book Review of Downward Death- A new cozy mystery with a Yoga theme!  -And a recipe I tried because I had leftover crushed pineapple. 

The time has come to take down our Christmas tree, and with a big hat tip to Leanne W. I took a picture of many of the ornaments from our tree before wrapping them up until late next November. 

A pile of memories! Some going back as far as 50 years!  

In Which I Embrace the Bath Lifestyle and #JaneinStPete #NetGalley- A Mystery/Romance!

Did you know today, January 8th, is #NationalBubbleBathDay?  If not, now you know!  

 

Sometime during November, I decided to take a bath every now and again. Once I had taken a bath or two, I realized  I needed a nice fuzzy robe, a quality bubble bath, a wrap for my hair, and a bath pillow.  Shortly thereafter, I made my Christmas list and asked for everything I needed to embrace the bath lifestyle. 

When Christmas day arrived, my wonderful family gave me a robe, a Bath and Body Works bubble bath, and a wrap for my hair.  I said to the Hubs, "Now I just need a bath pillow."  The Hubs then said, "Oh no, Honey, that won't do, I'm going to make you one right now."  Armed with duct tape and the can-do spirit, he recycled packing materials to make me a bath pillow for home and --in his words--a travel pillow I could take with me on trips.  "What Trips?" I asked and then we dissolved into a fit of laughter. 

Happy #NationalBubbleBathDay!  Knock off work early!  Go lock yourself in the bathroom and escape for a while! Embrace Escapism!

And speaking of traveling without going anywhere, below is my latest book review, a nice escape to St. Petersburg, FL. 

Jane in St. Pete by Cynthia Harrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Recently, I was able to download a copy of Jane in St. Pete by Cynthia Harrison to read and review. The main character of the book, Jane, is a recently widowed fifty-five-year-old who has left Detriot and moved to a gated condo community in St. Pete, Florida. The book opens with Jane attending a coffee hour at her community center. We get a real sense of Jane right off the bat, based on her internal monologue and we get introduced to people around her via the coffee hour small talk. I thought this was a clever way to start off the book and give us a sense of who's who. Like me, Jane has given up dying her hair, a detail I really liked! Unlike me, she is quickly involved in a murder investigation.

I thought it was very clever of Cynthia Harrison to use Jane's background as an art history teacher as a reason for her to assist in the investigation. In addition to the murder, there may also be mobsters looking for someone in the community! Plus Jane has unresolved issues with the sudden death of her husband, issues with her adult daughter, and then there is the handsome detective. All of these situations are navigated and come to a very satisfying conclusion.

When the book was nearly half over, the narration moves from Jane to another character, I will say that threw me off as I was reading. The second point of view is used off and on for a few chapters and then we finish the book in Jane's head.

This is the sort of book that is a nice beach read, or to have on hand if you are a train commuter for work, or if you like to have a book to read during a lunch break or medical appointment. The book has a fairly small cast of characters to keep track of and most of the action occurs in just a few places, so it is easy to pick back up if you are reading it here and there.

#JaneinStPete #NetGalley

View all my reviews

Thankfully This Recipe Was Easy and The Hubs liked it! Plus a #COYER Challenge and #2021AudioBookChallenge

How's your 2021 going so far? Around here we have had some seasonally appropriate weather that has made it difficult for me to go for a daily run. I don't have a treadmill, I really don't like running inside. Running on a treadmill is a surefire way to watch time slow to a crawl. I'd much rather layer up and run outside.  However, ice and snow equal me falling down and I don't want to find out how well the Prolia shot I had to take works.  Yes Osteopenia as a result of cancer treatment stinks, but I don't see the point in complaining, I'm just glad I don't currently have cancer.   The fix to my running in the snow and ice is to get Yaktrax , it's like putting chains on tires for winter driving. Last winter I feel like four times and almost fell more times than I can count so instead a repeat of last year where I courted breaking a bone. This year I'm going to start right off being smarter about my running. 

How about you?  Are you getting the year off to a smart start?  If you would like a hearty flavorful, cassoulet that is easy to put together, try this one! 

Substitutions that I made were- I used ground turkey instead of ground pork, I used a can of garbanzo beans instead of the second can of Great Northern Beans because I only had one can of Great Northern.

My finished picture doesn't look as pretty as I would have liked, but the meal was delicious. Here is the link to the recipe from Real Simple Magazine- One Pot Sausage, Pork, and Beans Recipe

Sometimes I listen to audiobooks while I am cooking and recently I listen to the audio version of a graphic novel. Yes, I know this sounds like an oxymoron.  I have to say the audiobook had a full cast of actors and they gave it there all so that I could 'see' the book unfolding.  Below is my review-

 

The Pretenders by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought the audio version of this graphic novel because it was on sale in an email I received at some point last year. Then I got distracted and didn't listen to it for a good six months. Today, I finally decided to give it a listen. I didn't realize that the audiobook I purchased was a graphic novel until after I finished listening to the story!

The audio of this book has a full cast of actors and the story really comes to life. I also didn't realize I had purchased book 1 of a trilogy, and now that I know it's a trilogy, I'm going to have to get the other two books, which are not on sale- HA! To be fair, this is a nice stand-alone story and you aren't left on the precipice of a cliffhanger.

The book starts off with an MC who wakes up in a cemetery with no memory. All she knows is that the reason she is in the cemetery is someone tried to kill her. What a great story hook! How can you not read this? I imagine it is a great looking graphic novel, the audio does not disappoint!

View all my reviews

Clean Out Your E- Reader #COYER Seasons Challenge 2021

 

Over the past year, I have added many, many free ebooks or ebooks that cost under $5 to my kindle. I don't even actually know how many books I have sitting in my virtual TBR pile.  How fortunate for me and my teetering pile of books that I learned about the COYER Book Community and the challenges. Now I have peers to read with and reading goals. This is my idea of fun! This also means that I will get around to reading some of the lovely books that have been waiting for me for months and months.  

If you would like to join me you can learn more and join here

When you see me use the hashtag #COYER this winter you'll know I'm cleaning out one of the books on my e-reader! 

The first book I am reading for the challenge is Confessions of a Curious Bookseller.  So far I can tell you that the main character is super quirky!  

Hope you are having a great day and are able to take some time to do what you love!