The Sunday Post--Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news 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 your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

Here in Chicagoland, St. Patrick's Day is a big deal. There have been parades and celebrations since the first weekend in March. I'll be spending the day selling Tastefully Simple at a craft show. I hope people still come out to the craft show. You see, the South Side Irish Parade is always the Sunday closest to St. Patrick's Day, and this year that means the parade is on St. Patrick's Day.  It's a big deal around here. Last year me and the husband walked in the parade with our Congressman. 
How about you, do you have plans for St. Patrick's Day? 

*****

In book news,   Do you all want to see the new book cover for my book? What do you think? 

I'm excited to say I'm up to 16 reviews on Amazon! Want to check it out or add it to your wish list? Here is the link: https://a.co/d/7Usna3U

Have you been reading? I'm currenty reading these books:

Another Fun Paranormal Romance from Audible Originals

 I downloaded this book to listen to last week because it was written by Molly Harper and narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Teddy Hamilton. 

I loved Molly Harper's Mystic Bayou Series, so I was confident in giving this a listen. This story is about a woman who has lost her mother and moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the behest of an aunt she has never met. Things happen and it turns out that Riley has some major family history. She can see the dead, she has always been able to see the dead but now she finally learns she has been seeing ghosts and why.  

Riley soon has a coven, a crush, and some major mysteries to solve.  The cast is likeable, the narration is great, the romance is just starting and I was delighted with how much was resolved at the end of the book and we have a nice juicy ongoing mystery to move into book two. 

If you like romance with a little magic, give this series a listen! 

4 stars

Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases

I chose to read this book because it was included in my Audible subscription.  It's not a book that I would have spend my monthly credit on--those credits are like gold! So I save them for books I *really* want badly. Cook County ICU is a fairly short book and it reads like a collection of columns. As if Cory Franklin had a weekly column in the Chicago Tribune where he shared notable events and people at Cook County hospital-- a Mike Royko or Studs Terkel slice of hospital life column. 

I enjoyed his stories and seeing the perspective of a doctor as someone who has only hand medical experiences as a patient. My favorite stories in the book were when Dr. Franklin talked about the 1995 heat wave we had, I was very surprised to learn that Cook County Hospital didn't have central air in 1995--BONKERS! Can you even believe it?  My goodness. It was so hot that summer.  I need to go see if there is a good book or podcast covering the story of the heatwave. 

Secondly, there was a story about a nurse and I knew early on in the story that this was a case of Munchhausen. Munchhausen is something that fascinates me.  I get why a person might go to those lengths for attention. Now that being said, I don't understand Munchhausen by proxy, hurting someone else to get attention, ick. 

Overall 3.5 stars an interesting read! 

 

What the Reviews Said, What I thought.

Once again I found myself looking for an audiobook that was included with my Audible membership so I had something to listen to while doing chores. This seems to be a weekend theme for me. This time The husband was off at a golf show, so I had time to putter around the house and listen to this book.

I chose this book because it is narrated by Johanna Parker who voiced the Sookie Stackhouse books and I enjoyed her reading of those books. According to the reviews for this book, some people weren't fans of the audio. 

The beginning of the book is told from Ada's perspective and Ada is a very naive 15-16 year old who has come back home to her horrible abusive father. I was not very into the beginning of the book, I was disappointed that it starts with a clueless girl in the 1920s  with an awful father who needs rescuing.  I considered putting the book down (figurately not literally as I was listening on my phone) and not continuing,  

However, I decided to listen a little longer, and that is when the story switches to the perspective of the other girl in the stilt house, Miranda.  Miranda was a much more interesting character and I enjoyed her backstory. I have not read much fiction taking place in rural areas during the 1920s, which enhanced my reading of this story. 

In the blurbs for this book, The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian is compared to Where the Crawdads Sing and apparently many, many reviewers did not agree with this assessment and that affected their enjoyment of the book.  I have not read the Crawdads book, so this comparison meant nothing to me. 

4 stars

 

Tell Her Story - Reading While Cleaning

It was Saturday morning and I was once again looking for a quick book to listen to while I caught up on laundry, so I scrolled through what was free with my audible subscriptions and I came across this book, Tell Her Story.  The book is centered around a former journalist who starts a podcast. 

I said to myself, oh cool, I like podcasts, I'll give this book a listen.

The reader for this story is the actress Dakota Fanning and she does a nice job as the narrator keeping the story going. This book doesn't have many characters so it is easy to keep people straight while you listened and there are many subplots it's a straightforward mystery covering a cold cast that the main character has turned into a podcast.  Now our main character was fired as a journalist because she wrote a story about someone claiming he was a sexual predator and then it turned out she knew it wasn't true.  That makes her hungry for redemption and also maybe we should believe what she says in her podcast. Or should we? 

C/W part of the story involves a high school teacher sleeping with a student. It's not condoned but it is part of the story. 

Without spoiling the story, I will say my response to the end was, hmm, really? If you listen to the book I'd love to know what you think! 
 

My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni

Looking for a listen for your commute, or while you are cleaning the house, or walking the dog?  My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni is the first book in a series. The story is one you've likely heard before, Tracy the main character becomes a detective after her sister disappears and works for years to try and find out more about the case. In this instance her sister's body was never found and even though a man (who had been recently released from prison for rape prior to her sister's disappearance) was tried and convicted; Tracy doesn't think the evidence adds up. 

When the sister's body was found, then Tracy has an excuse to try and revisit the case. The sheriff in the small town tries to stop her from doing it. 

If you like courtroom drama and police procedurals you may enjoy this book and the rest of the series. I picked it up because it was on the top of the list of free with membership thrillers. I thought it was decent but I was left at the end thinking most of what happens in this book could have been avoided if some people hadn't decided other people needed protecting. 

Overall, it was a pretty good book and if you listen or read it and you like Tracy, the good news is that there are a bunch more books and I imagine moving forward they are cases she wasn't intimately involved with and that may lead to better twists and turns! 

3.5 stars

We *are* all related. A Brief HIstory of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford

 

Here is the blurb for this book from Goodreads: 

This is a story about you. It is the history of who you are and how you came to be. It is unique to you, as it is to each of the 100 billion modern humans who have ever drawn breath. But it is also our collective story because in every one of our genomes we each carry the history of our species births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex.

Since scientists first read the human genome in 2001, it has been subject to all sorts of claims, counterclaims, and myths. In fact, as Adam Rutherford explains, our genomes should be read not as instruction manuals, but as epic poems. DNA determines far less than we have been led to believe about us as individuals, but vastly more about us as a species.

In this captivating journey through the expanding landscape of genetics, Adam Rutherford reveals what our genes now tell us about history, and what history tells us about our genes. From Neanderthals to murder, from redheads to race, dead kings to plague, evolution to epigenetics, this is a demystifying and illuminating new portrait of who we are and how we came to be."

I'm working on reading more non-fiction in 2023, so I saw this book on Audible.com and since I had a bad BRCA2 gene, it appealed to me because it talks about genetics and DNA. I have found that I am much more likely to finish a non-fiction read if I do the audioversion and listen during my runs and general housework. Easier for me to focus.  I listen at 2.0 speed and that helps as well---less mind wandering.

This book is a brief overview of the evolution of humans. I know that we humans are all related at some level, but this book put that idea back front and center.  We all share a common ancestor and as humans have multiplied groups of us can be traced back to various historical individuals, which is pretty neat.  We aren't like cars off an assembly line, a near copy of our parents or our parents' parents, all of our genes and our DNA changes enough in each version of a person that we really are our own person; and our genes do not determine our outcomes.  They may influence some things but there isn't a doomed-gene, an amazing-person- gene, or a you-are-going-to-live-to-a-100-gene. 

What I took away from the book was the important reminder that we are all related and at the same time we are truly one of a kind.

4 stars

If you like the True Crime genre, this is a facinating listen

Here is a blurb about the book from it's Goodreads's page:

"Violent. Provocative. Shocking. Call them what you will...but don't call them open and shut. Did Lizzie Borden murder her own father and stepmother? Was Jack the Ripper actually the Duke of Clarence? Who killed JonBenet Ramsey?

America's foremost expert on criminal profiling and twenty-five-year FBI veteran John Douglas, along with author and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, explores those tantalizing questions and more in this mesmerizing work of detection. With uniquely gripping analysis, the authors reexamine and reinterpret the accepted facts, evidence, and victimology of the most notorious murder cases in the history of crime, including the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Zodiac Killer, and the Whitechapel murders. Utilizing techniques developed by Douglas himself, they give detailed profiles and reveal chief suspects in pursuit of what really happened in each case.

The Cases That Haunt Us not only offers convincing and controversial conclusions, it deconstructs the evidence and widely held beliefs surrounding each case and rebuilds them -- with fascinating, surprising, and haunting results."
 

I listened to this book over the course of a few days. The content is compelling, especially since I am someone who reads and watches true crime and mysteries. I’ve listened to podcasts about some of these well know cases ( Lizzie Borden, the Zodiac killer, etc.) but this book written by an expert in profiling, gave me a better perspective. This book presents these high profile cases and debunks a lot of inaccuracies that have been reported over the years. 

If you are doing your own writing this book could be a good reference when you are creating your killer and the crime scene.

4 stars 

Long time no see--and Unf*uck Your Brain review

 Happy New Year's Eve Eve! I'm having a heck of a time trying to type because I'm wearing a wrist brace. Right before Christmas, I fell while running and injured my wrist. On the plus side it's not my writing hand but I definitely need it for typing. I have to keep the brace on until 1/9.

This has really crushed my plan to do lots of blogging while I'm on break from school. I go back to work the same day I have a follow up appt and should most likely get the OK to stop wearing the brace.

How are you? Did you get any new books for Christmas?

Recently I saw that this book was free with my Audible subscription, I downloaded it and listened to it in one afternoon.

This is written and told in a very casual and swear word filled style. Obviously the title of the book is your first clue on that. I didn't find the language off-putting and I found some beneficial information and advice.  Below are my key takeaways-

1.  Anger is a secondary emotion. 

2. Our brains have a story telling mode, which is great but can lead to trouble if you are  reliving a trauma. 

3. Grouding helps if you are having PTSD, anyone can have PTSD and it doesn't always last long term.

4. You don't have to keep going back over traumatic events. You can let it go.

5. Journaling is a very helpful way to work through your trauma.

I appreciated the broad definitely of trauma used by Faith Harper. What is a difficult time for one person  may not be for someone else.

I would recommend this book as a good starting point or a refresher for anyone that feels stuck or is looking to change their behaviors.

4 stars!

Fun Cozy Mystery Audio Series, Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles

 

As autumn arrives, I am drawn to reading more paranormal stories, and I was happy to find this series of which at least a few books are included in my audible subscription.  The series has paranormal elements that we learn just a little about in this first book in the series. A couple of features of this series that made it stand out to me are that it takes place in South Dakota--not many cozies are set in the Dakotas. Secondly, our amateur slueth is a single mom with nine-year-old twins.  Single moms with young kids are also rare in cozies.  

I was concerned when I was just 30 minutes from the end of the book that one of the main storylines was not going to be resolved in anyway, but fortunately it was--this book ends without any cliffhangers and leaves you interested in what is going to happen next in Violet's life. Some reviewers found her kids annoying but I didn't mind. I would say if you don't like grade school kids in your mysteries this is probably not the series for you. 

3.5 stars from me.

An Audible Original IE No Credits Needed!

 I was looking for something to listen to while I was running and I saw this on audible and, well free is my favorite, so I quickly downloaded it! I  found this to be a quick, fun listen.  I didn't care too much for 3 out of the four widows at first, but by the halfway point of the story, the writing had me rooting for those ladies.  This is part thriller, part mystery, and part mafia wives' story. 

Each of the widows is voiced by a different writer, so this is an ensemble story as opposed to your classic audiobook. The story takes place in the 1980s and has a nice level of camp. If you are looking for something fun to listen to while you are working out, commuting, or doing chores around the house, give this a listen. 

3 stars for this fun audiobook! 

The Sunday Post -- It's almost time for Youngest Child to Leave Us!

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news 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 your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

This week will be a bittersweet moment for me and the Hubs, our youngest is heading off to college on Wednesday. She's the first of our family to go away to college, so this is a new experience for us as well as her.  I'm very excited for her and I hope she has an easy transition to her new environment. How about you, any transitions happening at your home this month? 

This is her first school picture back when she was 3. 

Books I'll be talking about this week:

Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to The Constitution

 

I used my Audible subscription to purchase this audiobook. I went with the audio because when it comes to nonfiction, I prefer to listen to vrs. read, I think running and listening helps me to remember more of the book. In this case, it was an obvious choice because Eli Mystal narrates his own book. 

What makes this book stand out is that it is, as the subtitle says, A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution, instead of a book told from a white man or woman we get the perspective of someone who descends from slaves and I think that is probably the most important perspective to view our constitution based of knowing that many of the Framers were slaveholders. 

The book is not overly long and Elie Mystal excels in his ability to explain lawyer lingo and concepts in simple terms that anyone can easily understand and relate to as they listen (or read). 

I recommend this book to everyone who lives in America. 

It's A Wonderful Midlife Crisis by Robyn Peterman

I'm not sure if this book qualifies as a paranormal cozy mystery or a paranormal closed door (so far) mystery or a ghostly rom-com?  In any case, what you must know if you decide to read this book is...

IT ENDS ON A MAJOR CLIFFHANGER SO GET THE SECOND BOOK WITH THE FIRST! 

Seriously, I don't want you throwing your book around, so heed my words and get books 1 and 2 together.  I got this book via my Audible subscription so I was able to get the next book before the end credits of the first book were done playing in my ears.

On to the story. I was drawn to this book because of the name. Delightful right?  And the cover is gorgeous.  Our main character Daisy wakes up one day and can see ghosts and spends an unusual amount of time not questioning why it is happening.  But once you learn more about Daisy's character it is pretty clear she has put some major blinders on herself. She has a real knack for not questioning any of the things she should question and questioning things that are as they should be.  So as a reader you are always a few steps ahead of Daisy, which worked out okay for me. I will say Daisy doesn't live up to the title, she is supposed to be 40 but she is written as someone in their late 20s--which is fine if the title would've been It's a Wonderful Quarter-Life Crisis.

I like the world-building and the secondary characters. I am going to read book two to get the answer to the cliffhanger and to see if Daisy lets the blinders fall off her mind. If you are thinking of giving this book a try, I highly recommend getting the audiobook, the narrator is delightful and this is a book that I don't necessarily think is one that you want carve out time to sit down and read when you can listen while you work or workout!

3 Stars! 

 

Are Your Holiday Decorations Down? #TheSundayPost January 2022 Week 3-

The Sunday Post is a blog news 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 your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

I like to wait until after New Years Day to take down our decorations. I don't try to take everything down at once, just like I don't put up all the decorations at once.  Putting up and taking them down I do here and there over a few days. 

I have decorations that are not specific to Christmas, so I am leaving those decorations up until it's time for Spring. To my winter decorations, I added Valentine's Day decorations.  Last week I made a trip to the Dollar Store and found some cute stuff, I even found one gnome decoration for my porch. I bought some dollies and string with the idea that I could make a craft of some sort.

Sometimes when I go to the dollar store (which is now actually the $1.25 store), I buy items planning to get crafty, and well, it doesn't happen. This time, I did follow through--gold star for me!

I took red and white doilies glued them together then I found old pictures of which I had extra copies and I cut the pictures up, glues those to the doilies, and then used red & white string to hang them up, I was thinking about making a garland, but this was a little easier for me to get done.

I also have been on a good streak of very engaging reads.  This week I'll be talking about:

Thanks NetGalley for #ALettertoThreeWitches !!

The Hallmark Channel Itself Could Not Out Do This Book For Perfect Autumn Romance Ambiance!

 The Ex-Hex By Erin Sterling is like a perfectly made Pumpkin Spice Latte in Book Form.  This book feels like it was blessed by the Good Witch Cassie Nightingale herself.  

I can't imagine anyone who enjoys Autumn or tales of sorcery who would not enjoy this book.  It really puts you in the spirit of the Spooky season.  As I was listening to this book and really enjoying the story unfold, I realized that when it comes to romance, I enjoy the romance more if there is an obstacle that the couple has to unite to overcome. On that front, like most paranormal romances this book delivers.

We may be too old for trick or treating, but we can still treat ourselves to Halloween treats right?  This book is better than any fun-sized Snickers bar by far! 

Four Stars to The Ex Hex! 

I am lucky enough to be in a book club that is going to have Erin Sterling as a guest! I plan to ask if this book is to be a series. I'm hoping maybe it will be! I would like to return to this town!

Speaking of Halloween-- How cute are these two! (I'm pretty sure this picture is from about 2004)

A Couple of Short, Seasonal, and Slightly Spooky Listens

I love this time of year, I love the decorating, the food, and of course the ghost stories! I found a couple of short listens via audible and the Libby app from my library. 

The first is an audio play of the famous Agatha Christie book And Then There Were None. The audio play is from the BBC and crams the book into a very digestible hour and about twelve minutes.  It's a great accompaniment to walk in the woods, or while raking leaves, or baking a  pumpkin pie!  The plot of And Then There Were None is clear in the title. There is a group of people and someone is picking them off one by one.  The mystery is not that people are going to die, it's the who and the why. And if you want more Agatha Christie there is a good adaptation of Crooked House streaming right now. 

I also listened to a novella-length book called The House by Raelyn Drake.  It was listed as YA, but I think it was mislabeled The House was definitely a middle-grade story.  Again it was a short engaging listen, perfect for this time of year. The story is about a group of high school kids who spend a few hours in their town's alleged Haunted House. The kids are trying to debunk the myth.  It's fun to see how things turn out. It's a very cozy mystery-type listen, you can picture the quaint town and the kids are determined to figure out the mystery. 

4 stars for sure! 

I picked up googly eyes so I'm ready to make some fun Halloween treats this month! 

I'm going to try to make these brownies or make cupcakes with the same frosting and decorations! 

Audio Challenge Update! Halfway to December- #AudiobookChallenge

This is a little belated, so I'm glad I've remembered to get this post up!  It's time for my midyear Audiobook Challenge check in!  The 2021 Audiobook Challenge is being run by Caffeinated Reviewer, you can check it out here and join us! 

My goal for this challenge is Marthoner level (no surprise there) and that means 50 audiobooks over 2021. Where am I at?  Great question... I went back through my posts from this year and so far I've listened to 22 audiobooks. So I'm only about 4 books behind where I should be at this point of the year. 

Lucky for me it's easier to catch up on a listening challenge than it is actual marathon training.  Lately I have not found myself absorbed by an audiobook. I have three books currently in progress.  Nothing has been catching my ear lately!  On the plus side, in a couple days I'll have 2 credits added to my Audible account and I'll be able to pick up a new release or two with those credits. 

The garden is starting to really produce zuchinni and I'm trying to get creative in ways I can shred zuchinni and add it to meals. Tonight I put a cup of shredded zucchini with a pound of ground turkey and 1/4 cup of Bacon Pepper Jam mixed that together to make burgers.  They turned out very well and now I have a new way to use up my produce.  Next up, zuchinni shredded and added to pasta sauce. 

#TheSundayPost May 30th: Are You Ready For The Summer?

 

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

Yes! Yes, I am!  The weather here is more like early April, but I am ready for my summer!  My pool is open!  Marathon training starts tomorrow! #1000wordsofsummer starts tomorrow! 

This will be my third marathon and I'm running as a charity runner for Imerman Angels there are still spots available to join the team and run the Chicago Marathon for Team Imerman this fall! If I can run a marathon, you can run a marathon! Imerman Angels is a non-profit group that connects cancer patients and caregivers with peer support.  They call the peer's Mentor Angels.  Mentor Angels are that crucial listening ear, a person who knows exactly what you are going through and is on the other side--able to remind you that even if things are really tough now, there will be better days ahead. 

On the same day marathon training begins,  the two-week writing challenge invented by author Jami Attenberg.  As the name implies the challenge is to write 1,000 words every day for two weeks. It might actually be 15 days now that I think about it, I believe the end goal is 15,000 words which is a nice start to any writing endeavor. I am going to go back to writing the cozy mystery novel that has been lingering unfinished and ignored by me for months. I have a few changes I want to make to the outline and then get back to writing.  Or maybe I'll wind up writing something completely new.  Who knows! 

This week I have 3 books I'll be blogging about:

 A #NetGalley pick-up, New Series!

I'm trying to add some non-fiction to my audiobooks listening.  This book is really fascinating! 

I'm also trying to read down my physical TBR pile.  I like to read my books and pass them on so if you want this book when I'm done, comment and let me know! ( will send as media mail) 

So, what's on your agenda to start the summer? 

#2021 Audiobook Challenge Review - Pure Fun and An Easy Vegetarian Dinner!

 

Spring Fried Rice from Real Simple Magazine.  Simple to make and easy to modify! 

I didn't have nori (dried seaweed) or cashews on hand,but I did have a red bell pepper that needed to be used so I added that and I doubled the garlic in the recipe. If I had leftover ham, pork, chicken, steak, any of those proteins could be included if you didn't want a vegetarian meal. If you sub tofu for the eggs, then the recipe is vegan. 

Next time I make this I would like to add more scallions and pea pods. 

 

I tried to be very patient when cooking the egg so it done without flipping it.  I feel I succeeded. 

Now that it is looking like the Chicago Marathon will be a go this year, I've started to increase my running mileage and that means, I'm on the hunt for audiobooks that are engaging to distract me from the long miles I need to put in to build my stamina.  

This week I listened to the second audiobook in the Mystic Bayou Series by Molly Harper: Love and Other Wild Things.  Having enjoyed book one, How To Date Your Dragon I was ready to dive into Love and Other Wild Things.  This book is the story of my favorite side character in book one, Zed the werebear and mayor of Mystic Bayou.  As in book one, this story is loaded with humor:

“You would think I would have weird abandonment issues, considering that both my parents left me behind. But I’m pretty well adjusted, except for this little thing where I run from emotional intimacy like my hair is on fire.”
― Molly Harper, Love and Other Wild Things

One of the best parts of book one was the best friend duo of Bael and Zed, I was very happy to see it continue in this book:

“Bael, you’re my best friend, but please don’t smell me. We’ve talked about this.”
― Molly Harper, Love and Other Wild Things

This book was a great distraction as a ran. I love to read book series in part because I enjoy seeing the characters unfold when reading a series.  Book two in a series also gives the reader a clearer understanding of the overarching conflicts in the story.  

4 stars- if you have Audible, definitely give this series a go!