Sunday, March 26, 2023

March 26th's Sunday/Monday Post

Time to kick off another week, and I'll be doing it with another Sunday/Monday post.  As usual, I'll be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
Mailbox Monday
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Not too much to report around here this week.  We got another 2.5 inches of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Even a surprise shower Thursday night.  At this point, I think Southern California is at twice our normal rainfall for the year.  If not, the storm they are predicting for this coming Wednesday should push us over the edge.  But it's amazing how green all the hills around us are.  I'm loving it and trying to soak it in while I can.

However, March is going to be the first month since I got my paddleboard that I haven't taken it out.  When it wasn't raining on the weekend, it's been very windy.  I might have been able to go out today, but they were predicting wind, and I didn't want to risk it.  I didn't notice it being windy when I looked out the window, but with my luck, I would have driven over to the lake and it would have started to really blow.  Hopefully, I can start getting back out there in April.

This Past Week on the Blog:



This Coming Week on the Blog:


Sunday - Candy Review: Honey Graham M&M's
Monday - Book Review: Intrigue in Istanbul by Erica Ruth Neubauer
Tuesday - Movie Review: Garage Sale Mysteries - Searched and Seized
Wednesday - Book Review: The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman
Thursday - March Reading Summary
Friday - Friday Post
Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

You ready for this?  I got six books this week.  That's five ARCs and a pre-order that was released this week.

I'm starting to get the ARCs for book tours I've signed up for in May.  In the last couple of weeks, May went from only have one book I thought I'd be reading for review to having four.  I'm still waiting for one of those ARCs to come in.  I've had the first of the May books for a while - Murder on the Home Front by Jessica Ellicott.  (So no, this doesn't count as one of my six new books this week.)

But I did get two more eARCs for May reviews this week.  Up first is A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larsen.  This is historical fiction set in England in 1784.  The premise sounded interesting - a woman trying to live on her own and keep the fact that she is living on her own a secret.  Of course, it is a murder mystery.  This is me, after all.

The second May eARC I got this week was #TagMe for Murder, the second Trending Topics Mystery from Sarah E. Burr.  I enjoyed the first one last year, so I'm looking forward to diving in and seeing what happens to the characters next.  Honestly, I haven't even looked at the teaser.  That's how much I am interested in the book.

Another June eARC came in as well as I was approved for A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor.  This is the fourth in her Maggie D'Arcy series.  I'm very curious to see where she is going to go with the characters, so hopefully this will be a good one.

The last two ARCs I got were from authors.  From Diane Vallere, I got an eARC copy of Fahrenheit 501.  Yes, the books been out a while, but she offered me a copy, knowing I still had a few months to go before I'd be reading it.  Naturally, I jumped at it.  Remember, my policy is to not turn down books I intend to buy and read.

In Saturday's mail, I got a physical ARC of The Truth We Hide by Liz Milliron.  This is the fourth in her Homefront Mysteries, set in Buffalo, New York, during World War II.  This book actually came out almost two weeks ago.  I wasn't going to be able to get to it then, but when she offered me the ARC a second time, I decided to take her up on it.  I was actually thinking about starting it Saturday night, but it came wet.  Something got spilled on it - I think just water - but it was extremely wet.  Like the covers feel like limp noodles wet.  I think if I can dry it out, it should be okay.  I've got a friend who is going to bring me a hairdryer to church tomorrow to use on it.  But I'll put off reading it a week until it is dry.

Finally, my pre-order - The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian.  This is the second in her newest series - The Secret Staircase Mysteries.  I enjoyed the first, and I'm looking forward to getting to the second...at some point soon.  Obviously, I have a lot of books coming up in the next few months I've already agreed to read and review, so I need to figure out when I can work it in.

What I'm Currently Reading:

Just before I started working on this post Saturday night, I finished up Digging Up Daisy by Sherry Lynn.  I'm going to have to sleep on it before I write my review, but I think it left a couple of major clues unaccounted for to be really satisfying.  We'll see if I get any brilliant realizations about it overnight.

That means that up next will be On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry.  I've had the book since December, and I'm just now getting a chance to read it.  The fact that I've pre-ordered the next in the series, which comes out the end of May, has helped pushed this one up my to be read pile.  I really enjoyed the first in the series when I read it last spring, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Have a great week!

28 comments:

  1. It looks like you are making up for a lack of paddleboarding with plenty of reading! Have a great week!

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  2. All that rain in southern Cal has been amazing. It definitely curtailed our plans when we were there early in the month. I wish you luck with good weather for outdoor sports soon!

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  3. Hopefully all the rain helps with the wildfires this summer. Enjoy your new books!

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  4. I hope all the green is still there when we roll into town next weekend!!!!

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  5. Seeing the greens, yellow, and purples in southern California right now is amazing. I have been up the the Santa Ynez Valley a couple times for work and the mustard seed, lupin, and poppies are just stunning. And green hills!

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  6. That's the nice thing about rain- it makes everything so green! It gets old quick though.

    I'm hoping to get back to some cozies some time this year. Haven't read on ein a while and I used to a lot more. :)

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  7. Sounds like a great week of reading. I got 5 books this week. Have a great week!

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  8. I think it is an excellent idea to decide to accept all offers for books you plan to read anyway. I decided to focus instead on getting on the waiting list at my library for all the new books that I really want to read. This strategy is working well for me.

    And, boy, was it ever green this weekend up in Central Texas. Beautiful!

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  9. I used to love reading cozies but haven't in quite a few years. I have read the first in a couple of series so I really should finish them.

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  10. What a haul this week! I hope that you enjoy them all!

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  11. Not only a great week of reading but also for book hauling! Really curious about The Raven Thief. I keep seeing posts about that book. Hope you are able to get out on your paddle board soon!

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  12. It's so green out there in So Cal! But, everyone sure is sick of the raing. I hope you have a great week ahead.

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  13. From library school: You can freeze a book until you have a chance to dry it. That prevents mold growth.

    If you can get the book dry it should be readable (but maybe fluffy, the pages often don't all dry flat). Keep it away from your other books for a few weeks until you're sure that it doesn't develop mold.

    The last time I dropped a paperback in the bathtub (oops!), I managed to dry it enough to read. Then, I took the unusual step of throwing it out rather than risk it spreading mold to my library or to the place where I usually give away books.

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  14. I hope the weather improves so you can get back to that paddleboarding. I am jealous of your book haul, though I never ask for or accept ARCs because I don't want to read books that I haven;t heard of before. What a snob I am.

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  15. Glad that you are enjoying the weather! Lots of great books you have here!

    Here’s my Sunday Post

    And my Sunday Watch for movie and TV fans!

    Rabbit Ears Book Blog: WORLD’S WEIRDEST BOOK BLOG!

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  16. I just finished listening to Desert Star by Michael Connelly, and Renee Ballard never gets to go out on her paddleboard during the course of the story -- due to the pressures of the job, though, not because of the California weather! I need to order a copy of The Raven Thief to go with my bargain hardcover copy of The Secret Staircase. But I just ordered a couple of new books, and they haven't even arrived yet, nor have I read the books from my last order yet! ;)

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  17. Can you believe the amount of rain we've had in California? We live in Northern California, so add a ton of snow to that. Hopefully this means we're out the drought, but they probably don't have sufficient storage so we'll be back there again soon. We have a lot rain coming on Tuesday and Wednesday, too. Hope you get to use your paddle board soon.

    I love the Maggie D'Arcy series and so I was thrilled to get a copy of The Stolen Child too! I'm interested to see how Maggie and Colin's relationship progresses.

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  18. March has been a weird month here. The weather is either absolutely gorgeous or beyond terrible - there is no in between! The Stolen Child looks really good and I'm starting both Digging Up Daisy and On Spine of Death soon! Have a great week!

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  19. I always have to remember that rain is good for trees and ducks...and the ground when its not all at once. I hope it helps your aquifers.
    You have a great book haul this week. The authors are new to me except for Pandian. Have a good week and Happy Reading!

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  20. Wind would certainly make balance harder.
    Enjoy your new books

    Wishing you a great reading week

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  21. I'm ready for spring. We got ten inches of snow on Saturday.
    Mary @Bookfan

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  22. All those books look so good. Enjoy them and have a great week!

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  23. So much rain! I like the green it brings though. You have a nice assortment of cozies on you stack. My six review books for April expanded to nine with some surprising offers and approvals this week. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  24. I like the sound of The Raven Thief!! Enjoy your books!!

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  25. California sure seems to have got a lot of unusual rain. I thought you'd be paddle boarding on the sea. Silly me, I see its a lake. Happy reading for the week, lots of books.

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  26. I can't believe how much rain you've had. I hope you can get back on your paddle board soon!

    Jill
    http://www.allthebooksihaventread.com/blog-1/2023/3/12/on-my-nightstand-march-12-2023-3x56s-7tzcc

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  27. My husband and I have been commenting on how green it is in California right now. This is our third work assignment in southern California and we've never seen it look like this before. It's nice but I'm still ready for some sun. Enjoy your week!

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  28. We've been in a wind advisory for 24 hours, it's been terrible.

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