BW42: Blind Date with a Book

 

Happy Sunday! 42 is the answer, except we don't know the question. Which leads us to our next letter which in our A to Z and Back Again which is  K and our next bingo quest which is a Blind Date with a Book! 

Let's go on an adventure.  Whether it is the library, the book store, google or your own shelves, pick a random book to read this week.  Preferably one you know nothing about.  

For the library or bookstore, choose a genre, choose a section of shelves, picked a shelf, and then pick a number between one and thirty and read whatever book you discover.   Or pick out a random book, don't read the synopsis (yes, I know how hard that is not too) and read it. 

For your own shelves, fill out slips of paper with one through fifty or more if you have a large TBR pile, put them in a jar, and let one of your family members pick a number.  

Or let one of your family members randomly or not so randomly pick a book for you to read.  James not so randomly picked out a One Piece novelization for me to read which fortunately is 148 pages.  I also randomly picked up Wreck by Catherine Newman (A Good Morning America book club book) at the airport which is also a short read.  

K fits for this week as I am still reading Dean Koontz The Friend of the Family which is not so scary but mysterious. 

We'll see which one keeps my attention. LOL! 

Have fun! 

BW37: P is for .....

 

Happy Sunday!  Today is Positive Thinking Day, National Peanut Day, Defy Superstition Day,  Fortune Cookie Day, Grandparents Day, Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day, Uncle Sam Day, and Pet Memorial Day. Make of it what you will and see what ideas they bring to mind for stories to read.   

Today is also my younger brother's 60th Birthday which means I've spend the past three or four weeks putting together a scrap book/photo album of memories, questions, and quests for the future.  It's been a fascinating and memorable dip into the past, present, and future. I finished it a couple days ago and mailed it out in time for his birthday  I'm tired. LOL!  

So I will leave you with a few interesting reads to explore: 

How to Be a Good Explorer on the Lifelong Expedition to Yourself

The Case for Prince who is also one of our Bingo Quests. Read a book about Prince, or a prince, or someone royal. 

Choose to read a book from the Hay Festival Book Club list. 

11 Great Books for New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Readers  I've read the majority of this list. 

Best Philosophical Fiction which brings to mind our Philip K Dick quest from Mind Voyages. I recently finished his Galactic Pot Healer which was dystopian, philosophical, and weird. 

Which reminds me, it's time to start thinking about what you want to read for our October Spooktacular. 

"I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain." — Purple Rain, Prince

BW36: Q is for Quirky

Happy Sunday! This week while we honor the workers on Labor Day, and the fallen on 9/11, we also have the fun and the frivolous.  Today is actually Read A Book day which supposedly appeared somewhere around 2017.  For those of who read every day, it seems weird that people would actually have to be reminded that books exist and that today is the day to read.  How sad is that....   The 7th is Neither Rain nor Snow day, the 8th Star Trek day, the 9th International Soduku Day, the 10th Swap Ideas day, the 11th is Rosh Hashanah, and the 12th is Chocolate Milk Shake Day. 

Our letter of the week is Q leading into our next Bingo Quest of Quirky:  something which is or someone who is, odd or unusual.  Q also stands for Quantum Mechanics, Queen, Quilting, Quintessential, Quack, and Queue to name a few.  And of course Quest.  

All bookish adventures are quests whether it's a heroes quest, side quest, a journey or jaunt, an undertaking or adventure, be it medieval, geographical, scientifical, or an odyssey through space.  

My adventures lately have been with Robin Hobb in the Realm of the Elderlings. I'm currently on the Tawny Man Trilogy and about to start the second book The Golden Fool in which we learn more about the Fool's past.  No spoilers. I have to admin some of the characters are quite quirky. *Grin*

Plus I'm looking forward to the latest installment in J.D. Robb's In Death series with #63 Fury in Death, release date September 8th. 

Happy Reading!

BW34: Bingo Quest: Finish the Series

Happy Sunday!  This is a week of celebrations as Hubby and I are celebrating our 29th Anniversary and his birthday a couple days later.   One of my wedding promises was that I'd never combine the two which I've kept to this day.  I told our technicians on Friday he would off on his birthday and your gift to hubby is the day off.  One gave me a deer in the headlights look and the other said, we'll handle it, have fun.  

Our life has turned into the long running series which will never get rewritten or taken over by another author. Whilst our life is a standalone I do love to read series. Like how I segued there? Hee hee!

I enjoy getting to know the characters and immersing myself in their world, their lives, troubles, and tribulations.  Some series I read until I can read no more.  Madam or Sir author, will you be coming out with another? 

Some I may read two or three. I give them a chance. Maybe the next one will be better? But find that the world is not intriguing enough or the characters fail to resonate with me.   

And some I discover have been taken over by another author whose writing makes it no longer for me.  Don't you hate it when the normal author's name is in huge letters at the top and below the title is the author who has taken over?  Fool me once.  When I immerse myself in an author's writing I can always tell the difference. Their writing voice is totally different.    

A few times I've discovered new series when the authors names are similar, right next to each other on the store shelf. I bought what I thought was a Dan Brown story only to discover it wasn't.  I thought he had branched out into writing techno thrillers but it didn't have his voice so I rechecked the cover. Duh! The book was written by Dale Brown who turned into a favorite of mine.  

While in the midst of finishing series, I'll begin new ones. You'd think I'd finish one before I start the other.  It took me ten years to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of time yet I binged read Diana Gabaldan's Outlander Series in six months.  

I discovered Robin Hobb last year and have been slowly making my way through the Realm of the Elderlings. I finished Farseer, Liveship Traders, and the Rain Wild trilogy. I recently back tracked and am currently reading The Tawny Man Trilogy.  I needed a break from Fitz for a while. LOL! 

Who are your favorite series authors? 

BW26: Half full/half empty

Happy Sunday! Can you believe we are halfway through the year already. Are you a half glass full or half glass empty type of person? Me, my glass is half full which means although I have shelves full of books I have yet to read, I keep finding new shiny stories to fill my glass back up. Are you ready for our July authors of the month?

Our Literary Legend this month is John Kennedy Toole and I have The Confederacy of Dunces waiting in the wings as well as our Author Bookology contemporary author William Gibson and the second book in his Sprawl series, Count Zero.  

Plus we have our next Bingo Quest to celebrate 52 Books/L.E.S.T.E.R's eighteenth Blogoversary which is drum roll, please: 18

Read a book with an 18 year old character

Read the 18th book in the series

Read a book with 18 in the title

Read a book published in the 1800's, 1918, or 2018.

I just so happen to have James Rollins 18th book Arkangel in his Sigma Force series which has been calling my name. Now would be a perfect time to read it. But maybe I'll decide to read the 18th book in Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series, The Atlas Maneuver or Lee Child's Jack Reacher series, Never Go Back or even J.D. Robb's Divided in Death. Decisions, decisions.



Happy reading!

BW23: Bingo Quest - Prince

 

Happy Sunday! Our next bingo quest is Prince.  Read about Prince, born June 7, 1958 and who sadly passed away April 21st, 2016 at the age of 57.  For those who don't want to read about Prince or find a story with the words in the titles of any of his songs,  we can go in a different direction, reading stories with Prince or royal in the title, or a character in the story.  

Must-Read Books About the British Royal Family

Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: 15 Books About Royal Life

Pick a book Chosen by Her Majesty

13 Novels Starring Fictional Royals

Have fun! 

BW19: Bingo Quest - Simulated

 

Happy Sunday!  Is it real or fake? An alternate reality, fake reality, or set in another space or dimension?  Our next Bingo Quest is Simulated.  The book world is full of stories about simulated theory, metaverse, liminal space, computer game worlds, cyber reality and virtual reality.   Creative, nonsensical, fantastical, or horrific, the simulated worlds draw the readers in.  

Dive into Life is a Simulation or See You in the Metaverse.

Reach into  8 Mind-Bending Simulation Books Where Nothing Is As It Seems or 12 Engrossing Novels Inspired By Video Gaming

step through Liminal Spaces, Timeslips and Matrix Glitches in Fiction

Have fun exploring! 

BW17: Bingo Quest: Quirky

 

Happy Sunday! This post will be short but sweet since I'm rebuilding our business website because I accidently took it down when changed a setting with our new servicer and our current website disappeared completely.    OY! 

Our next bingo quest is to find a book with a quirk which is something odd or unusual about the book cover itself or the story or a character or however you define it.  

 My Favorite Quirky Literary Characters

40 Charming, Heart-Warming, and Quirky Books

22 Quirky, Awkward Books That Prove We’re All Weird

Most Unique Female Characters

Have fun! 

BW12: Literary Mishmash

 

Happy Sunday! This week is a mishmash as we are in the midst of a family celebration of my father's 95th birthday so I threw a bunch of stuff together for your delight. 

Our Literary Legend this month is Sir Thomas Malory and his Le Morte D'Arthur about King Arthur and Legend of the Round Table, a classic arthurian fantasy.  

" Published in 1485, Sir Thomas Malory's epic poem Le Morte d'Arthur became the standard source for future Arthurian works such as Idylls of the King by Lord Tennyson and T.H. White's The Once and Future King.With its expressive, vigorous dialogue, Le Morte d'Arthur resounds with colloquial liveliness and ceremonious dignity, the style for a fifteenth-century gentleman. This audio recording grips the listener with the fascinating, fateful story of Arthur's ascension to the throne as a boy, his marriage to Guenevere, the formation of the Round Table Knights, the quest for the Holy Grail, the ill-fated passion between Lancelot and Guenevere, the treachery of Arthur's illegitimate son Mordred, and the ultimate destruction of Arthur's realm.A superb story of adventure, love, honor, and betrayal, Le Morte d'Arthur is filled with dramatic power and deep, tragic irony."

One of our Bingo Quest categories is David Bowie who also enjoyed reading and you can find his top 100 books on his site.  Read them alone or join the David Bowie Book Club and readalong with their top ten choices for 2026.  Check to see how many you have read so far! I've read four and currently have A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon in my stacks to read this year. 

Spring has sprung so check out all the spring reading lists popping up like wildflowers all over the world wide web. 

Happy Wanderings! 

BW4: Bingo Quest: Dragons

 

“No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, 

Happy Sunday! Let's dive into L.E.S.T.E.R's Bingo Quest with Dragons!  Whether they are good or bad, we enjoy reading about dragons, experiencing them through the eyes of the characters such as the personable Temeriare ridden by Captain Laurence during the Napoleonic wars in Naomi Novik's series, or the fear they generate such as Smaug in The Hobbit.   Dragons or similiar creatures appear in every culture, universally symbolizing transformation,  yin and yang, or guardianship.  In eastern culture they symbolize control and power, whilst in western culture evil and chaos and heroism.  

I have several books on my TBR related to dragons including: James Rollins epic Moon Fall trilogy, Samantha Shannon's Root of Chaos, Richard Knaak's Omnibus Legends of the Dragonrealm, and others.  Including Stephen King. 

Did you know he wrote a book about dragons called The Eyes of the Dragon published in 2016.  

"Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a king with two sons…

​Thus begins one of the most unique tales that master storyteller Stephen King has ever written—a sprawling fantasy of dark magic and the struggle for absolute power that utterly transforms the destinies of two brothers born into royalty. Through this enthralling masterpiece of mythical adventure, intrigue, and terror, you will thrill to this unforgettable narrative filled with relentless, wicked enchantment, and the most terrible of secrets…"

Bronson Pinchot (remember the tv show Perfect Strangers back in the 90's) is the narrator of the audiobook.  I'll let you now how it turns out. 

30 Fantasy Books Featuring Dragonriders which includes Temeriare as well as the Eragon Series. 

11 Books + Fantasy Series with Dragons to Read if Your Suffering From an Onyx Storm Book Hangover.  And if you weren't into the Empyrean series, no matter. The list includes The Hobbit and The Natural History of Dragons  and more so it's well worth checking out. 

Epic Dragon Books for Tweens and Teens

Dragons For Young Adults

Happy Reading!