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!

BW10: Journey around the world

 

Happy Sunday!  I'm always in the mood to journey across the United States, or follow in the footsteps of authors, cross the seas and oceans, hike through countries of Europe or Asia, or transverse space.  My latest book, James Rollin's Arkangel, #18 in the Sigma Force series, takes us from the Vatican to Russia to the Arctic in a quest to determine if an ancient myth of a lost continent is true or not. Rollin's books blend science fiction with history as well as archeology, blending fiction with truth.  

A Journey Through Literary America

Long Journey on Foot

Books Full of Wanderlust 

15 Best Travel Books to Cure Wanderlust

10 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books About Fantastical Voyages

Stellar Books That Take Place in Space

Where are you traveling this week? 

BW40: Spooktacular October

Hello October. Nice to meet once again. Are you ready to dive into the spooky and spectacular, ominous and thrilling, supernatural and mysterious, suspenseful world of Spooktacular October? So far this year our travels have taken us from the far East to the sands of Africa and down the Roman Roads of yesteryear. Time to jump on board our ghostly ship Portentous and sail with the wind.

My idea of scary isn't blood and guts horror, but psychological thrillers and suspense stories that give me goose bumps. Worlds full of villainous vampires and witches and warlords and monsters, both man made and natural  There's a wide variety to choose from: classic gothic reads to ghost stories to the best of Stephen King and his son Joe Hill as well as King's villains. Check out 21 Psychological Thrillers that will mess with your head, 100 Best Thrillers of all time, or 13 New Thriller Books Recommended by Bestselling Authors

James Rollins, our author of the month, is one of my favorite suspense writers and his most recent novel in his Sigma Force series, Demon Crown, is one that will keep you reading long into the night.

Synopsis: Off the coast of Brazil, a team of scientists discovers a horror like no other, an island where all life has been eradicated, consumed and possessed by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, a mysterious agency attacks the group, killing them all, save one, an entomologist, an expert on venomous creatures, Professor Ken Matsui from Cornell University.

Strangest of all, this inexplicable threat traces back to a terrifying secret buried a century ago beneath the National Mall: a cache of bones preserved in amber. The artifact was hidden away by a cabal of scientists—led by Alexander Graham Bell—to protect humankind. But they dared not destroy it, for the object also holds an astonishing promise for the future: the very secret of life after death.

Flower of the month

The Blossom Bookology flower of the month is the Marigold which were the sacred flowers of the Aztecs. There are a number of directions to go for this month's challenge. Read one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author. Yes, you can mix it up. You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title, or on the cover. Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower. The choices are unlimited.

Brit Tripping

Our Brit Trip is taking us down Watling Way to Surrey this week . Surrey is one of the wealthiest counties in England, it has the highest GDP per capita and the cost of living is as high as inner London. That might explain the reason that Harry’s Uncle Vernon settled there with his family.

Rabbit trails: Nonesuch Palace Waverly Abbey Guildford Castle Abbot’s Hospital Emma’s picnic on Box Hill Alice in Wonderland Guildford Tourism Hampton Court Palace

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BW4: Wintertime blues

Farmhouse in Delaware by Michael Melford

While most of the nation is freezing, it's a balmy 64 degrees in Northern California and our Governor has declared a drought emergency.  It's been so dry, one of my fur babies who usually suffers from asthma during the damp winter, has been quite happy.  I don't know why it is, but I've been in the mood for wintery reads.  Maybe I'm living vicariously through the characters as they pit themselves, man against nature. So much drama!   I'm currently reading James Rollins Ice Hunt which is set in the Antarctic in which scientists found an old Russian base set inside a polar iceburg

Carved into a moving island of ice twice the size of the United States, Ice Station Grendel has been abandoned for more than seventy years. The twisted brainchild of the finest minds of the former Soviet Union, it was designed to be inaccessible and virtually invisible. But an American undersea research vessel has inadvertently pulled too close--and something has been sighted moving inside the allegedly deserted facility, something whose survival defies every natural law. And now, as scientists, soldiers, intelligence operatives, and unsuspecting civilians are drawn into Grendel's lethal vortex, the most extreme measures possible will be undertaken to protect its dark mysteries--because the terrible truths locked behind submerged walls of ice and steel could end human life on Earth.

I love James Rollins - he has the most incredible imagination.  If you haven't read any of his stories yet, I really recommend you do.  All of them are a thrill ride. 

Since Winter began, I've been reading books with Winter or a cold word in the title, about Winter, set in the Winter season or in icy landscapes. Currently in my stacks are:  Cold Magic, Hum and the Shiver, Ice Station, Snow Crash, Storm Front and Winter Sea.   You starting to see the theme here.  *grin*

So much fun to curl up in a comfy chair, with a hot cup of tea, a warm blanket and, yes, a fur baby and delve into some winter time books.   Your task, should you choose to accept it, read a book from your stacks with Winter, Frost, Ice, Cold, or other synonyms in the title. 

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Link to your reviews:    Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.