BW39: Autumn

 

Happy Sunday!  Autumn slipped in while I was busy elsewhere. We are in the those in between days when the weather doesn't know what it wants to do.  I'm still plugging away reading Robin Hobb in the realm of the Elderling series with The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy.   I'll miss all the characters after finishing the last two books.  As with other multiple books series, I'll be sure to revisit them down the road.  Midway through Fool's Quest at the moment and just go to an exciting part and almost forgot to write my post for this coming week.  LOL! 

It time to delve into Autumn books as well as prepare for our Spooktacular read  for the month of October.  More on that next week! 

Autumnal Reads by Halcyon Days of Summer

Clean Fall Reads: Cozy Books to Read This Autumn

34 Books You Need to Read This Fall

 Fall in Love: 14 Cozy Autumn Romance Reads

Happy Reading! 

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? 

BW22: Choices: Literary Legend or Author Bookology

 

Happy Sunday!  Which direction should we go with our reading this month?   Left is our Literary Legend Laurence Sterne with his satirical story Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy.

"Laurence Sterne's great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it, with a rich metafictional narrative that might classify it as the first 'postmodern' novel. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate 'hero' Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter, the amours and military obsessions of Uncle Toby, and a host of other characters, including Dr Slop, Corporal Trim and the parson Yorick. A joyful celebration of the endless possibilities of the art of fiction, Tristram Shandy is also a wry demonstration of its limitations."

Right is our Author Bookology with Sonali Dev and her Bollywood style contemporary romances.  I thoroughly enjoyed There's Something About Mira. 

"Mira Salvi has the perfect life. A job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she's always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn't a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone. 

While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story.

As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. She had to have found this ring for a reason? Right? Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn't been written yet either."

Or straight ahead with your mental safety blanket, the all encompassing comfort read or reread, depending on your mood. 

I'm 0 for 5 in our Literary Legend conquests as I have started to read each author and parted ways soon thereafter as I have immersed myself in Robin Hobb's worlds with her Farseer Trilogy as well as the Live Ship traders trilogy. I have had better luck with our author bookology although I have yet to read Abraham Verghese but I'm hoping to make it 6 out of 6 soon. But only after I dive into Sonali Dev's Recipe for Persuasion.  And of course, continue what has turned into a year long quest of reading Robin Hobb with the first book in her next series Rain Wild Chronicles:  Dragon Keeper. 

But first I must finish my comfort read with author Nora Roberts and her newest stand alone book - The Final Target.  I thought she gave it all away in the synopsis, but as usual her interesting characters have drawn me in. 

Oh! And I've finally fallen into the world of Dungeon Crawler Carl. We'll see for how far I get. 

Happy Reading!

BW8: Author Bookology - Robin Hobb

 

Happy Sunday!  I recently discovered Robin Hobb and Fitz in the Farseer Trilogy and fell in love with both the character and the story. I know, what took me so long? Fitz was just an amazing character and went through so much and I liked being in his head and seeing how people treated him and how he reacted and how he was able to persevere through all the ups and downs and machinations involved.  He kind of reminded me of Pug from Raymond Feist's Magician's Apprentice but that storyline dragged whereas I enjoyed Fitz's story which captivated me and made me want to read on. 

 I'm in the midst of  #2 Royal Assassin, have Assassin's Quest waiting in the wings as well as Ship of Magic in her Live Ship Trader's series.  No doubt I'll be exploring her complete backlist over the next few years as I have done with new to me authors  Imagine my surprise when I also discovered she used to write under the name of Megan Lindholm.  More stories to explore. 

I also recently "discovered" Fredrik Backman and Rebecca Yarros and am enjoying reading their backlists. 

Other authors whose stories I read again and again and again are Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, James Rollins, Haruki Murakami, Keri Arthur, and Patricia Briggs to name a few.   I'm a devoted series reader.  When I fall in like with the characters in the first book, I simply must continue.   Not all books are equally good, and some can be duds, but I enjoy their writing. 

Who are the authors that you will read over and over again or will read anything they publish?   Who have you 'discovered' recently?

BW6: F is for Flufferton, Females, and French Fries

 

Happy Sunday! This week we celebrate the Super Bowl, National Flannel Day, Make a Friend Day, Friday the 13th, Ferris Wheel Day, and last but not least, Valentine's day.  

We're all about the ladies this week with Flufferton, female narrators, and series written by women that we need to finish. 

Regency Romances flourished between 1811 to 1820's during the shift from the aristocratic Age of Enlightenment to the artistic movement of Romanticism.  Since the period overlapped the Napoleonic wars, writers expanded on themes of the drama of wounded soldiers, mystery, adventure and of course, romance. The  term Flufferton Abbey was coined by a reader friend since Regency romances, both classic and modern, are light and fluffy reads and most are set in England. 

Female narrators for audio books can make or break the story depending on their voice and acting ability. Check out Audible.com's  Best Female Narrators who elevate every story or Penguin Staff Picks on Wonderful Women Narrators  Two of my favorite narrators are Susan Ericksen for  J.D. Robb's In Death Series and Katrina Lenk who wonderfully narrated The Fire Concerto by Sarah Lendenwich. I hope to find more interesting books narrated by Lenk in the future. 

Stories narrated by a female who are strong, or  unhinged,  written in first person such as N.J. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy or third person  such as J.D. Robb's In Death series are all great to read. 

Series written by women I particularly need to finish at some point are Robin Hobb's Farseer or Live Ship Traders, R.F. Kuang's Poppy Wars, C.J. Piper's The Night and it's Moon, and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy. 

What series do you need to finish?

And let's not forget love and friendship this week. 

12 novels about female friendship in honor of Galentine’s Day

17 Stunning Friendship Stories to Read Now

Books Perfect for Valentine's Day

“It's finally happened; scientists claim to have discovered the very first person in history who doesn't like french fries. Just imagine the implications!”  ― Graham Parke

Happy Reading!