FrightFall Read-a-thon - October 5th - 11th, 2015

It's getting to be that time of year! Why do we like to be scared so much? If you're looking for another read-a-thon, join us for FrightFall hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading! New this time is a Facebook Group, and we'll be using #Frightfall on Twitter.  Come join the fun, and get your scary on!

I'm all set for my official scary book this time, I will be reading Haunted Kansas by Lisa Hefner Heitz:

Additional Goals:




I won't get anywhere near finishing all that, but those are what's up next for me, so we'll see how far I get!

10/11/15 - Final Well I didn't get very far!  I did finish reading Soulless which I think I had already started, and I got to pg 78 of Haunted Kansas, but found myself reading for speed and not taking in very much, so I decided to stop!  I did enjoy my reading this week though, glad to be a part of another Frightfall Read-a-thon!  Thanks Michelle!

Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn

From Goodreads: Celebrity werewolf and late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard and not seen. So when she's invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, and her face gets plastered on national TV, she inherits a new set of friends, and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; an über-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose Kitty as a monster. Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone's itching for a fight.

Kitty and I are back from our trip to Washington DC and we had an awesome time! We did some sight seeing, we got to watch a senate hearing in session, we met some good vampires and some not so good vampires, we fought bad guys... Fun was had by all! Okay, well, by me anyway, Kitty might have something to say about how much fun she had, but Luis was pretty hot...

Kitty Goes to Washington is the second in the Kitty Norville series. I had to look back and see how long ago I read #1, and it was in 2008, so 7 years ago, my how time flies! The good thing is that I remembered enough of the first one, or had in story reminders that I had no trouble keeping up. I really like Kitty herself, her intrepid nature, and also her cast of supporting characters, her lawyer Ben, Cormac the bounty hunter, and some of the new friends she meets, Alette and Luis. She may believe herself to be without a pack, but she's formed her own band of loyal people. There were also plenty of baddies of different types and levels of vileness. I enjoy Carrie Vaughn's writing style, it's easy to fall into the story and run along with Kitty.  The pace is good, the action is action-y, but not too much.  I admire Kitty's ability to talk herself down in terrifying circumstances and turn the tables on those taking advantage of her.  This is one wolf who isn't going down without a fight, though her weapon of choice is a microphone rather than teeth and claws.

This story is very pertinent to our current political climate, replace supernaturals with any of today's minority groups seeking to be recognized and given the same rights as everyone else, and it feels just like what I've seen on the news of issues that divide the country in half for various reasons. I'd love to say that Senator Duke is an overblown caricature, but honestly, we have real politicians who are pretty darn close to him in their zeal to stamp out the "others" they are afraid of.

My copy of the book also included a short story called Kitty Meets the Band that was cute and funny.  The band is a little unconventional, with a very interesting bass player who has turned them into a sensation. A fun little addition to Kitty's world.

I definitely recommend this series and am looking forward to more of them, hopefully it won't take me another 7 years to get to #3!  

Blog Ahead - October 2015

I'm taking the plunge and joining the Blog Ahead October 2015 Challenge! This Challenge is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup and Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Blog Ahead 2015

• Purpose: Increase the number of scheduled blog posts you have ready to publish by 31 posts during the month of October. All post will be scheduled from November 1st or later.
• Who Can Join: Any blogger or author can join. Brand new, been around for years.Blogger, WordPress or other platform. Any heat level, genre or theme, etc. If you blog…you’re welcome to join!
• Types of Posts that Count: Any finished posts count! Meme, review, guest post, interview, discussion. Top Ten Posts, Favorites posts, Shopping Guide Posts, Cooking posts, pet posts, photo posts, etc. Posts do NOT have to be book related.
• Required: The post must be complete and scheduled from November 1, 2015 onward. (So not just blurb, buy links, etc for a review post. The review needs to be complete for the post to count.)

If this sounds like something you'd like to join in on, head on over to the sign up post and check it out!

My Goals:

2016 TBR List Meme posts x 12
Find some other Memes to rejoin or join for the first time x ??
Book reviews x ??

My Progress:

10/9/15:  6 posts

I've prepped 3 of the 2016 My TBR List Meme's
I've joined a Wishlist Wednesday Meme that I've done 1 post for after October
2 book reviews done and scheduled so far

10/22/15:  4 posts = 10 total

2 more book reviews done and scheduled
1 more Wishlist Wednesday post for after October
1 Judging by the Cover - Cover Artist Spotlight scheduled for November

10/31/15: 2 posts = 12 total

1 book review
1 wishlist wednesday

Wrap up: 12 posts ahead, I've never had that much ready to go before!  I'm definitely in for the next one!  Thanks everyone!

My To Be Read List - September 2015 - Series #2's

Updated: My September poll is closed, and the winner is Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn, with 60% of the votes!  Check back on 9/26 to see how our trip to Washington went!

 

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I'm taking part in a new to me Meme! It's called My To Be Read List and is hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading. This is a monthly meme where we offer up 3 choices from our TBR pile for our readers to pick from to help us make the super hard decision of "what do I read next?" a little easier and to whittle away at the ever growing TBR Mountain!  I saw some other participants liked to choose a theme for themselves each month and I think that was a great idea, so I'll do the same!

Theme: My choices are all #2's of a series that I really liked #1, but just never got back to yet.  Please help me decide!  Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what you chose and why.

The poll will stay open through Friday, and I'll update this post with the winning book on Saturday 9/12, then post a review on the last Saturday of the month, 9/26.

If you think this sounds fun and would like to join (the more the merrier, because we love voting!) please head on over to Because Reading where Michelle lays out the rules for us!

And the choices are...

From Goodreads: Celebrity werewolf and late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard and not seen. So when she's invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, and her face gets plastered on national TV, she inherits a new set of friends, and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; an über-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose Kitty as a monster. Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone's itching for a fight.

From Goodreads: Persephone Alcmedi has been persuaded to compete for the position of High Priestess of the Cleveland, Ohio, coven — now that the former priestess, Vivian Diamond, has strangely gone missing. Unfortunately, there are a few small problems with the idea. Not only does Seph know rather more about Vivian's disappearance than the other witches realize, but the epic struggle she's just survived has left her with some highly unusual powers — ones that could be dangerous to reveal. Despite her reluctance, she agrees to participate, if only to prevent snooty Hunter Hopewell, an obnoxious but talented witch, from ending up in the winner's circle. Can Seph hide her secrets — including her connection to the master vampire-wizard Menessos — from the terrifyingly wise judges? Plus, there's her rock 'n' roll werewolf boyfriend, Johnny, and some angry fairies to deal with.... Once the competition begins, a finalist turns up dead. It looks as if one of the contestants is willing to do anything — including murder — to win. Suddenly Seph has even more on her plate than she thought: from solving a murder to working out what her new powers really are...and exactly why they're creating so much havoc in her love life.

From Goodreads: My name is Raine Benares. Until last week I was a seeker—a finder of things lost and people missing. Now I’m psychic roommates with the Saghred, an ancient stone with cataclysmic powers. Just me, the stone, and all the souls it’s ingested over the centuries. Crowded doesn’t even begin to describe it. All I want is my life back—which means getting rid of the stone and the power it possesses. To sort things out, I head for the Isle of Mid, home to the most prestigious sorcery school, as well as the Conclave, the governing body for all magic users. It’s also home to power- grubbing mages who want me dead and goblins who see me as a thief. As if that’s not enough, Mid’s best student spellsingers are disappearing left and right, and I’m expected to find them. Lives are at stake, goblins are threatening to sue, mages are getting greedier, and the stone’s power is getting stronger by the hour. This could get ugly.

Poll is closed #MyTBRL

The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Art of Purring by David Michie

The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Art of Purring by David Michie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really love the Dalai Lama's Cat books, they'll definitely be considered as repeat comfort reading at some point in the future. They are gently humorous and thoughtful, bringing to light concepts that we all struggle with and offering insight into how to deal with feelings in perhaps a different way than we normally would. It makes me want to visit McLeod Ganj, and the Himalayan Book Cafe, and spend time with all the endearing characters that are a part of HHC's life. It's also stirred an interest in learning more about Buddhism for me, it seems like such a peaceful and caring life philosophy, that even if you don't adopt it as a religion, you can still learn so much about human nature from it's teachings. I'm definitely looking forward to The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Power of Meow and may look into other of David Michie's books on meditation, which is a complete mystery to me. I wouldn't even know where to start.

A strong recommend to cat lovers, because regardless of whose cat she is, HHC is still A CAT, and her contemplation of the wisdom imparted by His Holiness and the other teachers which is often at odds with her nature is both entertaining and thought provoking, but in an easy way. These are light, but meaningful in content, and for me definitely comfort reading.

COYER SH #55 - features an animal prominently in the story.

View all my reviews