Sunday Post 79

Hi everyone! Happy Mother's Day to all kinds of moms!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

Reading Reality, who hosts Stacking the Shelves

Readerbuzz, who hosts Sunday Salon

Caffeinated Reviewer, who hosts Sunday Post

The Book Date, who hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

On the above blogs you will be able to see links to the posts from others who are participating in those blog hops, and if you're a blogger, you can join too. 

We had some uncomfortably humid weather last week, but Friday was nice and cool with some rain (which I didn't mind) and Saturday has been delightful with cooler temps in the 50s, sunshine most of the day, and low humidity. We did have a rain shower this evening, but it was a nice, gentle rain. At one point the sun was shining while it was raining. I checked for a rainbow, but didn't see one. Many people did.

Did anyone see the Northern Lights? Friday night was too cloudy in Central Maryland to see anything and tonight (Saturday) isn't supposed to be much of a lightshow either. However, conditions may be just right to see it on Sunday night. I will definitely check!

I had my annual "goat therapy" session today. I visited the local farm to play with the goats. I got to hold a precious little baby goat for about 15-20 minutes. He started dining on my hair. I mean, he had a big chunk of it in his mouth and was chomping down on it. It was a bizarre feeling. I had just washed my hair, too. Go figure. 

Two twin goats were born on my birthday, but they had no interest in being held. Someone who works at the farm was chasing one of them. She was trying her best to let me hold them, which never happened. It became a really funny game, one that the goat won. I did get to meet them and their mamma, though. I also met the two lambs that were born on my birthday. While at the farm, I also visited the fairy forest that is a little area in the woods filled with fairy homes that locals made. I got lots of exercise with all the walking I did.

Malice Domestic Day 2 - Saturday

Last week I wrote about Day 1, so now I'll tell you about Day 2.

At 9 a.m. some of us met in the lobby of the hotel to mingle and pose for a picture. I had planned on attending a panel session that morning, but completely forgot about it. That happens when there are so many things to do and people to see. I was totally fine with this, as I loved the opportunity to chat with authors and internet-turned-in person friends. When attending Malice, have a plan, but be flexible.

After that, I visited the silent auction. Once you register, you can bid online until it closes (which was noon that day). I bid on one package, but someone swooped in and beat me to it in the last five minutes the silent auction was open. I had never bid in an auction before, so that was a fun new experience. There was a live auction the night before, but I didn't go. It was too late for me and I was exhausted. After visiting the silent auction, I went back up to my room to recharge.

Next, I attended the first ever in-person Bookish Hour hosted by Sarah E. Burr and J.C. Kenney. I have seen their Bookish Moments and Bookish Hours on YouTube live, so it was fun to see it in person. They interviewed a few authors that I learned a lot about. The recording is available on their It's Bookish Time YouTube channel.

After The Bookish Hour, I had lunch with Sarah and J.C. What a nice opportunity that was to have some time to just sit down and chat and get to know them better.

After that, I went back up to my room again to recharge. It was a long walk from the conference center to my room and I tend to walk slowly, especially since I was also pushing my cart, so I always had to give myself about a half hour or more to get to where I was going. Plus, you never knew who you'd see along the way. It wasn't uncommon to randomly meet authors like that. And they were all so very generous with their time, always willing to stop and chat with us fans and pose for pictures.

A note about the walking - I really didn't mind it. I was glad to get the exercise.

Next, I went downstairs for the 2:00 and 3:00 author signing sessions. This was always in the Dealer Room where books were being sold. Yes, I did buy some books, but I also brought ones I already owned to have signed.

The signings didn't take long, so in between signing sessions I hung out in the Hospitality Room. This was a good place to relax, mingle, and pick up some freebies. I visited the Hospitality Room a few times over the course of the weekend and there was always something different to pick up or someone different to mingle with - both authors and readers.

Next, I went back up to my room to relax and recharge until the banquet where we had dinner and the Agatha Awards were announced. A week before the banquet, I received an email telling me to choose which table I wanted to sit at. (Several tables were hosted by someone, usually an author or two). As long as there was still room at that table, it was available to choose. I chose to sit at the table that was hosted by author Amanda Flower. Her book, Farm to Trouble, was the first ever 5 star cozy I read three years ago. Plus she has 16 cats. I mean, come on. I had to talk to her. I also enjoyed meeting other fans at her table.

There was a party after the banquet, but I didn't attend. After the banquet I went back up to my room and went to bed. It was a full and exhausting day in the best way possible.

IN THE BOOKS

Click on 2024 Bookish Challenges on the right sidebar to see how I'm doing with this year's goals. I added a mini challenge that I'll be working on in June.

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I listened to Throne of Threats, written by Sarah E. Burr and narrated by Melissa Green. I also listened to the short story in the Ducal Detective Collection. Now that I've listened to all of the stories in this collection, I will post a review this coming week or next week. I did really enjoy it!

IN PROGRESS

I'm more than halfway through The Man in Lower Ten, by Mary Roberts Rinehart. The original, which I have not read, was written in 1909. The Modern Reader Edition I'm reading is a rewrite of it in a more contemporary, easy-to-read style. It's a traditional mystery, but not really a cozy. You can read some excerpts here.

I had planned on reading Mother's Day Murder (Holiday Cozy Mystery 2), by Tonya Kappes. However, I was able to grab the audiobook, narrated by Elizabeth Demetrios, for free on Spotify, so I've been listening to it. I'm more than halfway through and plan to finish in a few days.

UP NEXT

The May pick for The Cozy Mystery Book Club is The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot 1), by Agatha Christie, so that's what I'll read next. I have never read this book, but I've been wanting to. I was able to grab this for free on Kindle earlier this year.

If I have time, I'll start listening to No Good Tea Goes Unpunished (Seaside Café 2), by Bree Baker. I have been saving the rest of this series for the spring and/or summer months, so now is a good time to pick it back up.

ON TELEVISON

• The Way Home - I finished my rewatch of season 1 and I'm two episodes into my rewatch of season 2. This is my first rewatch of season 2 and I'm already liking it more than I did when it first aired earlier this year. I think that's because I know what happens at the end and I'm watching it from a different perspective.
• Darrow and Darrow Mysteries - I watched all four movies in this series last week. This coming week, I'll post an overall review of the series, along with my ranking of each movie.

WEEKLY BLOG RECAP 

• Sunday Post - 05/04 - Weekly Recap
• Top Ten (and More) Tuesday - 05/07 - April Caboodle of Movies and Books
• Book Review - 05/09 - Six Feet Deep Dish (Deep Dish Mystery 1), by Mindy Quigley
• Five for Friday - 05/10 - Comforting Books, A Tragic Train Trip, and Fiona on Higher Ground
• Puzzle - 05/11 - Happy Mother's Day

Have a great week!