Sunday Post 81

Hi everyone!

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. 

I'm getting crowned on Tuesday. Actually, it's just my first appointment where the dentist will take a mold of my tooth and do whatever else needs to be done in order to prepare for the permanent crown, which I'll get in a couple of weeks. I looked up the process for this and it put my mind at ease. It doesn't sound like it will be too bad, as others have told me. I can't wait until the whole thing is done and I can just forget about it. My appointment on Tuesday is at 11:30 and I was told it will take about 90 minutes. I should be home by 1:30 eastern time. You can stop by with food around that time, but please remember I'll have to eat soft(ish) foods while I have the temporary crown. What do you think you will bring for me?

In other news, I discovered a new-to-me app that allows me to track series I watch (both movies and television shows). I've been looking for something like this because I tend to skip around a lot when I watch television shows. For example, I might watch Murder, She Wrote today, but then not watch it again for weeks. And in between I may watch other shows. So the app will help me keep track of which episodes I've seen. I can also do this with Hallmark mysteries, many of which are series. (The Hallmark Checklist App also works well for this, but the new one I found is a little bit more organized.) The app allows me to log episodes multiple times if I've watched them more than once, but I probably won't use it for that. I just want to make sure I've seen each episode in certain series at least once. I can also rate and rank entire series if I want to. There's a website for it, too, but I really just need the app. There is a paid option, but the free plan is enough for me. If you're interested in checking it out, the app is called Trakt.

I changed what I had planned to read this past week, so here's the update.

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

🍄🍄🍄🍄
I finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot 1), by Agatha Christie. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Arthur Lane. A great deal of this book is Poirot explaining what happened. I would have enjoyed it more if there was more "showing" and not so much "telling". It is a good mystery, though. You can read some excerpts here.

🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄
I loved No Good Tea Goes Unpunished (Seaside Café 2), by Bree Baker! The narration is by Therésè Plummer. Everything about it is what I enjoy in cozies - the cozy setting, the loveable characters, a sense of community, and a strong mystery. Book 3 is Christmas-themed, so it will be perfect for Christmas in July. You can read some excerpts from book 2 here.

IN PROGRESS

I started reading an e-ARC of Flying Off the Candle (Glenmyre Whim Mystery 3), by Sarah Burr. Not surprisingly, I'm loving it. This is my favorite series that she writes. This book releases on June 11th, but I will probably have my review published before then.

UP NEXT

My next audiobook listen will be Love at On Deck Café (Mapleton 1), written by Leah Dobrinska and narrated by Sean Patrick Hopkins and Sarah Naughton. Choosing Love (Mapleton 0.5) was the first book I read this year and it was so good! I'm excited to meet other characters in Mapleton and watch their love stories unfold.

If I have time, next Saturday (June 1st) I'll start listening to Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries (Campers and Criminals Mystery 1), by Tonya Kappes. I already started the spinoff holiday series and it is so fun.  June is both National Audiobook Month and National Camping Month, so I thought it would be a good series to start for the mini audiobook challenge in June.

ON TELEVISON

• Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home - This new mystery on Hallmark was not as fun as I like them to be. The tone was too series and her actions were questionable. I know with Hallmark movies, we must suspend belief. I'm willing to do that if the movie is meant to be fun, like the Murder, She Baked/Hannah Swensen series. However, with this one being more serious in tone, it's much more difficult to suspend belief. I did enjoy the mystery itself, though. There were some obvious suspects, but I still got it wrong. I suppose I'll watch more if it becomes a series, but I also won't cry if it's a one and done.
• Everything Puppies - This is now the third new Hallmark movie this year I've given one star to. It isn't the worst of the year, but it's close. The dog breeding angle was not necessary. I wish it had been about rescues instead. But even besides that, the whole movie was basically about selling dog food. It just wasn't a captivating plot and I didn't like the female lead character.  
• Dear Prudence - This is a Hallmark movie that was made in 2008. It was obviously a very low budget film, which isn't always a bad thing. But it just didn't hold my attention. The mystery was intriguing, but it was a very slow movie. 
• A Royal Runaway Romance - Thankfully, my week of movies ended on a high note with this one. I intentionally picked one I thought would be upbeat and fun...and it was. It's a road trip movie. I picked it since it was the beginning of the holiday weekend. And it just so happens that Friday was National Road Trip Day!
• Murder, She Wrote - I watched S3E18. I think there are four more left to watch in season 3.
• Psych - I asked for suggestions on which mystery series to watch next and more than one person suggested this one. I had never seen it before, so I gave it a try. I love it!! It's the perfect blend of comedy and mystery.  I'm recording it from The Hallmark Channel, so I just picked up where they are. I started with the season 3 finale and I'm now working my way through season 4. Some of the episodes had me laughing to the point of tears!

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 05/18 - Weekly Recap
• Movie Series Review - 05/21 - Picture Perfect Mysteries
• Five for Friday - 05/24 - The Great Indoors, A Mysterious Affair, and Fiona Finally Learns
• Puzzle - 05/25 - Fresh Tulips

Have a great week!