Sunday Post 83

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 thought this past week would be productive since I had no appointments and no meetings, but the heat and humidity had me feeling sluggish most of the week. This happens at this time of year, whether I'm outdoors or not, even in the A/C. 

On Wednesday, Maryland got hit with at least five confirmed tornadoes.  (I believe some areas are still being assessed.) This is A LOT for Maryland! The closest one to me was about seven miles away and traveling away from me.  I don't think severe storms were even predicted that day. We certainly were not under a tornado watch. When a tornado warning was issued for my county, all we had was a heavy downpour and some rumbles of thunder.

On Thursday, a family down the hall from me was having their bathroom remodeled. The plumber accidently drilled into the building's sprinkler system around 4pm , which caused a leak, which then caused the fire alarm to go off. We didn't have to evacuate, but we did have to listen to the alarm for an hour until the fire department drained all the water out. It was bad enough for us humans, but I felt especially bad for my cats and other pets who live in the building. There was nowhere for them to escape the noise and of course they had no idea what was happening.

The fire protection company was able to come out that night and make the necessary repairs, but whatever they did had to dry. In the meantime, the sprinkler system had to be turned off for 24 hours. As a result, we had fire watch in place. This meant that a couple of people from the handyman company had to sit in the lobby all night and all day the next day. They also had to walk through the building every hour making sure everything was okay and report back to the fire department.

Everything seems back to normal now and the weather has even improved. It isn't nearly as hot and humid as it was earlier in the week and we've had abundant sunshine since Friday. I'm hoping for a calmer week next week!

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 audiobook challenge that I'm working on in June.

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I finished listening to Love at On Deck Café (Mapleton 1), written by Leah Dobrinska and narrated by Sean Patrick Hopkins and Sarah Naughton. I really enjoyed this Hallmark-ish romance! I definitely want to post a review before the 4th of July (that's about the time of year it's set). In the meantime, you can read some excerpts here.

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I also listened to Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries (Campers and Criminals Mystery 1), written by Tonya Kappes and narrated by Johanna Parker. I loved it and I can't wait to start the next one. 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 this month.

IN PROGRESS

I'm almost finished reading an e-ARC of Flying Off the Candle (Glenmyre Whim Mystery 3), by Sarah E. Burr. As always with this series, I'm loving it! I'm on track to finish and review it by release day, this Tuesday, June 11th. In the meantime, you can read some excerpts here.

UP NEXT

Next, I will read my next e-ARC. Summoning, Skating, and Skulls is the second book in Emily Fluke's Bewitcher's Beach Mystery series. I loved the prequel and the first book in the series, so I'm looking forward to this one. Although I didn't post a formal review on my blog, I also loved book 1.5, Squeaks and Spooks.

My next audiobook listen will be the second in the Campers and Criminals series, Deserts, Driving, and Derelicts, written by Tonya Kappes and narrated by Johanna Parker. I am not a camper, but I love experiencing it through this series.

ON THE SCREEN

• Acolyte - I didn't even know this Star Wars series was streaming until the day before the two-episode premiere. It takes place about 100 years before Episode 1 in the Star Wars saga. So far it's very slow-moving and I don't feel connected to the characters. I'm hoping it improves.
• Psych - I finished season 4 (what a finale!!) and I started season 5. I'm glad to see that so far it has the same vibe as season 4.
• Wonka - I requested this movie at the library a while ago and it finally became available for me to pick up. As a fan of the original book and movie, I had to see this one. I cherish the memories I made with my third graders when we read this book together at the end of every school year. I liked Wonka, but my only complaint is that the character is so very different from the original. I think we did another movie to bridge the gap between Wonka and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I want to know why his personality changed. However, on its own, Wonka is a really well-done movie.
• For Love and Honey - This 2024 Hallmark premiere had potential, but it was really slow. Also, I did not like Andrew Walker in this role. This may be my least favorite movie that he's starred in.
• Follow Me to Daisy Hills - I wanted to see Cindy Busby in a role other than her nature-themed movies (which are typically not great in my opinion). This Hallmark movie from 2020 was just okay for me. I've seen her in better movies, but not the nature-themed ones.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 06/01 - Weekly Recap
• Top Ten (and More) Tuesday - 06/04 - May Caboodle of Movies and Books
• The Friday Six - 06/07 - Bookish Response and Excerpts, Kitty News and Pic, Nature Pic
• Puzzle - 06/08 - Spring Cottage

Have a great week!