Sunday Post 96

Happy New Year!!!

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. 

It's so good to connect with all of you again! I haven't posted much recently because I needed the time to focus on other things. Last summer threw everything off for me and when I finally did get my mojo back, I was feeling overwhelmed with everything I wanted to do. The good news is I kept up my reading in the fall, just not blogging so much. But I'm back and I plan to start blogging and participating in blog hops more consistently again.

I'm going to do things differently this year, as far as challenges go. I will still do the Goodreads goal, which I've once again set at 52 books. And I'm doing the same on StoryGraph. Those are easy enough to track and I think 52 books is a manageable goal for me. However, I won't be participating in the other challenges I did over the past two years. It's easy enough to complete those challenges, but I felt overwhelmed trying to track everything. 

I am using the NetGalley Reading Journal this year. Do any of you use it? I felt intimidated by it last year, but this past December I took the time to learn how to use it. Now that I've (mostly) gotten the hang of it, I'm finding it's really not that hard to use. Best of all, I'm really enjoying it. It's basically a customizable digital diary. I think it will be fun to look back each month and at the end of the year to see all the books I enjoyed. 

Here is an example of one of the pages:

Oh, how cool. I just realized the page matches the color scheme of my blog. LOL. I couldn't plan it that way if I tried. So you can see, I do have goals, but they are not like the challenges I've been participating in. I'd like to add that I have more than five books I'm highly anticipating. I could have easily chosen some others, but I narrowed it down to these five.

In other news, we are expecting a lot of snow on Monday and I couldn't be more excited. It is predicted to be the most snow we've had in three years. My area is in the 6-10 inch range. I've been waiting for a snowfall like what we're expecting. As long as I can stay home (which I will) and I have all of my basic needs (which I do), I love snow. Bring it on!

IN THE BOOKS

I'm not going to share everything I've read over the past few months. I'll just share what I recently finished (in addition to what's in progress and what's up next).

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I read an eARC of The Tell-tale Homicide (Rare Books Mystery 2), by Daphne Silver. I loved the first book in this series, but this second one was even better! You can check out my full review here.

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I also read an eARC of In the Blink of a Pie (Maple Syrup Mystery 3), by Catherine Bruns. This is a rare instance when I skipped the second book in the series and went right to the third one. I enjoyed it and I didn't feel lost at all. You can check out my full review here.

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I was so excited when I received an audiobook code for Mediums and Murder (Prickly Pear Psychic Mystery 1) by Elle Wren Burke. This book, in other formats, has been out for a while and I've been wanting to check it out. You can read my full review here.

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The most recent eARC I read was You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mystery 5), by Linda Reilly, and what a festive one it was! You can read my full review here.

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And finally,  I read a short story, by Sarah E. Burr. This was available through her newsletter. It's called 'Tis the Season: A Glenmyre Girls Short Story. It's a prequel to her Glenmyre Whim Mystery series and I loved it! It isn't a mystery, but rather the story of how one of the characters acquired her whim. It's so full of heart and emotions that I could relate to.

IN PROGRESS

My current audiobook listen is New Year Nuisance (Holiday Cozy Mystery 4), written by Tonya Kappes and narrated by Christina Sagnimeni. This is a different narrator than previous installments, so it's taking some getting used, but it's still enjoyable to listen to.

I'm reading an eARC of Felines and Felonies (Chatty Cat Mystery 3), by Elle Wren Burke. This book was released in November, but I'm only now reading it because I received it after I had a few other ARCs lined up, all of which released in the same week! The cat in this series is hilarious. It's turning out to be another fun installment in the series.

I'm also reading a hardcover book called The Puzzler: One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaw to the Meaning of Life. It's basically a deep dive into all kinds of puzzles. I've had this book for two years and I finally decided to start reading it. It's especially appropriate for January, which is National Puzzle Month.

UP NEXT

My next audiobook listen will be a suspense, Girl on the Run, by Daryl Wood Gerber. I received an audiobook code from her and I'm so excited to dive into this new-to-me genre. 

My next paperback read will be Vinyl Resting Place (Record Shop Mystery 1), by Olivia Blacke. I've had this book for a while and I'm happy The Cozy Mystery Book Club picked it for January. 

ON THE SCREEN

• Good Witch - I've already watched all of the full length movies, so over the past couple of months, I've been watching the 40ish minute episodes. I'm almost at the end of season 6, then I have only one more season to go. I think season 4 has been my favorite so far, but I'm enjoying the series overall. I've been watching it on Plex. It has commercials that I can't skip, but the app is free.
• Hitched for the Holidays - This is a Hallmark movie from 2012. I watched it in 2023 for the first time and I loved it so much I watched it again this past week. It covers Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year's Eve. This movie is so funny! The fake dating trope usually is.
• Royal New Year's Eve - This was the last movie of 2024 that I watched and of course I had to watch it on New Year's Eve. It's one of the better Hallmark royal movies, of which there are many!
• A Rose for Christmas - This movie covers the Rose Parade, so of course I had to watch it on New Year's Day. It's cute, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
• Christmas Ever After - I saw this movie on Lifetime when it was first released in 2020. It stars Ali Stroker, who is a wheelchair user. I had forgotten how funny it was. I love that it has authentic disability representation, but that the plot has nothing to do with her disability. These are the kinds of movies we need more of.
• Love of the Irish - In true January fashion, this first new Hallmark movie of the year was a bit of a snoozefest. It had great potential with the storyline of the mom finding her birth mother, but the plot was so slow. The scenery was stunning (it's set in Ireland), the plot not so much. January is typically a tough month for Hallmark movies.
• The Way Home - Season 3 premiered on The Hallmark Channel on Friday and it's off to a solid start. I'm so excited to see how everything will unfold!

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 10/27 - Weekly Recap
• ABCs of Golden Gratitude - 11/01-11/26 - Daily Gratitude Posts
• Book  Review - 11/19 - The Tell-Tale Homicide (Rare Books Mystery 2), by Daphne Silver
• Book Review - 12/17 - In the Blink of a Pie (Maple Syrup Mystery 3), by Catherine Bruns
• Book Review - 12/30 - Mediums and Murder (Prickly Pear Psychic Mystery 1), by Elle Wren Burke
• Book Review - 12/31 - You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mystery 5), by Linda Reilly

Have a great week!