Can't Wait Wednesday (305) - Cass and I Want the Same Book!

 

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

FROM GOODREADS: Once upon an apocalypse, there lived an obscenely handsome American crow named S.T. . . .

 

When the world last checked-in with its favorite Cheeto addict, the planet had been overrun by flesh-hungry beasts, and nature had started re-claiming her territory from humankind. S.T., the intrepid crow, alongside his bloodhound-bestie Dennis, had set about saving pets that had become trapped in their homes after humanity went the way of the dodo.

 

That is, dear reader, until S.T. stumbled upon something so rare—and so precious—that he vowed to do everything in his power to safeguard what could, quite literally, be humanity's last hope for survival. But in a wild world plagued by prejudiced animals, feather-raising environments, new threats so terrifying they make zombies look like baby bunnies, and a horrendous dearth of cheesy snacks, what's a crow to do?

 

Why, wing it on another big-hearted, death-defying adventure, that's what! Joined by a fabulous new cast of animal characters, S.T. faces many new challenges plus his biggest one yet: parenthood. 

WHY CASS AND I CAN'T WAIT:  You know how much we loved this Cheetos loving foul-mouthed crow and all his friends.  This book can't come soon enough for me. I'm ALREADY predicting another 5/5 read!

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

Top Ten Tuesday - It's Resolution Time!

 

The top 10 weekly meme used to be hosted by The Broke and the Bookish they  handed over the reins to That Artsy Reader Girl who can be found HERE.  Each week she will focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.

This week's topic is blog and bookish resolutions.  I know I don't have ten but I am using this to combine something I've been meaning to do for awhile - a library reveal!

1. Try to get back on a regular blogging schedule.  I hope to have Top Ten Tuesdays, Can't Wait Wednesdays, Stacking the Shelves/Update on Sundays, and reviews or tours at least 3 days a week.  We'll see.

2.  Respond to comments in a timely manner.  I was doing well until COVID hit and the world started burning.

3.  Use the library as much as possible.

4. Visit my favorite blogs several times a week.

AND FINALLY

5. Read some of my OWN books!

Which leads me to the long awaited library reveal!  It's not perfect but it's close to done and I love it.  So the remainder of the post is picture heavy.  This was about a 6 month process as I did it in steps because I couldn't empty the room and do it all at once.

This is the look when you enter the door.  Our house is 121 years old.  I repainted the walls and have to admit I love this purple even more than I thought.  The giant dog bed has been claimed by Apollo as both dogs love chilling in this room.

This is the corner with our exercise bike and three of my Prince photos.

Another exercise bike shot - one of my anniversary presents.

Two of 6 bookshelves and yep, I got mighty handy with a drill.  The books aren't organized but the top of them are dog/animal related, the second and third shelves are horror/mystery and the bottom cubes are a mix of horror/fantasy.

More shelves.

More shelves on the other wall.

A Prince album I had in high school and the shorter shelf is one my Dad built me and I couldn't part with so I painted it white to match.

My "window" seat.

This poster took forever to arrive and the cover of the album I had in high school.  I painted the letters and the glasses have lights in them which light up at night.

My desk which will eventually be painted white.  My husband salvaged from it when we got married and were living in a tiny upstairs apartment.  Something else I can't bear to part with.

 

Finally a half shelf where I keep my library books and planner supplies/other miscellaneous stuff.  The bulletin board also lights up at night.

So there you have it!  Yes, I'm a tad Prince obsessed but you can see why I definitely need to read from my own books!

 

What's Happening (01-10-21) - General Life Update

 

So once again I'm going to try to make this a regular feature.  I got really bad about updating at the end of 2020.  Hopefully I'll get better at checking in regularly.  As always, I'm linking up with Stacking the Shelves at  Tynga's Reviews and The Sunday Post at The Caffeinated Reviewer.

So first things first, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  We were both off for close to two weeks and enjoyed a low-key Christmas and New Year's with some reading, lots of watching, football games and video games.  The boys were spoiled rotten as always and Cassius is in love with the High School Senior down the street who even brought him and Apollo toys and snacks for gifts and actually wrote "From your girlfriend Emma" on the card. We also had our first white Christmas in 10 years.

I'm actually working from home with the same non-profit I was working for but in a different capacity.  However, I am worried about how long it will last so have been doing some other searching. I've had two interviews for a state job that seems almost too good to be true and now they are checking my references.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up and just keep reminding myself that at least I'm fortunate enough to be working either way.

We've watched quite a few things recently.  "Sweet Home" on Netflix was pretty awesome and the monsters were pretty scary. I highly recommend it.  "WW84" wasn't bad and I enjoyed the 80's vibes but I wasn't impressed with the villain.  We also finished "The Mandelorian" and I'm so in love with Baby Yoda (and yes I know his name is Grogu and I don't like it one bit!).

So I did get some books for Christmas.  Mr. Barb snagged a few I was hoping for:

So far my reading for the year has been pretty good. I've already finished 3 books and am close to finished 1 more.  However, I have quite a few on the go so here's what I'll be picking up over the course of the week:

So there you have it.  Hope everyone is doing well and look for some exciting posts this week.

Can't Wait Wednesday (304)

 

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

FROM GOODREADS: As the age of the photograph dawns in Victorian Bath, silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another... Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?

Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them.

But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back...

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I own a few books by this author but haven't picked them up yet. However a lot of my favorite bloggers love Purcell so I have high hopes I will too.  This one sound so Gothic and I want to know what they opened the door to!

CASSIUS'S PICK:

FROM GOODREADS: A heartwarming—and heart-tugging—middle grade novel about love, loyalty, and what to means to be part of a family, featuring a motley pack of rescue dogs—from author Carolyn Crimi, with adorable illustrations by Melissa Manwill. Perfect for fans of A Dog’s Life and Because of Winn-Dixie.

Miss Lottie’s home was for second chances.

When she adopted Gus, Roo, Tank, and Moon Pie, Miss Lottie rescued each member of the pack—including herself, her helper, Quinn, and her reclusive cat, Ghost—and turned them into a family. But when a new dog, Decker, arrives and tries to hoard Miss Lottie’s heart and home for himself, the pack’s future is threatened.

At first, Gus, the insecure pack leader, only notices little things, like tiny Moon Pie being kicked out of the bed and Ghost acting spooked (then again…Ghost is a cat). But things soon go from bad to worse as Decker’s presence causes disharmony in the group.

When Decker convinces Moon Pie to embark on an impossible journey, it’s up to Gus to gather his courage, rally his splintered pack, and bring Moon Pie home. And with coyotes and cars on the loose, the pack must push through obstacles and dangers to reunite with Moon Pie before he can get hurt—or nearly as bad, get his heart broken. 

WHY CASS CAN'T WAIT:  I'm crying puppy dog tears right now.  Doesn't that big dog on the cover look like my brother Booker T?  I miss him so much and wish Apollo had a chance to meet him.  The book sounds really cute too and I hope Mom reads it with me and the brat... oops, I mean Apollo.

Top Ten Tuesday - Most Anticipated Releases January - June

 

The top 10 weekly meme used to be hosted by The Broke and the Bookish they  handed over the reins to That Artsy Reader Girl who can be found HERE.  Each week she will focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.

This week we are looking at some anticipated releases for the first half of the year. These posts are AlWAYS dangerous for my wishlist!  I'm trying to share some I haven't featured on Can't Wait Wednesday posts but honestly, you may see some repeats.

The Whispering Dead - May 4, 2021

Our Last Echoes - May 16, 2021

The Last House on Needless Street - March 8, 2021

Once Upon a Puppy - May 25, 2021

The Sanatorium - February 18, 2021

Narwhal I'm Around - May 4, 2021

The Library of the Dead - March 18, 2021

Spells Trouble - May 25, 2021

Talking to Alaska - February 4, 2021

Children of Chicago - February 25, 2021

So did any of these make your lists?  And better yet, are you adding any of them now?

Some Random Reading Fun!

 

So I saw this over at Lark's blog today and thought it looked funny.  I'm also curious if I can get my answers to fit as well as she did.  Check out her post @ Lark Writes and she found it on Cath's blog Read-Warbler.  Thanks Cath!

• Describe yourself:  Spirited (Julie Cohen)
• How do you feel:  Cold Nose, Warm Heart (Mara Wells)
• Describe where you currently live:  The Other Side of Fear (Jan S. Gephardt)
• If you could go any where, where would you go:  The Tourist Attraction (Sarah Morganthaler)
• Your favorite form of transportation:  Another Man's Moccasins (Craig Johnson)
• Your best friend is:  Husband Material (Emily Belden ) BECAUSE I MARRIED HIM!
• You and your friends are:  Nothin' but a Good Time (Justin Quirk)
• What's the weather like:  The Big Chill (Doug Johnstone)
• You fear:  Night of the Mannequins (Stephen Graham Jones)
• What is the best advice you have to give:  Until Summer Come's Around (Glenn Rolfe)
• Thought for the day:  We Are Monsters (Brian Kirk)
• My soul's present condition:  Timeless (Gail Carriger)

So there you have it.  Turned out pretty interesting if I do say so myself.  Happy New Year everyone!

Retro Horror Vol 6 - The Devil's Dreamer

 

So Stormi and I finished our yearly Retro Horror reads project/challenge and guess what, we had so much fun, we're continuing into 2021!  I wish I could say I picked a great one this month but read on to see what really happened.  I think Stormi had better luck so head over to her blog next at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and see what she read.

TITLE: The Devil's Dreamer 

AUTHOR: Alice Brennan

PUBLISHER: Prestige Books

PUBLISHING DATE: 1971

PAGES: 253 (too many)

SOURCE: Personal Library

FROM GOODREADS: Can You Die In A Dream? 

This was impossible — this room, this place. Where was she, and how had she come to be here? Carsa caught her breath on a sob of relief, for it was morning, and daylight was filtering through the drawn shades. 

Then she saw that the light, which was very bright and had a strange bluish cast, came from only one spot. It seemed to come from a woman who stood in a large circle. Long hair, pale and silky, flowed over her shoulders and blue eyes burned bright with golden light. There was something horrifyingly familiar about the face, and Carsa struggled with a memory that was just out of reach. Then the woman spoke. 

“This is a dream. Everything that happens to you, everyone you meet, is part of the dream. When you awaken, it will be an awakening to death…”  

MY THOUGHTS: I thought I was being really smart this month and grabbing a book that was already on my own personal shelf. I don't remember how I obtained it but I wish I did because I would travel back in time and change that decision! I REALLY disliked this book. So much in fact that I am sort of convinced I may have already read my worst book of 2021. And it's only January 1st!

So Carsa Winters is in her early 20s and lives with her good friend Liz in New York City. She works for a publishing company and has a very promising future. She usually sleeps soundly at night and never dreams but one night that changes. She has a dream, set in the 1800's, so real and so vivid that she's convinced it's real. She is fearful of her dream husband, who is cruel and withholding their new baby, Esmeth, from her. She even believes she has met the people in her dream before, except that they were actually other people. Carsa begins to fear sleep which leads her to staying up all the time, not eating, and making stupid decisions. She questions everything... and I mean EVERYTHING. She finally starts wondering which is real - her dream or what she perceives to be reality. She treats everyone trying to help her like crap and drinks lots and lots of coffee. Wish I could tell you more but I can't.

I am pretty sure I discovered the first major unreliable narrator in book history (not really but it sounds good right)? I sort of liked Carsa's roommate Liz who may have actually been Liz or who might have actually been her baby/non-existent baby's nursemaid. Are you confused yet?

This book should not have been categorized as Gothic Horror. I can sort of see why it was tagged as Gothic but it was a horrific read, not one filled with horror. I will be honest and admit from about page 180 on I skimmed and then read the last chapter and was disappointed once again. My only hope for this book was that Carsa/Mincy died. And SPOILER ALERT - she didn't. Yep, sometimes I can be that kind of person who wishes for dreadful things to happen to dreadful people. If you are thinking about picking this book up, DON'T. I feel that's the best advice I can offer.

RATING: 1 PAW