Life and Things

I reached 100 reviews in Netgalley! Yayyy!!

On the more meh (read freak out) side, I got the date for my biopsy. It’ll be on the 14th of September, so next week, and I’ll be there from 10am- 5pm. There is a possibility, given my apnea, that I will need to go under general anesthesia instead of twilight sedation. The procedure itself, the radiology dude said, may take up to 4 hours, and the recovery about three. I’m kinda glad for the possibility of being under for the entire thing if it’s going to take that long :S

I’ll be away from work two days, and plan to get lots of reading done! Hopefully some writing too 🙂 I managed to get a bit done this week on Language of the Trees. I’ll have a WIP up soon. I have like three other ideas clamouring for attention, and I want to work on Watcher in the Walls too. Ugh, brain. Chill.

Long term excitement- going to see Lindsey Stirling in December, and we have VIP tickets ???  We’re also going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I loved watching the lead violinist for TSO. That’s a yearly tradition for our family.

(I just had a visitor at work!! It is 3am and this butterfly just showed up. So cool!)

 

Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week:

Temptation Trials by B Truly, 4*

Fate of the Stars by Arwen Paris, 4*

Sea Odyssey by Alexander Flint, 4*

Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger,  4*

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire, 5*

Tudor Fashion: Dress at Court by Eleri Lynn, 5*

 

Favourite read of the week:

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire

‘New York Times-bestselling October Daye faerie series • Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire • “Top of my urban-paranormal series list!” —Felicia Day

Contains an original bonus novella, Of Things Unknown!

Things are slow, and October “Toby” Daye couldn’t be happier about that.  The elf-shot cure has been approved, Arden Windermere is settling into her position as Queen in the Mists, and Toby doesn’t have anything demanding her attention except for wedding planning and spending time with her family.

Maybe she should have realized that it was too good to last.
               
When Toby’s mother, Amandine, appears on her doorstep with a demand for help, refusing her seems like the right thing to do…until Amandine starts taking hostages, and everything changes.  Now Toby doesn’t have a choice about whether or not she does as her mother asks.  Not with Jazz and Tybalt’s lives hanging in the balance.  But who could possibly help her find a pureblood she’s never met, one who’s been missing for over a hundred years?

Enter Simon Torquill, elf-shot enemy turned awakened, uneasy ally.  Together, the two of them must try to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the Mists: what happened to Amandine’s oldest daughter, August, who disappeared in 1906.

This is one missing person case Toby can’t afford to get wrong.‘

 

Current Read:

Amazon Wisdom Keeper by Dr Loraine Y Van Tuyls

 

‘With captivating lyricism, Amazon Wisdom Keeper transports us into the multicultural upbringing and transformation of Loraine Van Tuyl, a graduate psychology student and budding shamanic healer who’s blindsided by startling visions, elusive drumming, and her inseverable mystical ties to the Amazon rainforest of her native Suriname.

Is she in the wrong field, or did her childhood dreams, imaginary guides, and premonitions somehow prepare her for these challenges? Did Suriname’s military coup and her family’s uprooting move to the US rob her from all that she knew and loved at thirteen to help reveal her soul’s purpose, or is she losing her mind by entertaining far-fetched questions and hunches that can’t be answered or proven—like wondering if her perplexing life story is shedding light on the double-binds in her field on purpose, and suspecting that her soul’s daunting blue print was plotted long before she was even born? Van Tuyl wrestles with these questions and more as she embarks upon her risky quest, enduring test upon test in search of her true self and calling while enrolled in a rigorous academic program that regards intuitive healing methods as unscientific—and even unethical.‘

 

Next Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bookok Haul

The only hardcopy this week was Editing Emma by Chloe Seager. I also got a little niffler, and a Pikapool. OMC, I didn’t expect him to be so big! He’s adorable!

Several egalleys this week. My favs include:

Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey

(Squeeeee!)

 

‘Campbell finalist Sarah Gailey’s hippo mayhem continues in Taste of Marrow, the sequel to rollicking adventure River of Teeth.

A few months ago, Winslow Houndstooth put together the damnedest crew of outlaws, assassins, cons, and saboteurs on either side of the Harriet for a history-changing caper. Together they conspired to blow the dam that choked the Mississippi and funnel the hordes of feral hippos contained within downriver, to finally give America back its greatest waterway.

Songs are sung of their exploits, many with a haunting refrain: “And not a soul escaped alive.”

In the aftermath of the Harriet catastrophe, that crew has scattered to the winds. Some hunt the missing lovers they refuse to believe have died. Others band together to protect a precious infant and a peaceful future. All of them struggle with who they’ve become after a long life of theft, murder, deception, and general disinterest in the strictures of the law.’

 

Dr Who: Myths and Legends by Richard Dinnick

 

‘For thousands of years, epic stories have been passed down from Time Lord to student, generation to generation. The truth of these tales was lost millennia ago, but the myths and legends themselves are timeless.

These are the most enduring of those tales. From the princess Manussa and her giant snake Mara, to the Vardon Horse of Xeriphin, these stories shed light on the universe around us and the beings from other worlds that we meet. Myths hold up a mirror to our past, present and future, explaining our culture, our history, our hopes and fears.

A collection of epic adventures from the Time Lords’ mist-covered past, Myths and Legends is an unforgettable gallery of heroes and villains, gods and monsters.’

 

Daily Resilience Writing by Brian Robinson

 

‘Chances are, whether you’re a seasoned author or an aspiring scribe, you’ve grappled with your share of rejection, setbacks, and heartbreak. However, literary agents say the number one key to writing success is perseverance in the face of disappointment.

Daily Writing Resilience provides advice, inspiration, and techniques to help you turn roadblocks into stepping stones. You’ll find tips and support through exercises such as meditation, breath work, yoga, stress management, gratitude, de-cluttering, sleep, exercise, mindful eating, and more. These 365 meditations will help you navigate the ups-and-downs of your writing practice, creating positive habits that will guide you toward the success and fulfillment that you’ve been seeking.’