Wednesday ... just ... Wednesday

 Wednesday

My last "official" Mid-Winter HistMyst read in January is a novella. LONDON INTERLUDE by Tracy Grant. Technically .6 of 28 in series featuring Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch, a diplomat and his wife, beginning at the Congress of Vienna in 1814.

A year and a half after entering her unusual marriage of convenience to British attaché and intelligence agent, Malcolm Rannoch, Suzanne Rannoch pays her first visit to her husband's home. England: the country her husband fled for reasons she does not fully understand; the country Suzanne has secretly spent the last five years fighting against as a French spy. The trip takes Suzanne and her husband to the heart of London society — the world Malcolm grew up in. A glamorous labyrinth of unwritten rules and unvoiced codes. Yet the glittering ballrooms of London are not free of the intrigues of the Napoleonic Wars. The search for stolen papers that could tip the international balance of power pits Malcolm and Suzanne against each other. Suzanne faces a stark choice between her loyalty to her cause and her love for the man she married—in order to spy on him.

Published 2015, 69 pages. I'm doing some re-reads in this series in order to get up to speed from wherever I stopped several years ago, much like the Tasha Alexander and Rhys Bowen series. This is also going to count for a scavenger hunt prompt, "Give a series or book you DNFed, or was 'just okay' another try." The scavenger hunt is due on Sunday and I decided I didn't have time to devote to a whole book and sooner rather than later, right?

Also started SHAKESPEARE THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT by Judi Dench. Memoirs. 

Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig; being painted green and cavorting naked through the Warwickshire countryside; acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head... these are just a few things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare. In this book, Dench tells us about every Shakespearean role she's ever played. Written in dialogue with fellow artist Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, reveals the secrets behind her rehearsal process, and invites us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans. As Dench herself says, 'Shakespeare is an international language, a beacon for humanity, and a bridge across cultures. Everything you have felt or are yet to feel is all in there in his plays.'

Published 2023; 400 pages. This will be published in the US in April, on Shakespeare's birthday but I had a gift card to Amazon UK and wanted to read it now. One of my 2024 goals is to read more nonfiction. I didn't get one completed in January. 

Also starting ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART by Stephanie Garber. 1st of fantasy trilogy. 

How far would you go for happily ever after? For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another. Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy...

Published 2021; 403 pages. I prefer this cover, the UK version, so this is also a physical book from across the pond. This romantasy trilogy is one that younger readers are "OBSESSED" with.

My plan-slash-theme for February is to read a lot of the fantasy books I've been meaning to get to. And this one is the first.

Steve's got the gun range tonight. I need to do some yarn straightening, cooking a casserole for some Steve dinners, and reading.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster 

Get us out of here!

Tuesday

I finished MISTBORN last night.  4 to 4.5 stars.  

And I get to add a new color to my genre blanket - dark blue yarn. I don't think I'll be finishing anything else this month. Books read in January.

I'm not sure what to read next. I could start the fantasy books I have planned for February's personal theme. The next scavenger hunt is this Sunday so if I want to participate in that, I need to start reading that now if I don't count something I've already finished. I have a couple contenders for the prompt "Give a series or book you DNFed, or was "just okay"another try." Though I have many many options, I'm narrowing it down to these three because I have them on Kindle and I also have them on audio: 

Here's some of the possiblities I've bookmarked for February.

As you can see, I'm focusing on fantasy.

I've got sprints tonight. I'll do the genre blanket row. And hopefully get some good reading in.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Whaaaatt? Monday again? We're shocked

Monday. Service manager out sick. Sales person let go. Lovely.

1000 Pages Read Challenge - January Final Update

 01/22: 249

01/23: 152

01/24: 271

01/25: 58

01/26: 62

01/27: 184

01/28: 149

TOTAL: 1125/1000

Books Finished for the week:

Random in Death by JD Robb

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maude Woolf

The Glass House by Ashley Garder  

So now I'm concentrating on finishing the Brandon Sanderson book by the end of the month. 

No sprints tonight. Reading. Sleep

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Peace and quiet comin'

TGIF

1000 Pages Read Challenge Update:

 01/22: 249

01/23: 152

01/24: 271

01/25: 58

01/26:

01/27:

01/28:

TOTAL: 730/1000

Books Finished for the week:

Random in Death by JD Robb

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maude Woolf

I'd like to finish the Gardner this weekend. And maybe continue and finish another historical mystery that I had put on pause previously. 

No big plans for the weekend. I've got sprints tomorrow afternoon. Napping, reading, crocheting, walking Keo, etc. General relaxation and merriment.

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Another day in paradise

Thursday

I finished RANDOM IN DEATH by JD Robb 4.5 stars

I finished THIRTEEN WAYS TO KILL LULABELLE ROCK by Maud Woolf. 3 stars. Strange book.

1000 Pages Read Challenge update:

01/21: 249

01/22: 152

01/23: 257

01/24:

01/25:

01/26:

01/27:

TOTAL: 658/1000

Books Finished for the week:

Random in Death by JD Robb

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maude Woolf

I've got sprints this evening. Crocheting and reading. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Je refuse

 

Wednesday

1000 Pages Read Challenge Update

01/21: 249

01/22: 152

01/23:

01/24:

01/25:

01/26:

01/27:

TOTAL: 401/1000

Books Finished for the week:  none

Steve's got the gun range tonight. I don't have sprints. I slept hard until 11:30 and then was awake for a couple hours. I crocheted a little. Cleaned a yarn area a little. So I'm a little tired today. 

I will read -- because the Robb is good and I'm FINALLY getting into a Brandon Sanderson book without hating it -- and hopefully some more crochet. And that's about it.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

I remember the weekend ... good times ...

Tuesday.

Currently reading THIRTEEN WAYS TO KILL LULABELLE ROCK by Maud Woolf. Stand alone. 

A washed up star creates a clone tasked with eliminating other clones of herself. Set in a world of the near future, the celebrity elite have access to a technology that allows them to make perfect copies of themselves, known as Portraits. These Portraits exist to fulfil all the various duties that come as the price of fame. Our protagonist is the thirteenth copy made of the actress known as Lulabelle Rock. Her purpose is very to track down and eliminate her predecessors. While initially easy, her task is made difficult by the labyrinthine confusion of Bubble City and the unfortunate stirrings of a developing conscience. When she makes the mistake of falling in love with one of her targets, the would-be assassin faces the ultimate question; when you don’t want to kill yourself, what’s the alternative?

Published 2024; 240 pages. It's an interesting concept. From the library.

Also currently reading RANDOM IN DEATH by JD Robb. 58th in series featuring Eve Dallas, a homicide lieutenant in futuristic New York City.

Jenna’s parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It’s the best night of her life. It’s the last night of her life. Minutes later, Jake’s in the alley getting some fresh air, and the girl from the dance floor comes stumbling out, sick and confused and deathly pale. He tries to help, but it’s no use. He doesn’t know that someone in the crowd has jabbed her with a needle—and when his girlfriend Nadine arrives, she knows the only thing left to do for the girl is call her friend, Lieutenant Eve Dallas. After everyone on the scene is interviewed, lab results show a toxic mix of substances in the victim’s body—and for an extra touch of viciousness, the needle was teeming with infectious agents. Dallas searches for a pattern: Had any boys been harassing Jenna? Was she engaging in risky behavior or caught up in something shady? But there are no obvious clues why this levelheaded sixteen-year-old, passionate about her music, would be targeted. And that worries Dallas. Because if Jenna wasn’t targeted, if she was just the random, unlucky victim of a madman consumed by hatred, there are likely more deaths to come.

Published 2024; 362 pages.

1000 Pages Read Challenge Week.

01/21: 249

01/22:

01/23:

01/24:

01/25:

01/26:

01/27:

TOTAL: 249/1000

Books Finished for the week:  

I've got sprints tonight. I didn't crochet last night. I'll probably not crochet tonight in order to just read and read and read.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster