It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Jan 22

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.   

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.   

Welcome to The Book Connection. It's late on Sunday as I am writing this post. I've spent the last 2.5 days taking down Christmas and organizing a few cabinets and the books in my office. The cats thought they could help.

Open a box, and Dwight will climb in it.

Can just see the green of Travis' eyes.

Travis took over the empty part of the shelf, and Dwight was jealous.

In case you hadn't heard. It's been quiet cold in the Northeast. Actually, it's been cold all over. When it gets that cold, I bake. So, I pulled out YiaYia's bread pan and made banana bread. 

It was so cold on Sunday, that we figured we better dress up Theo. His paws have been bothering him on our walks. We made it back with three of the four shoes on his feet. 

In my reading world, the review of this one appeared on the blog last week. You can find it here.

I read the first chapter of Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke. You can read my thoughts here. 

I've been listening to this one on Audible. The author spent the first half talking all about himself and his career, but the second half is filled with helpful information for entrepreneurs. 

I am reading these two.

I need to read these next. 

I have also agreed to review these two books once they arrive.

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• Civil Twilight by Anique Taylor - January 23 (guest post)
• The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy - January 31 (interview)  
• When the Red Bird Flies by Courtney Reames Haydell - Feb 5 (review at TC&TBC)

The Christmas blog is still going. In addition to sharing my recent Christmas titles, these posts appeared last week:

• Pressure to Create the Perfect Holidays
• Tips to Help with the Winter Blues
• Taking it All Down

 

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I've had a busy mailbox this year. I'm still expecting a few more, but then I will hold off on book buying. I want to go through the boxes of books in my closet before adding more. 

That's it for me. Looking forward to checking out your blogs to see what you were up to last week. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.   

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.     

Welcome back to Monday! Hope you had a great week. I'm gearing up to host Thanksgiving on Thursday, plus NaNoWriMo is still ongoing, so not a lot of reading happening in my world. I passed 30,000 words on Sunday, so I'm on target to finish on time if I keep up the right pace. Here are some photos from this last week: 

Sweata weatha

Theo's new jacket

Made banana bread for the Lil' Princess who came home on Saturday

Rick's Place's first art show

More interesting wallpaper

 found showing houses

This review will go live later today.

This review will appear on Tuesday.

Need to get back to these in December once NaNoWriMo is done. 

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• Resparking Creativity by Fatemah Mirza & Sumayyah Rafiq - November 20 (review)
• The 12 Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts - November 21 (review)
• The King Who Lost His Colors by Glen Liset - November 27 (review at TC&TBC)
• Scrapper's Christmas Story by Maria J. Andrade - December 4 (review at TC&TBC)
• The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy - January 31 (interview)  

At Christmas Year Round last week:

• This or That? - Yes or No on Black Friday Shopping
• Christmas Errors, Flubs & Fails: Holiday Fails

I will be running a giveaway of my books there after Thanksgiving. 

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Nothing last week because I truly want to finish NaNoWriMo. I did, however, pre-order the latest biography from a cast member of Little House on the Prairie. Dean Butler, who played Almanzo Wilder, has a book coming out in June 2024.

An illuminating, insider’s journey through the world of Little House on the Prairie and beyond, from Dean Butler, who starred as Almanzo Wilder, the man Laura “Half Pint” Ingalls married—on the iconic show still beloved by millions of fans as it reaches its 50th anniversary.

With a foreword from Melissa Gilbert (Laura) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie)!

Cast just before his twenty-third birthday, Dean Butler joined Little House on the Prairie halfway through its run, gaining instant celebrity and fans’ enduring affection. Ironically, when the late, great Michael Landon remarked that Little House would outlive everyone involved in making it, Butler deemed it unlikely. Yet for four decades and counting, Butler has been defined in the public eye as Almanzo Wilder—a role he views as the great gift of his life.

Butler had been cast as a romantic lead before, notably in the made-for-TV movie of Judy Blume’s Forever, opposite Stephanie Zimbalist. But Little House was, and remains, one of the most treasured shows in television history. As the eventual husband of Laura “Half-pint” Ingalls—and the man who would share actress Melissa Gilbert’s first real-life romantic kiss—Butler landed as a central figure for the show’s devoted fans.

Now, with wit and candor, Butler recounts his passage through the Prairie, sharing stories and anecdotes of the remarkable cast who were his on-screen family. But that was merely the beginning of a diverse career that includes Broadway runs and roles on two other classic shows—Moondoggie in The New Gidget and Buffy’s ne’er-do-well father, Hank, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Coming of age during a golden era of entertainment, Butler has evolved along with it, and today enjoys success and fulfillment as a director and producer—notably of NBC Golf’s Feherty—while remaining deeply loyal to Little House.

The warmth, heart, and decency that fans of Laura and Almanzo fell in love with on Little House echo through this uplifting memoir, a story, in Butler’s words, about “good luck, good television, and the very good—if gloriously imperfect—people who made it so.”

You can pre-order the book here. 

That's it from me this week. Hope everyone who celebrates it has a blessed Thanksgiving!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Oct 16

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.  

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.     

Welcome back to Monday! Here we are at the middle of the month. Before we know it, Halloween will be here. Did anyone catch the eclipse on Saturday? 

Other than being sick part of the time, last week was a good one. My sister and I caught Footloose by the Exit 7 Players. What fun!

It's long weekend at UNCW, so the Lil' Princess headed to Wake Forest with her friends for camping and square dancing. It looks like a pig roast was involved. 

I had to share this last photo with you because I just about fell off my chair I laughed so hard. I was playing one of those silly Facebook games. This one is about what your spirit animal looks like. I guess mine is a Chihuahua pushing a cart of candy. LOL!!!! For the record, I think Milk Duds and Whoopers are gross. But Twix and Twizzlers are awesome. 

There is just a little over two weeks left for NaNoWriMo prep. I'm still in the middle of creating scenes, so I need to get a move on. So that I can focus on writing, I finished reading all but one of my November books for review. I also surpassed my Goodreads goal for the year again, so I increased it by five books.

The review for this book appeared here last week. This book came out on Sunday. 

This review will appear on Tuesday. I already posted it on Goodreads if you don't want to wait. 

I read the first chapters of the next two books. First Chapter Reviews will appear on October 23 and 31 respectively. 

I read and reviewed this adorable seasonal book at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. You can read it here. 

 I also read this book for a November 20 review. It is posted to Goodreads if you want to check it out. 

I am continuing with this one on Audible.

I need to start this one soon. Review is due November 21. 

These two are next.

Don't miss the giveaway for Read and Rhyme The First Christmas by Glenys Nellist at my Christmas Year Round blog. You can enter here.  

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• Death and the Sisters by Heather Redmond - October 17 (review)
• Racing the Dream by M. T. Bass - October 23 (first chapter review)
• The Folly at Raighvan Park by Judith Crow - October 31 (first chapter review)
• Resparking Creativity by Fatemah Mirza & Sumayyah Rafiq - November 20 (review)
• The 12 Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts - November 21 (review)
• The King Who Lost His Colors by Glen Liset - November 27 (review at TC&TBC)
• The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy - January 31 (interview)  

At Christmas Year Round last week:

• Christmas Decorating Trends for 2023
• Christmas on TV: Little House on the Prairie, Season 10: "Bless All the Dear Children"
• Christmas Music: Top 100 Christmas Songs of All Time
• Christmas on TV: An Elf's Story: The Elf on the Shelf  (2011)
• Christmas on Netflix: Angela's Christmas (2017)

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I received one book last week, which I ordered to support the author. It is also fun to see my name as guest contributor.

Grabbed this book with my monthly Audible credit.

This was a Kindle freebie on October 8.

Then I bought this one on sale for 99 cents October 10.

That is about it other than thinking of all those impacted in Israel and the Gaza Strip. Please join  me in praying for peace. Wishing you a wonderful week.