I finished The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart. From the opening line - "Father told me I'm broken" - I was drawn into the world of Lin - the emperor's daughter, Jovis - a smuggler, Phalue - the governor's daughter, her girlfriend Ranami, and a mysterious Sand with no memory. Bone shards play a center role in the islands. At the age of eight, children are gathered in the square of each village during the Tithing Festival to have a shard of bone removed from their skull. Not all the children survive and parents used any means to smuggle their children away to safety. The bone shards are used by the emperor to create and power constructs. Magical creatures, made of different animal parts and used to spy on the citizens. While the emperor and governor reside in palaces of gold, many of the citizens live in poverty, and a group of rebels work to undermine the governor and stop the tithing festivals. It's the rich against the poor trope with the unique twist of the bone shards and constructs thrown in which makes for a unique and engaging story. I’m currently in the middle of three books: My I by title is James Rollins thriller, Ice Hunt. My books about books read is A.J. Hackwith’s Library of the Unwritten, and my e by author Louise Erdrich’s Native American Mystery The Round House. As always I have to be a little different and currently have the children’s author Willo Davis Roberts waiting in the wings with The Girl with the Silver Eyes, a science fiction mystery.

Week 14 is live.

Happy Sunday and welcome to April and the beginning of National Poetry Month, National Card and Letter Writing Month, and National Humor Month and this week is National Library Week. And thanks to Sandy and Amy, we are also celebrating our childhoods, going back to the books we read when we were young. Take it away, ladies. Many of us began our life of crime early by reading under the covers with flashlights and lies of “I’ll read just one more chapter then I’ll go to bed.” If you grew up reading Classic Children’s Mysteries then you’ve like got a rap sheet and a read-list as thick as a Sears catalogue. Who were you solving mysteries with in the lunch room and during geometry class? Authors to explore: Stratemeyer Syndicate – Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, Bobbsey Twins Cherry Ames Boxcar Children Trixie Belden Encyclopedia Brown Challenge: Confess to starting a life of crime young and reread a favorite childhood mystery. Thank you, ladies for bringing back memories of the past. I read many The Hardy Boys as well as Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon books back in the day. Does anyone remember the television show of Hardy Boy/Nancy Drew mysteries from the 70's? I was infatuated with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson and wanted to be a detective just like Pamela Sue Martin who portrayed Nancy Drew. Which bring me to our Letter and Word of the Week: N and Noteworthy Link to book week 13 Visit 52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.

How neat! I like that idea, a spoonful from the soup. Although I started to read in alpha order. I've managed to read a few out of order. LOL! Sounds interesting. For all the psychology and special needs books I read to assist us on our journey, I recognized myself, as well as different members of our family, which made for interesting discussions when we had family get togethers. Our two technicians have decided they are on the autism spectrum, which they came up with on their own, recognizing it in themselves, from hearing about James. The one book that I recognized myself in was Upside Down Brilliance

La la la la. Covering my eyes!

My reading slowed way down this month and I completed six books, sort of finished one, and stopped halfway through another. Super Powereds Year Four - Drew Hayes (Science Fiction, 1019) Daughter of Time (#5 Inspector Grant) - Josephine Tey (HF, 206) Hidden Palace #2 Golem & the Jinni - Helene Wecker (H Fantasy, 472) Leviathan Wakes - J.A. Corey (Science Fiction, e) Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin (Science fiction, dnf) Bookshop at Water's End - Patti Callahan Henry (Literary Fiction, e) Bookshop of Second Chances - Jackie Fraser (Contemporary Romance, e) The Starless Crown (#1 Moon Fall) - James Rollins (Fantasy, 560) Super Powered is a great series and however much I'd like to compare it to Harry Potter, there really is no comparison. These are college age kids, each with a special super power, no wands, who learn how to use their powers amidst the angst of college and real life battles. It will be well worth reading again. Tey's Daughter of Time is a unique story involving history and how it can be perceived or easily wrong, depending on the book telling the tale. The Hidden Palace is a wonderful tale interwoven with several different narrators and is full of history, drama, and magic. I loved escaping into their world and will definitely read it again at some point. In The Bookshop at Water's End, everyone down to the children had baggage of some sort and it was an emotional story which I usually wouldn't enjoy but the writing was so well done, it pulled me into the characters lives, rooting for them all the way. The Bookshop of Second Chances was set in Scotland and Edward, a curmudgeonly bookseller who is 40 ish and Thea, a 40 + woman on the verge of divorce, both with lots of baggage, who may or may not like each other, lives become intertwined more than they imagine and makes for a beautiful story. James Rollins has done it again and this time with fantasy in The Starless Crown in which several characters come together over the course of the book to join together in a quest to save the world. An abandoned baby found in a swamp, bats, prophecies, darkness, a thief, a bronze statue, a fallen prince, wolves, a broken soldier, horrible villains who will do anything including burning entire towns to get what they want, sky ships and battles. Our poor characters are given no time to rest, hunted and chased, from peril to peril. A thrilling story I couldn't put down. Definitely a reread when the rest of the series comes out. How do you sort of finish a book? I unfortunately didn't enjoy Corey's Leviathan Wakes as the characters rubbed me the wrong way and I read halfway, lost interest, skipped to the ending to see what happened. I also didn't enjoy Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness, decided life is too short to keep reading when the writing isn't grabbing me and decided to shelve the book. Happily, the rest of my reads were excellent. I'm still reading more science fiction and fantasy with a historical fiction thrown in. I seem to be getting more into emotional contemporary fiction so we'll see how long that lasts. At least I cleared some dusty books from both my physical and eshelves. Looking forward to seeing what April brings as I'm in the midst of several books at the moment. My book buying ban is still in affect and no matter how much I want to go to Barnes and Noble, I’ve been good. However, my amazon wishlist is growing and growing.

Yeah! Thank you so much for turning me on to her. Has lead to rabbit trails, looking at other vloggers. So much fun!

Someone, I forget who, told me about the book vlogger Merphy Napier and thanks to the person who did, I’ve been enjoying her vlogs . I started reading Andrea Stewarts fantasy novel Bone Shards Daughter which Merphy went gaga over it last year. Enjoying it so far. “The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands. Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic. Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.” For my books on books reading an unusual story set in Hell – The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith. “Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing– a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto. But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.” Started reading both in between James Rollins Ice Hunt. Stabenow’s waiting in the wings. (Poor girl) Finished the Book of Second Chances and totally loved it. The two main characters are older, a curmudgeonly bookseller and a 40 + woman on the verge of divorce, both with lots of baggage, try to figure out their lives. Will write a review soon.

Looks like I’m on E for Author and I by Title. Decided to reread Ice Hunt by James Rollins since just finished his fantasy thriller The Starless Crown and nothing else on my shelves strikes my fancy. I love his writing. Debating between Louise Erdrich’s The Round House and Elizabeth Chadwick’s Lady of the English. Continuing my read of books about books and currently reading The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser which is enjoyable so far. “Thea Mottram is having a bad month. Her husband of nearly twenty years has just left her for one of her friends, and she is let go from her office job--on Valentine's Day, of all days. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn't know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs. Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and shaggy, tulip-covered lawn. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can't seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle's antique novel collection. His gruff attitude--fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord--tests Thea's patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn't felt in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.” We watched the original Dune tonight with Kyle McLaughlin which was excellent since it's been so long I didn't remember a thing so like watching for the very first time. James enjoyed and is looking forward to watching the remake.

Link to week 13

“Science fiction is the agent provocateur of literature.” ~ Dana Stabenow Happy Sunday my dears. During my web wanderings, I found out today, March the 27th, is author Dana Stabenow's birthday. I checked out her blog and read an article about How My Mother and Josephine Tey Led me into a Life of Crime. Given I'd recently read Tey's A Daughter of Time, I was drawn in. I was fascinated by Stabenow's tale of discovering Nancy Drew in the library and the start of her reading journey. Lots of interesting authors, some I've read, some I haven't yet. Stabenow is a prolific writer and has written forty novels during her writing career beginning with a couple of science fiction novels and segueing into writing murder mysteries. It just so happens, one of the dusty books on my eshelves is Dana Stabenow's A Cold Day for Murder, book number one in the 22 book Kate Shugak mystery series. I think I bought it back in 2014 around the time I was enamored with freezing cold settings and read Nevada Barr's Winter Study and bought a bunch of other titles with snow in them, some of which I had yet to read. Somehow I overlooked Stabenow's book so in honor of her birthday, I'll be reading it this week. Learn more about Stabenow from The Thrill Begins: Meet Your Heroes - Dana Stabenow and PBS AK Alaska podcast Dana Stabenow talks about her latest crime novel, her writing career and her support for women writers and what books Stabenow likes to read with Poison Pen's Dana Stabenows Distractions. A to Z and Back again - Our letter and word of the week are M and Murder (Obviously... LOL!) Link to book week 12 Visit 52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.

Gorgeous!

Guess I was in the mood for something meaty. The bookshop at water's end by Patti Callahan Henry was a deep dive into the relationships between two friends and the people surrounding them. The characters are broken emotionally and are returning for the summer to the summer home where Lainey's mother abandoned their family years ago. Lainey doesn't want to go to Watersend but her friend needs her. Bonny's marriage is over, she made a mistake in the emergency room and a man died. Bonny's daughter Piper has failed out of school, her boyfriend left her for another student, and she's flailing. They agree to meet at the summer house to fix it up to sell and life's complications and emotions catch up with all of them. Bookshop at Water's End is an emotional journey of finding their way, individually and together. The bookshop is owned by Mimi who was lived in Waterends all her life and is there at the beginning and there at the end and in between provides a stabilizing influence to all the angst the characters are experiencing. “Inside the very worst things you can find the power for change. Nothing needs to be the end of it all; anything and everything can have new meaning.” She grimaced with a smile. “I know it sounds like I’m just trying to make it all better with a little Band-Aid of words, but I’ve lived it. I’m telling you the truth. It is awful. It is painful, and your mom will suffer because it hurts. That’s true also.” "But what no one ever tells you is that there is this horrible, gooey, mud-sucking, scary-as-hell middle place that you have to slog through before the begin-again gets to start.” “Art and stories,” I said, “offer meaning to our lives in a way nothing else can. Science can’t. Logic won’t. The soul needs story and meaning to help us endure this life. This is what Lainey’s art does for us—it offers us meaning. You know I believe stories do the same. Books can be medicine for the heart just as Lainey’s art is medicine for the soul. There is magic here.”

Prayers and good thoughts winging your way!

Haven't decided yet which book I'm going to read for Spring Reading thing so currently reading James Rollins The Starless Crown. Rollin's newest fantasy fiction series. "A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death. Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts: A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home. A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother's shadow and claims a purpose of his own. An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact - one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe. On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation. But with each passing moment, doom draws closer. WHO WILL CLAIM THE STARLESS CROWN?" Watched The Dark Knight with Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker. Ledge did a great job and made for a very intense creepy Joker.

Link to week 12 - please continue conversation in new thread

Happy Sunday, my darlings. Today we celebrate the March equinox, welcoming Spring or Autumn, depending on where you are in the world. Both seasons have something in common - nature's showcase of beautiful colors, bright and bold as well as rich and warm. So let's dive into the season with our Spring / Autumn Reading Fling. Read a book with flowers or leaves on the cover. Read a book with the colors of spring or autumn on the cover. Read a book with Spring or Autumn in the title. Read a book about a Spring or Autumn Fling. (oh la la) Read a book about life beginning. Read a book about rebirth. Read a book about life changing. Read a book about wine or with wine on the cover. Read a book with any of the words from the poem below on the cover. Spring And Autumn. By Thomas Moore Every season hath its pleasures; Spring may boast her flowery prime, Yet the vineyard's ruby treasures Brighten Autumn's soberer time. So Life's year begins and closes; Days tho' shortening still can shine; What tho' youth gave love and roses, Age still leaves us friends and wine. Phillis, when she might have caught me, All the Spring looked coy and shy, Yet herself in Autumn sought me, When the flowers were all gone by. Ah, too late;--she found her lover Calm and free beneath his vine, Drinking to the Spring-time over, In his best autumnal wine. Thus may we, as years are flying, To their flight our pleasures suit, Nor regret the blossoms dying, While we still may taste the fruit, Oh, while days like this are ours, Where's the lip that dares repine? Spring may take our loves and flowers, So Autumn leaves us friends and wine. A to Z and Back again - Our letter and word of the week are L and Life Link to book week 11 Visit 52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.

I think I’ve been watching way too much news which has put me off my reading entirely. Time for a news diet. Sadly, I wasn’t enjoying Leviathan Wakes, made it halfway through the book, skipped to the last chapter and called it a day. Both Holden and Miller rubbed me the wrong way. The vomiting zombies didn’t help. I thought the third time would be the charm for Ursula Le Guin. I’ve tried several different books and given up each time. Made it halfway through Left Hand of Darkness. Have come to the conclusion I just don’t like her writing. No tomatoes please.

Woot Woot! Happy Dance. So proud of you! 🥂

I finished Super Powereds Year Four by Drew Hayes. Many answers to all the questions throughout the books. The kids learned so much the final year through their battles and the intramurals, learning to trust themselves and their powers, culminating in the final battle between the Heroes and bad guys. We never did find out which ten graduated? Grateful for the epilogue ten years later giving an update on all the characters. This is one series I'll read over and over again. Also finished Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time and love Inspector Grant. He's very cerebral. Grant is recuperating in the hospital from an injury during the line of duty. He's bored out of his mind and becomes enamored with a picture of Richard the III and if the story was true that he killed his two young nephews. Grant involves everyone in his mystery from the medical staff to his friends while he reads everything he can about Richard. Along the way he uncovers the historical facts are tonypandy - historical events that were well-accepted but not reported accurately - in books like Sir Thomas More which Grant discovers were all hearsay since More was too young at the time of the event. Fascinating story and I will never think of history in the same way again. I'm up to H for book by title and E for author. In actuality my reading has been all over the place, every though trying to read alphabetical. Keep getting side tracked with other books so kinda reading out of order. Working on two books - historical fantasy novel Hidden Palace (#2 in the Golem and the Jinni) by Helene Wecker and science fiction novel Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. I've stumbled across a couple articles on Le Guin - My Le Guin Year and My Year of Reading Ursula Le Guin and decided the universe was telling me to stop staring at the book on my shelf and read it, so there you go. We watched Adam Project on Netflix Saturday night. Lots of action with plot, great script, and wonderful acting. If you have a chance to see it, do. So very good.

Link to week 11 - please continue conversation in new thread

Happy Sunday, my darlings. For those of us who still have to abide by daylight savings time, did you remember to set your clocks forward? I'm appreciating the fact we only have a few clocks to adjust when I think about the clock merchant who has to reset a 1000 clocks. Speaking of time, our next 52 Books Bingo category is All the World's a Stage. Which works well with our golden age theme since William Shakespeare was alive during the Elizabethan era, considered the Golden Age in English history. There are many ways to go with this category including but not limited to Five Best William Shakespeare Plays Goodreads Top 100 Stage Plays Goodreads Listopia - Best Books about Stage magic 17 sparkling and suspenseful novels set on the stage or the screen A Complete List of Books for Every Stage of Your Life, According to Librarians “All the world’s a stage” by William Shakespeare (from As You Like It, spoken by Jaques) All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms; And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lin’d, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion; Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. A to Z and Back again - Our letter and word of the week are K and Keen Link to book week 10 Visit 52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.

Oh well! I finished Daughter of Time and will never look at history the same way again. Tonypandy indeed! 😁

I'm currently reading Super Powereds Year Four by Drew Hayes and it will take me a while at 1000 + pages. "The final year at Lander has finally arrived for the Melbrook students and their peers, and with it comes a whole new set of challenges. Still reeling from the events of their junior year, the remaining students will have to push past their pain - and so much more - if they hope to be one of the ten to claim the title of Hero upon graduation. Constant tests and trials await the senior students. Beyond simulated missions and classes, they'll also have to buckle down to learn about agents, prospective teams, internships, and other seemingly endless elements of being a Hero. For some, however, the classroom is only one aspect of the trouble that lies ahead. Long-buried secrets have been unearthed; old mysteries are finally unraveling; and what lies at the center of it all has the potential to rock the realm of Heroes to its very foundation."

Link to week 10 - please continue conversation in new thread