Book a Week 2022 - BW36: 52 Books Bingo - Secret Agent Man

[Robin M]

 

Happy Sunday!  I had an ear worm in my head Saturday morning, which led me down a few musical rabbit trails this morning while thinking about our 52 Books Bingo theme this week.   We're having a Heat Wave, a magical heat wave, because we're expecting temps in the triple digits for the next two weeks. 

 

Which then segued to Secret Agent Man:  

"There's a man who leads a life of danger

To everyone he meets he stays a stranger

With every move he makes

Another chance he takes

Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow

Secret agent man, secret agent man

They've given you a number

And taken away your name."

 

Then Peter Gunn popped up.  But he was more of a private eye, than a secret agent. Right? Now the theme music written by Henry Mancini is cueing up.  

Enjoy! I did! 

Okay back to books: 

Five Books Presents the best five books about post soviet spy thrillers; spies; secret service; covert action: spies, lies, and foreign correspondents; espionage, et al.  

Crime Reads presents Eight Books Based on Real Female Spies

Beyond the Bookends presents 14 Gripping and Authentic Books about Female Spies

The Real Book Spy presents The Ten Baddest Dudes in the Spy Genre Right Now. 

 

Have fun following rabbit trails! 

 Our A to Z and Back Again Letter and Word of the week are Q and Quarry 

 

 

Link to Book Week 35

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini, and perpetual challenges.

[Robin M]

I read Seanan McGuire's Be the Serpent way to too fast and oh man, what a ride.  Currently on the second slow read to absorb it. So much happened and October is in over her head this time.  Also rereading Ben Coe's first book in his Dewey Andreas series - Power Down - for our 52 Books bingo.

Excited since series releases from two of my favorite authors are coming out this week:  J.D. Robb's Desperation Death and Faith Hunter's Final Heir.  Preordered a long time ago and will soon be on the way. 

[mumto2]

I love Secret Agent Man type books and haven’t read a good one lately so I’m looking forward to digging into Robin’s lists and finding a good, possibly new to me one!  Thank you for starting us off and all the links, Robin.

This hasn’t been a huge reading week for me.  I finished Round up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews which was so much fun!  Then read Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart.  I loved that one too although some of her other books are better.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished the science fiction romance Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik which I enjoyed. You should definitely start with the first book in the series to best understand this story.

"Kee Ildez has been many things: hacker, soldier, bounty hunter. She never expected to be a hero, but when a shadowy group of traitors starts trying to goad the galaxy’s two superpowers into instigating an interstellar war, Kee throws herself into the search to find out who is responsible—and stop them.

Digging up hidden information is her job, so hunting traitors should be a piece of cake, but the primary suspect spent years in the military, and someone powerful is still covering his tracks. Disrupting their plans will require the help of her entire team, including Varro Runkow, a Valovian weapons expert who makes her pulse race.

Quiet, grumpy, and incredibly handsome, Varro watches her with hot eyes but ignores all of her flirting, so Kee silently vows to keep her feelings strictly platonic. But that vow will be put to the test when she and Varro are forced to leave the safety of their ship and venture into enemy territory alone.

Cut off from the rest of their team, they must figure out how to work together—and fast—because a single misstep will cost thousands of lives."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches: What We Are Reading!

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2022/08/what-we-are-reading.html

Sparking young imaginations

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2022/08/sparking-young-imaginations.html

I've Read 3,000 Books In The Last 10 Years — Here Are My Absolute Favorites

https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelstrolle/my-favorite-books-from-the-last-decade-sorted-by-year

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

14 minutes ago, Kareni said:

I've Read 3,000 Books In The Last 10 Years — Here Are My Absolute Favorites

https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelstrolle/my-favorite-books-from-the-last-decade-sorted-by-year

I recognized two or three but other than that, all new to me. Looks like they are mostly Young Adult. Love some of the covers and would read them just because of that. 

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale. 

[Kareni]

Currently free to US Kindle readers ~

Against All Odds: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Grimm's War Book 1) by Jeffery H. Haskell

Sam's Song: A Sam Smith Mystery by Hannah Howe

Abandonment Party by Brad Smith

ETA: 

Opened Up (Exposed Dreams Book 1) by Eva Moore

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

My distant book group will be meeting tomorrow to discuss The Night Watchman: A Novel by Louise Erdrich which I just finished. It was an interesting read, and I look forward to our discussion.

"Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant, the first factory located near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Chippewa Council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new “emancipation” bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. It is 1953 and he and the other council members know the bill isn’t about freedom; Congress is fed up with Indians. The bill is a “termination” that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity. How can the government abandon treaties made in good faith with Native Americans “for as long as the grasses shall grow, and the rivers run”?

Since graduating high school, Pixie Paranteau has insisted that everyone call her Patrice. Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Patrice, the class valedictorian, has no desire to wear herself down with a husband and kids. She makes jewel bearings at the plant, a job that barely pays her enough to support her mother and brother. Patrice’s shameful alcoholic father returns home sporadically to terrorize his wife and children and bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to follow her beloved older sister, Vera, who moved to the big city of Minneapolis. Vera may have disappeared; she hasn’t been in touch in months, and is rumored to have had a baby. Determined to find Vera and her child, Patrice makes a fateful trip to Minnesota that introduces her to unexpected forms of exploitation and violence, and endangers her life.

Thomas and Patrice live in this impoverished reservation community along with young Chippewa boxer Wood Mountain and his mother Juggie Blue, her niece and Patrice’s best friend Valentine, and Stack Barnes, the white high school math teacher and boxing coach who is hopelessly in love with Patrice.

In the Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich creates a fictional world populated with memorable characters who are forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from this revered cultural treasure."

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

I finished Julia Whelan’s Thank You for Listening about a fictional audio book narrator which was funny and sad and all about self discovery.  So so good.

"For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger.

On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.

As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.

If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers."

 

Currently reading Faith Hunter’s Final Heir which is action packed.

"Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.

With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her."

 

[Laurel-in-CA]

I survived the heat wave (114 is the hottest it's been here in the 12 years since we moved, but after a week of high temps it's starting to cool just a bit) with wet shirts and fans. Makes me think of people living in places like Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Also managed to avoid turning on the oven all week. Ready for a new weather pattern!

This week I read Jim Butcher's Calderon series -- all 6 books! Action packed fantasy, full of twists and turns, conspiracies and surprises. I really enjoyed it.

I also finished Merle's Door -- at the end dh found me sobbing over it, as some of the symptoms Merle had at the end remind me of our elder dog, Duke, brought those last few months all back. Really well written, a meditation on dogness and personhood as well as a story of a wilderness lover and his dog.

I love spy stories, so I've been adding this week's recommendations to my ever-expanding wish list! Thanks again for the book threads, Robin!

Edited September 10, 2022 by Laurel-in-CA

[Kareni]

I read The Call: A Psychic Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Building the Circle Book 1) by Maggie M Lily. I found the book confusing in parts particularly the psychic element which I'd imagined would concern the hero or heroine but did not. That said, I do think I will go on to book two which features one of the brothers of this book's hero. (Adult content)

"Matilda's not a damsel in distress. Bold, decisive, and disabled, she is a self-employed strategic consultant in the liquor industry. Her reputation for success has landed her the opportunity to build a new brand of beer for the ultra-rich Trellis Industries.

Jake Trellis wants to be her foul-mouthed Prince Charming. When Matilda shows up in his office doorway, late for a meeting, dripping wet, partially frozen, and babbling about a mishap, Jake is certain lady-tears are incoming. He was not anticipating getting snarked at and whomped at 8-ball. He definitely didn’t expect to fall in love.

But is Matilda ready to join the close-knit Trellis clan? They're too rich, too beautiful. Too many supermodel girlfriends. And then there's that strange brother, the one who seems to know more than he should..."

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Link to week 37