Top Ten Tuesday: Valentine's Day

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Each Tuesday she assigns a topic and then posts a top ten list that fits that topic. Freebie days: you may choose your own topic.

February 9: Valentine’s Day/Love 

Title: A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger by Lucy Robinson

Lucky Suit by Lauren Blakely

Falling by Jane Green

Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis

Timeless Desire by Gwyn Cready

A Groovy Kind of Love

A Groovy Kind of Love (The Bibliophiles #3) by Karen Wojcik Berner

 Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Title: The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton

The Dark Rose:A Novel by Erin Kelly

These are my Top Ten books for Valentine's Day! What are yours? 

Meme: My Life in Books 2017

Got this meme from a couple of bloggers years ago and have done it for several years.  My Life in Books, using titles of books from my reading for 2017.  Join in if you like.  

Which book (titles) read in 2017 describe your life so far?

Describe myself:
The Keeper of Lost Things

How do I feel:
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know

Describe where I currently live:
Glass Houses

 If I could go anywhere, where I would go:
The Little French Bistro

My favorite form of transportation:
Walking with Peety

My best friend(s) is/are:
The Widows of Malabar Hill

My friends and I are:
Sarong Party Girls

What’s the weather like:
Into Thin Air

Favorite Time of Day:
The Twilight Wife

What is life to you:
Little Fires Everywhere

You fear:
Rich People Problems

What is the best advice you have to give:
Cooking for Picasso

Thought for the day:
The Rules Do Not Apply

How I would like to die:
Pushing Up Daisies

My soul’s present condition:
Are You Sleeping

I looked up past memes and see the last one I filled out was for 2015.  Join in and have fun with it.

Click on each book title to see the description on goodreads.

First Chapter: Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes

Just Killing Time: Clockshop Mystery #1 by Julianne Holmes, October 6, 2015, Berkley.
There are three books in the series, and I have #1. Yay to starting out with the first in the series.

First paragraph, first chapter:

The brochure lied. A week in the mountains of Vermont had not, in fact, helped me achieve a peaceful Zen that would pervade my life for the coming weeks, helping me approach old challenges with fresh energy. Instead, it had made me aware of two things. First, much as I hated to admit it,  I was addicted to technology. Not being allowed to have my cell phone for seven days was an interesting experiment at first, but an exercise in frustration at the end. Never mind that the battery was completely drained of power by the time I got it back. 

The second realization? Coffee and I couldn't break up....

Book description:
Ruth has been named heir to Grandpa Thom’s clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket, in the small Berkshire town of Orchard, Massachusetts. But there is a problem: her grandfather had been found murdered during a break-in at the shop, and Ruth has to solve the mystery and delve into the secrets before others are targeted. 

Based on the first paragraph and the book description, would you read on?

MEME: Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book you are reading or will be reading soon.

This or That Book Tag

~ RULES ~

Mention the creator of the tag.

Thank the person who tagged you.

Tag other people and spread the love.

Thanks to Pat from Posting For Now and Suko at Suko's Notebook for tagging me in the This or That Book Tag, and to Ayunda from Tea & Paperbacks, the creator of this book tag.

1) Reading on the couch or reading in bed?

    Both!

2) Main character: Male or Female?

Female, for the most part.  

3) Sweet or salty snacks while reading?

Both! Bring on the Snickers and the chips!

4) Trilogies or quartets?

Trilogies, though I have read few.  

5) First Person or Third Person POV?

Both.  

6) Night or morning reader?

Morning, day, and night.

7) Libraries or bookstores?

Bookstores for new books. Library for older books, though I sometimes am lucky and find brand new releases.

8) Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?

Both, depending on my mood.

9) Black or white book covers?

I prefer colorful and attractive covers. 

10) Character driven or plot driven stories?

Both, though I tend to prefer character driven plots, psychologically complex individuals. 

The Book Bloggers I tag are:

Laurel-Rain at Laurel-Rain Snow Creates

Bookfan Mary at Bookfan

Greg at Greg's Book Haven

Mystica at Mystica

Deb Nance at  ReaderBuzz

If I haven't tagged you but you would like to participate, please do join in!

First Book of the Year 2014

Sheila at Book Journey has a new meme, First Book of the Year 2014, where we show the book we will be reading today, the first day of the new year. Click on her link to join in!

I will be reading

Murder Strikes a Pose, a new cozy mystery series by Tracy Weber. Tracy is a yoga instructor as well as a writer and I'm anxious to get into the book, as I know how to do a few yoga poses!

I will also be finishing a book I started last year, The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj by Anne De Courcy.

What will you be reading today?

Meme: My Life in Books, 2012

Got this meme from Books and Movies. My Life in Books, 2012.

Which book (titles) read in 2012 describe your life so far?

Describe myself:
The Storytelling Animal,
The Girl Next Door
The Unexpected Guest

How do I feel:
Timeless Desire

Describe where I currently live:
The Distant Shore

 If I could go anywhere, where I would go:
 Folly Beach

My favorite form of transportation:
In a Witch's Wardrobe

My best friend(s) is/are:
Skeleton Women

My friends and I are:
The Language of Sisters

What’s the weather like:
Wallflower in Bloom

Favorite Time of Day:
Jasmine Nights

What is life to you:
Gossip

You fear:
The Fear Artist

What is the best advice you have to give:
 Skinnydipping

Thought for the day:
Everyday Meditation

How I would like to die:
Hide Me Among the Graves

My soul’s present condition:
The Song Remains the Same
Roam

I looked up past memes and see I filled out some for 2011 and before: My Life in Books, 2011, My Life According to Literature. Join in and have fun with it.
Click on each book title to see the review of it.

Saturday Snapshot 2

Visit Alyce at At Home With Books to join in the Saturday Snapshot and post your picture on the linky there.

The irises in my backyard in full bloom right now. There is one yellow one that will soon open and I'm looking for the single blue one that sometimes shows up.

Meme: Books Read But Not (Yet) Reviewed, April 3

I will have to begin listing books which don't get their own post and review, but I do want to show them as books read in 2012. The 100+ Book Challenge, for instance, needs this listing.

Join me for this occasional meme and list the books you have read but not posted a review for, either because you had no time, are too lazy, or for whatever reason!

Grab the title below and tell us about it!

BOOKS READ BUT NOT (YET) REVIEWED

Here are my books so far:

Lucifer's Tears by Jim Thompson, which I enjoyed but would have preferred to have less in the subplots

and

Daughters by Elizabeth Buchan, a novel I can wholeheartedly give a 5 rating as contemporary British women's fiction!

Read any books you don't have time to review? Join me on this listing!

It's Monday: What Are You Reading?

“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Bookjourney.  

Books reviewed last week:
Other Waters by Eleni N. Gage
The Hope Vendetta by Scott Mariani

This week, on my reading list:


The Probability of Murder: A Professor Sophie Knowles Mystery by Ada Madison; Berkley Prime Crime



Before the Poison by Peter Robinson;
William Morrow



Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers;
William Morrow



The Real Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Andrew Marr; Henry Holt


I've got a lot of reading to do.... Are any of these on your reading list? What are you reading this week?

Best Crime Fiction Reads in 2011

This is a meme created by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise, who is collecting your list of the best crime novels read in 2011.

I read cozies and thrillers and all the genres in between and am partial to some types of crime fiction as you can see by the books I've included in this list.

Here are some of the books (not including eBooks) I enjoyed reading in 2011. I liked all the ones that I reviewed and feel terrible about leaving some books off this list, but for the sake of having a shorter list, here goes... CLICK ON BOOK TITLES TO SEE MY REVIEWS.

The Perfect Suspect by Margaret Coel
Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons by Blaize Clement
Ink Flamingos by Karen E. Olsen
Tahoe Hijack by Todd Borg
The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
Betrayal of Trust; and The Most Dangerous Thing by J.A. Jance and Laura Lippman
Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman
Endangered by Pamela Beason
Murder in Passy by Cara Black
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Red Jade by Henry Chang
A Vine in the Blood by Leighton Gage
Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn
The Summoner by Layton Green
Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen (this is the European title of the book, which was printed under another name in the U.S.)

There are more, as evidenced by the fact that I keep adding to this list...

My Life According to the Books I Read in 2011

This is an end of year wrap up meme hosted by happily ever after...  If you want to join in, head on over to her blog to add your post to Mr. Linky.
Just enter the names of books you have read that fit the prompts. Don't repeat the names of any books! And click on the titles for my reviews, if you're curious about the books.

Describe yourself:
Island Girl,
The Perfect Suspect
Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons

How do you feel:
Teed Up for Love

Describe where you currently live:
The Demi-Monde: Winter

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
My Korean Deli

Your favorite form of transportation:
Tahoe Hijack

Your best friend is:
The Dog Who Knew Too Much

You and your friends are:
Thick as Thieves

What's the weather like:
Night on Fire

What is life to you:
A Rather Remarkable Homecoming

Favorite time of day:
Zero Day

Your fear:
Running on Empty

What is the best advice you have to give:
The Art of Saying Goodbye

Thought for the day:
Please Look After Mom

How I would like to die:
Naughty in Nice

My soul's present condition:
Call Me Irresistible

This was fun! Try it!

Booking Through Thursday: Kindle E-Volution

E-readers like the Kindle and iPad are sweeping the nation … do you have one? Do you like it? Do you find it changes your reading/buying habits? If you don’t have one, do you plan to?

I got a Kindle about a year ago, and gave one to each of my two sons for Christmas presents. They used theirs more than I did mine. Until recently, I've used the Kindle only to read a few fairly short crime novels.

That changed with the very long book, 1Q84 by Murakami. The novel didn't seem very long while I was reading it on Kindle. In fact, I felt I breezed through all 900 plus pages, and now I am planning to read more of the author's books on the eReader. To show I'm serious about this, I downloaded his Norwegian Wood to start reading. I am now fully Kindle-hooked!

How about you?

Crime Fiction Alphabet: The Letter M

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction Community Meme is hosted by Kerry at Mysteries in Paradise.

The letter this week is M.

M is for Murder most foul as in the following titles:

• Murder in Passy: An Aimee Leduc Investigation Set in Paris
• Murder In Sarasota (A Jake Russo Mystery)
• Murder in Mississippi
• Murders in the Zoo Poster Movie 11x17 Lionel Atwill Kathleen Burke Charlie Ruggles Randolph Scott
• Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery [VHS]
• Murder Passes the Buck: A Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventure (Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventures)
• Murder Ballads
• Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

What Crime Fiction M's do you have in mind?

Sunday Salon: March 20

Click on the logo to join in!

In spite of a tense week watching the unfolding nuclear reactor events in Japan, where I have relatives, I managed to get a few books read and two posted.

Reviewed the historical romance The Sandalwood Tree for a book tour and posted a travel memoir, The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War, for the Teaser Tuesday meme.


Books read:

Buttons and Bones (Needlecraft Mystery) by Monica Ferris, the newest cozy mystery in the series.

 Hagakure: The Code of the Samurai (The Manga Edition) by
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Sean Michael Wilson, William Scott Wilson. A graphic portrayal of the classic book on Bushido, the 18th century warrior code of the Samurai.




American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. A Chinese-American boy learns to accept and live his true identity with the help of the Monkey King, a mythological character from the Chinese Classics.



The 4th Man, an award winning thriller with interesting twists and turns, by Norwegian writer K.O. Dahl.

I won the paperback edition from Nancy Oakes. Thanks, Nancy! A great read!


Current reads include two new books by Sandra Balzo, who writes a coffeeshop mystery series, Running on Empty (Main Street Mysteries) and A Cup of Jo. Sandra Balzo (Maggy Thorsen), both of which come out in April 2011.

Also, The Shepherd by Ethan Cross, a thriller for a book tour on April 8.


I also have on my list, Mourning Gloria (China Bayles Mystery) by Susan Wittig Albert , a hardcover with an April 5, 2011 publication date.

Guess I have a lot of reading on my plate. How about your week? What have you read/reviewed?