Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday Malarkey - Recent reads, some arrivals and a bird butt photo

I was getting all set to skip the malarkey and dive into reviews, again, then I realized I've lost my light and can't take interior photos of either of the books I planned to review.  So, malarkey it is.



Bird butts seem like a good place to start.  The mosquitoes are out, now, but I'm still occasionally finding the time to go outside to try to snap bird photos and simultaneously get munched upon.  Above is the first bluejay I've managed to photograph, haha.  Oh, well.  Some days I think bird butts are my specialty.  

Reading-wise . . . 

I had a sick weekend so I pretty much just lolled around in bed, reading till my eyes crossed or I fell asleep. I finished two books, this weekend:

Thinking of You by Jill Mansell - because there's nothing like a little sweetness and light after a week like last week.
What a Mother Knows by Leslie Lehr - about which I have mixed feelings.  It'll be rough reviewing this one.

I also sat on the porch reading Food by Mary McCartney and discussing recipes with the husband whilst sipping coffee and occasionally stopping to admire the birds, last night.  That was fun.  I haven't bothered putting Food in my sidebar but it's really popular in this house. I'm amazed that fights haven't broken out over who gets a turn with the cookbook.

Just walked in:

There have been a few new arrivals but now that I've got a new system for organizing ARCs, I keep hauling them off to put them in the correct stacks so I can't photograph them. However, these are the only two ARCs that arrived.

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley - for review from Sourcebooks:


A time-slip romance adventure.

Nicola Marter was born with a gift.  When she touches an object, she sometimes glimpses those who have owned it before.  When a woman arrives with a small wooden carving at the gallery where Nicola works, she can see the object's history and knows that it was named after the Firebird--the mythical creature from an old Russian fable.  Compelled to know more, Nicola follows a young girl named Anna into the past.  Anna leads her on a quest through the glittering backdrops of the Jacobites and Russian courts, unearthing a tale of love, courage and redemption.

She Rises by Kate Worsley - for TLC tour:


A panoramic historical novel of love, adventure, and identity—with an astonishing twist.
It is 1740 and Louise Fletcher, a young maid, has been warned of the lure of the sea for as long as she can remember—after all, it stole away her father and brother. But when she is offered work in the bustling naval port of Harwich serving a wealthy captain’s daughter, she leaps at the chance to see more of the world. There she meets Rebecca, her haughty and fascinating mistress.
Intertwined with Louise’s story is that of fifteen-year-old Luke, who is beaten and press ganged, sent to sea against his will on board the warship Essex in the service of His Majesty’s Navy. He must learn fast and choose his friends well if he is to survive the brutal hardships of a sailor’s life and its many dangers, both up high in the rigging and in the dark decks down below.
She Rises brings to vivid life both land and sea in Georgian England, but explores a thoroughly modern and complex love story. Bold, brilliant, and utterly original, She Rises is an accomplished and gripping search for identity and survival.


I've gotten a few books from PBS, as well, but they're scattered.  I've got some major housework to do.

Reading:

I've just started Have Mother, Will Travel by Claire and Mia Fontaine and I'm not far but I have a feeling I'm going to love this mother-daughter travel memoir.

Bad language warning:

I know the language is awful (skip if you're sensitive to bad language) but I loved article from The Onion because it was just so accurate to how I felt about last week:  Jesus, This Week. It was, indeed, a rough week for America but I am pleased to say that I found more positive, uplifting tweets on my twitter feed than . . . you know, conspiracy theories or articles about racists coming out of the woodwork, which was pleasing, although I personally felt like curling up in a ball and wailing when our Congress fell through on background checks.

In case you're an American who thinks the government is trying to mess with your 2nd Amendment rights, please read this article on Amending the Constitution. It's a lot more complex than some people would lead us to believe.

Isabel obviously wants something

She keeps chirping at me, tapping my arm with her paw (I love it when she stretches up on her hind legs and gives me a gentle, "Hey, pay attention to me!" tap) and winding around my legs.  So, I'll leave you with a Doctor Who Revisited trailer .  Tom Baker is our all-time favorite, the Doctor we watched on husband's black-and-white TV in rerun form, Saturday evenings in the dorm.  I am that old.  Unfortunately, we don't have access to BBC America, so someone out there will just have to watch it for me.

Happy Monday!

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

13 comments:

  1. Bird butts, you make me laugh! Hey, I'd rather look at theirs than mine. :)

    I've not read anything by Jill Mansell yet, although I do own one of her books on my nook from Free Friday download. Thanks for the recommendation, which I've heard from you before.

    I have a copy of The Firebird which our library was giving away for free. Sourcebooks is a publisher right in my very own town of Naperville, Illinois, and somehow they've arranged for Susanna Kearsley to come speak at our library. Amazing! Now I hope I can get the novel read in time for her appearance. Or, we can just talk about it together.

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    1. I am so not kidding about the bird butts. I posted one of a hawk's butt, once, and New Orleans Chris threatened to print it out and hang it on his wall. LOL Yeah, they're better than middle-aged human butts, for sure.

      It'll be interesting to see what you think of Jill Mansell. I thought this last one was a little different -- not quite the usual perky heroine, which was nice for a change of pace. They're just cheery books, total uppers for when you can't bear to read anything dark. Then, of course, I followed up with a really dark story but at least I got my slice of sunlight, first. :)

      Oh, cool! Maybe she's just coming through while visiting her publisher, but they did have some kind of competition for readers to try to get Susanna K. to come to their town. I knew we didn't have a chance in he**. We don't get British authors unless they're being really pushed by their American publishers.

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  2. Bird butts are ADORABLE ;)

    Jesus, this week indeed! America went through the wringer. :( Tragedy, Congress completely failing, etc. I have so many thoughts on all of that but I won't clutter up your comment box ;)

    I hope you're feeling 100% now? And I hope that we all have a better week this time around!

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    1. LOL Thanks, Jennifer. They're very attractive, as butts go, aren't they? Maybe I need feathers to camouflage mine.

      I have many thoughts about the #congressfail, too. Maybe we need to get to know each other off the boards. I have a feeling we'd get along just fine, although you are far superior to me at reading speed.

      Much better. I have a humongous do-list that I'm about to tackle. Reviews will have to wait another day, unless I can get one bashed out tonight. Thanks for asking!

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    2. I think you're right, we'd be best pals before you know it! I know we follow one another on Twitter but I don't think we're ever on at the same time, lol.

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    3. I've seen some of your tweets but I'm a drop-in tweeter because I don't have a smart device from which I can tweet - just a boring old desktop. I'll have to pay closer attention!

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    4. Please do! I'm forever dropping nuggets of wisdom! (Ha ha!)

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  3. I think it's a great bird-in-action photo, Nancy, even if from behind.

    I am glad you are feeling better!

    Last week was such a hard week. I know it won't ease up for the victims in Texas and Boston any time soon, and so I'm thinking and praying for all of them. And I really don't know what our representatives were thinking in not passing that bill.

    I am looking forward to reading The Firebird when it comes out.

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    1. Thanks x 2, Wendy!

      Yes, last week totally sucked. My nephew in Waco is lamenting the fact that the West, TX explosion has already dropped off the major news networks and posted an article about a woman who survived the blast but nearly got her face blown off. Eeks.

      I think our representatives were thinking about lining their own pockets. We should be very, very concerned about corruption in our Congress.

      Me, too! The Firebird is a chunkster but I just know I'm going to love it. :)

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  4. I adore the bird butt. And speaking of birds, I saw the weirdest thing last weekend. There's a bird nesting in the under-part of my roof overhang. Apparently Bird #2 tried to infiltrate Bird #1's nest. So Bird #1 had his feet hanging out of his nest holding Birds #2 suspended in midair! #1 was holding #2's beak and leg. Hilarious.

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    1. How fun, Andi! Wish I could have seen your little bird battle. Sounds like a hoot!

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  5. Glad I found another great book blog tonight (that can appreciate a foul language filled Onion article!). I adore the cover of She Rises and can't wait to hear the reviews come in, it sounds like such a great book.

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    1. Thanks, I'm glad you like my blog! I'm usually not a fan of bad language, but . . . I mean, really. What a horrendous week. I felt like it certainly expressed how I felt perfectly and you must have felt that way, too, yes?

      The cover of She Rises is definitely eye-catching! And, it sounds like a fun read, too. I think I'm set to tour it in June or July -- it'll be a while. We'll see how hard it is to resist. ;)

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