Sunday Post - 10/20/13

The Sunday Post is a meme sponsored by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It's a chance to share news.  A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

It's been an odd fall so far.  We've had so much rain in the last week or two that the leaves aren't turning brilliant colors.  Mostly, they start turning, fall off, and go brown and brittle, leaving us with trees that still look mostly green (if a bit faded and thin), but a carpet of brown leaves on the lawn.  I miss the gorgeous reds and yellows and oranges.  We need a good cold snap.

I'm hard at work on the first two of my three indexing projects, so getting around to all my blogging friends to read and comment on posts has suffered.  So has review writing.  I've got several books I need to write reviews for; hopefully I can get some of them done this week.  I like to review when I finish a book, but since I've been finishing books at 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning, that hasn't been happening!

My computer is back from the shop with yet another new hard drive.  I'm still not convinced that was the problem, but it has survived pretty rigorous testing so far.  Now that we think the hardware issues are fixed, Mr. Bookwyrm will spend part of his weekend rebuilding my system (software, drivers, etc.) so it looks like it did before all this, more or less.  Hopefully, it will be in working order by Tuesday or Wednesday -- and it won't break down again.  *fingers crossed*

Last week on the blog: 

• Tues. 10/15: Happy Birthday, Winnie the Pooh! 
• Wed. 10/16: REVIEW: Bran New Death (Victoria Hamilton) 
• Thur. 10/17: Jim C. Hines' 'Fake Writer Girls' rant was funny and very tongue-in-cheek.
• Fri. 10/18: Worth Reading: Neil Gaiman on 'Why our future depends on libraries, reading, and imagination'
• Sat. 10/19: News & Notes - 10/19/13:  Oscar Hijuelos' death, the 2013 Man Booker Prize, National Book Award shortlists, a man with 59K books, the Biblioburro, the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, drool-worthy photos of libraries, stunning LOTR-inspired art, and lots of other links!

• Giveaway winners: The giveaway winners for the Debbie Macomber Christmas books (1 book each) are Melissa of Melissa's Eclectic Books and Barbara T.  Congratulations, ladies!  Please check your email, and if you haven't gotten an email from me, try emailing me directly or contacting me on Facebook.

 The coming week:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Character Names (either that I love, or  unusual names, I haven't decided which)
• Reviews: Deception Cove, Heirs and Graces
• News & Notes - 10/19/13

New additions to the hoard:   

For review:

Thanks to Bloomsbury USA for The Wives of Los Alamos.  I have family in that town, so I'm eager to read this historical novel set in Los Alamos's early days.  Freezer I'll Shoot is for a Great Escapes blog tour; it's by the same author as Bran New Death, which I reviewed this week, so I'm really looking forward to it!

From the library booksale -- too many to link, so I'll just post these photos:

Mysteries: Nine Lives Last Forever (Rebecca M. Hale), and 4 by Carolyn G. Hart: Mint Julep Murder, Something Wicked, Southern Ghost, and The Christie Caper

More mysteries: Wall to Wall Dead by Jennie Bentley, and 3 by Laura Childs: Oolong Dead, Shades of Earl Grey, and Dragonwell Dead

 Yet more mysteries: A Vision of Murder (Victoria Laurie), Books Can Be Deceiving (Jenn McKinlay) -- read this from the library and wanted my own copy, Most Loving Mere Folly (Edith Pargeter, aka Ellis Peters), and A Charmed Death (Madelyn Alt)

Hardcover fiction and mystery: Sheer Folly (Carola Dunn), The Girl Who Chased the Moon (Sarah Addison Allen), a Jeeves treasury (P. G. Wodehouse), Out of the Deep I Cry (Julia Spencer-Fleming), and The Inn at Rose Harbor (Debbie Macomber), which is such good shape that I'm saving it for a giveaway when the next Rose Harbor book comes out.

Trade paperback fiction and mystery: And Only To Deceive (Tasha Alexander), The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield), The Next Always (Nora Roberts)

    Trade fantasy: Od Magic (Patricia A. McKillip), Sea Dragon Heir (Storm Constantine), Charmed Sphere (Catherine Asaro), Heart Fate (Robin D. Owens) (that one is fantasy romance)

 Paperback fantasy: Golden (Cameron Dokey), Archangel (Sharon Shinn), Marked by Passion (Kate Perry), The Quarters Novels Vol. 1 (Tanya Huff)

Hardcover fantasy: Cold Fire (Tamora Pierce), The Last Knight (Hilari Bell), Here There Be Dragons (James Owen), Magic Study (Maria V. Snyder), The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)

I love library booksales!

But... I don't know what I was thinking, buying all these.  My TBR list is miles long, and I have at least this many unread books on my shelves already.  Not to mention all the e-ARCs and ebooks.  Eh, at least I'll have plenty to read if I have to hole up during the zombie apocalypse!

Bargain or free for my E-reader:

I've got a bit of a blue/purple thing going on here.  Totally unplanned, I assure you!

Challenges:

I signed up for the year-long Cruisin' thru the Cozies challenge hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews.  My goal is 13 books for the year; so far I've read and reviewed 12, including this week's Bran New Death.  That brings me to Investigator level.  Only one more to reach Super Sleuth and my goal -- and I've already read it!

I'm also participating in the year-long NetGalley Challenge sponsored by Red House Books.  I haven't finished any NetGalley books  this week, though I'm in the middle of several.