Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Wordless Wednesday..Summer is Just Around the Corner

..and we are back in Ocean City, NJ again today. 
Mini Golf anyone??



Fore!!

















Sadly, not a 'real' lighthouse..and those palm trees are plastic!




...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.


A Review of "Bleed For Me" [15]


Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham
Mulholland Books, ISBN 978-0316126380
February 27, 2012, 432 pages



I have been on a roll lately book wise, and I have another very good one to share with you.
This time we are in England, near the town of Bath, and are soon deep into the life of Joe O'Loughlin and his family, when his daughter's best friend turns up at the front door...

"When Sienna Hegarty turns up at his family home one night, covered in blood and frozen in shock, psychologist Joe O'Loughlin finds himself drawn deep into her world, trying to unearth the dark secrets her mind has buried. The police find a major piece of the puzzle at Sienna's house: her father, a retired cop, is face-down in a pool of his own blood, his throat slashed and his skull caved in. The blood covering Sienna was his. The 14-year-old can't remember what happened that night but, at the same time, Sienna doesn't mourn her father's death. What was going on behind closed doors in the Hegarty household? Is Sienna guilty of brutal murder? And what part has her charismatic teacher Gordon Ellis played in this blood-soaked event?"
Without question, it is soon clear that something very bad was going on the Hegarty home, even if the police are a bit reluctant to believe what starts to become apparent about a well respected co-worker. They are a family that just seems to have been overwhelmed with tragedy in the past and now it seems that their youngest may go to prison for murder, if O'Loughlin, a psychologist with a unique connection, can not help Sienna remember what really happened.

O'Loughlin is a wonderful character and a large part of what makes this book so very good. Yes, he is a psychologist, but he is also a troubled man. Diagnosed with Parkinson's and spending a large part of his day obsessively noting every tic and twitch, he is a very sad man, trapped in more than one way by his illness. He has given up his private practice, only teaching part time, and is also separated from his wife, on the verge of divorce.

But his being a psychologist is also a huge plus for the story, because through his eyes, we get to explore below the surface of so many people involved in the multiple treads of the book, including some very, very evil people. All the minor characters are excellent too, especially his friend, retired police detective Victor Ruiz and Detective Ronnie Cray. It would almost be easy to dislike his separated wife, Julianne, to blame her for leaving Joe when he is sick, but Robotham is not going to let us off that easy. Joe is not a perfect guy and sometimes they just want to slap him, and so might you, but in his heart he is a very decent man, in a very difficult situation, just trying to do his best, day by day.

The plot is very good, seeming to meander off at time, but all wrapping up in a very satisfying and believable way. The story is always very intelligent, very well paced and very well written.I don't want to give too much away, but this is certainly the type of book you may have a problem putting down, it just flows along so well and draws you in so completely.
This is the fourth book in the series, but don't let that stop you from reading this one for one minute. Everything you will need to know about the past is explained to us and while, once again, it may make you want to go back and read the previous ones, it is not at all necessary to love this one.
And I did!
If you like a great thriller, a great mystery, a well written novel with some great characters, you will enjoy this one.
Highly recommended.



My thanks to Library Thing and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.






Monday, February 13, 2012

Musing Monday..."Reader, I married him."

Ok, I have not even told you the question, let alone the answer and here I have given the ending away. But I suspect, many of you know that quote and even if you don't, you may know the ending to the book that is my answer.
But first, the question, as always from the mind of Miz B at Should Be Reading.

This week’s musing asks…

What is your favorite romantic book –or book that includes a love story? (an adult romance, young adult, kids’ story, anything)

You know, sometimes I actually have to muse about the Musing question, to let my answer form in my brain. Yes, I know my answers don't seem that complicated, but in my simple mind, so things go.
But this time, the answer came to be at once.
Jame Eyre!
I assume the first time I read it, it was a school assignment, when I was in high school. And my dear reader, I was sold!
I don't read romances, never have. Actually, I am not too happy when a romance intrudes on my beloved mystery stories. But Jane Eyre...that is a great story, a great romance...a great book!
(and please, excuse the possible overuse of the exclamation mark in this post!)

This is, in my mind, the perfect example how often the classics are, for all the rest, just darn good stories and Jane Eyre is a darn good story, a darn good love story.  Then there is Mr. Rochester. Dark, mysterious, with a gruff exterior but a needy, lonely heart. And it did not hurt that he was rich!
Hey, I was a teenager but I wasn't a fool!
If you are going to fall in love with a man with so many issues, it doesn't hurt if he has a boatload of money.

But, of course, things aren't going to go that smooth. No, the path will be rocky and that is good. At least for the story. That pesky wife locked in the attic and other wee problems. But love will triumph. Or will it? Oh, the suspense.
Actually, I always thought that Jane would triumph, one way or the other, because she is the star of the show and if she was not the great, strong, resourceful young woman that she is, the book, especially the romance would not be what it is. Yes, it is a love story but it is also a story about a young woman growing up in difficult circumstances, to say the least, and succeeding. The whole orphan thing, succeeding even with her lowly beginning and then, the icing on the cake...True Love.

"My bride is here... because my equal is here, and my likeness."

They were friends first, equals, despite their places in the world, and then they fell in love.But things are not so simple and we knew there was more to the story. I mean, there were all those pages left! The interrupted wedding (oh, horror!) Jane fleeing, trying to start over. But true love wins. She returns, finds the house burned to the ground..is he dead? Is that it? No, we will have our happy ending after all. Sure, he is blind and scarred. But really girls, does that make him any less attractive? Of course not. He is now a tragic, handsome figure.
And he is still rich.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

So So Lazy Sammy Sunday

"
"Just laying back, relaxing with my peeps...."

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Weekend Cooking...Nutella Ravioli..Redux

You may remember, a long time ago, I posted a recipe for Nutella Ravioli.
At the time the Niece had made them for a dinner, having found the recipe in a cookbook from the very talented Giada De Laurentiis.
They seem so simple, with just a couple of ingredients. And they take just a couple of minutes to make.
Can they really be any good?
Oh yes, my dear readers, they certainly can!

If you like chocolate and most certainly if you are a fan of the hazelnut chocolate spread that is Nutella, these are really something you have to try.

And then I saw a picture somewhere online of a slight variation made for Valentine Day.
Use a heart cutter ..a little powered sugar...maybe a little decoration and you have a perfect dessert for the heart filled day. Or just a delicious, easy little dessert or treat for any day. Different shapes or just make the original, folding the wonton skin in half and making triangle ones. Either way, a winner!


All you will need is a pack of wonton skins, available at most supermarkets, a jar of nutella, in the peanut butter aisle most likely, a beaten egg to seal the edges and some vegetable oil for frying.


Cut the skins to the desired shapes, here some cute hearts. Apply some Nutella, leaving a nice bit of edge to seal. Use you finger to apply some of the egg to the wonton edge, put on the top wonton and seal the edge well. I used a fork.
Fry in the oil, preheated to about 350 degrees.
Stand right there because they will be ready to flip in just a second.
Fry until brown on the other side, remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry on a paper towel.
Now, if you make a bunch, they say that they can be held in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.
I don't know about that.
Mine have never lasted that long.





This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


Friday, February 10, 2012

A Review of "A Place to Die" [14]

A Place to Die: An Inspector Georg Büchner Mystery by Dorothy James
Xlibris Corporation, ISBN 978-1450082693
April 21, 2010, 436 pages

Here is your chance to get in on the first book in a series, and it looks like it will be a good one
Neither Eleanor or Franz Fabien are too thrilled to leave their home in New York to fly to Franz's home in Vienna to visit his mother. But she recently had to move into an assisted living facility and he feels it is his duty, even if they really do not get along and he tries to keep contact to a minimum. Haus im Wald seems like a pleasant enough place..well, until one of the residents, a rather dashing older man with an active social life, ends up bludgeoned to dead and police inspector Georg Buchner takes up temporary residence to solve the crime. But as even more people die both we and Buchner have to ask ourselves just how deep these mysteries may go.

There are a number of sub-plots that greatly add to the interest of the story. A number of the characters, not unusual considering the setting, spend a fair bit of time musing the subject of growing older. And again, considering the people involved and their age, the last generation that was alive during WWII and shortly after the war, the subject of living during the presence of the Nazi regime plays not a insignificant roll in the story.

But ultimately, this is a character driven book. This is not a cozy little mystery, full of sweet old people. No, the characters of A Place to Die are an interesting and complex group, with present day passions and secrets that reach back to the time of the Nazis. American Eleanor Fabian is at the center of the story and one of the few really likable people we meet. I think you will soon agree that she deserves a better life that being married to the quite annoying Franz. And then there is Inspector Buchner, who will make a great lead for a new series. He is smart and low key as he slowly and carefully untangles all the relationships and tries to make sense of each resident's version of what happen on the day the murder took place.

But each of the minor characters is great as well. We have the rather smarmy Dr. Hofer, a private physician to many of the residents, Frau Huber, the housekeeper, who, shall we say, like to take a hands on interest in seeing that everyone is satisfied with her care. We have the retired Lutheran religious sisters, Sister Agatha and Sister Barbara, who are the basis for more than a few rumors and, of course, Frau Hagen, a retired opera singer and the reason the murdered man had a Viagra prescription. These are just a few of a rather large cast, but each character is so well flesh out that the reader should have little problem keeping them all straight. And each is interesting in their own way..and a good suspect in the murder.
These folks may be old, but they are not dead yet.
Well..except for the ones that die.

Although the vast majority of the book takes place within the setting of the retirement home, that never seem to confine the story. Still short trips into the city are interesting and I hope we get to 'see' more of the area in the future. I am sure that can make for some fascinating backdrops for the next adventure with Georg Buchner. And I am happy to see, from reading an interview with the author, that Eleanor Fabian and her whiny husband will appear again in the next book.



Check out other great reviews, interviews with the author Dorothy James and guest posts at Tribute Books Blog Tour!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Wordless Wednesday...Ocean City, NJ on a Winter Day



Closed for the season..












...good night.


...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.


A Review of "Started Early, Took My Dog" [13]

Started Early, Took My Dog
by Kate Atkinson
Reagan Arthur Books, ISBN 978-0316066730
March 21, 2011, 384 pages



 I started Early—Took my Dog—
And visited the Sea—
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me—
Emily Dickinson

Our two main characters in this story, Jackson Brodie, back for his fourth appearance, and Tracy Waterhouse have a few things in common. Both are ex-cops, both are more than a little lonely and a bit at a loss as to what to do with themselves and other find themselves in Leeds on the edge of an adventure.

Jackson has taken a job, rather half heartedly, to try and find the birth family of a woman now living in New Zealand. But at the same time he is also keeping an eye open for clues to the location of his 'pretend' ex-wife who stole a great deal of money from him when she ran off.
Tracy's situation is even a little sadder. Never married, no children, few friends, her job was her life and now without it she is just beginning to sense the size of the void. She has taken a job as the head of security for a shopping mall, which gives her something to do...and lead her to the opportunity to make a purchase unlike anything she could ever have considered. In a instant, she makes a decision that will change her life.
For his part, Jackson also make an instantaneous decision and rescues a small dog being beaten by his owner. He happily gives the man a taste of his own medicine, and introduces who was perhaps my favorite character of this book, The Ambassador.  What a dog!

Not that the other characters are not good, because they are. I have not read the previous books in the series, but I don't think it is necessary. The author lets us know everything we need to about Taylor's past to understand what is going on. But I must say I was taken enough with him to want and go back and read the previous ones soon. And Tracy is great! No ones fool, more than willing and able to protect those she cares about and at time very funny. She and her sidekick, who I will let you meet for yourself, make a delightful pair, on a great, if rather dangerous, adventure.

The setup of the story, with a number of intertwining stories, both past and present, took me a little bit to get used to, but then became quite enjoyable. Ms. Atkinson is not beyond using a bit of misdirection and a little sleight of hand, so the reader has to stay or his or her toes as to not go down the wrong path, plot wise You may think you know where the story is going, only to have things turned about as we make another connection. There are a lot of clues, not a few red herrings and before you know it it will all start to tie together and it all adds up to a great read.


Monday, February 6, 2012

Musing Monday..Manning and Madonna

Wow, another Monday already? Let's see what  MizB at Should Be Reading is asking this week on Musing Monday...

This week’s musing asks…


Did you do any reading in lieu of watching the football game, yesterday, or were you foregoing reading to watch the game? If you read a book (or books) what did you choose?

I would not say I am a football fan.
I have, under pressure and the threat of not being allowed to share in the football food snacks, watched a few games this year. But then my boy Timmy Tebow was out of it and what little interest I had disappeared along with Tim. As did the snacks.

But the Super Bowl...that is different, right.
Even people you have little or no interest in football often watch the game.
Because, first of all, there are the commercials, several of which were pretty good this year.
And many people attend parties, with lots of football snacks.
And there was the Half Time Show, starring Madonna.
Is it just me, or did she look awfully tired. She is getting on in years. Then, she was swallowed up by the giant cloud of smoke. Fitting, since the Giants...WHO PLAY IN New Jersey, NOT New York...won.
Did I mention they play in NJ and, for the life of me, I do not understand why they are not the NJ Giants?

So, it seems I was watching the game, right?
Well, I was, but only because I was at work and I was reading a book on my Nook and I forgot to charge my Nook before I came to work and I did not have the charger with me and I was at work and by the time the game was starting the little battery thingie was showing red and then it died !!!
So, at first, I was reading A Place To Die.
And the battery died. {Darn Evil E-Books!}
So I watched the game.
And now I am going out to search my car and see if maybe I have a book in the back or under the seat. Or something..

Some of you may remember a time when I was prone to ranting about the Evil E-Books. That was before I bought a Nook..then a Color Nook..and got the iPad. Then I gave the ranting up.
However, say what you will about the merits and drawbacks of each format, but one thing for sure...I never had to stop reading a book, a REAL book, because the battery ran out!

Wait! I have my phone. I can read a book on my phone!
Not the one I was reading, because it is a file that I had to convert to a different format and now it appears as a file, not a book, on my Nook and nowhere else. Another problem I never had with a real book.

But I must say, I thought that opening of the half time show was really something. Even if poor Madonna had to be rolled on. Because she is getting on in years, ya know.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Sammy So-So Super Bowl Sunday

Sadly, our Timmy is not playing, but we will watch if snacks will be provided!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Weekend Cooking...Baked Rice Pudding

Recently the Bro and the SIL jetted away to Cancun for a week of relaxation and luxury..because that is how they roll.
For me, it meant some extra quality time with the cutest doggie in the world, So-So Sammy, and the gift of a big bottle of Mexican vanilla.
Oh, what to make, what to make?

Well, the first thing that came to my mind was Rice Pudding. In my memory, vanilla was always at the flavor forefront of my mother's baked rice pudding. But, as with so many of my mother's recipes, I never wrote it down. What was I thinking?
So off to the internet I went.

Most rice pudding recipes start with cooked rice. My mother's did not.
So many contain eggs, to make a custard. My mother's did not.
Many are cooked on the stove-top. My mother's was not.

I know it contained milk..a lot of milk.
It contained rice..not that much.
Sugar and vanilla and...maybe something else.

So I found a couple of recipes. And went from there.

Caite's Baked Rice Pudding
  • About 4 cups of milk
  • 6 cardamon pods
  • 3/4 cup raw rice
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • Zest of one orange
  • 3/4 cup of raisins
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Put milk in a pot and heat, adding pods of cardamom just before it comes to a boil. Take off the heat and let it steep for about 30 minutes. Remove the pods and mix all the ingredients, except the vanilla, into a large baking dish and put in the preheated oven.


Bake for about two hours, stirring every 20 minutes. After about 1 1/2 hours, add the vanilla and stir in. Bake until rice is very soft and creamy and all the milk is absorbed, adding more milk if it becomes too dry before the rice is soft.

So, was it the same as my mom's?
Yes..and no. The basic recipe was, I think, the same. Creamy, from all the stirring, and yummy. A few simple ingredients.
Same, except for the orange zest and the cardamon, which were not in my mom's recipe but seemed like excellent additions. It smelled so good!
Nothing is as cozy as some tasty rice pudding!




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


Friday, February 3, 2012

A Review of "Feed" [12]


Feed by M.T.Anderson
Listening Library, ISBN 978-0739356203
March 11, 2008



Oh, what is happening to my reading?
Yesterday it was a review of a memoir.
Today a YA book...and an audio book at that.
But then awhile back I read a glowing review of this book by Sandy at You've GOTTA Read This and Sandy is so often right..if a bit of an audio pusher.
And you know what? I like it.
I liked it a great deal.

In Feed, we are on Earth, sometime in the future. It is a world that is very different in many ways from the one we know, but, perhaps most frightening, most chilling, in many ways not that different at all.

It is a world dominated by the Feed, sort of the ultimate Internet, implanted, hardwired into the brain after the baby, conceived to the specifications of his or her 'parents' in the conceptionarium, is birthed. Speaking aloud is not even needed if you desire. You can just 'message' others through the Feed. Reading for the most part has disappeared. Who needs it when constant information is being piped into out brains, especially tailored to us..and our buying habits. Because it is all about buying a world controlled by the corporations with us as their constant customers.
It is a world that few who live in it question . Even as the physical, natural world around them is almost destroyed, people around the world die of mysterious illnesses, there are unexplained explosions and disasters and everyone is breaking out in weeping lesions, people just go along. No, just go along and make the lesions the must have accessory! Problem solved!

But for Titus, everything is going to be turned on it's head when he and a few of his friends go the resorts on the Moon for Spring Break. There he meets Violet, a girl unlike anyone he has ever met before. Home schooled, the daughter of a professor who teaches the dead languages, she was raised to think for herself, to question things. And sadly, it may be her undoing.
While in a club on the moon, the group are infected by a virus that attacks their Feeds. It is a serious thing, but one the can be fixed..except for Violet. It seems she has an inferior Feed, implanted when she was a child, not at birth like most people, and therefore not as integrated into her system. So slowly, but relentlessly, it is shutting her down, system by system.

While at times this book is funny, and always entertaining, at it's heart it is dark, a dark, thought provoking satire of so much of our culture. Yes, it may be about our possibly future, but more upsetting, it is about our present, about a world of consumerism and conformity, a world where reading and writing and conversations are increasing replaced by texting and tweets and every form of Social Media. Is Titus' world so very different from our own, where we are constantly bombarded with information from our TVs, our phones, our tablets, our laptops, where people spend their days with earplugs blaring noise into their heads?

Violet and Titus are excellent characters, very believable, especially Titus in all his self centered, teenage boy-ness. At times, you will hate him, be so angry at what he does and does not do, but it is always very real and we never stop hoping that somehow, maybe, he will emerge a better person for it. Will he?
And I must say, even if it pains me a bit, that this is a book that seems designed for the audio format. Each chapter, we get to listen into the Feed, we are a part of the ads the tie into what is going on, often in a very creepy way. We hear the messagings between characters, with a slight echo that is perfect, alerting us to the change. And the constant slang, that might be difficult to understand if you were reading it, seems so natural as you listen to the characters. Even the constant use of the "F" word...and it is used in this book as much as in any book I have ever read, might be grating when read, but is not surprising in the mouths of these teenagers, trying to act all grown up but living in a nightmare. Narrated by David Aaron Baker, he gets that whiny, teen voice of Titus just perfect.
Yes, even if you are not a fan of audio books, and I have my issues with the format usually, this is one I would totally recommend.

This book is recommended for kids 14 and up, but honestly I can see many would have a problem with that. Between the language..and some mild sexual references..I would aim a bit older. But without question, this book raises a number of issues that I would think could lead to some great discussions with teenagers.
Not that you adults will not be challenged to think about a few things too.

An entertaining, funny, oh so sad, thought provoking book that I highly recommend.


Thursday, February 2, 2012

A Review of "Paris, My Sweet" [11]


Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas
Sourcebooks, ISBN 978-1402264115
February 1, 2012, 304 pages



"Part love letter to Paris, part love letter to New York, and total devotion to all things sweet, PARIS, MY SWEET is a treasure map for anyone with a hunger for life."
"In the eight years I had lived in New York, it always thrilled me to return to the city. Whether I was training back from a weekend at my dad's in Connecticut or landing at JFK after three weeks of hiking and biking in New Zealand, I could never suppress my grin when I saw the jagged skyline, the halo of light emanating from the city, the sea of yellow taxis, or the mishmash of cultures and clothing swimming together in one crazy orgy. New York was under my skin. For years, it had been my true love. And then Paris came along."
After a semester in France years ago and a summer in Paris in 2008, Amy was, without question, just a little obsessed with all things French. Yet, she loves a great deal about her life working and living in New York City. Her job as a advertising copywriter, her friends, her cat, her cute East Village apartment..not to mention an intimate knowledge of every bakery and chocolatier in the city...makes for a good life. But when the chance arises to take a temporary assignment in the City of Light, and delicious desserts, writing ad copy for Louis Vuitton, of course she can not say no.
The question becomes will she even want to come back "home". Or actually, maybe what makes a place home.

If you read here regularly, you may know that I am not the biggest fan of memoirs.
So what was I doing reading this? Well, I must say I was won over by the promise of descriptions of all sorts of sweet and delicious treats, on both sides of the ocean, and this book did not disappoint in keeping that promise. I do not share Ms. Thomas love of Paris (OK, maybe because I have never been there) but the descriptions of food in this book are so well done, so wonderful, that it could have me packing my bag and buying a black beret for the trip.
Ms. Thomas loves food and she excels at writing about it. The descriptions will have your mouth watering and, without a doubt, those parts are my favorite part of the book. Happily, there are a lot of them.

But the author also write some very interesting observation about the city and her life there and about it's inhabitants. Again, she is very good at putting us right there as she peddles around on her Vélib', a bicycle for Paris bike sharing system. We are there as she finds the best macarons in the world or shows the city off to her visiting mother and step-father and while she deals with the difficulties of making friends, let alone finding true love, in a culture with some significant differences from the Big Apple.

If you live in New York or Paris, or plan to visit either, and have a sweet tooth, this is a book that you will want to pick up. It is fun..and delicious. The lists of 'must visit' places and the cute little maps will be priceless, whether you search out just one or every single one on the list. But even if you never step a foot in either, this is still a fun read, one best read on a full stomach, and yet one with a bit of a serious note.
What will it be for her, NY or Paris?
Will she find true love.
Well, you will have to pick up a copy and check it out to find out!



My thanks to Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy to review.


Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Wordless Wednesday...A Few More Lighthouses

All Maine this week...

One of the "Two Lights" at Cape Elizabeth



Rockland Breakwater Light



Lobster boats in Bass Harbor



Marshall Point



Bass Harbor Light



...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.


Monday, January 30, 2012

Musing Monday..Plan? I Don't Need No Stinking Plan!

Nice and early Monday morning, so let's see what MizB at Should Be Reading is asking this week...

This week’s musing asks…
How far along are you in your current read before you start thinking about what you’ll read next?


Wait, let me get this right. You think I should be picking my next book to read while I am reading the current book? Really?

I may have mentioned it before, but when it comes to my reading, and actually when it come to this blog, I really have no..or very little..plan. It's how I roll. :-)
I remember first reading about fellow bloggers who keep a calendar of what has to be read and/or reviewed by a certain date. Log and charts and graphs, oh my! And I must say I was impressed. But I have no plan of following their plan...if that is not too many plans for you.

First, I am not the most organized of people. Not like one of those people who hoard stuff unplanned, but not up to keep some giant calender with my reading obligations. Which is maybe why I miss a few, or a lot, from time to time. If I am part of a tour, OK, I pay attention to that. But reviewing on or close to the publication date of a review book, as I attempt, not so good. But I am doing the best that I can, without trying too hard. If that makes sense.

Reading, even reading review books, is not my job. It is suppose to be fun. And keeping charts and graphs and such is too much like work to be fun. When it is not fun for me, I will just stop doing it.

So when do I pick my next read?
When I finish the current one.
I think "Hmmm..what will I read next?" I do consider what review books I have that will be coming up soon. And I consider if I have a library book that is due back soon sitting around.
But most of all I just consider what I feel like reading. Do I have one from a favorite author waiting, or one I read a great review of somewhere?
Do I want something more serious, or something a bit fast and lighter? A thriller, a cozy, non-fiction or, oh heavens, a memoir? It will all effect what I pick.
Right after I turn the last page of this one.