It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (November 6, 2023)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

It was a pretty quiet week. I had about 20 trick-or-treaters visit my house - most of them little kids visiting before it got dark and accompanied by parents. There was one large group with the parents all in nice, warm costumes too. 

It took until Thursday for the dusting of snow we got last weekend to melt. Our temperatures did get up to 32 degrees for a few hours this past week. Today it is 38 and mostly cloudy. It looks like rain/snow is expected most days during the coming week with temperatures maybe hitting a high of 44 degrees with lows in the upper 20s. Luckily, I don't have to be anywhere this coming week and don't have to worry about slippery roads. 

I completed my State of the Stack report this week. I was right in thinking that I added more review books than I read. My current review stack is 52 books tall. I'm struggling with my current read but plan on persisting. I DNFed my first book in months this past week too when the combination of werewolves and contemporary romance wasn't working for me.  

On the other hand, I added two review copies this week that I am very eager to read. I almost jumped for joy when I received an email invitation to read Random in Death by J. D. Robb since I am such a huge fan of the series. I was also excited to get Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey since I've been reading books in that world for more than 40 years. 

October Report

I read 35 books in October including 14 review copies. Of the 21 that were mine, thirteen were rereads all but one being via audiobook. I listened to audiobooks for a little over 142 hours this past month. I also managed to read 4 from my TBR pile (books I've had for more than a year). 

Through the end of October, I've read 359 books including 127 Review books. I've read 62 from my TBR pile and listened to 113 audiobooks. I've also reread 100 books.

I added 56 new books to my stack in October including 22 new review copies. My new books included five Kindle Daily Deals and eight from BookBub emails. I added a new category called Reread for books I own in print and purchased in either Kindle or Audiobook format. This month there were 23. Excluding the review books, that means only nine of my new additions were genuinely new to me, unread books. 

I added 9 new audiobooks including four from Chirp, one from Audible Plus and one via Audible Credit. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread) -- Val Con and Miri are marooned on an interdicted planet until they battle an agent of the Department of Interior and find their way back into the greater galaxy.
• Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (Review; November 7) -- The second in the Midsolar Mysteries was an excellent story filled with a wide variety of aliens and human who needs to solve a murder. My review was posted on November 2.
• Plan B by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread) -- The scattered members of Clan Korval reunite on Lytaxin which is under attack from the Yxtrang where Val Con claims the ring and determines to bring the war to Liad and the Department of Interior. 

• Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter (Review; December 5) -- A recently divorced woman is trying to rebuild her life but a body behind a wall she's demoing stands in her way. My review will be posted on November 29.
• The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook) -- The 13th Amelia Peabody mystery was a more emotionally intense story than earlier books with more from Ramses's point of view. My review will be posted on December 7.
• I Dare by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread) -- Lots of threads all following from the declaration of Plan B which ends with the clan relocating to Surebleak.

DNF

• The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson (Review; December 5) -- I quit this one at 37% because I wasn't enjoying the combination of contemporary romance and werewolves. 

Currently

• The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong (Review; December 5)
• Necessity's Child by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread)

Next Week

• The Buried Hours by R. S. Grant (Review; December 5)
• Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Mine since July 19, 2009)
• The Queen of the Dead by Michelle Sagara (Mine since April 7, 2022)

• The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess (Audiobook Reread)
• Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose (Mine since April 11, 2022)
• Kris Longknife: Bold by Mike Shepherd (Mine since October 13, 2022)

Reviews Posted

• Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook Reread)
• Slay by Laurell K. Hamilton (Review Copy)
• Calico by Lee Goldberg (Review Copy)

• Starter Villain by John Scalzi
• The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle (Review Copy)
• Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (Review Copy)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey (Review; December 26)
• Random in Death by J. D. Robb (Review; January 23)
• How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (Review; March 26)

Bought:

• Risk by Dick Francis (Kindle Daily Deal & Audible Plus)
• So Long by Blake Pierce (BookBub Free)
• Shelter for a Shifter by Lauren Connolly (BookBub Free)

• Sweetwater & the Witch by Jayne Castle (Audiobook; Audible Sale $5.99)
• The Good Lie by A. R. Torre (Kindle & Audiobook; $1.99 each)

What was your week like?