It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (March 7, 2022)

 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...

This was a great reading week. We were all anticipating a storm for the weekend with snow, sleet, ice and rain which meant we got everything ready so we wouldn't have to go out. The storm actually slid south of us with us just getting a bit of it. We got a tenth of an inch of ice and what looks like an inch of snow. Of course, even a little ice makes driving very difficult in hilly Duluth. Luckily, I didn't need to go anywhere.

My brother and I took advantage of a stay-at-home day by defrosting one of our freezers which hadn't been done for a couple of years. There were literally inches of frost on the top two shelves. Bill has a steam cleaner which he used to loosen the frost. I lost count of how many times he had to refill the steamer. The whole thing was quite a process. First, even though we have been trying to use things from that freezer for a couple of weeks, there was a whole bunch of frozen food to move to our other freezer and our two refrigerator freezers. We even had to haul out an ice chest for some of the food. 

Then there was the steaming. Then we had to let the interior dry. Bill used a space heater and a fan to make that go faster. Then we had to turn the freezer back on and wait until it got cold again. Finally, we could return the food to the now frost-free freezer. It probably took five or six hours for the whole process, but it looks great. Everything is neat and organized. 

You may ask, as I did, why a family of two has two upright freezers and two refrigerators each with a freezer. The freezers are at least 40 years old. My parents bought them back in the days when they were raising their kids, buying beef by the side, and needing to store all the produce from my mom's extensive gardens. Now we use them to take advantage of sales. The freezer we defrosted is mainly used for ice cream, frozen meals, vegetables, and breakfast meats like bacon and sausage. The other freezer is filled with meat and fish. The second refrigerator is used for things that don't fit in the house refrigerator - the extra half gallon of milk, the extra butter, the extra fruit that won't fit in the house refrigerator, the cooking oil for the deep fryer, various sodas and beverages, etc. Except for fresh produce, eggs, and bread, we wouldn't need to grocery shop for months.

This week I am looking forward to the arrival of Anne Bishop's new book Crowbones which I should get on Tuesday. I bought the Kindle version, the hardcover, and the Audible book. I asked for the eARC at NetGalley but never heard from them for either approval or disapproval. I know what I'll be doing on Tuesday. 

February Report

I read 29 books in February for a total of 10,126 pages and 196 hours of listening. Of the 22 books that were mine, three were from my TBR pile, thirteen were rereads, and sixteen were audiobooks. I read seven review books last month and DNF'd one.

I added 42 books to my LibraryThing account including thirteen review books and nineteen audiobooks. I used two Audible Credits, took advantage of an Audible Daily Deal, got two books from Audible Plus, and two from Chirp. I also took advantage of five Kindle Daily Deals. Twenty-seven of the books are still on the TBR pile including eleven of the review books. 

I looked through my "Added in 2008 and Still TBR" collection and discarded some of the books that I was no longer interested in reading. The collection now sits at 27 books, and two of those are in my reading plans for this month. I do hope to finish that collection by the end of the year. I still have piles of books I want to discard sitting around but my cleaning lady helped me out by taking a dozen or so of the ones that interested her. 

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.)

• Lake Silence by Anne Bishop (Audiobook Reread) -- I listened to this one again to get ready for Crowbones which will be released on Tuesday. I really enjoy this series. Here's my review from 2018.
• Indulgence in Death by J. D. Robb (Kindle) -- This was my March grab from my Christmas Gift Bag. I really enjoyed rereading it as it reminded me how far Eve and Roarke have come in building their relationship. Here's my review from 2010.
• A Baby's Bones by Rebecca Alexander (Kindle) -- This was $1.99 when I bought it in December. I was drawn to it because it was a mystery and the main character was an archaeologist. I enjoyed it and will be looking for more in the series. My review will be posted March 26.

• Summer Nights with a Cowboy by Caitlin Crews (Review; March 29) -- This Western Romance read much longer than its 320 pages and was filled with navel-gazing and repetition. Fans of the series might enjoy it. I found it a slog. My review will be posted March 24.
• The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden (Review; April 5) -- This cozy introduces Edie Brown who is trying to save her family's antiques business after her mother goes to prison for art forgery. It was a nice story with interesting characters and plot. My review will be posted on March 29.
• Pretty Dead by Anne Frasier (Kindle & Audiobook; Mine) -- The third in the Elise Sandburg series was filled with action, had a twisty plot, and had intriguing and damaged characters. My review will be posted on April 5.

• Truly Dead by Anne Frasier (Kindle & audiobook) -- This conclusion to the Elise Sandburg thriller series was an exciting story and nice wrap-up to the series. My review will be posted on April 19.
• Cleopatra's Dagger by Carole Lawrence (Amazon Prime Review; April 1) -- This was a nice historical mystery that was stronger on recreating New York City in 1880 than it was on the mystery. My review will be posted on March 30.
• Glass Slippers by Leah Cypess (Review; April 5) -- This middle grade story tells about Cinderella's third stepsister Tirzah age eleven. When the glass slippers are stolen, it is Tirzah who is blamed. She learns a lot about her family, the past, and the glass slippers as she attempts to locate them. My review will be posted on April 2.

Currently

• Shadow in the Glass by M. E. Hilliard (Review; April 5)

Next Week

• Amberlight by Sylvia Kelso (Mine since 2008)
• The Burning Pages by Paige Shelton (Review; April 5)
• Miz Scarlet and the Imposing Imposter by Sara M. Barton (Kindle) -- From Fussy Librarian email for $.99 last December.

• Someone Like You by Susan Mallery (Kindle & Audiobook)
• Causing Havoc by Lori Foster (Mine since 2008)
• The Sweet Goodbye by Ron Corbett (Review; April 19)

Reviews Posted

• A Scandal in Battersea by Mercedes Lackey
• Lt. Leary Commanding by David Drake
• Front Page Murder by Joyce St. Anthony

• Don't Get Close by Matt Miksa 
• If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher
• Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb

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

Review:

• From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper (May 17)
• The Dark Circle by Robert Mrazek (August 9)
• Dewey Decimated by Allison Brook (September 6)

• Bound by Murder by Laura Gail Black (September 6)
• A Christmas Candy Killing by Christina Romeril (October 11)
• Cleopatra's Dagger by Carole Lawrence (Amazon Prime; April 1)

Purchased:

• Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters (Kindle & Audiobook) -- I'm gradually gathering the whole Amelia Peabody collection on Kindle and Audiobook. The book was $2.99 and the audio was $3.49.
• For Us the Living by Robert A. Heinlein (Chirp Audiobook) -- I got this one from Chirp for $2.99 because I have the hardcover on my TBR mountain. This will give me an excuse to actually read it. 
• Indulgence in Death by J. D. Robb (Kindle) -- I unwrapped my March book from my Christmas grab bag and discovered this paperback. I already own it and read it when it was first released. I decided to do a reread and prefer Kindle to print. This is one case when I don't get the audiobook because I don't care for the narrator of the series. 

What was your week like?