#WWWWednesday No.11: A Diary of an Afflicted Reader [between #FraterfestRAT and #SpooktasticReads] whilst shifting into #SciFiMonth!

Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2019 by jorielov 0 Comments

WWWWednesday a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

What are you currently reading!?

(Wednesday 6 November to Wednesday 13 November)

And, the books I am reading for review:

  • Cycles of Norse Mythology by Glenn Searfoss
  • Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise by Jennifer Faye (Harlequin Romance)
  • Keeping Her Close by Carol Ross (Harlequin Heartwarming)
  • Spinster and I (Spinster Chronicles, Book Two) by Rebecca Connolly
  • The Duke’s Second Chance (Lords for the Sisters of Sussex, Book One) by Jen Geigle Johnson
  • The Girls of Pearl Harbour by Soraya M. Lane, narrated by Teri Clark Linden

#SciFiMonth TBR:

→ Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers series, Book Three) by Becky Chambers, narrated by Rachel Dulude (audiobook) – this is the book I am co-hosting a RAL for #SciFiMonth with Lisa @deargeekplace whilst happily borrowing the audio version from my local library’s OverDrive!

Week 1: Friday 8th November, discussing Prologue & Part 1
Week 2: Friday 15th November, discussing Parts 2, 3 & 4
Week 3: Friday 22nd November, discussing Parts 5, 6 & 7

Lisa is posting the Discussion on GoodReads whilst I host the Twitter chats on Fridays.

→ Previously, we co-hosted the RAL for #smallangryplanet (see posts 1 + 2) This year, I borrowed a copy of the novel in audiobook to conclude my original thoughts on behalf of the third half of the RAL’s discussion whilst finally releasing those notes about the RAL itself. I am also going to be archiving the chats we hosted on Twitter this year to coincide with our discussions for #SpacebornFew.

  • Far Orbit: Apogee (anthology) (edited by) Bascomb James
  • The Why-entist and the Wild Weather by Jane Lowry
  • Unclaimed Legacy (History Mysteries, Book Two) by Deborah Heal
  • Prophecy by Paul Mark Tag
  • Trans-Continental Girl: Girl in the Gears by E. Chris Garrison (audiobook)
  • Blue Spirit (Tipsy Fairy Tales, Book One) by E. Chris Garrison (audiobook)
  • Heroes of the Space Age: Incredible Stories of the Famous and Forgotten Men and Women Who Took Humanity to the Stars by Rod Pyle

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

As you will notice, I am making amends for the hours I lost whilst I was taken rather ill at the end of October. I kept pushing my reviews as far as I could into the latter days of the month, only to realise I was still too physically unwell to even read the books much less come up with a way to review the stories! Thereby, I am featuring three of those reviews meant for October showcases to run this week instead – you’ll find my return to #FolkloreThursday as at long last I can finally start to reveal my thoughts on behalf of Cycles of Norse Mythology whilst I’ll be sharing my first #ChristmasReads of the holiday season (just shy of counting towards my participation in my next readathon: HoHoHoRAT!) which will be Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise by an author I have been happily reading and reviewing for the past few years now on Jorie Loves A Story.

As I shift into the weekend, the third review comes alive on my blog wherein I get to happily read a new series as it just gets underway by a beloved Harlequin Heartwarming novelists (Carol Ross) as I feature her novel Keeping Her Close during my #SaturdaysAreBookish feature of reviews. I’ll be happily chattering via my chat @SatBookChat with Debby Caruso about the sequel to one of my #blogmas reviews last year!

On Sunday, I’ll be featuring the novel I was meant to be on the launch team in October – The Duke’s Second Chance whilst on #HistoricalMondays I’ll finally be able to share my review on behalf of a previous featured guest author on @SatBookChat – the lovely Soraya M. Lane with her war drama The Girls of Pearl Harbour which I spotlighted earlier in July and had meant to reveal the review the day we chatted about her war dramas in September. Time went away with me and I simply never could sort out my thoughts about this novel until now as I was constantly listening and re-listening to the novel – thus, I took some distance from attempting to hear the story and decided to come back into refreshed.

Most important to note is on Friday, the 8th I’ll be co-hosting the first discussion for #SpacebornFew which means, I have quite a bit of listening to do in the audiobook before the chat goes live! We are choosing to meet-up at 8a NYC (EST) which is 1p UK; a bit on the early side of the ledger but it works for both hosts and we encourage everyone to either attend the chats as they are live or potentially respond at a time in their time zone which works better for them.

After all of these scheduled reviews are read and reviewed, I’ll be tackling the first stack of my #SciFiMonth TBR! I am not scheduling those reviews – I am simply going to approach reviewing them the way I had previous readathon entries – as I read and finish the stories themselves, the reviews will become generated on my blog! I look forward to seeing which of the stories grabs my attention first – as I felt I ought to begin with Far Orbit: Apogee to coordinate with #SpacebornFew!

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

What did you recently finish reading!?

[between #FraterfestRAT and #SpooktasticReads]:

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

[via audiobook]

  • A Nest of Vipers, Ruritanian Rogues Book Three by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urryb(see also Review)
  • Death on the River, Tara Thorpe Mysteries, Book Two by Clare Chase, narrated by Lucy Brownhill (see also Review)
  • The Ghosts of Wonky Inn, Wonky Inn Book Two by Jeannie Wycherley, narrated by Kim Bretton
  • Cradle to Grave, Kay Hunter, Book Eight by Rachel Amphlett, narrated by Alison Campbell

[via print]

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Technically speaking – I still had a few hours left of Cradle to Grave to finish post-Halloween, however, I was still considering this to be an audiobook I listened during #SpooktasticReads as my hours were truly a bit all over the place considering my state of health (which is outlined below) which affected everything I attempted to read, blog and review.

Whereas I did happily get the chance to finish The Ghosts of Wonky Inn between Halloween and All Saint’s Day; the only downside is that my notes are so dearly random and unconnected to each other, I’m currently re-listening to the audiobook to take better notes in order to post a proper review because I seriously LOVED every inch of this audiobook! Ms Bretton continues to charm me with her ability to bring Wycherley’s vision to life and entertain me with her multiple voiced cast of characters!

Similarly, when it came to listening to the eight installment of Kay Hunter, I must admit, I was more centred on listening to the story unfold (as I was on quite a heap of pins with this plot!) than I was in jotting down my thoughts as the story shifted forward. Which is why I made the choice to not rush back through *seven!* hours of intensive crime drama to write-up a regular review for this on the blog tour – I decided to alter my traditional Audiobook Spotlight (as scheduled) into a Series Spotlight and Mini Review wherein I could pool my thoughts based on what I had written down and let this one go as being one that I needed to hear to offset my bouts of illness rather than listening to it as a book blogger who loves to review the Kay Hunter series.

The stories I honestly was tickled with delight to finish during the readathons themselves were the following: Forget My Name, A Nest of Vipers and Death on the River – the latter two were audiobooks, the third was a British UK Thriller which truly hugged me into my chair and gave me such a chilling read of bookish joy! I was rather impressed with Mr Monroe’s capacity to tell a Thriller in such a way that is rooted round an unreliable narrator (the first time I realised I’m reading a story set-up in this way!) whilst he gives you a Thriller you can survive! Meaning – he could have taken this one a bit further in details and the horror of the unfolding crimes as they were plotted but he expertly held back and gave you an intense Thriller you won’t want to put down!

Concurrently, I was listening to my second Tara Thorpe novel Death on the River and my second Ruritanian Rogues novel A Nest of Vipers. The latter of course, had a few particular sequences that sort of tested my tolerances for visual depictions but it was the continuity and the fuller scope of the conspiracy main plot of the series which I felt far outweighed some of the iffy areas where I felt uncomfortable due to a few visual inclusions. Yet, at the same time – as I was settled into Death on the River I felt the series was flexing its momentum now and truly left us anchoured into Tara’s world.

I was happily surprised by what I found inside An Abiding Fire whilst I had the pleasure of joy of hosting the author M.J. Logue during an Autumn @SatBookChat wherein we discussed not just this novel but the sequels which will follow suit thereafter. It was a lively discussion and what was most interesting as this is a Historical Thriller series, it is mostly a hilariously quirky re-sequencing of the banterment as viewed between Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man film series!

I previously shared more about these selections as well.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

A Diary of an Afflicted Reader

[between #FraterfestRAT and #SpooktasticReads]:

Uniquely enough, I saw my year going a bit differently than it originally started to pan out – especially considering there were a few events I was rather keen about participating in this year which went a bit astray due to health afflictions I was unable to circumvent whilst the events were in-progress. Being November, I feel it is a bit of a redemptive month for me all way round as I had already chosen my Science Fiction, Magical Realism and RAL reads for #SciFiMonth (formerly blogged and socially engaged via #RRSciFiMonth – as a nod towards the events original founder, Rinn Reads) – however, I have some carry-over selections from our 2nd Year of #WyrdAndWonder – both the main event we held in May 2019 and our lovely supplemental event #SpooktasticReads.

To put it plainly, if I felt [2019] would begin on a dearly difficult note in January and February before I found relief from my chronic migraines in early March – I was not entirely ready to embrace May where I had 5x migraines back-to-back whilst disrupted and interupted my plans for #WyrdAndWonder Year II. I read, reviewed and posted as much content as I physically could manage whilst feeling the heavier weight of guilt washing over me as I truly had wanted to read more of the stories in queue and finish the Magical Midway series as I had become fond of that quirkly humourous witchy series! I concluded the event with a half-finished stack of #mustreads and a Summer I felt I could ‘soak back into the stories’ until I came head-on into a bout of unfortunate events which erased Summer whilst I stumbled through a few more health set-backs. By September, I was finally able to focus on some Non-Fiction stories but not to the level I had hoped to achieve – all the whilst, I was pushing forward scheduled reviews and readings from Spring to Autumn (across Fiction, Non-Fiction and multi-genres of interest).

In October, I had a bit of good luck, as I participated rather on a lark (as I had forgotten about it!) #FraterfestRAT which enabled me to resume reading Thrillers & #SpookyReads – a good foundation I felt to lead-in to my selections of #WitchyReads, Ghost Stories and Thrillers for #SpooktasticReads 2019! Mind, I hadn’t foreseen the health issues which ailed me and took away my reading and blogging hours nor did I expect to get anchoured migraines from the first weekend to the fourth! Through it all – I kept reading (as best as I could) whilst posting a review whenever I felt comfortable sharing one – whilst I mostly focused on my #AudioReads. I could listen to those for short spells between my bouts of unwellness until the final week and a half of October (er, Halloween week of course!) where I literally threw in the proverbial towel as I was unwell nearly 24/7 for the length of it! The only audiobook I finished was my favourite witchy series the Wonky Inn – as I re-heard “The Wonkiest Witch” – sharing re-listening notes via Twitter and immediately started listening to the sequel “The Ghosts of Wonky Inn”. This was a balm to my weathered soul and for a few of you who know more of the details of what afflicted me, I appreciated your listening ear those moments I reached out to you or you reached out to me as I hinted round the edges of how difficult the month was becoming.

As I shift forward into November – I am pacing myself with the scheduled reads I have for the blog tours I booked – as they are delightfully lighter reads with a few intriguing selections sprinkled throughout the first and fourth weeks, whilst I gear up for a lovely month chattering about #SpacebornFew as I co-host this RAL with Lisa @deargeekplace for #SciFiMonth. I’d love to say I can resume where I left off with #OctoberDaye as well but I’ve shifted to listening to the audiobooks and as those are part of my Scribd subscription again, I am unsure how far I’ll get as there are certain limits to how many audiobooks you can stream per month. I began listening to the 8th Kay Hunter dramatic crime novel during #SpooktasticReads as without Scribd I was only planning to host a Spotlight for the blog tour. I still might as I’m unsure if I can re-listen to the first six hours before the sixth!

I am writing up a post to conclude my reading and adventures for both Wyrd and Wonder events which may run during this week’s The Sunday Post – as I’ve been pushing it forward for a bit too long now! Combining this with my previously disclosed ‘catch-up’ posts and reviews this week, I feel I can not just return to blogging but I can re-settle into the stories I have longed to be reading. It takes a bit of time to re-gather where you were before you took ill and to sort out a road map back for yourself to get into the groove of blogging and/or reviewing. At least for me. I felt this #WWWWednesday post was the best way to talk about what I’ve read, will be reading and how it all interconnects with the readathons I love joining as Autumn starts to enter our lives!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

What I didn’t finish reading but still enjoyed discovering:

[between #FraterfestRAT and #SpooktasticReads]:

[via audiobook]

  • Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica, narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Tom Taylorson, Jorjeana Marie
  • The Black Talisman by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urry
  • The Soft Whisper of Dreams by Christina Courtenay, narrated by Jenny Funnell

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

These were the three main audiobooks I was attempting to finish between the two readathons – mostly, as I made the most wonderful discovery whilst tucked into The Soft Whisper of Dreams! The narrator Jenny Funnell played the character Sandy on As Time Goes By!! I was jumping out of my skin I was so happy discovering this and this discovery in effect had an unexpected treat attached to it for me during Halloween! Something I’ll be sharing once I conclude my #SpooktasticReads & #WyrdAndWonder wrap-up posts – but for now, just now, I am singularly in LOVE with her narration style! She has definitely become a welcomed addition to my short-list of favourite narrators!

The one note of criticism I can share about The Black Talisman is that I am still sorting out which level of speed to listen to the audiobook! This has never happened previously when I’ve heard an Urry narration and I am unsure what makes the difference this go round but I’m starting it at the lower levels back from where it is set to standard play as for whichever reason, this particular release felt more rushed to where I couldn’t get the articulation I know he can give from previous listenings of other Storry novels.

I purposely stopped listening to Pretty Baby – as part of me wondered when the penny was going to drop! I was able to tuck into it for several chapters, but until my trust in Mr Monroe’s style of writing a Thriller with Forget My Name – my trust was on the rocks with Kubica as I wasn’t as convinced this story might not jump straight into a realm I might not want to traverse! I am going to have to re-queue the audiobook (as I was borrowing it from my library’s OverDrive catalogue) and re-sort out if I can listen to the narration as I read the book in hand. Otherwise, it might become one of my backlogue reviews which ends in an DNF!

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

What do you think you’ll read next!?

The stories I’m reading in conjunction with my reviews:

Most regular visitors and readers of Jorie Loves A Story know that I have a penchant of bookish joy reading the Harlequin Heartwarming serials – I’ve been reading them in earnest for the past three years (or thereabouts) whilst I happily blogged about my love of them twice this year (for my 6th Blogoversary and for a special s/o on #TopTenTuesday).

Which is why it will not come as a surprise that the next series I desire to ‘binge read’ through the backlist is the Indian Shores series! I’ve been thankful to have found this series whilst hosting the blog tours for the latter novels in the series as they current release, however, I’ve been wanting to go back through the series since [2017]. Thankfully the stars aligned and I was able to borrow the first six novels of Indian Shores ahead of my fourth blog tour review being featured towards the end of November. This works brilliantly as I can bundle my thoughts and reviews for these lovelies similar to how I featured Carol Ross’s Seasons of Alaska series!

I had a bit of good luck rather unexpectedly when the books I requested through ILL (inter-library loan) arrived for Ms Webb’s series! I had previously read one of these novels but wanted at the time to back-read a few of them (if possible) before moving forward with the newer releases. Despite the fact our ILL services are still very much on a sabbatical, our library surprises us sometimes by sorting out a way to borrow the stories we desire to be reading! I am truly blessed!

The one series on this list which might surprise my readers is the Gus Parker one – which I admit, surprised me! I took a chance on reading a new series (to me) from Seventh Street Books – the publisher I love for dramatic crime and Cosy Historical Mysteries? I borrowed the first two novels of this series from my local libraries (as I needed a small extension in order to finish them, hence borrowing from two different libraries!) whilst I have the third I received for review consideration. My plans to read these lovelies went up in smoke when I became too ill to hold a book – which is why they are queued soon after I get myself caught up a bit on my blog (see the currently reading section above).

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

The Indian Shores series by Catherine Lanigan specifically the following volumes:

  • Love Shadows (Book One)
  • Heart’s Desire (Book Two)
  • A Fine Year for Love (Book Three)
  • Fear of Falling (Book Five)
  • Sophie’s Path (Book Six)

previously I’ve read and reviewed the following from this series:

→ Home for Christmas (Book Twelve) *forthcoming blog tour review!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

As well as the City by the Bay stories by Cari Lynn Webb – specifically the following volumes:

  • The Charm Offensive (Book One)
  • Ava’s Prize (Book Three)

→ previously I’ve read and reviewed the following from this series:

Single Dad to the Rescue (Book Four) (see also Review)

→ In Love by Christmas (Book Five) *forthcoming blog tour review!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

And, the Gus Parker and Alex Mills novels by Steven Cooper:

  • Desert Remains (Book One)
  • Dig Your Grave (Book Two)

→ Valley of Shadows (Book Three) *forthcoming review!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

#Mythothon TBR:

  • Bel Nemeton by Jon Black
  • The Once and Future Queen by Nicole Evelina
  • The Lost Queen by Signe Pike

#SpooktasticReads TBR:

[via audiobook]

  • (re-listening) The Ghosts of Wonky Inn, Wonky Inn Book Two by Jeannie Wycherley, narrated by Kim Bretton
  • (re-listening) The Black Talisman by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urry
  • (re-listening) The Soft Whisper of Dreams by Christina Courtenay, narrated by Jenny Funnell

#SciFiMonth TBR:

[via audiobook]

  • The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning, narrated by Mil Nicholson

[via print]

  • The Robot in the Next Cubicle by Larry Boyer
  • Little Computer People by Galen Surlak-Ramsey
  • Beyond the Moon (The Voyages of Jake Flynn, Book Two) by R.J. Wood
  • White Thaw: The Helheim Conspiracy by Paul Mark Tag
  • Hope’s Prelude (Prequel to the Angelorum Twelve Chronicles) by L.G. O’ Connor
  • Almost a Millennium by Jeanbill

Upcoming Blog Tour Reviews in November:

  • Cradle to Grave (Kay Hunter, Book Eight) by Rachel Amphlett, narrated by Alison Campbell (6th)
  • Royal Beauty Bright by Ryan Byrnes (7th)
  • Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise by Jennifer Faye (Harlequin Romance) (8th)
  • Keeping Her Close by Carol Ross (Harlequin Heartwarming) (9th)
  • This Son of York by Anne Easter Smith (11th)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This final section is a more work-in-progress than an actual plan of attack of what will be read and/or showcased next on Jorie Loves A Story. I like to keep this area a bit more fluid in case I need to alter what is going to be read next or featured next. However, I do intend to read these lovelies during November but I am not sure if they will be read directly next or simply sometime during the month instead. I decided to pull the stories which intrigue me the most to read and as I’m keeping my #SciFiMonth readings more set against the mood I am in to read them this year rather than iron out a direct path of which will be read first, second, third, etc – I decided to keep this bottom section equally open-ended.

I do know once I get into the groove of reading and reviewing Cycles of Norse Mythology – as my time frame for those reviews has been shifted and re-shifted for the past two months (September and October respectivefully!) I’ll be moving directly into Bel Nemeton and The Once And Future Queen. The rest will simply be a surprise as to what grabs my attention and which of the stories I feel more connected with the week I pick it up to be read!

The only one I know for certain though is The Ghosts of Wonky Inn as I dearly wish I had more notes about my first impressions and cannot wait to re-visit and re-listen to this delightful audiobook all over again in order to review it properly!

Likewise, the blog tours are coming up to be featured before my next #WWWWednesday!

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on my selections!

Did anything tempt you to pick up yourself?

OR have you read one of these already?

What are you currently reading?!

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

{SOURCES: Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission. Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #WWWWednesday Meme Banner and the Comment Box banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life:

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

Divider

Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2019 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, WWW Wednesdays




All posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary!
I try to visit your blog in return as I believe in ‘Bloggers Commenting Back
(which originated as a community via Readers Wonderland).


Comments are moderated. Once your comment is approved for the first time, your comments thereafter will be recognised and automatically approved. All comments are reviewed and continue to be moderated after automated approval. By using the comment form you are consenting with the storage and handling of your personal data by this website.

Once you use the comment form, if your comment receives a reply (this only applies to those who leave comments by email), there is a courtesy notification set to send you a reply ticket. It is at your discretion if you want to return to re-respond and/or to continue the conversation established. This is a courtesy for commenters to know when their comments have been replied by either the blog's owner or a visitor to the blog who wanted to add to the conversation. Your email address is hidden and never shared. Read my Privacy Policy.

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)