#TheSundayPost VII | Just your average book blogger celebrating her seven years being socially engaged online!

Posted Sunday, 16 February, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 12 Comments

The Sunday Post badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ 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. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

A note about the format I am using to journal #TheSundayPost:

I am finding I like being able to give my readers who cannot visit my blog each time a new post, review or guest feature goes live a digest journal of what is happening on #JLASblog each week! If you are familiar with the style in which I journal my readerly adventures via #WWWednesdays (see also Archive) you’ll know why I like this journalled style for #TheSundayPost!

It’s a way of talking about what is bookishly on my mind whilst sharing where my travels in Fiction & Non-Fiction took me through the last seven days! Quite stellar – so very thankful I was encouraged to participate as I love being able to think about which stories settled into my heart and which of the stories I am most eager to see arrive by postal mail and/or via audiobook! It’s a bit of a lovely way to journal your bookish life and have a weekly reminder of the experiences of you’ve gathered and love to remember! In regards to getting back into the groove with #WWWeds – I’m either going to make the meme bi-monthly or monthly which I’ll decide within the next fortnight.

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And, then,…

Jorie finally returns to journalling her weekly bookish adventures,…

Finding the motivation to write #TheSundayPost has been a bit tricky the past few years, which is why you’ve noticed a staunch reduction in posts alighting in my feeds! I had a lot of good  intentions to resume this lovely meme I was enjoying participating in but structuring it the way I wanted to have my weekly journalled notes to appear on my blog was part of the issue and the other half of it really is that I have a lot to shuffle behind-the-blog so to speak (we all do,..) to where I was thankful I had the hours I needed to maintain Jorie Loves A Story but when it came to writing up supplemental posts and keeping in step with the memes I love to blog about – long ago, I realised something had to ‘give’ and these were the posts I had to put on hiatus.

Some months I thought I might be able to return to them sooner, so there are a few notes here or there saying “#TheSundayPost” is returning this week or that week, but no, they haven’t returnt until now! I have a lot of news I never had the chance to share from past reading challenges or past milestones of the blog – I might tuck those into some retrospective posts as the months move forward. For now, I simply wanted to try to recapture a bit of what has been going on since January and then, I’ll tackle what I want to share from [2019-back].

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Parajunkee Designs

*UPcoming!* blog & Twitter milestones:

(celebrating my 7th Year as a book blogger and joyful tweeter : dates to remember!)

I created my blog on the 31st of March, 2013 – my blogoversary!

I launched it LIVE to the world on 6th August, 2013 – my blog’s birthday!

I waited til the 13th of November, 2013 to join Twitter – my #twitterversary!

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I almost cannot believe *seven years!* have elapsed since I first created this idea I had for a book blog and undertook the journey of what has emerged through seeking out the bookish and readerly adventures I’ve curated ever since I first started to blog my bookish and geeky life wayy back in [2013] !! I hadn’t known then how my life would be tenfold #blessed by the authors, their stories and the bookish culture I would endeavour to become a part of until I was into my first few years as a book blogger. There was no guide and blueprint towards sorting out this book blogosphere world nor the twitterverse where I undertook getting socially chatty on a platform I never expected I’d take like a duck to water to explore, engage and carve out my own joyfully tweeting presence seven years in the making!

I’ve worked with publishers in the United States, Canada, the UK and aboard whilst I have had the chance to get to host blog tours with genre focused blog touring companies inasmuch as innovative and insightful touring companies who either focus on select works of Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry. Each step of the way, I was not just hosting blog tours or seeking stories for review consideration but I was endeavouring with each opportunity which crossed my path to read deeper and to seek out the stories which :pushed: me into new horizons of literary exploration. For me, that was always the key goal: to find the stories being writ by the authors who are giving me a wicked good read!

I never knew if I could balance my online readerly life the same way I balance my IRL readerly life – but I have found being a hybrid reader has had its best benefits because I can move between mainstream and INSPY offerings by publishers, publicists, authors, agents and touring companies quite easily. Each year, I have decided to seek out new adventures and to re-shift what I wanted to focus on – I started to reduce how many blog tours I would host each month back in [2016] something I happily maintained until this February [2020] where I slide back into a bit of a chaotic blog schedule! (laughs)

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Through the years, I’ve disclosed snippets of my walk in faith, my struggles of being a migraineur (someone who has chronic migraines) and have found that I love hosting guest features where I get to interview different guests – authors, editors, narrators (of audiobooks), actors (for Indie Film projects) and other creatives who have crossed my path. I still love blogging the heart out of the stories I am reading – not just to examine the story as a discerning reader myself but to truly give a strong impression about what I found inside the story in order to help someone else choose whether or not the story I’ve read and blogged about is a good ‘fit’ for their own readerly curiosities. As we all gravitate towards different stories at different times – we all dance through genres and literary styles – a book which appeals to us today might not resonate with us when we go to read it, etc. I find I love visiting with the book bloggers who give me something to ‘chew on’ as I’m reading their blogs – from their reviews, to their guest features to their discussion posts. I want to know more than the surface layer of their reactions to stories and that is what I try to bring to my own readers here on Jorie Loves A Story. (and yes, the “a” is purposefully shown in caps!)

I turnt an IRL milestone as well – I entered this book blogosphere journey as a thirty-something and exited that decade for the next in line before my seventh year. I’ve sorted out I have a personal preference for Narrative & Creative Non-Fiction stories inasmuch as topics & subjects in Science, Mathematics, Technology and Spirituality or Religion Studies. I have developed a self-awareness for thought-provoking Contemporary Poetry and there are some authors and stories out there which might have surprised me at first to latch onto (such as the #OctoberDaye series) but of which arrived at a moment where I needed them; as a brilliant distraction!

I’ve found bookish minded memes I love to join whenever my mood strikes my interest – such as the ones featured in my Top Menu under “Features & Memes” inside “Blogosphere Memes & Weekly Features” as the others are my personal ones I’ve developed. I am redirecting my participation into the following throughout 2020: #TopTenTuesday, #WWWWednesdays, #BookishNotBookish and #TheSundayPost. The others are personal favourites as they tuck into specific genres I love to read such as #HistoricalMondays (ie. Historial Fiction), #WyrdAndWonder Wednesdays (ie. Fantasy), #SaturdaysAreBookish (ie. Romance, Women’s Fiction & Feminist Lit) and #INSPYSundays (ie. INSPY Fiction). I want to restart my #25PagePreview as well.

Yet, there are a few others I’m developing such as my #AuthorAuthor feature which seeks to revisit the authors I’ve read as a book blogger and to seek out their newer releases to see what has been published in my absence of being able to keep in the loop of what has transpired since my path first crossed with them as a reader.

I developed my own monthly (generally hosted twice or thrice monthly) chat called @SatBookChat (see also the Info Page; view our SatBookChat archives) hosting authors of Romance & Women’s Fiction whilst re-developing this chat in September, 2019 post-2017 when I didn’t host as regularly as I had hoped too following my father’s stroke in late 2016 and my own health afflictions from 2018-19. I am maintaining our roots in Rom and WF but I’m choosing to highlight more genres of interest, strong female characters and Feminist Lit overall.

In 2018 I helped develop and create @WyrdAndWonder with Imyril and Lisa – a month long celebration of Fantasy which is hinged to our mutual love of Science Fiction as shared through Sci Fi November (ie. @SciFiMonth) which Imryil and LIsa inherited hosting since the founder Rinn @ Rinn Reads stepped down. We also host a fortnight of #SpooktasticReads the last two weeks of October.

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As I enter into a New Year of bookish and readerly adventures, I have several announcements to make of how I am reshaping how I am participating in book world and new opportunities which are continuing to develop right now which will be arriving on Jorie Loves A Story in the near future.

Let me disclose what I have found and what I am excited about this lovely New Year!

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NetGalley : Audiobook Reviews forthcoming Summer, 2020!

When I read the adverted news via Twitter NetGalley was going to be inclusive of audioobook reviewers, I truly was overwhelmed with joy beause this is singularly the main reason I NEVER joined the website! As a migraineur I couldn’t read or accept review copies (ARC or finished) in electronic formats. It wasn’t until [2016] when I discovered Audiobookworm Promotions I realised I could accept digital audiobooks for review and it wasn’t until Autumn [2019] where I realised I could accept audiobook discs (mp3) for review.

Betwixt and between I found Audible, Scribd, LibroFM, Downpour and my libraries OverDrive catalogues for audiobooks. Of these – Scribd is the best for my budget to maintain regularly whilst I use the catalogues my libraries provide to seek out audiobooks to listen to via OverDrive. I also can submit purchase requests for audiobooks each week (up to 5x) whilch they try to secure and add to their catalogue.

This is why when I saw NetGalley was sampling this new format with Audio Extracts and short questionairies I knew it would be a good way of becoming famiiar with the webiste. I hadn’t of course realised I’d make a faux pas – wherein I misunderstood one of the Help sections on the website and miscontrued something they said therein. Which basically means when I saw six books I wanted to request for review listed “available formats” on their book pages – that doesn’t mean you can request those print editions via NetGalley. Hence why I have six accepted requests and six turnt in apologies to those publishers without providing regular feedback. To make amends, I am going to submit purchase requests for each of the six at my local library per their publication months and attempt to read and review them on my own.

Curious which stories caught my eye?

Learn from me – if you want to join NetGalley strictly for audiobooks – just avoid making ANY requests until they anounce those are officially available! Oy. For now, I’m listening to audiobook samplers, finding some I like, some I don’t and enjoying getting a better feel for their website.

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Callisto Publishing Club : not every mistake is without a happy ending!

Remember I mentioned I requested six books on NetGalley? Two of them were cookbooks from this publisher! I emailed them when I received word from my local library the two cookbooks were being added to our card catalogue and that I would be reading and blogging about them thereafter as a way to not just make amends for that earlier faux pas but to clear my own conscience on the original mistake I made using NetGalley for the first time. Turnt out – they have an internal reader program where you can put in requests for their books without obligation to review though they appreciate direct reader feedback.

This led me to joining their email list and last Tuesday I made my first requests – of which, yesterday my first request arrived by #bookpost!

  • The Story of Frida Kahlo: A Biography Book for New Readers by Susan B Katz
  • The Easy 5 Ingredient Vegan Cookbook: 100 Healthy Plant Based Recipes by Nancy Montuori

The Biography for Frida is colourfully vibrant which sparks innovative and introspective thinking for a young reader due to how they have turnt this into a book you read first but then discuss with your parents, guardians, grandparents, Aunts, etc – as there are sections of direct enquiry to encourage an inquisitive reader wherein they provide prompted questions which re-direct back into the text itself! I am truly enjoying my stay inside her life and it is a beautiful introduction into an artist I only know by name and have admired from afar for years.

The vegan cookbook is one I was truly grateful to have found – we’ve been omnivores due to budget reasons for years now and we are dedicated to being vegetarian, vegan and GF. However, sometimes your resources and the availability of those ingredients isn’t as conducive to source where you live – thereby, when I saw you can do vegan with ONLY 5x ingredients – you can know I was beyond stoked! This one is still in the process of arriving,.. I have high hopes of resuming my #TheBookishFoodie reviews and posts with this one! (you’ll find them at the bottom of my Story Vault)

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Bookish First : a unique chapter sampling website which allows you to WIN print books!

I was travelling and visiting with my fellow book bloggers whilst browsing my Lists and feeds on Twitter one night recently and found this lovely website! I used a referral link from that blogger and will supply one if someone else is interested in getting started themselves – opened up the website and immediately found the book I knew I wanted to read! It is the latest release by Jennifer Finney Boylan entitled: “Good Boy” which talks about her life through the dogs she’s had in her life – as the dogs themselves are not just anchours of time elapsing off the clock but the transitions and transformations she’s experienced in life.

To read my full takeaways and thoughts after reading the sampler you’ll find it here.

The only downside to the website is that it is point based in a similar vein as Reader Rewards; though unlike the latter wherein I have earned enough points to request two different books (one last year, one this year) I think its going to take a lot longer for me to win a book via Bookish First as not all the samplers are for books or stories which are my cuppa of interest. Still, it was a nice unexpected discovery and I will be getting “Good Boy” from my library!

Quirky coincidence? This is the same supplier of the #BookBingo cards I found online which are routing how my #currentreads are alighting in my life this year as I make my way through my backlogue of reviews and seek out new stories to read from my personal reading challenges (ie. The Classics Club & 70 Authors) and/or my expansive TBR!

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LibroFM’s ALC programme : as a social media influencer and reviewer

I’ve heard other book bloggers mentioning this on occasion but I wasn’t sure how they joined nor what was required, etc. I also thought you had to have a membership with LibroFM rather than what I have which is a free account as the monthly membership is a bit outside my budget right now. Thankfully I sorted out by a fellow book blogger you can join this with your free account – which is why I submitted my application and was truly overjoyed (and humbled) finding out for the second time in one week I had secured a spot as an influencer! (the first of course was for Once Upon A Book Club!)

I was truly curious to find out which of the stories were going to be available to request this February – finding that they offer a bit of a hodgepodge of titles, genres and stories of interest. Each of my selections were selected for different reasons – something just sparked an interest in each of them and perhaps they might interest you as well?

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Oona Out of Order by By Margarita Montimore The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry

The Bear by Andrew Krivak My Name is Lucy Barton by By Elizabeth Strout & Rona Munro

NOTE: The following selections were complimentary audiobook copies I received in exchange for an honest review by LibroFM’s ACL programme – which come direct from publishers. I was not compensated for my opinons or thoughts shared herein. Nor was I obligated to post ahead of listening to them.

  • Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, narrated by Brittany Pressley Pub Day: 25 Feb
  • The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry, narrated by Jayme Mattler Pub Day: 7 April
  • The Bear by Andrew Krivak, narrated by Eric Jason Martin
  • My Name Is Lucy Barton (Dramatic Production) by Elizabeth Strout & Rona Munro, narrated by Laura Linney

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Similar to how I was pushing myself to seek out titles via Audible whilst I had my Christmas surprise 3-month membership – which were either outside Fiction (ie. Non-Fiction topics or subjects of interest) or were unique dramatic performances or new translations of Classical Lit – I strove to find titles which might not be ones I would necessarily have found if I were using my regular wanderings in genre fiction as a key to finding them.

Each of these selections appealled to me on a different level of interest – some I had to take a chance on completely as the narrator’s samples were not available to be heard. That is the singular bone of contention I have with audiobooks – especially if they go for pre-order? There isn’t a way of knowing if you can ‘connect’ to the narrator’s voice and their performance until after the book releases which sometimes is a bit too long to wait.

→ Oona Out of Order: I didn’t have the narrator’s voice to guide me – however, I did have a strong sense about the plot of this story! This is a woman who is time travelling out of sequential order of her life – moving randomly through different years and different experiences – which of course appealled to me due to my fascination with Time Travelling, Time Slip & Time Shift narratives! This one I felt would be a clever one to ‘pierce back together’ and to see how the out of sync time travelling would affect Oona! I love finding stories about love, family and a character’s own journey – which is why I decided to take a chance on this one!

→ The Roxy Letters: The narrator didn’t have a sample for this one either – yet, the premise is rooted in one woman’s journey as a vegan vagabond who is striving for obtaining balanced happiness in her life but not quite getting it right half the time! I was hoping this might be a comedic novel rather than an emotional drama – but time will tell! It is also an Epistolary novel as letters & correspondences are a BIG part of the rhythm of how its told! At least, this is what I took out of the synopsis!

→ The Bear: I seem to be finding quite a few unusual entries in Fiction. This one is about a time in the world where people are a bit more isolated and a bit more self-reliant in order to survive. It appealled to me to read this one as much as a leftover read I have from last year’s #WyrdAndWonder which is The Fighter of Aldea. The narrator is blessedly able to be sampled – he has a very strong presence as he narrates this story but what endeared me to his voice is how he has this voice which has a wonderful intonation for tucking into a fireside story. I could see listening to this under the stars and waiting to see what the story reveals.

→ My Name is Lucy Barton: Ever since I heard Ms Linney’s voice attached to Masterpiece Theatre on PBS I knew she would make a wicked good audio drama and/or audiobook narrator! Some actors and actresses just have this presence inside their voice and you can see how well it would lend to dramatisations! Although I don’t cosy up to stories about medical issues, ordeals or anything remotely terminal in nature – this one felt more like an age of reckoning had arrived in a woman’s life who had just recovered from an affliction. I felt it was more encouraging than it was depressing – as sometimes these kinds of stories can go the other way. I also felt with Linney voicing the story I might find myself able to attach into listening to it a bit easier.

I can’t wait to dive into listening to these lovelies and sharing what I learnt as I heard them!

Have you heard of these? Are they on your own TBR and/or #mustlisten list this year?

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Caffeinated PR : joining their blog tour team of bloggers!

Although I get requests from authors directly – it is a bit more rare for me to be requested to join a blog touring company as I generally have reached out to them in the past rather than the other way round. However, I’ve been following the woman behind the company for a number of years now – as she hosts quite a lot of events and/or this meme (#TheSundayPost!) I like to join throughout the year – including the Audiobook Challenge I’ve joined for my second year!

She wrote me about this spunkied heroine of a Space Opera adventure which truly sounded to me to be writ in the same vein of interest as Rimrider, October Daye and a new audio find recently called Junkyard Cats! Sometimes I like to read stories that might seem to be completely outside the genres I’d regularly entertain and/or feature characters who might have the perception of being harder to warm too. I would even put my readings of The Long Way A Small Angry Planet in this category!

So, imagine my SURPRISE in finding the Suzy Spitfire series?!

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Just Read Book Tours : the touring company I’ve admired from afar

When you LOVE reading INSPY Fiction, you’ll find two places which tour these lovelies regularly – Prism Book Tours (of whom I love hosting for each year) and Just Read. I wasn’t sure if I could host for Just Read – as I know they have different requirements than the touring companies I usually work with which is why I reached out to them this weekend to enquire if I could become a host – either for reviews and/or guest features or spotlights or just the latter options without reviewing. I knew I would be seeking out the stories I would be showcasing outside of reviews via my local libraries as these are authors I’ve either found myself IRL, read about on blog tours online or have happily discovered them as my paths crossed with theirs in chats (ie. Twitter), book blogosphere events or readathons.

I found a few events of theirs to signup for in March and April; however, I won’t know for awhile if I made the cut for those events. I am just thankful I can start hosting their authors and I look forward to getting to know new publishers I haven’t yet found for INSPY Lit as well as more Indie INSPY authors I haven’t yet read. They host such a wide variety of stories – not just INSPY but also the kinds of stories most would consider #cleanreads as they are absent of vulgarity (something I don’t like myself in overt quantities), graphic violence (not my cuppa either!) and definitely not a lot of heat in romances (which I can agree with as sometimes Contemporary Romances are pushing me too far outside of what I enjoy myself). Overall, I felt it would be a good fit for me and I look forward to bringing their events to Jorie Loves A Story!

The good news is that after discussing everything in length with Beth – who is very approachable and kind with her replies to my emails, I realise now I can host their review tours and their guest features which is wicked wonderful news!

I should say, I’ve been reading and following two of the book bloggers behind Just Read for several years now which are: Carrie @ Reading is my Superpower and Beth @ Faithfully Bookish.

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And, I previously announced I am a new promotional influencer and reviewer for the Once Upon A Book Club book subscription box which offers subscriptions for either Adult or YA boxes!!

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Jorie's Box of Joy badge created by Jorie in Canva.

The Matchmaker's Rogue by Regina ScottThe Lost Queen by Signe PikeMerchants of Milan by Edale Lane

An Unconventional Countess by Jenni FletcherThe Devil's Bride by Emma S. JacksonThe Light Over London by Julia Kelly

  • The Matchmaker’s Rogue by Regina Scott
  • The Lost Queen by Signe Pike
  • Merchants of Milan by Edale Lane
  • The Highlander’s English Bride by Vanessa Kelly
  • An Unconventional Heiress by Jenni Fletcher
  • The Devil’s Bride by Emma S. Jackson
  • The Light After the War by Anita Abriel
  • The Light Over London by Julia Kelly

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In regards to “The Matchmaker’s Rogue” this was truly an UNEXPECTED parcel of #bookmail because I wasn’t expecting to receive this novel! I hosted a Book Spotlight for the blog tour as review copies were only available in ebook editions and I was going to read this via my local library. However, imagine my SURPRISE in finding out the author had mailed me a copy? To read and to enjoy!? I was properly overwhelmed with joy she gave me this bit of bookish cheer! I am itching to dive into it but as I’ve been running head-on into recent deadlines, I am holding off a bit before I begin reading!

“The Lost Queen” is a story I’ve felt bewitched by and haven’t yet been able to fully read or enjoy! The novel itself begins a trilogy and is writ in the same vein of thought as the Nicole Evelina series I loved and finished: The Guinevere Tales trilogy. The narrator of the audiobook is such a brilliant choice for bringing this world and character to life – this is the novel I am thankful to be reading this Winter, 2020!

“Merchants of Milan” is quite the extraordinary story I discovered whilst hosting the blog tour which is championing the fact it is a genre-bender merging together aspects of Steampunk set within Historical Fiction with just the right amount of the fantastical thrown in for good measure! It is also a f/f romance wherein as soon as you read the synopsis of this one – you want to read the whole story!

“The Highlander’s English Bride” is my attempt to read a few more traditional Historical Romances (ie. #HistRom’s) this New Year. I tend to read the ‘other side’ of Historical Romances rather than the traditional ones which are featured and published every year. This one is the third in a series and thankfully the first two novels I can listen to via Scribd – the fact this blog tour isn’t until June gives me plenty of time to get through three stories in sequence!

“The Unconventional Countess” was a sweet surprise of luck in finding the author’s s/o for book bloggers on Twitter via a bookish friend of mine’s feeds (Frankie @ Chicks, Rogues & Scandals)! Not only did I receive this novel just after January began to read for myself but I happily am hosting this author during April for #SatBookChat!

“The Devil’s Bride” is also connected to #SatBookChat – however, I properly introduced why I wanted to read this novel and “The Unconventional Countess” when I released my Top Most Anticipated Reads via #TopTenTuesday! I am hosting this author on 22nd of February via @SatBookChat – more details further into this post!

Two war dramas [“The Light Over London” and “The Light After the War”] came to me via the publisher – as they know how much I love reading about the war era and war dramas in general. These were each individually compelling to be read as they each discuss a different side of the war. I am looking forward to reading them and sorting out what the authors wanted us to takeaway from them as each war drama I read highlights a different part of the war itself (directly or indirectly) whilst giving me a dramatic story set during such a gutting time in our historical timeline.

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The Girls of Pearl Harbor by Soraya M. LaneYuletide A Jane Austen Anthology by the Quill Collective (audiobook)Daughter of Sun Bride of Ice by H.L. Burke

Eternity Through the Rearview Mirror by Annette HubbellStanley Park by Sapphira Olsen

as well as a few audiobooks:

  • The Girls of Pearl Harbour by Soraya M. Lane (mp3 disc)
  • Daughter of Sun, Bride of Ice by H.L. Burke
  • Stanley Park by Sapphira Olsen
  • Eternity Through the Rearview Mirror by Annette Hubbell
  • Yuletide: A variant of Pride and Prejudice anthology by The Quill Collective

I originally began to listen to “The Girls of Pearl Harbour” last Autumn 2019, except to say I had back-to-back health afflictions and severe migraines taking me in/out of my reading queues. At one point, because I had quite literally started and stopped listening to this war drama at last count 7x – I decided a proper break would be best in order to resume listening to it without the angst of feeling like I was NEVER going to be able to get inside the story! The conflict with my health and the inability to re-focus on the story was what was driving me slightly bonkers! The only good news is that I was still able to host #SatBookChat when Ms Lane was our featured guest author!

Ms Burke crossed my path during #ReviewPit [Winter/Spring 2019] and I happily read and reviewed one of my first Fantasy Romances which gave me such a lift of joy to be reading! Mostly because of the way in which she constructed the world and how she bridged the fey into the heart of the story! (see also review) She was one of my featured guests for #SatBookChat this 2020 and whilst reconnecting with her ahead of the chat, I learnt about this beautiful duology “Ice and Fate”. I was overjoyed I could receive the first novel via audiobook – as I’ve been purposefully attempting to find more Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction & Cosy Horror to be reading this year whilst finding my own groove with showcasing these lovelies through my featured reviews called #EnterTheFantastic which is a compliment to my #FuellYourSciFi selections! A bit of a nod towards how I want to keep Fantasy & Science Fiction in my readerly life more than just once a year via Sci Fi November and Wyrd And Wonder (every May).

It has been a bit since I hosted poetry blog tours with Poetic Book Tours – which is why when I received a review request direct from this poet I was most intrigued by how I could request the collection of poetry in audiobook format vs print. I realised the print edition had their original illustrations included in the book but there was something truly enchanting about the narrator’s voice. Whenever I hear a narrator who makes me itch to hear more of a story (or in this case, a collection of poems) that is when I realise I might have found a new narrator to follow! This is why I am looking forward to listening to “Stanley Park” this February – not just because it fits within the #FFFebruary event happening right now but because it is a uniquely told f/f romance and arc of story set against poems and the belief that love will always find a way.

“Eternity through the Rearview Mirror” is a review request which was awaiting me for nearly a year as I somehow had stopped receiving my review requests and review enquiries by email (a technical glitch now resolved) to where I was not realising a slight backlogue in acknowleding they were being received! I contacted the author and by connecting with her I realised how special of a collection this Non-Fiction Biographical collection of antidotes and stories truly was to listen too! The fact the author herself narrates the collection was a special surprise and I am hoping to feature this within the next week as it is such a keenly beautiful audiobook!

If there were any recent reviews I couldn’t focus on which have given me a lot of guilt over being delayed to read or listen, it would be “Yuletide” – the Pride and Prejudice variation anthology by The Quill Collective! I have been wanting to listen and settle my thoughts about this audiobook ever since November, 2019! I was dealing with severe migraines that month and it was a precursor to being ill throughout December. I just never had the chance to hear these stories without an affliction and that is why I pushed the review forward. Though in theory, I thought I’d be listening to it in January – though as I recently disclosed – I just didn’t have the focus for reading then.

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[ Posts I’d like to re-highlight ]

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Volume 3 by Collins HemingwayChristmas Once Again by Jina BacarrThe Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel HauckAlways the One by Tara Randel

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Volume Three – Review

The realistic honesty [within marriage] Hemingway has given Jane is what has held me anchoured into this trilogy the most – the fact he can re-address the changes in her life and the moments of what she has experienced through the series is what makes it so dearly relatable to be read. In this finale, Jane is questioning her fatigue to mother her infant son George, whilst she fondly reflects upon the advice of her own Mum – who told her the truer truths of mumhood; how it changes your perspective of time and the ways in which time can lengthen or shorten for all mothers. In this intrinsic manner of approaching Jane’s newfound married life with a burst of truthful humility, I felt Hemingway gave us a fitting entry into the final installment as we re-align ourselves with Ashton and Jane.

Christmas Once Again – Review

From the moment you pick up Christmas Once Again – your heart feels like it is fully entwined into the soul of Kate, journeying after her, clicking into her heels and finding yourself struck by the unfairness of time and of the heartless way war can alter your life’s trajectory. Bacarr gives you such a deeper reason for taking this journey with Kate – she tucks you into her internal war of thoughts, memories and the earnest hopes of a young girl turnt thirty-something woman who aches after what ‘could have been’ despite the fact she had to reinvent herself in the future – moving towards a career which sustained her but only giving her a half-life to live. This is the truer beauty of the piece – of anchouring you so wholly through this portal of time, romance and life to feel as if the book itself has filled your own soul with Kate’s experiences as they’ve become imprinted into your own memories and stitched a new tapestry of thought into your own soul.

#TopTenTuesday My Favourite #NewToMeAuthors from 2019

#TopTenTuesday Non-Fiction #NextReads for 2020

#TopTenTuesday Most Anticipated Reads for 2020 (thus far!)

#BookishNotBookish No.11 – from #StarTrekPicard to #ZoeysPlaylist

Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon – Review (Book One: #JaneAustensDragons)

Ms Grace took us through a conjoined and mutually admired lens of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice storyline – keeping us clued into the familiar and then taking us into heightened new additions – not just the dragons but how she constructed this world ‘behind’ the lore and legend which has become the Jane Austen universe. It is in that breadth of entrance I could definitely see why the narrator Mr Fife was talking to me in my forthcoming interview about how expansive this world is going to become – because it isn’t locked into strictly resonating with our memories of Pride but will endeavour itself to re-transition through different components of theory and thought from each of Austen’s novels.

I truly loved her instincts – such as how she put in a new reason and central arc of intrigue into why the soldiers would be in Meryton and how this had a cross-effect of importance with the dragons. Similarly to how she enlarged the mindfulness of understanding why female heirs were not giving real estate and how this new component of needing a Dragon Keeper (a person who can hear and see dragons) is just as relevant as the old rules for the entailled property to go to a male heir. She takes the traditions of the story itself and then re-visualises how it can become augmented into a dragon society living adjacent and cohabitating with the humans who reside here. I found it wicked brilliant!

The Fifth Avenue Story Society – Review

“Rachel Hauck is my new favourite in Contemporary INSPY . . . From the choices of her words to how she tucks in references which cross-relate to the revelations she’s making about her characters; Hauck has this innate ability to connect you to her story and gives <i>you </i>a reason to ache for another chapter, another moment in this world she’s created with a story you don’t wish to exit. . . . by the time I first reached the Fifth Avenue Story Society’s meeting space, I knew how much I was loving this experience . . . I was beyond smitten and dearly delighted that this became the first Hauck novel I read and it definitely will not be my last! Ooh, my dear stars… the joy of it!”

#WaitingOnWednesday – the #MurderWillFollowMysteries

Always the One – Review

“I felt there was a strong balance of emotional drama combined with realistic suspense . . . What I appreciated was the quickening pace – how Randel started things off a bit slower but then gained a lot of momentum as she was disclosing how to connect Derrick with Hannah and vice versa.”

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[ Recently featured guests ]

J.S. Monroe – Interview celebrating his NEW BOOK

Collins Hemingway – Interview to capstone reading The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy!

Benjamin Fife – Interview featuring the narrator of #JaneAustensDragons!

Mary Gibson – Q&A about “The Bermondsey Bookshop”

I LOVED each of these guest features – I encourage you to visit them and see why!

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[ Sat Book Chat February & March ]

#SatBookChat Guest Authors badge for 2020 created by Jorie in Canva.

  • 8th February – Clare Chase feat. the #EveMallowMysteries
  • 22nd February – Emma S. Jackson feat. “The Devil’s Bride”
  • 7th March – Christina Courtenay feat. “Echoes of the Runes”
  • 21st March – Lisa Harris feat. her INSPY Suspense novels

Whenever I can showcase a favourite author via #SatBookChat, I am filled with a well of serendipitous joyfulness and that is EXACTLY what I felt when I chatted with Ms Chase whilst diving into the particulars of her newly published Eve Mallow Mysteries which are set behind an obit writer who has to noodle out the facts of her obituary subjects whilst doing a heap of sleuthing on the side! I had such a wicked blast chatting with her – the hour FLEW past me and my dear chatters – we were having that much wicked fun discussing this series! Read the #SatBookChat transcript.

Coming up next on the 22nd, I am featuring the author behind “The Devil’s Bride” which is a hauntingly intense Romantic Suspense whilst I am going to be featuring Ms Courtenay for her new novel with her new publisher “Echoes of the Ruins” which is brilliantly her next time bending romance! This one involves Vikings – and you know how fond I’ve grown of reading about them! Meanwhile, an author I started reading in July during my favourite INSPY readathon was gracefully available to talk to us about her realistically dramatic INSPY Suspense novels I simply can’t read fast enough!

Remember – EVERYONE is welcome to join us! Kindly follow our tag #SatBookChat and hover round the tag @ 10:45a day of chat as we kick-off the discussions by 11a NYC | 8a LA | 4p UK.

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Where I am with my reading challenges & goals for 2020:

I would say, for the most part my reading goals for 2020 have had a bit of a rockier start than in past years – where I saw a more secured beginning to what I was going to be reading starting off in January. For me, this year didn’t truly feel like it had begun to take root until February – thus, I am a bit behind where other book bloggers might feel they are themselves with their readerly and bookish goals for the year. Having said that – I did accomplish starting a few of my reading challenges and I had to push forward a few others.

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Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted every year by Amy Bruno @ Passages to the Past

I have been participating since [2014/15] however it wasn’t until recent years where I was more keenly aware of the challenge, marking my posts and attempting to share my reviews in the linkys either each month or shortly thereafter into the next. This year, my goal is to be more proactively visiting the rest of the bloggers and seeing where their #HistFic reads are taking them. You can do more when your chronic migraines are not limiting your hours online and for me, this is a #blessing!

Somehow despite my lack of focus and concentration to read this New Year, I’ve marked off 5x for this reading challenge already! They are as follows:

  1. The Secret Heir by Janice Broyles (Biblical Historical Fiction, Biographical Historical Fiction)
  2. The Runaway Heir – the sequel
  3. Salt the Snow by Carrie Callaghan (Russian Historical Fiction, Biographical Historical Fiction)
  4. Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace (audiobook) (Jane Austen variant, Regency)
  5. Metropolis by Ellie Midwood (Old Hollywood, war drama)

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70 Authors of INSPY Challenge (my own)

This is the reading challenge I am especially looking forward to working on this 2020! I kicked it off by reading my first novel by Rachel Hauck of whom was one of the authors I was blessed to have crossed paths with whilst visiting the ladies of Southern Belle View Daily which was a group author blog featuring INSPY novelists.

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Audiobook Challenge for 2020

I am definitely making better progress this year towards my audiobook listening goals! Most of this is still ‘behind-the-blog’ so to speak but I will be referencing what I am listening to and how I am listening to the stories as time moves forward. For now, my first #audioreads which counted towards this goal was:

Coming up next are the following audiobooks which I’m hosting via audiobook blog tours:

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Bookish First #BookBingo Cards Challenge

For their Anniversary Card – I knocked off my first square for Three Word Title. For their February Card I discovered I had read a selection Published in February.

#ArmedWithABingo Challenge 2020

I recently found my first square for A Book with Mulitple POVs!

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My January #BookBingo Bookish First selections were pushed forward as January was the month I read the least amount of books overall.

First in a Series: The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi

A debut: The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper (based on Little Women)
*scheduled during #HappyNewCLEAR RAT

A Book I Meant to Read in 2018: The Vineyard by Maria Duenas

Recommended by a friend: (Frankie) An Unconventional Countess by Jenni Fletcher

An Author I’ve Never Read: The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson

Blue Cover: The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr by Susan Holloway Scott

Characters Drink Champagne: Happy Everything by Debby Caruso
*at least its implied by the cover art!

(Re-) Published in January: The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

The reason I wanted to read these selections is because I am spending 2020 erasing my book blogger’s backlogue of reviews whilst moving forward with new stories as well. All of these lovelies are on my backlogue with a few exceptions: “The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr”, “Happy Everything” and “An Unconventional Countess”. I had to hold over reading the Aaron Burr novel due to health reasons and also due to having a hard time getting a copy of the first novel by this author which co-relates to this story “I, Eliza Hamilton”.

One way I’ve creatively found a way ‘back inside’ the stories which have been lingering on my shelves too long to be read was to find out if one of my libraries and/or Scribd has the audiobook version of the books! In this vein of interest, I am reading the print copies and listening to the narrators narrate the following stories: “The Light of the World”, “The Other Alcott” and “The Vineyard”.

I will be moving forward with reading and listening to these stories from February to March – though they still count as squares I found on the January #BookBingo Card!

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The #HappyNewCLEAR ARC reading challenge hosted by Louise @ Foxes and Fairytales

It goes without saying why I didn’t get to begin this challenge properly which is why I am giving myself a proper extension to dive back into the ARCs on my shelf and buckle down into doing this challenge past when it was originally held (ie. January, 2020). I want to give myself 90 days from February – April/May to kick-start my ARC readings which are long overdue! Towards that end – here are my selections:

The Fictional ARCs:

  1. The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper (based on Little Women)
  2. Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan
  3. The Promise of Dawn by Lauraine Snelling
  4. See Also Proof by Larry D. Sweazy
  5. A Saint in Graceland by Deborah Hining
  6. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
  7. My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
  8. What We Become by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
  9. Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson (requires reading the series!)

(OR one of the following)

  • The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr
  • Murder at the Mill by M.B. Shaw

The Non-Fiction ARCs:

  1. 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga by Dean Snow
  2. The Circle by Alfred S. Posamentier
  3. Math Makers by Alfred S. Posamentier & Christian Spreitzer
  4. The Joy of Mathematics by Alfred S. Posamentier, et al
  5. Magnificent Principia by Colin Park
  6. Seeing What Others Cannot See by Thomas G. West
  7. The Wisdom of the Renaissance by Michael K. Kellogg
  8. The New Science of Consciousness by Paul L. Nunez
  9. True Genius by Joel N. Shurkin
  10. There Goes the Neighbourhood by Ali Noorani

I had a bit of luck in regards to which of these lovelies is also now released into audiobook – as foresaid, this is helping me resettle into the stories and works of Non-Fiction after having them languish a bit on my backlogue! From these two lists, I am listening and reading to the following stories:

“The Other Alcott”, “Deadly Proof”, “The Promise of Dawn”, “The Last Romantics”, “My Last Continenet”, “What We Become”, “Good Night from London”, “The Lost History of Dreams”, “Murder at the Mill” and “1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga”.

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Library Loot badge created by Jorie in Canva.

This used to run separately but I am going to include it with my #TheSundayPost in 2020!

End of Year 2019 & New Year 2020 Purchase Requests:
ALL were accepted and are in-progress to being ready to check-out!

  • A Bottle of Rum (A Spider John Mystery, Book Three) by Steve Goble
  • Throne of Grace by Cecily Wolfe
  • A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews
  • A Valentine Proposal (Little Shops on Heart Street, Book Two) by Viv Royce
  • Death Comes to Call (Tara Thorpe Mysteries, Book Three) by Clare Chase
  • The Girl I Left Behind by Andie Newton
  • The Vegan Ketogenic Diet Cookbook by Nicole Derseweh; Whitney Lauritsen
  • Essential Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Molly Divine RD
  • A Life of Secrets by Margaret Kaine *pending publication

New Year Interlibrary Loan(s):

  • Masquerade by Gayle Lynds

Currently borrowed Books:

  • The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius trilogy, Book One) by James Islington
  • Desert Remains & Dig Your Grave (Gus Parker & Alex Mills series Books One & Two) by Steven Cooper
  • Never Let Go by Elizabeth Goddard (*my Mum’s purchase request)

Currently borrowed Audiobooks:

  • The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr
  • The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
  • The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander
  • The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper
  • The Bold World by Jodie Patterson
  • The Lost Queen by Signe Pike
  • The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
  • Emma by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson

Considering most of these are still awaiting to be borrowed or were recently borrowed – I’ll be disclosing more information about why I selected them as time moves forward! I simply wanted to curate a list of what I was currently requesting and what I have recently borrowed. More of a reminder to myself but if someone else wanted to see what is available to be borrowed at public libraries, I was hoping my list might encourage them, too. I realise most libraries are not as open to purchase requests as mine are and I wanted to break-down a few things in case you wanted to compare notes:

At my local library I can have an active list of 5x purchase requests per month – books, dvds (ie. tv series or motion picture), audiobooks (digital for OverDrive or physical CDs) or musical CDs whilst at my regional library I am allowed to have 5x active requests for digital audiobooks for OverDrive per week. Meanwhile, I can have 5x active ILLs locally and I believe the same amount regionally. The audiobooks in (bold) were my purchase requests.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comAnd, in closing:

The one review I shared recently which is being heavily read is “Sense without Sensibility”a variant of “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen. The reason this is worth mentioning is because it is a prime example of how sometimes when you feel you are not anchoured into a story, the ways in which you articulate your reading experience might resonate with other readers who believe it is a better fit for them. I only wish for all the lovelies who have read this review – a few of them could have left me a note as I was truly curious what they thought about after reading my thoughts and how this story was a better one for them then it was for me. Those are the things I think about when I see a review or post trending on Jorie Loves A Story – the lost conversations of my visitors.

The novel I didn’t get to read last year from a beloved series is “Ghost of the Bamboo Road” by Susan Spann. This marks the seventh installment of my favourite 16th Century Japan Cosy Historical Mystery series – wherein I get to walk again alongside Father Mateo and Hiro Hattori as they take me on a wonderfully brilliant adventure! I am heart attached to their journey – as Spann has this beautiful vision of how to give us a full presence of the politics and uprisings of this part of Japanese History combined with a thought-provoking crime solving plotting with two unlikely best friends at the heart of the series! I am going to be reading this over the next week and I cannot wait to just soak into the world she continues to engage us all inside!

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My adventures within the blog hop for #TheSundayPost:

This list is being generated | this is a WIP list

The STORIES I cannot wait to READ myself as found via the blog hop!

  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
    *already on my TBR! will be reading / listening with Mum this year!
  • The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
    *already on my TBR! though now I am questioning if I still want to hear it?
  • A Winter Wedding at Willow Tree Hall by Alison Sherlock
  • Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
    *previously seen but now I think it must go on my TBR!
  • The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
    *definitely on my TBR but will only listen to it via audio after I hear The Night Circus!
  • Auntie Poldi and the Sicilain Lions by Mario Giordano

And, the POSTS I loved finding via this lovely meme’s route!

[making my way through the bloggers – this week I’m hoppin’ round in an nonsensical way to where I’m not going from beginning to end nor end to beginning! It’s a random route I’m going to take this week!!]

last update: 16 FEBRUARY 2020 | finding blogs and leaving comments

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What have you been up to these first two months of 2020?
Read through my archives for #TheSundayPost

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I am sharing this post through two other weekend link shares:

Stacking the Shelves | The Sunday Salon

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{Sources: All book covers were provided by publishers, authors and/or blog touring companies of whom encourage me to mention them outside my reviews or featured posts. All of the Press Materials are being used with permission. The LibroFM ACL program gives us the audiobook covers and audiobook synopsises to share with our reviews and/or our posts; these materials are provided by LibroFM and are used with permission. Blog News banner provided by Parajunkie Designs and is used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created in Canva: The Sunday Post badge using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Hope House Press, Denise Chan and Pacto Visual as well as Jorie’s Box of Joy banner, #SatBookChat badge,  #LibraryLoot banner and the Comment Box banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.

I’m a social reader | I share my bookish life via Twitter

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

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Posted Sunday, 16 February, 2020 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Photography of Jorie, Spontaneous Musings, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post




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12 responses to “#TheSundayPost VII | Just your average book blogger celebrating her seven years being socially engaged online!

  1. I loved hearing about the new directions you have taken with your blog. It sounds like you are having great fun with it. I’ve been blogging for twelve years this summer, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I have gone in the opposite direction, generally, from the one you have taken, though; I rarely review new books these days except those I get from the library. It became too much of a hassle for me to read books I was not enjoying. That’s just me.

    Welcome to Sunday Salon, one of the new things I have done in the last year. I love seeing what others are doing in their parts of the book world each week. I hope you will pop back in as often as you like.

    • Hallo, Hallo Deb,

      Thanks for your wonderful comment and welcoming me into the Sunday Salon! :) I admit, this was one of my favourite posts I shared during February – outside of the new interview I have up today featuring Heather Rose Jones and her Feminist Historical Fantasy series. I was struck down by one of those awful Winter colds – nearly a full fortnight of battling through it without being able to read or even listen to audiobooks (my ears were so sore!). I missed visiting with everyone and responding to my comments – it just was one of those colds that felt all-consuming to be honest! *le sigh*

      Thank you for the lovely compliments on behalf of the new directions I’m taking Jorie Loves A Story this year! I’m getting ready to reveal more about being part of the Once Upon A Book Club book ambassador and influencer team whilst I feel the cold has taken a better turn this weekend to where I’m more ‘like me’ than I have been in awhile! I’m also going to be writing up a new Sunday Post for tomorrow to share through the Sunday Salon – I look forward to catching up with everyone once that goes live too.

      In regards to new vs classics – I admit, I falter to insert more Classical stories into my everyday | monthly | yearly reading queues – which is partially why I joined The Classics Club! (see also my Classics TBR List) Mostly as I don’t have a lot of Classics on hand to read (in my personal library) and until recently, I hadn’t realised there were more available on audiobook! I’m hoping to get into a good rounding of these off my TBR throughout 2020 now that my health is calming down and I can resume hearing audiobooks – such a pain when a cold robs you of being able to even relax into an audio read! Grr.

      Directly though about newer releases – you might notice I don’t really pick the most hyped books being spoken about in the book blogosphere to be read – I’m quite the discerning reader. I admit, same as you, I’ve come across some stories and author’s styles which weren’t my cuppa – however, the joy for me is finding all the lovelies which have given me the most joy to be found, read and cherished after finishing. This is another reason I’m doubling down on getting my End of the Year Survey ready by my 7th Blogoversary (ie. 31st March) as I didn’t get to work on it in Jan/Feb. I guess we each have to find the stories which speak to us the most – for me, its always been a bit of a mixed bag – contemporary releases, classical authors, mainstream, INSPY, Major Trade and Indie all curiously tempting me with their stories, characters and worlds.

      I loved hearing about how you’ve directed your own reading life and book blog; I think its fantastic we all carved out our own niches and enjoy visiting with each other as we all share our readerly lives. That is the beauty of the book blogosphere – everyone gets to be themselves, shine a light on writers and stories they personally love to read (or in other instances, criticially discuss what didn’t work for us) and be a beacon of hope in a world illuminated by the crafting of stories.

      I appreciate your warm welcome and response – I look forward to talking with you further as we equally enjoy visiting with each other as weeks progress. I hope February was far kinder to you and your health than it was for me.

    • Hallo, Hallo Shelleyrae,

      Would you believe up until a week and a half ago I wasn’t sure if I would have too much to share at all during #TheSundayPost? The serendipitious nature of how a lot of these beautiful new experiences alighted in my life were truly heart lifting because I didn’t necessarily seek them out; they simply found me instead.

      Routing through my #TopTenTuesday posts (linked here) and in combination of what I shared on this post – I believe what you’ve said to be true for the year of 2020 – I have a good journey ahead of me and I can’t wait to experience it.

      Oyy vie. I never want anyone to know the misery of having chronic migraines. They are a beast of their own nature and I am sorry we share this affliction in common! I hope you’ll have some pauses in your frequencies with them as I am having myself right now. Amen to your wish they’ll keep away!

      How sweet of you to say! I am hoping this is a wonderfully lovely week where I can just listen, read and be blissfully inside the stories, too! May you have a good one yourself!

  2. Happy 7th blogoversary! How cool! I think it’s fascinating how we evolve as bloggers, how our interests and priorities change as we go. Hope 2020 is going well for you so far! :)

    • Hallo, Hallo Greg!

      Thanks for celebrating the start of my 7th Year! Isn’t it the truth!? Each year I find myself becoming a better blogger, a better conversationalist on Twitter and a more inquistively curious reader (which I was previously but it feels more heightened) – whilst at the same time, I love seeing the back-history of my path as a book blogger. Seeing what new opportunties I took a chance on and watching the growth as I’ve lived through those experiences.

      So far, I’ve remained migraine-free for over 45+ which is a celebration in of itself! I count that as a ‘win’ for me! I know there still on hiatus as I don’t think they’ll just up and disappear on me out of the blue (for good!) but having nearly a two month break is a better start than I had in 2018/19!

      Thanks for swinging by and leaving me this lovely note!

        • Hallo, Hallo Greg,

          I nearly managed to stay migraine-free this past February! Until I was struck down by a severe Winter cold this past fortnight which not only brought a bad migraine in its wake (thankfully its over now!) but it also affected my ears and gave me a severely sore throat! I was quite fatigued all month long – I had to suspend my Top Ten Tuesday posts and just focus on what I had to release on deadlines instead; I barely read and I couldn’t even listen to audiobooks (per the ears) which made the month a bit less than stellar. I’m hoping March will fair better now that I’ve turnt a corner on the cold!! Today, happily I’m featuring a new interview – its a Feminist women centric Historical Fantasy world writ by Heather Rose Jones! I’m so happy to finally be able to share this conversation – gave me a bit of a boost of spirits as February concludes!

    • Hallo, Hallo Susan!

      Laughs. I have – haven’t I? Most of this was happening within the first fortnight of February with some of it in January. I felt like February was by far my best foot forward this new year.

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