Where I've been reading
It was so nice being home all week for the second week in a row. The week started with the Labor Day holiday. Then I had a few crises pop up at work and felt like I was chasing my own tail at times, but it was nice that I was at home when this happened. It was so much better than being on a business trip when I would have had more obligations to interfere with resolving the problems that had arisen. It can't last, however. I'm heading out on Monday afternoon.
Another frugal week. I didn't buy any books, and I only took one new ARC to review. It's hard to resist all the yummy review books at NetGalley, but I'm trying to focus on completing the challenges that I set for myself at the beginning of the year. To that objective, the two library books I borrowed are in two of the targeted series I plan to complete by year-end.
From the library:
The Hermit of Eyton Forest, 14th book in the Brother Cadfael series, picks up shortly after the events of the previous volume. One of the abbey's students, ten-year-old Richard Ludel becomes Lord of Eyton when his father is slain in battle. Abbot Radulfus is the boy's guardian until he comes of age, but Richard's grandmother wants the boy sent home where she plans to marry him to the heiress of a neighboring manor.
The Oncoming Storm by Christopher Nuttall
Published 15 September 2015 by 47 North
Source: eGalley ARC from NetGalley
In the year 2420, war looms between the galaxy’s two most powerful empires: the tyrannical Theocracy and the protectionist Commonwealth. Caught in the middle sits the occupied outpost system Cadiz, where young officer and aristocrat Katherine “Kat” Falcone finds herself prematurely promoted at the behest of her powerful father. Against her own wishes, Kat is sent to command the Commonwealth navy’s newest warship, Lightning.
Determined to prove she has value beyond her family name, Kat struggles to earn her crew’s respect and find her footing as the youngest captain in naval history. She soon discovers the situation on Cadiz is even worse than anyone in power anticipated. War isn’t just a possibility—it is imminent. Yet the admiral in position to bolster defenses refuses to prepare for a fight. Can Kat find a way to investigate the enemy, alert the Commonwealth, and whip an entire fleet into fighting shape before the Theocracy’s war machine destroys everything she holds dear?
This is my stop during the blog tour for Destiny Rising by Siobhan Davis. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 1 till 21 September, and you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.
Destiny Rising is the third book in the True Calling series. The two prior books are True Calling (True Calling #1) and Beyond Reach (True Calling #2). There are also two novellas: Lovestruck (True Calling #0.5) and Light of a Thousand Stars (True calling #2.5).
In this post, I begin my second year of weekly Sunday Summary posts.
Where I've been reading
This week I've been mostly at home. I made a very quick business trip to Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday. My flight from DFW took off at 6am and I arrived back in Dallas at 6am on Thursday. The travel comprised four flights: Dallas to Phoenix to Portland and then Portland to Los Angeles to Dallas. Lots of time to read, but also plenty of time to sleep! On the red-eye flight from Los Angeles, I slept most of the way.
What I've been reading: Completed this week
The Raven in the Foregate
by Ellis Peters
Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from library via Freading
Completed: 30 August
★★★☆☆
A year ago, in the very first Sunday Summary post, I was reading the first book in the Brother Cadfael series, A Morbid Taste for Bones. This past week, I completed reading the twelfth book, The Raven in the Foregate. I'm still entranced with Ellis Peters' masterful descriptions of medieval life and with her leading character, Brother Cadfael, a aging Benedictine Monk.
The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud is still going on. For now, Stephen is prevailing and Maud is gathering her forces to make another try for the throne. Although the political scene is relatively calm, things at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are not going well. Abbot Radulfus has returned from Winchester with a new priest for the parish church—a priest whose rigid manner has earned the dislike of one and all. When Father Ailnoth is found drowned in the nearby mill pond, Brother Cadfael must find out how and why he died. Was it an accident, or was he murdered?
I picked up four books from the library this week. I had intended to hold off borrowing any more books and do a little bit of catching up on the backlog of freebies that have been accumulating on my Kindle, but the books from the library were just more appealing. They run the gamut from familiar series to new authors; from the medieval times to the 2050s. I've already read one of these books and will be enjoying the others in the week to come.
From the library:
I just cannot stay away from the In Death books. This is the first (and only so far) book in the series which doesn't contain the “In Death” phrase in the title, indicative of the major difference in this episode. When a child rapist escapes from prison, Eve returns to Dallas, the town that she was named for. She leaves behind her staff and the support team at NYPSD, but Roarke is right by her side. Although the series is set in the mid-21st century, it doesn't FEEL like the future. New York to Dallas promises to be an outstanding member of the In Death series.
I will be returning to 12th century England when I start reading The Rose Rent, the 13th book in the Brother Cadfael mystery series. The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is renting a widow's estate for a pittance—each year, she is to receive one white rose from a specific rose bush. When the young brother who was delivering the rose to her is found murdered and the rosebush is decimated, the property reverts to the widow. She's become especially attractive to a number of suitors who would like to manage her wealth. Just a short time later when the widow disappears, Brother Cadfael is off to find her and discover who murdered the young monk.
August was a amazing month for reading, not so much for blogging. I completed 19 books which contained a total of 5527 pages. That took me to a year-so-far total of 132 books and 38,281 pages. With a yearly goal of 200 books and 50,000 pages, I'm now back on schedule for the book goal and very far ahead of the page goal.
Two things contributed to completing so many books: the Bout of Books 14 read-a-thon and a week-long vacation. Since they occurred at the same time, I was able to read a record five books during the week.
