Sunday Post March 21, 2021/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday March 22, 2021

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

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

Heather had another week out but she finally got to the doctor and they prescribed drops for her ear. She wasn't able to join my staff who drove me to Lakeland for a conference which I attending on Saturday while they went to Hollywood Studios at Disney.

Stock market seems to be on its own roller coaster. I have a solid set of dividend stocks which don't fluctuate so much. I have learned strategies for option investments which can succeed even if stock prices fall but any huge jumps up or down can still be a little tense and require watching. 

We've had our spring bulbs blooming.
Last week there were some crocus in the front yard but the deer ate those.

Our weather was pretty nice most of the week although it got cold this weekend. Not as cold as many of you further north, I'm sure!

I enjoyed all of my reading this week. I finished three audiobooks and one NetGalley ebook. I posted three reviews and my usual memes.

I only visited 17 blogs last week.
Shout Out this week to A UNIVERSE IN WORDS. Juli shared an interesting selection of recently received books through a Mailbox Monday Link up last week.

Don't forget- Audible is offering free children's titles during these days at home.
Audiobooks.com is also offering free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post March 13, 2021/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday March 14, 2021.

• NG2020- #NetGalley Book Review: Chicken Talk Around the World by Carole Lexa Schaefer; Genre: Genre: Children's, Farm Animals, Multinational; My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0.

• ATBR- Audio Book Review: Wolf's Bane by Aimee Easterling; Genre: Fantasy, Folklore, Shifters; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.25.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway March 19, 2021. Open Worldwide. Ending 3/25/2021.

• ATBR- Audibe Book Review: Commune: Book Two by Joshua Gayou; Genre: Action, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

• Sharing Beyond Books #417 Comment Giveaway March 20, 2021. Open Worldwide. Ending 4/3/2021.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement March 21, 2021.

Finished Reading:
1. Kindle App on/Smartphone (NG2020)

Forever Phoebe
by Chalon Linton
I did enjoy this sweet historical romance.
Source: NetGalley 2020.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Hold Your Breath: A Novella
By: Wendy Walker
Narrated by: Dylan Baker
This is an engaging little suspense.
Source: October 24, 2020 free with Audible Plus Catalogue.
Click on book title for full description.

3. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Outland
By: Dennis E. Taylor
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 05-16-19
I like this author and narrator and this was entertaining.
Source: 8/11/19 I picked these up with July Audible Credits.
Publisher's Summary
When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, it's up to six college students and their experimental physics project to prevent the end of civilization.
When an experiment to study quantum uncertainty goes spectacularly wrong, physics student Bill Rustad and his friends find that they have accidentally created an inter-dimensional portal. They connect to Outland - an alternate Earth with identical geology, but where humans never evolved. The group races to establish control of the portal before the government, the military, or evildoers can take it away.
Then everything changes when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts in an explosion large enough to destroy civilization and kill half the planet. The team has just hours to get as many people as possible across to Outland before a lethal cloud of ash overwhelms them.
Nothing has prepared the refugees for what they find - a world of few resources and unprecedented dangers. Somehow, they must learn to survive, because Outland may not just be a safe haven - it could be their new home.
©2019 Dennis E. Taylor (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

4. Audio/ScanDisc(ATBR)

THE GOLDEN DAY
by Ursula Dubosarsky
narrated by Kate Rudd
3.75 hrs.
(Candlewick on Brilliance Audio)
This is a beautifully written, unusual mystery story.
Source: SYNC Week 8: June 13 – June 20, 2019.
While participating in a field trip that a young class is told not to mention to anyone, their teacher disappears. What happened that day? And whom can the kids talk to? Kate Rudd has the perfect voice to narrate the innocence, wonder, and confusion of a classroom of young girls as they try to figure out what has happened to their teacher. Rudd’s emotional narration captures the girls’ worry and sense of a world gone awry. The novel crafts subtle tension, and Rudd's voice crafts a tone to match as the story unfolds. Her narration builds just the right amount of suspense in a sophisticated thriller that leaves listeners wondering what they believe about what happened.
S.B.T. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2013]

Currently Reading:
1. Kindle App on/Smartphone (eTBR)

Low Tide (The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 1)
by Dawn Lee McKenna
I am enjoying this Mystery set in our near-by Florida as part of a book club with my local Woman's Club.
Source: Free Kindle 2017.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audio/ScanDisc(ATBR)

Bluebird Memories
A Journey Through Lyrics & Life
By: Common, Awoye Timpo, NSangou Njikam
Narrated by: Common
Series: Words + Music
Length: 1 hr and 21 mins
This is an interesting cultural experience for me.
Source: Audible Plus August 2020.
About This Audible Original
In a performance that combines the personal and poetic with the literary and the lyrical, Grammy, Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe-winning artist Common spins something entirely new and bold, for both his old-school fans and those new to one of hip hop’s most essential voices. This is Bluebird Memories, part of Audible's Words + Music that blends storytelling, music, and performance to create a one-of-a-kind listening experience.
Written and conceived by Common with Awoye Timpo and NSangou Njikam, originally recorded live at The Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City and backed by a world-class band including special guest appearance by Robert Glasper and ensemble of vocalists, Bluebird Memories tracks Common’s intimate journey from childhood to manhood. At its heart, serving as both an open letter to his estranged father, and a personal meditation on the quest for greater self-understanding, self-worth, and connection to the world that surrounds him.
As a young artist, introduced to the work of literary icons from James Baldwin and Gwendolyn Brooks to Rakim and Melle Mel, Common would grow to use their works as motivation and a high-water mark for what would become his life in words. In a performance that recounts stories about growing up in Chicago, discovering hip hop, longing for a consistent father, and his awakening into Black consciousness, the evolution of Common, as son, as man, artist, and activist is all here, unpacked and laid bare.
At just under two hours, Bluebird Memories is constantly in motion, soaring with emotion and pulsing with raw vitality. Seamlessly blending, stretching, and playing with forms, Common slides between poetry and candid conversation, kicks into one of his classic tracks, and backs out into a moment of nearly silent reflection. For those hip-hop heads, the treat of hearing Common bounce between bars of his own self-admitted cringey party raps, to rapturously reciting classic hip hop’s most revered verses is a joy to behold. (Yes, bumping human beatbox included). In a performance that calls forth the spirit and legacy of so many artists, thinkers, and heroes who informed both his artistry and personal philosophy, Common invites listeners to experience him in his totality. A finely tuned instrument capable of conveying a sweeping breadth of power, range and tone. Listen to a modern icon deliver at the top of his craft.
Note: Bluebird Memories contains adult language.
©2020 Common (P)2020 AO Media LLC

3. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Departure
By: A.G. Riddle
Narrated by: Nicola Barber, Scott Aiello
Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
Release date: 02-17-15
Midway - This is engaging!
Source: Audible Two for One Credit Sale 10/31/2020.
Publisher's Summary
En route to London from New York, Flight 305 suddenly loses power and crash-lands in the English countryside, plunging a group of strangers into a mysterious adventure that will have repercussions for all of humankind.
Struggling to stay alive, the survivors soon realize that the world they've crashed in is very different from the one they left. But where are they? Why are they here? And how will they get back home?
Five passengers seem to hold clues about what's really going on: writer Harper Lane, venture capitalist Nick Stone, German genetic researcher Sabrina Schröder, computer scientist Yul Tan, and Grayson Shaw - the son of a billionaire philanthropist.
As more facts about the crash emerge, it becomes clear that some in this group know more than they're letting on - answers that will lead Harper and Nick to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy involving their own lives. As they begin to piece together the truth, they discover they have the power to change the future and the past - to save our world...or end it.
To read an epilogue to Departure and access other bonus material, go to agriddle.com/departure/extras
©2014 A.G. Riddle (P)2014 Audible Inc.

4. Kindle App on/Smartphone (NG2020)

The Quokkas, the Snails, and the Land of Happiness
Eric Geiger
I think I will enjoy this Children's Christian values book.
Source: NetGalley 2020.
Two quokkas, two snails, one strawberry patch . . .
Suzy and Sam Snail live in the Land of Sadness, constantly working hard to feel loved. But their gloomy lives just might change when they meet two friendly quokkas who tell them all about the Creator and what life is like in the Land of Happiness. Will the Snails remain sad and empty? Or will they eagerly journey to a new land where grace, joy, and contentment grow instead?
Join these four quirky friends in the strawberry patch, and let this parable-style story offer your family a powerful conversation starter and a celebration of God’s gift of grace.

March 21, 2021 - I love seeing new things each time I read the Bible. I am glad to still be current with morning reading.
I am reading/listening to the NLT Tyndale version of the Bible on You Version App so Hubby and I are reading the same passages each day.
I am doing an Easter study this week: Christmas and the Cross.

I completed four books and I plan to get those reviewed this week.
NetGalley shelf is at 7. (I was approved for an audio last week but it was archived that day and I didn't get to access it. I may look some more soon.)
Two author titles remaining in queue.
(Plus a few that I received from newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
No new review books this week.
I had not purchases this week.
I did add three free titles from Audible Plus.
I only added one free Kindle title this week.
(Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

NONE

Free

I picked up three Sci Fi titles from Audible Plus:

A Change of Plans: A Short Story
By: Dennis E. Taylor
Narrated by: Neil Hellegers

Invasion: Alien Invasion, Book 1
By: Sean Platt , Johnny B. Truant
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Series: Alien Invasion (Platt/Truant), Book 1

Aces: Book 1
By: Craig Alanson
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
Series: Aces, Book 1



I picked up one free kindle title this past week:

Rescued: An Allegory [Short Story]
Tracy Higley


Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.