Happy Thanksgiving 2022

Happy Thanksgiving.
I am so BLESSED.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, Savior Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

MBS 2022 FRATERFEST READATHON #FraterfestRAT

This readathon is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and lasts from 10/14-10/24/2022.

The rules are fairly easy (follow the link above):
Between Midnight October 14th and ending at 11:59 pm October 24th; read or listen to thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, horror, supernatural, witchy, ghostly or serial killer novels and novellas.

I estimate I might get in 25 hours listening time and a little bit of ebook time.

•   8 books (5TBR and 3 current) completed for FRATERFEST 2018
• 10 TBR titles for FRATERFEST 2019
•   6 books (2TBR and 4 current) for FRATERFEST 2020
• 10 books (7TBR and 3 current year) for FRATERFEST 2021

I am going to try to stick to TBR books although I may do an Audiobook.com club for mysteries in October which would be 2022 titles. We’ll see. Here are some of the titles I may pick from to read or listen to for 2022 Fraterfest:
eBooks:

NetGalley TBR: My Dead Friend Sarah by Peter Rosch

Audio Books:

The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 0h 44m (ATBR ABC)
The Werewolf's 15 Minutes by Jonathan Maberry 1h 42m (ATBR)
The Roommate The Cormac Reilly Series, Book 0.7 2h 23m (ATBR)
Second Skin, Audible Original Novella by Christian White 2h 28m (ATBR)
The Book of Riley #2: A Zombie Tale 2h 47m (2022 ABC)
Carnival Row: Tangle in the Dark By: Stephanie K. Smith 3h 8m (ATBR)
Eli Carter and the Ghost Hackers Books 1-3 Series Boxed Set by Angela Pepper – Book 1 3h 10m (ATBR Chirp)
Limbus Inc., Three Guys walk Into A Bar by Jonathan Maberry 3h 20m (ATBR ABC)
The Original by Brandon Sanderson 3h 30m (ATBR ABC)
Night Shift Witch by Cate Lawley 3h 31m (ATBR Chirp)
The Cuckoo's Cry An Audible Original Novella 4h 43m (ATBR)
A Death at Eastwick 5h 4m Chirp2020 (ATBR)
Last Ones Left Alive A Novel by Sarah Davis-Goff 5h 34m (ATBR Chirp)
A Ghostly Undertaking by Tonya Kappes 5h 39m (ATBR ABC)
Flea Market Magic by Bella Falls 5h 52m (ATBR ABC)
Cut 1/2986, Book 1 by Annelie Wendeberg 6h 4m (ATBR Chirp)
The Darkwater Bride: An Audible Original Drama 6h 45m (ATBR)
Dusty's Diary by Bobby Adair 7h 44m (ATBR)
Monster Hunt NYC: The Monster Hunt NYC, Book 1 by Harmon Cooper 7h 53m (ATBR Chirp)
A Skeleton in the Family by Leigh Perry 7h 57m (ATBR ABC)
Moonshine & Magic by Bella Falls 7h 59m (ATBR ABC)

I have another list of longer books (not good for Fraterfest) available for October reading -- this year or in the future. :-)

Image found at But Why Tho?

Limited Posting Due to Travel, Vacation, and time with Grandchildren!

Hi all. I'm stopping in for a quick post to let you know I am fine but have limited computer time. I was traveling Friday and expected to have computer access that night to prepare a couple of posts. Unfortunately the internet at the motel did not work. 

Of greater issue, I forgot the computer plug of all things! I had to preserve computer battery for work items due on Monday and Tuesday. The cord arrived mid-day on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, my daughter-in-law had another cancer surgery Tuesday so I am here in Illinois to help with the children. My grandchildren are a 9 year old granddaughter and almost 6 year old twins (boy and girl). They are a great age to spend time with playing games, reading books, and swimming in the pool. They've helped me in the kitchen too!

I have made two meals so far. The chicken breast Parmesan was a great success (my son has a picture I will share later). My scrambled eggs not so much. I used milk in the eggs and they didn't seem to like the softer texture. Also, there were no seasonings as they all said "no" to various suggested seasonings and additions other than cheese. The bacon was good though - "not soggy and not burnt" the eldest proclaimed.

I hope to post a couple of reviews this week but am not going to plan on anything specific - even Friday's post. 

I hope everyone is well as we move on into August!

Sunday News of Sorrow and Joy

A main reason I have not posted this past week is that my husband went home to Jesus last Sunday morning. He had been moved to the nursing home for care and rehabilitation on Thursday evening and I was spending half days with him. It was a terrible call to get at 6:40am Sunday May 1 as I wasn't ready.

The week has been disorienting of course. Heather has been devastated and been with me most of the week. I am thankful to have had help, comfort, and distraction with my sister who arrived late on Sunday and my stepmother who came in Tuesday. They stayed until Friday morning.

Our son came in on Tuesday and will be staying for a couple of weeks. Neighbors and church family have kept us full of food. We had visitation and a celebration of life on Saturday (May 7) morning.

We are sorrowing for our loss but we celebrate with joy because, as our former pastor wrote: "Bob is breathing easy in the presence of Jesus."
I am sharing (just a peek of) our memories here.

July 4, 1942 to May 1, 2022

MBS 2022 Reading GOALS

MBS (Martha's Bookshelf) 2022 Reading GOALS

I have only signed up for one actual goal (Goodreads) and one actual challenge (Audiobook). The rest are just my own set goals.

GOODREADS Goal: 125
Just a little over 10 a month should be very comfortable.

TBR Goal: 90 Audio, ebook or print.

AUDIOBOOK Goal: 100
I am joining the 2022 Audiobook Challenge hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer.
I have chosen the highest level - The 100 Club (Audiobook Addict) 100+

NETGALLEY Goal: 10
I am having trouble with the ebooks so I will shoot for at least 10 in either children’s titles or audios. Most of these will be new since I only have 4 on the TBR shelf, one of which is a third read.

AUTHOR Goal: 10
I did 14 in 2021 so I should be able to do 10. My concern is the slowness I have for ebooks so I have to hope for audios. I have two to start the year.

NONFICTION Goal: 12
I like including this to get in nonfiction. Most likely the books will be TBR audiobooks.

EBOOKS or PRINT Goal: 12
I only did 10 (of 24) in 2021 so I want to push to at least one per month. Not necessarily have to be read one per month but that would be nice.

SEASONS Goal: 4
I will do this again for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn (maybe Fall). I have toyed with monthly goal in prior years, but it just didn’t work to match the month. I could try reading the months whenever… I’ll think about that.

SERIES Goal: 75
Considering I read 97 series in 2021 (32 continuing + 65 new) I expect to do well with this again.

ALPHABET CHALLENGE #1: My first choice is AUDIO SERIES which I so enjoy! Most will be TBR before 2022. Part of my decisions will be choosing between a series I am familiar with or one I want to start!

ALPHABET CHALLENGE #2: This will be a variety Mixed Media - Audio, NetGalley, eBook and Print. I will try for single titles rather than series in this challenge, but not guaranteed. Most will be TBR before 2022.
The Alphabet goals help me pick from my overflowing shelves. :-)


YouVersion Bible App Goal: Bible through the year and 10 additional plans.

Colors – No goal. This wasn’t as easy as I hoped so I am not setting this one up this year. I may just keep track to see how it goes.

MBS 2022 Audiobook Challenge

MBS (Martha's Book Shelf) 2022 Audiobook Challenge 

 

The 2022 Audiobook Challenge, hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About.

I didn't sign up for this challenge the last few years but perhaps I should have. I have set my own goals though.
Here is my history of audio reading over the past six years:

2021 I listened to 113 books with the original goal only 64.
2020 I listened to 96 with the original goal of 75.
2019 I listened to 108 with the original goal of 75.
2018 Total Audio: 106.
I signed up for Marathon, 50 books in 2016 and 2017.
2017 I listened to 79 Audiobooks.
2016 I listened to 70 Audiobooks.

I am having more and more difficulty reading on the Kindle App. Listening goes much easier for me.
So for 2022 I am going for the high level "The 100 Club (Audiobook Addict) 100+".

I am working this into my Alphabet challenge too and already have many audio titles lined up.

First Book of the Year 2022: The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel

 We get to say "goodbye" to another 'interesting' year as we Welcome 2022 with hopes of improvement.

Thanks again to Sheila @ Book Journey for hosting this fun event.

I have participated in First Book (links to my posts) since 2014 with these books:
2014: The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn (audio and print)
2015: Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed by Carolyn Mahaney (ebook)
2016: X Minus One 3 short story Vintage Sci Fi (audio)
2017: All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life by Mark Batterson (print)
2018: What If God Wrote Your To-Do List?: 52 Ways to Make the Most of Every Day by Jay Payleitner (ebook)
2019: The Prayer of Jesus by Kevin Jackson (ebook)
2020: The Possibility of America How the Gospel Can Mend Our God-Blessed,God-Forsaken Land by David Dark (ebook)
2021: The Harbinger II The Return by Jonathan Cahn (audio and print.

As you can see, except for 2016 I have picked Christian or self help books. This year I narrowed the field to a social (political) treatise (commentary), American Marxism, and the book I have chosen.

I am working on updating a Bible study on Creation which I did over 20 years ago. [I just discovered that I have (hopefully only momentarily) misplaced my prior study folder! ARGGH..]

The Case for a Creator
By: Lee Strobel
Narrated by: Lee Strobel
Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
Release date: 10-05-04
I've had this ebook and have planned to read this for a while. Now I can listen to it.
Source: May 18 Purchase at $2.99 with Whispersync.
Publisher's Summary
Discover the astonishing evidence for intelligent design in this New York Times best-selling book by award-winning journalist Lee Strobel.
"My road to atheism was paved by science...but, ironically, so was my later journey to God," Strobel says.
During his academic years, Lee Strobel became convinced that God was obsolete, a belief that colored his journalism career. Science had made the idea of a creator irrelevant - or so Strobel thought.
But today science points in a different direction. A diverse and impressive body of research has increasingly supported the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. At the same time, Darwinism has faltered in the face of concrete facts and hard reason. Has science discovered God? At the very least, it's giving faith an immense boost, as new findings emerge about the incredible complexity of our universe.
Join Strobel as he reexamines the theories that once led him away from God. Through his compelling and highly readable account, you'll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness that present compelling evidence in The Case for a Creator.