Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway January 8, 2016

Happy Friday.
I hope everyone had a great first week in "Sweet 2016".
We had a busy beginning to the new year, which is consistent with our business. 
Our weather has been cold -- for us.  We are anticipating family visitors for Friday and Saturday.
We have a special prayer need in the extended family so I will appreciate prayers for safe, successful surgery this coming week.
I expect to spend the rest of today planning my reading and setting up Challenge posts for 2016 - fun stuff. :-)

TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the January 1 Pick. There was only one automatic win again this week.  Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. There were no blocked titles.
AUTO: 
Rubynreba gets It Had to Be You

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from January 1 Pick:
Marjorie gets a GC

Rita gets Into the Valley

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Do you ever feel that life is circular. 

Image found at Bustle.

New Book Group #62 November 6, 2015
(I was getting ready to leave the office and realized I hadn't taken the photo of the books yet.
I took this very quickly. I may try to get another next week but this will have to do for now.)

PAIRS
Joan Johnston – Colter’s Wife and The Rivals
Nora Roberts – Born in Ice and Carnal Innocence
SINGLES
The Wedding Night by Jane Ann Krentz
The Marriage Prize by Virginia Henley
In Shelter Cove by Barbara Freethy
Into the Valley by Rosanne Bittner
Never Look Back by Linda Lael Miller
The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver – CD Audiobook
Touch Me by Beverly Rae (personally autographed)
Driven by Desire by LuAnn McLane (personally autographed)
To Marry a British Lord by Judith Obrien
A Highlander For Christmas by Sandy Blair
A Midnight Clear by Katherine Stone (slight seam creasing)
Silver Bells by JoAnn Ross, Fern Michaels, Mary Burton, Judy Duarte


New Book Group #61 October 30, 2015
After I noticed the trend I went on a hunt for “bride” titles. I even pulled a couple from some of my long time collections(*). (But they are not getting read on my shelves.)

PAIRS:
Leigh Greenwood –  The Reluctant Bride and The Independent Bride
Jane Feather(*) – The Hostage Bride and The Accidental Bride
SINGLES:
The de Burgh Bride by Deborah Simmons
The Forever Bride by Evelyn Rogers (Seam creasing)
Short Straw Bride by Dallas Schultz
The Bride Thief by Susan Spencer Paul
Bride by Stella Cameron (Seam creasing) (*)
An Unwilling Bride by Jo Beverley (*)
Bride Enchanted by Edith Layton
The Maiden Bride by Linda Needham (hardback)
Bride of Lochbarr by Margaret Moore (*)
The Ideal Bride by Stephanie Laurens (*)
Honor’s Bride by Galye Wilson
A Necessary Bride by Debra Mullins
Border Bride by Deborah Hale


New Book Group #60 September 18, 2015
A set of "haunting" tales and a few mysteries for October!

Shannon Drake –  Realm of Shadows (Alliance Vampires#4) 
SINGLES:
Bloody Good by Georgia Evans
Cat of Nine Tales by Deborah Macgillivray
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield
The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands
Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)


New Book Group #59 July 31, 2015
A few more summer titles, historicals and mysteries!

ANTHOLOGIES:
Broken Vows, Mended Hearts by Lynn Stone, Gail Ranstrom and Anne O'Brien
3,2,1 Married! by Sharon Sala, Marie Ferrarella and Beverly Barton
SINGLES:
Cruise to a Wedding by Betty Neels
Little Girl Lost by Shirlee McCoy
You Don't Know Jack by Erin McCarthy

New Book Group #58 June 26, 2015
-- A few summer titles, a few mysteries, a few historicals...

SINGLES:
Servant, The Awakening by L.L. Foster

New Book Group #57 May 1, 2015

SINGLES:
A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl
The Ruthless Greek's Virgin Princess by Trish Morey
Rally Fever by Crea Jones

New Book Group #56 March 20, 2015
(I'll try to get the rest linked another day.)

SINGLES:
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)

New Book Group #55 February 5, 2015 -- All Gone

SINGLES:
If I Had You by Deborah Bedford
The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

New Book Group #54 December 26, 2014

SINGLES:
Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card - Tape Cassettes


BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty byVickie Kennedy
First to Fight Anthology
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
The Commander by Kate Bridges
The Cinderella Plan by Margaret Daley
The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook by Steve Doocy
A Garden of Friends by Penny Pierce Rose
Richard Paul Evans PAIR: The Looking Glass and The Carousel
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Sleeping with Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner


BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)

Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)
Cattle Rancher, Secret Son by Margaret Way
Whisper on the Wind by Joan Smith
Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
A Lady of Consequence by Mary Nichols
Sweet Talking Man by Betina Krain


BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)

Thinner by Stephen King
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one
Tara Taylor Quinn: Father: Unknown and McGillus v.Wright
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
Anthology: Something Borrowed, Something Blue - this book has spine creases and minor water damage...I thought I had read it and liked it but now I realize it was another anthology I read with Elaine Barbier.


BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)

Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser
Death Angel by Linda Howard

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost six years I have posted 62 groups of 16 (992) books to find new homes! (as of November 6, 2015).

I am happy to say that so far about 913+ books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

Book Review: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella by Donita K. Paul

Treat yourself to this delightful, magical read!

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella
by Donita K. Paul

• File Size: 432 KB
• Print Length: 242 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (October 5, 2010)
• Sold by: Random House LLC
• ASIN: B003EI2EIQ

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Inspirational
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?
In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.
Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.
This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?

Review:
Cora has accepted her lone life style having successfully removed herself from her negative family environment. She is preparing for Christmas with careful shopping, including a gift for the person whose name she selected at her work department. Her hunt for the right gifts has her stumbling upon a hidden shopping area on Sage Street and an unusual bookshop called Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s. While making her selections she is surprised when her boss’ boss, Simon Derrick, appears in the store. Cora arrives home and discovers a ticket to a Wizard’s Christmas Ball in her bag and she isn’t sure what to make of it.

All the young women at work show some interest in Simon, their handsome co-worker, but he is totally oblivious to the women in the office. Simon is surprised to see Cora at an obscure bookstore, but he is pleased when she helps with a gift recommendation. Simon arrives home to his warm, loving family. He is prepared to read a story to his specially challenged sister, Sandy. When he discovers a ticket to a Wizard’s Christmas Ball, Sandy declares her desire to go with him.

Cora and Simon keep bumping into each other and Cora agrees to give her ticket so Simon can take Sandy to the ball. The mysterious matchmakers at the bookstore and the antique costume store are set on making sure that Simon and Cora go to the old fashioned ball but they didn’t realize they would have to work so hard to get this off beat pair together.

We found this quickly moving story absolutely charming. Cora is no social butterfly and Simon is no playboy – far from it. They are loners who are good people who deserve to find loves of their own. Simon’s family members, especially Sandy, are lovely characters who add to the story with their warm personalities. The bookstore and costume dress crew are fun old men and ladies who have special skills at matchmaking. Their work with this pair will face a few challenges including Cora’s sister who makes an unexpected and unwelcome visit.

Although some might think it strange to include magical elements in a Christian story the author presents them as part of God’s ‘fantastical’ creation. It didn't bother me at all and the faith messages are sweet and simply shared.

All of the ladies in book club agreed that this was a delightful read. We are interested in trying other works by Ms. Paul. I recommend this to readers who enjoy light, fun romance with a touch of Godly magic.

This title was our Ladies Book Club in December. I had picked up inexpensive, irregular print copies for my friends and I was lucky to find the ebook on sale!

(If I can get a copy back from one of my ladies, I'll add a giveaway. Unfortunately the discounted prices are all gone.)

Audible Book Reviews: Three X Minus One #VintageSciFi Stories

These are wonderful short stories of imagination and irony!

(Applicable to all three stories.)
Publisher's Summary
X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.
Public Domain (P)2012 BN Publishing

“From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future. Adventures in which you’ll live in a million could be years in a thousand maybe worlds.”


X Minus One: Cold Equations (August 25, 1955)
Written by: Tom Godwin, George Lefferts - adaptation
Narrated by: Fred Collins
Length: 23 mins
Radio/TV Program
Release Date:05-22-15
Publisher: BN Publishing

My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Review:
Barton is a pilot of an EDS, Emergency Dispatch Ship. These are specialized rescue units used to make the emergency trips when and where no one else can. Barton has been assigned to deliver life-saving serum to a work force of 16 men who have already become ill. Time is of the essence and the trip is planned with precise detail to make the mission successful.

As his ship settles into its journey Barton notices an unexpected heat signature. He discovers a stow-away who turns out to be the lovely wife of one of the men on the planet. The couple have been apart for a number of years and she snuck on board to make a surprise visit. How can Barton handle this when the trip doesn’t factor in another person?

This is a wonderfully engaging and ironic, if sad, short story. I saw the dilemma and appreciated Barton’s compassion. The solutions are limited. I held my breath a bit as I waited to see what would happen.


X Minus One: Protective Mimicry (October 3, 1956)
Written by: Algis Budrys, Ernest Kinoy - adaptation
Narrated by: Fred Collins
Length: 29 mins
Radio/TV Program
Release Date:05-27-15
Publisher: BN Publishing

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Review:
One Protective Mimicry finds us with Bamhoser, a special agent in "United Galactic Federation Department of Treasury, Investigation Division, Currency Section". Bamhoser has to track down a counterfeiter who is believed to have created a matter duplicator. His investigation takes him deep into the jungles of a humid, alien world where primitive natives live without sophisticated machinery. The counterfeiter captures Bamhoser and, in his arrogance, the thief explains his methods. When Bamhoser’s companions arrive and a battle breaks out, an unexpected event wins the day for the good guys.

Again the story is quick and I had to laugh at the ironic ending. There is some fun, 50’s appropriate views of women and repartee among the characters. The descriptions are well done, putting the reader in the stifling jungle, including a character blood-sucking bug.

X Minus One: Target One (December 26, 1957)
Written by: Frederik Pohl, George Lefferts - adaptation
Narrated by: Fred Collins
Length: 20 mins
Radio/TV Program
Release Date: 05-28-15
Publisher: BN Publishing

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Review:
This story takes place in a future world where the humans have been all but extinguished with the devastation and destruction caused by atomic war in 1960. The current society, even thirty years later, is suffering from the fall out, with birth deformities and mutations. The world council president believes that drastic steps must be taken to save humanity. Secretly a time machine has been developed and a plan is put into place to send a scientist who understands the problem back to assassinate the original source of the problem.

The question is: can eliminating one man really stop scientific progress and prevent the knowledge and development the future leaders most fear? When Dr. Maron returns to his own time, ninety years in ahead, what world will await him?

There is always a twist when it comes to time travel and this is no exception. Time travel to assassin someone in the past never quite comes out as expected. After all - how do you kill an idea? Once again, the quick story has an ironic end.

(Image and Plot Archives found at this site.)

I love how each of these stories are engaging, quick and ironic. The other thing I noted is that I can identify themes in these stories in contemporary stories I have read over the past year or so. It makes me wonder: how much of what we read now draws upon the authors of the past?

Audio Notes: These are presented as NBC broadcasts with some audio effects. I could imagine sitting by a radio in the 1950s to listen to these wonderful episodes. This is great entertainment for under $1.00 per selection!

I selected these three short audios for Vintage Sci Fi reading. They also begin my 2016 Audiobook Challenge and X on the Alphabet Soup Challenge! This is also my 2016 First Book of the Year

Sci Fi Experience and Vintage Sci Fi Participation

As I noted in my First Book of 2016 post, I decided to participate in two Sci Fi events that are going on right now.

Image art supplied by Chris Goff.

The 2016 Sci-Fi Experience begins December 1st and runs through January 31st, 2016.
It is hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.

The Sci-Fi Experience will hopefully give people an opportunity to:
a) Continue their love affair with science fiction
b) Return to science fiction after an absence, or
c) Experience for the first time just how exhilarating science fiction can be.

Since I have been increasingly enjoying Sci Fi this past year, I fall into the a) category.

Here are Sci Fi books read (or reviewed) in December, 2015:
1. Audible Book Review: The Genuine Particle by Stephen Punt; Comedy, Radio Broadcast; my rating 4.25. (Not read in December but review posted.) 
2. Audible Book Review: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld; Steampunk, Fantasy Adventure; my rating 4.5. 
3. Audio Book Review: Goon Squad, Vol. 2: Without Sin by Jonathan L. Howard; Sci Fi, Comic Storytelling; my rating 4.0. 
4. Book Review: Xenonauts: Crimson Dagger by Lee Stephen; Sci Fi, Fantasy; my rating 4.5.

Read in January, 2016:
5. Audible Book Reviews: Three X Minus One #VintageSciFi Stories; Vintage Sci Fi; my ratings 4.5, 4.25 and 4.25.
6. Audible Book Review and #Giveaway: Time Heist: Firstborn Saga Volume 1 by #Anthony Vicino; Sci Fi, Mystery; my rating 4.5.
7. Book Review: The Feral Sentence: Part One by G. C. Julien; Dystopian, Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
8. Book Review: Brilliance (The Brilliance Trilogy Book 1) by Marcus Sakey; Sci Fi, Suspense Thriller; my rating 5.0.
9. Audible Book Review: To Live Forever by Jack Vance; Vintage Sci Fi; my rating 4.0.
10. Book Review: Steamborn (Steamborn Series) (Volume 1) by Eric R Asher; Sci Fi, Fantasy, Steampunk; my rating 4.25.
11. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein; (Review to be linked.)

I have several books already lined up for January, including some Vintage Sci Fi titles.

The Vintage SciFi Not-a-Challenge event is hosted by Andrea at Little Red Reviewer.

I am starting with these Vintage titles (the first three I listened to as First Book(s) of 2016); The review links are above under Sci Fi Experience:
1. X Minus One: Protective Mimicry (October 3, 1956) by Algis Budrys, Ernest Kinoy - adaptation
2. X Minus One: Cold Equations (August 25, 1955) by Tom Godwin, George Lefferts - adaptation
3. X Minus One: Target One (December 26, 1957) by Frederik Pohl, George Lefferts - adaptation
4. To Live Forever by Jack Vance (original publication 1956)
5. The Moon is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein.

Sunday Post January 3, 2016/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday January 4, 2016

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date.
Thank you to Sheila for the years that she handled this meme.
Thank you to Kathryn for taking up the baton.

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.

We had a busy last week of 2015 as several closings had to be completed to qualify for homestead. 
Our daughter and her family have been out of town and hopefully she will be back in the office tomorrow. 
I was a little relaxed on reading as I needed to finish the reviews for my challenges. I was pleased to enjoy my First Books of 2016. I posted five reviews, the usual memes and several challenge wrap-ups and 2016 Challenge posts. 

I enjoyed visiting early in the week and some on January 1st and some more earlier today -- checking out First Read posts. :-)
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post December 27, 2015/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 28, 2015.

• Book Review: You're Never too Old to Laugh by Ed Fischer; Comedy, Aging; my rating 4.0.

• Book Review: Zion's Road: A Love Story about Faith and Redemption by Imani Wisdom; Romance, Suspense, Inspirational; my rating 4.0.

• 2015 Alphabet Soup Challenge Completed Successfully.

• Book Review: Fatal Judgment (Guardians of Justice Book #1): A Novel by Irene Hannon; Romantic Suspense; my rating 4.5.

• Book Review: Frozen Past (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 1) by Richard C Hale ; Suspense Thriller; my rating 4.25.

• The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge - Completed Successfully.

• MBS First Book Of The Year 2016.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway January 1, 2016. Open Worldwide. Ends 1/7/2016.

• MBS 2015 Reading List.

• MBS Best of 2015 Reading List.

• 2016 Alphabet Soup Challenge.

• TBR Triple Dog Dare 2016.

• 2016 Netgalley Reading Challenge.

• MBS 2015 Audiobook Challenge Wrap-Up - Completed Successfully.

• 2016 Audiobook Challenge.

• Audible Book Review: Jingles All the Way: A Christmas Tail by Barbara Morgenroth; Kids, Dogs; my rating 4.25.

• Sharing Beyond Books #234 Comment Giveaway January 2, 2015; Open Worldwide. Ends 1/9/15.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement January 3, 2015.

Finished Reading:
1. Audible/MP3

X Minus One: Cold Equations (August 25, 1955)
Written by: Tom Godwin, George Lefferts - adaptation
Narrated by: Fred Collins
I enjoyed this quick story full of sci fi irony!
I selected this for Vintage Sci Fi reading.
Publisher's Summary
X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.
Public Domain (P)2012 BN Publishing

2. Audible/MP3

X Minus One: Protective Mimicry (October 3, 1956)
Written by: Algis Budrys, Ernest Kinoy - adaptation
Narrated by: Fred Collins
This one was a bit zanier with more irony.
I see a theme I will note in my review.

3. eBook/Kindle

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella
by Donita K. Paul
This is delightful! 
I will post a review and giveaway this week.
Click on book title for full description.

4. Audible/MP3

X Minus One: Target One (December 26, 1957)
Written by: Frederik Pohl, George Lefferts - adaptation
Narrated by: Fred Collins
And more irony!
These are fun listens.

Currently reading:
1 eBook/Kindle

The Colossus
by Ranjini Iyer
I am 50% into this - engaging but a bit strange.
Maxine Rosen, a demure, clumsy, Chicago caterer gets more than she bargains for when she discovers her father’s coded research document linked to health pills unearthed from the ancient Indus Valley civilization. The pills, she learns, carry frightening secrets about the true nature of her father’s death; a truth that may be more than she can bear. Enlisting the help of handsome professor Julian McIntosh, Max travels across the continents to unlock the mystery of her father’s research, struggling to keep one step ahead of a powerful German pharmaceutical company who will stop at nothing to keep the disturbing document under wraps.

2. Audible/MP3

Time Heist: Firstborn Saga Volume 1
Written by: Anthony Vicino
Narrated by: Adam Verner
This is good so far. 
Time Travel Sci Fi is a favorite genre for me. :-)
I received this audio title from the author
Publisher's Summary
We tried to kill ourselves. We had the weapons. We had the desire. Somehow, we failed. Humanity survived. Go figure.
They called it the Dissolution, but it's been a couple hundred years and if you ask around, nobody in Unity remembers what all the fuss was about. What everybody had been so willing to die for. Nobody cares.
I don't, at least. I've done my part. Worked Time Vice for the better part of 20 years putting the bad guys into a Stream dream. Now I want out.
The numbers on my arm tell me I'll be dead soon. Less than a day left. I can live with that. What I can't live with is knowing a Unity leader helped Malcolm Wolfe, the man who murdered my wife and a million other innocents, escape prison.
Finding Malcolm means uncovering secrets that could tear Unity apart from the inside. But if I don't stop him, there probably won't be a Unity to save anyhow.
Looks like we might get a chance to wipe ourselves out after all. Now I just got to catch him before my numbers catch me.
©2014 Anthony Vicino (P)2015 Anthony Vicino

3. eBook/Kindle (NG)

The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson Book 9)
by Darynda Jones
This will be the first time I have read rather than listened to a book in this series. I'm interested to see if it "feels" different.
I received this through NetGalley. Release date 1/12/16.
In a small village in New York lives Jane Doe, a girl with no memory of who she is or where she came from. So when she is working at a diner and slowly begins to realize she can see dead people, she's more than a little taken aback. Stranger still are the people entering her life. They seem to know things about her. Things they hide with lies and half-truths. Soon, she senses something far darker. A force that wants to cause her harm, she is sure of it. Her saving grace comes in the form of a new friend she feels she can confide in and the fry cook, a devastatingly handsome man whose smile is breathtaking and touch is scalding. He stays close, and she almost feels safe with him around.

But no one can outrun their past, and the more lies that swirl around her-even from her new and trusted friends-the more disoriented she becomes, until she is confronted by a man who claims to have been sent to kill her. Sent by the darkest force in the universe. A force that absolutely will not stop until she is dead. Thankfully, she has a Rottweiler. But that doesn't help in her quest to find her identity and recover what she's lost. That will take all her courage and a touch of the power she feels flowing like electricity through her veins. She almost feels sorry for him. The devil in blue jeans. The disarming fry cook who lies with every breath he takes. She will get to the bottom of what he knows if it kills her. Or him. Either way.

January 3, 2016
We start again "In the Beginning" reading The One Year Bible again along with my husband and others from our church.
I will also be listening (sometimes) to the companion commentary online.

I posted five reviews last week to complete my reviews for 2015. 
I also posted numerous challenge/dare posts that are fun for me. I plan not to wait until the last week/day of 2016 to finish this year's challenges. :-)

NetGalley friends:
eTreasures has two new books available - they will be releasing later this month:

Starting Over         //   Loving, Living & Legends
by Barri Bryan     //    by Jack Horne
Mature coupe starting over//    Poetry 

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 Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I received two tour titles for review in February, 2016. I also received one title from an author and one through NetGalley.
I purchased six ebooks at Amazon at $.99 each and one at $2.99. These are the last of my purchases until April 2016.
I added more free kindle titles to my library.

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?
First - I received this lovely gift from one of our blogger friends.
Two beautiful blue scarves, truffles, a candy bar, loose tea (delicious!) and a handmade ornament - (I am putting that with my keepsake ornaments).  Thank you so much to my friend Miki. 

Review Titles

I received four titles for review:

Received from Great Escapes Book Tours for review in February:

City of Gold
by Carolyn Arnold
New Series
Genre – Suspense, Adventure
• Series: Matthew Connor Adventure Series (Book 1)

Received from iRead Book Tours for review in February:

Emmy Nation, Undercover Suffragette
by L. Davis Munro
Historical Fiction
This sounds like a fun heroine.

Received from author:

The Feral Sentence: Part One
by G. C. Julien
The year is 2087, and the federal government has implemented a new sentence for criminal convictions—banishment to a remote island.

AND I have one more title from NetGalley:

What We Find

by Robyn Carr

Harlequin/MIRA
I was invited to read this for the
hardcover release April, 2016.

Won

NONE

Purchased

[I still have two Audible credits to use before the end of 2015.]

I purchased six Kindle titles for $.99 each, and one for $2.99, as they caught my eye and I plan to make no more purchases for several months as I participate in the TBR DARE again:

The Knowing: Book One
Ninie Hammon

Act of Mercy: An Immortal Ops World Novel

(PSI-Ops / Immortal Ops Book 1)

Mandy M. Roth

Loved by the Dragon Collection
Vivienne Savage

The Crusader's Bride

(The Champions of Saint Euphemia Book 1)

Claire Delacroix

Avoidables Complete Boxset 1
Rachel Medhurst

Mandrake Company (Books 1-4)

Ruby Lionsdrake

($2.99)

Snowy Night with a Stranger (Scandalous)
Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries, Julia London

Free

Over the past week I added 50 free Kindle titles to my library. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.