Sunday Post September 18, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 19, 2022

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.

I finally got internet on Wednesday night. Yay for plug and play modem!
Two of my title staff attended an industry title conference in Naples, FL. They had fun and learned a lot too. I opted out as I am too far behind to spend a 7 hour day driving. I continue to work away at the office, making sure if slow progress. 

I spent a little time this weekend making up a FraterfestRAT list that I will share this week.

I chose to try a recipe for Parmesan Chips on Saturday.

Once again I had to substitute basil and olive oil as I didn't have any pesto on hand.

Also, my Parmesan was grated instead of shredded.
They were a little more oily than I expected but they still tasted good.
It was easy enough and I'll have to get the right ingredients to do it again.

I continue with my previous prayer lists, plus adding for Puerto Rico after the storm and other areas that have been suffering from flooding.

Last week we had no rain! And the temps were a bit cooler. But this coming week will be sunny and hot - in the 90s.  

I surprised myself by finishing four audios, all of which I enjoyed. I keep trying to listen to longer books hoping I can catch up on reviews. I was able to post four reviews (wraps up August) and my memes.

I visited 16 blogs again last week.
Shout out today to MAE'S FOOD BLOG. I know it says food, not books but, in addition to food, travel, and Mona Lisa (fun) she reviews "detective fiction, world literature and many other interests".

Audible offerings for free children's titles ended June 30, 2021.
Audiobooks.com is still sharing some free listens for children.

These were the posts last week:

• Sunday Post September 11, 2022/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 12, 2022.

• ATBR: Audible book Review: Commune: Book Four by Joshua Gayou; Genre: Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Content 4.25; Narration 4.5.

• ATBR: Audible Book Review: The Coming Apostasy: Exposing the Sabotage of Christianity from Within by Mark Hitchcock, Jeff Kinley; Genre: Apologetics, Eschatology, Non Fiction, Ministry, Social Issues; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway September 16, 2022. Open Worldwide. Ending 9/22/2022.

• ATBR: Audio Book Review: Spellsinger Dramatized Adaption by Alan Dean Foster; Genre: Apocalyptic & Dystopian, Immersive & Radically Different, Science Fiction & Fantasy; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

• ATBR: Audible Book Review: Double Share, A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 4 by Nathan Lowell; Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Space Opera; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

• Sharing Beyond Books #450 Comment Giveaway September 17, 2022. Open Worldwide. Ending 10/15/2022.
  

• Sunday Words of Encouragement September 19, 2022 - The Anointing Proclaims Good News.
  

Finished Reading:
1. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Fear the Sky
The Fear Saga, Book 1
By: Stephen Moss
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
This is a well written, engaging, first contact sci fi.
Source: 3/14/2020 Two For One Credit Sale at Audible.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audio Chirp App Smartphone (ATBR)

Act of Mercy
Written by Mandy M. Roth
Narrated by Mason Lloyd
Run Time 4h 53min
This has a good story as well as high sexual level for those who enjoy that.
Source: 4/24/2021 Chirp Deal $.99
Click on book title for full description.

3. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Voyage of the Defiance: Breaking Free, Book 1
By: S. E. Smith
Narrated by: Suzanne Elise Freeman
Series: Breaking Free, Book 1
Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
This teen coming of age story ended up more entertaining than I initially expected. I chose it as a "V" title.
Source: 7/19/2021 Audible Plus Catalog.
Publisher's Summary
From S. E. Smith, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, comes this emotionally charged coming-of-age story filled with action, adventure, and suspense for listeners of all ages.
An act of defiance will either kill her or change her life forever.
Sixteen-year-old Makayla Summerlin enjoyed one thing in her crazy, messed-up existence: hanging with her friends at school. But her life is uprooted when she suddenly finds herself forced to live with a grandfather she barely remembers. One act of defiance will change her life forever. Having trouble adjusting to her new home, she sets sail in her grandfather's old sailboat. On a journey that will challenge everything she has ever believed about herself, Makayla must overcome her fears if she, and a surprising stowaway, are to survive.
©2015 S. E. Smith (P)2015 S. E. Smith

4. Audible Smartphone (2022)

A Borrowing of Bones
A Mercy Carr Mystery
By: Paula Munier
Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 09-11-18
This is a nice mystery with the plus of dogs.
I had book 2 and wanted to start with book 1.
Source: 8/28/2022 Audible August Credit.
Publisher's Summary
The first in a gripping new series by Paula Munier, A Borrowing of Bones is full of complex twists, introducing a wonderful new voice for mystery listeners and dog lovers alike.
Grief and guilt are the ghosts that haunt you when you survive what others do not....
After their last deployment, when she got shot, her fiancé, Martinez, got killed, and his bomb-sniffing dog, Elvis, got depressed, soldier Mercy Carr and Elvis were both sent home, her late lover’s last words ringing in her ears: “Take care of my partner.”
Together, the two former military police - one 29-year-old two-legged female with wounds deeper than skin and one handsome five-year-old four-legged Malinois with canine PTSD - march off their grief mile after mile in the beautiful remote Vermont wilderness.
Even on the Fourth of July weekend, when all of Northshire celebrates with fun and frolic and fireworks, it’s just another walk in the woods for Mercy and Elvis - until the dog alerts to explosives and they find a squalling baby abandoned near a shallow grave filled with what appear to be human bones.
US Game Warden Troy Warner and his search-and-rescue Newfoundland, Susie Bear, respond to Mercy’s 9-1-1 call, and the four must work together to track down a missing mother, solve a cold-case murder, and keep the citizens of Northshire safe on potentially the most incendiary Independence Day since the American Revolution.
It’s a call to action Mercy and Elvis cannot ignore, no matter what the cost.
©2018 Paula Munier (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Currently Reading:
1. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

Ruins of the Galaxy
Ruins of the Galaxy, Book 1
By: J.N. Chaney, Christopher Hopper
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 04-28-20
This is another longer book. The start is very similar to Galaxy's Edge. I'm interested to see where it goes from here.
Source: 12/27/2020 Audible Two for One Credit Sale.
Publisher's Summary
The mission is simple. Escort an emissary to an intergalactic peace summit. Try not to get in the way.
Lt. Magnus and his 79th Recon Team have certainly handled worse, after all.
But when an explosion rocks the tower and sends everyone into a panic, Magnus and his asset find themselves cut off from the rest of the team.
Worse still, a dying alien chieftain gives them a priceless drive of intel, marking them for death.
The mission has officially changed.
With enemies on all sides, Magnus must do everything in his power to protect the emissary and escape the tower. There is no backup. There is no chance for failure.
The fate of the entire galaxy now lies in the hands of a Republic Marine and a diplomat.
All they have to do is survive.
Experience the beginning of this sprawling galactic tale in this first entry to the Ruins of the Galaxy series. If you’re a fan of Star Wars, Galaxy’s Edge, or Battlestar Galactica, you'll love this military sci-fi epic.
Includes bonus Ruins of the Galaxy stories "The Night of Fire" and "Demons at War".
©2019 J.N. Chaney and Christopher Hopper (P)2020 Podium Publishing

I will have a long drive again at the end of the week so I am sure I will get to another audio but -again - I haven't decided yet.

September 18, 2022 - I caught up first by shifting to reading from my physical Bible for a couple of days and then doing double listens for two days. I get excited watching the devotion videos.
The Bible Reading Plan is: BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus. It really soothes me to read/listen to the pieces each day.
No new study still.

I reviewed four but read four so no change in what I still need to review: 8 books plus 7 children's books. I keep working on these. :-)

NETGALLEY STATUS-- Nothing new although I have two pending requests.
My NG shelf is back to the three old ebook titles. I will probably end up letting A Place Called Armageddon go as DNF.
I don't have any author reviews in my queue right now but I may be getting one this week.
(Plus a few that I received from Facebook links and 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: Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, me and new to the team, Velvet at vvb32reads. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
No new review title this week.
I used one credit at Audiobooks.com and picked out my September free VIP titie.
I got one Plus audio a week ago.
No free Kindle titles this week.
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?
***ATTENTION: Mailbox Monday is looking for a new host! If you’re interested, please email savvyverseandwit AT gmail ***

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

9/17/2022 One Credit at Audiobooks.com
I have wanted this title for a while and decided to use one of my saved credits before it expires in early October.

To the Far Blue Mountains
Written By Louis L'amour
Narrated By: John Curless
Duration: 9 hours 19 minutes

Free

9/10/2022 Audible Plus Catalog.

Abide in Christ
By: Andrew Murray
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins



9/17/2022 September VIP free pick at Audiobooks.com.

I have eyed this title several times so picked it this month.
Murder in an Irish Village
Author Carlene O'Connor
Narrator: Caroline Lennon
Duration: 10 h 2 min


No titles added to Kindle library. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Book Adrenaline, Ereader News Today, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement Septmeber 18, 2022 - Anointing II

Our Sunday School Teacher continued to cover the elements of the ‘Great prostitute’ or ‘Great whore’, the false religious system, discussed in Revelation 17 and 18. Believers need to know and remember that we are in the world, not of it.

Our church service started with beautiful worship focusing on the beautiful name of Jesus and His worthiness. Missionaries to children in foreign countries shared on their efforts to show that children can know Jesus as well as adults. They take the message to schools, village outreach, and youth camps in the Polynesian islands, like Fiji.

Pastor continued his message on Anointing, this week centered on Luke 4:18-19. He reminded us that we are set apart for God's purpose. The Spirit abides in us. You can't manufacture true anointing because the real power comes from the Spirit. Luke 4:14. Jesus was quoting the text from Isaiah 61:1-2. He tells us his purpose, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10.

The power is the Spirit in is. When we listen to preachers we need to be discerning and question, “What is the text of preachers? Is it real? Is it Biblical?” The Spirit doesn't pass away. The apostles and disciples had a supernatural mindset, not a computer. We shouldn’t resist the Spirit. Accept the touch, surrender to Him living in you. The Spirit is on your life “to proclaim”. v19. The enemy doesn't want us proclaiming the word of God. But God created you with a voice to proclaim.

There is a difference in Luke 4:18-19 from Isaiah 61:1-2. In Isaiah there is an additional phrase: “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,”. The hearts of men are broken because of sin which makes us sick. Brokenness became part of our nature because sin disrupted the human DNA as it was intended by God’s creation.

The Bible speaks repeatedly of the pain and death brought by sin. Romans 6:23; Genesis 2:17; Proverbs 14:12; James 1:15; and more.  Jesus heals the hearts hurt by sin.

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10. Repentance is more than saying, “I’m sorry.” Repentance involves a change of behavior.

Since the believer is to proclaim good news to the poor, we cannot run from the Spirit. But some people want to wallow in sin. Sin owns us until we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. (We are slaves to sin until we accept Christ and righteousness. Romans 6: 20-22. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. God does not condemn us for our sins, but sent His Son to save us. John 3:17-18.

Christ gives believers sight which is part of the recovery from sin. The current generation has not been taught commitment. A thirty-year-old today is most often less mature than an eighteen-year-old in the 1960s. The current generation has no vision nor direction. People perish without direction. Proverbs 29:18 ESV. We must encourage each other to seek the Will of God.

The anointing of God is prophetic. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12. The Spirit will give you direction. The anointing will set you free and lead you if you allow it to live and flow. Luke 4:18-19. The year of “the Lord’s favor” is more than a year of Jubilee; it is a year of reset. Judgment isn’t here yet but judgment is coming.

God's wrath is the last resort. God is out to get you, not with wrath but with grace and love.
There is a saying that ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know.’ Dwight Moody once said that the anointed intellect is a precious thing. God wants you to allow the Spirit to anoint your gifting, whatever it may be. God wants you to have life more abundantly. John 10:10.

I didn’t find this song with a lyric video but I do like this song: Your Spirit.

Verses for Today:
Luke 4:18-19 NIV
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”


Again, Lord, I pray that you anoint me and use me to Your Purposes.

Sharing Beyond Books #450 Comment Giveaway September 17, 2022

Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books. (Note - I am going to continue to post monthly now, probably through the end of the year. This one runs through October 15, 2022.)

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last question.
Last post SBB#449 SCATTERED LEAVES asked: What’s your favorite pie??
We only had five commenters in addition to me. Two people named apple pie and two named pumpkin pie. The other pies named were: coconut cream pie (reminded me of my honeymoon), strawberry/rhubarb, cherry, and pecan.

The Winner from SBB#449 comments is #3 ELAINE who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [9-18-2021 I have added a new box and crossed off books no longer available through August 2021.]

Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #450

(One Question.)

Marjorie asks: Do you still mask going shopping even though you do not have too??

No. Our state opened up around October 2020. I didn't start going out in crowds for over a year as we were mindful of my husband's health. Over the past year I have probably worn my mask about 4 times. Twice when the activity requested it and twice the week following my quarantine from my second bout with Covid and I was out in public.  (I will say it drove me crazy when people were wearing their masks below their nose.)

Image found at RI Department of Health.

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month, I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a 1/2 book choice or $2.50 towards GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify them.
September question was provided by MARJORIE who gets a GC credit.

Your turn to share. Marjorie asks: Do you still mask going shopping even though you do not have too??
SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
THE deadline is a month, until Octboer 15.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday, October 15, 2022, at 5 PM central.

Audible Book Review: Double Share, A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 4 by Nathan Lowell

I like this series which provides an easy listen.

Double Share
A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 4
By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
Release date: 09-13-16
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Space Opera
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

Publisher's Summary
An inexperienced officer. A dysfunctional ship. Life in the Deep Dark just got a whole lot harder.
In his first assignment as an officer, Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself fresh out of school, wet behind the ears, and way out of his depth. Aboard the William Tinker the senior officers are derelict and abusive, the crew demoralized and undisciplined, and change unwelcomed and dangerous. Can Ishmael use what he learned aboard the Lois McKendrick to help the crew find the ship's heart? Or will he discover that bucking the system may come at too high a price? Return to the Deep Dark with Ish in this fourth installment of the award-winning Solar Clipper series, as he makes the transition from crew to officer.
©2013 Nathan Lowell (P)2016 Podium Publishing

Review:
Ishmael has now finished his learning at the Academy and is ready to face his first assignment as a junior officer, a Third Mate. He was a little bit surprised but glad to get a job right away even if it is with a lesser-known salvage and transport ship.

Ishmael’s first assignment was as a landlubber on the Lois McKentric where he learned the ropes from the bottom up, did his studies in all areas of the ship, and gained the respect of his shipmates and superiors. He worked with others in the crew to care for the ship and each other. So he is totally surprised and dismayed to arrive at a ship with a crew that ranges from sloppy to antagonistic to oppressed. A senior officer and his handpicked guards are sexually harassing and abusing the women on board, with other crew members being cowed into silence. The Captain turns a blind eye…not only to the abuse but to everything else on the neglected ship.

Ishmael soon begins to use his unique charm and understated method of persuasion to change things on the William Tinker, starting with the coffee and continuing with food and cleanliness.

Ishmael is attractive and well-built but was never drawn to physical types of self-defense. He ends up having to face brute force with his lesser-known skills of Tai Chi. If Ishmael can survive the assignment, will he be able to make a long-term difference for the ship?

Previous books in the series revealed Ishmael’s easy going and smart character. He likes theatre due to his professor mother and he highly respects women. Thanks to his time on the Lois McKentric, Ishmael believes in the well being of the crew as they work to care for the ship. I love this trait and how it plays out with the other crew members.

This is not a series with high physical action, but it is satisfyingly high in mental action. I felt the handling of mental and sexual abuse in a future world was pretty sad, but I was glad there were those, led by Ishmael, who cared to take action. I recommend this series to fans of character-driven Space Opera.

Audio Notes: I really enjoy Jeffrey Kafer’s narration of this series. He portrays Ishmael perfectly and manages the other characters with different accents and energy. The narration enhances my enjoyment of this series.

Source: 9/18/2021 Audible August Credit. This qualifies for 2022TBR and 2022Audiobook goal.

Audio Book Review: Spellsinger Dramatized Adaption by Alan Dean Foster

This is a fun fantasy listen.
Spellsinger [Dramatized Adaptation]
By Alan Dean Foster
Narrated by: Multi

Duration: 8 hours 1 minutes
Release date: 10-30-20
Publisher: GraphicAudio
Genres: Apocalyptic & Dystopian, Immersive & Radically Different, Science Fiction & Fantasy
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Summary:
Snatched through a portal into a land of magic, a young musician must use a mysterious, multistring duar to rescue the world into which he has fallen before he can return to his own. Jonathan Thomas Meriweather is a typical college student, interested in girls, music, and an occasional taste of reefer. But when a journey through an interdimensional portal lands him in a world of talking animals and ominous sorcery, he finds he is on a very different trip indeed. Here, when he plays a strange instrument called a duar, peculiar things happen: powerful magic that may be the only way to stop a dark force that threatens his new world-and his old one. Reluctantly, he finds himself teaming up with a semi-senile turtle wizard; a thieving, backstabbing otter; and a bewildered Marxist dragon to rally an army for the war about to come. Spellsinger, the first in Alan Dean Foster's eight-book Spellsinger series, introduces a world of magic and mayhem, where animals are people and plunging ahead no matter what the consequences may be the only way to survive.

Review:
Jon is a serious college student who enjoys music, playing his own instruments, enjoying eyeing the girls, and occasionally enjoying a reefer. One evening he is pulled into an interdimensional portal to a world filled with talking animals and full of legal and illegal sorcery. Jon battles one of the first creatures he meets, an otter, and ends up being taken before a powerful wizard who is also a bit of a senile bumbler. The wizard, a turtle, had tried to call out another powerful sorcery but ended up with Jon who appears to have no sorcery skills…until he picks up a strange instrument and things happen.

Jon teams up with the turtle and the rascally otter who takes him into town to get decked out with clothes that will blend in and a weapon or two. After Jon sets off a riot in a bar, they escape to an outcasts camp. Once again, Jon stirs up trouble and now they escape again with a female warrior. They return to the wizard hoping that he has found a way to return Jon to his real world. That doesn’t exactly work.

Now the full team is traveling to seek support to fight the dark evil that the wizard knows is coming. Along the way, Jon’s singing conjures up a Marxist dragon who will help them only because Jon convinces him they are comrades.

I do enjoy a good graphic novel now and then. As the story started, I wasn’t sure but quickly I learned that this is surprisingly fun. I enjoyed the discovery of Jon’s skills, I loved the variety of characters and the support they give each other. The story does set up as a battle of good and evil with the evil insects reminding me of the Orc Army. I would be interested in listening to more and I recommend this to fans of fun fantasy.

Audio Notes: There is a large group of narrators that help to make this fun. I liked the narration but did find the background noise to be too loud and distracting sometimes.

Narrated By: Gregory Linington, Paul Reisman, Chris Genebach, Todd Scofield, David Jourdan, Rose Elizabeth Supan, Bradley Smith, Alyssa Wilmoth, Jeff Allin, Ren Kasey, Yasmin Tuazon, Andy Clemence, Scott Mccormick, Michael John Casey, Shanta Parasuraman, Ken Jackson, James Konicek, Michael Glenn, Mort Shelby, Terence Aselford, A Full Cast, Nanette Savard, Richard Rohan.

Source: 3/14/2021 Two for One Young Adult Credit Deal at Audiobooks.com. This qualifies for 2022TBR and 2022Audiobook goals.