Book blogger Hop and books galore

Oh, apologies that the gato and I are late to the hop but I do believe in the old axiom, better late than never! If you are up for a little blog hopping today would be the last day as Jennifer at Crazy for Books runs her meme from Friday through Monday so hurry up!

Not only are we late to the party but just realized the gato and I have been absent since Sept. 9th! Guess real life just took over, stuff like...birthdays...excitement in the neighborhood. If you ever want to see what we are up to, visit with us at our other blog Diamonds and Daisies. We'd love to have you take a peak into our "regular" life! Speaking of which, here are some books I picked up at a recent library book sale:

1. The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene: Yey! Nancy Drew, teen detective, a childhood favorite of mine.
2. National Velvet by Enid Bagnold: I was enamored of horses when I was a young girl and read all manner of horse stories including this one. Another childhood favorite and I absolutely adored the movie with a young Elizabeth Taylor.
3. Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella: I do *HEART* a good chicklit and Sophie Kinsella writes the best of the genre. This is one of the first SK books I read and managed to find a nice copy to add to my ever growing library.
4. Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry: Anne Perry is a familiar name but surprisingly I have never read her books. I'll start with this one because: a) it's a mystery and b) it takes place during my favorite time period and place, Victorian London.
5. Something Blue by Emily Griffin: Of course I've seen her best-selling books around but never got around to reading them. I decided on this one because it is my niece's favorite.
6. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris: A friend recommend this to me sometime ago and I have finally gotten around to picking it up! Looking forward to reading this one.
7. Dracula the Undead by Dacre Stoker: Imagine you are the great-grandnewphew of Bram Stoker! Now imagine you are writing a sequel to the classic, Dracula, originally pubished in 1897. The audacity! But, hmmmmm, interesting!
8. Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler: Because I love a good adventure yarn and enjoy visiting with old friends like Dirk Pitt! Bartender, another Corona please.

It's Monday, and you are able to make a fresh new start! So, get on it!

Book blogger Hop

Hello book bloggers! I invite you to follow along with the Book Blogger Hop brought to you by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. Just follow the link and you'll be on your way to a huge universe of bloggers who just happen to like books.



This week's question is more of a topic submitted by Anne at My Head is Full of Books. She invites you to post a link to a favorite post or book review that you have written in the past three months. Actually, my favorite post is one I did in February on the cozy mystery genre I called I *HEART* a Good Cozy! I've picked this post because a few people are unaware of what a cozy mystery is. It's one of my fave genres.

I've Won Another Contest, I know I can't believe it!

On August 23rd Tammy at Mug of Moxie posted the three winners of her contest. Thanks so much Tammy and Candlewick Press. The other two winners were: Jennifer at Pink Peony Blossom and Amber at Down the Rabbit Hole. We won a copy of Another Pan a new take on the familiar story of Peter Pan by brother and sister team Daniel and Dina Nayeri.

Here's a little teaser from the website: An ancient Egyptian spell is turning the tony Marlowe School into a sinister underworld. Will all hell break loose?

Sound like an adventure? Off we go, second star to the right and straight on 'til morning! J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

Have a great weekend!

Book Blogger Hop

I am happy to be blog hopping again this weekend! If you want to join in on the fun go visit with Jennifer at Crazy for Books and join the rest of us as we circle the globe to seek out new, interesting and fun book blogs.

This week's question is from Sarah at Sarah Reads Too Much: Do you judge a book by its cover?

My answer: Yes, at least most of the time and especially if it's chicklit. I am drawn to those covers through the color and subject matter which is usually girly.

What are you doing this long holiday weekend? The gato and I plan on doing our best to take advantage of the weather and maybe do a little BBQing!

The gato thinks he'll get some reading in too!

Have a good one!

The Language of Bees

A Little Background: I love Mary Russell and her world. The first Mary Russell book, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, was published in 1994 and I’ve been following her ever since!

Book Description: The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

After months abroad, Holmes and Russell are back in Sussex with a perplexing mystery, the disappearance of a colony of bees from Holmes’s hives. But before Holmes has time to investigate the disappearance, his past abruptly shows up at his door in the form of one Damian Adler, a surrealist painter who is also Holmes’s son with Irene Adler. A very troubled young man, Adler intends on engaging Holmes to solve the sudden vanishing of his wife and child.

Russell will find her relationship with Holmes stretched to its limit as they each set about investigating the disappearance. It’s a familial affair as Mycroft Holmes is brought into the thick of it. What the trio uncovers is chilling and takes them from the teeming streets of Shanghai to Bohemian London of the 1920s. They must traverse bizarre religious cults, sadistic rituals and suicides putting all in grave danger.

To be continued…



My Take: The Language of Bees has a great cliff-hanger of an ending which has me primed for The God of the Hive its follow up. King’s writing reminds me somewhat of Elizabeth Peters in that I get lost in the worlds they conjure up. I cannot miss one word not just for fear of missing anything pertinent but just for the sheer glory of reading. Both authors engage their readers to distraction. Forget the dishes in the sink and the laundry piling up! Just let me sit quietly in a comfortable chair for the rest of the day to simply read.

About the Author:



Laurie King is the bestselling author of four contemporary novels featuring Kate Martinelli, the award-winning Mary Russell series, and the bestselling novels A Darker Place, Folly, and Keeping Watch. She lives in northern California. You can Facebook with Laurie and Twitter with her as well.