Waiting on Wednesday #103

The Simplicity of Cozy: Hygge, Lagom & the Energy of Everyday Pleasures

by Melissa Alvarez

Make cozy your way of life with this guide for connecting to the positive energy of simple, everyday moments. Known around the world as hygge, lagom, and other similar terms, cozy and balanced living helps you improve your health, happiness, and spirituality by understanding and feeling the frequency of people, animals, places, and situations.

The Simplicity of Cozy explores a variety of topics, including mindfulness, simple ritual, self-care, home environment, relationship connections, and being in nature. Using easy techniques and exercises, you can tune into and practice the energy of coziness.

Expected Publication Date: 

 May 8th 2018 by Llewellyn Publications

Why I'm Waiting:

I love books about Hygge so this one really caught my attention especially since the cover screams cozy!

Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox

In this heady true-crime procedural, the creator of Sherlock Holmes uses his unparalleled detective skills to exonerate a German Jew wrongly imprisoned for murder, and sound a victory for reason over reflexive prejudice.

In 1908, a wealthy woman was brutally murdered in her Glasgow apartment. The police found a convenient but innocent suspect in Oscar Slater--an immigrant Jewish cardsharp--who was tried, convicted and consigned to life at hard labor in a merciless Scottish prison. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, already world famous as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was outraged by this injustice and became obsessed with the case. He scoured trial transcripts, newspaper accounts and eyewitness statements, meticulously noting myriad holes, inconsistencies and outright fabrications. Finally, in 1927, his work won Slater's freedom.

Conan Doyle for the Defense immerses readers in the science of Edwardian crime detection, telling the story of how Conan Doyle managed to overturn a murder conviction in the era before modern forensics--simply by employing the methods of his most famous creation. Along the way, Fox illuminates a watershed moment in the history of criminal justice, when reflexive prejudice began to be replaced by reason and the scientific method.

Expected Publication Date: 

June 26th 2018 by Random House

Why I'm Waiting: 

Because Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that's why. Seriously though the man who created Sherlock Holmes helped solve a crime? How can I not want to read that.

Top Ten Tuesday #103

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Top Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read:

These books have all been sitting on my Goodreads TBR pile since the day I joined in August 2008!

As you can probably tell I've always been an eclectic reader and that I may or may not have had a wee obsession with The Phantom of The Opera due to the 2004 movie staring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. It's crazy to think how much more my reading tastes have changed since I was 18. Clive Cussler is still one of my favourite authors (have always loved a good adventure novel!), but am not so much feeling the Christian historical romances by Lauraine Snelling anymore. However I think it would be fun to read these just to get them off of my list, so I think that's my plan for the year. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? #140

Hosted by Kathryn @ Book Date

With haunting prose and deft psychological insight, Averil Dean spins a chilling story that explores the dark corners of obsession–love, pain and revenge.

Ten years ago, someone ruined Alice Croft's life. Now she has a chance to right that wrong–and she thinks she's found the perfect man to carry out her plan. After watching him for weeks, she breaks into Jack Calabrese's house to collect the evidence that will confirm her hopes. When Jack comes home unexpectedly, Alice hides in the closet, fearing for her life. But upon finding her, Jack is strangely calm, solicitous . . . and intrigued.
That night is the start of a dark and intense attraction, and soon Alice finds herself drawn into a labyrinth of terrifying surrender to a man who is more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. As their relationship spirals toward a breaking point, Alice begins to see just how deep Jack's secrets run–and how deadly they could be.

There is a dark secret that is hiding at the heart of New York City and diminishing the city’s magicians’ power in this fantasy thriller by acclaimed author Kat Howard.

In New York City, magic controls everything. But the power of magic is fading. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney—a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic. But Sydney doesn’t want to help the system, she wants to destroy it.
Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians. 

In her New York Times bestselling and Morris Award-winning debut, Rachel Hartman introduces mathematical dragons in an alternative-medieval world to fantasy and science-fiction readers of all ages. Eragon-author Christopher Paolini calls them, "Some of the most interesting dragons I've read in fantasy."

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life. 

The Sunday Post #68

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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I hope everyone had a good week! We had a really busy one what with Dad's PSWs coming everyday and having appointments at the doctors in the middle of snows storms. Not fun when someone is wheelchair bound I tell ya. Next week is also shaping up to be a busy one, but at least today I'll be doing something fun for myself with Mr. Turning the Pages. Today is Landmade which is a vendor showcase feature natural local ontario yarn, and fibre at a hotel in Toronto's west end so it will be an early morning for us. Also, today is a very special day for a certain member of the family:

 Today is Spartan's second gotcha day from the Toronto Humane Society! When we got him he was malnourished, missing teeth, cowered in fear anytime someone raised their voice or something fell and only 22 pounds at 16 months old. Now he's 50 pounds and the happiest dog! Plus I forgot to mention in my last post that we added a new baby girl to the family back in December! 

Meet Fury! Our 20 week old Lab/Mastiff mix we adopted from Toronto Animal Services! 

Anywho other than appointments I'm not sure what next week will bring but we're hoping for some good news on the Long Term Care front for my dad. I hope everyone has a great week!

It's Monday! What are you reading? #139

Top Ten Tuesday #102

Waiting on Wednesday #160

*[Review] The Ruins by Scott B. Smith

*[Review] Alice Close Your Eyes by Averil Dean

Saturday Snapshot #23

It's Monday! What are you reading #140

Top Ten Tuesday #103

Waiting on Wednesday #161

Review : TBA

Review : TBA

Saturday Snapshot #24

The Sunday Post #69

Courtesy of Netgalley:

Have a great week everyone!

Saturday Snapshot #23

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on West Metro Mommy Reads' Blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.



Tomorrow is Spartan's gotcha day when we adopted him at the humane society and now he has a new sister Fury, also a rescue to celebrate it with!

Waiting on Wednesday #160

Come from Away by Genevieve Graham

From the bestselling author of Tides of Honour and Promises to Keep comes a poignant novel about a young couple caught on opposite sides of the Second World War.

In the fall of 1939, Grace Baker’s three brothers, sharp and proud in their uniforms, board Canadian ships headed for a faraway war. Grace stays behind, tending to the homefront and the general store that helps keep her small Nova Scotian community running. The war, everyone says, will be over before it starts. But three years later, the fighting rages on and rumours swirl about “wolf packs” of German U-Boats lurking in the deep waters along the shores of East Jeddore, a stone’s throw from Grace’s window. As the harsh realities of war come closer to home, Grace buries herself in her work at the store.

Then, one day, a handsome stranger ventures into the store. He claims to be a trapper come from away, and as Grace gets to know him, she becomes enamoured by his gentle smile and thoughtful ways. But after a several weeks, she discovers that Rudi, her mysterious visitor, is not the lonely outsider he appears to be, but someone else entirely—someone not to be trusted. When a shocking truth about her family forces Grace to question everything she has so strongly believed, she realizes that she and Rudi have more in common than she had thought. And if Grace is to have a chance at love, she must not only choose a side, but take a stand.

Come from Away is a mesmerizing story of love, shifting allegiances, and second chances, set against the tumultuous years of the Second World War. 

Why I'm Waiting: 

I've reviewed Genevieve Graham's books here and there over the past several years and every time there's a new book coming out I know it has to be on my WoW post. I still have to review her last novel Tides of Honor (LOVED IT) and cannot wait until Come From Away is released. Fun fact: I've me Genevieve Graham and she's super nice and hilarious!

Publication Date: 

April 24th 2018 by Simon & Schuster Canada

Playing to the Gods: Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, and the Rivalry that Changed Acting Forever by Peter Rader

The riveting story of the rivalry between the two most renowned actresses of the nineteenth century: legendary Sarah Bernhardt, whose eccentricity on and off the stage made her the original diva, and mystical Eleonora Duse, who broke all the rules to popularize the natural style of acting we celebrate today.

Audiences across Europe and the Americas clamored to see the divine Sarah Bernhardt swoon—and she gave them their money’s worth. The world’s first superstar, she traveled with a chimpanzee named Darwin and a pet alligator that drank champagne, shamelessly supplementing her income by endorsing everything from aperitifs to beef bouillon, and spreading rumors that she slept in a coffin to better understand the macabre heroines she played.

Eleonora Duse shied away from the spotlight. Born to a penniless family of itinerant troubadours, she disappeared into the characters she portrayed—channeling their spirits, she claimed. Her new, empathetic style of acting revolutionized the theater—and earned her the ire of Sarah Bernhardt in what would become the most tumultuous theatrical showdown of the nineteenth century. Bernhardt and Duse seduced each other’s lovers, stole one another’s favorite playwrights, and took to the world’s stages to outperform their rival in her most iconic roles.

A scandalous, enormously entertaining history full of high drama and low blows, Playing to the Gods is the page-turning account of the feud that changed theater forever. 

Why I'm Waiting:

I love reading about the beginnings of Hollywood and I think both these women were ahead of their time. I've read a little bit about them both and have always been fascinated by their feud so I'm looking forward to reading a book that the author has specifically done research on the topic.

Publication Date: 

August 21st 2018 by Simon and Schuster

What are you waiting on? 

Top Ten Tuesday #102

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Read:

1. Amity by Micol Ostow

2. Zom-B (Zom-B #1) by Darren Shan

3. Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse #1) by Jackie Morse Kessler

4. The Sword, Vol. 1: Fire (The Sword #1) by Jonathan and Joshua Luna

5. Scalped, Vol. 1: Indian Country (Scalped #1) by Jason Aaron & R.M. Guéra

6. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

7. Samurai Summer by Åke Edwardson

8. In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French

9. Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger #1) by V.C. Andrews

10. Natural Selection by Dave Freedom

I chose these because these are the top ten books I can't believe I read because I cannot for the life of me fathom how I was able to make it through these without giving up. In looking through my old notes there was absolutely nothing redeemable about these reads for me but I powered through. Do I regret finishing them? No, many of these were the first in the series. Some of them were new to me authors so I think that me, reading them start to finish was a good thing because I know that these are authors I am not going near again. If I didn't finish these chances are I would have tried something else by the authors but I don't want to waste my time reading books I know I won't like because the authors left such strong impressions on me.