Autumn Busy

It's Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday!

Truth!

The weather is autumn in the shade, but still summertime in the hot sun around here.

Niko has no shame.

A twofer!

Nice white jabot, kitty!

🐾 👣 🐾

Audiobook recommendations:

The Hurricane Wars Trilogy by Thea Guanzon

Narrated by Jeanne Syquia and Kaleo Griffith

Book #1: The Hurricane Wars

Book #2: A Monsoon Rising

Book #3: The Shattered Tempest

My two cents: War, magic, technology, found family, and imperial politics, with a helping of enemies-to-lovers-but-still-enemies.  

Action packed, based on Southeast Asian mythology, so it differs from other authors who use Norse or Greek/Roman mythology.

As I type this, I'm 50% through Book #3, and I will do nothing else but listen to this spellbinding story.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Narrated by Bernadette Dunne

My two cents: An older audiobook, which was made into a decent film, details the authors determination to pull her life together after her mother's death, and her divorce.

Walking the Pacific Crest Trail for 1,100 miles in 94 days mostly alone isn't my idea of getting my head on straight, but that's the beauty of this story: being in charge of yourself is the best remedy, despite a blisters, lost boots, hinkey hikers, and snowfall when you are in shorts.

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Narrated by Christine Hewitt

My two cents: A novella really, but what a journey in a short listen!  Silvie and her family are living as if they are ancient Britons, surviving by the tools and knowledge of the Iron Age, with an archeologist and his students.  This is harsh living, made worse by Silvie's violent father.  The back-and-forth between modern thinking against the backdrop of scrounging for food and living in nature, artfully written and performed, really made me think, and think, and think some more. 

📚 📚 📚 

Keeping Entertained

 It's Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday!

Zoomac, again!

New window kitty.

Mocha

Recommended audiobooks:

The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson

Narrated by Laura Horowitz and Anthony Palmini

Audiobook published August 18, 2026

Libby app blurb: "The breakout standalone dark enemies to lovers romantasy about a woman whose lips are deadly poison...until she meets the one man who can survive her kiss."

My two cents: An excellent romp, with magic and angst, nasty parents, and each side of the conflict is sure the others are bad, bad people.  Vampires too!  Adult.

Place of Temptation by Bilinda P. Sheehan

All books narrated by Polly Lee

DI Haskell and Quinn Series:

#1 A Wicked Mercy (2019) 

#2 Death in Pieces (2020) 

#3 Splinter the Bone (2020) 

#4 Hunting the Silence (2021) 

#5 Hidden in Blood (2022) 

#6 Place of Temptation (2022) 

#7 Lake of Tears (2023) not yet available

#8 No Safe Place (2025) not yet available

#9 Dark is the Mind (2026) no yet available

#10 Lost and Found (2026) not yet available

Goodreads blurb: "Crime novels set in North Yorkshire, England feature D.I. Drew Haskell teaming up with criminal profiler Harriet Quinn."

My two cents: Drew and Harriet have a past, making them adversaries in private, but a good team when solving murders.  Their connection evolves with each book.  I found this series years ago, but only the first three books were available at my library, until recently when more have come online.  Waiting impatiently!  Oh yeah, beware: gruesome.

Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune by Keith Thomson

Narrated by Feodor Chin

Audiobook published May 10, 2022

Libby blurb: "Discover the thrilling account of the roguish acts of the first pirates to raid the Pacific in a crusade that ended in a sensational trial back in England."

My two cents: Non-fiction - Sailing any ocean back in 1680 was dangerous, let alone doing it as pirates!  A must-read if you are into the history of seafarers, plus the Admiralty's amazing laissez-faire attitude years later is remarkable.  We've got Captain Henry Morgan, treks into Panama with fighting against the indigenous folk, The Spanish, and even The English.  A princess is saved!

Looking Around

🤳🏻 Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday.

In the neighborhood:

Gray cat on Smith Street.

Birds enjoying a meal.

President Truman watching me from a TARDIS-shaped Little Free Library.

My Sly, waits for me to give him some love.

📚 Recommended audiobooks:

It Could Have Been Her, by Lisa Jewell

Narrated by ensemble cast

Released June 23, 2026

Goodreads blurb: "Lisa Jewell brings the suspense to this shocking new thriller about a lost dog, a missing woman, and a house of long buried secrets."

My thoughts: A very twisty mystery, as an amateur sleuth revises a scary event in her life.

Gave it four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read the trigger warnings!

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

Narrated by Fiona Hardingham

Released June 2, 2026

Goodreads blurb: "In a desperate gamble to save her throne, a young monarch conceals a secret marriage in the shadows of an enchanted forest—and unknowingly alters the fate of her world."

My thoughts: A romantic tale for Anne of Brittany, January 1477 - January 1514 (aged 36), who was betrothed multiple times, and married to two Kings of France, having eleven pregnancies but only two surviving children, the author decided that Anne needed a true love, with unicorns!

Gave it four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Trade of Blood, Ana and Din Mysteries #3 by Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by Andrew Fallaize

Released August 4, 2026

Amazon blurb: "The heir to one of the Empire’s most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder. His hands are covered in the victim’s blood, and he can neither deny his guilt nor explain his actions.

But if the great detective Ana Dolabra cannot save him from the noose, the farming canton of Sapirdad will explode into war, threatening to plunge the whole Empire into starvation and chaos.

As Ana investigates—her assistant Dinios Kol, as ever, acting as her eyes and ears—she fears her task is even more daunting than it seemed. For this murder is just the latest in a deeper, subtler web of death, woven by a mastermind with an ancient weapon at his disposal."

My thoughts: This is a terrific sci-fi detective tale, and it's the third one in the series.

Such a fascinating series; I've given each book 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book #1: The Tainted Cup

Book #2: A Drop of Corruption

📚📚📚

Bloomin'

 Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday

In the 'hood:

Recent audiobooks:

How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin, Castle Knoll Files series book #3

Narrated by Alexandra Dowling & Jaye Jacobs

Two murders decades apart appear to be tied to the artwork of Annie's mother, and her never-before-seen father just appears at the same time.

Tales of huge amounts of missing money, stolen heirlooms, nasty family infighting, and if Annie isn't careful, she'll lose more than her heart.

The Bookbinder's Secret, by A.D. Bell

Narrated by Olivia Vinall

 

"A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder, in 1901 Oxford." - Goodreads

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King

Narrated by James Cameron Stewart

"At first denounced as a madman, Brunelleschi literally reinvented the field of architecture amid plagues, wars, and political feuds to raise seventy million pounds of metal, wood, and marble hundreds of feet in the air." - Amazon

~~~

Henry Update:

Henry's appetite has diminished, and his lethargy returned.

Hoping it's all an aftershock to the vet visit, or the binding powder had a immediate effect, and he's reacting to some internal feeling.

I'll be on him to eat something, even if I have to tear open a dozen churu sticks.

~~~

Let's Hop!

Pawsing Around

 It's Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday.

Some felines spotted on my travels through town:

Aren't these cute? 😹

***

Audiobooks recently completed:

My Husband's Wife, by Alice Feeney

Narrated by Bel Powley, Richard Armitage, & Henry Rowley

Location: Cornwall, UK

"My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page." - Goodreads

I See You've Called in Dead, by John Kenney

Narrated by Sean Patrick Hopkins

Location: New York City

“I See You’ve Called in Dead is a riotously funny, poignantly introspective novel that dives headfirst into the absurdity of existence....Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who gets everything wrong—including accidentally publishing his own death notice...perfect for fans of dark, heartfelt comedy.” - Weike Wang, author

Everyone in this Bank is a Thief, Ernest Cunningham series book #4 by Benjamin Stevenson

Narrated by Barton Welch

Location: Australia

"I’ve spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I’ve never been a hostage before...turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money." - Goodreads

Let's Hop!

Out and About

It's Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday!

Yay, have been able to get OUTSIDE to breathe fresh air without my face freezing.

*shhhh...shouldn't say that out loud, the Weather Gods will bring winter back*

New cats in the 'hood!

This wee kitty is very shy.

Marvelous eyes, and a fabulous fur pattern!

Have now petted this kitty three, four times at a house that's being updated, so not sure if he lives there or is a member of the construction crew.

Very friendly.

This is Niko, whom I haven't seen in the fur since the really cold weather began.

Niko just plops down and starts rolling around.

He's charming!

My most recent completed books/audiobooks:

M. A. Frick's Fate Unraveled Trilogy:

Forcing Fate

Following Fate

Fulfilling Fate

World-building, magic, dragons, and war, as Ayvanna finds her way through a world that tries to diminish her, but she won't hide her light under anyone's basket.

Richard Swan's Empire of the Wolf Trilogy:

The Justice of Kings

The Tyranny of Faith

The Trials of Empire

Strangely prescient for political maneuvering, with magic, emperors, and the veil between the living and darker realms, as Helena and Sir Konrad battle the forces of evil, while facing their own inner demons.

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

Had never read this before; okay, now I know that it's dark, even very dark, and moody.

Becky Aikman's Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II

Nonfiction history of American women who ferried new, barely tested fighters and bombers to air bases in the UK.

Let's Hop!

Wondering

It's Walkin' and Readin' Wednesday!

Except, I've barely walked in the neighborhood due to extreme cold and inches of snow.

I've been listening to audiobooks during the holiday break, but I'll post about that later.

Here are some sillies that reflect my mood about January so far:

🥶 🥶 🥶 

Our condolences to The Cat On My Head for the loss of Sawyer:

Please visit here to leave loving words.

Sentient and Loving

December 10 is International Animal Rights Day.

"International Animal Rights Day is an annual event honoring animals as sentient beings who deserve the same protections as people. 

This global observance is marked by demonstrations that expose animal exploitation, mourn the animal victims of human tyranny, and rally support for universal animal welfare."

Learn more here.

~

December 10, 2023 is a Gotchaversary of sorts:

Celestial Paddy O'Malley inked on my right arm!

Today is another tattoo day, as I've scheduled two new designs, and yes, there are cat images involved.

Will provide pics after the healing process.

~

Walkin' and Readin'

Recommended audiobook listens:

Val McDermid's The Grave Tattoo

A psychological Lake District thriller in which a present-day murder has its roots in the eighteenth century and the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty.

Michael John Witgen's Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America

Against long odds, the Anishinaabeg resisted removal, retaining much of their land in the Old Northwest—what’s now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  Outnumbering white settlers well into the nineteenth century, they leveraged their political savvy to advance a dual citizenship that enabled mixed-race tribal members to lay claim to a place in US civil society. 

Dete Meserve's The Memory Collectors

Four strangers time travel to the past, to find themselves stuck on the day all their lives were changed.

Can history be rewritten?

~

Let's Hop, even if very wordy...