Each Friday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly five word writing prompt. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 25, 2023
January 25, 2023 By 1 Comment
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: Something I’m Proud of Doing
Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2022
January 24, 2023 By 64 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I’m constantly branching out and finding new authors to read. 2022 wasn’t any exception.
1. Deanna Raybourn. Her book Killers of a Certain Age was such a fun read. Plus, you’ve got to love a book about four 60-year-old female assassins, right?
2. Sangu Maandanna. I borrowed The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches from the library on a whim. Such a cute book.
3. Markus Sakey. I’d had his book Afterlife on my TBR for a couple of years. I finally gave in and read it last year and his take on what happens after we die was fantastic.
4. Helen Monks Takhar. Such a Good Mother is a great story about motherhood and all the trials that come with it. Some mothers will honestly do anything for their children.
5. Ali Hazelwood. She’s become extremely popular over the last couple of years, so I indulged in Love on the Brain. Loved the mix of humor and science.
6. Isabel Cañas. The Hacienda had been presented as horror but ended up being more gothic suspense in the end. Either way, it was a very atmospheric and creepy novel.
7. Mindy Quigley. I snatched up the ARC for Six Feet Deep Dish because I a) love cozies and b) have a thing for pizza. Turns out it was a good choice. I’m eagerly awaiting the next in this cute series.
8. Jessie Q. Sutanto. I’d seen Dial A for Aunties on so many Top Ten Tuesday posts that I had to read it for myself. Tons of fun even if I did feel like I was about to have a panic attack at times – too many close calls, aunties!
9. Misha Popp. as I said in #7, I’m a big fan of cozy mysteries, especially when they’re food themed. I picked up the ARC for Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies around the same time I grabbed Six Feet Deep Dish. Yeah, I probably was hungry at the time, why do you ask? I really enjoyed the bit of magic that Misha Popp wove into Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies. Can’t wait to see where the series goes.
10. S. A. Cosby. Razorblade Tears was probably the toughest book I read in 2022. It’s both violent, angry, and heartbreaking at the same time. But it was absolutely worth it.
Friday Five Writing Prompt Challenge for January 20, 2023
January 20, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Each Friday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly five word writing prompt. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s five words to use as your prompt are:
museum, rare, build, nonsense, identity
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 18, 2023
January 18, 2023 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: New Things I’ve Tried Recently
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2023
January 17, 2023 By 69 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
1. Encourage more people to sign up to become reviewers for Long and Short Reviews. I’ve convinced a few friends join, and they’ve all had a wonderful time discovering new authors and sharpening their writing skills. If you’d like to help me reach this goal, all of the details on how to join can be found on the Become a Reviewer page. Tell them that Astilbe sent you.
2. Whittle down my TBR list. As a lot of you, I’d guess, I have so many books on there that I’ve been meaning to read but haven’t quite gotten around to picking up yet.
3. Reread old favorites this winter. There’s something comforting about knowing exactly what will happen next and spending time with beloved characters.
4. Discover some great new anthologies, especially if they’re in the mystery or speculative fiction genres.
5. Listen to more audiobooks. They’re especially helpful when you’re doing mundane, repetitive tasks like shoveling snow or doing household chores that require the use of your body but not necessarily your mind.
6. Play fewer games on my cellphone. There’s nothing wrong with gaming, of course, but I find it’s cutting into my reading time and would like to readjust my priorities.
7. Alternatively, maybe I could find some literary or bookish games to play on my phone?
8. Read a romance novel. I rarely venture into that genre, but I have found a few titles in it that I truly enjoyed.
9. Try some non-gory horror again. This pandemic has squelched most of my interest in the genre, but maybe now I’ll be ready to give it a shot as long as it isn’t related to disease in any way.
10. Visit the physical branch of my local library again. I miss making friendly small talk with the nice librarians there.
If you have any book or game suggestions for me based on these goals, I’d sure like to hear them.
Friday Five Writing Prompt Challenge for January 13, 2023
January 13, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Each Friday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly five word writing prompt. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s five words to use as your prompt are:
flood, chorus, pollution, sacred, childish
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 11, 2023
January 11, 2023 By 3 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: What I think of New Year’s Resolutions
Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023
January 10, 2023 By 54 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
All of these books sound like they’ll be good reads this winter and spring.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1) by Heather Fawcett
Why I’m Curious About It: Faeries are eternally interesting, especially when contemporary characters seek them out.
The Black Queen by Jumata Emill
Release Date: January 31
Why I’m Curious About It: Stuff like homecoming and prom were unappealing to me when in high school, but I am fascinated by people who are into these things.
Central Places by Delia Cai
Release Date: January 31
Why I’m Curious About It: There can be all sorts of long-term effects, both positive and negative, of moving far away from the small town one grew up in and not following the life script that those who stayed behind stuck with. I love the fact this is being addressed here.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Release Date: February 28
Why I’m Curious About It: What’s better than a haunted house story at the end of winter when everything feels kind of dead and spooky anyway?
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
Release Date: February 28
Why I’m Curious About It: The Crane Wife is one of those fairy tales just obscure enough that I haven’t seen any other retellings of it. Here’s hoping this one encourages others to rewrite it, too.
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
Release Date: February 28
Why I’m Curious About It: As you’ve noticed, I love haunted house stories. It’s hard to say no to just one more of them.
Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood
Release Date: March 7
Why I’m Curious About It: The Odyssey is one of those classics I’ve never read. Maybe this retelling of a small part of it will encourage me to finally read the original?
Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
Release Date: March 14
Why I’m Curious About It: I like the cottagecore aesthetic but have yet to see a contemporary book based on it.
The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores
Release Date: March 21
Why I’m Curious About It: I’ve talked about my love of retellings in previous Top Ten Tuesday posts, so this queer Rapunzel retelling was at the top of my list for this post.
Spin by Rebecca Caprara
Release Date: March 28
Why I’m Curious About It: For the same reason I’d like to read Lies We Sing to the Sea. The myth of Arachne isn’t something I know a lot about either.
Friday Five Writing Prompt Challenge for January 6, 2023
January 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Each Friday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly five word writing prompt. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
