Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for June 29, 2022

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: A real life event that no one would believe

Top Ten Tuesday:  Books On My Summer 2022 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are some of the books I’m looking forward to reading this summer. If no publication date was noted, that book has already been released.

1. This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart, #2) by Kalynn Bayron

Why I Want to Read It: I must confess that I haven’t read This Poison Heart yet, but I’m still quite curious about this series and hope the release of the sequel will encourage me to begin it.

 

2. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove  by Jesmeen Kaur Deo

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve never read a book about a character who struggles with feeling too hairy before.

 

3.The Beach Trap by Ali Brady

Why I Want to Read It: Imagine accidentally discovering your friend is actually your sibling! I’ve always dreamed of having a sister.

 

4. Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder by Saundra Mitchell

Why I Want to Read It: Science fiction anthologies are some of my favorite things to read.

 

5. Donut Disturb by Ellie Alexander

Why I Want to Read It: The pun in it made me laugh, and summer is a great time for a cozy mystery.

 

6. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publication Date: July 19

Why I Want to Read It: The Island of Doctor Moreau is one of those classic novels whose premise intrigues me but whose writing style has never been something I’ve been able to get into. I hope that Ms. Moreno-Garcia’s take on the subject will be a fresh, modern one that breathes new life into it.

 

7. A Beginner’s Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps

Publication Date: July 22

Why I Want to Read It: I’d never pondered how someone learns how to murder others before. The title made me laugh but also made me think about the dark side of it. My fingers are crossed that this will be a funny read instead of a somber one.

 

8. Twice as Perfect  by Louisa Onomé

Publication Date: July 26

Why I Want to Read It: I’m a perfectionist, too. I liked Adanna as soon as the blurb mentioned her overpowering need to be perceived as a good kid who always does the right thing. That’s a lot of pressure for anyone to bear.

 

9. How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) by Cristina Fernandez

Publication Date: August 2

Why I Want to Read It: The title made me giggle.

 

10. Camp Scare by Delilah S Dawson

Publication Date: August 2

Why I Want to Read It: I attended camp with my parents and siblings, but I disliked bugs and humidity too much to sign up for parent-free camps when I was a kid. (I liked having the option of telling my parents that I was done with nature and then maybe going home early. Hehe). Now that I’m an adult, I do like reading about summer camps, though! This looks like a delicious fun and scary camp story for sure.

 

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for June 22, 2022

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: Your list of auto-buy authors

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With a Unit of Time In the Title


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Let’s take a look at some of the many books out there that have the word day in their titles.

1. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

2. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

3. The Summer Day is Done by Mary Jane Staples

4. Seven Days in May by Kim Izzo

5. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

6. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

7. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

8. The Days Are Just Packed (Calvin and Hobbes #8) by Bill Watterson

9. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

10. Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for June 1, 2022

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: Book/Movie/TV Show set in or near your town

Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ Teddy Loses His Ears by Christine Milkovic Krauss


Teddy Loses His Ears by Christine Milkovic Krauss
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

Teddy is a rescue cat who lost his ears from frostbite. Teddy has inspired a series of stories with his true-life adventures that share relatable messages of kindness and acceptance. Teddy hopes that his stories will raise awareness to the organizations that saved his life, and thousands of other animals’ lives every year.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE!

Top Ten Tuesday: Comfort Reads


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

There are so many amazing comfort reads out there to choose from!

Here are ten books I think fit the bill nicely, especially if you choose to reread them.

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

2. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

3. Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones, #1) by Helen Fielding

4. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

5. The Chronicles of Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7) by C.S. Lewis

6. A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) by Madeleine L’Engle

7. All Creatures Great and Small / All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot

8. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1) by L. Frank Baum

9. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

10. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for May 25, 2022

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: Favorite quote from a book?

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Quote Freebie

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s topic is a book quote freebie.  Which is perfect since I seem to collect book quotes.  I have no real theme for today other than these quotes either made me laugh, cry, or think about something differently.

  1. Men don’t have to pay attention the way we do. Men die because they make mistakes. Women? We die because we’re female.

This is from The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix.  It struck me for two reasons.  A) because it’s true and B) because a man put that thought onto paper.  Granted, the narrator is female, but still.

  1. Guncle Rule number eight: Live your life to the fullest every single day, because every day is a gift. That’s why people die. To teach us the importance of living.

There are so many quotes that I wanted to include from The Guncle by Steven Rowley, but most of what I saved were a bit um… inappropriate (albeit hilarious) … for this post.  This one got me though.

  1. When it comes to lying, there’s a golden rule: tell as much truth as you can. The truth is, after all, the easiest to remember. It’s the most consistent with inarguable fact.

From Bath Haus by P. J. Vernon.  This book was nuts, okay?  But that quote?  Right on the money.

  1. This is the terrible thing about a tragedy. It isn’t with you every minute. You forget it, and then you remember it again. And you see it with a stark quality: This is what is required of you now, just to get along.

From The Last Thing He Told Me by Lauren Dave.

  1. “There’s nothing wrong with being a mapmaker.” … “Of course not. And there’s nothing wrong with being a lizard either. Unless you were born to be a hawk.”

This is both inspirational and amusing at the same time.  From Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

  1. Dress shoes but no socks? Is that a thing now? Jesus, seriously? I think that might be the fourth sign of the apocalypse.

From The Red Book by James Patterson and David Ellis.  This made me think of my daughter and how she’d react to such a sight.

  1. “Lemonade.” Oblivious to the danger, Daniel went behind the bar to find the pitcher and refill her glass. Shaking his head, he began to laugh weakly. “I am standing in a vampire’s lair, and he serves me lemonade.”

From The Turn by Kim Harrison.  I love it when a character recognizes the ridiculousness of a situation.

  1. Geralt knew that bonnet and that feather, which were famed from the Buina to the Yaruga, known in manor houses, fortresses, inns, taverns and whorehouses. Particularly whorehouses.

From Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski.  I love this because what a way to introduce a character, right?  Geralt knows it’s Dandelion (Jaskier) by the feather alone.

  1. But I was wrong—I don’t need a man to look past my size. I need someone who’ll see me and love me exactly as I am. For all its flaws, this show made me believe that that’s possible.

From One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London.

  1. He smiled. If it was not for the fact that she knew he was a vicious murderer, the expression would have been pleasant. Eric Spears was a handsome man. A charming man. A brilliant one. A cunning and deadly animal.

I’m including this because I very rarely get consumed by the bad guy.  However, from the very first book in Debra Webb’s Faces of Evil series, I was half in love with the psycho Eric Spears.  This quote comes from the short story “My Evil Valentine” that was a prequel to the series.

Bonus quote: “Castellan,” said Geralt, “why act in haste? After all, I really could have an accident at work, irrespective of my intentions. Just in case, the wise men should be thinking about how to save me from the king’s anger and get those fifteen hundred orens, of which rumor speaks, ready.”

This is from The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.  I laughed so dang hard when I read this.  Why?  Because Geralt is equating getting killed by a striga with a worker’s compensation claim.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for May 18, 2022

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 you do when you’re not feeling well