{Screws 'N' Bolts} On Lending Out Books

What Happened With My Reading of The Cutting Season

"Just after dawn, Caren walks the grounds of Belle Vie, the historic plantation house in Louisiana that she has managed for four years. Today she sees nothing unusual, apart from some ground that has been dug up by the fence bordering the sugar cane fields. Assuming an animal has been out after dark, she asks the gardener to tidy it up. Not long afterwards, he calls her to say it's something else. Something terrible. A dead body. 

At a distance, she missed her. The girl, the dirt and the blood. Now she has police on site, an investigation in progress, and a member of staff no one can track down. And Caren keeps uncovering things she will wish she didn't know. As she's drawn into the dead girl's story, she makes shattering discoveries about the future of Belle Vie, the secrets of its past, and sees, more clearly than ever, that Belle Vie, its beauty, is not to be trusted."

So, yeah. Time for me to get to hammering with my TRUTH. Like how I had the total gall to DNF Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season. I know. I know. I know how stuff works around here. This was a book–like so many others–that I’m “suppose” to like. Nah, this mug was bor-RING.

The Cutting Season is a literary (if that word is necessary) murder mystery. It weaves together two periods in time alongside two respective mysteries. Mystery One: Civil War era plantation where a female slave once went missing. Mystery Two: same plantation now a historic landmark, where a present-day body turns up at the property line. Two interwoven mysteries blossoming with possibilities and profundity, as they pounce upon a study of American slavery era throes with its present-day echos and resonance. Sounds like a hit–like no other! And I believed it possible in The Cutting Season. Both concepts of the depravity of slavery and its compelling illustration of 17th to 18th century southern American history would become a taunt-like joy to unbraid around a present day murder mystery.

Yet, no. Or, at least, I didn't get into the book deep enough to step into its truth. Because I couldn't quite shake the wafting ennui in the book's first fifty pages. Nor could I shake the book's vibe of projection, as oppose to presences.

But while I did struggle with that, here’s why I decided to call it quits overall...

#NonFictionNovember ~ Memoirs on LOVE & LIFE

I'm just going to slide this in here, with little explanation (not that it's really needed with these two celebrities).  Wait, other than I'm starting #NonFictionNovember with books I've been wanting to read for a while now.  Or, rather yet, memoirs I've wanted to consume.  Either way I'm going for something inspirational to launch the hashtag with.  

Tembi's story for a little touch of LOVE, because Lord knows that's an abstract concept when it comes to me.  Tyler for some of that GOALS-type of inspired stuff, because Lord knows that's just as abstract a concept as love.

Ooooo-weee, chile.  Anyway, I'm already 50 pages into each and love them both.

#WeekendReads First Rider's Call by Kristen Britain

#NonFictionNovember is going to have to wait a little bit longer, bro.  Why?  Because I got to stay up all night and read First Rider's Call by Kristen Britain.  It's the second book in her Green Rider series.  A series that follows this pretty neat-o young lady named Karigan G'ladheon.  She works as one of the king's (y'all know how these fantasy worlds go) messenger services dudes called Green Riders.  And, well, given her job she also has the ability to turn invisible...

AND I LOVE EVERY BIT OF ITTTTTTTTTT!  WITH ALL THE PERSONAL AND FANTASY INTRIGUE IN BETWEEN!

CHOP IT UP: Alibis & Angels by Olivia Matthews (Sister Lou Cozy Mystery #3)

CHOP IT UP: Peril & Prayer by Olivia Matthews (Sister Lou Cozy Mystery #2)

(2) 50 Pages a Day Keep the Good Reading... I Don't Know What Goes Here...

I guess I’ve read enough mysteries this month. Yet, don't get it twisted. I could throw another 30 million more in there at the flip-flash of the switch. And since I decided to throw out most of my October TBR, I got to come up with something else.

I decided to give the last week of October over to books I've always wanted to read. So pulled off my shelf to tackle, here arrives…

3 Mystery Book Romances I'm LOVING

50 Pages a Day Keep the Good Reading... I Don't Know What Goes Here...

What’s on my reading plate after abandoning half of my October TBR?

SHELL GAME BY SARA PARETSKY

"When V.I. Warshawski gets word that her close friend and mentor Lotty Herschel’s nephew has become a murder suspect, the legendary detective will do everything to save him. The cops found Felix Herschel’s name and phone number on the unknown victim’s remains, but Felix insists he doesn’t know why. Soon Vic discovers that the dead man was obsessed with Middle Eastern archaeology—the first clue in a bewildering case. 

But the trouble multiplies when Vic’s long-lost niece, Reno, goes missing. Reno is harboring a secret that may cost her her life. V.I. can hear the clock ticking on her niece’s safety and is frantic in her efforts to find her. She won’t leave any stone unturned until these very personal cases are cleared—a complex investigation that will entangle the Russian mob, ISIS backers, rogue ICE agents, a nefarious corporation preying on the poor, and a shady network of stock scams and stolen antiquities stretching from Chicago to the East Indies and the Middle East."

Mystery Books Pet Peeves: Friends, Family & Pets Edition

Keeping the Sister Lou Momentum Going With Her Final Case, Alibis & Angels

"With the Lenten season fast approaching, Sister Louise “Lou” LaSalle looks forward to a final day of indulgence before giving up her favorite sweets. But one Briar Coast resident won’t get the chance to repent. Opal Lorrie, the mayor’s director of finance, was just found in the parking lot of the Board of Ed--with a broken neck. 

The sheriff’s deputies are calling the apparent slip-and-fall a freak accident. But Opal was driving her boss’s car and wearing her boss’s red wool coat. Mayor Heather Stanley has been receiving threatening letters and is clearly the real target. Offering her sanctuary could put the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Hermione of Ephesus at risk, but how can Sister Lou turn her back on a neighbor in need? Aided by her loyal sleuthing partners—her well-connected nephew Chris and reporter Shari Henson—Sister Lou must confront the mayor’s myriad detractors during this critical election year. And as the first day of April nears, it’s up to her to unmask an unrepentant killer who has everyone fooled."

Having recently read book two in Olivia Matthews’s Sister Lou cozy series, Peril & Prayer, I've decided to wrap up the series as a whole. I’m having a “what the hee-haw let’s read the third and final book while the gas is on” moment. And one must indulge such impulses. Besides, this has been a year of settling old debts with my favorite lane of reading: black women crime writers. And by “debts” I mean wrapping up many of the series I’ve been reading on and off again throughout the years. As, of course, seen in my August 2019 TBR.

{FauxCast} CHOP IT UP: Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie

More Hillerman with a Good Ole Jim Chee Collection

What I got in the mail yesterday! Yay! Finding Hillerman's three-Leaphorn-books-in-one collection at the FotL sale last weekend got me thirsting. So I had to order the follow-up collection containing the next three books in the Leaphorn series. Yet, People of Darkness (book 4), The Dark Wind (book 5) and The Ghost way (book 6) introduce Hillerman’s other Native American detective, Jim Chee. Which was always fine and cool with me, but...

...I was always curious why the first three books were Leaphorn-led. Then how the following three books were for Hillerman's Jim Chee detective. Later down the series the two become a team. Still what was behind this move? In this video, the late Hillerman breaks down why the difference.

I can see myself grabbing these Jim Chee stories now. I can taste it now. Navajo reservations. Native American culture. A murder mystery with mystic themes. Setting. Setting. Setting. And, well, this is what I’ve been craving.

6 Ways I Try to “Save a Little Change at the Bookstore Retail Chains”

1.  JOIN MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS

Yearly, shell out the $25 for your favorite bookstore chain‘s membership program. You’ll earn it back in savings before long, especially as it concerns saving 10% on purchases. Plus, free shipping! I don’t know about you, but I hate paying for shipping. That’s one reason why I keep up with my memberships, as well as subscribe to Amazon prime. (Off course: I won’t buy anything off Fingerhut unless free shipping pops up as an offering.) No, for real; I love being a member. The added benefit is it cuts the bookseller from giving you his or her pitch to become one.

2. HIT UP THE BARGAIN SECTION FIRST

New releases take something like twelve months at least to hit the bargain/remainder section. So you may find a cheaper deal there. Such as a newly released mass market’s hardback counterpart a full 90% off from its original price. Which, in turn, stomps on the mass market's current price. Plus, that area has better deals on exclusive classics you may be interested in reading. And don't get me started on how you can use that area to racked up on book-ish gifts. Whether it's a book, stationary supplies, diaries, or neat little ole kits; there's always something to be had in the bargain section.

3.  SIGN UP FOR COUPONS & MASSAGE THE SYSTEM 

Member or not, coupons are available by simply signing up to receive emails. While I’ve never received physical coupons in the mail from Books-A-Million, they do offer the use of coupon scans via your cell phone. Super convenient! However, Barnes & Noble periodically send physical coupons in the mail. They usually come around certain holidays and all throughout the summer months. So sign up to receive emails. But also remember to delete those emails quickly if you've placed your book spending on a budget. Because we all know how inciting the situation can get with those blood-red numbers reading a certain percentage off.

The Irresistible 25-Cent Friends of the Library Sale This Weekend

The timing couldn’t be more than perfect. I spent the latter of Saturday morning prowling around the public library’s 25-cent book sale. Who could resist? Who does resist? Plus, earlier that morning, I returned a few new releases and detoxed a shelf. So why not see what one can pick up for 25-cent? :)

Contents Under Pressure is the first book in Edna Buchanan’s Miami-based crime reporter, Britt Montero, mystery series. I had it for years in mass market; spotted this hardcover, and made the exchange.

More male crime writers are on my reading agenda. Having never read a Le Carra British spy novel, this three-book collection seems fitting. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is the third book in Le Carra’s Smiley series. While The Looking Glass War is the 4th. A Small Town in Germany is a stand-alone. These books released in the ’60s. Another edge of interest and joy for something new to taste.

I could have screamed when I spotted this book containing the first three books in Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn series. I checked out an exact copy from my library back in June, and read each story back-to-back in less than a week. Matter-of-fact, I read the first book, The Blessing Way, in less than five hours. So when I saw this at the sale for 25-cent, I snatched it and held it close for my personal library. Now I need to get the follow-up omnibus collection to continue Leaphorn’s stories. My excitement for finding this particular book is an understatement.

While I looked around at the sale, nothing else really caught my attention.  So I left it at this.  Adding the Hillerman book to my personal library was worth it all! Serendipity at its finest!

When I Buy a New Release That's Not Working...

...THIS HAPPENS...

1. Reputable author (in my eyes) has a new release; a stand-alone from her usual crime fiction series, though still a thriller/mystery

2. About 60 pages in to a vanilla story with a vanilla cast to a vanilla formula to a vanilla (instant) romance

3.  After being burned by another reputable-in-my-eyes author this year

4.  This is WHY I ALWAYS keep my receipt in the back of the book

She's out of here.  I don't care if Tess Gerritsen wrote this book.  I learned my lesson last month reading a stand-alone book from Nevada Barr.  Absolutely NO more stand-alone books from my favorite mystery authors.  From now on, either we're sticking with his or her series or not sticking at all.

What's in a REBOTCO TBR?

CHOP IT UP: A Killing Fire by Faye Snowden

CHOP IT UP: What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr

A Bit of Cool J. D. Robb News I HAVE to Share...

Soooooo I got this email Friday from St. Martin's Press Marketing.  What did it say?  Well, it confirmed that my photo/selfie was selected for the mosaic image that'll be featured inside the dust jacket flap of J. D. Robb's 50th In Death release, Golden in Death.  I had to kind of stand there for a minute (as I was rushing to an appointment with a Snicker bar in mouth) to let this bit of excitement soak in.  My picture–as a dedicated fan of Robb's Eve Dallas In Death series–will be inside of Golden in Death's dust jacket with a slew of other fans.  And it'll be only a few weeks before my birthday when the book is released.  I could have passed out at the news, but went chattering about it to a lady in the waiting room.  Between excited chews of my Snicker's bar, of course.

Wait.  So they picked mine?  For real?

Seriously, despite losing someone incredibly special (mainly another mother) to me this year, cool things keep happening in 2019.  Back-to-back, dude.  With more on the horizon, so stay tuned.

So, wow.  This is something so neat that it'll take me a minute to soak in.  Eleven years reading this series and a photo of me will be plastered somewhere inside of the 50th (an incredible number for a book series as is) book's dust jacket.  Like... for forever!  That's wilddddddd!

THANKSSSSSSS!

Keep encouraged and keep glowing, people.  You know you're doing pretty good when good things keep coming at you.  

Stay blessed and receive whatever good comes your way!