Sunday Post July 3, 2016/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday July 4, 2016

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date.
Thank you to Sheila for the years that she handled this meme.
Thank you to Kathryn for taking up the baton.

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

My work week was severely cramped due to my husband's surgery. He had a double by-pass and mitral valve replacement on Monday. The prep and surgery took all day and I spent eleven hours in the waiting room before they allowed me to see him for five minutes before I went home. Tuesday I drove the hour trip (two hours back and forth) twice to visit him while he continued in Critical Care. Wednesday they advised me that I should plan to stay with him when they moved him to a separate room so someone would be with him during the night. That took another two trips as I had to return home to get items for overnight. I have continued to spend most of the rest of the week with him and will return on Sunday afternoon for Sunday and Monday. We hope he may be discharged to a rehab facility in our town on Tuesday. He won't be home but he will be a lot closer.
Our dogs have been missing him (and me too although I have come home at least once a day to feed them and play with them a little. They may have to go to our daughter's house for the early weeks of recovery as DH won't be able to pick up more than five pounds (they are each about twelve) and I know they will want to climb on him and sleep with us which isn't allowed with his incisions.
I thanks everyone for prayers, well wishes and support!

My reading was good due to driving and hospital time when I couldn't use the computer. I finished four books, three ebooks and one audio. Sadly I didn't get any reviews posted though I have a couple half written so I will try to pre-schedule for this week. The hospital internet cut out twice and I am trying to set up a new tablet (to replace the stolen ones) so I don't have to lug my laptop each day.
Sadly I did not get to visit last week but I will try to visit some on my new tablet this week.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post June 26, 2016/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday June 27, 2016.

• MBS 2016 Audiobook Challenge Midyear Update.

• MBS 2016 Audiobook Challenge Midyear Update.

• Delay Announcement.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway July 1, 2016 (posted July 2). Open Worldwide. Ending 7/7/2016.

• Sharing Beyond Books #259 Comment Giveaway July 2, 2016. Open Worldwide. Ending 7/9/2016.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement July 3, 2016.

Finished Reading:
1. eBook/Kindle (NG)

Laos File (The Shake Davis Series)
by Dale Dye
This was well written and a suspenseful story dealing with Vietnam soldiers MIA. I am glad I requested it through NetGalley.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/MP3 (ABB)

The Christmas Kitten: A Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter Cozy Murder Mystery, Book 2
Written by: Liz Dodwell
Narrated by: Jennifer Fournier
This is a delightful, cozy mystery.
I received this audio title from the author through AudioBook Boom.
Click on book title for full description.

3. eBook/Kindle (NG)

A Better World (The Brilliance Trilogy Book 2)
by Marcus Sakey
This is a very engaging trilogy I received through NetGalley. I am glad I have the third book, Written in Fire, to read too.
Click on book title for full description.

4. ebook/Kindle

Ultimate Courage (True Heroes)
by Piper J. Drake
This is wonderful romantic (military) suspense with guard dog.
I am participating in the Release Blitz with review to post July 26.
LOVE IS AN ACT OF BRAVERY
Retired Navy SEAL Alex Rojas is putting his life back together, one piece at a time. Being a single dad to his young daughter and working at Hope's Crossing Kennels to help rehab a former guard dog, he struggles every day to control his PTSD. But when Elisa Hall shows up, on the run and way too cautious, she unleashes his every protective instinct.
Elisa's past never stays in her rearview mirror for long, and she refuses to put anyone else in danger. But with Alex guarding her so fiercely yet looking at her so tenderly, she's never felt safer . . . or more terrified that the secrets she keeps could put countless people in grave peril. The only way for both to fully escape their demons will take the ultimate act of courage: letting go and learning to trust each other.

Currently reading:
1. eBook/Kindle (iRead Book Tours)

Regina Shen: Defiance
by Lance Erlick
This continues to be an engaging YA, female society dystopian series.
I received this through iReads Book Tours.
Review and tour giveaway to post on July 7th.
Outcast Regina Shen is determined to stop the Federation’s relentless attacks on her family and friends, but the stakes are much higher now.
Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner series, Regina Shen: Defiance is the third book in an action-packed, science fiction thriller with an ordinary yet strong and gutsy heroine who faces down adversity in a futuristic world filled with challenges. With the young protagonist having to grow up fast, it appeals to both young adult and adult audiences.
Abrupt climate change has melted ice caps, flooded coasts, and turned continents into deserts. The World Federation condemned Regina and her family to live on the seaward side of barrier walls built to hold back rising seas caused by abrupt climate change. Raised on swampy islands and salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books from before the Federation, Regina defies the Federation by consuming banned books. Then she jumps the barrier into the Federation to free her sister.
The Federation’s notorious Department of Antiquities, under the command of Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco, polices barrier walls, destroys knowledge from the past to suppress dissent, and believes Regina’s DNA can stop human extinction. Now Demarco faces several ruthless rivals willing to do anything to control Regina in a worldwide power play to determine who will become the new World Premier.
Regina is determined to deny the Federation while helping friends. She has to flee from Virginia through desert and wilderness to Alaska to hunt a treasure big enough to barter for freedom for her and her sister. In the cat-and-mouse game, can she find allies and ways to escape the Federation dragnet long enough to discover something to trade?

2. Audible/MP3 (TBR)

Daemon
Written by: Daniel Suarez
Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
I am enjoying this AI suspense/mystery 
from my own Audible shelf.
Publisher's Summary
Technology controls almost everything in our modern-day world, from remote entry on our cars to access to our homes, from the flight controls of our airplanes to the movements of the entire world economy. Thousands of autonomous computer programs, or daemons, make our networked world possible, running constantly in the background of our lives, trafficking e-mail, transferring money, and monitoring power grids. For the most part, daemons are benign, but the same can't always be said for the people who design them.
Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer - the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company's stock price. But Sobol's fans aren't the only ones to note his passing. When his obituary is posted online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events intended to unravel the fabric of our hyper-efficient, interconnected world. With Sobol's secrets buried along with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed at every turn, it's up to an unlikely alliance to decipher his intricate plans and wrest the world from the grasp of a nameless, faceless enemy - or learn to live in a society in which we are no longer in control. . . .
Computer technology expert Daniel Suarez blends haunting high-tech realism with gripping suspense in an authentic, complex thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson.
©2009 Daniel Suarez; (P)2009 Penguin Audio

3. eBook/Kindle (NG)

A License to Wed: Rebellious Brides
by Diana Quincy
This sounds fun. Release date 7/5/16.
I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley.
Perfect for readers of Madeline Hunter, Lisa Kleypas, and Sabrina Jeffries, the Rebellious Brides series continues with a sizzling tale of forbidden love between a socialite and a scholar—who might just be an infamous spy.
Lady Elinor Dunsmore made the mistake of falling for her older brother’s best friend, who vanished after a night of unbridled passion. Six years and a lifetime later, their eyes meet across a Paris salon. Her friends and family believe she’s dead, but Elle is very much alive. She’s now associated with a ruthless general, who wants her to seduce the man who broke her heart in order to learn his deepest secrets. Is Will a mild-mannered scholar—or the notorious agent they call The Razor?
The bastard son of an earl and an actress, Will Naismith always knew he was an unsuitable match for Elle Dunsmore, no matter how powerfully he ached for her. And yet he almost allowed his desires to spoil her glittering future. After the agony caused by Elle’s supposed death, Will has devoted himself to the Crown, but his entire life has been leading up to this unexpected reunion. As much as he still wants her, though, he must not succumb to lust once again. For his mission is delicate—and Elle is delectably dangerous.
Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

July 3, 2016 - I was caught up through June 30th but now have to catch up to date in July with Reading The One Year Bible again along with my husband and others from our church. I will also be listening (sometimes) to the companion commentary online.

I posted no reviews this past week so I now have seven pending reviews so I need to start catching up.

I am finally getting to the five nine, now seven nine (again) back to four five author ebook reviews committed with no specific dates.
My NetGalley shelves are at six with another one of those pulled to read this week.

I hope to get a couple of backlist titles up at eTreasure's NetGalley page in the near future.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week I requested a couple of new NetGalley titles but I have not received them yet.
I purchased one Kindle title and picked up more free kindle titles.

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

I purchased this title at Kindle/Amazon for $4.99:

Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5) (Silo series)
By Hugh Howey
This is an author and post apocalyptic series I have been eying for a while.

Free

Over the past week I added 48 free Kindle titles to my library. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement July 3, 2016

I enjoyed Sunday School and church services this morning. My new tablet wasn’t set up yet to take notes so I had to use old fashion paper and pencil again. Our SS teacher shared various quotes on freedom as well as a short video which I hope to share tomorrow for Independence day.

Our Pastor’s message was titled “Living in Freedom; Which Way Will You Live?” The message showed how, throughout the old and new testaments, God used ordinary people who were willing to be used and who were obedient (even when reluctant like Jonah and Moses). We are sheep in God’s pasture (Psalm 100:3). What do sheep do besides eating and sleeping? They make and raise more sheep. We should do likewise. As we walk in liberty, we should be leading other sheep. There are three ingredients to help with this: 1) we should be excited about the Lord and His daily hand in our lives; 2) we should be available; and 3) we should be prepared and willing to do as God directs. We should always be prayed up, read up (in the scriptures) and ready to allow God to equip us for the purposes He has planned. This is the best way to live in freedom.

I was very sad to hear the negative responses to the actions of Tim Tebow who prayed for a wife whose husband had a heart attack during a plane journey recently. The lashback is a sad statement of the state of the minds and hearts of many in America. I am pleased he took a stand and has the freedom to do so.

I chose this song to go along with a message of Freedom.
“I Am Free (to Dance)”.

A Verse for Today:
Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

I give thanks today that God has brought my husband safely through heart surgery. I am thankful for caring nursing staff, many of whom have affirmed our assurances in God’s grace and healing powers.

Sharing Beyond Books #259 Comment Giveaway July 2, 2016

Hello again and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB!

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.

Five commenters do not like to skim/skip except for graphic sexual content, excessive description, or horrendous writing. Ten of us will skip but mostly for graphic sexual content, mundane description, or boring, tedious or not interesting sections. Janhvi takes an all or nothing approach: skim it all or read it all.

~~~~~

The Winner from SBB #258 comments is:#10 Linda who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated ARC/Review titles or (not yet updated) Love titles - all linked near the end of the post. [I'm hoping to update the book choices - maybe the beginning of next year, lol.] Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #259

(One Question.)

Jenna asks: As a reviewer [or reader], what are some pet peeves you encounter in romances? What are things that you adore in them if they occur??

I can think of two pet peeves. The primary one is related to sexual content. It is annoying to me if a) it drags on and/or takes up more of the story than the plot and action; and b) if it is unnecessarily (which admittedly, is subjective) graphic. The second peeve is teen angst... not so much a peeve as I just don't relate to anguish well and I guess I am not a huge fan of teen romance. I'll add a third which would be a borish or brutish male character who does not appreciate the qualities of a strong woman.

I love sweet, sensual or suspenseful romance where there is chemistry (or attraction), tension or conflict, good plot or action, and romance and caring that is more important than sex. Dogs and children can be nice elements too, or historical settings.

This image is found at Double Quotes

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify.

Your turn to share:
Jenna asks: As a reviewer [or reader], what are some pet peeves you encounter in romances? What are things that you adore in them if they occur??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books or the February 2015 Newly Updated ARC/Review List. (My daughter pulled several of the Christmas titles to give with gift bags we made up for the nursing homes. One of these days I will get together a new box of Christmas titles.)

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday July 9, 2016 at 5 PM central.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway July 1, 2016 (Posted July 2)

Happy Friday Saturday!
Sorry for the delay of this post. I have been with my DH most of the week except for a few hours at the office to catch up on signing items and meeting a postponed client. I am home tonight so I can attend church Sunday morning before returning to the hospital.
DH is getting better each day although his recovery is slower than hoped. I plan to post a fuller update on Sunday Post ... assuming I can get that posted on Sunday or Monday.
I did get the new list of books posted last week but have not had the opportunity to get a picture. I will do so when I can.

TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the June 24 Pick. There was one automatic win this week. Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. There was one title with a multiple block.
AUTO: Rubynreba gets The Bodyguard and the Snitch

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from June 24 Pick:
Becky gets the Linda Howard Pair

Mariska gets a GC

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Happy Fourth of July for USA and I hope Canadian friends had a happy July 1st. 

Image found at Juniper Books.

New Book Group #66 June 25, 2016
(I will post a picture later. *Four of these books are very old; pulled from a box of gothic novels I have had for many years. They may not be wanted by anyone and if so, I will donate elsewhere in time.)
Sandra Brown: Above and Beyond and Honor Bound (my copy is 1986 edition with a different cover
Joan Johnston: Faron & Garth: The Cowboy and the Princess / The Wrangler and the Rich Girl and Sweetwater Seduction
SINGLES:
Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews (new- hardcover)
*Maggie – Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell (1953 very old, yellowed pages, some stain damage doesn't effect reading)
*Witch’s Hammer by Caroline Farr (a 1967 yellowed pages - different cover)
*Mistress of Mount Fair by Jane Gordon
Once an Angel by Tammy Hilz
Bound By Temptation by Lavinia Kent
Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
On Fire by Carla Neggers (1999 version with different cover)
Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Waiting for Nick & Considering Kate by Nora Roberts
*She Came Back by Patricia Wentworth (1981 yellowed pages)
Freedom's Stand by J. M. Windle


New Book Group #65 April 29, 2016

PAIRS:
Jayne Ann Krentz: Gift of Gold and Man with a Past (spine creased) 
Linda Howard: Cover of Night and Strangers Night
SINGLES:
A Dangerous Fancy by Tracy Cozzens
The Bodyguard and the Snitch by Christy Tillery French (autographed)
When Dashing Met Danger by Shana Galen
The Champion by Heather Grothaus
Never Marry a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath
Just The Way You Are by Donna Jordan
The Second Chair by John Lescroart (hardcover)
What a Rogue Desires by Caroline Linden (spine creased)
Violets are Blue by James Patterson
The Bequest by Candice Proctor
A Perilous Attraction by Patricia Francis Rowell (spine creased)
So Wild A Kiss by Nancy Richards-Akers


New Book Group #64 March 4, 2016

SINGLES:
Short Straw (Ed Eagle Novel) by Stuart Woods Hardcover
First Things First by Stephen R. Covey- Audio Cassette
N is for noose by Sue Grafton -Cassettes
Regretsy: Where DIY Meets WTF by April Winchell


New Book Group #63 January 22, 2016

SINGLES:
Wayward Winds by Michael Phillips - Audio Tapes

New Book Group #62 November 6, 2015
All Gone

New Book Group #61 October 30, 2015
After I noticed the trend I went on a hunt for “bride” titles. I even pulled a couple from some of my long time collections(*). (But they are not getting read on my shelves.)

SINGLES:
Bride of Lochbarr by Margaret Moore (*)
The Ideal Bride by Stephanie Laurens (*)
A Necessary Bride by Debra Mullins
Border Bride by Deborah Hale

New Book Group #60 September 18, 2015
A set of "haunting" tales and a few mysteries for October!

Shannon Drake –  Realm of Shadows (Alliance Vampires#4) 
SINGLES:
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield
The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands
Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)


New Book Group #59 July 31, 2015
A few more summer titles, historicals and mysteries!

SINGLES:
Cruise to a Wedding by Betty Neels

New Book Group #58 June 26, 2015 -- All Gone
SINGLES:
Servant, The Awakening by L.L. Foster

New Book Group #57 May 1, 2015 -- All Gone


New Book Group #56 March 20, 2015
(I'll try to get the rest linked another day.)

SINGLES:
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)

New Book Group #55 February 5, 2015 -- All Gone

New Book Group #54 December 26, 2014

SINGLES:
Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card - Tape Cassettes


BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)

The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty byVickie Kennedy
First to Fight Anthology
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
The Commander by Kate Bridges
A Garden of Friends by Penny Pierce Rose
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle


BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)

Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)
A Lady of Consequence by Mary Nichols
Sweet Talking Man by Betina Krain


BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)

Thinner by Stephen King
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one
Tara Taylor Quinn: Father: Unknown and McGillus v.Wright
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
Anthology: Something Borrowed, Something Blue - this book has spine creases and minor water damage...I thought I had read it and liked it but now I realize it was another anthology I read with Elaine Barbier.


BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)

Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser


If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost six years I have posted 62 groups of 16 (992) books to find new homes! (as of November 6, 2015).

I am happy to say that so far about 972+ books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

Delay in Friday Pick and other Posts

Hello blog friends. My husband had double bypass and valve replacement on Monday 6/27. I have spent three and a half days at the hospital with minimal time and internet service.
I do not expect to get posts done timely before Monday -- maybe. I will announce winners and get up new posts as soon as I can get the time and service.
He is recovering slowly with some breathing issues that need close monitoring.
Thanks for understanding and continued prayers.