This week last year the Sunday Post contained three items in addition to the usual scheduling stuff. A picture of Luna, a reminder that Banned Books Week started that day, and an announcement about that year's Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. Clearly, it's that time again, all the way around, because today's Sunday Post features; 1) a picture of Luna, 2)a reminder that Banned Books Week starts today, and 3) an announcement that sign-ups are open for THIS year's 14th Annual Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon, hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer…

No one at Chez Reading Reality had the best week this week, and the reviews definitely reflect that. I only had ONE book work for me, and there was even more flailing and bailing than seems evident from here. We were finally able to sleep in our own bed again Thursday night - and things are slowly getting back to normal although there's a lot of clean up to do AND a whole lot of area rugs to decide on.

This week's schedule may go the same way as last week's schedule. It kind of already has, as one book I thought I'd be reviewing this week isn't going to be published until this time NEXT month. This week ended in a "bail and flail" where nothing was working, which is why I turned to the trusty duo of Barker & Llewelyn to get me out of the slump. Which certainly worked, BUT put me one book closer to the end of the series - at least until next year. I'm going to have to find another comfort read series to fill that gap.

This week's schedule fell completely to bits, because last weekend turned out to be a lot busier than I thought it was going to be. One of the things that made it so busy was running out to get our new gaming chair. Which you wouldn't think would be THAT big a deal, but it turned out to be. I'm thrilled with the chair as it's a lot more supportive for my back when I play.

As you read this, I'm on the last day of a four-day marathon Zoom meeting and my brain is probably toast. This is a once a year thing, as whatever ALA committee I'm on for the year has its final deliberations meeting. It's generally a lot of fun, it's always fun to talk about good books, but four solid days of Zoom is just, well, A LOT.

Today's cat picture is one of those "die from the cute" pics. George and Tuna are clearly communing in the upstairs hallway. How that works, I don't know, because Tuna is not exactly the brightest cat in the world - and he looks particularly discombobulated in this pic - while George doesn't always have possession of his share of the orange cats of the world's single brain cell. They're still buds, and its still adorable. I think this one was taken the night before we left on our trip, meaning that the suitcases were out and packed and every single cat in the house was unhappy about it.

This week - and last week - both felt like Hecate looks in today's picture. Like my eyes are crossed trying to cope with the thing heading towards me. On her, the incoming nose boop just looks adorable. For me, it meant that last week ended in a 'flail and bail' and I re-worked this week's schedule more times than I care to count.

Today's cat picture is the "after" picture for last Sunday's cat picture. Last Sunday, Luna got caught napping adorably. This picture was taken just a few moments after, after she woke up enough to pose for the camera. She's very aware of how cute she is. VERY. (I adore the way her tail is curling up at the tip!) Current Giveaways: $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2026 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop $10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in…

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, so it seemed like a good idea to include a lovely picture of one of our little loves. This is obviously Princess Luna of the little white feets, catching a nap in a sunbeam and looking cute and adorable. As she does. She's certainly more 'beautifully' posed than last week's snap of her brother Tuna!

George hasn't been the featured cat for a number of weeks. Based on this picture of George as ball of grumpy sunshine, I think he's aware. And not thrilled. Also very serious, but George is ALWAYS series. There's just something about his face that always looks very concerned about everything, even when he should just be happy to be soaking up some rays! Current Giveaways: $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2026 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop…

Today's cat picture is a photo of "peace in our time". At least in Hecate's time. She STILL wants to be an only child. It's never happened and it's not going to, either. But she lives in hope - and grumpiness. This picture was a surprise. Both of the girls haunt Galen's office, but not usually at the same time and especially not in this close  proximity - although Galen often serves as the "Berlin Wall" between their two opposing forces. On this particular afternoon, they either both needed their "security human" too much to quibble about the other's presence, or were both just too much in need of a nap to care.

Today marks the ending of this year's Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week here at Reading Reality. The giveaways are all still in progress until the end of the week, so there's plenty of time to get in on any that you've missed. Please do! I'd love for all of you to celebrate with me. Today is also the opening day for National Library Week…

The kittibois have continued to reign in cuteness for another week. This picture is utterly adorable, even though it's a back view. You can just see the love in that snuggle. (Reminder: objects in photo are proportioned different than they appear. George is actually bigger than Tuna, but all George's size is in his length, and all of Tuna's is in his width.)

This is the first "normal" weekend we've had in a while. The floors are finished, the handymen have come and gone after fixing several years of minor stuff that accumulated into a fairly big list, and the cats are finally settling down into some slightly different behavior patterns. (The night that the cats decided to test the new acoustics AT 2AM will live in infamy).

This is Luna, telling Galen all about just how unhappy she is and (probably) how much the other cats have misbehaved. You might be asking yourself "Why is Luna so unhappy?" If you knew her better, you might also be wondering how we can tell, as this is a fairly typical Luna pose, with her mouth open mid-conversation. She always has a LOT to say.

Today's picture is of George, who kind of looks like he's in pieces - or that the cat got broken and then put back together a bit wrong. Still adorable, of course! But he's all leg and it shows! Which is more than a bit how I felt this week. I had a massive bail and flail and nothing was working for me.

Tonight marks the first night of Hanukkah - which pretty much explains one of this week's reviews. The Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop ends TOMORROW NIGHT, just in time for the Dashing December Giveaway Hop to dash in on the very last day of the 2025 Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon. It's been fun being one of Caffeinated Reviewer's elves again this year, and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

First, you have no idea how many books I bailed on this week. Both in text and in audio. I'm not sure whether it was me or them, but I was throwing stuff to the side left, right and center. In the car. (It's very awkward while driving!) I'm not at all sure about this coming week's schedule, either. Even with Galen doing his usual holiday guest essay on Monday. I'm definitely starting my annual Hugo Award nomination readings this week. Both because I need at least one short thing AND because the votes are due August 8 and there are a lot of novelettes and short stories to go through first.

This week's schedule is feeling just a bit tentative - and a bit more like last week's than I intended it to be. C'est la reading vie. But seriously, last week was going fine until I got a migraine, and had to pull a previously finished review out of my emergency cache because my head just wouldn't let me write. It happens. And not that I wasn't planning to post Morfran in a couple of weeks. I just prefer my plans to stay planned. This week's schedule is feeling tentative because I'm waiting for the posting info for the…

Today is Mother's Day in the US and a lot of other countries. So, if you're in one of those countries - Happy Mother's Day. (This applies whether your children are human or furred or feathered or fanged or whatever. PetMoms count!) If your own Mom is in one of the countries celebrating today, please wish her a Happy Mother's Day from everyone here at Chez Reading Reality. This week has been a LOT around here, and most of it unplanned. The simple, bookish part of that unplanning was that the book I intended to close out the week with won't be published until the end of the month.

It's been a whole "gloomy Gus" of a week here in the ATL. Chilly and rainy every day, and I'm not expecting much better for today in spite of whatever the weather forecast might say. We're mostly having a quiet weekend and the cats are all happy to have laps available to snuggle in. Which leads to today's cat picture of the lovely Miss Luna. She's clearly claimed Galen as HER territory - and mattress - for as long as she can get him to stay still for her. She's also striking the perfect mood for this weekend, sleepy, snuggly, cuddly and very, very cozy.

This weekend marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Yesterday was the actual Fourth of July, but when a holiday is on a weekend, it's the WHOLE weekend. Or, in this particular case, the fireworks are certainly the WHOLE ENTIRE weekend. The cats are not amused. But the fireworks aren't nearly as upsetting to them as our absence last weekend. We were at the American Library Association Annual Conference, this year in Chicago. (Thankfully just before the heat wave hit.) The cats, very much OTOH, were NOT HAPPY.

It feels like this week's Sunday Post is about half TBD. It's not actually half, it's just weirding me out a bit.  I generally write these posts a day or two before, and that's usually fine. But the Summer Giveaway Event hasn't ended quite yet, I don't have the images for the Fall Giveaway Event yet either, and things feel a bit incomplete. Howsomever, we also have company over and I need to post SOMETHING. So here we are. (I'll edit this later on Sunday to add the missing pieces.)

This Sunday there's nothing missing in the post, and I won't have to play a fill-in-the-blanks game when I wake up. After all, the whole point of Sundays it to not need to rush around to get ready first thing in the morning. Or at least it is at Chez Reading Reality! It also marks the end of a truly excellent reading week. A Trade of Blood, The Silver Hand and Preaching to the Choir were all absolutely terrific, but not terrific in the same way. And that's just a part of what made all of them such great reads!

How's the first day of March where you are? Do temps in the mid-70s constitute lion-like or lamb-like behavior? That's what we're supposed to get in the ATL and inquiring minds probably need to know. Personally, I think it's just that spring has sprung here, whether the calendar says so or not, but we'll see. While this picture isn't a creepy cover, it did kind of creep both Galen and I out when we saw it in real life.