Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Wednesday Reads and Happy New Year

I hope you had a fun celebration, even if it was sleeping! I rang the New Year with friends where we ate and played cards. Fun, fun! I even opened my bottle of Bailey’s (finally) to go in my coffee. Mmmm… I must remember that trick the next time I need help sleeping, but I should probably buy some decaf coffee, too. Or forego the coffee and just have a shot of Bailey’s over ice. What do you think?

Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #57

Dates read: December 24-27
Title: The Dead Play On
Year of publication: 2015
Author: Heather Graham
Genre: Paranormal mystery romance
Series:  Cafferty & Quinn #3
# of Pages: 363
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Musicians are being murdered in New Orleans, but Arnie Watson apparently died by his own hand. When Tyler Anderson plays the saxophone he inherited from Arnie, he believes he sees visions of his friend’s life—and death. He becomes convinced Arnie was murdered and that the instrument had something to do with it, and with whatever’s happening all over the city…
    Tyler knows his theory sounds crazy, so he approaches Danni Cafferty, hoping she and Michael Quinn will find out what the cops couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. After all, Cafferty and Quinn have become famous for solving unusual crimes.
    They’re partners in their personal lives, too. Quinn’s a private investigator and Danni works with him. When they look into the case, they discover a secret lover of Arnie’s and a history of jealousies and old hatreds that leads them back to the band Arnie once played with—and Tyler plays with now.
    And they discover that, sometimes, the line between passion and obsession is hard to draw…
My thoughts: Nice mystery with some suspense, although I kind of figured out who the bad guy was early on. I like Danni and Quinn but the next book (which just came out in Nov) isn’t at B&N yet, so I wait…

I didn’t do so bad reading-wise this year. Easily surpassed my goal of 50 books. And now that I’m actually reading more (thank you, treadmill), I upped my goal for 2019. To a whopping 90 books! I shouldn’t have any problem reaching this goal if I just remember that reading is also part of my job (as is watching TV). I do learn a lot that way (of what to do or what NOT to do), so I need to stop feeling GUILTY when I read or watch TV.

And that would be a nice resolution: to stop feeling guilty. I mean, why do I feel guilty to begin with? It’s silly. So here’s to reading more and watching the X Files and Doctor Who in 2019 (yes, I have the DVDs of both series). I look forward to seeing what they can teach me.

So… Were you partying or sleeping when 2018 turned into 2019? Have you come up with any resolutions or goals for 2019? Please share! I have goals, too, but it’s more short-term than long. My goal is to finish my WIP by the end of this month. I’m so close to being done, there’s no excuse not to get it done. Besides, I have this convention I’m going to in July and I really REALLY want it available to sell then.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

5 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It is a challenge not to feel guilty while watching television or reading. Probably why I do something else when the television is on so it's not all wasted time.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Alex - If I do something during a television show, I'm not paying 100% attention to the TV and miss stuff (usually a lot), so I don't do it (unless it's a show I don't care about and I'm watching with Hubby--which is different and I don't feel guilty because I'm with Hubby--yes I know, I'm weird).

Jennette Marie Powell said...

Glad you had a fun New Years! Mine was quiet but nice. Good luck with your goals! I know you can do it! And yay for not feeling guilty when we're *absorbing story* - something that's critical for a writer.

JeffO said...

Happy New Year! Ours was quiet. We were kind of all off in our little corners when I said, "Hey, it's 11:58!" Been a long time since we did anything 'significant' on New Year's Eve.

"Stop feeling guilty": that is a good resolution, perhaps I'll adopt it! Oh, wait, I feel guilty for using someone else's resolution.....

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennette - Books and TV are very important to a writer, and I will just have to remind myself that. But then, I can't let it interfere with my writing, either. Such a balance!

Jeff - Don't feel guilty using my resolution! It's there for the giving. :) And I can't say having dinner and playing cards very significant when it comes to celebrating New Year's. But it was fun.