Reading Update and My Trip to Washington DC

My reading has slowed to a crawl (which is why I didn’t post last week). And I really thought it would pick up this time of year. But every time I start reading a book (and it doesn’t seem to matter what book), I fall asleep. I’m getting a bad case of fatigue. Don’t know whether to blame that on my funky heart or my lack of exercise. Walking can certainly wipe me out (as I found out in DC last weekend), but I should probably add other types of exercise to get in shape. I just wish I was motivated to do more.

Needless to say, I have no books to report this week.

I had fun in DC last weekend, though. Daughter’s Footy team was playing against the DC team (they lost, by the way) and the game was at the ball fields near the FDR Memorial. We arrived early so we could walk around and sight-see. Saw FDR Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the WWII Memorial (all three added since our last trip to DC). Here are some pictures I took:

FDR Memorial (which is a whole bunch bigger than just

this statue. I was very impressed with it).

Hubby and Daughter across from the

Washington Monument

MLK Jr Memorial

(If you look near his head, you'll see the moon!)

Lincoln Memorial as seen from the WWII Memorial

(which I apparently forgot to take pictures of??).

Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial

I’m also crocheting again. Almost finished with the baby blanket I plan on donating to the Literary Love convention in Savannah for raffle next year. I made it because I wanted to see how it turned out. And it’s turning out really nice. I’ll post a picture when I finish.

That’s all I have for now. I may be getting lazy in my reading and blogging, but at least I’m still getting my writing done. Problem is: I should be revising Finding the Perfect Mate instead of writing Ghostly Protector.

What a problem to have though, right?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Reading Update

Went to a concert last night. Saw ZZ Top with Cheap Trick and some other act. The first act was fine. ZZ Top (the last act) was good. But Cheap Trick? What the heck happened to them? They were so stinkin’ loud I couldn’t understand the music or the words. It hurt my ears (so much so, I covered them with my fingers). I saw them last year (or maybe the year before) and don’t remember them being that bad. Made me wonder if ZZ Top was going to be the same. Glad they weren’t!

Here’s what I read this week:

Book #41

Dates read: August 25-28
Title: A Discovery of Witches
Year of publication: 2011
Author: Deborah Harkness
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series:  All Souls Trilogy #1
# of Pages: 579
Paper or plastic: Hardback
How obtained: Library
Blurb from Goodreads: Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries—and she is the only creature who can break its spell.Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.Deeddd
My thoughts: After reading 107 pages of this, I could no longer go on. It started out in first person, and I was okay with that. It is an urban fantasy and something I expect in that. Then it got to HIS point of view. Third person. And I might have been okay with that, too, except when he was with someone else. The head hopping every paragraph just got too distracting for me to continue reading. And then I found out it ends on a cliff hanger! 579 pages and it couldn’t end? No thank you. I’m so glad I didn’t waste my money on this and got it from the library. But I am counting it as a book read because I read 100 pages of it!

Book #42

Dates read: August 28-September 6
Title: You Belong to Me
Year of publication: 2017 (originally released in 2006)
Author: Patricia Sargeant
Genre: Romantic suspense
Series:  N/A
# of Pages: 238
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: Science fiction author Nicole Collins is delighted when she learns her first book will be made into a movie by Celestial Productions—until she finds out who owns the company: Malcolm Bryant, her ex-husband. Nicole still loves him, but she fears Malcolm is the same man who crumbles in the face of adversity. And then there are those threatening letters…
    Somewhere out there is a deranged fan, one who has adopted Nicole’s characters as his own family—and he’s not about to see his loved ones distorted by the camera lens. Nicole’s life is in danger. With a killer closing in, the only person who may be able to save Nicole is Malcolm—the man she so desperately hopes will finally make a stand.Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.Deeddd
My thoughts: The story was okay. I kind of figured who the culprit was pretty early on, though.

Sometimes I think maybe I’m getting too old for concerts. My ears just can’t stand the loudness of it all. But then I feel sad thinking I may never go to another concert. ZZ Top was the last one for us this season. Guess we’ll see what we buy next year, huh? Do you like to attend concerts or do you prefer to listen to the music in your home?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Pictures from Dragon Con 2019

Meant to post this on Monday, but I ended up going to a concert I forgot I had tickets for (B-52s, OMD, and Berlin) and then I watched the last few minutes of the Steelers game (UGH). That doesn't mean I would have posted this on Monday, though. I would have had to download the pictures from my iPhone (which I didn't do until Monday afternoon). In any case, I have pictures to show you now.

And there aren't a lot because I suck at remembering! Or I was in line and the awesome cosplayers were walking past too fast to say, "Hey, can I take your picture?" Not to mention, it would have caused a major traffic jam and I wasn't about to do that.

I know, excuses. I'm really good at them, aren't I?

First, I'm going to start with the two pictures I paid to have taken.

Any Doctor Who fans here? If so, you should recognize Martha and the Doctor (#10). If not, well... in order (left to right) is: a friend, Freema Agyeman, ME, Daughter, David Tennant, and another friend. FYI: I bought that Doctor Who shirt just for this occasion!!

My other photo op was with William Shatner. I decided I wouldn't get another chance at this and pretty much told Hubby he was going with me. I think the picture turned out great. I'm getting it framed.

Next, pictures I actually took.

While standing in line for David Tennant, I spotted these X-Men (or would that be X-Women?).

Same line also included Mary Poppins and Bert!

While standing in line to see Doctor companions Donna (Catherine Tate) and Martha (Freema Agyeman), I came across this guy dressed as the sixth doctor. I only started with #9, so I can only assume he's dressed accordingly. He certainly looked colorful!

While standing in line to see Zachary Levi (who is awesome, by the way), this woman was behind me. Said she was a princess in Pokémon. I just thought the costume was great. A lot of people stopped to take her photo.

The next two shots are pictures taken during our fire alarm. Yep, the Sheraton (the host hotel we stayed at), had a minor fire. Seems the speaker during the Aly & AJ concert caught on fire after they turned it up. Nothing like a little excitement during our Dragon Con, huh? I really don't think everyone inside the hotel evacuated, either. Good thing it wasn't serious!!

Anyway, that's it (told you it wasn't much). I'll be back tomorrow to post what I read.


Stacy