Sunday Post – 1 December 2019 @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality @Tynga

Posted December 1, 2019 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Sunday Post / 49 Comments

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly  @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received.

Stacking The Shelves is also a weekly meme hosted by  Tynga’s Reviews and Marlene from Reading Reality.  It’s all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

This week has been a whirlwind of events. Sunday I was trying to pull together family photos to make a calendar for my Mom since I had a free calendar coupon which ended that day. I was almost finished but it was time to go to a Kenny G concert.  I played sax in high school and college, band, marching band and jazz band, and I love Kenny G.  It takes effort to go since mostly I just want to stay home and get things done.  I never expected to get to meet him and wish I had dressed better.

I managed to get home by 11:30 and finish the calendar with 10 minutes to spare.  I was so energized I couldn’t go to sleep very soon.  Monday is the long, busy day with classes and then a medical appointment. I run errands while she is at the medical appt and all was well and I was not as tired as I expected.

Tuesday, the weather was beautiful and I had lots I wanted to do.  Starting with the leaf blowing since they were coming on Wednesday. In the afternoon, my daughter had her first full PT appt and I had more errands planned around it as it is in a different area of town I don’t visit often.  These went differently but well.  I also got furnace filters. There are 2 sizes for the two and I replaced them when we got home. We did stop at the pharmacy and even though everything was supposed to be ready, it still took 30 minutes. UGH.  I made chicken pot pie using the Trader Joes GF crust and it went very well. It doesn’t taste quite the same as a regular crust but it was good.  I made banana muffins, too.

Wednesday, I thought my daughter had classes and then a medical appointment but it turns out she didn’t have either! It’s like a surprise free day! The leaf sucker went through before I took Lulu out in the morning.  It looks nice with all the leaves gone from the front yard.  We had a nice day at home before our neighborhood had a holiday light show at night.

Thursday with nice weather, we decided to wait until it rained to do the turkey, plus it wasn’t thawed enough yet.  We were kind of lazy just doing the things we felt like doing. I created setups for all the ARCs I actually have, including ones up to March 2020.  I did some blog visiting, some laundry, and some reading.

Friday, this lazy day style continued.  I read all morning. I picked the rest of the chard from the garden. I did go through all the projects for the next month and looked at online sales. I made a further effort to unpack and do some sorting. One of the big problems is the my daughter’s boxes are a mishmash. They might have bathroom stuff, school papers and craft supplies all in one.  I’ve been saving some empty boxes so I could put them in boxes by category.  I made some real progress finally at night.

Saturday, I read a bit before facing the world. I picked the last of the spinach and made an omelet with tomatoes, spinach and cheddar.  We finally  had the roasted turkey breast, cranberry sauce, creamed corn, swiss chard gratinee (from the garden), and apple crisp. I did some blog visiting but most of my time was spent cooking.   All that is left in the garden is broccoli and beets now.

Today, besides blog visiting, I’ll be starting my COYER reads.  First up for December is a buddy read with Linda! I do really hope to get more box sorting and unpacking done because I didn’t get any more done on Saturday.


How do I do it?

I have so many questions. Many are graphics oriented since I am graphics challenged. So I will ask a questions here each week and see if you have any suggestions to help me. Also if you have any questions, ask in the comments and I will try to answer or ask your questions.

I continue to be totally baffled about how some things with blogging and comments work.  Some WordPress sites seem to create an account for me and even if I made a mistake entering info, there’s no way I see to change it. Some never save my info even if I check the box.  Some bring up the correct info and work every time.   With Blogger, it seems a bit easier since it just always uses my Google login.

But the comment reply to my comment, is the most frustrating.  Again, on some sites it just seems to work and when someone replies to my comment I get an email. Perfect.  On others, I have to sign up for comments and then I get every comment everyone makes and all the replies. UGH.  And I have to do that for every post I comment on and then get anywhere from 1-36 emails? Yeah, NO.  Some posts have no sign up and I never see comment response unless I go back and check all the blogs again to see if they replied to my comment.  How often do I have time to do this? Not so much.

So I don’t have any signup about comment responses on my blog but I think you all get emails when I’ve responded (which is how I prefer for myself).  Is this true?  I know I get responses to my responses sometimes.

I don’t get much spam these days even though I adjust things months ago so I don’t have to approve comments hardly ever.  I get one I consider spam maybe once a month.  I do have to check the spam to make sure some good actual comments didn’t get filtered, though.  I think my comments end up as spam on some sites???


I’m trying to make decisions about challenges for the next year.  I read a lot so either I need to up my goals significantly or do something out of my comfort zone.  I am helping to host the Library Love Challenge, and I always do COYER. I do Thrifty Thursday to work on those freebies I have.  But I am considering something like the Discussion Post Challenge  or the other category where I need to read is purchases.  It’s the kiss of death for me to buy a book I haven’t read because then I can read it anytime which means it can wait. With so many great books vying for my attention, and deadlines for ARCs and library books, the purchases just wait.  Is there a challenge to read those or do I need to create something like that for myself?


November Reading:  I had another good reading month.  I managed to read 31 books. Some count for more than one challenge.  I listened to 12 audiobooks, read 21 New Releases,  10 library books,   and 10 Beat the Backlist books.


I did complete the Read a Series in a Month Challenge.  I read the last 3 books in the Green Valley Library series, which is published by Smartypants Romance and are set in the Penny Reid universe:

Crime and Periodicals  by Nora Everly

Pros before Bros by Cathy Yardley

Shelf Awareness by Katie Ashley (posting at noon today)


 

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality.  These are the exciting ARCs I received this week (If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Goodreads entry):

Thank you so much Tantor Audio.

(If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Goodreads entry)

         

The JB Salsbury books are from the digital Bookworm box.  I like the idea but so far every book is one which is in KU, so I could get it that way without paying additional dollars.

Then I got this Audible daily deal.

 

Now the really scary one. This is all the Kindle and Audible freebies I grabbed this past week. You can see why I need to do Thrifty Thursday to be sure I read a few at least one each month.

                 

               

 

I really meant to cut back on freebies BUT  they are free so I guess that won’t be happening.

 

I’m not including things like reviews posted or upcoming as they are always in the right sidebar. And, my challenge status is also there.

If you like this and want to see me do the Sunday post, as often as I can manage, leave me a comment and let me know.

Anne

 

 

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Posted December 1, 2019 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Sunday Post / 49 Comments


49 responses to “Sunday Post – 1 December 2019

  1. You met Kenny G!!!!!!!! How awesome is that. I may have a chance to go to my first concert . SIX is coming to town, an all female UK band and I’m hoping to get tickets. Enjoy your week.

    • It is awesome and totally unexpected. I saw him play (the first time) at an outdoor concert (free) in Minnesota in the late 80s. I remember it was June 25 and WE WERE WEARING OUR WINTER COATS AND GLOVES as it was about 40F (5C). I felt so bad for him because that had to be cold and uncomfortable.

      Anne recently posted: Top 10 Books in 2019
  2. Jazz is not my cup of tea, at all, but I think it is REALLY cool that you met Kenny G!

    Congrats on getting the calendar done! My friend in Germany sends me a beautiful desk calendar every year made from her photos. You creative types amaze me with your mad skills.

    Yikes. Thanks for the reminder that I need to vacuum our furnace filters.

    Mmm pot pie and muffins!!!! Change my above comment to “you creative AND BAKER types amaze me…” I love to eat baked goods but I hate making them so I don’t very often.

    Surprise free days are the best!!!!

    That’s how my Thanksgiving holiday has been, too: Lazy / doing only things I feel like doing. So far it’s been great doing it this way. Zero expectations. Zero stress.

    That tomato/spinach/cheddar omelette sounds soooo good.

    I love your How Do I Do it feature. Unfortunately, I do not have any answers. The whole comments process confuses and baffles me and even makes me mad at times. LOL

    Hope you have a great week!

    Jinjer recently posted: The Day After
    • Thank you. You make good points. I’m particularly on board with surprise free days are the best! It’s like when you get a snow day in MN or an ice/snow day in NC. Your comment “The whole comments process confuses and baffles me and even makes me mad at times. LOL” is exactly why I asked. Somebody knows. It’s not me.

  3. The commenting systems are really baffling to me….the only time I get responses sent to my email are through Disqus….the google and wordpress ones I never receive hehe so i have to double check if I know its a blogger that always responds. So weird.

    It looks like you have had a great busy week though and hope Thanksgiving was such a great day for you.

    Loved Her Perfect Mate…..Paige Tyler is fabulous in her writing, I can never put her down.

  4. You read 31 books??!! I wish! Congrats on that, Anne, cuz that’s amazing?

    How fun that you saw Kenny G!!! That had to be exciting.

    I’ve had similar challenges on blog sites with replies. I don’t sign up to receive responses but do receive emails when my comment is “liked.” When that happens, I visit the comment and 99% of the time the blogger has posted a reply. FYI, I have to fill in my info every time I visit your site. A friend told me the same thing was happening to her when she visits my site so I removed the requirement to fill in info. No one else has complained so I hope it’s working.

    Have a great week!

    Jonetta (Ejaygirl) | Blue Mood Café recently posted: Saturdays at the Café
    • Thank you. I only can do it because I usually read a book in a day or two and the same with an audio so about 15 of each, roughly.

      There is lots of good information here. I noticed the change you made and will have to look at the settings. I know I fill in every time on some blogs but then it displays correctly. Now on your blog my comments are always labeled as Northwoman not Anne – Books of My Heart. This is because I have both names used on things.

      Also interesting that you go check the ones which get liked. I don’t think I ever like comments I just respond. I do get emails when people like posts on the blog and also when they leave comments. That’s a setting also on my blog but not on others’ blogs. I’m confusing myself now. Are you getting this response?

      Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: Thrifty Thursday : The Devil in Disguise by Cynthia Eden
  5. Even not dressed as royalty you seem to have had an incredible time meeting him!!!! And yes for the unexpected free day Anne 😉

  6. I understand your frustration on comments. Each blog is different! I know when I comment here and you or someone reply’s to my comment I get an email. Not sure if my blog sends out an email when I reply to comments. When I started I had the check box to receive emails on comments, but that would send out an email about every comment, so I removed that. It gets overwhelming on those comments. Some blogs I can’t comment on. Oh well!

    Challenges: It’s hard to deiced on which ones to do. The Library of course since I host, but I get what you mean on the buying a book and then it sits around; because you have all those ARC’s or Free books to try or borrow from the Library. I like to do the Backlist Reader Challenge, it helps me read those backlist titles that are a year or more older that I’ve got hanging on my eReader, shelves, or from my library. I also do the discussion challenge, new release challenge, and audiobook challenge. Those are my favorite challenges to do. I’ve done others, but didn’t really care for them. Good luck on the challenges and deciding on what to do.

    Have a great week and happy reading!

    • Thanks for letting me know you get comments when I reply. I hope that is how it works. I checked boxes about getting replies as I commented on Sunday posts and I’m getting a slew of emails showing every comment after mine. Luckily since it is gmail, it combines them into one big email but still it’s a mess.

      I did almost all the challenges you mentioned over this past year. Of course, I am also involved with Library Love now. I love COYER, because of the people. On the Beat the Backlist I did 71 on the but most of those are library books. Not all show up on the blog if I just do a short Goodreads review. All of them are easy enough for me, always exceeding my goals. The Discussion Challenge would be very different and definitely a challenge so I’m considering it. But I need to come up with something for books I own.

      Have a great week! Thanks for always supporting and visiting!

      Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: Top 10 Books in 2019
  7. Kenny G! I remember listening to his music a lot years ago. Neat that you played so could appreciate it even more. Fun and productive Thanksgiving week. Love your lights pics!

    I know what you mean about shunting purchased books to the side. I’ve slowly been working on getting my reading to 50/50 on new arcs and older or purchased books from my shelves.

    Have a good week, Anne!

  8. Wow, Kenny G! Sounds wonderful.

    Thanks for sharing, and I share your frustration about blogging issues. For my sites, I get an e-mail when someone responds.

    Enjoy your week.

  9. How exciting that you were able to meet Kenny G. And he certainly looked happy to meet you. 🙂 Comment platforms are so varied and some I like better than others. Having to receive *all* comments just to be informed in case mine is replied to is super annoying, though.

    • Thanks. I hope at least he wasn’t disgusted to meet me or something. I mean he’s wearing a $$$$ probably custom suit and I’m in jeans and a jacket ugh. I don’t want him to think I don’t respect him – he’s amazing.

      I realize the comments are all different and that’s what I’m trying to figure out. It’s hard to have communication without that back/forth.

      Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
  10. What a treat you managed to meet someone you really admire:). And a relief you got the calender organised before the deadline. What an impressive stack of reads you got through in November! I hope the coming week isn’t TOO busy and you have an enjoyable time, Anne:)

  11. Exciting that you got to meet Kenny G! My husband loves his music. Good to know about the Trader Joe’s crust. I love chicken pot pie and it sounds wonderful in this weather, but as I’m not gluten intolerant I’ll probably just go with a traditional crust. 🙂

  12. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving. Sounds like my style of holiday. We only had my Gpa for dinner and my husband smoked the turkey so all was good. A free day is always nice. My December is pretty booked but let me know if you want to buddy read anything in January or February!

  13. Kenny G!!! So jealous! I grew up listening to him and several other smooth jazz artists and you got to meet him! Made that effort worthwhile 🙂

    Sounds like a busy, but productive week – complete with some good relaxing/lazy days thrown in. Perfect kind of week 🙂

    AS for the comments – I wish I knew. I think blogger is the easiest to leave comments, but it’s also the one where I never know if I got a reply. Yep, I get an email when you reply here.

    Have a great week!!

    • You know I think every week is a good week. I just don’t always stick to the plan.

      I’m glad you get comments for my reply. That means I set up something the way I want it. No I don’t get emails from your blog like that. I do get emails here when anyone likes or comments which I don’t delete until I respond to them.

      Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
  14. It is wonderful that you were able to meet Kenny G! I am pretty sure that I saw him in concert years ago. He is a wonderful musician. You are always so busy, Anne! You had an awesome reading month! I wish I could get through 30 books in a month! I hate that Blogger doesn’t email replies to comments. I kind of wish that I had set my blog up on WordPress but would hate to change things at this point. I hope you have a great week!

    • Yes I LOVE Kenny G. I guess I’d rather be busy than bored. My mind doesn’t stop much. When I was a child I would go 110% until I dropped like a rock and I’m only a little smarter now. I WANT to do things, read things, etc. I am so motivated most of the time.

      It takes me about 2 days to read a book and a day or two to listen to an audio. But I am always doing one book and one audio. Of course, there are some longer books or audios. But since I finish a book and an audio about every 2 days, I read about a book a day. And there are shorter books also. It’s a good thing as I am behind on reading ARCs because I got so many good things from the library. And I want to read them all.

      Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: Shelf Awareness by Katie Ashley
  15. How cool you got to meet Kenny G!
    You sound like you had a really awesome week, Anne! Fingers crossed this week is as good. The Christmas lights are lovely – I always like checking them out this time of year.

    I like the sound of Lawless! It’s now back on normal price (serves me right for being late) but it’s also on KU so I think I’ll be checking it before too long! I have a bad boys challenge to finish before the year is out!