Netgalley books from January

I might try something new this year. I read books for NetGalley all the time and I thought I might feature some of the books I read every month. I always request a weird blend, so bear with me throughout the year. The first 2 are books that you could normally find in my "to read" pile.

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz

     

     I have loved Dean Koontz since I was in about 8th grade (with a small break for a few years.) The Forbidden Door is the 4th book in The Jane Hawk series. Jane Hawk is an FBI agent who has gone rogue after some troubling events in her personal life (like the suicide of her husband) and discovering a powerful group who seem to think they're beyond the law. This particular book addresses that Jane has been set up as a villain who is being searched for by the media and law enforcement. The whole thing is a rouse set up by the people trying to infect society with mind control technology. Jane is also trying to reunite with her 5 year old son, whom she has left with trusted friends. I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked the variety of the characters I hadn't read before and the familiarity of those I had.This book was published in October. Go pick up a copy!

Past Tense by Lee Child

 

     The Jack Reacher series is another one I like. This is book #23 and it was published in November. This book is mostly set in Laconia, NH, which is fairly close to me so it kind of sparked my interest. At the beginning of the book, I felt it was a little slower than some of the other Jack Reacher books I've read but then it delved into some "family mystery" stuff and got more interesting to me. I always tend to like books that start as separate story lines and then join together somewhere in the book. Unfortunately, that added to the "just one more chapter" problem that I have before bed sometimes. I think I accidentally read 16 chapters in one sitting when I had originally planned to read 3 before getting some work done. Oops.

Other things I've read in January:
Am I Alone Here? by Peter Orner

Next up for book club: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.

 

What are you currently reading? Have you read any of the books above?

Mail Pile

     Do you know that feeling you get when you start seeing your "respond" pile slowly dwindling down to nothing? Well, I'm almost there. Thank goodness! If I continue writing at the pace I have been writing, I'll be done. The letters I still have to respond to are to: Marianne (NL), Marilyn (VA), Christy (FL), Donna (Canada), Wendy (Australia), Connie (Germany) and Sheri (AZ.)   This will bring me up to February, which I am super excited for. I'm taking part in 2 letter writing events:

The Month of Letters Challenge: The month of letters challenge is just what it sounds like.

1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.
2. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

I apparently starting participating in Lettermo in 2016. (Some years I did better than others.) I am still penpals with many of my Lettermo friends so I'm so excited to see what kinds of mail I get in the month. I love discovering new friends.

InCoWriMo- I might actually be slightly more excited about taking part in InCoWriMo. (I don't think I actually know what the whole acronym stands for. I think it's actually International Correspondence Writing Month)  The idea is to send a handwritten letter, card or note to someone every day for the month of February. It doesn’t have to be a novel or even news, it’s entirely up to you what you write. There is a list of over 1500 people from many different countries. You choose who you write to. They say that, realistically, the numbers are against you getting a whole bunch of mail from this event since there are so many participants,but hopefully I'll get at least 1 letter. I plan to write a bunch, I just have no idea how to choose the addresses. Some of my current penpals participate in this too. If you're not a letter writer, you are missing out on some really cool friends.


       Are any of you taking part in either event? If you'd like some mail and are a visitor to my blog, feel free to send me a message. :) Have a great night!

Happy New Year!

     Hi everybody, remember me?   Happy New Year! It has been a long time since I've written. 2018 was just hard. 28 people I know- including former students, colleagues, church friends, my nana and my mom- passed away. Friends and family were diagnosed with diseases/sicknesses. There were not many fantastic moments. I was really looking forward to 2019. I'm not usually a person who cares about the calendar year changing, but I could use a "reset" this year. So... thank goodness for 2019.
       Some blessings from 2018:

I found a pile of WWII letters written by 3 brothers in the Navy in a used bookshop and reunited them with the family they belonged to.



Took a road trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama (and ate at Lambert's)






Tim's team got 2nd in the state for baseball. (SO close to the Little League World Series, 1 out away)


Got a kitten who is MUCH bigger now. Her name is Emmie.

          I did okay in my reading challenges this year. I met the Keyword Reading Challenge and didn't quite complete the other two. Frankly, I'm okay with it. Most of the year I walked around mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. This year, I'd like to read 60 books.   

      I would also like to go back to my challenge to send at least 1 personal piece of mail every day. So far, so good. I'll start putting updates up this weekend.  If anyone is dying to send some fun mail out, please feel free to reach out. I will be participating in both Lettermo (3rd year?) and InCoWriMo-1st time. If you just found my blog and would like some personal mail, comment and I'll get back to you. My goal is to get back to all of my penpals, who have been patiently waiting, then I can address new mail.
    That's all for now. I hope that 2019 is filled with many blessings for you.