It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

The It’s Monday! What Are You Reading meme is hosted at BookDate

I’m also linking to The Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer

And the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

 

Life…

It’s heartbreaking as fires continue to rage out of control across the country. We’ve experienced daily flare ups in my area, but there is really nothing much left to burn. Right now the worst of the fires are moving through the South Coast of NSW over the border to Victoria, though over 130 fires continue to burn across the NSW, and over 12 million acres have been razed across the country (for Americans that’s equivalent to the area of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire combined), and we are only a month into Summer. Fires aren’t uncommon in Australia but the scale and intensity here is something extraordinary. It’s being fought primarily by our volunteer rural fire service, with the federal government slow to provide support. Twenty three people are confirmed dead, a dozen are missing, hundreds and thousands of people have been evacuated, hundreds of homes and buildings have been destroyed, and ecologists estimate that over 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have died. Traditionally January is the hottest month of the year, this week the East coast and inland regions have experienced temperatures well over 40C (105F) and up to 50c (over 120F), our (climate change denying) PM has admitted that, “with no substantial rain forecast, the fires could burn for weeks, beyond the capability of fire crews to control or extinguish”.

You can see plenty of images like these of the devastation on social media via #Australianfires or #AustraliaBurning and a dozen other tags.

There are ways in which you can help, you can donate to the Red Cross , to the NSW Rural Fire Service, or the Victorian Country Fire Service.

You can also participate in the #AuthorsForFireys Twitter auction being held between Monday Jan 6th and Saturday Jan 11th (funds will go towards the Vic Country Fire Service)…please pass the word along!

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon

Cedar Valley by Holly Throsby

 

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New Posts…

It’s the End of the Year As We Know It: 2019

First Book of the Year 2020

2020 Reading Challenges

Review: Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Nonfiction Reader Challenge: January Links

Six Degrees of Separation

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

Maggie’s Going Nowhere by Rose Hartley

Maggie Cotton’s life is a hot mess.

In one day, she’s dumped by her boyfriend, disinherited by her mum, and kicked off the three-year degree she’d stretched to a decade. And that was before she received the letter saying she owed the government $70,000. But that’s no reason to grow up, is it? With a decrepit 1960s caravan to call home, Maggie has to prove to her mother she can survive without a safety net, stop her loyal best friend Jen from marrying a scumbag, and convince her sexy workmate Rueben that she’s not a walking disaster. For someone who’s spent her life avoiding hard work, she sure can move mountains when she’s got a little motivation – just don’t ask her to move the caravan.

xxxxxx

 

A Murder at Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father’s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women’s rights. Mistry Law is handling the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen goes through the papers, she notices something strange: all three have signed over their inheritance to a charity. What will they live on if they forefeet what their husband left them? Perveen is suspicious. The Farid widows live in purdah: strict seclusion, never leaving the women’s quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate and realizes her instincts about the will were correct when tensions escalate to murder. It’s her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that nobody is in further danger.

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Long Bright River by Liz Moore

KENSINGTON AVE, PHILADELPHIA: THE FIRST PLACE YOU GO FOR DRUGS OR SEX. THE LAST PLACE YOU WANT TO LOOK FOR YOUR SISTER.

Mickey Fitzpatrick has been patrolling the 24th District for years. She knows most of the working women by name. She knows what desperation looks like and what people will do when they need a fix. She’s become used to finding overdose victims: their numbers are growing every year. But every time she sees someone sprawled out, slumped over, cold to the touch, she has to pray it’s not her sister, Kacey. When the bodies of murdered sex workers start turning up on the Ave, the Chief of Police is keen to bury the news. They’re not the kind of victims that generate a whole lot of press anyway. But Mickey is obsessed, dangerously so, with finding the perpetrator – before Kacey becomes the next victim.

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Chosen {Slayer #2} by Kiersten White

Nina continues to learn how to use her slayer powers against enemies old and new in this second novel in the New York Times bestselling series from Kiersten White, set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now that Nina has turned the Watcher’s Castle into a utopia for hurt and lonely demons, she’s still waiting for the utopia part to kick in. With her sister Artemis gone and only a few people remaining at the castle—including her still-distant mother—Nina has her hands full. Plus, though she gained back her Slayer powers from Leo, they’re not feeling quite right after being held by the seriously evil succubus Eve, a.k.a. fake Watcher’s Council member and Leo’s mom. And while Nina is dealing with the darkness inside, there’s also a new threat on the outside, portended by an odd triangle symbol that seems to be popping up everywhere, in connection with Sean’s demon drug ring as well as someone a bit closer to home. Because one near-apocalypse just isn’t enough, right?

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Thanks for stopping by!