#SeptemberRecap – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – September Recap – Four #Audiobooks You’ll Love!

Rosepoint Reviews - September Recap

We got lucky with September weather, pretty temporate, comfortable, and enough heat to harken back lazy summer days. I really love September now, as after the kiddies go back to school and we are past Labor Day here in the US, families are home and prices on the road drop.

After we had all the cucumber juices (with cantaloupe juice) I could manage from our handy dandy juicer, and the yearly trial with dried or dehydrated cherry tomatoes (dried tomato candy), we started in on tomato juice from our neighbors garden. SOOO delish!

Then we had the opportunity to link up with our old Navy buddies and met them in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri (Osage Beach) at a lovely Airbnb along with our daughter who will shortly be celebrating a big birthday. Perfect location, the middle of everything, handy, beautifully decorated and the best screened in porch I’ve ever seen making for some delightful evenings of happy hour, chatting, and watching the sun go down.

Osage Beach MO, Airbnb boat dock — The pic of the sunset taken by our daughter, Shannon.

We checked out HAHA Tonka State Park, Stark Caverns, Bignell Dam, and rented a tritoon to do some fishing. The boat was fun—but there were no bites.

Last year came home with lots of trout—but that was in Arkansas. In Lake of the Ozarks—it’s bass.

Well, so I have a good reason why I flaked on posts in September. The tablet I bought to take with me so I could work on vacation is less than useless. Still, it was a great trip, got to be with our friends again and celebrate our daughter’s birthday.

We reviewed ten books in September—four of those in audiobook form, the CE contributing two and a half (?) He gave up half way into Mark Twain, an almost 1200 page biography. The source of the books is our library, NetGalley, author and publisher requests. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

#RosepointReviews,#SeptemberRecap,

Solid Gold Murder by Ellen Byron (audiobook)
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (CE review-DNF)
The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel
News of the World by Paulette Jiles (audiobook-Book Club)
A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci (audiobook)
Peter Pulaski Must Pay by Jen Lancaster
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware (audiobook)
Ain’t Nobody’s Fool by Martha Ackmann (CE review-5 stars -biography)
The Tenth Trail Mark by Joe Looby (CE review-5 stars-NG)
Die Again by Tess Gerritsen

Favorite Book of the Month

Perhaps predictably, except for the Mark Twain book, the CE favored his two September reads with five stars. When asked which he’d choose for a September favorite, he said, “no question, The Tenth Trail Mark.” So there you have it:

Favorite for September – The Tenth Trail Mark

My Reading Challenges page…Vacation month. What can I say? Definitely more talking and sight-seeing than reading.

The Goodreads landing page shows 143 of a goal of 150 or 95%. I have three yet to post for books read in September. I suspect I’m doing okay in the audiobook challenge as well, not so sure about NetGalley.

I always appreciate your visits and comments. Keeps those likes and comments coming—and thank you for all of them!

Goodbye September — Graphic design courtesy Canva

Rosepoint Reviews – September Recap – No More Tomatoes

Rosepoint Reviews-September Recap

Definitely flirting with inclement weather patterns when you wait until September in the Midwest to go on a road trip! That is becoming, however, our annual get-together time with our old Navy buddies from Texas. Last year we went to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Love those hot springs! This year it was Cherokee Village and Hardy, Arkansas. Why Arkansas? It’s approximately half way between the two of us—them coming from Texas.

The AirB&B was disappointing, but the area (seven lakes) was delightful and we lucked out with the weather, both coming and going and while we were there…home in time to miss the mess from Helene.

The Spring River area is absolutely lovely and the boys got in enough fishing to fill their hearts content—trout—a succulent feast. Regardless where we stay, we eat well! Lots of river and lake recreation from boating and fishing to swimming and rafting. We thought the fish were ours, the snake thought they were his. Kit and I were going to go kayaking until we saw the snapping turtles off the wharf where we stayed. And so much for swimming below the Mammoth Spring Dam (pic behind cover banner) when we got into a wrestling match for our trout left on the line in the water with a water moccasin. The snake got downright angry with me. (Pic cut from video.)

Returning home, I discovered the tomatoes had given up for the season, the garden looking very sad, with only a couple viable peppers remaining. Horrible garden year. Never did get my fill of fresh tomatoes and one or two paltry cucumbers didn’t make more than one or two salads. The squirrels wouldn’t leave my fresh greens alone either. I’ll try again next year.

Update on Punkin the Pomeranian: She’ll officially have been adopted a year on the eighth of October. She has now (1) bonded with the CE, (2) bonded with our son (who is still staying with us), (3) beginning to enjoy treats, (4) going on two-mile walks with the CE). She is still not tolerating my advance to her (runs back to her kennel) and although doing better, can’t say she is house trained yet. She is inconsistent with letting us know she needs to go out to do her business and we don’t always catch her. UGH. It’s good she’s cute.

I realized after I’d left that I should have left a note on the blog that I would be gone and apologize for all the stacked-up emails, notes, comments, and likes that were not acknowledged. I won’t make that mistake again. I tried to schedule some reviews but then was unable to connect with my little tablet and answer, respond, or post on social media.

Reduced activity on the blog in September, although I did get some reading done. I continue to get books from NetGalley as well as author and publisher requests, and my local library, both ebooks and audiobooks. Together we read or listened to eleven books. As always, links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Publishing - September Recap

Battle Annie by Trish MacEnultyBattle
You’ll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan (audiobook)
The Second Smartest Dog That Ever Lived by Will Pass (CE review)
Saving the Guilty by Liz Milliron
Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook)
Death Stake by Andrew Mayne (CE review)
Running on Empty by Karin Fitz Sanford
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins (audiobook)
Color Me Dead by Teresa Trent
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (audiobook)
In Too Deep by Lee Child, Andrew Child (CE review)

Favorite Book of the Month

While I enjoyed that little surprise at the end of The Heiress, I gave Battle Annie five stars. The CE gave Death Stake five stars. Still, Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth kept me hanging on every word on the audiobook.

**Favorites for September – Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth**

My Reading Challenges page…obviously been too crazy around here lately but I think I might see light at the end of the tunnel now. My Goodreads Challenge is at 97 towards a goal of 130 at 75%. As for the rest, I’m still catching up from the vacation.

Thank you new subscribers—welcome! Appreciate those of you who continue to monitor, read, and comment on my posts. That’s what keeps me plodding forward!

#TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Reviews – September Recap – Welcome October Autumn

Rosepoint Reviews - September Recap

Yes, September brought our long-awaited East Coast trip! While I did get some reviews scheduled, I relied on my little tablet and the “stick” to which I’d downloaded the activity for the month. Unfortunately, it didn’t work although I’d tried, tested, and thought I had it before we left.

Lincoln Memorial - DC — Lincoln Memorial

Our timing landed us in DC during their record-setting heat wave where walking the National Mall was a major test of the constitution of the physical kind. We planned to hit Philly, New York, Boston, Bar Harbor (my personal designation), Nova Scotia (the CE’s personal designation), Montreal (Canada), and Toronto (Canada). Hurricane Lee knocked Bar Harbor out, however, and we diverted to Plattsburgh IL, and a ferry ride—thence a quick and easy cross at the border into Canada.

Scaddabush Front Street Italian Restaurant, Toronto, Canada — Scaddabush Front Street Italian Restaurant in Toronto. So good we went back a second time.

We did experience a major downpour but nothing like New York just experienced with flooded subways. Our son did all the driving, the scenery was beautiful—much of it looked like home actually—except for the majestic skylines of the massive cities. My personal daily walking goal is 3,500 steps. Walking those cities achieved more than 21k steps one day, my equivalent of…10 miles? And there was always a lot of walking! Do you use a FitBit or equivalent; chronicle your steps? You’d think with all that walking I’d have shed some pounds. Nope. One—it was just one.

I mentioned last month our puppy adoption failure. Even with a lot of steps, could not keep up with a puppy. Still, back home and missing a dog’s joyous grin when we return home and a little couch buddy. I shouldn’t, but can’t help looking for an adult rescue.

If I was looking for some downtime, walking miles every day for almost three weeks wasn’t it, nor the backlog faced when we returned. Still trying to play catch up.

So a slow reading month—we read (or listened to) twelve books in September. These are still predominately from NetGalley, but more now from a variety of sources as we search for good, easy reading. (As always, links below are to my reviews that include purchase info.)

September Recap

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (CE review)
Dying for a Daiquiri by Cindy Sample
A Superior Death by Nevada Barr (audiobook)
The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks (5* CE review)
That Others May Live by Sara Driscoll (5* CE review)
Three Wise Men by Lou Bavou (CE review)
The Sorrowful Girl by Keenan Powell (5* CE review)
Tangled Webs by Maria McDonald
A Beautiful Ferocity by Jean Grainger (5* review)
One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni (5* CE review)
The Women by Kristin Hannah (5* review)
The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal

These included historical fiction, literary fiction, cozy mystery, and paranormal.

Favorite Book of the Month

Sorry, not sorry, but there is no contest here. Hands down, this month’s favorite (and will likely be the favorite of the year is The Women. Okay, you might accuse me of prejudice because we lived through that time—spent in nearby support—and heard that protest music echo in my head as I read. But I’d argue that the well-developed main character nailed the reality of the time—and perhaps could be applied to the present as well. Not due to release until February of 2024; I’d urge you to put it on your must-read list.

Book of the Month for September—The Women by Kristin Hannah.

My Reading Challenges page… I have 110 books of a goal of 145 in Goodreads (at this point one book ahead of schedule) and still riding at a 97% feedback ratio in NetGalley. Haven’t even looked at the Reading Challenges page. Soon…

Autumn is making herself known in crisp morning temps, changes of weather from erratic warm to very cool and back again. (In our neck of the woods, 80 will plummet 20 degrees shortly.) I do enjoy leaf peeping and did see the start of it on our trip. For me, though, it’s a harbinger of winter and I’m not a fan. As pretty as those northern states were, I couldn’t help but visualize and feel the snow and cold. I’ll proudly wear my Toronto sweatshirt, but I’ll be glad I’m no longer there.

Welcome, as always, to my new subscribers. I always appreciate those who read and comment.