13 New-to-Me Authors I've Read This Year

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂

I've decided to mention books by authors I've read this year for the first time, the book read from said author, and how I came to read them. I know I've got more than 13, so narrowing it to down was a little hard. Note: I won't be reviewing the books!

I'm also posting this to the Book Blog Discussion at Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight. 

1. Herbert L. Heller--Sourdough Sagas: I came across this book from an older friend who let me have some books he'd had. This was totally new to me. I'd known very little about the pioneering and gold in Alaska from 1883 to 1923. One of the first books I read at the beginning of this year.

2. Kate Milford--Greenglass House: One of many books I had picked up at a second-hand store, not knowing when or why I chose it. It must have seemed fun when I first saw it. This was another among the first books I read as this year began.

3. Wendy Heard--She's Too Pretty to Burn: One I just happened to find in my library's database as I was look for a title containing the words to, too or two for this challenge. I guess I just liked how this book sounded. 

4. Kim Michelle Richardson--The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: I'd known about this book for some time, and from what I'd seen about the book online  I was sure I wanted to read it. So when I saw a copy at a second-hand store, I snagged it. 

5. Suzanne Park--Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous: I happened to find this at the nearby Barnes & Noble one day, and I was obviously interested in it enough to buy it. 

6. Sosuke Natsukawa--The Cat Who Saved Books: I saw this book on another person's blog and among the books on this list (one of the categories for this challenge this year). A lot of the titles on the list seemed like ones I would never find without having to buy the book. Fortunately, The Cat Who Saved Books is at my public library, so I decided that would be my choice for that category. And I like anything with cats!

7. Rachel Joyce--The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: Another book I had heard about somewhere on the web, but did not search out until this year. I found another book by this author I now want to read, don't yet know when that one will be.

8. Lily King-Euphoria: This was one book I'd spotted at Target when it was first released. Not wanting to spend a lot on it then, I searched for it in my library's database. I found it there, but I never got around to reading it until this year. I'd finally crossed this one of my list (so to speak, since it was only a mental one).

9. Sedeqa Johnson--The House of Eve: When looking for a book set in the 1950s, this one turned up in my library catalog. I liked how it sounded.

10. Yoshiko Unchida--Picture Bride: One I knew nothing about previously and just happened to find while browsing the library shelves. I needed an author beginning with U, and a book about wedding and/or marriage, so I picked this one.

11. Megan Caldwell-Vanity Fare: Trying to find a V title for the Alphabet Soup Titles challenge was a little hard, and when I at random punched "vanity" into the library database, this one came up. I like reading food-themed books, so I know I would be checking this one out.

12. Rachel Hartman--Tess of the Road: Another author I'd known about having seen her books on my library shelf. This one got my interest when looking for a book that had dragons. Several challenges I'm doing this year have "a book with a dragon" category, since 2024 is the Year of the Dragon.

13. Dean Atta--The Black Flamingo: This was displayed at the library on top of the one of the shelves in the YA section. I was looking for an LGBTQ-themed book and one about drag artistry, and this one was right there. 

It was hard just picking 13 authors for this post, as there are more than that many who are new  to me this year so far. The year is only half-over, and I'm sure I will find even more new ones-to-me so the in the next six months🙂 I decided not to include any for whom the book I read is their first one and only one as of yet, such as this one.

15 Years Ago This Week

I still remember what I was doing on this date in 2009, when this news came about.  It was just another day of Internet surfing after coming home from work. 

It was inevitable that Michael Jackson would get all the hype, overshadowing Farrah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon, who'd died just two days earlier.  And just three days later,  I learned of this death via the Twitter tag #oxiclean:

Not many people seem to know that Billy Mays was the same age as MJ. 

I still use OxiClean in my laundry. I remember getting some at Walmart weeks after Mays's death. All that time, others were buying MJ's albums, CDs and DVDs. I had no interest in that. If one celebrity can make money just after dying, so can another. 

From my blog in 2014 (five-year anniversary):

This week will mark five years since the celebrity death streak that occurred in late June/early July 2009.   As all of you remember it was the week of Michael Jackson's death. But it started on June 23, 2009, with the death of Ed McMahon. He was best known as Johnny Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992,  as well as a pitchman for Publishers Clearing House, host of Star Search (the American Idol of the 1980s), and co-host with  Dick Clark of  TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes.   Next came the death of Farrah Fawcett, a first-season cast member of Charlie's Angels,  just several hours before (and several miles away from where Fawcett had died) the world learned of Jackson going into a coma. His death naturally overshadowed that of Fawcett, and 80s music fans were devastated.  His records began to sell out on Internet sites and at used record stores and other store that sell CDs and DVDs.  His death was the most hyped out of the three. 

I remember exactly what I was doing that day.  It was a Thursday and I had just come home from work and was on Facebook and Twitter.  Naturally Jackson's death was all over both sites.  And on the evening news I happened to watch that night.  After work the following day, I passed by the USA Today kiosk near CVS Pharmacy and I'm sure you can guess what was on the front page.   The next day I stopped at Barnes and Noble and as I entered the movies and music section there was a display of Jackson's work, naturally. His death was still on everyone's mind, but it didn't stop the media from covering other celebrity deaths that followed.

The following Sunday, June 28,  I looked on Twitter and saw OxiClean as a trending topic. I wondered why that was, and a click on the link revealed why.  My mom then called and I suddenly I asked the following:

"Did you hear who just died?"
"Yes. Michael Jackson."
"No, I mean just now."
"No, who?"
"The man who did the commercials for OxiClean."

That man was Billy Mays.  I did not know his name at first, and I still refer to him as "the OxiClean guy."  I then posted this as my Facebook status that day,  saying that "Now the OxiClean pitchman has died. Three deaths last week, will there be two more this week?"  One friend responded "I loved Billy Mays!  His commercials always made me want to buy his stuff."  I then pointed out that the OxiClean guy was the same age was Michael Jackson, a fact that no one seems to have known.  I've asked many people if they knew that fact and every one of them has said no, they did not  know that fact.   Mays was a little over a month older than Jackson.  An obit for the OxiClean guy appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle the following day along with that for another celebrity I did not had died that weekend as well. (I kept and still have this section of that edition of the paper) And one the day after that, yet another I didn't know about either.   Unfortunately, the two celebrities in this case were not high-profile ones like McMahon, Fawcett, Jackson or Mays, and thus their deaths were not Twitter-ed  about, limited only to obits in major metropolitan newspapers such as that one.  Those two were 50s actress and singer Gale Storm (star of the 1950s sitcom My Little Margie)  and impressionist/comedian Fred Travalena.   And as June turned to July, the death streak continued, with actor Karl Malden and NFL star Steve McNair.  Those two celebs got more hype than did Storm and Travalena.  Many will remember Malden's commercials for American Express, urging viewers to "Don't leave home without it."

Mid-Year Reading Progress Post

Though this is my first year doing the Book Blog Discussion Challenge, I have been writing one of these posts each year around this time.

So far I have completed four of my year-long reading challenges. 

Alphabet Soup:

This was the first one done this year, at the end of May. Some letters were tricky! It took me to the very end to find a J title. A friend was about to donate the book listed, but I wanted to read it. 

RAD:

A short one, with only nine categories. I got this done just two weeks ago, with one square left. 

Blydyn Square Books:

I unexpectedly got this one done quickly. I was just one book short, but quickly found one that worked for the one prompt remaining. 

Alphabet Soup Authors Edition:

I've been doing the Alphabet Soup for titles for several years now, but only this year did I decide to do the Alphabet Soup for Authors. The last two letters I got were U and Y, pretty tricky for an author's name.  I still can't believe I found one with X in the name, though I knew about the author already.

I've always seemed to complete the Color Coded and the What's in a Name? challenges before the end of June, in time for when I write this post. But that was not the case this year. Yellow and brown have often seemed hard to find when doing this challenge, but that was even more true this year. A title with "brown" (or any shade of brown, such as chocolate) is the last one I need to finish this challenge. As for the "footwear" category (What's in a Name?), I have something planned for that for next month, but I'm stuck on the "NFL team" one! I keep looking for titles containing "eagles" or "cowboys," the two team names that keep coming to my mind (I'm not a sports person!) Any title suggestions for any of these?

So far I have read 113 books as of today. This is fewer compared to the last few years at this point in the year. Kind of surprising. I'm currently reading one that is over 1400 pages. That being true, I probably won't attempt too many other long books for the rest of this year, at least not any in the 1000+ page range. Maybe 500 pages or below, depending on my mood. I was looking in my library's database for a book set in Australia or New Zealand for next month, but the first one I found is over 800 pages! Not sure I want to jump into something that long so soon after a 1400+ pager! That would be quite a lot!

13 Summer Fun Cartoons

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂

As the summer solstice begins today, here are some summer humor cartoons. Some old, some new to my blog.

Beach Time!

Our group headed off to Capitola today. The line to get pizza was super long, so we decided against it. On the way back we stopped at a nearby Jamba Juice. BTW, I finally got to the one in my town that recently opened. 

Here are some photos.

Buying $5 Items at Dollar Tree

Even when Dollar Tree raised the based price to $1.25, I did not get the urge to stop shopping there. I did once work for the company. But when they started carrying items for more than $1.25, I was slow to begin buying above that amount. 

So far, I've only gotten three different items in the $5-price range. When I was preparing for my colonoscopy in April, I learned ahead of time that using the bathroom a lot was going to be necessary. So for extra protection, I bought a pack of adult pull-ups at Dollar Tree. They only come 10 to a pack, but that was going to be enough. I would have had to pay more for a pack of more than elsewhere, even for the generic store brands. BTW, they come in a box with an open-top lid, rather than the plastic packaging shown on the site. Most other brands seem to use the plastic packaging, so I was surprised to see these in a box.

One day I came across $5 dollar spray sunscreen at Dollar tree. I cannot seem to find this on their site. I needed some then, so I figured it would be better than getting it for more at Target or Safeway. I just now got some again, with the beach trip on the way. And while I was at the store last Saturday, I saw 12-packs of toilet paper for $5. I always dread having to get TP, but was glad to see it for this much.  There were $5 sandals and towels, but thankfully, I've already got some of these at home, ready for the trip on Wednesday :)

I also went looking for a sun hat to wear to the beach. There were several big floppy ones for $3, but I ended up getting a smaller one for $1.25. I just liked that one more :) I have yet to buy anything in the $3 range. And I won't get started on $6 or more, even though the store is said to be now offering items for $7. I'll worry about buying stuff for that much if and when it's necessary to do so :) 

Just the other day, I noticed they are selling fans for $19. I don't need one right now, but that seems like a great deal. Not likely to find them at that price elsewhere ;)

 

Items in the $3 to $5 range I have not bought.

How do you feel about these prices? Would you rather get such items elsewhere? For me, that depends on how if they are out at DT, and if they are more elsewhere, which likely is true in most instances. 

13 Things About the Number 13 for Thursday the 13th

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂

We are just one day short of the superstitious day of Friday the 13th. But I liked how the 13th occurs on Thursday this year as it gave a great idea for a topic of this week.  

1. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13.
2. Because of it being such an unlucky number many cities don’t have a 13th street or 13th Avenue.
3. Many elevators don’t list the 13th floor and many hotels don’t have a room number 13, it is sometimes 12-A.
4. In tarot reading, the number 13 is the death card.
5. There are 13 cards in each suit in a standard deck of playing cards.
6. 13 is the atomic number of aluminum.
7. The four seasons each have 13 weeks.
8. Apollo 13 had a successful landing on the moon and return to earth, despite an onboard explosion.
9. There are approximately 13 cycles of the moon each year.
10. Prohibition in the United States lasted for thirteen years, from 1920—1933.
11. In Greek mythology, Zeus was the thirteenth and the most powerful god.
12. Plenty of frightening figures in history have 13 letters in their names. (See here). 
13. Taylor Swift is a big fan of the number 13.

And those are just some fun facts about the number believed to be superstitious by many. Click here, here and here (the sites from which I obtained the info above) to see even more.

Even though it's Thursday the 13th this month, beware that Friday the 13ths are happening in September and December. Did you know that the first day of the month occurring on Sunday means the 13th will be on a Friday? Or that the first week of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown in March 2020 included a Friday the 13th? (Not a lot seemed to made about that one, surprisingly). And that there can be up to three Friday the 13ths in a year? (Click here, here and here to see even more).

BTW, I'm not that superstitious!

Meeting at Starbucks

 Almost a month ago, the building where I work began closing for repairs. It is a very old building. While it is under repair, our groups have been meting elsewhere, mainly at the mental health main building, but other places as well. 

One place we met last month was at Straw Hat Pizza, on May 17, for National Pizza Party Day. Of all the pizza places in my hometown (there are far too many of them!) I don't think I've ever gone to Straw Hat before this. Little Caesars has been my family's go-to place for ordering pizza, and I met with some friends for my birthday in January at Round Table. And one Wednesday we met at a local park for our Park Day, something we had been doing until COVID hit in 2020. I was glad to see this happening again, with food, drink and some outdoor games.

But one place other that main office we have met the most has been at a local Starbucks.  As someone who doesn't drink coffee, meeting at Starbucks gives me mixed feelings. Since they don't have caffeinated sodas, I've settled for drinking hot chocolate. I miss my sodas in the two hours that we meet!

But there has been one thing about meeting at Starbucks that has worked well. Twice already we have met at the cafe for my writing class that I hold at least twice each month. When I learned we'd be away from our building for some time, I decided to take advantage of this time away to do some writing exercises that require being in public. My firs though was to have it at another of our parks, which my bosses agreed to, for the Friday before Memorial Day. But when it got windy that morning, we decided to meet at Starbucks. And it worked out well.

The writing exercises that I chose are from this book (I have an older edition, and occasionally use it for my class). One is "Room with a View," observing the area around you. Another is "Legitimate Eavesdropping," trying to write down what you hear another person say. And "Observing a Stranger," watching and inconspicuously focusing on one person to describe. So far, we've met for my class at Starbucks twice. I've done all but the eavesdropping one. The music playing at Starbucks makes it a little hard to hear anything, including the members of my group when we have a discussion. We plan to meet again a week for my class at Starbucks a week from this coming Friday, if the building is still under repairs. We don't yet know when it will be finished. And if the weather gets even hotter by then, I'm not sure I will want to drink hot chocolate! But I could wait for it to cool down a little.

And I'm getting excited about next Wednesday, the 19th, when our group heads off the beach! We made one beach trip last summer, the first one ever. Will let you know how it goes next week.

13 Books with "Summer" in the Title

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. This is my first time participating in this blog hop. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂

I am also posting this to the Book Blog Discussion Challenge, since it's a book topic. 

With summer upon us and (in some places, such as where I live) warm weather already setting in, I chose to come up with a  list of book containing "summer" in the title. In my reading challenges, especially those that take place only in the summer, I often encounter this as a reading prompt.

These aren't in any particular order, just posting them as I come up with them. All of these I have read. And there a plenty of others I have read that fit this post, as it was hard to decide on just 13 to include.

June Bookish Bingo

 The new card for June is here.

My Books:

1. Aladdin--Walt Disney Company (3 squares): E-Book, Treasure, Snazzy Dresser
2. Pam Ayres: Down the Line (2 squares): Audiobook, June Audiobook Bonus
3. Summer on Sag Harbor--Sunny Hostin (7 squares): Physical Book, In a Series, Book Club Read, Free Space, Gets Closure, Parent, Not a New Release
4. A is for Activist--Innosanto Nagar (2 squares): Read While Traveling, LGBTQ
5. I'll Take You There--Joyce Carol Oates (5 squares): Free Book, Shelf Love, Song Lyrics or Title, Not in a Series, Set in a School
6. Remote Control--Nnedi Okorafor (2 squares): Library Book, Paranormal
7. Thunderstruck--Erik Larson (1 square): Storm/Bad Weather
8. A Kind of Spark--Elle McNicoll (1 square): Accent
9. The Fiery Cross--Diana Gabaldon (1 square): Weapon on the Cover
10. I am participating in several Reading Challenges.

25 squares completed on June 26