Noteworthy News: I'll be back soon!

 

Hello Bookish friends....I wanted to check in to say that my noteworthy news this week is about...me! I finally had my surgery to remove the tumor on my pituitary gland on February 18th. I have had Cushings Disease due to the tumor and if you want to know more just Google it as it is kind of complicated to explain quickly. It went very well and I am home now resting and so grateful for the best team of surgeons at UT Southwestern Dallas. I feel so fortunate to live in a place with wonderful health care. 

That is why my posts just stopped...I have had a bit of a rough transition going from hospital to home and have not even been able to read much of anything. I know I was warned this would happen but it has been disappointing nonetheless. Forget about blogging the last two weeks as that was not even an option. The brain fog, extreme fatigue, and not having read anything made that impossible for now. It will take up to a year or more to get my hormone and cortisol medications right and to recover from the multiple back, rib, and hip fractures I've sustained due to the high cortisol levels in my body these last two years. I also struggle with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands so typing is slow going right now. Hopefully now with the tumor gone I can get physical therapy and recover. 

I miss the interaction with everyone and hope to be back slowly over the month of March. I am just now getting back online and reading short blog posts from my fellow bloggers. I am so glad to have your posts to read (especially now that reading whole books is too difficult) and keep me updated about things I'm missing in the book world. Happy reading y'all....I'll be back!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Case of the Christie Curse by Kelly Oliver (The Detection Club Book Three)

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at the book blog, Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, The Case of the Christie Curse, by Kelly Oliver. I am almost finished with her other series, Fiona Figg Mysteries. I really like them and so I eventually want to read these books too. Her writing is funny and engaging and although the premise of this series is very different I'm willing to give them a try. This third book is the latest coming out this month.

It is set in Mesopotamia which hooks me right away and involves famous digs and famous characters like Dorothy Sayers and Max Mallowan. It should be a lot of fun!

Historical Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries

February 21, 2026

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

Mesopotamia, 1930: 

When Agatha Christie invites fellow members of the Detection Club to witness the famous excavations at the ruins of Ur, Dorothy L. Sayers, her quick-witted assistant Eliza Baker, and Theo Sharp expect ancient wonders not fresh corpses.

But when an archaeologist is found dead in the sand, whispers of a deadly curse sweep through the camp. Eliza suspects something far more dangerous than superstition. Amid glittering artifacts and fragile alliances, every guest harbors the Woolleys, whose marriage is shadowed by tragedy; a journalist hungry for scandal; even academic Max Mallowan, whose loyalties are not what they seem.

As theft, forgery, and coded messages surface, the line between archaeology and espionage blurs. And when Eliza and Theo find themselves in danger, they not only must face the truth about the murder, but also the truths they’ve long denied about each other. Can they uncover the killer before the desert claims another victim? Or will this dig unearth secrets too dangerous to survive?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books For Armchair Travelers

 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is "Books For Armchair Travelers." I love this topic! Nearly all of my favorite fiction revolves around books set in special locations, usually places I haven't visited yet. It was hard to choose my favorites but I've tried to list ones that do a good job of really making you feel like you are there. 

I don't read much in the way of modern fiction so these stories are historical. But they still do a great job of describing culture and atmosphere of the setting. Here is my list...happy reading y'all!

The link will take you to Goodreads if you want to know more about the book.

1. Crocodile On the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

 

2. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

3. Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore

4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

5. Trouble in Nuala by Harriet Steel

6. Murder in an Irish Castle by Verity Bright

7. A Fatal Encounter in Tuscany by Vivian Conroy

8. The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Kay Penman

9. Of Lands High and Low by Martha Keyes

10. Poldark by Winston Graham

Stacking the Shelves #87

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Happy reading y'all!

Murder in Manhattan by Verity Bright

Free with Kindle Unlimited

I'm currently finishing up Book 13 in this series and Lady Eleanor is on her way to New York solving murders on a cruise ship. This picks up when they get to New York. I own most of these already but there are still a few I don't have. 

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance by Paul Strathern

Free with Hoopla

This probably isn't a book I'll read cover to cover line by line but I am interested in the family dynamics and their power struggles. I want to skim through the parts that I want to know about and it looked like something readable. They were definitely not boring!

The Hands of Time by Irina Shapiro (The Hands of Time Book One)

Free with Kindle Unlimited

This cover is beautiful and this is the first book in the series so I'm going to add it to my library and give it a try. I know I've seen other books by this author that are more mystery based. This one is historical fiction and time travel....a woman has to choose between a love from her time or the past. 

Happy Valentines Day 2026!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day celebrating in your own way. I plan to cook some nice things for my son and husband and enjoy the rain headed our way. And of course, read. Happy Valentines Day to all my blogger friends and fellow readers out there!