sherrysniderfundin

"The site is live and running again. No other features are planned in the nearest future. The performance will be looked into depending on the problems and the availability of resources. Sorry for any inconvenience."

Comment on BookLikes' Facebook page, last night (July 13, 2020).

Sorry, but that just isn't good enough. 

Not any more.  Not by a long shot.

It's not about "new" features.  It's about fixing problems that have existed for years -- in fact, ever since Legimi acquired BookLikes four years ago --, that have grown progressively worse over the course of time, and that have been brought to the attention of BL management time and again, always (as we all know) to no avail whatsoever.

A serious commitment to fix those problems would require immediate action: no ifs or buts.  Not "depending on the problems and the availability of resources."  Not just "looking into" the performance of the site.

Not just a canned response that couldn't possibly say "we really don't care" any clearer if it had shouted as much in neon letters a foot high or higher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After last night's statement on behalf of BookLikes, I won't create any content here anymore.  In fact, if that statement had been posted about 45 minutes or an hour earlier, I wouldn't even have created the new post(s) I did still create last night.  I will instead continue to do what I already started doing when BL crashed for several days back in January of this year; namely, back up and salvage all that content of my BL account that isn't already backed up elsewhere anyway (such as, fortunately, most of my blog posts, my library and most of my book-related data).

To those who want to stay in touch, as of now you can chiefly find me here:

Wordpress: This is where I will continue posting my reviews and other blog posts.  In the past, my WP blog has been primarily -- though not exclusively -- my back up site for BookLikes posts, so it will take some tender love and care to be made truly presentable, but some projects are already under way; and other than salvaging my BL content, that will be my focus over the rest of the summer.

Librarything: Far and away the best online library system; you can really tell that the site was created by people who are librarians (and techies) first and foremost.  LT's book database -- and librarian / editing features -- were superior to those of BookLikes by a magnitude of several galaxies even at the best of times: I've been willing to put up with the standard that BL had to offer for the sake of its blogging features and, most importantly of course, the BL community, but ... no longer so.  There is no question that LT's social / communication features are unwieldy and in need of a serious overhaul.  And no, I am not entirely comfortable with the fact that Amazon holds an indirect minority ownership interest in LT, which it very likely could increase to direct / sole or majority ownership at any time if it so chose.  But at least LT (unlike BookLikes) lets you export your book data -- and I am not planning to post any reviews there --, so if it ever comes to that point, it will be easy enough to pull out.  And its social features are "learnable" and, like everything else, get easier to manage with increased use.

Goodreads: I left GR behind as my main book site back in 2013 and have no intention of reversing that decision.  However, I understand that not all of my friends from the BookLikes community feel comfortable creating a blog elsewhere or navigating Librarything, and at this point many have already made the move to the Outpost and / or (Mostly) Dead Writers Society groups on GR.  So to the extent that discussions and community activities are hosted there, I'll participate.

Twitter: This is not an account I use to actively participate in any discussions, at least not outside the rare book-related convo or other; but I can be reached by PM there if necessary.  If you do have a blog or a Librarything or a Goodreads account, though, those are the paths of communication that I prefer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buddy Reads

There are two buddy reads to which I had been looking forward here on BookLikes in the near future.

For Hannah Arendt's The Origin of Totalitarianism, BT has already created a thread in the Outpost group. (@ Mark, I hope you've found us there!)  As she said in her first post, please join us -- everybody is welcome!

As for the planned second French buddy read (and possible "buddy watch" of the TV adaptation of the Nicholas Le Floch novels), @ Tannat and @ Onnurtilraun, please let me know your preferred venue!  You can comment on this post -- I'll still be around for a while, so there is every chance I'll see it -- or reach me on any of the above-mentioned sites.  (Tannat, I know you're on GR, LT and WP ... not sure about Onnurtilraun, though?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like so many others who have posted something similar in the past couple of days and weeks, it breaks my heart to be making this decision.  The BookLikes community is, without question or comparison, far and away the best book community I've ever belonged to.  The basic setup of BookLikes -- a blogging community with an integrated book database -- is, as such, unique in the online world.  But while I've always said that I'll be here until the end, I feel the end has now indeed come -- not because the community has given up on the site, but because its owners and administrators have.  Their statement on Facebook couldn't possibly make that any clearer.  So:

(You didn't really think I could do this without a cat meme, did you?)

"The site is live and running again. No other features are planned in the nearest future. The performance will be looked into depending on the problems and the availability of resources. Sorry for any inconvenience."

Comment on BookLikes' Facebook page, last night (July 13, 2020).

Sorry, but that just isn't good enough. 

Not any more.  Not by a long shot.

It's not about "new" features.  It's about fixing problems that have existed for years -- in fact, ever since Legimi acquired BookLikes four years ago --, that have grown progressively worse over the course of time, and that have been brought to the attention of BL management time and again, always (as we all know) to no avail whatsoever.

A serious commitment to fix those problems would require immediate action: no ifs or buts.  Not "depending on the problems and the availability of resources."  Not just "looking into" the performance of the site.

Not just a canned response that couldn't possibly say "we really don't care" any clearer if it had shouted as much in neon letters a foot high or higher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After last night's statement on behalf of BookLikes, I won't create any content here anymore.  In fact, if that statement had been posted about 45 minutes or an hour earlier, I wouldn't even have created the new post(s) I did still create last night.  I will instead continue to do what I already started doing when BL crashed for several days back in January of this year; namely, back up and salvage all that content of my BL account that isn't already backed up elsewhere anyway (such as, fortunately, most of my blog posts, my library and most of my book-related data).

To those who want to stay in touch, as of now you can chiefly find me here:

Wordpress: This is where I will continue posting my reviews and other blog posts.  In the past, my WP blog has been primarily -- though not exclusively -- my back up site for BookLikes posts, so it will take some tender love and care to be made truly presentable, but some projects are already under way; and other than salvaging my BL content, that will be my focus over the rest of the summer.

Librarything: Far and away the best online library system; you can really tell that the site was created by people who are librarians (and techies) first and foremost.  LT's book database -- and librarian / editing features -- were superior to those of BookLikes by a magnitude of several galaxies even at the best of times: I've been willing to put up with the standard that BL had to offer for the sake of its blogging features and, most importantly of course, the BL community, but ... no longer so.  There is no question that LT's social / communication features are unwieldy and in need of a serious overhaul.  And no, I am not entirely comfortable with the fact that Amazon holds an indirect minority ownership interest in LT, which it very likely could increase to direct / sole or majority ownership at any time if it so chose.  But at least LT (unlike BookLikes) lets you export your book data -- and I am not planning to post any reviews there --, so if it ever comes to that point, it will be easy enough to pull out.  And its social features are "learnable" and, like everything else, get easier to manage with increased use.

Goodreads: I left GR behind as my main book site back in 2013 and have no intention of reversing that decision.  However, I understand that not all of my friends from the BookLikes community feel comfortable creating a blog elsewhere or navigating Librarything, and at this point many have already made the move to the Outpost and / or (Mostly) Dead Writers Society groups on GR.  So to the extent that discussions and community activities are hosted there, I'll participate.

Twitter: This is not an account I use to actively participate in any discussions, at least not outside the rare book-related convo or other; but I can be reached by PM there if necessary.  If you do have a blog or a Librarything or a Goodreads account, though, those are the paths of communication that I prefer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buddy Reads

There are two buddy reads to which I had been looking forward here on BookLikes in the near future.

For Hannah Arendt's The Origin of Totalitarianism, BT has already created a thread in the Outpost group. (@ Mark, I hope you've found us there!)  As she said in her first post, please join us -- everybody is welcome!

As for the planned second French buddy read (and possible "buddy watch" of the TV adaptation of the Nicholas Le Floch novels), @ Tannat and @ Onnurtilraun, please let me know your preferred venue!  You can comment on this post -- I'll still be around for a while, so there is every chance I'll see it -- or reach me on any of the above-mentioned sites.  (Tannat, I know you're on GR, LT and WP ... not sure about Onnurtilraun, though?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like so many others who have posted something similar in the past couple of days and weeks, it breaks my heart to be making this decision.  The BookLikes community is, without question or comparison, far and away the best book community I've ever belonged to.  The basic setup of BookLikes -- a blogging community with an integrated book database -- is, as such, unique in the online world.  But while I've always said that I'll be here until the end, I feel the end has now indeed come -- not because the community has given up on the site, but because its owners and administrators have.  Their statement on Facebook couldn't possibly make that any clearer.  So:

(You didn't really think I could do this without a cat meme, did you?)

I was soooo excited when I won a fabulous signed hardcover for Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton and a paperback copy with a pile of goodies for Colel by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Kira Jane Buxton has definitely delivered on this original, unique glimpse into her zombie world where animals are the saviors and humans are the ones in need of saving. They can’t do it as individuals, it takes a murder to save a village. Hollow Kingdom is filled with every emotion I can think of, terror and fear, sadness and happiness, lost and found, tears and smiles, despair and hope.

4 Stars

I've transferred all my reviews over to my new account.

The next step is to start friending everybody again. It's not going to happen today. A couple of people have friended me already and have been drowning in my review tsunami, but the transfer is finished now and any new reviews will be of recently finished books.

So, if you see an account with my same avatar following you in the next few days, it's probably really me. If you want to jump the queue, the account is http://lorahatesspam.booklikes.com/

And so far I haven't been followed by ANY spam accounts there! :D

Quarrelsome Quartz by Mildred Abbott is the last book of the stack for these cozy Corgi mysteries and I have enjoyed my time with Fred and Watson. Soooo…let’s get started.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Quarrelsome Quartz by Mildred Abbot is the last book in my stack of cozy Corgi mysteries. I have enjoyed my time solving mysteries with Fred and Watson.

The Cozy Corgi Bookshop and Bakery is doing great and Fred’s twin sisters just opened the New Age shop right beside them. A big to do is planned for the opening, but…it’s Estes Park and things rarely goes as planned.

The shop fits into the small town of Estes Park, Colorado perfectly. We have an eclectic group of people that keep life interesting.

What’s that? Watson smells a….dead body…and they are on the case.

Hunky Sheriff Branson is still pining after Fred, though she has made it clear they are only friends. Fred doesn’t know what she wants when it comes to romance.

Sue, one of the cops, and Fred have an antagonistic relationship, but Chief Briggs, who she’d only had one other encounter with, fills her with fear. Could it stem from her father’s murder?

I love Watson and all his Corgi cuteness and it sure was nice to visit with him and Fred, and the rest of her family, for lots of chuckles and a light mystery. Being fairly new to Estes Park, each book brings Fred closer to her family.

AND, we have a lovely quiche to prepare and you may enjoy while reading.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Quarrelsome Quartz by Mildred Abbott.

3 Stars

MY MILDRED ABBOTT REVIEWS

 

• Cruel Candy
• Traitorous Toys
• Bickering Birds
• Scornful Scones
• Chaotic Corgis
• Savage Sourdough

• You can see my Giveaways HERE.
• You can see my Reviews HERE.
• If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
• Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
• I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
• Thanks for visiting!

I won a signed paperback of Justice Gone by N Lombardi Jr from Freda’s Voice. Thank you Freda and Nick for the wonderful addition to my book stack.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

OMG. I was raging and saddened for Joey Felton. Fucking animals…a familiar story that has shared more than one headline in our current events…a man beaten to death by the police…a scape goat. A trial where all the biases and failings of the justice system are exposed. A frightening look at out justice system…the good and the bad.

4 Stars

Loved this addition to the Brimstone Inc series! It may just be favorite of the series so far. Bait N' Witch pulled me out of a bad reading slump and I'm so grateful for it. I was up till 3am finishing this one, I read it all in one sitting. The characters were interesting and fun and the romance was perfectly paced with the length of the book. Though these are more novellas than full length Owen always manages to make them feel like they are full length in the best way. It's complete and enriches the whole world created each step of the way. I also love that we get peeks at the previous characters we've come to love.

Rowan was fabulous! I loved the nanny plot line and her relationship with the triplets. It was just as enjoyable to me as the blossoming romance between Rowan and Grey. I can't wait to see what happens next!

I received an arc of this book from Entangled: Amara via Netgalley and this is my honest review.

I received a copy of Stranger in Town by Cherly Bradshaw from her assistant on 10.5.16 and added it to my Goodreads TBR on 12.15.17. Don’t ask me why I waited so long to add it to my shelf or to read it, because I can’t tell you.

The sweet cover does not foreshadow the ugly story inside.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Stranger in Town by Cheryl Bradshaw is the fourth book in the Sloane Monroe Mystery series. It falls between a cozy and the dark, hardcore suspense that I love so much. I did enjoy meeting Sloan and love that she is a PI instead of a cop. She’s a PI because, “I don’t like people.” She doesn’t play well with others.

Stranger in Town deals with a difficult subject, child trafficking. Though Cheryl Bradshaw doesn’t delve into specific details that occur all too often with those taken, it is not any less frightening.

Olivia knew something wasn’t right….but she was frozen in fear.

Imagine your child at your side, doing your normal grocery shopping. An innocent errand turns horrific when you notice she is no longer at your side, no longer in the store… I can’t imagine anything more terrifying.

Sloane has her own backstory, which is what drives her to commit everything she has to finding the young girls. There are now two missing, a four year old, Savannah, and a six year old, Olivia. What could someone possibly want with them? Did they want them for their own? Did they want them to sell them?

Sloane wants to make everything whole again. She is methodical, thinking things through before acting, but something is different this time. She’s different. She will do whatever needs doing to get justice. I can relate to her desire to run when she is cornered. It’s all about perspective. Sometimes stepping away opens your eyes to what is in front of you.

Uh oh. At 55% I smelled a rat!

When Sloane talked to Sierra, Savannah’s little friend, it was heartbreakingly sweet.

In Stranger in Town, Cheryl Bradshaw covers more of Sloane’s search for the missing girls than the subject of human trafficking. There was more than one instance when I thought a character was suspicious, but it wasn’t for the reason I expected. We do have a twist, and that will happen when the villain feels he was betrayed, or put at risk of being exposed.

I would love to read more of Cheryl’s work and meeting Sloane was well worth the time.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Stranger in Town by Cheryl Bradshaw.

3 Stars

READ MORE HERE

 

• You can see my Giveaways HERE.
• You can see my Reviews HERE.
• If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
• Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
• I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
• Thanks for visiting!

True Crime novelist J T Hunter has another terrifying story to tell and I am eager to share it. I love reading crime, fiction and nonfiction, and this confirms for me the monsters that are the scariest are of the human kind.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The lead detective, George Murtie has a varied and fascinating life story, but Israel Keyes, an Army veteran, loving husband and father, and small business owner turned serial killer is the star of the performance.

Information was cultivated from reports, videos, court documents, interviews, newspapers and Facebook postings..

We will be traveling from Vermont to Alaska, with some stops in between.

Samantha Koenig…bad luck and what ifs would plague me if I were her loving father. Israel Keyes didn’t choose her specifically, he chose the place. She just happened to be there.

IF his story is true, she was compliant, having many opportunities to try and escape, but Israel has convinced her not to. I always wonder how I would act and I can only hope it would be immediate and violent, a fight to the death, seeing he (?) would probably kill me anyway, might as well fight and go down on my own terms.

The more I read, the more I think I have seen this on TV.

Sounds to me like he was exactly what he wanted to be, the guy next door….but, no emotions. Everything he did was for fun. He played the authorities and took his own way out.

Devil in the Darkness by J T Hunter is written in an easy to read format. There is some repetition, but that is to be expected when gathering information from people and places at different times, being true to the facts as J T knows them.

All in all, a well written, grimly told story of evil that walks the earth in the guise of a man.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Devil in the Darkness by J T Hunter.

4 Stars