Just a short note today… everyone please be sure to stay safe during these very trying times, and try to do your best to stay positive during any stay-at-home anti-virus plans that your government might be implementing.
We just entered shelter-in-place status yesterday (Wednesday), but have been self-isolating for a while now… the virus isn’t hitting our area particularly hard compared to many but it’s still better to be safe rather than sorry, so we’ve definitely been prioritizing safety over convenience.
I’m sure this will start to wear over time – I like to go out at least once a day just to not be stuck at home, so that’s definitely impacting my routine. My husband is not as impacted – he is more of a “homebody” than I am in many ways and would be just as happy to “self-isolate” more or less year round I think… but we’re both definitely missing our son, who visits on a fairly regular basis but who we probably won’t see until the duration is passed. Still, it is good to know that he is taking the isolation seriously as well. Also, we have recently invested in video conferencing with our daughter so we are “seeing” her fairly regularly still… which was a happy coincidence – we wanted to be able to “see” our daughter more often, even though she has always been good about keeping in touch with us via email and regular calls.
So, that’s what’s happening here with us in San Antonio… again, try to stay safe and keep your spirits up! I’m sure we can all weather this storm.
Kathleen Burkinshaw says
Praying you and your family stay well and safe also.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kathleen, the same to you!
Beth Schuster says
Hello. Have a quick question– Where can I see past released books by the month? When I click on recent releases it ends at Sept. 2019. I have missed a few months.
Thanks again for doing this site. I should have more time to read since we are staying home!!
Terry Adams says
Thank you, and prayers for the safety of you and your family. Fortunately I loaded up on mysteries, at least half of which are cozies, just before our city’s central library and all its branches shut down two weeks ago.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Terry, it certainly is helpful to have something to help fill the time. I’m trying to catch up on my own reading.
Novella says
Glad to hear your family is doing so well and your area is not impacted as bad, we are fine hunkered down and just enjoying the free time while it last until the work routine starts again! We feel like kids out of school getting away with something! Now is the time to get to those projects, I have been baking and making soup. Sewing and of course reading more! My house is cleaner! I came across this verse how appropriate: Come, my people, enter into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over past. Isaiah 26:20.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Novella, it certainly seems a good time to get some work done about the house!
michael says
Novella, thanks for the quote! I sent it on to my son. It is quite the right one for the season, isn’t it?
Val H says
Thanks for the Scripture verse, Novella,it was very appropriate as my church is closed because of the virus and I am missing going there, but at least I can read a lot the rest of the time!
Barbara Cool Lee says
I am glad you are safe and well. I really enjoy all your posts and find a lot of books to read from them (now more than ever!). We have been sheltering in place because my mother is almost 90 and I don’t want her exposed. We are not going stir-crazy yet, but may before this is over!
Thank you for all your positive posts about books (and movies). Sending you best wishes,
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Barbara, it’s definitely important to help keep those most at risk safe – I hope that you and your mother can both get through the sheltering phase relatively sane!
MVS says
Your blog and site are always great–even more so now when we need some light reading! THANKS.
I’m (American but) located in Poland. Here they have established very strict rules about going out. It’s not fun but I think they definitely did the smart thing. Compared to other European countries, Polands numbers (1100 sick, 9 deceased, 14 recovered so far, in a country of 38 million) are a lot better than some other places!
We’re all in this together. The whole world. Prayers and best wishes for health and tranquility to all of you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MVS, I’m glad that the blog and site are useful in finding reading material, and even more glad to hear that Poland is getting through this as well as can be expected! I hope things continue to go well for you there.
Mary Gallagher says
May you and your family stay safe and may this nasty virus pass you all by.
Like so many people, we are only going to the grocery story once a week at senior allocated time (08.00) and this is working well.
We get out into our garden, as the weather has been so sunny, as we live in a small rural village (UK) our neighbours are very good with keeping the the recommended 6 or 7 feet distance.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary, it sounds like you’re all doing whatever you can to keep safe – definitely the right move!
Wendy Penner says
Thank you for what you do. I have stacks of wonderful cozys to read during this time. Just have to get up and walk around every hour.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Wendy, you’re very welcome – I’m glad that the site is helpful in its own small way for this sort of situation.
Fanci says
Thank you for updates on cozy books. And please take care. We live in the NW and the virus seems to be heading more and more in our direction.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Fanci, you’re welcome, and I hope that you make it through the outbreaks without any serious illness!
Sue says
We’ve been social distancing for a couple weeks, feels like months. The temperature is supposed to get warm enough to let us sit outside today. That should be a mood boost!
I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, the Open Library at archive.org has opened their catalog with no waitlists for the duration. They’ve got some great old cozies.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sue, that’s definitely a great tip! I’m sure we could all stand to do a little more reading, particularly for free.
Pam says
We have a “shelter in place” proclamation here in Memphis as we have, at last count, 170 confirmed cases. However, we can get outside as long as we practice “safe distancing”.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Pam, it sounds about the same here – though where we live, there isn’t much to do outside by foot and not many places we can really visit by car that are worth the trip.
PamB says
These days are so unbelievable….easier for introverts than extroverts for sure. To me it makes one think about what’s truly important in living ones life. Glad to know you and yours are safe and doing well.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Pam, it’s good to hear that you are doing well as well. Keep safe over the rest of the outbreak.
Cameron says
Hi, I just began reading the Carlotta Carlyle series by Linda Barnes, and enjoyed it immensely as we are quarantined in Brooklyn, ny. I’m not sure if it is a cozy or not… it isn’t cute but it isn’t gory either. Just right.. I think.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cameron, it certainly seems like a good time to start reading a new series… certainly plenty of time to enjoy reading.
Susy S says
Stay safe Danna.
I am using this time to get some reading done, and I am making surgical type masks to donate.
Normally, like your husband I could go long periods without leaving home, but it seems when someone tells me I should stay home, I want to be out and about. Guess I am just a perverse sort of gal (not a surprise to me).
To all of the other cozy readers, stay safe and take the advice and warnings of the experts seriously.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susy, I could definitely see the psychology aspect of being told you can’t do something making it harder to obey… I’ve certainly been finding it a bit harder than I might have thought.
Pat Cole says
I enjoy your books and staying home reading on my kindle. You and your family also stay safe.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Pat, it’s definitely a good time to enjoy sitting in place and reading! You stay safe as well.
Michael says
I hope you take really good care, you are one of my favorite people. I am self-sheltering myself, already stocked up on everything including a big stack of books. Am currently re-reading P. D. James. I have a respiratory infection, so video conferenced with my doctor this morning. First time for me and I really liked it. I think it would work really well for you. How are things in Texas? I lived in Houston for 35 years, and do miss the place (not the traffic or hurricanes, though. Take care.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Michael, we are doing alright here in Texas… we don’t seem to have been hit the worst, though I get the impression that our testing isn’t the best either so it might be more prevalent than we think and just not being diagnosed as well as in other states. Still, things could be worse. I’m sorry to hear about your infection, and hope that it’s something minor and not the virus.
Michael says
My doctor said that there is a great shortage of testing kits and as a result the reported numbers are very much lower than actual occurence. I think that holds for all regions world wide. I am very much surprised and amazed to find your blog reaching people in Poland and UK. I don’t know it was so popular. It would be fun to have everyone who blogs tell where they are at, I think.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Michael, I know, it can be surprising how many visitors the site gets from many locations you might not expect. The United Kingdom isn’t much of a surprise – I would call it the birthplace of the Cozy after all – but others from countries like Poland, India, Malaysia, and others have certainly surprised me in the past. (Though, as with in this case, many of those seem to turn out to be people from America now living abroad.)
KG says
Hope you won’t have to self isolate very long. I live in CA, in the SF Bay Area, so this is day 15 for me. I have been in my backyard pulling weeds, cleaning and organizing the house, doing jigsaws, and of course reading. I have been out to the stores twice, but store shelves have been empty in canned goods, frozen, meat, the paper goods and cleaning sections. I am grateful to be well and have a home to live in. I also admire all the essential workers who have been working through this difficult time.
As I used to say to my first graders, be kind, be well, and follow directions. Take Care.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
KG, that certainly sounds rough, though I fully expect we’ll have at least 15 days ourselves. I hope that your restrictions start to lower sooner rather than later, though it sounds like it might still be a while even out there. And you take care as well!
KG says
I miscalculated! It seems like 15, but really only 10 as of today. I think we may be in this situation for a bit.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
KG, I can certainly see how the days will start to blend together!
Paula Catherine says
As of today my state does not have consistent rules state wide so from county to county varies. Despite this we are staying close to home, leaving for groceries and rarely take out, our county library has temporarily closed so I am thankful I enjoy reading e books.
I thought grocery stock was bad after Hurricane Irma but this has been dismal. This week we have seen improvement. As it is nation wide there are hoarders. I enjoy talking to people so this has been a challenge, we ran out when our animal removal man came for the monthly spray for creepy legless critters! So we have to adapt and hope and pray the virus doesn’t claim too many more people.
Stay healthy everyone!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Paula, it’s definitely a county-by-county thing here as well, though both county and city worked out the details of this particular order together. We haven’t been into a store in a bit… last time it was already pretty bad. You stay healthy as well.
Mr Bacon says
Your ministry is no mystery; you are a ray of light in a dark library… Stay safe, stay cozy!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mr Bacon, you stay safe as well!
Sylvia Mayfield says
Greetings from Corpus Christi! Thank you for “being there” too! Hubby and I are pretty big homebodies too so it’s not too bad for us. We walk the dog daily so we get a little exercise and fresh air. Be safe! I love when you make my “To Read” list longer and longer. LOL
We’ll all get through this together. <3
Sylvia
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sylvia, good to hear from a fellow Texan! Stay safe and keep working at that “to read” pile!
Mg Harrelson says
Prayers for everyone!
All y’all stay well and safe!
I’m thankful for having great books to read, especially since the library is closed.
Take care!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MG, you stay safe and take care as well!
Kelly says
It was so nice to see your message today. Thank you for sharing a bit of your cozy world with us. We are also homebodies and it was great to read your hopeful and encouraging words. Reading your posts is always something I regularly look forward to so it was great to have that in such uncertain times. Thanks for all you do!
Stay safe and take good care!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kelly, you’re welcome! Please also be sure to stay safe yourself!
Karen says
Just found this site and love it. I live near Seattle so we have been dealing with this for weeks and it is a constant in our news so love getting away and reading. Our library has been closed for 3 weeks so happy I have a Kindle. Be safe and thanks for doing this for us.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Karen, you’re welcome! I’m always glad to hear from new visitors, and I hope that the site can help you even a little bit by finding new authors to outlast the enforced stay-at-home period.
Bek says
Danna, you keep right on staying safe! This is one of my “favoritest” places to be!
This is one of those times when my normal lifestyle is a blessing. I am disabled, and only really leave my house (including my front porch) except for monthly trips to grocery shop, and 3 trips a year to my doctor’s office. I’m so accustomed to this that “sheltering at home” is kinda my usual modus operandi! Since I do have compromised lungs, however, I am being EXTRA careful! It’s spring now, so no visitors inside my house…we visit on the porch with 6′ between us!
I STILL have a pile of about 30 cozies that I’m working on, and will be ordering more!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bek, you definitely keep staying safe as well! The site would not be the same without your commenting. It’s definitely better to be safe than sorry during these trying times, and keeping up social distancing is a small price to pay to avoid a serious illness like this one.
Susy S says
Take extra care of yourself Bek.
We are normally a little bit hermit like, so staying home is not too difficult. We have been out once to the grocery store and once to the liquor store. Today we did a curbside pick-up at our favorite artisan bread store.
We are pretty much set for at least a month or more. In the past, I was one of those people who usually had a 6 month supply of staples in my house, but had not stocked up since we retired and moved. Once the worst is over, I will be going back to my old habits, and my hubby is thinking about taking up gardening as a hobby so we can have fresh herbs and vegetables.
We will get through this, but like many who lived through the depression, we may find we have very different approaches to many things and are more likely to stock up on basic supplies for the rest of our lives.
Ellen Byron/Maria DiRico says
Glad it’s not bad in your area, Danna, but that you’re being careful! I’m in Los Angeles, where we’re on lockdown. I just found out one of my best friends in NYC has it, although mild at this point. But an actor and a playwright I knew from my theatre days in NYC have both passed away from it. Heartbreaking. We had to bring our daughter home from college in New Orleans, which is now an epicenter. Praying for my two favorite cities, NY and NO to triumph over this horrible illness.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ellen, I’m very sorry to hear about your theatre acquaintances… as you say, it is heartbreaking. It’s definitely a reminder why these restrictions are being put in place and why keeping to the rules is so important.
Robynn says
We have been self-isolating since the 16th!! But luckily I have over 500 books on my Kindle!! So I have plenty of material to mentally travel to. Away from all of this CoVid-19 craziness!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Robynn, an abundance of reading material is certainly a good way to spend all the time cooped up at home.
Noilin D says
Stay safe everyone.
Thank goodness for cosy mysteries at this time.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Noilin, you make sure to stay safe as well!
Mel says
I’m a newbie in Florida. Kind of sketchy rules here for the last couple of weeks, compared to what I see from my NJ/NY roots. That being said, it so reminds me of the time after 9-11. Yes, it affected all Americans, but being so close in NJ, we could actually smell the burning tower fires. We all knew, or knew of, someone who died. For me it was a young woman I used to babysit for when I was 16.
Everyone please listen to the experts, stay safe, and help your friends and neighbors if you can.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mel, you try to stay as safe as possible as well! I hope that as tragic as the current incident is, it at least might be able to bring about the same sort of feeling of “unity” (for lack of a better word) that the tragedy you mention brought about.
Arnetta says
I always enjoy reading your posts. Be safe and stay sheltered! Im here in KS with a stay at home order also – but it’s not enforced. I’m really quite jealous as I’d love a few weeks at home with my to read list. Sadly I work at Wal-mart and am considered essential. I’d prefer to be at home with my books than in a store full of people who don’t practice safe distancing. I’ll count on your posts and new mysteries to keep me going! Take care!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Arnetta, make sure to keep as safe as possible during the outbreak! I’m sure we all appreciate how much effort and risk essential personnel are putting in during this trying time to make sure that retail remains open for the rest of us to pick up necessary supplies.
Susy S says
Arnetta, please stay as safe as you can. I find that people who ignore the safety precautions are often those who are very self- absorbed or don’t think rules apply to them. Unfortunately, they are a danger to the rest of us, which is why I rarely go out, even though we DON’T have a stay at home order in my state.
George C says
Thank you, Danna, for building and maintaining this great resource.
Like many we are sheltered in place but are fortunate in having direct access to the outdoors and good sidewalks. Seeing and talking with neighbors while keeping a long distance boosts morale.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
George, you’re very welcome! Be sure to keep up that morale, as you said.
Susan Bogush says
Thank you. I am always looking for cozy mysteries! Please stay safe down in Texas!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, you’re welcome – and you stay safe as well!
Susan Bogush says
Glad you hear that your family is safe!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, thank you! I hope you and your loved ones are safe as well.