#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. This quote I found on an Instagram reel, “You are allowed to feel joy that makes no sense to anyone else” 😌
2. Lou the Cardinal back for a visit to my birdfeeder🐦‍🔥
3. Tuesday trivia with my BFF, it was Disney themed and we came in 2nd place!! 🏆
4. Summer Fridays at my work were just announced!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
5. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I‘ve got a brand new library book 🤩🥳🙌 The second in the “Sheep Detective” series from Leonie Swann 🐑🐑🐑🐑

My Saturday wind down 🥰 (not pictured the can of Yuengling flight beer I‘m sipping on) #booksbrewsbaseball 📖🍺⚾️

“For readers, books are a universal salve. When we are hot, we read to feel cooler; when we are cold, we read to warm up; tired, books wake us up; anxious, they calm us.” (pg. 142 of the tagged book)

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. Going for Hiabchi tomorrow to celebrate my husband‘s birthday!! Yum 😋
2. Discovered some new emojis with the new IOS update:🫜🫆🫟 🫩(this last one is my spirit animal 🤪)
3. Everything is so green and lush right now! 🌷🌿🍃🌱
4. Coffee ☕️
5. The SAVE Act will be DOA when it reaches the Senate 😮‍💨 Thanks for doing something, Chuck Schumer

If you‘d like to play, consider yourself tagged!

Themes: Historical Fiction, Irish Folklore, Dual Timelines

This was a sweet read, perfect for reading in a comfy chair with a blanket and a cup of something warm to drink. It started a bit slow for me, but then I was hooked and couldn‘t put it down. It really made me want to re-read “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell” by Susanna Clarke 🧚

#TopReads2025 for April belongs to the one and only Vera Wong ☕️🫖🔎 “Vera Wong‘s Guide to Snooping (On A Dead Man)” was fun and while on a bit darker side compared to her first book, still the same old, fabulous Vera! I hope we haven‘t seen the last of her!

Themes: Diary format, Book about Books, Excellent Palate Cleanser Read

This was a delightful, funny read. Anyone who has worked retail or in a customer-facing job will relate to Shaun‘s plight 😆 At my next bookstore visit I‘ll be sure to look for his other books

My conquest from visiting my indie bookstore today 😄 Even though I get overwhelmed with crowds, I did it. I parked far enough away to avoid getting stressed and walked, which was fabulous since it‘s sunny out today and not terribly cold! Now I‘m sitting in our backyard in a camping chair becauseu I know it‘s too early to bring out our patio furniture 😂😎 Happy Reading!!!

Definitely in the minority on this book, but I lost interest halfway through. I didn‘t connect with any of the characters and the “I don‘t like this” vibes started to outweigh the “I love this!” vibes. #HailtheBail 🚀

Cheers to the weekend!! 🍻📖🎉 I made it to 5 o‘clock 😅

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. My MIL treated my SIL and I to a manicure. It was my first one & I learned a lot, like if you don‘t like the color after they paint your pinkie you can ask for a different color 😂 Had I known this, my nails would look very different now lol (the pic is my “after”)
2. Love having MLB.tv and watching all the baseball games
3. Homemade pizza last night
4. Coffee & Wine
5. Tomorrow is Indie Bookstore Day in the US 😍📚

Okay. This bail is 100% on me. I really wanted this to be a book version of the History Channel‘s “Food that Built America” show. This is not like that. Family drama, oh yes. Characters that are difficult to like? You betcha. I‘m glad I found my copy at Savers for $3.99 because that‘s exactly where it‘s going back to. #HailtheBail

Themes: Mystery/Thriller, Good bookclub pick, Twisty plot

This was a book I wouldn‘t have picked up had it not been my bookclub‘s next read. I even told my husband a few pages into it, “this is just really weird” 😂. I did end up liking it though, I thought the characters were fully formed and felt ‘real‘ and Whittaker‘s writing flows really nicely. So many good quotes too! I can‘t wait for our next meeting to discuss this!

Themes: Historical Fiction Mystery, Famous Authors as characters, 1930‘s London

This was an okay read, it‘s between a so-so and a pick. It wasn‘t amazing but I was interested enough to keep reading it. A good library borrow 👍

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I spent last weekend with family and we had a blast! Visited 3 indie bookstores and I blew past my budget so quickly 🤪 (totally worth it!)
2. My mom got a new iPad so I got her old one 🙌
3. My parent‘s cat (Millie) is such a joy, she‘s playing hide & seek 😂
4. Found a fabulous beer that supports the libraries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 🍻
5. Spending tomorrow with my favorite aunt for another breakfast & thrifting date💕

Before heading home from Iowa, my parents and I stopped for lunch in Cedar Rapids and I tried Lion Bridges‘ (a local brewery) Library Lager and it was amazing!! I bought two 6-packs since portions from the sales go to the library 😍🥰 More libraries need to do this 👍#BooksAndBrews

Iowa Indie Bookstore Crawl:
📕Prologue Books & Wine in Charles City, IA
📘Three Bells Books in Mason City, IA
📗The Nook in Cedar Falls, IA

Today was so much fun! Three Bells Books was amazing! An excellent mixture of books and bookish things, I blew past my budget there 😅😂 First two shops had beer and wine available but we got to them before lunch. We‘ll plan better for next time 👍

#5JoysFriday on Saturday! 😄 @DebinHawaii

1. I finally got 4 birds to use my bird feeder at the same time AND I got a picture! I love this cardinal who frequently visits
2. Coffee
3. Spending time with friends on Thursday night
4. Spending this weekend with my family in Iowa, and we‘re planning on visiting 2 indie bookstores!!
5. This amazing community is such a joy and a bright side in these dark times. Thank you all so much!

🚨🚨🚨🚨 Reach out to your senators to stop this stupid act from passing. We have safeguards in place already! Click here for more info and to email your senator: https://www.voteriders.org/stop-save/?emci=37f2a6e4-1116-f011-8b3d-0022482a9fb7&...

This book… words cannot articulate how much I love Vera and her ragtag, found family. I told myself to pace myself with this book and what do I do? Pause all other activities to sit and finish it 😂 You try saying, “No” to Vera 🤣 Highly recommend for a feel-good story that holds your attention from beginning to end, with some giggles along the way. I hope there are more Vera adventures!!!

I am so excited that not only is there a new locally owned cafe & bakery near me, IT‘S WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF MY LIBRARY!!! Guys. I have found my new favorite third place 😍🥰♥️ Today‘s lunch was a turkey & havarti cheese sandwich on fresh made focaccia bread (and it had sliced green apples on it, my favorite!!!) along witht an iced lavender latte. The vibes were 10/10, I can‘t wait to become a “regular” here 🤩🤩🤩

Themes: Extremely Dysfunctional Family, Deliciously, Awful Characters, The Rich Getting their Comeuppance

This book was a riot! Every single character is terrible and awful, but in an addicting, entertaining way. This will not be everyone‘s cup of tea for sure, it is dark but funny and I thought extremely well done. I will definitely be looking out for more of Bella‘s books when I need a dark, comedic read 👍

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. Cory Booker‘s incredible 25 hours & 5 minute speech
2. Susan Crawford‘s win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election (suck it, Elon!)
3. Watching the speaker of the house Mike Johnson‘s temper tantrum after the House proxy vote failed
4. Seeing all the big, beautiful memes come out following the Insane Cheeto‘s tariffs announcement
5. The joy of feeling optimism regarding politics for the first time since Nov. 6th 💙💙

#TopReads2025 continues with my March pick 🥁🥁🥁 “Expect Great Things!” was an interesting read! I‘ve heard of the Katharine Gibbs School from pretty much every book I‘ve read that takes place in NYC during the early to mid century and to learn more about it was fascinating!! Plus, Katharine grew up in Galena, IL which is about a 2.5 hour drive from me. I love visiting it, it‘s such a charming town. So it did get some bonus points for that 😉👍

Today is the last day in March, which in the USA is Women‘s History month. I was fortunate to read 4 amazing books during this month with strong female voices. The two non-fiction books (right side) left me thinking, “Hellz yeah, women can do ANYTHING!”. The two historical fiction books (left side) are based on true women & events, and the ‘Author Note‘ in both books are riveting and shouldn‘t be missed. I highly recommend them all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My husband hung up my newly framed prints along with the Pride & Prejudice poster that was my “design inspiration” for my home office/library 🥰 (Please don‘t look too closely at how level they are. Our house is older and the walls are not square, we did our best 😆)

My Friday night plans: The Office (my comfort show, I‘ve seen every episode hundreds of times but I still love it!), a glass (or two) of red wine, my current read, and a face mask (not pictured, you‘re welcome 😆). Hello, weekend!!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I finished an amazing book (“Daring Daughter”) and started another amazing book (cover in my picture) that I found it at Dollar Tree for $1.25 🙌
2. This stupid week is almost over 🤪
3. Coffee & Wine, not at the same time though 😂
4. Family members that feel more like best friends 🥰
⬇️⬇️⬇️

Themes: Easily digestible Non-Fiction, Women kicking a$$ and taking names, Hollywood History

I love Mallory O‘Meara‘s books so much!! I recently told a friend that this is a non-fiction book but told in a “Can you believe it?!” sort of way. O‘Meara‘s voice is that perfect combination of fact and sass. I highly recommend this, even if stuntwomen or Hollywood isn‘t your jam, you‘ll learn so much without even realizing it!

Hubby is having a guy‘s video game night in our living room, so I‘m enjoying some Antiques Roadshow and a great book upstairs!

I have no idea how or where I stumbled upon this book but I‘m so glad I did! Fans of “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” and Garrison Keillor will appreciate the themes and the storytelling. Reading the descriptions of Trevanian‘s other books, I‘m not sure if I‘ll continue reading his stuff but this one was a good read. Full disclosure though, I did just skim the chapter “Love on Pearl Street”, and got the gist on what 11 year old Jean-Luc got up to 🤭🙄

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I‘m on a roll of reading great books! No DNFers!! 😆
2. Had a great bookclub meeting on Sunday with excellent discussions about the tagged book.
3. Went to my first ever Silent Book Club “meeting” with my sister in law on Tuesday. It was so much fun!! Definitely check your area for a group! The pic above is all the books that people were reading.
4. Coffee.
5. I have a low-key weekend ahead 😮‍💨

Another day, another petition to sign so this backwards, asinine, utterly embarrassing administration hears our voices! #ReadersAssemble

https://action.everylibrary.org/emaileo2025?recruiter_id=910315

I wish you guys could hear the pouring rain in my picture, it‘s just perfect reading weather! A rainy night with no plans, a good book, and a Guinness leftover from Monday 🍀🍺 -Logs off-

I am on a ‘non-fiction, women kicking butt‘ kick right now (hmm, I wonder why? 😒) and I am LOVING IT! My latest book mail arrived today and I hope to get to this one soon!!

Another day and another way to tell your reps to stand up for libraries & museums #ReadersAssemble 👇 https://app.oneclickpolitics.com/campaign-page?cid=9CyapZUB9sorxFLO4J0c&lang=en

Had to start this one today for obvious reasons lol 💚🇮🇪🍀

If you only read 1 Non-Fiction book this month, read this one! March is ‘Women‘s History Month‘ and this one packs a ton of amazing stories about kick-ass women into very readable chapters. Krefft‘s voice throughout the book is knowledgeable and genuine, being a history nerd is not required (but if you are, you‘ll doubly love this book!). Read it. Loved it. 100% Recommending it!!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

Ugh, this week has been A WEEK! And Mercury turns retrograde starting tonight and that always bums me out 😖 My joys are tiny this week, but I found some:

1. Finished 1 great book and started another GREAT one
2. Didn‘t have to scrape ice off my windshield to drive to work
3. Coffee
4. A cardinal came to visit my bird feeder
5. Getting excited to see my family in IA in a few weeks for a 4-day weekend 🤩

This book was SO GOOD! I love reading a historical fiction book that makes me fall down a rabbit hole of needing to find out more. And nobody writes a multiple POV plot quite like Brianna Labuskes, in my opinion. We‘re introduced to Millie, Alice and Colette and how these brave, complicated women impacted not just their community BUT the whole state of Montana!

The world is still a roaring dumpster fire, but for the next 45 minutes, I‘m going to unwind in the sunshine with a great book and a summery drink ☀️🍋‍🟩📖

Of course I checked to see if my library hold was available before taking my lunch, and it wasn‘t. I check now (with no time left to go get it because I‘m my own worst enemy) and yep, now it‘s available
🤪🫠 Hurry up, 5:00!!!

Is it possible to get whiplash from a book? I went in thinking (based solely on the cover and summary) that this was going to be a fluffy, “behind the scenes of Hollywood” type book. And while it was the latter, it is most definitely not fluffy. There is real, raw emotion with all of the characters, and they‘re so well formed that I was trying to match them to a real celebrity. I‘m looking forward to my bookclub‘s discussion on this.

Had to share this from Instagram 😂 I will stop reading when this happens and move on #InstantDNF

📸: https://www.instagram.com/bookstrofficial?igsh=aTkwaHRhamozY2Fp

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I got 4 boxes of my favorite Girl Scout cookies this week! AND I haven‘t eaten them all yet 😂
2. I am on Day 5 of staying off Facebook. I realized that app doesn‘t bring me any joy anymore so, bye-bye 👋
3. I‘m seeing my favorite Aunt tomorrow for breakfast & thrifting! She‘s actually my husband‘s Aunt, but I‘ve claimed her as my own 🥰
⬇️⬇️⬇️

This was such a creative, fun read! There were a few passages that transitioned kinda rough; I‘m not sure if that‘s a result of it being translated or if that was intentional. All in all, a fun read and I can‘t wait for Book 2 to publish later this spring!! ***CORRECTED AFTER POSTING*** Pictured here are some of the main characters: Othello, Miss Maple, the flock consisting of Heather, Maude, Zora, and finally Mopple the Whale.

#TopReads2025 continues with my February pick 🥁🥁🥁 ‘Tartufo‘ 🙌 I didn‘t have any expectations going in besides the author of ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures‘ recommended it on her Instagram stories and gave a cover blurb. It was very quirky and fun and had some real heartwarming moments too. Don‘t read it if your hungry though, her descriptions of pasta will make your mouth water 🤤🍝

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. My Canadian Forest track on my BetterSleep app. My jaw immediately unclenches when I turn it on 😆
2. Started a very funny, quirky mystery called “Three Bags Full” 🐑💚🐏
3. Warmer weather this week, opened all the windows in the house to air out 🌬️
4. Successfully transferred my old iPhone 11 data to my new iPhone 16 💪 No crying or stress!! Woo!
5. -See Below-

The first of my haul from the Barnes & Noble preorder sale arrived today #Bookmail #PerfectTiming
🤩🥳🙌

Based on what @TEArificbooks said in their review, I went into this with low expectations. I was just looking for a fluffy, non-challenging read, and I still bailed 😑 I agree with Melanie 100%, the trivia bits were fun but there wasn‘t a single character I cared about. I love this premise, but I feel like Clare Pooley or Freya Sampson could‘ve done it better. Definitely check out their books for great characters and a fun plot! #Hailthebail 🚀