I laughed, I cried. I loved it. Can‘t wait till the next one! ❤️

Early morning flight to Chicago to spend the weekend with my best friend. I‘m taking The Thursday Murder Club crew with me 😁

This was a fun adventure-the first with Colonel Race. As always, I was completely wrong about who the “bad guy” was 😂

Well. That was unexpected.

This definitely kept me on the edge of my seat, especially the last third or so.

Another book club pick! This was quite slow at the beginning but I like it. I loved the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune and all they were able to accomplish by working together and really seeing each other. I‘m looking forward to the discussion on Saturday.

I got this ARC from work after a coworker read it and recommended it to me. I never would have picked it up otherwise. It was fast paced and well written. And though his name is never really mentioned it‘s quite obvious who this story is based on. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a quick, delightful-if somewhat predictable- read. Anne is still my favorite but I do like Jane.

This was about Deborah‘s experiences growing up in a strict Hasidic sect in Williamsburg, NY. Her discovery of books and reading, learning to think for herself and what lead to her decision to leave.

I have loved getting back into this story and really like the pace of #LoTRChapteraDay. On to Book Two! #FellowshipofTolkien @Daisey @JazzFeathers

“Magic isn‘t things materializing out of nowhere. Magic is when a lot of people all believe in the same thing at the same time, and somehow we all escape ourselves a little bit…”

I enjoyed this story about the making of The Wizard of Oz and the life of the author told through his wife.

This is another book club selection and a low pick for me. It kept me engaged and I did want to find out what was happening in this remote Appalachian community but it was a bit unrealistic. Probably my least favorite of the many I‘ve read by this author.

“When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Jess is called home to Australia after her grandmother takes a fall. While there she‘s pulled into a family secret/mystery that she knew nothing about. I did guess part of the mystery pretty early on but not the rest.

It‘s been 30+ years since I read this. After reading The Hobbit for book club a couple months ago I knew I wanted to read LOTR again and was excited to see #LoTRChapterADay posted. So I‘d like to join in. Got the forward and prologue done and looking forward to chapter 1 tomorrow. #fellowshipofTolkien @Daisey

This is the 3rd book I‘ve read by this author and my least favorite. It was a fast paced page turner but the writing was rather juvenile, especially Izzy‘s timeline.

I really liked this one. It started out different than the other Christies I‘ve read (mostly Poirot) and I wasn‘t sure where it was going at first. As always, I didn‘t guess who did it correctly 😂

I decided to go with these for my #botm picks this month 😁 📚

I read this for book club and really liked it. It was long but drew me in from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. Can‘t wait for our discussion next week!

This is the story of 3 generations of Vietnamese women and their strength, loves, loss and forgiveness.

Loved this one!

This was good and kept my attention but there was a lot going on. Not my favorite of hers but still a pick.

“Marilla, isn‘t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

This was a re-read for book club and I loved it just as much as I have all the other times I‘ve read it ❤️

I finished this last week then immediately went on a long weekend trip so haven‘t had a chance to post till now. This was good. I didn‘t know much about about Albert beyond the basics going into it. My opinion of him has definitely become more negative after reading this, though I don‘t know how much is fiction.

I loved this and flew through it. ❤️

My July #botm picks! Excited for both of these and still can‘t believe I somehow missed the Fiona Davis last month 🤦‍♀️

I liked this more than I thought I would. The writing was excellent and I loved the characters. Especially Six-Thirty.

I was looking for something lighthearted after finishing Under the Banner of Heaven and this definitely fit that bill. It was okay but I spent most of it as confused as Richard about what was going on. I‘m still not entirely sure what happened….

This is a book club pick and I‘m really looking forward to the discussion next week. It was challenging and difficult to read at times but very interesting- going into the history of Joseph Smith and the Mormon church, the fundamentalists that broke away to pursue polygamy and the abuse & underage marriage that goes along with that.

Bertie is called to Aunt Dahlia‘s country house to help her deal with a troublesome house guest. While there he accidentally gets engaged, must dodge a “friend” who wants to break his spine and ends up with pearls that don‘t belong to him. Thankfully Jeeves is there to help everyone out of their trouble.

“Nobody sniffs out wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands…”

This was fun, if you don‘t concentrate too hard on the details. Vera is a 60 year old tea shop owner who is determined that she can do better than the police at figuring out who killed the man who died in her shop.

Vera Wong Zhuzhu, age sixty, is a pig, but she really should have been born a rooster.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Another excellent mystery. I did suspect both of the people involved but not at the same time and it seemed they had explanations for their actions. So Agatha fooled me again. 🤷‍♀️

I ended up liking this one more than I thought I would half way in. The 2nd half was definitely better than the first and the character development was good.

This was like a warm hug. My dad read it to me and my sister when we were in elementary school. I read it myself in high school (30+ years ago). And somehow I haven‘t read it since. I‘m so glad this was picked for our book club book. All the stars ⭐️

Thanks for the tag @Eggs
1. Middle Earth-I‘m reading the tagged for book club
2. New York City, London, Paris
3. Narnia

#wondrouswednesday

This was a well researched, well written and fast paced account of the 1811 Richmond, VA theater fire that killed 72 people. Definitely read the author‘s note at the end.

My May #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

This is the story of the shipwreck of the Pulaski in 1838 and what the survivors went through until their rescue. It alternated timelines between 1838 and the present, when a museum curator is putting together an exhibit of the wreck. It‘s also about grief and how to survive the surviving.

My #bookspin for May @TheAromaofBooks

This seemed overly long to me and I did not like Winona‘s immaturity and selfishness. She redeemed herself in the end and I did like the ending. 3.5 ⭐️

The tagged is my #bookspin for May and The House is on Fire is my #doublespin.

@TheAromaofBooks

Here is my May #bookspin list, finally 😂

@TheAromaofBooks

There is a serial killer on the loose and Poirot & Hastings need to figure out who it is before more people die. As usual, I was oblivious.

I celebrated #independentbookstoreday by doing the #greatercharlottebookcrawl with some of my irl book club, including @wideeyedreader We were able to get to 8 stores and had an amazing time. I got some new bookmarks, pins, a tote, t-shirt and the stack of books. A very successful day!

If this wasn‘t the next book club selection I never would have picked it up. I have never been a Shakespeare fan and I don‘t like reading plays. At least the snack was good and the company is cute. (Terra is just here for the popcorn 🍿🤣)

I‘d never read this before and picked it up at the library sale earlier this year. It was a sweet story but not one I‘ll read again.

This is a light pick for me. While the story was good and engaging the writing left a lot to be desired. It is also apparently the 5th in a series. It didn‘t seem to matter as far as the storyline goes but would have been nice to know before reading.

When Kate goes back to France to help her cousin & his wife with their vineyard she discovers a hidden room in their cellar filled with bottles of vintage wine & resistance papers from WWII, along with the belongings of an aunt no one knew existed.

This started slow but did eventually pick up. The bit of mystery was engaging too. My #doublespin for April @TheAromaofBooks

This isn‘t my favorite by Kate Morton and it felt a bit long but I did enjoy this multiple timeline story about love, abandonment, loss and grief.

This is my April #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

This one was a bit disappointing for me. I didn‘t hate it but I did struggle to stay with it at times. It seemed to drag a bit and while some of the video game details were interesting, some were not. The relationship between Sadie and Sam-especially Sadie‘s half of it-was especially frustrating. Marx though ❤️ It should make for a good book club discussion on Saturday! 3.5 ⭐️

The tagged is my #bookspin for April and The Lost Vintage is my #doublespin 😁

@TheAromaofBooks

My April #bookspin and #doublespin list is ready!

@TheAromaofBooks