I‘m trying this tea today because it‘s supposed to be from Bangladesh. (Says Pennsylvania on the back.) Either way I‘m excited that the tea bag and wrapper are compostable. That should mean no plastic. #FoodAndLit

I hate to say it but this reading instead of scrolling thing is helpful. My screen time was down 12% last week and I slept better. Reading on the go today thanks to kindle and audiobooks. #ShelfSweeper

If I have to go to work today at least it‘s under a beautiful sky with a new book.

A great day 11 for #ShelfSweeper

I spent most of the day outside alternating between Kitty Karr while gardening and Murder Most Royal while resting. Then switched to Our Lady of the Nile when I came in. My lovely family respected my wishes for a low key Mother‘s Day. They‘re finally learning that no, I really don‘t want to go out to eat. I want to wander in my yard, eat cereal, and read books.

Wow, we‘ve almost read twenty of these! Time for some bedtime mystery solving. #NancyDrewBR

#HyggeHour 👏👏👏

I was away last weekend and missed this so much. Snack is prepared, tea is ready, and I‘m hoping to make a dent in this book. I was going to read on the front porch, but decided to change into pjs and hide out in the kitchen instead.

This book was a little bittersweet since it was written just before the Queen died. It‘s such a fun series though with Her Majesty solving crimes without anyone knowing except her trusty assistant Rozie.

An introvert‘s Mother‘s Day: don‘t talk to me and let me work in the yard and read.

I had two hours to read in between my daughter‘s games today but forgot my Kindle. Luckily I had an emergency book in my car. And I might have taken a nap. But when I got home I started Our Lady of the Nile. It‘s engrossing so far and hopefully I‘ll get another hour in before I fall asleep. No plans and no commitments tomorrow. Hopefully just gardening and reading. #ShelfSweeper #4elisabeth #BirthdayReadathon

This was lost in transit somewhere at the library so I‘m a few weeks late reading it for #FoodAndLit #Rwanda

Very good so far though. It‘s set in an elite boarding school in the 70‘s. The racial tensions that later led to the genocide are very apparent.

Day 9! Another day where my reading time was ruined by work, but it‘s Friday night now so look out! #ShelfSweeper #4Elisabeth #BirthdayReadathon

This book was fascinating. The author thoroughly explained the history of climate science and what goes into the campaigns to discredit it. Everyone should read this

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) baseball game with my Dad for his 70th
2) fresh mint
3) had the windows open all week so kitties are happy
4) flowers everywhere
5) last lacrosse game of the season was a win

Happy Friday!

Not much reading time today. I was consumed with a tricky work task, and then went straight to my daughter‘s last lacrosse game for the year. I just got in from walking my usual mile and now it‘s bedtime. I plan on making up for it this weekend! #ShelfSweeper #4Elisabeth #BirthdayReadathon

This book was wild. A person is murdered during an extreme croquet tournament and there are a zillion wacky characters who might have done it. This series has been growing on me and I‘m going to have to go back and start at the beginning one of these days.

This was my April sports themed #ThematicCozy

I decided to pause The Thorn Birds a bit since I have a few books due at the library. Started towards my goal of reading 100 pages a day for #BirthdayReadathon but not sure how I did. Ended up falling asleep on the evil couch in my sunroom so any adding will have to wait until tomorrow.

Starting a new book while I wait for lacrosse to end.

I‘m so glad to be home again. There‘s a weird phenomenon in my house today where no matter how much I unpack there‘s still so much stuff on my floor. Despite that I made progress on all my books, and will hopefully finish No Nest For The Wicket tomorrow. #ShelfSweeper #4Elisabeth

Happy birthday @ShananigansReads

My goal for the #BirthdayReadathon is to read 100 physical pages a day. My reading has jumped thanks to #ShelfSweeper but now I need to get back in the habit of sitting quietly and reading physical books instead of rushing around catching slivers of time for audiobooks and kindle.

Happy birthday @ShananigansReads 🎂🎉🥳

#ShelfSweeper Day 5: I finished two books today thanks to my kindle and audiobooks. That means I got to start two new books! I chose The Thorn Birds which I started a re-read of in 2023! Time to finish that up! I also chose The Parrot and the Igloo. It‘s my #Bookspin this month and has also one of the 52 nonfiction books I marked to read this year.

Pictured: we ran across the fanciest Barnes and Noble I‘ve ever seen in Westport, CT today.

I am very much not the audience this book, but my daughter wanted to listen to it on our drive today. I‘m just too old, but I think I would have liked it more if I read it on a sunny beach instead of on a rainy drive down I-95.

These books are very formulaic (travel to big historic mansion and bring pets, yell at the staff and other guests, solve a murder) but I did think this was the best one out of the four. I liked the nods to Nancy Drew.

#ShelfSweeper Day 4- just a bit of time to read this morning. I caught up on The Mill on the Floss chapter a day and almost finished Fixing to Die. It‘s my Dad‘s birthday so we all went to a baseball game which was so much fun.

My daughter and I are making a quick trip to Massachusetts for my Dad‘s birthday party. We finished The Cruelest Month in the car. That‘s a re-read for me but I had it on my April TBR. Then we started The Summer I Turned Pretty which my daughter asked me to listen to last summer. No progress on my kindle or physical books yet, but hoping to get an hour in before bed. #ShelfSweeper

A short detour…

I was in virtual meetings most of the day today. It was like a weird 2020 flashback. I made just a little bit of progress on my books. Long drive tomorrow- I should be able to finish my audiobook and even start a new one. #ShelfSweeper

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

Everything has been feeling very overwhelming this week, but looking back there is plenty of joy to focus on too.

1) the squash plant my neighbor gave me last week is already starting to bloom
2) drying laundry in the sun
3) dogwoods are blooming
4) took out my summer mugs
5) last home lacrosse game

Have a good weekend my friends.

Day 1 of the #ShelfSweeper Readathon. It was a busy day but I remembered to use the little cracks of time to read instead of scrolling. I made progress on my audio, kindle, and physical books that way. Thanks for hosting @Andrew65 and @Tove_Reads thinking of @eanderson

I‘ve read 45% of this month‘s list- possibly more because there were some I wasn‘t sure about. Favorites:
1) The Woman In White
2) Thorn Birds
3) Gatsby

My daughter is reading Lord of the Flies in school now and doesn‘t have good things to say 🤣

@dabbe #TLT #ThreeListThursday

My April #BookSpinBingo board. I‘m in the middle of a few from this list so I‘ll get it done eventually.

Finishing up P&P month in style while I fold laundry. #JaneAustenThenAndNow #PemberLittens

Loving those mysteries!

Of the 18 books I read in April these were the top 12. It was a blur but I read some good books.

Just finished going through the long list. Only 16 I want to vote for and 25 others to add to my TBR. That‘s all 🤣 #CampLitsy25

Bread is out of the oven and I finished my book.

This collection was fun and whimsical with a huge dose of unapologetic joy. You may know Lyndsay Rush as Maryoliversdrunkcousin on social media. #PoetryMonth

Look at me reading poetry while I wait for my bread to bake. I‘m like something off Instagram.

Cats be like stop changing your #BookSpinBingo list around and just start reading! I‘ll tag the titles from what I think is my final list in the comments.

This will also be my list for #ShelfSweeper @Andrew65 @Tove_Reads

I was reading this for #BookedInTime when the details started to seem familiar. Checked LibraryThing and turns out I had read it in 2014. According to my review I was just meh on it then too so I‘m moving on.

I‘m home, happy, and sunburnt after a very successful field hockey tournament for my daughter. Looking forward to some mint tea and this cozy for #hyggehour

I have so much more to do, but this hour of peace is more important.

#hygge #naturalitsy

Another day of sneaking in reading between games. It‘s so windy though I‘m going to have to switch to kindle after this chapter.

Did as much yard work as I could in the rain, and now it‘s time for a cozy mystery and a nap. #ThematicCozies

My weekend basically. Pass the sunblock and the orange slices.

Ah, it‘s the weekend.

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

What a week! We were on spring break then came home to full on teenager springtime schedule madness.

5 joys:
1) a gorgeous spaghetti squash plant from a neighbor
2) puzzles!
3) my cat flirting with not my cat
4) visits to colleges with my son
5) mini golf!

Happy Friday!

Finally getting to some poetry this month. I‘ve been looking forward to reading this collection by the woman known as Mary Oliver‘s Drunk Cousin on social media.

My official kick off to summer reading season came!

I knew I shouldn‘t have drank that coffee yesterday. Oh well, if I‘m up at least it was in the company of a good book. This mystery was a step up from the usual cozy mystery. The characters were nuanced and the mystery was interesting. Plus it was set in Vermont and there was a big dog. I‘ll be on the lookout for more from this author.

Okay this book is officially everywhere this year because my husband heard about it somewhere and downloaded it for our drive home today. I liked it the first time I read it for #CampLitsy last year and liked it more this time. I think knowing what it was going to be about helped.

I enjoyed this slowly unfolding novel about Anne de Bourgh. It only briefly touched on the storyline from Pride and Prejudice but I liked the direction it took. #JaneAustenThenAndNow @Crinoline_Laphroaig

Watching some shows and starting the second puzzle of the week with my daughter. We were out in the sun for hours today and can feel it. My almost 17 year old went to bed at 6 pm. It‘ll be an early bed time for the rest of us too. We‘re here until Tuesday so the Sunday scaries haven‘t set in yet. #hyggehour

I hope everyone celebrating holidays this week found them meaningful.