I took a lot of walks this week and there was joy to be had. #5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) yard signs for grads and college bound students
2) pollinator gardens
3) my neighbor‘s trash arrangement made me chuckle
4) bunnies everywhere this year (joyful as long as they stay away from my garden)
5) painted rocks

Hoping the medical tests I had this week will lead to the joy of answers and plans next week. TGIF.

A low pick. Holly deserved better.

Found out my daughter‘s field hockey practice is only a half mile walk from a used bookstore. Good thing this is the last practice. Couldn‘t resist this cozy with the unhinged cover.

Finally finished this chunky book for #BookedInTime #SpanishCivilWar @Cuilin

When I saw last month‘s theme I wanted to re-read this book. I wasn‘t sure if my fond memories of it were because it was a good book or if it was the book I brought with me the first time I traveled without my kids. Sometimes just being able to think makes a book better.

Happy to say it held up and I was just as into this spy novel in translation as I was 11 years ago.

From the warped brain of Stephen King….

Really enjoyed this one- an author kills off his pseudonym but his pseudonym doesn‘t want to die.

A great kick off to my summer reading, and possibly one I‘ve never read before.

The best hour of the week! #HyggeHour

I actually took a hike and a nap today so for once I‘m feeling good about the week to come. Not a common feeling this year so I‘m going with it!

My May stats from StoryGraph. Hoping to keep this momentum going in June!

Excited to start another chunky classic with #hashtagbrigade #boringkindlecover

(I realize my scone is as big as my book. Don‘t judge.)

Thanks to #ShelfShifter Readathon I read more books in May than I had in a long time. Here are my top 12. Lots of mysteries in May. Looking forward to calmer weekends and #CampLitsy in June.

Last day of #ShelfSweeper

Thank you @Andrew65 @Tove_Reads

RIP @eanderson

Listening to the tagged and weeding the front yard. I don‘t think I have time to finish today, but I‘m holding off on my month end wrap up just in case.

Wow this week flew.

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) mushrooms on a hike
2) hydrangeas starting to bloom
3) baseball with the fam
4) love the new color in my sunroom. It‘s called Cape Cod so of course I do.
5) 17 candles for my baby boy

Happy Friday everyone!

This week has flown by and so has this month. Can‘t tell you what I‘ve been doing, but I know books were involved. #ShelfSweeper

Day 28! Wow! A topsy turvy week trying to fit 5 days of work into 3 (training on Friday WHY??) plus getting my sunroom painted. Still making progress on my books but not sure if I‘ll finish this month. #ShelfSweeper @Andrew65 @Tove_Reads

I get so excited when I start a new to me series. I enjoyed this one and can‘t wait to binge listen to the rest.

This lacked the humor of Middlemarch, but overall I‘m not mad I read it. A light pick. #hashtagbrigade

There are certain times of the year when the sky rewards us for catching the early bus.

I think I finally figured out my June #BookSpinBingo list. Of course I‘m still working on April but we won‘t focus on that. Looking forward to many warm sunsets on the patio with Not My Cat. I‘ll tag my 20 in the comments. @TheAromaofBooks

My favorite kind of long weekend- local activities with plenty of time for reading in the mornings and evenings. Hiking yesterday and baseball today. Tonight I‘ll get back to my weekday existence of mint tea and non-fiction, but this weekend was great for mood reading. #ShelfSweeper #JumpStartSummer

Wow, this book was something. The teenage experiences of two Black children living with depression, trauma, and being different all told in verse. Through it all fairy tales were woven in. I loved it. #RiseUpReads @Catsandbooks

Starting #hyggehour a little early with leftover cake, lemonade, and a heating pad. Might have overdone it just a bit today. Reading last month‘s #RiseUpReads title. Very touching so far.

These books are so fun. Wish I had known it was a Christmas book before I had started, but still a good read in May. Apparently this was the last of this series written in the 60‘s and the rest were written in the 80‘s and beyond. #SeriesLove

A low key day today let me make progress on my reads. In a bit of a food coma after pizza and cake for my son‘s party. #ShelfSweeper #JumpStartSummer

Had to wrap myself up in a blanket to read outside today.

Let the weekend begin!

It‘s Friday! I‘m putting my non-fiction away and jumping in to some mysteries. I also want to read something for this month‘s #BookedInTime @Cuilin

#ShelfSweeper @Andrew65 @Tove_Reads #JumpStartSummer @TheSpineView

Just started this today. It reminds of an old school Sara Paretsky book. So happy to find a new to me series.

This book was wild. I think I might have to listen to it again to figure out what happened. It was funny though. The atheist priest had me rolling. I‘m giving it 4 stars but they‘re confused stars. #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

I appreciate the encouragement to focus on the joys every week instead of what‘s happening in the world. #5joysFriday. @DebinHawaii

1) chocolate from Aldi
2) end of year stuff with the kids- this week we had last conference field hockey game and prom
3) reading with candlelight and tea on the porch
4) my pumpkin plants are doing well
5) volunteering at an e-cycle event

Hang in there everyone!

Today was a weird and stormy day until just before dark when we suddenly had dazzling sunshine.
#ShelfSweeper Day 22(!)

Concentration was better today so made some good progress on my shelves. We have a 3 day weekend coming up- wishing I had taken tomorrow off too.

This book had everything I love to read about: baseball, the shrinking middle class, and toxic politics. However it just didn‘t hit for me. Pretty cover though.

Update: Daisy is exhausted by me and my BS. She wants to know what I am thinking pulling out 6 months worth of books for a 3 day weekend. She gives up.

I pulled out a ridiculous stack of books- taller than my cat- for #JumpStartSummer with @TheSpineView this weekend. I know I won‘t get to all of these, but I‘m hoping to read at least 6 books. (I‘m in the middle of a lot of these so that‘s not as crazy as it sounds.)

#ShelfSweeper Days 20-21

Not much reading the past two days. Yesterday involved many tech support calls but we finally have internet again! Today was a tough physical therapy session that left my head cloudy. Must regroup tomorrow and finish some of these books! Picture is of me collapsed in a chair that my husband and kids thought was hilarious.

#ShelfSweeper Day 19 thanks @Andrew65 and @Tove_Reads for encouraging us to clear off our shelves this month! Not sure how it‘s the 19th already but here we are. Just need to get through a few more days of work then a glorious three day weekend with no plans!

It was a gorgeous day here with the bluest of blue skies. Perfect for reading outside.

Loved the premise of this book, but thought it could have been more. A pick, but a low pick.

#ShelfSweeper Day 18 was kind of a bust. I just didn‘t have any concentration for reading. Did get out for yummy Thai food and had some good conversations with the the kids. Enough of the real world though. Back to my books tomorrow.

8 o‘clock on the dot! Time for #HyggeHour

I realized I had two books checked out by the same author so I decided it would be fun to read a little bit of each book every night until they‘re done.

#Rushathon Day 17. I didn‘t think there would be time for reading today but I actually fit in some porch time and a trip to the library. I also had 90 minutes of solo driving for my audiobook. Home now trying to squeeze more reading in while waiting up for my kiddo to get home from prom. Still no internet. Would be a shame if it doesn‘t come back and I had to call in sick to work Monday.

This book got better as it went along, and the ending had me wanting to read the rest of the series. Pick. #SeasonalCozies

#ShelfSweeper Day 16

We were lucky to keep our power during an intense storm earlier, but our internet has been out for hours. That made for some great reading and napping. I was about to head to bed but the cat sat in my lap so better read a bit more.

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) I was sitting at my desk the other day and noticed how many different colors of pens I had. Writing on paper with pretty ink still brings me joy 🦖
2) peas from the garden
3) suns up for my commute
4) clearance plants to fill in a few holes by the patio
5) brightening up the house with cut flowers

Hang in there everyone ❤️

My son was home sick and my daughter had to be picked up early so today was a bit choppy. I did get to start two books that have been on my list for ages - Chesapeake Requiem and Entitlement. It‘s slow going on a Muddied Murder because it‘s on my kindle and the last thing I‘ve wanted to do after work lately is look at another screen.

A dual timeline Hollywood book, that I think might have been easier to follow if it had been told linearly. I liked the beginning and the end but got lost a bit in the middle. Overall a low pick.

A compelling book set in pre genocide Rwanda. The tensions are there and you know what‘s coming, but you can‘t stop reading. I‘m glad I read this. #FoodAndLit #Rwanda

These days just blur together, but I have been making progress on my reads. I should finish Kitty Karr and Our Lady of the Nile tomorrow. Time for bed! #ShelfSweeper

Not my favorite but passed the time okay. Plenty of hijinks and traumatic brain injuries to discuss with the gang. #NancyDrewBR

My stack for #14books14weeks

Hoping to clear some space on my shelves. So I can buy more books 😂

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