One of the best days of the year!! Make sure you spend some time today celebrating! 📚❤️🎉 #NationalBookLoversDay #BookLoversDay

1. Retirement officially started this week—no more 5 am alarms! ?
2. Also, no professional development, planning, grading, parent calls, state testing, etc. ?
3. My new leisure has allowed me time for my bookish social media, largely abandoned this last school year.
4. My son‘s fiancée said yes to the dress! (This is not her—I can‘t reveal it to the public before she does)!
5. We watched Sinners, an epic vampire movie! ??‍♀️❤️
#5JoysFriday

Oh, my gosh! How am I JUST now learning about this?!? I am so in for Chuzzlewit in September! The weird thing is that I have two other groups (one GR, one FB) who are doing that book at that time, as well. Great minds think (and often read) alike! 😁
#WhattheDickens

It‘s hard to just choose three, and I‘ve definitely seen some of my favorites posted by others today. Here are three of the many I love! All three are from texts that I‘ve taught and passionately love! ❤️
#TLT #ThreeLineThursday

I chose the word “tintinnabulation.” It was a spelling word I had as a 4th grader and it stuck with me ever since—I don‘t know why! 🤷‍♀️I seriously doubt it was in a 4th grade spelling textbook! 😂
#WeirdWordWednesday

A friend in my horror books group on Facebook told me about the Charlie Parker series. It‘s not horror, per se, but it certainly is gripping! There‘s a smidge of paranormal but really too little to count. I‘m really enjoying them (this is only my second) and I feel that I‘m pretty picky when it comes to crime thrillers.

We just got home from a five-week road trip in our trailer—our first long trip! Of course, bookstores had to be visited along the way! This is my multi-state haul. It includes books from Vroman‘s in Pasadena, CA, The Last Bookstore in Burbank, CA, Powell‘s in Portland, OR (of course!!), the Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene, OR, and one from Bend but I forgot the name of the store. 😬 I think I showed remarkable restraint for that many stores! 😂

I‘ve been off of Litsy for awhile (traveling), so this is my first time to see this. @dabbe always has such great challenges! We do not care that the school supplies displays are in full swing in the stores because we have retired!! I never again have to feel that sense of impending doom at the sight of stacks of composition books, notebook paper, and boxes of pencils and Crayola markers! 😁🎉
#WDNCW

Enjoying nature with my book! ❤️📚

Setting up my new reading tracker today. My kids don‘t arrive until next week, so getting ahead of that chaos! ❤️💚

A challenge after my own heart—or waistline! I have a lot of enthusiasm for my favorite cookies but there are clearly many new types of cookies to explore! Thanks for a tasty and festive challenge, @dabbe ! 🎄🎅🍪

My score shows that I have a lot of Christmas movies to watch! I have two lists:

Movies Not Included
1. Jingle All the Way
2. Four Christmases
3. Fred Claus

My Dark and Very Profane Christmas List 🖤❤️💚
1. The Ref
2. Krampus
3. Bad Santa
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

Thanks, @dabbe !

I just finished listening to this and loved it! It‘s a clever, snarky, darkly humorous whodunnit. The audio has multiple narrators (all excellent) and it really brings the podcast element to life. Highly recommend!

My favorite holiday reads are:

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (of course)
2. Nos4A2 by Joe Hill
3. The Cajun Night Before Christmas

Thanks for the tag, @dabbe

#TLT #ThreeListThursday

I finally have time to post again and I‘m catching up on my tags. I clearly haven‘t spent much time watching the older classics! Thanks for not forgetting about me, @dabbe , and keeping me in the loop! ❤️ #TLT #ThreeListThursday

The Boy‘s Life is paperback and has an obvious crease on the cover. It‘s in fair to good condition. Betty and The Jane Austen Book Club are both hardbacks in excellent condition.

I‘ll have more tomorrow!
#Book2Book

Water for Elephants is a hardback library copy in very good condition. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is paperback in excellent condition. #Book2Book

Both Juliet and The Duchess are paperbacks and in excellent condition. Juliet is a signed copy.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post—it has been a VERY hectic week!

#Book2Book

Wow! So many iconic songs! My favorites are still from the 70‘s/80s era, but so many legends like Etta James, Marvin Gaye, etc. in the list. Also, I forgot to include “Rocket Man” by Elton John! ❤️ Thanks for the tag, @dabbe !
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1. Podcast—I‘m never in favor of anything that requires me to be on camera!
2. I go back to work tomorrow 😭 so my summer is over, but I‘d like to read Fourth Wing in August!
#Two4Tuesday

I‘m so excited!! Nineteen books ahead of schedule! This has never happened before! This is the first year I have kept track of how many pages I have read every day, and it has really been motivating.

July was a GREAT reading month! My favorites were:
1. Frankenstein - I‘m embarrassed that it took this long for me to read this classic. Loved it!
2. Demon Copperhead - I love that Kingsolver took the work of one of the OG social justice warriors (Dickens!) to illustrate the societal scourge of opioid addiction. Well done!
3. The Fisherman - this horror novel lived up to every rave review I‘ve ever read for it (and there were a lot)!
⬇️

“And what about the cook, Marco Antonio, a one-legged, no-ear grotesque straight out of Gormenghast” (107). Nothing like reading a book that has lingered forever on your tbr only to have it shame you for ANOTHER book that has been on your tbr way too long! 🤦‍♀️ Okay, okay, I‘ll read Gormenghast next! 😂

I‘m a day late, but it‘s summer, so it‘s all chill, right? 😁 I‘m trying to stay chill—I go back to work next week! 😫 Anyway, here is my library. I spent weeks last summer organizing it by genre. It‘s alphabetical by author within the genre. I had just gotten to the point where I couldn‘t find stuff! This room is definitely my happy place, and it‘s the only library I have left since my librarian position was cut. 😭
#WondrousWednesday

OMG!! Now they‘re reenacting my favorite Poe short story!! IYKYK!! I‘m in English teacher heaven right now! ❤️😂😂

“Everybody else going through the terror and joy of their first crushes, their first dates, their first kisses while Oscar sat in the back of the class, behind his DM‘s screen, and watched his adolescence stream by. Sucks to be left out of adolescence, sort of like getting locked in the closet on Venus when the sun appears for the first time in a hundred years” (23). A nod to Bradbury!! ❤️❤️

“High school was . . . for a fat sci-fi-reading nerd like Oscar, a source of endless anguish. For Oscar, high school was the equivalent of a medieval spectacle, like being put in the stocks and forced to endure the peltings and outrages of a mob of deranged half-wits” (19).

Now a character has used “Jack Torrence” as an alias! I‘m loving this book! ❤️❤️

I am absolutely loving the Pendergast series! The mix of crime thriller with a supernatural twist is the perfect combination. I‘ve enjoyed the first books, but I‘m super-excited about this one because it gives a nod to one of my favorite literary villains, Count Fosco!! ❤️❤️

I did marginally better this week, but there were still SO many bands I didn‘t recognize! The funny thing is that most modern music that is forced on me (through commercials and shows/movies), I actually enjoy! Like the 50 times I‘ve watched the video of Tom Holland‘s lip sync performance to Rihanna‘s “Under My Umbrella.” It‘s a good song! 😂 Can‘t wait for the next list! Thanks for the tag, @dabbe ! ❤️
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1. I‘m an English teacher and love wordplay, so I liked the multiple meanings in my Litsy handle. I‘m an upbeat person, so I‘m usually happy; therefore, my life is lit (great). Also, I‘m all about books, both personally and professionally, so my life is lit(erature)! 😁
2. Driving, household tasks, bathing, and exercising.
3. Tagged book. Just finished audio of The Warm Hands of Ghosts.
#WondrousWednesday

Just as Charles Dickens used his stories to shed light on the societal ills of his time, so Kingsolver uses this revamped tale to emphasize the pervasiveness of the opioid crisis. I feel that it‘s a little like cheating—she never had to work out which characters get together, die, etc. Dickens did that! I loved figuring out each character‘s mirror in David Copperfield, though. It also lacks the humor Dickens weaves throughout. Still loved it!! ❤️

1. My amazing daughter was here all week for a visit!
2. We had a great time at my sister-in-law‘s lake house.
3. We spent the day Wednesday in Galveston enjoying the beach and some shopping on the Strand.
4. During the aforementioned shopping, I acquired this Scrooge nutcracker!!
5. We were graced with a cold front this week. In Texas. In July. That‘s pretty much as believable as snow at the equator. The highs were 92-93!
#5JoysFriday

My musical tastes are firmly mired in the 70s and 80s, so pretty much anything from the 90s on is foreign to me, which accounts for my score. There were some great songs on this list, and my favorites are:
1. Rosalita
2. Don‘t Fear the Reaper
3. Freebird (iconic)!
4. Under Pressure (no other band will EVER be like Queen!)
5. Africa

Great list, @dabbe !
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

Enjoying the beach with Demon Copperhead!

I loved most of it:
1. The premise—serial killers who take out bad guys.
2. Rowan reminded me of Cassidy from Preacher, whom I love!!
3. The weirdest meet-cute EVER!
4. The humor and dialogue worked for me.

Weirdo that I am, I was fine with the eye-gouging and cannibalism, but the sex scenes were TMI! I don‘t think I‘m a puritan—I feel like there are other women who read those passages and said not no, but hell no! Overall, I enjoyed it!

Listening to this while I wait for Beryl to hit! ⛈️🌊💨☔️

1. My parents named me Cindy with the reasoning that it‘s what everyone would call me if I was named Cynthia, but I much prefer Cynthia (SO many people call me that!). I love long, traditional names like Arabella, Letitia, Catherine, Sabrina, etc. We named our daughter Victoria Elizabeth! 😁
#Two4Tuesday

No, but I often don‘t start a series until it is well-established. I am not one of these who are constantly ingesting new releases. I have a lot of book media and am aware of the trending titles, but I don‘t rush to pick them up. For example, I saw the juggernaut Fourth Wing all over the internet and while I did buy the book and the sequel, I still haven‘t started it. I plan to this summer, but other books‘ voices are louder! 😄
#SundayFunday

My dear friend recently went to Ireland and Salem, MA, and she thoughtfully brought me a few keepsakes from those regions. Of course, they were book-related! 🥰 I love having friends who know me so well!

I‘m a little disappointed with this list—it‘s way too heavy on the kid movies. I know they are money makers, but there are other huge movies from that era, like Twelve Years a Slave, Knives Out, The Quiet Place, etc. that weren‘t even included. My favorites on the list were Thor: Ragnorak, Deadpool (both), and Guardians of the Galaxy (all). I can‘t believe they didn‘t have What We Do in the Shadows—one of my GOATs!!
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1. “Books break the shackles of time—proof that humans can work magic.” Carl Sagan
2. “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” W. Somerset Maugham
3. “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Frederick Douglass
4. “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” Stephen King
Okay, I‘ve limited it to four! 😄
#WondrousWednesday

This is late, but these questions are so great that I can‘t pass them up!
1. Goodreads # of books read goal
2. I‘ve been a seat-of-the-pants girl, but I had to rearrange my library this week and was overwhelmed by the number of books I own that I truly want to read and have been planning to read for years! I think it‘s time for me to do something different, like maybe draw titles from a jar? Suggestions welcome!
#3. ⬇️

Okay, last one! The 2000s had some pretty good movies but failed (imho) to come anywhere close to the groundbreaking movies of the 90s! My favorites are: (in no particular order)
1. Signs
2. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3. Shrek 2 & 3 (same characters!)
4. The Hangover
5. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

My score was significantly lower for this decade, too. 🤷‍♀️ Love these lists, @dabbe !! Thanks for creating them! ❤️
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

The 90s were the movie decade because so many of my favorites were made then! My top 3 favorites are: Notting Hill, The Full Monty, and Shakespeare in Love. I also love True Lies and Terminator 2 (you rock, JC!), The Matrix, Sixth Sense, Interview with the Vampire, Seven, The Rock, Ransom, Jurassic Park, As Good as it Gets, Robin Hood, Silence of the Lambs, Addams Family, & Sleepless in Seattle! So many truly iconic films!
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

I have somehow managed to miss these movie quizzes and this is from two weeks ago, but I shall not let that deter me! 😁

1. Aliens (nobody does blockbusters better than James Cameron!)
2. Moonstruck
3. Tootsie/Ruthless People (tie)

Now I‘m going to do the one from last week before doing this week‘s, so please excuse my wildly tardy entries, but I can‘t resist! 😁
#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1. I‘m decent—I probably know a little more than most people my age but can‘t hold a candle to the youngsters! Although I have noticed that their extensive tech knowledge doesn‘t extend to practical applications. They‘re experts with social media posting and video games, but they‘re lost if you ask them to create a spreadsheet or format a text document. 🤦‍♀️
2. The Circle by Dave Eggers - I loved it—so satirical!
#Two4Tuesday

1. Not really—I need one, I guess! I usually just go for the title that keeps popping up in references by other readers. These can be new (like Fourth Wing) or old (like War and Peace). My guilt for not having read War and Peace increases incrementally every time I see it mentioned. Eventually the guilt will tip the scales!
2. Right now, I‘ll probably be deciding between Fourth Wing and Demon Copperhead next!
#Two4Tuesday

1. Helping kids gain confidence in their ability to write and communicate, introducing them to the beauty of poetry and the written word, and helping them rediscover the joy of reading.
2. I stopped believing that balance is possible. 🤷‍♀️
3. I used to love to play school, so yes!
#WondrousWednesday