#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon

Finished this Tuesday, my 3rd book for #Roll100 April, roll#6
It‘s my second book from Alderman & while I didn‘t like it as much as The Power, it was thought-provoking & interesting & I thought the twists the story took were well done. The survivalists‘ posts & comments I found distracting & while they were meant to help tell the story & give context to what was going on, they didn‘t add much. A soft pick.

It‘s my Thursday night & you know what that means…it‘s already Friday in some places & time for week 5 of #5JoysFriday Another long hard week & I need ALL the joys friends! 💛

To join, post 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week. Use #5JoysFriday +tag me & share to spread the joy!
There's space on the graphic for photos/text.

I'll be posting my list tomorrow. Tagging some peeps to get started, but please join in-all are welcome!

@dabbe ‘s #ThreeListThursday or #TLT this week involves going to a list of “Favorite 80s Movies” made a few weeks ago. Find the link on her post to see how many you‘ve seen.

Am I proud of my high score? Do I feel like I did nothing but watch movies? Maybe a bit of both! 😉I went from junior high through college in the 80s & probably went to the movies at least twice a week.

Also, and this is totally on me for not submitting my faves on that ⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon

Finished the last chapters on the plane yesterday but as I was 3/4 done, I‘m counting it as an April book. This was on my #AuldLangSpine list from @Itchyfeetreader (I‘m trying for one per month) & while I didn‘t love it as much as the others I‘ve read from the list, it gets a pick. The writing is gorgeous but pensive, even a little depressing & I found myself wanting to shake both MCs, a pair of somewhat ⬇️

#StorySettings

I love Molly Katzen‘s cookbooks full of her illustrations & recipes. (She was with the Moosewood Collective if she or her style looks familiar). This one has today‘s prompt #Cafe in the title. 💛🍽️

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon #SeriesLove2024

Finished in April but I‘m behind in posting. Book 6 in the Lady Sherlock series. One to go before the new one in June. I liked this one overall, the mystery was intriguing & the setting of a cult sanctuary & I love the sexy sassiness of relationship of Holmes & Ash but things were a bit disjointed & it will be interesting to see how things pick up or change for Holmes in the next one. So ⬇️

Thank you @Eggs for the #WondrousWednesday tag!🤗I know it‘s Thursday but my Wednesday was spent traveling, presenting & crashing when I got home last night!🥱😴

1️⃣ Mangoes🥭 Mango season starts in spring.😋

2️⃣ I keep repeating myself but it‘s Zorrie by Laird Hunt. I‘ll tag it below.

3️⃣ Lots of work stuff including a work trip to Maine in a couple of weeks.😬🛫🛬

I‘m sure everyone has played but consider yourself tagged if you want to!🤗

#StorySettings

Much of this cozy foodie mystery series book takes place at Mount A in Ashland, OR so that counts as a #SkiResort
❄️⛷️

Early flight to Hilo to teach in-person leadership all day. Can‘t believe it‘s May! Will catch up with posts & things tonight. At least some captured reading time on the flights. 😉

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon #SeriesLove2024

Finished yesterday for #SeasonalCozies I am afraid this just wasn‘t a good book. It‘s a risk I take when I go for first in series, cheap or free (this was a Kindle Unlimited title) but it‘s disappointing nonetheless. I went between wanting to shake & throat punch the MC who was kind of an idiot. Then there was the dialogue which was not even close to natural. I highlighted a part where the⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon #SeriesLove

Read along with @TheAromaofBooks & some friends for a book a month Trixie Belden readalong (we need a hashtag!) It‘s been a few years since I reread the series & this first book which sets it up with Trixie meeting poor-little-rich teen Honey Wheeler & them discovering runaway Jim Frayne hiding in the old mansion. I forgot Brian & Mart (Trixie‘s brothers) are away working at a boys camp for ⬇️

Thank you @TheSpineView for the #Two4Tuesday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ Although I had lots of books I really enjoyed this month, I have to go with Zorrie 🩵🩵🩵

2️⃣ I have 2 books to finish up tonight & I can start Just for the Summer tomorrow. 🎉 Or realistically Thursday since I‘ll be in Hilo facilitating ALL DAY tomorrow. 😬

Anyone want to play along who hasn‘t yet? 🤗

#SpringSkies2024

#NFIndigenousPpl This book is Queen Lili‘uokalani ‘s story of how the independent kingdom of Hawai‘i was overthrown as she was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. Marines on January 17, 1893.

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon

Finished last night for #ChildrensClassicRead2024 It was fun to reread Pippi, it‘s been decades & the books & movies were something I shared with my dad. As a child I wanted to hang out with Pippi, as an adult, she tired me out! 😉 I need to see if I can find the movies now.

#SpringSkies

I have to go with Zorrie for my #FavBkOfMarch 📚Read for #SundayBuddyRead it was an unexpected delight. 🩵 As I mentioned in my review, it will be a definite 2024 favorite for me.

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon #Litsolace

My #HyggeHour is going to start soon & a little earlier as I have to pick up a colleague early from the airport tomorrow & it‘s a day full of meetings.

Finishing up Pippi Longstocking for #ChildrensClassicRead2024 & the tagged book for a Trixie Belden read-along. Snacking on dill pickle trail mix.

Mood is channeling my inner child when times were easier because I‘m not happy about Monday at all! 😬

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon

Read with #SheSaid for April, it‘s a well-researched & well-written look at why the Second Amendment was set up to fail Blacks from the get-go. The author expertly pulls facts & data together & it had me both horrified & angry.

The last sentence says it all “The Second is lethal; steeped in anti-Blackness, it is the loaded weapon laying around just waiting for the hand of some authority to put it to use.”

#ReadAway2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon

Finished last night for #SundayBuddyRead this book was a surprise for me. A quietly beautiful telling of the simple life of a resilient woman. Short in pages & it deserves a slowly savored read. Thanks to @TheBookHippie for choosing it & hosting it so well. It will be one of my favorites for 2024. Lovely.

#SpringSkies

For today‘s #2BksWSimilarTitle we‘ll start with the top 2 books with the same title. The tagged one is about a Paris apartment full of hidden treasure as are the bottom 3 books. A lot of these came out after the Paris apartment that was shut up for 70 years was discovered. I read The Paris Secret & Paris Time Capsule & always get them confused!

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLobe2024 #AwesomeApril #readathon

Read along with #Pemberlittens #JaneAdjacent I‘m giving it a soft pick. It was enjoyable & I liked the MC Jane & also Mr. Vincent, but the other characters not so much & while I enjoyed the magical elements, I felt like the world-building around them wasn‘t deep enough. But, overall, it was a nice nod to Jane Austen while still maintaining its own story. I may read more in the series if it ⬇️

OK, I think this will be my May pick for #SeasonalCozies as it is set during Memorial Day. It also meets my criteria for being first in a series (Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery) & cheap/free (it‘s on Kindle Unlimited).

Still finishing up April‘s pick.

After a puttering morning & the post office I am now ensconced in a corner of the coffee shop for my iced dirty chai, oatmilk+ 1 pump coconut syrup latte & breakfast turnover.

Reading this book from my #AuldLangSpine list from @Itchyfeetreader & after things are less puff-pastry-messy I‘m catching up on journaling & maybe a few more #LitsyLove replies.

My gray/cloudy/drizzly #SaturdayVibe is rest & recovery from the workweek.

Forgot to snap a photo at home but I finally got to the post office this morning & sent out @TieDyeDude #500KGIVEAWAY prize & my #TravelingStars2024 to @inthegreensandblues & about ten #LitsyLove responses. I didn‘t bring my list of who those are going to so I won‘t tag, but if you sent me mail one is probably coming your way soon. I still have about 6 to go out this week. Lots of #HappyMail 📦📫💌

#SpringSkies

A few books I‘ve read & enjoyed with #Secret or #Secrets in their titles.🤫

My #Roll100 books for May:

# 29 The Last Word (BOTM)
# 59 If the Shoe Fits (OUABC)
# 62 Any BOTM (I chose Butcher and Blackbird)

I‘m excited to have the push to read all three of these! 📚

TFW you guess the movie in one frame! 🍿🎬 💪🏼
It‘s an additional moment of joy on my Friday! 😉

Anyone else play Framed or want to try today‘s? https://framed.wtf

My goals for the #AwesomeApril readathon are to try & finish my in-process April TBR books & maybe start a couple for May. Many of these are close to being finished so it isn‘t as daunting as it looks! 📚📚📚🙅🏻‍♀️📚📚📚

#SpringSkies

A favorite #Poetic memoir told in verse.💙

Not the best week but it‘s Friday & there were plenty of moments of joy sprinkled in. Here‘s my #5JoysFriday list:

1. My #BOTM & #AardvarkBookClub boxes came in & I‘m especially excited to start Abby Jimenez‘s new book!

2. Had to attend a benefits strategy meeting😵but they bought us breakfast & I found great joy in my smoked pork belly loco moco.😋

3. The smell of my mango coconut lotion🧴

4. “Found” 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies I hid ⬇️

Week 3 of #5JoysFriday & TBH it might be easier for me to find 5 things that didn‘t completely piss me off this week!🤣 which is why I need ALL the joy.💛💛💛

To join, post 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week. Use #5JoysFriday +tag me & share to spread the joy!
There's space on the graphic for photos or text.

I'll be posting my list when it's Friday here. Tagging a few peeps to get it started, but please join in-all are welcome!

Thank you for the #ThreeListThursday #TLT tag @Eggs 🤗

This is hard! 80s music is my jam but here‘s 3 that I truly 💜

1️⃣ Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol

2️⃣ Need You Tonight by INXS

3️⃣ Let‘s Go Crazy by Prince

Although really, any Prince, Hall & Oats, Whitney Houston, Tears for Fears, Bangles, Bon Jovi, Van Halen & Madonna hit would be right up there along with any sappy love song. 80s music rules!🎤🎶

Anyone want to play who hasn‘t?

#SpringSkies

Going with cookbooks for today‘s #BreakInTitle prompt. I have had these two Breakaway cookbooks in my collection for years. I like the author‘s use of flavors & ingredients in different ways for fusion dishes. The Asian Pesto Udon & Maccha Salt (used on the poached eggs) are two favorites recipes that I make on a regular basis. 😋

#SpringSkies

I enjoyed this book with a #Neurodivergent main character.

#SpringSkies

I was checking my Goodreads for books with a #LieInTitle & I have a lot. When I looked deeper, I found 6 of them were by J. T. Ellison who I‘ve been reading since her Taylor Jackson & Dr. Samantha Owens series days.

Thank you for the #MotivationalMonday tag @Cupcake12 🤗

1️⃣ Survival, work projects & getting out #LitsyLove replies & packages. 💌📦📬

2️⃣ My boy, Max.🩶It‘s been 14 months since he passed. Someday I will adopt another fur baby but I still need time.😢

3️⃣ A manatee, they are fun, cute, protected & so it‘s illegal to touch them (but they can touch you!) 😉

4️⃣ ✔️(one of them anyway!)📚

Who hasn‘t played yet? Consider yourself tagged! 🤗

#SpringSkies

Joan Didion wrote this book in the wake of #Tragedy in her life; the serious illness of her daughter & her subsequent death & the sudden shocking death of her husband in the midst of it. It helped me understand my own grief over losses in my life.💔

“Grief is different. Grief has no distance. Grief comes in waves, paroxysms, sudden apprehensions that weaken the knees and blind the eyes and obliterate the dailiness of life.”

Tonight‘s #Naturalitsy #HyggeHour features Pippi for #ChildrensClassicRead2024 & finishing up A Little Bit of Astrology for #travelingstars2024 so I can get it sent out this week.

Drinking green tea & enjoying some KitKats a coworker brought back from Japan & a mini lemon bar from Friday‘s meeting. Mood is a bit blue that Monday came so quick.😔Last week was hard & busy & I think this week will be the same, but it‘s nice to have this quiet time.

Well that was difficult! (I mean that in the best way!) 😆 Just picked 6 books off the long list for #CampLitsy24
So many great books to pick from & so many I wasn‘t familiar with-which is kind of the beauty of it. Can‘t wait to see what‘s picked!

Check out @BarbaraBB ‘s posts for the list & voting link if you haven‘t yet & want to get your vote in.

Thank you @BarbaraBB @Megabooks & @squirrelbrain for all of the work that goes into camp!🏕️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Read this follow novella to The Naturals series on the plane to & from Hilo. It picks up 5-ish years from when book 4 ended & finds Cassie & the group working on running the program they were in as teens. also there are flashbacks to the team at age 12 & a case to solve involving someone from a past case. Overall it‘s good but a bit ambitious for a novella as we aren‘t able to go very deeply. It would make a good ⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024
The final book in The Naturals series except for a novella that I also finished this week. I fully did not intend to read this until next month, but my library e-book holds opened up & I had to see how it all resolved. Overall, Barnes brought the series home well—fast-paced, some good resolutions. I did figure out a couple of the twists which had me yelling at characters in my head, but others got me. If you love ⬇️

#SpringSkies

I usually don‘t agree with most of the Goodreads Choice Awards winners & often haven‘t read a lot of the nominees, but this year I had read quite a few & these three #AwardWinner titles for Science Fiction, Fiction & Weyward for both Historical Fiction & Debut ended up on my Best of 2023 lists too.🥇🏆 👑

#SpringSkies

I have yet to read a book from this author but these two are in my #TBR & I believe they are both a #2ndChanceRomance 💞

#SpringSkies

Catching up from yesterday, here‘s 6 #FallInTitle books from my Kindle TBR 📚

Ahh…Saturday, how I longed for you. It was a long & somewhat hard week so today, I read all the #5JoysFriday posts (thanks everyone for all the joy your posts brought).💛

I went to a nearby local monthly craft fair this morning & got some cute stickers. I‘m settled down at the coffee shop with my usual dirty Oatmilk chai & a Caprese sandwich. Planning to read catch upon on journaling & #LitsyLove mail 💛received this week. Much needed downtime!

Hi Friends! Sorry to post my #5JoysFriday list so late. I was in Hilo all day for meetings & crashed when I got home last night.😴I haven‘t had a chance to see your joy lists yet but I will be around today.

1. More #LitsyLove mail came this week! 💛
2-4 Lots of joy with my work team. It was my boss”s last day & one of my direct report‘s baby shower with our meetings including temporary tattoos, my moo shu pork🍕for lunch & yummy party favors ⬇️

Our 2nd week of #5JoysFriday & I hope you‘re ready to list 5 joyful things, big or small that you‘re grateful for this week. Reading last week‘s lists gave me great joy & I need some more!💛

To join, post 5 things that brought you joy this week. Use #5JoysFriday tag me & share to spread the joy!💛There‘s space on the graphic for photos or text.

I‘ll be posting my list when it‘s Friday here.😉Tagging some friends to get started-all are welcome!

#ReadAway2024

Finished this for my #QUABC 40-Book Challenge prompt: “A National Book Award winner.” It was the 2023 Winner for Young People & it was delightful. I think everyone can relate to the trauma/drama of middle school & Sanat captures it in all its glory in his illustrations & text. Set mainly on a life-changing school trip to Europe, I enjoyed reading it while listening to the Spotify “mix tape” playlist he includes the QR code for.💙

#SpringSkies

This book I am currently reading before a work trip to visit the author‘s company, is about how #Powerful the collective wisdom & strength that emerge when individuals come together as community is. (The Seventh Power in the title). 🌎🔋🔌

Thank you to @Eggs & @TheSpineView for the #WondrousWednesday tags! 🤗

1️⃣ Rest, breathing (better breathing), exercise & money (see # 3) 😉

2️⃣ Meetings, stress, work & weight 😬 (& probably self-judgement!)

3️⃣ Working hard & successfully enough to be able to buy a home on my own in Hawaii 🏡🏝️

If you haven‘t played along yet & want to, consider yourself tagged!

#SpringSkies

A workday full of meetings so taking a few minutes to eat lunch & share some foodie books with a #MagicElement
🪄🍽️ ✨

Tagged is the book that really introduced me to the sub-genre.💛