@AnneCecilie @Librarybelle @JessClark78 @CarolynM @Daisey @Jas16 @squirrelbrain @julesG @robinb

Thank you all for the birthday wishes ❤️ I know I haven‘t been around here much the past few months, and to be remembered by you all really means a lot to me.

The photo is a book art piece that was a birthday present from son and his family; the book is Jane Eyre. What a nice surprise.

I am swearing off books in this series. Yes, I‘ve said that before, but I picked this up at the library, probably because I was hungry. Mistake! I don‘t think the characters can speak a single sentence of dialogue without naming the person they‘re speaking to. Given how often and what they eat, they should all weigh 300 pounds, have a cardiologist on retainer, and be buzzed on more caffeine than any person can drink. It‘s a literary diabetic coma

Not a new book, hubby borrowed it from our DIL‘s collection for a vacation read. He loved it and recommended it, so how could I resist? Yet another WWII novel, a mystery that kept twisting and turning until the end. The first of a series (DIL has the next book, too) that I‘m looking forward to continuing.

I thought I still had a photo from inside Churchill‘s War Rooms in London, but this is the best I could do.

This is fast becoming my favorite series. The developing relationship between Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy is nicely balanced with an intricate double murder mystery. I think the author remains very true to the spirit of the characters who appeared in the Austen originals as she continues to develop both them and her new characters.

I read this while on vacation, so one of my vacay pics.

Just finished this beautiful story. A three-timeline plot, set before, during, and immediately after WWII in Germany, it follows two sisters and the woman who comes across a book tied to them. It‘s heart wrenching and uplifting at the same time. So glad I read this.

A decent historical romance with a unique premise that was a quick and easy read. It contains, however, the slimiest, most repulsive antagonist I‘ve run across in a long time. For anyone who‘s old enough to remember the Eddie Haskell character from Leave It to Beaver, think Eddie on steroids 🤣🤣

A lovely, poignant dual timeline story. Parts of the story are predictable, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Interesting, unique characters and an evocative setting. I can‘t resist a story set in an English village, especially with a cottage garden.

I admit it: the cover of this is what hooked me. But since I dabble at butterfly gardening, and it‘s a historical novel, so it pushes a lot of buttons. It‘s my next read.

I never thought I‘d combine cute and steamy in a book description, but that exactly sums this up. It‘s a somewhat predictable plot, but with really engaging characters, and a sweet little girl who adds an interesting twist to this romance. I‘d not read the previous books in the series, but that didn‘t seem to matter. I‘m looking forward to reading those earlier installments. No strawberry pictures, but since one of the MCs is a chef, a food pic.

My next read. I gather this is part of a series, but it sounds like fun. Hoping that I haven‘t read the previous books isn‘t a detriment.

This pretty clearly is the end of this series, as it wrapped up all the loose ends. Because of that, I didn‘t enjoy it as much as the other books in the series; there was less banter, and some of the secondary characters got short shrift. Still, I liked the series, and this was a pretty satisfying conclusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I may have been influenced by the fact that I grew up not too far from where it‘s set, so l really related to that aspect of it. Intriguing story and characters, and it sent me down the research rabbit hole more than once. Hubby and I read this for our church book club; he loved his first book club experience 😄

Hubby read this book and enjoyed it. He decided we should go to the church book club meeting this Saturday, since this happens to be the book being discussed. So I am frantically trying to read as much as possible. I like it, just wish I could slow down and savor some of the beautiful writing. But he‘s so excited—he‘s never been to a book club. Not sure what will be more interesting, the discussion or his reaction 😄

I‘ve started this installment of The Glass Library series, and I‘m getting vibes that this will be the last book in the series, and it seems to be tying up loose ends. So I‘m going to savor this last visit with these characters.

A rather predictable Regency romance, but with a few twists that kept my interest. Not great literature, but a nice diversion. I wanted something light, and this fit the bill.

My cardinal friend definitely does not qualify as plain 😄

#fivejoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. Spending time with our granddaughter
2. Cooking for family
3. Making music with friends
4. A beautiful walk this morning
5. Being back on Litsy ❤️

Ken has spent the day as a judge at the state science fair, and I‘ve had a relaxing day at our son‘s home, with lots of reading time. This is Pebbles, who has been my reading buddy. This has included walking across my Kindle 😂

#twoforTuesday

1. Diamond painting. I put on classical or New Age music, and it feels like meditation.

2. Either something light, or Mary Oliver‘s poetry.

It‘s been a while since I‘ve spent an hour reading in a medical office. Ken has PT for his elbow, and we‘re leaving straight from here for Orlando and a visit with our son‘s family. It would be fine if the waiting room wasn‘t so cold 😂

I did it again. I fell for a Kindle freebie. It looks like some brain candy, something that I can read and still watch the basketball games 😄

I have been in the worst reading slump, but this certainly pulled me out of it. My favorite author has done it again. A great story, and I‘m so glad she brought back these wonderful characters.

In addition to being in a reading slump, I‘ve been absent from Litsy for much too long. Thanks to @TheSpineView whose note woke me up to how many dear friends I have here and that I need to reconnect. So, I‘m back!

For anyone who likes WWII novels, or spy stories, this is a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the setting, the intrigue. I learned a good bit about aspects of the war with which I was unfamiliar. A new-to-me author, I thought this was well written and definitely worth the time. Recommend.

Picture has nothing to do with the book; we visited a nature preserve the other day.

Hubby gave me this for Christmas, and I started it this morning. I‘m already intrigued. WWII fiction; he knows me well😂

What a delightful book! It‘s a story of friendship and life choices, with wonderfully drawn characters. The main characters are food and wine bloggers, and now that I‘m blogging, I appreciate the community that these women create. As with pretty much everything this author writes, food is integral to the story; maybe that‘s why I like her books so much. Definitely recommend. FYI, it‘s tomato bisque with Parmesan croutons.

This has been on my Kindle for a while. I‘ve liked everything I‘ve read by this author, and I thought this looked appetizing for my next read.

I‘ve been in a horrible reading slump, in part because I‘ve had a hard time sitting comfortably since my fall before Thanksgiving. My back is still swollen and sore , and it‘s made it hard to concentrate on whatever I‘m reading. But this delightful book took my mind off the pain and focused it on this story of the importance of friendship. Loved the setting and the characters. It was just what I needed.

Hubby and I have a 60 page rule: if we‘re not into a book by 60 pages, we can set it aside with no regrets. I‘m at 60 pages, and I just can‘t make up my mind. I wanted a light holiday read, I‘m just not sure this is it.

Whew! It‘s been too long since I‘ve been here. What can I say, life happened. I‘m taking a pass on a number of books that I read, but I just finished this and loved it. It‘s a bit different from Quinn‘s other books, more of an ensemble, multi-thread story. Wonderful characters and set at an interesting time in history. Definitely 5⭐️

Well, it‘s been that kind of year. 48 hours ago, we were celebrating my birthday. Now, I‘ve spent the past 24 hours in the hospital, after a nasty fall in the shower. Not the way I wanted to spend the day before Thanksgiving, but at least they‘re sending me home this afternoon. I‘m okay, just badly bruised and sore. Our son is taking over most of the holiday cooking duties. Oh, well, it will add to our family holiday lore😄

#tlt #threelistThursday

Interesting twist! My score dropped from 93 to 48. I included three songs where I didn‘t see the movie, but did see the show the song originally came from:

Old Man River (Show Boat)
Luck Be a Lady (Guys and Dolls)
All That Jazz (Chicago)

Thanks for putting these together, @dabbe

#tlt #threeListThursday

This was a fun one! I got a score of 93, and I‘m going to be singing these songs all day😄

Hard to pick three favorites, so I went with three that I‘ve sung in the last year or two:
🎼 Summertime
🎼 Somewhere
🎼 Stormy Weather
Honorable mention goes to The Rainbow Connection

If you want to play, see @dabbe for the link. Thanks for tagging me 😘

Publication day for this. I loved The Littlest Library, so I decided to preorder. It appeared on my Kindle this morning, and even though I had another book I‘d planned to start, this jumped to the front of the line.

So much fun! This has become a pre-order series for me, and I think this is my favorite installment so far. Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are summoned by Lady Catherine de Bourgh to investigate attempts made on her life. In addition to a fascinating mystery, I loved reading about the developing relationship between the two sleuths. The prose is so Austen-like. Mr. Collins is still a sniveling toady. And my brain heard Judy Dench whenever👇

#LitsyLoveSummerSwap @KadaGul you put together the most amazing swap! Today has been crazy, and I just got the opportunity to open my box, and I‘m blown away. Thank you, thank you! I‘m laughing, too, because it looks like we did a tea swap😄 I‘m excited to try these, and oh, do I need a quiet afternoon with one of the masks. I feel so fortunate to have you for my partner and my friend ❤️

I‘ve adored the first two books in this series, really looking forward to this.

This is a pick, but with some caveats. The author is, I think, trying to carry on the legacy of her mother, Dorothea Benton Frank, and has written a similar style novel set in the Carolina low country. The idea is good, but it needed additional editing. There are just too many side plots, a number of which are left hanging. Parts are repetitive. I felt like it really needed to focus.

I picked this up on a Kindle deal. The author‘s mother was my favorite writer of Southern women‘s fiction. So far, although she‘s clearly trying hard, it‘s not up to her mother‘s standards. The premise is okay, but lots of really annoying characters, at least to this point. I don‘t think I‘ll bail, but I doubt I‘ll be raving when I‘m done.

#LitsyLoveSummerSwap
It‘s here! It‘s going to be a long week, waiting to open this beautiful package. But not sure I‘m going to be able to tear this gorgeous wrapping 😂 Thanks again, @KadaGul 😘

Riveting reading. It‘s interesting because, pretty early on, you can figure out where this is ultimately going, but how it gets to the conclusion is fascinating. I loved these characters so much that I hated to see the book end. I wanted to know how things worked out. As with other books by this author, there‘s a basis in fact, and the author‘s notes are a must read. Definitely recommend.

#5joysFriday
Posting on Saturday, since Litsy was down last night—again😠

1. Enjoying cherry season. I‘ve been eating them like candy
2. Got the first subscribers signed up to my blog!
3. The joy of interesting plants when we walk.
4. Baking rhubarb pie
5. Helping hubby put together a new drum kit for our church, and heading one of the toms myself.

#TLT #threelistThursday

My score was 51, and my age is showing. I think I got every song before about ‘75.

Hard to pick three favorites, so this is three of probably my top 10:

🎼River-Joni Mitchell
🎼Your Song-Elton John
🎼Killing Me Softly-Roberta Flack

Who wants to come out and play?

#TLT #threelistThursday

My score was 51, and my age is showing. I think I got every song before about ‘75.

Hard to pick three favorites, so this is three of probably my top 10:

🎼River-Joni Mitchell
🎼Your Song-Elton John
🎼Killing Me Softly-Roberta Flack

Who wants to come out and play?

#whatsnewWednesday

I‘ve been trying lots of new recipes over the last few weeks, and I‘ve also started a blog, somanydishes.blog It‘s primarily a food blog, with some recipes, but also musings about the importance of food in our lives. The pictures are all new recipes I‘ve tried; three of them are from Milk Street Tuesday Nights Mediterranean. All were yummy!

#LitsyLoveSummerSwap

And it‘s off! Having been away for a week, I was sweating getting this out in time, but dropped it at the post office this morning.

#5joysFriday Boy, has it been a joyful week!

1. Spending the week on Sanibel Island, one of my favorite places.
2. Walking the beach and collecting shells.
3. Out for lunch at a favorite restaurant
4. Going out for gelato twice! (This is a small 😃)
5. Lots of relaxing and reading time.

Not exactly what you think of as a beach read, but it‘s what I brought along. I don‘t actually read on the beach; most of my reading is done on the balcony of the condo we‘ve rented in one of my favorite places, Sanibel Island. The island is still recovering from the devastating hurricane two years ago, so we feel lucky to have found a place. Best news is that the marvelous Gene‘s Books is being rebuilt! Not open yet, but next visit…

I finished this two days ago, but really needed to think about how to review it. Definitely a pick; this series is a favorite. But this takes some interesting turns that just sit a bit uncomfortably for me. It‘s wonderful to read about the twins as they grow, and I love the Proctor family, with their quirky witches and ghosts. But Diana‘s embrace of “dark” magic is changing the dynamic of her relationship with Matthew, and there‘s a lot 👇

#wondrousWednesday

1. I‘m a singer, I‘m a soprano. I‘d used Sopranolynn elsewhere, so I flipped it for Litsy.
2. I‘m not an audiobook user, so no answer to this one.
3. The Black Bird Oracle. I haven‘t posted my review yet, as we‘re on vacation and I haven‘t spent much time on social media. Opened Litsy this morning on a whim 😄

This lovely story has me tearing up. A story of love, loss, grief, relationships, and choosing happiness. Add in the setting of a restaurant kitchen, with recipes, some singular characters, and this has been a very worthwhile read.

I‘ve barely started this, but I‘m bailing. I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people, and the stereotypes of the Romany people that the author includes are offensive. Life‘s too short to bother with a book by someone who can‘t be bothered to do some research.