#BookmarkSwap - Opening Day: I think that I slept all of two hours last night. I was possessed by a child‘s excited anticipation of a gift starting an hour before midnight. I am very thankful, Ms. Ammy. I love the cross-stitched reading glasses and the wooden bookmark, but my favorite is the bookmark from your local indie bookstore, because of your personal note on the backside. Thank you. I will remember this kindness always!💕

#BookmarkSwap - Opening Day: I am like a child at her birthday celebration. I am overjoyed and very thankful, Ms. Paula. And the fact that you took time to make something for me, I will remember that always!💕
This was so much fun! Thank you @LibrarianRyan for hosting an enjoyable swap!🤗

#BookmarkSwap - Package received: Thanks Ms. Ammy. This delivery came as a surprise. I had no idea that I would receive another package. I‘m thrilled especially knowing that there is only one more day until opening.🤗

....once again, because I have no choice...I shall read it differently this time...

She looked like she always had something powerful to say. She wrote as if this world needed a reminder of its humane spirit and its responsibility of benevolence towards one another. I can only hope that I said Thank You each and every time I finished reading one of her books.
My heart breaks for the loss of her earthly presence, but my heart leaps for the remembrance of her literary canon.
Thanks for writing, Toni Morrison! You shall be missed!❤️

Holden pulled me into his life and held me captive in his thoughts, his worries, his hypersensitivity, his anxiety, his depression, his heartache, his drunkenness, his loss of self, his search for identity and purpose, and his strangeness.
The 3 day directionless journey was brutal- that much smoking, that much drinking, that much profanity, that much loss, that much disconnect, that much loneliness- it was a spiral into emptiness.👇🏽

#BookmarkSwap - Package received: Thank you, Ms. Paula. I can barely contain the excitement!🤗

#PoetryMatters - Truth: The truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind.

Application: AdobeSpark

#BookmarkSwap - It is quite the mad dash to get to the post office before closing after work, but it was a happy journey with thought in mind that these ARE ON THEIR WAY!✈️🇺🇸🇬🇧📬And my first international mailing experience....I hope that it gets there in time.🤞🏽

I‘m at a medical appointment with my Mom. I came prepared: two books, one kindle & Chai tea. I‘m in the waiting room...reading should be taking place right now, BUT there is too much noise. Not loud noise. Not weird noise. Just a regular disturbance of serenity. I know that the inability to read is all in me. There are other readers in the room who look absolutely happy & content...then there is me, who cannot read unless there is ONLY silence.😔

No reason for why it took so long. Actually, I take that statement back...I was never really interested. Even now I‘m not sure. I just feel like I am supposed to. Also my nephew read this in his English Lit Class and I can‘t have him knowing a story that I don‘t. He thinks I‘m a Reading Goddess! I gotta live up to my bookish-reputation!!😉

I received an unexpected surprise in the mail today: a sweet hello for no reason at all. It was such a simple thing and yet it was as precious as sunshine. Thank you to this very thoughtful person. I‘ll remember this kindness always.💕

I bet we got 20 inches of precipitation in 20 minutes. I don‘t know if that is heavy rainfall, but something crazy just happened and there is a small river flowing down the street outside my front door. So I guess it‘s books and Netflix tonight. Yay!

Photo Credit: Getwallpapers.com

#BookmarkSwap: This is to be my first participation in a Litsy Swap and I couldn‘t be more excited. I tried a Pen-pal exchange of letters last year, but I received a letter only one time from my assigned correspondent so I was reluctant to try connecting closely in any way again. BUT I love bookmarks so here goes everything! I‘m signed up and all in!!! This might be the start of something.😀

Thank you @LibrarianRyan for hosting a fun event.💕

Autumn weather in July!😞It‘s windy and rainy and cold outside. The weatherman has promised drizzling circumstances, wet environments and the need for both a sweater and a jacket and an umbrella.☔️ He has predicted hailstones of unknown circumference. So I have decided to declare a Let‘s-Not-Leave-the-House holiday! And for me that means only one thing: A FULL ON BOARD DAY OF READING!

🤔 Hmmm...I wonder who‘s gonna cook dinner?

#QuotsyJuly19 - Unity: I‘m loving the effort of unity on Litsy to participate in photo challenges, book swaps, pen pal friendships, gift exchanges, buddy-reads and book clubs. It‘s refreshing that this simple love of books and reading lends its way to the practice of kindness, the giving of uplifting messages and the sharing of support in several other life endeavors. Way to go, Littens! 👊🏽

Photo Credit and Application: AdobeSpark

This is what I might read next, but I‘m not sure if I can get through it.😬

July 1st - Happy National Day of Canada.🇨🇦 I celebrate this day in the literary world with acknowledgement and thanks for many favorite Canadian novelists. A new presence on that list is Esi Edugyan who has won the Giller Prize for Fiction twice and been long-listed and short-listed for the Booker Prize. Her novels are The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, Half-Blood Blues and Washington Black.
#LetsTravelJuly

July 1st...starting a reread adventure today. Floating on Cloud 9 3/4! ☁️🤣

#30JuneBooks - E: Emily Dickinson...her words are beyond measure. She expresses every emotion of an unconventional living. She begs us to move beyond confinement & be more outside the realm of what is imagined. “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tunes without the words and never stops at all.” There is a bright beauty amongst us. Thank God for the written word so that we can still experience such a loveliness.

I‘ve been on Litsy all day long between this-and-that thing. Here lately, I think that I have been enjoying talking about reading more than actually reading. I am going to commit this evening to finishing my current book which has only 50 pages remaining and to starting a new book. Also, I am excited to reread H.P. this summer. We‘ll see how it goes. A thunderstorm with rain showers has started outside and the sky is darkening. Time for reading!

#30JuneBooks - N: Bleak circumstances - utter poverty, hopelessness, despair, powerlessness, obscurity, inadequate education, disconnectedness, underserved, terrorized existence...what is the inevitable outcome of a life lived here? No one wants to know this naked truth. No one wants to see this Native Son. Richard Wright put an unapologetic slice of real life right in front of us. Unpleasant to read...Hard to swallow...the ugly truth usually is!

#30JuneBooks - Reading Place: I am so embarrassed to admit this, I don‘t have a true dedicated reading place. Any place that could be a place is probably a space for books. I love seeing the photos of all of your reading places. All day long I am gushing over your favorite spots: “oh, that‘s lovely”...”sweet”...”good gracious, that looks cozy”...”wow, I would love to read right there!” I read wherever this body lands and there is a book nearby.😃

#30JuneBooks - Favorite: There are plots that I don‘t remember and characters that I can‘t recall, but when I see the book cover or hear the title mentioned in random conversation, I get a feeling, a vague memory that something shifted inside of me and there was an alteration in the world‘s fabric the hour that I completed that book, that is what defines a favorite book for me. I don‘t remember the entire storyline of The Bells, but I remember👇🏽

#30JuneBooks - DNF: This is always my only answer for a book that I felt was impossible to read to completion. I tried, but it could not be done. It was several years ago and today is still considered one of my best decisions for maintaining a happy day-to-day life attitude!😁

#30JuneBooks - Obsessed: I don‘t usually read more than one book at a time so as a reader I really only need to be in possession of one bookmark BUT as a lover of all things book-related there are some undeniable obsessions.😝

#30JuneBooks - Wild Books: Truth...I like reading children‘s literature. It‘s not usually weighed down by the complications of romance or the blasé weariness of an overexposed-done-everything living or the complexity of adulting. It‘s usually just a story reminding the reader that there is a way to still believe that there could be magic, pirates, flying cars, dragons, talking animals, robots & many more fantastical beings. I believe. I believe...

#HumpDayPost

🌸 I think that Peonies are beautiful. I fall hard for just about every flower...even some flowering weeds.
📖 I‘m rereading Harry Potter this month. It is always my favorite book whenever I‘m reading it.
📺 New Amsterdam (so much humanity) or season 1&2 of Designated Survivor.
💖 This one is tough because I have many favorite poets. Too many to list. I have many poets who have unmoored me with a single poem. Unable to choose.

#30JuneBooks - Laughter: When searching for a book for this prompt, I realized that I have far more books that made me cry than made me laugh. I really need to hang out in the humor section of the bookstore more often or search out authors who know it‘s okay to laugh at yourself.
This book made me laugh before even opening... the cover is hilarious 🤣 and perfect for the content.

#30JuneBooks - Library: It is knowledge and kindness that prepares us best for a life worth living. Dr. WHO had it right...let knowledge and kindness be your weapons of choice - find these things in abundance -> libraries and librarians. I can‘t imagine a world without either!💕
Poster Source: Aenaon Art Work -Etsy

#30JuneBooks - Audiobook: I own an audiobook! I had actually forgotten all about it until my son reminded me of its existence (one more reason why it‘s wonderful to have children...they remember when you forget). Some of you might recall that last year I contemplated getting an Audible account so that I could have my FIRST audiobook experience.👇🏽

#30JuneBooks - Picture Books: Before I had a child I bought picture books for the days after that child‘s arrival when we would sit cuddled up together and read for hours on end. This is a delightful book about the power of stories. It opens as follows:
Morris Lessmore loved words. He loved stories. He loved books. His life was a book of his own writing, one orderly page after another.👇🏽

Why? Same story. Same plot. Same characters. BUT as soon as I see THAT OTHER cover, it never fails...I ALWAYS WANT IT MORE THAN THE ONE I HAVE! 😔
I don‘t understand myself!

It‘s a good thing that I am among friends and fellow readers where I can verbally make such petty revelations without remorse.😩Love you guys!😝💕

Textured Black Background: Pngtree.com
Application: AdobeSpark

#30JuneBooks - Blue Books: Blue has never been a favorite color of mine, but the lovely shades of blue in this stack of books is making me reconsider.💙
Shutter Island was hypnotizing.
Kristin Hannah is a story whisperer.
The others remain to be read.

#30JuneBooks - New Release: Usually on Thursday evenings I make a visit to the bookstore, because the books from New-Release-Tuesday have been unboxed and are on display. At first I walk around feeling electric at the possibility of becoming acquainted with so many stories...then reality creeps in like a misty fog clouding my hopeful vision with the messed-up ugly truth that I could never read ALL that I want to.👇🏽

#30JuneBooks - Ugly Cover: I searched my shelves for a selection fitting of this prompt and I came up empty-handed. Nothing! I know that I have seen book covers that I don‘t care for so what‘s the deal? Obviously it‘s very impactful... either it‘s enough not to purchase and bring home or I do purchase and bring home but hide it so deep into the hidden backspace of a bookcase that even I can‘t find or recall its existence.😅

#30JuneBooks - Book Source: I purchase books wherever they are found. Whether I am looking for books or not looking for books, when I come across books, at least, one of them must come home with me. There are no rules and no restrictions...well, there must be money on me and no hungry children with me. Since the boys are always hungry, when I am planning to purchase several books, I sneak to the bookstore after work or place an order online.😂

#30JuneBooks - U: I haven‘t commented on or reviewed this book because it was a numbing reading experience five years ago. The letter “u” can stand for many related adjectives for this story: unnerving, unbearable, uneasy, unsettling, unflinching...it is unforgiving in its relentless propulsion through a harrowing nightmare. It was an unexpected encounter with a sheer brilliance of storytelling and it remains unforgettable to this very day.

#30JuneBooks - Made You Cry: I‘ll never reread this book and I‘ll probably never watch the movie. This story was heartbreaking especially as you try to experience it from every viewpoint. I understood the Mother‘s pain. I felt Louisa‘s hope. I got William‘s decision. I cried oceans of tears.

#30JuneBooks - Spine Poetry:

american heiress,
we are never meeting in real life.

the weight of silence,
the secret of lost things,

drown(s)
the audacity of hope.

#30JuneBooks - Shocking: Still hurt...still shocked all these years later! No details to protect against spoiling, but if you‘ve read this book (No. 5 in the series) then you know what I‘m talking about.

#30JuneBooks -Summer: I like sandals, shorts, T-shirts, the smell of fresh cut green grass, camping, late day sunsets, peonies, lemonade, barbecues, rolled down car windows, outdoor concerts, hotdogs at baseball games, road trips with unknown destinations, blue skies with fluffy clouds, water parks, wandering around farmer‘s markets, city festivals, theater on the lawn, night skies, star gazing & reading on porch swings.
I like everything SUMMER!

#30JuneBooks - Pretty Books: It doesn‘t matter the genre. It doesn‘t matter the author. This is what makes a book ‘pretty‘ in my opinion: French flaps and deckled edges. I love this look. A book with this aesthetic always gets a second glance, a pickup, more than likely a purchase and then a sweet journey to it‘s new home where it is ogled on many occasions for its prettiness.👀

#30JuneBooks - Old Favorite: Stephen King is an old favorite author of mine. There was a time when it was just me and him. He was my author. I was his reader. His books were the only books that I really wanted to read. I was reading other stories, but it was always him. His stories were incredible, amazing, weird and strange. His imagination was out there. I couldn‘t get enough...yeah, for a long time he was my favorite! 👇🏽

📖 Going to the bookstore later today for a ‘because of Litsy‘ book hunt for An Ocean of Minutes.

🎥 I watched the adaptation of Their Eyes Were Watching God with Halle Berry & Michael Ealy earlier this year. Some books are better served by a mini-series on television rather than a 2-hour movie production to allow for depth of character development.

🎞 Good Omens. I laughed out loud while reading the book. I can‘t wait to see the film version.

#Riotgrams - It Was All Yellow: I couldn‘t let Coldplay get away. I was singing this song all day yesterday thanks to this prompt (spreading sunshiny joy)!☀️
& the color yellow is lovely to look at. When a prompt directs you to pull several books from your shelves, I go only for what is in the line of sight and close at hand so this is a sampling of yellow-spines books that I could gather in under thirty seconds. I‘ve only read Flavia‘s story.💛

💗💕I‘m having so much FUN on Litsy today!💕💗

#JazzyJune - Peaceful Poetry: “Peace, a presence, an energy field more intense than war.” I guess this requires a different imagination. The vision is lovely!
Poem Source: Poetry Foundation
Photo Credit: Pinterest

#30JuneBooks - Bookstack: When I was in high school, I liked reading mysteries ad horror books. I was crazy for Agatha Christie books and Ellery Queen magazines. I was mad for Stephen King. Then I discovered V.C. Andrews (don‘t ask...I was truly obsessed). As a young adult my interest switched to legal thrillers and classic literature. Now I read just about anything - words on paper - I like it all. Some favorites I have decided to collect.📚

#30JuneBooks - Bookworm Problems: I can definitely say that this is a thing!

Photo Credit: I think that I got it from Pinterest