I almost forgot to say that I am thankful for you. Each of you…EVERY day making my heart go pitter-patter with resounding joy!
Thanks for being my people!
HUGS every which kind of way. I hope the day was a good one!😘

8:25pm…I‘m still in the kitchen washing dishes. Good grief! At this rate I‘ll be too tired to read even one page.😴💤

Oh, but I did buy a new poetry book yesterday. We‘ll see what happens…

Photo Credit: The Internet

#NewYearWhoDis - Match @kaysworld1 💕

We meet formally for the very first time, Ms. Kay!
I couldn‘t be more delighted at the prospect of our new friendship and getting to know you better through the selection of your literary favorites. I find this event thrilling! I immediately went to the bookstore the very next day after receiving your list.
I have ordered the two books shown above. It is how I shall begin us becoming better acquainted!🤗

#GratefulHarvest - Pumpkin:

Pumpkin spice! Pumpkin bread! Pumpkin soup! Pumpkin smoothies! Pumpkin Chai Tea! Pumpkin seeds! Pumpkin donuts! Pumpkin cupcakes! Pumpkin grits! Pumpkin Alfredo! Pumpkin patch! Pumpkin carving! Pumpkin art!
Pumpkin EVERYTHING! Love it!!!🎃🧡
Oh, except Pumpkin pie. I don‘t know why, but I really don‘t like Pumpkin pie.🥧

Photo Credit: The Internet

#GratefulHarvest - Cozy: I didn‘t know about using the phrase “cozy” to describe this genre of books until a few years ago. After getting the lowdown, I thought that is a perfect descriptive term for these type of gentle murder mysteries filled with warm, likable amateur sleuths, small town or village settings and quirky characters.
I really enjoy the ones revolving around bookstores, book clubs, writing societies and tea societies.👇🏽

#GratefulHarvest - Begins with N: Night
We all know this book. Many folks, like I, have read it more than once as a reminder, as a promise to never forget. To never close our eyes to the evil that men do. To deeply mine the crevices of our thoughts in search of the fears and painful realities that haunt us. To watch the idle hands of men for the prospect of unkindness and savage behaviour. We are either perpetrators or victims or witnesses.👇🏽

#GratefulHarvest - Brown: This is one of my most favorite exclamations. I‘ve never linked my use of it to Charlie Brown, because these types of phrases flow like water in my family. Nicknames, terms of endearment and off-the-wall phrases abound. Some are so creatively (or preposterously) made up that you have to ask the Speaker what she/he is talking about.😵‍💫👇🏽

#GratefulHarvest - Tradition: I don‘t remember a New Year‘s Day when this didn‘t happen. My Dad cooking a big pot of Black-eyed Peas and Ham Hocks on New Year‘s Eve. My Mom standing at the ready with spoons in hand to deliver the hope of prosperity for the coming new year after you got the midnight smooches.💋 When I was grown enough to hang out for a party or two, I remember my phone ringing like crazy after midnight.👇🏽

#GratefulHarvest - Orange: Everything is orange-hued in this photo. A very fall colour theme!
🧡🍁🔸🍂🧡🍂🔸🍁🧡
Oh, it‘s my annual Agatha Christie read. I think that I read this one already, but that‘s okay. She‘s worth a second go at it!

#SundayFunday

🍁 Yes. We‘ve been going strong for a number of years. We have seen a dip in attendance over the last year since resorting to Virtual Zoom Meetings.

🍂 All literature is a good choice for Book Clubs.

🍁 I choose debate opportunities for reading selections. My last two recommendations have been for high debate purposes which seems to be off-putting for many members who have stated that the topics were too raw&brutal especially now.

#AuthorAMonth - November - Carlos Ruiz Zafón:
I have read this book again and again on many occasions. I am not going to reread it right now. The recollection of it is strong. Its tender story, its lyrical structure, its dazzling prose, its fine beauty is unforgettable. The author reveals himself a poet. The reader is damn lucky. Every memory of reading this book is wondrous. A favorite book for which I will forever be grateful.

RIP C Ruiz Zafón.

I had heard that there is a BIG twist at near-end of this book shortly after it‘s publication. There was a lot of buzz, so of course, when you know that something surprising or startling is coming up, you spend all of your time in Sherlock Holmes mode - trying to solve the mystery, trying to see around the corner from the straightaway, trying to deflate the jolting moment, well before it happens.👇🏽

#Two4Tuesday
Always FUN, Ms. Lisa ( @TheSpineView )!💕

📖 Oh, yes! The list is so long. I would be so happy to wander the aisles of The Strand and Powell‘s Bookstore —> because of the buzz; Underground Books, Sisters Uptown Bookstore and Marcus Books —> in support of black-owned bookstores (Marcus Books is known to be the oldest Black-owned bookstore in the U.S., still kickin‘ it after 60+ years in business);👇🏽

Reposting for @Liz_M Thanks for the tag!💕

Ms. Liz has proposed a great idea to keep activities on Litsy easily assessable. Please add your thoughts and ideas to the mix.

https://litsy.com/p/bDI0bkZSNUlp

Hashtag LitsyList

Saturday morning. Book club reading. It doesn‘t feel like a hustle this time because this story pulls the reader along at rocket propulsion speed.🚀

#ThinkPositiveBePositive
Thank you for the tags: @Andrew65 @TheSpineView @Enchanted_Bibliophile @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs @MoonWitch94 🥰

Thanks to each and every wonderful person on Litsy for being so warm, kind, generous and caring! It truly is a lovely community of folks!💕

I came across a favorite author‘s book today in the bookstore. I always seem to find her books almost accidentally. While I‘m 💯 focused on a mad-hunt for something else, she finds me. We cross paths. Maybe serendipitously…I could call it that because I consider it a favorable encounter. You see, I took her to heart with the first book that I read by her many years ago.👇🏽

Undone by seasonal allergies. The day has had a horizontal viewpoint. I filled the between sneezes and itchy moments with this book. It‘s a slim novel telling a quiet story that felt right for a Sunday afternoon. Never once did I feel the urge to assume a vertical viewpoint until close to the end when I realized that sometimes unkind schemes result in a permanent alteration to sweet hopes and dreams, unlikeable people often remain unlikeable,👇🏽

I hope that this book is not going to creep me out. I‘m starting to get vibes similar to The Troop and I didn‘t enjoy that grossly disgusting story at all.😳

Pulled along by tiny dreadful images. Sucked into an uncomfortable wonder at the possibility of a horrific underlying truth. Dragged into a relentless and unblinking telling of a history…somewhat imagined and yet somehow wholly the truth. Thrown down the rabbit hole in search of facts. Another swig from the well of bitter waters. Another shadow in the mirror reflecting a venomous darkness.👇🏽

Reading for Book Club. I‘m always caught up in a less than 24-hour countdown every single month for book club. No matter how hard I try, no matter how determined I am to start the next book right after the conclusion of the last book, it never happens. It‘s a mad hustle in the end. &This month I think that I am the moderator.😳
Today…nothing, but reading! Too bad that I was up late last night watching scary movies & I‘m actually really sleepy!🥱😴

#FallTreasures - A Gifted Book: Occasionally someone gives you a book for no reason at all. You are surprised because that person is not a reader and, yet, somehow they managed to pick out a really good book. I had kind of given up on Oprah‘s Book Club by the time that this book was published and then released in paperback because Oprah was always recommending sorrow-filled broke-down stories filled with sad and stuck people.👇🏽

#FallTreasures - Two Word Title: Who doesn‘t want a single mother or a small-town doctor to come into some money? I was all about rooting for the loot becoming theirs permanently after the scoundrels were out of the picture.
Yes, I know that at some point as an adult, I need to think about the possibility of a criminal element, but let‘s be real, a secret stash FOUND in the attic, an anonymous deposit in my bank account,👇🏽

#FallTreasures - Banned Book: I wonder what words I would say in a letter to my son on living in America today. On becoming a young black man in America today. On chasing after education, dreams & prosperity in America today. On hoping for a good job, healthcare and home ownership in America today. On how to handle a possible encounter with law enforcement officers in America today. On desiring fair opportunity and happiness in America today.👇🏽

#FallTreasures - Slow Burn: I feel that this is considered a slow moving story by many. Readers seems to have a polarized opinion of its merit. It‘s love or hate with no middle ground. I thought that it was captivating not in a thriller sense which is maybe what most folks are seeking being that it is supposedly a vampire story. Its hypnotic trance is in the writing. It is lush and brooding.👇🏽

#FallTreasures- Over 500 Pages: It was the shoes. The ones shown on the book cover. That was the reason why I purchased this book. Shiny patent leather shoes like my Dad use to wear when really dressing up. Black. Amazingly glossy. Reflective. My Dad use to show me how a drop of water could glide across the surface never finding a place to puddle. I didn‘t read the blurb. I didn‘t consider the 504 pages. Just the thought of Dad & his shoes again.

#FallTreasures - Pocket Book: His is a poetry of yearning and deep longing not for love or love‘s sake, but for the Lover. For the passion ignited as one soul burns for another. The one that is breath and sunlight, water and air, food and sustenance. His words map the journey of the heart in Eros. It is sensual and pure and beautiful!👇🏽

#FallTreasures - Face On Cover: Some voids are never filled! This book is still on the coffee table. A legacy remembered!

#FallTreasures - Lesser Known Book: It‘s probably not memorable to most of its readers. It happens in hushed tones. When I read this I was in a subdued mood so this type of story worked for me. A girl going blind, an aristocratic fiancé (then husband) absorbed in business endeavors, a peculiar and far more interesting childhood friend now inventor. A story of vision I suppose…what one is capable of seeing as the world dims and then goes dark.??

#Two4Tuesday - Does the title of a book influence your decision to read or purchase it?
Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView @DarkMina and @kspenmoll 💕

I‘m often moved by the mere title of a book. Sometimes the title reads like a first line of poetry. It is immediately heartbreaking or joyful or possesses a hip vibe. I‘m hypnotized and pulled into the story before I even open the book to commence reading.👇🏽

Because I woke up early and watched BookTube.

Only on page one and I‘m already mad, upset, angry and disgusted by circumstances.

This already feels necessary.

#ThinkPositiveBePositive

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView 💕
And thanks to other Littens ( @Eggs @Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @DarkMina @EadieB ) who have tagged in the past. I am always tickled pink!💓

Tag: @BeaG @Tera66
To play post a positive quote and tag a fellow Litten.

Poetry feels like a lifeline of sorts as my attention span for reading has faltered this past year and it has become a challenge to finish any book despite its initial appeal. It was concerning at first to fail so miserably at all attempts to read just one book to the last page. Then poetry happened or re-happened or somehow felt more vital. Short distillations. Pretty words. Desperate truths. Impactful & powerful, but most importantly brief…👇🏽

#AuthorAMonth - August - Amy Tan: Two of my favorite stories are credited to this author. After reading The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter‘s Daughter, I thought that I would be a voracious reader of her books, but to this day those two remain the only books of hers that I have read. So it‘s good to participate in the Author-A-Month Book Group for this month. Hopefully, I can add one or two more to the “have read” list starting with this book.

An evening out with friends. It will be fun, but this book is smuggled in my purse just in case the night gets away from us as nights sometimes can. Just in case I prefer a quiet corner or a lighted rooftop patio seat under the stars.✨
Just me and a few poets. Right on! Right on!

#SummerBookmarkSwap
#SummerBookmarkSwap2021

I could never pick a favorite out of these bookmarks. I like each of them so much. Handcrafted gifts get me every time. I attach a lot of sentimentality to them so I thank you, Ms. Malina ( @aperfectmjk ), for thinking of me with such kindness.💕

#Two4Tuesday

📖 I choose Dead Poets Society again and again and again for a prompt such as this! Poetry, classic literature, and an inspiring teacher of young minds. And the empowering advice to Seize the Day! The BEST!

🎥 So many books. It‘s usually sci-fi fantasy that I would like to see realized. I‘ll go with N. K. Jemisin‘s Broken Earth Trilogy starting with The Fifth Season, but on the small screen as a multi-episode series on Netflix.

#SummerBookmarkSwap
#SummerBookmarkSwap2021

This was such a nice surprise, Ms. Christina! I like it! The color yellow speaks to my heart!🌻💛 Thank for hosting the bookmark swap. Always so much fun!🤗

#SummerBookmarkSwap
#SummerBookmarkSwap2021

Yay! Some bookmarks are on the way to you @aperfectmjk today!😃

Look what I found (see my last post)! I was determined to find this book on my bookshelves after watching the tv adaptation. Looking behind & under books. I knew that I had one copy. I had forgotten that I have two copies, but now I recall the bewildering fact that I liked the tv tie-in edition as much as the original paperback edition. So I kept it when I brought it home even when realizing that I already owned it. I am so eager to read this now!

There is no excuse. I couldn‘t locate the book on my shelves. It‘s been an incredibly long time since I purchased it. I thought that I might get some motivation to really look for it by taking just a little peep at the tv adaptation. It was so good. I couldn‘t help myself. I watched the WHOLE thing! Well-acted! Superbly eerie! Wonderfully mysterious!

Now, I‘ll be up all night looking for the book!👀

Photo Credit: The Internet

#SummerPoetrySwap
#PoetrySwap
#PoetrySwap2021
#PoetryMatters

Just enjoying my swap gift in the late evening!😌

Application: AdobeSpark

#SummerPoetrySwap
#PoetrySwap

Thank you @TheBookHippie for the wonderful items that you sent to me. Your generosity is heartwarming. Because of you, Ms. Christine, I have my very first book sleeve. I have wanted one for so long! The leather bookmark is a treasure. And the poetry books…Keats and Dickinson are favorite poets of mine and Lang Leav is a new-to-me poet. I shall be settling down with old comforts and exploring new realms. Thank you!💕

#AuthorAMonth - July - James Baldwin:

I knew that the reread journey would lead here, though there are other books that remain unexplored. This book can never be read too many times. This book states a message that continues to be as relevant today as it was some 58 years ago. Am I shocked? No, humans seem to be predisposed to a base level unkindness to one another.👇🏽

#AuthorAMonth - July - James Baldwin: When considering where to start this rereading venture I recalled an admission made by the author in an interview that I had read awhile back. James Baldwin thought of himself as a poet first, not a novelist, not an essayist. He filled sheets of paper with poems and then later fleshed them out into stories or longer compositions.👇🏽

#AuthorAMonth - July - James Baldwin: I fear that the words will not fall in place when it comes to describing exposure to the brilliance of James Baldwin‘s mind. I can only hope that I am able to say something of any merit before the end of this month.

Sunday afternoon.
Someone (here) told me to read this. I can‘t recall the precise wording of the recommendation, but I am listening to the guidance.
So far, it seems like you know me well.

#SummerPoetrySwap
#PoetrySwap
#PoetryMatters

I braved the long lines at the Post Office this morning to mail the Poetry Swap Package to you, Ms. Christine. I can‘t wait for you to receive it and hopefully enjoy the selections that I made for you. This was so much fun. I already have great anticipation for the next time around.

Thanks ladies for hosting!💕

The cover photo said it all. His hand obstructing a clear view of his face. His parted lips. His thumb dripping with ink or blood. Then the allusion to some type of obliteration clearly implied by the titled. A physical press. A mental squeeze. A loss of some necessary thing. Respect. Piece of mind. Dignity. Physical presence. Heart. Soul. Entire being. Everything. Then how to be whole again? How to recover? How to stand? How to still matter?👇🏽

#CuriousCovers - Orange: This is what I wrote on Goodreads while reading this book in 2015...
Okay, this is how it went:
- I'm in SUPER Cheer Mode. He better survive.
- Goodness, I'm pulling my hair out.
- Pheew!
- Potatoes...need to learn 100 recipes!
- You gotta be kidding me?
- Never say never.
- What the ****!
- I give up. He's full of hope. I'm full of despair.
- Cry Me a River🎶(or any song about some river or maybe Wade in the Water).
👇🏽

#CuriousCovers - Abstract Art: This book has a permanent place on my nightstand. It has remained there since our first encounter in 2013. It‘s on a repeat cycle...bottom-middle-top and then again. When one of my fellow book club members suggested a stronger alliance with extraordinary non-fiction, I sang out the praises of this art history book. I told them that they would be enriched. The experience would benefit them. They voted “Yes!”