"Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone."

Enjoying this beautiful morning before the temperature rises.

"A man can get used to anything, even, if need be, to dying . . ."

"The whole hotel lobby was empty. It smelled like fifty million dead cigars. It really did."

Outdoor lunchtime reading. Working from home this week since I continue to test positive for Covid even on day 10!

New word learned today:

palliasse = a straw mattress

"Immediately the train stopped, the guards started yelling."

#FirstLineFridays

❤ #dedications ❤

Ahhh, you gotta love a well worn book cover!

I am loving this book so far. I can't remember anything about the story from the first time I read it at age 16. I find myself laughing outloud a lot now, but I sure wish I could remember exactly what I thought of it way back when. What could my teenage perspective have been like? Did this book shape who I became as an adult? It will be fun to find out as I read more!

I LOVE finding hand-written gems like this in old books. The edition I have was published in 1966. 💘💝💖💗💓💞

Planting flowers...for a second time in two weeks since the first time they didn't take. Wish them luck!

💐 🌹 🌸 🏵 🌼 💐

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

(I still can't believe this book was first published 71 years ago - wow!)

Up next! I first read this book way back when I was 16 years old (as evidenced by this photo that my mother snapped of me in 1988). I remember liking the story a lot and immediately running out and buying the rest of J.D. Salinger's books. Now I am looking forward to reading it, again, at age 50 and seeing what I think of it after so many years have passed. 🙃☺️🙂

I loved this book so much that I didn't want it to ever end! I laughed outloud a lot at the 16 year old angst-ridden narrator's observations on life. The ending was a bit sad, but I don't see how the story could have turned out any other way.

Ahhhh, you gotta love a book that starts out with a descriptive map! 🥰

Will you look at this lovely book! I picked it up yesterday at a neighborhood Little Free Library. It was published in 1993 and is in perfect condition! Unfortunately, it's not in the Litsy database so I can't tag it.

Next up!

This book literally put me to sleep nearly every time I sat down to read it! It wasn't terrible, but it certainly was not good. The author should stick to running and give up the idea of being a writer.

"You must distance yourself from the mountain to be able to see it whole."

Picture credit: me!

"When I was four years old, my mother told me it was impossible to send a letter to heaven because the wind does not go there. Heaven is always calm, with no wind."

It was a glorious day of mushroom hunting for my husband and me. We bagged 4.5 lbs of morels! 😋😋😋

"Once you have chosen your path, follow it confidently."

My mom told me my sister had stopped believing in God.

"No," I whispered." "Yes," said my mom.

"That f*cking library card, man!"

???

"I live with my father, Ray Nickel, in that low brick bungalow out on highway number twelve."

#FirstLineFridays

"A day comes in life when you have to decide which train to take, and once you are aboard, there is no point in thinking what might have happened if you had caught a different one. You have to make the most of what you find on your route."

Ahhh, it's been awhile since I posted a book haul!

Next up! This one has been on my TBR list for years.

I started this book while on vacation and now that I'm back home I just cannot get into it. So, this is more of a DNF than it is a BAIL. I'll definitely return to it at another time.

Nomi, the narrator of this book, smokes Sweet Caps.

Next up! I've always been fascinated by supermodels and the design aspect of fashion, so I'm really looking forward to reading this book.

This book was so interesting. I learned a lot about the American gun industry. A definite pick!

Life does not suck right now. Not one bit!

My husband and I leave tomorrow on our vacation to 🇲🇽 !!! Here are the books I've decided to bring with me. I am currently in the middle of reading Glock and A Complicated Kindness, and the other three are TBR. I am so looking forward to some rest and relaxation!

Has this ever happened to you? Your significant other orders a book and you have to immediately cancel the order because said book is already part of your collection? Oh, yeah, and you also know EXACTLY where the book is located within your vast color coded filing system and you walk right to it! Note to spouse: never order a book without checking my collection first! 🤣

Oh, man. It was 80° here last Thursday and today we woke up to this! We leave on our Mexico trip this coming Friday and it can't get here soon enough! My most difficult task right now is trying to decide which 📚 to bring along with me. 🤔

#thinkpositivebepositive

Thanks for the tag @BarbaraTheBibliophage !

"In 1985, there wasn't a single Glock pistol in the US. By 1995, the company sold more than 20,000 a month at an average cost of $600 apiece for civilians."

I'm only four chapters in and I already love this book! The author really captures the main character and all her 16 year old angst. I've laughed out loud a few times already, and that's awesome!

"How are you?" Uncle Hans asked my dad.

"Oh, unexceptional. Living quietly with my disappointments. And how are you?"

???

I went to a neighborhood Little Free Library to get rid of my Peter Pan book and came home with this one. It's a little-known early (1976) Follett published pseudonymously in England before he became famous.

Up next! This time I'm going to write down the characters' names and who they are so I don't miss anything. 😉

I'm sure this will be an unpopular opinion, but I didn't love this book. It was hard for me to accept it as a story for children with all the focus on death, dying, and murder.

There have been several Peter Pan related movies made and I've reserved a few at my local library. I think I'm going to start with "Finding Neverland" which actually tells the author's story and focuses on his inspiration behind Peter Pan and its cast of characters.

So, I had to run to the post office for work and I couldn't pass up stopping in at this local library branch to see what they had on their used books shelf. I got all of these for only $6.75! 😯😲😯

CHAPTER 7: Going Hollywood

Colt gun brand chauvinists derided the plastic Glock as "handgun Tupperware."

???

"Hook or me this time!"

Los Angeles Times article: PROGRESS GIVES US GREAT NEW HANDGUN - HIJACKER SPECIAL.

The Glock handgun was once referred to as "plastic perfection" in a Soldier of Fortune magazine article.

Gaston Glock (born July 19, 1929)

Up next! I bought this book for my husband years ago. Now it's time for me to read it.

This turned out to be really excellent. The amount of raw and unapologetic courage it took this woman to write her story is nothing less than awe-inspiring.