“I write the first line of a book after I‘ve finished the whole thing,” Tayari Jones. #awesome

About to hear Tayari Jones on the beautiful campus of Alabama A&M at a fundraiser for our new North Huntsville Library.

Book- Before the Fall, Bel Canto
Food - Boston Baked Beans, BBQ Brisket
Author - Elizabeth Berg, Larry Brown
Movie - A Beautiful Mind, Bad News Bears
TV Show - Battlestar Galactica, Better Call Saul #manicmonday @JoScho

1. Y‘all
2. Three
3. Litsy, Goodreads, iBooks, Overdrive, Libby
4. Outdoor music festival
5. @Akckitty

#PenPalExchange @TheReadingMermaid Can‘t wait to get start. Might have to YouTube “How to Address an Envelope” - it‘s been a looong time! Just kidding!! 😝 Alabama, US

Book - Ahab‘s Wife, After Alice
Author - Kate Atkinson, Jeffrey Archer
Movie - All the President‘s Men, Apple Dumpling Gang 😂
TV - As the World Turns, Alias Grace
Food - Appetizers, Angel Hair Pasta, Artichokes. #manicmonday @JoScho

Great day for me! I received my first ever Litsy mail. My book for #genreswappbc #styleexchange made it to me from @isy_the_owl Woohoo!!! AND I started Sometimes I Lie.

Force of Nature was just the chaser I needed! Harper gave the fast pace and detail I enjoyed in The Dry. I did not see this ending coming! Loved getting to visit Australia. My brain is cleansed and ready to go. I‘m starting Radium Girls on Thursday and have three bookgroup titles coming quickly. Buuuut I think I‘m going to do one more just for me!

Jack and Diane send this with love to @CBee! So glad you appreciate us coming and going! 😝😝😝😝 🐶🐶❤️ #doxiebooty

1. I have to finish the Chapter. This wasn‘t always the case. Sadly, I no longer enjoy reading in snippets. I want the whole thing!
2. I prefer to read during the day which is impossible with my work schedule. Early morning is my prime time or very late at night. 3. If the book is good enough, I can ignore any background noise. Anywhere, anytime!

Enjoying #forceofnature on the porch only to realize Jack blew me off. He‘s gone fishing!! #dogsoflitsy @SheReadsAndWrites

Jane Harper is just as riveting now as with The Dry. I‘m hooked and having a GREAT mind cleanse! Great chaser!!

1. Read a bit and craft a bit.
2. Sunset
3. Love the beach especially from a ⛵️ 🌴
4. Plain, Jane brown
5. Howdy @Kaye @JulesG @Cathythoughts I enjoyed your posts
#friyayposts

Jack picked the #chaser for the night. Force of Nature it is! @jillrhudy @emilyhaldi @Cinfhen

An entertaining read, Before the Fall left me wanting more at the end. The writing style was engaging and told the story in a gripping manner. This was for my Thursday night book group. The conversation was lively! ❤️💕❤️💕those ladies!!!

I am so glad I read this very intense look at mental illness. Character driven and descriptive, Imagine Me Gone explores the relationships and devotion within a loving family unable to escape inevitable tragedy. This one showed me unimaginable emotion.

@collegecatlady @intervital On my way to the post office right now. I‘m not the best note taker - hope to improve!Sorry to cut it so close to the fifteenth! I‘m really looking forward to my next book. Think I‘m going to find mind candy to cleanse my brain before starting the next one. Realizing how much my reading is affected by the book before and after. #genreswappbc #styleexchange

And now you know the rest of the story! Jack and Diane hate seeing us leave in the morning. They are pulling the sick card today. Hustlers! #dogsoflitsy are helping me finish the tagged book for #genreswappbc #styleexchange Almost done!

I so wish I could let you #makemereadit! What a great way to handle the pending landslide I call my TBR. I am currently swamped with must reads mixed with some want to reads. 😔 All great books but dictated by outside forces. I think I‘m going to get some monkeys off my back!! (I may start target practice right now.....)

@CBee These are our small standards. Jack and Diane weigh around 19lbs. And they are BIG hunters. #dogsoflitsy Okay, guys. I‘ll take some new photos.

@CBee These are our grandwieners enjoying their birthday at Dairy Queen. Had no idea they served Birthday ice cream to dogs! These boys are minis. #dogsoflitsy Apologies, Littens. @CBee and I have connected over doxies.

Little Fires Everywhere was doomed from the beginning. I just reread one of my all time favs #TheSparrow and this just didn‘t hold up for me. Fast start and finish, Boring middle. 😔 Just like NBA basketball games. 😊 I really think this was more me than the book. And it probably would have happened to any book. Does anyone else experience a guaranteed letdown after reading a mountaintop high?

#TheSparrow #buddyread This is our next to last round. It‘s time to discuss the AMAZING Mary Doria Russell! Watch for hashtags for the last round!

Let‘s spend a bit of time talking about Rakhat and the mission in general. #TheSparrow #buddyread Please look for the hashtags so I don‘t have to tag everyone for the other rounds!

Mission Complete! Wow! It is exciting to hear this conversation from such a tremendous and talented group of readers. Gentle reminder - this is a conversation about the text. Let‘s remember to respect one another‘s personal beliefs. Round 1 Discussion will center around Emilio. Questions are forthcoming in comments under a spoiler. Let‘s do it!🚀 #TheSparrow #buddyread

It‘s almost time for the final discussion of #TheSparrow #buddyread. Everyone is invited for this Tell-All Conversation of Mary Doria Russell‘s masterpiece of the mission to Rakhat!🚀

Happy Saturday Y‘all! I‘m looking forward to a great rehash tomorrow! Here‘s my 70s music. I missed the photo post yesterday 😕So sorry! Great news though! My daughter @Searcysledge gave me another Canva lesson tonight! Woohoo!

Hello Space Travelers! It‘s time to debrief our mission 🚀 before the final countdown to the end of #TheSparrow. This is our Week 3 discussion with questions in the comments. Everyone is welcome to join in the conversation. @Cinfhen has got lots going on with hosting duties at #StepfordSummerParty 🤣 and with us on Rakhat! I am so excited to hear your thoughts. At this point, use the questions as suggestions. There is too much to discuss! 👽👽👽

Time to #stepfordsummerparty! Wish I could read all the comments right now. You are all cracking me up! 🤣🤣🤣 This recipe came from the Officer‘s Wives Club cookbook at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa. My mother and her friends ate this on a regular basis all throughout the 70s with their Carlo Rossi wine coolers - 3 parts red, one part 7Up. Wanted to share the hand drawn graphic. Recipe coming in the comments. Party on Stepfords!!

@JulesG @CarolynM
1. Why mess with perfection? Maggie!!!
2. Bedtime is my biggest struggle. I try to make it to bed by 10:15pm and asleep by 11:00. Otherwise I take a quick nap around 4:30am and still make it to work by 7:30.
3. Beach read
4. We start and end our days with the electric kettle!
5. Bookstore 3/4 mile in one direction. Library 2.5 miles in the other. I‘m at the library everyday. It‘s my job!! I mean dress up time! 🙃

It‘s 74 days and counting to football season! After seeing Dodger Blue earlier today I couldn‘t resist showing my team colors! 🏈 Happy #manicmonday! @JoScho

Calling all #Littens! Please help me welcome my friend author Mike Guillebeau. He‘s a lot of fun and has a wicked sense of humor. Here he is! He‘s all yours! #litsywelcome

1. Sadly I don‘t have my dad or father-in-law any longer. 2. Absolutely BOTH! 3. Soccer/futbol 4. Pound cake is my specialty! Thanks @BarbaraTheBibliophage for #sassysunday!

Beautiful start to my day which dissolved into a really great nap! I‘m behind on my reading now. 😢 #stepfordwivesparty

Starting celebrations for my dear friend #MichaelGuillebau! His latest book #MADLibrarian just won the Foreward Indie Gold Award for Humor. It was a joy to watch his creative process in my library and to be his inspiration along with my team. (Yes, there is self-promotion all over this.) I did the easy part being his friend. Mike did the heavy lifting! Congratulations, Friend!! 🍾🎉😎🌴

I‘ve been chatting with @NotLiketheRoad about her #dogoflitsy not devouring the tortellini he‘s posing with in a post. #jackanddiane eat everything. Poor Diane had to miss dinner last night by order of the vet. Apparently SAND is not good for a dog‘s tummy! Sad puppy!! 😢 My mother-in-law would say, “This too shall pass!”

1. 21 times not counting college

2. 6,720 Miles

3. I‘m embarrassed to say - hundreds

4. I am blessedly in my forever home! 🏡

5. Movers required - ALWAYS. @JoScho

1. Hermione Granger - I‘m bossy, convinced every solution to a problem is in the library, and I‘ll fight to the death for those I love. (But I do test as a Ravenclaw! 🤗)

2. LITSY - obsessed to the point of no return

3. #TheSparrow #buddyread
#triplethreatthursday @MelAnn

Oy. Too many choices!

1. Magenta

2. Football season!! 🏈

3. Literary Fiction

4. Gardening

5. Fritos - no need for a fork!

6. Cold 🍺

7. Book BAGS!!

1. I‘m a big cover lover!❤️💕

2. 75% of my summer reading is on one porch or another.

3. Ideally I finish the chapter. Reality is I read in bits and pieces. 😦

4. I typically use a receipt but always memorize my page number. (Self preservation tactic!)

5. 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Jack and Diane wanted to share their young charges with you. These are my daughter‘s addition to our Wiener Pack! #dogsoflitsy The little ones just want a beer! 🐶🐶🐶🐶🍺🍺

Happy Friday, Littens! Your flight crew is preparing to take you on an adventurous discussion of #TheSparrow #buddyread! I am tagging everyone who clearly joined up or commented on our initial posts. Let me know if you wish to be removed from our list. Your co-captain @Cinfhen and I are delighted to be with you. Prepare for takeoff! Everyone is welcome to join!!

@jesshowbooks - Hope you have a fabulous weekend! Thanks for the #friyayintro! Always fun!

1. Magenta
2. ER
3. #DevilintheWhiteCity
4. Mayo, ketchup, spicy mustard
5. Trip to farmer‘s market, LONG nap, family Sunday brunch and #TheSparrow#buddyread starting this afternoon!!!

1. Clearly Jack and Diane are an obsession. I‘ll try to post something other than them next time! It‘s my only weekend photo.
2. I would love to go to a Litsy Meet Up. #HuntsvilleAL #BirminghamAL #NashvilleTN
3. Grilled fish on a bed of arugula on a healthy day. Grilled cheese on a preferred day! Sooo, grilled cheese!
4. Plain old white today with blue seersucker pants.
5. Surprisingly 61
#humpdaypost @MinDea

Had a wonderful visit to #Parnassus today and picked up a few. Know which one I‘m most excited about? You got it! The beautiful journal with Doxies on the cover!!🐶 @SheReadsAndWrites

1. Outlander - I read the first five books in three weeks so I could be ready for #6 when it came out. Result - years of insomnia! 😝
2. For Love of the Game with Kevin Costner. There is just something amazing about that man in a baseball uniform.
3. Frito scoops - they go with anything and are great plain. And they function as my favorite utensil. Don‘t a fork as long as I have a frito!
4. Tagging @Cinfhen @collegecatlady @BookaholicNatty

Right back at ya @SheReadsAndWrites ❤️🐶🐶 #jackanddiane

Seeing everyone‘s #shelfiesaturday made me look at mine. I‘ve got six of these. All in need of organization. Read or clean? Hmmmm. I‘m going with the first.