I drew a random title from the windowsill pile to break up my Lunar Chronicles reading and was quite happy with this month's #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead was picked. This is a childhood favorite that I hadn't read in decades and I was glad to have the nudge to pick it up for a reread!!

Jane actually holds up pretty well over time. This and The Blue Castle are two of my favorite Montgomery's, and they have some similar themes of a dreary home life ⬇

@Chrissyreadit - this one arrived safe and sound! And your Happy LMPBC Better Late Than Never Book Arrival Card made me snort with laughter! 😂 No worries, friend, life happens!! I have definitely been there with LMPBC books before!!

Looking forward to this one!! @Laughterhp @BookwormAHN

It's been three years since I joined Litsy with a post reviewing Spindle's End. I had no idea I was jumping into such a warm and welcoming community or that I would spend so much time getting to know other book-loving internet-strangers around the world. For me, Litsy is what the internet was really meant to accomplish. 😂Thank you to all of you for making this such a lovely place to be. #Litsyversary

Yay!! I finally finished this #AlmostaChunkster !! I absolutely loved it, so my slow reading speed was definitely not a reflection of my enjoyment! This series is really picking up momentum. Meyer does a fabulous job balancing the different characters and their stories. I am not even sure who I love the most. (Okay, probably Thorne haha) I also think that she captures the themes of each fairy tale so well. Finishing this one wash main goal for ⬇️

So yes, the windowsill situation is growing dire haha More holds came from the library and I just have not had a lot of reading time!! My #WeeklyForecast goals involve finishing Cress and hopefully the tagged book as well. I'm really enjoying this series but my limited reading time has made it hard to really get into Cress. My project at the orchard is almost done and it's supposed to be rainier this week, so I may be able to squeeze in some ⬇️

#BookReport - The windowsill has remained mostly static this week. I always forget how nice weather cuts into reading time!! I've had so many outside projects underway, but things are starting to come together. I've included a picture of the side garden so you can see where my reading time has really been spent!! I checked off two of my chapter-a-day(ish) reads this week (bottom picture), but only one windowsill book, although I'm almost ⬇

#MarvellousMay starts tomorrow. May has been SUPER busy for me as the weather has finally broken and we have been trying to get things caught up in the gardens as almost nothing productive happened during our wet, cold April. Anyway, all that to say that I have not gotten nearly as much reading done as usual! My big goal for next week is to actually read the tagged book. My chapter-a-day books are hogging up a lot of my reading time with not a ⬇

I really enjoy Thayne's novels, which walk that line between romance and women's fiction - just enough drama and romance to keep me engaged, but not so much of one or the other to make me roll my eyes haha This story focuses on three women - Rosemary and her adult daughters, Cami and Violet. Violet's twin sister, Lily, has recently died in a tragic accident. At the time of her death, she was working on creating a Glampground on a neighbor's ⬇

I honestly cannot believe I had never read this one before! It was absolutely delightful. I loved the contrast between Lady Susan's “polite“ letters and the ones she send to her best friend. I also was cracking up at the letters her sister-in-law was sending to the SIL's mother, full of polite rage. I definitely wanted more of this story, and it's fun to think of how it may have been fledged out into a full-length novel. Would Lady Susan have ⬇

I have had this book on my TBR for a while, and my #NewYearWhoDis list from @vonnie862 gave me the nudge I needed to bump it up a priority level. I'm so glad I did because this book was honestly delightful. Elwes is so warm and friendly throughout, with a very upbeat view of the making of The Princess Bride. I loved the additional memories from other members of the cast and crew throughout as well. If you are looking for some "dirt" you'll be ⬇️

The tagged book is listed with a different author so... not sure if they are supposed to be the same. Can there really be two books with this same random title?! 😂

Quite a while back I bought an entire box of Regency romances on ebay for quite cheap, mostly because it included several Georgette Heyer books that I didn't own yet. I've slowly been working my way through the other books, which have been pretty much uniformly terrible LOL ⬇

I was honestly not anticipating having this much fun reading Dracula, but I am LOVING it! I actually got a hard copy so that I can follow along/kind of see what is coming next, so I wasn't expecting to get another email until May 12, Jonathan's next entry. However, the SubStack is putting everything in chronological order instead of sticking strictly to the book order - so this letter from Mina appeared today even though it isn't until the next ⬇

My #WeeklyForecast is a day late because yesterday was one of those days when the weather was perfect and we started working outside at 7am and didn't stop until supper 😂 I can't imagine what we would do if we owned more than acre!!

ANYWAY I'm not saying that there are more books in the windowsill than there were last week... but there may be more books in the windowsill than there were last week 😆 I did so well the first couple months of the⬇

#BookReport - This always happens when I'm doing a bunch of chapter-a-day reads... my windowsill reading slows down a lot!! I did finish the next installment of the Lunar Chronicles as well as read several short stories from Stars Above, in the order I found recommended online. I also got distracted when I was making my graphic and forgot to check off Kids of Appetite 😂 I'm enjoying all of my daily reads except for Gone With the Wind because ⬇

Sometimes I read a book and immediately add it to my reread list - this was one that I read back in 2018 and have been meaning to reread ever since. I enjoyed it just as much this time around. It's a story that “should“ annoy me, but I found myself once again completely rooting for this mismatch group of kids. Vic's journey to find some semblance of peace with the death of his father could have been cheesy and eye-rolly, but instead is genuine ⬇

I am really enjoying the Lunar Chronicles and can't believe I have waited so long to read them!! I found Meyer's suggested reading order that includes where to read all the short stories in Stars Above, so next I am going to catch up on those before jumping into Cress. This one was a little slow in spots/overly long, but that could have also possibly been because I am reading six other books in the chapter-a-day method, which really does eat into⬇

Did you all get your first installment of #DraculaDaily today? I honestly cracked up when I saw the introductory tagline! 😂 I am genuinely excited to read this classic in “real time“!

For those who missed it, someone on Substack is sending out Dracula on the days that match the journals, letters, etc. Link below!!

@KristiAhlers @Cortg @Readergrrl @Clare-Dragonfly @DivineDiana @PuddleJumper @Cortg @Avanders @BookwormAHN @Maggie4483

Thanks for tagging me in #Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView !!

1. It kind of depends on the vacation, but roughly “a pile“ 😂 I tend to use vacation as a time to reread some old favorites, which I find relaxing.
2. Yes, I mostly read physical books in general, and I honestly love the way books seem to soak up the vibes from vacations. The tagged book has been taken on probably a dozen vacations. But I do take my Kindle for back up!!

Here's the #BookSpinBingo card! First, I put our official numbers (5 & 20) back in the mix. Then I drew them all out & wrote them down as I went, meaning the official numbers are just mixed into the card with the rest! As you can see, 21-25 are both labeled with their numbers & also as free spaces, so you can use them to match however you wrote your list. To score a bingo, just read books (in any order) that are in any row or column!! MORE INFO ⬇

Good morning, everyone! The moment you have all been waiting for!! Our official #BookSpin number is FIVE!! Our official #DoubleSpin number is TWENTY!! I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at everyone's lists & am really looking forward to seeing your reviews!

My next post will be the #BookSpinBingo card!!!

My tagging/tracking system has changed this year, so if you didn't get tagged PLEASE let me know so I can add you to the (semi) permanent ⬇

@BarkingMadRun - This is my first time reading this book as well and I am intrigued to see what it is all about!! Couldn't resist getting a pretty edition. Always on the lookout for an excuse to buy a lovely book!!

#PemberLittens @sprainedbrain

Today's #weeklyforecast ... I may have lost my mind! 😂 As you can see, the windowsill, with May's additions, is now STUFFED full!! The bottom picture is of all of May's chapter-a-day(ish) reads. I'm actually enjoying Gone With the Wind more than I thought I would, and I'm really excited about the various #PemberLittens reads. The Fall of the Ottomans is an intriguing focus on that area of WWI, and As You Wish is for #NYWD The backwards book is ⬇

#BookReport - Well, I did winnow a few more out of the windowsill, and should finish the tagged book sometime today. But starting tomorrow I seem to have embroiled myself in a LOT of chapter-a-day books, which will slow down my windowsill reading... and after adding May's books, the windowsill is BURSTING! 😂 While none of the books I read this week were new faves, they were all solid, engaging reads. And looking at the books that are left - ⬇

A soft pick, I liked this one but didn't love it. I don't want to say too much because it's an #LMPBC read, but I felt like the “sides“/who is fighting who was rather muddled which left me feeling a smidge confused from time to time. I liked the developed religion and the fact that it was real, and that faith and prayers were an important part of the story. An intriguing concept, but the development struggled a bit in places. Still a fun read.

This is fairly typical 1960s horse-girl fare haha The story opens with Robin secretly selling her pony to the neighborhood Obnoxious Rich Guy because she has overheard her parents being very stressed about money and wants to do her part. Robin is very mature and hardworking, yet still felt like a real girl, and I was totally rooting for her. I felt like some of the story could have been a little better developed, but overall a nice little ⬇

Only Wodehouse could make me enjoy reading a collection of short stories centered around golf!! Tales told by the "Oldest Member" of the golf club to generally unwilling audiences, these stories are typical Wodehouse fluff. If you aren't into golf and have never read Wodehouse, I probably wouldn't start here, but if Wodehouse is your jam, these were pretty fun, even if a bit ridiculous!!
Published under different US/UK titles because WHY

I can't express how pleased I am with my personal #BookSpin plan this year! The list on the right is my ongoing list of classics/chunksters that I have been wanting to read, and I've read a chapter a day of each month's book until it's finished, which means I've checked off Ivanhoe, David Copperfield, and Of Mice and Men already this year!! I'm about 1/3 of the way through the tagged book, which was April's pick. I'm excited to see which one is ⬇

So someone over on substack is sending out the entire book of Dracula via email ***on the day each event happens in the book***!! I've never actually read this one, but apparently it's an epistolary novel?? (Didn't know this) So... the entire book has dates for each section, and the person hosting this sends you that section of the book on the correct day. The book starts May 3 & ends Nov 10, and so do the emails - check it out here (it's free!!)⬇

This one was a little too sad for me to give a wholehearted pick - I'm a happy-book girl - but the sadness felt realistic and well-done, not like the author was trying to shock the readers. It had been a while since I had picked up a historical fiction, as it's not usually my jam. Minor complaints - I felt like the two POV voices sounded way too similar, to the point that I sometimes had to flip back a page and see who was talking. I think this ⬇

Oh my gosh, the last week of April!?!?! What is happening!?!? It's been a cold & rainy month here, but things are looking up right now - sun is shining & I actually got a few early veggies in the garden yesterday!!

At any rate, if you're interested in playing along with #BookSpin, #DoubleSpin, and/or #BookSpinBingo for May, it's already time to start thinking about your lists!!! With my new 2022 system, I am using the SAME TAG LIST all year⬇

I've finished 15 books this month yet the windowsill looks as full as ever!! I have a lot of reading to do before May!! However, in May we are going on VACATION (cue happy music!!) which should mean some catching up. Anyway, this week's top priority will be the tagged book for #LMPBC. Beyond that, we will see where the random-draw fates take me. I should finish Where the Lost Wander today as well. Cannot believe there is only ⬇️

#BookReport x2 weeks since I was sick last weekend - the windowsill is starting to look a little more manageable as I spent much of my recovery time reading!! I also finished several chapter-a-day reads (The Other Bennet Sister, North & South, London Under). I had three Cinderella retellings (besides Cinder) for the #fairytalereadingchallenge this month, but the two I started didn't speak to me. Despite enjoying the Waterfire Saga by Jennifer ⬇

I think this book has been on my TBR since it first was published in 2012 haha Worth the wait - creative and fun with likable characters. I did feel like the place cyborgs had in society wasn't very well explained, but on the whole I really enjoyed this one. And since it's been on my list ten years, I don't have to wait for the rest of the series! Bought all the others on Pango so they should be here next week!!

Someone gifted this one to me ⬇️

Well, I went ahead and finished this one yesterday - I got behind on the chapter-a-day schedule when I was sick over the weekend and then had no idea where I was supposed to be, so I just went for the gold! 😂 I'm glad to have read this one, but can't particularly say I enjoyed it. I found Margaret to be sanctimonious and boring. Gaskell's only method for forwarding the plot was killing off another character so that we could watch Margaret be ⬇

Yesterday was a bittersweet day - I finished the Swallows & Amazons series! I read the first book back in 2019 and have taken my time reading the other 11 books, savoring every page. I LOVE this series! I think I'm going to start over and reread them all. Great Northern? did not disappoint - another delightful adventure with the entire gang. I wish there were another dozen of these books to read because I can't even express how much I've enjoyed ⬇

And here's a little #ThingsInCommon update for the last few books @Clwojick !!

I also had two DNFs this past weekend, so five total books off the TBR, plus another one I just finished this morning. I've fallen completely off the bandwagon with North & South and Gone With the Wind, but am picking those back up today. Feels good to be getting back in the groove!!!

Another soft pick here as I had some mixed feelings. I actually loved this concept and felt like a lot of the scenes were a lot of fun. However, this felt like two stories and like the authors couldn't decide which story should get the focus. Despite the fact that Carey & James are the main love story, the book felt like it was a lot more about the Tripps. This made the ending feel rushed - I really wanted to see some resolution between the ⬇

This wasn't my favorite Bridgerton, mainly because the first half lacks Bridgertons - what I enjoy about this series is the siblings en masse, & at first we only have Eloise. I felt like the resolution w/ Phillip's children was somewhat rushed, but overall this was some fun fluff w/ sizzle.
#Pantone2022 @Clwojick
#19822022 - 2003 @Librarybelle
#SeriesRead2022 @TheSpineView
#WickedWords - Earth @AsYouWish
#RoaringWolf - Pastel @Roary47 @Littlewolf1

Okay, so I actually did read several books while I was lounging about pretending like my insides weren't waiting to attack me. However, I was a smidge feverish during some of them, so it may have impacted my perspective 😂 At any rate, please excuse the upcoming small review binge.

This one is the 2nd book in the Chesapeake Shores series, focusing on another O'Brien sibling. Bree returns home from Chicago, unsure what she wants to do with her ⬇

@Chrissyreadit this one arrived safely!! And this tiny card is so adorable!! 😂 Can't wait to jump into this story!! #LMPBC @Laughterhp @BookwormAHN

Hey friends! Well, I didn't intent to go completely AWOL but I was stricken down by a horrific stomach bug Friday morning and am just now starting to feel somewhat regular again! I will NOT bore you with the details; we'll just say I'm ready to go forward from here! 😂 I'll be working on catching up on my tags today and seeing what's been happening while I've been gone!! In the meantime, here are some my seedlings popping up, and yet another ⬇

I was going to go with “two-word titles“ and then realized that literally both of these authors are named Peter so that seemed obvious 😂

#ThingsInCommon @Clwojick

I enjoy nonfiction about random topics, so a book focused on the London under London sounded like a good fit for me. Unfortunately, I found this book ultimately disappointing, mainly because Ackroyd didn't particularly take the time to organize his information or go in depth about many of the things he mentioned. Instead, this book felt very fragmentary, almost like an outline for a book instead of the actual book. It's only 205 very small pages ⬇

Nine seemingly unconnected individuals each receive a letter in the mail with a list of (the same) nine names. It seems like a prank - until each of those people start getting murdered. While this wasn't exactly a slow book, it was slow compared to Swanson's usual frenetic pace. There isn't really an investigation - instead, each section (which counts down from nine as people are killed) hops between the different people and what is happening ⬇

Really these are both Romances + something else haha But I'm going with close enough for #ThingsInCommon! @Clwojick

It's been quite a while since I've rated a book as a pan, but this one was pretty bad haha Although I will admit that I softened to it a little when I found out it was published in 1988, making some of the themes a little more palatable. A lot has changed in 30+ years! However, that doesn't stop this one from being basically unbelievable, with a federal agent staying with a civilian as a cover story so he can find out who/where illegal marijuana ⬇

It's amazing how you can find #ThingsInCommon between two books that are really 100% opposites 😂 @Clwojick

I couldn't resist finishing this one, mostly because Mary was driving me CRAZY these last couple of days! 😂 I overall really enjoyed this one, but I am not sure I would have liked it as much if I hadn't been reading just two chapters a day, because the story was really slow in parts, which I think would have bogged me down more if I had been reading this all in one go. 463 pages was just tooooo long for the amount of story we have here. I did ⬇

#WeeklyForecast - So the windowsill doesn't look dramatically different from last week! I did finish The Toll last night, and you can see that I scratched off two ebooks last week. I'm hoping to spend some time reading some fluffy books this week because I'm going to be very busy and I spent most of last week finishing the Arc of a Scythe series, which was rather intense - I'm ready for a break!! Started the tagged ebook last night which has ⬇

I've only journeyed three steps into the #ThingsInCommon challenge - but The Toll was obviously an easy match for Thunderhead! @Clwojick