Same here, Jonathan. Same here. 😆

#wondrouswednesday

1. Travel, books, free time to explore all the things
2. Work, negativity, politics
3. Basically that I have done this thing called life on my own terms, despite others‘ “expectations” & no matter if some decisions weren‘t necessarily the best decisions. I‘ve learned a lot, had some amazing experiences, and met some awesome people along the way.

#two4tuesday

1. I have 3 possible options: (a) Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe; (b) Well That Didn‘t Go As Planned; or (c) Traveling Purposefully in a Vague Direction

2. I‘m not sure how I‘d define a life “well-lived” but Madeline Albright has certainly had an interesting life.

#motivationalmonday

1. Work, interview, read, finish the puzzle I started this weekend
2. My building‘s courtyard & some of Connecticut Ave
3. Washington D.C. – warm with a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon

Christine! Thank you so much for this lovely Ostara package. 🩷🌷🪻🌻

So sorry I‘m late in posting. I opened it, took a photo, have been reading through the book, & forgot to post this.

#travelingstars #travelingstars2024

#5JoysFriday

💛 I got the call about a second interview
🌻 I found a book I‘ve been wanting at a free library
⭐️ I started spring cleaning & have a nice stack of things to giveaway & more room/better organization
🔆 I reorganized my puzzle closet & updated my puzzle spreadsheet
💛 after weeks of being in a reading slump & only listening to audiobooks, I‘ve actually finished a couple of physical books.

Happy Friday! 🌻

🎉 Congrats @BkClubCare 🎉

Send your mailing to: lynn@wanderinglynn.com
and I‘ll get this in the mail to you!

Thank you to everyone who entered my #RuGiveaway

#wondrouswednesday

1. 🍞🪄🤺
2. Strike the Zither by Joan He. I‘ve been waiting to read it until the sequel, Sound the Gong, comes out next month.
3. Oh so many! But Martha Wells is one. Love her Murderbot series!

There‘s still time to enter my #RuGiveaway! Enter by 8 pm EDT Thursday!

#motivationalmonday

1. As few as possible 😆
2. Depends on the day—coffee (in the mornings), sparkling water, tea, or sometimes an adult beverage.
3. Magnetic bookmark
4. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I‘m currently between reads & rather indecisive as I stare at my TBR bookcase

I listened to the audio version & I‘m totally in love with Vaughn. And I‘m not even a hockey fan! 😆

@mcctrish @Sargar114 I haven‘t done the wildflowers yet, but I did the mini succulents! 🌵

All.the.feels! 5⭐️

If you can‘t tell, I‘m a huge AJ fan. And Abby Jimenez will always be a pre-order, auto-buy author for me.

When it arrived on Thursday, I started reading it immediately & didn't get up again until I hit the last word on the last page. Emma and Justin might have edged out Sloan and Jason as my favorite.

On top of the amazing story, all the cameos! It's like a beautiful synergy of Abby-world, a place I wish I could live.

#RuGiveaway 🎉

I have 2 copies! I got one for going to his book tour & the second from his book club. So I‘m giving away the second brand new hardback!

To enter, simply comment below.

For a second entry, share this post & tag me!

Open internationally.

Giveaway closes at 8pm EDT on Thursday, April 11.

If RuPaul‘s book tour comes near you, I highly recommend going. What an amazing, fabulous, & inspiring evening.

Christine, thank you for the hot chocolate! I love raspberry 😋

Jill - I‘ll try to get the tagged to you by early next week.

#lmpbc

#wondrouswednesday

1. I have an entire dance playlist because I always dance like no one‘s watching. 💃🏼🕺🏼

2. Excellent question. I‘m thinking a sailboat because I have a top 5 list places to live but it changes sometimes when I visit somewhere new.

3. Depends on the day and the need. But anything from buying myself a little something (like a new book) to main/pedis and massages.

#sundayfunday

I have a few tattoos but I just got my bookish one last summer and I plan to add to it.

Thank you Chrissy 😘 This was a lovely surprise! I especially love the Capricorn Bowl. ♑️💜

Litsy Friends, how are you? 💜

#letscheckin

#motivationalmonday

1. My main plan is to just try to survive it.

2. Tagged

3. Curious & wandering

Thanks for the tag @Texreader 😀
Who else wants to play? Consider yourself tagged!

@Bookwormjillk this will be on its way to you tomorrow!

#LMPBC

#two4tuesday

1. What don‘t I daydream about?! 😂 travel, conversations, jobs, fictional worlds, places I‘d rather be at that moment, places to live, dream house, romance, forests, oceans, adventures, story ideas, memories, song lyrics — my brain is strange & mysterious and usually always somewhere else.

2. All of them.

#unpopularopinion

I tried, I really tried. I thought listening to the audiobook would be lovely since Patrick Stewart has a great speaking voice. However, I just found it tedious and cringy. I felt that it's read without any insight, without reflection, and without emotion. Needless to say, I was disappointed and couldn't push myself to finish it. Since it was due back at the library, I decided to just call it quits.

Grazie mille! Thank you so much Christine for this unexpected gift! I love the journal & bookmark. And the Capricorn cards are so neat! 😘❤️♑️

#naturalitsy #midwintersolace

Such a tough choice! I have so many I‘d recommend but one of my more recent reads is the tagged. I absolutely loved this story. I listened to the audiobook & Michael Urie does a marvelous job narrating for Marcellus, the octopus. 🐙💜

#JoyousJanuary

How is it almost mid-January already? Luckily, this is a holiday weekend, so I have 3 days to read non-stop.

My goals include:
📖 finish this month‘s #LMPBC
📚 read my 2 current library books, one of which is an #AuldLangSpine read
📚 start Divine Rivals & maybe Starling House, both of which are #AuldLangSpine reads

#wondrouswednesday

1. Yes, I have gotten into a reading slump. I normally reread a fave or two.

2. One of my faves is Neil Gaiman.

3. One of my faves is Martha Wells.

#two4tuesday

1. A beverage is not a must. In fact, if I get really into the story, I‘ll even forget to eat.

2. I just read book 1 & 2 of April Asher‘s Supernatural Singles series & had tea.

Loved it even a bit more than book 1 because who doesn‘t love a half-demon bad boy?

Thanks Mikala for introducing me to this author! I definitely have her on my radar now & am looking forward to Olly & Bax‘s story.

#AuldLangSpine

The second book is on my #AuldLangSpine list, and since both were on my TBR, I opted to start with this one. Luckily both library holds came at the same time.

I loved this super cute & fun second chance paranormal romance! 💘 Snappy dialogue, fun story, lots of spark & magic. Once I picked it up, I couldn‘t put it down.

Now onto Rose‘s story!

Normally I love a good magical realism romance & there were things I did love about this story, but the MC Gemma was not one of them. This is clearly it‘s me not you. I think I‘ m too middle-aged to sympathize with 20-something Gemma. It didn't help that I wasn't crazy about the narrator. She had a weird cadence and pacing.

Well, it‘s not the most upbeat winter book, but it is an important one because what will winter look like if it ends because of climate change?

#naturalitsy #midwintersolace

Anne!!! I am overwhelmed! I was just looking at the tagged when shopping for your books & made a note that I needed to get it. I totally forgot I had it on my list. And the Ice & Arctic Dreams books—so looking forward to reading these. As an environmental attorney & environmentalist, both of these I‘m sure will be enlightening. 👇🏻

#naturalitsy #midwintersolaceswap

Amy, you are the bestest! Thank you! 💚🧩

They‘re here Anne! Will be opening them shortly! 🎉💙

#naturalitsyswap #wintersolsticeswap

I‘m going to use #ReadAway2024 to help clean off my TBR bookcase (which is overflowing).

My goal is to read at least 78 books from my currently owned TBR, which is 1/2 of my annual reading goal.

#two4tuesday on Thursday because I‘m already behind in the New Year 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

1. I set my yearly reading goal at 156 (3 books per week) & 50,000 pages. I intend to read #offmyshelf. I‘ve got to get a handle on the chaos that is my bookshelves.

2. I‘ll probably pop in & out of some challenges, like #naturalitsy but I‘m taking it easy on reading challenges this year.

First #AuldLangSpine book & I absolutely adored it! I love the magical realism genre & this had just the perfect blend of magical realism, seamlessly integrated. Plus, I loved Clementine & Iwan‘s story.🧡

Thanks Mikala! The next one I plan to read is The Starling House.

I finished the other 4 books in the Wait With Me series + hit my stretch goal of 200 books with an hour left (in EST) of 2023 🎉

Amy Daws writes some serious hot, vulnerable, sweet, & completely adorable heroes. My fave might be Max.

Here‘s to 2024! 🥳🎇🎆

#yearend #20in4

My rating is completely because I disliked Maggie. Not even the great narration of Erin Mallon & Teddy Hamilton could save this one.

I love a good BFF-sibling trope, but I could not like Maggie. She is too selfish, too self-centered, and too immature & Sam should run the other way.

On top of all that, there are far too many fishing puns, analogies, & metaphors, including the chapter headings.

Book 3 #yearend #20in4

Martha Wells quickly became an auto-buy author with the Murderbot series. So I of course had to have her stand alone fantasy book. 5 stars! But . . . (1) I wish I could read it again for the first time, and (2) I wish there were more books in this world—I would read them all!

Book 2 for #yearend #20in4

It was such a tough choice to pick just one of my many beloved poetry books to post for #naturalitsy #midwintersolace #fridaynightshare

But I went with Storyteller by Morgan Harper Nichols because I loved that she wrote poem letters. And the first one is a poem letter “For the Year”, which seems appropriate for this weekend.

Another soft pick. Like the first book, I didn‘t find it “completely hilarious”. And while I mostly liked it, I didn‘t love it. It too is missing something. I never felt the chemistry between them, and there were a couple other issues too that make this, like the first book, a 3 star read.

Book 1 for #yearend #20in4

#YearEnd #20in4

I‘m only 4 books away from 200 for the year, and so my goal is to finish 4 by 11:59 on 12/31. I‘m 2/3 of the way through Witch King, so that will be the first. Then I‘ll start with my #AuldLangSpine books on 1/1.

A soft pick. I didn‘t find it totally hilarious and while I liked it, I didn‘t love it. I thought it lacked something. I‘m normally all for a good friends to lovers trope, but this one didn‘t make me feel it. Andrew wasn‘t well fleshed out. There were a couple other issues too that makes this a 3 star read.

#wondrouswednesday

1. Yes! My 2023 goals were: for GR, 156 books (3 per week) & for SG, 48,000 pages (although I‘m not sure how it calculates audiobooks & I know SG doesn‘t count DNFs whereas GR does). As of today, I‘m at 194 (w/DNFs) / 182 (w/o DNFs) & 50,580 pages.

2. No 5⭐️ reads for December unless I finish Witch King—it‘s definitely a 5 star read.

3. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I always love Mary Oliver. And this one was no exception. My favorites were Swoon, The Swan, & Winter Hours (which I strongly related to).

Christine, thanks for picking such this! 💚
Jill, I‘ll get this in the mail hopefully tomorrow!

#LMPBC

A soft pick. It was a bit of a wild ride, so much happened in less than 300 pages. I stopped counting how many times she nearly died. Maybe a little too much for a first book. The world building & character development weren‘t great, but the story did keep me reading so there‘s that. But it bugged me she used the Middle English form of witch – wicche. Why? It just seemed so random.

A great book to read on Christmas Day. I love stories with magical realism. And while this one does have an HEA, it has an ending that also feels authentic.

TW: miscarriage, grief, loss

“I love midnight. My favorite time of day,” Gran says with a wistful sigh as we start walking. “Anything can happen. Or nothing. Or everything. Who knows?”