#5JoysFriday

It‘s been a cold & snowy week. I was very happy my boss suspended the core days & let us telework all week. And this guy 👆🏻 kept me entertained the entire time.

“You are about to begin reading a new book, and to be honest you are a little tense.”

#firstlinefriday

I‘m almost halfway. I have mixed feelings so far as I have some concerns with the messaging and the switching between 1st POV and 3rd (sometimes on the same page) feels gimmicky. So I‘ll probably rate it as meh, and I think it‘s been overhyped.

#TLT 44/100

Not sure how the BBC came up with this list as it seems a bit random. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Some are too recent for my childhood. Some I didn‘t read until I was an adult.

Some faves: The Little Prince, Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland, Charlotte‘s Web, Mary Poppins, The Snowy Day

Some faves not on the list: The Tale of Desperaux, Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Julie and the Wolves, Ramona Quimby Age 8

#two4tuesday

1. Yes
2. Pick a romance book—they‘re all about second chances. 😉❤️🥰

For the 2nd chance prompt on the #OffMyShelf challenge.

I first started the tagged in Oct. The premise was intriguing & the beginning showed promise. However, as the story progressed, I lost interest & found that I was forcing myself to read, so I put it aside.

I came back to this book today & only got 2 chapters further than last time. I simply am not enjoying this. Too many things I disliked.

Now it‘s off my shelf & on my Pango shelf!

I learned of James Vukelich from his Ojibwe word of the day on IG where he teaches how we are all connected with everything around us. And in this book, he teaches that “aanik-” means “to be interconnected.

This is a beautiful work. Here, he attempts to explain Ojibwe teachings by translating those words & concepts into English—not an easy feat. Because, like many language translations, it's not an easy one-to-one construction.

#2025OffMyShelf

The first chunkster for the #ChunksterChallenge2025 that I‘m tackling is Don Quixote. The paperback edition I‘m reading has 940 pages. I failed to read it last year, so I added it to my #2025OffMyShelf reading challenge. I started it today & read 103 pages.

If/when I finish this one, I plan to tackle the bitsy chunkster The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next.

Thanks @Amiable for hosting!

1st book off my #OffMyShelf reading challenge. 🎉

This super short story—not quite 69 pgs double spaced with some illustrations—is barely a story. There's an interesting plot, there are interesting characters. But it needs to be fleshed out. No world building, no character development. The reader is just dropped into the middle of a tavern & given a few crumbs. A bare bones story, which feels more like an outline of a story. I‘m skipping book 2.

I'm still trying to reduce my TBR bookcase. My previous attempts were too grand, so I scaled back. My 2025 Off My Shelf Reading Challenge (complete with bingo board) has 24 prompts. Everyone is welcome to join!

More about the prompts:
https://wanderinglynn.com/2025/01/04/2025-off-my-shelf-reading-challenge/

Or join the challenge on StoryGraph:
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/417717e0-08c2-4af5-b693-bdbdb41...

#OffMyShelf

@Lizpixie is hosting a month-long #JumpStart2025 readathon!

See her post to join in.

It was an up & down reading year, so I couldn‘t pick a fave from each month since some months I only did rereads (which I don‘t count in my annual stats). But here‘s my Top 12 Reads of 2024. And I posted a mini-review of each on my blog:
http://wanderinglynn.com/2024/12/30/top-12-reads-of-2024/

#two4tuesday

1. Either, but I prefer to see them by water, so it depends on which side of the water I‘m on.

2. apocalypse, animals, adventure

Thanks for the tag Lisa. 🐦‍⬛ If you haven‘t played, consider yourself tagged!

#TLT

I read 5 and I have one more on my sitting on bookshelf. Clearly not my genre 😆

#HauntedHollowSwap

Happy opening day! If you haven‘t already done so, please share a photo & tag me!

🖤🎃🧡👻🦇🖤

🧡🖤 Thank you #HauntedHollowSwap -pers! 🖤🧡

Everyone has confirmed sending their box. (Please note that some boxes are still en route.)

Now we wait for opening day, which is Wednesday, October 30 👻🧟‍♀️🦇🎃

#HHS #HHS24

#5JoysFriday

Top left: Puzzles! 🧩
Top right: Night of the Living Zoo 🧟‍♀️
Right middle: Jasper working on his modeling career 📸
Bottom right: he somehow got to the shelf above the clothes rod in my closet 🙈
Bottom left: 16 weeks vet visit for rabies vaccine & now weighs 5.4 pds. He was super good! He walked into his carrier on his own, never cried, & took it all in stride. 😺

Super cute Hawai‘i Foods puzzle that @DebinHawaii gifted me when I visited Honolulu.

Aloha! Here is what is says:

You‘re the pineapple of my eye. 🍍
Love everything a bao you.
Love you so mochi! 🍡
Ice, ice baby 🍧
It musubi love!
You drive me loco. 🍣

Thanks Deb! ❤️❤️❤️

Does anything go better with books than cats?

Not only is he on TOP of the 6‘ tall bookcase, he‘s laying on my book sleeves.

#two4tuesday

1. It‘s hard to have a fave because I love fruit. But I‘ll pick raspberries because they‘re delicious by themselves, in desserts, and in chocolate.

2. Tagged

#5JoysFriday

1. Sweet cuddlebug
2. He figured out how to get to the top of the door.
3. My yoga supervisor
4. Halloween accessories 🎃
5. Halloween tights arrived! The ones on the left glow in the dark 👻

#wondrouswednesday on Thursday

🌽 both are fun!
🎃 carve pumpkins
🌲 nature walk
🔥 bonfire
📚 books!
🍏 neither (makes my teeth ache thinking about it)
🥔 potato soup
🎃 pumpkin spice

#two4tuesday

1. No because I don‘t get trick-or-treaters.

2. Apocalyptic, animals, funny

#5JoysFriday

1-5 could be all this guy 👆🏻 But I‘m also joyful that:
☀️ the weather finally feels fallish—there‘s a lovely crispness in the air & I can finally wear sweatshirts & sweaters
🇮🇹 I‘ve successfully made it 2 weeks practicing Italian in Duolingo
⌨️ I‘ve already written two blog posts this month & am working on a third
🗳️ I voted! (DC mails out ballots & encourages mailing in/dropping them off at an official ballot box)

#thisorthat

☕️ it‘s too hard to choose! So let‘s go with a mocha!
🟩 green
👻 is funny spooky a thing?
📖 both!
🎃 Halloween
🧤 gloves
🥃 low-key

#two4tuesday

1. I don‘t really think of meals with seasons. But treats, like pumpkin pie, PSL, apple cider.

2. Tagged

#firstlinefridays

“My beloved aunt, Sara Harrison Shea, was brutally murdered in the winter of 1908.”

This is my first #trappedinaspookyhouse read for the month. I started reading it last night & the creepy vibes definitely sunk into my dreams as I had to wake myself up to escape. 😳

#5JoysFriday

Really 1-5 could be this little guy. My new supervisor has decided to keep me. But Jasper takes his supervisory duties seriously. 💜🐈‍⬛💜 If you‘re on IG, you can view some super cute videos of his kitten shenanigans.

But I‘ve had a super week! My work-appropriate Halloween outfit (everything but the tights) arrived this week. And I was selected for the job I really wanted. 🇮🇹🤩

A fun adventure, enemies to lovers romcom. I liked the whole Lara Croft/Indiana Jones/Goonies vibe. I also liked that the characters were older than 20. Yes, it wrapped up a little too quickly (the big drama all happens in the last 3-4 chapters), & like many romcoms, wraps up a bit too neatly (not only a HEA, but “fortune & glory”). But it‘s still a fun read. I also really liked the authors note on how this story came about.

#littensloveromance

#wondrouswednesday

1. . . . walks amongst the colorful trees, crisp nights by a campfire, reading poetry, and reflective thoughts.

2. Sweet November

3. Pumpkin pie & cocktail: Cranberry Orange Whiskey Sour & non-alcoholic: spiced tea 🫖

Jasper “helping” me read Eve Dallas book 59. 😹

I will never get tired of Eve Dallas books. And there‘ll be a new one in February! The woman is a writing machine.

Soft pick. This is a debut novel & it reads like one.
I thought the concept of the story was beautiful. I think this might have been a solid 4-star read had a better editor helped develop the characters & theme. As is, this is really more of a 3-star read.

My full review is on GR. But another book off my shelf & listed on my Pango shelf! #clearingmyTBR

Meh. I really had to make myself keep reading, which is never a good sign. On the plus side, it‘s a YA book that doesn‘t involve insta-love or a love triangle. But the character development was weak, the story dragged, and like many a YA, the ending was predictable.

But it‘s off my TBR shelf and listed on my Pango! #clearingmyTBR

“Sing for me,” you whisper. “Please.”

My first Bindery Books book from Ezeekat Press. Jayson (ezeekat) is on of my fave accounts to follow on IG. And I‘m super excited to dig into the first book he‘s published. The next book his Ezeekat Press is publishing also looks really interesting.

House of Frank releases to the public on October 15.

#firstlinefriday

I was fortunate to see Sara Bareilles and the National Symphony Orchestra tonight at the Kennedy Center. She sang a new song from the new musical she‘s writing based on the tagged book. The song was called Enough and is about Jules. It was amazing 🎶🩷

#wondrouswednesday

🍁 organized, friendly, introverted

🍁🍁 friendly, genuine, caring

🍁🍁🍁 🤷🏼‍♀️

#two4tuesday

1. Probably my 5-volume set of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Poetical Works published in 1886.

2. At least one of Stephen King‘s books, if not more. Given that he‘s written horror, fantasy, dark fantasy, supernatural, crime fiction, thrillers, suspense, gothic, alternative history, drama, suspense, and even non-fiction, his works are likely to last.

I saved my #5JoysFriday for today because look who arrived today! 🐱🩶

Introducing Jasper. He‘s very playful & curious. He‘s having fun exploring and he likes the toy mice I got him. Let the kitten shenanigans begin!

#wondrouswednesday

1. Tagged!

2. Paper or audio

3. Fantasy

#two4tueday

1. Depends on the day & what I‘m doing. Most days, it‘s usually 1 - 3.

2. Tagged!

Now that everyone has their #HauntedHollowSwap match, the fun begins!

Help your match out by sharing your Halloween aesthetic. A list or a collage of some of your favorite things about Halloween 🎃🖤💀🧡

#HHS #HHS24

This is for you @Charityann :

Your car breaks down right by The Hitchcock Hotel. You enter the lobby but no one is at the front desk, which is covered in a thick layer of dust. Desperate for shelter, you and The Intern act like Bad Tourists and break into a room. The room is filled with dust & cobwebs, and strange symbols cover the walls. You have an uneasy feeling & turn to leave. With a maniacal laugh, the Intern says, 👇🏻

#HauntedHollowSwap 🎉

🧡💀🎃🖤 Matches have been sent. 🖤🎃💀🧡

If you didn‘t get an email from me, please let me know soonest!

#ihavequestions

🍁 Fall - First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen.

❄️ Winter - Winter Hours by Mary Oliver.

🌷Spring - A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. While not specifically springtime, the story is about optimism and hope, which is what spring represents to me.

☀️ Summer - Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez.

Bonus: a book that encompasses every season - The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

#5JoysFriday

1. I‘m adopting a kitten. 🐱I get him next weekend. And I have a huge delivery of kitten supplies from Chewy coming 😆

2. My travel bucket list has gotten a wee bit longer thanks to this book. ✈️🗺️

3. I‘ve worked some fantastic puzzles this week. 🧩

4. I found this adorable reversible Octopus plushie for my friend G‘s daughter who‘s turning 6. 🐙

5. I survived my interview.

Happy Friday the 13th! 🖤

Last call to sign-up for #HauntedHollowSwap! 🎉

The form will close this evening and matches will be sent by Sunday. Then the fun begins! 🧡💀🦇🎃🖤

https://forms.gle/dxpuETwshff7hhMH6

#HHS #HHS24

There‘s still time to sign-up for Trapped in a Spooky House hosted by @PuddleJumper

This is a super fun TBR event. You make a list of TBRs & your match will pick either 5 or 10 books from your list for you to read.

I had so much fun with this one last year. 💀🖤🎃 I‘m so glad I saw this before sign-ups close. You don‘t want to miss it, so go to Jo‘s page to sign-up.

Come join the fun in the 5th annual #HauntedHollowSwap - Sign-ups close THIS Friday!

If you‘re on the fence or have questions, please ask!

https://forms.gle/dxpuETwshff7hhMH6

🎃💀🧡🖤

#two4tuesday

1. So hard to pick! But since I live in DC, I‘ll go with the Smithsonian American Art Museum because it has one of my favorite paintings—Among the Sierra Nevada, California, Albert Bierstadt, 1868, oil on canvas

2. Tagged

Overall, I thought she did a better job in the Monk and Robot novellas. Here, her attempts to contemplate some rather big philosophical points are adequate but a bit too overt and the ending was too Schrödinger to be successful.

There is an interesting section in the back. Her mom is a scientist and is her science consultant. They did a panel together and she included some of the Q&As from that panel.