A must -read for fans of S.A. Cosby. Dark, gritty, with themes of family, redemption, and the ripple effects of all those choices made. And some beautiful sentences! Wow ❤️👍🏻

“Our road trip makes me see that needing help doesn‘t mean there aren‘t other places to get it besides home… that having limits doesn‘t mean I cannot - must not, maybe - bewitch and bewilder, range far and wander wide and wild.” ❤️

Love this sweet, funny series that just got better with each book. Sorry it‘s wrapped up with three, as I‘ll miss these quirky characters. ❤️

“How do we remember the moments when we fall apart?” 💔🔥

This book came at exact the right time… a gentle, quietly funny novel about the lengths we will go for the ones we love. ❤️

I picked this up based on a recommendation from Annie B. Jones at The Bookshelf… so glad I did. Quirky characters, family dynamics, and learning just how you fit in (and how much you are loved). ❤️

“It is our attentiveness that is in short supply, our ability and willingness to do the work that awe requires.”

Love starting the year with this thoughtful read ❤️

“The world as it is, is enough.” ❤️🦉☁️

Loved this one! Hints of “Cerulean Sea” with a bit of steam too. Borrowed from the library, but might need my own copy now ❤️

The *perfect* ghost story… even some steamy scenes to boot. Loved this one!

This cozy was the perfect fall read… set just before Oktoberfest 🍁🍺 Leavenworth is beautifully portrayed too.

A fun quick read for those anyone else passionate about the 49ers !!❤️🏈 (not in Litsy database)

“Their eyes hold nothing back, whether it‘s love or heartbreak or admiration.” - Ron Burns

“The Dogs of Ron Burns: A Tribute to the Dogs of 911” is exactly that… beautiful portraits and heartfelt stories of these amazing dogs.

Pictured is Sky, one of the first to enter the Pentagon on 9/11. ❤️💔

“There will always be bombs, and we will never be able to save everyone we care about. To know that and to try anyway is to be fully alive.” ❤️

This is a great series with a protagonist you can‘t help but root for. Can‘t wait to see how Frankie finds her next missing person. 👍🏻

This is a gem! The quirky heroine, who works at an IKEA type of store, comforts herself with her strict routines and ongoing creation of the Very Nice Box. Then the arrival of a new store manager upends her life… Shades of “Eleanor Oliphant”, but I liked this even more. And what an ending! Shoutout to #TheNovelNeighbor bookstore and #CurrentlyReading podcast for putting this on my radar 😊❤️

What a fun summer read! It was exactly as the author intended… a”pop song” of a book. I think I smiled all the way through. Perfect for fans of Jurassic Park, The Meg, King Kong… with a lighter touch. 😊👍🏻

Another Edgar award nominee and now one of my favorite books of the year. Richly drawn characters, great representation, small town politics, racial tensions and a murder or two. Written with a great sense of snark by the co-creator of Deadpool 😂

I went into this one knowing only that it was an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. And, wow! A twisty thriller with unlikeable (?) narrators… sooooo good. 👍🏻

Finally finished the last book in this series about an Irish detective during the Troubles… “finally” because I wasn‘t ready for it to end! Tough, gritty, with a strong sense of the times… just so good. 👍🏻

Love this series from Elly Griffiths…. tore through this one on an airplane yesterday! Perfect ❤️

This series gets better with every book… love the strong protagonist and the slice of life in 1920s Bombay. Some Maisie Dobbs vibes too 👍🏻

A short compelling read about how one of the world‘s worst criminals was captured and brought to justice from Argentina. #foodandlit

Loved this inspiring true story of a woman who found a way to flourish, and taught others to do the same, during the Taliban regime in the late 90‘s in Afghanistan. All credit to the “Strong Sense of Place” podcast for recommending this one 👍🏻

First 5 🌟 read of 2022. Compelling characters and strong sense of place, combined with a tense plot. Loved this one!

Reread of a favorite author poolside with fresh fish tacos and beer… does life get any better? ❤️

I had to pick this up after reading a review mentioning Schitt‘s Creek vibes… and boy does it deliver. Much steamier though… ❤️

Loved The Martian, really liked this one too. And that ending!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

If you liked “The Thursday Murder Club”, you may want to check out this Edgar award nominee too…. Retirees involved in and solving crimes, with wry observations and gentle humor, may just be one of my new favorite things ❤️

I donated five boxes of books to my local library before I moved… and to celebrate? More books of course. Many are from the Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia. ❤️ Life is good.

Twisty summer fun ❤️ #Morocco #Foodandlit

Perfect summer read. Reminds me of the movie “LA Confidential” but with LGBTQ rep and a lighter touch. So glad to see it‘s the start of a series too 👍🏻

I lost my perfect boy last month 💔 A thank you to this warm and wonderful community for providing some comfort ❤️

A gentle read... just what I needed right now ❤️

A dark thriller with some perfect “gotcha” moments. A great read for #Israel #foodandlit.

I started and stopped a few lit fic novels for the #foodandlit #ethiopia challenge in March, so ended up reading through this cookbook from the Ethiopian born author instead. So glad I finally did... beautiful photos and vignettes from his life in Harlem. Several recipes are also infused with Ethiopian flavors. ❤️👍🏻

“Not-knowing is where hope and art and possibility and invention come from. It is not-knowing, that old old thing, that allows everything to be renewed.”

Love this memoir... love this author‘s writing. ❤️

I find Churchill fascinating, though admittedly problematic, and read everything I can about him. This is now a favorite due to the glimpses into everyday life during his first year in office. Highly recommend on audio 👍🏻

Loved this gentle picture book about a father and son‘s quiet morning fishing... and so much more. ❤️ #foodandlit #Vietnam

We love pho and finally landed on a recipe from Pinterest that hits all the right notes! This cookbook assured me that we are doing the right things, and offered plenty of inspiration for a “someday” trip to Vietnam. ❤️

#foodandlit

January‘s travels to Brazil... a reclusive author and her persistent translator, the migration of osprey, and some delicious empanadas (internet picture). On to February!! #foodandlit

Pitch perfect, if you‘ll pardon the pun 😊

I picked this up for a reading challenge, as its narrator is a young girl on the autism spectrum. She desperately wants to pitch for a baseball team and starts writing to her favorite major league knuckleballer as a way to sort through her feelings. But then... he starts writing back. ❤️

This was the first box I ordered from the “Treat Your Shelf” subscription service provided by the indie bookstore The Book Shelf in Thomasville, Georgia... and I‘m really glad I ordered 3 months worth. Fun, quirky mystery with a strong female protagonist set in 1950s London. Perfect!! ❤️👍🏻

My first two reads for 2021... very happy with this fresh start to the year ❤️

Happy New Year! 🎆🎈🎊

This year, my bookish plans are to...
- read every day
- read something uplifting every day
- read and cook from my cookbooks
- complete three reading challenges, including #foodandlit

Finished the next-to-latest Louise Penny... this is now one of my favorites of hers. Reading about Gamache and Three Pines feels especially poignant around the holidays ❤️ Now onto a book that I‘ve heard nothing but good about! Continuing on with #dashingdecember!!

Happy to report that my goal for #dashingdecember is off to a great start... Reading at least an hour a day so far ❤️ Loved this food memoir in essays and was glad to discover that this author has another book too.

Officially joining #dashingdecember with my audacious goal of just trying to read every day! Winter break has begun and I‘m excited to read and relax a bit ❤️

Like many, I have started and stopped more books this year than I can remember. This was exactly what I needed. Quietly strong characters who work through their struggles, all set against the backdrop of the brewing industry. I may have to crack open a Moon and just read it again! ❤️

And so it begins....

***squeal!!!***