I used money from an early Christmas gift this year to purchase The Annotated Hobbit to go along with our current readalong. It arrived today so I‘m playing a bit of catch up on chapters 2 & 3. I‘m excited to see illustrations from other editions (above center is from the 1973 Slovak edition) and to read the annotations, although I doubt I‘ll get to all of them with this reading.

#ThereAndBackAgain #FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien

I‘ve read bits and pieces about the Battle of Okinawa, but this story clearly described the reality of that battle without too much gore. Told in alternating chapters from the perspective of a young U.S. soldier and a Okinawan teenager, it provides a picture of the chaos and bloodshed experienced by all of the groups involved as well as some of the cultural aspects of Okinawa separate from Imperial Japan.

#MiddleGrade #YA #audiobook #Hoopla

Reading chapter 1 with Tolkien‘s own illustration of The Hill and Bag End. The meeting between Bilbo and Gandalf is great, and I always enjoy the little history of golf anecdote.

Fun note for today: I happened to log into the web version of Litsy this evening and The Hobbit is a trending book!

#FellowshipofTolkien #ThereAndBackAgain #YearsofTolkien

This book doesn‘t have much plot, simply relating the observations and reflections of the main character. Usually that‘s a style that never feels like it gets anywhere and kind of bores me, but I truly enjoyed this one. I liked the humor and the perspective of the narrator, an unmarried English woman in the 1950s. Yes, her life is simple and sometimes she daydreams of other situations, but she is also generally content.

#audiobook #Hoopla

So it begins . . . I‘m so excited to be rereading The Hobbit again and to have so many people joining us!

#ThereAndBackAgain #FellowshipofTolkien

I‘m just going to continue combining these in 1 weekly graphic.

#BookReport
Completed 6 books and started 3 new ones.

#CurrentlyReading
📖 The Agony House
📖 I Am Still Alive
🎧 Excellent Women

#WeeklyForecast
📖 So looking forward to starting a reread of The Hobbit this evening with #FellowshipofTolkien! Feel free to join us in #ThereAndBackAgain.
🎧 Waiting on a hold for The Black Dahlia
📚 3 MG/YA options from the library

I finished out November with 16 completed books. I enjoyed them, but I doubt any will make my best reads for the year. I think In Cold Blood for #ReadColdBlood probably tops the list due to vivid writing and good discussion. Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth was also an unexpectedly wonderful read.

For my weekly #BookReport, I finished 6 books and will share those specific titles tomorrow as I decide what to read next.

#ReadingStats #MonthlyStats

This was a fascinating listen, some things I had read about or knew about from other sources and many I did not know. The style is conversational and humorous.

I finished listening while taking a walk and feeding the calves at my sister‘s while visiting this weekend.

#nonfiction #audiobook #Hoopla

Saturday morning book and breakfast includes a new YA book set in New Orleans.

Our #FellowshipofTolkien is ready for another adventure #ThereAndBackAgain as we reread The Hobbit a chapter a day starting December 1 and start Lord of the Rings on January 3.

We would love to have any other interested readers join us, whether you‘ve read it many times or want to read it for the first time! We‘re an informal readalong group, but we post and discuss with each other regularly so feel free to join in.

#YearsofTolkien

I finished this book with a hot mug of cocoa on this dreary afternoon. The story had an interesting premise, but it just didn‘t wow me.

#TRS2019 #MsDsLibrary #middlegrade

Wishing everyone that celebrates a very happy Thanksgiving! I‘m so grateful to share this reading community with all of you. I‘m taking a little bit to fit in a few pages before all the family festivities later today.

I felt this book had a slow start, which makes me wonder if younger readers will give it a chance or set it aside too early. Once I became invested in the letters of each character, it shared a perspective I don‘t think I‘ve read before. I appreciated the message of being patriotic and in support of troops, while still questioning involvement in Vietnam. The way it all came together in the end packed a punch.

#TRS2019 #middlegrade #epistolary

So, #FellowshipofTolkien friends, do we have a plan going forward? We‘re all caught up on Sauron Defeated, correct? I know we had discussed the possibility of rereading The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings after all the history and drafts we‘ve read. Thoughts? I would be happy to start over the holidays, or if we want a break I‘ll concentrate on some other things. #YearsofTolkien

Also, I now have more books than will fit on my Tolkien shelf. 📚 😃

Thank you, Catie! So happy to get this holiday card, paper poinsettia, bookmark, and recipes! I can‘t wait to try some of these. I always enjoy trying new cookie recipes. Also, I got yours sent out a bit late as well, but it is on its way.

#HolidayRecipeSwap

For the past three weekends that I've put together a #WeeklyForecast, this #MiddleGrade book has been on my list of upcoming reads. I finally started it during silent reading with my students this week.

#TeachersofLitsy #MsDsLibrary

I enjoyed this book, but I will qualify my review in that I‘m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much completely on its own. I started it immediately after In Cold Blood and the chapters about Lee‘s research with Capote on that case and his writing were the most interesting to me. The other case was interesting, but there really isn‘t a full resolution, to the case or the story of her own true crime book.

#ReadColdBlood #audiobook #nonfiction

I didn‘t enjoy this as much as other History of Middle-Earth books we‘ve read, and some sections required real effort to read. Yet, overall it is a pick because I truly enjoyed the final history of LotR and the Drowning of Anadune. The other sections give me a great appreciation for the time, effort, and thought put into all of Tolkien‘s creative process. “Delight lay in the creation itself . . .”

#FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien #LotRHistory

One of the things I find most interesting in these evolving versions of the Fall of Numenor is the discussion of the world as flat or round. Was it always round or was it changed due to this cataclysmic event? Was this concept of a flat world true at some point or just belief based on falsehood? It‘s amazing to me the thought that went into the continuous development of this world over so many years.

#FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien

#BookReport
I finished In Cold Blood & a book for my #CovertoCover postal book group.

#CurrentlyReading
🎧 I downloaded Furious Hours to see what it included about Harper Lee‘s work with Capote.
🎧 Switching the nonfiction with Cat‘s Eye sometimes
📖 Getting close to finishing Sauron Defeated with #FellowshipofTolkien

#WeeklyForecast
I hope to finish the books I‘m currently reading. I may or may not get to the upcoming depending on mood.

Chapter 18 is all about the time Lee spent with Capote doing research for In Cold Blood. According to this chapter, at the end of their time in Kansas she provided him with over 150 pages of detailed notes, much of this being information he may not have been able to gather on his own from people more inclined to talk to her than to him.

#ReadColdBlood

Saturday morning plans:
✅ #HolidayRecipeSwap card finalized and dropped in the mail
✅ Coffee and another #CovertoCover book read
🔷 Catching up on Sauron Defeated with #FellowshipofTolkien
🔷 Making Christmas fruitcake while listening to audiobooks

I got up early this morning to make pumpkin scones for school, and I hoped to fit in a few pages of reading along with my own breakfast. However, by the time I cleaned up my kitchen mess and prepped my just finished #CovertoCover book to mail, it was time to leave. I did fit in a few pages tonight, and I‘m continuing to enjoy my slow progress through the versions of the story of Numenor.

#FellowshipofTolkien

I‘m so glad I joined in the readalong for this book! I‘m not a big true crime reader, but I truly appreciated this story and the discussion so far. Truman Capote is a fantastic writer, making you feel that you‘re right alongside as events are happening. At the same time, I‘m really curious as to how much his own involvement at the time influences the story and the actual accuracy of some aspects, although it‘s impossible to ever know for sure.

No time for breakfast with Tolkien this morning, but I did fit in just a few pages with lunch. I‘m thoroughly enjoying another look at the Fall of Numenor in this third section of the book. The more often I read them, the more I can appreciate the mythological style of the early stories of Tolkien‘s world.

#FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien #ReadandEat

I‘ve read before that Truman Capote and Harper Lee were good friends, so I was intrigued to read this article about her helping with so much of the research for the book.

https://crimereads.com/harper-lee-and-truman-capote-partners-in-crime/

I was especially interested in the mention of the night Dewey got the call about the arrest of the suspects since I just listened to that section of the book today.

#ReadColdBlood

#BookReport
I finished 2 books in progress last weekend along with an impulse pick this week, The Kitchen.

#CurrentlyReading
📖 I‘ve reached Part Three of Sauron Defeated for #FellowshipofTolkien
🎧 Thoroughly enjoying listening to In Cold Blood for #ReadColdBlood

#WeeklyForecast
🎧 I plan to listen to Cat‘s Eye and/or Quackery once I finish my current audio
📖 Still haven‘t started The Darkdeep from my class library

I haven‘t had a chance to look into the process of writing this book as much as I might like yet, but based on what I have read these lines caught my attention. It seems that Truman Capote might have felt somewhat the same as he researched and wrote about these murders.

#ReadColdBlood #1001books

I made it through the rest of the #NotionClub Papers. That last section all about language was tough again, and to be honest I might have skimmed through parts, but I‘m caught up again. So glad to be reading this with others so that I do get to those moments of great interest or insight without giving up.

#FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien

I listened to this entire #audiobook over the weekend. The writing is descriptive and beautiful, making it easy to visualize the events. I appreciated the message of the story and how it was shared with the reader between the lines of what was actually said by the narrator. However, I like a story with more of a plot, and I‘m not sure this book will stick with me over time.

#1001books #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown November 2019

I‘m calling time for my weekend #Readathon at just over 18 hours. I finished 3 audiobooks and 1 print book, did a decent amount of catching up on the #NotionClub Papers in Sauron Defeated, and started In Cold Blood for #ReadColdBlood. I haven‘t reviewed The Remains of the Day, but I need to think on it for a bit. Now, I have to settle in for a bit of serious school work this evening.

#MrBook1inAMillion #LitsyPartyofOne #24B4Monday

Sunday books and breakfast included homemade pumpkin spice French toast sticks this morning. I‘m starting Night 68 and enjoying Part 2 of the Notion Club Papers much more than Part 1. Even when it gets a bit more dense, the connection to Middle-Earth keeps me more engaged.

#NotionClub #FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien #BreakfastwithTolkien

#BookReport
Of 4 books in progress last weekend, I finished 3 as well as 2 more.

#CurrentlyReading #WeeklyForecast
📖 Continuing my long read of Sauron Defeated with #FellowshipofTolkien
📖 Started I, Robot
🎧 Started The Remains of the Day yesterday evening and may finish today depending on how well I can multitask

Upcoming
🎧 Up next is In Cold Blood for #ReadColdBlood and I also have the ebook available
📖 The Darkdeep from my class library

I finished this #nonfiction #audiobook while walking over recently harvested fields this afternoon. It‘s a look at the increase in people living alone around the world but specifically focuses on life alone in U.S. cities. I found the statistics interesting and some information thought provoking. However, I found nothing really surprising and wished there was a bit about rural situations.

#Readathon #LitsyPartyofOne #24B4Monday #MrBook1inAMillion

I just recently ordered this nonfiction book for my class library. It is a fairly quick read that details an attempt to reach the North Pole by George De Long, captain of the Jeannette. After leaving Alaska and a year spent trapped in the ice, the ship sinks, and it becomes a survival story as the crew heads to Siberia over ice and by boat. It includes excerpts from journals, illustrations, and photos of artifacts.

#MsDsLibrary #nonfiction

First book of the #Readathon weekend completed! This book includes the stories of three different people in the same apartment building told as confessions. It is stories of the choices and maybe mistakes that they‘ve made and demonstrates how sharing those stories helps them to move forward.

#ReadtheWorld #ReadingtheWorld Israel #translated #LitsyBookClub #audiobook #Hoopla

#MrBook1inAMillion #24B4Monday #LitsyPartyofOne

This is the stack of books I plan to read from throughout the weekend between household chores and school work. I already read a section of the #NotionClub Papers this evening. I also have a couple audiobooks in progress and more downloaded from the library. I didn‘t plan any snacks for this weekend, but there are definitely some plans for baking tomorrow.

#MrBook1inAMillion #LitsyPartyofOne #24B4Monday #Readathon

I read the first few pages of Part 2 tonight, through the end of Night 65. I really enjoyed the discussion of language, and I‘m looking forward to continuing as familiar things have started showing up in the discussion.

“Behold the Eagles of the Lords of the West! They are coming over Numenor!”

#NotionClub #FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien

I finally finished Part 1 of The Notion Club Papers. I really appreciated some of the points discussed (I even added post-its!) at the beginning, but a lot of the later portion was more dense and took quite a bit of focus to read. In these longer sections I‘m also back to two bookmarks, the book dragon for my place in the main text and a smaller magnetic bookmark for the notes.

#NotionClub #FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien

I picked up this recommended book expecting a football story, but it is about much more than the game. Teddy is a freshman who suffers a severe concussion at preseason football camp and is in a coma. The story expresses the joy of being part of a team, but it also addresses the dangers of building that team on a foundation of cruelty and competition instead of cooperation. 🏈

#MsDsLibrary #TRS2019

From Night 60 of The Notion Club Papers: Some commentary on the level of detail and careful consideration put into the writing process . . .

#NotionClub #FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien

This week‘s silent reading book with my classes is about a freshman football player who suffers a severe concussion at practice before the season starts and everything that goes on around this event. It is told in text messages, doctor‘s notes, one sided conversations at his bedside, etc.

#middlegrade #YA #TeachersofLitsy #MsDsLibrary

#WeeklyForecast #CurrentlyReading

🔹I started Three Floors Up, this month‘s book for #LitsyBookClub, on audio today.

🔹I need to finish and review a #NetGalley #middlegrade ebook, The Tornado.

🔹My current at school read is The Game Changer.

🔹I‘m working my way through the #NotionClub section of our current #FellowshipofTolkien read, Sauron Defeated.

“Liking is often much more complex than dislike. And it‘s less necessary to say anything about it in a hurry. The feeling of liking has a very lasting flavour; it can wait, it‘s often better for being stored for a bit. But defects stick out all hard and painful, while one‘s still close at hand.”

This #quote from Night 60 of The Notion Club Papers seemed very relatable to how I try to reflect on what I read and my long term reactions to books.

Sunday morning + book + coffee + cat = perfection

#FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien #NotionClub

I did some housecleaning and baking this afternoon and evening while listening to this book. It is a much heavier middle grade story than I was expecting that deals with poverty, sibling responsibilities, domestic abuse, and responsible gun ownership. I appreciated the octopus facts and the analogy to her life. Zoey‘s perspective and her growth are important to share. 🐙

#middlegrade #audiobook #audiobaking #Hoopla #TRS2019

#ReadingStats #MonthlyStats

I‘ll admit that I‘m not really much of a fan of Halloween, but Litsy has made me appreciate the fun of a good ghost story at this time of year. This year the #middlegrade books I‘ve read have been my favorites.

I loved the setting of Edinburgh in this story and the Harry Potter references. The development of the friendship between Cassidy and Jacob as she learned more about herself and her abilities was fascinating. 👻

#MsDsLibrary #TRS2019

This mystery was ok, but it did not live up to my expectations for Agatha Christie and is my least favorite of her books so far. My main issue was that it seemed to really drag in the middle and did not hold my attention well. Also, like other readers, I expected a bit more Halloween atmosphere because of the title.

🎃🍎🎃🍎🎃🍎🎃

#audiobook #Hoopla

I started Part Two tonight, and although I‘m still not quite sure what these Notion Club Papers are going to entail, I‘m completely intrigued to continue.

#FellowshipofTolkien #YearsofTolkien