Up next… this listen has been on my wish list for a while.

After striking out several times with audiobooks, I‘m so glad this one was able to hook me! This gothic tale features a “con-artist” spiritualist who ends up forced to help the people of a rich estate figure out the mystery behind the death of the future Lady of the house. The author did a fantastic job of placing suspicion on almost everyone, and several characters had me going back and forth with blaming them. It was a rollercoaster… ⬇️

1. Very much so. I‘m big on journaling, and I have one I call my “everything journal.” I do my monthly and weekly planning in it. And I tend to write lists there as well as in my phone.

2. It seems as though nothing ever goes as planned for the protagonist in this gothic mystery that I‘ve been listening to.

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

Up next, a palate cleanser 😊

The type of monsters described in this one don‘t usually scare me, but Stephen King really is the king of horror lol. I really enjoyed it, even though horror is not usually what I go for, and Stephen King never disappoints. I was entranced and kept wanting to turn the pages to see what would happen next. Of course, it gets gorey, so now I‘m ready for a palate cleanser lol.

“People are more capable of believing the devil is some external force we have no resistance against, instead of accepting their own capacity to be cruel.”

1. Stripes. But only vertical ones lol.

2. Not currently. But been craving something by Simone St. James, so I might head to the library soon.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

“Evil is cruelty left unchecked…”

“The act of moving forward at all became heroism.”

My next listen…

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of every resident of Silvertjärn (small mining town in Sweden) had me captivated. The effects on the surviving family members (who had moved away prior to the disappearance) are heartbreaking. A documentary crew (headed by the granddaughter of one such survivor) goes to the eerie, abandoned town to find answers. When we finally have said answers, it‘s not only terrifying, but more heartbreaking. ⬇️

1. Sunsets cause I‘m not a morning person lol
2. A spooky town

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

If you wanna play, consider yourself tagged!

“If a fear cannot be articulated, it can‘t be conquered.”

“I think it‘s relatively easy for people to accept something like telepathy or precognition or teleplasm because their willingness to believe doesn‘t cost them anything. It doesn‘t keep them awake nights. But the idea that the evil that men do lives after them is more unsettling.”

1. In all honesty, I didn‘t have any positive influences in the way of adults but I had my best friend. We met when we were 6 and she became a source of light in my life and was a good kid who made me want to do good too. 28 years later and we‘re still besties, but more like sisters.
2. My husband and two kids of course.

@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

In the mood for some Stephen King in honor of Halloween coming up 🎃

This one wasn‘t my favorite of the series but it was still exceptional. Salvatore really is a master at his craft, and his vivid descriptions of combat are something I aspire to as a writer. I wanted more moments between the characters outside of battle, but the last book was leading up to this war so I understood the necessity. And in any case, it was hard to put down. I was even biting my nails at certain points.

1. Hit some PRs (personal records) this week at CrossFit.
2. My blood pressure was the lowest it‘s ever been (I have high blood pressure so this is a VERY good thing).
3. Weather has been amazing, so plenty of walks for me and Luna Bear.
4. Finally organized my desk so me (and my cats) have been enjoying getting creative.
5. The moon has been a wonder to behold this week ☺️

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

Haven‘t had much luck with audiobooks lately, but I started listening to the tagged thriller during my walk with my Luna Bear. Hopefully this one can keep my attention 🤞🏼

#listenandwalk #dogsonlitsy

Hay ride
Carve pumpkins
Nature walk
Bonfire
Curl up w/ a book
Caramel apples
Chili & cornbread
Pumpkin spice

I‘m hungry all of a sudden lol

@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

1. Nope. We‘re trying to be healthier and my kids will get enough when they go trick or treating in a different neighborhood. We usually don‘t get trick or treaters in our neighborhood (sadly).

2. Magic gone awry.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

My family and I faired well after Hurricane Milton passed through last night into the early morning. Grateful we‘re all okay. There was minimal damage, even though it was a bit scary there for a second. I‘ve endured my fair share of hurricanes, including Katrina, but the wind/thunder from Milton sounded unlike anything I‘ve ever heard. We have no power, but I‘m perfectly fine with my huge TBR pile and art supplies.

“Your confidence is a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you think you can, you probably will be able to, and if you think you cannot, you will not.”

Also decided to read some nonfiction that I‘ll hopefully learn a little something from… this one has also been in my TBR pile for a long time.

Didn‘t really know what I wanted to read next so I just went for a couple that have been waiting in my TBR pile for a long while… next up for fiction is the 9th book in the Legend of Drizzt series. I definitely missed Drizzt, so I feel like this is a good choice for my next read…

This book is a 🌶️ fantasy romance (I didn‘t realize just how spicy when I bought it, but I‘m not mad about it lol). There‘s a trigger warning in the beginning with the full list of triggers in the back. There‘s a lot of cuss words, detailed descriptions of gorey fight/torture scenes, and a few 🔥🔥🔥 love scenes. So a bit of thick skin is required for this one. But if you‘re able to stomach all that, then quite the adventure is waiting… ⬇️

1. I guess my piggy bank from when I was a kid is the oldest thing. Someone gave it to me when I was in the hospital as a very young kid. It‘s a wind up dog house “piggy” bank. You place a coin on the dog‘s bowl and he comes out and scrapes it into the dog house. It‘s pretty beat up but cute.

2. The way things are going, I think the dystopian classics like Fahrenheit 451 will still be relevant.

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

That‘s it. Kaan has stolen my heart. I don‘t care what anyone says. Lol. #bookboyfriend #dontjudgeme

1. 2-4 times a day. Depends if it‘s a workout day or not, and on weekends/rest days if we don‘t have any plans I‘ll change clothes less frequently.

2. I had trouble thinking of one but the tagged book series has a character that dresses all the other characters if I remember correctly…

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Love the hand drawn dragon used for the chapter headers in this book. And I‘m loving the story so far, I hate when I have to put it down to be an adult lol.

In the mood for a chunky, epic fantasy so this one‘s up next 😊

This was a wonderfully strange book with underlying themes of good and evil. Ultimately, it‘s satire that pokes fun at organized religion and how hypocritical people can be. There are so many characters that it was difficult to keep track of all their names at first, but after a while it got easier. Continued in comments ⬇️

Had to bail on two audiobooks in a row, hoping I have better luck with this one…

This one really did hold my interest in the beginning, but the further I got, the less I cared about these characters. And the way they all spoke in a very formal, semi monotonous manner was driving me crazy. The narrator was good, it was more about the way the dialogue was written. No one ever uses contractions in this story and it made them seem robotic somehow. #DNF #hailthebail

A little beach reading 😊

Had a rough week so here I am practicing gratitude!

1. Finished a certification course.
2. Did a lot of bonding with my teenager 🥰
3. Certain workouts felt easier than usual at CrossFit, which I take as a sign of my progress 💪🏼
4. Got myself some Starbucks today (haven‘t had it in a while).
5. My sister seems to be doing better (she was struggling with some personal problems and I was worried about her).

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. Taking care of my loved ones and helping others.
2. The simple things: a good cup of coffee, dancing, laughing with friends and family, snuggling with my cats and my dog, a good book, beating a video game, making art, being in nature, etc.
3. Tagged was my favorite which I finished in August 😊

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

My Sunny boy keeping me company… also very glad he‘s nothing like the cat in this particular book 😬

My kind of Friday night party… 🥳 🍻 🍿 🎮 📚

Just realized I finally reached the listening level of Master on Audible 😁

1- I love food but I love color more.
2- I feel like knowing HOW has the potential to bum me out more than WHEN lol.
3- I like how my life has ended up for the most part, so I don‘t want to change anything in my past.
4- I have found both but I‘d choose him any day ❤️
5- Florida winters please lol.
6- Definitely fly, think how much I‘d save on travel lol.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”

Already started listening to this one, and so far it‘s grabbing my focus just fine.

Pretty sure this was a me problem. I think this is one I‘d be better off with reading the physical book, but listening to it just could not grab my attention.

I‘ve always wanted to read Russian literature and somehow never got the chance. Now I have three books by Russian authors, including a couple of classics, waiting for me in my TBR pile. This one is up next…

This was a fun read! I loved the characters and the way the author poked fun at overused tropes in fantasy. The protagonist was very sympathetic, so I‘d say the author did a great job of making me feel like Gav was a completely different person than his former self. I love what she did with the goblins and they‘re included in some of my favorite scenes. All in all, an entertaining read about redemption and veering from the expectations of others.

“He wasn‘t a hero. And he‘d failed again. But that didn‘t mean he couldn‘t keep trying. So he could look himself in the eye, even if no one else would.”

1. Lately I‘ve been into seltzers, specifically High Noon. They‘re low calorie and don‘t give me acid reflux lol.

2. Tagged. Such a fun read!

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Anyone who feels like playing, consider yourself tagged!

Next up, some much needed fiction…

Saying I loved this one is an understatement. Yes, there are some slow parts when she focuses more on the science behind certain plants, but even with those my interest was piqued. This is a collection of essays on nature, where Kimmerer connects nature to the wisdom of her heritage and to science. Through these connections she also finds a certain spirituality that resonates. The main focus is on us finding our way back to gratitude… Continued ⬇️