New books! #BookHaul Tagged I heard about after hearing an interview with an author on a podcast and the other I think I first heard about from a post on LinkedIn

This feels like the absurdist version of the Abbot and Costello “Who‘s on First” sketch. Can we leave? Not yet. We‘re waiting. For what? We‘re waiting for Godot.

Like somehow both really depressing and hilarious at the same time? 😆

Like most plays, it probably loses something on the page, so I would like to see a performance (live or recorded) at some point to really experience it.

Farmers‘ Market/Friends of the Library Sale #BookHaul
Another Mrs. Jeffries mystery, which are comfort reads for me, and a book of Jane Gilmor‘s art

Egg and cheese sandwich and iced berry hibiscus tea after the farmers‘ market while starting Waiting for Godot

Creepy, atmospheric, character-driven horror. Slower paced, perhaps even a bit too slow at times (50 pages or so could‘ve been cut, probably, and made this a tighter/more suspenseful read). The ultimate climax was a little bit of a let down, but overall I enjoyed this and would read more by this author.

Day off - I need to get a taller step ladder to replace some smoke alarm batteries. But first! Coffee, egg sandwich, and my book 📖 ☕️ 🥪

“‘Oh, Bean!‘ It was the most her daughter had gleaned from It, but the information had come at a cost. Eleanor Queen huddled beside her brother, looking as small and frightened as he did. ‘You did an amazing job - you did so well!‘ And Orla wouldn‘t let her do more. ‘Why don‘t I take a turn now? See if I can explain to It what - and who - we are. Is It still listening?‘”

“Orla nodded. Smart plan. Whatever had infected Shaw hadn‘t stolen all of his rational thinking. It would have been a long walk for the kids, and she‘d never liked the idea of them being on the snowed-over road, without sidewalks and with the berms buried. And they had choices about where to head next, though driving straight on to Pittsburgh seemed by far their best option. She wouldn‘t let her family make the same mistake again . . .”

I liked Six-Thirty, but the rest of this book was a hard pass for me. #UnpopularOpinion but I found this to be a condescending, preachy, emotionally manipulative, white-feminist fantasy. It beats you over the head with how horrible structural misogyny is, yet can be overcome if you are good enough and smart enough. I never connected to the Zott/Evans romance, a couple odd food-shame-y moments, and anachronisms. Finished just to complain about it.

Enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon with a cold brew and an egg and cheese sandwich 🥪 This book is set in the Adirondacks in November and there‘s snow - hoping that can help me feel cooler and this very hot and humid day!

My mom came over for supper, and I made steel cut oatmeal with real maple syrup and topped with some granola (that part was my mom‘s idea). Enough for the two of us with some leftovers for my breakfast tomorrow 😋 🥄

“Orla caught that flicker again of a moment from the past. The family home. Her father making her little brother laugh. Though none of them ever chased delicate Otto, lest he stumble and break.”

The usual weekend plans - lunch, latte, reading, and errands

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I loved our MC‘s (as well as Markel - the best side kick) and liked the world building. I was caught up in wanting to see what would happen. I do think the mystery was solved a little quickly/conveniently, but that‘s a little quibble.

TW: There is a rape depicted in the second chapter and how the character deals with that trauma is a major plot point. Also, violent animal death, suicidal ideation/self-harm.

Soft pick. The writing is just kind of meh (how many times can the protagonist let out a breath she didn‘t know she was holding in or can a male‘s jaw muscle twitch?) and I could predict the killer, but it was very readable and I had to see how it ended.

Maple oatmeal and a latte with an extra shot. The coffee sleeve is right - Today Just Got a Latte Better

Another farmers‘ market morning means another friends of the library book sale! #BookHaul

Day off, enjoying it by going to the one local coffee shop that‘s open (Thanks, Dash!) for coffee and a garden delight breakfast sandwich 🥪 ☕️ 📖

It was delete day at the library where I work. I ran into a staff member from another department of the college when I was taking the weeded items to the free table, and she was definitely looking forward to taking a look through them! I waited until others had their chance and then grabbed a couple for myself when I was on my way home #BookHaul

“Everyone wanted me to forget about her, to move on. As if this girl wasn‘t missing. Like she never existed in the first place. And as I ran my thumb over her side of the picture, I realized I couldn‘t do that. Just like I couldn‘t be the person I was before. That Samantha was still missing, stuck wherever Cassie was, and maybe she would‘ve been able to let Cassie drop, but I couldn‘t.”

A soft pick. I would say that respect what this book did more than I enjoyed it. The first section about the friendship of two lower class brown girls who wanted to be dancers was the strongest, while the remaining sections lost some focus as the unnamed narrator becomes more entangled with her pop star boss. I couldn‘t help but compare this to the Neapolitan Novels, which had a similar focus on how friendships shape us as we age, but (con‘t)

“‘The dead have nothing to fear,‘ Lexie said.”
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Finished two books this week, so it‘s time to start a new one (*ignores stack of books I‘m still in the middle of* 🙃). Enjoying a grilled cheese and cold press with milk chocolate 😋 Also, peep my new Loungefly and Disney backpack. Adorably bookish (but sadly just a smidge too small to fit a hardcover!)

Based on a real historical figure (Ella May Wiggins) and events, this is a compelling look at a not well known part of history. Cash brings the labor movement and 1920s mills in South Carolina to life through a variety of perspectives. I felt that maybe a tighter focus on Ella May might‘ve made the narrative stronger, but even so, I kept turning the pages, wanting to know what would happen next (even as the tragedy is foretold early on).

“‘I am,‘ Tom said. ‘Hand it over. I ain‘t taking the rap if you go out there and shoot somebody, drinking like you‘ve been.‘”

What Wang does remarkably well in her memoir is capture her childhood feelings and experiences with such vividness - both the very mundane (wanting a Tamogotchi because all her classmates had one) to the specific traumas of life as an undocumented immigrant in America. It was harrowing to read at times, yet also hopeful (her Ma Ma is a true hero). I think she really honored her little self that she had spent so many years trying to bury with this.

Window seat at Dash Coffee. Enjoying a regular drip coffee and an apple cinnamon sugar scone and more time for reading before errands 📖 ☕️

It‘s warm but breezy and not too bad in the shade. Time to enjoy a bagel with garden veggie cream cheese, an iced almond milk latte, and some time reading 📖 🥯

“Frask looked back, shocked. ‘Same,‘ she said limply.”

“‘Flip-outs,‘ he insisted, getting in his car. ‘Yesterday one of my kids hit the other with a shovel.‘”

“‘A moment where *you* are your own priority. Just you. Not your baby, not your work, not your dead Mr. Evans, not your filthy house, not anything. Just you. Elizabeth Zott. Whatever you need, whatever you want, whatever you seek, reconnect with it in that moment.‘ She gave a sharp tug to her fake pearls. ‘Then recommit.‘”

“‘References could be a problem,‘ he added, stepping out into the hall.
‘Coattails,‘ Frask whispered.”

This nonfiction is a mix between feminist literary criticism of classical Greek/Roman myths, memoir, and cultural criticism of gender in post-Trump America. That mix might not work for some, but it worked for me. I found it relatable and incisive (the chapter on embodiedness especially so as a chronically ill woman) and occasionally moving (what it would be to live without shame).

I needed an auxiliary cable. I went on Amazon (I know, I know…). Of course a couple books ended up in the box, too. Don‘t ask me how it happened 😆 📚 #BookHaul

“‘Father,‘ said Caethari, gulping. ‘I think we should speak in private.‘”

Another farmers market meant another Friends of the Library book sale #BookHaul

“‘Oh,‘ said Velasin. And then, a beat later, ‘Would you object to an audience?‘”

“Fine. Despite his carefully orchestrated getting-to-know-you session earlier, it‘s clear I‘m not the only one playing the cards that matter close to my chest. Keep your secrets, Mack Sullivan. You‘re entitled to them, just as I‘m entitled to mine. And I‘m entitled to the keys to Otter Lodge too.”

Some books appeared on the free book table at work this afternoon #BookHaul

I don‘t consider myself a romance reader, yet I‘ve just read two in a row 😆 This is what I want in a romance - fast paced (less than 300 pages), flirty, second chance romance, with a good heaping of adventure. Think The Hangover meets Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark specifically because of the romantic tension) vibes but in the form of a second chance romance novel. Fun summer reading 📖 🍹🍿

Enjoying an americano and a breakfast burrito 🌯 before going for a haircut 💇‍♀️

“Bradley paced the length of the room. ‘Duke‘s taunting us. It‘s all a game to him.‘ He stopped pacing to narrow his eyes at Lily. ‘‘Adventure over stuff,‘ isn‘t that what you said his motto was? Sanctimonious son of a bitch really thought people would be satisfied with the thrill of the chase and he could keep the money himself.‘ He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Jay and Kevin. ‘He got the money. We take them with us.‘”

At the college where I work, the campus bookstore is having their annual pre-inventory sidewalk sale, so I got a new t-shirt and a couple books (only $1 each!). I figured it was a well deserved reward after a good annual review this morning.

“‘Sounds like it‘s fine,‘ she said dryly.
They both knew it was a lie, but Nic didn‘t bother to ask again.”

“We continued to go to McDonald‘s with Lao Jim after that, but Ba Ba always made sure to come with us. We never saw Mimi again.”

Enjoying an iced crafted press outside with my book before running errands. There is a bit of a chill with the breeze, but it‘s still more comfortable than the inside a/c!

Today‘s #bookhaul from the Friends of the Library book sale 📚

After a drizzly walk around the farmers‘ market and quick stroll through the Friends of the Library book sale, time to enjoy a chai and an egg and cheese biscuit with my book 📖

“Their conversation went back and forth like that for a little while, until Aleisha gave in. This lady wasn‘t taking no for an answer. She checked her watch. Her mind flew to Aidan and Leilah at home- she still had some time, but would Aidan need her much before he went to work? If she stayed for an hour, she‘d make it home in plenty of time, she reasoned.”

“Leo moved to follow the scattering group when a figure just out of the firelight caught his eye, a mirage at the edge of the moonlight, stepping out of the small horse pen. Stick-straight hair sparked the memory of fall leaves and naked skin on the bank of the river. It was a hazy memory, or maybe he was already half out of it, already dreaming. Shaking his head, Leo climbed into his tent and tumbled onto the sleeping bag there.”

Soft pick. I really liked the FMC Bee and a lot of the side characters. And Joy Nash (the female audiobook narrator) hit the perfect flirty/fun/sexy tone. But, like most m/f romances, I felt like the FMC could‘ve done so much better than the MMC. I also wasn‘t crazy about the male narrator (he seemed to be trying too hard to be aloof and sexy when the story needed more flirty and playful and sexy). But it was enjoyable enough!