#5JoysFriday

So much joy this week! Clockwise from top left:
1. This kitten!
2. Went to an international food festival at the NATO base this afternoon.
3. Sunsets
4. Went on compressed work schedule so I now have every other Monday off. This Monday, I went to the nearby terme (hot springs), which was hot springs & so much more.
5. My new town - Monte di Prochida 🇮🇹💚🤍❤️ I‘m thankful every day I get to live here.

Another Abby short story that was absolutely delightful. Now like many of her books, it does deal with a heavy topic (stalking) and does have some on-page violence (there is a TW at the start of the book). But it‘s brief and not graphic. Plus it‘s read by Julia Whalen & Connor Crais, both excellent narrators.

Not crazy that it is only on audible. But I couldn‘t pass up an Abby Jimenez story. This is a lovely novella full of small kindnesses and recognizing what is important. Once again, all the feels 💜💜💜

I so love Abby Jimenez‘s books. Another great quote from this novella:

“Take responsibility for your own unhappiness. If you don‘t love your life, change it.”

And I am vowing to practice more kindness to help tip the scales back from all the hate and anger.

#wondrouswednesday

1. I just got the tagged today. I found it on Libro, but figured it would be better in print.

2. I do like reviewing books because I find other readers‘ reviews helpful. So I hope mine are helpful to them. Litsy & Storygraph - I‘m slowly trying to reduce my use of GR since it‘s now owned by Amazon & I‘m frankly tired of all the Amazon ads on it.

#two4tuesday on Wednesday

1. Sitting. It‘s just too hard to lay down to read anymore . . . unless it‘s an audiobook! 😆

2. I‘m in between books – I finished a Devney Perry book this morning & enjoyed it. But haven‘t decided what to read next.

Thanks for the tag @dabbe 😀

#5JoysFriday

1. Sunrise - I stopped in my commute this morning to take some photos
2. Sunset from my balcony
3. My landlord brought me homemade wine & limoncello - delizioso!
4. This kitten ❤️
5. I live 400 meters from a pizzeria & 200 meters from a gelato shop 😋

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView

Lego friends/Sherlockians! Look what I just saw on Lego‘s IG!!!

It‘s Lego.
It‘s Sherlock.
It‘s a book nook!

A Sherlock-themed Lego book nook! 😍😍😍

Link to the IG reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJCCUPOIO1K/?igsh=OW0wdTZmN2tyb2E3

#want #lego

from Floating Island by Dorothy Wordsworth

Full poem available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51925/floating-island

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

30 April - glittering

Grazie mille & shout out to @dabbe @kspenmoll @TheBookHippie for joining me in celebrating National Poetry Month! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

By Marilyn Singer from Turtle in July (couldn‘t find in database so tagged another of her books)

And of course, there‘s my favorite cat poetry book, T.S. Eliot‘s Old Possum‘s Book of Practical Cats

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

29 April - cat

#two4tuesday

1. Yes, I think less than 500 now. Maybe less than 400. I purged a lot before I moved, but didn‘t have time to recount. As soon as my library gets here, I plan to update my library spreadsheet & reorganize. .

2. Tagged!

By W.H. Auden (one of my favorite poets)

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

28 April - midnight

#5JoysFriday a little late

1. First sunset at my new apartment
2. I got a new chair that rocks AND swivels!
3. I love this little porthole window in my apartment
4. Gelato in the piazza 🍨
5. I got this cute basket at IKEA for Jasper‘s toys 🐱🧸

By Carolyn Marie Rodgers & in A Train Called Judah (which isn‘t in the database so I tagged another of her books)

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

27 April - find

by Alicia Suskin Ostriker & in the tagged

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

26 April - tulip

By Ha Jin

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

25 April - time

Playing catch up! It‘s been a busy couple of days.

William Shakespeare

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

24 April - fountains

Bein‘ Green, written by Joe Raposo and originally performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog

Kermit singing: https://youtu.be/rRZ-IxZ46ng?si=mfMNm7xJGxZlq4rw

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

23 April - green

#wondrouswednesday

1. I still have a Dexter shape hole in my heart. He was the bestest dog & I will always miss him. But Jasper has been a blessing & keeps me entertained.

2. Yes, both fiction and non-fiction.

3. Tagged!

#two4tuesday

1. When I‘m in the U.S., rarely. But I do when I‘m abroad.

2. Pratchett explores wealth and socioeconomic disparities in Discworld. The Lavish family in "Making Money" represents "old money," demonstrating how entrenched power and control can stifle innovation and lead to abuses

Earth Day from the tagged

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

22 April - earth 🌍

Knocking by Harriet Beecher Stowe from Religious Poems (1867, not in database)
Full poem available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/158050/knocking

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

21 April - broken

Les muscles célestes by René Magritte - an important early painting, painted at the time of his move to Paris in the autumn of 1927. At the end of September or beginning of October that year, Magritte wrote the above to his friend, the biochemist and author Paul Nougé, to describe the work.

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

20 April - sky

Poem for Passenger by Matthew Zapruder
available in the tagged or here:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/152075/poem-for-passengers

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

19 April - mostly

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of my favorite poets.

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

18 April - water
(I‘m a couple of days behind because life 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️)

I did the #GAR challenge in 2018 & got 53/100. My goal is to read at least most of them.

Currently on my TBR bookshelf:
The Grapes of Wrath
Heart of Darkness
Things Fall Apart
A Separate Peace
Crime & Punishment
War & Peace
Catch-22
Dune
Atlas Shrugged

#TLT

William Carlos Williams

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

17 April - Thursday

John Keats

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

16 April - romance

#two4tuesday

1. I filed mine on 30 March. A bit later than normal but this hasn‘t been a normal year.

2. Intriguing (I just started it and haven‘t gotten very far yet.)

The Daring One by Edwin Markham

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

15 April - daring

Wind, Water, Stone by Octavio Paz
translated by Eliot Weinberger

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

14 April - hollow

From “A Pythagorean Traveller” by Patti Smith

Read the full poem at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/161958/a-pythagorean-traveler

Or hear Patti read the full poem: https://youtu.be/8Asdmoo122k?si=iylkHsPE5gEVPvC8

#aprilpoetrycgallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

13 April - stars

From “Owls” by Liza Katz Duncan

Full poem available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/161520/owls

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

12 April - carry

#5JoysFriday on Saturday

Bottom left: I visited Pompeii last Sunday—so incredible
Bottom right: I had a work trip to Rome & got to take the train
Top right: although I was in meetings all day & really didn‘t get to see much of Rome, I did get to see the Trevi Fountain as we walked to dinner
Bottom middle: gelato 😋
Top left: always this kitten 🐱 ❤️

By Ada Limón, the current U.S. Poet Laureate

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

11 April - bird

Rose Thorns by Molly McQuade

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

10 April - thorns

I‘ve been sick, so I‘m a couple of days behind.

All the Tired Horses in the Sun by Joy Harjo

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

9 April - waiting

#two4tuesday on Wednesday

1. Yes.

2. Tagged

Thanks for the tag @Sace 😘

Tree Cemetery by Wu Sheng

Full poem in the tagged or online at:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/155138/tree-cemetery

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

8 April - tree

By Elizabeth Bishop

Available at: https://allpoetry.com/I-Am-In-Need-Of-Music

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

7 April - Magic

September 1957, W.H. Auden

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

6 April - one

Silver by Cleopatra Mathis

#aprilpoetrychallenge for #nationalpoetrymonth

5 April - extraordinary

I do love Vera. And one of the best scenes was her in the Robin‘s principals office.

But TWs (I‘ll put them in the comments with the spoiler alert because one does directly relate to the plot)

#5JoysFriday

1. This kitten. Plus toe beans!
2. We‘re working on using a leash. He‘s doing pretty well.
3. My soon-to-be apartment passed the housing inspection. One step closer!
4. It‘s Friday & I survived another week without getting fired.
5. I‘m enjoying my poetry challenge for National Poetry Month. In addition to posting poems & reading the ones @dabbe & @TheBookHippie have written/posted, I‘ve also been writing my own.

Mary Oliver

#aprilpoetrychallenge for National Poetry Month

4 April - nature

I just got book 2, so I decided to go reread book 1 first. (Plus, Eunice Wong is a fabulous narrator.) now that I‘m living in Italy, I had to laugh at this quote.

Excerpt from the poem “Pe ‘ahi Light” in the tagged or available online at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/159817/peahi-light

#AprilPoetryChallenge for National Poetry Month

3 April - east

#TLT

39/100 - most best picture nominees are just not my genre

Faves: Beauty & the Beast, Up, Moulin Rouge, Pulp Fiction, Sense & Sensibility (Emma Thompson + Alan Rickman ❤️), Chocolat, Crouching Tiger, Dead Poets Society

Soft pick.

I love all of Abby Jimenez‘s books and love that she doesn‘t shy from tough situations. This book is no different (there is a list of trigger warnings at the beginning). As much as I loved Samantha & Xavier, there really wasn‘t any real conflict. The obstacle was external, set-up basically at the beginning, and then I felt the story just floated along. So 3.75 stars. Summer & Playlist are still my faves.

#AprilPoetryChallenge for National Poetry Month

April 2 - adventure

The full poem can be read here ->
https://allpoetry.com/Night-For-Adventures