ŷ������

It would appear that we are into summer weather here now.

I have been busy and just trying to stay current with appointments, etc, for myself, my husband, and my good friend who is now undergoing bouts of extreme vertigo�� She will be undergoing extensive testing near the end of the month and I hope this identifies a cause and treatment. This is preventing her from many daily activities, so it is debilitating and depressing for her. Also, our youngest feline is ill. And it doesn’t look good. Antibiotics seem to have little to no effect�� :(

In addition, I am now teaching three classes in the heated therapy pool each week rather than just one. It’s fun, but a bit more stressful overall. I like just being a ‘student�� and not having to lead! (I’m getting lazy in my old age!

I have not had time to catch up on documenting my books and just realized I didn’t even manage to post last week. :( I am going to start allotting one day of the week to Popsugar. I think it is like anything else. I need to carve out specific time(s) to accomplish what I want to do for this group! I miss interacting with you-all, so if that means a bit less reading time, so be it!

NEW ADMIN STUFF
Nadine has created a nomination poll for our August Monthly Group read HERE This book can be used to fulfill prompt #30 A book that’s on a celebrity book club list. (Celebrities are ‘august��!) Please help us nominate some interesting books! Make sure to check your book against the listings of prior reads first!

Just a reminder that the comprehensive listing of 2023 Monthly Group Reads can be found HERE

Question of the Week
How many shelves do you have on ŷ������?
I ask because as I was using ŷ������ on my phone during a recent IRL book club meeting I just started laughing! Why? Because I noticed that I now have over 300 shelves! How did that happen, you may ask? LOL

I began adding shelves for specific settings of books--mainly countries around the world. And I created shelves to site books into specific Centuries (9th, 10th, 11th) and/or decades (1920s, 1930s, etc). In addition, I created shelves for specific subject matter and/or themes throughout the years. I’m not upset by this, but it did make me laugh! Then I wondered how many shelves other ŷ������ members have…just out of curiosity! I’m sure we all categorize our books in unique ways that best suit our purposes, as with anything else!

Popsugar: 39/50
Nadine’s Q1 Mini-Challenge: 7/10
AtY: 48/52
RHC: 12/24

FINISHED
*And Then There Was Me by Sadeqa Johnson ✶✶✶✶�� was a very personal read for me. I could so relate to Bea’s situation in life. Though I bemoan her bad aim! �� Love Johnson’s writing!
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:

*The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose (Darling Dahlias #3) by Susan Wittig Albert ✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:

*Clouds of Witness (Lord Peter Wimsey #2) by Dorothy L. Sayers ✶✶✶✶�� was an excellent read, IMO! Although Sayers did bring in a relatively new person at the end, it was believable. There were many other authors who were cohorts of Agatha Christie, who, IMO, wrote mysteries that were just as enjoyable as hers.
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:

*The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal ✶✶✶✶�� I love Kowal’s writing and while I enjoyed this mystery, I admit to being a bit put-off by the CONSTANT referencing of alcoholic beverages. It felt as if these characters drank nothing BUT alcohol! Other than that and new alcoholic recipe at the beginning of each chapter, I had no qualms at all with this book! I did appreciate her author’s note at the end about the alcohol and her mention that she had actually created some of the recipes and a few are actually nonalcoholic. I admit I am very very very much looking forward to the next installment in the Lady Astronaut series due out later this year! Meanwhile I am starting to explore her romance novels��
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:

*Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi ✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶ was as enjoyable as the first book in the series!
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:

*Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi ✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶✶ was just as engaging as the first two books in this series, though the location has changed and along with several recurring characters there are quite a few new ones!
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:

CONTINUING:
The Push by Ashley Audrain for an IRL book club meeting this coming Tuesday
The Huntress by Malinda Lo
1st to Die by James Patterson
*Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses by Paula McLain
*The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed
*Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard
*Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York (Mrs. ‘Arris #2) by Paul Gallico
*Beloved by Toni Morrison

PLANNED:
The Storyteller’s Daughter by ?? for an IRL book club meeting
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus for a group read

L Y N N wrote: "It would appear that we are into summer weather here now.

I have been busy and just trying to stay current with appointments, etc, for myself, my husband, and my good friend who is now undergoing..."



I'm sorry about your cat. I hope he/she pulls through.


You are so busy!!! We missed you last week!

Happy Thursday!!! I am on VACATION!!! (only from today til Tuesday - but it sure feels good right now!)

We've had lovely spring weather, I finally got my lawn mowed, I've got the next few days off, and I'm going to pick up my college kid today. It's all good right now! I feel so guilty about mowing after you all championed "No Mow May" LOL so I'd like to announce that I mowed Tuesday evening, and there are currently dandelions blooming where I just mowed. So you can mow and still have flowers!! (But the grass was up to my literal KNEES in places!!! I'm really shocked I didn't see any snakes or frogs while I mowed - I guess they heard me coming and got the hell out of Dodge.)


This week I finished 2 books, not for this Challenge, so I remain 24/50.

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun- I didn't like this much, but at least it was short. The cover is so gorgeous that I HAD to read this! Ironically, the cover art for my audiobook was just a boring yellow square. I used this for "faceless person" in AtY.

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal - I REALLY did not like this, I thought it was boring and pointless, but I also think it will be very very popular. A lot of you are going to love this book!! If you like up-lit or character-driven novels or "book club books" or if you just want to read about Filipina maids, read this. I could have used it for "queer lead" but I disliked it so much, I don't even want it to show up on my final Challenge list. They mentioned the weather and the heat a lot, so I did use it for "set in a tropical place" in AtY.



Pop: 24/50   
Winter:  3/10   
AtY: 19/52   
2023 must-reads: 4/12





QotW

LOL not as many shelves as Lynn!!

10 exclusive shelves.
224 other shelves

I often add or delete shelves.

I use my shelves with the idea that it might help me find another similar book (or recommend a certain type of book to someone else), so if I find myself drawn to a sub-genre, I'll create a shelf for it. I'm not the HUGEST historical fiction reader, so I've only got a handful (well, 15) of shelves for time period, and a lot of those are historical romances. I've also got shelves tracking books that I read in the year of publication, books I might not really want to read (it looked interesting enough to add to my tbr, but I still have doubts), and books I REALLY want to read soon.

L Y N N wrote: "It would appear that we are into summer weather here now.

I have been busy and just trying to stay current with appointments, etc, for myself, my husband, and my good friend who is now undergoing..."

I'm so sorry about your kitty, Lynn!

Happy Thursday! What a busy week it's been. I think I managed 5hrs of sleep last night, which is my bare minimum anymore. Theatre really burns the candle at both ends. But the show's coming together well, so I'm not about to complain!

Despite my best efforts, no books were finished this week. Pour one out. I have gotten into some new-to-me music, which has been refreshing (and usually seems to happen in times like this when I have minimal mental energy). Phoebe Bridgers and the National are both very good, and I think I may investigate St Vincent soon.

Currently:
The Three Musketeers - I'm keeping good pace on this for our buddy read, and I like it a lot so far.
Jane Eyre - my second audio for when I'm not listening to Musketeers, this is also going well (although I'm afraid of losing momentum this week, we'll see!)
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther - still very early in this and I'm not sure about it just yet
What Moves the Dead - I was hopeful I'd finish this in time for the check-in, but I just haven't had time. I like this very very much!

QOTW: How many shelves do you have on ŷ������?
Let's see
6 exclusive shelves
+ 8 specific-to-2023 shelves (challenges etc)
+ 85 other shelves
= 99 total
sheesh! A handful of those are for separating historical fiction by setting. I used to have shelves for each year, but I scrapped those when I realized spreadsheets would do the job.

I read The German Wife as a previous favorite, a book that you pick randomly. It was really good. I didn't think I was going to like it when I saw what I had picked, but I guess my blind hand has good taste.

I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities as a book I read more than 10 years ago. I remember it not at all. I read it 30 years ago and not for school, so I guess that explains it. Plus, I think a lot of it I read on a plane and in airports and I don't do my best reading there.

QOTW: Just the ones they give you automatically.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

It’s been a busy week, but a very productive one. I finally finished unpacking boxes in my game room this week, and it is looking fantastic! Now I just need to finish the kitchen…and hang up artwork...and organize my closets... Sigh...

Over the weekend I had the chance to watch the coronation of King Charles, which I thought was really cool. If you didn’t have a chance to see it live and still want to, it is available for streaming on BritBox. The Coronation Concert is also available for streaming, and it is fabulous! If BritBox is one of the streaming services you subscribe to, I highly recommend watching it!

I was able to do quite a bit of reading this week, and I’m feeling really good about my progress on my TBR and “New Books�� lists. I still have a long way to go to meet my reading goals, but I’m getting closer.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals��

ŷ������ Challenge: 351/400
Mount TBR Challenge: 150/150 (Challenge Complete!)

📚Physical TBR: 176/634
📱Ebook TBR: 7/236
��Audiobook TBR: 11/13
TBR Checklist Total: 194/883 (21.9% complete)

This was the first week of my self-imposed book buying ban, and it is going well so far. I have not bought any books this week!

“New�� Books Bought in 2023: 277
“New�� Books Read in 2023: 151/277 (54.5% complete)

Here are the books I finished this week��

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Mr. Cavendish, I Presume �� This is the second book in the Two Dukes of Wyndham duology. This book covers most of the same events as the previous novel, but from the perspectives of Thomas and Amelia. I really enjoyed it! 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Red Plague Affair �� This is the second book in the Bannon and Clare series. I thought this was a good story. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[There is a lot of illness/medical content in this book, some of which is very graphic. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~The Art of Spirited Away �� The artwork in this book was gorgeous! The book also included the original Spirited Away screenplay, which was fun to read. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
This week I started reading the Bleach manga, and I’m really enjoying it so far! The art and characters are great, and the story is very interesting. The volumes I read this week include��
~Bleach, Vol. 1 �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 2: Goodbye Parakeet, Good Night My Sister �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 3: Memories in the Rain �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 4: Quincy Archer Hates You �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 5: Right Arm of the Giant �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 6: The Death Trilogy Overture �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 7: The Broken Coda �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 8: The Blade and Me �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 9: Fourteen Days for Conspiracy �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 10: Tattoo on the Sky �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 11: A Star and a Stray Dog �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 12: Flower on the Precipice �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 13: The Undead �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 14: White Tower Rocks �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bleach, Vol. 15: Beginning of the Death of Tomorrow �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I also began reading the Suicide Squad comic book series. While I have enjoyed most of the stories in these books, the attitudes and language of some of the characters is problematic. The series is definitely reflective of the time period in which it was written, and the books include quite a few examples of stereotyping, racism, sexism, and even some body shaming. The volumes I read this week include��
~Suicide Squad, Volume 1: Trial By Fire �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Suicide Squad, Volume 2: The Nightshade Odyssey �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Suicide Squad, Volume 3: Rogues �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Suicide Squad, Volume 4: The Janus Directive �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
~Cyrano de Bergerac �� I picked up a copy of this book after watching the 2021 musical adaptation (Cyrano), starring Peter Dinklage. I really enjoyed reading the original play, but have to confess that I like the musical version better. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DNFed:
None

Currently Reading:
~The Three Musketeers �� I am continuing to thoroughly enjoy this book! I’m currently on chapter 17, but will read chapters 17 and 18 by the end of the day. 📚
~The Ripper Affair �� This is the third book in the Bannon and Clare series. I’m enjoying this installment so far, but I am rather annoyed that (view spoiler)[ my favorite character died at the beginning of the book (hide spoiler)]. Not the best way to start, in my opinion. 📚
~Suicide Squad, Volume 5: Apokolips Now �� This is the fifth book in the Suicide Squad series. I’m currently about halfway through this book, and will probably start the next collection this evening. 📚

QOTW:
My main shelves on ŷ������ are “Read,�� “Currently Reading,�� and “Want to Read.�� I also have two shelves for the books I read for the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge in 2020 and 2021.

I'm in the middle of finals so it's hard to find time to read with all that grading. I did manage to finish this door stop though Carry Onby Rainbow Rowell. Right now I'm counting it as A book with a queer lead but it is a strong contender for longest book on the TBR pile AND it has a pull out map in it so if anyone is looking for those...

QOTW I was going to say minimal shelving but the truth is I have 50 of them. Wow

K.L. wrote: "This week I started reading the Bleach manga, and I’m really enjoying it so far! The art and characters are great, and the story is very interesting. ..."



Bleach is one of the first manga I ever became aware of! I still have not read it. Glad to hear it's good!!! I will make sure it's on my TBR list

Well it is certainly getting into the summer temps. here. One of our high's for next week is going to be 96 (F). We had a terrible fall and winter. No serious cold so I can only imagine how hot it will be this year. If I had to guess we might get above 110 (F). It wouldn't surprise me.



Finished:

Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music - I rated this one a 3 star. It was a good book, but not what I was expecting. There was too much science/anatomy for me to follow. It's cool how the brain works and everything, but I couldn't keep up with what it was saying.

I wish they had worded things a bit differently and made it simpler. This book is more aimed towards those who are good at science and have a knowledge of music.

It had some personal anecdotes, but not enough to hold my interest. I don't know maybe a 3-star is too generous.



Currently Reading:

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History - This being a very long book, I try to read at least 10 pages a day. I'm liking it so far.

Release the Snyder Cut: The Crazy True Story Behind the Fight That Saved Zack Snyder's Justice League - Discovered this book on a whim. It fits perfectly for the "based on a popular movie" prompt. It's definitely been a fun one so far.



Upcoming:

Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future - Isn't it funny how you see a book, but don't get it at the time and then it's all you can think about so you go back for it? This is that book for me. It also works well with the "a book set in the decade you were born" since it talks about various generations. I'm a millennial so that's perfect.

The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age - I'm always looking on books that talk about the medium of fanfiction. I'm a fanfiction writer so I like nonfiction books about it.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - I'll be doing this one as a buddy read starting next week.



QOTW:

I don't usually keep up with my GR bookshelves.

Ashley Marie wrote: "I have gotten into some new-to-me music, which has been refreshing (and usually seems to happen in times like this when I have minimal mental energy). Phoebe Bridgers and the National are both very good, and I think I may investigate St Vincent soon...."




My daughter loves Phoebe Bridgers! Some other musicians she likes (that you might like too) are: Sabrina Carpenter, Frank Ocean, The Wallows, Backseat Lovers, Declan McKenna, Omar Apollo, The Regrettes, boygenius, Gracie Abrams, and Lizzy McAlpine. It's not my kind of music, I'm just grabbing these names from her playlists. I can't ask her right now because she's busy stressing out about her last two final exams.

(I'm not bothering to mention the popular acts that everyone has heard of, like Taylor Swift & Lana del Rey - I don't think anyone needs to tell you about Taylor Swift hahaha! we've all heard of her!!)

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Finished:
Tsalmoth by Steven Brust - 4 stars - not for a prompt. This is a long-running favorite series of mine, and this one is a flashback to an earlier part of the main character's life, so definitely not the place to dive in. I enjoyed it, though, and looking forward to the next one.

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams - 4 stars - for a book by a first-time author. This was a lot of fun - fae and magic in Shakespearean London.

Comics & manga:
Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 2
Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 2
Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 3
Star⇄Crossed!!, Vol. 4
The Gods Lie

I am currently at 25/50 for Popsugar (19/40 and 6/10).

Currently reading:
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen - this a reread in order to prepare for the sequel which comes out next Tuesday. I'm also using it for a book you wish you could read for the first time again.

Upcoming/Planned:
Painted Devils by Margaret Owen (for bought from an independent bookstore - I'm going to an author event at the store to get my copy)
Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean (for celebrity book club - this is a Good Morning America book club pick, so I'm going to count as celebrity)

QOTW:
I have 9 exclusive shelves and 119 regular shelves. I use them mainly to tag books, plus I have shelves for each year, and each challenge.

Nadine in NY wrote: "My daughter loves Phoebe Bridgers! Some other musicians she likes (that you might like too) are: Sabrina Carpenter, Frank Ocean, The Wallows, Backseat Lovers, Declan McKenna, Omar Apollo, The Regrettes, boygenius, Gracie Abrams, and Lizzy McAlpine. It's not my kind of music, I'm just grabbing these names from her playlists. I can't ask her right now because she's busy stressing out about her last two final exams."

Thanks for the share! I think boygenius is a supergroup/side project of Phoebe's, I'm familiar with the name but haven't listened yet. And I know Gracie's name because she's opening for Taylor's current tour (and she's hella connected - the daughter of JJ Abrams and Katie McGrath??)

Nadine in NY wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "I have gotten into some new-to-me music, which has been refreshing (and usually seems to happen in times like this when I have minimal mental energy). Phoebe Bridgers and the N..."

Thank you for the music recommendations, Nadine. I love Frank Ocean, but have not heard any of the others.
I recently told both my daughter and my niece that I needed a playlist refresh. Neither of them were at all helpful.

Sending all the good vibes for your furbaby, Lynn <333

Last weekend I picked my daughter up for the weekend and drove her home. I let her control the music. She's currently on a Y2K kick. I just call them all Blink 182. I hated it, but I get it for her, it's her childhood. Kind of how I feel about 80's new wave.

Everyone talking about summer weather and here it's rain. And when there's no rain, it's humid af because rain is coming. I like to joke it's partly training for Florida, if we go xD

Mickey update: He is ... doing well, given the circumstances. He is active, he is joyful, he even makes tiny hops sometimes! It looks ridiculous but he hops! Both hind paws lifting at the same time! He even helps clean himself now if we have him on his butt; he folds himself double and helps with what we are too scared to pull off because it's so close to his skin. On the downside, he is losing weight extremely rapidly, so we are feeding him more pellets, dried pea flakes, junior pellets, and today we started with forcefeed with some apple sauce, though luckily we don't have to force it: he licks it up himself! Score! Fingers crossed he'll gain weight again to keep his fight going.

The above is why I've been extremely exhausted and not really been able to do much of anything at all. I've been watching lots of WDW videos (my fave DLP vlogger went recently so I had lots to watch. When finished I watched her recent DLR series, haha!) and doing research in case we get to go.

I did take a 20 minute walk recently in an attempt to start exercising without killing my CFS/fibro, but it's rained ever since so no second walk just yet, haha!

Currently Reading
Thunderhead
I started, at the very least. And there's a daughter of a guy who was mentioned once: Carmen. I need a book with a character with my name for another challenge so I decided to run with it xD

The Three Musketeers
...so yeah. remember I said chapter 9 was up for that night? That never happened. I'm still there. Haven't had the mental capacity to read this; I want to be able to enjoy it!

At least tonight I'll be listening to Tom Hanks talk about a book. The closest I'll get to reading anything that's not WDW related xD

QOTW
4 priority shelves (dnf, on-hold, nope, tbr-priority), of which the latter isn't actively used. I tried. But alas.

42 regular shelves, of which only 19 are non-challenge related. Oops. And 4 of them were created for omnibus books (so: book-1-finished, book-2-finished etc). I do have 1001-books shelf, but that's not a challenge for me, just a fun stat. Other examples are 'audiobooks' 'ebooks' 'arcs' 'absolute favorites' 'queer rep' 'my bookcases' and 'problematic asshole authors'.

One minute it's beautiful sunshine, the next it's pouring rain! Feels a lot more like April than May and it's hard to plan any outdoor things. I've twice been caught out without sunscreen and getting toasty so I guess now I'm putting it on even if it looks like a storm is brewing.

Finished:
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall, which will be for an ATY prompt, I haven't worked out which yet. This was fun for the most part, but I didn't click with the romance, so it dragged a bit when it shifted from the fantasy onto the relationship.

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater for a book with a pet character since one of the main characters has a giant snail called Bleep. I usually don't enjoy books with unlikable characters but I kinda liked these ones while also not liking them at the same time. They seemed more like flawed people than written purposefully to be horrible. I also loved the chain bookshop setting which was clearly inspired by the author's time as a Waterstones bookseller.

Currently reading The Salt Grows Heavy. I have no idea where I am up to with challenges, I really need to sit down with my list and do some half-way planning.

QOTW:
7 unique, 70 non-unique. A lot of these are for challenges, I only really have sub-genre shelves for things I read a lot of or I'm collating a list for some reason and decided a ŷ������ shelf was the place to do it. One of my unique shelves is basically a place to dump kindle books I own but no longer have much interest in reading. I want a record I have them, just in case they work for a fiendish challenge category, but don't want to count them in my TBR. I also separate out pre-orders onto their own unique shelf so I don't forget I've ordered them and end up with two copies...

Happy Thursday! As Nadine said, the weather in New York has been spectacular.
I only got like 3 hours of sleep last night, so let's see if I can put together a cohesive post.

Finished:
The Bandit Queens I really enjoyed this book
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape for IRL book club. Not as juicy or exciting as I was hoping for

Currently reading:
The Outsiders
Heart of a Dog Reading in Russian, so it's slow going
The Tale of Genji Almost at the halfway point, after 6 months
In the Lives of Puppets on audio

QOTW:
Just the standard ones, plus a shelf for every year of every challenge that I do. I just noticed I have a DNF shelf, clearly I don't use it much.

Happy Thursday. I finished zero books, but I'm reading 4 of them and actually worked on moving all of them along. I'm also getting a 3 day weekend for the rest of May, so that will lead to more reading time.

I still haven't got into The Deathly Hallows with the kids, but we watched the first movie to review, so we should breeze through some chapters.

Lynn: I hope you're enjoying Beloved. I want to tackle it later this year.

Series - 5/15
Series Completed: - Lying Games, Bronwyn the Witch, Divergent

Nobel laureates - 1/7
Random books - 2/7

ATY - 16/40
PS - 15/30
Nadine's 23 challenge - 10/10 -Completed!
Around the year in 52 movies - 18/52

Currently reading:

Penguin Island - 70% done
The Silver Chalice - 10% done
Something Rotten - 20% done
The Arm of the Starfish - 40% done

Buddy Reads:
God in My Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God - 3/15 chapters
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 0/37 chapters
A Light in the Window - 1/21 chapters

QOTW: Other than ATY and Pop Sugar per year, I don't have that many.
Books I read as a child - because I can't remember the year
Books I need to re-read - because I can't remember the book at all
Watched the movie instead - haha because GR kept recommending the book to me, so I created this shelf for books I saw a movie version of and have zero interest in also reading the book.

I read one book for the week The Garden of Evening Mists. Not for this challenge. 5 stars. I loved the story & writing in this book. It is only 350 pages but it took me a week to read it. I savored it.
QOTW I don't think I have any shelves.

Hi all,

I also missed last week's check in, because life. My cat had his cat scan Tuesday to make sure there's no underlying issues that would prevent radiation from being a good idea, and to more precisely define the that needs to be targeted. The radiologist hopes to start treatment next tuesday or wednesday. I'm really stressed out and worried about my guy. But the radiologist was really down to earth and confident. She's worked with cats with the same other issues he has, and told me I can call her at any hour if there's a problem, and she's confident he'll come through everything fine. It'll just be intense, and I feel bad making my poor guy who doesn't like cars and get car sick have to take a 30+ min car ride twice a day 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Lots of meds to help keep him calm.

The last couple weeks I finished:

Portrait of a Thief- This was my books & brew book for my irl book club. We had a pretty good discussion on it tuesday, and some new people actually showed up for club for the first time in a while, which was nice. We'd been trying to figure out how to get new people to show, used to get new people pretty regularly but during the pandemic when things were zoom it kinda stagnated, and not a whole lot of new people have joined or stayed since. We've been experimenting with different book choices trying to see what would lure some people in. Guess heists worked! I liked it pretty well. Although as much as I love a heist, the heist part was probably the weakest part of it. I did like the character interplay though, and the thoughts about what belongs in museums and the rights cultures have to their own cultures art and artifacts that were looted/stolen in times of conflict.

A Coup of Tea - read for a different virtual book club. I ended up being stuck in oncology office two weeks ago for 4+ hours due to them being so backed up. So while this was hardly an amazing read in terms of new and different plot or anything, it was a good cozy fantasy during an extremely stressful day where all I could do was read and quietly pet my cat through the bars of his carrier as we waited to finally be seen ( i had an appointment, they were just really backed up. I don't know why they didn't just call and say "hey can you just come in an hour and a half" or something like that.) I used this for the self published prompt.

We Ride Upon Sticks - did this an audio. I expected this to be just a kind of silly book about teen girls doing witchcraft to win at field hockey. And there was a lot of that. But it ended up surprising me for being a pretty moving book about sisterhood and coming to terms with who you want to be as a young woman growing up and learning to reject what other people EXPECT you to be. I liked it quite a bit. I used this for book set in the decade I was born.

The Master and Margarita - knocked another of my tbr challenge picks off. This was a bit of a slog. Not really terrible, more just confusing and left me with a general impression that I don't know nearly enough about Russian history or politics to really understand the satire. So it was more just weird and confusing, rather than cutting or funny. But I acknowledge that's more on me, than on the writing likely.

Malibu Rising - another audiobook. I liked this one more than I expected. Not another full cast one like Daisy Jones, but it still had a bit of a similar vibe. It also mentioned Runner Records, although didn't mention the Six directly so I wonder if it was meant to be the vague same sort of basically historical fiction world that Daisy was set in. As far as I could google Runner Records isn't an actual historical record label. I am tentatively slotting it in for my book set in one day. I read it for it in good faith, based on the description and the fact it was on the listopia. but while the "current" story line was all in one day, a huge portion of the book was set in the past giving the family history. So I don't really feel like that counts. We'll see, if i feel like reading one of the other options later maybe I'll do it. Otherwise I'll just call it good since I THOUGHT it would work.

Currently reading:

Clytemnestra - i'd read pandora's jar earlier and found her story interesting and googled to see if there were any retellings of her, and saw one was coming out soon. It's finally out and I got it from my library. I like it so far!

Lapvona - technically I haven't started this, but i probably will during my lunch walk. I think i'm only missing two prompts from Nadine's challenge, a book about sheep/shepards and a 23rd on a list. So here we go. I've seen some people reading it and I've heard it's very weird.

QOTW: I have....a lot of shelves. I don't know how to figure out how many, over 5 pages. I use them more as tags. So I have shelves for genre, shelves for series, plus if i use them for a reading challenge I mark what challenges I used them for, and I mark what book clubs I read a book for, things like that. I don't always use all of them, but they do come in handy sometimes. Like if it's been a while since I read a series and I want to remember where I left of I can go to the series tag and see what the last one I read was, by which ones are on the shelf. or if I read the whole series, i can see which ones have the most recent reading dates on them.

Ashley Marie wrote: "And I know Gracie's name because she's opening for Taylor's current tour (and she's hella connected - the daughter of JJ Abrams and Katie McGrath??) ..."



oohhhh now that you mention it, I DO remember Lily telling me this!! I completely forgot

Cool BN had the latest Rizzoli & Isles book, "LIsten To Me" in mass-market paperback.

Milena wrote: "Thank you for the music recommendations, Nadine. I love Frank Ocean, but have not heard any of the others....


Last weekend I picked my daughter up for the weekend and drove her home. I let her control the music. She's currently on a Y2K kick. I just call them all Blink 182. I hated it, but I get it for her, it's her childhood. Kind of how I feel about 80's new wave. "



My college kid makes a new playlist every few weeks, and since she's in that college petri dish where all the kids are sharing all their new finds with each other, she comes up with all these bands I'd never heard of. It's too bad she and I do not have the same taste in music! Like The 1975? that's a no from me. You might love them though!

LOL I'd rather listen to Blink 182!!

Sheri wrote: "Hi all,

I also missed last week's check in, because life. My cat had his cat scan Tuesday to make sure there's no underlying issues that would prevent radiation from being a good idea, and to mor..."

Sending love to your furbaby as well, Sheri <33

K.L. wrote: "This week I started reading the Bleach manga, and I’m really enjoying it so far! The art and characters are great, and the story is very interesting."

I just got the Vol. 1-3 book from the library of the Bleach series. It will be my first manga in a LONG time. Looking forward to reading it!

Personal: 38/50
Library: 17/31
Nadine's: 10/10

Finished: Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure?

It's quite a change to go from reading 5 books in one day to one book in one week! Guess I usually have other stuff to do besides read! I'm glad I read this one though because the blogger who cited it claimed it was unequivocally in favor of direct instruction. I found the conclusion much more ambivalent.

Started:The Price of Two Sparrows The reason I'm reading this one is really fun and random. The author moderated one of the hours during the Dewey readathon and I liked her question so much, that I ordered her book!

QotW: I have five main shelves (having added a partly-read) and 38 subject shelves. BUT I rarely use any of the shelves other than the five main shelves.

Nadine in NY wrote: "We've had lovely spring weather, I finally got my lawn mowed, I've got the next few days off, and I'm going to pick up my college kid today. It's all good right now! I feel so guilty about mowing after you all championed "No Mow May" LOL so I'd like to announce that I mowed Tuesday evening, and there are currently dandelions blooming where I just mowed. So you can mow and still have flowers!! (But the grass was up to my literal KNEES in places!!! I'm really shocked I didn't see any snakes or frogs while I mowed - I guess they heard me coming and got the hell out of Dodge.)..."

We tried out our new manual mower last weekend and it was actually really fun. Fortunately, the grass wasn't up to our knees though, otherwise it wouldn't have worked very well.

Happy Thursday.

Finals week is kicking my butt. I'm so ready for this semester to be over...

Oh, also, I finished the PopSugar challenge this week. Whoo. Now to buckle down and finish the Extreme Book Nerd challenge...

Books read this week:

Thornhedge (ARC) -- for the PopSugar prompt “published in the second half of 2023.�� I managed to nab an ARC of this one from NetGalley, and it’s a fascinating take on the “Sleeping Beauty�� story. Kingfisher has a knack for breathing new life into old stories, and for making a story oddly sweet even with its horrific elements.

Paladin's Hope -- not for either challenge. The third book in the “Saint of Steel�� series, and just as good as the first two�� just with an LGBTQ romance instead of a straight one this time, heh��

Joyland -- for the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “book randomly pulled off a library shelf.�� Not King’s best, and not really a crime novel despite being published under the Hard Case Crime imprint. Still a nice coming-of-age story with some supernatural elements and a slight mystery element.

A Smile as Big as the Moon: A Special Education Teacher, His Class, and Their Inspiring Journey Through U.S. Space Camp -- for the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “have seen the movie but haven’t read.�� The story of a special-needs classroom that ends up going to a prestigious Space Camp alongside mainstream and gifted students. An uplifting story about hope and perseverance.

Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery -- for the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “non-fiction book in the 600s of the Dewey Decimal System.�� A therapist tells the stories of five of her most heroic patients. Difficult to listen to at times (I listened to the audiobook), but oddly inspiring as well.

DNF:

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina -- wasn’t holding my attention

Women Talking -- again, wasn’t holding my attention. I guess I should have realized from the title that it was just going to be a LOT of dialogue instead of a proper story, huh?

Currently Reading:

The Only One Left (ARC)
Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games
The Elephant Whisperer
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

QOTW:

I have 23 shelves on ŷ������. My main shelves are Want To Read, Currently Reading, Read, Did Not Finish, and Books I Love. I also have shelves for each PopSugar challenge (except the 2016 one, which I did not participate in), and shelves for my TBR that are divided by where the books come from -- my Kindle books (divided by genre), my "I have no self-control at booksales" shelf, library books, consortium books, and inter-library loan books.

Mostly my shelving system is just for me, not for the rest of the world. Which is okay, I figure.

Question of the Week:

I just have the three default shelves on ŷ������.

Finished:

Nothing. I have made progress on books, but none of them got past the finish line during the last seven days.

I watched Star Wars Visions: Volume 2 this week. Some of the animation would qualify as high art in my book. All of the shorts are well done. My favorite remains Tatooine Rhapsody from Volume 1.

I also saw George Strait, Chris Stapleton, and Little Big Town in Glendale. The musicianship from all three bands was terrific. I'd really like to see Little Big Town sometime as the headliner, as I'd love to hear more songs by them.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Milena wrote: "Thank you for the music recommendations, Nadine. I love Frank Ocean, but have not heard any of the others....


Last weekend I picked my daughter up for the weekend and drove her hom..."

I know I am super old because I only have 2 playlists: a main one that has all my music and a workout one. And I don't work out, so I guess that was aspirational.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Milena wrote: "Thank you for the music recommendations, Nadine. I love Frank Ocean, but have not heard any of the others....


Last weekend I picked my daughter up for the weekend and drove her hom..."

I actually do like The 1975 and have a few songs on my playlist already. I can see that our music tastes align about as much as our book tastes.

Happy Thursday, y’all.

Another quiet week…at least as far as activities go. I am enjoying being at home.

I am still trying to transplant and give away the tomato plants that have grown in my compost heap. Although I had bought and planned for 4 tomato plants in my regular garden, I now have 12 as some of those compost plants have found their way to be added also. I have given a friend 3 plants and have 8 more potted for giving away. AND there are about 10 more to move.

I am thinking that it is good that I love tomatoes and that I will now need to learn how to preserve them as sauce, etc.

The weather has been variable, but it is edging toward a HOT summer.

Finished:
Chasing Midnight �� PAS current and old challenges, RwS, SRC old challenges. This is an on-going series for me with one more book from an old challenge to read...and then I can start going forward with the series rather than filling the holes of books I have missed! 4*

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek �� PAS, old challenge, ATY. I am doing ATY in order. This is one of the April books that I needed to read to catch back up. 4*

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker �� ATY, old challenge. The other April book that I needed to read for ATY Reading in Order. 3*.

Currently Reading:
Dreams and Shadows �� no prompt. Kindle. 13%. Weird book. On the backburner since I own this one.

The Trembling Hills �� Ebook. RwS. 65%. Expect to complete by this weekend. I am enjoying it a lot.

The Beginner's Photography Guide: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Manual for Getting the Most from Your Digital Camera �� PS #2. 8%. On backburner due to being an owned book.

You Can't Say That!: Writers for Young People Talk about Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell �� Audiobook. No prompt. 72%. Also expect to finish this weekend. Interesting interviews with authors.

Lab Girl �� ATY, PAS, old challenge. 37%. Interesting. A mix of autobiography and science.

In Like Flynn �� ALCM. 62%. Enjoying this series.

A Little Yellow Dog �� PAS, RwS, old challenges, PS. 23%. Another series that I have started.

Buddy Read:
The Three Musketeers �� 22%. I am glad that I am doing this as a buddy read. The others who are reading are keeping me plugging away...and, I admit, it is a fun read.

On deck:
Confessions of a Bookseller - RwS
A Question of Belief - PAS, ALCM

PS 15/50 and 6/10 for Nadine’s Challenge
ATY 17/52 and 11/12 for Q1 Challenge, 3/12 for Q2 Challenge
GR 93/200
RwS 10/30 (new seasonal challenge)

QotW: How many shelves do you have on ŷ������?
I have 13 exclusive shelves. Of those, my Want to Read shelf is used exclusively for books that I own, which includes Kindle and Audiobooks. I have a separate shelf (Wishlist) for my general unowned TBR. Other exclusive shelves are: DNF, Friends Recommend, GR Recommend, Read Prior to 2010 (year I joined GR), Series related shelves: Next in Series, To be continued (for all the other books in the series), and New Series, and finally library-related shelves: TBR Not In Library and TBR Not Available Inter-Library.

Then I have 2 pages of shelves that include specific shelves for challenges in different groups (organized by group), shelves for each library source, an audiobook shelf and a Kindle shelf, books that I read over multiple editions, Next to Read (library books on my desk), Owned Next to Read (books that I own that are for current games), short books, and books that are over 500 pages planned for a game, and Prime Reads.

Hi all! Beautiful weather here in NY!! I came in from sitting outside and reading. I had a weird semi-migraine yesterday. It made me into a mush brain. I went to the store to buy a loaf of bread and a gift card for my mom for Mother's Day (happy early Mother's Day to the mamas on here!!). I got them both, but totally forgot to buy a Mother's Day card, so I had to go back today... And when I got home, I wandered around the house with the loaf of bread in my hand because I didn't think to put it down in the kitchen.... lol. I'm much better today!
We had the dumpster last weekend. It was so easy. They dropped it off early Friday and didn't come back until Monday morning (even though my contract said they would pick it up by 6pm on Sunday, I didn't really expect that). We got rid of a ton of stuff and my garage is looking like a garage again!

I didn't finish anything this week. I've mostly been working on The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism because it's due back in a week and a half or so. I'm about halfway through and it's going to be a 3 star book. It's got a lot of people that I can't keep straight. It followed one guy to WWI and he got back just before the explosion. I assume he's going to have some role in the recovery, but he's disappeared. Also, there's a map in it, but it's about worthless. I would have much preferred a diagram that shows where the docks were, where the Native part of the village was, where the schools, the churches and businesses were that keep getting mentioned as places that people were who lived or died. At any rate, it's a mammoth disaster that I had never heard about, so that's interesting, but it's not put together in the best way...
I'm also (still) chipping away at When Christ and His Saints Slept. I'm past 500 pages, so now I just have a regular sized book left to go!

QOTW: I have the 3 regular shelves and then 17 others that I've added. I need to add a few more for organizational purposes, because I'm starting to find myself thinking, "now what was that book with the gay guy at war...??" or some such thing and I have to scroll through like 500 books to find it. If I had a LGBT shelf, or a war shelf I might be able to find it. I don't have any shelves for my annual challenges, to me that seems silly (not judging, it's just my brain). It would have every sort of mish mash books on there, it just wouldn't make any sense to look back on.

Milena wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Milena wrote: "Thank you for the music recommendations, Nadine.

I know I am super old because I only have 2 playlists: a main one that has all my music and a workout one. And I don't work out, so I guess that was aspirational...."

Haha, that last part made me laugh.

I have playlists on youtube (pop, rock, chill, etc), but the rest of the time, I listen to these antique things called CDs....

I'm checking in two weeks in a row. Woohoo! Spring is here, and allergies are in full bloom. I mostly been watching some NBA playoffs and reading. I also watched the Queen Charlotte series, which I liked, and The Diplomat and The Recruit, both of which I didn't like. I disliked all the characters. I usually need to sympathize with at least one person to enjoy a show, apparently. Oh, and I watched the King Charles III coronation (recorded). My English blood still loves the Royal Family.

Finished
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade - 3 stars; PS #10 (romance with fat lead)
As romance novels go, no worse than most. Being a fat person myself, it did make me contemplate why I at times was uncomfortable with all the fat descriptions (of which there were so many). I suppose we've all grown up with the idea that being fat is shameful, and it is hard to get away from thinking that about oneself. I had thought I was in a good place at accepting myself as I am, but apparently I still have some work to do.

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal - 3 stars; PS #3 (vacation)
I was disappointed in this book and was frankly bored through much of it. I loved the Calculating Stars series, so I was expecting more. The idea was good, but the implementation was lacking.

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie - 4 stars
My monthly Christie. This was set in an exclusive girls school where murders occur and Poirot saves the day. Pretty good one.

ŷ������: 37/90
PopSugar: 29/50

QOTW:
I've created 34 shelves. I keep wanting to do more for separating into genres, but I haven't done it yet. What I've got is mostly to keep track of books I want to read, other than challenge lists. I have categories for some of the cultural months, book club, a couple of well-read lists, movies/TV from books, new releases, next in series, Spanish books, friend recommendations.

I haven't finished a single thing this week. Ooops.

QOTW: I just have the 3 standard and a DNF shelf. I've tried having other shelves in the past but I never keep up with them.

About to start Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future . The book was released less than a month ago (Apr. 25th) I saw it at the bookstore and it was one of those that I didn't get at the time, but couldn't stop thinking about so I had to get a copy.

As a millennial, I'm curious as to what this author/doctor has to say about the issues when it comes to various generations.

I've spent the past hour highlighting the sub-headers in each chapter along with the figures that are in it. There are tons of charts so those have me curious.



With this book, I think it would fit perfectly for the PS Challenge prompt, "a book set in the decade you were born" since there's a chapter on millennials.

Thanks Carmen, appreciate it

Dubhease wrote: "The Arm of the Starfish - 40% done..."


I loved those books when I was a kid!!! I read them all out of order, because we didn't have the internet back then to inform us of a book series ;-) I just grabbed a book from the library shelf, read, and grabbed another. So I was constantly surprised when familiar characters popped up, sometimes younger and sometimes older.

Happy Thursday!

I've pretty much been mostly dead on my couch and reading chair since Saturday. I picked up a bug from somewhere and was sick until today. So I did not read much at all. I mostly watched Crunchyroll and Viki when I was conscious.

Popsugar:9/50
Finished: None

Reading:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ps 4

Aty:10/52
Finished:None

Reading: None

ŷ������ Challenge 275/400
Finished:

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer: Volume 6
The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent (Light Novel) Vol. 1
Grump Gone Wild

Reading:

Dungeon Busters: Volume 1
The Unwanted Undead Adventurer: Volume 7


Nadine's Mini Challenge 7/10
Finished:None

Reading: None

Mount TBR:
30/150 Ebook
22/150 Physical

QOTW:

I have 63/64 shelves altogether. I can't remember if favorites is a standard one or not. I have two I'm slowly going through to get rid of, but they have quite a few books still remaining in them.

Most of them are genre, type of media, and where i got it.

Sherri wrote: "I read one book for the week The Garden of Evening Mists. Not for this challenge. 5 stars. I loved the story & writing in this book. It is only 350 pages but it took me a week to re..."



You've been reading such good books!!!! That was my favorite book that I read last year!

Jennifer W wrote: "because I'm starting to find myself thinking, "now what was that book with the gay guy at war...??" or some such thing and I have to scroll through like 500 books to find it. If I had a LGBT shelf, or a war shelf I might be able to find it. ..."



Yes that's exactly what happens to me!! And then a new shelf is born in my GR profile, and I have to go back and add all the books I've already read to it (and then of course GR shelves the wrong edition so I end up with TWO editions shelved, and then I have to go comb through my Duplicates and get rid of them)


but the rest of the time, I listen to these antique things called CDs....

I did not think I would become this person, but ... I never listen to CDs anymore. It's just so easy to cue up a playlist, and port it via Bluetooth to my car, etc.

Sheri wrote: "Hi all,

I also missed last week's check in, because life. My cat had his cat scan Tuesday to make sure there's no underlying issues that would prevent radiation from being a good idea, and to mor..."


Wow that's going to be some intensive treatment!! Deep breaths! you and cat will get through this!! I guess you'll be listening to a lot of audiobooks on the drives.

Milena wrote: "I can see that our music tastes align about as much as our book tastes. ..."


LOL!!! But what's important is that we KNOW this! So if you hate a book, I know to perk up and pay attention :-)

Nadine, Thank you! haha my husband isn't really into audio books and he handles the driving while i hold the cat carrier. And once the treatments get pas day one, which is pretty much all day and a drop off/pick up later, he'll be taking over doing them solo. He's on a lap top and he can work from their lobby for the hour or so the treatment lasts and come home. My work set up is desktop so I can't do that. He used to do podcasts so he might catch up on some of those for the drives haha. I'll be the one responsible for getting all the gabapentin into my lil dude so he can be reasonably calm for the rides/treatment. He does NOT like it, so that'll be...a challenge.

Happy Thursday. I'm having a great week and I got a ton of reading done. My complaint is that I only have one prompt left "a book released in the second half of 2023" and I'm bummed that I'm going to have to wait so long to complete one more prompt.

I finished:
The Girl from Widow Hills: book you got secondhand: This was pretty good, but wasn't special.

This Golden State: Color in the title: I thought this was pretty good too, but the reviews make it seem spectacular, which it was not.

Behind You: This was not great. There was nothing special or engaging about this story.

They're Watching You: There were some good parts to this book, but I had to suspend my disbelief a little too much.

If the Shoe Fits: I liked this one more than I expected to, especially because it seemed like almost exactly the same book as One to Watch, but I thought it was pretty well executed.

My big surprise of the week was Absent Pity. I have tried a lot of Blake Pierce books and I usually think they are perfectly acceptable, but I liked this one so much that I immediately got the next two Absent Remorse and Absent Feeling. While they were not as good as the first, they were still very entertaining and I read all 3 books in 2 days.

All the Good Girls: This was very much not for me. This was almost a 1 star for me.

Currently reading:

The Only Survivors: I haven't made it very far in this one yet.

QOTW:
I only have 4 shelves. The original 3 and a DNF shelf.

Greetings! I look with dread at the rising temps - even though they are perfectly fine and it's quite beautiful out, they daily creep closer to 80 - and in NYC that means months of 80+ temps with skyscraper high humidity. Misery will abound. I hate summer.

Oh and I was quoted in the NYPost this week -- one of the 3 major NYC newspapers and the only one I've never been quoted by in the past. It's more tabloid than newspaper (owned by Rupert Murdoch after all) and the article was a total hatchett job relating to my client's ongoing litigation. Recalls the days of 'alterantive facts'. An absolutely spectacular bit of spin and disinformation that ignored public record (in form of extensive litigation files and decisions in my client's favor). It also appeared the same day as the decision and $5M award in the Trump sexual harassment case. A banner day for sure. I now can say that as a result of my profession, I've been quoted in all the major NY newspapers, and appeared on ABC News - that was in the 2000s. I still have a few news shows to aim for. One takes ones Moments of Fame where one can get them.

Now books which are way more important if not more interesting.
PS - 33/50. ATY - 42/52

Finished:
The Blessing Way - read more than 10 years ago prompt.
A Shroud of Midnight Sun - secondhand prompt - this series is OOP and only available in used paperbacks - at least the last 3 in the series. It's a really good series too but the author is no longer writing main stream mysteries so they are likely to remain OOP.
A Dreadful Splendor - loved this classic gothic ghost story that won the Mary Higgins Clark Edgar last year.
Hedy Lamarr's Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor (Volume 4) - for PS set in Hollywood - this is a wonderful childrens picture book with beautiful artwork and a description of her invention that I actually understand! Probably because it had excellent pictures and was written for children. This is part of a series on STEM pioneers - especially women. This ended up on my TBR for a reason I can't remember - probably related to a writer friend who has a connection to it somehow. So glad it was.

Currently Reading:

Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754 - 1766
Lulu in Hollywood
The Lion in the Lei Shop

QOTW: I do not have a lot - One page that's 'active' shelves - meaning ones I actively use for shelving books - so about 100? I also have a 2nd page about a third full that are 'inactive' shelves - ones related to challenges like popsugar or annual reading projects like reading Edgar nominations - those all have a z in front of the description so they default to the last page of shelving. I don't like paging through selves when tagging. I keep things clean and tight - shelves broadly defined for the most part.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "but the rest of the time, I listen to these antique things called CDs....

I did not think I would become this person, but ... I never listen to CDs anymore. It's just so easy to cue up a playlist, and port it via Bluetooth to my car, etc. ..."

My problem is that I'm so technologically illiterate... And I refuse to pay for a service to make song lists on my phone or whatever, especially when I still own the CDs. I have been able to get my audiobooks to stream off my phone to bluetooth in my car, so I am a *little* bit in the 21st century.