"Her first, had been on Aunt Bert's 74th birthday. She'd wanted to hear all the nice things folks would say about her, so they went ahead and held the services early." This has such delightful observations to share. ?

Celebrate and share your admiration while alive!!

Am enjoying this. Middle Grade story with some surprisingly challenging (to me!) vocabulary, set in Kansas, satisfies the category of two timelines, plucky young girl MC, AND a friend just texted me that she found a copy: #BuddyRead!!

#ReadICT (award-winning childrens book) #AsheCoNCRC26

My nonfiction November read is finally done! ✔️
#Jan2026 Book3 SUCH A GREAT view into the amazing skills and intellect of our BEST president! Oh that his like could be in politics today, woe is us. I am glad to have lived in this book for the last 6 weeks. 🇺🇸
Of the people For the people By the people.

📸 Sour Cream Raisin Pie

#RoadTrip See the sun ball in the clouds? And the sunbeams at the horizon? Beauty all around us.

I bought this book on the rec of a lady I casually met at the paperback table of our indie bookstore. I asked if she had read The Correspondent- she had not! And she rec'd this one to me. Perfect length for a quick drive north to Manhappiness KS 🌻

#Jan2025 Book2 #ReadICT Category 3: independence

I liked the wry humor, I could relate to Cora in a few ways, and was impressed by the novelty of the story structure - what do I mean by that? I think the author did a good job of balancing the real story lines with the imagined ones.

#Jan2026 Book1 #ToB2026 #ReadICT category 1: Has TEN in the title ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#LitPie #PieinLiterature (Porkpie Hat) #ILovePie
#FirstBookoftheYear

Happy New Year! Setting same goal of 💯 books for 2026. To participate in #LitsyWinterCamp and #WhartonBuddyRead, to track #PieinLit occurrences, complete the #ReadICT and #AsheCoNCReadingChallenge, blog at least once a month, and keep a positive hopeful resilient attitude.

Remember: it doesn‘t matter how many books you read! Feeling great to be a reader. Support your local library.

Note: Litfluence 57,988

I'm joining in @Graywacke 's #WhartonBuddyRead for Jan/Feb 😁

Happy NYE 🥂

How exciting 🌟 that my town's reading challenge for 2026 is celebrating TEN years! 🔟 and that my current read will likely be the first book I finish in the new year 😆 #ReadICT2026

I appreciate any suggestions for unfilled categories ☺️

Does anyone else take photos with the intention of adding a book cover to post #WhatIamReadingNext on Litsy? No, just me? 🤣

I'm starting 10-Year in hardcover from the library and Endling is eBook from Libby. I have a 🌫️ foggy 3 hour drive yet today, let's see how many pages I get through... Celebrate safely 🎄🚗🚘🎅🎁📚

Look at that! I made a sweet potato pie for Christmas 🎄 #CaresPieShow #Dec2025 Book114 🥧 #ToB26 Happy Christmas Eve Eve

The publication of (the first title in this trilogy edition) A Contract of God in 1978 "marked the birth of the graphic novel". This is a collection of Eisner's stories set on Dropsie Avenue, the Bronx, NY. I cannot say I enjoyed this, it is not "enjoyable" - very dark, very messy of the "human condition", but I am glad to have experienced it. I consider it an historical document. #Dec2025 Book113

Available via Libby so I grabbed it the day the #ToB shortlist was announced. FINALLY in a mood to get started.

This is chock full of poems; should take my #PoemADay project well into Spring.

With apologies to the tagged book because I just want to use a top five #hashtag, I present my 2025 top five books read: it's the time of year to start looking at my book stats for 2025!

[OF COURSE, note: my top reads of favorites always are in flux!!] #Dec2025

#5JoysFriday

1️⃣ Thankful for Litsy
2️⃣ Thankful for @DebinHawaii for this hashtag
3️⃣ Fun holiday decorations
4️⃣ my pseudo-dot made this beautiful purple tree bottle-hider thing that we put on top of the tree.
5️⃣ I finished a puzzle 🧩

A wonderful collection with a true sense of place, but also of mood, a bit of cheerfulness and humor, balanced with a touch of melancholy. I always learn something about poetry and discussion with this author; she makes poetry, inspiring, accessible, and fun.

#APoemADay #PoetryMatters #Dec2025 Book112 #HolidayLights

Happy 6th Birthday 🎉 to #CopperBopper #DogsofLitsy #GraphicNovel

I follow this author on Blue Sky 🦋 but have not yet read her romance books. I was in the mood for something HEA aka holiday 💖 romance and found this. Short & sweet, enough for me to consider reading more. #Dec2025 Book111 🎄

To say I read every word of this would be a lie. I just don't have it in me at this time of year to devote. I did find it entertaining but since I thought it was the Cloud Atlas Mitchell - I would rather read a Holiday romance 🎄💘 [The so-so rating is my interest in reading this now not a review on the quality.]

📸 Waffle fries with chili + a Central Std Wizard of Hops IPA. 😋 #Dec2025 Book110

#WinterCampLitsy ❄️🏕️📚 My nominees are... 🥁

I believe The Dream Hotel might have been on my noms for summer camp? ☺️ And yes, you'll notice that I try very hard to nominate/vote women authors. I know Mobius won't likely be on the winning slate but I haven't read enough! #ToB

No quote, other than to announce a status update that I am 50% through this!!! #NonficNov #CaresPieShow #PineapplePomegranatePie

Pie I made yesterday (Figgy Pudding Pie - actually a custard) and the book that just came off hold from the library. Now, I was assuming that the author is the David Mitchell that wrote Cloud Atlas, but some reviews say he is a comedian. Same guy? Are there two different David Mitchells? I know, I know; I could just google it …

#history #comedy #monarchy #CaresPieShow

Yeaaaahhhh. This needed an editor, was too long. The story was sweet and did have an ending with emotional punch, but the middle is a boring slog.

#Dec2025 Book109

I read the fiction part first, and now there is no way to redo and try it anew beginning with NF. I do NOT have advice (other than to say that the print does have note on copyright page in front of NF side…) I honestly had to go review my notes on Biography of X to recall if I liked it or not, maybe ‘respect and being intrigued by‘ is positive enough. As to 💭 on this one, I found it fascinating. #Nov2025 Book 108 #ToBLL26 #ToB #Library

I love when books link: The Portable Veblen had some passages about relationships as well as philosophy “there is no past and no future- only now” and this book also explores existentialism.

Bottom image: “I was living so intensely in the present that the future had no meaning.”

In snapshot upper left: “even the copy on the peanut butter jar tried to offer advice— Separation is natural—“ 🤣

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1️⃣ My xmas cards using this pie image arrived
2️⃣ Family Thanksgiving (hub is missing from pic 😂)
3️⃣ We had 5 pies for 10 people!
4️⃣ Holiday Lights!! 🎄✨
5️⃣ Copper‘s Gotcha Day, 3yrs with us, he‘ll be 6 soon

Is this the front cover or the back? I am so conflicted about which end to start 😆 #ToBLongList26 or is it 25? Ack #ToB #MemoirVSFiction #Both!

Quirky ✨
I learned stuff; about Thorstein Veblen, squirrels 🐿️ , many vocabulary words… I think it would be a great discussion book with only your quirkiest friends maybe 🤔 I guess I enjoyed it? #Nov2025 Book107

And OH! How APPROPRIATE to post this on THE most capitalistic kind of day!😂😢 (Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption”. Also, the Veblen Effect: the more expensive an item, the more the hordes want to buy it.)

Loved it! I cried; it‘s rather heart-breaking 💔 LOTS of pie mentions! Strawberry Rhubarb, Pecan, etc. #LitPie

One thing I will need to find a print copy to look up the MC‘s address while in college: was it PI Street? Pie Street?

Library can have it back now. 4.5 ✨ I immediately put Writers & Lovers on hold. #Nov2025 Book106

These are the books I am taking to Thanksgiving 🍁

Theo and Mobius on 14 day loan 😳
Heart the Lover expires today 😱
Parable of Sower on request for MONTHS 😩

Guess I‘ll have to be rude with the family; I‘ve got books to read!!! 🦃🍽️🥧 < 📚 🤣

“Just then, a squirrel 🐿️ spiraled down the heavy trunk of the magnolia, nattering across the spotty lawn in fitful myoclonic jerks.”

had to look up myoclonic and I‘m now wondering if fitful & myoclonic together are redundant.

Copper would rather find the humor looking out the front door. I enjoyed reading this, but I think it was about 30-40 pages too long. “Figure it out already, Daphne” #Nov2025 Book105 #Romance

* After Kenyon *
By Jeanne Griggs, her latest, just published, not yet here in our Litsy database, too impatient 😂

Next up for my #PoemADay challenge; note also my bookmark listing every collection title since I started this personal project. By Jan 1 of 2026, that makes 365x5=1,825 poems! Probably more, I often can‘t stop at one, tho I missed some (not many!) days too.

“It‘s all a poem, if the letters in the alphabet are in a certain order.”

Copper literally took this book from my hand! He knew it to be EXCELLENT 🌟 Get yourself a copy of this wonderful impressive important collection of poetry. #APoemADay #PoetryMatters #Poetry #DogsofLitsy #CopperBopper #Nov2025 Book104

Had my weekend derailed by a late night text from an unhappy team member. Time to brush up on this and probably one of my “Listen Better” books 😢

Yes, there appears to be a lot going on here. Combo Post! #5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. “a half amused, half scandalized smile over overtakes his face OK so I lean into him lift my chin index forehead and we have one of the top five worst kisses of my life….” Drinking G&T in a Massey‘s glass, sitting on the patio, no bugs, fun book, it‘s Friday!
2. Flowers still in bloom: Purple and orange.
3. My attempt to capture Northern Lts
4. WPG tee
5. 🐿️

I‘ve been invited to attend the Board meeting of the Friends of the Library as a guest. Found this in our donations. 😊 It is going to find a spot on my read-someday shelf.

Picked up in the library bookstore, my first EH! After Copper and I walked 3 miles, I needed a fun book with a bubble bath 🛀🏼

Watching football 🏈
Playing with the dogs (dogsitting my niece‘s pup) 🐶
Reading this library book 📕
Drinking wine 🍷
Content ☮️

#Nov2025 Book103 #NonFicNov

My library just informed me that the audio is now available for me to check out!! Squee! A read + listen combo is my favorite way to enjoy #NonFicNov

This was an interesting look at friendship from grade school through the growing up years, college, after that, relationships and children. I am finding it even more to my liking as I think back on these two pals and how their lives diverged and reconnected. #Nov2025 Book102

I can‘t help it, I love her. She‘s badass powerhouse of my kind of Jesus champ with all the goodness and love and kick in the pants, I probably need. If I had a lil angel on my shoulder, let her be the good witch KC!

#Nov2025 Book101 #NonFicNov

Overall, a fun read. Color me impressed! I am willing to read the next book. But it was wobbly at the beginning, our MC is tough to cheer for - she is mean! Thankfully, she comes to realize attitudes can be changed. #Nov2025 Book100 🌟💯🎉

📸 Look at this incredible mailbox!! 📬

Happy 🎃 Halloween

I am bailing on this; the mood/tone and impending sense of doom has me scrambling for air and sunshine. I did an internet search for spoilers so I could know what happens and now I am glad that I will stop reading this. #hailthebail #lifestooshort #timeforacozyhappybookplease ! #Oct2025 Book99

All due to @xicanti - here we go!

I have had this book on my tbr since reading Gone Girl and seeing that the author has lived in many places that I, too, have lived. Today, I looked at my Libby for audios-available-now and decided this title works for this time of year. 🗡️🎃👻🔪

Such a good boy! #CopperBopper #DogsofLitsy Finished another on the goal to 💯

I listened to the first half and was able to tear through the second half in print (found it on the library clearing out for sale table - I will put it back! 😆) #Oct2025 Book98 #BookClubBook Mild pick, interesting (and very sad) US history, not sure execution of plot was entirely successful but an okay read. I am curious enough to read more by this author.

Reposting for @Bookwormjillk

Who‘s looking forward to November?! 🙋🏻‍♀️
#NonFicNovember #TodayILearned #NFN 🗓️

New book in the house! Arrived by media mail today from @amyrabbitt in NC. Not sure when it will be in the rotation for actual READING; will try not to lose it to the shelves of somedaytime 🕰️ (Cool 😎 that she sent me her bookmark 🔖 of notes 📝)

A friend insisted I read this. The library comes through once again.