Sigh. It‘s not you, Orbital, it‘s me. But maybe it‘s you, just a little. (Also maybe audio was a poor choice for me with this one.)

I was enticed by the Booker win and an immediately available audio copy on Libby. This sounded like something I‘d enjoy: meditative and thoughtful. I like meditative and thoughtful. I don‘t need a page-turning plot, but I did want some semblance of a story. Halfway through I‘m still struggling to remember ⤵️

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

Checking in at the midpoint of The Golden Road! Thoughts on the first half of the book?

Which events and adventures stand out to you? What do you think of “Our Magazine”?

In comparing it to The Story Girl, do you see growth and change in the characters?

Another #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent pick from October—I wanted to read this because L.M. Montgomery highly recommended it in her journals. LMM loved ghost stories, so when she described this one in particular, I hunted it down and added it to our list. I‘m a coward about scary stories, so I read it in broad daylight—and didn‘t find it particularly scary. Then the night after I read it, I woke up in the middle of the night, ⤵️

This was the second creepy house book I read in October! It wasn‘t really YA but read like it—I‘m not sure how I feel about that, but I did really enjoy the book. I liked the characters and was fascinated with piecing together the various clues about the history of the house and the Starling family. And I loved the role that legends and storytelling and dreams played in the plot. However, there were a few writing quirks that got on my nerves. ⤵️

Another belated review: this was one of the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent picks in October—and it was the slowest burn ever. I‘d read that it was slow & wordy, but man… it was really slow and really wordy. It used lots of gothic tropes without actually feeling gothic, it talked about how creepy the house was but didn‘t feel creepy, and the sinister curse didn‘t feel all that sinister. Hawthorne‘s writing really is beautiful, ⤵️

#5JoysFriday!

A few things that brought me joy this week:
🙏🏼 My Sunday Centering Prayer group
🌟 Going to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
🎹🎷My husband‘s music on Tuesday: https://fb.watch/vTwciVpS-d/?mibextid=cr9u03
🥘 Tasty dinner and post-election commiseration with a good friend
🛁 Cozy bath and reading

Taking a cozy bath tonight with Christy and David 😆 #WhatTheDickens #RandomClassics

This was promising but disappointing. I enjoyed the mystery and how it played out, but there were a lot of things about the writing that annoyed me. Most frustrating was that the main character is in her 60s but reads as a LOT younger. Almost across the board, the characters are not developed consistently or convincingly (it‘s never a good sign when you have to count back in a section of dialogue to figure out who said what, (Cont‘d ⤵️)

“It takes no courage at all to doubt, Marta,” she said. “And we are not beyond rescue. We are never beyond rescue.”

“There are days,” said the countess as she put on a hat that featured a yellow bird, “when the soul can be rescued from despair by the right hat. Although some days, of course the soul seems beyond rescue, and then there is nothing to do except to be patient and wait for the light to return, with or without a hat upon your head.”

This, thought Marta, is one of those days.

Pay attention, my love. Note everything for me. Tell me where you see the light seep through.

I love Kate DiCamillo so, so much. This is another book I want to hug.

Marta‘s mother is a maid at the Hotel Balzaar, and Marta must spend her days staying quiet and invisible, certainly not bothering any of the hotels‘ guests. Until a countess and her parrot arrive and the countess singles Marta out to tell her a series of stories—each to be told in its proper order, at the proper time. ⤵️

This collection of Ray Bradbury‘s short stories was just the right amount of unsettling—a perfect read for October! Bradbury is a master, and there are some gems here. The stories I found the creepiest were creepy for entirely different reasons: “The Next in Line” and “Skeleton.” I loved “Uncle Einar,” “There Was an Old Woman,” and “The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone”—and honestly, those were probably the least unsettling of them all. ⤵️

This was my first intro to Amy-Jill Levine, and I‘m definitely planning to read more from her. How can you not read on when the intro begins with the sentence: “When I was a child, my ambition was to be pope.” 😂 This, from a Jewish New Testament scholar.

Levine offers a fresh, much-needed perspective on Jesus and his New Testament context. She emphasizes that Christians tend to interpret the New Testament solely through the context of the ⤵️

So much fun! The concept is fantastic: the reluctant hero is a young wizard whose magic can only influence dough—and whose familiars are a sourdough starter & a gingerbread man. I loved seeing Mona grow into her magic, grow into her power, and grow into herself. Although there are darker bits, and a dash of political intrigue, this is ultimately a cozy fantasy. The tone reads as MG or younger YA, with a strong coming-of-age plot. I loved it!

I had to answer today‘s #Two4Tuesday questions because of my amusing history with striped shirts!
1. It has to be stripes. A few years ago, I realized I‘d somehow accumulated an unreasonable number of stripey shirts. I was not intentionally amassing large quantities of striped shirts, but apparently I do possess a deep love for the stripe.
2. It‘s somewhat surprising that of the TEN books I have in progress, only one (tagged) is a library book!

Let‘s have a #KindredSpiritsChristmas! Here‘s the schedule for December‘s story-a-day #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead. A couple years ago, we read L.M. Montgomery‘s holiday stories together in December, and I loved it so much I want to do it again. Let‘s enjoy these cozy stories and chat about them as we go! Some sources for where to find the stories are posted in the comments. Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be!

This was a delight. Beautiful, sweet, heartbreaking, and soul-healing. So much of the text could have come across as cliched platitudes, but weaving the text together with the characters and Mackesy‘s drawings gives it an emotional depth that takes it beyond Etsy-craft-quotable status and makes it into a book I‘m putting on my Christmas list.

I had this in my library holds for months (back to January‘s #AuldLangSpine list!) and finally said yes to the hold when it came through (again) in September. It was so good I wish I‘d made space in my reading list earlier (and I wish I‘d reviewed it sooner as well!).

True Biz follows one academic year at a boarding school for the deaf, told in alternating perspectives (several students as well as the school‘s headmistress). (Cont‘d ⤵️)

Wellll, this review goes back to September 😬

I really enjoyed this sci-fi steampunk-ish mystery novella, set on a gas giant where humanity has fled after the collapse of Earth‘s environment. The world building is fascinating and subtly done, and the character development is equally subtle and patient. I also liked the mystery‘s slow unfolding of hints and clues. I‘m looking forward to reading more of this series!

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

We‘re back into LMM‘s journals this week, starting volume 3 with LMM‘s honeymoon travels, setting up the manse in Leaskdale, and reflections on new motherhood. I‘m behind on this week‘s reading—so just a general check-in this week, posted early because tomorrow is packed! 😊

How are you doing with this week‘s reading?
What have you noticed? Are there sections, quotes, or themes that stood out to you?

This has been a rough week and moments of joy have seemed hard to find, but also more important to look for than ever. Thank you @DebinHawaii for hosting this much-needed #5JoysFriday!

🎶 Listening to my husband‘s music on election night (my church was a voting center and my husband & a friend from his jazz band spent an hour playing for people as they came to vote)
🍻 A pub dinner with friends—good conversation, steak & ale pie, hard cider ⤵️

Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends

into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out

to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?
I don't say
it's easy, but
what else will do

if the love one claims to have for the world
be true?

(Cont‘d ⤵️ )

“…the practice of lament includes rage as much as grief.
…In those times, when we are so upset that we cannot pray, we allow our emotions to be our prayers. We pray through grief and anger, and that is enough.”

I had finished 12 out of 16 chapters as of a couple days ago, on track to finish before it‘s due back to the library this weekend. But I just don‘t know if I can stomach the rest right now, after the election results yesterday. This may need to go back on hold for me until I have a little more bandwidth 😔

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well... for there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.”

Hope Is Not a Bird, Emily, It‘s a Sewer Rat
by Caitlin Seida

Hope is not the thing with feathers
That comes home to roost
When you need it most.

Hope is an ugly thing
With teeth and claws and
Patchy fur that‘s seen some shit.

It‘s what thrives in the discards
And survives in the ugliest parts of our world,
Able to find a way to go on
When nothing else can even find a way in.
⤵️

“Sometimes I feel like I just want to go to sleep for a while, and wake up when I‘m stronger or things are different somehow.”

I tried this last night. I didn‘t sleep well and things aren‘t different yet. Praying for strength and hope. 💔🇺🇸

I‘m about to make a mug of hot tea, put on the coziest, comfiest pajamas ever, and start reading what I think may be the literal definition of a unicorn chaser. Necessary self-care on this election night. 💜 #ComfortReadathon

How I‘m currently managing election anxiety… reading Terry Pratchett and listening to my husband and a friend play some jazz at our church (which is a voting center—it‘s a delight to hear them offering some music for voters in line!)
#ComfortReadathon

Yep. 😆

I turned in my ballot a couple of weeks ago, and today, I'm seeking peace and hope in the midst of uncertainty. Even though I'm in the middle of too many “required“ reads right now, I'll be setting aside time tonight for the #ComfortReadathon... maybe I can sneak in a quick graphic novel!

Two nonfiction picks for #NonfictionNovember! This is a nice pairing—the #BookSpin pick has been on my TBR for a loooonnng time, and my #DoubleSpin is the book I‘ve bought most recently.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

Do you enjoy reading scary stories?

What types of stories are scariest to you—ghost stories, thriller, horror…?

Did you find this story particularly scary?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

From the setup through to the end, did the plot work for you?

What did you think of the logical/theoretical explanation the narrator inserts before the final resolution of the story?

What did you think of the discovery at the end? Was the resolution satisfying to you?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

LMM often mentions Bulwer-Lytton as an author she enjoys. He‘s famous for the line: “It was a dark and stormy night” and has a bad-writing contest named after him! (www.bulwer-lytton.com/)

Did you like Bulwer-Lytton‘s writing style in this story? Why or why not?

For those following along with #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread or #LMMJournals, in November we‘re starting Vol. 3 of the Complete Journals and also reading The Golden Road.

Then in December we‘ll read LMM‘s Christmas stories! I‘ll assemble a #KindredSpiritsChristmas story-a-day schedule for us to read these cozy holiday stories together. All are welcome—if you‘d like to join in just for December, let me know and I‘ll add you to the tag list!

#5JoysFriday!

🎃 Pics of my grand-niece as Grogu for Halloween
👻 A former student shared this delightful & hilarious video of his friend‘s Halloween costumes: https://fb.watch/vvQq2BtBNz/?mibextid=gYSGZt&fs=e&s=TIeQ9V
💜 This perfect drawing/story by Kai Skye of Flying Edna Studios reminded me to look for small joys: https://flyingedna.com/products/little-things-prints
⤵️

I didn‘t intend to be reading horror tonight on Halloween, but here we are.

I knew this book would be infuriating, but didn‘t realize just how infuriating. Even more so because I grew up in a family of big James Dobson fans. My mom listened to Focus on the Family every morning on the drive to school. As an adult, my view of the man has changed drastically as glimpses of the toxicity in his work trickled into my awareness, but this? 😳🤬🤢

#BookSpin list for November—which I can‘t believe starts tomorrow 😳

I delved into my nonfiction TBR for November, and had too many I couldn‘t decide between—so there are several 2-in-1 options! I also pulled lots of #192025 titles into the mix. Looking forward to BookSpin day on Saturday!!

October #BookSpinBingo yielded TWO bingos, and both #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin complete! 🎉

Some great reads this month! Favorites:
⚽️ Unseen Academicals
🍪A Wizard‘s Guide to Defensive Baking
🎭 The Puppets of Spelhorst
🦜The Hotel Balzaar

Now I need to catch up on October reviews…😆

“Mrs Westbrook, who was a large lady—or who wore a large dress, I don‘t know exactly which, for I don‘t know which was dress and which was lady—came sailing in.”

😂

#WhattheDickens

This has been on my Hoopla “Favorites” for years (on my GR TBR since 2016!), and I finally got to it this month! It starts out as the story of a woman who breaks free from the constraints of her family and the expectations of society, setting up house for herself in the countryside. The majority of the book is funny and ironic—though slow-paced—and then towards the end, there‘s almost a complete genre shift ⤵️

“That‘s why we become witches: to show our scorn of pretending life‘s a safe business, to satisfy our passion for adventure.”

“One doesn‘t become a witch to run round being harmful, or to run round being helpful either, a district visitor on a broomstick. It‘s to escape all that—to have a life of one‘s own, not an existence doled out to you by others, charitable refuse of their thoughts, so many ounces of stale bread of life a day…”

“Mr. Arbuthnot certainly was not prepared for her response to his statement that February was a dangerous month. ‘It is,‘ answered Laura with almost violent agreement. ‘If you are a werewolf, and very likely you may be, for lots of people are without knowing, February, of all months, is the month when you are most likely to go out on a dark windy night and worry sheep.‘

Henry and Caroline glanced at each other in horror.
⤵️

“You are so concerned with how things end! It is wearisome, this obsession of yours. Don‘t you understand that nothing ever truly ends?”

“…life will never allow itself to be straightened, and it will drive you mad, a little, if you keep trying to straighten it. …Life always wins. Life and its crooked lines will always win.”

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: This week we‘re reading an #LMMAdjacent book—The Haunted & the Haunters by Edward Bulwer-Lytton—with a discussion on Saturday, Nov. 2nd. This is a shorter one: my Kindle edition is 68 pages. All are welcome—let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be!

In the comments I‘ll add LMM‘s thoughts about this story⤵️

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

One of the themes in the novel is the conflict between external appearance and internal consciousness. What examples of this conflict do you see—in the central characters, or even in the house itself? How do appearances and consciousness change over the course of the novel?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

Let‘s talk genre. Hawthorne is said to have considered this a romance—in literary terms: “a narrative, allegorical treatment of heroic fantastic or supernatural events.” I picked it for October because of the gothic elements: witchcraft/family curse/murder/creepy house. Other than “classic,” how would you classify this book, and why? “Romance” in a literary sense, gothic fiction, something else?