It‘s another supersized #hyggehour because I have to get my book club book read by tomorrow. I‘m snacking on some cranberry apple bread that did not want to come out of the pan but is delicious anyway. These last few weeks have been incredibly over scheduled, and this coming week is no different. However Thanksgiving week is the week after so there is an end in sight. Then I am going to read all the books.

Another Saturday another field hockey tournament. At least I get little reading breaks between games. This work bookclub book is due Monday. Hoping I can read enough to at least say something in the discussion.

Like anyone who has spent any time on the Great Lakes I knew about the Edmund Fitzgerald, but it was interesting to hear the whole story. I liked that the author went in depth about the lives of the men onboard and about the Gordon Lightfoot song. #NFN

#5JoysFridsy @DebinHawaii

1) it‘s been a lovely fall
2) necco wafers aren‘t the same as they used to be but still make me smile
3) early Christmas decorations hit the spot this year
4) winter flowers
5) read leaves with pink skies

Happy Friday everyone!

#TodayILearned that taconite is low-grade sedimentary rock containing iron-bearing minerals mixed with other materials like quartz. #NFN

The Edmund Fitzgerald was overloaded by more than 1,000 tons so they could break a record. #TodayILearned #NFN

A woman gets stuck in a train station for several days and has time to reflect on her life. This was written by Agatha Christie under a pen name and I really liked it. #192025 1944

When I heard there was a cozy series set here in Alexandria, VA I jumped on it. Unfortunately the audiobook narrator must have just assumed everyone in Virginia talks with a heavy Southern accent. That was so distracting to me I didn‘t really follow the story. So the book may be better than this rating. #ThematicCozies @julieclair

#TodayILearned that traces of flame retardants were found in Arctic wildlife in the mid-1990‘s. #NFN

I tried to make Algerian Kefta last night using chickpeas instead of beef. They didn‘t hold together well, but it was tasty. #FoodAndLit #Algeria

I wish more had happened in this book. The characters were interesting, but the story just kind of wandered. Low pick.

Yet again a book I would have never read if it wasn‘t for a Litsy challenge- in this case #192025

Lutie is a single mother trying to raise her son in a not so great neighborhood. The story of her trying to overcome poverty and racism is poignant, but this book also had some of the unsettling undertones of a Highsmith or Du Maurier.

It‘s finally cold enough to try this hot chocolate from Samoa. #FoodAndLit

Daisy and I are answering some snail mail this morning.

I enjoyed this book of connected short stories about two sisters from Hardscrabble Bay, New Brunswick. The stories take place over a span of 70 years and are sort of like Anne of Green Gables or Sarah Plain and Tall but with sex and swearing. So many Littens would love this book. Check it out!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) the moon has been amazing
2) prioritizing daylight walks on these dark days
3) pumpkin cream cheese bread
4) work meeting in a fancy hotel
5) a new governor

Have a good weekend all.

Train delays equal more reading time I guess.

A fun book about serious topics. I enjoyed this book about a community of friends. #ReadingUSA #Indiana

Two quotes from my reading this morning:

From Kamala‘s mother
“Kamala, don‘t ever let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.”

From Angela Merkel

“Don‘t you ever let them make you cry.”

#TodayILearned #NFN

#TodayILearned that the National Ice Core Lab in Denver stores ice from Greenland which scientists can petition to analyze. #NFN

I really liked this family novel that took place over Thanksgiving weekend. The regular Thanksgiving drama is overlaid by the shadow of a tragedy that took place years ago and was never properly dealt with. I really liked the relationships between these characters and the way they clearly loved each other even when they were treating each other badly. This book had all of the November moods.

(ARC from Net Galley)

#TodayILearned that there are no male High Arctic black flies. The females have figured out how to reproduce without them. #NFN

It‘s dark out so I‘m using my extra hour today to biggie size my #hyggehour

I‘m on the couch flipping between an ARC, Kamala‘s book, and my book club book. I took tomorrow off to do a college tour with my son so I‘m feeling pretty relaxed.

I love Brendan Slocumb‘s not the norm heroes. In this book a cello prodigy takes on the bad guys and kicks butt. Make sure you read the afterword.

I‘m still a bit in shock that it‘s November 1st. I read a decent amount of books in October, but I‘m looking forward to a slower schedule in November that really lets me sink into something good.

I didn‘t realize this was out of print when I picked it to read this month. I finally tracked it down and I‘m glad I did. The short stories in this collection were creepy and unsettling in the best possible way. My favorites were the one about the misunderstood vampire and the murdering baby.

I wanted to re-read this one before I start the latest in the series. I liked this one more than the last few in the series. Hoping for more Three Pines in the next one.

I read this graphic novel every Halloween when I‘m waiting for trick or treaters. It has great illustrations and touches on Halloween and other holidays and family issues and grief. But it does it all in a natural and fun way.

I didn‘t realize this was a kids book when I put it on hold at the library, but I read it anyway. And so did everyone who came into my house over the last few weeks. It was such a fun and interesting book! Great illustrations and informative text. We might need to go on a spooky lake road trip.

Of the 19 books I read in October these were the top 12. Looking forward to #NFN starting today!

Happy Halloween 🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) a relatively quiet week was a great joy
2) a trip to Delaware last weekend was better than expected and I got time on the beach and at the pumpkin patch
3) cat sitter got my shy cat to come out of his shell with pictures to prove it
4) daylight walks and the last of the pretty leaves
5) blood orange juice in my seltzer has been making me smile this Halloween

Have a good one all 🎃🎃🎃

I think I have my November #bookspinbingo list together, but I probably will still be working on October for the next couple of weeks. The month was just too quick! I‘ll tag my November books in the comments.

A dark and spooky wait at the bus stop this morning. Luckily I have the Dark Maestro to protect me.

I nominated this book for #CampLitsy25 but I‘m actually really glad it wasn‘t picked and I got to read it in Fall.

It starts with a woman faking her death to escape her abusive husband and then goes full throttle into serial killers, feminism, the supernatural, and family ties. I don‘t want to give too much away but I just loved it.

#YuleSeasonSwap @thebacklistbook

I like most of these things except I‘m more for depth than fluff, and don‘t do a lot of romance. Although if there‘s fluff with depth that really hits the sweet spot.

Made a date with myself this morning to catch up on my bookclub book and eat pie.

Look what I got!🌲🌲🌲

Love my Halloween socks.

This was a decent quick read about a woman living in the big city who gets fired just in time to take over her Aunt‘s farm in rural Utah. Of course there is murder.

Frankenstein was enjoyable enough. As usual it wasn‘t at all what I thought it would be, but that‘s not a bad thing. My favorite chapters were the ones where they were on the boat. My least favorites were when Frank would just faint for months at a time.

Picture is of the pumpkin I bought today because the lady at the register said it looked like Frankenstein. (I didn‘t tell her she meant the creature.)

It‘s #HyggeHour time! I‘m going to catch up on some journaling and reviews and then dive into this Ray Bradbury book I‘ve been reading. It‘s not really cold out but it got dark early so I switched to hot chocolate tonight. Looking forward to a week of sleeping in my own bed.

One of my favorite things about #NonFictionNovember is hearing about all of the little tidbits everyone picks up from their reading. Please share using the tag #TodayILearned during the month of November.

This was a hard book to read, but important and informative.

This is the second book I‘ve read in this series about solving crimes in the National Parks. I like them. This one featured grizzly bears in Montana. I‘m looking forward to reading more.

I‘m hoping that we have just survived our last struggle week for a while and that things are about to calm down for us. It was such a strange week emotionally between my daughter‘s confirmation and our Aunt‘s funeral.

1) fall colors and spooky decorations
2) Confirmation went off without a hitch
3) My car is fixed and it carried us off to Ohio safely
4) two days at home for a bit of normalcy
5) good conversations while cooking dinner with my son

Last post for tonight- my #10beforetheend list. Most of these I‘ve started but have wandered away from for one reason or another. @ChaoticMissAdventures

We listened to this short audiobook in the car today and enjoyed it. Rick Steves has great philosophies about traveling and I enjoyed hearing about his early adventures.

We‘ve listened to this book a dozen times before in the car and we could probably listen to it a dozen times more. It‘s just a really good audiobook.

Rookie mistake- I picked this for a reading challenge before I figured out if I could even access a copy. I ended up ordering it a month ago and it finally got here. I can‘t wait to dive into this elusive book!