#tolkieniteswap opening day is here! @heikemarie Thank you so much; I loved all of these items! The necklace is so fun, and I can‘t wait to start using that candle!

So, this just arrived from @heikemarie Looking forward to tomorrow! #tolkieniteswap 😁

“It‘s so strange how life works: You want something and you wait and wait and feel like it‘s taking forever to come. Then it happens and it‘s over and all you want to do is curl back up in that moment before things changed.”

“Art has a way of revealing truth.”
“Suppress the art inside a weaver long enough, and the gift turns curse.”
Thought-provoking, and an easy read. Looking forward to the next book!

Box for #tolkieniteswap is now en route to @heikemarie !

Second Jodi Picoult book during #24in48. This was a page-turner.

“They‘ve all got this image of me, and they‘re not about to change it, and the funny thing is, I think the man they‘ve made in their minds is going to outlive me.” #24in48

First book of #24in48.

True, Mr. Rochester‘s methods of courting Jane Eyre were pretty unusual. 😂

“There‘s plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it.”

“We create art for many reasons - wealth, fame, love, admiration - but I find the one thing that produces the best results is desire. When you want the thing you're creating, the beauty of it will shine through, even if the details aren't all in order. Desire is the fuel of creators, and when we have that, motivation will come in its wake.”

“She‘d always known that her reaction to that night had been too big, or perhaps too small. She hadn‘t even cried. She hadn‘t told anyone. She swallowed it whole and pretended it meant nothing, and therefore it had come to mean everything.”

“Having a matrix of preferences presented as your essence, as the whole you? Maybe that was it. It was some kind of mirror, but it was incomplete, distorted.”

“He floated noiselessly through the doorway like a healing zephyr. That impressed me from the start.... He had a grave, sympathetic face, as if he, too, knew what it was to sup with the lads.”

A decent read. Part mystery, but also a review of what the beloved characters of Pride and Prejudice have been up to since we last saw them. A fun read for any Austen fan. While enjoyable, there were certain parts of the book that would be best titled “The Angst of Mr. Darcy.” His inner turmoil was a bit excessive, in my opinion.

“He‘s such a persevering young man. He proposes early and often.”

A friend lent this to me, insisting it‘s a must-read. 80 pages in, I‘m intrigued. The author skims over some events, telling rather than showing, but I‘m excited to find out how the story ends.

And... goal! #24in48

Final lap of #24in48.

Entering hour 16 of #24in48. A friend recently posted a quote from this book, and it intrigued me enough to pick it up from the library.

Four books and 10+ hours down. #24in48.

Heading into book #2 of #24in48. Friends talked me into seeing the movie version a while back... and I was pleasantly surprised.

#24in48. Finishing up one of my library books.

Gearing up for #24in48. Some new reads, and some re-reads.

“Not every person you meet in life will become a close friend or lover. Some you will find hard to get along with or impossible to like. But these people, too, teach you the precious lesson of who you do like, so that you will appreciate those special people even more.”

Frank, honest, and easy to read. I stumbled across Cait Flanders‘ blog several months ago, and really enjoyed her writing style. Her book talks about her one-year spending ban, and all the reasons behind why she did it.

Rereading an old favorite.

Halfway through this book, I knew it would be on my bookshelf for a long time to come. The book dances between Chip‘s and Joanna‘s perspectives, telling the story of how they met and what brought them to where they are now. It‘s an easy, delightful read, sprinkled with simple wisdom.
“I always thought that the “thriving” would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it‘s actually down in the mess that things get good.”

An interesting read-though a bit slow in the middle. Some good insights about introverts and extroverts.

“Solitude is a catalyst for innovation.”

YA novel about small town secrets, young love, and Bigfoot. While a slight suspension of disbelief is required, the book made for a speedy and enjoyable read.

"The closest you will ever come to seeing vampires burned by daylight is by inviting a group of Danes for a hygge dinner and then placing them under a 5000 K fluorescent lightbulb."

Decent. A little predictable... but it did keep me wondering up to the last page. Read it in less than 24 hours.

"Adolescence has always been a means to an end-its point was to aid the transition to adulthood. It was not an end in itself."

"Consumption is not the key to happiness; production is. Meaningful work-that actually serves and benefits a neighbor, thereby making a real difference in the world-contributes to long-term happiness and well-being. Consumption just consumes."

Revisiting one of my favorite stories.

Life is not a paragraph.

Love.

Full of honest, witty advice on writing and life.

An intriguing story of love and faith set in the Great Smokies. One of my all-time favorites.

Unfortunately, this was not a winner. I actually stopped reading to look at the cover and verify that John Grisham was the author. The writing felt rushed, and told instead of showed, glossing over entire scenes. The main character didn't seem to give much of a rip about anything.

I devoured this book. Page-turner. Excellent writing style.

Great book that examines the tension between Chinese and American cultures through the eyes of a Chinese-American family. A must read for anyone who's lived abroad.

Well-written. It left me guessing up to the end.

The villain was cliché.

Science fiction for those who don't like science fiction. Book candy with a few nuggets of deeper thought mixed in. As for the movie... It was a bit of a letdown.

John Grisham doesn't disappoint. I love the stories of faith and redemption.