There was two much of the Ellie & James love story in the book, and, frankly, I just didn‘t care about it. Neither character is that interesting. There could have been a fun mystery under all that, but it was missing. I wouldn‘t have finished it if it had been by most other authors.

Oh, for Pete‘s sake, Ellie; stop pining for James‘ body and pay attention to the fact that someone out there probably wants to kill you! Right now, I‘d be okay with that. Two hours left; time to choose a new #audiowalk book.

I didn‘t get to walk yesterday because it poured down rain all day. Today, it rained only in the morning, so I was able to get back to my #audiowalk book. With 4 hours left, I hope something interesting happens soon.

This is the longest it‘s taken me to decide if I like a St. James book — I still don‘t know. Got a decent walk in even though I was afraid every second that it would rain. #audiowalk

I like St. James‘ contemporary stories and I liked the one I read that was set in the past, just not as much. The Other Side of Midnight is another one set in the past — 1920s — and it hasn‘t grabbed me as quickly as her more modern ones do, but we‘ll see. #audiowalk

I ended up quite liking this even though we have a bit less of our main characters than in The Spy Coast. The Summer Guests is a smaller tale in terms of scope , but it‘s well-told and keeps you wondering if you‘re right about the solution. #audiowalk

So far I‘m enjoying this book, but I liked The Spy Coast better. We‘ll see how it ends up. I‘ve got about 3 hours left. #audiowalk

Fairhope Public Library just had its state funding stripped because it followed the Alabama Public Library Services guidelines about where to shelve books about sex.

Here‘s a story: https://mynbc15.com/newsletter-daily/fairhope-library-loses-state-funding-over-c...

I‘m so sick of this crap.
There‘s a funding site with fundlibraries.org but the link is too long.

This follow-up to The Spy Coast is my new #audiowalk book. I‘m enjoying it so far.

That was a fun listen. One murderer was a surprise to me and another was not. I liked the way it ended as well. Pretty chilly today. #audiowalk

I still haven‘t figured out the murderer here, but this has been an enjoyable read so far. Took a tad bit of a turn that I wasn‘t expecting, but that‘s okay. I love to watch the windsurfers when they are out on the bay. They look like they‘re having so much fun. #audiowalk

Chapter 16 and I‘m really just now getting to the part where the amateur detectives start sleuthing. That‘s okay — I haven‘t been bored. Beautiful day for a walk, but I was slower than usual. My azaleas are really blooming now. #audiowallk

I started this today as my #audiowalk book. The premise is interesting, so I‘m hoping for a good listen. That polar bear was not there the last time I walked that trail. The water heater was, but today I started wondering why it‘s there.

The mystery in this book was perfectly fine if a little unfocused, but the Alex Delaware books are never primarily about the mystery — they are always about Alex and Milo. Those two are in fine form here. John Rubinstein‘s narration is, as always, excellent. #audiowalk

One thing I like about the time change is it gets dark later, so I can walk later. I don‘t even have any suspects in Milo‘s case yet! I‘d probably be wrong anyway. #audiowalk

I truly wish the weather would be like this all the time — not too hot, nice breeze. More time with Alex and Milo on my #audiowalk

I started this on my #audiowalk today because I did some reading in the print version of The Woman in White. I love being back with Milo and Alex. John Rubinstein does such a great job narrating this series that I always listen to it. Leftover Mardi Gras decor in the park.

I have had this book forever, but finally decided to read it because #hashtagbrigade is reading it. I will probably go back and forth between audio and print. Today it was audio on my #audiowalk. I really like it so far.

This book was just okay. It had a great premise, but the execution is a bit lacking. The politics are too heavy-handed, and I‘m not one who minds an author being political. I don‘t get why gross sex scenes had to be used so often to denote evil. There‘s one section, where we watch a whole family fall apart, that is just too long. I did finish it though. #audiowalk

I should just listen to this as my bedtime book since I only have a little over an hour left, but I don‘t like listening to horror at night. I‘ve had bad dreams doing that before. I still can‘t say I‘m enamored with this book, but it‘s an interesting take on the end of the world. Beautiful day today. Nice temperatures and wonderful breezes. #audiowalk

My hold on this came in earlier than I expected, so I‘m back to WUaOYE for my #audiowalk earlier than I thought I‘d be. I still haven‘t decided if I like it, but I‘m determined to finish it this time. It was a lovely evening for a walk.

I was dreading reading this 4th book in Riley‘s Seven Sisters series because I‘ve never liked CeCe. It turns out — in spite of the ridiculousness of some of the coincidences — that this is my favorite book so far. I came to understand and appreciate CeCe as she learns to understand and appreciate herself. My daughter is out of town, so for the first time, I took Missy for a walk by myself. She did good. 😊 #audiowalk

A little too many coincidences in this book — many of which are completely unbelievable — but I‘m still enjoying it. I‘ve got about 4 hours left. Lovely, if a little chilly, #audiowalk today — well, yesterday really as it‘s after 1:00am where I am.

I had to go back to The Pearl Sister because Wake Up and Open Your Eyes was automatically returned to the library last night. I wasn‘t quite finished, but there must be holds on it because I couldn‘t check it out again. #audiowalk

I had read and loved both The Housekeeper and the Professor and The Memory Police. This one is quite different from those. It‘s more easygoing. Tomoka is sent to her cousin‘s family for a year when she is 12. The book covers her relationship with her cousin, Mina, and their lives together for that year. Mina has a hippo that she rides to school. I wanted more of the hippo. 😊 Continued with Wake Up and Open Your Eyes on my #audiowalk.

This book has Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone vibes, with an unreliable narrator who is a mystery author and constantly breaks the 4th wall. We know Eleanor is untrustworthy because she reminds us of that frequently. It was a nice, light, entertaining night listen.

Tammany Hall in WUaOYE = Fox News like talk show. Tammany Hall in history = associated with the extremely corrupt New York Democratic political machine of Boss Tweed. I like the reference. Chapman has taken a pretty long time to get to the action. I‘m 4 hours in with 6 hours left, and the people who are supposed to meet have yet to do so. #audiowalk

I went back to this because it‘s a library book and is due in a few days. I got past the really gross scene that made me stop before; it went on for far too long. Otherwise, I‘m liking the book. Temps were down in the 50s today. #audiowalk

Now I‘m feeling sympathy for CeCe. She really doesn‘t understand herself; she‘s also always felt like an outsider and didn‘t know why. I commend Riley for being able to evoke in me this emotion for a woman I‘ve thoroughly disliked for 3 books now. #audiowalk

CeCe has me guessing all the time with what is actually going on with her. I think that may be because she, herself, is not sure. Short walk today — it was up to 76°. #audiowalk

Apparently rabbits come out around dusk here. I saw several on my #audiowalk

I wasn‘t in the mood for horror today — especially as there was a particularly gross scene when I started Wake Up and Open Your Eyes this morning, so I started the 4th book in Lucinda Riley‘s Seven Sisters series on my #audiowalk. I‘m feeling more sympathy for CeCe than I expected to.

Nobody in the book is likeable. Lucy is an unreliable narrator, and Ben has an agenda. I had a feeling that I knew what actually happened to Lucy‘s friend, and I was right. I enjoyed the way the story was told, and it‘s perfect for audio. My new #audiowalk book is Wake Up and Open Your Eyes. So far it reminds me a little of Stephen King‘s Cell.

I‘m going to do #BookBracket2025 for some fun this year. January‘s pick is All the Colors of the Dark. It was interesting and thoughtful.

It was such a pretty day today that I had to go out for an #audiowalk. It‘s our false spring, I believe. My azaleas will be tricked into blooming, and then it‘ll get really cold again. I‘m still enjoying Listen for the Lie but only have 2 hours left, so I need to pick a new listen.

My husband saw a YouTube video about the female spy portrayed in this book and wanted to listen to it, so it‘s our new road trip book. It was so nice today that we went to the beach. I read Mina‘s Matchbox and listened to Listen For the Lie on my #audiowalk.

This book just took an unexpected twist, so now I‘m really interested in the outcome. No one is who you think they are. The pictures on the left are from my morning walk, where I expected it to rain any second. The ones on the right, with the nice, blue sky are from my evening walk — I wasn‘t expecting it to change so much during the day. #audiowalk

This book grabbed me from the start; I hope it keeps up the pace. The combination of casual first person narrative and a podcast makes it particularly good for audio. I was finally able to get in a decent #audiowalk today!

This book could‘ve been a little bit shorter, but overall, it‘s a good book. It‘s dark but hope shines through at the end. Whitaker deals with the theme of how what happens to someone in the past can impact not only them but those around them far into the future.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the idea of gift economies. Like Kimmerer, I understand that replacing our economy with one like this would be impossible because of how entrenched our economy is, but, as she points out, we already have a small gift economy running alongside ours in the form of things like little free libraries and shared lands. Increasing these will give us a greater sense of community.

My leg hates me — same leg as my knee but this time it‘s my thigh. No idea what I did, but it‘s too painful to walk on or stand very long at all. So here‘s my reads for #weekendreads. I‘ll probably only finish The Serviceberry since it‘s short. Maybe All the Colors of the Dark. The others are: How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, The Cloister Walk, and Mina‘s Matchbox.

I can‘t sleep, so I‘m reading this book. I keep meaning to read Braiding Sweetgrass, but haven‘t done it yet.

The temperature got up in the 40s today; I walked with my jacket open for a good portion of my walk. That‘s a Mardi Gras snowman in the pic. 😊 While I like this book, I can‘t figure out why I still have over 4 hours left. What‘s left to tell that would take that long? #audiowalk

While I overall liked this, it was a bit too pedantic, and the all female country was a little too perfect. The practice of eugenics that led to their utopia was, although only mentioned once as history, disturbing. The narrator also views attempted rape in a “boys will be boys” manner. I loved that their society included pockets — lots of them— in the women‘s clothing, showing not much has changed since Gilman wrote this.

I did decide to go for a short walk but didn‘t listen to anything because the quiet was so nice. Missy loved the snow.

Well, it started snowing here, so I‘m inside with Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the lovely cup of tea my husband just made me.

Boy, was it a bit chilly this morning! When I went to walk, it was technically 40°, which I can do with a light jacket; however, the “feels like” temp was 29°, so I had to layer a bit AND wear a jacket and a hat. The characters in this book are just making me so sad for them all. #audiowalk

I didn‘t walk today, but I did finish The Husbands. It was an interesting book with a unique premise. I wasn‘t in love with the ending, but it made sense for the book. Here‘s little George by herself and with our old boy, Cow. He‘s often grumpy, but he likes her.

I‘m enjoying this book, but I sometimes get a little lost for a minute with the jumps in time. We are supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow and then snow, so I‘m trying to get in my #audiowalk while I can!

Apparently my complaint about the #ClassicLSFBC books is always going to be the lack of imagination regarding race, sex, and gender roles. Here it‘s mired in the 1950s; Bradbury can‘t even imagine that Martian society might be set up differently. Some stories (Night Meeting) are beautiful, while others (Way in the Middle of the Air) are deeply disturbing. Bradbury‘s writing style is interesting — it‘s suggestive of constant movement. #audiowalk