Polished off another of the books I bought in Charlottesville. This was a bit uneven, but a good vacation read. I found the Maxwell chapters the most interesting and wished that Lee had written that book!

Not my first Bainbridge and not my favorite. It has her signature dark absurdist comedy, but somehow the characters fell a bit flat. Brenda you felt like you should pity, but she was just annoying. Freda was over the top, and yet pathetic. But the prose is solidly Bainbridge and I‘m not sorry I read it. Soft pick.

A good vacation read, there were some very funny bits, some tragic bits, and a few beautifully-written sentences. I enjoyed every page of it.

Tickets to see A Winter‘s Tale at Blackfriars tonight. I‘m dying to see how they do the bear! 🐻

We spent today in Charlottesville visiting multiple book stores. The tagged as well as Blue Whale and 2nd Act. Two of these are presents, but the rest . . .

Well researched and written like a thriller, this was a fast, fascinating read. I had no idea that Pepys had gone through anything like this. And the dangers of “populist” movements are hard to ignore. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

The view from the porch as I read about a Parliament scarily close to our House of Representatives. “On 9 May, still furious that Charles‘s pardon of Danby had made a mockery of their authority, the Commons resolved that even to express the opinion that Danby‘s pardon was legally valid was a criminal offence.”

Started my #bookspin this evening, sitting on the porch of the cabin in the mountains where we are vacationing. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

“I‘ve long believed that the ones who have more joy win. Maybe this levels the power differential between us and Darren. We have joy and justice on our side. And berries.” A short but powerful book that explores the idea of replacing greed and capitalism with a more gratitude-filled system. The gift economy. With lessons from the natural world on how to live and thrive. Love this author!

Combining my #bookspin and #readyourkobo lists for July as I‘ll be traveling for a good bit of the month. @TheAromaofBooks @CBee

Way behind on my reading, especially for #hashtagbrigade. I thought I‘d get caught up tonight, but my refrigerator had other ideas. The freezer failed so I‘m making soup to use things that were too thawed (and borrowing space in a friend‘s freezer until mine is fixed.) And baking pumpkin bread with the last of the pumpkin purée from last fall. It‘s 92 degrees outside and my house smells like November. ?

Started this one this morning.

I read this in two days. It‘s that good. I‘m a huge Twain fan, and I loved this imaginative retelling. It deserves all the hype. Letter J for #LitsyAtoZ @Texreader (It didn‘t get picked @Graywacke but I read it anyway. 😂 )

The comparisons are spot on, and scary - and this was written during his first term. May we be like the ordinary people in Coriolanus. Not the appeasers of Richard III. #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

It‘s a war story, but it‘s more than that. It‘s an exploration of whether being “neutral” and being “innocent” are the same thing, or even compatible. #bookspin and Q for #LitsyAtoZ @TheAromaofBooks @Texreader (photo is Saigon 1955 from the Internet.)

Hmmm. Who could I be thinking of. 🤔

Started this at lunch today, and so far the Prologue is the best bit. I‘ll give it another chapter or two and then decide. #readyourkobo @CBee

I finished this tonight sitting on the back patio, listening to the birds, and enjoying our little slice of nature. I admire Bonhoeffer and there‘s a lot of wisdom in this slim book. His German idiosyncrasies do come through, as when he said “we should train ourselves to set apart for it a regular hour for [meditation] as we do for every other service we perform. This is not ‘legalism‘; it is orderliness and fidelity.” But much here is universal.

My #bookspin and #doublespin for June. Maybe next month I‘ll pay closer attention to what I put at number 12! @TheAromaofBooks

I went into this blind, and while it dragged a bit in the middle, by the end I was rooting for Sebastien and the butterflies and totally invested in that world. Too bad it wasn‘t illustrated, but I searched for pictures of some of the butterflies. This is a blue morpho. #readyourkobo @CBee

Here‘s my June list for #readyourebooks #readyourkobo @CBee

It‘s hard to believe this was written pre-pandemic, although it‘s not specifically about a virus. But there‘s a lot here that is scarily relavent. I liked Cedar and wanted her to get out. No. 2 for#14books14weeks @Liz_M

I can‘t believe it‘s almost June, but here‘s my #bookspin list, just in case it‘s true. 😂 @TheAromaofBooks

Centering around an eccentric historian‘s access to the MC‘s g-grandfather‘s journals, this look at history, ethics, family, myth, community, and spirituality is wrapped in a great story with elegant prose. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad. I highlighted many quotes, but didn‘t want to stop reading long enough to post them. Letter D for #litsyAtoZ, No 1 for #14books14weeks

My first book for #14Books14Weeks. @Liz_M

A highly-readable, well -researched book about Catholics in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. It carries lessons we still need today about religious tolerance and the dangers of state involvement in matters of conscience. #letterG #LitsyAtoZ & #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks @Texreader

More accessible than I expected and with moments of humor that reminded me of Shakespeare. Mephistopheles as a poodle is an image I won‘t soon forget! I knew the story from the opera, but I‘m glad I read the play. #readYourKobo @CBee

Continuing my exploration of the Tudor period with this #doublespin choice. I bought it after hearing the author on a history panel discussing Henry VIII and enjoyed the last book I read by her (tagged in comments.) @TheAromaofBooks

This was a deceptively simple, and full of what it means to be human. By the end I was very attached to the protagonist. But unclear on whether the wolf girl was actually Kate or a result of a traumatized man living alone. #ReadYourKobo @CBee

I didn‘t see that coming! You think it‘s going to be a coming-of-age story, then a family epic, but then Smiley goes meta. It starts sneakily, but then she fully owns it by the end. I don‘t want to spoil it for you, bro I won‘t say more. Great writing. Stick with it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

1. Sitting. My glasses don‘t work otherwise. 🤓
2. The tagged book is classic Smiley - great writing, interesting characters. I‘m just a few chapters in, but loving it. Also reading Train Dreams which is very atmospheric, and Traveling with Pomegranates which I haven‘t made up my mind about yet.
Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView
Want to play @TheBookHippie ?

Very much an issues novel, this was just ok for me. Not horrible, but not one I‘ll remember for long. One of my April #ReadYourKobo selections. @CBee

May‘s picks for #readYourKobo. We‘ll see how many I actually get to this month. 🙄

Mini book haul. My husband was playing an outdoor gig and there was a church yard sale going on next door, so I _had_ to go visit it, right?

Caleb Carr is weird, but he loved his cat, a beautiful Siberian Forest Cat, who survived some truly amazing adventures. For my book club this month, and I‘m curious to hear what others have to say about it.(Pictured is my beloved monster.)

@Sace See what I mean?

Does anyone know how to get StoryGraph to graph books by year of publication without entering that as a tag? The date is part of the information they show about each book so it seems like there ought to be a way, but I‘m not finding instructions anywhere. Thanks. #storygraph

Thanks for the reminder @CBee ! Here‘s my list for May. #readyourkobo

1. Yes, 2,894 currently, but I have a book on order, so . . .
2. Highly recommend the tagged book! If you want to play, consider yourself tagged. #two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView

I can honestly say this is the first string quartet with didgeridoo I‘ve ever heard. And the first Sculthorpe. Not really good for “background music at work” today, what with the barking and all. 😀

Here‘s my I-can‘t-believe-it‘s-almost May #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Hilarious without being trivial; factual without being stuffy. If you like Mitchell, or history, or things English, you should read this book. If you don‘t like those things, you should read this book and maybe you would. Favorite quote below.

I loved this short novel so much that I bought another of Wolff‘s. Masquerading as a coming-of-age story, it is really about truth and honor and identity. The prose is sublime and the characters so true I had to double check that it was a novel, not a mémoire. #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

Went to get our Senior Lifetime Park passes, and we were so close to Pittsboro we couldn‘t resist stopping at Circle City Books. (And the chocolate shop next door.) #sorrynotsorry

Loving this novel, which is deep and quiet and thoughtful. Just my type of book.

A birthday present from my Mom who taught me to love birdwatching, this is a lovely memoir, nature observation, artwork filled book. The birds are west coast species which reminded me of my years in Utah. Tan‘s imagination comes through too. A restful book. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

What a way to grow up! For a guy who had so much trying to hold him back - apartheid, poverty, abusive step-father - he has gone far. But this isn‘t a “look what I did” book. It‘s a love letter to his mother. #readyourkobo @CBee

This is one of those historical novels I‘m glad exists because it brought a historical figure to my notice. And I finished it because it‘s for book club. But there were no sentences than sang to me, and the characters didn‘t quite come to life as of their time. Not many anachronisms I could be sure of (notable exception- a counter in a kitchen, which would have had a table and perhaps other furniture, but nothing built in.) 👇🏻

Not a recipe from the tagged book, but I went to the farmers market today, and it‘s supposed to get cold again this week, so I made soup. Now I don‘t have to think about dinner.