Listening to some more David Copperfield while making cookies for a cookie exchange tomorrow! Lots of things are happening in the story now and I plan to finish it up this week.

#WhatTheDickens #1001books #audiobook

I had a bit of a delay in getting the book, so my package was just sent out today.

#JolabokaflodSwap24 #JS2024

Apologies to my fellow Tolkien readers. I‘m teaching new classes this year and we‘ve got one more week to wrap up the semester. I‘ve got little time for print reading until this week is over, and I haven‘t even kept up on this short daily read. I hope to catch up once school‘s out Friday, but don‘t expect any posts before then. I hope you‘re enjoying, and I would still love to see your posts this week.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #TolkienChristmas

Well, that was a strange and disturbing story, especially with McEwan‘s descriptive writing. I felt dread early on, but I also didn‘t expect such an abrupt ending. Since I was listening as I worked and not noting the time remaining, I expected what was about to happen to be more drawn out.

#1001books #audiobook

Back to some light and cheery holiday reads now . . .

Usually I‘m considering what to share at the end of the day, but this morning I‘m ready to share my simple joys from the week. Wishing everyone a joyful Friday!

💛 The pets of course
💛 My little changeable desk decoration is ready for Christmas
💛 New stickers for my classroom collection
💛 A simple but funny decorated door for my classroom
💛 Plans to finish Christmas shopping with friends tomorrow

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

I haven‘t kept up with the L.M. Montgomery stories this past week, but I listened to several today on a walk with Luthien and read a couple more once back at the house. I‘ve loved the new ones that I haven‘t read before just as much as those I have. Reading these is such a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit! I especially loved “Aunt Cyrilla‘s Christmas Basket” and “The Osbornes‘ Christmas.”

#KindredSpiritsChristmas #audiobook

This is a fun & festive #MiddleGrade book for the holiday season! Adopted girls Aviva & Holly meet and realize they must be twins separated at birth. They decide to switch places to learn more about each other as well as Christmas and Hanukkah. The switching lives after just meeting wasn‘t very credible to me, but it was an incredibly heartwarming story.

* I received this #audiobook through the #Librofm Educator #ALC program. Duration: 8 hr 3 min

Today‘s projects included canning a batch of chicken breasts for easy meals later. I used a combination of recipes from this book and a couple of blogs. The recipe from this book included adding lemon and garlic for seasoning.

#MtCookbook

💛 The first snow of the season while I was visiting my family for Thanksgiving
💛 Letting Luthien run on the farm and also play with other dogs
💛 Sledding with my niece
💛 Attending my hometown Christmas tree lighting and caroling (I only make it on years Thanksgiving is late and aligns with the first Sunday of December)
💛 The snow had completely melted off the roads for my late night drive back to my house

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

Catching up on Letters from Father Christmas this morning with breakfast and laughing about the “Rory Bory Aylis fireworks” and the North Polar Bear‘s antics!

#FellowshipOfTolkien #TolkienChristmas #BreakfastWithTolkien #BookAndBreakfast

It‘s December and time to read this wonderful collection of letters! I was busy traveling Sunday and getting back into the routine of school yesterday, so I‘m just now sitting down to read the first few letters. Reading them again, it‘s interesting how simply they start, but also to note aspects that will stay the same in them for years to come. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as you read!

#FellowshipOfTolkien #TolkienChristmas

Another month complete and another month in which the Shardlake reread was my favorite.

#BookSpinBingo #MonthlyStats #ReadingStats #DaiseysReadingSummary

Happy Saturday! It‘s snowing outside, but I‘m cozy inside with Christmas music playing while I enjoy a late lunch and more of this book.

#ReadAndEat #TRS2024 #MiddleGrade

💛 Just two days of school this week and Thanksgiving break
💛 Family time for the holiday weekend!
💛 Thanksgiving meals and leftovers
💛 Time for a little foraging while exploring with Luthien
💛 Helping my sister and her family with some farm chores

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

I finished this book while driving to Thanksgiving celebrations. I don‘t know that I would‘ve made it through a print copy as I took me a long time to become invested in the family. I liked how the chapter titles were all transitional words, and it had some interesting things to say about writing, women, and mother daughter relationships, but it never had enough plot for me.

#audiobook #1001books #ReadTheWorld #ReadingTheWorld #FoodAndLit #Canada

I don‘t have a specific word to share today, but I did see this post from Merriam-Webster this week that I think is worth a share.

#WeirdWordWednesday #WeirdWords

I read the first book in this series earlier this year for something light and liked it enough to pick up this second one as well. This is Travis & Taylor fan fiction from the friendship bracelet to the Besties to so many other references. It‘s enjoyable fluff, but it also has the body positivity message and fantastic Kingman siblings of the first book, which means I‘ll probably pick up the next one in the series at some point too.

#audiobook

This series is so good! Shardlake gets himself into all kinds of trouble in this book, and I enjoyed reading all of it. I like the dynamic between Shardlake and Barak as well as the mystery. I also appreciate learning more of the detail of the history of this time period.

#ShardlakeBR #ShardlakeSeriesBR

Some parts of this book are stories of the horrors of the Holocaust that we‘ve read many times, but the way in which they are woven with the story of the impact of those events on the children and grandchildren of survivors make it unique.

#audiobook #LitsyBookClub

💛 I made this year‘s Christmas fruitcake!
💛 I had a good day of professional development and an afternoon iced coffee since I was in town.
💛 We had a few days this week when I could wear jeans and flannel to school.
💛 Heat in my house that works well now that it‘s getting colder.
💛 The pets, as usual. Watching & listening to Luthien run is pure joy, and the cats have been extra snuggly lately.

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

Sunday morning #BookAndBreakfast

I‘m not getting to read this as often as I would like, but I am thoroughly enjoying it when I do have time to read. #ShardlakeBR #ShardlakeSeriesBR

📷: Eggnog French toast made with pumpkin cinnamon roll bread

This is one of those books where there are wonderful bits of writing, but I didn‘t enjoy much of the story, and it was a slow read. As it went on, I did become more invested in knowing exactly how it would turn out, but I also just wanted to finish it. Bowen does a great job of describing how women could be incredibly conflicted between traditional expectations and the ability to live with more independence than previously.

#1001books

This book has some wonderful figurative language!

My favorite might be the comparison of a woman to a squirrel. 🐿️

#KindleQuotes #1001books

Both @JazzFeathers and I have been busy and not great readalong hosts, so we‘re not starting any new Tolkien reads until next year. However, it‘s become a tradition for us to reread this book each December, and we‘d love to have you join us.

This is the same schedule as last year. I‘m tagging my entire Tolkien list today, but please comment if you would like to be on my tag list for this specific book.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #TolkienChristmas

💛 Using fall pumpkins not only as decoration but also for delicious meals
💛 Baking pumpkin cinnamon rolls & bacon cheddar scones to share at a church breakfast
💛 Flowers from a student just because they wanted to share some joy
💛 Great colleagues at school who are also great friends
💛 Cozy blankets and snuggly pets as the weather turns cooler

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

This had an interesting story, but there were also aspects that that just didn‘t work well for me. I thought the information about virtual reality and how it could be used with hospital patients was great, and the development of the friendship between Addie & Mateo was wonderful. The backstory with Addie‘s mom and opiate addiction was originally very vague and wasn‘t resolved in a way that felt logical to me.

#MiddleGrade #GraphicNovel #TRS2024

Today while I worked in the kitchen, I listened to a few Sherlock Holmes stories and to chapter 36 of David Copperfield. I‘m worried things are going to go badly for him again.

I put up more pumpkin, which includes a good amount of frozen purée, treats/food for Luthien, pasta baked in a pumpkin, a jar of pickled pumpkin cubes, roasted seeds, and pumpkin sourdough rising.

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes #WhatTheDickens #audiobook

💛 Making simple lye soap with my aunt
💛 Fall canning - pumpkin cubes & cranberry juice
💛 A peaceful and foggy fall morning
💛 Pets, even when Luthien is napping on top of my work
💛 Veterans Day recognition at school today

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

#MiddleGrade #GraphicNovel #Memoir

#MiddleGradeMonday #MsDsLibrary

I finished my audio reread a few days ago, but this morning I revisited the postscript to more closely consider Garth‘s discussion of the way writers wrote about WWI and specifically its influence on Tolkien‘s work.

This quote emphasizes one of the key aspects of Tolkien‘s work that I love. Many of his characters are simple people who just keep going and make a difference in their own small ways.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #quote #KindleQotes

I finished my audio reread a few days ago, but this morning I revisited the postscript to more closely consider Garth‘s discussion of the way writers wrote about WWI and specifically its influence on Tolkien‘s work.

I found this quote from Verlyn Flieger enlightening as it makes such an interesting comparison between a return from war and a return from Faerie.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #quote #KindleQuotes #WWI

This was a fun and adorable read!

#GraphicNovel

💛 Homemade sourdough cinnamon rolls and the time at home to make them
💛 A beautiful fall evening and backyard fire on Halloween 🎃 🔥
💛 Always the pets!
💛 Friday night pizza and wine 🍕 🍷
💛 Spotify music with great variety for my various moods 🎶

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

October #BookSpinBingo

Thank goodness for short reads, middle grade reads, and audiobooks right now.

#MonthlyStats #ReadingStats #DaiseysReadingSummary

There‘s been plenty of preserving and a decent amount of baking in my home recently, but I haven‘t been making any new cookbook recipes. So, today I‘m sharing this year‘s final batch of candied jalapeños, a few jars of tomato sauce, and these cinnamon rolls even if they are online recipes. Since the sourdough cinnamon rolls are from the Clever Carrot blog, I‘m tagging Emilie Raffa‘s cookbook.

#MtCookbook #sourdough

This was a fun and fascinating middle grade narrative nonfiction. It describes the theft and investigation of that theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in alternating chapters with information about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. I may need to check it out in print at some point as well to see the illustrations.

Second audiobook completed for #DeweysReadathon #DeweyOct

#audiobook #nonfiction #MiddleGrade

This was a cute YA romance about a teenage blogger and a boy who spends his time outside of school helping in his family‘s traditional tea shop. Online, they‘re enemies, but you can guess how it goes when they unknowingly meet in real life to work together for small businesses in Chinatown threatened by a corporate buyout.

One book completed during #DeweysReadathon #DeweyOct

#audiobook #YA #TRS2024

Happy Saturday morning! I‘m starting a quiet Saturday morning with breakfast casserole and coffee while I catch up on the last few chapters of David Copperfield for October.

I have lots of things to work on at home today since I‘ve been gone the last few weekends, but I plan to listen to lots of audio and fit in some print reading for the Dewey‘s Readathon as well.

#DeweysReadathon #WhatTheDickens #audiobook #1001books #BookAndBreakfast

💛 A family wedding and spending extra time with cousins for the weekend
💛 Putting up end of season green tomato pickles
💛 Successful parent teacher conferences at school
💛 A three day weekend at home that started today
💛 Pets that are adorable and travel well together when necessary

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

Someone put this on my radar to consider for my class library. It‘s a short chapter book about a group of kids that use math and great observation skills to solve the case of a stolen diamond. It‘s more of an early chapter book than the middle grade I was hoping for, and even accepting that, the mystery only made for a so-so read for me.

On a brighter note, La Gata was happy to snuggle up with me for a bit while I read. #CatsOfLitsy

Fellow Tolkien Readers,
How are we doing on the readalong? I apologize that life has gotten in the way again, so I‘m a bit behind as well as not sharing much. I just finished chapter 6 today, ending with Tolkien going off to war and wondering if he will ever see Edith again.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #audiobook #nonfiction

A couple of these might be a bit more #YA than #MiddleGrade, and I‘m not sure they all have ghosts, but this seemed as good a time as any to share my October recommendation shelf.

The tagged is my favorite spooky read to recommend. For a long time the reader doesn‘t know if it‘s a ghost story or if the main character is hallucinating.

#MiddleGradeMonday #MsDsLibrary

This was more historical romance than I was expecting, but I enjoyed it. Nena is the daughter of a Mexican rancher as Anglos from the north threaten their way of life. At the same time, another supernatural danger reappears and a man from her past returns. These were a different kind of vampire, and I wanted a few more answers in the end, but it was a great October read.

#LitsyBookClub #audiobook

This week‘s joys are all about spending last weekend in my hometown.

💛 Beautiful weather for a local fall festival with friends, family, fun, and delicious food
💛 Working with friends friends from church serving breakfast at the festival
💛 Quality time with my family
💛 Picking pumpkins to bring back to my house
💛 Spending a little time at the farm helping with harvest

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

Maudie lives with her mom and stepdad during the school year but is starting another summer with her dad when they have to evacuate due to a wildfire. As they find a place to stay near the beach, Maudie begins making new friends. As the reader learns about autism through her experiences, she keeps secrets from her dad about learning to surf and life with her mom. I loved Maudie‘s first person story.

#audiobook #MiddleGrade #TRS2024

There are some interesting and unfamiliar to me words in this book.

#WeirdWords #WeirdWordWednesday

I‘ve barely had time to read this week or visit Litsy, but this looks like a fun one!

🚜 Hay ride
🍎 Pick apples
🌳 Nature walk
🔥 Bonfire
📖 Book
🍏 Caramel apple
🥣 Chili (but not cornbread)
🍎 Apple cinnamon

#WondrousWednesday #ThisOrThat

💛 A couple trips to UCM for a play to see a former student perform and a day of professional development where I also got to meet up with another former student for a bit.
💛 A new positive math sticker for my laptop.
💛 Homemade multigrain sourdough sandwich rolls.
💛 Steak fajitas made with leftover steak and some late vegetables from the garden.
💛 As always, the pets, this week featuring LaGata.

#5JoysFriday #DaiseysJoys

This is the start to another middle grade fantasy series about people who bond with flying creatures, and I loved it. In this case, Kei is a girl who flies as a courier (think Pony Express) on her skysteed, N‘Rah (think flying horse). Then, terrible monsters from the past called chimerae start attacking again, and Kei takes information and weapons from her uncle‘s old resources to help in the battle.

#audiobook #MiddleGrade #TRS2024

Listening to chapter 1, I realized some of these Ishnesses are included in the book about Tolkien‘s art that I have.

#FellowshipOfTolkien