My January #tbr stack. Some of these I‘ve literally had stacked on my bedside table for months, so I‘m posting this photo to ensure I get to them this month. I also need to finish Where the Crawdads Sing. Welcome 2021! #january2021 #tbrstack #readmorebooks

Introvert
Sleep more
Movie
Cook
Try reading something light and frivolous to get you into the groove.
#bookslumpblues @hermyknee

This seems like a fun way to get through my TBR book list. Most of these are print editions, along with a few e-books that have been languishing on my iPad. Wish me luck!

#tbr #tbrbingo #latetotheparty

1) Songs from musicals
2) Fall!!! 🍁🍂
3) Mystery
4) No clue; my flight may not arrive in time for me to get home for dinner 😕
5) Ok!
#friYAYintro
@jess.how

Sookie is giving my new book the stink-eye, but I'm enjoying it! Thanks @BookishMarginalia - I'm taking your advice and starting off my summer reading with Big Little Lies! #summersolsticebookexchange

1) California in general, Napa in particular
2) Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr and Bel Canto by Anne Patchett
3) I'm partial to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum
4) I have too many faves to list
5) Big Bang Theory
6) See #4
7) Teal blue
8) Mystery
9) At home
10) 3 cats: Ally, Lucy & Sookie
#meetthelittens @maich

Whoa, I lucked out!!! 💗
This is a jackpot indeed! My summer reading's all sorted. Thrillers & bestsellers, some new-to-me titles, & some I've been wanting to read since forever! The journal is perfect, the bookmarks & buttons the icing on the cake. 🎂
Thank you so much @BookishMarginalia for organizing this super-fun swap, and for being my secret Summer Santa!
... now, which one to read first?
#summersantagoespostal #summersolsticebookexchange

Here we go!
#summersantagoespostal #summersolsticebookexchange @BookishMarginalia

Some of my sewing and quilting books.
@bookriot #riotgrams #getcrafty #sewist #craftivist

1. Chocolate
2. Um, colored edges
3. Stand alone
4. Neverland. I would think I was losing my mind if I had to stay long in Wonderland.
5. Publishing
#bookishwouldyourather @Kalalalatja

Best plot twist ever. Prisoner of Azkaban yanks Harry, Ron and Hermione out of their illusion of safety and thrusts them into the menacing side of their shiny magical world. No one is who they appear to be. The good guy is discovered abetting the bad guy; the bad guy may not be who he seems. Whom can - and should- you trust?
My favorite of the series.
#latetotheparty #favoritetwist #riotgram @bookriot

On its way to WI right now, partner, ready for you to open when you get home!
#soexcited #summersantagoespostal #summersolsticebookexchange @BookishMarginalia

I had to take refuge in the bookstore during yesterday's unexpected, dramatic downpour. It would have been discourteous not to buy a few, right?
#bookhaul #goodmanners

1. Never, but I nearly always do.
2. Tea (though wine is much more likely)
3. I think historical fiction. I think. 🤔
4. Evening, night, late night, and most likely into the wee hours!
5. Both have been lifelong fantasies.

@Kalalalatja #bookishwouldyourather #latetotheparty

Jumping in on Day 11:

I love the imagination and thought that some put into their LFL architecture. Whimsical design, regional customization, and creative upcycling make these (from my LFL Pinterest board) especially fun.

We haven't yet built ours, but we have a grandfather clock case earmarked for that purpose.

#riotgrams #littlefreelibrary #day11 #latetotheparty @bookriot

My #summersantagoespostal package arrived 3 days ago, but I'm just now posting a photo. So excited because my Fairy Bookmother is none other than swap orchestrator @BookishMarginalia 😍 ... C'mon June 21! ☀️
My package will ship out Tuesday, 🚍 just gathering up some fun extras for my partner!
#summersolsticebookswap #summerreading #summersurprise

In-flight reading to take me home from the Grand Canyon via the Amazon jungle.

Taylor Hunt's journey from addiction to healthy living via yoga. A compelling story from a master teacher of Ashtanga. #yoga #ashtanga #cleanitup #getyourasstoclass

#summersolsticebookexchange #secretsantagoespostal

I expected a novel about the Warsaw Zoo's role in sheltering people escaping Nazis during WW2. It reads very much like a history book (with annotations thankfully located at the end), drawing heavily on diaries, news reports and propaganda of the era. The characters and animals are beautifully drawn, but the wealth of source material keeps the story from achieving fluidity and chronological continuity. Despite that, (continued in comments)

A mystery series that falls somewhere between thriller and cozy, Penny's Still Life reminds me a bit of Martha Grimes's Richard Jury series. The odd murder of a beloved former schoolteacher brings Gamache to the village of Three Pines, near Montreal. The eccentric villagers are beautifully drawn, their intertwined histories revealing long-forgotten events and details that help solve the murder. I look forward to revisiting Three Pines soon!

I had to read this before the movie comes out. I was up reading till 2:30 this morning. Worth every yawn today! The stories of three different narrators merge when one of them disappears and another believes she witnessed something that will help the investigation. It all goes down in a small commuter suburb of London where the morning train slows daily, offering a glimpse into the most intimate of domestic affairs. 👏🏼

I found it neither gleeful nor darkly funny, as promised by the People review. It was a nice read, but tinged throughout with melancholy. Makkai teases out secrets from the past a little at a time, in chapters that begin at the chronological end of the 100 years, and work their way back in time. Themes of unhappy marriages, homosexuality, the value of art and artists, recur throughout.

I found it neither gleeful nor darkly funny, as promised by the People review. It was a nice read, but tinged throughout with melancholy. Makkai teases out secrets from the past a little at a time, in chapters that begin at the chronological end of the 100 years, and work their way back in time. Themes of unhappy marriages, homosexuality, the value of art and artists, recur throughout.

I'm trying to alternate fiction & nonfiction, ebooks & my TBR stack of books. Just downloaded to my Kindle/iPad: The Girl on the Train. I may need some lighter reading before I tackle this one though. Any suggestions?

I'm always wary when a new author writes novels featuring an iconic protagonist. But while Sophie Hannah's Poirot is a bit less egotistical than Dame Agatha's and his English has improved, his little grey cells are just as sharp. New narrator Edward Catchpool is perhaps even better suited to the task than Capt. Hastings. With enough plot twists and well-drawn characters to satisfy this avid mystery reader, Poirot's comeback seems in good hands..

Sounds like a great summer read!

From PureWow Books:

"Consider it the perfect escapist read for your next poolside afternoon. (With or without a martini in hand.)"

Next on my list!

"A gleeful tale of ghosts, vengeance and family secrets…The darkly funny Makkai seeds the narrative with so many mysteries and surprises…that those 100 years race by.”
—People, “The Best New Books”