No I‘ve never been to Powells and don‘t live anywhere near it but it‘s on my bucket list. So I follow it on Instagram and they‘ve posted their staff recommendations for all those fiction books featuring cats! First book recommended is tagged. Read the staff reviews here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSBcERbjUlg/?igsh=bHgycnNtY3pzYnph

😂 ♦️ ♠️ ♥️ 💰😂

#foodandlit #Italy #Jubilee

In case you haven‘t been following my #wordoftheday posts, my mom @Doll8455 is continuing her dramatic story using each word of the day. I look forward to her next post in the saga everyday!

#holidayhumor

#wordoftheday

“The most prestigious posting was to Spain, the greatest supporter of the Vatican. Spain controlled large chunks of Italy—the duchy of Milan in the north, and the kingdom of Naples, which shared the southern border of the Papal States. The second most important posting was to France, Spain‘s inveterate enemy and historically a far less supportive ally of Rome.”

Original!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSC1CkkjkZt/?igsh=OG00MzhkZWY3ZnRw

#wordoftheday There‘s censorship and then there‘s burning at the stake

“Most popes usually let Pasquino [a gossiper about all things Vatican] and his friends have their say as a means of venting popular discontent against high taxes and injustice. But a few particularly annoying pasquinade writers had been incinerated at the stake. Even an execution didn‘t seem to dampen the ardor of would-be political columnists,… ⬇️

#holidayhumor

The countries for 2026 #foodandlit have finally been determined!! Hold on tight because we are traveling the whole world again this coming year! We are in the process of assigning countries to each month (it‘s not random—can you guess how we decide when to read which country?). I‘m so excited to share 2026 with you with our new and returning hosts! @Butterfinger @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick So keep watching this tag!!

Mini story

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSAWo-_DiL0/?igsh=MTBnM3JvYm95MDJpOQ==

#holidayhumor

Best one yet!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DR9pzQeDnyD/?igsh=MXMzYjVxNGthaHlkOA==

I listened to 3 versions of the audiobook and chose this one. It is also on sale for two more days for slightly more than the one in my previous post. #whattheDickens @Cuilin

It‘s not very expensive to begin with but if you want a deal, this version of the audiobook is on sale for two more days.

#whattheDickens @Cuilin

Finally posting my November stats

Eight books read last month, four were chunksters: two with 500+ pages and two with 400+ pages! Litsy challenges:

Curiosity Shop for #whattheDickens
Democracy for #authoramonth
Happy Isles for #Samoa and the remaining 5 for #Algeria for #foodandlit

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

#holidayhumor

#wordoftheday

“Late-fifteenth-century popes pondered what to do with the tottering basilica, hesitating to destroy something so sacred. But the irascible warrior pope Julius II (reigned 1503–1513) had no such scruples. The ancient basilica was torn down, its ancient papal tombs relocated and some of the art incorporated into the new church. Throughout the sixteenth century the new basilica was raised by fits and starts… ⬇️

Audio coloring tonight

I ♥️ how the 🦔 is making 🫖 probably preparing for a nice good 📕 to read.

😂😂😂

https://www.instagram.com/p/DR7G8dMjpKb/?igsh=aXRna2hsdjMwNW1l

Look what‘s going in the mail tomorrow!! #winternaturecardswap @TheBookHippie

Revenge, served 32 years later, was very cold indeed!!

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

The original pope-mobile!

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

#wordoftheday

“There were two signs that a pope had been elected—the bells of Saint Peter‘s would ring out in jubilation, and carpenters would demolish the masonry that blocked the windows of the loggia overlooking Saint Peter‘s Square. The tradition of sending smoke out of the Sistine Chapel chimney after each scrutiny—black for an unsuccessful vote, white for a successful one—was not instituted until 1903.”

Why knowing history can be helpful! He chose to be “Pope Innocent” instead of Eugenio. Good choice.

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

https://www.bookbub.com/blog/historical-fiction-winter-2026-new-releases?positio...

Another good one!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DR4jjy4DhUc/?igsh=MWs1bnNwN252dDV1dQ==

Our French Algerian main character describes the events in her teen years growing up alongside her family‘s hotel on the French Riviera. Sagesse (a beautiful first name) is a devil-may-care teenager, who along with her loud annoying friends, trigger the hotel‘s owner—her grandfather—to confront them with his rifle. While describing the aftermath of that event, Sagesse recounts the history of each family member. The most poignant story involves ⬇️

Listening to this book was an unparalleled experience. Our own @ImperfectCJ narrated it and she is marvelous!! An extraordinarily unpleasant man (whose voice appropriately grates) falls dead into florist Lila‘s marigold display at the town‘s festival. Feeling framed, and an intuition that the official investigation was not being taken seriously, Lila teams up with the pet shop owner Ethan to discover the murderer. It so happens, their pets, cat ⬇️

It‘s about time I start my holiday humor!!

Today‘s adorable mini-story

https://www.instagram.com/p/DR1_0kZDhrx/?igsh=MXY0amdpajlpcWExbg==

#wordoftheday

“Some were offended by his dismal and saturnine aspect, the reflection of a contumacious and restless soul, and in him one could see customs poorly suited to the placidity that the person carrying the name of the universal father should have.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRzXpXhjpeN/?igsh=MXJramtkeGpyMHo3Mw==

Listening to this audiobook now.

I‘ve reviewed the #auldlangspine booklist from @LeafingThroughLife

These are the top six, from which I will choose at least one & hopefully more to read in January & 2026. Turns out I own the ebook of Indifferent Stars so it may be first. I‘ve put library holds on Canticle and Phoenix Pencil because they‘re weeks out. The rest of the books I have sort of ranked in my order of interest because so many sound so good. It was a good match for me!!

This is my reading list from @LeafingThroughLife for #auldlangspine

@monalyisha did a marvelous job matching the pairs! I‘ve not read any of these books but I just recently added the tagged book to my tbr list and it‘s no. 1 on the list. So I know for sure I‘ll be reading that one! I‘ve put it on hold with the library. 14-16 week wait! But sometimes it goes faster. 🤞🏻

I‘ll be exploring the rest of the books. Looking forward to it!

Audio coloring

Whoopsie!

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

Today‘s mini story

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRwxBvhFDad/?igsh=dWYzcG42NmN4eHlj

#wordoftheday

“Allegorical figures were extremely popular at the time; actors and actresses representing Divine Justice, Holy Religion, and Saintly Sacrifice would declaim onstage and then fly straight up to heaven.”

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

Set in Ireland 1865

Coming June 2!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DReaantCaMF/?igsh=MTczbjdxYXMxNHRoMA==

A standalone thriller coming May!

New mini story

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRuK2IXjrfB/?igsh=cHUybXBmMDRoN3p6

😂😂😂

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

I‘m sending this book to a dear friend, my now retired paralegal. She wrote a book (tagged below) about her great grandfather, a famous Mexican physician and a senior health official in the presidential administration who was forced out of Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. He was part Aztec and she‘s done so much research there. Doesn‘t it look awesome? I‘m actually stacking it myself! I hope she likes it!

A good elderly friend and distant relative died on Halloween. I‘m sending her daughter this book. I love Charlie Mackesy books so much. A dear friend on Litsy sent me his first book after a very close friend died during Covid. I‘ve passed on the kindness, giving a copy to a friend when her breast cancer recurred. And now I‘m sending this book. If you ever wonder what to do for someone who‘s grieving & lives at a distance, this book is marvelous

#wordoftheday

I didn‘t know the second “e” was silent

“Several hundred boats joined the cortège of the river, and almost the entire town participated in the funeral procession that followed the coffin, which was carried by eight sea-captains, up the steps to the grave…. Lucy herself, pleaded to attend the funeral, otherwise I would not have liked to suggest it, fearing it would upset her, and she also wished us to sit on our usual bench and…⬇️

#wordoftheday

“Gianbattista was learned, courteous, and by now, sober. He was also indecisive to the point of paralysis, deeply suspicious of others, and subject to gloomy silent depressions. Over time, he had developed a highly effective defense to prevent others from seeing the doubts that lurked inside him—a wall of inscrutable dignity.”

🐝 🐝 🐝 🤭😂

#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

Elliott Roosevelt wrote 20 mystery books with his mother as the sleuth! I‘ve got to find these!

More here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRR6TDfD_d1/?igsh=b2t5dWt2OGFyZHRp