Magical Reading

October 29, 202116 Comments

Except for vacation, I’ve been trying to keep my October reading as ghostly or magical as possible. It’s been a good reading week. What the most Halloweeny thing you’ve read this month?

What if every choice you made led to a different life, a different you and it was happening simultaneously to your life right now. What if you were able to visit The Midnight Library and try on each of these lives to see if you preferred them to the one you’re currently living. So goes the story of Nora Seed.

This morning while Gage was at his last day of Timbernook, I took this book on an hour walk and contemplated making other decisions in life, both big and small, and where they might have led me.

Loved this book. Not only did I love the endless possibilities, I loved the attention to great philosophers, especially Thoreau, who is a favorite of mine. Highly recommend this one for discussion and contemplation.

I love the 1968 movie Rosemary’s Baby and I finally got around to reading the Ira Levin novel. I liked it, but may actually prefer the movie. Now I’m going to have to watch it again!

Rosemary and Guy move into the Branford in NYC having heard of some of its more infamous past residents. They are befriended by an older neighbor couple and their relationship starts to change. When Rosemary becomes pregnant it’s not at all what she expects and she becomes even more isolated.

A perfect psychological horror story for October.

This book made my day. Any fan of Dean Koontz knows how much he loves dogs, especially his golden retriever Trixie. Trixie decided to write a book when she realized that some humans weren’t as happy as dogs were.

This book was so, so sweet. I loved it, even reading some passages out loud to Jason making him laugh too. If you have ever loved a dog, get your eyes in this book so you can feel the slobbery kisses as you read.

Trixie has since passed but her spirit lives on.

This felt like a throwback to the stories I used to love as a kid, no surprise there since it was originally published in 1983. Twelve-year-old Amy is too often relied on to take of her special needs sister. She is able to escape to her aunt’s creepy house where she discovered a dollhouse in the attic. While she’s thrilled, her aunt is not and tensions rise between the two.

This middle school story gave me all of the good stuff. It was a book about growing up and learning to navigate friendships and family and to believe in yourself enough to believe in ghostly spirits. Yes, there are ghosts, but the ones that help set things right.

A fun story for tweens. Loved it!

Also, we watched this throwback Goosebumps video two nights ago. It was definitely old school, but Gage loved it ❤️

That house near the end of the lane is not haunted, at least as far as we know, but The House at the End of Hope Street most definitely is. It’s filled with feminine giants like Daphne du Maurier, Sylvia Plath, Agatha Christie, and hundreds more. It’s a place the fixes those who are called to it and it does it on a 99 day deadline. I’m glad reading books on a deadline isn’t a thing since this was published in 2013.

Peggy has run the magical house for over 60 years, but now it tells her that her days are numbered. Stella is an aging actress struggling with being replaced by younger women, personally and professionally. Carmen has buried evidence of crime at the house and is haunted by its evil. Alba comes to the house as her future is in shambles.

It’s a charming book. I wish there’d been a little more about the four women, sacrificing the bits from the men, but the story still held it’s magic. Magical realism fans will enjoy.

I picked up The Witches of Benevento at our library sale not knowing anything about it except that it was the second in a kids series. I totally forgot to take picks of the illustrations that started every chapter – they were fantastic! This was such a strange little book in a strange little world where kids of the village have to avoid the likes of the Clopper (a witch who eats children), the Janara (mischief makers), and more. I ended up falling in love with this little world and the people who lived there.

Home Before Dark, Riley Sanger’s take on a haunted house, was a perfect listen as I worked on a puzzle late into the night. Maggie’s father had made their family famous with a memoir about them escaping their house after being attacked by ghosts. Now that he’s dead and the house is hers Maggie goes back to ready the place for sale and perhaps bring back memories from when she was 5. Is Baneberry Hall still haunted? Was it ever? I really liked this one!

oday’s book is the graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s short story. I’ve not read the story so the 64 page book had the capacity to surprise.

Jack was only 7 when he first came upon the troll under the bridge and convinced it not to take his life. He offered his sister, later his would-be girlfriend, and finally promising to come back when he was older after he experienced life. He kept his promise, but would the troll still want his life?

Fantasy and fable in one clever short story. There are adult themes, so I’m not sure about the age group, but I was pleasantly surprised to like it so much.

This is the 4th in the Investigators series. Mango and Brash are alligators who work for SUIT ((Special Undercover Investigation Teams). This 200 pager starts with Mango working with a RoboBrash because the real Brash is in a coma due to being eaten by a giant waffle bad guy in the last one. It’s as silly as it sounds. Gage loves this series and was excited to be the first one in our library system to check out this latest.

Vacation Books

October 23, 2021October 23, 202120 Comments

Our road trip to Maine, with overnight stops in New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts was a huge success. I posted in Instagram daily so you can click on over if you want to see more, but these were my top 5 favorite moments…

Sunrises

With my guys on my birthday in Hampton, NH

Mt. Greylock, Massachusetts

Rachel Carson Refuge, Kennybunkport, Maine

So many beaches, so little time

I considered putting my book-a-day challenge on hiatus when we went on our 9 day road trip, but decided to honor the challenge with books I had on our homeschool reading shelf.

My favorite was the picture book A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thu Bui. It’s a touching story of a boy who accompanies his Vietnamese father fishing early in the morning so that the family can be fed for the day. I absolutely loved it!

I also read another picture book, Miep and the Most Famous Diary: The Woman Who Rescued Anne Frank’s Diary by Meeg Pincus, illustrated by Jordi Solano.

I liked How Wolves Came From Dogs by Jack Myers, illustrated by John Rice. There were 12 articles about different animals, all taken and updated from past Highlights Magazine articles. Fun to read and discuss with Gage. We were most interested in how they populated two islands in Maine with Puffins.

We listened to two Big Nate books in the car, Big Nate Flips Out and Big Nate In a Class By Himself. These were quick funny stories that gave all three us smiles and laughs.

The Story of Chocolate by Caryn Polin was interesting. DK always does a good job of sharing facts in a fun layout.

Not so successful (for me and Jason, Gage like them) was the audio of Nate the Great Collected Stories, Volume 4 and Pup Detectives .

On my actual birthday I read the little book that Jason got me that tells me all about the year I was born. It was fun!

I’ll have to catch up with the rest of my reading another day, still playing catch up!

October is here

October 8, 20216 Comments

It’s over a week into October and here I am. October is a crazy month for us, We have 2 birthdays and an anniversary in within a week and half and this year we decided to add a four state road trip into the mix, lol.

I’ve been trying to read some creepy books for this spooky month.

I woke up to find 50 flowers waiting for me. Happy birthday month to me!

I’m intending to read from these stacks worthy of #ripxiv #ripperils 💀. I’ve got ghosts, magic, horror, and mystery waiting for me this month.

What’s your favorite story with a ghost?

For my first ghostly story I read the kids book The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall and loved it! What a great intro for kids into the the horror stories of the day. It had a little Haunting of Bly Manor feel, only with a 12 year old orphan girl protagonist. There was real danger and scares here.

First flowers and this morning balloons! I’m feeling the birthday love and I still have 9 days to go! 🎉

The Flip by Phillip Michael Cash was full of ghosts, just what this month calls for. A newly married couple flips houses and one of them falls in love with an old Victorian, hoping to make it their permanent home. The other feels the presence of spirits not altogether friendly. The ghosts are dealing with issues of their own and you even get their backstory of their time in the house.

A quick and ghostly October read 👻

This morning a vintage 1971 wine glass and a bottle of Korbel, added to my earlier balloons, and flowers and I’m convinced I should turn 50 every year! Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

And I finished up Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz. An evil wanna be god nicknamed Tick Tock because he tells people when they’re gonna die, wreaks havoc. Fortunately, there’s a hero dog that saves the day more than once. A decent audio for October listening.

The birthday fairy came again and brought 50 chocolates from @malleyschoc 🧚‍♂️ You may notice the pack of 2 chocolate covered pretzels is already empty. 🥨🍫

I read the spooky Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child and loved it for an October read. People in the Catskills are being brutally murdered. First they say it’s a bear, and then a wolf, but some people suspect a more human element.

This is the most recent of the Jeremy Logan series and even though I haven’t read any of the others I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I’m tempted to go back and read a few others this month. Think X-Files or Supernatural.

My birthday fairy brought some sparkly numbers s as d 2 books on turning 50. At breakfast Gage and I read All the Great Things About Turning 50. I’ll be using it as a journal since it’s 104 empty pages 🤣🤣. The other one, 50 Things To Do When You Turn 50, looked a bit more serious. I’ll keep you posted.

I read Gage the 84 page book, Scary Tales: One-Eyed Doll. Spooky and fun, it was a great atmospheric October read. Siblings dig up an old box from the yard of an abandoned house. Inside the locked box they found a doll. The 5 year old girl takes it home and starts to act strangely forcing her brother to ask questions about the house. Loved the layout of the book and the few pictures included. I’m going to track down some more of this series this month.

A few years ago Jason bought me a Keurig and we use the reusable pods because all of this plastic trash everyday would drive me nuts. But I’m not gonna lie, when the birthday fairy brought me an assortment of 50 coffees for the machine I was happy to know that on more difficult mornings I could skip a few steps for my joe. It even came with a fun mug for those mornings 😆

Gage read me Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol: The Sleepwalking Snowman. This is #7 and we haven’t read any of the others, but when the library put up their spooky story display for kids I grabbed randomly. Desmond and his best friend Andres (who happens to be the book’s author) are called upon to solve a case from someone in their school. What the find is a snowball bully and something scary enough to only come to life in a dream.

Loved the humor, the illustrations, and the spookiness of this Halloween thriller for the older elementary school set. We will definitely be picking up more from this series! 120 pages.

The birthday fairy doesn’t seem to be pacing himself. Day 7 of his visits brought me shirts that I will be wearing proudly. Most especially the one touting all original parts, although there are a few I wouldn’t mind trading in for newer models. Still 4 days til the big day.

I listened to another from the Jeremy Logan series by Lincoln Child since I liked the other one I read. It was just as appropriate for October since Dr. Logan is a ghost hunter. This one is about a mysterious scientific think tank and the scientists who are going crazy. Logan discovers a secret room with a machine that seems to summon the supernatural. I like Logan, the atmospheric setting, and the moral quandary presented. This is a fun series!

Have you ever been mentioned in a book? Thank you Ivy Zelman for the nice mention of Jason is your book, Gimme Shelter: Hard Calls + Soft Skills From a Wall Street Trailblazer.

It’s Ivy who brought us to Cleveland in 2000. Her maternity leave allowed us to live in up in midtown Manhattan for 4 months. She always treated Jason and I well, even inviting us to parties at her home and events for her kids. Thanks to her I attended my first and only Bris. Soon after he started, fresh out of college, I remember her gifting him a $200 dinner wherever he wanted to go. Needless to say, we had to do a little looking to find out where we could blow $200 on a dinner for 2 😂. Now I request Johnny’s downtown every birthday!

She has written a book about her ascent to the #1 analyst in her field and the lessons she learned along the way. In a male dominated profession she did things differently, not relying on her name or degree at an Ivy League school. I liked getting a different, more personal perspective from a powerhouse woman. And yes, the best page is 74, the one pictured, for obvious reasons.

Jason worked for Ivy for 4 years and she taught him well.

September wrap up and favorites

October 1, 2021October 8, 20211 Comment

I’m barely holding on to my sanity right now, but my book a day success continues (barely).

My September reads with my favorites front ant center.

❤️ Infinite Hope: A Black Artists’ Journey From WWII to Peace by Ashley Bryan

❤️ Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

❤️ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

❤️ I Am Beauty: Timeless Skincare and Beauty for Women 40 and Over by Riku Campo

❤️ March trilogy by John Lewis

What was the best thing you read in September?

A few I haven’t talked about yet…

Are you a library book sale lover? We had our first book sale in 2 years. I helped set up Wednesday and Thursday and yesterday I wheeled 7 carts of books outside and spent the day talking to folks and directing them inside to where we had thousands of books waiting for them.

A few fun happenings…
💵 a man paid with a $2 bill. I joked with him about it and he pulled out a second one and gave it to me as a tip. I don’t think I’ve ever held 2 $2 bills at once!

📖a conversation with a retired librarian led to a few fun personal stories about children’s authors Dav Pilkey and Cynthia Rylant when they lived together in the area way back when. Conversations like this made my day.

❤️ it was around 5 and I had been in the sun since 9, but people were still looking at the carts and I started a conversation with one of the last women about the latest Lisa Kleypas book that she had just checked out. This led to a 15 minute conversation about historical romances where she tried to convince me that I had to read the Bridgerton series instead of just watching the Netflix series. She was just as passionate as you were @oursewgoodlife so I’m in 😁

A fun day day, but I’m burnt and exhausted and taking today off 😁. I did manage to read through Seinfeld Companion about the first 61 episodes of my favorite show ever and it was a fun, light diversion between bookish fun.

I didn’t post yesterday but we watched The Tale of Desperaux as a family. Gage loved the book, calls it his favorite, so it was fun to discuss the many, many changes the movie made and possible reasons why. Even with all of the changes he still really liked the movie too.

I always bring home Jack Reacher books when I find them, knowing I’ll get to them all eventually. I didn’t have #20 so I listened instead.

The driving storyline behind this one is horrific on many levels, but it takes awhile to get there so it’s not all dark.

Reacher meets a woman 😱. I know, I know, this is a common occurrence but something different and unexpected happens with this one…and it’s not just that she convinces him to go to the emergency room.

This wasn’t my favorite, but learning a bit more about the workings of the dark web was interesting. Looking forward to following Reacher on his continued journey.

What’s up with all of the honey bears around my book of the day? Gage took The World of Honey taste testing class online at @outschool today. We love Outschool classes and this was the first one that we had to order our supplies, but it was so worth it! These honeys came from a farm here in Ohio, Kline’s Honey Bee Farm (you can order these samplers that come with colorful fliers and information on bees and honey on @etsy ). I made him take the class in the kitchen so I could follow along 😂. All three of us had different favorites, but universally hated buckwheat and fall honey.

Do you have a favorite honey?

I picked up my book at the library sale over the weekend. Long Story Short has (mostly) 3 panel comics for 100 (mostly) classics. The illustrations were great and I loved that there were more recent titles like, A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Graveyard Book by Gaiman alongside the oldies but goodies. It fell short in the humor department for me. Maybe it just wasn’t my taste, but I was underwhelmed.

But, hey, the honey tasting was fun! 🐝

So, do you think masks like this are creepy or beautiful?

I bought this in Venice on our 2008 Italy trip. I love these masks and find them creepy AND beautiful.

This is the last book I found at the library book sale over the weekend and was a relaxing way to spend some time. A glass of wine is a must. Italian Dreams is mainly a book of interesting photographs with quotes about Italy. The pictures are not your typical tourist shots and are mini works of art. I love Italy and this is perfect for my bookshelf.

We read When Sue Found Sue: Sue Hendrickson Discovers Her T. Rex because we’re learning about South Dakota this week. The book is beautifully told and illustrated. Starting with her childhood as a shy girl who didn’t like the same things other kids did and continuing her habit of ‘looking for things’ into adulthood, this book gives hope to all kids everywhere.

Sue found the largest, most complete at 90%, and best preserved T. Rex ever found. And her coworkers named the T. Rex after her in honor of her discovery.

Great for younger or older elementary, especially for girls, any kid who feels different, or those interested in dinosaurs or science. That covers almost everyone right?

In the Aftermath by Jane Ward

September 30, 20212 Comments

Book Cover — In the Aftermath by Jane Ward, published 2021, 334 pages.

In the Aftermath shows what happens after someone chooses suicide. Set during the 2008 recession, David felt helpless and desperate and unable to tell his wife that they were going to lose their business. The story starts the day of the suicide and then jumps forward to two years later where we see how life has changed for his wife, daughter, best friend, the banker who approved the loan, and even the detective in charge of his case.

Guilt, anger, depression, healing, and forgiveness all share a stage in the stories of those left behind. It sounds more depressing than it really was. It’s about life and the way our lives are connected.

Thank you TLC Book Tours for getting this book in my hands and letting me be a part of the book tour.

Tour schedule:
Tuesday, September 21st: 5 Minutes For Books
Wednesday, September 22nd: Instagram: @quietmountainreader
Thursday, September 23rd: The Bookish Dilettante
Monday, September 27th: A Bookish Way of Life
Tuesday, September 28th: Instagram: @meghans_library
Wednesday, September 29th: Instagram: @g.reads
Thursday, September 30th: Stacy’s Books
Thursday, September 30th: Tabi Thoughts
Friday, October 1st: What Is That Book About
Friday, October 1st: Books, Cooks, and Looks
Monday, October 4th: Instagram: @juliawreads
Tuesday, October 5th: Instagram: @bookishly_overdue
Wednesday, October 6th: Instagram: @erynereads
Thursday, October 7th: Instagram: @mrsboomreads
Friday, October 8th: Instagram: @jenniaahava
Tuesday, October 12th: Instagram: @karendeeandabc
Wednesday, October 13th: Instagram: @boozy.bookstacker
Thursday, October 14th: Instagram: @mamacappsreads
Friday, October 15th: Instagram: @readresa

I Am Beauty by Riku Campo

September 23, 20212 Comments

I Am Beauty : Timeless Skincare and Beauty for Women 40 and Over by Riku Campo, photography by Samantha Rapp. Published 2021, 240 pages.

A gorgeous book for women over 40! I Am Beauty: Timeless Skincare and Beauty for Women 40 and Over prominently features women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. This book is a treat and if you are starting to think about holiday gifts you should definitely check this out for the mature women in your life. I’m so glad that I was gifted this copy by TLC Book Tours.

This isn’t about brands, but a routine that will give you healthier skin. Campo is a makeup artist and includes interviews with dermatologists and aestheticians, as well as with the 16 chosen women who received makeovers. Knowing how our skins changes and how our makeup choices also need new life is a lesson or reminder for us older ladies 💄

And all of the photos celebrating us? Beautiful!

As woman who has never taken good care of her skin and is spending her last few weeks in her 40s 😱 this book came at just the right time for a reset.

Check out what others have to say…

Review Stops

Monday, September 20th: A Bookish Way of Life

Tuesday, September 21st: Instagram: @readalotwritealot

Wednesday, September 22nd: Books, Cooks, and Looks

Thursday, September 23rd: Stacy’s Books

Friday, September 24th: What Is That Book About

Monday, September 27th: Instagram: @mrsboomreads

Tuesday, September 28th: Instagram: @pickagoodbook

Wednesday, September 29th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Thursday, September 30th: Bibliotica

Friday, October 1st: Instagram: @jenniaahava

Monday, October 4th: Run Wright

Tuesday, October 5th: Instagram: @nurse_bookie

Wednesday, October 6th: Instagram: @oddandbookish

Monday, October 11th: Instagram: @andrea.c.lowry.reads

Wednesday, October 13th: Instagram: @bookishly_overdue

Grenade Bouquets by Lee Matthew Goldberg

September 22, 20213 Comments

A sequel to Runaway Train, Grenade Bouquets picks up Nico’s story and runs with it. It’s the mid 90s and her idol, Kurt Cobain, is dead, but her love of grunge isn’t. Her parents are convinced to let their 17 year old daughter tour with her boyfriend’s band over the summer where she will sing a few songs on stage. She’s a hit.

Fame is like a drug and Nico is hooked. As the band travels around the country, it is angsty Nico that gets them their first song in the radio. Nico doesn’t have the maturity to handle it, and her band mates only make it worse.

She’s real, she’s flawed, and she’s unapologetically Nico. She’s a little like a train wreck, you know what’s coming but you don’t look away. She can be highly annoying, just like your typical teen, but also surprisingly vulnerable.

I see in an interview with the author that he’s trying to get this series (he’s writing the third now) on TV. I’d watch it 😁. Get a head start and give these YA books a chance.

Thanks to Wise Wolf Books and Virtual Author Book Tours for getting the book into my hands.

There’s still time (but barely) to be entered for a chance to win a copy, click here.

This Week – Friend Fun

September 19, 202112 Comments

This week the local school had Thursday off for Yom Kippur so, we were able to take Gage’s friend with us to his weekly nature camp. The boys had fun and I was lucky enough to spend 30 minutes on the way home with them talking about girl crushes, lol. Here’s the photo they let me take when we dropped off his friend…

Good morning! Mary Bly (Eloisa James for romance readers) has written a book that touches the heart. Lizzie has stage 3 cancer and travels to Italy with her BFF and his famous boyfriend, wanting to soak in the moments before they’re gone. Then Dante shows up with his pre-teen daughter and her heart must come to terms with new possibilities.

This was emotional, tragic and hopeful at the same time. Lizzie is a Shakespeare professor (much like the author) and Romeo and Juliet play a pert in the storyline (hence the title?). I knew nothing about it going in, basing my reading decision in the beautiful cover and knowing it was an author I enjoyed, so I won’t say any more about it. Well, except that I’m glad that I read it 😁

The only thing these two books have in common is their red and white covers and the fact that I read them yesterday. One, about Africans making the treacherous journey to Europe and the other a picture book made from a song by the White Stripes.

Alpha: Abidjan to Paris is the story of a man who has tried to get visas for him and his family to travel to Paris to stay with his sister-in-law. When that becomes impossible he sends his wife and son to make the dangerous and illegal journey, hoping that when they arrive they’ll send money so he can join them. Heartbreaking and informative, this graphic novel shouldn’t be missed. The first two pics are from this book. Translated from French.

We”re Going to be Friends is a charming kids picture book made from the song by the White Stripes. The artwork is fantastic and, the ‘story’ is sure to please kids and adults. It was the illustrations that won me over. The last two pics are of this book.

There’s nothing prettier than a Kleypas cover! This is the third book about the Hathaways and I loved catching up with them all.

When Poppy runs into the reclusive Harry Rutledge in a secret passage in his hotel his desire for her changes the course of her life. It’s up for debate about whether it’s for the better.

Historical romance fans can do no better than Kleypas. This wasn’t a favorite, Harry wasn’t my speed, but I did love my time spent with the rest of the Hathaway clan.

Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea reads a little like a fairy tale, but its center is Annie, a girl who is considered ‘daft’. She lives by the sea with her mother who loves to tell tales and one day tells the one Annie’s been waiting for, the one about her father.

It was different and I wonder what kids actually think of it since it’s labeled juvenile. Annie is different and that will appeal to many kids, but it felt written for someone older. I think it would be a lovely book to read with your pre-teen child, especially if they love mermaids 🧜‍♀️ the illustrations were lovely.

This is one that I’ve been meaning to read for years and when this copy came in with the library donations this week I immediately stuck it in my bag . Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is a graphic memoir by the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors. She tells the story of her childhood during the Islamic Revolution and Iran’s war with Iraq.

It’s 152 pages of black and white illustrations full of horror, history, and heartwarming and heartbreaking stories. This covers her life from 6-14, when she was then sent to Vienna without her parents.

I’m late to the game, but this is a must read. I’m already looking to get my hands on book 2! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Book of the day with our latest puzzle! I ❤️this happy circle puzzle with flowers, birds, and butterflies 🌸🦜🦋

As good as Long Bright River was, it wasn’t cheery like the puzzle. It’s about bad beginnings, drug abuse, and the ties that keep families together. BUT it is a thriller, with clues told at just the right pace to keep this almost 500 pager racing to the finish.

Mickey, always the good sister, is worried because she hasn’t seen her sister on the streets for awhile and women are being murdered in the neighborhood. She’s a policewoman with a new partner and a boss who doesn’t like her. How will she find her sister? And if she does will she still be alive?

This book had a little bit of everything (except cheerfulness) and I thought it was very well done. This is my first by Liz Moore, but I’ll be looking for more.

I loved this book for kids (Gage just started it) and will definitely be looking for more of the series. Two siblings try to outdo each other with the interesting and obscure facts they know about the famous boxer. At just over 100 pages and with short chapters and paragraphs this is sure to appeal to even a reluctant reader. It’s told in a fun way with recognizable interactions between the siblings.

Along with the facts and stories there were quotes and the poetry he recited. The illustrations were great too. I loved reading some of the facts out loud to Jason since he hadn’t heard most of them either. Muhammad Ali paid someone to lick his sweat? Those kind of facts combined with more biographical information make this a winner for the late elementary set ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This Week – School is in session

September 12, 20219 Comments

This week we started full day of school and we hired our last instructor (reading and writing tutor in addition to piano and speech) so everything is in place for the next few months at least, yay! In the first week there was only one meltdown with tears and I think I finally have a way to deal with it that should lessen the occurrence (hopefully). Being better organized has helped immensely.

We also went to the drive in for the first time in forever. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Three Rings and Free Guy was the double feature and Gage was thrilled to be out past midnight, lol.

Here was my earlier update and here’s what I’ve read since…

This puzzle was HARD even at only 500 pieces. I loved the fun shapes of the pieces, but this wasn’t a favorite. Usually I like to look at the picture of the puzzle and then put it away, not using it after I’ve started, but not so with this one. I had the picture right in front of me the whole time 😁. The guys helped a bit, but it was too challenging to be fun for them, at least til the end. Can’t wait to see what @completingthepuzzleofficial sends next!

I listened to the Bill Clinton/James Patterson collaboration The President is Missing while I puzzled. It’s been a long while since I’ve read Patterson. I thought this was a fun, fast-paced read especially if you like political thrillers. A President only has a small amount of time to stop a terrorist attack, but the opposing party is slowing him down. And he has to trust the very people who put the attack in motion. Nothing groundbreaking, but still entertaining.

Do yourself a favor and get your hands on this book! Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from WWII to Peace an autobiography by Ashley Bryan is a wonderful first hand account of his time in the war with a little of his life before and after. Scroll through the pics. Each the drawings were sketches he made during his days in the military. He would send the hundreds of sketches home when he could and just brought them out for public consumption a few years ago. In addition to the sketches, photos, and commentary, he’s included some of the letters he sent home.

He was there on Omaha Beach working as a stevedore to get cargo from ship to Allied forces. His home was a foxhole he dug himself on the beach.

This hero is 98 and about to receive the Maine in America Award for outstanding contribution to Maine’s role in American Art.

It’s a story of war, hope, prejudice, and perseverance. If your child needs a firsthand account of someone in WWII or of racial inequality in the war this is a must read. It’s laid out so beautifully it’s sure to hold their attention. And, as an adult, I fell in love with it myself 😍

Gage and I used both of these week for our morning journal, finishing up both yesterday. I checked out both when I reserved the Ashley Bryan autobiography that I raved about yesterday. I love his illustrations.

The Night Has Ears, African Proverbs was a selection of very short proverbs, each attributed to a tribe, and a beautiful illustration taking up most of the page. A few we choose for our daily quotes…
“There is no one-way friendship.” Maasai
“No One knows the story of tomorrow’s dawn.” Ashanti

Sail Away poems by Langston Hughes and illustrations by Ashley Bryan was a nice, small poetry collection for kids, bite-sized really. I’m not a poetry person 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I do keep sharing it with Gage hoping he’ll pick it up better than I ever have. The jury’s still out.

It’s always good to read a book from my TBR piles. I get a lot of books from the library and get a few more from publishers or book tours, but that means that my pile of books to read just grows and grows.

The Perfect Girl is a thriller about 17 year old music prodigy Zoe, who was hiding from her earlier big mistake. She and her mother tried to escape what Zoe had done, but the past finally caught up to their new life.

This was told from multiple viewpoints, also going back and forth between then and now. This was a solid thriller with an ending that satisfied. I didn’t find any of the characters likable enough to care too much, but it works as a domestic character study with a twist.

It’s September?

September 8, 20217 Comments

So many things to juggle these past few weeks, so having a few minutes to stop and blog is a breath of fresh air. The glass of wine doesn’t hurt either! Gage has still not fully recovered from gastritis and that means extra doctors on board. We finally started full day school yesterday. And I’m planning a trip for us, which always stresses me out.

But I’m still on track with a book a day (barely ;)) Here are my daily updates from IG.