This week’s prompt is a relationship freebie. Though occasionally I enjoy romantic relationships in books, they’re rarely the relationships that affect me the most, nor the ones I find most touching. So for this week’s prompt I’m going to share my favourite books that feature other types of relationships. Intergenerational Friendships READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
Another busy week! My kid was in summer camp, so we took advantage of the time to go driving as much as possible. I’m learning to drive, again, and want to do as much practice as I can without said child in the car – I’m nervous about distractions, but mostly if I’m going READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE – MAGGIE O’FARRELL
It’s been rather warm here over the past couple of months (except, of course, the last week), so this felt like a very thematic book to tackle this summer. I haven’t read many of Maggie O’Farrell’s books – in fact, before this, I’d only read one. But that one made such an impression on READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | THOUGHTS ON BOOK-TO-BOOK COMPARISONS
This week’s prompt: What are your thoughts on book-to-book comparisons (for example, “It’s the next Harry Potter”)? It’s interesting, because I have bought books before based on a combination of being attracted to the blurb and also seeing a comparison to a book that seems similar to me and that I enjoyed. I READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | THINGS I WISH MORE PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT OPENLY
This is an interesting prompt, because I think there are lots of things that we, as a society, would benefit from discussing more. There are the obvious things – social issues like poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia. I think that openly sharing stories would help create more empathy. But it has limited effect, because there READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS WITH TRAVEL
I love books that are either about different places, or that are about people traveling in one way or another. I enjoy reading about the kinds of adventures I won’t ever do myself, and I enjoy the feeling of stepping into a culture and landscape I really like (Italy and France being two of READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but in a good way. This week I focused on spending time with my family, and it was really nice to have the time and flexibility to let most expectations of getting things done go out the window (except for a couple of medical appointments that couldn’t READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV – ELIZABETH BERG
Sometimes even for very different people at very different points in their lives, there is a shared experience. In this book, that shared experience is loneliness. The book begins in a cemetery. Maddy, a lonely teenaged girl, is there on her lunch hour to visit her mother’s grave. Arthur Moses is there – as READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | END OF SUMMER TBR
This week’s prompt: Some people find when the days lengthen in August, they have more time for leisure reading. Do you have a list of books you want to read at the end of summer? If yes, what titles are on it? I always have a list of books I want to read, READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | FUNNIEST ADVICE I’VE RECEIVED
I can’t really think of any funny advice I’ve received in the sense of it making me laugh. But I have received some odd or just plain misleading advice over the years. The main one is that old chestnut, “just be yourself.” Well, which self? You mean choose one and just be that all READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | TEN FAVOURITE BOOKS FROM FAVOURITE SERIES
I don’t read very many series these days, and the ones I do are usually mysteries, and if I’m honest they tend to meld together in my memory a bit. So choosing a favourite book out of those series wouldn’t be possible. But there were series I read when I was younger, or series READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
This has been a busy week because I was taking a class each evening and fitting in everything else during the day. I started a couple of books, only kept going with one or two, but mostly spent my spare time this week watering the garden, doing housework, or hanging out with my family. READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LOCALLY LAID – LUCY B. AMUNDSEN
I enjoy books about pretty much any kind of pursuit that works with part of nature in a respectful way. Whether it’s gardening, homesteading, farming, wilding, or – as in this case – raising chickens for eggs. It all started with a modest backyard brood of hens. Manageable, not too difficult to care for, READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | WOULD I STAY IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (WHY OR WHY NOT)
Well, I don’t really believe in ghosts. I don’t think. Like I believe in creepy feelings and a sense of “something bad happened here” or “something bad could happen here.” So I guess you could say I believe in vibes. But actual ghosts? I don’t think so? But, if we take that out of READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BEST BOOKS I READ IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024
This week’s prompt is supposed to be “Books I Wish Had More/Less [Thing] In Them.” I couldn’t think of a thing, and my brain hurt trying, so instead I’m doing my own thing this week. I missed doing my mid-year round up at the end of June, which I remembered when many other smarter READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
I’ve had a slower reading week because my kid is home from summer camp, and we’ve had a visit from my Dad so spending time together has been the most important. But I still listened to a couple of books while emptying the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen and preparing food and watering READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY – BILL BRYSON
Bill Bryson is a fixture in the world of travel writing, and for good reason. His books have long been favourites of mine, and this one may very well be top of the pile. I read it a couple of decades ago, and have been wanting to re-read it pretty much ever since. Not READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | FAVOURITE SUMMER FEELS BOOK
This week’s prompt: Do you have a favorite novel that captures the enchantment of summer nights or has unforgettable moments set under the stars? That second part of the prompt, “unforgettable moments set under the stars,” instantly made me think of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I read it READ MORE