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Worth a quick read:
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Nine books for May! It was very hard to pick a favorite book for May but if forced to, I‘d pick the tagged book. Followed by a tie between Queen of the South and Sea of Tranquility. Four books this month for #Spain #foodandlit. Two books for #authoramonth. Two for #readingOceania #Palau and #NewZealand and of course all of them for #litsyatoz but mostly for #letterQ and #letterY
Yesterday got out of hand so I‘m sharing last week‘s joys late:
1) son‘s band, The Rovers, played its final song together at one of their graduation parties. Son is looking like a rockstar with his sunglasses and electric guitar
2) building LEGO‘s with my kids
3) another visit to the Venezuelan restaurant with my fam (pastelitos & arepas)
4) my tomatoes are turning red!
5) gorgeous COOL Friday morning on the patio at our lakehouse
#5joysFriday
pickTeresa, the “Queen,” is just the girlfriend of a drug runner pilot in Mexico until he gets himself killed. Given an escape to #Spain, and a stint in prison, she and her prison-mate Patty enter the big business of running drugs themselves especially between Spain and Morocco. Oddly Teresa comes off a hero and the audience cheers for her. The novel is complex and exquisitely told. The level of detail of running drugs and the enemies it creates ⬇️
pickFar into the future a time traveler tries to identify and correct an anomaly but faces a difficult challenge: if he knows some people he will interact with are going to die, and he wants to save them, will he be prohibited from further time travel because he‘s changed the timeline of the world? I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its unique storytelling techniques and plot. It was so much better than her first book, The Last Night in Montreal. ⬇️
#wondrouswednesday
1) I volunteered to help a homeless veteran with some employment law issues, got them resolved in his favor, then went on to help him with a place to live and with donations from my law firm bought him a wardrobe and helped with rent. He and I then did a speaking tour for the TX State Bar promoting lawyers volunteering to help veterans
2) At 55 and a partner in my firm, my time can be flexible, so now is pretty good
3) 👍🏻
pickA reader should have some knowledge of Irish history (I do not) before reading these little snippets of fact to appreciate most of them. I liked the more recent events he described, involving world events. It was so interesting to read about them from an Irish perspective. For example, I didn‘t know that Ireland was neutral during WWII. And that Ireland took in orphaned German children after the war in Operation Shamrock as few countries did.
While this book is mostly about drug-running between Morocco and Spain, sometimes it becomes a love story with books
#Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#letterQ #litsyAtoZ
When the title of the book finally shows up
#Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#letterQ #litsyAtoZ
pickDuring dictator Franco‘s reign in #Spain, life was extraordinarily hard for average citizens but especially those whose parents fought on the “wrong side” during the Spanish Civil War. It‘s the 1950s, and along comes a Texas teen Dan whose dad wants to enter the oil business with Franco. But Dan has a huge heart and empathy and falls for a hotel maid. We learn her family‘s stories through various family members and friends and they are heart-
pickSome of the fiercest battles in the Pacific in WWII were over #Palau. In the 1990s, a successful entrepreneur and scientist found his life‘s calling to find the planes that had been shot down over the island and bring closure to many families who still had MIAs. As with his bioengineering business, his mission succeeded and this is part his story as well as a son who never knew his father, a gunner on one of the downed planes. #readingOceania
#5joysFriday Thanks @DebinHawaii for the tag!
1) son graduated cum laude from high school
2) tonight we got to see the rocket ship son‘s rocketry class has been building, to be launched from the military base in White Sands in June (nose cone in photo)
3) husband & I went to Norwegian society picnic to celebrate May 17
4) daughter made her first yummy skillingsboller (Norwegian cinnamon rolls)
5) I have many baby bell peppers in my garden
On books
#Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#letterQ #litsyAtoZ
On old age
#Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#letterQ #litsyAtoZ
I just finished Unit 1 Section 1 studying Spanish on DuoLingo. It‘s just a coincidence this is our month for #Spain for #foodandlit, but it‘s still fun to post! I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and college and can‘t claim any fluency and here I live in San Antonio! So I figured I‘d brush up. I love DuoLingo, which helped a lot last year when I was traveling to Italy. Perhaps I should be studying Irish for my trip this summer.
Ah a reference to one of my favorite books!
#Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#letterQ #litsyAtoZ
That wonderful moment when your #foodandlit book describes the food of the month‘s country #Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#letterQ #litsyatoz
I‘ve started this audiobook in preparation of our trip there in July.
pickThis short story is set in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, #Spain, where two lovers are found sound asleep after a night of passion. An investigator prods them with questions--they were almost strangers to one another, yet she was wearing a wedding dress and he was wearing nothing--trying to find a crime they committed. Allende adds a touch of magical realism. A sweet fun story. #foodandlit @catsandbooks
Another exciting Saturday evening
#5joysFriday Thanks @DebinHawaii for the tag! One of my favorite times of the week
1) spending last weekend with Mom and Dad
2) book haul for Mother‘s Day
3) growing tomatoes
4) son‘s receiving highest Eagle Scout scholarship from his troop
5) finding an awesome restaurant for #Spain #foodandlit
My daughter and I tried Toro, a Spanish (as opposed to Mexican) food restaurant for #foodandlit. It was extraordinary! We had montaditos (queso de cabra frito) which knocked our socks off. Then we shared baguette sandwiches (jamón serrano with manchego cheese and cochinita pibil) and salads, and for dessert, torrijas. Toro was a brilliant find and a new restaurant for our list of places to go like last month‘s Venezuelan restaurant. #Spain
pickI wanted to love this book but it reminded me so much of The Hunger Games, I ended up feeling like it lacked originality and missed many opportunities. I liked the story: girls and one boy compete in a magical competition to become the king of Spain‘s magician, at a time when the Inquisition was still quite a threat to witches. The Familiar, as in the title, is the main character‘s “coach” through the games. I was sad the Inquisition played ⬇️
Final book haul for Mother‘s Day including the tagged book for an upcoming #authoramonth @Soubhiville
Mother‘s Day haul for #camplitsy2024
#5joys Friday Thanks @DebinHawaii for the tag again. I think this post is so important each week especially when it‘s been a tough week
1) my first garden harvest
2) I got a chance to cage my plants so they‘ll grow upwards rather than sprawling across the yard
3) I‘m staying with my parents again this weekend
4) my family is awesome
5) Litsy, I ❤️ Litsy
My next audiobook is for #Palau, my second book for that country. #readingOceania @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
I‘m on a business trip so dining alone at Olive Garden. A chance by myself to read!
pickAn older woman (40) 🙄 (the “silver fox“) escapes the city life when her boyfriend cheats on her, moving into the #NewZealand‘s Alps. Turns out she‘s a handy carpenter turning a bus into a home until she can build her dream home. Neighbor problems-love affair/getting over ex boyfriend/disputes over easement/and the prospective loss of her view from her new home ensue. And some heat from that love affair. Well written, but not really my thing. ⬇️
My next ebook. #Spain #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
Also #letterQ #litsyatoz
#wondrouswednesday Thanks @TheSpineView for the tag!
1) ❤️ (love of family, pet, friends) 🏡 (home) ⚖️ (a good job)
2) 👨🎓 (son‘s graduation from high school in 2 weeks) 👩🎓(daughter‘s graduation from college in a year) 🌅 (retirement on the horizon)
so-soA young woman is abducted by her father and they almost never stop traveling as she‘s followed by a private investigator hired by her mother. Her boyfriend goes to Montreal to find her. Strange details (why did her mom cover a window and pick up broken glass before the police arrived?) appear throughout that come together in the end. My problem is there‘s an awful lot of philosophizing that doesn‘t change anything about the story. This could / ⬇️
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
