#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. Physical Books
2. eBooks
3. Spending Friday afternoon book shopping, having lunch and hanging out with my BFF and her 2.5 year old daughter (pic are my purchases and my Kindle Paperwhite that was delivered today!)
4. Having grocery shopping as the only item on my Saturday “to do” list
5. Spending Sunday at the ballpark with my husband and his dad for Father‘s Day

Find the joys, they‘re out there! 💛🧡🩷

This was a chunkster on my iPad; 701 pages and time spent reading was 17 hours and 43 minutes 😳 I enjoyed it though! Reading it was like watching a variety of TV shows, especially The Bear for Nico‘s storyline. I can‘t say I‘d recommend it to everyone, but if you‘re feeling in the mood for a story with a lot of quirky characters (definitely bookmark the ‘Cast of Characters‘ pages!), you may like this.

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
No pics from my week, so I thought I‘d share my parents‘ cat Millie 😻1️⃣Finally enjoying summer temps to sit outside and read in!2️⃣ I‘m off work today, my Aunt and I shopped our town‘s annual “community wide garage sales” 3️⃣ Had an ebook I was on hold for come in and I‘m enjoying it 4️⃣ A “Sunday Funday” planned with my BFF, looking forward to it! 5️⃣ Watching the breakup of Cheeto Taco & Muskmelon is hilarious 😂

A #nofilter Thursday morning pic before work 🥰 Coffee, birds chirping, and a good book? Sign me up!

Themes: Book about Books (and book clubs!), Murder Mystery, Great Characters

Anytime Freya Sampson has a new book announced I always run to my library‘s website to put my hold request in. This is another funny and easy to pick up read, no note taking or Post-Its required to keep up with the action (phew!). It‘s a great library borrow, I‘m glad I read it but I won‘t need to have a copy in my own collection to re-read.

#TopReads2025 for May goes to 2 favorite books that I couldn‘t decide which one I loved more, so they both are picked! “Big Bad Wool” by Leonie Swann and “Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman are quite possibly as opposite as you can get but were both fun! One has talking sheep who solve a murder, the other has a talking cat surviving a Hunger Games-esque quest with her boxer wearing bodyguard. I‘d highly recommend both!! 🐑🔎🐈👑

Themes: Hercule Poirot & Catchpool, Cozy Murder Mystery

This was a fun and twisty read, Sophie Hannah has done a superb job writing as Agatha Christie! Fans will enjoy and recognize Poirot‘s unintended humor (I chuckled so many times at his wit and dry humor 😆) and the “grand reveal” is classic Christie. Highly recommend this series of New Hercule Poirot mysteries!!!

Feeling a little bit of both; “Wine-down Wednesday” and “All I wanna do is wine” today 😂 Short weeks always throw me off, but Friday will be my first ‘Summer Friday‘ at work so I‘ll be done at 12:30pm instead of 5pm 🤩🥳 Photo inspiration from @mcctrish 😍

Themes: Humor, Science Fiction, A Series, Lots of Swearing

There was so much happening in this book, wow! 🤯🤯🤯🤯 And of course I just want to continue with Book 3, but I know I should pace myself 😆

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. IRL Bookclub was on Sunday. What a joy this group is! Bummed we‘re taking June off and won‘t meet until July 🫤
2. Plants were purchased AND PLANTED!
3. Silent Bookclub meeting with my BFF, such a fun way to spend a few hours 🥰
4. The rest of the ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl‘ books I ordered were delivered. I‘ll have to pace myself reading them 😂
5. Just have to power through today and then it‘s Memorial Day weekend 😎

After doomscrolling on Instagram for way longer than I should‘ve (seriously, WTF 😵‍💫😣🤬), it‘s time to reset and regulate my nervous system and watch my comfort show (The Office) and read my current entertaining, silly, utterly ridiculous book. Hope everyone is having a good night 💛🧡🩷

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! #BookMail #LongLivePrincessDonut

Themes: Molly the Maid #3, Whodunit, Semi-Epistolary novel

A good, solid “pick” if you enjoyed the previous ‘Maid‘ books 👍 My only compliant still after finishing it was what I already posted about; it was annoying that the diary entries didn‘t look any different from Molly‘s POV in current day, so I won‘t go into that again (but man, that realllllllly irked me 😆).

I‘m enjoying my time revisiting Molly and all her friends, and I‘m liking the “flashback” format with Gran‘s diary. But. But, could they have formatted the diary chapters so they didn‘t look exactly the same as Molly‘s current day chapters?? So far, Gran‘s diary chapters begin with, ‘Dear Molly‘ but my brain could really use a different font or even if the chapter was all in italics, that would be so helpful 😆

I‘ve seen this book pop up here and there on Instagram, and the readers always raved about it. So, when I saw it on the bookstore shelf, I took the plunge. I figured since I loved “The Hitchhiker‘s Guide to the Galaxy” and “The Hunger Games” then maybe I‘d enjoy this too. I LOVED IT!! If you‘re looking for a “suck you in and lose track of time” read, this is IT! I‘m impatiently waiting for Book 2 to be delivered 😆

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I started an AMAZING new book series that I can‘t wait to continue reading this summer (‘Dungeon Crawler Carl‘ by Matt Dinniman)
2. A red-belied woodpecker (we named him Tom) stopped by our house
3. Had a blast book shopping with my BFF last Sat. We‘re going to make it a monthly thing this summer 😎
4. I‘ve written out my list for the garden center tomorrow!🌷🌿🍅
5. Consistent outdoor reading weather has arrived!!

A #NoFilter Tuesday after work photo 😎 I‘m 140 pages into Book 1 of the ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl‘ series by Matt Dinniman and I‘ve decided I will be reading this entire series this summer. It is SO fun!🤩🤩🤩

Themes: Sleuthing Sheep‘s, Fun characters and great storytelling

This was Book 2 in the “Sheep Detective” series and it was just as great as Book 1 (“Three Bags Full”). I love this series, and I hope there‘s more from Miss Maple, Mopple the Whale, Sir Ritchfield, and Heather too!

#AdultingDoneRight Enjoying chips & queso for dinner with my current (fabulous!!) read 🥰🤩 Happy Mother‘s Day to all the amazing mamas here!

Today my friend and I went to 2 indie bookstores since she had a family thing on Indie Bookstore Day in April and was bummed to miss all the excitement. Well, today was a blast!! These are my two newest additions to my TBR mountain 😆 Can‘t wait to read them! #BookBuddies

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. This quote I found on an Instagram reel, “You are allowed to feel joy that makes no sense to anyone else” 😌
2. Lou the Cardinal back for a visit to my birdfeeder🐦‍🔥
3. Tuesday trivia with my BFF, it was Disney themed and we came in 2nd place!! 🏆
4. Summer Fridays at my work were just announced!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
5. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I‘ve got a brand new library book 🤩🥳🙌 The second in the “Sheep Detective” series from Leonie Swann 🐑🐑🐑🐑

My Saturday wind down 🥰 (not pictured the can of Yuengling flight beer I‘m sipping on) #booksbrewsbaseball 📖🍺⚾️

“For readers, books are a universal salve. When we are hot, we read to feel cooler; when we are cold, we read to warm up; tired, books wake us up; anxious, they calm us.” (pg. 142 of the tagged book)

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1. Going for Hiabchi tomorrow to celebrate my husband‘s birthday!! Yum 😋
2. Discovered some new emojis with the new IOS update:🫜🫆🫟 🫩(this last one is my spirit animal 🤪)
3. Everything is so green and lush right now! 🌷🌿🍃🌱
4. Coffee ☕️
5. The SAVE Act will be DOA when it reaches the Senate 😮‍💨 Thanks for doing something, Chuck Schumer

If you‘d like to play, consider yourself tagged!

Themes: Historical Fiction, Irish Folklore, Dual Timelines

This was a sweet read, perfect for reading in a comfy chair with a blanket and a cup of something warm to drink. It started a bit slow for me, but then I was hooked and couldn‘t put it down. It really made me want to re-read “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell” by Susanna Clarke 🧚

#TopReads2025 for April belongs to the one and only Vera Wong ☕️🫖🔎 “Vera Wong‘s Guide to Snooping (On A Dead Man)” was fun and while on a bit darker side compared to her first book, still the same old, fabulous Vera! I hope we haven‘t seen the last of her!

Themes: Diary format, Book about Books, Excellent Palate Cleanser Read

This was a delightful, funny read. Anyone who has worked retail or in a customer-facing job will relate to Shaun‘s plight 😆 At my next bookstore visit I‘ll be sure to look for his other books

My conquest from visiting my indie bookstore today 😄 Even though I get overwhelmed with crowds, I did it. I parked far enough away to avoid getting stressed and walked, which was fabulous since it‘s sunny out today and not terribly cold! Now I‘m sitting in our backyard in a camping chair becauseu I know it‘s too early to bring out our patio furniture 😂😎 Happy Reading!!!

Definitely in the minority on this book, but I lost interest halfway through. I didn‘t connect with any of the characters and the “I don‘t like this” vibes started to outweigh the “I love this!” vibes. #HailtheBail 🚀

Cheers to the weekend!! 🍻📖🎉 I made it to 5 o‘clock 😅

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. My MIL treated my SIL and I to a manicure. It was my first one & I learned a lot, like if you don‘t like the color after they paint your pinkie you can ask for a different color 😂 Had I known this, my nails would look very different now lol (the pic is my “after”)
2. Love having MLB.tv and watching all the baseball games
3. Homemade pizza last night
4. Coffee & Wine
5. Tomorrow is Indie Bookstore Day in the US 😍📚

Okay. This bail is 100% on me. I really wanted this to be a book version of the History Channel‘s “Food that Built America” show. This is not like that. Family drama, oh yes. Characters that are difficult to like? You betcha. I‘m glad I found my copy at Savers for $3.99 because that‘s exactly where it‘s going back to. #HailtheBail

Themes: Mystery/Thriller, Good bookclub pick, Twisty plot

This was a book I wouldn‘t have picked up had it not been my bookclub‘s next read. I even told my husband a few pages into it, “this is just really weird” 😂. I did end up liking it though, I thought the characters were fully formed and felt ‘real‘ and Whittaker‘s writing flows really nicely. So many good quotes too! I can‘t wait for our next meeting to discuss this!

Themes: Historical Fiction Mystery, Famous Authors as characters, 1930‘s London

This was an okay read, it‘s between a so-so and a pick. It wasn‘t amazing but I was interested enough to keep reading it. A good library borrow 👍

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I spent last weekend with family and we had a blast! Visited 3 indie bookstores and I blew past my budget so quickly 🤪 (totally worth it!)
2. My mom got a new iPad so I got her old one 🙌
3. My parent‘s cat (Millie) is such a joy, she‘s playing hide & seek 😂
4. Found a fabulous beer that supports the libraries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 🍻
5. Spending tomorrow with my favorite aunt for another breakfast & thrifting date💕

Before heading home from Iowa, my parents and I stopped for lunch in Cedar Rapids and I tried Lion Bridges‘ (a local brewery) Library Lager and it was amazing!! I bought two 6-packs since portions from the sales go to the library 😍🥰 More libraries need to do this 👍#BooksAndBrews

Iowa Indie Bookstore Crawl:
📕Prologue Books & Wine in Charles City, IA
📘Three Bells Books in Mason City, IA
📗The Nook in Cedar Falls, IA

Today was so much fun! Three Bells Books was amazing! An excellent mixture of books and bookish things, I blew past my budget there 😅😂 First two shops had beer and wine available but we got to them before lunch. We‘ll plan better for next time 👍

#5JoysFriday on Saturday! 😄 @DebinHawaii

1. I finally got 4 birds to use my bird feeder at the same time AND I got a picture! I love this cardinal who frequently visits
2. Coffee
3. Spending time with friends on Thursday night
4. Spending this weekend with my family in Iowa, and we‘re planning on visiting 2 indie bookstores!!
5. This amazing community is such a joy and a bright side in these dark times. Thank you all so much!

🚨🚨🚨🚨 Reach out to your senators to stop this stupid act from passing. We have safeguards in place already! Click here for more info and to email your senator: https://www.voteriders.org/stop-save/?emci=37f2a6e4-1116-f011-8b3d-0022482a9fb7&...

This book… words cannot articulate how much I love Vera and her ragtag, found family. I told myself to pace myself with this book and what do I do? Pause all other activities to sit and finish it 😂 You try saying, “No” to Vera 🤣 Highly recommend for a feel-good story that holds your attention from beginning to end, with some giggles along the way. I hope there are more Vera adventures!!!

I am so excited that not only is there a new locally owned cafe & bakery near me, IT‘S WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF MY LIBRARY!!! Guys. I have found my new favorite third place 😍🥰♥️ Today‘s lunch was a turkey & havarti cheese sandwich on fresh made focaccia bread (and it had sliced green apples on it, my favorite!!!) along witht an iced lavender latte. The vibes were 10/10, I can‘t wait to become a “regular” here 🤩🤩🤩

Themes: Extremely Dysfunctional Family, Deliciously, Awful Characters, The Rich Getting their Comeuppance

This book was a riot! Every single character is terrible and awful, but in an addicting, entertaining way. This will not be everyone‘s cup of tea for sure, it is dark but funny and I thought extremely well done. I will definitely be looking out for more of Bella‘s books when I need a dark, comedic read 👍

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. Cory Booker‘s incredible 25 hours & 5 minute speech
2. Susan Crawford‘s win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election (suck it, Elon!)
3. Watching the speaker of the house Mike Johnson‘s temper tantrum after the House proxy vote failed
4. Seeing all the big, beautiful memes come out following the Insane Cheeto‘s tariffs announcement
5. The joy of feeling optimism regarding politics for the first time since Nov. 6th 💙💙

#TopReads2025 continues with my March pick 🥁🥁🥁 “Expect Great Things!” was an interesting read! I‘ve heard of the Katharine Gibbs School from pretty much every book I‘ve read that takes place in NYC during the early to mid century and to learn more about it was fascinating!! Plus, Katharine grew up in Galena, IL which is about a 2.5 hour drive from me. I love visiting it, it‘s such a charming town. So it did get some bonus points for that 😉👍

Today is the last day in March, which in the USA is Women‘s History month. I was fortunate to read 4 amazing books during this month with strong female voices. The two non-fiction books (right side) left me thinking, “Hellz yeah, women can do ANYTHING!”. The two historical fiction books (left side) are based on true women & events, and the ‘Author Note‘ in both books are riveting and shouldn‘t be missed. I highly recommend them all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My husband hung up my newly framed prints along with the Pride & Prejudice poster that was my “design inspiration” for my home office/library 🥰 (Please don‘t look too closely at how level they are. Our house is older and the walls are not square, we did our best 😆)

My Friday night plans: The Office (my comfort show, I‘ve seen every episode hundreds of times but I still love it!), a glass (or two) of red wine, my current read, and a face mask (not pictured, you‘re welcome 😆). Hello, weekend!!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1. I finished an amazing book (“Daring Daughter”) and started another amazing book (cover in my picture) that I found it at Dollar Tree for $1.25 🙌
2. This stupid week is almost over 🤪
3. Coffee & Wine, not at the same time though 😂
4. Family members that feel more like best friends 🥰
⬇️⬇️⬇️

Themes: Easily digestible Non-Fiction, Women kicking a$$ and taking names, Hollywood History

I love Mallory O‘Meara‘s books so much!! I recently told a friend that this is a non-fiction book but told in a “Can you believe it?!” sort of way. O‘Meara‘s voice is that perfect combination of fact and sass. I highly recommend this, even if stuntwomen or Hollywood isn‘t your jam, you‘ll learn so much without even realizing it!

Hubby is having a guy‘s video game night in our living room, so I‘m enjoying some Antiques Roadshow and a great book upstairs!