I managed to squeeze in a walk this afternoon between when it stopped sprinkling and when it started raining in earnest. I‘m glad I managed to navigate that timing correctly! I‘m now curled up in a blanket in my reading nook, watching the rain and trying to invent something to keep my hands busy so I can finish the last 45 mins of this audiobook. 😊 #bookfitnesschallenge

This book—💜💜💜

I am blown away by how much Acevedo packs into this novel in verse. Doubt, faith, religion, gender, race, finding your voice, poetry, first love, family, fraught mother-daughter relationships...and the intersection of all the above. This is a powerful, powerful book and I‘d highly recommend it. I listened to it on audio, and would highly recommend that format as well!

Book # 3 completed (last week) for the #bookfitnesschallenge.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130
I love this quote, because even though it‘s not about poetry, it IS about poetry. It‘s about any of the words that bring us together & how we can form a home in them....learning to believe in the power of my own words has been the most freeing experience of my life. It has brought me the most light. Isn‘t that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark.

I think about all the things we could be
If we were never told our bodies were not built for them.

💜

I think when we get together and talk about ourselves, about being human, about what hurts us, we are also talking about God. So that‘s also church, right?

...Jesus feels like a friend
I‘ve had my whole childhood,

who has suddenly become brand new;
who invites himself over too often, who texts me too much.

A friend I just don‘t think I need anymore.
(I know, I know...even writing that is blasphemous.)

But I don‘t know how to tell Mami that this year,
it‘s not about feeling unready,
it‘s about knowing that this doubt has already been confirmed.

Every day I searched for new songs,
and it was like applying for asylum.

I just needed someone to help me escape
from all the silence.

I just needed people saying words
about the things that hurt them.

...and even that young I learned music can become a bridge
between you and a total stranger.

Got my #audiowalk in this evening for #bookfitnesschallenge, even though I have been SO lethargic all day! It was good to get out in some gorgeous sunshine at the end of the day, and enjoy more of this audiobook that makes me hungry every time I listen to it! And no, I have NO IDEA why there is a creepy doll in a cage hanging from the eaves of that house. It baffles me every single time I walk past.

I didn‘t manage many updates/comments last week for the #bookfitnesschallenge, but I kept up my walks & finished 1 book! I was dragging yesterday, but did a short walk around my work campus, which turned into a normal-length walk b/c I didn‘t want to stop my audiobook—great motivator! Pics: campus wildlife!🐇🦆
This week‘s roundup:
✅4 campus walks at work
✅1 gym workout
✅2 neighborhood walks
✅1 book completed (now at 4/12)
Points: 103 + 35 = 138

FZ: Job has a porn addiction?
E: According to Bill, everyone has a porn addiction.
B: Yep. Because of feminism.

😂

I‘m getting back into this one today. I miss Rachel Held Evans.

My audiobook cover matches the flowers in front of my building—making for a color-coordinated #audiowalk today! I‘ve just barely started this one. The Poet X was so good I had to listen to this next! In other #bookfitnesschallenge news, I crossed paths with the CEO on my afternoon walk, and he asked “Getting those steps in?” 😆

Picture from my neighborhood walk this evening—no audiobook tonight, instead I listened to an On Being interview with Nadia Bolz-Weber, whose memoir is tagged and is also on my never-ending TBR stack. This is my second neighborhood walk for week 2; I‘ll be back to walking the campus at work tomorrow! But first, an evening of baking cookies. 😁 #bookfitnesschallenge

My husband came with me on my neighborhood walk today and I forgot to take any pictures. So you get this picture. @wanderinglynn — you challenged us to post an inspirational picture: does this count? 🤣 We have a donut box sitting on our counter because...well, a series of circumstances convinced my husband that going to Winchell‘s the other night was “meant to be.” At least I got my neighborhood hill walk in today! #bookfitnesschallenge

For @Lcsmcat and the #hugonuts: here‘s my cover! It‘s an edition from the 1980s and I had to do some digging to figure out that it‘s the anonymous Everyman‘s Library translation. I got it secondhand, so long ago that I don‘t remember where, but likely it was at a library sale.

Beautiful, haunting, and a bit dream-like—I found it hard initially to orient myself with this book. Then I settled in & it felt a bit like jazz, improvising phrases & ideas around a central theme, moving in new directions only to return to the same deepening refrain. It was interesting reading this so soon after Brown Girl Dreaming; in many ways it felt like a continuation in prose. The language is gorgeous & I‘m glad I listened to the audiobook.

I lifted my head to look up into the changing leaves, thinking how at some point, we were all headed home. At some point, all of this, everything and everyone, became memory.

How amazing these words are that slowly come to me.
How wonderfully on and on they go.

Will the words end, I ask
whenever I remember to.

Nope, my sister says, all of five years old now,
and promising me

infinity.

—from “the beginning”
by Jacqueline Woodson

My weekend reading is a little eclectic. I need to read 1 & 2 Maccabees and also Daniel for my EfM group, and finish Ender‘s Game for a discussion on Monday. I‘ve never read any of the Apocrypha before, so Maccabees will be interesting...and a far cry from the YA sci-fi of Ender‘s Game!!

This was just fantastic. An unlikely heroine, a creepy creepy evil forest, an intimidating wizard, books of magic, and an arrogant prince... I loved the way Novik took fairy tale conventions in new and surprising directions, and offered depth and heart and beauty along the way. I couldn‘t put this down—except when I got so caught up in the story that I was too worried about what might happen next! I‘m so looking forward to Spinning Silver!

Belated review—I finished this before the #bookfitnesschallenge & loved it. It‘s an autobiographical novel in verse—gorgeously written. I loved the choice of genre for the content—the poetry lends itself well to a series of vignettes, both memories & reflections in verse. I loved seeing hints of the young writer in her childhood, as she grew in understanding her family, herself, the world, & her dreams—from the South to Brooklyn in the 60s & 70s.

What a great first week of the #bookfitnesschallenge! I finished the above three books & met my fitness goals.💪🏼I‘m not nearly as active as I need to be & this has been a great motivator/source of accountability to at least get walking daily!

✅3 of 12 books read
✅4 short walks
✅2 neighborhood walks
✅1 gym workout
Started with 22 points + 81 this week = 103 total

Thank you to everyone who‘s liked & commented—such an encouragement to keep at it!

I am LOVING the tagged book, which is why I‘m so glad I remembered my headphones today! Mid-morning #audiowalk (pictured above), then a hill interval workout at the gym after work, means my step total is way up—a great #bookfitnesschallenge day! In other reading news, I have WAY too many book club/buddy reads going in May. One down, three to go! I‘ve gotta get going on this week‘s reading: Hangman‘s Daughter and then Hunchback for #hugonuts!

I had meetings most of the morning and worked from home this afternoon, so my “at work” walk became a walk around my church‘s campus while my husband warms up for his piano service tonight. We have a community garden, using boats as the raised beds—and what would a church garden be without cheesy religious puns? 😂

I started the tagged book on audio this morning and am loving it! Forgot my headphones tonight, though. 😢#bookfitnesschallenge

Got my afternoon walk-at-work in just now! I forgot my headphones in my desk, so no #audiowalk today, but I did enjoy a scenic walk around the building & a couple of circuits through the courtyard/garden area. The roses smell fantastic right now, and the couple of ducks were out & about.😊 I‘ll finish Another Brooklyn on my way home tonight, which will be two books completed for this challenge! Keeping up on those goals.👍🏼#bookfitnesschallenge

A few pics from my neighborhood walk today, after a lovely afternoon of scones & tea with my parents for Mother‘s Day. Yesterday‘s walk consisted of walking across the street from dinner at In-N-Out to dessert at Coldstone‘s...🤦🏻‍♀️ But I did the same hill route today as on Friday, so...👍🏼 I‘m halfway through Another Brooklyn (audio), and I finished Uprooted this morning (print). Right on track for book & fitness goals! #bookfitnesschallenge

@bookandcat posted this fun quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/which-middle-earth-character-are-you

I was expecting to come up as an Elf, but... this is pretty accurate. “It‘s not that you‘re antisocial per se...” 😂

Day one of the #bookfitnesschallenge complete! I work from home on Fridays, so today was a neighborhood walk day. I finished Jacqueline Woodson‘s Brown Girl Dreaming last night, so I thought I‘d start on Another Brooklyn today. And it‘s read by Robin Miles! 😍

The top pic is of some gorgeous bougainvilleas I passed by—beautiful vibrant color on this gloomy day! Now I‘m relaxing on the porch with Uprooted—good reading this evening.

Today‘s the last day to sign up for @wanderinglynn ‘s #BookFitnessChallenge! I‘ve been eyeing this challenge as a way to motivate myself to get more walking into my schedule, and today I finally signed up. My book goal is 12 books in 6 weeks, and I‘m going to try for at least 4 of those to be audiobooks. My fitness goals are walking 4x per week at work, 1x per week at the gym, and 2x per week in my neighborhood. Here goes! 🎧 📚🏃🏻‍♀️

I was browsing for a new audiobook for my commute, and this was immediately available on Libby, so I decided to switch up my poetry selection for the month! I‘m excited to start this one today. Has anyone else read this on audio? What did you think?

I loved this & it also drove. me. crazy. I loved the characters & things just kept getting worse for them, and I spent a lot of the book plotting ways to get rid of Kyle. Or have someone take him down a peg. Or just punch him in the face. It took me so long to read it because I‘d get so mad at what was happening that I‘d have to take a break! Fantastic world-building, compelling characters, & a satisfying ending—I need to read the next book ASAP!

This reminded me of L‘Engle‘s Troubling a Star—it has a similar “teenager gets caught up in international intrigue” plot. I liked the idea of it, but the intrigue part of it felt too unrealistic. And the main character felt WAY too naive to me, so as he struggled to figure out who to trust, I just rolled my eyes. I‘m torn on how to rate this, because I would‘ve loved it when I was a kid. I definitely read it too late! But how ‘bout that cover? 😂

Catching up on some reviews today! I read this for my EfM (Education for Ministry) group at church. It was okay, but I felt like it could have done more with its 165 pages. There was a lot of repetition & not enough depth/engagement with the challenges of interfaith conversation. My EfM mentor summarized it as “We‘re different, but let‘s be friends!” Pretty accurate summary. 😂 I most appreciated the stories from people engaged in interfaith work.

Unexpected library sale #bookhaul! My sister texted last night to ask if I was going—I hadn‘t realized the sale was today! I met up with her & my niece for a lovely morning book browsing. And I can (kind of) blame my sister for the now-heavier TBR shelves. The smaller pile on the bottom is (mostly, maybe?) for a friend who couldn‘t make it to the sale. I‘m most excited about Uprooted—book club pick/library hold that‘s taking its time to arrive!

Rachel Held Evans‘ words have resonated in my life in powerful ways. Searching for Sunday was encouraging & healing as my husband & I processed a painful separation from our church. And I‘m currently in the middle of Inspired, during a season of re-examining/re-evaluating my perspective on the Old Testament. I was heartbroken hearing of her passing today. I‘m thankful for the legacy she leaves—but what a great loss! My prayers are with her family.

Starting this one tonight (a couple days late) for the #hugonuts buddy read. I‘ve got my book all tabbed and my bath accessories ready! And what a wonderful inscription—I love finding these in secondhand books. Although it makes me sad to wonder what happened to Debra and ...Jim? John? 😔

1. My team at work won the “People‘s Choice” award at the Chili Cook-Off this week! I didn‘t make the chili, but I was the only one from my team in the office when they took the pictures!
2. The conclusion of Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
3. Errands, maybe some gardening, church, lots of reading for my EfM class, and probably fun reading, too!
4. Partly cloudy, mostly sunny, high 60s/low 70s this week—gorgeous!
5. I have no idea...😕

#friYAYintro

A friend of mine reposted this on FB this morning—I love it!! 📚💜😂 I would happily fail this escape room... over and over... and over...

My over-booked #MayTBR!😁

🚀Ender‘s Game - Library book club/re-read
🐉Dragons in the Waters & House Like a Lotus - Continuing the Poly O‘Keefe series
⚓️Mad Ship - Continuing the Liveship Traders series
🔍The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Next Poirot book
🥄Prufrock/Waste Land - Poetry pick
💡Inspired - In-progress read
🇫🇷Hunchback - #hugonuts buddy read with @Lcsmcat
⏳Hangman‘s Daughter - buddy read with @TheReadingMermaid
🌳Uprooted - Book club

I finished the tagged book tonight, bringing my April total to 10 books! 🙌🏼 And I think it was one of my favorites of the ten, along with Felicity and The Shepherd‘s Crown. I still need to catch up on my reviews, but here are my April stats:

⚔️SFF: 4
📓Poetry: 1
👧🏻YA: 2
📰 Nonfiction: 1
🗯Comic: 1
🔍Mystery: 1

📖Print: 7
🎧 Audio: 2
🖥eBook: 1

📚TBR: 3
📖Owned/re-read: 2
🏫Library: 5

Reading outside at lunch on this grey & moody day. I‘m determined to finish this one in April—I‘ve been working my way through it for too long (kept getting distracted by book club picks and shorter reads). Only 130 pages to go!

This is my husband‘s pick for our April book club (meeting tonight!). I bought it for him last Christmas on a whim—because the cover is amazing and it was $1.29 on Book Outlet. It was a good whim—we both really enjoyed it! With an alternate 16th-century setting, where alchemy is real and sea monsters & other fantastic creatures roam the edges of the earth, this was both fascinating and a lot of fun.

This was my poetry pick for April, and I devoured it in two sittings. I then returned to it to mull over my favorites during the rest of the month. Mary Oliver‘s poetry is always beautiful and reflective for me—making me slow down, challenging me to attentiveness and wonder. This collection was no exception—a gorgeous (if brief) selection of poems on happiness and love.

Love still as once you loved, deeply
and without patience. Let God and the world
know you are grateful.
That the gift has been given.

—from “The Gift” by Mary Oliver

There are moments that cry out to be fulfilled.
Like, telling someone you love them.
Or giving your money away, all of it.

Your heart is beating, isn‘t it?
You‘re not in chains, are you?

There is nothing more pathetic than caution
when headlong might save a life,
even, possibly, your own.

My husband glanced at this truly terrible cover from 1980 and said: “What is that? It looks like you‘re reading some sexy beach book or something.” 🤦🏻‍♀️ 😂 Madeleine L‘Engle does not write “sexy beach books,” but I have to admit that the story has been a little eye-roll-inducing so far... matching the cover!

Do you bow your head when you pray or do you look up into that blue space?
Take your choice, prayers fly from all directions.
And don‘t worry about what language you use,
God no doubt understands them all.
Even when the swans are flying north and making
such a ruckus of noise, God is surely listening & understanding.
Rumi said, There is no proof of the soul.
But isn‘t the return of spring and how it
springs up in our hearts a pretty good hint?

Why do people keep asking to see
God‘s identity papers
when the darkness opening into morning
is more than enough?
Certainly any god might turn away in disgust.

There‘s a Goodreads review of this that just reads: “Shut up, Hastings. Shut up, shut up, shut up.” Which pretty much sums up my feelings about Hastings in this book. If you can set aside Hastings‘s idiocy (which is difficult to do) and some eye-roll-inducing “romance,” this is a satisfying mystery. Lots of nice twists and reversals in the investigation, and a strong supporting female character that I wanted more of.

I spotted this on the “New Books” shelf at the library & couldn‘t resist! It‘s a gorgeous edition, complete with a ribbon bookmark, and I‘m certain I was the first to check it out. And check out those endpapers! 😍 I enjoyed this—it has an enticingly spooky fairy-tale feel, with a mysterious stranger, children disappearing from their beds in the night, and a female protagonist who‘s not afraid to challenge tradition or stand up for what‘s right.

“Did you use magic to write the books, Sir Terry?”
“I didn‘t have to. The magic was already here.”
The End.😭

It took me a while to work up to reading this & I‘ve put off reviewing it as well. It‘s the last Tiffany Aching book & Sir Terry‘s last novel—and I didn‘t want it to be over. But I finished it, and I loved it. It was a fitting conclusion for the series, and it both choked me up & cracked me up, as only Sir Terry can do. All the stars.🌟💔