#SpringSkies

I enjoyed this book with a #Neurodivergent main character.

#SpringSkies

I was checking my Goodreads for books with a #LieInTitle & I have a lot. When I looked deeper, I found 6 of them were by J. T. Ellison who I‘ve been reading since her Taylor Jackson & Dr. Samantha Owens series days.

Thank you for the #MotivationalMonday tag @Cupcake12 🤗

1️⃣ Survival, work projects & getting out #LitsyLove replies & packages. 💌📦📬

2️⃣ My boy, Max.🩶It‘s been 14 months since he passed. Someday I will adopt another fur baby but I still need time.😢

3️⃣ A manatee, they are fun, cute, protected & so it‘s illegal to touch them (but they can touch you!) 😉

4️⃣ ✔️(one of them anyway!)📚

Who hasn‘t played yet? Consider yourself tagged! 🤗

#SpringSkies

Joan Didion wrote this book in the wake of #Tragedy in her life; the serious illness of her daughter & her subsequent death & the sudden shocking death of her husband in the midst of it. It helped me understand my own grief over losses in my life.💔

“Grief is different. Grief has no distance. Grief comes in waves, paroxysms, sudden apprehensions that weaken the knees and blind the eyes and obliterate the dailiness of life.”

Tonight‘s #Naturalitsy #HyggeHour features Pippi for #ChildrensClassicRead2024 & finishing up A Little Bit of Astrology for #travelingstars2024 so I can get it sent out this week.

Drinking green tea & enjoying some KitKats a coworker brought back from Japan & a mini lemon bar from Friday‘s meeting. Mood is a bit blue that Monday came so quick.😔Last week was hard & busy & I think this week will be the same, but it‘s nice to have this quiet time.

Well that was difficult! (I mean that in the best way!) 😆 Just picked 6 books off the long list for #CampLitsy24
So many great books to pick from & so many I wasn‘t familiar with-which is kind of the beauty of it. Can‘t wait to see what‘s picked!

Check out @BarbaraBB ‘s posts for the list & voting link if you haven‘t yet & want to get your vote in.

Thank you @BarbaraBB @Megabooks & @squirrelbrain for all of the work that goes into camp!🏕️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Read this follow novella to The Naturals series on the plane to & from Hilo. It picks up 5-ish years from when book 4 ended & finds Cassie & the group working on running the program they were in as teens. also there are flashbacks to the team at age 12 & a case to solve involving someone from a past case. Overall it‘s good but a bit ambitious for a novella as we aren‘t able to go very deeply. It would make a good ⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024
The final book in The Naturals series except for a novella that I also finished this week. I fully did not intend to read this until next month, but my library e-book holds opened up & I had to see how it all resolved. Overall, Barnes brought the series home well—fast-paced, some good resolutions. I did figure out a couple of the twists which had me yelling at characters in my head, but others got me. If you love ⬇️

#SpringSkies

I usually don‘t agree with most of the Goodreads Choice Awards winners & often haven‘t read a lot of the nominees, but this year I had read quite a few & these three #AwardWinner titles for Science Fiction, Fiction & Weyward for both Historical Fiction & Debut ended up on my Best of 2023 lists too.🥇🏆 👑

#SpringSkies

I have yet to read a book from this author but these two are in my #TBR & I believe they are both a #2ndChanceRomance 💞

#SpringSkies

Catching up from yesterday, here‘s 6 #FallInTitle books from my Kindle TBR 📚

Ahh…Saturday, how I longed for you. It was a long & somewhat hard week so today, I read all the #5JoysFriday posts (thanks everyone for all the joy your posts brought).💛

I went to a nearby local monthly craft fair this morning & got some cute stickers. I‘m settled down at the coffee shop with my usual dirty Oatmilk chai & a Caprese sandwich. Planning to read catch upon on journaling & #LitsyLove mail 💛received this week. Much needed downtime!

Hi Friends! Sorry to post my #5JoysFriday list so late. I was in Hilo all day for meetings & crashed when I got home last night.😴I haven‘t had a chance to see your joy lists yet but I will be around today.

1. More #LitsyLove mail came this week! 💛
2-4 Lots of joy with my work team. It was my boss”s last day & one of my direct report‘s baby shower with our meetings including temporary tattoos, my moo shu pork🍕for lunch & yummy party favors ⬇️

Our 2nd week of #5JoysFriday & I hope you‘re ready to list 5 joyful things, big or small that you‘re grateful for this week. Reading last week‘s lists gave me great joy & I need some more!💛

To join, post 5 things that brought you joy this week. Use #5JoysFriday tag me & share to spread the joy!💛There‘s space on the graphic for photos or text.

I‘ll be posting my list when it‘s Friday here.😉Tagging some friends to get started-all are welcome!

#ReadAway2024

Finished this for my #QUABC 40-Book Challenge prompt: “A National Book Award winner.” It was the 2023 Winner for Young People & it was delightful. I think everyone can relate to the trauma/drama of middle school & Sanat captures it in all its glory in his illustrations & text. Set mainly on a life-changing school trip to Europe, I enjoyed reading it while listening to the Spotify “mix tape” playlist he includes the QR code for.💙

#SpringSkies

This book I am currently reading before a work trip to visit the author‘s company, is about how #Powerful the collective wisdom & strength that emerge when individuals come together as community is. (The Seventh Power in the title). 🌎🔋🔌

Thank you to @Eggs & @TheSpineView for the #WondrousWednesday tags! 🤗

1️⃣ Rest, breathing (better breathing), exercise & money (see # 3) 😉

2️⃣ Meetings, stress, work & weight 😬 (& probably self-judgement!)

3️⃣ Working hard & successfully enough to be able to buy a home on my own in Hawaii 🏡🏝️

If you haven‘t played along yet & want to, consider yourself tagged!

#SpringSkies

A workday full of meetings so taking a few minutes to eat lunch & share some foodie books with a #MagicElement
🪄🍽️ ✨

Tagged is the book that really introduced me to the sub-genre.💛

#ReadAway2024#SeriesLove2024

Finished this on Sunday, it‘s my 2nd book for April #Roll100 (Book #100 which was “Any Kindle Unlimited”) I‘m glad I finally got around to reading it, it‘s just a very introspective cozy science-fiction/fantasy story. A quick read that I wanted to take my time with. I could relate to Dex‘s existential crisis & how they wondered what they were doing while they kept doing it & of course Mosscap is delightful.🍵🤖🤍⬇️

#SpringSkies

This Oahu-set family drama I read & enjoyed last month had a bit of a #SurpriseEnding 🏝️

Thank you @Eggs for the #MotivationalMonday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ Flying to Hilo Friday for a meeting I‘m presenting at, good-bye party for boss😢&👶🏼shower for one of my direct reports. Lots to do for it!

2️⃣ Clouds from the skylight by my desk (I work from home). The other day a large male 🦆was up there tapping on it.

3️⃣ East Honolulu Hawaii —we‘ve had it all today🌧️⛅️& wind gusts. My neighbor‘s patio umbrella just sailed into my yard! 😱

4️⃣ ✔️

#SpringSkies

I‘m not a huge sports fan or sports book person & I can‘t surf but I do enjoy books about women who surf so here‘s five that fit today‘s #WomenInSports prompt. 🏄🏽🌊💙

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

And it‘s a wrap for Nancy Drew Book 6 for #NancyDrewBR In this one, Nancy with Bess & George in tow are trying to help a new friend save her grandmother‘s farm & are caught up in a couple of mysteries that of course tie together at the end. Milder on the danger aspects & some interesting plot points like a “nature cult” & mysterious code. It was a good book for Nancy‘s noggin-no concussions for her or anyone so our⬇️

So, it‘s not #Naturalitsy #HyggeHour yet here ( there‘s an hour to go) but my power went out at 2 PM & last word was 8:30 PM however according to Hawaiian Electric, crews are on steep terrain trying to fix it before dark & it‘s been dark for a while now. Of course I did my weekend grocery shopping… (heavy sigh…😌) Anyway, I did get some #LitsyLove mail done & Nancy Drew finished when I could still see okay, before I had to switch to lantern ⬇️

All the happy mail I received this week from #LitsyLove Thanks @TheBookHippie @AmyG & @Deblovestoread for the welcome mail! 💛💛💛

Also a lovely card from @maich all the way from Slovenia for #NaturalLitsySpringCardSwap 💚💚💚

Opening/looking at this today on a grey & rainy Sunday is such a bright spot!

Some #LitsyLove replies & more cards will go out tomorrow! 💛🤗

I am so excited for #CampLitsy24 I had such a great time last year & really enjoyed the 6 books we read! 📚🏕️

Here are my 4 nominations for this year. I confess, they are all from my 2024 #BOTM & #AardvarkBookClub boxes & I need the push 😉 but I think they‘ll be good for discussion!

If you haven‘t done CampLitsy before, check out @BarbaraBB ‘s post for details. The books are great & the hosts are amazing! Barbara, @Megabooks & @squirrelbrain

#SpringSkies

This cozy mystery has been on my TBR for a while & it #InvolvesHeist 💎 It‘s the first book in the Heist Ladies series.

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

My first #Roll100 for April finished. This was #74 which I had listed as “Any Audiobook” so I was happy to choose Book 5 in the Lady Holmes series. Although Lord Ingram‘s friend Inspector Treadles has been a bit of a judgy butthead to Charlotte given her fallen woman status, when he is jailed by Scotland Yard for the murder of 2 men, she doggedly works to find the truth. This was a good installment in the series, ⬇️

#WeekendReading

This weekend I‘ll be reading sections in the tagged book & The Second for #SundayBuddyRead & #SheSaid respectively. I‘ll also be finishing up The Secret of Red Gate Farm for #NancyDrewBR my #Roll100 audiobook Murder on Cold Street & Bad Blood.

#SpringSkies

A book with a #OneWordTitle from my TBR

The publishers blurb sounds intriguing:
“This blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico‘s Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation.”

#SpringSkies

One of my current reads is book 4 of The Naturals series. This book & the series have chapters from the #VillainPOV & also the teenage/YA profilers working with the FBI get in the heads of both the victims & the killers to look at crime scenes from their points of view.

Since it‘s now my Friday, here‘s my #5JoysFriday post. I woke up to a lots of posts to view & I‘m doing that slowly, but it‘s already brining me joy. Mahalo everyone! 💛

1. Reading all the joy lists 💛
2. Joining #LitsyLove
3. Getting my first #LitsyLove mail - mahalo @thebookhippie 🤗
4. Greetabl box with caramels & sweet note from one of my team for my 1-year work anniversary Saturday
5. Large lemonade & fries with Raising Cane‘s sauce 🍋😋

⬇️

Last week I had a giveaway & asked for 5 things that bring you joy to enter. It gave me such joy to see the lists. I thought it would be fun to do weekly to appreciate the things we are grateful for, be more joyful & spread joy.💛

To join in make a post with 5 things that brought you joy this week. Use #5JoysFriday & tag me. I left space on the background so you can use photos or words.

Tagging some friends to get started but all are welcome! ⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Had to finish the last few chapters last night as things were getting bananas & tense.😱 The Naturals is such an entertaining series, I‘m sad that this is book 3 out of 4 & only one more to go plus a story/novella. In this book Cassie & the team are in Las Vegas helping the FBI with 3 murders that on the surface seem random, but numbers on the victims lead to a bigger & more sinister picture. I like learning more ⬇️

#SpringSkies

I have quite a few books that have a #CoverWithObscuredFace in my stacks.🙅🏻‍♀️📚

And we have a WINNER of my #500KGIVEAWAY !!🎉

Congrats @TieDyeDude !!🎉

I put all the entries onto a list (including the extra entries for posting/sharing) on the picking wheel & the wheel has spoken! I truly wish I could give everyone a prize! Thank you for celebrating Litsy with me by entering, your kind messages, & the lists of what brings you joy. It inspired me to make joy lists a regular Friday thing, so stay tuned for #5JoysFriday 💛

⬇️

Thank you to @Read4life & @Eggs for the #WhatsNewWednesday tag! 🤗

So, I just found out that I am going on a business trip to Maine next month, about the farthest you can get from Hawaii in the U.S. Am I excited? Sort of… I‘m happy to be included with our executive team to visit the company (the CEO wrote the tagged book which is now on my TBR for April/May) & to learn about their culture. Am I excited to fly all the way there? Not so much. ⬇️

Thanks to @Eggs & @TheSpineView for the #WondrousWednesday tags! 🤗

1️⃣ 🔪🎰🧮 (the tagged book which is getting good!)😱

2️⃣ I can‘t wait for my #BOTM Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez to arrive! 💛

3️⃣ Abby Jimenez, T.J. Klune, T. Kingfisher are my new favorites for recommending authors. Books are Remarkably Bright Creatures & Legends & Lattes 💛💛💛

I‘m always late to the party so play along if you haven‘t yet! 🤗

#SpringSkies

Three #NFTechnology books I have read. The tagged book about the fight for our intimate privacy in the world of technology & the other two memoirs/exposes about when rights were violated in the field of technology. All three made me mad & made me think. 😤🤔

#SpringSkies

This classic is definitely #SetInSnowOrIce ❄️🧊🩵

#MotivatiinalMonday

1️⃣ Work projects & taxes🤦🏻‍♀️(Yes, I‘m procrastinating!) #LitsyLove letters 💛

2️⃣ Tea & chocolate when I read at night.🍵🍫

3️⃣ Bookmarks—I use 2 per book because I like to set little page/section goals.📚

4️⃣ One of several, but the one that keeps drawing me back to find out what‘s happening.😱 Loving this series (The Naturals)!

Play along if you haven‘t! 🤗

#SpringSkies

The tagged is the first book in a magical YA trilogy where a 14-year-old girl finds out she has magical powers. #ChildWithPowers

Another weekend comes to a close with #Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon I‘m spending mine with Nancy Drew & an almond croissant cookie. When I was at the maker‘s market Saturday I bought a couple of cookies from a new vendor. The father, working the booth with his daughter (the baker), said this was his favorite. It does taste like an almond croissant. 🥐 😋

Mood is mellow & not at all excited for Monday. 😬

I keep forgetting to post all my lovelies from the #NaturalitsyCardSwapSpring I have them hanging on a door in my hallway so they make me smile every time I pass by them. Thank you everyone! I love all of the poems & spring thoughts & stickers & things inside the cards! 💚🌿💚

Thank you @TheBookHippie for arranging it. 💛💛💛

Went through the drive-thru this morning g so I could get my 90 Bo us stars. Then I stopped at the nearby Brug bakery to finally try one of their spring special Lilikoi Hawaiian Monk Seals (a roll with lilikoi cream inside) to go with my latte & found they are leaving them on the menu, which makes me happy as they are cute & tasty. 😋

Starting this book for #Naturalitsy #buddyread Looking forward to learning more about bears.🐻🤎

#SpringSkies

Two Jane Austen #Escape titles. I read The Austen Escape several years ago for a book tour review. The tagged escape room book book keeps popping up on my Instagram feed ads & looks like it might be fun so I had to add it to my wish list!. I have the illustrator‘s beautiful Pride and Prejudice edition. 💜

#SpringSkies

This one is in my Kindle TBR. I like thrillers involving identical #Twins. 😱😱

Am I just going to post photos of everything I ate or drank today? Maybe not everything, but close. 😉😋😆
After the coffee shop I grabbed a poke bowl for lupper. Started this one, my #100 for April‘s #Roll100 & happy to FINALLY get to reading it.

#ReadAway2024

My Saturday continues at the coffee shop for journaling & finishing my first book of April. Next to Pride and Prejudice & Jane Austen retellings, I love a good Jane Eyre revision. This one is YA, sapphic, & the main characters are Black. It does have that YA angst & I wish the characters were a bit more deeply drawn but I enjoyed it. Note: this is Bertha & Jane‘s story & if you need Mr. Rochester to be even an iota of good, it‘s ⬇️

There‘s a maker‘s market by my house the 1st Saturday of the month. I like to buy postcards, cards & stickers by local artists (needed more now that I just joined #LitsyLove 💛). I found a few good things today & had to try these Argentinian empanadas because when someone is frying up fresh empanadas-count me in! I had a traditional beef & my fave an asparagus & mushroom. Enjoyed in my car listening to the tagged book because it‘s so windy today!