Starting this one in my new bedroom reading nook.

What a lovely, warm cuppa of a book. I loved every minute I spent with the MacAlveys and all of the people who populated their lives that summer. Adored Ferguson‘s comedic timing, too. Must try to hunt down more of her work! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It had been a while since I had read Kate Morton. Her storytelling always sucks me in. This one is very gothic in its story, with its crumbling castle, inherited madness & secrets upon secrets. Loved it.

Happy St. Patrick‘s Day, all! Check out who was playing on SiriusXM - @Cathythoughts
Fabulous tune!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Well-told story of three African-American friends in early 20th century New York, trying to achieve their own ambitions while bearing the burdens of their families‘ dreams for them, all under the increased burden of racism.

1. I enjoy both, but I really do love multiple POV when it‘s done well. (Tagged my current read-aloud with my daughter that has multiple POV)
2. No, unfortunately
3. Although I like the idea of lists, I‘m a mood reader all the way.
#WondrousWednesday
If you‘re reading this, please consider yourself tagged. 😁

This novel is the definition of epic, covering hundreds of years of Georgian history through the lens of a single family. Cruelty, brutality, & much loss, but also love, duty, and a touch of magic. The prose was beautiful; kudos to the translator(s).
And with that, I‘ve completed my #chunksterchallenge2022! Woot!

Overall, I enjoyed this read with the #PemberLittens. I didn‘t connect with all of the essays, but there were some real gems. Many of the Mansfield Park essays gave me a new appreciation for that novel. I also really enjoyed Woolf‘s takes on Austen‘s earlier and unfinished works.

A bit late, but better late than never, as they say. 😆
💖No Valentine‘s pics this year, so I‘m sharing a pic of my daughter reading aloud to her fish, Olaf. 😁
💙Tagged my current read, which is for #Chunksterchallenge. Definite pick so far!
🖤 Today I‘m grateful my daughter only has a half-day of school, as we‘re expecting freezing rain & snow. 😬
#wondrousWednesday

Delightful, hilarious, charming, and meta. 😊 Loved this one!
A pic of our cozy cat for this cozy read. 😸

1. Tagged book is my most recently added. No clue when I‘ll get to it. 😆
2. Nope.
3. The Eighth Life, A Truth Universally Acknowledged, and There is Confusion
#WondrousWednesday

A coming-of-age story of two girls born into Mafia families in New York in the 1930s-1940s. Explores how living in this world affects your outlook on life. The characters were well developed, and I found the writing style to be engaging. Really enjoyed this one!

I‘ve set my Goodreads goal quite a bit lower than years past. I really want to focus on bigger books this year.

My word/theme for 2022 is Hope. 😊

I‘m definitely enjoying the tagged book!

#ThoughtfulThursday

Between Christmas & birthday gifts, I‘ll have tons of #audiopuzzling in my future! 😁

We‘re doing a family buddy read this week of the tagged book. We read a chapter or two at a time and then discuss. My daughter has been loving it! 🥰

My last book of 2021 is tagged. I doubt I‘ll finish it before the new year. However, I do plan to start The Eighth Life on January 1st, no matter what. 😁

Thanks, @BookNAround ! #lastfirst

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kate Bowler‘s life is amazing, & her insights are thoughtful and thought-provoking. Would have included this one on my best of 2021 list if I‘d finished it in time. 😊

Here‘s my attempt at #Top21of21, subject to amendments as we still have a couple of weeks left in the year. 😁
Please consider yourself tagged, if you‘d like to participate. 😊
(This is my first attempt at Pic Collage. 😬)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ And so, my year with the Cazalets concludes. I loved getting to know these characters & feeling immersed in a series. (I don‘t seem to get as caught up in series as I did when I was younger.) Highly recommended!

I finished this book a while ago, but we just had our book club meeting last weekend. This one was not for me. I didn‘t find the story to be particularly engaging, & I found Herbert‘s writing to be subpar. I‘m bumping up my rating to so-so because it did make for a great discussion.

Part history, part memoir. The author researched the history of Harlem after moving there from TX in the early‘00s. She weaves her story & the stories of her neighbors with Harlem‘s past. Very well done and thought-provoking. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Volume 4 of the Cazalet Chronicles. Of course, I loved it. (Did anyone have a doubt?) So much drama & developments in the early post-war years - lots of endings but also new beginnings. Looking forward to vol. 5!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Y‘all, one of my book groups has chosen Dune for our next read. I don‘t typically read sci-fi; I don‘t think my brain is equipped to process all of the world-building, new languages, etc. It‘s 600+ pages. Your thoughts and well wishes are appreciated. 😳😬

The completely captivating Cazalet Chronicles continues in Confusion! (I‘ve always loved alliteration.😁) We‘re in the thick of the war now, and loads more drama and angst ensues. I continue to adore some of the characters, loathe others, & want to smack several of both. Hoping to finish the series by the new year! 🤞

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I‘ve seen somewhat mixed reviews for Whitehead‘s latest, but I just loved it. A thoughtfully & gorgeously written crime novel - he totally pulled it off. Something about Whitehead‘s prose always pulls me right into the story.

Sad, beautiful novel-in-stories about three Indian/Indian-American women (grandmother, mother, and granddaughter). Missed chances, second chances, the need for redemption that may not come. Worth the read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Cazalet Chronicles continues! This installment focuses on the three eldest daughters, Louise, Clary, and Polly. Although it barely covers two years in time (1939-1941), so much is explored - duty to family and country, identity, marriage, friendship. I enjoyed this one even more than the first. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And Edward is the absolute worst! 😡

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Green‘s story (passing as White while working for J.P. Morgan during the Gilded Age) was interesting, but I never really connected with her character. I found the writing style somewhat clunky, too.

1. Fall! 🍂🍁
2. 🍎 picking, pumpkin spice everything, lighting candles, walks in cooler temps, sitting by the fire table on the deck (can you tell I‘m so ready for fall?!)
3. All of the bookstores in Wigtown, Scotland
4. My daughter being COVID free, so far (her entire class is under quarantine due to 4 cases in her class 😞)
Thanks for the tag! 😊
#wondrousWednesday

And with this, I completed my Goodreads goal for the year! 🎉 I was actually going to try to slow down my pace so I could read more deeply and also choose longer books without that underlying anxiety about reaching a number. Maybe that starts now? 🤔😁
Tagged book is a fantastic memoir. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To me, summer always means Beatriz Williams. I read my first one of hers on vacation a few years ago, & now I like to uphold that tradition. This story of family secrets, first loves, & friendship takes place, in part, during the summer of the New England hurricane of 1938. Although not my favorite of hers, still a great beach read.

My fave book fair was back this year! Generally pleased with my #bookhaul. 😊 (Pay no attention to the bookshelves in the background full of unread books. 😬😆)

I impulse-purchased this one based on the cover (which is somewhat ironic because it‘s an ebook?), and it‘s part of the Furrowed Middlebrow series. It was a lovely, cozy, summery read. Also funny, although not nearly as humorous as Thirkell. 😊

First in an historical fiction series following an aristocratic English family. This installment is set in the late 1930s, ending just before the start of WWII. Howard‘s writing is exquisite, & her character development is near perfect. (Photo taken where I finished the book - at a cabin in the Great Smoky Mts.)

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.”

Another Woolf that I‘m glad I read, but I can‘t claim to really “get.”

A super fun start to a new series! I loved Weaver‘s Amory Ames series, and I‘m really looking forward to seeing how Ellie McDonnell‘s story develops.

What a hoot! I adored this quick read of a genteel woman‘s attempts to keep up with society‘s expectations during rather hard times in the 1930s. Has that satiric edge, like Nancy Mitford, that I love. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1. The summer I was 14, I had a regular babysitting gig for a toddler. 👶🏻
2. 1st grade, Mrs. Schilling- introduced me to E.B. White and ignited my love of reading 🥰
3. My 40th - husband threw me a surprise party (the details are actually fuzzy, as I was very sleep-deprived with a one year-old still not sleeping through the night & FT lawyer job) 🥳😴
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Should I get a Kindle Paperwhite? I‘ve primarily relied on my iPad to read ebooks, but now that my eyes are getting older, the glare is starting to get to me. If you have a Paperwhite, what do you like or dislike about it? Thanks!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The story of star-crossed lovers in 1930s Shanghai. This isn‘t a story of politics or war, though. It‘s focus is relationships, between lovers, friends, and family. Very well done.

Beautiful day in the Lou, so decided to take a walk while listening to the first two chapters of Emma. I love Mr. Woodhouse. 🥰 #Pemberlittens

I‘ve never felt that I could read this book in any month other than April, and this year was finally the right time. Lovely story of 4 very different English women renting an old castle in Italy. They each go through their own journeys of self-discovery while also drawing closer together. Adored it!

Delightful and thoughtful Muslim rom-com based loosely on You‘ve Got Mail. I adored Jalaluddin‘s debut (Ayesha at Last), and this one did not disappoint. ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fanny and her family take center stage in this final book of the Radlett trilogy. She suddenly finds herself the ambassadress of France and zaniness ensues! Not my favorite of the series, but merely good Mitford is still pretty great. 😁

I enjoyed this historical fiction about hunting Nazis after WWII, but not as much as I thought I would. The story of the hunt for the titular character is told in three POVs, which I generally like, but I didn‘t really connect with any of them. Still, the story was well-told, so I‘m going with a “pick.”

1. Yes!
2. No (although my daughter does love to be read to)
3. Um, pretty much all of the books on my shelves? 😬
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs
Thanks for the tag! 😊

Book Outlet haul! Book mail always perks up the day. 🥰 #bookhaul

This was so fun! A take on what happened during Agatha Christie‘s 11-day disappearance in 1926. Very well crafted. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this dual timeline story of a historical fiction author apparently channeling the memories of an ancestor in Jacobite uprising era Scotland. I actually enjoyed both timelines equally, which can be rare for these types of books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After being reminded by other posts that I wanted to read more Godden this year, I chose this novel off my Kindle shelf. One of her convent novels, it tells the story of Lise, a prostitute/madam/murderer turned nun. While exploring themes of forgiveness and redemption, Godden doesn‘t shy away from the grittiness and messiness of life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(TW: violence, sexual abuse)