Love the new feature I just discovered on #Overdrive that let's me know how long a wait for a hold to come in. I see this being useful for planning ahead and avoiding all my holds coming in simultaneously. Because I don't need that kind of stress! 😬😕😉

I have read all the above except for The Handmiad's Tale (I didn't make the meme, so please forgive the typo.), which is on my TBR short list for this summer. Still did not see all this shit coming. (If I had made the graphic, I would have also included Parable of the Sower.) Meme taken from a different friend on FB.

Taken from a friend on FB.

Started reading this classic. Not sure why I haven't gotten to it before now. Borrowed it from #PrimeReading, and I think it is funny how the icon in the library has the iconic pig cover, but the actual cover in the ebook file is just an odd yellow cover with no graphic. Enjoying it so far.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5)

I read this for the part on Murphy Brown, and that was very satisfying. Other parts about her personal life got a little boring, but it's worth it for the name dropping. I did wish for a bit more dirt on Shatner, but I guess she's too classy for that. Bergen is quirky/eccentric, but this isn't the best autobio I've ever read.

#MountTBR2019 #MurphyBrown #autobiography

My review on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2351573789

Challenge Update

I finished the Bergen autobiography, which was my 15th book this year. I use my GR Challenge as a minimum read goal. Meeting it now means I have a decent chance of doubling it!
I'm still plugging away on #MountTBR2019 (7/12) and #VirtualMountTBR2019 (6/12) , and reached my first summit in the former (6 bks).
My oldest kid completed the In&Out Challenge at the library. I love the artwork on the certificate!

Regarding when Quayle admonished Murphy and the show for “glamorizing“ single motherhood, Diane English said,
“If the vice president thinks it's disgraceful for an unmarried woman to bear a child, and he believes that a woman cannot adequately raise a child without a father, then he'd better make sure abortion remains safe and legal.“

"There was not an ounce of submission, not a drop of passivity, no suggestion of shrivel."

??? This. I never wanted to be a journalist or investigative reporter, but I did want to be Murphy, deeply passionate with as many convictions as flaws. At the end of the pilot, she sings along with Aretha's "Natural Woman", as passionate as she was off key. I loved that.

Original #NastyWoman

I'm finally at the section I am most anxious to read, and the real reason I bought the book! Yay!

[While at an elegant ball surrounded by sophisticated French Aristocracy]
I farted discreetly under my magnificent gown. It was my secret.

A friend told me, "May your daughter bring you all the joy you brought your mother." Was that a blessing or a curse?

I have little in common with Candice Bergen, but we both waited till our 30s to get married and start a family. Though I was under 35 when my first came along, I was "elderly primigravida" or of "advanced maternal age" (AMA) when the twins were conceived. I can really identify with this part of her story, even though she went through it decades earlier and in a different social (and economic) climate.

April Reading Stats
3 books total
0 ebooks, 3 print
3 #TBR
3 owned
1 male, 2 female, 0 POC
853 pages
YTD: 14 books, 3474 pages
Average reading speed for the month: 34.3 pgs per hour
3 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (😎)
Favorite read tagged.
Books in Progress/April TBR:
Beatles Anthology #BeatlesChallenge (Been neglecting this one, and am only on page 26.)
Started May 1st: A Fine Romance/Candice Bergen
GR goal: 14/15 (min # of books to read this year)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4)
Read 4/30
After being bogged down for two months with seriously heavy reading, I picked this sweet novella out of my TBR box. I craved simple and light, and this hit the spot. Purchased at a #FOTL bag sale over a year or so ago, this stand alone McCaffrey is as beautifully illustrated as it is written. I only wish is there was more. It left me wanting.
#MountTBR2019
My GR review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2804837983

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4)
Finished 4/29
This was a slow read for me, but I really enjoyed reading writing inspired by and about my local environs. I made note of a few writers that I want to explore more after reading the excerpts included in this anthology.
This book was purchased in 2000 when Nolan did a book signing and lecture in a now long gone bookshop here in town.
#MountTBR2019
My GR review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/218545065

Growing up, Murphy Brown, the original #NastyWoman, was one of my idols. I was so excited that they revised the show to comment on the trump presidency and the lunacy of the gop, and I watched and enjoyed every episode. This is her second memoir, a Dollar Tree find, and I started it yesterday instead of working on reviews and stats for April. I'll get to that, eventually.

Meet Tommy the Tomato Plant. My reading time was cut short by a family trip to Home Depot for a few fact finding missions for future projects, some items for small indoor improvements, and a couple plants. We also got some flowering iceplant, but I didn't take a pic. This is our 1st attempt at plants since everything died when I was last pregnant.
#24B4Monday results: 5 hrs 19 min (goal was 6 hrs, so close)
Thanks @TheReadingMermaid & @Andrew65

Learned about Dr. June in this book. Okay, so she may or may not have been the first to come up with the idea of centerlines,, but she did come up with it independently and was the one who worked to get a state government to adopt the idea, which lead to it being done around the world, and is much more than the other two men who may have painted a line in the middle of a road accomplished.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_McCarroll

#24B4Monday - end of Day 1. I was interrupted alot, so my page count isn't super high, and a few minutes of this were spent reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" twice and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" once, but I tried. Considering my day started with a funeral and I never got to drink the beer I wanted tonight, at least I got a decent start on this. @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

It's really late here on the West Coast, so I'm going to sleep now. Bye.

#24B4Monday starts in a few minutes PST. I'm aiming for six hours. Tagged will be my focus, so I won't be playing along with the jar thing. Looks like fun, though! @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

Finished 4/18
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4)

This was an academic read of Twain's satirical writings about Eden, the Flood, and Heaven, as well as critical commentary of some Christian doctrine and beliefs. Includes some previously unpublished material. Twain was an excellent example of a Christian, Presbyterian, who approached the Bible and doctrine with logical discernment.

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2739953507

#MountTBR2019

Between my oldest being on Spring Break, my husband taking a couple days off, Saturday being super busy and Sunday being Easter ... I lost track of the days and forgot my oldest had library books due Saturday. Woke up early Monday morning with the dreaded realization of what I had forgotten all weekend. Oops. Luckily I think we can afford the fine. I guess it happens to the best of us every now and then, right?😳🤨😟🙃

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny always includes a book. This year it was the third Jack and the Geniuses book for the 11 yr old, and Muddle and Match books for the 3 yr olds. #Easter #booksinbaskets

Another slightly better photo of "book art" from the side. What do you think?
? Yup. I still think it's art!
? Nope. That's definitely a destroyed book.

Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, but let's take a survey in the comments. I went to an earth day event at a local museum Saturday, and they had an exhibit of art made from recycled material by local artists. This was once a book. I don't know what book. So here's the survey question. What do you see?
😇= I see art!
🤬= I see a destroyed book!

Dollar Tree #bookhaul that I didn't tell my husband about immediately. Lol Not that he would disapprove of a $2 purchase. It is a rather #Catholic book haul, even for #HolyWeek, but I recently decided that I want to read something by Pope Francis, and the other is concerning a frequent topic on a FB page I follow. And there they both were in the same aisle as the coloring books I was after.

Last weekend I saw this skit on SNL and it cracked me up that one of her hobbies was smelling books instead of reading them. And she says it twice! 😄💜

https://youtu.be/ytK6dQGKr30

My Monday was ... well ...
Overslept, and didn't get started in the morning like I wanted. Ended up going to an urgent care in the early afternoon to get a TB test for upcoming chaperone duty, and ...
1. found out it was a 1.5 hour wait. Sat outside until a seat inside opened up, then moved because smokers. ⬇️

No matter how good the book, never leave a 3 yr old alone at the dining room table with a metal fork. It was such a nice table before the twins came along. Sigh. All I wanted was to meet my relatively low daily page goal of 16 pages. Dang it, girl! This is why when your friends with small kids tell you they literally don't have time to read, you should believe them without question.Tagged is the book that didn't prepare me for stuff like this.

I've been having internet issues lately, so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been enjoying this book quite a bit, but it hasn't been what I was expecting, at least until now. The first two sections were Twain's take on Adam and Eve and heaven, but now I have finally gotten to "Letters from the Earth," which is really why I wanted to read this compilation. Also, the essay mentioned in this blurb is included in the appendix.

"Leave your dog outside. Heaven goes by favor. If it were by merit, you would stay out and the dog would go in."

from "Etiquette for the Afterlife: Advice to Paine"

Happy #NationalPetDay from Han Solo, my scruffy nerfherder.

#dogsoflitsy

March Reading Stats
3 books total
3 ebooks, 0 print
1 #TBR
1 library, 2 Prime Reading
0 male, 3 female, 1 POC
880 pages
YTD: 11 books, 2621 pages
Average reading speed for the month: 54.3 pgs per hour (thanks to the comic, and excluding books in progress)
Favorite read tagged.
Books in Progress/April TBR:
No Place for a Puritan
The Bible According to Mark Twain #LentRead
Beatles Anthology #BeatlesChallenge

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs
1. Alone time
2. Childcare for a fundi church during services
3. I haven't DNF'd a book in years.
4. I don't really read thrillers, but Nightwoods by Frazier was kind of a thriller. I'm really enjoying the Lady Sherlock series. Tagged first book.
5. I'm pretty sure everyone else has done this by now.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4)

I needed something positive after reading about assault and institutional sexism, so I borrowed this from #PrimeReading. It was a quick, fun read. I like that Captain Marvel is a strong female lead who's friendly and personable rather than off-putting, antisocial, and scary. This story dealt with some heavy issues, such as refugees and social environmentalism, but lightened it up with a lot of humor. Also, lots of diversity represented.

⭐⭐⭐ (3)

This is the first non-TBR book I read this year, and I'm not sure it was worth breaking my streak. The subject matter is important, but there isn't much new here. This was a nonprofit publication. It could have used another pass through editing for all the typos I found. Some of the essays were poignant and thought provoking, others were predictable. It's important to keep the convo going and listen to each other. #PrimeReading

Diversity in heaven, according to Twain in "Stormfield's Visit to Heaven"

Twain's take on whether there is pain in heaven, from 'Stormfield's Visit to Heaven"

Twain's take on whether there is pain in heaven, from 'Stormfield's Visit to Heaven"

My weekend #24B4Monday story. I knew I would be busy Saturday and Sunday, so I read mostly on Fri. On Sat., in between laundry, sorting toddler clothes in storage, and taking our oldest to a car show so he could participate in a karate demo, I read 1 hr/18 min. And Sun., I was on kid duty all day, so I read about 1 hr/36 min. I read #MeToo, and then felt the need to counter it with the tagged comic. Reviews coming.

Sorry, no pic. I started #24B4Monday after midnight Thursday night (Hey, that counts! It was technically Friday.), and read off and on throughout the day, and then a bit tonight before bedtime now.

Added #MeToo (from Prime Reading) to my other books in progress. Very difficult to read this.

Current total - 4 hours and 47 minutes.

I'm not sure how much more time I will get the rest of the weekend. We'll see.

@thereadingmermaid @Andrew65

I won't be able to fully commit this weekend, as the husband is insisting we get some things around the house accomplished and our oldest is supposed to be part of a martial arts demonstration at a local car show on Saturday, but I will try to get some reading down on Friday and in between things. I have only finished one book so far this month, and I'm not sure if I will continue with the books I know I won't finish or read a short one on my TBR.

Saw this on FB earlier and smiled. Earlier today, I was sitting in the back of the mulri-purpose room at my kid's school, reading a book and waiting for his name to be called. He met his 3rd quarter reading goal. One more goal, and he gets to go on a special trip as a reward. I love how this school district encourages reading. He reads so much, the goals set aren't a challenge for him, though. 😁

Tagged is my favorite Blume book. What's yours?

I just wanted to let you all know that I am changing my Litsy handle from @NeesyBeth to @SleepyDragon as a step towards one of my 2019 goals. The new name is a tie-in to my dormant blog that I plan to restart, although I'm behind on this and related goals. The blog was/will be book and writing related, so I hope changing my name here will be motivation and a reminder that I want to start writing again. Changing it is a one time thing. Promise!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5)

#VirtualMountTBR2019 #Overdrive #GAR

If you consider yourself an ally, you most definitely should read books from the minority and/or immigrant perspective, such as this, Homegoing and What is the What. This book tells it like it is, with no sugarcoating.

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2740972187

http://web.mit.edu/norvin/www/somethingelse/twain.html

"To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep saying, 'Our Country, right or wrong,' and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation?"

"This republic's life is not in peril. The nation has sold its honor for a phrase. It has swung itself from its safe anchorage and is drifting, its helm is in pirate hands."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I wanted to find an excuse to post a pic of my new favorite beer, but discovered a serious lack in our home library. Welsh and Scottish are represented, but we do not have a single Irish author. How can this be?

So help me out. What Irish and/or Irish American authors and books do you recommend? Genre doesn't matter. Suggest away! Thank you in advance!

#StPattysDay #IrishAuthors #IrishAmericanAuthors

Carny food at a local carnival. I get to sit, eat, and read while my 11 yr old does all the rides. Hubby volunteered to stay home with the little ones this time. Enjoying a little me time and hoping to make some progress on tagged book. 🙂

I live in a red pimple in an otherwise blue state, but lately the little local library has been slowly becoming a bit more diverse and progressive in its collection. I don't know who is buying now, but I welcome the change! Saw this on display in the children's section yesterday. 😄💙

Got a question for those of you who track your reading with timing apps like Bookly, etc:

How do you handle books with appendixes or lengthly end notes? I tend to skip around, but I realized this was skewing my reading speed stats. If you don't read them, do you change the page number in the app? What if you actually read them?

I'm not sure how to deal with this in regards to my tracking apps. Thoughts?

Leave it to Twain to suggest that poor spelling is a sign of superior intellect. I can get behind this theory. 😉😁

I'm slowly digesting this book, as I am giving myself all of Lent to finish it by Easter Sunday. It is more academic than I thought it would be, as each piece is prefaced with an essay on the history of its writing and publishing. I'd prefer more discussion of Twain's theological views than his editing, but it is still interesting.