https://www.instagram.com/p/DO53tAok8_V/?igsh=MTlja2hhb3RlMzcyaA==

Almost impossible to fit everything into one photo. Thank you @Chrissyreadit for the amazing gifts. You nailed it, and then some. ♥️♥️♥️♥️

It‘s also hard to know where to start but I‘ve already been through the Enchanted Forest twice. It‘s 😮 🤯 🤩!!!

#fallingforfallswap @Avanders

Midnight approves of my book cover from @Chrissyreadit in my #fallingforfallswap 😍

I just opened the box for #fallingforfall and my heart stopped. Look at all these beautifully wrapped presents!!! Can I even open them? @Chrissyreadit @Avanders

Six more cards going out tomorrow! #fallcardswap @TheBookHippie

I agree with Fanny on one thing: Mr Sparkler will act foolishly

Yes still slogging through this one. I‘m finally going to start skipping the long-winded and irritating dialogs from certain characters to speed this along, such as Mr Dorrit and Mrs General. Whew! But I still love Dickens‘ writing in this one, too. Take this example about Edmund Sparkler!!

#whattheDickens @Cuilin

I‘m excited about two more cards for #fallcardswap I received this weekend. I‘m still waiting to open them until I‘ve sent out all of mine. I now have them all addressed! @TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit @CrowCAH

I‘ve decided to squeeze in one more book for #foodandlit #Nicaragua this month. So this is my next audiobook @Catsandbooks

Husband bought me this Swedish version of Dracula 3 years ago and I‘m going to try to tackle it again. It‘s a chunkster I was trying to read for Halloween but didn‘t make it. I‘m starting it earlier this year. The existence of this rare and unique book is a historical literary mystery. Read about this book to find out more. #hauntedshelf #blackcatcrew @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper

My tbr list for #hauntedshelf #letsgopoints. Ambitious but I still have my other challenges ongoing, Octavia Butler books for #authoramonth and #Samoa books for #foodandlit. I‘m very excited about these books even though I know I won‘t get to them all. Must also include my #whattheDickens books!!

Rereads: Frankenstein, Dracula, books 1-2 of All Souls. I‘d love to finish all these books beyond the trilogy!

It was girls‘ day today. Daughter and I met up with my sister at “market day” at a little city, San Marcos, between Austin and San Antonio. Afterwards daughter and I found this bookstore in San Marcos. Wow! It was truly impressive. I got a few books but mainly bookish gifts for my husband and son. And maybe a lot of handicrafts from market day! 😊

I never knew that there was a Books a Million in San Antonio, but it‘s permanently closed. 😞

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOyxF9-iMlq/?igsh=ZGMyeGR6bnI0MDVh

#5joysFriday

1) craft retreat last weekend—working on my bee album (center)
2) with a friend at the retreat
3) splurge on books on random trip to bookstores with daughter
4) I‘ve received cards from the #fallcardswap
5) I‘ve started sending cards for #fallcardswap

Bonuses: #hauntedshelf is revving up & my cat is my team‘s mascot

Stressful week, so I just had to look for my joys today and I found a lot! With a sweet kitty on my lap all is well.

Wow!!! I‘m impressed. I‘m going to have to try her books now. More here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOyVV45jTYt/?img_index=1&igsh=bW1ocm01cHViZG54

I‘ve tried audio, ebook, and even my daughter‘s copy of the book. None have worked for me. I‘m 60 pages from finishing it and I just can‘t do it. I have zero motivation to read this book. So about two months since Woolf was #authoramonth (July) I‘ve finally decided to bail. @Soubhiville

My first #fallcardswap2025 cards are going in the mail tomorrow to our international folks! 🤗

Thank you so far to everyone who‘s sent me their #fallcardswap2025. As my incentive I‘m waiting to open them until I send mine. My cards are all made from last week‘s craft weekend with friends. I just need to write them all, add the goodies, and mail them! I‘m having so much fun! 🤩 Here are the folks I‘m able to thank so far based on what I can figure out just from the envelopes: @dabbe @Cuilin

My #fff package arrived!! @Chrissyreadit Yay! Thank you! Can‘t wait to open it! @Avanders

Moving on to book 7 in the series

Whew! Is this book outdated or what? Most of the stories in this book (about 75%) are good to great. Some stories, however, either completely lost me or were just not that good. And then there are the few that are just ewww. Take the story that is also the title of book—a bit misogynistic or worse? Set in the future, a 70+ woman is a virgin, who is kidnapped and then “subjected” to sex (it‘s not apparently meant to be considered “rape” from the ⬇️

Previously, in The Brutal Telling, Three Pines‘ beloved Olivier was accused of murder. Bury Your Dead wraps up his storyline and introduces two new storylines. In the time between Chief Inspector Gamache‘s last visit to Three Pines and this book, the chief and his team are pulled into a very scary plot involving the kidnapping of a police officer. In this book, he and Jean-Guy Beauvoir relive the event that has left them both with terrible ⬇️

Ok Duo, try as I might I couldn‘t just buy used books when daughter asked if we could go to Barnes and Noble after visiting the used bookstore. See my previous post for case in point.

Daughter got a hankering to go to the bookstore last night. I cleaned up on books at Half-Price Books but she couldn‘t find the one book she wanted. So I cleaned up again at Barnes and Noble. 😁

These are mine. She got a few too

I‘ve just explained to Midnight her duties as mascot of the #BlackCatCrew for #hauntedshelf. She‘s mulling it over. 🐈‍⬛ 🧐

😂

@BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper

Margarita Engle wrote this biography about Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío (1867-1916) in verse. I‘d never heard of him but I learned to care about him and his poetry. He grew up poor in Nicaragua, a boy with his head in the clouds and a serious love for words and poems. Every sort of poem and experimental poetry. His work was beloved in Latin America and he was often the guest poet of presidents. Engle does a beautiful job telling his story in ⬇️

Mario Vargas Llosa is an excellent author. The fact that it took 3 months for me to finish it should have no bearing on what a well-written book it is. The issue is with the lengthy paragraphs in extremely long chapters. It‘s not the type of book to sneak in a few pages when you can. You actually have to devote time to it. Peruvian Ricardo believes true peace will be his if he can just live his life in Paris. Spoiler: he does. As a child in ⬇️

Billed as extremely funny, I was so looking forward to listening to this book. Alas, I started it right after reading his If This Isn't Nice, What Is? I felt so preached at in that book, so when it started up again with this book I bailed. Maybe I‘ll try it again someday but it just didn‘t work for me this month. On another note, I am enjoying his short stories that I‘m currently reading. #authoramonth @Soubhiville

Kurt Vonnegut‘s biography starts this audiobook, which I found to be very good, not knowing anything about him—even though I knew he was a famous author who had a big impact in the 1960s and 70s. These are mostly his commencement speeches at colleges. The first speech ends with a discussion of how politicians use hate like a drug. In the second speech, I was astounded at how he, an atheist, respected Jesus is the prince of peace. Sadly, after ⬇️

A very sweet mini story

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOl2xsajibY/?igsh=czVqaGdmbDJhODJx

I‘ve just started this audiobook for #authoramonth @Soubhiville

Thanks to @KadaGul (♥️) I learned I had to mail my package no later than tomorrow. Thankfully all the big goodies were wrapped. So I boxed them up and they‘ve been mailed to somewhere northeast of Texas. ETA next Tuesday.

#fallingforfallswap #fffs

@Chrissyreadit @Avanders

@Laughterhp This list hasn‘t been updated in a while but hopefully it can give you some ideas for #litsyatoz.

In other words, they hated Blandois! 😂

#whattheDickens @Cuilin

Can we please bring the word “snuggery” back?

The online dictionary describes it: “a cozy or comfortable place, especially someone's private room or den.”

Me: “I dare say, I‘m going to have a cup of tea and read in my snuggery. Oh, no, don‘t wait up for me.” 😊

#whattheDickens @Cuilin

In the author‘s note, she describes the Nicaraguan poet‘s life, the subject of this book. Rubén Darío (1867-1916) appears to have had a tremendous impact on Latin America and in his home country, #Nicaragua. #foodandlit @catsandbooks

“This loss of words must be the first shock faced by every immigrant.” 😢

#Nicaragua #foodandlit @catsandbooks

We do not care that you‘ve done so well on your diet and lost 15 pounds so far…when Central Market celebrates OctoberFest, you buy all the yummy German food and celebrate early tonight for dinner!

For those of you who don‘t have HEB grocery stores (HEB is only in Texas and northern Mexico) and don‘t know that Central Market is a high-end version of it (nicknamed Gucci-E-B), I‘m so sorry. Or, maybe we don‘t care 😉

#wdncw @dabbe

#Nicaragua #foodandlit @catsandbooks

“But truth is never popular with corrupt leaders who rely on lies.”

#Nicaragua #foodandlit @catsandbooks

Ixelia‘s mother sold her virginity to the highest bidder, then continued to sell her until at 11, her mother made her go live with an elderly violent man Don Roque in hopes of inheritance when he died. Adela falls head over heels for Ixelia, who finally sees freedom from this sexual abuse. In this story, we know the victim of the murder, Adela, and her murderers, Don Roque and Ixelia‘s mother. The protagonist is a writer who wants to tell ⬇️

My next book for #foodandlit is by a Cuban poet about a Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario

#Nicaragua @Catsandbooks

Finally, some authentic Nicaraguan food (amongst American food)!

#foodandlit #Nicaragua @Catsandbooks

How depressing. There are some mentions of Nicaraguan food, but the first time there‘s an excellent description of food, it‘s American! T.G.I. Fridays. 😟

Fortunately I‘ve found some Nicaraguan restaurants here in San Antonio so I‘ll get to try some hopefully authentic food.

#foodandlit #Nicaragua @Catsandbooks

https://www.instagram.com/p/DORIc65iCBW/?igsh=dXhzdmluczgxNWUw

Mini story

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOT0gyfjpQV/?igsh=czd6cTl3OXhncTJt

I was just telling a fellow reader about how funny Dickens is, and then reading Dickens, he gave me this: “and cause him to exhibit the soles of his shoes to the object of his dearest wish”

Having ridden boats in the Venice canals I can imagine that fall! 😂

And yes I‘m still slowly reading this one. #whattheDickens @Cuilin

https://www.instagram.com/p/DONHQpxDkan/?igsh=MTU4cHVnZDhqM2pyNw==

It‘s another book coincidence #bookcoincidence! I read several books at a time. Tonight I started a chapter out of Mario Vargas Llosa‘s Bad Girl about a man named Arquímedes. Lo and behold, the next chapter I read in the tagged book was—surprise—about Arquímedes!

Perhaps that‘s a common name in South and Central America ? Even if so, to be the subject of both chapters I read tonight is bizarre. #foodandlit #Peru #Nicaragua

Although I loved a number of Kurt Vonnegut‘s ideals, I needed a break. In the last book I listened to, he became quite repetitive, dark, and preachy. So this is my next audiobook instead. Dark, yes, but I‘m not anticipating being lectured to.