We‘ve been on vacation mode and for this week my main goal is to play catch up with several aspects of my life. I‘ve been slacking in so many areas thanks to summer, so it‘s time to get back on track.

And here‘s a quote I found in that regard: “With the new day [or week] comes new strength and new thoughts.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

#MellowMonday @Eggs

Needed a drink… only 6 chapters in and I‘ve already bawled my eyes out three times for the MC. Reading fiction really does teach us empathy… how my heart broke for him 😭

“A mycelial network is a map of a fungus‘s recent history and is a helpful reminder that all life-forms are in fact processes not things. The ‘you‘ of five years ago was made from different stuff than the ‘you‘ of today. Nature is an event that never stops.”

I‘ve been wanting to start this series, but when I went to the bookstore last week they only had book 2 and 3 of the first trilogy in stock. So, I ordered book 1 😁

1. Loyalty
2. I‘m really liking my 30s so far but I‘d have to say high school was the best era for me… I had a blast.
3. Carry it Well by Sam Fischer

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Wasn‘t really sure what to read next, so I just grabbed a book about nature that has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I‘m taking a break from social media and TV shows in an attempt to read more, I have so many books in my TBR pile.

This is a rather large book, that on top of a very busy several weeks, is why it took me a while to finish. But Walter Moers did not disappoint, just like with Captain Bluebear, I was transfixed by this adventure. Rumo is a different character entirely, unlike Captain Bluebear who finds himself in crazy predicaments seemingly by accident, Rumo runs toward them headlong with the intent to either prove himself, to survive, or protect his friends. ⬇️

Midnight was very cozy with my book in my lap 😻🐈‍⬛
#CatsOfLitsy #BlackCatsOfLitsy

Love reading on the beach ❤️

Went on my traditional birthday shopping spree thanks to my family and friends (aka enablers) giving me gift cards. I behaved better than I did last year lol.

My book haul from our trip. Two were from the bookstore we visited and the rest were from the stores inside the various museums we visited. I may have gone overboard. But no regrets 😅

I just had to visit this restaurant/bookstore during our trip to the DMV area. 😍

1. Be present and focus on what matters.

2. 🧐🤓🤪

3. My cat purposely intimidating my mom‘s dog—who‘s scared of her own shadow lol.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Kids have been on summer break since last week, they‘re sleeping in and I‘m enjoying some me-time before CrossFit 😁

1. I don‘t have a middle name, so my kids have asked me which one would I go with if I could choose. I‘m going with that answer: Elise. Not sure why, just like the sound of it.

2. As a kid I had Cookie 🐶 and Stuart 🐹. Rocky was my first cat who passed away a few years ago. Now we have Luna, Midnight, and Sunny (yes, it‘s become a theme lol).

3. Marlowe from Ordinary Monsters and Elspeth Spindle from the tagged book.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

As much as I loved the last book I read, there were a lot of sad moments. I‘m in need of a palate cleanser and since “The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear” did that for me, I‘m finally going to read book 2 in the Zamonia series. I read that you don‘t have to read these books in order, but it‘s ideal because there are surprises that are more enjoyable when you‘ve read the previous books 😁

This one was structured differently than the books I usually read, but I found it refreshing. It doesn‘t have a linear storyline but follows the lives of several unnamed characters in a family: grandparents, parents, and their two sons. It goes back and forth in time, sometimes the characters are younger, sometimes they are grown (even the sons). We see them through some very tough times, but in between the tragedies… ⬇️

“Remember, people behave like people when you treat them like people, he kept saying. He lived according to his own maxim; he left a trail of goodness behind him.”

Midnight keeping me company while I read on this lovely Saturday 🥰 #CatsOfLitsy

“His anxiousness did them no good. So he bet on a life between the tragedies that he knew would regularly arrive.”

“He learned to enjoy moments weighted with the risk of loss.”

“Pull your head out of the cacophony of the past. It‘s where you‘re from, but nobody‘s left there except you. Look around and throw out the things your children won‘t want to inherit. Do the same in your mind, even though that‘s much harder.”

The last of my current library haul is up next. I hope another book doesn‘t entice me when I go to the library later this week (my son has his tutoring sessions there while I work on my own projects). I have way too many books to read in my own TBR pile as it is… #SoManyBooksSoLittleTime

I started this one yesterday and already finished it. I should‘ve known that would happen. I‘ve read several books by St. James, and it‘s always the same, I just can‘t put these books down. The mystery was intriguing, and once it was solved, utterly tragic. The romance was enticing, and I loved the friendship that formed with the MC and another character. Descriptive and well-written, as usual, with likable but realistically-flawed characters.

Up next is my next library book. Simone St. James hasn‘t steered me wrong yet…

As much as I respected the unique writing style and loved the descriptions of Mount Lebanon and the surrounding areas, the way the narrator is written just kept pulling me out of the story. Also, there‘s a lot of details about the orange groves that I just found dull. If this wasn‘t a library book that I have to return soon, I‘d probably try to keep going, but I have other library books to read as well.

My daughter got me a Harry Potter themed book cover for my Kindle for Mother‘s Day. I love it so much. I‘m reading my physical library books right now, but I‘m craving an e-book right about now lol.

Amina is a strong woman and a wonderful mother who sacrifices so much for her daughter.

Happy Mother‘s Day to all the mothers here in the U.S. (and because I don‘t know all the dates for Mother‘s Day around the world, I wish ALL the mothers a wonderful day).

@BookmarkTavern #sundayfunday

While I‘m loving this story for the most part, it‘s comments like this from the narrator that keep pulling me out of it. The narrator keeps saying certain details from his family‘s past must be made up because they don‘t know the whole truth of it. This is supposed to be fiction, not sure if the writer is trying to make it seem more real with this method or what.

When an Isabel Allende novel comes out, I don‘t even need to read the synopsis, I‘m ordering it immediately.

1. I just ordered the latest from my favorite author today (tagged).
2. I do enjoy reviewing books. I use Litsy mostly, occasionally I post reviews on IG, and I‘ll post reviews for career-related books on LinkedIn. I also write reviews (among other things) in a reading journal, but those are just for me.

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1. I prefer to read sitting, ideally reclined and surrounded by by cushions lol
2. Current read is tagged. The writing style is unlike anything I‘ve ever read before, and there are lots of long sentences with tons of commas which I found off-putting at first. But I ended up finding it endearing as I went on. So far, I‘m glad I gave it a chance cause the story is intriguing.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Let‘s see if this audiobook can keep my interest…

Just not holding my attention enough…

This is a very soft pick. The plot was intriguing, and I did want to know how it ended so that kept me going. But there were some slow parts and scenes I found so unnecessary, to the point where I even contemplated bailing at times. There were also some plot holes and typos I found. Some resolutions seemed way too easy, certain ill-behaved characters just suddenly changing their ways after a good talking to. Continued ⬇️

Library haul from yesterday 😍

1. Yes, I guess you could call it a small library in the way of multiple shelves throughout the house plus stacks here and there lol. There‘s about 370 in my own collection, not including magazines and my kids collections in their rooms.
2. I believe this one was my favorite from April ☺️

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Here‘s how it looks on my shelf ☺️

Picture doesn‘t do it justice but I had so much fun assembling this book nook my husband got me. My whole family is in awe of it and so am I, even though I‘m the one that put every tiny piece together lol.

Assembling a DIY book nook and the mini books fill me with delight ☺️

This one has been on my shelf for a while after someone posted about it on Substack. Excited to finally get to it ☺️

Nothing major happened this week but it‘s still nice to practice gratitude, it‘s the simple things that matter anyway

1. My fur babies (my dog Luna too, but I didn‘t get any photos of her this week)
2. A brand new journal
3. Stickers for said journal
4. Going for walks
5. Missed quite a bit of CrossFit last week and early this week but was able to jump back in yesterday

Consider yourself tagged if you see this 😉
@DebinHawaii #5JoysFriday

“He fell quiet again and slumped back into his armchair with a lost, faraway look in his eyes, muttering in protest that he would never ever talk about it, that it was a story from a bygone age, that nothing was worth waking the dead.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

This one was unlike any art history book I‘ve read before, and in a good way. Maybe I‘m biased because drawing is my preferred medium, but I enjoyed learning about how drawing has evolved over the centuries. I learned about so many artists, some already known to me but many I‘d never heard of before. I enjoyed the arguments in support of drawing as an art form in itself; yes it can be used for mere planning, the working out of ideas and…⬇️

Found this one at the library today…

Early morning walk with an audiobook ☺️

This one caught my eye and the narrators sounded pretty good in the preview… let‘s see if it can keep my attention.

Could not connect with the characters and while the narrator was pretty good, he made even the 36-year-old MC sound like a 70+ year old man. Nothing wrong with that per se, but it kept throwing me off.

1. Occasionally, but only because I‘m pretty much a third party vendor for my kids with Robux lol (grandma gives them cash now and then)
2. I would say money does affect him as he‘s been put on “house arrest” for being an aristocrat…

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

Midnight finds art history absolutely delectable 🤭😍 #CatsOfLitsy #BlackCatsOfLitsy