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The Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekly recap post linking up with:

SUNDAY POST | THE SUNDAY SALON
IT’S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING? | MAILBOX MONDAY

Thank you to all the hosts! Click the links above to visit them and join the fun.

Here we are, already wrapping up the month of July. Did you know that August 1st is the start of my Halloween season? I’m excited. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten much reading done over the past couple of weeks. In the evenings I’m so tired, I just crash. Maybe it’s the heat.

Myrtle the Nightmare Catcher with a recent read. ♥

First off, I want to share a photo of sweet Myrtle, who I won in a giveaway last week. She’s a nightmare catcher crafted by Jenclair from Bayou Poste & Craft / A Garden Carried in the Pocket. Myrtle is so cute, and I love her details, like the heart patch pined to her clothes and the sachet of lavender sewn on her back. Thank you, Jen!

Some other news — I’m starting a new job soon! Prior to the pandemic, I was a teacher’s aide in a special ed classroom, but I left when my own kids started remote learning. I’ve decided to return to the same work but at a different school. Even though my family and I are fully vaccinated, I still have concerns, especially since younger students aren’t eligible for the vax yet. But, I’m still looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

I might not have as much time to blog and blog hop until things get settled with the new school year. I won’t be on an official hiatus in August, but I may be missing from time to time!

★ I wanted to add that I’ve greatly enjoyed blogging this year and redirecting my focus back to the blog community. I’ve made some great new friends and reconnected with old ones. Thank you all for being so awesome! ★

Last Two Weeks on the Blog:

Currently Reading:

  • WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by Anna Bailey
  • THE PEOPLE WE KEEP by Allison Larkin
  • DEATH IN CASTLE DARK by Veronica Bond

Recent Bookshelf Additions:

  • MRS ENGLAND by Stacey Halls (The Book Depository)
  • BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME by Jacqueline Bublitz (The Book Depository)
  • AN AMBUSH OF WIDOWS by Jeff Abbott (NetGalley)
  • THE GOLDEN COUPLE by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (NetGalley)
  • CACKLE by Rachel Harrison (NetGalley)
  • HOW TO BOOK A MURDER by Cynthia Kuhn (NetGalley)

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful August! — 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪

36 thoughts on “The Weekend Wrap-Up”

  1. It’s usually September when I start to feel the urge to read something eerie, and haunted and spooky. Right now I’m just trying to finish reading all those summer books I checked out of the library. ;D

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  4. Congratulations on the new job! My sister is a Special Ed Teacher and I know how difficult, yet rewarding the work is.
    I just love Myrtle!

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  6. Yes to Halloween in August! Looks like you have some great books to read soon. I hope you get to all the scary stuff too!

    I can tell I’m super tired from the heat as well. Stay cool and safe this week!

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  7. I love the idea of starting Halloween early. :) And congrats on the new job! I hope it goes great. I feel the same way about Covid, but hopefully these variants calm down some and things start improving again…

    An Ambush of Widows has me super curious, I just saw that one on another blog earlier and it looks interesting.

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  8. So many people love Halloween that I imagine a lot would like to start celebrating early.

    Congratulations on the new job. I feel sad for children who have missed out over the last year. The risks for children are very low, but I do wish we had a vaccine.

    I like the look of so many of your books, especially Mrs. England. I know you may be blogging less, but I hope you will still pop in as often as you can.

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  10. Congrats on the new job and I hope the transition to a new routine is an easy one. You’ve got so many interesting books listed here… I’m going to spend a few minutes looking into several of them. I’ll probably wait until mid-September to start some season (RIP) reads, but it’s never too early to start making my list!

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  11. Love Myrtle! She’s so cute! Are you a huge Halloween fan? I used to be, but my kids have outgrown it and then with the pandemic, I just kind of fell out.

    Are you in an elementary school? That would be tough. Will masks be required? Good glad.

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    • I love Halloween. It’s been my favorite holiday forever. We didn’t really celebrate last year with the pandemic, but hopefully this year will be better. I even missed my yearly trip to Michael’s for new Halloween goodies last year. :-(

      At this point, I don’t know if masks will be required at school or not. The current policy says that they are encouraged, but not required.

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  13. I’m in one of the worst book ruts *ever*
    Not meaning to whine, but it’s true. Our book club selection was just “eh”….

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  14. I think this heat is just so exhausting it just saps away energy. Plus with the new job transition it sounds like you’ve got a lot going on! It sounds like a promising change. I love Myrtle! What fun! Have a wonderful week!

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  15. Some really interesting new additions to the bookshelf. Good to hear someone else is just too tired to read in the evening, reading does take energy and brain power that seems to wane by evening. All the best with stepping out with the job in a new place.

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  16. Hi Diana. Here in the UK schools are off now for the summer until 1st September. As a teaching assistant, I understand your concerns. It’s school policy here that staff take a lateral flow test twice a week to check for COVID19. It does help to keep my stress down. Lol!
    Myrtle is fantastic. I love that you start the Halloween season from 1st August.
    Hope you have a great week.

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  17. Myrtle is adorable! I also can’t focus in the heat, only once it cools down in the evening can I get some reading done. ‘The People We Keep’ looks great and I love the cover for ‘Mrs England’, it’s so colourful and intricate! Also, happy Halloween in advance ;) Have a lovely week!
    Juli @ A Universe in Words

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  19. Good luck with your new job. I’m not a big fan of spooky or scary so Halloween just late in October works best for me. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  22. At this point I don’t even try to read at night! Good luck getting back to school and all that goes along with that. I have Where the Truth Lies on my review list – hopefully to read soon.

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  24. I love your sweet Myrtle! Hmm – you have a three-month Halloween season? I save books for October but never get to them all so an extended season is an idea.
    Really good-looking mailbox and I love the Cackle cover.
    I hope you’ll continue to pop in at MM when you start work. And I hope you enjoy the new position and everyone stays safe.
    Happy Reading!

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  25. Congrats on the new job!!

    I finished Where The Truth Lies yesterday and it was a lot more intense than I expected it to be. Quite good, I think. In the UK it’s called Tall Bones. I am glad they changed the title for the US.

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    • Funny story: I bought the UK copy of Tall Bones a few months ago, not realizing it was the same book (Where the Truth Lies) that I had from NetGalley for review. Doh! As I was reading WTTL, they kept mentioning a place called Tall Bones, and I thought, that’s weird! I have another book called Tall Bones. I compared blurbs, and darn it! The same. Unfortunately the book wasn’t for me, and I DNF’d at about 50%. Guess I’ll donate the hardcover!!

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  28. That’s great that you won Myrtle from Jenclair’s giveaway. I always love looking at all her crafts!

    Congrats on the new job and I hope all goes well and smoothly! Now I need to check out those books you mentioned here! :)

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