It’s Monday! What are you reading?

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Blog Update: Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!

This week I’m linking up with Sunday Post, Sunday Salon, and It’s Monday! What are you reading? Thank you for hosting, Kimberly, Deb, and Kathryn!

Happiest of holidays to all who are celebrating this time of year! It’s a tradition that the elves magically move to the kids’ stockings on Christmas Eve, because Santa takes them back to the North Pole after he visits. I know my kids are nearly adults, but they don’t seem to mind.

Like a lot of the US, we’ve been through a major cold snap here in Kansas with highs below zero. Even with a new coat, Ginger said “nope” to going outside. Smart girl.

I’ve read several books over the past few weeks, but haven’t had a chance to write many reviews. December is so busy! I’m hoping to get some reviews posted the week after Christmas and catch up on blog hopping.

Books I’ve Recently Read:

  • THE GHOST OF DROWNED MEADOW by Kelley Skovron
  • THE GUEST HOUSE by Robin Morgan-Bentley
  • HORRID by Katrina Leno
  • FRUIT BASKETS AND HOLIDAY CASKETS by Gayle Leeson
  • TWELVE SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS by Jacqueline Frost
  • THE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET by Jennifer Sklias-Gahan
  • AN EGGNOG TO DIE FOR by Amy Pershing

I’ll leave you with a clip from my favorite new-to-me artist, Lindsey Stirling, an amazing violinist and songwriter. She has two Christmas/Winter albums that I’ve been listening to on repeat. I really love the video for Snow Waltz because it speaks to my gothic heart…

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful holiday! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

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Sunday Post | It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Linking up with Kimberly @ Sunday Post and Kathryn @Β It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Read Since Last Time:

SMILE BEACH MURDER by Alicia Bessette

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR by Rose Carlyle

Posts Since Last Time:

TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY by Linwood Barclay [Review]

EVERY SUMMER AFTER by Carley Fortune [Review]

FAMILY OF LIARS by E. Lockhart [Review]

DARK AND SHALLOW LIES by Ginny Myers Sain [Review]

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid [Review]

SMILE BEACH MURDER by Alicia Bessette [Review]

Blogging Things:

What’s up with Bloglovin? I don’t use it for following anymore, but I’ve noticed that my blog’s page and my profile page on there consistently say “Sorry, this page isn’t available.” Is it working for anyone else?

I’ve reformatted my reviews so they’re more reader/mobile friendly. The old way I was doing it looked like a mess, especially in Feedly. How do you follow blogs? I split my following between Feedly and WordPress Reader.

Currently Reading:

THE FAVOR by Nora Murphy

A gripping debut domestic suspense novel, Nora Murphy’s thrilling The Favor explores with compassion and depth what can happen when women pushed to the limit take matters into their own hands.

THE ANATOMY OF DESIRE by L.R. Dorn

For fans of riveting true crime docuseries a la Serial and Making a Murderer, The Anatomy of Desire is a modern tale of crime and punishment exploring unbridled ambition, blinding passion, and the dark side of desire.

THE DEAD ROMANTICS by Ashley Poston

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful week! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

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Sunday Post | It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Linking up with Kimberly @ Sunday Post and Kathryn @Β It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Read Last Week:

TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY by Linwood Barclay

FAMILY OF LIARS by E. Lockhart

EVERY SUMMER AFTER by Carley Fortune

Posted Last Week:

βœ” May Reading Wrap-Up
(with cute Ginger photos)

βœ” 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge
(found several new-to-me bloggers to follow)

Beyond the Blog:

I’m working on a new fitness program this summer β€” Jessica Smith’s 6 Week Total Transformation System on DVD. It has ten 30-minute workouts that include aerobics, strength training, stretching, and more, plus a calendar that shows you what workout to do each day. I started it on May 15 because I wanted to have time to complete it twice before works starts again in August. It’s tough, but I’ve been able to stick with it so far. Will I be totally transformed? Haha, no. But I’m hoping it will help me build some muscle and flexibility.

I’ve been watching Ghosts, both the UK version (the original) and the US spinoff. It’s about a woman who inherits her family’s old manor home, only to discover it’s haunted by a group of quirky ghosts. She can see them, but her husband cannot. I love this series so much. Both versions are utterly charming and funny. Makes me want a group of ghosts friends if they would respect privacy boundaries! :-)

Currently Reading:

SMILE BEACH MURDER by Alicia Bessette

“[A]n all-new mystery series featuring Callie Padget, a former reporter turned bookshop clerk in the Outer Banks who is pulled into a deadly web of secrets when a mysterious fall at a lighthouse echoes a tragedy from her past.”

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful week! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

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Sunday Post | It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Linking up with Kimberly @ Sunday Post and Kathryn @Β It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Hello, again! It’s been a looong time since I’ve put together a weekly recap post, so I wanted to check in and say hi. Work at the elementary school is fantastic, and that along with family things keeps me pretty busy.

Spring break starts this week, and I’m just going to ignore the lingering snow on the ground. This Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day, is a special day because it marks my 12th blogging anniversary. Twelve years!!

I wanted to share the wonderful goodies I recently won from Atria Books and Pickled Stamps.

From the publisher I received a lovely copy of THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles that I’m excited to read. And from Pickled Stamps, I received a cool personalized library embosser. I went with β€œEx Libris Book of Secrets” since that’s been my bookish identity for so long. Love it!

Now one of my spring break projects is to start embossing the hundreds of books on my shelves!Β Do you have a library stamp or embosser?

What I’ve Been Reading:

Here are most of the adult books I’ve read during the first quarter of 2022:

THE OVERNIGHT GUEST by Heather Gudenkauf (β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…)
BENEATH THE STAIRS by Jennifer Fawcett (β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…Β½)
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? by Aliya Ali-Afzal (β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…Β½)
THE IT GIRL by Ruth Ware (β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…) *
ALL I WANT by Darcey Bell (β˜…β˜…β˜…)
THE ACCOMPLICE by Lisa Lutz (β˜…β˜…)
VLADIMIR by Julia May Jonas (β˜…β˜…)

* Publication date β€” July 12, 2022.

What I’m Currently Reading:

ROAD OF BONES by Christopher Golden

“A stunning supernatural thriller set in Siberia, where a film crew is covering an elusive ghost story about the Kolyma Highway, a road built on top of the bones of prisoners of Stalin’s gulag.”

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful week! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

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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. β™₯

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 β€” 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!

β˜… 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! β˜…

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! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ