It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Jun 1

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Welcome to June! Can you believe we just started the sixth month of 2026? May went out like a lion with rain, wind, and cold. Yesterday, some of our towns lost power for a few hours because of the storms. I had my suit jacket and a raincoat, and I was freezing. It was not the day to show houses, but I had a full day of it. 

This is the express version of my post. I am tired and have an inspection in the morning. Work is kicking my tail. Tried to take a day off this weekend. Wasn't successful. Looking forward to vacation more and more. 

In my reading world, I listened to Eat That Frog! Action Workbook: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. Great book! All this driving around is good for listening to books. 

I also started the audiobook, Digital Detox for Remote Workers: Reclaim Your Focus, Productivity, and Work-Life Balance in the Digital Age by Dr. Guenter H. Schamel. 

I didn't finish The Ladies Hall by Vanessa Miller, though I loved what I read. I will run out of time before it is archived. I will have to catch it when it's available for my Kindle. 

Need to write a review of Hi Honey, I'm Homo: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume. 

I didn't read The Ledger by Steven Manchester, a companion to his novel The Menu. 

I didn't pick up The Eyes of River by Cindy K. Sproles.

I started Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts, which came out in May. 

These are next:

Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the sequel to Hooked

The Ghost and the Key is the first book in Bill Cusano's The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club series. I am reading this series this summer. 

The second book of The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club is The Widow Murderess. 

Book three is The Sparrow and the Crow. All of these are July reviews. 

Massawa by Pam Weber is a book that I will take on vacation with me in July. 

Joyce McCullough sent me a copy of Max and Her Stacks to review. 

Photo credit: Freepik

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

I think I had an empty physical and virtual mailbox this week. See, I can be good about the book-buying ban sometimes. It just takes me working almost non-stop to do it. :) 

Upcoming Events

The Ledger by Steven Manchester - June (Review)

Fighter Pilot's Daughter by Mary Lawlor - June 10 (Guest Post)

Staged by Cailtin Rother - June (Review)

The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Ghost and the Key by Bill Cusano - July 1 (Review)

The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Widow Murderess by Bill Cusano - July 8 (Review)

The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Sparrow and the Crow by Bill Cusano - July 10 (Review)

Massawa by Pam Weber - July (Review)

Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts - (Review)

Christmas Year Round

This week's Journey through Christmases Past is about family in transition. You can see photos from my family through the years if you click here. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

 Nothing new this week, but hope to have something posted soon.

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new this week. 

That is it from me. Hope you enjoy your day!

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Animals I Wish I Could Have as Pets

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews requests that you share your link in their weekly post on their website (which will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated. 

It's Wednesday. Do you know where the local real estate agent is? Not spending time with all my blogging friends. She might have forgotten today was her 26th wedding anniversary and scheduled herself to be gone for most of the day and well into the evening. To be fair, I used to be young with a better memory. 

This week's prompt for the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is: Animals I Wish I Could Have as Pets. 

Does it make me a bad person if I say none? I love animals, but I have been taking care of animals and people since I was 18. That is 40 years of taking care of everyone and everything else while trying to carve out some time for little ole me. I have already threatened my daughters with being disinherited if they buy me another furry, non-furry, shelled, gilled, or feathered thing after the three pets we have cross over the rainbow bridge. Give me a year of nothing to feed, walk, or clean up after, and I will likely be ready to welcome another pet into the house. When that time comes, maybe it will be another cat or possibly a chinchilla. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors & Tell Me Something Tuesday: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Summer? (June-August)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

It's another crazy real estate Tuesday. I am on the road by now, but I look forward to visiting your blogs later. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, we are sharing our favorite books by our favorite authors. I will pretend that doesn't feel like choosing your favorite child.

Top Ten Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors

• A Mother's Gift by Charlotte Hubbard: Though I have loved every book of Charlotte's that I have ever read, this one was so special that it touched my heart in meaningful ways.
• Beyond Me: Living A You-First Life in a Me-First World by Kathi Macias: The first book that connected me with one of the most talented authors in Christian writing. This true call to discipleship is life-changing.
• A Christmas Journey Home, also by Kathi Macias: This novel is as timely today as it was back then. 
• No Bells by F. M. Meredith (also known as Marilyn Meredith): Love that my favorite member of the Rocky Bluff P.D., Gordon Butler, is the focus. 
• Dispel the Mist by Marilyn Meredith: This book features the Hairy Man, a Native American Bigfoot. 
• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Seeing Almanzo Wilder as a hero makes my heart flutter, but this is my favorite because it shines a light on the dangers pioneers faced. 
• Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery: It is in this third book of the AOGG series that Anne realizes she loves Gilbert.
• Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott: Of the three favorite authors of my childhood, Alcott is not as beloved as the first two. [Cheryl ducks to avoid virtual tomatoes.]  However, I enjoyed this book the most because Jo has matured but is still herself. 
• The Lost Hours by Karen White: I fell in love with Karen's books even harder with this novel. It blends friendship, tragedy, and a quest for the truth.
• Strong from the Heart by Jon Land: Have loved this series since I started reading it, but in this one, Catilin is so human as she battles demons from her past, deals with her half-sister, and so much more. She can always kick butt, but here we get closer and more personal with her. Oh, and more Colonel Paz is often a good thing. 

Note: Linked many of these to reviews, but all the giveaways are long over. 

Thanks to Freepik (now Magnific) for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Summer? (June-August).

Should I answer all the books I buy but never read? At least when the Lil' Princess spends $10 on a Kindle download, she reads it. My book-buying ban failed this year, so I am not paying attention anymore. 

So, what am I excited to read this summer...

• The three books in Bull Cusano's The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club series
• Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts
• Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the second in her Katrina & Goode series.
• At least one book by local authors that I grabbed at recent book events
• One book from my TBR Pile

Now, will I likely get to all these? No. Not if real estate keeps up at this pace. Retirement is getting closer all the time. :) 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - May 25

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Welcome back to Monday. Hope you enjoyed your week.

We are expecting a wet Memorial Day. At least I don't have to water the garden. Our son also turns 39 today. Not sure how that happened since I am only 25. LOL! Crazy how quickly time flies. 

Not many pictures from last week because I was working my tail off. I have numerous listings coming, plus two closings in early June. 

Something caught Theo's eye on our walk.

The phlox is coming in nicely this year.

You will find Travis wherever there is an empty box.

As far as reading goes, I finished Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luann Castle last week. You can see my review here. 

I also finished Co-Created: The Cultural Strategy That Redefined Pacsun by Brieane Olson. You can read my review here. 

I continued The Ladies Hall by Vanessa Miller. I am quickly running out of NetGalley time. 

Need to write a review of Hi Honey, I'm Homo: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume. 

I will pick up The Ledger by Steven Manchester, a companion to his novel The Menu, this week. 

I started The Eyes of River by Cindy K. Sproles.

These are next:

Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the sequel to Hooked

Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts comes out later this month. 

The Ghost and the Key is the first book in Bill Cusano's The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club series. I am reading this series this summer. 

The second book of The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club is The Widow Murderess. 

Book three is The Sparrow and the Crow. All of these are July reviews. 

Massawa by Pam Weber is a book that I will take on vacation with me in July. 

Photo credit: Freepik

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

Do you know what happens when you agree to be on a launch team and then your work schedule gets out of control? This is my life right now. 

The Eyes of River by Cindy K. Sproles arrived on Friday. I am two chapters in and loving it. 

I visited the library on Wednesday and saw The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by James Patterson. Not that I will have any time to read it, but I might at least skim it before I need to bring it back to the library.

Joyce McCullough sent me a copy of Max and Her Stacks to review. 

Upcoming Events

The Ledger by Steven Manchester - May (Review)

Fighter Pilot's Daughter by Mary Lawlor - June 10 (Guest Post)

Staged by Cailtin Rother - June (Review)

The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Ghost and the Key by Bill Cusano - July 1 (Review)

The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Widow Murderess by Bill Cusano - July 8 (Review)

The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Sparrow and the Crow by Bill Cusano - July 10 (Review)

Massawa by Pam Weber - July (Review)

Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts - (Review)

Christmas Year Round

This week's Journey through Christmases Past is all about the red, white, and blue at Christmastime. You can read it here.

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

 Nothing new this week, but I have that new children's book to read. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new this week. 

That is it from me. Hope you enjoy your day!