It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Mar 30

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. 

Here we are at the end of another month. Did March go by as quickly for you as it did for me? This month was a mix of business, networking, time in the kitchen, events as we get closer to the Lil' Princess' graduation, and the loss of one of our beloved cats. Our kitty quartet was reduced to a trio in 2024, and now it is a duet. Real estate has tremendously picked up, which means I will need to be even more careful with my boundaries. Here are some photos from last week:

We had to euthanize Boots on Wednesday. Not unexpected, but still hard. 

On Friday night, Paddy and I ate at Davio's on the Boston Seaport. The food and service are amazing!

Our Lil' Princess before she headed out to formal. 

We had Travis to make us smile this week. 

In my reading world, I overextended myself, which happens when I am sad. That means I will likely not read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas or Officer Erik and the Very Special Dad  by Erik Estrada and Steven Manchester until vacation time. 

My review of Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor appeared on Sunday. You can find it here. What a beautifully told story!

My review of Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley was posted on Saturday. Such an interesting book. Check out my review here.

I am almost done with Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel. Look for my review in April. 

I have Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst downloaded on NetGalley. I didn't read it last week, but I will pick it up again this week. 

In addition to finishing Beyond Dorothy on Audible, I started listening to the next two books.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling. Not a fan so far. It's a lot of jargon. 

Since I turned off nonfiction, I started This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman, which many people have raved about. I am not sure I appreciate the narrator for this audiobook, but I will see how it goes. 

Next, I will be reading the following for reviews:

Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luann Castle

The Ledger by Steven Manchester, which is a companion to his novel, The Menu

Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the sequel to Hooked

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. 

Continuing to display my lack of self-control, I grabbed three books this week.

The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida was a cited resource in Dream Facades by Jack Balderrama Morley. 

Crabtree Tule River Patriarchs is the latest book by Marilyn Meredith. 

Reading Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor inspired me to read the OZ series by L. Frank Baum, so I downloaded this set for my Kindle. 

Upcoming Events

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst - Apr 20 (Review)

A Change in Plans: A Sgt. Windflower Mystery by Mike Martin - May 13 (Guest Post)

Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luanne Castle - May 21 (Review)

The Ledger by Steven Manchester - May (Review)

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

Staged by Cailtin Rother - June (Review)

Christmas Year Round

The Christmas Year Round blog has a new "Journey through Christmases Past" post. We travel back to Christmas 1843, which was an important year for lovers of the written word. Check it out here. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Are you ready for Kidlit Haha Week? It starts on April 1. Check out my post here. 

Laura's Little Houses

I started drafting the next post in my brain. Now, all I need is some time to get it done. 

That's it for me this week. I will post this on Sunday because I have an early morning appointment followed by a training class. I'll check out your blogs in the afternoon. Enjoy!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Oct 20

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.

Happy Monday! I'm writing this late on Sunday, so if you come across typos, please give me a bit of grace. I'm exhausted. This last week was filled with appointments, meetings, a play in support of a local nonprofit, and a writers conference. Here are a few photos:

Greenfield Community College, where I attended a writers conference on Saturday

Spent last Monday replenishing my marketing material

Play to support Alianza DV Services

Theo warmed up with his coat on a cold and wet day

The week ahead has two closings, meetings, a training session, and photos for a new listing. All good stuff.

In books. I reviewed Eleanor Roosevelt's Nightly Prayer by Donn Mitchell. You can find it here.

I continued reading The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright this week. Need to pick up the pace if I am to finish both October books. 

I read a bit of The Curiosities by W.H. Eatons, a middle-grade novel that I downloaded from NetGalley. 

The Man Next Door, another romantic comedy by Sheila Roberts, is next.

Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson is still on pause as I read October books. 

I want to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. 

Eager to read Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron for a November review. 

Also looking forward to reviewing Charlie Can't Sleep by Rachel Joy Welcher.

Will be posting a First Chapter Review of A Quarterback for Christmas by Linda West in November.

Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein is a middle-grade NetGalley download I need to read. 

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. 

Proving that I am my own worst enemy, I added two new titles to my review pile and then grabbed a bunch of Kindle freebies. 

Upcoming Events

• The Neighbor and the Gifts by Danielle Grandinetti - Oct 23 (Spotlight)
• The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright - Oct 29 (Review)
• One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches by Kayleigh Kavanagh - Oct 30 (Spotlight)
• The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts - Oct 31 (Review)
• A Quarterback for Christmas by Linda West - Nov 13 (First Chapter Review)
• Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson - Nov 25 (Review)
• Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron - Nov 27 (Review)

This week's Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. We are talking about Netflix Christmas movie premieres, the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll, and Christmas at Wooddale. Check it out here. Also, this week, I posted Three Things to Do in October to Prepare for Christmas. Check out my tips and links to recipes and decorating ideas here.

At The Children's and Teens' Book Connection, I shared a post about the January release of The Moon without Stars by Chanel Miller. You will find that here. 

You will find my Top Five Favorite Episodes from Little House on the Prairie - Season 3 at Laura's Little Houses if you click here. 

Gosh, that was a lot. Are you still reading? Enjoy your Monday!