It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - July 13

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. 

We are back! Our family arrived home early from vacation, which allowed us to see the Lil' Princess, who drove down from Maine. Over the weekend, I celebrated my 58th birthday with all the kids here. Now, I am back to work. Today will be filled with appointments. 

Happy birthday to me!

Hanging at the OBX house

Dinner at Miller's Waterfront 

Fireworks in Manteo

Girls at The Elizabethan Gardens

Mural at The Dunes 

Replica glider at The Wright Brothers National Memorial

I didn't read half as much as expected on vacation. Partially because we were dealing with some nonsense in getting the Lil' Princess' car picked up and dropped off in Maine, and also because I had an unexpected medical issue while there. Nothing too serious (I hope), but I will head to my primary care next week after some tests are done this week. 

I have less than an hour left with Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. Loving so much about it.

I  have not picked up The Ladies Hall by Vanessa Miller while here, because other books need to be read first. 

I am done with The Ledger by Steven Manchester, a companion to his novel The Menu. Look for my review soon. 

I didn't pick up The Eyes of River last week. 

I read some of Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts. 

Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the sequel to Hooked. I need to get back to this one. 

My review of the second book of The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club, The Widow Murderess, appears here. 

Book three is The Sparrow and the Crow. I posted a First Chapter Review of this one on July 10. You can read it here.

Massawa by Pam Weber is a book I have not yet started.

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. 

Got this great book that I saw in Downtown Books in Manteo for my birthday. I have already opened Andy Griffith's Manteo: His Real Mayberry by John Railey. 

Upcoming Events

The Ledger by Steven Manchester - TBD (Review)

Staged by Caitlin Rother - TBD (Review)

Massawa by Pam Weber - July (Review)

Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts - TBD (Review)

Christmas Year Round

Journey through Christmases Past talks about the origins of Christmas in July. You can find that post here.

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Nothing new. This blog celebrates its 17th anniversary on July 14. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new, but I did watch the first episode in the Netflix adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. My thoughts will be coming soon. 

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!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - May 18

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 on a Sunday. My work schedule, and therefore my blogging schedule, has been unpredictable lately. Hope all of you who celebrate enjoyed your Mother's Day. We had an early breakfast that morning and headed home from North Carolina later that day. Glad to be home, but also miss our girl. 

Here are a few recent photos:

The Lil' Princess and her dad

Our girls

The Lil' Princess and some friends

The family minus our son

Thought she might have gotten her arms stuck at the Battleship North Carolina

Recreating a One Tree Hill moment

I went to my first bar in over 30 years. It was not pleasant. 

Hard to believe these four years have passed so quickly. Luckily, when she relocates for work, she will be much closer to our place. 

In my reading world, my review of This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman appeared today. You can read it here.

I finished Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luann Castle. This collection is emotional and raw. Look for my review on May 21. 

I continued The Ladies Hall by Vanessa Miller. I hope I don't run out of time on NetGalley before I finish it. 

I finished listening to Hi Honey, I'm Homo: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume. Great book! Look for a review soon. 

I started The Ledger by Steven Manchester, which is a companion to his novel, The Menu. It's a slow read for me so far. 

These are next:

Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the sequel to Hooked

Co-Created: The Cultural Strategy That Redefined Pacsun by Brieane Olson is also a NetGalley download.

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

The Ghost and the Key, 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. 

Has anyone heard from Vicki? She hasn't posted since April 5. 

These were presents for Mother's Day, and two books I bought for myself aboard the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington. 

Upcoming Events

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)

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 focuses on the year 1885. You can find it here. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

This blog is getting harder to update now that I don't read as many children's books as I used to, and because my writing is not as much as expected this year. Real estate, however, has been amazing. 

Laura's Little Houses

On Wednesday, I posted my "Most Favorite Episode from Each Season of Little House on the Prairie (Seasons 7 - 9). This brings us to the end of the series. You can read this post here. 

Looking forward to checking out your blogs today.