It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Nov 4

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 and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

Welcome to November! Did everyone remember to turn their clocks back this weekend? I sure was happy with the extra hour of sleep. Had another busy work week, but managed some fun, too. My sister and I took in dinner and local theater on Saturday.

Nothing like waking up to these two goofballs. Giggles loves hanging out by the window. Travis appears to be studying her. 

Found these antlers while walking Theo in the woods behind the house.

Speaking of houses, this is the view from one of the properties I saw this weekend. 

NaNoWriMo has started. My writing is slow going because I was not as prepared going into it this year. Work hasn't left a lot of free time either. I'm okay with not finishing the book, but it is a good distraction while waiting to hear back from the agent about my first novel. 

As for my reading world, I am working on this one. 

Need to write the review for this cute one. 

Finished this book. Loved it!

These are the books I'm planning to read through the end of the year:  

Upcoming events:

• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)
• Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin - December 2 (Review - TC&TBC)
• Jingles by D.F. Jones - December 11 (Review)

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. This week, we are talking about the Magic Kingdom Christmas tree, Freeform's '25 Days of Christmas' schedule, and Netflix streaming Hallmark Channel movies. Check it out here!

That's it for me this week. Looking forward to checking out your blogs!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Oct 21

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 and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

My, oh my. We are back at Monday again. Time sure passes quickly. Lots going on. Preparing for three closing over the next seven days. Here are a few photos from my week.

Tyno spent a few days with us, so Theo had a pal

Interesting wallpaper in houses I saw this week

Photo along the Mohawk Trail

In reading, I am caught up on review books. I will have one coming in November and another in December. 

My review of this one appeared here.

This is another great book by Sheila Roberts. My review can be found here.

My review of this fabulous book by Jill Kemerer appeared here. 

I finished this one. My review can be found here.

This one is for a November review. 

This short one is for a December review.

I added the following new arrivals to my list. 

NetGalley

Audible: probably won't finish this one. I feel like I have been listening to it forever, and there is still more than six hours left. 

Audible

Mail carrier

Kindle

Upcoming events:

• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)
• Jingles by D.F. Jones - December 11 (Review)

I am looking to review Christmas picture books, chapter books, and clean romance novellas this year. You can check out what other products I'm looking for here.

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. Another week with lots of great news, like the planned reopening of Biltmore Estate for the holidays after Hurricane Helene ravaged Asheville. You can read the latest news here.

I also reviewed the first movie premiere for Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas. You can click here to read my review of 'Twas the Date Before Christmas. 

I'll be poking around blogs later this afternoon. Can't wait to see what you have been reading!

Audible Book Reviews: UnF#ck Your Brain by Faith G. Harper & Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life by Bob Proctor

Before I get started, can I rant one second about how annoying the way Blogger photos are managed these days. They changed it months ago, and now every time I want to add a previously uploaded image into a post, I have to scroll through thousands of images all smashed together into one colorful yet unsightly and unmanageable mess. It takes forever. Okay, now that that's off my chest, let's get started.

Unf#ck Your Brain by Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS is a resource for those seeking to understand the science of the brain from a layperson's perspective. With a heavy dose of humor and an abundance of curse words, Harper seeks to help you understand how your brain works and the advantage of storytelling to rewire your brain to get the results you want. 

Swearing doesn't bother me, but if one day sh*t, a**hole, motherf'er, and the F-bomb were all removed from the English language, I'm not sure how the author would communicate. The advice is sound and the book is filled with helpful information, but it's not like you haven't heard most of this before. If there was some groundbreaking enlightenment, then rushing out to buy this one and enduring all the cussing might make sense. 

I'm not sure if there was an issue with the audio. Other reviewers mentioned it, so don't think it's me. I had to crank up the volume to hear it. The author does a fine job as narrator despite the sound quality, and I feel it cements her style and approach with the reader so they know what to expect in her other books. I wouldn't go out of my way to read Harper again, but if this is your style, she is funny. 

Listening Length	3 hours and 39 minutes
Author	Faith G. Harper PhD LPC-S ACS ACN
Narrator	Faith G. Harper PhD LPC-S ACS ACN
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	March 20, 2018
Publisher	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07BBY85JY
Best Sellers Rank	#10,924 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #21 in Anxiety Disorders (Audible Books & Originals) #35 in Medical Neuropsychology #43 in Popular Neuropsychology

Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life by Bob Proctor provides the inspiration and motivation to change your life by using your mind to influence your future. Proctor was a high school dropout who became a millionaire. He then set out to help others accomplish their goals using the same philosophy.

This audiobook is an interview with Dan Strutzel guiding the conversation on topics that Proctor has spoken about for decades. This conversational style provides helpful insight into Proctor's philosophy, but it isn't a step-by-step guide. Proctor shares the reality we sometimes forget: the only thing in the universe we can change is ourselves. So we have to adapt, and changing our mindset can be hard. But, we are more than the challenges and obstacles we face, so as we adapt, we can change our lives. 

Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life explores numerous concepts, which Proctor is able to dive deeper into thanks to the conversation with Strutzel. There is also a helpful contribution by Proctor's business partner, Sandy Gallagher. 

I will be reading more books by Bob Proctor in the future. His philosophy truly resonated with me. 

Listening Length	5 hours and 20 minutes
Author	Bob Proctor
Narrator	Bob Proctor, Dan Strutzel
Audible.com Release Date	September 28, 2021
Publisher	Ascent Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B09G5132VW
Best Sellers Rank	#3,166 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #78 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Audible Books & Originals) #111 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books) #126 in Personal Finance (Books)

I downloaded these books thanks to my Audible membership. These reviews contain my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Feb 6

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.   

 

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 and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.     

Welcome to the first Monday of February. Hope you had a great week. Lots going on here with work and family life. Spent a day and a half in various forms of training. Worked on getting organized and planning for my mother-in-law to relocate here. Tried not to freeze body parts off. Lost trees in the woods, but mostly only branches to pick up other than that. It was way worse in other places and some lost power for longer than we did.

Sunday, our trail was sunny and much warmer on our morning walk.

Over the weekend, one of our local groups held a danceathon to support three western Mass charities. Rick's Place  in Wilbraham was one of the recipients. This organization, whose board I am blessed to sit on, offers free grief support to children and their families. 

In my reading world, I finished this audio book. You can find my review here.

I am also 26% through this wonderful latest installment of Charlotte Hubbard's latest Promise Lodge novel. Since adding the Netgalley app to my phone, I tend to use it more and aren't as shy about requesting new titles. 

These two are next. 

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• Dead Heat to Destiny by J. B. Rivard - Feb 7
• Family Gatherings at Promise Lodge by Charlotte Hubbard - Feb 20
• Kiss My Boots by Jennifer Learmont - Feb 23
• The Code by Sean Keefer - Mar 6
• Path of Peril by Marlie Parker Wasserman - Mar 13

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

These two arrived on Friday. They are the last of the books I ordered with my B&N gift card. I so rarely read anything lighthearted that I felt it is time to make it happen.

I also grabbed a few books from an estate sale. I enjoy David McCullough. It is also good to have books I can use for research purposes here since I tend to write historical fiction. 

I also grabbed a Kindle freebie on Sunday that I simply couldn't resist.

Abigail Sutton’s beloved husband walks out one night, doesn’t return, and two years later is found dead, a victim of a long ago crime. It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families. Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.

But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play. Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer.

Doesn't Scraps of Paper sound fabulous? 

I am off to stage a property this morning, but I will check in with everyone later today. Hope it is a good one!

Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Growth

Welcome to Day 7 of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge (2022) I will be discussing topics of interest to those who identify as women this year. The Book Connection is lucky number 78 in a list of more than 140 bloggers who are participating in 2022. I encourage you to check out the list and visit other blogs with topics of interest. 

GROWTH

I attended a professional conference last year. Over lunch with a few colleagues, we spoke about how challenging it can be to change the culture of an organization due to the resistance of those who wish to keep everything running the same way. I'm not sure exactly what I said, but it was something like, "If we refuse to change, we stop growing." That's when one of the women around the table asked me if I was a life coach. I guess it sounded more profound than I realized. 

Growing is a part of living. The longer I spend on this planet, I realize that personal growth, while rarely easy, is crucial to making us happier and more successful (however you choose to define success). 

Today, I'll share favorite quotes about growth.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” 

― Mark Twain 

 “The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down.”

― Stephen Richards

 “When a woman rises up in glory, her energy is magnetic and her sense of possibility contagious.”

 ― Marianne Williamson

 “She remembered who she was and the game changed.”

 ― Lalah Delia 

 “Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.”

― Roy T. Bennett

 “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

― Lewis Carroll

 “The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”

― Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

― Rumi

“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.”

— Carol Burnett

“Stop being who you were and become who you are.”

— Paulo Coelho

 “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”

— Gail Sheehy