Sending lots of love to those in New Orleans and California. It’s been a rough start to the new year.
Glad that some of you are able to enjoy the snow days. I love snow, and we have some here, but not everyone cleared the ice we got Monday before today’s snow. That makes walking to and from the train quite scary.
If you enjoy vampire stories, I highly recommend Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things. It’s a Mexican vampire story that reads more like a noir thriller and less like horror. She’s the author of Mexican Gothic.
I joined 6-7 reading challenges on StoryGraph. They help me tackle my stacks of ARCs and open up my reading to more diverse books. Whitman was for a genre challenge that needed a poetry book focused on nature. The Bobbsey Twins is for Book Riot’s Read Harder 2025 challenge for rereading a childhood favorite. I first read Whitman in high school. I got a good grade on rewriting the first few pages of Leaves of Grass from a high school senior’s point of view. LOL I wish I still had a copy of it!
I’m reading Somewhere Beyond The Sea by TJ Klune this weekend. And maybe starting the romance for the work book club. Totally not going to be my cup of tea but I’m going to do it.
“The best gardens come from rested soil, right?” Love this.
It’s snowing here in the Chattanooga TN area, too. The kids-my 26 year old daughter and her husband-stayed over last night. Because, just like Christmas Eve, she can’t bear to not be with Mom and Dad on a snow day.
Our hearts and prayers are with all those in California, as well. The devastation…I can’t even imagine.
The fires are awful and so so scary. My husband is heading out to Cali for a work trip next week, and I'm sure I'm going to hear some personal stories from his clients. Hopefully not. I hope this is the last fire for them during this Santa Ana period. *fingers crossed*
We're like you JT with lots of snow and no infrastructure to support it. My sisters were dumped on in Colorado, and their kids still had school but ours was cancelled. My youngest is to blame for all the snow. She's been missing it real bad the four years we've been here and has been praying for snow since October. (Sorry everyone.) She ran outside in her pajamas yesterday and danced in the snow and made a snowman that resembles Bob from Beetlejuice. I think that's his name--I haven't seen the movies. (Imagine a full-size body with a small, shrunken head.)
Still reading ATOMIC HABITS. I love the idea of habit stacking, which is where you put a new habit you want to create in between two habits you already have. Like in between brushing your teeth and your first cup of coffee. Things you already do instinctually.
I also read an old Harlan Coben book, ONE FALSE MOVE because I wanted to see the beats for the trope--one crime/mystery hides a much larger one. It was still good the second time which says a lot as I hardly ever read a book a second time. I also binged MISSING YOU on Netflix with the hubs. That was real good too. Different than the book, but still really good. I hope you stay warm and cozy and finish your copy edits quickly so you can chill.
**I'm doing good with the resolution to have still/quiet moments. To be present.
Love that you’re finding that stillness and peace. It really does make a difference, doesn’t it? Glad to hear that Harlan’s new series is good… I loved that book! And I am so glad your youngest did the snow dance. I’m loving the white stuff!
I live in Nebraska and we typically get snow...some years more than others. If it's going to snow, I want to be dumped on. I want LOTS of snow so I'm not expected to go anywhere! Then I can sit home and read and binge watch
I follow VE Schwab on Instagram and I've seen her talking about the new book and ALL the signing she did....crazy! Addie LaRue is one of the best books I've ever read. If you're getting Addie LaRue vibes from her new book,then I'm all in.
I read THE BANNED BOOK CLUB by Brenda Novak. Iver never read this author before and I enjoyed this book.
I started ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK by Chris Whitaker. I got about 1/3 in and I had to take a break. It's a great book, but it's really long and many times sad. I'll try to get back to it.
I had to abandon the above book because A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS dropped on Tues by Adrienne Young. This author just keeps getting better. Her best book yet. I pre-ordered so I got to listen to a zoom of Adrienne with her twin brother Adam....it was fascinating!
Everyone take care with all this weather going on....snow, fires, extreme cold...help each other where you can!
All The Colors of The Dark is long and emotionally heavy. Go back to it when the mood strikes. It will be there waiting. It was a huge favorite among our library staff. I read it as an ebook. Long books never seem so long when I read them digitally.
Happy Friday… so excited to hear you love Adrienne like I do! She was very on hands with the recovery effort in western North Carolina. All of these tragedies… just heartbreaking.
I saw where Adrienne was volunteering with a group going house to house in NC to see if anyone was there....alive or dead....I just can't imagine.
The zoom was really cool to see a little bit more of her personality. She just seems like a good human who writes great books!
The weather does seem to be ramping up (for lack of a better word). More hurricanes that are stronger, more tornados that are stronger, more fires...it's like the planet is trying to tell us something?
I follow Victoria too and saw that she did a lot of her signing in Denver. (A touch of home was nice in her pictures.) I'm all in for the lesbian vampires as well. I hope you get lots of snow. We're getting a bunch here in my corner of Texas and would be glad to send some your way.
Sending lots of love to those in New Orleans and California. It’s been a rough start to the new year.
Glad that some of you are able to enjoy the snow days. I love snow, and we have some here, but not everyone cleared the ice we got Monday before today’s snow. That makes walking to and from the train quite scary.
If you enjoy vampire stories, I highly recommend Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things. It’s a Mexican vampire story that reads more like a noir thriller and less like horror. She’s the author of Mexican Gothic.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone! Our TBR lists won’t read themselves!
This week’s list:
Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport by Laura Lee Hope
Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
The Drowning by J. P. Smith
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Mine by Delilah S. Dawson
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth
I loved The Night Shift.
Brandee, all of this, and more! Stay safe on that ice. Precious cargo.
What’s brought Whitman into your radar this week?
I joined 6-7 reading challenges on StoryGraph. They help me tackle my stacks of ARCs and open up my reading to more diverse books. Whitman was for a genre challenge that needed a poetry book focused on nature. The Bobbsey Twins is for Book Riot’s Read Harder 2025 challenge for rereading a childhood favorite. I first read Whitman in high school. I got a good grade on rewriting the first few pages of Leaves of Grass from a high school senior’s point of view. LOL I wish I still had a copy of it!
That is so much fun! Wish you still had it too.
I’m reading Somewhere Beyond The Sea by TJ Klune this weekend. And maybe starting the romance for the work book club. Totally not going to be my cup of tea but I’m going to do it.
Hi Erin—glad that you’re reading! I always think I’m going to not like something and end up loving it. Hope that helps the anticipation!
“The best gardens come from rested soil, right?” Love this.
It’s snowing here in the Chattanooga TN area, too. The kids-my 26 year old daughter and her husband-stayed over last night. Because, just like Christmas Eve, she can’t bear to not be with Mom and Dad on a snow day.
Our hearts and prayers are with all those in California, as well. The devastation…I can’t even imagine.
Love that your baby comes home for snow days. That’s beautiful.
The fires are awful and so so scary. My husband is heading out to Cali for a work trip next week, and I'm sure I'm going to hear some personal stories from his clients. Hopefully not. I hope this is the last fire for them during this Santa Ana period. *fingers crossed*
We're like you JT with lots of snow and no infrastructure to support it. My sisters were dumped on in Colorado, and their kids still had school but ours was cancelled. My youngest is to blame for all the snow. She's been missing it real bad the four years we've been here and has been praying for snow since October. (Sorry everyone.) She ran outside in her pajamas yesterday and danced in the snow and made a snowman that resembles Bob from Beetlejuice. I think that's his name--I haven't seen the movies. (Imagine a full-size body with a small, shrunken head.)
Still reading ATOMIC HABITS. I love the idea of habit stacking, which is where you put a new habit you want to create in between two habits you already have. Like in between brushing your teeth and your first cup of coffee. Things you already do instinctually.
I also read an old Harlan Coben book, ONE FALSE MOVE because I wanted to see the beats for the trope--one crime/mystery hides a much larger one. It was still good the second time which says a lot as I hardly ever read a book a second time. I also binged MISSING YOU on Netflix with the hubs. That was real good too. Different than the book, but still really good. I hope you stay warm and cozy and finish your copy edits quickly so you can chill.
**I'm doing good with the resolution to have still/quiet moments. To be present.
Love that you’re finding that stillness and peace. It really does make a difference, doesn’t it? Glad to hear that Harlan’s new series is good… I loved that book! And I am so glad your youngest did the snow dance. I’m loving the white stuff!
The fires in southern CA are just horrifying 😥
I live in Nebraska and we typically get snow...some years more than others. If it's going to snow, I want to be dumped on. I want LOTS of snow so I'm not expected to go anywhere! Then I can sit home and read and binge watch
I follow VE Schwab on Instagram and I've seen her talking about the new book and ALL the signing she did....crazy! Addie LaRue is one of the best books I've ever read. If you're getting Addie LaRue vibes from her new book,then I'm all in.
I read THE BANNED BOOK CLUB by Brenda Novak. Iver never read this author before and I enjoyed this book.
I started ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK by Chris Whitaker. I got about 1/3 in and I had to take a break. It's a great book, but it's really long and many times sad. I'll try to get back to it.
I had to abandon the above book because A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS dropped on Tues by Adrienne Young. This author just keeps getting better. Her best book yet. I pre-ordered so I got to listen to a zoom of Adrienne with her twin brother Adam....it was fascinating!
Everyone take care with all this weather going on....snow, fires, extreme cold...help each other where you can!
All The Colors of The Dark is long and emotionally heavy. Go back to it when the mood strikes. It will be there waiting. It was a huge favorite among our library staff. I read it as an ebook. Long books never seem so long when I read them digitally.
Is that one that audio would work for too? I started and it did get to be too much. But I so want to know what happens.
I think the narrative voices on audio would work well.
Happy Friday… so excited to hear you love Adrienne like I do! She was very on hands with the recovery effort in western North Carolina. All of these tragedies… just heartbreaking.
I saw where Adrienne was volunteering with a group going house to house in NC to see if anyone was there....alive or dead....I just can't imagine.
The zoom was really cool to see a little bit more of her personality. She just seems like a good human who writes great books!
The weather does seem to be ramping up (for lack of a better word). More hurricanes that are stronger, more tornados that are stronger, more fires...it's like the planet is trying to tell us something?
I follow Victoria too and saw that she did a lot of her signing in Denver. (A touch of home was nice in her pictures.) I'm all in for the lesbian vampires as well. I hope you get lots of snow. We're getting a bunch here in my corner of Texas and would be glad to send some your way.
Toxic lesbian vampires… yep, pretty much spot on.