It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing.

What’s Been Occurring

Friday my family visited a small used bookstore near us for my birthday (which was yesterday) and I came home with a stack of books and spent a little too much money so I am not buying books in October. Plus, I am running out of room for physical books!

I finally felt good for once when we went because I often seem to have one ailment or another when we go. This time I could really explore which is probably why I discovered these two Gladys Taber books in the wild, one of them actually published in 1946.

I may or may not have made a little giddy squeal when I found the books, I might add. The kids rolled their eyes a bit but I said I was allowed to have my nerding out moment, considering my son and husband often have theirs in comic book or Warhammer stores.

I’m still reading my first Gladys Taber book, but I’m already collecting others because I have a feeling I will enjoy all of them.

This little bookshop has a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction, collectibles and non-collectibles.

There is a small new book section and a large section that covers one long wall and features lovely antique or classic books books.

She (the owner) also sells a wide variety of mass paperbacks, which have been discontinued as a book format, and usually I find a few Murder, She Wrote books but not this time, sadly. She also has a little cozy corner full of cozy mysteries and other mystery books and a small selection of Christian Fiction.

There are two rocking chairs on the front porch and three chairs inside where you can sit and read while your family shops.

The town where the bookshop is located in is a tiny tourist village which is quite busy from May until Labor Day. The village isn’t really busy, actually. The lake, cabins, and the inns/small hotels are.

This weekend the whole place was deserted and the other three little stores in the middle of town were closed. I guess the shop owners all decided this was the time to go on their own vacations.

Winter is a fairly relaxed time for the little village so I hope to go to the store again in winter and just explore every section even more.

Maybe even by myself, which is something I really don’t do very often.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

I finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain last night. I’ve been saying for a couple of years that I wanted to read it again (I was about 12 the last time I did) and I’m glad I finally did.

It’s a fun, adventurous story with plenty of excitement for people of any age.

And of course that coupled with all the humor was a nice distraction from life.

In Progress

I am slow reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. I’m also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I am also reading Endless Night by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Christie Reading Challenge. Christie wrote the book in 1968 and said it was her favorite book she’d written.

I plan to start The Two Mrs. Abbott’s by D.E. Stevenson this week as well.

Up Soon

I picked up some new books at the book store, including one by Rhys Bowen, who I have yet to read anything by, and another one by Phillip Gulley that is part of the Harmony series.

New arrivals to my bookshelf

Forever and a Death by Donald Westlake, Julie of the Wolves Treasurery by Jean Craighead George, Naughy in Nice by Rhys Bowen, The Runaway Quilt by Jenniver Chiaverini, The Tuscan child by Rhys Bowen, Life Goes On by Phillip Gullety, The Lighthouse by PD James, The Haunted Showboat by Carolyn Keene, My Own Cape Cod by Gladys Taber, Especially Spaniels by Gladys Taber, Murder at and Irish chipper by Carlene O’Connor.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

I read more than I watched last week but I did rewatch the movie Phffft for my Autumn of Jack Lemmon and last night my family and I rewatched Project Hail Mary, which my daughter and husband had not seen yet.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

• Classic movie impression: Phffft (1954)
• Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot September 18
• 5 fun, light-hearted classic movie suggestions for you to watch
• Sunday Bookends: The Monkees on Prime was the most exciting part of my week and that’s a bit sad

I did not work a ton on Gladwynn Grant Goes Back to School but I did work on it a little. You can find a link to my other books at the bottom of this blog post.

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs), Cat (Cat’s Wire) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea.  This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.

Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night, but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link party.

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?

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This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at  Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer,  Deb at with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.

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Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

If you would like to be the first to get news about my books or just have access to special posts for supporters, you can do so here for $2.99 a month https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

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