This week we were asked to list the books on our Summer 2024 To-Read List.
I actually have a list this year but whether I stick with it remains to be seen.
I also want to add some lighter books to this mix so if you have any suggestions let me know.
I have more than 10 books on my summer reading list but I’m going to just list 10. It doesn’t mean I’ll only read these, but I’d like to read these at some point this summer.
This list is in no particular order and, as always, is subject to change. It’s actually already changed in the last week. Ha!
Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie (already started and enjoying)
2. The Clue of The Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene
3. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (a late edition)
4. Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin
5. Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett
6. The Cross County Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
6. Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour
7. The Bobbsey Twins On Blueberry Island by Laura Lee Hope
9. An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey
10. The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wight
Additional books I’m reading or will, most likely read, A Sentence to Death by Anthony Horowitz (already started), Summer By The Tides by Denise Hunter, Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (already in the middle of this with Little Miss and it’s a perfect summer read), and The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene.
Since I am a mood reader, I am sure some of these books will get pushed back to fall or winter.
Do you have any books you hope to read this summer?
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays (yes I did post this on Saturday night this week), I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
Yesterday I shared in my Saturday blog post that I was in the ER on Monday. I am doing fine now and long story short is my heart felt like it was flipping/skipping for more than 12 hours but because I’ve had this feeling off and on for years (and been checked for it), I delayed going. As it has been in the past, I was told my heart was fine. I don’t know why the skipping feeling was happening and kept happening over and over again and the doctor who was there didn’t either but by Thursday it had stopped for the most part and by Friday it was all the way gone.
I am now thinking it was related to a muscle twitch in my chest caused by – well, who knows. A possible autoimmune condition and just the fact I am over weight (just started an exercise plan and a new way of eating so maybe I strained something)? Who knows.
If you want to read more about my weird and stressful week, you can catch up on that post.
Today, though, I will share that after all of that, I was carrying in groceries yesterday, tripped over a curb in our sidewalk, went flying, and injured my knee. Yesterday I spent half the day with it propped up and frozen veggies on it.
This is where I would like to announce that I will be encasing myself in bubble wrap for the foreseeable future but I really don’t know if that is practical or financially wise.
What I/we’ve been Reading
Currently:
The Real James Herriot by Jim Wight
and
Death At A Scottish Christmas
and
The Women of Wyntons by Donna Mumma (I forgot I had started this one! Whoops! It is for a book tour and it’s good so far.)
So I started the Jim Wight biography of his father Alf (James Herriott is his pen name), but decided it was a little bit dry. I still want to read it but I feel like I’ll need a bit to break up the slower pace, which is why I started Death At a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connolly. It turns out it was just what I needed to have a little bit of a fun read in addition to more of a educational read.
Just Finished:
I finished The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson, a fun romantic comedy last week. It comes out June 25. I am behind on reviews, but hope to have one up for this soon. It was a silly, sweet book with a few parts that started to drag but then picked right back up again. I would recommend it for romance fans. I don’t read a lot of romance books but when I do I like Sharon’s, ones by Bethany Turner, and others by Becky Wade.
Soon to be read:
A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz
An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey
The Deeds of the Deceitful by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliff
LIttle Miss and I are reading Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright.
The Boy is reading a War Hammer book that I forgot the name of (he’s at a friend’s house and I don’t want to bug him and ask).
The Husband is reading With A Mind to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
What We watched/are Watching
I watched the last two episodes of the fourth season of All Creatures Great and Small on Thursday and Friday and had a good cry, which was a nice release after the week I had.
I also watched some episodes of The Dick VanDyke Show this week.
Last night The Husband and I watched The Rockford Files.
What I’m Writing
I am working on book three of the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries. I can’t wait to share it with you! I’m having fun!
What I’m Listening to
I am listening to Around the World in 80 Days on Audible. Yes, I’ve been listening to it a long time but I haven’t had a lot of time to sit and listen to it. I am really enjoying it and I would have given up and just read the book except I am really enjoying the narrator.
Photos from Last Week
Now it’s your turn
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.
One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.
MY THOUGHTS: This was a fun introduction to what promises to be an even more fun series. So far there are 10 books in the series. This is a very authentic Irish book written with Irish tone, accents, and history. I loved the main character, Siobhan (shuh-vawn) O’Sullivan, and her five siblings. Together they are known as the O’Sullivan Six in their small town.
Siobhan is a headstrong, redhead who has had an extremely rough year. She has to find the killer because a family member is being blamed for the death of the man found at their bistro. Combine her determination with a bit of romance between her and the local garda (police) and you have the perfect combination for a mystery in my mind.
*Heads up to those who like their cozy mysteries squeaky clean: while it has many cozy mystery elements there is some swearing, including the big ones that somehow sound nicer when written/spelled in an Irish accent.
I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of the books in the series.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
Yesterday Little Miss had a friend over and it was a somewhat busy day of running through sprinklers, jumping on trampolines, and making snacks.
Today I am taking my time deciding what to do since I didn’t have a great night of sleep. Whatever I do I am grateful to have a nice, cool, and sunny day to do it in.
In my post yesterday I mentioned that I have started a YouTube Shorts channel and a paid Substack. Today I started thinking about how much of a bad idea that was. *snort laugh*. I hate social media. What was I thinking?!
So, they are there and I do plan to post some interesting stuff on Substack, but I do not plan to get obsessed with YouTube because I just don’t have time. I waste too much time on social media as it is.
What I/we’ve been Reading
Currently:
The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene
The Women of Wyntons by Donna Muma
The Real James Herriottby Jim Wight
Just Finished:
The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson (romantic comedy)
Up next:
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
What We watched/are Watching
The kids have been making their way through all the Harry Potter films so I’ve been sort of watching with them even though I’m not that interested in Harry Potter. These last films are super depressing in parts with team members just dying left and right without much time to mourn them. My son says that is how the books were too.
Last night I watched Dead Reckoning with Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott with The Boy. We did not enjoy it.
Tonight The Husband and I are watching the season 4 premiere (finally) of The Chosen.
What I’m Writing
I am working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree and on edits for Cassie. Still. Yes.
I am still listening to Around the World in 80 Days and I would love to finish it this week.
As for music, I am really enjoying Anne Wilson’s new album. Here is a sample of it:
Photos from Last Week
Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week
I am behind on collecting blog posts for this feature but I plan to work on this this summer because I have been reading some really interesting blog posts lately. Now it’s your turn
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
Today’s prompt was:Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read.
So I have a lot of books I could probably put on this list but today I am going to share three books I grabbed up at used book sales but still haven’t started. I know – I am supposed to share ten but I didn’t have ten! I am so bad at the whole “top ten” theme but hopefully I’ll get better at it.
These books won’t be on the “popular” lists of today because this week I realized I don’t read popular books. I read books not many people have heard of, I think. I’m like a little old book lady stuck in a middle-aged lady’s body.
Anyhow, here are my three books:
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie.
This is the first book in the Grantchester Mysteries, which is the book series that the British TV show is based on. The series follows the vicar turned amateur sleuth, Sidney Chambers.
Originally, I wanted to read these books because I thought they were older mysteries but when I picked up this book I realized it had been written in 2012, making it much more modern than I expected. I also learned (well just today, if I am honest) that the books are a collection of short stories, somewhat like G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown Mysteries.
I still want to read the book(s), however. I will have to compare it with what I have already seen of the show, which isn’t much.
There are six books in this series with the fifth, the prequel having been written in 2019.
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death (2012)
Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night (2013)
Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil (2014)
Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins (2015)
Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation (2016)
Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love (2017)
The Road to Grantchester (2019)
The next book I snatched up at a library sale that I wanted to read was Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor.
This is the sequel to Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, which I read as a kid. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry is a sequel to Song of the Trees and all are part of the Logan family saga.
I want to eventually read this entire series but before I start this particular book, I want to go back and reread Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry since it has been *mumble mumble* years since I first read it.
If you are not familiar with this series, here is a quick description of the first book:
Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family’s struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie’s story – Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.
And this one:
It is a frightening and turbulent time for the Logan family. First, their friend T. J. must go on trial for murder – and confront an all-white jury. Then, Cousin Suzella tries to pass for white, with humiliating consequences. And when Cassie’s neighbor Mrs. Lee Annie stands up for her right to vote, she and her family are driven from their home. Other neighbors are destroyed and shattered by the greed of landowners. But through it all, Cassie and the Logans stand together and stand proud – proving that courage, love, and understanding can defy even the deepest prejudice.
The third book I grabbed and wanted is Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour.
I grabbed this one because my mom and brother used to read Louis L’Amour when I was a kid and a blogger I follow reads him and was talking about his books. I thought this would be something different to try – out of my normal realm of genre reading.
L’Amour writes westerns and the only other books I’ve read that I would consider westerns are The Walt Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
So have you read any of these books or even heard of them? Let me know in the comments!
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene (Another fluff read by “Carolyn Keene” this week.)
The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson (A romantic comedy – much needed, though there is some seriousness thrown in so I’m reading it sort of slowly.)
Just Finished:
Strawberry Girlby Lois Lenski
I almost abandoned this one because of how odd it was when I first started but then I had to find out what happened with the Slater family – who are so mean to the Boyler family. If you’re not familiar with this one it is about farming families in Florida in the early 20th century. Their accents are, I guess, very authentic. Or mocking. Not sure which, but I think they are meant to be authentic. (I know they are meant to be authentic. I’m teasing a bit here.)
It honestly had a lot of disturbing stuff in it so I don’t think this will be a book I’ll read over and over. The librarian at our local library said this one had sentimental meaning for her like the Little House books but I don’t remember neighbors poisoning the Ingalls’ mule like the neighbors in this book did. Yikes. It did have a good ending, but I would not call this a “cozy read.”
It was, however, an interesting one.
Abandoned: I planned to start a new book by author Maddie Day and then found out that she is a cozy mystery writer who pushes politics in her books. No thanks. I read to escape from all that – not to have it shoved at me in books that are meant to be fun. And, by the way, I don’t want politics even if it is politics I “agree with.”
Soon to be read:
The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of my Father by Jim Wight
The Deeds of the Deceitful by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliffe
The Boy and I are reading Around the World in 80 Days Together.
Little Miss and I are reading Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes.
The Husband is reading . .. oops. Forgot to ask him and he’s laying down for a nap. I’ll let you know next week.
What We watched/are Watching
It was a mixed bag of things on tap to watch this week. I watched an episode of Dick VanDyke, one of the old Carol Burnett Show, a couple of YouTube videos from Just A Few Acres Farm and I think that’s about it. I read and wrote more this week than watched things. What I’m Writing
I am still working on corrections to Cassie and on writing the third book in the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries.
Now it’s your turn
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
I rambled about what’s been occurring in my post yesterday if you want to read that.
Today I have to drive 45 minutes one way to pick up The Boy from his friend’s house and then we will have lunch at my parents afterward. Then I’m bringing him home to mow our lawn which is crazy high from all the rain we have been having.
The temps are supposed to be hotter this week which I am not actually looking forward to because I don’t enjoy the heat and our AC isn’t ready to go yet. We have to install an extra pipe into the window and set up this whole contraption because we have odd vertical windows. It’s a whole process.
What I/we’ve been Reading
Just Finished:
The Mysterious Affair At Styles (The first book in the Hercule Poirot series) by Agatha Christie.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Do the New You by Steven Furtick
Operation Restoration by Kari Trumbo
This week I read that The Secret Garden was written by Burnett after her son died of tuberculosis. This helped me appreciate the book more because I just finished it for the first time with my daughter and I didn’t like the ending. I didn’t hate it but I wanted more. Now that I know the story behind the book I like the ending more because for Frances Colin being able to walk and be alive – like her son couldn’t be – was all she needed us to know.
To be started today or tomorrow:
The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson (a romance)
And
Murder At the Rusty Anchor by Maddie Day
Soon to be read (or eventually at this point):
The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of my Father by Jim Wight
The Deeds of the Deceitful by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliffe
Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander
The Husband is reading London Rules by Mick Herron
The Boy just finished listening to 1984 by George Orwell (nope, I didn’t make him), is almost done with Horus Rising and is also listening to Around The World in 80 Days.
What We watched/are Watching
This week I watched episodes of Newhart, Midsomer Murders, and Brokenwood Mysteries – some with The Husband and some alone.
I am still listening to Around the World in 80 Days.
Photos from Last Week
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
The books for the Apron Strings Book Series keep releasing and this month it is Joann by Donna Stone.
The series features books about women in each decade from 1920 to 2020 and they are connected by one recipe/cookery book, but otherwise the books can be read individually.
Today I am interviewing Donna about her writing and her book, which releases today. See the bottom of this post for a link to the book.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve always loved the written word and books. The bookstore or library is my favorite hangout. Growing up, I used to climb up into a tree in search of a quiet spot to read a book, away from my siblings. I’ve given up tree climbing, but still enjoy a bit of peace and quiet with a book.
Writing has been a big part of my life for as far back as I remember. During the years my children were young, I wrote for magazines and for fun—when I could find time. We homeschooled and were very active in the homeschool community, with church, and with dance and theater.
A few years ago, I started writing novels with the intent of publishing. This was a different world than writing short fiction and nonfiction! I entered a few writing contests and to my surprise did quite well, which encouraged me to think I might be able to make a go of this novel writing thing. Right now, I have five completed novels that are scheduled to be published in 2024 and 2025. I regularly contribute to Almost an Author, a site for writers about craft.
2. What is your latest book about? Who are the main characters and when and where does it take place?
Joann is part of the Apron Strings series. The story takes place in 1965 in the small rural community of Pecan Grove, Louisiana. Joann works in her family’s store and it’s her dream to one day share proprietorship with her younger sister and continue a long family legacy. She has a deep loyalty to the family business and believes serving her community in this way is her true calling. Joann’s father would rather his girls got married. In truth, Joann wants both, but during the 60s a married woman rarely had a career or business. Then there’s the not-so-small matter of whether or not Nathan, the only guy she’s ever loved, is serious enough about her to commit to marriage. Besides romance and Joann facing all the challenges of her expected role in society, the story explores family relationships, especially between Joann and her younger sister.
3. What is the overarching message of your latest book?
Because of past abandonment and her personality, Joann struggles with letting others, including God, take the lead. This causes her unnecessary heartache, even as she tries her best to seek God and understand what it means to “lean not unto your own understanding”.
4. Did you learn anything about writing or yourself as you were writing the book?
When writing, I often use music to inspire me, and with this book, I found out I know a lot of the lyrics to songs of the 60s! The music of the times was all over the place, reflecting the changes and issues of the day. Listening to those songs from the 1960s definitely gave me a feel for the era.
On the spiritual side, writing Joann reminded me of truths I already know, but all to often lose sight of. In the busyness of tending to a family with special needs, I’m called on to smooth out the bumps, which can feed into a reliance on self. That’s not a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t become my go-to so much that I forget to lean on God make space to listen to Him. In our culture of hurry, the practice of waiting and listening is hard to nurture.
5. Where can readers find out more about you and your projects?
Murder Always Barks Twice by Jennifer Hawkins follows a tea shop owner in England and her excitable and cute talking Corgi Oliver. Yes. The dog talks.
I was a little leery of the book at first because I don’t usually read cozy mysteries with magical elements (except the Magical Flowe Shop Mysteries by Amanda Flower).
When I realized that only the main character Emma could understand Oliver I liked the idea a little bit better.
The talking dog doesn’t overshadow the story at all. In fact, it seems pretty natural to the entire book which otherwise is completely realistic and doesn’t feature supernatural or magical elements. I think it also helps that the dog talks like you might imagine a dog talks. He’s a smart dog but not too smart. He’s just smart enough to know that there’s certain things he should tell Emma that he’s seen or smelled but not smart enough that he’s the one solving the mysteries.
Everything he wants to say is exciting to him. So he’s not sitting there and talking like a proper gentleman you might say. He’s sort of adorable really.
The supporting characters in the book are plentiful and that can make things a little confusing at times. Sometimes I had to go back and remind myself who someone was. Emma either works with or knows all the characters in some capacity and even though the town is small there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of people who Emma interacted with throughout the book.
I can’t say any of the supporting characters were that memorable to me other than Oliver. The three women she spoke to most all sounded the same to me in my head. They were sort of interchangeable sounding boards for her, even though one was supposed to be her best friend and the others more like co-workers. They offered a way for Emma to work things out clues in her mind but I part of me feels a couple of them could have been removed and the story still could have carried on just as well. At the same time, having a lot of support rallying around the main character was nice as well.
To clarify – just because I thought some of the supporting characters could have been cut out, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the characters. I really liked the co-owner of the tea shop – Angelique – and her daughter Pearl but they weren’t super important to the plot for me, other than when Emma helped find some clues.
Emma’s friend Genny offered even more support but I lost track of what her job actually was — I think she owned a restaurant in town. It wasn’t really important to the plot.
I really enjoyed how this book was built around a festival celebrating author Daphne DuMaurier’s book Rebecca, which was made into a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The plot of that book/movie was skillfully tied into the mystery of this book, adding to the complexity of the plot. I was impressed with how much history the author knew about the DuMaurier and the area she lived in.
After a quick search online I learned there is a literary festival in Fowey, England that is inspired by DeMaurier, who wrote many books besides Rebecca.
Rebecca was, however, her most famous, partially because of the movie version of it.
I felt like the amount of red herrings thrown out in this one was enough to keep me guessing and second-guessing right up until the end. I had figured out the culprit toward the end but I still wanted to be sure and see how the author wrapped up how they committed the crime.
I would definitely read future books by this author.
