Tag: What I’m Reading

Mid-year Book Round Up or Freak Out or Whatever it is Called

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings8 Comments

I saw this prompt for a Mid-Year Book Round-Up (Freak Out) on Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs’ blog a few weeks ago but also saw another version online where the blogger listed more than one book for certain questions so I decided to combine the two.

Best Book (s) You’ve Read In 2024

Little Women by Lousia Mae Alcott and Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

I know. I know. I went for the classics, but I had never read either of them and ended up loving them both. I started Little Women in December but finished it in 2024, so I am counting it for 2024. I listened to Around the World in 80 Days and maybe it was the narrator that made it so interesting for me, but I really did enjoy it.

Best Sequel You’ve Read In 2024

The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes

My daughter and I loved this middle-grade book and, I think, it was the only sequel I read all year so far. It was such a cute book, following the adventures of – well, the middle Moffat, Jane. Her adventures with the Oldest Inhabitant (a 99-year-old Civil War vet) was the cutest part of the book to me. It was also cool that we read the chapter about the Eclipse at the same time the eclipse was happening.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

There are a lot of these (and you can read more of mine here) but for now, I will go with Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson and I haven’t read it because it actually doesn’t release until August 1.

This one is a mystery that seems pretty cozy so I am looking forward to it.

Here is the description:

Who Stole Tilly from the Auction Block? Breathe in the nostalgia of everything old red truck in book one of a new cozy mystery series. The Hadley family ranch is struggling, so RaeLyn, her parents, and brothers decide to turn the old barn into an antique store. The only thing missing to go with the marketing of the store is Grandpa’s old red truck, Tilly, that was sold several years ago. Now coming back up on the auction block, Tilly would need a lot of work, but RaeLyn is sure it will be worth it—if only she can beat out other bidders and find out who stole Tilly after the auction ends. Hadley finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth, and the outcome could make or break the new family venture.

Biggest disappointment.

I have two for this one:

Hell is Empty: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson

I’ve enjoyed almost all of the Walt Longmire series I’ve read so far but this one was ridiculous and predictable and I was terribly disappointed in it. My husband has suggested I read more books in the series because the rest of them were very good, so I will.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

This was my first time trying this author and not only was the book repetitive (the woman grew up in a house of death by a cemetery full of death and death was all around her. Yes, got it. Stop repeating it every chapter) but it was extremely, extremely disturbing to me and I didn’t feel it should have been listed under Christian Fiction.

Biggest surprise.

I picked up How To Plan Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin on Netgalley and wasn’t sure what I would think of it but ended up really enjoying it and getting swept up in the twists and turns of this mystery.

Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Isabella Alan would probably be a new favorite for me. Her real name is Amanda Flowers but she writes as Isabella Alan as well and I really enjoyed her book Murder Plainly Read and plan to read more books by her later this year.

Newest fictional crush.

Theo Goodnight in Sharon Peterson’s The Fast Lane. He’s so swoony and sweet and funny and (a small spoiler here!) writes romances that I actually wouldn’t read but we’ll just go back to him being sweet and funny and dreamy.

Here is a little snippet of the book with Theo in it:

Bracing a hand on the table, he leaned close. “I’m beginning to think you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

My breath caught at the low, gravelly sound of his voice.

He shifted closer, his mouth stopping an inch from my ear. His warm breath on my skin sent a zing of awareness through me. “And I’m definitely not your brother.”

Swoon.

This is a clean romance by the way, so there is a bit of steam, small level of spice but no open door scenes or even medium spice.

Newest favorite character.

I know he isn’t new to others, but he’s new to me: Hercule Poirot. I’ve watched him on TV in the shows, but never realized how savage he was – even more so in the books than the show. The way he slams Hastings, putting him in his place, is just so funny.

From Lord Edgware Dies:

“I have noticed that when we work on a case together, you are always urging me on to physical action, Hastings. You wish me to measure footprints, to analyse cigarette ash, to prostrate myself on my stomach for the examination of detail. You never realize that by lying back in an armchair with the eyes closed one can come nearer to the solution of any problem. One sees then with the eyes of the mind.”

“I don’t,” I said. “When I lie back in an armchair with my eyes closed one thing happens to me and one thing only!”

“I have noticed it!” said Poirot. “It is strange. At such moments the brain should be working feverishly, not sinking into sluggish repose. The mental activity, it is so interesting, so stimulating! The employment of the little grey cells is a mental pleasure. They and they only can be trusted to lead one through fog to the truth…”

Book that made you cry.

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen. ‘

So much of this book was just so sweet and touching. It’s the story of a family who travels to the mother’s grandmother’s former home in the Pennsylvania countryside to try to help the father overcome PTSD. While there they meet a lovely couple, help the couple make maple syrup, meet a man who they thought was weird, but was actually sweet and just grow together as a family. Maybe it is because I am from Pennsylvania that it gave me sentimental feelings, I don’t know, but it really had me teary-eyed.

Book(s) that made you happy.

I’m picking two for this one:

The Cat Who Talked To Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun.

This book didn’t make me happy because a side character in the series I’ve been reading since high school was tragically murdered, but because I saw so much more of the main character, Jim Qwilleran’s, personality in this book. There were funny moments and touching moments and it was just such a departure from the other books in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Murder In An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

This one was just a fun ride and I really enjoyed learning about Irish culture while also being taken on a journey through an interesting mystery. Plus, I fell in love with the characters.

What books do you want to read by the end of the year?

Here are a list of books I want to read by the end of the year:

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery (already reading it)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (because I’ve never read it

Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (I’ve heard a lot about this one and have it on my Kindle and Audible right now so I am looking forward to it)

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kipp by Sara Brunsvold (I started this one but it got a bit heavy for me so I would like to finish it)

An Old Fashioned Girl by Louise Mae Alcott

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Are any of these books on your mid-year round-up? Any of them you want to read? Let me know.

Sunday Bookends: Reading, swimming, and some rain

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends15 Comments


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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

Can you even believe it is the last day of June? Because I absolutely cannot. June has gone by so fast my head is spinning!

I rambled about my week last week in yesterday’s post where I wrote about swimming and summer and the rain we had all day Saturday

What I/we’ve been Reading

The Women of Wynton’s by Donna Mumma

The Sentence is Death: A Hawthorne & Horowitz Mystery by Anthony Horowitz

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wight (I have to be honest that this one is a bit boring to me right now so I am not reading it every day)

Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (a read aloud with Little Miss)

Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie

Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson

The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes: A Nancy Drew Mystery by Carolyn Keene

The Husband is reading Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart (he found it on Libby)

The Boy is listening to Soul Hunter by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

What We watched/are Watching

I am making my way through the old Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys show from the 1970s. Why? Yeah…I have no idea but they aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. I’m even getting to hear some good tunes from Shaun Cassidy. *wink*

Lovejoy. This old show from the 1990s is scratching an itch and I have no idea why. I guess I’m craving old stuff these days.

This video from Under A Tin Roof:

Videos from Just A Few Acres Farm on YouTube.


What I’m Writing

Still working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree and I hope to have it released in the fall. Right now the first two books are on sale on Amazon for $1.99 (ebooks).

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I am a little shocked to find myself enjoying the latest New Kids on the Block song.

Photos from Last Week

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

The Significance of Faces on Fiction Book Covers by Nadine C. Keels

The Heart of A Servant Leader by Bettie G’s RA Seasons

Words for Wednesday: Passing Along Faith by Mama’s Empty Nest

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.

Sunday Bookends: Trying to beat the heat, reading a mix of genres, and old mystery shows

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon9 Comments


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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

As I wrote in my post yesterday, we have been in the middle of the heat wave like a lot of our country. Yesterday we visited my parents and found out Dad had been able to work on the pool and we could go for a swim.

So, Little Miss and I jumped in for a couple of hours, during which time I was reminded how out of shape I am and that my knee I smashed up three weeks ago is not completely healed yet. It is, however, much, much better.

On our way home a storm started to move in and this time, unlike Friday, the storm was an actual storm and dropped some rain on us and dropped the temps down into normal range for summer in Pennsylvania. It looks like we will have nicer temps this week. I never thought I’d be glad to see highs of 81 in the forecast.

High temps make me very sick so I hide inside a lot in the summer. Usually even seeing a high of 80 makes me antsy but the horrible heat showed me that 80 isn’t that bad after all.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor

The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wight

Return To Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (reading with Little Miss)

I set Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery aside for now but will get back to it.

 Lord Edgware Dies: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

I listened to the majority of this on Audible and really enjoyed it. I really wanted to know the ending, though, so before bed last night I opened the book on my kindle since I can read faster that the narrator could read. I think I will go back and listen to the ending on Audible simply because I liked the narrator (David Colacci) so much.

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene

Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett

Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery



What We watched/are Watching

I’ve been watching the old 1970s Nancy Drew/Hard Boys show on YouTube, but I think it is also streaming on the Roku Channel.

The Husband made me watch a rerun of Jake And The Fat Man. I’m slightly scarred from it, but also the person who uploaded it to YouTube didn’t finish the episode, so I am traumatized and victimized because I don’t know how the episode ended – though they pretty much had their man already.

I made The Husband watch a movie of Diagnosis Murder that we found on YouTube after I saw a clip of the show earlier this week. I never watched it when it was on the air and I think I know why. The show stars Dick VanDyke and his son Barry and it’s okay but there are some seriously ridiculous elements to it. It is more of a cozy mystery show than anything hard hitting so I guess it is okay to have some ridiculousness.

I’m not sure I will watch more episodes.

I also watched a lot of Just A Few Acres Farm this past week and really enjoyed it. It was so wonderfully relaxing.


What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Grant Shakes The Family Tree – the third book in my cozy mystery series, which will release in autumn. If you’re not signed up for my newsletter, you might want to do so because I will be offering sneak peeks and actual chapters of the book later this summer.

I am also getting ready to release a Christian fiction romance in August – Cassie, which is part of the Apron Strings Book series .. written by 11 different authors. You can pre-order here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1VW9TVK

You can find out where to buy all of my books here: https://lisahoweler.com/my-books-2/

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I just finished listening to Around the World in 80 Days on audio, as I mentioned above, and really enjoyed it.

I am also listening to Matthew West because I have been anxious and his music calms me down. In the beginning of June, I drove my son somewhere and said to myself on the way back that I really wanted to listen to Matthew. I said it to myself. I didn’t get the songs ready to play before I pulled out yet.

My mind was just swirling with worries. I had my phone in my hand but hadn’t found the album yet in my music library. Suddenly music started playing and when I looked at my phone it was Matthew West. It was a crazy moment and I think God was like, “you need this, and I can’t wait around for you to do it.”


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.

Top Ten Tuesday: My (Loosely) Planned Summer Reading List

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings19 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

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!

  1. 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?

    Sunday Bookends: I need to wear bubble wrap and books and stuff…

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends17 Comments

    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, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.



    What’s Been Occurring

    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.

    Sunday Bookends: Nice weather, I really don’t like social media, and juggling a few books this week

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends8 Comments

    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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

    What’s Been Occurring

    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 Herriott by 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.

    Last week on the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    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.

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    Sunday Bookends: Children’s books, ARCs, and working on future books

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Sunday Bookends12 Comments


    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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

    What’s Been Occurring

    Catch up on my week in yesterday’s post!

    Saturday Afternoon Chat: beautiful weather, trampolines, and cottonwood trees

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    Currently:

    The Women of Wyntons by Donna Muma (ARC)

    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 Girl by 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

    This week on the blog I shared:

    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.

    Sunday Bookends: Lots of mysteries and warm temps coming up

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends14 Comments




    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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


    What’s Been Occurring

     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.


    What I’m Writing

    This week on the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    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.

    Sunday Bookends: Finishing up and starting cozy mysteries, working on the latest Gladwynn book, and that’s about it.

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends14 Comments

    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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


    What I/we’ve been Reading

    Currently:

    I am reading Operation Restoration by Kari Trumbo, and will finish it this week.

    It is pretty good but not necessarily what I enjoy reading right now. I am reading it for Clean Fiction Magazine, though, and I’m glad to have been introduced to the author.

    I also just started The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

    Little Miss and I are almost done with The Secret Garden and I am listening to Around the World in 80 Days with The Boy.

    Just Finished:

    I just finished Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey and enjoyed it – even if I thought the end dragged a bit.

    I plan to have a full review next week.


    Soon to be read:

    The Deeds of the Deceitful by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliffe

    Lost Coast Literary by Ellie Alexander

    The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wight

    What We watched/are Watching

    I enjoyed watching a couple episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford this week because the scenery and cinematography is always so pretty.

    I watched an episode of Poirot without my husband, which was weird because we always watch it together. He was at work, though.

    Last night we watched the 2010 version of True Grit.


    What I’m Writing

    I am working on the third book in my Gladwynn Grant Mysteries. Books one and two are available on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. They will be available on Barnes and Noble June 1st and will be in ebook on Kobo at that time too.

    I am also working on correcting Cassie, which you can pre-order here. Cassie is the eighth book in the Apron String Book series, which is being written by eleven authors. You can learn more about them here.

    This week on the blog I shared:

     

    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.