What I’m Reading

Sunday Bookends: Adventures with the parents, fall foliage, and reading more mysteries

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 35 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 Dad, Little Miss, and I took my mom leaf peeping before all our leaves are gone. We didn’t have a very pretty year because of the warmer, dry temps we had in August and part of September but we did see some pretty trees on our drive.

We drove on some back roads (a.k.a. dirt roads) near my parents and eventually ended up at a house and former farm where some of my dad’s distant family used to live.

Throughout my whole life anytime we decided to go for a drive around the area or anywhere else, what normally would have been a routine or sightseeing trip became a weird adventure. My parents are 80 now so I thought our days of adventure were over but once again a simple leaf peeping trip became a little weird. First we passed a field of modern art sculptures all lined up in a field – sort of weird.

And when we stopped at the distant relative’s house things also got very weird.

We didn’t know who still lived at the house Dad used to visit as a kid, so Dad climbed out of the car and disappeared over a hill between the house and garage for a bit while he looked for the homeowner. While waiting for him, Little Miss, Mom and I watched another car rip into the long driveway, continue between two trees and stopped near our car. I rolled my window down and apologized for being in the way but the woman frowned and just said, “That’s fine.”

She went into the house without even asking why we were in her drive. I decided it was time to look for Dad in case she was really ticked off at us for being there, so I climbed out after telling my mom that the woman looked very familiar. I thought she looked like the manager of our local Dollar General.

A few minutes later, my dad and another man were walking from the back of the house, up the hill, and the woman, who had left the house to put the dog on a lead, marched toward my dad with her finger pointing at him and said, “You get your car out of my driveway!”

I panicked. Our trip was taking a very dark turn and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my dad away from the crazy woman. But Dad was smiling and so was the man. I couldn’t see the woman but then she was patting my dad on the shoulder and I realized she was messing with my dad – probably how he picks on her when he stops in at the Dollar General.

In the end, we all had a good conversation and Dad shared some memories of visiting the former farm years before – like when he was 12 or 13.

After that, we took the long way home, and Little Miss and I spent the afternoon having dinner with my parents before heading home.

Today I have to pick up The Boy from a friend’s house and we will stop for lunch at my parents on the way back. Hopefully, we don’t have another weird adventure.  

What I/we’ve been Reading

The Case of the Innocent Husband (A Mac and Sam Mystery Book 1), Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan, and The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.

The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Little Miss is reading the first Harry Potter book at night. I love that she’s reading but she starts too late at night and then I have to tell her that it’s time for bed and she tries to make me feel guilty by saying things like, “But I only have 15 minutes of the chapter left to go!”

Stupid Kindles and their ability to tell you how many minutes of a chapter you have to go.

We are also reading The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright on some nights. For school/during the day we are reading Johnny Tremain.

The Husband just finished The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christies and is getting ready to read book 99. He is going to read The Satanic Verses by Salaman Rushdie for book 100.

What We watched/are Watching


Last week I watched a lot of Lovejoy and Murder She Wrote, Blithe Spirit with Erin for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema, and Reading Rainbow for old time’s sake.

What I’m Writing

I am still writing Gladwynn Grant Shakes The Family Tree and announced on Instagram that I will be pushing off the release date to 2025 so I can take some more time on it. I was pushing myself too hard to get it done before the end of October and now I realize that I am stressing myself out about a book that I am not under a publishing contract for and that I am writing more for fun than anything else.

If anyone would like to read books one or two, though, you can find them here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1KSQJXP

On the blog last week I didn’t share a ton since I was working on the book, but here is what I did share:

What I’m Listening To

I was listening to Ever After by Karen Barnett but I am not a big fan of the narrator so not sure I’ll finish it.

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: Remembering Maggie Smith, reading the same books, and some blog posts I enjoyed recently

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 31 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

What a weird coincidence this week that Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I watched a movie with Maggie Smith and a day after we posted out those she passed away. We had watched Ladies in Lavender with her and Judi Dench and wrote about it and then that night I was thinking how upset Judi would be when Maggie passed away. I also wondered which “dame” would actually pass away first – I thought it might be Joan Plowright.

The next morning Erin texted me to tell me that Maggie had died and I honestly felt like I had lost a friend. I haven’t even watched her very much in things like Downton Abbey or Harry Potter (though I did watch Harry Potter with the kids just recently). I stopped watching Downton when they killed Matthew off. It ticked me off so bad I refused to watch the show again.

I’ve seen Maggie in a few movies since then, though, and just sort of fell in love with her spunk and attitude, but also a tenderness I saw in her.

I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I cried more over her death than the death of my mother-in-law the week before – partially because I had more sentimental connection with Maggie – whom I’ve never met – that my husband’s mother. That’s a very long, sad story that I won’t go into here.

I was looking for clips of Maggie to share on Instagram since I had a clip of her and Judi and Joan Plowright from Tea With the Dames go viral last year on my Instagram, when I remembered I had seen that she’d been on The Carol Burnett Show one time.

If you want to see that clip, I’ll share it below in my What I’ve Been Watching section.

I’m really hoping to watch an Agatha Christie movie with Maggie that I just learned about Friday as well.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I was working on the third book in my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series last week so I didn’t read as much as I could have.

Therefore I am still reading the same books I was reading – Move Your Blooming Corpse by DE Ireland and Kristen by Dawn Klinge, but have added The Secret at Red Gate Farm, a Nancy Drew to the mix.

I finished nothing! Nothing, people! See above. *wink*




Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan (An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery)

The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Little Miss and I are reading The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright via Hoopla.

The Husband is reading Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail 1972 by Hunter S. Thompson

The Boy is listening to Beowulf and a book of short stories.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week I rewatched most of Ladies in Lavender to write about it for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema, since I’ve seen it before.

I mentioned above that I enjoyed watching Maggie Smith and Judi Dench in the movie and then the next day Maggie passed away. It was heartbreaking.

Erin and I have a few movies with either Judi or Maggie or both in it on our Comfy, Cozy Cinema this time around and I swear we didn’t do it on purpose. We both chose movies on our own and then whittled the list down, not even thinking about who was starring in them. We both even forgot about Judi and Maggie being in a couple of the movies.

This weekend I’ve been watching some clips of Maggie from various shows or interviews, including this one from The Carol Burnett Show:


I had no idea Maggie sang until I saw this clip with her and Carol on YouTube:

I have also been continuing to watch Lovejoy, an old British show that sometime has a mystery and sometimes just a conman story.  I hated how this series ended so I’ve watched it before but seem to have forgotten some of the episodes so I am rewatching them. This is a show my husband always watched and turned me on to.


What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Shakes The Family Tree, of course.

On the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett on Hoopla

Photos from Last Week

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

|| Review: Hillbilly Elegy by Stray Thoughts ||

(I appreciated this non-partisan and just straight review of J.D. Vance’s book. Not a fan of him as a politician but I’m also not a fan of any politician at this time.)

|| Words for Wednesday: Confined by Mama’s Empty Nest ||

(Boy, could I relate to this one.)

|| His Encouragement by Christian Fiction Girl ||

(A great reminder of God’s faithfulness during challenging times. )

|| Book Review: Cassie, Apron Strings Book Eight by Leslie’s LIbrary Escape ||

(This one is a little biased on my part, but this was a really nice review of my book Cassie.)


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: another last swim? Mysteries with no connection to the main character, and watching fun, old movies

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 7 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

Today my dad suggested we go into the pool since it is hot and humid out still – in the middle of September. Yuck.

I had decided we’d already had our last swim in the beginning of September, though, and I’m actually dreading it because the last time we went in the pool there were some 100 mosquitoes I had to clean out before we could swim. This has been a very bad mosquito year apparently.

Plus there is drying off but not getting all dry so when you try to get your pants on you can’t because your skin is still just damp enough to not let the pants slide on easily. That is so annoying to me.

Yes, I know, I am being dramatic about nothing. Ha! But it’s just a little whine and I do actually have fun once we get in the pool. I have a feeling it will not be a warm trip, though, because our nights have been very cool.

I do miss the pool and being able to hop in on a hot day so maybe one last dip will be good for me. I just sort of had packed that part of the year away already and am ready for sweaters, hot cocoa, and falling leaves.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I am still reading An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey and have also started A Simple Deduction by Kristi Holl.

I am not bowled over by either of them but they are an okay escape. I was liking An Assassination on the Agenda better than a Simple Deduction where I couldn’t connect with the characters at all, but as I started to get into the book I liked it more. I still can’t connect with the main character at all, though. There is no personality written into her in this book, which was written by a different author than the other books (actually each of the books in the series seems to be written by a different author, but with the same main character and setting). In this one she’s just very flat. We don’t learn anything about her personality or her likes or dislikes until halfway through the book. It’s just a straight mystery – which is okay too since that’s how Agatha wrote all her books. We never really got to the know the characters too well – just the mystery, ma’am. I mean we did learn about their quirks and personalities as the series went on – especially Poirot.

I finished Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour this past week. It wasn’t my regular read and I wasn’t totally in love with it, but I would try another one of his books. It was a good story and a really crazy ending.

This was a Hopalong Cassidy novel that he apparently wrote in the style of the original author but was re-released in the 1990s under L’Amour’s name. I’d like to read a book by him that’s about one of his own characters.

The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan (An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery)

The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched Lovejoy and the movie Out of The Blue that I watched last week again but with my husband. I also watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as part of the Comfy Cozy Feature I am doing with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumb.

Yesterday I watched an old movie called A Woman of Distinction with Rosalind Russell and Ray Milland.  There was a cameo with Lucille Ball in the beginning and it was so funny. She was only on screen five minutes and still cracked me up. The entire movie was full of hilarious moments and the ending wasn’t as bad and cliché as I thought it was going to be.

The movie was about the female dean of a college who has sworn off love, instead choosing her career. When a lecturer from Great Britain comes to the states to present some lectures, the public relations woman promoting his lectures decides she needs an angle to drum up some interest and makes up a story that he has come to the states looking for the dean. Craziness ensued after that and I realized that there are a lot of movies from the 1940s and 1950s that really hold up today.

I also started a movie called Merrily We Live and that one also cracked  me up within the first ten minutes. I can’t wait to finish it later today.

I’ve been watching these old movies for free via our Roku and the Tubi app.


What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree is what I’ve been writing. I hope to finish it by the end of September. I’ll be announcing a release date later on my newsletter Substack, which is where I share most of my writing news (https://lisarhoweler.substack.com/)

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I have been alternating between reading An Assassination on the Agenda and listening to it while I do dishes or other chores during the week because I really like the narrator.

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: Cooling temps, family reunions, Gladwynn book three excerpt

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 8 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

 Temps have definitely dropped into autumn territory in Pennsylvania. As I started writing this post it was 50 degrees but felt much colder to me. I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s blanket and wore a jacket but still couldn’t warm up. We do our best not to turn on our heat until October and don’t usually start our woodstove until the end of October.  

Last night, though, when I couldn’t feel my toes while sleeping, even with two blankets on, I realized we are probably going to have to at least turn on our heat upstairs, which is electric. The heating oil is what really hits us financially and that heats our downstairs.

Today is my parents’ 61st wedding anniversary. We will be attending a family reunion where there isn’t much family left due to everyone getting older and passing away. (What a downer sentence. Sorry.)

I hope to sneak away for most of it to read a book in the car because people will probably start talking politics and I have banned political discussions from my life for the foreseeable future.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I am reading An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey. It is a Lady Hardcastle Mystery.

I love Lady Hardcastle and Flo. They are so fun. I also like that the books are clean and just fun. If you haven’t ready Lady Hardcastle before they are set sometime in the early 1900s (around 1912 for this one) and Lady Hardcastle and her maid Flo are international spies, but seem like your average rich lady and maid to most.

 I have listened to at least one of the books on Audible and the narrator was so good. She makes Lady Hardcastle sound exactly like I imagine her in my head. The books are written in Flo’s point of view.

I plan to finish Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour this week.

I just finished Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q. Sutanto and loved it. Yes, there was swearing and I don’t read a lot of books with swearing, but it wasn’t full of sex or graphic violence. The main character was so hilarious and easy to fall in love with and be shocked by. If you haven’t heard of this one, I highly recommend it. It is a mystery – somewhat cozy.

Here is a description:

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

A Simple Deduction (An Amish Inn Mystery) by Kristi Holl

The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan (An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery)

The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun

Little Miss and I are reading The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright before bed. That has taken up some of my evening reading time.

She and I are also reading Johnny Tremaine for history and English since school has started.

The Husband is reading a book by Salman Rushdie.

The Boy will be starting Beowulf this week for school.

What We watched/are Watching

Yesterday I watched a movie called Out of The Blue (1947). It was an absolutely ridiculous and hilarious screwball comedy. It was about people in an apartment building who have some hilarious interactions and one of them involves a murder that isn’t a murder – or is it?

Last night I convinced my teenager to watch The Third Man with me. It is an amazing film from 1949. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should.

Earlier in the week I watched more Lovejoy (a British show).


What I’m Writing

I’m still working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

I had fun writing this exchange between Lucinda and Gladwynn:

“So do you think you two young people will tie the knot someday?”

Gladwynn asked the question with a smirk, enjoying how Lucinda almost choked on her smoothie when she heard it.

The woman’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

In Gladwynn’s amused opinion, it was high time the tables were turned on the meddling woman.

Gladwynn set her fork down and reached for her juice, doing her best to look innocent. “What? I mean you’ve been seeing a lot of each other. Maybe it’s time to make things official.”

Lucinda’s shocked expression faded. She pressed her lips into a thin line and narrowed her eyes, setting her glass down on the table. “That’s how you want to play this, is it?”

Gladwynn raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Play what, Grandma? I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

Lucinda leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. “What are you going to wear to church today, my dear? Something nice, I hope. Luke did just get back from Northern Ireland this weekend. I’m sure he’s been very anxious to see you and I know you’d like to look nice for him.”

Gladwynn’s eyes narrowed. “Why would I want to look nice for Luke?”

“I think you know why.”

“Do I? Or do you think I should look nice for Luke?”

“I think you think you should look nice for Luke.”

Gladwynn broke eye contact with Lucinda and began eating her breakfast again. This conversation was going nowhere good, as her grandfather used to jokingly say. “Don’t you need to get those curlers out of your hair?”

“Don’t you need to do your makeup?”

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

I will have some blog posts from other blogs to share next week. I’ve been reading some good ones.

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: I think Summer is really over..I think…and lots of mysteries on the agenda

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 15 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

 This past Tuesday Little Miss and I had a wonderful day swimming at my parents. The pool was in perfect shape and the temperature was absolutely perfect.

We ate some lunch before we went and took lunch to my parents as well. Then we spent two hours in the pool, took a break for a light supper, then back in the pool for another 90-minutes. The temperature was fairly high outside so the pool was perfectly nice inside.

Little Miss enjoyed swimming underwater, doing flips, and practicing floating on her back – all skills she learned this summer.

The Boy helped my dad with mowing the lawn since Dad has been suffering from a pinched nerve in his lower back that has made doing work outside very difficult.

On Wednesday Little Miss and I went back to the pool and Dad and The Boy went to a county fair near us.

On Tuesday I will start classes with the kids, even though I don’t have everything I need yet for the oldest. He, however, only has a couple of classes to take to finish out the credits he needs to graduate since he is also attending a technical school this year.

Little Miss will be my main focus this year and we are trying new curriculum in almost every subject. We will see how it goes but what is great about homeschool is that I can switch to a different curriculum at any point if needed. 

What I/we’ve been Reading

I started Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers because several cozy mystery readers (vloggers) said it was good and it is good but I could do without the language. I know. I’m a prude (and also  a hypocrite if you must know the truth), but, well, I didn’t expect the f-word and other words to pop up in the fourth or fifth chapter. I do really like Vera, though, so I am going to continue to read it.

I’m also reading through my long Netgalley list so this week I started An Assassination on the Agenda (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery) by T.E. Kinsey.

I’m also reading Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour but I am reading it a little bit slow because it is a slower read for me. There are a lot of descriptions of rounding up cattle and falling off cliffs and old time writing that I have to push through. I do want to finish it, though, because I am really enjoying the story and want to know what happens.

Here and there I am reading Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott. I figure this one will get pushed off until November and December, which is when I read Little Women last year.

The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit



A Simple Deduction (An Amish Inn Mystery) by Kristi Holl

The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan (An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery)

The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun

Little Miss and I are reading The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright.

What We watched/are Watching

This week I watched The Detective… a 195… film with Alec McGuiness based on the short stories about Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. I discovered it by accident and ended up really enjoying it. I started The Third Man with Orson Welles but forgot to finish it. I will do that this week. Then I watched What We Did on Our Holiday as part of the Comfy Cozy Cinema feature that Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I will be doing starting this Thursday.

Here is the list of movies we are watching if you want to watch with us and write about your impressions of them. We will be sharing a link up each week.


What I’m Writing

I am working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree and having a lot of fun. Tomorrow I will be sharing the first chapter with my paid supporters on Substack. I will be revealing the cover sometime in September and hope to have the book out in early November.

On the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening to

I am listening to The Cross-Country Quilters and also to An Assassination on the Agenda when I can’t read it because I love the narrator who narrates all the Lady Hardcastle books.

Photos from Last Week

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

This week’s Small Pleasures by Thistles and Kiwis

Friday Feels: Three Questions and An F Word by Deb’s World

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.

Summer reading list – what I planned to read versus what I actually read

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 8 Comments

I often make lists of books I plan or hope to read in a particular season or month but rarely stick to that list and this summer was no exception. Back in May, I made a list of 15 books that I planned to read by September. Today I’ll share what books I said I wanted to read and what books I actually read this summer.

I have gotten comments from blog readers who say they don’t make lists of what books they want to read. They simply read whatever they want to, whenever they want to. I actually do that as well. The man reason I make the lists are so I won’t forget about a book I heard about and wanted to read but couldn’t read yet because I was reading another one.

Plus, I find making lists very relaxing. I know at least one friend who feels the same way about lists.

Anyhow, on to my list of what I “planned” to read this summer:

  • Lord Edgeware Dies by Agatha Christie
  • Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott
  • Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour
  • Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett
  • The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene
  • Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin
  • The Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
  • The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island
  • An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey
  • The Real James Herriot by James Wight
  • A Sentence to Death by Anthony Horowitz
  • Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter
  • Return to Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright
  • The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene
  • Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Here are the books I actually read or started or am still reading and not all of them were on my list:

  • Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson
  • Renee by Sandra Ardoin
  • The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene
  • The Case of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene (on list)
  • Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker
  • The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson
  • The Women of Wynton’s by Donna Mumma
  • The Sentence of Death by Anthony Horowitz (on list)
  • Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie (on list)
  • A Death At A Scottish Christmas by Lucy O’Connelly
  • Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
  • Clueless at the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield
  • The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
  • Return to Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright (on list)
  • The Key Collector’s Promise by Donna Stone
  • Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour (on list and in the middle of)
  • The Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini (listening to on Audible)

Which books were my favorites?

The Blue Castle was my favorite overall, followed by Clueless at the Coffee Station, The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes, Return to Gone Away, and The Sentence of Death.

Have I written a list for autumn? Of course, I have!

As I said, lists are fun and help remind me what books I wanted to read. They are not, however, written in stone so I often change them based on my mood.

 I’ll be back another day with my autumn list of “planned” reads.

What books did you read this summer? Any that stand out specifically?

Sunday Bookends: The last of the summer swimming, planning for autumn reading, and lists of mysteries to read

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 10 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

 Last week was pretty chilly part of the week but things have started to warm up again. Little Miss and I hoped that warm up would include some time in the pool but the nights have been very cool so that has left us with very cool pool water. It’s been so cool our teeth have started chattering as soon as we enter the pool, and our bodies don’t really become acclimated even though we hope they will.

Yesterday we tried again, and I somehow lasted 90 minutes but my body did not feel well afterward. The warmest days this week will be Tuesday and Wednesday so I think we will wait to try again until then and those will probably be the last swims of the season.

This week I will ease into lessons for Little Miss to kick off school, but we won’t start in earnest until after Labor Day. The Boy already started back at tech school. I’ll start his lessons the week of Labor Day as well but he has much less to do this year.

So this week is the last week of freedom, so to speak, for the kids before school really gets underway.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Currently: I am still reading Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour because I have been reading a couple of other books in addition to or in between. I am going to focus on the book more this week because there is a mystery woven in and I really want to know what happened.

I am also reading The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit. It is an Advanced Reader’s Copy.

On cozy evenings I am also reading Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott

I just finished Clueless at the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield and really enjoyed it. I’ll share a review of it on here tomorrow.

My upcoming list has shifted around some as I plan for reads for Autumn.

Up next, possibly, depending on my mood,

A Simple Deduction by Kristin Holl (An Amish Inn Mystery)

The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan (An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery)

The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun

Little Miss and I read Homer Price by Robert McCloskey over the last couple of weeks.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week I watched Clambake. I don’t want to talk about it. I’d just like to never remember I watched it.

I also watched a few episodes of the old British show Lovejoy.

I then watched Just A Few Acres on YouTube.


What I’m Writing

I made quite a bit of progress on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree this past week. I hope to make even more progress this upcoming week.

On the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I am still listening to The Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiavarini

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

Don’t Wait Until You Feel Like It by Stray Thoughts

Peace Descending by Big Sky Buckeye

Words for Wednesday: Going Through The Motions 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: Summer movies, school starting, and more mysteries to read

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 15 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

 School starts for The Boy this week. It will start the following week for Little Miss.

I rambled about what’s been going on in my blog post from yesterday.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I am still reading Clueless At The Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield (really enjoying it) and Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour.

Renee by Sandra Ardoin




A Simple Deduction by Kristi Holl (An Amish Inn Mystery)

World Traveler by Anthony Bourdain

Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett

The Author’s Guide To Murder by Lauren Willig, Beatriz Williams, and Karen White

Gardner’s Plot by Deborah Benoit

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashi

What We watched/are Watching

The Husband and I watched a Magnum P.I./Murder She Wrote crossover yesterday. I expected more from it, but then I learned there is a second part so we will be watching that tomorrow after he gets off work.

I started a Hayley Mills movie – Summer Magic — that I planned to replace one of the movies in my Summer Movie Marathon series since Having A Wonderful Time isn’t streaming anywhere and I don’t really want to order a DVD of it. I’m really not liking the movie very much so I don’t know if I will stick it out or not or watch something else for the marathon.

This morning I watched Just A Few Acres Farm after we watched the sermon from Elevation Church together. This is a Sunday tradition.

The sermon was excellent this week.

Just A Few Acres was interesting as he worked on fixing up an old truck with his son.

Last week he was spray painting a tractor and I know I’m old now because that was simply fascinating to me. Fascinating and very relaxing.


What I’m Writing

This week on the blog I shared:

My book Cassie came out last week on Amazon. You can learn more about it here:

It’s part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.

I made quite a bit of progress on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree which I hope to have out by early November.

What I’m Listening To

I listened a little more to The Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chaverini and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

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: Autumn is coming, watching summer movies, and school is starting soon

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 17 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

 We had a threat of flash flooding Friday thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Debby but in the end the pattern moved to our west and Westfield, Pa., which is a couple hours from us, was hit extremely hard. Some areas around us had some issues but nothing like Westfield.

Temperatures have cooled way down and now that we are moving toward Autumn (which I wanted) I am feeling somewhat melancholy, knowing that our days of swimming are coming to an end. Little Miss and I haven’t been swimming in two weeks due to either algae in the pool that had to be treated, a leak that was found and fixed, or chlorine that was too high. We are going to try again today but with temps only supposed to get in the low 70s I have a feeling we won’t be in long.

The days are already getting shorter – I’ve noticed that it is dark by 8:30 now. The cats are looking for more snuggles than before and we are now preparing for the start of the school year.

I have almost all the curriculum we need for the year but I do need a couple of things still for The Boy, who is a senior this year and will be attending a local trade school again this year.  

What I/we’ve been Reading

Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour

Renee by Sandra Ardoin

Clueless At the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

 Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene




A Simple Deduction by Kristi Holl

The Gardner’s Plot by Deborah Benoit

The Author’s Guide to Murder by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig

An Assassination On the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey

Little Miss and I are listening to The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Boy is listening to The Witcher, book one.

The Husband is reading The Donut Legion by Joe R. Lansdale

What We watched/are Watching

Since I last posted a Sunday Bookends I have watched a lot but I didn’t write it all down so I might not remember everything.

I know I watched a couple of summer movies – Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation and Summertime.

I have started Somewhere in Time but I haven’t finished it yet.

I watched Ladies in Lavender and a couple marathons of Murder She Wrote as well as an episode of Yes, Minister with my mom.


What I’m Writing

I am writing the third book in the Gladwynn Grant Mystery series: Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

The first book in the series is free today on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1KSQJXP

Cassie, the eighth book in the Apron Strings Book series releases Thursday. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1VW9TVK

On the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I am listening to the Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini.

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

The Lily Cafe Weekly Highlights – August 9, 2024
Talk a walk with me.
Birthday at the Brasserie!
Tuesday Tour: a light history

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.

Did you know that I am having a huge discount on the paid subscriptions for my Substack and that when you are a paid subscriber you will receive sneak peeks to upcoming books (like Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree, which will come out this autumn), behind the scenes looks, discounts, author interviews, giveaways, and many other perks?

No?

Well, now you know. You can find my substack, which is updated a few times a month, at www.lisarhowler.substack.com