Pages
Friday, May 17, 2024
Quick Reviews
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Can't-Wait Wednesday: Husbands & Lovers
Two women—separated by decades and continents, and united by a mysterious family heirloom—reclaim family secrets and lost loves in this sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives.
New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads—her ten-year-old son Sam had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, in a search for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory’s forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother’s adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend Monk Adams—now one of the world’s most beloved singer-songwriters—a fairytale cut short by an agonizing betrayal.
Cairo, 1951. After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself—marriage to a wealthy British diplomat, a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo. But a fateful encounter with the enigmatic manager of a hotel bristling with spies leads to a passionate affair that will reawaken Hannah's longing for everything she once lost. As revolution simmers in the Egyptian streets, a pregnant Hannah finds herself snared into a game of intrigue between two men…and an act of sacrifice that will echo down the generations.
Timeless and bittersweet, Husbands And Lovers draws readers on an unforgettable journey of heartbreak and redemption, from the revolutionary fires of midcentury Egypt to the moneyed beaches of contemporary New England. Acclaimed author Beatriz Williams has written a poignant and beautifully voiced novel of deeply human characters entangled by morally complex issues—of privilege, class, and the female experience—inside worlds brought shimmeringly to life. - from Goodreads
Monday, May 13, 2024
Little Free Library Sightings
#170072 - How fun is this library? It's made out of an old newspaper bin, the kind that pulls down from the top. There is a row of books against the door window, and there are more shelves inside. It was completely full with books, which was great to see! I left a children's book but didn't take anything. This one was located not far from the previous one.
#9915 - On our recent weekend trip to Maryland, I spotted this LFL in a lovely neighborhood. The weather wasn't great, but Tom convinced me to stop! This is another one with a great story - "I love and treasure books, and own over 800 of them, but even I need to cull sometimes! This library is what happens when I have multiple copies of a book, or perhaps when I outgrow a particular story. Every book has something to recommend it! The books are split fairly evenly amongst books for young children, YA books, and books for adults." I love that the owner is always sharing books from their own collection and that they have such a great variety of books - something for everyone!
#54230 - We stopped in Baltimore to walk around the Inner Harbor for a couple hours and Tom asked if there were any LFLs I wanted to stop at nearby. I checked the app and saw there was one at a museum just a couple blocks away, so we walked over. Here's the story - "The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum’s Little Free Library was made possible by the Little Free Library Impact fund. It is the first Library in our historic Baltimore neighborhood, Jonestown. Our Library will serve the families and children of Baltimore and the more than 6,000 school age children who visit the museum each year. The Flag House is the historic home of Mary Young Pickersgill, maker of the Star-Spangled Banner Flag (1813)." I thought the library would be accessible, but unfortunately, it's inside the grounds of the museum, which was not open the day we went. So, this was the best photo I could get from behind the gate! I wish the library was outside but it's still wonderful for the neighborhood.
Friday, May 10, 2024
Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Queen Takes Book
Monday, May 6, 2024
Michele's Monday Picks #45
Friday, May 3, 2024
Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Month in Review: April 2024
- I turned 40! Not gonna lie, kinda been dreading that number for awhile, but so far it hasn't been too bad!
- We experienced an earthquake! I was in a Barnes & Noble when it happened, and I was so scared that I just froze. It wasn't a very big one, 4.8, but it was unsettling to feel the shaking. I didn't know if something happened to the building or outside. I was also pretty close to Henry's daycare and I was trying to calculate in my head how long it would take to run there. Funnily, Tom was only a couple miles away and he felt nothing!
- Then, we experienced an eclipse! Guys, I swear it felt like the apocalypse was coming - earthquakes, eclipses, turning 40 all within a few days of each other! Anyway, we took Henry out of daycare early and he had a blast watching with his safety glasses. He was actually really interested in it. We were in the approximately 90% totality area and the clouds were coming in and out, so Henry was alternating yelling, "I see nothing!" and "I see the moon!"
- Tom and I went to see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and it was pretty good!
- Henry got a haircut and I'm not sure what was so different this time, but he did NOT want it to happen. He cried and squirmed the whole time! I felt so bad for the barber.
- My sister and I went to see Abby Jimenez in person to celebrate the launch of her new book! A recap of the event is below.
- We took Henry to the zoo one weekend, finally taking advantage of our membership.
- Tax season ended and our company threw a little happy hour event. Wanting a change of pace (and to talk to some adults for awhile), I went to work in the office for the day and then attended. The firm also gave us off the first Friday after tax season ended, so that was nice.
- We attended our nephew's birthday party at an indoor trampoline park (or a "jumping place," as Henry calls it).
- My college roommate's mother passed away last month, so we traveled down to Maryland this month to see her and attend the celebration of life. Although she was understandably busy, it was nice to catch up for a short time. Henry was excited to stay in a hotel and sleep in his pack n' play (I'm not really sure why, but he did great, so I'm not going to question it!). We stopped in Baltimore and walked around the Inner Harbor for a couple hours on our way home.
- Henry has learned to say "I love you!" This is the cutest development ever, especially when combined with the hugs and kisses he freely gives now, too!
Monday, April 29, 2024
Michele's Monday Picks #44
Friday, April 26, 2024
Quick Reviews
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books On My Shelves
Friday, April 19, 2024
Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews: The Romanov Edition
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Paradise Problem
Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.
Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.
Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.
But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie. - from Goodreads
Monday, April 15, 2024
Meeting Abby Jimenez! Plus, A Giveaway!
The event started at 6pm on the 4th floor of the bookstore, and we chose our seats shortly before that. Every chair was full for the sold-out event! Originally, Abby was supposed to be in conversation with author BK Borison, but she had to back out due to illness, so Abby was interviewed by AD Jarvis, a local author who happened to already have a ticket to the event and is a big Abby fan. For someone who had to fill in at the last minute, I think she did a great job! She asked Abby questions about the new book (of course), her characters, and her writing process. Although a self-proclaimed introvert, Abby is a wonderful public speaker - she’s warm, engaging, funny, and charismatic. Her love for her books and her characters really shines through. She seemed so happy to be there, and that’s really awesome for fans to see. She even dropped some information about her next book!
After an hour of interviews and an audience Q&A session, the meet-and-greet portion of the evening began. Since we were near the back of the audience, we did have to wait quite awhile, but it’s nice that Abby took the time to briefly chat with each person, sign their books, and snap a photo. My sister met her first, and they had a good laugh about Abby almost spelling her name wrong in her personalization (my sister is one of those elusive one L Michele’s!). Then it was my turn, and of course I can never think of anything smart to say, so I just mentioned that the previous guest was my twin sister, and she was the one who got me hooked on her books. Abby replied that she loves meeting friend or sister pairs and hearing which one found her books first.
LOL, yes, my eyes are open, but just barely! |
- You must be at least 13 years old and a resident of the United States to enter.
- The giveaway will be open until April 22, 2024.
- The winner will be notified by email, and they will have three days to respond with their full name and mailing address. If they don't, another winner will be chosen.
Friday, April 12, 2024
Little Free Library Sightings
#111671 - This LFL is also near my sister's house, not far from the previous one, so it was easy to make a stop. It was completely stuffed with books! Unfortunately, I didn't have any with me to leave. I love the bright color of the library, as well as the Dr. Seuss quote on the side, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."