Friday, March 21, 2025

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

   

Today's Featured Book: 

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

by Margaret Renkl

Genre: Nonfiction

Published: October 24, 2023

Page Count: 288 pages

Summary: 

In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons—from a crow spied on New Year’s Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring—what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world, and grief over winters that end too soon and songbirds that grow fewer and fewer.

Along the way, we also glimpse the changing rhythms of a human life. Grown children, unexpectedly home during the pandemic, prepare to depart once more. Birdsong and night-blooming flowers evoke generations past. The city and the country where Renkl raised her family transform a little more with each passing day. And the natural world, now in visible flux, requires every ounce of hope and commitment from the author—and from us. For, as Renkl writes, “radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world.”


 


BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City ReaderWhat book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

Stop and look at the tangled rootlets of the poison ivy vine climbing the locust tree. Notice the way they twist around each other like plaits in a golden braid, like tendrils of seaweed washed to shore. Stop and look, but do not touch. Never, never touch, not even in winter.


Renkl, Margaret. The Comfort of Crows (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Backyard Year. Kindle Edition. 






THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

“Something wonderful fell out of the tree next to the deck,” I said. “Guess what it is.” 

He peered at the drenched object I was holding out on a teacup saucer. 

A wary look crossed his face. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully: “What do you think it is?” 

“I’m not absolutely sure, but I think it’s an owl pellet, most likely from a great horned owl. It’s awfully large for a pellet, even from an owl that big, but I’ve been looking at pictures online, and it’s definitely . . .” 

My husband was visibly struggling for composure. I stopped. “What?”


Renkl, Margaret. The Comfort of Crows (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Backyard Year (p. 56). Kindle Edition. 






The Comfort of Crows is a collection of fifty-two short essays that follow the life in the author's backyard during the course of a single year. The author, Margaret Renkl, ties the happenings in her yard to the happenings in her family and larger community, and, in doing so, draws thoughtful observations about meaning and existence in the world.





The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer   

March 21st - 27th - Sometimes, readers get into funks and maybe stop reading or feel like reading is work. What do you do to get yourself out of a reading funk? (submitted by Nicole @ The Christian Fiction Girl)

I have several strategies when I get into a reading funk. Sometimes I reread a favorite book. Sometimes I pick up a graphic novel or children's picture book. Sometimes I read what I call a browsable book, a big book that's easy to read in short pieces like a book of essays or an encyclopedia of birds.

What do you do?





Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List


Books I'm waiting to arrive for me from my library...

Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton (fiction)

After nearly losing the election to a geriatric donkey, newly installed Mayor Delizia Miccuci can’t help but feel like the sun has finally set on the rural Italian village of Lazzarini Boscarino. Tourists only stop by to ask for directions, Nonna Amara’s cherished ristorante is long shuttered, and the town hall is disgustingly overrun with glis glis poo—even Postman Duccio has been disgraced. All that’s left is Bar Celebrità, a rustic establishment where weary locals gather to quibble over decades-long disputes, submit their poor stomachs to bartender Giuseppina’s volcanic espresso, and wonder what will become of the place where together they’ve spent their entire lives.  

Little do the villagers know that local truffle hunter Giovanni Scarpazza has just happened upon something that could change everything. A truffle—
un tartufo
, that is—sits beneath the soil with the power to either be the greatest gift or the foulest curse the village has ever seen.

Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti (fiction)

Sheila Heti collected 500,000 words from a decade’s worth of journals, put the sentences in a spreadsheet, and sorted them alphabetically. She cut and cut and was left with 60,000 words of brilliance and mayhem, joy and sorrow. These are her alphabetical diaries.


Let Them by Mel Robbins (nonfiction)

If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn't you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words—Let Them—will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others. Free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. The Let Them Theory puts the power to create a life you love back in your hands—and this book will show you exactly how to do it.


Dream State by Eric Puchner (fiction)

Cece is in love. She has arrived early at her future in-laws’ lake house in Salish, Montana, to finish planning her wedding to Charlie, a young doctor with a brilliant life ahead of him. Charlie has asked Garrett, his best friend from college, to officiate the ceremony, though Cece can’t imagine anyone more ill-suited for the task—an airport baggage handler haunted by a tragedy from his and Charlie’s shared past. But as Cece spends time with Garrett, his gruff mask slips, and she grows increasingly uncertain about her future. And why does Garrett, after meeting Cece, begin to feel, well, human again? As a contagious stomach flu threatens to scuttle the wedding, and Charlie and Garrett’s friendship is put to the ultimate test, Cece must decide between the life she’s dreamed of and a life she’s never imagined.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (fiction)

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.


The Love Haters by Katherine Center (fiction)

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can.

 Thank You, Everything by Icinori (picture book)

What starts as a series of “thank yous” addressed to common objects that inhabit our daily lives gradually builds into a fantastic journey across landscapes, seasons, and inner discoveries.


Atlas Obscura: Wild Life (nonfiction)

From the curious minds of Atlas Obscura comes an unputdownable celebration of the world's living wonders.


Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.    

Saturday, March 15, 2025

The Sunday Salon: Family Weekend!

  




Welcome! I am happy you joined us at the 
Sunday Salon

What is the Sunday Salon? 

The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 






We are delighted to spend the weekend with my son and his wife from Chicago as well as my son and his family from East Texas! 





What I Read Last Week:

Oh dear. Nothing. 

Instead of finishing anything,
I started three more books!








What I'm Reading Now:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Book Club)

On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Katmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer by Rick Steves (Nonfiction)

Cold Sassy Tree: A Novel by Olive Ann Burns (Fiction)

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (Creativity)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Fiction)






What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:




I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:




Good Thing #1:

Poetry Night 
at Rae's Reads Bookshop.



Good Thing #2:

Watercolor class.



Good Thing #3:

Dusky-blue Groundstreak
during Butterfly Monitoring.



Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below. 


Friday, March 14, 2025

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

   


Today's Featured Book: 

Wolf Hall

by Hilary Mantel

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: October 13, 2009

Page Count: 614 pages

Summary: 

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?






 


BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City ReaderWhat book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.


“So now get up.” 

Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. His head turns sideways; his eyes are turned toward the gate, as if someone might arrive to help him out. One blow, properly placed, could kill him now. 

Blood from the gash on his head—which was his father’s first effort—is trickling across his face. Add to this, his left eye is blinded; but if he squints sideways, with his right eye he can see that the stitching of his father’s boot is unraveling. The twine has sprung clear of the leather, and a hard knot in it has caught his eyebrow and opened another cut. 

“So now get up!” Walter is roaring down at him, working out where to kick him next. He lifts his head an inch or two, and moves forward, on his belly, trying to do it without exposing his hands, on which Walter enjoys stamping. “What are you, an eel?” his parent asks. He trots backward, gathers pace, and aims another kick.

Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall: A Novel (p. 3). Kindle Edition. 






THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

The cardinal’s not used the place since he built Hampton Court. They’ve sent messages ahead, but has anything been done? Make my lord comfortable, he says, and goes straight down to the kitchens. At Hampton Court, the kitchens have running water; here, nothing’s running but the cooks’ noses. Cavendish is right. In fact it is worse than he thinks. The larders are impoverished and such supplies as they have show signs of ill-keeping and plunder. There are weevils in the flour. There are mouse droppings where the pastry should be rolled. It is nearly Martinmas, and they have not even thought of salting their beef. The batterie de cuisine is an insult, and the stockpot is mildewed. There are a number of small boys sitting by the hearth, and, for cash down, they can be induced into scouring and scrubbing; children take readily to novelty, and the idea of cleaning, it seems, is novel to them.


Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall: A Novel (p. 56). (Function). Kindle Edition. 







I know a lot about Henry VIII. I know quite a bit about his first wife, Katherine. I’d say I know an enormous amount about his second wife, Anne Boleyn. I’d even say I know tons about Thomas More. But what did I really know about Thomas Cromwell? Not much. Until now.

So, this book. All about Thomas Cromwell. And Henry. And Katherine. And Anne and More. Even though I generally knew the story, every page, every sentence felt new. An excellent book. I honestly cannot imagine anyone who would not be enthralled with this one.


I plan to read the other two books in this series, and then I hope to watch the second part of the Wolf Hall series on PBS, coming on March 23, 2025.








The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer   

March 14th - 20th - Do you only feature reviews on your blog? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Review)

I post book reviews.

I post travel pieces.

I post cooking experiments.

I post summaries of my week.

I post anything that interests me.




Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Books that Inspire Me to Be a Better Person

Here is a long list of secular books I've found in my life that inspire me to try to become a better person. These are a quirky mix of nonfiction with fiction, poetry, and even children's picture books. 

Could you pass this list along to some of the folks who are running America right now? Maybe some of them could use inspiration to be better people.

Have you read any of these? Are any of these on your list of books that inspire you?

If you have recommendations for me, I'd love to hear them.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie ten Boom by Corrie ten Boom

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Eric Larson


Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Civility by Stephen L. Carter

The Common Good by Robert Reich


Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder, and Things that Sustain You When the World Grows Dark by Julia Baird

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede



The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue

I Really Needed This Today: Words to Live By by Hoda Kotb

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Human by Kathleen Krull


Germinal by Émile Zola

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport

The Little Book of Saints by Christine Barrely


The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember by Fred Rogers

I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times by Monica Guzmán

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson


Every Day is a Gift: A Memoir by Tammy Duckworth

Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch


Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks


Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.