What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we book bloggers have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.
It's my 69th birthday on November 1st! I'm delighted to be healthy and happy and to have family and friends both in real life and here online!
We had a blowout in Houston on the way to East Texas last week. And, yes, it began to pour down rain, and, yes, the spare was dry-rotted, but we managed to find a place to get a new tire, and we popped into the wonderful Arandas Bakery next door while we waited. I decided this is the perfect birthday cake for me!
What I Read Last Week:
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (Book Club)
Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford (Fiction)
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Children's Fiction)
and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Evan (Nonfiction)
What I'm Reading Now:
Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
The Story of a Heart: Two Families, One Heart, and a Medical Miracle by Rachel Clarke
Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's Drive to the Right
and Its Historic Consequences by Joan Biskupik
Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas by John L. Tveten
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Nonfiction November has begun!
What nonfiction did you read in 2025? What nonfiction did you like best? What are your favorite types of nonfiction to read?
The first week's writing prompts are hosted by Heather at Based on a True Story. I hope you will join in!
What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:
I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic, and 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:
I love my Aqua Zumba class in the spring
and summer and fall, but do I have what it takes to
swim outdoors in the winter?
I did it---outdoor temperature: 49 degrees.
Good Thing #2:
My aunt found the fudge recipe
she used when I was little...
on the back of a comic book.
Good Thing #3:
I'm getting ready for our Thanksgiving trip to Chicago
by borrowing a friend's red wool cape.
I like it so much I think I might
see if I can buy it from her.
Happy Birthday to you, Deb! Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteHave a great birthday!
ReplyDeleteMay your birthday be tranquil, filled with good books, the love of friends and family, birds singing, blue sky, joy in the world - and no more flat tyres. Happy 69th.
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday! Enjoy that cake, LOL! Or the real one you end up with. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! Hope you have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Deb! That cake is spectacular! Have a terrific week.
ReplyDeleteHappiest of birthdays. I hope it's a wonderful start to an even better new year! And yes, that cake would be the perfect birthday cake for you -- it's magnificent!
ReplyDeleteSoooo I have a few years on you!!
ReplyDeleteI see I already had The Great Alone on my TBR list. I added Mrs. Quinn to it and may do it as an audio book while in transit, we'll see, as I usually find audios as too slow. It would drown out those chatty neighbours on the bus.
Love that red cape, I have a few, mostly bought in Ireland. I did wear one last weekend to a funeral as I didn't really have something appropriate for the weather. I do find them awkward if I am doing any shopping.
OMG, happy birthday! What a way to start the month. I wish you always stay healthy and happy.
ReplyDeleteWishing you the happiest of birthdays, Deb! May your every wish be granted!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Deb, and best wishes for a fantastic year ahead. I read "Home Alone" a few years ago, and just loved it. Kristin Hannah at her best.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! I don't always comment, but I always read your blog. Thank you for this gift. I hope you get that Eiffel Tower cake!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHappy birthday, my friend. I hope your card arrives today! You had a great week of reading and you look dynamite in that red cape.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! The Eiffel Tower cake looks just right.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday and may you have many, many more.
ReplyDeleteA happy birthday to you.
ReplyDeleteWow! That red cape (and the cake!) were MADE for you!!! Happy Birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish you many happy returns of the day (and no more flat tires!).
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day. Fever in the Heartland is so disturbing and so good. I'm glad you found it a good read.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHappy Happy Happy Birthday!!!!!🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂 I hope you had a fantastic day and have a wonderful week!!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous = NancyElin "Happy Birthday" fellow Scorpion!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!! Not sure if you may need more than a wool cape in Chicago in a month? They posted the first measurable snow in Marquette County (upper peninsula of Michigan) over the weekend.... I'll bet that water zumba class kept you moving for warmth!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! The only nonfiction book I read this year, was a true-crime Zodiac Unmasked...It was my first true-crime novel, instead I usually read non-fiction books about horses. I have one about Justify I'm hoping to have time to read before the year is out. (You would not have gotten me in that water unless it was a heated pool)
ReplyDeletehttps://getlostinlit.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-sunday-post.html
Truth: It was heated.
DeleteHappy Birthday! That's an amazing bakery, and I love the cape!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Deb! You look stunning in that cape and you definitely deserve that cake!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a wonderful reading week
Happy Birthday! Hope you have the loveliest day!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Deb! I hope you are still celebrating and I hope you got a cake just like that one!
ReplyDeleteA very Happy Birthday to you - and absolutely, you deserve that cake, or one very much like that:). I love that red cape on you, it looks fabulous so yes - you should try to get hold of it:). And I'm AWED that you're doing aqua zumba with it so chilly - much respect to you and all those exercising with you!! Have a great week, Deb.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! Hope you have a great one! :D
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! I love the red cape and am so impressed by outdoor water classes at 49 degrees! I don't think I could have done it. I hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! Yes, I can see how you would love the birthday cake! A Fever in the Heartland is certainly an important read, not just for the historical value, but for the lessons learned to be applied in the present. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Deb! So happy to hear you didn’t suffer much damage from the blowout an! Those are the worst!
ReplyDeleteHappy birtdhay!! Love the cake (we can all dream, right?) and the cape!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday. You and my country share a birthday (as mentioned in my Sunday Salon this week).
ReplyDeleteI probably won't have time to do the November challenge but to answer your questions -
Non-fiction books completed in 2025 (so far) are Lost and Found: An A to Z of Neglected Writers of the Anglophone Caribbean by Alison Donnell; 107 Days by Kamala Harris; Historical Churches of the Caribbean Island of Antigua: An Overview of the Complex Relationship between the Older Established Churches, Slavery, and the Black Converts by Michael Nathan-Pepple; and An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children by Jamaica Kincaid with illustrator Kara Walker. I probably liked Lost and Found best. & my favourite type of non-fiction is probably any thing that's people-centered. I went through a biography period back in the day and usually enjoy a good memoir. If it captures a period of history in the process, even better.
Thank you so much, Joanne!
DeleteThat cake looks amazing, as does the fudge recipe (and its story too)! Birthday wishes to you.. I need to read some Aimee Nezhukumatathil soon
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday. Sorry to hear about the blowout but happy you found the most hilarious birthday cake while you waited.
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday! Fever in the Heart Land is tempting, but I’m afraid it will just enrage me.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I hope you had a great day!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday and, I agree, that is the perfect cake for you. As always you have such an interesting variety of books on your reading stack. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday ! Iam the 23rd of November. Have a great week
ReplyDeleteThe red cape is amazing on you!!! I hope you can keep it. Happy Birthday month!!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Deb! Too bad about the blowout, but cake is a nice surprise while you waited, I love nonfiction. Hope you enjoy your reading week.
ReplyDeletehttps://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2025/11/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-and.html
Happy Birthday week! Hope you enjoyed the cake. And glad you are all right after the tire blowout, which can be alarming. I once had a tire blowout in a tunnel near Virginia Beach, which scared me. Enjoy your nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting Selection of books. I've often looked at The Great Alone, but wasn't sure it was for me. Happy reading. I'm listening to a memoir at the moment, I haven't read many or any maybe, nonfiction this year.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday, Deb. I know I sent you good wishes on FB, but wanted to add more here. :) That cake is perfect for you! How scary, though, about the blow-out. I always worry about having one when we're driving our RV. Glad it all worked out and you were safe. Good for you to get in the pool in those chilly temps! I have to force myself to walk outside when it's cold and rainy. The only time I know I really shoudn't is when we have gusty winds, as we did today. Too many trees with "widow-maker" limbs in our forest makes it very dangerous. Love that red cape!
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday, Deb. Too bad about the tire, but yummy you had a nice visit to the bakery. I love that cape, it looks great on you. I'm going to try to get that first prompt done, better late than never.
ReplyDelete