The Sunday Salon: Spring Fling at Quintana Beach with Warblers and Tanagers and Orioles

 

I am delighted that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Welcome! 

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. 

I rested for a day after doing so much traveling in March, and then I got busy again attending a family reunion for my husband's family, going to our naturalist club meeting, volunteering at Spring Fling as a host for visitors coming to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory to see migrating birds, and learning more about Emily Dickinson at my class.  

Yes, it took me three months, but I finally finished The Brothers Karamazov this week.

What I Read Last Week:

The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Classic)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss 

written by Robert Macfarlane and illustrated by Jackie Morris (Nature Nonfiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: The Black Death and the Tooth Fairy

Moving-and-Starting-Over Books

The 2026 Texas Library Association Conference: Photos of Authors, Books, and Things I'm Still Thinking About

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter  by Heather Fawcett: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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:

I saw these beautiful birds at the bird sanctuary this week while I volunteered at the host station...

Good Thing #1:

Swainson's Warbler

Good Thing #2:

Prothonatary Warbler

Good Thing #3:

Scarlet Tanager

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.

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

       

Today's Featured Book: 

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter

by Heather Fawcett

Genre: Cozy Fantasy

Published: February 17, 2026

Page Count: 356 pages

Summary: 

Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.

Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.

Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.

Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What 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.

I paused on the threshold of the shop to stamp the frost from my boots. It settled on the sills and cobblestones at night now, a fine white fur, as if winter were a great beast who skulked through the city while we slept, leaving bits of pelt behind. At least the snows hadn't arrived yet, which was some relief.

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. 

Of course, I soon realized there was no need for someone to break into the shop at night. Someone was already there. 

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.    

If you could revisit one of your past reviews, what would you change, and why? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I would not change any of my past reviews. I always tell myself that I'm just an ordinary person, sharing my thoughts about the books I read; I'm not a professional reviewer. 

 

The 2026 Texas Library Association Conference: Photos of Authors, Books, and Things I'm Still Thinking About

I'M STILL THINKING ABOUT...

The new Reading Rainbow guy

Why we love to read children's books

Bibliotherapy corner

Magnetic glasses and sparkly shoes

Team Gross

Adopt-a-dog or a cat

A book purse

Pop-up library

Make things things out of cardboard

Harris County Public Library's Curiosity Cruiser

National Wildlife Association education program

Quiet pods

Book vending machines

BOOKS I WANT TO READ

AUTHORS

Melissa Sweet; Chris Barton; Carole Boston Weatherford; Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris

Kari Lavelle; Katherine Otoshi; Jashar Awan; Liz Garton Scanton

Leuyen Pham; Steve Metzger; Laurel Snyder

Julie Murphy; Brandon Mull; Kate Quinn

For more photos, link up at Wordless Wednesday, Comedy Plus, Messymimi's Meanderings, Keith's Ramblings, Create With Joy, Wild Bird Wednesday, and My Corner of the World.