Books I Want to Read This Spring

I'm joining in on Anne's My Own Books Reading Challenge this spring. I've done here what Anne has asked and placed the names of ten of my own books on pieces of paper. Then I drew the reading order. My goal is to try to read these ten books by May 15th. That gives me two months.

Here is what I plan to read:

#1 A Gentleman in Moscow by Amos Towles

#2 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

#3 Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland

#4 The Wonderful "O" by James Thurber

#5 An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

#6 Circe by Madeline Miller

#7 Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys

#8 Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

#9 North American Pirates and Their Lost Treasure by W. C. Jameson

#10 La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

Of course, who knows what I will bring home that is fresh and exciting from the library conference in April and from BookExpo in May?! And who knows what lovely books publishers and authors will convince me to try this spring?!

What are you hoping to read this spring?

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.

5 More Books Read, New Buzzes, a Cherry Pie, and a Five-Leaf Clover (?!)

Read...

I added five more books to the read column of my 1001 Children's Books list. None of which I actually read. No, I've searched for years for these books, and this week I finally decided to take a look on YouTube and see if I could at least have these books read to me.

These books give me a grand total of 643 books read out of 1001. That leaves me with only 358 books to go.






Reading...

I'm currently reading Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault by the creator of the Cathy comic, and A Gentleman in Moscow and Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. Plus, of course, Don Quixote and Jude the Obscure..

Book-ish...

Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon is coming once again on April 6. What is Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-thon? For 24 hours, we read books, post to our blogs, Twitters, Instagrams, Litsy, Facebook, Goodreads and MORE about our reading, and visit other readers’ homes online. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day. It happens twice a year, in April and in October. The readathon will begin promptly at 8 am Eastern time. Register here.

I've listed and drawn the names of ten books from my own stacks to try to read by May 15th for Anne's My Own Books Reading Challenge. As usual for me, I've loaded the dice by listing four books (the first four, coincidentally) that I am already reading. Wouldn't it be lovely if I could get to most of these?

Baking, photography, drawing, and other projects...

A cherry pie and a peach pie. The real delight was the crust, made from pâte brisée. 

I decided to try this Irish Creme Poundcake this morning. The original recipe from the New York Times didn't include the garish green coloring in the icing, but, hey, it's St. Paddy's Day.

I'm working hard on my various Buzzes---Bakerbuzz, Photobuzz, Naturebuzz, and Gardenbuzz. I hope to ink them in and add some paint this week.

I have a friend who often finds four-leaf clovers in her yard. We marvel over this; scientists say that only 1 in 10,000 clovers is a four-leaf clover. It is said that St. Patrick used the three-leaf shamrock to teach about the Holy Trinity, while the four-leaf clover stands for faith, hope, love, and luck. This year my friend has found several very unusual clover, and I grabbed one when she was sharing them at the fish fry last Friday night. I wonder if this brings even more luck. And what could the fifth leaf be for?

The Sunday Salon 

I’ve taken the helm of one of our earliest book blogging memes, The Sunday Salon. I’d love to have you stop by my blog, Readerbuzz, here and post a link to your blog. The Sunday Salon was created twelve years ago to encourage book conversations, and I hope to do the same by sharing links and visiting others’ blogs. I will keep also he Facebook group for Sunday Salon.

I would be very happy if you would spread the word about the Sunday Salon. Encourage others to post here and/or on Facebook. Post the graphic on social media. 

My linkup for Sunday Salon is here. If you wish to also post a link at Facebook, you can also do that. My hope is that you will post here and/or at FB and then visit other bloggers. Sunday Salon is to encourage conversations about books and book-ish things.

A Silent Retreat

Last week I went to a silent retreat.

It was at the Ruah Spirituality Center at Villa de Matel in Houston.

Each day, we met for two group sessions of Christian meditation. 

We were free to explore all the other areas of the center. 

In silence, of course.

There is a beautiful icon room.

There is are spaces where small groups or individuals can read or pray together indoors.

There are also several beautiful outdoor areas. 

The porch.

The rooftop garden.

And a beautiful labyrinth.

All silent.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by A Web of Stories. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at A Web of Stories.

Books That Need a (Good) Sequel

Many of my favorite books have sequels. I just don't like the sequels that some of my favorite books have.


So let's start with two books that I love that have awful sequels:

Gone With the Wind

To Kill a Mockingbird

Now on to some that have so-so sequels. Could I please have a good sequel? A do-over, please.

A Wrinkle in Time

Mrs. Bridge

Little House on the Prairie

Watership Down

Stargirl

Ender's Game

And so you don't think I'm a hopeless grump, here are a few that have wonderful sequels:

The Giver

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter

Gilead

Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse

The Lightning Thief

Frog and Toad are Friends

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Elephant and Piggie: Today I Will Fly

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts!

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.

Mythology, A New Book Challenge, and My First Sunday Salon Linkup

Read...

How odd is this? Here's what I finished last week: Edith Hamilton's Mythology and The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks. I loved both of them, by the way. The links take you to my reviews at Goodreads, if you want to know more.




Reading...

I'm currently reading Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault by the creator of the Cathy comic, and A Gentleman in Moscow. Plus, of course, Don Quixote and Jude the Obscure.

Book-ish...

The 'My Own Books' Reading Challenge? It sounds like it will be quite fun. The goal is to try to read 1-10 of your own books by May 15th. You are asked to make a list of ten books you own and write the titles on separate pieces of paper. You randomly draw names of titles to create the order you are to read. You read a book and then post about it and add the link to a linky so others can visit and comment. If it sounds interesting, join in at Anne's My Head is Full of Books.

The longlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction has been announced. Check it out here.





Baking, photography, drawing, and other projects...

I tried Apple Spice Muffins this week. Meh. Just meh. On the plus side, however, five apples made 96 mini-muffins.

The Sunday Salon 

I have had a nice round 50 responses to my Sunday Salon post. The results?

I was most fascinated by the answers to the third question; 60% of you have been blogging for more than 10 years! 

The last question, the most important question, had scattered responses: some people want to keep the Facebook group, and some would like to change Sunday Salon to a linky on a blog. I decided, for now, to go with popular opinion: I will keep the Facebook group and I will offer a linky here. 

I would be very happy if you would spread the word about the Sunday Salon. Encourage others to post here and/or on Facebook. Post a graphic on your blog or Facebook page or Instagram. 

My first linkup for Sunday Salon is here. If you wish to also post a link at Facebook, you can also do that. My hope is that you will post here and/or at FB and then visit other bloggers; Sunday Salon is to encourage conversations about books and book-ish things.