On My Nightstand February 22, 2025

Last week was a whirlwind. I was in Lancaster, PA with my daughter for a tournament all weekend, then we came home and I helped my son get ready for his junior retreat. In the middle of all that the dishwasher sprung a leak and our kitchen flooded. Plus they want me to work. Needless to say this is a catch up weekend including reading. I am due some couch/tea/cat time!

Have a great week everyone!

Quote of the Week:

“You’re not cut out for a pleasant, easy life. You think too much!”

— Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

On My Nightstand This Week

Kindle - Dead With The Wind by Miranda James - Another one for book club. Not the best books around, but they’re quick and easy reads.

Audiobook - Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien - This series about a noodle shop in Ohio is so fun. I realized I had skipped the 4th book so I went back before the new one comes out this spring.

In Print - Love and Death in Kathmandu by Amy Willesee and Mark Whittaker - Still making my way through this one, and hoping to finish by the end of the month. It’s a good but, but by the end of these busy days I can’t stay awake for long. Most of my daytime reading is on my kindle since I’m on the go. Getting in actual hardcover books is getting harder and harder these days.

my cat when i do find time to read a hardcover- oh were you doing something?

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On My Nightstand January 19, 2025

Sunrise a few days ago

I need to get organized this week. I have sticky notes everywhere with lists of things I need to do or remember that need to be transferred to my calendar. I need to see what I committed to and figure out if I can actually get it done. I also have a stack of ARCs to read and review. There’s a lot going on in the world now and these are things I can control, you know?

Is anyone an Everand user? This new plan they have is driving me nuts. I don’t want to switch to their new system, but I also don’t like how titles are suddenly unavailable without notice. I might cancel my subscription and get more credits from libro.fm instead.

Quote of the Week:

“There were bookshelves in every room, so that a volume would be close at hand as soon as one thought of it, and children were free to read the adults’ books.”

— Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa

What I’m Reading This Week:

Kindle: The Girl Without Skin by Mads Peter Nordbo - For a book club. I started yesterday between games at my daughter’s tournament and it’s a surprisingly good read for this particular book club!

Audiobook: The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner - I gave up on a few books the other day before I settled in on this book about what makes happy countries happy.

Paper: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - Another project for a different book club. We’re re-reading Jane Austen’s books and some adaptations. I’m looking forward to reading this at my table at night with some tea and cookies.

tournament reading

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On My Nightstand August 24, 2024

lets go freshmen!

We’re fully back to school now and sports are on every day. That means a lot of outside time for me, but also creating a schedule and sticking to it. Due to all that I’m exhausted, but in a good way. I’ve been mostly working from home this summer so we’ll see what heading back to the office does to all of this careful planning come September.

Reading wise I had been in a bit of a slump at the beginning of the month, but I can feel myself coming back now. I finished 3 books this week, and I’m hoping to do the same next week. I think I just had to give up on some of the books I wasn’t enjoying.

Quote of the week:

“Similarity of opinion is not always—I think not often—needed for fullness and perfection of love.”

— Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

On My Nightstand This Week:

Kindle - Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell - I’m reading this a chapter a day with a group on Litsy. It’s good so far! (And free on Kindle if you’re interested.)

Audiobook - Winds of the Steppe by Bernard Ollivier - This is the last of 3 books in Ollivier’s series about walking The Silk Road. They’re fascinating.

Print - An Unforgiving Place by Claire Kells - This is a fun series about law enforcement officers in the National Parks. This one takes place in Alaska.

It’s a standoff

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On My Nightstand August 18, 2024

almost full moon

I know it’s gotten boring and people say this every month, but where did this month go? I can’t believe we’re more than halfway through August. Of all the fast months this year this has been the fastest.

We’re volunteering this morning, and then we’re going to see a movie for my birthday in the afternoon. School starts tomorrow, and the first field hockey games are Tuesday and Thursday. In between all that I plan on finding as much time as I can to read on my porch in between watching the moon and listening to baseball.

Quote of the week:

“It pays to do your best work even when you think there’s no point.”

— Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky

On My Nightstand This Week:

Kindle - Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky- This is the book I needed right now. I’ve been reading this series since I was in high school, and I love it. I was so excited when the e-book of the latest one came from the library, and I started it as soon as I could.

Audiobook - The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan - This was another very anticipated summer read for me, and so far it is not disappointing me.

Print - Tales From The Torrid Zone by Alexander Frater - I should probably give up on this one soon, but for now it’s what I’m reading when I’m sitting in my car.

Reading in the yard

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On My Nightstand August 10, 2024

Clouds after debby

Hurricane Debby swept through here yesterday. It was a scary day with tornado and flash flood alerts going off. Luckily the damage here wasn’t too bad, and we got some much needed rain. I have to take the kids to get some back to school stuff this morning, but as soon as we get home I’m throwing on an audiobook and pulling every weed I see while the ground is soft. The things that make you happy in your 40’s!

I thought I was in a reading slump, but it turns out I just didn’t like what I was reading very much. So I bailed on a bunch of books last week and now I’m back on track. Whew!

Quote of the week:

“Rich people, thought Judy- she thought this the, and she thinks it now- generally become most enraged when they sense they’re about to be held accountable for their wrongs.”

— God of the Woods by Liz Moore

tropical downpours while reading the torrid zone

On My Nightstand This Week:

Kindle - Bear by Julia Phillips - I have peopley things to do this weekend, but really all I want to do is hide somewhere and read this book. At 17% it’s so good!

Audiobook - Walking to Samarkand by Bernard Ollivier - I am really enjoying this trilogy of travel memoirs about Ollivier’s walk along the Silk Road between 1999-2002.

Print - Tales From The Torrid Zone by Alexander Frater - Still reading this one bit by bit while I wait for field hockey practice to end. It’s perfect for dipping in and out of.

fresh figs from my tree

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On My Nightstand February 17, 2024

Happy weekend book friends! Last week ended up being unexpectedly hectic between illnesses, appointments, half days, and an out of the blue work project. I barely read at all during the week, but am trying to make up for it with plenty of couch time this weekend.

This month we’re eating and reading from New Zealand for the Litsy #FoodAndLit challenge. I haven’t had a chance to cook anything yet, but I did order some Manuka Honey which is supposed to be a superfood. I am hoping to grow at least two inches. I’m not sure if I’ll end up cooking anything, but I do want to order from the New Zealand pie shop near me.

Have a great week!

Quote of the Week

“There are two kinds of people in the world, Norman. People who have things and people who want the things other people have. A day don’t go by that there’s not war somewhere in this world. A war to end all wars? That’s like saying a disease to end all diseases.”

— This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

What I’m Reading This Week

On Kindle: The Girl In The Tower by Katherine Arden - I waited so long to read the second book in this series that I had to read the first one twice. This is the week I finally get it done!

Audiobook: The Longest Line on the Map by Eric Rutkow - Still reading my way across the Americas. This one is next up.

Physical Book: Koala by Danielle Clode - This one is part natural history/part climate change. I’m looking forward to it!

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On My Nightstand February 11, 2024

Happy weekend book friends! Ash Wednesday is this week which means Lent. This year instead of giving up chocolate (which I don’t eat much of anyway) I have pledged to not buy any new books, take any more books out of the library, or make use of any of my book subscriptions. Some people don’t get it, but I’m sure you all do!

Meanwhile my schedule changed again with the change of sports seasons so my reading life took a hit this week while I adjust. I’m hoping to find my groove again next week. Fingers crossed.

Have a great week!

Quote of the Week

“But Mr. Banks, who owns it, said to Mrs. Banks that she could have either a nice, clean, comfortable house or four children. But not both, for he couldn’t afford it.”

— Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

What I’m Reading This Week

On Kindle: A Plus One For Murder by Laura Bradford - Another cozy for my book club. I like the characters in this one.

Audiobook: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey - I’m enjoying this one even though I think I’m missing out on the visuals by listening instead of reading with my eyes. This is one I’ll seek out in hard copy after Lent!

Physical Book: Lead Through Anything by Dustin Seale and Ed Manfre - This sat at my reading spot untouched all last week. Time to get to it!

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Walking Wednesday August 30, 2023

Another week of walks by the soccer field! I also started going back to the gym some mornings, but there’s nothing worth taking pictures of there.

My listen this week is Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii. It’s a bit out of my comfort zone, but I like that it’s written by six different authors.

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Walking Wednesday August 23, 2023

School is back in session, and a lot of my walks are now taking place during various sports practices. As the kids get older the practices get later, and that works so much better for my schedule. Who are the people available to drive across town to drop their kids at soccer at 4 pm on a random weekday?

I’ve been listening to Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. This book gets a lot of hype, but it’s a little long for my tastes. Grateful that my library had it on audio so I wasn’t tempted to buy it.

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Books about the Olympics

Last night I started reading Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu. It's not the greatest book ever written, but since it involves the 1996 Olympics I'm all about it. I caught serious Olympic fever the summer Kim Zmeskal went to Barcelona. It intensified the summer the Magnificent Seven won gold (YOU CAN DO IT!!!), and has never gone away since then. Because of this it's really surprising that the only other two books I've read about the Olympics have been Unbroken and The Boys In The Boat.

Can anyone recommend some awesome Olympics books to me?

Two books I'm thinking of checking out:

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