karenmarie: buckling up for a wild ride in 2025 - part IV

Welcome to my fourth thread, and may the Universe protect us from the chaos demon and his minions.

It’s a shock. It’s just more than 3 months since the chaos demon and his minions started dismantling our institutions, our safety, our democracy. Oh, and don’t forget our financial security and our standing in the world.

Eight ways to describe me and books: bibliolater, bibliomaniac, bibliophile, lectiophiliac, bookworm, Book Dragon, biblioflâneuse, and librocubicularist.

AND, making NINE ways to describe me and books - bibliotaph, courtesy of @quondame, Susan. But only in the sense of "burying" books by hiding them. And only a few.

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@lizzied, Peggy, wrote “If I’m kind, I’ll get the day I deserve.” I’m going to try to implement that. No guarantees, but I may get through an hour or two before snark and unhappiness overcome my desire to be a better person.

The Good: Family, friends, kitties, books, and soccer in constantly-rotating order. Smut, of course, and book sort team/Friends of the Library. Jenna got married in November to her girlfriend Hwan and they live about 35 minutes from us. They are so good together, and I love having them over.

The Bad: The hostile takeover of the US government by Muskolini and the whack jobs put into office.

From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Doomsday Clock. This information was published on January 29th when the clock was set to 89 seconds before midnight, apocalypse. 89 seconds is the shortest time to apocalypse since the clock was created in 1945. Rather than try to quote parts or even the whole thing, I’m going to provide the link for those with the stomach to read it: Doomsday Clock 2025

The ugly: Everything political in the US at the national level and quite a bit of it here at the local level; although having a Democratic Governor offsets the Gang of Psychos controlling the Legislature.

I read and am a charter member of the Redbud and Beyond Book Club, started in 1997. Our 2024-2025 Book Club Year.
Aug – The End of the Affair by Graham Greene – started, abandoned.
Sep – Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – finished. Loved.
Oct – Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain – after 3 attempts to start it in September, finally devoured it in time for my RL book club meeting.
Nov – Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie. Was stunned by this book.
Dec – Foster by Claire Keegan – Started, abandoned. Memo to self: Listen to an audiobook before acquiring it. A very strong Irish accent just didn’t work for me.
Jan – James by Percival Everett – finished, loved.
Feb – Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell – well, I’ve read 8 pages and won't go to book club. Abandoned twice, but back on the shelves in a show of optimism.
Mar - The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict - Abandoned before the meeting I didn’t go to.
Apr – The Good Lord Bird by James McBride - started. Not finished in time for the meeting, but I’m going to the meeting.
May – Dinosaurs by Linda Millet – my book choice. I’ve pulled it off the shelf, taken the dust jacket off for safekeeping, and put a book mark in it. Not half bad.
Jun 8 - book selection

I have been married to Bill for 34 years this coming Sunday and am mother to Jenna, who turned 31 last year and is married to Hwan, 29. Or bio daughter and bonus daughter.

November 1990. Wedding shower for me held at a friend’s house in SoCal. Sister Laura, yours truly, and our mother.



Wash and Zoe, April 8, 2025.



My goal last year was 150 books, recognizing that I’m powering through the smut. I still really, really enjoy reading this subgenre of contemporary fiction/romance and will continue until it no longer interests me. It’s getting more challenging to find books as I’ve refined my targeted trope(s), but I’ve become a great detective. This year’s goal is 200, which is still based on reading smut. So far 112 read and 36 abandoned, 29879 pages read.





News avoidance about 85-90% of the time.

And, finally, I always, always need to remember to express gratitude for what I have - family, friends, intangibles and tangibles - every single day.

Currently Reading:

Don't Date a DILF by DJ Jamison 6/10/25 Kindle Hunter and Clark Rules We Break in Granville Book 1 2023
One True Thing by MJ O'Shea and Piper Vaughn One Thing 2 2024
Invitation to the Blues by Roan Parish narrated by Greg Boudreaux 6/3/25 8.25 hours Jude and Faron Small Change 2 2019
The Federalist edited by Jacob E. Cooke 5/28/22 656 pages hardcover 1961

read

**abandoned His Prince by Cora Rose** 228 pages Facile, cutsey, chaotic emotions that didn't always make sense.
**abandoned The Club by Rina Saint** 100 pages One of the main characters, in the closet, all of a sudden comes out dramatically and publicly at a sex club. The dynamic between him and the other main character was a bit too kinky for me, and I don't hate kink.
1. The Sinner's Sanctuary by August Jones 1/3/25 1/5/25 427 pages Kindle Christian and Gibson Doormen of the Upper East Side 3 2024
2. Crossroads by Riley Hart Narrated by Sean Crisden 1/3/25 1/5/25 Audible 7.5 hours Nick and Bryce Crossroads 1 2015 really 4.25
3. A Little Bit by L Waltree 1/5/25 1/5/25 310 pages Kindle Warren and Eli 2024
4. Ruined by Vanessa Waltz 1/5/25 1/6/25 382 pages Kindle Luca and Dominic Sinners of Boston 1 2024
5. Test Drive by Riley Hart 1/5/25 1/7/25 Narrated by Sean Crisden Audible 6 hours Justin and Drew Crossroads 3 2016
6. Hard to Let Go by Jaclyn Quinn 1/7/25 1/10/25 Audible audio book narrated by Sean Crisden 6.75 hours Owen and Brady Haven Coves' Series 1 2019
7. How to Hack a Hellhound by Shannon Mae 1/7/25 1/8/25 234 pages Kindle Quinton and Liam Hellhounds of Paradise Falls 2 2025
**abandoned Taken by the Lord of the Nocturne Court by KA Merikan** 80 pages
**abandoned Never Have I Evan by DJ Jamison** 107 pages
8. James by Percival Everett 12/23/24 1/11/25 303 pages hardcover 2024
9. Commitment Issues by Bradley Brady 1/11/25 1/12/25 350 pages Kindle Evan and Scott Commitment Issues 1 2017
**abandoned Man of Honor by Parker St John** 182 pages 1/10/25 Kindle Gage and Wyatt
10. Dead Draw by Layla Reyne 1/12/25 1/14/25 237 pages Kindle Marsh and Levi Perfect Play 1 2022
11. Pull Back by JD Sampson 1/14/25 1/14/25 147 pages Kindle Bodhi and Morgan Hollywood Endings 1 2020
12. The Vertigo Effect by JD Sampson 1/14/25 1/15/25 170 pages Kindle Bodhi and Morgan Hollywood Endings 2 2020
13. The Two Shot by JD Sampson 1/15/25 1/17/25 201 pages Kindle Bodhi and Morgan Hollywood Endings 3 2021
14. Deep Focus by JD Sampson 1/15/25 1/18/25 184 pages Kindle Bodhi and Morgan Hollywood Endings 4 2023
15. Six Degrees of Lust by Taylor V. Donovan 1/18/25 1/19/25 366 pages Kindle Sam and Machlan By Degrees 1 2020
16. One Man's Trash by Marie Sexton 01/16/25 1/23/25 narrated by John Solo 12 hours Taylor and Warren Heretic Doms Club 1 2017
17. Hearsay by Taylor V Donovan 1/21/25 1/22/25 240 pages Kindle Derrick and Roman Bylaws 1 2014
18. Benji by NR Walker 1/22/25 1/23/25 196 pages Kindle Kindle Benji and Nolan The Wylde Street Boys 1 2025
** abandoned When We Collide by Avril Ashton ** 167 pages Zander, Vince, Scotty
** abandoned Six Degrees of Separation by Taylor V. Donovan ** 208 pages Mac and Sam By Degrees
** abandoned Love the Sinner by Avril Ashton ** 110 pages Gabe Pagan
** abandoned Silver & Gold by Katherine Diane 47 pages ** Seth and Raider Seth & Raider series 2
19. Disaster Stray by FA Ray 1/24/25 1/24/25 280 pages Kindle Luke and Sebastian Rainbow Rescue Cat Cafe 2 2024
20. Reckless Hearts by Jax Calder 1/24/25 1/25/25 412 pages Kindle Seb and Marcus Rainbow Redemption Book 2 2025 4.5
21. The Other Brother by Jax Calder 1/25/25 1/26/25 290 pages Kindle Ryan and Cody 2022
22. The Fixer by Charity Parkerson 1/26/25 1/27/25 244 pages Kindle Chad and Journey Damaged Devils 1 2023
** abandoned A Matcha Made in Hell by FA Ray ** 68 pages facile, no character development
23. Under Construction by Juliet M Dixon 1/27/25 1/28/25 505 pages Kindle Dennis and Chris Straight to Him 1 2025
24. Back With the Tide: Memoirs of Ellen Douglas Bellamy By Ellen Douglas Bellamy 1/23/25 1/30/25 54 pages trade paperback 1940
25. Savage by Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank 1/28/25 1/30/25 301 pages Kindle Lachlan and Cooper Park Avenue Kings 1 2025
26. A Simple Mistake by Alice Winters 1/30/25 1/31/25 361 pages Kindle Liam and Gabriel Deadly Mistakes 1 2025
** abandoned Save Me by Beck Grey ** 97 pages
** abandoned Sold by Ace Fawn ** 43 pages
** Tender Strokes by Diane Vale ** 41 pages
27. MateHub: Legend by Marie Reynard 1/31/25 2/1/25 342 pages Kindle Richard and Hunter MateHub 1 2024
28. Something About You by Riley Hart narrated by Sean Crisden 1/23/25 2/2/25 Audible audio book 7 hours Saint and Lucky Saint & Lucky 1 2018
29. Accidental Bonds by Marie Reynard 2/1/25 2/3/25 454 pges Kindle Victor and Elijah Elemental Bonds Book 1 2023
30. The Southerner's Book of Lists by Jim Erskine 2/3/25 2/3/25 128 pages paperback 1996
31. Mixed Motives by Leslie Macadam 2/4/25 2/4/25 73 pages Kindle Henry and Keane
32. Born Again Sinner by Daryl Banner 2/2/25 2/6/25 Audible audio book 10 hours Trey and Cody Spruce Texas Romance 2 2018
33. Raising Hell by Daryl Banner 2/6/25 2/7/25 329 pages Kindle Mathew (sic) and Charlie 2018
34. The Husband Experience by Maya Jean 2/7/25 2/7/25 150 pages Kindle Eli and Colby Sweet Southern Book 1 2024
** abandoned Guardian Angel in Leather by KA Merikan ** 20 pages
** abandoned Ho Ho Homicidal Maniac by KA Merikan ** 74 pages
** abandoned Notorious by Leslie McAdam - re-read ** 141 pages
** abandoned Bloom by NR Walker ** 104 pages
35. Crown of Disguise by Lola Malone 2/7/25 2/8/25 291 pages Kindle Dominique and Gaël Initiation Series 1 2023
36. Crown of Steel by Lola Malone 2/8/25 2/12/25 406 pages Kindle Régis and Arthur Initiation Series 2 2024
**abandoned A Different Light by Morningstar Ashley ** 100 pages
**abandoned Open Mind by Luna David ** 9 pages
**abandoned Sick Bargain by Nordika Night ** 189 pages
**abandoned Shameless by Lola Malone ** 71 pages
**abandoned Bonds of Denial by Lynda Aicher ** 8 pages
37. Cambros by Juliet M. Dixon 2/7/25 2/7/25 49 pages Kindle Alex and Cory 2024
38. Pretty Broken Doll by Bree Wiley 2/12/25 2/12/25 348 pages Kindle Shilo and Ryan 2025
39. Getting Lucky by Daryl Banner 2/7/25 2/15/25 Audible audio book narrated by Chris Chambers and Alex Kydd 12 hours Lucas and James 2018
40. Bad Intentions by Ella Frank 2/15/25 2/15/25 Audible audio book narrated by Tim Paige and Aiden Snow 6.5 hours Gabe and Marcus Intentions Duet 1 2021
41. The Mercenary and the Mortician by Alexandra St. Pierre 2/12/25 2/15/25 760 pages Kindle Cal and Ryan The Silent Hollow 1 2025
42. One by Paulina Ian-Kane 2/15/25 2/16/25 291 pages Kindle Michael and Raph Angels of Wrath Book 1 2023
43. Six by Paulina Ian-Kane 2/16/25 2/18/25 306 pages Kindle Ollie and Rague Angels of Wrath Book 2 2023
44. Happily Never After by Ava Olsen 2/18/25 2/18/25 222 pages Kindle Aaron and Harrison 2025
45. Three by Paulina Ian-Kane 2/18/25 2/20/25 339 pages Kindle Rami and Hunter Angels of Wrath Book 3 2024
46. Five by Paulina Ian-Kane 2/20/25 2/20/25 341 pages Kindle Gabe/Bez and Lori Angels of Wrath Book 4 2024
47. Mighty Quill by Emmaline Strange /2/21/25 2/24/25 398 pages Kindle Thor and Cassian Sanguis et Fauna 1 2022
48. Wake Me Up Inside by Cardeno C 2/24/25 2/24/25 313 Kindle Zev and Jonah Mates Collection 1 2015
49. With This Ring by RS McKenzie 2/25/25 2/26/25 297 pages Kindle Carter and Kaison Opposites Attract 1 2025
**abandoned Redeeming Rafe by Sloane Kennedy ** 81 pages
**abandoned Friction by Kindle Alexander** 323 pages
50. Wild by Adrienne Wilder 2/26/25 2/28/25 338 pages Kindle Carter Keenan and August 2017
51. Out, Proud, and Prejudiced by Megan Reddaway 2/28/25 3/1/25 346 pages Kindle Bennet and Darius 2018
52. Shelter Me by Megan Reddaway 3/1/25 3/2/25 Kindle Leo and Cole Heven Book 1 2017
53. Honor, the Duel, and Indiscretion: The Life of Elizabeth "Betsey" Pollock Devereaux Jones (1818-1879) by W. Davenport Robertson 3/5/25 3/5/25 40 pages paper published in "North Carolina Historical Review," vol. CI, no. 4 (October) 2024
54. The Killer Who Kept Me by Davidson King 3/5/25 3/6/25 224 pages Kindle Em and Soros 2025
55. Run To Me by Ashlynn Mills 3/6/25 3/6/25 248 pages Kindle Nate and Jace 2025
56. Estranged Heart by Ashlynn Mills 3/6/25 3/3/7/25 346 pages Kindle Silas and Elijah 2025
57. Taken By My Dad's Bodyguard by Candace Lark 3/8/25 3/8/25 78 pages Kindle Otto and Myers Sin City 1 2023
58. Vile Heart by Lola Malone 3/8/25 3/8/25 80 pages Kindle Camren and Davian Vicious Valentine 1 2025
59. Distant Heart by Chani Lynn Feener 3/8/25 3/8/25 91 pages Kindle Ilya and Rexton Vicious Valentine 2 2025 own
60. Caught by Leo Rivers 3/8/25 3/8/25 75 pages Kindle Evan and Silas Mating Run 1 2025
61. Rivals by Leo Rivers 3/8/25 3/9/25 91 pages Kindle Viktor and Nick Mating Run 2 2025
**abandoned Be Mine, Bloody Valentine by Skyler Snow** 43 pages
62. Pounding Skin by LA Witt 2/15/25 3/10/25 Audible audio book narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo 9.5 hours Jon and Matt Skin Deep, Inc. 2 2019
63. Shifter for Brains by F.N. Manning 3/9/25 3/9/25 258 pages Kindle Lucas and Chase Supernatural Affairs 2 2022
64. Black Moon by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes 288 pages 3/10/25 3/10/25 Kindle Linden and Colt Wolf Moon Rising 1 2021
65. Lost and Pound by Lilo Quie 3/10/25 3/11/25 103 pagesKindle Nico and Shilo Love Sync Mates Season Two 8 2025
**abandoned NOX by Adrienne Wilder** 178 pages
66. Reckless by Nicole Edwards 3/11/25 3/12/25 361 pages Kindle Cam and Gannon Pier 70 Book 1 2015
67. Hunter Moon by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes 3/12/25 3/13/25 345 pages Kindle and Brook Wolf Moon Rising 3 2021
68. Wolf Lost by Sam Burns 3/13/25 3/14/25 206 pages Kindle Sawyer and Dez The Wolves of Kismet Book 1 2019
69. Werewolf in Shining Armor by Minerva Howe 3/14/25 3/14/25 127 pages Kindle Symon and Adrian Werewolf Knights Book 1 2024
70. Such a Good Omega by Lorelei M Hart 3/14/25 3/15/25 96 pages Kindle Talon and Rowan His Alpha Desires 1 2024
71. Werewolf in Leather Armor by Minerva Howe 3/14/25 3/14/25 127 pages Kindle Rian and Eyre Werewolf Knights Book 1 2024
72. Cold Moon by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes 3/15/25 3/16/25 225 pages Kindle Dante and Skye Wolf Moon book 4 2021
73. Lone Wolf by Tessa Kane 3/16/25 3/17/25 346 pages Kindle Keir and Julien Exiled Omegas Book 1 2023
74. Cinderella in the Sheets by Reece Pine 3/17/25 3/17/25 131 pages Kindle Presley and Louis 2018
75. Carnal Heart by Emmy LaRoux 3/17/25 3/18/25 82 pages Kindle Zaiah and Devyn Vicious Valentines 3 2025
76. Blinding Light by Lola Malone 3/19/25 3/20/25 374 pages Kindle Cyprian and Moargan 2025
77. The Hunter's Heart by Minerva Howe 3/20/25 3/20/25 17 pages Kindle Jason and Isaac 2020
78. Echo by Chani Lynn Feener 3/20/25 3/22/25 437 pages Kindle Rabbit and Baikal Devils of Vitality 1 2023
79. These Silent Stars by Chani Lynn Feener 3/22/25 3/23/25 500 pages Kindle Rin and Kelevra Devils of Vitality 2 2023
**abandoned Guns 'n Boys by KA Merikan** 8.75 hours
**abandoned My Only Regret by Leigh Lennon** 2.5 hours
**abandoned The Measure by Nikki Erlick** 5.25 hours
80. Call of the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener 3/23/25 3/25/25 565 pages Kindle Sila and Bay Devils of Vitality 3 2023
81. Devil May Care by Chani Lynn Feener 3/25/25 3/26/25 482 pages Kindle Nate and Kazimir Devils of Vitality 4 2024
**abandoned Devil May Fall by Chani Lynn Feener** 127 pages
82. Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews 3/26/25 3/27/25 267 pages Kindle Parker and Adam Kick at the Darkness 1 2015
83. His Secret Alpha by Chani Lynn Feener 3/27/25 3/28/25 146 pages Kindle Sky and Kian Christmas Omegas 6 2023
**abandoned The Wolf's Wounded Omega by AJ Kane** 108 pages
**abandoned Chasing Mr. Wright by Aimee Nicole Walker ** 173 pages
**abandoned Betrothed to the Emperor by Kai Butler** 197 pages
84. Who Said Mobsters Were Scary? by Aria Clark 3/28/25 3/30/25 324 pages Kindle Leo and Chai Mobster Mayhem 1 2024
85. Kestrel by Adrienne Lothy 3/30/25 3/30/25 362 pages Kindle Niko and 'the Kestrel' Starhawk Book 1 2024
86. The Alpha's Heir: Captive by Wolf Specter 3/30/25 3/31/25 135 pages Kindle Zeke and Mathias The Alpha's Heir 1 2016
87. Mated to the Alpha books 1-8 by Rosa Swann and Wolf Specter 4/1/25 4-2-25 388 pages Kindle Max and Ethan 2015
88. Claimed by the Boss by Sophie O'Dare 4/2/25 4/3/25 211 pages Kindle Leo and Nolan Taken by His Alpha 1 2024
89. The Alpha Wolf Rancher's Runaway Omega by Asher Wylde 4/3/25 4/3/25 220 pages Kindle Wesley and Zack 2025
90. Mating the Omega by Ann-Katrin Byrde 4/3/25 4/3/25 153 pages Kindle Jason and Mac Mercy Hills Pack 1 2016
91. Abel's Omega by Ann-Katrin Byrde 4/3/25 4/4/25 348 pages Kindle Bax and Abel Mercy Hills Pack 2 2016
**abandoned Who Said Witness Protection Was Boring? by Aria Clark** 153 pages
**abandoned Wrong Train, Right Wolf by Colbie Dunbar** 43 pages
**abandoned Wrong Number, Right Wolf by Colbie Dunbar** 23 pages
92. Collared by Lola Malone 4/4/25 4/5/25 116 pages Kindle Thurel and Maël The Wicked Chase 1 2024
93. Trapped by Lola Malone 4/5/25 4/5/25 124 pages Kindle Robin and Arsène The Wicked Chase 2 2024
94. Hunted by Lola Malone 4/5/25 4/5/25 124 pages Kindle Olivier and Alexandre The Wicked Chase 3 2024
95. Cherry Breeze by Jett Masterson 4/5/25 4/6/25 392 pages Kindle Asher and Sebastian 2025
96. Marked by Lola Malone 4/6/25 4/8/25 126 pages Kindle Edouard and Romain The Wicked Chase 4 2024
97. Finding Lord Landry by Lucy Lennox 4/8/25 4/9/25 340 pages Kindle Kenji and Landry The Billionaire Brotherhood 5 2025
98. His Bewildered Mate by Brea Alepoú 4/9/25 4/9/25 234 pages Kindle Dillan and Rhy Unexpected Mates 1 2019
99. Grabbed by Susi Hawke and Crista Crown 4/10/25 4/10/25 157 pages Kindle Preston and Noah Team A.L.P.H.A. Book 1 2019
**abandoned Ready or Knot by Susi Hawke and Crista Crown** 124 pages
100. Devlish by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 4/11/25 4/11/25 295 pages Kindle Lucien and Kai Park Avenue Kings 2 2025
101. The Revenge Game by Jax Calder 4/11/25 4/12/25 439 pages Kindle Andrew and Justin The Revenge Club 1 2025
102. His Reluctant Omega by Sam Abbot 4/13/25 4/14/25 45 pages Kindle Nathan and Brock Devil's Creek Omega Book 1 2015
103. Wildlands Omega by Ruby Nox 4/14/25 4/14/25 121 pages Kindle Riley and Jack Summerwood Wolves 1 2017
104. The Alpha's Touch by Claire Cullen 4/14/25 4/15/25 94 pages Kindle Robert and Sebastian Lost Omegas Book 1 2016
105. Wrenched by Casey Morales 4/15/25 4/15/25 257 pages Kindle Sam and Miguel Nashville Spicy Book 1 2023
106. Omega's Escape by Feral Moon 4/15/25 4/16/25 72 pages Kindle Aiden and Jude The Omega Files Book 1 2016
**abandoned Hollywood Lightning by JV Speyer** 80 pages
107. Kiss the Villain by Rina Kent 4/16/25 4/17/25 496 pages Kindle Kayden and Gareth Villain 1 2025
108. Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener narrated by Dan Levy 3/26/25 4/18/25 12 hrs 20 minutes Apollo and Shadow The Devil and the Sea 1 2023
**abandoned Wrath by Ellis James** 346 pages
**abandoned Rescue by Mx Alex** 188 pages
109. Ferocious by Leslie McAdam 4/17/25 4/19/25 405 pages Kindle Rowan and Charlie 2025
110. Omega On the Run by Aria Grace 4/20/25 4/20/25 80 pages Kindle Jamie and Cameron Love Sync Mates Season 2 10
111. His Dark Paradox by Avery Tu and Kota Quinn 4/20/25 4/21/25 260 pages Kindle Nuri and Silver 2023
112. Villain by Chani Lynn Feener 4/21/25 4/22/25 310 pages Kindle Nix, Lake, West, and Yejun Demons of Foxglove Grove 1 2024
113. Martyr by Chani Lynn Feener 4/22/25 4/23/25 298 pages Kindle Nix, Lake, West, and Yejun Demons of Foxglove Grove 2 2024
114. Saint by Chani Lynn Feener 4/23/25 4/24/25 266 pages Kindle Nix, Lake, West, and Yejun Demons of Foxglove Grove 3 2024
115. Beer Money by Remy Tate 4/24/25 4/24/25 243 pages Kindle Jared and Andrew Black Box 1 2025
116. Unwritten Law by Eden Finley narrated by Antony Ferguson and Joel Leslie 4/18/25 4/26/25 Audible audiobook 5.45 hours Law and Reed The Steele Brothers 1 2018
117. Body Count by L Eveland 4/26/25 4/27/25 349 pages Kindle Theo and River Wayward Sons 1 2023
**abandoned Skin Deep by L Eveland** 141 pages
**abandoned A Bright Celestial Sea by Chani Lynn Feener** 189 pages
118. You Will Never Know by Chani Lynn Feener 4/25/25 4/25/25 238 pages Kindle Hunter and Odin A Whisper in the Dark 1 2022
119. Bent by Jesse H Reign 4/27/25 4/28/25 110 pages Kindle Oliver and Ethan 2021
120. Bent Backwards by Jesse H Reign 4/28/25 4/28/25 123 pages Kindle Ethan and Oliver 2021
121. Stay in Your Lane! by Cari Z and LA Witt 4/28/25 4/29/25 284 pages Kindle Everett and Kyle 2025
122. Off the Beaten Path by Cari Z 4/30/25 4/30/25 186 pages Kindle Ward and Henry 2021
123. His Surprise Omega by Allie W Scott 4/30/25 4/30/25 143 pages Kindle Wendell and Rafe Christmas Omegas 7 2023
**abandoned Unnatural by Alessandra Hazard** 43 pages
**abandoned Auctioned Omega by Kellan Larkin** 76 pages
**abandoned Mated into the Mob by Colbie Dunbar** 60 pages
**abandoned His Sinful Need by Leighton Greene** 193 pages
124. Knot Mine by Alice La Roux 5/3/25 5/4/25 263 pages Kindle Shiloh and Zale 2025
125. A Pika's Safe Haven by Odessa Hywell 5/4/25 5/4/25 202 pages Kindle Dean and Jules Heat, Prey, Love 2 2025
126. Ugly by Roe Horvat 5/4/25 5/4/25 180 pages Kindle Burke and Emerson Winter Sun 1 2021
127. The Good Student by MM Phoenix 5/4/25 5/4/25 86 pages Kindle Asher and Philip Straight No More 2 2025
128. The Arrangement by Laura Taylor 5/4/25 5/5/25 175 pages Kindle Oliver and Jet 2019
**abandoned Edge of Control by M Walker ** 126 pages
**abandoned Evil Omega by S Rodman ** 62 pages
129. Unspoken Vow by Eden Finley narrated by Antony Ferguson and Joel Leslie 4/26/25 5/7/25 Audible audiobook 9.25 hours Anders and Brody The Steele Brothers 2 2020
** abandoned The Unexpected Omega by Jacey Davis** 129 pages
130. Omega's Silver Alpha by Loralei M Hart 5/6/25 5/6/25 148 pages Kindle Will and Jack Mapleville Omegas 8 2018
**abandoned Serving the Alpha by HP Fly** 19 pages
**abandoned The Marriage Switch by Aja Foxx** 46 pages
131. Hurricane by Laura Taylor 5/7/25 5/8/25 120 pages Kindle Azure and Tor The Elements 1 2019
132. Slow Heat by Leta Blake 5/8/25 5/9/25 388 pages Kindle Jason and Vale Heat of Love 1 2017
**abandoned Devil in the Details by Chani Lynn Feener** 86 pages
133. Milk by Roe Horvat 5/9/25 to 5/9/25 112 pages Kindle Nico and Charles 2024
134. The Bound Omega by KC Carmine 5/10/25 5/10/25 55 pages Kindle Eldin and Ole Defiant Omegas 1 2024
135. Rough Country by Kelly Fox 5/10/25 5/11/25 290 pages Kindle Emery and Woody Central Texas 1 2024
136. Precious by Roe Horvat 5/11/25 5/11/25 218 pages Kindle Micah and Travis Heated Touch 1 2020
137. Doctor's Orders by Preston Walker and Liam Kingsley 116 pages 5/11/25 5/12/25 116 pages Kindle Reese and Connor 2018
138. Fearless Bond by Roe Horvat 5/12/25 5/13/25 199 pages Kindle Calvin and Barclay Bears of Beauville 1 2024
139. Finding Finn by Kiki Burrelli 5/13/25 5/14/25 169 pages Kindle Finn and Luke Wolf's Mate 1 2016
140. Mated to the Alpha books 1-8 by Rosa Swann and Wolf Specter 5/8/25 5/8/25 388 pages Kindle Max and Ethan 2015
141. The Omega Accountant by Bella Bennet 5/13/25 5/13/25 239 pages Kindle Matteo and Luca Corvino Family Mafia 1 2025
142. Enemy Match by Anna Wineheart 5/13/25 5/14/25 156 pages Kindle Hadley and Darius Perfect Match Agency: Springtime 2 2024
143. Luscious Match by Anna Wineheart 5/15/25 5/15/25 174 pages Kindle Gabe and Kallen Perfect Match Agency: Springtime 4 2024
144. Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet 4/23/25 5/17/25 230 pages Hardcover 2022
145. His Hunter by MM Farmer 5/16/25 5/16/25 245 pages Kindle Ari and Samson Omegas After Dark 1 2024
146. Ex Match by Anna Wineheart 5/16/25 5/16/25 123 pages Kindle John and Michael Perfect Match Agency: Springtime 1 2024
**abandoned Chased By the Alpha by Summer Aspen** 41 pages
**abandoned Snatched Up By the Cartel by Michael Levi** 54 pages Rylan and Mateo
**abandoned Alpha for Appearances by Libby Walsh** 165 pages fake marriage
147. Rome and Jules by Tara Lain 5/16/25 5/17/25 217 pages Kindle Rome and Jules 2020
148. Temple by Avril Ashton 5/17/25 5/18/25 71 pages Kindle Temple and Vik Freelancers 1 2021
149. Craving You by Avril Ashton 5/18/25 5/18/25 368 pages Kindle Kannon and Preacher Dread+ Terrible 2 2020
150. Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green narrated by the author Audible audio book 5/11/25 5.5 hours
151. His Sassy Omega by Raiven Matthews 5/19/25 5/20/25 364 pages Kindle Quinn and Lachlan Sweet Alps Mates 1 2022
152. His Bratty Omega by Raiven Matthews 5/20/25 5/21/25 367 pages Kindle Wade and Finn Sweet Alps Mates 2 2022
153. A Husband for Christmas by Beau Brown 5/21/25 5/22/25 211 pages Kindle Rider and Jax 2018
154. Roman by Avril Ashton 5/22/25 5/22/25 154 pages Kindle Roman and Tate Freelancers 2 2021
155. Doctor Perfect by Beau Brown 5/23/25 5/23/25 235 pages Kindle Fox and Liam The Omegas of Sweet Water, Texas 1 2019
156. Possession by Rina Saint 5/23/25 5/24/25 231 pages Kindle Lucas and Roman Constantine Brothers 1 2025
157. Werewolf in Rusted Armor by Minerva Howe 5/24/25 5/24/25 102 pages Kindle Quin and Thiago Werewolf Knights 3 2025
158. The Covenant by Cora Rose and Lark Taylor 5/25/25 5/25/25 341 pages Kindle Matthias and Wyatt The Firm 1 2025
159. Instant Bond by LA Lambert 5/25/25 5/26/25 251 pages Kindle Cam and Karter 2024
160. Primal Urges by Harper Aveline 5/26/25 5/26/25 184 pages Kindle Bishop and Lucien Primal Series 1 2024
161. His Every Move by M Walker 5/26/25 5/27/25 251 pages Kindle Elijah and Benji Stonewall Investigations:Midnight 2 2025
162. Claimed by the Wolf by Lyndon Land 5/27/25 5/28/25 135 pages Kindle Taggart and Mikhail Moonbond Run 1 2025
163. Trapped by the Alpha by Lyndon Land 5/28/25 5/29/25 156 pages Kindle Toby and Mason Moonbond Run 4 2025
164. Infamous Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 435 pages 5/29/25 5/29/25 Kindle West and JT Park Avenue Princes Book 1 2023
**abandoned Primal Instinct by Harper Aveline** 196 pages
**abandoned Chokehold by Leigh Rivers** 282
**abandoned An Omega for the Sheriff by Corie Rosling** 51 pages
**abandoned The Beautiful Dead by Skyla Raines** 213 pages
**abandoned Cooper by Fel Fern** 106 pages
165. Insatiable Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 5/28/25 5/29/25 406 pages Kindle Donovan and Kelly Park Avenue Princes 2 2023
166. A Different Kind of Chemistry by Ashlynn Mills 5/29/25 5/29/25 270 pages Kindle Maverick and Casey Nerds & Tattoos 1 2021
**abandoned Office Jinx by AW Turner** 63 pages
167. Scandalous Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 5/31/25 6/1/25 438 pages Kindle Preston and Archer Park Avenue Princes 3 2024
168. Possessive Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 6/1/25 6/2/25 332 pages Kindle Gavin and Daire Park Avenue Princes 4 2024
169. Wild Match by Amy Bellows 6/3/25 6/3/25 110 pages Kindle Leo and Steve Perfect Match Agency: Springtime 5 2024
170. The Accidental Everything by Amy Bellows 6/3/25 6/3/25 166 pages Kindle Isaac and Rhett Nerds Who Knot 1 2019
171. The Bookmobile Baby by Amy Bellows 6/3/25 6/4/25 231 pages Kindle Simon and Art Nerds Who Knot 2 2019
172. To Catch a Firefly by Emmy Sanders 6/4/25 6/5/25 309 pages Kindle Ellis and Lucky 2024
173. Worthy by Michele Lenard 6/5/25 6/6/25 271 pages Kindle Cade and Maddox Adrenalin 1 2025
174. Beautifully Fractured by Michele Lenard 6/6/25 6/7/25 286 pages Kindle Liam and Cruz Front Range University 1 2024
175. Echo by Chani Lynn Feener 6/7/25 6/8/25 437 pages Kindle Rabbit and Baikal The Devils of Vitality 1 2023
176. Vile Heart by Lola Malone 6/8/25 6/9/25 80 pages Kindle Cam and Davian Vicious Valentines 1 2025
**abandoned Privileged by Michele Lenard ** 111 pages
**abandoned Salacious Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank ** 210 pages
177. Distant Heart by Lola Malone 6/9/25 6/10/25 91 pages Kindle Ilya and Rexton Vicious Valentine 2 2025
177. Carnal Heart by Emmy LaRoux 6/10/25 6/10/25 82 pages Kindle Zaiah and Devyn Vicious Valentine 2 2025
178. Stalked by Leo Rivers 6/10/25 6/10/25 112 pages Kindle Mason and Toby Mating Run 3 2025

reminder to self: add to @@kenner1953 with reading dates

read 2

adds - 306 last year

1. Audible - Silk & Sand by Katherine Diane
2. Audible - Crossroads by Riley Hart
3. Audible - Guns 'n Boys by KA Merikan
4. Kindle - Colonel Chabert by Honoré de Balzac
5. FoCCL - The Complete Parallel Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books published by the Oxford University Press
6. FoCCL - Cicero Select Letters Volume I
7. FoCCL - Cicero Select Letters Volume II
8. Audible - Hard to Let Go by Jaclyn Quinn
9. Amazon - All of Us Strangers by Taichi Yamada
10. FoCCL - Introduction to Islam by Frederick Matthewson Denny Fourth Edition
11. FoCCL - French in 10 minutes a day by Kristine Kershul
12. Kindle - Commitment Issues by Bradley Brady
13. Kindle - Dead Draw by Layla Reyne
14. Kindle - Toward Eternity by Anton Hur
15. FoCCL - Sir John Dering by Jeffery Farnol - sad copy needed a good home
16. Karen - The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone by Edward Dolnick
17. Karen - Marsupial Frogs by William E Duellman
18. Re-added from being culled - The Future by Naomi Alderman
19. Re-added from being culled - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
20. Audible - One Man's Trash by Marie Sexton narrated by John Solo
21. Kindle - Save Me by Beck Grey
22. Kindle - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
23. Amazon - The Poems of Catullus: A Bilingual Edition by Gaius Valerius Catullus (Author), Peter Green (Translator)
24. Audible - Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino
25. Audible - Hard to Let Go by Jaclyn Quinn
and thus ends January's acquisitions, to be reviewed later in case I missed any.

26. FoCCL - How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb
27. FoCCL - The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook by Michael J. Gelb
28. FoCCL - The New American Bible by the Catholic Bible Publishers
29. Audible - Getting Lucky by Daryl Banner
30. FoCCL - The Hunter by Tana French
31. In House - The Calvert Party Encyclopedia by Calvert Distillers Company
32. In House - We Made It! Recipes from Aunt and Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary
33. In House - Collection Seventeen Kitchen Pamphlets
34. FoCCL - In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child
35. FoCCL - The Cask by Freeman Wills Crofts
36. FoCCL - Great Stories of All Nations ed by Maxim Lieber
37. FoCCL - The Bedside Book of Famous American Stories ed by Angus Burrell and Bennett A. Cerf
38. FoCCL - Time Travel: A History by James Gleick
39. Amazon - Bonded in Death by JD Robb
40. Kindle - The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening by Ari Shapiro
41. FoCCL - Starborn by Roberto Trotta
42. FoCCL - A Reading Diary by Alberto Manguel
43. FoCCL - Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris
44. FoCCL - When Will there Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
45. FoCCL - Beloved by Toni Morrison
46. Amazon - The Library at Night
57. Kindle - Taken By My Dad's Bodyguard by Candace Lark
58. FoCCL - The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu translated by Royall Tyler 2 vol set, slipcased
59. Kindle - Chased by the Alpha by Summer Aspen
60. Audible - Treasure Trail by Morgan Brice
61. FoCCL book sale - The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts by Karen Armstrong
62. FoCCL book sale - Mirage: Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt by Nina Burleigh
63. FoCCL book sale - The Great Chiefs by Benjamin Capps
64. FoCCL book sale - Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
65. FoCCL book sale - Bloodless by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
66. FoCCL book sale - Eternelle egypte by Collectif
67. FoCCL book sale - Early Middle Ages by Philip Daileader
68. FoCCL book sale - The High Middle Ages by Philip Daileader
69. FoCCL book sale - The Late Middle Ages by Philip Daileader
70. FoCCL book sale - Who Were the Celts? Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Celts 1000 B.C. to the Present by Kevin Duffy
71. FoCCL book sale - The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook: Guided Practice in the Five Basic Skills of Drawing by Betty Edwards
72. FoCCL book sale - Ephesus by Selahattin Erdemgil
73. FoCCL book sale - Bad Actors by Mick Herron
74. FoCCL book sale - Joe Country by Mick Herron
75. FoCCL book sale - London Rules by Mick Herron
76. FoCCL book sale - Real Tigers by Mick Herron
77. FoCCL book sale - Slough House by Mick Herron
78. FoCCL book sale - Spook Street by Mick Herron
79. FoCCL book sale - dot.dead by keith.raffel
80. FoCCL book sale - The Great Book of King Arthur: and His Knights of the Round Table by John Matthews
81. FoCCL book sale - A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions by William M. McBride
82. FoCCL book sale - Mother London by Michael Moorecock
83. FoCCL book sale - Homemade Cookies by Nell B. Nichols
84. FoCCL book sale - Egyptian Antiquities in the Hermitage by B. Piotrovsky
85. FoCCL book sale - The Pyramids and Sphinx by Desmond Stewart
86. FoCCL book sale - Three Aces by Rex Stout
87. FoCCL book sale - The Chicago Record Prize Cook Book: Seasonable, Inexpensive Bills of Fare for Every Day in the Year by The Chicago Record Co.
88. FoCCL book sale - The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding by Robert Zaretsky
89. FoCCL book sale - The Holy Bible Red Letter Edition, KJV
90. Peggy - The Gold Bat and Other School Stories by PG Wodehouse
91. Peggy - Losing Battles by Eudora Welty
92. Peggy - The Matriarch by GB Stern
93. Peggy - The Basil and Josephine Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald
94. Peggy - The Friendly Young Ladies by Mary Renault
95. Peggy - We That Were Young by Irene Rathbone
96. Peggy - Four In Hand by Sylvia Townsend Warner
97. Peggy - Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron
98. Peggy - Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution by AJ Langguth
99. FoCCL - Tutankhamun by TGH James
100. FoCCL - Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly
101. Amazon - Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener audio book
** Jan - Mar
102-109. Kindle - Mated to the Alpha Series, books 1-8 by Rosa Swann and Wolf Specter
110. FoCCL - The Book of Knowledge: The Keys of Enoch by JJ Hurtak
111. FoCCL - Wah'Kon-Tah by John Joseph Mathews
112. Amazon - The Spy in Moscow Station by Eric Haseltine
113. Kindle - Emmaline The Orphan of the Castle by Charlotte Turner Smith
114. FoCCL friend - Honor, the Duel, and Indiscretion: The Life of Elizabeth "Betsey" Pollock Deveraux Jones (1818 - 1879) by W. Davenport Robertson
115. Audible - Unspoken Vow by Eden Finley
116. At the House - Rome Past and Present with Reconstructions of Ancient Monuments
117. FoCCL - The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack
118. FoCCL - The Man in Black & Other Stories by Ellie Griffiths
118. Amazon - Launching LBJ: How a Kennedy Insider Helped Define Johnson's Presidency by Helen O'Donnell
119. Amazon - Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
120. Audible - Back Piece by LA Witt
121. Kindle - Slow Heat by Leta Blake
122. Audible - Paris Trout by Peter Dexter
123. FoCCL - Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
124. FoCCL - The Early American Cookbook by Dr. Kristie Lynn and Robert W. Pelton
125. Kindle - Finding Finn by Kiki Burrelli
126. Amazon - Baking Across America by B. Dylan Hollis
127. McIntyre's Donations - Berlin Atomized by Julia Kornberg
128. McIntyre's Donations - Hiroshima by M.G. Sheftall
129. McIntyre's Donations - Mis Kim Knows by Cho Nam-Joo
130. McIntyre's Donations - Butter by Asako Yuzuki
131. McIntyre's Donations - Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen
132. McIntyre's Donations - Son of the Old West by Nathan Ward
133. FoCCL - One Rare Book by Henry R. Wagner
134. FoCCL - Colonial Virginians at Play by Jane Carson
135. FoCCL - Zamorano Club & Roxburghe Club Roster 1955
136. FoCCL - On Crisis by Thomas Paine
137. McIntyre's Donations - Making the Best of What's Left by Judith Viorst
138. McIntyre's Donations - Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Sarner
139. McIntyre's Donations - The Army of the Potomac Trilogy by Bruce Catton
140. McIntyre's Donations - A Year of Compassion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
141. Retreat - Charlotte's Web by EB White
142. McIntyre's Donations - Hell Put to Shame by Earl Swift
143. McIntyre's Donations - The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians
144. McIntyre's Donations - Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart
145. McIntyre's Donations - Tower of God by SIU
146. Audible - Invitation to the Blues by Roan Parrish
146. Audible - Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen
147. Amazon - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
148. FoCCL - The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Carolinas and the Appalachian States, circa 1989
149. FoCCL - Totems: The Transformative Power of Your Personal Animal Totem by Brad Steiger
150. FoCCL - Concerning Them Which Are Asleep by John O Means
151. FoCCL- Thinkers - Be Seated! Booklet #6 by T.A. Dedowitz, Ocracoke, NC
152. Amazon - How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
153. Amazon - Pioneer Summer by Elena Malisova & Kateryna Sylvanova
154. Amazon - There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
155. Kindle - Hot Roommate Blues by Parker Avrile
156. Audible - Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily Kind
157. Kindle - The Awakening and Selected Stories by Kate Chopin
158. FoCCL - Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith
159. FoCCL - The Women by Kristyn Hannah

culls - 219 last year

1. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
2. Impulse & Initiative by Abigail Reynolds
3. Prayers for Peace by Karen Blincoe
4. The Southerner's Book of Lists by Jim Erskine
5. Boundaries and Protection by Pixie Lighthorse
6. Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook
7. Lean and Lovin' It by Don Mauer
8. In the Kitchen with Rosie by Rosie Daley
9. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
10. Touchstone by Laurie R. King
11. A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd
12. Uh-Oh by Robert Fulghum
13. It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It by Robert Fulghum
14. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
16. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
17. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
18. Darcy & Elizabeth by Linda Berdoll
19. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
20. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
21. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
22. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - yes, duplicate
23. Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
24. Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
25. The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
26. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
27. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
28. Seabiscuit by Laura Hillengrand
29. We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper
30. In The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
31. Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz
32. Mother London by Michael Moorcock - duplicate, new copy in better condition
33. The Defector by Daniel Silva
34. The Messenger by Daniel Silva
35. Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva
36. The Heist by Daniel Silva
37. The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva
38. The English Spy by Daniel Silva
39. The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva
40. Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva
41. Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva
42. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva
43. Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman
44. Ships by Enzo Angelucci
45. Rumford Complete Cook Book by Lily Haxworth Wallace - 1935 edition
46. The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly abridged CDs
47. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee unabridged CDs
48. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King unabridged CDs
49. Dress Yuor Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris unabridged CDs
50. Classic Tales of Espionage and Suspense by Graham Greene
51. Astaire: The Man, the Dancer by Bob Thomas
52. The Old Devils by Kinsley Amis
53. John Adams by David McCullough
54. Taking on the World by Robert W. Merry
55. Angels & Insects by AS Byatt
56. Rosslyn by Tim Wallace-Murphy & Marilyn Hopkins
57. Murder at the Library of Congress by Margaret Truman
58. The Lonely Dwarf by Rosemary Lamkey
59. Friends to the End by Bradley Trevor Greive
60. The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter
70. Mortal Sins by Penn Williamson
71. Greg Hildebrandt's Favorite Fairy Tales
72. Mother London by Michael Moorcock
73. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
74. Chelsea Mansions by Barry Maitland
75. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
76. The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter
77. The Jackal Man by Kate Ellis
78. The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch
79. Marrying the Mistress by Joann Trollope
80. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
81. Cheri and the Last of Cheri by Colette
82. A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
83. Eeny Meeny by MJ Arlidge
84. Aftermath by Clara Kensie
85. Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan
86. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
87. A Cup of Light by Nicole Mones

YTD Statistics through March

86 books read
73 ebooks, 9 audio books, 4 paper books
20373 pages in completed books
77.25 hours in completed audio books
32 books abandoned, 3227 pages abandoned, 16.5 hours abandoned

23600 total pages read

Avg pages read per day, incl books abandoned: YTD = 262
Avg pages read per book, only those completed: YTD = 237

Book(s) of the Month: Call of the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener
Honor, The Duel, and Indiscretion by M. Davenport Robertson - genealogical paper

Books by Month
January: 26 books read - 18 ebooks, 4 audio books, 5 paper books
February: 24 books read - 21 ebooks, 4 audio books, 0 paper books
March: 36 books read - 34 e-books, 1 audio book, 1 paper book

Author
Male 10%
Female 77%
Undeclared * 12%
Non-Binary 1%
* - can't find info anywhere

Living 99%
Dead 1%

US Born 32%
Foreign Born 12%
Undeclared * 56%
* - can't find info anywhere

Medium
Audio Book 10%
e-Book 85%
Paper Book 5%

Source
My Library 20%
Library 0%
Kindle Unlimited 80%
Borrowed 0%

Misc
Galley Proof 0%
Re-read 0%
Series 77%

Fiction 98%
NonFiction 2%

Author Birth Country
Australia 3%
Canada 4%
New Zealand 2%
Puerto Rico 2%
UK 4%
Undeclared * 53%
US 32%
* - can't find info anywhere

Original Decade Published

1940-1949 1%
1990-1999 1%
2010-2019 24%
2020-2025 74%

Genre
Historical Fiction 1%
History 1%
Humor 1%
Memoir 1%
MM Romance 96%

Average Rating
2.0 - Bad 1
2.5 - Average 1
3.0 - Good 4
3.5 - Very Good 29
4.0 - Excellent 43
4.5 - Outstanding 8
5 - Masterpiece 0

Average Rating 3.79
Books acquired YTD (last year 306) 101
Books culled YTD (last year 219) 57

5895 books cataloged on 12/31/24

March Lightning Round

Any in bold are NOT MM romances, few and far between as they are.

Quite a few of the smut books have warnings about triggers that I don’t mention here. Caveat emptor re triggers if you want to dip your toes in.

It was not deliberate, but last month was mostly space operas and werewolves.

Out, Proud, and Prejudiced by Megan Reddaway 2/28/25 3/1/25 Kindle

Fun gay retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Bennet is a young and struggling student. Darius is a rich and aloof lawyer. I particularly enjoyed Bennet overhearing Darius tell his friend that Bennet isn’t even fuckable, starting the prejudice Bennet has for Darius. I enjoyed the names, veiled references, and plot lines, always looking for parallels with P&P. Ultimately it fell a bit short, as one would expect anything except the original would. Caveat emptor re sex.

Shelter Me by Megan Reddaway 3/1/25 3/2/25 Kindle

Leo was taken at age 6 to be studied and experimented on by the government because he’s an empath. He escapes when he’s 20 with a 6-month old baby named Jason, called Jae. He’s taken in by Cole, who lives off the grid. They’re looking for Leo and Jae, Cole and Leo are seeking shelter at a post-apocalypse … commune … that Cole’s herd of where they can be safe. There are advantages and disadvantages to being there. Insta lust on both sides, caring for a baby and Leo’s total innocence about the world outside the lab he was held in. I liked the empath connection between Leo and Jae and Cole’s resourcefulness in keeping them hidden. What ultimately was the best thing and the scariest thing about this book is how the future is portrayed – we’re beginning to live it right now with the chaos demon and his minions ruining our country and threatening our freedoms and privacy. Scary, scary. Caveat emptor re sex.

Honor, the Duel, and Indiscretion: The Life of Elizabeth "Betsey" Pollock Devereaux Jones (1818-1879) by W. Davenport Robertson 3/5/25 3/5/25 40 pages paper published in "North Carolina Historical Review," vol. CI, no. 4 (October) 2024

Written by a friend of mine who’s on the book sort team. This paper is erudite, interesting, and, more than Betsey’s life, discusses the South before the War, the South and North during the war, and how Betsey overcame the stigma of what may or may not have been cheating on her husband. Her husband challenged Dr. Johnson to a duel. They had to go to Maryland to actually have the duel, and it appears from the details that the husband fired early. Dr. Johnson was going to delope – fire harmlessly into the air. He died. Nobody seems to have much felt bad about this. Betsey moved to the north, became a seamstress, and at various times had one or more of her four children living with her. She considered herself a very old woman when she died at the age of 61. Photos, maps, footnotes, and letters are included. It is absolutely fascinating.

The Killer Who Kept Me by Davidson King 3/5/25 3/6/25 Kindle

Em is a prisoner of the head of a mob family and his wife and punished when he doesn’t perform errands as expected. One errand includes giving a box to another mob boss, Soros, and Soros is entranced with him. Em refuses to stay, fearing serious retribution on Soros. Em is punished for being late returning from this errand anyway. The second errand takes Em to Soros again, and this time he accepts the sanctuary. Instalust on Soros’ part but he has his doctor care for Em, gets him clothing, and gets him properly fed and rested before starting a romantic relationship. Em has been smitten from the beginning, of course. This is one of those extreme, barely holds together books, but hold it does. Soros takes down the family but saves the son. A ten year later epilogue has sweet and happy times, even though Soros is still the boss of a mob family. Cavet emptor re violence and sex.

Run To Me by Ashlynn Mills 3/6/25 3/6/25 Kindle

I admit it. I’m a sucker for the stepbrother trope. Jace’s parents divorce, his father steals him away and keeps him a prisoner while he kidnaps young men before trafficking them. Jace is in constant terror of his father killing him so does what his father says until he’s rescued. His mother has remarried and has a stepson living with her and her second husband. Nate’s a year younger than Jace. She either never tried to find Jace or couldn’t, but 3 years after he’s rescued and has been in a group home because of his trauma, he moves in with his mother, his step-father, and his stepbrother Nate. Jace feels guilty for helping his father and has nightmares and is still traumatized for at least a year or so. Nate helps him with small behaviors to help him adapt, protects him at school, and when they are seniors, they start a romantic relationship. The author captures teen angst and poor decision making, but the boys are slated to go to the same university, sharing an apartment. That is, up until Jace’s mother discovers them together in Jace’s room. She immediately packs him off to her husband’s brother’s farm in another state. Jace never responds to any of Nate’s texts or phone calls, wanting Nate to get on with his life and not settle for Jace. Seven years later he comes home when Nate is put on the spot by his boyfriend Glen, who proposes on bended knee. Nate tells him right then and there that he’ll never love Glen the way he should be loved, but Glen seems to take that as a challenge. Jace has become used to living on the farm and is trying to expiate his father’s sin in a socially unacceptable way by kidnapping and torturing rapists and serial killers. He doesn’t kill them, but they wish he had. Jace and Nate have one weekend to get each other out of their systems, then Jace goes home. Nate can’t bear it, comes to the farm and eventually stays. This one was complicated and had lots of religious and judgmental overtones. I was rooting for them the whole time, even with violence and motivations that I don't feel intrinsically. Caveat emptor re sex and violence.

Estranged Heart by Ashlynn Mills 3/6/25 3/3/7/25 Kindle

Silas is the recipient of a heart transplant, starts having nightmares, dreams, almost memories. He finds himself outside a book store and he and Elijah, a widower and owner of the book store. Elijah’s husband Landon was murdered. As the romance continues and they both start realizing that Landon’s heart beats in Silas’s body, they are also involved in organ trafficking and a profound betrayal. They get their HEA, but not until there’s quite a bit of angst and anguish. The plot was intriguing and kept me compulsively reading. Caveat emptor re sex.

Taken By My Dad's Bodyguard by Candace Lark 3/8/25 3/8/25 Kindle

Myers and his father Kevin are in WITSEC. Myers has been there since he’s 12. A private video of him is shared with friends of his hookup, he is humiliated and can only think to run away and hide. Not cool while in WITSEC, and his father’s bodyguard Otto knows where he is and goes to him. Hidden feelings come out on both sides, there’s a bit of discipline/spanking, a bit of danger, and a wildly improbable HEA. Ridiculous when all's said and done. Caveat emptor re sex.

Vile Heart by Lola Malone 3/8/25 3/8/25 Kindle

First of two in the Vicious Valentine series, a fantasy novella that has Camren participating in a college tradition of chasing someone down, figuratively speaking, and having their way with them before dawn. Camren knows his best friend Davian, who fled from him two years previously, will be there and he entices him and they get the HEA they want. Caveat emptor re sex.

Distant Heart by Lola Malone 3/8/25 3/8/25 Kindle

Second of two in the Vicious Valentine series, is a fantasy novella that has Illya participating in a college tradition of chasing someone down, figuratively speaking, and having their way with them before dawn. Rexton has shown up, and there’s a nice plot twist at the end. In the meantime, Illya chases Rexton down, takes him to his upstairs apartment and they go from there. Caveat emptor re sex.

Caught by Leo Rivers 3/8/25 3/8/25 Kindle

One night a year, humans can sign up for the Mating Run, where they agree to remain within the boundary of the woods and fend off or allow werewolves to have their way with them. Cheesy, right? Evan’s friend Lila signs up, yet chickens out and comes to Evan’s cabin just outside the boundary. Evan takes her place. Silas has been looking for his mate for years, never participating in the Mating Run just for someone to take. Werewolves being what they are, he smells that Evan is his fated mate, chases him, and for the next 60 or so pages there’s sex and a HEA. Caveat emptor re the sex.

Rivals by Leo Rivers 3/8/25 3/9/25 Kindle

Viktor is a were wolf, Nick is a human. They work in the same department, are rivals, and act like they hate one another. Nick is in a financial hole, and needs the money that he’ll get from surviving the Mating Run. Victor participates every year, yet this year he smells Nick and runs him down. See above – “… for the next 60 or pages there’s sex and a HEA.” Ditto here. Caveat emptor re the sex.

**abandoned Be Mine, Bloody Valentine by Skyler Snow**

Too depraved. Too bloody. I can’t see how I can possibly like either character although they were both victims when young. Just… ugh. Two murders within the first 43 pages.

Pounding Skin by LA Witt 2/15/25 3/10/25 Audible audio book narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo 9.5 hours

Matt is a tattoo artist, recently broken up with his girlfriend. Jon is a fighter pilot and lost a bet on his football team. He has to get a tattoo, place determined by his fellow pilots, only excluding certain places and types of tattoos. He has a fear of needles. Matt tattoos a rival squadron’s symbol on his left butt cheek. Jon’s attracted to him, Matt is wondering if he’s really bi from a three-way with his now-former girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Jon asks Matt out, there is instant attraction, Matt realizes that he’s bi. Jon is insistent that it’s a friends with benefits only, no chance of a relationship, yet over the next several months there are feelings on both sides until Jon is scared away from a relationship with Matt because of a friend’s breakup with his husband. Several weeks apart, misery on both sides, HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Shifter for Brains by F.N. Manning 3/9/25 3/9/25 258 pages Kindle

I love the title of this one, because, of course, I immediately thought of S*it For Brains. Lucas is finally recovering from a car accident. Chase works for a supernatural affairs police department and after saving Lucas from what appears to be an accident, realizes that Lucas is under attack. There’s an interesting mystery here, with plenty of clues and a good resolution. Lucas and Chase are attracted to each other even though Lucas is human and Chase is a werewolf. They cross the line from attraction into action, the bad guys show their hand, there are interesting revelations, and they get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Black Moon by Sam Burns and W.M. Faukes 3/10/25 3/10/25 Kindle

Colt is a wolf shifter, part of a political family in Washington D.C. His family requires his appearance at family events promoting his father’s support of the shifter community, of which they’re part. He’s invited to write a story about a shifter pack in Virginia, where he meets Linden. The pack has suffered a kidnapping and death of their alpha, Linden’s father, by another local pack. Colt learns about the rescue attempt by Linden and other pack members and goes to where the pack has entered the other pack’s lands. Somehow or another he comes across Brook, the kidnap victim, and rescues him. This puts him in good with the pack. Then it goes into Mpreg stuff, which I don’t particularly like, although I liked the characters by this time and tolerated it. Fated mates, bonded, and etc. Caveat emptor re sex.

Lost and Pound by Lilo Quie 3/10/25 3/11/25 Kindle

Nico is sold to another shifter pack because omegas are rare these days due to an illness that cannot be explained and that is devastating packs. He’s in a magic-ed collar, but there’s a car accident and everybody except him is killed. He’s assumed to be a wolf/dog, is sent to a kill shelter, and just avoids being killed when Shilo is taking a donation of kibble. Shilo recognizes the type of collar and that Nico is a shifter, adopts him, and takes him home. Shifter politics between packs have Shilo having to stand up to Nico’s father and the pack who still claim him. I've never read a shifter book where a wolf shifter is kept in a human dog pound... Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned NOX by Adrienne Wilder**

Description on Amazon: A nude man invades Luca Suarez's home and protects him from creatures who cannot exist. Creatures hunting him. The stranger can't tell Luca why. He can't even tell Luca his name. He remembers nothing until the moment he sees Luca. The only hint Luca has to the stranger's identity is a tattoo on his wrist: N o X. Nox doesn't know who he is, but he's sure of three things, his memory loss is temporary, the monsters chasing Luca are called Anubis, and his Alpha, Koda, sent Nox to protect him. There's just one problem… Koda is Luca's brother who was murdered five years ago. With each passing hour, Nox fills in the pieces painting an impossible truth. And with each passing hour, both men find themselves unexplainably attracted to each other. Something Luca is willing to embrace because he has nothing left to lose. And one Nox can't let happen because it could get Luca killed. Nox is a HEA/HFN m/m paranormal, science-fiction romance. But be warned, these are NOT the shifters you are used to reading about.

*A fast pace, twist and turns, edge of your seat, dark paranormal suspense, passionate, high-heat, Egyptian lore, protective alpha male, size difference, hurt/comfort, reluctant lover, mm, m/m gay romance, that will "knock your fluffy socks off" (according to readers).*

Too convoluted, too irritating, too medical weirdness for me. I didn’t get a strong sense of either NoX or Luca. And that’s after 178 pages.

Reckless by Nicole Edwards 3/11/25 3/12/25 Kindle

Cam owns a lakeside marina with 3 friends, is happy with his low-key, sports/water oriented life, with no separation between his personal and business life. He’s the reckless one of the title. He loves extreme sports. Gannon is a type-A gaming corporation owner, always busy, with no personal life to speak of. He doesn’t like the water, doesn’t like new experiences very much. Each has trauma in his past. Cam’s is losing people and getting panic attacks when friends or family or lovers fly. Gannon has abandonment issues because his parents kicked him out when he was 17 years old for being gay. Gannon’s PA decides his (nerdy) team needs a bit of relaxing team building, so heads to the marina with him to book a 2-hour lake cruise. Instalust on both sides between Cam and Gannon. The trip goes well. Gannon pursues Cam, Cam is willing to be pursued until the point where Gannon announces that he’s flying to California for 4 days. Cam panics and dumps Gannon. Ganon keeps coming back, they go back and forth with their insecurities. Sexy times galore, both dancing around commitment. I enjoyed the way their personalities were developed, the sexy times, how they worked on resolving the issues, and the major interference by Gannon’s PA in a good way. Caveat emptor re sex.

Hunter Moon by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes 3/12/25 3/13/25 Kindle

Another shifter romance. This one continues where Black Moon leaves off, with Linden pack alpha, Colt his fated mate. Linden’s brother Aspen abandoned the pack ten years earlier, because he knew he wasn’t best suited to be pack leader and felt pressured by their father. He joined the Navy, didn’t keep in touch with anybody but one of member of the pack, who writes to him when their father is killed, Brook taken, rescued, and returned to the pack. Aspen and Brook had been in love and had been lovers. Brook is traumatized by the kidnapping after being traumatized by Aspen leaving ten years earlier with no explanation to him or communication with him. Aspen returns, on leave from the Navy, and after lots of folks castigating him for his abandonment of the pack and Brook, start accepting him again. He and Brook cautiously get reacquainted. They start seeing each other again, there’s a threat from the pack who took Brook, and Aspen settles into an enforcer role with the pack and he and Brook get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Wolf Lost by Sam Burns 3/13/25 3/14/25 Kindle

Omega Sawyer is on the run from the pack that killed his alpha father and tried to force him to be with the new alpha. Two betas are hunting him down. He runs into a café being renovated and there is Dez, an alpha wolf bitten and wounded in Afghanistan but who immediately scares the betas off. Dez is immediately attracted to Sawyer, and Sawyer is immediately attracted to Dez. Two other alphas are in the back room, Dez’s pack. One’s a born werewolf, the other two, Dez and Gavin, are made. They have created their own small pack, taking over abandoned pack lands. They are renovating the café. They take Sawyer home, to Dez’s very expensive home. Dez inherited from his grandfather. The romance moves apace, the renovation moves apace, Sawyer’s old pack still tries to take him. Eventually the alpha, Mark, comes to get Sawyer on his own and fails miserably. HEA for Sawyer and Dez. Caveat emptor re sex.

Werewolf in Shining Armor by Minerva Howe 3/14/25 3/14/25 Kindle

Werewolf Symon has bought a dating app for shifters company, shiftr.com, and on the day he takes ownership he comes to a meet-and-greet. Adrian is a coder, working for Helene. He’s tripped up by a salesman, who says derogatory things about omegas. Symon immediately fires him. Insta lust by Symon of Adrian, of course. There's also hacking into the code and danger to Adrian. Symon takes Adrian to his well-secured house. Symon’s two brothers, Rian and Quin, help, as well as Isaac the Pallas Cat shifter. If you've never seen a photo of a Pallas Cat, (unless your RichardDear), please find one - they are wild cats but about the size of house cats and I want Fated mates, HEA, solution to the hacking problem. Caveat emptor re sex.

Such a Good Omega by Loralei M Hart 3/14/25 3/15/25 Kindle

Talon and his partners are opening a shifter sex club and hiring. Rowan is hired to be a bartender, but Talon immediately recognizes him as his fated mate, lets him work for a couple of weeks, needs a new PA, and shifts Rowan over to be his PA. Insta lust and sexy times. Unfortunately for my preferences, this is an mpreg romance, with Rowan getting pregnant, Talon having him move in and etc. Baby wolfie born, HEA. Caveat emptor re sex and implied BDSM.

Werewolf in Leather Armor by Minerva Howe 3/14/25 3/14/25 Kindle

Rian, Symon and Quin’s brother, responds to Quin’s request to help a fox shifter, Eyre – pronounced Eye-ree as we’re immediately told. Eyre’s down on his luck, homeless, but proud. He and his friends have a check in plan, but several are missing and Eyre vows to try to find them. Riann takes him home, and Eyre tells him about missing omega friends. Turns out there’s an omega trafficking ring. The three brothers and Eyre figure out who it is and take him and the ring down, rescuing 10 omega shifters in the process. Fated mates, insta lust.

Cold Moon by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes 3/15/25 3/16/25 Kindle

4th in the Wolf Moon series, 3rd one I’ve read. Skye is a male omega, born after The Condition had decimated Omegas world wide. He survived, as did his mother, but is considered frail and fragile by his pack. He works with Linden, pack Alpha, in the pack’s clinic, and has discovered that food and drinking choices help him survive and remain healthy. Dante is an omega from a pack that attacked him and Skye’s pack. Under much protest from the pack, Dante is saved and brought to the clinic to be healed. Healing and caring and lust and etc., have them spending time and planning together. Dante was a biology student before coming back to his pack, starts working with Linden’s pack to figure out what’s causing The Condition. Long story short, they discover the source, there’s adventure and danger, and Dante and Skye get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Lone Wolf by Tessa Kane 3/16/25 3/17/25 Kindle

Standalone by a different author, Keir is a rare male omega, kicked out by his pack at 17 for being an abomination – gay. He survives on his own for 4 years, then Julien sees him working at a bar and realizes he is his fated mate. Way too many pack politics, I thought when I started it, way too many at the end, but they actually work in the end. Danger, adventure, Keir’s old pack claiming him, Julien claiming him, and etc. Ugh to the kidnapping and etc. Caveat emptor re sex.

Cinderella in the Sheets by Reece Pine 3/17/25 3/17/25 Kindle

A re-read, this has Presley, the stepson of the President of the United States, secretly having hookups because his stepfather is super conservative. Presley works for his stepdad but isn’t particularly happy about it. Privately he uses his fortune to fund projects close to his heart. One night, eyes covered with a silk scarf as always, Presley meets his hookup, a gentle man with a marvelous Southern accent. He admits that he’s won a prestigious award yet has a hard time telling his family. He’s brought food, he and Presley hit off in every way, but he's gone in the morning. Presley wants to discover who he is, and on the slim clues he’s been given, has his security team try to track him down. Hilarity and false leads ensue, eventually Presley’s team tracks him down and they meet up at Louis’s family’s home. I found this one particularly sweet in addition to being spicy, with the HEA well deserved and nicely attained. We see that Presley will leave his stepfather’s orbit and start working on the projects he really wants to pursue, and Louis gets his day in the sun receiving a very prestigious award indeed. Cavet emptor re sex.

Carnal Heart by Emmy LaRoux 3/17/25 3/18/25 Kindle

Third in the Vicious Valentines series has Devyn, a Black Hart, supposedly being forced by his father to pursue one man while he’s fascinated and obsessed with another. Zaiah had stayed at the school but changed departments 2 years previously, and Devyn is stunned to see him at the Cor Night, a night of debauchery and exploration of Black Hart vices. The man Devyn’s supposed to pursue turns out to be the man Zaiah changed departments for. He was controlled and abused by this man, and once Devyn figures this out, he ‘rescues’ Zaiah and they get a HEA. Cavet emptor re sex.

Blinding Light by Lola Malone 3/19/25 3/20/25 Kindle

Fostered as a child, Cyprian feels compelled to leave his planet in search of his parents. He has information about who they might be, and his planet of choice is Helion. On the space ship taking him to Helion, under an assumed name, Moargan, an Imperial Prince, sees Cyprian and is immediately attracted to him and feels a strong bond. Cyprian moves into an apartment he's arranged for ahead of time, but Moargan arrogantly steps in, buys the apartment building, and takes Cyprian to his home, to live there. Cyprian attends art college, but is troubled by dreams and feels a growing bond with Moargan. Turns out they’re fated mates. Cyprian has a hard time accepting this, but after a serial killer is found and brought to justice and Cyprian understands who his parents were, he and Moargan get their HEA. There’s magic and special powers, and all sorts of fun fantasy. Helion is believable within the scope of fantasy, as are Moargan and Cyprian’s powers. My only real quibble is how to pronounce Moargan – Mor’gan or Mo’Ar’Gan. I chose Morgan, but had to look at it every single time. Caveat emptor re sex and violence.

The Hunter's Heart by Minerva Howe 3/20/25 3/20/25 Kindle

Well done short story has Jason, an omega shifter, running from an alpha. He takes refuge in a cabin but is captured by the alpha. Sweet and unexpected ending. Caveat emptor re sex.

Echo by Chani Lynn Feener 3/20/25 3/22/25 Kindle

First in the Devils of Vitality fantasy MM romance. The author states in the preface to this, as well as subsequent books, that the protagonists are not nice or good people. It’s a made-up world in a made-up universe. Rabbit Trace is a musical prodigy, son of a worlds-famous performer. She pushes him, abuses him, torments, him, and controls him, but he doesn’t fight her. One day Baikal, heir apparent to Vitality’s mafia, sees Rabbit perform and becomes obsessed by him. He’s playing a long game and doesn’t immediately approach Rabbit. Eventually he does, though, and although his methods are morally gray, draws Rabbit to his side. They become sexually and romantically involved. In the meantime, Rabbit’s mother tries to control him one too many times, which doesn’t go well for her. The most fascinating thing about this book is that the instrument Rabbit plays, a bieska, interacts with his emotions and skills so that colors are released as he plays. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? A performer and his/her instrument providing music and color. Baikal is an alpha predator, wants Rabbit. My kryptonite – alpha male, alpha predator. Not an accident that Kal calls Rabbit his sweet bunny. Baikal protects and cares for Rabbit, and they get a very steamy and happy HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. Quite a few typos, and a fair amount of repetition of personality traits.

These Silent Stars by Chani Lynn Feener 3/22/25 3/23/25 Kindle

Second in the Devils of Vitality fantasy MM romance. Rin runs up against Kelevra, an Imperial Prince, third in line after his older sisters. Rin is from another galaxy, living on Vitality with his twin brother while both pursue their academic careers. Rin is supposed to take over his father’s political activities, and Sila is supposed to take over their father’s medical practice and legacy. They have persuaded their father to let them study on Vitality but he controls the purse strings. Rin studies at the military academy, where he meets Kelevra. Kel, of course, is immediately attracted to Rin. Kel has a visual enhancement that allows him to differentiate between Rin and Sila, the only person who can do so. This gets Rin’s attention. Rin is an extremely emotional person yet controls it rigorously. However, once Kel gets him in the bedroom, Rin gives up control easily, because it allows him the freedom of relaxing and not being forced to keep up the persona. Politics, attraction, Kel fixing the issues preventing Rin and Sila from staying, eventually putting the father in the position of leaving his sons alone forever. Once again an alpha predator is obsessed with an ‘innocent’. The personalities of this second in the series are strongly delinated as in the first. The identical physical appearance of the twins causes all sorts of confusion and strange plot twists, but once the author lets us in on the secrets, it makes a lot of sense. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Guns 'n Boys by KA Merikan**

Ugh. Younger son of a mafia don, left alone in the US until the father wants to make him his heir, is kidnapped then returned to his mafia life. When he’s named successor, his father’s best assassin takes on the task of teaching Seth to become the strong mafia don he’s never thought he had to be. Over the top alpha male Dom and whiny Seth. Not worth continuing.

**abandoned My Only Regret by Leigh Lennon**

It says a lot about this sickening sweet story that I can’t remember anything about it.

**abandoned The Measure by Nikki Erlick**

Oh how I wanted to continue loving this unique fantasy. Everybody in the world 22 and over receives a box in the early morning, in their time zone. Some people open the box, some don’t. Eventually the world realizes that each box holds the answer to when the owner of the box will die, although not specifically and not how. Long string, short string – the measure of a life. After the initial shock of the premise, I just wasn’t interested. Perhaps it was because there are so many protagonists? Perhaps because it started slowing down? Regardless, it’s abandoned. I own it, so might try to listen to it another time.

Call of the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener 3/23/25 3/25/25 Kindle

Bay Delmar is a professor at the University Sila attends although Sila doesn’t have any classes with him. Each is obsessed with the other, stalking. Eventually Sila makes the move by last-minute signing up for one of the Criminal Psychology classes Bay teaches. He dominates Bay, who feels dead inside since his adoptive grandmother is murdered and her house stolen out from under him. He goes to work, tries to feel alive by illegally racing his hovercar down by the docks. Sila doesn’t promise more than seduction and obsession in exchange for Bay giving up autonomy in exchance for Sila finding revenge. Once again, strong personalities clearly delineated. Sila and Rin, his twin, have been exchanging places the entire time they’re on Vitality, and Bay can see who is who, as can Kelevra in the previous book. The action intertwines with the action of Rin and Kelevra’s story, obviously told from the perspective of Sila and to a lesser extent Bay. Sila is a psychopath, which makes it interesting. They get their HEA, which works for them, but would be appalling for ‘normal’ people. Caveat emptor re sex and violence.

Devil May Care by Chani Lynn Feener 3/25/25 3/26/25 Kindle

Nate is also a racer at the illegal races at the docks. He gets on Kazimir’s radar and Kazimir figures he needs a fake boyfriend in order to appease his boss. He coerces Nate into being his boyfriend. Honestly, I liked it a lot, but finished it two days ago, and it’s rather blurry. Suffice to say alpha male, enemies to lovers, HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Devil May Fall by Chani Lynn Feener**

Next in the Devils of Vitality series seriously squicked me out and I abandoned it after 127 pages. Too much Childish alpha male. Kidnapping, torture, then ‘punishment’ by forcing a porn scene. Ridiculous.

Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews 3/26/25 3/27/25 Kindle

Parker is an entitled freshman at Stanford, shocked when he gets a C- on a paper in a supposedly easy class not in his major. He goes to the TA, Adam, who won’t change the grade and tells him to do better on the next paper. In the meantime, everybody’s communication devices are blowing up with news of zombie-like creatures attacking people. Parker’s brother and he talk, Parker and his mother text. And then, communications stop, news stops, the internet stops. Parker and Adam barely escape the ‘creepers’ and decide to try to get to Parker’s parents’ cottage on the Coast. Eventually Parker finds out a pretty big secret that Adam has, but which works to their benefit as they escape creepers and avaricious humans. This is the first book of three, and they’re still alive at the end of this book, in love, and trying to stay alive. The bioterrorism is as yet unexplained, Parker’s parents are missing, his brother hasn’t been heard from, but Parker and Adam are doing fine, thank you. Parker is absolutely fearless in his caring for Adam which surprises Adam. Caveat emptor re yucky zombie-like stuff and sex.

His Secret Alpha by Chani Lynn Feener 3/27/25 3/28/25 Kindle

An Omegaverse book without mpreg. Sky has had a crush on Kian, his best friend’s older brother forever yet hasn’t seen him in 3 years. Kian is back on their home planet, and when Sky sees him, he immediately goes into heat early. I know… I know… and then, of course, Kian tracks him down and they get stuck in Sky’s pottery studio during a blizzard. Sex ensues, feelings emerge. I actually liked this one because Sky is so sweet and Kian is home to tell his parents that he’s quit his job as a detective and is ‘settling’ for a mechanic’s job and staying on his home world. This works out well for him and Sky. Caveat emptor re sex. One particularly cute plot device is that Sky’s holiday presents for friends become necessities while they’re unable to get out because of the blizzard. Pajamas, food, and etc.

**abandoned The Wolf's Wounded Omega by AJ Kane**

Some books are more preachy and more consent – you really want to, you REALLY want to, you’re sure – and it really bludgeons the idea into the ground. We get it. Yes, consent. Preachiness rarely appeals to me.

**abandoned Chasing Mr. Wright by Aimee Nicole Walker **

This one is too cutesy. Not enough sexual tension in the first 173 pages, and a plush animal named Spunky Monkey caused me to abandon it.

**abandoned Betrothed to the Emperor by Kai Butler**

Twins are sent to another planet to broker a peace with the betrothal of the sister to the Emperor, but as soon as Tallu sees the brother, he chooses him as his consort. All well and good, but way too much weird politics, bits about dragon’s eggs and angst. And really, not enough steam by page 197.

Who Said Mobsters Were Scary? by Aria Clark 3/28/25 3/30/25 Kindle

Leo is a morally challenged college student who gets in bad with the mafia in NYC. He gets an international school place in Japan to flee the bad guys. There he meets Chai while taking out some bad guys attacking Chai in the alley behind a club. Chai is the heir-apparent to a mafia organization. Both are smitten, although both are nominally straight. Fast forward a week or so, Chai finds and seeks out Leo and wants him to be his bodyguard. Silly, I know, boy-on-boy rom-com. Secret relationship because of Chai’s father, trying to find the mole in the organization that Chai’s father doesn’t believe is there, budding romance and commitment. Fun, light-weight, and with a satisfying solution to the mole problem and they get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Kestrel by Adrienne Lothy 3/30/25 3/30/25 Kindle

The Kestrel is killing prominent people all over the galaxy and nobody has a clue as to why. He is a crack shot and gets his target every time. Zann, in charge of the investigation, asks his brother Niko to come out of retirement as a bounty hunter. Niko has not been a bounty hunter for 3 years and is in a wheelchair as a result of the last hunt. Zann got him a special set of armor that allows him to walk and run and perform as a bounty hunter, but Niko has refused so far to get back into it. Until The Kestrel, when he sees himself performing one last bounty hunt and retire positively.
As he figures out who the targets are and eventually why the Kestrel is killing them, he comes to sympathize with the Kestrel. Sympathy turns to lust turns to switching sides. The Kestrel’s and Niko’s backstories are doled out in tantalizing pieces, as are the reasons for the Kestrel’s murders. I loved the tech, loved the love story, loved how it ended with a HFN and I’m looking forward to the second one. Caveat emptor re violence and sex.

The Alpha's Heir by Wolf Specter 3/30/25 3/31/25 Kindle

Zeke, an alpha wolf shifter, who should have been heir to his pack but has been sidelined because he cannot sire a child, is tasked with picking up a delivery from another, rival pack. The delivery is an omega, Mathias. Mathias’s pack has agreed to give him drugs in order to put him into heat, to be delivered to Zeke’s father. A series of mix ups and the realization that they are fated mates has Zeke hiding out with Mathias. They have sex, and as they are hiding out, Mathias realizes that he’s pregnant. Mpreg, I know, which I usually don’t read but have read a lot of this month. Anyway, Mathias tells Zeke he thinks he’s pregnant, and it ends on a HFN and hopeful note between the two of them. Supposedly a sequel, but after 9 years none so far, alas. Caveat emptor re sex.

402 books read

1 Masterpiece
79 Stunning
187 Excellent
72 Very Good
47 Good
12 Average
4 Bad
0 Very Bad
0 Don't Bother
0 Anathema

Best Fiction
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Review
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Review
Damaged Like Us by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie Kindle January Lightning Round
Endless Stretch of Blue by Riley Hart Kindle April Lightning Round
The Muse's Undoing by August Jones Kindle September Lightning Round

Best Nonfiction
The House of Being by Natasha Tretheway Review
The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S Wood Review
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by the Countess of Carnarvon Review
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie Review
Johan Amos Comenius 1592-1670 by František Kožík Review

Top five overall for the LT Top Five Books of 2024 List
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Review
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Review
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie Review
The House of Being by Natasha Tretheway Review
Damaged Like Us by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie 1/29/24 1/29/24 Kindle January Lightning Round

…...

Welcome one and all.

Here I am. Participant # 2. Yoohoo. Hi.

>10 karenmarie: Ruesday orisons, sweetiedarling, and may tomorrow find you pain-free and unswollen.

Happy new thread Karen, from the 4th.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, dear Karen.

Well, for goodness sake! Here I was imagining you laid up with bad tooth hole, and here you are making lists and new thread and new thread! You're sort of superwoman at this point, Karen!

I hope you have as much fun with this new one as I have had with all your old ones! (((((Karen)))))

Happy new thread, Karen!

Morning, Karen. Happy New Thread. I love the topper pics. You and your sister sure take after your Mom. My walk went well yesterday. More details over on my thread. I took today off work, so I will be playing PB early and then running out to get the camper. We will keep it here, so I can wipe it down real good and then start loading it. I will head out early tomorrow afternoon.

Happy New Thread!

>11 weird_O: Hello #2. Second in command for this thread – a huge responsibility, I’ll have you know. You are hereby designated Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff karenmarie-style.

>12 richardderus: Hiya, RDear. I am unswollen and currently pain free from the extraction. I imagine when I actually eat real food today it might get a bit painful although I’ll try to keep things from that side of my mouth.

>13 quondame: Hello Susan! Thank you.

>14 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, and thank you.

>15 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. I’m so happy that Leeds United will rejoin the Premier League next season. I’m sure that makes your heart happy, and we can be friendly rivals again. From everything I can see, one of my favorite players, Brenden Aaronson, will be playing.

>16 LizzieD: ‘Morning Peggy! Can’t keep me down long my dear. I got into my jammies in record time after getting home 12:15ish and safely upstairs around 1 p.m. I napped quite a bit and was a tad confused for a while, but stayed up there ‘til 6 p.m. when I came downstairs and had some orzo w/butter and a sprinkle of salt. I already had the first message made for this new thread, so it was easy to just do a bunch of cutting and pasting. I think I got it right, mostly. I’ll check. If not, we can chalk it up to anaesthesia and pain meds. *smile* I definitely need to update my tickers.

In a way I wish I was a superwoman or at least a wolf shifter (although any shifter would be okay) for protection from kryptonite for the first and amazing healing abilities for the second. Although my kryptonite for smut is alpha males, whether human or shifter.

I hope to have fun with this thread – if Paul visits again anytime soon he will be amused that this thread is half of my lucky number, which makes me extremely happy.

>17 katiekrug: Hi Katie, and thank you.

>18 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and thank you. Glad you like the pics. I’ve said it on other threads – both my sister and I have some very dramatic genetic characteristics from each of our parents – height, shape of hands/feet, face shape, hair color, and etc., but when the five of us were together, Mom, Dad, Doug, Laura, and I have always melded into the picture of a biological, nuclear family.

Yay for the walk. Ah, PB. And… the camper? Already? My, my, I’m impressed and happy for you to be heading out tomorrow. I’ll find out all the details on your thread… It's after first brekkie, so only a few finches are fluttering about.

>18 msf59: Hi Silver, and thank you!

Wordle 1,404 5/6* trope, stoke, whose, abode, ozone

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

...
Bill and the oral surgeon's office's oral surgeons, staff, nurses, and assistants did everything except open up their mouth and have a #18 molar extracted so that grumpy-butt here had a relatively safe and uneventful but obviously stressful visit.

I was immediately given a blanket, which made me very happy. I know how medical buildings go, so was wearing jeans, a turtleneck, and a full-zip heavy sweatshirt. While they were being sweet and positive and all that crap, I was dying inside. However, my only manifestation was the answer "Chalk it up to severe childhood trauma' after they asked why I was so stressed. After the oral surgeon came in, I told him, as I had told everybody there, that I wanted to be unconscious as soon as possible, wake up without any problems, and get home as soon as possible.

And after putting the IV drip in and apologizing that I'd probably bruise at the site (which bruise I do have, a doozy) we agreed that it would be made worse by me being on Eliquis. And then I woke up in the recovery area, Bill seated on my left, a nurse monitoring me. They eventually let me go, we came home, and etc.

Last night we watched three episodes of Ted Lasso. Upstairs after I put this thread up, lots of good dozing and sleep 'til around 7. I didn't wake up to any pain except in my back, so that's a plus.

...
I am still on antibiotics for today only and a horrible-tasting mouthwash I have to use for another 6 or 7 days. Ugh. I hate mouthwash, so this is insult to injury. It's so stingy and harsh. And no, ones for sensitive mouths aren't any better. I guess I just don't like medicinal-tasting liquids in my mouth.

Some people would argue that most hard liquor tastes like medicine. I don't like gin, but offhand that's the only one I for sure dislike. I got a lesson in Scotch at the last book sale during a lull - not actual Scotch, but a quiz that our Webmaster Jim gave to me - which identified that I would probably like Alerlour DBL wood or Aberfeldy. An online quiz I just took said I'd probably like Auchentoshan 12 year old. Our ABC store has all three. Hmm...

I have a fun day ahead of me - puttering, reading, straightening up the desk in the Sunroom because when I get stressed things frequently go to hell desk-wise, a 90-minute massage appointment at 12:30, then Arsenal play Crystal Palace at 3.

I will be online, too, buying anniversary cards and a little something for our 34th anniversary, which is Sunday.

>20 karenmarie: Aberfeldy! Yum. Haven't tried the Aberlour variant, but their stuff's very good indeed. Maybe wait until after the mouthwashing regime is done, though.

Wednesday *smooches*

>21 richardderus: 'Morning! I might get some the next time I have a few minutes in town - possibly tomorrow on the way to PT at 4:30.

Nothing good anywhere near the two times I have to use that dratted mouthwash, obviously. Timing is everything. I used it last night around 1 a.m.

*smooch*

Happy new thread, Karen. I managed to get almost 100 posts behind on your previous one so hopefully I will not get as far behind on this one.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Good morning, Karen! I'm happy to see you functioning here at 100% and going strong!

Single Malt Scotch!!!!! I finally tasted my first 20 or so years ago and fell in love immediately with peat. I see that neither of your recommended brands are peaty, and I guess they are a good starting place. I've never tried either. For years I chose Laphroaig until my DH gave me a bottle of Lagavulin...he says, "creosote". I say "heaven." Next time you come for an overnight, we'll do a tasting. I wish I had thought of it last month!!!

Happy new thread!

>20 karenmarie:, >24 LizzieD: When I know I'm prepping for my final bow before the credits roll, I'm beggin' whoever is still around for a last bottle of Corryvreckan. I'll greet the Void with a happy mouth!

>23 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, and thank you. Getting behind is so easy, isn’t it! I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday, too.

>24 LizzieD: ‘Afternoon, Peggy. Yup, functioning at 100%. I haven’t even gone upstairs to take a nap, although I watched Arsenal play Crystal Palace. They played to a draw, not a good result, but Arsenal were already out of the running for the title. This just delays Liverpool’s victory dance and crowning 'til Sunday at the soonest.

I’ll make sure I have a bottle of Scotch when I come for my next overnighter. We’ll have that tasting for sure.

>25 drneutron: Hi Jim! Thank you.

>26 richardderus: Another bottle of expensive Scotch. Good mouth feel, right?

…
We lost power about 15 minutes ago, expected to be out ‘til 9 or so. 1874 customers impacted. The generator went through self-test mode at 10 this morning, and kicked in like a champ 15 seconds after we lost commercial power.

>27 karenmarie: I do love the whole experience of drinking good scotch. This generator's the best investment y'all've ever made! It does the job every time.

Happy new thread, Karen!

I'm catching up today, only a couple of days behind, and here I found you've started a new thread. Threads are all flying by so fast!

I also missed your dental appointment. I'm very glad to see that the procedure went well, and that you seem to be recovering very quickly. It's all good news!

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I got a nice chunk of things done yesterday, with the camper. Now, I am going to play PB for awhile and then come back and finish up. I hope to take off around noon. I will check in when I can.

>28 richardderus: Hiya, RD! I might go into town today for a bit of food shopping and stop at the ABC Store before then.

We love this generator. It’s gotten us into the 21st century. Our old generator served us well, too, and lasting 2000-2023 is not bad at all. It was also a propane generator hooked to our underground 500-gallon propane tank, but it lived in the shed and was not directly connected to the house. We had to go outside to actually start it and do a bunch of breaker/panel switching. It only serviced about 70% of the house. This one services 90%, and the two rooms it doesn’t service can do without during a power outage. Plus, not being able to easily start it with Bill's mobility issues and my only-just-returning physical agility, this new one's perfect over the old one. We sold it to our landscape guy - don't know if he's picked it up yet or nowt, having not been out to the shed in a while.

>29 atozgrl: Hi Irene and thank you! I know about the threads. I am beyond being behind this year, after making a New Year’s Resolution to stay caught up. I’m recovering well, thank you. I have had no real pain at all. The only things right now are swilling horrible mouthwash 2x a day until next Monday, and feeling one of the stitches. I am chewing more on the right side of my mouth, of course, and was happy to be able to eat half of a left-over hamburger and fries yesterday afternoon with no pain or damage. Hope you’re doing well. Do you like your new windows?

>30 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday. Glad you got a lot done yesterday. Yay for PB, and heading out around noon. Safe travels!

Wordle 1,405 4/6* trope, fable, seize, genie

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Wow. Hmmm. Yesterday. I had a 12:30 massage appointment, which was marvelous. Got home just in time to watch Arsenal draw with Crystal Palace, which allows Liverpool to win the Premier League Championship on Sunday if they win, even though the season's not over yet. Sigh. However, Arsenal are in the Champions League Quarter Finals, and Liverpool got eliminated by the team Arsenal are playing at the end of the month in the semi-finals.

Had an exciting warning at 3 a.m., when the camera/motion detector that needs to go outside but is currently in the garage detected a moth and scared me with the motion detection warning on my cell phone. Bill and I had an exciting cell phone call... I was too lazy to come downstairs. He was impressed that I was still awake and paying attention.

Woke up late, after 6 great hours of uninterrupted sleep. Made coffee, fed the kitties, opened the kitty door, then discovered this Brown Thrasher on the mat in the Sunroom.



I thought it was dead so took this picture to send to Jenna then grabbed a hand towel to take up its little body. Imagine my surprise when it flicked its head my way when I came after it with the hand towel and it then scampered under the propane heater. I used the patented Jenna Hengeveld Critter Corralling System to block the front and left side with hand towels, flapped another hand towel to get it back behind the heater, and, having disarmed the security system and opened the Sunroom door, herded it out. It fluttered into the Solomon's Seal. Score one for critter rescue. All this was before my first sip of coffee.

I just cancelled PT for today. I need to NOT think about a commitment for 5 p.m., although I may go out to the ABC store and grocery store earlier in the afternoon. Can't do either tomorrow, as I'm taking Wash to the vet for his annual exam.

An exciting find in the Parlour that I saw out of the corner of my eye when I was looking for twin sheets to bring down to give to my massage therapist before I got downstairs and discovered the Brown Thrasher - a two-drawer file cabinet that I'd forgotten about. I just need to figure out how to get it safely downstairs so I can use it. Blankets and bubble wrap? It's not heavy, just awkward. Jenna's not coming over any time soon. I really need to find a good handyman who I can have come over and do whatever's on the list.

Otherwise, puttering, reading, and etc.

Hooray for bird preservation and for finding that file cabinet! You've already done a good day's work. If I can get another check or so written and get them and a swap book to the PO today, I will have done my duty.
I need to be reading The Mother Tree, which I've chosen with Overstory as the basis of my study club program. The problem is that I don't much want to read it. Simard has chosen to show her discovery (?) or expansion of how trees network in a chronological memoir that has way too much about her family life for my taste - at least so far. Too late to change now!

Good day to you, (((((Karen)))))!

Good afternoon, my dear! It's been an eventful morning, and that doesn't even include setting up 14 days worth of morning meds and 14 days worth of evening meds in my pill boxes while listening to smut. *smile*

I hope you complete your tasks so that you can enjoy the rest of your day. Sorry about being committed to The Mother Tree. I've forgotten - when is your study club meeting?

I've just entered In Search of Schrödinger's Cat to my catalog and placed it on S24.

Time to play archaeologist and dig through the layers on my Sunroom desk to get to bedrock.

>31 karenmarie: Yay for critter rescue!

>33 karenmarie: Desktop archaeology! Isn't it better for your heart health just to go rent a JCB and shove it all into a hole?

Happy new thread, Karen! I hope your mouth is feeling better today, and the mouthwash isn't too horrible. I too am not a fan of mouthwash, but recently after a fall which amongst other things left me with a big cut on the inside of my lip, the doctor told me to do a salt water mouthwash a few times a day, and that actually wasn't too bad. Certainly preferable to the nuclear-coloured gunk they sell as mouthwash, anyway.

I'm glad your birdie was safely relocated outside. Your good deed for the day!

>31 karenmarie: I'm very glad the brown thrasher was alive and then safely escorted back outside. The file cabinet was a nice find. I hope you can find a way to move it. I'm not coming up with any good suggestions.

The new windows are great! It wasn't that obvious before we replaced them just how bad some of them were getting, but the very clear view we now have makes it pretty obvious. They also slide up and down so easily, which the old ones never did, even when the house was new. And some of them had gotten to be almost impossible to open. It's really nice to have working windows.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/370384

Happy new thread, Karen! Your thread is still short enough that I can actually read it. I can’t keep up here on LT, so I just visit when I can.

I found a guy to help us with the jobs that are too heavy for us. I certainly can’t do any heavy lifting anymore, but friends and family have aged as well. Hope you manage to find someone too.

>34 alcottacre: I’m proud…

>35 richardderus: Nothing individually weighed enough to be dangerous and no dirt was involved. Now, as regards to shoving it all in a hole – I still have several Amazon and Melaleuca boxes of papers here in the Sunroom, which is why finding the file cabinet is so exciting. One step at a time… *smooch*

>36 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie. My mouth felt dangerously better yesterday – I had to be careful to not eat crunchy things or too much on the right side in order to preserve the stitch(es?) and therefore the blood clot. I do not want a dry socket. I’m sorry about the fall and cut in your mouth. Salt water as a mouthwash is not fun, but it still beats this prescription crap I’m using… Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse USP, .12%. I’m still happy about the Brown Thrasher, and was glad to NOT see a bird – living or dead – on the Sunroom mat this morning. Yay Zoe!

>37 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene. Made me happy. I’ll definitely get the file cabinet downstairs come hook or crook. It will take some time to clear the path and figure out how to move it.

I’m so glad you like your new windows. Clear views and easy sliding are fantastic.

>38 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver and thank you.

>39 EllaTim: Hello Ella! Thank you. Yes, keeping up has gotten difficult. For me, even though I visit LT at least once a day, I’m seriously behind on so many threads.

I’m trying to figure out how to get someone that I can trust, who won’t seriously overcharge me, and come over as needed. The right person will show up…

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After the epic bird rescue, I did get the desk cleared off and things put up properly. Mostly. Read, figured out that I needed to work on updating my @@kenner1953 user with the books I've read this year. The way I use my catalog does not allow the reading dates statistics to work. So far I've added 55 of 114. Of course, I've forgotten how to find those statistics... anybody care to help?

Bill and I started watching Slow Horses last night. Oh my. So far we love it.

...
Nothing to do 'til 1:30, when I'll give Wash a kitty gabapentin 2 hours before his 3:30 visit with the vet. It's his annual exam. The kitty door has stayed closed. The kitties will not be happy.

More books will be added to @@kenner1953, more smut will be read. And etc.

>40 karenmarie: Oh yay, you're liking Slow Horses! I think Gary Oldman's never been better.

Have yourself a merry little weekend, Horrible! *smooch*

Karen, when are we planning on reading Mother London? Any idea?

>42 alcottacre: Oh good grief! I had totally forgotten Mother London in the same way I haven't been reading *Library/Night*. I am about to force myself to be involved with my study club program through the second week of May. Maybe I'll be able to join you then. I do want to read both books! What do you say, Karen?

Hope you and Wash get through the vet visit in A1 condition. (That reminds me that "our" Secretary of Education, L. McMahon repeatedly referred to AI in the early grades as A1. If you're still avoiding news, you may have missed this.)

Enjoy your day! Tend your mouth! I need to read more Slow Horses!!!!

>41 richardderus: Gary Oldman plays the nastiest old man and so far he’s been wearing the same pair of holey socks and disgusting clothes.

>42 alcottacre: I’ve pulled it off shelf S26 and it’s resting atop The Library at Night. I’ll give it a special book mark soon and seeing Peggy’s message below will commit to starting it May 19th, after book club meeting at my house to discuss my book on the 18th. I should really read more than smut…

>43 LizzieD: Good grief is right. Stasia is such a voracious reader. I know she’s chomping at the bit. Starting May 19th for me since RL book club will be at my house.

Wash got his gabapentin at 1:30 without any hassle. Of course, I did have to find him, which took 20 minutes or so, only to discover that he was here in the Sunroom with me in an Amazon box. He and I are cut off from the rest of the house, and the carrier is ready to go. We’ll leave about 3:05. I just put him in the carrier so he wouldn’t try to hide behind things here in the Sunroom or Utility Room and he’s sort of freaking out. I just wrestled him into the larger carrier which is only nominally better. Sigh.

Sec’y of Education. Oh My God. I’m trying to miss most of the horribleness, but I made the wise decision/mistake of signing up for SubStack and am seeing way more than I really want to see but feel obligated to at least look at briefly. Unbelievable and horrific stuff.

My mouth is okay, thank you. I need to start reading Slow Horses.

>43 LizzieD: >44 karenmarie: OK, May 19th it is then. Curious to see what you both think of The Library at Night if and when you finish it.

Am I a voracious reader? I have never thought of myself as such. I just like to read and a lot of things interest me.

>45 alcottacre: I've written it down in my desk calendar, and found a bookmark that I like.

Very few of our fellow 75ers read as many books per year as you do, Stasia. Last year's 371 is an example. Before my deep dive into smut, I read about 100 per year.

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Wash cried and yowled all the way to the vet, which is rather amazing since he's not much of a talker otherwise. Vet Tech Jennifer brought the carrier in for me and got us settled into a room. All the usual questions, and this visit didn't include vaccines. Fat Boy's up 15 ounces since last year. Between ages 4 and 5 their metabolism starts slowing down, so although Dr. Cindy said he was perfectly fine, she didn't want him to gain much more. They were not pleased upon learning that they've been given human tuna for the last 5 or so days... I'm ordering some Friskies seafood/fish cans to be delivered tomorrow. Dr. Cindy AND Jennifer both fondly and sadly remembered Inara Starbuck - the entire office has been fascinated with her since we adopted her in 2008. She was the fifth kitty we started taking to them - Magic, Merlin, Coco Chanel, Kitty William, then Inara Starbuck, and then the gingers.

Back to Fat Boy. They love gingers, they love our gingers. I declined letting them do bloodwork since they were so pleased with his health. Out for only $70. Wash cried and yowled all the way home. Once home, he scampered away, but had forgiven me within the hour when he came and rubbed up against me. When I debriefed Bill, he agreed to give Wash fewer treats although keep up the same number of snack times since Wash is used to that.

More Slow Horses. Makes us happy.

...
Nothing planned except puttering, reading, updating spreadsheets and Lightning Round, filling bird feeders and birdbath.

Tomorrow's our 34th wedding anniversary. I might make a cake, am thinking about fresh salmon, garlic toast, and a veggie for each of us. Or, I may get lazy. *smile*

Oh, happy anniversary!

>46 karenmarie: Merry thirty-fifth year to come.

It's amazing to me how AppleTV can come up with actual, watchable shows and others struggle like stink to get things that are just stareable stupidity. Can we bottle this?

Have a cake-filled delight of a day.

Congratulations on 34 glorious years! We're half way to your achievement, celebrated 17 years in December just gone. I think that might mean we were the same age getting married? (I was 38)

Congratulations on the anniversary. This business of sharing space with another large mammal is tricky, even with feline or canine presence as a lubricant.

>47 ffortsa: Thank you, Judy!

>48 richardderus: And thank you, too, RD. Any other suggestions for Apple TV? Bill’s looking through the offerings, but anything in particular? We like fictional crime series, preferably British. I do not like animal documentaries. Other documentaries, perhaps.

>49 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie. Thank you. Yes, I was 2 months shy of being 38. Bill had just turned 35.

>50 quondame: Thanks, Susan. You’ve got that one right. Sharing space with another large mammal is tricky. Our gingers are one of the major lubricants.

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I actually started Dinosaurs and am intrigued. This is fortunate, since it's my book for our May meeting. Here's where I admit that I actually didn't finish my own book club book three times since 1997. I thought it was only once, but it was three times. Here are the books I've chosen for book club.

Six of One by Rita Mae Brown
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Night Trilogy by Elie Weisel
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
Longitude by Dava Sobel
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
***Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Kingston by Starlight by Christian John Farley
The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
She's Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
***Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene
The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry by Gabrielle Zevin
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
***The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet

***didn't finish. Faked it admirably, deflecting to everyone else's opinions.

While looking for a card in the bottom drawer of the dresser in the Sunroom, I found what I thought was a book of postcards. I took it out, thinking to send one, but realized when I actually looked at it that it was a book, Rome: Past and Present with Reconstructions of Ancient Monuments. Bill's Mama gifted it to me in 1994 - I think that's the year she'd gone to Italy.

Since I'd bought Bill two cards that didn't have any writing on the inside, I figured out what I wanted to write in each, then actually wrote it and sealed the cards. Bill had problems with Amazon last week and apparently doesn't have anything for me today, so we'll exchange cards tomorrow. I know he's stressed.

...
I'm still considering a cake but remembered that I have a frozen Dutch Apple Pie that I could make. The salmon is defrosting in the refrigerator. It's really time to go to the grocery store, so I might do that just to get out. I surprise myself - I have a slight case of cabin fever.

All the usual stuff, with a few bits about our anniversary.



Dad, Mom, me, Bill
April 27, 1991

>51 karenmarie: Cabin fever in the spring is pretty much hard-wired into us. Prime hunting and gathering kicks off now, so no surprise we still get The Urge about this time.

Spend it splendidly!

Hiya, RDear! It's gorgeous out here today, so I'll be happy to cruise into town.

Oh, and this card cracks me up. It's one that I got for Bill for our anniversary:

>53 karenmarie: That's brilliant! Bravo card designer!

Happy Anniversary!

Beautiful wedding picture! Most fun in the card department!

I wish you both a happy celebration of the day on the day and for the rest of the year, dear Karen! And Bill! And Jenna and Hwan!

>53 karenmarie: Happy anniversary! And that card is a hoot. I love it!

>54 richardderus: Hiya, RDear. Our local pharmacy and grocery store do not have any kind of decent card selection. I’m currently boycotting Walmart, don’t go to Target, and don’t even know where a good selection of cards is otherwise. So, I use Amazon and have found wonderful cards there. The best one so far is one for a 100-year old to send to Peggy’s Mama in 2021, which apparently was among her favorites.

>55 elorin: and >56 LizzieD: Thank you, Robyn and Peggy.

>57 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene. It made Bill smile when he opened it.

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Yesterday was grocery shopping then reading, cooking, and baking a Marie Calender Dutch Apple Pie. We had salmon, pasta, and fresh green beans for dinner.

...
Chiropractor at 11:45. Then, unfortunate that it's at 3 and not sooner, PT. I'll go home and then back out although I hate doing that.

Morning, Karen. Wow! What a story about the brown thrasher. How did it get in there and do you see them very often in the yard? I think I have only seen one once in the yard. Back to my usual duties today but instead of playing PB, we are meeting a lawyer to finalize our trust. Sacrifices need to be made.

I hope all is well with you.

'Morning, Mark! I know - I'm so glad I was able to rescue the thrasher. We're assuming Zoe brought it in because she's our huntress even though I've got her belled.

I occasionally see them in the yard.

Sorry about having to sacrifice PB, glad you are finalizing your trust.

I'm doing okay. Only okay. Not stunning, not even particularly good, but that's how it goes sometimes, right?

I've been seeing an Indigo Bunting recently but not right now. Lots of woodpecker visits, and occasional hummingbird visits. I was talking with Jenna yesterday afternoon, mentioning that I had seen some but not in several days, when a male showed up at the feeder. Made me happy.

>58 karenmarie: It's amazing how much a thing that once was invisible, or at best mildly irritating, becomes so much more important as we get into our wind-down years. I feel put-upon when I have to go do errands on different days, not load 'em all on one day. *grrr*

Have a better time than you think you will! *smooch*

>58 karenmarie: Mama did love that card, Karen, and it is one I saved. Thank you!

I wished on my thread that your PT and chiropractor visits were reversed...... I believe I was thinking about massage therapy rather than chiropracty (is that a word?), but I look forward to your getting home eventually and having a very good evening. So there!

>46 karenmarie: Well, I admit that 371 is *low* for me. At one time, I routinely read 500+ a year.

I hope you had a wonderful anniversary!!

>54 richardderus: I love that card! I need to use that one with Kerry this year. Our 37th anniversary is coming up in June.

I hope you have had a marvelous Monday!

>63 alcottacre: Good lord, how does anyone read 500+ books a year?!? Unless every book is a 100-150 page romance. Sheesh. I don't think I've ever gotten anywhere near that number, even when I was a kid and had lots of time to read and the books were shorter.

Morning, Karen. I took today off. Sean's grandmother passed away on Easter and the services are later this AM. As expected she was very beloved in the family. Glad to have known her. I may sneak out it get in an hour of birding before we leave. Priorities, ya know.

Ooh, I have not had a bunting yet this year...or an oriole, or a grosbeak. Get with it, will ya!

>64 atozgrl: Reading speed is only one part of it, Irene. The way you use your time is the other. 99% of folks can't tell you what they did after breakfast...if they're not working...because it wasn't important or interesting enough to matter. Consciously deciding those times will be reading time gives you two or three hours formerly wasted.

It *does* help to be retired and either single or comfortably indifferent to the moment-by-moment doings of the Other.

>61 richardderus: I’m getting to be the same, RDear. As long as there’s time between whatevers if some them are appointments of plans. I did have a better time than I thought I would. Thank you. *smooch*

>62 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy! I very happy that she loved it and happily surprised that you saved it. Although, I have Xmas and birthday cards from family members and condolence cards – a few condolence cards my mother saved for her mother-in-law, my paternal grandmother, when she died in 1964, and so many from when Bill’s dad died.

I guess I don’t mind which order they go in, and this morning’s back problems are relatively minor. Chiropractic? I did have a good evening. I hope you did, too.

>63 alcottacre: I would imagine quite a bit of your time is spent in planning what to read and acquiring the books to read. I love doing all that, although as you know the planning bit isn’t my forte. I did have a wonderful anniversary, thank you, Stasia. Congrats on #37 coming up.

>64 atozgrl: I know at least some of Stasia’s reading is audio books as she gets in her steps, so double duty. I’m currently sacrificing time doing other things to reading smut, Irene. If I keep on at the rate I’m reading, I’ll have read ~340 this year.

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I visited the chiropractor and gassed up the SUV, came home for a while and read and puttered. I'm on a mission to find a canvas tote that holds a UHaul book box - the last of a series I've been sending to friend Karen in Montana. I think I still have the one I need, but it's not where I thought it would be. I went back out for the PT appointment, worked hard, then came home and did all the usual things. Slow Horses continues to thrill me. We finished watching the season/series from the 2nd book, Dead Lions. From that Lamb said in the preview for the new season, the next one will be based on Real Tigers.

Today, alas, will be much busier than I'd like. Book sort/Virlie's first. I'll have to leave Virlie's at 11:45 if we haven't already finished up to schlep down to Sanford to see the oral surgeon for the week-after follow up appointment. Then home, where I'll find the cleaning ladies doing their magic. Arsenal play PSG in the first leg of the semifinals for the Champions League at 3, so I really won't have much time to breathe 'til about 5:15 or so at the soonest.

>65 msf59: You snuck in while I was composing the message, Mark! Good morning to you, too, happy Tuesday. Ah, I’m so sorry. And, of course priorities. I haven’t seen as many migrating birds in the last several years – either going or coming, and don't have a good setup to attract Orioles.

>66 richardderus: After I finish on LT on days I don’t have to be somewhere early – like today – I immediately start reading. I have some time listening to audiobooks in the SUV and have even started listening to them upstairs in the evening, but not as much time as I got in when I commuted to work 1.5 hours/day.

>64 atozgrl: I used to read a lot of romances and cozy mysteries at one point, Irene. I also worked as a bail bondsman which led to a lot of long nights with nothing else going on, so I read a ton!

>67 karenmarie: Oh, yeah. I love planning my reads for the upcoming month - but I try and squeeze in a book or two that I have not planned for as well. When the new TIOLI challenges come out, I am in heaven picking out books to read for them.

Have a terrific Tuesday, Karen!

Busy day for you, (((((Karen))))). You're on your way to Sanford as I write. Hope you find something tasty for a lunchtime snack after (?) you see the surgeon. Taco Bell at least!!!

I'm home. Happy Day! Dh is out on a shopping spree, so I can feed the purrs early and walk when he gets back.

>67 karenmarie: Ah, yes, audiobooks. That definitely helps. Since I haven't ever done any, I don't think of them. >69 alcottacre: Bail bondsman! That's interesting. I've never known anyone with that job. It must have been nice to have a job where you could read while working. Although long night hours is probably not the most enjoyable way to work.

Karen, I hope your appointment went well, and also that Arsenal won!

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. The send-off for Sean's "Nana" went very well. She had a long happy life. Tending to the kids and then off to play PB. Cool start to the day (only in the 40s at the moment) so it will be indoors play. I saw a white-crowned sparrow at the feeders yesterday. Love seeing these guys as they migrate through.

>69 alcottacre: I remember your bail bondsman days, Stasia. I, too, used to read a lot of romances and cozies. I still read romances, of course, just MM romances. At this point, the only cozies I read are re-reads of Miss Marple. I started and stopped quite a few cozy series. Enjoy your book selection and planning!

>70 LizzieD: Yes indeed, it was busy, Peggy. I was actually IN Sanford by that point, sitting in the parking lot of the oral surgeon, just listening to an audio book and talking with friend Karen in Montana.

I also told her about the books I got for her from the Friends sorting, 2 of 3 that I have to pay for because … honesty … and the two I got for myself – The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) and The Man in Black and Other Stories by Elly Griffiths.

Believe it or not, there are literally no restaurants on the way I took home yesterday. I’d have had to go out of my way, and I really wanted to be home. So I had some potato salad for lunch. I have a full spine MRI scheduled at the hospital in Siler tomorrow, so may get Taco Bell before or after. It will only be 2-3 miles the wrong way before going home. Yay for your DH’s shopping spree, your walk, and the 4x a day feeding of 7 purrs.

>71 atozgrl: Hey Irene. I started listening to them in my SUV on the way to and from work and when I was driving any time at all. No work means less audio book time, but I still get some in.

>72 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark. Happy Wednesday to you. I’m glad the ‘send off’ went well. Yay for PB and the White-Crowned Sparrow. My feeders are a disgrace. Perhaps today.

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Whew. Yesterday was definitely busy. Sorting was done by 10:15, so it was breakfast at Virlie's with 8 of us. We were done by 11:30, so I headed to Sanford, getting there about noon for a 12:45 appointment. Karen called a few minutes after I arrived and we discussed books about fungi. We confirmed that the one we both wanted was Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. I just ordered it via Amazon and paid for it with Amazon Visa Card credit, so $0.00.

I went in at 12:28 expecting to sit in the waiting area 'til 12:45, but I didn't even have a chance to use the restroom before I got called back. He looked in my mouth, said everything looked great and I could stop using the mouthwash. The stitch(es?) will dissolve in about 7 days, and I made an appointment for August 26th to discuss implant/crown, and I literally walked out of the office at 12:36, 9 minutes before my appointment was supposed to start. Home again, cleaning ladies. Arsenal lost 0-1, BUT this is a two-match contest, with the aggregate winner moving to the final in Munich on May 31st.

Slow Horses, reading. I slept 6 hours.

...
Nothing that I have to do, a few things I want to do. Bird feeders, packing up a few boxes of books for Karen, and of course reading.

>73 karenmarie: Happy Wednesdaying, sweetiedarling, replete with all the nothing-much we learn to treasure at this stage. *smooch*

'Morning, RDear! I just spent a bit of time writing on your new thread.

Bibliorifle. Honestly. You're a menace.

I love no-adulting-required days. Adulting possibly, but not absolutely required.

*smooch*

>75 karenmarie: It really is all down to what kind of adulting it is, isn't it. Like doctors' appointments are fine with me, but dentists' appointments very much are NOT, and anything to do with insurance is sadistic satanistic torture that should be forbidden by the Constitution, that quaint old concept busily being eviscerated.

I'm glad you get a day to yourself before setting out again - even if you get Taco Bell as a reward. (I guess I've said that DH calls it "Taco Smell.")
Cousin Catharin is supposed to come tomorrow to see me and Aunt Betty for a late lunch. I haven't heard from her again, and I haven't called Aunt Betty in ages. That is a bit of adulting that I just can't seem to get to, as ashamed as I am of myself for neglecting her. But, but, but...... Do it, Butthead.

>75 karenmarie: I couldn't agree more, Richard, although I can stand the dentist. Insurance though we might want to forbid somewhere besides the poor old Constitution as you say.

Happy new thread, Karen.

I'm afraid I've declared thread bankruptcy, and barely skimmed a month or more of your previous thread.

But with regard to DEI (from that thread), I'll note that I've worked for at least one company that talked a great game about DEI, but their well-publicized efforts somehow never seemed to work. At least, they had women, and queers, and plenty of south east asians - but you'd have to look hard to find a black person, or even a hispanic, never mind such a person in a well paid or high status role.

I don't know whether they've now announced a cessation of their suspiciously inept DEI efforts, or are continuing the performance so as to keep those who care among their customers (and staff). However, if they dumped DEI officially, it would be unlikely to do any harm to those DEI is supposed to benefit.

I'd be unsurprised to find that several of the other companies on your list had equally ineffective DEI efforts before dropping them entirely.

I'm glad your tooth extraction is behind you. Despite taking all the precautions , I got a dry socket when I had my wisdom teeth pulled back when I was in my early thirties. It is painful and you are in and out of the oral surgeons every other day for a week or so, getting the dry socked blasted out with cold water ( cleaning it ) and getting medication on it and having it repacked. I'm glad that is behind me. A belated Happy Anniversary to you and Bill.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I will be meeting Bree halfway this AM to scoop up Jack. She will go into the office today, which she does a couple of times a month. I will also share Jackson duties with our Aunt who has not seen him in weeks. I will drop him off at her place and Sue will pick him up after work. We will all get our Jack fix. Rain here all day so no outside activities. 😟

>76 richardderus: Hi RD. I haven’t liked things with doctors and the oral surgeon this year. Add in chiropractic and PT, both of which would not be needed if I didn’t have back problems.

You don’t need insurance until you do. All of our savings and investments would be kaput now if we didn’t have insurance. Most people wouldn’t be able to afford catastrophic medical bills without insurance, and homeowner’s insurance for fire and etc. In California I had an earthquake rider on my policy that I paid for separately, and not having flood insurance in western North Carolina has been devastating for most folks there.

I can hardly bear to think about what’s going on politically right now.

>77 LizzieD: Hello Peggy. Yesterday was nice. We call it Taco Hell, but I love their crunchy tacos with 3 packs of hot sauce each. I hope Cousin Catharin and Aunt Betty and you are able to meet up for lunch and get what sounds like a painful family duty visit out of the way for a while.

>78 ArlieS: Hi Arlie! Thread bankruptcy – makes me laugh. I’m there on most threads. The companies I worked for in California had quite a few women and black people in well-paid and/or high status roles, but even though Southern California had and has a huge Hispanic population, very few were in those positions. Ditto Asian Americans. LGBTQIA+ folks stayed under the radar. Not to say there wasn’t a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community, especially in West Hollywood, but I honestly cannot think of one person I knew at work who was out. Friends? Yes. Family? No. Coworkers? No. Since then my niece/wife are out and have two children. Jenna and Hwan are out, and there's a tantalizing glimpse of possibly getting a grandchild or two from something Hwan said late last year.

I get what you’re saying about companies honoring DEI in the breach rather than in the observance. We cannot boycott every company with no true diversity, but we can pick one or two and just cut them out. I'm doing that with Walmart.

>79 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, and thank you. The only thing that’s irritating right now is that the stitches haven’t dissolved yet, so it feels like there’s a string I need to get rid of but can’t. I’m so sorry about the dry socket. Ugh. Just, ugh.

I had my wisdom teeth out in my late teens in two separate procedures. Should have had them all done at once. The first set was bad, but I woke up crying hysterically from the second set. I have just discovered that wisdom teeth are actually 'third molars'. Thanks re our anniversary.

>80 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and sweet Thursday to you. Yay for your Jackson fix. I guess the rain’s needed, but boo hiss that it curtails outside activities for you. I can feel you twitching from down here. *smile*

No bird visitors right now although the sunflower seed and wild bird seed feeders are full. I need to change the hummingbird food today.

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I managed to get 2 of 5 bird feeders replenished, read, ate, napped, watched Slow Horses. I'm completely enchanted/obsessed with the the series, Bill less so but is mostly happy to continue watching it for me. I got about 4 hours of sleep and a bit of dozing last night.

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Today I have a full spine MRI at the hospital that's 11 miles from our house. I'm so glad it's there and I don't have to go to Chapel Hill, 25 miles away with terrible parking. It's at 1:45, so I'll leave at 1:15 for check in.

Other than that, it's time to work on YTD through April stats and April's Lightning Round. Read, and etc., too.

>81 karenmarie: MRI of the entire spine. Mmm. Sounds like something I'd hate being in the clangclangclang tunnel for what feels to my claustrophobic mind like forever. I'm gettin' all clammy just thinkin' about it.

Eagerly awaiting your sum-up! *smooch*

Dear (((((Karen))))), I hope that the MRI goes smoothly and as quickly as it can. I've never had one, but I dread it for you and will be glad to see you back home and able to relax. Be adamant and get through it!

>82 richardderus: Fortunately, I'm not claustrophobic about MRIs or CTs. Caves, narrow corridors, too many people in a room, low ceilings... those make me claustrophobic.

I've done initial stats and Lightning Round but need to leave in 30 minutes or so. I'll probably post later this afternoon, early evening.

>83 LizzieD: (((((Peggy))))) Thanks. I'm not dreading this at all, either procedure-wise or result-wise. You never know, of course, but nothing so far makes me think this is any more than doing my whole spine at the same time to either confirm T12 continuing to be a problem or something new causing my lower back/left SI joint/hip pain.

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edited to add:

Back from the MRI. They were running late, and I didn't realize it would take 45 minutes. Ear plugs, headphones. I just kept my eyes closed, although they offered a mask.

YTD Statistics through April

123 books read
108 ebooks, 11 audio books, 4 paper books
28420 pages in completed books
95 hours in completed audio books
44 books abandoned, 4693 pages abandoned, 16.5 hours abandoned

33113 total pages read

Avg pages read per day, incl books abandoned: YTD = 276
Avg pages read per book, only those completed: YTD = 231

Book(s) of the Month: Kiss the Villain by Rina Kent

Books by Month
January: 26 books read - 18 ebooks, 4 audio books, 5 paper books
February: 24 books read - 21 ebooks, 4 audio books, 0 paper books
March: 36 books read - 34 e-books, 1 audio book, 1 paper book
April: 37 books read - 35 e-books, 2 audio books, 0 paper books

Author
Male 7%
Female 77%
Undeclared * 14%
Non-Binary 2%
* - can't find info anywhere

Living 99%
Dead 1%

US Born 37%
Foreign Born 12%
Undeclared * 51%
* - can't find info anywhere

Medium
Audio Book 9%
e-Book 88%
Paper Book 3%

Source
My Library 17%
Library 0%
Kindle Unlimited 83%
Borrowed 0%

Misc
Galley Proof 0%
Re-read 2%
Series 77%

Fiction 98%
NonFiction 2%

Author Birth Country
Australia 3%
Canada 4%
Germany 2%
Netherlands 1%
New Zealand 2%
Puerto Rico 2%
UK 2%
Undeclared * 48%
US 36%
* - can't find info anywhere

Original Decade Published

1940-1949 1%
1990-1999 1%
2010-2019 24%
2020-2025 74%

Genre
Historical Fiction 1%
History 1%
Humor 1%
Memoir 1%
MM Romance 96%

Average Rating
2.0 - Bad 3
2.5 - Average 3
3.0 - Good 6
3.5 - Very Good 42
4.0 - Excellent 59
4.5 - Outstanding 10
5 - Masterpiece 0

Average Rating 3.74
Books acquired YTD (last year 306) 118
Books culled YTD (last year 219) 70

5895 books cataloged on 12/31/24

April Lightning Round

Any in bold are NOT MM romances, few and far between as they are.

Quite a few of the smut books have warnings about triggers that I don’t mention here. Caveat emptor re triggers if you want to dip your toes in.

Mated to the Alpha books 1-8 by Rosa Swann and Wolf Specter 4/1/25 4-2-25 Kindle

8 separate short stories, NOT Kindle Unlimited. I bought the first one, thinking it was a novel, got hooked, then sprung for the other 7, too. 388 pages total. The titles are Omega’s … Fate, Home, Pack, Bond, Love, Wedding, Baby, Future. Ethan is a human who attends a masked shifter ball in order to get enough money to get himself out of a hole financially and have some fun, perhaps to find a woman shifter to be naughty with in the woods. Max, an alpha wolf shifter, doesn’t want to be there but feels pressured by his family. He sees Ethan and is smitten, realizing that Ethan’s his fated mate. He comes on to Ethan, but Ethan is “I’m straight”. Max predicts that Ethan will come to him before the night’s through, and he does. The story follows their relationship from their first sexual encounter at the ball through the birth of their pup. I honestly liked these a lot because although there was political maneuvering and hiding from the press because Max is extremely rich, it was basically a love story. Caveat emptor re sex.

Claimed by the Boss by Sophie O'Dare 4/2/25 4/3/25 Kindle

Nolan is a powerful wolf shifter and Leo works as a waiter in his nightclub. Leo’s at the end of his rope, owing money to a loan shark and living in squalor. Nolan is intrigued with the omega, but doesn’t realize the extent to which the manager who works for him is abusing his employees – both out front and prostitutes in the back. Leo’s forced to work in the back, is drugged, and rescued by Nolan, who starts to figure out what’s going on. He moves Leo into his penthouse, starts taking care of him and instalust and etc. Nolan also happens to be a mafia-type runner of drugs and guns, but this gray area doesn’t bother Leo and the way it’s written, the good nature of Leo and the way Nolan runs both legit and illegal operations makes it all okay. Fiction, of course ,right? Anyway, after some dramatic doings and Alpha power moves by Nolan to protect Leo and clean up his operations, they get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Rancher's Runaway by Asher Wylde 4/3/25 4/3/25 Kindle

Wesley is on the run from his home pack, pregnant and weary. Zack, a lone shifter on the property he inherited from his uncle, finds him at one of the horse’s water troughs and takes him in. Wesley is fearful of the pack leader tracking him, but he and Zack settle into a rhythm of Zack trying to make sure Wesley eats enough while Wesley tries to work around the ranch enough to feel like he’s paying his way. Each starts having feelings, but they are both laconic. As Wesley’s pregnancy advances, rumors abound that a rich alpha is looking for a runaway omega. There’s a showdown and a HEA. For some reason this story reminded me of The Dry by Jane Harper – how the land and environment helped shape the story. Well done and descriptive. Caveat emptor re violence and implied sex.

Mating the Omega by Ann-Katrin Byrde 4/3/25 4/3/25 Kindle

Wolf shifter pack politics and how omega are treated across packs has had Jason and his father fleeing his home pack and on the run for 6 years. As he’s tracked down and almost captured, he decides to be mated on his own terms, with the Mercy Hills Pack, a rich pack. He just wants the hiding over, wants to have a garden and have his father taken care of after a severe beating. He assumes that he’ll mate with the Alpha, but the Alpha isn’t interested. His head of security is, though, Mac, and Jason’s interested in him. There’s a contract between Jason’s home pack and his new pack, but he and Mac anticipate the vows, so to speak, and Jason immediately gets pregnant. Yes! More mpreg. I barely understand myself right now. *smile* Anyway, as Jason and Mac navigate their new relationship, their pregnancy, and the very real fear that Jason may be returned to his home pack, they fall in love. His home pack sues in human court because they realize Jason’s a True Omega –both almost unheard of – and the trial is interesting and informative. They get their HEA, of course. Caveat emptor re sex and omega shifter biology that may be too much TMI.

Abel's Omega by Ann-Katrin Byrde 4/3/25 4/4/25 Kindle

Bas is a downtrodden, sold to the highest pack omega, and has 4 children by the time he’s 20. He’s unhappy in his mating but sees the rest of his life ahead of him with Patrick. However, Patrick, the Alpha of the pack, is killed in a car accident. Bax’s future is laid out to him – his 4 pups will be fostered to other families in the pack and Bax will be mated within the pack to someone else. It’s not the mating that Bax would mind – what could be worse than what he had with Patrick except for his beautiful pups? – but losing those pups to other families causes him to escape to the Mercy Hills Pack, where he knows of Jason. They give him shelter, and as he settled into a new life of freedom, Abel, the Alpha of the pack, is interested. Bax is interested, too. So. More pack politics, more mystery about True Alphas, and etc. This one was sexy for sure, but so much downtrodden spouse thoughts from Bax. I had to keep remembering that Bax is a male, frankly. However, Abel sees Bax as an equal/HIS omega, and that helps Bax gain confidence, strength, and pride in being an omega in addition to realizing that his intellectual skills are valued, too. Caveat emptor re sex and one dominance fight scene. Not too gory, but descriptions of a berserker mentality being unleashed.

**abandoned Who Said Witness Protection Was Boring? By Aria Clark**

Matthew’s uneventful but relatively happy life is upended when the house he lives in with his aunt and uncle comes under attack. His aunt hands him a box, gives him a code word and has him go to a rendezvous where he’ll be protected. House blows up, aunt and uncle killed, taken to a safehouse by Kieran, a CIA agent who isn’t supposed to be part of the network that should be rescuing Matthew but is. Imagine Matthew’s surprise that his aunt and uncle were black ops. Imagine my surprise that Kieran’s parents were, too, and were killed. Kieran wants answers. Too many coincidences, too rom-com-y in not the best way.

**abandoned Wrong Train, Right Wolf by Colbie Dunbar**

New-to-me author, after 43 pages I realized I didn’t like the author’s style, even with an interesting shifter premise.

**abandoned Wrong Number, Right Wolf by Colbie Dunbar**

Same author, different book, only 23 pages in this one before I abandoned it.

The Wicked Chase, 4 Novellas by Lola Malone that take place at the Saint-Laurent Boarding College and Alpha Fraternarii of previous books.

The novellas follow the same plot as the books in The Initiation Series, a trilogy, with the third one due in July. A rich member of the Alpha Fraternarii brotherhood is obsessed with someone not from his class or wealth. The brotherhood holds chases, where potential brothers agree to let themselves be hunted, captured, and, as these books puts it, let themselves be “… subjected to physical violence – with no lasting injuries – as well as being drugged, tied up or even used for a brother’s sexual pleasure. You agreed to this.” which eliminates accusations of non-con. Convenient, but these first three novellas are so much fun, in a very dark way. The four members of the brotherhood wear gold, silver, bronze, and copper masks. It turns out that each has chosen his obsession and has paid dearly for the right to win the chase. Only one potential brother can ‘win’, not knowing it’s rigged. When the potential brother is captured and spends time alone in the woods with his captor, he’s either acquiesced or enthusiastically agreed to being bound romantically and legally to the brother who caught him. The new brother is initiated and then taken to his lover’s rooms. All’s well that ends well. Caveat emptor re violence and sex. All four potential brothers’ backstories are given with enough detail to explain their motivations in agreeing to participate, all four brothers’ backstories are given with enough detail to explain their obsessions.

Collared 4/4/25 4/5/25 Kindle This is Thurel and Maël’s story. Suffice to say that as with all four, Thurel has agreed to be hunted and when Maël catches him, he collars him with a leather and diamonds collar. He takes him back to the initiation collared.

Trapped 4/5/25 4/5/25 Kindle This is Robin and Arsène’s story. Suffice to say that as with all four, Robin has agreed to be hunted and when Arsène catches him from horseback with a bola, Arsène’s brothers help take him back to the initiation bound in the leathers of the bola.

Hunted 4/5/25 4/5/25 Kindle This is Olivier and Alexandre’s story. Suffice to say that as with all four, Olivier has agreed to be hunted and when Alexandre catches him after he agrees to be drugged and becomes disoriented enough to fall into a huge metal spider web after Alexandre’s bodyguards have helped herd him there, he takes him back to the initiation. Alexandre offers him another drug, letting him choose between two. Alexandre takes the other. This one got pretty bizarre, what with spiders and all.

Marked by Lola Malone 4/6/25 4/8/25 Kindle The last of the series is a bit more complicated in that Edouard is the scion of a drug/crime overlord, not one of the rich elite of the world. Romain is a poor village boy and Edouard’s father ‘buys’ him in exchange for Romain’s mother’s drug debt. Edouard and Romain have a dominant/submissive and romantic relationship until Edouard’s father sends Romain away, not telling Edouard where he is. Both suffer. There’s quite a bit of backstory on both, including implied murder by Edouard for Romain being humiliated in church. Edouard’s father eventually tells him where Romain is. Edouard plays a long game, only getting Romain invited to be a brother in Alpha Fraternarii. The chase, a different initiation, and Edouard and Romain end up in a private part of the college and they get their admittedly unusual HEA. Caveat emptor sex for all four novellas, in the forest, in the castle, in some of their backstories.

Cherry Breeze by Jett Masterson 4/5/25 4/6/25 Kindle

Werewolves of New York… Asher is an art student, estranged from his mother, working 3 jobs. Sebastian owns his own cosmetics company. Asher sees a tinted car window and applies his favorite lip gloss, Cherry Breeze, using the window as a mirror, not knowing that Sebastian, creator of Cherry Breeze, is inside. He rolls down the window, and realizes that Asher should be the face of his new fall campaign. Asher agrees to meet with him, is amazed at the standard-at-that-level modeling fee, and after telling Sebastian he can’t accept because of how attracted he is to Sebastian, accepts on the condition that after the shoot they explore their attraction. High heat and very sweet. The tension is from Asher’s mother, who tries to come back into his life after realizing that he’s modeling for Rossi Cosmetics. Asher’s once again devastated that she uses him instead of loving him. Sebastian is a good alpha wolf boyfriend, protecting Asher, taking care of him. Asher eventually meets Sebastian’s family, who all adore him. I really liked the 10-year later epilogue. Caveat emptor re sex.

Finding Lord Landry by Lucy Lennox 4/8/25 4/9/25 Kindle

Landry is the fifth of the billionaires brotherhood, after they invented an app that took the world by storm. Kenji is the group’s PA although he spends most of his time supporting Landry. They’ve had what Kenji calls an enemies-with-benefits arrangement for 3 years, but which Landry thinks of as the love of his life just being stubborn. Kenji goes on a month-long island retreat, but halfway through the island is put under martial law and communications shut off. Landry goes crazy and enlists the aid of an old university friend, whose father gets them out with an extraction team. When Kenji comes out of the airport walkway, he’s holding hands with Landry, which sets off a frenzy of paparazzi, who must about a secret affair/engagement. Landry, in addition to being part of the brotherhood, is also a model,both of which Kenji knows, but he's also heir to an earldom. Not knowing this pisses Kenji and the other members of the billionaires brotherhood and Landry has fences to mend. Landry’s biggest enemy is himself – he doesn’t want to ‘settle down’ and run the earldom. With a bit of manipulation and etc., they get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Bewildered Mate by Brea Alepoú 4/9/25 4/9/25 Kindle

Dillan is a house cat who understands English. As a kitten he was adopted by a human couple, Mary-Anne and Sam. One day Sam doesn’t return home, and many days later, Dillan goes to the garage to find him. On the way there, a dog scares him and he runs, getting lost. Rhy is hired by the widow to find Dillan, who she calls Mr. Fluffkins. The story of Dillan learning how to be a cat shifter and Rhy finding him is sweet. They are fated mates, of course, with Rhy an alpha tiger. The writing is unsophisticated and there are so many editing errors that I almost abandoned it, but I wanted to see Dillan and Mary-Anne’s reunion. It is bittersweet, but there’s a HEA for Rhy. Caveat emptor re sex.

Grabbed by Susi Hawke and Crista Crown 4/10/25 4/10/25 Kindle

Preston is the omega son of a US Senator. He’s kidnapped from a wild party and put in a cage, where he’s photographed and videotaped so that it’s clear that he’s a shifter. His dad pays a ransom, the FBI gets involved, but he also hires A.L.P.H.A.to extract Preston and get the pics/video so that the kidnappers don’t expose the Senator as a shifter. Noah is team leader of the extraction team. Another fated mates situation. Preston and Noah are moved to a summer rental cabin overnight, and of course they seal the fated mates deal with sex. Preston immediately becomes pregnant. However, Noah is clueless about reassuring his mate, too focused on the mission to take care of him when they return him home to his father, where he feels betrayed by Noah. Regardless of what Noah intends, the Senator puts Preston into a high security shifter facility, where Noah and his team rescue him again. Short and sweet at 157 pages, there are Noah’s dads, who immediately adopt Preston, and Noah and his team find Preston’s mother, who he thought abandoned him. However, the Senator kept her away. It’s all hearts and roses and there’s a baby shifter at the end. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Ready or Knot by Susi Hawke**

Wyatt was kept as a prostitute from ages 12-18, when he’s rescued and goes to a halfway house to recover. He’s twitchy and nervous, and a thunderstorm scares him enough for him to shift and run into the woods. Daniel, an alpha werebear security guard, disregards the protocol of having 2 omega shifters go after him. Wyatt hides, but Daniel realizes they’re fated mates and although Wyatt is afraid of Daniel, he’s also reassured and feels like Daniel is home. Blah blah Ginger… not enough to keep me interested in addition to the blandness of the writing.

Devlish by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 4/11/25 4/11/25 Kindle

Kai is taken to Lucien’s exclusive sex club by his escort McBride, and when Lucien sees how McBride is treating him – not BDSM per se, but Kai clearly being reluctant and not knowing a safe word – Lucien has McBride escorted off the premises and banned in this club, all his other clubs, and other clubs owned by other friends. He also has the man who sponsored McBride to this club banned, too. Lucien sees how distraught Kai is and persuades Kai to let him take him home, no strings attached. For the next number of weeks Lucien lets Kai realize he’s safe, feeds him regularly, lets him sleep safely behind a locked door, and etc. Eventually they start having feelings for each other. McBride torches Lucien’s club and it’s completely destroyed. This makes Lucien angry, and with the help of his family of chosen brothers takes McBride down. Alpha male, intelligent yet wounded sub… my kryptonite. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Revenge Game by Jax Calder 4/11/25 4/12/25 Kindle

How I love books by Jax Calder. Andrew and Justin went to high school together, where Justin and his friends bullied Andrew unmercifully. It affected Andrew deeply. Ten years later, Andrew has come to London as part of a ‘what do I do with the rest of my life’ tour after selling his tech company for millions. He sees Justin in a bar, goes up to him, and Justin doesn’t recognize him. This pisses Andrew off beyond measure, and what with money and influence and all, gets a intro IT tech-type apartment in Justin’s building and gets an IT tech-type low-level job in the company Justin works for. It turns out that the software the company’s using is the software Andrew developed, so he knows it pretty well… He helps folks with their IT issues, lays low, and plots revenge. He starts off with sabotaging Justin’s power point presentation to a potential customer, sending out weird emails to everybody in the company, and etc. However, when Justin comes to him in a panic just before an in-house presentation to a stuck-in-traffic client, Andrew backs out of the revenge bit. Justin invites him to his apartment after work for a drink, which turns into dinner and acquaintance with Justin’s two rescue cats. Andrew is anguished over what to do, wants to do something, but since sabotaging him at work is off the table, decides to win his friendship then shatter that trust. We know where this going, and it absolutely goes there. Dual POV, with Justin alerting us to the fact that he's gay but totally in the closet. Andrew’s out and proud, of course. One interesting bit is why Justin didn’t recognize Andrew in the bar and now at the company – he has Prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize familiar faces. By now Andrew is doing things behind the scenes to help Justin, so writes an app to help Justin. He also bids on a date with Justin at the shelter Justin volunteers at so a cougar doesn’t get it. Andrew doesn’t show, but Justin invites him to come since his date isn’t showing up. Sweet yet tension-filled stuff. There’s the expected outing of Andrew and betrayal Justin feels, and the very sweet reconciliation. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Reluctant Omega by Sam Abbot 4/13/25 4/14/25 Kindle

Nathan, an omega, wants the opportunity to ‘try out’ for the Alpha’s mate but really wants the cash consolation prize. However when he and Brock meet, there’s the Fated Mate chemistry, mating, and etc. Mpreg. *sigh* Caveat emptor re sex.

Wildlands Omega by Ruby Nox 4/14/25 4/14/25 Kindle

Riley lives alone in their cabin in the woods after his grandmother dies. He just has enough time to take a bit of food and her journal out before he flees. Jack’s having a snit, thinking his older brother is still blaming him for something 8 years previously, and hightails it into the woods, where he scents Riley and realizes they are Fated Mates. 3 days later Jack’s family is frantic about him, finds him and Riley together. The family accepts Riley, Jack and his brother truly reconcile, and more Mpreg. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Alpha's Touch by Claire Cullen 4/14/25 4/15/25 Kindle

Robert is the whipping boy of his pack and given in retribution to another pack for the murder of pack member he had no hand in. He thinks he’s going to be executed, but after a ritualistic but vicious beating is taken care of and on his way to acceptance by the pack. Sebastian, the Alpha, and Robert both realize they’re Fated Mates. A bit of pack politics, and HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Wrenched by Casey Morales 4/15/25 4/15/25 Kindle

A strangely flat romance/murder mystery. Sam, who owns his own car repair business, is at loose ends after a 3-year hookup ghosts him after he asks for a real relationship. Miguel is part of a police team who comes to his garage to temporarily store the vehicle of a woman, which is found in a remote area of a public park. Sam and Miguel hit it off, start dating, Miguel and his partner Donna work the case. Miguel has PTSD from the things he’s seen as a cop, and Sam gently eases into his life to help him. Miguel and Donna are convinced that the husband is the killer, but have no evidence, no murder weapon, no apparent motive. There’s a very clever bit of detective work in this one, involving Sam who, after seeing what’s been released to the public and NOT getting confidential data from Miguel (pointed out several times), thinks that the murder weapon could be the crankshaft of the car itself. The husband tinkers with cars, there’s a blood stain where the car would have been in the garage. Turns out her DNA was still on it. Very clever, and something I’ve never seen before. HEA and caveat emptor re sex.

Omega's Escape by Feral Moon 4/15/25 4/16/25 Kindle

Aiden, an omega, has been imprisoned his whole life in an omega-trafficking ring, groomed to be sold. When he meets the vicious alpha he’s going to be sold to, he flees in the night and Jude, who just wants to be left alone, a lone wolf not associated with a pack, rescues him. Fated mates again… Mpreg again… Jack and Aiden flee, the alpha tracks them down, but love and fated mates triumph. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Hollywood Lightning by JV Speyer**

Shallow, telegraphs Owen’s backstory, doesn’t explain why Jamal, the bodyguard, would believe Hollywood gossip and another actor on the set’s prejudices and personal motivations. Ridiculous.

Kiss the Villain by Rina Kent 4/16/25 4/17/25 Kindle

Gareth is a law student, a member of a rich and powerful family who hides his true self. Kayden is his professor in Criminal Law. There re immediate sparks, immediate tension, immediate enemies-with-benefits. It is against policy, obviously, for them to be having sex/a relationship, and they keep it well hidden. Gareth is fascinated with Kayden in a very unhealthy way, as is Kayden with Gareth. Each of them is a psychopath, each of them hiding themselves from everybody but a select few. Kayden’s motives in seducing Gareth are less than noble/lust-driven, and when once they are addicted to each other and Gareth finds out what Kayden’s true motives are, he becomes mentally unhinged and self-harms. There are bad people after Gareth, Kayden is powerful and not really a professor, and this was a high-wire act of epic proportions. Good guys, bad guys, psychopaths, killers, and etc. Caveat emptor re sex.

Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener narrated by Dan Levy 3/26/25 4/18/25 12 hrs 20 minutes

Detective Shadow Yor is a detective who has been brought in with his partner to a distant world to find the serial killer responsible for brutally murdering people who have escaped legal retribution. The killer leaves a folder with their crimes at each scene. As Shadow and his partner Gael start trying to figure out what’s going on, Shadow uses his empath abilities to try to find the killer and meets Apollo, a reporter, at a fund raiser. After a scorching sexual encounter on the roof, Shadow tries to distance himself and Apollo works to get closer. Shadow and Gael identify the killer, who keeps escaping. And when he gets caught, there’s a huge reveal and the story goes from there. It was suspenseful and thrilling and the mystery was trying to figure out how Apollo and Shadow would get their HEA when Apollo’s a psychopath and Shadow is so emotionally damaged. Well worth the journey, it kept me enthralled. The narrator is good at differentiating the voices, and his voice for Apollo is just sinful. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Wrath by Ellis James**

Ezra and Josh are stepbrothers. I enjoy this trope, enjoyed the beginning tension, but it bogged down in the middle. I know there will be upheaval and angst before they get their HEA. Unfortunately, I do not want to read another 346 pages – 49% of a door stopper if it weren’t Kindle – to get there. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Rescue by Mx Alex**

Excellent premise – humans are rescued from their dying planet and taken to Kipexo’s home planet. He’s been injured in the line of duty and is recuperating at home, going crazy, depressed, and signs up for a human domestic helper. He gets Ethan, who has been returned three times for being disobedient. Kipexo figures out that Ethan’s deaf, is attracted to him, and they start a sexual relationship. Kipexo gets Ethan hearing implants. Ethan starts sharing info about just how the humans are being taken from Earth and transported to Kipexo’s planet. By then I had gotten through the initial tension between the romantic leads and the rest, although there might be a twist or two, is really predictable, more than enough to easily abandon the last 76 pages.

Ferocious by Leslie McAdam 4/17/25 4/19/25 Kindle

Rowan is living on the edge, and when his car is stolen after he drives to pick up an Uber-type ride share client, he walks down Pacific Coast Highway. Charlie is lonely even though he’s attained 8 out of 10 on his 10-year plan. He decides to leave the group bonfire and as he’s walking to his car, Rowan tackles him, holding a knife to him asking for his wallet and keys. He says no, is much bigger than Rowan, and decides to feed Rowan, then take him to the police department to file a stolen vehicle report, then to his house to just stay the night. One night turns into many, and their instalust turns into romantic feelings. In the meantime, Rowan has been trying to find his biological family his entire life without success. Suddenly there’s a car stalking him outside of Charlie’s house and he’s eventually kidnapped. Turns out that it’s his true biological father, a billionaire, who’s terminally ill. It’s proven that Rowan’s his son. Rowan and Charlie start navigating their relationship at the same time Rowan is navigating a new relationship with his biological father. Of course there are greedy step relatives, Charlie’s friends who are overprotective of him, and etc. Charlie is one of the kindest romantic leads in any of the books I’ve read this month, and possibly even this year. Every thought and action is for Rowan and his friends and his family. Rowan is all over the place, but that appeals to Charlie, as does Charlie’s calmness and sweetness does to Rowan. They get their HEA, the greedy relatives get their comeuppance. Caveat emptor re sex.

Omega On the Run by Aria Grace 4/20/25 4/20/25

Sigh. Another omega running away, although in this one Cameron is a shifter private detective. He tracks Jamie down by luck. And of course Jamie goes into heat, they do the dirty, and realize their fated mtes. Jamie’s pregnant, of course, too, the family protests of course, but they get their HEA of course. All this in 80 pages. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Dark Paradox by Avery Tu and Kota Quinn 4/20/25 4/21/25 Kindle

Nuri has been secretary to Silver Rien, Emperor of the planet Ignite, CEO of Rien Inc., and a bona fide psychopath. Nuri has had a crush on him since he met him. Neither knows how the other feels, so there are missed communications and social cues and the inherent humor in a psychopath trying to realize that he has true and valid feelings. Caveat emptor re sex.

A four-part series by one of my new favorite dark MM speculative fiction romance authors, with three parts published, the fourth to come in August.

Nix switches universities to find out how and why his beloved cousin Branwen killed herself. He does this by unwittingly gaining the notice of one of the Demons of Foxglove Grove on a school app Nix has hacked into. There’s immediate attraction, and Lake pursues Nix. Lake is one of three Demons, a role for seniors that the three of them and only the three of them currently hold. All three, Lake, West, and Yejun, are personally and dynastically powerful. They are all attracted to Nix, who gets deeper and deeper into his attraction to Lake and then West and Yejun. He also gets deeper and deeper into his understanding of Branwen’s life on campus and her involvement with very dangerous people. I’ve never read a MMMM romance before – only one MMM series and one book each from three other MMM series. I like how Feener makes the relationship flow naturally.

Villain by Chani Lynn Feener 4/21/25 4/22/25 Kindle

Martyr by Chani Lynn Feener 4/22/25 4/23/25 Kindle

Saint by Chani Lynn Feener 4/22/25 4/23/25 Kindle

Beer Money by Remy Tate 4/24/25 4/24/25 Kindle

Aspiring stage actor Jared has come to NYC to make it big on Broadway. He’s failing, hiding these failures from his parents, working too many jobs just to get by. One day he decides to become a camboy and it becomes wildly successful. He hides who he is physically with the help of his friend and Broadway makeup artist Zoe (who he meets while they are working at one of his jobs). He gains the attention of Andrew, a secretive/traumatized billionaire. Andrew wants to protect and provide for Jared, and they enter into an exclusive contract. Another billionaire is also interested, and his reasons have more to do with Andrew than Jared. I found the relationships interesting, some of the tech a bit too much. After a bit of danger for both of them, they get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Unwritten Law by Eden Finley narrated by Antony Ferguson and Joel Leslie 4/18/25 4/26/25 Audible audio book 5.45 hours

The first several chapters are confusing as Law, identical twin to Anders, takes on the frequent role of playing his twin in order to break up with guys Anders is too anxiety-ridden to break up with. When Law ‘breaks up’ with Reed, the chemistry is off the charts, and they hook up instead, Reed thinking it’s Anders. This is all well and good as they hook up another time when Law tries to come clean about pretending to be Anders, but once Reed brings the LGBQT+ club to Law’s Dojo, things go wonky. We learn why Law is so protective of Anders, Reed’s backstory, and Law’s acting upon his bisexuality. There’s an emotional subplot of a teen whose father abuses him for being gay, with Law and Reed standing up for him, and Law’s and Reed’s anguish as they realize they’ve boxed themselves into a corner about not being able to have a relationship all the while falling in love with each other. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Body Count by L Eveland 4/26/25 4/27/25 Kindle

It turns out that this is a re-read, although I didn’t realize it until after I finished it. It was sort of familiar but not really. First in the Wayward Sons series about a mafia polyamory family – six books about each of the six sons. One son’s biological, the rest found family. This first one is about child trafficking and underage prostitution. River, a sociopath adoptive son, sees Theo at a bar, wearing a collar and looking abused, resigned, and terrified. River immediately ‘claims’ Theo in his mind, and then physically when he buys him from a very bad man. As they’re leaving, the very bad man comes back for more, attacking River. River has no compunction about killing him, and since the family is a bit flexible in how they deal with miscreants outside of the law, he bundles up the body, takes Theo with, and goes back home. He takes the body to the family funeral home, where it’s cremated. Theo has no memories beyond being owned and prostituted out by the Master. River is livid, the family is up in arms, and the tracking down of the Master, along with various and sundry murders and etc. constitutes the chilling portions of the plot. Theo is damaged goods, as is River, which each acknowledges. Theo wants and needs River, and River wants and needs Theo. They get their HEA, and their navigating and negotiating their relationship is well done by the author. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Skin Deep by L Eveland**

Second in the Wayward Sons series has surgeon and biological son Warrick coming home after breaking up with a boyfriend out of state. As he and two brothers lure a known pedophile out of a bar ready to kidnap him to kill him, Paxton, 6’8” of rage, comes after the pedophile with a bat. After s scuffle in which the pedophile is knocked out and they all agree that Paxton gets to kill him because Paxton’s motive is personal because of a vow taken to a 14-year-old girl’s family, they all head on over to a torture set up. The pedophile is disposed of, Paxton and Warrick have the hots for one another. Nothing comes of it, but literally the next day Paxton has taken his daughter, who has a cleft palate, to the clinic Warrick volunteers at for surgical reconstructions and etc. It gets too weird for even me to continue, with Warrick’s sexual preferences above my BDSM paygrade. Ugh. Just, ugh. No more of this series.

**abandoned A Bright Celestial Sea by Chani Lynn Feener**

Pryor is a detective sent to a planet to find a kidnapped dignitary. Wystan is the emperor of the planet, who catches up with Pryor and his partner Castor after they’ve already been involved in a local incident without checking in first. They’re attracted to one another. Pryor works on the case. Pryor has major issues. Wystan, although an emperor, is amazingly left alone much of the time, with no security detail. The plot got wilder and wilder, and it finally became too much to continue. Caveat emptor re sex.

You Will Never Know by Chani Lynn Feener 4/25/25 4/25/25 Kindle

First in a trilogy about Hunter, part of a royal entourage as an 18-year-old but a fugitive after he’s forced to choose between his sister’s life and assassinating Odin, a member of the royal family. The assassination attempt fails but his sister is killed anyway. Fast forward ten years, when he’s discovered by Odin near death from a beating and brought back by Odin. He nurses him back to health in order to eventually kill him, but surprise! Old caring and new instalust feelings develop. A cliffhanger, but I didn’t care to continue the series. I’ve OD’d on this author for a while, although I’m looking forward to the fourth in the series mentioned above, due out in August. Caveat emptor re sex.

Bent by Jesse H Reign 4/27/25 4/28/25 Kindle

A re-read of this compelling and well-written duology. Here’s what I wrote last September:Two straight men are inexplicably attracted to each other, with insta lust results. Told from Ollie’s point of view, I found it emotionally satisfying, steamy, and with a fine HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Bent Backwards by Jesse H Reign 4/28/25 4/28/25 Kindle

A re-read of this compelling and well-written duology. Here’s what I wrote last September:Two straight men are inexplicably attracted to each other, with insta lust results. Told from Ethan’s point of view, I found it emotionally satisfying, steamy, and with a fine HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Stay in Your Lane! by Cari Z and LA Witt 4/28/25 4/29/25 Kindle

Everett works for his family’s mortuary business and is sent to pick up the body of a suicide. Things don’t add up, however, and Everett takes a couple of pictures. He comes back later that night because he wants to check on something else – footprints – and Kyle’s there, hired to clean up the scene. They agree that things are suspicious and agree to work together to ‘solve’ the crime, although the verdict of suicide is being rushed. They are attracted to one another, and after Kyle invites Everett over to his house to discuss strategy, Everett is in love with Kyle’s two cats and his 7 piranhas, especially the vicious one, Steve. Everett vows to win Steve over. As they pursue the investigation and their slowly-warming feelings toward one another, they become targets for the people who want to shut them down. Two more ‘suicides’, threats to Everett’s family business and Kyle’s business make everything seem real. It’s a combination of mystery, romance, and humor, which appealed to me on every level. The good guys win, Everett wins over Steve, and Everett and Kyle get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Off the Beaten Path by Cari Z 4/30/25 4/30/25 Kindle

Intriguing premise, where werewolves in the US are contained, controlled, and whisked away from family members when they shift for the first time. Ward’s daughter Ava shifts her first day of kindergarten and Ward doesn’t even get to see her before she’s gone forever. He has a contact who secretly finds out which pack she’s been sent to. Ward leaves everything behind and stands outside the pack territory until he’s brought inside on the point of freezing to death. In the meantime, Henry, pack Alpha, has just returned from using his shifter skills in Afghanistan. He’s stepped back into a situation with a new child shifter who can’t shift back to human, her father, pack politics, and the politics of his being forced to serve the US military when and where they want simply because he’s a shifter. I particularly liked how Henry interacts with Ava and Ward starts integrating with the pack as a teacher. Henry and Ward are attracted to one another, and eventually Henry realizes that Ward’s his fated mate. Ward doesn’t have the shifter feel for fated mates, but knows Henry’s it for him. Lots of plot twists and surprises. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Surprise Omega by Allie W Scott 4/30/25 4/30/25 Kindle

Gads. Desperate for something to read, this book has Wendell, a witch, losing his powers and being sent to a werewolf pack to be cured. His other and the Alpha’s wife know one another but the Alpha would not tolerate a witch on pack lands. Rafe is the heir apparent to the Alpha. He’s been all over the US trying to find his fated mate, a requirement in their pack in order to become Alpha. He and Wendell have sex, Rafe is sent away again by his father, Wendell is pregnant – I know, MPreg – and only weeks and weeks later, after Wendell’s magic has been restored and showing his babies bump and Rafe returns, do they get together and realize they are fated mates. This does not go over well with the Alpha, and we have danger, rescue, and HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Unnatural by Alessandra Hazard**

Fantasy MM romance has two kingdoms agreeing to an end to war by the marriage of the omega heir of one kingdom to the alpha heir of the other. Instant power struggles, instant lust. The omega is actually an alpha. However, I didn’t care enough to continue. I really dislike books that use development of character shortcuts instead of real character development and storytelling.

**abandoned Auctioned Omega by Kellan Larkin**

Unmated omega Briar is to be auctioned off to the winner of a brutal battle of alphas. He runs, escapes, and is eventually found by Rohan, one of the alphas at the auction. Briar does not know this, however. They are attracted, have sex, and another MPreg has Briar turning up pregnant. Escape and blah blah blah. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Mated into the Mob by Colbie Dunbar**

Great premise has Tony working at the bar of a mafia boss. He’s trying to find out who killed his biological father but gets caught in one of the offices, beaten up, and taken to the mafia boss and club owner. Not bad so far, however, if I’m going to read a book about a powerful alpha male I want him to be in control and powerful, not weirdly sharing personal details and shrieking. It just didn’t work, so I abandoned it.

Merry May, Karen. Survived the dentist, got my new specs tightened, then arrived home in time for lunch and a nap. Absurd as it seems, I discovered a book I didn't remember having. The Public Library: A Photographic Essay. It's interesting. Welp, I gotta work some culinary magic now so my stomach will stop growling. TTFN.

>81 karenmarie: The only workplace in So. Calif. where I remembered Latino workers was when I worked at the Veteran's Hospital in the early 70s. I had known gay co-workers from the mid-70s, and my closest friend who had been came out to me in the early 80s. The sad progression was fewer and fewer women software engineers as time went on, though in the late 90s there were a couple of brilliant women from India. But I can't imagine they moved ahead much - even before either of them were pressured into having kids - and I don't know if either of them did choose to - they had to provide all the meals for their husbands and the husbands' friends whenever those (un)worthies* chose to land at home.

*The husbands might have been perfectly decent Indian husbands, but they could hardly been worthy of either of those two magnificent women.

>86 karenmarie: I might have to find time for Kiss the Villain & Between the Devil and the Sea.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/370545

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I enjoyed my Jackson time yesterday and now Sue will hang out with him today. Since I took off work Tuesday, I will work today and then play PB, (back indoors). I counted 3 white-crowned sparrows in the yard yesterday and 2 male grackles.

>87 weird_O: Hiya, Bill! Merry May to you, too. I’m glad you got the dentist and specs survived and adjusted. I love finding books on my shelves that I’ve forgotten about. I hope your culinary magic was of the white and not black kind.

>88 quondame: I’ll be cynical here and guess that the Latino workers at the Veteran’s Hospital were not doctors and administrators. I hope I’m wrong. I had one friend come out to me in the early 1970s at Pepperdine. We were both Business Admin majors and studied at my apartment. At first he said he was bi, then within a couple of months told me he was gay. I’m sorry the software engineers had to provide meals for their husbands/husband’s friends. I have a relative who quit work soon after she got married in 1969. Her husband was/is a control freak. He had to approve each night’s meal and if she deviated from the plan was told off and controlled with words and money. *shudder*

Social and cultural pressure on women to be domestic when their strengths are elsewhere makes me crazy. If a woman chooses to not work outside the house and provide a home for husband and children that’s great. Unfortunately, too many women can’t buck the pressure and/or don’t have the resources to choose differently for themselves.

And here’s where I mention that most women in the work force have to work, maintain the home (cleaning/cooking and emotional health/balance), and be primary caregiver to any children. Most, not all.

I’m glad you found two of my Lightning Round entries that appeal.

Rina Kent, Chani Lee Feener, and Lola Malone write dark MM romances. I’ve only read two by Kent, but these are the books by Feener I’ve finished:
Echo
These Silent Stars
Call of the Sea
Devil May Care
His Secret Alpha
Between the Devil and the Sea
Villain
Martyr
Saint
You Will Never Know

And these are the books by Malone I’ve finished:

Crown of Disguise
Crown of Steel
Vile Heart
Distant Heart
Blinding Light
Collared
Trapped
Hunted
Marked

>89 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you.

>90 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Friday. Glad your Jackson time was enjoyable. Thanks for the bird report. I have one female Cardinal visiting right now.

Wordle 1,413 4/6* trope, abode, gnome, whose

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I worked on and eventually published stats and my Lightning Round, as attested to by the messages above. The MRI took much longer than I thought, but that's only because I didn't realize that a full spine MRI takes 45 minutes, at least at the local hospital. Plus, uncharacteristically, they were running late, so didn't even call me back 'til 20 minutes after my appointment was supposed to start. However, the tech and assistant were thoughtful and more than competent. I think I dozed a bit...

We finished up the 3rd season of Slow Horses and started season 4. I really like that this series is following book order so far. Other series based on book series don't seem to care about following book series order, which can be bothersome.

When I asked Jenna to ask Hwan about 2 astrophysics/cosmology books that I own - books for non-astrophysics/cosmology experts - she told me to read the Katie Mack one. She's met Mack several times and Mack would have been her adviser had Hwan gone to NC State.

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Nothing outside the house today. My aunt and I have a phone call planned for 2 p.m. EST, 11 a.m. PST. She lives in northern CA. Otherwise, just a few small adulting tasks, reading, and puttering. I really need to consider how to get the small file cabinet downstairs safely.

And, finally, today is the one-year anniversary of my right knee replacement surgery.

>91 karenmarie: Such a turning point that surgery! I'm so glad for you, and hope it's a harbinger of even more good-fortune medical events.

Katie Mack did a podcast with John Green that kept me enrapt. She's a good communicator as well as a boffin. A rare combo, that.

Slow Horses is deffo an example of how I wish more streamers would do their dirty work. Adapting book series is promising a specific set of things to its audience, so don't do it unless you plan to live up to the premise.

*smooch*

Finally getting over grading and gardening and was happy to wish you a new thread. Congratulations on the one-year anniversary of your surgery. It is a milestone to celebrate.

>91 karenmarie: Two of the young Latino men were laboratory technologists, which was a higher position than mine as laboratory technician. But yes, the admins and doctors were mostly white men. I had no intention of making a career in the Veteran's administration, and jumped ship for my first computer programing job on the basis of the code I wrote for the fancy-smancy calculator at the research lab. It had actual core memory!

>92 richardderus: ‘Morning, RD! Getting that second knee surgery under my belt was so important, for two reasons. First reason, right knee pain had become extreme. Second reason, because of the surgeon correcting the knock-knee in my left knee, my legs were no longer the same length. This was by about 3/8”, which is not insignificant. So, the surgeon once again corrected the knock-knee, making my legs the same length again.

Wow, thanks for the info about the Mack-Green Podcast. I’ve subscribed to Crash Course. I love The Anthropocene Reviewed. *smooch*

>93 witchyrichy: Such a busy lady! Thanks for visiting. Thanks re my knee surgery. Didn’t you have hip replacement surgery around the time of one of my knee surgeries? 2023 or 2024?

>94 quondame: Actual core memory… I never even got close to being able to think about machine code or Assembly. I’m still impressed with your career in IT.

Wordle 1,414 3/6* trope, pasty, patsy

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Another lovely day of not having any leave the house errands. I filled bird feeders, paid two bills online and made dinner. I had a wonderful chat with my maternal aunt. She was born in 1935, so will be 90 in December. We blinked and 90 minutes had gone by.

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I need to change out the hummingbird feeder. I also should once again consider how to get the file cabinet downstairs.

Arsenal play Bournemouth at 12:30. They cannot win the Premier League, so should be able to relax a bit although Man City and Newcastle are nipping at their heels for second place. Reading and etc.

>95 karenmarie: Morning, Horrible. I'm so very happy you got all your surgical replacements prior to January 2025. Not being lopsided is an excellent way to avoid chronic pain. My father had polio as a boy and was ever after just the slightest bit uneven in his gait. It caused him pain, but he really never talked about it much.

...maybe just push the darn thing down the stairs and if it survives, bonus!, if it doesn't at least it's close enough to the garage to be kicked out there for Jenna to load up and dump it one day? It's an idea! *smooch*

Happy Saturday, Karen. Hooray for tending to those feeders. We went birding on the lakefront early this morning. It was still cool and breezy and we saw a decent amount of birds, including several FOY birds. Finally got my FOY Baltimore oriole. Off to a backyard party with friends, including our camping buddies. Enjoy your day.

>95 karenmarie: For some staircases it's possible to put a board or a couple of boards over the stairs, put the heavy item in a sling or harness and lower it on the boards.
Much easier to have a guy™ schlep it.

>96 richardderus: ‘Morning the next day, RD! I’m glad I did, too. I’m not lopsided anymore, but after reading Thursday’s MRI results, my PCP has referred me to a Spine and Pain Clinic in Sanford, 30 miles away for a possible ‘epidural spinal injection’. In other words, cortisone. I’m impressed he read it and responded so quickly, since he just got back from 2 weeks in Peru and was due in the office again on Monday.

Cortisone worked beautifully with my knees, did not work for what turned out to be carpal tunnel syndrome in my left wrist, but worked 6 weeks ago for my trigger thumb – which, for the nonce, seems to be completely gone.

If I push the file cabinet down the stairs, it will sail across the 6-steps down landing, through the banister, and crash into a framed family heirloom and the wall. *smooch*

>97 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday. Busy Saturday, for sure. Congrats on lots of birds and several FOYs. I hope you had fun at a backyard party. My day was quieter, see below.

>98 quondame: Not a bad idea, for sure. A guy would be great, would only take him about 5 minutes to get it downstairs and into the Sunroom. I took the drawers out yesterday and they’re downstairs. Later this morning I’m going to bundle the file cabinet in a blanket and ease it down, step by step. It’s bulky but not super heavy; however, it is heavier than I can just grab and carry.

Wordle 1,415 2/6* trope, trout

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Arsenal lost, 1-2. So disappointing. Ah well. I read, I brought down file cabinet drawers, I topped off the feeders and replaced the hummingbird feeder/food. We had lots of rain and lightning/thunder off and on from about 8 p.m. 'til about 3 a.m. Hence why I'm here on LT at 6:30 a.m. since the thunder woke me, and I read 'til about 4:30 and have been puttering and looking for a good chicken salad recipe for Book Club at my house on the 18th.

...
Nothing planned except to try to figure out how to get the file cabinet safely downstairs - protecting the steps and protecting my back. Not a rush, just something that I'd like to get done sooner than later.

Books, spreadsheets, add to May Lightning Round. We finished Slow Horses last night and will need a new series to watch. Perhaps The Residence. Bill's been doing some research and may have others to choose from.

Jenna sent me a text last night which made me very happy. She and Hwan want to visit and cook a meal for me for Mother's Day. They want me to choose the menu and the time AND the dessert.

>99 karenmarie: Oh, how dear and sweet of them! I know it will be a lovely day indeed. I still think a theist like you should just take the precious off the walls and then shove the darn thing down the stairs, trusting y'all's gawd to keep your stuff okay. Isn't that what she does...answer prayers? /sarcasm

I hope you Sunday well, smoochling.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. The backyard party was a lot of fun, despite being chilly. We had a nice fire going and the catered food was excellent. Jack and Co joined us too, so that was a highlight. Many of the group had not met him. Staying put today- I have yardwork to do. This will be the first mow of the season and it is looking shaggy.

Morning, Karen. I hope all is well there. Thinking of you. Off to tend to the "kids".

Got my first hummers yesterday. Two battling males. 😀

I haven't spoken in forever, I feel. Hooray for your daughters on Mother's Day! ENJOY!!!!

I wish you'd leave the (#*@@!*!% filing cabinet to the two of them or somebody else. Really!

>100 richardderus: Hiya, RD. Yes, it is dear and sweet of them. Sunday is the only day they have off together without school or work.

Belief is a complicated thing, as you well know. I'm a Liberal Theist. On a scale of atheism to adherence to a specific religion/denomination, I consider myself closer to atheism since I’m pretty much disgusted with all organized religion and denomination. Exceptions are many, and relate to how I perceive/judge that person’s actions compared with their religion’s tenets/beliefs. So a few people here, and … one set of step cousins, one step aunt, friend Karen in Montana. Possibly my maternal uncle, but one of his son's and wife's child is trans and they’ve disowned them/kicked them out. I just found this out and am trying to get my maternal aunt, her great-aunt, to find out if she’s okay. Embarrassing to have such skanky supposedly-Christian relatives.

*smooch*

>101 msf59: ‘Morning the next day, Mark! Glad the party was fun. I hope your mowing adventure went well. I saw a male hummingbird yesterday. I now have two male Cowbirds and a Downy hanging out, and even though I topped the feeders off on Saturday, probably need to do so today after the suet arrives so I can put up new suet cakes, too. Two books are also arriving, so I’m happy.

>102 msf59: I am well, thank you for thinking about me. Hope the kids thing went well. Yay for the battling hummingbirds.

>103 LizzieD: Too late, Peggy! Filing cabinet is downstairs, under the little table, and waiting for 2" table leg lifters (since I misjudged the little yellow table) so I can easily get into the top drawer. I'm extremely stubborn. I also wanted instant gratification.

Jenna and I discussed dinner - easy peasy. Food Lion Rotisserie chicken, garlic toast, and succotash. An 8" Bundt Cake, White Chocolate Raspberry, for dessert. Haven't figured out a time yet, but definitely after 2 p.m., since Arsenal play Liverpool at 11:30. *smile*

Wordle 1,416 4/6* trout - not enough coffee, don't know why I used it instead of trope. Slunk, scuba, shush

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Yesterday was busy and exciting. I got the file cabinet downstairs without ruining banisters or this preserved/framed family keepsake:


Robert A. Hopps is one of my g-grandfathers.

I also made dinner, and we watched The Lincoln Lawyer series. It turns out that I remember having seen some of it before, Bill doesn't. I'm happy to re-watch and get caught up.

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I have one more in-the-office procedure, a result of the April 7th procedure. Might be tender, but don't expect a bad result - in fact the doctor and I agreed when we discussed it that whatever he has to do to make me NOT have to ever, ever see him again is good. I'm hoping for minor discomfort, but we'll see. That's at 1:30.

I renewed Jenna's car registration. It's in both of our names, and in changing the county/town, it's gone from $100 to $270. Sheesh. I've asked her to take it over next year if they're living in NC.

>104 karenmarie: YAY for the removal of cabinet in safety! The menu sounds most tasty. Enjoying it in my mind with you.

I'm pretty sure I've grown as hardened in my hatred as the looniest of transphobic "christians" have. It's the eternal conundrum writ small: "how do you fight Them without becoming them?" I have no clue, and more unnervingly, care less and less.

Morning, Karen. Finally getting back into the 70s for the next 2 days, with sunshine. Been waiting for this. I put out grape jelly for the orioles. I have not seen one yet. The white-crowned sparrows are still hanging around.

>105 richardderus: 'Morning, RDear. I'll have some time today to get the Pentaflex folders out and see if I need to order more more of them and/or the tabbed folders to go in them.

The menu makes me happy, which is the whole point of them offering to cook but my understanding that complicated isn't needed for us to have a good time. We're probably going to try to introduce Hwan to 6-dice Yahtzee.

Every once in a while, when all 6 dice needed to be added up for one of the cells, Jenna and I have discovered that our way of adding things up is rarely the same. So if these are the dice

2-2-4-5-6-6

I might say two 2s is four, the 2-2 four and the natural four and two sixes makes 20, 25 and Jenna might say 2-2-4 is 8 plus two sixes is 20, 25. Or something completely different. So if we get THREE ways of adding the dice, we'll be doing a happy dance.

Hmm. Do I hate the type of Christians that you hate? I despise them and know that, as friend Karen says, "Jesus is not happy with them." I consign them to their version of Hell. I am not sure I believe in Hell, but they surely do. I think Hell is a construct built by humans to keep people controlled and let the controllers also be the judges of what behaviors are Heaven-like and what behaviors are Hell-like.

Not enough coffee yet, and I have to get read soon to go to book sort and Virlie's.

>106 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you. The birds should be very happy with you. Baltimore Orioles migrate through my part of NC so there's a chance I could see them, but if I have, it's not been recently. Yay for the sparrows.

Wordle 1,417 3/6* trope, stave, suite

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The procedure went well, and as is usually the case, I built it up into something more than it ended up being. Side benefit - the pain killers I took beforehand and that he administered made my back feel really good. *smile*

Book sort, Virlie's, prescription pick up using the drive through, grocery store for a few things.

Reading, spreadsheets, Lightning Round, paperwork organization. Leftovers for dessert.

It's a gorgeous day out, absolutely stunning.

>107 karenmarie: Happy Tuesday, sweetiedarling. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it, given your proclivity for book fondling ::side-eye:: and consuming nummies at Virlie's. I'll be here reading my eyes out trying to figure a way to smack you with more book-bullets than you can ever hope to dodge.

I mean, of course I really mean, awaiting news of your delicious finds! Of course I do.
*whew headed that one off*

*smooch*

>104 karenmarie: It sounds like you've got great plans for Mother's Day!

>107 karenmarie: My method of adding when playing Yahtzee sounds basically the same as yours: add up any combination which makes a 10 (or multiple 10s) first, then add up the other numbers for the total.

I'm glad your procedure went so well yesterday! I hope you had fun at book sort and Virlie's; I'm pretty sure you did.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Glad your in office procedure went well. The usual today- kids/PB/books. I have been reading in the living room, trying to catch a sight of an oriole or grosbeak at the feeders. Nothing so far. I will persevere...

>108 richardderus: ‘Morning the next day, RD! I fondled many books yesterday. None, however, made it home. That’s okay, though. BBs, eh? Read away! I’m always up for a good BB. You have to earn it, of course. *smooch*

>109 atozgrl: Hi Irene. Yes, anticipation is half the pleasure. How people add numbers can tell a lot about them, can't it? Thanks re my procedure.

>110 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark. Happy Wednesday to you, too. Thanks re the procedure. I hope your usual day goes well. I’m doing the same with LT – checking outside between words or messages or thoughts. Nobody’s on the feeders right now, but I had an Indigo Bunting, a Downy and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a Carolina Chickadee, and Cardinals yesterday. This morning I looked out the Sunroom door, and there was a squirrel sitting on the 2nd step down. He looked at me, I looked at him. I didn’t have my cell phone on me to try to snap a photo of him, then he scampered off. Good luck on your sightings.

Edited to add: I just had an Indigo Bunting visit the wild bird seed feeder, the sunlight was just perfect to highlight him.



Empty suet feeders, but the suet arrived last night so I will be a good Bird Mom today.

Wordle 1,418 3/6* trope, comic, macho

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I had 5 bags of books I was donating to the Friends, so John brought out a cart to bring them. I sorted 4 of the bags, someone else grabbed the 5th. I saw quite a few books that were interesting, but none that called out to me to bring home. There were 7 of us at Virlie's. We got there early enough for breakfast.

Pharmacy and grocery store, home. Reading, puttering. We are still liking The Lincoln Lawyer.

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Nothing I have to leave the house for today. Arsenal play PSG on the second leg of the semi-finals. They're down 0-1, so need to score 2 more goals than PSG to move on to the finals.

The table risers arrived yesterday, so will see if I can get them on the table legs today. Reading, of course, and quite a bit of spreadsheet/Lightning Round updating.

Leftover spaghetti/meat sauce for dinner tonight.

>111 karenmarie: I don't know why it is that I think eating breakfast out is a luxurious treat, and *categorically* refuse to eat breakfast at home. Breakfast foods I'm delighted to eat at any time of day...except breakfast at home.

How does leftover spaghetti work? I eat it All or chuck out the dregs because it ends up reverting to paste when I try to reheat it....

'Morning, RD! Eating breakfast out is luxurious, but I don't like it near as much as I used to because I can't think of a single restaurant whose coffee I will drink. Also, I'm not eating breakfast meats because of the sodium. Steak and eggs would be an option. I had unsweetened iced tea with lemon yesterday. Sacrilege, but what's a poor girl supposed to do?

Lately I've been eating scrambled or OM eggs and toast at home for lunch or dinner.

I should have qualified that. Leftover spaghetti, not so much, but leftover spaghetti sauce with freshly-made linguine is what's on the menu tonight. I do have a bit of linguine left over from the other night, and plan on putting it in with the newly made stuff about 30-45 seconds before I drain it. I'm pretty sure that that gentle reheating might do the trick. If it doesn't, those dregs will get camouflaged.

Hi Karen my dear, a belated Happy New Thread dear friend. I hope you are well my dear along with Bill, Jenna and Hwan and of course Wash and Zoe. We are both well or as well as can be, i finally had my outpatient appointment last Thursday, i saw the Neurosurgical Physio and she showed me my MRI Scan. She explained that i had a disc that was pushing onto the nerve and crushing it and also that nerves going down either side of my hips didn't look too good. Because the scan was done 14 months ago and the pains i am having whilst mobile started after the scan was done, she wants an up to date scan. She said it will not affect where i am in the system as the scan will be done at Leeds General Infirmary and will be no longer than six weeks from last Thursday and then they can go from there when they see what it looks like, they are also going to scan my neck to avoid me getting pains in my shoulder and arms before anything is done. I came away feeling a lot better and something is in motion to sort things out, hopefully.

Sending love and hugs to you all from both of us and of course, Felix.

>113 karenmarie: OIC

That makes more sense to me. I hope the 45sec rule works, but if it's all mooshed in together, it really won't matter. ¡Suerte!

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I love the pic of the indigo bunting. Good job. I have yet to see one this year. I am going to squeeze in some solo birding before I meet Bree to pick up Jack. Maybe I can finally see a few of these elusive FOY birds. Feeders were very quiet yesterday afternoon. I wonder if they are finding plenty to eat elsewhere? Like you, I can't keep up with the suet. They are loving that protein.

>114 johnsimpson: Hi John, and thank you. I’m glad that things are finally moving along regarding your horrific back pain. I'm appalled that you've had to wait so long hope the up-to-date scan will show exactly what’s going on now. You’re still on fentanyl patches, right?

Let’s see: Bill’s getting to be less and less mobile. He’s actually finally seeing his PCP on May 20th to discuss various things. Jenna and Hwan are both recovering from colds but otherwise doing reasonably well, given that they're really busy and Hwan may or may not continue with her doctorate. Her advisor is the worst kind of advisor. The focus is on research, which Hwan didn't mind 6 years ago, but 6 years of this woman has her to a breaking point. She may master out. She's been applying to colleges that will accept professors who 'only' have their master degrees in astrophysics. 🙄 Their kitty, Tsunami, a.k.a. Baby Cat, is happy and spoiled rotten. I’m ending the most recent “Medicalization”, which started last September when I had a syncope, ending up in the hospital once directly because of that and then again 2 weeks later with a small bowel obstruction. I’ve seen a doctor or hospital or non-regular dentist visit 20 times since then. Plus chiropractor, plus PT. I’m pretty doctored out right now.

You may or may not have read up-thread that I had a full spine MRI on the 1st of May. Cervical, thoracic, lumbar. My doctor read it on the 3rd and has referred me to a Spine and Pain Clinic for a “possible epidural spinal injection”. I haven’t heard back from them yet. My chiropractor is able to look at the results online, and yesterday my PT and I arranged for me to get secure email access to his practice and I sent a PDF of the result. He and I can discuss it on Friday, my chiropractor and I can discuss it on Monday.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen, kitty skritches from da floofs to Felix.

>115 richardderus: It absolutely worked, RDear, and since I’d rather have too much linguine than not enough, I have a new bit of leftovers that I’ll add to tonight or Friday night’s new batch of pasta with the last of the leftover sauce.

>116 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday to you. Thanks re my Indigo Bunting pics. I hope your solo birding is fun and relaxing. Enjoy your Jackson time. I’m pretty sure that there’s so much natural food out there that the birds aren’t starving, but I’ve just seen Downy and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, a Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and Cardinals.

This morning I will replenish 3 feeders. The hummingbird feeder is still good to go. So is the nyjer seed feeder on the other side of the porch.

Wordle 1,419 3/6* trope, mangy, balmy

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I got the table risers successfully put under the table legs, and the file cabinet's top drawer is now accessible. The Pendaflex and manila folders arrived late yesterday. Arsenal lost the match and on aggregate to PSG, so are out of the Champions League. Sigh.

Read, caught up on spreadsheets and Lightning Round. Watched more Lincoln Lawyer. I think I got about 6 hours of sleep.

...
Lunch plans with Rita the Librarian, but I haven't heard from her yet, so don't know if we're on or not. I'll probably hear in the next hour or so. She's just gotten to the Library to start her work day.

I need to work on the bird feeders and start filling the file cabinet. This will get boxes of stuff off the floor and I can also bring down several boxes I have upstairs - mostly things relating to Mom and Dad. Also one box out of a dormer.

Reading, too.

>51 karenmarie: You looked so very beautiful in your pretty wedding gown! What a lovely photo.

I apologize for lack of visitation on your thread. the dental surgery has slowed me down considerably, plus a recent UTI, zips my energy. Finally today, I'm feeling a bit better.

I am doing a quick clean to the house as I have an old friend coming tomorrow. She's never been here. We re-connected a few weeks ago when I took stock of all the people I've let go in my life and miss. In the last few weeks, I've made phone calls, and met with them when possible.

It feels so good to laugh with people who were so very important to me. Many were met at church, and were on committees that I chaired. It became way to political and took away my spirituality. The friends I've now reconnected with tell me the current minister is doing well, with no high maintenance.

Maybe, I'll dip my toes in the water and return.

It sounds like you have been very busy. congratulations on herding the bird to safety. What a cute little thing!

All good wishes to you!

>118 Whisper1: Hi Linda, and thank you. Not visiting is completely understandable. You've had way too much going on. And even if not too much going on, visiting threads on LT shouldn't be homework. I am seriously behind on most threads, too.

Hmm. I can't think of a single person who I would like to reconnect with that I'm not currently in touch with, even if it's only at Christmas via card/letter/email. I'm glad you're doing something important to you.

My friend Karen in Montana started going back to church 2 years ago and is glad she did so. I hope that if you start going back you'll find inspiration and validation and NO politics.

I've been fun busy and medical busy. Guess which one I prefer? *smile*

I was pleased to save the Brown Thrasher.

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Rita isn't feeling well and has cancelled. No need to go out today, therefore. I'll probably stay in.

>119 karenmarie: A bonus day in! How lurvely! You're on a roll of good things with Bill's decision to consult his PCP and Hwan taking control of her future...possibly for the short-term good, almost certainly for the long-term good...and a Mother's Day plan that sounds very chill while still celebrating your life achievement. Happy happy all around. *smooch*

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/370684

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I had a nice long day with Jackson yesterday and he was an angel. We also did some stroller birding and he got to throw rocks in the quarry, which is a favorite thing of his. I finally saw and hear my FOY buntings. They were singing away in several places. Full report on my thread.

This AM I'm getting my adjustment by my favorite chiropractor and then off to PB. Jack and Sue will have the morning together. Enjoy your day.

>120 richardderus: Lots of positive things, indeed, RD. Looking forward to Sunday for sure. *smooch*

>121 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you!

>122 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Happy Friday to you. So glad your Jackson day went well. Yay for your FOY buntings. I hope the chiropractor visit is good. I'd get chiropractic every week if I could afford it. Have fun at PB, too.

I had a Downy on the suet feeder and a Red-Bellied on the sunflower seed feeder, now a finch. I just watched a squirrel jump on the squirrel-proof feeder, see that there wasn't anything available (the feeding ports close because of the weight), and so he jumped off. A Carolina Chickadee is visiting, too.

Yesterday i saw a Blue Jay winging from the Crepe Myrtle over to our property line, with a male Cardinal hot on his heels for some reason.

And, a new happy-making photo:



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Puttering, reading, napping. I brought down a small box of papers. I also decided on what the 20 labels/folder tab inserts should be. This list is currently residing in a spreadsheet so I can let it simmer a bit before finalizing it and printing the tabs on the 20-tab printable - perforated - tab inserts sheet.

We had a strong line of rain/thunderstorms come through last night, and I ended up with a headache from the change in barometric pressure. I occasionally break down and take ibuprophen, and did so last night. I got about 5 hours of sleep plus napping.

Talked with Jenna and Karen.

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PT at noon. I might stop at the grocery store, but probably not. I might box up some books for Karen and take to the Post Office, but probably not. Reading, spreadsheets and Lightning Round Word document.

All the regular evening things.

>123 karenmarie: I'm hopeful that your PT was terrifically successful. I'm also doing my equivalent of your Lightning Round with my Bryce-Method story summaries for Reservoir Bitches. What a collection.

*smooch*

I'm sailing by and simply want you to know that I've been here, (((((Karen))))). We should talk soon just because!

>123 karenmarie: That is a great capture of the two birds!

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. I am heading out in a few minutes with my birding buddies, to participate in the Spring Bird Count. I will report back. Jackson saw his first hummingbird ever at our feeders yesterday. I love your feeder pics.

>125 LizzieD: Hiya, RD! PT was productive, see below. Yay for your Bryce-Method story summaries. One of my high school BFFs’ parents were from Mexico. Came up legally and got their citizenships way before I met Isabel. The Hispanic women I met in SoCal while young were, therefore, screamingly middle class American. Let’s see. My cleaning ladies are both from Central America, legal, I think, but am not sure. They’re living the American dream, too, but have to work harder for it than Isabel’s family did, alas. *smooch*

>125 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy. I hope your talk/book club went well. I’d love to chat, just PM’d you.

>126 quondame: Thank you, Susan. My pics are mostly out a dirty window with my cell phone, but sometimes it just works.

>127 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Saturday to you, too. Enjoy your birding buddies and the Spring Bird Count. Yes, please do report back. Oh, how exciting for Jackson! I don’t remember seeing hummingbirds ‘til my mom put up a feeder when we moved to Diamond Bar in 1967, so when I was 13 or so. I have two books about hummingbirds – both that my mother had and that I brought back here after closing her house down in CA after she died.

Thanks re my feeder pics!

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I oiled the sliders for the file cabinet drawers, which were a bit rough. This first required finding the WD40, of course. PT went well. Max and I discussed my MRI results from his point of view. One is genetic, two are a result of arthritis. I'll be interested in what my chiropractor says on Monday and the Spine and Pain Clinic doctor says when I see him (appointment not yet scheduled). There were several exercises I could not do because of the possibility of pulling stitches from Monday's procedure. 🙄 But it worked out for the best since we discussed the MRI for a while.

I ended up going to the grocery store, so got a few things that will tide us over 'til I can go next week for a full run.

Read, puttered, napped. Watched two more episodes of The Lincoln Lawyer. There's a character I really do not like, but they are not one of the core characters. I'll be happy when they're gone.

Talked with Karen.

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Nothing planned for today. I'll do a bit of light housekeeping for tomorrow - sweeping the kitchen hardwoods and maybe setting the dining room table - plus putter a bit upstairs in the guest bedroom where Hwan might nap. Hwan is a napper...

I am still playing with the tab labels for the Pendaflex hanging folders. I have 18, have the option of two more.

>128 karenmarie: I'm really irked for you that you have to await bloody bedamned stitches' permission, so to speak, to go ahead with full PT. Glad, of course, you got things done, but oh my how annoying for it to impinge on what you'd prefer to do.

Take a page from Hwan's book and nap tomorrow! xo

Morning, Karen. Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have a very special day with the family. Good time on the Bird Count- we eked out 54 species. Of course, we were hoping for more. Going to my BIL's to celebrate the day with the Moms.

>129 richardderus: 'Morning, RD, the next day! Yes, the stitches occasionally make their presence known. The stitches from my tooth extraction took over a week to dissolve, so we'll see about these. Today is the tomorrow you mentioned yesterday. I don't think I'll have time to nap today, but that's okay. Lots of anticipation, company, good conversation, and food. And drink. I might have some wine.

>130 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Thank you. Happy Mother's Day to Sue and Bree. 54 species seems impressive to me, sorry it wasn't more.

Louise's daughter Cathy sent a video she took, in the pond next to her house and across from Louise's house, of a Roseate Spoonbill. It's absolutely gorgeous, standing there grooming.

This morning there are male Cardinals, male hummingbirds, male Cowbirds, and a Downy - can't tell if it's male or female from this angle.

Wordle 1,422 3/6* trope, coven, dowel. Pure luck, it could also have been bowel and vowel. Not towel, though, because of my first word.

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I didn't get as much done as I wanted to yesterday, but I did make potato salad. Not for the meal today, just for me since Bill does not like it.

I yelled at the squirrel a couple of times - it was on the suet feeder having a grand time.

All other regular things.

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A bit of tidying before Jenna and Hwan get here this afternoon, Arsenal play Liverpool at 11:30.

Bill got me two lovely cards, one from him and one from the kitties. Dark chocolate w/cherries and almonds, too.

Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate or remember.

>131 karenmarie: Happy Uterine Expulsion Day, Horrible, and may y'all's visit be a lovely one.

It's the pretty end of May right now, so I'm cardiganed UP and reveling in it. *smooch*

Hope you've had a deservedly lovely day with Bill and your daughters!

We have had a good one with some measurable rain, badly needed. We were also able to walk, and I'm waiting for the DH to finish working on the cat boxes so that I can feed them all.

I've been rereading Off Armageddon Reef, which I'm liking a lot more than I remember liking it the first time. It's a chunkster, so I'm trying to get ahead a little before I tackle Mother London with you on the 19th. Yay!

Morning, Karen. Hooray for the Roseate Spoonbill! Aren't they beautiful? We saw them on our Texas birding trip. I got pics somewhere.

We had a very nice time at my BIL's yesterday. It was a beautiful day. Jack got to swim in their pool. Cute as usual. Back to the mini-grind. It may hit 80F today. We should be back outside playing PB all week.

>132 richardderus: Thank you, RD! We had a most excellent day, see below. We had light rain yesterday and it’s raining now. *shrug* My county isn’t even abnormally dry right now, but it will help with any pollen that still needs to be knocked down. Cardiganed UP! Happiness for May weather. *smooch*

>133 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Yes, the day was lovely. I could have done less so they could have done more, but really, only not much more than getting the ingredients for The Best Garlic Toast out and setting the dining room table.

I just looked at the NC Drought Map and see that you’re Abnormally Dry. We are not in any condition of drought right now, believe it or not. Ironically, Asheville and environs are Abnormally Dry, given the two storms that devastated the area last fall.

A re-read is always in order, glad this one is better than you remember it.

Mother London is out and a metal “Happy is the home with at least one cat.” bookmark waiting in the front ready to go. It apparently is an Italian Proverb, so here’s Google Translate (ugh, Google):

Italian: Felice è la casa con almeno un gatto.
Basque: Zoriontsua da katu bat baino gehiago duen etxea.
And, in honor of my bonus daughter: Korean: 고양이가 두 마리 이상 있는 집은 행복해요.

You’re safe from officially being a Cat Lady, by the way, since you only have 7 cats…

>134 msf59: ‘Morning Mark! If you send me your email or cell phone #, I will forward the video to you. It’s very satisfying, and they are gorgeous birds. Although Louise is sad but resigned to not having many of the birds she’s familiar with from NC and hasn’t put up any feeders, she does get interesting tropical birds. Of course, she also gets alligators and other dangerous and weird critters. Just another reason for me to boycott Florida.

Yay for your time at BiL’s. Wow. 80F today. Enjoy your mini-grind. We’ve got rain and perhaps some thunder/lightning coming up from the south. Should get to be about 73F.

When I first came into the Sunroom, I saw an Indigo Bunting at the wild bird seed feeder. Now I've got a Carolina Chickadee and a Downy, both on the suet feeder.

Wordle 1,423 3/6* trope, plead, bicep

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Puttered. Set the table in the dining room, got the ingredients for The Best Garlic Toast out, swept the floor in the Kitchen and Breakfast Room.

We feasted on rotisserie chicken, succotash, and garlic toast. The White Chocolate Raspberry Nothing Bundt Cake was to die for. We have one entire rotisserie chicken, half the leftover succotash (Hwan loves it so much I give her leftovers), and half the cake left.

Jenna and I introduced Hwan to 6-dice Yahtzee. She'd never played Yahtzee at all, so we broke her in right. We played just a single game because of time constraints. She won by getting not one, but TWO Yahtzees, both with 6s. Honestly. It was Mother's Day. I was supposed to win, but came in 3rd. Jenna beat me out for 2nd with 3 points. We had so much fun. Bill doesn't like board or dice games, so it was just the three of us.

Cards, chatting, and they aligned the treadmill belt for me. It takes a while for it to settle in, apparently, so it was time to get it back in alignment.

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I've got a 11:45 a.m. chiropractic appointment and a prescription to pick up using the drive through.

Other than that, all the usual good things - reading, puttering, spreadsheets, Lightning Round. We'll start the 3rd season of The Lincoln Lawyer. The character I disliked is gone, and I remembered 3/4 of the season something about them that although not exactly right was expressive of their personality and motives.

>135 karenmarie: Happy celebration indeed. Garlic toast *drool* is, like most savory things, but a distant memory...feeding old people on a budget and within religious-nut Rules militates against any solidly delicious things. Enjoy the deliciousness for me.

It's *gorgeous*, sunny and just warm enough for a very-early summer day. I'm into Ladee Hubbard's story collection. It's, well, good enough. I like her novels more.

Monday *smooch*

>135 karenmarie: That sounds like an absolutely delightful Mother's Day! I'm glad you had such a good time, and also all the delicious food.

I am so envious that you have indigo buntings as regular visitors. We never see them here.

>135 karenmarie: you did well to get bicep in three! It took me five :(

Glad you had a great Mother's Day :) Mine was a mixed bag of - no surprises here, being worried about my son who was late coming back from a tramping/hunting trip - and feeling like I was coming down with something. Which I duly now have, hence my LT time (silver lining!!).

>136 richardderus: I guess EVOO and fresh garlic are too rich for their budget. Italian bread has no dairy. So, nothing to prevent them from making it except for money and not being ‘Jewish’. I’m sad, and we did really enjoy the deliciousness.

Yay for a gorgeous very-early summer day. Sorry the current short story collection is not up to the author’s novel standards. *smooch*

>137 atozgrl: It was perfect, Irene. Daughters, food, conversation, cards, Yahtzee.

It’s funny that we’re just 30 miles apart, yet you don’t see Indigo Buntings. I wonder if it’s the seed you’re using? Book sort friend Eliza, who lives north of downtown Pittsboro, asked me what seed I was using, so I told her where I bought it since I hadn’t saved the bag.

>138 LovingLit: Hi Megan! I use the 2,309 word list to see if a word I want to use is on it, and then check the words-used list to see if it’s already been used. It is a methodology my logical mind craves in order to ‘win’. *shrug*

I’m sorry your Mother’s Day was less than stellar. Worrying about children is ever-present, of course. And, I’ll warn you, when they’re almost 32 it’s still the same, even if they don’t live at home. Worry about Jenna and bonus daughter Hwan is constant background noise.

Sorry that you’re sick, although having to slow down is a silver lining and visiting me her is a bonus for me.

Wordle 1,424 2/6* trope, aware. First 'are' word that hadn't been used - sheer luck.

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Reading and puttering and etc. My chiropractor's appointment went well. She's going to change her approach a little bit to work on my L3 vertebra based on the MRI results. I went through the pharmacy drive through, then came straight home. I hung out down here in the Sunroom for a while and was really feeling tired, so went upstairs around 2 and came down around 5:30. Bill, impatient, had started a microwave dinner for himself and we snarled at each other about who should have brought up whether we were having leftovers. I had leftover spaghetti sauce with freshly-made angel hair pasta. We had White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake for dessert. Yum. Totally yum.

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Book sort, Virlie's, and the drive-through window at the bank. My cleaning ladies will be her around 11:45, so will most likely beat me home.

Reading, puttering, spreadsheets, Lightning Round. I've abandoned quite a few books in the last several days, and will have to get all that caught up.

Leftovers for dinner, more Bundt Cake for dessert.

>139 karenmarie: mmmm

bundt cake

I'm not sure how we can get ourselves back on the right timeline but i'm pretty sure it'll involve more Bundt cakes and more book-fondling time. Have fun with it all, sweetiedarling/

Morning, Karen. Looks like another beauty today so it will be perfect for my bird walk today. I will be leading around 10 birders and we will be hoping to see some migrants and returning residents. This is always so much fun. Afterwards I will go pick up the camper. I could not do this on Sunday because the storage facility was closed. WTH? It was only Mother's Day. 😀

Nothing much happening at my feeders. I did put out a big orange half, trying to coax in an oriole.

Orange pieces for orioles is the only way we can get them, and then it's hit or miss.

Hope you have had a happy sorting and Virlie time with the rest of the day for your plans. DH has gone to the grocery store for both of us, so I can call most of the rest of the day my own. I should use it to clean. Won't.

>139 karenmarie: It is funny that I've never seen any of the indigo buntings here (or in Raleigh) but you have them all the time. I don't think it has anything to do with the seed; I haven't seen them anywhere around here, in the parks, or anywhere else. No idea why that should be.

>139 karenmarie: I love your Wordle dedication! In all of yesterday's bleh-ness, I forgot to even do the Wordle! I am glad I wasn't on a massive streak...

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Thanks again for sharing the video and pics. Kids, PB and packing. The camper is in the drive. 😀

>140 richardderus: ‘Morning, RD! Yum indeed. I have one piece of Bundt Cake left, and I’m debating on when to have it – as breakfast, in addition to breakfast, or later today.

The realignment of my reality in this dimension has occurred with book fondling, Virlie’s, and Bundt Cake. Today will be a settling in to that realignment, thank goodness. *smooch*

>141 msf59: ‘Morning the next day, Mark! Glad you’re getting good weather for bird walks, hope it went well. Ah, yay, another camping trip. Sorry the storage facility was closed on Mother’s Day.

So far today I’ve seen a hummingbird, Downy, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, House Finch, and some kind of sparrow. The Cardinals seem to be hiding right now.

>142 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Baltimore Orioles are migratory birds here, and I think they’re already up north. Or not? Don’t know the timeline. Yay for your DH’s grocery store run. I hope you read, napped, puttered, and did a whole bunch of nothing and did not clean. I need to finalize the menu for Book Club here on Sunday and go grocery shopping for things on that list and our normal grocery store run. Ugh.

>143 atozgrl: Weird about the Indigo Buntings not being near you, Irene. I haven’t seen one today yet, but I have seen one pretty much every day of the week for weeks now.

>144 LovingLit: Hi Megan! I have only missed playing Wordle one time since I started, which was sometime in early 2022. I have Wordle on my brain first thing every morning, and when I occasionally have to wait to do it, it is like a burr under a saddle.

I’m sorry you had bleh-ness the day before yesterday and hope you’re more energized.

>145 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you. You’re very welcome, so glad you liked them. Meh kids, yay PB, 👍 packing the camper.

Wordle 1,425 6/6* trope, idiom, golly, cough, soggy, bongo

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Book sort was good, if tiring. We didn't finish 'til about 10:40, and I was the first at Virlie's at 11:55, meaning that we had lunch instead of breakfast. There were 8 of us. My cleaning ladies arrived about 5 minutes before I got home, and the HVAC guy was already here for a scheduled maintenance. Everybody was gone by about 2:45, which was nice. Jammies, relaxing, dinner, Bundt Cake for dessert, The Lincoln Lawyer. Talked with Jenna and Karen yesterday. Read, doomscrolled YouTube, and etc.

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No in-town errands today. I need to call to make a hair appointment and call the Spine and Pain Clinic to check to make sure they got the referral from my GP.

I'll work on the Book Club menu, putter, read more of Dinosaurs since it's my book and I am really enjoying it and want to have it done by Sunday. Smut, too, of course. *smile*

I also need to fill bird feeders and finalize the Pendaflex tab labels, print them, and even possibly start sorting paperwork into the correct folder.

>146 karenmarie: Pleasantly busy Tuesday, and its near-twin today! Good stuff. I'm still scribble!scribble!scribble!ing away. Need to get onto my ophthalmologist for my annual exam to check on macular degeneration's progress (if any), set up the cataract removal, otherwise nothing exciting medical going on. *whew*

Ho Ho HO, Karen. Check your Touchstone for *Dinosaurs* before you change it. *grin*

Look forward to talking when we can!

>147 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Yesterday was pleasantly busy, today is pleasantly desk-bound reading/spreasheet/Lightning Round/Kindle books downloaded/update day.

I filled bird feeders and sent an email to the Spine and Pain Management Clinic. I have a hair cut appointment scheduled for next Wednesday. Jenna and Hwan can't go, but I really need a hair cut and the next available Monday, which is when Jenna and Hwan can go, isn't 'til June 30th.

Treadmill for 10 minutes, then upstairs to read and nap.

>148 LizzieD: Fixed it - Dinosaurs Before Dark isn't a good fit for my Book Club. *smile*

Wordle 1,426 4/6* trope, relay, wager, eager

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All the usual late afternoon/early things, then reading and doomscrolling.

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All the usual things for today, too, with the addition of more work on the boxes of papers in the Sunroom and Sunday's Book Club menu.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I tweaked my left knee yesterday while playing and it continues to be sore. That is the same leg that has the tender hamstring so no playing today for the Warbler. It gives me more time to fool around with the camper and I can squeeze in some reading too. Planning to head out about 1pm. It is a 2 hour drive. I probably won't be around much. Have a good one my friend.

>150 karenmarie: Doomscrolling is now just scrolling...the doom bit is too prevalent to merit mention anymore. *sigh*

Spend it well, sweetiedarling.

>151 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday to you. Oh no. You're not supposed to tweak your knee. I hope not playing PB today helps in the healing processes. Camper fooling and reading sound good.

>152 richardderus: Hi, RDear! Ah, got it. I shall get rid of the uncool 'doom' part. I rarely look at anything political, although Substack has its moments.

How about the following types of YouTube scrolling:

hot rugby guys
cute animals although I skip most of the dog videos
whatever else YouTube throws at me hoping it will stick. That's how I got Dixon Dallas. How did they know?

*smooch*

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Chicken thighs and 2 rotisserie chicken backs are simmering with whole cloves and whole peppercorns in some leftover chicken broth and water to top off. Gonna make Karen's version of Southern Chicken Salad for Book Club on Sunday. Duke's Mayo, celery, seasonings to be determined, and toasted pecans added just before serving.

>153 karenmarie: Dixon Dalls! My my, you're deeper into Gaytube than most gay boys. "Good Lookin'" is the kind of music I could never have imagined in 1973 when I'd've gone full fanboy All over him.

Someone explain Duke's to me. I tried it...not a cultist, especially at the prices they charge here in the Nawth. The chicken salad sounds yummers.

Dixon Dallas's voice is so gravelly and deep that it makes me crazy.

I have no allegiance to Duke's. It's just what was on sale when I needed a backup jar of mayo. I use Hellman's and the store brand when they're cheaper. Michelle, a woman I worked with for 22 years and had lunch with many times after I retired, would only use Duke's.

I wonder if a blind taste test would make me prefer one over another?

I am a Dukes eater only, if I have anything to say about it. I want that lick of lemon.

Oh a SIGH. Chicken salad! I don't toast my pecans, and I do add my very crisp sweet pickles, but otherwise we're the same. I'm looking forward to my version of creamed chicken on brown rice tomorrow, having had lunch with Catharin and Aunt Betty. Catharin arrived when expected (!), and we had a good time.

TOMORROW, (((((Karen)))))!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/370870

>156 LizzieD: Ah, I'll have to keep that in mind if you ever come to visit. Dukes only. I'd love to put pickles in the chicken salad, but the only pickles I usually allow myself are the dill pickle slices served with the chicken salad at Virlie's. Their chicken salad has no added bits - as far as I can tell it's only got chicken, mayonnaise, perhaps spices and/or S&P?

Creamed chicken sounds lovely. I love brown rice but rarely eat it anymore, having gotten lazy and also loving the flavor of Basmati rice.

I'm glad to hear that you had a good time with Catharin and Aunt Betty. Yes, this afternoon!

>157 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you.

Wordle 1,427 5/6* trope, stack, guilt, width, fifth

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The chicken that was simmering yesterday morning is in a container in the refrigerator, all ready to be turned into chicken salad. The broth has been strained, is refrigerated, and will most likely go into the freezer in the garage. My current plan is to use it for the gravy at Thanksgiving.

I had to crisp up the celery yesterday. Easy peasy - put it in cold water with a halved yellow potato. It crisped up nicely.

We've finished The Lincoln Lawyer. Looks like it's been renewed for a 4th season. We really loved it. We started The Night Agent because Netflix thought we'd like it. We're one episode in and so far so good.

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I need to finish making the chicken salad, although if it doesn't get made 'til tomorrow, that's okay, too. I need to finalize the grocery shopping list. I might get lazy and buy dessert. Ooh, since Judy's not coming and I don't have to plan around alpha-gal syndrome, I might go get Bundtinis tomorrow and say hi to Jenna at work.

I have PT at noon. I'm picking up 12 boxes of galley proof donations from the local indie book store after PT, then home again, home again, jiggity-jig. I have a phone call date with Peggy this afternoon.

>158 karenmarie: Oooh, which galleys they're donating would be most interesting to know, sweetiedarling.

I've never knowingly or voluntarily eaten a sweet piggle. blechhh I order dill relish from Ammy because Wally-world only sells sweet, the Stop'n'shop only sells sweet, CVS doesn't bother to carry relish, so...eight bucks a jar it is. Once a year I indulge myself, and the two months without it are penance for using Ammy.

PT well, and enjoy your Peggy-time. *smooch*

The galleys will be books that have been published.

And if I make time before Tuesday's book sort to go through each box and see if there's anything I want, I have permission from the woman I liaise with at McIntyre's to do so. She's also in my personal book club and I'll see her Sunday, too.

I've never had dill relish. The other three quadrants of pickled cucumbers and sweet/sour are ticked off - sweet relish and pickles and dill pickles.

>160 karenmarie: I am a fan of dill relish - but I do mix it with sweet on hot dogs. I used it in tuna salad with chopped celery before I started buying tuna salad pre-made form the Italian deli which does it so perfectly. Other than that, I can't think I've ever used cucumber pickle relishes for anything else. I do dill pickle slices (from the same deli) for my hamburgers.

First the flat dill slices disappeared from groceries, that was decades back now.

Much more recently, all bottled dill slices are extinct.

Then the dill relish went awol at all but one of out grocery chains.

3 times is enemy action.

Hi Susan. I love sweet relish on hot dogs - with ketchup. Last hotdog was well before my heart attack of November 2021. Sigh.

Our grocery store has pretty much everything dill pickle you could want. Part of it is that Mt. Olive Pickle Company is only 101 miles away. They celebrate their 100th anniversary next year. I just counted 11 brands of dill pickle products - some with only one item, but still. ELEVEN.

I'm sorry you don't have dill pickle options. I'm staggered - you live in a huge metropolitan area.

Wordle 1,428 3/6* trope, groan, grown

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PT endured, books picked up. I did nothing much more than read and nap. We watched two episodes of The Night Agent. I got about 7 hours of sleep.

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I need to finish Dinosaurs this morning. I only have 60 pages to go and will sacrifice all smut reading 'til I'm done. *smile*

Finishing the chicken salad, grocery shopping, vegetable prep, possibly melon prep if I find a good one, and etc.

>162 karenmarie: Mt. Olive is the brand I get on Ammy. It's really the best I've found...I'm reasonably sure they grow their own cukes so their giggles are made from really fresh stuff.

I love their address, too:

Main Plant & Gift Shop:
One Cucumber Blvd, Mt Olive, NC 28365

and want to to go that Gift Shop one day.

>164 karenmarie: Ha! I adore it! The merch must be fun. I'd have to buy a case or two of their stuff so I'm really glad I don't live near there.

>162 karenmarie: So, Mt. Olive does indeed have dill pickle hamburger chips and relish, though all the other products seem to be Kosher dill - with which this large metropolitan area is awash, and which I like when I'm at a Jewish deli, but much less other times. One of my staples are the whole dill pickles I get at the Italian deli - the have much better crunch than bottled pickles.

Rare even on Amazon are smooth pickle chips - ubiquitous in my childhood, when I'd snag 1G jugs at the surplus store (remember surplus stores?), they got rare after McDonald's covered the land with one per burger. It was a cause of bragging when a standard McD's burger had multiple pickles.

I used to snack on the pickle chips & BBQ potato chips (Lays) in the early 70s, so they were still around then, but were gone by the 90s I think.

The ones I pick up are on the sharp side even for dill pickles, but the flavor is great.

>165 richardderus: Mass pickle purchases would be required, of course. I briefly looked on the website yesterday and looked at their gift shop, but all I saw were a couple of things. There must be pickle T-shirts, magnets, post cards, and etc.

>166 quondame: We're pickle sisters at heart, Susan, even though I rarely eat any type of pickle any more. When I was a kid, my mother always had a jar of dill pickles in the refrigerator. One of my favorite after-school snacks was eating a dill pickle across multiple afternoons. Weird, I know.

Wordle 1,429 3/6* trope, daily, livid

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Grocery shopping, prepping the vegetables (cucumber slices, cauliflower, red, yellow, and orange pepper slices). Cherry Tomatoes are on the counter. Although it is completely passe, I made onion soup mix dip because I like it. *smile* I got a few platters out. Made the chicken salad, although I think I'll add a bit more mayonnaise and check for seasoning in a while.

I cleaned the stove although I won't be using it today.

I actually finished Dinosaurs. I gave it 5*. It is now the 12th book I've given 5 stars to out of 6113 books in my catalog. I've printed out some information about her, her bibliography, and her awards. I'm going to write a real review of it, but that will need to wait until tomorrow.

Arsenal play at 11:30. Best case for the game ending is about 1:30 if there's minimal stoppage time. They play Liverpool, who've already won the Premier League Championship. It would be nice to beat them on their home turf, plus it would cement their 2nd place finish. Wow. Brain rot. They played Newcastle and beat them 1-0, which cemented their 2nd place finish and entry into next year's Champions League tournament.

Book club is at 2. I'd like to get everything done before the game starts, but we'll see. I still have to cut up a cantaloupe, cut up red grape clusters, cut up oranges. I got lazy and bought already sliced green apples.

I'll make the platters and put them in the refrigerator in a bit. Get the crackers and cookies out onto platters, and get wine glasses and wine, other beverages, refrigerated, and drag 2 chairs into the living room.

Oh, and get the Sunroom desk under control, although that should only take about 5 minutes.

Actually get dressed. I'm sure there are other things that need to be done, too, but nothing major.

No rest for the wicked.

>167 karenmarie: Wow

FIVE STARS

*scrambles off to Ammy to get one* ...and it's reasonably priced!

Have a wonderful time, Horrible!

>167 karenmarie: Patience with pickles seems very strange to me. I'd go through a bottle of the (smooth) dill chips in a snack session. I'm that person to whom others give their unwanted pickle spears and who orders extra pickles where offered.

Morning, Karen. We are back. Fun trip. I birded every morning. The state park trails were great. We managed to hit a couple of breweries and having Bree, Sean and Jack around was a big bonus. Sue decided to bring Juno out too. She loves camping but we always have to be very close by. She has serious neuroses.

I have 3 days left of work. The last day of elementary school is Friday. I am looking forward to having more flexibility. I am so glad you loved Dinosaurs. I am a big fan of Millet.

>168 richardderus: Hi, RD. Yes, even after almost 2 days, I stand by the 5*. Glad you could find a cheap copy. We had a great time, thank you. *smooch*

>169 quondame: You with pickles, Susan, me with olives. I could eat jars of them. Bill and Jenna always gave me their pickle spears, too.

>170 msf59: 'Morning, Mark. I'm glad you had such a good trip. School's out! Yay for more flexibility.

Millet is prolific, and I'm going to see if there are any others by her I might consider.

Wordle 1,430 3/6* trope, pasty, pitch

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I had everything prepped for Book Club by the time the Arsenal game started. I was glad to sit down, that's for sure. I did use the 15 minutes of halftime to bring in some Bubly-like canned drinks in from the refrigerator in the garage.

There were seven of ten.

Let's see. One woman read it, sort of enjoyed it, but it wasn't exciting enough for her - my interpretation. Another woman felt pretty much the same way but liked it more.

Jacque, Sarah, Teresa, and Diane loved it.

We had a very interesting discussion about what made Gil tick and how he grew during the course of the book.

All in all one of the better book club discussions. I think that when there's a book with an action-driven plot and unsubtle strong characters, more people like or love it. This one was subtle and you either got what I think the author was trying to say or not.

All in all a fine time. We did discuss politics and polarization, unfortunately, but we're all on the same wave length, fortunately. There was bitching and moaning about why the Gang of Psychos is doing what it is doing, lead by the Idiot in Chief. It was suggested that a cross-party ticket was mounted for the next election (yeah, that would happen), and to get hundreds of thousands of registered voters to change their party affiliation to Republican to influence primary elections. Also a non-starter. All that would happen would be the lemmings doing the same thing and changing their party affiliation to Democratic.

Tired after, took an almost-two-hour nap, had a chicken salad sandwich for dinner. The Night Agent is becoming really irritating to me because I've read so much crime fiction and can easily see what actions cause what results. One of them is when Peter realizes that Farr, the President's Chief of Staff, lets slip a tidbit that makes him realize she's part of the conspiracy, and when Peter and Rose return after escaping on his godfather's sailboat to the same pier. And, of course, the Secret Service is there at the exact right time to arrest them. I probably got about 6 hours of sleep.

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I've just decided to keep the 12 boxes of donated books an extra week so that I can have more time to figure out how to get into all of them without hurting myself. I'm a bad person, but an extremely predictable bibliolater, bibliomaniac, bibliophile, lectiophiliac, bookworm, Book Dragon, biblioflâneuse, and librocubicularist.

My chiropractic appointment is at 11:45, the 1-year follow up appointment with my knee replacement surgeon at 1:15. I have to be there at 1, so may actually stop off at Taco Bell and eat and read between appointments. Not worth it to come back home between.

After that, just the regular things, although I really need to catch up on spreadsheets and my May Lightning Round.

>171 karenmarie: I'm glad y'all landed on mostly the same response to the Millet book. I plunked down a measly, for today's market, $10 for the Kindlebook.

Sensible decision re: the ARCs. Appoint well today, and enjoy the Taco Bell! (Do you remember Del Taco? they had burgers and tacos, and cranked up in LA naturally enough.)

$10 is measly although I'm pretty skint and even $7 seems like a lot. I really, really, hope you can see wonderful things in it as I did.

Oh, I do remember Del Taco! My sister worked for them in Diamond Bar as a teenager shredding cheese when she was 16, so ... 1973. When I went there to close down my mom's house in 2017, it was still there, about 2 miles away. Excellent, wonderful food, orders of magnitude above Taco Bell, even then, much less now. Sigh.

I looked in 4 boxes and pulled 6 books:

Berlin Atomized
Miss Kim Knows
Butter
Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses
Don't Believe Everything You Think
Sons of the Old West - published trade paperback, will give the galley proof I have to friend Karen in Montana

This morning was a comedy of appointment errors, so I've been home and will leave in a few minutes for my 1-year right knee surgery followup appointment.

>173 karenmarie: While I lived in Austin, I went to Del Taco about 5x more than anyplace not called Top Notch Burgers. There's not much more drunk-friendly than a taco place that is open 24/7 with a drivethrough. *hic*

A bad person for holding onto the boxes so that you can go through them properly when you have been encouraged to keep what you want? The book sale not happening this month? I don't think so! Save "bad" for when you start stealing books!!!!!

Hope your away from home time is smooth, that Taco Bell provides crunch, and that you enjoy your afternoon. Here I am being late for getting ready to walk again. Off I go!

ETA: That's odd. Somehow I missed the posts from 172 on.......... I guess I mean, "I'm odd."

>171 karenmarie: Did you leave off bibliotaph intentionally or was it an oversight?

>174 richardderus: A bit of research has determined that Del Taco is coming to Durham next month!!! Oh my.

>175 LizzieD: You make me feel good about lots of things in my life, Peggy, and now the newest one – not feeling guilty for looking through the boxes of books before I take them to the Library on Tuesday May 27th.

Time away from home was smooth – just the appointment with my knee surgeon. They took x-rays, he looked at them and told me everything looked excellent and was pleased with flexion and extension. Said to come back in 2 years for a ‘surveillance appointment’. Oh, he also told me I don’t need to take antibiotics prior to teeth cleaning, but any invasive work – fillings, etc. – to still take the antibiotics.

No Taco Bell, alas. I hope your walk was good.

>176 quondame: I've never heard of bibliotaph, and upon looking it up see that it applies insofar as "buries" books by hiding them. I do hide a few books, but less than a dozen. I've added bibliotaph to my first message. Thank you!

>177 karenmarie: Ruh-roh, Raggy...I see a new stop on the hungry-gap days...

>171 karenmarie: Going up thread a bit - Olives. Mostly I eat kalamata olives, the good ones I pick up at the farmers' market. I use the pitted kalamatas from the Italian deli for adding with their big fat green olives into caponata. I like several other sorts that deli sells, but rarely get them except if I pick up a pint of one of the antepasto mixes.
When I was living with my folks we'd get wrinkly dry olives we called Greek, but which I think are a Sicilian style, rather bitter but with an interesting flavor.

>177 karenmarie: I've heard of Del Taco but never lived anywhere they exist. I don't think I've ever been to one on any of my trips, whether for business or fun. Your comment about one opening in Durham sent me looking for information. The location is right where my dentist office is! I'll have to check them out.

Morning, Karen. Rain here, along with cool temps and it looks like it will hang around through tomorrow. So much for a big May warm-up. Sighs... I did tend to all the feeders yesterday but not many takers. Off to get those "kids"...

>178 richardderus: Closer to I40 than US Hwy 64, but definitely worth a trip there once it opens.

>179 quondame: Olives, swoon. I love them, rarely eat them. Dare I say I also love good old American ripe black olives? Sliced green olives? Green olives with pimento? Green olives with almonds? I love the antepasto mixes, too. I’ve never tried the Sicilian style black ones, but would probably like the flavor if not love it.

>180 atozgrl: Hey Irene. Del Taco Durham is pretty far out of my way for normal adventuring, what with being up by I40 and way east, but never say never. Even Jenna remembers Del Taco fondly the times she was with me in SoCal in 2017. Definitely check them out.

>181 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Tuesday to you. Sorry about the cool temps and rain. We’re supposed to get rain/severe thunderstorms overnight and into tomorrow morning. Today’s high will be 81F It looks pretty out there.

Wordle 1,431 2/6* trope, borne

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I missed yesterday's Friends of the Library Board meeting - somehow I got it in my mind that it was a chiropractor Monday and by the time I actually looked at my calendar it was 10:06 and the meeting started at 10. In my defense, the meeting notice/documents sent out by Madame President said 5/21 in the subject line, which was wrong, but I should have realized she made a mistake rather than the meeting had been changed to Wednesday.

I called the Spine and Pain Management Clinic since I hadn't heard back from them. I spoke with a Referral Administrator (who knew?). They only got the referral on the 15th. The MRI was on the 1st and my doctor sent me a MyChart message on the 3rd that he was making the referral.

Melissa was wonderful. She saw the MRI, discussed it briefly with me. I told her my adversion to the idea of vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty. She said she'd consult with Dr. Bhat, and we set an appointment for June 4th in Sanford. *sob* She said she'd call me back with additional information about her consult with Dr. Bhat. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles... they had a cancellation in their Raleigh office for this morning at 11 a.m., would I like that? And, they were confident that an epidural spinal injection of some sort or another could be given, possibly even today.

We'll see, but no book sort/Virlie's.

>182 karenmarie: You got soooo lucky, sweetiedarling! I'm delighted for you. I hope the epi gets done on this visit, so you can get back to your usual round of activity.

WHEW!!!! I pray that this good luck continues and that you'll be coming back home one spinal injection to the good and that it's very good and lasts you a good long time! GOOD!

Let us know when you can, (((((Karen)))))

Richard and Peggy.

It was a good visit. They were professional and knowledgeable, and Dr. Bhat decided to give me 2 injections, one at L3 and one at L4.

I got home around 1:30, am back in jammies, and have eaten a bit of lunch.

They said I should take it easy for the rest of the day, use ice if tender or sore. No playing with boxes of books. But, I have 'til next Tuesday, so I'm not feeling pressured.

I ordered B. Dylan Hollis's Baking Across America: A Vintage Recipe Road Trip on January 7th, and today, on publication day, it arrived safe and sound on my Sunroom steps. It looks fantastic. I love the map:

.

Recipes from NC are Hummingbird Cake and Moravian Spice Cookies.

>185 karenmarie: I love the map! I'm glad for the doc being so available and so ready to help.

Hummingbird cake is from NC? Go know from this! It's like Italian cream cake not being even tangentially Italian. Delicious, both of 'em.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Last school day. Yippee! When I was washing up this AM, I heard Juno bark so I slipped downstairs and she was barking at a big old opossum that was chowing down on some old crackers I had thrown out. I also got my first Baltimore oriole at the feeder yesterday. A female nibbling on an orange half. Now, I want to get a male. Still waiting on a grosbeak.

Glad to hear you had a good doctor's visit yesterday.

>186 richardderus: I thought it a charming map. I love the way he's grouped the states. Each recipe has a blurb about it, which makes each recipe very interesting. *smooch*

>187 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. Yay for the last day of school. Possums need to eat, too.

This pic is from January 2018. I was feeling generous - that's black oil sunflower seed he/she's chowing down on.



An Indigo Bunting is visiting - he grabs some wild bird seed, goes off to the Crepe Myrtle when he gets spooked, then returns. He's done this twice so far. I saw a male hummingbird last night on the feeder. I need to change the hummingbird food and replenish the black oil sunflower and wild bird seed feeders. Gotta check the suet feeder, too.

Wordle 1,432 6/6* Gads. trope, harsh, vicar, quark, wharf, alarm

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>188 karenmarie: Have you seen Dylan's "Rock Bottom Pie" short yet? I think both he and I wet ourselves....

Oil seed you feed 'em! You're in the birdie version of Zagat for sure. Possum and squirrel editions as well, I'm sure.

*smooch*

I watched it last night, RD! It's a riot. He's so funny. Ore-oreos, burned out hand mixer, and all his sexual innuendos. Boo hiss to cool whip, but I love his method for crushing the ore-oreos. *smooch*

Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet 4/23/25 5/17/25





From Amazon:

One of NPR's Books We Love for 2022 • A New Yorker Best Books of 2022 So Far • A Publishers Weekly Best Novel of 2022 • A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2022 • One of Time's 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 • An Oprah Daily and Literary Hub Favorite Book of 2022 • A BookBrowse Top 20 Best Books of 2022

A stunning new novel from the author of A Children’s Bible, a National Book Award finalist and one of the New York Times' 10 Best Books of 2020.

Over twelve novels and two collections Lydia Millet has emerged as a major American novelist. Hailed as "a writer without limits" (Karen Russell) and "a stone-cold genius" (Jenny Offill), Millet makes fiction that vividly evokes the ties between people and other animals and the crisis of extinction.

Her exquisite new novel is the story of a man named Gil who walks from New York to Arizona to recover from a failed love. After he arrives, new neighbors move into the glass-walled house next door and his life begins to mesh with theirs. In this warmly textured, drily funny, and philosophical account of Gil’s unexpected devotion to the family, Millet explores the uncanny territory where the self ends and community begins―what one person can do in a world beset by emergencies.

Dinosaurs is both sharp-edged and tender, an emotionally moving, intellectually resonant novel that asks: In the shadow of existential threat, where does hope live?

Why I wanted to read it: My selection for my book club’s 2024-2025 book club year. I added it to my wish list in January of 2024 after @@blbera, Beth, either mentioned it or reviewed it. Thank you Beth! I bought last July, just barely in time to read it in April and May this year. 🙄

First impressions? Not a book to be skimmed through, it is a book that requires the reader to be truly engaged because there are so many subtleties.

Gill is independently wealthy, has never had to work in his life, has always been a volunteer. As he settles in to his ‘castle’, he tries to find volunteer opportunities and gets to know his neighbors, Ted, Ardis, teenage daughter Clem and pre-teen Tom.

He also is enraptured by the birds outside his house. He is distraught when he finds birds that are dead with buckshot in them – a clear violation of hunting laws. He gets involved in helping Ardis and Tom chauffeur the kids to and from school, to and from activities. He's on all the official school and activity lists and soon Ted and Ardis rely on him.

He discovers that Tom is being bullied and puts an end to it. He discovers that Tom is attending a dojo where there’s a swastika-tatted substitute having the boys all say “Yes Sir!”. He immediately pulls Tom out and tells Ted and Ardis about it. They are both so invested in their careers that they’re not really paying attention to their children.

Ardis sets up a hummingbird feeder and comes over to change out the food. Both she and Ted confide in Gil, but never anything serious until Gil witnesses something that shocks him and leads to confidences.

Gil finds volunteer opportunities, a girlfriend, and replays the deaths of his parents when he was young, his grandmother’s emotional distance, his long-term girlfriend’s breakup and just how long before tht they weren’t truly working, the friends and choices he made in New York, and what he’s going to do moving forward.

I found it lyrical, subtle, also dramatic. Think Pride and Prejudice's dramatic plot lines, all wrapped up in tamped-down prose.

I can’t say enough about this book. I rarely give 5*, but this one seemed a masterpiece to me. I could not think of a single flaw, a single misspoken or jarring word or conversation, a single plot line that wasn’t needed to delineate Gil’s character, his actions in Arizona, and his newly-won self-awareness growth and happiness.

Six word review: An unexamined life becomes worth living.

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green narrated by the author

5/11/25 5/20/25




From Amazon:

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! • #1 Washington Post bestseller! • #1 Indie Bestseller! • USA Today Bestseller!

John Green, acclaimed author and passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Signed edition

“The real magic of Green’s writing is the deeply considerate, human touch that goes into every word.” –The Associated Press

″Told with the intelligence, wit, and tragedy that have become hallmarks of the author’s work.... This is the story of us.” –Slate

“Earnest and empathetic.” –The New York Times

Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu¬manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John be¬came fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequi-ties that allow this curable, preventable infec¬tious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.

Why I wanted to read it: Stasia reviewed it on April 22nd, and I bought it on May 3rd.

Green is an engaging narrator. I first heard him on his Anthropocene Reviewed podcast and was enthralled. I listened to a sample of him reading this book and was hooked.

By his own admission, he’s obsessed with tuberculosis, and has an encyclopedic memory of facts, people, books, social, and cultural causes and results. He knows how it’s been treated (and mistreated) over the millenia, and has a strong understanding of current drug regimens, types of tuberculosis, social stigma, government funding in first world, second world, and third world countries, and the potential for it continuing even though we absolutely could eradicate it.

I was less enamored of his reporting on Sierra Leonian Henry Rider’s battle with tuberculosis. I was terrified Henry would die and it took the entire book for me to learn that Green would not let us get emotionally invested in such an astonishing and strong human being without there being a happy ending for him.

Every page has something quotable or interesting or devastating. Even the devastating and heartbreaking stories and facts are told by Geen in his calm and strong voice. He may go crazy behind the scenes, but his voice soothes and encourages and makes us realize things have been bad, things are bad, too, but they have come a long way, and so many positive things have happened and will happen.

Six word review: Tuberculosis - a devastating and fascinating disease.

>191 karenmarie: Great review, Karen. You've convinced me. Onto Mt. TBR it goes!

>185 karenmarie: Someone brought a hummingbird cake to work one time. That's the only time I've had it. I wonder if I can convince myself to make it.

>185 karenmarie:, >193 atozgrl: I had to look up hummingbird cake. Oh my. That sounds amazing.

>193 atozgrl: Hi Irene. Thank you. The recipe is complicated but does sound wonderful.

>194 lauralkeet: Hello Laura. A piece of Hummingbird Cake and a nice cup of coffee sound like heaven.

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I swapped out the hummingbird feeder for a clean one. Replenished suet, wild bird seed, and sunflower seed. Since I had put out quartered oranges for book club and had some whole oranges left over, I put out a cut half, using the open u-part of the hummingbird feeder hook to pierce it. I haven't seen any takers, but you never know.

All the other regular stuff.

Well, I have good news for Jenna and Hwan, very, very sad news for me. Hwan has decided to 'master out', as they put it, quitting the PhD program. Her advisor has been an a**hole from day one, with no respect for Hwan's feelings or emotions in the 6 years Hwan's been working on her PhD. It's started affecting her physical and mental well being, and she started looking for colleges that would accept a master's degree to teach. She applied at 4 of them, accepting an offer from Green River College, in Washington State, two days ago. She needs to be there for the fall semester, so it's a hurried move. If they're still here for Jenna's birthday on August 3rd, I'll be surprised.

One thing that made Hwan even more convinced about abandoning the PhD program is that a friend of hers, who has her PhD, is teaching at UNC Chapel Hill. She's only making $1,200 more than Hwan will make with her Master's at Green River. And Hwan's position there is tenure track. Community college tenure apparently takes half the time that 4-year schools take, at least in Physics/Cosmology.

...
And so I'm sad.

We're having book sort this morning in addition to the one we had on Tuesday because apparently the donations have come in like crazy, and it's always good to get a head start. Virlie's after.

I'll be home by noon or noon:30 *smile*. Puttering, reading, once again trying to get started on the paperwork to keep or discard.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Great review of "Dinosaurs". You are making me want to reread it. Hooray for good Bird Mom. You will have to be patient with the orange halves, (it took me about 2 weeks before I saw one) but I have also seen red-bellied woodpeckers nibble on the orange. Speaking of backyard birds- Sue spotted a male rose-breasted grosbeak yesterday. I got a couple of pics too. I have been waiting for this beauty to show.

I will get Jackson later today, for an over-nighter.

>195 karenmarie: Oh no, sweetiedarling. I'm so sad for you, but very very happy for JenWan. It's good to shed the nasty influence, and the work won't go away, so she can do more one day if she's so inclined...though honestly it could be the best thing ever for her to teach instead of play around with data in today's academic economy.

Have a lovely time fondling the books! *smooch*

>195 karenmarie: On the one hand, it's great for a daughter to have her own life and partner - on the other, less time with us. And the prospect of even less at greater distance. Congratulations for her courage and new position to Hwan and best wishes to her and Jenna for their future in bluer realms.

Here's the Memorial Day readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/371148

>196 msf59: ‘Morning the next day, Mark! Happy Friday to you. Thanks re my review. I love re-reading books, so hope you can bookhorn in the re-read. Good to know about being patient with orange halves. Yay for Sue’s spotting the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. They are sooooo gorgeous. And finally, happy Jackson afternoon/overnighter.

>197 richardderus: Big life changes can be daunting, but Hwan and Jenna are very positive. Especially positive in that Hwan's never applied for a job before - has always been in school. I had a lovely time fondling books, see below. I remember how excited I was when I moved to CT in 1977, moved home in 1980, then moved here to marry Bill in 1991. *smooch*

>198 quondame: Thank you, Susan. Jenna has specifically mentioned haven in a bluer realms, plus Green River is apparently very LGBQT+ friendly.

>199 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver, hope you're doing well.

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2 solid hours of book sorting, and we didn't even finish. This was with the additional day and 7 of us. I'm guessing that Reece and Ruth will sort today, too.

We got a huge donation of art books. Over 70-80% of them are being set aside for our book sort team appraiser. It included coffee table books along with books about art and ephemera, two which I spirited away because I wanted them and will pay for them:

One Rare Book by Henry R. Wagner, published by the Zamorano Club in Los Angeles in 1956
The Roster of the Zamorano Club in Los Angeles and the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco 1955, published by the Grabhorn Press of San Francisco

Two other books:
The Crisis by Thomas Paine
Colonial Virginians at Play by Jane Carson

Both clubs are still in existence.

Only two of us at lunch, so we turned it into the tried-to-have-lunch-for-6-months edition of Marilyn and Karen's lunch out and stayed for 2 hours. Home again, napping, chatting with Jenna, reading, The Night Agent, and etc.

...
PT today at 1 p.m. I'm going to pull the plug since what I'm doing with Max is simply continuing on the exercises we've been doing for several months now. In addition, with Tuesday's injection, my back is feeling ~70% better already and I hope the steroid continues to become more effective.

Prescription and various and sundry in the pharmacy, then home again.

>200 karenmarie: Cool swipes acquisitions! They're old enough to appeal to someone whose childhood books are now sold as incunabula.

Back pain being greatly reduced is very good news indeed. It should only continue. I'm actually chilly this morning, it's 50° and damp, so the heater's on non-stop operation. Ah, Memorial Day! *shiver*

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. All is good with Jack. He is being such a good boy. Sue is planning on taking him to the zoo today. Despite, the cool start to the day I am going to play PB outdoors. It will eventually get to the mid-60s. Feeders are a bit quiet at the moment. I spotted a robin, a dove and a housefinch so far. Bree has put up 2 or 3 hummingbird feeders at her house and has gotten visitors already. Yah!

Sending you hugs Karen, having read your bittersweet news. It sounds like a great move for Hwan and I know you'll figure out new ways to stay connected.

>195 karenmarie: That is definitely great news for Hwan! But I'm so sorry for you that they are moving so far away. It does sound like Jenna and Hwan will feel more comfortable in Washington.

>200 karenmarie: And such very good news that your back is feeling so much better after the injection. I hope with you that the steroid does continue to become even more effective.

That sounds like quite an impressive donation of art books! Enjoy your new acquisitions, and also the beautiful weather we are having.

Morning, Karen. Sorry, I missed the news about Janna & Hwan. Why does it have to be so darn far? Bummer. I am off to go birding with a buddy. A new place for me. Jack pointed out a male goldfinch to me yesterday. Grandpa was pleased.

>201 richardderus: Thanks, RDear. I love ephemera. 50F sounds nice to me, and, in fact, it’s 52F here right now. 77F for the high. Thanks re the back pain. Tiny twinge this morning if I lean forward in just the wrong way, but it’s tiny, and I shouldn’t be leaning like that anyway.

>202 msf59: ‘Morning, the next day, Mark! I hope Sue and Jack’s Zoo Adventure went well. Yay for PB. I haven’t seen a hummingbird on the fresh food this morning. Yay for Bree’s visitors. I've seen the Indigo Bunting. He's been here for about 25 minutes or so, back and forth between the feeder and the Crepe Myrtle. I had a female Cowbird earlier, too. There's a house finch on the wild bird seed feeder, and I saw a Tufted Titmouse last night.

>203 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, and thank you. We’ll find ways, most definitely.

>204 atozgrl: Hello Irene. It’s definitely going to be different for them. They’re not unhappy here, just Hwan’s PhD goals. Jenna’s from here and has only lived in NC, Hwan’s lived here for 6 years and has many friends, they have infrastructure and etc. Moving’s always a pain in the ass. My state journeys have been CA->CT->CA->NC. Thanks re the injection. I’m really pleased with the outcome so far.

Every once in a while we have a UNC professor downsizing or, sadly, a family getting rid of the library after they’ve passed away or become unable to manage their own affairs. The books are lovely to get, of course. In this case, the professor was downsizing.

>205 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Saturday to you. No worries. Makes me remember when I broke up with my boyfriend, quit my job, got rid of anything that wouldn’t fit into my car, and drove to CT using a AAA TripTik. My parents were probably terrified. I was 24.

Enjoy your new birding place and congrats to Jackson on pointing out a male Goldfinch! Birder boy for sure.

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Well. Yesterday got interesting. I carefully, and mindful of my back, cautiously went through 4 boxes of books. I now have 4 boxes of books on the concrete in the garage. I have 3 more boxes to go.

I got 4 books for me.

Lolly Willowes, a very nice trade paperback
The Army of the Potomac Trilogy, fine hardcover w/dustjacket, 2 small tears
Making the Best of What's Left, a galley proof
A Year of Compassion, a galley proof

I left for PT. I told Max that I'd gotten the epidural spinal injection on Tuesday, and he said I shouldn't be working out/exercising until next Tuesday. Although the doctor's office said 2 days, I'll go with what Max says. Not because I'm lazy, but because I trust him. He also cancelled the appointment, didn't charge me, and we're scheduled for next Friday. That will be the last one. I'll pay the last of the co-pays that I've been racking up, and he will give me a final set of exercises, stretches, etc.

Home again, reading, napping, and etc. We're down to one episode of The Night Agent. I start getting irritated when characters make Really Stupid Decisions, and this season has quite a few of those. Ah well.

...
I have a 90-minute massage today. Max didn't say anything more than to have her not twist my spine. She doesn't, but it's good to know. I always tell her what's going on anyway, so we'll be good.

I have mostly gotten caught up on my spreadsheets and Lightning Round. My goodness, I can always tell when I'm really stressed because I see how far behind I get on things. Lots of catch up yesterday and today I will compare the list on this thread against the spreadsheets to make sure they're in sync. Lightning Round, too.

Hmmm. I've got a London Broil in the freezer. Might make it with some potatoes.

>206 karenmarie: I so enjoyed Lolly Willowes when I read it in the very late 80s. I think I'd still like it, so I'm at least marginally likely to re-read it...Viorst, now, what a phenom her life-stages books have been. I'm really impressed with her success.

London broil with roasties, or a rosti, sounds luscious, he gritted through teeth clenched around envious loathing. I was going to try to eat the facility's salad supper to save money, but not now. Garlic eggplant and egg rolls for me.

>206 karenmarie: I start getting irritated when characters make Really Stupid Decisions I can relate to that. I watched "Ghosts" when it first started because it came on after "Young Sheldon," but I didn't stick with it very long because there was too much of that. It's been a theme my whole life. Most people I know loved "I Love Lucy," but it used to make me cringe a lot when I was a little kid because of all the stupid decisions she was always making. Eventually that bothered me less, because the comedy is otherwise so good, but I've never gotten over it completely.

I'm still working my way through The Army of the Potomac. I read the first volume last year and have the second one scheduled for this year. If I have time I may get to the third one as well.

Good news on the PT, and I hope the massage went well.

>207 richardderus: Hiya, RDear. I’ve never read anything by Viorst, although I guess that might change. I looked through the book, and it seems like something to dip into and out of.

I didn’t get the London Broil made. It really needs to be room temp, and I forgot about that important step prior to coming downstairs at 5:15 all ready to make it. I’m thinking baked potatoes or even Hasselback Potatoes, but not using sage-infused brown butter at the end, only melted butter. Heathen that I am, I really am not fond of brown butter things. *sob* Egg Rolls. *smooch*

>208 atozgrl: Hi Irene. I’m getting I Love Lucy clips on YouTube again lately, and I cringe at most of them. I didn’t when I was a kid, but I was a very little kid when I watched it. I hate the '50s Puritanism that had Lucy and Ricky sleeping in twin beds.

Brava for reading The Army of the Potomac. I also have the trilogy as three separate books, but they are currently residing behind the sleeper sofa in the Library. Thanks re the PT and Oh Yes! The Massage went well.

Wordle 1,436 4/6* trope, grunt, graft, grift

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I didn't cook last night. The massage went very well, as always. I started confirming that every book I've read or abandoned this year is on both spreadsheets (some books not being smut are only on 2025 Books Read), Lightning Round, and >2 karenmarie: listed above.

We watched the last episode of The Night Agent and set up season 3, which we most likely will not watch.

We started The Residence, which is an absolute hoot. I love that Cordelia Cupp is a bird watcher.

...
Even though last week was very stressful for a variety of reasons, I actually woke up this morning quite excited that there was the last-of-the-season Arsenal game. They play Southampton at 11.

There are 3 more boxes of books I can play with if I'm in the mood and spreadsheets/Word document/message >2 karenmarie: above to get into alignment. Oh, and reading, although I'm toying with the idea of abandoning a very Dexter-ish MM romance. Of course, putting it like that, I may continue because I've never been squeamish about Dexter.

London Broil for dinner. Baked or Hasselback potatoes. When put like that, and given my levels of laziness, I may opt for baked.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. Glad you are enjoying "The Residence". It is a fun show. We had a good time birding yesterday, clocking in 50 species. The highlight was a northern bobwhite (it looks like a quail) which is a rarity in our area. I also got some very good warblers, which are always the target this time of year. They will move on soon.



-Canada Warbler. A FOY for me. (NMP)

>209 karenmarie: Not a fan of beurre noisette? hmmm I used to make hazelnut blondies with it, I'm that fond of it. Also makes an amazing crême au beurre...but taste can't be argued.

Nothin' on Earth wrong with a baked tater.

I hope Arsenal wins its match, sweetiedarling. *smooch*

>210 msf59: ‘Morning the next day, Mark! The Residence is a riot. Wow. 50 species is impressive. That Canada Warbler is gorgeous.

The feeders are quiet.

>211 richardderus: Hiya, RD. Nope, not even a little bit. I’d probably eat the desserts though. I’m trying to think of a dessert I don’t like. Cheesecake with ricotta, perhaps, as ricotta is grainy to me.

Wordle 1,437 2/6* trope, drone

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I finished looking through the boxes of books and found a few more. These are the books I haven't reported on yet, from two separate forays.

The Miraculous from the Material by Alan Lightman
Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz
Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson
The Third Temple by Yishai Sarid - possibly for friend Karen
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky - for Peggy
The Last Word by Elly Griffiths - duplicate, will put back in a box
Killing Floor by Lee Child - lovely trade paperback. I can now retire my ratty mass market paperback
The Life of Herod the Great by Zora Neale Hurston, a galley proof

I continued the compulsive need to make sure books read as listed on my thread match my 2025 Books Read and Smut spreadsheets and my consolidated Lightning Round Word document.

Decent sleep, perhaps 5 hours.

I made the London Broil and baked potatoes. We watched more of The Residence. Chatted with Jenna in the afternoon and Karen from Bozeman in the evening.

I haven't taken pain killers since LAST MONDAY night. I am amazed.

...
It's drizzling out. I need to fill the bird feeders, clean the stove top (easy peasy with a Norwex cloth and I'm gun shy about having my cleaning ladies clean it), and figure out how to clean the oven, having never done it.

Gonna work on the compulsive need, see above, read, add books to my catalog.

>212 karenmarie: I had to give up my compulsion to make all my data sets match up. The concept of "the rounding error" has saved my sanity.

I'm dead envious of the Hurston and the Lightman books!

Is there a special trick to cleaning the oven? It's been a long time since I had one to clean.

Hiya, RDear!

I've given up most of my need for perfection, but this one is niggling at me.

Even after being retired for ... 9 years and 117 days ... I still have to have some data sets be as perfect as I can make them. I've given up on quite a bit of the control I used to feel I needed, though. I'm making progress.

If I went through the boxes again, I'd probably find another dozen or so books to add to the 19 I pulled. I'm pleased that the Lightman and Hurston books are not galley proofs. The Lightman is a gorgeous hardcover with perfect, perfect dust jacket. And, I think it makes me shallow, but I love acquiring a book without paying for it (or only paying $3 or $4 if it's a FoCCL book I need to be honest about) and seeing the price on the inside of the dust jacket. In this case, it's $36.

The special trick to cleaning the ovens - the stove oven and the wall oven - is to see if these particular ovens require the racks to be taken out so that they don't tarnish. I'm pretty sure they do need to come out, but I want to confirm it. Every other self-cleaning oven I've ever had has required that. Of course, that brings up the suffocating reminders of Easy-Off Oven Cleaner, with the wire brush on the outside of the brown glass jar, making one crazy and taking forever to work and frequently requiring multiple applications.

I've been toying around with the need to do this for a couple of weeks, now. A woman's work is never done... 😁

**update** - this oven requires all racks to come out and surface soil removed. And then this is weird - pour 16 oz distilled water into the bottom of the oven. Press Clean, Press Start. 40 minutes later, supposedly clean oven.

*smooch*

being retired for ... 9 years, 4 months, and 117 days ...

I thought I was having a very long May, but it seems like yours has been even longer...

Ugh. I got interrupted in my calculations and didn't continue with the initial methodology. Thanks for the catch.

I've been toying around with the need to do this for a couple of weeks, now. A woman's work is never done... Hey, come on now. Isn't that the cook's job? Not gender specific.

>214 karenmarie: Easy-Off definitely wasn't. I never got away with fewer than three applications on the biannual clean-up. But I *am* a klutz with spills and drops.

>195 karenmarie: Sorry to hear about the distance Hwan's new career path will put between the two of you but hooray for making the decision to master out. I am sure it was a difficult one after spending so much time and energy on the thesis.

Happy rest of the week!

>217 weird_O: You're right, of course, Bill, but it was the first phrase that came to this 71-year old's mind so I went with it.

>218 richardderus: Hey, RD. I probably wouldn't have decided to clean the stove oven except that Jenna and I had a turkey baster incident earlier this year. This oven's cleaning was weird, see below. Easy-Off had such a toxic smell, and you're right, it sometimes took more than one application. *smooch*

>219 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. Sigh. It is making me melancholy. Hwan's decision was hard until it wasn't - major life decisions are sometimes an accumulation of things, as this one was.

Wordle 1,438 2/6* trope, sport

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Yesterday's excitement included more work on the spreadsheets and Lightning round, reading.

I finalized what I wanted to say on each tab of the Pendaflex folders for the small file cabinet, went to the website, and couldn't find the template. The info they gave on the printable form was only to the website itself. Sheesh.

I found the PDF of the stove's manual on my laptop - easier than finding the real one. It's in one of 5 smallish boxes on the floor here in the Sunroom.

Weird way to clean an oven, it's called AquaLift Self-Cleaning Technology. The racks had to be removed. I didn't have any 'excess soil'. I poured 2 cups of distilled water onto the bottom of the oven, closed the door. Pressed Clean on the panel, then pressed Start. It wasn't loud, it only took 40 minutes. I had to wipe up flakes instead of ashy powder. Totally Weird, not unreasonable at all. I did have to carefully clean the inside of the door. I'll work on the racks today. They're not horrible at all, and a new Scrub Bud and a bit of Dawn should do fine.

The Residence, a pic of Jenna in what she wanted to wear to Angus Barn. I approved. Pics of them at Angus Barn. Jenna was predictable - NY Strip. Hwan, bless her heart, got prime rib and lobster. They also split some kind of chocolate dessert. They took lots of leftovers and apples home, and one of the pics was of their cat - Tsunami, aka Baby Cat - in one of the bags.

...
Every other Tuesday is always busy. Book sort, Virlie's, prescription pick up using the drive-thru, getting cash for cleaning ladies.

We might get heavy rain today, low 60Fs.

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Epidural spinal injection update. I haven't taken pain killers for 7 days at all. There's a strange little twinge every once in a while. I haven't exercised as per my PT's recommendation, but always putter a lot around the house, so lots of up and down and walking throughout the house.

Morning, Karen. Good luck today with your various duties. I am joining Trail Watch today. The first time in a couple of months. I miss it and since work is done for now I plan on getting out at least once a week.

Birds were active early this AM- dove, starling and red-bellied woodpecker. Sue kindly cleaned the hummingbird feeder yesterday. It gets that black mold on it. Do you have that same problem?

>220 karenmarie: That injection has wrought a miracle for you! Hooray for steroids. May this only continue to be the case. Enjoy the busyness of the day, and hooray for the internet yet again. I'm not clear how online manuals would help for some things, eg computers (if it was working why would I need a manual?) but that's a great way to get searchable information.

xo

I'm thrilled that the shot has brought you so much relief!!!!! (((((Karen))))) Long may it continue! Actually, I see that I'm Richard's little echo, so take the rest of it for what I think too.

Uh --- text a pic or so of the daughters enjoying the Angus Barn???

Oven cleaning............. I'm not going to do it. Our oven has what was insufficiently cleaned for the last 54+ years when I first knew it, going back to sometime in the 60s, I think. My DH continues to threaten to exchange it for our SiL's with the glass top, which I dislike but can put up with.

I thought last night and then didn't ask whether Hwan has read the Honor Harrington military space opera series. If not, I'd encourage her to take a look at the first one On Basilisk Station, published in 1992 (later than I thought) and free for Kindle or cheap used at Amazon. If she likes it, she'll bless us.

Whoo Hooooo for your box finds (Thank YOU!!!!) and for Wordle in 2! Hope the rest of your day is splendid.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Rain today so back indoors for PB. Books in the PM. Not a bad plan...

>221 msf59: Hi Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. I hope TW went well yesterday. Enjoy it throughout the summer. My hummingbird feeder does not get black mold on it. Birds poop on the red perch, and at this time of year if it’s dry, earwigs somehow get past the inline ant moat AND the built in ant moat. The food gets cloudy.

I just had a Downy and a Red-Bellied, a Crolina Chickadee, and a male hummingbird. My feeders desperately need attention. I hear Mourning Dove, but haven’t seen any recently.

>222 richardderus: Yes, RD, with reservations for not angering the vertebrae gods, the injection is producing a miracle. Online manuals work beautifully for LOTS of things. Some really old manuals are online. *smooch*

>223 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Me, too, me, too. Echoes and dittoes work. I’ll try to remember to ask Hwan today if she’s read the Honor Harrington military space opera series. I would imagine she’s going to need some diversions as things are changing so much for them.

>224 msf59: Happy Wednesday to you, too, Mark. Enjoy the PB and books.

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Book sort was busy. We had enough time for John to bring in 7 of the McIntyre's boxes to be sorted, so at this moment my SUV is completely empty of books or bags. I didn't find anything from other boxes that tripped my trigger, so came home empty handed. It was breakfast at Virlie's. I had two eggs over medium and some hashed brown potatoes. I won't drink their coffee and wasn't in the mood for hot tea so had iced tea with lemon.

On the way home I got cash for the cleaning ladies and tried, for the second time, to pick up a prescription. Still unsuccessful, but I've gotten notification that it's ready so will pick it up tomorrow or Friday.

The cleaning ladies cleaned. I finished getting the spreadsheets and Lightning Round confirmed/updated.

I spoke with Jenna while she was on her way home from work, as is usually the case. We usually get about 20 minutes.

We finished The Residence, and oh my, how very fine it was. We'll need to find something new, although that will probably have to be tomorrow night.

Reading, scrolling (see, RD, I have dropped the doom), sleeping.

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Busy day, all good. I'll be getting a hair cut, but not in Winston-Salem as I have for years. I decided to try something 'local' because Jenna couldn't go with and I wasn't thrilled at spending almost 3 hours round-trip driving. The hair cut is in Chapel Hill, on Franklin Street. For those in the know, Franklin Street is the heart of Chapel Hill, with extreme difficulties in finding parking. At the time I made the appointment I hadn't had the injection yet, and was stressed at the idea of having to park far away and walk. I asked Jenna if she or Hwan could take me from their house to the appointment then back. She came up with a superior idea.

I'll meet them at their apartment complex at 12:45-12:50. One or both will drive me to the appointment and wait. I won't worry about parking, they will. After that, we'll go back to their apartment and play Wyrmspan. Bill and I got it for Hwan for Christmas per Jenna's request. They've played it and like it a lot, so they'll show me the wonders this afternoon. We'll head on out to Szechuan hot pot. I just looked at Szechuan Mansion Hot Pot's menu. Aorta, tripe, and pork ears just don't appeal. I'll be a bit daring, not too daring.

Then back to the apartment, then home for me. I anticipate getting home pretty late for me - 8:30-9.

>225 karenmarie: ..now if only we weren't all doomed....

*smooch*

Whew! I'm a bit relieved that you aren't foaming at the mouth to get to some of the hot pot offerings and glad that you're willing to be a little daring. It looks like a huge menu, so I'm sure you'll find something jolly. ENJOY the day!!!!

(If you remember to ask Hwan about Honor Harrington, I'll be glad.)

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I plan on doing some solo birding early and then some yardwork before the rain. I will be getting Jackson sometime this afternoon. We are looking forward to his visit.

I wonder why we get the black mold on the feeders? It isn't even very humid at the moment. The feeders are quiet.

>226 richardderus: 'Morning, Rdear. Happy Thursday. *smooch*

>227 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I was only a little bit daring, but that was okay. See below.

I forgot yesterday, but just texted Jenna with the deets. I've learned that Hwan rarely looks at her cell phone except to check email.

>228 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, sweet Thursday. Glad you're getting some solo birding in and staying on top of yardwork is a great idea. Glad it's a Jackson day.

I just looked up black mold on hummingbird feeders. It's apparently hard to get rid of - is Sue using vinegar or peroxide? Highly diluted bleach can also be used, but that just makes me cringe.

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By the time I got to Jenna and Hwan's so Jenna could drive me over to my hair appointment, I'd already seen the chiropractor, gotten gas, picked up a prescription, and had Taco Bell.

I like my hair cut. I've got my curls back.

Back at the apartment, we played the first 3 rounds of Wyrmspan 'til about 4:45, so 2 hours before we left for dinner. We went to Szechuan Mansion Hotpot in Durham. Small place, charming. You check off items on a laminated menu, they return with the hot pot. Literally a pot of broth. It goes on a heating element in the middle of the table. We got spicy broth and bone broth, in a two-compartment pot. Jenna and I got shaved lamb beautifully rolled and presented, Hwan got beef. I got spinach, Jenna got bok choy and oyster mushrooms, Hwan got napa cabbage, shrimp paste, and tofu skin sheets. I loved it all. Jenna and I used the spicy broth. I learned a quick lesson - after you finish cooking whatever it is you're cooking, let it cool a minute or two. Hwan made me a tofu skin wrap with one of my pieces of lamb. So tasty. I also had a bite of shrimp paste. Jenna shared the oyster mushrooms with me. It was so much fun and so tasty.

We returned to the apartment and finished up round 4 of Wyrmspan. With a lot of help from J&H, I actually won. Very complicated, so many rules, cards, tokens, resources. A lot of fun, after I got over the initial intimidation.

Home by 9:30. Upstairs by 9:40.

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Absolutely nothing planned outside the house. I hope our landscape guy doesn't come over today like he's supposed to.

Reading, puttering, etc.

That sounds like a full, lovely day, and I'm thrilled that you 3 had it together! I love your curls too!!!!!
I also like your choice of foods and am reassured - not that I'll ever get there - that you get to choose what you want to cook in your hotpot. I would not choose lamb, but I'd try a sample of somebody else's to see whether my taste has changed in the last 50 years. My Greek apartment mate 57 years ago made leg of lamb recipe at least once and I ate it well.

I have to mail a couple of bills and slip in and out of Aldi, mostly for non-essentials. You know.

Enjoy your day!!!

>229 karenmarie: Enjoy a peaceful day, Horrible!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/371287

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. Thanks for tips for cleaning the hummer feeder. Not sure what Sue uses but I will mention it. I enjoyed my time with Jack yesterday afternoon. He likes to be entertained. Sue took over in the evening. I am playing PB. Sue may take Jack to the zoo. It looks like a beautiful day.

Sounds like you had a lovely day with Jenna & Hwan. That is awesome.

>230 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! It was a full and lovely day. Jenna did all the driving and was thoughtful about everything.



I like my haircut, still getting a bit used to it since it was a different salon and therefore different stylist. This stylist was very young – perhaps 25 or so – tats, piercings. She was cute and smart and listened to me.

Frankly, the lamb and beef were so finely shaved that my taste buds wouldn’t have been able to differentiate them in the spicy broth. The happiest surprise for me was oyster mushrooms. Jenna ordered the plate of them for herself but did a lot of sharing with me. I love them and might buy some today at the grocery store.

I hope you got your errands done yesterday. Ah, yes, Aldi non-essentials. There are SO many of them.

>231 richardderus: Hiya, RDear. Peaceful, nothing demanding attemtion but the bird feeders, which got attended to.

>232 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you.

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I refilled 3 bird feeders. Ate, puttered, read.

Bill found a new series for us to watch. I had no emotional energy for anything at all, so said sure, let's watch it. Well. It's fantastic. Poker Face on Peacock. Fantastic premise. We watched the first two episodes.

Talked with Jenna and friend Karen.

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I have my final PT today at noon, after which I'll go grocery shopping. And that's all. And then all the usual afternoon/evening things.

>234 karenmarie: PT well, Horrible. I like the hair! I've heard a lot of people like Poker Face so I'm inclined to give it a whirl. *smooch*

Final PT!!!! (((((Karen))))), you are the WOMAN!!!!! I'm thinking of all the bonus time you're going to have to do what you like.

LOVE the hairdo! You could be the little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. The do suits you.

If I could stop watching my favorites on DVD, I could look at some current stuff available on Prime. I still haven't finished this season's *Wheel of Time* yet, and that was my initial reason for signing up.
Did I say that I'm loving the 1985 *Bleak House*. All the dirt and dark and crowd, clutter, and fog are immensely Dickensian. I'll be interested to see what the 2006 version does in comparison.

Maybe Aldi today. I'd like to get niece and hubby some of the Aldi treats and restock our supply. I'll see. Friday is not a good day to go out.

>234 karenmarie: Poker Face is great! Glad you found it!

Karen O

>234 karenmarie: It's always such a relief when a new stylist does the right thing with your hair. You look great!

Karen, I keep meaning to ask you whether you're going to read Mother London now. I did start it - barely - and I've put it aside. I'll pick it up again if you're into it.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. It looks like we cross-posted yesterday. It happens. I like the haircut. Heading out soon with my birding buddy. Dinner and games with friends tonight. While I was sitting out front yesterday, reading, a GHO began calling somewhere across the street. It went on for awhile. Very unusual for the middle of the afternoon but I loved it anyway.

>233 msf59: Sorry I missed you up here yesterday, Mark. Happy Saturday to you. I hope Sue is successful, regardless of what she uses. Worst case scenario, of course, is to get a new one. I hope you entertained Jack well. I did have a lovely day with J&H. I’d like to get in another round of Wyrmspan sometime soon with them.

>235 richardderus: Thanks re my hair, RDear. I hope your Poker Face whirl leads you to a new series. It certainly has with us. PT was good, and final. *smooch*

>236 LizzieD: Yup, Peggy, last one. Thanks re my haircut. More time for sure – no more PT, and I’ve cut the chiropractor back to every 3 weeks. Other than that, book sort/Virlie’s every week and Friends of the Library Board Meeting most months but not all.

Bill and I watch series on Prime, Netflix, and now, apparently, Peacock. We do have several other streaming services, and our Verizon platinum cable package (required as part of our neighborhood’s hi-speed wifi agreement), seems to have added a few channels – Disney being one. Oh, and separately, I think we got Apple TV for $2.99/3 months, then $9.99 thereafter.

My grandmother used to say that rhyme to me. I was a little hellion, apparently. I’m going to try to find a photo taken by my father in 1955 when I was almost 2 and my mother was pregnant with my brother. It was in front of the house they had just bought. I was leering at the camera and pregnant Mom was waving. No fences between houses, etc.

I hope you were able to get to Aldi, first for niece/husband and of course, special treats for you.

>237 klobrien2: Hi Karen, and glad you liked it. We’re excited about it, too.

>238 quondame: Hello Susan, and thank you. Whew, right? This means that after Jenna and Hwan move away my getting a haircut is only 40 minutes away, not 100. Not cheaper, mind you, but I love the funky ambiance. It’s Moshi Moshi in Chapel Hill, NC.

>239 LizzieD: Ah, yes. Mother London. I barely started it when Stasia texted me that she had abandoned it after 80 pages. I figure if Stasia cannot get through it, how can I? I’m not into it, and I think we can put it aside, possibly forever.

>240 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! I’m sorry I missed you up there. Thanks re my haircut. Enjoy your birding buddy adventure and dinner/games with friends. Yay for the reading and the GHO. I heard a Red-Shouldered Hawk yesterday but didn’t see him/her. No doubt looking for little critters.

Wordle 1,442 4/6* trope, stunt, might, habit

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I read, LTed, and puttered in the morning. PT was at noon. He massaged my back, I was a bit dizzy when I got up from the table, so we ah, tabled the rest of the PT. I needed to pay the copays, and he gave me a final set of exercises to do, with # of times/week, # of reps. He also gave me the 12-pound band that we'd been using. And that was it.

The grocery store was expensive. I wanted Hoisin Sauce and Oyster Sauce - they are death by salt, but only require a taste or two for the chicken and vegetables recipe I want to make. Or modify. Or use as a template. *smile*

Home again, and then lots of rain. We were under a tornado watch most of the day, but we only got lots of rain and late afternoon heard quite a bit of thunder, some close.

We watched S1 E3-4 of Poker Face, last night, and we're ever so happy Bill found it.

...
Blue skies, will get to 79F. My birds are happy with the replenished feeders. My bird bath, parched as it was several days ago, has gotten filled again with the rain. I need to clean it out soon, but for now, water for the birds is good.

A bit of spreadsheet/Lightning Round updating and 4 boxes of McIntyre's donations to get back into the back of my SUV, today looks to be filled with fun things.

>241 karenmarie: Cloudy, windy, chilly...I *love* my weather now that it's settled in! I spent yesterday in unpleasant pain, but made it out today to get more coffee at 40% off with a coupon that expired today. Happily noted they're carrying a brand I don't dislike on a moral level; I can stop Starbucksing at last. The cool, windy days always herald changes, usually for the worse, but I enjoy them all the more for the that. (Or try to.)

Hoisin and oyster sauces can easily flavor a dish with very small amounts so cutting out other salt keeps stuff manageable on the sodium front. *smooch*

Glad you had a good weather day, RD. I'm so sorry about yesterday's pain.

I don't even know if the brand of coffee I buy is ethically or morally sound. I have been in a Starbucks a total of 4 times in my life, so perhaps I've accumulated moral and ethical points by NOT Strbucksing?

Those jars were expensive, but you're right. The recipes don't call for a lot of either.

...
I found 4 more books from the McIntyre's donation boxes, which are now safely in the back of the SUV.

Hell Put to Shame by Earl Swift - very nice hardcover
The Secret Lives of booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann - perfect trade paperback
Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart - very nice hardcover
Tower of God by SIU - very nice trade paperback

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. I hope to play a little PB this AM and then getting ready to head into the city for a Meet Up with Joe. We have such a good time hanging out and a couple of fine brews always helps.

Enjoy your day.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you. Yay for PB AND a meet up with Joe.

I've got an Indigo Bunting on the wild bird seed feeder and a male Cardinal on the sunflower seed feeder.

Wordle 1,443 4/6* trope, baron, hydro, rough

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Read, worked on spreadsheets and Lightning Round. Started some prep on Oatmeal Raisin cookies. No dairy, the recipe uses Crisco. Friend Tamsie is lactose intolerant, and I'll be seeing her on Wednesday. Besides, they sound good right about now. As noted above, went through the last 4 McIntyre's boxes and found 4 more books. We watched two more episodes of Poker Face. Not our favorites, but still excellent.

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I'm going to read, work on through-end-of-May spreadsheets and finalize the May Lightning Round, possibly make the Oatmeal Raisin cookies, and all other usual things.

>245 karenmarie: OOO Oatmeal raisin numminess! Your Lightning Round has a strict budget of less than $10 this month. NO MORE! Not one thing dime more!! NO!!!

*sigh*

>234 karenmarie: Nice haircut! I'm glad you found a closer place to get your hair done. But I know about the parking problems on Franklin St., so I don't know how you'll manage when Jenna or Hwan can't drop you off. Also it sounds like you had a wonderful day, playing Wyrmspan and getting dinner. Oyster mushrooms are great!

Enjoy the gorgeous weather today!

We have close thunder and lightening. I have nothing to say since the kids are gone and we enjoyed them. Tomorrow is another day, and I'm off and away!

Just checking in as I try to catch up a bit! I hope you have a marvelous Monday!

>246 richardderus: Hiya, RDear. The Oatmeal Raisin Cookie dough got made, 6 cookies got baked. These are the large ones, scant 1/4 cup of dough, 9 minutes at 350F, then rotate the pan and 10 minutes. 9 would have probably worked.

$10? I'm flattered that you spend any of your hard-earned and scarce book dollars on my Lightning Rounds at all. And, I BB'd you with Dinosaurs, didn't I? *smooch*

>247 atozgrl: Hello Irene, and thank you. There are several pay parking lots just across the street. Jenna parked there, and all you have to is note the spot # you are in and use the kiosk to pay with credit or debit card. You do have to guess how much time you might need.

>248 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. We had a bit of rain and thunder, no close lightning. Yay for enjoying the kids. Today is the tomorrow you thought about yesterday.

We did have a wonderful time, and I did enjoy yesterday's weather, although I didn't use the hammock as I could have done.

>249 alcottacre: 'Morning, Stasia! Nice to see you here. Today should be pretty stress-free, actually. *blinks in surprise*

Wordle 1,444 2/6* trope, preen

⬜🟩⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

...
As mentioned, the cookie dough got made. 6 cookies got made. The dough is in the refrigerator, just waiting for me to make more, tomorrow or Wednesday morning since I'm seeing Tamsie at noon.

I read, worked on spreadsheets and my Lightning Round. We watched 2 episodes of Poker Face. The second one was the better of the two, with Charlie getting caught up in an old missing woman case. We like the way we have to figure out some of the things that happen after Charlie leaves town, or, in the case of the last one we watched, heals in a hospital bed after the bad guys try to kill her.

Late afternoon when I came down before dinner, I was surprised with a female Cardinal on the floor in the Sunroom. I put a towel over her, gently scooped her up, and put her outside on the top step, somewhat shielded from attack by the hostas. I noticed that she wasn't there later and hope that she was just stunned and flew off. I didn't see blood, which was a good sign.

6ish hours of sleep.

...
No errands to run in town. Stats and Lightning Round to finalize and post. Books to read. And etc.

>250 karenmarie: Yay for stress-free days!

Morning, Karen. As you can tell, I had a grand time with Joe yesterday. Shocker, huh? I have Trail Watch today and then books in the PM. How did the cardinal get in the sunroom? Cat?

>250 karenmarie: I wanna cookie! I wanna cookie!!

My inner toddler awoke. Oatmeal raisin cookies are kryptonite. Especially with pecans. *drool*

Yes, you receive a portion of my treasure monthly...I read so much that I need a reliable guide when I need to relax with some smut. You got that job. So far I agree with your assessments far more than random chance. Ergo you're on staff not a consultant. *smooch*

>251 alcottacre: Rare as they are, Stasia, but there are more them recently than in the past several years.

>252 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Enjoy TW and your books. Yes, it would have been a cat, specifically the Bold Huntress, Diana - aka Zoe Rose. Wash will bring in lizards and even worm snakes, but birds are, unfortunately, Zoe's specialty. She's even belled, so I don't really know how she does it.

I've got a White-Breasted Nuthatch on the wild bird seed feeder, and other of the usual suspects earlier this morning. I haven't seen an Indigo Bunting, unusual in recent days. I also hear an owl and a woodpecker drumming, don't know which of each.

>253 richardderus: Vociferous inner toddler! I didn't make them with pecans, alas. I could have, but it didn't occur to me.

Oh yeah, on the smut staff. Makes me proud. *smooch*

>254 karenmarie: There is nothing that is not improved with the addition of pecans. Brussels sprouts roasted with apples and pecans. Vile, sloppy creamy peanut butter sprinkled with crunchy, lovely pecans. Salmon baked in ghee with pecans. Nothing is not lifted, improved, or rescued from ickiness by the addition of pecans.

Pecans have become my favorite nut. This is solely to having moved to the South in 1991. I love 'em raw, toasted, cinnamon-sugared, cooked into or onto and baked into things.

Hmmm. Salmon with pecans. I just found a recipe that sounds good - Maple Pecan Glazed Salmon. I've got everything here, so perhaps this week.

I do not use vile, sloppy creamy peanut butter. I use crunchy salt & peanuts-only peanut butter.

YTD Statistics through May

166 books read
148 ebooks, 13 audio books, 5 paper books
37445 pages in completed books
109.75 hours in completed audio books
60 books abandoned, 6525 pages abandoned, 16.5 hours abandoned

43970 total pages read

Avg pages read per day, incl books abandoned: YTD = 291
Avg pages read per book, only those completed: YTD = 226

Book(s) of the Month: Slow Heat by Leta Blake
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Books by Month
January: 26 books read - 18 ebooks, 4 audio books, 5 paper books
February: 24 books read - 21 ebooks, 4 audio books, 0 paper books
March: 36 books read - 34 e-books, 1 audio book, 1 paper book
April: 37 books read - 35 e-books, 2 audio books, 0 paper books
May: 43 books read - 41 e-books, 2 audio books, 1 paper books

Author
Male 12%
Female 71%
Undeclared * 15%
Non-Binary 2%
* - can't find info anywhere

Living 99%
Dead 1%

US Born 33%
Foreign Born 14%
Undeclared * 53%
* - can't find info anywhere

Medium
Audio Book 8%
e-Book 89%
Paper Book 3%

Source
My Library 16%
Library 0%
Kindle Unlimited 84%
Borrowed 0%

Misc
Galley Proof 0%
Re-read 2%
Series 75%

Fiction 98%
NonFiction 2%

Author Birth Country
Australia 5%
Canada 2%
Czechoslovakia 1%
Germany 1%
Grenada 2%
Netherlands 1%
New Zealand 2%
Puerto Rico 1%
UK 2%
Undeclared * 50%
US 32%
Wales 1%
* - can't find info anywhere

Original Decade Published

1940-1949 1%
1990-1999 1%
2010-2019 24%
2020-2025 74%

Genre
Contemporary Fiction 1%
Historical Fiction 1%
History 1%
Humor 1%
Informational Nonfiction 1%
Memoir 1%
MM Romance 94%

Average Rating
0.5 2
2.0 - Bad 5
2.5 - Average 6
3.0 - Good 14
3.5 - Very Good 53
4.0 - Excellent 72
4.5 - Outstanding 13
5 - Masterpiece 1

Average Rating 3.64
Books acquired YTD (last year 306) 145
Books culled YTD (last year 219) 72

5895 books cataloged on 12/31/24

May Lightning Round

Any in bold are NOT MM romances, few and far between as they are.

Quite a few of the smut books have warnings about triggers that I don’t mention here. Caveat emptor re triggers if you want to dip your toes in.

**abandoned His Sinful Need by Leighton Greene**

Max works for one Mafia family and Bricker works for another. They are trying to forge an alliance, so Max is loaned out to Bricker’s team, which is planning a huge heist. Max is a security expert. No explanation as to why so many of Bricker’s team are brand new to being part of the Mafia, no explanation as to why they change up plans, can’t figure out who the mole is. Bricker and Max are attracted. Ho hum. Caveat emptor re sex.

Knot Mine by Alice La Roux 5/3/25 5/4/25 Kindle

Shiloh and his twin Romilly attend a prestigious Omegaverse college, as does Zale. There’s a prologue with Shiloh being drunk and having dubcon sex at a party, but he doesn’t know who his partner was. He has a fading claiming mark, which fades over time but doesn’t completely disappear. Shiloh is prickly, always takes a back seat to what Romilly wants. Romilly is Zale’s girlfriend, but Zale isn’t particularly interested in her even though the families are happy that there might be a dynastic marriage. Shiloh and Romilly are both omegas although Shiloh hides this fact, pretending to be a beta. He doesn’t want to be defined by being an omega and expected to make a home and have children for an alpha. Shiloh and Zale work on a project for a class, sort of dance around each other. Shiloh and Romilly’s birthday party will be at a family ‘cabin’, however when Shiloh and Zane drive up expecting Shiloh’s parents and Romilly and her friends, nobody can get there ‘til the next day. In the meantime, the forced proximity works perfectly, and Shiloh and Zale have sex and realize they’re fated mates. Romilly pitches a fit and falls in it when Zale and Shiloh announce that they are mates, everybody sees her for what she is. Shiloh and Zale get their HEA. Caveat emptor r sex. Way too much time spent on their scents, with Zale attracted to Shiloh’s scent more than Romilly’s, and Shiloh attracted to Zale but not wanting to get in the way of his sister AND not wanting to be expected to give up a career to make a home. Romilly’s over the top, the book could have been perhaps 50 pages shorter. Not half bad, though. Caveat emptor re sex.

A Pika's Safe Haven by Odessa Hywell 5/4/25 5/4/25 Kindle

Dean owns Strange Brew, a bar. He has 3 sons, is an alpha hawk predator shifter. Jules is an omega prey shifter, a pika. He’s been on the run from his burrow to avoid being forcibly married to a coyote who gives protection to the burrow. Fun times, right? Dean takes him in. Jules goes into heat – another mpreg! – and Dean takes care of him. He turns up pregnant, of course. There are some very strange dynamics in this one that are offset by the warmness of Dean and his family, Jules’ need and mating with Dean. Implied murder of abusive men, full brother sexual relationships, underage relationships. All in all a decent read though. Even with the weird dynamics, I’d be happy to be a member of Dean and Jules’ family. Caveat emptor re sex.

Ugly by Roe Horvat 5/4/25 5/4/25 Kindle

Emerson is down on his luck, homeless, hungry. He turns up behind Burke’s bar and Burke feeds him in exchange for taking out the trash. It turns into several times a week, and then one night after the bar’s closed, Emerson is huddled inside, ready to go into his first heat. Burke takes him home. They get through it, they fall for each other, and mpreg… HEA and caveat emptor re sex.

The Good Student by MM Phoenix 5/4/25 5/4/25 Kindle

College romance has Asher promising Philip that Philip will come to him willingly at the end of a party. Philip is nominally straight, but follows Asher like a lemming and is smitten. Asher has been attracted to Philip for the entire year. Lust turns into love. From Philip’s point of view it’s enemies into lovers, from Asher’s point of view, it’s romance. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Arrangement by Laura Taylor 5/4/25 5/5/25 Kindle

This one has a bit of meat on its bones. Oliver is an Omega. Omegas have no legal rights but he flies under the radar until he gets a devastating medical diagnosis and has to have an alpha take care of him in his heats. Jet is the non-threatening alpha chosen by Oliver’s boss, Jet working in the same company but a different division. Jet agrees. He legally owns everything of Oliver’s, and must be consulted on every decision made by or about Oliver. Oliver hates this, Jet does everything to minimalize the insult/injury to Oliver. They carry on for 4 years until some medical research that they both agree to almost kills Oliver. It turns out that proximity has turned to love. Oliver’s diagnosis can be reversed but they have to travel out of the country to get the operation. They do so, they return, and they get a well-deserved HEA. The parallels to women not being in control of their bodies, decisions, or assets are realistically handled. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Edge of Control by M Walker **

Jace is a detective and is trying to solve the serial murder cases committed by a man nicknamed Nevermore. Jace meets and is attracted to Theo, and they start up a romantic relationship. Unfortunately for this book, I’ve read one like this recently that is better written, with more heat and more depth of characters.

**abandoned Evil Omega by S Rodman **

Siler is a loner shifter and necromancer, deranged and feared. He’s caught by the pack Dean is a member of. Silas goes into heat, Dean services him, Silas escapes. Silas comes to Dean periodically on the sly, they start caring about each other. However, I just wasn’t inclined to want to finish it. The implied HEA isn’t enough. Caveat emptor re sex.

Unspoken Vow by Eden Finley narrated by Antony Ferguson and Joel Leslie 4/26/25 5/10/25 Audible audiobook 9.25 hours

Anders is the twin brother of Law, from the book Unwritten Law, listened to last month. Brody is the best friend of the man Law ends up romantically involved with, Reed. Anders falls on hard times and Brody offers his guest bedroom. Anders has PTDS from when a lover literally tried to kill him, and periodically stops being able to cope. He and Brody start having romantic feelings for each other. This one has a lot of talking in it, about Anders’s triggers and problems. Brody learns about them slowly over time, and they work on a relationship despite Law and Reed not being supportive and Anders running into one of the people who wronged him after the attack. Lots of psychological stuff, but also some BDSM and coping mechanisms for Anders that seem to work for the two of them but might seem weird to outsiders. HEA and caveat emptor re sex.

** abandoned The Unexpected Omega by Jacey Davis**

River and Cooper hook up. They live in a world of Betas, no omegas for over 150 years. River turns up pregnant, Cooper immediately supports him, claims him and their child. I really liked it, but just not enough to continue reading it. It’s me, not the book. Caveat emptor re sex.

Omega's Silver Alpha by Loralei M Hart 5/6/25 5/6/25 Kindle

Will is a traveling phlebotomist. He sees Jack, an antique store owner, at a party, tries to chat him up and perhaps hook up, but Jack walks away. Forward to Jack needing to have blood drawn. Will is his phlebotomist. Twice met and done. That night, Will’s car has broken down, and Jack picks him up and takes him to his own house, because by then their mutual attraction wins out. Alpha Jack wants to care for omega Will. They have a serious relationship with a few hiccups, get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. The reason I only gave it 2.5 stars is because alphas being my kryptonite, I want them to always be strong, always be in control, always care for their omegas and not express any weakness or heaven forbid, cry. Again, me, not the book.

**abandoned Serving the Alpha by HP Fly**

So disjointed, so illogical, so poorly written that I abandoned it after 19 pages. It was only 99 pages overall, but I wasn’t in the mood for punishment.

**abandoned The Marriage Switch by Aja Foxx**

Twin Jayce is coerced into standing in for his brother at Jay’s wedding. It’s a loveless match. Jayce is given a Xanax by his mother so appears drunk at the ceremony, which is a show stopper but nobody stops the show. Jayce’s inhibitions are down, and on the private jet taking them to Italy, things … progress. Ugh. Dubcon, poor writing, and etc. A poorly executed version of what can be a well-done trope. Caveat emptor re … almost sex. I bailed before the actual sex.

Hurricane by Laura Taylor 5/7/25 5/8/25 Kindle

Speculative fiction, first in a trilogy. Azure is second in command to Tor, on a space ship, on a routine mission to find out why nobody is responding on a space station. They find carnage, a mystery, and then dangerous storms prevent them from getting back. Azure is an Omega and has been cut off from his supply of hormonal suppressants and is going into heat. He is secretly in love with Tor, but hasn’t realized Tor is an alpha. Tor offers his ‘services’, Azure accepts otherwise he will suffer excruciating pain for hours. They are locked away from the rest of the crew, go through the heat, and everybody returns to home base after vowing to keep what happened secret. It’s still a secret when they are assigned the same living quarters. Two bedrooms, but they eventually realize their feelings and are secretly living together. First of three, not sure I want to continue. This book was quite good. I love the emotions portrayed and the crisp characters. The motives aren’t jarring, the plot is good. Caveat emptor re sex.

Slow Heat by Leta Blake 5/8/25 5/9/25 Kindle

Older, settled, unmated Omega Vale works at a college for omegas. Jason is a freshman alpha and while walking with friends immediately imprints with and determines that Vale is his fated mate. Vale resists contracting with Jason although he also realizes they’re fated mates. His friends, Jason’s friends, and Jason’s parents counsel both to resist and do not initially accept that they are mates. They must overcome their own resistance to this shocking age-gap and unexpected situation, too. They talk, they secretly sext, they overcome the resistance from everybody else. Each has sacrifices to make. I found this romance poignant. Vale has given up on finding his fated mate, Jason is shocked to find his at the age of 18. Most romances I read are with the alpha being older or them being about the same age. Age-gap romances are typically with the alpha or dominant male the elder of the two, but this one has the emotional writing to make you believe Jason’s unswerving devotion to Vale and Vale’s acquiescing to finally finding what he’s desired all his life. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Devil in the Details by Chani Lynn Feener**

Second in The Devil in the Sea duology, has Gael looking for a serial killer the same time he’s attracted to Kai. As with the first book, Between the Devil and the Sea, the plot thickens when Kai may be both, as Apollo is both in the first book. I may come back to this one another time, but right now, I’m abandoning it at 86 pages.

Milk by Roe Horvat 5/9/25 to 5/9/25 112 pages Kindle

I finished it, but the alpha has a weird kink, see title. Ugh. Caveat emptor re sex. Eye bleach needed.

Rough Country by Kelly Fox 5/10/25 5/11/25 Kindle

Woody lives on his land in a tiny cabin, taking care of rescued exotic animals. He’s devastated after being dumped by the man he thought was the love of his life. They had lived together on the land next door, in the restored farmhouse. Emery is a burned-out city boy, a single father, and a completely inept handyman who almost gets himself killed by falling off a ladder. Woody rescues him just in time. Woody’s standoffish, grumpy, elusive and Emery doesn’t learn why for a long time. In the meantime, Emery’s daughter Stevie comes to live with him. She’s spoiled, headstrong, and Woody starts opening up to her and eventually Emery. Sparks fly, emotions bounce back and forth, and eventually they get their HEA. This one was sweet and sexy. Caveat emptor re sex.

Precious by Roe Horvat 5/11/25 5/11/25 Kindle

I don’t know what it says about me that even though I only finished this one 3 days ago, I cannot for the life of me remember much more than Micah is running away from a forced match and Travis rescues him. He takes him to his house, where Micah goes into heat. Sex, romance, caring, etc. Caveat emptor re sex.

Doctor's Orders by Preston Walker and Liam Kingsley 5/11/25 5/12/25 Kindle

Reese runs away from his abusive boyfriend, sleeps rough, then goes back to his ex’s abandoned apartment. He stays there for a couple of months, pregnant, until the boyfriend returns. He escapes but is in an accident and in a coma for 4 days. He gives birth prematurely. The pediatrician, Connor, is, for some inexplicable reason, bonded with this baby and then Reese when he regains consciousness. Reese must stay in the hospital for a while. They bond over the baby. Connor eventually brings them into his house, and saves them when the ex comes back. It was okay, but pretty shallow and twee. Caveat emptor re sex.

Fearless Bond by Roe Horvat 5/12/25 5/13/25 Kindle

Calvin is thrown out of his boyfriend’s car and abandoned on a country road in the middle of winter. He figures out where he is and tries to get to the town of Beauville, 6 miles away cross country. He just about dies, sees a huge bear, and then is rescued by a mountain man. Barclay the mountain man, aka bear shifter, takes Calvin to his house. Calvin goes into heat (I’m still in an mpreg mood for some reason), and Barclay takes care of him. Calvin’s father is domineering and tries to force Calvin back to the boyfriend, but Barclay and his pack protect Calvin until Calvin is strong enough mentally and physically to reject returning home. Calvin’s friend Laure also comes riding to the rescue, and Calvin and Barclay get their HEA. They get a cub, too… Caveat emptor re sex.

Finding Finn by Kiki Burelli 5/13/25 5/14/25 Kindle

Finn is a graduate student but is committed to an institution after trying to kill himself. Once out, he comes to stay with his sister Freddie and tries to get back into grad school. Finn’s sister has a friend, Luke, who is living with her. Luke’s a wolf shifter and immediately realizes Finn is his fated mate. Finn is clueless, but attracted to Luke and they have sex. Luke’s a lone wolf, literally, with no pack, and the local pack leader wants Finn. Luke’s father kicked him out 20 years earlier, but comes to him now on behalf of the pack leader. Luke rejects him and the pack leader. Quite a bit of this book revolves around Luke having to protect Finn from the pack leader and Finn’s acceptance of Luke as a wolf shifter and his own ability to bear a child. Luke’s father slowly earning Luke’s trust, and various and sundry other wolf shifters who have left their pack for their own safety come to live at Freddie’s house. They form a new pack with Luke. The bad pack leader gets what’s coming to him, Luke and Finn get a cub, and Luke finally comes into his own as a pack leader. Caveat emptor re sex and violence.

Mated to the Alpha books 1-8 by Rosa Swann and Wolf Specter 5/8/25 5/8/25 – re-read 388 pages Kindle

Here’s what I wrote in April: 8 separate short stories, NOT Kindle Unlimited. I bought the first one, thinking it was a novel, got hooked, then sprung for the other 7, too. 388 pages total. The titles are Omega’s … Fate, Home, Pack, Bond, Love, Wedding, Baby, Future. Ethan is a human who attends a masked shifter ball in order to get enough money to get himself out of a hole financially and have some fun, perhaps to find a woman shifter to be naughty with in the woods. Max, an alpha wolf shifter, doesn’t want to be there but feels pressured by his family. He sees Ethan and is smitten, realizing that Ethan’s his fated mate. He comes on to Ethan, but Ethan is “I’m straight”. Max predicts that Ethan will come to him before the night’s through, and he does. The story follows their relationship from their first sexual encounter at the ball through the birth of their pup. I honestly liked these a lot because although there was political maneuvering and hiding from the press because Max is extremely rich, it was basically a love story. Caveat emptor re sex.

Various and sundry small reads and abandoned books

Chased by the Alpha 41 pages, Human Avan and unnamed wolf shifter. Avan is chased by shifters, learns he’s an omega and they get a HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Snatched Up By the Cartel by Michael Levi** Omega betrayed by his brother, ends up in jail. He’s protected by Mateo, a very strong alpha. Ugh. Violence, ugh.

**abandoned Alpha for Appearances by Libby Walsh** Rich trust fund omega needs to convince his grandfather that he’s in a serious and committed relationship, hired alpha mechanic. Too twee.
351 pages total

The Bound Omega by KC Carmine 5/10/25 5/10/25 55 pages Kindle

Ugh. Glad it was only 55 pages because I couldn’t believe how bad it was but kept on reading to see if it would redeem itself. Nope. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Omega Accountant by Bella Bennet 5/13/25 5/13/25 Kindle

Omega accountant Luca discovers a huge discrepancy in funds and goes to CEO Matteo with the info. They secretly work on the electronic trail, who it leads to, and there’s sparkage and steamy sex and violence and their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Enemy Match by Anna Wineheart 5/13/25 5/14/25 Kindle

Omega Hadley’s apartment is underneath omega Darius’s apartment. Hadley is furious because Darius is a large man and makes noise just moving around and living. Unbeknownst to them, they are matched on a very sophisticated shifter dating app. There’s a very rough start, then communication, instalust and heat. It turned out to be very sweet and steamy. Caveat emptor re sex.

Luscious Match by Anna Wineheart 5/15/25 5/15/25 Kindle

Gabe’s fathers threaten to cut him off, giving him an ultimatum. He signs up for the sophisticated shifter dating app. He’s matched with Kallen, a very successful fashion designer who’s decided that he’s lonely and wants to have an omega mate. Fireworks, and etc. Gabe is protected by Kallen when he sees how Gabe’s fathers aren’t there for him emotionally and threatened him with being cut off. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Hunter by MM Farmer 5/16/25 5/16/25 Kindle

A forced marriage with no chance at happiness has Ari contracting with an agency to provide him with his personal fantasy for 3 days – primal play. Samson provides the scenario and place of security. The fantasy is going as planned until Ari’s fiancé seems to be involved in some serious illegal activities. Samson has to rescue Ari, who also helps rescue himself. Steamy sexy times, fated mates. Caveat emptor re sex.

Ex Match by Anna Wineheart 5/16/25 5/16/25 Kindle

Michael abruptly breaks up with John. Both are devastated, and months later each signs up to the sophisticated shifter dating app. When they show up for their date, they are shocked that they are matched with each other. Lots of angst, discussions, actual dates, and after some sexy times, Michael is pregnant and they work to rebuild their relationship at first for the child, then for themselves, too. Caveat emptor re sex.

Rome and Jules by Tara Lain 5/16/25 5/17/25 Kindle

Rome comes home, Jules comes home. They’re gay and Rome’s pack is homophobic. Jules’s pack is accepting and even has contracted him in marriage against his will. They fall in love and hide their relationship. Nefarious dealings from Jules’ family pack, rescue by Rome, eventual HEA. An obvious take on Romeo and Juliet, I found it amusing and lightweight. However, the emotions and love they have for each other are extremely well written. Caveat emptor re sex.

Temple by Avril Ashton 5/17/25 5/18/25 Kindle

Henry, a member of the mercenary team Temple is part of, makes an error in judgement and ends up dead on a mission. Temple is devastated. As Henry’s best friend, he is tasked with telling Vik, Henry’s husband, that Henry’s dead. Vik falls apart and attacks Temple, who understands and feels guilty for his role in Henry’s death. After a while, Temple’s attraction to Vik, always simmering under the surface of Henry and Vik’s lives, becomes obvious to Vik, who hesitantly and yet seriously starts seeing Temple as a romantic partner. Very sweet, a well-written short story. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Craving You by Avril Ashton 5/18/25 5/18/25 Kindle

Kannon is a spoiled omega, living in a penthouse in the building Preacher secretly owns. Preacher is working to bring down Kannon’s family for things the family did to Preacher’s mother many decades earlier, and Kannon is part of his revenge. He marries Kannon, with generous financial terms and Kannon only needs to stay married to him for a year. Kannon does not know the reason for the marriage is to help Preacher get the revenge he craves. However, they fall in love, and Preacher is conflicted about his goals – revenge his mother yet protect and have a real relationship with Kannon. It could have been shorter than 350+ pages, but all in all it was well done and I liked the growth of their initial business relationship into a love match. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Sassy Omega by Raiven Matthews 5/19/25 5/20/25

Four alpha brothers, quadruplets, live in Sweet Alps. Lachlan’s PA always gets his coffee and a pastry, but Wade calls in sick so Lachlan goes to Quinn’s Bakery/Coffee Shop and tries to bull his way to the front of the line. It does not go over well, and although there’s serious sparkage, there’s also serious resistance from Quinn. However, instalust, fated mates, actually, and all of a sudden Quinn’s pregnant. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Bratty Omega by Raiven Matthews 5/20/25 5/21/25 Kindle

Wade, mentioned above, met Lachlan’s brother Finn 5 years previously and at the time they both misinterpreted what the other was feeling. What they didn’t misinterpret was that they were fated mates, but unless they claimed each other, it’s no harm no foul. One night, after a family party when Finn gives Wade a ride home, they finally give in to their lust, and Lo! Behold! Wade’s pregnant. Lots of angst about how they can be parents even if they despise one another, which, of course, isn’t really true. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

A Husband for Christmas by Beau Brown 5/21/25 5/22/25 Kindle

Rider is an omega who hasn’t found his alpha and his biological clock is ticking. Jax’s true love Thomas died 20 years earlier but Jax wants a family. They go through a match maker, and after Jax interviews several omegas, he and Rider sign the contract to be married and have a family. Some initial friction, success in the pregnancy department, but Jax’s PA can’t see Jax wanting to move on from Thomas and starts endangering Rider and their child. She escalates but is caught. One very sweet piece of the pie is that Rider decides to name their son Thomas and Jax is completely happy with that naming. I would have given it more stars except that Jax is really stupid and doesn’t see his PA’s mental illness and obsessing over dead Thomas. Caveat emptor re sex.

Roman by Avril Ashton 5/22/25 5/22/25 Kindle

Roman is a mercenary who just wants to be off grid and recover from a mission where one of his team mates dies. He gets to his cabin as a blizzard is coming in, and discovers a car out front, a window jimmied open, and a very large man asleep in his bed. Tate is an outed pastor who’s escaping the fall out. They’re stuck. They are attracted to one another and are isolated for 3 days. However, the storm stops, cell service returns, and Roman’s brother tells him that the father he’s estranged from is dying. Roman can’t see how a relationship with Tate would work so is brutal to him when he could be kind and show that he cares. Roman’s brother Sam gets Roman to confess his feelings for Tate, and after their father dies, invites Tate to the funeral. Roman quits the mercenary business but settles in Atlanta, where Tate lives. They get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Doctor Perfect by Beau Brown 5/23/25 5/23/25 Kindle

Predictable shifter/mpreg, read because I was at loose ends and couldn’t find something meaty or dark enough. See next entry. Liam is the doctor, Fox is a nurse. They hit it off wrong, then hit it off right. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Possession by Rina Saint 5/23/25 5/24/25 Kindle

I gave this one 4.5 stars because of the horrific conditions Lucas and Roman (“Beast”) met under and how well described and hopeless and violent each of their lives had become. However, Roman became protective of Lucas and Lucas was threatened into taking care of Beast between illegal gladiator fights. Roman had been kidnapped, which we don’t find out for quite a while. The rescue scene is thrilling and well-written. The co-dependency and love are apparent from the beginning. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Werewolf in Rusted Armor by Minerva Howe 5/24/25 5/24/25 Kindle

Fun MM shifter romance. Quin, an omega wolf shifter, owns a bar and on the side works to rescue abused omegas. He’s an omega with two older alpha brothers, whose books I’ve already read. An alpha male, my kryptonite, Thiago, who is an alpha jaguar shifter, comes to town, tasked with trying to find missing omegas. He and his partner work all over the country and even outside the country to get news of a found omega or have the omega contact their families directly. Quin uses a baseball bat on a vicious alpha terrorizing an omega while Thiago is at the bar trying to find a missing omega. Thiago is immediately enamored, as is Quin. Omegas are rescued, Quin and Thiago discover that they’re fated mates. An enforcer, a polar bear shifter (yup, you read that right) is terrorizing one of the omegas Thiago is looking for, but Quin unintentionally gets in the way and is kidnapped. Exciting rescue, shutdown of an omega trafficking operation, and Thiago figures out he can work from Quin’s town as well as he can from where his partner is based. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Covenant by Cora Rose and Lark Taylor 5/25/25 5/25/25 341 pages Kindle

From the Amazon blurb:

The Firm can make any wish come true.
Money. A job promotion. Murder.
Whatever you desire can be yours—for a price.
The Firm has ruled St. Dismas for generations. To most, they’re just a myth.
But in truth, they are the last resort of the desperate.
I never understood why anyone would go to The Firm. There’s always a price to pay—a price you won’t discover until your request has been granted.
It was a path I swore I’d never walk.
Or so I thought.
When my brother is gravely injured, everything changes.
I have no choice but to go to The Firm.
I don’t know what they’ll ask of me, but I’ll give anything to save Jackson.
He has his whole life ahead of him, and I’ll make sure he gets to live it.
But when my price comes due, it’s nothing like I expected.
Not drug smuggling or murder. Not the darkness I braced myself for.
No, this is worse.
My price is to fulfill someone else’s request.
To give them what they asked for.
A marriage.
For anyone else, it may seem simple. But not for me.
Because the man I must marry is my worst enemy.
My rival.
The man I once trusted above all others—until he shattered that trust and threw it back in my face.
The idea of pretending to be Matthias’s doting husband for a year is my worst nightmare.
But I won’t do it for me.
I’ll do it for Jackson.
For my brother, I’ll pay the price.

Even if it means condemning myself.

I loved the subtlety and circular nature of requests. Wyatt’s feelings undergo a change, of course. Jackson gets the medical help he needs. Matthias’s penance… well. That’s where it gets interesting and requires explanations and being able to really put things together. Well done. Caveat emptor re sex.

Instant Bond by LA Lambert 5/25/25 5/26/25 Kindle

Low angst. Omega Cam and Alpha Karter are good people. Karter gives the last special donut to Cam’s son Ty, not expecting anything in return. Karter’s intrigued with Cam. Cam’s a good dad to Ty, and all Karter wants is to be part of Cam’s and Ty’s lives and possibly be his mate. He starts to woo Cam but has to step in to keep Cam and Ty safe by having them move in with him after a series of suspicious actions against Cam. The initial date sparkage turns into penthouse sparkage. There is someone who wants to sabotage Cam’s life, but the explanation is almost anticlimactic because Karter is truly powerful and able to neutralize the threat. I particularly loved the epilogue because it's not Cam’s or Karter’s, but Ty’s. Caveat emptor re sex.

Primal Urges by Harper Aveline 5/26/25 5/26/25 Kindle

Alpha Bishop and Omega Lucien are journalists. They are also work partners. The story they are following and trying to break is a about drug that only affects omegas. They get too close and get kidnapped. Lucien is given the drug but they are rescued before the effects kick in. Some silliness and omegaverse needful sex. However, they start having feelings because of their kidnapping and Lucien’s need for Bishop. They help break the case, and start a personal relationship. Caveat emptor re sex.

His Every Move by M Walker 5/26/25 5/27/25 Kindle

Benji is an alcoholic. He’s also a PI, and when Elijah is being stalked, is hired by Elijah. They’re attracted to each other. Benji is in a frenzy to keep Elijah safe. There is a betrayal and a reconciliation. I didn’t particularly like either character. Caveat emptor re sex.

Claimed by the Wolf by Lyndon Land 5/27/25 5/28/25 Kindle

Moonbond is a 24-hour frenzy of humans and omegas signing up to be hunted by alpha shifters. From the blurb: One anonymous surrender to silence the craving he can’t admit. . Mikhail is a wolf shifter and Taggart’s boss. He smells Taggart, hunts him, catches him, and protects him from other shifters. Mikhail’s pack is outraged that Mikhail has bonded with a human. However, there’s the HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Trapped by the Alpha by Lyndon Land 5/28/25 5/29/25 Kindle

So many tropes. Toby is human, small. Mason is a shifter, head of his pack, twice Toby’s age, and wants Toby. Dubcon at best, perhaps noncon. Caveat emptor re violent sex.

Infamous Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 5/29/25 5/29/25 Kindle

Seven scions of billionaire families are going to a prestigious college in the upper East Side. Some just because it’s expected, some to take over particular familial responsibilities after they graduate. They are wild and immature and trash the Dean’s office, but only West gets caught. The Dean has it in for him and all of them the next year. Her son, JT, is an incoming freshman, a loner, not able to make friends because students are intimidated by his mother. West agrees to a bet from his friends to debauch straight JT. He flirts, entices, and eventually has JT in a romantic relationship. They are both happy, West surprising himself that he catches the feels, as the book puts it. However, JT overhears the details of the bet and is devasted. West is, too, as JT completely rejects him. However, West is persistent, makes a grand gesture, and they get their HEA. West is an alpha male, my kryptonite. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Primal Instinct by Harper Aveline**

Second book has Bishop and Lucien with their personal and business relationships. Frankly there didn’t seem to be enough differentiation between the types of crimes from the first book to this book, and I lost interest. Cavet emptor re sex.

**abandoned Chokehold by Leigh Rivers**

Stepbrothers, very dark. I stopped reading it a month ago and can’t remember too many of the details. When I tried to jump back in, I found that I didn’t care. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned An Omega for the Sheriff by Corie Rosling**

Vague characters, no initial tension. Abandoned after 51 pages, so no need for a warning about sex.

**abandoned The Beautiful Dead by Skyla Raines**

Both protagonists are obsessed with death. Domino dishes it out and Remi is a witness, Remi’s fascination with what Domino has done forms the basis of the book. Not bad, but I just didn’t care to continue. Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Cooper by Fel Fern** 1

Miles calls in a favor for protection for himself, his brother, and his uncle from Cooper. He’s had a crush on Cooper forever. Cooper is surprised that Miles is all grown up. Just didn’t care enough about either of them to continue.

Insatiable Park Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine 5/28/25 5/29/25 Kindle

Second in the Park Avenue Princes series. Donovan is given the wrong address by his agent for a photo shoot and turns up to a gay porn shoot. He agrees to play the bottom/sub when he sees who’s the top. Donovan’s masked because he’s a famous model. It goes from there, with another 2 X-rated shoots. By then there’s serious attraction on both sides. I liked it but didn’t love it, because it seemed so unlikely. However, most of the books I read are usually unlikely in that the attraction/lust is irrational. Eventually they get their HEA and Kelly gets valid modeling contracts. I love the seven rich kids. West and JT show up, and Donovan and Kelly will show up in subsequent novels in the series, too. Kelly’s the alpha/top here, but this one doesn’t appeal as much as the first. And, as it turns out, not as much as the third. Caveat emptor re sex.

A Different Kind of Chemistry by Ashlynn Mills 5/29/25 5/29/25 Kindle

Casey is a middle school chemistry teacher, nerdy, shy, and a 25-year old virgin. Maverick is still beating himself up years after his boyfriend has gone off the rails and died. Casey walks into an unlikely bar after he has another bad dating experience. Maverick comes in, sees Casey and kisses him. Lots of coincidences. Casey goes with his BFF to get a tattoo, and Lo! Behold! tit’s the tattoo shop that Maverick owns with is friend Drake. There’s another coincidence, too. Maverick keeps trying to hook up with Casey, Casey wants the hookups but not wanting to go as far as getting his V-card punched. Lots of hurt feelings, lots of shared feelings, eventually they get their HEA. Given what else I’ve been reading in recent months, this one isn’t as tension- and bad-boy- filled as I’d like. It’s also not my kryptonite – strong alpha males with lots of power and money. *shrug* Caveat emptor re sex.

**abandoned Office Jinx by AW Turner**

PA Ryan has now gone through 3 bosses and is working on his 4th. He considers himself a jinx, but there are Forces At Work in the Office Place. Weird subplots, weird reactions among the characters, not a cohesive enough plot or sexual tension for me to continue.,/blockquote>

>258 karenmarie: You don't post a rating with Covenant, though it seems you liked it.

Hi Susan! I think I cut and pasted and added to my May Lightning Round before I'd added the rating to my message >2 karenmarie: above. When I went back and looked at the rating just now, I was surprised I hadn't given it 4.5 *, so I changed it to 4.5*. Now I have to change it in my books read and smut spreadsheets.

Wordle 1,445 3/6* trope, daily, admin

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I filled my hummingbird feeder, read, finalized and published YTD stats through May and May Lightning Round, did a load of laundry. We watched two more episodes of Poker Face, S1 ending and first episode of S2. except for the mob boss's minions not being able to shoot their way out of a paper bag and Charlie escaping, it continues to be quite wonderful.

...
Book sort and Virlie's today. Drive-through prescription pick up. So far, I have no medical or dental appointments of any sort this week. 🤞

Bird feeder replenishment. Think I'm going to pack up 2 boxes sometime today - one with stuff from the Parlour to take to the thrift shop and one with some of Jenna's stuff from the Guest Bedroom for her to look through and toss, save, take with to WA.

Morning, Karen. Impressive lightning round. I have been bad at keeping up with my mini-reviews. I am leading a bird walk this AM. It looks like a beautiful day and I have already had a male Baltimore oriole visit the feeders. Yessssssss...

Oh yeah- I just posted my new thread.

>260 karenmarie: I'm avoiding the Lightning Round because I'm not gonna spend money right now. I'm bookmarking it, though.

Fondle the books well, and enjoy Virlie's as always. I'll quietly revel in the medical-appointment-lessness for you. *smooch*

I'm going to spend quality time on LT until Friday, when I have a date at the Cardio-Spa of the LVHospital. There, a team of medical techies led by Dr. Nainesh Patel will snake out blockages in the two main heart arteries, then insert stents. If all goes well, it'll be one of those "in-by-nine, out-by-five" procedures.

Getting to this stage has taken what seems to be a couple of years, even decades, but really has been but six weeks or so.

But the rigamarole has disrupted library development and reading and participation on LT. I want to sort of reintroduce myself. So, hi, I'm a weirdo slug name of Bill. Currently reading Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life, about the eccentric weirdo Robert Crumb. I'm a boring nebbish by way of comparison. See you around!

>250 karenmarie: That's good news, that there's paid parking across the street from the hair salon. It's been quite a while since I've been over that way, so it's obviously changed. Maybe Chapel Hill has figured some things out.

>255 richardderus: Yum, pecans! I agree with that sentiment, RD. Chocolate chip cookies don't taste right to me without pecans. And pecan praline is the best ice cream.

>256 karenmarie: And yay to crunchy peanut butter! The last time I used the creamy stuff, it was for some recipe that I don't remember. I don't want it on my sandwiches.

A quick goodnight, Karen! Hope your Tuesday was a good one. My most exciting news is that DH has spotted a pied hummingbird at the feeder twice........shiny white around head and neck and mostly good green everywhere else. I haven't seen her yet. (He thinks it's "her.")

Sleep well!

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Sleeping in? The bird walk went just fine- 31 species but most of the migrants have moved on through. PB this AM. Books in the PM.

>261 msf59: As I start typing this, ‘Morning Mark and happy Tuesday to you at 8:03. It's now 8:50. 😆 Yay for the bird walk. I’m envious for your male Baltimore Oriole.

I had a coloring book when I was young. I could already read well, so 7 or 8? It had half birds and half dogs. I particularly remember the Baltimore Oriole. I’m surprised that that early exposure to species of birds didn’t have me looking, but I was more interested in plants and, for some reason, Pill Bugs, and butterflies. Butterfly chrysalises, too.

Yup, just saw the male Indigo Bunting on the wild bird seed feeder. I’ve got a female Cardinal on it now, and a male Cardinal was here a few minutes ago. A male Cardinal was visiting earlier. There’s a Carolina Chickadee on the suet feeder and a White-Breasted Nuthatch landed on the hummingbird feeder hook just now.

Thanks re my Lightning Round. I’ll visit your new thread in a minute or two.

>262 richardderus: Hiya, RD. Glad you bookmarked it for future financial consideration. I fondled and Virlie’s-d. Nothing medical ‘til next Thursday, but that’s only a follow-up with a Nurse Practitioner re the spinal injection. *smooch*

>263 weird_O: Hiya, Bill. I wish you the best on Friday, and can tell you from experience that the stent has never caused a problem for me. I did have to take Brilinta for a year after my heart attack, but the only side effect I experienced was excessive bruising. It looked like my Bill beat me, but it wasn’t the case.

I think if he could have caught me just now, he might have whacked me with his cane, because when I took the Oatmeal Raisin cookie dough out of the refrigerator perhaps 15 or 20 minutes ago, I unintentionally left the refrigerator door open. This refrigerator beeps if a door is open. “Didn’t you hear it beeping? I could hear it in the bedroom.” didn’t go over well, and I got shirty with him. “Of course I did. I ignored it.” 🙄

Uh, oh, to the interruption in Library Development and Reading and Participation on LT. Glad to meet you, Bill. It does not surprise me at all that you’re reading about Crumb. On at least one of your threads you’ve posted one of the Keep on Truckin’ cartoons.

>264 atozgrl: Hello Irene. Franklin Street has always been a nightmare, but when I was young and could easily walk, it didn’t matter. There were used book stores, restaurants, and all sorts of fun stores. I particularly remember The Shrunken Head and see that it’s still there.

I’ll probably put pecans in my next Chocolate Chip cookies.

I was bereft during Covid, because it was almost impossible to get Smuckers Natural Chunky Peanut Butter. Still not available at FL, but I may make a Harris Teeter run today after my visit with Tamsie. I want El Monterrey spicy chicken taquitos. FL has stopped selling El Monterrey taquitos, the rats. I’ll check to see if they have SNCPB too.

>265 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Yesterday was pretty good, when all’s said and done. Wow. I’ve never even heard of a pied hummingbird, so congrats to your DH. I’ve heard of albinos and leucistic animals, but never pied hummingbirds before.

>266 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. I got up around 7:30 and have been writing this post, rabbit holing, and drinking coffee. I woke up at 6 the first time, then heated a corn bag for my feet and went back to sleep for 1.5 hours. Yay for PB and books.

Wordle 1,446 4/6* trope, gauge, shale, cease

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We sorted books 'til we finished at 11:15. Highly unusual, we usually close up shop at 11, regardless of what we still have. Lunch at Virlie's therefore, and got home quite late - around 1:30.

I brought home 4 things for myself and one thing to use Goo Gone on and return to the book sort room. Read, dozed, texted with my sister and Jenna. I also started filling out an affidavit for Jenna and Hwan's Green Card application. I'll have to get it notarized, but that's not too big a deal.

Poker Face and etc. The second episode had the actor who played AB Winter on The Residence. Small world, since we'd literally just finished it before starting this series.

...
Coffee with friend Tamsie at the Belted Goat unless she cancels on me. If we go, I will probably stop at McIntyre's to see if they have How to Read a Book. I want to read it regardless of whether it's my RL book club choice for this coming Sunday's meeting. Then off to Harris Teeter on the taquitos mission.

>267 karenmarie: Taquitos! Nummers...what's your favorite dip for 'em, if any?

I am over the moon to see Monica Wood getting so much luuuv! Ever since Ernie's Ark twenty-plus years ago I've enjoyed her books. (Not a recommendation, it's a story collection and that's not a good choice for you, now is it.)

*smooch*

PS who's this "Bill" guy slidin' on in here?

Ah, Tamsie..... Hope you get to go!

No news here except that I've been in a "Give Amazon My Money" mode, and it should stop. I just bought a used copy of my favorite BBC 1976 production of Our Mutual Friend, to come from England. I'm counting on my DVD player, which claims to be region free, to play it. We'll see. It wasn't that much, but it's just one of a chain of things. I ate my last replacement from your Christmas gift Van Wafel dark chocolate wafer square, and I want to replenish those. AND Linda Laytonwoman has caused a profound longing for Shadow Country from the topper on her thread. As though I'll read that soon or have a place to put it until I do read it --- but a good used copy is so cheap! *sigh* Somebody, besides my DH (obviously I completely get the refrigerator door and the Bill), should really give me a firm talking to on first world problems, the rest of the world, and how I choose to spend my money. *sigh*
I can let How to Read a Book wait, but it's on the list.

>95 karenmarie: I can sneak this in before your next thread. You have a great memory. I did have a hip replacement. It was 2019, actually, so I am past the 5 year mark.

>267 karenmarie: The thing about bugs when we're kids is that they are on our level, are very strange, and we can squat and watch them for hours if we feel like it. Which I did a lot. I even did it at 19 with the neighbors' 4 yr. old. Birds often don't stick around when they notice a pre-schooler pay attention.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Corn bag? It looks like a very nice day after a rainy Wednesday. I will be back playing outdoors today. No Jackson today. He will be hanging with his cousins today, doing kid stuff. Hopefully I will see him over the weekend.

I need to tend to all the feeders. I did not get out there yesterday.

>268 richardderus: ‘Morning, RDear! Herdez Medium Salsa Casera. Most short story collections do not appeal. I have 83 books tagged ‘short stories’ and 53 tagged ‘short stories AND NOT read’.

Two Bills, of course. My own personal one, and our marvelous LT one.

>269 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Tamsie and I did meet, see below.

If you’re not going to break the bank, then I personally think Amazon is a worthy recipient. I remember the first time I realized that not all DVDs could be played on our player – we had one from England that couldn’t play. I was majorly irritated, but couldn’t do anything about it, of course.

It’s good to be mindful of first world and rest of the world problems, but cutting yourself slack on books and DVDs is not a bad thing. You’re mindful where you can be.

I kept this on a Post It at work, and just wrote it on a new Post It and … well… posted it here at home.

Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or do without.

Yay for Van Wafel. Um, I just bought Shadow Country via Audible for $0. It was included in my Audible membership. I pay $16/month for Audible and get one credit per month, but there are always lots of books for $0 available to add to your library. Timing, of course.

>270 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! Ah, 2019. Wrong year, right surgery. *smile*

>271 quondame: I watched bugs a lot, too, Susan. As a child and with Jenna when she was a child. My kid loved bugs. Might still love ‘em, for all I know. I need to find the photo of her in her jammies outside our old house with perhaps 25 cicadas on her. She was thrilled. I was not.

>272 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday to you. Enjoy your outdoors PB. Hope you can get to your feeders. I replenished mine yesterday. I was happy to see the Indigo Bunting again this morning, and had a Downy on the suet feeder at the same time a Red-Bellied was on the sunflower seed feeder. Couldn't capture it with my cell phone camera, alas.

Corn bag. Anywhere from 12" x 12" to 13" x 13". Filled with deer corn and sewn shut. My sister makes them for me and I occasionally have to buy a 50-lb bag of deer corn to fill some. I then sew them shut with my horrific sewing skills and microwave them 3-4 times each to kill any larvae or eggs in the deer corn. I currently have 3 upstairs and 2 downstairs. The two downstairs are in the freezer, because they work well for both cold and heat.



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Baked 6 large Oatmeal Cookies, put 'em in baggies, and met Tamsie at noon at The Belted Goat. I got a coffee, she just got a free water. I should have done that. We sat upstairs, and each had a (smuggled in) cookie, but it was so humid! Their air conditioning doesn't really cut it. So she persuaded me to go outside, where, admittedly, it was cooler. We sat away from other people, which is a personal quirk of mine if I'm sitting outside anywhere. We moseyed over to McIntyre's, where I was looking for How to Read A Book and There are Rivers in the Sky. They had neither. One's coming out in paperback next month and the other next January. They could have ordered them for me, but I figured I tried to support my local indie, but wanted them before Sunday's book club book selection meeting.

After that I headed to Harris Teeter on my taquitos mission. It was successful. I also bought a local cantaloupe, and 2 jars of Smuckers Natural Chunky Peanut Butter for only $4.19 + tax each. Success!

Home again, chatted with Jenna, read. Taquitos for dinner, 2 episodes of Poker Face, and etc. Chatted with Karen, too.

...
Absolutely nothing to do today unless our landscape guy, who is notoriously unreliable and inconsiderate of giving us a planned meeting day/time, texts Bill 20 minutes before he just shows up. We want to discuss spring cleanup.

Add a few books to my catalog, read, update spreadsheets and new June Lightning Round, work on sorting documents for file folders. Tabs are titled. Maybe bake Oatmeal Cookies. Decide what to bring for book selection potluck on Sunday. Need to get crackin' on that.

Finalize affidavit for Jenna and Hwan, print two copies, and get them both notarized today or tomorrow.

>273 karenmarie: A good day with Tamsie indeed. I'm jealous you got to gobble your cookies without sending me any, of course, but glad you got to accomplish such enjoyable stuff.

I'm in ow mode as an infection's gotten started in my foot. Off to the doc today, I hope, if he's even in...I don't enjoy antibiotics much but I'll need them, I expect. *sigh*

Tamsie is quirky and generous and kind. I need to bake more cookies...

I'm sorry you have an infection and hope that you will get to see or have already seen your doctor.

I personally love antibiotics...

Called my bank and was told that the bank manager could see me at 10:30 to notarize the affidavit, so I drove into town. I took 2 copies, and when I went to show the bank manager my DL, she hollered out to Maria, a teller I've known forever, "Is this Karen?" Maria hollered back "Yes", so didn't need the DL. Gotta love my bank.

It's drizzly and blech out, but I'm in my jammies and am going to be lazy for most of the rest of the day.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/371431

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. Thanks for the corn bag info. I knew none of this. If they bring comfort, go for it. Glad you got to see a downy and red-bellied at the same time. Not always easy. I have a red-bellied visiting the tray feeder regularly.

Chicagoland has been dealing with poor air quality due to the Canadian fires. This is forcing some people to play indoor PB but there were plenty of people outside yesterday. I will play outdoors. Our skies have that dirty brown tint to them. Feeling for Canada...

>276 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you.

Wordle 1,448 4/6* trope, shield, deign, edify

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There's just something highly gratifying when two favorite things collide in a good way. The Bookmobile Baby is an MM romance wherein Simon, the county bookmobile driver, goes to towns not on his official route and provides books to children who wouldn't otherwise have access to them. There's a bear of a man, Art, who 's widowed and attracted to Simon. There's an age gap but instant sparkage and eventually Simon moves in with him. The county lays Simon off for his forays off his official route, but between Art and Simon's rich friend Isaac, they are going to use Simon's extensive collection of children's books on a rotating basis in weatherproof and children-sized Little Free Library-equivalent bookshelves. Anyway. Here's the relevant quote: “... I have a collection of picture books at my house that I could circulate right now. I’ve already barcoded all of the books and created an inventory on LibraryThing.com.

I mean, come on! Has anybody read any book that mentions LT? Made my heart so very happy.

Other than that I spoke with my sister and my daughter and my friend Karen. Watched Poker Face with Bill. Listened to the rain on the skylight in my bedroom upstairs.

...
I'm meeting friend Diane for lunch today at the Panera in Apex. I'm going to have to make whoever makes my order crazy because in getting half a sandwich and small salad, I'm going to only want bread, chicken, lettuce, and mayo and for the salad only greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I'm going to bring a a small container of EVOO & balsamic vinegar. Or red wine vinegar. Haven't decided.

I need to decide what to take to my RL book club's book selection meeting on Sunday. It's potluck. Once I figure that out, I'll stop at the grocery store on the way home to get whatever I need that I don't have here.

And then all the usual stuff.

I forgot to include the card I'm giving to Hwan when we meet for Father's Day, my birthday, and Hwan's birthday on the 22nd. There will be a card from Bill and me and another one from the cats, but this one is just from me:

Hee Hee! Love the card, and Hwan will too!

OOoooo! A book that mentions LT, taken for granted that the world knows about the place! I love it. I might have to have it - at least on Kindle.

I hope that today is as happy as yesterday was. Sounds lovely!

>278 karenmarie: Ha! What a card! (You and the dead-tree sludge one.)

I got The Bookmobile Baby, of course, how could I not? I wonder who "Amy Bellows" is on here?

Foot-rock expelled itself in teensy little flinders. No wonder it's been hurting so much. Enjoy the lunch, and remember it's not you being a pain, it's the server's literal job to be sure your request is met by the kitchen.

>277 msf59: ‘Morning the next day, Mark! Happy Saturday to you. I’m glad you’ve got a regular Red-Bellied visitor. My feeders need attention again.

I’m sorry about the air quality. We apparently had some smoke drift over here early this morning, but I see no evidence of it directly.

>279 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, and thank you. I’m pretty sure bonus daughter will love the card. I’m pretty sure you won’t like The Bookmobile Baby because it’s non-shifter mpreg, and it’s particularly ah, detailed, about the sex and issues of men having babies.

Yesterday had some good parts. Had a strange part, too, see below. Not a bad part, per se, just an emotional part.

>280 richardderus: Hiya, RDear. Good point about Amy Bellows being a member of LT. She lives in Utah with her wife, daughter, and 3 dogs. How can she be anything but wonderful with a series called Trash Pandas? Another one called Nerds Who Knot?

Ugh to the horrible foot rock.

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I enjoyed the ride over to Panera Bread, and Diane got there a few minutes after I did. I placed my Sally order (from When Harry Met Sally, of course). They got the sandwich right but put pepper on the salad and gave me the wrong container of dressing. They specifically asked if I wanted a pickle spear and I decided what the heck, but there wasn't one on the tray. They also failed to mention that their pagers only work inside Panera Bread, not on the enclosed seating area immediately outside their doors, so someone finally came out looking for me with my order.

We were serenaded by the mowing machine on the grass near us and the leaf blower on the other side, so went back in eventually. Way too cold, of course. Hard pass on another visit any time soon.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, so can start making Italian Mozzarella Salad today for tomorrow's book club meeting. I won't put the cubed mozzarella cheese in it because one woman is lactose intolerant and another woman has alpha-gal syndrome.

We started an old BBC series, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, and although I don't remember how well they stuck with The Great Deliverance, it was well done. A tad dated, of course, but worth continuing.

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Bird feeders, doing bits of the Italian Mozzarella Salad sans mozzarella today - cutting up vegetables and making the dressing.

I'm also going to finish up transcribing a letter I'd written to Karen in December of 1990, when we were at outs with each other. I remembere keeping a xerox copy of it, just didn't know where it was. When I mentioned it to her yesterday and asked her if she remembered the letter, she didn't. She may not have even opened it up, because she admitted that it could have gotten lost during a move or she was just mad enough at me that she kept it but didn't open it. Sigh.

I found several photos I hadn't seen in a while. I'll be posting one for the topper of my next thread.

I love "I'm a book dragon, not a book worm."

Hi Karen. I recently went through boxes of old photos looking for a particular one. It was fun to see some I hadn't thought of in a long while!

Happy Saturday, Karen. Sue was out by Bree's yesterday, helping with Jack and then Bree invited me and Juno to come out and spend the night so we had a lovely family visit. Of course, hanging with Jack is always a joy. This morning I took Juno on walk on a wooded trail near Bree's house. It was very nice. I just vacuumed and mopped the first floor and it is now book time. Enjoy your day.

Hi Karen!

Ah, The Inspector Lynsey Mysteries! That brings back memories - that was the show that got me hooked on watching (and soon after reading) murder mysteries. I watched it with my mum and it was our favourite show. We still watch a lot of murder mysteries together, and tip each other off if we find anything new.

>282 EBT1002: Ellen! Nice to see you here. The ante has been upped from book worm to book dragon. Anything above a book dragon?

Old photos are so much fun to look at, and bring back memories of those who’ve died. There are also sweet pics of family and friends still in our lives.

>283 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you. Your Saturday sounds wonderful. Doggie walks, visits with Bree and Jack, and an overnighter! Books, too.

>284 PawsforThought: Hello Paws. It’s always great to find a pivotal event that leads to a wonderful hobby. Crime fiction was always my go to, starting with Nancy Drew Mysteries. I graduated to Perry Mason when I was 11, and things have gone from there. I read the first four Lynley and Havers mysteries, but don’t remember a single thing about them. I have the first 20 here at the house, and just bought the 21st, due on Thursday. I just brought the first, A Great Deliverance to the Sunroom. I’d sort of like to read it again, but it’s going to be competing with smut…

I’m glad you and your mum enjoy watching murder mysteries together.

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I did lots of puttering yesterday. Filled the bird feeders and looked through a box of photos and pulled a few of interest. One's going to head my next thread, along with whatever kitty photo I find.

I also started trying to figure out how to get things I need filed into the correct folders. I usually need some time for things to percolate and sound exactly right. I'm almost there with paperwork.

I changed my mind about what to bring today and am going to make Blondies. I think I have walnuts in the freezer as an add-in.

Book club is at 2.

I'm looking forward to your bookclub list and wishing I had a Blondie. *sigh*

Enjoy your evening!

Morning, Karen. Looks like my Jackson Day schedule will now shift to Mondays. He is attending his little daycare school Tues-Thurs. So I will play PB and then head out to Bree's.

I was tending to the feeders yesterday and I saw a male cardinal in the grass feeding two baby cowbirds. Those lazy cowbird parents. LOL. Sue finally saw a male oriole at the feeder too.

>286 LizzieD: 'Morning, Peggy! Happy Monday to you. There were quite a few Blondies left over. Bill's already had one with his morning coffee. Thanks re my evening.

>287 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Wow Jackson in daycare/school Tues-Thurs. Half day or full day? Yay for PB and Jackson Day.

Wow. Wish I could have seen the Cardinal feeding the baby Cowbirds. Glad Sue got to see a male Baltimore Oriole.

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The more I thought about it, the more I decided that it would truly be finger foods at Book Club, and Italian Mozzarella Salad would be the standout that needed a fork. Not that Steph doesn't have forks...

I had everything here at the house for the Blondies, but the walnuts are ancient although they've been in the freezer since the package got opened, so I chopped raw? untoasted? pecans instead. I'm going to throw the walnuts off the porch for the critters.

The author of the recipe was right - they really need to sit 2 hours before cutting. That's what I did, and they're wonderful. They are actually like my brownies recipe - dense, perhaps 1/2 inches tall. I might put chocolate chips in them next time.

There were 8 out of 10 - two were sick but one called me at book club with 4 books, letting us choose. The other woman had sent an email that I hadn't seen, but whoever read it only remembered one of the books, so we chose that one. Lots of lively discussion, books chosen for our 2025-2026 Book Club Year.

Jul – Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Aug – The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Sep – Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Oct – The Future by Naomi Alderman
Nov – The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Dec – How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith
Jan – Yellowface by RF Kuang
Feb – Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Mar – The Women by Kristin Hannah
April – How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
May – book selection for 2026-2027

And, books mentioned but not chosen:
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
The Movie Goer by Walker Percy
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me by Glory Edim
Playground by Richard Powers
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum
Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

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No errands or anything official to do. Whew. Reading, creating the 2025-2026 Redbud and Beyond Book Club schedule. Getting the Sunroom back under control.

>288 karenmarie: What a good result! Walnuts rightly fed to animals who need food instead of inflicted on humans; pecans put into blondies exactly as gawd intended; new books chosen for the group to read. Much joy in your world! *smooch*

Hiya, RDear.

I'm excited about most of the books, but I admit that the Kristin Hannah and the Kate Chopin don't particularly please me. So, initial opinion is 8 of 10.

Yes, good book club, good Blondies, good choice of the pecans for them. Good book choices, too. Mostly.

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Nothing to add to last night's activities beyond watching The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

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Book sort, Virlie's, cleaning ladies, puttering, reading, and etc.

Morning, Karen. Jack will be doing half days. Jack is a slow mover at his house, so I just scooped him up and put him in my truck. Bree got his backpack ready and we headed to the park. Hung out for a couple of hours. Adorable as usual.

I have Trail Watch this AM. A pickleball picnic afterwards. I think we will have 40 people. Birding Book Club tonight. Somewhere in there I will get some reading in. 😎

Yesterday, Sue heard another bird hit the living room window. She looked out and saw a Cooper's Hawk chasing two sparrows. It got one. I did get a couple of photos, of the hawk on the ground. At least it was just a sparrow.

>290 karenmarie: Kate Chopin might yet surprise you, Horrible. Her work isn't as wooden as much of the didactic fiction of its era is.

Jealous of your blondies.

Hi Karen ... thanks for mentioning the Inspector Lynley Mysteries. We watched several seasons several years ago and really enjoyed them. We might be due for a rewatch. We also like Foyle's War, have you seen that one?

I read The Awakening at university and adored it. It’s been a while so it’s possible I might not feel the same now, but I remember thinking it was very refreshing and modern.

>192 karenmarie: oooh, that one looks interesting! Ill go right now and see if my library has it :)
ETA: 36 holds on 12 copies!!! yikes

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Hot one today, so I will play PB early. Had a great time at yesterday's PB picnic. Great group.

>292 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you. Half days sounds good for the boy. Yay for the park, and he’s so photogenic. Wow for TW, a PB picnic and your Birding Book Club. How many people? How are books chosen?

It’s always a sad day when birds hit windows. Sorry that the Cooper’s Hawk was to blame.

>293 richardderus: Hiya, RD. I read The Awakening in my late teens or early 20s. I’ve read it, don’t particularly want to read it again, especially as I remember the ending. For me it, it was a one-and-done book except that Teresa picked it as her book. I just don't want to be riled again, if that makes sense. However, I just got it on Kindle for $.99 plus tax just in case I want to actually read it for book club.

There were quite a few books I read in my late teens at Pepperdine and early-mid 20s that formed my strength and confidence at being a woman and my anger at how women have been treated historically, were treated as my awareness grew, were treated in the decades following my understanding of our mistreatment at the hands of men, and are STILL being mistreated by controlling men and women who’ve been brainwashed. Most of them were, as I mentioned above for The Awakening, a one-and-done experience.

Blondies age well in Tupperware. One just might be calling my name for breakfast. *smooch*

>294 lauralkeet: Hello, Laura. Glad to provide the impetus to re-warch The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. We started Foyle’s War. Bill liked it, but it just didn’t appeal to me. It started in WWII, and that’s not a time period that I can usually read about or watch. Inspector Morse idn't appeal to me either, but that might be because the first seasons now seem so dated.

>295 PawsforThought: You could give it a re-read, as I see it’s in your catalog, Paws. I realize I’m an outlier in my opinion of it.

>296 LovingLit: Hi Megan. I’m actually impressed that your library as 12 copies of it. I hope you can find it soon.

>297 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! I'm glad you've found a 'home' with your PB group. Enjoy this morning's early PB to beat the heat.

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Our house got cleaned, I went through more photos that were in the bottom drawer of the dresser in the hallway. Read, puttered, updated spreadsheets. Bill and I watched another episode of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Reading and etc.

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Jenna and Hwan are supposed to be coming over today for Jenna to get some of the things she wants to take to Washington with her. She's going to let me know when they're on their way.

Other than that, all the usual stuff. I also need to work on the feeders, and prepare and mail two cards for my great-nephews. Oliver is ten tomorrow and his card will be late, and Asher will be 6 on August 8th. Heather will set his card aside until his birthday. Each gets his own card based on an interest with a gift of money. This year I got quilling art cards for them - a musical note for Oliver and a sea turtle for Asher.

>298 karenmarie: I hope the ladies can visit for a while when they get there. Enjoy your Chopin-avoidant reading. I think your outrage might have cooled over the decades, but you know you best.

I'm reveling in a sunny, coolish, breezy day. Tomorrow's review is polishing itself as we speak. *smooch*

As usual, Karen, I've spent so much time on my own thread that I don't have time to visit anybody else's. I haven't had much LT time at all, more's the pity.

3 3Sisters today with Irene. I haven't checked on Nathalie!

I haven't ever read *Awakening* and likely won't now - even at 99¢ + tax. Too bad, Ironclad. (You definitely aren't old enough for that!)

Enjoy your day. I need to feed and hit the books!!!!!

I survived the weekend as a home-bound person, then broke out Monday, when I could drive again. Went kinda nutzo Monday in Kutztown, buying some new and some used books at the new-used bookstore, some used books at an independent thrift store, then some munchies at the supermarket. Yesterday I got my haircut, sandwiching it between a library visit and a B&N visit.

And today, I'm calming down, staring at scattered book piles, drinking my breakfast coffee (at noon). I'll get the hang of this renewed life. I should try the meditating.

>299 richardderus: Alas, RD, they were here for about an hour or so then had to get back so that Hwan could go to a thesis defense by one of her friends.

My outrage has never cooled, but reading books about it has.

We’ve got a sunny, white puffy clouds day. Hope the final polishing goes well. *smooch*

>300 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, nice to see you here. Yay for 3 3 sisters. Happy feeding and reading!

>301 weird_O: Hi Bill. I hope things went well on Friday and that you are stented. Yay for breaking out on Monday, and going kinda nutzo buying books. AND munchies. Wow, a haircut, a library visit, and another book store visit. You da man. I admire people who are good at and are disciplined at meditating. It’s never worked for me.

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Okay boys and girls. Off to create a new thread. Give me a few.