Summer plans...

 I have a road trip coming up this week; my sister and I are headed to Bryce Canyon National Park for several days. I've been there before, but it's been a long time. My family went the summer I turned ten. I remember being enamored with all the hoodoos, arches, and beautiful stone spires. It was like a magical fairyland. I'm looking forward to going back, doing some hiking and birdwatching and stargazing. And just relaxing.

So I won't be around this week. And then I have lots of family gatherings in July starting with our annual 4th of July breakfast. So I won't be around much then either. I had some posts tentatively planned for July, but now I think I might take a few weeks off, or maybe even the whole month. I could do with a little blogging break. And summer seems like the perfect time to take one. Though I'm sure I'll be around to comment on all of your blogs. 

Have a wonderful July.

And happy reading!

Bryce Canyon National Park

A Fabulous Thru-Hike by Derick Lugo

 "Hiking long trails isn't about ticking off boxes or meeting some arbitrary standard; it's about the journey, the moments that unfold along the way, and the personal growth that comes with each step."

 

I read Derick Lugo's The Unlikely Thru-Hiker, a book about his journey along the Appalachian Trail, two years ago. And it was wonderful. A 5-star read all the way through. So, when I saw this one about his trek up the Continental Divide Trail I immediately bought it. And I'm so glad I did. 

Lugo's hiking memoir is full of adventure, honesty and humor. He is a talented storyteller, and the way he relates his long journey really makes it come to life, with all his struggles and triumphs, and all the friends he meets along the way. I haven't read about any other hiking adventures along the Continental Divide, so it was fun to get a glimpse of this long trail across the spine of America. I'd never want to hike all of it, but parts of it sound pretty fabulous. And I absolutely loved reading this book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Here are a few of my favorite inspirational (and wise) quotes from Derick Lugo:

• It's remarkable to think that I now consider nineteen miles a short day, whereas just a month ago, it would have been a full day's hike. Like anything in life, repetition breeds improvement.
• An optimistic mindset will always go farther than a pessimistic one.
• This experience has taught me that the greatest rewards often lie just beyond the edge of my comfort zone.

Happy Reading!

Haiku Reviews...

 

Could've Fooled Me by Jenny Proctor

Deportation looms

for Sarah until her brother's hockey

teammate offers to marry her. 

Sweet hockey romance .... 383 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Carter Williamson is the perfect guy; he and Sarah are great together, and this clean romance is super fun and cute.)

Miss Winter in the Library With a Knife by Martin Edwards

Six strangers. A mystery

murder game. A blizzard. So many

secrets. And real murder.

(An entertaining murder mystery set in Northern England; I always love that isolated and snowed in kind of setting.)

Miss Newbury's List by Megan Walker

Ten childhood dreams to do;

 then she'll marry the duke. She wasn't

counting on Charlie.

Regency Romance .... 309 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Rosalind's bucket list was fun, and I enjoyed her banter with Charlie.)

Happy Reading!

June's Bookish Art...

 

Joseph Farquharson -- Summertime

"There's no better escape from life than into a book."

--Heather Webber, South of the Buttonwood Tree

The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly

 

Oxford, England. 1936.

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. "Jack" Lewis, his brother, Warren, and the other members of the literary society known as the Inklings, are called upon to help solve the murders of two members of a secret society headed by Aleistor Crowley before the next full moon. These amateur sleuths take on the case, even though their investigation puts them on a dangerous collision course with a murderer.

John R. Kelly brings these famous authors and the city of Oxford to life in this entertaining mystery. I loved Tolkien's and Lewis's interactions. Jack ends up being the main detective, but it was a lot of fun to 'meet' all the other historical figures in it like Warren Lewis, Hugo Dyson, Charles Williams, Dorothy Sayers, and even Agatha Christie. Their discussion about the rules of writing mysteries made me smile. I also really liked the secret society aspect of this mystery; that's always been a big draw for me. Plus, there are great quotes heading each chapter. And you know how much I like bookish quotes. I really enjoyed reading this one, and I very much hope Kelly writes a sequel to it.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Similar read:

What Rough Beast by H.R. Knight 

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, by Clare Pooley

First line:  "Until the point when a man started dying right in front of her on the 08:05, Iona's day had been just like any other."

From the blurb: 

Every day Iona Iverson, a stylish, opinionated, larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, rides the train to work with her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, whom she knows only by nickname: Impossibly-Pretty-Bookworm and Mr-Too-Good-to-Be-True. Of course, they never speak. Seasoned commuters never do.

Then one morning, the man she calls Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader chokes on a grape right in front of her. He’d have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver.

This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people discovers that talking to strangers can teach you quite a bit about the world around you—and even more about yourself.

My thoughts: Charming, humorous, and full of heart. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's entertaining and fun. I loved all the characters, especially loud, exuberant, witty and wise Iona. I also loved how these six characters who range from a teenager in high school to a solicitor in his 60s, went from being complete strangers who never even spoke to each other to such caring train friends. Found family stories are always  my favs and this one is the best! It has such great writing and so much heart, I could not put it down. (And I want to give a quick thanks to Cath who first put me onto this book with her 2023 review. Though it has a slightly different title in the British version.)

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Summer reading...

My summer vacation has officially started (one of the benefits of working at an elementary school), which means my summer reading begins today as well. And there are SO many books I want to read. My list of mysteries, popcorn thrillers, romance, historical fiction and nonfiction books is long enough for three summers at least, which gives me lots of books to choose from these next two and a half months. The only problem is deciding where to start. 

I just finished reading The Swamp Fox by John Oller, the true story of how Marion Francis fought the British in South Carolina and helped win the Revolutionary War. I did not know anything about the Southern front or what went on in South Carolina during the American Revolution. Needless to say, I found this biography well-written, informative and completely engrossing. And I have new respect for the quiet but determined Marion Francis and his small band of dragoons. I am planning on reading a few more books about the Revolutionary War this summer starting with Band of Giants by Jack Kelly (which I ended up having to buy because my library decided to get rid of its copy last month. It's so annoying when libraries get rid of books you were planning on checking out!) 

As for my first fiction reads of summer I'm trying to decide between Coram House by Bailey Seybolt, A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio and The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly. At least those are the top three books sitting in my library bag. I might change my mind and dig deeper into the bag for something else. Who knows. I'm just looking forward to a summer of free reading. What about you? What books are you hoping to read this summer?

Happy Reading!