It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but in a good way. This week I focused on spending time with my family, and it was really nice to have the time and flexibility to let most expectations of getting things done go out the window (except for a couple of medical appointments that couldn’t READ MORE
Author: RAIN CITY READS
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV – ELIZABETH BERG
Sometimes even for very different people at very different points in their lives, there is a shared experience. In this book, that shared experience is loneliness. The book begins in a cemetery. Maddy, a lonely teenaged girl, is there on her lunch hour to visit her mother’s grave. Arthur Moses is there – as he READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | END OF SUMMER TBR
This week’s prompt: Some people find when the days lengthen in August, they have more time for leisure reading. Do you have a list of books you want to read at the end of summer? If yes, what titles are on it? I always have a list of books I want to read, READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | FUNNIEST ADVICE I’VE RECEIVED
I can’t really think of any funny advice I’ve received in the sense of it making me laugh. But I have received some odd or just plain misleading advice over the years. The main one is that old chestnut, “just be yourself.” Well, which self? You mean choose one and just be that all READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | TEN FAVOURITE BOOKS FROM FAVOURITE SERIES
I don’t read very many series these days, and the ones I do are usually mysteries, and if I’m honest they tend to meld together in my memory a bit. So choosing a favourite book out of those series wouldn’t be possible. But there were series I read when I was younger, or series READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
This has been a busy week because I was taking a class each evening and fitting in everything else during the day. I started a couple of books, only kept going with one or two, but mostly spent my spare time this week watering the garden, doing housework, or hanging out with my family. READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LOCALLY LAID – LUCY B. AMUNDSEN
I enjoy books about pretty much any kind of pursuit that works with part of nature in a respectful way. Whether it’s gardening, homesteading, farming, wilding, or – as in this case – raising chickens for eggs. It all started with a modest backyard brood of hens. Manageable, not too difficult to care for, produced READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | WOULD I STAY IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (WHY OR WHY NOT)
Well, I don’t really believe in ghosts. I don’t think. Like I believe in creepy feelings and a sense of “something bad happened here” or “something bad could happen here.” So I guess you could say I believe in vibes. But actual ghosts? I don’t think so? But, if we take that out of READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BEST BOOKS I READ IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024
This week’s prompt is supposed to be “Books I Wish Had More/Less [Thing] In Them.” I couldn’t think of a thing, and my brain hurt trying, so instead I’m doing my own thing this week. I missed doing my mid-year round up at the end of June, which I remembered when many other smarter READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
I’ve had a slower reading week because my kid is home from summer camp, and we’ve had a visit from my Dad so spending time together has been the most important. But I still listened to a couple of books while emptying the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen and preparing food and watering READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY – BILL BRYSON
Bill Bryson is a fixture in the world of travel writing, and for good reason. His books have long been favourites of mine, and this one may very well be top of the pile. I read it a couple of decades ago, and have been wanting to re-read it pretty much ever since. Not only READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | FAVOURITE SUMMER FEELS BOOK
This week’s prompt: Do you have a favorite novel that captures the enchantment of summer nights or has unforgettable moments set under the stars? That second part of the prompt, “unforgettable moments set under the stars,” instantly made me think of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I read it READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | A SPORT I WANT TO TRY
HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, this is hilarious. I’m pretty much the least sporty person you’ve met in your life. A sport for me is vacuuming the house or weeding. I don’t do sports, partly because I have a back injury that means I can’t do things that will have me falling about willy nilly, READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | DEBUT NOVELS I ENJOYED
It’s funny, I very rarely pay attention to whether a book is a debut or not. Especially when I’m reading the backlist of an established and prolific author. I rarely know which of their books came first, and I rarely care. But for this post I had to actually do some research and find READ MORE
LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?
I’m feeling much better so far this week, though the cough is still with me. Progress is progress, though! My kid is in summer camp this week, so I’ve had a bit of time feeling lonely, but also getting more done. I’m trying to get a lot of stuff done around the house and READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GROWING OLD – ELIZABETH MARSHALL THOMAS
If things go to plan, growing old is something we all expect to face at some point. When we are young – like, really young – we don’t feel as if this is the truth. Older people, even those our parents’ age, seem like a whole different species. Then we make it to adulthood, and READ MORE
BOOK BLOGGER HOP | FAVOURITE ADVENTURE TRAVEL BOOK
This week’s prompt: July is a month for getaways and adventure. What is your favorite book that takes the reader on an exciting journey or transfers them to a captivating destination? I enjoy reading travel memoirs. Partly I love the vicarious dopamine of reading about people dropping everything in their lives, packing a backpack READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT GUESS ABOUT ME
There are a few obvious answers to this. If you just met me and didn’t know me or read my blog, you might not know that I have several highly complicated and debilitating medical issues. None of them are visible. You might not know that I am neurodivergent or that I’ve had mental health READ MORE