Space Station Mir

For this Top Ten Tuesday' s "Summer Freebie," I'm doing books that make me think of summer, based on cover, title, description, setting, or anything else. Some of these are books I've read and others are on my TBR.  Books That Make Me Think of Summer  Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan Camp by L.C. Rosen Well Met by Jen DeLuca The Villa by Rachel Hawkins The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland One Last Summer by Kate Spencer Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

I feel like I did a lot of reading this month. Even though I only finished a few books, I started and continued reading many more. I've been a vociferous and random reader lately--so here's some variety. Books Read in May 2025  Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli--Random library browse find, about a woman who was raised as a social media star, the impact it's had on her, and her quest to save her little sister from the same fate. Tina: The Dog Who Changed the World by Niall Harbison--I've followed Harbison on social media for a while, and I love his stories about his rescue dogs in Thailand, so I was happy to buy the book to support. It's a more long-form version of his online stories, and I really enjoyed the stories about Tina and the other dogs. Funny Story by Emily Henry--Another impulse library grab, because I knew I would enjoy another literary romance from Emily Henry. This one is a really absurd situation--living with the ex-boyfriend of the woman...

A Thorn In Every Heart by Kate King (Enchanted Legacies #1)  Release Date: April 1, 2025 Full Disclosure: I applied and was accepted to receive an eARC for this book, but there was a mix-up and I never got it/never received a response. Recently, I found it on Kindle Unlimited, so that's how I read it. First of all, if you're looking for a heart-pumping, spicy romantasy, this is definitely a great book for you. Second of all, the same thing that got me to pick up the book is probably the main reason I'm not giving it 5 stars: Beauty and the Beast meets Anastasia! I was EXCITED. One of my favorite fairytales and one of my favorite historical mysteries! Yeah...no.  Don't get me wrong. The book is clearly heavily influenced by both Disney films, but as someone who, yes, has seen the Disney films, but also has read other versions of both stories...no. I don't really see a lot of the Anastasia story at all, again, unless, you count select elements of the Disney movie, and...

It was a solid although not spectacular reading month. I fell in love with J. Penner's cozy fantasy series, reading all three that are out now. I also read a couple books that have been on my TBR for years, including one by a woman in translation. I even read a more traditional classic, which I don't do a lot these days! Books Read in April 2025 Well Met by Jen DeLuca--A less famous Maryland renaissance faire gets off to a slow start but loins will burn. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa--An aging math professor's memory lasts only 80 minutes, but he makes a lasting impression on his housekeeper and her son. I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman (Book club read)--A mom and daughter take a curated East Coast college tour. Honestly, skippable. A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner (Adenashire #1)--Fantasy British Bake Off. Have I said enough? A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons by J. Penner (Adenashire #2)--Baked goods, tea, and an adorabl...

 What a great Top Ten Tuesday topic! I'm proud to be a Marylander, and we have some excellent authors, past and present. Here's a collection of mostly living authors from my state, including some I actually know! Authors Who Live(d) in Maryland Anne Tyler--The author of The Accidental Tourist  and other quintessential Baltimore novels is one of the first authors I think of. I loved The Accidental Tourist; some of her other books less so, but she's definitely an institution. Edgar Allen Poe--He's so associated with Baltimore that the football team is named after his most famous poem. Probably our most famous local legend. Adrienne Rich--Not as famous as Poe, but definitely well known and one of my favorite poets; I think it's so cool that she's also from Maryland. Ta-Nehisi Coates--I didn't realize he was from Maryland, but he shows up high on a lot of lists; I haven't read him yet, but he's pretty famous. Frederick Douglass--Shamefully, he was ensla...

 My Shakespeare professor once asked us to open our "Complete Works of" tomes and put our finger down randomly on a word. Then, we would write an essay on how that word functioned in a play of our choice. My word was "wish," and it has remained a special word to me ever since. What is the power of a wish? Some characters seem to always succeed in making their wishes come true, while some never do, and some are in between. I've added books that I wish to read someday--we'll see how much of that comes true. So, thank you for letting us choose the word for this Top Ten Tuesday topic over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Books With the Word "Wish" In the Title (That I Wish To Someday Read) The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, trans. Danusia Stok (The Witcher #0.5)--Ok, this one I have already read, but I couldn't leave it off! The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1) by Chris Colfer--I was interested in this even before I realized it was written by the ...

I've actually read a few books more recently that have surprised me, mostly in either good or neutral ways. I think I've been jumping into a lot of books (ebooks) based on title and the first page rather than a description, so that's also ended up giving me some surprise about even what genre I'm in!  Books That Surprised Me Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer--I thought this was going to be satirical fantasy, but it turned out to be a full-blown romance, just set in a fantasy world. A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J.  Penner--In the vein of much cozy fantasy, I thought this was going to be about a fantasy baking competition (which it was!) and a romance, which...it wasn't really. The romance bit started out sweet but then became very rote--BUT the friendship/fellowship part turned out to be probably the most important of all, in a surprising way, and I loved that, which brought the book up from 4 to 5 out of 5 stars for me. Jane Buehler's Sy...