Juli (SuziQoregon) 2024 - Thread 1

Let’s see what happens this year . . .

I'm Juli and I’ve been hanging around the 75 books group on and off for several years. I have a bad habit of disappearing partway through the year.

Expect books, cats, jigsaw puzzles, and other random nonsense around here.

Giving this another try. Hope it sticks this time.

Hello from a fellow WA State LibraryThing-er! I was in your wonderful library early last year to get my reciprocal library card. They have a great Libby selection.

>2 SuziQoregon: I'm awfully glad to see your return, Juli. Whatever happens next, let it be a good thing or bust...we're all going to need refuges in 2024. Big stuff comin' up.

Welcome back, Juli!

Welcome Back Juli from another "75'er" in Oregon

Good luck with your 2024 reading!

>1 SuziQoregon: Hahaha I like that, Juli.

Lovely to see you back again. xx

Happy new year, Juli!

Happy New Year, Juli. We would sure like to see you around more in 2024! 🤞🦉

Thanks everyone. Glad to be back to attempt another year.

Happy New Year, Juli! Nice to see you -- hope we can arrange a meet-up sometime soon :)

>13 RebaRelishesReading: We should definitely get together for lunch sometime now that we live in the Orchards area.

2023 was a year of changes for us. In January we closed on our new house. For a variety of reasons we moved from the NW suburbs of Portland across the Columbia river to the NE suburbs of Vancouver, Washington. The primary reason was escaping Oregon income tax. Once The Hubster retires money from our retirement accounts would have been taxed as regular income so moving to Washington gives us a raise. We also wanted to move to a one level home while we could and before we had to. Also the move gave The Hubster a shorter commute to his job in the SE suburbs of Portland.

Fortunately we were in a position to buy, move, then stage and sell our Portland house. It was nice to get a few things done before we moved in such as window coverings, epoxy coating on the garage floor, swapping out one ugly light fixture that the builder chose, and putting in a pet door from my den to the garage into the enclosure where we keep the cats litter box. Once we got us and the cats moved in late in February we worked on the Portland house to finish clearing out 25 years of accumulated STUFF.

It was totally worth every penny we spent to clean and stage the Portland house before putting it on the market and we were very happy with the price we got and the people we sold it to. They had been renting several blocks away and really wanted to stay in the neighborhood.

Then, at the end of April, The Hubster changed jobs. He was recruited by a competitor of his company who just happened to be located 2.5 miles from our new house. So he went from an hour commute, to a 30 minute commute when we moved to now a 7 minute commute and we’re totally free of Oregon income tax. Unexpected but a good thing and the perfect last job before retirement for him. Now I just need to get him to actually retire.

The rest of the spring and summer was busy with getting things done at the new house. We hired landscapers to do the back and side yards. We purposlly got a small lot and since we have a wooded greenspace behind our house it doesn’t feel small. We have patio and artificial turf for our back yard with a bit of low maintenance flower bed between the turf/patio and the back fence. We’re just super happy with how it turned out and The Hubster was more than happy to leave his mower and other lawn care tools for the new owners of our Portland house.

Our last new house project finally got done in early November when we had pull out shelves installed in all the lower cabinets in the kitchen. I can get stuff out of the cabinets without feeling like I’m going on some sort of cave exploration.

So it took most of the year but we finally got all of the moving in and getting settled done. It was a good move for us and we love the layout and location of our home. Moving to a new development is kind of a crap shoot in terms of what neighbors you end up with but we got lucky. Everyone on our street is great and most are either retired or will be retired soon so are planning to stay here long term.

Wow! Sounds like the move was a great one! Congrats! Happy New Year!! : )

Still close enough to visit us Oregonians? I made a thread for a get-together...

https://www.librarything.com/topic/356633

Happy New Year, Juli. It sounds like you had a busy 2023, but also that it was a good move for you.

Wow! Congrats on the move, it sounds like a good one.

>1 SuziQoregon: Carson agrees, and approves of your choice of a ginger cat in this instance. :-)

Dropping off my star and wishing you a Happy New Year.

Interesting comments about moving to the state of Washington for future retirement purposes. Of course, we are talking about moving from Washington to Oregon now that I'm retired... it does mean paying income tax on our retirement "income".... A couple of times I have mentioned to P that we should look at Vancouver. She has not yet been interested.

Happy reading in 2024, Juli!

This morning from my patio

>15 SuziQoregon: OMG -- welcome to Vancouver!! Having done a big move myself a couple of years ago I know what a busy year you have behind you but it sounds like you're settled now and I hope we can get together (and even perhaps lure some of the Portlanders to come over). Do you know we have a new bookstore downtown? Opened a couple of weeks ago. It's not huge but it's well stocked and friendly. I'm babbling with excitement at having an LT'er north of the river :) Hope to see you soon!!

>22 RebaRelishesReading: I predict regular lunch and bookstore outings for us!

>23 SuziQoregon: PM me and we'll set something up

1. Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood 3.5 Stars

I enjoyed Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis so went ahead and got this one.It’s another mostly light romance in a science environment. Bee is a neuroscientist who is thrilled to get a job on an exciting project at NASA. Until she finds out that her co-leader is Levi Ward who she is certain has hated her since grad school. It’s got pleasant characters in an interesting setting and a predictable enemies to lovers story. There’s also a cat named Schrödinger. An enjoyable book that was perfect to read during the busy holiday weeks.

Hard to believe that it’s January 4th and I haven’t posted any photos of the cats yet ;-)

This is both of them in their favorite spot. The kitty condo with a view of the field and woods behind our house.
Sophie is in the back and Steve in front.


And this is my current favorite of Steve.

>26 SuziQoregon: I heart those kitties!

NE suburbs of Vancouver.... Are you willing to share which neighborhood (does Vancouver have neighborhoods the way Portland and Seattle do?)?

>27 EBT1002: I’ll send you a PM

>28 SuziQoregon: Thanks!

2. Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman 4.5 Stars

I continue to adore this graphic novel series about a teen gay romance. Nick and Charlie are utterly charming. The series takes on serious subjects but it’s all done in a way that feels real. Case in point two conversations with mothers that are very different but both handled with love and in ways that seem true to the characters.

I’m happy that the author says there will be a sixth volume but sad that she says it will conclude the story. While I wait I might check out the TV adaptation and possibly some of the authors other books.

3. Foster by Claire Keegan 4 Stars

A couple of friends recommended Claire Keegan to me and this was the one that was available from the library first. It’s a short novella but there’s much more story there than the length would indicate.

A young Irish girl is sent to live with a couple in another town. Her life with them is very different from her life at home and the experience changes both her and the couple who care for her.

The writing is gorgeous and I definitely want to read more of Keegan’s work.

>31 SuziQoregon: I have this on my TBR, I've read Small Things Like These and have Walk the Blue Fields, a collection of short stories, on the go at the moment.

Hi Juli. I also loved Foster and Small Things Like These is also wonderful. Keegan writes so beautifully.

>31 SuziQoregon: Glad you enjoyed that one, Juli. I also enjoyed Small Things Like These.

I also have So Late in the Day on my TBR shelf.

>32 CDVicarage: >33 BLBera: I just got Small Things Like These from the library.

>34 EBT1002: Good to know. I definitely want to read more of her work.

Haven’t read much the past couple of days. Just busy with a bunch of chores and errands.

We started watching the new season of All Creatures Great and Small last night.

>15 SuziQoregon: This is great news, Juli. Good luck in the new house. I like your woodsy setting.

I am glad you discovered Keegan. I also really liked Foster but it was Small Things Like These that put her on my radar.

Good morning. Haven’t left the house since Friday. We had a weathergasm this weekend. Cold, snow, freezing rain, more snow, then just cold. Luckily we didn’t have the high winds like they did in Portland. Lots of trees down and power outages all over the Portland area but our part of Vancouver is just frozen and cold. Currently it’s 13° out there.

The Hubster made it to work this morning. I need to venture out to the grocery store. it’s not far but I have a window of opportunity today before we’re supposed to get more freezing rain tomorrow. By Wednesday this should all be over with.

I bought a heater for the hummingbird feeder that’s out in the flowerbed. The window feeder is easy to bring in when it needs to be thawed out but the heater for this one has worked great throughout this cold spell. I only had to bring it in once to thaw it. Other than that the heater has worked well.

Watched a lot of football this weekend. Didn’t read that much though. Still reading Float Plan by Trish Doller and thoroughly enjoying it.

>38 msf59: Thanks Mark. We’re really glad we made the move. Super happy with our new house and neighborhood.

>40 SuziQoregon: I'm most interested in that heater. My feeder is glass and not quite shaped like that one but maybe.

>39 SuziQoregon: GAAAK on your weather!! I hope it warms up even sooner than Wednesday. About Heartstopper on Netflix, it is a really good adaptation of Oseman the author by Oseman the screenwriter. Good casting, good stories, a few weird little *things* but solidly made.

Stay warm! *smooch*

>41 RebaRelishesReading: this is the feeder heater I got. Hummer Hearth. It’s pretty adaptable and I’ve seen photos of it on many different styles of feeders. I got mine at Backyard Birdshop here in town.

>42 richardderus: My thoughts EXACTLY regarding the weather. Thanks for the info about the Heartstopper TV adaptation. Sounds promising.

>43 SuziQoregon: Thanks Julie. Once we can get out again I may pay them a visit :)

>44 RebaRelishesReading: If only it would actually warm up enough for,long enough to melt this mess!

Welp - our weather continues to be ridiculous. We got freezing rain starting Tuesday afternoon that just coated everything in ice. The world looked like a glazed donut out there. The predicted warm up on Wednesday just didn’t happen and we’re still just stuck in the low 30’s and the promised warm up keeps getting pushed out. Now they’re saying we could get more freezing rain later today.

We ventured out today for groceries. The Hubster took me out in his truck. Main roads are OK but parking lots and side roads are still treacherous. We’re well stocked now to get us through to our new “thaw by” date.

I continue to not be reading much. I did finally finish Float Plan by Trish Doller last night. Enjoyable contemporary romance. I decided to queue up Bel Canto by Ann Patchett on my ereader. It’s been sitting there unread for ages so it’s time to finally read it.

We are in much the same boat weatherwise, Juli. YUCK

Hi Juli--So does the move mean you are going to change your LT name? ; )

Happy that you are enjoying your new space. Just in time for great weather. LOL. We have power, but I still can't get out of my street - it's all ice!! Maybe by this weekend. Fingers crossed.

>47 richardderus: YUCK indeed!

>48 Berly: Glad you have power. Hopefully we’ll all be thawed out by the weekend. Not changing my screen name. Can’t. It’s been my online name everywhere forever.

>49 SuziQoregon: I use a what is now a previous address for my username and have moved three times since I chose it!

>50 CDVicarage: LOL

>48 Berly: I admit I had the same thought - LOL. (Although I think changing your LT name is complicated?) Anyway, I say no need to change anything, right??

>52 EBT1002: Ha! I have spent most of my life in Oregon and I’m just barely in Washington so I’m keeping the name.

>53 SuziQoregon: You're welcome in WA no matter what name you use :)

>53 SuziQoregon: Thanks!

Fun meetup today. A nice lunch with a combination of the usual suspects and some new people I hadn’t met before. Glad to expand our relatively local ranks. I did my book shopping at Powell’s before lunch but most of the group was headed that way after we finished eating

I only bought one book. Picked up a copy of North Woods by Daniel Mason. Powell’s was having a 30% off nearly everything sale today so it was super busy. Lines were long but they had all the registers staffed so it moved fast.

This lady in front of me in line was definitely taking full advantage of the sale today.

Jeez- and even i wouldnt get that many books-

It was great to see you, Juli!

>56 SuziQoregon: Pleasure to meet you and hear about your new home! Sounds very lovely. And you've inspired me to prioritize getting my hummingbird feeder out once I've organized my storage room in the next few weeks (after I get all my books shelved).

>30 SuziQoregon: I'd seen Heartstopper before, and it piqued my interest. Will definitely add it to my list now.

>56 SuziQoregon: Wow!!

Hi Juli! Great to see you yesterday. I also was one-and-done at Powell's. Although I'd love a grocery cart full of books (!), I already have so many TBRs : )

>56 SuziQoregon: Oh my! I wonder who is the designated helper to bring those books into the home!

You showed considerable restraint, only buying a single book.....

Happy week ahead

>56 SuziQoregon: Whoa!!! She most certainly was! Good for her, I say. And better her credit card than mine, LOL.

>57 Owltherian: Neither would I !!

>58 banjo123: Same to you. It's been ages since we've all been together.

>59 justchris: Great to meet you too. So glad you could join us. The entire Heartstopper series is wonderful!!

>60 RebaRelishesReading: My thoughts exactly :-)

>61 Berly: It's been so long since we've met up in person. Let's not let it be so long before we do this again!

>61 Berly: Oh that's a good question.

>67 SuziQoregon: Also a very good point. Even at 30% off that's a significant bill. We need to make sure that the next time we plan a meetup that you're able to join us!!!

4. Float Plan by Trish Doller 4 Stars

I accidentally read the second book about the Beck sisters before reading this first one. It didn’t make any difference. This was also very good. Ten months after the death of her fiancé, Anna sets out to complete the sailing trip they’d planned. After a treacherous first night she arrives at the first stop realizing she can’t do this alone. She hires Keane (a professional sailor) to help.

They’re both struggling with very different losses and living lives that are different than they had planned. Of course each turns out to be just what the other needed. It’s predictable but a good entertaining contemporary romance with a bit of adventure along the way as they sail the Caribbean.

There are discussions of suicide as noted at the beginning of the book. It’s a special kind of grief for the survivors of such a loss and this book is about healing from that grief.

5. An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor narrated by John Keating 4 Stars

This is the third book in this series about a physician in a small Irish village in the early 1960’s. It’s book three and only five months have passed since the beginning of book one so clearly it’s not a fast paced story.

Take All Creatures Great and Small make it Doctors instead of Vets and move it to Ireland about 25 years later and that’s this series.

It’s a very enjoyable series and the audiobooks narrated by John Keating are great driving around listening. I recommend the series and particularly the audiobooks but start with the first book.

>67 SuziQoregon: I have been eyeing that series for a while. I like the idea of listening to it as audiobooks. It seems like something P and I could listen to while working on jigsaw puzzles....

>68 EBT1002: It would be perfect for that. At least give the first book in the series a try.

6. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 4.5 Stars

I got this book many years ago when it seemed that everyone I knew was reading and loving it. Then (as usual for me) I hesitated to read it because everyone I knew was loving it. It has sat untouched in my ereader library ever since. Now it seems everyone I know is reading and loving Patchett’s latest book. So I decided it was time for this one.

A birthday party is taking place at the Vice-President’s home in an unnamed South American country. It’s for a wealthy businessman and planned as a way to woo him to doing business in the country. A performance by his favorite opera singer is what got him there. The party is interrupted when a group of terrorists takes everyone hostage. The ensuing standoff lasts for months.

It seems odd to describe a book about terrorists and their hostages as lovely but that’s the most accurate description of this story. Over the course of the standoff the relationships that develop among the characters are wonderfully depicted. These characters will stay with me for a long time

On the off chance that I’m not the last person on the planet to read this and you also haven’t read it, you should.

I started The Bee Sting by Paul Murray a few days ago. It’s a shared read with a bunch of others around here. I’m not very far into it yet. I just finished the first section. It’s definitely interesting.

Glad you finally got to Bel Canto, Julie :) Up for Tom Lake yet?

>70 SuziQoregon: I loved Bel Canto!!! Less so The Bee Sting, but maybe you will enjoy it more. : )

>72 RebaRelishesReading: Probably soon.

>73 Berly: I’m nor really far enough into The Bee Sting to know yet. Just barely into the section section.

I also loved Bel Canto, Juli, but I know what you mean about hesitating to read books that everyone is talking about and loving. I do that all the time.

>75 BLBera: Glad to have company in this :-)

7. Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer narrated by Carrington MacDuffie 3.5 Stars

I got this audiobook after seeing some of the promotional information and photos for the TV series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. It’s based in this book and I’ve recorded the series but wanted to listen to the book first.

It’s partly a biography of Capote and partly mini biographies of the wealthy socialites he befriended and dubbed “Swans”. It’s very much a story of an era and social class of people that are far from my own experiences.

I was familiar with Capote and some of the women in the book but many were unknown to me. Most of them married multiple times and were ridiculously wealthy jet setters. When Capote betrayed their friendships and published a story featuring extremely thinly veiled portrayals of some of the women who considered him a loyal friend their friendships were shattered.

It’s interesting in an in- depth celebrity magazine style. These people lived luxurious lifestyles but also lived out the idea that money can’t buy happiness.

The book was interesting and I’ll be curious to find out how the TV series compares.

Carrington MacDuffie does a great job of narrating and I would not hesitate to get another book narrated by her.

I'm still reading The Bee Sting but it's slow going. Partly because of the book and partly because of my lack of attention span. Anyway I'm a little over halfway through. Sometimes I'm loving it and sometimes I'm wishing it had been edited by about 100 pages.

Yes, I think it can be smart to hold off on reading those popular books. But I usually don't have the self-discipline to wait.

>79 banjo123: Oh that happens to me a lot too!

I finally finished The Bee Sting last night. I didn’t love it. I might have loved it if it had been edited down quite a bit. Posting my thoughts next. I’ve been avoid reading threads of others in the group who I knew were reading it because I didn’t want any spoilers before I finished it. Now I need to go do some major thread reading to catch up on other people’s thoughts on this one.

But today is the last day of the month and I have 2.5 hours left in my current audiobook. I really want to finish this today and get one more book in for February so I think after I finish my errands I need to start a new jigsaw puzzle while I finish listening.

8. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 3 Stars

“So many of the bad things that happen in the world come from people pretending to be something they’re not.”

From the publisher:
“The Barnes family are in trouble. Until recently they ran the biggest business in town, now they’re teetering on the brink of bankruptcy – and that’s just the start of their problems. Dickie and Imelda’s marriage is hanging by a thread; straight-A student Cass is careening off the rails; PJ is hopelessly in debt to the school bully. Meanwhile the ghosts of old mistakes are rising out of the past to meet them, but everyone’s too wrapped up in the present to see the danger looming . . .”

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. I thought parts of it were very good and I thought other parts were a total slog. I honestly think if it had been edited down by about 150 pages or more I would have liked it better. I never considered abandoning it because I wanted to find out where all the threads of differing viewpoints were going to lead. They led to an increasing spiral of an ending that turned out to be a bit of a mess.

I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. It was good but it could have been so much better.

>82 SuziQoregon: Hi Julie. Thanks for keeping me from adding yet another book to the towering stack near my desk!

Hope life is treating you well and that you're going to stay dry and snug today.

>83 RebaRelishesReading: Lots of people are loving this one but to me it had as many flaws as it had successes.

So I did manage to finish listening to Wild Strawberries last night while starting a new jigsaw puzzle. Light but fun.

In print I started The Red House Mystery written in 1922 by A.A. Milne (yes the A.A. Milne who wrote Winnie the Pooh). I had no idea he’d written any adult books much less a murder mystery until I read about this book in a NY Times newsletter. Luckily I was able to find a copy at my local library.

On audio I’ll be starting the latest No. 1 Ladies Detectives book today. These audiobooks are comfort food for me and other than one huge mistake with another narrator a couple of books back the audios narrated by Lisette Lecat are delightful.

9. Wild Strawberriesby Angela Thirkell 3.5 Stars

Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell narrated by Hilary Neville

This is the third book (or second depending on which list you use) in a series by Angela Thirkell set in the fictional county of Barsetshire created by Anthony Trollope. The books were written between 1933 and 1961 (this one in 1934). They are generally a light and delightful blend of social satire, comedy and romance.

The story revolves around the Leslie family and their family home Rushwater. The cast is confusing at first but I soon had them all sorted out. Lady Emily is the absentminded matriarch. Her daughter Agnes is equally silly. Emily’s sons John (a young widower) and David (much more interested in fun than work) don’t live at home but visit often. The Leslie’s eldest son died in the Great War and his 16 year old son. Martin is the heir and visiting the family for the summer. Also visiting is Mary Preston who is the niece of Agnes’s husband.

Romance is In the air as Mary falls for the imminently unsuitable David when everyone knows that John is the better match for her. Visitors in the neighborhood from France add more fun and a bit of fervor to restore the French Monarchy that fails to disrupt Martin’s birthday party near the end of the summer.

It’s light with more fun than substance but all in all entertaining. This is the first I’ve listened to instead of reading. Hilary Neville is a good narrator. I will likely get the next book on audio even though it has a different narrator.

>85 SuziQoregon: Totally agree re Ladies No. 1 I have From a Far & Lovely Country waiting for me on my phone -- is that what you started?

>87 RebaRelishesReading: Yep! So glad they corrected that awful narrator mistake and brought back Lisette Lecat!

Steve decided to help me with my puzzle this afternoon

Steve seems like a 'Big' help!

Happy Saturday, Juli. I am glad you also got to The Bee sting in February. I agree with the issues you had but I still came out on the more positive side of it. It definitely needed editing. Hooray for Bel Canto! I am a big Patchett fan.

Steve is a handsome fella. Don't often see common human names for cats, but it suits him.

>89 SuziQoregon: What a great photo. So nice that you have a helper for your puzzle.

I will have to look for the Thirkell books on audio. They might be fun to listen to.

>90 Owltherian: Ha! Yes he is a big boy. Both our cats are Siberians so they are very large and floofy.

>91 msf59: I avoided thread hopping until I finished The Bee Sting because I wanted to definitely firm my own opinion. Now that I’ve finished it I’m catching up with other people’s thoughts. Very interesting. I loved Bel Canto. I downloaded Tom Lake but not sure when I’ll start it. After Bee Sting I want to keep things light for a bit.

>92 ChrisG1: Thanks Chris. He agrees with you. He’s kind of a narcissist and admires himself in the mirrors regularly. We’ve always given our cats human names. They also get middle names so they know when they’re in trouble.

>93 BLBera: He normally doesn’t do that but he was determined yesterday. I do have a cover for my puzzle board for when I’m not working on it. Because cats.
The Thirkell books are definitely more light entertainment than substance but I think they’re fun.

I realized that I’d never posted the jigsaw puzzle I finished a couple of weeks ago.

Mountains on Fire from Buffalo Games
750 pieces. Gorgeous and more challenging than I expected for a 750:piece puzzle.

Steve is a handsome fellow. I love that you give animals middle names so they know when they're in trouble. Hope Saturday is treating you well.

>Yes he’s a good looking guy.

Swallowtail Dance by Phyllis Shafer from Pomegranate Puzzles
1000 pieces

I love Pomegranate Puzzles. They are so nice and feature such interesting artwork.

10. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne 4 Stars

I had no idea that A.A. Milne (yes the Winnie the Pooh author) wrote any adult novels much less a murder mystery. I learned about this book from a NY Times newlsetter and luckily found a copy at my library. Written in 1922 it's a locked room mystery set in a country house in England with a fun cast of characters and an amateur detective who of course figures out the truth.

This was a fun book and while very Agatha Christie-ish it also had some very funny moments.

Antony Gillingham arrives at The Red House just after the fatal shot. He's there to say hello to a friend who is a guest at the house. These two heartily embrace their roles as the Sherlock and Watson imitations and their friendship and banter is wonderful. The actual mystery kept me guessing for a bit and while I was pretty sure of the truth the way Milne had Gillingham work out what truly happened was a fun ride.

It's a quick light read and despite being written in 1922 is still an interesting murder mystery.

11. From a Far and Lovely Country by Alexander McCall Smith narrated by Lisette Lecat 3.5 Stars

This is book 24 in the series so obviously I enjoy them. These books on audio are the audio version of comfort food for me. The characters feel like old friends and the stories continue to be enjoyable listening. This is very much due to the excellent narration by Lisette Lecat. She also feels like an old friend at this point because she's told me so many stories over the years.

These are light and charming. There is often not a lot that happens but the observations and conversations among the cast are just a nice way to spend time.

The mysteries are always fairly light and often the minor parts of the books because so much ot the ongoing story in the series is the lives of the cast of characters.

Go with the audio editions (except for the one they stupidly had narrated by someone other than Lisette Lecat - read that one in print) and pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy the stories.

12. Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer 4 Stars

I heard about this one from a Debbi (Walklover). The author herself has a chronic illness and her protagonists are always Jewish and always coping with some sort of chronic illness themselves.

The Cohen family and the Lippman family haven't spoken in decades. since the original founders of a kosher bakery had a falling out. Avital now runs Best Babka and also deals with a chronic painful illness. Ethan Rosenberg has been dispatched to get a job at Best Babka by his grandfather Moishe Lippman. His assignment is to steal their signature Pumpkin Spice Babka recipe without letting them know he's the grandson of the man who founded Best Babka with Avital's grandfather.

Of course Ethan and Avital fall for each other. Of course they have differing interpretations about why the families despise each other. Ethan becomes less concerned about finding the secret recipe and more interested in both Avital and baking. The secret has to come out and you know it will be devastating to their relationship when it does.

I loved this one. I learned a lot about kosher laws, Jewish traditions, baking, Interstitial Cystitis, Medicinal marijuana and thoroughly enjoyed the whole story.

I will definitely be reading the author's other books.

>100 SuziQoregon: This sounds like a fun read, Juli. I will look for it. I love the pictures of your puzzles.

Happy birthday, Juli. xx

>103 BLBera: it was fun. I'm glad I was able to find a copy.

>104 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! I had a great day with lots of reading.

13. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn 4 Stars

I enjoy the Bridgertons both in the books and the TV series. This is the fourth book in the series but it will be the upcoming season 3 of the show.

I have been looking forward to this one which features Colin and Penelope’s story. It was as delightful I had hoped. I did want to punch Colin a couple of times but he managed to get his act together and straighten out his errant ways.

These books have a great mix of romance and humor. I think I laughed more while reading this one than I did with the previous books. The banter among the Bridgerton siblings and their mother is wonderful.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

>106 SuziQoregon: I really hope they do the adaptation to an even higher than usual standard...Penelope's, um, secret is so very important and the sheer bravado this could get from Nicola Coughlan is drool-worthy.

Belated birthday orisons!

>107 richardderus: I totally agree!!

Lovely puzzles! I've finally cleared my dining table enough to think about doing my first puzzle in my new home. I pulled out my Klimt puzzle because I love the art so much! I'll be relying on my puzzle keeper to keep it safe from my kitty between sessions.

>102 SuziQoregon: and that sounds like an interesting read...maybe I'll add it to my list.

>106 SuziQoregon: Have only read the first book and then watched Season 1 and 2. Looks like I would enjoy book #3. : )

>109 justchris: Yep - with cats a covered puzzle board is a necessity for me!

>110 Berly: This was actually book 4 in the series. The TV show is skipping the third book to make Penelope and Colin’s story season 3 of the show. Not sure why they decided to make it confusing.

>111 SuziQoregon: Gotcha. Also, check out the Oregon thread because Jim and Judy are coming for a visit!

>112 Berly: Excellent! I’ll check in on the thread.

Latest puzzle
Couldn’t find a title but it’s from the Sure Lox Hometown Collection.
1000 pieces

>114 SuziQoregon: Lovely.

Have a great weekend, Juli.

>115 PaulCranswick: Thanks

14. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 4 Stars

Fantasy is very much not my go to genre but enough of my friends with varied reading tastes were liking this one that I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. This was quite the adventure.

A war college class of twenty somethings with a high likelihood of dying before graduation. The dragons they might or might not bond with are the other major group in the cast of characters. I think I liked the dragons more than the people but it was all interesting, frightening, exciting, maddening, and occasionally funny. That last part is because a snarky dragon can be hilarious even in the midst of a dangerous situation.

The plot is reminiscent of many dystopian YA books I've read but these are not teenagers and many of them have had some serious hardships in their lives.

Interesting story with lots and lots of secrets and since this is the first in a series not all of the secrets are revealed by the end. I will definitely continue with the series but since the third book isn't due out until January I'll probably wait until closer to the release of that one to read book number two.

Not my usual fare but I thought it was very good.

15. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by Eunice Wong 4 Stars

Well this was fun. Vera Wong is a 60ish woman who owns a teashop in San Francisco's Chinatown. She spends more time trying to micromanage her grown son than she spends dealing with the very occasional patron at her teashop.

When she discovers a dead body in the shop one morning, Vera decides to help the police solve what she's sure is a murder. She helpfully draws an outline of the body on the floor with a sharpie and steals the flash drive the dead man has in his hand.

Soon she's in full detective mode and narrows her suspects list to four people. She brings them together and tries to determine which is the killer. Before long the group has become friends and Vera begins to dread that one of her new friends might be a killer.

A humorous amateur sleuth story with a bit of a found family plot. Realistic? Of course not. Entertaining? Absolutely.

Eunice Wong's narration of the audiobook is excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to another book narrated by her.

16. The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri narrated by Grover Gardner 3.5 Stars

This is the eighth book in Camilleri’s series about a Sicilian detective. They are fun police procedurals that always include a bit of humor and tempting Italian food.

This time around it’s a kidnapping. Inspector Montalbano is on leave after getting shot at the end of the previous book. He’s not the lead on the case but is asked to return to duty to assist. Because he’s not running the investigation it allows him some leeway to do his own thing on the side.

There are plenty of twists and turns and of course Montalbano figures it out but not without a couple of arguments with his love interest and a few delicious sounding meals along the way.

17. Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey 3.5 Stars

This was a mostly fun golf related romance. A formerly successful golfer who has lost his game and his longtime biggest fan team up to get him back in the game.

There was lots of fun banter between the two of them and I enjoyed most of it. I could have done without a couple of the details of their sexual activities but it was still an enjoyable contemporary romance.

>118 SuziQoregon: Arrggh! You got me! On hold now.In the meantime, I'll check out Didn't See That Coming.