April Reads

 

Hello friends, 

April showers were perfect for reading - and we're back to the campground on the weekends which is my favorite reading spot :)  Here is what I read in April - hope you read some good books too!

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood 

4 stars - Stem Romance - really fun!

The Farm by Joanne Ramos  

4 stars - cover says it all - a little dystopian but didn't seem that far fetched.  Really interesting concept. 

Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood 

4 stars - I am really enjoying Ali Hazelwood!  

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

4 stars - This is a Yound Adult Mystery/Thriller... a little too anxiety inducing for this easily frightened reader but I can see why this series is popular for sure!  

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez

3.5 stars - I really enjoyed this novella - I just wanted more of it!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

4.5 stars - Really sweet book about found family.  I saw some of my friends really like this on goodreads so I picked it up - it did not dissapoint!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

2.5 stars - My goodreads rating is 3 stars because you can't give half stars but this book was defintely not my favorite of the month.  It's a murder mystery with an unreliable narrator and I just didn't get invested in any of the characters - I did want to know what happened so that kept me reading I suppose. 

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

4.5 stars s- I really really enjoy Abby Jimenez and this one was no different!  I was so excited when this hold came available in my Libby app yesterday - it made being sick this week just a little more bearable :) Romance with a bit of depth - representation of mental health struggles and characters who aren't perfect but are still lovable (I really liked the portrayal of Justin's mom).

What did you read this month? I'd love to know your favorites!

Peace, Love, and Paw Prints, 

Camping Librarian

March Reads

 

Hello friends, 

I've been having a very productive reading year so far.  Not sure why I'm reading so much more than normal so far in 2024 - hiding from reality? trying to create balance in my life? insomnia? Probably a combination of all of the things :-) In any case - here's what I read in March and some super quick thoughts on each. 

Shout by Laurie Halso Anderson.  

4 stars - powerful memior in verse.  

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross 

4 stars - first book in a "romantasy" duology.  I am not an avid fantasy reader and really enjoyed this book. I will definitely read the second. 

The Antropocene Reviewed by John Green

5 stars - I am ashamed it took me this long to get to this book.  I listened on audio - read by the author - and loved every minute of it.  Don't miss out on this one if you don't usually read essays/nonfiction.  You won't regret it!

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

4 stars - Vampires and Werewolves and Romance (and Mystery!) - Oh my. I really enjoyed this one and will definitely dive into more Ali Hazelwood

The Deep by Rivers  Solomon

3 stars - I loved the premise for this book more than the reading of it. 

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

4 stars - I would not nomally pick this book up by looking at its cover or description but it was a great read.  An interesting speculative look at a futuristic world where no one ever dies naturally. 

Sometimes I lie by ALice Feeney

3 stars s- I don't tend to pick up thrillers by choice but I had a bookclub reading bingo card to complete lol.  I was still confused at the end but at least it wasn't the kind of thriller that made it hard to sleep at night.

What did you read this month? I'd love to know your favorites!

Peace, Love, and Paw Prints, 

Camping Librarian

2022 In the Books

Hello friends, 

I don's use this blog very often anymore - but it's still a great place for an end of year re-cap so here I am, hello again :-)

Reflections from 2022 : 

2022 feels like a blur somehow with lots of big moments (and precious little moments too)...graduations, new drivers, family vacations, new jobs, family weddings, loss of a precious furbaby... no wonder it feels like it flew by. Here are a few photo highlights - I went through my photos and picked one from each  month:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2022 Reading Highlights:

I got a lot of good reading done in 2022 :-) Here is a link to my reading Year in Review from Goodreads.

And these were a few of my favorites:

Favorite Picture Book:

This was a beautiful, gentle book about what life was like when everything changed in March of 2020.  All the feels, and the authors note at the end brought tears.  I originally read it at the library but loved it so much I bought a copy for my personal collection.

Favorite Novel:

Definitely my favorites had a theme...I think they touched me because of personal experiences with Covid. and I'm sure unfortunately many of us have a personal experience.  I've never actually read Jodi Picoult before (I have no idea why, certainly a very popular author!) but I will definitely pick up others. 

Favorite Surprise:

I don't usually read Science Fiction but this was a bookclub choice and I LOVED it.  Should teach me to read outside my favorite genres more often. 

Do you have any reading goals for 2023?  I'd love to hear about them!  I'm going to try to read some more Children's and Young Adult books  - somehow I missed those this year.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

Peace, Love, and Paw Prints, 

Camping Librarian

Spring is in sight

 

Hello friends, 

Happy March friends!  Spring is so close I feel like I can taste it - in fact yesterday Camping Husband and I had an outside lunch date where we picked up some Panera, ate it at a local park and then took a nice walk, on the way home we grabbed some Rita's Italian Ice.  With all that said it was still a little chillier than I would have liked for those activities but hey, the sun was shining and some Vitamin D from sunshine is always nice🌞

Reflections : 

Winter has been pretty quiet here.  I've been reading, binge watching junk TV, and doing a few house projects (and dreaming of spring!).  Winter is my least favorite time of year, I'm like the opposite of nocturnal and I lose the desire to be active after dark🌘  The good news is that with spring in sight I'm starting to think of camping plans, looking forwad to seeing camping friends, and we are starting to spend more time outside in general. 

Exploration:

• After a few health scares we're working on making some adjustments to eat better and move more.  No diets here, just good old fashioned trying to eat more things that are good for us, cook more (eat take out less) and get those legs moving on a nice walk - or on the variety of gym equipment we have collected in our basement over the years lol.  I've been making this crustless quiche a lot - I use egg beaters because I dont like the way eggs look when you crack them (insight into a Camping Librarian weird-ism ).
  
  
  

What We're Reading:

I've really enjoyed all of these (the book covers are links to their goodreads pages) but The Great Alone and The Good Sister have really stuck with me.  I read The Good Sister as part of a book club and probably wouldn't have normally picked it up but I couldn't put it down! The Great Alone was beautiful and heart-wrenching and I wish I could keep following some of the characters further into their future!  If you read any of these let me know how you like them, and I'd love to hear what you're reading and loving right now!

Peace, Love, and Paw Prints, 

Camping Librarian

Snow Days Are for Posting

 

Hello friends, 

Apparently the only time I think about writing now is on snow days...almost a full year apart! ❄❄ I'm feeling extremely lazy today, currently on the couch with a good view out the window at the snow, two blankets on my lap with my laptop, phone, and kindle within reach for constant entertainment.  No need to move until camping pup needs to go outside.  (or to make more coffee!)

Looking back - 2021 feels so much the same as 2020, it was full of the ups and downs of life, including pretty low low's when covid took my brother at the young age of 55. But as life goes there were also sweet moments of family time and snuggles and peaceful moments of sitting by the lake with a good book. 

Reflections : 

I went back and read what word I picked as the my word of the year last year - yep, that's right, I couldn't even remember what it was :-) It was mindful(ness) with supporting words: balance and grace.  I don't know how good I was at achieving any of that.  I definitely have tried to keep grace in mind in the past year as we are all carrying extra burdens and we never know what's below the surface in another person's life...remembering that and also remembering to give myself grace has certainly found a place to live in the back of my mind.  So I suppose "grace" was my success story - balance kind of... well didn't happen :-)

Exploration:

Honestly, I don't really have the energy in this moment to think about any "resolutions" or a "word of the year" - just thinking about picking one seemed overwhelming and exhausting, and hey - I've gotten better at giving myself grace so I'm just not going to do it ... and that's ok :-) What I do want to try to do is be more mindful about is being present for the little moments of joy and peace.  So often I'm waiting for the next vacation or the thing that is stressing me out to be over, and of course that perfect season of everything being just right never comes, because ... well, life happens.  So in this busy, stressful, anxiety filled (that might just be me :-)) world I need to relish and appreciate when happiness, quiet, or love filled moments appear in the day to day.  I hope you will find ways to grab onto those little bits of sunshine too. 

What We're Reading:

Camping husband is working gazillion hours a day (hug your healthcare workers) so he's not reading much of anything other than medical information, covid news, and emails... 

I posted to my facebook asking for book recommendations from friends as a reading challenge for the year and the first one I jumped into is:

Here are also a few favorites from 2021:

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

Peace, love, and paw-prints, 

Camping Librarian

Snow Days and Stay-cations

 

Hello friends, 

Hope all of my Maryland/ Delmarva area friends had at least a few minutes to relax and enjoy a bit of a snow-day.  Though I know many of my friends (like camping husband) have to head into work despite the weather - I still hope you got to take a few extra minutes to enjoy an extra cup of coffee or watch kids or pets play in the snow.  (Camping dog does not like the snow and has decided it is only acceptable to potty under the deck where there is no snow (or in the warm comfort of the living room if no one is watching- sigh). 

I feel like I won the snow day lottery because I was only supposed to work these two days that the library has been closed and have a scheduled stay-cation for the end of the week.  So bonus for me - a whole week of not needing to get in my car and go anywhere :-)

Reflections : 

So far this week I have been in super low-key mode...reading, watching the snow (being anxious about camping husband driving in the snow - it's a specialty of mine), and today I sorted through some old photos which brought many smiles.  Today's my dad's birthday, and my mom's is later this week -- he would have been 89 today, and she would have been 75, and they definitely taught me to love camping, and nature, and that family and friends are the most important thing of all. Here are some photos of where my love for camping began :-)

I also added one to stay on the side bar of me in front of one of the first campers I remember, I can still vividly remember crying the day we sold it (we were buying a new one but I just loved it soo much!).  We had a pop-up before that one but my toddler memories are fuzzy :-)

Exploration:

• One of the cookbooks I've been looking through and really like is this one:
• 

I tried the Turkey Breast and Green Beans with Chimichurri Sauce.  SOOO yum,, and so easy!  I used tenderloins instead of a full breast - it's what Instacart substituted (and it was cheaper and worked great!) and I used a store bought sauce (carefully looking at ingredients to make sure it was at least close to as healthy as homemade, I found a few good options at Wegman's but liked the one pictured below best (yes I've made this twice now)- a bit more expensive I'm sure, but I'm all about convenience sometimes.   

What We're Reading:

Camping husband is on a politics and history kick and is reading: 

All the Presidents Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

Certainly a serious book but I also hear him chuckle at times, usually I think at the conversations that are recounted. He has sat with it for a few hours at a time so it must be holding his interest even though I don't think it's probably my cup of tea for snow day reading...

Here are the books I've read since last checking in (a slightly lighter batch of books than camping husband's selection)

I really enjoyed all of these - click on the covers to link to more info on goodreads... the two graphic novels (Measuring Up and Pumpkinheads) were both really cute and quick reads with great art.  I would recommend any of these 5 books for different reasons and that's a pretty good reading streak if you ask me :-) Five with no duds!

How are you spending your snow days? 

Peace, Love, and Paw Prints, 

Camping Librarian