Christmas Books

 

I’m the outreach librarian for my local public library. I’m pretty new to the job, but I’m really enjoying. The library has numerous self-lending stations throughout the county to give community members, especially those who have difficulty getting to the library, access to books. I’m starting to add Christmas books to my deliveries to the library’s outreach stations. Maybe I should have been like all the stores and started with Christmas back in August.

#librarylife #lovemylibrary #libraryoutreach #librarianlife #christmasbooks #christmasbookstagram #bookstagram #howmanyistoomany 

Book Haul

 

📚 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐥 📚 

I stopped at Island Bookstore in Corolla, NC this afternoon and came home with theses lovely books. Northern Heist has been on my TBR for awhile and since tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, I figured I might as well splurge. The story is based on one of the biggest and still unsolved bank robberies in history. I also bought Saint X. It’s about a girl whose sister was killed while the family was on vacation. 

The bookstore has a box of free ARCs. I was thrilled to see No Second Chances in the box and grabbed it. It was a lucky find because @ohiobookgal posted about No Second Chance just this morning and it sounded so good. Serendipity that I was able to pick up a free copy this afternoon. I’ll chalk it up to a little early luck of the Irish! 

QOTD: do you believe in luck? Are you a lucky person or what is something lucky that happened to you recently? 

#bookhaul #northernheist #saintx #nosecondchances #thrillers #crimefiction #luckyday #bookstagram #igreads #readerlife #indiebookstore #supportsmallbusiness #supportindiebookstores #shoplocal #bibliophile #bibliophilelife 

2022 Hopefuls

 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑻𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚!

Here’s my book pile to start off the new year. Not sure what order I’ll read them in, but these should be my main focus over then next month or two. Thank you to Kensington Publishing for the gifted copy of Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams. I have books on my kindle and audiobooks on my phone that will be mixed in with this pile too. 

We got home yesterday afternoon after spending Christmas at our daughter’s house. I have to go grocery shopping today. Give me some dinner inspiration! 

QOTD: what are you having for dinner this week? 

I need inspiration and ideas! 

#tbrpile #bookstagram #readinghopefuls #justread #booksbooksbooks #alwaysreading #booksnerd #bookwormproblems #bibliophile #bibliophilelife 

Currently Reading

 

And just like that our house is quiet again. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, food, and dogs. Our daughter and her husband were here with their two dogs. Our son and his gf visited with their dog. We spent Thanksgiving day at my sister’s with her whole crew and my parents. The kids and their fur babies have all gone back to their homes. Pretty sure our two dogs are going to spend the rest of today sleeping after all the running around and playing they did with their pals. 

Back to reading for me. I’m #currentlyreading Her Name is Night by Yasmin Angoe. The main character is an assassin and there’s lots of intrigue! Trying to finish this up by the end of the month. What book are you trying to finish up before November ends? 

Happy Hanukkah 🕎 to bookish friends celebrating the holiday! Wishing you all peace and light! 

#currentlyreading #hotchocolate #hotchocolateandcurrentlyreading #hernameisnight #thomasandmercer #yasminangoe #assassin #thrillerbooks #thrillersuspense #kindle #kindlefirstreads #kindlepaperwhite 

The Best Laid Plans…

 

Hello weekend! 

My plan for today was to visit my mom. (She’s in an Alzheimer’s facility.) I stopped to pick up some snacks for her when my sister called. Mom’s facility is now on a two week lockdown because a few residents and staff members are covid positive. So frustrating and disappointing. 

Anyway, my hubby had pulled out some paperbacks to donate to the two LFL I often visit. Hope someone enjoys some great  Robert Crais books! My husband and I both love Crais’s series featuring private investigator Elvis Cole and his pal Joe Pike so I hope these books will find a new home. 

Attempting to help hubby hang drywall tomorrow. I really think he’s overestimating my strength. 🙃 My goal will be to not drop a piece of drywall on our heads! What plans do you have for the weekend? 

#littlefreelibrary #robercrais #paperbacks #sharethelove #weekendvibes #bookworm #alwaysalibrarian #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #elviscole #joepike #PleaseMaskUpSoICanVisitMyMom

FLL Friend

 

“Reading brings us unknown friends.” - Honoré de Balzac

I missed posting yesterday because the day got away from me, but that’s okay. I had to make a trip to see my mom yesterday and that gave me the opportunity to drop off some books at a Free Little Library.  When I parked by the FLL, I could see a young man browsing the selections. I waited until he was done and was walking away before getting out of my car with my books. He turned around, noticed me and yelled “Are you putting those in the library? Can I see them?” He ran over to me and we spent a few minutes looking at the books I was donating. I asked him what kinds of books he liked to read. He said he was looking for how to manuals and spy novels. We talked about books for a few minutes and then he went on his way. Our chat was a bright spot just when I needed it. Books are good for the soul. 

How’s everyone’s week going? Any weekend plans you’re looking forward to? 

#freelittlelibrary #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #bookworm #booknerd #bookstagram #readerlife #lovetoread 

Shop Local

 

Happy August! 😎

We visited Island Bookstore  in Corolla, NC yesterday. We always stop in this lovely indie bookstore when we’re at the beach. I picked up Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich and this cute t-shirt. This book has been on my GoodReads want to read list ever since Crime Reads mentioned it as a best new paperback last April. Happy to finally get my hands on it. 

Synopsis: Dane Kirby is a broken man and no stranger to tragedy. As a life-long resident and ex-arson investigator for McFalls County, Dane has lived his life in one of the most chaotic and crime-ridden regions of the south. When he gets called in to consult on a brutal murder in a Jacksonville, Florida, motel room, he and his FBI counterpart, Special Agent Roselita Velasquez, begin an investigation that leads them back to the criminal circles of his own backyard.

Arnie Blackwell’s murder in Jacksonville is only the beginning – and Dane and Roselita seem to be one step behind. For someone is hacking a bloody trail throughout the Southeast looking for Arnie’s younger brother, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who possesses an unusual skill with numbers that could make a lot of money and that has already gotten a lot of people killed—and has even more of the deadliest people alive willing to do anything it takes to exploit him.

As Dane joins in the hunt to find the boy, it swiftly becomes a race against the clock that has Dane entangled in a web of secrets involving everyone from the Filipino Mafia to distrusting federal agents to some of hardest southern outlaws he’s ever known.

What are you reading to kick off the month? I’m still reading The People You Meet on Vacation. 

#hardcashvalley #brianpanowich #minotaurbooks #obx #islandbookstoreobx #indiebookstore #independentbookstore #shoplocal #beachread #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #alwaysreading #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #readerlife #bookworm #booknerd 

Hitting the Road

 

Happy Friday! 

✅ beach towel

✅sun screen 

✅sunglasses

✅book

✅kindle

✅audiobooks

✅ AirPods 

How many books do you take on vacation? 

I think I’m all packed to head to the beach this weekend. I’m taking the book The People We Meet on Vacation. My kindle and phone are loaded with ebooks and audiobooks. I think I’m ready to hit the road! 

Hope y’all have a great weekend! 

#thepeoplewemeetonvacation #emilhenry #vacation #whichwaytothebeach #roadtrip #vacation #vacationmode #beachreads #beachready #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #readinglove #booknerd #iread #readerlife #beachbound 

Free Little Library Love

 

My daughter and I visited my parents on Wednesday. We had very nice visits. This was the first time my daughter got to see her grandparents  in person since before shut down last year. 

There are three Little Free Libraries right by my dad’s skilled nursing facility. I dropped off some books in all three. Sharing is caring! 

I’m reading Blackout today. Ironically, we had a big thunderstorm storm roll through last night and lost power. Still off today. Fingers crossed it comes back on soon! 🤞🏻

What’s your best your best tip for surviving without electricity? 💡

#littlefreelibrary #sharingiscaring #bookstagram #spreadthelove #nopower #poweroutage #clearingmyshelves #readerlife #readingcommunity #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #booksbooksbooks #booknerd #bookworm 

Happy Independence Day!

 

Celebrating my freedom to read on this Independence Day and every day! 

Hope you are having a joyful and safe weekend! 

#independenceday #july4th #4thofjuly #readreadread #freedomtoread #bookstagram #books #readerslife #reader #redwhiteandblue #partyintheusa #bestofamerica #freedom #letfreedomring #readfree #bibliophile 

Library Books

 

Hello Tuesday! 

I stopped at the library yesterday afternoon. It was my first time actually going in the library since the start of the pandemic. I did take advantage of their curbside pick up during shut down. And I’d be lost without their ebooks and audiobooks through the @libby.app. But it sure was nice to go in and browse the library shelves! These two books are on my TBR so it will be nice to knock them off the list. Have you read either of these yet? 

I feel a little ahead of the game because I already have dinner planned for tonight. I am not a good meal planner! Throwing steaks and corn on the grill to go with some macaroni salad. 
What’s on your dinner menu this week? I always need inspiration! 

#findyoufirst #linwoodbarclay #williammorrowbooks #thesearcher #tanafrench #viking #penguinrandomhouse #thrillerbooks #mysterybooks #librarybooks #lovemylibrary #readingcommunity #readerlife #bookworm #bibliophile #libraryhaul #alwaysreading 

Let It Go!

 

Happy Wednesday! 

I started a new book yesterday.

It’s by a debut author from a small independent publisher. I had high hopes. 

I knew by the end of the first page that it wasn’t for me. I think the opening scene was meant to be sort of shocking or a provocative way to introduce the main character, a teenage girl. It was supposed to be a peek at the wants and desires of this girl. It felt like an exploitation. 

But I kept reading. I wanted to give this story and the author a fair try. A few more chapters in, I gave up. The characters were flat. The story never really picked up and the depictions of violence against teenage girls was too over the top and unnecessary. 

It was disappointing, but I’m not going to spend my time reading a book I don’t like. There’s too many other great books I want to read. So I happily browsed my library’s ebook collection and found something more suited to me- a thriller from a familiar author featuring a female PI. 

When I was working in the library, I stressed to kids, especially reluctant readers, that it was ok to give up on a book and find something else. It was a tough concept for some kids to get. Are you the kind of reader who pushes on through a book no matter what? 

Happy reading! 

#noshameinmygame #readhappy #alwaysreading #bibliophile #readerlife #everybookareader #choosewisely #librarylife 

Memorial Day

 Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day we honor and remember those who died in active military service of our country. 🇺🇸

My son in law is a history buff so I used some of his books to put together this stack for today. 

What’s on everyone’s agenda today? Right now I’m listening to the noisy cicadas and watching my daughter’s dogs chase the cicadas flying around the yard. One of her dogs loves eating them. 🤮

Hope y’all have a great day! 

Currently Reading

 Currently Reading 

Happy Thursday! 

I feel like I haven’t posted in forever. Last week we traveled from our place in PA to our place on the Outer Banks of NC. We broke up the drive by staying overnight at our daughter’s and son in law’s house. Easier traveling with the dogs if we do that. We’ve been pretty much working almost nonstop since we got here last Friday getting the place ready for the summer rental season. We bought two new beds for the bedrooms. Then I  bought a new dresser for one of the bedrooms. We rearranged both bedrooms and my husband painted the ceiling in one. 

Then my husband decided we needed a new hood over the stove. The one that was there was pretty beat up and rusted. I had to go get that. I ordered a new top rack for the dishwasher and installed it all by myself. Hubby painted the railings on the deck. This morning I stared cleaning out and rearranging the kitchen cabinets.

So I’m way behind on writing some reviews. My current read is Confessions on the 7:45. Started it last night and I’m interested to see where the story is going. 

Hope you’re having a good week! What’s everyone currently reading? 

#currentlyreading #confessionsonthe745 #lisaunger #parkrowbooks #ineedavactionfrommyvacation #alwaysreading #ebook #kindle #librarybooks #librarylove #beachread 

Speedy Internet?

 

Happy Saturday! 

I’m #currentlylistening to Smoke by Joe Ide. It’s number five in the IQ series. 

I live in a little rural corner of the world. It is beautiful, but good internet is hard to find. For years the only internet available was through a regional telephone provider and it’s slow. And goes out frequently. And is very slow and just generally sucks. And yet we put up with it because it was really the only option. But now the technology gods have given me an option. We’ve switched over to a cellular internet provider and life is good! Netflix isn’t pixelated. It doesn’t take forever to text a pic of the dogs to my daughter. Everything loads faster. Yippee! But I’ve been spending the morning switching my email account that was with my old internet provider over to gmail. I have to go through every app and every online account I have and make the change. But it’s so worth it when I finally kick my old internet provider to the curb this week. 

My next change will probably be to get rid of our expensive satellite tv provider and switch to a live tv streaming service. Any recommendations? Hope you all are having a delightful Saturday! 

#currentlyreading #smoke #joeide #audiobook #alwaysreading #iq #readwithmyears #audiobookstagram #audiobooksisreading #readreadread #changes #internet #theneedforspeed 

Last, Current, Next

 Last, Current, Next Reads

Happy Saturday! 

I had to take my Gracie pup to the groomer yesterday and that meant getting to spend time at the bookstore. I picked up my next read while I was there. So here’s my #lastcurrentnext

Last read: Concrete Rose- the prequel to The Hate U Give is a powerful and compelling story of a young man deciding how he wants to live his life and embracing fatherhood. 

Current read: Strangers on a Train- Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel of two strangers who make a deadly pact. I’m reading this for the #thehitchcockzone read and movie watch party hosted by @lindsays_books this month. 

Next read: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien  Charles. A young librarian fights to save the American Library in Paris during WWII. How could I not buy this book? 😀 

Hope everyone stays safe and warm this weekend. 

#lastcurrentnext #concreterose #angiethomas #strangersonatrain #patriciahighsmith #thehitchcockzone #theparislibrary #janetskesliencharles #myweekendisbooked #alwaysreading #bibliophile #kindlepaperwhite #bookstagram 

Meet the Blogger

 Meet the Blogger 

Happy Saturday!

I guess it’s about time I properly introduce myself to the bookstagram community. My name is Kris. I’m a retired high school librarian. I worked at a small rural school serving grades 7 through 12. Best job ever! 

I’ve always been a reader since I was a little. My favorite genre is mystery and thrillers. Sue Grafton, Laura Lippman, and Michael Connelly are three of my favorite authors. And even though I’m retired, I still enjoy reading young adult books. 

My husband and I have been married for 32 years. He’s a retired social studies teacher. We taught at the same school. We have two kids and they’re both teachers now. We have two dogs- Rory and Gracie. We spend part of the year at the Outer Banks, NC. I love the beach! 

I don’t like coffee or tea. Am I even allowed to be a bookstagrammer if I don’t drink coffee or tea? 😀Whenever there’s a mug in one of my pics it’s filled with either chocolate milk or Coca Cola. I love chocolate, pizza, and Bruce Springsteen. 

Once in Barnes & Noble, I noticed a grandmother and grandfather shopping for books to give to their teenage daughter. I asked them if they knew what their granddaughter had read recently. The grandmother mentioned a few titles. I then spent the next 5 minutes giving them an impromptu book talk of some of the books that were on display. The grandmother asked if I worked there. “No. I’m a high school librarian and my talent is matching kids with the right books,” I replied. She ended up buying two books I recommended. 

That’s me in a nutshell. The photo me meeting Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney at a book signing a few years ago. 

Have a great weekend!