Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Books on my Spring 2024 TBR


Novels:

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

The Great Unexpected by Dan Moore

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

Frank Herbert's Dune: A Graphic Novel


Classics:

Sanditon by Jane Austen

The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse


Creativity:

1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

The Great Book of Journaling


Ozathon:

The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum


Nonfiction:

What It's Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by James Patterson

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

Somehow by Anne Lamott

Sapiens: The Birth of Humankind: A Graphic Novel by Yuval Noah Harari

Mind Over Batter: 75 Recipes for Baking as Therapy


Kids' Books:

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle

The Time Garden by Edward Eager

Strange Objects by Gary Crew (1001 Children's Books)

Quirky Tales by Paul Jennings (1001 Children's Books)

Crisis on Conshelf Ten by Monica Hughes (1001 Children's Books)

The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers (2024 Newbery)



Are any of these on your list?

What are you reading that I might like?



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information. 


Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Sunday Salon: I Get a Late Start on Middle-Grade March

     

Welcome! I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week plus it's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 






I finished three books last week. It's probably just because Garrison Keillor is old like me, but I really enjoyed his memoir, Cheerfulness. Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine? told me everything I needed to know about how to make a zine. I am thinking about making one about butterflies for our naturalist group advanced training day. It was suggested that I might like to read Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by a blogging friend who saw I'd just finished training to rescue sea turtles. It was the ideal time to read this new book by Sy Montgomery.







What I Read Last Week:




What I'm Reading Now:

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (Children's Fantasy)

Wellness by Nathan Hill (Novel)







What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:





I learned about Middle Grade March this week from Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. I realize it's the middle of the month, but that feels appropriate somehow, and since I seem to be reading a lot of middle grade books anyway lately, I decided to join in. 

This year's prompts:

Read a debut novel...The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
Read a book about an immigration or refugee story...The Other Side of the River by Alda P. Dobbs
Read a book with a one word title...Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
Read a book with an animal on the cover...A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Read a book that you feel like you missed out on...The Phantom Tollbooth









I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. 

Here are 3 Good Things from last week.




Good Thing #1:

I'm taking a birding field trip every week
in March. So far, we have visited six different
excellent birding sites on Galveston Island.



Good Thing #2:

I saw my first White-tailed Kite.



Good Thing #3:

These Forster's Terns look concerned;
surely the sign does not apply to them? 




Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.


Friday, March 15, 2024

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop


 


Today's Featured Book: 

The Phantom Tollbooth written by Connie Willis

and illustrated by Jules Feiffer

Genre: Children's Fantasy

Published: 1961

Page Count: 256 pages

Summary: 

For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. 

Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams!




 


BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City ReaderWhat book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.


There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself—not just sometimes, but always. When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he’d bothered. Nothing really interested him—least of all the things that should have.








THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by 
Freda's Voice, but Freda is currently taking a break and Anne of Head Full of Books is filling in. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Freda's Voice and visit others in the linky. 

“SILENCE!” thundered the policeman, pulling himself up to full height and glaring menacingly at the terrified bug. 

“And now,” he continued, speaking to Milo, “where were you on the night of July 27?” 

“What does that have to do with it?” asked Milo. 

“It’s my birthday, that’s what,” said the policeman as he entered “Forgot my birthday” in his little book. “Boys always forget other people’s birthdays.








The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer   

March 15th-21st - On average, how long do you spend writing a review? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

I rarely spend more than five or ten minutes. I write my review as soon as I finish reading a book and I focus on getting down my first thoughts.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Books I’m Worried I Might Not Love as Much the Second Time Around

Once upon a time I never reread books. I never thought I'd love a book I reread as much the second time around.

But that was before I discovered how much I love rereading. 

I wouldn't be surprised if a quarter or a half of the books I read this year are rereads.

Still, I do worry that some of the books I hope to reread this year will not live up to that first time.

Here are some of the books I'm hoping to reread this year.


The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse

Middlemarch by George Eliot

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle


Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information. 


Saturday, March 9, 2024

The Sunday Salon: A Week in Which I (Finally!) Complete the Sea Turtle Beach Patrol Training and I Become a Junior Ranger

    

Welcome! I'm happy you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week plus it's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 









Okay, so I didn't get to do my sea turtle rescue training at Padre Island National Seashore last week. 😔 When we arrived, the tide was up and stayed up, and there was no beach on which to practice driving the UTVs. 

Instead we visited several spots along the Great Texas Wildlife Trails and did some volunteer work for Texas Parks and Wildlife. I wrote a post about it here.

We rescheduled our training for this week, and, happily we were able to go back down to Padre Island and complete the training. Now we are ready for sea turtle patrol duty.









What I Read Last Week:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle 





What I'm Reading Now:

Cheerfulness by Garrison Keillor 

Whatcha Mean What's a Zine? The Art of Making Zines and Mini-Comics 
by Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson

Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell 
by Sy Montgomery

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster










What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:








I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:





Good Thing #1:

My friends and I became Junior Rangers
at Padre Island National Seashore.



Good Thing #2:

Here I am in my official Junior Ranger uniform.



Good Thing #3:

We had a blast practicing driving the UTVs on the beach.
We can't wait to get started on our sea turtle beach patrol duty in April.


Note: Just so you know, Junior Rangers are for the "young and the young at heart."





Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.

 

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Birding Along the Central Texas Coast on the Great Texas Wildlife Trails

So how was your outing? my friend Cindy asked.


A disappointment. And a delight.


Two friends and I made plans months ago to learn to be sea turtle rescuers. Sea turtle

rescuers patrol the beaches for Kemp’s Ridley turtles during April to July along the

seashore on the Texas Gulf Coast. To become a certified member of the Sea Turtle

Patrol, a person has to do a six-hour online training about sea turtles, a two-hour online

training about driving the UTV, and then a four-hour in-person training where you

practice driving. We all did the online trainings and we reserved an Airbnb and

drove four hours to Corpus Christi for the training, only to learn that high tides had

covered most of the beach; we wouldn’t be able to do the training this weekend.


So that’s the disappointment and it was a great disappointment.


But we pivoted and decided to use the weekend to go to sites along the

Great Texas Wildlife Trails and report back to Texas Parks and Wildlifevia iNaturalist and eBird. That way the weekend wouldn’t

be a total loss, we thought.


And, oh my, the weekend was far from being a total loss… the weekend

turned out to be a delight.


We visited six sites along the GTWT, along the Central Texas Coast (CTC). Here are my thoughts about these spots.


Matagorda County Birding and Nature Center.

CTC-005A.


We stopped here on the way to Padre Island, before we knew that the training was canceled.

We walked the trail through some wooded areas and to the water, and there were

birds everywhere. A flock of a couple hundred sparrows were in the trees, and

lots of water birds.


But here was the highlight…


Yes, a Bald Eagle.


Packery Channel.

CTC-062.


We scoped out where our training was to take place (or not take place, as it turns out)

on Padre Island National Seashore the next day, and then we headed for Packery

Channel. There were a lot of water birds wading in the shallow water and

I snapped photos of some of them.


A Great Blue Heron.


A Great Egret.


Padre Island National Seashore

CTC-063.


We got the bad news that it was too dangerous to do our driving practice. We were

crushed—we’d driven 250 miles and we’d spent a lot of money—but we decided

to use our stay to do work on the Great Texas Wildlife Trails for our naturalist group

instead. Since we were already at Padre Island, and it’s one of the sites on the trails,

we spent time looking for wildlife there. Again, we saw a lot of birds I’d seen before

along the Upper Texas Coast—Herring Gulls, American White Pelicans and

Brown Pelicans, Black-bellied Plovers, Royal Terns, Sanderlings—but I also

saw some new-to-me birds…


A Red-breasted Merganser.


A Long-billed Curlew.


A Greater Yellowlegs.


My favorite find was this one…


A Vermillion Flycatcher.



Packery Channel Park. 

CTC-064.


To cap off the day, we visited Packery Channel Park, walking distance from the

townhouse where we were staying, in the evening.


The trees along the path were filled with Yellow-rumped Warblers. 


When we left to head back to the townhouse, we were delighted to see an Osprey at the exit.



It was on our last day that we found ourselves in Bird Heaven. A couple of birders

at Padre Island National Seashore recommended driving down Mustang Island

to a site there. So we did. All I can say is, Oh my.


Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center.

CTC-057.


If you are a birder, this is a place you must go, I think. Enormous flocks of birds,

and a lovely wooden boardwalk to get up close to all of them.


Here are the new-to-me birds I saw. 


Blue-winged Teals.


Green-winged Teals.


Northern Shovelers.


We were overwhelmed with birds, counting for eBird, taking photos for iNaturalist,

and then I looked up, and what did I see flying overhead?


Whooping Cranes!


Two adults Whooping Cranes and a young one walked around the grasslands eating.

I watched in wonder. I never thought I’d get a chance to see Whooping Cranes.

They were magnificent.


We walked the trail and saw lots and lots of other new-to-me birds.


Pied-billed Grebes.


Black-necked Stilts.


Long-billed Dowitchers.


American Avocets.


We met a birder who recommended we stop at one more site, so we couldn’t resist.


Goose Island State Park.

CTC-048.


There’s a big live oak tree at Goose Island State Park, the birder told us, and near it

is a spot that a colony of Whooping Cranes live during the winter.


Off we went, and sure enough, he was right. The Big Tree (official name) was truly big, and nearby was a little colony of Whooping Cranes. 




I was able to get a nice close up of a Whooping Crane here.


A Whooping Crane flew up as we drove off, giving us a lovely send off.

A Whooping Crane flew up as we drove off, giving us a lovely send off.


For more photos, link up at 
Wordless WednesdayComedy PlusMessymimi's MeanderingsKeith's RamblingsCreate With JoyWild Bird Wednesday, and My Corner of the World.