I didn’t make any reading or blogging resolutions for 2025, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on catching up. (Or on catching up to a point, at least.)
Someday soon I’m going to close the open tabs in my browsers; delete the unread emails and unposted drafts; and start fresh in 2025. (See my earlier post about my embarrassing ability to keep undone things on my mental to-do list indefinitely.)
As part of the ongoing effort to clear my blogging to-post list, though, here’s a bookish look back at the first half of 2024.
Bookish Highlights
January 2024
First Book of the Year 2024
Annual First Book of the Year post with Sheila at Book Journey!
London 2024
I did eventually manage to post about the bookish things we did in London (even though I came back with COVID).
Top Ten Bookish Things to Love about London.
We’re going back this month (!) and plan to do the Charles Dickens House, Sherlock Holmes Museum, and Charing Cross Road that we didn’t get to, as well as the British Museum. (Sadly, we only have one day in London this time.)
February 2024
Granddaughter’s First Birthday
We’re a bookish family! C. has a lot of books, but she received another pile of them on her birthday! My husband and I both love shopping for board books for her, especially if we hit on one that becomes a favorite of hers. At almost two now, she still loves The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen, pictures by Dan Hanna but doesn’t seem as fond of the sequels. (A tough lesson to learn at an early age…the sequels often fall short of the first one!)
April 2024
Local Author Showcase Book Fair
This local author event at a brewery in a nearby town was especially nice because my daughter (visiting from NY) went and shopped with me.
May 2024
Local Author Panel Discussion
In May, I hosted the spring Coffee with Local Authors at my library.
Bermuda Bookstore
We took a Boston to Bermuda cruise in May with a big group of fellow line dancers, and crossed the island by van to meet up with the Bermuda line dance group, which was definitely a trip highlight. I packed a lot of books set on Bermuda or on cruise ships, but only got through half of them.
On a visit to Hamilton, some of us went into The Bermuda Bookstore to shop. That was the bookish highlight of the trip! Such a lovely bookstore in a beautiful location!
Although I did visit the cruise ship library, which seemed like it could be a pleasant retreat, two women were sitting and talking together the whole time I was perusing the shelves, so I got annoyed and left. (A more knowledgeable reading traveler would have known to pack a pair of earplugs, but I’ve been doing that ever since!)
Currently Reading
Nashville: Scenes from the New American South by Ann Patchett
We’re in Nashville, celebrating a friend’s birthday, and doing the whole tourist thing over the long MLK Jr weekend — down to the cowboy boots and jean jackets! This book was published a few years ago, but still seems very relevant!
Recently Read
This post is linked up to both Sunday Salon and The Book Date.
Sunday Salon is to encourage conversation about books and bookish things, but can expand into many other topics. The weekly link-up and Facebook group are hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz.
This post is also linked up to It’s Monday, What Are You Reading, hosted by The Book Date.