Literary Friday, ya’ll!

 

Happy Literary Friday Saturday! I missed the post yesterday because I went to a party for a birthday girl and it was so fun seeing Little A all happy and shouting out “it’s my birthday! I’m the birthday girl!”

And ya’ll….. I had CAKE. One slice. Not super thick. Not super tiny. Just a normal-ish piece of cake and it was DIVINE. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm……

This week has been pretty good- I’ve got my walk in every day and I feel pretty good. I also wore tights/leggings for the first time EVER in public and people did not hide their children or shriek in terror ( before I started losing weight, before the diabetes diagnosis- I always felt my thighs were just a bit too chunky for tights. I also had similar thoughts on skinny jeans. I now wear them as well.) But more on this stuff another day- changing some of my thoughts, searching for the perfect jeans, etc!

Moving on to the bookish stuff…

1. ICYMI at Traveling With T: Follow Me.

 

2. Someone had a big party this week 🙂

 

3. “How the story is told: Audrey, Cat (a friend of hers) and Him (Audrey’s stalker). Each voice is needed in this story- and how the story is told just makes you want to read faster.”

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{ partner @gallerybooks } Today, on my blog, I reviewed @katelizabee’s second book, Follow Me, which publishes tomorrow! You are def going to want to read this- even though it’ll give you pause as to how much we influencers share online to our followers. . . From my review: “How the story is told: Audrey, Cat (a friend of hers) and Him (Audrey’s stalker). Each voice is needed in this story- and how the story is told just makes you want to read faster.” . . I read this back in 2019 in a couple of days & really think it’s a great book ( I would SO love to hear if you’ve read it, on your TBR list, etc- so feel free to comment!) . . #travelingwithtreads #travelingwithtbookreviews #followme #genxbookstagrammers

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4. Bookmail- is Eight Perfect Murders on your TBR list?

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Thanks @williammorrowbooks for the free review copy of Eight Perfect Murders by @petermswanson. . . While The Kind Worth Killing remains my hands down absolute fave book of his ( of the ones I’ve read) this cover & description is giving me the good goosebump-y feelings. . . About the book: 'Fiendish good fun' ANTHONY HOROWITZ If you want to get away with murder, play by the rules A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels. The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to mystery bookshop Old Devils. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted online an article titled 'My Eight Favourite Murders,' and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list – which includes Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Can the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted? . . This bookmail + @bathandbodyworks Candle put some yay in my day! ❤️ . . Will you be reading Eight Perfect Murders? . . #travelingwithtreads #genxbookstagrammers #eightperfectmurders #peterswanson #williammorrowbooks #decklededge #bookmail #bookmailisthebestmail

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5. Talking about getting healthy…

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Looking back at the last week of healthy choices & walking: 1. Walked 6 miles ( one day it was raining ☔️ cats & dogs so vacuum dance party!) 2. New veggies tried: Asparagus. Not terrible, kinda had a broccoli-ish like taste. 3. Carb report: most days i stayed in my recommended 30g of carbs/per meal. Thursday- not so much because I had both lunch & supper on the road ( but happy to report that I did leave behind potatoes at both meals.) 4. I discovered that between lemon 🍋 & lime added to my water- I actually prefer a squeeze of lime. 5. Grilled pineapple 🍍 on top of my chicken continues to be a sweet fave to complement the savory spice of the chicken. 6. My calf muscles are feeling strong. I’m about to start incorporating arm 💪 exercises because I want to start having strong arms. { any recommendations on best arm exercises?) 7. My mom bought me my first pair of leggings/tights to wear & I never really thought I had the right body type for them- but I do like them. . . Some days continue to be a struggle. Went grocery shopping on Thursday & I deserve major gold 🌟 for not parking myself on the chip aisle & tearing into a bag of BBQ chips. . Other days, it’s not so bad. Seeing low blood sugar numbers & the scale number moving down is good motivation. . But all the temptation 🍕🍟🍔🧁🍰🍪🍩🥯 is hard to walk away from some times. . . I can’t drink it all the time- but a sweet treat I allow myself once a week is a glass of Fair Life 2% chocolate milk. It’s rich & creamy & has 13g of carbs so sometimes it’s one of my snacks for the day. . . #letsgowalking #rockstar1023getshealthy #healthychoices

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6. Reviews and ‘grams from around the web: ReecaPieces reviews This Won’t End Well, Bookfan reviews The Girl in White Gloves, Jenn Tarheel Reader reviews Don’t Put The Boats Away, Bookapotamus reviews Dead to Her, ReadingGirlReviews reviews Before She Knew Him, books.cats.travel.food was tagged in #thebookstack, _huskypuppy432_ just introduced me to a new bookmark shop, allthebooksandcoffee was also challenged for the book stack, welovebigbooksandwecannotlie is celebrating their 1 year anniversary on IG, saturday_nite_reader is hosting a stack challenge for MS March 8-14 (get those orange books ready!), loveofmuse is 17 followers away from 2k (can we get her to 2k by end of weekend?), and wonderchick40 is sharing how her Goodreads reading challenge is going!

 

7. #FridayReads: Still reading The Other Mrs.

 

8. After my January was off to a reader-licious start (8 books!), February has been a poor month for reading (just 2) 😦

 

9. More book mail!!!

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Well, thank you so much @sourcebooks (partner) for a review copy of The Second Mother by @jennymilchman. . . About the book: Julie Weathers isn't sure if she's running away or starting over, but the sun-washed, sea-stormed small town in Maine holds so much promise. The idea of teaching a one-room schoolhouse seems quaint and delightful–the perfect way to start over.But she soon realizes that things aren't as idyllic as she first believed. Julie comes to suspect that she may have traded one place shrouded in trouble for another, and she has to wonder if the greatest danger on Mercy Island is the sea, or the people. . . This book publishes 7.7.20 & I predict that it will be in many beach bags!!! . . #travelingwithtreads #genxbookstagrammers #thesecondmother #jennymilchman #bookmail #bookstagram #bookmailisthebestmail

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10. Me and the birthday girl ❤

 

11. Some more bookmail!

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Thanks @williammorrowbooks { partner} for the bookmail- The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan. . . I am so loving this cover- so eye catching! . . About the book: An accomplished storyteller returns with her biggest, boldest, most entertaining novel yet—a hilarious, heartfelt story about books, love, sisterhood, and the surprises we discover in our DNA that combines the wit of Jonathan Tropper with the heart of Susan Wiggs. Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature. But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister. When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor—Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney—one that has remained totally secret until now. Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister—a blond among redheads—fit into their story? By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration—a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family. . . Look for this book on April 28! . . #genxbookstagrammers #travelingwithtreads #portraitmode #bookmailisthebestmail #thesweeneysisters #liandolan

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*What are you reading today?*

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

10 thoughts on “Literary Friday, ya’ll!”

  1. I’ve been reading lots of books this first two months of the year…mainly audiobooks. 🎧

    Thanks for sharing your healthy living journey. It’s so inspiring. 😊

    Reply

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