Readerbuzz

Eleven Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

Green Mansions by W. H. Hudson

Indian Summer by William Dean Howells

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

Barabbas by Par Lagerkvist

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

The Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector and Selected Stories by Nikolay Vasilyevich Gogol

Palm-of-the-Hand Stories by Yasunari Kawabata

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.

The Sunday Salon: Reading an Absurd Number of Books for Paris in July

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! I am glad you joined us here at the Sunday Salon.

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a spot to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a time to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

It's summer, and I'm doing all the things I usually do in summer...I'm swimming and doing butterfly counts and working at reptile shows at the library and eating lunch with friends and going to my book groups and reading sixteen books (!) for Paris in July and loving the feeling of the sun on my face.

What I Read Last Week:

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson (Travel Memoir)

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin (Fiction)

My Good Life in France by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Earth by Émile Zola (Fiction - Paris in July)

Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire (Fiction in French - Paris in July)

France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb (History - Paris in July)

The Shortest History of France by Colin Jones (History - Paris in July)

Toujours la France! by Janine Marsh (Memoir - Paris in July)

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud (Children's Fiction - Paris in July)

Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry (Fiction - Paris in July)

One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan (Fiction - Paris in July)

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction by Deborah Levy (Fiction - Paris in July)

The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr (Fiction - Paris in July)

Quartet by Jean Rhys (Fiction - Paris in July)

Moveable Feasts: A Story of Paris in Twenty Meals by Chris Newens (Nonfiction - Paris in July)

En Route: A Journey Through France in the Company of Great Writers by Peter Fiennes (Nonfiction - Paris in July)

This week, I found myself reading a ridiculous number of books set in France or about France for Paris in July. The two I'm enjoying the most right now are En Route and Moveable Feasts.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Off to Paris! (Virtually)

Book Titles that Include the Word “Happy” (and My Assessment of Whether or Not the Book is Good for Lifting One's Mood)

Candide by Voltaire: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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:

This weekend is the Reverse Readathon,

and I forgot about it until now (eek),

but, oh well, I think I'll jump in,

though I'm late to the table.

Good Thing #2:

A cup of espresso!

Good Thing #3:

G-daughter Bailey and her daughter, Lucy,

are coming next week!

Yay!

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.

Candide by Voltaire: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

Candide

by Voltaire

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: 1759

Page Count: 129 pages

Summary:

Candide is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947).

It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world.

Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds".

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What 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.

In a castle of Westphalia, belonging to the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh, lived a youth, whom nature had endowed with the most gentle manners. His countenance was a true picture of his soul. He combined a true judgment with simplicity of spirit, which was the reason, I apprehend, of his being called Candide.

Voltaire. Candide, p. 1. Kindle Edition.

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. 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 Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky.

They sat until four o'clock in the morning. Candide, in listening to all their adventures, was reminded of what the old woman had said to him in their voyage to Buenos Ayres, and of her wager that there was not a person on board the ship but had met with very great misfortunes. He dreamed of Pangloss at every adventure told to him. "This Pangloss," said he, "would be puzzled to demonstrate his system. I wish that he were here. Certainly, if all things are good, it is in El Dorado and not in the rest of the world."

Voltaire. Candide, 56%. Kindle Edition.

Candide is a brilliant masterpiece, a scathingly brutal satire of overly optimistic philosophies of life.

Candide lives a secluded life with a wealthy family in a castle, and his life is so affluent that Candide has his own philosophy teacher, Pangloss.

All is well, and Pangloss’ philosophies remain intact until Candide falls in love with the family’s daughter and he is expelled into real life.

Real life brings an endless series of horrible events for Candide and all the people he meets, horrible events that are so inexplicably horrible that they make the life of Job appear to be quite Edenic.

Candide at last makes his way back to his homeland and, after all the horrible experiences, he is able to revise his philosophy of life to the practical: Cultivate your garden, he extols, cautiously.

Brilliant. Masterpiece. A must read.

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.

What’s your biggest pet peeve about the book community? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I feel like we are often too exclusionary, that we who read one sort of book scorn others who read other sorts of books. We often end up in jobs where we rate and ridicule the reading of others to the point that people hate books and hate reading. I hate that this happens.

Book Titles that Include the Word “Happy” (and My Assessment of Whether or Not the Book is Good for Lifting One's Mood)

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Books that definitely taught me lots and lots about being happier:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben

The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger

The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky

The Blue Zones of Happiness: A Blueprint for a Better Life by Dan Buettner

How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community by Judith Valente

Books for just a quick daily dose of happiness:

Better Than Chocolate: 50 Proven Ways to Feel Happier by Siimon Reynolds

100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by David Niven

Be Happy: A Little Book to Help You Live a Happy Life by Monica Sheehan

Happy Habits: 50 Science-Backed Rituals to Adopt (or Stop) to Boost Health and Happiness by Karen Salmonsohn

Books that did not make me feel happier:

Whatever Makes You Happy by Lisa Grunwald (Fiction about an unhappy middle-aged woman)

The Happiness Code by Amy Herrick (Fiction about an unhappy family)

Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin (Fiction about, yes, another unhappy group of people)

The Sunday Salon: Off to Paris! (Virtually)

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

We are happy that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Welcome!

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

I finished up some non-Paris-in-July books this week. For me, My Friends started slowly, but the second half of the book turned everything around for me, and I ended up rating it 4 1/2 stars. I listened to Beyond Words, but I went ahead and ordered a copy and I'll read that again before my book group meets next month. I liked the new Lisa See book a lot, but I felt like she spent a little too much time putting on paper all the details of a terrible event in Los Angeles history for a book that is historical fiction---probably that's just me.

What I Read Last Week:

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina (Book Club Nonfiction)

My Friends by Frederik Bachman (Book Club Fiction)

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Earth by Émile Zola (Fiction)

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson (Travel Memoir)

Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire (Fiction in French)

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin (Fiction)

My Good Life in France by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb (History)

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud (Children's Fiction)

PBS helped me start my Paris in July 2026 journey off right with a visit to Paris via the Rick Steves' episode, Paris of the Parisians, coupled with the Daytripper's episode on Paris, Texas.

I began seven books that feature Paris or France.

And I practiced my French on Duolingo at least one time a day.

A pretty good start...

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Northern Cardinal Chicks, Butterflies and Bees, an Alligator, and Some Gulf Coast Toads

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

The Earth by Émile Zola:Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, and The Friday 56

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 husband and I attended

a Pollinator Academy last weekend,

and we came home with

ten packets of free wildflower seeds.

Good Thing #2:

I swam Monday through Friday

this week at the Rec Center.

Good Thing #3:

It was warm this week,

but when we saw that it was five degrees

warmer in Chicago,

it didn't feel too bad!

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.

The Earth by Émile Zola:Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, and The Friday 56

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

The Earth (La Terre)

by Émile Zola

Genre: Fiction

Published: 1887

Page Count: 512 pages

Summary:

Zola's novel of peasant life is generally regarded as one of his finest achievements, comparable to Germinal and L'Assommoir. Set in a village in northern France, it depicts the harshness of the peasants' world and their visceral attachment to the land. Jean Macquart, a war veteran and now an itinerant farm laborer, is drawn into the affairs of the Fouan family when he starts courting young Françoise. He becomes involved in a bitter dispute over the property of Papa Fouan when the old man divides his land between his three children. Resentment turns to greed and violence in a Darwinian battle for supremacy.

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.

That morning, Jean had slung a blue canvas seedbag round his middle and was holding it open with his left hand, whilst with his right he took out a handful of wheat and at every third step scattered it broadcast with a sweep of his arm.

"You get back and see to the dinner or else you'd better look out. And shut up the house, you little brat, in case of burglars."

Émile Zola

It's Paris in July time, and for me that means it's time to read another Zola book.

I have read five Zola books so far:

L'Assommoir (2020)
The Belly of Paris (2021)
Nana (2022)
Germinal (2024)
Thérèse Raquin (2025)

I have loved all the books I've read. I declared myself a Zola fan after my first Zola read, L'Assommoir, the story of a poor washerwoman in Paris. My favorites are L'Assommoir and Germinal, the story of the workers in a mine in France.

The stories all deal with social injustice, with the huge gaps between the lives of the rich and the lives of the poor in France in the mid to late 1800s.

The lives of the characters in the novels I've read range from bleak to wretched to despondent.

As you might guess, there are no happy endings here.

I decided to read The Earth after reading a recent rave review of Zola's The Earth. Here are some reviews from other members of the Classics Club: Fanda, Karen K., and Katrina.

If you have read any Zola novels, I'd like to hear your thoughts. I welcome any recommendations for future Zola reads.

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Here are the books I can't wait to read...

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

Social Animals by Camille Perri

Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum

Receipts from the Bookshop by Courtney Clapham

Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth

Trash! A Garbageman's Story by Simon Pere-Poupart

How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside by Brian Bilston

Man Overboard! by Kathleen Rooney

The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard

Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorn

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

Building 903 by Lois Lowry

The Sunday Salon: Northern Cardinal Chicks, Butterflies and Bees, an Alligator, and Some Gulf Coast Toads

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! We're glad you're here at the Sunday Salon.

What is the Sunday Salon?

The Sunday Salon is a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. It's also a place to link up and share what we've been doing during the week.

Swimming. Reptile shows at the libraries. (Yes, that's an alligator, with his mouth taped during the show for safety). A Pollinator BioBlitz. I couldn't wait for Paris in July and I went ahead and read The Razor's Edge and Four Seasons in France, both of which have chapters that take place in Paris. A busy, happy week.

What I Read Last Week:

My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (Fiction)

In the Mountains by Elizabeth von Arnim (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina (Book Club Nonfiction)

My Friends by Frederik Bachman (Book Club Fiction)

Paris in July begins next week, and, happily, Emma of Words and Peace is hosting again this year.

The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking, and eating all things French.

There are no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of this experience – just blog about anything French and you can join in. Some ideas might include:

reading a French-themed book – fiction or nonfiction;
watching a French movie;
listening to French music;
cooking French food;
experiencing French, art, architecture, and travel;
tasting French wine, or testing French cocktails;
celebrating le quatorze juillet or Bastille Day.

Whatever it is that you love about France---share it with us all. And pass the word...

I finished my fifth Classics Club list of fifty books, and I will be starting my sixth list today. I've now finished 250 classics since I first joined The Classics Club in January of 2018. There is nothing I have done, reading-wise, that felt more daunting, and there is nothing that has given me more satisfaction.

I encourage you to join, too. Challenge yourself by making a list of fifty classics you would like to try to read in five years. What is a classic? There is no official definition. I've read classic novels, classic memoirs, classic nature books, classic poetry, classic plays, classic children's books, classic mysteries, classic travel books, classic science fiction. Most people tend to think of classics as books that have been around a while, but there is no set time frame. You decide on books you want to include on your list. And if you don't finish in five years, that's fine, too...extend the deadline...change out your list of books...whatever you need to do to keep going.

Here's my list of books I've read over the last eight years. There are links to my reviews (such as they are---I'm not a professional reviewer) and I include my rating for each book in the list. You might get some ideas there, or there's The Big Book List at The Classics Club blog for other ideas.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

Am I Just Imagining It? Or Do I Hear...French Music?

The Sunday Salon: 18 Years of Blogging

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:

We had a Northern Cardinal nest and

a Carolina Wren nest in our yard this year.

Here's the Northern Cardinal dad feeding his chicks.

Good Thing #2:

My favorite photo of butterflies

from the Pollinator BioBlitz,

a Long-tailed Skipper.

Good Thing #3:

We were also delighted to find several

Gulf Coast Toads living in our yard this week.

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.

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

The Book of Birds:

A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss

by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

Genre: Nonfiction

Published: June 9, 2026

Page Count: 384 pages

Summary:

The Book of Birds is a field guide with a difference: It shows readers not just how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris conjure the unique spirit of nearly fifty once-common species: avocet to yellowhammer, kestrel to kingfisher, skylark to nightingale. In lyrical and incantatory essays, Macfarlane describes each bird’s habits and habitats, their patterns of flight and patterns of song, how they hunt or fish or scavenge or gather, how they nest and raise their chicks, the myths that attend them, the threats that shadow them―and how their lives intersect with our own. On every page we encounter Morris’s exhilarating artwork, painted from life in watercolor and gold leaf, and animated with an extraordinary attention to detail. The Book of Birds is a love letter to the thrilling variety and mysteries of birdlife, and a clarion call to halt the rapid depletion of our skies.

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.

A great thinning of the skies is under way. There are three billion fewer birds in North America than half a century ago. Five hundred million fewer in Europe. Seventy-three million fewer in Britain. Worldwide, almost 50 per cent of bird species are in decline. That which was once called 'common' is becoming rare: the 'common eider' is now in the same global conservation category as the jaguar. Dawns and springs are quieter; the air, emptier. An ancient avian orchestra is falling silent. An almost unimaginable abundance has been lost.

Pages 56-57

The Book of Birds is everything that we bird-y folk love: Information. Illustrations. Beauty. Cleverness. Wonder. And, of course, birds.

It's a book of birds, told in magnificent poetry-prose, depicted with magnificent illustrations.

It's a field guide organized by the wonders of birds: their nests, their eggs, their beaks, their songs, their feathers, their flights, and their migrations. The book highlights fifty bird species that were once common and are now less common.

If you are already in love with birds, you will come away from this book feeling obsessed with birds.

I lingered over this book for three months. I did not want to get to the end.

Do you prefer writing long, detailed reviews or quick, punchy ones? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I write review for myself. I like to make notes about books, list a quote or two, and remind myself of the plot or main ideas.

Am I Just Imagining It? Or Do I Hear...French Music?

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Paris in July 2026

#parisinjuly2026 (Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter)

Am I just imagining it? Or do I hear...French music? Are those French books I see in my current TBR stack? Have I been carefully searching for French movies to watch? And why are there bookmarks in my French cookbooks?

Could it be...is it time again for...Paris in July?!

Hurray!

Yes, Paris in July begins soon, and, happily, Emma of Words and Peace will be hosting again this year.

The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking, and eating all things French.

reading a French-themed book – fiction or nonfiction;
watching a French movie;
listening to French music;
cooking French food;
experiencing French, art, architecture, and travel;
tasting French wine, or testing French cocktails;
celebrating le quatorze juillet or Bastille Day.

Whatever it is that you love about France---share it with us all. And pass the word...

So what are my plans for Paris in July? Here are some of the things I might do...

I have access to several adult books I might read:

The Earth by Émile Zola

Paris Metro Tales by Ruth Paget

Eat Post Like by Emily Arden Wells

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson

Moveable Feasts: The Story of Paris in 20 Meals by Chris Newens

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cabron

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin

The French Ingredient by Jane Bertch

Eleanor of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozier

Impossible City: Paris in the 21st Century by Simon Kuper

All Signs Point to Paris by Natasha Sizio

The Shortest History of France by Simon Jones

My Four Seasons in France by Janine Marsh

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb

Satori in Paris by Jack Kerouak

I have four books in French I could read in July. All of them are from the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read list:

L'Enfance de Bécassine

Les Six Compagnons

Les pilleurs de sarcophages

Oh, boy!; Quatre sœurs.

I also have Candide, a group read with Emma and others during Paris in July.

I have some children's books I've saved for July:

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud

Claudine and the Bridge of Two Hearts by Marian Grudko

Anthony and the Gargoyle by Jo Ellen Bogart

A Pigeon in Paris by Paige Howard

I shall dial Duolingo to French for the month and browse 50 French Phrases; 15-Minute French; and Say It Right in French.

I have a lovely French music playlist.

I have some French films and tv series at the ready:

Arco (Hulu)

The Rules of the Game: La règle du jeu (Kanopy)
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday: Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Kanopy)
Cousin Jules: A Farmer Living in the French Countryside (Kanopy)

Maigret (Kanopy)

Paris When It Sizzles (Kanopy)

The Last Time I Saw Paris (Amazon Prime)

A New Kind of Love (Amazon Prime)

Three Colors: Blue (HBO/Max)
Three Colors: Red (HBO/Max)
Three Colors: White (HBO/Max)

I shall revisit my favorite museums in Paris:

Musée d’Orsay

Centre Pompidou

And, maybe, just maybe, I will try to do some French baking.

I hope you will be joining in, too.

The Sunday Salon: 18 Years of Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

We are very glad that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. Welcome!

What is the Sunday Salon?

The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

Tropical Storm Arthur passed through this week. We got four inches of rain in one day, but it drained off quickly and we did not suffer any damage.

I read almost nothing until I got home from taking care of chickens, but days of rain have allowed me to catch up on my reading this week. I'm happy to have read all nine of the Little House books at last, and I loved the new Elizabeth Strout book.

What I Read Last Week:

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House #8)

The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House #9)

Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood (Fiction)

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

Lost Horizon by James Hilton (Classic)

Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice (Poetry)

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (Classic Club Spin)

What I'm Reading Now:

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina (Nonfiction)

My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Book Club; Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Heart-Shaped Bruise

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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:

It's my 18th blogoversary!

Good Thing #2:

We are sharing alligators

with kids

for the summer reading program

at the library.

Good Thing #3:

Despite the rain, I was able to enjoy

Aqua Zumba and Aqua Aerobics

at the swimming pool a few times this week.

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.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

The Things We Never Say: A Novel

by Elizabeth Strout

Genre: Fiction

Published: May 5, 2026

Page Count: 207 pages

Summary:

Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters.

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.

It was the middle of June and the sun all day had kept right on shining with sweet mightiness. "Stay jovial, please, Artie! Just promise me that. Please stay your old jovial self!" Flossie MacDonald had wiped her napkin across her weeping eyes and told this to Artie Dam the last time she had seen him, which had been on this spectacular evening in June. And he assured her that he would.

So blind we humans are---so blind. To each other and to ourselves, moving through life as though through shadows, putting a hand in the dark and thinking we have touched someone. And maybe we have, as Artie did with Rhonda Lazarre that day. But mostly we travel through life unsighted, grasping only the smallest details of one another's selves, including our own. Thinking all the while that we can see.

Secrets. Feelings we hide. Things we have done we do not talk about. What we think we know. People we have known deeply and yet really have not known at all.

And why do we do these things? Is it fated? Where do the words, the thoughts, the actions, the feelings come from?

How do we help others as we go through our lives? Are we helping them? What should we tell them and what should we keep silent about?

A good book sticks with me. I keep thinking about it after I've come to THE END. I want others to read it and talk about it. Elizabeth Strout's books are good books for me. This one may be my new favorite.

If you could pick any fictional character to live with, who would it be, and how would they change your daily life? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I would love to go spend a month in a castle in Italy with Mrs. Rose Arbuthnot, Lady Caroline Dester, Mrs. Fisher, and Mrs. Lotty Wilkins, characters from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim.

The Sunday Salon: Heart-Shaped Bruise

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! We are happy that 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. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

I am home after taking care of three dogs, five ducks, hundreds of chickens, and a horse with my daughter-in-law's Aunt Susie while my son and his family went on vacation.

I am exhausted.

What I Read Last Week:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane (Nonfiction)

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Chicken Sitting

Books with Handwriting on the Cover

Make Life Happier: 23 Practical Ways to Feel Better, Find Meaning, and Make a Difference by Mark Williamson: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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:

A Carolina Wren

is nesting in a hanging basket

on our front porch.

Photo from iNaturalist.

Good Thing #2:

I did not photograph any

new-to-me birds in East Texas,

but at dawn, when I awoke each morning,

I heard this one, a Chuck-Will's Widow:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/369657895.

Good Thing #3:

At my age, I bruise easily.

I got this bruise from trying to

quickly close a chicken pen.

It's a reminder to me

of my purpose here on Earth.

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.

Make Life Happier: 23 Practical Ways to Feel Better, Find Meaning, and Make a Difference by Mark Williamson: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

Make Life Happier:

23 Practical Ways to Feel Better, Find Meaning, and Make a Difference

by Mark Williamson

Genre: Nonfiction

Published: 2026

Page Count: 392 pages

Summary:

This book offers 23 practical ways to make life happier. It's based on evidence from the latest scientific research combined with unique insights from the author plus proven ideas that he has helped thousands of people to adopt successfully in their everyday lives.

It goes much deeper than typical self-help advice, covering a wide range of themes which contribute to lifelong wellbeing. Crucially, the book combines actions you can do to improve your own happiness with actions that benefit others too. The first part covers self-care themes such as mindfulness, optimism, self-acceptance, goals and purpose. The second part covers relational themes, including listening, vulnerability, forgiveness and community.

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.

I'm not a happiness gury and this book can't change your life.

So why am I writing it---and why should you keep reading?

Despite good intentions, I really struggle with my tech use and often find myself staring at a screen instead of being there for my kids, listening to someone, enjoying a meal, or noticing my surroundings.

Mark Williamson is the CEO and host of the British series, Action for Happiness. He was trained as an engineer, and he applies hard science to ways to find more happiness in our lives.

I'm a huge fan of Action for Happiness and I wanted to read this book so much that I pre-ordered the book from Great Britain last April and I've been reading it ever since.

I've listened to a couple of dozen speakers on happiness at the Action for Happiness website, I've taken the six-week Happiness Habits course, and I download the monthly happiness calendar to point me in the right direction each day.

The official book launch in US and Canada will be later, so the book isn't currently on Amazon or other stores here. These British retailers ship internationally, so please order here instead: Blackwell's or Waterstones.

How do you decide which books to highlight on your blog? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I highlight books I love and want to share with others.

Books with Handwriting on the Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

The Sunday Salon: Chicken Sitting

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! We are so glad that 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. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

I am spending the week up in East Texas with my daughter-in-law's aunt, Susie, taking care of chickens while my son and his family take a vacation to Nashville. To give me strength and courage while trying to care for 200 chickens (last time we did this, Susie fell and I got pecked by a mean rooster), I'm wearing my Texas chicken earrings my daughter-in-law and son gave me.

Please forgive me for not visiting your blog this week. I promise to catch up when I get back home next week!

What I Read Last Week:

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (Nonfiction)

The Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Children's Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane (Nonfiction)

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (Fiction)

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: My Library Card Collection, Nine 1001 Children's Books Read, and Ready for the 20 Books of Summer

Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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, 2, and 3:

I plan to follow the Joyful June calendar every day this month.

Day 1 is "Decide to look for what is good every day this month." Yes!

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.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

The Good Earth

by Pearl S. Buck

Genre: Fiction

Published: 1931

Page Count: 356 pages

Summary:

First published in 1931, ''The Good Earth'' by Pearl S. Buck, set in early 20th-century China, is the famous and memorable saga following the life of Wang Lung. It portrays an authentic, detailed picture of Chinese life and follows Wang Lung from a humble farmer to a prosperous landowner, highlighting themes of class mobility, family struggles, and the importance of the land.
Key themes include marriage, parenthood, human emotions, reverence for the land, and the conflict between old and new ways of life.

The novel won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and contributed to Buck receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.

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.

It was Wang Lung's marriage day.

Buck, Pearl S.. The Good Earth Trilogy: The Good Earth, p. 1. Kindle Edition.

The old man slept day and night, and ate what was given him and there was still strength in him to creep about the dooryard at noon when the sun was warm. He was more cheerful than any of them and he quavered forth one day in his old voice that was like a little wind trembling among cracked bamboos,

“There have been worse days—there have been worse days. Once I saw men and women eating children.”

“There will never be such a thing in my house,” said Wang Lung, in extremest horror.

Buck, Pearl S.. The Good Earth, p. 56. Kindle Edition.

What’s the quirkiest or most unexpected place you’ve ever read a book, and why? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

A cornfield.

Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

No judgment, please. These are books I should have read. But I have not. If there is something on this list that you loved or if there is something you hated, please share your thoughts in the comments. If you have never read these either, I'd appreciate any commiseration you can offer.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

The Sunday Salon: My Library Card Collection, Nine 1001 Children's Books Read, and Ready for the 20 Books of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 30 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! We are happy that 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. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

My dad's wife, Rosa, celebrated her 97th birthday, and we went to a baby shower for our soon-to-arrive great-nephew, Cooper, and the birthday party of our great-nephew, Jack, 2, last week. I went to my swimming class a couple of times, and it felt good to be back in the pool with my friends. I'm now an official member of the Flamingos, called the Flams for short, a 30-year-old writing group that meets every Friday in Galveston.

What I Read Last Week:

South to America:

A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

by Imani Perry (Nonfiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane (Nonfiction)

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (Nonfiction)

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim (Fiction)

The Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Children's Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Home from Georgia

My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors

Summer Reading Challenges 2026

Sift: The Elements of Good Baking by Nicola Lamb

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

I do yearly challenges, but I also like to do perpetual challenges. Last week, I worked hard on one of my perpetual challenges, the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up challenge. Last week, I read some of these books I've found on Internet Archive, a library of books that you can read for an hour at a time online. Here's what I read last week:

The Lark and the Laurel by Barbara Willard

The Little Captain and the Pirate Treasure by Paul Biegel

Hurrah for St. Trinian's by Ronald Searle

Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver by Michael Ende

Los suenos del sapo by Javier Villafañe (in Spanish)

El sapo que quería ser estrella by Oscar Alfaro (in Spanish)

Tatu and Patu in Helsinki by Aino Havukainen

Cuentos pintado y morales by Rafael Pombo (in Spanish)

Mi reino por uno caballo by Ana Maria Machado (in Spanish)

Now I need to find and read the last 184 books I have left on the list.

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:

I added two more library cards to my collection,

one from Georgia and one from North Carolina.

Good Thing #2:

We had nine inches of rain last week,

but we were dry, and the water quickly soaked into the ground.

Good Thing #3:

It was fun to get ready for the 20 Books of Summer

last week, and to see what all the other participants are reading.

I ended up adding a couple of good books to my list

from ideas others had listed.

How did your week go?

Did you read anything you would recommend?

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.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 29 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

by Bill Bryson

Genre: Nonfiction

Published: 1998

Page Count: 279 pages

Summary:

Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes—and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings.

For a start there’s the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson’s acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America’s last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is a modern classic of travel literature.

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.

Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town.

A sign announced that this was no ordinary footpath but the celebrated Appalachian Trail. Running more than 2,100 miles along America’s eastern seaboard, through the serene and beckoning Appalachian Mountains, the AT is the granddaddy of long hikes. From Georgia to Maine, it wanders across fourteen states, through plump, comely hills whose very names—Blue Ridge, Smokies, Cumberlands, Green Mountains, White Mountains—seem an invitation to amble.

Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, p. 1. Kindle Edition.

Then, with as much pride as if I had baked them myself, I brought out a little surprise—two packets of Hostess cupcakes.

Katz’s face lit up like the birthday boy in a Norman Rockwell painting.

“Oh, wow!”

“They didn’t have any Little Debbies,” I apologized.

“Hey,” he said. “Hey.” He was lost for greater eloquence. Katz loved cakes.

Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, p. 56. Kindle Edition.

First review (1999): Bill Bryson. A middle-aged guy and a friend hike the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail...or, at least, 890 miles of it. Funny.

Second review (2011): Reread: Oh, how I love Bill Bryson. He's everything I look for in an author. A good writer. Brave, but not too much. Human. And funny. Most of all, funny.

So last week I reread A Walk in the Woods. I reread it slowly. It was one of those books you don't want to end. All along the way you are laughing. You just have to laugh at Bryson. He tries to do the hard thing, but it's...well, hard. And his companion, Katz, is equally human. Quintessential Americans.

So much fun.

Third review (2026): I brought this book along on our trip to Georgia last week. My goal was to walk part of the Appalachian Trail. The start of the trail is in Georgia, but the start is nine miles from a highway. That wasn't doable for me. Instead, I found a place where the trail (1) crossed a main road, and (2) there was a parking lot for my car.

I found it. Unfortunately, the trail was both rocky and steep. I did not want to fall. So I walked the Appalachian Trail. The entire width of it. Yes, about eighteen inches. And then I revised my hiking plan for the day and walked on a track running parallel to the Appalachian Trail, through the Chattahoochee National Forest, a path neither rocky nor steep. It was lovely.

I'm still reading the book. It's still just as humorous as it was the first two times I read it. And now I have a much better idea of what Bryson and his sidekick experienced.

Does the headline “Must-Read Books” grab your attention? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

It depends on who wrote the headline. If it is a blogging friend, yes. If it is a publicity team, no.

Sift: The Elements of Good Baking by Nicola Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Thu, 28 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

I have a lot of cookbooks in my TBR, and there is nothing my husband loves more than for me to cook. To inspire me, I took photos with 24 cookbooks I have and I've prescheduled one post a month for the next two years. I'll plan to link up with In My Kitchen, hosted by Sherry's Pickings, and Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). To further inspire me, I've created a Cooking/Baking Challenge for me for 2026 in which I read and bake from and post about one cookbook a month.

I'm not a math-y person. I forced myself to take every math class I could find when I was young. I always had high hopes that one day I would find a math class that was just for me. It never happened.

Sift is a baking book for math-y people. I've been told over and over that it is important to measure precisely when baking, but I just can't make myself do that. After all, my grandma baked biscuits and pies and cakes all ninety-eight years of her life without owning measuring spoons or cups.

So, I read Sift and numbers and percentages and ratios floated through my brain. Nothing stuck. I didn't try making anything in the book. Why? Because I didn't want to.

You, though, you who weigh your flour and carefully follow all directions? You who read math books for fun? This is a book for you. I will not rate this book because it is more a measure of my incompetence than of this baker/author's skills.

Be a part of the friendly In My Kitchen (IMK) community by adding your post at Sherry's Pickings each month - everybody welcome! We'd love to have you visit. Tell us about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month. Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg. in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on. And one curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related. The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month, every month.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

For more photos, link up at Wordless Wednesday, Comedy Plus, Messymimi's Meanderings, Keith's Ramblings, Image-in-ing, Soul and Mind and So On, Wild Bird Wednesday, and My Corner of the World.

Summer Reading Challenges 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Wed, 27 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Summer is a great time for those of us who like to try a challenge or two.

Big books. A lot of people like to take on a big book for summer.

And fortunately for all of us who enjoy big books, Sue Jackson of Book by Book hosts a Big Book Summer Reading Challenge.

Here's a little about the challenge.

The idea behind this reading challenge is simple: Use the ease of summer to tackle a Big Book (400+ pages) or two or ... however many you want! You set your own goals. And if it is the start of winter where you live, then it's your Big Book Winter Challenge. Everyone is welcome to participate.

The Details:
Hey, it's summer, so we'll keep this low-key and easy!

Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.
The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 22 this year) through Labor Day (September 7 this year).
Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that? You only need to read 1 book with 400+ pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).
No sign-ups are necessary! All readers are welcome to participate.

What kind of books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types--as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition.

My potential reads:

Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Lacios - 400 pages

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen - 418 pages

My Friends by Frederik Bachman - 448 pages

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel - 482 pages

The Earth by Émile Zola - 512 pages

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser - 557 pages

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - 592 pages

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - 992 pages

Three are book club reads---Pillars and Beyond Words and My Friends---so those are the three I'm most likely to read.

But maybe you are not a person who enjoys reading big books. Maybe you like to read in quantity over the summer. In that case...

When Cathy of 746 books announced in 2025 that she would not host 20 Books of Summer this year after ten successful years, Emma of Words and Peace and Annabel of AnnaBookBel both volunteered to take it on. This year, Annabel will run the challenge alone.

The 20 Books of Summer2026 (#20BOS26) challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15, or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.
If you do pick a list, you can change it at any time – swap books in/out.
Don’t get panicked at not reaching your target.
Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!

Annabel will have monthly summary posts where you can add progress reports and recommendations. The final one at the at the beginning of September will stay open for a while to catch all the last reviews.

If you’re planning to join in please do add your blog / planning post link to the Mr Linky here.

Here are my (planned, but subject to change) 20 Books of Summer:

14 / 20 (as of June 24, 2024)

*Bake Happy by Judith Fertig.

*Lost Horizon by James Hilton.

*The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim

*Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina.

*Don't Call It Art by Austin Kleon.

*Serena by Ron Rash.

*These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House #8)

*The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House #9)

*The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Mcfarlane.

*The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout.

*Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson.

*Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne.

*The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

*The Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy

*Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice

*Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood

*The Earth by Émile Zola

*Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson

*The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud

*A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

*My Friends by Frederik Bachman.

*Eat Post Like by Emily Arden Wells

*Write Yourself Out of a Corner by Alice LaPlante.

*Paris Metro Tales by Ruth Paget

*The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

*The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

*The Lark and the Laurel by Barbara Willard

*The Shippers by Katherine Center.

*The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith

*The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse

Do you have any special plans for your summer reading?

Do you like to plan things out or are you more of a person who likes to read at whim?

Previous years' posts about summer reading:

Summer Reads: Seventeen Summer-Filled Books You Might Consider for Your Summer Reading This Year

Summer Reading Challenges

My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 26 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

My ~~ten~~ ~~eleven~~ ~~twelve thirteen~~ fifteen favorite authors and my favorite book by each one are:

Pearl S. Buck...The Good Earth

William Steig...Rotten Island

Annie Dillard...A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

James Thurber...The 13 Clocks

J.R.R. Tolkien...The Hobbit

Ruth Krauss...How to Make an Earthquake

Edith Wharton...The Age of Innocence

Sinclair Lewis...Main Street

Maira Kalman...The Principles of Uncertainty

Alexandre Dumas...The Count of Monte Cristo

Larry McMurtry...Lonesome Dove

Anne Lamott...Traveling Mercies

Sid Fleischman...Chancy and the Grand Rascal

George Orwell...Animal Farm

Robert M. Pirsig...Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Do we share any of the same favorite authors?

Do we share any of the same favorite books by the same favorite authors?

The Sunday Salon: Home from Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 23 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! I am delighted that 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. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.

We will be on our way home today from our trip this week to the Georgia mountains.

What I Read Last Week:

Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel (Fiction)

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Fiction)

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts (Nonfiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane (Nonfiction)

Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson (Nonfiction)

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry (Nonfiction)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (Nonfiction)

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor (Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Baby Alligators on Mother's Day

Favorite Minor Characters

Yesteryear: A Novel by Caro Claire Burke: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

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:
Almost everything we had for supper

was from our garden.

Good Thing #2:

I picked up my t-shirt for

the adult summer reading program.

Good Thing #3:

Flowers are everywhere.

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.

Yesteryear: A Novel by Caro Claire Burke: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 22 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Today's Featured Book:

Yesteryear: A Novel

by Caro Claire Burke

Genre: Fiction

Published: April 9, 2026

Page Count: 400 pages

Summary:

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and her followers are sick with envy. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What her followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children―they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

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.

This is the last day of the life I imagined for myself.

In the daylight, it's easier to see how ramshackle this house truly is. The floorboards are old and rotted. Through the ceiling eaves in the kitchen, I can see slivers of sky...In this kitchen, there's no hidden pantry containing a massive refrigerator, two dishwashers, and a microwave...

What do you think about rising prices for hardcovers, paperbacks, and eBooks?

It's important that people are able to read and think about what is going on in the world. Books should always be affordable.