Readerbuzz

The Sunday Salon: 70!

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0000

We are glad you are 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.

It's my birthday on November 1st, and I am turning seventy years old! (My nice niece Bekah made this cake for me when she was first learning to decorate cakes, about twenty years ago.)

I shall celebrate today by going out to eat and visiting a bookstore, and we are planning to celebrate big at the Texas Book Festival in two weeks.

Update on my dad: His cough is better, but he is experiencing some of the side effects of steroids (sleeplessness) and antibiotics (digestive issues) and weakness. He appreciates all the good thoughts and prayers! (I am grateful for these, too, as I try to be a good daughter and bring out meals and medicines, and take him to his appointments.)

Update on our gas leak: Our gas (and, consequently, our water heater and dryer and furnace) is still turned off, awaiting our plumber.

What I Read Last Week:

The Radiance: A Novel by Ayad Akhtar (Fiction)

Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín (Fiction)

Building 903 by Lois Lowry (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Calamity Club by Katherine Stockett (Fiction)

Nonfiction coming soon...

Nonfiction November starts Monday!

For more details,

take a look at this post.

If all goes well, several of us from our library's friends group

will be giving out books on our city's Trick or Treat Trail.

I shall be this witch.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Building 903 by Lois Lowry: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

(Mostly) Bookish Costumes

The Sunday Salon: The Radiance, The Shampoo Effect, The Calamity Club, and Cat Love

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:

The wonderful Tina of Turn the Page

sent me this

lovely box of birthday surprises.

I will be opening everything

on my birthday on Sunday.

Good Thing #2:

We took a hike at

Brazos Bend State Park last weekend,

and saw some cool critters.

Good Thing #3:

The view out the window

of my yoga class 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.

Building 903 by Lois Lowry: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

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

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

"Don't do that, Stephanie!" Tessa cringed, even though she was laughing, when she saw her friend put her thumbs into her ears, wiggle her fingers, and make a silly tongue-out face toward the street-cam on the corner as they turned down the road that led to their houses.

Lowry, Lois. Building 903, p. 3.

The list was arranged alphabetically, and her name had always been preceded by her father's and followed by her brother's. Now, suddenly, the next name after hers was that of her mother: Virginia. And Theo was gone.

Lowry, Lois. Building 903, p. 56..

Today's Featured Book:

Building 903

by Lois Lowry

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Published: September 29, 2026

Page Count: 240 pages

Summary:

Twins Tessa and Theo live in a world ruled by the tyrannical Koziris, where there are no dangers or rebels... or so they've been told. In this world, citizens live long lives, and while many hate Koziris, they are comfortable and safe. So, when Tessa's brother disappears, nobody wants to discuss it. But then Miriam, their 135-year-old neighbor bound for the retirement community, slips Tessa a key—not only to her brother's disappearance, but to the source of all real magic . . . books. As Tessa and her parents begin their search for Theo, Tessa learns that books not only tell us stories—they open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination. Once that truth has been revealed, Tessa won't be able to rest until she has retrieved her twin and society itself has been transformed.

Lois Lowry is a pioneer in writing about dystopias, and in Building 903, she shows us another one, a world where there are no museums, no libraries, no art, no stories. Tessa knows only this life, but her neighbor, being relocated by the state, changes everything when she gives Tessa a key to a locked closet.

Building 903 shows us the reasons people need books; Building 903 shows us why authoritarians want to ban books. Books open the mind to other experiences, other lives, other ways of existing, other ways of thinking. Building 903 reminds us of these things.

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.

If you could retell a Halloween story or trope from a fresh angle, what would you choose and why? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

What about a cheery scary story?

(Mostly) Bookish Costumes

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

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: The Radiance, The Shampoo Effect, The Calamity Club, and Cat Love

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0000

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

The library friends' group luncheon and my swim class luncheon, Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon, the Texas Pollinator Bioblitz, a sourdough-making class, and book club---another busy week.

We also learned we have a gas leak (!) and my dad has a a small case of pneumonia. Hope you will send him some good thoughts and prayers!

What I Read Last Week:

Sons by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Calamity Club by Katherine Stockett (Fiction)

The Radiance: A Novel by Ayad Akhtar (Fiction)

Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín (Fiction)

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson (Fiction)

I had eight books arrive for me this week at the library, all new books, but I felt guilty for having so many and I sent back Partita by Barbara Kingsolver and Building 903 by Lois Lowry. I'll request them again and get them after a few of the ones I've already started.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

My Century of Books

My Perfect Day

The Sunday Salon: A Week in Which I Go to a Family Reunion, I Solve Nature Riddles at Fall Field Day, and I Am Presented with a Magnificent Painting

Nonfiction November is coming soon! For more details,

take a look at this post.

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 surprised me with

my two favorite foods for

the readathon last weekend:

Bluebell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

and Hershey's Kisses.

Good Thing #2:

"What is your craziest Halloween costume?"

on the board at the library.

Good Thing #3:

The Texas Pollinator Bioblitz!

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.

Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

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

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

Call me...call me whatever you like. I've had many names over the years. Did you think I was going to say Ishmael? Or actually tell you my real name? Not today. Maybe not tomorrow either. I bet you're wondering how a cat knows about Moby-Dick. Especially the tortoiseshell cat sealed in the box in this lab.

Morín, Tomás Q. Cat Love: A Novel, p. 1.

I meow, and it sounds like no meow that's ever come out of my mouth. I try again, and I'm reminded of an egg bubbling in a skillet. A few more times, and my meow is mostly back. My babies wouldn't recognize it, but no matter, because smell is what counts. Wait, do I still have a scent? Surely, death never stopped anything from smelling. If anything, it amplifies, but who knows how any of this works. Where's my Virgil, my guide through all this insanity?

Morín, Tomás Q. Cat Love: A Novel, p. 56.

Today's Featured Book:

Cat Love: A Novel

by Tomás Q. Morín

Genre: Fiction

Published: June 9, 2026

Page Count: 207 pages

Summary:

The indelible cat heroine of this unexpected tale recalls her life with “the Mustache,” her beloved owner. Trapped in a one-way mirrored box, displayed in a classroom for people who must contemplate her fate as part of their training to become “Emotional Support Humans,” she weaves a self-soothing paean to the poetry, music, and creature comforts she shared with her Mustache—the best products of a society that has gone off the rails in its violence and intolerance.

The Texas Book Festival is November 14 and 15, and I've been looking through the schedule in preparation for our trip there. On Saturday, I saw there will be a session called A World Gone Mad: Existentialism in Fiction featuring two books, Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent You and Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín. How could I resist looking for these?

What’s the creepiest book you’ve read that isn’t officially horror, but gave you chills? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

Books about war, with graphic details, including The Things They Carried and The Narrow Road to the Deep North, are books that are not horror, but are horrible to read.

My Century of Books

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0000

I was inspired by Lory of Entering the Enchanted Castle (who was inspired by other bloggers, notably Simon of Stuck in a Book) to I see whether I could select one book I’d read for each year of the twentieth century. Lory's goal was "to choose books that had some notable impact on me, leaving a distinct impression on my mind," and I've set that as my goal as well. The books in bold print are the same as Lory's for that year.

1900 – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum
1901 – Kim by Rudyard Kipling
1902 – The Hound of the Baskervilles – Arthur Conan Doyle
1903 – The Story of My Life – Helen Keller
1904 – The Cherry Orchard – Anton Chekhov
1905 – The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry
1906 – White Fang - Jack London
1907 – Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief - Maurice Leblanc
1908 – Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
1909 – The Girl of the Limberlost – Gene Stratton-Porter
1910 – The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
1911 – Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
1912 – Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs
1913 – The Custom of the Country - Edith Wharton
1914 – Dubliners - James Joyce
1915 – The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
1916 – Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
1917 - Parnassas on Wheels - Christopher Morley
1918 – The Elements of Style - William Struck
1919 – Winesburg, Ohio - Sherwood Anderson
1920 – The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
1921 – Main Street - Sinclair Lewis
1922 – The Enchanted April – Elizabeth von Arnim
1923 – The Waste Land - T. S. Eliot
1924 – A Passage to India - E. M. Forster
1925 – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
1926 – Winnie-the-Pooh - A. A. Milne
1927 – Elmer Gantry - Sinclair Lewis
1928 – Millions of Cats – Wanda Gág
1929 – All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque
1930 – Grand Hotel - Vicki Baum
1931 – The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck
1932 – Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
1933 – Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell
1934 – I, Claudius -Robert Graves
1935 – Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
1936 – Ballet Shoes – Noel Streatfeild
1937 – The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
1938 – The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1939 – The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
1940 – Caps for Sale - Esphyr Slobodkina
1941 – Make Way for Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
1942 – The Little House– Virginia Lee Burton
1943 – The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
1944 – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
1945 – Animal Farm - George Orwell
1946 – The World is Not Enough – Zoé Oldenbourg
1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank
1948 – The Loved One - Evelyn Waugh
1949 – Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
1950 – Henry Huggins - Beverly Cleary
1951 – The Sea Around Us - Rachel Carson
1952 – Excellent Women - Barbara Pym
1953 – Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
1954 – Half Magic - Edward Eager
1955 – A Night to Remember - Walter Lord
1956 – A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote
1957 – How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss
1958 – Mrs. 'arris Goes to Paris - Paul Gallico
1959 – Mrs. Bridge – Evan S. Connell
1960 – Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
1961 – The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster
1962 – A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L'Engle
1963 – The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
1964 – A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway
1965 – The Source - James A. Michener
1966 – Chancy and the Grand Rascal - Sid Fleischman

1967 – The Mouse and His Child – Russell Hoban
1968 – A Kiss for Little Bear - Else Holmelund Minarik
1969 – Rotten Island – William Steig
1970 – Frog and Toad are Friends - Arnold Lobel
1971 – The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom
1972 – Watership Down – Richard Adams
1973 – Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
1974 – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
1975 – Wife - Bharati Mukherjee
1976 – Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred D. Taylor
1977 – The Box Garden - Carol Shields
1978 – The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
1979 – If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino
1980 – A Month in the Country - J. L. Carr
1981 – Happenstance - Carol Shields
1982 – Blue Highways - William Least Heat-Moon
1983 – The Color of Magic – Terry Pratchett
1984 – The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros
1985 – Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry
1986 – Maus, Vol. I – Art Spiegelman
1987 – The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse - John R. Erickson
1988 – Where I'm Calling From - Raymond Carver

1989 – The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
1990 – Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
1991 – The Gold Bug Variations - Richard Powers
1992 – The Secret History – Donna Tartt
1993 – The Giver - Lois Lowry
1994 – Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott
1995 – A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
1996 – Wilma Unlimited – Kathleen Krull
1997 – A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson
1998 – The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – Alexander McCall Smith
1999 – Civility – Stephen L. Carter
2000 – Because of Winn-Dixie - Kate DiCamillo

Books from Lory's list that I have not read that I might want to read:

1901 - My Brilliant Career – Miles Franklin

1906 – The Story of the Amulet – E. Nesbit

1910 – Old Mother West Wind– Thornton Burgess

1912 – The Montessori Method – Maria Montessori
1913 – Le Grand Meaulnes – Alain-Fournier
1914 – Pygmalion – George Bernard Shaw
1915 – Herland – Charlotte Perkins Gilman

1917 - Prufrock and Other Poems – T.S. Eliot

1919 – Christopher and Columbus – Elizabeth von Arnim

1921 – Scaramouche – Rafael Sabatini

1924 – The Home-Maker – Dorothy Canfield Fisher

1926 – Lud-in-the-Mist – Hope Mirlees

1930 – Miss Mole – E.H. Young

1933 – Modern Man in Search of a Soul – C.G. Jung

1935 – Gaudy Night – Dorothy Sayers

1940 – The Bird in the Tree – Elizabeth Goudge

1948 – The Plague and I – Betty MacDonald
1949 – The Lady’s Not for Burning – Christopher Fry

1953 – Troy Chimneys – Margaret Kennedy

1955 – An Episode of Sparrows – Rumer Godden
1956 – Till We Have Faces – C.S. Lewis
1957 – Moominland Midwinter – Tove Jansson
1958 – The King Must Die – Mary Renault

1963 – False Colours – Georgette Heyer

1965 – Up the Down Staircase – Bel Kaufman
1966 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Tom Stoppard

1968 – The Silver Crown – Robert C. O’Brien

1970 – Smoke from Cromwell’s Time – Joan Aiken

1974 – The Perilous Gard – Elizabeth Marie Pope
1975 – World of Wonders – Robertson Davies

1977 – Charmed Life – Diana Wynne Jones
1978 – Beauty – Robin McKinley
1979 – The Madwoman in the Attic – Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
1980 – A Ring of Endless Light – Madeleine L’Engle
1981 – Masquerade – Kit Williams

1984 – Archer’s Goon – Diana Wynne Jones

1991 – Tam Lin – Pamela Dean

What would be on your list? And what do you think of mine?

My Perfect Day

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

A perfect day is made up of all the things that make me happy:

People. Friends. Family. Acquaintances. Strangers.

Activity. Swimming. Walking. Biking. Yoga. Zumba. Dancing around the kitchen.

Learning. Reading. Practicing my uke. Finch. Duolingo.

Creativity. Writing. Drawing. Baking. Photography.

Nature. Butterflies. Birds. Bioblitzes. My naturalist group.

Serendipity. Surprise. Wonder. Fun. Laughter. Paradox.

Spirituality. Silence. Focus. Presence. Gratitude.

Purpose. Giving. Sharing. Meaning.

Good food. Yogurt. Salad. Fruit. Bread. Ice cream.

Good sleep. Getting to bed at nine and sleeping through the night to five.

What makes up your perfect day?

The Sunday Salon: A Week in Which I Go to a Family Reunion, I Solve Nature Riddles at Fall Field Day, and I Am Presented with a Magnificent Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome! We're happy you joined us 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.

October is always a busy month for me, and last week was classically busy October; I went to a family reunion, my last (until spring) ukulele class, our naturalist group's Fall Field Day at Brazos Bend State Park, and a play at our town's college, in addition to my normal swim classes.

What I Read Last Week:

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

by Merlin Sheldrake (Nonfiction)

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (Mystery)

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Calamity Club by Katherine Stockett (Fiction)

Sons by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)

Dewey's October 2026 Readathon

October 17-18

8 AM to 8 AM Eastern time / 2 PM to 2 PM CEST

Discord: https://discord.gg/X8Ge3kG3qH
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dewey...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deweysreada...

Nonfiction November is coming soon! For more details,

take a look at this post.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Exit Party, Theo of Golden, and The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

Eleven Books with Autumnal Feels

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett: Friday Book Snippets 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:

My dad (left), 99, and

my cousin, Ray, 90,

at our family reunion.

Good genes, indeed!

Good Thing #2:

My cousin, Chuck, is an artist,

and he made this amazing painting

just for my husband and me.

I still can't quite believe it.

Good Thing #3:

We had to solve 25 nature riddles

and take photos of the answers

during our naturalist group's

Fall Field Day 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 Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

Birdie.

September 1933

Downtown Drugstore had a bell on the door that made a single tink sound when you opened it. Oxford Pharmacy had two bells on its door so it was more of a ta-tink, though nothing to startle over. But the Gathright-Reed Drug Co. door bore a foot-long strip of brass sleigh bells on its knob, which, when turned, sent metal balls clanging to announce somebody's coming in the dang store so you better turn around and look see who it is. And if you did, you'd see me.

Stockett, Kathryn. The Calamity Club, p. 1.

Birdie.

I dragged myself through an unlatched gate, and up a brick path, past a carriage block chiseled with the name Tartt. I was not looking or feeling my best, nor was their yard. A limb had fallen in the azalea bushes that lined the front porch, I reckon from the storm that had just blown through here. At the time, it'd seemed wise just to walk from the train depot instead of spending twenty-five more cents on a taxicab ride.

Stockett, Kathryn. The Calamity Club, p. 56..

Today's Featured Book:

The Calamity Club

by Kathryn Stockett

Genre: Fiction

Published: May 5, 2026

Page Count: 640 pages

Summary:

Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.

Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.
Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates—and Meg’s—converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.

I am barely 10% into the story, but the characters are compelling and the pages seem to turn themselves.

If you designed a book-themed escape room, what puzzles would be part of it? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I would be the last person you'd want to design an escape room since I'm not terribly sure I know what that is, and because I'm not a mystery reader, and as the math-y portion of my brain got beat up by my word-y brain part in my childhood---well, you see where I'm going...

Eleven Books with Autumnal Feels

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

The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts

The Overstory by Richard Powers

The Book of Birds by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

Babel by R. F. Kuang

The October Country by Ray Bradbury

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Possession by A. S. Byatt

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pam

Have you read any of these?

Thoughts?

Thanks to the prompt from Wordy Witterings.

The Sunday Salon: Exit Party, Theo of Golden, and The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

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

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

We got a tiny bit of a cool front this week, and the temps dipped down into the low 70s F at night. This is a beautiful time to live along the Gulf Coast of Texas.

I had a wonderful, busy week, with butterfly monitoring, swimming, my ukulele lesson, Empty Bowls, a library league meeting, book club, lunch with a friend, a butterfly walk with my naturalist group, and a family reunion.

What I Read Last Week:

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon (Science Fiction)

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Book Club)

Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel (Science Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (Nonfiction)

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (Mystery)

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pam

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: The Shorty September Challenge is Complete

Memorable Books I've Read with Others

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi: Friday Book Snippets 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:

I talked my husband into spending two nights with

Wicked, Part One and Part Two, this week,

with pizza.

Good Thing #2:

Look at these beautiful, locally crafted bowls

we took home from the Empty Bowls fundraiser.

Good Thing #3:

A lovely little Gray Hairstreak

we saw on our butterfly walk.

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.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

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

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

Theo was in Golden for only a year, from springtime to springtime.

Levi, Allen. Theo of Golden, p. 1.

Theo was not particularly comfortable with small talk. His own active mind and colorful thoughts were so engaging that shallow babble felt at times like an intrusion, an interruption, a subtraction. That said, and all because of his capacious spirit, sidewalk chats became a welcome part of his days.

Levi, Allen. Theo of Golden, 56%.

Today's Featured Book:

Theo of Golden

by Allen Levi

Genre: Fiction

Published: October 5, 2025

Page Count: 399 pages

Summary:

One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn’t explain much about where he came from or why he’s there—but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person’s story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.

There may be some spoilers below.

An old man arrives in a new town and he decides to buy portraits of people from the town and give them as a gift to the person portrayed in the portrait.

It's a story of trying to heal oneself. In the process, others are healed.

It's a story of change in perspective, in philosophy.

It's a story of looking deeply at people, seeing them in all their sadnesses but also in their strengths.

Do you run more than one blog? If so, how do you manage your time? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

No. Readerbuzz is my one and only blog.

Memorable Books I've Read with Others

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

Have all my favorite books been books I've read with others? Maybe! All of these are books I read with others and they are all books on my favorite books list.

Books my mom read with me when I was just learning to read:

Go, Dog, Go
The Little House by Virginia Burton
Caps for Sale

Books I read when I was a young person in a class in junior high, high school, or college:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Odyssey
Don Quixote

Readalouds in my classroom:

Wrinkle in Time
Where the Red Fern Grows
Henry Huggins

Books with my kids and grandkids:

A bajillion picture books
Hank the Cowdog books
The Hobbit
Little House in the Big Woods

Books I read to kids as a librarian:

The Little Match Girl
I Want My Hat Back
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Martin's Big Words
Pete the Cat
Rotten Island
Where the Sidewalk Ends

Books I've read with other bloggers:

Moby Dick
War and Peace
The Thorn Birds
The Narnia books
The Oz books
1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

Books I've read with my book clubs:

Little Women
Isaac's Storm
Unbroken
My Name is Asher Lev
The Westing Game

The Sunday Salon: The Shorty September Challenge is Complete

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

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

What I Read This Week:

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (Mystery)

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (Novel)

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Novel)

What I'm Reading Now:

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (Nonfiction)

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon (Fiction)

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (Mystery)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Waco-Bound

Dishing Up Some Wonderful Stories, with Pie

Save the Date! Nonfiction November is Coming Soon!

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

Shorty September is Complete! 12 / 12

Hometown Shorts (Local Author/Setting)

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (64 pages)

Hairy Shorts (Animal Character)

Wesley the Owl (244 pages)

Cargo Shorts (Helpful in a Pickle)

Jingo Django by Sid Fleischman (184 pages)

Denim Shorts (Modern Classic)

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor (224 pages)

Ripped Shorts (Mystery/Horror/Thriller)

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine They (144 pages)

Crochet Shorts (Independent Publisher)

Little Bird (96 pages)

Postal Shorts (Set in a Country You’re Likely to Have a Penpal In)

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (224 pages)

Half-n-Half Shorts (Read the Book then Watch the Movie)

Train Dreams (130 pages)

Zip-Off Shorts (Nature Writing/Outdoors)

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (48 pages)

Runway Fashion Shorts (Translated)

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandra Solzhenitsyn (208 pages)

Elton John’s Wedding Shorts (Something Outrageous)

Trash! A Garbageman’s Story by Simon Paré-Poupart (192 pages)

Patchwork Shorts (Blend of Genres)

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel (242 pages)

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 went on a tour of the site at

the Waco Mammoth National Monument.

Those mammoths!

It was an amazing tour.

Good Thing #2:

We visited the Armstrong Browning Library on

Baylor University's campus

and took a look at some of the books

and artifacts of

poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Good Thing #3:

My sister made,

and I'm starting to address,

the invitations

for my dad's 100th birthday party

on January 2, 2027!

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.

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

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

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

Fungi are everywhere but they are easy to miss. They are inside you and around you. They sustain you and all that you depend on. As you read these words, fungi are changing the way that life happens, as they have done for more than a billion years. They are eating rock, making soil, digesting pollutants, nourishing and killing plants, surviving in space, inducing visions, producing food, making medicines, manipulating animal behavior, and influencing the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways that we think, feel, and behave. Yet they live their lives largely hidden from view, and over ninety percent of their species remain undocumented. The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them.

Sheldrake, Merlin. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, p. 3. Kindle Edition.

The transformational power of yeast has long been personified as a divine energy, spirit, or god. How could it escape this treatment? Alcohol and inebriation are some of the oldest magics. An invisible force conjures wine from fruit, beer from grain, mead from nectar. These liquids alter our minds and have been enfolded within human cultures in many ways: from ritual feasting and statecraft, to a means to pay for labor. For just as long, they have been responsible for dissolving our senses, for wildness and ecstasy. Yeasts are both makers and breakers of human social orders.

Sheldrake, Merlin. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, 56%. Kindle Edition.

Today's Featured Book:

Entangled Life:

How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures

by Merlin Sheldrake

Genre: Nature

Published: May 12, 2020

Page Count: 345 pages

Summary:

When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.

Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are changing our understanding of how life works.

This is our naturalist group's book club selection for October and November. I know little about fungi, and I'm eager to learn more.

As a book lover, what’s your biggest fear? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I will turn seventy in November. I'm beginning to fear that I may not have time to read every book before I die.

Save the Date! Nonfiction November is Coming Soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 05:00:00 +0000

It's almost time to put aside your novels, wrap up warm (or get out the spring clothes in the southern hemisphere!) and spend November reading and talking about nonfiction. Yes, Nonfiction November is back!

Week 1 November 2-8 - My Year in Nonfiction - Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you read? What were your favorites? Have you had a favorite topic? Is there a topic you want to read about more? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

Hosted by Heather. Heather is a veterinarian living in Ohio who blogs at Based on a True Story. She reads all genres but really loves nonfiction and fantasy.

Week 2 November 9-15 - Nonfiction Journeys - This week choose a book that reflects a journey for its author or for the reader or both. This can be a physical journey, an emotional, psychological or spiritual journey or a combination of these. Any nonfiction title that leaves its author/protagonist and/or reader in a different place at the end from the start point is good for this challenge.

Hosted by Frances. Frances is a poet, essayist and reviewer. Her novel The Winchester Codex was published in 2024. She lives in London with her husband and Suki the Golden Doodle. Her blog can be found at volatilerune.blog It covers books she happens to be reading – both fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She especially enjoys biographies of writers and artists.

Week 3 November 16-22 - Nonfiction Pairings - This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. Or maybe it’s just two books you feel have a link, whatever they might be. You can be as creative as you like!

Hosted by Liz. Liz is an ex-librarian, a freelance editor and transcriber, a runner and a volunteer and works part-time at a cooperative-owed community centre. She blogs about everything from social justice and geology nonfiction to YA romance and literary fiction at librofulltime.wordpress.com

Week 4 November 23-29 - What I've Added to my TBR - It's a month of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones made it into your TBR? Be sure to link up to the original blogger who posted about that book.

Hosted by Deb. Deb is a Texas librarian-for-life who loves to read nonfiction-that-reads-like-fiction, literary fiction, classics, and children’s picture books. Deb plays guitar, swims, draws, writes, thinks about happiness, and blogs at Readerbuzz

I do hope you will be able to join us for Nonfiction November! #NonFicNov26

Dishing Up Some Wonderful Stories, with Pie

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

We do not get much autumn here along the Texas Gulf Coast.

I don't actually own a coat, for example.

So, no cold weather. No falling leaves. Mostly just Summer Lite.

What's autumn to me?

When I think of fall, I think of pie. Shall we celebrate the arrival of fall with a few pie books?

I've read a lot of books with a pie or two at the heart of the story. Some are picture books. Some are cookbooks. And some are adult novels.

Any genre, any age group---I will take some pie, please. And welcome, fall!

PICTURE BOOKS (FICTION)

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

Piggie Pie! A Halloween Book for Kids by Margie Palatini

Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson

Little Bitty Bakery

PICTURE BOOKS (NONFICTION)

Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis

Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott

COOKBOOKS

The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies

Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet and Savory Slab Pies

Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life

The Pie Academy

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

American Pie: Slices of Pie (and Life) from America's Back Roads

MG FICTION

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yen

ADULT FICTION

Rhododendron Pie by Margery Sharp

World of Pies by Karen

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Secret Ingredients of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

The Help by Katherine Stockett

My Pie in Literature Award winners from Care at Care's Books and Pie:

2016...Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

2017...What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

2018...The Idiot by Elif Batuman

2019...The Lager Queen of Minesota by J. Ryan Stradal

2020...Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman

2021...The Resistors by Gish Jen

2022...The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

2023...The Guncle by Steven Rowley

2024...The Book of Love: A Novel by Kelly Link

2025...Heart the Lover by Lily King

What have I missed?

The Sunday Salon: Waco-Bound

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

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

Please add your link below, visit other bloggers, and comment on their posts.

We are in Waco this weekend, spending time with my sister, Cathy, and her husband. This photo is from the last time we visited when we rode Cathy's e-bikes all around town.

What I Read Last Week:

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor (Novel)

What I'm Reading Now:

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (Mystery)

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (Novel)

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Novel)

Yes, Nonfiction November is being planned for 2026!

Start assembling your stacks!

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Shorty September

Books on My Fall 2026 To-Read List

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

Shorty September 9/12

Hometown Shorts (Local Author/Setting)

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (64 pages)

Hairy Shorts (Animal Character)

Wesley the Owl (244 pages)

Cargo Shorts (Helpful in a Pickle)

Jingo Django (184 pages)

Denim Shorts (Modern Classic)

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor (224 pages)

Crochet Shorts (Independent Publisher)

Little Bird (96 pages)

Postal Shorts (Set in a Country You’re Likely to Have a Penpal In)

Emily of New Moon (224 pages)

Zip-Off Shorts (Nature Writing/Outdoors)

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (48 pages)

Elton John’s Wedding Shorts (Something Outrageous)

Trash! A Garbageman’s Story by Simon Paré-Poupart (192 pages)

Patchwork Shorts (Blend of Genres)

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel (242 pages)

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 friend and I went to a lecture

by an amateur historian and model ship builder

on Captain James Cook

at University of Texas Medical Branch's

Osher Livelong Learning Institute in Galveston.

Good Thing #2:

A group of us went to see a play, The 39 Steps,

a comedic version of the classic thriller,

in which 150 characters were played

by just four actors.

Good Thing #3:

We finally got rain!

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.

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

‘After all, I am not a young girl to be intimidated by her,’ Kate decided, as she waited outside her mother-in-law’s house.

Taylor, Elizabeth. In A Summer Season (Virago Modern Classics Book), p. 1. Kindle Edition.

When they were sitting together in the bus, she felt completely happy, without knowing that to feel so is such a rare experience that it might never come to her again.

Taylor, Elizabeth. In A Summer Season (Virago Modern Classics Book), p. 56. Kindle Edition.

Today's Featured Book:

In a Summer Season

by Elizabeth Taylor

Genre: Fiction

Published: 1961

Page Count: 224 pages

Summary:

Kate Heron is a wealthy, charming widow who marries, much to the disapproval of friends and neighbours, a man ten years her junior: the attractive, feckless Dermot. Then comes the return of Kate's old friend Charles - intelligent, kind and now widowed, with his beautiful young daughter. Kate watches happily as their two families are drawn together, finding his presence reassuringly familiar, but slowly she becomes aware of subtle undercurrents that begin to disturb the calm surface of their friendship. Before long, even she cannot ignore the gathering storm . . .

This is exactly the sort of story that I read exclusively for many years as a young woman. It's the kind of story written by a woman author that gets inside people's heads, that doesn't have a great deal of action, and that focuses on the lives of women. It's the genre we once called women's fiction, but I'm not sure that term is still used. Whatever you want to call it, it was my favorite then, and it is still one of my favorites.

How then have I just come, after almost seventy years of reading, to this author, Elizabeth Taylor? Elizabeth Berg, Ann Hood, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Strout---I've read most everything by these writers, but Elizabeth Taylor, who writes in much the same fashion? No.

This is a story that feels perfect in many ways. Sensible Kate, after losing her first husband and settling into middle-age, marries reckless, much younger Dermot. The two are madly in love, but that's all they have in common. Kate's son, Tom, and her daughter, Lou, suffer from their own love foibles, and then there is her neighbor, Charles, and his beautiful daughter. The author skillfully takes us into the minds of all these characters as they interact and go through the day-to-dayness of life with them.

If you have read any other books by this author, please share them with me. I am eager to read more.

What’s the best investment you’ve made for your blog? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

Oh dear. I've never spent money on my blog. Blogging is, for me, a hobby, fun, a joy, but I don't expect it to give me any cold cash.

Books on My Fall 2026 To-Read List

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

Some of these have already been published, some are just being published, and some are yet to be published.

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

A Planet Called Happy by Riley August

Kitten by Stacy Yu

You'll Love It Here by Natalie Sue

Man Overboard by Kathleen Rooney

The Bookshop Woman by Hanako Hanada (September 15)

The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (September 15)

Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel (September 15)

Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger (October 6)

The Rush by Nathaniel Philbrick (October 6)

Partita by Barbara Kingsolver (October 6)

An Unlikely Visitor by Joanna Cannon (October 20)

Dead Batteries by Kate Maupin (October 27)

America Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the Hidden Wonders of the United States (November 10)

The Sunday Salon: Shorty September

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

It's wonderful that you are here at the Sunday Salon. Welcome!

Please add your link below, visit other bloggers, and comment on their posts.

We had a fabulous time visiting with our son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Lisa. We spent some time in Chicago where they live, and we also spent a few days in Traverse City, Michigan where Lisa worked when she was first out of college. The highs were in the 70s, and the temps dipped into the 50s at night. The weather was glorious and the company was more glorious.

What I Read Last Week:

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Novel)

What I'm Reading Now (for Shorty September):

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor (Novel)

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine They (Mystery)

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (Novel)

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solhenitzen (Novel)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Authors I've Met

The Sunday Salon: ♫ ♪ Chicago! Chicago! ♫ ♪

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

SHORTY SEPTEMBER 8 / 12

Hometown Shorts (Local Author/Setting)

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (64 pages)

Hairy Shorts (Animal Character)

Wesley the Owl (244 pages)

Cargo Shorts (Helpful in a Pickle)

Jingo Django (184 pages)

Crochet Shorts (Independent Publisher)

Little Bird (96 pages)

Postal Shorts (Set in a Country You’re Likely to Have a Penpal In)

Emily of New Moon (224 pages)

Zip-Off Shorts (Nature Writing/Outdoors)

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (48 pages)

Elton John’s Wedding Shorts (Something Outrageous)

Trash! A Garbageman’s Story by Simon Paré-Poupart (192 pages)

Patchwork Shorts (Blend of Genres)

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel (242 pages)

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 new-to-me butterfly in Chicago:

Small White.

Good Thing #2:

We shopped in a store where

everything---ice cream, syrup, salsa, and more---

was made from cherries.

Traverse City is

the Cherry Capital of the World.

Good Thing #3:

We visited two bookstores in Traverse City,

including this one

in a former mental asylum.

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.

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

When Caroline Meeber boarded the afternoon train for Chicago, her total outfit consisted of a small trunk, a cheap imitation alligator-skin satchel, a small lunch in a paper box, and a yellow leather snap purse, containing her ticket, a scrap of paper with her sister's address in Van Buren Street, and four dollars in money. It was in August, 1889. She was eighteen years of age, bright, timid, and full of the illusions of ignorance and youth. Whatever touch of regret at parting characterised her thoughts, it was certainly not for advantages now being given up. A gush of tears at her mother's farewell kiss, a touch in her throat when the cars clacked by the flour mill where her father worked by the day, a pathetic sigh as the familiar green environs of the village passed in review, and the threads which bound her so lightly to girlhood and home were irretrievably broken.

Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie, p. 1. Kindle Edition.

Carrie looked over the large bill of fare which the waiter handed her without really considering it. She was very hungry, and the things she saw there awakened her desires, but the high prices held her attention. "Half broiled spring chicken—seventy-five. Sirloin steak with mushrooms—one twenty-five." She had dimly heard of these things, but it seemed strange to be called to order from the list.

Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie, p. 56. Kindle Edition.

Today's Featured Book:

Sister Carrie

by Theodore Dreiser

Genre: Fiction

Published: 1900

Page Count: 464 pages

Summary:

When Carrie Meeber runs away to Chicago, she has nothing to rely on but her beauty and a fierce determination to improve her life. She escapes work in a factory by becoming the mistress of first one man and then a more successful one but ultimately leaves them behind for success and fame on the stage in New York.

Long hailed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century, Sister Carrie provides a panoramic view of the dynamic and relentless forces that still drive city life and American culture.

I brought three books set in Chicago along with me on my recent trip to visit my son and his wife. I think I have brought Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser along with me fifty times, and I've yet to read the whole things. This time I'm determined to finish.

If you could recommend one overlooked book, what would it be and why? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer

I'd recommend Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell. It's the story of a woman who is a homemaker of the 1940s, and each chapter is a page or so long, each one like a little Zen story.

Authors I've Met

noreply@blogger.com (Deb Nance at Readerbuzz) — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Margaret Atwood! Wow!

Lots of great kids' authors:

Jayson Reynolds. R. L. Stein Aaron Reynolds

Jacqueline Woodson. Kate DiCamillo Melissa Sweet

Rick Riordan

Mo Willems

Jon Klassen at my school!

Lots of wonderful adult authors:

Anne Lamott

Gretchen Rubin

Amy Krause Rosenthal Katherine Center

Jane Green

David Baldacci Mary Higgins Clark

Lots of authors I've met at Inprint in Houston:

Richard Powers Kiran Desai George Saunders

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi Salman Rushdie

My "twin," Janet Evanovich

The Sunday Salon: ♫ ♪ Chicago! Chicago! ♫ ♪

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

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

I encourage you to join in by adding your link below and then visit other bloggers and leave comments on their posts.

We are in Chicago, visiting our son, Ben,

and his wife, Lisa.

What I Read Last Week:

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

(Nonfiction)

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe (Fiction)

Passing by Nella Larson (Fiction)

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Fiction)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: My First Ukulele Class is Hard

Indie Bookshops Near Me

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

SHORTY SEPTEMBER 6 / 12

Hometown Shorts (Local Author/Setting)

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (64 pages)

Hairy Shorts (Animal Character)

Wesley the Owl (244 pages)

Cargo Shorts (Helpful in a Pickle)

*Jingo Django (184 pages)

Crochet Shorts (Independent Publisher)

Little Bird (96 pages)

Elton John’s Wedding Shorts (Something Outrageous)

Trash! A Garbageman’s Story by Simon Paré-Poupart (192 pages)

Patchwork Shorts (Blend of Genres)

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel (242 pages)

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 friend and I went to the

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge last week

after we were told there were lots of birds visiting.

There were!

We loved seeing this Wood Stork.

Good Thing #2:

This Yellow-crowned Night Heron

seemed to be enjoying the water.

Good Thing #3:

A new-to-me butterfly at the refuge:

White Peacock.

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.

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe: Friday Book Snippets and Book Blogger Hop

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

Today's Featured Book:

Last Summer on State Street

by Toya Wolfe

Genre: Children's Fiction

Published: May 2, 2023

Page Count: 224 pages

Summary:

Felicia “Fe Fe” Stevens is living with her vigilantly loving mother and older teenaged brother, whom she adores, in building 4950 of Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes. It’s the summer of 1999, and her high-rise is next in line to be torn down by the Chicago Housing Authority. She, with the devout Precious Brown and Stacia Buchanan, daughter of a Gangster Disciple Queen-Pin, form a tentative trio and, for a brief moment, carve out for themselves a simple life of Double Dutch and innocence. But when Fe Fe welcomes a mysterious new friend, Tonya, into their fold, the dynamics shift, upending the lives of all four girls.

As their beloved neighborhood falls down around them, so too do their friendships and the structures of the four girls’ families. Fe Fe must make the painful decision of whom she can trust and whom she must let go. Decades later, as she remembers that fateful summer—just before her home was demolished, her life uprooted, and community forever changed—Fe Fe tries to make sense of the grief and fraught bonds that still haunt her and attempts to reclaim the love that never left.

Friday Book Snippets is a weekly blogging event co-hosted by

Anne@HeadFullofBooks and Olivia at Bemused and Bookish.

Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from:

a. the book's beginning and

b. page 56 (or another page)

in the book you are currently reading.

No spoilers, please.

Join the fun every Friday.

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 share the first line.

SNIPPET FROM THE BEGINNING / FIRST LINE FRIDAY

I'd known Precious forever, Stacia a year, and Tonya for just a minute. We were so different, but everybody loved them some double Dutch. Sometimes we made a tight-knit crew; other days we couldn't get along for nothing.

Wolfe, Toya.. Last Summer on State Street, p. 1.

SNIPPET FROM PAGE 56

"He at that age, Fe Fe. Everybody checking for him now. My brother left last year when he turned fifteen." I looked for a sadness, any crack at all in her hard shell, but she just reached for the ropes, motioning for us to start a game.

Wolfe, Toya.. Last Summer on State Street, p. 56.

I brought Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe along with me to Chicago for our visit with my son and daughter-in-law this week. It will be interesting to talk about this book with my daughter-in-law, Lisa, who was a teen living in Chicago in 1999.

How much do online reviews shape what you pick up next? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer).

I rely completely on other bloggers to help me decide what book to read next!