Books lately.

To say I've fallen behind on my yearly reading goal is an understatement. I usually pick things up in the summer though!

I've looked back through my posts and I cannot find any book updates since the beginning of February. So here we go....

***The theme is "lying", apparently.***

I gave Everyone is Lying to You 3 stars. I really enjoyed the beginning. I thought it was poignant and timely for this culture we live in. The end got a little out of control. It would've been 4-5 stars for me but it got a bit unnecessary (audio).

Count My Lies was really good. I can't remember why it didn't get 5 full stars but I read it compulsively over a couple of nights. It's free on Kindle Unlimited so you should grab it to read this week if you haven't yet! (BOTM hardcover)

I gave Read Between the Lies 5 stars without question. It was an insane psychological ride and I can't believe more people didn't rate it higher. If you like a slighty unstable narrator, this is for you. I couldn't put it down. (Kindle Unlimited)

It's Not Her was awful. I must've been feeling really generous on the day I gave it 2 stars. The system is rigged because this is not a good book. (BOTM hardcover...not linking it because I don't think you should read it.)

I generally like Robyn Harding's books and most are on Kindle Unlimited. I gave The Party 4 stars because it held my attention and kept me motivated to read after a very long dry spell (6 weeks maybe?) where I just couldn't find a book. (Kindle Unlimited)

John Marrs books are crazy and the beginning of this one started out really promising-like. I was seriously enjoying the audio of You Killed Me First and then it kind of went off the deep end for me. I don't think I finished it, but I invested a lot of time in the first half (his books are also pretty long) so I'm counting it. (Audible)

Freida McFadden's latest. I liked The Divorce and I read it in a day or two. I will say that the beginning is better than the end. It doesn't matter; I'll always pick up her books. (Kindle Unlimited)

Dan Gutman is a very reliable middle-grade author and I saw this recommended as a read aloud on a teacher's Instagram page. It came out a few years ago. I got it from the library and we listened to it in the car and Wells really enjoyed it. I would say it's great for audio or a read aloud. There were some weird things about it I DIDN'T like but you can read that in the reviews. Overall, I'd say Houdini and Me is good for middle-graders because it blends just the right amount of historical background with fictional/fantasy. (Libby audio)

So that takes me up to ...12 books for the year so far. Not great, Bob. 

But I'm currently working my way through these:

I read A Wrinkle in Time back in 2011, so I'm counting it. We are listening to it in the car. 

Currently. In June.

Alright, let's get this out of the way. I hate summer. I just do. Stop. Don't tell me I'm "doing it wrong". I've experienced summer in 6+ different states at this point and there's no good "summer". I am an absolute downer when it comes to summer and I don't care who knows it. 

I count down to the days getting shorter (12 more days!) because then at least I know time is moving in the right direction and also Labor Day Weekend comes as sweet relief. Memorial Day Weekend seems like an opening ceremony of sorts to a game I don't want to attend. I do often think that September probably has the best weather but it gets such a bad rap because we're all sick of summer weather by then that we don't appreciate it. 

Anyway. 

Enjoying: 

I reread the Shopaholic series every summer. 

It's been my consistency for probably 15 years. 

Wearing: Bouts of negativity and anxiety. Months ago, I mentioned that I woke up with this verse in my head and it just stuck with me. This happens a lot; I'll wake up with a phrase or Bible verse in my head and it'll just be there as a mantra for days. Unfortunately, the week we closed on this house, I knew it was a "get through it situation" and we're still in the throes of getting through it with a LOT (LOT) going on and that particular week I woke up with "embrace the suck" in my head. Because this is the military life and if you don't embrace the annoying, soul-sucking details of it that every civilian takes for granted --constantly keeping track of utility turn-on/off schedules, "where is ______?", trying to pack and move for the 2nd time in 11 months -- you will never get anything done. That stuck in my head for 2 weeks, at least. 

Now, we moved a lot before we had kids. Moving with kids is a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL. Because they're always hungry and always looking to be entertained while you are fighting for your life trying to shove furniture through doorways. 

Watching: Sutton's dance recital. It blows me away how well she did and how much she enjoyed it. There were tears for the first few lessons but there's a strict structure to the studio she attended and it worked out for the benefit of the kids. I fear we will be signing up again in the fall. 

Listening to: Like everyone, I'm on board with that Puerto Rico song. But I've been on an audiobook kick lately. At this moment, I'm listening to Sutton watch some cartoon on my iPad and Wells watches Minecraft-gameplay on the TV.

Again, this is a fighting for your life situation, being in military transitions with kids along. 

Buying: I got Scott this for Father's Day. Because I'm doing a lot of stuff around here but I refuse to cut grass and he spends most of his summers hopping from property to property maintaining the grass. 

And now Hodge Podge, just for fun:

What is something you find extremely difficult?

Putting away clean laundry. Keeping plants alive. 

{some quote from Fitzgerald}...how does summer make you feel?

See the introduction to this post. (Fitzgerald was a real piece of work by the way)

Pickles?

I like dill pickles on hamburgers. I like sweet pickles on barbecue sandwiches. 

June weddings?

Nope. We got married in September. Teachers do usually clamor to get married in June, but it wasn't an option for us. Military couples get married within the one or two week time frame that suits their schedules. I actually feel like I've blacked out about a lot of things in recent years but the last wedding we went to was at the end of July. 

Say something nice.

....I appreciate those, like Amy, who blog regularly and inspire me to keep going in this season of life. I think my problem is that I try to act and think like someone who hasn't lived in 10 houses and 6+ states in 16 years. 

Summer Reading: Thrillers only

A few weeks ago, I had a slight breakdown, deleted social media apps from my phone and was like I need a book. A good book. (Note the timestamps: this is at midnight.) 

I started looking over the Kindle app. It's really hit or miss with Kindle Unlimited these days, so I started in on new releases and, to my absolute delight, my favorites were all coming out with new books....later this summer. 

So while I couldn't download and read any of them immediately, I did take screenshots as a mental note to request from the library and get on those waitlists in advance. 

May 26. Came out this week and I'm halfway through it. 

July 28. Always reliable for a thriller.

June 23. Some of my best reading experiences have been Lisa Jewell books. (except for that weird Marvel crossover she did a few years back that I refuse to try)

August 4. Riley Sager isn't *not* reliable, but is hit or miss for me. I'll always try one of his books. 

Was released May 12th. 

I like the concepts of his books and they always appear to be screenplays to me. But I'll try it!

August 25. Reliable for plot twists for sure. 

August 25. Big Little Lies was one of my single best audiobook experiences. If Caroline Lee does this one, I'm getting it on Audible. 

August 4. Another reliable favorite. You can tell I go by author and not by genre/subject of the book.

This is out now and I just grabbed it because it's $7 on Audible. if a book is less than $10 on Audible, it's usually worth a try. 

September 22. Pushing the boundaries on a "summer" release here, but I really like her books. 

July 14. I admit I didn't finish her last book because I was busy/distracted/it was really long for some reason(?) I'll try again. 

What's on your summer reading list?

2 and 13, 13 and 2

I did not expect to have this kind of age gap between our dogs. These two were born the same week though! Scout on May 24, 2013 and Maverick on May 18, 2024. They came from the same breeder right outside of Louisville. 

Akin to how most people plan out an age gap between kids, we planned out dog age gaps...initially.

We got Scout in the summer of 2013 and within 6 months Scott was hankering for another dog because he wanted Scout to have a friend. I couldn't really argue it but also did not want a second dog. When it comes to what's best for a dog though, it's generally not good for a dog to be alone (did Austen write that? I think so. Or it's in Genesis). 

So we got Jett when Scout was about 11 months old and then we had two dogs, about a year apart and it went on like that. There was a lot of moving and upheaval for several years but I always knew Scott wanted a THIRD dog at some point. 

When we bought our house in Missouri in 2021, it was on the table. Summer is the prime time to get a hunting dog, but I was pregnant with Sutton that first summer, then we had a newborn/infant, then I was going back to work and we were dog-sitting all summer,  and then we finally had a window to get a puppy. Jett was diagnosed with a few terminal issues in 2024 but we'd already made plans to bring this puppy home. 

We picked up Maverick in July 2024 on the day of the attempted Trump assassination in Butler, PA. (Interesting fact.)

Jett passed away in December 2024 and then we were left with an 11 year old dog and a 7 month old puppy. 

The idea was that Scout could help show Maverick how life worked and that Maverick would keep Scout young. 

Maverick is a HARD dog to like, unfortunately, so Scout has not been a willing participant. Turns out Scout never wanted a friend, even in Jett. He has the personality an true only child. In Scout's defense, Mav is a bit of a bully...very much like Jett, actually. Jett was a rough puppy. Mav was the only male in a litter of 3 pups and he insists on being the center of attention at all times. It's exhausting. The kids like him. Scott likes him. He overstimulates me, tbh. He has no social or spatial awareness. However, he loves us and our daily runs through the local fields are the only thing that keeps his behavior in check. His intentions are pure, though. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He doesn't bark or growl. He's a gentle giant (for a Brittany) at 40 pounds. My biggest complaint is that there's still a potential for him chewing everything he can find and is very unpredictable about it. 

As for the last year, Maverick went from being in a crate in Missouri during the day to having free reign of the house in Kansas. He has a doggy door and is able to come and go as he pleases. I think this makes an enormous difference in a dog's quality of life. He did catch a case of strangles last fall, which cost us about $1,000 in vet appointments and medicine in November/December. He actually has some permanent scarring on his nose, which is crazy. He took his second trip to Pennsylvania to see his "grandparents"this past winter. And now, given our recent move to a new house, he's on his 3rd house in less than 2 years. A true military fur-child.

Scout is still trucking along. He goes on daily runs through the fields. He eats voraciously, he wakes us up in the middle of the night when he's hungry (not kidding), and then he has crazy anxiety when the barometric pressure hits a certain level and storms are coming. Trazodone doesn't even work so I've started just giving Benedryl. Scout takes two heart medications (4 pills a day) and we started him on Prozac last summer and it's improved EVERYONE'S quality of life. He started having anxiety back in 2020ish and finally I was able to do something about it for him. He took his, approximately, 456th trip to Pennsylvania this past winter. Scout has now lived in 8 houses.

Scout is, we're pretty sure, completely deaf but his mind is sharp and he's still all there. He seems to have a soul behind those eyes and is always "speaking" to us about what he wants. Maverick, like Jett, is very dog-like. I can't explain this but I know it to be true. 

Saturday things.

1. We moved last weekend and I do not recommend moving while finishing up the last week of school, especially while your kids need lunch packed and uniforms ready each day and they also have things like dance class and soccer that require certain clothes and you need to know where they are. Just my advice. That was the single hardest part of this. Usually, when we move, we just live out of a suitcase and make do with whatever but not possible when you need to know where the shinguards are, as well as have something presentable to wear to work. 

Also, moving without kids is a lot easier than moving with kids. I do feel like that would go without saying, and since we did a lot of moving pre-kids and I can make that comparison. And waiting until school is out is probably the key to success. 

We gave ourselves a 6 week buffer on purpose, so we're not out of our rental yet. Nothing worse than being rushed through a move (ask me how I know). 

2. Jack Ryan: Ghost War was really good and they're setting up for a second movie, you can tell. First movie we watched in the new house. 

3. 

I got these sneakers from Walmart on sale the other day for $9. I needed something to wear out and about that's comfortable and not a big investment. They're great with dresses, shorts, and I'm sure with pants too (I don't wear pants after May begins, generally).

4. Did you know The Good and the Beautiful will send your kids free books for summer reading?

You just pay for shipping! I got one for each grade/age range for $5.95 shipping. Cannot recommend this enough. 

5. 

5 Wednesday Things.

1. If you need a show to watch this week, I was a little late to the game on Should I Marry a Murderer? It was so good. It's almost spoofy. 

2. We went to a one-room schoolhouse the other day. Super in-depth tour and I think we learned a lot! Highly recommend the Oxford Schoolhouse if you're in the KC area. 

3. I'm always on the lookout for new tortilla chips. Scott came home with these after he ate all my tortilla chips (he thought I had more in the closet). I'd never seen them before and they're very good. He found them at Kroger. 

4. I never made it through more than half the first season of The Bear. 

But life has been starting to get to me, so I found myself relistening to the Casey Anthony episodes of The Prosecutors. Their old (not their new) multi-part episodes are comfort binges for me. 

5. Hantavirus internet does not disappoint.