Sunday, December 28, 2025

Book Notes ~ 2025

 

As I listen to an audiobook (my main method of absorbing stories for several years now) I'll try to stop and jot down things ... words, phrases, pronunciations, questions, items I will want to mention in my review on Goodreads when I finish.  I can't always stop (if I'm driving, or hands messy mixing sourdough), and other times instead of pulling up my NOTE I keep for this purpose, I'll turn to my computer and pull up the Kindle copy, making notes/highlights there. So while this list may not be completely complete, it's fun to me to see at a glance what I jotted down whilst listening throughout the year (reverse chronological order) ...

See my Book Notes 2024 and Book Notes 2023 too ... This is just the smallest peek at some thoughts on my reads - full rating/reviews for all on Goodreads and Storygraph. I'm JenBsBooks on both.


Bone Valley

Dais 


Secrets We Kept 

Molted our jackets 

Cerulean Dias (long I) 


Winter Solstice

Song sung 

Panacea halcyon caprice 

Assignation detritus archaic 

Abstemious sybaritic 


Life&Death&Giants

Frenetic swath snuck


Snow Falling on Cedars

Quite the back stories 

Espaliered  jury rigged 

Sex/penis descriptions 

Scrupulosity quiescent 


Once Upon a Midnight

Cravat (CRA-vet) foil-ige 

Kind eyes 


Firefly lane

Musical transitions- phone calls 

Mullioned windows  


Cranes fly

Female priest 

Sneaked 


Lost story  of Eva

Ablutions 

Sneaked ? 


Guardian and the Thief 

Carom 

Lapis lazuli cerulean  

billionaire- female


Pretending to Dance

Kitty corner 

Kudzu


Blind Your Ponies

Song spoken - man of lamancha 

Song sung - little town of Bethlehem 

Snuck sneaked 

Shackelton’s Arctic expedition 

Dean’s voice in audio (annoying) 

Frenetic carom 

Give the calf, beer truck backing, keep cooking 


Emma 3

I digress 


Bookclub for TroublesomeWomen

3rd person - I needed a header/ something more for pic switch. Whose head??

Mullioned windows  

Swath anathema frenetic 

Snuck deign 

Cracking wise

Chubby


Dissolution

Fugue (*Wordle word)

Chess 


The Maid

Skeletal …ska-Lee-tal (but not British)


25 Library Terrace

Careered  

Covid connection


Buckeye

Swath

Hoe-stas pronunciation (hostas plant) 

Wide berth 


Dress Shop

Swathes of fabric 

Ruffled sneaked 

Lapis blue cerulean 


Heart the Lover

1st person- present tense 

2nd (you’re) 

Tuberculosis 


Trust

Profit can correspond to public good 

Riffle  Narrative

Carnegie (standard pronunciation)


What My Bones Know 

Swath Fitbit fetid(*Wordle Word) 

Apropos of nothing 

Trying to find a therapist/match/insurance 


Table for 5

A-que-zatary accusatory 

Exploit-a-tive 


Heir Apparent P&P

Deign dearth 

Nursing babies

Night emissions - sex

Ch46/ confusion when Miss door died

James illegitimate, Mr Bennett steps up

Kitty had a twin - late pregnancy Mrs Bennett 

Mary- larger role

Cousin Anne letters 


The Cat I Never Named

Cacophony  

Sexual talk- mg? 


Heartwood

Covid connection 

Arcane cacophony surfeit  swath 


Solito

Song sung 

Old age is not for cowards 


Careless People

Deign 


Small Great Things

A bit repetitive - different POVs - different things revealed, but scenes/conversations repeat  

Wide berth narrative 

Shine (prequel) Frenetic 


Emma

Swaths denizen 


In this sign

Katty corner  fetid 


The nine

French?

Frenetic. Bucolic fetid 

Song sung - old lang sign (tune)

SkeLEETal


The Memory Collector’s

Spotify audiobooks … on Libby 

Fetid frenetic

Song sung 


Firekeepers Daughter

Pretty lie over an ugly truth

Death - past tense except for grief-present

Osmosis cacophony

“Call me Grant” 

Wisdom

Inaction is a powerful choice 


What Does it Feel Like

Song sung 

Bespoke 


A Gentleman in Moscow 

Lapis lazuli. Arcane quixotic penultimate 

Mirror salt

Dias  idiom. Axiomatic  paucity denizen 

Carnegie (general pronunciation) 

Resigned vs reconciled   Snuck 

Singing a song about a lack of bananas 

The studious reader will recall … 


Moon

1st person/present (except memories)- conversational, talk to reader 

Photogram 

Throw steak knives  pine cones close

Doesn’t make decisions- but doesn’t give a choice

Swathes of pink. Murmuration cacophony 

Collect words 

Fonts change words  

Lapis lazuli    Salt 


The Corespondent 


On Muscle

De rigueur   Nascent 

Not just lift heavy things- but lift myself 

Michael Angelo   Oliver Sacs Pop

Quotidian palimpsest 


The Will of the many

Cloak swathes her 

Swathes of the stadium 

Swathes of her life 

Snuck trireme fetid

Hate is its own violence 


After the End

3 narrators- 2 1st, L 3rd present tense all

So selfish … ch11 end

Swathes of fabric

Careers rifled fetid 



The Reformatory

Swathed in bandages 

Swath of the field 

Swath of the campus 

Song spoken - wade in the water 

Snuck cacophony 



The Book of Lost Hours 

Frenetic cacophony 

Familiar cage 


The Compound

Swaths of flame 

Detritus snuck 


When the Ground is Hard

Song subscribe- this little light  


The Names

Tops tell about a person

Covid 


We won’t all survive


Griffin Sisters

Bad TOC- hard to follow pov

Deign panoply hectoring snuck 

Song spoken 

It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. 



Bury our Bones … 

Death is a freedom

Belief- easy when it’s the way you want 

Snuck patina 

Song spoken “found my way home” 


Midnight Bookshop

Present tense- 3 POVs 

Great Gatsby. Oliver Twist. One Flew …

ProFanity 

Brusque - broosk 

For all intents and purposes 

Istanbul or Constantinople 

Bookclub bring people together

First convo with new hubs (part6) -lots of “said” in memory 


The Book of Lost Friends

Osmosis idiom Carnegie 

Song sung “wade in the water” 


A Marriage at Sea

Swath penultimate 

Intro action - then repeated 


Whistling Past the Graveyard

Grounded - restriction

Snuck 

… until the devil served popsicles

… like a bullfrog in a pond

Hair pulling mad 

Catamount katty corner 

Light skinned colored or sun tanned white

You can’t use someone else’s bad behavior to excuse your own (end of ch14) 

… as nervous as a toad in front of a lawnmower 


Echo Man


My Cousin Rachel 

Bucolic 


Atmosphere

Authors note (audio author) /snuck 

JuliaWhelan 3rd person/present tense 

Cerulean cacophony 


Slayer

Tarts that pop 


October in the Earth

Don’t mind telling you (to reader)

Foreshadow- I was a good girl back then

Proper Christian woman 

Wacky cake 

Proper woman - kept my mouth shut 

Deign mischievous (3) cacophony 

Bellwether 

Swath of sand 



Michael without Apology

Fall back or no net 


The First Witch of Boston

Prologue spoiler 

Deign peridot 


The Best Part of Love P&P

Mischievous (4) 

Assignation 

Opine ablutions (abolitions) politic chagrined- Strange pronunciations 


The False Flat

Live for today 

Snuck 


Solar Fury

Sneaked 


Dare to refuse such a man P&P

Cacophonous deign equipag 

Horse- Puck 

Mischievous-3 

Shakespeare

With great wealth comes great responsibility 


Puma Years

Swath cacophony 


Steel house Lake

Careen 


Third Wheel

Audio repeat fast and furious territory 

Hokey cokey  cacophony 


Fine Mind P&P 

Allegedly


He who fights monsters

Lots of “said” 

Breath he didn’t know he was holding

Roil cacophony rifled 


Who Loves You Best

Snuck anathema careen accoutrements 

Chocolate babka 


A Tribute of Fire 

Dais  sneaked deign snuck 


Being Mrs Darcy P&P DNF 

Male narrator. 3rd person

Unlikeable Georgiana

Tom Romsly. FitzWilliam? 


Suddenly Mrs Darcy P&P

1st person- past tense 

Swath. Purloined 

Carriage x60 - Barouche 


Life

Sneaked 


Enamoured P&P 

Apropos of nothing

deign bilious x3

Vacuous. Panegyric 

Bridges (valet? “His man”) 


Bed in the Shed

2pov- first person (same narrator) 

Headers in audio- not book 

Britishisms- rota, catch-up 

Bespoke  career 

Connections - 


Falling For Mr Darcy

Valet - Rogers

Horse- Salazar 

Assignation 


Abscond

Mischievous (4) snuck 


Sisterhood 

Deign snuck anathema roiling 

Jane Austen  whirling dervish 

Sleep when I’m dead - no 


Brotherhood 

Modernity is the anachronism 

She seems … caffeinated 

It was Danica all over again … 


Enamoured - P&P

Apropos of nothing 


I Thought You Said This Would Work

1st person/past/ no profanity 

Swath

shaved head 

Kind eyes 

Utah mischievous (3)  


P&P- Audible original

On GoodReads? 


City of the Forgotten - Trackers#9

Mischievous (3syllable in audio) 

Deign dais snuck


So Material a Change- P&P 

Equipage carriage 

Sneaked perambulated

Whirling dervish  arms akimbo 


Theo of golden

Dandelion wine book

To kill a mockingbird

Quixotic scrum cacophony 

Read, bow, … Siri 

Ornithology 


The Wizard’s Butler

Snuck anathema perspicacious 

Mischievous (4 syllable in audio)

Wide berth 


One Lavender Ribbon 

Snuck 


Conundrums and Coincidences P&P

Curricle penultimate dais 

“Ghastly guidance you gave”


The Travels of Dr Rebecca Harper

1st person/present tense

Wrack and ruin 

Unrequited (unWreck-wu-Ted) 

Grayson 


Good Grief

Song sung 

Barbara - other book

This is real life, not a book 


Lover’s Knot p&p 

First person/ present tense/male narrator 

Ablutions phaeton 


The Naturalist

Arcane cerulean 

To name a thing is to know a thing 

Preternatural swath 

Sex- lgbtq 


Kiss Cam

Utah - delta center/jazz

Out of the water like Colin Firth at pemberly 

Wide berth snuck 

Kind eyes 


A Heart’s Secret P&P 

Swathed escritoire


Faded Photo

Christian fiction? God 

Snuck 


Love Unfeigned P&P 

Valet Brisby 


Scorpio

3rd person/present tense 

Narrow berth ;) 

Lots of profanity 

Audio- Rowt (route) young girl narrator 


Friends with Secrets 

Riffled bucolic atavistic 

Pemberly/MrDarcy 

Assignation cacophanous 

Mother/Nicoke’s worries about worst that might happen (funnies) 

“Indeed, it is I, aunt Nikki” 

Casement windows 


The LakeHouse at Ramsgate P&P

Deign cacophony plethora 

His side and sighed 


An Ocean Between Us

2 timelines. Present/Past tense 

Soporific 

Whirling dervish 


Body and Soul -P&P

HarryFrost (bought combo Audible) 

Ablutions dearth snuck 

Darcy horse - Horace 


The Garden of Memories 

3rd person / present tense 

Plethora cerulean deign anathema 

Rose/Flora/Sally (Daisy)

Brusque - Bruce-k (British)

Hedgerows 

Chapter 7 “rose imagines…” narrator clears throat and starts again. Editing error 

Boxes. Lighthouse. 

Drink driving 


I See You Called In Dead

Apropos of nothing 

For all intents and purposes 



Come From Away

Peripatetic 


The Elizabeth Papers

Slow(1.7) swallowing??  Sequel 

1st person and 3rd

Cress-seed-a

End - son named Bennet Darcy


Three Mothers

Roil swath plethora obstreperous frenetic 

… hears the ellipsis 

Wide berth 

British - French stick 

Swathing in heat 

Swathes of grief 



The Woman Who Met Herself

Ku text Hoopla audio

3rd person- present tense 


Against Every Expectation P&P 

Deign perspicacity 

Wide berth  Shakespeare mentioned 

Phaeton escritoire

Epilogue- Bennet Darcy, anne&CF, no Jane/Bingley  


Jeremy Renner- my next breath 


By Any Other Name

Kind eyes 

Dais swathes orthogonal 

Anachronistic 

for all intents and purposes 

Watching P&P by cats on YouTube

Let out breath didn’t know was holding 


Beswitched -P&P



The Warmth of her Affection- P&P

Supercilous   Deign  panegyrics

1 Curricle 27 carriage 


 There’s Something About Mira

We are our own prisons  

Kind eyes 

Snuck sneaked 


Most interesting man P&P

Bingley - buffoon  (homosexual thoughts about Darcy?) more sexual 

Plethora - two plethoras  careering 

Methuselah- Medusa - Hansel/gretel 

Cerulean cacophony ejaculation  purloined 


Robin

Quotidian frenetic panoply 

Versailles - audio ver-sales ?

Raison detre 

Carom


Fearful Symmetry - P&P

Ablutions sibilant purloined adage susurration hedgerow rifled 

Cacophonous perambulation perpecacity 

Valet-Roberts  Dog- Caesar 

Can’t trespass when welcome 

Shakespeare- comedy 

Deign 

Desk- escritoire 

Carriage, chaise and four, phaeton, Curricle 


Sawtooth Bookclub

Not want to say the prayer

Dated? 

Watch Longmire/song but no book names 

Hallmark!!


Disenchanted - P&P

Plethora deign 

Chaise and four 


Slanting Toward the Sea

Osmosis adage susurrus roiling careen 

Fuller my hands- emptier my head 

P2 ch25 walk bent as if been hit 

Home no less broken still together 

Hard in oneself in the dark 

Not having sex makes people more uncomfortable than having sex 

son - try harder 

Afraid of loss so much, do the cutting myself 

Infertility 

Chick pea soup - perfected 

Cicada- mate then die

Slanting light - title 



Hadley and Grace

3 narrators - accent 

Coach-Blue 

Cerulean 

GOLD eyes? And hair (jimmy) 


Monarch/Moon


Don’t make me turn this life around

Amy McFadden

Biennial nascent preternatural

Swath adage Aphorism frenetic

Exhaled breath hadn’t realized I was holding 


Abandoned at the Alter- P&P

Supercilious adage

Apropos of nothing 

For all intents and purposes 

Insult to injury? 


Variation

Sneaked snuck roiled 

anachronism 

Nicholas Sparksville (location)😂


More Than pretty Face -P&P

Jane’s voice low - not in narration 

Ablutions deign peridot

Equipage 


Some Other Time

3rd person/present tense. Detached 

Swathed peridot 

For all intents and purposes 


Love Never Fails - P&P

Plethora  supercilious 


Old Boys

Plethora deign snuck


Some Particular Evil - P&P

Deign rifling 

Not Curricle - fayton 

Valet- Barnes 


Every Precious and Fragile Thing

Chyron cerulean frenetic deign lapis 

Hectoring cacophony 

Title tie / ch3

Both 3rd and 1st person 

Breath she didn’t realize she was holding 

Kiefer -keFear 


A Case of Some Delicacy P&P

Several Povs (d&e … Lydia, Anne letters)


Confessions of a Grammar Queen 

Frank voice - a dog ;) 

Time- 60s? 

Kind eyes  wider berth 

cerulean nascent idiom snuck

Orthogonal 

Mauve- mOve 

Not a hot dog  - or burger or pizza

Women running -  

Dog storyline

The blues - mubbleFubbles 


From Pemberly to GG P&P

Harry Frost narrator- don’t like female voices

3rdpov but too many insights (d, e, Lydia, bingley, Jane, Mary 

Nincompoop  swathed 

Many epilogues!!


Hamnet 

Preternatural dais lapis cacophony 

Plague origin/fleas… Contagion 


Hollow Fires 

Aphorisms deign Chyron  rifled 

Age to rent a car 


The Art of Apology - P&P

Stevie Zimmerman 

Curricle

Mr Darcy coming off better …


Seabiscuit

Cacophony maxim forebears

Ostreperous as his sire 

For all intents and purposes  wide berth 

Roil scrum aphorisms halcyon careen 

Excoriation 


Done for the Best- P&P

Deign cacophony 

Curricle 

Ch33- that’s what she sayed 


The Secret Library of Hannah Reeves

Swath. Snuck bespoke idiom dais elegy 

Breath she hadn’t realized she was holding 


Luxury of Silence -P&P

Stevie Zimmerman

Breath didn’t know was holding x2

Deign roil Murmuration umbrage

For all intents and purposes x2

Turbid supercilious fecundity 



Rolling Toward Clear Skies

Kate Rudd

Scrum


Prophet Song 

Need audio- kindle blocks of text



A Most Excellent Understanding P&P

Preternatural ablutions 

Ducks - bread 


Bitter Mournings P&P

Dearth 

Audio- lady Catherine’s voice (yuck)


Adrift

Sneaked 

Audio- totoro, Tagalog 

Dog sounds in audio 


The Seven Sins of F Darcy- P&P 

Curricle swath akimbo 

Assignation ablutions 

Nincompoop supercilious 

Pennywithers- same author 

Ch11 ch24

Me w wastrel, Waggish w words 


Bachelor MrDarcy - P&P

Swath


Roadside Sisters 

Snuck 

Dogs vs cats 


Alice in Zombieland (A music borrow)

Snuck

iPod (music) 


The Zepher - P&P

1st person

Cacophony. Career(careen) 

Murmuration dearth cerulean 

“Make love” usage 


Our missing hearts 

Swathed rifles riffles 

Living rough 


Unfounded- P&P

Mr gardener “my wife allowed me…”

Anathema scant dearth surfeit

Swathed deign cerulean

Wide berth panacea mullion (windows)


Grave Talk

Tenterhooks  plethora nemesis scrum

Reception “icy”? 😂 

Covid 


The Poppy Fields

Swathes adage cacophony snuck 

Limbs akimbo nascent deign plethora 

Thruple katty corner brisket burnt ends 

Song spoken (imaginary/Dean’s song)

Sasha(Korean) hmart 


No Less Resentment P&P

Penultimate perfidious detritus Dias 

Seldom smirk accoutrements careen

Ch40 - refuse to be ruined 

If this were a novel- too much to believe

Nemesis perambulation 


Everyone in my Family … 

Skip the line (audio hoopla)

Separate bedrooms

Preternatural

Wide berth 


Memorial Day

Author narrated - past and present

Pellucid pogrom quotidian cacophony accoutrements yin/yang

Mullioned windows bucolic 

Kind eyes 

Covid 


Guncle Abroad

5 Love Languages

Lots of book/movie references

Deign panoply sneaked taupe idiom

Sequel - negate happy ending 

Adoring your partner reflect well on you 


The Pact 

Libby, not Kindle, but $2

Narrator fit? 

3rd person - slight struggle tracking changing povs (time switches too)

Sex- not steamy/spicy, overly explicit but more than some might be comfortable with // separate bedrooms 

For all intents and purposes 

Rictus dearth


The Slow March of Light

Note- Joseph b Worthlin quote 

Utah connection//lds- churchy 

Cacophony roil   wide berth

Taking to a new plateau 


*in an instant

Preternatural swathes roil rifle 

Kind eyes    Wide berth

Only bad under the circumstances ch72


Educated

Tumid 

Seldom swath obsolecense 

Felt poorly 


*The Guncle

… at least you weren’t married

Treatment by family - not included 

Nemesis thruple 


The Midnight School

Rifled surfeit propitious spurious 

Brung afeared halp 

Wide berth   Kind eyes 

Dais adage. Seldom 

 

One Golden Summer

Nerve-racking 


King of Ashes

Detritus deign plethora 

Reptilian Javier

Modernity paucity panoply cacophony 


H-Mart

Song spoken

Snuck


Saving CeeCee Honeycutt 

Same narrator as Secret Life of Bees 

Kind eyes. Hoopla



The Marriage Act 

Penultimate avuncular 

Snuck 

Apropos of nothing 


Midnight Children - DNF (too many ready holds, this was one Mom borrowed)

Conspicuously 


A fine Balance

Needs edit - disks announced 

Preternatural accouterments deign 

Ablutions peon pugnacious 

Wide berth 

Aphorisms maxim 


Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Gay-zay-bo - 18

Dais, cacophony, cerulean, ablutions 

Jengas Khan 

Riffled, ruffled

Wide berth 


The House in the Cerulean Sea

3rd person- Present … but didn’t notice 

Gay-zay-bo in audio 

Cacophony

Wide berth 


Gone Crazy in Alabama 

PS be 11


Lady Tan

Garden of fragrant delights 

Bedroom affairs -night sports 

3 precious things (male parts) 

Child palace (uterus)

Dias - pronounced die-us 

Horrible- midwife treatment (death better?)


All Thirteen

Does feel YA

You - to reader

3rd person/ Present tense 

Authors note - as a mother (male narrator)

Names - easier in print 


Ordinary Grace

sneaked preternatural seldom 

Carom

Epilogue.

Discussion questions/author interview


Seven o clock Club

Sing spoken 

Fireworks night 


The Push

Tense- 2nd, written account too husband(you). 1st person/past tense 

Snuck


My Friends

Snuck 

Kind eyes 

Song spoken 


Junie

3rd person/Present tense

Snuck. Rifled cerulean 

Aphorisms 

Slave - harder? Died or sold away? 


Up to Heaven

Seldom anathema 

Swath bucolic preternatural nascent 

Anodyne halcyon 

Reading before signing 

So many cancer warnings- ignore



Ministry of time

Franklin expedition

Lots of metaphors/simile 

Miscegenation anodyne 

route(root) brusque (br-oo-sk)

Perspicacity hectoring excoriation 

Cerulean quotidian cacophany 

Apropos of nothing // feeling poorly

Jury rigged plethora anachronism 

Idiom panoply 

God of bones and sinew 

Fx33 



Circus Train

Plethora bespoke accoutrements pogrom

Riffled scant career snuck

Nascent 

Cerulean 


In between bookstore

Cacophony careen 

Route (Rowt)


The Vanishing Act 

Snuck rifled roiling 

Violet eyes 

A flicker in the dark 

Math - always the same 


How To End a Love Story

3rd person but two narrators

Present tense 

Lots of he says/she says 

Family suicide chance increase - Program

Grant wants YOU to know ch23

65 mph, ALL the people, at 2:00 in the morning…

Shit-eating grin 


DandelionWine

Cupola 

Apropos of nothing  

Girls basketball - running into each other 


We All Live Here

Ablutions snuck Preternatural detritus

Apropos of nothing 


Dirty sally

Taffeta- audio t-feta

Katty corner 


Broken Country

Drink driving - just in audio 

Ma-can-ray 

Detritus 



Terupt -

Name pronunciation

Snuck 


Leisal &. po

3rd - but omniscient narrator I (reader) you

Ineffable 


ManiacMcgee

Grayson 

Snuck


City of Ember

3rd person - Dune and Lina

Dune-collecting/drawing worms/bugs 

Background noise/door opening (in book)

Unintelligible (per book) intercom 

Incomprehensible 


Mr Poppers Penguins 

Not graphic audio, but extras 


My Side of the Mountain

Wish authors preface had been author 

The gorge 

Trees exploding

Amy tan book- journal 



Walk two moons oops abridged!! 

Music/drums under narration (low)

2 stories 

Don’t like “Native American” 

Do you write about me? Journal 

Audio- lack TOC or even saying chapters (or headers). Music at chapters … I think 


Saving Zasha

Song sung 


Orphan Island

Roiling 


One Crazy Summer

Song sung 


Stuffed

Snuck 


I survived Titanic

Sneaked

Song sung 


Shackleton

Accents in audio 

Fantasy sleep 


Phantom Toolbooth

Author intro by author

Rowt cacophonous 

Puns/ alliteration

Watchdog, spelling bee, hum bug 

Jump TO conclusions 


Pony

Deign hectoring 

Authors note voiced by author 


Brown Girl Dreaming

Song spoken tingalay-o

Song sung - way down hollow tree 


Sweep

Song sung - sweep song, old lang sin

Onselecence Dias bespoke 

Saved by saving others 


Harry’s Mad


Ella Enchanted

Music at the start of chapters 

Swathed 

Song spoken (not real)


Part time Indian

Speed up to 2- author narrator 

Retarded

Stutter and lisp

One of me on page3 of pdf

Drawing 

Hunger/poverty 

Masterbation 



Iceberg

Snuck

CarNEG-ee

Books should be for everyone 

Repetitive - trust instincts 

Song sung- you take the high road 


I survived Childrens Blizzard

Snuck

Might as well be on the moon 


Reach for the Moon

Black/negro (dont use)

Forbearer 


Insignificant Events in the life of a Cactus

Cacophony 

Snuck 


SkyRaiders

Cacophony 


Homer Price- Mike f narrator 

Song spoken

Felt like a young/picture book  


Orphan of Ellis Island 

Song sung - home on the range 


Projekt 

Snuck rifled roiled 

Mighty Mo

MiddleGrade? Ebook only hoopla

Snuck


The German look …

Whirling dervish 

In which …

Hedgerow 

Let out the breathe I didn’t …

Song spoken


Out of my Heart

Swath 


13 1/2 Lives - Hoopla/no chapters 

Nadir deign arcane swathed caroom

Preternatural ablutions detritus sibilance 

All intents and purposes 

Vituperating

Ant-lantis?

Assignation hirsute apogee 


A Girl Limberlost

If as wealthy or poor would the reception be the same? Ch2

Sneaked 

If she’d been raised by the uncle/aunt

Prayer- hidden in own time 

Pete - take the money

Song spoken 

Could anyone play a violin without training?

Ejaculated (said) 


Freckles - no library kindle

Plethora

Amy Tans bird book 

Appropriate dress 

Being manly 

Mixing drinks - acid 


Let the Right one in

A little hard following pov shifts

3rd person/ past 

Snuck (sneaked too?)

Sexually explicit/

Witness- need to be part of the crime

Cat attack


House of my Mother

Haymond- Ruel and Tresa! 

Fight flight freeze fawn 

LDS


One and Only Bob

Danny Diveto - slow speed up

“Everything will be okay” - saying not knowing, does this teach kids not to trust? 


One and Only Ivan


Woman in the Library

Australian chocolate 


You Should Smile More

Snuck 


Elder Race 

Bespoke arcane 


The Paris Library

Swathed pogrom scrum sneaked 

Cacophonous deign rifle 

Animal groups -swallows/ravens 

Headers- pov not listed or narrated 


Tangled Up in You

Preternatural detritus cacophony

Book of Mormon 

Perseverating 


Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Narration - reminiscent of Daisy Jones (interviews) and “death” Book Thief 

Full cast (aurora voice in main N) 

Cacophony 

Song sung - song spoken 

Save the Last Dance - back story 


The Apple Orchard

1st/past Tess/Dominic 

Peripatetic preternaturally 

Sneaked detritus swath 

Milkweed

Bad ear -love confession 


The Wise Man’s Fear

Panoply palimpsest Dias 

Swath susurrus snuck 

Song spoken :( 

Lute case ( sounds like suitcase)


Secret Life of Bees 

Sneaked snuck (not in kindle?) 

kudzu 

Song sung 

Imagine what’s never been 


The Sympathizer

Prostitutes/communism 

SEX/squid- obscene? 

Death by 1000 paper cuts 

Sleeper agent - insomnia 

Purloined deign kudzu bucolic preternatural palimpsest 

Descriptive before Major 

“Pursuit” of happiness 

Interview at end - needed two voices 



The Story She Left Behind

Snuck sneaked roiled swathed 

Hedgerows detritus 


Name of the Wind

Snuck careen deign rifling swath roil

Hedgerows ashen arcane 

Song - spoken 

Cloak - with pockets :) 

“This better not stain” - doing laundry 

Pikey talk (like Pitt in Snatch) 🤣


The Bean Trees 

Very conversational - 1st person/past 

LuAnn - 3rd person

Loooong pauses in audio 

Careened whirling dervish 

Esperanza Eh-stay-bon

Song sung   Route- root 

How to treat homeless

Depression is like cancer 

No window (Cooper)


Esperanza Rising

3rd person/ past tense

Song sung 

Cacophony careened 


Lilac Girls

1939

Caroline, Kasia, Herta 

Snuck bespoke scrum swath 


Coyote Lost and Found

Covid   ”fair” … lots of smile statements 


Boys of Biloxi - DNF

Sneaked 

Feels like nonfiction (might have stuck)


Wild Dark Shore

Rowan, Dominic, Fen, Orly (Raff)

Present tense r&d 1st person - 

Detritus cacophony 


Vera Wong 2

Deign 


Remarkable Journey Coyote Sunrise

Song spoken (ch17)

Books - Ivan, espenenza, ghost 

Snuck 


The Ice Cream Maker(physical)

Nonfiction?? 

Arcane 


Poppy War 

System is designed to keep poor and illiterate in their place 

Let out a breath didn’t know …

Riffling arcane cerulean swath deign cacophony careen 

Supernatural - what you don’t understand 

War thoughts - children with swords, training vs killing 


Field of Dreams P&P

Traditional- but also Darcy pov 

Plethora deign 


Ghost

Worstshire sauce 


The Woman They Could Not Silence

Lisp? S British accent (us) 

Anathema bespoke dearth snuck

Cacophony deign 

Book publishing - crowd funding 


Lone Women 


Love of my Afterlife

1st person/present tense

Careen rifling snuck 

VOCA - like “Out of my Mind” 


Between Two Kingdoms

Present tense …

Bucolic medieval detritus swath 

Rifled plethora 


Parasitology

Deign  


Court of Honey

Snuck dais katana rifled 


Cutting for Stone

Hedgerows ululations preternatural Baobab CookCountyHospital 

snuck apogee dais cacophonous 

Parsimonious  perchance pellucid 

Psychosomatic 

Cascade of catastrophes 

1 year marriage contract 

SLC Utah (tests sent there) 

Swarthy swathed 

Death is the cure for all disease

Mischievous (3)

Tell people about diagnosis?? 


Frank and Red 

Spotify

Pokémon sneaked rifled careen 

Falling/ skydiving w/o a parachute 

Song sung feed the birds 

Boo Radley 


Uprising

Feels ya

Missed yeta pov? 

Repetitive “understanding” what is said 

Swath sneaked Carnegie/standard pogrom rifling 

Pauses/click in audio 


Beasts …

Chirp? $3 why did I buy, library

1st person// past tense 

Carnegie swath cerulean 


Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Swathed detritus

Whose pov?

Carnegie 


A Thousand Splendid Suns

Swath 


P&P&Z

Katana deign 

Song sung 


Handle With Care 

Story TO “you”

Cacophony hearth detritus swath 

Marion’s story? 

Help - call insurance did them (nope)

Sneaked 

DUI Cutting 

Divinity - hardball 

Abortion restrictions? 


Traitors son

Arcane deign 


A girl with a knife

She is careful w/letters- Matilda not 

Ch8 

Respiratory - res-pritory 


Wrapped in Rain

Swathed route(Rowt) snuck plethora 

Best you switch lenses 

Tell you if you’re going to hurt someone ch45


Music of Bees

Careened brindled swath riffled scrum

Song “make me a channel of your peace”


Long Walk

Swathed route(root) 


Dear Sugar 


Atomic Habits

Proactively lazy - make it easy 


Forgotten Garden

3rd person Past tense 

Music between chapters 

Riffled sneaked perspicacity infrangible 

Roiling dearth sibilant 

Mullioned windows 

Song sung


Razorblade

Cacophony hedgerow hersuite swathe 

Grayson panoply detritus 

3rd person Past tense 

So many similes 


Eddie

Snuck cacophony senectody dais 

Covid - 2020 like 1950s


How high

Need more division in audio 

Snuck riffling rifling 


Goodnight mr Tom 


Workd went Silent

Cacophony 

Snuck 


Chinese Groove

Gangly tangly

Career (careen) somniferous 

Resentment curdles contentment 

Lots of little rhymes (ilk/bilk) 

Makers mark (Sam’s club) 


Every Breath

Author intro - his voice? Maybe better after? 

Seldom

Novels by Smith - Botswana 

Biltmore Christmas 

Route (root)

Roiled 


Calling me Home

Complimentary bangs trim 

Crossword puzzle words 

JCPenny, Walgreens, StateFarm 

Detritus 

One sex pregnancy - loss

17 year old marriage 

Long pause before ch38

Katty corner 


Concussion

Carnegie (main) 

Sneaked hoopla 


Orphan train

Preternatural riffling 

Apropos of nothing 

Cashe (cashay) 


Call if the Penguin

  • brought to you by Penguin 

Dearth plethora ablutions route(root)

Prstiferioys peniltamute 


The Orphan Keeper

Swath 

Song spoken 


The #1 ladies detective agency

Ululations

Fat lady 


The orphans tale

Route (root)

Panoply 

Young and un afraid 

Music at start/end awful

Why title? 


Gleanings

Cerulean bucolic purloined


The Toll

Gender fluidity 

Despair dialed down to melancholy 

Short people - no reason to live 

No soup for you 

Bucolic 


March

Several words I should highlight CXpc

Slavery



Stationary Shop

Cacophony 

Ablutions 


God of the Woods

Purloined 

Ornithology 

Quotidian 


Sipsworth

Third person/ present - even memories

Gossip of pidgins 


Wolf Trap

Ciron 


Wish you were here

Merlot - merlet 

Sourdough starter 


Other doctor

Arcane 

Not fear of death, fear of suffering

Euthanasia- wish for people 

Yin Yang - yung? 


Wild Robot

Listener … 


Reasons to Stay Alive

Is he an expert … just his thoughts

Could care less

Another life -midnight library 


The woman who ran away …

Career(careen)


Thunderhead

Greyson

Cacophony 

Valet (pronounced with t)

Scythe in robes on waverunner 

Out of order? 

Turn up metabolism 


One for the money

The channel changer …

Dated. Car phone, etc


Hamilton

Elizabeth Betsy Eliza Skyler

Loathing cacophony Dias hector loath brusque  Manumission bucolic 

Afterward - after sex 

… the last to know. Not consulted - told 

Don Quixote - tilting at windmills 


Funny Norman foreman

Penzance

Narrator Jen (needed boy for n parts)

Deign root 


Sunflower House

Careen pogrom loathing 

Song sung (silent night)


Brilliant night

Root(route) cacophony bespoke deign purloined 

Song sung - abide with me


Spoon Stealer

Talking dog 

Route (root) rifling brusque snuck careen 

Story within a story 

Smoke his fags 

Narration- cute voices for Vera(dog) and Harriet (slight lisp)


Boys of Riverside

Covid. Rowt  snuck scrum rout 

P words (prevaricate) prescience peripatetic pyrrhic 

Home of the huddle 

Finally trash talk 


Book of Doors

Susurration Detritus career(careen) 

Book of memory- dementia patient/ brought her back, but then had to take the book back 


The Wedding People

Snuck

Whitman- death

3rd person- present and past 

Covid 


Home for Unwanted Girls

Familiar narrator

Carnegie (usual pronunciation) 


Borrowed Life of Fredrick 

Cacophony 

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Ups and Downs Over the Years



As I reflect on the past 20 years ... there have been a lot of ups and downs. In life and on the scale. During the early married life and five children, I wasn't tracking, but weight went up over the years. Our last child was born in December 2005, and mid-2006 is when my official weight-loss journey started. It's interesting to see the scale shifts laid out across a timeline. 




My high was around 175/180 (other than pregnancy) That's where I was when I started recording my first data points (weight, steps, calorie counting). I lost almost 50 pounds and hit goal weight/135. The next few years had little ups and downs, and honestly, as long as I stayed under 150, I felt pretty good.  During this time I stayed active, mostly elliptical and treadmill (some weights) in our home gym, lots of walks with the littles in the stroller, even some soccer meet-ups. Some climbs, corrections, but by the end of 2012 ... back up.  It's the eating ...




I recommitted in 2013 ... back to tracking calories in MFP.  In 2014, I added Zumba. Starting just once a week at my local church, then adding more classes until I was going Mon-Friday, with some evening/weekend classes too. Still using the treadmill/elliptical/weights in the home gym. Some early success, then up/down/up/down, with the down never really where I wanted (under 150).  I was pretty much at my high/180 (the end of 2019 had been tough, with a death in the family, a car crash, broken bones, depression/anxiety issues) when Covid hit ... and that cancelled my Zumba classes and affected motivation. Up even more ... the dreaded 200.

Snoring was actually the impetus I needed ... I'd been on the receiving end and suffered through a partner's snores at times through the years. Hubs has enough trouble sleeping, so this stressed me out a lot. This round, I added in IMF (Intermittent Fasting) as well as calorie counting and tried to up the activity/exercise. I think IMF helped, just "turning off" for a time, not allowing mindless eating. I was also uber busy with #5's basketball and helping #4 with school.  I'd just turned 50.

I almost got to goal ... and then started putting the weight back on (yes, I got lax in my calorie counting and fasting windows. And I started making sourdough...) About as quickly as it came off, it was back on again. 



As 2022 started up ... New Year and all that, time to recommit. Then I had a seizure. We didn't know what had happened, but I hit my head as I went down. Ambulance/ER and then recovery. I was okay, but my activity never quite got back to where I had been. Still getting in the quantity, but not the quality (walking slowed, less intensity/adjusted moves at Zumba).  Hubs had great success in weight loss during 2022 (and while he's had some small ups and downs, he's stayed very fit and trim).  Pickleball was an added activity ... with the family when weather permitted, and with a ladies group on Thursday mornings. 

I got a bit back into my groove ... for some reason, despite holidays/birthdays, I seem to do better during the colder months: Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb ... seriously, maybe something to do with Daylight Savings? Then in April of 2023 ... another seizure/ambulance/ER. Both times I cracked my head, requiring stitches/staples. 

At the end of 2024 ... another dip, thanks to a return to MFP and IMF. Sometimes, it just clicks. I could control my appetite. I even did some 24+ hour fasts, which I'd never been successful at before. But like the other "v" cycles ... the down was followed by an up. Starving all the time, couldn't even keep an 18-hour fast, and a 24-hour seemed unimaginable. Constant cravings. Not wanting to track my failures (giving up attempting IMP and MFP). 

And here we are. Again. Labwork from a recent doctor visit showed a high A1C, cholesterol ... not really surprising. It's the eating. If it weren't for my activity level, it would likely be worse. Considering trying the GLP-1 medications out there, it sure seems to be working for so many. I could SO use the help with the eating issues. I had let my thyroid medication lapse, so I'm back on that and as this is my cyclic "good time" we'll see how I do the next few months on my own, then ... we'll see. Reading up and getting acquainted with the options and requirements.  I'd so love to see the 150s or below, and stay there!  


Sunday, October 26, 2025

2025/Q3 ~ What I Was Watching (July/August/September)

If I'm down on the treadmill or elliptical in our home gym ... I have a show/movie on to keep me entertained and motivated. Hubs and I also often wind down at the end of the day getting in a tv series or movie. I enjoy keeping track of what I'm watching, so here's the list from the third quarter of 2025.

Eleven movies. I got into a bit of a "musical mood" ...
The top three were with Hubs upstairs, eight downstairs in the gym.

  • Come From Away: On AppleTV. Hubs and I had gone to the touring musical and really liked it. This is a filmed version of the stage play, so exactly what you see if going to it live (but you can also have subtitles and closeups!) Several of the actors here were the same ones we saw. 
  • RENT: I'd watched this before, and I'm very familiar with the music. Made Hubs sit through it with me ;) 
  • Nonnas: Hubs and I didn't have anything picked out, and I recalled seeing an ad for this and had noted it had pretty good reviews. Cute.
  • Extract: Several big names here ... weird story. Didn't love it.
  • K-Pop Demon Hunters: I'm not sure where I heard the song "Golden" but it was STUCK in my head and I love it! I figured I needed to give the movie a go ... I enjoyed it. 
  • Matilda: I'd watched the original movie not long ago. Here I went with the musical version ... not one I liked that much. 
  • La La Land: Rewatch ... like it, don't love it (so why did I rewatch it?)
  • Waitress: I'd seen the movie version and ... struggled with some of the storyline. I hadn't thought I'd watch this musical version, but I decided to give it a go. I actually quite enjoyed this (even though I still struggle with the infidelity storyline). 
  • Dear Evan Hansen: I've heard the title but really didn't know anything about this ... I liked it. Maybe one song hit home. 
  • Legally Blond: I have seen the original movie, thought it was cute. Had to turn to YouTube for the musical version. Glad it still had subtitles. I really enjoyed this!
  • Oklahoma: Back in my high school musical days, I played Laurie in Oklahoma. That was 35+ years ago. I was surprised that some of the lines/music was still totally in my head, and other parts I'd forgotten. Surprisingly darker than I remember ...

Television Series ... We still had AppleTV for most of this quarter. I'd gone to cancel after our 3-month promo (from buying a new phone I think?) was up, and was offered two more months at $6.99 I think? I did cancel it before being billed full price, although Hubs is interested in the latest season of The Morning Show (episodes still dropping ... I prefer to wait until all episodes are out before starting). 

  • For All Mankind: Seasons 2, 3, 4 ... I'd already watched the first three seasons, I hadn't realized there was a fourth. I introduced it to Hubs, and we watched the first season together last quarter, and finished up the series (so far). The first two seasons were the best. 
  • Wednesday: Hubs and I had watched Wednesday (S1) last year, and he cued it up as the second season dropped. I wasn't feeling it though, and he picked up on that and was okay dropping it. I'm not sure how far we got into it ... just a couple of episodes I think. 
  • Sugar: I hadn't heard much about Sugar but saw it was rated fairly highly on IMDB. Interesting and fun "detective noir" and ... I totally called the twist (even though I was half joking when I said it). While we liked it, I don't think we'll be watching a second season (if there is one). 
  • The Couple Next Door: I got a little deal on Starz, and tuned in to this show getting a bunch of buzz ... I didn't make it through the season though, gave up on it.
  • Acapulco: This was super cute! A little bit of a "Princess Bride" feel with the telling of a story, then shifting into the story. Just so many fun things. I started S2 and I'm not exactly sure why I didn't continue on, I guess I just needed a change (and then cancelled). I think I'll come back to this at some point.
  • Bad Sisters: A murder mystery ... definitely making us watching suspect everyone. I wasn't really surprised at the reveal. It was good.
  • The Buccaneers: Definitely felt like this was playing off of Bridgerton's success. I liked the first season okay, but had to push a little to finish and am not planning on continuing on. 
So, that's a What I Was Watching wrap-up!

Saturday, October 25, 2025

2025/Q3

July, August, September ... not a good quarter for the scale and stuff. I can't say there was really anything going on that I can try to blame. Life is fine, even pretty easy.  Still struggling with the plantar fasciitis, although it hasn't gotten any worse, and doesn't keep me from my Zumba, pickleball and home gym (it DOES keep me from walking around barefoot, at least without a limp). Mentally I gave up on the eating ... very little tracking or fasting, some very bad eating days. The scale shift isn't really surprising. 

It's actually just a tiny bit under where I was last year for Q3.

I usually post graphs from my Stridekick app, but for some reason it didn't input several days in August ... so we get Fitbit graphs this quarterly report. Average and Total Steps/Minutes.


... at this point in the quarterly report, I generally show my "calorie intake" graph, and my "fasting" calendar. But ... if I don't really have enough data to generate a graph, well, then there aren't nice images to share. I did try to get back on board with both MFP and IMF at the end of September. 

Here's a look at LifeCycle ...
Unlike the previous quarters, I manually added in my treadmill, elliptical, and weights  (all done in the home gym, so they don't get auto/GPS-tracked like other activities away from home). It's just interesting to see how my treadmill time stacks up against Zumba and pickleball. 

My Oura ring gives a few interesting quarterly insights ...
The first is INACTIVE time. And yes, 9-10 is a common exercise hour for me.


Sleep, zzzzzz ...


... and snoring. I forgot to track a few nights.


A little peek at the family for July, August, September ...


... and of course, my Reading Recap. All books are rated and reviewed on GoodReads and The Storygraph. #jenBsBooks  I have a separate "What I Was Watching" post ...


In 2020, and last year in 2024, Q4 I managed to get some scale success ... with even more positive movement with the following new years. Maybe associated with the shift/Daylight Savings? As both these previous times it then fell apart after April. We'll see what the coming months bring!

Friday, September 12, 2025

2025/Q2 ~ April, May, June

Well, in non-blogger life, it's almost the end of the third quarter, into September. I guess I should update my Quarterly Review for April, May and June ... as illustrated by the weight graph, things didn't go well.

After some success at the end of 2024 and the start of 2025 (down 15+ pounds), this quarter was all uphill. Oops. It's the eating. I kept up the activity okay, but slipped on both IMF and MFP as is unfortunately amply illustrated in the graphs below ...


Obviously, the "average" isn't correct, if I wasn't counting calories for many days in May, and most of June. If I HAD recorded ... I'm not sure I want to know how high those averages might go! A bit of just giving up, and some self-sabotage.  I did not have a 29  hour fast in May (no full/24+ fast this quarter), I was struggling to keep current in my app tracking and didn't get that corrected, and gave up on MFP and IMF a week or so into June ...


Sleep stuff ...
Snoring does seem tied to weight ... tied to 190 in fact.




...as for daily life (LifeCycle)



For this quarter, I tried to manually add my treadmill and elliptical time (and any weight workouts, I got in ... one, in April). They don't automatically register, as they are in the home gym. It's just interesting for me to see how they stack up to my Zumba and Pickleball. Pickleball has increased with the warmer weather ... playing on the weekends with family in addition to the Thursday Ladies pickleball. 

Blackham Bunch - 2025/Q2

... and of course, #JenBsBooks


Per usual, the quarterly What I Was Watching has its own post. 


Wednesday, July 30, 2025

2025/Q2 ~ What I Was Watching (April/May/June)


What I Was Watching
April/May/June ~ 2025 (Q2)

I never just sit and watch TV/Movies ... either I'm in the gym, with a show on while I workout (some are more motivating than others) or it's "TV Together Time" with Hubs. Both have been a little lacking this last quarter. I just haven't been making it down to the gym as much (still struggling with plantar fasciitis in my right foot).  During this quarter we added Paramount+ for a bit, as well as a 3-month AppleTV deal.   More series than movies ...

  • Shrinking (S2): I was glad to get back to this series, I'd really enjoyed the first season. Watched with Hubs, I think I liked it more than he did. 
  • No Good Deed: I saw some buzz about this, and Hubs and I watched it and enjoyed it. 
  • White Lotus (S3): We'd watched the first two seasons together, so we'd been watching for the third season to fall. 
  • Loudermilk: Hubs brought this one, and we watched all four seasons.
  • Landman: Hubs was watching Yellowstone (I'd watched the first season and had no interest in watching more, so he was watching that on his own during his workouts) but this is by the same director. On Paramount+ ... Hubs watched this on his own, then I watched it too (during workouts).  I actually liked this/interesting.
  • The Pitt: I've always enjoyed ER/medical dramas. This was good. 
  • Zero Day: Another "parallel" watch with Hubs. Watched around the same time, but while working out individually. 
  • Why Women Kill: I'd heard quite a bit of buzz about this one, and I liked this. I've heard that the first season was the best, so I'm not planning on continuing. 
  • Four Seasons: A little "ouch" in watching this, just some of the heartache. 
  • Dark Matter: I'd read and enjoyed this book, and had this on my list for the next time we had AppleTV. I thought they did a really good job with the adaptation. 
  • Disclaimer: This was too graphic for me, I didn't really like it ... but at one point the main character "made the weekly call to her mother" and that just clicked something. Since watching this show, I too have been making a weekly call to my mother. 
  • Your Friends and Neighbors: Entertaining enough to watch while working out.
  • Murderbot: I had read the book, and hadn't really liked it ... but I liked the series.
  • Presumed Innocent: I'm positive I saw the original movie at some point, but it was long enough ago that I didn't remember the storyline/twists (and this changed things some). This kept my interest, had some "ouch" moments. 
  • Stick: I really enjoyed this, even though I'm not interested in golf. It was dropping episodes, so I had to wait a bit (and the final ones actually came out in July, but I'm including it in Q2).
  • Others: Hubs and I (on my recommendation) started For All Mankind. I'd watched S1-S3 previously, so a rewatch for me on those. There is a S4 now. I think we got through S1 during Q2 and are continuing on. Hubs is giving it a thumbs up.  We tried Beef (Hubs recommendation) but I didn't like it, so we didn't continue. I watched the first episode of Smoke ... it just started dropping, I'm not sure I'll continue with it, we'll see. 

  • The Gorge: The one movie Hubs and I watched together this quarter. #1 son had said he really liked this. It was "ehh" for me. 
  • Mickey17: I'd read the book, and was looking forward to the film adaptation. I thought it was pretty good, although the leader characters were over the top (were they that bad in the book? I can't remember). Fun premise. 
  • Little Man Tate: Saw a little reel, and it caught my interest enough that I looked up this film. I enjoyed it. 
I try to keep a record of what I'm watching on IMDB, but these posts here on the blog are actually the best way for me to remember what I was watching and when ... and that was Q2/2025. 

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