Always Me

On Fridays, I participate in the weekly linkup called Friday Book Snippets, co-hosted by Anne @ HeadFullofBooks and Olivia @ Bemused and Bookish .  The directions for are pretty simple.  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.  Previously, this was The Friday 56 hosted by  Anne @ HeadFullofBooks  and  Rose City Reader . Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my SeasonAthon Academy Semester Five books,  The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton .  It's been awhile since I've read a Michael Crichton book, but this does sound intriguing. Beginning: Forty minutes out of London, passing through the rolling green fields and cherry orchards of Kent, the morning train of the South Eastern Railway attained its maximum speed of fifty-four miles an hour. 56: Even less comm...

        Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to Books from the Backlog , the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books .  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon. This Week's Neglected Book: A Star Named Vega by Benjamin J. Roberts Published: November 17, 2021 Genre: YA Sci-fi My Copy: Format: Paperback Pages: 363 Where I Acquired It: Antique shop Summary (From Goodreads): The 30th Century is a technological paradise. Androids have built a utopian future of advanced robotics, augmented reality, and simulated worlds. Humanity thrives across the Thirteen Suns. Why not spread some chaos, shake things up a bit? Aster Vale leads a secret life as the Wildflower, a competitive street artist with dreams of infamy. When her father joins a mysterious research project in the Veg...

  Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is an Indie Freebie, so I've decided to feature ten self published books I want to read.  Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by title: Empire of Shadows ( Raiders of the Arcana #1) by Jacquelyn Benson - This sounds like a lot of fun and it's been compared to The Mummy (1999) which is an all-time favorite movie, so this could be perfect! Gunmetal Gods ( Gunmetal Gods #1) by Zamil Akhtar - I think this has been on my tbr for too long! The Librarian of Crooked Lane ( Glass Library #1) by C.J. Archer - Historical fantasy about a librarian?  Sign me up! Never Die ( The Mortal Techniques ) by Rob J. Hayes - I haven't read any of the other standalone books in this series, but this sounds like it has a lot of potential. Nice Dragons Finish Last ( Heartstrikers #1) by Rachel Aaron - This is has been on my tbr for nearly a decade now...

  Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday!  Let's share some songs we've been enjoying!  If you would like to link up with me, please see the rules below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.  Hello everyone! Today, I'm featuring my favorite songs from Merrily We Roll Along (2025).  I recently watched the live recording of the 2024 Broadway revival featuring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsey Mendez.  I wasn't at all familiar with it going in, but I really ended up enjoying it.  My favorite songs from the production are Franklin Shepard, Inc. , Old...

Happy Saturday everyone!  I know it's only the first week of September, but my books came in really early and I got to them first thing this month.  I've now completed 18 tasks for Book Riot's 2026 Read Harder Challenge .  The tasks I completed in September required me to r ead a   nonfiction book about AI or social media  and a  book by an intersex author.   I selected  Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater  and  Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon  respectively.   Read on to see my mini reviews and my plans for next month:   ❋ ❋ ❋ Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater  is an important work of social justice nonfiction for teens.  There is quite a bit of important information and narratives that help make the work of nonfiction more accessible....

      On Friday's I take part in two weekly link ups - The Friday 56, currently hosted by Anne @ My Head Is Full of Books , and Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader .  For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Anne's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my  SeasonAthon Academy Semester Five books,  Half City ( Harker Academy #1) by Kate Golden .  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun and might be right up my alley. Beginning: Once, I crushed a beetle with my bare foot. 56: "Yo...