BOOKISH THURSDAY #21: SERENDIPITOUS MOMENTS

Welcome to Thursday, a day that once seemed lost, with nothing exciting happening anywhere.  But then that changed, and today I am celebrating some of the bookish events around the blogosphere, like Lexxie’s Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts; Kimberlyfaye’s TBR Thursday; and Christine’s Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts.

 

 

 

For Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts, my excerpt comes from my current read, Clouds in My Coffee, by Julie Mulhern, Book 3 of the Country Club Murders.  Our MC, Ellison Russell, seems to stumble over dead bodies or become the target of murderers…without even trying.  The story is set in 1974, in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

 

 

In today’s snippet, Ellison has been targeted twice:  once at an auction, and next when someone fire bombs her house.  The next morning after the gala hosted by her mother, when the woman who took the drink meant for Ellison has died, she is feeling especially vulnerable.

 

The smell of bacon lured me from my bed.

God love Aggie; she’d come to work on a Sunday.  This called for a huge bonus.  Normally on Sundays, Grace and I fended for ourselves.  That usually meant take-out pizza in front of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie or Kojak.  Tonight, given that I had a house full of guests, I’d planned on upping my game with Chinese.

I washed my face, brushed my teeth and hair and threw on actual clothes before I headed to the kitchen—after all, there was no telling who’d be clustered around the island.

Just Marjorie (her sister).

“You cook?” I asked.

“Don’t you?”  My sister wore capris and a sweater.  How nice that she possessed clothing capable of covering more than twenty percent of her body.  She should wear it more often.

“Not really.”

“Eggs and bacon?”  She grabbed a hot pad holder and pulled out a loaf pan that filled the air with the scent of banana bread.  “I left this in the oven to keep it warm.”

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Yum…sounds good, right?  I am a big fan of eggs and bacon, especially since I seldom have them.

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TBR Thursdays, hosted by Kimberlyfaye Reads:

 

I have had The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin, since November 2014.  It sounds like a book I would enjoy…so why is it still languishing on Pippa, my Kindle?

 

 

 

 

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“Funny, tender, and moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry reminds us all exactly why we read and why we love.”*

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over–and see everything anew.

“This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love–love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory.” —Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child…

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What do you think?  Have you read it?  Should I start reading it now?

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Here are some Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts, hosted by Christine.

 

• Fourth of July was a quiet day for me, with reading, movies, and Netflix.  But the weekend before, I had my youngest grandson, Noah, age 13, spending a couple of days.  He brought his X-Box, and we hooked it up in my bedroom, where he seemed very comfy with the set-up.  I watched the whole Season I of Marcella, on Netflix in the living room;

 

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• Before he settled in, we spent some time at Barnes & Noble, and then had burgers at Red Robin;

 

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• Currently I’m enjoying the book mentioned above, Clouds in My Coffee...and also The Beauty of the End, by Debbie Howells;
• Met a friend at Starbucks this morning for coffee and danish…and it was still cool enough to eat and drink outside, which is rare these days with our triple digits;
• Yesterday, I had to take my car to the dealer for an airbag repair; there was a recall.  The car was there all day, but luckily the dealership provided shuttle service home and back.  I didn’t get my car until almost 6 p.m., so I headed straight for The Elephant Bar...and had this repast:

 

 

 

 

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• While I ate, I continued reading Friction, by Sandra Brown, which I finished…and reviewed last night.  Click the title for my review;

 

 

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That’s about it for my week so far.  What did yours look like?

 

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