What Mare Read in 2025

This year I read 79 books/novella’s, down quite a bit from last year. I spent a lot of time during the late summer and fall editing the book I’m writing, so that obliterated a chunk of my reading time… When I decided to do another revision on the book, all those hours spent on editing seemed like a waste, but I learned a lot about my own writing foibles, so not a total squandering of my time. The revising continues…

I keep lists of books I want to read everywhere ~ one on my phone Reminders list, one on the phone Notes, plus an Excel spreadsheet ~ LOL! The Reminders list is titled B&N and comes in handy when Barnes & Noble runs their 25% off pre-order sales, which are almost as exciting to me as the Scholastic book sales at school many moons ago. I love the anticipation of getting a new book in the mail weeks or months later ~ it’s always good to have something to look forward to! 😊 The 25% preorder sale is on now until 1/1/26, for B&N Rewards members.

I ran through the two Barnes & Noble book journals (See the 2024 post) I used to record and review the books I read, so I bought a pretty notebook (below, right). The journal only allowed one page per book, with specific information to fill out and a star rating system ~ not much room to write my thoughts. Since the notebook I’m using now is just simple, lined pages, I can write as much as I want about each book without squishing my writing and sometimes adding sticky notes. Loving the freedom! YAY!

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 14, 2025

Happy Friday Eve! This used to have significance when I worked, but now it’s just a way to keep up with what day it is… LOL.

Summer is probably our least favorite season. The heat, kids out of school, and tourists crowding SoCal. And the heat… In all honesty, it’s been a fairly mild summer so far, heat-wise, but it’s still uncomfortably warm and saps our energy a bit. We’ve been boringly lazy, except for a quick trip to Knott’s after a class The Husband is taking right around the corner on Tuesday mornings. Knott’s Berry Farm, the amusement park The Husband just retired from earlier this year, is about a half hour from home, so when we’re nearby we take advantage of our lifetime passes. It gives us a chance to chat with old friends and get some steps in for the day.

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