I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.
My family and I are laid up with the flu. Poor Mouse ran an extremely high temperature for several days, but she seems to be on the other side of it now. We all feel pretty miserable still. Our Christmas tree may still be sans lights and decorations, but I thought I would share some of the beautiful themed trees we saw at the Festival of Trees over Thanksgiving weekend.
Which of these trees do you like best? If you put up a tree for the holidays, do you decorate it by theme?
Read Recently
I recently finished reading The Dark Archive (Invisible Library #7) by Genevieve Cogman and The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson. Although very different types of books, they both held me in suspense. Would Librarian Irene find a way out of her current predicament and be able to save her friends from an old enemy? The stakes were never higher. And at every turn I held my breath in fear Maggie would get caught, her underground efforts to save her friend's bookstore would all be for naught.
Reading Now
I am currently reading Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier, which was recommended by Mouse.
Up Next
Next up, I plan to start both V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1), one of my daughter's favorites this year, and The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox. I cannot go without at least one holiday themed read this year.
This Past Week In Reading Mews
- Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books on My Winter 2022-2023 To-Read List
- Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: The Villa / Vinyl Resting Place / The Holiday Swap
- Bookish Mewsings: The Crone Wars (Becoming Crone, A Gathering of Crones, Game of Crones) by Lydia M. Hawke
2023 Reading Challenge
This next year will be COYER's 10th anniversary and how can I not want to join in? Especially since they are doing a Stranger Things theme. Everything will be upside down in 2023. There are three chapters and community semesters--and readers do not need to take part in every one. Check out the COYER Challenge website for details. It is being hosted by Michelle and Berls of Because Reading, Lillian of Mom With A Reading Problem, and Stephanie of Once Upon a Chapter.
Chapter One: It's a Cold Summer (January through April) - Anything goes (any format, any price, no limits)
Chapter Two: Get On Board (May through August) - It's a board game!
Chapter, Three: Back to the Beginning (September through December) - Exclusively free or low cost e-books or audiobooks)
Are you participating in any reading challenges this coming year?
I hope you have a great week. Happy Holidays everyone!
Let me know what you have been reading and watching!
© 2022, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.Weekly Mews: 10/15/2022
I'm so sorry you and your family are not feeling well. A high fever in a child is so scary. I hope you all feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteWendy - Thank you. It was scary seeing her temperature continue to rise. Luckily the fever reducer seemed to help and this weekend her fever finally broke. Thank you for visiting!
DeleteI'm very sorry that you and your family are sick. Whew. Is there anything worse than being sick over the holidays? Let's hope you are completely better by Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI love those holiday trees. I like the musical instrument tree. I can't imagine how much work it took to create that.
Deb - Thank you. I am holding out hope we will all be feeling better come this weekend. The musical themed trees were my favorite of the bunch, I think. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI hope you and yours are soon feeling better and can enjoy your own Christmas tree. The rows and rows of decorated trees in your photos look overwhelming!
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae - Thank you for the good wishes. There were a lot of trees there, that's for sure. Thank you for visiting!
DeleteI love the one with the Mister Jack best! Also we have all been ill here too so I hope you'll feel better too!
ReplyDeleteSophie - That is a great one. :-) I hope you are all feeling better soon also! Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteSorry to hear y'all are sick. Hope you feel better soon! Thanks for sharing the pictures of the trees. Used to take a group of Brownies to the Festival of Trees in Atlanta. I do not decorate by theme, more by sentimental value. Hope you all enjoy the holidays!
ReplyDeleteLaura - Thank you for the well wishes. This was our first visit to the Festival of Trees and I am glad we were able to go. We don't decorate by theme either--like you, it's all sentimental. <3 Thank you for stopping by and Happy Holidays to you as well!
DeleteI hope you all feel much better very soon. We mostly stay home. lol if our tree has a theme it is lopsided, crooked ornaments handmade by children or really old ones from my childhood. It's nostalgia. Then there's the which lights will work this year game. Have a happy holiday Wendy.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Anne - Thank you for the well wishes. We are starting to feel better. At least Mouse and I. My husband is a little behind us symptom wise. Your Christmas tree theme sounds a lot like ours. LOL And I'm quite happy with it that way. :-) Thank you for visiting!
DeleteUgh, there seems to be a lot of sickness going around. I am so sorry you all have the flu, I hope you all recover soon and are able to enjoy the holidays!
ReplyDeleteCindy - There really does. We've had a lot of people calling off work because of COVID or the flu. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteThat's just not fair to be sick over the holidays! BUT, holy moly those are some cool trees! I'll be joining COYER in 2023 too, especially since the first section basically is just counting every book you read. I can handle that kind of challenge :) I've got Banned Books on my list....hope to get to it next year.
ReplyDeleteTerrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/sunday-post-29
Terrie - I hope we will be feeling completely well by Christmas. Aren't those trees beautiful! I could never pull any of them off, but they sure are fun to look at and admire. I am glad you are joining COYER too! Thank you for visiting!
DeleteSo sorry you have all been sick - there is so much out there now! Hope you're all fully recovered soon. At least you've got some good books...
ReplyDeleteJoAnn - Thank you. It seems like there are quite a few bugs out there right now. I hope we will all be feeling better soon too. Thank you for visiting!
DeleteLove those trees! But I'm so sorry you've all got the flu. Hope you're feelign better soon. :D
ReplyDeleteLark - They were even more pretty in person. The people who put them together were very creative! Thank you for the good well wishes and for stopping by.
DeleteOh no- I hope you're all feeling better in time for Christmas. And don't feel bad- it took us forever to get our ornaments on, and even that only happened because my daughter just did it one night. and we're not even sick so we have no excuse. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome about COYER. :)
Greg - Thank you. I hope we will be feeling better by then too. We managed to get a few decorations up around the house today and the lights are finally on the tree. We may just get the ornaments up in time for Christmas! Thank you for visiting.
DeleteOh no! Poor you and your family! And especially poor Mouse! The flu is just miserable and I hope you're all starting to get on the mend. The themed trees are amazing! What a fun event. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - Thank you. Mouse's fever broke this weekend but she still has her cough. She is starting to get her appetite back though, which is good. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI hope you and your family feel better soon. The themed trees look lovely; it's hard to just pick one favourite. Enjoy your books and happy reading!
ReplyDeleteMelody - Thank you for the well wishes. The people who decorated those trees are so creative. So much attention to detail! Thank you for visiting.
DeleteHope you and your family feel better soon. All those Christmas Trees look nice.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Thank you. We are beginning to feel better, fortunately. I hope you have a good week. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteI hope that you and your family are starting to feel better. The flu is no joke. I love that Grinch tree! We didn't put one up this year. I don't have little kids and just didn't feel like it. I hope that you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteCarole - Thank you! Today is the first day I feel like myself, other than lingering congestion. That Grinch tree is awesome! LOL I told my husband yesterday that maybe we should just skip decorating the tree this year and just leave it as is with the lights. My daughter isn't too happy with that idea though, so I imagine we'll be decorating it soon. Thank you for visiting!
DeleteWe just put our tree up today. I hope you are all recovered and are able to celebrate Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t quite decided what challenges I’m doing next year yet, except for my own of course!
Wishing you a great reading week and a joyous holiday season
Shelleyrae - Thank you! I am feeling much better and I think my daughter is too. Now we just need to get my husband better. I haven't decided if I will do any other challenges besides COYER yet. It's tempting but I don't know if I want to commit. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI had that awful flu back in November (I was sick the day of my 65th birthday) and don't wish it on anyone. Those trees are very creative. I loved the Chinese Dragon tree. I do not decorate by theme, I put on ornaments my kids made, things I picked up on vacation, hummel ornaments and stuff from my parents and in-laws. It is overly full, but we love it. I hope you are feeling better by now, Wendy.
ReplyDeleteCarla - I remember when you were sick! This flu is just awful. I really like the Chinese Dragon tree too. Like you, I don't decorate by theme either. My ornaments tend to be of the sentimental variety and are quite a mash up. :-) We have way too many too! Haha Thank you for visiting!
DeleteOh no! So sorry to hear that you and your family is down for the holidays! Those are some lovely trees though - my family doesn't put one up so I enjoyed looking at your pictures!
ReplyDeleteEustacia - Thank you! Mouse and I are feeling better, thankfully. And hopefully my husband will be too soon. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI am so sorry you all feel rotten. What a way to lead into the holidays! I love seeing how other people decorate their trees. This is the first year I haven't gotten a tree since I am in the UK for the holidays. I did help my parents decorate theirs though.
ReplyDeleteHelen - Thank you. It was miserable, but we are feeling better. Hopefully completely better soon. I hope you have a wonderful holiday in the U.K. Thank you for visiting!
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