The Lily Cafe Digest #24

Today is my daughter’s Kindergarten orientation and Monday is the first day of school for both of my kids, so I figured that, even though my last break was just last month, I would take some much needed time for myself. No blogging and no kids for part of the day for 5 days. It hasn’t been quiet here since March 2020, so I’m looking forward to the chance to quiet my brain a little. Or maybe just read. Probably just read. Or stare at walls.

It’s been a long summer, and busier than expected. I had hoped to have time to read and write and blog, but, after struggling for most of June, I just gave up in July (my Hades and Persephone story has been on hold until next week since July). My posting here hasn’t been great or particularly interesting since most of my brain power has been directed towards getting my kids through their summer workbooks and retaining a shred of sanity to get me through to the start of school (during which time I’ll worry every minute they’re away from me – oh, the cruelties of motherhood). So, thank you, everyone, for being so patient with me when it’s taken weeks and sometimes months to respond to all of your lovely comments. I appreciate every one of them and every one of you. I’m hoping to have something more interesting up by September.

In other news, I’ve also been spending a good chunk of my free time (we’ll call it that even though my oldest likes to stick his feet in my face and my youngest enjoys climbing onto my lap) watching historical Chinese dramas with my husband. I blame my mom. She and my dad have been watching them for most of the pandemic and one of them finally caught the interest of my husband and me. The first one we watched ended up being a little controversial in China and was promptly removed there, so we hurriedly watched the whole thing before it might be taken down here as well. It was very fun and very sweet. The one we’re watching now isn’t quite as funny, but still a lot of fun. The downside to watching these is that the romances are a lot more compelling than the ones I’ve been reading in books lately.

Anyways, here is the next Digest. If you click on the images, it should take you to the post. But, if that doesn’t work, please let me know so I can figure out how to fix it.

And now I’m off for my first real break from kids in over 8 years. At this point, just having the kids at school is like going on a nice, long vacation. Though I will still have three book highlights for my Curated Shelf posting next week.

The Bookshelf

Book Reviews:

Mini Reviews

Full Reviews

Life Between the Pages:

Catch up on No Tomorrow

Introduction to No Tomorrow | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30

The Curated Bookshelf: July

The Curated Bookshelf: August

Blog Posts I’ve Enjoyed from the Blogging Community

At the moment, my brain is kind of mushy from having two kids doing school at home since the start of the pandemic. It’s summer vacation for them, which hasn’t made things any better. As I try to get back into the swing of things hopefully by September), I might share some posts I liked, but will be defaulting to sharing some blogs I enjoy.

Letting Go from Write Side of the Road – I have the same problem; it’s so much easier and faster to do things instead of having my kids do them, but it won’t do them any good in the long run. Fortunately, my kids are young, so I have time, and sometimes it really is just safer for me to do it for them. For now.

Adult Rant from Fairytale Feminista – This is exactly why I dislike YA books. But Ivia’s spins on some young fairy tale characters are, as always, highly amusing and make the writer in me go hmm.

The Rug and the Scribe – A Mystery of the Golden Shells Story from Jennifer M. Zeiger – I’m so excited Jennifer’s next choose-your-own-adventure book is coming out on Monday! She’s been posting some short stories related to Mystery of the Golden Shells on her blog for the past few weeks.

Some Favorite Bloggers

I have some perennial favorites I always mention, so I’m going to keep things mixed up and share one or two of them in each Digest as my goal is to highlight the blogs I love that I don’t talk much about.

Tessa Talks Books – Tessa reads across several genres, but I really love her reviews of thrillers since they help inform me whether I might enjoy them or not. Her reviews are detailed and really break down each book, so they’re both easy to read and really detail what did and didn’t work.

Nopoodles – Their blog is one I love to mention time and time again. They post short stories and flash fiction every Thursday (I swear I don’t stalk their blog every Thursday for the next story. Much.), usually featuring LGBT characters in a fantasy or sci-fi setting. The current story being run involves a werewolf and a vampire.

KBbookreviews – I love Kat’s reviews. They’re always so detailed and so much fun to read. It’s always a pure joy to get to read her thoughts on the books I’ve also read, and on books I haven’t yet read, since they are detailed without giving away too much. Her enthusiasm is contagious, so I always find myself devouring them as soon as I get a chance to read them.

Biblio Nerd Reflections – Chris’s reviews are always a highlight for me. He reads across genres, and, even if a book isn’t quite for me, his reviews always catch my attention. I love his honesty and passion. I always come away feeling like I understand a book a little bit better. It’s also a ton of fun to read his reviews of the books I’ve also read since his passion takes me right back to my own reading experience.

Most Sincerely, kat

You can find a list of all the Digests plus some bloggers I adore over here