Berly Bags, Begs and Borrows Books!

Hi. I'm Kim and I've been on LT since 2008. Happily married for over 30 years, I'm a mom of 3, one of them married, and we all live in Oregon. I have an eclectic work history: nerve regeneration research at Boston Children's Hospital; advertising account exec; editor and writer (Milkweed Editions and Portland Parent Magazine); MN Timberwolves Community Relation Mgr and 501C3 Account Exec; accounting, client acquisition and website development for Clarus (a water cleaning company my Husband started here in Portland); Business and HR Mgr for a Montessori school; and I am now a Dyslexia Tutor! Also, I am a third degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. And I am on two Advisory Councils for Literary Arts here in Portland. I read almost everything, although I lean towards Fiction.

Here's to a Wonderful 2025!! And 3 x '25 = 75!!!

There is no wrong choice, just so many of them!! What should I read?
Reading Now
@ The Answer Is No (K 68 pages) by Frederick Backman
@ The Ghost Cat (B 265 pages) by Alex Howard
✔ How Music Works (B 383 pages) by David Byrne
@ Overcoming Dyslexia (B 596 pages) by Sally Shaywitz, MD

Ideas/Next...

Source
✔ = Off the shelf (not acquired this year)
L = Library
↩ = Reread
@ = Acquired this year
✗ = DNF
? = Need to get
IR = Indiespensable Readers
ER = LibraryThing Early Reviewer

Media
B = Printed Book
🎧 = Audio
K = Kindle
GN = Graphic Novel

Read in January ?? pages / ?? 🎧 hours
2025 Total ?? pages / ?? 🎧 hours

I can't resist buying books!!
I seem to manage to read around 50% of my newbies, except in 2019 where I (ahem) added a few more books to my collection than normal. But I killed it in 2020 when I read almost 75% of my newbies and in 2022 I read 70%!!

2017 47/85
2018 45/88
2019 45/128
2020 78/103
2021 50/105
2022 54/77
2023 56/88
2024 45/68?? Rough year and I lost track...

Let's see how I do this year!!

2025 0/0 Read
1.



I am going to try and keep track of series I am currently enjoying here:

Series/Author/Next Book
A Royal Spyness Mystery // Rhys Bowen // #2 A Royal Pain
Bobiverse / Dennis E. Taylor / #5 not yet published
Bridgerton / Julia Quinn / #3 An Offer From A Gentleman
Commisario Brunetti by Donna Leon / read 1,2,4,8 next #3 The Anonymous Venetian
Cormoran Strike Series / Robert Galbraith / #8 ??
Elizabeth Cage / Jodi Taylor #4 ???
Finley O'Sullivan / Debra Webb #3 All the Little Truths
In Death Series / JD Robb / Naked in Death #1 (I have been reading out of order)
Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series / Sue Grafton / Read ABCDEFGQX / Next H
Kopp Series / Amy Stewart / #2 Lady Cop Makes Trouble
Mickey Bolitar / Harlen Coben / #4 not yet published
Murderbot Diaries / Martha Wells / #5 Fugitive Telemetry
Quantum Earth / Dennis E. Taylor / #3 ??
Sandham Murders / Viveca Sten / #11 not yet published
Sunshine Vicram / Darynda Jones / #4 ??
Sweep Series / Ilona Andrews / #6 not yet published
The Åre Murders / Viveca Sten / #2 Hidden in Shadows Dec '23
The Chronicles of St Mary's / Jodi Taylor / #7
The Christmas Tree Farm Mysteries / Jacqueline Frost / #2
The Time Police / Jodi Taylor #5 ???, Santa Grit 4.5
The Thursday Murder Club / Richard Osman / #3 The Bullet That Missed
Walt Longmire / Craig Johnson / Junkyard Dogs

LT Shared Reads
January

New RL Book Club #2 2025
January True Grit by Charles Portis

RL Book Club #1 2025
February Drive Your Plow Over Your Dead Bones by Olga Tokarczuk
April The Gift of Aging by Mary Houle/Elizabeth Eckstrom
June The Women by Kristin Hannah
August This is Happiness by Niall Williams
October How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

PDX Literary Arts 24/25
October 9, 2024 - Amy Tan
November 19, 2024 - Abraham Verghese
January 16, 2025 - Timothy Egan
February 13, 2025 - Masha Gessen
April 15, 2025 - Emily Watson

Favorites from 2024!!
Backfired: The Vaping Wars (🎧 7.5 hours) by Leon Neyfakh 4.5
❤️ Sociopath (🎧 11 hours) by Patric Gagne PhD 4.5
Backfired: Attention Deficit (🎧 5.5 hours) by Leon Neyfakh & Prologue Projects 4.0
Frankenstein (🎧 8.5 hours)by Mary Shelley 4.0
Think Twice (🎧 9.75 hours) by Harlan Coben 4.0
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (🎧 16 hours) by TJ Kline 4.0
❤️❤️❤️ James by Percival Everett (B 305 pages) 5.0
(retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
The Woods (🎧 12.5 hours) by Harlan Coben 4.0
Parable of the Sower (🎧 12 hours) by Octavia Butler 4.0
Interior Chinatown (B 266 pages) by Charles Yu 4.0
Life's Too Short (🎧 9 hours) by Abby Jimenez 4.5
❤️ The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (B 385 pages/🎧 12.5 hrs) James McBride 4.5
Part of Your World (🎧 10 hours) by Abby Jimenez 4.5
❤️ No Time To Spare (B 215 page) by Ursala K. LeGuin 4.5
Inferno (🎧 17.25 hours) by Dan Brown 4.0
❤️ Just for the Summer (🎧 11.75 hours) by Abby Jimenez 5.0
❤️ Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma (K 285 pages) by Claire Dederer 4.5
❤️ Anne Frank:The Diary of a Young Girl (🎧 11 hours, Selma Blair) Anne Frank 5.0
The Measure (🎧 11 hours) by Nikki Erlick 4.5
Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting (K 352 pages) by Clare Pooley 4.5
Deaf Utopia (🎧 11 hours) by Nyle DiMarco 4.25
What To Say Next (B 293 pages) by Julie Buxbaum 4.5
Yellowface (🎧 8.5 hours) by R.F. Kuang 4.5

So, on the job front...

So, I am up to 8 students ages 6-14, boys and girls. Still using tiles for some of them, but the upper levels use an iPad version of Barton called Whizzimo. I am also full-time on Zoom for one student. I am tutoring from 2-6 M-Th and a Zoom meeting twice weekly at noon. Leaves me my mornings to get stuff done at home. Loving the staff and the kids. I am trained through level 4, which covers spelling rules, like "C" makes the sound /s/ when followed by watchout vowels i, e and y. I am feeling very lucky right now! : )

Needless to say I will be a fixture here as usual, Kimmers.

>7 Berly: Good for you!!

Happy new thread Kim!

>8 PaulCranswick: Hello, my friend!! Love, love, love seeing you here. Thank you for kicking off my new thread -- I am seriously hoping for a better, easier 2025. : )

>9 quondame: Hi there! Thanks for popping in. : ) I need a fresh start where I am not behind! LOL

>10 Berly: Let us hope so, Kimmers.

Okay...I'm dying from laughter. On Duolingo (I'm doing French), this guy's kid thinks he is a lion tamer. Why? Because he saw his dad's leather pants and his whip in the closet!! LOL. On Duolingo!!!

Happy 1st thread of 2025, Kim! I love your organization and don't be surprised if I "borrow" one or two of your ideas. :)
I'm learning Italian on Duolingo and yes! it does get spicy at times. making it less boring than high school language class hehe

>7 Berly: That is wonderful, Kim!

>13 Berly: What else would he be?(!!)

Happy new thread Kim.

>13 Berly: Oh dear. Duolingo is more interesting than I thought.

Here’s to a wonderful 2025 for you, Kim.

>1 Berly: What a beautiful photo!! I have my thread (sort of) up too. Hope you'll visit and drop a star.

>14 Carmenere: Borrow away! I am honored. And, yes, I love a little grownup humor thrown in the Duolingo language lessons.

>15 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Happy 2025-ish.

>16 charl08: Hi Char! Horse trainer? ; )

>17 Matke: Hello Matke! Nice to meet you. Hope your 2025 is a fantastic year.

>18 RebaRelishesReading: I already starred you. : )

Happy new thread, Kim!

I was doing french as well, but I didn’t meet the lion-tamer!

Starring your thread.

Hi Kim my dear, i have starred you once again dear friend and i hope to be around the threads more often now things have calmed down for me. Love and hugs dear friend.

Welcome back, Kim! Unfortunately, LT’s wiki system is down, but I’ve got you on my list to add to the Threadbook when it’s back up.