Kenci > Recent Status Updates

The technical bits lose me at times and I find my mind wandering when it gets over-detailed on the science bits/explanations. I'm just not a math, physics, astrophysics, chemistry kind of person. I'm totally happy with admiring space stuff without knowing how any of it works lol

But I am enjoying the overall story! Especially the interactions between Ryland and Rocky. :)

A delightfully Gothic historic mystery first published in the 1940s.

"In these woods, night was already approaching. It was beginning to grow cold too, with the mist-clinging damp of a valley evening."

"Was there anything in the theory that rooms held personalities or the influence of those personalities?"

I learned so much about Dolly! I only wish it had been even longer :)

"Dolly said she eavesdropped on other people’s conversations, wrote notes to herself about images that stuck in her mind, and shifted points of view to imagine stories told from another perspective. She wrote on candy bar wrappers, matchbooks, anything she could lay her hands on."

"Some people are just built for defying the odds. They succeed despite what they are carrying."

"Already she was hearing songs in her head, fragments of verses, bits of phrases, snatches of melody. She was drawn to the “mountain sound” that her father first heard in her mother’s alto and that she tried to replicate with the mallet on piano strings. “The sorrow chord” was in her blood. That sound was connection to Dolly, not only to her mother but to generations and the far reach of ancient times."

This was already on my TBR but with the news today... :'(

I've been wanting to read this one before I watch the movie! I started it this morning but temporarily pausing it to listen to a biography about Dolly Parton :'(

I loved this book so much! The feelings it made me feel. The anxiety. What a ride. I loved Jay. My heart hurt for him.

"Highway 1 drones. Cypress trees roar. Gulls shriek in squadrons. Yet all Jay Gardiner hears is his father awakening the family at six a.m. Weekdays, weekends, holidays, the man’s blood so attuned to tidal patterns that he gets up without an alarm to begin the bedroom invasions. Sleepers, arise!"

This one pulled me right in! I'm finding it fascinating learning more about Monastery Beach, deep sea diving, and the ocean in general. My heart already hurts for young Jay.

Really enjoying this story collection! I had to read the Janice Hallett story "Boneless" twice. I just love her writing style so much.

Absolutely loved this book and Mabel! I definitely need to read more of Sally Hepworth's books. This was my first.

Really enjoying! The audiobook is delightful.

Beautiful and heartbreaking. Loved it.

A bit disappointing, unfortunately. I enjoyed the concept of time travel through self-hypnosis. The writing was decent enough, but overall felt surprisingly bland. The female MC clearly felt like a woman written by a man in the 1970s, and the male MC often came across as more creepy than charming. I still want to watch the movie for comparison!

"Come, do you hear it? The wind - murmuring in the eaves, scouring the bare trees. how it howls, almost musical, a harmony of old moans."

"The moon is risen, caught in nodding branches. The image holds you, black trunks backlit, one silver ray fallen...It's a romance, this invitation to lunacy (lycanthropy, a dance with the vampire), elemental yet forbidden, tempting, something remembered in the blood."

Lots of mentions of J.B. Priestley who I only "discovered" in the past few years. I loved his Benight (spooky), Jenny Villiers (a time slip story), and An Inspector Calls. I had no idea he'd written essays on time travel.

"J.B. Priestley authored and compiled a giant book on the subject: Man and Time. Expect to get much insight from it."

This has been on my TBR forever! I've never seen the movie either so I have no idea what to expect. I love time travel stories.

I didn't want this one to end!

"Belief is a high hurdle to get over and I think it’s even higher for smart people. Smart people know a lot, and maybe that makes them think they know everything."

"When the air had turned cool and the nights were crisp as a starched shirt and the moon was like a pumpkin in the sky, Tom and me played late, chasing lightning bugs and each other."

"Back then it was different. And that time of year, fall, was my favorite. Warm days, cool nights. Dark woods and a churning river. Leaves of many colors. The moon bright and gold."

"But like the poison ivy, looks could be deceptive. Under all the beauty, the bottoms held dark things."

"It was said the Goat Man didn’t get out of the woods that made up the Sabine bottoms. High land was something he couldn’t tolerate. He needed the damp, thick leaf mush beneath his feet, which were hooves."

Loving this story!

"All of this seemed normal to me. I don’t think the world starts to come into focus until you’re fifteen or sixteen; up until then you just take what you’ve got and roll with it."

"There’s always a later, I know that now. At least until we die. Then I guess it’s all before that."

Such a fun read! I love this series and can't wait for the next one in 2027. I'll reading anything Janice Hallett writes!