Trying Not to Think About It Yet

 

Not me, though. I haven't given much thought to Halloween yet, though I have been wondering if the Spirit Store is going to open in my town again this year. Especially after the delayed opening last season. And now the former Kmart is said to be the new building for a local charter school, though it will be some time before the building is remodeled for the school. Then again, the Rite Aid building is still empty, if they can get that one. Though the hiring page for Spirit gives  the address for Kmart.

While going to both Dollar General and Dollar Tree over the weekend, I noticed summer merchandise displays starting to die down, with back-to-school displays starting to be set up.  My friend was looking for summer stuff at Dollar General for a "No Beach Beach Day" theme day we have coming up at work later this month. Not much was left except for a few beach towels and I'm not sure what else. I still have some stuff I can use for that day.

Halloween seems to start popping up as early as August, so I expect that is when Dollar Tree and Dollar General will begin their displays. Before the summer season began, I bought some solar stake lights for holiday lawn decorating. I had to get these early or else they would be gone before summer even started! Sometimes you do need to think ahead. The lights are still in the package.

July Bookish Bingo

 The emoji-themed bingo card for July is here.

My Books:

1. The Gringo Champion--Aura Xilonen (6 squares): DNF Last Month, Physical Book, Library Book, Not in a Series, Shock/Surprise, Eye Roll
2. Star Spangled Murder--Leslie Meier (8 squares): E-Book, In a Series, Red & White & Blue on Cover, Fireworks, LOL, Free Space, Snazzy Dresser, Sarcasm
3. Taiwan Travelogue--Yang Shaung-Zi (1 square): Not a Normal Home
4. A Cat Was Involved--Spencer Quinn (2 squares): Audiobook, Animal is MC
5. Distant Shores--Kristin Hannah (3 squares): Book Club Read, A Favorite Author, Doctor or Nurse
6. Little Pieces of Hope--Todd Doughty & Josie Portillo (3 squares): Free Book, 2 or More Authors, Food on the Cover

13 Things About the Number 250 and Some Notes on the 250th

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. 

Last week, one fellow participant borrowed the graphic I created for my posts, so I decided to use one of the ones she's used on her posts. The colors go well with my topic for today.

In honor of the US 250th birthday, I chose the number 250 as the topic for today. 

1. The Roman numeral for 250 is CCL.
2. The Ferrari 250 GTO is a sports racing car dating back to the 1960s.
3. In space Bettina is asteroid number 250. It was discovered by the Vienna Observatory in 1885.
4. The numerology energy represented by the number 250 resonates with intuition and introspection.
5. 250 is a 5-smooth number, meaning that its divisors are all less than or equal to 5.
6. In terms of telephone codes, in North America 250 is the area code for the Canadian Province of British Columbia, and it is the international dialing code for the African nation of Rwanda.
7. The food additive E-250 is Sodium Nitrite, which is classified as a preservative. According to some sources, the E-250 additive is considered dangerous.
8. Beware of the number 250 in China as it is often used as an insult to describe someone as being stupid, slow-witted or inappropriate. (See here).
9. The British Parliament celebrated its 250th in 1957, and the Taj Mahal reached its 250th milestone in 1898.
10. Harvard's 250 anniversary was in 1886. Yale's was in 1951, and Princeton's in 1996.
11. In biblical contexts, the number 250 appears in several significant passages, often associated with events of rebellion, judgment, and divine authority. 
12. Angel number 250 is a combination of the vibrations of the numbers two, five, and zero. These digits carry different energies and offer a deeper understanding of the meaning behind angel number 250.
13. Semiquincentennial is just one word used to mean 250th anniversary. See below.

Some side notes:

Semiquincentennial is derived from the following Latin roots:

• Semi: Half
• Quin: Five (specifically derived from quinque)
• Centennial: A hundred years
• Essentially, it means half (0.5) of a quincentennial (500 years), equaling 250.

Alternate names for "250th anniversary" include "Sestercentennial." The etymology for this one is:

• Sestertius: Meaning "two and a half" (from semis, meaning "half," and tertius, meaning "third"). The Romans used this to count units; literally "halfway to the third".
• Centennial: Derived from centum, the Latin word for "hundred".

"Quarter-Millennial" is also used, as 250 years is one-fourth of 1,000 years (millennium).

"Bisesquicentennial" has also been used. This is derived from:

• Bi- (two) + sesqui- (and a half) x centennial (100 years) = 250 years.
• This term was used by Princeton University in 1996, Reading, Pennsylvania in 1998, and Washington and Lee University in 1999.

US History Quiz

Last week for my trivia class at work, I chose to use US history as a topic, with the 250th birthday of the US coming up. I watched the video below, then wrote questions based off the ones in the video. 

One guy who participated knew most of the answers. He seems to like history. I hated having to take it in school because I had to do it so many times and it was so repetitive. What was considered important to learn then now just sounds like trivia.

How many of the questions did you know?

Mid-Year Reading Progress

 

Every year around this time, I do one of the posts. Last year at this time, I found myself at fewer than 100 by this time of year, with only two needed then to reach 100. This year, however, I have even fewer, not even at 90 yet. I'm slowing down even more than I realized. I now wonder when I'll reach the 100 mark this year.

As far as my challenge progress goes, I have already finished four, one back in February. I did a discussion post on that one then, but no one seemed to notice! It was this one, that only has nine categories.

Then three more finished this month alone:

Color Coded 6/2

The last one I needed to find was one for Brown. It seems that color is getting harder to find in titles. I attempted to look for this book, but to no avail. The Zip Books at the library is currently on hold, something unbeknownst to me when I attempted to order it that way.

What's in a Name 6/4

This was one was late in getting posted, and the last one I needed was for "Peace." I often finish this one early. 

My Reader's Journey Bingo 6/25

I was surprised how fast I got this one done.

As always seemed to be true, there are several challenges for which I am one or two books short of completing. For Alphabet Soup Authors, however, I still need three more. I actually found an author whose last name starts with X, an always-challenging letter. I have a book by a Y author lined up as well. Still trying to find an O author. U is the only one I need for Alphabet Soup Titles, but I do have something planned for that one. For X on that one, I had to once again use something with X somewhere in the title. 

How has your reading been so far this year?

 

13 Things

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

A random mix of stuff. I wanted to get one more Thursday 13 this month. Another month almost over. 

Stuff like this below was inescapable this past week.

But enough of that.  Here is some more stuff I decided to share.

Book Discussion: Finding New Releases

 

When it comes to reading new releases, it can be difficult to find some such books without having to buy them. I'm just too hesitant to buy something so new. Every time I see new releases mentioned, I immediately guess it won't be at my library, and most often that is the case. When it is there, I often can't believe it, but am glad. I also look at the digital library. If the book is on the service, it most often will be on a wait for up to 6 months. Sadly the Zip Books program at my library is currently on hold, or I would use that to order a new release not already at the library. 

Every year, this summer challenge has what is called "Ultimate Beach Reads" for each year. All of these are new releases and I'm already having trouble locating any of these without having to buy a copy. I'm trying to reduce the number of books bought and get rid of some I have already read and don't intend to read again.  I haven't yet looked for some of them, whether at the library or on the digital reading sites, but I'm already getting the feeling the search is gong to be hard. I don't want to be negative, but that's' just how it usually is when out comes to new releases. 

How soon do you read new releases? Do you wait to read them digitally or to see if your library has them, or rush out to buy them?

First Week of Summer

 

How was the Summer Solstice in your area yesterday? In mine, it wasn't very hot and I mostly stayed home. I still got tired from the weather. Now it's expected to be in the 70s and 80s for the rest of this week. I can't imagine how tired I'm going to get from that. Just glad it isn't expected to be in the 100s. 

I only wish it had been this warm when we went to beach at work a week ago. But then the location of the beach tends to be a little foggy. 

Beach Day

It's become an annual trip at work. It was this Monday, at Lovers Point, the same beach we attended last year.  It was a bit foggy at first, but some sun, though not a lot, came out for a while. Here are few phots from several I took.

Stuff For Today

I won't speak too much on the Orange Menace's birthday, but here are some photos I just want to get out. One of these came up on my Facebook memories today, along with photos from the first No Kings Protest in my hometown.

 

Now this is the kind of king we'd want to see...

 And let's remember today is:

 And this:

Graduations

All the major graduations at the various levels of schools have taken place this past week, ending with the high school.

How many graduations did you have during your school years? And were the pre-high-school ceremonies called "graduations" or promotions"? I was of a time when there were no pre-school or kindergarten graduations. Not to mention that Pre-K or TK did not exist then. For me, graduations were just for junior high school (now called middle school), high school, community college and university. Our eight-grade graduation (which  people now insist be called a promotion) did not have caps. Yet, now it seems pre-schoolers and kindergarteners sport caps at their graduations. 

 

I also graduated in the years before social media, and do not recall any of my ceremonies getting out of hand as described in this video.

Not having children, I have not seen any ceremonies like this in person. However, on Facebook groups focused on my neighborhood happenings, people have been asking for someone to make graduation leis out of paper money or candy. And the high school has forbidden wearing high-heels, carrying balls or other decorations  during the procession. I don't recall any of this happening at my graduation. One thing I enjoyed about growing up in the 1980s. Nothing had to be that elaborate then. But in the age of social media, people think events like this should be filled with action and decorations just to go viral online. All we had in my day were still photographs that are now lying in a box somewhere in the garage.

13 Holidays in June

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

Most of you already know about Fathers' Day, Flag Day and Juneteenth (a federal holiday since 2021). Here are some bizarre celebrations this month, found here.

1. Dinosaur Day - June 1st
2. International Children's Day - June 1st
3. National Donut Day - June 3rd
4. Hot Air Balloon Day - June 5th
5. Yo-Yo Day - June 6th
6. National Best Friends Day - June 8th
7. National Iced Tea Day - June 10th
8. National Corn on the Cob Day - June 11th
9. Peanut Butter Cookie Day - June 12th
10. Sushi Day - June 18th
11. World Giraffe Day - June 21st
12. National Pink Day - June 23rd
13. National Bingo Day - June 27th

June Bookish Bingo

The new card is here. 

My Books:

1. Maybe in Another Life--Taylor Jenkins Reid (9 squares): DNF Last Month, Not in a Series, Father, Found Family, Physical Book, Shelf Love, Book Club Read, Fated/Mated/Bonded, Free Space
2. Brown Neon--Raquel Gutierrez (3 squares): E-Book, LGBTQIA/Pride Month, Book or Reading Challenge
3. Peace is Every Step--Thich Nhat Hahn (3 squares): Audiobook, Special Powers, Epic World-Building
4. The Cracker Factory--Joyce Rebeta-Burditt (2 squares): Debut Novel, Been Thinking About Reading for a While 
5. The Endless Beach--Jenny Colgan (1 square): In a Series
6. Master Harold...and the Boys--Athol Fugard (1 square): Free Book
7. Palazzo--Danielle Steel (3 squares): Library Book, Multi POV, Bride
8. Lumberjanes Vol 5--N.D. Stevenson (1 square): Piercing

23 squares completed on June 19

Erin's Book Challenge 25.0

Once again, joining this one at a private Facebook group.

Welcome to our 25th edition of BCBE!

5 points: Freebie - read a book that is at least 200 pages: Distant Shores--Kristin Hannah

• 10 points: Read a book set in a country different than the one you reside in (from BCBE13; this category had the most books selected than any other category we’ve done with 137 books chosen that challenge)

*****The following two are similar but definitely different. Make sure you read and comprehend what we’re asking for before making your choice AND see notes in comments of examples*****

• 10 points: read book 2, book 5, book 20 or book 25 in a series: The Dream Thieves--Maggie Stiefvater

• 15 points: read a book with the words two or five or twenty-five in the title; we will allow the words second, fifth, or twenty-fifth as well

• 20 points: read a book where the author’s name is Silver, cover font is silver, or word “silver” is in title

• 20 points: read an award winning book from the last twenty five years (you MUST list what award and what year it won): Taiwan Travelogue--Yang Shuang-Zi (National Book Award 2020)

• 25 points: read a book where the main character is 25 years old or early adulthood

• 30 points: read a book originally published in 1925 or 2025 or 25 years ago (2001)

• 30 points: read one of the 300+ books I’ve read in all the previous BCBE challenges combined
(Link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/415897.Erin_s_BCBE_Reads )

• 35 points: read a book about a book club
(Link: https://www.goodreads.com/.../415880.BCBE_25_Books_about... )

Book Discussion: Finding a New Series to Begin

 

One year, I did a discussion post on how long it takes to finish a book series. In that post, I said how I was once eager to finish a series, but more recently had found myself reading only one or two books, then leaving the series unfinished. These were the reasons  I gave:

1. A lack of interest in continuing (though this is pretty rare)
2. Unable to find the rest of the books in the series at the library and not wishing to buy the rest if they can't be bought second-hand
3. Finding a book other than the first one (happens often when getting thrift-store books)
4. No hurry to continue right away, especially series with really long books (e.g., The Outlander series)
5. Simply forgetting that I even began (also rare)

How many of you have had these happen to you?

I was reminded of this post when reading Postcards From the Bookstore's post the other day, on Ten Series Deemed as Finished. I'm currently trying to find a book quartet to read for this challenge. Checking my Goodreads account, I found several quartets that I have begun, but have only completed one or two books (one in most cases). I'll have to re-read the book(s) already completed if I want it to count this year. Some of them I read years ago! Or I can start a new book quartet, of which I have at least two series in mind. Again, to count for the challenge, the series has to be completed this year. I must decide how soon to read to read each installment in the quartet, whether right away (one after the other), or whenever I feel up to diving into each one. It will depend on how eager I am to continue, as long as I get it done to count. 

What is your preference for reading series?

Summer Reading Challenge @ Messy Middle

I've been excited for this one to come! As with every year, I will get as many books as I can between the dates indi ed. The "Make Up Your Own Category" sounds like fun!

The Summer Reading Challenge will start on June 1 and run for eleven weeks through August 14, 2026. To enter, read seven books from 25+ categories and leave a comment at the end of the challenge with the books you read. That’s all. No entrance fee, no hassle, just fun.

What’s different?

• Only four charities were nominated, so we won’t be reading every Friday for Good. We’ll read on the 2^nd and 4^thFridays of June and July. Hopefully next summer we can return to reading every Friday with more nominations! You can learn more about the four charities here.
• Three special categories tied to big 2026 moments — the USA’s 250th birthday , my mom’s 90th birthday , and the World Cup 

What’s the same?

• Many of the categories were submitted by you!
• Choosing a penalty book within the first week of the challenge. A penalty book is one you declare to yourself:I will read this or be penalized. My penalty book this year has been sitting on my shelf long enough — Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. This is the year. (Or I’ll die, get it?! HA!)
• Like previous years, if you do not read your penalty book, you will subtract two books from your total
• The joy of reading!

What’s in it for you?

• All who comment on the summary blog post I’ll publish around August 14th will be entered to win one of several $10 Amazon gift cards. You’ll have a few days after August 14th to comment with the names of the books you read.

Drumroll . . . here are the categories!

1. A book someone mentioned in last year’s summer reading challenge
2. A book with cover that uses a color with a plant in the name. Turns out there are 20 colors with plant names!! Greens (moss, sage, fern, clover), Purples (lavender, violet, wisteria, thistle), Yellows (saffron, marigold, dandelion, goldenrod), Pinks and Reds (rose, blush, poppy, amaranth), and a mixed group (indigo, cornflower, eucalyptus, lichen)
3. A book with a verb in the title: Match Me If You Can--Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4. A book set where you’re going on vacation this summer/winter (or would like to vacation): The Endless Beach--Jenny Colgan
5. A book recommended by a child in your life
6. A book recommended by a bookseller or a librarian
7. A book that is Science Fiction, Fantasy or a Western: Her Renegade Rancher--Jennifer Ryan
8. A book featuring nature such as a river, National Park, forest, or mountains: Lumberjanes Vol 5--N.D. Stevenson
9. A book that has your favorite color in the title
10. A book with a great first line: Distant Shores--Kristin Hannah
11. A book whose title is someone’s name: Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunnit--Lilliam Rivera
12. A book that takes place in a place that you’ve been to
13. A how-to book
14. A book you stay up late to read: The Twits--Roald Dahl
15. A book about space (I was thinking outer space but “space” could be interpreted in other ways)!
16. A book set on the opposite side of the world to where you are currently located: Palazzo--Danielle Steel
17. A middle grade or YA novel: The Raven Boys--Maggie Stiefvater
18. A book told in epistolary style (letter or diary): Breakout--Kate Messner
19. A book featuring travel as a theme: Taiwan Travelogue--Yang Shuang-Zi
20. A graphic novel: Apple Crush--Lucy Knisely
21. A cookbook, picture/coffee table book, or wordless book: Lemon Zest--Lori Longbotham
22. A mystery, classic, or play: Master Harold...and the Boys--Athol Fugard
23. A book for professional development (loosely defined): Little Pieces of Hope--Todd Doughty & Josie Portillo
24. An audiobook: Peace is Every Step--Thich Nhat Hahn
25. A book you want to discuss with others
26. A book that’s outside of your normal reading
27. Choose your own adventure: Make up your own category (Dog or cat as the MC): A Cat Was Involved--Spencer Quinn

A few categories special to Summer 2026

1. Since this summer is the 250th birthday of the USA, either a book about the birth of that nation or a book with 250 in the title: Women Heroes of the American Revolution--Susan Casey
2. In honor of my mom’s 90th birthday in August, either a book with an elderly person (at least 80 years old) or the number 90 in the title: Success is 90% Spite--Jane Zei
3. Because the World Cup is in June, a book with soccer (football 😉) or the World Cup in it: The Gringo Champion--Aura Xilonen

Bonus: choose a Penalty Book in the first week of the challenge as a way to kick yourself in the pants. If you don’t read your penalty book you will subtract two (2) books from your grand total: The Cracker Factory--Joyce Rebeta-Burditt

Book Discussion: Bookmarks or Dog-Earing?

 

I saw this post on The Chocolate Lady's blog. 

Are you team dog-eared or strictly no creases?

As someone who borrows a lot of library books, I rely on bookmarks so as not to damage the books. I have also collected fancy ones, so no need for using store receipts or torn-off edges of paper. Even with books I have at home, I use the bookmarks. It's one thing if I buy a used book with pages that have been creased in the top corners, but I won't be doing it myself. 

What is your preference for saving places in physical books?

PS...The Discussion Challenge now has two new co-hosts: Lindsi @ Do You Dog Ear? and Julie @ Chapter Break. 

13 Things About May

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂   

Last week, I had my trivia class at work and the topic I chose was about the Month of May. I based my questions on those from this video. I then looked for other trivia on different sites. Click here, here and here for more. 

1. No US President has died during the month of May.
2. May is known as the Month of Flowers and as the Merry Month.
3. The Empire State Building opened in May 1931.
4. No other month of the year starts and ends on the same days of the week as May.
5. Blue Jeans were invented in May of 1873 by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis.
6. At one point, May was once considered a bad luck month to get married. There was a poem that said, "Marry in May and you'll rue the day."
7. May is named after the Greek goddess Maia, the Greek Goddess of Spring. The Romans had a similar goddess named Bona Dea where they would hold a festival in the month of May for her.
8. In the US, the last week of May is library and information week.
9. In the UK, May is National Smile month.
10. Colors associated with May celebrations are green and yellow.
11. May 1 in France is known as "Fėte du Muguet," meaning "Lily of the Valley Day." Lily of the valley is the birth flower for May.
12. The May Day celebration is known for dancing around the pole.
13. In the Southern Hemisphere, May occurs in the fall.

Movie Day

One thing I have not been doing a lot of lately is going out to the movies, something I decided to do yesterday afternoon on Tuesday bargain day. One reason is that not too many movies have come out that I have been interested in seeing. Also, movies released recently don't seem to get a lot of hype. Well, except two lately. One of course, is  the Michael Jackson biopic, which I don't think I'll be seeing. Another is The Devil Wears Prada 2, which I decided to see yesterday.

I had seen the original 20 years ago, but did not read the book until years later. And I did not know that the book had a sequel. Now I'll have to read that one. I also have the original movie on DVD, and was thinking of rewatching it, but never got around to that. I was bored yesterday and needed to get out. I just had to see the movie now and not have to wait until it was on streaming. One thing I miss about getting DVDs is getting to see the movie right away. Most streaming services charge to watch a movie when it's first released on the service, and it can be a long time before the movie can be seen free. I did not want to wait for that to happen. 

I now wonder when I'll ever get out to see a movie again. Ticket prices are one thing keeping me away, exactly why I chose to go on a bargain day. And i have not heard of many upcoming films that seem to interest me. Movies don't seem to get the same hype as they used to.

And on a side note, I came across this about a week ago. Sounds about right!