Georgette Heyer is considered one of the earliest modern romance writers. While I've read some of her romances, I tend to like her country house mysteries. They are cozy, which is not my normal mystery-sub-genre love, but it works. 

I have no idea why PBS doesn't make a whole masterpiece mystery about them. I guess licensing won't allow it. Or perhaps there's some other reason I'm missing. 

I pretty much get all my bath supplies from Lavish. It's just easier. Plus, any leftover items make fabulous gifts. 

Well, I'm only one...or two boxes late here. I'm still going to blame Putin. Fucker. 

So, I picked this book up because it reminded me of another book I enjoyed which was How the Irish Saved Civilization (by a different author, Thomas Cahill I think?). It's the theme of a culture, usually through diaspora, sharing literature/philosophy/art, etc. 

With the Irish book, the argument is that because Irish monasteries housed writing and not gold, they were often repositories of knowledge lost by other European countries during the Medieval ages. Only through the diaspora and inclusion of Ireland (usually via British invasion) was this knowledge dispersed. Granted, it wasn't like the Middle East, Asia, Africa, or the Americas were wandering around clueless...they also had a strong literary tradition of all this stuff, but still. 

This book is more on Philosophy and Education that was passed through Scottish diaspora. I took a lot of philosophy courses in college, so this wasn't totally new to me, but I think it can be a bit dry if that's an uninteresting subject. I thought it was really interesting but I'm a huge nerd. The Scottish diaspora was in tandem with the Highland clearances and with the British Empire "colonizing" the world. Colonizing or you know...invading. 
​

NPR did an interview with Arthur Herman, which I managed to embed. I love NPR. 

Herman was a coordinator of the Smithsonian's Western Heritage Program. He now a senior fellow at a Think Tank called the Hudson Institute. Think tanks can be full of brilliant people or morons. The Hudson Institute is a conservative think tank that writes semi-interesting reports and blows smoke up conservative men's assholes. So... the norm I suppose. No, seriously, look at who they give awards to and then tell me I'm wrong because I am not. 

I live and work around politicians. They need a lot of smoke blowing. A small, select few need to be put in a padded room. We don't have to name names. We all know who. 
​

I spent all of yesterday re-organizing my skincare tower. Tower makes it seem like a huge deal. It's a small little multi-drawer unit. It's small, I swear! It's just tall. I organized it the exact same. Total waste of my time but my brain likes it. 

My Chronicle Book Box is my UK book subscription box. I picked the quarterly option and the mystery/thriller genre. It's really a brilliant box. There are three books, newly released included. Plus, some little goodies that tend to be quite thrilling to my eye. I've gotten "goodies" from other boxes that are crap or just filler. 

They are a UK box. I do pay more for shipping but it's worth it for me. Just something to note. 

I was pretty excited to begin this book. I love books about art crime (Mostly the gentleman thief variety). Art and antiquities crime is a huge international black market. Truly harrowing to think about. 

Adam Worth was a master criminal, known for his frauds and deceptions, but also for stealing a painting of Georgianna Cavendish (Duchess of something) by Thomas Gainsborough. There are run-ins with the Pinkertons (before they became totally union busting jerkfaces), safe cracking, crimes across Europe and America. 

Adam Worth is also the supposed inspiration for Moriarity in the Sherlock Holmes books. Allegedly. Ben Macintyre does talk about this in one of the chapters, so fun to read about it. 

For the Book Drop in February, I received a romance option. I have the mix of romance and fantasy, so they switch off depending on the month. I'm behind in my reading from subscription boxes so I haven't yet read this title. 

The book drop is my monthly book subscription (I also get a quarterly one from the UK). I enjoy it because my taste is different than The Book Drop's taste/selection, so I get to try new authors. Which I need help with as I tend to read the same authors over and over (no complaints...I just end up in the mystery section every time). 

Anne Stuart is probably one of my favorite authors. I tend to go to her when I get in a book slump (the Ice and Fire series usually).  She bounces around different sub-genres in the romance genre, so she's done romantic-suspense, gothics, historical, contemporaries, etc. This one follows a bit of noir bent (in the sense that it plays with it). 

I found this one in my local used bookstore, but some of her older releases can be rough to find! Sometimes she releases a kindle version, so that's been great. She has a lot of books out...like a lot. She's a reader's dream come true. I've seen this likened to Catspaw, and I can see it. It's a bit zanier than that one to me, but I get it! 

November isn't as bad as last May. I'm getting closer. Sorta! 

Macy's is my only beauty box that I get. I stay subscribed because sometimes their waitlist is impossible. I tend to have more hits than misses with the box. Only giving away a few things. This month's theme was Yves Saint Laurent. I like YSL makeup, although it can be on the higher end. I also have some of their fragrances, so I was quite excited for this box. 

I believe this is the second brand take over, with the first being Jo Malone. I like these high-end takeovers. The bag even matches! It's a brown/purple (almost eggplant?) YSL bag. 

Ooo, we're getting into my favorite subject matter in nonfiction---artsy farsty stuff. LOVE it. I'll read anything with art theft, art forgery, and art history. Endless fascinated. I took a lot of classes in art history and humanities in college (way back when), so this book wasn't filled with all new information for me. I loved re-exploring it though. 

Alexander Lee focuses on the Renaissance period and touches on the money and power that moved the art to its greatest zenith for the time. Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, and Raphael were just a few of the artists that were patronized by the wealthy and powerful (like the Popes, the Medicis, the royal families of Europe, etc.) that were in constant power struggles with each other and within their own ranks. It's truly fascinating...even if you don't like art. 

Oh gosh. May 2021? The Pandemic really wrecked me didn't it? 

Well, I mean it did. I stayed on my couch for most of it and binged true crime shows. Uuuggghhh....

Postmark'd is a card subscription service that I desperately need. I don't really have a nice shop for that stuff where I live. It's a bit of a bummer. Lots of monogram places...but my monogram isn't thrilling. Anyways, May 2021 had a lovely spring theme. 

Samantha Irby has a really eye-catching cover design for her books. I picked up another one because there was a cat on the cover (it was bright yellow I think?). 

She's an award-winning essayist that really knows how to land a story. I tend to remember and think about her stories way after I've shut the book. I mean, they aren't all deep and serious, but I wasn't expecting to really have them stay with me like they have. Plus, there's a lot of funny moments. 

Isn't this stunning? Papergang has been doing a lot of geomatic themes, but they went back to a more romantic theme with this month. It's lovely. I really enjoyed No. 59, which I'm guessing might be February 2021...oh gosh. That's way behind on my end. A whole year. Surely not. Am I that behind?? I'm going to go with I just missed this one. Yup. Sure. 

The desktop or mobile background is here on their blog. I don't download all their backgrounds, but I did with this one. I love the romantic aspect of the work. 

Papergang site: This is for sale in their online shop if you just want this box. It's called the Blushed Blossom Box and is about $26. It includes all that's in the box below:

• A5 Notepad - 85 Sheets
• 1 x Gift Wrap Sheet
• Ballpoint pen
• Scissors
• Brass 20cm Ruler

I read this through my library. I've become a bit overcome with their digital options and I have a huge wish list. I think I really create more digital clutter (is this the right term) than I should. I'm a big library fan regardless...I've tried a bunch of authors I wouldn't have normally, and I've found a few new favorites that I enjoy. 

I'm not sure I'm 100% getting all of Rogan's comedy but I like some of his stuff. I like more of his later projects. Seth doesn't care about that of course; he's doing just fine without my wishy-washy movie watching habit. I figured I'd get on the hold list for his book at the library, and it finally hit my number. 

Please excuse my photos. I took them from my kindle...to send to a friend because we talked about one of his stories in here for about a day...and then I realized I still had them, so I put them here. I should have made an effort to get better photos but eh. 

Am I behind? Perpetually! But I'll get there. Eventually. Maybe...

This was one of my favorites from Postmark'd. I ended up getting more stationery from one brand and framing the card from another. Yup!! I write a lot of letters, so I love this subscription box. It's dead useful! 

Goodreads has THREE different totals for me across the site. I've gone through all my books, but I can't find any recording error on my end. Anyways, I've actually read 312 books in 2021. Quite a lot for the year! It was over my intended goal of 240 books. For 2022, I've kept a similar goal of around 240 (it might be as high as 260) but we shall see. 

I read so much because of Covid. I'm still being quite careful. I don't have children or dependents, so it's easier for me to stay inside. I've been too antsy to sit down and watch most new television shows. So reading has been my entertainment for the past few years. 

The initial "Year in Books" page on Goodreads lists me at 307 books, with 92,043 pages read. Even with the additional five books added, it won't make such a huge change in page numbers. Most likely less that 95,000 pages total for the year (probably around 93,000). 

You can see an additional number below. I reached my initial goal of 240 in the early fall period. 

I actually read my shortest and longest in the beginning of 2021. Kill the Clutter is a cleaning guidebook. I enjoy watching CleanTok/CleanGram, so I picked up a few books. I still prefer the Konmari approach to cleaning and decluttering, but I thought Heather Lane's book was a nice and quick guide. 

My longest book was Bulfinch's Mythology. I picked this up a while ago, but it's been on my TBR shelf for a long time. It is quite long but easy to read in chunks. I'm familiar with most of the myths listed within as I took many Classics classes for my degree. My second longest book was most surely Jane Austen's Emma. It's around 800 pages in length. 

I had finished Jane Austen's Emma and Pride and Prejudice in the same year. They're both annotated versions with one side of the page being the original story and the other side being notes and images that enhance reading. I think it was good for me as I had never picked up Austen until after university! I thought it would be nice to have a guided reading so I would understand some hidden aspects (hidden to me). 

Amanda Gorman's poem was quite beautiful! I did watch it live and appreciated the oration but reading it was a huge treat. I think I prefer poems in written form more than spoken. I have no poetic talent, but I do like reading poetry! Gorman has a few other pieces being published soon that I'll probably pick up. I liked the way she formed verse. This is just the poem, so it's a fast read. Great for a tea break! 

The extent of Goodread's public stats is just a list of the books you read. I took a few screenshots to show what it looks like. Also, I can talk about some of the books I read that were excellent! 

• I read quite a few Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. It's fine. Some books are better than others.  I think the earlier books in the series are my favorite. I think of the later books, the only ones that match the vibe (to me at least) is Twisted 26 and Fortune and Glory/Tantalizing 27. I hate the love triangle. Don't have any interest in the side series (with Diesel and Wulf). I rate the book by how much sighing I've done. It makes Evanovich tons of money I suppose. I get why she doesn't end it, but the meandering aspect is a bit rough. She's coming out with a new series that I'll try at the library, but I haven't enjoyed any of her collaborative efforts. 
• I'm still enjoying Rhys Bowen's "Royal Spyness" Mysteries. They're cozy and fun. I have her newest in this series, but I haven't read it. I meant to read it for Christmas (it's holiday themed) but I didn't get around to it. 
• I think Lynn Messina's series (a romantic mystery set in regency England) was fun. The writing is less contemporary in some ways. They did take a few days to get through. 
• Hampton Sides' Hellhound on His Trail is EXCELLENT. I totally cried while I read it. It follows the final days of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, as well as the investigation and manhunt for his assassin. It is well researched, and I learned a lot. 

I've done far too many "I'm catching up with work/It's been slammed" but uh...I've been slammed with work. 

I finished my book goal for 2021 early and kept reading. I ended up with over 300 books again. Goodreads has been annoying me. I use it just for logging my books, but it really struggles. I have three different numbers for year-end totals. It's probably my fault but I find it annoying. So, I'm trying a new app, called Story Graph, that breaks down my reading more like an excel spreadsheet. It also has trigger warnings for readers. Which I think might be a nice thing if you need them (re: war, rape, abuse, etc.) Like, if you're spouse just died of Covid or a car accident, you probably don't want to escape into a book only to discover that's a huge plot issue. 

For 2022, I've planned on about 240 books. My big classic book might be Russian literature, but I haven't even picked one up yet. I try to read a big classic a year (last year was an Annotated version of Emma) but I've been reading shorter classics as my library uploaded a bunch of eBooks as options. Perhaps I should just decide on 20ish smaller classics? Maybe get a reading guide to Dostoevsky? I've not read Russian literature at this level as my college level readings was more on ancient Chinese texts or ancient Greek texts. So, I'll need some help. Plus, it's been a few years since school. 

Anyways, I've read almost 20 books in January of this month. I'm on track. 

I need to edit and upload photos. I need to gather thoughts on books I've read. I need to clear off my desk and reorder my time to sit down and write about books. It should happen soon. I took more time off after the winter holidays since I could. 

I have no idea what month this is. (Google says: June?) I get my box late since it's shipping from overseas. I'm not worried about that, but this is at least a summer box. As always, Papergang has online goodies for the box. This is the wallpaper fort the month.  

I believe the box is still available for purchase on the Ohh Deer website. It's $26 U.S. Dollars. 

There are five item categories included. There's a notepad, greeting cards, stamps, gel pens, and sticker sheets. 

With work catch up, I got behind on my blogging. 

So I'm going to spend this week catching up on everything (like laundry, ugh) and cleaning all the piles of work out of my office. It's a good week for it! 

I reached my reading goal much earlier than I anticipated. I haven't even filled in all the books I've read! I think I'm going to end up around 260 books when I'm done logging things in. 

​Such is life! 

I'm still behind on reading the books I get when I receive them. June's book is up on my TBR, so I'll be able to get to this one soon. I think this is the first of the unread Book Drop books. So, I'm a few months behind here. 

I switched to a mix of romance/friendships and fantasy. June is the romance/friendship...but I'm assuming it's straight romance from the cover. 

I have such a book hangover (is this the right term?) over the last book I read. I basically just need a little bread to recover. The book that did me in was Madame Fourcade's Secret War about one of the leaders of the French Resistance. She survived the war, but many of her comrades did not. It was very, very good but it was absolutely a gut punch of read for me. 

I'm going to work on some re-readings and see if I can get back to it. Maybe a lot of happy endings only romance type books? Or maybe some comic books? I own two of Mindy Kaling's books.