Fiona Friday on the Wrong Day, Bloggiversary, and Other Thoughts

I'm combining Fiona Friday on the Wrong Day with a bloggiversary post because . . . well, why not? I often miss the actual day of my bloggiversary but at least this time I'm thinking about it. In recent years, I've actually gone out to buy a chunk of pretty cake and thrown sequins or some other colorful bobbles around a cake plate then lit the appropriate number of candles for my bloggiversary photo. There would have been 14 candles, this year (or a 1 and a 4 candle, since the number is getting to be a bit much for a single slice of cake). But, of course, we're isolating due to the pandemic, so I'm not running anywhere to buy a chunk of rainbow cake and you get a cat munching on celebratory grass, instead. No candles, no cake. It's better than nothing.

This is also, of course, the anniversary of D-Day and it always feels weird to me to put up an enthusiastic, "It's My Bloggiversary!" post on a day that should really be quite solemnly held in the memory of those who fought for our country. This seems even more relevant during a time when our democracy appears to be in peril. The boldness of the brutality inflicted on innocent protesters, the outright lies about events clearly recorded, and the lack of empathy or proposed positive action by our country's leader, all are absolutely shocking. I am grateful to my international friends for expressing their mutual distress and solidarity with Americans seeking change.

My reading is currently very scheduled and, like everything else in life, it feels all wrong for the moment. Seriously, everything feels wrong, right now. All this is to say that while it might look like business as usual at my blog, my heart is elsewhere. I would prefer to be reading about systemic racism and my part in putting an end to it, right now. And, I will do so as soon as possible. I've been unable to locate the books I most want to acquire (I'm not willing to go to the library, for now) but I have a smattering of titles by authors of color, one of which will be released soon, so I'll gather those when I'm done with my scheduled reading. In the meantime, I stand with peaceful protesters.

#BlackLivesMatter


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

It's my bloggiversary!

Technically, yesterday was my bloggiversary but I was too tired to go buy the cake and candles, so I'm celebrating, today.

In case your math is fuzzy, I began blogging on June 6, 2006. I've been blogging for a dozen years! True, I took a couple breaks during which I thought I'd given up for good but they ended up not lasting all that long.

I had a bit of a snafu during the photography process:

It turns out Fiona likes frosting. Yes, she licked the cake. I wiped the frosting off, shooed her away and gave her some dental treats. It was nice of her to try to help, though.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Malarkey and Promises, Bloggiversary and Blog Break

First things first: It's my 10th bloggiversary. I cannot believe an entire decade has passed since I began blogging, although so much has happened! I've made some incredible friends who share my passion and some who authored favorite books, said goodbye to my mother and two cats, been adopted by two new kitties, become a mother-in-law and a grandmother. I've read hundreds of books and discovered that I really, really do not like reading them in electronic form (good old paper for me, baby). I've watched both children graduate from college and get jobs and traveled to some fabulous places -- some of which would not have happened if not for the blog. It's been a good run . . . so far. On to malarkey before my farewell.

No arrivals, this week.

Books finished since last malarkey:

• The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
• The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler

Currently reading:

• I haven't actually decided what to read, next. Eeks. Will update that on Twitter, when I do. I'm @Bookfoolery

Last week's posts:

• Love Wins by Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell (book review)
• Feather Brained by Bob Tarte (book review)
• The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (book review)
• Fiona Friday - Kitty in a crystal ball (cat photo)
• Aim True by Kathryn Budig, The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler, and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (mini reviews)
• Tales of Accidental Genius by Simon Van Booy (book review)

And, now, it's time for a break but not for any of the reasons you might expect. At the beginning of 2016, when I lost a friend suddenly to cancer, I made a promise to myself to stick it out till my 10th bloggiversary and then take a significant break. I'm not tired of blogging or frustrated or worried about the fact that not as many people visit my blog as they did in the beginning. While I miss the close relationships I had in the early blogging days, some of those have matured and moved on to Facebook, letter-writing, visits in person. In some ways it's better to have fewer visitors at the blog; it was a little overwhelming when my blog was kind of popular, early on.

Nope, I just made myself a promise to take a big break and I've decided to keep it. It's possible that I'll reevaluate whether or not I want to continue blogging while I'm away. But at this point I fully intend to come back. And, I still plan on writing the monthly review posts because I'm not going to quit recording my reads, here. I have an end-of-year-post that I update every time I finish a book. However, this is going to be a long break, anywhere from 2 to 6 months. I won't know till I get there. If I'm not back by the end of the year, apart from the monthly posts, I'll return at the beginning of 2017 with an update.

In the meantime, I'll continue reading, of course, and writing brief reviews at Goodreads. I'll update my personal Facebook timeline. I'll tweet about my reads on Twitter. I sit down at the computer to tweet so I'm just a drop-in tweeter but I'll work harder at updating there, hopefully with photos. If/when I return, I will have a different home email address, but my gmail site will continue to function if anyone wants to get in touch. Have a fabulous summer!


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Belated 9th bloggiversary party on the deck

It was a quiet celebration. Just me, my cake, a bunch of quickly melting candles and a crowd of poison ivy leaves (mocking me because they know they're winning). I snapped the photo, ate part of the cake and scowled at the evil green vine.

Technically, my bloggiversary was Saturday (but I forgot). I've been blogging since June 6, 2006. There are nine candles crammed onto that cake. Hard to believe how fast the time has flown.

Because I spent my day chasing down candles, cake and confetti and then posing the cake, snapping and loading photos, I'm going to skip Monday Malarkey and do a Tuesday Twaddle post, instead. In the meantime, a million thanks to any and all who have visted my blog over the years. Many, many things have changed since 2006. I had one child in college and one at home when I began blogging. One of those children has since married and made me a grandmother. I've buried two cats and my mom since the beginning of the blog (and have been adopted by two new kitties), met some wonderful fellow bloggers and authors, made new friendships and traveled places I would not have otherwise thought to go. I wish I could share my cake with all of you.

Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing your thoughts about books and life!!!


©2015 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

8 years, a coincidental holiday and a moment of gratitude

It's my 8th bloggiversary.

Image source

It's also National Donut Day.

Image source

I'm about as round as a donut, these days. Seems apropos.

This, however, is also an important day of remembrance, the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Everything else pales by comparison.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Now We Are Six

Trish very kindly reminded me it's my 6th bloggiversary, today, and Carrie has informed me that she told Trish. Thank you, Carrie and Trish! I'd forgotten, what with all the hullaballoo about houses and being buried in laundry and having to play with cats who literally holler at you because they are dying if you don't roll jingle balls (which, I must confess, I love).

I can't believe it's been six years. I'd get all mushy and melodramatic if I wasn't stressing about the counter-offer to our offer on that house and the fact that if I move I'll be leaving my gym, which is just the happiest place I've been the entire time I've lived in Mississippi.

So . . . could somebody just send me a Decision Fairy?

Also, cupcakes all around! Virtual confetti! Woots and Wahoos!

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Emailbookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

'Twas my bloggiversary - only missed it by 1 day, this time

Yesterday marked 5 years of blogging for moi!

The sixes are for the beginning date of my blogging history, 6-6-06. I didn't even notice all those devilish sixes until last year. I opted not to try to get a fat cupcake with candles to photograph, this year, since last year's attempt was so humorously disastrous (upside-down cupcake, frosting all over the lid . . . could have baked my own but nooooo, I had to go for the difficult option).

I wrote a long-winded history of Bookfoolery, yesterday. I edited it and edited it till, at about 10:00 PM, I thought, "Who wants to read all this crap, anyway?" So, let's just say it's been a good run, so far. I've particularly enjoyed meeting like-minded souls. I miss the camaraderie of the early years, when the number of book bloggers was so small that we were divided into casual and literary bloggers, but I've loved meeting new people -- especially when I get to meet bloggers in person.

I think of Bookfoolery as my place to talk freely about a few things I love -- books, family, cats, nature, travel. I've tried different approaches to reading, over the years -- joining challenges, avoiding challenges, reading a few ARCs, accepting too many ARCs, avoiding ARCs -- but my purpose has never changed. My blog is still basically a dumping ground.

Doesn't that make you feel great about hanging around, here? Well, you wouldn't drop by if you didn't like the random insertion of things like adorable Charlestonian kittens in daisy frames, right?

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Now We Are Three

It's my bloggiversary!!! Yes, three years of happy bloggihood, thrilling book indulgification and mind-numbing babble have happened, here. I meant to celebrate by giving books away but I've become a bit of a procrastinator and you'll just have to go for the baby book for the freebie, at the moment. I'm going to try to round up more giveaways in the coming months, just 'cause I luvs ya. Thanks to SuziQ for the cupcake!

Bored? Here's my first blog post.

And, here's my first book review on this blog.

If that's not enough, here's a fun anecdote that has something to do with cactus.

Bookfool, a wee bit beyond 3 in a different age category