Right? I love that cover. It totally says summer to me.

Thanks for coming by, Lydia!

Thanks, Kay! The photo is a few years old now. We were scheduled to have new ones taken in March, but COVID put a stop to that. Oh well. I'll have to reschedule them for Thanksgiving time when my daughter's home from college on break.

I'll be interested to see what we both think of these books. And if you find some good cold reads, let me know. I'm always up for an icy read to combat this crazy Arizona heat.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Kay!

Thank you, Leslie! Having a bi-racial daughter (she's adopted) has led to us having our own experiences with racism. Luckily, most of them have turned into teaching moments, but some of them have really hurt my daughter's feelings. It's tough.

I'm picking up a copy of THE OTHER PEOPLE from the library tomorrow. I'm excited to read it. Bummer that STRANGER is getting mediocre reviews. We'll have to see what we both think of it. I agree on THE PULL OF THE STARS. I have an e-ARC of it and I'm excited to get to it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Agreed. I was not made for the heat. My skin's too pale and my constitution too weak! I should be leaving in Antarctica :)

I hope we both enjoy ThAT SUMMER IN MAINE.

Thanks for coming by, Leatrice!

Sorry, Lectrice not Leatrice!

I think so, too. We'll see how they turn out :)

Thanks for coming by!

I'm excited for the challenge. It will be a fun way to boost my summer reading. It's always fun to try new authors and hopefully find some new favorites.

Thanks for stopping by, Jessica!

Thanks, Cath! I'm not sure we can handle much more in 2020. God help us all.

There's not a lot of detail in the plot summer for THE BITTER AND SWEET OF CHERRY SEASON, but I usually like books that involve women going back to their hometowns to confront the past, find a new life, etc. Hopefully it tells a good story.

Summer is just rough for me. My English/Welsh ancestry gives me light skin and hair, which isn't very helpful in this hot, dry desert, and my Pacific Northwest upbringing makes me crave rain, wind, and cool weather. I'm counting down the days until the blazing temperatures go away.

You and yours take care as well. Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cath!

Thanks, Ethan! The picture was taken a few years ago, so we're all a little older and bigger now. Ha ha.

I am glad that Arizona doesn't have the kind of humidity you get in Texas. The big joke here is that it's a dry heat, but I actually do prefer dry heat to wet heat. I'd prefer no heat, but what can you do beyond moving to Antarctica?

I think I'm going to enjoy THE OTHER PEOPLE. I love a thriller that hooks me from the get-go.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Ethan!

Thanks! It was taken a few years ago in the Fall when the desert is actually a bit green. If you look closely, you can even see one of the wild horses that lives at the river up the road a few miles from our house :)

I'm glad you're doing the challenge, too. It sounds like a fun way to boost our summer reading.

Thanks for stopping by, Deanna!

It does. I hope the story is as awesome as the cover!

Thanks for coming by, Cheri!

Unlike most family photo shoots, this one was really fun. We had a photographer we know well, so we were all relaxed and happy. We really need new photos done, but I do love these :)

I hate being hot, too. Just ugh. We've been swimming every day, so that helps. Still. Antarctica is looking better and better every day ...

Thanks for coming by, AJ!

Aw, thanks! We had a good time with that photo shoot. I'm not a big fan of the desert, but it makes for a pretty background in the Fall.

Ha ha. I might not have described THAT SUMMER IN MAINE very well, but it does sound intriguing, doesn't it?

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!

It's interesting so far. The plot seems fairly original to me, although I don't read much fantasy so it could be totally generic. Ha ha.

Thanks for stopping by, Lauren!

Really? How funny! I'm so glad to hear that you loved it. That makes me even more excited to read it.

Thanks for coming by, Donna!

It's good so far, but I'm reading an e-ARC and I didn't realize how LONG the book is. In paper form, it's 464 pages. Yikes! We'll see if there's enough plot to keep things moving for that long.

Thanks for stopping by, Evelyn!

I thought of you when I saw Cooper was an Australian author :) I've heard good things about her, so I'm excited to try her out.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marg!

Same. I'm always interested in families finding each other through DNA and genealogical research. The whole process just fascinates my family history-loving heart :)

I've had a copy of ROOM ever since it came out, but for some reason I haven't read it yet. And I never watch movies based on books before I read the book, so I haven't seen the film either. Weird that the book's been downgraded for you. For me, too, it goes the other way. Although I did recently re-read a book that I LOVED when I first read it - the second time around I liked it, but wasn't sure why I had been so twitterpated the first time I read it. Funny how your experience with a book can change over time.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!

Doesn't it? And the prompts are general enough that they work for the books I was already planning to read. Perfect!

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lark!

I hope you enjoy WHERE DREAMS DESCEND when you read it. I'm about halfway through. It's long but entertaining.

Thanks for stopping by, Emelie!

Our summers seem to be getting worse and worse, too! Ugh. One of these years, I'm going to melt completely away ... I hope we both survive the heat. At least it gives us an excuse to stay inside and read, right?

Thanks for coming by, Marianne!

I hope so, too. You're right, a good excuse to stay inside though when it's really hot, even inside is hardly bearable. We don't have any airco in Europe. At least not in the normal houses.

I hope you get some time to relax, read, and do whatever else brings you pleasure this summer :)

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Helen!

Right? I'm a sucker for those tropes, too. I will always look twice at a book that features any of those themes individually, but collectively? YES. A curio shop does sound fun, doesn't it? Lots of story potential there.

Thanks for coming by, RS!