So many of these books have been influenced by you lovely people.

January, you’re 31 days too long. But alas I can still count my blessings. Even in spite of getting stung by a sting ray that eventually got infected and needed a course of THREE DIFFERENT ANTIBIOTICS FOR A WEEK. Actually I take it back. January two years in a row, what gives?

Favorites this month are Some Desperate Glory and Never Let Me Go. Both excellent science fiction. If you like science fiction having to do with parallel universes and time jumps with a mix of fascist cults, Some Desperate Glory is your book. And Never Let Me Go needs no introduction. That one sunk its teeth in me.

But other than that. January was filled with loss and struggles. It wasn’t without its bright spots but alas I am defeated. It was a hard month. And oh yeah abolish ice. ...

Felt wrong to not do a yearly wrap up post and since I’m up here you go. God bless @the.storygraph for making wrap up posts easier. My reading was so uneven this year. I never found my groove. I wanted to set some goals for this year but let’s be frank. It won’t happen.

In my most eloquent wording, 2025 you can suck it. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

The horrors persist. But so do I. ...

I think one of the hardest things my family has lost in the Eaton fire is our Christmas Decorations. My husband and I have been collecting them from places we’ve traveled since we first met over ten years ago. My son had made a handful. I had some that my Lola had made as well. My Christmas stocking I had had since I was a baby. My mom’s house, which also burned, has the Angel topper. My sister and I would trade years, taking turns on who would place the angel at the top. I can still remember my dad grabbing my hips to pick me up so I could place it at the top. All those things are gone now. Christmas is a time of tradition. When we reflect on our year and our past. Remembering things with each ornament and decoration taken out. Now we start over. And make new ones. This weekend was strange. At once I am filled with a bottomless well of sadness. Sometimes I wonder how I can possibly be standing. I honestly feel just so dead inside. But. There is still so much I am grateful for. So much still worth fighting for.

@ornamentsforaltadena gets a special shout out here. My family and I went to their Winter Bloom market and got some special ones handmade from people across the country. My husband and I have an annual tradition of watching the LOTR extended editions every December. So this hobbit door was a particular standout. @arrangementsbyadelaide of course had so many cute decorations. Because Angela knows how much our community needs them. And most importantly. Thank you to my family that gave me back precious decoration that my Lola had made by hand.

Altadena I miss you every day. I can’t wait to come home.

#eatonfire #nonbookishpost #bookstagram #losangeles ...

38 years on this earth and this last one has been been a doozy. This year we decided to shake things up as a family. We booked it to a tropical location for Thanksgiving instead of staying home. And I gotta say I am liking this new tradition. I have accomplished two out of three things on this tote. Just need a new tattoo. Thinking I’ll go nautical this time. @jawjawinks you in? lol. Cheers everyone. Here’s wishing this next year is uneventful. Boring. A snooze. #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #vacation ...

Tell me a story of a complicated man indeed! Odysseus is probably the original anti hero. I could go on but I’m sure there are already one million essays about this by people much smarter than I. I wanted to read this because I remember this edition became quite the controversy when it came out. For one it’s translated by an actual WOMAN. Can you believe it! The AUDACITY. Jokes aside. If you pick this up definitely read the translators introduction. She gives a wonderful breakdown of her decisions and I think this was just a delightful read. I think the part with Cyclops will always be my favorite. Of course like any fantasy epic it probably could’ve used a better editor. But I’ll let it slide this time….ha. Glad I finally read this one and so happy Wilson sought to make an accessible version for us all. Also shoutout to @sethisreading for his review and reminding me I had to pick it up before the movie! #theodyssey #homer #epics #vacationreads #classics #greekclassics ...

Happy caturday! Ha. Always wanted to post one of these. #catsandbooks ...

The more I learn about trees the more I am in awe of their power and beauty. Our old oak tree is being chopped down tomorrow. And if you have been here for a while you know how much this hurts. We tried really hard to give it a fighting chance but alas I am nothing compared to the awe and might of Mother Nature and large scale disasters caused by corporate greed.

We had our arborist, a wonderful person named Peter, come look at it recently and he let us know that the tree was dehydrated. No matter how much we watered it, it was probably not enough. Altadena, once a gorgeous oasis of plants and trees sprouting from neighbors gardens is gone now. There is no water table. So even if I was watering it every week it’s a drop in the bucket of what was once there. Due to the devastation of the fire the tree is also weak. So even if it did survive there is a large chance it would have a hard time fighting off diseases in the future, such as red fungus, meaning it may only live another five years or so.

This is obviously not the outcome we wanted. Peter told us we should plant an Engelmann not knowing we already had in the front. Seeing how much that little tree has grown already gives me hope.

The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue does not shy away from where we find ourselves, but it did provide me with something like hope. My story is sadly not unique on this earth. I loved how Mike Tidwell took what was happening on his street and expanded it globally. This was a beautiful little book. And it found me at the right time. He ended each conversation with one question for the people in his community, what gives you hope? And for me. It is my community. I don’t know what lies ahead. But I do know I have people I can count on and they can count on me.

And so it goes. Where there is death. There is also life. Goodbye tree. I’ll miss your towering shade and the squirrels bounding across my roof to get to your branches. Thank you for everything.

#eatonfire #oaktree #liveoak #engelmannoak #trees #nonfictionbook #climatechange #bookstagram ...