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💖Ben💖

@botanyandbooks

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Librarian & Hallmark Chistmas movie fanatic
📚 Cozy Crew 📚 • Fresno, California
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Currently Reading: Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama
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I'm loving this book so far. I have seen Aoyama's books on social media and at the bookstore before, and I'm really happy that I took the chance. This book is so cozy, I love it. Look at me, reading a book that I actually own.
Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a tapestry of slice-of-life moments from customers of the Marble Cafe. What happens will touch and swell your heart and connect you to the community of the cafe and their unfolding lives. #benreadsbooks #currentlyreading #michikoaoyama by @botanyandbooks

✨️ Library Haul ✨️

I'm catching up on some manga series I have been reading. It has been a whole since I put in this many holds. Hope your month is off to a good start. by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
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Every year, I try to read my way through the novellas that are nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards. It is a fun challenge, and novellas are not too long, so it's not that daunting. Cozy fantasy & science fiction is definitely something that I can get behind, so when I saw the synopsis of Murder by Memory, I had to read it. The novels are too long for me to try and finish all the nominees, but I do try to read whichever ones stand out to me.

Interstellar generational ship Fairweather is a luxury passenger liner. One can request new bodies or even rest in the library between lifetimes. One day, Dorothy wakes up in a body that is not her, just as someone is murdered on the ship. Dorothy is one of the ship detectives and usually enjoys her work. Yet when not only bodies are being destroyed but minds are being deleted from the library. Someone on Fairweather has found a way to make murder a very permanent state, and Dorothy needs to solve this case before more people are erased. #benreadsbooks #oliviawaite #nebulaaward #hugoaward #tordotcompublishing by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rosw Pressey
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It is almost time for the @cozymysteryclub discussion! Which is tomorrow 7/28 at 4pm PST/ 7pm EST. If you are free, come stop by, I'm co-hosting this month with Angela. There is a link in my bio for the livestream. I always have a wonderful time chatting with Angela, and joining the live chat with the whole group is a lot of fun. We will be discussing Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece. Also if you are looking for a book club to join, The Cozy Mystery Book Club is a great group, we read a cozy book each month and take December off, well there is a buddy read but we know how busy that month gets, plus 12 Days of Cozy is in December too!

Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show off her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, and her park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations. Unfortunately, a customer returns a painting claiming it is haunted and a fellow vendor discovers hidden images in her art. Celeste is shocked to realize she might have psychic abilities. After a body is found, Celeste may be able to help solve the murder and make sure the wrong person does not get framed. #benreadsbooks #cozymysterybookclub #cozyreads #cozymystery #kensingtoncozies by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: The Cradle Will Fall by Mary Higgins Clark
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My Reading this month has taken quite a hit. I always think I'm going to read so much on my month off, but the reality is I sadly don't. Though I need to finish both of my book club reads this weekend. The Cradle Will Fall is this month's pick for @80sladiesbookclub

Katie DeMaio has just been in an accident and while recovering at a hospital she sees a body being put into a car truck in the middle of the night. When the woman is found dead the next day she starts investigating. Through her search she uncovers the secrets that those around her are trying to keep hidden. All while the killer is getting ever closer to Katie and looking to take her out next. #benreadsbooks
#maryhigginsclark #80sbook #simonandschuster by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union
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I have been meaning to read this book for years, I'm happy that I set aside some time to dive into it. Also, oh gosh, it has been ages since I posted a currently reading. I'm hopeful that I can continue posting, I have missed posting regular updates. I'm currently on summer break and hope to get through some books, though I have two book club books to finish as well.

Gabrielle Union gives details about her life that go beyond headlines to show how smart and tough she really is. This collection is engaging and funny while also showing the reality of the world. I grew up watching 10 Things I Hate About You and Bring It On both on repeat, so it has meant a lot getting to know Gabrielle in her own words. Some of the parts are very heavy, but I'm glad she is not glossing over things. Definitely give it a read if you enjoy biographies and Gabrielle Union. Open a glass of wine and get to know this truly amazing woman. #currentlyreading #gabrielleunion #harpercollins #benreadsbooks by @botanyandbooks

This is 38 💖

I'm forever grateful to all of my loved ones and friends. Life can be hard at times, and I'm really thankful that I can count on the community around me for support. Another year in the books and many more to come.

Also, I'm still sad I didn't get to pet the goats at the petting zoo because it was closed. by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
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Happy New Year everyone! I'm going to try to keep up to date posting this year. Feeling energized during my winter break and I really do enjoy posting what I'm reading. Sometimes I take a break and then that break becomes months.

I have also transitioned to mostly listening to audiobooks, which have really helped me keep up with my reading last year. Though I have also slowed down on my manga reading, which I want to change this year. So that is my goal this year, read more manga, books I own, as well as keep up with the Battle of the Books that my students are reading this year. Also find some cozy mystery series to read, so if you have some you enjoy let me know!

What are your reading goals this year?

Ada has never left her one bedroom apartment. Her mother hates her club foot and keeps her locked inside from the world. With World War 2 starting children are sent to the safety of the countryside from London. Ada wasn't meant to leave but she sneaks out with her brother to join the train leaving. In the countryside, Ada learns that not every adult is disgusted by her, befriends a horse, and slowly learns more about the world she has been secluded from. by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
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This school year, I started an after-school book club, and this is our first read. It make take longer than a month to get through this book, and that is okay. We meet each week, have a goal for page count but it is also a goal and not a requirement. Also, one student finished the book and has already read the sequel. We all read differently.

My goal is to get students to verbally discuss what they have read, how they felt, what are some of their predictions about what they have read, while also encouraging them to read and if they are not interested in the book that is okay, there will be a different one picked for the next month.

I'm also doing Battle of the Books still, a whole different group of students and that is more competition focused as we are competing against other schools. #benreadsbooks #currentlyreading #impossiblecreatures #schoolbookclub by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
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I am reading this again for the @80sladiesbookclub that I am a part of. Now, I love the animated film so much. I actually watched it before I knew it was a book, well, a whole trilogy. Yet I am still mad that so much of the characters are not in the film. The outpouring of love and kindness that the supporting cast is so endearing and it makes me so sad they have all been cut out. I also totally understand, there are a lot of storylines that have to be cut out for runtime, it is just unfortunate, I love Sophie's sisters

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I'm going to try to get some reading done this weekend, especially for the book clubs I'm apart of. Up next is The Cozy Mystery Book Club's September pick: Against the Currant. #benreadsbooks #howlsmovingcastle #dianewynnejones #currentlyreading by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney
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I'm a little behind. This was last month's @cozymysteryclub pick! But I'm working my way through it and already have this month's book Against the Currant on my shelf to read. I also need to read @80sladiesbookclub pick of the month, Howl's Moving Castle.

So I have my next reads planned, along with some audiobooks that I have checked out from the library via @libby.app, which it is library card sign up month. There is so much that I love that the public library provides, especially access to the Libby app and free audiobooks.

When Houston reporter Lucy cashes in her retirement to buy her grandmother's farm, she is looking forward to a simple life. However she has barely finished putting up her first batch of jam when oil-exploration trucks roll up to drill on her property. Then the woman who ordered the drilling is found dead and Lucy is to blame. Can she clear her name, or will her dream life turn into a nightmare? #benreadsbooks #currentlyreading #cozymysterybookclub #cozyreads #cozymystery #thomasandmercer by @botanyandbooks

Currently Reading: A Wicked Yarn by Emmie Caldwell
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How is it almost time for the @cozymysteryclub livestream already?! This summer is flying by, and I'm on my last week of summer break. I hope you have been enjoying the warmer weather and extra daylight to read. I don't know about you, but I'm a fall and winter guy, so I can't wait for the cooler weather to be here along with Countdown to Christmas.

If you are free on Tuesday, July 29th, at 4pm PST (7pm EST), I will be discussing A Wicked Yarn with the wonderful Angela @writerahart . It is always so much fun to catch up with Angela and discuss the cozy mystery for the month. There is a link in my bio for the YouTube livestream!

This Mother's Day is definitely not going how Lia Geiger expected. Instead of the usual festivities, Lia finds herself trying to solve the murder of her best friend's ex-husband, which happened at the site of the local craft fair that Lia is a vendor at. While her best friend Belinda has an alibi, nasty rumors spread throughout Crandalsburg that shroud the entire fair in question. Lia and her crafty group of Ninth Street Knitters must put down their needles to gather clues and save the crafting community they've grown to love. by @botanyandbooks