Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Peak bloom arrived today, a gorgeously warm March day when my plans were fluid and I could make it down to see the trees. As I was biking down to the Mall, I ran into Rudi, who was on his way home from a ride, and he opted to turn around and join me.

2. This week kicked off a new session of volleyball at the elementary school with a new group of kids. As I was waiting for them in the gym, one by one the kids from the last session called to me or came up to give me hugs and to say how sad they were that their volleyball time was done.

3. I went down to the sand courts to practice serving and ended up being asked to join a trio of young men. At a certain point (because it is early in the season for the exertion of playing doubles in sand on a warm afternoon), I told them I was done and thanked them for letting someone their moms’ age play with them. “You’re way younger than my mom,” said the college freshman.” “Oh? How old is she?” “52.” “I’m 52.” “No way you’re 52! I’d guess 40 at the oldest!” “Thanks, but my birth certificate assures me you’re wrong.” (I didn’t tell him my back and knees would soon be in agreement…)

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

I love the seasonal posts at That Artsy Reader Girl if for no other reason than I get to start looking ahead to what’s come out recently and what’s coming out in the next couple months. Am I supposed to be reading more backlist titles this year? Absolutely I am! But that doesn’t stop me from looking ahead. And the keyword there is “more”; I’m just supposed to look backwards in between new releases.

Here are ten books I hope to read this spring:

1. Deanna Raybourn’s A Ghastly Catastrophe
2. The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
3. Rainbow Rowell’s Cherry Baby
4. Love by the Book by Jessica George
5. Kory Stamper’s True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color—from Azure to Zinc Pink
6. Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe
7. Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae
8. Mac Barnett’s Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children
9. The Insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch
10. Behind Five Willows by June Hur

Which books are you looking forward to this spring?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Spring flowers have been popping out on trees and in patches of earth all over the District.

2. Sarah invited me to join her to watch her alma mater, Siena, take on Duke, in the first round of the men’s basketball playoffs. I’d expected it to be a blowout, but Siena led from five minutes into the game until five minutes left in the game (which, sadly, is not really the relevant stat when it comes to advancing in sports), but was wholly impressive, particularly when you realize their starters played the entire game.

3. I tried a new sourdough bread recipe for my breadmaker and expect it may become our go-to. It sliced beautifully, toasted well, and was tasty when eaten plain, with butter, with jam, and with peanut butter. (The recipe comes from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, which Rudi and I picked up from a Little Free Library several years back.)

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A crowd gathers at Fort Reno, the highest spot in D.C., to watch the sun sink on Sunday. (My parents, Karen, and Rudi all reported gorgeous sunsets that night, as well.)

2. On an unseasonably warm Monday, Sarah and I opt to do our job hunting from the rooftop of the main city library, which has been converted to a green public oasis above all the concrete.

3. It is warm and sunny, so I opt to do some work and take a phone call up at the park before turning my attention to my book and the sunset.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

I finished five books during February, which feels a bit like I slacked after January’s ten. But that’s how it goes…

Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

A middle-aged magazine advice columnist commutes into London every day with her dog. She doesn’t make eye contact. She certainly never talks to anyone, even if she does recognize the regulars on her route and form judgments based on what she observes. Until one of those regulars starts choking in front of her and she has to get involved. And once one of those rules fall, she finds herself unable to put the lid back on, intermingling with a bullied student, a nursing student, a young woman starting her career, and men having marital and career woes. A heartwarming story for those who love found family stories. Some of the twists are telegraphed early, but you never mind.

Library. Audio. (more…)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share ten books with titles that contain ordinal numbers. I wanted to give you just one for each, but capped out of individual numbers I’d read at nine. I’ve doubled up on “first,” which is also the number that appears most in books I’ve listed as to-read.

1. First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
3. The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
4. The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
5. The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan
6. Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
7. Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth
8. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
9. Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
10. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser