When rereading a series, I give myself permission to skip over the sad bits. I have kept over #6 and enjoyed Aurora schooling Barrett in #7, LAST SCENE ALIVE. Again I’m here for the small town Georgia shenanigans, the southern lady toughness, and a small serving of murder on the side. #bookaday

An IN DEATH book with an anomalous title, BIG JACK still helps define the long running series genre. Not quite cosy because the crimes are often horrific, but with a strict format that guides the suspense along controlled channels while juggling all the minor characters. #bookaday

Not only does @realcharlaine.bsky.social‘s DEAD OVER HEELS have a great opening scene that has stuck with me for decades, it also wins for having a title in an early series that I bet she wanted back for a later one. Sorry Sookie, Aurora got there first. #bookaday

My favorite part of @realcharlaine.bsky.social ’s THE JULIUS HOUSE are what is unsaid. In later books Aurora reflects on her marriage, but most of the worrisome parts are shown, not told. Like how she processes her concerns about his secrecy by finding the missing bodies. #bookaday

Reading some poetry before turning out the lights is my way to calm my mind for sleep. The short poems chosen by Mary Ann Miller in ST PETER’S B-LIST were poignant moments colored by the rituals and culture of the Church that had me smelling the incense and hearing the bells of Mass. #bookaday

Although I’m a big fan of Lauren Tarshis’s I SURVIVED books, the Dust Bowl one was underwhelming. The kid’s life that has to crash into the disaster was underdeveloped. It still has a good sense of place and period, so maybe the problem was my rotten sleep last night. #bookaday

Also read the 4th Aurora Teagarden today, where she gets Her perfect house. Her friendship with Angel is built on doing stuff together, and I like watching her set boundaries with her husband and his past. Roe throws very fun tantrums, sometimes involving trips to New Orleans. #bookaday

The Aurora Teagarden books by @realcharlaine.bsky.social are officially potato chip books for me - I can’t read just one. finished #3 today. I really liked watching Roe’s relationship with her mom, and the twist in her dating life when Martin shows up just when Aubrey spots Emily. #bookaday

Remember that I just listened to REAL MURDERS? I decided I want more Aurora Teagarden in my life so I went on to A BONE TO PICK. I’m enjoying how @realcharlaine.bsky.social lets her be messy, petty, jealous, but also contain courage and integrity. And I love how she handles her windfall. #bookaday

I read the books I donate to my local elementary bookclub; today I discovered the many layered THE INVASION OF THE POTTY SNATCHERS by Dav Pilkey. So many references across classics, SF, reader expectations, and also elaborate jokes about pee and poop. At least I’m mastering the flip-o-Rama #bookaday

I read ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL over forty years ago, and felt very adult for enjoying my parent‘s books. And now I’m still laughing out loud as I reread it, although the vet somehow became much younger in the interim. #bookaday

Car rides are perfect for mysteries starring strong personalities like Aurora Teagarden, who debuts in REAL MURDERS. No vampires in this Charlaine Harris book but plenty of Georgia small town currents and politics. We also enjoyed the nostalgia of answering machines and tape recorders. #bookaday

My book club judged picture books this weekend, and the winner is DON’T TRUST FISH by Neil Sharpson. It’s full of great science, logic lessons, propaganda, inspirational themes, and an illustration of why reading the last page matters.

The title is now our book club motto. #bookaday

Did I pick @ruthspiro.bsky.social ‘s book up because there are Sparks in my family?
Yes.

But I enjoyed it for how well the colors, illustrations and text worked together on the theme of tikkun olam. And kids will like the agency and how the characters and stakes grow from page to page. #bookaday

My only quibble with Drew Harvell’s The Ocean’s Menagerie is the assumption that harboring profitable scientific secrets make amazing sea invertebrates even cooler. I do hope it helps them stay unextinct though, because the stuff about immune systems and cross-species borrowing is nifty. #bookaday

Does what it says on the tin is a firm and specific recommendation that The Thermopylae Protocol by Weber and Holo earns. I skipped into this series on this book and managed just fine, and waved worldbuilding qualms that probably were handled before I showed up with popcorn. #bookaday

#Bookaday I added @carterhiggins.bsky.social and @100scopenotes.bsky.social's Little Turtle Pond to my 2027 Books I Love presentation: www.johnschu.com/2027-books-i...