Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Alta Journal - California Book Club - Grand Avenue by Greg Sarris

 

Earlier this month, I attended Alta Journal's California Book Club virtual event featuring author Greg Sarris and his book, Grand Avenue. Lisa See was this month's special guest interviewer.

I'd never heard of Greg Sarris before or any of his books. He's a Native American writer from Santa Rosa, California, who has lived quite a colorful life. 

I must say that listening/watching Greg Sarris speak during this live, online event was amazing! I now want to read Grand Avenue and another one of his books. I'd say that this month's California Book Club event is one of my favorites!

Above is the YouTube video of Greg Sarris talking about his writing!

Have you attended any author events recently?

Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez

 

Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez is my tenth read for 2026. I listened to the unabridged audiobook of Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez, which was nicely narrated by Ruby Corazon.

Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez is the Online Rainbow Book Club selection for the month of February 2026, which is perfect as it is a romance novel and fits in nicely for the month of February and Valentine's Day. The Online Rainbow Book Club is an online book club offered through my county's public library system. Lgbtqia+ books are read and discussed on a monthly basis within the Online Rainbow Book Club.

Kiss Me, Maybe is a romance novel featuring an asexual (or ace for short) lesbian, named, Angela Gutierrez, as the protagonist. Angela is a librarian and social media influencer. She has never been kissed. After posting a video on TikTok, which goes viral by the way, Angela's status as a late bloomer becomes widely know with her TikTok followers. 

Based on the interest of Angela's TikTok followers regarding her late bloomer status and admission that she is asexual, Angela decides to host a scavenger hunt through TikTok where one lucky recipient becomes her first kiss. Sounds like a straight forward proposition. What could go wrong? A lot that is!

There's a lot that made Kiss Me, Maybe a great read. It's an easy, breezy romance read. It's fun and quick. As a cis gender, heterosexual female, I learned a lot about ace lesbians that I didn't know prior to listening to Kiss Me, Maybe. 

This novel deals with the struggles of trying to figure out one's own sexual identity, which can be difficult, especially when you don't know who to turn to for advice or answers. Kiss Me, Maybe also discusses the struggles of coming out to family, friends and co-workers. Being bullied by some family members while other are accepting of your sexual identity is another topic addressed in Kiss Me, Maybe. Plus, other topics were discussed as well that are important too.

Additionally, Angela has had a massive crush on Krystal for years. Krystal is a bisexual bartender at the bar Angela and her best friend have visited regularly over the years. Angela holds no hope that they will ever become a couple because Krystal thinks she is incapable of loving anyone after her last serious relationship ended badly.

As much as I like Kiss Me, Maybe, it isn't perfect. The major gripe I have is the typical one I have with most romance novels. Angela and Krystal have major chemistry throughout this entire novel and flirt like crazy. Their flirtation ebbs and flows as they both try to assess how they feel about the other person romantically and whether their feelings will be reciprocated. I dislike this type of trope where you have to wait until the very end of a novel to learn whether the two characters become a couple or not. 

Below is the publisher's summary for Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez from Chirp Book's website:

Librarian Angela Gutierrez has never been kissed. But after posting a video about her late bloomer status and ace identity, she's finally ready to get some firsts out of the way. Using her new influencer status to come up with a scavenger hunt idea in which the winner earns her first kiss, Angela realizes she may need some help to pull off the event. Enter Krystal Ramirez, hot bartender and Angela’s unrequited crush of five years. Despite vowing that romantic love isn’t for her, Krystal seems awfully determined to help Angela pull off the scavenger hunt and find true love.

There’s just one problem: the connection between Angela and Krystal is getting stronger and stronger the more they hang out, until Angela isn’t sure she wants to go through with the scavenger hunt after all. But Krystal is convinced that she isn’t capable of love and before long, Angela realizes she's falling head over heels for a woman who may never love her back.

I am giving Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Top Ten Tuesday - The Best First Sentencess From Books That Make You Want to Read Them!!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

A first sentence in a book can make a HUGE impact on one's desire to read it! 

Below are ten first sentences from books I've yet to read. Each sentence listed below makes me want to read the book it came from.

1. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.—Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)


2. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.—Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877; trans. Constance Garnett)


3. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.—Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1850)


4. I am an invisible man.—Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)


5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)

6. I am a sick man . . . I am a spiteful man.—Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground (1864; trans. Michael R. Katz)


7. It was a pleasure to burn.—Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)


8. Justice?—You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law.—William Gaddis, A Frolic of His Own (1994)


9. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949)

10. It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.—Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)

Use This 1972 Rule to Improve Reading Comprehension

 

A 1972 experiment that changed educational neuroscience through schema activation. Watch the above YouTube video to learn more about schema activation and the pre-reading technique that helps with reading comprehensive.

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Choose Your Own Adventure Books!

 

Does anyone else remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books? I remember they were popular books in elementary school when I was a child. I remember you could but the mass market paperback copies at the grocery store. I read a few of these books and enjoyed them as a kid. 

I hadn't thought about the Choose Your Own Adventure books in years. I came across the above YouTube video that took me down memory lane and discusses the rise and fall of the the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty

 

I recently found the hardback edition of Fire Exit by Morgan Talty at a Little Free Library in Livermore, California last month. 

I've had this desire to read more books written by Native American writers. So, when I saw Fire Exit at the Little Free Library last month, I felt like it was serendipity that I read Fire Exit this month.

I'm not sure what I was really expecting from Fire Exit, but it wasn't this. I liked Fire Exit, but it was a darker read for me. The novel deals with Native American culture and identity, mental health and dementia, alcoholism, and touches upon the lgbtqia+ topic. 

Also, the fact that in order to be considered a Native American, one must have a certain percentage of Native American blood in them. This was a huge topic/storyline in this novel! The protagonist, Charles Lamosway, is the biological father of a girl named, Elizabeth, but he only has one interaction with Elizabeth as a child because Elizabeth's mother, Mary. Mary wants a man named Roger to assume the role of father to Elizabeth, so that Elizabeth can be considered a full member of the Penobscot Tribe as Roger is Native American.

Over the years, it becomes apparent that Charles Lamosway continues to long to be part of Elizabeth's life and regrets not being a part of her life. He wrestles with the idea of whether or not to confront Elizabeth and tell her that he is her biological  father. Charles Lamosway wants Elizabeth to know her true background and cultural identity and not solely what Roger and Mary have told Elizabeth.

Charles Lamosway also deals with alcoholism. Charles Lamosway's friend, Bobby, is an alcoholic too. So this is another topic touched upon in Talty's novel. 

Mental health issues and dementia are also a big part of Fire Exit as Louise (Charles Lamosway's mother) has dementia and he takes care of her. Elizabeth also has mental health issues throughout the novel as well.

Fire Exit deals with so many topics/subjects. I feel like Morgan Talty does a good job combining all of them to make a cohesive novel.

Below is a short YouTube video of Morgan Talty discussing his novel, Fire Exit. I always enjoy hearing authors discussing the inspiration behind what made them write their novels.

Below is the summary for Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, which I found on the Goodreads website:

Does she remember this day? Does she remember it at all? Does she know this history—this story—her body holds secret from her?

From the porch of his home, Charles Lamosway has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation. On the far bank, he caught brief moments of Roger and Mary raising their only child, Elizabeth—from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties. But there’s always been something deeper and more dangerous than the river that divides him from this family and the rest of the tribal community. It’s the secret that Elizabeth is his daughter, a secret Charles is no longer willing to keep.

Now it’s been weeks since he’s seen Elizabeth, and Charles is worried. As he attempts to hold on and care for what he his home and property, his alcoholic, quick-tempered and big-hearted friend Bobby, and his mother, Louise, who is slipping ever-deeper into dementia—he becomes increasingly haunted by his past. Forced to confront a lost childhood on the reservation, a love affair cut short, and the death of his beloved stepfather, Fredrick, in a hunting accident—a death that he and Louise cannot agree where to lay the blame—Charles contends with questions he’s long been afraid to ask. Is it his secret to share? And would his daughter want to know the truth?

From award-winning author of Night of the Living Rez, Morgan Talty’s debut novel, Fire Exit, is a masterful and unforgettable story of family, legacy, bloodlines, culture and inheritance, and what, if anything, we owe one another.

I am giving Fire Exit by Morgan Talty a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Six New to Me Little Free Libraries in Santa Rosa, California! Plus, Valentine's Day Weekend Fun!!

 My husband and I took a long, four day vacation weekend to celebrate both Valentine's Day and President's Day. 

We decided to stay at an Airbnb in Santa Rosa, California as a way to have a fun, romantic time spent together.

We started our long weekend by visiting the Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts comic creator) Museum and Research Center on Friday, February 13th. 

We'd been wanting to visit this particular museum for probably a decade now. I'm happy we finally made the visit. 

This two story museum is charming! It's small, but still packs a punch in terms of current exhibits, interactive displays, and beautiful outdoor grounds to walk through. We enjoyed reading the various comic strips on display, learning the history of the Peanuts comic strip (last year the Peanuts turned 75 years old!), and more about the life of Charles M. Schulz (like how he got the nickname, Sparky). 

I think I enjoyed the mock up of Charles M. Schulz's office on display within the museum, the Baccarat Snoopy also on display, the architecture of the museum itself, and the outdoor grounds the most during my visit.

Me Outside the entrance for the Charles M. Schulz Museum

Me standing next to the Charlie Brown statue outside of the Museum.

On Valentine's Day, my husband and I found six Little Free Libraries near our Airbnb! In fact, one of the LFLs was a tenth of a mile away from where we stayed in Santa Rosa, which was super cool! We loved finding all six of the LFLs in Santa Rosa. Below are the photos of the LFLs we found. 

We probably would have found more Little Free Libraries on Valentine's Day if the rain hadn't started coming down fairly hard. So, we headed back to our Airbnb and chilled out until dinner time.

This is the LFL closest to where we stayed in Santa Rosa, California.

Our 2nd LFL discovery.

Our 3rd LFL discovery!!

Our 4th LFL Discovery in Santa Rosa!

This was the largest and cutest LFL we discovered in Santa Rosa!!

This was the last LFl find in Santa Rosa!!

On Sunday, February 15th, my husband and I visited Safari West in Santa Rosa, California! Safari West is another place my husband and I've had on our bucket list for a very long time. We LOVED our two hour visit at Safari West and look forward to coming back for a different in person experience next time.

Safari West is a 400 acre "immersive (animal) preserve where people could encounter wildlife, connect with nature, and learn through experience." They offer an onsite glamping experience, dining options, gift shop, safari tours where visitors can view "giraffes, rhinos, zebras, cape buffalo, and wildebeest on an unforgettable open-air adventure.", and several behind the scenes experiences.

My husband and I participated in the Animal Care Enrichment Experience Tour with animal keeper, Kelsey (I hope this is how she spells her name???), at Safari West. While we were there, we made enrichment toys filled with food for the DeBrazza's Monkeys. We learned so much about the Debrazza's Monkeys during our time spent with Kelsey. Kelsey was so engaging, knowledgeable, sweet, and answered our plethora of questions about the monkeys and Safari West. 

After putting together the enrichment toys for the DeBrazza's Monkeys, we were taken over to their enclosure where we were able to see both Meeka (17 year old female DeBrazza's Monkey) and Mojo (18 year old male DeBrazza's Monkey) interact with the enrichment toys we made for them. What fun this was!!

See the following four photos I took during the enrichment experience of Meeka and Mojo.

Meeka

Mojo

Mojo

Mojo

I hope you had a marvelous Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend!!