Tiffany Painter

I missed writing last week because I was on vacation celebrating my daughter’s nursing graduation and my friend’s upcoming (5 more days) retirement. Five of us spent a long weekend in Las Vegas. This was a first for me, probably a once in a lifetime. I enjoyed the people I was with way more than the place we were at. There were moments of fun – a day trip to Grand Canyon, Ka by Cirque du Soleil, and watching the Broncos win. Overall though, it lacked the most important part of a good trip – reading. I did not read on this trip! My brain was over stimulated with all the sights, sounds, and smells of Vegas. Late nights meant crawling into bed too shellshocked to lose myself in a good book. I worked on a revision on the flight out and didn’t read then – thinking there would be time later. By the time we flew home, I needed some mindless distractions and watched Gilmore Girls again. The book I had saved for the trip sat unopened the entire time. So as we enter the last week of the first month of 2026, I feel like I’m a book down. At least I read a few before the trip and am in the middle of a couple of great books now. I started the year with two middle grade books by authors I love. The Wish Switch by Lynn Painter (no relation) is her first MG book after several adult and YA romantic comedies. I thought she continued to show her writing talents for light hearted stories. The second was Three Blue Hearts by Lynne Kelly. This is the third book I’ve read of hers and I fall in love every time. If you are waiting for the movie release of Remarkably Bright Creatures in May, this is the perfect octopus fix. The other book I read before my trip was more difficult. My son challenged me to step outside (way outside) my comfort zone. He got me The Three-Body Problem by Liz Cixin for Christmas because he wants me to write an alien story. Sorry if that is a spoiler for anyone. There are no aliens for the first 250 pages, but an awful lot of science. Those 250 pages felt like the longest set-up to the story that took place on the last 150 pages. I can say I completed the challenge and won’t be writing an alien story, unless the alien has a pet dog or cat. Now I am happily reading the book that was ignored in Vegas: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner. This one is another middle grade book that a friend thinks should be considered for the Newbery Award being announced on Monday. So far I have to agree with her. Every good book needs a dog in it.

1/5

floating on a breeze
not a care in the world
grateful for today

1/10

one little spot found
protection from the people
safe behind the chair

1/21

when Mother Nature
actually calls, some hotels
ready to answer

1/24

sometimes it’s only
a small prickly thing standing
in front of the fall