💬 Friday Thread: Meet & Greet

And what are you reading?

Hello!

Every Friday for almost two years I’ve asked you questions in these Friday Threads. The questions have spurred great discussions and connections! I’m a questioner by nature, so I have an unlimited number of things I want to ask and know about from you. However, every now and then I scroll through the archive to refresh my memory on what I’ve already asked and in doing so this week, I realized I’ve never done a meet and greet post.

This is top of my mind because I’ve recently been in the situation of being the new person joining an established group and I was reminded how uncomfortable it can be. So today, let’s not only share what we’re reading, let’s introduce ourselves and share a bit more, whatever you’d like—where you live, hobbies, favorites, jobs…you get the idea. Let’s get to know each other a little better! For today only, I’ve included a 7 day free trial (details below) for those who’ve been thinking about joining but maybe weren’t sure. Now’s a great time and we’d love to meet you!

But first a little housekeeping….many people in the Friday Thread discussion have mentioned wanting to read EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck—I’m one of those people—so I thought it might be fun to do a very casual group read over the next month and then talk about it in the Friday Thread on March 6. So, consider this your invite to not only introduce yourself today and get to know fellow readers, but to grab a copy (or maybe you’ve already read it) of East of Eden and join us Friday, March 6 for a casual discussion—I’ll provide the questions:)

I’ll start the meet and greet. Since I love a bulleted list I’m using that format…

• I’m Renee and I live in Columbus, Ohio. I’m turning 54 this month so I’m a Gen X’er through and through. I have two grown sons ages 28 and 25. My husband Darren and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in June! Outside of reading, I love going to the movies, walking in nature, biking when we actually have warm weather…I HATE snow:) I have a 5 year old English lab named Vinny who’s my best walking buddy.

  

• My favorite color is purple and all shades of it

• I have a Masters in Social Work, worked in foster care before staying home with my boys for many years, then spent a few years working as a professional tutor at Ohio State before taking a leap in 2021 and launching the Book Talk Etc Podcast with Tina from Tbr,etc. It’s always been my dream to have a job where I get to talk about books and after being on the podcast for three years, I then moved to this space to continue talking about books:) I’m living my dream job!!

• My favorite book of all time is A LITTLE LIFE by Hanya Yanagihara

• If I had to choose my top 5 books of all time right now, after A Little Life it would be ONE DAY by David Nicholls, THE HEARTS INVISIBLE FURIES by John Boyne, WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR by Paul Kalanithi, and THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt

• I have two tattoos, one on my ankle (a flower) which I didn’t like from the get go and attempted to have removed but it was too pricey and hurt too much so I gave up and one of a butterfly which I love

• I must have dark roast coffee with heavy creme to start my day— I’m not a morning person, 100% a night owl

• Words used to describe a book that will automatically make me not want to read it…..gothic, cult, influencer, quirky

• I’m in my bird era. I can watch hummingbirds on my feeder all day long!

  

• In another life I’m an FBI profiler

• Favorite foods: dark chocolate, pizza, most seafood, most fruit. I hate most cheeses (except mozzarella on pizza), chunky pasta sauce, basil, pickles…truly this list is long, I’m a picky eater😅

• The author I’ve read the most—Stephen King. My gateway King was Pet Semetery when I was 16. I’ve never been more scared while reading and loved every minute of it.

• I’m currently reading KIN by Tayari Jones (out Feb 24) and I’m loving it so far. I was in the mood for this literary friendship story and in the short amount of time I’ve been reading I’m already invested in best friends Vernice and Annie’s stories

Ok, that’s a lot about me haha. I’ll probably think of more things you might not know and share in the comments, but for now I’ll turn it over to you. Meet you in the comments!

Question Time

The questions I ask in weekly threads are meant to be fun and help us connect, so please know you don’t have to answer each question, if you only have the time/desire to answer one, great! Please put book titles IN ALL CAPS for easy reading and include the author’s name if possible:)

1. Meet & Greet- Who are you? Please at least say hello and if you’re up for it, share something about yourself:)

2. What have you been reading this week (and do you like it)? Or plan to read this weekend?

Have a great weekend 📚

Renee