Categories
IWSG

#IWSG June 2025- Impactful Reading

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?

My answer is also available as a YouTube Short that I’ve shared on social media.

 

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So, last month, my newsletter got buried somehow. I made sure to single it out and put it in a special folder as well as add it to my contact list, which I thought it was already. No late post for me this month.

Personal Updates…

1) Here are the vlogs I (did not post here) last month. I hope you’ll enjoy them anyway.

Reading Vlog, with book reviews referenced (available as YouTube shorts).

Food Vlog.

Writing Vlog.

2) I’ve moved my personal updates over to Patreon. Click this public post if you want to check it out.

My Patreon community was able to watch my Counting My Blessings video three days early, but now it’s public if you’d like to see it and don’t want to go to Patreon. There’s also a short for it, in case the full video is too long for you.


Will you help me grow my community to 100 FREE subscribers on Patreon? You get monthly updates and exclusive content. I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!


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Commerce update…

I HEART Books crewneck featured.

If you’re interested in the featured item or other clothing, click to visit Sell My Tees.

The stickers and other accessories can be found at Redbubble.

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What books made an impact on you at a young age? 

It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
PJ Colando,
Pat Garcia,
Kim Lajevardi,
Melisa Maygrove,
and Jean Davis!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #22).

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

Categories
Book Club Books

#iwsgbookclub Oct. 2022 Poll & What I #read in Sept.

Please join the IWSG Book Club today on Goodreads for a short general poll. Aside from spotlighting two IWSG member books each month, we also want to engage in bookish whimsy and encourage others to have a healthy reading lifestyle. You don’t have to be reading or have read the 2 current featured books to be able to participate in this poll, so please, join in the festivities. Click the image below to see our fun poll. This month the topic is about audiobooks.

In Sept 2022, I read 4 titles, but only finished three. This month I will be focusing on lighter, silly, and fun reads.

2022 Reading Challenge

2022 Reading Challenge
Toi has
read 2 books toward
her goal of
60 books.
hide

Below you’ll find my star ratings and review blurbs for each title I completed in the indicated month. If you have not signed up for my newsletter, please consider doing so. That’s where I post an overview of what I’ve been reading, watching, and writing quarterly, as well as talk about my love of reading while offering tips for having a healthy reading lifestyle. You can also click the Goodreads links to see the thorough reviews. At the bottom of this post, you’ll also be able to watch a video of my monthly reviews, if that’s more your style.

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4-stars

Review

Unrated

Review

4-stars

Review

5-star

Review

So, did you read any good books in Sept. or did you try either of the IWSG Book Club Books?

What did you think of the ones I read? Any recommendations?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
Fun Hops IWSG

Footprints #WEPFF Challenge featuring My Way #amwriting #flashfiction

No one ever accused me of being a poet and I’m not going to pretend I know anything about the craft. I’m submitting a poem this month because that’s all that came to me after being sick and in quarantine for 10 days (missed 4 days of work). I am now going to try to read all the IWSG Day posts I missed from people who visited my blog and then I’m going to try to read as many of the WEP entries as I can (I will likely fall short of reading all the entries before the deadline, but it is what it is). It’s been a rough 2 weeks and I wrote this poem to help combat my feelings of being overwhelmed.

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My Way

A gray shoe leaving a print in the mud.
Pexels.com

I looked around one day,

And realized, I’d lost my way.

There was no path for me to follow,

But there were footprints in the hollow.

 

So many legacies left behind,

One would help me discover mine.

All I had to do, was take a step,

A step or two in someone else’s shoes.

 

But which way to go, which prints to try,

The ones too big, you can’t reach that high.

Or the ones so small, there’s nowhere more to grow.

Perhaps the ones, long and narrow,

Full of fears you can never know.

 

I looked around, overwhelmed with choices,

Big ones, small ones, deep ones, shallow ones.

 

The prints were my only way forward,

Regrets of a wrong choice, I could not afford.

 

Then I saw it, one pair on their own.

Footprints leading away from the rest.

Up the side of the hollow floor,

Footprints creating a new path never worn.

 

Someone brave enough to climb up and out,

To seek a path of their own without doubt.

But would I go that way, or would I stay?

Stay with familiar prints going the usual ways.

 

Each path led to a future unclear,

But those prints represented that 1% fear.

That small chance that could be good or bad,

While the other prints were safe and clear.

 

Perhaps to fear regrets that have not come,

Is the problem that I took on.

Any path could work if I chose it,

If I rose above and didn’t abuse it.

 

I looked at the footprints once more,

I’d made up my mind which way to go.

I’d go my own way and leave my legacy,

Perhaps my path would help someone like me.

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FCA- 284-words- My Way 2019 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas

**Update- For some reason, many comments are being delayed, not for approval, just being delayed. I’ve come across several that didn’t post until hours later. Sorry. I’m trying to figure it out. If you leave a comment and don’t see it right away, it’s okay. It’s probably just delayed. 🙁 **

Please visit other entries in this hop and enjoy some funny, scary, touching, and thought-provoking stories. You’ll be so glad you did.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords