Month: December 2016

The Best Books I Read in 2016

Belated Merry Christmas wishes!!!

When I started writing this post earlier in December I actually forgot that some books I really, REALLY enjoyed were books that I read this year. When you read 117 books in one year, it can be hard to remember them all, which is why I LOVE Goodreads and my bullet journal for keeping track of the books I read and what I thought of them.

I wanted to narrow my “best books of 2016” list down to 10 books like I did last year, but that was honestly impossible, so this post is what you get. Here are my favourite and most notable reads from the past year and a bunch of extra enjoyable reads at the end. I wouldn’t recommend all of these books to every reader because we all have different tastes, but I think I’ve tried to include a bit of a variety here too. Looking forward to seeing which books make it on to other readers’ lists!! Check out Steph and Jana’s blogs today for the link-up. I’m also linking up today with Top Ten Tuesday over at The Broke and The Bookish.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany – So…of course I loved this book. I knew I would love it before anyone even had the idea to write it and I am absolutely completely biased because I could read a new Harry Potter book everyday and be the happiest person alive. BUT my more unbiased opinion would be that this was a fun way to revisit some beloved characters, and although the play format was different, it made for a quick read and I really loved it. It wasn’t nearly enough to quench my Harry Potter thirst and I am dying to re-read the series so I might even start doing that this week. I know there are a lot of critics out there, but this was pure enjoyment for me.

The Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny – my personal favourites were book 4 (A Rule Against Murder), books 5-6 (The Brutal Telling, Bury your Dead), book 9 (How the Light Gets In) and book 12 (A Great Reckoning – published this year). This entire series is worth the time and I will recommend it until the day I die, but if you don’t like it, we can still be friends. It starts a bit slow, but it’s best to read the books in order if you can. I went on a huge Louise Penny binge read in 2016 and I do not regret it one little bit.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton – (see review here) I read 2 Kate Morton books this year and I had planned to read more, but I ran out of time. 😉 Her books take awhile to get into, and they are a bit long, but they are so, so good. I’m sure I will get to her other books in 2017 and I can’t wait. The Secret Keeper was intricately woven and absolutely completely satisfying at the end.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty – I had forgotten that I’d read this book this year because it stayed with me so much that I feel like it’s been in my life forever. I read it in January and actually checked it out from the library again in November to re-read parts of it. I loved this book so much and have recommended it to people because I thought it was just such an interesting perspective on married life, motherhood, sisterhood, and all of it. It was SO interesting and so well done, in my opinion. Definitely my favourite book by Liane Moriarty so far.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi – I’d heard so many amazing reviews of this book, but I wasn’t sure how much I would like it because memoirs are not typically my thing. This book was amazing though. Parts of it were desperately sad, but there was also so much hope. The writing was beautiful. I listened to it on audiobook and I definitely recommend that format.

Better than Before and The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin – I am not a big non-fiction reader but these books were both incredible, and incredibly inspiring. Not for everyone, but I am a huge fan. AND check this out:

You can order a signature card to put inside your book on her website! She ships them for free in Canada and the US!

Persuasion by Jane Austen – might just be my favourite of all of them. This story was phenomenal and I don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner. I go back and forth between P&P and this as my favourite Austen every day.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – this was an absolutely incredible book and it has sold millions (and been highly rated for many years) for a reason.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – if you haven’t heard of this book, you’ve been living under a rock. 😉 The emotions that I experienced while reading this book were INTENSE but it was so absolutely incredible. It’s also the book that turned me off WWII books for the rest of 2016, I think. So there’s that..but it was great. 

One True Loves – by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I gushed about this book for months and was able to buy it last month so I read it all again. I might get over it someday, but not anytime soon. For the record, I also loved After I Do and Maybe in Another Life. If you haven’t picked up a TJR book yet…get one of these asap.

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer – this book came quite highly recommended by Kristen and it did not disappoint me one little bit. I hope to re-read it sometime. It was SO humorous for that genre and highly enjoyable.

Other books I loved that you should check out if you’re looking for recommendations:

Endgame – by Susan Kelly <— this is my aunt and I am still abundantly proud of her for publishing her first novel this year.
Sense and Sensibility & Emma by Jane Austen – if you are trying to branch out from Pride & Prejudice
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt – if you like middle grade at all or have a teenager in your life…this book was SO great.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – if you want to read a more modern classic 😉
The Secrets of Happy Families  by Bruce Feiler – if you like books about parenting.relationships without all the mumbo jumbo crap. This was a good one.
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center – if you like Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books or are looking for a slightly less fluffy contemporary romantic fiction book
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld if you like Pride & Prejudice but you aren’t a purist
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah – if you want to cry your eyes out after 450 pages
The Likeness by Tana French – I hope to read more of this series someday, this one was an interesting murder mystery
All the Light we Cannot See – by Anthony Doerr – if you love beautiful writing and WWII
The Golden Son by Shilipi Somaya Gowda if you enjoyed The Kite Runner
One Plus One by JoJo Moyes if you liked the movie Little Miss Sunshine
The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn if you like historical romance and series about families 🙂
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – I’m not sure what I would link this book to, but probably if you like The Secret Garden or other similar older YA classics.

Just for fun, here were my top ten books in 2015. 🙂

And here are a few BEAUTIFUL book covers from 2016:

We had a beautiful Christmas and I am absolutely 100% enjoying spending every waking moment soaking up my lovely children and relaxing. Looking forward to reading more “best of” lists this week and sharing my 2016 book analytics post soon!!! Happy New Year to all of my favourite reading buddies 🙂 🙂

SUYB Last-ish one of 2016!

I have loved all of the Show us Your Books posts this year and am proud to say that I was able to participate in the link up each month! I’ve said before that being active on Goodreads and immersing myself in this book blogging community has really, really improved my reading life. In some ways, I feel like Show us Your Books is a mini-book club where everyone talks about different books (or sometimes the same ones!) and I love the connections that I have made with other readers. If I don’t say it enough, thank you SO much Steph and Jana for hosting this wonderful link up that brings all of us readers together once a month! I absolutely appreciate being a part of this community.

I feel like I read a lot of light-hearted books this month. I think I was a bit burned out on challenging books, or something. When life gets busy (aka holiday season), my books tend to get easier to read. Haha. Anyway, some of them were really great so here are my thoughts:

BEST BOOKS I READ THIS MONTH

 Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday LivesBetter Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really, really enjoyed this book and with a psychology background, I am very drawn to some of her suggestions on forming habits. Some of the information in the book could be called “common knowledge”, I suppose, but it was presented in such a fascinating way that I could easily feel myself nodding my head and saying that I do that, or would like to do that. I am a huge Gretchen Rubin fan and already purchased this book after reading the library copy. LOVED it. I know non-fiction isn’t for everyone, but I definitely find Rubin’s work super fascinating and if you’re interested in it but can’t commit to reading non-fiction (totally understandable) – her website is also awesome!!!

A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #12)A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one was so different than some of the others in the series and quite serious but I enjoyed the slight change in setting and the new characters. I absolutely loved it and am so sad to be done binging on Louise Penny.

Maybe in Another LifeMaybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I wish I had more TJR to read, but now I’ve read them all!! I can’t wait for her 2017 release.
I really liked both storylines in this book, and although I did identify more strongly with one of them, there were pros and cons to both. The writing was very unique and I didn’t have any problems keeping the stories straight or anything. I loved the themes of friendship and finding yourself. Now I want to see Sliding Doors, which I hear has a similar premise 🙂

The Many Lives of Fitzwilliam DarcyThe Many Lives of Fitzwilliam Darcy by Beau North
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun Pride & Prejudice retelling which really made me think a lot about Darcy’s character and what his thoughts may have been like in P&P. I really enjoyed it, and particularly enjoyed the fact that it was centered around the stay at Rosings (which was a fun part of the original novel :)). Thank you for the copy, Netgalley!

The Blue Castle The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a fun book. Parts of it were really reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables & it had been so long since I’d read Montgomery’s work that it was quite a joy to immerse myself in it again. The characters were sweet, and although parts of it were a bit predictable, I really don’t mind that in this type of book. If Anne of Green Gables were Sense & Sensibility, this would be Persuasion, in my opinion. Reads like a much more adult level book. If you are an Anne of Green Gables fan, you need to add this one to your list FOR SURE.

ENJOYABLE, EASY, READS

The Hating GameThe Hating Game by Sally Thorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so much better than I expected it to be. It was very funny, very cute, and very sweet. The characters were adorable. Their bantering was adorable. It was an easy, fun, book that made my heart flutter a bit. If you like romantic comedy movies, I think you would DEFINITELY enjoy this book.

Lessons in GravityLessons in Gravity by Megan Westfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a fun read. I loved the wilderness setting & the backdrop of filming some dangerous rock climbing. The setting seemed beautiful and it made me want to visit Yosemite someday. I loved the couple and the emotions behind their relationship. This is a great debut novel and I look forward to more books from Megan Westfield in the future!It had also been awhile since I’d read a new adult book & I had forgotten my enjoyment of that genre 🙂 Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book & to Kelly for drawing my attention to it!

Everyone Is BeautifulEveryone Is Beautiful by Katherine Center
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although I didn’t enjoy this as much as Happiness for Beginners, I still quite liked this look at motherhood and found it quite easy to relate to. It had some very funny moments in it too.

The BookstoreThe Bookstore by Deborah Meyler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book definitely kept me interested and I enjoyed it. It was sweet. I read it around the time of Gilmore Girls and parts of it reminded me of that (a little bit – not a LOT!) It is a cute little book.


NOPE NOPE NOPE

The Gift of a LifetimeThe Gift of a Lifetime by Melissa Hill
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Eek…this book was difficult to read. It was pretty confusing, and the characters were a bit too flighty and the twist was really intense IMHO. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I definitely didn’t connect well with this one.

Currently reading:

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand (hoping to finish this cute series before Christmas!), A Study in Scarlet Women for Netgalley, and still making my way through Rebecca on audio (took a little break from it ;)).

Come back on December 27 for the bonus Show Us Your Books link-up to find out my favourite books from the year (hint: I will likely have an impossible time narrowing it down to less than 20…). haha. I’m also planning to share some analytics on the books I’ve read this year because I am a statistics geek 🙂

What have YOU been reading lately? Any recommendations for me in 2017??

Book Challenge by Erin 6.0 Choices

This is my third book challenge of Erin’s and I love them. I’ve mentioned this before, but the things I really love about her challenges include:

– spread out over 4 months so I am not *just* forced into reading challenge books but have enough time to sprinkle in other library holds or books that catch my eye
– interactive facebook group with beautiful photos and thoughts on books
– new: interactive goodreads group!!!
– flexible categories with the ability to change your choice (I’ve done this the other two times…I am an indecisive person!)
– GREAT categories and participants.

Anyway, if you were ever thinking of trying out a book challenge, I would highly recommend this one! I can’t wait to start reading these books on January 1, 2017. My 2017 reading is going to be off to a FANTASTIC start. You can find out more about the challenge HERE.

Here’s my list for Challenge 6.0:

(5 pts) Freebie – read a book that is at least 200 pages long – The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan (368 pages) <– this is on hold for me at the library, so it will be my first read of the challenge unless I can’t wait until January to read it and then I’ll add something else in here 🙂

(10 pts) Read a book that starts with the letter “W”: Woman of God by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (400 pages) – it’s been awhile since I read a James Patterson book and my mom highly recommends this one.

(10 pts) Read a book with 6 words in the title: The Lord’s Persuasion of Lady Lydia by Raven McAllan (253 pages) (a Netgalley book that is on my list!!)

(15 pts) Read a book that has a (mostly) green cover: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (343 pages) I’ve heard good things and it seems very green! 😉

(20 pts) Read a book with a homonym in the title: Jellicoe Road AKA On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (419 pages) (homonym: Road/Rode) This has been on my bookshelf for almost a year and I enjoyed Marchetta’s other books so I am excited to give this one a go.

(20 pts) Read a book by your favourite author: The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling (503 pages) – I am ashamed to admit that I haven’t read this book yet but I have heard SUCH mixed reviews on it and held off on it for a long time. Need to give it a try though and this is the perfect time for it.

(25 pts) Read a book set in the city/town/state/province/county you live in. Sign of the Cross by Anne Emery (set in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) (329 pages)

(30 pts) Read a “Rory Gilmore” book: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1276 pages) this is an ambitious choice and I am thinking of giving it a go on audio it’s 51 hours long!!!! – I’ve always wanted to read it because a university friend LOVED it and I also heard Meredith Schwartz rave about it here and it has really piqued my interest all year.

(30 pts) Read a book from a genre you’ve never (or rarely) read: Red Rising by Pierce Brown (382 pages) (thanks to my 2016 book analytics excel sheet (post coming soon!!), I can accurately say that I rarely read Sci-Fi ;))

(35 pts) Read a book with time-travel: A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux (464 pages) I’ve read a few time-travel books, and part of me was tempted to get further in the Outlander series with this category, but I think a second book by Jude Deveraux will hit the spot.

Links that are too good not to share

Happy Friday!!! I have a few posts on the go right now, but none of them are quite ready to be published yet, so here is some information I’m dying to share with the rest of the world!! We have a fun weekend ahead of us because we’re celebrating my niece’s 1st birthday tomorrow! I can’t wait. I’m finishing up the cake tonight, and with any luck, it’ll look like this:

Source

Wish me luck that the icing works out!!!

Here are some fun links I’ve seen around the web this week.

  • I’m still all over Gilmore Girls and I loved this post about books the author would recommend to characters in Stars Hollow. 
  • I’m hooked on Better than Before, Gretchen’s Rubin’s book about habit building. This discussion about loopholes was especially fascinating (and relatable!) to me.
  • I may or may not know that one of my Christmas gifts is an instant pot (I’m so excited!) and I’m already pretty hooked on finding recipes. This site is a good one.  
  • My kids are still a bit young for these prompts, but I LOVE this.
Have a great weekend everyone!! 

November Recap (What’s New link up!)

November was a pretty low-key month overall, and that was just what we needed in our family. I didn’t even take very many pictures so this post will be a bit boring but I like the idea of looking back on each month and I can’t NOT link up with Kristen and Gretch for What’s New With You?

I only worked the first Friday in November and had the next 3 off for various reasons (Remembrance Day, sick, vacation day). It was nice to have 3 long weekends in a row and I could get used to that!! We went to visit my sister, brother in law and niece on the first long weekend and hung around their house/playground and did some shopping. The girls loved it, and Lucy loved playing a different piano:

It is always so fun to see my niece (almost 1 year old!) and spend some time with family. The girls did great on the drive too (one hour each way).

We spent the next “long weekend” overnight at a friend’s house for their son’s 8th birthday. It was a great night with some adult beverages and board games after the kids went to sleep. BOY was I ever tired the next day though.

I also got the majority of our Christmas shopping done (mostly online) because we have an Amazon Prime trial right now…so awesome. It is such a relief to be in a good position with regards to shopping and I also know it was smart to spread it out over a few paycheques.

On the last weekend in November, Brian and I went to Fantastic Beasts (I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to see it but I’m SO glad we did because I loved it!) I spent the next night binge-watching Gilmore Girls with one of my best friends and that was fun too. Look at our awesome Luke’s Diner mugs!! I am totally up for talking about the new episodes if anyone wants to e-mail me!!!!

This month, Molly got her first report card from school and she is doing incredibly well, which we knew but it was such a relief to talk to her teacher and hear positive feedback about our child and parenting. I am so happy with our decision to put her into French Immersion this year and she absolutely loves school which makes our lives as parents much easier.

November went by quickly, but it was a good month. It was nice to have some downtime on the weekends and we definitely made some progress on house-cleaning, house-sorting, and preparations for December. Tomorrow we’re getting our Christmas tree and decorating this weekend (the girls are BEYOND excited!) We have all been a touch under the weather off and on this month, so the downtime was really something we needed.

My reading was allllll over the place this month, and we also started watching Season 5 of Suits so that is taking up some evening time 🙂 can’t complain though!!

On to December – one of the most festive and fun months of the year! Our girls are so excited for Christmas this year and I can’t wait to celebrate with them.

I have a few fun posts planned for December including a day in the life, some book round up favourites posts, goals for 2017, reflections about 2016 etc. etc.!! Let’s hope they all come to fruition! haha.

What’s new with you lately?? Anyone want to chat about Gilmore Girls?!