Read My Books Challenge: How’d it go??

The very idea of Erin and Dani’s Read My Books challenge for the month of June really appealed to me. I have about 5 books that I keep “meaning” to get to that I just haven’t prioritized because I own them and they aren’t due back anytime soon. I made it a goal to get through as many of my own books (including ones from Netgalley) as I could in the month of June.

Here’s how it went for me:

I started and finished The Happiness Project, which I mentioned on Tuesday that I LOVED. This took awhile to get through, but it was so worth it and probably one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. This one was a paperback that I’d bought a few months ago and it counted towards one of my summer reading challenges.

I read three Netgalley books: The Secrets of Castle du Reve, The Girls in the Garden, and Sleepless in Manhattan. The latter of these two were for the reading challenge as well.

I finished listening to Emma and Sense and Sensibility, both of which I had downloaded almost a year ago and hadn’t gotten to yet.

I started three books that I haven’t yet finished: Endgame, Every Move, and The Grand Sophy.

I also finished an audiobook from the library, A Share in Death (I had to! I started it at the end of May and it was a murder mystery!!) and read one Bridgertons book from the library. I read a bunch of kids books from the library but those don’t count for this challenge. 😉

I also read a couple of Harry Potter books, which I own but they were re-reads :).

Overall, I had hoped to get to a few more of my own books this month, but I was happy with my progress and happy to have gotten ahead in some of my Netgalley books and books on my shelf. I think I would have been more likely to attempt another book off my own shelf if I hadn’t signed up for the reading challenge in the same month, because I felt torn between reading for the challenge and reading my own books. STILL a great activity though and I think I will try to do this once a year or so.

Did you try to prioritize reading your own books last month? How’d it go?! I must admit, I am relieved to have a huge pile of library books to get through again but it was a fun month of reading some cherished books and it’s also nice to see that feedback percentage go up on Netgalley!

What I’ve been Reading Lately (Show us your books – July link up!)

After a wonderful reading month last link up, this one fell a bit short although I did enjoy MOST of what I read. I think I just spent less time reading and I started a bunch of books that took me a long time to finish. I often have 2 on the go at once but I think at one point this month I had about 5 on the go at one time, and that was a bit stressful to me (so then I stopped it, finished one before moving onto another…reading should NOT be stressful, haha). I just felt a bit like my reading attention span was all over the place. But, it was summer, and vacation for me at this stage of life means kid priorities even though there were relaxing moments too.

Here’s what I read since last link up with Steph and Jana. Check out their blogs today & find yourself some great recommendations from all of the bloggers who link up!! This is by far one of my favourite link ups out there 🙂

Emma by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had read this before but re-read it for my personal “read all of Jane Austen’s books in 2016” challenge. I read it half on audiobook via Librivox and half print. This is such a fun Austen novel although I don’t find (most of it) as romantic as her others since it really just happens near the end. It’s such a fun story with Emma though, who has a great personality, especially in that era. I’d highly recommend this if you haven’t read it yet and the movie with Gwenyth Paltrow is also cute.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love, love, love this story. Elinor Dashwood is one of my favourite Austen characters. The audio version with Elizabeth Klett via Librivox was superb. I need to re-watch the movie now. I read this one for the Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge & I had it on my shelf for Erin’s read your books challenge.

Things I Would Say: Essays, etcetera by Alyssa Ammirato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved this collection of beautiful words. It felt very personal and I appreciated that a lot. I bookmarked a few favourites & highlighted many lines! I think that anyone who has ever felt passion, loss, or change would enjoy this read.

Lady Susan by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this in one sitting before seeing Love & Friendship. This is a hilarious novella by Austen and so different from her novels. I found the epistolary style quite different but really enjoyed the style. It wasn’t as polished as her novels, unsurprisingly, but it was quite funny and Lady Susan is quite the character. The movie was also really enjoyable and Kate Beckingsale was fantastic, in my opinion!

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It took me awhile to read this book because I was enjoying absorbing all of Rubin’s fantastic stories and pieces of advice. This book was better than I even expected it to be, and I went into it with high expectations after following along with Gretchen Rubin for the past year. I am so looking forward to beginning my own Happiness Project and I have already started to implement some of her own advice into my everyday life with great success. I am also dying to read Better than Before and find out which tendency I am 🙂
This book is inspiring and so quoteable if you are looking to make any positive life changes but aren’t sure where to start or where you could improve. I love that it includes so many little things you can do to make life better without any assumption of not being happy as is. I read this one for the Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a cute series and I can guarantee that I will make it through all of the Bridgerton stories by the end of the year. They are easy, lighthearted reads that just bring me a lot of happiness. I love reading books from this era and I love the happy endings. 4/5 purely for the enjoyment factor. I read this in a day and smiled throughout, but especially loved the ending.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5 stars. This particular story wasn’t as good as the first, in my opinion, but it was still cute and the characters were interesting. I can’t wait to see who the other Bridgertons all end up with.

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a particularly strong book so far in this series. I enjoyed the setting quite a bit and really had no inkling as to the killer, as in other books. It was nice to have Reine-Marie in the book a bit more and to learn more about Gamache’s family history as well as Peter and Clara’s family. The characters in this one were mainly new and quite intriguing. I read this one for Erin’s Challenge.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5 I really enjoyed many aspects of this book but sometimes reading a YA novel amidst a bunch of literary fiction/adult classics makes it fall a bit short for me. HOWEVER, I loved the way Marchetta approached depression in this one, particularly how it affects loved ones, and I enjoyed the family dynamics. The Italian part of it was fun. The friends were fun. The school setting was more unique than most typical high schools, and that was fun to read about. The characters were quite funny. There were some sad moments, and hopeful moments. I am looking forward to reading the sequel, The Piper’s Son, for my Erin’s book challenge and I am certainly glad I read this one first.

Also read this month: 7 Magic Treehouse books with Molly, And Harry Potter 1-3 on audiobook! ❤

Currently reading: Northanger Abbey for Erin’s challenge (audiobook), The Goose Girl for the Semi-Charmed Challenge, The Grand Sophy (put it down and need to get back to it!) and Endgame, my aunt’s book.

Thanks for hosting such a great link up, Steph and Jana! I look forward to reading about everyone else’s summer reading.

Is anyone else eagerly anticipating two books at the end of this month? I am, of course, referring to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Truly, Madly, Guilty. 🙂 I can’t WAIT to get my hands on both of those books. 🙂

Show us Your Books – June 2016

Today I’m linking up with Steph and Jana for Show us Your Books!! I’m looking forward to reading what others have been reading lately over here at the link up.

My reading life is all over the place this year. This past month included a few more “lighter reads” than the past 4 months in that I read a lot less books about WWII or historical fiction and some more contemporary adult fiction. I think I’ve also decided that 2016 is my year to read all of Louise Penny’s books and all of Kate Morton’s books, so you will probably see some redundancy in my Show Us Your Books posts for the rest of the year (#sorrynotsorry #beyou) as well as some more variety when this summer reading challenge recaps come up in July and August. I read a lot of really enjoyable books this month. Some of them I listed as 3/5 and for me that rating means that I still really enjoyed the time I spent on them and would recommend them but I might not re-read them or purchase them myself.

Dead Cold by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am officially incredibly hooked on Louise Penny’s writing and her wonderful characters. Her writing is beautiful, captivating, and I love the Canadian-ness of it all. I had some hunches about the way this book would pan out, but there were still some twists I didn’t see coming. The hints at what is to come in the series have intrigued me a lot and I will be picking up the third book as soon as I can. I highly, highly recommend this series. It’s not very often that I read books in this genre that are so incredibly well written. Her words are lyrical, and I really enjoy the snippets of poetry and art that are scattered throughout the books (especially this one).

The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fantastic Louise Penny book (Book 3 in the series). In this book, the main murder mystery didn’t seem quite as shocking to me but the story line about the Arnot case and Gamache’s career was captivating, and I look forward to more of that in the future (undoubtedly). I really think that this book shed some light on a few important characters from previous books too, and I enjoyed learning more about Gamache’s family.

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I soaked this book right up and finished it basically in one night. I’d highly recommend it if you like regency era novels such as Edenbrooke, although it is a bit different from that one too (and slightly different time frame). The characters were witty and fun. One thing I always find funny about books from this (general) time period is how they keep themselves entertained – not that they don’t do anything, but in this book, a typical “indoor” activity is making a house from playing cards. There is some dancing etc. too 🙂 The love story was cute albeit predictable – but that’s what I usually expect out of a book like this, so I was happy with it. I will definitely be seeking out other titles from this author because I didn’t realize this one was a prequel to her much more famous Bridgertons series.

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I COULD NOT put this book down. The character development was fantastic. I didn’t necessarily relate to any of the characters 100% but I did really enjoy reading about their lives. I found myself thinking of some other books about the power of family, and this one (to me) resolved really well at the end. It’s not a completely happy ending (arguably), but it was satisfying. I’m not exactly sure what it was about this book that was so captivating to me, but I would highly recommend it and I think it makes for a perfect summer read (but it’s not too fluffy in my mind either). I don’t know if I’d consider it to be a re-read, but it was very entertaining and really enjoyable and dare I say unique?! I can see absolutely see why this book has received so much hype this summer.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my second Kate Morton book, and I have no doubt that I will read them all before the end of the year. Although I’ve heard that her books follow a bit of a formula, and I can definitely agree after reading 2 of her books, I still find the plots to be abundantly interesting. I am recently really enjoying books that go back and forth between time periods (if it’s done well). This book kept me guessing until the end, and I did not see the twist coming AT ALL. I loved this book. If you haven’t read it yet, you absolutely should.

The Crown by Kiera Cass
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I had been awaiting this book since I realized near the end of The Heir that it wasn’t the end of the series (how I missed that before, I’m not too sure). This was a satisfying conclusion to the series and I really enjoyed Eadlyn’s character. It was a very quick read for me, and I don’t think I felt quite as deeply for these characters as I did for the characters in the original 3 books, but I still embraced the ending and the resolution of the series. These books still remind me so much of what The Bachelor (Bachelorette) would be like in a royal setting, but they are pretty entertaining nonetheless and a lot more innocent. These books aren’t for everyone, and they aren’t fantastic literature, but they pass the time quite nicely.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although I did enjoy this book, and I am a fan of other Nora Roberts books, I probably won’t seek out the rest of the (very long!) series immediately. However, I will seek out the series when I am in the mood for this type of book. The mystery was interesting, and I liked the futuristic but very believable and not too “out there” setting. I really liked Eve Dallas & Roarke. It was a pretty good (and pretty quick) read that I’d recommend.

Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a pleasant read which had some really enjoyable characters and a cute love story. Sometimes it’s nice to just escape in a book like this. It reminded me a bit of Nora Robert’s bride quartet, which I enjoyed a few years ago. Although the story as a bit predictable, it still passed the time nicely and sometimes it’s nice to just read a book with a happy ending. I can definitely see where this series is going too, and it will be fun to follow along with it. This one really falls in the contemporary romance category so if that isn’t something you enjoy, then this book is not for you…but if you like a cute story, I liked this one. I read this one for the #SCSBC16.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQN for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More like 3.5. I enjoyed this book but the pace didn’t pick up enough for me right away. It reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies in the sense that you get the primary event right at the beginning and then go back to piece together what happened. As a mother of two (much younger) girls, this book made me feel a bit queasy with its possibilities although I feel like the communal garden part is a bit unrealistic in today’s society. The clique and mean girls is definitely a part of life now though, unfortunately. The characters in this book were well developed and I must admit that I really had no idea how it was going to end until it got there.
Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this audiobook, and the narrator was quite good. I will likely make my way through the rest of this series bit by bit, because Kincaid is an interesting character and I like the British setting. I have to admit that I “figured out” the mystery before the end but I was definitely guessing for quite awhile. I am interested to read about Kincaid in his more usual jurisdiction.
This cast of characters was quite diverse and entertaining and I can see these books being a nice diversion. This was my first time listening to this genre of book on audio (normally I’d plow through it in a paperback in a day or two), and it was great.

The Secrets of Castle Du Rêve by Hannah Emery
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had some suspenseful and interesting parts, and it was a pretty quick read. I was intrigued to find out how all of the characters were linked. I definitely felt like something MUCH worse was going to happen to one of the characters because I kept thinking of Tom from The Girl on the Train for some reason, but I was pleasantly surprised that that storyline wasn’t what I expected. This wasn’t my favourite book of the year, but it was an okay read. The changing perspectives felt a bit confusing at times.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

And a DNF from this month, which is rare for me…

Exposure to a Billionaire by Ann Menke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book had an interesting premise and I was so fortunate to the author for sending out an advanced copy but it really fell short with me. I think people who have similar lifestyles might find it more interesting. For me, try as I may, I just couldn’t get into the book or the writing style but I’m sure there are others who would enjoy the story more. I have more thoughts about this book but this is the gist of it for this review. Thank you to Ann Menke for sending me this ebook to try out.

I am currently reading (and REALLY enjoying) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I am also re-reading Harry Potter in anticipation of the upcoming release in July. I am listening on audiobook (Stephen Fry version) for this first time and LOVING it. It feels kind of like watching the movies in more detail.

I’m still trying to read my own books in June but I’m also working on some categories from the SCSBC 🙂

Non-fiction books + Me

It’s no secret that I love to read. Actually, pretty much all I post on here these days is my thoughts on books and some monthly updates (but I’m hoping to change that soon!). One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how I feel about non-fiction books.

In theory, I love non-fiction. I truly love research, and spent a lot of time doing research during school and even in work. I feel that knowledge is power. I like to be well-informed about the world around me. I truly enjoy seeking out more information about things that are important to me, such as parenting, marriage, friendship, life improvement, and health. So my problem with non-fiction is that I simply cannot sustain my attention long enough to finish most non-fiction books.

People read for a lot of different reasons, but I think that a lot of people read to relax, unwind, or “escape”. Of course, many people (myself included) read to learn more about certain time periods, or to “visit” countries or scenarios that we wouldn’t experience in real life. Reading fiction can really open your mind to a lot of possibilities and make you think about things in a new light. For me, non-fiction just doesn’t captivate me the same way, and it doesn’t really provide the same “escape” feeling that I so crave from fiction.

I want to enjoy more non-fiction because I believe that there is a lot of wonderful knowledge being published that I need to get my hands on, but I just only have so many hours in a day to read & I use that time to read favourite fiction novels. When I sign out a non-fiction book or download it from Netgalley, I will usually read excerpts of it, and enjoy what I read A LOT, but I just can’t bring myself to sit down and read the book from front to back. Is this how most people read non-fiction? Just the segments that are important? I’m not sure.

For instance, I recently signed out The Fringe Hours from the library. I read bits and pieces of all the chapters, and I enjoyed the concepts a lot. I did not read every page, and I did not read all of the anecdotes. I did not browse all of the workbook activities, but I still feel like I got something out of the book despite not “finishing” it. I don’t regret not finishing it, and I probably won’t sign it out again, because it served its purpose for me. I don’t feel like I can really review the book on my blog or recommend it completely because I didn’t finish it, although I admit that I’m not overly concerned about that aspect.

However, I’m currently reading The Happiness Project and I am finding that this is one of the first non-fiction books in AGES that I’ve been able to absorb each and every page of information. It is told like a story of a project, and I find it extremely interesting. I felt similarly about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up last year. It was no problem for me to read through it like my usual fiction choices. Maybe I just need to accept that certain non-fiction books that are extremely specific are books that I just need to skim.

With the abundance of information available in article/blog post/podcast form on the internet, I just don’t see lengthy non-fiction books as a priority for my time. If I’m really interested in a topic, I can find an abundance of quick information on it with a simple Google search. I am also interested in pursuing more non-fiction in audiobook format because I think it might seem a bit more like a podcast to me and keep my interest.

Anyone agree with any of these thoughts?!?! A bit long-winded for a humpday but I am really curious about any tips others might have for enjoying non-fiction reads. Do you need to read the whole book to get something out of it? What do you think?

A few that I am really interested in reading:

Brene Brown’s books.
John Gottman’s books about marriage
A few parenting books here, here and here.
Malcolm Gladwell’s books
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi (planning this on audio from the library asap)

Another summer book challenge post :)

Here is my preliminary list for Erin’s Book Challenge 5.0. I had a hard time with some of these categories not because they aren’t great (they totally are!) but because I couldn’t narrow down my choices!! I easily had 3 possibilities for most of the categories and I loved others’ choices too so I might do the bonus round if I finish the first list in time 🙂 This challenge starts July 1 2016 and ends Oct 31 2016. The facebook group for more info can be found HERE. This is a super low-pressure challenge with a lot of support and info in the group and I *loved* the last challenge by Erin so I hope to participate in these forever (haha).

5 pts: Read a book that is at least 200 pages: TBD but I’ll fit one in 🙂 Maybe Harry Potter 🙂

10 pts: Read a book that starts with the letter “R” : A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny I am totally obsessed with this series so I’m happy Book 4 fits in here. I somehow only had a few R books on my TBR list on Goodreads.

10 pts: Read a book with five words in the title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith I might do this one on audio. It has high reviews across the board and I feel like I should really read it.

15 pts: Read a book with a mostly blue cover: The Lake House by Kate Morton This one is coming to me via the library pretty soon so hopefully not before July…haha.

20 pts: Read a book with twins as characters: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book.

20 pts: Read a book that has been (or will be) made into a movie: Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda After REALLY enjoying The Golden Son by Gowda earlier this year, I can’t wait to read this one. Unfortunately, it looks like the movie has been “in development” for a few years, but I’ll have to dig a bit more on that one.

25 pts: Read a book set in a country that you’ve always wanted to visit: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winnifred Watson (the UK) I could have picked a number of books for this category since there are a LOT of countries I want to visit and great books for those countries but this one seems interesting.

30 pts: Read a historical fiction book. These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner This one has really good reviews and seems like a departure from my usual historical fiction choices.

30 pts: Read a music-related book. The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta I haven’t read Saving Francesca yet so I’m not sure if I will get too much out of this book (it seems kind of like a sequel?!) but it sounds like a lot of people have really enjoyed it.

35 pts: Read a book originally published over 100 years ago: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Reading my way through Austen books this year (I will probably do this on audio too)

Summer Reading Challenges – SCSBC16 picks

I’ve written a few times about reading challenges and how I feel about them. Since becoming active on Goodreads, my TBR list is out of control, and I feel like I really need to “organize” my reading life. By this, I mean, I keep a shelf called “check out soon” and place a book or two on hold if I am nearing the end of my short-list. Book challenges also really help me to read a variety of books over the span of a month or two. I have made a conscious decision moving forward to only choose books for book challenge categories if they are already on my TBR list (OR if they sound super fantastic anyway). I ended up reading some not-great books once in a book challenge because I had to fit a certain category.

This summer, I’m hoping to do Erin’s Book Challenge 5.0 which will be announced on Jun 1 and begin July 1. I am also still planning to participate in Erin and Dani’s read your books challenge for the month of June. Finally, I’m working towards picking out books for Megan’s Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge 2016. #SCSBC16

Here are the categories for SCSBC16:

General rules:
The challenge will run from June 1, 2016, to August 31, 2016. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on June 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on August 31 will count.
Each book must be at least 150 pages long. Audiobooks and large-print books are fine, as long as the regular print version meets the length requirement.
A book can only be used for one category, and each category can only be completed once.
The highest possible total is 200 points, and the first five people who finish the challenge will be invited to contribute a category for the winter 2016 challenge.

And now for the exciting part: the challenge categories!
5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 150 pages long. TBD but will likely be one from my own shelf: Every Move by Ellie Marney or The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer which I just got in the mail.

10 points: Read a collection of short stories or essays. They may all be written by the same author, or the book may be an anthology from different writers; your choice! Summer Days & Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins (various authors)

10 points: Read an adult fiction book written by an author who normally writes books for children. Examples: J. K. Rowling, Judy Blume, Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan, etc. – Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Kelly E. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (this has been on my list for a long time). If I end up not liking this, I’ll read The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.

15 points: Read a book set in Appalachia. – Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Ericka B. (Try this list or this one for inspiration. And here’s a map if you have a book in mind and want to know if it fits the setting.) Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani (this might change once I dig around a bit more – I am also wondering if the Appalachian area in Canada counts but I don’t think so) another choice I had in mind for this is The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen but I’m not sure about the magical realism part. Hmm. We’ll see how it goes 😉

15 points: Don’t judge a book by its cover! Read a book with a cover you personally find unappealing. TBD when I look at the books on my shelves but it might end up being Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – the copy I have isn’t the prettiest and I have put off reading it for at least 15 years even though it’s right on my bookshelf.

20 points: Read a book that you have previously only seen the film (movie) of. – Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Bevchen. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (I own it and reading all of Austen’s books is a goal of mine for this year so this fits well here – I’d love to use Emma but I’m already halfway through the book ;)).

25 points: Read a book with a punny title. The title can be a play on another book title, movie title or a common expression. Examples of such titles include Southern Discomfort, We’ll Always Have Parrots or Bonefire of the Vanities. – Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Jamie G. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (I’m going to copy your choice here Kristen, hope that’s OK! I struggled with this category too and might change my mind)

30 points: Read a microhistory. (Try this list or this one for ideas.) As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes (I am not sure if this counts. I think it might be a “micro-memoir” but I hope it fits here.) My next pick if this one doesn’t count is The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.

30 points: Read one book with a good word in the title, and one with a bad word. Note: This category is reeeeeeeally open-ended! Maybe you like turtles, so The Pearl that Broke Its Shell is a title with a “good” word. Similarly, the “bad” word could be a swear word or a literally negative word like “not” or “none,” or it could just be something you don’t like. Have fun with it!(Remember, you must read both books to get 30 points; this category is not worth 15 points per book.) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (good word = happiness :)) and Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan (bad word = sleepless lol) (two books I own – second via Netgalley)

40 points: Read two books that contain the same word in the title, but once in the singular and once in the plural. For example: Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter and The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer, or Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. (Remember, you must read both books to get 40 points; this category is not worth 20 points per book.) The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (first via Netgalley)

Of these books, I will for sure be reading The Girls in the Garden and Sleepless in Manhattan ASAP to post reviews for Netgalley. My other priorities will be sticking to books I already own in June. After that, I’ll just have to see how I can slide these in with other interesting books for Erin’s next challenge in July!!

To see what other people are reading for this challenge, go here. To see my list on Goodreads, go here.

Recent Reads (Show us your Books link up!)

I had a weird reading month this month. I read a few books that I absolutely LOVED and would recommend. I also read a few so-so books. Mostly, I got super overwhelmed by a million library holds coming in at once and now I have 17 books to read in the next 2-3 weeks. I think I’ll have to pick my favourites and send the others back. That’s not counting some Netgalley books I have & a few other books that I own and want to read soon. Too many books, not enough time. 🙂 I did love what Steph said a few weeks ago about hoping she never sees the end of her TBR list. This is true for me too. Do I need to read everything on the list? No, of course not. I love having books to refer to when I’m in the mood for something in particular though. Linking up with Steph & Jana today and looking forward to reading about others’ recent reads!!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (5 stars) This was my last book in my Book Challenge by Erin 4.0 list and knowing that it would make me feel emotional kind of made me put it off for a bit. It was a hard book to read in the sense that many WWII novels are – and it was sad, but it was beautiful too. I enjoyed not knowing who the narrator was for the entire book although I did have a guess ;). I really felt drawn to this book as a woman and as a mother. It made me so grateful to have grown up & to currently live in our free country. I’d highly recommend this book if you think your heart can take it. I need to read a few more of Kristin Hannah’s books sometimes – I am leaning towards Firefly Lane as my next one sometime.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (4 stars) Listened to this one on audio via the library. I am pledging to read more Newberry Honor books this year, and this was one of them. It was pretty quick, and it was a cute story. It wasn’t as profound as the adult WWII books I’d read lately, but I appreciated that very much. A very solid middle-grade/YA book and a perspective I hadn’t read much about (occupied Denmark).

Living in the Moment & Gratitude by Dani DiPirro (3-4 stars) I got both of these books from Netgalley. I love books like this. “Gift books” that make you feel good when you’re browsing through the pages and that have quotable quotes and look great on a coffee table or bookshelf or nightstand. These books both had some cute ideas for ways to better express gratitude in your life or ways to stay present. I would not hesitate to buy one for a friend someday.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (4 stars) This seems to be many peoples’ least favourite of Morton’s books, but since it was my first by her, I wasn’t able to make that comparison. I really enjoyed it. It took me a long time to read, and I think I read a book or two while reading it, but the story was really good in my mind. I loved the Mud man component, and I really enjoyed how much Edie enjoyed books. I had sorted out the ending a bit, but not entirely, so there was an element of surprise in it for me. If it’s not her best, then I am looking forward to reading her other books (currently reading The Secret Keeper). Her books seem to be long but they’re worth it. They kind of remind me a bit of Kristin Hannah’s.

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (3 stars) I received this book from Netgalley. I had been approved for this a long time ago, and read about half of it in one sitting and then forgot about it completely until it was published and a lot of people were suddenly chatting about it. For me, this book passed the time but it wasn’t anything too special. I just couldn’t relate enough to the main character. It wasn’t a super bad book, but I just felt like not enough really happened to keep my attention. If it had been longer, I might not have even finished it.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (4.5 stars) I recieved a copy of this book from Netgalley. I started reading this the second I was approved for it on Netgalley, and I barely did anything else until it was done. As in, I read 500+ pages in about 24 hours. Haha. I actually think I need to go back and re-read it again before my copy expires. It was JUST the book I needed at the time. I’d been in a WWII/tough plotline-kind-of-book slump in the sense that the books I’d been reading (see above) were REALLY good, but really tough. This one was adorable and it made me so happy. If you are a puritan Jane Austen fan, this book might not be your favourite. The modern updates might be a bit too much for you. And honestly, some of them were a little too much for me (ahem *Ham*), but there were so many parts of it that were really just cute. I enjoyed this book A LOT.

One Plus One by JoJo Moyes (4 stars) After falling in love with Moyes’ writing in Me Before You, and then also enjoying After You, I wasn’t sure that her other books would be as good, but this one was very solid. I adored the characters and I am a big “root for the underdog” kind of person, so I just wanted something good to happen to these people. It was well written, funny, heartwarming, and unique. I was going to follow this one up with The Girl You Left Behind, but I had a feeling it was a bit more emotional and I needed a break from war stories so I’m going to get it again at the library in a bit.

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall (3.5 stars) I remember seeing Kristen post about this book *ages* ago and thinking, wow, what a pretty cover! I saved it for when I needed a fun and easy YA read 😉 It was a really cute story and I didn’t mind the different perspectives. I definitely felt like it was a bit predictable, and a bit too YA for me (it’s me, not it, haha) and I wouldn’t recommend it as earth-shattering literature, but it was a quick and cute read. I read the interview with the author at the end and I couldn’t believe she wrote the whole book in 6 days!!! whoa.

Ivy in Bloom (various authors) (4 stars) via Netgalley – I enjoyed this poetry anthology, especially at this time of the year. I am not big into poetry, but this one passed the time nicely and I am sure I will reference it again sometime. It’s meant for children, but that’s ok 🙂

Other reads this month:

Miss Match by Catherine Avril Morris (via Bookbub) – fluffy but I wanted to find out how it ended – 2/5
Online Dating, the Good, the Bad, the Hopeless by Francis James – via Netgalley – I thought I would enjoy some of these anecdotes since Brian and I met online, but it was pretty much not what I expected.
Calling Me by Louise Bay – via Netgalley (DNF) – not what I expected it to be.
Three Year Olds are A Holes – via Netgalley (3 stars) pretty funny.

And favourite kid reads:

Who Broke the Teapot? by Bill Slavin Via Netgalley – This is a hilarious book about blame, and Molly really liked it. I can easily see this situation happening in any house with kids, or childish adults 😉

Let’s Play by Hervé Tullet – what can I say, he is one of our favourites and his newest book is a fun one!

The Littles by John Peterson – started this chapter book with Molly which used to be my sister’s favourite series. It is so cute and I love that we can read chapter books a bit now!!

Show Us Your Books/Recent Reads aka a random reading month

It’s time for one of the best days of the month, the Show Us Your Books link up with Steph and Jana! My reading life was ALL over the place this month, but looking over this list, I’ve realized that I mostly read books geared towards children and teenagers. Oh well! I did read a couple of adult books too, and I only have one book left to read for Erin’s book challenge 4.0 🙂

Also linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy for Quick Lit 🙂

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (4 stars) I read this book as part of Erin’s Book Challenge and it reminded me of a friend from my university days who was NOT a big reader, and this was one of the only fiction books he’d ever read and he RAVED and RAVED about how good it was. I filed that away and vowed to read it someday, and finally got to it. I’ll probably send him a facebook message to chat about it even though that was 8 years ago. haha. Anyway, this book was faster paced than I thought it would be at first, and it was good once I got into it. I kept forgetting that Ender was so young. It reminded me of some more recent books (The Maze Runner, Artemis Fowl, even Hunger Games a bit) which is funny because it was written in 1985. It’s not a book that would be for everyone, but if you like YA Fantasy, you’d probably really like it. The ending was especially kind of cool to me. Now I’ll have to make Brian watch the movie 😉

Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding (3 stars) I wanted to love this book as much of the rest of the world seems to, but I just didn’t. I’m not sure if it was the format, which I found a bit hard to follow (I have no idea why) or the fact that Bridget couldn’t seem to get it together, or the parents’ relationship, but it just wasn’t my favourite. I’ve never seen the movie (gasp!), but I think I’ll check it out sometime soon because #duhcolinfirth . I can obviously see the ties to Pride & Prejudice, but this just wasn’t the variation for me…or maybe it was just the wrong time. It’s still worth a read if you love British chick lit, though.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (4 stars) I came across this book on my library’s website when I was searching for available audiobooks to instantly download for my commute home. This was a sweet book, and I finished it quite quickly. I loved Stargirl’s character and how profoundly she changed some of the lives around her. Although it is targeted towards teenagers, I enjoyed this a lot as an adult too. The narrator was also John Ritter, who died suddenly in 2003 (I remember it vividly because I had watched a few episodes of 8 Simple Rules) so it was kind of cool to hear his voice on this book.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater (3.5 stars) I found this book the same way as Stargirl, and it passed the time OK while I was running. Unlike Stargirl, I would have enjoyed this book much more at about age 8 than I did as an adult (haha)…however, it was still a unique and cute story and I’ve heard the movie is cute too.

As Good As New by Jennifer Dawson (3 stars) (I was provided with an advance e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review): There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, and the characters were cute. It was a fluffy and predictable read, but I enjoyed the escape that it provided me with for the time I read it. If you like contemporary romance, I’d recommend this because it’s part of a series (although it stood alone just fine too).

The Heart of the Fight by Judith Wright and Bob Wright (3.5 stars) (I was provided with an advance e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review):

This book wasn’t completely what I expected, but there were still some interesting concepts. I wouldn’t say we fight A LOT but I still think there is always room for improvement in any relationship, so I like to read books like this that help to coach you to communicate better with your partner. Some of the concepts here weren’t new to me, but others were insightful.

The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (4.5 stars) This book was extremely captivating, and I enjoyed it MUCH more than I expected to. I read it for an online book club and I would have never sought it out otherwise (or at least maybe not for awhile). I would highly, highly recommend this book. The adversity faced by some of the characters and the cultural descriptions (although fictional) were really interesting and I couldn’t put this book down. PS – how beautiful is the cover?!?!

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt (5 stars) – One of my favourite book bloggers, Janssen from Everyday Reading, recommends this book HIGHLY and it had been on my radar for awhile. It was a great read. The characters were really entertaining, and it was fun thinking about what it would’ve been like to be in middle school during the Vietnam war. I don’t always love reading books for this age (although my current reading would say otherwise), but this one is worth your time (all of about a day and a bit, really!)

Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings by Dr. Laura Markham A re-read since I missed a few concepts last year when I read it. I also love Dr. Laura Markham’s website as a wonderful resource for more calm parenting with great results.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (5 stars) I don’t know why I hadn’t read this book yet, but I selected it for Erin’s challenge and then almost abandoned it AGAIN when I thought I could slot The Golden Son into that category. However, I am so SO glad I read this book. It was amazing. I had a feeling about the ending throughout the book, but I still didn’t see it coming quite the way it did. What an amazing novel about how the past can affect your present and the ties that bond us all. This certainly will not be my last read of his.

Still Life by Louise Penny (4 stars) after hearing this recommended on Anne Bogel’s podcast numerous times, I added it to my Goodreads TBR list but sort of forgot about it. When I came across it at the library, I scooped it up right away. First and foremost, I love that this book is by a Canadian author and it takes place in Canada! (Quebec). I loved the French feel of it although all of the characters were primarily English. Inspector Gamache is a fantastic character and I am already dying to read the rest of the series (fortunately there are a lot of them to keep me busy!). I’d classify this as a “cozy mystery” type book…not too gruesome, but still very intriguing and the writing is EXCELLENT. PS – another beautiful cover.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I started this book LAST June and just didn’t ever get interested in it enough to finish it, which always surprised me because it is rated so highly and everyone who has read it seems to love it. I got it on audiobook randomly from the library this month and that really seemed to get me into it even more to the point that I wanted to listen to it constantly. I’m not sure why some books just work better for me on audio, but this one was one of them. I absolutely loved this book and the way it was written. I’d say that it starts a bit slow (maybe why it took me awhile to get into it), but it is so, so, so worth the time to read. Such an interesting perspective on an important period of our collective history.

If you were to choose just a couple of reads from my picks this month, I’d recommend The Golden Son 100% and of course The Kite Runner (many people have probably already read it, but it is fantastic) and The Book Thief (although probably every has already read it, haha). If you’re looking for a quick read, I’d recommend The Wednesday Wars!!

And a few recent favourite kid book loves:

Dinosaurs Go to Sleep by Ellem Wallace written by Brian’s best friend’s sister!! A cute book with adorable pictures of dinosaurs.

Mix it Up by Hervé Tullet we are obsessed with Tullet’s books. As a parent, I totally love to read them because they are really interactive and interesting. Press Here is probably best known, and likely our favourite of all of his. Mix it Up is a good one, and another one we really enjoyed this month was Help! We Need a Title! <–Lucy (aged 2) loves this one SO much.

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson – Her books are all just so good. I love reading books that rhyme 🙂

Little Pea by Amy Rosenthal – This book has a really cute concept about eating preferences 🙂

What have you been reading lately? Up next for me is The Nightingale to finish off Erin’s book challenge, and the last book in Ellie Marney’s series. Plus a potential re-read of all the HP books on the horizon before July 😉

Recent Reads

Happy Tuesday! It’s Show us Your Books Day with Steph and Jana, and I can’t wait to add some books to my TBR list 🙂

February in general was a VERY slow reading month for me, quantity-wise. 🙂 Some reasons for this:

Less time commuting to work (3 day week instead of 5 day so less bus time/less reading time)
Reading long books AKA Quality over Quantity which was a goal for 2016 for me
Busy busy busy times at home with the kiddos/lack of sleep/bedtime at 8 pm many nights hahaha!

That being said, I read some VERY amazing books this month and I can’t wait to chat about them today!! I also have a separate section at the bottom for the first time in my Show Us Your Books post about kids books (I know this section isn’t for everyone, but skip it if you want!!!)

Here are the books I’ve gotten through since my last update:

WINTER GARDEN by Kristin Hannah (5/5 stars)

This was my first book by Kristin Hannah and it certainly will not be my last. Although it took me awhile to get into this book, I became TOTALLY absorbed and read the majority of it in one day/night. Once I got partway through it, I couldn’t put it down and the story was really captivating. I still have The Nightingale by her on my list for Erin’s Book Challenge to read sometime soon.

PERSUASION by Jane Austen (5/5 Stars)

This one was for Erin’s Book Challenge too and I am completely and utterly in love. It’s my 3rd Austen novel of 6 and so far I think it is almost my favourite. Although I absolutely adore Pride and Prejudice, there was something intrinsic about Persuasion that really worked for me. It was a bit shorter than some of her other books, the characters were well developed, and I was so happy with the beautiful ending. I am also a “root for the underdog” type of person and I felt like Anne was a bit of an underdog – or just a bit shafted by family in this book, so I was rooting for her 🙂 I also loved the 2008 movie which I made Brian watch with me #sorrynotsorry

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr (4.5/5 stars)
I started this book in November or December and put it down for a bit until I got it on audio from the library this month which really helped me finish it. The writing is absolutely beautiful, and it won the Pulitzer for a reason. I actually enjoyed the switching between characters more than I thought I would. It was a wonderful reading experience though and I would highly recommend the book although it’s not neccesarily a re-read for me. PS: Isn’t the cover absolutely gorgeous?!?!
—Thanks to Anne Bogel’s several podcast guests who talked about this book and motivated me to finally finish it 😉 Speaking of which, one of my favourite book bloggers, Janssen from Everyday Reading, is today’s guest on What Should I Read Next? (Off topic, I know!)

THE CARDINAL’S SIN by Robert Lane (3.5/5 stars)
***I received this book in ebook format from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
This book was approved for me on Netgalley months ago and I just didn’t get around to reading it for awhile, but I started it (finally) on a whim last week and I quite enjoyed it. It reminded me a bit of James Patterson’s Private series as well as Dan Brown’s books. The only thing I didn’t love about it was that I got a bit lost in some of the dialogue because it was more like:
“blah blah blah”
“blah blah blah”
instead of “blah blah blah” said Him. “Blah blah?” said her.
Haha. Anyway, I just had to go back a few times and see who was talking, but that’s the only major complaint about the book. It had a decent and intriguing plot. Apparently it’s the third in the series, but I think they stand alone too.

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I’m currently still working through my reads for Erin’s Book Challenge including Bridget Jones’ Diary and Enders Game. Can I just say that one thing I have appreciated SO MUCH about this challenge is that it is 4 months long?! Totally attainable and still gives me time to read “non-challenge” books.

FAVOURITE KID READS LATELY (skip this section if you don’t care! haha!)

Room on the Broo by Julianne Donaldson We love Julianne Donaldson’s books in our house and I first discovered them through the Virtual Book Club for Kids. The Gruffalo is another great read by her, but Molly really loves Room on the Broom and loves witches too! #FutureHarryPotterFan

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker This is an adorable take on your typical alphabet book and my kids love watching all of the little peas hard at work. The pictures are really cute too.

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beatty I had this one on hold from the library for awhile because Brian is an engineer so we talk about it a lot in our family 😉 This is a fun book about a little girl who loves to build things, and learns that failing isn’t a bad thing as long as you keep trying!

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak My in-laws just bought this book and it is hilarious!!! This video of B.J. Novak reading it also makes me laugh. Molly thinks this book is the best thing ever and she has even started to read it to us so that she can say the funny words. This book is such an awesome concept for a children’s book.

Children’s Books I received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review:

Glory the Lion Cub and the Dunnos by Marianne Perry
This book was a bit above our age range, so we didn’t really get through it all, but I read most of it on my own. It isn’t one we’ll be running out to purchase, because we generally like books with pictures right now (except for BJ Novak’s? haha?) I might check it out again for Molly in a year or two when her attention span is a bit longer.

Leo Can Swim by Anna McQuinn
We are anticipating swimming lessons coming up again in the spring, so this was a great book to read with the kids right now. The pictures are so cute 🙂 Also, hilariously, Lucy, who doesn’t talk very much, was convinced that the baby on the front of this book was her friend Emma and she thought the whole book was about Emma swimming, haha.

Jake’s Kindergarten Checkup by Chrystal De Freitas
This was an appropriate read with Kindergarten in our near future too. Molly hasn’t gotten her shots yet (at least not since age 18 months), so it was nice to prepare her a bit for this. She is also really into doctors right now because of Doc McStuffins, so this fit in well with that interest. I liked the sibling dynamic here too. I can always get on board with books that teach kids something or help them to understand scary experiences.

The Storybook Knight by Helen Docherty I love rhyming children’s books, and we love dragons in our house, so this book was a huge hit. My daughter has asked to read it again almost every night, and my younger daughter loves the pictures. I will be buying this in print sometime soon.

This is just a small sampling of our kid reads over the past month. My kids read a million books a day and we have a lot of favourites, but these were some that I wanted to especially highlight 🙂

Book Challenge by Erin Update

5 points: Read a book, any book that is at least 200 pages long. EVERY WORD by Ellie Marney DONE
10 points: Read a book that begins with the letter “D”. DUMPLIN’ by Julie Murphy – DONE

· 10 points: Read a book with a four word title. ~~ONCE UPON A PRINCE by Rachel Hauck~~ This has been revised to ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven DONE

15 points: Read a book with one of the following words in the title: “mother(s)”, “father(s)”, “son(s)”, “daughter(s)”, or “child(ren)”. THE MOTHER DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB by Heather Vogel Frederick DONE

20 points: Amazon ranks their “most popular authors”, and they update this list hourly. Based on when you make your book list, look at the top 100 authors, and pick a book to read from one of those authors, but here’s the catch – it needs to be an author new to you…one of the most popular authors, yet you’ve never read them before. http://www.amazon.com/author-rankTHE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah (not started yet)

· 20 points: Read a book set in any country in Asia. THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini (not started yet)

· 25 points: Read a book with a “Season” in the title. (I start the challenge in Summer and end in Autumn; many of you start in Winter and end in Spring…so the title of your book should have Summer, Autumn/Fall, Winter, or Spring in the title.) WINTER GARDEN by Kristin Hannah

DONE

· 30 points: Read a book that will make you laugh from the list attached. (submitted by Bernadette)http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/books-guaranteed-to-make-you-laugh-out-loud BRIDGET JONES DIARY by Helen Fielding (half done)

· 30 points: Read a book that is a friend or family member’s favorite book (or the favorite book of another participant from this challenge). (submitted by Peggy) PERSUASION by Jane Austen which is many friends’ favourite book but recommended especially by one of my friends from home and most likely also of Kristen’s favourite books?? 🙂 DONE ❤

· 35 points: Read a book published the year you were born. (submitted by Meredith) ENDERS GAME (year: 1985) by Orson Scott Card (Partway done)

Total Books Read: 6/10

Total Points: 95