Some Bookish Thoughts

This might not be uncommon, but I don’t really have a lot of real-life friends to talk books with. My mom and I talk about books a lot, and a few friends have told me that they really like my recommendations or that they picked up a book because of my instagram post about it, etc. I am dying to be in a real life book club, but I am reluctant to start my own. As far as I know, none of my friends/family in real life like to review books or talk about them constantly. Fortunately, I have a lot of online friends who LOVE to talk about nothing but books. 🙂 Lately, I am just dying to talk about all my thoughts about reading with someone – hence this post. It’s a bit all over the place, but so are my thoughts these days.

I read this post earlier in the week and it really got me thinking about reading pressure and reading challenges. I’ve posted about reading challenges before, but it’s on my mind again lately. Overall, I like many things about reading challenges. I love the selection process, I love organizing some shelves on Goodreads and seeking out books on my TBR that I can fit into categories. I (almost) always start out a reading challenge with wonderful intentions. I love that I end up really broadening my horizons a bit when I select books for certain categories and it helps me delve into books I’ve always wanted to read but haven’t prioritized. It helps me organize what I’m going to read next, and it makes me feel like I always have a book to turn to if I’m not enjoying my current read. In particular, I love Erin’s book challenges because they last for 4 months and that gives me a lot of flexibility to read “challenge books” and other books at the same time.

What I don’t love is dictating my reading life by timelines; it’s stressful and that’s not the point of reading, in my opinion. For instance, I spent a chunk of time during Erin’s current challenge trying to enjoy a couple of books that I just did NOT like in any way. Eventually I gave up and just switched my choice for those categories, so it’s not as if it was a big deal in any way, but I still think I could have just not even bothered picking those books in the first place. I still have one book (Beach Music) to finish but I am loving it and I am certain I will finish it by next Tuesday. (If I don’t – I am also okay with that – I will still finish it next week and I am so, so happy to have finally read it). Thanks again to Steph for that recommendation years ago.

I also love yearly book challenges, but I kind of forget about them as the year goes on. I know it is possible to broaden your horizons without joining a reading challenge, but I can honestly say I would not have picked up certain books (The Count of Monte Cristo) this year without selecting it for a challenge (and I would have gotten 51 hours of my life back, haha, kidding). As an Obliger, I think I really need the accountability of a reading challenge to encourage me to read books from my backlist. Each year, I really love striving to meet my goodreads reading challenge goal and I love seeing my friends meet that goal too – no matter what the number is!

As we near the end of 2017, I am trying to really wrap up some of my “reading goals” for the year. Kristen’s post earlier this week made me think about the books that I have on my virtual and real shelves that I was excited to buy or borrow and haven not gotten to yet. I don’t have as many on my actual bookshelf because I’m not a HUGE book buyer, but there are probably still at least 15-20 books on my shelf that I haven’t even read yet. Like Kristen said, buying a book can almost doom that book for me because there is no time crunch to read it. Library books are due back, so I have to read them when they are in my possession (or send them back unread, which I have only started doing recently). My goal in November is to really get through my own books before ending off 2017. That includes these books:

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge
A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab
Origin by Dan Brown (I couldn’t resist this – I love the Robert Langdon books)
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

and these on my Kindle/Audible/*Netgalley:

Reading People by Anne Bogel (halfway through this)
Artemis by Andy Weir*
Winter Solstice by Elin Hildebrand* (this series is a fun one for Christmas and not TOO Hallmarky)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacquelyn Woodson
The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay*

I also have a few library books that will be coming in and I am tentatively hoping to get through Golden Son and Morning Star because Pierce Brown has a new book coming out in January 2018 and I already have a hold on it (this is ridiculous in some ways, haha). I have a few really fun plans for book posts on this blog before 2018: a wrap up of my favourite books for the year, another analytics post, some library hacks, books that are better on audio, and two more Amazing Authors posts.

If you’ve made it this far, here are few fun book talk links from around the web:

Would you rather bookish edition <–some of these were hard!!!

I just downloaded this library extension for Chrome…it tells you if the books you are viewing on that page are at the library. It’s awesome – I have my library added to my links for buying books on Goodreads, but sometimes I have to play around with the edition in order to actually find information and this extension makes it WAY easier!!!

This post about life skills of voracious readers is great.

Sometimes reading fatigue is a real thing. This post was super interesting.

This would be kind of a fun Halloween craft. Maybe next year 😉

Am I the only one out there who thinks about and plans my reading this much? I blame goodreads, blogging, Netgalley, The Book Club, and WSIRN. 🙂

Show us Your Books – Recent Reads

Happy Tuesday!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with a lot of visiting with family and friends and lots of time outside because the weather was beautiful. I am so thankful for all of the joy and love that surrounds me in my life.

Although I did read some great books lately, I feel like I’m in a bit of a reading rut. I have hundreds of “good books” around me on my kindle or nightstand but sometimes I just feel like sleeping instead of reading at night. I’m sure it will resolve itself soon enough, I just need to hit on the right book. Little Fires Everywhere kept me pretty enthralled for longer than usual this weekend, so I’m happy about that. I just need to put my phone in the other room and focus on my books. I got a bit carried away with library holds too and just decided to return a bit chunk of them and get them another time. I have a few books on my shelf that I’m dying to get to, and a few Netgalley books that I want to review this fall, so I need to prioritize those for a bit. I’m sure some of you can relate 🙂

As usual, linking up with Steph and Jana to share some thoughts on the books I’ve read lately 🙂 Happy 3 Year Anniversary to the best link up out there!!!

Highly Enjoyable Books

A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my most beloved books of my childhood, and it was quite a treat to revisit it as an audiobook. I have fond memories of getting this book taken away from me by my dad because it was too late at night and I could not put it down despite my parents telling me numerous times. I had to dig it out of his “hiding place” for it above the fridge the next day after school to finish it. haha. The story holds up quite well and the characters are so fun and different. It’s not for everyone because the fantasy elements are a bit out there, but I love this series. (Read for banned books category for Erin’s challenge).

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I read this book as a child and recently enjoyed the audio version, which was quite well done. I can see the relation between Emily and Anne, and I love them both but I do feel that Emily has a bit of a stronger desire to please her caregivers, at times at least, which I can relate to. L. M. Montgomery’s writing is so wonderful and I really love this trilogy about Emily of New Moon. Hearing the audiobook also brings back fond memories of the CBC show that we used to watch every Sunday evening 🙂

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Steph mentioned this series awhile ago, and since I have the 8th (I think) book on Netgalley, I wanted to start at the beginning and get through a few of them despite hearing that they can be read out of order. This was an intense book and I can absolutely see myself binging on the series at some point. I really like Kate Burkholder. I liked this book quite a bit; as much as you can like a situation that is as messed up as this one was. 🙂

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was unlike anything I’ve ever read and it was super quick and enjoyable and different and heart-wrenching. I read this in a single sitting and I loved the format, which was in verse and would be SO fun for about a 12-13 year old who needs something to hold their interest when reading.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I must first say that this narration was quite well done, and I enjoyed listening to this audiobook very much. That being said, this is not my favourite Austen novel. I felt so sad for Fanny throughout the book, and so disappointed about how she was treated by so many people even though I know it wasn’t uncommon at that time and I know that that was the whole point. I really liked the writing and found it quite lyrical and lovely. I think the characters just didn’t click for me the way that her other novels do. Still hoping to check out the film version sometime and this book also concludes my reading of Austen’s novels, so I am quite pleased with that!!

Books that were Good, but not Great

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

This book wasn’t too bad even though it was pretty messed up. I was interested in the psychological parts of it since that is my background ;). It had been awhile since I’d read an unreliable narrator book (or so it felt like), so it was good that way. I just didn’t care very much about the characters and found parts of it to be a little bit too “meh”. Overall, not a bad read, but nothing too particularly special and writing about it now a month later, I’m realizing it didn’t stay with me as much as other books have.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think I like the movie a little bit better, but the audio version of this was quite good and different from the movie. It will be fun to share with our girls in a few years. (read for Erin’s challenge – Disney category)

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book was pleasant enough to read, and I appreciated the alternating storyline and all of the characters (especially Ruby!). It felt like it was lacking a little something at times but overall the themes and the story were worth the read. It’s not A.J. Fikry by any means, but it wasn’t a bad read at all. It was definitely thought provoking in regard to politics, feminism, and stigma/discrimination. (Read for the yellow cover for Erin’s challenge; thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book by a wonderful author.)

Until Love Do Us Part by Anna Premoli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was okay, but not my favourite for this genre. It had a bit of the hate-to-love storyline, but it was just missing a bit of a connection and parts were confusing. The writing wasn’t the highest quality, but the plot was enjoyable and happy enough. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book.

New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is such a cute romance series and I liked this one a lot. I read this and Until Love Do Us Part back to back, and actually they are similar in many ways (Manhattan setting, etc) but I much prefer Sarah Morgan’s writing. This series doesn’t have to be read in order at all but the side characters are often reflected in other books.

Currently working on: Beach Music (still loving it but it is long!), Little Fires Everywhere (Had to bump it up because it was a 7-day library loan – really good so far), and The Four Tendencies. I’ve also read 6 chapter books to the girls and have read Julia Donaldson’s books about 50,000 times lately as well as reading French books with Molly 🙂 Lots of reading going on!! haha.

What have you read lately?!?

Amazing Authors series: Louise Penny

Welcome to the first post in a blog series that I’m going to call Amazing Authors. My plan is to highlight a few authors that I absolutely love but only if I’ve read most if not all of their work. If I am ever asked about my favourite author, my default response would be J.K. Rowling because her series changed my reading life and Harry Potter is absolutely the series I have re-read the most in my life. However, today’s author has become a VERY close second favourite, and I am happy to chat about her series today.

When we first made plans for our “epic family vacation” this past summer, which included driving from Halifax to Toronto, we were quite excited to visit friends along the way. On the way back, we had originally thought we would visit Brian’s best friend about 4 hours out of the way in Ontario (but worth it). When we then touched based with them and realized that wasn’t going to work out on the weekend we were driving through, our plans opened up and I had a brain wave in which I decided I just absolutely HAD to visit Knowlton, Quebec…home of Louise Penny.

In case you haven’t heard me rave about her before, Louise Penny is a wonderful Canadian author who has experienced great success worldwide with her best-selling Inspector Gamache series. I think it was Modern Mrs. Darcy (or her podcast) that first pointed out this series to me, and I flew through the first 12 books in about 4 months last year. The first few books were not exactly favourites of mine, but I agree with many other readers that the series really takes off around book 4 and the last few have been absolutely un-put-down-able for me. Unfortunately, if anyone asks, I usually recommend reading the series in order, and I know a lot of people who have stopped at book 1 (which is totally your call! You do you!) when they really get better later on. I was overjoyed to have read Glass Houses, this summer’s release in the series, via Netgalley, earlier this year, and it was an amazing addition to the series.

As I started to look for places to stay near Knowlton in an attempt to convince Brian that it was totally worth it to drive a couple hours out of the way to visit a town where an author lives, I realized that the date we were looking at being in Knowlton was the exact date of Louise Penny’s BOOK RELEASE EVENT for Glass Houses. I basically squealed when I realized this and knew that we absolutely had to try to make it work, and we did. We booked a fun campground nearby, and we drove 7 hours from Toronto to Knowlton that day (it actually took more like 8 hours with a brutal traffic accident on Highway 401), and we arrived in a quaint little town that it reminiscent of Three Pines that was gorgeous and packed to the brim with fellow Louise Penny fans.

Since we live in a small-ish city in eastern Canada, there are not a LOT of opportunities to meet famous authors. Similarly, we don’t always host huge bands for concerts (the reason why we travelled to Toronto in the first place was to see Coldplay live), and we don’t have major professional sports (Brian caught a Blue Jays game in Toronto, too). I think I’ve only ever met a couple of authors in my life – one being a local author in elementary school whose event has stayed with me for many years, and another being Diana Gabaldon in Halifax 10 years ago, which was great, but I hadn’t read the entire Outlander series at that point (and I still haven’t finished it), so I was tagging along with a friend at that event. I didn’t really know what to expect out of this event, but it surpassed all of my expectations.

Unfortunately, due to the traffic incident, I missed the first part of the event when Louise Penny spoke to the audience. I did, however, have the opportunity to meet her and tell her how much I loved her series and Glass Houses! They also had tons of volunteers and staff from Brome Lake Books to take pictures.
I was so impressed with Louise Penny; she signed books and chatted with fans for at least 3 hours (I waited for probably 2 hours myself) and took photos too. Since I was waiting in line with strangers (my family was at the campground, luckily for the kids), we all got to chatting about books in general and the Gamache series and a wide range of other topics. While I waited, I was trying to figure out how I could get one picture taken with the author since I was there on my own. Not to worry – I ended up with about 20 photos from a photographer volunteer that I could even turn into a video of the 3 minutes I spent chatting with her. LOL. See? Here are the majority of the pictures of me with Louise Penny:

I can’t fully explain why I love this series so much. Each book has a murder story, and Chief Inspector Gamache and his team end up solving it. That being said, it really limits the books if they are described as murder mysteries because there is SO much more going on in these pages. The characters and the setting are endlessly fascinating. The types of scenarios that Louise Penny comes up with have blown my mind. There is a steady undercurrent of political corruption going through a few of the books in the series, and each book is unique but similar too. Her writing is poetic and showcases a lovely area of my beautiful country. I’ve often wondered if I love the books so much because I resonate with Quebec as a part of Canada, but I don’t think that encompasses my feelings enough.

Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend this series to anyone, but don’t start with Glass Houses. As I said, I feel that the books really start to pick up around book 4 and I would even argue that you could skip books 2 or 3 if you really want to get a sense of the appeal but didn’t love the first book. The author herself says that the books are meant to be standalone novels, but I don’t think you would enjoy any of the richness of the characters if read out of order.

My personal favourites in the series are How The Light Gets In (so intense), A Great Reckoning, The Beautiful Mystery, and The Nature of the Beast (I found this one so creative). Glass Houses is up there too.

Side note: if this is something you care about at all, the books are also absolutely gorgeous (see below!)

You can check out the whole Gamache series here. Some of the books have different titles in Canada vs. the US vs. overseas, but the first one is Still Life. Have you read any of these books? Do you have any beloved authors to share with me? I hope to do a few more of these posts in the future to highlight some authors that might be unknown to people!

PS: All of these thoughts are merely my opinion. Not every book is for everyone. If you have no interest in reading the series, we can still be good friends. 😉

September Show us Your Books (short book reviews)

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I posted in this blog. Great intentions and all that. Today is my older daughter’s 6th birthday!! I fed her carrot cake for breakfast and she was all excited going off to school. I can’t believe how fast the time flies.

I had a much slower reading month in August because of vacation and being busy. A lot of people might think, hmm, wouldn’t you read more on vacation? And I would say, yes, I would read more on vacation if I was alone or with my husband, but not when driving for 20 hours with 2 children 🙂 We also visited a lot of friends and family on vacation so we didn’t have much “down time” in the evenings because we wanted to visit with people we don’t see often enough!! It was great, and books wait for you, so it’s all good. 🙂 On a side bookish note, I got to meet one of my favourite authors (second only to J.K. Rowling, I think!!) in her hometown of Knowlton Quebec. It was an amazing experience that I hope to write about more soon.

Aside from all that, here are a few books I’ve read in the last month or so and haven’t mentioned yet here. Linking up with the lovely Steph and Jana today so that we can all explode our TBRs and cuddle up with some great book recommendations this fall 🙂

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was SO much fun to read. It stayed with me too; I’ve thought about it off and on since I finished it.Travelling back in time with the goal of befriending Jane Austen? How awesome would that be?! It was definitely a super enjoyable read. It didn’t read like an Austen novel; it is much more “approachable” in regard to the language, but it was just so fun. I think if you are an Outlander fan, there is a bit of that element to it with the time travel although different subject matter. I can’t recomment this enough if you are an Austen fan, a fan of that time period, or even if you aren’t but you’re looking for a book that follows a slightly unique format.

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Steph for this recommendation. This book was so good and definitely one of my better YA reads this year. There were so many emotions in this book and I really felt all of them along with the characters. In particular, I loved the extreme bookishness of the plot, I loved all of the bookstore chat, and the characters were just so well done.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this while running, and it paints such a vivid picture of animals in captivity. I know my daughters will absolutely love this in a year or two. Heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. I can’t wait to listen to her other books now.

(finished this one for Erin’s challenge)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went back and forth between kindle and audible on this book, and eventually I just lost track of what was going on in the audiobook so I read it all in a day or two. I can’t say I love this as much as Jane Austen, but it has a much more serious feel to it than many of her books. It did start me down a wormhole of craving books set in that time period again, so that was nice. 🙂 There were a lot of sad moments in this book, but some hopeful ones too. I can’t imagine going through everything that Margaret did in a year, especially back in those days. It took me awhile to get on board with Mr. Thornton, but of course, like Mr. Darcy in some ways, he won me over 😉

If you like these types of books, this is a good one if you’ve finished all of Jane Austen and want something *somewhat* similar in writing and tone. If you don’t enjoy that era, this one probably isn’t for you, but I would still highly recommend the mini-series on Netflix if you’re curious!!! I really enjoyed that after I read this.

(finished this one for Erin’s challenge)

A Fine Gentleman by Sarah M. Eden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t realize this was the fourth in a series, but it was a complete stand-alone book. This book introduced some fun characters and a troubling situation for one of them, but there was a lot of wit, banter, and charm that made it quite fun to read. It was my first book by Sarah M. Eden but I’m certain that it will not be my last. She writes historical romance quite well, and this family is a fun one to follow along with. It was somewhat reminiscent of my beloved Julia Quinn and her Bridgertons series.

I spent a very pleasant few days re-reading Edenbrooke this month and I might pick up Blackmoore shortly after. I also re-read parts of Glass Houses after meeting Louise Penny.

I’m “currently reading” quite a few books, and I don’t know why I do this to myself but I think my reading mood is just all over the place right now during this busy season of the year. I started Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine but I had to return it to the library before I finished. Loved what I read though.

I’m over halfway through Emma in the Night (so far, so good, but haven’t had time to finish!), Beach Music, Young Jane Young, and listening to Mansfield Park and Flowers for Algernon <—my attention for that last one is truly waning but I selected it for Erin’s challenge and I am feeling determined! It’s not even that long!!

What have you read lately? What are you reading now? 🙂

Recent Summer Reads – Show us Your Books link up!

Today’s one of my favourite days to browse blogs: Show us Your Books day! Check out the link up at Steph and Jana’s blogs today. I read quite a few great books over the past month and I’m happy to share them today!

Highly Recommended Books (Depending on Your Taste, of Course)

What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can’t decide if I liked this more than Tell Me Three Things, which I absolutely loved, but either way, it’s close. The author herself calls this one her favourite. The characters are adorable. They are dealing both with regular everyday teen-type stuff, and much heavier stuff. Books like this one are my favourite type of YA read for a reason. Definitely seek out Tell Me Three Things or this book if you like YA fiction that deals with difficult subject matter but feels overall optimistic and has wonderful characters and interactions.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a fun read!! Reminded me a bit of The Goose Girl for some reason. The whole departure from actual history was VERY fun. If you like YA historical fantasy, definitely add this to your list – it’s for sure one of the funniest books I’ve read this year.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an intense read!!! It took me a little while to get into, but it was really full-speed-ahead from about the halfway point to the end. Despite it being quite a sad story, I did enjoy the writing immensely. The bookishness of this book was appealing, but the actual storyline and connections made came right out of left field for me and I was quite blown away when it was all revealed.

The Sisters Chase by Sarah Healy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was slow going for awhile and since I’d heard a few people rave about how amazing it was, I was a bit disappointed. I finished two other books while reading this one. However, about partway through it, this book became quite irresistible to me and I wanted to learn more about how the characters’ lives panned out. This is not an uplifting or happy book by any means, but it was a well-written character book about family sacrifice and the lengths one will go to protect their family and their past. The pacing was spot-on too – each chapter really moved the next one along and I flew through the second half in about a day. I don’t quite know how to classify this because it’s not really suspense, but it feels a bit suspenseful as you piece everything together. It felt a bit reminiscent of Summer Sisters to me although I’m not quite sure why.

Middle of the Road Books for Me

The Other Girl by Erica Spindler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book definitely held my interest and is mostly what I want out of this genre. I didn’t know who I could trust, and that element kept it moving along at a steady pace. I hadn’t read a suspense type book with police officers as main characters in awhile so I enjoyed that part too. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a quick read, and it was a fun look at a family with some adorable quirks (the 4 year old? adorable!). I didn’t necessarily love that it portrayed Audrey coming to terms with her anxiety relatively quickly (although it is fiction, and I am biased working in the field of psychology). It was definitely a cute YA book. This was my first read by Kinsella and it was more or less what I expected but not my favourite YA by any means. Not sure that I will seek out any of her adult books right away.

Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Super cute fluffy little YA read. Felt like it should have been a bit shorter but the ending was super adorable. 15 year old Heather would have been allllllll about this book but as an adult, the quality of my YA reads needs to be a tiny touch higher. It’s not the book, it’s me. Thanks for the advanced copy of this book Netgalley.

The Good Widow by Liz Fenton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Parts of this book were really quite suspenseful, but other parts were just a bit unbelievable and I generally did not feel extremely sympathetic to the characters despite them being in very sad scenarios. It felt a bit disjointed at times, but I finished it quite quickly once I got into it and wanted to find out how it ended so there were some great elements that kept the story moving forward. Thanks for the advanced copy of this book Netgalley.

Before We Visit the Goddess by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a relatively short book and the alternating viewpoints kept my interest but also made it a bit confusing at times. Overall, I really appreciated the story but it might not be for everyone.

Currently still reading:
North and South
Flowers for Algernon (I am not finding it easy to read)
The One and Only Ivan
The Jane Austen Project

Looking forward to seeing everyone else’s summer reads!!!

Book Challenge by Erin 7.0

Over the weekend, I picked my choices for Erin’s next book challenge which runs from July 1-October 31. Can’t wait to get into some of these books! Usually it takes me ages to narrow down my choices but I picked almost all of these from my “check out soon” shelf on Goodreads meaning that they were already on my 2017 radar.

What do you think of my picks? Any thoughts on any of these books? I’ll share all of my thoughts on them when I get through them!!

5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Thank you, Erin for mailing this to me!!!!) I have heard numerous fantastic reviews of this book, and apparently it is a rapid read so I look forward to getting into it!!

10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “B”

Beach Music by Pat Conroy (comes highly recommended by Steph) OR Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio (have heard good things and I am anxious to try one of her books!)

10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) yellow cover

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (thinking of doing this one on audio; it has been on my radar for awhile and was discussed several times on the WSIRN podcast)

15 points: Read a book that has a picture of an animal on the cover (submitted by Mattie)

The One & Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (my most trusted book recommender Kristen’s review of this one pushed this close to the top of my list for this year)

20 points: Read a book that was published in 2017 (submitted by Olya)

The Other Girl – Erica Spindler (A publicity agent at Netgalley sent this to me without me requesting it, and it looks quite good and fits with my reading mood for 2017 so I’m looking forward to it)

20 points: Read a book with a compass or cardinal direction in the title (submitted by Mary)

North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell (This is highly recommended for fans of Jane Austen, plus, I am DYING to watch the mini series on Netflix but I’ve promised myself that I’d read the book first…I already have it on Audible but I have the whispersync so might switch back and forth a bit)

25 points: The ALA’s “Banned Books Week” occurs while our challenge is happening. Read a book from this list of the most commonly banned books in America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_commonly_challenged_books_in_the_United_States (submitted by Christina)

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (This book has been on my TBR for years and it popped up in Everything Everything so I made a mental note to just get to it already! Side note – can you believe some of the books that have been banned?!?!)

30 points: Read a fictional book about mental illness (submitted by Jamie); several helpful links: http://bookriot.com/2016/05/23/100-best-books-about-mental-illness/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_illness_in_fiction; https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/mental-illness-fiction

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (This will be my first Sophie Kinsella book ever and deals more with mental health – but I felt like it fit the category enough?)

30 points: Read a book with a non-human main character; i.e. animals, elves, gods, robots, merpeople, etc. (submitted by Bev); helpful links: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/non-human-characters; https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/99906.Books_with_Nonhuman_Characters; http://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/polls-and-discussion/the-33-best-books-with-a-non-human-protagonist/3704

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas (This might change…I have a few other books on my list that would fit this category but I want to see what all the fuss about Sarah J Maas for myself)

35 points: Read a book a Disney movie was based on OR a book based on a Disney movie (submitted by Kirsten); Don’t forget to check that the book is at least 200 pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Novels_first_published_in_serial_form&pageuntil=Dune+Messiah#mw-pages; https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/11716.Books_Turned_Into_Disney_Movies

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (I haven’t seen the Disney movie since I was a kid, but I think this will be a good read!)

Can’t wait to get reading!! I have a huge stack of library holds, Netgalley books on my shelf, and other assorted reading goals for the summer, but I’m excited for all of these book choices too.

3 Good Things: Happiness for Beginners

Last month, I revisited one of my favourite books from last year, Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center. If you haven’t read it and you are looking for a good summer read that is quite light-hearted but SO fun, I would absolutely recommend it. I love book that I can think back on. Some of my favourite books of all time might not be high literature or recommended for everyone, but they make me think a bit about how I can make my life better or how I can approach a situation in a new way. I think about parts of Happiness for Beginners quite often and re-read sections of it now and then when I just want to revisit the characters. There are also a number of wonderful quotes and happy life lessons in the book.

If you haven’t read the book yet, it’s about a woman named Helen who decides to do a three week camping/hiking/intense outdoor adventure with a group just for a change in life after her divorce. She ends up being the oldest in the group, and she generally feels like she doesn’t fit in. Her younger brother’s friend is along on the trip too (there’s more to that story if you catch my drift). One of the other hikers is named Windy. She is an easygoing, Buddhist, happy, friendly, smart young woman that Helen wants to hate but can’t help but love. Windy is studying positive psychology and she says to Helen says that you should always try to find three good things each day. She expresses this during a particularly challenging day on the hike. Here’s what she says:

“The more you register good things, the more you will think about and remember good things. And since all you really have left of the past is what you remember —” ‘

“It changes the story of your life,” Helen finishes.

Windy also tells her: “Write three good things you remember of that day every night.”

This idea is excellent for Helen as she struggles through difficult thoughts and physically challenging days hiking out doors. Furthermore, this concept is probably not unfamiliar to many of us: If you are interested in being happier at all, you’ve probably come across the practice of writing down a few things you’re grateful for at the end of the day. The book expands a bit into glass-half-full talk too:

“Well, for example, happy people are more likely to register joy than unhappy people. So if you take two people who have experienced a day of, say, fifty percent good things and fifty percent bad things, an unhappy person would remember more of the bad.”

I love the idea of changing your mental networks by trying to remember as many positive memories as you can. I know for sure that I remember happy moments with my kids a lot more than I remember tantrums. I try to express and acknowledge my gratitude for my life as much as I can, but some days it is easy to get bogged down by tiredness, or the weather, or feeling busy or overwhelmed.

Here are 3 good things on my mind today for Thursday Thoughts.

1) It has been gorgeous, sunny, and spring-like the past few days and I am enjoying time spent outdoors whenever possible. We are blessed to live in a beautiful location of the world.

2) My week has been busy with fun things, including a lot of quality time with a close friend who I don’t see nearly often enough.

3) My children have been adorable, loving, and well-behaved in particular this week, and I am loving this stage that our little family is in.

Anyone else read this book? It would really make for perfect summer reading, in my opinion! I have enjoyed 3/5 of her books – I still have 2 left to read and she has a new book coming out early 2018!!

Recent Netgalley Reads

I like to talk about books for monthly link ups, but in the past few months I’ve made my way quite steadily through some Netgalley books and I want to devote adequate time to reviewing those books, too!!! Here are a few books that I’ve read recently from Netgalley. (Sorry for any repetition!!) I also noticed this week that Louise Penny’s newest book is on Netgalley if that appeals to any of my fellow fans of hers!! Just requested it today and hoping it works out!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I mentioned on my last link up post that I loved this book. I’ve since had a couple of weeks to digest it and talk about it with a few fellow readers who also loved it. I still haven’t gotten to A Man Called Ove, but I intend to get there soon because I love Backman’s writing SO much. This book was emotional, intense, and full of character development which is a driving force for me when it comes to reading. There were a few characters that I was destined to love and relate to more than others, and it’s meant to be that way. This book is very much about how your past, your upbringing, and your relationships affect who you are and who you are going to become.

I feel like I was also drawn to this book a bit because of the hockey, which is something that is SO Canadian of me to say, but I’m saying it anyway. However, hockey is more like a means to an end in this book and while you could read it all and say, yes, that was all about a hockey team in a remote town, that’s not really something I got out of it at all. Hockey is definitely a theme, but I think it could have easily been replaced by another sport or pastime and had the same message.

If you’re on the fence about trying this book, I cannot emphasize my love for it enough. It was emotional, it was intense, it was gripping, and it was so beautifully written. I am not at all surprised at all the buzz surrounding this book right now. This was by far the best Netgalley book I’ve ever had the privilege of reading.

FOX by Kelly Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reminded me a bit of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series even though the characters come from a slightly different background. I definitely saw a lot of it coming, but it was still fast-paced enough to hold my interest. I didn’t realize before reading it that it is the third in a series, and I am guessing that there will be more in the series moving forward. Overall, this book passed the time nicely and added a bit of a different element to the genre. Parts of it were downright scary, too. I will likely pick up the next in the series just to find out what happens to all of the characters because I felt like this one ended a bit abruptly.

The Intuitive Eating Workbook: Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food by Evelyn Tribole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such an applicable workbook to go with their book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works, which I had picked up used a few months ago. Overall, I enjoy the way they portray dieting, eating well, and weight loss in this book and I agree with the principles. I am hoping that I can break some emotional eating and yo-yoing by continuing to refer to this workbook, and I think I will pick it up in print to make that a little bit easier to follow along with.

Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves by Kate T. Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a powerful book that I cannot wait to share with all of the women in my life, and with my two daughters when they are a bit older. The message portrayed in this book is something that is SO important for me to share with my children. I want them to know that they can do anything they put their minds to, and I think that books like this really drive that message home in a beautiful and visual way.

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to say that this book doesn’t even come close to The Rosie Project in my opinion, and it was not exactly what I expected, but I still had to keep reading so there is something to be said for that. I enjoyed the musical references and the setting. The characters didn’t really do it for me, and as I mentioned above, that can really make or break a story for me.

What have you been reading lately?! I still have a few more good reviews coming from Netgalley in the next couple of months, and right now I’ve got two audiobooks (Scrappy Little Nobody and Born a Crime) and A Gathering of Shadows on the go!

Spring Reads

This was another month in which I was surrounded by absolutely wonderful books and I am so excited to talk about them today. Linking up, as usual, to chat books with Steph and Jana for Show Us Your Books and with Modern Mrs. Darcy for Quick Lit. These aren’t really listed in any particular order besides the order I read them in 😉 I would recommend almost all of these books listed, depending on your own personal taste, of course!! I have strong feelings about a lot of these books and could talk about them for days and days, so I tried to be concise here (and failed a bit) but I can guarantee that I will be talking about a few of these books in more detail soon.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in one sitting and completely devoured the entire situation and the lovely characters in it. It was quite a unique storyline and there were a few things that I did not see coming (one of which left me with some INTENSE feelings). I really like Nicola Yoon’s writing. I also feel like this book will translate quite well to the big screen this month.

This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a story that needed to be told. I absolutely loved this book. The marriage, the parenting, and the relationships and the general approach to life are all exactly what I strive for in my own life. I’ve heard some criticism that the book was a little bit too neat and this isn’t how it would actually happen, and while that might definitely be true, I think the book was still quite relevant, very endearing, very sweet, and very educational and thought-provoking. If you haven’t heard what it’s about, it is about a family with five boys (sounds so busy – and it is in the book!) but the youngest boy wants to be a girl. The decisions made by the parents about how to approach this situation are a bit unique, and the way that it plays out really makes you think. I had this book out from the library twice before I actually read it because I did not expect to like it very much, but I can honestly say that it will probably be one of my better reads of 2017. I cannot recommend it enough. The writing is wonderful, the story is so lovely, and yes, it might not be overly realistic, but it is fiction, and it was great. I really feel like this book would appeal to a wide range of readers regardless of whether you have ever had any of these questions appear in your everyday life.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh man, this book was cute. I had a pretty good hunch about it all the way through, and I enjoyed the ending. Parts of this book were quite sad, and of course the entire premise is very YA :)… but I read it in a day and would definitely recommend it if you are in the mood for a fun teenage love story. It is one of the better ones I have read in the past few years for sure.

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have spoken quite a bit about my love for Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s children’s books, and of course I was moved to tears when I read her essay about her husband before she died. I’d say that was when I knew I needed to read her adult memoirs. This isn’t like any other memoir I’ve ever read, and as a psychologist, I love all of the observations about people, emotions, feelings, phenomena, and general happenings in the world. The way that she views the world is positive, hopeful, whimsical, and lovely. There was so much that I wanted to highlight and re-read in this book. It was a quick read, but it was so powerful and I know I will refer to it often and re-read it. I look forward to reading her first memoir soon. Reading this book was quite bittersweet knowing that she just passed away, and this was her last work (she actually wrote this before she knew about the cancer, so there are parts of it that feel SO sad knowing what we know now about her life). For instance:

When she reached 40, Ms. Rosenthal began calculating how many days she had left until she turned 80.
“How many more times, then, do I get to look at a tree?” she asked. “Let’s just say it’s 12,395. Absolutely, that’s a lot, but it’s not infinite, and I’m thinking anything less than infinite is too small a number and not satisfactory. At the very least, I want to look at trees a million more times. Is that too much to ask?” (source)

Another super fun thing about this book is that it is interactive, and you can text a number while reading it to respond to various questions or share your thoughts, all of which are anonymously published on the book’s accompanying website. It’s really fun!

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s a bit challenging for me to rate this book, because I didn’t *really* like it much but I did read it in two sittings, so there’s that. Overall, I found the characters a little bit flaky and the whole plot to be a bit unrealistic/unbelievable, although maybe it’s just not something I can ever picture in everyday life, or maybe it’s cultural. I’m not sure. The musical references and the main character’s love of music was great. In no way does this rate near to The Rosie Project for me which was much more funny and endearing, in my opinion.
Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I will likely still pursue future works from this author and I know a lot of people will definitely really like this book but it fell a little bit flat for me personally.

The Hangman by Louise Penny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I went back to read this just to have a little bit of Three Pines in my life, and for that aspect, it was nice. However, it is nothing like her other novels (rightfully so, since it is a short story written for Canada’s Good Reads project). It was a super quick read but you still got a decent glimpse into some of the characters and the setting but I am a bit more anxious for her next full length novel instead!!

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How do you review a book that was a part of your life for 4 months? Obviously, this book is a classic for a reason. The writing is fantastic, the plot is complex, and there is a lot of very serious plotting going on. I think I could have done well with the abridged version because I did find myself really tiring of the book towards the end. However, if you enjoy reading the classics, this one is definitely a good one (just consider the abridged unlike me ;)). I listened to the majority of this and the Audible version was fantastic.

Amazing Grace by Lesley Crewe
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book was interesting, but parts of it seemed a little bit too easy and parts seemed a little bit too hard (in relation to what happened to the characters, not the writing). I enjoyed the Cape Breton/Nova Scotia setting. I really liked the main characters and their fortitude. Parts of this book were also LOL funny, so I appreciated that.

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Katherine Center’s books and this one was really well done. It felt quite relatable in many ways, and her writing really draws you in and makes you feel for the characters. I loved the setting in this book, and the family scenario. There were moments that felt SO sad and moments that felt SO happy and I really felt all of those right along with the characters (maybe I was having an overly emotional week though? ;)). This book also made me want to spend some time outside with some goats, which is saying a lot. LOL.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good thriller that I finished in two sittings. It was a fast read and I was anxious to find out how it ended – but it wasn’t thrilling in the whole “AHH I have no idea what is happening or who to trust!” kind of way. Still a good read and I would recommend it if you like this genre. I was pleased with the ending.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m wavering between 4 and 5 stars on this one but it’s definitely a 4.5 read for me. I’ve never read any of Backman’s other books but when I was provided with an advanced review copy of Beartown via Netgalley (thank you!), I was anxious to dive into this one. It might seem like this book is mostly about hockey and while that is the primary activity in the book, it is about SO much more than that. This book absolutely blew me away. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I was so anxious to find out how the events would affect everyone in the story. The pacing was better than I expected because I’d heard some of his books were a bit slower. Definitely give this book a try.

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you’re a fan of Lauren Graham, you will really enjoy this book. I listened to it and enjoyed hearing her voice talk about Gilmore Girls. Some of her stories are very funny, and some of her advice is quite good. I especially enjoyed the parts about filming the Gilmore Girls revival. I also quite enjoyed the advice for writing from Don Roos – such a great plan that I might put into action myself in the next few months.

——-

I also read two books that I chose not to review here; they were a bit too vulgar for me but the second was from Netgalley so I wanted to give it a shot and it was short. If you’re interested in extremely fluffy/unrealistic royal romance and you don’t mind the vulgarity, I am happy to share the name of the series if you e-mail me 🙂 I polished them both off in hours including some skimming. Also, two DNF books this month: The Roanoke Girls and The Animators. Books I paused this month: Everyone Brave is Forgiven and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Thought I was in the mood for WWII but it turns out I was not.

If you’re going to choose just one of these books to read, I would vote for This is How it Always Is. A runner up would be Beartown. Seriously, I cannot stress enough, even if you didn’t love A Man Called Ove (I haven’t read it yet but have heard mixed reviews), please give this book a try. THIS REVIEW in particular really highlights what this book has accomplished. If you feel strongly about feminism, community, friendship, or standing up for what you believe in, read this book.

If you like whimsical non-fiction, Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s book is uplifting and thought-provoking and fun. If you like to spend 4 months listening to a book on Audible, The Count of Monte Cristo was really quite a timeless story of revenge. Haha. If you are in the mood for some YA, Tell me Three Things would be my recommendation there. 😉

A Month of Great Books

I’m so happy that Show us Your Books day is finally here with Steph and Jana!! This month was an awesome reading month for me. Almost all of the books I read had me completely engaged, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of them depending on a person’s taste in books. 🙂 I am finally feeling like I might actually finish Erin’s book challenge…the only book that I have left to finish up is The Count of Monte Cristo, and I only have 17 hours left of it on Audible (which is actually only 9ish at 1.85 speed!!!)..so that’s totally doable in the next 20 days, right?! 🙂

I’ve noticed that I have been giving a lot of 4 star ratings this year and I’m not really sure why. I haven’t rated a book 5 stars yet in 2017 even though I’ve read some fantastic books. It seems like there has always been one thing holding me back from a full 5-star rating, and I’m okay with that, but I’m hoping for the BOOK OF THE YEAR to drop into my lap any day now. lol. Honestly though, reading a lot of 4-star books isn’t the worst thing in the world. I am enjoying my reading life immensely. I think I just need to wait to read TJR or Louise Penny’s new book and that’ll be 5 stars for me, I hope 😉 So much to look forward to in books this year. 🙂

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was just what I needed at the time: a book I could not put down. It grabbed me right from the start. It was interesting reading about two different characters who had similar lives in some ways. There were a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming at all. I was generally creeped out and on-edge the whole time I was reading this. I know that it will be great on the big screen whenever it gets made (the rights have already been purchased).

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
(read for #ownbooks #diversereads category of MMD Reading for Growth; read for Erin’s book challenge 6.0 category: homonym in the title)

I was unable to put this book down and finished it in a day. I loved the characters and their teenage but also adult-like problems. The plot moved quite quickly and the relevance of the issues was quite intense. I really enjoy books that are told from multiple perspectives (this reminded me a little bit of (A Little Something Different, but so much better). This book really made me enjoy the genre of YA after leaving it for awhile. I can’t wait to read her other book, Everything, Everything and I have it lined up for April because my new favourite Facebook book club is talking about it next week.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was on my radar for awhile, but I knew I wanted to wait until all three books were released to start reading them. I read about 85% of this book quite quickly and then I sort of put it down for a couple of weeks. I’m not sure why?! I really liked the writing and the world that is created here. It is unlike anything I’ve read lately, but yet it sort of reminds me of something and I can’t quite place it. When I finished this book, I felt like a lot happened but it wasn’t overly complicated. Schwab just sort of immerses the reader Overall, this was a great start to this trilogy. I can’t wait to see what happens next and I’ll be reading the next book next month when it comes in from the library. If this is your kind of genre, I think this series will turn out to be really enjoyable. I am rooting so hard for Kell!

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Read this for Erin’s challenge 6.0 – category: Time Travel)

This book had some very cute moments and I enjoyed the time travel aspect and the setting. It fell a bit flat for me and I’m not too sure why. The ending was enjoyable though.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a quick read for me and I absolutely loved the writing. The emotions that Mohsin Hamid were able to convey in this book were very real, and this book absolutely made me think about migration in a light that I hadn’t before. I don’t think this will be a favourite of mine necessarily, nor will I re-read it, but it opened my eyes to something that I think is quite important in our present day and for that I am grateful. If migration/immigration is something on your mind at all, you might want to give this book a chance. It is not very long but it is extremely powerful.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Read this for Erin’s challenge 6.0 – category: Book by your favourite author)

I put off reading this book for years because I had read the first little bit of it and found it to be quite boring (a lot of the Internet agrees with 2012 Heather). However, this time, it came to me at the right time. I had just heard a fellow J.K. Rowling fan talk about how much she’d liked this book on the WSIRN podcast, and I already had it lined up for Erin’s challenge (and had put it off for 3 months). I did quite enjoy the writing in this book, and I felt that the plot moved along quickly enough (and there were certainly enough characters!) to keep me interested. However, I can see how this book wouldn’t be for everyone. It would not have been one I would have enjoyed 5 years ago, and there was a LOT going on and a lot of everything going on with every character. It was a much easier read than I was anticipating though and overall I am so glad that I forayed into J.K. Rowling’s work beyond Harry Potter. I do really love her writing, and I am antsy to go and read HP again sometime this summer. Note: for people who are NOT fans of Harry Potter (are there any? lol j/k), this book is absolutely NOTHING like it in any way, so it might be worth your time if that has ever held you back from trying it 😉

CURRENTLY READING:

Only 16 more hours left in my audiobook of The Count of Monte Cristo (it’s starting to get a bit intense!)
This is How it Always Is (this book is SO amazing so far!!!)
Everything, Everything – discussing this in online book club later this week 🙂

What have you been reading lately?! Anything good to recommend?? I think I have enough library holds to carry me through until May but I can’t wait to get into some fun spring and summer books!!!