14 Page-Turner books to read this summer!

I’m delighted today to be participating in this mini blog collaboration with Gina, Rachelle, Anne, and Kristen!! Today we’re all sharing some pageturners to read this summer due to the fact that many of us voracious readers get asked for book recommendations around this time of the year. We’ll all have another post up next Friday, so watch for that one too!! Definitely check out their posts linked below for more summer reading recommendations. I’m going to share 14 books for 14 Things Friday 🙂

For me, a pageturner doesn’t have to be a thriller, even though that’s the first genre that comes to mind when I think of that word. I’ve tried to include a mix of genres in my list today and some older books too that might be easy to pick up on sale on Amazon or without waiting too long in the holds line at the library.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This was my first Taylor Jenkins Reid book and stillllll might maybe be my favourite?! I’m not sure. I listened to this book and I could NOT listen fast enough. The basic premise here is that a woman’s husband is presumed missing, so after a few years, she eventually moves on, but then when she is engaged, her husband re-surfaces. I could not IMAGINE what it would be like to be in this situation. This is a perfect, perfect summer beach read that you should definitely pick up if you haven’t already. Taylor Jenkins Reid can really do no wrong, in my mind, and I’ve found all of her books highly readable.

Lies by T.M. Logan

I’d never read anything by this author but this book was quite an intense “ahhh what the heck is going on here?” type of book that I know many of us like to turn to in the summer. I truly felt for the main character here who was quite naïve but that seemed to suit him well. This was fast-paced and though it wouldn’t be SUPER hard to figure out the ending, I didn’t. Bonus: He has a new book coming out this fall!!

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

For a turn in the complete opposite direction, this is a fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I devoured this in 3 days despite my real life being insanely busy and this book being 470 pages long. This was highly readable and so interesting – AND it’s the first in a series (but the second one isn’t out yet, so don’t get TOO excited).

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I loved this book and I still think about it all the time even though I read it 4 years ago!!! I need to re-read it sometime. This is a slow-burn story with some cringe-worthy moments but it has such a unique storyline and it was impossible to put down, in my experience.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

This is one of the only books I’ve ever read that I put down after finishing it and thought, Hmm. Did I love that or hate it?! I couldn’t put my thoughts on it together. Now that it’s been a month or two since I’ve read it, I have thought about it off and on and although I didn’t LOVE the characters here, I did like this book a lot. It was a fast read and I couldn’t put it down, even though I also can’t say that the plot is really fast-paced. It’s hard to describe, but just know that it might hook you in quickly and you might just want to follow the two main characters over the course of several years of ups and downs. You might even be unsure whether you like it or hate it, like me.

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

This is an overly emotional contemporary romance that just came out recently and I had been eagerly anticipating it for months. It did not fall too short of my expectations, I have to say. I couldn’t flip these pages fast enough. This is THE book to read this summer if this is a genre you enjoy. It is not as light-hearted as it might seem, however!!

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks

This was quite the thrilling ride!! I felt for the main character throughout this book and I really felt like the plot moved quickly and there were some twists. I still haven’t picked up their first book, but I will someday!

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

After starting this, I was entirely unable to put it down until I found out what happened. The characters were interesting and I really liked the way it was told in multiple POVs. Highly recommend if you are looking for a YA thriller. I think I maybe preferred her second book, which just came out this year, but might be harder to get at the library 🙂 They are standalone books though!

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

This book came recommended on a podcast that I love, and then the cover won me over. It was SO good!! There were some VERY funny moments. It was definitely slightly predictable at times but not too much, in my opinion. I couldn’t stop reading it – Amy’s adventures in the city were so fun. I loved all of the side characters like her friends and her children, too. This is my desired type of summer read, not TOO fluffy, but not hard to read either.

The Other Girl by Erica Spindler

This book definitely held my interest and is mostly what I want out of the suspense genre. It was fast-paced and I did not figure it out. 2 years later though, it’s pretty forgettable, unfortuantely… so it might not be my # 1 recommendation although it is on hoopla!

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Anyone who knows me knows that I love this book. At one point I owned 5 copies of it and I gave four of them away to people who I felt needed to read it. I re-read this book just last month and it was every bit as good as I remembered. It takes place in the summertime, so it feels like a perfect summer read. It has undertones of finding yourself, living your best life, rebuilding yourself after your life doesn’t go the way you’d hoped, and there is a lot of friendship, family talk, and a smidge of swoon-worthy romance (though it is not a steamy book). I love it SO much and cannot ever recommend it enough.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

I listened to this and found it quite captivating and a bit creepy. It was well-done historical fiction and I think I liked it better than The Alice Network, though I did really enjoy that too.

Fatal Affair by Marie Force

Wow, this was a fun start to a very long series. This romantic suspense book reminds me a bit of Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series or Sandra Brown’s books or maybe even a bit of James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series. If you like any of those (or if you haven’t read them, I recommend them too!), this would be a good one to pick up! It was definitely suspenseful but not scary and the romance was gooood. This entire series is on hoopla, so very easily accessible.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I read this book as an ARC with no expectations and I still recommend it at least once a month to someone, somewhere. I have never read a book that gave me the reading experience that this one did. It was incredible and if you haven’t read it yet, PLEASE do!!! It is unlike anything else I’ve read, even by this author. The sequel was also incredible, in my opinion. This is not a light-hearted read either, however, and a friend of mine in real life actually had to put it down because it was too intense. It might not be a beach read, but maybe it’s a beer on a rainy day read? Or something? To each his own, but I wish everyone I know would read this.

Honourable mentions: If you (for some reason) have not yet picked up Big Little Lies or What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty do yourself a favour and read those IMMEDIATELY. I also found The Husband’s Secret particularly unputdownable.

Do you have any good books to add to this list??? I could use a couple of good pageturners to read this summer – couldn’t we all??

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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14 “Older” books for your summer reading

I’ve been busy with mom life and getting stuff sorted out for our summer and doing my own thing, so the blog has taken a spot on the back burner again but it’s pretty much summer reading time!! I love seeing a million “books to read this summer” lists pop up at this time of the year, and I have my own list of ARCs and new releases to pick up which I will share in the future. Today, however, I wanted to dive into books that have already been published and might be somewhere lower down on your TBR that you’ve forgotten about them. I love rediscovering books that I REALLY wanted to read at one point and then just digging in!!

So, here are 14 backlist titles perfect for the summer!! Of course, these are all based on my own opinion, but I loved all of these books and a few of them might be a bit more on the “obscure” or lesser-known side. They might be easier to pick up at the library without waiting forever on a holds list too!! Let me know if you share my love for these selections!!!

Take Me with You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

This book takes place in the summer, and it would be a great one to read during these months. I loved this a million times more than I expected to based on the synopsis. Contemporary fiction

Lessons in Gravity by Megan Westfield

This was such a fun read. I loved the wilderness setting & the backdrop of filming some dangerous rock climbing. The setting seemed beautiful and it made me want to visit Yosemite someday. I loved the couple and the emotions behind their relationship. This is a great debut novel and I enjoyed her second book, Leaving Everest, quite a bit too. New Adult fiction with some romance.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Wow, this book was so powerful and thought-provoking. The tension and plot-building in this story reminded me of Beartown although that book is completely different. This book has been a bestseller for awhile now, but if you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favour and pick it up!! Historical fiction that really reads like contemporary fiction.

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

If you’ve heard me talk about books at all, you know that I absolutely love this book SO much. I also really enjoyed The Lost Husband (which is becoming a movie with Josh Duhamel!!), How to Walk Away, and her upcoming August release, Things you Save in a Fire. Happiness for Beginners will probably always be my favourite of hers though. This is another book that is such a good summer read – there is so much in this even though it’s a bit chick-lit-ish too. It’s not really a romance, but there is some romance in it. It’s about finding yourself and learning more about who you are regardless of other people. It is SO readable. I love a post that Hannah did about this book too which made me want to go and highlight my entire copy. Contemporary fiction.

Forget Me Not by Kierney Scott

I read the first 50ish pages of this while waiting in a line and then kind of forgot about it for a little bit before picking it up again and finishing the rest in one night. It definitely held my interest and was SO.MESSED.UP. the way that serial killer books should be. I liked Jess Bishop and her background was pretty cool (her childhood though- whoa). Police procedural / thriller with some twists – first in a series and I need to pick up the other 2!

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

The hype for this book is definitely well-deserved. I was unable to put it down until I found out what happened. The characters were interesting and I really liked the way it was told in multiple POVs. It definitely kept me guessing. YA mystery/thriller

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson

I actually just finished this book in the past couple of weeks. It was so readable. I feel like this was a less sad version of Last Christmas in Paris, which I also loved. I know lots of people don’t really like to read “heavier” books in the summer, understandably, but this one was surprisingly light for the content. WWI fiction/romance.

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Every once in awhile, I feel like I’m getting to the point of being able to see Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s name without crying (don’t follow that link with her NYT letter if you don’t want to tear up), but then I realize that nope, I’m not there yet. Her death is still so sad to me. I love her children’s books, and I love this memoir written about all the little things that make the world what it is. This is such an easy book to read with profound tidbits of ordinary wisdom. If you did follow that link to her article, I also highly recommend her husband’s response. Their whole story is so moving and heartwrenching and beautiful. Highly readable memoir

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I’ve said once or twice that books about bookstores/bookshop owners are all the rage right now, and I really can’t quite get enough of them. This one might just always be my favourite of them all though. I adore this book and can’t wait to re-read it sometime later this year on audio! Contemporary fiction.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

My favourite by Liane Moriarty and a book I think of often. This one is so fun to read. Contemporary fiction. If I might help to convince you, here’s a lovely quote from it:

“Each memory, good and bad, was another invisible thread that bound them together…It was as simple and complicated as that. Love after children, after you’ve hurt each other and forgiven each other, bored each other and surprised each other after you’ve seen the worst and the best…-well, that sort of love is ineffable. It deserves its own word.”

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I’ve never read a series like this one and I doubt there will ever be anything that emulates it. This is the fantastic start to a series of wonderful fairy-tale-retellings in such an imaginative setting. YA fantasy

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

This book is a good one to read in the summer in order to increase motivation in the fall. I’ve read a bunch of these self-help-make-your-life-better type books that contain tons of “common sense” type pieces of advice, but I love the way this one is laid out so that you could really do your own happiness project using some of her structure and advice. I need to do my own. non-fiction, self help

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas

I love Veronica Mars so much and I can’t wait to watch the new series that comes out this summer. The newest season (YEARS after it was cancelled) loosely follows this book and the one after it as well as the movie. You could read this book easily without knowing the characters though and it is a pretty solid mystery. #marshmallowforlife Adult mystery

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

This series is so intense and even though it’s been years since I’ve read them, I know they are still pretty popular. Pretty gruesome though! Adult mystery/thriller

Have you read any of these? Are you interested in any of them?!

Honourable mentions: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (the third in this series comes out next week and it is GOOD!), One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Women’s Murder Club series by James Patterson

In the summer, I always get the urge to read thrillers and romance books (let’s be honest, I love romance anyway though). But thrillers feel like summer to me. Any good ones to recommend? I have quite a few on my TBR but not sure where to start. I’m thinking Lisa Jewell, for one.

Happy long weekend, American friends!! And happy almost-end-of-May to everyone else!!!

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!!

Semi-Charmed Summer Reading Challenge: Completed!

I think this is the first time I’ve tried to do 2 reading challenges at once. One thing I love about Erin’s challenge is that it is 4 months long, so I really don’t feel super rushed to finish the books right away (and this is why I also prioritized my reading for the summer book challenge first). Last week, I finished the Semi Charmed Summer Book Challenge (see list below) and I’m still working on Book Challenge by Erin 5.0 (I’ll post about that another time!)

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 150 pages long. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta (243 pages, 3/5 stars, see review here)
10 points: Read a collection of short stories or essays. I amended this to Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (400 pages, 4/5 stars) because Summer Days & Summer Nights hasn’t been ordered by my library yet.
10 points: Read an adult fiction book written by an author who normally writes books for children. Summer Sisters – Judy Blume – (416 pages, 4/5 stars)
15 points: Read a book set in Appalachia. – Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (304 pages, 3/5 stars, see review here)
15 points: Don’t judge a book by its cover! Read a book with a cover you personally find unappealing. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer – (328 pages – 5/5 stars)
20 points: Read a book that you have previously only seen the film (movie) of. – Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (409 pages, 5/5 stars, see review here)
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 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (373 pages, 4/5 stars)
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 (259 pages, 4/5 stars, see review here)
30 points: Read one book with a good word in the title, and one with a bad word. Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan (464 pages, 3/5 stars, see review here) and The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (352 pages, 5/5 stars, see review here)
40 points: Read two books that contain the same word in the title, but once in the singular and once in the plural. Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell (320 pages, 3/5 stars, see review here) and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (383 pages, 5/5 stars, see review here)

Total points: 200

This challenge really broadened my summer reading. There were a few books that felt like a little bit of a slog, but I enjoyed them in the end. I was quite surprised by how much I liked some of the books that I’d put off reading for awhile, so that was nice!!

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!

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.

Literary Ladies Summer Reading Challenge Final Link Up

When I first saw the info about this summer reading challenge on Kristen’s blog, I immediately went to work writing down possible books for the categories. I did end up changing my mind a bit, but my final list was as follows:

YA Book – Sloppy Firsts 4/5 Stars

A book with a one word title – Cinder 4.5/5 stars

A book about summer, or a book with summer in the title – Twenty Boy Summer 2.5/5 Stars

A book recommended by a blogger – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 4.5/5 stars

A book by a non US author – Big Little Lies 5/5 Stars

A book on my TBR list for more than a year – The Perks of Being a Wallflower 4/5 Stars

A book with a female heroine – Jane Eyre 5/5 Stars

A suspenseful book – Gone Girl 3.5/5 stars

Book written by a celebrity or comedian: One More Thing 4/5

Book that will be a movie or TV show – The Martian -5/5

And as I mentioned in my last update post, I finished all the books from my list in August!

The books I would absolutely recommend that I read: The Martian, Big Little Lies, Jane Eyre, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I also (obviously) loved Cinder and I have gobbled up the rest of that series in the past month or so.

I’d like to take a minute now though to reflect on the challenge and how I feel about reading challenges now that I’ve got this one under my belt 😉

One thing I absolutely LOVED about the reading challenge was that I really expanded my horizons in reading. There were some books on my list that had been on my “to be read” list for WAY too long and I knew that if I thought I “had” to read them, I would. And I’m so glad I did!! I also loved the interactive component of this challenge and the fact that it increased my participation on Goodreads/commenting on blogs/talking to other book lovers about similar choices. Additionally, I liked that I didn’t binge on one particular series. Usually (like most people, maybe?), if I read a good book, I will read the sequel immediately after, and then the next in the series, etc until I’m done it and in withdrawal. haha. This really forced me to move onto another book for a bit and absorb each series bit by bit. I wouldn’t necessarily do this moving forward, but it was interesting. Finally, I liked how this challenge made me fall in love with audiobooks. Throughout the challenge, I’d usually have 1 (or 2!) books on the go, and an audiobook, and I loved that because sometimes you have time to read, but sometimes you need to wash dishes or go for a run, and then you can turn to an audiobook at that time.

The only thing that I didn’t love about myself during this challenge was how intense I got about it…haha. By that I mean I really wanted to finish first so I felt like I chose books that weren’t TOO TOO long or hard (although some were longer, and none of them were necessarily SUPER easy). I also rushed through a couple of them, and I felt like I should be reading every single second that I wasn’t with the kids or working…so that was a bit weird, but I did enjoy all the reading I did this summer!! And this feeling isn’t the challenge’s fault, it’s all mine. 😉

I’m not doing any other challenges at the moment (although a fall one would be great!!) but my current reading goals include finishing all of Jane Austen’s books (I haven’t read a few of them yet!) by Valentine’s Day 2016, finish 100 books by December 31 (Goodreads tells me I am a few behind schedule but it doesn’t realize that summer socializing is coming to an end LOL) and if I finish 100 books I will allow myself to read Harry Potter again for the 10th ish time 😉 I am dying to read it again, and I know I should just say OK go ahead, but I’m also trying to really broaden my horizons a little bit. So many books, so little time!!!

Thanks for hosting such a great reading challenge ladies! I’m looking forward to the next one!! 🙂

Literary Ladies Update #2 and current reads

I’ve drafted several posts lately and then I haven’t had enough time to edit them or add pictures, so they’re left sitting as drafts and the moment has passed. BUT here I am today, so that counts for something?? We have had an insanely busy past few weeks. Stressful moments at work followed by nights at home with a screaming, tired, preschooler and a teething toddler have left me totally burnt out. Every day this week, I actually felt like digging myself a hole and hanging out there for awhile on my own with some peace and quiet. However, I let a few things go for this weekend, and my mind is MUCH clearer today, and I think I will survive now 😉

So, aside from turning 30 last Friday (ahh!!) I have been doing a lot of running, reading, and listening to great tunes and podcasts lately. Here is my update for the Literary Ladies Summer Reading Challenge:

Books read: 10/10!!

Books read since last update: The Martian (see thoughts below) and One More Thing.

I finished all my books awhile ago (almost within the first month, but The Martian on audiobook took a bit longer and One More Thing did too). Here’s my previous update, in case you want to know what I thought of the other 8 books I read.

My favourites from the challenge:

The Martian – honestly one of the best books I have read (listened to?) in years. It was amazing as an audiobook, and I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed the print version nearly as much. I can’t wait to see the movie. By the end of the book, I was actually squirming with anticipation to find out what happened with Mark Watney. Amazing, amazing book. Thanks to Kristen’s recommendation…I hadn’t even heard of it until I read about it on her blog, and I have already recommended it to everyone I know (my dad and my brother both absolutely loved it too!)

Big Little Lies – this book had me hooked right from the beginning and I couldn’t stand not knowing the ending so I finished it in about 2 days.

Jane Eyre – I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book (I listened to most of it, actually). Classics are classics for a reason.

Cinder – I have since finished Scarlet and Cress, and I love this series. I can’t wait for Winter to come out this fall. I have been actively seeking out more fairytale retellings too and I think I will try to get back into watching Once Upon a Time sometime soon too.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – this was a heartwarming and pleasant read, and I loved it.

I’m so glad I did this challenge. It definitely broadened my reading scope and got me to read more books this summer than I otherwise would have. Now that I’ve caught the reading bug again all the time, I don’t think I’ll stop anytime soon!

Right now I’m reading In the Unlikely Event (so far it’s about 3/5 stars for me, but I’m only about a third of the way through – I’m interested but not 100% hooked on the characters and I have an ominous feeling about what is to come)…and I have these others on the horizon in the next week or so and while I’m off work for a week (Sept 1-8) 🙂 This one is for the Literary Ladies Book Club pick of the month.

I just finished the other two Lunar Chronicles books, and I loved them. Cress was probably my favourite of the three so far. I liked Scarlet too, but the storyline just wasn’t as exciting to me as Cinder and Cress. I am actually glad in a way that I didn’t discover this series until this spring, because now I don’t have to wait quite as long for the fourth book to come out 😉

I’ve also read the 2nd and 3rd Jessica Darling books – the third wasn’t my favourite but I am hoping the fourth will be better! Still a good series to pass the time 😉

I have heard amazing things from many bloggers about the Sea of Tranquility, and I hope it isn’t TOO emotional for me, haha.

Anyway, I’m off to go for a run on my lunch hour here…hope everyone has a great weekend!! I hope my weekend looks a little bit like this photo:

But I’m sure it will end up being more like this:

Update: Literary Ladies Summer Reading Challenge

I think I read more books this month than I have in years! I loved the break from watching TV in the evenings. I love having an audiobook and a regular book on the go, because sometimes it is just easier to listen to a book (i.e. walking to work, on the bus sometimes, going for a run, washing dishes.) I know I posted last week about books lately, but I wanted to create a post just for the challenge so I can link up today.

I’ve read 8/10 of the books from my list so far, and I’m hoping to be finished by the end of the week!

Books I’ve read so far:

YA Book – Sloppy Firsts 4/5 Stars

A book with a one word title – Cinder 4.5/5 stars

A book about summer, or a book with summer in the title – Twenty Boy Summer 2.5/5 Stars

A book recommended by a blogger – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 4.5/5 stars

A book by a non US author – Big Little Lies (amended from The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up which was less than 200 pages) 5/5 Stars (and I will read the Life Changing Magic soon!)

A book on my TBR list for more than a year – The Perks of Being a Wallflower 4/5 Stars

A book with a female heroine – Jane Eyre 5/5 Stars

A suspenseful book – Gone Girl 3/5 stars

Books in progress:
Book written by a celebrity or comedian: One More Thing
Book that will be a movie or tv show – The Martian – I AM SO, SO, SO HOOKED ON THIS AUDIOBOOK!!!

Books that I will be reading when I finish the challenge:

Scarlet
The Husband’s Secret
Second Helpings

Literary Ladies Book Club & Summer Reading Challenge!

Hi there! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted in this space!

However, as you may remember, I LOVE to read and I am finding a lot more time for it lately on my commute to work and now that I have children who mostly sleep all night 😉 Last week I came across an awesome SUMMER BOOK CHALLENGE that I’m so excited to participate in, and I wanted to share my book choices for the challenge on my (old) blog space!!

Here are my reading picks for the Literary Ladies summer reading challenge (Jun 21-Sept 21 2015):

1) A YA Book – Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty (Jessica Darling Series #1)

I’ve already picked this one up from the library, so it might be the first one I start on Jun 21! I’ve heard a lot of good things 🙂

2) Non US Author – The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo who is Japanese!!

A few people recommended this to me, and while I’ve heard it is a bit extreme, I think I need it in my life!!

EDIT: I amended this book choice to Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty because the book by Marie Kondo is less than 200 pages on my Kobo!! So I’ll still read it sometime, but it won’t count for this!

3) Book recommended by a Blogger – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin recommended by Kristen here.

I’ve heard SO many good things about this book and I can’t wait to jump into it.

4) A book that’s been on your to-read list for 1+ years- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by

This one has been on my to-read list on Goodreads for ages now, and I haven’t seen the movie either…so I think this summer is a good time to give it a go!

5) A book with a kick-ass female character – Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

The audiobook is all cued up thanks to Librivox!

6) Book that is or will be a movie – The Martian by Andy Weir

Going the audiobook route on this one too – I think I will understand it a bit better that way! Can’t wait to check out the movie this fall with my husband’s favourite actor as the main character!

7) A book written by a celebrity – One More Thing by B.J. Novak AKA Ryan from the Office AKA Mindy Kaling’s “best friend”

I started this a long time ago and didn’t finish it, so I guess it counts as a bit of a re-read. I think the short story format will work well for the bus commutes. If for some reason, this book of short stories doesn’t fit the category, I am going to amend this choice to Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.

8) A book with a one-word title – Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I deliberated on this category for a long time, and almost went with Invisible by James Patterson. The problem with Goodreads is that it’s too easy to read reviews, and I figured Invisible might be a bit more gruesome than I’m up for right now, so the highly recommended first book in the Lunar Chronicles fits this category for me.

9) Suspenseful book – Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

I must be the only person on the planet who hasn’t read this book yet, and I want to read it before seeing the movie which I noticed is now on Netflix!!! Unfortunately, I have encountered a few spoilers for it, but I think I’ll still enjoy it.

10) A book about summer or has summer in the title – Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Oh, boy did I ever deliberate over this one too. There are so many books with Summer in the title and some of them seem a bit too teenage-angsty for my current mood (i.e. turning 30 in a few months, lol). Who knows, maybe my choice will be that way too, but it seems pretty good! I will also probably check out Summer at Sea at some point this summer 🙂 This category also made me remember Summerland…whatever happened to that show? It was OK for a bit there!

ANYWAY….

If you’re looking for a fun virtual book club to join, I am pretty intrigued by the Literary Ladies Book Club! They have a Goodreads page and they are planning to host a Twitterchat on the last day of the month to discuss that month’s book. Their pick this month is Saint Anything, and I’ve been anxious to try out Sarah Dessen for awhile!!

You can follow along with my progress for this book challenge on my Goodreads page. I hope to blog a bit more this summer too, because I am finding myself with free time (occasionally) in the evenings these days and I want to try to capture this season of our lives with a bit more sincerity!

XOXO!!