Started a new listen today. Right now it feels like a researcher‘s dream, but I also appreciate his practical medical attitude.

#TIL: treating people with mild disease (think hypertension or osteoporosis) nets drug companies a lot of money, but doesn‘t actually create proportionally healthier outcomes (don‘t take my word for it—talk to your doctor)

#NFNov

Despite its subtitle of A Surfing Life, this is part discussion of surfing theory, combined with travelogue, buddy road trip, and memoir. Finnegan covers a lot of his life, starting in his pre-teen years and ending in his 50s. Through it all, surfing is the one constant. Definitely worth the praise. But be prepared for some long paddles out before the roar of the wave takes you.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #NFNov

Life‘s been a whirlwind lately. I‘m still reading, but also busy w/ so many things. Work has been nuts. Family too. I‘m taking a memoir workshop, and writing some intense pieces about my family of origin. Today I finally took an afternoon to read ... and nap.

Finished this Mary Karr in a flash! It‘s lovely for anyone going through big life changes. If you‘re questioning whether difficult times will help you grow—she says they will! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

New read—it‘s a mash up of post-apocalyptic urban fantasy and Arthurian legend. Maybe not the best writing ever, but not bad either. After about 20%, I‘m glad I agreed to read and review.

Thrilled I got to read this ahead of its 1/2020 release. Make listening better your New Year‘s resolution—I know this book has inspired me to do it. I learned a ton, and the author kept me engaged by balancing research, interviews, and analysis. Her experts contributed great stories too. For your own sake, give it a go!

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019
#listening2020 #NFNov

New listen for my IRL book group. Love the Scottish setting and language. Eleanor, not so much ...

This book both covers a lot of ground, and is intensely intimate. One child‘s story of escaping a dysfunctional and abusive family. She inspires me. And I want to give her 10-year-old self, working in her dad‘s junkyard, a giant hug, shower, and ride to school. None of those things were forthcoming in her family. That it‘s a harrowing memoir is an understatement. But I loved it.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019
#NFNov

I recently found a group of letters from my grandmother to my mother. In this one, Gram is extolling her ability to read and watch TV at the same time, in order to get a book done in a week. Now I know where I inherited that skill!! 👊🏻📚🤪

#lettersfromgram #memories #howtoreadmore

Despite plenty of English Lit, my degree in Business didn‘t prepare me for the #writinglife. This instructional audiobook (with a PDF) is a good start to filling in the blanks. Mazzeo is an author and Ph.D professor. She organizes and delivers the content well. I used her exercises to improve my current project. Another great addition to my #selfdirectedwritingcourse.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #NFNov

I‘ve had several conversations on Twitter with this author. And then she tweeted me about her book being on NetGalley. What a lovely person! (And smart to get people to NetGalley.) I recommend her work!

Hope the approval comes through in time for #NFNov ...

#friyayintro @howjessreads

1. Backgammon (does that count?)
2. Hawaii, Hawaii (the Big Island)
3. Very happy with what I‘ve read
4. Edith Wharton
5. Last thing you read aloud?

Here‘s a pick for #GuessWhat from @BarbaraBB — an #iconic #nonfiction cover. Yes, it‘s a movie tie-in edition. And it might relate to current events in the U. S. (Answer in comments under a spoiler tag.)

Thanks for the tag @Cinfhen 😎

I have about three hours left in this instructional audiobook. It‘s been fascinating, since I mostly just write by the seat of my pants. I‘m super proud of myself for stopping and truly completing (most of) the exercises as I listen. And today I have between two and three hours of driving to do, depending on weather and traffic. So, the end is in sight!

#NFNov #selfdirectedwritingcourse

#NFNov #TIL

Did you know that speakers give worse talks when their listeners don‘t listen? It‘s been studied. And having inattentive listeners means that a speaker will be less articulate and even remember less of the information they meant to convey.

Fascinating!

You guys inspired me! Here are some ideas from my Kindle and Audible shelves. #booked2020 #winterplan

1. The Bone Season — from my way way back Kindle section
2. When We Were The Kennedys — also terribly old and unread
3. Nine Pints — gimme more medical
4. Play It as It Lays — a Didion novel
5. Of Blood and Bone — loved book one
6. My Lost Family — a great prompt for all those free Audible Originals

@ljuliel #litsyquestionnaire
1. The best book suggestions, insightful reviews, and genuinely lovely people.
2. I haven‘t been a joiner lately, but I like seeing what others are doing. I wish Litsy would solve the irritating double posting issue.
3. Please, for the love of all that‘s holy, fix the horrible problems since the 13.x iOS update. Litsy is unusable on my phone now. Nearly every inch sends my away from posts. I‘m not updating my ⬇️

Dr. Brendan Reilly creates a gripping memoir, One Doctor, by balancing several elements. As a hospitalist, working strictly with patients admitted to hospital, he details individual cases. He also reflects on how the cases affect him beyond the medicine. He struggles to strike a balance between caring attitude and doctorly objectivity. Plus, he‘s caregiving for aging parents.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #NFNov

The world is chock full of self-help books, and it‘s often overwhelming. Are we honestly THIS messed up? Maybe. You Are Awesome stakes out some original territory, and also retreads some typical fare. Still, the author‘s ideas and style grew on me. Sure, he‘s a privileged guy, but he also tweeted me back and said he recognizes that. I think he‘s trying to make life better for people.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019

Taking a road trip with a great friend today up to an enormous bookstore. Then off to an early dinner nearby. #perfectSunday #bookhaul #bookstoretravel

Top three work for #NFNov @Clwojick @rsteve388 !

We‘re SO excited to share our 3rd annual reading challenge #Booked2020❣️

As in years past, there are 24 prompts broken into 4 quarters/seasons. You are free to read in any order you wish. Just one book per prompt, please

*New this Year*  the last week of each quarter you MUST post and tag us with your completed prompts in order to be eligible for the quarterly drawing. 

Any questions ~ ask away!

Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/y62p9fxs

Happy dance—a nonfiction choice with a fantasy add-on. Thanks #botm! #bookhaul

Thanks for the tag @kspenmoll and the idea @monalyisha ! My book club would never actually let me pick ... but here are some choices on my Kindle that I‘d really like to read!

#myidealbookclub #ihadathousandoptions #somanybooksolittletime

In Saint X, Schaitkin alternates between whodunit, love letter to Caribbean islands, and character study, using a combination of the MC perspective, a third-person narrative, and snippets from other players in the mystery. She spins a complex tale, with lush descriptions of her locations. I liked it, but had some reservations about some aspects of the writing and plot. ⬇️

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #readsaintx

I‘ve seen this on so many “best memoir” lists. It‘s time to dive in!

This collection of Sherlockian stories pairs each with a piece of art. The publishers quoted my review in Twitter (above), but didn‘t pick up the parts where I said the stories were uneven in quality. Some truly failed to grab me, but that‘s the nature of a collection. Loved the art, though! And if you enjoy Holmes and Watson, consider this a pick and search out a copy for yourself.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019

My #weeklyforecast — great idea @Cinfhen

On the left, an ARC that needs to be finished and reviewed by Wednesday.
Top right, my ongoing audiobook. May add one more, since I‘m behind on exercises for the course.
Bottom right, my ebook for the gym and on the go.

Ayyyyaaaaayyyaaay! Such a busy weekend and I need to get these ARCs read asap! And here I am ... trying to juggle again!

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

🧡 Joined in May 2016

🧡 That article a lot of us found in Book Riot

🧡 More volume and variety x 100

🧡 Politics, Mystery / Thrillers, Medical memoirs

🧡 @Megabooks @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ReadingOver50 @Simona 😘😘

#gettoknowyou

❤️ Lancaster, PA, USA
🧡 54.99999 (bday soon!)
💛 Work my fingers to the bone—forever!
💚 Married (25 years together, 24 married)
💙 she / her
💜 Mom sent me the word ‘bibliophage‘ from Dictionary.com and it‘s been me ever since

Julián Castro is third-generation Mexican American. His grandmother walked over the border as a 7-year-old orphan. She and his mother instilled two key values in Julián and his twin, Joaquin—education and public service. The writing reads quickly, it‘s not overly political, and the story is inspiring.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#readthecandidates #2020candidates #ownvoices

My new listen—I love memoirs like this! #audiobook #medicalmemoir #onedoctor

1. Outlander or GOT would work for me. Preferably the series!
2. Bare feet as much as possible
3. Somewhere in Colorado, I‘d guess
4. Cabbage and cauliflower
5. This year I‘ll be a celestial witch (stars and moon with a side order of creepy)

#friyayintro

Another day, another group of short stories. It seems to be my thing right now. I‘m almost halfway through, and so far these are a little uneven. And I have a strong urge to return to Arthur Conan Doyle‘s originals for the first time in decades.

#sherlockian #holmsian #victorianmystery

I signed up for Celadon‘s ARC copies several months ago. So it was a big surprise to receive this January 2020 release today. Yay!

#celadonreads #listening2020 #bookmail

Joe Hill is fast becoming an insta buy author for me. This story collection is all wins and no duds, which is a rare thing. Hill pushes the edges of imagination and gore, creating his horrific worlds in spare prose. There are a few creatures, but the scariest characters are humans with no restraint or values. If you love horror, grab this one up soon!

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019

This was on sale at Audible a few months ago. It‘s now book two in my self-directed writing course. And I‘m finding it to be helpful and easy to apply.

#amwriting

@tjwill Thanks so much for the beautiful card and those sticky notes! OMG, they are fantastic! 😘😘

I never figured a book about the oil and gas industry would be so captivating. Written in a novelistic, yet journalistic style, Maddow lays out the relationships between oil and gas extractors like ExxonMobil and the countries where they drill. This is geopolitical stuff that we can‘t afford not to understand—it‘s affecting us and Earth. Give it a go, please!

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019
#thanksnetgalley

New audiobook (and NetGalley ARC). Already love it! 😱😱

We know Ta-Nehisi Coates for his nonfiction, but his fictional debut, The Water Dancer, is just as stupendous as his previous books. He builds the details of his world drop by drop, layer by layer. By the end, I felt fully immersed, although in some ways I was drowning in sadness. Great narrator and supporting characters. 5 stars from me.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019

I read this short book back in early 2017. Lately (or every week since then), it‘s been coming to mind a lot. Found it on Scribd, so I‘m going to give it a listen. Might be the most important 1 hr. 47 min. book around!

My original review is here: http://thebibliophage.com/book-review-tyranny-timothy-snyder/

#readersresist #resistlist

I'm very late with my list of books read July - Sept. (Because I can't win, or am lazy ...)
8. Trail of Lightning
14. A Thousand Splendid Suns
15. The Silver Linings Playbook
17. Yiddish Yoga
18. Ghost Boys
19. Chasing the Scream
22. The Final Days of Magic
Just two left to read in the last three months!
#booked2019

Frankel crafts a story that is by turns politically correct and relevant for all of us. No matter your beliefs, transgender kids are coming out earlier than ever. This novel gives readers a chance to experience the events and feelings around gender identity mostly from the parental perspective, albeit fictitious. Parts were too perfect, but a lot was charming and real. My IRL book group loved it.

Full review on my blog: https://wp.me/p8swP2-7aN

Thanks for the tag @howjessreads ! #friyayintro

1. Relevant and meaningful
2. Blue, kind of dark periwinkle
3. Hosted my book group friends last night
4. Yes, but I hardly ever do either one
5. I will!

Just started this #ARC from #NetGalley. I was going to stay with my reading plan, but once I tried a few pages (more FOMO), I was hooked.

I couldn‘t divorce this book from The Handmaid‘s Tale (book or TV). It‘s impossible to read book 2 without taking book 1 into account. I despise Aunt Lydia more than ever. The daughters are so meh. More Offred, please, because she‘s the character with gravity and a resister‘s heart. And Gilead was pale in comparison, especially with the series. 3 reluctant stars.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#unpopularopinion #damnyouFOMO

Listening to this one on Scribd, but following along in my ARC from #NetGalley. Coates‘ fiction is so far pretty captivating.

This book is effective at unpacking the details of racism, anti-racism, and all of the dreaded middle ground terms like colorblind and “not racist.” Kendi makes a strong and intersectional case. Now that I‘ve listened to it front->back, I will keep it for future reference. His chapters are organized so you can easily just grab parts.

Full Review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #diverseauthors #socialjustice #thanksnetgalley

Normally I‘d never pick a YA, but I loved her Salt to the Sea, and this sounds unique! #BOTM

This is fundamentally a good read, in its genre. A little too YA for me, but reminds me of the best parts of early Anita Blake books. Roanhorse could improve her skill at writing dialogue. But her vision of a post-climate catastrophe world is unique and interesting, especially the supernatural elements. Might borrow not buy book 2.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019
#booked2019 #clifi #ownvoices #readdiversebooks