If you like vampire stories, you should check out the novella, Carmilla. It predates Dracula by about 60 years and Sheridan Le Fanu helped establish the gothic genre. Plus, lesbian vampires 🧛‍♀️

This might be my new favorite Austen. While the plot gets a little fanciful sometimes and the heroine, Catherine, can be rather naive and caught up in the gothic-ness, you can tell it was on purpose. Austen didn‘t seem to be taking herself too seriously with this book. Even the structured rules of Regency society seemed a little more relaxed than usual. Plus, Henry Tilney is my new fav Austen man 😉

Shelf inspector approves of the new bookshelf #shelfie #blackcat

Overall interesting stories. Some made me put the book down and go do something not scary, others were pretty tame. Taught me some of the history of my city.

Ridiculously early to the farmers market. Thankfully I brought another reading challenge book: set in your hometown

Gothic and creepy for October, plus I need a book published over 100 years ago that I‘ve never read. Northanger Abby checks all the boxes.

AKA “Everybody Dies” and “What Did I Just Read??”
But it covers the play requirement for my local library reading challenge.

The book follows Tita, a passionate girl who had the misfortune to be born the youngest in a family where the youngest girl never marries so she can take care of her mother. Tita‘s emotions have a magical effect on everybody at the ranch, especially the emotions she has when she cooks. I think some things get lost in the translation from Spanish to English & there were some cultural things I didn‘t fully understand but it was very interesting.

Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. The book has been on my bookshelf for many years.
As You Wish is a wonderful way of looking at the movie from the point of view of the people who lovingly made it 30+ years ago. I laughed, I cried, I now have to watch the movie for the thousandth time.

My best friend went to a screening of The Princess Bride with Cary Elwes a few years ago and brought me back an autographed copy. ♥️

Thanks Toothless. I wasn‘t reading that at all. #catsandbooks

The first sci-fi I‘ve read in a very long time and it didn‘t disappoint.
The dessert country of Maurhet has been trying to subdue its rainy neighbor Tel-mari for decades.
Sekme is the commander that her men nearly worship for her uncanny ability to survive the worst battles. Unknown forces, both political and prophetic, send Sekme on the path to end the war entirely, but the cost is high.

Finally finished it, just took me two tries. I liked the story but could‘ve done without the essays on embroidery and gems or the soliloquies on whatever emo thing Dorian or Harry were fixated on at that time.

Second round book haul from the Lincoln city library book sale.

Finds for my first trip to the Lincoln city libraries books sale. Will probably go at least once more. #ihaveaproblem

My first One Book One Lincoln book, it tells many different people‘s stories from their point of view, seemingly unrelated but as they get closer to the big event, a pow-wow in Oakland, it shows how much they are intertwined. Very interesting reading about the modern world of Native Americans. The ending was very sudden and left me wanting more resolution. #lclsummer2019

I F*CKING LOVE ANNA KENDRICK!!
This books is hilarious and you can‘t go wrong comparing Zac Efron to Charles Manson. The charming and charismatic part, not the murdery cult part, although.... #litsytbr

I‘ve been thinking about releasing my entire 1-800-Henchmen series in print for a while and the time has finally come! It will include all four previously released Henchmen novellas and a brand new short story, Half Past Misadventure.
Tentative release date is August 15. #iwroteabook #activeauthoring

Trying to get writing again and figured pulling something from my towering stack of writing books would be helpful. The War of Art was an interesting study of what stops us from creating. Pressfield spends most of it talking about Resistance, what it is, what causes it, and how it affects artists. The book wanders into left field once in a while but over all has good advice for artists. #tbrpile

This was a really cute story. It was more graphic than I expected but I really liked that the MC was autistic. #litsytbrlist

Sarah and Eddie meet by chance in the village near Sarah‘s parents house. 7 days later they‘re in love and thinking about the future. Too bad the past rises up to bite them. I almost bailed on it but, 2 massive twists later, I am so glad I didn‘t.

So funny! Just make sure you read it on a full stomach or you‘ll eat your weight in Subway like I did.
I‘d say more, but the title says it all. #litsytbrlist

I first heard of this book from Litsy &added it to my TBR list. It was better than the reviewer said! Cenzo, a fisherman in the lagoon around a WWII-era Venice pulls a girl from the water to find out she is a Jew on the run from the SS & the man who betrayed her family. Cenzo decides to help her but navigating the political sphere of war‘s end Italy is more treacherous than a stormy sea. The man who reads the audio book is very good. #litsytbrlist

Jim Gaffigan has been one of my favorite comedians for years and much of his humor comes from stories of his family. This books is like 5 hours of standup. Very funny and the love he has for his family is very touching. #litsytbrlist

Traveling for work gave me the chance to work on my Litsy TBR list. Rachel & Liam go back to Regency England to try to recover letters & a complete copy of The Watsons written by Jane Austen. I should‘ve read the blurb more because I was caught off guard by the time travel & thought the Watsons were a previous team that had gone missing. The first 2/3 of the book was kind of slow, last 1/3 was good, ending meh. Maybe I‘m not an audio book person.

I love the podcast and I loved this book! It‘s not just about murder and true crime, although there is plenty of that. Karen and Georgia are honest about their past substance abuse and mental health, they are encouraging and supportive, they are hilarious and blunt. I laughed out loud and had to close the book when I couldn‘t read through my tears (both happy and sad). #ssdgm #mfm #murderino #readerino

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” -Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

I had to pause after reading the Sweet Baby Angel chapter because I was crying. #ssdgm #mfm #murderino #readerino

Y‘all, I didn‘t even make it past the dedication before tearing up. May need more tissues. #ssdgm #mfm #murderino

I am kicking myself for not reading this in college! Atwood‘s world where women are nothing more than reproductive systems is both fascinating and terrifying, especially in the current political atmosphere. At one time I would‘ve said it could never happen in real life. I feel differently now.
“We lived in the gaps between the stories.”
-Atwood, The Handmaid‘s Tale

This lil beaut just arrived and as soon as I finish The Handmaid‘s Tale (in about 2 hours), I‘m starting it! #ssdgm #mfm #murderino

“You might even provide a Heaven for them. We need You for that. Hell we can make for ourselves.”

I was supposed to read this for a college class but didn‘t. In light of recent events, now seems like the perfect time.

Today is launch day! I got my personalized ARC and can‘t wait to finish it!

I was recently introduced to the Overdue podcast where the two hosts take turns reading books from their TBR pile and talk about them. It started in like 2015 so I have some serious backlog but I‘m 11 episodes in and have added 3 books to my own TBR pile. If you‘re into podcasts, check them out. P.S. I‘m not affiliated with the podcast. 😜 #TBR #Overduepodcast

I... guess I‘m done reading for the time being. #thirteenthgrave #myfurryroommate

Just a few days left of my local library reading program and I remember that audio books count. I could‘ve been listening to a book a day at work! Decided to “reread” Furiously Happy because who doesn‘t like to laugh hysterically in a quiet office setting to things nobody else can hear?

I loved seeing my home state through the eyes of a Englishman biking from one border to the other. His love for Nebraska & it‘s people is obvious while not glossing over our faults & idiosyncrasies. I had to keep reminding myself that, while I got this book a year or two ago, Wilkinson made the trip in the 1990s. Some things have changed, many haven‘t. (Title is probably the most Nebraskan thing ever that didn‘t involve Huskers, ranch, or “Ope”)

Adam Ellis speaks to my soul. If you are introverted, have anxiety, or are slightly extra, check out his comics on basically all social media and read this book.

It took a bit to get into the story as it is not my usual genre nor is the writing style what I‘m used to but eventually none of that mattered as the story took over. Best described as a “post-apocalyptic western” Dust & Cannibals, follows a small group of people in western Nebraska survive what amounts to the worst bit of luck the US has ever seen. Humor, country values, and the pioneer spirit abound in these pages.

My one and only solid resolution for 2019 is to read at least 25 books in my TBR pile alternating between local authors and national authors. I decided to make my first a book by one of the members of my former writers group and one of my favorite people. #newyearsresolutions #tbr

I hate that it is the movie cover (#booksnob) but I love this book! While much of the narrative revolves around Antonina Zabinski, wife of the director of the Warsaw zoo, it is much more the story of Poland before, during, &after WWII. The Zabinskis risked everything to help Jews escape the Nazis but you also learn what life was like in war-time Warsaw. As the gr. gr. granddaughter of a Polish immigrant, I loved learning about where I come from.

Why was it, she asked herself, that “animals can sometimes subdue their predatory ways in only a few months, while humans, despite centuries of refinement, can quickly grow more savage than any beast?”
-Antonina Zabinski

I got this book at the Lincoln City Libraries annual book a few months ago. Cracked it open to find somebody‘s lost shopping list. Do hope they got their deodorant 😂 #thingsfoundinbooks

Threshold is a book I reread every few years and I enjoy its magic every time. While there are a few things in Douglas‘ writing style that annoy me (arbitrary exclamation points and missing/barely-there character reactions - opposites I know) she is still an amazing storyteller and Tirzah‘s journey from free-woman to slave to Elemental Cantomancer will entrance me every time.

I fell in love with Amy Poehler while watching Parks & Rec, and when I finally downloaded Overdrive, Yes Please was one of the first audio books I downloaded. She is just as hilarious in real life as Leslie Knope is if not funnier. I loved hearing about life as a comedic actress, her time at SNL, and of course Parks & Rec.

Day one of the Lincoln City Library's annual book sale. Kept my picks few because I only brought $10. Will probably return for more.

Thanks to a recently discovered podcast, Excessively Diverted, I decided to take on Austen. I'm getting started a little late so I'm sure my #JaneJuly is going to turn into #AustenAugust but the extra time will help me get through all of the the adaptations that I can find.

Full disclosure: I read this solely because Queen Rowling wrote it.
90% of the book was very slow moving and I'm not 100% there was an actual plot beyond "how one person's death affected a town", but the last few sections were very good. Rowling is a master at writing characters (even though most in this book were terrible people) and the world they move in. Harry Potter, this is not, nor is it my taste, but it wasn't bad.

Friends took me to Prospero's used book store in Kansas City for my birthday 🎉