Yay! Reading to stay awake during late night feeds for a new baby gave me a great advantage for this years challenge lol

This was such an enjoyable, fun read. I often can tell how much I‘m enjoying an ebook by how often I check the page number and I was a third of the way in before I even looked at how long the book was. A lovely cast of diverse and funny characters, and I enjoyed the ending, even if parts were predictable (in a comforting way, not a boring way). I would definitely accept a job with the KPS 🦖.

Following Nathan Pyle on Instagram is a delight 😌

Bye family, see you in a day or so #letsgo #trashformaas

I‘m showing zero signs of being able to finish this year‘s challenge but is that going to stop me from planning next year? Hell no 📚#popsugar2022 #popsugar #abookpublishedin2022

This was a soft pick, I only really got into it in the last five or so chapters. I found the characters pretty one dimensional and didn‘t really care about them until the war got started and Patroclus developed some interests outside of how hot Achilles was. #unpopularopinion I know, I really hoped I‘d love it based on other reviews

Wow, 5 years. I found Litsy through the List App, trying to fill my days while on maternity leave (the never-sleeping infant apparently wasn‘t enough lol) and it‘s become one of my favourite little corners of the internet. I don‘t post much but I‘m lurking here most days - enjoying all the fantastic recommendations, growing the TBR. Here‘s to 5 more 📚🎉

Ok Litsy, I need recommendations. I don‘t read a lot of memoirs and this is the only prompt I have no idea for. Anyone out there read memoirs and has a recommendation that will fit? Or can tag someone that will? Any help is appreciated at this point 😊

I have been putting off this book for the longest time and only picked it up because the #popsugar reading challenge prompt to read the book that‘s been on your TBR the longest. It was all the things I feared it would be - cheesy, predictable- but in such a charming way that I‘ve fallen in love and the series has become an instant favourite. It‘s my new go to comfort read and I have now hogged all the library copies of the rest of the books 📚😋

After missing February for my ACOTAR series reread, here is my #bookspin for March. I‘m going into it with the intention to have a go at bingo but I‘m such a mood reader I never seem to make it 🥲. Thanks for organising @TheAromaofBooks

It‘s finally arrived! (Insert pterodactyl screeches here). Now, if you‘ll excuse me, I have to call work and tell them I can feel a cough coming on 😋

OMG Sharni, I didn‘t even notice until I went to put them on a new shelf! You must be feeling so ripped off, this is amazing! 😭 #happilyeverafterswap

#happilyeverafterswap Part 2. I opened up my box first thing Sunday morning and was not disappointed. You have found cute goodies from my fav fandoms 😍

Ahh, I just realised I never posted my pictures from the #happilyeverafterswap. Sharni, you killed it! I‘m so excited to try all of these, they all sound amazing!

Kids toy or photo prop? I‘m having a go at the bookstagram thing and I promise the actual pictures are better lol. Feel free to drop by and have a look 😊https://www.instagram.com/readinginthepool/

My heart sank a little when I got this for #bookspin - it‘s been sitting on my shelf for years and whenever I‘ve tried to read it just hasn‘t caught me. I have been missing out. This was a beautiful, sweet book; at times sad, at times funny, but always staying true to its simple message about the importance of love. Like a nice warm hug.

It‘s arrived! I had a little peak in the bag and it all looks intact to me. And yours is on it‘s way, minus the Etsy item going directly to you @thegirlwiththelibrarybag 📚 #happilyeverafterswap

@thegirlwiththelibrarybag You may be worried at the lack of updates for #happilyeverafterswap but here we are. Books are picked and ready to go but I‘ve had a few holdups with Etsy items. After many emails with the seller, one item will now be coming to you directly and if the other hasn‘t shown up by Friday I will just send it on afterwards. It will all be in the mail shortly and hopefully with you by opening day. I‘m so sorry for the drama

But sir, this is my emotional support book stack. My eldest started school today and I decided to make a quick stop at the library to keep from becoming a blubbering mess - it seemed a healthier choice than than bulk chocolate. Ok I also bought chocolate 🍫😁📚

This wasn‘t on my TBR but I couldn‘t resist that tagline “Authorised to kill ... and sell books” Susan visits London to find her father but gets sucked into the magical world of the booksellers after potential dad #1 is turned to dust in front of her. I found this book delightful, full of whimsy and charm. Plot-wise it worked really well as a stand-alone but I feel like the characters could develop more in a series. I would love to see more Vivian

I liked this better than A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I loved Harper but wasn‘t a big fan of Rhen so I never really brought into the romance. I didn‘t like Grey that much in the first book either but his character development was well done and Lia Mara is awesome sauce, so a pick from me. Bring on Book 3! #popsugarchallenge2021

My #bookspinbingo board for this month! Tagged book is my #bookspin book, #doublespin is tagged in the comments. Thanks again @TheAromaofBooks for setting all this up 💚

My 5 star reads for 2020. I‘m a bit surprised looking them over, I‘m not normally a big fan of non-fiction and two made the cut this year. I think Gemina was my overall fav, I just wasn‘t expecting it to be as good as it was and I haven‘t shut up about it since 😋. Crescent city was a close second, I‘ve already re-read it

My #bookspin for January! I‘m determined to knock off a big chunk of my tbr in 2021 so I‘ve dug through some of my back catalogue, in addition to all the ones I didn‘t get to this year. Thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for helping me figure out what to read next 💚

This book was a prize from @vivastory and it‘s finally made its way to the top of the TBR list. It was an interesting read. The unnamed protagonist is a human in a family of werewolves and the book details his struggles as he grows up. It was a unique take on werewolf mythology, at times gory and violent, but with a big heart underneath. I struggled to get into it but it was well written and I was hooked by the end. Pick

And I‘m done! This is the first time I‘ve finished both the #Popsugar and @bookriot #readharder challenges. I really enjoyed them both and I found tracking it with StoryGraph made it a bit easier to see what I had and hadn‘t done compared to my normal messy scribbling of ideas. I‘ve read some really interesting books, this year had a good mix of easy and challenging prompts. Can‘t wait for next years lists

I love the alternative reality in this book. In 2016 America voted in a liberal woman instead of a giant orange POS. But also this book is funny and cute. Alex and Henry are amazing and all the supporting characters were also very loveable. It was fluffy but addressed some serious issues really well. I felt so uplifted after reading this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Agghhh. This book was such a disappointment. The concept - refugees escaping through magic doors - was awesome but it wasn‘t well executed. I didn‘t care about the characters at all and they felt very two dimensional. At least it was a quick read, in part due to the author‘s inability to use full stops. This was a page picked at random, with only two full stops on the page, which was not unusual.

As you can see, this book took me forever. I just couldn‘t get into it the first time I tried it. I found it hard to read and boring. However, I couldn‘t bring myself to put it down as a bail - a lot of people with excellent taste have raved about it. I tried again this month and it was like reading a different book. It was a wonderfully built world with a diverse cast of characters. I really enjoyed it. Not perfect but an engaging read.

Greenhouses are for books, right?

This was so cute! And super sexy 💘. I thought it was a good representation of ASD as well. Definitely recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m very behind on my reviews so I‘m going to try to catch up this week. I loved this book. It was a great story about the about smarts over magic, the power of friendship and women raising up other women. I‘m cross I waited so long to read it. A new favourite 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I‘ve just discovered StoryGraph and I love the little breakdowns of my reading style, it‘s so fun. Apparently I like “mainly fiction books that are adventurous, emotional, and mysterious. You tend to choose medium-paced books that are 300-499 pages long.” Who knew I was secretly an adventure reader?

I‘ve been flat out at work but I finally made it to my #lmpbc book for this month! I‘m not the ideal reader for this, I‘ve already learn a lot of this info through work and I think that‘s why I found it repetitive and a smidge preachy. I may have enjoyed it more if I was going into it fresh. The information is good, it‘s well written and that cover 😍😍😍 - it‘s just not the book for me. Still, glad I read it, that‘s the joy of book clubs!
#groupz

Not strictly book related but saw a wonderful, fun production of Shakespeare Under the Stars tonight. It starred Brendan O‘Connor, better know in my family as Charter Boat due to his starring role in an infamous Australian insurance ad a few years ago (“Charter boat? What charter boat?”). The company managed to smoothly incorporate some COVID references, which I think shows the timelessness and flexibility of Shakespeare. Love me some Shakespeare

Why? 😱I‘ve gotten whole book boxes for that postage and I just can‘t justify it. But it‘s so pretty😢😢😢

Yay! I know I should set my goal higher because I beat it early every year but I just like the confetti 😋🥳

Done! The library will be getting all their books back and I won‘t need to put my name down for another reserve. Technically I didn‘t do 3 in 3 days but it was a voluntary withdrawal. I made it a quarter of the way into the tagged book but I was hating every minute of it. It was dark, gory and boring. I gave up and watched Parks and Rec to de-stress instead. I have too many exciting sounding books waiting for me to bother with a hate read.

I was very uncertain about this book at the start after a particular beheading but I kept going because it met a prompt for two of my challenges and I‘m so glad I did. I loved the mythology and Maggie is just a cool, badass character. A very well written book. Book 2/3 of my self imposed challenge

The paragraph above hits different in today‘s world, doesn‘t it? Review wise, the references to psychosis at the start were really inaccurate, feeding into a lot of negative stereotypes about mental illness. The author moved on from that and the story sucked me in but I found a lot of the writing quirks that don‘t bother me in a YA book didn‘t translate well to an ‘adult‘ book. On the plus side one down on my self imposed challenge!

Three books in three days? I‘m a working mum but #ChallengeAccepted

I won‘t say much about this because I read it for #lmpbc but I enjoyed it. I wouldn‘t have picked it up on my own so I don‘t know if it‘s an excellent book or just good and better than I expected but either way, great pick Charmayne! Books like this are why I joined up. And this pic let me re-use old wedding decorations so win-win 😋 #gruopz

Flashback to last week when I spent the day reading on my favourite beach (with healthy snacks of course). The cloud cover kept the crowds away and I think it‘s the most relaxed I‘ve been in years 😎

I enjoyed this. I think I most liked how well the author shaded in the grey areas. No one was good or bad, they all had reasons for their actions and beliefs. Books with moral dilemmas can be hard to read but I sailed through this one (just as well the library is very keen to have it back). I ❤️ this cover too.

Listening to an audiobook to help get through a looong drive

Enjoying this so far, although for some reason my brain insists on reading it in a Southern accent

!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to like this, I really did. But the endless metaphors and crossing out and repetition... I just couldn‘t. In its defence, it is presented as the diary of a 17 year old and my diary from then is just as cringe. But writing aside, I found the characters boring and plot minimal. I‘ve heard the series gets better but I don‘t think I care enough to keep reading and find out

New #bookspin list! Between TOG and my bookclub book I barely made a dent in the list, so it‘s virtually identical. Tagged book was my #doublespin book but there is zero chance I will start it before next week, so back on the list it goes!

I‘ve wanted to re-read Kingdom of Ash as soon as I finished it the first time but it was such an intense book that I‘ve been putting it off. To push myself into it I chucked EOS on my #bookspin list knowing once I started I wouldn‘t be able to stop. It worked well, I enjoyed the re-read so much, both of the official bookspin EOS and end goal of KOA. I could rant for days about individual scenes but to be simple I‘ll just say hard pick 😍