My September #BookSpinBingo report: one bingo, 13 books finished, including my BookSpin and DoubleSpin. My favorite was the tagged book but several of these were close behind.

As an avid NPR fan, I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Despite the title, it‘s about a lot more than just friendship with RBG. She does weave that through the book, but it‘s also about her career and how her circle of friends have enriched her life.I think this would benefit from a different title so NPR nerds like me will be drawn to the book more than those who just want to know about Justice Ginsberg.

Here‘s my #BookSpin list for October! Mostly mysteries with a couple of book club picks. Ready to read!

#BookSpinBingo

This really lived up to its hype for me. I think the U.S. cover makes it look cutesy, though, and it was not. There‘s sexism, assault, and death in this story along with the cooking show and the dog that can read. But it all comes together into a great read. Elizabeth Zott is a great character.

This was my #BookSpin for September.

This reminded me a bit of One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot because it features an older character in present day mixed in with chapters about their life when younger. Hubert is a great character who dealt with a lot of challenges and the book has both sadness and humor. The issue of lonely people is a real one too. I loved this book right up until the epilogue. I would‘ve preferred to just imagine what happened after the main part ended.

I really liked the Tokyo Ever After series by this author but I was disappointed in this one. It read like a Jennifer Weiner knockoff, with serious storylines mixed in with a ridiculous one (creating a fake life to impress a daughter who had been adopted). I finished it but I didn‘t really like it. The friendship between Mika and her best friend was my favorite part.

I really enjoyed this. It‘s got a bit of a supernatural element as the MC wakes up the day after she‘s seen her son murder someone just before Halloween. I thought it was going to be a Groundhog Day type of story but it was more complicated than that with some good twists. You have to suspend disbelief to go along with the premise but it worked for me. I haven‘t read this author before but definitely will read more of her work.

This one isn‘t in the database. It‘s read by Phillipa Soo and it was a pleasant listen! The female MC is an attorney who plans trips she never takes and completely avoids pop culture as she tries to make partner. So she doesn‘t realize she‘s met a KPop star. I like that this author always includes work storylines. The main romance was fun enough, but part of me would‘ve been ok if it had a different resolution.

This is my Sept. #DoubleSpin

I was tagged by @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks a few days ago but I thought I‘d still answer! I am reading the tagged book, which is YA romance. I just started but I think I will like it. Hope so!

I‘ve been distracted by the US Open and world news lately so I‘ve not read as much this week as I‘d like.

#CurrentlyReading #LittensWantToKnow

My August #BookSpinBingo book report: 3 Bingos and 15 books finished, including my BookSpin and #DoubleSpin. An improvement over July! Most of these were very good. My favorites are the four memoirs I read: Jennifer Grey, Nyle DiMarco, Laura Coates, and Katy Tur. Portrait of a Thief was a fun take on a heist story so it was my favorite of the fiction picks. Now for more September reading!

This was one of my August reads that I wanted to review. The author is a CNN legal expert but I‘ve never seen her on TV. I read this b/c I saw it on Instagram. Each chapter is a case or situation she dealt with as a federal prosecutor, and the perspective she brought to the job as a Black woman. Our legal system is not equal, which this book shows. I wish there were followup on some of these cases, which were often sad or infuriating.

This was my #DoubleSpin for August. I enjoyed this YA novel about a boy named Briggs who spends the summer at the lake working for Mrs. B, an older Serbian lady who likes to go to funerals. She‘s a great character. Briggs and others in the book deal with a variety of problems but there‘s a lot of humor too.

My #BookSpin list is ready for September! Several of these are books I got for my birthday and I‘m excited to see what I get to read first.

I felt so much nostalgia reading this! Jennifer Grey has led an interesting life, starred in ‘80s classics and dated or befriended lots of stars along the way. She‘s very honest about it in this book, from her relationships to her nose job. It‘s a bit more gossipy than some celeb books but not mean spirited. The parts about Dirty Dancing and Dancing With the Stars were the best parts but I did enjoy it all.

My username is what I‘ve used on other social media— my first initial, last name, home state. Not super exciting!

#LittensWantToKnow

I ended up liking this but it did take me a few tries to finish. The concept is great — since mostly men created the Oxford English Dictionary, were “women‘s words” lost? Esme grows up at the Scriptorium, where a lot of creation of the dictionary happened. In the second half, the author fit her into the suffrage movement and World War I. A lot of it is very sad but it was worth reading. ⬇️

My review for this is what my review is for all the books in this series. Veronica Speedwell is delightful and Stoker is delightfully grumpy. Another interesting and fun adventure with them!

This was a good sequel to The Family Upstairs, which I thought was a good and creepy thriller. While I had forgotten some of that book, I got my bearings soon enough. There‘s good resolution to the first book, and the epilogue had a good final twist.

Also I just noticed how many times I said good in this review. It‘s a good book! 🤣

I‘ve caught up on a lot of my mystery series, so I‘ve started this Maeve Kerrigan series. This is the second book, and I liked it a lot. It starts out about solving cases with unsavory victims and turns into more. Maeve is a good character. The book also covers the sexism a woman faces in a field like law enforcement. I‘m looking forward to reading more of these.

#Two4Tuesday

1. I‘m sure I have. I used to use email as my reminders before I got an iPhone with reminders built in.

2. The tagged book just came in for me at the library.

The 35th anniversary of Dirty Dancing seems like the right day to start this book. I loved that movie so much. To this day I use “I carried a watermelon” to indicate an embarrassing experience.

#SundayFunday

1. Issac‘s Storm is about a hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in the early days of forecasting.
2. I still need to read the tagged book. Especially now that it‘s a tv series.
3. I love a rainy day for reading.

I went to journalism school (but work in PR) so I love a journalist memoir. Katy Tur grew up around the news, with infamous parents who invented helicopter news reports in Los Angeles, famously covering OJ‘s Bronco chase, She is now an MSNBC anchor and her husband is on CBS. I enjoyed learning more about her career, her difficult childhood, and my favorite chapter was her worries about going on, and returning from, maternity leave.

#Two4Tuesday on Sunday bc I just realized I never posted this!

1. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones. I‘ve read it multiple times and always love it.

2. memoir of an unconventional childhood

Like most of Reese‘s book club picks, this would make a good movie or show. At first it was hard to root for any of the characters because they‘re con artists, but Lucky becomes more likable as it goes. The lottery ticket dilemma added a fun layer

I really enjoyed this memoir! It paired well with True Biz because DiMarco weaves in lessons on Deaf history and culture in a similar way to that novel. I watched him on Dancing With the Stars, so reliving that season was fun too.

This was a fun read with some layers! There are a lot of main characters and chapters switch their POVs but it was worth it to get to know everyone. (Lily was my favorite). It turned out differently than I expected too. Extra fun that it is partly set in Durham, which is close to where I live. This was my #BookSpin for August.

#AlphabetGame #LetterB @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I recommend Between Two Kingdoms, a memoir of the author‘s cancer diagnosis and treatment. She had a unique take, and didn‘t sugar coat what it was like for her and her family. I‘ve continued to follow her since reading this.

For something lighter, I‘d recommend Book Lovers. It‘s the only Emily Henry I‘ve read so far, but I really liked it.

Thanks @DebbieGrillo for the tag!

First book of August finished! I liked this sequel as much as the first, and if there aren‘t any others in the series this would be a satisfying ending. Izumi and her mom are trying to find their own way in the royal world in Japan. This one has a little bit of fake dating, some unlikely allies, and a good setting. My only issue is the amount of pressure Izumi puts on herself to figure everything out — she‘s young! There‘s plenty of time.

#Two4Tuesday

1. In movies, I prefer super powers but in books I think magic is more interesting.

2. I don‘t know about the best, but one of the most recent ones I‘ve read with magic in it is the tagged book.

Now that I‘ve caught up on my July reviews I can post my #BookSpinBingo card. I almost got Bingo in two different rows but I couldn‘t quite make it. I did finish 12 books, including my BookSpin and DoubleSpin. Those books were The Man Who Died Twice and Bomb Shelter. I enjoyed them both. My favorites were The Measure, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and Bomb Shelter.

I‘m glad I read this because I think it‘s important to know the reality of hate, but it was a tense reading experience.I can‘t imagine being the author and actually immersing myself into this online. It was helpful to read this with our #SheSaid group.

I‘d never read this author before. It was a good thriller that kept my interest. I listened to the audiobook, and there were a few spots where I was wishing I‘d had the print version so I could read a little faster!

I enjoyed this novella, especially the unique airport setting.some of the “conflict” was a bit contrived but I don‘t mind little of that in this kind of story.

This was a fun story with a serious side as one of the main characters deals with depression and the other has his own challenges. I don‘t watch The Bachelor but for some reason I find it fascinating to read about, so this fictionalized take was great for me.

This was really thought-provoking! The premise is that one day everyone over age 22 gets a mysterious box with a string that shows the length of their lives. It would be a great book to read with a book club. I‘m still thinking about the questions in this book! It uses several connected characters to show what makes a measure of a life.

I gave this one to my mom as a gift and then read it myself. I enjoyed reading about their lives as child stars, especially Ron‘s time on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days. After reading some pretty heavy celebrity memoirs it was nice to read something that was mostly happy. Fun fact: The actress who played Aunt Bee retired to my hometown.

Here‘s my #BookSpinBingo plan for August. I‘m hoping for another fun month of reading.

This one was even better than the first in the series. I keeping trying to decide which of the main characters is my favorite. I think probably Elizabeth because she‘s just so clever, but Joyce is fun. I especially like that the book features some journal entries from Joyce that bring in new layers of the story with a lot of humor. Ibrahim, Ron, and Bogdan are also great. I‘m ready to read more of their adventures.

This was my #BookSpin for July

It‘s been a few years since I read the first book in this series, but I decided to pick up the second on audio and really enjoyed it. Reasons to read these are setting and character — the author takes quite a while to set up the story and describes the environment (both human and natural) that Perveen Mistry encounters. I am going to read the third book sooner than I did this one! The narrator is great, with a very soothing voice.

Finding Me is not a light hearted celebrity memoir. Viola Davis doesn‘t shy away from sharing her experience growing up in dire circumstances dealing with poverty and racism. She of course does an amazing job narrating the audiobook. I was impressed with her ability to forgive and still love. The focus in this is very much on the personal. She talks about some of her Hollywood experiences and challenges, but there‘s not a huge amount of detail.

I read this author‘s previous essay collection and liked it fine, but didn‘t really connect with it. This one was great! I related so much to her anxiety and worry for her family and other life concerns. She does a good job connecting the different essays, making the reader care with a dash of humor.

This is my #DoubleSpin for July.

#Two4Tuesday

1. Sure. It‘s not something I necessarily seek out but I read this POV if the story sounds good.

2. I just read the tagged novel and loved the Marcellus the Octopus POV chapters.

I can‘t decide if I liked this. The premise was intriguing but many of character motivations were really hard to understand. Especially the villain— what was their motivation beyond “obsession”? Most of the twists were clear to me well before the story revealed them. I did have to read this a bit faster than typical because of its library due date, so I will cut it a little slack. It was readable, so I‘d give this author another chance.

After yet another mass shooting, I am glad to have done this reading last month. She‘s from a more conservative evangelical background than me, so I found it helpful to read how her perspective changed. The chapter on arguments against gun control was the best but I learned something from all of it. The book, which is half memoir and half an exploration of gun violence, is centered on her faith but I think any reader would gain from reading it.

I was hesitant to read this out of fear it was going to be too cutesy but I was immediately won over by Marcellus the octopus and Tova, the aquarium‘s cleaner. I enjoyed the Pacific Northwest setting and quirky characters. It‘s a little slow at first, but it comes together well. I also appreciated a book that featured an older woman character finding her way as she ages. Something about this reminds me of 100 Days of Margot & Lenni.

#Two4Tuesday

1. Good! I finished the PopSugar Challenge recently and I‘m on track with my Goodreads goal. I‘m still working on my #NonfictionBingo card for 2022.

2. Yes, especially now that I‘ve finished the PopSugar prompts. This is always a goal.

Celebrating that I finished my #PopSugar Reading Challenge for 2022! I just did the regular prompts, and officially finished on July 1. In past years, I was rushing to finish my last prompts in December.

I‘m thinking of doing the Advanced prompts now but I won‘t stress if not. I‘ve never done those before. It‘s nice to be able to read *whatever* for the rest of the year.

#PopSugar22

Starting one of my #bookSpin picks for July. I have this week off from work so I‘m hoping to finish at least a couple of books!

June was a great reading month. I didn‘t get a bingo this time but I came close in three rows! I did finish my #BookSpin this time. I enjoyed all the books I read. My top reads were Take My Hand, Book Lovers, Razorblade Tears, and All Her Little Secrets. I need to catch up on my reviews!