Battling a cold and waiting for my husband to finish up his last minute Christmas shopping with a hot (decaf) African autumn herbal tea, a mediocre apple tart, & the one and only Eleanor Oliphant. #booksandtea

While the concept of the Infinite Family Project is interesting, especially when juxtaposed with the Constant Friction Method (the other parenting style written about in this novel), the actual writing fell flat for me and I found myself bored between the interesting, dramatic spurts. But, then again, my love of trashy reality tv shows with all of the constant twists and unending drama might be to blame for that... 🤷‍♀️

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

Feeling so very spoiled by @Read4life today! Thank you for all of the absolutely amazing reading and writing goodies! I'm absolutely IN LOVE with the Pride and Prejudice Out of Print bag! And, to be honest, I've never read anything by Philippa Gregory, but have heard good things so I'm looking forward to diving in! Thank you so so so much! And thank you to @BookishMarginalia for organizing such a fantastic #summersantagoespostal book exchange!

Sorry for the second post, but I discovered something pretty exciting in my mailbox today and I'm not sure how long it's been there! @Read4life the package arrived safely, and I am so so so excited for it - like beyond excited! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't wait till June 21st! #summersantagoespostal #summersolsticebookexchange

This is a book about zombies, so prepare for blood and guts, but then be prepared to be amazed. This book addresses deeper themes like objectivity versus subjectivity, doing what's right versus what's necessary, the good of the individual versus the whole, and (most importantly) what you are versus what you want to be or where you've come from. This has been, by far, my favorite read of 2017.

Looked through all of the #botm options twice and almost passed on this month, then saw that @Liberty picked this one and decided to just go with it. Anyone else only choose this because of who the judge is? 😂

Since everyone else is doing it... ?‍♀️

1) Born and raised in Arizona (though I did live in Minnesota from 2004-2007) ?
2) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ?
3) I don't read series anymore. ?
4) A Walk to Remember ?
5) 90 Day Fiancé or Chopped or Teen Mom ?
6) Christina Perry ?
7) Lavender ?
8) Fiction of all sorts (historical, contemporary, etc) ?
9) Homemaker ?‍??‍??‍??‍?
10) Boise the Golden-Doodle ?

#meetthelittens

This #ARC is releasing soon, and I keep hearing great things about it. Let's hope the hype is real, and let's see if I can finish it before its release date.

This is the kind-of love story of two clinically depressed teens who both love indie bands, spend days in bed unable to cope with life, and "hate people in a good way" versus loving them. This is also the story of an unlikely friendship between said depressed girl and the town's golden girl who is seven months pregnant with said depressed boy's baby.

Typically I don't care for #YA novels, but this one was actually pretty great - for a YA ?.

"But somewhere deep in her mind an idea had begun to fester - perhaps the longing for safety was itself just another kind of violence - a violence of cowardice, silence, and submission. What was safety, anyway, but the sound of a bomb falling on someone else's home?"

I found myself struggling to "get into" the story at first, but now - halfway through - I'm fully engaged and enjoying. I mean, how profound is that line? This one makes you think.

On the bookish to do list for today:

1) Get this #SummerSantaGoesPostal package in the mail for the #SummerSolsticeBookExchange 📦🤶
2) Get started on my first book of May (I know, it's rather pathetic that we're already a week into this month, and I haven't started anything) 📚

The end was predictable, the characters seemed to be based heavily on the author and her friends/family, and the love story itself was a bit sappy. Okay, actually, very sappy. Yet...I really enjoyed this book. It was exactly what I needed at exactly the time that I needed it.

(3.5 Stars - Rated 4 on Goodreads because I can't figure out how to do a half star rating 😂)

#booksaboutgardens #sappylovestories #loss #newfoundlove #newbeginnings

#BOTM selections for May! For the first time, I splurged and added a second book to the box. What did you choose?

Whitehead delivers a powerful account of the life of a runaway slave from Georgia that is both brutal and honest about the horrors faced both on and off the plantation in pre-Civil War America. 🚂

What can be said about this book that hasn't already been said in a hundred other reviews? #Oprah and #Obama chose a gem with this one!

Today came with the realization of two things:

1) I essentially have two shelves of books that I #ownbuthavenotread

2) I really need to buy another #bookcase

Thought I couldn't be any more excited when I found this month's #botm waiting for me in my mailbox, until I discovered another package from @BerkleyPub under my welcome mat (thank you, #GoodreadsGiveaways )! What a great way to finish up a Wednesday! Happy "you're halfway done with another week" day to you all! ?

#bookmail

Sundays are for honey lavender tea and Emily Dickinson poems. ☕️ 📚

So excited to be registered for the #SummerSolsticeBookExchange ! Looking forward to stalking...um, researching... my match (whomever that may be) and putting together a new box of bookish goodies! 📚

For a multitude of reasons, I've been unable to read pretty much anything for the last three weeks. Has anyone read this?! If so, would you say it's worth sacrificing precious hours of sleep over? It's due back at the library tomorrow, and the only way it's going to get read is if I cut into sleeping hours tonight! Give me all the reviews!!

As you can probably tell, we're pretty excited about getting #bookmail today! Thank you, #GoodreadsGiveaways, for our newest addition to Mount #TBR ! 📚

Days like today (playing the waiting game lots today) are the reason I willingly and purposely carry around about 5lbs of books in my purse on any given day! Also, this is probably really dumb, but the fact that this library hold came in today looking brand spankin' new and unread makes me a little happier than is perfectly sane 😂

Started Valentine's Day off right by ripping into this #cupidgoespostal package! 💕 So in love with each of the book choices (and Meghan's handwritten note explaining why she picked each one specifically for me) and the adorable Valentine's Day goodies! 💕Thank you, thank you, thank you, @Pinkmeghan , for this incredible package! I can't wait to start reading! 💕And thanks again to @BookishMarginalia for organizing this whole thing! 💕

"Maybe if I‘d been someone else I‘d see it differently. But isn‘t that the crux of the problem? Wouldn‘t we all act differently if we were someone else?"

Halfway through this book and only just now starting to find the storyline interesting. Hopefully the second half is better than the first!

Bryn Greenwood's ability to take something that should be absolutely repulsive and instead make it sweet and pure is both an ugly and a wonderful thing. While there are certainly scenes that shock you into remembering that this relationship between a girl in her early teens and a man in his mid-20s is seriously messed up, the twisted reality is that you will find yourself rooting for Wavy and Kellen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #ImNotAPervertISwear

After a really difficult start to the week (received the horrible news that my host dad passed away over the weekend), I'm thankful for a close and supportive family, lifelong friends who feel like family, books that make you bawl, the news that my first #botm shipped, and winning my very first #GoodreadsGiveaway. This week has been a reminder to appreciate the good things in my life - big and small - because life is too short.

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book!"

My now-husband, then-boyfriend, had this edition of Pride and Prejudice ordered for me as a surprise through a tiny little bookstore in downtown Phoenix "just because". I currently have six different versions, but I'll always have room for another on my shelves as it is my #mostreread and most beloved book.

#FeistyFeb

I picked this up primarily because I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and was shocked by just how much I enjoyed it. The emotions are raw and relatable, nearly every line is quotable, and the story makes you think about and question your assumptions about life.

My only regret is that I didn't read the version with all of the beautiful, original illustrations which are haunting, dark, and full of #shadows.

#FeistyFeb

Goodbye, January ? Hello, #FeistyFeb ?

The sad reality is that the only books I'll be getting to this month are library books since the holds are coming in faster than books are being returned. So here is my February #TBR - just missing #HistoryOfWolves which is currently waiting for me at the library and whatever else comes in within the next few weeks.

Also, this stack features my "F", "B", "G", and "H" picks for #LitsyAtoZ

The only good thing about my husband's ridiculous work schedule this week is the extra time I have to read in the afternoons.

My friend and bookspiration, @emmanoble , introduced me to Liane Moriarty awhile ago through Big Little Lies, and I enjoyed her writing so much that I've made it a mission to read all of her novels.

{ "H" pick for #LitsyAtoZ }

I started this novel approximately a week ago and haven't really had the chance to dive into it yet. What I have read so far has been enjoyable but slightly confusing. Has anyone out there read this one yet? If so, did you enjoy it or not?

"just being a woman
calling myself
a woman
makes me utterly whole
and complete"

Although I went into this collection of stories with high hopes, I have to admit I was very underwhelmed by the whole thing. A few of the short stories made me laugh, but, overall, I was left wondering what the heck this collection had to do with being a housewife in America and not being able to relate whatsoever. On the upside, by the time I finished, my cookies were done baking. #ARealAmericanHousewife

"A" book for #LitsyAtoZ

Just got my #cupidgoespostal package in the mail! I'm so excited and don't know how I'm going to get through a month of not being allowed to open it! Thank you, thank you, thank you, @Pinkmeghan ! And thank you @BookishMarginalia again for arranging this! 💕💕💕

Does anyone else out there find it difficult - if not impossible - to find the perfect gifts for people? My best friend, @emmanoble , always astounds me with how incredibly thoughtful and personalized her gifts are (like these beautiful #JaneAusten themed goodies)! Someday, when I get my act together, I want to be like her!

Finished up two library books (The Orphan Master's Son & Station Eleven) just in time to get nine more to take their place. #LibraryHaul 📚

The perfect end to a Saturday night: curling up with a highly recommended novel and some treats. #BooksAndTea #BooksAndCookies #SaturdayNightIn

{ "O" book for the #LitsyAtoZ challenge }

"People didn't fit in slots - prostitute, housewife, saint - like sorting the mail. We were so mutable, fluid with fear and desire, ideals and angles, changeable as water"

{ My "W" book for #LitsyAtoZ }

I finally have my #CupidGoesPostal stuff all packaged up and ready to ship out for the #ValentinesBookExchange organized by @BookishMarginalia 💕

When I was in first or second grade, my mom gave me the complete set of LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. I've read and reread the books so often over the past decade and half that the faded covers are falling off and the pages have completely yellowed. While out thrifting today, I found the entire set on sale for $4 (in great condition) and had to buy it. I can't wait to put some love into this set as well.