#respectyourcatday is everyday at our house. Steven demands it!
#dailychallenge

April #bookspin

A couple of these haven‘t left the list all year. Perhaps April will be the charm and I‘ll get to them. Library Holds often have to take precedence.

March Madness has been stealing some of my reading time, but I‘m diving into this one on the recommendation of Paul‘s brother.

#bookspin #doublebookspin

Completed both my #booksin and #doublebookspin for March.
This Time Tomorrow didn‘t resonate with me. I didn‘t like the whole time travel aspect (which was basically the whole book). It was my first book by this author so can anyone suggest one of her backlist?

The Stationery Shop has been on my shelf for a couple years. A woman sitting next to me on a flight to AZ was reading it and recommended it. Loved it!

I loved the humor in this one. I do think it needs to be listened to as I‘m not sure I would have loved it as much if I had been reading it.

These are my top six for the tournament. At least I think so. 🤪
This was my first year participating so I have nothing to compare this year‘s short list to, but many Littens have said this wasn‘t a great year. I enjoyed following everyone else‘s posts and picks almost as much as reading the books! ❤️❤️❤️

The last #tob23 short list read. The only one I didn‘t at least try was The Passenger. This one will probably make my top 5 of the short list. I‘m not sure this one will stay with me though like a few of the others. I‘ll rate the list later this weekend.

I had a hard time choosing between this one and Babel and A Quiet Life.
#2023ReadingBracket

February is in the books!

#Bookspin
#Doublebookspin

I‘m not really this book‘s target audience, but if you are in your twenties it‘s an interesting take on everything from dating to selfcare to loneliness for a generation coming of age in the digital age. Finding out what‘s important to you and what you want your life to look like even if it‘s not what society/social media is telling you it should look like. 4⭐️‘s

It‘s not pretty, but here is my list for #bookspin, the March 2023 addition.

#doublebookspin

Tried to finish this last night, but my eyes kept slamming shut so I‘m finishing it just in the nick of time this morning! It was an okay story, but for some reason that I cannot put my finger on, I didn‘t love it. 3⭐️‘s

This man sure can write! This was my #bookspin for February. I originally incorrectly put it down as his first book A Little Hope which I had already read. (Which is wonderful too!). He will definitely be a “must read” for me going forward. 5⭐️‘s

#20in4Readathon

My goals:

Read my #bookspin and #doublebookspin (A Quiet Life and The Love of my Life)

Read Olga Dies Dreaming (my last #tob23 book)

Whatever is next in my library stack, but we have a lot going on this weekend so I doubt I will get this far. 😫

I loved this book! Not my usual read, but I thought it illustrated power and the cost of fighting against power in a very real way. I also appreciated all the research the author did regarding language and history. Definitely one of my #tob23shortlist favorites!

One of the best of the #tob23shortlist for me. I stayed up way too late the night I started. These characters had a lot going on and it seemed a bit disjointed at first, but it still captivated me right away. My IRL group will read this when it comes out in paperback and I can‘t wait for that discussion!

I usually don‘t like this technique…all letters, but since it was short it worked for me.
#AAM

Waiting for my windshield to unthaw go I can get to the library before the 1-2 feet of snow dumps on us over the next 2 days. Winter is definitely not over in Minnesota. This book was quite good about the witch hunts in Norway. Someone on here recommended it, but I cannot recall who it was.

All I‘m gonna say is not my thing!

Surprisingly, I loved this one. I was not looking forward to it and probably wouldn‘t have read it if not for #ToB23. All the gaming stuff didn‘t matter to me, but I loved the study of relationships in this one. Each character was memorable and a bit quirky…..Aren‘t we all? I think that‘s why I loved it as much as I did.

#wonderouswednesday @Eggs

1. My automatic read authors are: Sarah Stonich, Elizabeth Strout, Curtiss Sittenfeld, John Boyne, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Ruth Ware, Alice Feeney, Amor Towles. This are just a few….🤣

2. Anywhere outside in spring, summer and fall. In winter in my comfy chair covered up with a blanket.

3. Yes I have in the past. I still read at my own pace hence I usually join challenges with @Andrew65

I saw so many people reading this on here and I was experiencing FOMO so I had to read it. I like a story with strong women characters and this did deliver; however, I thought it was a bit unbelievable in spots in my humble opinion.

I was not a big fan of Daisy and the Six and I skipped this one when it came out. I read Carrie Soto in December and was surprised that she had a small role in this book too. I really liked how June and Mick‘s backstory was mixed in with the story of the children. It worked for me and kept me turning the pages.
#AAM

This is really going to date me, but I read this over 20 years ago and one of my IRL book groups picked it this month so I figured I‘d listen to it and see if it still held up. Still one of my all time favorites! ❤️ May Dodd was an amazing woman.
#readagain #bookgroup #alltimefavorite #standstherestoftime

1. My library holds that come in pretty much dictate what order I read things. Also my IRL book groups.

2. I read every day of the week, but I love to read outside the best. I figure by April 1st I might be able to do a few afternoons if I dress warmly. 🤣🤣

This book needed a better editor. Way too long. Could have easily been 75-100 pages shorter. It was a good story, but I thought it alittle too far fetched to me. It was trying to be too many genres at the same time. I kept reading and I didn‘t hate it, but I probably won‘t recommend it to too many people. 2.5 ⭐️

#2023readingbracket

I went with Mouth to Mouth for January even though The Violin Conspiracy was right there too.

#AuldLangSpine was an amazing experience! Thanks so much for hosting and how sweet to do a giveaway! The cherry on top. 🍒🍒🍒.
I would love to read The Change.
#AuldLangspinegiveaway

I didn‘t love it,but I didn‘t hate it either. It doesn‘t get a pick from me because it was hard to follow the story lines at times. I never would have read this if not for #ToBshortlist2023 and even then it took some of you saying good things about it and my library had it.

Mostly library holds, #tobshortlist2023 #AAM, book group picks and a few I didn‘t get read in December and January.
Thanks Sarah for continuing to run this challenge!
#bookspin

Every single relationship in this book was weird. (Maybe I just don‘t understand French culture) Honestly, I think that‘s what kept me reading was it‘s pure weirdness. I thought the middle needed an edit, but overall another soft pick.
#tobshortlist2023

This was meh for me until about halfway through and then I thought it got a lot better. It was a soft pick for me. Marriages many times fall apart because people grieve differently and her parents definitely did. I also felt like Sally was all alone and emotionally separated from her family and that‘s why she was so drawn to Billy. #ToBshortlist #gladididntbail

I liked that this was fiction ,but based on a real woman who lived on the Devil‘s Half Acre. Good audio too. Needed something different from all these #ToB books I‘ve been reading. 😃

I always like novels with strong women characters. I also learned about Tutankhamun‘s Tomb. Thanks @Birdsong28 for turning me onto a new author.
#ALSpine

This was the second most checked out book in my library system last year and I hadn‘t read it so I thought I‘d try the audio. I think it made being a stepmom seem a bit too easy. Trust me it isn‘t! I enjoyed it nonetheless and will watch the movie/series when it comes out.

I just couldn‘t get into this. It felt like a zombie movie to me. I have too many books to read to waste time reading something I don‘t enjoy. #Allhailthebail
The cover is beautiful though.

I loved this one! So far my favorite of the #ToB23 shortlist. What a way to spend time in an airport! No one is very likable in this one, but dang, I just couldn‘t look away!

This is a soft pick for me. Maybe ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Just good enough to hold my interest to finish it, but it won‘t stick with me. The story was okay, but the writing left me cold.

This was my #bookspin this month, but I just couldn‘t. I started reading the emails and memos and thought….When do these end? I looked ahead…. NEVER! Not a technique I enjoy I guess!🤣

Not my favorite and I‘m glad it was short. 🤪
It seems like I either really like these #ToB23 books or they leave me cold.

Sweet little romance and the perfect read for my jam packed weekend. Thanks @Birdsong28 for recommending it.

Early morning at the farm visiting my Mom. Got the coffee on and everyone else is still asleep. My favorite time of the day. Diving into this one @Birdsong28
#ALSpine

This was my IRL book group pick this month. A little far fetched and hokey for my taste. We usually only pick discussion worthy books so this was a surprise and not sure there‘s much to discuss here.

I loved this story about Agnes who survives the flood and Father Damien doesn‘t. She decides to take on his identity and lives for years out in North Dakota as a mission priest. NanaPush and Fleur also make appearances again in this book. It‘s like visiting old friends. Truth be told I think all of her novels are good, but some are just better.
#AAM

Between these readathons and #bookspin, I read more and stay on track with my other reading challenges! I always bite off more than I can chew! 😳.
I‘m working through the #ToB shortlist and my #ALSpine list.
Thanks @Andrew65 for hosting!

I‘m starting this one this afternoon. I think this is the only Erdrich I haven‘t read. So far so good! Feels good to read classic Erdrich again.
#AAM

Planning my book week! My #AAM book, my IRL book group book and 2 for #ALSpine. Also finish Dopesick on audio and catching up on Middlemarch.

This pretty much sums up my reading for the first week of 2023. I bailed on my first book and I probably only finished the tagged one because it‘s my #doublebookspin and just to vent I‘ve been battling a head cold all week. Things are looking up though with The Violin Conspiracy. I should finish today and I‘m enjoying it. Might be my favorite so far on the #ToBshort list. Im also listening to Dopesick which is interesting too.

Here we go….I‘m shooting for a black out, but we‘ll see!

#bookspinbingo

This rates right up there with 2am in Little America and I‘m not suffering through another one because it made some list. I know I‘m going against popular opinion on this one and I thought I would like it because I did like Station Eleven. First book of 2023 is a bail. 😫😫

#ipraythisisntmybookspin
#bookspin
#ToB23