This book was weird for me—I read all of it but was still disappointed. Because it‘s Barbara Kingsolver, who has never disappointed me. Two different timelines with different families in the same house. The past MC is a science teacher dealing with people who are against Darwin. The present family is dealing with several crises & clash sometimes about political issues. Parallels about the house, people trying to accept changes in the world. 3.5/5

A Christian book, think it‘s Rachel Held Evans‘ last one. I really liked this one. She uses some stories from the Bible in a retelling, then talks about each one. She was always open about questioning her faith sometimes, & this is about her trying to reconcile parts of the Bible with her beliefs. Think this was #doublespin for November.

Not pictured—20. Forever is Now
#bookspin list for December. Hoping to at least complete bookspin/doublespin books but will see if I have time for a bingo. @TheAromaofBooks

I need some recommendations! For my church book club, I want to use a Christmas-themed book next month. I need something light-hearted, maybe a cozy mystery (like 12 Slays of Christmas), not too long, and no spicy romance. Please help!

I definitely picked this at the Ky Book Fair because of the cover & title. A little bit of Jane Austen, with some Agatha Christie & maybe some Sherlock thrown in. A humorous, closed-door mystery set during a ball. I enjoyed the mystery & characters (except one who may be worse than Mr. Collins). #pemberlittens would love this. Think there will be a sequel.

My friend lent me her giant, door-stopper copy of the Paper Girls series. I didn‘t love it as much as she did because sci-fi & time travel are not my genres. Despite that, I did sort of understand the time travel & loved the 4 girls‘ interactions & friendships. Plus, I got to relive part of the ‘80s & Y2k. Recommend for fans of f the above genres, graphic novels/comics, & adventure. #bookspin for November

I haven‘t done a swap all year, mostly because of finances, but I can‘t pass up my favorite one. Already signed up—you all should sign up, too! See @MaleficentBookDragon for sign-ups

Starling House was my last prompt to finish for my library‘s book challenge. They had a drawing for small prizes every 3 months, so I spaced my bingos out over the year, haven‘t won yet. They‘ll have a overall drawing at the end of December. Not all the spaces were books, & I enjoyed most of the books I picked.

If only the cover wasn‘t ruined by Reese‘s book club. Got to see Harrow in Louisville on the book tour for this one. I drive through Muhlenburg co on the way to see my friend in western Ky & love Prine‘s song Paradise. Thought it was interesting how Harrow twisted facts about Ky but also used the truth to build this story. It was a weird story, but I got about halfway through & wanted to keep reading to unravel the mystery. Some romance as well.

1. Killers of a Certain Age
2. My sister is coming over, we will hand out candy & treat bags (stickers, etc).
#two4tuesday @TheSpineView
Happy Halloween!!

A soft pick because it did hold my attention. Got this book during the pandemic in a mystery box from Half-Price books. A YA story, 1st of a trilogy, about a girl in Russia who is a necromancer. As the story goes on, she finds that most of the wealthy families she socializes with have supernatural abilities. An interesting premise but don‘t think I‘ll continue. Had a hard time with the MC‘s lack of knowledge or ability to use skills. #bookspin Oct

Littens—I finally finished Horse!! After picking it for my church book club a few mths ago, I read about half, skimmed ahead a bit, & let my mom read it because our library didn‘t have enough copies.
I really enjoyed this story, esp since I live near Lexington, Ky. I learned new things about horse racing & the horse, Lexington. My book club have all been interested in learning more & need to go see the museum soon. #doublespin for October

#bookspin list for November @TheAromaofBooks

I really enjoyed this story. Heard about it on a podcast & loved the premise of older women assassins. Has a lot of killing, as you would expect from a book about assassins, but it was fun to see how they planned. Liked the characters as well. 4⭐️

Going to give this to my sister to use with students, but I wanted to read it first. I enjoyed this history lesson involving underwear & historical people, including Lincoln, Satchel Paige, Buster Keaton, etc. Think it‘s aimed at 5th-8th graders, would be great for families. His podcast for families & teachers is The Past & The Curious.

I bought this when it was published a few years ago, started it, got distracted, finally read it the last few weeks. Took it with me to Harrow‘s book signing for Starling House & got this signed, too.
Love the story, characters, & especially the sisters. Could have been shorter, I think. Perfect for this time of year. #doublespin for September

3/3 #bookhaul The tagged is for me, other 2 are gifts.
Sown in the Stars is about using the zodiac in your planting/gardening.
A Journey in Color has beautiful artwork & is about a boy growing up to become an artist.

2/3 #bookhaul
Not Here to Stay Friends is for my friend‘s daughter. I already own it & love it. Had fun catching up with the author since I know her from my camp. We gossiped about JR award lol.
Not sure if I‘ll like the tagged, but it‘s dystopian/sci-fi & the author was fun to talk to.

Littens,
My favorite event, the Kentucky Book Festival, was today, & I went crazy buying books, meeting new authors, seeing authors I‘ve met before, & spending money like I‘m JR Ward.
Btw, JR Ward was there, & she had 2 bodyguards!!! It was weird. I did not get anything from her though.
1/3 of #bookhaul. The tagged is an entertaining middle grade book that came out of The Past & The Curious podcast, which I haven‘t listened to yet.

This was a great audiobook for my commute. Being a Gen X-er, I‘ve watched Blair in a lot of movies. Was interested in her struggle with MS. Her stories jump around a bit chronologically. Read by her, at times she is very emotional. 4/5 ⭐️

I love Adichie & haven‘t read one of her books in awhile. These short stories aren‘t the happiest, but they‘re well-written & able to make you feel for characters within a few pages.

A low pick, I liked this retelling, but it often seemed to be set in Austen‘s time instead of contemporary times. It wasn‘t until a cell phone was mentioned in the first few chapters that I knew the time period. Edward‘s situation is a little far-fetched in the modern world. It closely follows Austen‘s plot, has some villains to root against, & I liked the family.

I usually read the Lady Sherlock books as soon as they come out, but I didn‘t get around to this one for a few months. As usual, Thomas does a great job of managing all the mysteries while maintaining friendships & romance. This is a “locked room” mystery on a ship. Moriarty is in the background but not the main plot. Still my favorite series.

I enjoyed this sequel & am happy that Medellin & Nathan finally get married. The aunties are even more over the top than in the first one, maybe on the border of too annoying for some readers.

Decided to listen to this one because I hadn‘t gotten around to the physical book. Still really like this series, the bookstore setting, the friendships, & a mystery that isn‘t too hard to figure out.

I‘m still so far behind on book reviews! This is my most recent audiobook, a reread for my church book club. I read the physical book before, but I think I liked it better on audio. Still a bit slow in plot but a good witchy story, especially now that I‘ve read the prequel, The Rules of Magic.

Almost forgot to post my #bookspin list. I completed a bingo in September, which is rare, read 1 bookspin book, & am working on the other. @TheAromaofBooks

Not sure, but I think I found this through a friend on GR. Audio version was great. Learned new info & was gratified that I was proven right about my opinion of MLMs (specifically Mary Kay because a couple of friends were involved years ago). Definitely recommend.

My fave bookstore has a buy 3 paperbacks/get 1 free a couple times a year, so of course I had to go. My sister & I ate lunch there & got to shop. Finally picked up The Anthropocene Reviewed, a favorite, but the others I haven‘t read. #bookhaul
Sitting on top of a reusable bag that says “Mostly Sane Cat Lover”, bought from a local business Titty Cat Tees (the titty is because she‘s a breast cancer survivor).

Frank X Walker is a local Kentucky author/professor who has been around a long time. This is his book of poetry written during the pandemic. His poems are about Covid but many are about the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, & others. Some powerful poetry. Hoping you all can find this in your bookstores—really great book & a kind man.

I liked this one (another that hasn‘t been adapted). It was weird but interesting. One of Christie‘s attempts at spy adventures. TW for suicide attempt in the beginning. Involves a lot of travel, lying, & a creepy community. 3/5 stars

This one doesn‘t make much sense. Someone gets killed, but I didn‘t really know why. A lot about nazis & anarchists trying to take over the world. Fat-phobia for several pages. A lot of long convos. There‘s a good reason this hasn‘t been adapted to a show or movie. Maybe the physical copy would make more sense but don‘t think so based on GR reviews. Gave it 2 stars partly because of fat-phobia.

Going to do 3 separate Agatha Christie reviews because I have different ratings for each. This one doesn‘t really have a mystery—or does it? I started it on audio, then went back to it a few weeks later on ebook. Can‘t say much but a good one. 4/5 stars

This story is the beginning of a cozy mystery series. Picked it up at the library as part of their book challenge (a book from a library display). Enjoyed the cultural aspect, the characters, & the food. Mystery was interesting. Set up of two potential love interests, but most of the story was about the family & MC. Fun, light read, will continue the series. The “aunties” reminded me of Dial A for Aunties book, without the hijinks.

Listened to this book, have been interested in reading it for awhile. Loved the 1st part, but the 2nd part, mostly quick recommendations/lists of books, would have been better as a physical read. Has some good humor.

Finally finished this trilogy & used it as a prompt for my library‘s book challenge. I think Lee did a good job getting us into the thoughts of someone with anxiety, but some of it could probably have been cut out. As usual with this trilogy, it was more about the sibling relationship. I loved that the older 2 finally embraced their younger brother. Could have used some more Percy. Still love the 1st best.

I have a lot of book reviews to catch up on from the last few months. I listened to this in June or July & mostly hated it. It‘s 3 hours long, so I decided not to DNF it after the first 2, but then I wished I had. I know its been a popular book, but I found it full of cliches. And the author seemed a bit arrogant. He has a Scottish accent though.

#bookspin list for September. I actually read both my books in August but haven‘t done reviews yet. @TheAromaofBooks

My #bookspin list for August. @TheAromaofBooks

Went through my list & decided these are my #Bestof2023sofar books. @sblbooks The tagged was my first of the yr & still my favorite. I‘ve listened to some great audiobooks, but I love Tom Felton‘s voice & story, as well as the narrator & story of Convenience Store Woman. #midyearfaves

This book would only be interesting to Kentuckians, especially people in our biggest city (Louisville). It had some new info for me, but a lot centers around the time of Breonna Taylor‘s death, pre-pandemic, events I already know about. Just reviewing it on here because it was my #doublespin for February.

Finished this on audio yesterday. Drew narrates & is emotional, humorous, & dramatic throughout. A collection of memories from her life, they‘re not chronological. I enjoyed learning more about her life—I‘ve grown up with her & remember some of her wild years. This book is from 2015, so the chapters about her in-laws & husband at the time are a little outdated.

Think I saw this on Litsy & thought it would be an entertaining audio. Some of the stories I knew about (Jefferson, Hamilton) but a lot was new. An interesting read about mistresses of presidents. Or for JFK, any “strange piece of ass”. Not sure how JFK or LBJ got any work done in between parades of women. I have even more respect for Ladybird J now. This book may make you feel like you need a shower after, esp JFK, LBJ, Clinton, & Trump.

Made my #bookspin list last night. Hopefully, July will be a good reading month. @TheAromaofBooks

Mood read—I wanted a light, witchy book. The sequel to Payback‘s a Witch, this one focuses on Isidora Avramov & Rowan Thorn. Bad things happen around Beltane, & they‘re assigned to investigate. Enemies-to-lovers, although the enemies part doesn‘t last long. Interesting plot. Good romance.

I‘ve had this book for several yrs, & it fit into a prompt for my library‘s book challenge (afrofuturism or afrofantasy) I didn‘t like Whitehead‘s writing style in this one. I know I missed some key points, too. There are 2 factions of elevator inspectors—Intuitionists & Empiricists. An elevator falls & Lila Mae, the only Black female, is accused of messing up. An allegory for race, capitalism, government. Others may like this more than me.

The last book in Klune‘s YA trilogy, this one takes awhile to get going. I was helping my sister at a craft fair yesterday but was very focused on the last 30% of the story. In this one, the parents are very involved, plus a new character who is funny. Love the main 4 teens and their friendship.
The only negative is a graphic sex scene (it‘s very teenager but is much more descriptive than YA) because I‘m an adult & they‘re 17. #doublespin June

A client told me about this book months ago, & I‘ve seen several therapists suggest it for clients on our Teams chat. Since I have a hard time with household tasks & have recommended it to clients, I wanted to read it. Audiobook is only 3 hrs. Davis writes in quick chapters & readers can skip some. Some of it I found useful for me, a lot will be useful to clients, I think. I like her ideas about cleaning & the different mindset about “care tasks”.

Marcellus, the octopus, is now one of my favorite fictional animals.
We started a book club at my small church about a yr ago. One of our members, a 93 yr-old woman I‘ve known all my life, still read a lot & participated each mth. She did audio because her sight wasn‘t great. She died around April after an illness, & this was the last book she finished. I‘ve been friends with her grandkids most of my life, & her granddaughter reads a lot, too.👇

Sequel to Firekeeper‘s Daughter, this story focuses on Daunis‘ nieces Perry & Pauline, told from Perry‘s perspective. They‘re 16, doing summer internships. Perry becomes interested in Repatriation.
Negatives—1) Boulley is heavy-handed about repatriation—museums & collectors not returning bodies & objects to tribes. Maybe because it‘s a YA novel. 2) would have liked to know more of Daunis‘ story during the intervening yrs.
Positives—👇