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TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks

Joined May 2019

review
TheAromaofBooks
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Mehso-so

My word, what a book! I can see why this one has never been as popular as Austen's novels. The characters here were not particularly likable or relatable, almost nothing happens, and I didn't particularly hold out any hope for the long-term happiness of anyone haha I am glad to have read this classic, but it is way too long for the amount of story it contains. Never would have made it through without snarky hashtags from @BarkingMadRead !! ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Thank you so much for hosting this buddy read! (I think... on the other hand, that's 923 pages of my life I'll never get back πŸ˜‚)

#atleastIcansayIvereadit
#MtTBR
#FourFoursin23 - Three-Way Screenplay @lauredhel
#ChunksterChallenge2023 @Amiable
7h
Amiable Yay! πŸ’ƒπŸ»πŸ•ΊπŸŽ‰ 3h
50 likes3 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
The Healing Woods | Martha Ruth Rebentisch
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Pickpick

Despite my book clearly being written by Martha Reben, Litsy has her last name as Rebentisch. Apparently she changed it somewhere along the line?? Anyway. Martha was diagnosed with tuberculosis (her mother died of the disease) and was sent to various places in the 1920s to try "cures" and eventually ended up in the Adirondacks. After surgery, she was still an invalid, but she decided to take the bold path of hiring a wilderness guide & spending⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) April-October living in a tent along Weller Pond, which is connected to Saranac Lake. According to Wiki, she did this for a total of six years - this book covers the first two years that she did it, slowly growing stronger, and learning so much about the woods, the lake, and the creatures that live there. Her guide was an elderly man named Mr. Rice (Martha is in her early 20s when the story is set) who is full of woodsy wisdom. This ⬇ 2d
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) wasn't an exciting book or full of adventure, but it was a gentle and surprisingly engaging memoir that I ended up really enjoying. I think when most of us spend time outside - myself included - we tend to be DOING something, like hiking, but this book reminded me of how much enjoyment can be found just sitting in the woods and watching what happens. I was quite jealous of Martha's outdoorsy life. This book and its sequels (she wrote ⬇ 2d
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) two more) are out of print and hard to find. My grandparents own this book and one sequel and are the ones who loaned it to me. If you can find a copy, I definitely recommend it. 2d
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TheAromaofBooks PS Martha did recover from tuberculosis and lived to be 58! 2d
psalva Wow! This sounds really great. I‘ll keep my eyes peeled for a copy. 2d
UwannaPublishme Fascinating! 1d
TheAromaofBooks @psalva @UwannaPublishme - I did find this article about the author that was pretty interesting. https://www.saranaclake.com/story/2015/08/martha-reben-staring-down-great-white-... - I'm really interested to read her second volume!! 16h
62 likes2 stack adds7 comments
blurb
TheAromaofBooks
Dragonshadow: A Heartstone Novel | Elle Katharine White
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Final #WeeklyForecast for March! Already! I am done with all my β€œassignmentsβ€œ for the month, so this week is all about random stuff. Hoping to finish the Heartstone trilogy and maybe work on a Regency romance series that my sister loaned to me...last year πŸ˜‚ We will see where the week takes me!!
@Cinfhen

Cinfhen Woohoo!!! You completed your assignments with a FULL week to spare β€ΌοΈπŸ™ŒπŸ»#GoYou 2d
67 likes1 comment
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TheAromaofBooks
April Showers | Trey Branson
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Hard as it is to believe, there is only ONE week of March left! Which means next Sunday will be #BookSpin day!! If you are planning to play along for April, it's time to start planning your lists!! Some of you have already tagged me with your lists, so sorry if you are getting tagged again! Just bask in that sense of accomplishment that comes when you're ahead of the curve. 😁 Please remember that I use the same tag list all year, so if you would⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) like to be added or removed, please just let me know!! Here's the link to my masterpost over on my book blog that explains how the challenge works: https://thearomaofbooks.wordpress.com/bookspin-bookspinbingo-litsy-challenge/ Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!

Can't wait to see what everyone is hoping to read next month!!
3d
See All 34 Comments
PuddleJumper Ack! No I refuse to believe it! πŸ˜… 3d
Karons1 Thanks ☺️ again for our lovely πŸ₯° monthly bookspin Iv been book shopping today not that I need any more books πŸ˜†im working on my list , happy 😊 reading πŸ“– πŸ€“ 3d
ravenlee No it isn‘t! Oh, yes it is. 😳 I‘ve been noodling on my list for a bit, but I guess it‘s time to finish it. 3d
Bookwormjillk Yay! I‘ve got my list ready. I hope you don‘t crash Litsy again πŸ˜‚ 3d
HufflepuffGirl90 How is it almost April?!?! I feel like I didn‘t get any reading done this month! 3d
Clwojick I think I have my list ready to go, but I also have a feeling I‘ll switch it all up. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I‘ll post my current one, and then an updated one if that‘s the case. 3d
Nessavamusic Wild! I am working on my TBR now 3d
Suet624 Look at all those people you have to tag! Thanks for the reminder. 3d
Bookzombie I can‘t believe how quickly the months are going. I just posted my lists. 3d
OriginalCyn620 Working on my April list! 3d
rabbitprincess Good timing for the tag; I just put together my April list! 3d
Lcsmcat I better get busy making my list! 3d
Eggs I will post m‘y completed March #bookspinbingo, and my April list as well tomorrowπŸ’—πŸ’— 3d
Bklover Wow! Will get work on my list! 3d
TheAromaofBooks @Bookwormjillk - I'm sure it's just coincidence that the system has crashed on the morning of the 2nd two months in a row. Right?? πŸ˜‚ 3d
DieAReader I don‘t know how but, I totally missed this tag😳😱 OkπŸ’₯…change in plans for tomorrow😒April‘s #BookSpin ListπŸ“& post! At least I didn‘t completely miss itπŸ€ͺπŸ“šπŸ€“ 2d
TheAromaofBooks @DieAReader - You are getting a lot of tags this month with all the readathon excitement going on!! Still plenty of time to post your list!! 😁 2d
DieAReader @TheAromaofBooks Thank goodness!πŸ’œ Love seeing everyone‘s posts though!! 1d
SpookyMazeOfBooks I'm in for April , feeling like I'm waiting to read 1d
120 likes34 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

I genuinely love the Bess Crawford series and was pretty excited to pick up installment 13. However, while the mystery was perfectly good, if rather low-stakes, I was VERY disappointed at the complete lack of progress in the Bess/Simon relationship. It's to the point where the two of them not having an adult conversation is feeling antithetical to their characters. I wish this series would let them get married and then continue with them ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) working together, as they do so well. We don't get a single word from Simon during this entire book, and it was annoying. Still a pick because I love Bess and the mystery was done well, but I'm losing my patience with the long-term threads of this series.

#ReadySetRead - Anticipated 2023 Release @Clwojick
#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65
#BookSpinBingo

@robinb - have you read this one yet?? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
4d
Bookzombie I have only read the first two, but that‘s annoying about the relationship progress. One of may favorite series, Lady Darby, she didn‘t endlessly drag out the leads getting together and I think the books are better for it. I don‘t think that is a spoiler. πŸ€” (edited) 4d
robinb @TheAromaofBooks Sarah, I haven‘t read it yet (hoping 20 comes up on #BookSpin/#DBS…can you help me out there please? 🀣🀣). What‘s up with the Bimon (πŸ˜‚) thing…I mean, these two are gonna be on Social Security by the time they get together! πŸ™„ I don‘t get it! Do they think readers will STOP reading if they commit? I may stop if they don‘t…and soon! 3d
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robinb @TheAromaofBooks At this point, I‘m holding out that maybe Bess will write her own spin-off series…Bess and Simon (FINALLY!) Mystery series. πŸ˜‰ 3d
robinb @TheAromaofBooks On a different note, do you read the Lane Winslow series? And THAT relationship HAS moved along nicely. πŸ’ Another good one, but the new one (coming in Oct. and the 4th) will be the last 😞, is the Harriet Gordon series. They‘re both really good! I‘ll post first in series for both here in case you‘d like to check them out. (edited) 3d
Clwojick Woohoo! 3d
TheAromaofBooks @Bookzombie - On the whole, I really love this series!! The setting is done really well. I thought the books might not work after WWI was over, but I've enjoyed the post-war books just as much, as the authors explore how difficult it was for so many to settle back into a new β€œnormalβ€œ life. But I would be much happier if these two characters were working together instead of pining in the distance for YEARS! πŸ˜‚ 3d
TheAromaofBooks @robinb - When I was posting my review on GR there were quite a few comments saying that they were ready to bail on the series because of the lack of progression between... Bimon πŸ˜‚ And also apparently the mother-half of the mother-son duo writing these books passed away shortly after they finished this installment. So hopefully the son is planning to continue the series for at least one more book!!! 3d
TheAromaofBooks @robinb - I haven't heard of either of those series, but I will definitely check them out!!! 3d
robinb @TheAromaofBooks Oh! I hadn‘t heard she had passed away. No disrespect to her, but if the son writes another maybe it will be really juicy…or not. πŸ˜‚πŸ™„πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈ And I‘d love to hear what you think of the other two if you try them. 😊 (edited) 3d
Andrew65 A popular series, well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 3d
TheSpineView Fantastic! 4h
55 likes13 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
Heartstone | Elle Katharine White
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Pickpick

I was gifted this book from @magyklyXdelish in a swap back in September 2020, and thanks to the buddy read hosted by @CrowCAH this month, I finally read it! πŸ˜‚ I actually really enjoyed this P&P variation set in a fantasy world with dragons and other magical creatures. I loved the way various characters were changed (totally here for a happier Charlotte/Collins marriage) and how iconic book moments showed up under different circumstances. ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) However, there were certain people I wish had been developed a little more, especially the Wickham character, who is almost entirely off-page in this book. This book is a lot shorter than P&P and the sacrifice was definitely with character development and interaction. This book also desperately needed a glossary to explain magical creatures and terms. On the whole, though, a fun and engaging read, and I'll definitely be finishing ⬇ 4d
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) the trilogy. Thanks for hosting @CrowCAH !!!

#ISpyBingo - Author's Photo @Clwojick
#BookSpinBingo
4d
CrowCAH @TheAromaofBooks what a lovely review of the book! I‘m glad your overall experience was enjoyable. I can‘t wait to see what your review will be for books two and three! And it was my pleasure to be the #HeartstoneBuddyRead host ☺️ 4d
Clwojick Great Job! 3d
54 likes4 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Healing Woods | Martha Ruth Rebentisch
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I've been home a lot this month and my #BookReport reflects it!! I'm checking off a lot of books right now and it's fabulous. Besides the checked books here, I also finished multiple chapter-a-day-books this week - Heartstone, House of Dreams, Travels With Charley, and On the Banks of Plum Creek. Hoping to finish the tagged book today - my grandparents loaned it to me and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm actually quite enjoying it!
@Cinfhen

Cinfhen I LOVE that your grandparents suggested a book for you 😌 Note to future self #GrannyGoals (edited) 3d
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen - Yes!! My grandpa has gotten a lot more into reading the last couple of years as he hasn't been as mobile. For the last year he's been telling me to β€œbring some booksβ€œ although even though I own about a 1000 books I feel like I'm running out of ones that would be of interest to him. This last batch included Georgette Heyer πŸ˜‚ So I was excited when he sent a book back with me for once! 3d
51 likes2 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
The Stray | Dick King-Smith
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Pickpick

Dick King-Smith, most famous for his book Babe the Gallant Pig, was an absurdly prolific writer. I've collected a lot of his books over the years, but somehow haven't read them all, despite most of them being only around 100pgs long. With such an enormous catalog of books, not all of them are winners, but this one was a soft pick for me. Henny is 75yrs old and bored of her life in the old folks' home. One day she runs away, spending all her ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) money on a train ticket to the seashore. There she collides with a large and happy family who more or less adopt her. The story is pretty adorable and sweet, with Henny being the exact kind of person you'd want for a grandma. I know this sounds a bit nitpicky, but my biggest problem with this book is that the mom plays the lottery every week and then in the end they win! I'm not sure I completely agree with teaching MG readers that ⬇ 5d
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) gambling is the way to wealth πŸ˜‚ But still a fun little story with happy endings and kind characters.

#Roll100 @PuddleJumper
#MtTBR
#Pantone2023 - Andean Toucan @Clwojick
#100YearsofBooks
#ISpyBingo - Diamond, Junk Food
5d
PuddleJumper My favourite was The Mouse Butcher as a kid. He wrote so many! 5d
TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper - It's crazy to me how many he wrote!! My favorites still are The Queen's Nose and Harry's Mad. But so many of them are just such good fun. I don't think I have The Mouse Butcher, so I'll have to find that one! 4d
BarbaraJean I LOVED Dick King-Smith when I was a kid! The Queen‘s Nose and Harry‘s Mad were my favorites, too. Also Saddlebottom! I have always resented the renaming of β€œThe Sheep-pig” as β€œBabe”—because of the movie. I really hated the movie. 4d
60 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
In the Dark | Loreth Anne White
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Pickpick

A few years ago I read another book by this author (A Dark Lure) and wasn't particularly impressed, so this one has languished in Kindle purgatory for quite some time. However, not only was it a #TrappedonanIsland pick this month, @aperfectmjk recommended this one specifically from my group of five, so I decided to prioritize it and am glad I did, as I was completely glued to the pages throughout! The pacing was absolutely spot-on, rotating ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) between various (3rd person) POVs and between the β€œlodge partyβ€œ and the rescue search. Here's the thing, there have been several And Then There Were None riffs in recent years (which if you haven't read Christie's original, definitely do that before reading this one - this one will make more sense AND it has spoilers for ATTWN), so if you're feeling a bit over-saturated with thrillers about a group in an isolated location getting ⬇ 6d
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) picked off one by one, you may not enjoy this one as much as I did haha But I absolutely raced through this one, and while I wasn't shocked by the ending (I had put together most of the pieces), I still wanted to get the details about how everything had happened the way it had.

Thanks again for the recommendation @aperfectmjk and for hosting #TrappedonanIsland !!!

#MtTBR
#BookSpinBingo
6d
aperfectmjk I'm glad you liked it! A Dark Lure wasn't my favorite by her either. If you're interested in reading more, I recommend the Angie Pallorino Trilogy. Also In the Waning Light... that one left me with a book hangover. 4d
TheAromaofBooks @aperfectmjk - I think I got both of A Dark Lure and this book as free or 99c Kindle books quite a while back. It was nice to get this one checked off the embarrassingly long list of Kindle books I seem to have piled up! πŸ˜‚ I'll definitely check out the ones you recommended. Waning Light sounds really good!! 4d
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review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

Very Heyer-ish in tone and humor, this book was a great deal of fun, with a likable heroine and tons of fun side characters. It got a little melodramatic at the end, but I was still here for it. πŸ˜‚

Can't wait to hear whether the rest of you enjoy it!! @mabell @Chrissyreadit @julieclair

Librarybelle Sounds delightful! 7d
mabell I‘m looking forward to it! 5d
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julieclair A little melodrama now and then is good for the soul, lol! Looking forward to my turn. @mabell @Chrissyreadit 5d
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ I‘ve extended my giveaway till the 31st! (edited) 1d
60 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
Head Over Heels | Jill Shalvis
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Pickpick
TheSpineView Love this review. It sums up so many beach reads! 1w
Clwojick @TheSpineView Agreed! πŸ˜…β€οΈ 1w
BooksNBowls Perfect 😍 1w
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TheAromaofBooks @TheSpineView @Clwojick @BooksNBowls - Sometimes fun, fluffy, and forgettable just hits the spot πŸ˜‚ 1w
Andrew65 Brilliant πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 1w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 1d
60 likes6 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

This was a great choice for March's #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - I knew snippets of Montgomery's life, and knew that it was hard, but sitting down and actually reading about her struggles and difficulties was really eye-opening (and depressing!). The biography itself is really well-written, geared for a YA audience so the writing is accessible and engaging, and handles some of the harder topics, like the mental health of Montgomery and her ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) husband really well. This book left me feeling both sad and grateful. Montgomery's life was full of hardship and difficulty, but through it all she was determined to write stories that would bring happiness and comfort to those who read them. I'm really looking forward to discussing this one @BarbaraJean !!

#Pantone2023 - Tender Peach @Clwojick
#WickedWords - Spring @AsYouWish
#BookSpinBingo
#BirthdayPixieReadathon (bk 9) @Lizpixie
1w
rubyslippersreads Somehow I missed this, but since I own the book, will try to squeeze it in before March ends. 😊 @BarbaraJean #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead (edited) 1w
BarbaraJean Yay! I‘m still reading, but I‘m fascinated by all the parallels between LMM‘s life and work. Like you, I knew snippets, but I‘ve never read a full biography, so it‘s been wonderful context for her writing. @rubyslippersreads Would love to have you join in! Since it‘s for younger readers, it‘s a quicker readβ€”I‘ll post questions on Saturday, but jump in whenever you‘re ready! 1w
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Clwojick Great job! 1w
TheAromaofBooks @rubyslippersreads - It's a pretty quick read, so do squeeze it in if you have time - I'd love to hear your thoughts!! 1w
TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I'm not over how many terrible men poor Maud had in her life! How could she write characters like Gilbert Blythe and Barney Snaith and Matthew Cuthbert when the examples she had in her life were SO terrible?? 1w
BarbaraJean As terribly as I think her father treated her, I think she still held on to her idyllic childhood picture of him. That idealized memory may well have been her pattern for Matthew. And the description of her early childhood relationship with her father reminded me SO much of Emily & her father! And her childhood/teenage friendships (Well and Dave, Nate, Will) must have been her influences for such wonderful male characters as Gilbert and Barney! 7d
TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I agree!! I know we'll discuss this more on Sunday, but I definitely felt like Anne ended up being her idealized life and Emily her more realistic life. 7d
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 1d
66 likes1 stack add9 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

I have this thing where I enjoy Steinbeck's writing more than I enjoy his stories, so I thought I would give this one a try, his account of driving a little camper trailer around the country ~1960. First off, this book will definitely make you want to get a little camper trailer and drive it around the country - how fun does that sound??

I overall did enjoy this one, although more in the beginning than towards the end. I liked the scenes where ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) he actually talked with people, but parts where he just described not so much (long sections talking about CA & TX without really saying anything, I thought). I genuinely appreciated that he never sounded like he thought he was better than any of the people he met, from truckers to hitchhikers to migrant workers, people he agreed with and people he didn't, it felt like he gave everyone a fair chance to say their piece. This is one of ⬇ 1w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) those too short/also too long books for me - I wanted more details about some things and less about others lol Overall, though, a read I've enjoyed meandering through this month - I'm not sure if I would have liked it as well if I had just sat down and read it straight through, but 10-15 pgs a day has been really enjoyable.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
#MtTBR
#Pantone2023 - Greyed Jade @Clwojick
#ReadySetRead - Chosen for the Cover
1w
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Suet624 Love this review. 1w
Librarybelle Great review! 1w
Clwojick Great job! Love the cover. 1w
dabbe You said what I have been trying to say. I love his style of writing but not always the plot. He sounds to me like an old Western rancher, telling tales of the farm country in Salinas. What did you think about Charley and the bears? 🀣 1w
TheAromaofBooks @dabbe - That story cracked me up! Mild-mannered Charley really lost it with those bears! πŸ˜‚ 1w
Soubhiville I‘d love to take an extended road trip like this. 🚌 1w
UwannaPublishme Love this book and your review! Can you believe the camper truck he drove is on display at the John Steinbeck Center in northern CA? 🚚 Gotta plan a road-trip to see that! 5d
TheAromaofBooks @UwannaPublishme - Oh, how fun!!! If you ever go, you'll have to take a picture of it for me πŸ˜‚ 5d
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰πŸ˜˜ 1d
70 likes2 stack adds12 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
On the Banks of Plum Creek | Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Pickpick

Finished a few days early because I couldn't resist reading to the end yesterday!! I really enjoyed this reread from my childhood. While there wasn't as much β€œhow toβ€œ as in the earlier books, there were still plenty of adventures. I felt like we also got to see Laura learn some lessons in maturity as well. This book scarred me up on the subject of grasshoppers when I was a kid, and the discomfort is still with me - so icky! I always loved the ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) cover of this one. I'm sure actually living in a dugout would not be that great, but it always sounded so cozy to me. Thanks so much for hosting the buddy read @Ann_Reads !! Looking forward to our next book @megnews !!

#Pantone2023 - Macchiato @Clwojick
#ReadySetRead - Title Starts With O
#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65
#100YearsofBooks
#BirthdayPixieReadathon (bk 7) @Lizpixie
#BookSpinBingo
1w
Ann_Reads So glad you enjoyed the book and the discussion. I had fun hosting for this book. πŸ™‚ Although I was a little creeped out by grasshoppers when I was a kid, tomato hornworms grossed me out the most. Ugh! Yuck! Eeeew! (edited) 1w
TheSpineView Not a fan of bugs in general. Great job getting through this one to despite the grasshoppers. 1w
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TheAromaofBooks @Ann_Reads - I'm not exactly scared of grasshoppers, but they do weird me out. But you're definitely right about those tomato hornworms!!! I still can't stand to touch them πŸ˜‚ I think it's because they are SO big but also so hard to see!!! I pick the stem they are on and throw the whole thing to the chickens so I don't have to touch them! πŸ˜† 1w
Andrew65 Excellent πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 1w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 1d
58 likes6 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Life of Pi | Yann Martel
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My #RandomClassic for April is Life of Pi. Usually, for my classics, I just read one chapter a day until I'm finished, but I did NOT want to spend over 3 months reading this one πŸ˜‚ Some of the chapters are only a paragraph or two long, so I divided it up to about 10pgs/day. I'm hoping to post a discussion post (along the lines of β€œwhat did you think about this week's chapters?β€œ every Monday. Tagging those who thought they were interested,but ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) anyone can read along - let me know if you'd like to be tagged for the discussion posts!!

@willaful @peanutnine @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks - Looking forward to reading with you all, but feel free to let me know if you're not planning to read this one after all. πŸ˜‚
1w
Daisey I would kind of love to join in for this, but I‘m not sure I can fit it in. Additionally, it‘s on a specific TBR list for another group that does a number choice each month. I‘ll follow your posts and let you know if I decide to read it once April actually starts. 1w
willaful I'll start it. Can't promise to finish. :-) 1w
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TheAromaofBooks @Daisey @willaful - I'll be glad to have you along if you have time to join!! 😁 I read this one once, but it was years and years ago and I can't remember anything about it except something about a boat and a tiger πŸ˜‚ 1w
Bookwormjillk I was just thinking about re-reading this one yesterday. Must be fate. I think I‘ll join you. 7d
TheAromaofBooks @Bookwormjillk - Yay!! I'd be glad to have you along!! 6d
38 likes6 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
The Sweetest Thing | Jill Shalvis
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Pickpick

I enjoyed book 2 in the Lucky Harbor book more than the first, although I found the love triangle to be rather unnecessary. There was already plenty of drama just with Tara and Ford working through their past, plus the reappearance of the daughter they gave up for adoption 17 years ago. Still a bit too sexy for my personal tastes, but at least these two had known each other longer than 48hrs!

TheSpineView Fantastic! 1w
Cinfhen Hurray for all the prompts and I kind of like all that #SexyStuff πŸ˜‚πŸ’•πŸ˜˜ 1w
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Andrew65 Well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 1w
DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 1w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰β™₯️ 1d
64 likes6 comments
blurb
TheAromaofBooks
Head Over Heels | Jill Shalvis
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My #WeeklyForecast is mostly finishing my March β€œassignments.β€œ I should finish the tagged book today, my final read for the #BacklistReadathon. Next, a Kindle book (so not pictured), for #TrappedonanIsland - In the Dark (Loreth Anne White). The Last Garden in England is for my #TBRbyColor challenge on StoryGraph, and The Five-Minute Marriage is for my Happy Reads group. That's probably as far as I'll get this week, but we'll see!!
@Cinfhen

Cinfhen That‘s awesome a #HappyReads group!!! Also shelves are looking gπŸ‘€d!!!! Even a little bare 😁 1w
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen - Chipping away at the pile... must be almost time to add April's books πŸ˜‚ 1w
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TheAromaofBooks
The Sweetest Thing | Jill Shalvis
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Not as many checkmarks for this week's #BookReport as I was hoping to have, but on the other hand I got a bunch of stuff done for Grandpa and Grandma this week, and my bedroom ceiling is painted, so it's not like the week was wasted πŸ˜‚ Finished and loved The Runaways for #LMPBC and Murder is Easy for #AgathaChristieClubR2. Not pictured, but I also finished the #LittensLoveRomance buddy read for March (The Prize). So far I've only finished one ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) book for the #BacklistReadathon but I am SO CLOSE to being done with the tagged book as well, and am hoping to finish book 3 before the readathon ends. So I won't hit my goal of five books, but I'm cool with three. Chipping away at the pile!! 😁

@Cinfhen @Clwojick
2w
58 likes1 comment
review
TheAromaofBooks
Simply Irresistible | Jill Shalvis
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Pickpick

I am having a very slow reading week - lots of other projects going on - but FINALLY finished my first book for the #BacklistReadathon !! This wasn't my favorite Shalvis book by a long shot - it's borderline so-so for me. I liked the actual story and the characters, but way too much of this was just Maddie and Jax lusting for each other and acting like it's a horrible betrayal that the other hasn't shared all their deep-dark secrets despite the⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) fact that they've known each other TWO WEEKS. Seriously, they start making out the DAY they meet. Like you do you, but I think it's ridiculous to be mad about someone not sharing everything about their past immediately. And it's hard to have good conversations when you literally just take each other's clothes off every time you're together πŸ™„ I did like the set up for the series so I'm reading book 2, but this one was a little too ⬇ 2w
DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 2w
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TheSpineView Awesome! 2w
Nessavamusic Great job! 2w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 1d
61 likes6 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
The Prize | Julie Garwood
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Mehso-so

This was March's #LittensLoveRomance read, and while it was okay, it wasn't really my style. I just never could particularly like either of the main characters. Nicholaa had kind of ridiculous mood swings, and Royce was never wrong about anything πŸ™„ They had a lot of conversations, but never felt like they were communicating. Not a bad read, but not my favorite.

@StayCurious thanks for hosting!!

peanutnine Your point about their communication is so true! They never seemed to quite hit on what they meant to say to each other 2w
DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 2w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 1d
51 likes4 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Halfway through March! What!?!?

And so here is APRIL'S #ISpyBingo card!! Good luck with this one, friends - there are some challenging squares here! πŸ˜‚ I have personally yet to score a bingo on my own challenge, but that is quite alright because I have a great time hunting and I'm still working on all the past cards just for fun LOL

Remember, we aren't too hardcore here, so be a little flexible in your thinking 😁

@Clwojick

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TheAromaofBooks
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In 1957 my grandpa built the house they are still living in now, at the age of 91. He and Grandma were talking yesterday about the adventure of building their own house and I asked Grandpa how he knew what to do. He replied, "I had a book!" and then pulled this one off the shelf. It's absolutely fascinating and full of details, blueprints, and careful instructions. However, I forgot to ask him if they came in under the $3500 mark.

Jari-chan That's amazing!🀩 2w
Picking_Books That is amazing! My husband‘s grandfather also built the house they still live in today. Grandpa passed away 2 years ago but Grandma still lives there and she is 94 years old. I don‘t know why I never thought to ask him how he knew how to build it. 2w
AmyG Wow. That must be fascinating. 2w
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ReadingRachael Oh wow, that‘s so fascinating! 2w
BiblioLitten Wow! It‘s fascinating. 2w
Meshell1313 Soo cool!!! 😍😍 2w
Bklover Wow! That would be a PROJECT! Especially with no customer service number to call with questions, no YouTube videos, no Google. 😯 2w
LeahBergen That‘s so cool! 2w
Megabooks Wow!! 2w
mrp27 So awesome and fascinating! 2w
lauraisntwilder That is so cool! My dad built the house I grew up in and we have a really funny picture of him sitting in front of the newly-completed brick fireplace "reading" a book on masonry. ? 2w
Chelsea.Poole I love this!! 2w
TheAromaofBooks @Picking_Books - I wonder if their house was built around the same era? The introduction to this book talks about how basically because of the population boom, many young couples were building for themselves instead of waiting for a house to come up for sale. 2w
TheAromaofBooks @BKlover - Right?? My husband and I have done a lot of remodeling to our house, but I can't imagine trying to do it without watching YouTube videos along the way!! Grandpa's dad and father-in-law both helped him some, but neither of them were builders, either (one was a farmer and the other was a school teacher). My favorite part of the story is them using dynamite to blow out all the tree roots in the way of the basement! πŸ˜‚ 2w
TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder - That is so fun! I may need to borrow that masonry book, as our chimney is looking a little sketchy πŸ˜‚ 2w
Picking_Books @TheAromaofBooks Yes it was around the same era. Grandpa came back from World War 2 and married grandma and built the house. That is so interesting! 2w
Bklover Can you imagine if you tried to use dynamite now?!!!! @TheAromaofBooks 2w
64 likes17 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
Murder is Easy | Agatha Christie
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Pickpick

Also published as Easy to Kill, this is another great Christie standalone. For once, I remembered who the murderer was, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this reread - I love watching her plant the clues and red herrings. This one does drag a bit here and there as Luke spends a lot of time hashing and rehashing the possibilities, but still a solid mystery.

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TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

I just love these comics. I am especially fond of Wallace's parents. And there is an entire storyline with a bowling ball that absolutely cracked me up. This is the fourth collection so you get a little more backstory if you read the other books first, but these are definitely worth picking up.

TheSpineView Awesome! 2w
Chrys I follow the artist on Instagram , always look forward to his updates (edited) 2w
DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 2w
Lizpixie πŸŽ‰πŸ™Œ 2d
58 likes1 stack add5 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Runaways | Elizabeth Goudge
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Pickpick

Gah, this book is so freaking adorable! I love everyone in it, even the bad guys. The children are fantastically written and I would marry Uncle Ambrose if I had the chance πŸ˜‚ There are definitely some predictable aspects of this story, and I wish that Lady Alicia's husband and son had been missing for a more reasonable amount of time (30 years is WAY too long), but on the whole this one is just a delight.

TheAromaofBooks Hoping the rest of my #LMPBC group feels the same way haha @inthegreensandblues this one should be heading to you later this week!! @deblovestoread @maggie4483

#ReadySetRead - Book That Makes You Feel Comforted @Clwojick
#100YearsofBooks
#ISpyBingo - Shorts
#MarvelousMarch @Andrew65
#BirthdayPixieReadathon (Bk 1) @Lizpixie
#MarchMadness - Read Past Your Bedtime @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#BookSpinBingo
2w
Andrew65 Excellent πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 2w
rubyslippersreads This is one of my very favorite books, although I know it as 2w
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DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 2w
LeahBergen I love it, too! 2w
willaful Me here thinking, wait there's a Goudge children's book I don't know? OH, it's Linnets and Valerians! 2w
inthegreensandblues I'm excited to read it! 2w
TheAromaofBooks @rubyslippersreads @willaful - Yes!! I'm not sure why the title was changed for this edition. 2w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 2d
82 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Runaways | Elizabeth Goudge
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My #WeeklyForecast shows a full windowsill as usual πŸ˜‚ I should finish the tagged book today, my first completed for the #BirthdayPixieReadathon and I am hoping to also squeeze in Murder is Easy, this month's #AgathaChristieClubR2 read. For the #BacklistReadathon I'll be tackling Jill Shalvis - I own the first five books of the Lucky Harbor series, so that seems like a good place to start!!

@Cinfhen @Clwojick @Lizpixie

Cinfhen I love your weekly enthusiasm πŸ˜›Starting another series!!! πŸ™ŒπŸ» 2w
Clwojick So many good ones on here! I love Jill Shalvis, and The One was great! 2w
Lizpixie πŸ™ŒπŸŽ‰ 2d
60 likes3 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

This one was a soft pick for me, mainly because of the ending (spoiler below). I hadn't read a Fiona Davis book before and mostly picked this one up because I have seen her so enjoyed around Litsy. The dual timelines were handled very well, although I never felt much of a 60s connection, I guess since they were mostly locked in a museum lol Lily annoyed me a lot because she didn't do what I would do, but I still did like her as a person. ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) This book didn't make me want to rush out and read everything else Davis has written, but I can see myself trying another of her books in the future if I come across one.

#Roll100 @PuddleJumper
#MtTBR
#Pantone2023 - Gray Lilac @Clwojick
#MarvelousMarch @Andrew65
#MarchMadness - Blame It on Litsy @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#BookSpinBingo
3w
TheAromaofBooks Throughout the story we're told over and over that Helen is a capricious and unreliable in her generosity; that she is just as likely to take back something as she is to give it. Yet I'm supposed to believe that in the end she's financially backing FOUR people, and their entire futures depend on her?? It made me very uneasy and didn't feel like it fit with her established character. 3w
PuddleJumper πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰ 3w
Andrew65 Well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 2w
DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 2w
73 likes5 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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#BookReport - I feel like I've read SO MUCH this week, yet have only checked off four books! That's what happens when I also have EIGHT chapter-a-day reads going πŸ˜‚ I really enjoyed the Winternight trilogy a lot; The Black Stallion is always a win; and The Magnolia Palace was a soft pick - I just finished it last night. I'm really enjoying all my chapter reads as well (well, mostly). They include:
-Middlemarch: The end is in sight for this one! ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) How will it end when there isn't really a story??
-Walden: Boy Thoreau is a pretentious little prick, isn't he? I get mad when he makes a point I agree with because I don't want to be on the same page with him about anything.
-Miss Austen: Interesting, but I'm always slightly uncomfortable reading fiction about real people. Were James and Mary really SO horrid?
-House of Dreams: Really engaging biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery, but her ⬇
3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) life is so sad!!
-On the Banks of Plum Creek: I am SO enjoying the Little House readalong!!
-Travels With Charley: In general, I love Steinbeck's writing but not his stories (so sad), so it's fun to read a book of his that I'm wholeheartedly enjoying.
-Heartstone: Loving this P&P variation with dragons!!
-The Prize: Kind of meh for me, but not terrible.
Luckily these are all different enough to keep me going, but I may need to cut back ⬇
3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) on buddy reads... or not πŸ˜‚

@Cinfhen
3w
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ImperfectCJ I'm right there with you on Walden. I don't feel a strong need to like an author of fiction, but with personal nonfiction, I have to find the author at least not insufferable. Thoreau and his neck beard? Insufferable. 2w
Ruthiella Your comment on Thoreau! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I‘ve not read Walden, but I believe you. 2w
Cinfhen Awesome report!!! I finished Charley this week too- Steinbeck writes so beautifully especially about his beloved California and of course his dog 🐢❀️ 2w
73 likes6 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Life of Pi | Yann Martel
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I have a long list of classics, both classic classics and modern classics, that I want to read β€œsomeday.β€œ Last year, I started choosing one a month at random. I read a chapter a day until the book is finished. If, in the meantime, a new month starts, I go ahead and start the new classic as well. It's rare that they have more than 60 chapters, so I don't normally have more than two on the go at a time. ANYWAY I went ahead and drew out my books for⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) the rest of the year and thought I would post them to see if anyone is interested in reading along with me for any of these. They are totally random (which is how I ended up with two Twains in a row lol) so I doubt anyone wants to read ALL of them with me, but let me know if any of these appeal to any of you, and we can plow through them together!! 3w
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @TheAromaofBooks This is great! Would love to join you on some of these! 3w
JamieArc I like this plan. It‘s working with me fairly well with Middlemarch, so I will probably continue with another classic once I finish this one.l at the end of the month. 3w
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AnneCecilie I would love to join you in July for Dickens. 3w
Lcsmcat I‘d like to join you in August and September. I‘ve read the other on the list, so might check in for discussions, if that‘s ok. 3w
BarbaraJean Oooh, I‘d love to join you for Uncle Tom‘s Cabin in December! And by then I should have cleared the decks with the other classic/Chunkster buddy reads I keep joining! πŸ˜† 3w
willaful I'll give it a whirl if I'm not too busy. 3w
Clare-Dragonfly I‘d like to join for Uncle Tom‘s Cabin! 3w
peanutnine I'd love to join for Life of Pi in April and maybe a few later as well! Thanks for sharing, I love a good buddy read to keep me accountable ☺️ 3w
TheAromaofBooks @AnneCecilie @Lcsmcat @BarbaraJean @Clare-Dragonfly @CoverToCoverGirl @peanutnine - I have a little tag list going for each month, so I'll check in with you all when we get close to the months you're particularly interested in. 😁 3w
TheAromaofBooks @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @JamieArc @willaful - I have a tag list going for each specific month, so let me know if there is one you're especially interested in and would like to be reminded is coming up. Otherwise, you're welcome to jump in wherever you like!! 3w
TheAromaofBooks @peanutnine - Yay!! I'd be glad to have you along!! I probably won't do daily check-ins, I am thinking maybe a once a week discussion post? 3w
peanutnine @TheAromaofBooks whatever works best for you is fine with me! Weekly check-ins are great cause then there's more to discuss ☺️ 3w
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @thearomaofbooks Please add me to your tag list for the year. I‘ve been meaning to re-read β€œLife of Pi,” so this is great timing! 3w
Clare-Dragonfly You are soooo organized! How do you keep track of all your tag lists? Do you have them in a text document or something? 3w
TheAromaofBooks @Clare-Dragonfly - I am an obsessive list-maker in all aspects of life πŸ˜‚ But I do have a Word document that has my various tag list that I can just copy/paste over as needed. I even have them divided into little comment-sized clumps of usernames πŸ˜† I pretty much only use Litsy on my computer - I could never do this kind of stuff on my phone!! 3w
Clare-Dragonfly That‘s awesome! I figured you must do it all on your computer… all that copying and pasting would be such a pain on the phone. 3w
janeycanuck Oh, put me down for November, please! 2w
TheAromaofBooks @janeycanuck - I could use a partner for that one πŸ˜‚ I've started at least three times and can't get past the first few chapters. The other day it occurred to me that maybe I should try a different translation?? 2w
janeycanuck @TheAromaofBooks which one are you reading? I was just poking around and Grossman and Ormsby seem to be the favs with Ormsby being a really old translation while Grossman‘s is from 2003. 2w
TheAromaofBooks @janeycanuck - So I just looked it up. I have a very old edition that is undated, but probably from the early 1900s. It uses the Charles Jervas translation, and since he died in 1793, I really may need a slightly more modern translation LOL 2w
janeycanuck @TheAromaofBooks haha! He is listed as 8th on the ranking I found on Reddit. But maybe try to find a Grossman. I think that‘s the one I‘ll do. 2w
TheAromaofBooks @janeycanuck - Thank you for the tip!! I think a different translation may be the way to go haha 2w
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TheAromaofBooks
The Black Stallion | Walter Farley
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Pickpick

Easily on my Top 10 Childhood Favorites list; I read this one over and over again growing up. I actually owned the beautifully-illustrated Big Black Horse originally, which ends when Alec and The Black make it home, so the first time I read the full novel I was astonished to find that the story continues with the epic match race. Is the story full of coincidences and basically impractical in every way? Yeah, absolutely, but it's still a fabulous ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) story that combines two of my favorite childhood-story-tropes: wilderness survival and HORSES πŸ˜‚

#ChildrensClassicRead @TheBookHippie
#ReadtheUSA2023 - Illinois @aperfectmjk
#ReadtheRainbow @Clwojick
#WickedWords - Patrick @AsYouWish
#100YearsofBooks
#192025 - 1941 @Librarybelle
#MarchMadness - Published Before I Was Born @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#MarvelousMarch (Book 4)
#BookSpinBingo
3w
Suet624 Loved this book and read it often as well. 3w
Andrew65 Well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 3w
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TheBookHippie β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️β™₯️ love love love this!!! How fun. 3w
DieAReader πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 3w
Librarybelle Look at all of these challenge prompts completed! 3w
Clwojick Way to go! 3w
rubyslippersreads I just realized I read the kids‘ version rather than the full book. I don‘t know if I still have it, though. πŸ˜• Thanks for bringing back that memory. 2w
TheAromaofBooks @rubyslippersreads - It's definitely worth reading the full novel if you get a chance. After Alec and the Black make it back home, he finds a way to prove that the Black is the fastest horse in the country and it's quite exciting!! 1w
70 likes1 stack add9 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Since I obviously need another buddy read πŸ˜‚ @AvidReader25 and #BKClubCare are hosting the #OAFKingAlong starting in April... another classic I've been meaning to read, so why not?? #Imayneedhelp #whydoIfindbuddyreadsirresistible

KathyWheeler Oh my! It‘s been actual decades since I read this book! 3w
TheAromaofBooks @KathyWheeler - It's been on my TBR forever, so I'm excited about an excuse to prioritize it!! 3w
KathyWheeler @TheAromaofBooks I hope you like it. I loved it a million years ago β€” it got me into this Arthurian phase where I read a whole lot of Arthur stories. 😊 3w
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BarbaraJean Gaaaaah why do you tempt meeee?!? I have the same problem! πŸ˜‚ This has been on my TBR for years as well, but so has The Count of Monte Cristo, which I‘m buddy reading in March/April, and do I really need another buddy read? With another chunkster, no less? When I‘m also doing the #Clarissa buddy read? Here I go to click on the hashtag anywayβ€¦πŸ˜‚ 3w
TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - Right?? I just agreed to join the Agnes Grey buddy read as well... I had never really done any kind of group reading before joining Litsy, and I have been astonished at how it really does inspire me to keep plugging away through β€œhardβ€œ classics. Thankfully I didn't hear about Monte Cristo until it was too late πŸ˜‚ 3w
BarbaraJean It‘s amazing the difference it makes in helping me pick up and finish books I keep putting off! Litsy buddy reads are how I finally tackled Les Mis and Gone with the Wind. And it‘s not too late for Monte Cristo if you want to jump in… I haven‘t started my reading yet! πŸ˜‚ 3w
Lcsmcat This is so tempting! It‘s been on my shelf forever, so I may have to join in. 3w
BkClubCare @BarbaraJean @thearomaofbooks - Count of Monte Cristo is a LOT of fun, FYI 7d
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review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

Whew, I could barely put this one down!! What a rollercoaster! I was so invested that this book gave me weird dreams last night πŸ˜‚ I wasn't sure how Arden was going to pull things together in a way that made me happy but also made sense, but for the most part she did. I had a few niggles, but overall this one was definitely a pick.

I have to say that one thing that low-key annoyed me was constantly referring to the various magical creatures as⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) demons. It made sense for people who couldn't see them or didn't know what they were, but for the creatures themselves to think of themselves as demons - I actually do believe that demon exist and that they are never the good guys, and I wouldn't think of something like a dryad or a naiad as a demon. I loved the idea of the church folk working together with magical creatures, but the church in league with demons is definitely a no-go. ⬇ 3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) So even though it's kind of nit-picky, I wish she wouldn't have used that term so constantly, as it changed the way I felt about the creatures and the way they interacted with humans and religious folks, if that makes sense.

Still, all in all, an incredibly engaging, solid trilogy full of interesting characters whose stories and lives I was completely invested in. Well worth the read, and I'll probably pick these up again at some point.
3w
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TheSpineView Sure fulfilled a lot of prompts! Excellent job 3w
Andrew65 Sounds great, well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 3w
DieAReader Awesome!πŸ₯³πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ 3w
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TheAromaofBooks
Simply Irresistible | Jill Shalvis
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Hey friends!! Feel free to join @Clwojick and myself next week for our third #BacklistReadathon !! Choose an author whose backlist you've been meaning to get to and focus on them for the week!! I'm going with Jill Shalvis this month - I seem to have piles of her books about!! I'm going to (as usual) combine this challenge with #SeriesLove2023 and work on the Lucky Harbor books. Anyone is welcome to join - let us know whose books you'll be reading!

Andrew65 Looking forward to this, most probably targeting books by Daniel Silva. 4 I‘d like to get to during the Readathon. 3w
BarkingMadRead I love this! 3w
BarkingMadRead I think I will conquer some of my cozy mysteries in that week! I will focus on Laura Child. 3w
TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65 @BarkingMadRead - Excellent!! Good luck!! 3w
53 likes4 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
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Pickpick

As usual, the color match is better in real life haha

Book 2 of the Winternight Trilogy doesn't let up on the action. Honestly, these books are stressing me out! There were times that Vasya was making 100% the wrong decision and I just wanted to stop her. Also, if someone continually says he hates you and wants you to die and threatens your family, I'm not saying go out and kill him, but maybe stop saving his life?? Geezy, girl, let nature ⬇

Andrew65 Well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ 3w
TheSpineView Awesome! 3w
Clare-Dragonfly I knooooow, right? πŸ˜† 3w
70 likes4 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Well the windowsill seems to be at maximum capacity again! πŸ˜‚ My #WeeklyForecast includes finishing the tagged book as well as The Winter of the Witch, and then it will be time to tackle some March challenge books. The bedroom project is continuing (you can see the chop saw on the porch in the background lol) so this week will also involve painting the ceiling and organizing under the bed. Today I am painting two more bookshelves!! Never enough 😁

Cinfhen I love how you tackle all the home renovations and you still find time to read πŸ™ŒπŸ»Amazing 3w
Clare-Dragonfly Hey, all your books are verticalβ€”you could totally fit more πŸ˜‚ 3w
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AlaMich I love the Katherine Arden series so much! I wish she would write more for adults, but at the moment I think she‘s only doing middle grade fiction. 3w
Bookzombie I love your windowsill each week. Also, agree with @Cinfhen about tackling renovations and reading. πŸ™‚ 3w
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen @Bookzombie - My husband does the heavy lifting (including building new bookshelves!! 😁) but I am AWESOME at painting after YEARS of devoting myself to honing my skills πŸ˜‚ 3w
TheAromaofBooks @Clare-Dragonfly - You're so right! I have fit more books in there in the past. Once you start stacking, you start realizing that there is a LOT of space in a window! πŸ˜‚ 3w
TheAromaofBooks @AlaMich - This is my first foray into her writing, and I'm totally hooked!! 3w
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TheAromaofBooks
Under Currents | Nora Roberts
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Okay, so not as many checkmarks this week for my #BookReport as I MAY have gotten embroiled in the tagged 500pg+ book instead πŸ˜‚ Plus I have agreed to WAY too many buddy reads this month (five! Plus two other classics I am reading on my own at a chapter-a-day pace!) so I have about a hundred pages a day to get through before I tackle my current windowsill book lol

Kingfisher Club just wasn't for me; I couldn't jive with the writing style. I did ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) read Mystery by Moonlight for another February #Roll100 pick before we switched to March & finally started the Winternight trilogy. The Bear & the Nightingale didn't BLOW MY MIND as it has for so many others, but I did really enjoy it and definitely want to continue the trilogy - The Girl in the Tower is my current read and book 3 is in the queue as well. Tomorrow's pic will show that there are more, not fewer, books in the windowsill!πŸ˜‚ 4w
Cinfhen I almost bought Kingfisher on a daily deal, but had I feeling it wasn‘t gonna be for me… glad to see my instincts were correct πŸ‘πŸ½ 3w
72 likes3 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
Under Currents | Nora Roberts
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Pickpick

Earlier this week I went in town to run some errands, errands that would involve waiting about in my car, and - brace yourselves - I forgot my book!!! The ONLY solution was to pick up a random Nora Roberts paperback from Meijer's discount rack, right? RIGHT.

I really enjoyed this one but it's not going to be for everyone. The content was quite dark at times, especially in Part 1, as the main character is abused as a child. It's terrifying and ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) intense and I could barely put it down. I really fell in love with the characters in this book, and despite the themes of spousal and child abuse, felt like Roberts balanced it out with good, healthy, happy relationships being portrayed as well. The story explores how difficult it can be to get out of a bad, even life-threatening, situation because most abusers do such a fiendishly good job of isolating and intimidating their victims. ⬇ 4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) The book was a little overly-long, which meant that it slowly spilled into over-the-top territory... the number of people seeking revenge on the main characters started to feel a little ridiculous, and I think the story would have made more sense if it had ended after the plot with Zane's dad was wrapped up at the end of Part 3. However, I was way into these characters and their lives, so I didn't mind the uneven pacing, and was willing ⬇ 4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) to forgive the fact that it got a little ridiculous towards the end.

I feel like several of Roberts's more recent books have been very character-based, tracing a character's childhood into adulthood. With some writers I probably wouldn't like it, but Roberts manages to hook me every time, and Under Currents was no exception.
4w
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TheAromaofBooks Oh! And also pictured! My fancy new bedroom shelves my husband built this week. I was VERY excited to stain them and get books on them!!! The bedroom is the current remodel project and it seems to mainly consist of building shelves... this one is 2 of 4 installed so far πŸ˜‚ 4w
Ruthiella Love the shelves! Now that I have the kindle app on my phone, it‘s rare for me to be caught out without reading material, but I πŸ’― support your impromptu Nora Roberts buy! πŸ‘ (edited) 3w
Bookzombie I love your shelves! Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. πŸ™‚ 3w
75 likes7 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
A Not So Meet Cute | Meghan Quinn
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Sheesh @Pigpen_Reads - picking books off your list was quite dangerous for my own TBR! πŸ˜‚ These all sound fun to me - hope you find a winner or two among them!!

As always, thanks for hosting @aperfectmjk !!

Pigpen_Reads Lol! Sorry about adding to your TBR! πŸ€ͺ thank you for the picks! 4w
aperfectmjk Phew! At least I got the right list out on this one. 🀣 4w
79 likes2 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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Here's the #BookSpinBingo card! First, I put our official numbers (20 & 17 back in the mix. Then I drew them all out & wrote them down as I went, meaning the official numbers are just mixed into the card with the rest! As you can see, 21-25 are both labeled with their numbers & also as free spaces, so you can use them to match however you wrote your list. To score a bingo, just read books (in any order) that are in any row or column!! MORE INFO ⬇

TheAromaofBooks 1 - I am ONLY tagging @LitsyEvents for this post, but ANYONE is welcome to play along. This way I don't tag everyone twice in a row, since you all just got tagged on the BookSpin post!!
2 - Remember – NO PRESSURE!!!! If this starts to stress you out, just take that page right out of your journal and pretend it never existed!! This challenge is to encourage you to read, not to make you feel like reading is a chore!!!
⬇
4w
TheAromaofBooks 3 - FREE SPACES can be filled with any book that is NOT already on your list!!

4 & final - As a reminder, only the β€œofficial” BookSpin/DoubleSpin numbers will count towards giveaway entries. I don‘t want the giveaway to be stacked against people who aren‘t able to read lots of books each month. So basically there is still a maximum of 2 entries possible per month no matter how many books you read from your list. This bingo card is just for ⬇
4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) fun & glory! 😁

Thanks for playing & happy reading!!! As always, let me know if you have any questions!!
4w
See All 10 Comments
AllDebooks Thank you πŸ™‚ 4w
Read-y_Picker Thank you Sarah! Have an excellent day 😁
4w
claudiuo Thank you so much, March has now officially started 😻 4w
Gissy We wait this magical moment every monthπŸ€—It is a monthly Readathon. Thank youπŸ€—πŸ“šβ™₯️ 4w
Bookzombie Thank you! I love when the BS/DS are in the same row! πŸ™‚ 4w
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Book spin and double soun selecting in the same row along with a free space, and I'll probably still avoid a bingo! 🀣 4w
DieAReader Thanks so much!πŸ’™πŸ’™ 4w
104 likes10 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Spinning | Tillie Walden
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Is Litsy attempting to sabotage #BookSpin?? This is the second month in a row that the site has been down on the morning of the 2nd! πŸ˜‚ But here are, finally, March's numbers!! #BookSpin is TWENTY and #DoubleSpin is SEVENTEEN!!!

My next post will be the #BookSpinBingo card. I am NOT tagging anyone on that post!! If you want to bingo, please just check my profile for the card. This saves me having to double tag everyone/keep track of who wants ⬇

TheAromaofBooks to bingo and who doesn‘t!!

I use the same tag list for the entire year, so if you would like to be added or removed, please just let me know. It takes me a while to tag everyone (there are over 200 of you!!!) so I will add β€œFINISHED” to the last tag batch so you know whether or not I missed you. If I did, it was completely inadvertent. Sometimes I just spell someone‘s username wrong.

⬇
4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Below are a few housekeeping items that I post every month INCLUDING the link to the 2023 Google Form where you can track your entries for the end-of-the-year giveaway!! As always, my masterpost about both #BookSpin & #BookSpinBingo can be found on my blog - https://thearomaofbooks.wordpress.com/bookspin-bookspinbingo-litsy-challenge - & this link is always available in my profile as well.

Odds & Ends Below!!
⬇
4w
TheAromaofBooks 1. Remember, this is a no-pressure challenge!! You can read one or both of these books. You can bail on them. You can bail on the whole challenge and try again next month. Whatever works!! This is supposed to be fun not stressful!! ⬇ 4w
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TheAromaofBooks 2. I do have a giveaway at the end of the year. Every BookSpin or DoubleSpin book completed counts as an entry!! In the past, I have tracked these myself, but for 2023 YOU are in charge of tracking your own entries!! To help with this process, I have created a Google Form that can be found here - https://forms.gle/GEr6BBnRebECsk8V9 - You can use this Form two different ways: You can update it throughout the year OR you can wait and fill in ⬇ (edited) 4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) all the information at the end of the year. If you want to be entered in the giveaway you MUST use this form. However, if you do NOT want to be entered in the giveaway but still want to use the form for organizational purposes, I have set it up so that the personal info/address blank is OPTIONAL - so you can use the form without submitting your name/address. If you do not care about the giveaway you do NOT have to use this form at all ⬇ 4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) There is more information about how the form works when you click on the link and go to the form because I LOVE overexplaining things!!! You are also ALWAYS welcome to ask me questions!!

3. Even though I don't HAVE to see your reviews I love reading them!! So please feel free to tag me in any and all BookSpin reivews!!

4. For the giveaway, DNFs do count!! The goal for #BookSpin is to get a book off your TBR, so if you decide not to ⬇
4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) finish it, it's still off the TBR and still counts as a completion in my book!!

5. If you do not finish your #BookSpin/#DoubleSpin book this month it is STILL ELIGIBLE for a giveaway entry as long as you complete it sometime in 2023!! There is space in the form for you both to put down what book you are SUPPOSED to read & then to check off which books you DID read! ⬇
4w
TheAromaofBooks 6. Everyone is welcome to join this challenge!! If you wanted tagged & I missed you, it was completely inadvertent!! Please just let me know that you want to be added to the tag list. You can also let me know if you want to be removed - no hard feelings!! Feel free to jump in & out of this challenge as needed. Also, obviously, getting tagged doesn't mean you HAVE to actually participate!! 4w
TheAromaofBooks 7 & final (FINALLY) - While I don't have time to reply to all of the comments to this post, I do read every one and love seeing which books got picked for you!! I do respond to any direct questions or confusion, so please feel free to ask away if something doesn't make sense or you need some clarifications. Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm, and happy reading!!! 4w
Bookwormjillk I thought it was down for last month too, but wasn‘t sure if I imagined that. 4w
BookishMadHatter Awesome, thanks so much @TheAromaofBooks My picks this month are Lunatic by Onley James and Gin and Daggers by Donald Bain & Jessica Fletcher (yay Murder, She Wrote lol) 4w
AmyG Hooray!!!! Thank you! 4w
TheAromaofBooks @Bookwormjillk - It's mostly funny because I'm on Litsy at more or less the same time every morning because I am a creature of very strong habits, so it was definitely down last month and this month, but I don't remember it happening any time in between πŸ˜‚ So it MUST be personal! πŸ˜† 4w
BarkingMadRead Hooray! I‘m all caught up for January and February, and my books for March are Nancy Drew and Mad Honey! 4w
Lcsmcat It‘s all of us obsessively checking to see if you‘ve posted the numbers yet making Litsy crash from the heavy traffic. πŸ˜‚ Thanks for pushing through. 4w
Read-y_Picker @Lcsmcat My first thought as well lol! 4w
Allylu Ooh! My #BS is Three Keys by Kelly Yang, book 2 in her Front Desk series - a middle grade that I‘m looking forward to reading. My #DS is Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano which I am reading right now! #BookSpin Day is so exciting at our house!! Thank you, Sarah! πŸ₯³πŸ“šπŸ’•πŸŽΆ 4w
claudiuo Same here @Lcsmcat 😎 Thank you so much for posting the numbers, both my picks are books I meant to read since early last year. Thank you! 4w
TheSpineView IK! I kept thinking is was my phone. Then my hubby, my tech support guy, said he thought the sight was down. 4w
Eggs Thanks Sarah❀️ #Bookspin is War Stories by Gordon Korman, and #Doublespin is Float Plan by Trish Doller 😊 4w
bookandbedandtea Thanks for persevering, Sarah! 😁 4w
Elizabeth2 Ha! The universe is trying to tell me something. #20 & #17 are from the same series - the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor, and the double spin from February was too (and I didn't get to it because my library didn't have the next in the series available). I guess I need to make that series a priority this month. :) Thanks for all your efforts in putting together this challenge! 4w
BarbaraJean BookSpin is my IRL book club pick for the month, Noor by Nnedi Okorafor, and DoubleSpin is the next MurderBot book, Fugitive Telemetry (which will catch me up on that series πŸŽ‰)! I‘m sad the spins skipped over all my #MiddleGradeMarch picks, but it‘s nice they landed on a couple of short books since I‘m starting Count of Monte Cristo this month! 4w
julieclair @Lcsmcat My thoughts exactly! πŸ€ͺ πŸ“šπŸ’₯ 4w
julieclair I'm excited for this month's picks! I constructed my list a bit more loosely this month, to give me some room for mood reads. So my Bookspin is a choice from #TBRDeckofCards and my Doublespin will be a Series Read. Now I just need to decide what kind of mood I am in, lol! 4w
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks Thank you, Sarah! My #bookspin is Papillon and #doublespin is The Wife Between Us! πŸ˜€ 4w
Deblovestoread Thank you! Have a lovely day πŸ’œ 4w
Librarybelle Yay! I have a #ReadingTheAmericas2023 selection and a #52BookClub23 selection as my spins! 4w
Lucy_Anywhere Thank you! 4w
robinb Yay!! One is next in series (and I‘ve just recently finished the previous one so I‘ll be able to remember what‘s going on πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚), and the other is also next in series of a favorite series! Thanks Sarah! 4w
ChelseaM6010 Yay!! My #bookspin is The Many Deaths of Laila Starr and my #Doublespin is a Cormac McCarthy book, Child of God. πŸ™‚ 4w
Bookzombie Um, so I was off yesterday and I kept check Litsy for the numbers. I almost messaged you to see if you were okay and then I realized it was the 1st. πŸ˜‚ My BS is The Brass Queen and DS is 4w
LeafingThroughLife All of us manically refreshing your feed on book spin morning trying to find out what we can expect to read this month must just be too taxing for Litsy‘s servers. 🀣 4w
Bklover Oooh, my bookspin is A Deeper Darkness! ❀️❀️❀️Thanks Sarah! 4w
Clare-Dragonfly Woohoo! Karen Healey and Mary Robinette Kowal! 4w
TheAromaofBooks @Bookzombie - It's good to know I'd be missed if something happened πŸ˜‚ In fairness, it would have to be a pretty drastic life event for me to miss BookSpin day!!! 4w
mrsmarch So thus far in 2023 we‘ve had 7 & 17, 10 & 20, and now 17 & 20! 4w
IamIamIam @mrsmarch Haha, I just noticed that too! 4w
IamIamIam I've got fiction by a male author and just fiction. Going to be an easy month! Lol 4w
Megabooks I noticed that too @mrsmarch ! Next month will be 7 10! (edited) 4w
DieAReader πŸ’™πŸ’™πŸ’™ 4w
BookNerd9906 I would love to join this challenge. I‘ve been eyeing these posts for months and finally went to the link and read the instructions and made my list! 3w
TheAromaofBooks @BookNerd9906 - Yay!! Glad to have you along!! I've added you to the tag list, so you'll get a reminder about a week before I post the new numbers, and then tagged when each month's numbers go up!! 😁 3w
140 likes58 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Horse Tamer | Walter Farley
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I've been doing an amazingly bad job of posting reviews here lately, but I did 21 books, plus stayed caught up with the Middlemarch buddy read!! This is the closest to a cover-all I've had for #BookSpinBingo in a while - I list my challenge/buddy reads, which usually comprise 10-15 slots, then the rest are free spaces that I fill in in order. I hit all my challenge goals for the month, and was only 147pgs shy of my 250pg/day goal for the month!!

dabbe Pretty, impressive, and pretty impressive! ❣️ 4w
Weisubei Wow, amazing 🀩🀩 4w
84 likes3 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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It's almost March, which means it's almost time to start a new #ISpyBingo board!!!

If you want to track your reads on Storygraph, or check out what other people are reading for various prompts, the challenge can be found here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/265c3ab9-c799-4d41-857c-d991e83...

Anyone is welcome to play along - just let me know if you have any questions OR suggestions for future bingo board items!!

@Clwojick

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TheAromaofBooks
Indiscretion: A Novel | Jude Morgan
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Okay, Group L, here are a few lighthearted reads from my shelves. Have any of you read any of these, or is there one that tickles your fancy??

Please excuse my poor photo editing haha Also I have loads of other Wodehouse and Heyer if you prefer another!!

@inthegreensandblues @Deblovestoread @Maggie4483

TheAromaofBooks Note that this one was also published as Linnets and Valerians 1mo
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inthegreensandblues They all sound good! ...I was thinking of proposing a Heyer book too as I have never read anything by her and want to! Wodehouse too 1mo
LeahBergen Jude Morgan does regency SO well. Sorry for chiming in here. πŸ˜† 1mo
Maggie4483 These all sound wonderful! The Runaways reminds me a bit of the Boxcar Children series I loved so much growing up, but the comparison to P&P really sold me on Sprig Muslin. 1mo
Deblovestoread I‘m happy with any of these! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @inthegreensandblues @Maggie4483 @Deblovestoread - I think I'll go with The Runaways. I read it years ago and have been wanting to reread it for a while now since I can't remember much other than warm feelings πŸ˜‚ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @LeahBergen - I love Indiscretion so much, although it's been a few years since I read it. But it had me snort-laughing the entire time. 1mo
42 likes9 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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#WeeklyForecast already has some March challenge reads!! It has been really working for me to have several challenges that just don't carry over. If I don't get to them, they go back on the shelf for some other month. However, I am not ready for it to already be the third month of freaking 2023. What the heck.

Lots of home time right now, so checking off books between painting the bedroom and other renovation projects!
@Cinfhen

Cinfhen Shelf looks properly whittled down πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen - Oh, I know, I'm basically out of books at this point πŸ˜‚ 1mo
Cinfhen Hahaha 1mo
76 likes3 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Whose Body? | Dorothy Sayers
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#BookReport - Another week of doing a good job reading a terrible job reviewing πŸ˜‚ Finished the Chesapeake Shores series (finally!). Read Girls Made of Snow & Glass for #LMPBC (so-so; I found the characters annoying). Tagged book was fun but a little disjointed - I'm still going to read the next one in the series, though! Not the Witch You Wed was a #TrappedonanIsland pick and was just the fluffy, silly read I needed. Just started The Girls at ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) the Kingfisher Club this morning - a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses for the #FairyTaleReadingChallenge. Nothing life-changing this week, but steadily plowing through the piles with some interesting reads. I can't believe my next windowsill picture is going to include March books...!!!!

@Cinfhen
1mo
Cinfhen Excellent progressπŸ˜„I know…I keep reminding myself February only has 28 days πŸ˜‰ 1mo
71 likes2 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Something Fresh | P G Wodehouse
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Still have two slots open for Group L - Lighthearted Fiction!! Join us reading low-angst, happy reads along the lines of (but not limited to) P.G. Wodehouse, Georgette Heyer, E. Nesbit, etc. There are also loads of other groups open if you're interested in a different genre!!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080444aead2ca0ff2-litsy17#/

inthegreensandblues I signed up for Group L.😊 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @inthegreensandblues - Yay!! Glad to have you along!! @IndoorDame is reading with us as well!! 😁 1mo
IndoorDame @TheAromaofBooks @inthegreensandblues I‘m so sorry but I‘m not going to be able to read with you this round after all. There‘s a chance I may be moving next month and I don‘t want to commit to a reading group I won‘t be able to follow through on. I really hope you find a member to take my place, I love the theme of this group!!! 1mo
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TheAromaofBooks @IndoorDame - Oh, so sad for us!! But hopefully your move is a good thing!! If we end up not having another person, would you at all be interested in having the group with just three people and we read April-May-June (skipping March)? No worries if not, but I thought I would throw it out there!! 1mo
IndoorDame @TheAromaofBooks thank you, I hope the move ends up being a good thing too if it goes through! But my health hasn‘t been great lately so it‘ll take me some time to recover from, so while I do love the idea of getting right back to reading with you this spring, I don‘t see it being possible. I‘m really sorry!!! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @IndoorDame - No worries, just thought I would see if you were interested!! Hopefully everything works out and the new place is full of happiness!! 1mo
IndoorDame @TheAromaofBooks thank you for the kind wishes and for understanding ❀️ 1mo
47 likes7 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Unbelievably, March is less than a week away! I know there has been some wintry weather across the country, but here it has been unseasonably (and honestly suspiciously πŸ˜‚) mild - one of our warmest Februarys on record!

ANYWAY time to start thinking about your March #BookSpin & #BookSpinBingo lists!! Some of you have already posted yours, so apologies if you're being tagged unnecessarily!!

As always, let me know if you would like to be added ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) or removed from the tag list!!

Here is the link to the masterpost about how this challenge works - https://thearomaofbooks.wordpress.com/bookspin-bookspinbingo-litsy-challenge/ - or feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

Finally, the link to the 2023 Google Form for tracking your BS/DS reads is here: https://forms.gle/tc6U17AuVw4ssG2v8

Can't wait to see your lists & I'll be back on the 2nd with the winning numbers!!
1mo
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Lcsmcat It‘s supposed to hit 80 here today. Crazy weather. 1mo
TheSpineView March 😱 1mo
Zoes_Human I was wearing a tennis skirt and a t-shirt COMFORTABLY all day yesterday. 72 in February in WNC makes me nervous. If I disappear this summer, it's probably because of spontaneous combustion. 1mo
BarkingMadRead I made mine before I left for Disney but I didn‘t take a pic 🀣 can‘t wait! 1mo
SpookyMazeOfBooks Can't wait , to see what books I get because I feel like I'm out of that reading slump. 1mo
Sarahreadstoomuch Our weather in New England has been all over the place! 60s a couple days ago, snow, sleet and ice storm today! 1mo
Nessavamusic This weather is wild, but it didn‘t shut us down. 1mo
Julsmarshall Yay! Love Bookspin list time! Our texas weather is all over too-low 50s on Monday, was 80 yesterday πŸ€ͺ (edited) 1mo
Bookwormjillk Warm here too. I‘m bracing for a March blizzard. I was working on my list this morning. I‘ll post a pic soon. 1mo
Librarybelle I‘ve been thinking about March…hopefully I can pull it together this weekend! 1mo
Cinfhen Ohhhhh, I almost forgot πŸ˜… thanks for the March reminder 😘😘 (edited) 1mo
Eggs Working on the list!! Texas- -ice one week, 80 the next πŸ€ͺ 1mo
Ash.on.the.line This month I‘ve read so many library and netgalley books so my March list will mostly be the same as February πŸ˜…πŸ˜† 1mo
SheReadsAndWrites I can't believe it's almost March! We have a frosting of snow this morning in Idaho. It looks like the yard was sprinkled with powdered sugar. πŸ€­β„οΈ I love winter. πŸ’™ 1mo
bookandbedandtea Oh gosh, I haven't even thought about my March list yet! 😳 Guess I'll get on that. 😁 1mo
BarbaraJean I‘m gearing up for a rainy weekend here in Southern Californiaβ€”oh no, guess I‘ll have to stay in and read πŸ˜‚ I‘m putting final touches on my March list; I‘ve been trying to fit in too many different reading goals/challenges! (edited) 1mo
Clwojick I‘m ready to rock! 1mo
claudiuo Still trying to finish a book, hope to get the list ready this weekend. Thank you so much! 1mo
MatchlessMarie It was 88 degrees here yesterday πŸ€¨πŸ˜„ I am hoping to have a better reading month in March because I have spring break week off work πŸŽ‰ 1mo
BookishMadHatter I started working on my list this week and will (hopefully) get my kids to assign numbers to the books this weekend. 1mo
UwannaPublishme Yikes! Still trying to finish at least one book on my list. πŸ˜„ 1mo
Bklover Oh yeah!! Thanks for the reminder!❀️ 1mo
gossamerchild Think I might be working on this list right up to the last minute. I did NOT get many of my titles read this month. 1mo
Karons1 Yes πŸ™Œ please πŸ˜€im on my last book πŸ“– for 2 lines I think πŸ€” I wonder πŸ’­ if il ever get a full house πŸ˜‚ 1mo
KristiAhlers I just posted mine. I can't believe how fast this month has gone! 1mo
JenniferP Can you add me to the tag list? I have my list all ready for March! Thank you! 1mo
CSeydel Already? πŸ˜‚ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @JenniferP - Absolutely!! 1mo
Grrlbrarian Ahhhhh! Eep! How is it almost March 😳 I‘ll get my list up Monday. Thank you! 1mo
Bookgoil Oh sheesh I‘m so behind this month for once and I don‘t think I‘ve finished nearly any of my Feb list so therefore I may push a bunch over from there I‘ll make one up tonight! 1mo
145 likes45 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
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Panpan

As a story, this one was okay, but as an Anne of Green Gables/Anne of the Island retelling, I felt like it failed abysmally. So much so that I ranted at great length on GR, which is unusual for me haha Short version? The characters were simply wrong, especially Anne, who is completely lacking in any sign of imagination or shenanigans. An Anne who is perfectly happy living in a crowded apartment in the city and never talks about being outside? ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) This Anne was just a regular, boring college student obsessed with studying, work, and Gilbert, and it just didn't work for me. Also, personal preference, but I've shipped Anne and Gilbert since I was ten. Reading explicit sex scenes between them gave me the same kind of heebie jeebies I imagine I would get if my parents started telling me about what they do in the bedroom. No thank you.

However, looking forward to seeing if I was ⬇
1mo
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) in the minority for this #KindredSpiritBuddyRead @BarbaraJean πŸ˜‚

And if anyone is interested in the rant... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5357471361
1mo
mabell Your comment comparing Anne and Gilbert‘s steamy scenes to your parents killed me 🀣 Perfect analogy! Just no πŸ˜†πŸ˜†πŸ˜† 1mo
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AlaMich Ewwww!!! 😳 1mo
Michael_Gee Your last note on your review seems spot on: using the established characters as a short cut. Wow, this sounds so so bad. Thank you for sharing your review! 1mo
vlwelser I remember kind of liking this. But at face value. Not as an Anne retelling. Definitely not enough shenanigans for Anne. 1mo
BarbaraJean I‘m halfway through and I‘m feeling similarly, though not yet at the rant stage. And OMG YES about the sex scenes feeling ooky. It‘s been interesting seeing what this author does with a contemporary retelling, but so far, it‘s just not Anne to me. I will lower my expectations for the rest of the bookβ€¦πŸ˜† (Also, I‘m bookmarking your rant for when I finish the book!! 😁) (edited) 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @mabell @AlaMich @Michael_Gee @vlwelser @BarbaraJean - Every time I post a (very) negative review for a book, I immediately start to feel bad, because other people liked it, so what if I keep someone who would have liked it from reading the book?? πŸ˜‚ So be sure to read some positive reviews as well, because some people actually did love this one haha 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @vlwelser - If this hadn't tried to be an Anne retelling, it would probably have been a 3 or 3.5* read for me. Not super exciting, but not terrible, either. I just wanted more Anne-ness when I was reading this, and it just wasn't there! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @mabell - I usually prefer closed-door romances anyway, but I was trying to figure out why these felt especially ick for me, and was like, I think it's just because I've known Anne and Gilbert for too long πŸ˜‚ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I actually love the concept of this one, and Anne of the Island is one of my favorite books. I just wanted more shenanigans with a group of friends having fun and less Gil and Anne being all angsty, I think. 1mo
Daisey It‘s a personal opinion, but I absolutely do not think you should feel bad about this kind of ranting review. I love reading these kind of reviews as they often give me a truer picture of what to expect for myself as a reader than gushing reviews. In this case, your review made me laugh and kind of want to hate read this book where I had no interest before! I also feel the β€œupdates” you noted are often why I tend to avoid contemporary retellings. 1mo
thebackyardgnome Aww, thr concept sounded great, but yes, writhng sex scenes about Anne-verse cjaracters is a tightrope act. And, dear @TheAromaofBooks , don't feel guilth - I felt guilty about my review of The Boy In Striphrd Pajamas, but now thst I think of it, every opinion matters as muxh, and if it's negativr, it can also help others form their opinion. A movie critic from thr locsl newspaper had yhis luck - if he hated a film, it was a hit, and vice versa:D 1mo
willaful I feel totally the same and honestly see no point to this book having been written unless you just wanna see A&G get it on. :-\ I've stalled at the flashback to 7th grade because I would rather read the real scene than this one. 1mo
willaful It's a shame too, because reading your review and being reminded of the actual conflicts makes me think that an updated version could be really interesting. But you have to work with what was actually there! And I really think I prefer retellings that don't use exactly the same names. That's too close. 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @Daisey - I do feel like a lot of contemporary romances spend a lot more time now focusing on sex & diversity quotas instead of an actual story & character development, & it's really discouraging to me, because it's a genre I sometimes love. 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @Daisey @thebackyardgnome - I do think that negative reviews can help potential readers, because sometimes I read a negative review and think, β€œbut those are all things I like!β€œ so I go for it πŸ˜‚ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @willaful - I feel bad because this author is trying to fit three books' of relationship-building into one fairly short book, so it would be impossible for her to truly capture the depth of the history between these two characters. But I think she cheated her readers by leaning into the sexual aspect of their relationship and skimming the friendship part. This could have been a lot of fun focusing on Anne's romantic ideals & her realizing ⬇ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) as she did in the originals, that true romance goes beyond someone being tall, dark, and handsome, and saying the right words. Somehow, in this book I just never felt like she ended up valuing Gil in the same way that original Anne does. 1mo
DivineDiana Agree with your review. Glad to know that zI am not alone. πŸ™‚ 3w
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TheAromaofBooks
Willow Brook Road | Sherryl Woods
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The #WeeklyForecast is actually looking pretty reasonable. I am better than halfway through the tagged and should finish it today. Then we will see how far I get through the rest of the windowsill!! We got a bunch of lumber and supplies for the next round of home renovation yesterday, so I will probably be doing some painting again this week. Neverending!! πŸ˜‚

@Cinfhen

Cinfhen Oh wowπŸ™ŒπŸ»I see real progress 🫢🏼 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen - Thank you!!! I've tried to narrow down the number of challenge and buddy reads I'm doing this year to make this windowsill stay more manageable πŸ˜‚ 1mo
Cinfhen It‘s hard to limit yourself but it does make life more manageable 😁 (edited) 1mo
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TheAromaofBooks
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Okay friends, here are some choices from my shelves. The tagged book is the one I am leaning toward as I have been meaning to reread it for a while. The P&P one I have read before and know that it does not have any sexy times πŸ˜‚ I have tons of other Heyer and Wodehouse options. The Princess is an old favorite of mine, but it is Christian fiction so I understand if that isn't everyone's jam. Let me know what you think!!

Chrissyreadit I‘m totally for the five minute marriage. 1mo
Monica5 I haven't read any of these 1mo
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mabell The Five Minute Marriage would be just fine with me! I‘m also intrigued by The Runaways - I‘ll have to keep an eye out for that one! 1mo
julieclair The Five Minute Marriage sounds great to me! My other top choices would be The Runaways and Sprig Muslin. 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @Chrissyreadit @mabell @julieclair - I'll go with The Five-Minute Marriage this time around, but keep the others as possibilities for next time 😁 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @mabell - Apparently it was originally published as The Linnets and Valerians, so you may have read it under that title. 1mo
julieclair Yay for The Five Minute Marriage! @Chrissyreadit @mabell And I will go with 1mo
mabell @TheAromaofBooks Surprisingly, it never crossed my radar! (Under either title!) But I‘m definitely going to be looking for a copy - it sounds fantastic! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @julieclair - Yay!! That one sounds fun!! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks @mabell - I have a soft spot for Elizabeth Goudge. Her adult novel The Scent of Water changed my life. It's a quiet novel and not for everyone, but I absolutely love it. 1mo
mabell That one sounds lovely too! 1mo
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