BOOK MAIL! More books to get judgy on.

Like actually. Official-like. 😆

Last day of the month, below freezing outside, a CRAZY busy bag sale weekend, and an actual #tbrstack beside my bed... It's a #goodmorning to lie in and read.
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This is book 37/365! #StayHomeReadMore #booknerdreads

It's 💯 romance season for me! Not only do I start #RWA judging, but a partner gifted me the #readromancerepeat subscription box from The Ripped Bodice, an all-romance bookshop! ❤️❤️❤️

Feeling a definite hand-rubbing, dragon hoard kind of glee today... I got the first stack of books for my regional #romancewriters judging! It's my third year taking part and I LOVE it!

When your bookish friend says "almost done" at the bookshop...

I freaking love all the mittens memes! This is my shop, edited by my photog partner!

How many boards would the Mongols hoard if the Mongol horde got bored? 😆😆

GIRL WAITS WITH GUN reads the headline of the newspaper in 1914, referring to the #truestory of Constance Kopp, one of America's first women to be named #deputysheriff. This fictionalized account has roots in history, found in sensationalized cartoons and headlines of the intrepid Misses Kopp. Constance is dragged into her battle with a corrupt businessman and rumored #BlackHander, showing that #goodpeople can't help but to #dogood. 18/365

Oh, honey, no... Paris is not a good idea.

A thirty-year-old woman retraces her gap year through Ireland, France, and Italy to find love—and herself— which never works out the way they think it will. Add in an enemies-to-lovers work trope and this book is hardly about Paris at all. 2⭐

The blurbs I've seen about this one are so accurate - it feels the same as watching "Get Out" with a mix of horror and utter disbelief at the things people will do to another living soul because of race. The history of discrimination against Black neighborhoods and their residents is well documented and relayed in this #thriller! #booknerdreads 16/365 5⭐

It seems that -for me- this book is not to be consumed as a meal, but as small snacks to be savored and digested... Four days in to #APromisedLand for this #booknerd.

Today's #BookOfTheDay opens in the year 2079 with a slightly dystopian feeling - sirens and bunkers and the implied restructuring of the government - but transforms into a meandering story about a family. From the childhood tragedy to the quiet continuing of life as separate, but connected, adults, this story is a great #contemporaryfiction #bookclub pick, but personally not a book that satisfies. #BookNerdReads 14/365

Sunday naptime = reading time. Couch and ☕! I heard the tagged book was being adapted for the screen, so it's time to finish it up for my #booknerdreads 12/365 and move into book 13! I'm pretty damn excited for that one!

I had forgotten this about Matilda... Maybe the bookshop was meant to be from childhood for me. This is one of my favorite childhood stories. 11/365

Walk careful in the long shadows of abandoned stacks, for you walk footpaths of restless dreams.

Posted my 4/365 on the bookshop Instagram earlier, but this showed up, so there is NO WAY I'm not shoving everything else to to the side to start this one tonight! It counts when I finish it, which I hope is not tonight only for my need for sleep. 5/365 @Shakespearience @ads0123 @EliNeedsMoreShelves #LMPBC #GroupL #BookNerdReads

This book felt like a strange intersection of billionaire BDSM, romantic suspense, and erotic romance. The sex was hot, the "contract" seemed like an unnecessary plot device, and the suspense felt really strange. All in all, they all felt a bit thrown together without much cohesion. Fluff, but not as enjoyable as her Brown sisters series! 3/365

What would you do if you learned your partner's deepest darkest secret? The Stranger tells Adam Price the secret Adam's wife has been keeping. When he confronts her, though, she disappears and the secrets keep coming. Who is embezzling money from the sports team? Who is Ingrid? Why is an Ohio cop in New Jersey asking about Adam's wife? A well done web of mystery, woven with multiple character lines! 2/365

First impressions... Zombie? Sequel? Neither is true!

It's 200 years after the fabled ball. Cinderella has married her Prince Charming and the land has made her story legend. But Sophia knows something is wrong. She doesn't understand why women are so restricted - no money of their own, modesty regulations, and when she witnesses women being abused by their male family members, she knows she can't let the king remain on the throne. 1/365

Having watched #Bridgerton on Netflix, I found myself in a historical romance kind of mood...

This one was a silly kind of romp - constant "it can't get any worse", Murphy's Law moments.

"THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER... It's tough to get into and it will cut you if you don't use the right knife. Also, it's slimier than expected but sometimes you get jewelry. Unless this truism means that you are the pearl and the world is the oyster that you live in? Which would kind of make sense because pearls are technically just natural irritants and that's a pretty good description of human beings in the world."
#mARCupbookclub

Merry Everything and Happy Always - and remember to look up. #mARCupbookclub

My trees looks more spooky than like birches, but that may be because of the book... Paint class success!

I was all ready with a cute post about curling up with a #book when the #GoblinTeen shamed me. "Don't use the dog for your bookstore propaganda!" ??
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I'm settling in to read this for the #mARCupbookclub - a new Kate Quinn #WWII novel. So far we've seen the fiction tied with familiar faces in #AlanTuring and #PrincePhillip, but the story focuses on three female #codebreakers based in #BletchleyPark. So far so good! #booknerdreads

Not sure what I want to read next, so I'll start at the top and see which one grabs me.

I read the Bronwyn Green parts of this series a couple years ago and enjoyed them. This one? Meh. Not sure if it's me or the book.

"They're not throwing them onto bonfires!" said Nina. "They're not actually Nazis."
"That's what everyone thinks. Then before you know it, you've got Nazis."

Secret Santa swap book from a local group and this is the perfect one to start with!

I hope they never try to put this book on the big screen because they will NEVER do it justice. #booknerdreads

I love thrifting...

Privilege check.

I can imagine the awkwardness and detachment that would come with big changes in how you identify - I threw a lot of things and relationships out when I was open about polyamory. But having the physical transition makes the dissociation so much harder. So happy with this read for #GroupL #LMPBC

This little girl is keeping me from my usual reading habits! I complained to a customer that it's taken me 5 days to read 3 chapters and she laughed at me. "But... That's how we normal people read", she says.

I now happily claim "reading freak of nature" to my otherness and will continue to be frustrated when it takes me multiple days to finish books.

Historical romance says "Don't try this at home."

So... WHAT THE F$&#?!?

To explain my reaction a bit, mostly men are trash and a little bit crazy. I called the ending, but the book kept giving me hope that it would surprise me. The thrills and suspense were good, not great. Character was good, not great. The ending was good, not great. Very little substance despite all the detail and an ending that feels unfinished despite wrapping up in a neat little bow. 3⭐

"At this point the suspect list became almost comic, including as it did Sir David Attenborough and the Archbishop of Canterbury. No-honestly, no. If one could not trust these men, one might as well give up."

This ARC is super cute... Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, while planning her 90th birthday celebration is also in the throes of solving a murder. ?

The #teenagers are watching #anime, the #puppy is flopped on the floor for #naptime, and I'm attempting only my third #jamespatterson book ever.
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I graduated #highschool the year this #womensmurderclub was published. I feel like I missed a lot of #books and #bookseries that are still popular now while I was working and having kids. Now it's nice to go back to them and see how they hold up to today's world. #booknerdreads

Most people know @janetevanovich from her #StephaniePlum series. This is the first in her Lizzy and Diesel series, which focuses on the #sevendeadlysins. I laughed out loud at several points in this book. It was playful and irreverent, proven by my favorite character, Carl. Carl is a middle-finger-waving, pay-per-view-porn-watching, Froot-Loops-eating monkey. Yeah, 🐒.

I don't think I'll read the others, but this was dumb fun.

The Goblin Teen desperately needed a haircut and I desperately needed a book to read during said appointment, so I borrowed this one that the Girl Child just got for her birthday. Cute idea - not my thing, but 💯 perfect for teens and college students! Go find the online game, too!

Oh... This is why I hate self-publishing. I found SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERRORS IN THE DOUBLE DIGITS BEFORE PAGE FIVE!!! I cannot shout about that enough. Editors are wonderful people and cannot be replaced by your computer's spell-check. If your local authors self-publish and use editors, please thank them for being responsible stewards of the written word. #booknerdreads

It's my second read of this book, which is unheard of for me now, and I'm having fun with my first time marking up a book specifically for others to witness. I'm noting that I have a similar sense of humor to the high school characters... I think it's my kids' fault. #LMPBC

I'm avoiding as much news and social media as I can, but reading this passage reminds me - no matter what happens, the good always wins because the good never stops. There is always someone to fight alongside and bring back the good.

I'm actually reading a Book Two...
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Not much reading gets done with this little nugget around... #puppytime

Just finished this most recent one from the D.D. Warren series. My first Lisa Gardner, but jumping into the middle of the series was doable - she did well establishing the developed relationships and ensuring the reader knew enough background. A decent read about serial killers and the way they often appear to victims as monsters and demons. 4⭐

Book, tea, and Silent Book Club at the bookshop. #selfcare

I will be honest, I don't research books before I read them. Sometimes I don't even read the back. I ONE HUNDRED PERCENT judge by the cover. So I didn't expect the immediate hit from this book. About a pandemic. That spreads internationally with a high death toll... Too soon? Might be too soon. #booknerdreads

Current #booknerdreads after a full day!

"Epic is countless tragedies, woven together. Heroes don't become heroes without carnage, and carnage has both causes and consequences."

It's an interesting style - snippets of stories that form pieces of the well-known mythology. Halfway mark!

An enjoyable short fantasy - enough creep factor to feel like a seasonal pick! An interesting take on magic in our world with the Maiden, Mother, and Crone archetypes.

Started hosting book clubs at the bookshop again! Yay!

Hey, #GroupL! These are some titles I would pick from for our #LGBTQ reads - any opinions? #LMPBC @ads0123 @EliNeedsMoreShelves @Shakespearience

I'll be honest, I did not expect the ending... I really enjoyed this from a mom perspective - the constant worry about how the kids are affected by every decision we make. Another on the "measures up to the rave reviews" list.

Oof... Two intense books in a row. Something in the universe is nudging me for some reason.

I'm both confused by and satisfied by this book's end. It's both hopeful and horrifying. Breaking cycles of culturally accepted and ingrained abuse is so important. #5stars #contentwarning

I loved November 9 by Colleen Hoover - I thought "Yes! ? my pick for #romancereader book club!" #oops

This is kept-me-awake-to-the-end tragedy with potentially triggering events concerning #domesticviolence. If you have ever heard your inner voice say "but why didn't she just leave?", please read this book. It's both heartbreaking and empowering, unapologetic and necessary, unexpected and yet so welcome. #booknerdreads #contentwarning #5stars

Back in the States, but it'll take a few days to get my brain back on #Michigan time - #bookswap may be my new favorite thing ever. #litsylovefallswap #booknerdreads

I love the premise of this #bookseries! The idea of a team of guys reading #romancenovels to better understand women, love, and relationships seems like such an epic #lifehack that I'm shocked it hasn't become normal!