Read in March.

This is a reread from my childhood and I loved it all over again. It will be one of the books in my nephew‘s birthday pile.

DNF in March.

I started KFL in print and switched to audio, but bailed at 60%. This is supposed to be satire, I think, so maybe I just didn‘t get it. The summary refers to this as a “female-driven, modern-day American Psycho.” That should have worked for me. I haven‘t read AP and it‘s ages since I saw the movie so I can‘t compare.

Last year I read Maeve Fly, which was also compared to AP, and loved it. The content of MF makes it hard to ⬇️

Read in March.

This was my first experience with Mary Stewart and I need to remember to remember to read more by her. Set in 1950s France, an English woman becomes governess to a young heir, who may be in danger. This gave me Rebecca and Jane Eyre vibes at times, and I really enjoyed this gothic suspense novel.

Read in March and failed to take a photo.

This is my choice for #LMPBC Group Q. Overall, this was a pick for me. I really enjoyed the time period and how atmospheric the novel was. I don‘t want to share too many details as I think the less you know the better.

@BookmarkTavern I sent this out to you yesterday.

Here are my #Bookspin and #Doublespin for April. I‘m one behind as the end of March, but fingers crossed I can catch up this month.

Here is my #BookspinBingo for April. I will move the titles as needed when @TheAromaofBooks shares the numbers on April 2nd.

#Bookspin #Doublespin

I‘m using a year long list like @TheAromaofBooks does. Each month I will move two books from the backup list on the right to fill in the previous picks. Except for the categories which I will probably leave, unless they just repeatedly get picked, lol.

*I read a couple of extras and unhauled a few, so I have updated the lists a bit.

#BookspinBingo list to come.

March #wrapup #BookspinBingo

March has been a weird month. I sort of feel like I‘m in slump, but I still read stuff. I completed my #Bookspin and got a 2 bingos! I also read one for March‘s #aam pick, but I bailed on a couple.

No reviews posted. 😕

Total read: 9
Novella - 2
Middle Grade - 1
Audio - 3
Novels - 3

Plus 2 short stories recommended by a friend a while back.

“I just like cannabilism.” - me
“There‘s a Facebook status” - my husband

I don‘t do FB so I‘m sharing with all of you. 😂

**He secretly thinks I will eat him if necessary.

Here are my #Bookspin and #Doublespin for March. I‘m still working on February‘s BS but I started Freeze which is on the shorter side.

February #wrapup #BookspinBingo

I completed my #Bookspin (working on #Doublespin 🎈) and got a bingo! I also read one for February‘s #aam Lauren Groff.

I have not reviewed any of my February reads. 😳

Total: 14
Novels: 3
Graphic Novels: 4
Picture Book: 2
Audio: 5

Hello Group Q! Here are my picks. If these don‘t work, I can definitely come up with more. I will tag them below.

Also, it looks like Ice and Salt might only be available used, so I just wanted to let you know that.

Here is my #BookspinBingo for March. I will move the titles as needed when @TheAromaofBooks shares the numbers on March 2nd.

#Bookspin #Doublespin

I‘m using a year long list like @TheAromaofBooks does. Each month I will move two books from the backup list on the right to fill in the previous picks. Except for the categories which I will probably leave, unless they just repeatedly get picked, lol.

*I might get a whim (maybe, you never know) and read one before it‘s picked so I will replace those.

#BookspinBingo list to come.

Read in January. (Last one!)

As a lover of The Mummy and other adventure rom-coms, I thought this would be my catnip. Alas, that wasn‘t the case. Even though the characters are on a dig in the jungles of Mexico, the story lacks the thrilling adventure I expected. I‘m also not sure I loved the male lead, Ford. Physically, he was fine, but I‘m not sure about the rest of the package.

Such a pretty cover though.

Read in January.

It‘s no surprise that this Steinbeck was a pick as I have enjoyed almost all I have read so far.* Ethan Allen Hawley comes from a wealthy old New England family, but there is no longer wealth, just a name and the home he shares with his wife and 2 children. Ethan is a grocery store clerk and is scrupulously honest. Until one spring/summer, when he sets in to motion a plan to restore a little of that wealth. #MyPartnerPickedIt

Read in January. 1995 movie watched today.

I wasn‘t sure I would enjoy this one as much as P&P or Persuasion, but I did. I read in print but also listened to Rosalyn Landor‘s lovely narration. I laughed out loud at some of the character‘s comments and behaviors,mainly the unsavory characters. #aam #authoramonth

Read in January.

Book 3 in the Greer Hogan Mysteries series happily, to me, returns us to Raven Hill. Book 2 was enjoyable but I love being back in the library set in a old manor house. Anita Hunzeker, disliked by almost everyone, is murdered and of course Greer can‘t help being drawn into the case. I enjoy all of the references to mystery books and characters in this series. #serieslove2024

I‘m caught up until the new one publishes in June.

Read in January.

Often with short story collections there are a few duds, but I did not find that to be true with this collection. I had previously read one story, “Incident at Bear Creek Lodge,” as it was published in a 2022 anthology. I enjoyed it all over again. Several stories are set in Gracetown, FL where her new novel(on my TBR) is set. The last few were written pre-Covid but are set in pandemic/post-apocalyptic situations. Recommend!

My #Bookspin , Under Her Skin, has been on my Kindle for several years. The Snow Garden, my #Doublespin , is 532 pages! I hope it‘s a really compulsive read. 🤞🏻

January #wrapup #BookspinBingo

I‘m not going to finish my current book or audiobook before bedtime so here is my wrap-up. I completed my #Bookspin (working on #Doublespin) and got a bingo! I also read one for January‘s #aam Jane Austen.

I have a few that I haven‘t reviewed yet.

Total: 14
Novels: 3
Short Story Collection: 1
Anthology: 1
Picture Book: 3
Audio: 6

Here is my #BookspinBingo for February. I will move the titles as needed when @TheAromaofBooks shares the numbers on February 2nd. I can‘t believe it‘s already going to be February!

#Bookspin #Doublespin

I‘m using a year long list like @TheAromaofBooks does. Each month I will move two books from the backup list on the right to fill in the previous picks. Except for the categories which I will probably leave, unless they just repeatedly get picked, lol.

*I might get a whim (maybe, you never know) and read one before it‘s picked so I will replace those. I actually did this in January. ☺️

#BookspinBingo list to come.

I really enjoyed Leslie‘s memoir. The audiobook sort of feels like she is having a conversation with you and makes the 16+ hours fly by. Leslie‘s life has its ups and downs, but throughout it she has such confidence and belief in herself. She is fucking hilarious and inspiring.

I think this might be my favorite Hendrix that I have read so far. It did start a bit slow, which was made worse because I mostly read this one at the gym. Then so much was happening. I can‘t imagine the faces I made while reading on the treadmill. Today I sat in the parking lot to finish it before I went to the grocery store. Definite pick! #Bookspin #OneGiftedToMe

It‘s continues to be a pleasure to return to Cooper‘s Chase and my favorite gang of retirees. The fourth book (they should be read in order) in the series is full of the humor and charm we expect, but also has heart-wrenching moments that had me sobbing. I love the main and recurring characters in this series, but I‘m also sort of amazed by how charming some of the criminals are, lol. #SeriesLove2024

Donna: Joyce, has anyone ever called you a pervert?
Joyce: Don‘t be such a prude.
😂

Butcher‘s memoir of being a death investigator in the NYC‘s Office of Chief Medical Examiner was really interesting. I wasn‘t aware this position existed. The author successfully weaves in details of her personal life, including an account of her alcoholism, while sharing various cases from over her twenty year career, including 9/11.

I don‘t recommend this if you are feeling down, because her job doesn‘t allow for a lot of levity.

#RushathonChristmasBingo

I don‘t think I ever posted that I was participating in this one. 😏 I started Dec 1 and my last book was finished yesterday, Jan 6. I got two bingos! Thanks for hosting @Andrew65 !

I read the first three novellas in December. When I got to the final one, I seemed to lose interest. I think the change from England/Scotland settings to New York through me, even though the fourth is called Christmas in Central Park. 😆 I decided to pick it back up today and ended up enjoying it as much as the others.

Also, maybe I was just out of it entirely because it took me until the third one to realize each one involved shortbread in ⬇️

This was a fun picture book. Boy, elephant, and dog are in search of dinosaur. They look everywhere but dinosaur is hiding well.

I feel like I should start off every Jason Reynolds‘ review with a disclaimer about how much adore him. ☺️
I swear I could hear him in my head reading this one. I loved the words and the art. I love that this book came about because of a photo of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka (who I had never heard of) dancing at this party.

I put the audio on hold at the library so I could really hear him. 😀

#12Booksof2023 #December

This book had a lot to live up to, because I love the movie with Paul Newman. We watch it every year sometime on or after Thanksgiving. Thankfully I loved it. It added depth to the characters in the movie and introduces more that are not in the movie. This is also a husband pick as he read it first. He is currently reading the second book and third one arrived today.

I read this for the first time, because it came up in the comments on another post. Listen, I enjoyed Silverstein‘s poetry as a kid and even read The Unicorn in some competition, but this was a no for me.

I did enjoy the “revised edition” below:
https://lithub.com/somebody-finally-fixed-the-ending-of-the-giving-tree/

I thought I hadn‘t read this before, but I show it marked as read but with no date on GR.

Overall, I enjoyed this. There was a moment where I though Wilbur demanded too much of Charlotte. Lay off, pig, she is already saving your life. I really enjoyed the other animals on the farm, especially the geese and even Templeton, who is a bit of a jerk.

#12Booksof2023 #November

This is not my normal type of read. There isn‘t really a plot. It‘s just quiet and lovely and I‘m glad I read it.

#12Booksof2023 #October

Jackson‘s take on SK‘s Carrie that I actually might like better. Loved it!

#12Booksof2023 #September

I think I missed a day. Oops.

In September, I started to get my reading mojo back and my top pick was the fifth book in the Fiona Griffiths series. I highly recommend starting at the beginning.

I truly can‘t decide if I should read The Velveteen Rabbit now or run in fear. I‘m pretty sure I read it and/or saw the cartoon as a child and don‘t remember feeling like this.

The tagged is my #Bookspin for January, one gifted to me. 🙂

Here is my #BookspinBingo for January. I will move the titles as needed when @TheAromaofBooks shares the numbers on January 2nd.

#Bookspin #Doublespin

I‘m using a year long list like @TheAromaofBooks does. Each month I will move two books from the backup list on the right to fill in the previous picks. Except for the categories which I will probably leave, unless they just repeatedly get picked, lol.

*I might get a whim (maybe, you never know) and read one before it‘s picked so I will replace those.

#BookspinBingo list to come.

#12Booksof2023 #August

August was not a great month for me, so I read fewer books. My top read happens to be the 15th book in Castillo‘s Kate Burkholder series. Kate, formerly Amish, is police chief in Painters Mill, Ohio and in this one investigates the brutal death of a young Amish man. I recommend starting the series from the beginning.

Happy New Year!!

I‘m trying to keep it light this year.
I‘m not going to set a book goal (this worked last year).
I‘m going to participate in #AAM, #Bookspin #Doublespin, and #SeriesLove2024 again.
I‘m going to continue my attempt to read Stephen King in publication order, but not set a number goal this time.
This year I asked my husband to pick 6 books he wants me read. These are already on my TBR I just never get to them, so I have ⬇️

#WrapUp #2023

There are a lot of ❌s up there, but I‘m not unhappy with my reading year.
I learned I still read a lot without setting a goal.
I started 14 series, but finished/caught up with 10 so I feel that is a success.

I didn‘t complete the rest of my challenges, but they were still fun.

To all who picked a book for me for the #12challenge, I fell off the wagon mid-year. I still plan to read your recommendations though. Thank you!

#12Booksof2023 #July

This is another one I loved but can‘t really recommend to almost anyone. This one is graphic with body horror, sexual content, fetish acts and torture.

December #wrapup #BookspinBingo

I know I have another day, but I haven‘t been reading much this week so I‘m not going to finish anything before the EOM. I completed my #Bookspin and #Doublespin and got a bingo!

Total: 12
Novels: 1
Novella: 3
Audio: 8

2023 Wrap-Up to come!

#12BooksofChristmas #June

This one is weird and gross and I love it so much, lol. I probably only know one person I could recommend it to and he read it before me. 😉

#12DaysofChristmas #May

I fell asleep so this one is a day late.

This is around the time my resolve to review books consistently fell apart as usual.

I love this one. Ana Castillo‘s writing is beautiful and poetic. Carmen, despite having polio as a child, is a renowned flamenco dancer in Chicago. I love reading about Carmen, her passionate love affairs, her relationship with her family, and her strength.

#holidaycardswap #cardswap

I believe these are the only cards I haven‘t posted. Thanks to everyone who participated this year. I always enjoy sending and receiving all of these cards. I also enjoy my husband‘s comments on how popular I am. 😂

Thank you for organizing! @LibrarianRyan

#12DaysofChristmas #April

I loved this one and cried a lot.