This is such a strange read for me. I took a big break halfway through then picked it up again and loved it. Then I skimmed much of the last fifty pages because I was over it. I think it was a bit too long. I think the writing was beautiful. I liked the character study, yet I was really ready for it to be over. So there‘s that. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Did I get overly excited and preorder this book from two different retailers? Yes, yes I did! 🤪

Newman is an autobuy for me. I love the fast-paced action and have found all three of her books to be wins for me. This didn‘t beat Falling (and probably not Drowning either) for me, but I still really enjoyed it.

Book mail is fun mail! 🤩

Humorous and meaningful, this behind the scenes look into the faculty of a high school is an absolute gem. It‘s a character study of various teachers and other faculty members, the struggles they face, and the reasons they return everyday (or not) to work. The constant thread of Mr. Lehrer‘s life and legacy was really exquisite. I loved it! 5 glowing stars!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

“When I go, I hope it‘s during professional development because the transition to death would feel so seamless” YESSSSS!!! 😂✊ #teachersoflitsy

The editing 🫠. It‘s this “into the crowed” and a consistent use of “Ms.” in reference to a male teacher that is indeed a “Mr.” in the book. This is a finished copy and is $28.99. The publisher is part of Penguin Random House, so money to pay an editor shouldn‘t be a problem. My English teacher eyes can‘t handle it 😵‍💫

Twenty pages in, and I can definitely tell Mathieu was/is a teacher. All my fellow teacher Littens, this one‘s for you! ✊🙌 The quote that made me realize that she really gets it is in the comments. 🤓

Overall, it was fine. Enjoyable enough to keep reading, but here‘s what worked my nerves: the MC ‘clinched her thighs‘ often, not in intimate situations, just randomly clinched her thighs together🤷🏼‍♀️. Secondly, the MC and her boo had extensively detailed, specific conversations WITH THEIR EYES! I cannot. Stop the madness. However, I loved the Native American perspective, and I bet Nava gets better and better as she writes more books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun read, loved the illustrated version, looking forward to Book 2. 🧙

Confession time: I‘ve never made it through Harry Potter, but I‘ve read Book 1 and part of Book 2 so long ago I can‘t really remember. I‘ve collected various versions (originals, illustrated, Kindle, audio, the set with Hogwarts on the spine), so I‘m all set to make it happen. Here we (the dogs and I) go…🧙‍♀️

Not to jinx myself, but 75 pages in and I think this one will break my reading slump 💪

I really want to like it, but I just don‘t…at least not right now. Taking a break from it again; maybe this will be one I finish over months and months and months between other books.

It was fine, closer to meh. I liked the spunky main character, the issues that came up with the turd brother, her relationship with her dad, and forced proximity. I found that I‘m over billionaires (even the “good” ones), falling into the posh lifestyle, and some of the writers‘ writing choices. I have lots of books to read before I‘ll pick up another of theirs, but I‘m not saying it‘s a never… 🤷🏼‍♀️

Almost halfway through, and I might have to set it down for a bit. I love a character study and the writing is superb, but geez it‘s slogging along. Seems it doesn‘t need to be such a long book. It‘s killing my reading mojo. 😣

Public service announcement for all the kindle readers 🤓

Cute, really liked it. These rom coms make the best palate cleansers and bring me such joy. 🥰 PS: two birds, one stone today! Finishing the book and getting a walk in. #win

lol, my English teacher self thinking this was a metaphor. Nope, just too long of a reading break since the end of the last chapter when they were both headed to the pool…where there‘s a deep end, a literal deep end where Eli is currently located..in the deep end.😆

“He was truly evil, just a mistake of nature, I think.” A ‘good enough to keep my interest‘ mystery made for the mystery peeps. I won‘t seek out books by Swanson, but if I run across some in a LFL or thrift store, I‘ll pick them up. Solid read.

😩😩😩 a major part of why I‘m still a reader today

Just hit the “oh, shit!!!” moment 😳

Still really loving the “From the Front Porch” podcast‘s readalong. I look forward to it every month and enjoy hearing Annie and Hunter‘s thoughtful commentary. 10/10 recommend 🙌

It was fine, good actually. I liked The Unhoneymooners much more, but this was still an entertaining read. I did not love the tragic connection/extra awful thing that is revealed at the end of the book, nor did I love him randomly calling her “Honey” and “Woman” near the end. Those nicknames only happened a couple of times, and I don‘t even know why they bothered me 🤷🏼‍♀️😅Regardless, still a pick but not one I‘ll be pushing others to read.

Napolitano‘s writing is unmatched. She is such a craftsman when it comes to building meaning through language. It‘s never just the story for me, it‘s always her writing that sticks with me. Her characters and their surroundings are always so crisp. She‘s at the top of the game, and I‘ll buy every book she ever writes. Ten out of ten.

963 pages of the smallest font imaginable. Not during the summer, 👹. I love the back half of the Penn Cage tale, and I‘ll absolutely come back to this…some colder day and maybe on the Kindle. Now I‘m off to choose a book that‘s not an arm workout to carry to the beach.

The title says it all, but add in some depth and some tough topics. I liked it a lot!

LOVEEEEEEEED it!!!! A look at the life of two people who should‘ve been together all along. In the same vein as Eleanor and Park (obvs) and Talking at Night. I need more of these books that are gritty and raw and full of emotion but not reliant on trauma to justify actions and emotions. This will be one of my faves of the year, no doubt.

Sooooo excited about this one. Takes me right back to the love I have for Eleanor and Park 🤩

Thank you so much, @Texreader I really appreciate your generosity ❤️

Yikes. Creeptastic. I love that this is from a kid‘s perspective, and the lack of long paragraphs and the many page breaks guarantee that you‘ll fly through it just like I did. Interesting. Tense. If there‘s a sequel, I‘m definitely reading it.

It‘s $1.99 on kindle today 🤩🥳

Every educator & every person who cares about public education NEEDS to read this book. If you‘re shell-shocked by the absolute absurdity that occurs at local school board meetings, you need to read this. If you don‘t understand why teachers/librarians are attacked for simply providing literature that represents ALL students, you need to read this. If you care about kids, you need to read this. It‘s pulling the curtain back and exposing Oz. ✊✊✊

“The principal also told her not to take it personally when residents…accuse her of being a pedophile, or to wish for her to contract monkeypox and die. ‘What you‘re going realize…is that [the parents] don‘t love all people,‘ the principal told [the teacher], before suggesting that such harassment was now an unfortunate but unavoidable part of being a public educator in America.”

“…it wasn‘t laughable. It was ignorant. And ignorance so easily morphs into evil.” 🎯

“America‘s public schools, since their very creation, repeatedly have become ground zero for this country‘s most divisive battles over politics and civil rights—from the fights over evolution and segregation to those over sex ed and school prayer.”

I loved it! Maybe I‘ve found my next Abby Jimenez 🤞🤔. Off to request the backlog of Christina Lauren books from the library.

It‘s a love letter to books, their importance, and the power they have to create empathy and change people. This one will be in my top five for 2024, no doubt. This book is EVERYTHING!! Backwards small towns and how they got there, people standing up against those that fuel fear about the “problems” but ARE the problems, and people learning to love each other. This book needs to be flung frisbee-style at every reader everywhere. 10/10 🏆✊🫶👏🤟

Even the author‘s note in this book is perfection. Everything in this book is perfection.

“Offer (Delvin) lemonade and yammer on about the weather. Meanwhile she was making lists of books that Delvin‘s kids shouldn‘t be allowed to read. When you have everything, the only luxury left is taking things away from others. It was an indulgence that Lula Dean certainly seemed to relish.”

Thirty-four pages in and I‘m OBSESSED!! Small town, Little Free Library, banned books, schools bowing down to bs demands for books to be removed from library shelves, and people that are about to fight against it. HELL, YES!!!! ✊✊✊

This was a good read, a page-turner especially thanks to the super short chapters. At times, I felt there was too much going on and too much to keep track of, and there was a part at the end that felt emotionally manipulative. It‘s still a pick, but I‘m not certain it should be on the best books of the (half)year lists that I‘ve been seeing it on.

“She had sat in his childhood bedroom and noticed laundry neatly folded, the bed sheets freshly made. His mother had knocked on the door with oatmeal cookies. He was the kind of boy who would become the kind of man that needed tending.” I almost gave up on this book 45 pages in, and I‘m SO glad I didn‘t. It is excellent.

Alright, so I‘m all caught up on Abby Jimenez. I loved this one just like I‘ve loved all of the others. What am I supposed to read now? Hopefully something in that stack of library books will pique my interest 🤓

Sometimes, a whole bunch of holds come in on the same day 🤩

This is the second Emily Henry I‘ve tried, and they just don‘t stick for me. I‘m an outlier; people LOVEEEE her, but she doesn‘t do it for me. There were some funny parts in the first 100 pages that I read, but there were also too many unnecessary details and I got bored. I‘m sure it‘s a me problem. Moving on…

“I miss (him),” Pea Eye said. “I get to expecting to hear him talk and he ain‘t here. My ears sort of get empty.” 🖤😭

A little over halfway through this chunkster. I‘m so glad I joined Annie and Hunter of ‘From the Front Porch‘ for this read-along. Loving it!!

Loved it! Suzanne Collins is a genius. I‘m going to watch the movie versions of Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and this one to prep myself for the next installment. Might just go ahead and preorder it 😎

My aunt found this fabulous rotating bookcase at an antique store, and my sweet father-in-law fixed it up for me. The first authors to go on the shelves: Elizabeth Strout, Maggie O‘Farrell, and Ottessa Moshfegh, along with my Olive Editions 🫒

It‘s working for me so far, and that‘s saying a lot considering I‘ve only wanted to read romcoms for the last three months 🤪😅🤓