It seems like this is a hit or miss kind of book, but I liked it. It‘s different than my usual- and admittedly only read it because it‘s set in Montana. I liked the historical aspect and figuring out what the monster is…. But agree with some others that the relationships between characters could have used a bit more.

This was a heartfelt story about Andrew, who only wants to have a good school picture taken today, but instead there is a series of unfortunate incidents that make that.. tough. The hardest is when he has a full blown panic attack in his classroom. There is a lot of discussion surrounding mental health, therapy, and learning that no one is ever alone. Excellent middle grade novel. #bookspinbingo #doublespin

Very quick listen, but incredibly impactful story of a young Mexican-American girl‘s stories about growing up in her neighborhood, the people she‘s surrounded by, and, well, life.

Seriously stayed up too late to finish this. I really want to go to Barry‘s Bay…. I love this setting and Fortune is becoming (okay, is) an automatic must-read summer author for me now.

I‘m glad I chose to listen to this book to start,as it includes native Hawaiian languages, and listening to it is beautiful. Emotional story across 3 generations of Hawaiian women.. their history, the community and culture, the history of the land, and so much more. I got a little tripped up when there was a change in POV or time period, but overall I really got into this book.

We do not care that fireworks are legal in this state -save them for the actual 4th of July and not every night leading up to it. My dogs will thank you for your attention to this matter. #WeDoNotCareWednesdays #wdncw

Eh, this was just okay. I liked that he was the sunshine and she was the grump…. But there was a bit of a plot hole/problem at the beginning that I never truly forgave if I‘m being honest.

On the train home from the American Library Association conference, and wrote up my #bookspinbingo list for July!

We do not care to “cook” anything in this disgusting heat. We‘re having a sandwich for dinner, and you can too. #WeDoNotCareWednesday #WDNCW

I love this series so much! I‘m kind of forgetting some past characters at this point, but there are enough context clues that I‘m not lost.

This was an excellent audio- a quiet examination of farming life in Iceland told from the POV of a 19/20yo son, leaving his first year of college to help his father with the farm. He begins to learn more about his dad, who is pretty closed off, and depressed. Our MC also manages to meet a woman from a sort-of nearby city and fall in love. It‘s a tough life, cattle farming in Iceland, but I fell in love with the setting and characters.

I don‘t know why I slept on this for so long…. This blew me away!

Eh, a little overly gushy and whatever…. Clearly written for the fans and not because she had this story waiting to be told. It was all a little ho-hum for me… oh well.

This was such a good listen! It‘s all about Komail‘s life, the experience of growing up gay in Pakistan, becoming an artist, finding his place in the world, relationships, family, friends…. And told with such witty sarcasm.

I can‘t believe it‘s June tomorrow. #bookspinbingo

Listened to this for one of my book groups… and I don‘t know. I was very intrigued with Eliza & Lister, the setting, and that this is based on a true story. But I can‘t gush about it…. I cannot tell the other schoolgirls apart, nor the teachers. For the longest time, I thought the older sister WAS a teacher, and I don‘t get why they were so very differently treated and didn‘t get along anymore. 🤷‍♀️

I really like this southern cozy-ish mystery series…. I think it‘s because I don‘t have enough sassy black women of a certain age in my life!

Found this in the library‘s book sale a couple months ago, and took it as a sign to read it again. So glad I did. It‘s incredibly difficult to read, emotionally speaking, but so important.

I love everything Abby Jimenez writes. This was a bit unusual as the relationship pairing was perfect, but everything else wasn‘t. Lots of dramatic obstacles to overcome, and I was here for it.

This is a hard one to sum up - it‘s about a marriage that is falling apart after the individual‘s dreams don‘t work out the way they hoped. The characters are well drawn, but it took so long for the book to get moving. I had to switch from print to audio to keep me reading in time for our book group discussion. #wickedwords : bet, school

I‘d been meaning to read this for a while and just finished up while recovering from a wisdom tooth pull ;) this was a lot of fun…. Loved reading about older characters with fun spunky personalities

I‘ll admit it. I didn‘t see that last twist at the end…. And figured there had to be some last conflict, but that wasn‘t what I expected and I love it so much for that.

What a stunningly beautiful novel that is far bigger than it looks.

Looking forward to another great reading month! Here‘s my May list for #bookspinbingo

A slow start, but ultimately worth it in my opinion. Very different from what I‘m used to, and look forward to what my book group thinks. Also, #doublespin and finished my February #wickedwords with candlestick.

This one took me forever to read…. I just didn‘t feel compelled to make time for it, even with the exquisite setting. And I would‘ve bailed and tried again, except I needed this as a do-over for a #bookchain prompt I didn‘t plan very well! 😂🤷‍♀️ @TheAromaofBooks

Maybe not one of my favorites, but not entirely disappointing either. Just needed a little Poirot in my life!

I liked it but I also didn‘t like it very much. Some of it seemed so obvious, like the mc being SO unlikable at the beginning…. So that we‘d see growth and like him by the end. And there were some good nuggets to think about…. But I‘m really all over the place with it.

I actually got to see David Sedaris speak last week (2nd row!!) and he was amazing. I had no idea he had a children‘s book out… so I grabbed it from the library, wondering what kind of children‘s story would he write? Well, let‘s say it‘s for a very specific audience as it‘s a fine line between scary and funny. I found it funny, but would hesitate to broadly recommend to children. And Ian Falconer was an amazing artist.

I‘m still chasing the goodness of the first book I read by this author… and this was just so-so. There were some good scenes and live the small town, but didn‘t believe in these characters or their relationship. The upside: 3 squares for April‘s #ISpyBingo and 1 for March, plus a #WickedWord - Massachusetts.

Gorgeous book with beautifully portrayed characters. The plot is slow, which adds to the haunting atmosphere… but I absolutely loved this one

Oof. I listened to this short novella on the plane yesterday…. It packs a punch. It‘s based on the authors experience of waking up after brain surgery.

Ooh, I finished 2 books on the plane this morning but I am too exhausted to post them.. I do have my April list ready to share! #bookspinbingo

This was fantastic! A young teen meets her father for the first time when she goes to spend the summer with him in the brownstone he‘s renovating. They navigate language barriers and she feels like a major outsider in the neighborhood. Very sweet story.

Quick and satisfying romance…. Not ashamed to say I finished it, tears falling from my eyes while on a very full flight earlier today. And on a less important but still fun note, this gave me #bingo for #bookspinbingo, the cover crossed a lot of boxes for this year so far in #ISpyBingo, and I got one more February #wickedword - ballroom!

It‘s a tough subject, using different scenarios from refugees seeking asylum to medical staff assessing patients to blowhard corporate consultants and examining how and why some people are believed and some are not, no matter the strength of the evidence. Definitely has me thinking more about what I believe and why… and how that plays out in everywhere.

I have to admit, I *almost* bailed on this.. But I‘m so glad I stuck with it! Elle Fanning is the perfect narrator on a story about a young woman impregnated by her college professor, managing her mothers shallowness, her addict fathers WWE past, and trying to be a good person and mother while making money on OnlyFans and TikTok. It‘s funny, insightful, and filled with love. I was fully cheering Margo on by the end!

I‘m enjoyed this companion to “Alone”, but I have to say I liked Aline more. As that focused on a singular character, this was split between 4 POVs, all told in either verse, news article style, or like a script which was a little distracting and couldn‘t get as close to the characters. The story is good though, and I‘m glad to see what happened to everyone who “disappeared “ in Alone.

This was something! While there were still some classic Hazelwood elements (tall, dark male… tiny female… both smart) this went more into them being exceptional athletes with a side of kink exploration. The issues with the best friend/ex seemed to flow realistically and I liked the conclusion. The epilogue read a little weirdly, but that‘s fine. Did get my final March #wickedwords -Pen!

Hmm. I loved the first book (was on the committee that shortlisted it for the Morris Award), stayed with it for the 2nd book…. But this one just didn‘t hit the same. It doesn‘t really follow the original story- yes, it expands the world but with an entirely new enemy… it‘s like a companion more than a series ender. The audio is fantastically done with Cynthia Erivo… but I definitely felt a little jumbled w/PoV changes.

I read this for review, which usually means that I don‘t post about it here. BUT in this case, it turns out that it is my #doublespin , and covered 4 #wickedwords (manager, sea breeze, and surprisingly meet-cute as well as guests from Feb). And that‘s all I‘ll say about it here 😉

A short, playful story …. Of which I think I only got about 30%. I listened, and enjoyed the narrator‘s voice… but was easily distracted and wasn‘t paying close enough attention. 🤷‍♀️ love this cover though.

Very cool children‘s book telling the story of folk artist Nek Chand, who built a large landscape from elected materials after the Partition, to remind himself of his former village. Loved the photographs and authors note!

This is a tough book in that it‘s based on the abuse at the hands of the South Korean authorities on vagrant and/or kidnapped folks of all ages, especially leading up to the Seoul Olympics (1988). It‘s heart wrenching and disturbing and I‘m very glad my book group voted this onto our list.

The writing is beautiful. No denying that. But I also cannot deny being lost quite a bit and just blindly fumbling through this one. #wickedwords - scar

Eh…. Someday I‘ll learn not to go for character driven stories and stick to plot driven.

Wow! 9 years! 🤯 happy litsyversary to everyone else celebrating!🎉

Alright! Here‘s my March List!! Let‘s keep this good reading mojo going!!#bookspinbingo

This is a fun series! I‘m really enjoying it- the narrator is awesome and I laugh out loud and audibly gasp when something surprises me. Looking forward to the next one for sure 😁

Decent short story about neighbors stuck in the apartment building, one dealing with a dangerous stalker situation, the other with a divorce just finalized. It‘s all very quick, and while I liked it for a short story, I absolutely would‘ve read a fully fleshed out novel with this set up and characters.