Here‘s my February list for #bookspinbingo! Let‘s see how this will translate for #ispybingo as well…

I enjoyed the first book in this series, and it had been awhile since I read that - so I was glad to finally read this one! It‘s cute and charming and I liked it. It‘s sort of a Cyrano-mistaken identity story with a Ren Faire setting. #bookspinbingo #bingo2

If you enjoyed 84, Charing Cross Road…. You‘ll love this. A novel told in letters between two women in the 1960s who share recipes with their innermost thoughts . Their friendship spans global events as well as deeply personal ones, and their growing friendship has a profound effect on each of their lives. A charming, sweet book.

Listened to this short story collection for book group. This might haunt me for a bit…. The stories center around David, a Penobscot living on the reservation at different moments of his life. He made me laugh at times, tear up in others, you know life. Quite a portrait. #bookspinbingo #bingo

Um, this just isn‘t working for me like I expected. And I‘m seeing that others took a few tries to get into it as well…. I‘m just really not into stream of consciousness style of writing…. So I‘m bailing now, but may try again another day.

We‘re looking to have some prof development done w/managers and staff… (lots of change post-2020) & a consultant we talked to rec‘d this book as a starting off place on coaching staff. And that‘s what it is- it‘s designed to be accessible, jargon-less, a bit of humor, & delivers one positive way to coach others. I don‘t think this is the last I‘ll read on the subject, but this was a good way to reinforce prior training/books with practical steps

Oh, how I missed this series! Was able to jump right back into it, like no time had passed…. And then the last couple of panels had me tearing up. How long until the next now?

I‘ll admit, I was VERY skeptical at first. But all of my concerns were eventually explained and while absolutely far fetched, this was a joy ride to listen to. I‘m now looking forward to continuing the series 😊

Years ago, one of our teen pages read this and emphatically told me not to - it was boring and nothing happens. I thought, “oh no, this poor high school kid - he doesn‘t get it, it supposedly a VERY BIG DEAL as far as plays go”. Well, friends, I read it. It IS boring and NOTHING happens and I should‘ve just listened to that student long ago. Lesson learned.

How does Emily Henry write amazing dialogue every time? I just love her books.

Tough story in verse (love Ellen Hopkins for this) about a young boy w/PTSD - his mother died and his abusive addicted father is in jail. He is living with his aunt, uncle, and cousin (nearly same age) and trying like hell to feel safe, loved, and not be a problem.

I needed this in my life! Such a sweet, fun tale of “cozy fantasy” that I didn‘t even realize was a thing. Or maybe it‘s a new thing? I don‘t care. I‘m here for it. Oh and the Libby audio included the short story “Pages to Fill” which was a bit of a prequel and the whole thing is narrated really well by the author.

Um, pass. Not at all impressed. The story is very jumpy and incomplete.. I still do t really understand WHY the mom would program her daughter to be a spy. A spy for a soda company even. Doesn‘t make a lot of sense. And the art is not my style.

Gorgeous fictional telling behind the famous painting “Christina‘s World” by Andrew Wyeth. Lovely glimpse into her life, made harder by the lonely Maine coast living, and her degenerative disease that made walking impossible. I think the book club is going to love this one.

Gorgeous book that focuses on the work the Historical Section of the Farm Security Administration did during the Great Depression- including effects of the Dust Bowl. These photos bear record to what people went through during the time, and were used to affect bills passed by Congress to provide aid. I was thankful for the section toward the back that talks about the photographers themselves. Very interesting.

I have no idea why the publisher sent out copies of this backlist title…. Colleen Hoover is not having any problem getting readers right now! But it did get me to finally read one by her, so I guess it worked. It was more than I expected, it a good way, but was a little let down by the ending. Felt a little preachy there for a moment. Overall, it broke my heart and I cried and laughed and sure, I‘ll probably read more by her 😊

Chilling and sad perspective from a child living while surrounded by war. It‘s definitely a tween‘s voice, and I wouldn‘t be surprised if some of the phrases written didn‘t start from her parents (or other adults‘) mouth…. But it is a good reminder of the effects of war on the very innocent.

Just weeded my own library of unread books - 3 boxes & 3 tote bags headed to the library donations! And my new gel pens just arrived in time to write this: my first #bookspin list for 2023! Here‘s to another great year of reading!

Cute MG graphic novel featuring a kid detective and friend who take down the school bully - with some unexpected help. #bookspinbingo #bingo #readmyowndamnbooks

Listened/read this one today for my book group. The blurbs made me expect more lol humor, but really it‘s just thick with dark humor and absurdity. Looking forward to what the group thinks about it. I‘m mostly meh…. It was a quick read, but I‘m not feeling the desire to rave about it.

I found this fascinating. It‘s all about how different animals sense the world…. while I probably couldn‘t pass a quiz on the vast amount of material and recent research & discovery I just listened to.. I was was constantly thinking “wow that‘s cool”

A dark introspective graphic memoir about Beaton‘s time working in the Alberta oil-sand camps and towns. This was her best option to pay off her student loans, but created difficult & dangerous situations for her physically with rampant sexual harassment and gender violence, and mentally with philosophical crises around capitalism, Indigenous rights, and the environmental crisis…. There is a lot packed in here… lots to think about.

Anyone else looking to get a jumpstart in the new year? Check out this readathon coming in January, hosted by @Lizpixie and @Clwojick

I‘m on vacation next week when my book club meets on this book, but I think I‘ll go into work for it anyway because I want to talk about this book! Such a great story! I loved how it unfolded, I loved the characters, broken as they were, I loved the wolves and the focus on the natural world. The mystery did provide a bit of a surprise ending, but I cared less about who did what then just the people themselves.

Sex positive and body positive holiday romance! This was a lot of fun, with a kinky take on some favorite tropes. It did feel a little too long, tbh, and several secondary threads were left unresolved (why bring them up?) but overall still enjoyable.

This was for one of my book groups, recommended by a member. I was a little wary of it, but ended up loving it! It‘s a magical coming of age story of Owen, mostly hidden away his entire life because he has a literal bird in his chest. It‘s not perfect, and there are a few plot holes.. but if you lean into the magic, it can be really quite charming.

Inspired by @UwannaPublishme , my #december #bookspin list is just genres! What a great year this has been with #bookspinbingo! Featuring Stella 🐾

A little early, but a needed a quick audio filler while waiting for my book club audio to come in. This is classic Poirot…. Lots of characters involved in a locked room murder mystery that happens over Christmas. I‘m starting to realize that I‘m likely going to read all of Christie…. Maybe I‘ll call it a multi-year challenge? There are so many… and wouldn‘t want to stack them all up in a row. #bookspin

Oh this was just a delight. Tackling that questionable time when you‘ve graduated college, but can‘t find a job in your field, and did you really want to do that anyway? Ben is discovering that he doesn‘t, really, and would rather cook in a restaurant, much to his parents disappointment. Bonus- the spud chef is Liam, a very kind, supportive, attractive guy who Ben might be crushing on…. I hope there‘s more coming!!

It delivers exactly what it says in the title: quick & easy- so it doesn‘t do any deep dives into some experiences of asexual people (tho I wish it talked more about how ace identities fit into the LGBTQIA+ community, and why some feel they don‘t). Good explanation of the basic definitions and includes more resources in the back.

Um, WHOA. This novel in verse is amazing, and presented with such vivid art that I was blown away. It‘s a reflection on 2020 and I‘m practically speechless. All the stars.

After looking at this on my shelf for far too long, I listened to it on Libby. Interesting arguments for building & supporting social infrastructure (like public libraries, parks, etc) as they will help save lives in times of crisis and curb crime rates by building communities…. And also work to help the planet in light of climate change. A bit disorganized in the presentation… and not nearly enough on the affect of systemic racism in all of this

A young person close to me has discovered that aro-ace is an identity that feels quite right to him. So I borrowed this from my library, and he read it in a day, saying that he could relate to so much of what was on the page. So, I read it too and it has helped me to understand what auto-ace means a bit more, especially as he relates to it. My hope is this can start conversations together. I‘ll take any recs anyone might have - for him and me.

Tried out this audio today…. Just didn‘t feel right for right now. Maybe I‘ll come back to it later.

This was just alright for me. I wasn‘t blown away but I didn‘t hate it either.. I can see the appeal and why it was such a hot book through the pandemic.. and that‘s fine. I‘m extremely meh on it. #readmyowndamnbooks

This read like it wants to be a telenovela or soap opera…. And I‘m not sure how I feel about that. Absurdly outrageous characters and situations….Trying for funny, but went too hard and left me a bit bewildered.

Fun new cozy mystery series. It started a little slow, and I really didn‘t like the MC very much, but the story grew stronger and the character is now one I look forward to seeing again.

I enjoyed this book/audio about a Vietnamese family who immigrated to New Orleans after the war. We‘ll, mom & the 2 sons made it out, but dad/husband didn‘t. So you see how identities & relationships change/grow/evolve. It does have some weird time jumps that can confuse (esp on the audio) but I still liked the story overall.

I swear, I get later and later with this post each month…. But I still get it up before the numbers are drawn! Last month was pretty good, and feeling positively about this one too😊 #bookspinbingo

Um, no. I didn‘t like the story or the illustrations. Sorry. #scarathlon #teamslaughter +26pts

Cute mystery great for older kids, like 4-6/7? Fun for a story time I‘d think. #bbrc #picturebook:A #boookspinbingo #BINGO #scarathlon #teamslaughter +46ptd

Side note for #teamslaughter doing the word search- Agatha Christie tends to say murder/er a LOT😳 @Clwojick +1pt

I‘m not very focused this #deweys #24hrreadathon, but I did finish this one so far! Not the best Christie, but fun for #scarathlon. #teamslaughter +26pts

If you ever wanted some behind the scenes info on how libraries work or what librarians do…. Here‘s a great start. The story and mystery surrounding the LA Central Library fire was fascinating to me, and I enjoyed all the set and history included. One irk for me is that it gives the impression that libraries LOVE all sorts of weird stuff to be donated, and that‘s not always the case. #scarathlon +16pts

In all honesty, I really didn‘t enjoy this one. It was creepy, but also too wordy and I kept falling asleep. It did, however, score me a #bingo line in #bookspinbingo…. So all told, this is +26pts for #teamslaughter #scarathlon

Almost forgot to play this week‘s game! But it found 257 words in ‘chocolate chip cookie murder‘ for #teamslaughter #scarathlon +2,570 pts! I know there‘s more - but I‘m sleepy!

So fun! Yes, it is pretty similar to The Love Hypothesis, but just in all my favorite ways. #scarathlon #teamslaughter +6pts

Stevie and the gang are back, and for their summer vacation, they‘ve been asked to come to a summer camp and solve a cold case- 4 teens were murdered in 1978 and no one has been able to figure out who or why. I absolutely loved the Truly Devious trilogy and was so happy to be with these characters again! #scarathlon #teamslaughter +16pts #readmyowndamnbooks

I hadn‘t read this collection before… but it collected all my favorites, and even though it‘s poetry- had poetic excerpts from some of the great short stories too. Perfectly packaged for young readers. #scarathlon #teamslaughter +6 #bbrc #mg #youngreaderedition

Just finished this audio - a fun memoir by Conan O‘Brien‘s long time assistant, and now features in his podcast, Sona Movsesian. I grabbed the print copy too for comics and photos 😊 And while this has nothing tying it to #scarathlon, I was happily surprised at a section called “murder” in which she talks about how she and Conan bonded over mutual interest in LA‘s famous murders. #teamslaughter +6pts