pickWhen Tessa and her best friend Callie were children, their eye witness testimony sent a man to prison for a string of murders. Ten years later, Tessa returns to her hometown to visit her incarcerated and dying father and the truth about what happened that night starts to unravel. A complicated, cut above YA mystery.
pickDr. and Mrs. Carter were stabbed to death twenty years ago, and now a documentary about the murders has sparked renewed interest in their children, Sara and Shannon, who were ten and twelve at the time. This is a twisty thriller about friendship, family secrets, the bonds of sisterhood, and journalism. It was a page turner, especially the second half.
Ahh, yes, spring in the Maritimes. 😂
If I had to pick between historical or SiFi, I would pick historical although it isn‘t necessarily my favourite.
Thanks for the tag @Eggs
#wondrouswednesday
pickUnbearably tense story about two brothers, Jonah, 16, and Simon, 14, who have left home for Arizona where they hope they will be reunited with their older brother, Matt, who has been fighting in the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, they get picked up by Mitch and Lilly and things start to go horribly wrong. I really liked the main characters and their predicament was nail biting.
#bookspin and #doublespin for April @TheAromaofBooks
This is the “books that have been neglected on my tbr shelf for a long-ass time” edition. I think #18 has been on there for 20 years. 😂
pan15 year old with bi-polar disorder (thus unreliable) attends private boarding school and finds herself in the crosshairs of a mean girl. It was painfully slow & nothing much happens until the last 50 pages. Ward had a weird and distracting writing tick...she started sooooo many sentences with 'As'. Like multiple instances per page. Just...no.
A day late and a dollar short, as usual.
1. The tagged book is my most often re-read book. You can read my thoughts about its impact on my life here: https://theludicreader.com/2015/07/01/velocity-kristin-mccloy/
2. Books for school: Gatsby, TKaM, Salt to the Sea, Our Town
3. The Little Princess. ❤️
Thanks for the tag, @ShelleyBooksie
@dabbe for #ThreeListThursday
I was awake early this morning, so I did I little internet troll and came across this beautiful poem. I love Mary Oliver.
#Two4Tuesday (on Wednesday) @TheSpineView
Tagged by @egg and @dabbe
1. Where to start. Many of the things that should be taught at home (personal hygiene, respect, work ethic etc) are now, apparently, part of our domain. I think everyone should be required to take a cooking/nutrition class, $ management, and how to ferret out fake news.
2. Tagged book is sooooo good with a beautiful main character and wonderful supporting characters.
pickFabulous YA debut about mental health/depression, friendship and love, family and our place in the cosmos.
bailedI made it just past 100 pages and the thought of 200 more pages of ridiculous characterization just made my heart sink. Amber and Tyler have been besties since they were 14. Tyler has harboured more romantic feelings for Amber. A thing happens which causes Amber to take him at gunpoint to a remote cabin. Sexual assault is a serious topic…and so is Amber‘s eating disorder, but the whole thing reads like something on Wattpad. Blech.
pickA straightforward revenge thriller featuring a cast of vampires known as Rovers. I do love vampire tales and this is a pick only because it was easy to read and some of the characters were sympathetic, but it certainly wasn‘t the best story about blood suckers I have ever read. #bookspin for March
@TheAromaofBooks
pickA YA novel in verse, which depicts the relationships of 20 different high school students. I didn‘t always know the gender of the person speaking and I certainly didn‘t always get how these characters connected to each other, but I enjoyed this book nevertheless.
pickI moved this book up the food chain because a student in my YAL class called it “disgusting” and I had to know what in the heck she was talking about. This is an excellent coming-of-age story set in 1930. 16 year old Thea is sent to the riding camp for some offence which is revealed in fits and starts. She is a girl coming to terms with her own power and I loved spending time with her. Not YA and not disgusting in any way.
#bookhaul from my time in Halifax
pickDespite the fact that the main character is 16, this dark academia is not YA. Laura Stearns begins a term at St. Dunstan's where she falls under the thrall of Virginia Strauss. I found this book well-written (although the author had some little quirks that did start to grate a little) and interesting. Not much happens, but it was strangely compelling.
Agricola Street Books is not in the database, but this was on today‘s stop.
No. 2.
The first of many bookstores I am likely to visit while visiting my kids in Halifax.
#wondrouswednesday
@Eggs
1. Lilac, rugosa, sweet pea, lily of the valley…the real flowers, not perfume. Remind me of my grandparents‘ property.
2. Being in the woods
3. Clothes fresh off the line
Thanks for the tag @dabbe
pickI mean, it‘s whackadoodle, sure, but I also had a lot of fun with this story of an estranged brother and sister who are tasked with cleaning out and selling their parents‘ house after their sudden deaths. It‘s often laugh-out-loud funny, squirm inducing and also surprisingly poignant, but the puppet-adverse should beware.
pickMac‘s friend Connor was the last victim of a serial killer who killed four people and then vanished. Now, on the anniversary of his death, Mac makes a discovery that could finally reveal the killer‘s identity. This was a solid YA mystery with some plausible twists. Ryan is a Nova Scotian writer, and this is the second of his books I have read.
I am a day late for #TLT, @dabbe
1. Grease, which I saw in the theatre at least 17 times the summer it came out and have watched many times since.
2. Our Town, which I‘ve loved since I saw Robby Benson star in a tv production in the 1970s.
3. Dreamgirls, my 1st ever Broadway musical. ❤️
4. And I have to add Blood Brothers, which I saw in the West End in the 1990s…starring the love of my childhood, David Cassidy. I cried through the whole thing.
bailedMy February #bookspin is going to have to be a bail from me. I read 125 pages and while I did like the references to true crime, I just couldn‘t with the romance aspects. I am not really a reader of romance unless the book is going to wring my heart out. It‘s not the book, it‘s me.
Hey, @BeeCurious you are my 1000th follower and I would love to send you a little something to celebrate! Shoot me an email with your details. Ludicreader@rogers.com
pickA delightful YA romance about a girl who keeps reliving Valentine's Day over until she finally gets it right ...except her plans get waylaid by a different boy. Adorable.
See. A day late @AmyG ! 😂
Tagged by @dabbe for @TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday
1. Flowers, but not red roses. It‘s not a holiday I celebrate (romantically) anymore.
2. Tagged. I haven‘t read it yet, but I think there‘s some platonic love in this one.
Tagged by @Crazeedi for @Eggs #woundrouswednesday
1. Anything disco.
2. Italy …as long as my kids were nearby.
3. Hot bath, cozy pjs, cup of tea, book OR a visit to the bookstore with guilt-free $ in my pocket.
Want to play @dabbe @ShelleyBooksie @catiewithac @iread2much
pickHoly holy. True story of a family that is caught up in the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s…the validity of repressed memories, and a justice system that failed those involved. Fascinating and potentially triggering.
January was a bust, but I am optimistic for February‘s #bookspin, the “love” edition.
@TheAromaofBooks
I mean, the bottom book was a gift…so I didn‘t just buy alllllll these books because my plum points were worth 20% more. #sorrynotsorry #bookhaul
pickI ❤️ The Roanoke Girls and The Familiar Dark by this author. Loved them so much that I couldn‘t wait for the paperback of her latest novel. Sadly, this book wasn‘t nearly as good as those ones were. It‘s still a pick and there were some things I liked and the last third was better, but it wasn‘t as punch-you-in-the-gut as the others…and even the writing seemed more mainstream thriller. I have not had a stellar reading month. 😫
Why am I always late for these things?
Thanks for the tag, @Eggs
#TLT @dabbe
1. How memories work. Things I remember from years ago feel like they happened to another person, yet all we are is the sum of our memories.
2. Why people behave the way they do.
3. Why in the heck is DT getting another chance at the presidency? Isn‘t he going to prison? (I apologize if he is your guy, but I just don‘t get it.)
Tagged by @dabbe & @Eggs
1. My dad used to dazzle my friends with a hysterical story about climbing Mt. Everest, which was not true, but was so funny. Every memory of my mom is my favourite because she was just…all the things. This photo of them is how I like to think of them, even though they divorced when I was in my early 20s.
2. My sense of humour and family dinners.
#bookhaul
#sorrynotsorry
This was actually only half of the books in my cart, so... that's progress, right? Twelve are for my classroom.
pickI dunno how I feel about this book. It was s-l-o-w to read. It was all vibes. For the most part, I enjoyed the writing, and the relationships between the characters, but I didn't finish it with an opinion one way or the other. We'll be talking about it when I host book club on the 30th. I can't imagine that the ladies in my group will have enjoyed it
I am trying to use my Instagram a bit more, but I have zero idea what I am doing.
#recommendationwednesday
#WondrousWednesday @Eggs
It‘s a snow day…yay!
1. If I ever get into a slump, usually caused by a couple lacklustre books in a row, I read a tried and true author. Someone like Lisa Jewell usually unclogs me or I read a thriller. Something I know will get me turning the pages.
2. I love Thomas H. Cook, David Nicholls, Thomas Christopher Greene, Iain Reid,
3. Carolyn Slaughter, Helen Dunmore, Amy Engel, Donna Tartt
So many authors.
#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView
Tagged by @dabbe
1. Not a must, normally tea or water if I am drinking something.
2. Probably Penance, which is the last book I finished.
pickThis is a novel that reads like non-fiction as it is purportedly a journalist‘s book about the murder of a teenage girl perpetrated by three of her female classmates. The whole thing feels ripped from the headlines and examines the lives of each of the girls involved including podcast transcripts, email correspondence and an examination of fandom, specifically serial killer fandom. I found it fascinating, but slow.
I am ready. Are you?
Looked what arrived in today‘s mail, @Deblovestoread . Thank you so much for thinking of me. The book sounds great. 🥰😘❤️
There‘s a reason why I don‘t make a resolution about not buying any new books. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a gift for a student. The Grimrose Girls and Check & Mate are for my classroom library. So, if I do the math, that‘s technically only three for me.
#6 #bookspin…I swear this book has been on my shelf for 20 years. I know I have picked it up once or twice over the years.
#11 #doublespin…this author wrote my most-read book of all time, Velocity.
@TheAromaofBooks
