Hello, November! The end of the year is coming up fast. The only challenges I really want to complete are the #gottacatchemall, #nonfiction2024, alphabet challenge, and the diversity across genres challenge (hosted on Insta). I'm so close to finishing them. This month will be dedicated to filling most of the remaining prompts so I can have a low key December full of bonus reads.

@thearomaofbooks #bookspin

Welp. October is over. The books were great...life not so much. Books kept me from completely spiraling which means I still managed to achieve a #bookspinbingo despite the stress. I leaned into the horror/thriller theme this month and was not disappointed.

@thearomaofbooks (I wrote the correct month this time! 😆)

This was my first read of the spooky season and man did it set the tone for the month. An unsettling read with a semi-unreliable narrator who has a gruesome craving.

October #doublespin ✅ @TheAromaofBooks

A quick read with a lot of heart folded in. Esperanza speaks of her attempts to make friends, first job, and so much more as she tries to find her bearings as a young teenager.

October #bookspin ✅ @TheAromaofBooks

No bingo this month. Lots of good reads though. I made significant progress on my diversity across genre challenge. On to October! #bookspinbingo

@TheAromaofBooks

I present August‘s #bookspin list! This method of listing is getting harder as the challenges get full.

Edit: …so this is for October. I completely forgot to change the month when I copied from a previous list 🤣

@TheAromaofBooks

A series of lightly interconnected stories of Arab Americans. I enjoyed the different perspectives, though it was hard not to get frustrated with the very traditional attitude of some of the parents...which means the writing was evocative. I loved that each story featured a woman breaking from societal pressures despite the consequences.

This might be my favorite of the Meant to Be series so far. A modern retelling of The Little Mermaid with a unique Latinx flair. I was genuinely invested in Ariel and Eric's relationship.

A beautiful novella that highlights the wonders and dangers of space exploration. Ariadne and her team are accomplished scientists and engineers eager to discover what lies beyond our sun. I swooned a little at all the science jargon. Chambers did a great job of making complicated concepts accessible. #queerbc

A soft pick for me. I liked it overall, but I had to take breaks because the villainess got annoying at times though her irreverence had me lauging out loud. A fun twist on the romantasy genre: the main character falls into her favorite book and wakes up as the villainess.

Question for the crowd: what fantasy book would you like to be a part of?

For me, it would be dragonriders of pern as long as I was guaranteed a dragon.

I really liked this book. All about crushing the patriarchy and women being stronger together than alone. The caregiver aspect to the story was almost too relatable at times.

This month's #doublespin! @TheAromaofBooks

Here is my September #bookspin list. I solemnly swear I have not taken a single peek at this month's picks. The surprise is my favorite part of the month.

@thearomaofbooks

Apologies for posting my #bookspinbingo board late! The end of August and the beginning of September were a whirlwind thanks to a work conference. I have never loved my audiobooks more than when I needed a couple minutes of escaping the noise of the attendees.

I fell in love with the Apothecary Diaries Manga in August. Thank goodness for libraries with expansive online catalogs.

Also, I managed to read both my #bookspin and #doublespin :)

The Centre is complicated. There were a lot of important topics integrated into one book.

A recommend for those who like slow burn thrillers.

I caved and bought a book because it was pretty. I mean, the blurb was also good, but look at those edges 😍.

My only plans tonight are to read this book, eat too much pasta, and cuddle a tired puppy (who had a great time at doggy daycare). Happy weekend!!!

I‘m a little late but still wanted to play. #wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1. Definitely read the book
2. Mop the floor
3. Read (but I also love to listen)
4. Chocolate
5. Pen
6. Ask questions
7. Meet an author
8. Fowl
9. In-person (I enjoy browsing)
10. Both

Thanks for the tag! 😁

I'm officially obsessed with cozy fantasy. Kianthe and Reyna are adventure couple goals. Plus, little Ponder was adorable.

Please share your cozy fantasy recommendations! These are bringing me joy.

A fantastic dedication 😂

I am a huge fan of cozy fantasy. This one had a little higher stakes but never lost the cozy vibe. I loved the relationship between Reyna and Kianthe. They had hard conversations that reaffirmed their relationship in important ways.

Also, I want a griffon now.

A sweet epistolary novel about love and adventure. I always love a strong cast of voices on audiobooks with multiple POVs. It took a minute to get into the rhythm of the narrative, but once there, I was soaring (diving?) into the depths of the ocean.

I love the concept of the deep house. Can you imagine waking up to a view of a coral reef outside your window?

A fun read full of quirky characters and witty dialogue. The ending even had a surprising twist.

A world centered around an infinite library. It‘s an ode to how books have the power to shape a world.

Here is my August #bookspin list. We‘re moving into the final stretch for this year‘s reading challenges. My goal is to clear out the books friends have loaned me this year. I‘ve been sitting on a few of them thanks to the distraction of new and shiny reads.

…that said I have the final books in two series releasing this month…

@TheAromaofBooks

Bingo! As always, my reads were spread across many genres. I think most books from this month are going to live in my head for quite a while. I am rather proud of my DNF this month. I got all the way to 70% on the audiobook and I realized I‘d rather be reading literally anything else.

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

#two4tuesday @TheSpineView

1. Yup. My friends and I would bet on our March Madness brackets. Winner takes the pot. That is the limit of my gambling...minus some friendly betting on the Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants back in the day (we made teams before the first night).

2. Tagged book was the only one I could think of. I'm not really drawn to sports related books.

Home sick today. I always forget how being ill wipes you out...and reverts you to a cranky teenager 😂.

I'm really enjoying drawing out the tagged book of short stories. N. K. Jemisin is a queen.

An interesting mix of remorse, revenge, grief, and hatred propelled this plot forward. Ike and Buddy Lee are an unlikely duo of justice considering how much baggage and prejudices they carried into their hunt for the murderers of Isiah and Derek.

I finished my June #authoramonth a little bit late, but very glad I read this book. I‘ll definitely check out Cosby‘s backlist. @Soubhiville

Kiese‘s writing is raw and unflinching. He speaks to the repeated trauma of being Black in America. How that hurt sometimes comes from those who love us best. He addresses what it means to have a Black body that stays heavy with the secrets and scars it carries no matter what number the scale shows.

The sentence describing an encounter with a policeman hit hard after reading James: “That fool got madder because you were speaking correct English.”

I loved this retelling of Huck Finn. Everett pulls no punches throughout the story. He gives the slaves a voice, while highlighting there‘s no where safe to use it.

Thank you #camplitsy for the great discussions!

I really, really wanted to like this book. I love a brutal education/hazing situation. Unfortunately, the heroine drove me up a wall. Ikenna was always angry and itching for a fight. Even when no one was trying to start one. Also, the love tension thing was not there for this couple. I couldn't handle another 4.5 hours of reading the same thing over and over again. #hailthebail

I‘ve been meaning to read this author for a while so it felt serendipitous that her most recent book made the #hugoaward 2024 shortlist.

There were many unexpected turns including some mind bending space breaking. It was a more intense read than I expected. The opening chapter made me double-check what type of book I‘d picked up.

It‘s another one of those times where I skip reading the blurb because of the consistently positive reviews…which means I‘ve been dropped into a strange reality without any warning.

I love this book already and I‘m not even halfway through.

July #bookspin list is ready for reading. This is getting harder as my challenges slowly fill up.

The background photo makes me miss summers sailing on Lake St. Clair in Michigan.

@TheAromaofBooks

Storygraph has a new feature that lets you create a spread of the books read that month with your ratings. I‘m already obsessed with this feature.

The genre selection was all over the place this month. From cozy fantasy to true crime and literally everything in between. Rather proud I managed to earn a #bookspinbingo with all this randomness.

@TheAromaofBooks

An interesting twist on the malevolent presence concept. I liked it.

The town of Clifford is a living time capsule with a dark secret at the center. You learn the full story through interviews, transcripts, and letters. The audiobook was really done with a full cast representing the main characters.

Fun fact: One of my besties is friends with the author.

My June #bookspin is complete! @TheAromaofBooks

I wanted to like this book. The world building was pretty cool and I liked the magical system of harnessing a god‘s power. But the characters drove me nuts. Mainly Raeve. Also, so many side quests kept occurring. I finished the book because I did (mostly) enjoy the main storyline. I felt like there were a lot of pages for very little story movement.

A fast paced mind-bending space mystery in a shuttle containing humanity‘s last hope for survival. It was a fun ride that highlighted how we carry our bias with us even when Earth and its politics are millions of miles away.

June #doublespin complete! @TheAromaofBooks

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1. I make a book goal on StoryGraph at the beginning of the year. It‘s a fun benchmark to see progress on.
2. Totally a fly by the seat of my pants reader. My bookspin lists contain the handful of challenges I‘m participating in instead of book titles.
3. Reading takes me on grand adventures in fantastical places. It also helps me learn about other cultures within our world today.

I feel like I read a different book than all the other rave reviews. I still enjoyed it, but rarely did I find it funny. Maybe it was the cluelessness of the main character? The story implies she‘s really smart, while also emphasizing she‘s people illiterate. I like how her perspective of the world slowly expanded as she (finally) matures throughout the book though. This book is a good satirical take on the current social climate in the U.S.A..

Overall, I liked it, but the plot sometimes felt forced. It‘s a soft pick for me. I did enjoy the back and forth between then and now, though I had trouble maintaining the timeline for past events.

A strong recommend for those who enjoy new magical systems mixed with politics.

Another Hugo award nominee.

Amina is a protagonist I‘d love to just hang out with. She‘s confident in her skills as a captain and knows how to run a tight ship. The seasoned mariner viewpoint was refreshing after multiple books with young voices. I can‘t wait to read her next adventure.

The audiobook was fantastic. They made it feel like an oral history recording with “off-mic” asides included.

Thanks to @HOTPock3tt for #auldlangspine recommendation. Also, a Hugo nominee.

A time bending novel in which I really didn‘t like the main character but still couldn‘t stop reading. Kyr does eventually grow on you throughout the story. It was interesting to experience the radicalized viewpoint and to see the holes in the argument she willfully ignored thanks to years of conditioning.

Another of this year‘s Hugo Award novel nominees.

Oh, this is fun! I love my Bridgerton alter ego. Thank you @CrowCAH for sharing.

I'm holding out on watching season 3 until all the episodes are out. I can't handle a cliffhanger.

The reading challenge style is still working for me. Here is my June #bookspin list.

Happy reading!

@TheAromaofBooks

Bingo! May resulted in a very full #bookspinbingo board. Both #bookspin and #doublespin selections were read. I really enjoyed the wide variety of genres I read last month. More nonfiction than I usually read along with multiple romance novels which is a rare thing these days.

@TheAromaofBooks

A fast-paced read about a woman “blessed” by the goddess of protection who finds herself used as a pawn in man‘s quest to become king. The most interesting aspect of the story is that those touched by the gods can choose their fate while normal people have had their lives written by fates upon birth.

May #bookspin complete @TheAromaofBooks

My fluff ball is one! 🤯 I feel very lucky that he has never been interested in chewing my books. Even when itty-bitty.

#whatsnewwednesday @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Read4life @TieDyeDude

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs
1. I remember being super excited to get my first library card during a school trip in elementary school
2. Most of my books come from the library (physical and digital)
3. Current reads: Witch King and Foxglove King (just realized my titles have a theme…)

I really liked this book. It was an unnerving read with the pandemic still fresh in my mind. I liked the back and forth between before and after to weave all the different narratives together. The ending felt rather abrupt after all the buildup, but that didn‘t take away from the story as a whole.

#authoramonth @Soubhiville