“It‘s strange how much power darkness has over the light”.
The last of this graphic novel trilogy finds the MC helping her ghost friend, Wendell, find out more about his past life and death. She‘s also trying to navigate friendships. A little emotional toward the end—even though I figured out what was coming. Good trilogy.

Also read this tonight. Didn‘t wait to borrow it from my friend. A middle grade/YA graphic novel that continues the stories of ghosts & the 8th grader Marjorie. Introduces a new character who most peers think is “weird”. Has themes of bullying & suicidal thoughts. Marjorie is trying to keep her friendship with ghost Wendell but also can‘t admit he‘s a ghost. 4.5 ⭐️

I heard about this collection of stories being published from a podcast, & I had to put it on hold at the library asap. I enjoyed the short stories—I often don‘t remember short stories well by the end of the book, but this time I could. I also loved the “novella”which is actually book-length & told from several characters‘ POVs that Eve (from Rules of Civility) meets. The story ends up being thrilling/suspenseful. Between 4.5-5 ⭐️

I‘ve had this on my Litsy TBR for awhile, finally got around to the audiobook, narrated by author. Think I mainly wanted to read it because of the travel, & I definitely enjoyed hearing about different cultures, traditions, & lifestyles. A lot of the people interviewed by the author were interesting. I really liked the grandmother in Moldova. Amusing at times. The parts about happiness were good but not as interesting to me. 3.75⭐️

Did my #bookspin list early this month. I put a few extra kindle & light reading on here because I‘m going to be on vacation at the end of June. @TheAromaofBooks

I really liked this story & felt some tension as it went on due to Alfonso‘s behavior & Lucrezia‘s situation. But—I am left frustrated by the ending! Anyone else? #doublespin for May

1) I don‘t have a specific memory, but I loved the Bookmobile as a kid. Our main library was about 15 minutes away, so we often visited the Bookmobile on Saturdays. I would still go if they had one.
2) bookstore & library, Amazon occasionally for my kindle
3) Tagged
@Eggs #wondrouswednesday

Read this GN last night after my friend let me borrow it. Now I have to get the other 2 from her. A sad but hopeful story about a girl who has lost her mom & a ghost who is lonely. Very creative story & great artwork. Relatable characters & am excited to read more about this world.

I bought this at my Ky Book Fair last October—probably 70% for the cover & 30% for the story. This is a book that needs to be more popular though! A story written in verse about a Black teen who has severe anxiety, witnesses a racist police arrest, & develops agoraphobia. I was worried about how her therapist would be depicted (since I am one & media doesn‘t have a good track record), but she was perfect. The story also shows how Sadie‘s 👇

This was on my Litsy tbr, but I don‘t remember who recommended it. This is only a 3 hr audiobook & is written for YA. I just wanted to know the basics of the Stonewall riots, & it provides that along with a good description of life in Greenwich Village at that time. Also goes on to talk about the AIDS epidemic & LGBTQIA+ activism.

I think this was a rec from @Megabooks so decided to finally listen to it. I enjoyed learning about these 4 gutsy, hard-working, creative women. There wasn‘t enough Betty White, imo, but still a good book.

Another 5 ⭐️ read. I‘m not evangelical (I‘m in the evil left they talk about in the book), but I‘m glad the author is because he has a unique perspective. We all know about the alt-right, but what is going on in some “churches” is eye-opening. I recommend this to any religious person—he does talk about faith/Christian beliefs so for non-believers, it might not be a book for you.

Last-minute, but this is my #bookspin list for May. @TheAromaofBooks

I‘ve been so good about not buying books this year & have mostly used a gift card & coupons when I did get a book. But, today is Independent Bookstore Day, and I needed to use a coupon only for April, so I felt obligated to spend some money. 🤣 The Penelope book is for work…I love this series. #bookhaul
Also, I really wanted Amor Towles‘ new book but decided the library is a better option.

This is going to be a gift for my mom. Here in our area of Kentucky, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill (we all call it Shakertown) is a preserved Shaker settlement that has tours, farm animals, homemade crafts, and delicious food. A member of my church has been working on this history of her mother/cookbook, & it finally was published. Her mother ran the kitchen at Shakertown, so there‘s some of those recipes, as well as other recipes.

Adichie is an amazing writer, & I wish I had more novels from her to read. This one is tough—plenty of trigger warnings. Had to do a little research partway through about the Biafran war, so I could understand better. The story is centered around 3 characters who are connected. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of other characters. A powerful historical novel about the horrors of a war that most of us have never heard about. 5 ⭐️

Just an FYI for the fans of Erik Larson who live near enough to attend. Hosted by Joseph-Beth bookstore in Cincinnati, more info is on their site under events.

I knew I was at the emotional part of this book & had put it off for a couple of days. I should know better than to finish it in the middle of night when I‘m more likely to cry. Despite some sadness, this story is so interesting. It starts with Esme as a child spending time with her dad at work, where he‘s researching & putting together the first Oxford English Dictionary. The making of the dictionary is fascinating. 5 ⭐️

#bookspin list for April @TheAromaofBooks
I‘m almost done with the first part of my book challenge (from my library), so these are mostly for fun/mood reads.

Audiobook. Needed a book with a beach on the cover for my library‘s book challenge & then @Eggs reviewed this HF about Guernsey, which I would love to visit. The story of 3 young women during the German WW2 occupation who want to make a difference in the war. A little suspenseful towards the end; I really wanted to know what was going to happen. Wasn‘t sure about the ending at first, but now I think it was a good way to tie things up.

Positives about this book—it had a lot less typos/mistakes than in Clanlands Almanac, history I didn‘t know about New Zealand, interesting adventures, & enjoyable banter.
Negatives—don‘t like the continued jokes about Black Jack from Outlander

#bookspin list for March. I actually did both my bookspin & doublespin books for February but won‘t get a bingo. @TheAromaofBooks

Another book gifted to me from a library sale. Not my typical genre. It‘s a good story, but not a series I‘ll continue (my personal choice). An FBI agent is trying to solve her sister‘s case because she was kidnapped & presumed dead at age 6. Agent returns to former home, but then ends up involved in a serial killer case in the same town. Some twists, interesting cases, & really liked the agent‘s assistant. This is one of my #bookspin for Feb.

I picked this up at the Ky Book Fair. It‘s a debut from a college student who self-published, & I thought I‘d give it a try. It‘s a low pick, but I feel there‘s potential to improve. The MC is a transgender male who has a close group of LGBTQIA+ friends. He starts listening to a radio call-in show & connects with the DJ while he‘s also starting to build a friendship with a guy IRL. Found family, mental health, diverse characters, romance

2nd book picked by librarian (book bundle). I had no idea there was a series starting in 1996 with Jane Austen as a detective (before I read any Austen). Written close to Austen‘s style, this 1st story involves Jane trying to prove her friend is innocent of murder after her husband dies while Jane is staying there. There‘s complications, interesting characters,& overall, a good mystery. 8 books in series. @StayCurious -you may be interested

As part of my library‘s book challenge, I had to try out a service called book bundles. I filled out a brief online form about my likes/dislikes & a librarian found 3 books to match my tastes. This is the 1st one.
This story centers around an arranged marriage in order to combine family businesses. The MCs are both ambitious so go along with it, at first. An enjoyable story, but a little too long & the ending conflict wasn‘t necessary, imo.3.5 ⭐️

So, I got to meet Graham McTavish, aka Dougal Mackenzie, war chief, yesterday at a book signing. He has been in Lexington, Kentucky several times in the last year because he has developed his own bourbon brand (it‘s only bourbon if it‘s from KY). He didn‘t do a talk about the new Clanlands but spoke to each of us as we went through line & allowed pics. A friend went with me, it was a good time.

My friend wanted this GN series when we went to Cincinnati, OH for comic con. She couldn‘t go, so we got them for her. She wanted me to read them. I love all 3 & can‘t wait to get the 4th one from her (think it‘s only a 4 volume series). An adventure story about revenge & ancient, magical artifacts. Check it out if you enjoy GN.

I listened to 3 different & really good audiobooks in January. This one is the first book that is referenced in The World Record Book of Racist Stories. It‘s also hilarious while encouraging us white people to think about our words & actions. It‘s amazing that some people feel comfortable making blatant racist comments or treating people so differently.

I feel like I‘m the last person to read this book, so I won‘t say much about it. It‘s trippy, & I had a hard time putting it down, except for when I needed to think through all the characters. May be one I reread in the future because I know I missed details.

This story has some twists that were a bit different from other books I‘ve read. I enjoyed the characters but sometimes wished the MC was less innocent (it‘s set after WW2 so had to lessen my expectations). A huge library is involved which made me happy. Don‘t want to give away spoilers. Thanks @Gissy for gifting me this one. 4 ⭐️

2nd 5 ⭐️ read for January, an audiobook. I‘m old enough to remember the Challenger explosion, which is toward the end of this book, but I didn‘t know anything before that. This is so interesting, I looked forward to the drive to & from work. These women are/were amazing, courageous, & way smarter than me.

One of two NF 5 ⭐️ reads in January. After reading Horse, I was curious about the real-life story of Lexington. Plus, I live around the city of Lexington, so it‘s easy to imagine the farms back in the 1850‘s. Even if you don‘t know much about horses, this is a great read. I learned new information & really need to visit the KY Horse Park museum soon. @Megabooks

My Kentucky Wildcats are stressing me out in basketball right now, so I‘m posting to calm down. 😂
1. My middle name “Cochrane” was my grandmother‘s maiden name.
2. 1 sister
3. In the Lives of Puppets
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Took Littens‘ recommendations to listen to this memoir. Y‘all were right—this is a delightful book with Winkler like a friendly neighbor. I often watched Happy Days as a kid but I also love Winkler in Parks and Rec. Found the parts about his dyslexia really interesting.

Finally continued this fun mystery series starring Queen Elizabeth. This one involved stolen art. Enjoyable series.

My first book of the year, a romance featuring a hot chef. The twist is the protagonist has an apartment that puts her 7 years in the past sometimes. Also a story about grief. TW discussion about suicide

I have a lot of books to post about for January, but for right now, I‘m doing my #bookspin list for February. @TheAromaofBooks

End of 2023 stats. May post more from SG later. Think I upped my page count this year & somehow fit a few more in than last year (think because of audiobooks).

January 2024 #bookspin list. Mostly the same as December because I was catching up on past bookspins. @TheAromaofBooks

Several good stories, including Poirot & Mr. Quin stories. I think I‘ve completed all of Christie‘s books with this one. Most of the ones I read this year were audio, & I‘m sure I‘ll revisit my favorites.

This is a pretty quick YA read set in Kentucky around the opioid epidemic. Got this at Ky Book Fair. A retelling of The Tempest, it‘s about a male teen who moves to the area, meets & falls for a female teen whose dad happens to be the main meth cooker/seller in the area. Stuff happens, it‘s a good book, esp for teens. #doublespin for December
This may be my last finished physical book for the year. Bookend the year with opioid epidemic books.

This is my pick for June. #12booksof2023. I loved Firekeeper‘s Daughter & loved this one even more. @Andrew65

May is the hardest month to choose a favorite book because there‘s 4. I‘m choosing this one because of Marcellus the octopus. This story has stuck with me since reading it, think I rated it a 4 on GR at the time but I need to change that. #12booksof2023 @Andrew65
The others are The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Convenience Store Woman, & I‘m Glad my Mom Died.

For the 4th day of Christmas, I‘m choosing this one as my favorite of April. I love this trilogy, so much that I reread the first 2 later in the year. It‘s a fun book. #12booksof2023 @Andrew65

1. Yes, I had a few goals. I met my GR goal & completed my library‘s book challenge. I didn‘t finish all my bookspin books but got close.
2. 5 ⭐️ for The World Record Book of Racist Stories because the audio version earned it an extra ⭐️
3. Don‘t think I have any series planned for next year
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

This book wins my top spot for March because I learned a lot from it & I liked the audiobook narration. I didn‘t agree with everything Hari presented, but the information is useful in my clinical practice.
I like picking a favorite each month because not all of them will be in my yearly top ten but are still great.
#12booksof2023 @Andrew65

1. I received 2 books & gifted 1 (not counting Litsy swap)
2. I like to cross stitch bookmarks for gifts
@TheSpineView #two4tuesday

Looking at my February books for #12booksof2023 , I realized I don‘t have any year-end favorites in February. Rainbow Rowell is a fave author, so this short story collection is my pick. Plus, the cover is lovely. @Andrew65 12 days of Christmas

Joining in on #12booksof2023
12 Days of Christmas This is an easy choice for January, first book of the year, still my overall fave of 2023. @Andrew65