Since I am from Wisconsin, this book really touched a cord in me. The author mentioned the city I went to college in, a grocery store chain I used to shop at, and some brands of beer I used to drink. One of the main characters, Edith, even reminds me of my mom in some ways. I just really appreciated the Midwestern setting and unique spirit in all these characters. The pic is our favorite local craft brewery here in Colorado where I live now.

I remember my 3rd grade teacher reading this to us. There is something I find very comforting about being read to. Listening to this audiobook narrated by Meryl Streep along with a full cast, reminded me of that experience as a child. The story is utterly charming. The descriptions of the farm throughout the year as the seasons change was beautifully depicted. I can see myself listening to this again every year.

I read the print copy of this while also listening to the audiobook. This was a great way of keeping the sister‘s voices straight. Yahaira and Camino are sisters who discover each other following the death of their father. This story was a beautiful exploration of grief and family.

This book was so completely charming. It was just as good as I remember. Moving through the seasons, Laura and her little family of Ma, Pa, Mary and Baby Carrie go through all the tasks required of life in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. I especially enjoyed the dance at Grandma and Grandpa‘s house and Laura‘s first visit to town. I will definitely continue with the rest of the series. 😊

Definitely have the tissues ready for this one. The story begins with Lexi Vidler, a young doctor in Alabama, receiving a call from her younger sister Annie who she has not spoken to in 2 years. Annie is pregnant and in need of help as she is also battling a heroin addiction. We hear about Annie and Lexie‘s current struggles in the legal and medical systems and also find out what events in their past contributed to her drug addiction.

After reading the description I was expecting a spooky ghost story, but what I got was a dull locked room mystery. The ending was exceptionally anticlimactic. Since this was an audiobook only, I was expecting a lot from the narration but it didn‘t deliver either. The narrator made every character‘s voice the same. It would have really benefited from multiple narrators and possibly some sound effects to liven things up.

I‘m finally going back to re-read the Little House books that I loved when I was a girl. The copy I‘m reading is from a set that belonged to my great aunt and these illustrations are so charming 😊

Ruth is a talented teenage seamstress who comes to believe that her stitches can carry the power of her intentions, including possibly murder. Dorothea is the young woman who visits Ruth in prison as a charitable act. She‘s really interested in phrenology, which is such a strange thing when viewed through our modern perspective. Her side of the story was not as compelling to me. Pic is our Halloween decorations of my husband walking our dogs 💀

The story here had potential, but it ended up being a fairly average thriller. The big twist was pretty predictable and there were several side plots that went nowhere.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Definitely my favorite audiobook ever! This was truly a joy to listen to. The story was perfect for audiobook. Highly recommend!

Man, this was bleak. After getting to know these characters and seeing all the ways they‘re connected, you hope for a positive ending for at least one of them— but no such luck. I was actually kind of relieved when it was over so I can get away from all the sadness. TW for animal deaths.

🏈 I don‘t read a lot of sports books, but the tagged book was fantastic, highly recommend!

🏈 I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, so I am a Cheesehead 🧀 I love watching Packer football!

#Two4Tuesday

I love Downton Abbey, so I listened to this audiobook because Joanne Froggatt who played Anna Bates was the narrator. She did a fantastic job! The story itself is deliciously Gothic, so dark. I found myself enjoying this version more than the print version I read in high school.

This is my third Taylor Jenkins Reid book, and once again, she does not disappoint. Wow, can she create characters! Evelyn Hugo is so complex— I envied her, despised her, and empathized with her at different times in the book. I also love how TJR‘s characters make guest appearances across all of her novels, which feel like fun little Easter eggs for all her readers to discover. (Snoopy liked it too, despite this pic)

This was a short audiobook narrated by the excellent Dan Stevens, composed of letters written by George Lowe to his family back home. Lowe was one of the climbers in the 1953 expedition which was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. It was a really fascinating glimpse into a time where news travelled through letters and radio broadcasts. Also, I appreciated his emphasis that this achievement was a group effort including many sherpas.

I am trying to read books that have been on my Kindle for years, so pulled up this one. Ella, a florist from Devon, is on a train to London when she notices 2 young girls talking to some older guys. When she finds out a few days later that one of the girls is missing, she is wracked with guilt for not saying anything. This was an interesting premise, but the reveal of who took the girl was fairly lackluster, almost out of left field. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The first 10 chapters of this book try to convince you not to be afraid to try the Project 333 challenge. Chapter 11 tells you the actual rules of the challenge, which involves creating a capsule wardrobe containing 33 items.Then chapters 12-32 tell you all the ways your life will be changed for the better if you do this challenge. I liked the challenge itself, but this would have worked better as a blog post.

As someone who grew up in the Midwest and now lives in landlocked Colorado, I‘ve always been fascinated by the ocean. The concept of surfing just seems so exotic and interesting. Although this book mainly centers around the Riva family and their drama, I just loved the 1980s California beach setting. I also fell in love with Nina. I‘m an older sister myself and I could really sympathize with her deep desire to take care of her siblings.

I can‘t think of a better way to spend my day off ❤️📚

I finally finished this over my lunch break from work. I liked this book, but didn‘t love it. The beginning of the story held real promise, but it quickly became bogged down until close to the end when the action picked up again. The middle third of the book would have really benefited from some editing to keep the pace of the story moving along. I was getting really bored with people wandering around and nothing really happening. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I picked this book mainly for the setting, which was mainly eastern Germany in the years during the Russian occupation after WWII. I found the parts of the story that invoked this setting very interesting, but much of the plot involved an affair/love triangle which in some ways could have taken place anywhere. At times, we get a detailed look at the protagonist‘s thoughts, but in others we get only a superficial view and entire years are skipped.

I didn‘t think I could hear about another horrible tragedy befalling these characters.The thing that got me through this was the realization that there were actually families who went through this, who actually suffered through the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.I really bonded with these characters and became emotionally involved in their fates. I was very impressed with Julia Whelan‘s narration as well. Have tissues handy when listening!

Guys, I won an ARC of this book! I‘m so excited (Evee not as much) #GoodreadsGiveaway

Congratulations on your milestone! 🎉🍾
#GrilloGiveaway

Ilya, a Russian teen who is an excellent English student, wins an opportunity to go to a town in Louisiana as part of an exchange program.This would have been a dream come true for him if his older brother Vladimir had not been arrested and charged with murdering 3 women right before he is due to leave. This book has an awesome sense of place, especially Russia, and a beautiful exploration of the relationship between brothers.

Enjoying this beautiful day and joining #Pemberlittens reading of Emma. Opinions seem pretty divided on this one, but if I‘ve read it before I have no memory of it, so we‘ll see where I land.

🥚I‘ve used this handle for things since I was in high school. It‘s a combination of my favorite band and my birthday
🥚We converted an unused bedroom in our house into a “library” for me. I have my bookshelves, a reading lamp, and a super cozy recliner. I spend as much time there as I can
🥚The tagged book. So beautiful and touching
🥚Including myself, 2 people and 2 dogs
#WonderousWednesday

Young Sunday‘s father is dying of cancer, so her family moves to the small town of Malagash, Nova Scotia where he grew up. Sunday starts recording her father‘s voice while they visit him in the hospital. She plans to take those voice recordings and convert them into a computer virus so he can live forever. This is a beautiful exploration of family and grief that manages to be both achingly beautiful and darkly funny. I highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This short and sweet book would make a good graduation gift. It‘s not actually a book, it‘s the transcript of a convocation address delivered by George Saunders at Syracuse University in 2014. His main message is be kind, which is good advice for all of us.

This book was a joy to read. I love the idea of magical doors that serve as gateways between worlds. The writing is gorgeous and I loved her use of imagery in describing words and even letters—for example, she compares a P to someone standing with their hand on their hip. While telling an entertaining story, she also touches on a lot of really important themes such as racism, sexism, and classism without ever being preachy.

🔵 I was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin 🧀
🔵 I live in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado
🔵 I have one sister
🔵 I remember my mom reading the tagged book to me when I was really young

#WonderousWednesday

1. Occasionally I will. I did this with the tagged book because there were many Vietnamese phrases and names and I wanted to hear how they were pronounced.
2. I love hearing words in other languages besides English and sometimes it helps me keep characters straight when I hear their names versus read them.
#Two4Tuesday

This quote is in the introduction to the tagged book. Very powerful

I sent you a Valentines Day card @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego , but somehow I accidentally transposed a number in your address 🤦‍♀️ It just made it all the way back to me today. I‘ll get the letter back out to you tomorrow, but I just wanted to let you know, I know it‘s been a while since you‘ve had a letter from me.

As I read this book, I shared many pages with my husband as his parents are older than mine and not in the best health. Aging and death are really difficult to talk about, and I love how Chast explored these topics through her words and especially her illustrations. I particularly like her drawings of her father—you can feel his anxiety just by looking at him.

I certainly never tried to make a living as a writer in 1990s Boston, but there was something I found so relatable in Casey‘s story. Maybe it‘s just the vivid description of a time where a person feels completely lost that rang true for me. There were so many types of loss depicted here: Loss of love relationships, loss of family relationships, loss of purpose, loss of youth. The writing in this book was absolutely gorgeous ❤️

1. Mansfield Park with #pemberlittens and Writers & Lovers by Lily King
2. The tagged book
3. Definitely The House in the Cerulean Sea
#weekendreads

I ordered this one from Thriftbooks a while back, and I‘ve since decided its just not for me. Would anyone out there want this? I‘ll ship it to you (US only). It does have a few pages with highlights, just so you know. Drop a comment with your email if interested.

If there were more than 5 stars available, I would give this book any amount I could—10 stars, 15 stars, 20 stars. This book left me feeling warm, bright, and hopeful. I actually avoided reading this at first because I thought it was a children‘s book, which isn‘t really the case. Absolutely everyone will get something out of this book— it made me chuckle in places and tear up in others.

Don‘t you wish you were here?

Thank you for the awesome book and sweet treats @Lesanne #BookCupidSwap

My sister sent this box from Once Upon A Time Book Club to me as a birthday present. In addition to the tagged book, the box has little gifts to open when you reach specific pages. I love this idea!

How did you know I really wanted to read this @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego ? Thank you so much for your sweet birthday gift, everything you sent is perfect 😍

Thank you so much for the lovely and thoughtful birthday gifts @Skeebies05 The mug even has my name on the other side 🥰 I‘m so glad you are my pen pal and my friend

This is not my first experience with Sedaris work, thankfully. Per usual, my experience varied from chapter to chapter from laughter to tears to cringing. I was not expecting how dark some chapters would be, particularly the ones discussing his sister‘s suicide. I listened to this on audio, which is read by Sedaris and includes some live recordings. Overall, I liked it but it‘s definitely not my favorite of his.

I can‘t help but feel like Ruth Rappaport would not have approved of this book. For example, the author notes that Ruth did not speak or write much in her diary about her parents deaths in a concentration camp. Well, maybe that was a very painful subject for her and she chose to keep it private. The author goes on long personal tangents regarding her own life and experience writing the book, none of which were particularly interesting or useful.

This is going to the post office today ❤️📚📦 And I received mine last week.
#bookcupidswap

I struggled through the intense sadness in the beginning of this book, but the payoff in the end made it more than worth it. I found this book to be beautifully written. I listened to this on audio but I‘m thinking about buying a print copy so I can find and underline the many passages I‘d like to remember.

There are a few more days left to sign up for this sweet little swap 💕
#BookCupidSwap

Due to the unpredictability of the US postal service, this became a big #littlechristmasswap and @erinreads sent me 2 books off my wishlist! This was so sweet of you, thank you so much!

I only had a couple of chapters left, so it just seemed right to knock back some Prosecco and finish it before the year‘s end. My mother-in-law loaned this to me saying it was one of her favorite books. We don‘t often agree on books, but I definitely see why she likes this so much. This book has a great sense of place and I really loved the bond that developed between Captain Kidd and Johanna as they traveled across the Texas plains.