I found this (and the rest of the trilogy) at a used bookstore and couldn‘t resist. I first read these in late elementary school and loved them so I‘m diving back into them. Fingers crossed they hold up!

A couple of days late but here‘s my #independentbookstoreday haul (plus 3 ARCs they let me have). The sticker is a couple of years old but appropriate for the day, wouldn‘t you say? 😉

1. My whole house is a library. 😂 LibraryThing says I have 18,346 physical books but that‘s a little high since I‘m trying to rehome some (although this count doesn‘t include my husband‘s books, so maybe it‘s not too far wrong).

2. I was pretty much guaranteed to like this one because I loved the first one. This one wasn‘t quite as amazing but still good.

@TheSpineView

I can‘t believe that it‘s almost May! Here are my #bookspin #bookspinbingo options for the month. @TheAromaofBooks

This will double as my #shelfsweeper as well @Andrew65 @Tove_Reads

Unpopular opinion but I thought this novel about a sex robot with a growing sentience and free will and her nasty, cruel master never quite plumbed the issues it purports to raise, remaining superficial and/or dropping those issues entirely (Annie‘s whitewashed resemblance to Doug‘s ex-wife is one instance of this). Frankly, I was bored. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-annie-bot-by-sierra-greer.html

#bookreport #weeklyforecast I really do need to get back to these two books I set aside forever ago.

This character study set in a small town is both devastating and hopeful. It is a quiet read, one giving the reader access to the secrets and sorrows of the lives of those living in Dalton. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-road-to-dalton-by-shannon-bowring...

Ozzie is absolutely transfixed by the bold squirrel on the deck right out the window. Thankfully right before I took the picture he moved off my book so I can read.

If you enjoyed Peace Like a River, this novel by Enger will have a familiar (and yet very different) feel to the writing. A dystopian novel, an odyssey, and an unlikely found family relationship, this cli-fi is a warning and a threat. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-i-cheerfully-refuse-by-leif-enger...

I am having a hard time sticking to books right now. I think I‘ve read two chapters of each of these and then set them aside. Maybe I‘ll finish something soon! #bookreport #weeklyforecast On a cheerier note, I‘m almost done visiting all 22 of the indie bookstores of the Greater Charlotte Book Crawl and I completed a hard but fun trail half marathon yesterday. 😁

This felt derivative and the ending was incredibly rushed. There were a few twists but they were fairly unsubtle and easily guessed at. Readers looking for a Hunger Games like novel might like this one. I did not. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/09/review-this-great-hemisphere-by-mateo.ht...

A day late, per usual. #bookreport #weeklyforecast

Before I make my April board, I just need to celebrate getting 3 bingos this month! I never do well reading from my board but somehow, I did well this month. 😁 #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

It‘s not summer yet but I‘m in the mood for a gossipy summer read anyway.

I only just now noticed the two orange covers and two green covers from my reads this week. #bookreport but no #weeklyforecast

I finished the last book and the pollen onslaught drove me back inside so I‘m diving back into this one.

Pretty sure I won‘t change my mind on this #bookspin and #bookspinbingo board before next month. As per usual, I have book club books on here but also an Arab American book, a hearing impairment book, a Scottish book, and a book for Earth Day (April is the month to celebrate these things). And then I decided to declare April the month of reading from the unfinished series on my shelf. @TheAromaofBooks

I decided I needed a book I don‘t have to think much about and that I was pretty much guaranteed to enjoy so I picked this one up.

Three generations and more than seventy years following a Malayali Christian family in Kerala, this is a magnificent and epic story. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-covenant-of-water-by-abraham.htm...

A day late (or a week and a day) on my #bookreport and #weeklyforecast as per usual.

And now for something entirely different. The pollen drove me inside and Ozzie (who is not allowed outside) is pleased to have his lap back.

Sitting out on the deck (spring is here!) and getting back to this one that I set aside to focus on other must reads.

@AmyG Thank you so much for a lovely birthday package! 😘

I‘m getting a jump start on next week‘s book club book since Ozzie currently has me trapped on the couch.

#bookreport #weeklyforecast for the past two weeks. I might be getting smarter in my old age, but I‘ve started reading some of the books I earmarked for people for Christmas last year (and didn‘t give them) so I can give them to them this year. 😂

#bookspin and #bookspinbingo for March: books set in Ireland, books by women, and books gifted to me in past years by Littens (thanks to swaps and such) because it‘s my birthday month. @TheAromaofBooks

Got a #bookspinbingo at the 11th hour last night. I‘ll be spending the rest of today on the couch reading toward March‘s books because I ran a 10 mile trail run this morning with 1500 feet of elevation (which probably means nothing to most of you but it was *hard*—and beautiful and made me feel super accomplished but I may not walk again for days!). I‘ve definitely earned my couch time! @TheAromaofBooks

North Carolina is warming up so I‘ve headed to the deck for some reading in nature.

I can‘t seem to settle on my next book so I‘m going to see if a mystery will draw me in enough to stick with it.

Lackluster plot, poor writing, and strange authorial choices made this one a miss of epic proportions. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-life-oreilly-by-brian-cohen.html

I was cranking along through books but stalled out to go away for a weekend race with friends so not as many books the past two weeks as I‘d anticipated. #bookreport #weeklyforecast And yes, I‘m a day late again. 😂

Identity and he marginalizing of writers of color, Yellowface is a timely and thought provoking novel. It‘s a complicated and complex novel, well written, and rife with unlikeable and yet fascinating characters. Readers who enjoy satire will appreciate this view of publishing as well. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-yellowface-by-r-f-kuang.html

It‘s gotten cold again here and it‘s rainy today to boot so I‘m going to curl up on the couch and dive into this one.

This came out today so I thought I should probably read my ARC. 😬

Found in my up next stacks as I was excavating them. So it should indeed be “up next.”

As per usual, a day late on this one. 🤪 #bookreport #weeklyforecast

As the completely wrong person to read this, it landed about as well as could have been expected (comme ci comme ça), which is to say, I didn‘t hate it but I didn‘t really like it either. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-great-british-bump-off-by-john.ht...

I got a #bookspinbingo for January! Of course, the majority of the books I read were not on my board (I need more free spaces but this is nothing new. 😂) @TheAromaofBooks

I‘m calling it on organizing for this evening and rewarding myself (not that I‘ve done enough to earn a reward) and diving into this book I unearthed from the previously tidier piles (they‘ve had to get worse so I can alphabetize and categorize).

I was redoing the myriad stacks of books in my bedroom (much work still needs to be done on this colossal mess!) but I found books to fill out my #bookspin and #bookspinbingo board. It‘s made up of of my book club read, romances of many different stripes, and Black authors. Some of the books have been on many boards without being chosen/read while others are brand new this time. @TheAromaofBooks

It snowed here in the South so I‘m calling a personal snow day and staying in to read. Ozzie is pleased with my decision. And because it‘s freezing outside, I‘m reading about a week on Cape Cod in the summer.

Definitely a day (almost two!) late on this #bookreport. Plus this is two weeks worth of reading. It was definitely a random selection of books these two weeks. No real reason, just moody. 🤪

Two weeks worth for this #bookreport and #weeklyforecast.

I totally should have been doing the things around the house I said I‘d get to in the new year, but I‘ve spent the day at run club, down Internet rabbit holes, and on the couch with this book. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ozzie thinks I need to give him an apology for making him move off my lap to go eat dinner. Now he‘s happily back on my legs as we settle down to read tonight.

Several people in one of my summer book groups read this one and loved it. I‘m very suggestible so I immediately bought it. Now seems like a good time to read it.

I‘ve been behind the eight ball for what seems like all year. I completely missed out on doing my #LastFirst this year because the end of the year snuck up on me. I completely flaked out on signing up for several swaps. And I put off creating my top 20 list until it was too late for #auldlangspine2025. The only one I can (sorta) rectify is the last one. So I present my best of list here. Anyone else want to join #LatetotheParty and post your own?

First #bookspin and #bookspinbingo of 2025. All books are from previous boards and never gotten to. @TheAromaofBooks

A little post Christmas reading with my grand puppy Fitz (Edmund Fitzgerald). He‘s just the cutest little 5 lb. piece of fluff.

This isn‘t in Litsy‘s database. It was meant to be in my mom‘s stocking this year but I didn‘t finish it in time. 🤷🏻‍♀️