My first foray into the genre and loved it. Maybe it‘s a ‘right time, right place‘ situation but given that it‘s January, it‘s dark, it‘s snowy, it‘s cold, what more could you want than to crawl into a great little fantasy novel. I‘m looking forward to getting lost in the next in the series soon.

My Shakespearean insults mug also helps to keep my spirits up time of year 😍

#booksandbooze
#muglove

This was just ‘meh‘ for me.
Through much of the beginning I was bored, I suppose there was some humour there granted it was a bit eye-roll inducing for me. Maybe I‘ve just moved on from this series 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well… that was something. I have no idea how it landed on my book shelf (but a receipt tucked inside showed that I bought it in 2015).
Definitely felt like a product of its time (the 90s) and maybe had I read it 20 years ago I‘d have been more into it.
It was just ‘meh‘ for me BUT I do get where he was going which …
#iykyk

I love the new year, and all the ambition to read all the books (at the same time 🤪)

‼️Help⁉️

A couple of non-bookish friends wanted to start a #bookclub, of course I obliged.

But now what book should I recommend for my first pick??? These are probably some of my more mainstream, hopefully easy to find, books that I hope they might be into.

What would you recommend from this stack that will hopefully keep their interest?

Here. We. Go!

About to try to dive into this #chunkster thanks to a Readalong on #Storygraph 🤷🏻‍♀️

I JUST learned of the app after years of tracking on Goodreads. Goodreads always did me just fine but Storygraph looks FUN!

Not quite as tarot-y as I had expected/hoped but very art-centric (which I always love) and just really interesting and nuanced storylines.

Thoroughly enjoyed it 😊 and bonus that she‘s a Canadian writer 🇨🇦 that was an accidental discovery.

This book seems to have gotten a lot of criticism for flagging some of the risks of yoga, but I found it very interesting and the outcomes heavily in favour of yoga.
Great use of existing studies and breaking down the benefits of yoga into several different tranches.
I took a lot of notes on things I‘d like to follow up on and learn more about.
A great read for any yogi 🧘🏻‍♀️

Really liked this. There was something in the writing that reminded me of Fresh Water for Flowers.
Would definitely recommend ❤️

No grand revelations but still a good listen and great reminders to be aware of our digital reliance.

Loved this!
Have revisited a few times already and will continue to for years to come. As principles to live by, the yamas and niyamas make a lot of sense.
❤️❤️❤️

Greg Iles was recommended to me ages ago and I‘ve had this book in my shelf for years… finally got to in and I‘m a little disappointed I put it off for so long!

It‘s quite the #chunkster but I flew through it. A page-turner for sure. Looking forward to the next (and to go back to the prequel trilogy)

Really wanted to love it, but was ultimately pretty disappointed 😔

Just too much stuff jammed in (vampire, fae, dragons, cyber insects, detectives, secret societies, etc) and not nearly enough world building.
Action was clunky.

I was really hoping for more… but I guess you can‘t win them all 🤷🏻‍♀️

Dune all over the place!

Re-read before going to see Dune 2. Split reading the physical copy and listening to the audio to be sure I was done before the movie. Soo much better than the first read, I was able to catch a lot more detail and the audio helped with some of the more challenging pronunciation.

The movie was great, but as always the book was better. And EVEN better the 2nd time around.
I‘m hooked all over again!

#Dunesnotjustfordudes

Very fun concept 🙂
Some of the main story line wasn‘t entirely my thing, but the story in the story in the story was unique and overall I was thoroughly entertained.
Nice quick read as well.

Anyone else attend the #OLASC this year?
It was my first time attending (I‘m a newer member of our Public Library Board) and I was only at the Board related day but it was enlightening!!

I‘m looking forward to going next year and plan to attend the whole conference.
(I‘m super proud of myself for keeping the purchases to a minimum 🤣)

#supportyourlocallibrary
📚❤️

back-to-back big feeling books.

This was beautiful. It took me a while to read despite being a slim book. It didn‘t pull me to pick it up like some page turner that you want to see how it ends, but when I was settled in and reading it pulled me right inside of it.

I‘ll keep this line with me …
“Any beautiful moments lately?”

This book was sooooo beautiful! I didn‘t want it to end.
Not sure if this makes sense and feels odd for me to say but reading this made me want to live and love and lose and do it all over again. Oh, and also unlocked my newfound goal of being a cemetery keeper.
I‘ll definitely look into for more from this author.

🪦❤️

I was slow moving with this, but it was a great read. A recommendation from a friend whose daughter lives in Ireland.

I remember hearing about the Troubles in the 90s as a kid but definitely didn‘t comprehend how complex the situation was.

Reading from afar, I can‘t help but wonder how much is still felt there now.

Always nice to re-visit Holly 😊

Not my most exciting #bookhaul but you gotta love #bookmail 📚😍

Clearly very influence by ‘And Then There Were None‘ but why not?! That was a classic 😊

I noticed quite a few not great reviews but it kept me entertained on my #audiowalks so it‘s a pick for me.

Late to the game on this one, it‘s been on my TBR forever.
I LOVED it!
Brought me back to the ‘Library at Night‘ immersive experience where the Sarajevo Library was one of the featured libraries.
This beautifully highlights the importance of libraries as cultural institutions and the librarians out there that care deeply about their role in protecting these spaces.
❤️📚

I feel like I‘ve got a pretty promising #librarystack considering I ran in right before closing 😍📚🤞

I read Slaughterhouse-Five ages ago and I don‘t think it had the impact on me that the book tends to elicit (in my defense it was an e-book and I don‘t take those in as well as print… anyone else?)

Anyway, I took a big break reading this GN version thinking the same was going to happen. But then I finished in one sitting and it hit! I get the hype. A lot of really important statements made about the impacts of war.

I‘m late to the Backman game.

It started a little underwhelming for me, but I was totally charmed by the end.

I‘m looking forward to reading more of his work.

Well this has sure added to my TBR list!! 📚📚📚

Holy 💩!!!

That ending was NOT what I was expecting from a book about guerrilla gardeners!

🤯

Well… that was all kinds of horrific, but definitely a page-turner.
I think I need to take a little breather from Karin Slaughter‘s mayhem.

Definitely disturbing… but I wasn‘t quite as consumed as I‘d hoped. The writing felt a little distant, which made a lot of sense to get the vibe of the story but that can sometimes keep the reader at arm‘s length.

Our library is back open after a month of renos and I had to check it out day one!!

Quickly becoming a Karin Slaughter fan 😍

This one was definitely a little twisted and twisty! The reveal part way in was a good one.

Definitely the building block of the series, a little lacking in excitement and could have used a little more editing in spots… but, I still really enjoyed and am looking forward to the rest of the series.

A book based on the Alexandria library, whether fantasy, non-fic or otherwise will always be a go-to for me 😊

This is a hard one to rate…
It definitely gave me a lot of insight into an era and events that I wasn‘t very familiar with but goodness that was relentlessly depressing! It did get me a little weepy in a few places but wow… that was a lot!

I‘ve read and enjoyed quite a few of Horowitz‘s books and have always been a Sherlock fan AND given that he had the Doyle estate‘s seal of approval, expectations were high! It didn‘t disappoint 😊
The language and atmosphere were all there, with the plot being a bit darker than your typical Sherlock mystery so that freshened it up some.

Very late to the table on this one but…🤯🤬
I‘ve generally been fairly uninformed about the goings-on in Silicon Valley but have read a couple of books about how things go there and, just, wow!

Jaw dropped repeatedly listening to this one!

#audiobook

After a bit of a freeze on book buying another #booksale #bookhaul !! 📚😬

I guess this is what happens when you restrict yourself 🤷🏻‍♀️

But at least it was another #supportyourlocallibrary situation.

#ilikebigbooks
#chunksters

#booksale #bookhaul
#supportyourlocallibrary
📚❤️

Bailed…BUT… l don‘t think it was the fault of the book.

I‘m just not there yet…
🧘🏻‍♀️📿

When the reviews mentioned Daniel Woodrell + supernatural I was intrigued! I love a good Southern Gothic tale but the supernatural can sometimes go either way. This book did the supernatural well! No vampires or werewolves here, but some higher power (be it dark or light) was at work.

After reading a lot more cozy mystery type of books this felt like I was held at arm‘s length but it was beautifully written.

Our library has the best view! (More impressive in summer, when the marina is in full swing🚤⛵️☀️)

Really enjoyed the 3rd in the Inspector Gamache series. We get a little more insight into his history and the case that still haunts him… and there are some some interesting developments in the team‘s dynamics.

Great cover. Great subject matter to play with. Quick read. But… there were definitely some character issues. At points there were actions that just didn‘t make sense and had me shaking my head.

I‘ll still give it a pick though. It just could have been so much more.

4th in the series and I flew through it 😊… might have been my favourite 🤔… certainly up there!

Little #bookhaul from the Friends of the Library used book store ❤️📚

#locallibrarylove
#supportyourlocallibrary

I can not stop with this series! Love it! Love the atmospheric Canadiana 🇨🇦 back drop, the individual mysteries, the overarching story lines coming out, and even love all those #unlikeablecharacters (I think I‘m becoming a sucker for those unlikeables!)
Yes, there are a few questionable/cringy descriptions but over all I‘m just loving the series.
Now I feel like I can finally dive into the show on Amazon video 😊
🌲🌲🌲

Well… I didn‘t ‘get skinny‘ from reading this 🤣 but there were a lot great points to connect with, and since reading but I have been able to settle into a fairly regular meditation routine so that‘s been a great improvement to my day!
🧘🏻‍♀️📿

Read. This. Book!

I can‘t recommend highly enough. This was an absolutely random pick as I was running out of the library at closing time, but it will stick with me. I tell anyone/everyone I‘m talking to about it.

Terrifying. Eye-opening. Well researched. Clearly articulated.

Seriously… Read. This. Book!

Sadly not for me.. at all!
At first I though it would be an alright change of scenery, and it was at first. Then I caught myself audibly groaning at some of the dialogue 🤦🏻‍♀️ But I did make all the way through, so I guess there‘s that.

After a LONG week, this is all I wanted to do with my Friday night🍷📚❤️

I was very pleasantly surprised by this first of the series. Loved it and can‘t wait to read more. Bonus that this a (until recently unknown to me) 🇨🇦 author.

I‘d not walked to the library yet from the new house. With such an unseasonably lovely day I figured this was the day.
I learned it‘s a 2 hour round trip walk… my feet are not ok with this discovery 😬
I also need some far more comfortable/durable shoes if I‘m going to do this again (literally walked holes into mine 👎)
But at least I felt zero guilt about the 🍕I ate afterward.

#expandeddt completed ✅

This took me far longer than intended as I went on a lot of reading detours along the way but I‘m happy to have finally made it through. I finished up with the Dark Tower VII which just has so much going on but did have me in tears towards the end. 🥺
I thoroughly enjoyed tracking the connections thru so many books (if even loosely connected).
To be inside the head of SK 🤔
❤️Oy ❤️