I enjoyed this one. Although it did flash through my mind briefly...I didn't really think the big reveal would actually be that. It creeps me out when I start wondering: "Can you ever really know someone?"
3.75 ⭐
#BOTM
#SummerReads

#CurrentlyReading The Golden Couple but, check out my Sophia page clip! 😃

#GoldenGirls
#SummerReads
#BOTM

This was my first Colleen Hoover book. While some of the plot "revelations" seemed predictable to me, I enjoyed the book none the less. What did you think of the letter...which of Verity's "truths" did you believe...the manuscript or the letter? For me, it was the manuscript.
3.75 ⭐

Also:
6. "Dirty Work" Steely Dan
7. "(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to be Right" Millie Jackson
8. "Hosanna" Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack
9. "Angel from Montgomery" Bonnie Raitt and John Prine
10. "Shining Star" Earth, Wind & Fire

Altho I was only just born in 1975, I sped through & really enjoyed this coming of age story of 14 yo Mary Jane. After accepting a babysitting job for the summer, Mary Jane introduces some order and stability into the chaotic Cone family household while they introduce her to a less strict and over-protected life style. She learns about the importance of finding who you really are and accepting the differences and struggles in those you love.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Although I've never cooked a thing from her cookbooks, I've always adored Julia Child. I love My Life in France! #CurrentlyWatching the new HBO Max series Julia. Loving it so far!

A powerful (and at times horrifying) story about cultural and religious identity in India and the meaning of strength and honor. My only criticism is the end was almost a too neat and sweet juxtaposition with the rest of the story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
#RWBookClub

Happy International Women's Day! I'm currently and fittingly reading Thrity Umrigar's Honor.

#RWBookClub

I read 25 books last year. This year, I've read 1: Group. 😂🤦‍♀️
People have many opinions about Dr. Rosen & Christie, but as someone who never completely shares anything, I really liked the idea of a place of no secrets...total accountability for who we are. I honestly think I might find this type of therapy more beneficial than 1 on 1.

*Altho he found it weird, my 9 yo Eli models the book for this pic! 😂❤️

#SundayBuddyRead
#BOTM

Some new to me freebies!

I've skipped every month of 2021 #BOTM until May...everyone is raving about this one and that bookmark! 😂 I moved in February and haven't done much reading since, but I'm trying to get back the mojo.
#RWBookClub

#Bridgerton memes 😂😂😂
And I mean Daphne too for that matter! 😂

Binging Bridgerton on Netflix. Isn't the Duke of Hastings just yummy?

I decided to read this on a whim. I had no idea what it was about. I found an engaging coming of age story told by Michael that explores class issues, growing up gay in a small CA community, family disfunction, and how his friendship with Bunny, the girl next store, changed her life forever.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
#BOTM

My December #BOTM box finally arrived after being stuck in PA forever! At least it made it out of PA before the big snow storm predicted to bury parts of PA in a couple feet of snow tonight...

#BookHaul

Something is happening in the World or atleast the US East coast. We never find out what exactly which lends to the tense, atmospheric tone of the book. It speaks to how much we have come to rely on our phones and the internet and how quickly we could be cut off from information in an emergency. I wondered what I would do with no way to reach my children, hear their voices, know they are ok if we were separated at this moment in time.
⭐⭐⭐1/2

The bright spot of our family's 2020...my grandson Landyn is now 3 months old and his smiles melt my heart! ❤️

A Prayer For Owen Meany
Of Mice and Men
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Anxious People

#FridayFeelings
@Cuilin

My library has closed again due to Covid, but is still offering curbside pick-up. I picked up a volume of Sylvia Plath's letters, a Shirley Jackson biography, and Leave the World Behind which I hope to start today for the #feastmode readathon...
#LibraryHaul

Well, instead of reading 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I am now busy binging The Crown. Although slow moving, I am loving it!

I received and read this book as an ARC back when I was still blogging. I had forgotten a movie had been released this year based on the novel until I was browsing Hulu today. Watching it now because I love Shirley Jackson and because I haven't been able to focus on reading in a few weeks.

*Update: Elizabeth Moss is fabulous in this! I really liked it!

Y'all...go subscribe to this! Strayed's Dear Sugar letter responses are so beautiful and insightful. Also, if you haven't...read Tiny Beautiful Things to experience Dear Sugar!

#Screamathon 2020 Book 3:
I really enjoyed my first Grady Hendrix...probably in large part due to all the 80s nostalgia and to the story being set around Mt. Pleasant/Charleston, SC where I lived for a bit a few years ago.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Starting my final TBRed book for #Screamathon 2020. I'm kinda burnt out on "thrillers" at the moment...they seem to have been my go to this year for some reason, but one more can't hurt. My library copy of My Best Friend's Exorcism doesn't have that cool VHS tape cover, but the inside papers are yearbook pages which was bringing back some memories!

This novel is ultimately about the random interconnectedness of people. It is full of witty, biting commentary on the human condition that made me want to laugh and yet uncomfortable at the same time. It is so full of hope in it's sadness. This was my first Backman, and I discovered I love the way he writes and this is one of my favorite reads of the year so far.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
#BOTM
⬇️

I just finished Anxious People and cried. Not during the end of the novel although I could have, but as I read Frederick Backman's acknowledgements. His note to J. hit me hard. I literally have a J.
In December it will be 9 years since John left this world. I understand Frederick Backman...God I understand. ❤️

On episode 7 of The Haunting of Bly Manor. Turn of the Screw was just an ok read for me when I read it years ago...the Henry James novella this series is loosely based on. So far, I think I like this series better than The Haunting of Hill House...

*Update*
A ghost story, but also a love story... albeit a sad one! Slow moving, but I liked it!

"A flurry of memories erupted suddenly, like birds startled from a tree."
"The dread from [the dream] was still there, seeping slowly across my thoughts like black ink spreading through tissue paper."
#quotes

#Screamathon 2020 Book 2:
Paul returns to his hometown 25 years after being involved in a lucid dreaming experiment with 3 other oddball teens that went horribly wrong. I liked The Shadows even better than The Whisper Man! Probably my favorite psychological thriller of those I've read this year. The big plot twist revealed about 2/3 in had me like holy shit...didn't see that coming!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
"Because ghost stories should be sad. Don't you think?"

@eggs I love today's #wonderouswednesday

1. Past collides with the present

2. My phone and coffee

3. Omg...just like my desire to travel and see it all in real life, I would want to travel to many time periods in the past. First up, I think the 60s!

#BOTM has arrived! This book jacket has gold foil and all the prettiness much like Transcendent Kingdom had last month! And I love this month's book mark. 😂🧡
#BookHaul
#UpNext

1. Yes! When I was little there was something about fall foliage that made me feel nauseated inside. I am still not a huge fan, but I do like a certain red that some trees change to.
2. I do enjoy the tastes and comfort associated with fall food. Apple or pumpkin cinnamon donuts might be a favorite.
3. #Screamathon TBR ... scary thrillers galore! Although, it takes a lot for a book to actually scare/disturb me.
#ThoughtfulThursday
@MoonWitch94

"Allegedly there was coffee on its way for me, but we'd been here for twenty minutes now, and it showed about as much sign of imminent arrival as Beck did."
Something about this quote taking place in the context of a police station left me giggling for pages afterwards. ???‍♀️
#quotes

#Screamathon 2020 - book 1. (Yes, yes...I know October doesn't start until tomorrow, but I didn't think I would finish it this quick!) ??‍♀️
A fast paced crime thriller with just a slight tinge of something "paranormal" going on with Jake, the young boy at the heart of the novel. Beyond just trying to figure out the abductor/killer etc I was invested in Jake and his family as characters, especially after certain plot twists were revealed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I entered my 2020 books read into #StoryGraph. This year it seems I have gravitated towards reflective, mysterious, dark, emotional books. Cool website...looking forward to it being released in app form.

My #Screamathon 2020 stack is ready!
@4thhouseontheleft

I actually finished both my goal reads for #SuperSeptember ! Transcendent Kingdom and Ask Again, Yes were similar in that they were both more character driven than plot driven and both dealt with mental illness, addiction and family trauma, but I was much less engaged with Ask Again, Yes. It wasn't bad, but it was slow moving and didn't hold a candle to Transcendent Kingdom.
⭐⭐⭐

Omg! This show! I loved it!
And Joshua Jackson who played Pacey in Dawson's Creek as the Dad!
The examination of privilege, race, womanhood, motherhood, teen turmoil, family crisis, secrets...very interesting and moving.
#RWBookClub

Three classics that I really disliked!
#3Books

#quotes
"I would look at his face and think What a pity, what a waste. But the waste was my own, the waste was what I missed out on whenever I looked at his face and saw just his addiction."
Addiction...I know from personal experience that the excruciating behaviors begin to overshadow the person and soon the addiction is all we can see.

#3Books I've read that were made into a TV series.
I loved Under the Dome as a book, but didn't like the TV series. I really enjoyed You the book and the TV series. Both Normal People the book and the TV series were alright, but I preferred the book. Where as I flew through the book, the series seemed slow moving and I had a hard time staying engaged.
I started watching Little Fires Everywhere today although I have not read the book.

I finished Transcendent Kingdom and am 127 pages into Ask Again, Yes. This one is moving much slower than Transcendent Kingdom.
"Francis braced for something more personal than he wanted to be asked. It was one of the first things he'd noticed about America, that everyone felt at ease asking each other any question that came into their minds."
#quotes
#SuperSeptember Readathon
@Andrew65

I registered for my first ever Zoom book event! Yaa Gyasi is presenting Transcendent Kingdom with Meghan Majumbar, author of The Burning.

I flew through this amazing book...a work of fiction that read so much like an actual memoir I had to remind myself it was not. Gifty has turned from God to science in her endeavor to answer the questions always rumbling around her mind since childhood...specifically those about addiction after losing her brother. This is an interesting look at family, differences, loss, restraint, redemption, and reconciling a belief in God and science.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

109 pages into Transcendent Kingdom and loving it! 155 pages left.
"The truth is we don't know what we don't know. We don't even know the questions we need to ask in order to find out, but when we learn one tiny little thing, a dim light comes on in a dark hallway, and suddenly a new question appears...that's science, but that's also everything else, isn't it?"
#quotes
#SuperSeptember Readathon
@Andrew65

I'm not much of a re-reader, but #3Books I've reread! We all know how I feel about A Prayer For Owen Meany! 😉

#BOTM finally arrived. Going to be starting Transcendent Kingdom!
#BookHaul
#UpNext

I think I'm going to try to read Transcendent Kingdom and Ask Again, Yes.
#SuperSeptember Readathon
@Andrew65

#3Books (classics) set in NYC that I have read

Hello Littens!
How is everyone today?
I'm feeling kinda librarian-ish today!