I wanted to love this, but it felt like it didn't explain enough of the how and too much pseudoscience of manifesting your reality. It has solid advice that was a bit clouded by suggestions to raise your vibration.

...Once something moves from our brains to our bones. That's when we can use it to change our lives.

"So often, we pretend we've made a decision, when what we've really done is signed up to try until it gets too uncomfortable."

"Dragging around guilt and self-criticism is beyond unhealthy and is utterly pointless, not to mention boring. You aren't a better person for feeling guilty or bad about yourself, just a sadder one."

"You aren't a selfish person for taking care of yourself, just a happier one. Take care of yourself as if you're the most awesome person you've ever met."

"Most people are living in an illusion based on someone else's beliefs."

Muna immigrates from Lebanon to Montreal in 1986, two years after her husband was kidnapped during the Civil War in Lebanon. It was believed that he was dead and his family wanted to be rid of her and their son. This is an important, character driven story for Canadians about the immigrants' experience.

Harriet's wildest dreams are all being exceeded, her first book has just sold one million copies, and she's newly engaged to the love of her life who is both ultra rich and a huge business success. But when it's time to meet the family and play their games, the lines between creepy family game and sinister intentions become impossibly intertwined. A Catherine Steadman masterpiece!

This was an excellent story with STRONG female characters. If you love Naomi Alderman's The Power, you will love this. I couldn't put it down!

1. The Shining

2. The Amityville Horror

3. Psycho

@dabbe #TLT in the wee hours on Saturday

Thanks for the tag, @TheLudicReader and @ShelleyBooksie

Eleven new books for my high school classroom. Can't wait to put these in my students' hands.

A fun whodunit, as Pip and her friends gather for a night of murder mystery and sub-par take out pizza. For fans of Jackson's AGGGTM, this is the prequel that tells the reader how Pip chose her topic for the senior capstone project, complete with foreshadowing that only true fans of the series will catch.

Captivating from beginning to end. There's so much here that resonates! Truth of a life that has fought to love and find peace and happiness.

1. Tuesday, Sept 5th, but I teach high school, and I go back on August 28th.

2. I highly recommend the tagged book.

Thanks for the tag @ShelleyBooksie

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

This was such a fun read. A cozy, witchy tale with a hint of suspense and romance. Mika Moon was a wholly likeable protagonist, someone the reader roots for. She doesn't need to save the world to make it better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, even though it was highly predictable in several spots. We journey along with Natalie as she navigates difficult relationship dynamics, regret, and grief. She clarifies what she wants in life, and we see dynamic growth in her as a character.

A memoir of a young black writer who shares her traumatic upbringing. This is a story of hope, triumph, and light. A testament to the resilience available to all of us.

"Stop!"

Compelled to write.

"But now my need
for light and truth is greater than
my fear of murky memories.
Time to grab my flashlight
and step into the tunnel."

#poetrymatters

Joe spends a month in Texas, visiting his brother in prison, death row, before the scheduled execution date. Told in verse, this is an amazing and gut-wrenching story about family, forgiveness, and fortitude.

The final book in The Brown Sisters Series was just as good as the first two. I enjoyed getting to know Chloe, Dani, and Eve. I love how each sister is so unique, yet they have an unshakable family bond. Romance is usually not my go-to genre, but if it was all like this, it would be.

Insane.

Hubs and I listened to this in the car on a road trip this weekend. It was a treat to listen to the author read it herself. It was difficult to read of the grief of two families compounded by the deception that was revealed after the death of a beloved father and husband. But the power of love, forgiveness, and the bonds of family prevailed.

"The best way to learn to swim, is to jump into a body of water that wants to kill you."

Sisters Chloe, Dani, and Eve all have their turn at being the protagonist in their own steamy and laugh out loud story. I listened to the first book by accident, finished the second one on purpose, and have just now placed book three on hold at the library. Funny and awkward listening.

My summer 2023 plans right here.

I bored this as an audiobook from my library. I will be buying my own copy. This gives huge insight to human behavior based on life experiences. It helps me to understand the generational little 't' trauma in my own family and how better to approach my students when they are disregulated.

"Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different."

My dad, 87, has been pushing me to read this book. He wasn't wrong. It was refreshing to read an original thriller with well thought out twists and turns AND a satisfying ending. Pardon me, while I go call my dad.

This is my MUST read recommendation of the year. McConaghy deeply understands nature and our human role in it. Through Inti's story, the reader learns how humans have nearly destroyed the wild world and how it is our responsibility to repair what we can. It deals with issues of abuse that could be triggering to some.

After an extremely busy week, spending Saturday night in my comfys with my book and this yummy tea is exactly what's needed.

Reading: Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy. Highly recommend!

Wintering follows the author through one of the toughest seasons of her life. She has just left her job, she is experiencing a health scare, and her son is struggling in school, so she pulls him out. She weaves her own story of difficulty with winter customs to deal with the long, cold days in various cultures. She even participates in some. Loved this part memoir, part how-to guide.

“The forest has a beating heart we can‘t see,” Dad told us once. He lay flat on the earth and we copied him, placing our hands on the warm ground and our ears to the underbrush, listening. “It‘s here, beneath us. This is how the trees speak with and care for each other. Their roots tangle together, dozens of trees with dozens more in a web that reaches on forever, and they whisper to each other through their roots. .

This was as good as the first. Includes themes of mental illness and eating disorders. The 5th installment comes out in November.