My physical tbr for December

November Reads!

📖 4
🎧 4
Total: 8

Favorite: The Noticer

Overall this was a good book. I'm giving it the stars because I kept feeling like I wanted more. I wanted a deeper understanding of the characters and their relationships. I felt like I was waiting for something I never got. On the plus side the concept is gut wrenching and as a mother parts of it got to me, emotionally.

3 🌟
This was an okay book. I felt it could be more fleshed out and I didn't care much for the voice actor. I feel this is one case where the TV show is much better than the book.

The problem with this book ... is me. It was hard to follow the jumping timelines and I'm not a huge fan of open endings.

Otherwise the storytelling was riveting and the twists weren't predictable. I was on an emotional roller coaster the entire book and was unsure who to like or not.

Vampires and Werewolves! Mystery and Romance!

I absolutely loved this story. The narration was perfect, the romance was everything I could ask for and the female lead is strong and opinionated as well as a scientist.

Expertly written! I love a mystery that's not told from the perspective of the lead investigator. I was kept guessing the whole novel and was surprised by the revelations throughout.

Total: 7
📖: 2
🎧: 5

Favorite: Half Sick of Shadows

4 🌟

A beautifully written novel. I enjoyed this retelling of King Arthur and seeing his rise to the throne through the women in his life.

2🌟

This book doesn't hold up well with age. I found the story to be sexist and racist which distracted me and reduced my enjoyment.

5 ?

A captivating "who done it". This book left me guessing until the end! Set on a small English island this is a fantastic domestic thriller/mystery.
Also, the narration is perfection.

5 🌟
A quick, inclusive read. This book is the typical modern romance with the twist of inclusiveness. A plus size female lead character and a side cast of characters with different sexualities, orientations, ethnicities and careers. I enjoyed this book immensely!

Listening to my newest audible book while I take care of my little one.

Whenever my little one wakes up in the middle of the night and needs a cuddle back to sleep, I listen to an audio book. My current audio book.

My current read. So good so far!

My current listen for my commute to and from my internship! So far it's great!

My reading for this weekend. I'm on page 75 of 396. Depending on my children, I may or may not finish this weekend. Though my fingers are crossed I will. 🤞🏻

My January BOTM box finally arrived!

I received this beautifully written ARC from bookishfirst.com

Written in verse the author talks about such themes as stereotyping, bullying, friendship, and interpersonal transformation. This is a middle grade fiction piece that feels like a personal narrative.

I was in tears most of the story there is such emotion driving the story. Honestly I'd recommend this book to anyone. It's just that impactful. It spoke to my soul as a social worker.

I thought this book was okay. I didn't care for the redundancy and the predictable solutions that happen at just the right time. I couldn't get into the characters because following 5 different POVs made it difficult to feel connected to any of them.

What saved the book from being a pan was that the relationships and problems were at realistic. The authors ability to describe setting with such detail makes vacationing in Scotland a goal.

My BOTM box finally came! I didn't like any of the December picks. So I got these.

Getting some reading in before bed!

Started this one this week. So far so good, it's a little boring starting off. Hopefully it gets better.

I found this book enjoyable but also lacking. I didn't enjoy the end, I felt the conflict was over to quickly. I didn't care for the main female character, she made some very selfish desicions and seemed to be completely clueless at times. On the other hand if you are looking for a quick feel good romance this book is that.

p.s. we put up our Christmas tree over the weekend!

Starting my first winter/Christmas themed book of the season!

This was a good story. I really enjoyed the characters and the retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I especially enjoyed the the switch of male/female norms including sexual orientation.

I predicted from the the first couple of chapters the "who" of the mystery though the how kept me guessing until about two thirds the way in. I think it comes down to writing style and this being the authors debut novel.

I am looking forward to the next one.

How I feel many days recently.

Starting my BOTM pick!

I enjoyed this book. I loved seeing the story from Edwards perspective. And I still want the story from Jasper's point of view. He's still very mysterious. My only issue is the pacing at times. I found myself wanting to skip parts of it and forcing myself to continue forward.

Now I need her to do the rest of the series.

Starting this while I wait for the BOTM picks for November.

This was a perfect fall spooky read. There's so much to like about it. I think the pacing was a little slow but was made up for by the suspense of the facade and constant worry of the main characters.

What I did today!

My family is participating in a 24 days of Christmas event. The idea is to buy books as a sort of advent calendar. Each night of December before Christmas the kids will choose a book for our bedtime read.

I love thriftbooks for getting used books at a decent price!

Starting my BOTM pick.

I really did not like this book. Not because I don't believe he can do what he says he can. I didn't like the book because it felt like he was attacking people in the mental health profession.

The only thing that was okay about the book is that it gave good advice to how parents can help any child who is struggling on some way(not just those who are psychic)

Just not my cup of tea.

My next book came in the mail today! So looking forward to reading this new spooky book when I'm finished with my current read.

Tonight's reading for the VP debate and my first book for October.

One thing I'm missing this year because of the pandemic is going out with my group of women friends. Once a year we choose a haunted location and spend the weekend ghost hunting and learning the history of the places we go. Last year we went to Gettysburg and learned a great deal about the American Civil war.

Just a beautiful story, as always with Backman. His books are always character driven and this one is no different. I love the twists and the complexity of Anxious People. In a little over 300 pages I feel as if I know 11 new people. One of my favorite things about this book is that there really are no "bad" people. Just people living their lives with their own worries and their own personal chaos that just happen to have a really bad day.

Yesterday was mine and my husband's 9 year anniversary. This is his gift to me with the purpose of reading them out loud to each other. 😊😊💖

Tonight's activities: listen to the first presidential debate of 2020 and read

Starting my September BOTM book. I want to read it before the month is over. Fingers crossed 🤞

This book isn't my favorite in fact it left me quite disappointed. Snows character is nothing like what I expected and not in a good way. His whole character is based on being influenced by a mentally disturbed scientist and her school lesson. Parts of the book were slow as well. The book was redeemed by insight into future Hunger Games and Lucy Gray.

4 chapters to go!

Some parts have been better than others. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Finished with the craziness that's called life... at least for now.
Time to get lost in a book. On chapter 19 of 30.

I love that my little one likes listening to me read. She also likes to "read" on her own. So precious.

Beginning this today after a long day interning!

Classes started Wednesday. My Saturday reading.

The third book in the Hunger Games series is somewhere between a so-so and a pick. I chose pick because while I found myself disconnected from the main characters I felt the supporting characters drove the story. I was mad at Katniss a majority of the book. I don't really know what kept me reading just that I couldn't put it down.

It's 4:30am and I've been up since 1. My husband doesn't sleep much these days and that means I don't either. So my go to has been to read.

A beautifully written story with wonderfully complex characters and worlds. I thoroughly loved Micaiah's writing. Her worlds were vivid and her characters both likable and detestable. I especially liked the fluidity of sexual orientation and identity that is created. It's there and noticable but not overwhelming or the main point. Just a fantastic sci-fi novel written by an incredible woman and person of color.

Love this quote and how relevant it is to today's world.