I have no words... I read this book in A DAY AND A HALF!!!!! I don't think I've read anything that fast, maybe since Harry Potter. What an amazing story about families, secrets, the restaurant business, the legacies we build and the lives that are both lived and trapped in those legacies. I love Stradal's style and this was all I could ask for and more!!! ❤️

This book was adorable! It felt familiar. Kind of like a Dan Gutman, Mr. Lemoncello, Westing Game mash up by what a fun story! Jake and his mom move to an apartment owned by his relatives but find that the building has more to offer than he thinks when he stumbles back in time to look for help to save the building from being demolished. Great narration by the author, which can go either way. Finished this today at work!

Having a super bad anxiety day today so I decided to go for a fun middle grade listen! It's distracting me but not working on the anxiety too much...

This too shall pass, I suppose! 🤞🦄

An interesting concept... Things on the island disappear and all memories of the objects disappear too. There is a gene that prevents people from forgetting and The Memory Police are tasked with rounding them up as enemies. Really odd because the scare tactics are power of suggestion. Lots of layers here but it's super sloooow, which I struggle with when reading Japanese writing. This book is really cerebral.

What a gut-wrenching memoir from Viola Davis, who was born into crippling poverty, lived in the most deplorable homes, watched the most horrific abuse, was abused herself, but clawed her way to success! This hit me in the most unexpected places but she's such an inspiration! Plus, I love her portrayal of Amanda Waller so much. 😁

Another book I wasn't expecting to love!! A motley cast of characters are collected in the Dellawisp Condos on Mallow Island, all sort of broken with their own sad stories. A tragedy brings everyone together and some truths to light about our past, what we desperately cling to and how that can affect our futures. There were more tears than I counted on but a solid & whimsical magical realism read.

This is a case of me totally judging a book by its cover. I expected to just take one for the team for book club but I ended up loving this story and relating to Meredith, her sister Fiona and their mean spirited mother who raised her girls with the tools she was given. After a serious trauma, Meredith becomes a recluse & decides to find her way back to health. This book addressed a lot of sore subjects for me & laid bare a lot of my own trauma.

I love everything about this book. Listening to it was such a different experience, too. I related so much to Eleanor's emptiness and feeling displaced, especially being familiar with Jackson's stories about motherhood and the loss of self that comes with it. This is one of those books you can grow with and see different perspectives at different stages of life. ❤️👻

A small craft encounters a luxury space cruise ship that disappeared 20 years ago. Upon closer inspection, it seems that the passengers died horrifically violent deaths. Can the crew of the LINA find out what happened considering their team leader Claire's sketchy past as the sole survivor of a colony wiped out by disease? A great story from start to finish! Extremely tense and atmospheric!

I will admit, I knew about Mr. Show but I didn't watch it when it was on. It's on my radar now, though! I was really interested in the writing process & how Odenkirk doesn't shy away from taking risks. 😁

Bob Odenkirk is describing the beginning of his relationship with David Cross. My dad, a retired NYPD sergeant, liked to talk about the time he arrested David Cross for urinating in public. 🤣🤣

I'm glad I got bamboozled into this by my coworker! It reminded me a lot of Hillbilly Elegy. We meet Damon who really can't get a leg up in life and then succumbs to the opioid dragon of the early 2000s. I'm not intimately familiar with David Copperfield but maybe that will make its way into my Libby list. Far more hopeful than I expected halfway through.

What a lovely soul Leslie Jordan had. I loved, more than anything, that his family embraced his homosexuality from day one and never asked him to be anything else. His storytelling is so rich and detailed that I felt like I was in the room with the folks he was talking about. ❤️❤️❤️

I did not expect to listen to Leslie Jordan talk about how moved he was by one of my favorite books in the universe!!! I haven't met anyone else who's read this but it's so wonderful to hear Leslie speaking so animatedly about these characters who feel like family to me!!! 😍😍😍😍

This is so wonderful and heartbreaking!!! A light snuffed too soon... Leslie Jordan was just the most incredibly adorable man. 💔

Darcy Coates tells the BEST ghost stories! Margot inherits her family's home after her parents death but she was sent away when she was young. What mysteries live inside her new house and will she be able to make it through a night on Gallows Hill?

Not only did we get to hang out with my cousins last night, who we never see, but I also went to a book signing at the same brewery! Lol, this was written by a local professor or archeology who had been studying plant archeology and noticed the connection between witchcraft accusations and herbal remedies!

An interesting perspective into what the British royal family is like. I was struck by how little Harry seemed to know about his family members and had such strange relationships with them, seemingly being quite far removed from them. He only found out that his father loved music so much after Megan started discussions with him about it. It appears that much of Kate and Meg's issues came from breach of protocol and the differences between...

There are 3 sides to every story, but I find this perspective quite interesting I was impressed with his army career and how he and William are financially beholden to their father. He doles out allowances! Lots of competition, lots of slander by the press.

This bordered on so-so for me. I felt it was super long and repetitive and I disliked Hannah for being so wishy-washy. A great whodunit by Ware but not the best. 17 hours of hearing the same paragraphs repeated was really not my cup of tea.

Great concept but a little too much London slang for me and some scenes were a bit too long winded. I feel like it could have had fewer tangents and had the story move along a little better. Josh's sister's body was found 10 months after she went missing and it turns out she was living in an alternate reality London? Josh and his girlfriend have an adventure traveling through various Londons for information.

I am dangerously close to the end of this book with not nearly enough resolution to any of the strange situations going on.... 🤔

An extraordinarily sweet story about what could happen if you chose to relive your regrets and decide which path could be yours. Light hearted, not really my style, a bit repetitive but I enjoyed the concept so it lands on the Pick side more than the So- So side.

Apparently there are no other posts about this weird little book! Spending my day with the occult rather than cleaning up after having my 3 teenage nephews all weekend! I just need a recharge and I think a seance is the way to go. 🤣

So much fun!! Rich, likeable characters, just enough chaos to be fun and a family that makes yours look normal! What's not to love?! Don't miss out on this fun story about psychic abilities, government spies, mobsters, free will and mind over matter!!! ❤️

Getting this started today as I avoid more pressing responsibilities at work, lol... Daylight Saving Time always wears me out.

When I thought I knew where this story was going, I quickly found out I was totally wrong! 🤣 A great thriller with a touch of the supernatural. This have Pet Sematary vibes with unlikable, unreliable characters!

Mindless busy work at the office today so I snagged this one to listen to. I absolutely loved The Chalk Man & so far, this is gripping me in the same way!

This was more so-so for me than a pick but it was well written and descriptive and does make me want to read a non-fiction book about Post's life. She's a big figure out here on Long Island so I'm curious about her. She was quite charitable but there's something about her that I didn't like. She had some pretty bad luck with men, that's for sure!!!

This book is scarier than any horror or true crime I've ever read... I'm not even sure I'll be able to make it through. This part of the book takes place in 2027, which is looming on the horizon...

I'm feeling a little guilty about listening to this audiobook with earbuds... my own Seashells...

My 2nd book narrated by Tim Robbins & although I do really like him, I'm not loving his narration of this. Gatsby was okay but this isn't great.

My one and only freezer book... I tried this in 2020 and it was just so probable that I freaked out. Sadly, 3 years later and we're not only closer to this life but it starts in 2024. This hits my Published in the 90s #bookspin choice (I struck out on the other 2 books) but Lord, this book is GRIM... 😮‍💨

New York jewelry empire Pavlin & Co experiences strife because of a huge pink diamond, family squabbles and manipulation! I really enjoyed this story, far more than the family in Blush!

Behind the absolutely absurd story is another story about secrets and lying to yourself to present something different to the world. Hendrix is incredible at crafting such painfully human characters and you need to separate the life lessons from the horror. ❤️❤️❤️
#bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

I know Aunt Honey is supposed to be Southern but she reminds me of my grandmother & my Aunt Edna who both remind me of Sophia from the Golden Girls!!! @Jgacreations I promise, no spoilers!!! 🤣

Hendrix wrecking me before my day even starts... 😮‍💨

I'm struggling a bit with my #bookspin for February so I'm going to move on to my #doublespin instead!!! 👀👻

I absolutely loved this meandering story! I didn't expect the entire central story to even show up but I really loved the way the characters were woven together. I love that the landscape and locations are their own characters but end up being the only likable characters in the book! Just beautiful!

I love the way Emily St. John Mandel sees people as a whole. Her writing is so rich.

Another sharp left at my comfort zone. A family winery on the east end of Long Island is being threatened and the father believes it's not salvageable. Enter his daughter who was cut out of the production side because women don't work at wineries. Follow several female characters on their feminist journey via Danielle Steel, Judith Kranz, cheese and potentially a rosé vintage. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

This is the only thing that's resonated with me throughout this whole book.

We follow the Ingalls family on their way to settle on the Prairie and build their life. We encounter wolves, other settlers, the Osage nation, and disaster along the way!

Why why WHY am I doing this to myself?!?!? I need to stop giving King more chances!!!!

Some books are set in a certain time and feel timeless. King's books feel like the movies MST3K would make fun of. I was 18 in 1996 and have ZERO recollection of Hee Haw having been on tv... I think this is one of the hardest things to get past with his writing. It's like talking to that one relative you had who peaked in 11th grade in 1972 and can't talk about anything else...

I've abandoned the SK publication order challenge because I'm only buying secondhand or taking them out of the library and I'm not paying for shipping... 😅 I had this large print copy from a library sale to fit my #bookspin prompt of Published in the 1990s! I have far fewer leftovers from the 90s than I thought & most of them are SK! LOL

What an intricately woven story, written with such heart and emotion! Trace brilliant Werner and blind Marie-Laure's WWII experiences through an occupation of the French coast and in a German school to raise soldiers. There are so many incredibly captivating characters that will stick with you for quite a while! I'm late to the party but better late than never!

What better way to celebrate SIX YEARS OF LITSY than to finish a book I wasn't enjoying at all?! 🤣 The subject matter of this romance was absolutely not for me but it wasn't poorly written. I can't pan it because I knew what I was getting into. The top A-lister in Hollywood gets swept off his feet by a screenwriter's small town life! BUT, there's a chaos agent introduced when he ghosts her! Stay tuned for the happy ending!

Just when you thought book club couldn't get worse.... I'm not sure how much longer I can stick it out with books like this. I think this is my first ever Hallmark-type romance story. 🤢 My coworker asked if I was going to keep hoping someone finds a dead body! 🤣

TRASH CITY!!!! This had some of the worst characters, worst writing and the most red herrings thrown at you and I just ended up bitter. The ending was okay but didn't make up for the rest of the book.

Your grown ass son is on house arrest for double homicide and you get him Lunchables?!?! Good Lord, this book is GARBAGE!!!!!