May has been a busy month & I haven't read nearly as much as I would like but a head cold has me slowing down a bit. I guess the bonus is Yay! Forced reading time.

My #bookhaul from the Westfield Library Sale yesterday. I showed lots of restraint and only came home with 11 this time. 🤷🏼‍♀️😆😂🤣

After finishing The Daughter's Tale yesterday which takes place during WWII, I need some lighthearted chick-lit. If the book's dedication is any indication, I should enjoy it.

I started this yesterday and I'm already 1/3 through it. So far it's intriguing.

This fun read follows 4 middle-aged ladies on one of their annual Girl's Getaways to the Hamptons. Annie & Kelly are both newly divorced, Deb is still happily married, and Tina is the slightly younger wild card who is obsessed with actor Jason Wilde. Tina wants to meet Jason, so they ask around to place themselves in his orbit. Sounds innocent enough. What could possibly go wrong?! Hijinks, alleged kidnapping, & some romance make this 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I took a leisurely walk with my dog this morning and couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the trees in bloom.

I finished this audiobook the other day and enjoyed it. Knowing a bit about Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn, the end wasn't a complete shock, but still enjoyable all the same. It's funny how so many people of the time had children just for political gain. I managed to find The Boleyn Inheritance on CD as well so I'll continue the series. I had to match up dates with that show Reign to compare people & events. ( So many nobles with same name. 🤯)

I'd think young boys would love this book! 🤣#LitsyHumor

How right that title is! Maeve is 18, a high school senior, and hoping to "get some". The story had some good elements and some that stuck a nerve with me. Maeve's actions & words lead me to think this girl just wants the sexual activity & not so much a romantic relationship. Her love interest, Cole Stone (Creamery), doesn't really seem all that into her. I enjoyed that she has an active life & a good support system. For me this is just ???

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow. I've been passionate about music since childhood so I am thrilled that this book didn't disappoint. The unique, interview style of storytelling lets you see the frustrations unfold as the bandmates tell their view of the events leading up to the band's demise in 1979. Excellent building of the tensions one faces living a rock & roll lifestyle without getting bogged down by musical jargon.

Traveled to Isle of Palms, SC today for a work meeting. Between the flight & a couple free hours before the welcome reception, I'm making a dent in this beauty.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

The acts of H.H. Holmes were the more intriguing part of the story, but the World's Fair piece is still interesting, if a bit bogged down by the details of the development & building of the fair. I was hoping for some insight into the actual fair once it opened. Not great, but worth about 3.5 stars for this little slice of history. I'll leave you with this author's note kicking off the book.

Yesterday's book haul from the final day of the Chatham, NJ library sale. I was afraid it would be picked over but it's probably for the best that it was winding down. I didn't need a new book, let alone 12 of them. Whoops! 🤷🏼‍♀️

My #BNBookHaul from last week is finally unbagged & cataloged. (Busy week, please don't judge.) I limited myself to books I had previously been interested in and, since I browsed online, I found the two Christina Lauren books on a random endcap & not on the book haul tables.

My co-pilot this week is Tony Goldwyn reading this book. I may have given up on this book in print but a few chapters at a time while navigating the highways of NJ is just the right amount of architecture & murderous maniac.

Books transport us places:
The beach. The woods. The city.
Paris. Hong Kong. Honolulu.
The past. The present. The future.

I'm tired of the cold, snowy weather here in New Jersey. Since an international trip is not in the cards right now, I'm taking a tour of Italy with Frances Mayes.

1. First Lessons - A Medieval Tale and The End of Procrastination. I'm really dragging my ass on the latter & determined I'm just lazy & bored by most things.
2. All of 3 have a place in my life. I just try to keep physical copies of series in the same format.
3. Mein Kampf. Senior year in high school I was assigned selections of the book & didn't even read all of them. I read just enough to write the paper.
@rachelsbrittain #weekendreads

1. One dog, Watson. You've seen him before.
2. Some cleaning, reading, maybe a movie with my dude. Might watch the Oscars.
3. I also like concerts, TV, & movies
4. Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco. Must see an MLB game while in each place.
5. Everyone has a song or 2 that makes them dance. What's yours?

Some of mine: Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet and Shut Up And Dance & Anna Sun both by Walk the Moon.
@howjessreads #friyayintro

I won this 2 years ago from Goodreads & it got pushed down the TBR pile. While staying at her sister's Chicago apartment, Eleanor catches a glimpse of the sexy guy across the street - Trey Riordan. She likes watching him with other women. Months later, she's decided to put herself in his path, hoping he'll notice her. They decide to have no strings attached sex & we all know that ends in feelings. Not creepy, but not much romance either. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yay! I've completed my first audiobook and I might even try another one! I really enjoyed the gothic tone of this book and the narrator did a great job having different voices for the characters without sounding ridiculous or jarring. It didn't all come together the way I expected, but I'm glad for it. Dragged a little in the final quarter of the book, but overall an interesting story with great imagery and some food for thought. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

At least 3 times a year I say to myself I really need to read this book and another year passes without me changing the status to read. Since books are usually better than the movie/show, I usually watch them before reading. I clearly have a decision to make. Will 2019 be the year I (finally, for real) read this? 🤣 https://ew.com/tv/2019/02/11/devil-in-the-white-city-hulu/?utm_source=facebook&u...

It may not be Christmas, but it feels like the North Pole. In addition to the copies of letters, envelopes, & drawings Tolkien sent to his children as Father Christmas, this Prime edition provided the ability to listen to the letters, too. It was a nice collection from a time when Christmas wasn't about getting the biggest Beebo doll on the shelf, but traditions, stories, and family. We also get some Tolkien world-building as the years pass.

Here are #20thingsaboutme Thanks for the tag @SmartSassery & to @LibrarianRyan for reinvigorating the tag. It's been fun learning more my fellow Littens. I tried to pick things that wouldn't pop up in regular book chats.
Tagging some of my new Litsy friends @olivia.ferz @Stephaniereads1 @Sassenach1

I started this the other day and so far, so good. I love a good #bookmap and it looks like we will visit some new cities on Felicity's second journey.

☝️Surviving Minimized, The End of Procrastination, & Marina (on audio)
✌A Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha with Raspberry. I once had a barista ask me where I'd seen it. Nowhere, just thought of adding a flavor shot. Then she asked if I posted it online because numerous people ordered it that week. I told her it's cute that I look like I have that kind of power.
👌A Cinnamon Shortbread Latte
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

I picked up Marina on audio a few weeks ago at a used book sale. I've failed to get into audiobooks because my mind wanders, but I bought it anyway. It is slow going because I listen on my commute to & from work and I sometimes have to restart a section to make sure I know what's going on, but I'm really enjoying it so far, even feeling the tension in some chapters.

Yes I know it's a satire. Yes I got the joke. I just didn't find it funny. Nothing much happens.

It is interesting to see how much time women with at least moderate priviledge spent sitting around talking to other bored women. Also, maybe I'm over simplifying it, but seems like everyone dances with a partner a few times, takes a carriage ride, walks around a garden or something, and then gets married. At least the cover is pretty.

Currently reading this four story romance collection. I saw it at my local Dollar Tree a few weeks ago and saw that Finding Colin was about a young woman going to (hopefully) meet her celebrity crush, Colin. Full disclosure, I was ALL ABOUT Colin Farrell in his hey day so I'm skipping around to read this one first.
Watson is just here for the cuddles while I'm cozied up on the sofa.
#dogsoflitsy

I made my own 2018 reading challenge last year to help me get around to some books on my TBR pile. I didn't technically complete it, but The Gentleman's Guide also took place before the 1800's and No Mercy had been on my shelves since 2010 so I'm happy with the outcome. In 2019 I am skipping a challenge but hoping to play catch up on a few series and get through more of the books I already own.

I exceeded my Goodreads Challenge of 36 books. Here's a breakdown of how that reading went. Not everything was great, but seeing that 1/5 were 5 star reads, I'd say it was a successful reading year. Funny that the most popular book was really one of my least favorite ever. I'll set 2019 at 36, too, but aim for 48 for the 4th year in a row.

To trudge through or give up? That is the question. I've never read Austen so I really want to read at least one of her books, but at 43% I am struggling to enjoy this. Even though it's short, the writing style of the time doesn't make this a quick read. Im putting it down for the night. Maybe I'll try more tomorrow.

Story time: I couldn't find my keys yesterday. I used them Xmas Eve but we were running late so we left for my grandma's house. When we got home last night we finally exchanged our gifts & opened my stocking. Why am I pulling out a spoon & MY jewelry? Then I get to the Pops! All of the stuff above, plus my keys & a pair of tweezers were in my stocking. Boyfriend claims the Baby Nifflers must've grabbed all the shiny things in the apartment. 🤣

My boyfriend got all but one of my gifts at Barnes & Noble this year. ❤ I've trained him well. 🤣

Boots not from a bookstore and, therefore, not pictured.

This was fun and not the sort of book I'd normally read. I tend to not do full fantasy/sci-fi but I wanted to read something published in my birth year & selected this one due to the small size & genre. I might even read the next three books in the trilogy. 😉

1. Learn to loom knit a hat.
2. Clean out my closet & maybe I'll finally start on that hat.
3. Supershooter cookie's my parents make & grandpa's fudge, which has peanut butter & marshmallow fluff in it.
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Northanger Abbey.
5. Hi new friends @Beatlefan129 & @AshleyC816

#FriYayIntro @howjessreads

This was such a fun little romance! Nikki is in love with her friend Paul, who's been dating her younger sister Julia for 2 years when Julia & Paul announce their engagement! When her mother asks her to give up her bedroom over Xmas break for the newly engaged couple, Nikki does what any single woman would do...lie. Now she's bringing a boyfriend! So what if he's a paid actor who's just her sister's type? Currently a read now option on #netgalley

Surprisingly deep from this (so-far) average read.

While walking my dog tonight, we went by my local indie bookshop. I'm not sure if they simply closed before finishing the display change or if they're telling the good people of Union, NJ that the Michelle Obama book is the only book worth buying this holiday weekend. I guess I'll be walking by again tomorrow to get my answer.

The problem with middle grade books is that sometimes as an adult, the whimsy isn't whimsical, it is just downright weird. Eddie is the most normal in his family and each book is a separate adventure, though I'd recommend reading all 3. I wonder how the adults in his family are still alive, to be honest. Cute enough with a few really good moments' I'm not mad I read them, but I can't say they were great.

Currently reading this book. So far, so good, even if the MC, at 20 years old, is a bit compulsive & naive.

1. Selfie: This is me last week.
2. 2 facts about my selfie: I had just voted for the second time ever & this was my first I Voted sticker. I hadn't been that excited to get a sticker since 3rd grade.
3. Tag @howjessreads and #friyayintro to share yours!

These are the books I really want to finish this month. I am behind on my personal challenge of 12 items so Rabid Heart (loosely) covers fantasy book, Hitchhiker's was written in my birth year, and the two Eddie Dickens finish up a trilogy (in any genre so middle grade it is!). I also want to read If I Could Turn Back Time while I'm still 38. That will leave 3 more to read for my challenge in December.

1. Trick 'r Treat, House of 1000 Corpses, & The Crow
2. Only 3.5 books, but life took over for a couple weeks.
3. Netflix a couple spooky movies & maybe a drink at the dive bar around the corner.
4. Do I have cash? Vacation. If not, deep clean & organize the apartment & lots of reading.
5. My skull decorations seem normal, gory movies, & the little kids in their costumes.
#humpdaypost @mindea

This picture only represents half of the Twilight and Hunger Games books donated to the Livingston, NJ library sale. I think it's safe to say that if you ever see a book craft you want to make but don't want to cut up a book, you're good if you pick up one of these second hand for $1.

My haul from a book sale to benefit a local school. The lady at the payment table noted my YA & Middle Grade books & asked "Oh, didn't you find anything for yourself?"

Um, these ARE for me. ?

Do you ever cast a book in your head? For this one I see Joanna Garcia Swisher as Ava & Kristofer Hivju as Caleb. Maybe I'll make this #CastingCall a thing. I'd love to see yours!

3.5 stars for this uneven romance. It felt like a Hallmark Channel movie with some garbage plot points but decent sexy times. Strong side characters. Some redundancy & lots of telling not showing. Luckily, I find douchey characters funny. In real life, not so much.

Settling in to read an early copy I received from FirstToRead. Quiet time is needed after a long day. I managed to get my car stuck in some flood water yards away from where I work. Luckily I work at a hotel so I've got a warm place to stay, if a haphazard outfit of random clothes I had around while my other ones dry.

A little #HarryPotter mashup. 🤣