pickThese boys kept me company while I finished this last night. And it was EVERYTHING! I loved it so much! What an epic tale, so well-spun, so much heart. Highly recommend!
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4469199793?book_show_action=false
#doublespin @TheAromaofBooks
Determined to finish this one tonight. Only about a hundred pages left, but I am so in love with these characters and all their stories! 💙💛
“But for me, your mother, just remember that, for better or worse, we can be described as survivors. Okay? Know that we‘ve always kept on living. What else could we have done?”
Finishing up my #bookspin book & watching the championship game. I liked this one, but I didn‘t love it. It‘s an important read, I just didn‘t fully connect to it. Plus, short stories often aren‘t my thing. Looking forward to more reading now that football is almost over.
Monday, after a holiday, first of the year in the pharmacy is T-O-U-G-H! Relaxing just a little with a #bathandabook before I crash pretty early tonight. This is one harrowing listen so far!
ETA: Finished and really liked this one! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4451095850
Hoping for some success with my first #bookspinbingo board of 2022. Pretty excited for a lot of these!
Ready to start the new year off right with @TheAromaofBooks and some #bookspin #bookspinbingo
pickYep, it was that good. The pace is slow, which is what makes it real. Which is what makes you feel it. The impossibility of it all. The lengths we will go to to protect our children. I can‘t imagine this not becoming a movie or a limited series at some point.
Hoping for something quick, romantic, and fun. Don‘t know if this will deliver or not. Mixed reviews plus I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of romance these days, so we shall see...
Hoping for a much calmer May so I can actually have time to post/review what I read. As always, looking forward to #bookspin and #doublespin books and trying for that elusive #bookspinbingo
Edit: added #bookspin and #doublespin books
pickApril was just the craziest month! I‘m sitting here trying to get my May layout ready in my journal, and realizing that I needed to write something about my April #bookspin book. I had grand plans to write a review, because I loved it! But it‘s just not gonna happen. But it was one of my favorites of the month. I‘ll have my May list together soon, I hope I hope! 😬
pickI‘m on a serious Jason Reynolds kick after finishing his Stamped Remix (which I haven‘t been able to put into words how phenomenal I thought it was, listening straight through twice). This is the story of two high school boys, one black, one white, dealing with the fallout of police brutality. This & the events of this last week reminded me yet again how many more names could be added to this protest sign from last summer. It‘s heartbreaking.
pickShuggie and Sunshine. Finally finished this one today, out back while enjoying a few rays before we get another freeze. Most of this was on audio for me. 18 hours of dark & tragic heartbreak. While I thought it was a very good book, it was a VERY tough read. It shows how very bleak it is to love someone so much who will never, ever be able to help themselves. Even if, at times, they truly believe they are going to try. 💔#doublespin
pick“Love comes paired with failures, apologies for deficiencies. The only remedy is compassion.”
This is my favorite of 2021 so far! ⬇️
So close to a #bookspinbingo this month, but not enough time to finish Anxious People. Can‘t wait to try again in April!
My #doublespin book is going to have to be a DNF for now. I got a little over 1/3 of the way through and had to pause. It is very good, but very dense. And hard to read/listen. While I enjoyed it, I am not in the right reading mindset at the moment. So I‘ll think about it & try again at a later time.
“Little brother” Ray-Ray said, “there are enough monsters in this world.”
This is a story of destruction. The power that monsters found in this world to destroy an ancestral people, and the power that grief finds to destroy a family. It is also a story of attempted recovery. Overall, I loved the themes of the book, even if I didn‘t completely love the magical realism of the spiritual journey that most of the characters were on.
#bookspin
pickPlaying catch-up on some reviews for March. Finished this one on St Patrick‘s Day with our annual Irish red ale, so it seemed pretty fitting. This is the harrowing tale of life inside a Dublin maternity ward in 2018. We are smack in the midst of the Spanish flu pandemic, World War I, and the Irish Uprising. It all seemed eerily familiar and often times hit way too close to reality for our lives in 2020. It is also feels very personal to anyone ⬇️
pickTwo things that I adore: pie & birds! But still, without #booked2021 #bakedgoodsoncover I probably never would have picked this one up. Magical realism is a genre that is pretty out of the ordinary for me. But it was a light, airy, and fun read too, so I quite enjoyed it!
Keeping Miss Percy company today after her spay surgery & some icky post-op complications. Hoping she‘s on the road to feeling much better. Also, really enjoying this choice for #booked2021 #mustacheonthecover so far!
“On the island of By-the-Sea you could always smell two things: salt and magic.”
Well, when the prompt calls for #beach I have to go back almost 2 years to the last real vacation we had. But desperate times and whatnot. Hopefully someday we‘ll all get to travel and see loved ones again! Until then, we‘ve got photos & books. And photos of books! 🤣🤣 #litsyspringbreak
pickThis little girl wanted to stop me from finishing the last 40 pages of my 2nd #bookspin book. She didn‘t succeed, and I‘m so glad. This book was beautiful from beginning to end!
Side note, I am so thankful to @TheAromaofBooks for hosting Book Spin! It has been the one thing that has finally helped me focus my scattered TBR thoughts. It has been enormously helpful & I feel so accomplished to get through these 2 every month! Review in comments ⬇️
pickLast Wednesday we were buried under 9 inches of snow & sub-zero temps, this week I got to read barefoot outside in almost 70° temps. Got to love OK weather! But I adored this book, both the audio & print versions. Highly recommend!
“What people wanted to be, but never could, traveled along beside them. Company.”
Finished this #bookspin book tonight, and I need some time to process. It was an enjoyable, though tough to stomach, climate change-esque novel. It was also a scathing review of the generations that have come before the narrator. Of which, I think I‘m a part of? I don‘t know. It‘s gonna take some time to wade through my thoughts. But I didn‘t hate it!
so-soFinished this novella tonight for #booked2021 sci-fi written by a woman. It really packed a punch for such a quick read. And the audio was pretty amazing. The world building and folklore were so fantastic. I felt very connected to the MC. I was just let down a little by the lack of resolution on the science fiction parts. I very rarely read sci-fi, so it was hard for me that it was pretty open ended at the last.
pickFinishing this one up today, and decided to mix a drink in honor of Don‘s amazing bartending skills. 🤣 This book was so much fun, and an unexpected breath of fresh air. Listening while driving I found myself lol‘ing. This is why I really love reading challenges, because I don‘t know if I would have picked it up otherwise. #booked2021 #setinaustralia
pickStarted reading my #doublespin book when we were at the cabin last weekend & finished listening to the audiobook tonight. Overall, even though it was a long journey, & I don‘t alway like flashbacks, I really liked it! 300 years of being forgotten every day are turned upside down & sideways by 3 little words. Even though I usually like things wrapped up in a neat little bow, I thought the ending was unique and just what this epic story deserved.
Gonna give this #botm pick a try for #booked2021 (Author‘s first name starts with A, B, or C). I‘ve seen mixed reviews. But seriously in love with this cover! 💕
pickWhat a cast of characters! What a connection! What a ride! In an awe inducing adventure, where everything and nothing seems to make sense, we find an intertwined group that we can‘t help but love. And by the end, we are rooting for everyone‘s happiness. I can see why this is on a lot of people‘s best-of 2020. It was a big messy bunch of fun, followed by a whole lot of hope.
Finally had time to finish my #bookspin book & what a great pick!
Enjoying a little #readingoutside time on my day off. The audiobook of this is also fantastically done! I‘m loving it as well. It is getting colder by the minute out here though, so I‘ll be moving inside before long. 🥶
Woohoo! Super excited about my #bookspin and #doublespin January books. One is available on Libby & one on Scribd! 31 hours of listening coming up. Can‘t wait to get started! 🤗
Ready to kick 2021 into high gear with the #bfc21 challenge! Here are some goals, that may need adjusting. But I‘ve already hit several of them today, thanks to a wonderful New Year‘s snow storm! ❄️☃️🙌🏻
7 hours/week audio listening
5 books/month
Close all 3 activity rings 21 days/month
3 liters of water daily
Monitor health 21 days/month
1 continuing ed/learning activity per week
Journal majority of days
Family night/activity twice weekly
Ready to start 2021 off right with another #bookspin and #doublespin month. I really enjoyed my first one in December & made both my books! My #bookspinbingo needs a little more work, but I can‘t wait to dive in!
Trying to finish up a few more before the end of the year, and this one is so beautiful!
1/3/21: A heartbreaking look at loss & grief, the price of addiction, and the struggle for answers in those that are left behind. It also speaks to the personal pain of those trapped between science and religion, and the search for answers in either, when neither can fully satisfy the defining of the human experience.
Starting another #botm book for #bookspinbingo and the weather decided to help set the scene & get us in the holiday mood.
Edit: Finished this one before Christmas, and honestly it left me feeling a little grinchy. 😩 I wasn‘t 100% invested in the sappy Mae & Andrew romance. I think it just didn‘t hit me in the feels like I wanted. Once again I‘m reminded how stingy I am with giving my heart to pure, sweet ‘romance‘ style books. #doublespin
pickFinished my first book for December #bookspin tonight. I really enjoyed it! I alternated between audiobook & reading, and I definitely enjoyed the narration as well. There are multiple viewpoints & it alternates between the hours before the crash and several years after. I found that bothersome at first, because there are a lot of characters introduced. It comes together in the end, even if I much preferred the moments with Edward & Shay overall.
Got this made last night for my first ever #bookspinbingo and am really looking forward to getting started!
Both of these #bookspin and #doublespin books are #botm books that I am excited to check off my TBR! Can‘t wait to get started!
For my first #bookspin and #doublespin ever, I went heavy on the best books I should have read in 2020. Hey, better late than never, right? I also have several BOTM choices that I need to check off my list. Super excited to give this a try!
I‘m also gonna attempt #bookspinbingo so I added some Christmas options at 21-25, with the alternative of just making them free spaces. Can‘t wait to give this a go too! Thanks again @TheAromaofBooks
It‘s supposed to rain later & get much cooler here in Oklahoma than the beautiful days we‘ve had recently. So I‘m out on the deck trying to soak up the last little bit of non-dreary days. I‘m also putting all my effort towards an end of the year #bookofthemonth reading push! My #botm bookshelf tbr needs a lot of help!
Do you have a favorite BOTM book of the year? I‘d love some input as to what to read (or listen to) next!
I‘ve read this book twice. I adore it! Both times I read it before, it was with a huge sense of “what might have been.” If we had been a successful country with our first female president. Now I‘ll read it again, without that touch of sadness, thanks to today‘s historic meaning. We have also been hard at work the last 2 weeks cleaning up after a terrible ice storm, so I‘m going to sit here in my rockers on the front porch & just breathe. 💙❤️🤍
Just finished Beartown & am so glad I had this on hand to start tonight! Thank you @JanuarieTimewalker13 I am all snuggled in my recliner as hubby & the kiddo watch some Netflix. It‘s so cold outside, under this blanket is the only place I wanna be!
Fall weather has finally arrived in Oklahoma! 🧡🤎🍁🍂🤎🧡 Burrr! And it has brought the spooky along with it! I‘m not much of a scary book reader, but I do love me some Headless Horseman! 🎃 Just so eerie! Washington Irving sure knew how to spin a gothic short story!
I am listening to Beartown (after just having finished A Man Called Ove) and trying to pull myself up out of this ditch that 2020 has thrown me in. Fredrik Backman might be my savior right now! Plus I‘ve got this sweet fluffy helper! 😻😹
#litsylove is finally going out, and I just wanted to say that I have appreciated all the sympathy & celebratory cards and tags and comments I have received from everyone. Responses are coming! 💕📝💌📬
UwannaPublishme, Crazeedi, TheBookHippie, JenlovesJT47, aroc, Bookwormjillk, Laughterhp, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, Lovesbooks87, Catsandbooks, Kaila-ann, Allylu, ImperfectCJ, Cupcake12, BayouGirl85, Chelsey_5, dana_says
Where to begin??
Good Morning Friends ☀️ Some of you know that in January my dad passed away very unexpectedly. 💔 He was so full of life & goodness that it has really dimmed my days to know he is gone. Needless to say, things have been piling up. My BOTMs haven‘t even make it out of the plastic for 4 months. So today, I‘m going to try to make this beautiful day brighter & pick one of these babies up. Anybody read any of these they loved? 💙📚💕
Came home from work to #bookmail so got to enjoy the last few minutes of a gorgeous day. Winter weather expected this weekend, but we haven‘t had much so that‘s okay.
Also thinking of this one for my #Booked2020 #liveandlearn prompt. Since I don‘t usually read graphic novels & this is a unique subject, I think it fits!
Had this sweetie help me draw winners for the #bookbasketgiveaway before our rush out the door to volleyball practice! Just to be totally non-biased! 😊 Congrats to...
@JanuarieTimewalker13 BOOK BASKET WINNER
@peaknit $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD
@TheAromaofBooks $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD
If you‘ll email me at larapesek@gmail.com & send your addresses, I‘ll be sending you goodies soon! Thanks again to those who entered, I loved seeing your creativity!
