Stephen King is a tough love writing mentor, but I'm getting a lot out of it. Day 6: current read #riotgrams

This quiz nailed it on the head. Hufflepuff forever.

I think the worst villain is literature is Kathy from East of Eden. I'm the mother of a boy named Cal (named after the character, too!) so I figured a selfie would do (rainy day frizzies and all) Day 4: Favorite villain. #riotgrams

Perfection. I love where it says that snow tells us that things don't last forever but memories do.

Le library haul. Books come in faster than I can read them.

Day 3: one word title #riotgrams I bought this on a whim at Powells when we visited this summer. Haven't read it yet!

My four year old brought this home from preschool and I've never seen him laugh so hard at a book! It's about a pea who has to eat candy for dinner so he can have his spinach dessert. My kiddo is not a great eater so maybe this will make him want veggies 😂 Either way this is a win!

Day 2: Where I read. Usually with my back up against that wall while my kiddos play together. Not pretty but real life. Haha. #riotgrams

I loved the plot and story. I thought it was powerful and engaging. However, this book needed a stronger editing hand. There was quite a bit of tense switching, which I found very distracting. There were also several typos in the book. So read, but try and close your editing eyes if that is the type of thing that bugs you.

Day 1: Shelfie #riotgrams The TBR/music bookcase

To be honest, not everything about this little book on creativity and how it shows God in our lives resonated with me. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or what, exactly. But there were also moments that really spoke to me and were very beautiful. So despite the fact that I didn't absolutely adore it, I feel like it was a valuable use of time and that I learned from it.

Not for the faint of heart.

It's more readable than I expected -- I was thinking it would be dense and hard to understand for some reason (maybe the National Book award). But very dark, very violent, very graphic. I don't know how it couldn't have been. It's not easy to read, but definitely worthwhile.

This short little read was fun but not a must read. The problem with great movies is that I really need them to be great books, because that is the full immersive experience for me. I knew this wasn't going to be that, but I do need more of my favorite Hufflepuff.

This book was so interesting and creative... but at times was too gimmicky. Also, it was just really dark and I didn't necessarily enjoy it. Worth reading but not my favorite.

This was a beautifully written book with good insights into human nature. It did take me FOREVER to read -- I wasn't sucked into reading it quickly, but I appreciated it when I did pick it up.

So, I don't watch much tv. Apparently celebrity memoirs are my tv. I loved this. I thought she was hilarious (if also inappropriate), and very relatable.

Browsers Books (our local indie) haul. I have problems. (Good ones)

Library haul today. My four year old (who thinks he's Jacques Cousteau) pulled the field guide to fishes off the shelves.

Don't get me wrong -- this was gorgeously written and stunningly executed. It's definitely a masterpiece. But the choices the characters made bothered me so much I couldn't properly say I enjoyed it or recommend it.

There were some good concepts in here, but I didn't agree with all the theology. Definitely some things to ponder.

This was good. Not earth-shattering, but definitely amusing and well-written. And hooray for learning secrets about Gilmore Girls!

I thought the first essay was funny but then the humor veered waaaaaaaay too dark. It was not funny, just disturbing. I've never read Sedaris so maybe my expectations were off. I didn't finish. Too bad -- I'd saved this for a Christmas Eve holiday treat and it was just ick.

I resonate more with her poetry than these essays, but she still has the knack of hitting a truth square on the head with a few spare, lovely words.

What to even say about this. Lovely writing, deeply moving, disturbing, heartbreaking.

I read a Mitford book every Christmas. This one was short and sweet, and I loved how it delved briefly into the love stories of many of the townspeople. These are so cozy and I just love them.

Adorable. It wasn't quite up to the first, but almost. I love how Lily is so exuberant (a little less so in this book, but it gets better) and how Dash is this moody bookish philosophical hipster hater (my teenage dream). And David Levithan is so incisive about love. I love his writing. Merry Christmas to me!

When that book you've been waiting for comes in the day before you travel for Christmas.

I read this for book club. I never would have picked it up on my own but I did like it. The apothecary elements were interesting, it read well, and the action kept me going. I liked it-- it just didn't have that special sparkle that makes me love a book. But I am going to read the sequel.

Preach.

I wanted to love this -- it's so in my wheelhouse. And I liked it. The writing was good, the content was interesting. But it just didn't quite mesh and I'm not sure why. Worth a read but not a raver.