February #bookspin list!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved how quickly this book moves. And the illustrations are incredible! I love a book with something extra lol the ending was bonkers but super entertaining. I will definitely pick up his other book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really loved the latest from Mandel. I read this along with a reread of Station Eleven and Glass Hotel. It helped me understand her whole point about time. This one I think is written very beautifully.

January 2023 #bookspin!

A little late with my December #bookspin list lol

⭐️⭐️⭐️ So this starts off sooo well! Super intriguing and great detail of characters and scenarios. Loved that we got different perspectives from different passengers on the plane. But the reason for the hostage situation just totally fell flat to me. The reason did not justify such high stakes. I recommend this one for the thriller writing but just be prepared that the reasoning is a little weak.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was my November #doublespin No. 9 pick. Excellent!!!! I had this on my shelf for like 6 years. So happy I finally picked it up. The writing is beautiful. The story is powerful and the reveals are so well placed. So many endearing characters. Can‘t praise this one enough!

⭐️ This was my November #bookspin No. 19 pick. It was just not for me. Most of the female characters had one trait: horny. The women had no character depth. And the invasion of spiders happens so slowly that urgency and fear doesn‘t come through. I won‘t be reading the second one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was my September #doublespin No. 20 pick. I mostly liked these short stories using different myths and folktales containing love stories. I do recommend reading one story in a sitting instead of binging more at one time. Some of the stories sounded very similar if you read too many in a row.

#bookspin This is my November #bookspin list. I‘m going to try to make a push these last two months to get to all the books I‘ve not read yet this year that were previously picked. So hard to keep up 😂

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this newest Malfi book. I loved Come with Me. This brings a little more horror elements to the story. It does a good job taking the IT plot line and giving it a different spin and a very creepy main villain. Definitely recommend the audio for this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This wasn‘t the best Agatha Christie I‘ve read but I did like the commentary on the cruelty of kids. Even though it didn‘t really have much to do with kids in the end lol the conclusion was a bit convoluted but it was a quick listen.

DNF I tried multiple times to get into this one. I even got the audiobook from the library thinking that would help. It did not. This just wasn‘t for me. Usually love a noir but this didn‘t feel like a noir to me. But looking forward to his latest book

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely loved this true crime book about the Candy Montgomery/Betty Gore murder case from the early 80s. John Bloom (aka Joe Bob Briggs) and Atkinson did a very good job going through the events of that day and right after and the women‘s backstory. Recommend for true crime lovers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a very well done story highlighting a young woman of the 18th century who doesn‘t get married off right away like her sisters. Mary Bennett does something so unusual for her era: she figures herself out first. Very honest portrayal of girl told by all that she needs to settle for any man because she‘s not conventionally attractive or wealthy and believes the nonsense she‘s told before growing into herself. #pemberlittens

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a very fun Jane Austen mystery that had a lot of dangerous sleuthing moments that were pretty intense. It also included a lot of interesting history on smuggling during Jane‘s era. Thanks #pemberlittens and #janeandtheexcellentreadalong

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I learned so much about henna from this book. I will admit I didn‘t really understand what henna was but this book taught me that artists have different styles and paint different images to help with certain needs and occasions. I would definitely recommend this for historical fiction lovers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amazing. This was my second time reading this one and I loved it just as much. This is such an important book. Honest. The Interlude is one of the best pieces of writing I‘ve read. Very much recommend especially since Thanksgiving is around the corner.

I did not get a chance to post my #bookspin list for October 🤦🏻‍♀️ This is the list and now I know #9 and #10 were picked so my books are Black Cake and After Dark. Getting so behind 🙈

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Love this book! It was my second time reading it. It was as gripping and poignant as the first time I read it. I love that not everything gets wrapped up in a bow at the end. The characters are so realistic. The writing is smooth and the story keeps moving. Even though it‘s a long read, it‘s so engrossing that you keep turning the page. Thank you #sundaybuddyread for a great discussion once again and giving me a chance to reread this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I learned a lot from the beginning of this memoir. Johnson discusses his childhood, teenage, and YA experiences as a gay black boy. His goal is to help other young gay black boys with questions they might have going through a similar experience. I liked the beginning very much but then his goal seemed to go off track a little bit as the book continues.

Thanks for the tag @Sargar114

This is so hard! But the tagged book has really stuck with me all year.

Runners up:
Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Nightmare Alley by Lindsay William Gresham
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was my second time reading this favorite! I read the Penguin Vitae edition this time. Just an amazing story about small town communities and a major insight into the two halves of Shirley Jackson‘s own personality. Very much recommend this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I finally finished this #pemberlitten pick. I really loved the dry humor and all the talk of “excellent” women. Mildred is an “excellent” woman because she‘s bright and considerate and a good listener and can be friends with men without pressuring them to marry her 🙄 “excellent” being synonymous with doormat. Really smart comedy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ So I discovered this childhood favorite on Libby and had to reread it to connect with my child self lol there were some odd racial statements made that I found a bit cringy. I also couldn‘t stand Stacey and how materialistic she was and acted like a bratty teen to her mom. But I loved the mom standing by her daughter when the new neighbor accuses Stacey of stealing. There was a really scary scene midway but the reveal was very tame 😆

⭐️ I listened to this one and was not thrilled. I get this was trying to say that privileged boys can‘t keep getting away with bad behavior but it was executed so weakly. It was not shocking and the whole point fell apart at the end. This one was not for me.

#FirstLineFridays

“My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood.”

⭐️⭐️ This book started off so good. The first two chapters were excellent! But then other female characters were introduced and had their own chapters and the book diverged into too many different situations. I wasn‘t as interested in the other characters‘ stories. I just wanted to get back to Glory and Mary Rose. I also didn‘t like the glib tone. These women are strong but the writing didn‘t represent that strength to me. #doublespin July No. 15

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved reading this with the #pemberlittens during the #janeandtheexcellentreadalong. I thought it was well written and used similar Austen tropes and styles throughout this one mystery. I thought the mystery suited the time period and an Austen novel. I took a minute for the mystery to get underway but other than that I had a blast reading this. On to book 2!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I absolutely loved this book! The audio was excellent! I listened at my desk at work with tears running down my face. Loved how in between the two main voices, Alma and Mayor, there were different South American characters who lived in the apartment building telling their stories. It just heightened the book‘s emotional level. I highly recommend this one!

#bookspin September list!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved the rewilding storyline in this book and all of the details on wolves. But I did not like the mystery or the way the mystery was resolved. I think the point of the story could have been told just through the wolf story and not through the mystery storyline. This was my May #bookspin pick No. 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this story for the adventure and the thrills. I will say that I didn‘t love how by the end it sounded like I was being lectured to instead of being told a story. But I did like the story once the lecturing ceased.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved my first step into Newford! I‘m looking forward to reading more about this magical and fantastical town! My favorite story in this collection was The Big Sky. Definitely recommend for those who haven‘t read the excellent writing of de Lint.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another great ghost story/mystery from a favorite author! I liked the main characters a lot and the discussions with #sundaybuddyread were a blast as usual! Thank you @TheBookHippie !!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This one made me cry multiple times. It‘s a very good revenge story. I thought it discussed issues of race and sexuality very poignantly with respect and honesty. I‘m glad I grabbed this one from BOTM. This was my #bookspin No. 12 pick from July.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The second book in Valentino‘s Villains series focuses on the jerk beast in Beauty and the Beast. Loved how she makes Gaston a friend of the prince before he‘s turned into the beast. It would make sense those two were friends before the curse. Another good one. On to book 3!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I reread this one since I finally got all of the books that are out in this series. I loved it both times and now realize the connections between all of the books 😂 this one shines a lot on how the Evil Queen became so vain. It‘s very well done.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ex baby cellent contemporary story about a single woman being pressured by her family to marry. Funny and sad. Can‘t wait to discuss at book club this week lol

#bookspin Here is my August list. I just added two more books to the list I used last month. Excited to see the picks!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ loved every minute of this book! It was fun and scandalous and heartwarming and a great book to read in the summer. Thank you to #sundaybuddyread for great discussions this month!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed this Goon Squad follow up book. The background theme has to do with a memory storing platform but most characters opt out of storing their memories. It‘s mostly about people in a technological advanced world. I really liked this one. I think I liked Goon Squad but I definitely recommend this is you enjoyed its predecessor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book about a man who gets enslaved in a sand pit with a woman who we had a lot of thoughts and ideas about at book club. Was the woman another slave or was she in on the scheme to enslave the man? A very thought provoking book and made me think a lot about social tiers and the drudgery of life that we are beaten into accepting until we think there‘s nothing more to life. I recommend this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I had no clue while reading this that it was really written as an internet serial. It explains why there was little plot development and more character building. There were some great ideas in this one about being transported to a magical land but being faced with diplomatic issues instead of magic but it never developed into a story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This story was just as good as I remember it when I was a kid. The camera story was inspired by a Twilight Zone episode which R.L. Stine confirmed in an interview. But this book really twists the scares and creates very good tension. Another fun story to listen to.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This audiobook was fun to listen to. The story sort of falls apart at the end and doesn‘t really make a whole lot of sense but it was still a fun listen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read this to prep for Candy House which we are reading for book club. I enjoyed this one very much. I liked reading about how different people were connected to one another and how some characters evolved as the years went by. It was very well written. I‘m hoping I enjoy Candy House just as much.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was excellent! The classic film was my first experience with this story. The movie captures this book so well but the book has so much honest grit and frightening yet realistic troubled people. The ending is also perfection. Highly recommend this one. This was my April #bookspin pick No. 18 pick.

#bookspin July list. I decided to switch things up and created a list of BOTM books and Night Worms books I haven‘t gotten to yet.

⭐️⭐️ So I am not a sports fan. I read this one for a book club or else I never would have picked up a sports book. There were too many play by plays for me since I have no interest in sports. I would have preferred more history on South Sudan and the life of the family stuck in a refugee camp.