whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 12 & 13}

It’s that time of year
when I realize that I have
really gotten behind in posting
the books I have read
and that I am not going to be able
to catch up without
posting multiples so here is
my last read for May
and my first read for June.

IT ENDS WITH US - COLLEEN HOOVER
♥♥♥♥

I am actually not really sure
what to say about this book.
I found the writing a little light…
it attempts to pack a lot into one story.
It does make a valiant effort to pull back
the curtain on how one gets into a
situation like this…and
how a person’s mind will try to
rationalize (and even excuse) another person’s behavior…
even though
you really do know better.

Also curious about the movie now
so that is also on my list.

MEET ME BY THE LAKE - CARLEY FORTUNE
♥♥♥♥

Similar to the book above,
I found the writing a little light.
It was a nice, quick start of summer read
for me and so it served
that purpose well.

I do really love her characters
and would be more than willing
to give her other books a try.

NEXT UP: FUNNY STORY - EMILY HENRY

whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 11}

Inspired by true events,
set in World War II era…
it's a story of 3 women
and the importance
of the written word….
the power of books…
the power of love.

4 ♥️♥️♥️♥️ out of 5 hearts
NEXT UP: IT ENDS WITH US - COLEEN HOOVER

whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 1-3}

Most of January’s book reading time
was absorbed (happily)
by A Court of Wings & Ruin
but the month isn’t over yet.
:)

I find reading about subjects
that I am currently processing
in my head and my heart
to be helpful.
Not always and not all of it
but I have to admit that there
are always some little kernels of
truth or hope or “oh…that’s me, too!”
that I find helpful.

So I am not going to rate the first book
other than to say
that it was helpful in some ways
and it made me think.

Book 2 was the “Draw Everything” book
which was interesting
and I enjoyed playing with some of the
examples and suggestions.

Book 3. Oh. Book 3.
Which is the 3rd in this series
and SOOOOO good.
It took me a little bit to read cause…
well…pages. Lots of pages.
But it kept me enthralled from start to finish
and surprised me in a couple of
tense hold-your-breath spots.
♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5 for that one!

NEXT UP:: BEACH READ - EMILY HENRY
cause I need a little lightness…and I love her books.

and part of the bookmark project! :)

What are YOU reading?? :)

whatcha readin'? {goal 40:: MISSION COMPLETE}

It’s no surprise that I
totally did not keep on top
of updating the blog
with all the books
I read in 2023
but I DID hit my goal of
forty
just by the skin of my teeth
but I did it
so that is all that matters in
the big orange house.

Here is what I read…in list form…
cause it’s 2024 and, frankly,
I’m over it.

1. Frankenstein - hated. Literally HATED this book

2. House in the Pines - Ana Reyes
   ♥♥♥♥

3. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
   ♥♥♥♥♥

4. Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch
   ♥♥♥♥

5. Life after Life - Kate Atkinson (this book was a struggle but beautiful but also made me want to hurl it into the ocean)
   ♥♥♥

6. She Who Became the Sun - Shelly Parker Chan
   ♥♥♥♥♥

7. Whiskey in a Teacup - The Adorable Reese Witherspoon
   ♥♥♥♥

8. Slammed - Colleen Hoover
   ♥♥♥

9. The Book of Goethel - Mary McMyne
   ♥♥♥♥♥

10. Bone Black - bell hooks
    ♥♥♥

11. The End of Her - Shari Lapegna
    ♥♥♥

12. Call Me Zelda - Erika Robuck
    ♥♥♥♥

13. Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur {audio book}
    ♥♥♥

14. Really Good Actually - Monica Heisey
    ♥♥♥♥

15. Molly’s Game - Molly Bloom
    ♥♥♥♥♥

16. Demon Copperfield - Barbara Kingsolver
    ♥♥♥♥

17. A Court of Thorns & Roses - Sarah J Maas
    ♥♥♥♥♥

18. I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jeannette McCurdy
    ♥♥♥♥

19. The Whole Body Reset - Stephen Perinne
    ♥♥♥♥

20. Happy Place - Emily Henry
    ♥♥♥♥

21. A Court of Mist & Fury - Sarah J Maas
♥♥♥♥♥

22. I Carried You Home -
♥♥♥

23. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
♥♥♥

24. New Boy - Tracy Chevalier
♥♥♥♥

25. Homecoming - Kate Morton
♥♥♥♥♥

26. Breaking the Girl - Kim Corum
♥♥♥♥

27. Hello Beautiful Ann Napolitano
♥♥♥♥♥

28. A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenburg
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

29. Expected Loss; Anticipatory Grief - Alan Woolfelt
♥♥♥♥♥

30. From Scratch - Tembi Locke
♥♥♥♥

31. Did you hear about Kitty Karr - Crystal Smith Paul
♥♥♥♥

32. The 5 am Rule - Robin Sharma
{i hated this with ALL my heart.
if i could give negative hearts, i would.}

33. It’s OK to Laugh - Nora McInerney Puemon
♥♥♥♥ .5

34. Book Lovers - Emily Henry
♥♥♥♥♥

35. How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa
♥♥♥.5 {mainly because I don’t love short stories}

36. Self Care for Grief -Nneka M Okona
♥♥♥♥

37. One Day in December - Josie Silver
♥♥♥♥♥ {this one surprised me that i would
love it so much}

38. Surviving the Holidays with you - Gary Roe
♥♥♥

39. Ugly Love - Colleen Hoover
♥♥♥♥

40. Inside Out - Demi Moore
♥♥♥♥

41. Evidence of the Affair - Taylor Jenkins Reid
♥♥♥

Note: I realized as I was typing
these out that I had miscounted
in my list so I actually read
forty ONE books this year. :)

and took a LOT of photos of
my books as I was reading them…
this was just a few of them.
:D

whatcha readin'? {goal 40::book 4}

And yes, I am back to the YA
side of the fence…
reconnecting with my inner 13 year old
who can now
READ ANYTHING SHE WANTS
and doesn’t have to rely on
what is only available in the
MCS library OR
the bookmobile
especially after being banned
from both
for not returning books
(I have good intentions but
a long history of never returning a book…
don’t lend me any…heh…
plus…shhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone but…
I fold the corners…)

Sidenote…thinking about this
really makes me wanna read all the
Sweet Valley High books that I
missed out on back then. Heh.

So anyway…
what can I say about this?
It was a fun, feel good
quick read that made me happy.

If you like feel good make you happy books
that don’t require a lot of thinking,
then you should read it too! :)
I’d lend you my copy but I already lost it
plus…you know….the pages are all bent and foldy….

♥♥♥♥ 4 out of 5
NEXT UP:: LIFE AFTER LIFE- KATE ATKINSON