Category Archives: Books

The Top Ten Books I Could Re-read Forever

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Could Re-read Forever. I haven’t done a TTT topic since last JUNE! Time to get back into the game! This week’s list is in no particular order.

1. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

2. Let’s All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys

4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

6. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

6. Finding Alice by Melody Carlson

7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

8. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

9. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

10. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

What books could you re-read forever? 

What I Read in January

I’ve decided to try a new feature this year, where each month I recap what I read. (I was inspired by by Chelsea at The Girl Who Loved to Write.)

You would think I made a New Year’s resolution to read a bunch of audiobooks, but it honestly just sort of happened as I started running low on my podcast queue. So while I only read three books with my eyeballs from start to finish in January, I’ve read eight additional books thanks to the wonders of the audiobook.

The Audiobook Reads:

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (Middle grade contemporary)

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys (reread) (Young adult historical fiction)

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (Non-fiction/self-help)

Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater (Middle grade fantasy contemporary) – The narrators were absolutely perfect for bringing this story to life!

Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan (Humor)

Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling (reread) – I listened to this solely because it was narrated by Eddie Redmayne, ha ha… (Fiction)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (reread) (Young adult fiction)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (reread) (Young adult fiction) – I actually can’t remember if I finished this in January or early February but let’s just say January…

Read With my Eyeballs:

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows (Young adult fantasy)

Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (Classic literature)

(DNF at page 146) Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore (Young adult fiction)

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes (Young adult contemporary)

Favorites?

I have to say that rereading Salt to the Sea was such a good life decision, holy cow. Read it if you haven’t already! The audiobook of it was pretty good too. I also still love The Hunger Games. As far as new reads, I really enjoyed Goodbye Stranger, Rilla of Ingleside, and Girl Against the Universe. Time will tell which is my real favorite of the month.

DNF Already?

I can’t believe this. I purposely set aside about one book a year without the intention of ever picking it back up. Most years it’s late in the year, last year it was March, and this year it was freaking January. And it was a book I bought in hardcover. Disappointed is such an understatement. The concept was so cool, but I just didn’t like any of the characters.

Next month I hope to format this in a way that’s a little more interesting and in a more timely fashion. Let me know what you would like to know about my reads each month!

What did you read in January? Which was your favorite? 

Monthly Recap: December

My slacker self is finally getting around to my last monthly recap for 2017! I have to be honest, December was a bit of a blur, as the Christmas season tends to be. So this recap will be pretty brief.

Books I Read

What Light by Jay Asher

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (reread)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (reread)

I Am Pusheen the Cat by Claire Belton

#bookstagram Images of the Month


Watched

Some Christmas movies, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (I shared my brief thoughts here), and we finished up our rewatch of Star Trek Voyager (top episodes posts coming soon) and started Enterprise.

Looking Forward to in 2018

A fresh start! Some things I’ve got planned: a concert in April in nearby Chattanooga, vacation to Florida in May… That’s all for now. And March Madness will be here before you know it and I’m hoping for another appearance and stellar performance by my Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders! Fingers crossed!

What was your favorite memory of 2017? Mine is visiting Savannah in September. 

My Top 10 Books of 2017

I have to admit that 2017 was not my favorite reading year with only two true five-star reads that still don’t quite live up to last year’s five-star reads. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed all 10 of these books very much (all but one are at least 4.5 stars for me), and I enjoyed other books that didn’t make the list, but it was just not a WOW year for books. Of course, last year was the Anne of Green Gables year so of course it rocked. But here are my top 10 books of the year…

10. A Wrinkle in Time

This was my first time to read this classic and I can see why it’s endured. While I didn’t get around to read the second book in 2017, I would like to in 2018. I found the resolution a little predictable, but it was probably not as much of a trope back then as it is now.

9. Rose Under Fire

This book was a tough read but so, so good. It took me a while to get into Code Name Verity but I ultimately appreciated what it did, but I felt like I connected with Rose Under Fire pretty quickly. Would recommend for anyone looking for a compelling WWII story.

8. Take A Bow

Take a Bow follows four students at a performing arts school, and the storyline of two of the four I really adored. Another one I liked and the other was awful, though that was the point, but it did hinder the book from being 5 stars.

7. Love & Gelato

This book was just a lot of fun! Italy! Gelato! Cute romance! Yes, please!

6. All In

While I did really enjoy the conclusion to the Naturals series, it didn’t quite make my Top 10 and it didn’t pack quite as much punch for me as the third book, All In. Just holy cow, JLB.

5. Anne’s House of Dreams

This book was incredibly sweet as we see Anne settle into married life (though I would have liked more Gilbert!). There was also a really sad storyline that took me by surprise, but it was beautifully handled by Montgomery as Anne continues to learn and grow through grief.

4. Shades of Milk and Honey

I devoured this book filled with Jane Austen-esque society, magic, intrigue, and romance.

3. A Dash of DragonOnce upon a time, the authors of this middle grade gem were book bloggers, who occasionally talked about their writing of this book. I was thrilled when I heard it sold and was happy to buy it once released, even if I’m not usually one to read middle grade. This book is just so much fun (though it does have some moments that get a little scary for the main character too)! I’m so excited for the sequel coming out next year!

2. Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

I’ve been a fan of Jon Acuff’s books for a while, and his latest is no exception. He explains the secret rules and lies we feel bound by that prevent us from finishing our goals. This would be a great read for anyone wanting to knock out some things in the new year!

1. Better Off Friends

I became an Elizabeth Eulberg fan this year through Better Off Friends. It’s hard for me to find contemporaries that I really connect with, but I have a lot of love for this one. I still don’t love it quite as much as The Start of Me and You, but I think it will remain a favorite YA contemporary for me for a while.

Faves by genre: 5 YA (1 historical, 3 contemporary, 1 thriller), 2 classic/classic children’s, 1 adult, 1 middle-grade, and 1 non-fiction.

What were your favorite reads of 2017?

 

Monthly Recap: November

Can you believe that it’s almost Christmas and the end of the year? It seemed unbelievable to me until I was thinking about the books I read early this year, and realized how long ago it seemed! Without further ado, my November…

Books I Read

Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Flame in the Mist by …. (I technically finished this Dec. 2 but considering I only read one other book, give me this, OK?)

#bookstagram Image of the Month

After we put up the Christmas tree I decided to pull out my Nikon D7000 and try out a new theme for my bookstagram, and I’m really happy with it. I plan to stick with this look through December, though I am hoping come January I won’t lose my motivation to take higher quality pictures for Instagram.

Watched

Thor: Ragnarok, and really enjoyed it! I will say that Marvel is doing a lot of the same thing over and over again, yet it doesn’t bother me because they do it so well. I just really enjoy the character interactions, mostly. And have you seen the trailer for Infinity War? It got me pretty pumped to see how they will pull everyone and the various plot threads together (though *groan* for Scarlet Witch and Vision…).

Wrote

While I technically didn’t win NaNoWriMo because I didn’t write 50K new words, I won it in my heart because I finished the first draft of my new story! Since I had written half of it already I only ended up with 26K for the month, but 53K overall. It’s a little shorter than I want because I tend to rush my story, so I’ll be fleshing it out more in revisions. It definitely needs work but I’m still happy with the story overall.

Other November Happenings

One highlight of November would have to be the day I spent with three of my good girl friends, all who were are moms The reason for pointing this out is to say that while I do see these friends on a fairly regular basis, I rarely get to hang out with them sans their kids, and while I do love their kids, it was great to just be the four of us again! We went to a place in town where you get to create your own wooden sign and had a great time! Here’s my final product:

And of course Thanksgiving was a highlight too, eating good food and spending time with my family.

Looking Forward to in December…

Christmas and all it entails!

I will also endeavor to write a few posts this blog, including my in-depth post about my trip to Savannah in September and my thoughts on the books I read this year.

How was your November? What are you looking forward to this month?