Tag: library love challenge

Posted in Chatty

Library Love Challenge 2023!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! A couple years ago, I learned of a challenge that was able to wholeheartedly embrace. My impulsiveness will actually help me with this one, since it’s the 2023 Library Love challenge! Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart, the goal is simple: read books from the library!

Who doesn’t love the library? When I move to a new place, I always go to the library to check it out and get a card within a day or two of moving in. Usually before I’m even fully unpacked. Priorities, right? 👌🏼

So this year I’m joining the 2023 Library Love challenge and going to shoot for at least 24 books. In 2022 I went absolutely library mad (apparently) and read SEVENTY-TWO books from the library. But in 2023, I have some challenges for myself centered on reading books from my shelves to help determine what I want to keep, so I actually want to aim lower for library reads this year since I own a lot already. I’m sure it will end up being a lot of library reads anyway, though. xD

past years…

Progress!

If you’re interested as well, go see the full post and sign up link from the hosts! The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books (my goal)
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books
  1. All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
  2. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  3. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
  4. Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
  5. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
  6. I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganada and Caitlin Alifirenka
  7. Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
  8. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
  9. Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe
  10. This is How Your Marriage Ends by Matthew Fray
  11. The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie
  12. Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham
  13. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
  14. Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
  15. Good Talk by Mira Jacob
  16. Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland
  17. Teen Titans: Robin by Gabriel Picolo and Gami Garcia
  18. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
  19. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  20. Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’Clover
  21. A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
  22. Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto
Posted in Book Talk

2022 Library Love Challenge is Complete!! (And BOY is it COMPLETE)

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! In a few years ago, I stumbled upon my favorite reading challenge ever, the Library Love reading challenge! Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart, the goal is simple: read books from the library! And boy, do I ever do that!

2022 was a surprise to me in how much I read from the library, considering I don’t often walk to one anymore. Technically it’s within walking distance at about a half hour, but the walk is on some busy streets for about half of that so I don’t love doing it. I did take advantage of any time I was out near the library for another reason to stop by and browse, though. 🙂 And of course, I read so many books digitally from the library!

Here are the tiers that were established from the hosts for level of reading:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books (my goal)
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

I actually ended up surpassing the final tier of 60+ books with a total of 72 which is WILDLY UNEXPECTED but okay! So yes, I hit my goal. xD I love this challenge because it’s fun to see how much I really am getting from the library. There are so many books I first learned about by just wandering around their displays! (a few examples in the full list below are #3, #19, #57, #61… honestly a lot of my nonfiction reads come from discoveries at the library!)

Now this year I have something extra included in this post. Below is the usual list of all the reviews with links to each, but ALSO I have a lot of custom statistics courtesy of The Storygraph for all the books I tagged with the library reads 2022 challenge! I’m really excited to dig into those. 🙂

~ the stats!

I love Storygraph stats and this was a fun one to see what they can do with their custom tag stats (a really lovely Plus plan extra!)

Continue reading “2022 Library Love Challenge is Complete!! (And BOY is it COMPLETE)” →
A picture of a hand giving a thumbs up. The hand is made of words, and the words "book review" are in pink in the middle, with all the other words in black
Posted in Reviews

Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Posted on by Jennifer

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Recommended: yessss
For a story within a story (within a story?), for a lot of twistiness around writing and text and authors, for a good old fashioned murder mystery, for a lovely exploration of Boston!

Summary

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

Thoughts

THIS. WAS. SO. GOOD. By chapter two or three I was so giddy with excitement over all that this book was already promising. There’s a text within the text, and it allowed me to come up with 4 or 5 wildly different theories as to what the resolution of the story would be. I got real creative, LET ME TELL YA. And that last line? BOY DO I HAVE THOUGHTS.

Okay. Obviously it’s a murder mystery, so I’ll keep the spoiler talk out (and/or hidden under a spoiler tag at the end). It was freaking fantastic though! It seemed like everyone at one point or another was a suspect. There was one point about 80% of the way through that made me go “OH okay, it’s obviously X.” And then the characters slowly came to that conclusion. But still — I had an extremely fun time all the way up to that point waiting to see what would happen.

Continue reading “Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill” →
Posted in Chatty

Library Love Challenge 2022!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! A couple years ago, I learned of a challenge that was able to wholeheartedly embrace, despite my usual struggles with reading challenges! My impulsiveness will not hinder me for this one, since it’s the 2022 Library Love challenge! Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart, the goal is simple: read books from the library!

Who doesn’t love the library? When I move to a new place, I always go to the library to check it out and get a card within a day or two of moving in. Usually before I’m even fully unpacked. Priorities, right? 👌🏼

So this year I’m joining the 2022 Library Love challenge and going to shoot for at least 36 books (the middle tier). I’ve learned my lesson:, in 2020 I blew that goal out of the water, and the same happened in 2021! So I’m finally seeing that I just read a lot more than I ever thought I would, and almost half of that reading comes from the library! So I’ll set my goal a little higher this year. ☺

Progress!

If you’re interested as well, go see the full post and sign up link from the hosts! The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My reads:

  1. How to Be Interesting by Jessica Hagy
  2. We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
  3. My Inner Sky by Mari Andrew
  4. 30 Things I Love About Myself by Radhika Sanghani
  5. Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Wen Hing
  6. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
  7. You Truly Assumed by Sabreen Laila
  8. People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd
  9. The Bone Orchard by Sara A Mueller
  10. Well-Behaved Indian Women by Saumya Dave
  11. Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens
  12. DEWEY DECIMAL LEVEL! So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens
  13. I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin
  14. Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti
  15. You’ve Changed: Fake Accents, Feminism, and Other Comedies from Myanmar by Pyae Moe Thet War
  16. Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
  17. An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan
  18. From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn
  19. Around the World in 80 Plants by Jonathan Drori
  20. Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham, Charles Waters,
  21. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
  22. Soundless by Richelle Mead
  23. The Noh Family by Grace K. Shim
  24. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
  25. THRIFTY READER LEVEL! A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
  26. Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho
  27. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
  28. The Upside of Falling by Alex Light
  29. Love, Comment, Subscribe by Cathy Yardley
  30. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
  31. If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher
  32. A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
  33. The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
  34. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van pelt
  35. Heartstopper Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman
  36. OVERDRIVE JUNKIE LEVEL! Heartstopper Vol. 3 by Alice Oseman
  37. Heartstopper Vol. 4 by Alice Oseman
  38. Never Fall For Your Fiance by Virginia Heath
  39. Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan
  40. The Replacement Wife by Darby kane
  41. Nothing But The Truth by Holly James
  42. Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
  43. Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim
  44. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
  45. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
  46. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
  47. Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorram
  48. LIBRARY ADDICT LEVEL! How To Be Second Best by Jessica Dettmann
  49. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
  50. Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
  51. Seoulmates by Susan lee
  52. She’s Nice Though by Mia Mercado
  53. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer
  54. Dune, The Graphic Novel Vol. 1 by Brian Herbert
  55. Commute by Erin Williams
  56. Strange Planet #1 by Nathan W. Pyle
  57. The Office BFFs by Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer
  58. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
  59. Dune, The Graphic Novel Vol. 2 by Brian Herbert
  60. LIBRARY CARD ON FIRE – MAX LEVEL! I Choose Darkness by Jenny Lawson
  61. Belonging by Nora Krug
  62. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
  63. Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo
  64. Counterfeit by Kristin Chen
  65. Will by Will Smith
  66. When The Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
  67. Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
  68. Loveless by Alice Oseman
  69. As You Wish by Cary Elwes
  70. The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak
  71. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
  72. Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander
Posted in Chatty

How did I do with the 2021 Library Love Challenge?

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! I took part in the library love reading challenge in 2021, which as you can maybe guess from the title, involves reading books that you borrow from the library. Sweet and simple! 😊

During my check in post from July, I was at 28 books and figured I’d aim for 36. The year prior, I hadn’t hit the tier past that, so it seemed like a reasonable goal considering I’d have less time in 2021! So how did it pan out?

The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books (my goal)
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My reads:

Continue reading “How did I do with the 2021 Library Love Challenge?” →
Posted in Book Talk

Library love check in

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! Around halfway through the year, so I took a look at my progress on the 2021 library love challenge. Last year I blew my goal out of the water, and it looks like this year will be similar, actually. 🤣

I had planned for 12 this year, since I was planning to read more from my shelves and have a full time job again (pandemic reading was crazy). But, of course, I’ve already read 28 books from the library this year. I guess I’m aiming for the 36 tier now, because last year I didn’t even hit 48 so it seems unlikely I would beat it this year. Clearly I’m terrible at estimating my goals though, so who knows. 😊

Progress!

If you’re interested as well, go see the full post and sign up link from the hosts! The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books (my goal)
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My reads:

Continue reading “Library love check in” →
Posted in Book Talk

2021 Library Love Challenge!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! Last year, I learned of a challenge that was able to wholeheartedly embrace, despite my usual struggles with reading challenges! My impulsiveness will not hinder me for this one, since it’s the 2021 Library Love challenge! Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart, the goal is simple: read books from the library!

Who doesn’t love the library? When I move to a new place, I always go to the library to check it out and get a card within a day or two of moving in. Usually before I’m even fully unpacked. Priorities, right? 👌🏼

So this year I’m joining the 2021 Library Love challenge and going to shoot for at least 12 books (the lowest tier). Admittedly, last year I blew that goal out of the water, but I’m planning on using a lot of this year to read backlist books on my shelf, so if I’m doing it right then I won’t be seeking out external sources as often! ☺

Progress!

If you’re interested as well, go see the full post and sign up link from the hosts! The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books (my goal)
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My reads:

  1. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas
  2. Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida
  3. Librarian Tales by William Ottens
  4. A Wife in Bangkok by Iris Mitlin Lav
  5. It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura
  6. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
  7. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 3 by Ryan North
  8. If I Tell You The Truth by Jasmin Kaur
  9. Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds by Ian Wright
  10. The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
  11. Love in English by Maria E Andreu
  12. Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon
  13. When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson
  14. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
  15. 365 Days to Alaska by Cathy Carr
  16. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
  17. The Mermaid From Jeju by Sumi Hahn
  18. Songs of Nature by Sarojini Naidu
  19. Citizen Illegal by Jose Olivarez
  20. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
  21. Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin
  22. Strange Planet by Nathan Pyle
  23. Fangirl Vol 1 by Sam Maggs / Rainbow Rowell
  24. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
  25. The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill
  26. Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite
  27. Thanks a Thousand by AJ Jacobs
  28. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
Posted in Book Talk

2020 Library Love Challenge is COMPLETE! :)

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! In April last year, I stumbled upon my favorite reading challenge ever, the Library Love reading challenge! Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart, the goal is simple: read books from the library! And boy, do I ever do that!

2020 was probably even more library-heavy than usual since I had so much time to read and also couldn’t leave home for bookstore browsing and impulse buys. 😂 Instead it was like impulse loaning, which is much more budget-friendly. Thanks, libraries!

Here are the tiers that were established from the hosts for level of reading:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books (my goal)
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My original goal was twelve books, because apparently I forgot who I was for a minute. 🤷‍♀️ So, where did I end up?

Continue reading “2020 Library Love Challenge is COMPLETE! :)” →
Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

Library Love Challenge Update — things are going well!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! In April I found and decided to join the library love challenge hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart. With a pandemic going on, I knew I wouldn’t be able to physically go to the library for a while, so I thought this challenge would be a reminder to leverage the digital resources they have as well! I usually do already, but I’ve branched out even more.

My goal was to read twelve books from the library. At the time, this was pretty reasonable because it averaged out to about a quarter of the books I read a year. Now… I‘ve already surpassed my usual reading goal by a lot, and I’m not slowing down. 😅 So I’ve definitely completed the twelve book tier, and am now working towards the next tier of 24!

Progress!

If you’re interested as well, go see the full post and sign up link from the hosts! It’s never too late to join. 😀 The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books (my goal – complete!)
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books (my new goal!)
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My reads:

  1. Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno
  2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
  3. The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin
  4. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
  5. Illidan by William King
  6. Akin by Emma Donoghue
  7. Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
  8. Brunch and Other Obligations by Suzanne Nugent
  9. Rascal by Jean-Luc Deglin
  10. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu
  11. Beach Read by Emily Henry
  12. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
  13. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
  14. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
  15. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
Posted in Book Talk

2020 Library Love Challenge!

Posted on by Jennifer

I recently learned of a challenge that I think I can wholeheartedly embrace, despite my usual struggles with reading challenges! My impulsiveness will not hinder me for this one, since it’s the 2020 Library Love challenge! Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart, the goal is simple: read books from the library!

Who doesn’t love the library? When I move to a new place, I always go to the library to check it out and get a card within a day or two of moving in. Usually before I’m even fully unpacked. Priorities, right? 👌🏼

So this year I’m joining the 2020 Library Love challenge and going to shoot for at least 12 books (the lowest tier). This whole pandemic thing has lowered what my usual goal would be, since I’m buying a lot more books from local shops right now to try and support them during these difficult times. My library branch has also been closed since last summer in the longest ever construction project for nothing important (don’t mind the salt…), so I was already to a lower start with library visits this year. Ah, well.

Progress!

If you’re interested as well, go see the full post and sign up link from the hosts! The levels for the challenge are:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books (my goal)
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

My reads:

  1. Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno
  2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
  3. The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin
  4. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
  5. Illidan by William King
  6. Akin by Emma Donoghue
  7. Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
  8. Brunch and Other Obligations by Suzanne Nugent
  9. Rascal by Jean-Luc Deglin
  10. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu
  11. Beach Read by Emily Henry
  12. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
  13. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
  14. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
  15. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez