Tag: reading

Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

In Progress with ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE

Posted on by Jennifer

Progress: page 221/325 (68%)

Finally started this one that’s been hanging around for a while.

Why did I start reading it?

I’ve had this for a while now, and it’s been out for even longer. Long enough for the hype to die down so I don’t hear about it so much anymore. Which means I can finally read it. 😁 I started reading it because I had nothing I particularly wanted to read and this looked nice on my shelf for a sunny day. I actually started it once a while ago but the first incident with the Hollywood waxing made me too sad and I had to stop at the time.

Where have I gone?

(UK English) Words I’ve Learned:

Lemon-colored explosively fizzy boiled sweets – apparently called sherbet lemons?

Lines that linger

The streets were all named after poets – Wordsworth Lane, Shelly Close, Keats Rise – no doubt chosen by the building company’s Marketing Department. They were all poets that the kind of person who’d aspire to such a home would recognize, poets who wrote about urns and flowers and wandering clouds. Based on past experience, I’d be more likely to end up living in Dante Lane or Poe crescent.

“I marveled at the generosity of those humans who performed intimate services for others.”

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, Chatty

Two books I finished while putting off another book 😅

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! I don’t know what’s going on, but I keep finishing books way faster than I expect to. I think it’s because I’m currently putting off getting back to a book I haven’t been very into, but am trying to finish anyway. It’s sort of like eating food that tastes terrible but is super healthy. I think this book has a message that is beneficial for me to hear about, but man I am just not entertained. And at the moment, that’s kind of what I need: just some lighthearted happy reading.

Which is probably why I just tore through 2 books in the past few days. I thought they would take much longer to wrap up! Probably because that book I’m procrastinating is skewing my expectations of myself. 😂

One of the books I just wrapped up is Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras, one that’s been on my radar for a while. I finally got to it — and even better, I actually won a copy from Goodreads! Just happiness and smiles all around. It’s a fake-dating trope done so so well. With romance and eating disorders and tragic pasts that get in the way of a future, it absolutely sucked me in. If you need a beach read, this is the one!

The other is May Day by Josie Jaffrey, which I posted about the other day. It’s a book outside my usual genre, since this is a darker vampire detective plot. I’m so glad I took a chance on it though, because it was sexy and funny and captivating. Thank goodness Jaffrey has a whole other series already published in the universe, because I definitely need more!

How are y’all holding up with reading routines? Mine have certainly been thrown out of whack a bit, but they’re still my go-to escape whenever I can manage it. 😄

Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

In Progress with MAY DAY

Posted on by Jennifer
May Day by Josie Jaffrey

Progress: page 243/312 (78%)

I’m flying through this book even though I only started it yesterday. I took a chance outside my usual, and I am being rewarded for it! Thank you Josie Jaffrey for the delight of May Day!

Why did I start reading it?

This book actually just published today! I received an ARC from the author, and although it’s not my typical genre, I was intrigued. And I am so glad I gave it a shot, because I’m loving it! It’s a sexy vampire detective on a murder mystery, and it is so much more than that little description makes it sound. 😍

Where have I gone?

(British English) Words I’ve Learned:

Lines that linger

I’d never have thought that laughing in bed was a good thing, but here she is in my arms, and I’m so happy that I can feel the joy bubbling up into my throat, so happy that the force of my kisses is shaped by my smile.

He’s rich and powerful, which is a bad place for any man to start, but he’s also arrogant and elitist, which makes him a particularly wanky breed of wanker.

He’s an imposing man, over six-feet tall with dark skin and darker eyes. We don’t ask about his past, but I’m pretty sure it’s dark too.

Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

June 2020 Wrap-Up

Posted on by Jennifer
But actually… goodbye, June! You were an abrupt entrance to summer

reading~

How many of my planned books did I read:
If I planned eleven, I read six of those. BUT, I did also read a bunch of other books that I just decided to start. As usual. 🤣

The plan

The result

Last month I read a total of eleven books, which is a little under previous months but still way more than my old-usual amount. I attribute this to books that were denser in subject matter and/or longer books at 400+ pages.

I read some books around racial equality and white supremacy that showed me the many issues in the way the country is currently functioning. I am so glad that I did that, and I’ve been working to keep educating myself with further reading and actions I can take to specifically make change. I have a whole series of posts about White Fragility just going over what I learned — partly for my own sake, because there was a lot, and I wanted to help cement it into my brain and heart!

I’ve been working on a dense book recommended to me by a friend. Honestly if she hadn’t been so excited for me to read it, I definitely would have abandoned it by now. But I’m still slogging my way through it! It’ll spill over into July.

You might know that wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series, by Sarah J Maas? Well, I finally read it. And as I had sort of expected… I wasn’t a fan. I know that’s blasphemy to some people, but the magic just wasn’t there for me!

Continue reading “June 2020 Wrap-Up” →
Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

In Progress with The Japanese Lover

Posted on by Jennifer
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Progress: page 202/323 (61%)

Okay.. I realize that’s kind of a weird (and possibly misleading) title for this post. My lover is not Japanese, but I am currently reading The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende. Here’s how it’s going so far!

Why did I start reading it?

I’m so close to having completed the A-Z title challenge for 2020. I only need a few more letters, and one of them was J! This book was also one on my TBR that I’ve been wanting to include for a few months, plus one of my bingo prompts this month is a title that begins with J. The fates simply aligned!

Words I’ve Learned:

Lines that linger

In itself age doesn’t make anyone better or wiser, but only accentuates what they have always been.

There are a lot of good people, Irina, but they keep quiet about it. It’s the bad ones who make a lot of noise, and that’s why they get noticed.

Happiness is not exuberant or noise, like pleasure or joy; it’s silent, tranquil, and gentle; it’s a feeling of satisfaction inside that begins with self-love.

Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

June TBR – I’m trying to plan again!

Posted on by Jennifer

You may or may not know that planning what I read is a brand new, and seemingly impossible, endeavor for me. I’m such a mood reader that I tend to pick things up based on whatever strikes my fancy. There’s not a plan.

Until now.

Last month was my first go at it, and I think it went okay? I read like half of what I planned to read. But also a lot of other things that I just decided to read. That’s basically the plan here, too, because I’ve already gone off plan and started a book that wasn’t on the Offical List of June Books. I need to work in a few blank spaces each month for “whim reads.” 🙂

The June TBR Plan

This one’s in progress already, as an AUDIOBOOK! Look at me branching out!

Because I need a book that begins with J for my letter challenge, and also that happens to be on this month’s bingo challenge as well.

A bonus unplanned read, because it’s been on my list since before it came out. It’s also been mentioned lately in disccussions of social equality and #BLM; I am trying to educate myself and unlearn implicit biases and the like any way I can.

Continue reading “June TBR – I’m trying to plan again!” →
Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

May 2020 Wrap-Up

Posted on by Jennifer

Well. I thought March was a time of many changes, but I think May 2020 is right up there with it! Here’s a quick recap of my May in reading, life, and blogging.

But actually… goodbye, May! I’ll miss your sun and flowers

reading~

3/5 went to plan

How many of my planned books did I read:
Maybe half of them? Look, I’m a newbie at trying to plan my reading, so I’m going to consider this a win. 🙂

I think I broke my record…again… for most books read in a month. I’m at 16 now (prev. was 15) although this month included a lot more graphic novels and comics, so volume-wise it’s probably not my max. But for stories completed, here’s our winner! ^.^

This is an important month because I had the privilege to read possibly the most important book I’ll read for a very long time. It was an advanced copy that I was somewhat desperate to have and so grateful I was granted, because I knew it would be important. I couldn’t wait to read it, and now that I have, I can’t wait to have it come out and be in the world. Expect to hear a lot about this book, The Cat I Never Named by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, when I have adequately sorted my thoughts and emotions about this book to write about it.

Continue reading “May 2020 Wrap-Up” →
Posted in Book Talk, Chatty

A year complete in under 6 months!

Posted on by Jennifer

Well, I officially finished my Goodreads goal for the year of 52 books!

I’d been expecting this, just based on the fact that I was furloughed from my job and most days were spent reading for several hours. It was an easy guess that I’d blow through them pretty quickly. 😂

Like I’ve said before, I don’t plan on changing my goal to be a higher number, but instead am working on creating other reading-based goals for myself. Here are a few of my new monthly goals:

  • reading a recent or upcoming Indie or self-published book, to help authors who need it
  • read an ARC from NetGalley or Edelweiss (I’m not behind, but I like to keep up with upcoming releases)
  • read a book from my decade-plus-long TBR that I’ve been excited about forever and just never got around to

I’m also pushing myself to read books that are outside my usual picks. Genres I don’t read much of (like thrillers and mysteries), or classics I’ve never read (like The Iliad), or books that are just really freakin’ long (I’m finally going to read Kingdom of Ash and finish the Throne of glass series. This beast is 984 pages long!!!).

If you’ve got any favorites that are in one of those categories or that you might otherwise want to challenge me to read, let me know in the comments so I can check it out!

Posted in Fast-Forward Friday

Fast Forward Friday: Beach Read

Posted on by Jennifer

Unlike Throwback Thursday, I’m using Fridays to look ahead to books publishing soon that I’m excited for! For once, the hype around Beach Read by Emily Henry hasn’t pushed me away, and in fact has continued to draw me in.
Expected Release: May 19, 2020

Why wait on this one?

  • It’s a rarity for me, because I’m for once kind of drawn in by the hype! I’ve heard so much about this book, seen it all over bookstagram, and it’s even in the SRC2020 line up. Usually that drives me away from a book, but this one I’m still pushing for!
  • It’s entirely possible that I won’t be able to do much actual beach reading this summer depending on how COVID19 continues around here and what regulations are in place. This is my way of living vicariously in a slightly wry way.
  • Reading books about authors or librarians or booksellers always feels familiar in a way. I guess people who love to read especially love to read about people who love to read. That’s kind of a confusing sentence to read but I stand by it!
  • As I’ve said, I’ve seen this book all over, and honestly the reviews are encouraging. I’m hoping for the promised blend of romance and personal discovery, and that’s largely what people have reported. I like books and romances in particular where the character’s define themselves by more than how they feel about each other.

Summary:
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. They’re polar opposites. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block. Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.