Category Archives: Books

May Reads

Books, Public School Leave a comment

I read 12 books in May which was a total of 3160 pages. I began the month with Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert. I gave it 4 stars. It was an enemies to friends romance which is always fun. Then I read There I Go Again by William Daniels. I gave it 5 stars. I apparently read it before when it first came out but I don’t really remember reading it. I love Mr. Feeny. After that I read The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters. I gave it 5 stars. I immediately passed it on to Zeke because I knew he’d love the foster kid with superhero parents thing.

My next book was Just the Way You Are by Beth Moran. I gave it 5 stars. It was a fun, clean romance that was picked for the real life book club I go to. Then I read Untold Stories of Nurses: The COVID-19 Pandemic by Kate Kalagher. I gave it 2 stars. I should know better than to read books that indie authors ask me to read. It never goes well. The stories in this book were great. The need of an editor was greater. Next I read You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson. I gave it 5 stars. This was one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Also sad, and relatable.

After that I read Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. I gave it 4 stars. It ruined my all 5 star ratings for Book of the Month books streak. It was still good and I enjoyed reading about 60-something year old women being awesome. Then I read Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. I gave it 5 stars. That was a re-read and even knowing the twist at the end it was still a truly fabulous book. There’s a reason Nicola Yoon is one of my most favorite authors. Next I read Clone 3 by Patti Larsen. I gave it 2 stars. Usually I love young adult dystopian. This one just wasn’t very good.

My next book was Nothing But the Truth by Avi. I gave it 5 stars. It was written in a very unique style and easily taught a very useful lesson without that lesson being right in your face. Then I read The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. I gave it 4 stars. This was probably the most well done classic retelling I have ever read. My last book of the month was Knights of the Square Table by Teri Kanfield. I gave it 3 stars. It wasn’t the most awesome end to my month of books. Parts were good, but the last half was just kind of weird.

My favorite book of the month: Everything, Everything

My least favorite book of the month: Clone 3

Number of 5 Star Books: 6
Number of 4 Star Books: 3
Number of 3 Star Books: 1
Number of 2 Star Books: 2
Number of 1 Star Books: 0

38/100 books left to read for my goal of the year

I got through almost my entire TBR (just Amari and the Night Brothers left) for the month so nearly all of the books on June’s TBR are new. I added the next Harry Potter and the next Throne of Glass, a book a friend recommended to me that was in my reading soon file, the June book for my real life book club, a book for 2023 BINGO, and the last five books I need to complete my Alphabet Soup challenge. That’s a total of 11 books. Since the kids are out of school for the summer now I probably won’t be able to come close to finished the four books I’m currently reading plus get to all of these. I guess we’ll see at the end of the month.

May Owlcrate

Books Leave a comment

This month’s Owlcrate is full of hits as usual. The book itself is gorgeous. Sprayed edges are just so pretty so of course as soon as I saw it I was in love.

Included in the box was another Lord of the Rings bowl. This one for Rohan. There’s a wax seal kit. The image is an open book. There are three small, translucent, and absolutely beautiful bookmarks. These bookmarks (along with tons of other bookmarks I’ve collected) fit perfectly in the bookmark tin.

This year’s fifth hinged pin is very pretty. I especially like the flame coming out of it. The words from the beginning of the book are written right in it which is quite neat.

Then there’s the book itself. Wow. It’s Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. It sounds very interesting. I’m looking forward to reading this one! The outside of the dust jack is so pretty (I love anything purple) and the sprayed edges are amazing. It’s even got a built in ribbon bookmark which might be my favorite thing about how the book looks.

Inside, the endpapers are beautiful and the inside of the dust jacket is gorgeous. I always love the inside of the dust jackets of these Owlcrate books.

April Owlcrate

Books Leave a comment

Usually I’m pretty excited by the Owlcrate selections. April’s book, Silver in the Bone, doesn’t thrill me. Hopefully I’m completely wrong and it’ll be great. I guess we’ll see.

April’s box included a bookmark embroidery kit, stones to put in the freezer to chill your drink, a little pouch, and a decorative wooden piece.

And, of course, it included the next hinged pin in this year’s series. These pins are really quite heavy!

The book itself is gorgeous. The outside is a silver and black theme with the edges sprayed silver. Inside is beautiful and the inner dust jacket is just amazing.

April Reads

Books Leave a comment

I read ten books again in April for a total of 3935 pages. All of them were four and five star books! I started the month with Zero Cool by John Lange (pen name for Michael Crichton). I gave it four stars. I always enjoy Crichton books. After that I read One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus. I gave it five stars. I think I actually liked it better than the first book and can’t wait for the third to come out later this year. Then I read Dead Line by RJ Patterson. I gave it four stars. This one had a few minor plot holes and was absolutely not even remotely possible, but still good.

My next book was The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas. I gave it five stars. It was my real life book club book of the month (and then I was too sick to actually go discuss it). I wasn’t initially thrilled with the choice. It’s historical fiction which can be iffy AND it’s 770 pages long. Turned out to be an excellent book though. After that I read Quackery by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen. I gave it four stars. The humor in this one was perfect. Then I read Darling Girl by Liz Michalski. I gave it five stars. This one was a very unique take on the Peter Pan story and I loved it.

After that I read Xamnesia by Lizzie Harwood. I gave it four stars. It was an interesting story about her time working for ultrarich people in the Middle East. Then I read Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond. I gave it four stars. It was fascinating, packed full of information but still easily readable. My next book was Verity by Colleen Hoover. I gave it four stars. That author should write more psychological thrillers. She did an amazing job with this one. My final book of the month was From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon. I gave it five stars. It was just a really cute story with a perfect ending.

My favorite book of the month: Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

My least favorite book of the month: Dead Line by RJ Patterson

Number of 5 Star Books: 4
Number of 4 Star Books: 6
Number of 3 Star Books: 0
Number of 2 Star Books: 0
Number of 1 Star Books: 0

50/100 books read for my goal of the year – halfway there!

All the books on my previous TBRs have been read so I created May’s from scratch. I put on the next Harry Potter book and the next Throne of Glass book. Then I added four books for my BINGO board (one of them is also a Book of the Month book) and a book for the Alphabet Soup challenge I’ve been working on for over a year. I added a book from the Literati list I’m working through. And, finally, I added two books from my read soon file, a dystopian book since I really like them, and one more book that sounded interesting in order to bring my list up to an even dozen.

March Owlcrate

Books Leave a comment

Last month’s Owlcrate box included this really neat apothecary type glass water bottle with a glass straw. Ani took that home with her.

There was a pair of library themed socks (Ani took them), an eternal pencil (I kept it and Mayci quite enjoys doing her homework with it), and a book sleeve (I kept that as well).

I added this beautiful hinged purple pin to my Owlcrate pin collection. The hinged pins this year are really heavy, but they are way cool.

The book was quite different last month. It’s Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz and it sounds fantastic. It’s a hardback book and the picture above shows what’s embossed directly on the covers (the page edges are gold to match). The weird thing? No dust jacket. The feel of the book cover in my hands is a little gross. It’s kind of a rubberized feel so it’ll take a bit of getting used to when I hold it to read it. Otherwise I think I like the no dust jacket thing given how gorgeous the embossing on the cover is.

March Reads

Books Leave a comment

I read ten mostly excellent books in March totaling 3726 pages. I started out the month with a reread of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling. I gave it four stars. It’s my least favorite Harry Potter book. My next book was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I gave it five stars. It was another reread. I’ve loved that book since I first read it in the fourth grade. It was published less than a month after I was born. Then I read Murder on the Hill by Kennedy Chase. I gave it three stars. Like most cozy mysteries I’ve read it was just meh.

Next I read Live Wire by Kelly Ripa. I gave it five stars. I laughed so much reading that book. So relatable and so funny. After that I read Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas. I gave it four stars. The Throne of Glass series is finally getting good. Then I read Blood, Bullet, and Bones by Bridget Heos. I gave it five stars. It was an excellent overview of the history of forensic science. My next book was The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan. I gave it five stars. It was such a sweet book with a perfect ending.

After that I read Twelfth by Janet Key. I gave it five stars. It was a fun middle grade book with a Shakespearean mystery at the center. Then I read You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. I gave it five stars. It was so funny even though the stories they were telling weren’t really funny at all. My final book was Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I gave it four stars. It was yet another reread and I do think I enjoyed it more this time than the first time I read it.

My favorite book of the month: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

My least favorite book of the month: Murder on the Hill by Kennedy Chase

Number of 5 Star Books: 6
Number of 4 Star Books: 3
Number of 3 Star Books: 1
Number of 2 Star Books: 0
Number of 1 Star Books: 0

40/100 books read for my goal of the year

April is my birth month so, as I do every year, I don’t have a TBR list. April is for all mood reads all month long!

Used Book Sale

Books Leave a comment

We went to our school district’s last annual used book sale last weekend. We got so many books and DVDs. Since it was the last one they are doing we all were kind of like if it sounds at all interesting just get it.

We got there a half hour before they opened and the line was already quite long. We we happy to stand in the sprinkling rain, though, for books.

My mom came prepared for the occasion wearing her cute Little Women book cover earrings.

Just over two hours later we were done shopping with several big bags stuffed full of books and DVDs.

My parents spent almost $50 and got all these books!

We spent just over $100 and got all these books.

And all these DVDs.

We went back the last day of the sale because they give you bags and the first one is $15 and each additional one is $10 so we ended up spending $35 for all these books, DVDs, and CDs! I’m so sad this was the last one they are going to do, but I certainly got enough books to last me quite a while.