Tag Archives: Heather

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.

Wild

Family Leave a comment

For Mother’s Day Haley and Ani came over and watched the kids while Jamie and I went to eat at Wild, an Asian Barbecue and Hot Pot.

The food was so good and it was really fun cooking it in the little barbecue pit in the middle of our table. The food was so good, too!

Fast Lunch

Thoughts Leave a comment

The other day Zeke had a field trip and I totally forgot to pack his lunch for it. His teacher emailed me at 9am to ask about his lunch. I saw the email at 9:02. I had his lunch packed and ready to go at 9:07. Jamie ran it over to the school and was back home at 9:15. Both of us grew up in the middle of nowhere, but sometimes it’s really nice to live so close.

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.

Sabrina Carpenter Concert #2

Family Leave a comment

Last month I took my oldest two girls to the Sabrina Carpenter concert. I got the tickets for their birthdays (which were in February). I decided to get us the VIP sound check package mainly because I wanted them. I’m so glad I did. Sabrina sang two songs during the sound check and talked quite a bit which was quite fun.

After getting into place just a few rows back from the stage at 6:30, the opening act, Spill Tab, came out at 8 and performed for a half hour.

And then at 9 Sabrina began performing. She sang for an hour and a half straight. It was amazing. She is amazing. She was amazing the first time Ani and I saw her in 2016 when she was just 17. She’s even more amazing now at 23.

She performed most of the songs on Emails I Can’t Send and a handful of others. It was hot (outdoor venue at the end of March in south Texas) and we were packed in tight, but we screamed and sang and danced and had a wonderful time. Our feet were dying after four hours of standing on them but it was totally worth it. I will go see Sabrina Carpenter every time she performs in San Antonio. I just love her.