whatcha readin'? {book 1::goal 24}

the first book i read for 2017
was boys in the trees
by carly simon...
which is kind of weird for me
because i wouldn't consider myself
a carly simon fan...
not that i dislike her...
i just don't really know much about her.

i like the song "you're so vain".

that's about all i knew going into this.

i didn't even know she had been married to james taylor
(another person i know nothing about
and have never really listened to...)

and i definitely did not know that her father
was the simon in simon and schuster.

but i am a sucker for memoirs.
i always have been.
and this one did not disappoint.

her writing was both beautiful and sad...
i think the honesty was what broke my heart
when she wrote about her marriage.

in the end, i was happy that i chose this book to
start off my 2017 reading adventure....
:)

3.5 out of 5 ♥'s

NEXT UP:  ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - LM MONTGOMERY (re-reading as part of my 50 before 50 list)

whatcha readin'? {it's a brand new year}

i went into 2016 with a goal of reading 12 books.

the year before
i had only read 8.

8 books.

me.

8 books...in a WHOLE year.
my face is still burning with embarrassment.

so i had set the bar low for 2016
(but not as low as EIGHT for crying out loud)
and set it at 12...
i read 18 in total, so yay me!

considering i have no weddings this year,
i am raising the goal to 24 (and hoping to exceed).
one down already! 
off to a good start, heeheehee.

on a related topic,
i am trying to complete some of my 50 before 50 list
(because you know...50 is coming...faster than it should be, but definitely coming)
and one of the items on my list is to read everything by
LM Montgomery...including the journals.
i have already read a good number of her books
most of them many, many times
but am going to try to re-read them all anyway...
i have never read the journals so i'm looking forward to that, too.
(first i have to find them...i don't really want to buy them all...
but may have to).

Also open to book suggestions for this year....fire away!
:) :) :)

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 18 - goal 12}

i wanted to love this book
as much as i loved the Book of Negroes
but i found it difficult...
it might have nothing to do with the book itself
and more to do with the fact
that i was trying to fit it in over
work, Christmas, wedding photo editing, emails
and multiple trips to Moncton
to pick up and take back my girl.

maybe a period of undivided time
would have suited this book better.

regardless, it was still a very good book...
the dialogue felt a little stiff/not fully believable
in places but again...i just dropping in and out of the book
and not giving it my full attention.
i would still totally recommend this...

and that brings me to the last of my books for 2016!
i had set a meager goal of 12 because the year before
i think i had only read 8
(i am literally hanging my head in shame as i type that...
8...8 books....what happened to me???)
so this year i beat my goal of 12.

for 2017, i am aiming for 24 but am hoping that because i
will be done of weddings soon...i will have SO much more time
to indulge in books...any recommendations?

3.5 out of 5 ♥♥♥1/2

NEXT UP:  BOYS IN THE TREES - CARLY SIMON

 

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 17 - goal 12}

i loved this book.
sad and complicated elf...
honest and heartbroken yoli...
one wants desperately to die,
the other wants desperately for her sister
to want to live.

can you make someone want to live...
i'm not so sure
and i can't imagine what that must feel like,
on either side of the coin...
to be the one whose only option seems to be death...

or to know with all certainty that someone you
love most in world...cannot bear to be
in the world anymore.

but this book gives you a glimpse into what that must be like.
painful and sad, sharp and funny...
i loved this book.

4.5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥ 1/2

NEXT UP: THE ILLEGAL - LAWRENCE HILL
 

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 16 - goal 12}

it has been a long time
since i have read a stephen king book.

i used to read him all the time
re-reading favorites,
excited when a new one came out
to add to my collection.

which is weird because
i don't do
horror...or scary...or evil clowns and creepy hotels,
crimson kings and serial killers...

but i was always drawn in
by the way he could do
conversation...
and his turn of phrase...
it's just comes across so natural and real.

i did enjoy this book although
it took me a long time to read it.
it involves time travel and assignations
love and love thwarted...
it was well worth the time it took me to finish it.

i was really excited to see the mini-series come out
but after the first episode
i was so totally stressed out by how many things
they either changed
or no longer seemed to exist
that i just couldn't watch anymore.

i may try it again sometime...
when the book is not quite so fresh in my mind.

3 out of 5 ♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  ALL MY PUNY SORROWS - MIRIAM TOEWS