whatcha readin'? {goal 40::books 8-10}

Still trying to catch up on this…
so here are books 810 and
no sad commentary this time.
♥

Slammed - Colleen Hoover
♥♥♥ out of 5 hearts
I had no notes on this
but I don’t think it made a big impression on me.
It was….ok.
I think I was hoping for more
but I also read this at a stressful time
so that might have played into my
feelings as well.

The Book of Gothel - Mary McMyne
♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5 hearts
This had everything I love…
beautiful, haunting writing,
fairy tale vibes obviously
as it is a retelling of rapunzel…
my notes were
"I didn’t want it to end”

Bone Black - bell hooks
♥♥♥ out of 5 hearts
I enjoyed this but I have to admit
that it felt like short stories
and I have never done short stories well.

NEXT UP: 5 more (and one of them is a 5 heart rating!)

whatcha readin'? {goal 40::book 7} (& a disclaimer....well....a ramble...a long one...cause...that's what I do))

so yeah….that looks pretty bad…
goal is 40 and i am at SEVEN!

but the truth is
i am actually at 32….
i have just been really bad at posting
because…well…you know….
there were other things happening.

and the truth also is that
i still feel broken and raw and
too-touchy-to-touch…
i should have a sign that says
“will smile at you but
do not approach too close,
will also bite your hand off.”

i know that no one knows the right thing to say
when you lose someone and that
everyone is trying their best
but i can only speak for myself when i say
for me specifically, it’s best not to say anything at all.
i know that you know. ♥
and i know that you are sorry for my loss. ♥
but as soon as i hear those words,
i don’t know what to say, i am mumbling things
& shrugging my shoulders and looking away…
and it gets incredibly awkward.
for you and for me.
so let me save you from that. :)
if you see me out, please don’t feel you have to say anything…
i promise i will know, i will understand,
and honestly, my heart will thank you for that.

i met up with 2 old friends yesterday by chance
in the sauna…and my first thought was
it’s going to happen again….
(and i am going to be crying in the parking lot)
but it didn’t. ♥

instead they let me wonder out loud
about the possibilities of the door jamming shut
and suffocating us all (while reassuring me that wouldn’t happen)
and we talked about yoga and wellness
and i knew that underneath, they were telling me
they were sorry…but that silent sorry meant so much to me.

(and please don’t think i am saying that
this is the right approach for everyone…
i only know what is right for me…
and nobody knows this if I don’t tell them so…)
and also if you have seen me out and said anything
PLEASE DON’T FEEL BAD. that is SO not my intention.
you didn’t know…cause how does anyone know what
anyone wants in a time like this.

it’s such an emotionally charged time.
i am prone to taking everything the wrong way.
if you say i’m strong, or that i’m handling it well,
i will hear that it looks like i don’t even care that he died.
AND I KNOW THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU MEAN
but did i mention my brain is super effing glitchy right now?
again. better just to not talk to me until spring…
like a bear in hibernation. Haha.
Or talk to me about smurfs or sesame street or
oh gawd, did you watch love is blind
which is the worst trainwreck of a show but
yeah!!! i will definitely talk about how much i loved Milton
and couldn’t stand Stacey. Hahaha.

ANYWAY. One more version of a
not what I came here to say blog post.
please bear with me…my brain is glitchy.

What I wanted to say was:
Book #7 - Whiskey in a Teacup - Reese Witherspoon
♥♥♥♥ out of 5 hearts

The note I wrote about this book:
"Pretty pictures and I just like Reese. Sue me."

and one last note…
for anyone that has sent me messages
about dad or about their own loss…yes!
This I can do. I am better in type.
And I can choose when and where to read it…
and there is no need for me to respond right away.

There. Now I’m done. For real. Unless you wanna talk about love is blind…cause….I’m game for that! :D

whatcha readin'? {goal 40::book 6}

this book.

i did not know
anything about this book
and bought it on a whim
but holy catfish
it was good.

i read it back
in april
so i can’t remember
hardly anything about it
but i know i loved it…
and that it reminded me of
mulan
a little bit…

i loved it so much
i want someone to make a
movie of it.

♥♥♥♥♥ 5 out of 5
NEXT UP:: WHISKEY IN A TEACUP - REESE WITHERSPOON

whatcha readin'? {goal 40::book 5}

I really had no idea
what to expect when I started
this book…
and I don’t want to say
very much here because
I don’t want to give anything away
but, if you are NOT like me,
you might actually read
what a book is about before
purchasing
literally based
only on the cover
which I liked so much
I doodled it in my sketchbook.

All I can tell you
is that
the writing was beautiful
and that’s what kept me going
even though
I spent a lot of time
saying what the eff is going on?
wait. what?
but didn’t she just?
is that the same person that just?
I don’t understand.

And eventually it made sense
to some degree
but required a lot of thought
which I don’t always want to do
when I pick up a book
(which is apparent by the number of YA romance I read)…

This book got great reviews
and someone wrote that once you finish it
you should read it a second time…
and that feels like it might be true.
That I would absorb much more
and curse much less.

I would read her again though.
The writing really was beautiful
and I was fully invested in the characters
and I like that feeling.

♥♥♥ 3 out of 5
NEXT UP:: SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN - SHELLY PARKER CHAN

whatcha readin'? {goal 40::book 4}

And yes, I am back to the YA
side of the fence…
reconnecting with my inner 13 year old
who can now
READ ANYTHING SHE WANTS
and doesn’t have to rely on
what is only available in the
MCS library OR
the bookmobile
especially after being banned
from both
for not returning books
(I have good intentions but
a long history of never returning a book…
don’t lend me any…heh…
plus…shhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone but…
I fold the corners…)

Sidenote…thinking about this
really makes me wanna read all the
Sweet Valley High books that I
missed out on back then. Heh.

So anyway…
what can I say about this?
It was a fun, feel good
quick read that made me happy.

If you like feel good make you happy books
that don’t require a lot of thinking,
then you should read it too! :)
I’d lend you my copy but I already lost it
plus…you know….the pages are all bent and foldy….

♥♥♥♥ 4 out of 5
NEXT UP:: LIFE AFTER LIFE- KATE ATKINSON