whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 5 & 6}

I have been reading
but like
literally
everything else
in my life,
it feels scattery and all over the place.

But I do have 2 to add to the
slowly growing list.

{also, dear reader (IYKYK)
i will NOT be continuing with Jane Eyre
as I have decided that I absolutely
LOATHE it and will not be forcing myself
to read it….I learned from my
Frankenstein experience last year
that it’s ok to just say…nope. This is not for me.}

The View Was Exhausting ♥♥♥ out of 5
I did like this book…the characters
were likeable…the story made
me wonder how plausible
yet at the same time, it
was interesting to see how a
public relationship may actually
be a PR diversion tactic
which I guess I knew but
it was interesting to see how it might
play out. I did like Leo’s character a lot
and I am kind of a sucker for
enemies-turned-lovers kinda trope
so there was that.

Protecting Whats Theirs - Tessa Bailey
😈😈😈😈out of 5
I debated even sharing this one but
out of embarrassment but in the end,
it is what it is.
I guiltily read it,
I guiltily enjoyed it.
Heh.
And that’s probably all I will say about it.
It was exactly what it was meant to be.

NEXT UP:: FAYNE - ANN-MARIE MACDONALD

whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 4}

Wow. Look at me go.
I just finished this book
yesterday
and already I have got
it in the blog.

It’s that leftover
January to February
New Year/New Me fervor….
heh. It’ll pass soon enough.

Anyway…I digress. :)
(which is really what this blog
should be called)

But yes…this book.
If you would have told me
a year ago how much I would
come to LOVE Emily Henry
I would have been doubtful…
uncertain…dubious even.

And wrong. I would have been wrong.

This is my 3rd book by her
and I am enamored.
I just fall in love
with her characters.
And the story line is
interesting.
And the writing is pretty and
sweet which I like.

So yes. I am an Emily Henry fan.
And I say that now
with certainty.

♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5
NEXT UP:: PRIDE & PREJUDICE - JANE AUSTEN
To be fair, I think I likely read this before
but I am trying to incorporate some classics
in this year AND also it’s February
and if you know me, you know I like themes
so I would like February
to be as pink and gushy and ooey-gooey
dripping with love stories
cause….that’s just how I am.

Don’t judge. Heh.

whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 1-3}

Most of January’s book reading time
was absorbed (happily)
by A Court of Wings & Ruin
but the month isn’t over yet.
:)

I find reading about subjects
that I am currently processing
in my head and my heart
to be helpful.
Not always and not all of it
but I have to admit that there
are always some little kernels of
truth or hope or “oh…that’s me, too!”
that I find helpful.

So I am not going to rate the first book
other than to say
that it was helpful in some ways
and it made me think.

Book 2 was the “Draw Everything” book
which was interesting
and I enjoyed playing with some of the
examples and suggestions.

Book 3. Oh. Book 3.
Which is the 3rd in this series
and SOOOOO good.
It took me a little bit to read cause…
well…pages. Lots of pages.
But it kept me enthralled from start to finish
and surprised me in a couple of
tense hold-your-breath spots.
♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5 for that one!

NEXT UP:: BEACH READ - EMILY HENRY
cause I need a little lightness…and I love her books.

and part of the bookmark project! :)

What are YOU reading?? :)

whatcha readin'? {goal 40:: MISSION COMPLETE}

It’s no surprise that I
totally did not keep on top
of updating the blog
with all the books
I read in 2023
but I DID hit my goal of
forty
just by the skin of my teeth
but I did it
so that is all that matters in
the big orange house.

Here is what I read…in list form…
cause it’s 2024 and, frankly,
I’m over it.

1. Frankenstein - hated. Literally HATED this book

2. House in the Pines - Ana Reyes
   ♥♥♥♥

3. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
   ♥♥♥♥♥

4. Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch
   ♥♥♥♥

5. Life after Life - Kate Atkinson (this book was a struggle but beautiful but also made me want to hurl it into the ocean)
   ♥♥♥

6. She Who Became the Sun - Shelly Parker Chan
   ♥♥♥♥♥

7. Whiskey in a Teacup - The Adorable Reese Witherspoon
   ♥♥♥♥

8. Slammed - Colleen Hoover
   ♥♥♥

9. The Book of Goethel - Mary McMyne
   ♥♥♥♥♥

10. Bone Black - bell hooks
    ♥♥♥

11. The End of Her - Shari Lapegna
    ♥♥♥

12. Call Me Zelda - Erika Robuck
    ♥♥♥♥

13. Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur {audio book}
    ♥♥♥

14. Really Good Actually - Monica Heisey
    ♥♥♥♥

15. Molly’s Game - Molly Bloom
    ♥♥♥♥♥

16. Demon Copperfield - Barbara Kingsolver
    ♥♥♥♥

17. A Court of Thorns & Roses - Sarah J Maas
    ♥♥♥♥♥

18. I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jeannette McCurdy
    ♥♥♥♥

19. The Whole Body Reset - Stephen Perinne
    ♥♥♥♥

20. Happy Place - Emily Henry
    ♥♥♥♥

21. A Court of Mist & Fury - Sarah J Maas
♥♥♥♥♥

22. I Carried You Home -
♥♥♥

23. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
♥♥♥

24. New Boy - Tracy Chevalier
♥♥♥♥

25. Homecoming - Kate Morton
♥♥♥♥♥

26. Breaking the Girl - Kim Corum
♥♥♥♥

27. Hello Beautiful Ann Napolitano
♥♥♥♥♥

28. A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenburg
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

29. Expected Loss; Anticipatory Grief - Alan Woolfelt
♥♥♥♥♥

30. From Scratch - Tembi Locke
♥♥♥♥

31. Did you hear about Kitty Karr - Crystal Smith Paul
♥♥♥♥

32. The 5 am Rule - Robin Sharma
{i hated this with ALL my heart.
if i could give negative hearts, i would.}

33. It’s OK to Laugh - Nora McInerney Puemon
♥♥♥♥ .5

34. Book Lovers - Emily Henry
♥♥♥♥♥

35. How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa
♥♥♥.5 {mainly because I don’t love short stories}

36. Self Care for Grief -Nneka M Okona
♥♥♥♥

37. One Day in December - Josie Silver
♥♥♥♥♥ {this one surprised me that i would
love it so much}

38. Surviving the Holidays with you - Gary Roe
♥♥♥

39. Ugly Love - Colleen Hoover
♥♥♥♥

40. Inside Out - Demi Moore
♥♥♥♥

41. Evidence of the Affair - Taylor Jenkins Reid
♥♥♥

Note: I realized as I was typing
these out that I had miscounted
in my list so I actually read
forty ONE books this year. :)

and took a LOT of photos of
my books as I was reading them…
this was just a few of them.
:D

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!)