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whatcha readin'? {goals 45 - books 21-25}

September 15, 2025 Arlene Giddings

5 more to add to the list…

21. One Golden Summer - Carley Fortune
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I read this book in May and I have fond memories
of it because I bought this book to read
while staying at a sweet little cottage in Mill River.
It rained the whole weekend but I was
nestled in to this adorable little spot
with soft blankets, lamp light and
chocolate covered strawberries….
and the book was perfect.
Sweet and funny, the dialogue and banter,
the story line, I was fully engaged
and maybe crushing on Charlie a little bit.

22. The Last Letter from your Lover - JoJo Moyes
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A book that I grabbed off a sale table
and didn’t really have any expectations
but ended up being enthralled in the love story
and bit of a roller coaster mystery…
and I just realized there is a movie now
(adding to my list!)

23. All the Colors of the Dark - Chris Whitaker
❤️❤️
I remember reading a book by this author before
and really liking it (We Begin at the End)
but this one…I didn’t love this one.
at times, I was interested to see where it was going to go
but mostly, I felt like I was forcing myself.
Sometimes, I felt confused or uncertain, like
this seems like it was a pivotal moment
but I am not really sure what happened…
like there was too much going on, trying to cram in too many
subplots and connections and story lines.
I was not a fan.

24. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb
💙💙💙💙💙
I was fully intrigued by this book.
Found some parts of it hard, but still, loved it.
It was not just a how-to but how-she-did-it
at the same time…

25. Powerless - Lauren Roberts
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I had heard so much about this book
via Booktok and instagram
I wasn’t sure about it at first,
the writing felt young (it is YA so that
totally makes sense)…but once I got into it,
I really loved it. It reminded me a bit
of Hunger Games but not in a bad way.
I will read more of this series.

:) Happy reading!!

In whatcha readin' Tags whatcha readin'?, avid reader, books, book lover, book round up
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whatcha readin'? {goal 45 - books 7-10}

June 23, 2025 Arlene Giddings

Time for a little
bookish catch up…
(I am sooo far behind in posting).

7. This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub
❤️❤️❤️ 1/2

Might not be a fair rating.
I didn’t know it was about a daughter
losing her dad.
Or I wouldn’t have read it.

8. Go As A River - Shelley Read
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Notes from my journal:
”the writing was lyrical and
the story was strong…
I liked how she described peaches
and nature and love.

9. The Joy of Sketch - Jen Russell-Smith
❤️❤️❤️
I finished this in March and enjoyed working
my way through it practicing some of exercises.

10. Circus of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal
❤️❤️❤️
I really, really wanted to love this.
I had been looking forward to reading it
but I was very frustrated with the writing in the beginning…
it was pretty…but I found it hard to understand
what the importance was of her “oddity”…

This doesn’t catch me up yet…
but getting closer.
Which is good because summer is
reading season for me…
beaches, deck, parks
just plant me in one spot
and give me a book
and maybe a doughnut
and I am a happy girl.

whatcha readin’? :)

In whatcha readin' Tags avid reader, books, book lover, book round up
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whatcha readin'? {goal 45 - books 1-3}

February 10, 2025 Arlene Giddings

I went through a bit of a
reading slump
in January…
well….let’s be honest…
I went through a bit of a
life slump
in January in some ways.

Winter can do that to a person.

3 books complete in January…
one was an audio book:

  1. When the Body Says No - Gabor Mate
    ♥♥♥
    To be honest, this was not really what I thought
    it was going to be…or maybe
    what I wanted it to be.
    I wanted reassurance that yes, stress can cause these things
    but if you do these things, you can avoid the diseases
    that stress may cause….
    but instead the book caused me stress
    because they seemed to indicate that
    you could have had stresses outside of your control
    AS A CHILD
    THAT YOU MAY NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF
    that may have already
    started you down the path to disease.
    How is that fair or reasonable??? Sigh.

  2. Fitter, Calmer, Stronger - Ellie Goulding
    ♥♥♥ - audiobook
    This was ok…nothing really revolutionary.
    Apparently she is a famous musician
    but….I didn’t know that when I picked the book. 🤷‍♀️

    (oh wait…she did this song! I didn’t know that.)

  3. Holiday Romance - Catherine Walsh
    ♥♥♥♥
    I liked this more than I had expected to.
    A fun rom-com kinda lighthearted book.

NEXT UP: Outlive (Peter Attia); I Let You Go (Clare MacIntosh) and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (VE Schwab) (and maybe even more if my reading slump is really over!! :)

In whatcha readin' Tags books, avid reader, i love books
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it's a "whatcha readin'?" end of the year ROUND-UP

January 2, 2025 Arlene Giddings

I am not sure why
I struggled so hard
to get here this year
and write about books…
but the good news is
I not only hit
but I surpassed my
self imposed goal of 41 books
and actually read 44
(which means the goal for 2025 will now be 45!!)

The last post I wrote about books
took me to 21.
So here is the short list of the rest
but a couple of them
I may write more about later.

BOOKS 2024:

22. Dark Places - Gillian Fynn
♥♥♥♥ August 2024
23. Gut Smart Protocol - Dr Vincent Perde (audiobook)
♥♥♥♥ August 2024
24. The Winners - Frederick Backman
♥♥♥♥♥ August 2024
25. The Diamond Eye - Kate Quinn
♥♥♥♥♥ August 2024
26. Glow in the effing Dark - Tara Schuster
♥♥♥ August 2024
27. A Court of Frost & Starlight - Sarah J Maas
♥♥♥♥ September 2024
28. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
♥♥♥♥♥ September 2024 (book club pick)
29. The Perfect Couple - Elin Hilderbrand
♥♥♥♥♥ Sept 2024 (the series? not so much)
30. This Summer will be Different - Carly Fortune
♥♥♥♥♥ Sept 2024
31. Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J Maas
♥♥♥♥♥ Oct 2024
32. Fable - Adrienne Young
♥♥♥♥♥ Oct 2024
33. Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Oct 2024
34. Pumpkin Spice Cafe - Laurie Gilmore
♥♥♥♥ Oct 2024
35. One Dark Window - Rachel Gillig
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Nov 2024
36. The Creative Act - Rick Rubin
♥♥♥♥ Nov 2024
37. A Man Called Ove - Fredrick Backman
♥♥♥♥♥ Nov 2024 (book club pick)
38. Two Twisted Crowns - Rachel Gillig
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Nov 2024
39. A Mindful Morning - David Dilliard-Wright
♥♥♥♥ Dec 2024
40. The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune
♥♥♥♥♥ Dec 2024
41. The Enchanted Sonata - Heather Wallwork
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Dec 2024
42. The 12 Week Year - Brian Moran
♥♥♥♥ Dec 2024
43. A Winter in New York - Josie Silver
♥♥♥♥♥ Dec 2024
44. The Christmas Fix - Lucy Score
😈😈😈Dec 2024 (a little spicy…just fair warning)

Looking forward to lots of reading in 2025!
I also started using a new reading app called Fable,
come find me over there!
And have started to make a reading bullet journal
because…I like paper and pen…heh.

What was your favorite read of 2024?
What are you excited to read in 2025?
:)

In whatcha readin' Tags all the books, books, avid reader, read all about it, reading round up
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whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 12 & 13}

September 23, 2024 Arlene Giddings

It’s that time of year
when I realize that I have
really gotten behind in posting
the books I have read
and that I am not going to be able
to catch up without
posting multiples so here is
my last read for May
and my first read for June.

IT ENDS WITH US - COLLEEN HOOVER
♥♥♥♥

I am actually not really sure
what to say about this book.
I found the writing a little light…
it attempts to pack a lot into one story.
It does make a valiant effort to pull back
the curtain on how one gets into a
situation like this…and
how a person’s mind will try to
rationalize (and even excuse) another person’s behavior…
even though
you really do know better.

Also curious about the movie now
so that is also on my list.

MEET ME BY THE LAKE - CARLEY FORTUNE
♥♥♥♥

Similar to the book above,
I found the writing a little light.
It was a nice, quick start of summer read
for me and so it served
that purpose well.

I do really love her characters
and would be more than willing
to give her other books a try.

NEXT UP: FUNNY STORY - EMILY HENRY

In whatcha readin' Tags whatcha readin'?, book lover, avid reader
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