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?
:)

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

January 15, 2024 Arlene Giddings

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.

Frankenstein - hated. Literally HATED this book
House in the Pines - Ana Reyes
♥♥♥♥
The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
♥♥♥♥♥
Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch
♥♥♥♥
Life after Life - Kate Atkinson (this book was a struggle but beautiful but also made me want to hurl it into the ocean)
♥♥♥
She Who Became the Sun - Shelly Parker Chan
♥♥♥♥♥
Whiskey in a Teacup - The Adorable Reese Witherspoon
♥♥♥♥
Slammed - Colleen Hoover
♥♥♥
The Book of Goethel - Mary McMyne
♥♥♥♥♥
Bone Black - bell hooks
♥♥♥
The End of Her - Shari Lapegna
♥♥♥
Call Me Zelda - Erika Robuck
♥♥♥♥
Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur {audio book}
♥♥♥
Really Good Actually - Monica Heisey
♥♥♥♥
Molly’s Game - Molly Bloom
♥♥♥♥♥
Demon Copperfield - Barbara Kingsolver
♥♥♥♥
A Court of Thorns & Roses - Sarah J Maas
♥♥♥♥♥
I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jeannette McCurdy
♥♥♥♥
The Whole Body Reset - Stephen Perinne
♥♥♥♥
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 35::book 9}

June 6, 2022 Arlene Giddings

Oh, how I loved this book.

Once again, I really wasn’t expecting anything.
I don’t even know where I got this one…
and I had just bought like 3 new books
but saw this one sitting on my end table
(where it has sat for about a year
untouched
in full view)
and for some reason,
the blue-green cover suddenly caught my attention.

And it kept my attention.

The writing was beautiful, lyrical, sensory
and full of evocative imagery…
I realized after that this was a Reese book club pick
and then I was like yeah, I can see that.
I always love the books they pick.

Anyway, it was a beautiful read.
I was sad to see it come to an end.

Definitely 5♥♥♥♥♥’s out of 5
NEXT UP:: SISTER STARDUST - JANE GREEN

whatcha readin'? {goal 35::book 8}

May 16, 2022 Arlene Giddings

I feel like lately the only thing
I get on here to write
are “whatcha readin’” posts
which is good in a way…
it means I have been reading a lot
but I haven’t been saying much more.

There is lots going on for sure
and now that I have figured out
how to write blog posts
OUTSIDE
well…….
you may be hearing a lot more from me
(which may be good
or bad
depending…heehee).

Back to the book.
I picked this up
because of the cover and
the title
and the author’s name
which seemed so perfect
for a book about witches….
Hester Fox.
Like…..yeah. ♥

It was a good book…
It was a nice quick easy read…
the writing felt a little….
young to me,
if that makes sense.

But it was an enjoyable read.

3.5♥♥♥’s out of 5
NEXT UP:: THE SCENT KEEPER - ERICA BAUERMEISTER

whatcha readin'? 2021 {goal 35::book 6}

May 3, 2021 Arlene Giddings

I picked this little book up a while ago
on a spur of the moment whim…
the cover drew me in
and I love anything that
talks about happiness…
it’s one of my most favorite subjects.

It was an interesting little read…
a little more
stats driven then I would have liked
and the fact that
Canada
was never listed in the stats
kind of irked me
a tiny bit
but other than that,
it was interesting.

4 ♥s out of 5
NEXT UP:: THE STARLESS SEA - ERIN MORTENSEN