whatcha readin'? {goal 48 - books 17 to 20)

A little bit of a book dump📖
today because I am definitely
further along then 17 so thought
I would share up to #20 to catch up a little…

17. THE WIFE - MEG WOLITZER
❤️❤️❤️ out of 5 ❤️’s

So I think I picked this one up
in a book sale somewhere…
definitely a second hand pick.
I struggled a little with the high acclaim it had
because I found it a little slow moving…
and not really surprising
as far as plot twists go.
I am curious about the movie though…
what a great cast!

18. REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES -
SHELBY VAN PELT
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Now this one I loved.
I loved this story,
especially the POV of the octopus.
And Tova’s stubbornness and
independence,
which, not gonna lie,
I can kinda relate to.
I felt like I could see the answer early
but was also not sure that it was
even meant to be hidden.

I watched the Netflix adaptation
and I love Sally Field in anything…
the movie was good on it’s own
but I definitely preferred the book.

19. THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES -
AMY TAN
💛💛💛out of 5 (yellow is non-fiction)

I wanted to love this, I really did.
And I did love it in the beginning but
I think that maybe I read it wrong.
I had it as a virtual copy and read it
all as one book
but in hindsight, I wish I had the paper copy
and that I had just picked it up
here and there…
I think I would have appreciated it more
especially since it is laid out in short essays
with drawings.
But I did enjoy it & don’t regret getting this one.
Also, I love Amy Tan’s fiction books.

20. HELD - ANNE MICHAELS
❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was not prepared to like this book
as much as I did.
I was very confused in the beginning
as to what was happening but eventually
caught on….
the writing was beautiful.
This book made me feel quiet
and wordy. and slow.
in a good way.

“I missed her more than ever this time. Everywhere we were made me think of her. I almost thought I’d see her if I turned my head.” He was fully awake now. “Sometimes I think I see her too,” Peter said, “out of the corner of my eye, if you can see a feeling.”

“Yes, I think you can.”

If you can see a feeling.
That line.
That line. 💔

That takes me to almost the
end of June…
and I finished my 30th book yesterday
so getting closer to the goal.
I have to read 18 more to hit it
and 11 of that 18 have to be off my
26 in 2026 list.

Yes. I do this to myself.
On purpose.
🤭

whatcha readin'? {goal 48 - books 9-11}

April has come and gone
in the blink of a rainy sometimes snowy eye.

I read a total of 4 books in April
which I consider to be an okay number
considering one was completely painful
and maybe I should have just opted to choose the
"Did Not Finish" option
for once in my life…but I persevered.

Here are the final 3 for April:

Constance - Patricia Clapp
💙💙💙💙

This is a re-read for me from a long time ago.
It has crossed my mind so many times
over the years.
I might have been 12 or so
when I read it…and it was one of the ones
I signed out of the library constantly
as a kid…so it was so fun for me to find it again
and re-read it so many years later.

And oddly enough, I still remembered parts of it.

Anyway, I’m not really going to recommend it
even though I gave it 4 hearts.
Those were more nostalgia hearts.

Poems and Prayers - Matthew McConaughey
🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
I wanted to like this.
I did.
I started off liking it
but somewhere along the way
it veered off into
what I think Dr Seuss would sound like
if he was high.
and not in a good way.
A little too rhyme-y for me…
the word play was fun sometimes but
also got on my nerves…maybe I would have
been better off reading this in chunks
and not trying to read it all in one go…
but it’s a not really recommended for me.

Icebreaker - Hannah Grace
😈😈😈
Ok, let me preface this by saying
I DIDN’T KNOW.
(if you already know the level of spice
in this book, I repeat, I DIDN’T KNOW)
I picked this up, oddly enough,
at a BIBLE Thrift store
and, ironically enough,
it was labeled YOUNG ADULT.
Let me just say, this book made me blush
so many times from pretty much page one
that I thought I might be permanent shade of pink.
If it is young adult, then YA has definitely changed
from the YA sweet valley high kinda books
I am used to.
The story was ok, the spice was very hot,
and it was a good book to distract me
from my sprained SI joint
so no complaints here.

Will I continue to read the Maple Hills sexual saga
now that I realized there are 2 other books in the series…
ummm…maybe not. Or maybe I will…heh.
I am a little invested now. 🤷🏻‍♀️