Well...we have reached the time of year where I need to finish nearly a book a day in order to reach my reading goal. That is looking less likely. Maybe all of a sudden I'll have a bunch of extra time and be able to knock through a bunch of books?? It could happen. It might happen. It probably won't happen. But I haven't given up yet!
I'm very active on Goodreads here, somewhat active on Instagram here, and linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy on the 15th!
No other book posts in the past month so here's what I've been reading!
Cotswolds Holiday by Kasey Stockton
I read two in this Christmas Escape series last year and really enjoyed them so I purchase requested the other 5 from the library early this year so I could finish the series out this Christmastime. And I always like kicking off my holiday season (November 1st) with a Christmas book and this is the one I picked this year. Set in the Cotswolds (think The Holiday) part of England, a woman running away from her problems and to the English countryside where the pub owner is a hunky guy who rents out rooms upstairs. They resist each other, for awhile... These Christmas Escape books are all very chaste, like a Hallmark movie (of which I've never seen) but in book form. A bit cheesy but charming and festive and fun. Not my favorite of all of these but a solid Christmas read. 3.5 Stars
Wildflower Falls by Denise Hunter
Speaking of cheesy and charming...her series are also that but not holiday set. These take place in the US, along the Appalachian Trail. They are very predictable (you mean these two single people FALL IN LOVE!?!?!) but charming. I keep reading them, a good breather between...anything even slightly more complicated. 3 Stars
You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
I was pulled in on the fall cover of this one but then...wow...these people were a lot. I heard a review say this started out as Kylo Ren and Rey fanfiction which...is a choice. Just really people who could probably benefit from a lot of therapy and time finding themselves before they peruse ANY kind of relationship with ANY human ever. But takes place in NYC so that was fun. 2.75 Stars
The Vanderbeekers Ever After by Karina Yan Glaser
The final book in the Vanderbeeker series which I have enjoyed for many years. This one featured a cancer storyline so trigger warning if you don't like reading about sick kids. This book made me cry. It was not as fun as the previous ones, for that major reason. I wish it could have ended on a cheerier book, I know hard stuff exists in life but I wasn't seeking it out in middle grade fiction! 3 Stars
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
I've enjoyed a few of this author's books in the past, more literary than most of what I read. It reminded me, a bit, of Kitchens of the Great Midwest, more short stories around people that are loosely connected. In this case, about how no two persons have the same experience with a book. From the writer, to the editor to people who read it or chose not to read it. It was captivating and thought provoking. 3.75 Stars
Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most by Cassie Holmes
This was our book club pick for November and one I appreciated as we head into the busy holidays and then a new year. I've read many time management books (particularly by Laura Vanderkam) and so this didn't have anything particularly new BUT I did appreciate her approach to breaking down the week into hour segments and really planning where everything will fit in. That was the approach I was planning to try after the holidays and it was helpful to have it all broken down. But, also, even if you aren't into super planning out your life, she talks too about making sure you fit in the important things first, giving yourself some quality downtime (that's not scrolling), and making sure you are doing what matters to you. I appreciated this book, very much. 4 Stars
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
My sister highly recommended this on audio and I resisted but she was right. It was delightful to have Draco Malfoy narrating his life story to me. This covered his life before, during, and after Harry Potter. It actually made me a bit sympathetic to Slytherins! It really was just a delightful read with some good Harry Potter nuggets in there. Listening put me behind on my podcasts but it was worth it. About 6 hours at 1.25 speed. 4 Stars
The Lost English Girl by Julia Kelly
Historical fiction around British kids being taken into the English countryside during World War II. A mostly single mother who made the terrible decision to send her daughter away against her better judgement. Her estranged husband who comes back to help her when tragedy strikes. It was heartbreaking at times but reminder of how dark the war years were. 3.75 Stars
Later On We'll Conspire by Kortney Keisel
Another Christmas Escape book, this involved spies and hidden romance and jet setting and someone who could just magically get them the things they needed to pull off a complicated plan, and an old lady with dementia who forgot she was forgetful for a night. It was a bit far fetched a times. 3 Stars
A Newport Christmas by Jess Heileman
And another Christmas Escape, my reading is largely dictated by library hold lists right now, trying to get through what other people are waiting on! Set in Newport, Rhode Island, a Christmas wedding of a big influencer (this is the second book I read in November with a Christmas set wedding. DO NOT invite me to a wedding on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day!). Fancy gingerbread houses. Don't know that I've read another book set in Rhode Island so that was different but not quite as charming as the English countryside. 3.25 Stars
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Oh boy, this was a read. It was not as fun as Tom Felton's book, not by an stretch. It actually made me pretty sad reading it, hearing her side of her life. I remember her at the height of her fame and in the decades since. She mentions a day in Las Vegas in October 2018 where it was announced she would be doing another residency which she didn't want to do...we were IN Vegas on that day and saw the stage and all the security but didn't know until later that day what it was for. Anyways, can't star rate this one, it was really sad, especially if all that stuff about her family was true (and I think it largely is). Worthwhile read for millennials who grew up with the pop music of the late 90s and early 00s though. Fame is an ugly monster.
Read to my boys
Socks by Beverly Cleary
The story of a cat not adjusting well to having a human baby in the family. Read this to my 5 year old and he really likes cats so he enjoyed this. 3.5 Stars
The River by Gary Paulsen
I make my 10 year old sit through a non-Harry Potter book between reading those to him and this is what we read between Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. It's a follow-up to The Hatchet which we read a few years ago. He does like the survivalist books although I would NOT let my kid go back into the wilderness after he barely survived the first time... 3.5 Stars
The Puzzled Penguin and The Silky Seal Pup by Amelia Cobb
This is more in a magical zoo series I've been reading my 5 year old. The great-niece of the zoo owner can talk to animals but nobody knows she can do this. She also has a pet mouse lemur named Meep that my son really likes and now wants (hard no). These are sweet books about animals that are easy to get through and he loves them. Although we are on the last hard copy that the library owns (only 4 out of 24!) 3 Stars
What have YOU been reading lately??
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