Spring Slump

I'm been in a bit of a reading slump. I've started 4 books and just haven't moved through them.  Don't get me wrong, i plan to finish all 4 but I've just had trouble getting going.  Sometimes this happens and  I just need to power through one and I'll be back on track.
But, in the meantime, let's talk about books!
I was in NYC for work a couple of weeks ago and got there a day early to play in the city.  One of the things I did was visit the Morgan Library and Museum.  It is JP Morgan's library and it is pretty spectacular.  He was a book collector and you can walk through the library and view the collects and hear an audio tour of the building and his collections.  Not only was it absolutely beautiful but there was also a Tolkien Exhibit to see.  No photos allowed :( but it was cool to see the art work and photos of his life.
That night I met with 2 dear high school friends at the Algonquin hotel.  It was so fun to catch up and I  saw the round table!  If you don't know what i'm talking about --  Dorothy Parker (Writer, poet) was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table.  It was a group of writers who would lunch at the hotel almost daily .  Look it up!
Love visiting NYC.  So full of literary references.

I have 3 books on my Kindle right now so hopefully next week I can post an actual review!  Wish me luck.

Book of the Month Club!

What's the perfect gift for a reader?  Book of the Month Club!
I got a 1 year subscription for Christmas from 2 of my favorite people.  Now each month I get to choose a book and have it delivered.  The funny thing is that I moved to digital books a few years ago so it is kind of cool to move back to real books!  Here are my first 2 choices for January  and February;

Rosie!

Every thing's coming up Rosie!
Can't believe we are halfway through February!   I've had a slow start to the year.  I have only finished 2 books but started 4 others but just haven't finished them up.
Let's start with the first book of the year--  the Rosie Project!
I loved this book.  Super fun about a man named Don Tillman who is socially challenged and decides to find a wife.  He finds Rosie who is the opposite of the perfect mate for Don but he sets off on a journey to help her find her real father.   Don's orderly life get interrupted and he falls in love.  It's just a charming story with a very unusual main character.  Well written, funny and just a great read.  There is a scene where Don dances at an event that made me laugh out loud on the bus. The folks around me thought I was crazy.    I did not like his best friend who is a womanizer and gives bad advice.  But besides that, the rest of the book was great.
Now for the bad news....   I liked the first book so much that I started reading the 2nd book.  the Rosie Effect.  I made it halfway through and put it down.  It was not good.  I actually found it painful to read.  About halfway through I realized that I just wasn't enjoying it and had no desire to finish it.  The 2nd book was about Don adjusting to life with Rosie and an upcoming arrival.  Rosie's character didn't feel authentic and it felt like there were issues in the book just to added to showcase  Don's awkwardness (Asperger's) .  Also, Don's best friend Gene shows up again and since i didn't like him in the first book, having him in the 2nd book wasn't great.  I don't usually drop a book once I get this far into it but I just gave up. 
My recommendation- Read the Rosie Project and stop there.

Also...sounds like they are making a movie!  Ryan Reynolds staring as Don. 

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 

Everyone is publishing them but this is the one I have used in the past.  (the link is on the sidebar)
Enjoy and happy reading!

New Beginnings and Happy New Year!

So,  I didn't finish those 2 books on my Kindle and i ended  the year at 31 books!  My goal was 24 so i'm pretty happy!   This year i'm setting my goal at 30.  Let's see if I can do  it again. 
It would be hard to choose my favorite for the year but I can choose a few favorites ☺Here are my top 5!
I'm going to start with the very first book i read in 2018-  Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.   At first I didn't like the main character but about half way through I just loved her!  She is quirky and weird and I think she is on the spectrum.  At times I felt sad for her and yet i wanted to know her.  It is a character that stuck with me for a long time after reading.  I would highly recommend this book!
The next one I would list in my top 5 is The Bookshop on the Corner.  I reviewed this book earlier this year so I won't do it again.  Loved this book.  It is just a quick read and a feel good book. 
Next would be The Rules of Magic.  I also reviewed this book so i'll just say that if you haven't read Alice Hoffman, READ HER NOW.   Next would be Before We Were Yours.  I just read this book last month and I have been telling people about it ever since.  It is based on the true store of scandal around the Tennessee Children's Home Society Orphanage.  The story goes back and forth between a young girl and her siblings who are stolen and put in the orphanage and eventually sold out to families.  The other story is modern day and about a woman, Avery , who has come home due to her fathers health crisis.  She starts to uncover some secrets in her family history which leads her on a journey.   Really well written and a great discussion for our book group.  Finally book 5 is  Little Fires Everywhere.  This is my 2nd book to read by Celeste Ng.  She is an outstanding writer!  This story is about 2 families , one mother super controlled and living the upper middle class life.  The other mother an artist and living paycheck to paycheck.  She has lots of secrets and mystery surrounds her.  But the reason this book is so good is because of the character development.  The plot is good but the characters are just so rich.   Pick it up. 

When i started this blog I had planned to make it half book reviews and half recipes inspired by the books.  Ha!  So far it has only been book reviews.  I always forget to photograph what I'm cooking ..
For 2019 I am committing to taking more food photos and posting on the blog at least 1 time per month.  And maybe even telling people about the blog since no one even see it!  Maybe it's time to go public!   

So, here is one recipe for the end of year.  My favorite holiday baked good from this year- Cranberry orange loaf cake.  Delicious.  Not necessarily inspired by a book but inspired by the season .  Happy New Year!  (from the website- 2 Peas & Their Pod)

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End of the year!

Another year is getting ready to wrap up.  I had a great reading year and a so so year on updating this blog.  Let's talk about the good reading year first :)
I read 31 books this year!  I think that is the best year I've had in a while.  I posted about a few on this blog but let's talk about some which I haven't written about.
I reread the entire Betsy and Tacy series (well , the teenage through adult volumes.  I skipped the kid ones).  I has been a number of years since reading these.  I love them.  I read them first when i was a kid and for a while I'd revisit yearly.  Slowly that has dropped to every few years.  I bet it has now been 10 since picking them up.  But, it's like putting on your favorite pair of shows.  They feel good and you are so glad you remembered them.  I read all 6 volumes but they only count as 3 on my reading list because the editions i checked out from the library pair them 2 in a volume.  I read the first 4 volumes in 2 weeks.  So wonderful.  Betsy is in high school and you discover her friends, her loves and her passion for writing.  The last 2 volumes are a bit harder for me.  I always struggle with Betsy and the Great World.  None of her friends make an appearance and it is all new characters.  Betsy's wedding is also not my favorite because once again, her friends take a back seat and it is all about Betsy and Joe.  Still, they are fun and quick and I just loved them.
 Regarding the blog....   I have done much better this year but still not consistent.  It's funny because it's not really hard to update but I just get busy with life and forget.  Or i think i want to post something but start over thinking it and can't decide what to write.  I'm not giving up yet.  One more year and if i can't start posting more regularly, I'll drop it.  I have postponed sharing it on my social media because i don't post often enough.  but maybe it's time to share! 

This week is Christmas and I'm in Virginia with my folks.  I have 2 books on my kindle that I'm going to try to knock out before January 1.  that could take my list to 33 which is probably a record for me since i usually hover around 24-30 every year.  Wish me luck and Merry Christmas!

The End of Summer

Summer is over!  It flew by.  But, I was able to sneak in a final week in Hawaii which was lovely!  I sat on the beach 5 hours a day and read, napped and thought about life.
I also read a few books!
I'm going to review the first 2 and save the remaining for the next post.

Since You've Been Gone by Anouska Knight
this is a story of a young widow named Holly who runs a bakery, cake shop.  Her husband has been dead for 2 years but she is still struggling to move on.  She sees him and talks to him daily.  But then Ciaran Argyll walks into her life.  He is completely opposite of her and changes everything.
I enjoyed the story but it was pretty predictable.  I really enjoyed the characters and especially the side characters, her assistant, his father and her sister.  The writing

was good and it was fine for a beach read.  Plus, I love a story that revolves around food!  I'd give this 3.5 stars.

Since you've been gone trailer



The Flower Arrangement by Ella Griffin
Lara owns a flower shop in the middle of Dublin.  She knows exactly what flower each person needs.  We find out early on that Lara has lost a child and is still in mourning.  This story jumps around to a whole bunch of characters.  Sometimes that drives me nuts but I liked this one.  Lara's story and that of her brother are the main ones but all of the others are connected.  I really enjoyed this.  The flowers felt magical and I liked how they were weaved in each story. 
The only bummer was the end.  It is not neatly wrapped up which is what i like.  You are left wondering what will happen and it's over.  But, I'd still give it 4 stars just because of the great characters and the journey they go on.

Next time I'll review the other beach reads! 

Books about Books!

I  love Books about Books!   Anyone who calls themselves a reader, loves to read about other readers.  I've read a bunch of them recently.   Here are the most recent;

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpren.  I really liked this one.  It started out a bit slow for me but by half way, i really wanted to know what would happen.  It jumps back and forth a bit from a woman's,  Kit, relationship and eventual marriage to present day.  We know in present day she is alone but not sure what happened.   Meanwhile a young girl , Sunny, is caught stealing a dictionary and her punishment is to spend the summer working in the library.   Kit is the librarian and they form an unexpected friendship.  Eventually they are joined by Rusty who is suddenly a regular hanging out daily in the library.  The book isn't  really about books as much as it is about the library and how it brings people together and is in someways the heart of the community.   I thought the characters were well thought out and interesting.    Kit was so damaged and needed help and these new friends were critical to her getting better.  .  I gave it 4 stars.

.Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her life by Anne Spence   .   I love an epistolary book but this one didn't really do it for me.  It is individual letters to the books or authors of different books.  While some of the letter were funny and i enjoyed the one's related to books i had read, some didn't do it for me.  Not many of the letters made me want to run out a read a book she wrote about with the exception of the Virgin Suicides.  I put that one on my TBR list.  I kept putting this book down.  i would read a few letters and then read another book.  Then pick it up and read a few more.  She does have a real love for books and for that, I gave it 3 stars.

Until next time, happy reading! 

June Riot Gram - day 2 Library Love

Book Riot has posted the June Riot Gram .  June 2nd is Library love!   My favorite library is the NY Public library.  i mean...   who doesn't love that place! Last time i was there was 5 years ago and it just always takes my breath away.   I swear if i lived in NY, i'd go there all the time just to sit.  Recently when we went to Boston, we stopped in the Boston Public Library.  I was super impressed because it was also beautiful,   Not only the library part but also the beautiful art work displayed and the murals  on the walls.   3 years ago my niece and nephew were visiting and we went to University of Washington's campus for a tour.  The library there reminded me of Harry Potter.    Finally we have the little neighborhood lending library.  This is approximately 2 blocks from my house and I love leaving books there for some lucky soul to discover.  It is a great way for me to purge my bookshelves

Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library

NY Public Library

University of Washington Library

University of Washington or Hogwarts 

Jane Austen Inspired books

There is something about books inspired by Jane Austen.  I just can't stop reading them.  I guess it's that hopeless romantic side of me that knows the strong woman will always find the man who is just as strong at the end.
In the past year I've read several Austen inspired books.  Last year I reviewed 2- Lizzy & Jane and Dear Mr. Knightley, both by Katherine Reay.   Today, we'll take a look at two new ones;

The Jane Austen Project 

 This is not the typical kind of book that I read.   2 researchers travel back in time to find a suspected unpublished novel of Jane Austen.   Usually time travel makes me crazy but i enjoyed this.  They must pretend to be brother and sister and not disturb anything in the past that might have an impact in the future.  Of course that can't happen. You know from the beginning that something isn't going to go right.   I really enjoyed the fictional Jane and the time traveler Rachel.   I thought her struggles to control her independence and her growing relationship with Liam (who is posing as her brother) was well thought out.  Overall the book kept me turning the pages to see what would happen.  I really wanted to know what would happen when they returned or if they would return.  Usually these books are a retelling of a Jane story but this one was a retelling of her life.  4 stars!    It appeals to the fantasy/sci fi fans of time travel and the Austen fans. 

By the Book  -    This one is a retelling of Persuasion.  I have to admit that I've never read Persuasion but have seen 2 different movie versions of it.   This one is fun and a bit mindless but perfect when you want something that doesn't hurt your brain and you can just enjoy.   Anne Corey is a professor trying to get tenure and struggling to stay afloat.  Her ex-fiance shows up as the new college president .  He has obviously done well for himself in spite of what was predicted meanwhile she is barely hanging on.  Of course there is a handsome writer who shows up and courts Anne.  I knew that in true Jane fashion, he would be a two timing no good rascal and that is exactly what happens.   Very predictable if you know anything about the story but fun. I read this on the bus to and from work.  The characters (especially her best friend) were fun.  This is probably a bit more of a 3.5 star rating but i rounded up to 4.  I would call this a good beach read.