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Menampilkan postingan dari Desember, 2019

Thinking About Reading Challenges, TBR Piles, and All the New Books of 2020: What's in Store for January

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Is it wrong that I've already ordered two new paperbacks, and two hardcovers, all new titles that are out in January? See, this is why I tell myself I won't limit myself on how many books I can buy each month. I'd last about 10 minutes before I broke that promise, so I'm not going to try, and heck yes, I'm not even going to feel bad about it! However, I'm happy to say I am still checking books out at my library. And I have been thinking and pondering for days just what to do with all of my TBR piles sitting around at home. Brilliant breakthroughs have not made an appearance, so in the spirit of not putting ridiculous pressure on myself, I'm just going to make an effort each month to grab a few books off my bookcases and my piles on the floor and read them, then pass them along to friends and family.   So for every new book I buy, I've got to read that much out of my piles at home. HOLY HECK. January is usually one of my big read months. The weather may t...

My Top Ten Reads of 2019...and a Few Honorable Mentions

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I saw a few book bloggers posting their top reads of the year and decided I should bite the bullet and take care of mine. I'll still get in a few reads before January 1st, but neither will be cracking my top ten. I whittled it down from 20, so I think I did pretty good just making my list and not over-thinking. I'm kind of surprised what came out on top.  Before I list my top ten, I want to put out a few honorable mentions. These were books I read in 2019, long after the rest of the world read them. They were both oh so good and I loved them very much. However, to be fair to the rest of the books I read in 2019, they won't be in my top ten even though they were fan-freaking-tastic! Those books are:                            Where the Crawdads Sing by Deliah Owens                        Eleanor Oliphant is Completey Fine by Gail Honeyman...

Anything but Civil: A Hattie Davish Mystery by Anna Loan-Wilsey

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It's Christmas Eve!  I had the chance to finish up a mystery that caught my eye earlier this week. It takes place in Galena, Illinois, which is about 1.5 hours away from where I live, and a place I've visited many times over the years. And...it takes place at Christmas! I'm still a bit surprised I found two random mysteries this month that have a Christmas theme.  Anything But Civil  is the second in the Hattie Davish series. I haven't read the first one, but it didn't seem to be too much of an issue. I probably will go back and read it eventually. Hattie is a young woman who is a traveling secretary, and she's in Galena, IL with Sir Arthur Winslow-Greene, an Englishman who has settled in the United States to study the American Civil War, which has been over for decades. He's hired Hattie to be his secretary on a visit to Galena (home of U.S. Grant) to interview his latest book topic: General Cornelius Starrett. Sir Arthur and Hattie will be spending the Chr...

The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street by Karen White

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It's safe to say I'm a HUGE Karen White fan, and especially of her Tradd Street series. I eagerly await the next in the series, and dang it all-- I found out there's going to be just one more in the series. I'm glad, because this one ends with a bit of a cliffhanger that absolutely must be resolved.  I don't want to give a lot away, since this is the sixth in the series. But the basics of the series I can certainly share: Melanie is a real estate agent in her hometown of Charleston. She sells a lot of old historic homes, and she loathes them, mostly because she can see and hear the dead. A town with the history of Charleston has spirits everywhere, and Melanie isn't a fan of her talent, inherited from her opera singing mother.  Melanie's home on Tradd Street was inherited from an old man who enjoyed Melanie's company, and knew of her talents. He was convinced his home would be safe in her hands. And through this series, it is safe in her hands after she ...

Two Holiday Novels: Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle & We Met in December by Rosie Curtis

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I'm working my way through the stack of holiday novels I have at home, and decided to review two today, since I've managed to finish them both this weekend.  Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle caught my eye during a trip to B&N a few weeks ago.  If you're looking for something very sweet and tame, this is for you. I knew when I bought it I was guaranteed a gentle read, and it delivered. Liz Westmoreland has a very busy job and is wildly successful at it, but she dreams of returning to Antler Creek, North Carolina, where she spent summers and Christmas with her grandparents. They owned Angel's Rest, a wonderful lodge in the mountains that had a reputation for miles around as a great place to stay. After her grandparents sold the place and died shortly thereafter, Liz went on with her life, but always had the dream of going back and opening Angel's Rest again.  Call it coincidence, or fate, but Liz sees Angel's Rest is up for sale the night befor...

American Cozy: Hygge-Inspired Ways to Create Comfort & Happiness by Stephanie Pedersen

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I've been curious about the idea of hygge--a Danish way of being that puts creating and living a comfortable, cozy life at the top of your priority list. This may seem very simplistic, and it is, mostly. What's not simple is wrapping your brain around it and changing your life enough that you feel pretty hygge all the time. And just for your reference, it's pronounced "hoo-gah".  I've found myself saying it over and over lately, in order to retrain my brain to think the pronunciation correctly and stop it from thinking "hi-gee".   The author, Stephanie Pedersen, takes hygge and adds an American spin on it. I haven't read any other hygge books, so I can't say how different, if at all, it is regarding the Danish practice of hygge. But I think I can say with a lot of confidence that Americans seem terribly busy, busy, busy and distracted. We seem to constantly be scrambling to get things done, and are so busy cramming our days with so much, we...

Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes

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The Christmas tree is up at my house, and I was either too lazy or just not feeling the vibes to put out all my Christmas decorations. I went minimal and I'm happy with it. Just a few wreaths (battery operated timed lights rock!), stockings for Bud and I (I told him that meant he had to fill mine this year), a few candles to make it smell like a pine forest. I have a few items my Dad made that I absolutely have to put out each year; I'll confess I had a few tears putting them out and thinking about my Dad. Christmas sure does make you think about holidays past, and all those people who aren't here to celebrate with us.  I've managed to avoid holiday cookies and treats so far, but I'm sure I'll cave and devour something a bit closer to December 24th! Reading this novel--some of the food made me have a few pangs, but I stayed strong.  So, if you've followed my blog for a while, you know I have a love/hate relationship with Anita Hughes novels. I've read a ...

An Ale of Two Cities: A Literary Pub Mystery by Sarah Fox

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I had to start out my December reads by finishing this cozy mystery, the second in the Literary Pub Mystery series by Sarah Fox. I reviewed the first in the series back in March: Wine and Punishment , and enjoyed it enough that I had to snatch the second mystery up as soon as it came into the library. I can't wait to see what happens with the third in the series.  This cozy mystery is set in the little town of Shady Creek, Vermont. It's winter, and time for the annual Winter Carnival, a week-long event that includes an ice sculpting contest, a hockey tournament, a parade, and lots of activities for tourists and townspeople.  Sadie, our intrepid mystery sleuth, continues to run her literary pub The Inkwell, and is a bit melancholy about the upcoming Christmas season--it's her first in her new hometown, and she'll be spending it alone-all her family will be traveling around and no one will be home. But before she can think too much about it, one of the competitors in the ...

It's December!! Holiday Reads are in the House Wahoo!

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Reading holiday novels in December has become an annual tradition for me and something that I look forward to every year. I usually accumulate a few in November and have to sit on my hands to keep myself from not starting them before Thanksgiving. I managed to only read one ahead of December, so I consider that a big win for me.  Here's what I'll be reading to get myself into the holiday mood: I haven't read any of this series, and I'm not starting with the first one, but I don't care! Love me some Jenny Colgan.  A sweet little non-fiction book about achieving comfort at home, American hygge style.  I'm returning to Charleston again for a ghostly tale in my favorite series.  Saw this at the bookstore and it was an impulse buy. Don't know much about it!   I have a love/hate relationship with Anita Hughes. Her novels are so outside of my reality, but I can't seem to stay away.  Returning to Ireland for Christmas. Love this series.  Christm...