Double-Stacked Bookshelves

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl and it's a great way to share what you're loving in list form.  The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is:  Top Ten Books I Liked/Loved But Can't Remember Much About .  There are definitely books that stick with you; that you can recall small details from; that resonate.  Then there are books that you enjoyed reading, but for some reason their details leave your mind as soon as you close the cover.  Below are ten books that fall into that category for me. And since I am not a fan of re-reading books (unless it's Harry Potter ), I'll probably never remember what happened aside from the fact that I read these... Ash Wednesday by Ethan Hawke   Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale   Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland Frog Music by

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl and it's a great way to share what you're loving in list form.  The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is:  Top Ten Bookish Goals/Resolutions for 2018 .  Ironically, I just did a goals post for Bout of Books last week , so I'll be using some of those same goals in this post.  I might also sneak a few new ones in there :) Here's what's brewing in my book/blog world for the year: Read ONLY books that I currently own.  I have way too many books that have resided on my OVERFLOWING bookshelves and they've been there for years.  Seriously, years!  I have made a resolution to read from those books over the next few months in an effort to purge some books from my home and make a dent in the ever shrinking and fully cluttered spare bedroom... Start reviewing books again.  I was on a really good kick for a few years, but over the pas

What a fun round of Bout of Books!  I know I'm a day late in posting my final stats and wrapping it all up, but life happens :) Here are my final stats: Current Read :  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Pages Read : Not enough to even count...haha Total Pages :  346 + a smidge...I forgot to keep track (to be honest) Time Spent Reading :  I didn't spend nearly as much time reading over the weekend as I had planned.  I have no excuse aside from pure laziness and getting sucked into some TV instead of my books.  I'm okay with that, though I wish I had finished at least two books for the read-a-thon. Books Finished :  Knitting by Anne Bartlett  Challenges :  Book-Spine Poetry (Day 6); none on Day 7 Thoughts :  As a whole, this Bout of Books might not have been a page count success, but I participated in more mini challenges and didn't stress about getting my reading in this round.  I count that as a pretty good edition of BOB!  And now the

Today's mini challenge for Bout of Books is:  Book Spine Poetry! Here's my poetic endeavor: Speak Softly, She Can Hear The Remedy for Love, The Last Breath. Nothing to Envy. Little Earthquake. Beautiful Ruins. What She Left Behind: The Grace That Keeps This World A Rather Lovely Inheritance. This was a fun little challenge :)   Happy reading, fellow Bout of Bookers!

Welcome to the homestretch, fellow Bout of Bookers!  I have every intention of completing the two books I've been working on all week.  Here are Friday's Stats: Current Read :  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Pages Read :  107 in Knitting Total Pages :  346 Time Spent Reading :  I had a very good reading day!  Spend several hours throughout the day reading and finishing up one book and got a good chunk done out of the other.  Maybe I'll finish Shadow before the weekend's up and start a third! Books Finished :  Knitting by Anne Bartlett  Challenges :  None... Thoughts :  Though I had every intention of reading from Shadow yesterday evening, I just didn't get to it.  I chose to watch some TV (mainly shows my husband is not too keen on since he was at work) and then went to bed.  I'm not too heartbroken about it ;) Happy reading, BOB Fam :)

Hello, dears :)  We're coming to the last half of the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon and, though not as successful as I would have liked, I'm okay with my participation.  Here are my stats for Day 4: Current Read :  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Knitting by Anne Bartlett Pages Read :  34 from Shadow and 59 from Knitting Total Pages :  239 Time Spent Reading :  Yesterday was my most successful reading day yet...which isn't saying much.  I almost finished one book.  It shall be done on Day 5 for sure. Challenges :  Bookish Favorites ...loved this mini challenge :) Thoughts :  I liked yesterday! Happy reading, fellow Bout of Bookers!

Today's mini challenge for Bout of Books 21 is Bookish Favorites There are so many directions you could go with this topic, but I'm going to narrow it down to a few things (ones suggested by our fearless leaders, for example).  Here goes! Favorite Audiobook Narrator:  Jim Dale Jim Dale narrates the American recordings of Harry Potter and they are BRILLIANT!!  Simply fantastic.  Now, there is great contention between fans of Dale's readings and the UK readings done by the phenomenal Stephen Fry (whom I adore), but Dale has my heart in this battle.  If you have not listened to the audio versions of HP, please do yourself an enormous favor and get on that.  You won't be disappointed! Favorite Illustrator:  Fiona Staples Staples is a Canadian comic book artist who has worked on a variety of projects ranging from Archie , DV8: Gods and Monsters , North 40 , and many more.  I am most impressed with her work on the Saga series.  It's beautiful, d

Goooood Morning, Bout of Book enthusiasts!  Today is a new day and (fingers crossed) a productive one.  The rain is raining.  The skies are gray.  The books are waiting to be read!  Here's how yesterday went... Stats for Day 3: Current Read :  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Knitting by Anne Bartlett Pages Read :  30 from Shadow and 21 from Knitting Total Pages :  146 Time Spent Reading :  I got a bit of reading done on my lunch break and during my evening break at my second job and a little bit done right before bed (to relax).  15 hour workdays don't lend themselves to good reading time. Challenges :  None...I had every intention of doing the book spine rainbow and even thought about recycling my post from last round of BoB, but I couldn't bring myself to do it and then I ran out of time. Thoughts :  While yesterday was not a super successful BoB day as a whole, I'm still pretty stoked about the little reading I did get done and the

Good morning, lovelies!  Yesterday was a more successful book day all around :)  I got a little bit more reading under my belt (though still significantly below what I normally do) and participated in the awesome goals challenge.  Here are my stats for Day 2: Current Read :  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Knitting by Anne Bartlett Pages Read :  30 from Knitting and 26 from Shadow Total Pages :  95 Time Spent Reading :  Again, about 2 hours on and off throughout the day.  I was feeling very unmotivated to do much last night and got sucked in to HGTV... Challenges :  2018 Reading Goals Thoughts :  Still approaching the read-a-thon with no expectations of myself or the event and I don't feel pressured to read in every spare moment I have.  Today may be a better reading day, or it may not.  Who knows ;) Happy reading, fellow Bout of Bookers!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish (until next week when Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl will take over) and it's a great way to share what you're loving in list form.  The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is:  Top Ten Books I Meant to Read in 2017 but Didn't Get To .  Oy Vey!  There are always a TON of books I always mean to get to throughout the year and just never find the time or get distracted by other books because...shiny!  Regardless, here are a few that were totally on my TBR for 2017...and should probably be the first I get through in 2018: The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian The Martian by Andy Weir  Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward The Shoemaker's Wife Adriana Trigiani The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys Shame by Salman Rushdie The New Jim

Today's mini challenge for Bout of Books 21 is 2018 Reading Goals I always have reading goals...mainly due to the fact that there are so many books on my constantly growing TBR and I know I will NEVER be able to read them all before I kick the can.  This might give me slight heart palpitations.  I want to read everything, but people keep writing new books and I want to read those too.  Sigh.  On my quest in reading ALL the books, here are some of my goals for 2018: ONLY read books I currently own.  This is "set in stone" for the next three months as I made this the goal of my book bingo three month reading challenge on the first of the year. Finish series that I've started (and have the desire to finish):  Wildwood Chronicles  by Colin Meloy, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Contours of the Heart by Tammara Webber, Villains by VE Schwab, Muses of Mayfair by Sara Ramsey, Lost Lords by Mary Jo Putney, 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith, Millen

Day 1 is in the books and we've all survived!  While yesterday may not have been the "successful" day I would normally wish to have in past Bout of Books sessions, I'm not worried about it.  As long as I'm able to carve a little time out of my days this week to enjoy a few pages, I'll be a happy camper.  Regardless, here are my stats for the first day of the read-a-thon! Stats for Day 1: Current Read:  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Knitting by Anne Bartlett Pages Read:  39 pages in Shadow of the Wind Time Spent Reading:  About 2 hours on and off throughout the day.  I took some time to attend a yoga+wine session in the evening and watched a show with the husband when he got home from work.  Challenges:  None yesterday.  I had a surprisingly busy day that did not lend itself to bookish pursuits. Thoughts:  I'm approaching the challenge with a low-key relaxed attitude, so I'm not too bent out of shape with my reading y

The start of Bout of Books 21 (wow!) is just around the corner and I'm getting all geared up for the fun :)  My work week will be pretty busy with the start of the term and all the students who will (inevitably) have issues, but I should be able to squeeze some much needed reading time into my evenings.  Here's what's on my radar for the week: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon:  I have just started this book and am loving it, but it's massive and I don't think I'll be able to finish it over the weekend. Knitting by Anne Bartlett:  I have started this book as well, and it's significantly shorter than Zafon's, so I may have it finished before Monday. Possible reads:  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Diviners by Libba Bray, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, Shame by Salman Rushdie I'm also on a kick of reading ONLY books I already own (too many that I've had for EONS and have never read) AND that fit into the categ

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a great way to share what you're loving in list form.  The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is:  Top Ten New To You Authors .  Oh, there are so many possibilities!  Needless to say, there are several authors on my list who should not be new-to-me authors because they've been around for a while.  Alas...I'm late to their genius.  In no particular order, here are some authors I loved this year: Jhumpa Lahiri :  Her short stories in Interpreter of Maladies are beautiful and brilliant.  I'm very excited to expand my Lahiri reading. Ellen Marie Wiseman :  Wiseman's The Plum Tree is a heartbreaking work of gorgeous story.  I'm thankful I found this gem in the Friends of the Library book sale. Leslye Walton :  The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is just that...strange and beautiful.  Walton's writin

Yikes!  I'm a little behind the curve on signing up for this round of Bout of Books , but thanks to Lori over @ Palmer's Page Turners I saw there was still time.  Woohoo! The official blurb: The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in.  Bout of Books is low-pressure.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional.  For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team   Yay!  I always love this read-a-thon and am excited for another round...though I doubt it will be as successful as the last one (graphic novels for the win!).   There's still time to sign up if you'd like to join.  Simply go HERE !   Happy reading, all :)