Alta Journal - California Book Club - Janet Fitch

 

Last night, I watched the California Book Club monthly online event hosted by Alta Journal. This month, the featured book and author was White Oleander by Janet Fitch.

I remember reading White Oleander more than two decades and really enjoyed it at the time. I really enjoyed hearing Janet Fitch talk about White Oleander, her writing process and so on.

Above is the YouTube video from last night's event featuring Janet Fitch, should you care to view it.

I'm NOW Addicted to Hoopla!!

I signed up for Hoopla through my public library at the end of December 2025. Each month, I am able to borrow four items per month via Hoopla for FREE. This includes music, movies, audiobooks, ebooks, or some combination of these items as a digital download. 

So far, I've checked out only ebooks or audiobooks through Hoopla. I have checked out the maximum amount of books each month.

I have created a wishlist of 36 books that I will able to borrow through Hoopla this year. That's 9 months worth of books I can borrow before the end of 2026!

Is there anyone else out there hooked on Hoopla too?  I can't figure why I didn't sign up for Hoopla sooner.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books With Green Covers!!

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I have plenty of books with green book covers in my personal collection. Below are ten books with green covers I still very much want to read.

1. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

2. The Sisters of the Glass Ferry by Kim Michele Richardson

3. The Imposters by Tom Rachman

4. The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick

5. The House Girl by Tara Conklin

6. Furious Hours by Casey Cep

7. The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

8. Weyward by Emilia Hart

9. When the Tamarind Tree Blooms by Elaine Russell

10. Creepers by David Morrell

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I hope you're reading great books!

Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler et al.

 

I remember the rock band, Redbone, from the 1970s... And, I remembered them as a one hit wonder for the song, 'Come and Get Your Love'. Little did I know that Redbone actually had many other hits too.

I've had Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler on my reading wishlist for a number of years and finally decided to read the ebook edition this month.

I really enjoyed this comic book/graphic nonfiction book!! Redbone was an all Native American band and they made it big time. I learned not only a lot about the origins of Redbone, but also a lot about Native American history and Native American activism during the 1960s and 1970s. Pat Vegas, a co-founder of Redbone, is a Native American and Native American activist as well.

Below is a book trailer for Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler:

I am giving Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler a rating of 4stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

What Matters About Reading? Book Tag Time!

I watch Criminolly, a book related YouTube channel, about reading and books. Olly, from  Criminolly, did the "What Matters About Reading?" book tag, which I enjoyed watching. 

I decided to do the "What Matters About Reading?" book tag here on my blog too. 

1. What do you want to get out of reading? What stays with you after?

I read for a wide variety of reasons. I read for entertainment, escapism, relaxation, learning new things, empathy, and diversity.

What stays with me is the enjoyment of reading a book and feeling relaxed and satisfied after I've read a book. I also find joy in learning new things, which is probably why I love reading nonfiction books so much.

2. What is reading with intention?

Reading with intention is reading books that fulfill your interests and needs. Plus, being present and savoring the written word with relish.

3. What interests you about somebody else’s relationship to a book? 

I like knowing what makes someone excited about reading books in general, what genres they like reading, and hearing what makes a book they've read great. 

Sometimes, I am even swayed to read a book by another avid reader based on the book's summary and what this reader thought about the book.

4. How do you talk about books with others? What do you usually want them to know about a book? 

Usually, I share my thoughts about books I've read here on my blog. I also share my thoughts about books on Bookcrossing with other readers in the forums section. This year, I am also participating in a monthly online book club offered though the public library, where we discuss a book club pick we've read during the month. Additionally, I discuss books with other avid readers in person when I can.

5. Do you review books (publicly or privately)? 

I review books publicly! Hence my blog! Occasionally, I will leave reviews on Goodreads or Amazon.

6. Do you use a rating system? Why? Why not?

Yes, I use a rating system when reviewing books. I give my reviews a numerical rating between one and five. 1 = terrible, 2 = okay, 3 = like, 4 = really like, 5 = love. If the book I read falls between two ratings, then I'll give it a rating of 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5.

I like to rate books after reading them to gauge how I liked reading them at that moment in time. 

7. Do you ask yourself if you’ve liked a book? And how much does liking a book matter? 

Yes, I ask myself if I've liked a book I've read and this is important to me. I don't want to read poorly written books or things I'm not enjoying... Or if, I'm reading something to learn a topic/subject, then I should learn something from reading the book.... Otherwise, what's the point (in this case) if I learn nothing from the book. So, enjoying a book matters a lot.

8. What do you seek out from others who read publicly? Reviews, summaries, analysis, a curriculum? 

I like hearing other people's thoughts regarding what they think about the books they've read, whether they write reviews for blogs, etc., participate in book clubs, or just like discussing books in person with other people.

9. Who do you go to for those things?

The short answer is a variety of places...Sometimes I find books from blogger reviews or Bookcrossers, book club picks, the articles I read, the topics I'm interested in learning more about, genres I like reading, or books from authors who I have read books from in the past.

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Not Reading Could Undermine Democracy!!

 

I watched this YouTube video earlier this week from BBC Politics and BBC News. I found the topic interesting on why reading is important to democracy. Not only does reading books (both fiction and nonfiction) help with empathy, but many other things like critical thinking. 

Watch the above video to learn more from the panel of speakers.

Selling Used Books For Profit?!

 

This short video almost makes me want to start selling used books at various locations as a side hustle!

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson, which is well narrated by Rachel Capell.

Jill Johnson is a new to me author. I'm always on the look out for new to me authors. I was drawn to the plot summary for The Woman in the Garden as this novel contains "a Professor of Botanical Toxicology with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company" and also a mystery is involved.

First off, I found the protagonist, Eustacia Rose, annoying!! She's very smart, but very odd, quirky and eccentric... These can be good things, but I found her to be simply annoying for the most part throughout much of this novel... However, by the end of the novel, Eustacia Rose had grown on me.

Overall, I liked this mystery novel featuring a woman sleuth. There was a lot of twists and turns throughout The Woman in the Garden. By the end of the novel, I was glad it was over with though. The Woman in the Garden is the first novel in Eustacia Rose mystery series. I think I'll be passing on reading the rest of the series.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson, which I found on Goodreads:

Every garden has its secrets…

Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. Her life is quiet, her schedule is unchanging, and her closest friends are the specimens she tends to. But she does have one other watching her neighbors through her telescope, taking extensive notes on their lives for research.

When Eustacia hears a scream one evening, the temptation to investigate proves irresistible. Through her telescope, she catches a glimpse of her extraordinarily beautiful new neighbor, Simone, and soon becomes obsessed with her and her life. But who are these four men that orbit Simone? And why does Eustacia get the feeling she needs to protect her from them?

One day, Eustacia comes home to find her precious garden destroyed and learns that someone close to Simone has been murdered with a rare poisonous plant. As she is drawn deep into the crime, Eustacia's closed-off life begins to crumble, forcing her to break free from the walls of her secret garden and take matters into her own hands. Soon, she's forced to realize that the world is filled with people who are just as toxic as her plants....

I am giving The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Tope Ten Tuesday - Book Titles With Ordinal Numbers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Below are ten books with ordinal numbers in their title. These books sound like good reads to add to my reading wishlist.

1. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

2. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

3. The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Alice Walker

4. First Boy by Gary D Schmidt

5. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult 

6. Second Nature by Alice Hoffman

7. The Fifth Agreement by Miguel Ruiz

8. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

9. Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli

10. First Crossing by Donald R. Gallo

Have you read any of the above books?