2019 First Quarter Wrap Up Post!!

The first quarter of 2019 is almost over with! I've had an interesting year of reading and blogging thus far.

I've read or listened to a total of 24 reads this year

to date and counting!

In January 2019 I read the following five books:

1. Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

2. The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son On Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper & Gloria Vanderbilt

3. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

4. A Skating Life: My Story by Dorothy Hamill

5. The Crossing by Michael Connelly

I also visited 3 new to me Little Free Libraries

during the month of January and blogged about

my Little Free Library adventures.

In February 2019 I read the following two books:

1. Tangerine by Christine Managan

2. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

I had a reading slump in the month of February,

which I wrote about in a blog post towards 
the end of February. I had three

books, which I dnf'd during the month of February...
And the other books I had at my disposal just weren't
ones I was interested in reading at the time.

I did make several blog posts promoting 

Black History Month though.

In March 2019, my reading mojo returned!

I focused on reading or listening to books 

and short stories written by women, which I

didn't plan until March came along as March
is Women's History Month.

Interestingly enough everything I read in March

came in ebook form from Amazon or 

was an Audible audiobook.

I read the following seventeen books/short stories in March:

1. Frostbite (Ivy Granger 0.5) by E. J. Stevens

2. Throwing Smoke by Kit Sergeant

3. A Mind of Her Own by Paula McLain

4. Taming The Alpha by Savannah Stuart

5. Once Upon A Tiger by Kat Simons

6. The Tin Rose by Anne Renwick

7. Dark Arsenal by Cynthia Sax

8. Lyric's Accidental Mate by Elle Boon

9. Dazed (Lovers & Fighters #1) by Emily Swan

10. Constellations by Bree M. Lewandowski

11. Emma by Jane Austen

12. Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry

13. The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter

14. Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter

15. The Lola Cruz Christmas Story by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez

(review to come)

16. Light Parade by Shelley Coriell

(review to come)
17. Head Over Heels by Evie Snow

I visited six new to me Little Free Libraries
during the month of March, 
which was a lot of fun! And, of course, I blogged
about my Little Free Library adventures. 

I found four of my wishlist books
at Little Free Libraries I visited this year.
How cool is that? I just love Little Free Libraries.

As a side note, my other major hobby is knitting...
I was able knit my first ever
triangle shawl during the month of March while listening
to audiobooks. The joys of multitasking!! Or at least,
the joys of partaking in my two favorite hobbies 
at the same time.

So how is your year of reading going for you?

Are you meeting your reading goals?

Which books have met or exceeded your expectations?

What bookish related things have tickled your fancy?

(magnetic bookmarks have become a favorite thing for me.)

Have you attended any fun literary events or author signings

this year?

Share with me in the comment section below.

Happy reading!

Reading Goals the Rest of the Year!!

I usually just select the number of books I want (or hope) to read during any given year... Because if I select the book titles I want to read in advance for any given year, I am bound to change my mind about which books I decide to read as the year carries on.

However, I've decided to go through my plethora of physical books around my home and set aside 45 of them to read before 2019 is up. I've added ARCs and other giveaway books I've received, recent books I've added to my collection, and other books I've had for over five years in my collection, but have yet to read. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I read all 45 of these books I've recently set aside before the year ends and that I don't change my mind on which titles I end up reading. Many of the books I will pass along to other readers!

I've also added 2 audiobooks and 1 ebook to the mix as well for a total of 48 books.

How do you determine which book or books you'll read next? Usually, I just select the next book after I've finished reading a book. 

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

Head Over Heels by Evie Snow

Head Over Heels by Evie Snow is a contemporary romantic comedy novella approximately 67 pages in length. Head Over Heels is the first thing I've read by Evie Snow, which I discovered is a husband/wife writing duo! According to the author's website, it sounds like the wife half of this writing duo does all the actual writing and the husband half of this writing duo helps with 'plot wrangling'. So, with that said, I'm counting this book as solely written by a woman, even if her husband helps out with 'plot wrangling'.

I was able to download the ebook edition of Head Over Heels by Evie Snow to my Kindle for FREE from Amazon. Below is my honest, unbiased review of Head Over Heels by Evie Snow.

Head Over Heels by Evie Snow is a cutesy, contemporary rom-com read. It was funny in parts and annoying in other parts. It has an interesting premise for a storyline, but essentially it is a predictable read. It was a low stress novella to read in an afternoon of down time for me.

The following is a plot summary for Head Over Heels by Evie Snow from Goodreads:

A dress store owner who thinks big. A fallen soap opera star who's out of luck. Second chance love is a spectator sport…

Pin-up clothing store owner Madeline Evans always spends her July 4th on the beach writing down her goals. As she perfects her life improvement plan, she keeps an eye out for her fantasy man. Every year, she watches her almost-prom-date-turned-famous-actor jog along the same beach where she writes her resolutions. But she never expected to actually have to talk to him…

Cal Greyson’s acting career just took a sharp turn for the worse. After losing his bid to star in a blockbuster flick, his steady job at a soap opera is cut short in the most embarrassing way possible. It’s the cherry on the sundae when he falls down during his annual jog through his hometown beach. As the onlookers start recording with their smartphones, he’s rescued by the most surprising person imaginable…

The former high school classmates hide out in Madeline’s house until the coast is clear. As they revisit the past, a little white lie Madeline spread about Cal in her youth may keep them from fantasizing about their future…

I am giving Head Over Heels by Evie Snow a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday - Audiobook Freebie - My Favorite Nonfiction Audiobooks

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 is my list of top ten favorite nonfiction audiobooks in no particular order of importance.

1. The Assassination of the Archduke by Greg King & Sue Woolmans
2. The Soloist by Steve Lopez
3. The Power of the Habit by Charles Duhigg
4. The Professor and the Mad Man by Simon Winchester
5. Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden
6. The Coming Storm by Michael Lewis
7. Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker
8. My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem
9. Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
10. Cat Daddy by Jackson Galaxy

Share with me some of your favorite nonfiction audiobooks!

Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter

I read the ebook edition of Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter. Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter is a short read at approximately 52 pages.

I was able to download Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter to my Kindle for FREE from Amazon. Below is my unbiased review of Who Does He Think He's Fooling?.

Let me not sugar coat this review at all... I flat out DID NOT LIKE Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter at all. 

What a juvenile, immature premise for a story!! Take two people that are coworkers and good friends, Tom and Amy. They both secretly like each other and want to take the relationship to the next step, but neither of them knows the other person likes the other person romantically, until Tom asks Amy to go on a date with him. But, Amy laughs in Tom's face because she thinks he's joking about taking the relationship to the next level... All of this takes place before the story even starts and we (the readers) only learn this information as the story starts with both Tom and Amy at work in a staff meeting the next morning where they can't even look at each other or be near each other because of the situation they've created and never (apparently) resolved in that moment.

I can't even begin to believe this scenario was even the premise for Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter. The plot goes from bad to worse when their boss, Jessica, makes matters worse by making the entire staff play a prank on each other that day by having staff members draw a name of the person they will play a prank on that day... Like say what? Fiascoes abound... Let me kindly skip the details for the rest of this story and save my blog readers the pain and prolonged agony of this story to its final conclusion.

Let's just say that Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter is the worst thing I've read this year to date.

The following is the plot summary for Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter from Amazon:

Tom loves Amy. Amy can't stop thinking about Tom. But neither of them knows that and right now they need to worry about their boss's latest "teamwork exercise." Oh and that little mix-up last night where Tom asked Amy out but she thought it was an April Fools' gag.

I am giving Who Does He Think He's Fooling? by Laurie Baxter a rating of 1 star out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter

This past weekend, I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter and narrated by Rebecca Soler. Listening time for The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter is 2 hours, 55 minutes.

I was able to download The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter for FREE to my Kindle from Audible. Below is my honest, unbiased review of The Spies That Bind.

Ally Carter has been on my radar for quite awhile, but The Spies That Bind is the first thing I've read by her. This novella is a prequel to The Gallagher Girls Series and is aimed primarily for middle schoolers.

I enjoyed the premise of The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter and Rebecca Soler did a good job narrating this novella. Despite liking this novella overall, I wasn't overly impressed by it and have no plans to read the rest of the series or other works written by Ally Carter. 

One of the biggest issues I had with The Spies That Bind is that the entire novella felt too contrived to me. I wanted more depth, less angst, and less predictability.

The following is a plot summary for The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter from Amazon:

An original novella and prequel to Ally Carter's New York Times best-selling Gallagher Girls series, exclusively on Audible.

The first day at a new school is tough for any kid, but it's especially scary when you're going to a school for spies. Cammie Morgan has spent her whole life dreaming of becoming a Gallagher Girl, but she has no idea what she'll face when she arrives at The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Secret passages? Check. Lab experiments that might make you lose your eyebrows (and other body parts)? Check. Classmates who are the smartest, strongest, most intimidating girls in the world? Double check.

Cammie might be a Gallagher legacy, but she's about to learn that the most intimidating part about the Gallagher Academy are the Gallagher Girls themselves. Soon Cammie and her clumsy-but-genius roommate Liz, and the glamorous Bex have to learn the most important lesson of the seventh grade: getting into spy school is hard. Surviving spy school is harder.

Ally Carter is the author of many beloved series, including Heist Society and the Embassy Row novels, and Not If I Save You First.

I'm giving The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Little Free Library in Pleasanton, California

Early this morning after grocery shopping, I found this cute Little Free Library in Pleasanton, California. I left a book and was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of Misty Copeland's memoir, Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, which has been on my reading wishlist for a long time.

This is the 6th new to me Little Free Library I've found this month.

Have you discovered any new to you Little Free Libraries lately?

Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry

I enjoyed listening to the unabridged audio version of Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry and narrated by Jayne Entwistle. Listening time for Wishes & Wellingtons is 9 hours, 29 minutes.

As an Audible member, I was able to download Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry to my Kindle for FREE earlier this month. Below is my honest, unbiased review for Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry.

Wishes & Wellingtons is a wonderful read!! I really enjoyed it immensely. Wishes & Wellingtons is a middle grade fantasy genre novel with a strong female leading character in Maeve Merritt. Maeve is a feisty, smart, headstrong young lady that does not believe in submitting to bullies. Maeve is also not a stranger to adventures and getting into mischief. 

I loved Maeve's character and the story of her discovering a djinni. I enjoyed learning more about the djinni's backstory and his saucy personality, along with the wishes Maeve requests from the djinni, her friendships, and the adventures Maeve and her friends encounter throughout Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry.

Jayne Entwistle is also an excellent narrator! I look forward to discovering other books she's narrated.

The following is a plot summary of Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry from Audible:

From award-winning author Julie Berry comes a brand new middle-grade fantasy adventure full of humor and heart, exclusively from Audible.

Maeve Merritt chafes at the rigid rules at her London boarding school for “Upright Young Ladies.” When punishment forces her to sort through the trash, she finds a sardine tin that houses a foul-tempered djinni with no intention of submitting to a schoolgirl as his master.

Soon an orphan boy from the charitable home next door, a mysterious tall man in ginger whiskers, a disgruntled school worker, and a take-no-prisoners business tycoon are in hot pursuit of Maeve and her magical discovery. It’ll take all of her quick thinking and sass to set matters right. Maeve Merritt is one feisty heroine you won’t soon forget.

Julie Berry lives near Los Angeles with her family. The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place is an Odyssey Honor Audiobook, and The Passion of Dolssa is a Printz Honor Title.

I highly recommend Wishes & Wellingtons by Julie Berry. I am giving it a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Bookish Quote of the Day!