Saturday, February 4, 2023

What I Read: January

We had 4 winter weather days at the end of January/start of February which meant some extra reading which was nice. I had some books that were incredible and hard to put down and a couple that were not that great and hard to power through.

Breakfast and a good book on a winter weather day off.

Books:

  • The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling- I read this one with the kids. It started out really good and I was into it, but when they went to the Land of the Lost, I lost interest. Carter and Elise said they still liked it, but I did not.
  • Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt's Creek by Daniel Levy & Eugene Levy- I adored this book. It was so much fun getting to read about the behind-the-scenes part of the show. We are now re-watching the show because I had to after reading the book!

  • Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid- I have loved all of her books and this one was so hard to put down. Each time I finished a chapter, I was desperate to keep reading. I started this at the end of Christmas break and the kids had some friends over one day so I read over 100 pages while they were playing.

  • The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller- I picked this up at Goodwill and was so surprised when I opened it up and found a newspaper clipping that announced the movie being made out of the book stapled to the cover page. As I was reading I found a receipt from the 1990's that was used as a bookmark and then later another clipping that listed the top books of the year with this one at #1. It was so neat finding those little treasures and made me enjoy the book even more.
  • Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey- A friend gave me this book to read and it was already after Christmas so I didn't really want to read it. I usually abandon Christmas books right after Christmas. I decided to go ahead and read it so I could return it to her and I was glad I did, I loved it! I was super ready to move away from romance books after this one though!

  • Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy- I loved Migrations so when I saw this one, I couldn't wait to read it. I liked it but the end got a little bit wild. It definitely wasn't as good as her other book.
  • My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones- I got excited when I was at the library because I saw Stephen Graham Jones won an award and was doing a presentation at one of our local libraries. They had this book in the display and it is his newest book so I checked it out. I loved The Only Good Indians so was hoping it would be amazing like that book. I had a hard time making it through this one. The main character being obsessed with slasher movies was annoying to me because I got tired of reading about her talking about them. I think if I liked those kind of movies I would have liked this book more. I was glad I powered through it because the ending was really good and I especially liked where he left the story.

eBooks:

  • The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave- This book kept me guessing pretty much the whole way through. It was suspenseful and I had a hard time putting it down. I loved it right up until the end. The ending really bummed me out. I wish she left it up in the air instead of adding the section that played out years later. I preferred my possible endings to the one she wrote.
  • Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman- I've wanted to read this book for a while because some Oklahoma politicians were trying to ban it and were making a fuss over it being in high school libraries. I've learned I like graphic novels after reading Lore Olympus, so I was willing to try these. I wanted something short while I waited on some other things I had on hold. I was also in the mood for something sweet and possibly romantic. This ended up fitting the bill perfectly. I loved it so much and read it on one of our winter weather days off from school.
  • Heartstopper: Volume Two by Alice Oseman- The minute I finished volume one, I searched our library for volume two and it was available so I checked it out right away. I was worried the second one wouldn't be as good as the first but I loved it just as much!
  • Heartstopper: Volume Three by Alice Oseman- Again when I finished the volume before this one, I immediately checked this one out. I devoured them on our days off due to winter weather. They made me so happy!
  • Heartstopper: Volume Four by Alice Oseman- I was so glad the fifth volume isn't out yet because I did not want these to be over. They were so precious and I loved all the characters. There's a novella that I'm excited to read while I wait for volume five to come out. 

Audiobooks:

  • Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir- This was recommended to me multiple times as an audiobook. It was only available on Audible so I used Christmas money to get a year subscription. I didn't see why it was recommended as an audiobook until Rocky's character was introduced and they used a musical instrument as his voice. It was so good!
  • Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah- I always see Kristin Hannah books and she gets great reviews so I randomly chose this while looking for an audiobook. I didn't like it very much. It felt like it dragged on and I got tired of both the characters and one issue that neither of them would just let go! Then at the end I ended up bawling in the bathroom as I was getting ready for bed. I am curious about the next book in the series, don't know if I'll read it or not with how annoying I found this one at times. There were parts of the book that were incredible, but then there were parts that drove me crazy!

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Wordless Wednesday

Elise playing school on a winter weather day home from school.



Going out to play in the sleet.

Nice morning home due to winter weather. Carter was on a chess tournament and Elise was playing outside.

Elise playing hide and seek with Tesla.

Eating a candlelit breakfast.

VIP meeting with Uncie Taco.


Elise going door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies.

Helping load cookies for other girls in the troop.

New Valentine's Day decoration.



Sunrise at the bus stop