bailedIt‘s a wrong book, wrong time situation. My ‘bail‘ is directly related to my current inability to focus on anything requiring any brainpower. I actually enjoyed the half of this book that I read, and maybe I‘ll pick it up again, but for now, back to the library.
pickCreepy story, concise writing, PICTURES!!! Thoroughly entertaining!
pickEvery star ever available goes to this book! “Conquering this classic” with From the Front Porch podcast has been one of the best reading experiences of my whole life. I‘m practically a cowgirl now. Who knew I belong on the range?! 🤠
“…an undertaker in a black hat and blue bow tie…had even waxed his mustache and was altogether too shiny for Call‘s taste.”
pickI‘ve firmly decided that I need my romances to feature a Golden Retriever type. I‘m not made for the badboy boyfriends that say stuff that makes my inner prudish old lady, square-self cringe. This one was great! Baseball, sweetness, loved it! The perfect book to check the romance box until the next Abby Jimenez gets released.
pickPlease don‘t come for me, but I think this suffered from sophomore slump. Maybe it‘s simply because House was SUCH an absolute winner and really big shoes to fill. For me, this one didn‘t have the same level of humor. I wanted more antics from the kids to show depth, wit, and sarcasm. Linus‘ internal thoughts were such a great part of Book 1, and that same line was missing for me. Disjointed, tacking too much, not the same, but still worth it.
“Anger,” she said… “It builds on top of old wounds, on scar tissue. It grows and grows until it becomes all you know.” 😣🙏
Here‘s my #bookhaul from BN this weekend. I spent 39 years in my hometown, and they get a BN after I‘m gone 🤪. We made the trek home to see @Allyneedsbooks and it was just perfect ❤️🫶🤟
so-soI hate the cover of the kindle edition so much that I took a picture of the title page instead. I didn‘t *hate* this book, but it does have me thinking I‘m a complete prude. The writing was kind of silly in the beginning—she blows many a raspberry and he ‘gets off on‘ her voice or looking at her lips and it just doesn‘t sit right in this type of book, ya know? 😅 I liked it enough, but I‘m still so hung up on Abby J. books and that‘s that 🤷🏼♀️
bailedMeh, it‘s not for me. Over 100 pages in, and I still don‘t have a good feel for the characters nor do I understand their attraction except that they seem to be around the same age and single. The ‘haunted‘ part of this could just be a lot cooler. A haunted town, a haunted house? All of that should be super interesting, but it‘s just not. Moving on. ✌️
I live in a tourist town and am married to a Nick who‘s an owner of a coffee shop. Seriously connecting to this book so far!
pickThis is such a strange read for me. I took a big break halfway through then picked it up again and loved it. Then I skimmed much of the last fifty pages because I was over it. I think it was a bit too long. I think the writing was beautiful. I liked the character study, yet I was really ready for it to be over. So there‘s that. 🤷🏼♀️
Did I get overly excited and preorder this book from two different retailers? Yes, yes I did! 🤪
pickNewman is an autobuy for me. I love the fast-paced action and have found all three of her books to be wins for me. This didn‘t beat Falling (and probably not Drowning either) for me, but I still really enjoyed it.
pickHumorous and meaningful, this behind the scenes look into the faculty of a high school is an absolute gem. It‘s a character study of various teachers and other faculty members, the struggles they face, and the reasons they return everyday (or not) to work. The constant thread of Mr. Lehrer‘s life and legacy was really exquisite. I loved it! 5 glowing stars!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“When I go, I hope it‘s during professional development because the transition to death would feel so seamless” YESSSSS!!! 😂✊ #teachersoflitsy
The editing 🫠. It‘s this “into the crowed” and a consistent use of “Ms.” in reference to a male teacher that is indeed a “Mr.” in the book. This is a finished copy and is $28.99. The publisher is part of Penguin Random House, so money to pay an editor shouldn‘t be a problem. My English teacher eyes can‘t handle it 😵💫
Twenty pages in, and I can definitely tell Mathieu was/is a teacher. All my fellow teacher Littens, this one‘s for you! ✊🙌 The quote that made me realize that she really gets it is in the comments. 🤓
pickOverall, it was fine. Enjoyable enough to keep reading, but here‘s what worked my nerves: the MC ‘clinched her thighs‘ often, not in intimate situations, just randomly clinched her thighs together🤷🏼♀️. Secondly, the MC and her boo had extensively detailed, specific conversations WITH THEIR EYES! I cannot. Stop the madness. However, I loved the Native American perspective, and I bet Nava gets better and better as she writes more books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickA fun read, loved the illustrated version, looking forward to Book 2. 🧙
Confession time: I‘ve never made it through Harry Potter, but I‘ve read Book 1 and part of Book 2 so long ago I can‘t really remember. I‘ve collected various versions (originals, illustrated, Kindle, audio, the set with Hogwarts on the spine), so I‘m all set to make it happen. Here we (the dogs and I) go…🧙♀️
Not to jinx myself, but 75 pages in and I think this one will break my reading slump 💪
I really want to like it, but I just don‘t…at least not right now. Taking a break from it again; maybe this will be one I finish over months and months and months between other books.
pickIt was fine, closer to meh. I liked the spunky main character, the issues that came up with the turd brother, her relationship with her dad, and forced proximity. I found that I‘m over billionaires (even the “good” ones), falling into the posh lifestyle, and some of the writers‘ writing choices. I have lots of books to read before I‘ll pick up another of theirs, but I‘m not saying it‘s a never… 🤷🏼♀️
Almost halfway through, and I might have to set it down for a bit. I love a character study and the writing is superb, but geez it‘s slogging along. Seems it doesn‘t need to be such a long book. It‘s killing my reading mojo. 😣
Public service announcement for all the kindle readers 🤓
lol, my English teacher self thinking this was a metaphor. Nope, just too long of a reading break since the end of the last chapter when they were both headed to the pool…where there‘s a deep end, a literal deep end where Eli is currently located..in the deep end.😆
pick“He was truly evil, just a mistake of nature, I think.” A ‘good enough to keep my interest‘ mystery made for the mystery peeps. I won‘t seek out books by Swanson, but if I run across some in a LFL or thrift store, I‘ll pick them up. Solid read.
Still really loving the “From the Front Porch” podcast‘s readalong. I look forward to it every month and enjoy hearing Annie and Hunter‘s thoughtful commentary. 10/10 recommend 🙌
pickIt was fine, good actually. I liked The Unhoneymooners much more, but this was still an entertaining read. I did not love the tragic connection/extra awful thing that is revealed at the end of the book, nor did I love him randomly calling her “Honey” and “Woman” near the end. Those nicknames only happened a couple of times, and I don‘t even know why they bothered me 🤷🏼♀️😅Regardless, still a pick but not one I‘ll be pushing others to read.
pickNapolitano‘s writing is unmatched. She is such a craftsman when it comes to building meaning through language. It‘s never just the story for me, it‘s always her writing that sticks with me. Her characters and their surroundings are always so crisp. She‘s at the top of the game, and I‘ll buy every book she ever writes. Ten out of ten.
963 pages of the smallest font imaginable. Not during the summer, 👹. I love the back half of the Penn Cage tale, and I‘ll absolutely come back to this…some colder day and maybe on the Kindle. Now I‘m off to choose a book that‘s not an arm workout to carry to the beach.
pickThe title says it all, but add in some depth and some tough topics. I liked it a lot!
pickLOVEEEEEEEED it!!!! A look at the life of two people who should‘ve been together all along. In the same vein as Eleanor and Park (obvs) and Talking at Night. I need more of these books that are gritty and raw and full of emotion but not reliant on trauma to justify actions and emotions. This will be one of my faves of the year, no doubt.
Sooooo excited about this one. Takes me right back to the love I have for Eleanor and Park 🤩
pickYikes. Creeptastic. I love that this is from a kid‘s perspective, and the lack of long paragraphs and the many page breaks guarantee that you‘ll fly through it just like I did. Interesting. Tense. If there‘s a sequel, I‘m definitely reading it.
pickEvery educator & every person who cares about public education NEEDS to read this book. If you‘re shell-shocked by the absolute absurdity that occurs at local school board meetings, you need to read this. If you don‘t understand why teachers/librarians are attacked for simply providing literature that represents ALL students, you need to read this. If you care about kids, you need to read this. It‘s pulling the curtain back and exposing Oz. ✊✊✊
“The principal also told her not to take it personally when residents…accuse her of being a pedophile, or to wish for her to contract monkeypox and die. ‘What you‘re going realize…is that [the parents] don‘t love all people,‘ the principal told [the teacher], before suggesting that such harassment was now an unfortunate but unavoidable part of being a public educator in America.”
“…it wasn‘t laughable. It was ignorant. And ignorance so easily morphs into evil.” 🎯
“America‘s public schools, since their very creation, repeatedly have become ground zero for this country‘s most divisive battles over politics and civil rights—from the fights over evolution and segregation to those over sex ed and school prayer.”
pickI loved it! Maybe I‘ve found my next Abby Jimenez 🤞🤔. Off to request the backlog of Christina Lauren books from the library.
