Not sure my posts are of much interest seeing I can‘t review until after the BookTube Prize 1st round is complete at the end of March but here is my 2nd completed book out of 6.

#Booktube

I‘ve finished this book assigned to me but because I‘ve agreed not to review it until this round of the BookTube Prize is done I will only make a neutral comment. This short novel takes many pages to get used to the writing style and some phrases are odd to Americans. Now on to the next assignment...

#Booktube

Aggghhh! I wish I‘d never picked up this book. Time wasted. Writing ok but ordinary at best. Hackneyed Plot. Misery porn. This is probably not the author for me. Sooo many better books out there.

I‘m sure I‘m going to enjoy this even at 1/4 way in. The writing style is unfamiliar and I‘m a little uncomfortable that there are some contradictions than have me stopping and restarting the images in my head or questioning my comprehension of the text. 🤷🏼‍♀️Am I the only one bothered by this? Still, I‘m enjoying this.

One of my all time favorite books (autobiography) by a fabulously talented woman. Early Bird Books has this offered today! If you haven‘t read this you‘re missing out. Fascinating woman!

I just know this will be in the running for my best read this year. Every page has a phrase, a paragraph, or a description I want to highlight. Beautiful, beautiful writing!

A simple, hurriedly discovered line about her mother who is suspected of having Alzheimer‘s:

“Her head is still, but her thoughts run through the past few days in circles, the loop continuing to be unrecognizable with each pass”

Impressive debut novel! Loved the writing and the story line. One of my best books of this year.

After reading some great reviews I was disappointed in this. The copious name dropping of famous authors was off putting. I question the reasoning (or lack there of) behind the murders but hesitate to discuss not only for the fact it‘s a spoiler but my attention span was challenged during the read. Text supplemented audio version as change in narration was not clear when listening.

I‘m sure Irby has a loyal following but it‘s not me. Finished only to put it in my “done” column.

Monotonous. This was the second book by this author I really did not like at all. The other-My Year of Rest and Relaxation- I couldn‘t get through. Others may enjoy but I won‘t try another by the same writer. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Read it. Wish I hadn‘t. The story in my head surpassed what was on the page. Juxtaposition of sentences was odd. Disappointed.

Possibly the best historical fiction I will read this year.

Excellent character and setting descriptions that held my interest from page one.
I wasn‘t impressed with
I Am, I Am, I Am but I will check out O‘Farrell‘s other works.

Oh dear. The metaphors provoked guffaws. If you‘re into voyeuristic text however this may be for you. Wish I had those hours back.

From page one this book grabbed me. Now one third through I am loving this book even more. It will be one of my LIFETIME favorites. ❤️

I only finished this because I felt it would be unfair to review if I DNF‘d it. There was way too much religion here for me to see what others who liked this saw. I know of atheists who rated it highly so I will look into their reviews for a better understanding.

Interesting when the reader gets to be a fly on the wall in someone‘s therapy sessions. The therapist‘s side of the sessions may be eye opening. An entertaining read and you just might learn something about yourself.

I didn‘t like this book. At. All. Without checking author‘s bio I would guess this was written by a teenager. Immaturity of all characters made me think the author wasn‘t in tune with adult behavior. It reminded me of the short stories I wrote in high school. It could‘ve been an interesting premise but the execution was deeply flawed.

Oh, the writing here is superb! I was grabbed right away and can‘t wait until I can pick it up each time.

Some laugh out loud moments, many tragic, some surprising elements are in this bio of, IMO, a comic genius. His early life, marriages, personal and professional doubts, and death are detailed. I always worried about Williams cracking and breaking.

This was just what I expected it would be but I didn‘t feel fascinated as I‘d hoped. Taubes goes into addictive substances quite deeply. Studies done, who paid for them, how our body reacts to sugar, and how studies have failed us and much more. For a curious mind - not the average reader.

This subject matter is in my wheelhouse but the book fell a little short. Each foray into the underworld was a bit same-y. I was hoping for a wider view. I do appreciate the huge undertaking this book took to research, I‘m just a little more curious.

Sensitive and well written. I will read more of Winman.

Perhaps what I love most is the reasoning of the title and references throughout the book hidden in plain sight. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Although this was sprinkled with some very nice turns of phrase this is not my favorite Kingsolver book. Dual storylines is problematic for me when I like one much more than the other and become impatient with the less liked story. Avoiding star ratings as mostly unhelpful I give this a 78 out of 100.

A beautiful look at reverent Native American values read by the calm lovely voice of the author. This book won‘t hold value to those who live fast and strive to amass material goods but for those who have studied how a raindrop is absorbed on a branch it‘s deep and soulful. I had forgotten that Native American‘s had their children taken away and were forbidden to speak their own language. 😢

Took a recommendation for something light amongst too much heaviness. No...nope. Not this one, it just wasn‘t for me.

I chose this for the top spot for The #BookTubePrize round 1 group F. I recognized the great writing. It was engaging but violent with drug references. All in all it ISN‘T my kind of book. Others liked it enough so it‘s moving on to round 2.
1. Boy Swallows Universe ✨
2. The Man Who Saw Everything 🚫
3. Dominicana 🚫
4. The Starless Sea 🚫
5. Middle England ✨
6. Patsy ✨

The 3 starred books are moving into the next round of judging.

This book made it into the #2 spot on my list of the BookTubePrize. I loved the complexity, the puzzling scenes, and the thought provoking writing. Unfortunately not all judges thought this way. It‘s been eliminated from the next round ☹️.
2. The Man Who Saw Everything 🚫
3. Dominicana 🚫
4. The Starless Sea 🚫
5. Middle England ✨
6. Patsy. ✨

Dominicana I placed third on my #BookTubePrize list. While this was well written, it was an immigrant story similar to Patsy of which I am growing weary. I was, however, able to sink into it comfortably. Unfortunately it didn‘t move on to the next round.
The list so far:
3. Dominicana 🚫
4. The Starless Sea 🚫
5. Middle England ✨
6. Patsy✨

The Starless Sea was placed 4th out of 6 on my #BookTubePrize judging list.* While I saw Morgenstern‘s writing talent along with imaginative ideas I became weary with its length and its endless reference to doors. “Enough with the doors already” I think I actually shouted out. While I did enjoy some aspects of this book I DNFd Night Circus and will probably not pick up another by this author.
4. The Starless Sea 🚫
5. Middle England ✨
6. Patsy✨

My choice for Fifth place out of the six books I read for the #BookTubePrize was Middle England. It wasn‘t a bad book. Others liked it and it‘s moving on to the next round.

My notes: Brexit info - family & love relationships- humor- boring.

So far : 5. Middle England✨
6. Patsy✨

Now that the #BookTubePrize 1st round is over I am free to publicize my opinion. Of the six books I was assigned Patsy was at the bottom of my ranking. Well written, I found it uninspiring and I quickly got bored with Patsy‘s decisions and actions. Others, many others liked this book. It was not for me. Reviews of the remaining five books to follow. Patsy is moving along to round 2.

6. Patsy ✨

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks What an amazing number in your near future! Doing my part to add a touch more. 😊

#5N5giveaway
1. On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous -Ocean Vuong
2. Maybe You Should Talk To Someone- Lori Gorrlieb (Heard excellent things about this one)

Is anyone else suddenly having difficulties reading? Enjoying a book? Concentrating?

In the middle of a very good book I suddenly lost interest. I have a feeling it wasn‘t the fault of the author. 😟

Of course we are here for each other. This is an incredible community. 🥰

Finished but cannot review until after winners of round 1 of the BookTube Prize is announced.

This was quite good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 because I‘m a tough judge. It seems that every book I pick up has one of 3-4 popular themes. I try to respect the author, story, and the plight of the characters but it will soon be difficult not to tire of these and I‘m afraid I won‘t judge each book fairly and for its own merits.

Thanks for the giveaway. Cute theme!
@TheSpineView
#Two4TuesdayGiveaway

Three favorite books in three favorite genres:
Nonfiction- Bad Blood
Fiction- On Earth We‘re Briefly Gorgeous
Memoir- Becoming

Thanks for the giveaway. Amazing milestone!
@Lizpixie #Lizpixies3x3Giveaway

Astoundingly brilliant writing. Vuong is a genius with words. If this wasn‘t a library copy I‘d have notes and underlinings on every page. One of my top reads ever. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This unfortunately didn‘t grab me. There‘s much Korean history included but when female relationships are the major story point I lose interest.

“A bird flew past the window, making the room seem to blink.“

Every. Damn. Page. Holds. Brilliance.

This book is called Middle England. Middle England has deckled edges. I do not like deckled edges. I fumble every blasted time I turn the page- there are 429 pages. I‘m one third of the way through this book and I‘m almost ready to search who invented DECKLED EDGES and say horrible things about him/her on every social media site I know. Growling in frustration should not be part of reading 🤯😁

Finished the second of six books due for review at the end of March. Review to follow.

Finished but unable to review at the moment. Review to follow at a later date in late March.

I am in Desperate need of a copy of The Starless Sea by Morgenstern. All libraries have a huge waitlist and I have a deadline with no book buying budget.

Would anyone be interested in trading that book for 3 or 4 or even 5 (your choice) of these books shown here? I‘m in the US.

Started reading Patsy, 1 of 6 assigned reads to be judged for the fiction category BookTube Prize this year. This is my first time judging and I‘m so excited to participate. 📚🏆 I cannot post a review until after this round is finished. Yay BookTube!

I previously tagged the wrong book 🤦🏼‍♀️ (deleted)

Being a caregiver for a time I thought I‘d enjoy another‘s insight. Nope. The telling seemed disjointed and had sudden and alarming insertions that were unexpected and gross. Many times while listening I yelled
“yuck”, “ eeewww” or “No, please stop!” One of the worst books I read in a long time. 😖

A gut wrenching brutal novel based on the Boko Haram schoolgirl kidnapping. There‘s emotional uplift at the end so the reader is not left drained and exhausted. Well written.

Are you the type of reader that gulps books and races to place a ✅ in a column? Do you ever slow down to savor, to enjoy nuances, to put the book down and image a scenario conjured up by an author? What about 📖 gives you joy and is it confined to one thing?
I urge those who ❤️ reading- really 💕 the act of reading to sit &savor Ducks, Newburyport. It wouldn‘t give you a fast ✅ like a fast food drive thru. (Cont. 👇🏼)

After a slow start this book got more interesting. Revisiting old friends, May‘s mother‘s illness, and lessons in botany were intertwined throughout. I learned that the gingko tree has more than 3x DNA letters than a human, that tree was the only living thing that survived the Hiroshima bombing and the meaning of mast year.

So much wonderful stuff! I‘m sitting beside a steaming cup of ginger honey tea with the softest 🧦 -♥️🦶. Helen how did you know I was wanting exercise bands? Included is a 👜 hook, exercise 🎲 prompt various fitness moves & reps., luscious cosmetics, extra special 🍬 , and fabulous 📚.
Thanks Helen @nelehelen so much for so many great gifts! I noticed a familiar name on the tea box. Coincidence? @Chrissyreadit @MeganAnn #ReadInTheNewYearSwap