I just got home from vacation but I‘d received my #jolabokaflodswap package while I was gone. So excited! Can‘t believe we‘re a week away!

@MaleficentBookDragon

Completed the #MidWinterSolace buddy read. I enjoyed it a lot. It did get me thinking about stuff, especially as my mom has been recently diagnosed with cancer and I feel this will be our last semi-normal Christmas

#WinterGames #XmasChaCha @StayCurious @AllDebooks @Chrissyreadit @TheBookHippie

So…kinda embarrassed to admit this was my first time watching this movie. I liked it. Maybe it‘ll end up in my regular yearly rotation

#WinterGames #XmasChaCha @StayCurious

Watched one of my classic Christmas movies. A must watch every year

#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha

@StayCurious

I mailed my #jolabokaflodswap package today but forgot to take a pic of it so here‘s a pic of my Christmas tree

@MaleficentBookDragon

I got two pages front and back which equates to 819 words. I could probably come up with more but I find the longer I go the harder it is to remember which words I‘d already done 😂 The rest of the week probably won‘t lend itself to more word play anyway. Love this game!

#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha @StayCurious

Finished this up on my lunch hour. The series is still really enjoyable. It‘s a fun world and I look forward to reading the next installment

❄️ Hot chocolate
❄️ Christmas Day except for my #jolabokaflod gift
❄️ Star except my current fake tree doesn‘t accommodate a topper. Maybe I need to buy a new one 😂
❄️ Turkey or ham. Some christmases my mom made both! Traditionally ham though
❄️ Stay at home. The only travel I do is locally to my parents‘

#WinterGames2024 #XmasChaCha @StayCurious

My December TBR for #WinterGames2024 - hopefully I can get more in but December is usually pretty busy for me and I‘m throwing in a vacation a week before Christmas 😂

#XmasChaCha @StayCurious

My last read of #NFNovember and fits so nicely with 2024 being my year of Hamilton (finally watched it on Disney+ in July and quickly became obsessed, watching it live in person when it came to my city on my birthday). This book was interesting - love learning more about the process and Lin‘s notes about each song were fantastic. Love getting into musician‘s brains and he‘s someone I wouldn‘t mind chatting with

@Bookwormjillk

I signed up! This swap is great - nice and easy with just one book and some chocolate so it‘s low stress. And super fun! Join in!

#jolabokaflodswap @MaleficentBookDragon

Got this for my birthday a few years ago. I was an NSYNC fan and haven‘t missed a tour Justin‘s done (my mom and I went this past summer and it was a blast!). This isn‘t a biography. More musings about his life/music. I enjoyed it though - I love hearing musicians talk about their process and where inspiration comes from

#NFNovember @Bookwormjillk

Yes!! Just signed up! One of my favorite events - Winter Games - is back! Lots of holiday themed fun. Join in, won‘t you?

@StayCurious @LiseWorks #wintergames2024

Got another read off the list. This one was just ok for me. I‘d almost bailed on it a few times. The book was advertised as one thing but was something else entirely. I won‘t say more and risk ruining the twist for anyone who wants to experience it but it wasn‘t for me

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Second book in the series. Still enjoying it so far. I‘ll have to pick up the next one from the library. I like the easy read after a long work day

Thanks for the tag @BookwormAHN ! I got 7/100. Whomp whomp 😂 I love the idea of it though - trying to knock off more on the list

#threelisthursday #tlt #300-201 @dabbe

🍁 Both!
🍁 Green
🍁 Spooky
🍁 Tangible. I‘m no stranger to audio though
🍁 Halloween
🍁 Gloves
🍁 Low-key group

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

I was pretty excited about this one, and I liked it fine but not as much as I hoped. I feel like the story jumped in logic in weird places - I can‘t explain it but something felt off with the writing at times which I think took me out of it. Did have some spooky vibes for sure though

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

My first time with the Percy Jackson series. I always thought it sounded interesting and it definitely kept my attention. The characters were pretty great and fun. I‘ll probably continue with the series and see how the rest of the prophecy turns out

My ambitious TBR for October and #HauntedShelf

And some Poe thrown in for good measure. I probably won‘t get through them all but maybe I‘ll surprise myself

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Emily goes on a Jane Austen tour in England and runs into the “real” Mr. Darcy. They have a handful of encounters while she‘s having her own version of Pride and Prejudice on the tour. There‘s a bit of a whimsy with a fictional character coming to life, and ultimately this was ok. I saw where it was going a mile away, and even though I understood the point the author was making, I didn‘t agree with how Emily saw Darcy. Wasn‘t a fan of Emily either

I thought this was great! Really dissected the wellness culture/trends and while I usually consider myself pretty good at not falling for the hype, a few things I‘d had my eyes opened to. Definitely makes you side eye some of the wellness fads more and question if you really need it/they‘re right for you

Just returned Sunday from Disney World. It was my nephews‘ first time, and it was fun sharing it with them! The weather didn‘t always cooperate but we made the best of it. And I‘m getting over another cold after getting one a few weeks ago. This hasn‘t been my month as far as staying healthy 😂

#whatsneweednesday @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Read4life @TieDyeDude

This guy is always grumpy when I take his picture 😂

This book had been on my bookshelf for a while, but the mood finally struck. I enjoyed this a lot! A Native American woman getting caught up in a drug investigation. The characters in this were so well developed. Maybe a little slow going at first but once it hit its stride with the investigation I didn‘t wanna stop reading

This guy has been hanging with me while I finished up this one this week. I liked the characters in this one a lot! Thats really what sells these romances for me. If I don‘t like the characters, it‘s game over. I actually laughed at some of the banter between Shep and Eve. A fun one to be sure

https://open.spotify.com/album/1kCHru7uhxBUdzkm4gzRQc?si=VagpDDfvTQ2VwMVdkbAANA

I‘m that person who‘s so late on this, but I just watched Hamilton for the first time around the 4th. I liked it but all of the sudden last week I was like “I‘m gonna listen to the soundtrack” and it‘s been on legit repeat since 😂 Honestly the songs/story are so compelling. Hard not to enjoy even though hip hop isn‘t my typical genre

#tuesdaytunes @TieDyeDude

1. Spoiled. Often it‘s not the ending but getting there that‘s satisfying
2. Favorite character
3. Romance I guess. So not my typical answer - must be all the romance I‘ve been reading lately 😂
4. Historical fiction. Sci-fi is not my jam
5. Skip the last

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Finished up this audiobook during work today. I didn‘t do too many of the exercises but I loved the message the author conveyed and the tools provided to help you actually care for yourself. There was one part in particular that resonated with me - talking about how you‘re not entitled/deserving of help/charity/whatever because other people have it worse. I do that all the time. So yeah makes you self-aware about things and how to change it

My reading buddy. I finished the tagged book - overall was enjoyable. Lexi honestly annoyed me for a while towards the end. Felt like she just kept fighting with Jake about the same thing. Also I couldn‘t understand her relationship with her dad - just didn‘t get her feelings on that at all particularly since it clashed with the rest of her personality. All in all, I‘d say low pick

I got 87 pages in and I‘m just not feeling it so I‘m gonna bail. Normally it‘s not something I do, but I‘ve seen so many Littens take this route when they‘re not feeling a book because our TBRs are long and life is short - and they‘re so right! Story about two best friends but I‘m hardly convinced they actually are. Definitely more character driven which is fine if I like the characters but not the case here

Finished this up on audio today. It was pretty interesting. I definitely learned some things I never knew before

This was SO fun. At times I was annoyed with Annie, particularly in the beginning because she seemed to take immediate offense to Drew and never even considered she might be approaching the situation wrong. But she grew on me. What I enjoyed most about this though was I had literal laugh out loud moments - pretty rare for me with a book. It surprised me every time but in the best way. It was a lot of fun

Finished this up before bed. It‘d been on my shelf for a while. A story about a pandemic that wipes out most of the world leaving some people with magical abilities as well as without. Not my first pandemic book since living through the covid pandemic but it‘s still so weird and eerie - the stuff the author describes hits different after living some of it. Overall, I liked it. Likable characters and I‘m intrigued. Gave The Stand vibes

I never used to be much of a romance fan but I had a couple good ones hook me a year or two ago and now I like to throw one in every so often as it‘s nice to just blow through a book. I liked this one - not a favorite but mostly enjoyable

Just finished this one up during lunch today. It was interesting. I do think there were some missed opportunities but I thought the story was unique

#litsylovereads

Listened to this on audio while working this week. I enjoyed it a lot! I found it so interesting. I‘m not outdoorsy in the least but I can appreciate why people hike these trails. Not that you‘ll ever talk me into it 😂 But yeah, fascinating and heartbreaking all the while

Finished up this book while watching March Madness. I enjoyed it a lot! A memoir about adopting a blind kitten and how the cat‘s spirit impacted her life/way of thinking. Definitely makes me appreciate my kitty all the more, especially given my Sammy is turning 16 in a couple months. Was a nice reminder to love him even in those moments of frustration

#tuesdaytunes

You guys are all picking cool stuff for this, but I can‘t help sharing this. A new *NSYNC song off Justin Timberlake‘s new album - the song is Paradise. As a die hard *NSYNC fan it‘s brought me so much joy

https://open.spotify.com/track/6tcYpyw4rr5mTqDidS29IY?si=CMjq9YrgTJm0LdPmzP1LIQ

@TieDyeDude

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks just got my book in the mail. Thank you again so much!

#litsylove

My BFF gifted me this for my birthday and I just got around to reading it. I‘ve been struggling with stress and general displeasure with my job so I appreciated this book and a lot of the comics spoke to me. Nice to have a reminder it‘s ok to be down sometimes and to step back and take care of yourself

#litsylovereads

Wasn‘t a huge fan of Fourth Wing but figured I‘d give the sequel a go to see if more time with the characters/plot changed my mind. Unfortunately, it didn‘t. I can see why people enjoy this story but for me the “shocks” and “twists” don‘t have a huge impact. I think because nothing ever really get explained in the detail needed so when those things happen you don‘t have an emotional reaction to it. Surely there will be another book but I‘m out

I listened to this on audio. Really short audiobook but it had some good info/tips on how to stop yourself overthinking everything - habit I‘m definitely prone to

#litsylovereads

Unpopular opinion here. This was so overhyped. The premise sounded amazing but the writing style wasn‘t very successful - at least not for me. The author struggles to develop characters and relationships properly. We‘re expected to believe Violet is friends with people because the author says so rather than actually showing it and letting the readers see the growth. And the romance? Ugh. Felt so one sided with Violet and suddenly it‘s not? ⬇️

I enjoyed this a lot! The characters were all wonderful. I love stories where I have characters I can connect with/root for and I got that in spades here. It was a cute, feel good story. Good way to start the new year!

#litsylovereads

My final total for #GhostsOfXmas #wintergames

I had a blast! I‘m sad it‘s over - the holidays go way too fast but it was a great event! @BookwormAHN thanks for being a great team captain! 🙂

Really happy I hit my goal - for a while there wasn‘t sure it was gonna happen. Trying to decide what my new goal for 2024 should be and if there are any challenges I should join. I‘m not very good at finishing them but it feels weird to not join one either 😂

Some more ornaments:

Too big to fit in palm of my hand
With an animal on it
Character
Favorite color
With a date on it

#GhostsofXmas #wintergames #christmasornamenthunt

@BookwormAHN

1. The tagged book
2. The Most Likely Club. Ugh, literally the worst book I‘ve read in so long
3. Nothing yet. I‘ve got a cold so I‘ll see how I‘m feeling. Might just kick it at home just me and my kitty and I‘m perfectly fine with that
4. No but I did end up at the mall for an hour or two
5. I guess kinda brown because it‘d been raining. I always want a white one and never get it 😂

#ghostsofxmas #wintergames @BookwormAHN

It‘s been a crazy few days with the holiday and then of course I had to come down with one of the many illnesses flying around so apologies on the late posting of this. I got 435 words on the word game which was where I‘d left it the night of the 23rd so 4,350 points

#GhostsOfXmas #wintergames

@BookwormAHN

Wow, thank you so much @CindyMyLifeIsLit - you spoiled me! I don‘t think I‘ve seen a bigger bag of the peppermint bark in my life, but it‘ll still get eaten 😂 The socks too look nice and cozy. This book has been on my TBR - a friend of mine and I were planning a buddy read for it.

Thank you so much! So generous. Merry Christmas!

#jolabokaflod @MaleficentBookDragon