Here's my #October #BookSpinBingo card!! #doublespin

I just realized that I haven't posted my Bingo card! I fell asleep at my computer that night and forgot to post. #teacherlife 😂 Now that I've finished my 2024 BOTM challenge, I'm reading non-BOTM and older BOTM books that don't count toward the challenge. #BookSpinBingo

Here is my #bookspinbingo card for the month of August! #bookspin #doublespin

I missed a full Bingo by about 75 pages. 😬 There's always this month!

I'm posting my list even though I might fit in one more book in July. 🤞 I'm trying to knock out my BOTM reading challenge after getting sidetracked by life earlier this year! #bookspin #doublespin #Bookspinbingo

As someone who‘s not really into romance OR fantasy, I was fully prepared to not like this book. Boy, was I wrong. The premise might seem a bit silly at first (a guy turning into a shark?!) However, it‘s a beautifully-written examination of love in all of its forms. A rare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me— and the author is a fellow Okie!

It's time for my July #BookSpinBingo card! Let's see what is in store for July!

Full Review and Matching Recipe: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2024/06/08/corporate-calamity/

Jack owns a restaurant named Schmidt‘s on Rehoboth Beach. The restaurant has been in his family for 3 generations. However, the day-to-day operations of the restaurant have worn him down. With stress piling up, Jack longs to see what life has to offer when he is not tied down to his workplace.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm BAAACK!!! I never would have guessed that tripping when I was running would lead to the discovery of an autoimmune disease. The last few months have been exhausting. I took some time off of my blog to focus my limited energy on my job, but now I'm excited to read all summer long! #bookspinbingo

Here is my February 2024 #bookspinsbingo!!! I'm about to start a new job, so I'm not sure how far we'll get this month. We'll see!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's hard to find historical fiction from WWII that is set in the Pacific Theater. I absolutely loved this book, which fictionalizes the real story of a group of nuns from the Australian Army Nursing Service as they and other women shipwrecked from the Vyner Brooke try to survive in a Japanese POW Camp.

Full Review and Matching Recipe: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2024/01/15/sisters-banding-together/

#BookSpin #BookSpinBingo

Type A Alert! I developed some personal rules for my 2024 Bingo cards that make the game work better for my life.

1) Even though I am doing the Bingo card, I will always make the #BookSpin & #DoubleSpin selections a priority.
2) Whatever number is selected for the #BookSpin will be automatically replaced by my book club's monthly selection. The title that was listed under that number will be moved to the #25 spot. ⬇️

Full Review with Recipe Match: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/12/26/deserve-to-die/

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My #bookspinbingo board is ready!! Let's GO!

Here's how my #October2023 ended for #BookSpinBingo! I'm still light on my reading due to student teaching, but I only have 4 weeks left! #careerchange #lifegoals #almosthere #bookworminmetamorphisis

Today, I'm thankful for #BookSpinBingo! Let's see what gets scratched off my TBR this month!

Here's my #bookspinbingo for the month of October! The books I need to read for book club AND those already in progress are ALL OVER THE MAP. So much for an easy bingo!

I'm getting ready for October's #bookspinsbingo! Since I finished by BOTM challenge for the year, I'm focusing on non-BOTM books on my bookshelf until 2024!

Here's my #BookSpinBingo board for September! Since I am in my student teaching/edTPA semester, I know that realistically I will probably only get to the #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks. But, a girl can dream!

I didn't get a bingo this month simply because I got schlacked by the beginning of my student teaching semester (Elementary and Special Education). My reading came to a grinding halt when school started! Just a couple more months and I'll have my reading time back! #newcareer #newteacher #lovinglife

1. Next Monday. Our classroom is almost ready!

2. The Phantom Tollbooth

Thanks, @thespineview! #two4Tuesday

Here are my #botmpredictions for September! https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/08/13/book-of-the-month-predictions-septe... #bookofthemonth #botm #bookofthemonthpredictions #botmsept2023

Full Review and Recipe that Matches the Book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/08/12/the-best-of-your-soul/

Although it was a little slow, this book had me in tears. It not only addresses the healing that a community must go through after a mass shooting, but also the difficulty of being a member of the perpetrator's family. What happens when someone you love dies, but you're not allowed to mourn them because of their heinous actions?

Picking a favorite book for July is going to be tough!! There‘s lots of good choices here as I continue to whittle down my BOTM TBR, but I think I‘m going to have to go with The Cartographers.

My August #bookspinbingo card is ready to go! Let‘s see how many I can read before the school year begins! Thanks, @TheAromaofBooks !!

I just happened to choose books to take on vacation that were aptly-named for our adventures. In today‘s edition, I‘m reading The Spectacular while looking at this spectacular jungle view at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. 🐘 #southasianexcursion #elephants

I wish #botm didn‘t take so long to deliver to APO because I‘m really excited by these books! Plus, it‘s not every day I get to support an author from my home state of Oklahoma!

Our family left our home in Tokyo to embark on an epic 13-day vacation, with part one consisting of a South Asian cruise. 🚢 It took us two days, but my daughter and I finally found the ship library. It seems fitting that I‘m in the middle of The Cartographers 🗺️. #readingatsea

After spending 15 years in public relations, I decided to go back to school and get my teaching certification. Now, 2.5 years into my graduate program, I only have my student teaching semester left! I‘m ready to pick up a Litsy challenge for the first time since I began this journey, and I‘m going to start with #BookSpinBingo. @TheAromaofBooks Will you add me to your list for August?

Full review and recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/07/22/the-unmusical-world-of-childrens-en...

Coming August 1, 2023!

This one was a little too cerebral for my liking. If weird books are your thing, it might be for you. I had high hopes for the premise, but it fell very, very short.

TW: Anti-religious

Coming in January 2024! This book might challenge The Wife Upstairs as my favorite Rachel Hawkins book!

Read a full review and view a recipe that matches the book here: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/07/23/generational-deceit/

Full review and recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/07/15/influencing-a-killer/

Podcast host Rachel Krall is back in this follow-up to The Night Swim. Rachel must investigate an abduction among the glitz and glamor of a conference for mega-influencers. Can Rachel infiltrate the world of picture-perfect yoga poses and insufferable mealtime photographers to find the missing girl?

Full Review and Matching Recipe: https://wordpress.com/post/bakingthroughbookclub.com/1080

Adam Parsons leaves for his daily hike with his son who has special needs and never returns. Woven within the story is the struggle to help people with disabilities, especially those thought to be non-verbal, to find their voice. The ending is a little anti-climactic for a thriller, so I think it's better to consider Happiness Falls a contemporary fiction

Full review and Recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/06/19/where-credit-is-due/

A Likely Story is a tale of egotism, self-absorption, plagiarism, and the different paths love can take. It's filled with unlikeable characters, but you can't help but feel sorry for each one at different points. Even the strongest, most self-assured people are crying out for acceptance and love on the inside.

Full Review/Recipe Match: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/06/04/melon-monsters-money-and-mayhem/

Swap Story is the embodiment of Mulder‘s famous poster from the X-Files: I WANT to believe. If you are looking for a light summer read that will make you laugh, Swamp Story is a solid choice. It‘s also a perfect suggestion for people who are occasional readers who just want something to entertain them on vacation.

Full review and a recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/04/17/unwavering-devotion-in-unyielding-t...

Set around the time of World War II, Only the Beautiful addresses the horrors of the eugenics movement. Meissner draws an uncomfortable parallel between the United States' practice of sterilizing women who were deemed “dangerous” and what the Nazis were doing to disabled people.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Full review and recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/03/30/not-a-one-star-review/

As soon as I began reading, I knew I was in trouble.

No, I never thought about rating it one star to test whether I would succumb to the same fate as the heroine.

I was in trouble because my husband was leaving for a business trip, and I could tell that this wasn't a book I wanted to read in an empty house.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For a full review and recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/03/13/making-a-splash-in-hollywood/

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

For full review and themed recipe match, click here:

https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/01/31/some-books-are-not-good-audiobooks/

The Angel Maker has several twists and turns, which makes it very difficult to follow on audiobook if your attention drifts. My attention drifted A LOT.

For all of you wondering about Aardvark Book Club, here is my first experience with them. APO/FPO address holders: You might want to take note! https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/01/16/trying-out-aardvark-book-club/

Full Review and Recipe Match: https://tdy.es/OVxBe

Hello Beautiful is a tantalizing tale of love. It explores the bonds of sisterly love, parental love, and romantic love, which can be both heartbreaking and life-altering. It addresses the severe impacts that can occur when love is withheld, often breaking open silent wounds that fester as the person slowly dies within. Love is an uniter, a divider, and the glue that bring us back together.

Full Review & a themed recipe: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2022/12/29/the-cure-for-cancer/

If your body had the ability to cure cancer, what would be your moral responsibility to society, and what would society‘s moral responsibility be to you?

This is a debut novel, and the writing is inexperienced. However, I loved toying with the ethical dilemmas it presented. Publication is 2/28/23, but you can check it out now on NetGalley.

“Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is the quintessential coming-of-age story, but one that explores the dichotomy of growing up in a religious community while the broader American values of freedom and independence tug at your existence.“

Full Review and Chai Recipe Match: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2022/12/23/the-search-for-virtue/

Full Review and Book Recipe Match (Ward 8 Cocktail): https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2022/12/19/everyone-dies-bootleggers-edition/

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meredith, Alone not only discusses the impacts of trauma, but it also shows how different people process it. Some readers will celebrate this as a way to remove the stigma behind trauma recovery. Others might feel uncomfortable (or further traumatized) because of their own background and life experiences. Is it healing for you to hear stories similar to yours, or will that cause you further harm? Overall, I enjoyed the book. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Full Review and a Recipe at: https://southernersreadtoo.com/2022/12/01/a-wisp-of-hope/

This was a charming book. Despite the terrible childhoods that each character experienced, this book radiated positivity. You found yourself rooting for each character as they began to find the connection they sought with each other. Some portions of the book felt a bit unpolished.

Full Review: https://southernersreadtoo.com/2022/11/14/the-cold-taste-of-victory/

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Winterland explores the brutality of competitive gymnastics against the backdrop of the USSR in the 1970s. Not everything that glitters is gold.

Fantasy is one of my least favorite genres. This book felt like fantasy mixed with feminism and a sprinkle of historical fiction for good measure. I had a hard time following the specialized terms, and it made the book feel like a slow read. Plus, Robert and his roommate Freddie were some of the only likable characters in the book. The women were written to sound petty and insufferable. 🌟🌟.

Full review at: https://southernersreadtoo.com/2022/10/31/high-tide-but-not-my-vibe/

The story moved rather slowly, and there was WAY too much build-up to both Robert and Maggie‘s backstories. The author kept including end-of-chapter cliffhangers, but she didn‘t give the reader any morsels of information that would help them guess what‘s next. It left me feeling frustrated and bored all at the same time. Rating: ⭐️⭐️

My #BOTM November 2022 Predictions are up! I'm hoping for Kevin Wilson's new book, and Aethestica sounds intreguing. Grab your tissues for A Quiet Place, but it is worth every one of the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I gave it. Read the summaries here: https://southernersreadtoo.com/2022/10/16/book-of-the-month-predictions-november... #BOTM #BOTMpredictions #BOTMNov2022