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2020 Can Go F*ck Itself! - Reading Year in Review

2020 was a year of reading and not socializing. You would think since I was stuck between home and work I would have done a better job updating this site, but things just failed. THAT is part of the reason this post is titled how it is. Honestly, 2020 was an AMAZING year for reading. I just failed at sharing about it. I finally reached my 100 books read goal for the Great Reading Challenge at the library. I am officially a Diamond Level reader. I even  managed to go above that mark and it was a total of 125 books read this year, including the extra credit points! I completed every challenge the library offered except two of them. I missed the November Reading Roulette Challenge and one challenge worth extra points, which was 'Read Two Classic Novels.' The other HUGE goal I hit was becoming my library's Reader of the Month. I was the Reader of the Month in November. They included almost my ENTIRE responses and a very large chunk of my suggested reading list. You can check ou
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August Reading Roulette and Books Read

August Reading List  “Blueberry Muffin Murder” - Joanne Fluke “Things We Didn’t Talk About When I was a Girl” - Jeannie Vanasco “The Body Keeps the Score” - Bessel van der Kolk “Letting Go: A Girl’s Guide to Breaking Free of Stress...” - Christine Fonseca “The Darwin Affair” - Tim Mason ( audiobook ) “The 5 Love Languages” - Gary Chapman  “The Art of Simple Living” - Shunmyo Masuno “All Systems Red” - Martha Wells “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings”- Maya Angelou ( audiobook ) Monthly Total: 9 Total Read: 83 Total with Extra Credit: 105 2020 GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!!!! 🎉 This month's reading list consisted of a lot of nonfiction and memoirs. I feel the need to break this down a little more. 6 of the 9 books read this month were in the nonfiction category. The three books that were fictional are: "Blueberry Muffin Murder," "The Darwin Affair," and "All Systems Red." As you can read in an earlier blog post, "Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Gir
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My Top Audiobook Narrators

Everyone has their own preferences and everyone looks for something a little different in what they read. Sometimes, I need a break from actually reading books; in these moments I turn to Audiobooks. Audiobooks have become my best friends during reading slumps, road trips, and even filing room work. There are days when I spend hours working in a filing room and more often than not, I have an Audiobook going to help keep me motivated! For example, yesterday I had an early morning road trip, so I decided to checkout a book from my local library (coincidentally that narrator will be on this list as well). 1.Tim Curry I first found a Tim Curry narration by complete accident. My Dad and I were road tripping to visit my sister who was living in Ohio at the time; it was a 12-hour drive for us. My Dad doesn't read anything besides car manuals and the occasional instruction guide. I picked up a light read series: "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snickett. At the time I w
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"Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was A Girl"

  Jeannie Vanasco has created a work of genius with this memoir. "Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl" could be seen as a new direction for the #MeToo movement. Vanasco's memoir addresses her confusion regarding a sexual assault from high school by her best friend. Throughout the book it questions 'if good people can do bad things or if there are just bad people?' Vanasco went a step further than writing about her assault, she interviewed the man who raped her, whom she refers to as Mark in this book. The reader gets a full view of Jeannie's and Mark's interactions since Vanasco includes transcripts of their phone calls and the eventual visit. It is a harrowing and eye-opening experience. There is a real feel to the book that some sexual assault memoirs lack; it seems disjointed just because you get to see firsthand all of Vanasco's thoughts. Survivors will feel validated knowing they aren't alone with the way their brain can go after
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June/July Update

Hello and Happy Monday, Friends! As promised I am providing my June/July update in one post for everyone! “Celtic Tales” “Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge” - Paul Krueger “The Woman Suffrage Cookbook” - Hattie A. Burr Reading Roulette - June (+2) “Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story”  - Tori Amos “The Library Book” - Ann Cleeves “The Lucky One” - Nicholas Sparks (audiobook) “Midnight in Poppyland” - Webtoons “Lore Olympus” - Webtoons “Swim Back to Me” - Ann Packer Reading Roulette - July (+2) I am including two different Webtoons I have been reading. There is a story and some beautiful artwork. Since there are enough chapters I am including them as done this month because I read everything that is out already! "Lore Olympus" only just released season 2 and "Midnight in Poppyland" is still being published. Just because it is online and a 'non-traditional' literary work doesn't mean it shouldn't be included! Reading Roulette Updates!
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2020 Strikes Again

June/July has been an odd few months for me. Let's all just be honest 2020 is just a weird year. I fully intended to give a June recap, but then July hit. I lost two family members and one was young and very unexpected. It actually through me off the deep-end for a little bit. I believe in transparency regarding mental health and I was definitely up there quite a ways. You won't see anything from me this month most likely, but in the beginning of August I will post an update from the last two months! I will get back on track; I just need the time to myself first. You might even start to notice a trend in some of the books I'm reading now that I'm back to being a book nerd! Stay safe friends. Hug your loved ones and don't be afraid to reach out for help if you need it. This website has a host of different hotlines and resources if you ever find yourself in a place where you don't feel safe or you just need to chat with someone: https://www.nami.org/Support-Edu
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Behind in Times...

I just realized we're 3/4 of the way through June and I haven't done a single update! I've read a few books, but none have been truly review worthy. Instead, I'm going to share a fun little resource with you! While scrolling through Pinterest today I came across this pin: I'm sure many of you have faced this problem before. There was a book from my childhood that all I could remember was a name a few small plot points, but I used this resource and figured it out right away! EBSCO Host has a database called NoveList Plus. I have free access through my library and I know a lot of schools used to give access to EBSCO as well. Using the website you can type in a few words and it will bring up any book that could fit your description. For an example I'll use a well-known book. "Harry," "Hogwarts," and "Moody." If those were the only names you could remember this lovely resource would still locate the books and give the list of &
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