Worst Of 2017

And now the worst of 2017. I used to love doing these posts. I had so much fun bashing books. Sigh! Since I got married I've noticed I've lost my knack for ranting about books in a funny manner.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm too busy dealing with real life to muster up the energy to hate a book or if it's that whole compromise thing you have to learn in marriage that's making me look at books with more leniency but somethings off. I've also been much better at putting books down that aren't a match for me instead of forcing my way through them. I'm sure if I had forced my way through them they would have been one star reviews. Who knows! I did read some real doozys this year. I feel like my reviews were meaner than they were funny which makes me sad. I'm going to work on that.

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma 
The WORST book this year for sure.

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutowski
I loved the first two books so this sad excuse for a ending left me shaking with rage.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett 
Eye twitching ensued while I read this one.

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey 
I had to skim through the second half of this one just to finish it.

The Girl From The Sea by Shalini Boland
Oi! I really don't like the trend these types of books are following. I also felt the writing was horribly amateurish.

While You Were Sleeping by Kathryn Croft
Another one I had to skim through just to finish. The writing was an unedited mess.

I guess just six books that I downright disliked isn't too bad right? Ugh! See how I couldn't even use the word hate? I'm not sure what's wrong with me. 

The Best Of 2017

I know, I know. Not ANOTHER  2017 wrap up  post. Sorry but I felt like taking a look back on the best of 2017.

As I went back through all the books I read in 2017 to come up with this list I realized I wanted to highlight the books I loved but also the books that stood out in my mind the most. So I had some five star reads that aren't making it to this list which makes me realize I might change their rating on Goodreads. Anywho, here they are!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Since I've disliked everything else by Rowell this one shocked me. I'm in love with Lincoln and his story.

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
Romantic, funny yet heartbreaking, this one will stick out in my mind for a long time and be reread often.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Hilarious! I laughed so hard I cried.

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
A book with more than just an idea but actual solutions and actions to take.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne 
Great ideas presented here.

IT by Stephen King
King never ceases to amaze me. This wasn't a horror story it was beautiful.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney 
I liked this one but was surprised how the story stuck with me all year. I'll be rereading this one for sure.

The Break Down by B.A. Paris
Love this newer author. Her tales are suspenseful and wrap up so deliciously.

Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson
Frank will stick with me for a long time. Adorable story.

Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet 
Symbolism done right.

And there you have it! The best, most memorable books I read in 2017. 

December Wrap Up 2017

December ended more than a week ago, and for me it almost feels like it ended months ago because I spent New Years Ever and New Years day and the following week vacationing on the Oregon coast. My husband and I have decided to make it a tradition to ring in the New Year on the there. Of course, for us, ringing in the New Year means my husband has a glass of wine or champagne and I pass out at 10ish. Good times! So, anywho, that's why it's been so quiet around here and, I know, you're sick to death of end of the year wrap up posts but I've got to do this one for my own sanity. It helps me to look back at the month and also to make sure I've got all my reviews linked. As you may remember, I read a few books in December but then rewarded myself for reaching my Goodreads goal by rereading some books. I won't bother adding the rereads to my wrap up so this should be quick. Here you go!

You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
A "self help" book that was awesome!

The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert
A sweet love story with a fun setting.




And there you have it. See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?  My favorite of the two has to go to You Are A Badass but I loved The Simplicity of Cider too so no least favorites. I also reread three books. And now, onward into the new year!

End Of The Year Book Survey 2017

It's that time of year again! I can never decide whether to just post my top ten favorite books and top ten least favorites or participate in Jamie's End Of The Year Survey. I think I usually rotate or something. Well, anyway, here we are and I decided to participate this year. Enjoy! 

Number Of Books You Read:71
Number of Re-Reads: 4
Genre You Read The Most From: I have no idea. Probably contemporary/thriller/suspense



1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

Ketchup Clouds was my first five star review of the year and while I loved several other books this year too, this one sticks out in my mind. It's romantic, heartbreaking and humorous and I loved it!

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone and it's sequel's were on my TBR list forever. I thought I'd love them but in the end. I found them too long and unimpressive.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Attachments blew me away, guys! I've disliked every other Rainbow Rowell book and then I read this one. I adored it! 

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I wouldn't say I pushed The Sugar Queen but I did always think my book club should read a Sarah Addison Allen book and they finally did.

5. Best series you started in 2017?  The Winner's Curse.  

Best Sequel of 2017?  The Winner's Crime

Best (WORST) Series Ender of 2017?The Winner's Kiss seriously hated the ending of this series. And the series as a whole had so much promise. 

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Amy E. Reichert


7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

This one was such a strange little story that I normally never would have picked up. I ended up loving it.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

OK, this one was a little too long to be unputdownable but it sure wasn't hard to pick back up.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

 

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Frank from Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson. And this one didn't even take a minute to think about. Read the book and you'll see what I mean.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

Not a book I'd recommend AT ALL but it was beautifully written and I plan on giving the author another chance.


13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

I'm no good at these. I'm not a highlighter. 

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?

 

SHORTEST BOOK

112 pages

Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson:...

by Patricia Briggs

LONGEST BOOK

1,478 pages

It

by Stephen King

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Love her twisty endings!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Lincoln and Beth from Attachments. 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Jane and Jasper from Jane Unlimited

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

Lincoln from Attachments. Seriously LOVE him!

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

I didn't read any debut books this year. Weird.


24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Not a favorite book by far, but a very fascinating world.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

Still not sure I understood what was going on in this one.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I don't like these types of endings at all!

~Blogging in 2017~ 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?

Melody's Reading Corner and Do You Dog-Ear? 


2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?

Sweet Lamb of Heaven was another favorite read of the year and I tried very hard to convince people to read it.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

Guys, I only had one sort of discussion post on my blog this year! One! So sad. 

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Can't think of any. I know I went to a few but I've really cut down on author events. 

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?

I love that even though all I post are reviews anymore that there's still people out there blogging and reading my blog. 

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Finding more time to blog! And finding the time to blog when I'm in the mood. I have a list of discussion posts I want to write but....yeah. 

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My Review of Forgotten got lots of views. Funny because I didn't like the book.


8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

 

I wish my Friday Flicks movie reviews got a little more love but it's all good.


9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Well, I love Overdrive and have come to adore audiobooks but I've also really gotten into book buying at thrift stores. The hunt is so fun! I plan on writing a how to post about this one day. 

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
 

I did! I surpassed my Goodreads goal of 60 books and I was going to try to read some series. Not one book in a series but a whole series all at once. I read three this year and am very proud of myself!

It's been another fun year! With my growing love of audiobooks and the huge stacks of books I bring home from thrift stores reading is obviously still a huge love of mine! I can't wait for 2018 and what it will bring! 

November Wrap-Up 2017

November, you and I really need to stop seeing each other. Last year I wrote about my heartbreaking miscarriage that happened in November and this year I'm having to write another sad post. I'll keep it short. As I mentioned last month, my mother had cancer and has fractured her spine and was bedridden. Some of you know already, but for those of you who don't, my mother passed away on November 11th. I've been through the gauntlet of emotions and am still struggling but I think I'm going to be okay. I won't dwell on the sadness. I just wanted to update you.

 I did manage to read some books though and since this is a book blog lets just get to that, shall we?

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff, Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey, All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry, Be Frank With Me by Julia Clairborne Johnson, The Sugar Queen by Sara Addison Allen,(review on Goodreads)  and Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Favorites of the month were Fiendish and Be Frank With Me. Least Favorite was Haunting Violet.

 I promise I'm not heartless but since my mother had been diagnosed with cancer for over a year and we knew the end was coming I feel like I was somewhat prepared. Of course that means nothing when I want to call and tell her something and realize I can't. Then the water works come on and I get lost in grief but mostly I'm okay.

October Wrap-Up 2017

My favorite month of the year is over. Honestly, though, this October wasn't so great. On the 1st of this month, the untreatable cancer my mother has ate enough of her spine that it fractured in several places leaving her bed bound and in a lot of pain. The cancer in her lungs was cutting her oxygen just enough to make her levels low and as a result she was uncomfortable and cranky. She's on oxygen now and the pain killers are balanced enough to keep her comfortable so that's good but sadly, my family and I are left in that waiting period and feeling pretty helpless. On top of all that my husband and I were scrambling to get one of our rentals remodeled and rented and then another tenant moved out and we had to find renters for that unit as well. It's been a rough month but things look to be calming down. I managed to read 8 books, (audio books are awesome!) rake all the leaves, and even managed a visit down south to see my mom. Trying really hard to stay positive here!

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
A crime novel that surprised and entertained. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Incredibly stupid story with awful characters. ⭐️

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
ANOTHER multiverse story with nothing new to offer. ⭐️⭐️

The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
A delightful middle grade/YA novel with depth and heart. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
Way too disturbing of a story but what beautiful writing. ⭐️⭐️

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
A sweet story with a good message. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Warm and fuzzy comfort read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Favorites of the month were The Warden's Daughter and the much needed comfort reads by Allen. Least Favorite was Imaginary Girls.

September Wrap-Up 2017

September has come and gone. It started out hot and then got deliciously cold with lots of rain. Fall is in the air and I love it! We had a tenant unexpectedly move out in the middle of the month and of course it was one of the rentals that has not been remodeled so we've been working on a smaller scale remodel but keep running into problems. I'm SO over these remodels! Oh well. We're really close to being done and I still managed to read 8 books so it can't be all bad right?

IT by Stephen King
I was expecting horror but got an amazingly well fleshed out story that blew me away!

Invaded by Melissa Landers
The plot go going in this one and encouraged me to read the last book in the series...

United by Melissa Landers
...Which was a bit of a let down. All in all, it's a fine series but I found it a little unbelievable.

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutoski
After loving books one and two I was DEVASTATED by this one. It felt like I was reading about completely different characters and Arin did NOT redeem himself!

Jane Unlimited by Kristin Cashore
Not at all what I was expecting but a fun, unique story.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson 
Laughed so hard I cried. That's a good thing, right?

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain 
Not enough conflict and then I wondered why the hell I need so much conflict? Brought on some deep introspection.

The Book Shop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
Uh, again I felt like there wasn't enough conflict...or that there was but it was too easily resolved. Talk about a charmed life???

Favorites of the month were Furiously Happy and IT. Least Favorite was The Winner's Kiss. Made me so mad!

Friday Flicks: IT

Title It
Rating ★★★

What It's About
Unless you're deathly afraid of clowns and haven't seen a single trailer or heard a single thing about this one you probably already know what it's about. In fact, you could pretty much just look at my book review synopsis of this one and get the gist. I will say, however, that this movie is "part one". This movie just focuses on the kids and they're battle against It. While the book talks about these kids as adults too the movie just focuses on them as kids. So, yeah. Creepy evil thing that often manifests as a clown is terrorizing a small town in Maine and these kids decide to fight it.

Especially after Bill's brother, Georgie goes missing after a freaky encounter with said evil.

I'm not sure why I got so obsessed with this  one. I saw the preview and knew I'd be seeing it but then suddenly I decided to read the book. So I was all ready to jump into this movie. I knew I shouldn't have read the book first, though. The movie always pales in comparison to the book.

But that's an argument for a different day. This movie was entertaining. It had it's scary moments but wasn't too bad. The kids were hilarious and did a great job with being kids, being funny, and being brave.

I like that we have such great special effects in movies nowadays because then the clown isn't just some guy in a costume. He twisted and contorted in the freakiest of ways and it looked real and added a lot of creepiness to the movie.

Although, he was pretty creepy just standing there too. The different forms the clown took were gross and scary and made me really appreciate special effects.

So, while I had a little bit of trouble truly enjoying this one because it just didn't hold up against the book it was entertaining and as I've said before, that's what movies are for, right?

Let's Talk    
I was really impressed with the special effects in this one. I've seen bits and pieces of the 90s miniseries and laugh at how stupid everything looks. Although back in the day it was probably awesome??? What do you think? Do you think the stuff that looks so cool today will be laughable in 20 years?

Recommendation 
Rent it from Redbox.

August Wrap-Up 2017

And we're coming to the end of summer. August was an OK reading month for me but what was really exciting is I suddenly had a huge urge to blog again. Did you notice? Utah book week helped but something just got lit under me because I suddenly am just itching to blog. Not sure how long it will last but I guess we'll see. Here's what I read in August.

The Break Down by B. A. Paris, The Secret by Rhonda Byrnes, My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand/Brodi Ashton/Jodi Meadows, After Hello by Lisa Mangum and Alienated by Melissa Landers

Favorites of the month were The Break Down and The Secret. No least favorites this month. They were all pretty good.

Friday Flicks: We Love You, Sally Carmichael

We Love You, Sally Carmichael 
Rating ★★★


What It's About
Imagine you're a writer with only one published book that got little to no recognition. Imagine that you're talented enough to see what sells and could easily write a whole series of books that would sell but then you'd have no self respect. Imagine you do it anyway and it works. Your (human woman in love with a merman) series is a hit! You have a whole string of the series written, you're making millions and now your publishers are going to make a movie. Thank goodness you wrote under the pseudonym Sally Carmichael! But remember that self respect thing? Yeah, you have none left. You just want "Sally Carmichael to die but your publishers are telling you if you don't finish the series and meet with big movie star Perry Quinn and convince him to take the starring role in the series movie adaption you're going to get sued. Then imagine you fall in love with a local bookstore owner who has read the book you wrote under your real name and loved it.

But she doesn't know you're Sally Carmichael, writer of the siren stories with millions of, dress-up-for-book-club crazed fans.

When the truth comes out, and it will, things are going to get messy.

In honor of Utah book week I thought it would be fun to do a movie review for my new feature, Friday Flicks on this Utah movie. I don't know if this movie is getting released worldwide or not but for now it's in Utah only. I love Christopher Gorham and since he directed and starred in this one I had to see it.

Besides being cute and charming this movie was filmed in Utah and it was so fun seeing all the familiar spots they shot it at. Remember when I talked about one of my favorite used bookstores in the area?  They shot some of the movie there!

Christopher was great, as usual. His self loathing and fear of public speaking was hilarious. The film did have a bit of a independent movie feel to it which might turn some people off but I didn't mind.

This wasn't a deep symbolic film it was just a cute, funny, story that entertained and made me smile.

Lets Talk
Do you like independent films? I find myself inexplicably drawn to them. Sometimes Hollywood's familiar formula and money making schemes bore me and I need a good ol' original story that's out to tell a story rather than earn million at the box office.

Recommendation
I'd say see it in theaters but that's probably not an option for you all. So see it when and how you can. It's cute.