I’m giving my month of backlist reading another try…so far, this attempt is going better than the last one did!
Podcast
Episode 40 (the last episode of 2019), featuring Byrd Leavell (Literary Agent at United Talent Agency), aired last Wednesday!
And, the regular podcast will be going on break for the month of December, but BONUS EPISODES for Patrons will NOT be going on break! I’m releasing two fun year-end episodes for Patrons (2019 Wrap-Up with Susie from Novel Visits and Goodreads Choice Awards Breakdown with Carla from Happiest When Reading). Support the show on Patreon for $5/month to get access to these bonus episodes!
New on the Blog
- December 2019 Book of the Month picks went live…I’ve already read and loved one book and am interested in a second one. I’ve got commentary on all the picks.
- Nonfiction November Mini Reviews…I read 5 books for #nonficnov and liked them all!
- My 2019 Holiday Gift Guide is here…over 30 book recommendations for the readers on your holiday list and my favorite bookish subscription services!
- The 2020 Rock Your Reading Tracker launched on Thursday…including new features and improvements to existing features! Available for $14.99.
- Get bonus podcast episodes…Get bonus podcast episodes and other goodies when you support the podcast on Patreon!
Hosted by The Book Date.
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I finished reading…
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (January 21, 2020)
The hype is real, y’all! This is an “important” book that just feels like a dang good story while you’re reading…which is the type of “important” book I like. 5 stars!
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I’m currently reading…
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (February 1, 2001)
I’m a little over halfway through this literary mystery and, after a bit of a slow start, it’s now off to the races. In this case, the slow start wasn’t a bad thing. This is a story about a community with a mystery involved, so the slow beginning was Lehane developing this community and its characters, which I’m fine with.
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Upcoming reading plans…
Unless a library hold comes in…
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan (June 14, 2011)
Believe it or not, I’ve never read J. Courtney Sullivan and have been meaning to try her! So, I polled Instagram about which of hers I should start with and, though Saints for All Occasions was the winner (Maine was #2), the family drama premise of Maine appeals to me a little more than Saints. We’ll see how it goes…
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How was your reading week?
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Glad to hear you’re enjoying Mystic River! I loved it too. I have a few J. Courtney Sullivan books on my shelves but haven’t gotten around to actually reading any yet…
I’m still entering contests for a copy of American Dirt and am happy to hear how much you loved it. Maybe I’ll get lucky one of these times! I’ve never read J. Courtney Sullivan either, so will be curious to hear what you think. It looks like a nice book to read this time of year. Sort of like Summer of ’69 which just gave me a nice break form all the hecticness of last week.
I loved Mystic River and Maine! I have American Dirt up for this week.
These are all new to me but I think I’ve heard of Mystic River. I’m digging deep into TBR mountain for my reading this week. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I’ll be reading American Dirt soon- I can’t wait any longer!
American Dirt is on my wishlist. Maine sounds good too. My weekly update
Really curious to see what you thought about Maine. I listened to the audiobook and hated it. I was so disappointed. I thought it was so boring and I had been excited for it.
Oh no!! Well, you know me, I’ll just DNF quickly if I don’t like it!
Hahah I know! Sometimes when I have a failed audiobook I’ll DNF and finish it in print form. I didn’t like this audiobook so much that I think maybe I tuned out for a lot and didn’t realize it. I honestly couldn’t even tell you what it was about. if you like it I’ll give it another try but in print form!