For the first time ever last week, I successfully read two non-audiobooks at the same time! Normally, if I’m reading more than one book at a time, it means neither one is really grabbing my attention. Not the case this week. Each book I was reading fulfilled a distinct purpose and I read each book during different times of day.
And to add to my true crime week, I listened to the podcast Dear John from the L.A. Times. It’s an absolutely chilling story of a sociopathic con man and blind love. If you liked the original Serial, try this one!
My Rock Your Reading Tracker is available for purchase here! What’s special about this reading tracker? It automatically compiles your stats in real time…and helps you pick better books for your reading taste by enabling you to track your recommendation sources. I’ve been using it for a few months now and love being able to see my stats as I go! And, I know I’m going to love all the hours I’ll save tallying up numbers at the end of the year.
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I finished reading…
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (February 27, 2018)
Excellent for true crime fans. As much about McNamara’s story investigating these unsolved cases years after they’d gone cold as the story of the Golden State Killer himself. I definitely couldn’t read it at night, so Bachelor Nation was the perfect companion read to fill my head with fluff before falling asleep. Mini review to come.
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Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman (March 6, 2018)
Not a gossipy read revealing who’s hooking up with whom, etc, but more a look at how the show is put together behind the scenes. How does the show get contestants to do things they’d never do in real life. An interestingly psychological look at The Bachelor.
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I’m currently reading…
Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge (April 4, 2017)
I’m about 40% through this plane crash / survival page turner that a couple of my Go-To Bloggers (Renee at It’s Book Talk and Susie at Novel Visits) loved. So far, this is similar to stories I’ve read or seen on the screen many times before, but I’m getting the sense there are some pretty big bombshells to come.
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Upcoming reading plans…
I’m waiting for this one to come out tomorrow…
The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu (February 13, 2018)
I’m hoping this novel about a group of girls who get stranded on an island during a kayaking trip at summer camp will be a candidate for my 2018 Summer Reading Guide!
I was reading…
One Year Ago: I read one of my favorite books of 2017!
Two Years Ago: I was reading about being an introvert.
How was your reading week?
Loved castle of water!
I’m almost finished…and, well, it’s fine, but a little too neat and tidy for me.
Castle of Water sounds good. I’m reading Henry James this week and will certainly be in the mood for a page-turner after that! 😉
I’m really looking forward to I’ll be gone in the dark, my request is in Edelweiss purgatory but I’m high up on my library’s hold list so I hope to get it right when it comes out. I hope you end up liking Castle of Water, thanks for the shout out! I haven’t heard of The Lost Girls so I’ll wait for your thoughts
Nonfiction really worked for you last week. (I hope Castle of Water does, too.) I’m planning on listening to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark just as soon as it comes out. Hope that’s not a mistake! I’m happy to hear you liked it so much, and I’m kind of looking forward to the scary parts.
Daytime listening…and lock your doors at night!
I’m hoping that The Lost Girls will be good as well. I have an arc, but will likely wait a bit to try it.
My ARC was in PDF format, so I couldn’t read it! That’s why I had to wait…
I have I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and Lost Girls on my list … That always growing list!
Read An American Marriage in 2 days. Now I have a book hangover and nothing sounds good. Wow.
Awesome – and the hangovers are real!
I’ve been wanting to read Castle Of Water for some time but my library, for some reason, never got it. My first Link + request: it’s coming to SF from San Diego!
Mine didn’t either – bizarre.
But, I’m almost done and so far, it’s too neat and tidy for me.
I have been eyeing An American Marriage…and now may have to grab it! A favorite book is not one to ignore.
Thanks for sharing…and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
These are all new to me. They look good. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I’m adding the Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore to my wishlist. Come see what I’m reading this week.
I think I’d like I’ll Be Gone in the Dark but I’ve never seen The Bachelor so I think I’ll skip that book.
An American Marriage sounds kind of awesome. I think I need to read an Oprah book for one of my challenges this year. Maybe I’ll choose that one. Have a great week!
This would be a perfect choice!
Well, hallelujah, I finally had a five star book for 2018 so that is great. What is not is that it was a tough story and I’m tired. I want to be entertained. Period. Chick-lit, a thriller, something like that.
In other news, your pressure (and our twinness) means I’m going to get An American Marriage on audio because the library hold list is too long. I’ll keep you posted.
I thought you’d already listened to Dear John! It is freaky as hell. Go online and google him if you want to know what he looks like. Makes it a bit more understandable why women fell for him.
Yay!! So glad for you! Sounds like something that probably won’t work well in my life right now 🙂
OK – so I’m worried about you listening to American Marriage on audio. You don’t listen to audio that much and this could be a best of the year for you. Buy it?
How did I miss Dear John?! No idea. And I did Google him…pretty attractive man!
Hmm, I’m reading some of your comments about Castle of Water; maybe I’ll wait on that one for a bit. I’m super excited about Bachelor Nation, of course, and will be anxiously awaiting your thoughts on Lost Girls!!
So, I liked the ending of Castle of Water, but overall just 3 stars. B/c too something…contrived maybe?
Glad to hear that I’ll be Gone in the Dark and the Bachelor book were both good! I’ve got them the Bachelor one on hold at my library and an ARC of the other and I can’t wait to read them both 🙂
Read them at the same time – it’s a great pairing!
I am DNFing Castle of Water at just under 50%. (And it would have been less but I was up late last night.)
What a POS. The narrator? A pompous ass. Who has characters speaking and then translating their words? And what a couple of annoying people. Once I decided to DNF, I read some of the “spoiler” reviews and they only reinforced that I had made the right decision (the quote about their orgasms was especially cheesy).
Now I’m trying to remember that quote!! There were just way too many perfect coincidences (mostly to keep them alive) for my taste.