Current Reads and WIPs

Current WIPs and Reads | January 2023

Hello and welcome to a midmonth check-in where I am sharing the things I am currently reading and my works in progress and share how I am feeling about each of them. I am happy to report I am finally reading a bit. Not nearly as much as I have in the past, but I am making some progress in that regard. Due to this, I am reading a few books that I am going to be talking about. On top of that I have two projects I am working on as well. Without more rambling, here are my current reads and WIPs

In progress knitting projects and my eReader on my bed.

My Current Reads

I am currently about half way through Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I am buddy reading this with Misty’s Book Space and it has been really fun reading this book in small chunks and talking about it weekly. So far I am enjoying the book, the author has done a really good job with setting the mood and establishing the characters and setting. There have been a few things I could have done without, but over all I am enjoying it. I am very much in the phase of I need to keep reading to see what happens next, which has not happened in a really long time. I am very happy that it seems like my reading mojo might be returning.

The second book I am currently reading is Sundial by Catriona Ward, this was also a buddy read, but I did not keep up with it sadly. I am still reading it though and I will finish it! I will be a good buddy reading partner lol. I am enjoying this story, it is a horror thriller, but I am enjoying Ninth House a bit more at this point. But, I have a ton to read still so I am curious to see if I feel the same by the time I finish them. I think the main reason is this is more a thriller\horror where as Ninth House is more fantasy/mystery dark academia. Both are written well and, like I said, I am liking them both.

My Current WIPs

The first project I am really focusing on is the Sophie Shawl by PetiteKnit (Ravelry|Website), I started this project in December of 2022 and I would really love to finish it and use it. I am over halfway done at this point and the width of the shawl is getting smaller from here on out. I think I should be finishing it within the week. It is going to be more of a scarf than a shawl in my option. I am also enjoying making one half black and one half white, The second project I am working on, which is more of a background project is the Big Cozy Cardi by Andrea Mowry (Ravelry|Website). This is more of a long term project that I am working on a little each day. I am loving the pattern and process for sure. It is going to be a big oversized cardi with a mohair collar, so it is going to be super comfortable.

What are you currently reading or working on?

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Lists & Recommendations · To Be Read

My Entire Owned TBR | December 2022

Hello and welcome to a post where I am simply going to share some of the books that I own and want to read. I have really tried to get my TBR down to 0, and I am still working towards that goal. The main reason I want my owned TBR so low is because I really want to hear about a book or have a friend mention one to me and I can just read it as soon as I am interested to avoid spending the money and then loosing interest and it sits on my shelf forever, then I end up donating it. I am really glad that I am able to donate books, but I am always so sad to do it with books that have not been read. I am going to break down my list by format of the books. I will also add an asterisk if I also have an audiobook copy of the book. Anyway, here are the books on my owned TBR.

Physical

Ghosts of Maine by T.M. Gray

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda*

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh*

All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami*

The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox*

Mouthful of Birds: Stories by Samanta Schweblin*

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez*

Death on Gokumon Island (Book 2) by Seishi Yokomizo

eBooks

The Honjin Murders (Book 1) by Seishi Yokomizo

Sundial by Catriona Ward

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

Audiobook

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Not to bad at all, I have a total of 12 unread books that are waiting for me to dive into. I am really happy that I was able to get this number so low and I am looking forward to continuing towards my goal of 0 books. I am also making a move towards ebooks slowly. The main reason being room, it is just not feasible for me in the space I am in to keep a lot of books or have books on hand. I also am able to access my library to save some money and still enjoy one of my passions.

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Let's Talk · Lists & Recommendations · To Be Read

Books I Took With Me On Vacation

Hello and welcome to my blog! Today I am going to take a moment to share some of the books I took with my on vacation! I don’t know about you, but I love reading on vacation. The new environment is just a wonderful place to get lost in a book. This summer I decided to only take a select few, even though I wanted to fill my suitcase with only books. Anyway, here are the books I decided to take with me!

Picture of Lapvona hardcover and I’m Glad My Mom Died on eReader

Lapvona: A Novel by Ottessa Moshfegh, I recently picked this book up when visiting a local bookstore that is a mixture of new and used books. I picked this up because of the unusual cover and read the description and it sounded very interesting. It seems like this books is going to be a mixture of fiction and fantastical, but also a little bit of horror.

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, I enjoyed watching her on tv when I was younger and honestly I saw she was coming out with a book a while ago and knew I wanted to read it before really knowing how dark the topics within the book were going to be. From my understanding, her mother and her did not have a great relationship (I mean read that title!) and was taken advantage of. I am glad that she has written her story and I look forward to learning more about her personal life in her own words.

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Lists & Recommendations

My Favorite Books of 2021

Hello and welcome to a bit of a throwback to 2021! I wanted to take a moment and share some of my favorite reads of the past year and give them a bit of a shoutout. Last year I did not do great with my reading numbers, I read about half as much as a usually do, but I am happy to say there were a few I really enjoyed. Here is a list of the ones that stuck out to me the most in no particular order.

The Books

Dune by Frank Herbert

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yū

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

Later by Stephen King

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson

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Hauls & Unhauls

Books I Bought at an Indie Bookshop While Visiting Family

Hello and welcome to a very specifically themed book haul. I have not done a standalone book haul in a while, but I recently traveled a bit to spend time safely with family in the middle of the woods. Side note, being in the middle of the woods and away from huge crowds of people did wonders for my reading. You can see this in my post called, Books I Took On Vacation and Did I finish Them?. Anyway, when I was there I decided to stop at an independent bookstore to support them, but also buy some books that take place in the general vicinity or state I was in. That way when I miss my family or want to trick my brain into thinking I am somewhere else relaxing I can pick of one of these books/souvenirs.

The Books

Wild! Weird! Wonderful! Maine. by Earl Brechlin, is a nonfiction book that accounts the “out there” history of Maine from ghost stories to aliens, Inventors to interesting people. It just sounded like a fun look at the legends, myths, and the not so known facts and stories about Maine.

The House at Lobster Cove by Jane Goodrich, this historical fiction novel follows a wealthy man named George Nixon Black who wasn’t very social, but liked in a house known by many. It seems like while it is know by many, the house was not visited often by others. This story seems to lift the veil of this mans private life in this beautiful house.

The Field House: A Writer’s Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine by Robin Clifford Wood, is a nonfiction novel following the life of an author by the name of Rachel Field. She was a very prolific author who won tons of awards, but her name has been lost to history. The author of this book takes a look at her life and her home to get to know Field’s.

Writing on Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life by Peter Ralston, his nonficiton novel takes a look at Gott’s Island and its history, but also the story of a family. At least to the best of my knowledge from the description.

A Haunting Fog by Heidi Martin Washburn, is a fictional novel that follows Madelyn Davis during a tough time in her life. It is affecting her in every where to the point her boss tells her to take a break. During this break Madelyn becomes a caregiver of an older women who has secrets of her own and mystery begins to unfold.

I am really looking forward to all of these books for different reasons, but each one just sounds like a story I can easily fall into depending on my mood. Darn being a mood reader! I really do like how I picked up a wide range of books, fiction and nonfiction so I can explore Maine in various ways while I remember the memories I shared with my family while in that state. Also, helping support indie bookstores is another huge bonus!

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Reading Challenges

2021 Mid-Year Check-In

Hello lovely people and welcome to my 2021 mid-year check in for my goals. If you would like to see my origional post you can find that here, Reading Challenge | 2021 Reading Goals. I went kind of easy on myself this year, but to be honest the 2020 was a bit hectic in quite a few ways. I wanted to really tailor my goals to what I truly wanted and not try to compete with anyone.

Use Library Monthly

So far I have stuck to this goal very well. Even if I owned a book I used my local library to read the book digitally when on the go or used the library as my only copy of a book. I am still not comfortable going to borrow a physical copy of books just yet, so I am using their digital services at this point of the year,

Twelve Non-fiction Books

I am actually ahead on this goal, which thrills me honestly. I have read a total of 9 non-fiction books at this point. The books I have read that meet this goal are; A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant, White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer, The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde.

Read 50 Books

I am excited to say I am also ahead on this goal as well, at the time of writing this I have read a total of 42 books! If you want the most up to date read count for the year you can check out my goodreads challenge page.

This is where my goals kind of take a turn. The past few ones I have been pretty on top of, but from here on out I have made progress in almost each of the goals, but have not quite on track. Ooops.

Read International Booker Prize Shortlist 2020

The good news is I have read two books from this list, you can see a more detailed post talking about Hurricane Season and The Memory Police here: Reading Challenge | Reading a Shortlist Vol. 1 Update. The bad news is I have 4 more to read. I will say, I am glad I have 6 months to read 4 books, that is very doable and I plan on continuing to work towards achieving this goal.

Read The Farseer Trilogy & Liveship Traders Trilogy

Once again, I have read two books towards this goal. I have read the first two books of The Farseer Trilogy, which I really enjoyed so I cannot wait to continue. I do have all the books either physically or digitally to meet this goal and I plan on doing just that.

Reread The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilology

This is where I start to hang my head in shame. I have not attempted to pick up these books at all so far this year. I love them so much, but the mood has not hit me at all the first half of the year. I am hoping that this changes very soon.

Keep TBR under 10 Books

Last year I got my TBR down to 0 books. I wanted to keep my owned TBR under 10 books going forward, but I am at about 30 books as of writing this. I am not totally happy with it being this high, but I am really happy that it is not as high as it once was. This is what happens when you have some holidays, birthdays, and sales.

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Monthly Digest & Wrap Up

Monthly Digest | June 2021

Hello and welcome to a run down of my past month. If you follow me over on twitter you will have seen that I want to share a bit more than just reading books with everyone so my monthly wrap ups are going to be sharing, of course, books, but also a few more things as well. Each month what I share might be different, but I want to share something that sticks out as a propionate memory or just some random things that sparked my interest. I hope you enjoy!

Reading

Current TBR Count is at 33 books.

Crochet & Crafting

This past month has been fun for crafting and crocheting. I completed my first granny square sweater without a pattern! I never really made anything before without a pattern and I actually really loved how it came out. On top of that I made quite a few market bags and made a huge chunk of progress in my ally blanket. I am hoping to finish that in the near future, I have never done a graphgan before and it takes a lot more time than I thought it would, but I am really liking how it is coming out.

On top of that I figured out how to transfer images to wood using Mod Podge, I feel like I am going to be using that in quite a few things in the future. I tested it out by making myself my own rune plate on a piece of cut wood. It came out fabulous! If I bought the same thing it would have been easily $35, I made it myself for about $12. This is one of the reasons why I love DIY so much!

Life

This past month I have been doing a lot of deep cleaning. I don’t know if it is because I am doing Summer cleaning instead of Spring cleaning, but I have been feeling the itch to purge a bunch of stuff I have not used in a while and clothing that isn’t really my style anymore. I have really been trying to acquire clothing and things I like and are truly my style. I think being at home so much over the past year I have kind of figured out what I really enjoy and want in my space. I think this month was just the month where I really started to follow through on it.

Anyway, that has been a bit of an incite into my life over the past month. I didn’t really make notes throughout this month because I didn’t know the direction I wanted this blog to go in, but now that I have an idea I think in next months digest you will see the difference. I hope you had a wonderful June!

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Hauls & Unhauls

Book Haul | March 2021

Hello and welcome to my book haul for the month of March. If you have seen I did not read too much in March, but sadly that did not deter me from picking up more books than I normally do. This led my TBR to grow quite a bit, which stinks, but I have some great books on my shelves now. So, overall not too bad. Anway, here are the books I added to my shelves.


Stack One

The Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb, 3rd book in a series.

The Half-Drowned King: A Novel by Linnea Hartsuyker, “An exhilarating saga of the Vikings that conjures a brutal, superstitious, and thrilling ninth-century world and the birth of a kingdom”. I mean who does not want to read about a Viking adventure? I actually picked up this book at the bookstore when it was completely wrapped other than having a few keywords, but I am glad I did because this description is amazing.

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, Ross Benjamin (Translation), “Daniel Kehlmann transports the medieval legend of the trickster Tyll Ulenspiegel to the seventeenth century in an enchanting work of magical realism, macabre humor, and rollicking adventure.” I mainly picked this book up because it is part of my reading a shortlist challenge this year, but it really is an interesting description. I very much enjoy magical realism and a trickster always adds interest to a story.

In Five Years: A Novel by Rebecca Serle, “But when she awakens, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. Dannie spends one hour exactly five years in the future before she wakes again in her own home on the brink of midnight—but it is one hour she cannot shake. ” As soon as I read this description in the bookstore I needed to have it, it is a really interesting idea. How would we react if we spent an hour in the future?

Later by Stephen King, “The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. ” I will be honest, I just auto buy Kings work at this point, but this is a very short more of a mystery with a twist if my understanding is correct.

The Vorrh by Brian Catling, “Outside the colonial town of Essenwald lies the Vorrh, a vast—perhaps endless—forest. Sentient and magical, a place of demons and angels, of warriors and priests, the Vorrh bends time and wipes memory. “, When I was in the bookstore one of the booksellers said that this series was one that he read a long time about, but it has stuck with him because it is so unique. So, I picked up this book and the second book, down the road if I enjoy these two I will picked up the third book.

The Erstwhile by Brian Catling, book following The Vorrh

Stack Two

A Court of Silver Flames by Srah J. Maas, 4th book in a fantasy adult series.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, “There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.”, This tag line drew me in right away, along with another bookseller saying that if I liked The Discovery of Witches I would love this one as well. So, since I was actually reading that book at the time and was loving it, I picked this up because it was on sale and sounded promising.

Tales of Norse Mythology by Hélène A. Guerber, a mixture of tales and lore from Norse Mythology.

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, “When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology.” Honestly, this was a total cover buy situation, which does not happen to me very often these days. I picked up the book because the cover is just amazing, but when I read a witch falling in love with Loki, it sealed the deal for me and I added it to my shelves.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, “A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them” I mean, can we have this in real life? But, in all seriousness I am curious how this book will meld this very real and serious situation with magic so I picked it as my BOTM picked for March.


What book have you recently added to your shelves from the library or the store?

What book have you recently read?

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Wrap Up

Wrap Up | December 2020

Hello and welcome to the last wrap up of 2020. I am going to make this one short and sweet since we are already in 2021, but I wanted to share the books I ended up finishing and mini reviews for each of them. I am going to be posting a whole year post either tomorrow or in the next few days. I currently have some rare time off so I am really taking this time to relax and not put pressure on myself. I will be uploading more regularly after the first week of January.


The IncarnationsThe Incarnations by Susan Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel was just something outside of the genre it was labeled as. It is a thriller, fantasy, and historical fiction all mixed into one. This book follows a cab driver in Beijing and the story goes through time as you learn about his past lives as he does. Each life had its own chapter where you explored the lives of these two souls, the lives they lived varied quite a lot and they endured a ton as well (violence, sexual violence, and suicide to name a few). The writing itself was beautiful, and the way the author organized the book was perfect. At no point did I think the pacing was off or was bored. I was glued to this book when I was able to find time to pick it up. Another aspect I enjoyed was the fact that the author intertwined these stories with Chinese folklore, classic, and history.

View all my reviews

An Orchestra of MinoritiesAn Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So, this is a very imaginative story. I really loved the premise of the tale and I really enjoyed that it was narrated by a guardian spirit called a chi. The writing itself was really wonderful and I think the author has a gift for sure. Unfortunately, this book was filled with female objectification and I can only hope that the authors purpose in this is to bring light to this. The main character cannot take any responsibility and is pig headed. He commits a horrible act who hurts someone he is meant to “love”. I put it into quotes because it isn’t love. The women in this novel are nothing more than their use to the main character. I had such high hopes for this novel, while I did not like this tale at all I will be checking out the authors other work because their writing itself was done very well.

View all my reviews

Royal HolidayRoyal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very cute read and a perfect little holiday book to read during December. When I picked this up I had no idea it was a series…oops! Either way I enjoyed it and the writing was good.

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Lovecraft CountryLovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful collections of historical horror/science fiction that show cases the “typical” horror and the horrors faced by American Americans.

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The Existence Of AmyThe Existence Of Amy by Lana Grace Riva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A detailed review is to come, but this was a beautifully written novel that follows the main character through their personal struggles with mental health, specifically with OCD. I read this in a single day because the story itself was compelling, but also the writing was and methods used were perfect.

View all my reviews

December Stats: 9 books, 2868 pages, 8 fiction, 1 nonfiction, 3 ebooks, 1 hard cover, 5 softcover, 9 owned books, 1. 5 star, 6 4 star, 1 3 star, and 1 2 star.

What was your favorite or least favorite read of December or 2020 as a whole?

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Wrap Up

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon Recap | October 2020

Hello and welcome to my second post of the day. Yesterday I took part in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readahon and I wanted to share my experience and my reading progress. Throughout the day I updated on twitter and instagram, but I did not share anything on here. I thought a recap post would be best.

If you would like to know more about the readathon, you can visit their website, they have been around for a long time, their first readathon was in 2007! They host a readathon 2 times a year, generally in April and October. I have taken part in a few over the years and I have always enjoyed between the mini challenges, games, and reading sprints.


Updates

Starting off hour 1 of #deweys24hourreadathon with an audiobook.

screen shot of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me audiobook.
screen shot of Between the World and Me audiobook screen

Decided to take part a mini challenge for the #readathon.
Hers is my name in books! Now, back to the reading! P.S. I decided to just make this one big thread for the day.

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent
The Hunger by Alma Katzu
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 
All stacked and pictured surrounded by flowers.
Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent, The Hunger by Alma Katsu, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

#readathon update, I finished my first book. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Rating: 5 stars.

Picture of Between the World and Me with 5 stars.

Quick #readathon update for #deweys24hourreadathon. I am 38% through my current read, which is Amityville Horror by Jay Anson.

Holding book open to Chapter 12 with text overlay describing current progress to 38%
picture of the heading of chapter 12 to show progress.

I finished my second book of the #readathon, now I need to figure out what to read next.

I decided my next read of the #readathon will be continuing Cemetery Boys, I am starting at page 41. Let's see how far I get before falling asleep. 😂 I am making more progress than I thought I would during Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.

Picture of Cemetery yBoys and a green pen on covers.

Originally tweeted by bookishluna (@BookishLuna) on October 24, 2020.

Not pictured is a 8:30 run to go get some caffeine, I started getting really sleepy and my BF and myself took a reading break and went out in search of coffee and tea. Once back I came back and met my main goal of finishing Amityville Horror.


Wrap Up

I ended up finishing two books and 20% of another. The two books I finished were Between the World and Me, which was amazing, and The Amityville Horror. Both I really enjoyed both of these books for very different reasons, but I am really glad I picked them up.

  • Books Read: 2
  • Books Started: 1
  • Pages Read: 478

I had such a blast dedicating the day to reading, especially with all of the stuff going on in my life right now. At this point I plan on participating again in April!


What is your favorite readathon?

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