June TBR

Taking into account how little I've been reading lately, I've decided to really pare down my TBR to the books I really think I'll get to this month.


1. The Girl who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya
2. A Death in the Family by James Agee
3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
4. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
6. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Third Week Wrap Up

This week I read two books.

As an effort to get out of my slump, I read my all-time favorite book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This is a historical fiction coming of age tale. Its incredibly character-driven and just wonderfully descriptive. I decided to listen to this on audiobook and found it very enjoyable. (excepting the random jazz notes in between the narration.) It took me a while to read this but I loved listening to it. I gave it 5 stars.

Then I picked up The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman. This was a new book from the library and had several holds on it which spurred me to pick it up. Also a historical fiction, based on the fact that Canada turned orphanages into mental institutions to get more federal money. What happened to the children in those orphanages is a horrifying tale. The book focuses on a teen mother who is forced to give up her child and contains alternating points of view from both the mother and her child. I found it a very compelling read and rated it 4 stars.


It's likely that will be all I read for May. I haven't picked anything else up and haven't been in the mood. If I do pick something up, I will update you.

Second Week Wrap Up

The slump continues.

I picked up The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey because I was sort of trying to follow to Buzzword Readathon hosted by Kayla from BooksandLala and Dylan from DylantheReader on Youtube. I timed it wrong and actually only read one book last week that qualified but I still picked this one up after the readathon had ended.

I ended up really liking this story. Zombie books are not generally my type but this was very different. It was very character-driven and philosophical, which I really appreciated. In addition, I loved the main character Melanie. I listened to this on audiobook and even though its a longer book, I finished it quickly. I gave it 4 stars.

That still didn't really break my slump. I then started a few other audiobooks but quickly stopped them because I just couldn't be bothered. So I decided to turn to a light and fluffy book written by an author I liked.

I read One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This was incredibly predictable, and somewhat irritating because of an indecisive protagonist. But I enjoyed the story in the process and liked the simplicity. I gave it 3 stars. It's nowhere near as good as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but it'll do if you just want a light fluffy contemporary romance.

Some may think that two books in a week isn't really a slump but for me, it is. Not only is my quantity of reading reduced, but my enjoyment is too. I'm hoping to turn it around soon because I had a lot of holds from the library become available and I've already had to return some because I didn't read them quickly enough.

First Week Wrap Up

Okay...I'm in a slump. I saw it coming and tried a few things to head it off, but it's time to admit it. So, I think it was the 2 DNF'd books in a row. (The first was Space Opera by Catherynn M. Valente.)

I read about 50% of The Oracle Year by Charles Soule and have completely lost interest. It's not a character-driven book as you find out very little about each character. But it's not really a plot-driven book because nothing was happening. The concept was fascinating but there's nothing really driving the book. After that, I've been reluctant to really pick anything up. In a 3 day period, I tried picking up and starting at least 4 different books with little to no success.

Then I picked up Girls Burn Brighter by Shoba Rao and was able to finish a book. I really loved the first 95% of the book. Don't get me wrong, it's not enjoyable. It's incredibly traumatic, heartbreaking, and devastating. But I loved the writing, the character development, the plot, everything. I thought this would be a new favorite. But then came the ending...the terrible, doesn't wrap anything up, leaves you hanging at the climax ending. I knocked it down a whole star because I felt she stopped writing about 40 pages too soon. Trigger warnings for human trafficking and sexual assault. I gave the book 4 stars.

I then went and picked up Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughn. (the same author as Saga) This was a fun sci-fi graphic novel and I definitely could seem some similarities to Stranger Things (the t.v. show) It was fun and interesting but definitely not as gripping as the Saga series. I gave it 3 stars and will definitely pick up the next volume.

I'm definitely reading less and I'm trying to just be okay with that. I'm using my free time to focus on other hobbies and interests and I'm hoping my reading desires will flame up again soon.

April TBR wrap up

The last few days of April I read:

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 1 by Hiromu Arakawa. I am not a manga reader typically and only rarely do I watch anime but I enjoyed this story. It was strange for me to read from right to left but I eventually got used to it. The characters were funny and likable but they consistently pointed out how short the protagonist was on nearly every other page. That felt repetitive and annoying. I will probably continue as it was a quick and enjoyable read. I gave it 3 stars.



Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Overall, I was disappointed with this one. I read her first book a few months ago and loved how she weaved all the narratives together but felt she fell short this time. There was a sub-plot of the adoption of a Chinese baby which was presented like you could take either side but for me, it was very obvious what was the legal decision. I felt the adoration of some characters seemed almost obsessive to the point of stalker-y. Overall, she presented some beautifully flawed characters but the story just didn't come together very well. I gave this 3 stars.

May TBR

I keep saying to myself that I'm going to slow down with my reading but in April I completed 18 books. (including children's and comics too) That is just ridiculous! To try to slow it down, I've decided not to take part in any readathons this month and to limit my TBR to only 10 titles. That doesn't mean I'll only read 10, but hopefully I can be more of a mood reader as well.


1. Tin Man by Sarah Winman (received an early copy)
2. The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein (received an e-arc)
3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
4. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
5. The Absolutist by John Boyne
6. The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
7. The Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
8. Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman
9. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
10. Girls Burn Brighter by Shoba Rao

O.W.L.s readathon Wrap Up

Well, O.W.L.s readathon is over and I did splendidly. I completed 11 out of the 12 challenges. Not all of these were on my original TBR but I made it work.

Ancient Runes - a book with a symbol on the cover Sleeping Giants by Slyvain Neuvel
Arithmacy - a book with a number on the cover/in the title The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre
Astronomy - a science fiction novel – Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Care of Magical Creatures - a book that includes magical creatures OR features a magical creature on the cover – Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy by Jenny Nimmo
Charms - a fantasy book – Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo
Divination - a book featuring prophecies – Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Herbology- a book with a nature related word in the title Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
History of Magic - a historical fiction O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Magical Studies - a muggle non-fiction book - Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Potions - a book about/with alchemy- Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Transfiguration - a book that deals with transfiguration/shapeshifting OR a book with a cat on the cover- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

The only challenge I didn't complete was:

Defense Against the Dark Arts - a book about/featuring secret societies/clubs