October Reading Update 2016

It's a good thing I did so well in September, but October was awful for both new books and getting things read.

What I read in October:

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. This was good, but not as good as I expected. I saw a lot of my relatives in it though, which was eye opening.

Do you Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare. This was so so good.

The Underground Culinary Tour: How the New Metrics of Today's Top Restaurants are Transforming how American Eats by Damian Mogavero. I'm at 63%. It feels pointless.

And uh, that's it. Which makes this next bit even worse....

New to My Kindle:

Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, from a daily deal, and I read it immediately!

Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare. FULL PRICE on Kindle, but also read immediately.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. (Kindle)

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers. (Kindle)

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow (Kindle) And no, I haven't read Hamilton yet.

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastain (NetGalley)

Molly's Mr. Wrong by Jeannie Watt (NetGalley)

Tempting the Best Man by Tanya Michaels (NetGalley)

A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle (NetGalley)

Princess in Black Takes a Vacation by Shannon and Dean Hale (NetGalley)

Let it Snow by Jeanete Grey (NetGalley)

September Reading Update

Ok, technically through October 4th, but who's counting?

I read a LOT in September. I'm not really sure how.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. I started this one in August, and finished it up fairly quickly. Everyone is right, it is excellent.

Head in the Cloud: Why Knowing Things Still Matters When Facts are so Easy to Look Up by William Poundstone. Still only at 20%. Interesting, but feels a bit political.

Hold Me, Cowboy by Maisey Yates. This one turned out pretty good, if a bit fast.

From This Day Forward by Lauren Layne

For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne

To Love and to Cherish by Lauren Layne.  (I see a series.) It was good, not excellent. Book 3 is by far the best. Review of the entire series to come.

Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck. I started this one on the plane to Philadelphia and while it is interesting, it was wasn't what I was in the mood to read.

Hamilton: The Revolution. Yes, I've succumbed. This is beautiful, a must for any fan. More on Hamilton later.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn. Reread.

New On My Kindle, for once this list is shorter!!

Christmas with the Sheriff by Victoria James.

Completely Yours by Erin Nichols

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. I can't help it.

Reading Update: July and August 2016

About halfway through the month of August I realized that I had never posted an update for July. Rather than be completely off track, I decided to just combine the two months. That makes this pretty long, and I am way too lazy to post pictures and links of every book. You all know how to use Goodreads/Amazon/Google, right?

What I Read:

Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen. I completely LOVED this, and have failed in writing a review for so long that I won't do it justice.

Mamaleh Knows Best by Marjorie Ingall. Full Disclosure, I know the author, but it's funny and smart, and probably equally appealing to parents and non-parents.

Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan. I like this one quite a bit, but it's not out until end of November so you'll have to wait a bit for the review.

Fearless by Kimberly Kincaid. Katherine assured me that I'd make it past the scene I was stuck on, and she was right. This one finished strong.

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle. I pretty much flew through this one and jumped right into the next in the series.

In Safe Hands by Katie Ruggle. This one is a bit more tense that the last two, and to be honest I'm not in love with the set up, but still reading.

Head in the Cloud:Why Knowing Things Still Matters When Facts are So Easy To Look Up by William Poundstone. This is really accessible and interesting, but I've barely started.

Lord Of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. I listened to part of a podcast about this one that called it the "Perfect Romance". I decided I would splurge and buy it, only to discover that I bought it in 2011. So guilt made me start reading, a 20% I'm quite enjoying it. This is my first Chase and the writing style is a bit formal, but I'm getting used to it.

New to my Kindle:

From NetGalley:
Mamaleh Knows Best by Marjorie Ingall
True-Blue Cowboy Christmas by Nicole Helm
In Safe Hands by Katie Ruggle
IQ by Joe Ide
For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne
The Underground Culinary Tour byDamian Mogavero, Joseph D'Agnese
Forks Over Knives Family by Alona Pulde, Matthew Lederman
A Sure Thing by Marie Harte
Hold Me, Cowboy by Maisey Yates
Head in the Cloud by William Poundstone

From Amazon:
The Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas. Yes, I've read this, but it was on sale!
Falling in bed With a Duke by Lorraine Heath.
All's Fair in Love and Scandal by Caroline Linden
Chance of a Lifetime by Marissa Clarke. I have zero memory of this one?
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

Reading Update June 2016

June was a terrific month for reading for me. For writing blog posts? Not so much. It was also a terrible month for book acquisitions. I don't even want to count.

What I Read:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. I'm about 60% done, but have to wait for it to come back up at the library (because you know I'm not about to lug around my paper copy of that one!)

The Obsession by Nora Roberts. I am really enjoying these last few stand alone titles-- but I wish she'd go in for a nice trilogy about  some brothers that didn't include Ireland and magic (sorry Katherine.)

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs. This series just gets better and better. I am never disappointed.

Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle. I really enjoyed this one, even as Lou was a bit annoying.

Only You by Denise Grover Swank. I am only 8 or so chapters in. I'm not sure I can handle the boss and the humor is a bit less subtle than I would choose, but will certainly continue.

Darkest Journey by Heather Graham.  I can't stop requesting these, but at 41% read I'm fairly sure she's just phoning it in now, and might actually stop after this one.

Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan. If you'll recall, I stopped this one at an awkward scene last month. I managed to read through it with one eye and the book finished strong. Other readers may like that style of awkward, but I have too much empathy for mortification.

New to My Kindle:

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. This one one has been on my TBR look out list for years and when it was a daily deal I couldn't resist. (Kindle)

The Spinster's Guide to Scandalous Behavior by Jennifer McQuiston. I now have 5 McQuiston titles on my Kindle and have yet to read even one. I should work on that. (Kindle)

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. I've heard so many good things about this one, and I did enjoy Let's Pretend This Never Happened. (Kindle)

Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. I enjoyed Blue Like Jazz several years ago when I read it, and I think I'd like this one as well. For a non-religious person, I sure enjoy a good religious memoir/essay. (Kindle)

Darkest Journey by Heather Graham. I can't help it. (NetGalley)

Fearless by Kimberly Kincaid. Love this series. (NetGalley)

Once Upon a Moonlit Night by Elizabeth Hoyt. Like McQuiston, I should really try to read one by her instead of collecting them. (NetGalley)

For Good. Karelia Stetz-Waters. I really liked the first one I read by her. (NetGalley)

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle. I really enjoyed Hold Your Breath, so had to go see if I could get the others in the series. Sadly, I missed book 2, but managed to snag this one. (NetGalley)

Patient H.M. by Luke Dittrich. I love this sort of thing, and then Books on the Nightstand mentioned it in one of the last podcast episodes. (NetGalley)

Tribe by Sebastian Junger. Mike and I listened to an interview with him on The Tim Ferris show podcast during our drive to Alabama, and it was fascinating. (NetGalley)

To Have and To Hold by Lauren Layne.  Another auto-request. (NetGalley)

Running Man by Charlie Engle. This is getting embarrassing. (NetGalley)

The Curse of the Tenth Grave by Darynda Jones. No, still haven't read the 9th. Or the 4th. (NetGalley)

Strange History by the Bathroom Readers Institute. NetGalley is gonna revoke my account soon.

Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan. I told you it was ugly. (NetGalley)

Whew. That's a lot.  The good news is that my reading is really picking up lately.  The bad news is that it's still probably hopeless.

Reading Update - April 2016

This email looks like I read a ton in April, but I really just read in starts and bits and not at all as much as I'd have liked. April is a tough month. School is getting boring for the kids, but summer is still so far, so there are constant struggles, the boys both have birthdays and that eats up a whole week, this year we ran a half marathon as well. I'd like to have my own personal Read-A-Thon to catch up now!

Read in April:

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. I loved this. One of my favorites in a long time.

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. Not worth the time. A book about productivity should inspire me, and this one did not.

Playing Hard by Melanie Scott. I'm about half done. There's a scene coming I don't want to read and I haven't read Scott before so I don't know if I can trust her to make it good, so I sat it aside for a bit.

Blues Bones by Rick Starkey-- Previewed for Tristan. Eh.

The Bride by Julie Garwood. I could not resist rereading at least one. Still good, but dated.

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean. (Scribd) Still reading, so far I enjoy it.

Chi Running by Danny Dreyer. (Scribd) I'd really like to not keep getting injured by the sport I love. Barely started it at this point.

Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan (NetGalley) Also barely started.

New to My Kindle

Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle (NetGalley)

From This Day Forward by Lauren Layne (NetGalley)

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn ($1.99 on Kindle!)

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Kindle)

The Morning Miracle: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM) by Hal Elrod (Kindle) Really really really need to bump this up, I've heard so many good results!

Tough Luck Hero by Maisey Yates (NetGalley)

Cowboy After Dark by Vicki Lewis Thompson (NetGalley)