Category: Weekly Book Memes

Sunday Post | TV Binges and Reading Slumps

Posted March 9, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 22 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

TV Binges and Reading Slumps

I’m still sneezing a little but feeling much better than the week before. The weather has also gotten warmer, which is lovely, and I hope it lasts! I’m itching to go outside and take some long walks without feeling miserable and cold.

One of the best things about cold weather is cozy reading days, but I’ve been in a reading slump so I didn’t get to enjoy that. I did end up watching a lot of TV, however. I’ve been binging on 9-1-1: Lone Star and I’m on the second season now. I didn’t know that it was a spin-off, I’ll probably watch the other one once I’ve finished this.

My husband and I also watched Poor Things last week, and it was so good. They totally deserve every single one of the awards they won! I love that it was able to be both funny and profound. I love that it’s such a different take on the Frankenstein phenomenon, almost complete opposites but still such a commentary on beauty. Would Bella have been as well received if she had been subjectively hideous as Frankenstein’s monster was? I also love the commentary on societal expectations, and how shame is also subject to those expectations. There is so much to be gotten from this movie. It’s just really good!

Books I read last week:

It’s been a slow week for me with reading, I feel like I’m in a bit of a slump. I technically finished two books; A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, and Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry, but I had finished them both by Monday, and I haven’t really gotten my head into anything else.

I’ve been reading The Count of Monte Cristo, and Fairy Tale by Stephen King for two readalongs, but they are both rereads so I’m not champing at the bit to find out what happens. I joined the readalongs because I was excited about discussions and seeing what other people thought, and I still am excited about that, but I also feel like I need something new to get me going, so I started reading The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. I just started it so I can’t say if it will get me out of my slump, but so far, so good!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m not feeling excited about anything right now, but hopefully that will change really soon.

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book

Posted March 4, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 31 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Weird or Funny Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book

I had some trouble with this topic because I couldn’t think of many things I’ve googled because of a book. I think most of my googles might have been boring fact-checks that I don’t remember after because they’re just boring. Which is a problem because the topic specifically states weird or funny things.

However, I’ve cheated by changing my topic to just Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book, and I went ahead and cheated even more by asking my friends about their weird and funny googles because of books they read, so I could add more to the list. Theirs are definitely weird and funny, and some are NSFW, so I’ve put them under spoiler tags. Read at your own risk!

Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book

1. Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

I read this series a long time ago and remember being fascinated by the description of the inukshuk. I didn’t actually google at the time I read it, but it stayed with me for so long that I googled it later, and it was the first thing that came to mind with today’s prompt.

The inukshuk

The word “inukshuk” means “in the likeness of a human.” For generations, Inuit have been creating these impressive stone markers on the vast Arctic landscape. Inukshuks serve several functions, including guiding travellers, warning of danger, assisting hunters and marking places of reverence.

2. Bury Me Deep by Christopher Pike

Another one I read a long time ago, but I remember being fascinated by one of the plot points and googling it later.

The bends

Decompression sickness, also called generalized barotrauma or the bends, refers to injuries caused by a rapid decrease in the pressure that surrounds you, of either air or water.

It’s also the name of an album by Radiohead, but that’s got nothing to do with the book. It’s just one of the things that pop up when you google “the bends”.

3. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

More recently I googled how long an octopus could live out of water, and while Marcellus in the book stated he could go 18 minutes, the answer I googled said it was around 20-30 minutes, which is close and totally makes sense.

4. Watership Down by Richard Adams

Full disclosure: I haven’t read this book, but while googling about the book, I found out that Watership Down is actually a place in Hampshire, England.

Watership Down is a hill or a down at Ecchinswell in the civil parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green in the English county of Hampshire, as part of the Hampshire Downs. It rises fairly steeply on its northern flank, but to the south the slope is much gentler.

Now on to my friends’ googles that gave me giggles!

Things My Friends Have Googled Thanks to a Book

5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

They googled the etymological history of “gaol” because they were curious about “jail” vs “gaol”. We didn’t get into a deeper discussion about it because we were busy laughing about the other answers.

6. Pod by Laline Paull

NSFW
They googled dolphin vaginas. Apparently in the book, the females were constantly being called “spirals”, which were meant to be disparaging and perhaps the equivalent to the word “cunt”.

I did not read this book, so I have no context to what that referred to. It has made me curious about the book though!

7. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

NSFW
This one is for shark penis. So in the book, the main characters are a husband and wife, and the husband has a condition that would slowly turn him into a shark. I have not read the book, but I was given the impression that there’s reason to be curious about sexual relations between a shark and his human wife, maybe…

I haven’t read this book, but it was on my TBR before this conversation, I swear! Now I want to read it more!

8. The Gentleman’s Gambit by Evie Dunmore

NSFW
And this one is for nipple piercings in a historical setting. What prompted my friend was a bad review for this book where the reader didn’t like it because one of the characters had a nipple piercing and they didn’t think nipple piercings were true to the times. My friend decided to google it, and apparently, it is accurate to the times!

I don’t know the context for this book, but I do know that our ancestors were often a lot more liberal than we give them credit for, so I totally believe it!

I don’t have any more at the moment, but I loved this topic and finding out what my friends have googled. I’m excited to see what everyone else’s answers are too. This topic has definitely made me want to keep better track of what I google because of books, and hopefully the next time we come back to this topic, I’ll have funnier answers!

What weird or funny things have you googled because of a book? I’d love to hear it!

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Sunday Post | Snow and More Snow

Posted March 2, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 30 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Snow and More Snow

It’s March already, but it’s been snowing and snowing and snowing for the last few days! Whyyyyy??? I had a couple of appointments that turned into virtual ones instead because I did not want to go out in this weather. I’m a wimp. But also, I have a cold.

I’ve been sneezing all day, every day, for three days now and it is not fun. My sneezes are loud and powerful, it’s like a full body blast every time I sneeze, so my whole body aches and it feels like I’ve been running marathons and lifting weights. Not fun! I don’t even run marathons or lift weights when I’m healthy!

I wasn’t even able to lay in bed sick to read books. I only finished a single, tiny book last week. It was a good book though, so there’s that!

Book(s) I read last week:

I read the first book in The Murderbot Diaries, All Systems Red by Martha Wells on audiobook. It was only a 3-hour audiobook, so it went quickly, but I really enjoyed it and I’m excited for more! I haven’t written a review because I haven’t felt up to it yet, but I will as soon as I feel better!

I am also still in the middle of The Count of Monte Cristo for the readalong. I have it on audio and I’m just listening casually whenever I need to (for chores and sleeping). I love that it’s a huge book and 47 hours on audio, so I have lots to listen to and don’t have to scramble to find a new audiobook.

The book I’m actively reading right now is A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, and I’m 61% in and loving it. It’s been on my TBR for a long time and I’m finally reading it due to some pressur-…uh, I mean, encouragement from my friends, and I’m probably going directly to the next book in the duology right after.

I thought I would be able to finish it last week, but the beginning of the week was busy for me, and then later with all the sneezing and being so physically tired, I’ve just been falling asleep every time I try to read.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I definitely want to finish A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless this week, if nothing else. I’m still feeling too sick and tired to aim for more. I’d be happy with these two!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Covers/Titles with Things Found In Nature

Posted February 26, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 48 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Covers/Titles with Things Found In Nature

Most of these are books I’ve read, but there are a couple that I haven’t yet read – The Priory of the Orange Tree, and The Fox Wife. All the ones I’ve read are books I’ve loved, and I have high expectations for the two I haven’t read.

Top Ten Covers/Titles with Things Found In Nature

  1. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher – This is probably the most recent book I’ve read out of this list. I love T. Kingfisher and I love fairytale retellings, this one is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story.
  2. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – I have not read this one. I have been wanting to, but the size of it is daunting! One of these days, though!
  3. Grass by Sheri S. Tepper – This is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi stories. It’s been a while since I read it, so it’s probably time for a reread, but I remember being fascinated by the alien world, alien beings, and the incredible world-building.
  4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – A heist story, a group of people with different skills brought together, found family. How could I not love this?
  5. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black – Holly Black is one of my favorite authors. Her stories are so good, so simple, and yet so rich. This book is about the fae, the changeling, but told from a different POV.
  6. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway – Some have said that this book is boring because it’s only about a man fishing, but for me, it’s thrilling because I used to go fishing with my father when I was young, and there’s nothing like the thrill of having a fish caught on the hook but not yet landed. This book describes that feeling so vividly and I love that it was able to put into words what I never could.
  7. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – Neil Gaiman is another one of my favorite authors and I would read anything he writes. I read this book for the second time a couple of years ago, and it was so much better the second time around. It was much scarier, and more horrifying, and so wonderful.
  8. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel – This is an old book I haven’t revisited in a while. There have been some new books in the series since, but I haven’t read them. It’s probably time to reread from the beginning. All I can say is that I loved the story, and the wonderment of discovering things along with the characters.
  9. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo – This is the newest book on this list, and that’s the only reason I haven’t read it. It was just released two weeks ago, and I’m impatiently waiting until I can read it! I’ve loved the author’s two other books, and I expect to love this one too!
  10. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi – This book is set during WW2, and it’s one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve read. I probably read it around 20 years ago and I’ve forgotten most of the details, but that feeling of heartache still lingers even after all these years.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Sunday Post | The First Book Club Meeting

Posted February 24, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 30 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

The First Book Club Meeting

We had our first book club meeting this weekend! It was so much fun; we talked about our book of the month – Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, it was just okay for most of us – and also got to know each other a little bit.

It’s still funny to me that not even a month ago I was joking about wanting a book club and then it happened. I have to call back the “I want a million dollars” joke, because it’s not really a joke, I do want a million dollars! Please, thank you, Universe!

Other than that, last week was pretty uneventful. I was a little low energy and not feeling my best, and I found myself falling asleep while reading a couple of times. I took a lot of naps!

Books I read last week:

I wasn’t really satisfied with the first two books I read last week. The Bookshop on the Corner started off fine but I ended up not really liking the story and characters. And Remarkably Bright Creatures was a bit of a disappointment because I thought it was going to be more octopus-centric than it was. One of my book club members said that she felt like the author could’ve omitted the octopus’ POV entirely from the story and it wouldn’t have changed the story, and I agree.

Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller made me very happy though! I listened to it on audio with Dave himself narrating, and it was wonderful to listen to his stories about his life, his family, his musical journey. I just finished it last night so I haven’t written a review yet, but the gist is that I love it, and I love him, and I feel so inspired!

My husband is a musician and a fan of the Foo Fighters, so I kept telling him little anecdotes from the book, and he got interested and put a hold on the audiobook to listen for himself, which made me so happy! I’ve been trying for the longest time to get my husband to read more and discuss books with me, and apparently, all I had to do was read books about music and musicians! I’m making a list and taking recommendations, so if you’ve got a good one, let me know!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m currently in the middle of The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz. And I’ve just started the first Murderbot Diaries on audio. I’m also still rereading The Count of Monte Cristo for the readalong, and I promised a friend that I’d start reading the Elements of Cadence series by Rebecca Ross this week.

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had

Posted February 19, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 37 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had

I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for this topic and asked some of my bookish friends this question for fun. I ended up liking some of their answers more than my own, so I’ve stolen their ideas and added them here!

Top Ten Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had

My own ideas:

  1. Books on my library waitlist always come at exactly the right time, staggered, and not all at once!
  2. Invincibility to FOMO
  3. Books I want to buy always just happen to be on sale when I want to buy them
  4. Ability to stop time while I savor reading
  5. Ability to remember every single detail of books I read – unless I want to reread, in which case, I forget everything except the fact I loved it, and get surprised all over again!
  6. Automatically forget any accidental spoilers so books never get ruined for me

Ideas I stole:

  1. Ability to read in every language
  2. Always picking up the exact books with the exact tropes you want in the moment
  3. Ability to know if you’ll like a book once you pick it up, so you don’t waste your time on books you wouldn’t like
  4. The artistic prowess for bookbinding and fore-edge painting so all my books look unique and beautiful!

Oh, how I wish some of these were real and actual superpowers I could have! What bookish superpowers would you wish for?

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Sunday Post | All the Legends, All the Lattes

Posted February 17, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 22 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

All the Legends, All the Lattes

I had a great reading week! I finished six books and they were all really good! Granted half of them were novellas and graphic novels, but still.

In particular, I finally read Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, and omg, it totally lived up to the hype for me. I finished it in one sitting on Tuesday, neglected everything else I was supposed to do, and I don’t even regret it. I loved it so much and I cannot wait to read the prequel!

Books I read this week:

I’ve written reviews for most of them, and if you’re interested in what I thought about them, you can check them out! I’m not planning to write reviews for the Debbie Tung books, but I do want to mention them here and express how much I loved them and how relatable they are. It’s like she sees into my soul!

Other than reading and burying my head in books this week, I didn’t really do much else. But again, I don’t regret anything!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt this week. Our book club is having its first meeting this weekend and this is our first book of the month! Yay!

I’m also reading The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan on audio, and rereading The Count of Monte Cristo. There’s a readalong happening for The Count of Monte Cristo and it’s one of my all-time favorite books so I couldn’t resist joining in!

I’m not sure if I should keep up the pretense of reading The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner. I still really want to, but I’m just not. How do I make myself read it?

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Favorite Book Relationships

Posted February 12, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 50 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Love Freebie and I’m doing my Top Ten Favorite Book Relationships

Happy Valentine’s Day! This list will include all kinds of relationships; romantic, platonic, familial, symbiotic… I wanted to feature all the characters I love and their love for each other.

Top Ten Favorite Book Relationships

  1. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables – I think the books represent the evolution of their relationship a lot better than the mini-series but it was just so sweet to see them grow up and grow older together. They were horrible to each other when they were children, but once they grew up, they were just perfect together.
  2. Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth from A Song of Ice and Fire – An actual enemies to (sort-of) lovers story? I’d say respected comrade, but it’s clear they trauma-bonded in some way and feel deeply for each other. Look, I’m not saying that it’s a healthy relationship, but it was clearly a meaningful one. It was just amazing to see the way they had to trust each other, first out of necessity, then later out of respect and feelings.
  3. Darrow and Sevro from the Red Rising series – Darrow and Sevro are my ride-or-die people. I can’t bear it when they are at odds with each other. I need them to be okay with each other, more than I need Darrow with Virginia. If anything happened to their relationship, I will riot!
  4. Aurianne and Marcus from The Light Bearer – This is a very underrated book that I love with my whole heart. I love Aurianne because she’s one of the strongest, smartest, bravest woman I’ve ever met (read about), and Marcus is an incredibly intelligent strategist. And while they are both amazing as individuals, together they are the most powerful of power couples, and I love them!
  5. Vargo, Ren, and Gray from the Rook and Rose series – This isn’t a throuple, I promise, but a very unique relationship that comes from complete love and trust for each other. I love Vargo especially because of how badass his reputation is to everyone else, but how vulnerable he is with Ren and Gray. I am in love with them all!
  6. Pi and Richard Parker from Life of Pi – This was one of the most intense relationships I loved reading about. I don’t think Richard Parker loved Pi in any way except symbiotically, but they had such a beautiful relationship, nonetheless. I mean, not that it’s anything I’d want to aspire to, but in the context of the story. From fear of each other, to tolerance, to trust. Oh, I don’t know, it’s just such a complex thing to read about and it elicits so many feelings.
  7. Rocky and Ryland Grace from Project Hail Mary – Amaze! I am in love with Rocky, and I love Ryland Grace more because I see him through Rocky’s POV. I love how they bonded. I love how they learned about each other, how they adapted and respected each other’s needs, customs, and more. It’s just such an example for how we should treat people different from us. Do you agree? Fist my bump!
  8. Peter and Bea from The Book of Strange New Things – Full disclosure, it’s been 10 years since I read this book and I don’t remember very much, but I remember thinking that this was one of most interesting books I’ve ever read that showcased what a marriage was like, and this while Peter and his wife, Bea, lived on different planets for pretty much the whole book! You know what, I should probably reread this sometime soon.
  9. Alice and Leonard from This Time Tomorrow – This was one of the more recent books I read, so you can read more about what I thought about the book here. Alice and Leonard are daughter and father, and I loved how they loved each other. I loved how present Leonard was for his daughter. I loved how Alice realized that having more time with her father was what was most important for her. It was just such a wholesome relationship, with all its beauty and bittersweetness.
  10. Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games series – I’m sorry if it’s overdone and overrated, but there are so many reasons why I love The Hunger Games, and Peeta with Katniss is just one of the reasons. Peeta accepts Katniss as she is, with all her flaws, and he’s totally willing to die for her. It might have taken Katniss some time to feel her feelings, but that’s part of what I loved about their relationship; that it wasn’t insta-love. They had real reasons for falling for each other, each in their own time.

Who are your favorite book relationships? Why do you like them? Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Sunday Post | Happy Lunar New Year!

Posted February 10, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 18 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Happy Lunar New Year!

As of this writing, I am exhausted because it’s the Lunar New Year and I’m prepping for our “traditional” new year meal (traditional to our family, not really to the culture as a whole). I’ve also been cleaning the house and doing laundry and all the extras, although I’ll admit that my definition of clean is probably not as strict as it used to be. Clean enough is good enough.

It’s just my husband and me this year, so I didn’t go overboard. I made crispy pork belly in the air fryer, and we had several side vegetable dishes to go with it. We’ll have enough leftovers for the next couple of days too, which is great! Are you celebrating the Lunar New Year?

I’ve also finally finished Season 3 of Veronica Mars, and it’s so apparent to me now how toxic Veronica’s relationship with Logan is. I used to ship them so much, but now I’m like, you guys need to stay away from each other. It’s funny that this time around I’m more invested with her relationship with Piz. Piz is so much better for her than Logan ever was.

I did start watching a couple of episodes of Season 4, but not liking it very much. Logan and Veronica’s relationship is as toxic as ever, maybe more. And Piz is nowhere to be seen. I don’t know if I’ll finish watching it. It’s more of a curiosity to see where it goes.

As for my reading last week, I finished Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley on audiobook, and I binged on The Improbable Meet-Cute Series, which were so much fun! I’m also currently reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng on audio and loving it so far.

I dnf’d two books, which I’m very proud of because dnf-ing doesn’t come easy to me. As it was, I spent way too long on them before I finally dnf’d, but it’s a practice and I’ll get better at it!

The books I dnf’d:

  • Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien – so apparently I’ve picked up this book before and dnf’d it then. I didn’t remember it but it started to get really familiar as I read, and instead of dnf-ing again, I kept reading past where I stopped last time because I thought maybe this time, I’d like it better. I didn’t.
  • Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi – This is the second book in the Legacy of Orïsha series, and I’m very disappointed because I wanted to like it. I dnf’d at 53% because there’s a character in the story that gave me the ick and I can’t get past it. I’d accept this character as a villain but it seemed like the author might be trying to redeem them, and I can’t. It’s too icky. I have more I want to say, so maybe I’ll write a separate post about it later.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’ll finish Our Missing Hearts soon, I’m already 80% in, and I really want to start Legends and Lattes this week!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Recent Books I Read In One Sitting

Posted February 5, 2024 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 30 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Recent Books I Read In One Sitting

Some of these books are novellas, and there’s also a gag book, but many of them are full-length novels which I finished very quickly because they were easy reads and so good I couldn’t put them down.

Top Ten Recent Books I Read In One Sitting

  1. 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston – 336 pages. It’s a fun YA romance set around Christmas season. I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, but I did!
  2. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster – 248 pages. Too many people were telling me to read it, so I did, and I loved it!
  3. The September House by Carissa Orlando – 344 pages. It’s so good, I couldn’t put it down! It was scary and horrifying, but also funny and insightful. It’s my favorite book of January!
  4. All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John – 96 pages. Funny story; I came across this book while I was looking up another book on this list (Book Love by Debbie Tung), and this book came up in the “Readers also enjoyed…” section. It looked fun, so I went on Libby and it was available so I borrowed it, and opened it intending just to look inside. I ended up finishing the whole thing in maybe… 10 minutes? It was funny and sad, and I felt totally called out by the plant that said to stop buying their friends only to kill them slowly!
  5. Book Love by Debbie Tung – 137 pages. I loved this book! I relate so much to it because of all the book related jokes and tales of the reading life.
  6. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – 498 pages. This isn’t a short book and it was also pretty intense, but it was so good and I just couldn’t put it down. I finished it way too fast, and I wanted more, but I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here with most of you.
  7. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher – 116 pages. I’m a huge fan of T. Kingfisher, and this was a short but really good story! I love this perspective of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale.
  8. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle – 368 pages. I didn’t expect to love this so much when I started it because I thought they were horrible to each other, but it got really good and I loved how it all went down.
  9. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – 390 pages. I laughed out loud at so many parts in the story, and also cried at some places. I went in with zero expectations because I didn’t know about the hype at the time, but it became one of my favorite books in 2023.
  10. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – 65 pages. This is a very short book, but so impactful. It says so much in so few pages, and it really makes you think. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What books did you finish in one sitting because they were just so good?

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