Password-protected posts contain heavy spoilers and are there to prevent accidental spoiling. They can each individually be accessed with the password "SPOILME(#of the post)". That means if the post is numbered #0000, the password is SPOILME0000 - SPOILME all in caps, no space in between.
Enter at your own risk. And have fun!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
“And I just want a million dollars…!”
Funny story, last week I posted about maybe starting an in-person book club. I was only kinda joking, but guess what?!
Yup, there’s a book club.
I asked around and ended up getting a handful of people who are interested, and that makes me so happy! It’s just getting started and our first meeting is going to be at the end of the month, so who knows what’s going to happen and if it will work out long term, but I really hope it does!
So I spent the first part of the week setting up a couple of platforms for our new bookclub, for book picks and voting on our first book, getting to know each other, and so on. I’m nervous and excited for our first meeting! It’s totally still open to new members, if you happen to live or know anyone who lives in Calgary! Just letting you all know it’s an open invitation!
As for everything else, I’m running behind and trying to catch up. I didn’t read a lot, but I managed to finish Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and I loved it! I’m still working on Stiletto, the second book in the Checquy Files series by Daniel O’Malley. I haven’t gotten much else done this week, unfortunately. The new month caught me by surprise, January went by so fast! How was January for you?
I’m sure I can finish Stiletto this week, and I have Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi up next on audiobook. On e-book, I’ve got Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien, and I’ve got Legends and Lattes as a physical copy from the library. I am looking forward to all of them!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
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.
Happiness Is…
We got to go to the zoo this week and see the Penguin Walk! I loved it! They were so adorable and I loved watching them walk! The big furry brown one is Augustus, and he was chirping so happily, omg! It’s lucky they cordoned off the space and had people controlling the crowd and protecting the penguins from me, because it was all I could do not to throw myself at them!
Happy!
I also went down to the Central Library this week because it’s been a while, and that’s another happy place for me! I wanted to browse books I might not have found on my own (like I don’t have enough books already anyway!), and I ended up with more books than I can carry, so I just took a couple and placed a hold for the rest.
I asked about book clubs because the library used to have a whole bunch of them listed in the programs guide, but apparently, they have no more book clubs now, ever since the pandemic. Which is really disappointing to hear.
Not so happy. =(
I’ve been looking for an in-person book club for a while but haven’t found one that would be right for me. Logistics is an issue for me so there are limited locations I can travel to, and there was a couple that seemed to be “dinner and book club” things, which would be too pricey for me. A book club at the library would’ve been perfect for me, but oh well. I’ll keep looking.
Or maybe I’ll start one! Does anyone live in Calgary, Canada, or knows someone who lives here and wants start a book club with me? Lol! (I’m only half-joking!)
As for reading, I’m also very happy because I managed to read three books that I’d been wanting to read for a while!
I finally finished The Rook by Daniel O’Malley, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, and by popular demand, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I loved how many of you were telling me to read it and how much you loved it. Well, I read it! And I loved it! Thank you for your enthusiasm for the book! I’ve written a review if you wanna know what I thought!
I have started on Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and I am loving it so far. I just got the second book in the Checquy series on audio today, and I’m excited to dive in as well! I’m happy I didn’t have to wait too long after finishing The Rook!
I am still planning to read The Dance of Anger. I know I said I’ll try to read it for last week, but I was caught up with other books and activities, and wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I’m still not ready to give up on it, but I’m not certain if I should give up on it for now and pick it up again a couple of weeks later. I’ll just play it by ear and see how I feel.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
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.
Things I Do When I’m Stuck Indoors
The weather this week isn’t as bad as it was last week, thank goodness! But it was still cold and I did not want to go out at all. We had planned to visit the zoo again if the weather gets better, but it didn’t so we didn’t. Hopefully next week will be better.
Since I was mostly stuck at home, I made the best out of it and spent my free time reading, crocheting, and binge-watching Veronica Mars.
To be more precise, I was re-watching Veronica Mars. I used to love the series back when it first came out and it has been a long time, so I wanted to revisit it again. I feel like some of the drama didn’t age very well, but the nostalgia is stronger than my “wokeness”, so I’m still loving the show.
I’m only in the middle of Season 2 right now, but I never finished Season 4 – I never wanted to at the time. Season 1-3 came out from 2004 to 2007, and Season 4 came out years later in 2019. There was a movie in between, in 2014, and I think I watched that, but I never watched Season 4. I read reviews that made me not want to, so I don’t think that I’ll watch Season 4 this time around either. If you’ve watched it and you liked it, you could try to change my mind. Maybe I should watch it just for posterity’s sake, I don’t know.
I also spent a lot of time crocheting, but I am very unhappy to say the project ended up ugly so I had to frog and now I have nothing to show for it and have to redo the whole thing. Ah well.
I am still working on The Dance of Anger. I haven’t made any progress, but I’m not ready to give up on it yet. I’ll try again this week.
I was supposed to read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries right after The Switch, but I just got The Rook by Daniel O’Malley on audiobook, and Emily Wilde is a physical copy. It’s just easier to listen to audiobooks and do chores and/or crochet. I’ll make an effort though, because I really want to read Emily Wilde!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
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.
Cold, Cats, Cookies
I was in a funk this week. I didn’t have my usual energy this week and spent a couple of days being moody and just laying in bed reading (might be I was just using the moodiness as an excuse to stay in bed and read, but you have no proof).
To be fair, it was a really cold week, with temperatures going down to -36 Celcius, so it’s just much more comfy to hide under the covers than try to do anything else. Even the cats were so cold, all three cuddled up together, which they very rarely do! Also, to be clear, I didn’t have a cold. It was just really cold, and I had a mood.
I did bake some cookies though, which took a lot of time because I made 4x the recipe, but it was yummy and totally worth it! And we got some heat from the oven too, so win-win!
On the reading front, I finished The September House and The Librarian Spy, so yay! I also posted my notes and reactions for The September House that I wrote in my e-reader as I was reading. It’s password-protected and spoiler-filled, but if you’ve read it and are interested in my notes, password is “SPOILME0002”.
I also finally got Light Bringer by Pierce Brown on audiobook. It’s the sixth book in the Red Rising series, and I’ve been so anxious reading about characters that I’ve loved since the first book. Things haven’t been going their way for a while, and I’m just really afraid for them. If this was the final book, I would be expecting a good resolution, but there’s going to be a seventh book, so I’m not sure if we’re going to be left hanging again.
For nonfiction, I’ve started reading The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner and it’s really kicking my ass, to be honest. I’m reading it very slowly, and it’s bringing up a lot of difficult topics. I’m sure it’s good for me to work through them, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for it right now.
I’m pretty sure I can finish Light Bringer this week. I’m not so sure about The Dance of Anger, I’m contemplating if I want to leave it for another time, but even if I decide to continue, I will be going slow, so it’s going to take me a while.
I also just got The Switch by Beth O’ Leary on audiobook, and I got a physical copy of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries from the library, so they are on the list right after Light Bringer. I’m feeling pretty happy because I’m doing well with actually reading the books I listed on my Winter TBR a few weeks ago. Let’s hope I keep it up!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
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.
A Very Book Blog-ish Week
Happy New Year!
I hope the first week of 2024 went well for everyone. My first week was pretty slow, I haven’t gotten back into the groove of work yet, but I did manage to read some books and write some reviews. I also posted a few book tags which I thought were fun, and I hope if you’re so inclined, you’ll do some of them too. Let me know if you do! Or if you already did!
The Spotify Wrapped Book Tag 2023 is for matching 3-5 songs you listened to in 2023 to the books you read in 2023, in any way that makes sense to you.
The 2023 End of Year Book Survey helps you look back on your stats and best books of the year. There are some very thoughtful questions and I had fun thinking back to the books that fit the questions.
About password-protected posts for spoiler-y discussions
I also wanted to find a way to discuss spoilers in books without spoiling it for those who haven’t read them, because I just finished reading Holly by Stephen King, and I have to talk about the ending. I ended up posting it as a password-protected post, so if you’ve read the book and are interested in reading my post, go to Notes & Discussion for Holly by Stephen King, password is “SPOILME0001”.
I’m happy with the set up, I think. It’s too early to tell.
But I do like feeling like I can be free to talk about all the spoiler-y stuff with abandon on password-protected posts. I hope to add more spoiler-y discussions posts as I go, and I hope you will join me for some of them if you’ve read the books. Each of the posts have to have unique passwords, but it’s going to be the same formula for all of them, and it’s posted at the top of my blog so anyone who wants to can access them.
As for the upcoming week, my intentions are to read books that count towards all the reading challenges I signed up for!
The book tags and memes haven’t been good for me, I keep adding new books to the TBR, and reading some of them before reading the ones that had been on my TBR for ages and are the reasons I signed up for those challenges in the first place! Book gods, give me the strength to resist new books!
I believe I can finish The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin this week, and The September House by Carissa Orlando. Both are new additions to my TBR. Sigh.
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
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.
An Ice-Skating Christmas Day
The week started out wonderful with Christmas Day and a small ice-skating gathering in the morning. We made some new friends and had a lot of fun even though it was outdoors and really cold! We didn’t do much the rest of the day but we did have some really yummy leftovers.
I’m also happy because I did quite well this last week with finishing and reviewing three books. And I got out of my comfort zone and signed up for three more reading challenges for 2024!! That means that I’m currently signed up for nine reading challenges in 2024. NINE!
To be fair, Finishing the Series and Series Enders are complementary, and the Library Love and Audiobook challenges would have a lot of overlap since I get all my audiobooks from the library! Also, the Classics challenge is technically a five-year challenge, so if I don’t do well in 2024, I can catch up in the next years!
I really hope I don’t regret this! Have you signed up for any reading challenges? How many reading challenges are the sweet spot for you?
I also managed to get A Christmas Carol finished! Holy description, Dickens has got a way with words! I’m familiar with his works in pop culture and adaptations, but I haven’t actually finished any of his books. This is my first, and will definitely not be the last.
I will probably be writing the review for A Christmas Carol this week, but also, it’s the first week of 2024 and I can finally get started on all the books that fit the challenges I signed up for!
Holly by Stephen King – for the Finishing the Series and Series Enders challenges
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – for the Nonfiction challenge
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin – for the Bookish Books challenge
Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson – for the Bookish Books challenge
These are books already on my digital bookshelf, and will count for the Library Love and Audiobook challenges too! I don’t know if I can finish them all this week, but they’re the first ones on my list.
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
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.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
It’s a festive weekend and I hope you have a great time with friends and family, no matter what you celebrate (or not).
Last week was a pretty chill week and we didn’t do much, but we did go ice skating for the first time in Canada! Woot!!
I haven’t skated in about 20 years (a long, long time!) and I’m so rusty and clumsy on the ice now, but it was fun anyway. My husband has never skated before and I couldn’t teach him since I’ve forgotten everything, but there was a kind stranger at the rink helping him, and he did so well for his first time!
As for reading; I started reading The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks, but haven’t finished it because I was listening on audiobook and I couldn’t make out what the narrator was saying when she did the low voices. I decided to put it aside until I can get a print copy so I can read it instead. I did manage to finish If It Bleeds by Stephen King, and I’m reading A Christmas Carol for the first time!
I’m trying to finish A Christmas Carol before Christmas is over, but I’m not sure I can because of how busy the next couple of days will be. It’s not a long book though, so I’ll try. I wouldn’t rush it except it feels weird to be reading A Christmas Carol once Christmas is over, but I might not care and just do it anyway! What do you think? Is it weird to read A Christmas Carol after Christmas?
I’m still trying to read a couple of first in a series books, if I can. It’s the last week of the year, a holiday week, and we have a couple of plans, but I believe I’ll have time to read a bit.
It’s weird because almost every year end I’m usually pushing myself to read a little more so I can get more books read for the year, but this time, I’m hoarding my books so I can read them for challenges I signed up for next year.
Are you pushing yourself to finish more books before the end of the year, or are you hoarding them for next year?
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
