Looking Ahead to Winter Reading

On Saturday we had our first snow of the season! To say everyone in my house was excited is an understatement. We went from temperatures in the 70s straight to the highs being in the 30s and snow. Crazy weather! We all love the snow over here so it was a welcomed surprise.

Well the cold and snow has got me ready to hibernate with all the snug, warm, cozy winter vibes. And that includes my books. So I’m already thinking about what I want to snuggle up with and read not just for December holiday reading, but winter reading in general. I started taking stock of books on my shelves and on my Kindle that would suit well for winter reading.

You see, I want to make a winter book stack. I made a stack of my novella options for November and placed them on the top of one of my bookshelves. And I found that I really liked seeing the options all together right there where I could look at them. So I’m planning to do the same with my winter reads. It’s helpful because in our new house, my books are not all in one place. I have two bookshelves in my bedroom, and the rest of my books are stacked in shelves and on a table in my closet. (Which I still need to organize. Ahem.) So making a seasonal reading stack, or even a stack of books that grab my interest currently, and putting them on the shelf out in my bedroom, puts them in my view more.

Anyway, here’s a look at what I’ve got so far.

These are print books on my shelves. And not included in the picture are my Kindle books. On my Kindle I have three Jenny Colgan holiday books: The Christmas Bookshop, Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery, and The Christmas Surprise. And then a Kindle book I’ve already read (and really liked!) but I remember being a good winter read is Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.

Winter time also seems to be a good time to tackle a longer tome. Well, I am planning to read Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher with Katie at The Cozy Burrow in December. I really enjoyed The Shell Seekers and so am really looking forward to reading another Pilcher novel. I’m getting ready to order the book but I keep going back and forth on whether I want to buy it in print or get the ebook so it’s easy reading at night in bed. I can’t decide! Anyway, I wanted to make a stack of other longer books to put in my winter stack – from classics to historical fiction. Here’s what grabbed my interest:

I’ve included Kristin Lavransdatter because I do still want to read this huge tome. I may not get around to it, but wanted to put it in the stack none-the-less. And of course, I wanted to look through my classics TBR to see what I might be in the mood for. I already made a list of several that I might want to give a go this winter:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell – I’ve been wanting to re-read this for awhile now. The first time I read it, I found that I didn’t like it as much as the PBS mini-series (which I absolutely love). So I wanted to give it another read and see if my opinion on that changes.

Far from the Maddening Crowd by Thomas Hardy – I think I might be in the mood for another Hardy read and this is one I’ve wanted to read for some time now.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque – This novel has been described as the greatest war novel of all time. It’s on many high school reading lists. My oldest daughter has read the book and told me it was such a powerful read. With the new Netflix movie adaptation out now, I really want to read this book then watch the movie. I’ve been told the movie is very hard to watch. So….I think I will need to plan to have to turn my head or close my eyes at times and also have tissues handy. Has anyone seen the movie yet?

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie – This is the next book in the series for me to read for my Simply Christie Chronicles. I really enjoyed The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which I actually still need to write my review for. *oops*

Being the big mood reader that I am, and being that this year has been all about me trying to lean more into that mood reading, and given that I just recently came out of a big reading rut, all of these books represent options. All the books I’ve put together I can pick and choose from or read something entirely different. Whatever suits my fancy at that time. 😉 It’s just so fun to look at all the possibilities and make the book stack!

Are you looking ahead to winter reading yet?

Advertisement

Novellas in November 2022 – Week 2 #NovNov22

This week for Novellas in November, it was novellas in translation. I ended up reading two novellas, one in translation and the other was our buddy read for the month. I was quite excited about both of these reads. One was a bit disappointing; the other was beautiful and lived up to my anticipation of a good read.

For novellas in translation, I had three options I was looking at: The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, A Dog’s Heart by Bulgakov and The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. I had been quite excited to read The Invention of Morel so it was my first pick. Unfortunately, it panned out to only be a 3 star read for me. I could see how this book might need a second reading and that second reading might be a better read. However, this first read was a bit disappointing. In the end it was just okay. You can read my full review of it HERE. I may still try to work in A Dog’s Heart by Bulgakov before the end of the month as it’s one that’s been on my classics TBR for quite some time.

After two back to back sadly disappointing reads for my novellas this month (you can see my review for the other one HERE), I decided that I would go ahead and pick up our buddy read for the month, Foster by Claire Keegan. I knew this one was likely to be a good read as I really liked Keegan’s book Small Things Like These which I read last year. I had read Cathy’s review of it for Novellas in November last year and knew I wanted to read it. Anyway, Foster did not disappoint. The story is powerful and moving. It is about love, loss, compassion, kindness and simplicity and how the warmth and tenderness of a couple impact the life of a child. You can read my full review HERE. So thankfully, the second week of Novellas in November ended much better with a very compelling story that I didn’t want to put down.

I’m still slowly reading The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald. I am enjoying this one okay but it’s not unputdownable by any means. But I want to finish it and then watch the movie. 🙂

Next up, I am going to start Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington, Nugi Garimara. It is my top pick for non-fiction novellas. This is another book that I immediately ordered after reading Cathy’s review of it.

Happy Reading Friends!

Reading Life Regained – Recovering From a Major Book Slump

Hi everyone! If you read my last post, When You Can’t Settle Into a Book, you know that I have really struggled recently with not being able to settle into a book. First, I just want to say a big thank-you to BookerTalk, Katie, Juliann, and Cathy for all their kind and encouraging words they left for me. I just love the book community! They were all right there to encourage me and left me such wonderful comments. Thank you!

I’ve had book slumps before; and typically, reading a shorter book or grabbing a favorite and re-reading it or reading a book from my favorite genre typically does the trick. But this time, nothing I picked up, nothing I started to read, was working. It was unsettling. Not in the sense of feeling stressed about it, but in the sense that I always have at least one book I’m reading (oftentimes more than one) and it felt odd to not have one for such an extended time as I did this time around (that is, aside from some non-fiction that I dip in and out of or books for school). Reading is like second nature to me. So it felt odd to have a longer stretch of time like I did this time of not being able to settle into a book.

Yet I know that with everything that has been going on (I mean it’s been like one thing after another), I feel my brain has just been overloaded and overwhelmed. I have had moments where I literally stood there and thought, what do I need to be doing? It has felt very much like brain fog with this impending fear that I was going to forget something important. Lists are my friend. I have been making lists. Lots of lists. Jotting down reminders. I know that partly this is also a hormonal thing as I am on the edge of periomenopause and staring full on menopause in the face.

So with all that, lately, I have mostly wanted to just veg with the TV in any free time I had…..mostly re-watching Gilmore Girls...

Watching Gilmore Girls is like a good tonic for my soul. 🙂 My hubby and I have also been re-watching the Twilight movies and I did re-watch a bit of The Crown in preparation for the new season coming out next month. Who’s excited for this next season? *me raising my hand*

But then.

I picked up a book I needed to start pre-reading to see if it would be a good text for school; and ironically, it has happened to be the one that has caught my interest and I suddenly found myself looking forward to reading! I won’t share the name of the book yet as I’m not that far into it so I don’t know yet what I will think of it once I’m finished with it. But so far, it is fascinating and engagingly written.

^{Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com}

And so I sit here this morning…a beautiful autumnal morning sporting clear blue skies, beautiful fall foliage on the trees in our new neighborhood, and mild temperatures…and find myself with that desire for reading peaking back around the corner. And I can’t be more happy about that!

So that begs the question then – what *am* I going to read? Gosh, now I see all the possibilities and don’t know where to start! LOL I am continuing with the history text – underlining, highlighting, and annotating. And we are still reading Dracula together as our read-aloud. Although we are bit behind our schedule for it. I had it scheduled out to read and be finished with it by Oct. 31st. I thought it fitting to try to finish the last pages on Halloween. 🙂 But we are a couple of readings behind. So that may not happen. No big deal. Enjoying the reading of the book is the most important, not the schedule. And my hubby has actually enjoyed sitting in on our reading of the book when he can. So that’s been fun as he has also already read the book before and he and I comment on things we notice or things we remember, etc.

Last November, I participated in Novellas in November and you can see my wrap-up post for that HERE. Novellas in November is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books and Rebecca at Bookish Beck. You can read each of their introduction posts for this year’s November reading HERE and HERE. I really enjoyed the month of reading novellas last year and thought I’d like to participate again this year. I also thought, coming off of a major reading slump, novellas might just be perfect. They are short! 🙂

And they are also choosing a Claire Keegan novella for the buddy read for the month! I really liked Small Things Like These and would love to read another work by Keegan. So I’m planning to pre-order a copy of Foster this weekend because I am thinking I will want this one in print. 🙂

I really enjoyed last year’s Novellas in November buddy read which was Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. I felt this story was well-written and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. Wharton’s prose in the book was magnificent! You can read my review of it HERE. It was a solid 4 star read for me.

Anyway, over the weekend, I’m going to think about the different categories for each week and come up with a list of potential novellas to read. So be looking for a post on that this coming week. In the meantime, I will continue reading the history book I’m enjoying right now and I think I am ready to begin diving into Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles for my Simply Christie Chronicles reading project. Of course, if anyone is interested in reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles, feel free to join me. I am not scheduling this book like I typically do. I’m just going to read. I have a feeling that making myself a schedule for the book, having just had this huge book slump, would not be a good idea. 😉

When You Can’t Settle Into a Book….

^{Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com}

Just a beautiful, autumnal picture for us today. Don’t you just love the Fall season???

But Autumn is not the topic for this post. Y’all, I can’t settle into my books. I think it’s because of all the upheaval as of late with unexpectedly needing to find a place, finding a place (quickly too which was such a blessing!), packing, moving, then after moving in, the house having some issues that have had to be dealt with which, while I’ve handled them well, it’s still been challenging for my anxiety.

I love books. I love reading. We all know this. 😉 But it seems like almost every book I pick up to try, I just can’t settle into it. Even if I am liking it! I was enjoying Kristin Lavransdatter but was dragging my feet with it. I figured maybe right now wasn’t a time for a really long tome. I wanted to read The Woman in White. And I was excited it was my Classics Club Spin pick! I have wanted to read it for a long time now – and have even enjoyed the beginning of it. But am already dragging my feet again and don’t want to read it. I am really enjoying Midnight Sun…even almost 70% through it….but don’t want to sit down and finish listening to it.

I just can’t seem to settle in a book…

I am enjoying our read-aloud of Dracula. Dracula is a good book! And so perfect for October! This is my third time reading it. But if I’m being honest, having it as read-aloud keeps me reading it. If I were doing it on my own, I may not feel inclined to pick it up either.

I just can’t seem to settle in a book…

There are several books I’d really like to read this October. Some of them are shorter and I thought, shorter. That’s what I need. Shorter reads. So my hubby and I start throwing out ideas of what we might like to read together. I said, “I’ve been wanting to read The Picture of Dorian Gray. And I’d really like to re-read Frankenstein.” He said both were fine with him. He’s read both and enjoyed them. I looked at both of the books on my shelf. Not long either one is. (See how I sneaked in some Yoda-speak there? 🙂 ) And then I sighed. I told my husband “I don’t know that I want to read anything.”

I just can’t seem to settle in a book…

I keep looking at various books on my shelf.

I think – oooo a re-read of A Gentleman in Moscow would be nice.

I feel drawn to read Les Miserables again but realize….yeah….it’s so long….

I want to start the first Agatha Christie novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, that I was supposed to start in September but just didn’t get to it. Maybe even start Christie’s autobiography along with it. I even pulled both of these books off the shelf…..

But then none of these appeal enough for me to actually start reading them.

I just can’t seem to settle in a book…

Surely I’m not the only bookworm who has experienced this book dilemma, right? I think I’m just feeling massively overwhelmed right now and my brain just doesn’t want to put much effort into reading. Honestly, I just want to watch Gilmore Girls. And re-watch The Crown in preparation for the new season coming out next month. And watch the Twilight movies with my hubby on the weekends……

I just can’t seem to settle in a book…

Anyone relate?

It’s Fall Y’all!

We are in full Autumn here in my neck of the woods y’all and I am all here for it! Fall is my favorite season of the year and I have been so happy that we’ve had cooler temperatures earlier than normal for our area. We were already seeing cooler temps towards the end of September – cooler than the usual – and it has been fabulous!

And some big news on our end – we unexpectedly had to find a new place to live and thankfully, found a lovely house that we just moved into two weekends ago. And guess what? We have a fireplace!

One of the very first things I did as we were moving in was get the mantel and hearth all decorated for Fall. The picture on the mantel is one my oldest daughter painted for us a couple of years ago and gave it to us for Christmas. She is such a talented artist! You should see the various paintings she has done!

You will also notice a stack of books on the hearth. Yep, that’s my October/Currently Reading stack. Here’s a close-up:

I really read very little for the couple of weeks we were packing, moving, and beginning to settle in. One thing I did do: while unpacking some things and getting stuff organized, I started the audiobook for Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, the recent new book in the Twilight series. If you’ve been around here for very long, you probably know I’m a Twilight fan. My hubby and I have already started re-watching the movies as we usually do each October. I saw the movies before reading the books. And when I did read the books, they really did fill in lots of details and things that made me love certain characters even more. However, I found that Breaking Dawn was my least favorite in the whole series of books, while Breaking Dawn Parts I and II are my favorites of all the movies. Ironic, huh?

Anyway, you may also know of my audiobook dilemmas…how audiobooks often don’t work well for me for fiction. However, since I already know the storyline VERY well for Twilight…and given that the new book Midnight Sun is the story of Twilight told from Edward’s perspective…I thought it would be a good candidate for an audiobook. I tend to do better with fiction on audio if I already know the storyline. And I was right. It has worked well to listen to it while organizing things around the house. I am about halfway through and am enjoying the book so far.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is my Classics Club Spin pick for this month. I just started it last night and I can tell I’m going to like it! The book starts out with this first sentence:

“This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve.”

What an opening line! I’m almost 30 pages in and can’t wait to see what’s going to unfold.

When my teen daughter and I were thinking about atmospheric read-alouds for October, we narrowed it down to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker. I’ve read them and loved them both. My daughter chose Dracula. So we started that yesterday and she is liking it so far.

Finally, yes, you are seeing correctly…there’s a copy of The Iliad and The Odyssey in that stack as well. For school, my daughter is getting ready to start reading these two epics. I am reading them both along with her and we will be discussing them. The Iliad will be a re-read for me. The Odyssey I started to read several years ago but never finished it. We will be beginning The Iliad next week.

And that’s it for me for October reads right now. Of course, you never know with my mood reading tendencies if something else might get added. 😉

What are you reading this month?

What a Week! Time for a Readathon!

Y’all, this has been one of the busiest weeks I’ve had in a long time. Filled with mostly really good outings and things but also some stressful things. I have been feeling overwhelmed and am now worn out. I have literally read maybe a few pages all week long. I kid you not. And that means that I haven’t made much progress on Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. It also means I haven’t even started The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. Or Christie’s autobiography for that matter either.

Soooo……..

This weekend, it’s time for a readathon. I have a whole list of things to get done today. I am aiming to get done what I have prioritized on that to-do list by dinner time. Then after dinner, I am going to start a 24 hour readathon. Well, more or less 24 hours anyway. 🙂 I need to make some progress in Kristin Lavransdatter and that will be my focus. I have this book in print, so I will likely read something different for my nightly bedtime Kindle read; I’m just not for sure what yet.

My plan is to have my readathon officially be from 5:30pm this evening until 5:30pm Saturday. I won’t read straight through that whole time as I don’t sit and read for long periods of time. So my readathon is really just a 24-hour period filled with many reading sprints. 🙂

If you find you might could use a readathon to make some progress on a book you’ve been wanting to read, feel free to join me. And if you do, please leave me a comment and let me know I have company during this readathon. I hope to be back on Sunday or Monday to post my thoughts on Kristin Lavransdatter so far and how the readathon went. Then I hope to start The Mysterious Affair at Styles sometime next week.

Happy Reading Friends!

This and That – Sept. 2, 2022

It’s September y’all! Already! I admit, I’m happy for it. I’m sure you know by now how much I love the fall season. 🙂 Today, I just wanted to sit down and chat a bit. So grab a cup of coffee, hot tea, or your favorite cool beverage if it’s still pretty hot where you are at. 😉

^{Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com}

My hubby and I finished the new season of Stranger Things two weekends ago. Wow! I was so nervous to watch season 4 because everyone was saying it was straight up horror. But I have to tell ya, it didn’t feel like that. Personally, I would say the season is still firmly sci-fi thriller but has some horror elements in it. There were definitely some scenes that I had to close my eyes; especially the opening of episode 1. I couldn’t watch that part. Still, the whole show was really good. And I felt season 4 just really tied some things together. I won’t say much so as not to give any spoilers. But it was good!

I think one of the things the show does so well is balancing intensity with humor. Anyway, I just have to say, of all the 80’s music in the show, season 4 had my favorite remix of the whole show in episode 8. Yep – the remix of “Separate Ways.” Dang it’s good!

Once we finished Stranger Things, we moved on to watching the new season of Virgin River. I’m liking the season so far but wow what a huge change after watching Stranger Things! LOL I also watch the show Heartland, so I’m watching season 14 of that right now as well. 🙂

I’ve also been working on some fall recipes for baking. I tried creating a vegan maple pumpkin chocolate chip donut recipe. And I was so thrilled with the results. I’m going to try another round in the next week or so but this time adding a crumble topping to it. In the meantime, I am planning to create a vegan apple pie muffin/donut recipe. Here’s a picture of the maple pumpkin chocolate chip donuts. I have since also made this recipe as muffins as well.

I also recently tried a recipe I found online for a veggie burger. And one that does not use any of the vegan meat substitutes. I was totally impressed! I have had to make some tweaks but the texture alone is crazy! It looks like a hamburger….the texture is like a hamburger….but it’s not a hamburger. It really is a veggie burger.

I recently learned how to make a cappuccino with my French press. Oh my stars y’all! I made a vegan cinnamon vanilla brown sugar cappuccino and it was amazing!

My husband enjoys cooking and usually cooks a meal every week and breakfast on weekends. Last week, he made this absolutely scrumptious vegan creamy gnocchi soup. It is like cozy comfort in a bowl.

My hubby is an amazing cook! He has that flair for cooking that is like an internal instinct of knowing what works well together with seasonings and food combinations. Know what I mean? We both cook around here but I actually enjoy baking more than cooking. And with him enjoying cooking, we make a good pair in the kitchen. 😉

In book news, I am gearing up to start both Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset as well as The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I decided to take a little detour first though. I bought a book on the history of Norway and decided to read some of that first before diving into Kristin Lavransdatter. Since it’s a historical fiction novel set in 14th century Norway, I wanted to learn more about Norway’s history before starting the novel. The book I bought is called History of Norway and it’s pictured below on my Kindle. I bought the ebook so I can have it as one of my nightly Kindle reads. 🙂 I am wanting to read the history book up to at least the 14th century. I feel like it would help me get a better feel for the time and place of the novel. I’m already on Ch. 2 and only need to read through Ch. 4 to reach the time frame of the novel.

I also received the copy I ordered of Agatha Christie’s autobiography yesterday. So I’m looking forward to a slow read of that as I begin reading her works. I am aiming to start reading her first book The Mysterious Affairs at Styles on Monday.

I’ve been excited to see the temperatures in our area dipping down into the 60s and upper 50s some this past week at night. That means Autumn is peaking around the corner! We still are having some hot days – 80s and close to 90 a day or two here and there; but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that maybe the cooler temperatures of the fall season will be arriving to stay a little earlier than usual. Please? 🙂

I think the more Autumnal temperatures this past week has thrown me full on into Autumnal reading vibes already. LOL This week, my husband, daughter, and myself have been reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and plan to have a family book club style discussion this weekend. It’s my third time reading the book but the first time my daughter has read it. I think it’s maybe the second time my hubby has read it. Anyway, it is very good! Then my daughter and I plan to read The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe next week for a read-aloud. We are totally getting into the Fallish/October vibes over here.

^{Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com}

I am a bit behind on writing some book reviews. Maybe I will do a post that’s more a summary style of several books. We’ll see. But I’ve finished The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. And I still need to write a review for Oh! William which I actually finished several weeks ago.

Well, I guess that’s about all for now. Thanks for stopping by for our cozy chat. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 🙂

Reading Kristin Lavransdatter This Fall

One book that I wanted to prioritize reading this year is Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. And I am finally going to get to it! Katie at The Cozy Burrow and I are going to buddy read this book. Yay! We are each going to read at our own pace; but being me, I am making a general schedule. As I said before, it’s just how I roll. 🙂

If you are not familiar with Kristin Lavransdatter, it’s comprised of three volumes. You can buy each volume individually as a book, or you can buy an all-in-one edition (which is what I have).

I have this gorgeous Penguin’s Deluxe Classics edition:

It comes in at a whoppin’ 1119 pages. If huge books feel intimidating, never fear! You can read this one volume at a time. In the edition I have, the three volumes break down as follows:

Volume I: The Wreath – 287 pages
Volume II: The Wife – 401 pages
Volume III: The Cross – 422 pages

The way I’m breaking this down is one volume/book per month throughout the Fall season. So it makes this huge novel feel less overwhelming. Here is the general plan:

September – The Wreath (Book I)
October – The Wife (Book II)
November – The Cross (Book III)

I don’t know why, but I feel like this book is going to be a perfect pick for reading during the fall season. It is set in 14th century Norway. I dream of one day visiting Norway; especially northern Norway…seeing the Northern Lights and experiencing the Norwegian winter.

^{Photo by stein egil liland on Pexels.com}

With the concept of hygge in mind, I already picture myself cozying up with this sweeping Norwegian novel while the weather is crisp and cool outside. From what I understand, the word hygge (hoo-guh) is actually of Norwegian origin. Basically it is a term that is all about atmosphere and experience. It evokes a feeling of wellness and contentment, coziness and warmness. That feeling of home, of being with those you love. It encompasses that feeling of comfort, harmony, and security.

^{Photo by Dagmara Dombrovska on Pexels.com}

I do plan to start reading Kristin Lavransdatter in September as per the schedule above when the temperatures in my area will still be bouncing back and forth between 80s (and the occasional 90s) and 70s. However, I am anticipating those cooler temperatures that should hopefully arrive by the first of October and picturing myself snuggling up with a warm cup of tea or coffee, turning the twinkle lights on, maybe lighting a candle, and settling in with this book as I continue to read it.

Can you tell I’m excited to read this novel? 🙂

I plan to get started reading it this weekend. And as always, feel free to join in if you’d like to read this book with Katie and I. I love reading books with others! If I decide to break down each book into daily reading chunks, I am happy to share my schedule. Also, it is my plan to blog through this book. So I am thinking that I will be doing some regular posting for it through the fall season. 🙂

Upcoming Reads for September

We are getting close to my favorite season of the year. AUTUMN! I love the fall season SO much. Crisp, cool temperatures, overcast skies, gorgeous tree foliage, sweatshirts, more hot tea and coffee, pumpkins, October spooky season…. I just love all things fall.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Photo by Ioana Motoc on Pexels.com

Photo by Melike Benli on Pexels.com

In our area, we really don’t see the crisp, cool fall temperatures consistently until late in September or even the first of October. While we do typically start seeing more 70s temperature-wise in September, we usually still get temperatures in the 80s and even occasional 90s throughout the month. So for me, I think October when I think of the full start of the fall season, even though the official first day of Autumn is September 22nd. And, October just happens to be one of my favorite months of the whole year. I’m already thinking about books I want to read, movies and shows I want to watch. Spooky books, mysteries, one of my favorite movies to watch in the fall (hint: it has the “Shop Around the Corner” in it….can you guess which movie it is?)

But I’m getting ahead of myself. *ahem*

We need to talk September books first. 🙂

First off, as you probably know if you’ve been reading my blog, I will be starting my Simply Christie Chronicles reading project in September. Beginning September 1st, I will be reading Christie’s first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I’ll be getting a post up for that probably on the 1st or maybe a day or two before.

I mentioned in THIS post that Katie from The Cozy Burrow and I are planning to read Kristin Lavransdatter together. First of all, isn’t that just the most gorgeous book cover??!! Anyhoo, Katie has some chunky reads planned in September and I have some reads already planned for October. Therefore, we are planning to go ahead and start in September but take it however slow we each need to accommodate what we already have in our reading plans. I like to make myself a general schedule so I’ve done that as tool for us to have if we’d like, but it’s still very laid back and a read-at-our-own pace style.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I like the read-at-your-own pace approach with buddy/group reads. But I do find it helpful for me to have a general schedule I can follow if I have a time frame I’d like to read a book in. And that is true not just for buddy/group reads, but for many of the books I read. The schedules keep me on track if I need it but are always just a tool and can be tweaked or even completely set aside if I feel the need to do so. So in general, I will typically make myself a schedule for the books I choose to read, whether it’s a buddy/group read or me reading a book myself. That’s just how I roll. 🙂

Anyway, all that to say, our buddy read is very relaxed while still having a general schedule as a help. I will be posting the schedule sometime in the next few days. I’ll talk more about it in that post.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to start reading Kristin Lavransdatter! It’s been on my TBR for a long time and I decided I wanted to prioritize it this year. The approaching fall season just seems to be the perfect time to begin this book.

For September, these two books are my priority. Then it will just be mood reading to go along with it. I’m almost done with The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, which is my nightly Kindle read. So I will be looking for another Kindle read soon. On audio, I’m trying to finish up Breaking Dawn, the last book in the Twilight series. I’m almost at the 80% finished mark. I must admit, I’ve not enjoyed this book as much as the other books in the series. Ironically though, Breaking Dawn Part I and Breaking Dawn Part II are my favorites of the whole movie series (although I love all of the movies). I will probably try to start reading Midnight Sun (or pair it with listening to the audiobook) sometime in September before my hubby and I begin our annual October watch of the entire Twilight series movies. 🙂

What are your reading plans for September?

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie – Reading Schedule

It’s time for me to get started on Marie Benedict’s book The Mystery of Mrs. Christie. I have been looking forward to reading this book ever since my friend Kayla told me about it! Here is my reading schedule in case anyone wants to follow along. I’ve divided up the chapters so as to finish the book a couple of days before the first of September.

• Aug. 15 – “The Beginning” – Ch. 4
• Aug. 16 – Ch. 5-8
• Aug. 17 – Ch. 9-13
• Aug. 18 – Ch. 14-17
• Aug. 19 – Ch. 18-21
• Aug. 20 – Ch. 22-25
• Aug. 22 – Ch. 26-29
• Aug. 23 – Ch. 30-34
• Aug. 24 – Ch. 35-37
• Aug. 25 – Ch. 38-43
• Aug. 26 – Ch. 44-46
• Aug. 27 – Ch. 47 to end
• Aug. 29 – Author’s Note

If you want to know a little bit more about the book, you can check out my previous post HERE.

Happy Reading Friends!