March 2024 Wrap-up

March TBR Pile (25/31):

1. Bookworms BC: NONE

2. Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

4. Kid Read Aloud: The Witches by Roald Dahl ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: Sweep by Jonathan Auxier ✓

8. Kid Read Aloud: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl ✓

9. Kid Read Aloud: Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston

10. Kid Read Aloud: Men at Arms by Terry Prachett

11. Kid Book Club: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf ✓

12. Fantasy: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge ✓

13. Fantasy: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett ✓

14. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland ✓

15. Science Fiction: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino ✓

16. Historical Fiction: Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig ✓

17. Romance: Ruthless by Anne Stuart ✓

18. Romance: Reckless by Anne Stuart ✓

19. Romance: The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score ✓

20. Romance: So Not Meant to Be by Meghan Quinn ✓

21. Romance: Bride by Ali Hazelwood ✓

22. Horror: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

23. Horror: What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell ✓

24. Horror: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud ✓

25. Horror: Dark Waters by Katherine Arden ✓

26. Nonfiction: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart - in progress, slow and steady read

27. Nonfiction: Toil & Trouble by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson ✓

28. Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 1 ✓

29. Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 2 ✓

30. Comics: The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg ✓

31. Comics: A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 8558 pages
Pages Remaining: 249,312 pages

Current Read - The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White; The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (10):

It’s my birthday month, so of course I got a free book from BOTM. Plus I grabbed one of the nominees for the best book of the year that I hadn’t already read.

• A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

• Murder Road by Simone St. James

• Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

During my birthday day out, I went to two local bookstores and grabbed a few titles. From The Bookworm, I picked up:

• Raising Critical Thinkers by Julie Bogart

• Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

• Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

• The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

At Jackson Street Booksellers, I discovered:

• DK The Ecology Book

• Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson

• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

• The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 325

• Books Read: 3

• Books Acquired: 10

• Books Unshelved: 2

• Finishing Number: 330

April TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

2. Friend BC: Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: NONE

4. Kid Read Aloud: Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston

5. Kid Read Aloud: Men at Arms by Terry Prachett

6. Kid Book Club: Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr

7. Fantasy: A Tale Dark and Grim by Adam Gidwitz

8. Horror: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

9. Horror: Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden

10. Comics: Lore Olympus Vol. 4

11. Comics: Die Vol. 1

12. Comics: Die Vol. 2

13. Comics: Die Vol. 3

14. Comics: Die Vol. 4

Movies Watched

• Argyle

• Lisa Frankenstein

• Road House

TV Shows Watched

• Bachelor

• Below Deck

• Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist S2

• Monarch

• Dick Turpin

• Shōgun

• SAS: Rogue Heroes

Comments - Another big month for reading! I didn’t read that many off my shelves this month, but still read a ton.

Next up on the TBR pile:

February 2024 Wrap-up

February TBR Pile (26/28):

1. Bookworms BC: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (reread)

2. Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part One by Mary Pope Osborne ✓

8. Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne ✓

9. Kid Read Aloud: The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith ✓

10. Fantasy: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman ✓

11. Fantasy: Malamander by Thomas Taylor ✓

12. Fantasy: Haunted Holiday by Kiersten White ✓

13. Fantasy: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft ✓

14. Fantasy: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire ✓

15. Science Fiction: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells ✓

16. Science Fiction: System Collapse by Martha Wells ✓

17. Romance: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert ✓

18. Romance: Untouchable by Talia Hibbert ✓

19. Romance: A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone ✓

20. Romance; Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue ✓

21. Romance: Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert ✓

22. Thriller/Mystery: The Last One by Will Dean ✓

23. Thriller/Mystery: The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas ✓

24. Thriller/Mystery: Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty ✓

25. Comics: Confetti Realms ✓

26. Horror: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden ✓

27. Horror: Mimi’s Tales of Terror by Junji Ito ✓

28. Nonfiction: Sellout by Dan Ozzi ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7812 pages
Pages Remaining: 257,870 pages

Current Read - The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (6):

During a trip to Half Price Books, I grabbed a few clearance books off the shelves.

• The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

From BOTM, I grabbed The Mayer of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham.

And I put in a Thriftbooks order for some homeschool stuff, but also two books for me.

• To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt

• To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 330

• Books Read: 4

• Books Acquired: 6

• Books Unshelved: 7

• Finishing Number: 325

March TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: NONE

2. Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

4. Kid Read Aloud: The Witches by Roald Dahl

5. Kid Book Club: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf

6. Fantasy: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

7. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

8. Science Fiction: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

9. Historical Fiction: Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig

10. Romance: Ruthless by Anne Stuart

11. Horror: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

12. Horror: What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell

13. Nonfiction: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart

14. Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 1

15. Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 2

Movies Watched - It’s another Nic Cage Quarterly for the month! We ended up watching 13 Nicolas Cage movies.

• It Could Happen to You

• Trapped in Paradise

• Kiss of Death

• Leaving Las Vegas

• The Rock

• Con Air

• Face/Off

• City of Angels

• Snake Eyes

• 8MM

• Bringing Out the Dead

• The Family Man

• Gone in 60 Seconds

And one non-Nic Cage Movie

• Anyone But You

TV Shows Watched

• Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist S1

• The Bachelorette S28

• The Buccaneers

• Below Deck

Comments - Another huge reading month for me! I managed almost a book a day throughout the month. This was helped by my early month reading weekend and some late nights. We also did a decent job at watching Nic Cage movies for our big year project.

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2024 Wrap-up

January TBR Pile (31/31):

1. Bookworms BC: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca ✓

2. Friend BC: The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin ✓

3. Friend BC: The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Just Beyond the Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-El ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg ✓

8. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd ✓

9. Kid Book Club: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Natalie Lloyd ✓

10. Fantasy: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman ✓

11. Fantasy: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman ✓

12. Fantasy: The Dungeon Anarachist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman ✓

13. Fantasy: The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman ✓

14. Fantasy: Timekeeper by Tara Simm ✓

15. Fantasy: Signal Moon ny Kate Quinn ✓

16. Fantasy: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden ✓

17. Fantasy: Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson ✓

18. Fantasy: The Magician by Rebecca Serle ✓

19. Science Fiction: All Systems Red by Martha Wells (reread) ✓

20. Science Fiction: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (reread) ✓

21. Science Fiction: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (reread) ✓

22. Science Fiction: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (reread) ✓

23. Science Fiction: Network Effect by Martha Wells (reread) ✓

24. Nonfiction: Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine ✓

25. Romance: Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan ✓

26. Romance:: A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert ✓

27. Romance: Damaged Goods by Talia Hibbert ✓

28. Romance: Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders ✓

29. Romance: Teach Me by Olivia Dade ✓

30. Romance: Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura ✓

31. Romance: Mr. Fixer Upper by Lucy Score ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 9306 pages
Pages Remaining: 265,682 pages

Current Read - Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett (kid read aloud); The Last One by Will Dean; Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (8):

I grabbed the preorder of Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert.

Half Price Books finds during their after Christmas sale.

• The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

• Malamander by Thomas Taylor

• Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

• The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage

At the Barnes and Noble sale after Christmas, I came away with five books for me:

• A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

• Amari and the Great Game by BB Alston

• The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

• The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller

• The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 324

• Books Read: 2

• Books Acquired: 8

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 330

February TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (reread)

2. Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

4. Kid Read Aloud: Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett

5. Kid Read Aloud: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

6. Kid Book Club: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Anjali Rauf

7. Fantasy: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman

8. Science Fiction: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

9. Science Fiction: System Collapse by Martha Wells

10. Romance: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert

11. Romance: Untouchable by Talia Hibbert

12. Thriller/Mystery: The Last One by Will Dean

Movies Watched

• Top Secret

• Saltburn

• The Bricklayer

• Self-Reliance

• Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget

• Oppenheimer

• Relax, I’m from the Future

• Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched

• The Marvels

• Top Gun: Maverick

• Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

• The Beekeeper

TV Shows Watched

• Letterkenny S12 (the last season!!!!)

• Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist S1

• The White House Plumbers

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

• Yonderland S1

• Party Down S3

• The Buccaneers

• Our Flag Means Death S2

• Below Deck: Med

• The Bachelor S28

Comments - Wow! Due to a ton of snow storms, we spent a lot of January in the house. And I read a ton of books and we watched a ton of media. Thankfully, we are able to get out of the house at the end of the month, but it was a very strange month. I only read two books from my Unread Shelf, but I have big plans for February’s reading. Ready for a new month.

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2023 Wrap-up

December TBR Pilev (22/25):

1. Bookworms BC: None

2. Friend BC: None

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown ✓

6. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

7. Nonfiction: Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar ✓

8. Romance: Snowed in for Christmas by Jaqueline Snowe ✓

9. Romance: Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London ✓

10. Romance: Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth ✓

11. Romance: The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score ✓

12. Romance: A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews ✓

13. Romance: Love in a Blizzard by Britney M. Mills ✓

14. Romance: White Lie Christmas by Karla Doyle ✓

15. Romance: A Winter in New York by Josie Silver ✓

16. Romance: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert ✓

17. Romance: Miss Kane’s Christmas by Caroline Mickelson ✓

18. Romance: A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn ✓

19. Romance: Blue Sky Cowboy Christmas by Joanne Kennedy ✓

20. Romance: The Worst Christmas Ever? by Rebecca Paulinyi ✓

21. Romance: The Stopover by TL Swan ✓

22. Romance: Falling for the Rockstar at Christmas by Lyndsey Gallagher ✓

23. Thriller: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus ✓

24. Fantasy: Magical Midlife Madness by KF Breene ✓

25. Fantasy: Under the Smokestrewn Sky by A. Deborah Baker ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6250 pages
Pages Remaining: 274,988 pages

Current Read - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros; Timekeeper by Tara Sim

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (3):

For the book club’s Christmas Book and Bottle Exchange, I ended up with Pinot Noir by Mads Molnar. Looks like an interesting mystery/action story.

I actually found two BOTM selections that I really wanted.

• The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

• The Gentleman’s Gambit by Evie Dunmore

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 337

• Books Read: 0

• Books Acquired: 3

• Books Unshelved: 4

• Finishing Number: 336

January TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca

2. Friend BC: The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

4. Kid Read Aloud: Charlotte’s Web by EB White

5. Kid Read Aloud: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

6. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

7. Fantasy: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

8. Fantasy: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

9. Fantasy: Timekeeper by Tara Sim

10. Fantasy: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

11. Science Fiction: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Movies Watched

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

• Newsies

• Solaris (1972)

• Silent Night

TV Shows Watched

• Doctor Who

• Below Deck: Med

• Bachelor in Paradise

• Slow Horses S3

• Obliterated S1

• Rick & Morty

• Archer - Series finale! I can’t believe that show aired for 14 seasons!

• One Piece S1

• Lockwood and Co. S1

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1

Comments - Ending my year on a high note for my reading and media watching. Looking forward to what 2024 will bring.

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2023 Wrap-up

November TBR Pile (21/27):

1. Bookworms BC: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

2. Friend BC: Underground Airlines by Ben Winters ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

6. Kid Book Club: From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks ✓

7. Romance: Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark ✓

8. Romance: A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian ✓

9. Romance: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

10. Romance: Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

11. Romance: Love of My Lives by Yamille Saied Mendez

12. Romance: The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary ✓

13. Romance: The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert ✓

14. Romance: Shades of Wicked by Jeaniene Frost ✓

15. Romance: Wicked All Night by Jeaniene Frost ✓

16. Romance: Wicked Bite by Jeaniene Frost ✓

17. Romance: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley ✓

18. Horror: Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons ✓

19. Horror: The September House by Carissa Orlando ✓

20. Nonfiction: Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya ✓

21. Science Fiction: Starter Villain by John Schalzi ✓

22. Science Fiction: Ark by Veronica Roth ✓

23. Science Fiction: Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin ✓

24. Science Fiction: Summer Frost by Blake Crouch ✓

25. Science Fiction: Randomize by Andy Weir ✓

26. Science Fiction: You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles ✓

27. Science Fiction: The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5563 pages
Pages Remaining: 281,238 pages

Current Read - Snowed in for Christmas by Jacqueline Snowe; Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (0)

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 339

• Books Read: 1

• Books Acquired: 0

• Books Unshelved: 1

• Finishing Number: 337

December TBR Pile: Not burdening myself with a TBR for this month. Just reading what I feel like.

1. Bookworms BC: None

2. Friend BC: None

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

4. Kid Read Aloud: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

6. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Movies Watched - November became Nic Cage November! We began a retrospective of his entire career. Definitely not going to finish this month, but we can get a start. We ended up with 17 Nicolas Cage movies and one docmentary.

• In Defense of Nicolas Cage

• Rumble Fish (side character)

• Valley Girl

• Racing with the Moon (side character)

• Birdy

• The Cotton Club (side character)

• Peggy Sue Got Married

• The Boy in Blue

• Moonstruck

• Raising Arizona - Still my favorite Nicolas Cage movie!

• Time to Kill - This is terrible. Skip it.

• Firebirds

• Wild at Heart - Reminds me why I don’t really enjoy Lynch.

• Zandalee

• Honeymoon in Vegas

• Amos & Andrew

• Deadfall

• Red Rock West

• Guarding Tess

• Solarbabies - Obviously not a Nic Cage movie. This was for family movie night. Very cheesy 80s scifi movie.

• Five Nights at Freddy’s - Kids’ pick for Thanksgiving movie night.

• Fantastic Mr. Fox

TV Shows Watched

• Loki S2

• Lower Decks S3

• Ghosts S6

• Rick & Morty S7

• Bachelor in Paradise

• Shoresy S2

• Doctor Who

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2023 Wrap-up

October TBR Pile (25/26):

1. Bookworms BC: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (already read)

2. Friend BC: Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III ✓

7. Kid Book Club: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mulllaly Hunt ✓

8. Fantasy: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas ✓

9. Fantasy: The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher ✓

10. Fantasy: Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales by Kiersten White ✓

11. Fantasy: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher ✓

12. Fantasy: The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood ✓

13. Fantasy: White Cat by Holly Black ✓

14. Fantasy: Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott ✓

15. Romance: Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost ✓

16. Romance: The Prince & the Apocalypse by Kara McDowell ✓

17. Comics: Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey ✓

18. Comics: Preacher Vol. 1 ✓

19. Mystery: Girls of Brackenhill by Kate Moretti ✓

20. Horror: Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie ✓

21. Horror: This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham ✓

22. Horror: The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry ✓

23. Horror: Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw ✓

24. Horror: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow ✓

25. Horror: Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith ✓

26. Horror: Goblin by Josh Malerman ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 8098 pages
Pages Remaining: 286,801 pages

Current Read - The September House by Carissa Orlando; The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert; Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (3) - I keep debating about canceling my BOTM subscription and then they have another month like this one. I ended up buying three books this month:

• Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

• The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

• The Fragile Threads of Power by VE Schwab

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 338

• Books Read: 2

• Books Acquired: 3

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 339

November TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

2. Friend BC: Underground Airlines by Ben Winters

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

4. Kid Read Aloud: Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

5. Kid Book Club: From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

6. Romance: Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

7. Romance: A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian

8. Romance: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

9. Romance: Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

10. Romance: Love of My Lives by Yamille Saied Mendez

11. Romance: The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary

12. Romance: Wicked All Night by Jeaniene Frost

13. Romance: Wicked Bite by Jeaniene Frost

14. Horror: Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

15. Horror: The September House by Carissa Orlando

16. Nonfiction: Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya

17. Comics: Preacher Vol. 2

18. Comics: Preacher Vol. 3

19. Comics: Preacher Vol. 4

Movies Watched

• Final Girls

• The Seventh Seal

• Don’t Worry Darling

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• The Lodger

• Crawl

• Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

• Candyman (1992)

• The Wicker Man

• Totally Killer

• Sympathy for the Devil

• The Hidden

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

• The Platform

• Candyman (2021)

• The Haunted Mansion

TV Shows Watched

• Werewolf by Night

• Lower Decks

• Archer

• Preacher S2

• Below Deck: Med S

• Only Murders in the Building S3

• The Great British Bake-Off S14

• Loki S2

• Bachelor in Paradise

Comments - Wow! Another huge month for my reading and our media watching. I knocked out many spooky books to fit my theme and found some gems among them. J and I complete our spooky movie month with a very decent showing of 17 movies.

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2023 Wrap-up

September TBR Pile (28/29):

1. Bookworms BC: The Mermaid by Christina Henry (already read)

2. Friend BC: Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Timeline by Michael Crichton ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ✓

6. Kid Book Club: The Last Human by Lee Bacon ✓

7. Romance: Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost ✓

8. Romance: Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost ✓

9. Romance: Devil to Pay by Jeaniene Frost (short story no review) ✓

10. Romance: Home for the Holidays by Jeaniene Frost (novella no review) ✓

11. Romance: Up from the Grave by Jeaniene Frost ✓

12. Romance: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center ✓

13. Romance: Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert ✓

14. Romance: Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost ✓

15. Romance: The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead ✓

16. Fantasy: Cinders by Michelle D. Argyle ✓

17. Fantasy: The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies ✓

18. Fnbtasy: The Islands of Elsewhere by Heather Fawcett ✓

19. Fantasy: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher ✓

20. Nonfiction: The Things We Make by Bill Hammock ✓

21. Nonfiction: The Kingdom of Prep by Maggie Bullock ✓

22. Thriller: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard ✓

23. Mystery: Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala ✓

24. Horror: Mister Magic by Kiersten White ✓

25. Horror: The Haunting of Winchester Mansion by Alexandria Clarke ✓

26. Comic: Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge ✓

27. Comic: The Changeling King by Ethan M. Aldridge ✓

28. Comic: Once & Future Vol. 5 ✓

29. Comic: Lore Olympus Vol. 4 ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 8387 pages
Pages Remaining: 294,899 pages

Current Read - A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (1) - I finally picked up Katee Robert’s newest volume in the Dark Olympus series. Really proud of my book buying restraint this month.

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 339

• Books Read: 2

• Books Acquired: 1

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 338

October TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (already read)

2. Friend BC: Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas

4. Kid Read Aloud: Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

5. Kid Book Club: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mulllaly Hunt

6. Fantasy: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

7. Romance: Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost

Movies Watched

• Rogue One - Rewatched after finishing Andor. Still a really good contained Star Wars film.

• Local Hero - A quirky character study from 1983.

• Speed Racer - Family movie night

TV Shows Watched

• Andor

• Below Deck: Down Under

• Lower Decks S4

• Foundation S2

• Killing It S2

• Misfits S4-5

• Archer S

• Only Murders in the Building S3

• Fleabag S2

• Starstruck S3

• Preacher S1

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2023 Wrap-up

August TBR Pile (23/23):

1. Bookworms BC: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna ✓

2. Friend BC: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien ✓

5. Kid Book Club: Wildoak by CC Harrington ✓

6. Nonfiction: Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson ✓

7. Romance: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles ✓

8. Romance: Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian ✓

9. Romance: Playing for Keeps by Jill Shalvis ✓

10. Romance: Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis ✓

11. Romance: A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian ✓

12. Romance: One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost ✓

13. Romance: Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost (novella, no review) ✓

14. Romance: One for the Money by Jeaniene Frost (novella, no review) ✓

15. Romance: Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost (novella, no review) ✓

16. Horror: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro ✓

17. Horror: Vampiric Vacation by Kiersten White ✓

18. Horror: Camp Creepy by Kiersten White ✓

19. Horror: Menacing Manor by Kiersten White ✓

20. Horror: The Deep by Nick Cutter ✓

21. Fantasy: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker ✓

22. Fantasy: The First Bright Thing by JR Dawson ✓

23. Poetry: Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6833 pages
Pages Remaining: 303,286 pages

Current Read - 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (1)

• BOTM Selection - I snatched up The Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas. We are reading this for October’s Nerdy Bookish Friends selection.

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 339

• Books Read: 1

• Books Acquired: 1

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 339

September TBR Pile: Moving into spooky season and so my TBR pile is going to lean toward horror for the next two months. But I’m not quite sure what I’m planning on reading, so leaving the plan very vague.

1. Bookworms BC: The Mermaid by Christina Henry (probably won’t reread as I just read this)

2. Friend BC: Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Timeline by Michael Crichton

4. Kid Read Aloud: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

6. Kid Book Club: The Last Human by Lee Bacon

Movies Watched

• The Blackening - Well, that was entertaining as hell.

• Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Very good retrospective music documentary. Lots of great highlights.

• Red, White, and Royal Blue - A bit Hallmark-y but a decent young adult romance.

• The Meg 2 - That was utterly ridiculous and I loved it.

TV Shows Watched - Apparently we cycled through a decent amount of television shows this month. More like a lot of these are currently airing and dropping one episode a week… But still, lots of good shows were watched.

• The Witcher S3

• The Righteous Gemstones S3

• Foundation S2

• Below Deck: Down Under S2

• The Bachelorette

• Shiny Happy People

• Get Back

• Agent Elvis S1

• Killing It S2

• The Great S3

• Only Murders in the Building S3

• Andor

Comments - Wow! Look at those totals. I thought that with the start of our homeschooling year and coop, my reading totals and television/movie watching would be very low. Somehow I found more of a balance than I thought I would. Very exciting for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

July 2023 Wrap-up

July TBR Pile (21/27):

1. Bookworms BC: Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman ✓

2. Bookworms BC: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

3. Friend BC: Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz (reread) ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Bees by Laline Paull ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: TBD

6. Kid Book Club: NONE

7. Literary Fiction: Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

8. Literary Fiction: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer ✓

9. Nonfiction: Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

10. Nonfiction: Pathogenesis by Jonathan Kennedy ✓

11. Horror: The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher ✓

12. Horror: Silent Came the Monster by Amy Hill Hearth ✓

13. Horror: The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox ✓

14. Horror: Camp Red Moon by R.L. Stine ✓

15. Horror: Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A Snyder ✓

16. Fantasy: Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse ✓

17. Fantasy: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young ✓

18. Fantasy: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron ✓

19. Fantasy: Immortality by Dana Schwartz ✓

20. Fantasy: This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost ✓

21. Science Fiction: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

22. Science Fiction: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton ✓

23. Romance: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

24. Romance: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles

25. Romance: Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood ✓

26. Romance: Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez ✓

27. Romance: Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost ✓

28. Romance: Wasted Words by Staci Hart ✓

29. Comics: Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6988 pages
Pages Remaining: 310,119 pages

Current Read - Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (3)

• Ordinary Monsters by J.M Miro

• Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

• Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 342

• Books Read: 6

• Books Acquired: 3

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 339

August TBR Pile: With the start of school, I’m not going to overwhelm my planned TBR. Let’s just go with these few books to start. I know I will have a ton more checkouts from the library and I have all those books from my library.

1. Bookworms BC: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

2. Friend BC: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

4. Kid Read Aloud: TBD

5. Kid Book Club: Wildoak by CC Harrington

6. Nonfiction: Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

7. Romance: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles

Movies Watched

• The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

• Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3

• Asteroid City

• Get Smart (rewatch with the kids)

• Romancing the Stone (rewatch with the kids)

• Crocodile Dundee (rewatch with the kids)

TV Shows Watched 

• Human Target S2

• Below Deck: Sailing Yacht

• Below Deck: Down Under

• The Bachelorette

• What We Do in the Shadows S5

• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16

• Foundation S2

• The Righteous Gemstones S3

• Good Omens S2

Comments - Another successful month of reading and media consumption. I read the largest number of books from my UnRead Shelf for one month. I read 6 books which was just amazing! Now I only have 339 to go (until I buy more).

Next up on the TBR pile:

June 2023 Wrap-up

June TBR Pile (24/26):

1. Bookworms BC: NONE

2. Friend BC: Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC; The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: The Deceivers by Margaret Peterson Haddix ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Zoey and Sassafras: Monsters and Mold by Asia Citro ✓

7. Kid Book Club: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

8. Middle Grade: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier ✓

9. Middle Grade: Silver People by Margarita Engle ✓

10. Horror: House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson ✓

11. Horror: Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ✓

12. Science Fiction: Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke ✓

13. Science Fiction: Paradise-1 by David Wellington ✓

14. Science Fiction: Starship Titanic by Douglas Adams and Terry Jones ✓

15. Science Fiction: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick ✓

16. Fantasy: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros ✓

17. Fantasy: Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes ✓

18. Fantasy: The Curator by Owen King ✓

19. Fantasy: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings ✓

20. Romance: The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton ✓

21. Romance: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian ✓

22. Romance: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

23. Romance: Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade ✓

24. Romance: Happy Place by Emily Henry ✓

25. Romance: The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. George ✓

26. Romance: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace ✓

27. Poetry: Great Goddesses by Nikita Gill ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 8690 pages
Pages Remaining: 317,107 pages

Current Read - Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse; Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (9)

BOTM had a good month! I ended up picking up two selections from them.

• The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

• Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

And then I went to the Bookish Retreat and bought and received 7 more books!

• Farewell to Manzanar by Jeannie Wakatsuki Houston

• Pacific by Simon Winchester

• The Pioneers by David McCullough

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kemmerer

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

• The Library of the Dead by TL Huchu

• The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 335

• Books Read: 1 (Other Birds)

• Books Acquired: 9

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 342

July TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

2. Bookworms BC: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

3. Friend BC: Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Bees by Laline Paull

5. Kid Read Aloud: TBD

6. Kid Book Club: NONE

7. Literary Fiction: Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

8. Nonfiction: Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

9. Nonfiction: Pathogenesis by Jonathan Kennedy

10. Horror: The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

11. Horror: Silent Came the Monster by Amy Hill Hearth

12. Horror: The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox

13. Fantasy: Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

14. Fantasy: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

15. Fantasy: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

16. Fantasy: Immortality by Dana Schwartz

17. Science Fiction: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

18. Romance: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

19. Romance: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles

20. Romance: Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

21. Comics: Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann

Movies Watched

• Driven - I learned about Delorean from a weird history channel, so watched the movie. It was very good.

• Fast X - The only real reason to watch was for Jason Momoa. I can’t believe this has ballooned into a trilogy!

TV Shows Watched 

• Human Target S1-2

Comments - Well June did not go as planned. I started out strong but a massive medical issue hit me about halfway through and curtailed our activities. I managed to listen to some audiobooks toward the end of the month keeping my reading totals up. Just could not use my eyes for much of anything. Here’s hoping July is kinder to me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

May 2023 Wrap-up

May TBR Pile (21/24):

1. Bookworms BC: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith ✓

2. Friend BC: The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (reread) ✓

4. Retreat Book Club: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: Audrey of the Outback by Christine Harris ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: The Deceivers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

8. Kid Read Aloud: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

9. Kid Book Club: The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity ✓

10. Nonfiction: A Year in the Woods by Torbjørn Ekelund ✓

11. Nonfiction: Forest Walking by Peter Wohlleben ✓

12. Romance: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews ✓

13. Romance: When in Rome by Sarah Adams ✓

14. Romance: The Fine Print by Lauren Asher ✓

15. Romance: How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder ✓

16. Romance: Barbarian Lover by Ruby Dixon ✓

17. Romance: Stone Heart by Katee Robert ✓

18. Horror: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher ✓

19. Scifi: Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth ✓

20. Fantasy: Cinders & Sparrows by Stefan Bachmann ✓

21. Fantasy: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett ✓

22. Mystery: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas ✓

23. Literary Fiction: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal ✓

24. Historical Fiction: Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6120 pages
Pages Remaining: 325,797 pages

Current Read - House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson; The Secret Society of Tea and Treason by India Holton

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (2)

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 334

• Books Read:1

• Books Acquired: 2

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 335

June TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: NONE

2. Friend BC: Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC; The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

4. Kid Read Aloud: The Deceivers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

6. Kid Read Aloud: Zoey and Sassafras: Monsters and Mold by Asia Citro

7. Kid Book Club: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

8. Middle Grade: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

9. Middle Grade: Silver People by Margarita Engle

10. Horror: House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

11. Science Fiction: Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

12. Science Fiction: Paradise-1 by David Wellington

13. Romance: The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

14. Romance: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

15. Romance: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

16. Romance: Happy Place by Emily Henry

Movies Watched

• Dungeons and Dragons - A family movie night choice that was enjoyed by all of us.

• Renfield - Butterfly delightful and super campy. Loved it!

• The Super Mario Bros Movie - The kids picked this one for movie night. I was not impressed at all.

• Sisu - Sometimes we really need a violent movie about killing Nazis.

• John Wick 4 - Much better than 2 and 3. Really enjoyed the choreography in this one.

TV Shows Watched 

• Ted Lasso S3 - Such a great redemption story. I cannot wait for the series finale.

• Schmigadoon S2 - That was amazing. The song that started the finale was the best part.

• The Big Door Prize S1 - Color me very intrigued by this one.

• Below Deck: Sailing Yacht - My silly reality TV show.

• Citadel S1 - A bit of a disappointment I must say.

• The Great S3 - Utterly delightful.

• Misfits S4 - Still working our way through this series. Love it!

• Human Target S1 - J had me start this older series after I expressed disappointment in Citadel.

Comments - Wow! I think I had a great reading month. So many great reads, not too many duds. And I found some more recommendations for my retreat people. We’re moving into summer rhythms which means more activities and less reading. But that’s okay! We have to take advantage of the outdoor activities and travel plans.

Next up on the TBR pile:

April 2023 Wrap-up

April TBR Pile (16/27):

1. Bookworms BC: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith

2. Friend BC: Crossings by Alex Landragin ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal ✓

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: TBD

5. Kid Read Aloud: Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George ✓

7. Kid Book Club: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix ✓

8. Kid Book Club: The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

9. Fantasy: The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

10. Fantasy: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost ✓

11. Fantasy: King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

12. Fantasy: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd ✓

13. Fantasy: The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill ✓

14. Fantasy: First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost ✓

15. Comics: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade

16. Romance: Radiant Sin by Katee Robert ✓

17. Romance: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

18. Romance: The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell ✓

19. Romance: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair ✓

20. Romance: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

21. Romance: The Vampire Villain by Melody Ryan ✓

22. Romance: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez ✓

23. Scifi: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

24. Nonfiction: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukerjee

25. Nonfiction: The Angel Makers by Patricia Nell McCracken

26. Nonfiction: Come as Your Are by Emily Nagoski ✓

27. Horror: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5506 pages
Pages Remaining: 331,917 pages

Current Read - The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews; A Year in the Woods by Torbjørn Ekelund

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (0)

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 338

• Books Read: 4

• Books Acquired: 0

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 334

May TBR Pile: In general, I’m throwing out my TBR plan for May and just going with my mood. I’m only going to list my book club books that I need to read and the kids read alouds.

1. Bookworms BC: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith

2. Friend BC: The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

4. Kid Read Aloud: Audrey of the Outback by Christine Harris

5. Kid Book Club: The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

Movies Watched

• 65 - Silly, but fun action film.

• The Toll - We do love our quirky black comedies. This one is from Wales.

• The Portable Door - Delightful fantasy movie. I loved it.

• Ghosted - Decent romcom, but nothing too special.

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Very uneven and nonstop action. There were no scenes to really breathe. Not my favorite.

TV Shows Watched 

• The Misfits S2-3

• The Big Door Prize S1

• Ted Lasso S3

• The Mandolorian S3

• Last Week Tonight

• The Toys that Built America

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile:

March 2023 Wrap

March TBR Pile (22/29):

1. Bookworms BC: The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron ✓

2. Friend BC: Acid for the Children by Flea ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (reread) ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Beck Chambers (reread) ✓

5. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne ✓

8. Kid Book Club: Argos by Ralph Hardy ✓

9. Kid Book Club: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

10. Fantasy: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi ✓

11. Fantasy: The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

12. Fantasy: Weyward by Emilia Hart ✓

13. Fantasy: The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty

14. Romance: About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis ✓

15. Romance: Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis ✓

16. Romance: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

17. Romance: The Score by Elle Kennedy ✓

18. Romance: My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey ✓

19. Scifi: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

20. Scifi: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

21. Scifi: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler ✓

22. Scifi: The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee ✓

23. Thriller: The Drift by CJ Tudor ✓

24. Thriller: The Stranded by Sarah Daniels ✓

25. Thriller: The Getaway by Lamar Giles ✓

26. Literary Fiction: The Love Scribe by Amy Meyerson

27. Classics: The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald ✓

28. Nonfiction: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon ✓

29. Nonfiction: You Just Need to Lose Weight by Aubrey Gordon ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7389 pages
Pages Remaining: 337,423 pages

Current Read - Radiant Sin by Katee Robert; The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukerjee

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (10)

Two BOTM selections for me this month. It was my birthday month and thankfully there were multiple books I wanted to take advanttage of my free add-on book. For my birthday weekend, I also hit up the Library Sale, my favorite local used book store Jackson Street Booksellers, and Barnes and Noble. Finally I picked up a few book for the kids’ read aloud shelf.

• Wayward by Emilia Hart

• The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi by S.A. Chakraborty

• Dangerous Joy by Jo Beverley

• The Seduction of Phaeton Black by Jillian Stone

• The Revenant Express by George Mann

• The Power by Naomi Alderman

• The Emperor of Maladies by Siddartha Mukherjee

• The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry

• Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokski

• The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 334

• Books Read: 2

• Books Acquired: 8

• Books Unshelved: 2

• Finishing Number: 338

April TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith

2. Friend BC: Crossings by Alex Landragin

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: TBD

5. Kid Read Aloud: Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

6. Kid Book Club: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

7. Kid Book Club: The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

8. Fantasy: The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

9. Fantasy: King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

10. Comics: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade

11. Romance: Radiant Sin by Katee Robert

12. Romance: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

13. Romance: The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell

14. Romance: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

15. Romance: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

16. Scifi: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

17. Nonfiction: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukerjee

18. Nonfiction: The Angel Makers by Patricia Nell McCracken

Movies Watched

• We Have a Ghost - We wanted to like it, but there was definitely some weird tonal shifts between the acts.

• 7 Days in Hell - Somehow I hadn’t seen this and J was amazed. It was hilarious.

• The Last Vermeer - Interesting art drama based on a true story. A little too slow at times, but a good movie.

• Cocaine Bear - Lots of gory fun. The tone was a little off in parts, but an enjoyable ride.

• Operation Fortune - Not the best Guy Ritchie movie, but a fun one.

• Ex-Machina - We finally got to this movie. Predictable, but a good scifi movie.

TV Shows Watched 

• Brave New World - We blew through this series. It was a good adaptation. Very not safe for kids and teens.

• History of the World Part II - Delightful! Not every sketch was hilarious, but most were entertaining.

• The Toys that Build America - We sprinkle these in when we don’t have another currently watching choice.

• The Mandalorian S3 - Still in this show. We’ll see where it goes.

• Ted Lasso S3 - So excited to be back with Ted and the gang.

• McMillion$ - Randomly we remembered about this documentary series about the McDonald’s Monopoly cheating scandal. It had so many twists and turns! Very interesting.

• Misfits S1 - Finally started this show. So good so far. Very into it.

Comments - And my big reading month streak continues. Even though I added many books to my Unread Shelves, I actually took a few off between reading and unshelving. Just need to step up the game a bit.

Next up on the TBR pile:

February 2023 Wrap

February TBR Pile (24/27):

1. Bookworms BC: Come as You Are by Jess K. Hardy ✓

2. Friend BC: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Babel by R.F. Kaung ✓

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: NONE

5. Kid Read Aloud: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate ✓

8. Kid Read Aloud: Heartwood Hotel: A True Home by Kallie George ✓

9. Kid Book Club: Winterhouse by Ben Guterson ✓

10. Winter Read: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

11. Middle Grade: Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack ✓

12. Fantasy: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

13. Fantasy: Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire ✓

14. Romance: Never Fall for Your Fiancé by Virginia Heath ✓

15. Romance: Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath ✓

16. Romance: A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone ✓

17. Romance: Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca ✓

18. Romance: Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis ✓

19. Romance: Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis ✓

20. Romance: Chasing Christmas Eve by Jill Shalvis ✓

21. Romance: Holiday Wishes by Jill Shalvis ✓

22. Romance: The Mistake by Elle Kennedy ✓

23. Romance: Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey ✓

24. Horror: A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs ✓

25. Comics: Snow, Glass, Apples ✓

26. Nonfiction: Death in the Air by Kate Winkler Dawson ✓

27. Scifi: Timemaster by Robert L. Forward ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7613 pages
Pages Remaining: 344,812 pages

Current Read - Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (0)

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 335

• Books Read: 1

• Books Acquired: 0

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 334

March TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: NONE

2. Friend BC: Acid for the Children by Flea

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Beck Chambers

5. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

6. Kid Read Aloud: The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

7. Kid Book Club: Argos by Ralph Hardy

8. Kid Book Club: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

9. Fantasy: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

10. Fantasy: The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

11. Fantasy: The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty

12. Romance: About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis

13. Romance: Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis

14. Romance: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

15. Romance: The Score by Elle Kennedy

16. Romance: My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

17. Scifi: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

18. Scifi: Venmo by Cherie Dimaline

19. Scifi: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

20. Thriller: The Drift by CJ Tudor

21. Thriller: The Stranded by Sarah Daniels

22. Thriller: The Getaway by Lamar Giles

23. Literary Fiction: The Love Scribe by Amy Meyerson

Movies watched

• Wakanda Forever - Very powerful. But we need to see more from Namor.

• The Night Shift (1982) - Surprisingly pro-sex work movie from 40 years ago.

• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - J made me watch. Had some funny moments.

• The Lost King - We really like British quiet comedies and this one was great.

TV Shows watched 

• His Dark Materials S2 & S3 - That was a whirlwind. Great adaption of the books.

• The Bachelor - I can’t quit it…

• Below Deck - My silly show.

• Lego Masters (US) S2 - I called the top three teams. Very satisfied with the winners.

• Doctor Who - We caught up with the specials that we apparently forgot about. Ready to see David Tennant do his limited run before Ncuti Gatwa takes over.

• Killing It S1 - It was cancelled, but a funny and sometimes very serious show. Love Craig Robinson.

• Clarkson’s Farm S2 - I was totally sucked into this one… Very compelling and funny.

• Cunk on Earth - Well, that was ridiculous and delightful.

• Brave New World - Very different from the book, but an interesting take on the story.

• Slow Horses S2 - Back to this awesomeness.

Comments - Wow! I somehow read almost as much as I read in January. And that month I read a ton because of being down for surgery. Like most months, it was a mixed bag, but I made a dent in my TBR piles. We also watched some good television shows and movies. In fact, we binged a few seasons of various shows. We absolutely loved S2 of Slow Horses. Super excited that there will be a third season.

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2023 Wrap

January TBR Pile (25/29):

1. Bookworms BC: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt ✓

2. Bookworms BC: Come as You Are by Jess K Hardy

3. Friend BC: Paradise Falls by Keith O’Brien ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon ✓

5. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: TBD

6. Kid Read Aloud: Chains by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

7. Kid Read Aloud: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George ✓

8. Kid Read Aloud: The Year of the Dog by Grave Lin ✓

9. Kid Read Aloud: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dagliesh ✓

10. Kid Book Club: Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans by Russell Ginns ✓

11. Kid Book Club: Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

12. Winter Read: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

13. Romance: Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert ✓

14. Romance: The Deal by Elle Kennedy ✓

15. Romance: Misadventures of a Curvy Girl by Sierra Simone ✓

16. Romance: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey ✓

17. Romance: Priest by Sierra Simone ✓

18. Mystery: Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter ✓

19. Mystery: The Dire King by William Ritter ✓

20. Comics: Ducks by Kate Beaton ✓

21. Comics: The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona ✓

22. Comics: Lore, Olympus Vol. 3 by Rachel Smythe ✓

23. Comics: Lady Mechanika Vol. 7 ✓

24. Comics: The Dollhouse Family ✓

25. Short Stories: The End and Other Beginnings by Veronica Roth ✓

26. Paranormal Romance: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost ✓

27. Paranormal Romance: One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost ✓

28. Paranormal Romance: At Grave’s End by Jeaniene Frost ✓

29. Nonfiction: A Literary Education by Emily Cook ✓

30. MG: Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7960 pages
Pages Remaining: 352,425 pages

Current Read - Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack; The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Snagu Mandanna

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (3)

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - I had to grab this one for book club as the library holds were ridiculously long…

• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo - BOTM pick and second in the Alex Stern series.

• An Endless Fire by Rebecca Ross - BOTM add-on.

UnRead Shelf Progress - In January, I always double check my numbers and get everything organized and cleaned out. My numbers this month will get very strange because of that.

• Starting Number: 347

• Books Read: 5

• Books Acquired: 3

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 335

February TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: Come as You Are by Jess K. Hardy

2. Friend BC: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Babel by R.F. Kaung

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC:

5. Kid Read Aloud: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

6. Kid Read Aloud: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

7. Kid Book Club: Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

8. Winter Read: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

9. Middle Grade: Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

10. Fantasy: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

11. Romance: Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath

12. Romance: Never Fall for Your Fiancé by Virginia Heath

Movies watched - We went on a big murder mystery movie binge and it was delightful.

• Violent Night - Such a fun action movie.

• The Shape of All Things - J’s choice of a very odd movie.

• Crossroads - Surprisingly good older movie.

• Them! - Love the fun scifi monster movies.

• The Limehouse Golem - Really enjoyed this dark murder mystery.

• The Cheap Detective - Except for a few jokes that didn’t age well, this was a lot of fun.

• Deathtrap - So many twists and turns! So good!

• Evil Under the Sun - Enjoyed this Agatha Christie adaptation.

• Gosford Park - Revisited this great murder mystery movie.

• The Batman - Surprisingly good version of the story.

• The Last of Sheila - Another great murder mystery.

TV Shows watched 

• Letterkenny S11

• Leverage Redemption S2

• Mythic Quest S3

• Lego Masters S2

• Avenue 5 S2

• His Dark Materials S1 (Rewatching the entire series in one big viewing)

Comments - Having a minor surgery and being stuck in bed for a few days did wonders for my January reading stats. I ended up reading 9 books just that week. Beyond that, I’m very proud of reading 5 books from my Unread Shelf (even if 20 of my books came from the library).

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2022 Wrap

December TBR Pile (27):

1. Bookworms BC: Already Read

2. Friend BC: The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Already Read

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: None

5. Kid Read Aloud: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia ✓

6. Kid Book Club: Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans by Russell Ginns (in progress)

7. Middle Grade: The Fourth Suit by Neil Patrick Harris ✓

8. Comics: Snowpiercer The Prequel Part 1 ✓

9. Comics: Snowpiercer The Prequel Part 2 ✓

10. Comics: Snowpiercer Vol. 1 ✓

11. Comics: Snowpiercer Vol. 2 ✓

12. Comics: Snowpiercer Vol. 3 ✓

13. Holiday Romance: Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison ✓

14. Holiday Romance: The Christmas Clash by Suzanna Park ✓

15. Holiday Romance: Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, et al. ✓

16. Holiday Romance: You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky ✓

17. Holiday Romance: The Highlander’s Christmas Bride by Vanessa Kelly ✓

18. Holiday Romance: The Highlander’s Holiday Wife by Vanessa Kelly ✓

19. Holiday Romance: Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey ✓

20. Holiday Romance: Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle ✓

21. Holiday Romance: All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox ✓

22. Holiday Romance: A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes ✓

23. Holiday Romance: The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson ✓

24. Holiday Romance: The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis ✓

25. Holiday Romance: One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis ✓

26. Holiday Romance: Fake it for Christmas by Layla Valentine ✓

27. Holiday Romance: Stuck Together for Christmas by Layla Valentine ✓

28. Holiday Romance: Bad Boy for Christmas by Layla Valentine ✓

29. Added: Wallbanger by Alice Clayton ✓

30. Added: The Highlander’s English Bride by Vanessa Kelly ✓

31. Added: The Highlander’s Irish Bride by Vanessa Kelly ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7963 pages
Pages Remaining: 360,385 pages

Current Read - Court of the Vampire Queen by Katie Robert; Ducks by Kate Beaton

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (5)

For my BOTM selection, I had to choose Babel by RF Kaung. It’s a book club choice for February and I’m very excited to read it.

During our book club exchange, I received Wake Siren by Nina McLaughlin. Very intrigued by this Ovid retelling.

For the Book Flood exchange, I received a copy of Broken by Jenny Lawson (already read, but wanted a physical copy) and Little Prisons by Ilona Bannister.

Had to stop in at Barnes & Noble for their 50% off all hardcovers sale. I grabbed The Night Ship by Jess Kidd, The Last Graduate by Naomi Novak, and A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (already read this one, but wanted a physical copy).

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 331

• Books Read: 0

• Books Acquired: 5

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 336

January TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

2. Bookworms BC: Come as You Are by Jess K Hardy

3. Friend BC: Paradise Falls by Keith O’Brien

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

5. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: TBD

6. Kid Read Aloud: Chains by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

7. Kid Book Club: Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans by Russell Ginns

8. Kid Book Club: Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

9. Winter Read: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Movies watched

• Christmas with You - I like the female lead, but her and the male lead have absolutely no chemistry what so ever!

• Get Carter - Classic Michael Caine. Very violent, I actually enjoyed it.

• Bullit - Never saw this classic Steve McQueen movie. Enjoyed it.

• The Misfits - Terribly boring…

• Glass Onion - Not quite as good as the first movie, but still very entertaining.

• Harry Potter 20th Anniversary - Very delightful.

• Artemis Fowl - My mom’s selection. Pretty decent kid action film.

• Something from Tiffany’s - Very cute holiday romance.

TV Shows watched 

• Leverage Redemption S1 and S2

• Below Deck

• Mythic Quest S3

• Staged S3 - Utterly delightful. We binged it in just three days.

Comments - Ended the year with a very strong reading month. In fact, I had my highest reading month of the year. I always love finishing out my year with some light Christmas romance and I definitely delivered on this year’s plan. Now I turn to 2023’s plans.

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2022 Wrap

November TBR Pile (24/29):

1. Bookworms BC: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gilliam McAllister

2. Bookworms BC: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus ✓

3. Friend BC: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Fairy Tale by Stephen King ✓

5. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls ✓

6. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne Valente ✓

7. Fantasy: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

8. Mystery: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayburn

9. Horror: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher ✓

10. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

11. Nonfiction: The 1619 Project

12. Kid Read Aloud: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones ✓

13. Kid Read Aloud: The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren ✓

14. Kid Read Aloud: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling ✓

15. Kid Book Club: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill ✓

16. Added: The Lost Vampire Prince by Melody Raven ✓

17. Added: Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab ✓

18. Added: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ✓

19. Added: Once & Future Vol. 4 ✓

20. Added: The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George ✓

21. Reread: Sunshine by Robin McKinley ✓

22. Added: Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab ✓

23. Added: Small Spaces by Katherine Arden ✓

24. Added: The Highlander Who Protected me by Vanessa Kelly ✓

25. Added: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy ✓

26. Added: The Lady Tempts an Heir by Harper St. George ✓

27. Added: The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado ✓

28. Added: Eternal Empire Vol. 1 ✓

29. Added: Eternal Empire Vol. 2 ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6552 pages
Pages Remaining: 368,348 pages

Current Read - Snowpiercer Comics, The Fourth Suit by Neil Patrick Harris

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (0)

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 332

• Books Read: 1

• Books Acquired: 0

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 331

December TBR Pile: December is always about Holiday romances. There were will be a few other books read, but that’s my focus as the year winds down.

1. Bookworms BC: Already Read

2. Friend BC: The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Already Read

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: None

5. Kid Read Aloud: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

6. Kid Book Club: Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans by Russell Ginns

7. Middle Grade: The Fourth Suit by Neil Patrick Harris

8. Comics: Snowpiercer The Prequel Part 1

9. Comics: Snowpiercer The Prequel Part 2

10. Comics: Snowpiercer Vol. 1

11. Holiday Romance: Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

12. Holiday Romance: Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

13. Holiday Romance: Christmas Clash by Suzanna Park

14. Holiday Romance: In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae

15. Holiday Romance: It Started with a Dog by Julia London

16. Holiday Romance: Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton

17. Holiday Romance: You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

Movies watched

• The Predator - I was very attached the Loonies, so congrats I guess.

• Prey - We’ve decided that this one was the best of the Predator movies. So incredibly good!

• See How They Run - Love a screwball comedy.

• Samrat Prithviraj - Over the top Bollywood film. Loved it!

• RRR - Another absolute bonkers Bollywood movie.

• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story - Loved his “totally true” story of Weird Al’s life.

• Red Cliff - Chinese epic that was amazing even if there was some propaganda involved.

• Future Shock - Documentary that really does not age well.

• Rope - A classic Hitchcock starring Jimmy Stewart that I’ve never actually seen. Very good.

• Infinity Baby - What did I just watch? Very strange movie.

• The Sound of 007 - Loved this music doc.

• The Addams Family - Introduced the kids to the 1990s movie. It holds ip fairly well.

• What We Did on Our Holiday - Surprisingly serious.

• Spirited - Delightful!

• Black Adam - Not as bad as Batman vs. Superman, but not great. Too much action.

TV Shows watched 

• Last Week Tonight

• Resident Alien

• Lower Decks

• Mythic Quest S3 - Love the changes!

• Bachelor in Paradise - Ooof what a season.

• Leverage: Redemption S1 - J watched this previously. With S2 dropping, he wanted me to watch. It’s light and breezy.

• Below Deck Med

• Below Deck

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2022 Wrap

October TBR Pile (20/27): It’s spooky book month!

1. Bookworms BC: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James ✓

2. Friend BC: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler ✓

5. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

6. Fantasy: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

7. Fantasy: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas ✓

8. Fantasy: Beastly Bones by William Ritter ✓

9. Fantasy: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs ✓

10. Mystery: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayburn

11. Fairy Tale: Once Upon a Curse ✓

12. Horror: Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child ✓

13. Horror: You May Now Kill the Bride by R.L. Stine ✓

14. Horror: The Wrong Girl by R.L. Stine ✓

15. Horror: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard ✓

16. Horror: A Dawn Most Wicked by Susan Dennard ✓

17. Comic: My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris ✓

18. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

19. Nonfiction: The Yoga Store Murder by Dan Morse ✓

20. Nonfiction: The 1619 Project

21. Poetry: The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill ✓

22. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown ✓

23. Kid Read Aloud: Blood on the Water by Elisa Carbone ✓

24. Kid Read Aloud: My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett ✓

25. Kid Read Aloud: The Cabinet of Curiosities ✓

26. Kid Read Aloud: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin ✓

27. Kid Read Aloud: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6557 pages
Pages Remaining: 374,900 pages

Current Read - What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher; Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (3)

BOTM had some great selections this month and I ended up buying two of them.

• Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

• Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 338

• Books Read: 8

• Books Acquired: 2

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 332

November TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gilliam McAllister

2. Bookworms BC: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

3. Friend BC: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

5. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

6. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne Valente

7. Fantasy: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

8. Mystery: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayburn

9. Horror: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

10. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

11. Nonfiction: The 1619 Project

12. Kid Read Aloud: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

13. Kid Book Club: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Movies watched

• Morbius - Terrible mess of a movie. Only the scenes with Matt Smith were good.

• Underworld - A rewatch so we can finish this series. Not terrible.

• Underworld: Evolution - Worse than the first one definitely, but I don’t think absolutely terrible.

• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - Thought we had watched this one, but I remembered nothing. Still enjoy Michael Sheen, but that’s about it.

• Underworld: Awakening - The low point in the series. The narrative was a jumbled mess with lots of retconning throughout. Charles Dance was a joy.

• Underworld: Blood Wars - Better than the last one, but not great. There were so many larger mythology issues, but the movie’s plot line was tighter.

• Blade - Decent superhero movie pre-MCU

• Blade II - Somehow I never actually watched this one. A mess of a plot and terrible CGI.

• Blade: Trinity - Decent conclusion to the trilogy. Of course I love the inclusion of Ryan Reynolds.

• Mad God - Phil Tippett’s passion project. Very weird and disturbing in parts, but a vision of animation of imagination.

• Alien - Always enjoy watching this one.

• Aliens - A very decent sequel. Much more action than horror, but still a great movie.

• Predator - Haven’t rewatched in years. I actually enjoyed this one mostly.

• Predator 2 - A new watch for me. Pretty terrible characters (and seriously egregious female nudity scene), but I did like more content focused on the Predator.

• Alien 3 - Not sure that it’s a favorite, but interesting. Totally forgot that Charles Dance is in this one.

• Alien Resurrection - Never saw it. Definitely a interesting one. I was rooting of the xenomorphs throughout this one.

• Alien Vs. Predator - Oof Don’t think about the plot line too much. I did enjoy a few of the action sequences.

• Alien Vs. Predator 2 - Not good. Not good at all.

• Predators - Decent movie. We’ve found that the Predator series is more consistent than the Alien series (but I think that Alien is the best movie still).

• Alien: Prometheus - Very pretty, but the plotline left much confusion. Not quite sure how it really fits into the original Alien series.

• Alien: Covenant - Like this one better than the previous, but still confused abut the larger timeline/plot. Did love Michael Fassbender’s David!

TV Shows watched 

• Archer

• Batchelor in Paradise

• Below Deck: Mediterranean

• Last Week Tonight

• Lower Decks S3

• Ghosts S (UK)

• Avenue 5 S2 - I didn’t even realize that they were making a second season.

Comments - A very decent showing for Spooky Book and Month month! We ended up watching three big sci-fi/fantasy series and I read over 50% from my shelves. I had so much fun leaning into the spooky that I am going to carry it into next month as well. Used to stop on November 1st, but it’s my favorite time of the year, I’m going to continue.

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2022 Wrap

September TBR Pile (21/35):

1. Bookworms BC: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (library) ✓

2. Bookworms BC: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

3. Friend BC: Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl ✓

4. Friend BC: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

5. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler ✓

6. Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility

7. Fantasy: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

8. Fantasy: Into the Windwracked Winds by A. Deborah Baker ✓

9. Fantasy: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint ✓

10. Fantasy: City of Ghosts by VE Schwab (library) ✓

11. Fantasy: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (library) ✓

12. Fantasy: Vicious by VE Schwab ✓

13. Mystery: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayburn

14. Mystery: The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (library) ✓

15. Mystery: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (library) ✓

16. Romance: The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George ✓

17. Romance: Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren (library)

18. Historical Fiction: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith ✓

19. Thriller: Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey (library) ✓

20. Horror: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (library)

21. Horror: Jackaby by William Ritter ✓

22. Science Fiction: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

23. Science Fiction: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

24. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

25. Nonfiction: The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones

26. Nonfiction: Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi

27. Nonfiction: Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine

28. Poetry: The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

29. Kid Read Aloud: Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll ✓

30. Kid Read Aloud: Word of Mouse by James Patterson ✓

31. Kid Read Aloud: Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorrie ✓

32. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown ✓

33. Kid Read Aloud: Morning Girl by Michael Dorris ✓

34. Kid Read Aloud: A Wolf Called Wander ✓

35. Comics: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5790 pages
Pages Remaining: 381,457 pages

Current Read - The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill; Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (4)

My BOTM selection this month was Sarah Addison Allen’s newest book Other Birds.

Randomly, I finally ordered The Yoga Store Murder by Dan Morse

While in Des Moines, we stopped at Half Price Books and I grabbed a few titles

• Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

• Scottish Myths by Jake Jackson

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 340

• Books Read: 6

• Books Acquired: 4

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 338

October TBR Pile: It’s spooky book month! I’m trying to focus on the spooky and the horror for this month’s reads (excepting my Friend BC selection). I thought about making a much longer TBR, but only put some top contenders and then will just pick up what I like afterward that.

1. Bookworms BC: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

2. Friend BC: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

5. Fantasy: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

6. Mystery: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayburn

7. Horror: Reliquary by Douglas Preston

8. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

9. Nonfiction: The Yoga Store Murder by Dan Morse

10. Poetry: The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

11. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

Movies watched

• The Road to Wellville - Somehow I totally missed this movie when it came out. J had me watch. Very weird and delightful.

• Listening to Kenny G - Surprised (and yet not) about how oblivious he is about so many things.

• The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody - Decent little BBC doc about the making of a song.

• Little Women - Better than I thought it would be, but I’m not convinced that the time cuts were necessary.

• Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine - I never read Creem, but had hear about it. Loved getting to know the story.

• Thor: Love and Thunder - I enjoyed the humor; not a huge fan of the sad emotional content.

• Moog - Ooof lots of rambling from Moog. Not a good storyline.

• Summer of Soul - Fascinating topic! I loved hearing about all the musical acts.

• The Wrecking Crew - Another fascinating story about behind-the-scenes musicians.

• Vinyl Nation - Loved learning more about the making of vinyl records.

• Gimme Danger - A doc about The Stooges, sign me up! I would have liked a bit more from othe musicians about the legacy of The Stooges.

• Stop Making Sense - This 1984 Talking Heads concert film was like a time capsule. Loved every minute of it.

TV Shows watched 

• Little Demon S1 - Love quirky cartoons

• What We Do in the Shadows S3 - Another great season

• The Orville S3 - I’m very meh about this series now

• Sonic Highways - I really really loved this doc-series focused on one city each episode.

• Lower Decks S3 - Really enjoy this series.

• Rick & Morty S6 - Off to a great start of this season.

• Archer S13 - I can’t believe this show is still running! Love it!

Comments - A very decent showing this month for books and tv shows/movies. I don’t feel like we watched or read much this month, but I was wrong after writing this all out. Looking forward to October’s spooky movie and books month.

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2022 Wrap

August TBR Pile (20/26):

1. BOTM: TBD

2. Bookworms BC: Already read

3. Friend BC: Pachinko by Lee Min-Jin ✓

4. Friend BC: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley ✓

5. Currently Reading Buddy Read: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles ✓

6. Currently Reading Buddy Read: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin ✓

7. Currently Reading Buddy Read: Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

8. Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility

9. Fantasy: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas ✓

10. Fantasy: Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor ✓

11. Fantasy: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake ✓

12. Horror: The Fervor by Alma Katsu

13. Horror: Hide by Kiersten White ✓

14. Romance: Dirty Rowdy Thing by Christina Lauren ✓

15. Historical Fiction: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

16. Kid Read Aloud: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall ✓

17. Kid Read Aloud: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Arthur’s selection) ✓

18. Kid Read Aloud: The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-El (Quentin’s selection) ✓

19. Kid Read Aloud: The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliam ✓

20. Poetry: Inheritance by Elizabeth Acevedo ✓

21. Science Fiction: Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots ✓

22. Comics: Lore Olympus Vol. 2 ✓

23. Added: The Mermaid by Christina Henry ✓

24. Added: The Palace Papers by Tina Brown ✓

25. Added: Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak ✓

26. Added: Dark Wild Night by Christina Lauren ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7578 pages
Pages Remaining: 387,247 pages

Current Read -

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (1)

My BOTM selection this month was Small Angels by Lauren Owen. It was described as gothic fiction. Hope it lives up to the name.

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 329

• Books Read: 0

• Books Acquired: 1

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 330

September TBR Pile: I returned all my library books and am going to focus on reading books from my shelfs for this month (and into October). I want to get the number on my unread shelf below 300 by the end of the year. I can do this!

1. Bookworms BC: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (library)

2. Bookworms BC: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

3. Friend BC: Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

4. Friend BC: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

5. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

6. Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility

7. Fantasy: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

8. Fantasy: Into the Windwracked Winds by A. Deborah Baker

9. Fantasy: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

10. Fantasy: City of Ghosts by VE Schwab (library)

11. Fantasy: A Prayer for the Crown-shy by Becky Chambers (library)

12. Mystery: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayburn

13. Mystery: The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (library)

14. Romance: The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George

15. Romance: Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren (library)

16. Historical Fiction: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

17. Thriller: Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey (library)

18. Horror: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (library)

19. Science Fiction: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

20. Science Fiction: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

21. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

22. Nonfiction: The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones

23. Nonfiction: Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi

24. Nonfiction: Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine

25. Poetry: The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

26. Kid Read Aloud: Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

27. Kid Read Aloud: Word of Mouse by James Patterson

Movies watched

• Ghost in the Shell - J was surprised that I had never seen this one. Interesting anime set-up.

• Day Shift - Our fun movie for the month. All about see Snoop Dogg take on some vampires.

• Persuasion (2022) - Goodness, that was not the book at all. I might have liked it as a separate story, but that was not my Anne Elliott.

TV Shows watched 

• Only Murders in the Building S2 - Still really loving this show.

• The Umbrella Academy S3 - Finally started this season. Klaus and Five are still my favorites.

• The Sandman - Oh goodness, that was absolutely gorgeous. Loved it so much!

• Loot S1 - That was entertaining. Hope it gets a second season.

• What We Do in the Shadows S3 - Love this show so much!

• Below Deck: Down Under S1 - Still watching during the occasional lunch hour.

• The Bachelorette - Blergh. I love Gabby, but this season has done her dirty.

• Little Demon S1 - We love Danny DeVito, so of course we are going to watch this one.

• Lower Decks S3

• The Orville S3

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile: