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Best Books of 2016

It's crazy to think about another year gone by. So many blessings and great memories made I can't even begin to wrap my head around! But there is one thing that I can keep track of, and that's this little hobby of mine called reading. So as if I could possibly name just a few (I tried!) here are my favorite books of 2016. Please let me know about your favorites in the comments below!  All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood- I have found that this year, I tried to steer towards topics that were out of the realm of my usual reads (family drama, starting over, women in their mid-thirties). And this is the book that really helped me break that mold. It's about so many things- but mostly, it's about what forms of love are acceptable and how the outside world really has an effect on our lives. Situations, lifestyles, who we love and who we hate- they all create circumstances that make every person's life something you have to be able to under

#ShowUsYourBooks November

November...WHERE DID YOU GO?  Seriously, 10 minutes ago I was making green bean casserole and lighting my pumpkin marshmallow candle and then BAM, December.  My reading time was most definitely hindered by my Gilmore Girls binge watching in preparation for the revival, which I have to say, made me fall even more in love with Stars Hollow. I will continue to be in love, even if the writers totally left us in a cliff hanger. It was just so great to see the characters again, like I was meeting old friends! Loved every minute of it.  Speaking of binge watching, I've lost my husband's attention due to a chronic condition called The Walking Dead. I tried to watch it with him, I really did. But just no. Those sounds?! I can't hack it. But now that binging has ceased, I can get back to my first real love: reading.  And now back to the show: My #ShowUsYourBooks November Edition:  Faithful by Alice Hoffman - Just yes. Yes allll the way around. Shelby, now in

Bookstagram Round Up

Happy Saturday everyone!  Today is a very relaxing day- a hair appointment, online shopping and lots of coffee. I am almost losing the battle against decorating for Christmas but I am restraining myself until after Thanksgiving.  I didn't have any time to write reviews this week but I really wanted to share something with you that I've been enjoying lately. There's a whole world out there called Bookstagram and I have to admit, I'm a bit obsessed. There are so many creative, passionate bookworms out there that I have met and I want to make sure others are following along too. Not only is Instagram a great place to read reviews about books, but you get the scoop on upcoming releases and find recommendations based on books you love.  Here is a round up of some of my favorite #Bookstagram accounts- there are WAY more out there so check it out- search tags like   #bookstagram, #igreads and #bookstagramfeatures  @ The Finch Book @ Reese Witherspoon&#

Show Us Your Books #October

Did another month seriously already go by?  Thanks to my Gilmore Girls binge, I didn't think I would get as many books read this month but I managed just fine. And by managing I mean totally slacking on any household chores, laundry or proper meals. But hey, priorities. Am I right? But alas, a true book worm never gives up. So here it is, my list of WONDERFUL reads that happened in October.  Happy Reading!  Practical Magic: Because Halloween. As magical as the movie and its soundtrack.   Good as Gone: I passed on this one about 1/3 of the way through, for some reason it just didn't grab my attention and my ADHD forced me to moved on to other books that I was looking more forward to.  The Wangs vs. The World: This is fun family trip with the Wangs, who are on the run from financial ruin. Listened to it on Audible and really like the easy-going storytelling and like-able characters.  Today Will Be Different: Any Gilmore Girl fans out there? Becaus

Book Review: The Mothers by Brit Bennett

A book called “The Mothers” is automatically a book that gets my attention. As I age and especially as I make my journey through the various stages of life, I recognize that the one topic that strikes the biggest cord in my heart is the topic of motherhood. I need to know more about how other women are handling motherhood. Not to compare myself necessarily, but to learn from them and to get reassurance that no matter what, each mother is living her own, unique experience. There are rights and wrongs, but there are never definite answers. There were many moments in this book that gave me peace of mind, one of them being that even after a wrong is done, a life can be made whole again.  I am also obsessed with understanding how I came to be the type of mother I am. Did the situations that my own mother and grandmothers faced shape how I mother my children?  The answer is always yes. That’s why The Mothers by Brit Bennet grabbed my attention. Not only does it have

Show Us Your Books: September

It's Show Us Your Book Time!  Here's what I added to my conquered books piles in September:  Commonwealth by Ann Patchett  - This was probably the most buzzed about book on my to-read list and I was a little disappointed. It was enough to hold my interest in order to finish the story and held so much promised but it was wasn't developed enough. It started out with two families, the Cousins and the Keatings, who are all attending a party. Bert Cousins and Beatrice Keating end up kissing in a bedroom... and that kiss sets off a mudslide of events that leave to two families separating and scattering across the United States, sending children this way and that unattended on red-eyes. I think that the balance and intricacies of that life would have been enough of an interesting story but then Patchett writes in a tragedy that happens to one of the children and that's where it started to unravel. I wish she would have focused more on the lives of the adult chi

Show Us Your Books: August

It's Show Us Your Books time! Every time this post comes around I am always completely shocked that another month has gone by.  This month was a great time for books and for being a bookworm in general. Some of my girlfriends and I are finally getting serious about starting a bookclub, which has me feeling all of the happy feels. Also, I had the most perfect of bookish day dates with a fellow bookworm last weekend. We drove near and far around Kansas City looking for great bookstores and we hit pay dirt:  We found the KC Public Library's book sale at the City Market where we snagged current best sellers (in HARD back!) for $2 a pop. I was seriously walking around grinning life a goon. Then we wandered over to Mission , KS and found Rainy Day Books , which I have been dreaming about visiting for a long time only to find out that it was closed. I shamelessly pressed my nose up against the glass longingly looking at all of the books calling my name. We made up for it

My Autumn Reading List

This list needs no introduction because we all know how wonderful it is to sit on the couch with a good book, with the cool autumn breeze coming in through the windows, a blankie on your lap, a hot cup of coffee with salted caramel creamer... fuzzy socks, James Bay on Pandora... a Yankee Candle Pumpkin Buttercream candle...  Where were we?  Oh yes, reading. Sorry, I drifted off an Autumn la la land for a minute there.  The temps are finally going to dip below 75 and that means it's my favorite time of year. The perfect atmosphere for reading on the couch. Here are the many, many books I hope to get my hands on this Fall and you should too! Karolina's Twins  by Ronald Balson - Inspired by true events involving childhood friends who survived the Holocaust together, this is a story told in retrospect of the secrets and sacrifices two young women made and how those decisions effected the generations that came after them.  The Wangs of the World by J