Update on Making a Dent in the Stacks

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I'm working through my books. Here is an update of how I did this week:

Books Finished:

I obtained The Editor (in hardback) from the library.  Naked in Death was a Kindle book I had previously purchased (yay me for getting through a Kindle book!). First in Line was from Hoopla on audio. 

If you like reading about the Kennedy family, you will enjoy The Editor. I have always been fascinated by Jackie Kennedy, so this was a fun read for me. Basically, the premise is a writer finally sells his novel and is surprised to find out that his editor is none other than Jackie Kennedy Onassis. I loved all of the parts of this book that dealt with Jackie. Like could not get enough of those scenes. Unfortunately, the "other" story...which is really the main story of the book...regarding the main character's relationship with his mother was just okay for me. I honestly found myself skimming these parts to get back to the scenes with Jackie.  This was a fast, easy read, and I will still recommend it. I've heard other people have the opposite reaction. They love the mother/son dynamic but don't care much about the scenes with Jackie. I also really enjoyed that the book was set in the 90s...it was fun to relive that time in history-no social media, iPhones, etc.

Rating for The Editor: 💖💖💖💖

I LOVE Nora Roberts, but this was my first J.D. Robb book (I know, where have I been?) I've known about this series forever but have always been a little unsure if it was for me. Plus, it has approximately a million books in the series...ok, I think it's up to fifty books but still. That's a LOT of books in one series. Nora Roberts is probably hands down my favorite author, so it is surprising that I'm just now giving the series a try. This is the first book I read in my Making a Dent in the Stacks plan.   This is a futuristic novel set in 2058. I thought this futuristic setting would not be my thing, but it was fine. It was kind of neat to imagine different gadgets and technology. The funny thing is though that this book was written in the 90s, so 2058 seemed very far away. Now, it doesn't seem that "futuristic." 

This series follows cop, Eve Dallas, and Roarke, a mysterious, handsome, rich as sin businessman. I enjoyed parts of this book and flew through it. However, I'm not sure if I will continue in this series. It's a little too dark and gritty for me. Of course, that is completely personal preference. It is a well written, exciting page turner. I recommend it if dark thriller/romantic suspense is your thing. Just be warned that there is some dark content. Rating for Naked in Death: 💖💖💖


I have been on a kick of reading/watching content about the Presidents and First Ladies. I will share more reviews of those books later. I finished First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power by Kate Andersen Brower. I really enjoyed this book, which focuses on the modern day Vice Presidents' relationships with the Presidents that they serve along side. It was a fascinating look at the VP's job description and how different men have interpreted the role of VP. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading about U.S. history. Rating for First in Line: 💖💖💖💖


DNF Books:

Hustle, Believe, Receive by Sarah Centrella is a book I purchased several years.  I can't really remember how I found out about Sarah...maybe on a blog or Pinterest? I do remember I was going through a hard time personally when I bought this book. When I opened it up on Kindle, I had read about 10% of the book, but I started over. I just couldn't get into it. While I agree with working hard and thinking positive thoughts, I found that the writing style turned me off. For one thing, the book has hashtags all throughout, which were really distracting to me. I know I enjoyed Sarah's writings that I read online in the past, or I wouldn't have paid for this book. However, I wonder if this might be a case of "right book, wrong timing." Maybe this book was for me years ago when I bought it, but now that I'm in a much happier, peaceful place, it is not for me? At any rate, I DNF'd this book.

Hope you all have a good week and a happy Fourth of July!

Making a Dent in the Stacks: The Thirty Page Plan

According to my Kindle, I have 464 books. Of these, I have read 21 books. Yikes. This doesn’t count books I download from Kindle Unlimited, read, and return.  I also have a kitchen drawer-yep, you read that right- a kitchen drawer full of books. I guess you can see where my priorities are. Cooking vs. Reading. Reading wins every time. Although I love food...just preferably when someone else cooks it. I’m working on that. 

Anyway, back to the point of this post. I have a lot of unread books. In an effort to declutter my home, life, and mental space, one thing I’m looking at is getting rid of lots of books. In the past year, I have donated a ton of books to the local charity shop and local Little Free Libraries. I’m trying to cultivate a “Keeper Shelf” at my home. This shelf contains books that I plan to reread or find useful as a reference. It’s surprisingly easy to decide what to keep when looking at it through that lens.  While I may really enjoy a book, it takes a special book to fall into “I might want to reread this again” category. So, I’m issuing myself a challenge. While I will continue to read books from the library and Kindle Unlimited, as I really enjoy both, I want to start working my way through all these books I own.  Many of the ebooks were free books from various newsletters or Bookbub. I’ve reigned this in a lot lately by only downloading free or discounted books if I think I would be willing to buy it at full price. If I’m not willing to do that, then I’m just hoarding books for the sake of hoarding them. 

My plan involves reading the first thirty pages of a book. If I'm not enjoying it, I get rid of it. Right then. Physical books go into a stack for the Little Free Library. Digital books are deleted permanently off my Kindle. I used to think, well I may want to try to read it another day. But, seriously, if it doesn't hook me in the first thirty pages, what are the odds I will want to read it later? While I can keep unlimited books on my Kindle, I don't want to sort through  a bunch of books I don't enjoy on it, either. So, I'm debating on whether or not to treat the Kindle like a Keeper Shelf, too. Should I delete books on it that I've read but have no intentions of rereading? 

What do you think about my plan? How do you manage your books? Do you have a Keeper Shelf? If so, what books are on it? 

Can't Wait Wednesday...After the End by Clare Mackintosh

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

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I loved Clare Mackintosh's books, I See You and I Let You Go. While After the End sounds like it may be a different style of book, I'm excited to add it to my TBR list! 

Image and Summary from Clare Mackintosh's website 

Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. They’re best friends, lovers—unshakable. But then their son gets sick and the doctors put the question of his survival into their hands. For the first time, Max and Pip can’t agree. They each want a different future for their son.

What if they could have both?

A gripping and propulsive exploration of love, marriage, parenthood, and the road not taken, After the End brings one unforgettable family from unimaginable loss to a surprising, satisfying, and redemptive ending and the life they are fated to find. With the emotional power of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, Mackintosh helps us to see that sometimes the end is just another beginning.

Published on June 25, 2019

Happy Reading! 

Only Ever Her by MaryBeth Mayhew Whalen

Cover Image from Amazon 

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Title: Only Ever Her by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Received: Audible (free with Kindle Unlimited subscription)
Rating: 💖💖💖

This is the first book I've read by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, but I've had When We Were Worthy on my TBR list for some time now.  I picked up Only Ever Her after seeing it appear on several lists for best books to read this summer. While I intended to read this on my Kindle, the Audible version was free with the KU download, so I ended up listening to this on Audible. I thought the narration of the audio version was great! I'm very picky about narrators. The narration can make or break an audiobook for me. This audio version did not disappoint.

There are two mysteries in this book. One is the mystery of who killed Annie's mother, Lydia, twenty years ago in the small-town where Annie still lives. When Annie goes missing four days before her wedding, a second mystery unfolds. To top it off, the man that Annie wrongly identified as her mother's killer was just released from jail after twenty years when Annie recants her testimony.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the short, quick chapters, and the audiobook kept me engaged. I enjoyed the pacing, the characterization, and the setting. Being from a small-town myself, I felt like the small town setting/life was portrayed perfectly. What I didn't love was the actual resolution to the mysteries that the book are centered around. I honestly felt let down by the ending. I think I was waiting on a big twist or surprise, and I think the author tried to do that with the revelation of who killed Lydia. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I will just say I wasn't impressed by the revelation because I had no emotional connection to the killer. As far as the mystery concerning Annie, I thought the ending was very anti-climatic.

The writing was great, but this book just fell a little flat for me. I gave it a 3 out of 5 rating though, because it held my attention until the end (which is a huge WIN). I think I went into this thinking it was a suspense/thriller novel, but the ending fell flat for me. I still want to read When We Were Worthy and will eventually get to it.

Happy Reading!

Let’s Discuss: How do you organize/edit your TBR list?

This post is part of the 2019 Discussion Challenge hosted by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight and Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction. 

Oh, the To Be Read (TBR) List. To give you an idea about my TBR list, I currently have 716 books on my “Want to Read” list on Goodreads. I have 471 unread titles on my Kindle. I also have a Nook Color, which I don’t use much anymore, but on it (and the Nook app) I have 194 unread titles. On the iBook app, I have 12 unread titles.  I have no clue how many physical books. What I do know is that I have several unread books on my bookshelf, on my nightstand, by my bed, and (shame on me) in a large pull out drawer in my kitchen. It’s exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. Exciting because who knows what great book is waiting for me in all this? Overwhelming because how will I find it? 

If I’m honest, I will admit that I have a book buying problem.  Granted, many of the eBooks I have were received free from various services, like Bookbub or offered through various authors’ newsletters.  I also subscribe to many “discounted” eBook newsletters which provide daily deals on big name eBooks, so I often purchase through those newsletters.  As for physical books, I get many of those free through our local Little Free Libraries or from the Free Table from our local library.  I also get many books at dirt cheap prices from a local thrift store.  

A big problem I notice is that when it comes time to actually pick my next read, I more often than not find myself wandering the aisles at the local library or browsing Hoopla or Kindle Unlimited (which I recently signed up for at a limited time discounted price). So, I’m really not making much of a dent in my TBR pile, unless I am picking a title on my Goodreads TBR list (which I often don’t). The lure of an undiscovered book or a fresh off the presses title often seems to trump the books I already own.  

So what’s a reader to do? 

To try to help the feeling of overwhelm, I decided I was going to delete title of my TBR list on Goodreads. This ended up being much more difficult that I thought. It took me forever to figure out how to do this, and I then realized it would only delete a few titles at a time. Has anyone else had experience with this? 

I’ve also thought about deleting books off of Kindle/Nook/iTunes, starting with Kindle.  The only thing about this is, how do I choose which to delete? I think what I may do is go through and just delete ones that instinctively don’t appeal to me anymore. I know I have several romance novels that were free downloads that just don’t appeal to me anymore. It’s a start anyways. 

What about you? How do you organize your TBR list? Do you delete titles without reading them? 

Cozy Moments: Links

Happy Saturday, readers! We have a beautiful day here...no rain FINALLY!! I love a good rainy day, but it has been raining on and off for the past several weeks, so it is nice to have a sunny day. I thought I would share some of my favorite links I've found lately. 

Links I Love: 

1. Every book lover's dream: A Historic Bookstore for Sale 

2. An Abandoned Gingerbread Castle   So beautiful and whimsical....hoping it will be saved! 

3. I love Anne's recommendations on Modern Mrs. Darcy. Here are 23 Books to Read in 2019

4. Want to ring in the new year with new home decor? This POST is for you. I know I often feel stuck when it comes to redecorating because I struggle to find my style and how that works with pieces we already own. This article will help! 

That's it for today! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

I'll Never Let You Go by Mary Burton

Cover Image from Penguin UK

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Title: I'll Never Let You Go by Mary Burton

Received: Purchased (secondhand bookstore)

Rating: 💖💖💖💖

Summary from Penguin UK: 

He promised to kill her. One night four years ago, Leah Carson's husband almost succeeded. Phillip stabbed her twenty-three times before fleeing. The police are sure he's dead. But fear won't let Leah believe it.

It starts with little things. Missing keys. A flat tire. Mysterious flowers. All easily explained away if the pattern wasn't so terrifyingly familiar. Leah has a new veterinary practice and a new life with no ties to her nightmare. But Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent Alex Morgan suspects something. And when another woman's body is found, stabbed twenty-three times, Leah knows her past has found her.

As Leah and Alex untangle the horrifying truth, he watches her, ready for the perfect moment. Until death--that was the vow they made. And a killer always keeps his word . . .

This is the first book that I've read by Mary Burton. I really enjoyed it and thought the pacing was fantastic. I was compelled to keep turning the pages and thought it worked well as a thriller. What kept it from being a five star rating for me was the romance in the story. Or maybe what I think of as the lack of romance. I honestly think I would have enjoyed the story just as much without the romantic component. I just didn't buy the romance between Leah and Alex. Not that it was a "bad" romance, but I just felt like there wasn't much romantic development between the two.  They went on one short, unsuccessful date, then the rest of their "relationship" really revolved around the case. It just didn't work for me, but it didn't subtract from the storyline. It was just unnecessary. The story was strong enough as a thriller, and I didn't see the ending coming, which is the best kind! I look forward to reading more by Mary Burton. 

Click the Image below to check out this book on Amazon: 

Happy Reading!!