Ahh… the last quarterly reading wrap-up of the year. The amount of items read dropped this quarter since I had less time and opportunity to read, and also because I read more novels than comics and audio books, which can be quickly consumed. However, I am proud of my progress because I read more than I thought I’d be able to and have surpassed my reading goal for the year.
What’s on Your Nightstand is a monthly meme hosted by 5 Minutes for Books on the last Tuesday of every month that summarizes what you’ve read for the month, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan to read next. For my posts, I also include articles, music, art, TV shows, and whatever else I did in the month.
December is not done yet, but it’s been great so far and since we’re so close to its end, I think it’s safe to say it’s one of my best months of this year. I had so much fun in December anticipating the holidays and planning with friends and family and celebrating new friends, old friends, who I hadn’t seen in a very long time, and co-workers. It was a month of happiness and celebration and I was glad for it. Such is usually the case at this time of year. I’m always happy when family and friends get together to celebrate. As for what else I did this month, read on.
That is I hope this will be my last for a very long time because my plan at the moment is to spend less so I can pay off a good portion of my student loans so I can go live my life and do what I want. I tell this to everyone I know, so I’m saying it here too to get it out my system and hopefully make it a reality. So no unnecessary spending. I’ll only purchase a book when I have a coupon AND if there’s a book I really want. With that said, here’s the last of the books I purchased this year.
This is one of the many books that surprised me this year. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I received an ARC copy, most likely through a contest, which I requested because the blurb says it’s about “an enigmatic artist” who’s a single mom who has a “mysterious past” and whose “disregard for the status quo” upsets the “carefully ordered community” she moves into with her daughter. All that made me want to find out what exactly happens in the story and now I’m glad I read it because Little Fires Everywhere is one of my favorite books of 2017.
Goodreads summary:
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned — from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren — an enigmatic artist and single mother — who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
It’s Boxing Day!!! 😀
Okay, okay, there’s no reason for me to be this excited for Boxing Day, especially since it’s not celebrated in the U.S., but I still have some leftover energy from last night’s Christmas dinner so WOOHOO BOXING DAY!!! 😀 😀 😀
I do hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day. Mine was filled with lots of love and cheer from family and friends and a strong mug of Moscow Mule. Have you ever had that cocktail? It was my first time trying it last night and now I love it. Anyway, I’m here to celebrate Boxing Day on my blog by doing a couple of Christmas-themed tags in one post. Yes, I like to group such things so settle in to receive some book recommendations, most of which I’ve mentioned often on here. 😛
I found this one over on Rachel’s blog, Life of a Female Bibliophile. (Hope you had a great Christmas Rachel with lots of pepperminty snacks!) The tag was created by the Moor Maiden, whose blog seems to be down.
It’s now become tradition on this blog to do a post like this every Christmas day to honor the holiday on Zezee with Books.
Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I always get excited when it comes around. No matter what has happened in the year or if I’ve been sad and angry for the majority of December, I always get happy and excited by Christmas. I love the holiday because it carries with it a sense of unity and community, and there’s always a touch of magic in the air.
Each year I celebrate the holiday on here by featuring a bit of artwork that I think captures the spirit of Christmas. This year, I chose “Christmas in Color,” which features a scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling:
Continue reading “Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to All!!”
Haha! Hehe! Heehee! Hoho! Another book tag for Christmas, yes.
This one was created by booktuber Hailey in Bookland.
Crowley
That’s Crowley, the demon, from the TV show Supernatural. He’s so sarcastic sometimes, I like his personality and I like the rough voice of the actor who plays him, Mark Sheppard. It’s hard for me not to think of him as Crowley when I see him in another show.
Omg, Christmas has crept up on me and I’m totally unprepared for it. But, as I scramble around to buy presents, I’ll try to get in the holiday mood by doing Christmas-themed book tags on here, starting with this one which was created by Richard Media Geek. I enjoy watching his videos sometimes.
I don’t, but I think the following are perfect reads for the winter:
Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by GingerReadsLainey and now managed by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. For more information on this meme, visit the Goodreads group.
This week’s topic:
Top 5 books of 2017 (so far)
I’ve refrained from doing any “top books of the year” posts because the year hasn’t yet ended, so there’s no telling what might happen in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve. However, I would like to join in the fun and note the books I’ve loved so far this year, hence this Top 5 Wednesday post.
The following are my top books of the year so far. It’s possible that this list might change by the end of the year, and I plan to later post a longer list of about 10 books that are my favorites of the year.
Continue reading “Top 5 Wednesday #23: Top 5 Books of the Year (so far)”
I really wanted to post a book review or something this week, but I went out on the weekend so there was no time to sit and think about what I’d read. So instead, look out for a few tags and memes I’ll post, like this one which was created by the Book Loving Pharmacist.
Soulless by Gail Carriger
It’s a paranormal novel filled with various supernatural creatures, like vampires and werewolves, and is about a woman, a spinster, who has the ability to negate supernatural powers because she’s soulless.
Zezee with Books 