Plans

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve been here. I didn’t read for most of that time. There was too much going on in life and I couldn’t focus, let alone enjoy reading.

March

I didn’t get much reading done last night because I went to see Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin speak.

Bout of Books 19

Between Litsy and the Independent Bookstore Challenge last week, my bookish obsession has gotten out of control. So have the piles of books in my house. I’m going to attempt to start this blog again so I have somewhere to put all my thoughts down. Since I’m going to be reading anyway, Bout of Books seems to be a good time to start. 🙂

If you don’t know what Bout of Books is:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Challenges! Giveaways! And a grand prize! You have until tomorrow to sign up if you’re interested!

Waiting on Wednesday: Moranifesto

As an introvert, I’ve always been drawn to people who are outspoken, uncensored, risk takers. I’m the kind of person who thinks of the perfect comeback a day later. I’m opinionated and angry but I rarely find the right words at the right moment. I hate confrontation and awkward situations. So naturally, Caitlin Moran is one of my favorite authors.

Review: Mother, Can You Not?

A couple months ago, the topic for The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesday was “Books That Make Us Laugh”. I could think of funny books and ones that made me smile, maybe a little “ha!” but I could only think of three that literally made me laugh out loud.

Top Ten Tuesday – Beach Reads

It’s finally starting to feel like summer!! I’m fortunate enough to live in a city close to Lake Michigan. We already got our beach tokens and weather permitting, we will be there every Sunday. My husband (and his family) make fun of me because I don’t like going in the lake. I put on a swim suit, layers of SPF50 and hide under a large, floppy hat. Then I smooth the sand out so I can settle down with my book. That’s not weird, is it? I love watching my kids play in the water, listening to the sound of the waves, feeling the warmth of sun, winter a distant memory. Because the beach is the best place to read in the summer.

Review: Jane Steele

Jane Eyre is one of those books that I don’t think anyone can or should touch. So I would avoid any book that claims to be a retelling of it. The description for Jane Steele
says that it was “inspired by Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre” but I heard/read that it was nothing like it. And I love the cover! (Yes, I judge a book by it’s cover.) So I decided to give it a shot. And I was very pleasantly surprised. In my opinion, it was more like if Jane Eyre had a knife, know how to use it, and constantly came across despicable men who treated women like garbage.

Bout of Books 16 – Wrap Up

I didn’t actually get much reading done the last day of Bout of Books because I was dealing with a moody 4 year old all day long. And I mean LONG. But this moment was 5 minutes of perfection.

BEA16 – CHICAGO!

With everything that’s been going on, the bright spot in my week was BEA! It’s always been in NYC so when I heard it would be in Chicago this year, I knew I had to go. Then I found out there was a blogger’s conference! I couldn’t take off more than a day of work so I decided to go to the conference and hope there would be giveaways. I wasn’t disappointed!

This was my first BEA and I walked through the doors and this is what I saw. I didn’t want to leave.

Bout of Books 16 – Day 2

The calendar says it’s May but Chicago weather can’t make up it’s mind which season we’re in. This weekend it felt like summer. We even got the kids in their swim suits and let them play with the hose. Then the temperature dropped 20 degrees and started to rain so the boots and sweaters had to be dragged out again.

It’s not winter anymore but I kinda feel like that. (Have I mentioned how much I love this comic?? It gets me.)