Monday, December 2, 2019

Month in Review: November 2019


At the beginning of the month, my sister and I attended a Book Lovers Tea at one of the libraries in my county system.  Mainly we wanted to attend because author Fiona Davis was making an appearance!  The Tea was very fun - they had desserts and hot beverages available, and on each person's chair was a library tote bag with five ARCs in it, mostly 2019 releases!  I think every bag had different books, too.  One of the librarians talked first, about some of her favorite books of the year, and then Fiona Davis came on to talk about her new  book, The Chelsea Girls.   I had heard her speak at last year's Morristown Festival of Books but didn't get to meet her, so I'm so glad I had a chance to this time!


Also that weekend, one of my brothers hosted a s'mores and pumpkin carving party at his house (it was supposed to be before Halloween, but was rescheduled due to weather).  It was a fun afternoon, and we also got to celebrate my dad's birthday!  I was a little bummed that my pumpkin did not get a single vote, but admittedly, my carving was pretty pathetic.

Later in the month we went on a "North Pole Express" train ride with a bunch of my siblings, our parents, and some in-laws, too.  The kids got to meet Santa on the train and sing with the elves, and at the North Pole there was hot chocolate, cookies, and photo opportunities.  Everyone had a great time!

Work has been especially crazy this month with special projects, plus we've been down a couple co-workers.  It's meant some long hours and lots of stress, so I was really looking forward to Thanksgiving break!  I took the day before Thanksgiving off, so I could get the house ready, and Tom and I also went on  movie date to see Knives Out, which was a really fun murder mystery-type movie.  Tom's parents and sister came over for the holiday and it was just a nice chill day. 

Last thing, I promise!  The Project Linus chapter that I work with, Project Linus of Mercer County, NJ, is holding an online Barnes & Noble fundraiser from December 10 through 15.  If you're thinking about buying books or other items for the holidays, we would be so appreciative if you would consider supporting Project Linus on those days.  You can use Book Fair ID#12548046 during checkout to support this wonderful charity that provides handmade blankets to children that are ill or traumatized.  Thank you!


The Books


The Posts and Reviews

48 comments:

  1. You read so many awesome books, Angela! :D

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  2. Ah it's so great that you got to attend such a fun event at one of your local libraries, I'd love to go to events like that. So glad you had such a lovely time!
    I am always impressed by all the books you manage to read. I loved Famous In A Small Town! :)

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  3. Wow, your library is impressive. Mine doesn’t do anything like that. I hope you have a good December!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Yeah, I'm pretty lucky when it comes to my library!

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  4. What an awesome month - I am so glad we got to do so many of these things together and that I also won a Fiona Davis book at the Tea LOL. Here's to a less stressful December and more great books!

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    1. LOL, the book you "won"? Thanks for coming with me!

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  5. Sounds like you had some great memories made!

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  6. What a great event at your library! It sounds like so much fun. You've been one busy woman! Hope December is a another great month for you.

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  7. The bookish event sounds like a blast! I haven't been to one in ages. Kids! They take up so much of your time, haha. Lock Every Door is one I've been eyeing, so I'll be looking for your review. :)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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  8. You do so many fun things, and it so nice that your sister likes to do stuff with you. I love tea parties. I went to high tea with my alumnae group in Jax, and it was the best time. I felt really fancy too. So, uh, what five books did you get?

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    1. Yes, I'm really lucky to have a built-in best friend, who also shares many of my interests!

      Haha, I think one was The Nickel Boys, and also a memoir by Dapper Dan.

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  9. You had a great reading month! And the Book Lover's Tea sounds great! We have the Colorado Teen Literature Conference in the spring and I loved going to that.

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  10. Knives Out sounds fun. and of course the author event too- how neat! Glad you had a nice thanksgiving. :)

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  11. Looks like you read some awesome books this last month. And your family events and outings sound like such fun! I'll try to remember the B&N event - will make a note.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kay, we really appreciate it!

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  12. What a cool library event and looks like you got to some great books this month. Glad you got to celebrate your father's birthday with such a fun party and I'm sure your pumpkin wasn't that bad.

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    1. Thanks, Barb! I think I was slightly tipsy when I was attempting to carve it, so not a ton of thought went into it!

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  13. It's so cool that your library is hosting stuff like that! Wish we had fun stuff like that in our libraries.

    I can't wait to read Lock Every Door myself! I liked Final Girls a lot!

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    1. Lock Every Door was my first Riley Sager and I really enjoyed it!

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    2. I'd highly recommend Final Girls as well :)

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  14. It sounds like you had a great month, reading and doing fun things with your family!

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  15. You have had so many lovely outings! I am so jealous that your library brings in authors. I hope that you have a wonderful December as well!

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    1. Thanks, Lori! Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to get someone of Fiona Davis' caliber!

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  16. Wow, you really had a busy month. I'm impressed how much reading you were able to get done in addition to so many great activities.

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  17. You did a lot of reading for such a busy month. I'm impressed! Your post has reminded me of a book I need to add to my nonfiction TBR list, Five Days at Memorial. I'd forgotten all about it, but really want to read it.

    Hope your December is brilliant!

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    1. Thanks, Susie! Five Days at Memorial was definitely an eye-opening read.

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  18. wow! such a busy and exciting last couple of days. I love the sound of North Pole Express, wish they had something like that here.

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  19. Oh my gosh, the Book Lovers Tea sounds amazing!!

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  20. Glad you got the chance to meet Fiona Davis after hearing her talk at the Morristown Festival of Books and it sounds like you had a lot of fun at Book Lovers Tea (plus food? Hard to pass up, haha). Big oof to being short on coworkers resulting in long hours and more stress; I hope you'll find new people soon and ease up the burden of the stress.

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    1. The Book Lovers Tea was a blast! Haha, yes, free food is always a plus!

      Thanks, Sophia!

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  21. It's so cool you got to meet Fiona Davis!

    I can't wait to see Knives Out. It looks brilliant, and I love murder mystery plots :)

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    1. I think you will love Knives Out, it feels like your kind of movie!

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  22. Author/book events are always so much fun. It's always great to meet an author face to face, maybe hear them talk about their books, get your book signed. Looks like you had some truly varied reading in November. I have a couple blogger friends who adore Emma Mills.

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    1. Yes, with Nonfiction November going on, I definitely got a good mix of books in! I only recently started going to author/book events, and I've been really enjoying it!

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  23. Wow, it sounds like you had a great month! The book lover's tea and the pumpkin carving party both sound like fun and you read so many great books too.

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!