Month in Review: January 2019

January was quite the month!  One of my friends from college got married the first weekend of the year, so we had a mini-reunion with most of our group at the wedding.  It was so great to be able to catch up with everyone, laugh at old stories, stay up too late, and drink too much!

I started a new job, which has been kind of stressful (I don't deal well with change!).  Everyone at my new office is very nice, but it's a lot to learn - even though it's another law firm, the cases are very different from what I was doing for the last 8 years.  One nice thing is that I actually have a real lunch break, so I've been bringing a book and getting so much reading done!

We celebrated our niece's third birthday; I took her shopping and even though she's still a little too young to be able to pick stuff out, she found some cute bracelets and I also got her a Mickey and Minnie Mouse t-shirt, which I think she liked!

Is anyone else watching The Masked Singer on Fox?  If you don't know what it is, it's a reality show/singing competition where celebrities don a mask and costume and the judges try to guess who they are by their voice and some clues.  Ok, it's  kind of cheesy but also fun, and every Wednesday night, my sister and I watch it together, texting each other back and forth about the judges' terrible guesses.

The Books

The Winters // The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society // Waking the Spirit // Dry

My Plain Jane // The Rosie Effect // Lost Boy (review to come) // Uncharted (review to come)

The Map That Leads to You (review to come) // The Glass Ocean // Four Three Two One // The Dream Daughter

A 5-star review from Suzanne at The Bookish Libra sealed the deal for me on reading The Dream Daughter, which turned out to be a 5-star read for me, too!  Thanks, Suzanne!

The Golden Compass (audio) // The Huntress (review to come)

The Posts and Reviews

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Hunting Party
Review: The Coincidence Makers 
2019 Reading & Blogging Goals 
Can't-Wait Wednesday: I Owe You One 
Mini-Reviews: The Fiona Davis Edition 
5 Books to Read Before a Trip to Newport, Rhode Island 
Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2018 
Can't-Wait Wednesday: Warrior of the Wild 
Fiction/Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: The Foodie Edition 
My Pottermore Sorting 
Can't-Wait Wednesday: If, Then 
Mini-Reviews: World War II in Letters 
Conquering Your TBR One Month at a Time 
Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to My TBR 
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Trial of Lizzie Borden

 The Posts I Loved

Amy at A Magical World of Words talks about how to keep your New Year's resolutions

Molly at Molly's Madness has a great way of looking at New Year's resolutions 

Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness shares her word of the year 

Alicia at A Kernel of Nonsense talks about why she's been a bad book blogger (even though I think she's amazing!)

Genni at Ready, Set, Read! shares her feelings about posting negative reviews

Uma at Books.Bags.Burgers talks about what Harry Potter means to her

How was your January?  What was your first read of the year?  Are you still sticking to your New Year's resolutions?

Backlist Mini-Reviews: Retellings of My Favorite Classic Novels

The Winters by Lisa Gabriele (2018)

A retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, set in modern-day Long Island.  Rebecca was one of my favorite books from a couple years ago, so I was really interested in how this book would update the classic.

Like the original, we have an unnamed narrator who falls head over heels for a wealthy man, Max Winter.  When he brings her home (to his mansion Asherly), she begins to feel threatened by the memory of his late wife, Rebekah, and she also must deal with Max's teenage daughter, Dani.  Although this book paled in comparison a bit with the original, it was still a strong story.

More of a psychological thriller than a Gothic story, I definitely had questions about where the story was headed, if it would stay close to the original or not.  The addition of the stepdaughter was a nice touch.  Dani was manipulative and maybe a tad unstable, and she added a modern-feeling element, especially since she lived for social media.  I had reservations about the relationship between the narrator and Max; for much of the story, she seemed content to take his side for everything, while at the same time never really feeling like she fit in.  The story wasn't super-suspenseful (it had more of a quiet, gloomy feel) but there were several twists at the end I didn't see coming.  4 stars

My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2) by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton (2018)

A retelling of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, in which Jane and Charlotte are actually close friends, and Jane can see ghosts.  Jane Eyre is one of my favorite classics, so I was really looking forward to seeing how the authors would put their spin on it, and I was not disappointed!

There were so many things to love about this book:

- how the authors maintained the big elements from the original story
- how they added new spins to those classic elements (I especially loved how they incorporated Rochester's wife)
- the bits of humor
- the friendship between Charlotte and Jane, and how Charlotte was inspired by Jane's life to write her stories
- the addition of the ghosts and the society that relocates them (and the conspiracy that went along with it)
- how Helen, Jane's childhood friend, was a big part of the book, even after her death.

It wasn't perfect, though, unfortunately.  At times the story felt a bit repetitive and sometimes the characters acted kind of immaturely (which is understandable, I guess, it just irked me a little).  I also found myself not really caring about Alexander, even though he was a major character in the book.  4 stars

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Trial of Lizzie Borden

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Cara Robertson
Expected publication date: March 12, 2019

The remarkable new account of an essential piece of American mythology—the trial of Lizzie Borden—based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence.

The Trial of Lizzie Borden tells the true story of one of the most sensational murder trials in American history. When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple’s younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Everyone—rich and poor, suffragists and social conservatives, legal scholars and laypeople—had an opinion about Lizzie Borden’s guilt or innocence. Was she a cold-blooded murderess or an unjustly persecuted lady? Did she or didn’t she?

The popular fascination with the Borden murders and its central enigmatic character has endured for more than one hundred years. Immortalized in rhyme, told and retold in every conceivable genre, the murders have secured a place in the American pantheon of mythic horror, but one typically wrenched from its historical moment. In contrast, Cara Robertson explores the stories Lizzie Borden’s culture wanted and expected to hear and how those stories influenced the debate inside and outside of the courtroom. Based on transcripts of the Borden legal proceedings, contemporary newspaper accounts, unpublished local accounts, and recently unearthed letters from Lizzie herself, The Trial of Lizzie Borden offers a window onto America in the Gilded Age, showcasing its most deeply held convictions and its most troubling social anxieties. - from Goodreads

This is the first time I've shared a nonfiction book for this feature, but this sounds fascinating!  The research sounds so in-depth and I'm excited to see how it all comes together.

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions To My TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is the most recent additions to our TBR.  As I'm sure you can all sympathize with, my TBR never seems to get any smaller, and here are just a few of the books I've added to it recently.

When You Read This // Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone

Unmarriageable // Here and Now and Then

Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen // Sweetbitter

The Inbetween Days // The Psychology of Time Travel

More Than Words // Jackie After Jack

What books have you recently added to your TBR?

Conquering Your TBR One Month At A Time

In the past, I've talked about TBR expectations and why I love reading challenges.  Today I want to sort of combine those topics and discuss a way to help you make progress on your TBR through personal monthly goals.  I know lots of bloggers make monthly TBRs, so this kind of goes along with that and takes it one step further.  I will say, though, if you're a mood reader, this strategy may not work for you!

Today's post was inspired by my sister, Michele.  After I started blogging and she was introduced to other bloggers, her TBR began to explode.  She told me one time that in order to organize it and make it more manageable for herself, some months she sets monthly goals focused on one specific type of book or genre.  Yes, there are challenges out in the blogosphere like this (Clean Our Your E-Reader and Nonfiction November immediately come to mind), but since my sister isn't a blogger and doesn't participate in things like this, she does this for herself.

There are so many ways you could approach your TBR using this strategy:

• Nonfiction
• Library books
• Unread book hauls from your own shelves (this is one I desperately need to do)
• All those freebies piling up on your Kindle
• YA month
• New releases
• New-to-you authors
• Backlist books from authors you've already read
• Catching up on series

For readers looking to make a dent in their massive TBRs, this strategy may be helpful to you because it will help focus your reading.  One month isn't so long that you'll get bored, but it's long enough to get a bunch of reads in.  This strategy works for Michele because she has a wide variety of books on her TBR (YA, contemporary fiction, non-fiction, etc.) and it can be overwhelming at times to figure out what to read next!  Having a theme month allows her to focus on one thing at a time and be thoughtful in her book selection.  While she doesn't use this strategy every month, she feels like she puts a meaningful dent in her TBR when she does.

What do you think of this strategy?  Do you have a plan of action when it comes to your TBR?

Mini-Reviews: World War II in Letters

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce (2018)

Emmy Lake thought she was applying for a journalist position at a newspaper, but instead finds herself typing letters for advice columnist Henrietta Bird in WWII London.  When Mrs. Bird refuses to answer some letters due to their unpleasant nature, Emmy takes it upon herself to try to help.

I absolutely loved this charming book and flew through it in just a few hours.   It was a wonderful combination of heart and humor, lightheartedness and deep emotion.  Emmy is a lovely main character - she's spunky and plucky, always wanting to help others but maybe not going about it in the right way.  I loved her empathy for the people writing letters to Mrs. Bird, hoping to get advice.  It's wartime and people have all sorts of new concerns and problems, but they're also still facing life's everyday problems.  Emmy doesn't think it's fair to ignore them, so she starts writing back to them, without Mrs. Bird's permission.

Emmy is surrounded by a cast of characters that I adored just as much as her.  From her best friend Bunty, to her love interest Charles, to her boss Mr. Collins, they each added so much to the book.  Pearce's writing and use of language really evoked the time period, and she captured so well the horror of the Blitz and the resiliency of Londoners during trying times.  4.5 stars

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (2008)

In 1946, author Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a man purporting to be a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which begins her journey of learning about this German-occupied community in the British Isles and how its inhabitants coped during the war.

I thought this book was lovely, particularly the first half when Juliet starts corresponding with members of the Guernsey Literary Society.  Although the society started as a fluke, the members really came to rely on it, and I enjoyed reading about how books got them through tough times.  Each character was richly developed and had a unique backstory.  One of the best characters was a woman named Elizabeth; although she doesn't write any letters in the book, we learn about her through others.  She was clearly a big part of the community and a hero.

The descriptions of Guernsey were amazing; I felt like I was really in this little community.  My only quibble was actually with Juliet; although I enjoyed her and loved her passions for books and writing and Guernsey, I thought she was too witty.  Sometimes it sounded like she was trying too hard.  4 stars

Can't-Wait Wednesday: If, Then

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

If, Then
Kate Hope Day
Expected publication date: March 12, 2019

The residents of a sleepy mountain town are rocked by troubling visions of an alternate reality in this dazzling debut that combines the family-driven suspense of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere with the inventive storytelling of The Immortalists.

In the quiet haven of Clearing, Oregon, four neighbors find their lives upended when they begin to see themselves in parallel realities. Ginny, a devoted surgeon whose work often takes precedence over her family, has a baffling vision of a beautiful co-worker in Ginny’s own bed and begins to doubt the solidity of her marriage. Ginny’s husband, Mark, a wildlife scientist, sees a vision that suggests impending devastation and grows increasingly paranoid, threatening the safety of his wife and son. Samara, a young woman desperately mourning the recent death of her mother and questioning why her father seems to be coping with such ease, witnesses an apparition of her mother healthy and vibrant and wonders about the secrets her parents may have kept from her. Cass, a brilliant scholar struggling with the demands of new motherhood, catches a glimpse of herself pregnant again, just as she’s on the brink of returning to the project that could define her career.

At first the visions are relatively benign, but they grow increasingly disturbing—and, in some cases, frightening. When a natural disaster threatens Clearing, it becomes obvious that the visions were not what they first seemed and that the town will never be the same.

Startling, deeply imagined, and compulsively readable, Kate Hope Day’s debut novel is about the choices we make that shape our lives and determine our destinies—the moments that alter us so profoundly that it feels as if we've entered another reality. - from Goodreads

This synopsis leaves me with so many questions, I can't wait to find out what is going on in this town and what the visions mean!