I went through this too a lesser degree when I was pregnant with The Toddler. Back then it was mostly just a reading slump, since I was working and hibernating wasn't an option. The reading slump was...Extensive. The only things I wanted to read were The Cat Who... books, Spiderwick, and Redwall, and that is literally all I read for over two years. TWO YEARS.
This time I'm in full on hibernation mode and I can feel the slump coming. I'm 200 pages in to A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas and I just can't seem to get into it but I picked up The Cat Who Robbed a Bank and I can't seem to put it down. I'm avoiding leaving the house unless it involves a drive-thru or a bookstore, even though we just bought a new (to us) car so that I'm not stuck at home all day. It's like I just want to be home, and be comfortable, and cozy, and not have to deal with people.
I don't know is pregnancy hibernation is actually a thing or not, but it's pretty real for me. We've had someone at our house almost constantly since we moved in, it seems, and I'm to the point where I just can't stand it anymore. I want to be alone and not have anyone here for anything for like a week, I need some recharging time and I need it fast. But I've also got some reading goals to achieve this year and I do not want another two year reading slump. I need a plan to keep myself from falling into that 'comfort reading' thing that led to the slump last time.
So the plan is as follows, and I'm making this up as I go along so bear with me;
1. Stay home - No leaving the house except grocery shopping and doctors appointments.
2. Read the 'comfort reading books' - That's right. I'm going to read them.
3. Limit the 'comfort reading' - I can easily read one Cat Who... book a day. I can read 3 Cat Who books, then I have to read one other book.
My reading will be slow for a while, and interspersed with lots of Cat Who books. I've read the whole series more times than I can count, and I will probably read them 2-3 times in the next few months but I'm okay with that. So that's the plan for now! Happy reading!
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Monday, June 5, 2017
June Book Club Pick
May's Book Club pick was M's pick, The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani. This book was so good. I've known that Adriana Trigiani was a pretty popular author for a long time but I'd never picked up any of her books. After reading The Shoemaker's Wife I've started picking up her books at the library bookstore, because I want to read a lot more of her.
The writing was so beautiful. The way she described the Italian Alps was amazing. She walked a very fine line between perfect description and over description and managed to stay on the side of perfect. Her characters were unforgettable, Enza's whole family were amazing and I could read a whole book just about the nuns that Ciro grew up with. The romance story was the slowest slow-burn romance I think I've ever read. The story followed how Enza became the shoemaker's wife and it took about a decade for them to finally get together, but it was so worth it.
The only problems I had with the story were that it seemed to go on a bit too long. The majority of the story was, as I said before, how Enza became the shoemaker's wife. Once they were married and off on their life together there was a perfect spot to end the story, with Ciro and Enza walking off into the wilderness of Minnesota to follow their dreams together. But it didn't end there, and I really feel like it should have, the rest seemed like it got chopped off of a different book and tacked on to this one just to fill the word count.
There was also one point where I went 'Wow. Someone's trying too hard.' and that was when Ciro went to Italy to visit after WWI. He was having some internal monologue about how it wasn't his Italy anymore, and how years of poverty had taken it's toll on the people and they'd latch on to the next ideology to come along. And of course that's exactly what happened, Mussolini and the rise of Fascism, was the next ideology to come along. It just seemed so out of place for a young man, even a well read young man, who just left a war zone and was seeing his brother for the first time in over a decade to be sitting in a cafe, smoking and contemplating ideology.
This was a great pick, and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars!
June's pick is from C whose last pick was I am Malala. C always seems to have the most thought provoking picks and this new pick fits right in. For June the pick is The Color of Water by James McBride.
The Color of Water is the story of the authors mother, the daughter of a Polish Rabbi who married a black man in the early 1940's and raised 12 children in the Projects of Brooklyn, I don't know much about it besides what I read in the blurb but it sounds good and I can't wait to read it!
Next month is supposed to be J's pick but she's going to be out of town so I get to pick! I'm pretty excited about it and I think I have my book chosen already, although it might change before the next meeting.
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| Image from Goodreads |
The writing was so beautiful. The way she described the Italian Alps was amazing. She walked a very fine line between perfect description and over description and managed to stay on the side of perfect. Her characters were unforgettable, Enza's whole family were amazing and I could read a whole book just about the nuns that Ciro grew up with. The romance story was the slowest slow-burn romance I think I've ever read. The story followed how Enza became the shoemaker's wife and it took about a decade for them to finally get together, but it was so worth it.
The only problems I had with the story were that it seemed to go on a bit too long. The majority of the story was, as I said before, how Enza became the shoemaker's wife. Once they were married and off on their life together there was a perfect spot to end the story, with Ciro and Enza walking off into the wilderness of Minnesota to follow their dreams together. But it didn't end there, and I really feel like it should have, the rest seemed like it got chopped off of a different book and tacked on to this one just to fill the word count.
There was also one point where I went 'Wow. Someone's trying too hard.' and that was when Ciro went to Italy to visit after WWI. He was having some internal monologue about how it wasn't his Italy anymore, and how years of poverty had taken it's toll on the people and they'd latch on to the next ideology to come along. And of course that's exactly what happened, Mussolini and the rise of Fascism, was the next ideology to come along. It just seemed so out of place for a young man, even a well read young man, who just left a war zone and was seeing his brother for the first time in over a decade to be sitting in a cafe, smoking and contemplating ideology.
This was a great pick, and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars!
June's pick is from C whose last pick was I am Malala. C always seems to have the most thought provoking picks and this new pick fits right in. For June the pick is The Color of Water by James McBride.
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| Image from Goodreads |
The Color of Water is the story of the authors mother, the daughter of a Polish Rabbi who married a black man in the early 1940's and raised 12 children in the Projects of Brooklyn, I don't know much about it besides what I read in the blurb but it sounds good and I can't wait to read it!
Next month is supposed to be J's pick but she's going to be out of town so I get to pick! I'm pretty excited about it and I think I have my book chosen already, although it might change before the next meeting.
The First Doctor's Appointment
Ok, I'm really late posting this. The appointment was a week ago, but in mu defense I've been really sick. Morning sickness is kicking my butt. Last week there were a couple of days where I couldn't even stand up without getting sick.
And as you've probably guessed from that last statement, everything went great at the doctor's! We got to see the little nugget's heartbeat and it's actually measuring a couple of days ahead of where I thought it would!
So as of today I am 8 weeks pregnant, with a due date of January 15th, 2018. Now I have to decide if I want to try for a VBAC or have another c-section.
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| Baby 's first picture, 7 weeks 1 day. |
So as of today I am 8 weeks pregnant, with a due date of January 15th, 2018. Now I have to decide if I want to try for a VBAC or have another c-section.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
April Wrap Up
April was a crazy month! We sold our house, bought a new one and have started moving. Lots of work is being done in the house right now so we can't really move stuff into the house, it's all sort of piling up in garage. I did manage to read nine books is April, though only one counted for the RMSC, the 'Whole Deal' post about that can be found here. I expected things to slow down a bit as far as reading this month since my books have been packed up for a while now.
***I wrote the above before we moved. I've been working on this post for a while! Please forgive it's lateness and shortness!
1. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
2. Some Practical Magic by Laurie C. Kuna
3. The Furthest Station by Ben Arronovitch
4. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
5. The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan
6. Welcome to the Farm by Shaye Elliott
7. Falling for the Babysitter by Penny Wylder
8. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
9. Molly Bell and the Wishing Well by Bridget Geraghty
The one book that counted for the RMSC puts me at 10 out of 25 for the year. Which means I'm a little behind but have plenty of time to catch up!
I'll write more for my May Wrap-Up in the next couple of weeks.
***I wrote the above before we moved. I've been working on this post for a while! Please forgive it's lateness and shortness!
Books I Read in April
1. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty2. Some Practical Magic by Laurie C. Kuna
3. The Furthest Station by Ben Arronovitch
4. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
5. The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan
6. Welcome to the Farm by Shaye Elliott
7. Falling for the Babysitter by Penny Wylder
8. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
9. Molly Bell and the Wishing Well by Bridget Geraghty
The one book that counted for the RMSC puts me at 10 out of 25 for the year. Which means I'm a little behind but have plenty of time to catch up!
Reading Habits
So my favorite tea shop has officially closed. But I haven't been drinking much tea or coffee lately. Right now it's ice water and Gatorade. Reading at Biggby hasn't been happening because I'm in bed by 8:30 PM most nights lately. I also never found that 'toddler-proof' bookmark that The Toddler hid on me, even with packing things up and emptying out the house it never turned up.I'll write more for my May Wrap-Up in the next couple of weeks.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Quick Update Again
I have internet! Our internet just got installed in the new house today! I have posted a review (here) and I'm hoping to have my April wrap-up ready to post tomorrow! It's only 3 weeks late, right?
And because I didn't clarify in the review, I am still pregnant! No bad things to report on that front.
I haven't done much reading in the last week, but we are buying and installing bookshelves this weekend for me and The Toddler so some bookshelf organization posts should be coming soon!
Upcoming important stuff that will probably get posts;
Book Club meeting - May 30th
1st Prenatal Dr.'s appointment - May 30th
Bookshelves - Middle of next week (I hope)
And because I didn't clarify in the review, I am still pregnant! No bad things to report on that front.
I haven't done much reading in the last week, but we are buying and installing bookshelves this weekend for me and The Toddler so some bookshelf organization posts should be coming soon!
Upcoming important stuff that will probably get posts;
Book Club meeting - May 30th
1st Prenatal Dr.'s appointment - May 30th
Bookshelves - Middle of next week (I hope)
Review: 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac
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| Image from Goodreads |
Think positive.
Don’t worry; be happy.
Keep calm and carry on.
Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it was something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. She constantly imagines the worst, composes obituaries in her head, and is always ready for things to fall apart. To add to her troubles, her mom—the only one who really gets what Maeve goes through—is leaving for six months, so Maeve will be sent to live with her dad in Vancouver.
Vancouver brings a slew of new worries, but Maeve finds brief moments of calm (as well as even more worries) with Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Between her dad’s wavering sobriety, her very pregnant stepmom insisting on a home birth, and her bumbling courtship with Salix, this summer brings more catastrophes than even Maeve could have foreseen. Will she be able to navigate through all the chaos to be there for the people she loves?
(Blurb from Goodreads)
Sometimes a book comes along exactly when you need it too, and I needed this book. Today my anxiety is through the roof because today I am pregnant and I know that it won't last. I honestly don't think it will last the weekend. And it's Mother's day weekend. I'm going to miscarry on Mother's day. How ironic. I've spent today trying to keep myself busy. I've tried to ignore the fact that I'm pregnant, I've tried to hold it all together and I just can't. I keep thinking about how after the age of thirty (and I'm thirty) the miscarriage rate goes up by 12%. How 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage. How only 76% (I think) of miscarriage women go on to have healthy pregnancies. I'm sure I read that somewhere.
I keep thinking that it can happen to anyone, and every story and blog post I read today, trying desperately to find some hope, some kind of solace to ease my mind just for a little while, was written by a woman who'd had multiple miscarriages. Multiple. So many women, and so much loss, and why should I be exempt from that? If it can happen to them for no apparent reason, it can happen to me. I think I also read somewhere, after my first miscarriage, that only like 4 or 5% of women have multiple miscarriages, and today I think I read every single one of their blogs. The 4 or 5% thing can't be accurate. There's no way that every single woman who's had multiple miscarriages has a blog and/or visits the same forum. They can't. It's not possible.
And that's anxiety.
And it's portrayed perfectly in 10 Things I Can See From Here. Today I was not alone in my anxiety. Although Maeve and I were worrying over totally separate things, just to know that her brain worked like mine does, and no one understands that, that made me not alone today.
The only complaint I'd have about this book is that I wanted more. More of the characters. I want to know more about Salix and if she got into Julliard, what her life was life growing up in a bus, I want to know what happens to Maeve and Salix when Maeve goes home with her mom, I want to know how Maeve's relationship with her mom changes when she comes home, I want to know more about Billy and his sobriety. Just more.
I need like a whole series of these characters.
5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend. Read it.
Note: I received a free copy of this book through Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.
I keep thinking that it can happen to anyone, and every story and blog post I read today, trying desperately to find some hope, some kind of solace to ease my mind just for a little while, was written by a woman who'd had multiple miscarriages. Multiple. So many women, and so much loss, and why should I be exempt from that? If it can happen to them for no apparent reason, it can happen to me. I think I also read somewhere, after my first miscarriage, that only like 4 or 5% of women have multiple miscarriages, and today I think I read every single one of their blogs. The 4 or 5% thing can't be accurate. There's no way that every single woman who's had multiple miscarriages has a blog and/or visits the same forum. They can't. It's not possible.
And that's anxiety.
And it's portrayed perfectly in 10 Things I Can See From Here. Today I was not alone in my anxiety. Although Maeve and I were worrying over totally separate things, just to know that her brain worked like mine does, and no one understands that, that made me not alone today.
The only complaint I'd have about this book is that I wanted more. More of the characters. I want to know more about Salix and if she got into Julliard, what her life was life growing up in a bus, I want to know what happens to Maeve and Salix when Maeve goes home with her mom, I want to know how Maeve's relationship with her mom changes when she comes home, I want to know more about Billy and his sobriety. Just more.
I need like a whole series of these characters.
5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend. Read it.
Note: I received a free copy of this book through Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.
Monday, May 8, 2017
Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May
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| Image from Goodreads |
One girl's nightmare is this girl's faery tale
She's a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.
She's a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.
She's a murderer.
Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.
She's a Falconer.
The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first.
The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.
She's a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.
She's a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.
She's a murderer.
Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.
She's a Falconer.
The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first.
The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.
(Blurb from Goodreads)
I picked this book purely based on the cover. I love the cover, and was happy that the book lived up to it. There were some really unexpected elements to this story that I ended up really enjoying, the steampunk element being the most surprising.
I usually try to avoid steampunk. I've read a few books with steampunk in them but never really enjoyed it. The ones I read were just too illogical for me to be able to buy into the story, and now I just try to avoid them. This book went pretty light on the steampunk elements, just a few things here and there to let you know it was part of the story, you know, horseless carriages, a personal flying machine, no giant half-machine half-blue whale things flying around bombing the shit out of small towns or anything.
It was light on the romance. This is a big one! The romance didn't really come into it until the end. I mean through out the book it's clear she's trying to deny feelings for Kiaran, there's a couple of points where I was sure they were going to kiss, but of course they didn't. I can see where the author is trying to get the whole 'love triangle' thing going on but I didn't really get that vibe from Gavin. Like I could see him being gay and them being really good friends but not a love interest.
This book was a bit frustrating though. There were parts where I was just like "Tell the fricking truth, the whole truth!!" It would have avoided some frustration for the characters and Aileana does start doing that towards the end.
The thing I love/hate most about this book? The ending. OMG THE ENDING! I was reading and all the sudden it just stopped in a place where no book should stop. What? What! WHAT?! I was not happy and I loved it at the same time. It is certainly a cliff hanger and I'm so looking forward to the next book!
As for a rating, this book is not perfect, but I loved it anyway. 4 stars out of 5.
Note; I received this book for free, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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