Reading experiment - Pay it Forward

 Alright. I know I haven't been blogging lately. It isn't as though I haven't been reading. I've been reading LOADS more than I normally do! (I seem to recall mentioning how daunting it would be to get through 4 books from the library in 3 weeks. I managed... and also read another I had borrowed from a friend in that same span of time. So.. 5 books in three weeks. I was a little proud! My next stack is due back on the 26th.. three weeks for another 4. It's been less than a week, and I'm done two already!) I just haven't felt the desire to sit down at my computer and discuss these books. For that I apologize. It's not as though I haven't enjoyed my reads - because I have! Every single one of them.

However, I am going to try to get back on it.This morning I signed up for a book exchange that may or may not prove fruitful. Many people are critical of these. I, however would be happy to wind up with one book someone else thought was SO good they had to pass it along to a complete stranger. I happily sent off a copy of The Night Circus (which I have mentioned before!) to the recipient listed for me. I would love for it to pan out... but I am skeptical. (I mean, we live in a world where you kind of have to be these days, right?)

Anyways! After checking posts on some of the other reading groups I am a part of; I came across a post asking if anyone ever threw away or burned (I'm not kidding!) books they didn't like. I'm going to be honest... I was slightly appalled. I have read books I haven't enjoyed. I've read a few books I wasn't even able to get through. But.. to throw them away? Or BURN them?? Um. No. Just no.

We live in a world where every person has their own opinion. And just because I didn't particularly enjoy a book (because you can't enjoy them all!) doesn't mean someone else wouldn't love it!! (I mean, I couldn't get through 50 Shades, despite trying twice. I still don't get what all the hype was about! But - there it is! TONS of people LOVED it and raved about it. It just wasn't my cup of tea!)

I (of course) commented that I will give my books away. I am the type of person that will donate unwanted books to a library. Someone will find it and think it was great... or they won't, and hopefully they pass it along until someone loves it. ANYWAY! I came up with the idea to do a sort of "pay it forward" with books. (Something I as a reader would think was incredible if I came across it!)

I have gone through my bookshelf and removed the books I know I will not read again. I didn't have strong feelings of dislike for any of them. But. I know that I won't relish them being in my library going forward. I have a small stack sitting on my table as I type this, with notes inserted in the first few pages. What are these notes regarding?? Well! They are NEON and say in all caps at the top "TAKE ME HOME". My idea?? I am going to leave these books in random places in the next week or so for people to find and take home for their own enjoyment. How is this paying it forward? I also implore the people that pick up these volumes to do the same. 

Just think.. we ALL have a book or two that will forever collect dust. How would that small act of kindness improve your day?? I know I would be super excited, and would certainly comb my shelves looking for a book or two to leave for someone else. 

Maybe this experiment will fail... maybe it won't. I have also included the address for this blog on the bottom of the notes. I truly hope to hear from those of you have have in fact picked up one of these books! I'd love to know what you thought... if you did pay it forward. If you couldn't be bothered (which could happen, and I'm not judging!), or if you just left it somewhere else after deciding it would just sit in your own home! Take a pic! Where did you find the book? I'm simply brimming with curiosity and I haven't even left my first book behind yet!

Today, we are expecting thundershowers. I am only slightly crushed that I won't be able to leave these books out today. I will be posting pictures and an update once this mission has been completed!

Did this inspire you to start this in your own city or town?? Leave me a comment, include pictures!! I'm on a high just thinking of the smiles this could bring to my fellow readers! (Upside of the rain???? I might be able to find a few more books to leave! Who would have thought it would be so exciting for me?!)

Stay safe, everyone!!!!!

Little Fires Everywhere

First of all; let me tell you that I got my first library haul since the pandemic on Thursday last week!! The libraries here aren't exactly "open", but they have curbside pickup available with an appointment. So, I waited until I had a stack of books awaiting pickup, and asked my husband sweetly to pick them up before coming home one afternoon. Oh, how I have missed the library!!! I checked the slip and discovered that they hadn't extended due dates (as I had sort of been hoping for, as all due dates for previously borrowed items had been extended until the end of this month.). Not a big deal... but that I meant four books to tackle in three weeks.. not something I haven't accomplished in some time.

But; here we are. Monday of the following week, and I have finished my first read and I am halfway through my second. This might actually be manageable! (Now to accumulate another stack of loans to pick up when these are ready to go back! Two bird with one stone and all that jazz!)

Alright! Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. This one has been on my TBR list for a while. As any of you that follow this little blog know, I am trying to work my way through all of Reese Witherspoon's bookclub books (with a couple of exceptions that I have very little interest in. Non fiction isn't really my thing!), and this one was on that list. Not a book to be judged by it's cover (as I personally was not intrigued at all by the unassuming cover art on this novel), Little Fires Everywhere will definitely keep you engaged and flying through the pages.

This book revolves mainly around two families, The Richardsons and The Warrens. Pearl and her mother, Mia (The Warrens) are a fairly nomadic small family that move into the upper portion of a duplex owned by The Richardsons. Pearl is a teenager who becomes fast friends with Moody; the second youngest of the four Richardson children. However, Moody fears he isn't interesting enough to hold Pearl's attention; so he introduces her to his siblings and parents. This book follows the relationships between the families as time progresses. Hardships are weathered. Loyalties are questioned. Long held secrets are unraveled.. along with some of the characters in general.

The book starts at the end, and works its way back to that point as you journey through the pages wondering what exactly led to all those Little Fires Everywhere that take place in the first pages of this novel. I enjoyed it enough that my best friend has since ordered it, and will be starting it this week so we can talk about it.. and then watch the series (starring none other than Reese Witherspoon!) together this fall.

Have you read this one? What did you think!?

The Invention of Wings & The Book of Negroes

Hi all. (Whoever all is... IF there even is an all to address lol)

I'm back after quite the absence. I haven't stopped reading... I seemingly have just lost the urge to write. As much as I love to express myself using the written word, I have fallen off the wagon. Does anyone else find it difficult to stay on top of things during this time!? I wake up exhausted most days and would be quite content to be left alone with my books. Stacks and stacks of glorious books!

ANYWAYS. I know I don't normally include two books in one post. But, I don't think I will be writing about the backlog of books I would need to catch up on, so I picked two that moved me that I believe are important reads.

We all know about the Black Lives Matter movement. A lot of us know a little about Black History. Some of us are fairly ignorant... though I don't know if that would stem from lack of education, or lack of interest. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kid and Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes approach slavery in different manners. I know it sounds almost inhuman to say you enjoy books such as these. They are difficult reads on an emotional level (even being a white woman reading these books), but I find sometimes they will open your eyes to something more you didn't know about the civil rights movement, or about the slave trade, or racial inequality. Don't kid yourself. These books are important, and have been well researched.

The Invention of Wings for example? Follows the life of Sarah Grimke and her slave Hetty. Young Sarah opposes the ownership of another human, and is gifted Hetty for her birthday at a young age. Despite trying to legally free Hetty that same evening, her parents refuse. This novel is written from both the point of view of Hetty (Handful) and Sarah and their developing and changing relationship as the two grow into women. Little did I know when I picked up this book that Sarah Grimke was a real woman, and that she helped the abolitionist movement. (She was also considered the mother of the suffrage movement!) This book moved me in parts, and sickened me in others.. and that's not an insult to the author by any means! The treatment of another human that is portrayed.. makes my heart ache. I'm not going to share a lot about this novel. But, please do yourself a favor and read it.

(Here is a link to learn more about Ms Grimke - https://www.biography.com/activist/sarah-moore-grimke)

The Book of Negroes was another example of a very well researched book regarding the slave trade. This book had actually been sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read for YEARS. (I really couldn't tell you why it took me so long. Perhaps it was waiting for the right opportunity to speak to me?) This book follows the life of Aminata Diallo as she is stolen from just outside her village of Bayo, Africa and made to walk for three months to get to the slave ships, and thereafter sold into slavery. The fear of this young girl as she is stripped of everything she has ever known and loved will occasionally make you pause in your reading for just a moment to catch your breath. Reading Hill's account of the crossing to Charles Town was like nothing I had ever read before. To put yourself in the shoes (even through something as simple as a novel) of Aminata will have you doubting humanity so many times. I loved this book, but I am having a slightly difficult time writing about it without giving anything at all away. Aminata struggles and thrives in parts. Has things and people stripped from her over and over again without ever losing the part of her that chooses to fight.

These books, and books like these ARE important. Don't hide from them. I look at books like these and think of how far we have come; but with movements like BLM, the shocking treatments of many have come to light. Which makes me think about how far we still need to come. Books like these break my heart... but maybe we ALL need to read books like these and share those heartbreaks so we can push harder to become united as humans; not merely as individual races. Stand beside those suffering. Learn their stories. Break the cycle.

The Orphan Thief

Alright readers!! First and foremost, I should apologize for the prolonged absence of any posts. It's not as though I haven't been reading, but the motivation to follow it up with a blog post was just.... gone. It's been an exhausting time for all of us during this pandemic. I'm sleeping less, stressing more... and trying to homeschool two crazy children. I'm sure plenty of you are in the same boat. It's a big adjustment for anyone. Even after a couple of months, this version of life doesn't feel like the real thing. However! I am thankful that my children and I are back home, and that everyone here is safe and well.

Okay! The book. The Orphan Thief. I will be honest. I totally bought this one after looking at the cover and assuming it was some sort of WWII book about orphans being stolen. Which... maybe it is.. sort of? Vaguely. In a roundabout way.


This story actually centers on Ruby Shadwell, and her story of loss during a bombing in Coventry, England; which takes all of her family, and her home in one fell swoop. It details her mental and emotional strength as she works through her grief at the young age of only 16. Through this novel, she experiences all the highs and lows you would expect during such a terrible time in history. Perhaps even more than you would think. Life continues to batter Ruby in different ways, but, she remains strong. To be like that at 16? I can't even begin to imagine. War makes children grow up far too quickly.

Despite her numerous losses, this is definitely a novel full of both love and hope; something I would assume many were without during those times in Coventry, and throughout England. Peters also introduces a Canadian solider, who (of course) is something of a hero (though not in the traditional sense).

I didn't think I was truly that invested in the characters (any of them, really) until I reached the last few pages. I cried. Something that rarely (if EVER) happens to me when I read. I will dwell on certain books long after I have closed them.. but to actually cry? No. Clearly Peters did a better job than I thought hooking me in on this one. The characters are definitely a mixed bag; but they work. A new family, cobbled together from loss. There is something so beautiful in that. To rebuild what was lost. Not to replace it. To have it as an extension of yourself.

Anyways. I feel I'm sort of rambling and unfocused on this one, readers. But. I'M BACK.

Then Came You

For those of you who despise ChickLit? Close this window and check back in about a week. For those of you that adore those fluffy, feel good novels that sometimes touch on more difficult subject matter? This novel is for you.

In Then Came You, Jennifer Weiner ties together (using a surrogate pregnancy) four women who's lives couldn't be more different. India is a forty something semi successful woman who has reinvented herself for the sole purpose of attracting an extremely rich husband. Jules is a Princeton senior looking for a way to save her addict Father from himself. Annie is a housewife struggling with finances in her otherwise happy family. And lastly, Bettina is the daughter of an exceedingly successful and wealthy business man with her own set of familial issues.

This book isn't going to go down in history as an incredible book, but I rather enjoyed it. Discovering the backstories of these four woman will pull on your heartstrings just a bit as they each struggle to find their place, really. Unexpected emotions (on the part of the characters, perhaps not so much as a reader) unfurl and complicate matters more than you would initially guess in what I would consider a beach read.

My mother lent me this book months ago, during a visit (since I had either finished what I was reading, or forgotten to bring a book at all; which would be entirely unlike me, but still possible), and I forgot to take it home with me to finish. That being said? Once I finished my previous read, I was through the remaining couple of hundred pages in a flash. Weiner's characters are well written, and what I would deem 'real'. You can picture all of these women easily in their different walks of life. Their problems and pasts, though while very different, shape them into the strong woman they all are, in their own way.

I found myself feeling different things throughout this novel, as you relate (on some level) to each of the characters. We have all known someone who suffered addiction that we prayed would recover. We all know (or have heard about) a woman who is seemingly with a man simply for his wealth. We all have family politics we have had to deal with at one time or another. Most of us have felt imbalance in our relationships, and struggled to make things right. The way they were.

If you are looking for something quick and easy during this not so quick and easy time? Give this one a try. It's not chock full of romance (for those of you that are on the fence about such novels), and there are certainly some parts that are fairly mirthful. Go in with no expectations. Let's be honest. It's still ChickLit.

Once again, dear reader. Stay safe.

Something in the Water

No. It isn't sharks.

This thriller was on Reese's list; and I must say that I was somewhat disappointed. I supposed having read so many thrillers makes you a bit more critical.

Erin is set to marry Mark, the love of her life in London. He loses his job, things get tense. They make it through, and honeymoon in gorgeous Bora Bora (you're jealous, right? I know picturing those over the water bungalows, and endless blue skies has me seeing a bit of green lol.) Life is blissful for the newlyweds. Until (you guessed it) they find something in the water. And in all likelihood, not what you would expect.

Between filming her documentary, and dealing with life after Bora Bora, Erin's life (and Mark's as well, of course) is turned upside down. She becomes entangled in things she never would have dreamed of, but finds thrilling alongside her handsome and intelligent new husband. An adventure all its own. Until (of course) things become more serious. Because, let's be honest. They always do in these types of novels.

The first chapter of this read takes place nearly at the end of the novel; rewinds to before anything at all happened, and shows you how it got to that point. I do understand that perhaps Steadman expected to engross readers from that first chapter... and I'm sure that for many readers it had them turning pages quickly, wanting to see exactly the circumstances that lead to that first chapter. For me personally? I would rather be 100 percent surprised by the ending in a thriller. (Which, if you have read enough of them, can be difficult enough without any hint of the ending at the very start of the book.)

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? I didn't hate this novel, I swear. It does make me smirk after reading it to see such praise on the blurb. "Superbly written, clever and gripping" is just one of the brief reviews included. While I cannot deny that the author wrote well, I didn't find it all that clever, or gripping. But, we're all entitled to our own opinions, right?

That's all for now, readers. Stay safe.

The Familiars

From the speed with which this post follows my last, I'm sure you can tell this book must have been a good one. The title caught my eye while browsing the stacks, the colourful illustration pretty much had me sold; and after reading the book flap, I had to read this book. Set in 1612, in England, the young Mistress of an elegant manor (Gawthorpe) is having trouble carrying her pregnancies to term. After discovering a letter between her husband and a physician indicating that if "she finds herself once more in childbed, she will not survive it and her earthly life will come to an end", Fleetwood Shuttleworth becomes increasingly desperate to produce an heir and child for husband.

At the opening of this novel, Fleetwood already finds herself pregnant with the child that could end her life. She feels like a failure. Encouraged by her husband, chastised by her hateful mother, she feels betrayed that her husband would not have shared this news with her. She begins to doubt her worth as the Lady of the manor, of the affections of her husband. She stresses about what the servants and townsfolk are surely saying about her; a Lady of only seventeen who cannot carry a child to term.
When Fleetwood meets the mysterious Alice in the wood near Gawthorpe, things begin to change. The two woman become close, and bound to one another throughout the course of this novel.

You may be thinking that this is not the book for you. Let me bring in the other interesting element that ties this well written novel together - trials for witchcraft. You read that correctly. In case you didn't know (because I surely didn't!), the Pendle Witch Trials are listed among the most famous in English History. This particular books draws in characters that existed in real life, during the time of these trials. While Fleetwood herself is not a work of fiction, there is little known about her outside of that she was indeed the Lady of Gawthorpe. Her companion, Alice Gray? Is documented in these historical works as well (though I won't list anything further in regards to either character's place in history).

I honestly didn't think of The Pendle Witch Trials as being real whilst reading this book.. in all probability because it seems so ludicrous to think people suffered through the fear of these trials and being accused of witchcraft. In some cases, simply for their knowledge of herbal remedies! (If only they could behold the times we live in now, where people are always looking for such natural ways to deal with what ails them! SO many would be tried as witches!) I have read several articles after finishing this book yesterday regarding the trials. There are photographs of proposed sites for Malkin Tower (where the "witches" held their infamous meeting), drawings of these women with the devil, and a fair amount of information for an event that took place so long ago.

As much as I hate that mankind has gone through events such as these historically? They are very interesting to learn about (in my personal opinion. Salem as been on my bucket list since I was a teenager, for that very reason!), and I am sure I will be reading more about the Pendle Witches in the future. The Familiars is definitely an outsider's view on these events, as young Fleetwood deals with her own issues (which turn out, include far more than her pregnancy and impending death), and learns more about these accused witches and the events that brought them to the magistrate's attention in the first place.

I'm sorry to be so vague, readers. If you like historical fiction, and events such as the Salem Witch Trials interest you at all, I would for sure add this one to your reading list. Stacy Halls writes with passion, and while it takes a little bit of time to really get into; once you have, you just want to race to the end to see what becomes of Fleetwood, Alice, and the Pendle Witches.

https://historycollection.co/pendle-witches-twelve-steps-gallows/8/ - an interesting link to an article about the Pendle Witches.

**While the book photo is clearly my own, the other images included in this posy are from a Google image search**