Tags

BOOKSHELF SCAVENGER HUNT 2.0

TagTimel12:17Hello everyone, today I decided to have a bit of fun and do a tag. This time I am doing one that lets me share a bit about the books on my bookshelf and what I thought about them. I will admit I wanted to reuse a book or two to answer multiple prompts, but I thought it would be fun to challenge myself and share more books on my shelf. Without any more delay, here is the Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt 2.0 Tag.

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Find a book that starts with and “N”

Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge

This was a great short non-fiction novel that I read earlier this year. I found it enjoyable and eye opening.

Find a book cover that’s mostly brown

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger’s by Temple Grandin

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger's

If you want a bit of insight into Autism Spectrum Disorder, this is a wonderful book to read. I read it very quickly and found it enlightening.

Find a book that is based on a true story

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

This is my one of my two FAVORITE non-fiction. It is both informational, but I love how it is written. It id not bogged down by facts, but reads more like a narrative.

Find a multi perspective book

Replica by Lauren Oliver

Replica (Replica, #1)

I have yet to read this, but I can’t wait to try reading this interestingly formatted duel perceptive novel.

Find a book you read last year

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

The Woman in Cabin 10

I love this thriller, It was one of my top 5 of the books I read last year. It kept me on the edge of my seat and took twists and turns I could not predict.

Find the most recent book that you bought

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

When Dimple Met Rishi

I very recently picked this up on discount at Barns and Nobel. I mainly picked it up because I heard so many great things and I wanted to see for myself.

Find a book cover you don’t like

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

The Nest

Okay, this one might sound wrong, but hear me out. The reason I don’t like this cover is because my copy the cover is ripped. That is why I don’t like the cover.

Find a retelling

All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother

This is a retelling of sorts of Cinderella’s Stepmother. I have yet to read this, but I cannot wait to get to it.

Find a book that is also a movie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)

I have yet to see the movie adaptation, mainly because I don’t want to buy a copy but, I did enjoy the novel! I read it very quickly.

Find a book written this year

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe

This was a book that came out pretty recently, but I read it and I read it in a single day. I found it interesting and I felt for Circe.

Find a non fiction book

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff

The Witches: Salem, 1692

This is one of my top 2 non-fiction reads. Once again this non-fiction account of the Salem witch trials reads more as a narrative than a non-fiction. It is not bogged down by facts and quotes, but flows nicely.

Find a book you have told others to read

50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple’s Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany by Steven Pressman

50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany

This is a magnificent story of a couple who required as many children from Nazi Germany that they could. Anyone who shows a slight interest in WW2 stories I tell them to read this.

Find a book with a tree on it

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)

This is a wonderful series, if you have not read at least this first book I suggest you try it. They are short, but pack your bags for an adventure.

Find a book where the authors name is the same as yours – first, middle or last

I have nothing for this prompt

Find a book you have read more than once

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)

Do I really need to say anything? I mean it is Harry Potter.

Find a book you didn’t finish

If I DNF a book, I donate it right away. So I have none on my shelf.

Find a book with a king in it

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)

While they do not use the term King, You can call a few of the characters kings in this novel/series/

Find a book that is purple with its dust jacket off

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)

I had no idea that a purple colored book was so difficult to find. This was the only one that I could find on my shelf. Obviously, I love it.

Find a book you will read by the end of the year

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

The Wicked Deep

I got this very recently for my birthday, I am VERY excited to get to it! If you have read it, please tell me what you thought of it.

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I Tag:

Jasmine bookishwisps

thebookhamster

Justine bookishwisps

weavinglife

Abigail abigailstalesbooks

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I hope you enjoyed this little look at my bookshelf and maybe even found a book that might interest you. Have a great day!

SignOff12:17

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Wrap Up

November 2017 | WRAP UP

Wrap Up

This month was busy, busy, busy. There was NaNoWriMo, holidays, and some bookstore adventures with my friends, but I somehow managed to read a good amount of books this month. I have to say that this month I read a wide range of genres, new authors and some well loved authors, and some good reads and a few not so great ones.

I READ:

Misery by Stephen King

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I ended up giving this 3 stars. While I did enjoy the story I have enjoyed other works by Stephen King a lot more.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

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This was a very interesting twist on the death of Abraham Lincolns son. I found it heart wrenching and it caused me to do a bit of self reflection. I loved this book, I gave it a very strong 5 stars.

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

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This was a wonderful story and I still cannot believe how brave Ona Judge was by sharing her story by giving interviews while she was still on the run. I have to say we are very lucky to have those interviews, she put herself in so much danger to tell her story and share what slaves truly went through. I very much enjoyed this book and learning about this brave and determined woman. I gave it 5 stars.

Origin byDan Brown

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Ah! I am still so torn about this book.  I love Dan Brown and Robert Langdon, but I felt that this book lost its spark somehow. While there was still an adventure and some clues dealing with art, there was a lot less and I felt myself getting board because not that much actually happens in the book action wise. I ended up finally settling on a 2 star rating.

Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks

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First, I have to say that this book shocked me a bit. When I think of Tom Hanks I think of a wholesome, family friendly individual. When I first started reading this book I was a little shocked by some of the phrases he wrote, but honestly the shock wore off very quickly. I enjoyed these short stories very much. All of them were very different from one another, but all seemed very thought out. I also enjoyed the touches of adding pictures and references to old type writers. I have always loved type writers and I have always had one since I was a little girl. I ended up giving this short story collection a 5 star rating.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

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Now I do not want to say much about this book because I have typed up a whole review that is coming out in the next week or so. But, I will say that I truly enjoyed this book. It is one of the top books of 2017 for me. I gave it a 5 star rating.

Joyland by Stephen King

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Joyland has turned out to be one of my top Stephen King reads. It mixed real world horror and paranormal horror is such a way you are almost forced to see the possible evil of ordinary people. I ended up giving this book a 5 star rating.

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

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So I picked up this short little horror when I couldn’t sleep one night hoping I would be able to fall asleep or at least get sleepy about 20 pages in. Well, that did not happen. I ended up staying up even later and completely finished the book in one sitting. I gave this read a very solid 4 stars. It was just right amount of mystery and horror that I love.

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

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So this beautiful book is a historical fiction/retelling/thriller. It deals with the horrific story of Lizzie Borden and what she may or may not done to her parents in 1892. I loved how the author told the story from multiple points of view. Each one was very distinct and I found interesting to read. Usually when I read a book that is in multiple points of view I tend to start skipping one, but not with this one. I ended up giving this book 4 stars.

I WROTE:

NaNoWriMo | My Survival Kit

OCTOBER 2017 | WRAP UP

NaNoWriMo | Update Week 1

Book Haul | November 2017

NaNoWriMo | What I Use to Write

TAG TUESDAY | The Entertainer Blogger Award

December TBR | 2017


What was your favorite read this month?

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To Be Read

October TBR | 2017

TBR

This months TBR is going to be dedicated to finishing up books I am in the middle of. Lucky for me some of them are spooky and wonderfully themes for October. I don’t know about you, but October is my favorite month of the year. I love the creepy vibe and the fact I have an excuse to put skeletons and skulls all over the place. I love that there is a chill in the air that makes holding a nice hot apple cider, tea, or coffee in your hands one of the best feelings in the world.

Where the Light Falls by Allison Pataki & Owen Pataki

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I am currently 28% through this book. I am very much enjoying the story.

From the courtrooms to the battlefields to the alleyways of Paris, with cameos from infamous figures in French history, the Patakis have crafted an epic, action-packed novel of the French Revolution as it has never been seen before. Three years after the storming of the Bastille, Paris is enlivened with the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The monarchy has been dismantled and a new nation, for the people, is rising up in its place. Jean-Luc, a young optimistic lawyer, moves his wife, Marie, and their son to Paris, inspired by a sense of duty to contribute to the new order. André, the son of a former nobleman, flees his privileged past to fight in the unified French Army with his roguish brother. Sophie, a beautiful young aristocratic widow and niece of a powerful, vindictive uncle, embarks on her own fight for independence.

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

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I went to the bookstore yesterday and picked up this read. It caught my eye right away and when I read the blurb I knew I needed to read it. I am already 22% through this book and I plan on finish it first.

A startling and eye-opening look into America’s First Family, Never Caught is the powerful narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave who risked it all to escape the nation’s capital and reach freedom.

When George Washington was elected president, he reluctantly left behind his beloved Mount Vernon to serve in Philadelphia, the temporary seat of the nation’s capital, after a brief stay in New York. In setting up his household he took Tobias Lear, his celebrated secretary, and nine slaves, including Ona Judge, about which little has been written. As he grew accustomed to Northern ways, there was one change he couldn’t get his arms around: Pennsylvania law required enslaved people be set free after six months of residency in the state. Rather than comply, Washington decided to circumvent the law. Every six months he sent the slaves back down south just as the clock was about to expire.

Though Ona Judge lived a life of relative comfort, the few pleasantries she was afforded were nothing compared to freedom, a glimpse of which she encountered first-hand in Philadelphia. So, when the opportunity presented itself one clear and pleasant spring day in Philadelphia, Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. Yet freedom would not come without its costs.

At just twenty-two-years-old, Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt led by George Washington, who used his political and personal contacts to recapture his property.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

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I am currently 43% through this  book.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years.

Not since Misery has King played with the notion of a reader whose obsession with a writer gets dangerous. Finders Keepers is spectacular, heart-pounding suspense, but it is also King writing about how literature shapes a life—for good, for bad, forever.

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

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I am currently 30% through this books. I have a feeling it is going to be one of my favorite King novels when I am done.

Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work—in fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.


Are you reading anything spooky this month?

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