Lists & Recommendations

Recommendations | Fall Books 2018

RecsSince the start of September, I have been wanting to share my favorite books I love to read in the fall. This time of the year I start to read more and hide away inside as the weather gets colder. The following books I think are perfect to read this time of year.

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Little Women and Other Novels by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women and Other Novels

If you have been reading my blog for any time at all you will know that I love the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott. Reading this series is like going home for me. It is cozy, warm, and full of love.

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Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic

While this novel is something I only read a few months ago, it has become one I really enjoy and I see myself rereading. When I was younger I would rewatch the movie adaptation of this novel a bunch of times in the fall so I see this as a perfect Fall read. Also, if you watched the movie, this is actually very different, but very good.

DividerLying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Lying in Wait

Lying in Wait is such an atmospheric novel, it is creepy, dark, and almost cold. It is a wonderful thriller. Liz Nugent has easily become one of my favorite authors when it comes to thrillers. Her writing style is very refreshing and different than others of her genera. If you want to know more about this specific book I write a review you can find here:REVIEW | Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent.

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House is one of my favorite, if not my favorite horror novels. It is more psychological and leaves a lot of the monsters and surprises to your own imagination. I feel like that makes this novel so much more impactful. This is another novel that is atmospheric, you feel the story starting light and airy like Summer and it slowly morphs into something else. Just like Summer turns into Fall.

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The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff

The Witches: Salem, 1692

While this is a non-fiction account of the events of the Salem witch trials, I think it is best to read in the Fall. The reason I see this is because I find that I always want to read more about dark periods of history this time of the year. I am not sure why, but I think it is because the days are getting darker and I want to read more intense reads. I will point out that this nonfictions read like a novel, it is not just a list of facts strung together. I think it is perfect for those who want to read more nonfiction, but tend to become bored or bogged down by these types of books.

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Wrap Up

Wrap Up | May 2018

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Another month as passed and I read a ton of books. I have no idea how I found the time to read 15 books. I think the reason I read so much it because of my Read 5 Buy 1 challenge I have been doing.  With such a high book count this month I am able to buy 3 books. Woohoo! So far it has been a win for me, I am spending less money on books and reading some great ones I might not have gotten to. Now, some of them I LOVED and others were just okay, but overall I am happy with the books I read this month.

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Books I Finished

Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Irena's Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto

This was a heart breaking non-fiction. It told the story of a social worker that aided many jewish children during WWII. She was able to take them out of the ghettos and get them into homes and teach them how to pass as christians so they would be able to survive in Nazi Germany. The toils and close calls that this woman went through, I just could not believe. She was so brave, intelligent, and compassionate. I highly recommend this book.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

The Female Persuasion

I was looking forward to this book coming out in May, but what got me to pick it up this month was the fact that it was the first book of the Barns and Nobel book club. I will admit I was a bit bored with it, I think I would have liked it more if I did not read so much about feminism or books with feminist themes. I have read this story before and done better. It is bad? No. Is it the best? No. If you are interested I would suggest getting it from the library.

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe

You may not know this about me but I LOVE myths about Gods and Goddess. I grew up reading and learning about both greek and roman myths so when Book of the Month had this as a pick I knew I needed to have it. I ended up reading this in a single day and I loved it. It was great hearing about Circe, I have never read a story from her point of view. The writing was great, the story was great, the subject was great. Did I mention that this was great?

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House

So I have been hearing about this classic horror story a lot over the years, but I finally ended up picking it up this month and reading it. When I got it I realized it was so small. I was surprised, how could such a small novel be so scary? Well, now I know why Stephen King and his son both rave about it. This is one of my top horror novels of all time. The writing is was magnificent, the characters were interesting, the methods used to pull the reader in were mesmerizing. I very much suggest reading this if you like horror, even just a little bit.

My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris

My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel

This was a funny book my friend got me for my birthday, it was funny and since there are multiple ways to read it I may pick it up again in the future. Who knows?

Storm of the Century by Stephen King

Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay

When I was younger I used to travel to see family where this movie was filmed. I figured it was time to read the screen play and then watch the movie. I have to admit it was fun to watch the movie because I actually recognized a lot of the places in the movie. It also made it even more creepy since it made it so real.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

When Dimple Met Rishi

This was such a cute story! I don’t know why I waited so long to read this, but I am so glad that I finally did. I loved Dimple as a character, she was smart, dedicated, and just all around wonderful. I did realize I was so invested until the ending, I cried a bit. I normally don’t usually actually cry when I read books, so I was surprised.

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King

Sleeping Beauties

This was a really good novel. I could not even figure out who wrote what characters or chapters. Their writing blended together so well. They story itself was just mind blowing. Leave it to Stephen King and Owen King to open your eyes and really make you think about the world with a horror novel. The scariest things are sometime the most real.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None

I love Agatha Christie, her mysteries are “classic”, “typical” mysteries that I actually enjoy. Normally I get bored of others, but her I can read through very quickly, in fact I read this in a single day. It was very interesting and I loved  the theme to it. It was eerie and creepy. It also left me guessing until the end.

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

Every Exquisite Thing

I read this along withAmy from Tomes with Tea, Regina from Bookish in Bed and  Jenna from J.K. I’m Exploring! . Overall I felt that the story was average. I loved some parts of it, but others were just okay. I really cannot pinpoint any particular problem with this book, but nothing stood out. If you have read this I would really like to hear your thoughts on it.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Cleopatra: A Life

Earlier I read The Witches by Stacy Schiff and I loved that book so much. So I went out and picked up another book by her. Now I did look at the ratings of this book so I kinda knew what I was getting into. It was rated lower than The Witches, but not by much. I have to say I agree with the rating it has on goodreads. It is not bad, but it is nothing like The Witches. While I picked up this book to learn about Cleopatra, I ended up learning more about the people around her I feel like. She does open up with saying how there is not much on her, but I don’t know. I was left not totally satisfied. I still 1000% suggest The Witches by her. Still one of my top non-fiction reads.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men

I don’t know why, but I had the urge to read a book that I read in high school. I think for two reasons. The first being, I didn’t really remember the story. The second being that I remember really liking it and I was curious to see if I still did. As it turns out I do still enjoy this novel.

The End of Watch by Stephen King

End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3)

This is the final installment of the Bill Hodges trilogy. I will say the first half of the book moved a little too slowly for me, but the second half took turns I had not expected. Also, while the ending nearly killed me. It would not have been a Stephen King book with any other. Over all I really enjoyed this series. If horror is not something you enjoy but you like thrillers I highly suggest it.

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck

The Red Pony

This was not really a classic I enjoyed that much. I felt it was boring and I was not interested in the slightest. Thankfully it was only 100 pages and I stuck it out.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

I ended up absoultly loving this book, if you have not seen my full review on it you can find it here: REVIEW | The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware I go into detail on my thoughts about this book.

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I am Still Reading

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth

You can see details about both of these books here: Currently Reading | April 2018.

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What was the best book you read this month?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Book Haul |May 2018

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So this month is most likely going to be the last big haul for some time. If you don’t follow me else where or missed a previous post where I mentioned that I am currently participating in the Read 5 to Buy 1 challenge. I decided following my birthday it was time to slow down my buying of books and focus on reading what I already have.

While I limited my own buying of books this month, I did have a birthday so I ended up getting a ton of books from my friends and families. Without more of a delay here is a short video of the books I received and bought this month.

Also, I know these videos have been shaky so I have ordered a little phone stand to fix this, it has been bothering me and thanks to Charlotte, I have an idea of starting to do something new that it can be used for as well.

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The Books

Replica by Lauren Oliver

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

After the Fireworks: Three Novellas by Aldous Huxley

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Night Shift by Stephen King

The Stand by Stephen King

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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What book(s) did you add to your TBR recently?

Have you read any of these?

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