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| If you don't read it, someone else will. |
The Sunday
Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance
to recap the past week, talk about next week, and share news. It’s Monday, What
Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date.
I get to tell you what I’ve read recently.
Public Service Announcement
I’m only going to participate
in two reading/blogging challenges next year, and this is one of them. I’m
signing up for the Discussion Challenge hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction
and It Starts At Midnight. I’m hoping to write at least 12 discussions. If you’d
like to join me, sign up here.
On The Blog Last Week
- On Tuesday I showed you festive holiday book photos.
- On Thursday I listed some oddities that I discovered in this blog’s comment section.
- On Saturday I reviewed two books about religion gone wrong.
On The Blog This Week
- On Tuesday I show you what I’m (hopefully) reading this winter.
- On Thursday I talk about Christmas traditions.
- On Saturday I review two books about adventures.
In My Reading Life
Last
week, I finished The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand.
It was okay. I like the characters and the themes. It’s a realistic look at how
people handle the unexpected suicide of a family member. I wish there was more
plot. It feels like the book was building to something, but then nothing
happened.
Then, I
read The Mothers by Brit Bennett. Can
I just say “ditto” about this book? I like the characters and the themes. I
like that it’s narrated by a Greek chorus of gossipy “church mothers” who are
in everybody’s business. For most of the book, nothing happens.
Right
now, I’m reading How It Went Down by
Kekla Magoon. Finally, a book with a plot! It has too many characters, but I
currently love it. It’s about a crime that had a ton of witnesses, but nobody
can agree on what happened.
In My Internet Stalking Life
- Angela @ Musings of a Literary Wanderer asks how you define success as a book blogger. That's a good question.
In The Rest Of My Life
Five
things that made me happy last week:
- Writing my Christmas traditions post was fun. It’ll be up on Thursday. The research was very entertaining.
- Walking my dog. That’s always more pleasant when it’s not freezing outside.
- I think I posted on Instagram every day last week. Go me! I’m terrible at being consistent.
- Christmas junk food!
- The Great American Baking Show is back! I look forward to this show every year. It’s on ABC on Thursday nights.
Want To Connect?
Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other! See you around
the blogosphere!
Hi lady, happy Sunday and happy reading. Glad How It Went Down is good so far. Enjoy your reading challenges :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I finished How It Went Down and loved it.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think the Hand book would work for me, because I am all about the character driven stories. I need almost no plot, but I need to feel a lot. Insta every day is an accomplishment. You are awesome! You have me really eager to read your traditions post. My family actually does have some Christmas traditions, which we still adhere to.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like the Hand book! I think my issue with it is that it started to have a plot, but then everything fizzled out and went nowhere.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Discussion challenge sounds interesting. I sometimes do the ABC challenge. It's a huge commitment but I learn lots from that one.
ReplyDeleteThe Discussion Challenge is a commitment, but I always have fun reading everybody’s discussions in the link up. Bloggers are very creative.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thanks for sharing all the interesting things you found around the blogsphere! Have a great reading week! Anne - Books of My Heart
ReplyDeleteLoved your festive holiday photos. Books can be so comforting to look at in a festive setting.
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of fun taking them. Except for the glitter. There’s glitter EVERYWHERE!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Good luck with your challenges! ;) I don't plan to do one so far.. I would only end up pressuring myself way to much.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week and happy reading!
That’s exactly why I’m only doing 2 challenges next year. There’s too much pressure.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I enjoyed The Mothers...and those odd comments made me laugh. I think I have those same spammers on my blogs! Have a great week, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
ReplyDeleteAren’t spammers great? I have no idea what’s going on in their minds . . .
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm definitely a more character-based reader but even so, I like to feel like a story is going somewhere and has a point. Go you with all the IG posts! I suck at consistency so I'm extra impressed. :)
ReplyDeleteI’m a character-based reader, too, but the characters have to be REALLY interesting to keep me reading without a plot.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Any kind of junk food makes me happy :) Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMy post is here.
Me, too! Thanks!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
A few years ago I went overboard with challenges and now I don't do any. Haha, I'm hoping one day I can work a challenge or two in for the year.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week AJ, I can't wait to see what you plan to read this winter! I need to pull together my list too.
This is Amber @ Du Livre btw.
I tried to be really ambitious with my challenges this year because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I ended up (mostly) staying in my comfort zone and failing all of the challenges.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Christmas Junk food is the best. I need to watch The Great American Baking Show, I always hear how great it is.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, AJ! Happy Reading! :)
Yes, watch it! It’s fun, and they make yummy-looking stuff.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying How It Went Down. I feel like it somehow got missed, with everyone reading All American Boys, The Hate U Give, and Dear Martin instead.
ReplyDeleteI liked How It Went Down more than The Hate U Give. Why is The Hate U Give getting all of the attention?! Not fair.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm not sure of what Christmas Junk food is, but any food makes me happy. =P I'm terrible at being consistent at my Instagram. Only once did I post on Instagram every day - and I'm still not sure of how I did it.
ReplyDeleteWishes of a happy week.
Tânia @MyLovelySecret
Cookies! So many cookies. That’s my favorite Christmas junk food.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
How It Went Down sounds really interesting! And a little like Sadie, maybe, in how it plays with individual perception versus reality. I'm always on the hunt for new mystery/thriller novels to read. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI loved the different perspectives in How It Went Down. It’s interesting that multiple people can witness the same thing and come to different conclusions.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thank you for the shoutout! Ooh, I might have to try the baking show, it seems like everything else is on hiatus right now!
ReplyDeleteYes! Try the baking show. It’s fun and fills the gap while everything else is hiatusing (that’s totally a real word).
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I like your list of five things. My son and I have felt we need to get outside in the fresh year and have been doing some walking. My dog loves it:) I may try the discussion challenge this year. I haven't had much luck with doing them in the past but I want to try again.
ReplyDeletehttp://fuonlyknew.com/2018/12/16/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-291-and-the-sunday-post/
I love the Discussion Challenge. It forces me to be creative, which is really difficult sometimes!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm the worst at posting on any social media consistently. I have heard good things about How It Went Down. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteNatflix&Books
I’ve been terrible at social media this year. It makes me depressed, so I’ve been inconsistent. I’ve fallen into the trap of just using it for shameless self-promotion, which nobody likes.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I want to do the discussion challenge again; I just need to do better, and remember to link up posts! LOL
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Haha, good to know that I’m not the only one who forgets to link up.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Gotta think about the discussion challenge...
ReplyDeleteDoooo it . . . .
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Still debating on whether I'm going to do any challenges this year. The Discussion one is new to me and interesting as it highlights doing more than just writing reviews.
ReplyDeleteThe Discussion Challenge is the only blogging challenge I’ve been able to succeed at. It’s pretty chill and doesn’t have a lot of rules.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I included what I plan to read this month and next on my update post. My weekly updates.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I’ll check it out.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The "church mothers" aspect of The Mothers sounds like a lot of fun. :)
ReplyDeleteYay for Christmas junk food!! And I'm sure your traditions post will be fun to read!
I loved the writing style in The Mothers. It’s definitely unique.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Yay for Christmas junk food! And yay for bookstagram posting <3 I don't even post daily xD I also really like the sound of The Monsters. It's one I've seen around and it sounds like a good read. Hope you have a good week ahead ^.^
ReplyDeleteMy recent post: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2018/12/sword-art-online-anime-review/
Posting daily is challenging. I don’t understand how people do it. When do they have time to take and edit all those photos?
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love the idea of a monthly discussion challenge. I'm not good with challenges, though, so I think I will formally pass, but informally participate.
ReplyDeleteYour spam comments post cracked me up! Thank you.
I’m not good with challenges, either. That’s why I’m only doing 2 next year. I love the spam I get on my blog. It’s very special.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
LOL! I love your "If you don't read it, someone else will" under the featured imagine I don;t think I have noticed it before. I love Nicole's challenge! it's a MUST!
ReplyDeleteI use a different caption every week. I’ve been doing it for so long that I’m running out of caption ideas. I love the Discussion Challenge. It’s my favorite bookish challenge.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I haven't done one discussion post and I've blogging for over 5 years. Can you believe it? I don't think I'll sign up for the challenge, but maybe I should make a goal of doing at least one in 2019.
ReplyDeleteWalking the dog in nice way to de-stress, and yes in good weather is a plus!
I don’t blame you for not writing discussions. They’re hard! And I’m completely out of ideas for posts.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've just signed up for my first challenge (Back to the Classics) in years... hope to stick with it this time.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed The Mothers.
Good luck with your challenge!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think I'll pass on both books. I started "The Seven of Us" this weekend but didn't get far. There's only 4 in the family right now so I'm a tad curious how the seven is gonna get worked in. I need to make cheesecake and Christmas cookies next weekend. Will the Christmas madness ever end?
ReplyDeleteIt’ll probably end in January :). I love Christmas, even though I’m really, really tired.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm hoping to participate in a few discussions this next year via the Discussion Challenge! It's always nice to have a good chit chat with people on my blog. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Discussions are my favorite posts to read.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Cheers for Christmas Junk Food!!! I gave up on challenges, though I used to LOVE them.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I’ve mostly given up on challenges, too. I did so bad on them this year. It’s discouraging.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've read a Kekla Magoon co-write that was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fictionalsed biography of Malcolm X co-written with his daughter. Very readable (listenable actually!) and I learned a lot
Awesome! I need to read more of her books. How It Went Down is really good.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
We've had good dog walking weather too. I think we're on our way to a brown Christmas which is really okay as far as I'm concerned. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteWe’ll probably have a dry, windy Christmas. Most of the snow has melted or blown away.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Best of luck for the discussion challenge! I did it this year and had a lot of fun, I think I might take it again next year just as well :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll have a wonderful week! xx
Thanks! I think I’ve done it every year since it started. It’s my favorite challenge.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
We should be walking our dogs more, and we usually do, but we're mid-move right now! It makes everything more difficult, haha. Glad your weather has been enjoyable! Ours has been in the 60s the last few days, so we've really enjoyed it. I'm participating in this challenge next year, too! Though I think I'll be involved with more than two, because there are so many I didn't realize were out there. Good luck with your challenges!
ReplyDeleteCheck out my 2018 End of the Year Giveaway! Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
Thanks! Good luck with the move!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I always catch you on Sundays, odd. Yay! Books with plots lol.
ReplyDeleteI have no Christmas Traditions... I think next year I need to start making some for my own. I'm curious to see what yours are.
I like books with plots :). I don’t have many Christmas traditions, either. I do eat frozen Tex-Mex food on Christmas because nobody wants to cook.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I have seen The Mothers around a lot lately. I will have to add it to my growing TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteIt was super-popular when it was first published. I think the hype is dying down a little.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
It is so much more pleasant walking dogs when the weather isn't terrible. Christmas junkfood is always great. Good luck with the challenge! I must say that I do enjoy books that actually have a plot so I might skip both of these. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMy dog loves cold weather and gets really hyper, but I’m not a fan of getting dragged down the sidewalk by her while I’m freezing.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Hurray for puppy walks! For us, it's trying to work around the super hot days, so we've finally got some good walking weather too! I'm (im)patiently waiting for another season of The Great British Baking Show to show up on Netflix!
ReplyDeleteI love the British Baking Show. I’ve considered getting Netflix just so I can watch it whenever I want.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Yay for IG every day! I should be back on there after the first of the year and I'll get caught up with you again. 📷
ReplyDeleteCHRISTMAS JUNK FOOD! I don't allow myself any until the week before, so Tuesday let the wild rumpus start! Ha ha. 🍩🍰🍪🍫🍬🍭🍮🍨🍧🍸
I’m very bad at resisting junk food. I’ve been eating it for weeks.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm doing a few challenges hosted by other people next year. I meant to do a post about it but time has been against me this week!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your challenges!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Food is seriously the best part of christmas. Not even a contest. 😂😂And hurrah for dog walking! My dog absolutely hates walking for me, even though I specifically wanted a dog to go walking with me...typical. Also I vaguely remember reading The Last Time I Say Goodbye and it falling a bit short for me too.
ReplyDeleteFood is the best part of Christmas. My dog loves walking. She gets so excited that she pretty much rips my arms off if I don’t walk fast enough.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Ooo… Looking forward to the Christmas traditions post. A wonderful week to you!
ReplyDeleteI think I already told you this, but I'm super excited you're joining the Discussion Challenge this year! :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction