The Long List for the 2018 Tournament of Books was released last week. Do you follow the Tournament? It’s a fun and engaging way to experience a book award! The shortlist is announced in January but the tournament happens in March: each book is pitted against another, bracket-style. Each round is assigned a judge, who... Continue Reading →
La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust #1) by Philip Pullman
I was so excited when the publication of La Belle Sauvage was announced earlier this year that I did something that I hardly every do: I preordered it. I adored Pullman’s His Dark Materials series and when I found out that he was writing another series that would be a prequel to Lyra’s adventures, I... Continue Reading →
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
The Book of Life was the final installment of the All Souls Trilogy, which follows Diana and Matthew back to present day to finally put their hands on that dang Ashmole book. They travel the world – they spend time in Diana’s ancestral home in the States, they visit England, and stay in Paris. They... Continue Reading →
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
The Alice Network is a WWII novel that takes place in France, which is my favorite time period and location, so this one was bound to be a winner for me. But please bear with me – I am playing catch up with my posts, so they won’t be as detailed as some of my... Continue Reading →
Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead
Astonish Me was a different sort of book for me, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! We follow Joan, an aspiring ballet dancer turned teacher, from the 70s through a post 9/11 world. Jacob fell in love with Joan when they were children, but Joan's true love was ballet. She met Arslan, a remarkable Russian... Continue Reading →
Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career, edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
I told you that I have an addiction to these books! Maximize Your Potential is another volume in the 99U series about tailoring your life and career to your own aspirations. This one didn't feel as relevant to me as Manage Your Day to Day, but I still did a ton of highlighting and pulled... Continue Reading →
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid is a terrific storyteller. I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist several years ago and remember being captivated by it. As I listened to Exit West on audiobook, I was just as taken in! Saeed and Nadiya are the main characters in this story. They are living in a country that has been taken over... Continue Reading →
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (a #RIPXII finish)
I didn't have high hopes for The Woman in Cabin 10 when I downloaded the loan from the library, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this one more than the previous book by Ware that I read. However, it should be noted that I finished each of these Ware... Continue Reading →
Third Quarter Reading Update
I was planning to write this at the beginning of October, but it seemed apt to do it now because I've met my yearly reading goal! Here's a quick recap of my reading goals this year: Read 50 books: Completed on September 18! A fun little note is that of the 50 books that I've... Continue Reading →
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
"Don't worry about your talent or capability: that will grow as you practice. Katagiri Roshi said, 'Capability is like a water table below the surface of the earth.' No one owns it, but you can tap it. You can tap it with your effort and it will come through you. So just practice writing, and... Continue Reading →
The Cozy Burrow 