Ten Favorite Reads from 2015

January 4, 2016 by Christina

I’ve already shared a recap of my 2015 in books complete with nerdy pie-charts, but I thought I’d pull together a list of my ten favorite books from 2015. These books may not have received a five-star rating from me when I finished them. Yet these are the books that stuck with me in the days, weeks, and months since I finished reading them. The list below includes three nonfiction titles, two graphic novels, an audiobook, two prize winners, and […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

2015 In Review

January 1, 2016 by Christina

In 2015, I read a total of 91 books — higher than the goal I set of 75 books read, but 59 books short of the 150 I read last year.  I hate to use the word “but” there as I actually feel rather good about this number. I spent a lot of time in 2015 not reading and, instead, concentrated on enjoying some of the other activities I enjoy — traveling to Iceland and Montreal, kayaking the Apostle Islands […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

Recent Acquisitions

December 19, 2015 by Christina

With Christmas only five days away, the library hosted another used book sale. I went with plans to purchase books for friends and while I successfully managed to find a book each for two friends, I also came home with six “gifts” for myself. Whoops. The Occupation Trilogy includes three of the 2014 Nobel Prize of Literature winner’s books — La Place De L’Étoile, The Night Watch, and Ring Roads. Sarah Walters’ book was selected by my book club for our February meeting so it […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

Top 10 Borrowed Books in 2015 from the Boston Public Library

December 16, 2015 by Christina

The Boston Public Library sent out a e-newsletter this week with the top 10 borrowed books in 2015 from their extensive catalog, and I think this might be the only “best of 2015” list out there containing titles I’ve actually read. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (read in 2015; unreviewed) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (read in 2015; unreviewed) The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant (read in 2015; reviewed) Gone Girl by Gillian […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

Recent Acquisitions

December 6, 2015 by Christina

Another first Saturday of the month; another used book sale at the library. I dragged a friend along before we went off to the movies and as I was putting books in the provided shopping basket, she asked, “You ever think you have a book buying problem?” No more than any other bookworm, and stop trying to discouraging reading! The Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon is the fourth book in her series so there’s one more I’ll need to read […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

The Triple Dog Dare

December 1, 2015 by Christina

I have about fifty books in my physical TBR pile — not including those left behind unread at my parents’ house — and another 150 or so books on my virtual TBR list over on GoodReads. Normally, these numbers would barely register with me as a problem — there are always gonna be books to read! But it looks like I’ll be moving come June, and the fewer books I have to pay to move, the better. Hence why I’m signing […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

The Classics Club: One Year Later

August 15, 2015 by Christina

A year ago today, I decided to join The Classics Club and created a list of seventy-five classics I would like to read within a three year period. I said in my introductory post that I hoped to read twenty-five classics each year and, a year later, I’ve read sixteen books off of my original list plus an additional eight books that could also be considered classics. All of my book reviews for those titles I’ve read for the club are available […]

Categories: Bookish Notes, Classics Club

Recent Acquisitions

August 3, 2015 by Christina

Much smaller pile this time around. The selections available at the library’s used book sale were pretty repetitive — lots of book clubs dumping their selections, I guess — and I haven’t exactly been reading enough to justify bringing home yet more books. Three of the books I picked up — The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon — are […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

Recent Acquisitions

June 7, 2015 by Christina

The first Saturday in an even-numbered month means there’s a used book sale at the public library to check out so the first Sunday in an even-numbered month means it is time to share my recent acquisitions with you all. The organization that runs the used book sale was offering a number of deals and promotions this time, but I zeroed in on the buy one, get one free promotion for fiction. Once again, I picked up two books I have […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

Sunday Salon: Currently in May

May 24, 2015 by Christina

Visiting | Since Memorial Day weekend is the “unofficial start of summer”, I took public transportation to the beach and enjoyed an ice cream cone as I walked in the sand. The weatherman kept warning about crushing heat, but it ended up being a beautiful day so I came back home via the river stopping along the way to see the Memorial Day commemorative flags. We supposed to have similar weather tomorrow, which I’m sure will bully me into putting aside the remote […]

Categories: Bookish Notes, Sunday Salon

Recent Acquisitions

April 7, 2015 by Christina

It’s my birthday and I’ll buy books if I want to! And, lucky for me, the public library’s used book sale coincided nicely with my birthday so I was able to spend the morning of perusing the tables of books and seeing what I could find that caught my fancy. For fifteen dollars, I came away with eleven books — three hardbacks and eight paperbacks — including three books selected by my book club for the upcoming months. I was […]

Categories: Bookish Notes

Wrap Up: TBR Double Dog Dare

April 1, 2015 by Christina

To get straight to the point, I failed the TBR Double Dog Dare. I managed to avoid bringing home any books from the library (with the exception of those I needed for book club) for about six weeks. Yet, in mid-February, an opinion piece in the local paper referenced David Kirby’s Death at SeaWorld, which I then had to read, and in March I came down with such an awful cough and cold that all I wanted to read were […]

Categories: Bookish Notes