Month: November 2020

Meal Planning and Recipes Lately

Posted November 30, 2020 / Food & Drink, Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

I talk a lot on my blog about recipes, Weight Watchers/calorie counting, and meal planning/prepping. It’s something that makes me really happy – I have an addiction to grocery shopping and planning my meals according to new recipes or cookbooks. I will tell you that in 2020 excessive grocery buying is both a privilege and unfortunately necessary at times. People have been stockpiling toilet paper since March. I’m not that bad, but I find myself buying a new can of something every time I use it even if I have four more in the pantry. Anyways, I wanted to put all that on the table and give you a glimpse into some of my tips, planning, and recipes lately. Meal Planning Cookbooks I love buying cookbooks and flipping through them multiple times, planning meals and jotting down ideas. When I first got the Cravings cookbooks, I made A TON of meals in a row from them. I tried to do something similar when I got the Skinnytaste One and Done book (and I just got Skinnytaste Fast and Slow). In my opinion, you can never have too many of them. There’s a ton of variety out there. If I’m in the mood for a Crockpot recipe during busy weeks, I can pull multiple books and check what recipes are easy for dump and go. It’s nice to not rely on Pinterest all the time too. Meal Planner Book and Fridge Pad I’ve been using the Skinnytaste Meal Planner notebook for […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #315: Thanksgiving Freebie

Posted November 24, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 5 Comments

Thanksgiving Freebie: Books I’m Thankful For in the Shitty Year of 2020 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. My 2020 has been quite garbage like most people, with the notable exception of acquiring the cutest puppy in the world. My reading has even been garbage. I’ve never reduced my reading challenge before but I’m down to 100 instead of 120. Quite a change for me! And even then, I’m still around 10 books behind. Every time I read a book I straight-up couldn’t put down OR reignited my love for reading (even for a brief moment!), I was extremely grateful and made sure to yell about that fact in my review. Here are ten books I’m grateful for this year – either because I cranked through them and they really helped me, or because they became new favorites. Quick Reads Date Me, Bryson Keller: “Oh man, this book was EXACTLY what I needed. I’d been struggling with reading during quarantine (and honestly was behind on my challenge BEFORE too) so Chris suggested I take a break from the book that was taking me forever and putting me in a slump, and read something quick and fun. I was able to sit down […]

Holiday Novella Reviews: Booked for Christmas and The Christmas Wish

Posted November 19, 2020 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

This novella is an adult romance by Sandhya Menon, using her pen name Lily Menon. The main character is an author of romance novels and has some friends over for a holiday party. A reviewer who trashes her books, Wolfe, shows up as a plus-one and she tries not to let it ruin her night. When a snowstorm rolls in and all the guests but Wolfe are able to leave, the two of them end up with a cozy and snowy holiday romance. I’m a sucker for hate-to-love so that was warmly welcomed by me! I always have issues with novellas where the pacing is off and things move too quickly, but this one actually felt just right – both in the overall story and with the romance. I wish there were more actual Christmas feels but the snow-covered remote cabin was a wonderful setting for this romance. It can be hard to capture THAT much Christmas in a small novella too. Overall though, this was a solid start to my holiday reading with a favorite author writing in a new age target. Another cozy and atmospheric small town romance companion series to start! My favorite. I love that this holiday novella is the first book in the Sunshine Valley series, set in the fictional town in Colorado. This story centers around the new town manager, Everett, who is struggling to get the city budget in place by the end of the year. He’s made some changes and fixed things […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #314: Pet Names

Posted November 17, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 7 Comments

Characters I’d Name a Pet After Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’m really picky about dog names – it took us forever to think of names and we got so lucky that Miller was available… that was the one name out of the 12 puppy litter that had a name we really liked! It was easy to keep his name and deal with picking out a dog name in a later year when we get another haha. I’ve always wanted to name a dog Noodle but Chris wasn’t as into it. I’ll get my way someday! Olive /// Pepper /// Gemma I’m a big fan of food names for dogs, hence my love for Noodle as a dog name, but Olive and Pepper would make great dog names. My mom had a dog when she was younger named Pepper actually. I’m not sure I’d actually name a dog Gemma, but I love this book too much to not think of a character name that’d work for a child or dog someday haha. Jude /// Wyatt /// Avery /// Pinky Jude because obviously. Wyatt is actually a child’s name in the second book here but it was on our list […]

Review Round Up | The Night Swim, Admission, and Recommended for You

Posted November 13, 2020 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I forgot to cancel BOTM and ended up with a rogue credit to use. The very small synopsis on the website seemed addicting and up my alley (I mean, any book about a true crime podcaster will win me over). However, after I selected it and headed to Goodreads, the heavier subject matter (that I usually avoid- sexual assault and rape) became apparent. It’s out of my wheelhouse and comfort zone, generally speaking, but I decided to go with it anyways. I’m really glad I did! Yes, it was hard to read at times, especially because both stories or “timelines” in this feature sexual assault. It was a super addicting book that I never wanted to put down, which is huge for me in 2020. Actually, all three of the books here did that for me! The main character, Rachel, is visiting a small beach town in North Carolina to follow a rape trial for the third season of her podcast. While there, a former local tracks her down and leaves mysterious messages for Rachel, begging her to solve the mystery of her own sister’s rape and murder 25 years prior. The two stories were similar and because intertwined in ways I didn’t see coming. Overall, really […]

Holidays 2020 | To Read & Watch, Readathons, Etc.

Posted November 11, 2020 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 Comments

Usually I’m getting jazzed up for Christmas in September and forcing myself to wait until at least Halloween, but this year I’ve been feeling weird! I’m not super duper into the holiday spirit like I expected, post-Halloween. I’ve been listening to my holiday music since 11/1 and hopefully reading some holiday books at the end of the month PLUS decorating this week will be helpful. Here we go – onto the usual holiday fun and plans! I’ve already read two holiday books (the two novellas below) and some of these are review copies. I thought it made more sense to hire new releases since I’m generally focusing on them! I’m looking forward to reading A Princess for Christmas because Jenny Holiday has become a go-to author for me. There are a lot of books involving twelve things – The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, 12 Men for Christmas, and The Twelve Dates of Christmas. All sound great! I have review copies for the dog one, as well as In a Holidaze and Season of Joy. I read Booked for Christmas and The Christmas Wish already. The latter is a series-starter so I may read the first book and then read A Very Merry Match after. Two of my favorite holiday authors are at it again, so I’ll be reading Christmas at Fireside Cabins and Christmas at Holiday House. Finally, I just hope to read One Way or Another because it sounds cute. Christmas in Vermont // Christmas Camp // Christmas Shopaholic Prince in Disguise // 25 Days til Christmas // We Met in December Most, if not all? of […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #313: Song Titles

Posted November 10, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Book Titles as Song Titles Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. This is a fun one! I thought it would be nice to highlight a few upcoming releases that I want to read in 2021. Honestly, song titles are so all over the place that almost anything works!

EOY (November & December) TBR

Posted November 6, 2020 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 3 Comments

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. November & December – End-of-Year TBR When I realized I had an even thirty books to read in the last two months – wooooof – I thought it would be helpful to just list out what those books might be, based on a few different categories. I have a ton of holiday books, as always, plus leftover egalleys, owned books, and other recent released I’d like to get to. there are a few extras because I never know what mood will strike. Here we go! Holiday Reads I actually already finished BOOKED FOR CHRISTMAS and THE CHRISTMAS WISH. They’re novellas so I thought it’d be nice to kick off November with two quick reads right off the bat. IN A HOLIDAZE and SEASON OF JOY are both review copies. CHRISTMAS AT HOLIDAY HOUSE is a must-read as the next book in the Haven Point series. THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS is a preorder I have coming soon from Vroman’s (an indie bookstore that needed our help!). CHRISTMAS AT FIRESIDE CABINS is the newest Christmas book from Jenny Hale, so you know that’s on my list. The last three below are new releases […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | October 2020

Posted November 5, 2020 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 1 Comment

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. I had a rough time in September as I always do, but October was only a little bit better… meaning I read ONE more book. I’ll take it though, because now I have an even thirty to read to finish the year. Yikes. Fifteen a month. Luckily the holiday season means a lot of reading for me usually! 6 books read in October 6 new books • 0 rereads • 0 DNF Pages read: 2211 • Average rating: 3.92 stars Sources: 4 review, 2 borrowed Formats: [Review] 4 egalley and 0 physical ARCs 0 hardcover, 0 paperback, 1 ebook, 0 audio, 1 combo Genres: 4 contemporary, 2 mystery/thriller Age Target: 5 adult, 1 young adult Check out my 2020 challenge sign-up post for more details, goals, etc.! Popsugar Reading Challenge 0 read this month | 33/40 read total None this month Monthly Key Word Challenge None this month Calendar of Crime Challenge None this month Romanceopoly 0 read this month | 2 read total Rolls: N/A Rainbow Try a Chapter Unhaul This month’s color: Black Yeah, what are reading challenges anymore? […]

Review Round Up | Love Your Life, Forever With You, and Well Played

Posted November 4, 2020 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I’ve had both good and bad luck with Kinsella books in recent years – she can be super hit or miss. Sometimes the characters are just quirky enough, sometimes they’re over-the-top and annoying with it. This book was an interesting reading experience because it REALLY toed the line. I was tempted to DNF because good lord was Ava annoying… but I’m glad I kept going! My biggest issue with the story is that Ava and Matt were basically in love right away on their retreat, without knowing anything about their “real lives” outside. Kinsella didn’t do a good job of building up my investment in the relationship while they were in Italy so that I would CARE about them when they were home. If I didn’t see all the good things up front that made them want to keep trying, why should I care if they’re together? Their relationship was truly frustrating at times and her blindness to it all was even worse. Ava was frustrating and Matt was just okay for me. It seriously took a while but I was thoroughly enjoying myself around the 70% mark lol whoops. They had so much stuff to work through – I truly didn’t think this book would have […]