Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of Tea (A Monthly Bookish Link Party)!! This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!).
1. For Bloggers, you can link unlimited posts related to books and reading. They can be older posts or newer posts. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading, about trips to the bookstore, etc. You get the drift.
2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a specific post, not just your website). Feel free to link up any older posts that may need some love and attention, too.
3. Please visit at least two other bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact! Get some book recommendations.
4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts.
5. If you add a link, you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).
Thank you to those who linked up last month. Here are some highlights from that link party:
Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of Tea (A Monthly Bookish Link Party)!! This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!).
1. For Bloggers, you can link unlimited posts related to books and reading. They can be older posts or newer posts. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading, about trips to the bookstore, etc. You get the drift.
2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a specific post, not just your website). Feel free to link up any older posts that may need some love and attention, too.
3. Please visit at least two other bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact! Get some book recommendations.
4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts.
5. If you add a link you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).
Thank you to those who linked up last month. Here are some highlights from that link party:
In the beginning I decided I would read 15 and then I decided on my own that I’d just read 10. I knew I had a lot going on this summer with health and stuff (not like I actually had a life and traveled. Har. Har.) and was also trying to finish the fourth book in my mystery series (which, sadly, is not finished) so I figured I might not even read that many.
In the end, though, I did manage to read 15 books.
First, my original list of planned reads:
Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh
Between Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox
The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
The Inimitable Jeeves by PG Woodhouse
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner
‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
Death In A Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen
But First Murder by Bee Littlefield
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman
A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano
The Unlikely Yarn of The Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon
Now my final list of books read this summer:
A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano
The Unlikely Yarn of The Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon
But First Murder by Bee Littlefield
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
The Inimitable Jeeves by PG Woodhouse
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner
The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene
All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot
The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt
Killer in the Kitchen (A Murder, She Wrote book) by Donald Bain
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down by Dave Barry
Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
The Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene
Here are a few follow up questions suggested by Emma:
Did you manage to finish all 10/15/20 books? If not, what kept you from completing the challenge? I finished 15 books when I actually thought I’d only get 10 done!
Of all the books you read this summer, which one(s) was/were your favorite and why? The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Inimitable Jeeves were my favorites. The Scarlet Pimpernel kept me turning the pages with its adventure and The Inimitable Jeeves was hilarous and fun.
Did you DNF any? Why? I did not finish the Courtney Walsh books. I just couldn’t get into them.
Which book surprised you the most, either by being better or worse than you expected? I expected Spill the Jackpot to be so much better than it was. I read another book in the series and really enjoyed it but this one was just not good at all.
Did you notice any patterns in the genres you chose or enjoyed this summer? As usual I read more mysteries than anything else.
Which one had the best cover? Some of my books had different covers than what I showed above. If the photo I used for The Scarlet Pimpernel on my graphic had been the cover I had had on my book, I would say that one, but, alas, I did not have that cover. So for me I think A Midnight Dance had the best cover but the Dave Barry book had the funniest.
Which one was the longest? And the shortest? All Things Wise and Wonderful was the longest and Prince Caspian was the shortest (I think)..
Did you read them mostly in print? ebook? audio? I mostly read my books via ebooks.
Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.
You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
After I posted the blog post I decided to drop the list down to 10 because my summer was looking busy with some health things going on with myself, my husband, and my elderly parents.
At this point though, it looks like I should squeak out 12 books and one audiobook before all is said and done on August 28.
I made some substitutions and tossed some books from this list altogether, not because they were bad (in most cases), but because I am a mood reader and they didn’t fit my mood this summer.
First, my original list:
Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh
Between Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox
The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
The Inimitable Jeeves by PG Woodhouse
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner
‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
Death In A Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen
But First Murder by Bee Littlefield
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman
A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano
The Unlikely Yarn of The Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon
Now what I have read so far this summer:
All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot
The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt
A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner
Killer in the Kitchen (A Murder She Wrote book) by Donald Bain
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
I am almost done with Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down by Dave Barry and will probably finish Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse before the end of the month. I’d love to say I’ll also finish The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson but. . .. oh gosh this book is so boring. Gah! I don’t know if I can get through it. I’m trying because my husband liked it and told me to read it. God bless, him for liking it, but I am seriously struggling.
I also plan to finish The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon on audiobook before the end of the month.
What I will have to decide at the end of the month is if I am going to move the books I didn’t read to my Autumn TBR, and I might do that for a couple of them. As for the others, I might not read them at all because a couple of them I tried and could not get into (The Summer of Yes being one of them).
There is a questionairre on the host blogs about what we read so far so . . .
Which book surprised you the most this month? The Scarlet Pimpernel suprised me the most because I thought it was going to be written in very old language and just not be very good. It was much better than I expected!
If your July reading experience was a weather forecast, what would it be and why? My July reading experience was a mix of sunny days and dark confusing nights (looking at you for that last one, Spill the Jackpot!)
Name a setting from your July books where you’d love (or hate) to take a summer vacation. I hated the inn in The Pale Horse. It was creepy and I didn’t enjoy the occult stuff the women did there.
If you could turn one book into a summer festival, I would turn The Scarlet Pimpernel into masquarade ball where everyone has to guess who the real Scarlet Pimpernel is.
If you do reading challenges, how are you doing this summer on your challenges? If you don’t do challenges, have you read anything interesting lately?
Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.
You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
Top Ten Tuesday July 8: Books I’d Like to I Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog)
I don’t reread books a lot but there a few I would read again, and I guess for this post, I need to come up with ten that I have reread or would reread. I think I can do that.
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
It took me until last year to read this book and I ended up loving it. I would love to reread it again this year and I probably will.
2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I know! So cliché! But here is another one that I read late in life and now I want to read it again because it was so lovely and cozy and interesting. I never imagined I’d get so wrapped up in these characters. I used to roll my eyes at people who would gush about this book and the movies based on it and then I read it. Oh, my! I understand the gushing now.
3. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
This book is just as sweet and touching as the Hallmark movie from the 1990s was, which is how I first knew about the story. Of course, the book came first. I didn’t read the book until I read it to my daughter a couple of years ago and I just loved it. I also loved the sequels, especially Skylark.
4. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
I have read this one more than once and I could read it again and again. There is always something new that I pick up on in it. I have also read Shepherd’s Abiding, the Christmas book more than once but now I read certain sections that are my favorite instead of the whole book.
5 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
I read this one several years ago with my son and I would like to reread it but I have to finish The Lord of the Rings trilogy first. I have The Return of the King to read next.
6. The Cat Who Saw Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun
This is my favorite book of this series. It’s a lot different than the others in the series and sometimes I wonder if Lilian wrote it. The main character, Qwill, shows even more of his personality in this one and even shows his tenderness toward a young child in the book. The story/mystery is also a solid one. As with any long running series, there are aways going to be duds along the way, but this was not one of them.
7. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I first read this book in sixth grade by myself and again in eighth grade, though I don’t remember reading it in eighth grade. I know it was part of our curriculum but I guess my teacher wasn’t very memorable in her teaching. I remember she said, “What do you mean you’ve already read it?” She was surprised a sixth grader had taken it upon herself to read something so deep and advanced, I suppose, and I didn’t do that very often but in this case, I did read it because my mom suggested it and then started to read it to me in her southern accent. After I heard her Southern accent reading it, that’s how I heard the narrator (Scout) for the rest of the book.
I know I didn’t understand the intricacies of the message of this book when I was a child so reading it again as an adult about three years ago with my son for his English was a much different experience. I sobbed through the second half of the book as an adult because I understood so much more about the story, about Atticus, about the world and the ugliness and also goodness, the third time around. It is a book I think needs to be read several times for the message to really hit home.
8. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
This is another book that I read at an age that other kids these days probably wouldn’t have read it. I did not do that a lot so don’t let me mislead you into thinking I read a ton of classics or harder books as a child. I did this occasionally and this one was one of those. The language is a challenge since it is written in the 1800s, but I really had fun with the story. It was a lot of fun, much more so than Huckleberry Finn, which had a lot of serious moments mixed in with the adventure. I liked Huck Finn too, though. I hope to read this one again at some point soon.
9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This is a book I read for the first time with my daughter last year. I would read it again because I truly enjoyed the story, even the harder parts I didn’t like in the movie version I saw as a child. I wanted a bit more from the ending but I really enjoyed the other parts of the book and could see myself reading it again.
10. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
This is a book with a lot of tough subjects, but one I haven’t read since I was about 11. I would like to read it again because I have a feeling it will hit me in a different way, similar to the way To Kill A Mockingbird did. I actually have this as one book I want to read this summer.
Are there books that you have reread or want to reread? Or are you more of a one and done person like I usually am?
Today’s prompt is: Freebie/Throwback (Come up with a topic you’d like to do or go back and do an old topic you missed or just want to do again!)
So this week, I chose to share my last ten reads so far this year with quick, two to three sentence reviews for each.
I am telling you, guys and gals, I am reading so slowly this year! The number of books I have read so far is a very sad amount. I know what is important is that I’m reading at all, not how many I have read, but ugh! I feel like I am not spending enough time just relaxing and reading!
Of course, I also have started some books that took up quite a bit of time and then decided I couldn’t finish them. I also read two very long books that took me longer than most of the books I read.
Anyhow, on with the post!
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
This third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series was a very fun read with a lot of humor, but yet also seriousness, thrown in. It is a children’s book, but there is a lot of spiritual wisdom if you read between the lines.
2. The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie
Interesting and intriguing collection of short stories that are connected by the fact a group of people are sitting around sharing their stories about mysteries they experienced and either couldn’t solve or did later. This is a Miss Marple book and in many of the stories Miss Marple ended up solving the crime. This wasn’t my favorite Agatha Christie book but it was an interesting concept.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
I’ve heard tons about this series over the years and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I did not like this book as much I hoped I would. I liked most of it, but toward the end it totally fell apart for me. I might try others in the series but at this point, my expectations have been lowered.
4. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
It took me quite a long time to get through The Fellowship of the Ring but once I really sat down and got into this one, it took a lot less time. I very much enjoyed this one. I love the friendships, the fight of good against evil, the adventure, all of it. I do not like that the two “bad guys” have names that are so similar to each other, though. Up next in this series will be, of course, Return of the King, and I’m saving that for late fall, early winter.
5. The Twisted Claw by Franklin W. Dixon (A Hardy Boys)
This was the first Hardy Boys book I read and I ended up enjoying it. I’m looking forward to reading others.
6. Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson
I enjoyed this first in a new series and by a new-to-me author. I am looking forward to finding and reading book two soon.
7. Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Sutanto
This one was the second book in a series and it was not as good as the first, at least for me. I enjoyed Vera’s character like I did in the first book, but in this second book, things took a really dark turn and I was having a hard time pushing through. I didn’t connect with the characters in this second book like I did with the first either. It was still a pretty good book and I will read more in this series, if there is more.
8. The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt
I enjoyed this juvenile mystery by the original Carolyn Keene. It is a book from the Penny Parker Mysteries and the wit and quick tongue moments in this book were Wirt at her finest. In these books Wirt is free to write how she wants and not how Harriet Adams of Stratemeyer Publishing wanted her to write.
This book felt very long to me because it was broken down into a lot of short stories with the related thread being James’ time in the military. It was a little tedious to me to read straight through, so I took breaks and read it a few times a week, a couple of chapters at a time. In the end, I really enjoyed the book, the stories about James in the military and his family life, and the stories about Tristan, which were hilarious. I could absolutely picture the actor who plays Tristan in the new series as I read stories he was a part of. When I was done with the book, I actually felt a little sad because it had been part of my life for at least three months, and I felt like I had been reading about family in some ways. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books that I haven’t read yet in the series.
10. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
I finished this one just Sunday night and enjoyed it when I originally thought I wouldn’t. This book deals a lot with occult and mediums, etc., which is not my thing, so I didn’t think I would like it. About halfway through, I had to find out what happened and couldn’t put the book down. I felt a little stupid that I didn’t figure out who the guilty party was until it was revealed, since it was a little obvious, but I like how it was brought out, and I really liked the very ending. That’s all I will say about that.
What are some of the recent books you’ve read?
Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.
You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.
Today’s prompt is: Books I Did Not Finish (DNFed) (feel free to tell us why, but please no spoilers!)
My reasons for not finishing a book are rarely because the book is bad or not worth reading. Most of the time it is completely related to the fact the book and my personality don’t mesh. Also, in some cases I don’t finish a book at one time but go back later and finish it. That’s most likely going to be the case with many of the books here, so if you loved one of these books on my list, know that adding them to a DNF list doesn’t mean I hated them.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I tried! I tried! I wanted to read a Dickens. It about killed me. It was so wordy! Worse than I expected. I read part of this book in high school and enjoyed it but for some reason I could just not get into it now that I am an adult. I do want to try again someday, however.
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I don’t know if it is fair to mention this one since it was just a DNF for me and I might go back to it but for now it is a DNF and I’m reading some other books. I wanted to read this with my son for his British Literature class but…it was just so heavy. I couldn’t get into it. I have an audiobook with Dan Stevens and I’m really enjoying his narration so I am going to try to get back into it.
3. Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever
I wanted to like this book. I did. It was just so choppy and dull as watch sap harden in the winter. The stories about Anthony could have been interesting but they were all chopped up and some of them were from people who truly didn’t know him that well. I skipped to the end and read a couple quotes from his daughter but for the most part this was just a chopped-up mess of stories. I didn’t get it at all. I have heard there are other, much better biographies out there so I will try them in the future.
4. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I did not hate this book. I just couldn’t get into the style of writing, the tiny little chapters, and the bouncing back and forth between character in every other chapter.
5. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
I will go back to this one but it just didn’t pull me in like Little Women did. I am a mood reader so I think I was simply not in the mood for it when I tried to read it.
6. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith
I think this one just didn’t catch me at the right time. I could not get into it at all but I am willing to try again sometime in the future.
7. A Fatal Footnote by Margaret Loudon
I didn’t even make it through five pages of this one. The author kept changing the name of her character and repeating the name over and over. She’d write, “Penelope didn’t know why Millie was looking at her that way but Penn was uncomfortable with it.”
What? Why keep changing her name and in the same sentence or paragraph? She seemed allergic to using pronouns instead of the names she kept using too. It would have been one thing if a character said to her, “Hey, Penn!” instead of Penelope but for the author to be changing it in the prose….it was weird.
8. Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
This was just not my favorite book of Montgomery’s. It was so sad and depressing to me. I might go back someday and finish it but it was a slog for me. I skipped ahead to the end but really didn’t go back and read the rest so I consider it a DNF.
9. What’s the Worse That Can Happen by Donald Westlake
My husband is a huge Westlake fan and I read one book by him, Call Me A Cab, and liked it but so far I haven’t really been able to get into the rest of his books. I do plan to try this one again at some point.
10. Death At A Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly
I know we cozy mystery readers have to suspend belief at times but this one…well, it was a bit too much suspending belief. I couldn’t finish this one at all. I don’t plan to try again.
What books have you not finished? Will you ever go back and try them again?
I don’t often stick to my TBR for any particular season (see my post from yesterday for more info on that) but I like to make the list to remind me of books I’d like to read next. I consider it my “choose from” pile.
I have a list of 14 books I plan to choose from for Spring, but I know that list will change and adapt throughout the next two and a half months.
For today I will list my ten main books and then four “honorable mentions” so to speak.
Village Diary by Miss Read
All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
Between The Sea and Sound by Amanda Cox
‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
Sabotage at Cedar Creek by Janice Thompson
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
The Littlest Voyageur by Margi Preus
Four others I might choose from this spring include:
I always plan lists for what I will read each “season” of the year but rarely stick to those lists.
I made a list for this winter, but, once again, I strayed from it. I don’t know what I was thinking by making this list. There was no way I was going to read all these books in three months.
My winter TBR included these books:
Christy by Catherine Marshall
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson
World Travel by Anthony Bourdain
The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson
A Christmas Quilt by Melody Carlson
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Clue in The Diary by Carolyn Keene
The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene
Winter Murder by Agatha Christie
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir R.A. Dick
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Flying Express by Franklin W. Dixon
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island by Laura Lee Hope
What I actually read from the list:
Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood
A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson
The Hound of the Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Shepherd’s Abiding by Jan Karon
Christy by Catherine Marshall
The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie
The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman
Every Living Thing by James Herriot
The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene.
I will have a smaller list I plan to choose from for my spring TBR tomorrow and I have a feeling I won’t read all those books either.
