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Bookish Question of the Week:
Regardless of whether you're a writer or not, pick a book that you would want to rewrite or expand upon. Maybe you want to add a new ending, change a character's traits, remove a scene you disliked, etc. Talk about what you would change.
Inevitably, when someone is trying to advocate reading over watching things on screens, some variation of this old joke gets made: “Books are like movies inside your head!” This assumes everyone ca…
Sometimes when I read fiction, I consciously pull something directly from my memory—a face, an item, a place I’ve been to or seen in a photograph—as a visual stand-in. Otherwise, I get what I like to call “the smudges.”
Imagine that you had to visualize something, and everything that came to mind looked like an impressionist painting. Specifically, imagine that it looked like Monet’s Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond. Imagine that people were just vague streaks of color with an occasional defining feature—their hair, a pair of glasses, the color of their gown. Imagine that you were only permitted to view the actions through frosted glass. Imagine that you read Lord of the Rings, and most of Tolkien’s descriptions of nature to you just read as green. Green. More green, tree green, grass green, hill green, I get it, it’s green, John Ronald! Let’s go to Isengard, at least I know it looks different there…
Sometimes I’ll “cast” actors as characters in books because it helps me see them better. Otherwise, my general sense of how they look will change constantly. At other times, everything will be a blur, but I’ll know what that one special sword looks like. Occasionally the picture of an environment comes through clearer than usual, and while it is always down to the author’s prose execution, I’m never exactly certain what causes the clarity. I do know that precision has nothing to do with it, and emotion does—when I get a “feel” for a place through prose, it always looks cleaner in my mind’s eye.
does anyone else have the issue of choosing whether to read a nonfiction book on audio, ebook or physical copy? and whether to buy or borrow it?
i think i do better with listening to nonfiction than reading it off the page. but the student in me wants to take physical notes. and then there’s the case of ‘should i buy this or borrow it’. because let’s be real, nonfiction books can be very expensive - and i cant logic out a reason to spend $25-30 on a book that’s less than 200 pages at times. so i would rather borrow the book. but then i wouldn’t be able to write in it or refer to the passages directly.
how do y’all go about figuring this out?
Bookish Weekly Wrap Up: March 15th
Hey everyone! I am listening to A Witch’s Guide To Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. Which I finished, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna. The first book in the series, which I absolutely loved. I love a good book or audiobook about witches. I have reviewed it and provided a link to it. I also posted a review of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore. I…
Okay, so I've got to come up with a list of nonfiction history books for my January 2026 TBR, but I can't decide on books to read about ancient Rome. Now, I love fictional Roman Empire/Republic stuff, but I find history books about the subject to be a little daunting.
So um... For a sort of newbie to ancient Roman history, should I start off with S.P.Q.R. by Mary Beard or The Romans: A 2,000 Year History by Edward J. Watts?
I have already selected: Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Empire by Eckart Frahm, Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek, but I need a history book about the Romans and have no idea where to start.
I was tempted to pick up the first few volumes of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon- but I simply don't know the Romans like I do the Greeks to follow along.
I have read Livy's 'The Rise of Rome' which contains the first five books of his works, I've read some of Julius Caesar's works (The Gallic Wars and a little bit of his Civil War), and some Josephus (The Jewish War. And I've read a lot of historical fiction, for example: Simon Scarrow, Jack Whyte (even though the primary focus is on the Arthurian aspect of the story), Simon Turney, some Damion Hunter, and Ian Ross.
End of the Month Reading Check in Post
July was a great reading month for me. Now that I am picking up books for pleasure and not for study, I have found that my joy with reading has returned. I did try to ban myself from picking up a classic, but like my trips to the bookstores, I failed when the first book I picked up from my shelf was 'Roxana' by Daniel Defoe.
And listen, it's not that I hate reading classics. Quite the opposite in fact. I adore them. However, when you've been reading them nonstop for the last couple of years and have have been doing so because you have to study them, it makes reading less of a joyful thing to do and more of a chore. That's not to say that the classics I have read weren't enjoyable. I adored Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Bradley and Wilkie Collins is now my best favourite author who managed to topple Alexandre Dumas from his throne. There does come a point in your reading journey when you've read too much of one thing, especially when you aren't really enjoying what you are reading because you've got to study the material for multiple classes.
This month I dedicated my reading journey on picking up books in genres that I once enjoyed. Thrillers and mysteries were those books. So I went to the library with my shiny card and went carefully through the stacks to find books that I knew fell into the genre and came back home with my arms full of books.
The books I managed to read this month are as follows:
Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones is a YA thriller that follows two high school friends named Blair and Cam who start a true crime podcast for their Journalism class. They decide (or at least Cam decides, Blair is a bit reluctant) to do research into a infamous missing person's case in their area. Clarissa Campbell went missing 20 years prior to the events of this book, and the book is told in normal prose format with a few segments being told in podcast form. It was a 4 star read for me. I adored Cam's character in this one because she reminded me a bit of me and I loved Blair. I loved the dynamics of their friendship. I loved the mystery. I loved the fallout. My only wish is that there was more because damnit these characters deserved more!
The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan is a psychological thriller that follows a mother (Georgina) who discovers that her young son has an imaginary friend named 'New Granny'. The only problem is that she does not believe that her son's friend is at all the figment of his imagination. Strange things start to happen and Georgina starts to question her sanity and what's real and what isn't. It's an amazing book and I loved the plot, but I did feel a bit disappointed in this one because of the direction it had gone. I was expecting more. Still, this one was amazing and I loved the story and the mystery. I loved the characters, even though Georgina's husband is a grade A doofus. I mean, he's flawed... But he's still a doofus. I rated this one a solid 3 stars.
The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas is a fast paced thriller following a famous author of detective stories (Emilia Ward). When strange incidences start to happen where events start mirroring her books, Emilia is both intrigued and terrified until someone close to her is killed the same way as a victim in one of her books. This was an amazing read for me. 5 stars! I am thinking of getting this book (and many others) for my personal collection because I'd love to read it again and again.
The Therapist by B.A. Paris is a psychological thriller that I could not put down until I finished it hours after I first picked it up. It was the first book I picked up this month and I know it's not going to be the last I am going to read by this author. This book follows Alice who moves to a new house with her partner in a ritzy, gated neighbourhood. However, much to her horror, Alice learns that her house had been the place of a horrific murder years earlier of the house's last occupant. As Alice tries to settle into her new home strange and terrifying things start to happen and she is convinced that she is not alone as she tries to unravel what happened and figure out the truth. This was a 5 star book for me!
Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey is a psychological thriller written by a Canadian author that I just learned about. This one's plot and mystery had me guessing to the very last page and I'm glad I picked it up because initially I wasn't too sure about this one. The story follows a mother (Sarah) who is still recovering from something traumatic that happened months earlier. The story is told from dual perspectives. Sarah's in the present and Holly's (the family's 22 year old babysitter) in the past. As you read, you are connecting the dots to the story's overarching mystery, and while it is a fun story and I enjoyed reading it. I do feel a little let down by the ending the more that I am sitting on the book. Still though it is a 4.5 star rating for me.
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager is perhaps one of my favourite thrillers this month in terms of plot and characters. This book follows Emma Davis who is now an up and coming artist in New York's scene. However, fifteen years prior to the events of this book, something horrible happened to her while she was at Camp Nightingale when she was just thirteen years old. See, while she was sleeping, three of her tentmates (Vivian, Natalie, and Allison) go missing and are never found. She decides to return to Camp Nightingale after receiving an invitation to go back as a instructor to try to figure out the truth of what happened to these three girls and to put the ghosts of her past to rest. This was extremely enjoyable for me to read and I enjoyed every moment of it because the mystery was there. The thriller was there. The trauma was there. And even though I was a little annoyed with Emma at some points during the story, I found that the author made up for it with exploring her character further... Both in the past and present. This was a 5 star read for me and I can't wait until I pick up the next Sager book from the library.
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas is a YA thriller that discusses a tragedy that had happened years earlier. Two cheerleaders were killed in a car accident. Two others were brutally murdered. The last cheerleader to die was Monica's sister who died by suicide following the murders of her friends. I enjoyed this one even though one of the POVs was super bittersweet since it was the POV of Jenn (Monica's sister) which was set years earlier, and sort of explained the events of the novel while Monica's POV acted as a bit of a stand in to solve what happened to the cheerleaders. It was a good story. A bit hard hitting given what it's about and the themes that it discusses. I wish some things were done better, that certain themes were discussed further- but for a YA this one is rather solid.
And these are the books I read this month! I am currently reading Two Sides of Every Murder by Danielle Valentine which is another YA thriller. Maybe I can get an eighth book in for this month's reading goal, but if I finish this one in August then I'll still be happy.
Books I am currently reading
As a massive book lover whose brain needs to be kept busy... apparently, I am of course, reading multiple books at once.
Currently I am reading (or attempting to read), the following books:
Roxana by Daniel Defoe: It's eighteenth century English lit, so the writing is a little difficult, but I do have to say that I am enjoying my time with this one because Robinson Crusoe WAS A HORRIBLE BORE!
The Girl in the Woods by Camilla Lackberg: I know that this is later in the Fjällbacka Series, but this was the book I became interested in when I was browsing the library. I have read other books by the author and have enjoyed them, but this book is one I am not too sure about. It's got an intriguing mystery and it's tragic. Extremely tragic. However, we bounce between three time frames, two of which make sense to me because we have a case from thirty years earlier and the present case which are eerily similar to one another. Then we bounce back to the 17th century. It's interesting. I love the 17th century, but I don't understand the relevance even though I think the original Swedish title is 'The Witch' or something. Still, I am determined to read this one and I am about 38% of the way through.
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager: Oooh, okay... So, this is my third Riley Sager book and I like the author. I've read Lock Every Door which I rated 4.75/5 stars and Middle of the Night which was a solid 5/5 stars. So I already know that I am going to love this one. I'm really early in the story... Like I finished the prologue and am currently on chapter one, but this sounds like it is such an amazing story so far and I want to read more!
Lately, I am in a thriller/mystery mood. Last week I finished reading 'The Woman Outside my Door' by Rachel Ryan- which was a bit of a disappointment even though I did feel happy with the reveal and how things turned out. It's just the main character made me annoyed even though I loved the themes that the author explored (mental health, women's mental health, and shed a spotlight on a dark blight on Ireland's not so recent past), but I felt a little underwhelmed because I thought that the story was headed in one direction and felt that the author watered down her plot- which just left me feeling like I wanted more.
However, despite this, I did enjoy reading Rachel Ryan's book and have taken out 'Someone You Trust' out of the library. I am planning on reading that one after I finish with Riley Sager.
I also just finished reading 'The Cheerleaders' by Kara Thomas. This one is a YA mystery/thriller that discusses such important and tough topics. This was my first Kara Thomas book and I can't wait to read more of her work because I was not disappointed with 'The Cheerleaders'. I connected with all of the characters in this one, including Jen whose part in the book is set in the past. So it adds a poignant layer to the story.
There are massive content warnings for 'The Cheerleaders'. So please be advised of them before you pick up the book. Major warnings include: statutory rape, suicide, minor/adult relationships, depression, poor coping mechanisms, among others.
I temporarily DNF-ed: The Teacher by Freida McFadden. This is because I had to return the book to the library since quite a few people have the book on hold, but I have placed the book on hold again and plan on finishing it. I am currently fifth in line, but I feel that I need the time to digest WTF I was reading. That book is... A lot. It's interesting. If I can say that given what the book is about, but I want to read it because damnit, I had to return the book at a good spot! Just when Eve (one of the main POVs starts to realize that she might be being watched/stalked).
Meet the Blogger!
Happy Tuesday everyone! Well, do I have some fun news for you! This past week, I hit 10,000 follows on my bookstagram, which is so exciting! I truly didn’t think I would ever reach that number, but based on my quick growth in 2019, I thought “hey, maybe I can hit 10K this year!” AND IT HAPPENED! If you’ve been following me, you would know that I’ve been having a little fun with my swipe up…
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