Top Ten Tuesday (most hyped reads)

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You guys. You know how in school your teacher always told you to read and reread the directions before beginning the assignment? My apologies to Mrs. Miles (second grade) because this week, I misread the directions.

 

This week the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish are asking for a list of our top ten hyped books we've never read. I read "ever" for "never" and since I completed the post before realizing my error, I'm going with it.

 

I'll do better next week, I promise. *chagrin*

 

 

 

Sometimes I give into the hype. And sometimes I get burned. Yes Please and The Martian were two that didn't live up to the hype for me. At all.

 

Three more nonfiction books I've seen everywhere. I enjoyed Lean In much more than I expected to. It's blasphemy to say so, but I was sort of lukewarm about Quiet. And I really didn't like Daring Greatly.

 

I found Wild to be very well done (though I didn't care for the movie), and I enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks quite a bit. Five Days at Memorial blew me away.  

 

I consider Unbroken one of the finest books ever written. Empty Mansions was a good read, but it really hasn't stuck with me.

What are the most hyped books you've ever (or never) read?

It's Monday! (7/6/15)

It's Monday! is sponsored by Sheila at Book Journey.

 

 

Hope everyone had a great Fourth. We went to my mother's and had an indoor picnic with my brother, his girlfriend, her kids, and my nephew. A very nice time.

 

I'm still reading the same books this week that I was last week.

 

Early Warning is going well. It's a big book (450+ pages), and for me to read a chunkster novel that isn't a classic, the author must be doing something right. It's interesting, I don't particularly like any of the characters (and there are lot of them) but I can't stop reading.

 

My re-read of Around the House and in the Garden is enjoyable, too. I was afraid it would be a little too sad for summertime, but it's more reflective than sad. I enjoy Browning's writing a lot. I've been reading a chapter or two before bed and after getting my fill of Early Warning.

 

And I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying Under the Banner of Heaven. Although I have some reservations about how unbiased his retelling of Mormon history is, I've found the book truly captivating.

 

 

 

I'll likely finish Early Warning and Under the Banner of Heaven this week, and then I'll move on to Jim Gaffigan's Food: A Love Story and the audio of Mansfield Park. (Which is likely the first time those two books have ever been read together!) I decided I just may not have it in me to read a big, long Austen novel this year, but it was one of my reading goals, so the audio sounded like a good compromise.

July 2015 Reading List

 

 

Happy July. Hope you have some great plans. I believe our summer plans are officially: stay as close to home as possible. We're not globetrotting folk!

 

On the reading docket for July, I have a host of books I'm really looking forward to.

 

First up, I'm listening to an audio version of Under the Banner of Heaven, a book that's been on my TBR for years. I'm also in the middle of Early Warning, a big long sequel to Smiley's Some Luck from last fall.

 

Then, some fun wild cards: Jim Gaffigan's Food: A Love Story, Stephanie Smith's 300 Sandwiches, and Jen Lancaster's I Regret Nothing. I've read nothing by Gaffigan, but I've found his comedy somewhat amusing, and I like to read about people opining about food. 300 Sandwiches is about a woman who makes her boyfriend 300 sandwiches before he proposes to her. I'd meant to read Jen Lancaster's My Fair Lazy before her new book, but I guess I was lazy. So I'm going into I Regret Nothing with only The Tao of Martha under my belt. I think Lancaster is kind of a hoot.

 

Like everyone else on the planet, I plan to read Harper Lee's novel Go Set a Watchman as soon as it's out. And I'm feeding my insatiable appetite for poetry for Mary Oliver's Blue Horses.

 

I also have a couple re-reads planned: Around the House and in the Garden, a memoir of divorce and houses, and Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which I discovered and loved long before the Ephron sisters' Broadway play.

 

 

Any July plans?

June 2015 Recap

photo credit

 

I can't believe how fast this month has gone. We've had beautiful weather--it's been holding steady at 80 degrees every day. We've also had plenty of rain. I planted my garden June 13, and everything is growing well. Including the weeds.

 

I've also had a good reading month: two fantastic re-reads (Cold Tangerines and The Know-It-All), a memoir (Girl in the Dark) and two celebrity memoirs (A Fine Romance and Life Is Short), a children's classic (Anne of Green Gables), a cookbook (Trisha's Table), a book of flower photos (Flower), and a book of poetry (Horoscopes for the Dead).

 

It would be hard to choose a favorite, but The Know-It-All--my favorite of A.J. Jacobs's books--did not disappoint the second time around. Neither did Anne of Green Gables; I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. And neither did Flower. The weakest of the bunch was probably Girl in the Dark. 

 

One-word descriptions provided with each below.

 

 

uplifting

 

perfect

 

depressing

 

well-done

 strong

 

heartwarming

positive

fun

gorgeous

 

reasonable

 

 

 

Going into July, I'm reading three good books:

 

 

Look for the rest of my July book list tomorrow!

 

Top Ten Tuesday (2015's middle 10)

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This week the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish are asking:

What are your top ten 2015 reads so far? But since I haven't written reviews for most of my 2015 reads, I don't want to spoil things by listing my top ten yet.

 

So, I'm opting to list my "Top Middle Ten" so far in 2015.

These are books that won't make it to the top ten for the year, but they still deserve some love.

 

 

Top Middle Nonfiction: 

 

 

 

Top Middle Memoirs:

 

 

 

Top Middle Poetry and Grammar:

 

 

Top Middle Self-Help:

I'm interested to know what is on your top 10 (or top middle 10) so far!