My Least Favorite Books from 2019

I feel like I had a pretty good reading year last year, but there were still some books that I didn’t particularly care for. Note: This list doesn’t include books that I decided to DNF.

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict – I read this for a book club and really did not enjoy it. I didn’t find the main character to be strong or compelling and it made me really hate Einstein.

Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson – I wanted this book to be more about the sister relationship, but instead I felt like we were given two half-baked romances. And the pacing was NOT good.

Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau – I’ve liked some of Charbonneau’s other series’, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I thought Andreus was such a dummy and it felt like this entire book was just a set up for the series.

You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook – This entire plot was just so far-fetched and the main character was incredibly annoying.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – I finally read this classic and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t like Mr. Rochester and didn’t really connect with Jane either.

In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund – I’ve really liked some of Peterfreund’s other books! But this one was not a compelling mystery and I didn’t really like any of the characters.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James – I just didn’t get this book? Like, I literally didn’t really understand what was happening–I had to look the plot up on Wikipedia afterwards.

What were some of your least favorite reads from 2019?

 

What a crazy summer | August Wrap-Up & TBR Update

I can’t believe August is over already! It seems like we just moved to California last week, but we’ve actually been here for almost three months. As I’ve been seeing everyone’s back-to-school/end of summer vacation social media posts, I’ve realized that we’re in a super interesting time of life where our summer vacation doesn’t really end? We don’t have any kids in school yet and we’re not in school anymore either. The weather will get cooler but like…we’re in California so it’s not going to get that cold. My husband has been working full-time all summer and he’s going to continue to do that…things just aren’t really changing for us like they are for everyone else. We can still go do summery, outside things basically as long as we want. Anyway, unrelated to book things but it was an interesting realization that I had.

• King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (buddy read with Audrey Writes Abroad) – Read and reviewed
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – Read and reviewed
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach – Read and reviewed
• Color Me In by Natasha Diaz [ARC] – DNF 43%
• Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford [ARC] – Read and reviewed
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – Read and reviewed
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley – Finished listening to #6 and #7, currently listening to #8

Also read/reading:

• Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz – Finished listening
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – Finished listening
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling – Finished listening
• Runaways vol 2: Best Friends Forever by Rainbow Rowell – Finished
• Runaways vol 3: That Was Yesterday by Rainbow Rowell – Finished
• Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills – Read and reviewed
• Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob – Finished

Books finished this month: 14 with 1 DNF
Books currently reading: 1

Well, would you look at that! I actually managed to complete my TBR and then some this month! Way to go me!

A couple other things real quick, I finished my Goodreads Reading Goal this month! I had no idea how this year was going to go (especially with last year being a bit of a dud reading year) so I set my goal to 70. Luckily, I’ve exceeded my expectations! My new goal for the year is 100. Second, I’m working on a TBR weeding project. I’m going alphabetically and I’m trying to just take one letter at a time, figuring out what I want to keep on my TBR and what can go. So you’ll see my TBR count going down significantly and that’s why.

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 383
TBR at the beginning of August = 469
Books added to TBR = 8
Books read/deleted from TBR = 65
Total on TBR now = 412

How did your reading go this month?

Well…at least I can say I’ve read it | Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is an orphan raised by her uncle’s wife. Despite her uncle’s dying wish to have Jane raised as one of his own children, his wife treats Jane as nothing more than a nuisance. Jane is glad to be sent away to school where she makes new friends and eventually grows into a learned young lady. After some time, she feels that it is her duty to move on and advertises her skills as a governess. Her employer, Mr. Rochester, is unlike any man she’s ever known. As she finally starts to find happiness in her life, Jane will have to find the strength to stick to her principles and learn what it means to be an independent woman.

TL;DR – A deliciously Gothic setting surrounds two characters who I really don’t care about.

I became interested in reading this book because it’s one of those stories that I think a lot of people generally know (he kept his crazy wife in the attic!) but I knew nothing else about it. Then I read My Plain Jane and really enjoyed it, but there were a few plot points that I was just like, “Wait…does this REALLY happen in Jane Eyre?” So I had to read the source material to find out.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book. I feel bad about it because both my mom and sister told me this was one of their favorite books but I just…didn’t feel the same (why is this book a favorite? WHYYYYY????). Firstly, I didn’t care for Mr. Rochester. He didn’t really seem like that great of a guy to me. I found almost all of his conversations with Jane to be abrasive and confusing–it was like a very aggressive ping pong match that he was playing with himself. Despite that, he also had these moments of ultimate patheticness and I just wanted to grab him by the collar and say, “BE AN ADULT”. He was both overly aggressive and overly whiny and it just wasn’t a good combo.

Reading Goodreads reviews when I had finished, I realized that a lot of people really like Jane’s progression, I guess? While I do see some growth, I never particularly cared for her character either. There’s just something about her–even as a little girl–that rubs me the wrong way. I think similar to Rochester, there were some times that I just wanted to say, “PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER”. I don’t really see the strength in her that a lot of other readers see. I don’t understand how she managed to fall in love with Mr. Rochester while he was basically baiting her with the whole Miss Ingram situation. It almost felt to me like her feelings for Mr. Rochester were at least partially born from a sort of self-loathing? And because of that, I never liked them together. The parts where I most liked Jane is when she had moved on and had become a teacher. But then she goes on back to Mr. Rochester for no reason and with no notice (rude). I just don’t see their relationship as being romantic in any way. I’m sorry, I don’t.

Secondary characters were fine. I liked Adele though I wish we’d gotten some kind of translation for her (alas, I do not speak French). I liked Jane’s cousins too, but I feel like St. John kind of gets the shaft. He helps Jane immensely but then he doesn’t get a happy ending? I mean, I think he ended up doing what he wanted, but I’m not convinced he was happy. He was a good guy and I think he deserved more than that.

In the end, I’m glad that I can say I’ve read Jane Eyre now, but I’m not in any hurry to give it another go. I read it over the course of two months so perhaps if I read it quicker it would read better? With that being said, I don’t feel it would make me like the characters any more.

Overall Rating: 2
Language: None
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild

Reading through these Summer days | August TBR

I feel really good about how I did last month and I hope this month goes well too!

• King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (buddy read with Audrey Writes Abroad)
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
• Stiff by Mary Roach
• Color Me In by Natasha Diaz [ARC]
• Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford [ARC]
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Continue reading)
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley (Continue listening)

We’ll see how I do. I’m really hoping I can carry July’s momentum into August! (And I’m hoping to be a little more active on the blogosphere too…)

What are you guys reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

I’m back baby! | July Wrap-Up & TBR Update

The reading! It’s happening! I’m finding glorious pockets throughout my day to read and it’s making my life so full right now!

• Vengeful by V.E. Schwab – Read and reviewed
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Book Club) – Read and reviewed
• Wilder Girls by Rory Power [ARC] – Read and reviewed
• This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills – Read and reviewed
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig [ARC] – Read and reviewed
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – Currently reading
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley – Finished #3, 4, and 5; Currently listening to #6

Also read/reading:

• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo – Read and reviewed
• Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey – Read and reviewed
• Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz – Currently listening
• Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills – Read and reviewed
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – Currently reading

Books finished this month: 11
Books currently reading: 4

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 383
TBR at the beginning of July = 472
Books added to TBR = 8
Books read/deleted from TBR = 11
Total on TBR now = 469

How did your reading go this month?

How Ashley got her groove back | July TBR

I’m hoping I get my groove back this month at least. Towards the end of June, I felt my groove was on its way back, so we’ll see if that continues. It may get thrown off because we’ve got a family reunion to go to, but for now I think I’m getting into a rhythm and I hope that’s reflected by my reading.

• Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Book Club)
• Wilder Girls by Rory Power [ARC]
• This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig [ARC]
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Continue reading)
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley (Continue listening)

Since I’m reading Jane Eyre through Serial Reader, it’ll probably still take me a month or two before I finish it. And I’m working through the Flavia de Luce mysteries on our morning walks, so those will be ongoing as well. Does anyone have any good, light series that they’d recommend as audiobooks? I’d prefer a series with lots of books that is different from the Flavia de Luce mysteries (and that won’t have a million holds on them *cough* Harry Potter *cough*). I could see myself getting tired of the Flavia mysteries and wanting to switch off every other book.

What are you guys reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

Welcome to a California Summer | June Wrap-Up & TBR Update

You guys. Where we’re at in California is SO HOT. We’ve been told that if you can survive July and August then you’ll make it, but I’m all like JUNE HAS BEEN UPPER 90s/LOW 100s EVERY DAY SO HOW COULD JULY AND AUGUST BE WORSE. Guess we’ll see.

• The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen – Read and reviewed
• The Chosen by Taran Matharu [ARC] – DNF 38%
• Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal [ARC] – DNF 13%
• Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer [ARC] – Currently Reading
• Wilder Girls by Rory Power [ARC]
• The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley – Read (Audio)
• First & Then by Emma Mills – Read and reviewed

Also read/reading:

• A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley – Currently Reading
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – Currently Reading
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab – Read and reviewed

Books finished this month: 4 (with 2 DNFs)
Books currently reading: 3

Man, I really need to get back on track with my ARCs.

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 383
TBR at the beginning of June = 460
Books added to TBR = 18
Books read/deleted from TBR = 6
Total on TBR now = 472

How did your reading go this month?

Update on My 2019 Reading Goals

At the beginning of the year I had this post listing my reading/book goals for 2019. Now that we’re about halfway through the year, I thought I’d give a little update as to where I’m at! For those of you too lazy to click my link (sheepishly raises hand), here are my 2019 goals:

• Reread the Harry Potter series
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman
• Neil Gaiman books in general
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Jane Eyre
• VE Schwab books

Reread the Harry Potter series

Hello goal that is apparently never going to happen. I checked out the audiobook for The Sorcerer’s Stone at one point, but never got around to listening to it. I thought audio could be the way to go, but I’m so

bad at listening to audiobooks when I’m subscribed to too many podcasts. The holds lists are always so long for these books too…I honestly don’t know if this will get completed.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Yeah…haven’t even gotten close on this one.

Neil Gaiman books in general

I did purchase an eBook copy of Good Omens when it was on sale a few months ago. That combined with the TV show…I think I’ll get to it this year. Beyond Good Omens, I have a physical copy of The Anansi Boys on my shelf. I’m pretty sure I read that one way, WAY back (when I was probably too young to be reading it) but I want to read it again when I’ll actually remember stuff. I’ve also heard good things about Norse Mythology so that’s on my list. Oh! And I read Coraline.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Confession: I had a physical copy of this book, but I’d bought it secondhand from a library book sale and it wasn’t in great condition. So in this last move, I got rid of it *puts face in hands*. However, I did this fully intending to check it out from the library. It was one that I figured I would definitely be able to check out. Long story short, I’m still planning on reading this!

Jane Eyre

A couple of years ago, I posted about this wonderful app that allows you to read classic books in digestible little chunks. I stopped using it after finishing Northanger Abbey but writing this post has given me a burst of (perhaps misguided) inspiration! I’ve just redownloaded the app and added Jane Eyre to my list. So we can mark this goal as “IN PROGRESS”.

VE Schwab books

Finally, the only goal I actually feel good about. Yes, I finished the Shades of Magic trilogy and LOVED IT. I’m so glad I finally read these books! I’m currently on hold for Vicious and I intend to love it just as much as Shades of Magic.

So by my count, I’ve finished like… 1.5/6 goals. We’ll see how the rest of the year goes!

What were your 2019 reading goals and how are you doing with them?

8 Best Book Deals for 3/9/19: Six of Crows, Sharp Objects, Batman: Nightwalker, and more

As of this posting, all of these deals are active, but I don’t know for how long!

FREE

Reign of Queens by Melissa Wright

Less than $2

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

Less than $3

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Less than $4

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

---

Recommended from this post:

BOOK TAG: Books I WANT to read, but don’t want to READ

Jami over at Jamishelves created and posted this tag a couple weeks ago. I’m not usually a book tag kind of blogger, but this one seemed really fun! So even though I wasn’t tagged, I’m doing it anyway!

Rules:

• Link back to the original tag (@Jamishelves)
• Complete the questions with books you want to have read but don’t want to read
• Tag some people at the end to do the tag next

1: A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it

• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

This is a book that has just never appealed to me for whatever reason. I keep hearing great things about it and about the sequel, but I’m just not into the premise!

2: A book that’s really long

• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

This baby is over 1,000 pages. I repeat, OVER 1,000 PAGES. That’s literally like three normal sized books combined.

3: A book you’ve owned / had on your TBR for too long

• The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E Pearson

I asked for this book for Christmas the year it came out (which I guess wasn’t that long ago, but it feels really long ago). I’d read the first two and couldn’t remember much. So I told myself I would wait to read this one until I’d reread the first two and now…it’s just been sitting on my shelf.

4: A book that is ‘required’ reading
(eg, school text, really popular classic – something you feel obligated to read!)

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The old answer for this was Wuthering Heights, but I finally read that last year (the year before?). Spoiler: not worth it, imo. But this one I’m a little more excited for because I really liked My Plain Jane.

5: A book that intimidates you

• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (reread)

This is a bit of a cheat, but I have been meaning to reread the Harry Potter books forever. I read them as they were coming out and I’ve attempted rereads since (most notably when I got my wisdom teeth out) but I can never seem to get past the fourth book! It’s just such a commitment and the books just get longer.

6: A book that you think might be slow

• The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

Apparently, I really liked the first two books, but at this point I can’t remember why? I remember the books are slow reads (for me at least) even though they contain some action. I’m just worried this book will be slow and I don’t have the motivation to pick it up.

7: A book you need to be in the right mood for

• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

While I liked the first book (The Diviners), it was long and had a lot of loose ends. It was obviously setting things up for the rest of the series, so I feel like I’m really going to need to be in the right mood to finish.

8: A book you’re unsure if you will like

• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Another book that I’ve only heard good things about, but I have a thing about zombies. I. DO. NOT. LIKE. ZOMBIES. Especially on TV/in movies, but also in books. But like the rest of the premise sounds really good, and like I said, everyone’s been RAVING about it (it has a freaking 4.17 rating on Goodreads).

I tag:
Deanna @A Novel Glimpse
Book Beach Bunny
Margaret @ Weird Zeal
Ashley @ Socially Awkward Bookworm
Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books
Kaeley @ Spoilers May Apply

Here’s the list of prompts without my answers for your copying and pasting pleasure:

1: A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it
2: A book that’s really long
3: A book you’ve owned / had on your TBR for too long
4: A book that is ‘required’ reading
(eg, school text, really popular classic – something you feel obligated to read!)
5: A book that intimidates you
6: A book that you think might be slow
7: A book you need to be in the right mood for
8: A book you’re unsure if you will like