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Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Show Us Your Books - Vote for Reading


Four things: 
1 - Vote for reading, every day, but please get out and vote at the polls today, Americans.
2 - I am in Ireland and will not be visiting your bookish blogs today but I will be doing so this weekend, so apologies in advance for the late visits. 
3 - Congratulations to the winners of our Anniversary Giveaway - Linda, Micah, Rose, & Kristen. 
4 - December will be a special Double Show Us Your Books month - the regular monthly link up will take place on the second Tuesday as always (December 13) and the Show Us Your Books Best of 2016 on the last Tuesday of the month (December 27). You can see my post from last year here

Linkup Guidelines:
This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month.
The next one is Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Special Show Us Your Books Best of 2016 on Tuesday, December 27
1. Please visit and comment with both of your hosts, Jana & me
2. Please display the button (need it? let me know) or link back to us on your blog post
2. Please visit a few other blogs who've linked up and get some book talk going!

Here's what I've read from the last linkup.

Engrossing Reads

The Education of Dixie Dupree by Donna Everhart - Good Lord this was a tough one. The subject matter was hard to stomach, but it was well written and Everhart did a good job using a child narrator, which is something I do not typically love. Free copy from Netgalley for an honest review

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena - I think I spent most of this book thinking two things simultaneously: I need to know what's going on and everyone is a fucking dumbass. I liked the mixed feelings, they spurred me on towards the end. Jana and I will be discussing this in a future episode of The Armchair Librarians. Library hardback

The Mothers by Brit Bennett - I couldn't put this down. I loved the writing itself, specifically what I came to think of as the Mothers' chorus, and the way the story was told. Read it. library hardback

Faithful by Alice Hoffman - Last month I read a Hoffman dud, and lort was this a redeemer. I fell headfirst into this book. Great characters and relationship work by Hoffman. Sad and hopeful and full of love from unlikely sources and redemption.  Free copy from Netgalley for an honest review. 

Still Mine by Amy Stuart - I started this just before midnight on a Thursday and finished just before midnight on a Friday. I'm a sucker for stories set in dying towns with feuds that run deep. e-book from Amazon

The Girl Before by Rena Olsen - Well, file this one under crazy. MFD is even reading it now. purchased paperback

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid - My first TJR book. I liked it. Some of the writing annoyed me, like the lack of contractions which made some of the dialogue sound formal. That's a pet peeve of mine but the story kept me right in there. purchased paperback

Passed the Time Just Fine

The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen - Good timing on this book, because it contains some things I dislike - more than two points of view, numerous plotlines lacking depth - but I enjoyed it anyway. I liked the writing and the characters. Amazon e-book

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams - Solid Williams effort, set deep in the glamorous past and full of intrigue and society shit. Not my favorite of hers but I still liked it. Library hardback

Safe With Me by K.L. Slater - This book is very odd and everyone might be a little delusional. It kept me interested and flipping pages fast. Free copy from Netgalley for an honest review

Evelyn, After by Victoria Helen Stone - Everyone is wrong, some characters try to swim towards right but get waylaid. Some good writing on what it feels like to be scorned, reduced, and wronged, but not good enough to carry the story. Amazon First choice for October, e-book

Not Worth It

I Met Someone by Bruce Wagner - Jesus, Netgalley, if you want me to review something, it has to be readable. This was not readable and it was apparent that it was not readable by the second page.






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37 comments:

  1. SO many of these are already on my tbr, but I haven't read any of them. I just received "The Girl Before" from Micah in a blog swap, so I'm excited for that one, because, you know, books received as gifts are all the more awesome.

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  2. Many of these books are on my TBR already. I've heard great things about The Mothers and can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I still haven't read a TJR book yet. Some day!

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  3. Thanks for the review on The Couple Next Door. I've been seeing that everywhere this week, and was wondering if it was worth it. Safe travels, and yay for two December link ups!

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  4. The Couple Next Door keeps popping up as an audiobook option that's recommended for me. Perhaps I'll stop skipping over it :) The Mothers sounds like a good one too.

    Enjoy Ireland!!!

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  5. Dixie Dupree is on my kindle so I'm glad you liked it. For some reason I had no idea what it was actually about, so now I'm prepared lol. The mothers is also on my list. I'm waiting on the girl before from my library. I haven't read that particular TJR book but I haven't heard amazing things from everyone so I hope you give her other books a shot! I don't understand how netgalley will sometimes give out books that are straight up impossible to read. I had one like that but it looked like I was the only one with the issue, according to Goodreads anyway.

    Hope you're having the best time! Can't wait to hear about all your adventures.

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  6. Adding The Couple Next Door and The Mothers to my list! I love TJR and haven't read that one yet. I have Faithful on my list already and Evelyn, After is next up on my Netgalley reads. Yay for double books next month!!!

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  7. Ok, I'm seriously adding all of the books from your engrossing reads to my Amazon list! Have an amazing time in Ireland, it's a dream of mine to go there one day!

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  8. There's not that many books that I can enjoy while disliking the characters, so I'm intrigued that you had a couple! I think the only one I ever felt that way about was Gone With the Wind, where I hated Scarlett, but the story kept pulling me in.

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  9. I definitely want to read The Mothers and The Couple Next Door. Faithful sounds great too - I've never read any of Hoffman's books. Glad you enjoyed your first TJR ;) Hope you are having an amazing vacation!!!

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  10. Hope you're having a great trip in Ireland... happy Election Day from the States! I know you already voted :))

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  11. I'm so excited to read The Mothers, I have Faithful on my iPad to read-- it's my first Hoffman, so I'm glad it was one you enjoyed.

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  12. Glad to hear the Alice Hoffman book was good - I like her stuff.
    Cant wait to hear all about your trip!
    Smart girl being out of the country on election day ;) haha

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  13. The Mothers was my favorite read last month, so good! I just put Faithful by Hoffman on my TBR so I will definitely check it out!

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  14. Dixie Dupree and The Girl before are going on my list for sure! I am hit and miss with Alice Hoffman...I might try that one though and see if it grabs me!

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  15. So many of these are on my TBR list! The Couple Next Door has been on my list since reading The Girl on The Train.

    www.justmurrayed.com

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  16. I went ahead and added a couple of these to my goodreads to read. Thanks for sharing! Always look forward to these!

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  17. It sounds like you had some really great reads this past month! I already have The Girl Before on my list, and it's a pick for a Reading Challenge, so this has me looking forward to it even more! I'm adding The Education of Dixie Dupree, Still Mine, The Mothers, A Certain Age, and Eveylyn After to my list! I hope you're having the time of your life in Ireland, and I've been loving all of your pictures!

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  18. I'm picking up the Couple Next Door today from the library. It finally came in! I added The Education of Dixie Dupree to my to read list. I read The Girl Before this month as well.

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  19. I'm in line to vote. Poppy is with our sleeping 😌 little Beauty queen. Goddess speed.
    Love your momma

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  20. Oh I couldn't have done the TJR...no contractions is one of those things that makes me ragey!

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  21. The Girl Before was so crazy, wasn't it? I have Faithful and Still Mine on my NetGalley, so hopefully I get to them soon. I really like Beatriz Williams, so I need to pick up A Certain Age.

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  22. I didn't enjoy Still Mine very much at all. I think I was just annoyed by another book with an unreliable narrator. And that ending?! Argh, did not like it. But glad you enjoyed After I Do - I really like that one! I don't even remember noticing the lack of contractions lol. Adding that Alice Hoffman one to my list..I've only read The Marriage of Opposites by her and really loved that one. Hope you're having a great trip!

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  23. I've seen mixed reviews on a few of your "Engrossing Reads", but I'm glad you liked them! I haven't read any of these but I'll be adding The Mothers to my list!

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  24. The Couple Next Door sounds interesting, and the Mothers looks like a must-read. Thanks!

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  25. So glad you liked the TJR!!

    We need to add The Mothers to our list as I currently have it on my nightstand.

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  26. I'm with you; A Certain Age wasn't one of my faves. Hopefully her next one will be better :)

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  27. Can't wait to read The Mothers. Going to reserve it at my library NOW!

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  28. Thank you for hosting this linkup. I sincerely love to read book recommendations and reviews. I've been on the fence about The Couple Next Door and I think I'm going to keep it on my TBR. I gather if nothing the book has great readability. I won't invest the money but I will be picking it up at my library :)

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  29. LOL at your comment about Netgalley having some unreadable books. Agreed. I've read some ebooks that were very hard to get through.
    http://runwright.net

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  30. AHHH you liked the couple next door?? I thought it was the most convoluted story I've ever read. REALLY? The husband is innocent? He just happened to give his baby up for money? No way. you got me hooked on williams a couple years ago, i'll add that one to my list!

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  31. I kind of liked The Couple Next Door. I didn't love it, but I'm looking forward to the podcast on it!
    Looking into The Mothers.
    I like your thoughts to Netgalley. ha ha.

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  32. I've been hearing so much about The Mothers - looking forward to checking that out. And I think Beatriz Williams is my new guilty pleasure read since I've gone through all of Liane Moriarty...

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  33. Damn it, Steph, you keep extending my TBR list!

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  34. I've been wondering about The Couple Next door so I'm happy to hear it's a great read. Adding to my list.

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  35. A ton of these books are already on my "To Read" list, but I'm adding several more.

    I'm the opposite in terms of books told from multiple points of view (as long as it makes sense, of course). I like seeing the story through several sets of eyes, especially if it's a suspense/mystery/thriller. I've read a few books that try unsuccessfully to tell the story from several points of view, though, and it ends up a jumbled mess.

    All that to say that one of the books I'm adding to my list is The Things We Wish Were True. I'm not sure how I'll feel about the underdeveloped plotlines, but the summary on Goodreads makes it sound like my kind of book.

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  36. I devoured Faithful. I read it the first week in November so it will be on next month's link up. I was disappointed when I first got the book in the mail because it seemed so short. I adored Shelby's character.

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