Winter Reads

Well, well, well.

hello.

It’s been… it’s been a long time. I often read blogs or watch YouTube videos where creators profusely apologize for going on a hiatus. Let’s skip through the long detailed reasons why I stopped blogging. Family deaths. Overwhelming work life. Mounds of homework. It all equaled a lack of reading and no desire to write posts without anything to write about.

At the start of 2020 I had finished organizing my bookshelves once again. As I stood back and admired one of the things that brings me the most joy, I realized my TBR pile far outweighed the books I’ve read. I know, I know. This is common for many book lovers. However, my TBR is so large I wondered if I would ever have a chance to catch up before I die. OK. That’s a bit drastic, but here we are. My brain thinks in drastic ways.

I vowed I would actually read this year. No slumps. No setbacks. No excuses. I know Goodreads is hit or miss on people’s preference lists, but I’ve been enjoying over-using this bad boy to track my reading more so this year than any other. I’ve read too many books so far this year to make individual reviews for every single book. I thought I’d do a big winter wrap up all the way up until today. There are several series I’ve begun, though, that I’m probably going to make separate posts for eventually.

Here’s to hoping I can come back to blogging in a way that doesn’t burn me out like in the past.

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Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (#1) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man (#2) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy (#3) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf (#4) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★

Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary (#5) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy (#6) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes (#7) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception (#8) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen (#9) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway (#10) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things (#11) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash (#12) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★

Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher (#13) by Wendelin Van Draanen ★★★★★
Coraline by Neil Gaiman ★★★★★
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller ★★★★★
Illuminae by Amiee Kaufman and Jay Kristoff ★★★★★

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanen McGuire ★★★★★
Down Among the Stick and Bones by Seanan McGuire ★★★★★
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire ★★★★★
In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire ★★★★★

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket ★★★★★
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling ★★★★★
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo ★★★★★

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I’m off to a decent start for the year. While I have plenty more to talk about, I think I will leave those here for now. I’m excited to connect with book lovers again.

Until next time.

C.K.