MONTHS later

Blogging has REALLY fallen off my radar lately. I just haven't had the time or the desire to do it lately. Plus, I haven't been reading near as much as normal. I've just been busy and I think I just fell into a bit of a rut. The last few books I've read haven't entertained me too much, and then I just kind of lost interest.
I recently just picked up The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena and it has ignited in me the desire to actually seek out books and read again. Seems like a bunch of duds put me in a reading slump. I'm about halfway through The Couple Next Door and I am really enjoying it. I have a few others, like The Woman in Cabin 10 and Dark Matter on hold at NYPL and am excited to get those to read. I've heard really good things there.






In other news, I signed up in September to be a Jamberry Independent Consultant! I am now selling Jamberry and I absolutely LOVE it. I will probably start sprinkling in some nail stuff on here too. Below are a few of my recent Jamicures!

If you have any interest, you can check out my site here: www.papajm25.jamberrynails.com
Or my Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/papajm25/

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

The Theft of Memory

The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father, One Day at a Time
By Jonathan Kozol

I love memoirs and biographies, so I thought this would be a book I would find interesting. I'm always very interested in the brain and how it functions, so it fit well with that as well.
I have to admit that it took me a long time to get this read. I put it down multiple times just because it didn't hold my attention. However, I did complete the book- which is not something I always do with books that I am struggling to focus on.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I thought it was an interesting story and I really liked the way that the author wove in personal and professional tidbits from his fathers life.I would certainly recommend this book to those who like memoirs or biographies, as well as to those who are interested in studying the brain or Alzheimers more specifically.




write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

Wonderland

 Wonderland: A Coloring Book Inspired by Alice's Adventures by Amily Shen is an absolutely beautiful coloring book!  It is whimsical and beautifully detailed.
Not only is it a coloring book, but it is also a story - something that I really appreciate seeing during this giant surge of adult coloring books. The story adds the perfect touch of something "extra" to make this coloring book stand out. Now, I could show you every page (because I really want to!) but that would spoil all the fun! All I will say is that the pages are fun, detailed, well drawn, and vary in their scale and scope throughout the book. I was impressed with the uniqueness of the illustrations, as well as the story. I can't wait to color this book! I really think this is one of the better adult coloring books I have seen on the market so far!

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

FTC: I received this coloring book through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for a fair and honest review.

BoB16 Updates

Welcome to my Bout of Books 16 Update Home!

Here you'll find my daily stats, links to posts and challenges, and other info that pops up throughout the readathon.

I'll also likely post my thoughts on the day, and maybe some pictures too! (we all know I am snaphappy)





Day 1 - Monday 5/9
Pages read: 3
Book(s) read: The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
Challenges completed: Intro challenge #insixwords (completed on instagram)

I didn't really read today... when I got home from work we immediately started working on expanding the chicken coop run. By time I got to sit down and read, it was bedtime and I was exhausted. Made it through 3 pages before falling asleep (to only be woken by the hardcover book hitting my face).

Day 2 - Tuesday 5/10
Pages read: 42
Book(s) read: The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
Challenges completed: Shelfie challenge (completed on instagram)


Day 3 - Wednesday 5/11
Pages read: 39
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Challenges completed: Top 5 (completed on instagram)

I picked my top 5 psychology books (that I had on hand)

Day 4 - Thursday 5/12
Pages read: 35
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Challenges completed: nope!

Day 5 - Friday 5/13
Pages read: 0
Book(s) read: nope
Challenges completed: nope

I didn't read at all Friday... I had a busy day at work then came home and our new bed was delivered! Bear was helping a ftiend move, so I unloaded the bed and built the box spring... then had to take my baby girl to the vet. Bear and I then had a nice little date night at Los Tapatios, a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant!

Day 6 - Saturday 5/14
Pages read: 22
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Challenges completed: nope

Another busy day! Woke up early and loaded the Jeep with construction debris and did a dump run... then spent the day finishing the extra coop run. Afterwards, Maddie came over and we went to TRex Planet (awesomesauce!) & dinner. Super good day. Tons of TRex Planet pics on my insta... go check them out.

Day 7 - Sunday 5/15
Pages read: 58
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton and Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci
Challenges completed: free day- no challenge!

Had a relaxing Sunday.... did some things around the house, work for my PLC group and some grading. Got to read a little from a pleasure book and from a work book study book.


Bout of Books Recap:
Well, Bout of Books has come to a close. I didn't get nearly as much reading as I had hoped, but that is okay. It turned out to be a much busier week than I had originally anticipated. I finished a book I had started earlier this month (The Sound of Gravel) and really enjoyed it. I am 35% finished with Rarity from the Hollow (finding this more difficult to get through than I had expected) and I also read a bunch from my work bookstudy, Mindsets in the Classroom (a book I am thoroughly enjoying).

>>> Overall, I read 199 pages in 3 different books. I finished 3 challenges.

So, how did you all do with BoB16? Even with my lackluster reading performance, I am still glad to have participated!


write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

BoB16 is near!!

It's that time again! Time for the no-pressure Bout of Books readathon! I absolutely adore Bout of Books readathons because they are chill and give me a nice little reading boost.

The readathon starts tomorrow (Monday the 9th) and runs until Sunday the 15th. There are twitter parties, challenges, and fun ways to interact with other book lovers.

If you haven't signed up yet, head over to the Bout of Books homepage and get on that list!

Once again I am not setting goals. I've learned now that no goals is what works best for me. I tend to always have them in the back of my mind if I set them, so this time around I'm going no-goals again. I will complete daily updates though, just because I find it fun. As always, you will find me primarily on Instagram, so if you have IG lets hook up!

Happy Bout of Books 16!


write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow