The Bit

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season. I, for one, am glad it's over. Christmas is not exactly my favorite holiday, but I always make it special for my kiddos regardless. They seemed to have a good time, though I am eager for school to start back up! In between cookie baking, tree trimming, and visits to our favorite holiday light displays, I managed to read four books this month. Did anyone else manage to make the most of the holiday time off? "Winter Street" by Elin Hilderbrand I couldn't resist. I had to read a Christmas themed book for December. And I happen to love Hilderbrand's writing. If you haven't managed to read one of her books, you really are missing out. Though this book was a bit busy at times, I loved it. Kelley Quinn owns the Winter Street Inn on Nantucket. He bought it for his second wife and has loved the life of an innkeeper which allowed him to raise his four children. Patrick, eldest, is a successful hedge fund manager. Kev...

Oh, the heavy Thanksgiving holiday weekend got away from me and now I'm late posting my November reads! So sorry for the delay. Did everyone have an excellent Thanksgiving? It's honestly my favorite holiday. I love getting to see my family and eating. Quite easily my favorite thing to do is eat. Thanksgiving is an entire holiday devoted to comfort food. Ok, I'm getting sidetracked. In the midst of all the food, I managed to read two books this month. I think I was still reeling from my heavy reading load from October. I needed a bit of a break. Without any more yammering, here there are! "Dead Until Dark"- Charlaine Harris Are there any "True Blood" fans reading this? Well. The television series is based off this book series written by Harris. We find ourselves in Bon Temps, Louisiana in a time where vampires are common. They have their own rights, their own bars, even synthetic blood is readily available. But. No one in Bon Temps has really seen on...

I absolutely love October. Have I ever mentioned that? Not only is my birthday and anniversary in October, but I love the weather. Or the hypothetical fall weather. I live in the Midwest, we had our first snow a few days ago. And then about three inches last night. It's Halloween! We're not supposed to have snow for Halloween! Anyway, another reason I love October is I read all horror books this month. And I managed to read five books. Five! I can hardly believe it myself. My average is three. Let's dive into these spooky reads. "Come Closer"- Sara Gram This book was definitely high on the creep factor. Amanda, who by all appearances is very normal, begins to experience some very not normal things in her life. First, it's the noises in the house. Everyday, the noises. Scratching. Clicking. She can't seem to pinpoint where they are coming from and she seems to be the only person who can hear it. Then the dreams that quickly turn to nightmares. And th...

Hey all! I don't know if I mentioned last month, but we moved. Again. And I think I'm semi settled in. Well, there's only a few boxes left, so I think that's as settled as I'll be for now. I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely hate moving. All the boxes, forgetting where you put things, the chaos of setting up a new house. Ugh. I didn't get much reading done this month, but when I did it was a splendid retreat from all the moving business. So, are we ready? "Jar of Hearts"- Jennifer Hillier In high school, Georgina was always second best. Her best friend, Angela, was the star. She was captain of the cheerleading squad, homecoming queen, the one that everyone wanted to be. And then, suddenly, Angela was simply gone. Jump fourteen years ahead and Geo has made quite the name for herself being an executive of a pharmaceutical company. But her rise to stardom is quickly stifled when Angela's body is suddenly recovered and Geo is arreste...

Hey book lovers, did everyone get their kids back to school? Or maybe you're the one going back to school this semester? Or maybe nobody is going back to school, but at least your favorite hangout is kid free during school hours. Whichever, whatever, school's back in session. I always have tons of nostalgia for back to school. I come from a family of teachers and back to school, for me, always meant days in the teacher's work room helping press letters for bulletin boards, shopping for classroom decorations, and spending hours in the library working with the laminator (this was a coveted job my sister and I used to play rock, paper, scissors for; if you don't know what one is, I'm sorry. You're childhood was deprived.) Back to school also, usually, meant I suddenly didn't have as much time for books anymore. After two months of unlimited time I was now stuck with weekend and speed reading until lights out. I'm happy to say that I no longer have such rest...

I hope your summer is treating you well and that you've found some lovely beach reads this month. I absolutely love the idea of lounging on the beach with nothing but a book and a fruity drink, but in reality I would probably get sunburned and my eyes would hurt from squinting at the tiny print of my book. So. I do all of my summer reading in the comforts of air conditioning. Well, summer is winding down now and school is only a few weeks away. I can hardly believe it! Where did summer go? While my kids have been spending a ton of time at the splash pads and running through the sprinkler in the backyard, I was able to read three excellent books this month. Let's get started. "The Silkworm"- Robert Galbraith This is the second book in the Cormoran Strike series. To read the review for book one, "The Cuckoo's Calling", click here . Holding onto the buzz from the Lula Landry case, Cormoran has been busier than ever and finally making headway on his ...

Hey everyone! I know, I'm a little late getting this out, but we've been traveling and it's finally been nice enough for the kids to play outside! You have no idea what a relief it is for the weather to have finally turned. My kids were completely stir crazy, first with the never-ending snow and then all the rain and flooding; finally there's sunshine to be enjoyed! So, without any more preamble, let's get down to business. "The Beach"- Alex Garland I choose this book for our book club this month and I was really impressed. There was a film adaptation that was <very loosely> based on this novel starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Has anyone seen it? Well, the book is better! We meet Richard as he's back packing around the world. While he enjoys the solitude most of the time, a little company is welcome here and there. The night he lands in Thailand, he meets a man that leaves him an interesting map, apparently a way to paradise. Teaming up with a fel...