It's Really Quite Simple...

...and the 'be a book' is your best bet, really. I am still kind of iffy on the first three.

State of the ARC 2

Here we are back for another round of checking out whether I found success or failure in attempting to get caught up on the galleys lingering on my Kindle. State of the ARC is hosted by Avalinah's Books. This feature is a must for me because one of my 2018 Reading Goals (also find a related Top Ten Tuesday HERE) is to catch up on all the galleys I fell behind on when I began writing my own book last year. It's still ugly, but it gets the job done.

(Format equals = title/% complete, pub date)

Pending Approval/Denial = Two

NetGalley

1. The Price of Greatness, 6-5-18

Edelweiss

2. Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture, 5-29-18

Not Started = Zero

Started = Thirteen

1. Whose Promised Land (8%), 10-15-15 (Received four months after publication)

2. The Witch of Lime Street (19%), 10-6-15 (Received three months after publication)

3. Queens of the Conquest (7%), 9-26-17

4. The First Congress (12%), 2-9-16 (Received one month after publication)

5. We Were Eight Years in Power (5%), 10-3-17

6. George Washington's Secret Spy War (19%), 9-20-16

7. Scars of Independence (8%), 5-9-17

8. Lincoln Reconsidered (20%), 3-22-16 (Received one week before publication)

9. First Ladies of the Republic (16%), 3-6-18

10. Failure (2%), 7-1-16 (Received three months after publication)

11. The Poison Plot (32%), 5-15-18

12. The Black Prince (6%), 5-1-18

13. Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln (6%), 4-15-16 (Received three days after publication)

DNF, Feedback Sent = One
1. 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR - Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny, 24%

Finished, Reviews To Come = Six
1. Thieves, Rascals and Sore Losers, 5-8-15 (Received 15 months after publication)

2. Educated, 2-2-18

3. The Man Who Caught the Storm, 4-3-18

4. Little Shoes: The Sensational Depression-Era Murders that Became My Family Secret, 4-3-18

5. Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency, 6-5-18

6. American Gothic, 10-4-16

Reviewed or Feedback Sent = Four

1. Muslims, Christians, and Jesus, 11-7-17 (Received two months after publication)

2. The Unmaking of the President 2016, 2-6-18

3. Queer Magic, 6-8-18

4. No Justice, 1-9-18 (Received one week after publication)

The list is still ugly, but it is a work-in-progress. When I have more time to play around I will be able to find a better way to present the information. Hopefully this will be more aesthetically pleasing in the future.

Let me know what you think and leave a link to your post as well.
Happy Reading!
Sarah

Me, This Weekend

I have experienced all of these emotions in JUST THIS weekend.

But, I am also getting a lot of writing done and that is exciting.

I've Been Known to Make This Face a Time or Two...

...and I'm not even sorry about it.

Stacking the Shelves 8

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected in the last week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, you get the idea. If nothing else, this weekly treat shows how much of an addiction I really have when it comes to acquiring my precious books.

In-Store Purchases

   

That's it for this week. Seriously, I am so proud of myself.

Happy Reading!
Sarah

#ALLTHEBOOKS!

I literally say this to my mom every time she visits for the weekend. I'm 35. I'm not sure if that makes it more funny, or less funny and more sad. Either way, they're MINE, ALL MINE.

#ALLTHEBOOKS!

Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction

Rating: I don't know

I am not quite sure what I was expecting out of this one. I do know it is the first book I have ever seen in a Christian bookstore that has a pride flag on it, and that alone piqued my interest. The subtitle still made me wary, and the title downright annoyed me. The former because I thought it might end up being yet another Christian telling gay people how "wrong" they are, and the latter because grace is not messy. Grace is perfect each and every time, WE are the messy part.

The author is a pastor now, though growing up he was not a Christian and instead was on the other side of the fence, watching how so-called Christian treated his family. Kaltenbach's biological parents, who divorced when he was two, are both gay. His mother began a relationship with a woman named Vera that lasted until Vera's death many years later. His father did not come out until after Kaltenbach finished college. In high school he joined a Bible study group in order to disprove the Bible, he says, only to find himself drawn to Christ, eventually becoming a Christian.

I had to take a long pause between finishing the book (which I did in a couple hours) and writing the review. This subject is deeply personal to me because for one, I believe that love is love and God does not make mistakes. Because God does not make mistakes, He intentionally created both heterosexuals and homosexuals. So, my issue is first and foremost a from the human perspective of, "Don't be a shitty person to someone who is different from you." My second reason is because there have been several fabulous men throughout my life who have been my very best friends. Some of us have drifted apart as we grew up and moved on from college, some of us are still going strong, and some of us have come to know one another later in life. Any way you slice it, God created these men in my life, and the countless others who identify as LGBTQIA. I spent a significant amount of time texting my pastor as I was reading, bombarding him with all kinds of questions. As an aside, he and I discussed church outreach and the fact that our church needs to be better at this aspect. I actually gave him the book the next day at church, and I am really excited to be part of the future ministry involving our LGBTQIA brothers and sisters. I know my position is at odds with the official church position on gay marriage, etc, but I know this kind of ministry is also part of my purpose and God will use me in some way. I am very much looking forward to that opportunity. There is a list of questions near the end of the book that deal with a variety of scenarios and how your church might respond to any of them. Questions such as, "If a transgender woman wants to join the women's Bible study, would that be allowed?" and vice versa if the situation involved a transgender male. Of course to all of these questions I am personally saying, of course! But I know that may not be the reaction of others, and time and again I was reminded that I am not part of the author's target audience. Or, I should say that I am but in an opposite way of his main audience; I have the part where he calls all Christians to love ALL neighbors, not just some. I do not, however, necessarily agree with the theological aspects and in that way, I would be what he considers someone for his target audience because in his eyes I am not "loving with truth". 

Naturally given my stance on this issue, I did have an issue with some of the statements the author made. The first was this one:

"We can accept others as friends and family without approving of their life choices" (47%).

That's great, except being gay is no more a choice than being straight is. I never sat around thinking about it, and then chose being straight. That is just how I have always been. I am attracted to males, as a female, and that is how God made me. The same holds true for so many of my gay friends. I can not even count the number of times we've had deep conversations about a myriad of issues involving gay rights, and so many express to me that they knew very early on that they were attracted to other boys. we're talking elementary school here - and this should not be surprising, seeing as how we have all had those playground crushes, chasing the object of our affection around. The other telling piece for me is that in these same conversations, many have also expressed the sentiment that their lives would be easier if they were straight (but keep in mind, all of these conversations took place prior to the monumental Supreme Court ruling that finally said same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 States). Please genuinely think about that - so many individuals I loved and cared about, wishing they could change this huge part of who they were.

I also took issue with this one:

"Nevertheless, the account of this event back in Genesis does say that the men of Sodom were aggressively seeking to have sex with Lot's visitors (angels who had taken the appearance of human males)" (38%).

What an interesting way to describe...RAPE. Can we please stop equating sex and rape? Not the same thing.

Perhaps my biggest issue of all is the choices that the author presents as viable alternatives to people of the LGBTQIA community. In order to stay true and faithful to God, he says that there are one of two choices:

1. Be celibate

2. Marry someone of the opposite sex

"Since God designed sexual intimacy for a man and a woman, I believe celibacy is the right choice for people with same-sex attraction. In fact, it's not only the right choice, but it's a good choice for them, one they can embrace with gratitude" (60%).

I just can't believe that this is the best option, and one they should be grateful for. I struggle to reconcile the fact that God did create us as sexual beings, and He created ALL of us, yet one of those groups He created is to either remain celibate or enter into a heterosexual marriage. Why would God create such a scenario? 

One thing I truly did appreciate about this book is the author's attempt to tear down this barrier and do away with the mentality of an "us vs them" kind of situation. You have "Christians" like those fools from Westboro who spew venom about God hating gay people, and then everyone wonders why an LGBTQIA person might be wary of church in general. Plus you have all the additional crap spewed  but those who are not remotely connected to Westboro also being really awful, so basically no one should really wonder why he also uses his own situation as an example, stating how when he decided to become a Christian, and told his parents, they both reacted very negatively. In fact, his "coming out" Christian to them, reads very much like an LGBTQIA person coming out to their family and receiving a negative response. I feel that due to the author's own experience of being rejected in a way, that he understands how those on the other side feel and that is why he repeatedly says Christians must be gracious and compassionate.

Still, this book is tough for me in many ways, but it all ultimately comes back to the two choices presented as the only viable options: celibacy or heterosexual marriage. Even while the author states time and again that Christians must look at how they treat others who are different, and must be compassionate, loving, and kind, it doesn't seem real. Or, maybe real is not the right word, and I do not for a moment doubt the author's sincerity, but I am not even quite sure what word I am looking for. I also appreciate the author's honesty is stating that the reader may disagree with some parts of the book while whole-heartedly agreeing with others, and that is okay because he is not a theologian and does not ever claim to be. He too is still learning and figuring things out for himself. But time and again he calls for Christians to be gracious. Not in a patronizing kind of way, but a true and gracious way of loving others as Jesus commanded and loved us.

One important point to make is that this text does not discuss why people are gay. He does not even attempt to argue for or against anything related to that aspect. He also does not even really go into detail about how the Bible discusses homosexuality. There is a chapter that does relate the Bible's teachings, but that is not the focus or the purpose of the text. His aim is to get Christians to understand why they must do as Christ said and really truly be that loving and kind person. It is really not that hard and personally I have always found the "Don't be a douche" approach to be fantastic - and it really works for any situation. Then again, my views on homosexuality differ greatly from official position of many denominations at this point, so I can not really be of much help in that area.

I have now spent the last three nights trying to write this review and I am pretty sure it is one of the worst reviews I have ever written. I have been half-tempted to delete it at least six times now. I think because this topic is so deeply personal to me it really is hard for me to be objective. But I know this about myself, so perhaps I will just end here with whatever haphazard arguments I may have made and leave you to make up your own mind. While I feel the book made some good points - especially in the whole 'be kind' department (which should be common sense for Christians, but isn't, because we are humans, and pretty awful), it still felt like the undercurrent was a little darker. There is no real answer for what the future will hold for someone who both commits to being a follower of Jesus, yet identifies with the LGBTQIA community. The whole celibacy/hetero marriage thing seems overly simple and also more than a bit hypocritical. After all, there are plenty of things we were not supposed to do, according to the Bible, and a lot of those things are set aside. However, the bottom line is what I have been stating time and again as it relates to the author's point of view - there is no reason to treat someone poorly because they are different from you. This is not confined to only interactions with LGBTQIA, so keep that in mind also.

First Line Friday: Bible Lands Edition!

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books.

It's been a minute since I've been able to do one of these. Life in general has been hectic, I am trying to get caught up on reviews, get galleys finished, work on my own research and get the first draft done, etc. Lots going on around here, to say the least. 

Naturally, I help things along by stopping everything and doing something completely different and not on the priority list at the moment. what can I say, that's how I roll.

I am super excited about this one because I LOVE LOVE LOVE anything to do with the Holy Land and places discussed in the Bible. Side note, I am also a huge fan of anything related to Biblical archaeology and a few years ago when archaeologists discovered a gate to the city of Gath - you know, Goliath's hometown - it was pretty cool. Who knows what else is out there waiting to be discovered. Not just in terms of the Bible, but in general history. There's still so much to know and find!

"Before the writing of recorded history on clay tablets, pharaohs, kings, warriors, and commoners trudged across the Bible lands."

This is one of my fave kinds of history and I can't wait to get further into the book.

Let me know what you think and happy reading!

Sarah

No Justice: One White Police Officer, One Black Family, and How One Bullet Ripped Us Apart

I received a digital copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5 Stars

This was a tough one for me to read, for many reasons - similar to those I discussed in a previous review of the book The Day Sonny Died. In fact, I finished both of these books within a day or so of one another and was not eager to review them because they were truly draining. They were exhausting because it was so easy for me to see one of my students in the place of either young man, fictional or flesh and blood. While the young men in each story had a very different journey in how they came to be where they were, both are still situations any of my babies might find themselves in later in life. As a special education teacher in a behavior skills classroom, the majority of my students are young black males (grades 3-5). This over-identification of young black males in special education is a whole other issue that is as exhausting to deal with as the topics for either of these books. But I know I can not give up and can not let that exhaustion get to me because when put simply, their lives depend on it.

The gross miscarriage of justice in Tolan's story should infuriate everyone. Unfortunately, it won't and until something changes, incidents like this will keep happening. The shooting of unarmed black men by police officers has to end. I am not here for or interested in any "But what about..." arguments. This is an issue in our country. It is by no means the only issue we face today, but it is of great significance and the subject of the book.

Robbie Tolan nearly died in his own driveway, accused of stealing his own car. Just let that sink in for a moment.

In the early morning hours on New Year's, Robbie and his cousin had returned to Robbie's home where an officer approached the two young men, accusing Tolan of stealing the car he had driven. This ended up being a mistake on the officer's end, having mistyped the license plate number. Yet there was no double confirmation of the plate. The second officer to come on the scene did not help, and in the confusion and chaos of Tolan's parents coming out of the house to see what was going on, being told to get back, one officer roughly pushing Tolan's mother, Tolan reacted with angry words and apparently the officer feared for his life because Tolan received a bullet in his chest for trying to defend his mother.

Grim reminders that this is not the first time a scene like this has played out in America are scattered throughout the book. Before each chapter, Tolan recounts previous cases where both boys and men were not as lucky as he - though it sounds weird describing someone being shot as lucky. Yet I think Tolan recognizes that he was. He could have died just as countless others have before him. Even so, living was just as hard. Not only did the family fight for ten years to get any kind of justice, but the physical, mental, and emotional damage was at times overwhelming for everyone.

"I was able to make sure to keep any impulse responses, you know, like being the stereotype of the angry black man, out of the public eye, and my frustrations were only meted out in privacy" (34%).

This quote stuck out for me especially; he shouldn't have to not be angry. He was unjustly shot by a police officer, FFS. Yet, he's not allowed to be angry in public because he is black, and that would in turn impact the public image of him and potentially harm his case. How is that even fair? Tolan is allowed to be angry, without it framing his story in a negative way.

I do not recall hearing about this case, but I am glad that I was able to read about Tolan's journey and how he has slowly but surely put his life back together. What he and his family had to go through during the entire ordeal is beyond words. This should not be the experience of any citizen in our country, period.

It's TOTALLY Insomnia. I Wonder If I Can Get a Doctor's Note...

Firebird

Rating: 5 Stars

I must start out by saying that Misty Copeland is amazing. Watching her dance, to see her perform Firebird live, is one of the greatest things I have ever witnessed in my life time and I was so lucky to be able to experience that with my four and a half year old daughter, who also loves to spin and twirl and be a ballerina. This past week Misty and ABT, along with the St Louis Symphony, were at the University of Nebraska. On Tuesday Misty spoke at the EN Thompson Forum on World Issues, discussing her career and the lack of diversity within classical ballet. It was there that I picked up this copy of Firebird for my little ballerina and we have read it so many times since that night - and we have not even owned it for a whole week!

While Misty's own story is incredible - she did not start ballet until she was 13. She is the first African-American woman in history to become a principal dancer in the 75 year history with ABT. This is a HUGE accomplishment in an art form that is by and large very, very white. Even keeping in mind Copeland's own experiences, this book is for ALL who have a goal or a dream, regardless of race.

The story is of a young girl who is discouraged, unsure of herself but almost certain she can not follow in Copeland's footsteps. But Copeland herself tells snippets of her own journey in text that is both lyrical and meandering, leaping off the page. Yes, I went there. And she shows how, by working hard, the girl can become Firebird as well.

Besides the fact that Copeland is one of my favorite ballet dancers ever, I loved the fact that while the direct message in the book is geared toward those who love dance, the overall theme is the fact that no matter what your goal is, what your dream is, you will have to work hard and dedicate yourself to reaching whatever it is that you want. It is written in such a way that will appeal to younger and older readers alike. Though it is getting a bit easier to find diverse picture books than it was even ten or twenty years ago, this is a wonderful addition to that growing collection of books that tell stories from the perspective of someone who is not white. As a white teacher in a school predominantly attended by African-American children, you can see why this book is so important on so many levels. My students need to have hope, just like the girl in this book, just like all children do. This is a great start to showing them they can achieve great things if they are committed to it.

The only issue I really had with the book was the illustrations. It's not even that they were poorly done (and obviously they were not, seeing as how the book won the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator in 2015), but this medium is just not my favorite. It does give the illustrations a wonderful, textured look, but some were just too unbalanced for me. I don't think I would have minded so much had the body proportions not been so strange sometimes.

In the end, I can unequivocally recommend this book to a variety of people - parents of aspiring dancers, parents/teachers/librarians looking for books with African-American characters, and pretty much anyone who enjoys beautiful, brilliant, yet simple work. Very well-done.

The Unmaking of the President 2016: How FBI Director James Comey Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency

I received this ARC free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3 Stars

When I saw this pop up on NetGalley, my first thought was "Uuuggghhh, here we go." I have no interest in reading Clinton's memoir of it, but I wanted to see what exactly this book would entail and how it would conclusively prove its premise. Not that it really had to, because it is no secret that Comey's letter had a huge impact on the election. My biggest gripe is with the sub title because Comey is not the only reason Clinton lost. Yes, his timing was absolute garbage - both the timing of his initial letter stating there were more emails, and the follow-up, which went largely unnoticed due to said timing, stating there was nothing new.

Davis cites Clinton's decisive lead heading into the week of October 24th, then the release of Comey's letter to Congress four days later, as the absolute proof that it is Comey alone who cost Clinton the election. Let's just ignore the fact that the 2016 election saw two of the most unlikable candidates in history squaring off. (Don't worry, this will not turn into a diatribe about how Bernie would have defeated Trumplethinskin. I mean, of course he would have. But I digress.)

In the weeks leading up to the election, I avoided coverage as much as I could. I even went so far as to avoid NPR, because it was all so sickening that our democracy could have such a mockery made of it by allowing someone so clearly in love with spray tanning and so clearly unqualified to be president making it to the general election. I did know of Comey's letter and follow-up, the former of which I recalled thinking of at the time as huge help to Trumplethinskin's precarious position.

I found the portions of the text not directly related to Comey and his letters far more interesting. The discussion in general of this whole hullabaloo about private email servers was of interest, as was the sections that focused on the 25th amendment and impeachment.

In the end though, there is nothing really new to add to the discussion from this book. It's not a boring book, and I did appreciate the details, especially in regards to protocol, since it is at least clear that Comey did not follow it at all. But these are also things I likely would have already known had I paid closer attention to the news in that final week and a half.

Trumplethinskin's election was a truly awful thing for our country and I wish it was not our reality. But books like these in the end do a kind of disservice to their cause. Looking back at the election does us very little good at this point, especially one year in. Instead we have to focus on the midterm elections coming up in the fall and flipping as many seats as possible blue. I am cautiously optimistic about the wins in special elections in the last few months and we have to keep working to ensure more seats go the same way.

Stacking the Shelves 7

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected in the last week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, you get the idea. If nothing else, this weekly treat shows how much of an addiction I really have when it comes to acquiring my precious books.

Amazon

I got a gift card for Amazon for Valentine's Day from my momma, so naturally that meant a book-buying spree that surpassed the gift card amount because, duh.

 

 

 

MISTY COPELAND!
I was privileged enough this week to attend the EN Thompson Forum on World Issues, where Misty Copeland, a principal dancer for ABT (and the first African-American woman to be promoted to that position), spoke on a variety of topics, the main focus being lack of diversity in classical ballet. All of her books were also for sale. I had already read her biography, Life in Motion, but I purchased the young readers edition for my daughter, as well as Firebird. I bought Ballerina Body for myself. And, not to brag or anything, but kind of definitely to brag: last night my daughter and I attended a performance of Firebird, with Copeland dancing the lead. It was one of the greatest nights of my life, a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Misty is magnificent.

 

What did you find this week?? Leave a comment and a link to your new treasures as well!

Happy Reading,
Sarah

The Day Sonny Died

I received a copy of this book from M. Simone Boyd, without expectation of a review of any kind. All thoughts are my own.

Rating: 5 Stars

Whew. Be patient with me, this is a tough one. For many reasons.

I came across this book because of Remembrancy, a blog I became familiar with due to our participation in First Line Friday hosted by Hoarding Books. The book summary really resonated with me because of my job, and due to my interest I was offered a copy by the author, M. Simone Boyd (who actually co-authored the book with her father). For those who do not know, I am a Special Education teacher at a Title 1 school in a fairly tough part of the city. Specifically, I teach in a behavior classroom, so all of my students are diagnosed with emotional disturbances/ADHD/ODD/SLD, and a whole slew of other acronyms that you don't really need to know in order to understand that my job is hard. And I mean, HARD. Every day I am asked to perform miracles and a lot of times I fail. I love my job and I love my students, many of whom could relate to Sonny, and who some I fear will BECOME him. I have to look into the eyes of these babies (who are not really babies, they are third, fourth, and fifth graders) and prepare them for a world that will not always understand them or be kind to them, or give them chance after chance after chance. I have to make them understand why we have to get the anger under control, why we have to learn to count to 10, to walk away, to breathe deep, to not argue in the 'wrong way' even when something is unfair and their anger is justified. On top of that, I also have to teach all my students reading, math, writing, social studies and science. They run the spectrum of reading levels, from Kindergarten to 5th grade, despite them all physically being 3rd/4th/5th graders. I have students who have never left the state, or even the city, students with no life experience except what it is like to take a food bag home on the weekends just to have enough to eat until Monday, or to sleep on the floor after the windows getting shot out one night. Not every student I teach survives in a world that bleak, but even the fact that one or two do should be cause for concern. One little heart hardening over situations like this should make people angry, make them stand up and say enough is enough, we are destroying our future.

Okay, so I think we can agree that this book definitely struck a nerve, right? Right.

It is not a secret that Sonny, this character who seemed to me to be a mash-up composite of so many of my students from the last six years, will die in this book. You don't know when it will happen or how, but it is a forgone conclusion that at some point, it will happen. We get to see in snippets the lives of Sonny's parents before he is born and we get to see the tragedy play out when Sonny is three and his father is murdered in front of him. It is a hard thing to read, to know that slowly but surely everyone who cared about Sonny is taken away. It makes sense in such a heartbreaking way that Sonny too, will not escape this cycle and is doomed to fall victim to the same thing that happened to his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and on and on. Throughout the book I found myself wanting to reach through the pages, grab this kid by the shoulders and give him a good shake. I wanted him to escape and to have the life that deep down he knew he was missing out on. There is an especially poignant scene for me when Sonny comes across a photo of himself at his 3rd birthday, with his mom and his dad. It is not a terribly elaborate scene, but if you really connect with the story, it will really stand out to you. His life could have been so different had so many situations gone the other way, but there is also a point where Sonny also has to take responsibility for his choices himself as he gets older. Throughout his time on earth, he was given the opportunity to grab on to hope, but he never took it. He didn't take those chances given to him and in the end, and I mean The. End., he was shown the error of his ways. I don't want to say too much more about that because I don't want to give away anything that you need to discover for yourself in reading this book. While it is filled with tragedy and heartache, the ultimate message is one of hope. I know it does not make sense based on literally everything else I have just written about but you will see it when you read this one for yourself, and I hope that you do.

Despite having my own plate full with research, reading, writing, and raising a small human, I plowed through this book in just a couple of days. Something in the story called to me, this connection I made between the book and my kiddos, and I had to see it through, as soon as possible. The ultimate story here is of God's love for us and the options He presents to us so we can live out our purpose - which because of our free will, we can choose to accept or reject. Sonny used his free will to reject that love, though I don't actually think he fully understood what he was rejecting. On the other hand, he had so many opportunities, and he chose not to act.

In the end, I highly recommend this one. When and if you get the chance to read it, I would love to know your thoughts.

Stacking the Shelves 6

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected in the last week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, you get the idea. If nothing else, this weekly treat shows how much of an addiction I really have when it comes to acquiring my precious books.

NetGalley

 

Edelweiss

In-Store:

  

What goodies did you find this week? Let me know!

Happy Reading,

Sarah

Top Ten Tuesday!

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is all about books that have been on my TBR the longest. Yikes. It is almost too scary to think about some of the books languishing there.


This beast has the honor of being the first book I added to Goodreads. It is the tome of all tomes, and will probably take me the rest of my life to read. I check it out from the library and read as much as I can in three weeks before returning it, because there is ALWAYS a hold on it. So basically, I have been reading this book for three years and am only on page 200.


I don't know how my library system can have every Feinstein book except this one, but they do and that is sad.


I may or may not ever get to this one. I don't even know if I am that interested anymore.


I have enjoyed other books by this author and plan to read this as soon as I can find it.


Still trying to find this one too. Plus, the author's name is Herwig, so that's pretty cool.


I really have no excuse with this one because I am pretty sure I bought it at Half Price Books in the last couple months. Or maybe I looked at it, and then did not buy it. Both are legit possibilities.


I actually checked this one out from the library in the last couple years but could not get into it. I feel like it had more to do with my own reading mood than the book, because the story of Jesse Owens is definitely NOT boring. Will try again soon.


No excuse for this one either. Should have read it a long time ago.


Pretty sure I bought this one in one of my spending sprees on Amberley's website in the last few months, but I can't actually remember because I bought SO MANY Elizabeth Norton books.


I think I finally snagged this one from Half Price Books. Again, not totally sure, which is a good indicator I do in fact have an addiction, since I can not even remember all the books that I buy and cram onto my shelves.


This one is on my shelf somewhere, I am almost certain. This seems to be a theme among the last few books. It is kind of sad that I can't remember what I only looked at, and what I actually bought.

Let me know if you've read any of these, and leave me a link to your books this week.

Happy Reading!
Sarah

Sunday Funday

This is a 100% accurate representation of my life. 

Stacking the Shelves 5

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected in the last week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, you get the idea. If nothing else, this weekly treat shows how much of an addiction I really have when it comes to acquiring my precious books.

Bought in-store from Divine Truth

But just so it is still clear:

I was hoping for a different take-away from this book, but was disappointed. What I am excited about in regards to it though comes from a conversation with one of my pastors about doing better with outreach and ministry to the LGBTQIA community. Despite the fact that my own belief diverges greatly from the official position of the Covenant Church, I have prayed about this and I feel like God is nudging me toward this ministry as something I need to be a part of and luckily, my pastor agrees. Amen.

Other books in the same haul:

    

Half-Price Books

 

 

 

Edelweiss

What treasures did YOU find this week? Let me know!

Happy Reading,

Sarah