First Line Friday #82

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books. Playing along is easy: open the book nearest you and share the first line. Then check out the link to see the other first lines offered up this week.

"'Take good care of this girl,' Miss Beatty told the coachman, 'She's an orphan, you know, and never set foot out of London. Make sure she gets where she's going safely.'"

You'll have to excuse the middle grade love I will be showing the next couple weeks. Around Halloween I went on a Mary Downing Hahn binge after finding her newest book at our school book fair during conferences. I requested a bunch of her books from the library that I hadn't read, due to them being published while I was in college (or later).

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading,
Sarah

Tackling the TBR Week 43: Nov 15 - Nov 21, 2019

Basically, I have a huge TBR and often end up reading new books that are not even on my list, instead of trying to whittle down the list that continues to balloon on Goodreads. I am going to make a real effort to get those books read instead of always grabbing new ones and thus never making a dent in the physical and digital stacks I already have. It will also gives me a chance to take a good look at my list and see if there are ones I'm no longer interested in. I will be posting on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and the last day of the month.

Previous Week's TBR Total: 3,216

Currently Reading: 6

Books Added to TBR: 19

Books Removed from TBR: 

Books Read: 3

Books DNF-ed: 0

Duplicates Removed: 0

New TBR Total: 3,231

 So this happened and I ain't even sorry because I found some really great books to add to the TBR.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Books From The Backlog #21

Books from the Backlog, hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books, is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your shelf unread.

I am featuring books in the order that they were added to my Goodreads To-Read shelf, so sometimes there will be a couple weeks in a row of books on the same topic.

Neglected Book of the Week

Why did I add Nazi Games to my TBR?

Because I want to know how the whole world could fucking watch what Hitler was doing, preparing for, and not act.

Have you read this book, or is it somewhere on your TBR? If you've read it, would you recommend it to others?

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Top Ten Tuesday: Changes in My Reading Life

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is changes in my reading life.

I have to admit, I never thought there would be a change. For so long I have been so firmly a non-fiction reader. I love knowledge, especially of history. I crave it, even. Yet I am slowly being drawn to middle-grade and YA, particularly those of the Karen McManus/thriller variety, as well as more paranormal fare, with the likes of the Cassidy Blake series. And my adoration of Mary Downing Hahn has not abated from childhood, despite the fact that I am a grown-ass woman now and nearing forty.

Even so, history will always be my first love. I will first and foremost continue to travel back in time to Medieval and Renaissance England with the likes of Dan Jones, Helen Castor, Matthew Lewis, and so many other historians I adore (though I think we know I would travel just about anywhere with Dan Jones).

Yet, I am fairly certain I will continue to find middle grade and YA that grabs my attention and won't let go until I've read the very last page.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

#BookdragonProblems | My To-Review List OUT OF CONTROL!

AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!

So here's the deal:

I am super far behind in reviews. Like, suuuuuuper. We are talking books I read a year ago, still on the review page.

See for yourself HERE.

I sat down to try to write a couple reviews today and I am just not even sure where to start. Yes, there are SO MANY, I do not know where to start. 

Then I got to thinking, why not ask people what books they are interested in hearing about first? So, that is what I am doing.

If you feel so inclined, take a look at the Upcoming Reviews page (also linked up there ^) and see if there is a book you are interested in hearing about. See if there are five, even! Or ten! I don't care, just SOMETHING. Then maybe once I start writing them again, I can get my mojo back.

Stacking the Shelves #69

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 throughout the 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, etc.

Review Request/Free Gift From Author


Library Treasures

 

What did you add to your stash this week?

Happy Reading!

Sarah

First Line Friday #81

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books. Playing along is easy: open the book nearest you and share the first line. Then check out the link to see the other first lines offered up this week.

"One rainy Sunday in March, I opened a box of books Mom had brought home from Grandmother's house. Although Grandmother had been dead for five years, no one had unpacked any of the boxes. They'd been sitting in the attic collecting dust, their contents a mystery."

You'll have to excuse the middle grade love I will be showing the next couple weeks. Around Halloween I went on a Mary Downing Hahn binge and requested a bunch of her books from the library that I hadn't read, due to them being published while I was in college (or later).

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading,
Sarah

Tackling the TBR Week 42: Nov 8 - Nov 14, 2019

Basically, I have a huge TBR and often end up reading new books that are not even on my list, instead of trying to whittle down the list that continues to balloon on Goodreads. I am going to make a real effort to get those books read instead of always grabbing new ones and thus never making a dent in the physical and digital stacks I already have. It will also gives me a chance to take a good look at my list and see if there are ones I'm no longer interested in. I will be posting on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and the last day of the month.

Previous Week's TBR Total: 3,222

Currently Reading: 3

Books Added to TBR: 4

Books Removed from TBR: 8

Books Read: 2

Books DNF-ed: 0

Duplicates Removed: 0

New TBR Total: 3,216

I've decided I am no longer going to count the books I am reading with Eleanor or my students in my 'Currently Reading' amount, because they are not books that were on my TBR.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Books From The Backlog #20

Books from the Backlog, hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books, is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your shelf unread.

I am featuring books in the order that they were added to my Goodreads To-Read shelf, so sometimes there will be a couple weeks in a row of books on the same topic.

Neglected Book of the Week

Why did I add Warrior Queens to my TBR?

Because badass queens are where it's at, starting with Boudicca. I hope I never have to be as fierce as she, but I'd like to think I could be if necessary.

Have you read this book, or is it somewhere on your TBR? If you've read it, would you recommend it to others?

Happy Reading!

Sarah

First Line Friday #80

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books. Playing along is easy: open the book nearest you and share the first line. Then check out the link to see the other first lines offered up this week.

"The first thing I ever hacked was bedtime."

I ended up skimming a bit more than I like to and still found this a valuable read. I understand a lot more clearly what he did and how he ended up stranded in Russia, of all places.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading,
Sarah