Heather’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2020)

Heather’s comments from the 2021 Reading Challenge group.

I’m back!! Don’t have time to discuss my books right now but I didn’t want to delay any more with my total. I hit 14 books in July and I couldn’t be happier. (45 total for the year, which is pretty sad for me at this point in the year, but I did take solid three months hiatus from books.) I read several non-fiction as well, definitely a record set there.

Was thinking- maybe if everyone is on Facebook, it might be better to start a group there? I feel like I’m the reason we moved here bc I was off for almost a year- but I have it again, and even though I’m not really on it much, it might be easier to pop in and use a group there than here. Something to think about for next year maybe. I find these message forums in here are difficult to navigate on my phone and I rarely use my computer. Anyone else think that’s better?

Anyway, hope everyone is well and for most of us getting ready for school to start up again in some capacity, as a mom or student or teacher…. I’m excited for a good routine but I sure love having all my kiddos home for the summer.

I feel like I should get kicked out of my own group haha I read zero books two months in a row! This is unheard of for me. I have been on a major true crime podcast binge and haven’t made books a priority at all. It’s been a nice break though. I do plan to get back on it!!

I need to adjust my goal for sure.

I READ ZERO BOOKS. Yes, you read that right. Zero.

I’m still at 28 for the year. I’m 10 books behind schedule.

Oh well.

I just got back from St Simons Island and the last time I was there I found this amazing little used bookstore next to the pier. That’s where I bought my nearly-100-year-old copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s complete works that was published in 1925. I was so excited to go back there and see what else I could find- only to find that it went out of business!! (Insert heartbreak here).

Better luck in April. It’s birthday month for meeeeee!

So sorry for the delay, my life is insanity right now with two varsity athletes in two different sports, I’m struggling!

February started off super strong for me, as you may have read in the mid month check in. Here’s how it wrapped up...

12 books for the month, bringing my total for the year to 28. I know that seems like a crazy high number, and it is, so I have to chill with my disappointment. However with that said, I have not finished a single book (aside from my Bible- which I do not count) in 12 days. Crazy enough, I’m still 2 books ahead of schedule for my goal of 150. I have a feeling I’m going to need to make up ground after baseball and soccer seasons are over.

I read a handful of corny “cozy mysteries”, not note worthy enough to discuss.

I have a goal to read one nonfiction a month, but this month I finished two.

The House Of Kennedy by James Patterson. If you’ve read one book about the Kennedys, you’ve pretty much read them all. I’m from Massachusetts, and I’ve read plenty of books on the Kennedy family. It still boggles my mind that he was such a womanizer and it seemed like nobody really cared.

The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew Bowman was the second nonfiction. It was also the last book I logged for February. It felt like it took me so long to finish, over a week I think. I enjoyed learning about it, but it’s just crazy sad to me that millions of people actually believe this false teaching.

My favorite book of the month was probably The Project by Courtney Summers. Ironically it’s about a cult (not Mormonism). It was a pretty easy read and it grabbed me from the start. Also a little bit of an unexpected ending.

I read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia because it was a Goodreads Choice 2020 winner. Whew! It was literally one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. It left me feeling like I needed to brush my teeth, or take a bath. It’s strangeness kinda lingered and grew like mold in my brain (pun intended, if you know you know). I can appreciate weird, dark, supernatural, horror, and gothic, but this was a bit too much. I felt like I couldn’t keep up with the plot either. I don’t recommend. I think the story was imaginative and the writing was on point good, but ewww I just couldn’t deal with the incestuous darkness. Why on earth did this book win an award?

I haven’t finished a book in 12 days..... for me, that’s a slump. I just feel burnt out right now. Maybe I should check out that Maze Runner series!

I’m so sorry! I’ve been so busy, I’ll come back ASAP with my report :)))))) spoiler- my month started out strong and now I’m in a slump.

Hey guys! Hard to believe February is halfway over. Its time for a mid-month check in. How is everyone doing with their book count? Any good reads so far this month?

I've finished 10 books so far, and my favorite was The Project by Courtney Summers. It was a book about a cult and how CRAZY hard it is to get out of cults and how quickly people can become brainwashed. And on that note, one of the books I'm reading now is called The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew Bowman. It is a nonfiction that tells the history behind the Mormon faith. As a Bible believing Christian, it's blowing my mind how people put so much faith in Joseph Smith and his interpretation of what "God told him", how he was the chosen one to tell others that all the other religions were wrong, and how it turned into a whole new religion. I am fascinated in learning what others believe, and I think it helps me when it comes time to defend my faith against false teachings.

I would love to see myself close this month with 15 books, but I have a feeling I'll get more than that.

I have a few books on hold from the library that I'm pretty excited about too!

(edited)

This month I finished 16 books, totaling 16 books. My favorite book was "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness. It is the first in a trilogy, of which I am halfway through the third book. That said, I have been guilty this month of the (bad) habit of reading multiple books at once.

I've also been sucked into the "cozy mystery" genre for the past couple of months...you'll probably notice some cheesy looking book covers on my read shelf! haha They're quick and easy to finish and pretty mindless entertainment. Some are much better than others!

An honorable mention read this month was "The 1976 Psychological Assessment of Ted Bundy" by Dr Al Carlisle. That was my one and only non-fiction, and I couldn't put it down. Ted was quite an interesting guy, not your typical serial killer at all. The book honestly made me chuckle a time or two!

As of right now, I am 4 books ahead of schedule for my goal.

Lauren- Such A Fun Age was a really great book, I enjoyed that one last summer I believe.

Jonathan- My Grandmother...... book is sitting waiting for me!

I just finished The Discovery of Witches book, which makes that 6 books so far this month. It was kinda long, which slowed me down some, but it was good.

Another goal of mine is to start writing book reviews. I’m so good at giving it a rating but not saying much about it, so I’m trying to change that. My mind wants to write long, elegant reviews, but my schedule does not allow for that lol at this point one or two lines is about all I’m going to hold myself to.

Hey everyone! It’s mid-month, can you believe that January is halfway over? I wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing, as well as introduce myself. I’m Heather, some of you know me, some of you don’t! Jonathan and I started this group to encourage reading. We started keeping up with each other’s reading and book counts a few years ago and now here we are trying to challenge others to do the same. I read books as well as listen to audiobooks, I simply cannot get enough! :)

Let’s chat- what are you reading now, or what have you been wanting to get your hands on soon?

I was scrolling through the Amazon prime app on my TV the other day and saw a show called “A discovery of witches”, which is right up my alley. In the opening credits it said based on the book series, so I immediately turned it off, opened my library app and got the book. I’m about 75% done with it, and I just allowed myself to watch the first episode. Both so good! My rule for myself is never watch a movie or show based on a book BEFORE reading the book. I’m actually enjoying both and am currently laying on the couch in my art room reading the book while the show is paused on my TV LOL (nerd problems!)

Lastly, I hope everyone has set their book goals for 2021! Remember, you can adjust it as the year goes on. Shoot for the moon!