Ashley’s Comments (group member since Oct 24, 2016)

Ashley’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

I pretty quickly DNF'd a book recently.

I have been almost exclusively doing eaudiobooks recently, so I really need to be invested in an ebook to continue. I tried a book called Ripe, and I just wasn't in love with the writing style or invested in the story. Other people were on hold for it, so I let that one go and started another one that seems much more my speed. It is called Lay Your Body Down, and I am already a good ways into it after starting it last night.

My favorite genre is... depends on the day!

Honestly, I go through phases where I get really into specific genres. They are thriller, romance, horror, contemporary YA, and dystopian/post apocalyptic. I would say thriller and romance are the ones that get the most rotation.

Just finished The Green Mile this morning (absolutely excellent; full 5 stars!) and started The Villa right afterwards. I am already more than halfway through (audiobook so I can listen while I do chores). This one was a bit dull in the beginning, but it kicked in at about the 40% mark, and I am definitely invested now!

I am OBSESSED with Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. The first was very "meh," but then the second one knocked my socks off. I am (impatiently) waiting for the third in the series to become available on OverDrive, and I am listening to Bag of Bones in the meantime.

I just finished Under the Dome, which I thought was excellent and had one of the most diabolical bad guys I have ever witnessed in a story, oooof!

I am currently reading The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis. It is deliciously Poe-like, and this quickly became an author who I read will anything from, so I am pumped for this one!

I just finished Carrie Soto is Back, and I swear Taylor Jenkins Reid hits it absolutely out of the park every time. I am letting it marinate before leaving a review, but it was a hearty 5-stars.

Just started Stephen King's Fairy Tale, and I am enjoying it so far! I think it is going to put me on a spooky kick to ring in spooky season. :-)

I recently finished The Lost Ticket, which was a pretty delightful read. I am currently reading Something Wilder. I am not enjoying it as much as I usually enjoy Christina Lauren's books, but maybe it will surprise me in the second half!

I really enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo ! I've enjoyed everything by Taylor Jenkins Reid, to be fair, but I think The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is probably my top pick.

I am way ahead, but I have set my goals super low for the last few years because life keeps happening and interrupting my reading time. The one thing that definitely surprised me is that all but one of my read books this year have been audiobooks. I am certainly a believer that all books are books, but I usually read at least a few more paper/ebook novels than audio. I've been so busy this year with other exciting things in life that I am fitting books in on walks and drives and while doing chores, so audio works best.

I still can't believe we are halfway through the year. I swear I just saw the clock tick over to midnight on Jan. 1!!

I have been reading very little this week! After 2.25 years of dodging it, COVID finally got me. I am fully vaccinated and boosted, and it is still kicking my butt. Be safe out there, everyone! This stuff can still give you a walloping, even when you take all reasonable precautions!

I've been listening to Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak for a few minutes each day before I get too tired to continue. It is definitely interesting so far, and I can't wait to feel well enough to listen to it for longer stretches!

I just finished Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, since my city has made the news recently after it was pulled from school libraries. They are also trying to sue Barnes & Noble for making it available to minors. It is only a matter of time before my library gets dragged into it, but we have it as a print book and digitally on Hoopla (and I will fight to keep it there!). Not only did I find it absurd that people were calling this graphic novel "obscene," but it absolutely hit me in the feels. While it is not a topic applicable to my personal life, I think e did a beautiful job of explaining issues surround gender identity. I think it is incredibly important that this book stay available to those who need it.

Honestly, I've been in such a weird place lately that I haven't actually sat down and read a "regular" book in ages. I still want my stories, though, so I have been doing almost exclusively audiobooks for months. I listen to them when I am taking my lunchtime walk and on long commutes. They have helped me stay sane!

I did that thing where I keep finding shiny new books to read, so I am in the middle of a bunch. I am reading an ARC called The Last Beautiful Girl, Christopher Eccleston's (AKA the Ninth Doctor) memoir I Love the Bones of You, and I just dove into Sandman after seeing some casting from the Netflix adaptation and getting excited. I am trying to resist the urge to read the book I just got in the mail today - Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World - until I've finished at least one of the ones I am already working on.

I never used to take notes, but I've started doing it when reviewing advanced copies of books. I read one recently that specifically mentioned taking place during 2020 (and the coronavirus did exist in this novel), yet there were so many mentions of sneers and what color lipstick people were wearing and things like that. I kept track on my phone of each instance because it was so jarring to read about an entire school of people going maskless in a 2020 COVID world. I realized how helpful that was when writing my review, so now I definitely plan on doing it more often.

I really like AFK Books & Records in Virginia Beach. I used to live within walking distance, which was dangerous! One year for Banned Books Week, they wrapped books in brown paper and wrote the reason it was banned on it. If you guessed the book correctly, you got a discount. I was apparently the first person they'd had guess mine correctly (it was Go Ask Alice, and I was so excited about the discount that I promptly went and grabbed another book, haha!).

I am currently reading Before She Disappeared. I have it checked out through CPL's Overdrive and only have a couple of days left on it, so I am frantically trying to get through it. It is pretty interesting so far.

I had a medical procedure last week that required sedation, and my anesthesiologist was chatting with me beforehand. We got to chatting about weight loss, and I mentioned that I was interested in intermittent fasting but wanted to make sure I was doing it in a medically safe way. She recommended Life in the Fasting Lane, so I picked that up to see if it is something I want to pursue.

Happy Monday, everyone! (Also, hoping my html is correct to show this image, because it is my favorite and I must share it somewhere every March 15th!)

Okay, I can't seem to get my funny Et tu, Brute? photo to be embedded in here, but you can see it here.

I've been so bad about reading lately! With my seasonal part time job starting back up and playing several time-intensive games with my boyfriend, I find myself with less time to read. I did reread We Were Lias by E. Lockhart for a book discussion I led at work. I am also working on a couple of thrillers (Into the Water and Before She Disappeared), and I am reading an advanced copy of The Tragedy of Dane Riley (a YA novel written by a Virginia author who I quite like). I am hoping to return to my currently reading list soon!

Lately, I've been reading a lot of ebooks on my phone. The most comfy place is curled up in my bed. If my boyfriend is there watching TV, I use his arm to prop up my phone (with permission, of course, haha). If he isn't there, I steal his pillows and build myself a little wall to lean my phone on.

I've had a hard time finding my groove with reading lately. The only thing that has kept my attention are those page-turner thriller types about suburban moms hiding dark secrets. I am perfectly happy to keep reading those, since all reading is good reading for me, but I am hoping to pivot a bit this year. I am in the process of creating a blog that discusses all of my nerdy loves in life. It has so far mostly been video games and TV shows, but I would love to start incorporating books into the blog as well. I am hoping to launch that soon and I am super excited about it!

I set my goal pretty low at 20 books, since I am not sure what my life is going to look like this year, but I imagine I will bump it up once I find my groove.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I just started The Answer Is... by Alex Trebek. I am sure I will cry my way through this one. I love him so much.