Bluebird Books

 Here are the books I read in the month of November. The beginning of the month was a bit chaotic but we ended with a lovely Thanksgiving. My daughter was home from college for a few days and we did a little Christmas shopping and decorating.  November is not my favorite month but I made the best out of it with these books. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi This book was *chef's kiss* perfect. It was all the creepy vibes you want in spooky reading. It was a retelling of the classic story with a smart twist and in a completely new location and time so it felt fresh but recognizable. It was a book in translation that wasn't clunky or difficult to read and it still felt authentic and true to the people and culture of Iraq. Don't sleep on this novel. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune I've heard The House in the Cerulean Sea described as a warm hug and that description fits it perfectly.  I read this one during a stressful, busy week and it felt like coming h

 November started, warm and unsettled. I had the feeling I usually save for the end of the month: pressure. There was a lot to do, so much on the horizon that I was overwhelmed on the first of the month.  But here we are on the sixteenth and I feel much better. these beauties help There's still a lot to do. We haven't even begun to go over our Thanksgiving menu and we are making a quick trip to New Jersey to see my family this weekend. I haven't managed to figure out a system to stay on top of laundry yet (that's been a full twenty-year project) and the stack of books I want to read by December 1 keeps getting taller.  But! I've checked off the hardest parts of the month, so the rest feels immensely doable. My husband traveled a lot at the beginning of the month. For the first time in ages, I was left to navigate dinners and after-school activities and all the emotions. We missed him but we survived. The kids helped out a little more and we offered each other grace

The other day I pulled books off my shelf that I'm excited to read throughout the rest of the year. I know this stack will grow and change. I know I won't get to read every book I pulled. But still, it was so fun shopping my own shelves for books.  Here's some of what I found: There, There by Tommy Orange This book has been on my shelf since it came out. Countless people have told me to read it because it's such a good fit for me. I'm really hoping to get to this one this month. Plus, November seems like a great time to read it because it's Native American Heritage Month.  Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel I heard Amy Poeppel has another book coming out in 2022 and I'd love to get to this one first. The cover is colorful and it looks to be a story about music and relationships.  Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn This was my book of the month pick last month and I'd really like to read it soon to decide if it would be a good book to give as a gift.

Here are the books I've read in the month of October. It was a month of long walks and a trip to New Jersey to spend time with my mom while she had surgery. I read on rainy, grey mornings and late at night cuddled up under covers. I just love October! I hope you will share some (or all) of the books you've read lately in the comments.  The Prestige by: Christopher Priest A friend of mine read this and said she loved it. The description sounded too good to resist: two rival magicians working at the turn of the twentieth century spend years trying to best each other. The ramifications are WILD.  Like my friend, I loved this book and the experience was enhanced by watching the movie after I finished it. The movie was very different from the book but that didn't bother me...I mean, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, you can't go wrong. The book lagged a little in the middle but I loved the creepy, dark, and twisty vibes of this one.  Less by: Andrew Sean Greer I loved this bo

 Every time I look online for advice on raising readers, one of the top two tips is always for the parents to read a lot. The author of the post or article will then spend a paragraph or two claiming that people who read a lot, in front of their kids, will inevitably raise kids who love books.  Well, I'm here to debunk this myth. I have four kids who range in age from 17-11. They all are proficient readers who have been known on occasion to rave about a book they read. But do any of them reach for a book without at least a little cajoling from yours truly: they do not.  Another tip from the so-called experts is to create a literature-rich environment.  I am the queen of literature-rich environments. When they were small, I labeled furniture and household objects with bold, clear lettering so they could get used to seeing and trying to decode the written word. We made letter sounds and spent hours upon hours reading together. I had library parties for the neighborhood kids complete

  I realize I'm posting this late...I'm in the weeds of editing my novel so that is taking up most of my writing time. But I wanted to get my April reads up before the end of May so here we go! April was busy, but I managed to do a lot of reading. It seems I was drawn to dense books (four of these titles are over four hundred pages). That slows me down a little but also makes me a bit more selective in the quality of the books I read.  Do you like long books? For me, there are times I want to dive deep into a story and get lost for days, and other times I need short chapters and quick reads.  Here's what I read in April 1. The Appeal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Have you heard about this one? A few trusted sources posted about it and I was all in. The Appeal is a mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie told through emails, texts, and other media. The story centers on a theater troupe in England and it was great reading on rainy, chilly spring days.  The plot was tight, but I did feel like it w