Bluebird Books

 I love Christmas. I don't think you have a choice when your name is "Noelle."  I love the warm moments, sitting by the fire with the Christmas tree glowing, and my sleepy puppy snoring next to me. I love when my kids come home from school buzzing with excitement, looking forward to hot cocoa and Christmas movies before bed. I love that after months of striving and straining in this weary world, I can take a month to reflect that the light of heaven came to earth and all I have to do is welcome him. There is so much to love about Christmas. But the beginning of the month always finds me worn out and kind of depressed. The good intentions, best-laid plans, and rampant consumerism drain me.  Don't get me wrong, I get excited about parties (well...kind of), to-do lists (enneagram 1), and gifts (gifts are my love language for crying out loud).  But I don't love the pressure. This year it felt like it started extra early. All over Instagram influencers were decorating

 It's full-blown fall around here (finally) and we are ready with our costumes and trick-or-treating buckets. I just got back from an early anniversary/birthday trip with my husband to lovely Montreal and I'm feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy the last couple of months before New Year.  Reading Infinite Jest A friend and I started reading Infinite Jest as a buddy read. It is long and complex and sometimes my brain hurts after reading a few pages. But we are sticking with it because it's going to be a great accomplishment and there is certainly a thread of genius in the pages. I read it this weekend and found myself vacillating between wanting to throw it and chuckling audibly. We are 300 pages in and there's no turning back now.   Matrix This is the book we chose for book club for November. You guys, it is weird. But it is brilliant. There are some sentences that are searing and some that are so gorgeous I feel required to just sit still and let the words wash over m

Fall and winter reading is my favorite reading all year. The ubiquitous summer book guides and buzz over beach reading can give it a rest. Give me a fire, a hot drink, a soft blanket, slippers, and a big book while the weather rages outside my window (think chill winds, rainstorms, bitter cold, and snow) and I am a happy girl. I mean, it's hibernation season, right? Add a book and it me When the air turns crisp and the first leaf falls from the trees in my backyard, I know what I will be reading for the forseeable future. Spooky books!  Bring on the witches, the ghosts, the creepy vibes! Fall is officially here! One of my favorite SNL sketches My Fall TBR This fall I'm planning to read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia which I've heard so many people rave about.  I'll also be picking up The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe to read along with the Novel Pairings patreon group .  I've been meaning to get to We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shi

 The leaves are not changing color. There is no chill in the air. And yet here I am: ready and waiting for fall. Reading All the Devils are Here I bought this book last year when it came out but I'm reading it now. It's the 16th (...or maybe 17th?) in the Three Pines series. Some books have been better than others but the expereince of really getting to know the characters and place has been an absolute delight. In this installment, Gamache and his wife are visiting their children in Paris. I was worried I wouldn't like it so much because I'd be missing Three Pines. Instead, seeing the Gamaches in this new city has been a great change of pace and gives the characters new depth and dimension. I'm nearly finished and loving every minute. Great Circle This book got some major buzz in May when Jenna Bush Hager picked it for her book club. I bought it because I find my book tastes and Jenna's overlap better than any of the other celebrities with book clubs. I started

 I am a mood reader. My favorite thing in the world is that moment, when I finish a book and go stand in front of my bookshelves to pick what I will read next.  😂 😊 💃 😳 😱 👀 😕 😃 😡 Do I want to laugh? Or cry? Or be scared? Does the weather lend itself to a story of survival on a cold mountain? A trip to the beach? A cozy mystery? What covers draw my eye? The one with cartoonish people laying on the beach? Geometric patterns? The one with all the flowers? ⛄ 🌊 ⛈ 👩 👨 🔶 🔷 🌸 🌼 🌺 I write out TBR lists, I make stacks of books I want to read next. But when it's finally time to choose I ignore the lists and stacks and go with my gut.  It's a glorious feeling. Except when it's not. I'm also a moody mood reader--and that can feel like a curse. Hormones, the beginning of school, new routines, general frustration with household maintenence, world events, these things can bring me down. Throw in a bad attitude from one of my teenagers and I am in a state.  This happene

 ****DNF stands for "Did/Do Not Finish"**** I'm reading a book for book club that shall remain nameless at this time. It was a buzzy book a few months ago. It was picked by a celebrity for her book club and even nominated for a literary prize or two. I bought the book back in June, hopeful about adding it to my already large stack of books I wanted to read in the next few months.  It was not Jenna's book club... I have loved all of the books I've read from Jenna's list At book club, last month, one of my friends said she had grabbed the book in question at an airport and after reading the first few chapters felt like it would make for good discussion. Could we read it? I love when we chose a book I already own so I was in favor.  Around the 20 page mark, I was beginning to have my doubts. I texted my book club friend who had finished by then. I told her I wasn't loving the writing.  "I didn't either. But the story is so good," she texted back

 Here we are again! I remembered this recurring post! Yay for me! Yay for you! Reading I'm 50% through two very good books right now.  I started Empire of Pain a while ago and I am riveted every time I pick it up. It's dense though, and a little depressing--like, how did we let this happen??? I should finish it up in the next two weeks but we'll see. This one requires lighter reads sprinkled in now and then so it may take me a little longer. I'm in no rush. The other book I'm currently reading is 11/22/63  by Stephen King. I read this before bed each night and it is fun! There are definitely some creepy vibes and few scenes I needed to read in the safety of daylight, but mostly it's thought-provoking and plot-driven in the best way. It's nearly 900 pages so I didn't expect it to be a quick read, but still, I'd love to finish by the first week of September so I can move on to King's new release that's getting a lot of love from people I follo

I love literary fiction as much as the next person...maybe even more. But sometimes those kinds of books can be heavy and depressing. When real life also feels heavy and depressing picking up a novel like that seems impossible.  And then I know what my reading life needs is a little fun. maybe I just need a pink unicorn pillow to make my reading life more fun As August is coming to a close, with the headlines being so horrible and scary, I find myself needing books that don't add to the weight I'm already feeling. What I need is a little levity and I find that in books. When I'm looking for books that are fun I often gravitate towards thrillers and mysteries that sweep me up in intricate plots, books that have propulsive force driving me to turn another page. Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache books are fun for me, even though they often describe a gristly murder. I'm totally in love with Three Pines and the character development through the series makes these books