For the love of reading......What's On Your Bookshelf #WOYBS

Welcome to my What's On Your BookShelf post. The #WOYB link party is hosted by Deb, Jo and Sue....all gals I follow on a few other link parties. I love their blogs. Go check them out. #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge

I was just looking through my list of 12 books by 12 friends that I have still to read this year...yikes. I have 4 left and am currently reading one...they are not easy books either. I've been trying to get audiobooks when possible but not all are available in that format and some are even hard to find. The ones I have left are:

Patmos by C. Baxter Kruger (which we own..my hubby recommended it..lol)

Fearing the black Body (The racial origins of Fat Phobia) by Sabrina Strings. This one has been hard to track down..it seems like a textbook kind of book. When I have found it, it cost more than I wanted to spend. I'll Keep looking though. 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (I have the audio on hold for this one)

Childlike By Deenur (this is a book written by a friend..I have this one as well)

My rating system:

⭐ DNF (which there's a reason), story lacking any depth, grammatical or spelling errors (too many), just did not enjoy it and enough to it that I wouldn't recommend. Don't bother reading

⭐⭐ Story line is a bit all over the place, struggle to read it but maybe it had some redeeming parts. Characters  or story line weren't believable or too unrealistic. I wouldn't want to read it again. Too many storylines going on at the same time. Read it or don't read it.

⭐⭐⭐ Solid story line and characters. I liked it but didn't necessarily LOVE it, but I didn't HATE it either. I may have felt that it dragged on, or had parts that weren't necessary to the story. Maybe was a little hard to follow. Probably wouldn't recommend but it wasn't a total disaster.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ A really great read that I enjoyed picking up each time. I enjoyed it from front to back. The characters and storyline were really good.  As someone said "a truly good book, but missing the cherry on top".  Go ahead and read it

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book knocked it out of the park and I couldn't put it down. OR it was a book that really opened my eyes to something or taught me something about someones life. One I have bookmarked and even taken notes. It left me wanting to read more by the author or more in the series. Definitely go read. 

July Reads:

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't know if I mentioned this book in another WOYBS post, BUT, this was one of the books on my 12 books from 12 friends list. I got it from the library, but struggled so much to read it. The way it was written was just very different than I was used to. The author is sharing his life as a refugee from Iran living in Oklahoma. He writes it from his perspective as a child. I finally returned it, deciding I was going to DNF it, BUT discovered it was available on Audiobook. Let me tell you, sometimes, getting the audiobook makes all the difference. He also narrates it and he just draws you in. Thus, which would have been a 1 had I read it, became a 5 because I listened to it. It gave me such an eye opening perspective on what it's like being a refugee. 

Resort to Murder by Annie McEwen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A few people I follow talked about this author and her books so I thought I'd give her books a try. This is the first book in her Northwoods Mystery Series. I also wanted to read it because a gal I follow lives in the Northwoods so I thought it would be fun...the books mention the town she lives in. It was a fun read! The book follows Emmy Cooper as she travels home after being let go from her job as a designer at a big firm. Trouble has come to her small town when a large corporation wants to build a huge luxury resort which threatens all the smaller family run cottages and resorts around the lake. Of course, as the protagonist, she stumbles upon a body and her father becomes a suspect, so of course she has to try and clear his name. She does this with the help of her best friend Whitney, and one of their other friends. There's a bit of potential romance with the local sheriff who was her HS crush. It was a fun read. There was only one part that I felt was too sudden of a change, but it didn't affect the overall feel of the book.  

Dead, White and Blue (Northwoods Mysteries book #2) by Annie McEwen⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was the second installment of the Northwoods Mystery series and like the first, it didn't disappoint. The protagonist Emmy has decided to stay in her hometown and help her parents run their B & B. She's taken up residence in the attached apartment that her grandparents used to live in. Her trusty friends are alongside her and the relationship with the local police officer (who was her HS crush) is moving in interesting directions...She of course finds another body and sets off to help solve it. She really does try to stay out of it, but just ends up in the middle. This one really had me guessing, about her relationship with Dean and who killed the man. Not to mention I actually thought the man killed was going to be someone else. I hope the author writes more books in this series.  

Beaches and Bodies (Westford Bay B & B #1) by Nic Roberts ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Have I mentioned I really love cozy mysteries? If not, I do. They're such easy reads. This is another one where the protagonist leaves the town she lives in behind for something else. In this case, Ally runs to the B & B her grandfather left her in his will. Located in a small village, near the beach, she has decisions to make regarding her future and the future of the B & B. She becomes reacquainted with old friends, Fran and Lewis, however not everyone in town is happy to see her, making assumptions of course, and she makes a few of her own. Unfortunately the body of a young woman washes up on shore and she finds herself in the middle of things. 

This was a fun read and I think I would the other books in the series as well.

Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My daughter recommended this one. I had heard of Bill O'Reilly but have never listened to or read anything by him. He has a GREAT voice to listen too, and we all know that a narrater of an audio book makes all the difference. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, this was a fascinating book to listen to from a historical perspective. An excerpt from the book description says "Nearly two thousand years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billon human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God. Killing Jesus will take readers inside Jesus's life, recounting the seismic political and historical events that made his death inevitable". Many times people read the Bible without taking into account the culture or what life was like during that time in history, so this was VERY fascinating. 

Currently Reading:

Take Back your Time by Christy Wright

I've had this on my TBR list for awhile, and after I finished my last audio I was looking for a new one...so many of the ones on my list had a lot of holds. This one didn't and it was only 4 hours long. Score. I'm enjoying it and she does a good job narrating it. The premise is that we have got to stop trying to do it all, stop trying to be everything to and for everybody. We have to understand what balance really means (and it doesn't mean "equal"). I've got several spots bookmarked and will go back and take notes on those spots. I recommended it to my daughters too. 

A Collection of Lies (Kate Hamiton #5) by Connie Berry

I don't remember if I mentioned that I had won a giveaway a few months ago. I won a Kindle paperwhite and about 30 free mystery e-books from authors that took part in this fun facebook group. This was one of the books I won. This is the 5th book in the series but I think it can stand alone because so far I haven't come across anything that has confused me (as in, would've been in other books). I'm also not that far into it. Kate (an antiques dealer) and her new husband (an investigator) are on their honeymoon and are asked to help authenticate and trace the provenance of a blood stained dress, that a museum hopes to use in their new "crimes" exhibit. Of course murder is involved and they have to try and solve it. It's a little slow at the moment, but I'm hoping I can get more into it. 

Continuing Reads:

Still plugging away at these. I'm trying to read several pages a day to get them done..It's just slow going. 

My Father's List: How Living My Dad's Dreams Set Me Free by Laura Carney

I can't remember where I saw this book recommended. I'm over halfway done with it. I've had to renew it a few times because it's taking me longer. 
After finding a list of "Things I want to do in my lifetime", years after her father dies tragically, the author sets out to complete them. It's been an interesting read. 

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

It is rumored to possibly be true, but it's not confirmed as it happened a long time ago. It takes place in 1900, in Melbourne Australia at an all girls school. After setting off on a picnic, 3 girls and a schoolmistress go missing after walking into the heavy bushes. It has been a bit of a slow start for me but I'm hoping it picks up. My aunt really liked it. 

Take My Hands: Mary Vashere by Dorothy Clarke Wilson

I don't know that I ever shared about this one...This is taking me FOREVER, but it's one of the 12/12 books for the year so I'm pushing through it. I had the hardest time even finding it because it was published in 1967. I finally got it used online. It. follows the life of a young Indian woman who overcame a devastating handicap to become a well known surgeon. She was born in 1925 and lived until 1986. 

Untangle Your Emotions by Jennie Allen

This one is part of a weekly book study so it will probably be another month before I'm done. I haven't been able to take part in our zoom meetings so I haven't been reading the chapters. 

The Book of Joy by Dallai Lama XIV

This one is really good, but also really long so it's taking time, and there are so many good thoughts, that I find myself reading it slower than normal and thinking about what is being said. I mean, here are two prominent men who have been tested in their lives and yet speak a beautiful message of joy and care for others. It's serious and it's funny all at the same time. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin