For the Love of Reading.....#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

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. 

Friends, I forgot to link up my post in June. I had my it all ready and then completely spaced on linking it. So, if you'd like to read it or just scroll to see what I read in May, here it is. I had been visiting family in Ohio and had just gotten back. Man! 

Isn't it funny how sometimes you think "I feel like I didn't read much" but then it turns out it wasn't so bad. June was like that. It was a good reading month.

 I'm not sure any of the books I read fit with the categories I have left in the 52 book challenge, but like I've said, I'm not being too rigid about this. I'm sure I can use one as a stand alone. 

What I read in June: 

Educated by Tara Westover ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was another one of those memoirs that reminds me that so often we truly do NOT know what people are living through or have lived through, and how much that shapes who they become. Who we become. It is also a reminder of how in a family unit, everyone can go through the same experiences, but their responses to those experiences can be vastly different. 

Panic in the Panhandle by J.C. Kenney ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

By now you all know I'm a sucker for cozy mysteries. This one was read for my June challenge on the Murder They Write FB page which was "an animal on the cover". Usually the sleuths are female in many of the books I read, but in this one, it's a male. It was a fun read and I did NOT guess the whodunit. 

 

Erie Ending by Christy J. Kendall ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This author did a takeover on the MTW FB page and since I was going to be visiting Ohio in June, I decided to check this one out at the library. I loved it..mostly because I knew many of the places that were mentioned and was visiting in the general area. That's always fun. Next year I'll have to actually check out the refuge where it took place. 

No One was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

This was my in person book club pick and I really enjoyed it. Again, I did not guess the guilty party. It is book two in the series, but it wasn't too confusing reading this one first.  

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was for my pass along book club. The last few months I've struggled with finishing them and I have to speed read..I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one. It plot is around the Jane Network which was a code name girls who were seeking a safer option for abortion would use to find a doctor who would help them. Without getting into opinions and beliefs, it was fascinating and well written. It is fiction based on real life events. 

Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations by Alton Brown. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you've watched Good Eats or any other cooking show with Alton Brown (or perhaps just like cooking), you'll enjoy this book. It was a fun listen and I enjoyed learning about his life and what shaped who he is and how he came to love learning about the more "scientifics" of food.

 

What I'm Currently Reading:

A Very Woodsy Murder (Golden Motel Mysteries #1) by Ellen Byron

I've had this on my TBR and on another Cozy Mystery FB page it was in a summer weekly challenge so I thought I'd read it. It follows a "recovering TV sitcom writer" and her best friend who is also her first ex husband as they decide on career changes and buy an old motel in need of renovating. It's a cozy so of course there's a murder. I've just gotten to that part. I'm liking it so far.

Murder at The Painted Wings Cafe: A Seneca James Mystery by Ruth J. Hartman

I started this one because I had finished the first one (more on that next month), and it was so fun I wanted to read the second. However, I've paused it momentarily to finish the above Cozy. Seneca James runs a butterfly farm and cafe and murder seems to follow her. She has a cute cat who wears costumes. The sheriff is one of her best friends but I have a feeling they'll connect as more than friends at some point. 

The Serviceberry: Abuncance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This author also wrote the book The Braiding of Sweet Grass. It sounded interesting and is only a 2 hour listen so thought I'd check it out. It surrounds the idea of a gift  economy. She challenges the economy that functions in scarcity, competition and hoarding of resources more in favor of a system of giving, gratitude and reciprocity. 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

This is my July book for my passalong book club and I'm enjoying this one. It follows a dual timeline from the 1850's, 1954 and 2019. At the center is the story of one of the most famous race horses. It is based on the true story of the record breaking thoroughbred Lexington. I'm not that far into this one. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin