For the Love of Reading....#WOYBS & #Shareyourshelf

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 also decided to link this with #shareyourshelf hosted by some great bloggers I follow, like Joanne. I'll link it on the week they post theirs, which I think is the first Thursday of each month. I missed their October link up as we were on vacation. I'll link this one to their next months post.

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. 

I've probably already said it....I love my rating system, but I'm not always great at following it. I hate leaving low ratings...lol.

What I read in October:

Christmas K-9 Guardians by Lenora Worth ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I finished up this series and really enjoyed it. The series follows a group of K-9 agents on the hunt for a killer but it also weaves other crimes in throughout the stories. After the first few books, some things become predictable, but there is enough that isn't, that makes them really good. They're not long so they don't take long to read. 

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read this one for one of the prompts in the 52 book club challenge. It was cute but I didn't care for the narration of the story (I listened on audiobook). While the description says there are ten classic tales within the book, they all seemed to run together. Still a classic so worth reading (maybe not listening to)

Find your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World by Jennie Allen ⭐⭐⭐

In a world that's both more connected and more isolating than ever before, we're often tempted to do life alone, whether because we're so busy or because relationships feel risky and hard. But science confirms that consistent, meaningful connection with others has a powerful impact on our well-being. We are meant to live known and loved. But so many are hiding behind emotional walls that we're experiencing an epidemic of loneliness.

In Find Your People, bestselling author Jennie Allen draws on fascinating insights from science and history, timeless biblical truth, and vulnerable stories from her own life to help you:

- overcome the barriers to making new friends and learn to initiate with easy-to-follow steps
- find simple ways to press through awkward to get to authentic in conversations
- understand how conflict can strengthen relationships rather than destroy them
- identify the type of friend you are and the types of friends you need
- learn the five practical ingredients you need to have the type of friends you've always longed for

You were created to play, engage, adventure, and explore--with others. In Find Your People, you'll discover exactly how to dive into the deep end and experience the full wonder of community. Because while the ache of loneliness is real, it doesn't have to be your reality.

The description (above) made it sound so promising, and I've read a few books by this author, but this one didn't deliver like I'd hoped. It was fine, but kind of fell flat.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore  ⭐⭐⭐

I read this one because it supposedly fit one of the prompts on the 52 book challenge, but it isn't what I thought. Yes, it was good, but I didn't realize HOW spicy it would get. Jeannie is gifted her aunts Pumpkin Spice Cafe, but it seems someone is out to sabatoge her success, she tries to win over the cute farmer who delivers produce. Take out the extreme spice towards the end and I loved it. Apparently it was a TikTok trending book (I don't pay attention to all that), but on Storygraph it said it had a sprayed edge so I went with that. 

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I LOVED this book. Someone in the group, maybe a few mentioned this book and I decided to give it a go. Love the narration (audio is awesome), the stories are so sweet, hopeful and just so good! It was one of those books that left me with a really good feeling.

The Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The second book in the series was just as good as the first (and I am currently on hold for the third book), I also plan to listen to the other books by the author. These books are right up my alley since I love food, cooking and remembering how certain foods and recipes made me feel. 

The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The theme for our October Murder, They Write Challenge was a cozy with a club/group. This one fit the bill. Miracle Springs is the place people go to find, well, a miracle, usually when all else fails. There's a bakery, bookstore, spa and more where visitors go to get a scone specially made for them, a book picked specifically for them, etc. When a body of recent visitor is found, Nora (bookstore owner) and a few others are convinced it wasn't suicide and are determined to find out what happened to the man. They form the secret, book and scone society, a group of 4 women, all with their own secrets, they decide to share in order to form a deeper bond. 

Coffee, a Scone and a Place to Call Home by Jen Pitts  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a novella and a Prequel. Sadly it wasn't on Goodreads so I couldn't get it to count towards my Goodreads Challenge, however it fit the prompt for 52 Book club. This is a French Quarter Mystery Prequel. It follows Samantha as she hunts for an apartment in New Orleans and stumbles upon a cafe to get out of the rain and learns about The Mystery Painting (apparently a local artist displays a painting and the person who follows the clues and figures out who it is wins the painting)...anyways, it was short, and I'll probably read at least another in the series to see if it's one I'd enjoy.

What I'm Currently Reading:

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

I'll share in December the other I read by this author (since I didn't read it in October and I'm not currently reading it, I didn't share it this month). Oh my! If you love historical fiction you'll love this....especially if you love books. In this book, we find Grace and her friend Viv traveling to London to start new lives after Grace is ousted out of the family home by her uncle after her mom passes. Viv has her own issues with family so tags along. They stay with Graces moms best friend. Grace finds a job at Primrose Hill Books with the grumpy Mr. Evans. It is the beginning of the war with Hitler. I'm about 35% done with this book...the audio is amazing. This will definitely get a 5 star from me. This and the next book (which I read out of order) by the author fit the prompts for the 52 book club of shared universe.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

This is my passalong book club book and I need to hustle to get it read so I can send it off in a week. Phoebe Stone arrives at the Grand Cornwall Inn in a green dress and nothing else with her. Her plan is to end her life, but she doesn't count on stumbling upon a wedding party that has taken over the Inn and "wedding people" are everywhere. She's mistaken has part of the group since they're the only ones who should be there. She ends up connected with the bride (wishing she wasn't but being drawn to the weird friendship)...so far it's good. I need to get moving on it. I also need to see if it will fit one of the remaining prompts. 

What Kind of paradise by Janelle Brown

This books is for my in person book club. Again, I'm not that far into it, but it's pretty good. This book follows Jane and her life living in an isolated cabin in Montana with her father. She's in her teens and is starting to question everything her dad has told her and the life they have lived. It starts out further into the future and then goes back. I'm at a point where she's beginning to dig deeper into things after she finds a photo of herself and her mother but something about it makes her question what her dad has told her. 

Crime and Parchment (Rare Books Cozy Mystery #1) by Daphne Silver

This is my November read for the Murder, They Write reading challenge, a book that has won an award). This book follows Juniper who is a librarian for the Library of Congress and she's on a quest to find a lost book. She receives a clue from her sisters ex-husband and returns home to find her sister and the Inn she created after their grandmothers death on the brink of despair, and her ex-brother in law nowhere to be found. Oh, and she stumbles on a dead body. 

There are a few books I've had on my "Currently reading", that I haven't been "currently reading" so I won't share them. One I'm waiting on the audio, and the other I just need to take time to even read a few pages a day. 

If you have littles in your life, the books What Should Danny do?  And What Should Darla Do? are awesome. Think choose your own adventure, but it's more like choose your own choices. As you read through the books you get to a spot where Danny or Darla make a choice as to how they will respond. See the photo below. My grandkids LOVE them. They also have a website that has free resources. 

I haven't updated my 52 bookclub graphic yet, but will next month. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstinz