Stacking the Shelves (134)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My local Goodwill bookstore had a 50% sale so I bought a few books plus they were giving away free trees so that's a bonus.

Bought Used
Return of the King- J.R.R. Tolkein
The Devil and Miss Pryn- Paulo Coelho
Sarah's Key- Tatiana De Rosnay
Rescue- Anita Shreve

Bought New
Sex on the Moon- Ben Mezrich

Borrowed from the Library
The Crane Wife- Patrick Ness
The Farm- Tom Rob Smith
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe- Fannie Flagg

Halloween Themed Reads

These are some books that I have read that I think would make perfect, creepy Halloween reads. I know it is still September, but with me personally I need to plan ahead what I want to read so I thought I would post this a little early.

Also I do not read a lot of creepy books, even thought I do like the genre so this is going to be a pretty short and sporadic list. Please leave any recommendations you have more me below.

Cain's Blood by Geoffrey Giard. I just finished this on the weekend and I really liked it but it is creepy and very dark. This is a book for a mature audience.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl. This is another creepy, dark read. This one is also for a more mature audience.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. This is my favorite Gaiman book that I have read so far. It is listed as a middlegrade book but it has beautiful writing and it has a fair amount of creep factor in it.

Dracula by Bram Stroker. A classic, but is so creepy and fantastic. If you have not read it I suggest you do.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. This makes the list of my favorite vampire books, and really this entire series that I have read so far is excellent. I like them the more I read.

Stacking the Shelves (133)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I have been slacking on reading this week so I limited what I brought home from the library. 

Borrowed from the Library
I'll Be Seeing You- Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan
Bird Box- Josh Malerman

Top Ten Tuesday- Authors you love, but have only read one book by them

Jamie over at The Broke and the Bookish came up with top ten Tuesday so you should check out her blog. 

1) Stephanie Kuehnert- I have only read Ballads of Suburbia by her and I loved it and it become an instant favorite but I have not read her other published book.

2) Wendy Wunder. The Probability of Miracles was a really good book and she recently came out with a new book that I have not read and I do not know why.

3) Colleen Hoover. I really enjoyed Maybe Someday and I can understand all the hype surrounding this author, and I own one of her other books and I have not read it,

4) Diana Gabaldon- The TV show looks so good and the book ended where I immediately wanted to read the next book but I have not gotten around to it even though I own it.

5) Carlos Ruiz Zafron- The Shadow of the Wind is such a unique and interesting story so I bought book two and now it's collecting dust. I also own book 1 in another series by him. 

6) Alice Walker. There is no excuse for this one. I read The Color Purple in high school and completely loved it and I have never even thought to pick up anything else she wrote. 

7) Billie Letts. The movie is what first made me want to read Where the Heart Is and I loved it and so I found one of her other books on clearance at Barnes and Noble and I still have not read it. 

8) Tawni O'Dell. Coal Run is such an underrated book and I wish more people would read it. I have seen her other books before but I never picked them up.

9) Roald Dahl. I just finished by first Roald Dahl book and I need to read more.

10) Cammie McGovern- I am still currently reading my first book by her and I wish I 1, discovered her earlier and 2. had time to read more of her books. 

Stacking the Shelves (132)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Borrowed from the Library
Knife Edge- Malorie Blackman 
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers- Mary Roach
The Secret History- Donna Tart
Big Fish- Daniel Wallace
Visions- Kelly Armstrong

Bought Used
The Universe Vs Alex Woods- Gavin Extence

What did you get in your mailbox?

Review of This Is Water by David Foster Wallace

Title: This is Water
Author: David Foster Wallace
Source: Borrowed from the library
Series:  Standalone
Rating: 4.5/5
















Goodreads Summary:
Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journaland the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend.

This is a super short book with a lot of pages only having a few lines of text but this book impacted me in a big way. The book is a talk that David Foster Wallace did at Kenyon College and it really made me think about the people around me, especially the part he talked about going to the grocery store. I know that when I am standing in line I am not thinking about the people around me or how their day was, but he tells us to think about them and maybe their day was absolutely horrible and to think about how we would feel being that person.  I work for a company that we have to really empathize with the people I am dealing with so when I leave work I am not always in the greatest mood depending on how my day went.

I enjoyed how this book made me re-evaluate how I should perceive the world around me. This was an excellent novel and I highly recommend it. 

Random Post: Confessions

This is something I will never admit to my husband because he would harp on me about it because I always tell him we cannot watch a movie until I read the books but I have a confess there is some movies I have watched before reading the book.

I am trying to right this wrong by reading the books. I have ordered a few from the library and I even already owned a few.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Technically this is a musical, but I went to see it live and I own all three books but I have not read any of them. This is such an awesome show and if you have a chance to see it take it.

Matilda by Roald Dahl. This one is not my fault or at least that is the answer I am going with since I watched this movie as a kid and I had no idea at the time it was a movie.

Big Fish by Daniel Wallce. I total take the blame for this one, I did not know it was a book but I count this as one of my favorite movies so I need to read this ASAP.

Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg. How I did not know this one was a book I have no idea. This is a great movie and I only realized it was a book when I found it in a local bookstore one day.

Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux- I've seen the movie and the play for this one and I owned the book but I still have not read this. I loved this play so much and as soon as it comes back in my area I am going to see it again. I hope I will have the book read by then.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson. Such a cute movie and I loved it as a kid but I never read the book.

I know I am probably missing some, but this is the big ones I could think of. I am slowly going to check these off my list and try to read the book before I see the movie in the future.

Stacking the Shelves (131)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought used (Store credit)
All He Ever Wanted- Anita Shreve 
Faking It- Cora Carmack 

Borrowed from the Library
Matilda- Roald Dahl
Cain's Blood- Geoffrey Girard
Everything I Never Told You- Celeste Ng
Say What You Will- Cammie McGovern

August Wrap Up

This month was an awesome reading month for me. The long weekend at the beginning of August really helped me get a lot read. I managed to read 5 books over the long weekend and two of those were even books off my TBR shelf :)

The List

Four: A Divergent Collection- Veronica Roth
Breakable- Tammara Webber
Shine- Jeri Smith-Ready
Witchstruck- Victoria Lamb
Dreamland- Sarah Dessen

The other goals I setting for myself this month:
1) Buy less books than I read
2) Donate at least one book
3) Re-read at least one book

Borrowed: 12
Books I own: 11
E-Books: 3
Total: 23

Nantucket Red- Leila Howland (Started in July)
Eighth Grade Bites The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd- Heather Brewer 
Testimony- Anita Shreve
Four: A Divergent Collection-Veronica Roth 
Thousand Words- Jennifer Brown
Breakable- Tammara Webber
Everything Leads to You- Nina LaCour
Dreamland- Sarah Dessen 
Norwegian Wood- Haruki Murakami
Witchstruck- Victoria Lamb
Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft- Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez
Shine- Jeri Smith-Ready
A Train In Winter- Caroline Moorehead
Where There's Smoke- Jodi Picoult
Y: The Last Man Volume 1: Unmanned- Brian K. Vaughan
Lucid- Adrienne Stoltz
The Bees- Laline Paull
Larger than Life- Jodi Picoult
Maybe Someday- Colleen Hoover
Sin City- Frank Miller
Torn Away- Jennifer Brown
Darkest Powers Bonus Pack 2- Kelley Armstrong

If I Were You- Lisa Renee Jones

September TBR

How is it already September? I cannot believe it. The summer was so busy and flew by so I hope the fall things will slow down so I can get lots of reading done. I am being quite ambitious this month but I am hopeful. 

The List
The Demon King- Cinda Williams Chima
The Bronze Horseman- Paullina Simons
Noughts and Crosses- Malorie Blackman
Inedible- Dawn Metcalf
Rules of Civility- Amor Towles
Ready Player One- Ernest Cline (re-read)

The other goals I setting for myself this month:
1) Buy less books than I read
2) Donate at least one book
3) Re-read at least one book