Tag: bibliophile

My #2 Must Have Book Accessory

I once posted about my #1 must have book accessory of all time and I still stand by that product and statement that it is #1!  I very literally use that product EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Today I present to you my #2 must have book accessory!  I first saw this product a few weeks ago when another book blogger whom I follow was using it.  My very first thought was: what a waste of money for such an unnecessary product!

But then I bought one.  And I LOVE IT.

It’s an….interesting looking product.  I think it actually looks a bit naughty, lol.  It’s totally not! 

For YEARS I’ve struggled with reading while drying my hair.  I always wanted to but I could never get the book to lay flat enough while I was using both of my hands to dry and comb my hair.  I’ve tried to use my cell phone, other books, etc. to put weight on books but could never figure out a good solution, especially for paperback books.

Problem solved.

Eating while reading?  No problem.

The one and ONLY complaint that I have with this product is that the rubber material that it is made of seems to be made of some type of HAIR MAGNET.  If you shed thick, dark hair like I do, you might want to consider a darker color weight (this brand has various color choices).  I chose clear because I thought a big dark object on the page might be distracting….but random hairs is also proving to be quite distracting (and gross, lol).

After I finish drying my hair:

Ew.

I mention this all the time but the older I get, the more minimalistic I have become.  I believe our society is filled to the brim with unnecessary products…but this…well, turns out that this isn’t one of them.  I LOVE THIS PRODUCT SO MUCH!  The possibilities are so endless!  Cooking from a cookbook, pumping with a breast pump, eating any meal, reading while on vacation, etc.

Do you have a weighted bookmark?  When do you find yourself using yours?  I’ve had mine for a few weeks now and I’ve found that drying my hair is my absolute favorite way to use mine.  It pains me to think of all of my missed reading opportunities over the years because I couldn’t find a good hands free solution to keep the book open!

Click the image below to order the exact weighted bookmark that I have directly through my Amazon affiliate link.  When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

How Do You Treat Books?

I’m currently borrowing a book from a friend and knowing that I have to give it back when I’m done reading is making me very much aware of the way I am treating it.

It’s not that I normally MIStreat books necessarily, it’s that I’m just so used to always having them next to me that I just seamlessly incorporate them into my daily life.  I toss them into my computer bag, throw them onto the seat of my car, eat while reading, etc.

Not this book.

See that safe place on top of my husband’s dresser?  The dust jacket (or book jacket…both terms are correct) has been sitting safely there since the day I began reading so I won’t accidentally tear or bend it.  Safely away from my children’s curious hands.  The ONLY times I have put it actually ON the book have been to take pictures for Instagram or Facebook, lol.

I NEVER use bookmarks…ever.  I always dog ear (fold down) the corners of my pages!  Not this time…a tiny yellow post it note has been holding my place.  Hate it.  I’ve never been one to have to read to the end of the chapter before putting the book down so I always leave off in random places.  Dog earing the pages allows me to know exactly which page I left off on!  Now I have to figure it out between 2 pages each time I pick it up which is annoying.

I LOVE to bend the spine of books as I’m reading.  I know many of you may find this weird but it actually makes me feel more connected to the book because it feels more “lived in” as I’m reading!  Here are some examples of this from my bookshelf:

The borrowed book I’m currently reading?  PERFECT SPINE.

I never realized how much I use books as coffee coasters.  Apparently it’s often!  Not this book 🙂

And a small glimpse into my life…I have written this entire blog post with a 4 year old  cuddled up to me with his favorite joke book.  The book comes with a “Whoopie Blaster” and makes various farting noises.  Some bloggers write to the sound of beautiful music while here I am sitting and writing to the sound of farts.  Lovely.

Wake of the Sadico Winner:

How do you treat books?  I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

I SO Wish Authors Would Stop Doing This {Part 2}

I love authors and I have an incredible amount of respect for all they do.

However, there are certain things that I so wish they would stop doing!  You can read Part 1 of this series HERE.

Part 2 of this series will focus onnnn….drumroll please…

TOO MANY CHARACTERS!

Omg this is SUCH a pet peeve of mine.

I would so rather read a book with a handful of well developed characters than a book with so many characters that none of them are developed or even mentioned enough to make significant contributions to the story.

I hate, hate, HATE when I have to flip back through pages (I only read paper books) to try to figure out who a character is because there were just too many to keep straight.

I find this especially frustrating while reading thrillers.  I get it…there needs to be a fair amount of characters introduced so the “who done it” isn’t completely obvious.  However, it’s more than annoying to find out that the “who done it” turns out to be a meaningless character who I never even had the chance to get to “know” in the first place.  Nothing worse than a huge plot twist at the end revolving around an insignificant character.

What do you think?  Do you agree with me?  How many characters is too many?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

And just an FYI because a few of you have asked…yes, I’m still reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo!  I usually finish reading books must faster than this…but…I’ve been spending any and all of my quiet time on a Bachelor BINGE.  I was 5 episodes behind and it was time to just sit and BINGE so I would be caught up for the finale.  I’m alllllmost caught up but not quite so until I do, Evelyn Hugo is taking a backseat.  As soon as I’m all caught up to Bachelor nation, I will finish Evelyn!  My 2 spolier free thoughts on this season:

  1. This is the first season in the history of The Bachelor that I don’t have a favorite contestant and I haven’t had one all season.
  2. Peter has made some absolutely HORRIBLE choices.  Like…throughout entire time.

Do you watch the Bachelor?  Please NO SPOILERS and NO PREDICTIONS if you do!

Winner of the Spring! Time to Build a Nest, A Story About Trumpeter Swans Giveaway:

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

I was Wrong. So Very Wrong. This Book is AMAZING.

For a year and a half, I had less than zero desire to read this book.

The reviews were glowing, everyone kept recommending it to me, and yet…I was determined to read EVERYTHING else.

I even posted on Facebook and Instagram about this book telling people that I had absolutely no desire to ever read it and I just didn’t understand its popularity. Nope. Never reading this boring sounding book. Not for me.

Then I broke my toe and was in desperate need of a good book. I went to the library and nothing stood out to me. I so randomly saw one lone copy of this book on the shelf. I ignored it and kept searching. About 20 minutes later I went back to the shelf, grabbed it, and begrudgingly checked it out. There was simply nothing else!  I figured that if I was EVER going to read this book, this was the time…where I was literally forced to lay down and ice my toe for 20 minutes 3 times each day.

I came home, propped up my toe with ice, opened to page 1…and promptly and happily devoured every single page after that.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

1,000,000 stars

Oh this book. It’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

One of the best books I’ve ever read (which if you are a faithful blog reader you realize that I’ve now discovered TWO of my all time favorites over the past 6 months! How amazing is that???)

I very literally could not put this book down. I found myself reading whenever I could spare a few minutes. I thought about it ALL the time (and still do). I theorized so much of what was going to happen in the end (I was waaaay off, lol).

This is such a special story from beginning to end. I can’t even begin to imagine how beautiful this movie will be! The movie rights have already been purchased but the release date hasn’t been announced yet…READ THE BOOK FIRST! I can promise that even if the movie will be amazing, there is just no way it can capture the depth of the book. I can already say with DEFINITE clarity that the book is better 🙂

When books are overly hyped I find myself either LOVING or HATING them but rarely are my feelings somewhere in the middle.  This book deserves every single bit of hype it has received.  Delia Owens wrote such a lovely story.  I smiled, I cried, I loved it all.

I do have 2 issues with this book:

1. The absolute biggest issue that I have with this book is how the synopsis on the cover is written. It sounds BORING. It’s not…it’s actually anything but. I’m not exactly sure how I would have written it differently but it just doesn’t do this book justice. If not for the hype surrounding this book there is NO way I would have picked this one up on my own. A big thank you to whomever gave this book a chance before it was popular and helped give it the popularity that it has so rightfully gained.

2. The imagery in this book is spectacular. The details used to describe even the tiniest of objects were amazing. There was only 1 thing not described well…the main character!!! For the first 1/3 of the book I pictured her with black skin until I finally Googled “What color is Kya’s skin in Where the Crawdads Sing?” because I was starting to think I was wrong. Sure enough…I (and apparently a whole lot of other people) was wrong! Once I got it in my head that her skin was white, I immediately pictured her as a shoulder length blond until they mentioned her long black hair about HALFWAY through the book. Ummm…what?! These details should have been solidified early on. Not to mention that I’m still not 100 percent sure I’m pronouncing her name correctly (I say it like Kaia which after another Google search I learned is also apparently how it’s pronounced in the audio version?? However, it’s supposed to be short for Catherine which makes makes me think that maybe it’s meant to be pronounced Ka?)

Even with these issues, I truly loved this story.  BEAUTIFUL!

It was so meant to be that there was that one random lone copy of this book on the library shelf.  This was the PERFECT book to help me though that first week with only 9 working toes!

This was the type of book where once I finished, I wasn’t emotionally ready to start reading another book right away…I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!  When characters truly make their way into my heart, I have a hard time “leaving them”…does this happen to anyone else????

**As I was working on this post, I noticed that it’s on sale for only $9.59 on Amazon today for a HARDCOVER copy!  Amazing deal!  Amazon Affiliate link below…**

Bottom Line:

Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read.  If you haven’t read this one yet…it’s a MUST.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book?  What did you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link.  When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*