Favorite Books of 2022

This year, I surprised myself by meeting my Goodreads goal and reading over 25 books!

However, to no one’s surprise, I kept forgetting to track my progress on the Goodreads app. That means I spent the better part of this morning going back through my bookshelves and remembering the books I’ve read in 2022.

Sometimes, my creative (okay, disorganized) thinking has its advantages. Looking back on my year as a reader reminded me how many incredible books I enjoyed in 2022, and how many more are patiently waiting to get off my to-be-read list in 2023. Here were five of my favorite reads this year:

{book links below are affiliate, which means that if you decide to purchase through the link, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. For the record, I use my commissions to fund spontaneous book purchases, cute bookmarks I rarely use, and far too much coffee.}

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I was physically unable to return to my regular life after reading this book. The family wants dinner? The laundry needs to be folded? Too bad, I’m still in the throes of an emotional crisis. Caused by a novel.

I have no regrets. 10/10 would read and be traumatized by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo again. In fact, this is the book I recommended to friends the most in 2022. You know you’ve found your people when you can say, “This story ripped me to shreds! You should read it!” and they take you up on it.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel

By Reid, Taylor Jenkins

Buy on Amazon

Where The Children Take Us by Zain E. Asher

I read this book in advance of attending a Happy Women Dinner event featuring Zain Asher in Washington, D.C. “So excited I pre-ordered” is an understatement. I tracked the package all the way up to its delivery on my doorstep, ripped open the envelope, and read the first sixteen pages before I even went back in the house.

The rest of the book was just as enthralling. Meeting Zain and discussing her memoir was one of the highlights of 2022 for me — you can read more about the experience here.

Where the Children Take Us: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable

By Asher, Zain E.

Buy on Amazon

Melting the Blues by Tracy Chiles McGhee

The author of this novel, Tracy McGhee, also attended the Happy Women Dinner event for Zain. We were chatting afterwards and that was how I learned she was a DC-area novelist, too. When Tracy told me she wrote historical fiction, I was immediately excited to read her work. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres.

Let me tell you, this book is one of the best I’ve ever read. While I was absorbed in Melting the Blues, I forgot it was fiction, forgot I was just reading, forgot that it isn’t 1957 and I don’t live in Chinaberry, Arkansas. I felt like I was there! Months after reading it, I still think about this story. Don’t miss this, especially if you love historical fiction.

Melting the Blues

By McGhee, Tracy Chiles

Buy on Amazon

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A good friend recommended this novel to me over a year ago, so I’m kicking myself for taking so long to pluck it from my “to-be-read” list. This was a late night read for me. After everyone else was in bed, I would get my water or sweet tea and curl up in a chair to read more about Ove and his neighbors (or perhaps nemeses?)

I have a soft spot for people with brittle exteriors: “cantankerous” may as well be a synonym for “wounded.” Heartbroken. Not so much lashing out as protecting themselves from more pain. Backman writes this character so well, I felt that I knew Ove — or maybe, perhaps, recognized myself in Ove.

Apparently, we’re only weeks away from the release of a movie adaptation: A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks. I’m usually leery of sequels and movie adaptations, but if anyone could play Otto/ Ove and do the character justice, I bet it’s Hanks. Looking forward to checking out the movie, but I know I’ll reread the original book just for fun, too.

A Man Called Ove: A Novel

By Backman, Fredrik

Buy on Amazon

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

After reading Ford’s novel A Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, I knew that everything else he ever wrote was going to be an auto-buy for me. When The Many Daughters of Afong Moy released this year, I actually put it on my Christmas wish list.

And then I saw it in the New Release section of the library at the beginning of December. Did I wait to see if I might have my very own copy in just a few weeks? No, I did not. I checked out the book immediately and devoured it.

This story has fantastic writing, of course, but the structure is where the novel really shines. Ford gave Afong Moy and each of her descendants their own unique plot and then delicately wove them together in a heartbreaking story of love and loss that transcends generations.

Now that I’ve read and returned this treasure to the library, I’ll definitely be grabbing my own copy, too.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy: A Novel

By Ford, Jamie

Buy on Amazon

There is a downside (if you can call it that) of cataloging all my books for the year at once. I realized this morning how many books I’ve been wanting to read and haven’t gotten to yet. That “to-be-read” list of mine is constantly expanding…but truly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s pretty cool to look towards a new year and think of how many future favorite books are waiting to be enjoyed.

Happy New Year. May your 2023 be filled with more amazing books than you can read.

I only listed five of my favorites from this year. There are 21 other books I thoroughly enjoyed in 2022! If you’re a reader too, let’s connect on Goodreads — I’d love to hear about your favorite books!

• this story was originally published on Medium.com

Year in Review: 2020 Reading List

Since this blog is (mostly) about books and time travel, let’s take a minute to go back to a simpler time. A more innocent time. A time when I heralded the new year with all the enthusiasm of a woman who loves the roaring (19)20s and really wanted a good excuse to wear a flapper dress.

So, January.

Let’s go back to January.

I started off this year with an ambitious book list that covered 20 books from the Jazz Age. Some were classics I’d read before, some were books I’d been meaning to read for years. Then the pandemic hit, and, well…honestly, the list went out the window. As it should.

Truthfully, I’m grateful for every book I managed to read in 2020 simply because it gave me a chance to get out of my own head for a bit.

That said, I did read four of the twenty books on my list this year. Two were re-reads, two were new to me, and all four of them were fantastic! Let’s start with the re-reads: the classic Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequel, Belles on Their Toes, both by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. I’ve read both books several times before, mostly because I love the shenanigans that the twelve children (and their father) got into. As I read them again this year, I wondered how the Gilbreths might have handled the current COVID-19 pandemic. I wrote about it here: Therbligs in Quarantine.

I also read two classics of the Harlem Renaissance for the first time: Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset and Passing by Nella Larsen. I have yet to write a real review or publish a blog post on either of these books, although the stories have stayed with me and been on my mind quite a bit. Both Plum Bun and Passing featured women in the 1920s who were African-American and could “pass” as white, and the ways that their ability to “pass” affected their relationships, their work, their art…and, truly, every aspect of their lives. For me as a reader, it was a very personal experience to read and ponder these stories—written nearly a hundred years ago—while also listening to and pondering and grieving for the racial injustices that have occurred just this year alone. I have a million thoughts about the books and their writers (I totally went down a rabbit hole researching both Larsen and Fauset, their lives, and their other works). I plan to read more from both authors, probably starting with Quicksand by Nella Larsen.

As a whole, I’ll be glad to see the sun set on the very last day of 2020. It’s purely symbolic, of course—the things that made this year so difficult have nothing to do with the date on the calendar. There will need to be many, many changes in the year ahead: for health, for safety, for justice, for finding our footing after a long and tumultuous time. I hope for the best for all of us in 2021.

Happy New Year, friends.

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Ellen Smith's favorite books »

Therbligs in Quarantine

How Would a “Genius in the Art of Living” Shelter In Place?

When I wrote out my 2020 reading list, I had no idea that come mid-March I’d have plenty of reading time on my hands. I had hoped that reading 20 books from the Jazz Age would be a nice escape from “real life.” Kind of like the cocktail dress I wore for our Roaring Twenties New Year’s Party—fun for the afternoon, but nothing I would want to wear every day.

Then came COVID-19. Suddenly my reading list started to feel a little too much like reality.

This threat of illness is reminiscent of the 1920’s, too. The Spanish flu had swept through the nation as recently as 1918, only coming to an end in the summer of 1919 when those infected either developed immunities or died. Summers in the twenties would have also been overshadowed by the constant threat of polio, a disease that often struck children. Polio paralyzed or killed many Americans between the 1916 outbreak until a vaccine was released in 1955. To say nothing of measles, scarlet fever, and diphtheria, all contagious diseases prevalent in the 1920s that have disappeared—or nearly so—today.

So when I began my own shelter-in-place experience on March 14, 2020, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find the familiar themes of contagion and quarantine sprinkled throughout my reading list. Two of the books I’ve read so far were actually re-reads for me: Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, co-written by siblings Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. These memoirs recount their experiences growing up in the 1910s and 20s in a family of twelve children, headed by parents and efficiency experts Frank B. Gilbreth and Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth.

These past few months of quarantine, “efficiency” has been one of the last things on my mind. We are fortunate: our little family has stayed healthy so far during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both my husband and I have the ability to telework. The children have almost limitless time to use their imaginations and explore. While we shelter in place, we are living what the Gilbreths might have called “unavoidable delay.”

“Unavoidable delay” is one of the Therbligs, a term coined by the Gilbreths to describe the basic units of a worker’s motions when completing a task. Frank, Jr. and Ernestine give this example in Cheaper by the Dozen:

“Suppose a man goes into a bathroom and shaves. We’ll assume that his face is all lathered and that he is ready to pick up his razor. He knows where the razor is, but first he must locate it with his eye. That is “search”, the first Therblig. His eye finds it and comes to rest—that’s “find”, the second Therblig. Third comes “select”, the process of sliding the razor prior to the fourth Therblig, “grasp”. Fifth is “transport loaded”, bringing the razor up to his face, and sixth is “position”, getting the razor set on his face. There are eleven other Therbligs—the last one is “think”!”

— Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen

You can see how breaking down a complicated process by each task would be useful in a factory, where the Gilbreths often conducted their motion studies. Making even the simplest of processes simpler and easier to perform saves valuable time, allowing the workplace to be more productive and the workers less tired. What I love about the books is how the family applied these Therbligs in their home life, making the most of every minute.

In the first book, Cheaper By the Dozen, it’s the father of the family who seems to take the leading role. Frank B. Gilbreth, Sr., is portrayed as a charismatic, creative, highly-driven leader in the field of efficiency. He was the one that decided to buy victrolas for the childrens’ bathrooms so that they could listen to French and German language records while they got ready for the day. He painted models of the solar system and messages in Morse Code on the walls of the family’s summer home, keeping their minds active even while they were on vacation.

Given the general “unavoidable delay” of staying home for weeks on end, I imagine Frank Sr. would have used the opportunity to teach his children some quintessential skill. This was the Therblig I thought about the most, as the weeks of our state’s stay-at-home order turned in to months. I have to confess that I had a lot of ideas for how I could use this unexpected time at home. I could go back to baking my own bread! I could organize the craft supply closet! We could teach the kids to play piano!

Guess how many of these self-improvement projects have actually happened? None. Nada. Zilch.

And honestly, I think Lillian Gilbreth would have understood.

Although the memoirs are a funny, nostalgic read, the shadow of illness and tragedy touched the Gilbreths’ lives, too. While it isn’t directly addressed in the first book, a careful count during roll call reveals only eleven children. In Belles on Their Toes, a brief footnote explains that the second of the Gilbreth’s children, Mary, died of diphtheria at the age of five. Nevertheless, the family always referred to themselves as “the twelve,” phrasing I fully understand as a mother of three (two at home and one in heaven). It makes me wonder, too, about the scenes of illness that are recounted in the books—that time the children all caught whooping cough while traveling cross-country on a train, or when all the children needed their tonsils out. Maybe our current quarantine would have held an element of familiar anxiety for the Gilbreths, as it does for us.

The sudden loss of Frank, Sr. from heart disease marks the end of Cheaper By The Dozen, with Belles on Their Toes picking up the family’s story only days later. Lillian bravely travels overseas only days after her husband’s death to deliver lectures in his stead. It’s an important move: one that will lead to more respect for the field of motion study. She succeeds, and brilliantly. Lillian Gilbreth is now remembered as the “First Lady of Engineering.”

In Belles on Their Toes, Lillian shows us a different side of practicing efficiency. What strikes me about Lillian is her concern for the fatigue and well-being of the worker. It’s evident in how her children portray her in their books, as well as in her own published works. While her husband had excelled at creating systems that eliminated wasted time and movement, she focused on the individual performing each task.

Although large companies and factories had hired Lillian and Frank Sr. together to conduct motion studies, Lillian had to work extra hard to establish herself as a consultant in her own right after her husband’s death. She found that companies were much more willing to consider her expertise in the field of homemaking. Ironically, Lillian herself did not have much experience with cooking or housekeeping. The family employed a man named Tom, who held the role of cook, handyman, and housekeeper. Although he wasn’t an amazing chef, it was Tom and Tom alone who prepared the family’s meals. Still, since the field of home economics was where Lillian could find work as a motion study expert, that was where she went.

“If the only way to enter a man’s field was through the kitchen door, that’s the way she’d enter.”

— Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Belles on Their Toes

Much of Lillian’s approach to her household and her business was like this. Lillian held a doctorate in the field of psychology. She wanted to help housewives and working mothers spend less time on chores and cooking and find more free time to explore their hobbies—time she referred to as “happiness minutes.” Her practice wasn’t only about saving time—it was about increasing satisfaction and making a more well-balanced, enjoyable life. No wonder Lillian was also called a “genius in the art of living.”

This is where I find myself applying the Therbligs in our “new normal” of sheltering in place. I did come back to my idea of organizing the craft closet, but not for the sake of housekeeping. I’m doing it because we’re using our arts and crafts supplies much more often now, and it’s easier to make time for creativity when the scrapbook paper and stamps are easy to find. As a family, we’re learning that if we do school projects early, we have more time to paint and build and sew. I’m discovering how to keep up with emails and freelance work while also finding more time to be creative with my family. We’re turning away from frantic cleaning as a way to keep anxiety at bay and towards planning purposeful ways to make the world a better place, right now, right where we are.

Maybe that is the message the Gilbreths would have for us in 2020: not to pursue the principle of efficiency, but the art of living.

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Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)

By Gilbreth, Frank B.

Belles on Their Toes

By Gilbreth, Frank B.

20 Jazz-Age Books to Read in 2020

So January 1st ushered in a new decade, and those of us who live and breathe Downton Abbey were 100% ready to welcome the Roaring (20)20’s. Some of us may have even been a little overexcited.

Me, for example. Nothing wrong with that—after all, “a little party never killed nobody.”

But there’s so much more to the 1920s than flapper dresses and champagne towers. At every extravagant, high-society party, there were servants working tirelessly below stairs. While Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table were using irreverent wit and wordplay to poke fun at social norms, others were finding a way to make their voices heard for the first time. The Harlem Renaissance was this incredible creative explosion of African-American art, music and literature that celebrated cultural identity at the same time that it called for social change. The Nineteenth Amendment was passed in the summer of 1920, and the decade saw women not only voting in America but running for public office—and writing about freedom and feminism, too. Society was experiencing huge changes in how it saw class and race and gender, and the books of the 1920’s explore it all.

In honor of the roaring twenties, I’ve put together a list of 20 books to read in 2020. Many of these are popular novels and poems written in the 1920s, while a few are works of historical fiction set during this time frame. I’m excited to cross some of these off my eternally long to-read list. Others will be fun to revisit now that I don’t have to read them for school (looking at you, Faulkner!)

1. Jazz by Toni Morrison

Jazz

By Toni Morrison

So not only is there a book by Toni Morrison I haven’t read (yet), but it’s historical fiction set in the jazz age. Clearly, I have to kick off my roaring twenties reading list with Jazz.

“What’s the world for you if you can’t make it up the way you want it?”

— Toni Morrison, Jazz

2. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tales of the Jazz Age: Stories (Vintage Classics)

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The term “Jazz Age” was coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald, so it’s only fitting to read a collection of his short stories from the twenties. Bonus: this book includes one of his better-known stories, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

3. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)

By Frank B. Gilbreth

I first read Cheaper by the Dozen in sixth grade and liked it so much I’ve re-read it several times since then. Two of the twelve Gilbreth children recount their experiences growing up in the 1910s and 20s as the children of efficiency experts Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth.

4. Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Belles on Their Toes

By Frank B. Gilbreth

The sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen follows the young adult lives and eventual marriages of the Gilbreth children during the Roaring Twenties. I like to read this immediately after Cheaper by the Dozen—the two books flow almost like a single, uninterrupted story.

5. Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey"

By Margaret Powell

I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan, so when I read that Julian Fellowes was inspired by Margaret Powell’s memoir, I had to add it to my reading list! Powell started out as a kitchen maid—think Daisy from Downton Abbey—and I can’t wait to read her own account of what it was like to work in service in the 1920s.

6. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

By Kate Morton: The House at Riverton: A Novel

Paperback

The House at Riverton is another great book reminiscent of Downton Abbey and all the delicious upstairs/ downstairs drama. Kate Morton is a brilliant writer—her book The Forgotten Garden is another favorite of mine.

7. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Vintage Classics)

By Langston Hughes

Some poetry just sends chills down your spine, and Langston Hughes’ work is some of the best. I, Too and Mother to Son get me every time—I can’t turn the page until I’ve read it two or three times and really feel each line.

8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

The Paris Wife

By Paula McLain

The Paris Wife has been on my to-read list for ages, so there’s no time like the present to finally dive in to the story! This is a work of historical fiction that explores Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson.

9. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises: The Hemingway Library Edition

By Ernest Hemingway

And speaking of Ernest Hemingway…his debut novel The Sun Also Rises made him the so-called “voice of the lost generation.” The story is largely based on his own experience traveling to Pamplona, Spain with Hadley and their friends to watch the bullfighting.

“You are all a lost generation.”

— Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

10. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own

By Virginia Woolf

Technically, A Room of One’s Own is an essay, based off of two lectures Virginia Woolf gave on feminism and writing. I’ve read it a few dozen times and I’ll happily do it again: this essay talks about creating space for women to write, both literally and figuratively.

11. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon

By Dashiell Hammett

True confessions: this book is lifted straight off my list of “books I need to read before I let myself watch the movie.” Maybe I’ll plan a weekend to settle in with this book and then watch the Humphrey Bogart movie right after.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane

12. Complete Poems by Dorothy Parker

Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)

By Dorothy Parker

I absolutely love Dorothy Parker (and she would have slayed social media, had Twitter been available back in the 1920s). I’ve already read quite a few of these poems so I’m especially excited to read a complete collection of her work.

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”

— Dorothy Parker

13. Passing by Nella Larsen

Passing (Penguin Classics)

By Nella Larsen

Published in 1929, this novel follows the reacquaintance of two childhood friends—one who is deeply involved in her Black community and the culture of the Harlem Renaissance, and the other who chose to “pass” for white. Nella Larsen reportedly based the themes of the novel off of her own life: Nella was biracial and lived in both Black and white communities during her life.

14. Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald

Save Me The Waltz (Handheld Classics)

By Zelda Fitzgerald

Even though F. Scott Fitzgerald dubbed his wife Zelda “the first American flapper” and used her (and her diary) as inspiration for his work, their marriage was not a happy partnership. The Fitzgerald’s partying eventually became self-destructive and they both suffered from illness and exhaustion. Save Me the Waltz was reportedly written by Zelda in only six weeks while being treated at Johns Hopkins for schizophrenia. The novel is largely based on Fitzgerald’s life and marriage throughout the Roaring Twenties—enough so that it greatly upset her husband when she sent it to his publisher.

15. The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

The Call of Cthulhu: And Other Stories

By H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft was mostly published in pulp magazines during the 1920s, but he’s gone on to inspire generations of writers since then. He combined science fiction and his own mythos in The Call of Cthulu—something fresh and new, even if it was underappreciated in his own time. I haven’t read this in years, so it’s definitely time I pulled it back out!

16. Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset

Plum Bun: A Novel Without A Moral

By Jessie Redmon Fauset

Like Passing, Plum Bun depicts the life of a young African-American woman who moves to New York and decides to “pass” for white. The book is also about feminism—in New York, the main character struggles to pursue her often conflicting ambitions to marry and to become an artist.

17. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

By Agatha Christie

Out of all the Agatha Christie mysteries, why did I choose this Hercule Poirot for my top 20 list? No spoilers, but…I do love a good plot twist.

“The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it.”

— Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

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18. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall

By Evelyn Waugh

Fun fact for those of you who are name nerds like me: Evelyn Waugh’s first wife was also named Evelyn. They were known to their friends as He-Evelyn and She-Evelyn. At any rate, He-Evelyn Waugh’s novel Decline and Fall is definitely a must-read for any Roaring Twenties reading list.

19. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Text

By William Faulkner

My opinion of The Sound and the Fury suffered while I was in school since it was used so often as an example of stream of consciousness writing. I’m giving it another shot this year—maybe when I’m reading it on my own terms, I’ll have a different experience with it.

20. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is the third book by the Fitzgeralds, and the second by Scott, to appear on this list, but I just can’t end 2020 without reading The Great Gatsby one more time. It’s a classic!

““Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!””

— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

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There you have it: 20 books from the Jazz Age to read in 2020! What books would you add to the list?

For the Love of Ebooks

It's hard to believe now, but I held out on getting a Kindle. For years. I didn't feel a single pang of jealousy when my friends would pull out their sleek, six ounce ereaders. I was perfectly happy with my paperbacks. It just felt more real, holding a physical book in my hand. Besides, I had to look at screens all day for work. Why let the hand-held/ touchscreen phenomenon take over yet another part of my life?

Over time, my stubborn opposition to ebooks dwindled away. When I had to rearrange the contents of my purse three times to fit the book I was almost finished reading alongside the book I wanted to read next, I knew. It was time. 

In 2013, I got a Kindle. I don't feel like I'm exaggerating (much) when I say it changed my life.

Turns out I love ebooks.

Seriously. My Kindle has solved bookworm problems I didn't even know I had. Stuck in a long checkout line? No problem. I just read three more pages in my current book. Need to look up a line from a favorite story? Easy--instead of going home and getting lost in a sea of books, I can find the passage I want with the flick of my finger. And did I mention that I can even highlight and make notes on my Kindle? I hate to take a pen--or even a pencil--to my paper books. Now I can jot down notes to myself whenever I want!

Not to mention that this little thing can house almost as many books as my living room. Beat that!

Probably the best (and most dangerous) feature of ebooks is the price point. When your family reads as much as mine does, things like "new books I had to buy and read immediately," become a regular line item in the budget. We love the library and we also have awesome bookish friends that are happy to trade books back and forth. But sometimes, I still see a new book on Instagram or Goodreads and the need to get my hands on a copy is almost compulsive. An ebook on sale for $.99 or even $3.99 isn't too bad for an impulse buy. I mean, it's less than a cup of coffee! 

(Listen to me, justifying my book habits to myself.)

Thankfully, there are several awesome discount ebook sites. They're kind enough to send me daily emails of ebook deals I might enjoy...and more often than not, they're right! These are two of my favorites:

Bookbub

Fussy Librarian

(Click at your own risk, fellow bookworms. Don't say I didn't warn you!)

That's not to say that I've abandoned my paperback and hardcover books completely. There are still some things that an ebook will never be able to replace for me. Special fonts, white space, and decorative chapter headings don't translate well onto ereaders. For example, the paperback version of Every Last Minute has two slightly different fonts to differentiate between regular text and the news articles that are sprinkled throughout the story. That can't be replicated for an ebook and I kind of miss the effect!

Favorite books and classics are almost always purchased in hard cover, too. If I truly love a book I read on my ereader, I'm pretty likely to buy a hard copy--especially if it's signed by the author! (Hmmm...maybe reading ebooks isn't saving my budget after all!)

I also make an effort to put all the screens away when I'm winding down for the evening, so paperbacks are my first choice for bedtime reading. Besides, there really is something wonderful about holding the weight of a real book in your hands. Ebooks have a big place in my reading life, but they'll never replace hard copies for me. 

Which do you prefer--ebooks or physical books? Let me know in the comments!

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Speaking of ebooks...today is the last day to enter the Amazon giveaway for Every Last Minute! Enter here for your chance to win one of five ebook copies! 

Release Day for THE BLENDED ONES by Angela J. Ford

Which birthdays are the most fun to celebrate? Do you like milestone birthdays? Friend birthdays? "Thank goodness April the giraffe FINALLY gave birth" days?

I'm going to do you one better: the best birthdays are book birthdays.

The day a book is released out into the world is a huge cause for celebration for the author--and it's also a huge celebration for the readers. We've been waiting for this day since the words "pre-order" first appeared on Amazon. Some of us have been waiting and hoping for another book even longer than that. We might even have been stalking an author's blog and twitter feed, looking for signs that another book is in the works. (Did I say stalking? I meant "reading with enthusiasm." It's not creepy, I swear. Ahem.)

So you can imagine how excited I am that today is the long-awaited book birthday for The Blended Ones by Angela J. Ford. It's the second book in The Four Worlds series, and since I've already read Book 1: The Five Warriors, I'm thrilled that I get to dive right in to the next story!

Just take a look at the cover art:

You can tell this is going to be another epic fantasy adventure--perfect for readers that like to get lost in new worlds and go on quests of mythical proportions. Here's the synopsis:

Phyllis and her 17 year old twin sister, Ilieus, are blended ones. But Ilieus suffers from visions of darkness she is unable to discern. Forsaken by their parents the two cross the country in search of the Order of the Wise for help.

Cuthan the Charmer is mischievous enough to change anyone’s mind with a smile and a wink. Born into a family of treasure hunters, he’s searching for the key to unlocking his dormant powers.

Pharengon the Horse Lord was born to be King. Young and inexperienced he seeks a weapon to turn the tide of the war in his favor. But when his very own army betrays him, he will have to turn to the Lost Ones for assistance.

Caught in the fate of the Eastern World the youths’ destinies become twisted together in a frightful quest that will change the course of time. In the midst of their whirlwind adventure, they discover love, loss, and uncover the truth about who and what is behind the chaotic, spiraling events in the Eastern World.

The writer behind this epic fantasy is none other than Angela J. Ford. You might remember her from an author interview I posted back in October. In addition to writing the Four Worlds Series, Angela is a Digital Marketing Strategist and creator of the course How To Plan A Book Launch. She's also a fellow bookworm--if you want to talk about books, I highly recommend following her on twitter!

Angela J. Ford, author of THE BLENDED ONES

You can grab your paperback copy here and the Kindle version here. More good news: the Blended Ones is only 99 cents on Kindle through the end of this month!

Happy book birthday, Angela! I'm so excited to read The Blended Ones!

What Are You Reading in 2017?

This week, I had planned to share a list of books I read and loved in 2016. One small problem: there were too many. Seriously. I could not narrow them down to a manageable list. I couldn't even pick a Top 10, much less a Top 5. I'm still trying to catch up with listing/ reviewing them all on Goodreads!

This is literally my favorite problem to have.

Instead, I'm going to share my list of books I can't wait to read in 2017!

Love Fortunes And Other Disasters

You know the old saying "You can't judge a book by its cover?" Maybe you shouldn't, but you can definitely decide you want to pick up a book based on its cover! I saw this adorable book on Instagram, read the description, and decided I had to read it.

Here's the book's synopsis:

Love is real in the town of Grimbaud and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Dupree's have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita's famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It's a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love. Fortunately, Fallon isn't the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian.
 

Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita's tyranny and fall in love?

Love Fortunes and Other Disasters

By Kimberly Karalius

Stardust

This was recommended to me on Amazon based on other books I've bought. That's no surprise when you read the description: this sounds like a fun Southern fiction novel with quirky characters, new beginnings, and a spunky protagonist. What's not to love?

From the book description:

Shortly after burying her unfaithful husband, Georgia Peyton unexpectedly inherits the derelict Stardust motel from a distant relative. Despite doubts from the community and the aunt who raised her, she is determined to breathe new life into it. But the guests who arrive aren't what Georgia expects: Her gin-loving mother-in-law; her dead husband's mistress; an attractive but down-on-his-luck drifter who's tired of the endless road; and an aging Vaudeville entertainer with a disturbing link to Georgia's past.

Can Georgia find the courage to forgive those who've betrayed her, the grace to shelter those who need her, and the moxy to face the future? And will her dream of a new life under the flickering neon of the STARDUST ever come true?

Stardust: A Novel

By Carla Stewart

The Magnolia Story

I love watching the Fixer-Upper show on HGTV. Chip and Joanna Gaines seem like a really sweet couple and they have an amazing ability to create homes that are just right for their clients. I can't wait to read more about how they got started!

From the book synopsis:

Are you ready to see your fixer upper?

These famous words are now synonymous with the dynamic husband-and-wife team Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV’s Fixer Upper. As this question fills the airwaves with anticipation, their legions of fans continue to multiply and ask a different series of questions, like—Who are these people? What’s the secret to their success? And is Chip actually that funny in real life? By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper, they have become America’s new best friends.

The Magnolia Story is the first book from Chip and Joanna, offering their fans a detailed look at their life together. From the very first renovation project they ever tackled together, to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.

The Magnolia Story

By Chip Gaines, Joanna Gaines, Mark Dagostino

The Sun Is Also A Star

I saw people posting about this book on Instagram and decided I had to add it to my to-read list! I'm always up for a good love story, so I was hooked as soon as I read the synopsis.

From the book description:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

The Sun Is Also a Star

By Nicola Yoon

The Five Warriors

Remember my interview with Angela J. Ford? Her love for books is infectious! Plus, she's a great writer: everything from her tweets to her blog posts to her online course is well-written and engaging. It's no surprise that I'm eager to read the book she wrote! Bonus: The Five Warriors is the first in a series. I love starting a good book knowing that there's going to be more to follow!

From the synopsis:

What if...

your best friend started a rebellion in the middle of a war?
your lover awakened a deep evil and helped it grow?
your people were too cowardly to face a battle?
you stole an ancient power source?
you gambled with the fate of the world?

Join five powerful warriors each with a unique ability and magical weapons. Their quest is to discover where the transformed creatures are coming from and put a stop to it.

Along the way they run into treacherous immortals, sea monsters, powerful beasts of the air and talking animals.

Each has their own reasoning for joining the quest, but one carries a deadly secret which just might be the destruction of them all.

The Five Warriors (The Four Worlds Series) (Volume 1)

By Angela J. Ford

What books are you planning to read in 2017? Want to recommend a book to add to my to-be-read pile? Leave a comment and let me know!

*Note: the links in this post are affiliates. All opinions expressed in my blog are my own--including why I can't wait to read all of these books in the new year! Using affiliate links helps me stay well-stocked in fine-point Sharpies, post-it notes, coffee and other writing essentials.

A Girl And Her Dog

Although we often hear dogs called "man's best friend," I know plenty of women that couldn't live without their canine sidekicks. There's no bond quite like that of a girl and her dog. Personally, I would love to have a dog to share walks through the park, the occasional (okay, frequent) game of fetch, and nights curled up in front of the fireplace.

However, due to some seriously unfortunate allergies, the furriest pet I can have is...well, a goldfish. Yep. As much as I would love to have a dog of my own, I have to live vicariously through friends, neighbors, and, of course, books. Here are a few of my favorite stories about a girl and her dog.

Jack from the Little House series

One of my favorite fictional dogs is Jack, Laura's faithful bulldog in the Little House series. I loved Jack for his protectiveness of the family. In the first chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, Laura recounts how Jack kept watch by the front door of their little log cabin, listening to the howling of the wolves just outside. However, Jack is also Laura's playful companion and her first friend: 

“Jack laid his nose on his paws and waggled, he jumped out on the path and looked back at [Laura], smiling with his ears, begging her to come out.”

— Laura Ingalls Wilder, "On the Banks of Plum Creek"

Edsel from Solomon's Oak

I'm also a huge fan of Jo-Ann Mapson's novels, which frequently feature beloved pets as integral characters. In the novel olomon's Oak, grieving widow Glory Solomon draws comfort from the horses and dogs she and her late husband rescued over the years. Even as Glory is trying to reimagine her life without her husband, caring for the animals--and allowing them to care for her--keeps her grounded. All the dogs in this story help Glory in their own way, but one Italian greyhound, Edsel, is my favorite:

“Everyone who met Edsel fell in love with the ten-pound comedian who made Glory laugh at least once a day.”

— Jo-Ann Mapson, "Solomon's Oak"

Thor from Reluctant Cassandra

In addition to reading about dogs, I like to write about them, too! The main character in Reluctant Cassandra, Arden McCrae, has a canine companion--and honestly, he's one of my favorite characters! Thor, Arden's Boxer puppy, is playful, mischevious, messy, and always there to protect and comfort Arden. Between dealing with her premonitions of the future and facing her father's rapid decline due to Alzheimer's disease, Arden definitely has moments where she needs some comfort. I love that Thor is always there for her.

“Thor leaps up next to me, and for once, I’m too exhausted to remind him he doesn’t go on the furniture. I’m going to start bad habits, I think, but then Thor rests his chin on my knee and I decide I don’t care. ”

— Ellen Smith, "Reluctant Cassandra"

So many stories just wouldn't be the same without the beloved animals that populate the pages. Who's your favorite fictional pet?

P.S. I'm giving away a signed copy of Reluctant Cassandra on Goodreads! You can enter to win here: http://ow.ly/muhe304XcJz

Why Do You Love To Read?

Why do you love to read?

Depending on the day, I might have several different answers. If I'm reading a series, I probably can't wait to find out what's going to happen to my favorite characters. Sometimes I want to read a book that reminds me of something going on in my life...and sometimes I read because I want to escape for a while. (Just being honest.) 

There's one more reason why I'm always disappearing into the pages of a book: 

I read because I want to connect.

After I finish a really good book, I close the back cover and feel a little surprised that I’m actually sitting in my living room. The world I was just visiting and the characters I just met still feel so real. The next thing I want to do (besides flip the book over and start reading again) is to go find someone and ask, “Did you read this? What did you think about…?”

The best thing about my first year as an indie author has been connecting with other book lovers. It’s really true that if you love your job, it will never feel like work – and I definitely love my job!

On this blog, I want to connect with you over the books I’m reading and writing. Plus, I hope to introduce you to some of the other book lovers I’ve met along the way. Most of all, I’d like to hear back from you!

Why do you love to read?