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August TBR Game | Fighting Evil by Book Light | Play at home | #ARCathon

| sarasreadingnook

Hello everyone and welcome to another round of our TBR Game, “Fighting Evil by Book Light!”

RULES

1. Five turns: two spins, each. First: card; Second: prompt
2. Played monthly.
3. If the wheel arrow lands exactly between two pieces, re-spin.
4. Cards updated.
5. Must accept result of each spin. No re-spins.
6. Unfinished books may be carried over to next month (optional)
*7. If participating in a readathon, can modify TBR game for that readathon.

August TBR Game Video

August TBR Candidates

Today’s Candidates

Here all our candidates for our August TBR Game! We did quite a bit of research to find some great ARCs via NetGalley. Many of the ARCs are “read now” titles. Thank you to ARCathon hosts Marti and Britt!

Add a Book
Spin for either a romance, cat book, manga/GN, fantasy, thriller/contemporary, or Nonfiction novel.

New Releases

  1. Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty.
  2. Violets Made of Thorns by Gina Chen.
  3. The Family Remains by Lisa Jewel.
  4. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
  5. The Witchery by S. Isabelle.
  6. The Clackity by Lora Senf.

Cat Books

  1. Nine Lives by D.B. Borton.
  2. One Cup at a Time by Matt Tarpley.
  3. Death in the Margins by Victoria Gilbert.
  4. Baker and Taylor and the Mystery of Library Cats by Candy Rodo.
  5. Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes.
  6. A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren.
MODIFY 3 for LOST WITCH

Fantasy

  1. Ghostcloud by Michael Mann.
  2. Realm of Lore and Lies by Claire Wright.
  3. The Lost Witch by Paige Crutcher.
  4. The Nine Origins by Kes Trester.
  5. The Gravity of Existence by Christina Sng.
  6. Misfit’s Magic – The Last Halloween by Fred Gracely.

Manga / Graphic Novel or Picture Books

  1. One Cup at a Time by Matt Tarpley.
  2. War and Peace the Graphic Novel by Leo Tolstoy, Alexandr Poltorak (Adapted by), and Dmitry Chukhrai (Illustrations).
  3. A Nico Colored Canvas by Nao Shikita.
  4. Manga Classics: Anne of Green Gables by Stacy King (Adaptor), L.M. Montgomery, Kyma Chang, and Crystal S. Chan (Artist)
  5. All the Families in My Town by Ophélie Célier, Thomas Piet, and Ariane Caldin (Illustrations).
  6. Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels by Serena Blasco.

Reread

Either poetry, children’s, middle grade, fantasy, YA or Manga.

Romance

  1. Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant.
  2. The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane.
  3. The Season of Dreams by Fiona Valpy.
  4. A Heartbeat Away from You by Ann M. Miller.
  5. The Sandcastle Hurricane by Carolyn Brown.
  6. Orchid Blooming by Carol Van Den Hende.

Thriller/Contemporary

  1. Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant.
  2. Where Wild Peaches Grow by Cade Bentley.
  3. Maame by Jessica George.
  4. The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw and Micaela Alcaino.
  5. Hidden in the Pines by Victoria Houston.
  6. Cleopatra’s Vendetta by Avanti Centrae.

TBR Game Playlist

Playlist Link

Want to play at home?

Simplified Version:

In this version, the Random Name Picker below will choose your genre cards for you!
Enter the following:

For list of names, enter:
New Releases (Sailor Mercury)
Add a Book (Tuxedo Mask)
Fantasy (Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Pluto)
Thriller/Contemporary (Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune)
Cat Books (Sailor Venus with Artemis and Sailor Moon with Luna)
Manga/Graphic Novel (Sailor Moon)
Romance (Sailor Mars Saturn)
Reread (Sailor ChibiMoon)

Do this five times to select your genre cards and from there, you can pick whatever book you would like to for your TBR! But remember, if “Add a Book” is selected, you will have to add a book! Or, you can delete this option since it can get out of hand pretty quickly! Alternatively, you can pick as many books as you’d like to.

Random Name Picker
Random Name Picker by GIGAcalculator.com

If you would instead like to download the genre cards and select your cards in a different way, they are included below.

Genre Cards:

TBR Cards:

Detailed Version:


Before you play this version, download the Combined Genre + Book Cards below and add your own candidates to each card. For your first turn, select your genre card by pasting the following into the random name generator. This will provide you with your genre card.

for list of names, enter:
New Releases (Sailor Mercury)
Add a Book (Tuxedo Mask)
Fantasy (Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Pluto)
Thriller/Contemporary (Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune)
Cat Books (Sailor Venus with Artemis and Sailor Moon with Luna)
Manga/Graphic Novel (Sailor Moon)
Romance (Sailor Mars Saturn)
Reread (Sailor ChibiMoon)

Random Name Picker
Random Name Picker by GIGAcalculator.com

Once you have your genre selected, then roll the dice to select your candidate. Repeat this process five times, or as many times as you would like to in order to pick your TBR. Remember to add a book each time you choose Add a Book.

Random Number Generator
Random Number Generator by GIGAcalculator.com

Combined Genre + Book Cards:

TBR Cards:

QOTD: Will you be playing along?
Let us know your TBR picks!

Friday Reads #2

| sarasreadingnook

Hi everyone!

These are our Friday reads which includes all of the books I’ve read since my last Recent Reads video. And guess what? We are doing the ARCathon, hosted by Marti and Britt! And trying to catch up to our July TBR reads (note: we’ve had to forward a couple of books and DNF one). I’ve included summaries of all books here for a quick glance. Make sure to watch the video below – it was a lot of fun to film with Olivia!

Content warnings links are included if listed on The Storygraph.

Recently Read

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

Always Never by Jodi Lafebre. This was a love story told in reverse over a long timespan – 40 years! Many people will love the story. I ended up not being a fan of the artwork and story as it progressed.
Content warnings.

I am a Cat by Sōseki Natsume. A story narrated by a highly observant cat who has a witty take on the humans of the household, set in middle-class Japanese society during the Meiji Era. I found it challenging to read and review due to some of the subject matter within the book.
Content warnings.

From Eve to Dawn: A HIstory of Women in the Worly by Marilyn French. This book was such an impressive historical account of women throughout history, beginning in prehistory to ancient Egypt, China, India, Peru, Mexico, Greece and Rome. Also, there is commentary of women’s relationship to various religions. Read this if you want to learn more about women’s issues told through a feminist lense.

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

Yasmin the Detective by Saadia Faruqi and Hatem Aly (Illustrator). Very cute book about a young girl named Yasmin who helps her grandmother find some missing items by using her detective skills. Lots of fun! There is a glossary in Urdu at the back of the book among other gems.

Lola and the New School by Keka Novales. Beautiful book about Lola who has just changed schools and is making friends. I loved the infusion of Guatemalan culture in this book. Excellent for young readers, with lots of activity and prompts in the book. Learn how to make the Abuelita’s limeade!

How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower by Emma Bland Smith and Lisa Visirin (Illustrator). This book was so cool! It’s filled with scientific facts and applications of the Eiffel Tower. I would highly recommend this nonfiction for young and adult readers, alike. Fascinating!

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

Shoo! by Susie Bower, Grancesca Gambatesa (Illustrator). This was beautiful picture book about a woman who has a new neighbour – a zoo! And the inhabitants really cause quite a caucus, so Mrs. Golightly has to figure out how to maintain the peace at home – or adapt. Funny, beautiful, and teaches about adapting to changes.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: Baby’s First Book of Extraordinary Women by Rebel Girls. This was filled with lots of short biographies of empowering women. Filled with diverse representations of women, and that will hopefully become even more diverse, inclusive, and expansive in future volumes.

With the Right to Fight: Planting Peace by Anika Christopher. Wonderful story about a Nobel Peace Prize winner from Kenya who enriches the world by starting an initiative the lead to the planting of millions and millions of trees. Totally amazing, beautiful, poetic and amazing to read. Highly recommended.

Storygraph | Goodreads

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria. Second chance romance Gabe (gym owner; Peurto Rican/Mexican heritage) and Michelle (freelancer and strategic marketer; Peurto Rico/Italian heritage). Gabe is set to start a new gym in NYC and his business partner unknowingly reaches out to Michelle who has a very complicated past with Gabe. It’s well written, it’s funny, it’s intense – a little too much for me at times haha but it was fun to read, overall!
Content Warnings.

Currently Reading

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

A Treacher Tale by Elizabeth Penney. Loving this so far! This is the second book in The Cambridge Bookshop Series in which our protagonist, Molly, owns a bookstore and learns that Iona York, author of The Strawberry Girls classic tales, lives closeby! She visits her cottage and discovers a dead body right beside her home! That is where I’ve left off in Chapter 1 and I can’t wait to see how Molly and company get to the bottom of this mystery.

The Kindest Lie by a Johnson. Enjoying this – reading for my July TBR Game! Speaking of which, I think I need to limit next month’s TBR game to five books because August is going to be full of books for ARCathon and catching up to last month’s TBR game. But we can do it! Olivia and I are up to the challenge.
Content warnings.

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

Lore by Alexandra Bracken. Need to finish this for the July TBR game! I’ve mentioned this one before, it’s been described as a mixture between Greek Mythology and The Hunger Games. I’ve barely dug into this one and am starting to remember what it’s all about. Can give a deeper analysis next Friday!
Content warnings.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero. Reading for ARCathon. This is beautiful and tells a story of a girl of a biracial Jewish girl who is sent away to stay with her aunt in Prague. She is torn between pursuing her parent’s wishes of having a stable career, for example in the sciences or medicine, and becoming a violinist. While she’s in Prague, she learns about a forgotten Jewish ancestry, encounters a ghost name Benjamin and also a man with no shadow, Rudolf Wassermann. This is beautifully written, every page feels like your being entranced by the author, and I’m enjoying it so much!
Content warnings.

Next Reads

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

Anne of Green Gables by Stacy King (Adaptor), Crystal S. Chan (Contributor), Daria Rhodes (Lettering), Kuma Chan (Illustrator), L.M. Montgomery (Original Author). This is a manga adaptation of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. I started to read it for NetGalley a few months ago, however I had to stop because it was just really ill formatted. I want to finish it, though, so I have the book on hold at the library. Would love to have this read for ARCathon, hosted by Marti and Britt!

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Reading this lovely retelling via the Top Shelf Society buddy read! I am a cohost and we definitely invite you to join us! Click here for details and synopsis. Can’t wait!
Content warnings.

QOTD: What are you reading?
Let us know!

July Reading Wrap Up

| sarasreadingnook

Hi everyone!

Today we will be sharing our reading wrap up for the month of July. We hope that you had a fantastic month!

During the month of July, I read a lot of very informative and lighthearted reads. This isn’t surprising as many of my books were children’s books or middle grades up for review. Though, many of them were also emotional.

I tended to enjoy reading medium paced books but I do like that there were some fast and slow paced books thrown in.

We were craving and loving so many nonfiction reads!

And of course, many of the books we read were children’s literature and therefore on the shorter page limit.

We took a break from readathons this month – it sure was a busy month. I worked quite a bit and didn’t have too much time extra time. Plus we had family visiting! I wanted to join Grinchathon in July. This is hosted by Izzy from Punk Rock Girl PA – we had a lot of fun participating last year and hope to next year!

We reviewed 8 electronic Galleys from NetGalley – 7 of these were advanced reader copies. We only completed 4/7 July TBR game books; however, we are completing the fifth one tonight, DNFing one for now, and transferring over Lore to August.

Yes, here are our 12 books! All of our NetGalley books have a little sticker on them the image above.

Below are full reviews of all of the books for which I have reviews that haven’t been posted yet.

If I have already reviewed them, I’ve provided the link.

And there are some outstanding reviews are still to come.

Enjoy!

Reviews:

How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Click here for review

With the Right to Fight: Planting Peace
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: With the Right to Fight: Planting Peace
Genre: Nonfiction, Children’s Literature
Publisher: Constellate Children’s Books
Format: E-book
Pages: 38
Source: NetGalley

Review:
What a beautifully illustrated nonfiction book!

The book beautifully illustrates the story of Wangari Muri Maathai from childhood to adulthood, where we go from Kenya to the USA, then back back again. Themes include the importance of nature, education, resourcefulness, imagination, community, ingenuity, and female empowerment.

I’m such a fan of the art style and the composition of the book. It flows, reads, and illustrates the story’s beautifully.

I think that this book should be read in as many classrooms as possible! I wish I learned Wangari Muri Maathai’s story and her amazing Novel Peace Prize achievement much earlier. This is an inspirational and informative book perfect for young readers (and adults, too!)

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: Baby’s First Book of Extraordinary Women
Genre: Children’s, Nonfiction, Picture Books
Publisher: Rebel Girls
Format: E-book
Pages: 32
Source: NetGalley

Review:
Beautiful book filled with various illustrations and descriptions of diverse women throughout history and their accomplishments/works of advocacy.

There were a lot of women that I learned about from this collection! I love that this is now in board book format. Each of the illustrations are so uniquely drawn yet the colour palette is consistent throughout, with bright and bold colours.

I definitely recommend this one!

Lola and the New School
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.25 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Click here for review

Surviving the City
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.25 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: Surviving the City
Series: Surviving the City #1
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Comics, Cultural, Indigenous, Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult
Publisher: HighWater Press
Format: E-book
Pages: 56
Source: Libby

4.25.

This was an impactful graphic novel about very important topics. You are introduced to the main characters Miikwan (Anishinaabe) and Dez (Inninew) who are both best friends. Dez’s grandmother falls ill and Dez is told she’s not able to live at home with her anymore and the threat of having to live in a group home is looming. Dez, overwhelmed, runs away and goes missing and Miikwan is desperate to find her.

I found the story to be quite emotional and impactful. The illustration style is very beautiful and the writing is well done. It is a fairly quick read but I think it’s an important story that includes a dialogue on missing and murdered indigenous women.

Content Warnings (via Storygraph)

Wildseed Witch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Click here for review.

From Eve to Dawn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Review to come …
See our interim thoughts here.

Yasmin the Detective
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Click here for review

Radium Girls
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.6 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Review to come …

Shoo!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads

Review to come …

Always Never
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars)

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: Always Never
Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance, France
Publisher: Europe Comics
Format: E-book
Pages: 152
Source: Hoopla

Review:
Honestly, this one just fell completely flat for me. The art style and story.

Content Warnings via Storygraph

I am a Cat
*undecided*

Storygraph | Goodreads

I am not sure how to review this one. I’ll need some time before I do!

That’s everything for our wrap-up!

Note: Chart data collected from Storygraph; graphs constructed using Canva.

QOTD: What was your favourite book read this July? Let us know!

Children’s lit Reviews | Lola and the New School, Yasmin The Detective, and How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower!

| sarasreadingnook

Today is August the first and we would like to wish a warm publication day to Lola and the New School, Yasmin, and How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower!

These were all wonderful children’s books; two of which are fiction and one is nonfiction. Regardless of what you are after, I definitely recommend each one. Below are our spoiler free reviews of each book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for these advanced readers copies in exchange for honest reviews.

Lola and the New School

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: Lola and the New School
Series: ¡Hola Lola!
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Publisher: Capstone
Format: E-book
Source: NetGalley

Review:
4.25. This is a cute story by author Keka Novales who grew up in Guatemala and illustrator Gloria Félix, raised in Mexico.

It is about a girl named Lola who has changed schools in the middle of the school year, saying goodbye to her old connections and learning to adapt and make friends at her new school.

I really liked the format of the book – you are first introduced to the main characters, including Lola, Mama, Dad, Abuelita, and Abuelo and are given some interesting facts about each of them. Then starts the story which features several beautiful illustrations representative of the story, each featuring our main character, Lola. This is followed by both an English and Spanish glossary, questions and writing prompts, a recipe (Abuelita’s freshly squeezed Limeade), and author biographies.

My favourite part about the book is how strong Lola’s bond is with her family, and in particular, how her mother and abuelita give her strength and knowledge to face challenges at her new school environment. Abuelita is such a wonderful, kind and loving individual who shares highly meaningful and impactful advice that I think can be applied in many new environments and situations. I really love the incorporation of Spanish and Guatemalan facts/heritage within the novel and would definitely recommend this to young readers ages 5-7 and for children educators!

Yasmin

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: Yasmin the Detective
Series: Yasmin
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Publisher: Capstone/Picture Window Books
Format: E-book
Pages: 32
Source: NetGalley

Review:
This is a very beautifully illustrated chapter book written by Pakistani American author Saadia Faruqi and illustrated by Egyptian-born illustrator Hatem Aly. In this book, Yasmin’s grandmother loses several objects which include a button, a thimble, and a pair of glasses and Yasmin is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery at play!

I really enjoyed the illustrations and thought they were drawn beautifully! The colours and the image placements were done very well throughout the book. Each character has distinct features and focused on elements that enhanced the story well. For example, the image that showed Yasmin watching her favourite detective Dr. Hoo while being completely engrossed in the story as Nani comes in to discuss her dilemma. It introduced characters and their interests well.

There are some discussion prompts that are helpful for learners and educators and there is a Urdu glossary at the end with a pronunciation key for various terms in Urdu. Fun facts were provided about Pakistan at the end of the book, and a binocular DIY guide is added in for extra fun!

Regarding the story, I really enjoyed Yasmin and her family and I thought it provided a fun and easy to follow mystery to be solved for young readers. I did have one qualm re: the story when it came to the retrieval of items, though it’s very minor, I simply think that both parties could have been happier at the end. Nonetheless, it was very cute! And a good read for readers K-2.

How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower

Storygraph | Goodreads
Title: How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower
Genre: Children’s Nonfiction
Publisher: Capstone
Format: E-book
Pages: 33
Source: NetGalley

Review:
What a cool and uniquely illustrated children’s nonfiction book packed with awesome scientific and historical information!

Written by Emma Bland Smith and illustrated by Lia Visirin, “How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower” details how exactly the Eiffel Tower was effectively saved and not torn down due to the scientific additions added to the building by Gustave Eiffel.

Each page has beautifully illustrations of the Eiffel Tower’s construction during the late 1800s and the reaction of the general public and officials at the time. The clothes, buildings, structures, and environment displayed wonderful detail and the text was readable (though, at times a bit small) throughout.

I had not realized how many scientific applications there were re: the Eiffel Tower, from weather measurements, to aerodynamics, even wireless radio transmission! I also did not realize there were restaurants and an apartment at the tower as well in which it’s creator, Gustave Eiffel, lived in until passing away at 91 years of age.

At the back of the book, there are many features: an epilogue, French glossary, interesting facts about the Eiffel Tower, a Timeline, and author/illustrator biographies. (There’s even a cat on the back cover – how purr-fect!)

I would definitely recommend this book to young readers as I thought it was trés fantastique! Perfect for young readers aged 8-10.

QOTD: Which book suites your tastes the most? Let us know!

The Sunday Post #5 & More! | Olivia’s purr-spective on “I Am a Cat” by Sōseki Natsume

| sarasreadingnook

Hello, everyone! Today we are linking up with:

This past week really got away from us and we are now trying our best to catch up, alas The Sunday Post is being posted on a Monday. Hope you enjoy it!

Olivia Update 🐾

A major update of our week is reading the book, “I am a Cat” by Sōseki Natsume. When we started the book, she was very happy to have found a feline protagonist. As the book went on, unfortunately, there was less and less cat in the book and she had quite a few issues with that. The book instead started to revolve around our cat’s owner and his friends, at times with very little cat insights thrown in.

While we certainly agree that Sōseki is a great writer, we are highly conflicted about this one due to the lack of cat content in the book. We also found the book difficult to read because of some of the content warnings which we should have read beforehand – there was a whole lot of body shaming and misogyny in the book (while we understand that this book was written over a century ago, we were very alarmed by the high volume of this sort of content). Most alarmingly, there was animal cruelty, so you can imagine my dismay reading these portions with Olivia (I was at a loss of how to comfort her – all I could do was provide her with her favourite tuna squeezie treat while I skipped these parts.) The plot was very minimal as well and it could be a bit tiresome to read at times. However, it is not all bad – Sōseki is able to blend silliness with beautifully analytical and philosophical writing. We laughed out loud so many times during this book that we made a thread of some of our favourite quotes!

As well, some of the philosophical questions had Olivia and I deeply invested. Through both our nameless feline protagonist and the various characters, the book discusses a wide range of topics: God, creation, death, Westernization, and existence, to name a few. So I will sit with our thoughts on the book for some before committing to a review and star rating. We are comfortable saying that this book is not for who are looking for cat content since it’s so sparse, or for those who have a difficult time reading literature with any of the issues mentioned above.

In other news, Olivia also had a good time being on bird watch this week! There were quite a few spottings, which she alerted me of with a few cackles and chirps to sound the alarm.

Life Update

What a busy week this was! Our entire week of blogging and booktube went straight out the window, but for a good reason. This month we had a family member visit us so we had a marvellous time eating at cafés, attending some highly important events, visiting the ice cream shop (they have some vegan flavours!), and exploring the city together. With work thrown into the mix, all of our days were full with varying degrees of business. We are so happy to have hosted our family member and the outdoor plants have really enjoyed the sun! Temperatures should be a bit cooler this week – I hope they are going to drop for you all in the hot destinations as well.

A major help this week was ordering some vegan salads from a local shop nearby. Here you can see a few of them: Kale Tabouli Salad, Summer “Pasta” Salad, and Beet Poke Salad. Of these, the Summer Pasta Salad was such a win! And the selection really inspired us to get creative with our salad combinations moving forward.

Reading Update

Recently Finished

As you can see from the Olivia Update, we read I am a Cat by Sōseki Natsume and had a very conflicted feel about the book.

Storygraph | Goodreads

I finished Always Never by Jordi Lafebre, read via my Hoopla app. Last week, I mentioned that I was very lukewarm about this read, and that feeling never went away. My biggest issue with the book again lies within the content warnings (I’m starting to think that I really need to pay a bit more attention to those moving forward) and the illustration style. However, my opinions are not necessarily what the majority of readers thought as the book is very highly rated on Goodreads and Storygraph, so don’t let my review throw you off too much!

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

We also stacked our NetGalley shelf and read several books, focusing on children’s literature! Look out for reviews this week. We enjoyed and recommend all of them but especially loved With the Right to Fight – Planting Peace, How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower, and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls!
(Galleys are provided via NetGalley – all opinions are my own).

Currently Reading

Storygraph | Goodreads

We started A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria and we are enjoying it so far! It is a second chance romance and is book #2 in the Primas of Power series. I’ve only read the first chapter, but have found it intriguing so far and can’t wait to learn more about Michelle and Gabe.

Storygraph | Goodreads

We are so happy we were approved for A Treacherous Tale by Elizabeth Penney! This is book #2 of the Cambridge Bookshop Series and it follows our protagonist Molly Kimball who runs a bookshop in England. Thrilled because we very much enjoyed book #1, Chapter and Curse. We’ve only read the first chapter but are loving it so far. Olivia especially loves cats Puck and Clarence!

Next Read

Storygraph | Goodreads

Immediately next, we want to finally start Lore by Alexandra Bracken! Our TBR game has been difficult to complete this month, and we are afraid that some books will have to be read in the month of August. We will be doing a TBR game in August as well! Haha but at least it should be fairly quiet this month and so we hope to finish all of our books – crossovers and new additions, alike!

Storygraph | Goodreads

We’ll see … but The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is looking pretty enticing right about now … how can I possibly focus when there are so many great books to read? I supposed you could say we’re overbooked 😹. We are so happy we received this gorgeous book mail earlier this week!

This Week on the Blog

Next Week on the Blog

  • Weekly memes (hopefully) for TTT and Stacking the Shelves/Sunday Post/Sunday Salon
  • ARC reviews for books published on Aug 1st – now live!

QOTD: Did you have a good weekend? Let us know!

BOOK MAIL | The Daughter of Doctor moreau

Book cover of The Doctor of Doctor Moreau held up in front of a white bookshelf with garden decorations.
| sarasreadingnook
Storygraph | Goodreads

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!

If you wanted to know what my most anticipated read of the year is, it’s this beautiful book I’m holding up right here: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I couldn’t be happier to finally hold this incredibly beautiful book in my hands!

To provide a little bit of history, I am a huge fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and ever since I finished reading the last page of Mexican Gothic with our book club, The Top Shelf Society, I have wanted to read another gorgeous, historical fiction SMG gothic horror. Mexican Gothic is beautiful, tragic, strange, and has very important themes discussed within. SMG’s writing is enchanting and we feel this book has the potential to sweep us off of our feet yet again.

And finally … it’s here! Gah!

Yes, my expectations are very high. It’s SMG, after-all! Regardless, I’m just so excited to enter another one of SMG’s worlds and spend a little bit of time with with our heroine, Carlota, as I turn the pages of this gorgeous read. We will likely be doing a buddy read, details to come.

QOTD: What is/has been your most
anticipated read of the year?

The Sunday Post #4 & More!

| sarasreadingnook

Hello, everyone! Today we are linking up with:

Update

Olivia Update 🐾

Olivia enjoying her Sunday.

Olivia had a wonderful week! We recently purchased some tuna Smooth & Savory squeezies, which are her absolute favourite treats.

The image above provides evidence of a very rare spontaneous hammock spotting – Olivia has started to spend time on her hammock! I couldn’t believe my eyes but I really did spot her enjoying her hammock two days ago when I came home from work. I was shocked and I very quickly rushed to take a photo, which is not of very good quality. But, I’m so happy I now have some photographic evidence that she, indeed, is enjoying her hammock. Encouraging!

Life Update

Fresh salad with beautiful veggies.
Avocado sushi roll – yum!
Cucumber rolls.

This week was a lot of fun. I spent time with family and even had some delicious sushi and salad. My partner’s family lives close to the Farmer’s Market and so all of the veggies are super fresh and very delicious. The sushi rolls were from a local sushi factory and I have to say – the avocado rolls were some of the best I’ve had in a long time!

This weekend I was able to watch my partner play his tennis tournament and sneak in a bit of reading at the same time. The matches were quite long and challenging, and the weather was very hot, but it was just wonderful to watch him have some great tennis this season. He loves the sport and I know it’s a highlight of his to play every summer in the beautiful weather.

Reading Update

Here is where we will insert our stacking the shelves and reading updates!

Recently Finished

Storygraph | Goodreads

Yesterday I finished reading A History of Women in the World by Marilyn French via my Libby app. It was a fascinating read about women and their roles in society throughout history as well as various religions and female roles within them. I thought it was just a marvellous book and I learned so much from it that it was difficult to put down – to be honest, this book wasn’t even on my radar until I saw an interview by Margaret Atwood in which she referenced it. I wanted to read it because I thought, well if Margaret Atwood is referencing this novel then I want a bit of an inside look into reference material she may have drawn inspiration from – and I was pleasantly surprised to see that she had actually provided Forwards for each of the various volumes.

The book can be a bit dense at times, and I think there is still a lot of various issues to cover, so I’m looking forward to reading further volumes. I also want to read more recently published material and see a more expansive and extensive approach that reflects feminism today and how the definition is constantly evolving.

Currently Reading

Storygraph | Goodreads

I am still reading Always Never by Jordi Lafebre via my Hoopla app. Still feeling a bit lukewarm about this read, but I’m hoping to finish it today since I have some time to read this afternoon and evening. It’s a love story of 40 years told in reverse, and I think the art style is just not my favourite – not sure, but I’m hoping it will grow on me and I will just love the book. It does have high ratings, so I hope that is the trajectory moving forward.

Next Reads

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

I am a Cat by Sōseki Natsume. This is a three volume translated collection of work written from the perspective of a cat – a dialogue on human nature. I’ve heard a lot about Sōseki’s writing and can’t to dig in! Olivia, especially.

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria. We have mentioned this book before – it is a second chance romance and we think it will be just perfect to read this week.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken. Finally, we can’t wait to finish Lore by Alexandria Bracken! Greek mythology is something we’re especially looking forward to after reading Marilyn French’s book, mentioned earlier, in which she discusses women’s roles in ancient greece as well as after the common era.
Note: all three books were independently purchased via Indigo, Chapters.

New Arrivals

Unfortunately, we have not added anything to our physical or library shelves this week as we’re still chugging along, finishing up our July TBR books. However, I’ll add a few books here we’ve added to our Goodreads and Storygraph TBR shelves recently!

Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads
Storygraph | Goodreads

Last Week’s Posts

This Week on the Blog

  • Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday: Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I STILL Haven’t Read
  • Friday: Let’s Talk Bookish – Topic TBD
  • Friday: Reading Sprints Invitation for Saturday Sprints
  • Saturday/Sunday: Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post, The Sunday Salon

Bookstagram

We have been having some fun making reels lately! Here are our latest bookstagram posts:

Booktube

Latest Booktube Videos

Alas! We still have not made all of our mid year booktube videos, but these are to come. Potentials include the mid-year freakout tag, mid-year bookish wrap up OR favourites, and a mid-year reading journal flip through.

QOTD: What are you looking forward to reading this week?
Let us know!