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I am trying even more not to overthink my reading life, while also trying to find some sort of balance of the voices speaking into my life through books, and not shoulding on myself, or Ashley, or you.  So when Ashley and I did some research for our next Virtual Book Club title and American Gods by Neil Gaiman was on sale it was a no brainer.  Inexpensive, critically acclaimed, adapted to television, passed the test of time, and by a dude (for once, ha!) = sign me up!  I hope you’ll feel the same and sign up here for Virtual Book Club on Friday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. CST so we can talk about this adventure of a book together!

Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• All this Could be Yours by Jami Attenberg
• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Ashley FIN

• The Pilot & The Puck-Up (The Copper Valley Thrusters #1) by Pippa Grant
• Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel
• Dominicana by Angie Cruz
• The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic #2) by Amanda Lovelace
• Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
• Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay
• Sign and Thrive: How to Make Six Figure As a Mobile Notary and Loan Signing Agent by Bill Soroka
• The Princess Saves Herself in this One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic #1) by Amanda Lovelace
• Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do by Eve Rodsky
• Nixon (Raleigh Raptors #1) by Samantha Whiskey
• Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno
• An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League #1) by Alyssa Cole 
• A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4 / 5) by Sarah J. Maas*

*Finished in February

Nikki FIN

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Blackstone Wolf (Blackstone Mountain #4) by Alicia Montgomery
• All this Could be Yours by Jami Attenberg
• Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel
• The Blackstone Bear (Blackstone Mountain #3) by Alicia Montgomery
• The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity by Meg Meeker
• The Blackstone Bad Dragon (Blackstone Mountain #2) by Alicia Montgomery
• Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Dominicana by Angie Cruz
• The Last Blackstone Dragon (Blackstone Mountain #0.5) by Alicia Montgomery
• Winter’s Widow (The Wicked Winters Book 12) by Scarlett Scott
• Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
• Raising Worry-Free Girls: Helping Your Daughter Feel Braver, Stronger, and Smarter in an Anxious World by Sissy Goff
• Dragons Within: Guarding Her Own edited by Dorothy Tinker
• The Blackstone Dragon Heir (Blackstone Mountain #1) by Alicia Montgomery
• The Princess Saves Herself in this One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic #1) by Amanda Lovelace
• Rough Country (Tannen Boys #3) by Lauren Landish
• Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno
• Winter’s Waltz (The Wicked Winters #11) by Scarlett Scott
• An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League #1) by Alyssa Cole 
• A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by Sarah J. Maas

As I was typing up my list this month, two things occurred to me: first, I am so very pleased that all three nonfiction titles I’ve read this month included a series in the tag line, AND all three used the #oxfordcommaforeva!  Commas have meaning and I do try to not judge those who are wrong disagree with me in their use, but if you use an oxford comma in one series and not in the next, I’m most certainly judging you because there is no debate, you are just wrong.  The second is that the list includes a lot of serious titles, both fiction and nonfiction, and a lot of romance, which feels like balance.  While the nonfiction was all upbeat and positive, it was still a lot to be that level of seen in my overthinking, paralysis analysis, and general need to just leap into a decision, however mundane.  (Yes, the complex decisions need more effort, but rarely are things as complex as my mental decision making process makes them out to be.)  

Highlights for my reading month include finishing A Court of Silver Flames for the first time.  Dear Maasassins, we have not forgotten about you.  We are still debating when our Silver Flames book club should be, and wanting to get in another dose of Nessian before we dig into it with you (I’m considering the audio!) and you should check out the Virtual Book Club sign up for some voting!  Another highlight was reading the published work of a dear, darling, friend of the blog!  If you love short stories, dragons, or just want to support authors who are earlier in their careers, check out Dragons Within: Guarding Her Own and see if you spy a familiar face in the authors section!  These were each fun, creative stories, especially “Burned Out”, but I’m a little biased!  Also, last week, on Tuesday, Ashley texted me because I had six books in progress on Goodreads.  Six may not be a lot for you, but it is for me.  I said something to the effect of “hold my beer” and finished two that night, and one the next day.  I DNFed one (not because it wasn’t good, but because the timing was off), and then finished the last one Friday.  I don’t always (or usually rather) read six books at a time, but when I do, I finish them all quickly!  (All but one, The Daily Stoic, but I’m on schedule with that!)  And last, I very much enjoyed reading stories of (mostly) strong women, some of whom were actively trying to be stronger, better versions of themselves (both fictional and IRL women).  I’m inspired by them all and gleaned several things from this month’s titles (albeit more from the non-fiction, which feels appropriate for these titles).  I’ve got some ideas for how I can feel more like a person in my daily life, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they play out and bring me more joy!

What have you noticed about your reading in the last month?  How will it inform your reading for the next month?

~ Nikki 

I went into the beginning of this month a little nervous about being able to complete all the reading for the blog on time and being able to reach all my typical ‘reading goals’ for the month because of a collection of things I had going on. Including a five day trip to love on a friend and her kiddos. I thought maybe I would get an audiobook in during the eighteen plus hours of driving that occurred during those five days, but no, I listened to the eight episodes of Heaving Bosoms where they discuss Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses Series and I was so into the discussion Erin and Melody were having during the drive north that I missed an exit and ended up adding about an hour and a half to my drive-time there. Whoops. I am blaming a friend of the blog and former roommate extraordinaire for bringing Heaving Bosoms into my life. The trouble is that I haven’t read all the books they discuss and they don’t skimp on the spoilery parts. You have been warned about spoilers and NSF young listeners’ vocabulary.

So, I started out March nervous and then by the time I got back home I was getting told by Nikki that we needed to slow our reading roll. I repeatedly said no way because it brought me joy… until I realized on Friday before virtual book club that I only had TWO MORE LINES LEFT on my Reading Log for March. CUE ENNEAGRAM TYPE ONE FREAK OUT. So, I slowed my roll this weekend. I completed one smutty re-read and I’m set to finish up our title for Thursday either tonight or tomorrow. Additionally, I’m allowing one more book to go on the Fini list for the month which will bring me to a total of thirty-six books for the year. Nikki is, as of this writing, at thirty-seven, so you fools can NOT tell me that I have a reading problem. [Nikki here: except I already announced to Ashley that WE have a reading problem.  Namely that other things are not getting done, but more books are getting read.] It’s not a problem if it BRINGS YOU JOY. It’s only a problem if your reading log doesn’t have enough lines. (pouty face) Gonna need a new way to log my reading in 2022 at this rate. Not such a terrible problem to have, really.

I am so proud of us, Nikki and myself,  for doing some hard and heavy reading during Women’s History Month and taking the time to balance it all out with some badass poetry and romance novels. I read a total of four nonfiction titles which is two more than my goal for the month, three of which are written by women! I am so proud of us for making the time to do the things that bring us joy – reading, writing this blog, and hosting virtual book club. I am so proud of us for taking time out of our ‘busy everyday lives’ to help friends carry grief during exceptionally hard times no matter how exhausting it might have been while with them and then coming home and having to reacclimate to more familiar types of needs. We are amazing and, even if I don’t say it very often, so grateful for Nikki, our friendship, and our little piece of the internet where we get to share our reading lives with you.

Looking back on your month of March, what are you proud of and grateful for?

~Ashley 

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