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It is almost the best time of the year – nope, not Christmas, but VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB TIME!  On Friday, December 10 at 7:30 CST, we’ll gather together with our bookish family (yes, that means you too if you want to sign up here) to discuss A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn.  This is book #2 in the Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series, so if you’re not yet comfortable and cozy with Veronica and Stoker, then please start at #1 (and really, it won’t make as much sense if you jump into the second book).  Will you give us the gift we really want this holiday season?  *Psstt.  It’s the gift of spending time and talking books with you!*

Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• The Only Woman in the Room: Knowledge and Inspiration from 20 Women Real Estate Investors by Ashley L. Wilson
• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo
• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Ashley FIN

• The Conjurer (The Vine Witch #3) by Luanne G. Smith
• Daughter of the King (Defying the Crown #1) by Kerry Chaput
• Three Times the Fun by Blythe Reid
• The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
• Alien Thanksgiving: A Sci-Fi Alien Holiday Romance by Zara Zenia
• Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin
• A Bear for Thanksgiving (Holiday Shifters #1) by Lisa Daniels
• Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Psychology of Money: TImeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
• Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
• The Glamourist (The Vine Witch #2) by Luanne G. Smith
• Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (Enola Holmes #7) by Nancy Springer
• Badd Luck (Badd Brothers #5) by Jasinda Wilder
• Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin

Nikki FIN

• The Conjurer (The Vine Witch #3) by Luanne G. Smith
• Sutton’s Spinster (The Sinful Suttons #1) by Scarlett Scott
• Three Times the Fun by Blythe Reid
• Daughter of the King (Defying the Crown #1) by Kerry Chaput
• The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
• Alien Thanksgiving: A Sci-Fi Alien Holiday Romance by Zara Zenia
• A Bear for Thanksgiving (Holiday Shifters #1) by Lisa Daniels
• Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin
• Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
• The Glamourist (The Vine Witch #2) by Luanne G. Smith
• Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
• Badd Luck (Badd Brothers #5) by Jasinda Wilder
• Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin

Readers, November was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.  I adore our “no rules” theme, but I don’t adore that I didn’t read much else because life got in the way of my reading time.  We had an interesting nearly three weeks of getting the inside of our house painted, but I’m delighted to say it’s done (except for one tiny spot we all missed, and I will have to address, eventually) and we finally, FINALLY have all white trim.  No more (two different colors of) 90s beige over here!  It was an undertaking, even hiring it out, and I’m so glad it is done, even if I am still cleaning up and still recovering.  All that to say, sometimes life gets in the way of reading, and that’s ok.  It’s honestly one of the reasons I don’t usually have a goal to read more in the coming year, because I realize at the quantity of titles we read consume, sometimes that time is what has to give for other things to happen.  Sometimes it’s given willingly, others not so much, but it mostly works out in the end.

I’m delighted to say that for now, we are back on schedule with our reading for posts.  It was a bit tricksy for a minute, but all is well now.  Perhaps Virtual Book Club will impact that, perhaps the upcoming holidays will, or perhaps neither will.  Only time will tell.  The books we read (because I didn’t tackle anything on my own this month, even though Ashley did) that were not for posts include several romance novels.  As always, if you have questions about if a book is for you, or not, don’t hesitate to ask us for feedback!  Every book is not for every person, and we found a couple this month that weren’t for us, which happens from time to time.  Because of those titles that didn’t meet expectations (you can see pretty clearly here what did and did not meet expectations.  If I rated it 2 stars or less, I do not recommend it.), I appreciated those that did even more.  Rather than talking specifics, I want to let the stars speak for themselves and say, if you find a series or an author that brings you joy, keep reading it until you run out of pages.  If it’s a story that stays with you, consider a reread.  There is no shame in books that bring joy and we’ve found a lot of those this month.  

What books are bringing you joy this week?

~Nikki

OMG! I DID IT! I completed my goal to read 100 books in 2021! While Nikki took her pain in the ass Realtor’s emphatic suggestion to hire out painting her house and the painters took two weeks too long, her pain in the ass Realtor got to read lots of extra books, and by lots we mean two more than Nikki did this month. Together we added four books to the list over what was actually needed for the blog this month. AND we’re officially back to our slightly ahead of posting reading schedule. Book 100 for me was Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea which I had such troubles with and it took me over a week to read. But every book following it seemed to go by so quickly and I’m at 110 for the year. Not sad or disappointed that I’m crushing this goal for the year. I truly want to finish my re-read of The Only Woman in the Room: Knowledge and Inspiration from 20 Women Real Estate Investors by Ashley L. Wilson  by the end of day Tuesday. It’ll happen, I’m determined.

I voted in the GoodReads Choice Awards. I think I read a total of 5 of the books on that list this year, which is such a disappointment, as I feel like we’ve done so well choosing newer books… but I guess I’m not reading different genres. I would like to complain again that debut novels, if they are going to have their own category, should not also be included in their genre’s listing. A book should be able to only win one Reader’s Choice Award, not two. Additionally, the Final Round of voting starts tomorrow so please, fellow readers, take a few minutes and vote for your favorites.

We’re in the season of twinkle lights and contemplation, an overabundance of warm beverages and fluffy blankies, and I just want to curl up with the cats and read, maybe do a little work on things slowly and without a deadline… but we all know that means I wouldn’t get anywhere and fast. What is your typical process as the years switch over?

~Ashley

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