207 Book Talk

  I've decided that my reading for the next two weeks (after I finish the story I just started, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, and concurrent with some ebooks I have on loan; see below) will be chosen from these 4 floating book shelve stacks. This way, I have choices, but limit them to these options. It helps me stay focused, clear TBR piles, and stay on top of my reading challenge goals. Upper left (top to bottom): Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (I'll be honest, I am sort of dreading this one) Between Shades of Gray by Ruth Sepetys Untamed by Glennon Doyle Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Becoming by Michelle Obama Upper right  (top to bottom) : Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah Dear Justyce by Nic Stone The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks* Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Hurari In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin by Lindsey Hilsum Lower right: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger* The Last Song by Nic...

About 12 years ago, give or take a year or so, I was reviewing books for an independent website out of Texas. I loved it, even when I didn't like the book. I am opinionated, love to read, like to write. It was fun. It didn't pay; I did it for the enjoyment. My now ex-husband did not enjoy it. He didn't actually care about the reviews I was writing, never read them for that matter. He was bothered by the amount of time I spent reading. I was still in my twenties, and instead of standing up for what I wanted to do with my free time, I just stopped.  Just before this I had had a review picked up by Reuters, which the website I reviewed for told me was a BIG DEAL. It was exciting to see my name on a news site, and to read comments on my review. An independent publisher had used another review on the back cover of the author's book when it went to print. It was maybe the start of something bigger, but I folded to someone else's desires.  Last year I started a blog to tra...