As I am writing this my county is on lockdown. I know many people across the world are living under similar orders, whether they are official or not.

We are dealing with empty grocery stores. Worrying for the first time in our lives, if we will be able to get milk for our babies. We are not allowed to leave our homes, except for groceries, medicine and daily outside exercise. We must maintain a social distance and not spend time with anyone outside our household.

It is a real-life nightmare.
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A Twitter friend asked me to find gentle reads for her kids and I thought I should do the same for adults. I am limiting my entertainment to light comedies as much as possible right now and I figure lots of other people are doing the same.

Here are some options from a variety of genres that will hopefully help you relax.

​I have included a summary excerpt from Goodreads followed by my thoughts on the books.  
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​After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of April New Release Books to these eight exciting titles. I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books. I try to include a variety of Fiction, Non-Fiction and even Young Adult books. This month’s selections lean toward Romance and Historical Fiction, but also includes a disturbing Horror story. I exclude sequels and anything that will not have broad appeal. Starred titles have been added to my personal to be read list. 

What’s Up Witches!?!

I don’t know about you, but I cannot resist the lure of a good book about witches!

Anything from a historical fiction set in Salem to modern magical realism. The real life stories of witch hunts are fascinating and disturbing. I love that they teach us to be wary of group-think and religious fanaticism. Witch Fantasies push the boundaries of imagination and are full of powerful characters. There are just limitless possibilities.

Here are a few of the best books about witches:

For a long time I couldn’t figure out why the books with “Whoever’s” Wife or Daughter as the title rubbed me the wrong way. I knew that I didn’t like them, but I didn’t know why. The realization was gradual, but I feel like I now fully understand my issue with these books.

The problem is the possession. The “This-Man’s” Wife or Daughter. Like she does not exist without that relationship. She is defined by what some male relation does for a living. She is not her own person.

Many of these books have a good premise. Many of them feature a wife or daughter who is the real hero of the story. I can understand why an author or publisher might chose that title. Maybe she is breaking free of His shadow or secretly responsible for all of His accomplishments. However, there are other, better options. She Has a Name!

Now that the dust has begun to settle on the previous year’s publishing; I have compiled a list of the most popular and acclaimed adult books from 2019. Many of these titles have won awards, and they all have at least a 4 star rating and jillions of reviews on Goodreads. I have included books from the major fiction genres and non-fiction. I excluded sequels and anything that would not have broad appeal. Starred titles have been added to my personal To Be Read List and I am in varying stages of reading and reviewing several of these books. Here are some of the most inspiring, intriguing, frightening, funny, realistic and outlandish titles from 2019.

After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of March releases to these seven Can’t Wait Books. I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books. I try to include a variety of Fiction, Non-Fiction and even Young Adult books, however this month’s books lean toward dark adult mysteries with only a few exceptions. I generally avoid including books that are a continuation of a series. Starred titles have been added to my personal to be read list.  

There were a few years that I was infatuated with the humorous-contemporary-romance genre. I stalked these titles, stared at them in bookshop windows, and followed them around the library. I may have overdone it a little, because after a while my interest started drifting to other genres. I still like Romance, but we're "just friends".

I went through my romance obsession when the Devil Wears Prada was in style. Since then I have only picked up a handful of books that are traditional romance. Most of what I read now is romance that is also something else, like historical romance or paranormal romance. While my favorites aren’t by Nicolas Sparks or Emily Griffin; these mixed genre titles are perfect for Valentine’s Day. 

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced their selections for the 2020 Alex Awards.

The list is meant to highlight adult fiction and non-fiction books that are likely to appeal to, and challenge teen readers.

Most selections feature teens as the main characters, although not all of them. The books include titles from diverse genres including, fantasy, science fiction, romance, and non-fiction. There are traditional novels and graphic novels. Characters are American, international, gay, straight, black, white, fictional, real and artificial.

​Get your To-Be-Read list ready, you’re about to add a few more titles.  

After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of February releases to these nine Can’t Wait Books. I scoured book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books. I primarily focus on Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction, but I will include Young Adult titles, if they seem like they will have a broad appeal. Starred titles have been added to my personal to be read list.

Summary excerpts from goodreads.com

Eleven years ago, I realized the futility of having a “favorite” book and decided that I would select a favorite book every year. Note: it’s just something I personally read that year, not necessarily published that year. I have never met anyone in real life that does this, but a lot of the book bloggers and twitterbrarians do it. They’re all my type of nerdy. #librarytwitter #bookbloggers

I read books that are in almost every genre. Occasionally, I will read two great books that are so dissimilar that I cannot compare them enough to decide between the two. Those rare years I will have two favorites, but for the most part, I have one very clear favorite. These books are all innovative, surprising and expertly crafted. They are profound or outstanding in their own way. 

Here are my previous selections:

​I feel like unveiling my book of the year should come with a drumroll and curtain, but I haven’t figured out how to do that on blog, so…
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​My favorite book of 2019 was The Wanderers by Chuck Wendig (Ta-Dah!!!!!) I was absolutely 100% obsessed with this book. The audio was THIRTY-TWO hours long and I finished it with time to spare on my two-week check-out. My house was spotless and I got so many steps in because all I wanted to do was walk and clean so I could listen to my book.
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The Wanderers is apocalyptic fiction set in the very near future. I would consider this to be science-fiction although the tech is only slightly more advanced than ours. So, it’s probably science-fact, we just don’t know it yet. Fans of Stephen King’s Under the Dome and The Stand will love this book. For my full review click here.

What was your favorite book this year? Comment below:

Below are the 37 books I read this year, so far. Some of these books made me laugh-out-loud, cry and check my closet for monsters. Some filled me with hope, while others left me devastated. They all expanded my world view and filled my year with new experiences.
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Note: I only rate books three stars or higher. I will not finish, rate or review a book I do not like.

Most elementary schools have switched from celebrating Halloween, to having a book based costumed character day. I have seen parents struggle with the last-minute search to find a terrible movie-to-book adaptation for their previously purchased Halloween costume. Instead of doing that, check out one of these great books with highly recognizable characters and easy to create looks.

These costumes are best for kids in Kindergarten through sixth grade. Most parents will be able to assemble these costumes with items they already own, a trip to the store and very minimal craftiness.

For more in depth DIY instructions please see my previous posts for Dylan the Villain, Fancy Nancy, Pirates Don’t Change Diapers, and Olivia. 

​Best Characters for Young Girls
Click on the pictures to clear caption

Check back tomorrow for a Kids Haunted Book List!

Let's Collaborate. What costumed character have you dressed up as? Comment below:

As I transitioned from eating out all the time to learning how to cook, there were early cookbooks that became the foundation for my healthy cooking philosophy.

After unsuccessfully trying to be a lazy cook, I discovered cookbooks on the benefits of whole foods diets, full of colorful and delicious meals. I sometimes wonder what my diet might be like today, if I had come across attractive and convincing books on cutting calories or Vegetarianism first.

Instead my cooking journey can be defined by a failed attempt at laziness and a couple of fantastic whole foods cookbooks.

When I first started cooking, I looked for books that required minimum effort, like “One Pot” books. To this day I find this whole “One Pot” genre to be misleading and disappointing. I now understand that “One Pot” just means that the entire meal will be served in one pot, not that you cook everything in one-pot. Since I hate doing dishes, these “One Pot” meals that require three pots to cook make me want to deliver dirty dishes to the author’s doorstep. When you do actually find a one pot meal where everything actually cooks in one pot, the meal usually turns out brown, bland and mushy.

Faced with the unsatisfactory reality of “One Pot” cookbooks, I moved on.

​Luckily, I found three amazing cookbooks. These cookbooks guided me to a more healthy lifestyle and have taught me to cook delicious whole foods meals. 
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