Tag: TBR list

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What I’m Reading – April 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman. It was published in 1998 and was the first in his Petra Connor series which ended up only having two installments. I am really enjoying it.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (Contemporary Fiction)
  • Pick Me Up by Cecelia Joyce (Romance)
  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Fantasy)
  • Pages to Fill by Travis Baldree (Fantasy Short Story)
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Romance)
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg (Contemporary Short Stories)
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Young Adult)
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison (Chick Lit)

Nonfiction

  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark? The Bible and Modern Science and the Trouble of Making It All Fit by Janet Kellogg Ray

What I Added to my TBR

In March, I added 27 novels and 2 short stories to my TBR.

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 171 books on my TBR (yes, it keeps growing!)
  • Of those, 17 are nonfiction and 154 are fiction
  • I finished 7 more of my 25 in 2025 list, bringing that total to 13
  • I have finished 28 books so far this year, so I am well on my way to my goal of 75
  • One of my goals was to read 2 nonfiction books each month. So far this year I have read 1 per month. I’m not mad about that; I have a hard time making myself read nonfiction even when I am interested in the topic.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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What I’m Reading – March 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. This was published in 2016 and is part of my 25 in 2025 challenge to read some of the backlist books on my TBR. It was also her debut novel. I just started it but I like it so far.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – I found this author during a stuff your Kindle day a year or so ago and liked the free book enough to want to get this one. This book was entertaining enough that I have added book three to my TBR.
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin – I had enjoyed the first book in this series, which I got during a stuff your Kindle day a while back, but this one fell flat for me. I didn’t find the plot believable.
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison – Fun read! The action flips between the present day and the characters’ time in junior high and high school. I actually liked the chapters from the past better than the present; the author does a good job writing the younger characters. The present-day plot felt a bit childish to me, like the characters hadn’t really grown up since high school, which perhaps was the point.
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg – I didn’t love it, even though Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. It started out good, but I just lost interest partway through.
  • Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb – I have been a longtime fan of the In Death series, and this book delivered on all fronts. I loved it!
  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman – I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, so I had high hopes for this collaboration with his son Jesse. I thought it was alright, but it didn’t pull me in like the Delaware books do. I couldn’t really relate to the main character, or any of the characters, very much, and I didn’t find the storyline very compelling.
  • The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak – I am still mulling over this one and plan to write a review soon. I gave it three stars for now.
  • Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman – I usually love the books in the Alex Delaware series, but this one didn’t hold my interest very well. The main draw of the series is that Delaware is a psychologist, and the crimes usually involve some psychological twists and turns. This one felt like more straightforward police work to me.

Nonfiction

  • The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby – This book was so intense. I am still processing it and plan to write a full review soon.

What I Added to my TBR

  • Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher – my Amazon First Reads pick for February
  • The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez – bonus short story from Amazon First Reads
  • A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah – a recent release from this author I discovered last year
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – a sequel that I want to read
  • Feeling the Fireworks: Starting Over in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – #3 in the South West series
  • Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman – #2 in the Petra Connor series, I have #1 on my 25 in 2025 list

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 152 books on my TBR
  • Of those, 20 are nonfiction and 132 are fiction
  • I have finished 6 of my 25 in 2025 challenge

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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What I’m Reading – February 2025

What I’m Reading Now

Right now, I am reading The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby. I am only a couple of chapters in and am already finding it intense.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Seaside Sisters by Pamela Kelley – Another delightful read from this author. I enjoy her books a lot and only wish they were longer. 4 stars
  • The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee – Heartwarming story but sure has a lot of characters to keep track of. 3 stars
  • The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake – My first from her but won’t be my last! 4 stars. Full review here.
  • Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo – I have mixed feelings about this book. I appreciated the mystical aspect of the women having different gifts and the anthropological approach being applied to a family history, but I found it hard to keep everyone straight in my head. I also wasn’t a fan of the many mentions of bodily functions. I think it’s just a case of it not being the best fit for me. 3 stars
  • The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah – 5 stars. Full review coming soon.
  • Days at the Morisaki Bookshop – 4 stars. Full review coming soon.
  • Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, and Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand – I read the first book in this series several years ago and decided to read the rest this month. Pretty good, 3 stars.

Nonfiction

  • Followers Under 40: The journey away from church for Millenials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha by Rachel Gilmore and Kris Sledge – 5 stars. Full review coming soon.

What I Added to my TBR

I was shocked to realize when I looked at my Goodreads that I added over 40 books to my TBR last month! Most were fiction, but I did add one memoir and one other nonfiction book as well.

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 156 books on my TBR.
  • Of those, 20 are nonfiction and 136 are fiction.
  • I have not finished any of my 25 in 2025 challenge yet.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Most Anticipated 2025 Book Releases

I have added several books to my TBR that are being published this year, and these are the ones I am most excited about.

Fiction:

  • Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams (When in Rome #3)
  • More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
  • What Happened to the McCrays? By Tracey Lange
  • There’s Something About Mira by Sonali Dev
  • The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman (The Once Upon a Time Bookshop #3)
  • Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb (In Death #60)
  • Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware #40)
  • We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
  • Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #0.5)
  • Lethal Prey by John Sandford (Prey #35)
  • Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
  • Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
  • My Friends by Fredrik Backman
  • Gryphon’s Valor by Mercedes Lackey (Kelvren Saga #2)
  • Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman
  • Wedding at Bella Beach by Kate Wentworh (Bella Beach #7)

Nonfiction:

  • Becoming the Pastor’s Wife by Beth Allison Barr
  • Queer & Christian by Brandan Robertson

What books are you looking forward to this year?

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25 in 2025

While I plan to read more than 25 books in 2025, I want to make an effort to reduce the number of older books on my TBR.  Listed below are 25 backlist books I am planning to read this year. The publication years range from 1998 to 2022, with 20 of them being before 2020. I am not participating in any official challenges for this, but I did make a shelf on Goodreads so I can keep track of my progress.

Fiction:

  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
  • Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy
  • Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
  • How to Get a (Love) Life by Rosie Blake
  • How to Stuff Up Christmas by Rosie Blake
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
  • Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman
  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman
  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
  • Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi
  • Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Nonfiction:

  • The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky
  • Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Art by Janet Kellogg Ray
  • The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
  • How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby
  • God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
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Amazon First Reads – January 2025

This month, Amazon Prime members are able to pick two free books from a selection of ten from a variety of genres.

I picked these two:

There’s Something About Mira by Sonali Dev – a novel about Mira Salvi, whose perfect life is interrupted in an exciting way when she finds a lost ring and goes on an adventure to try to find the owner.

The Art of Starting Over by Heidi McLaughlin – a later in life romance between Devorah Campbell, whose marriage fell apart when her husband cheated on her, and Hayden McKenna, who lost his wife a year ago.

I’m not sure when I’ll get to them because I have so many books ahead of them on my TBR, but they both sound promising.

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What I’m Reading – January 2025

A brand new year – so exciting! It’s fun to look back on the year that we have just finished as well as to look forward to the next twelve months.

What I’m Reading Now

I currently have three books out from the library, so I am listing them all under this section. Hopefully I will finish them all before the due dates!

  • The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah
  • Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee

What I Recently Finished

Fiction:

  • The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick
  • Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
  • The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
  • The Handmaid and the Carpenter by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
  • Return to Bella Beach by Kate Wentworth
  • Miss Amelia’s List by Mercedes Lackey

Nonfiction:

  • Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans
  • UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality by Colby Martin

Short Stories:

  • When We Were Friends by Jane Green
  • The Answer Is No by Fredrick Backman
  • Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
  • Merry After Ever by Tessa Bailey
  • All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
  • Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
  • Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

What I Added to my TBR

  • Happy After All by Maisey Yates
  • The Autumn of Ruth Winters by Marshall Fine
  • One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery
  • Wedding at Bella Beach by Kate Wentworth
  • My Friends by Fredrik Backman
  • Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
  • We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
  • Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry by Beth Allison Barr
  • Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table by Brandan Robertson
  • The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick
  • The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance by Jemar Tisby
  • What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange
  • Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop: A Memoir by Alba Donati
  • Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das
  • Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin
  • A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton
  • The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
  • Plymouth Undercover by Pamela M. Kelley

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 120 books on my TBR
  • Of those, 20 are nonfiction and 100 are fiction
  • All of the books were added in 2024

One of my goals for 2025 is to read 2 nonfiction books each month. I usually set an overall goal on the Goodreads Reading Challenge as well. Last year, I put down 52 and I ended up finishing 99 books. This year, I may be a bit more ambitious and put down 75.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Library Haul

I have been reading ebooks almost exclusively for a few years now, but there are some books on my TBR that I haven’t been able to locate for free electronically.  So I have started going back to the library for physical books at times.

Here is my most recent haul from the library:

  • The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah
  • Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
  • Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
  • The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee

First up is Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors.  I am excited for this one because it is the first in a series that are based loosely on Jane Austen.

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What I’m Reading – December 2024

What I’m Reading Now

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg – I am almost done with this book, and it is really good!

UnClobber by Colby Martin – This book addresses the “clobber passages” from the Bible that are often used to condemn homosexuality and also tells Martin’s own story of how his views on the subject changed and how it has affected his life. It is very easy to read and I am enjoying it.

What I Recently Finished

The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey – This is #16 in the Elemental Masters series and was very enjoyable, as all of them have been.

Holiday Hideaway by Mary Kay Andrews – This was a Christmas-themed short story and was a cute romance.

Gryphon in Light by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon – This is #1 in Kelvren’s Saga and who knows what book in the entire Valdemar series. It took me a little while to get into the story, but I ended up liking it by the end.

The Christmas Inn by Pamela M. Kelley – This is a heartwarming holiday romance. I couldn’t put it down – very sweet!

Nantucket Summer House by Pamela M. Kelley – This is #9 in the Nantucket Beach Plum Cove series. It wasn’t my favorite in the series but I did still enjoy it.

Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions by Rachel Held Evans – I loved this book. I will share a more detailed review in a few days.

The Cookbook Club: A Novel of Food and Friendship by Beth Harbison – This was a fun book about three women who start a book club based on cookbooks. It was charming and I really enjoyed it.

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan – I have read a lot of Colgan’s books and I still like them, although not as much as I used to like her older books.

What I Added to my TBR

  • Nobody’s Perfect by Sally Kilpatrick
  • The Answer is No by Fredrick Backman
  • Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith by April Ajoy
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 111 books on my TBR
  • Of those, 17 are non-fiction and 94 are fiction
  • All but 1 of the books were added in 2024. I plan to read the last book added in 2023 this month

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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What I’m Reading – September 2024

What I’m Reading Now

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio – This is Holly’s debut novel, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The main character, Lauren, returns home one night to find that reality has somehow shifted and she is married. As she tries to figure out what is going on, her husband goes to the attic to change a light bulb and disappears and a different husband comes down the ladder. So fun!

What I Recently Finished

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes DuMez – This was a fascinating account of the development and evolution of white evangelicalism in America written by a historian. I found it very easy to read and extremely educational.

Pack Up the Moon by Kristan Higgins – This novel is about a man whose wife wrote him letters before she died and had them delivered to him every month for the first year after she passed. It was reminiscent of P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern – in a good way!

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore – I love books about books, and this novel features a librarian who discovers a 60-year old love story written in the margins of books. It was a charming book!

Earth’s the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg – This is a another great installment from a writer I have admired for many years. It is a coming of age story which provides the backstory for the Arthur Moses, the main character in The Story of Arthur Truluv.

Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg – This is the story of John and Irene, who are divorced but are still connected by their 18-year old daughter Sadie. It is beautifully written, as are all of her books.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare – This is Book 1 of the Infernal Devices series, which is the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series. Both of these series are part of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. It was a recommendation from my friend Kim, who is a big fan of young adult romance and fantasy books. I don’t always love her selections, but I really enjoyed this one and am going to continue reading the series.

What I’ve Added to my TBR List

I added quite a few books to my list this month:

  • The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman (short story)
  • The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman (short story)
  • The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman (short story)
  • Fatal Intrusion by Jeffery Deaver
  • Natural Selection by Erin Hilderbrand (short story)
  • Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman
  • The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
  • Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
  • Close Knit by Jenny Colgan
  • The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin
  • The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
  • The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
  • The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak
  • The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
  • Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
  • Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
  • Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum
  • What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
  • Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
  • The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!