So Many Books, So Little Time

From Goodreads:  In 1667, an invisible wall separates settlers in New France from their Huron neighbors. Yet whether in the fledgling city of Quebec or within one of the native tribes, every woman’s fate depends on the man she chooses—or is obligated—to marry. Although Claudine Deschamps and Gabrielle Giroux both live within the settlement, their prospects are very different. French-born Claudine has followed her older sister across the Atlantic hoping to attract a wealthy husband through her beauty and connections. Gabrielle, orphan daughter of the town drunkard, is forced into a loveless union by a cruel law that requires her to marry by her sixteenth birthday. And Manon Lefebvre, born in the Huron village and later adopted by settlers, has faced the prejudices of both societies and is convinced she can no longer be accepted in either. Drawn into unexpected friendship through their loves, losses, and dreams of home and family, all three women will have to call...

From Goodreads:  Jennifer Weiner is many things: a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and “an unlikely feminist enforcer” ( The New Yorker ). She’s also a mom, a daughter, and a sister; a former rower and current cyclist; a best friend and a reality TV junkie. In her first foray into nonfiction, she takes the raw stuff of her personal life and spins into a collection of essays on modern womanhood as uproariously funny and moving as the best of Tina Fey, Fran Lebowitz, and Nora Ephron. Jennifer grew up as an outsider in her picturesque Connecticut hometown (“a Lane Bryant outtake in an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot”) and at her Ivy League college, but finally found her people in newsrooms in central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, and her voice as a novelist, activist, and New York Times columnist. No subject is off-limits in this intimate and honest essay collection: sex, weight, envy, money, her mom’s newfound lesbianism, and her estra...

It's fall and the holiday season is fast approaching!  I am so excited as the next few months are my favorite time of the year!  My daughter and I read a bunch of Halloween books yesterday, did a Halloween craft and we watched Halloweentown this morning.  I love the holidays! I've also already started listening to Christmas music (don't judge!). : ) September felt like a slow reading month but I still managed to read 9 books this month so I can't really complain.  Since I already met my goal of 52 books for the year, I decided to bump it up to 80.  I only have to read 6 books a month for the rest of the year to hit that goal so I think it's doable.  I haven't been super excited about most of the books I'm reading and I'm hoping that will change soon.  I'm really close to beating my non-fiction numbers from last year and I'm so happy about it!  I'll have to back and see what my non-fiction goal was for the year but I'm pretty happy wi...

I haven't done a Mailbox Monday post in a while and since I got a ton of books this week, I decided to go ahead and put one up.  It's been such a relaxing weekend and today is my 6 year wedding anniversary so it's been a good few days! My local library had their big fall sale this week; I had two coupons for free books and decided to stop by.  I meant to only get two books and wound up getting 10 books and visiting on two different days.  They had an amazing selection of non-fiction books this time and all of the books I got are practically brand new so I couldn't resist the price!  For Review:   Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner From the Library:   Blackballed: The Black & White Politics of Race on America's Campuses by Lawrence Ross Property of a Noblewoman by Danielle Steel Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas Christmas in Mustang Creek by Linda Lael Miller Purchased: The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerm...

Synopsis: Adam de Guirande has barely survived the aftermath of Roger Mortimer’s rebellion in 1321. When Mortimer manages to escape the Tower and flee to France, anyone who has ever served Mortimer becomes a potential traitor – at least in the eyes of King Edward II and his royal chancellor, Hugh Despenser. Adam must conduct a careful balancing act to keep himself and his family alive. Fortunately, he has two formidable allies: Queen Isabella and his wife, Kit. England late in 1323 is a place afflicted by fear. Now that the king’s greatest traitor, Roger Mortimer, has managed to evade royal justice, the king and his beloved Despenser see dissidents and rebels everywhere – among Mortimer’s former men, but also in the queen, Isabella of France. Their suspicions are not unfounded. Tired of being relegated to the background by the king’s grasping favourite, Isabella has decided it is time to act – to safeguard her own position, but also that of her son, Edward of Wind...

From Goodreads:  Lena Woodward, an elderly woman, enlists the help of both lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart to appraise the story of her harrowing past in Nazi occupied Poland. At the same time, Lena’s son Arthur presents her with a hefty lawsuit under the pretense of garnering her estate—and independence—for his own purposes. Where these stories intersect is through Lena’s dubious account of her life in war-torn Poland, and her sisterhood with a childhood friend named Karolina. Lena and Karolina struggled to live through the atrocity of the Holocaust, and at the same time harbored a courageous, yet mysterious secret of maternity that has troubled Lena throughout her adult life. In telling her story to Catherine and Liam, Lena not only exposes the realities of overcoming the horrors of the Holocaust, she also comes to terms with her own connection to her dark past. Karolina’s Twins is a tale of survival, love, and resilience in more w...

  We went to visit the sunflower fields over the weekend.  They were amazing! Another summer in the books!  This summer felt kind of like a dud so I am glad to be moving into fall, cooler weather and fun holidays.  I've been craving pumpkin so I ended up baking a pumpkin cake over the weekend.  YUM. I did a decent amount of reading in August but felt like I was in a reading rut nonetheless.  I know I could have read a ton more but instead I just watched Netflix a lot.  Most of what I read just didn't do it for me.  I did hit my reading goal for the year so that was awesome and most of what I read were books I owned so I am happy about that.  I set a goal to read 5 books I own and I ended up reading 6!  I did not meet my non-fiction goal for the month but that's okay; I wanted to read 3 and I only finished 2.  I want to read more non-fiction than I did last year (16 books) and I have read 13 for the year so I am on track....