Review: The Magnolia Palace

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876

To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman

You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman by Mike Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Double Shots, Donuts, and Dead Dudes

Double Shots, Donuts, and Dead Dudes by Harper Lin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Matt and Fran are so adorable!! While the Pink Cupcake series (if you haven't read it, you should), is my favorite of all.....this one is still superb. Fall break is coming up for many of you so download the series and sit on the beach and read. They are quick, enjoyable reads, books you can read while watching the kids frolic on the playground.

This one went in a slightly different direction, which I love about Harper; there may be a death in every book but she keeps it fresh with the hows and whys. I can't tell you too much or I will give away the plot, but I will tell you that I was hungry from the first restaurant burrito to the donut recipe at the end of the book.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.



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Review: Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been kind of obsessed about DEH for about a year now. I think the play and soundtrack are brilliant. Once I heard there was a book I just had to read it. I think I liked it even more. You don't have the music (being a musical nut, I thoroughly enjoy that part), but you have a GREAT story.

Without giving much away...Evan is kind of a mystery to his mom, friends, and the kids at school He has an absent father, a mom that has a job but goes to school and a therapist that makes him write letters to himself.
The death of a classmate changes Evan's whole world. He gets caught up in something he can't handle because he doesn't know how, and he has to face the facts of things that have happened in his own life.

It is a very quick read because the play itself is only about 2 hours.

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How to keep a book journal

I should probably change the title of this, I was going to, but I thought, "no, this is how I got to my journal, so it is my story."  As in life, my story may not work for you and that is fine.  Whatever system (that is if you even want a system) you choose is what is best for you.  I just want to give you advice....you don't have to stick with the system you choose.  I started my book journal in 1996, and it has evolved drastically.  As a matter of a fact, I am about to have a new stamp made because I have decided to change it up one more time.  

In 1995, I bought a book at the US Post Office store in Little Rock, Arkansas.  I paid way too much for the book, especially since I didn't journal, but it was adorable and I wanted to do something with this adorable book.  I needed to do something special because I am telling you, it was not a cheap book. 

I used this book for a few years until I decided to keep more stats and then I added more information.  I found a book stat chart on the internet and made a similar one in Excel.  I realized quickly that you can do lots with Excel and I started a journal there, I still kept up my paper one, but this one had numbers. I don't even like numbers, but I loved this part.

My Excel sheet

After adding formulas to count my books for me and a few other columns of stats, I edited my paper journal chart once more and decided that I couldn't print off my Excel journal anymore. I wanted a journal similar to where I started, a journal in an already bound book.  This is when I developed my stamp.   I ordered it from rubberstamps.net (they have made a lot of custom stamps for me, they are quick and very good).  

Here is that first book, a very expensive (like $25) pet stamp journal book

The insides of the pet stamp journal

The pet stamp journal book took me to 2013 to fill because I wasn't keeping much information on my books at that time.

These are inserts I clipped to other journal books of the first chart that was created in Excel

2014-2021 stamp

This last one is the new stamp that I just created.  I was hoping for a simple layout that tracked the DNF books and was in the order of Goodreads as far as the information.   The empty box next to Borrowed is where I will write the library or person's name that loaned me the book, I did add a heading because it was too cluttered. I was going to put "source", but I had little room to write.  

I would love to see what you fellow readers do to track your books, please share.