Review: Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase

Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I admit that I often check out books based on the covers and this book fell directly into that category. The lady on the cover looked mysterious and I was intrigued. I discovered while reading this book that Dorothy (Dorothea/Dot) was indeed a mysterious woman. She had secrets that changed her life and the lives of the one she loved. The book takes place in 1940 where Dot is entering her middle age and she is a married woman with no children. She is caring for 2 young women who are very hard working single girls and look to her as a big sister/mom type. Dorothy is very unhappy because of the circumstances of life, but not only does she find happiness on one level, she finds it on another and sacrifices to keep it. I LOVED that part of the story. I didn't see it happening at first, but when it did I thought how creative the writer was to make the story travel in the way it did.

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Review: The Subway Girls

The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was simply a lovely book. Subway cards fascinated me since I first saw the film "On the Town".
This book was kind of like that film in that the publicity didn't quite tell all the story of Miss Ivy Lynn no more than it told the whole story of this beauty from the cards. I really liked that. I also liked the modern storyline and how the two wove together was perfection (btw, I love BEN). I don't want to give out too much on the characters because I really think you don't need much so before so you won't get the story. Just know that this book is all about the past where the MTA chose Subway Girls to promote the subway. It was a beauty contest of sorts. You also need to know that these ladies were often not viewed as professionals or maybe of any count, just a thing of beauty. Our story tells the tale of Charlotte who longs terribly for a career but is blocked because she is a woman (there is no other reason). In the future, we see successful Olivia. She has a "grand" career, in a world of backstabbing and deceit. Charlotte and Olivia will join forces through time and get past a beauty contest. Yeah, I think I did it without giving too much away. Just read this, I do think you will love it.

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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: I Was Anastasia

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will admit that I was a tad confused on the timeline. It floated all over the place and took me a couple of sentences to get where I needed to be, but the story was GREAT. This took Anastasia to places I have never seen her go. I enjoyed that. The story was fabulous. We learned what Anna Anderson might have been like as well as what Anastasia could have been....even maybe how she died.

This is my second Ariel book and I don't think it will be my last.

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I have no time to read

I have no time to read, ugg, I used to say this and I hated it.  There has to be a way to better manage my time. I started doing many things in my life to "get things done" and while I am always busy, I feel I maximize the time to the best of my ability (for now at least--it is ever changing).

Before I tell you how I cram time in for reading you need to know that I have a strict schedule I follow for household chores and unless there is emergency cleaning to do, it helps carve out more reading time.  I have covered my weekly cleaning schedule here if you are interested.

I do the same thing every single day because I am one of those people that do better with a routine.  My daily schedule allows more reading time because my goal is 100 pages a day and I achieve it almost every day.

Mornings: I get up and brush my teeth and drink water and do at least 2 miles.  After I am done with that I settle down with my breakfast, coffee, and a book. I often have Law & Order or Dateline on in the background. I read for almost an hour then spend 20 minutes getting ready for work.  This is DEDICATED reading time and whether I go to work or not that day, I eat breakfast and read...7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Evenings: I read every night before I fall asleep.  There have been evenings when I only get about 10 pages completed and others where I stay up way too late, but I read.


I mainly read on my Kindle Voyage so it goes wherever I go. I can sneak in reading at the spur of the moment, such as:
1. While stuck in traffic on the interstate
2. While soaking in a bath or hot tub
3. While cooking dinner
4. While walking my miles indoors
5. While waiting on hold on the phone
6. When I eat lunch alone at work
7. When I eat supper/dinner alone at home
8. Anytime I am waiting on something or someone
9. I can also read while ironing, drying my hair, waiting for the concert or ballgame to start,  watching tv, folding laundry and brushing my teeth.


Tips to help you maximize reading time:
1. Start with a goal you want to achieve, say reading for 10 minutes a day or 20 pages a day.  Maybe choose a short book to give you a great sense of satisfaction that you completed the book in a week!

2. If you don't like the book don't be afraid to say, "you are not worth my time" and put it away.  My rule is if the book doesn't grab me in about 50 pages, I am done.

3. Maybe keep a list of the books you finish.  I find I get a great sense of satisfaction to see that list grow, and if you like to complete goals then this may work to give you more time to read.

4.  Along the goal lines, maybe join a reading challenge. I do lists to explore other genres of books because I am mainly going to read historical fiction, history or biographies if I don't do a list challenge.  PopSugar is my favorite of all time and I do it every year.

You can find me on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/michellechampion

Hoopla and other digital resources for free books

I am back to talk to you about Hoopla, and other digital resources to get free books to read.

Hoopla:
I have been using Hoopla for a few years with my FLP (Free Library of Philadelphia) card, and I was super pumped when my local library got it.  I switched my account over to McLIb (McCracken County Public Library) and saw that I got two more checkouts per month than I did with FLP.  I got four with the FLP and now got six, and I use them all.

Hoopla offers audio books, digital titles, and music (maybe more this is just what I use).  You can check titles out RIGHT NOW with no wait!! YES, I said "NO WAIT".

You can access Hoopla in many ways:
1. Hoopla digital in google search
2. The Hoopla app
3.  Going to your local library website and look for their digital downloads sections and look for Hoopla---I recommend this one for the first time, that way if your library offers any tips or tricks you can get them before you proceed.

You will have to make an account so do that now.  Don't forget you will need your library card number (and pin, if applicable).  You will also need the name of your library branch (you cannot access this without a library card).

Once you get all signed in you are ready to go.

Hoopla has a super friendly interface so I won't describe that too much (but if you have questions, just ask).  Type in the name of the book/audio/music you want and hit "borrow", and then you can hit "play" and listen.   On the app, it is just as easy to check out and play titles. The only difference is on the mobile app you have the option to download the music/book/audio to listen or read offline (this will save data for you).

I am going to encourage you to visit the "Help" section of the Hoopla to see the devices that you can use (like Alexa, Apple Tv), one thing you can't do is use your Kindle (a dedicated Kindle reader-you can use a Kindle Fire where you can download the Hoopla app).  

Other Digital ways to get books from a library--see if your library offers them

There are many others, these are just the ones I know about because of my library cards

1.  BookFlix-a great resources for digital kids books

2.  Freading-I do use this one a bit

3. RB Digital-my third favorite place to get titles

There are a couple of other resources just on the internet (no library card required), but I am all about using that library card so I won't spend much time here.

1. Project Gutenberg- Public domain titles, there are some gems, but you have to search

2. archive.org-where I download old radio shows to listen to at work or in the car

Overdrive with your library card

I have many folks asking about my digital library card usage so I thought I would talk a little about that today.  There are a few things you need and you can be on your way to borrowing books for FREE from your library's collection (you can also get a non-resident card to certain libraries in the USA, see this post for more on that https://michellechampion.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-digital-library.html). 

1. A library card that offers digital titles and your card number (with a pin if applicable)
2. A device where you can read or listen to your digital titles (phone, tablet, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc....)
3. Access to the internet

Now that we have all of that, let's do this. 

 Today I will talk about Overdrive because it is what I use most often.  My local library card also offers Freading and Hoopla, I can cover those on another day. 

I would start with your library's website and look for some link that says something about digital titles, downloads, books on the go, etc... 

I am using screen shots from both my local library (McCracken County Public Library) and one of my non resident cards (The Free Library of Philadelphia) because they use the same system of Overdrive but look vastly different and do things a little differently too, so this will give you an idea of what to look for on your library site. 

Once you find the digital titles click on that and it will probably take you to the Overdrive site (bookmark this because you WILL be back).   I would start by creating an account (because I am assuming you are new to this Overdrive thing) and set your preferences.  I set my checkouts to 21 days (my maximum offering), you can return early if you finish early.  My two example cards let me make a profile and then sign in with my Library name and the library card number (my FLP card makes me have a pin number that they assigned me when I purchased my non-resident card).  If you check out a lot of books it probably won't take long before you can memorize this card number (I have 4 library card numbers rolling around in my head so I know it can be done). 

Once you have the account created the fun begins.  

You can play around with book titles you are looking to read by typing the name in the search bar, or you can just look around.  I will go over both for you to give you an idea of how to navigate around the site.  First of all, let's look for my pick book of 2018, "Next Year In Havana" by Chanel Cleeton.  Type the book name in the search bar.  

 After I type the name of the book (or author) in the bar, I hit search.   There it is...

....you can see that there is a waitlist, I can choose here to "place a hold" and it will notify me by email when it is my turn for the book (you will enter the email where you want the notification to be sent).  I wanted to show you this feature because many of your popular books may have a hold, but don't fret your turn will come.

 Now I want to show you one more book that is available and show you how to check it out. This time I am going to look for "Gray Mountain" by John Grisham on my McLIb card you can see it is available because the word "borrow" appears. 

I can click the "borrow" button and I get a reminder popup that I am checking out this title. If I change my mind, now is the time to hit "cancel".

 No, this is what I want so I hit "borrow" again and I am prompted to choose how I want my book.  With this title, I have three choices.  

1. Read now with Kindle (you must have an Amazon account. This will only work on a Kindle device or app.

2. Read now in a browser (this will use the internet)

3. Download epub for use on apps that use epub, a Kobo reader, Nook or even read in the Overdrive or Libby (I will touch on that at the end).  

Option #1 Read now with Kindle---Since I read on my Kindle almost exclusively, I choose Kindle.  Once I hit that button I am redirected to the Amazon site and if I am not signed in, I will have to do so before I can finish the check out procedure.  Once I am signed in I get a button that says "get library book" and it sends the book to my account/device.  Once the book is checked out if I click on it again I am told I have checked out the book.

Option #2 Read in my browser--This will open a new window with the book.  You may like to read in your browser so I have attached a screenshot just in case.

Option #3 Download Epub book--I use this option when I am reading on my Samsung Tab4 or reading in the Overdrive app.  

Now you that you know how to check out the books and place a hold, I want to show you a glimpse of the website.  As I told you earlier, these two libraries look a bit different but return results in the same way, they just have differnt titles available.  My McLib card gives me subject, collections, Kindle book, kids and magazines right from the top of the homepage (I am using a web browser-your experience will be a tad different on the app).  My FLP does not offer magazines.  

I like to use the collections button best, but play around with it and see what you like.  Under the collections at both of these libraries I have an "available now" button.  I like this feature when I am looking for something to read TODAY!!!

There are also filters on the left (remember I am in a web browser) that I can use to limit the search to find exactly the right book. 

One more tip, let's say you were watching Dr. Phil and they were talking about the new Natalie Wood book and you think how you would love to read that book.  You can log into your account and search for the book.  Neither of these two libraries had the book, but one of my library choices gives me the option to recommend the book for purchase in their collection.  I get the same warning that it is not in the collection at both libraries, but under the one that allows the recommendations, I have a button I can push to request the book.  It will also place me on a waiting list so if they purchase the title I will get it quickly once it is added (I love this feature!!).  

The last thing I will mention is the apps, one is called Overdrive and the other is Libby.  They both search our library's collection the same but look different.  I find the Overdrive app to be my favorite and my primary usage app, but Libby is stinking adorable!  It is just very hard for me to go back and forth with my libraries using it. However, if I only had ONE library, I would use Libby.  It is very user-friendly and like I said "adorable"!!.

 This is only the beginning of digital titles.  I plan to go over audiobooks, Hoopla, and Freading to get you reading more using less cash.  




Tidbits about me and how I maximize my reading time:
1. I read mainly on a Kindle Voyage (in a Van Gogh cover) and it goes everywhere I go
2. My second reader is a Samsung Galaxy tab4 (waterproof cover) and where the Kindle can't go, it does.
3. I try to read 100 pages a day.
4. I read in a grocery store line, before work, while I watch tv (Law and Order), while I cook dinner, when I eat alone....wherever I can, I read.
5. I listen to audiobooks in the car on my commute, over earbuds at the store and often at work. 

Have a happy day and don't forget your book.