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25 January 2021

February book club pick

Time has flown, we are now approaching the end of January.  I am shocked at how fast this month has flown by.  I have gotten so many great books off my TBR as I tend to read more in the months before spring.  I know, I know most folks read more as summer gets here, but that is my busy time at work so I take massive advantage of the winter slow down.  



The book for February is Stories from Suffragette City.  A novel that was written by many big names in the world of historical fiction.  

Lisa Wingate
M J Rose
Steve Berry
Paula McLain
Katherine J Chen
Christina Baker Kline
Jamie Ford
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Megan Chance
Alyson Richman
Chris Bohjalian
Fiona Davis


The events of this book take place on October 23, 1915.  What is special about that day?  It was the day that over one million women marched for the right to vote in New York City.  We, as women, have come so far, and yet we have so much more to accomplish.  #votesforwomen


I hope you enjoy this read as much as I did.  


21 January 2021

I have no time to read

I would love to read, but I don't have the time. 

  I get it, but let's think about how to remedy this problem. Here are my steps to get more books off the TBR (To Be Read list) and into your "finished" column. If you have no TBR list, I would LOVE to help you build one.   

1.  Don't make it a competition (unless that is your thing).

Never put yourself in a situation where you feel that you have to compete with someone on the number of books read. Challenge yourself to finish one book every two months, or one book a month. 

You are the only one that knows the number that is right for you.  

2.  Fill idle time.

One of my secrets for reading more is to fill that idle time.  It is so easy to kill time with the TV, the phone, or the computer.  I have channeled that wasted time to reading.  On my phone, I have limited social media to one hour a day.   Don't even get out the computer!  Don't do it, you know those funny memes will never let you go!!!

The same goes for television, put down the remote or pretend the TV doesn't exist so that you are not distracted.  We all know what will happen if you touch that remote. You will binge watch that new show on Netflix or Disney+ and again, you will never escape.   NEVER!!!! 

3. Use audiobooks.

 Yes, audiobooks count too!!! For me, the experience is all about the narrator. Some of the best audiobooks I have ever listed feature the talents of Jim Dale.   

Here is a list of times you can try an audiobook:

  • On the commute to work or traveling
  • In the shower/bath
  • While cooking dinner
  • While it is quiet in the office
  • While cleaning the house (pop in some headphones to make this easier)
  • While grocery shopping
  • While working a puzzle or crafting

While walking

  • At a little league game (shhh, we all know these things last forever)

I always recommend audios to folks that think they hate to read too. You may get sucked in by the story and decide to do more by the same author or even that same narrator. 

Try it tip: I can't test this theory, I have heard that Alexa will read books to you if you have them in your Kindle account.

4.  Use the extra or stolen moments. 

Take advantage of any moment you have to wait on someone or something. You can squeeze in a few pages here and thereby practicing this tip.  Yesterday I went to the dentist and got 10 pages in while sitting and waiting.

 5.  Set a goal!  

Not a goal to compete against anyone (unless that is your thing), but a goal for yourself.  " Write down that goal and use tick marks to count or a journal of the books you have read. 

6.  Just say NO!!!

If you have started a book that doesn't grab you, or have started one that you aren't feeling, put it down.  I don't care how many people say, "this is the greatest book", it is for them, but not for you.  Don't torture yourself with a book you don't like. Set a rule for yourself.  I practice a 50/5 rule, if, after 50 pages or 5 chapters, if I am not gripped by the story, I will close the book. I put the book on a virtual shelf labeled "abandoned". In 2020, I abandoned twelve books.  

7.  Set aside an assigned time and make reading a habit.

Set aside a time every day and say I will read at such and such time. I have carved out an hour every morning. I am on top of my game and enjoy what I am reading more during the morning hour or so than any other time during the day.  You may be an evening reader, I know that I am not so I made my reading time start my day.  Use this time every day for your reading time. Some people call this "alone time", I call it "Kindle time". 

8.  Paper or electronic?

I thought this was a no brainer (paper wins) until I discovered the eInk e-reader.  This device changed my reading life.  I went from reading 20 or 30 books a year to hundreds. I admit that the digital platform is the reading life for me.  I can carry all my books with me at all times. I can read in varying light, or after my husband has gone to sleep.  My friend is the opposite, she prefers the paper book and gets more reading done with that physical book in her lap. 

 9. Read what you like.

I mentioned this when I talked about a bad book, but also think about what you are reading. If you like YA, read YA.  I like historical fiction and books on the President of the United States.  I try other genres of books, but I always come back to these.  You might like to try celeb bios or westerns, there are so many genres out there that one will fit your likes.

10.  No negativity. 

Don't say I wish I could, do it.  If you want to do something, prioritize it.  Carve out that time and make it important to you.  You got this!!!

15 January 2021

January Bonus Book Pick

 Hello, by now we are almost halfway through the month of January.  We are approaching inauguration day and hopefully seeing some snow (because I love Presidents and snow :) ).  I hope you have been reading (or are a waitlist) for my two January books.  Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson is the newly published book and then I chose a new classic, On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford too.  Both have a WWII storyline, but take place in two different parts of the world (Italy and America, respectively).  


I have chosen a bonus book in the event that you don't care for either of those, or you have already finished them.  This one is a complete departure from the WWII world that I usually read about because it takes place in the western United States in the 1800s.  


Outlawed is a book about the wild west, but not the wild west that we all know about.  This one starts with a woman named Ada.  Ada marries a local guy (not completely by their choosing, but they did like each other) and turns up to be barren.  According to the laws of Baby Jesus, a woman must reproduce or she is cast aside so Ada is dumped and sent off to find her own way.  She ends up in the wild, untamed west as a member of a gang.....a gang of girl crooks.  All the women in this gang are barren or outcast from society.  I am not going to spoil a thing for you, but I will say I never thought I would read a western book and enjoy it, but I sure did enjoy this one.  




10 January 2021

Faith Journal Page


 Hello and welcome to 2021!!!

So many people keep journals, myself included,  and every year I look for a journal that gives me what I want.  In 2020, I kept adding to the existing one that I was using and decided for 2021 I was going to make some of my own pages.  I worked on a faith page because I wanted a place to reflect on good things, which is what I try to use my journal to accomplish anyway.  


My journal is a combination of art, books, events, prayers, faith, gratitude, and BT.  I try to write down a BT for every single day.  What is a BT?  It is the BEST THING that happened that day.  Try doing that, it completely changes your outlook on how your day went.  I don't think I said "I had a bad day" one day in 2020 since I started.  


I am going to share with you the page that I made today.  Use it if you like, change it up, do your own thing, and may you have the greatest year ever!!!


Download a copy here.



Review: The Fall of Richard Nixon: A Reporter Remembers Watergate

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Review: When We Meet Again

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Outlawed

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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01 January 2021

Looking forward to these new releases

 Every year I make a list of books I want to read that will be published in the upcoming year. I see I never posted it last year, but did all the other years, weird.  Anyhoo, I am going to publish it this year because there are some that I cannot wait to get my hands on.  There are also a few titles that I have already read and I can't wait until my friends get to read them too.  


What I do is make a list of all upcoming titles that interest me.  I then look at my libraries to see if I can go ahead and put any of them on hold.  If I can I do if I can't then I keep this list and every month I go back to my libraries and see if I can put any of the upcoming titles on hold.  


I looked back on this year's unpublished list and I have read all but two books that I chose.  The year before (that list is posted) I read all but one.  


I cannot find many books listed to be published after May (I think I had this problem last year too), so I may update this later.  I have some that I can't find dates for, like Blood by the Jonas Brothers. It keeps getting pushed back.  


Here is my list for 2021


January 5



January 5



January 12


February 9

I have read this one and loved it!! I can't wait for you guys to read it.  It is about the American Library in Paris during WWII


March 9

I was lucky enough to get a hold of a copy of this one too.  WOW!! This one is all about a shipwreck in Savannah and features two time periods.  The first period is the setting of the sinking, the backstory, and the aftermath of the sinking are depicted.  The second time period is a modern-day setting and the shipwreck has been found and now the archivers need to uncover the ship's secrets.  



March 9



March 23 





March 30

I was also lucky enough to get my hands on this book.  Stephanie does an incredible job of showing three time periods.  One is the American Revolution where you meet the bride, Adrienne,  of Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette.  Next, you see Beatrice in World War I, Beatrice has purchased the home of Gilbert and Adrienne's chateau in France.  Lastly, you will see Marthe try to uncover her past and survive Hilter's regime in WWII.  This was an exceptional book.  


May 4




















27 December 2020

Review: Greenlights

Greenlights Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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A look back on 2020 book picks

 Today I thought I would look back at a year of Read with Michelle.  I chose a book (or two---and a couple of bonuses) for us to read together.  I thought I would put the list here in case anyone wanted to look back or revisit the list.  


1. The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey

2. Dear Edward by ann Napolitano

3.  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.  They Called it Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

5.  Follower: A Novel by Megan Angelo

6.  The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper

7.  Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens

8.  The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

9.  The Lions of 5th Ave by Fiona Davis

10.  Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly

11.  The Luckiest Man by Mark Salter

12.  The Oregon Trail by Lauren Reeve and Wow, no thank you by Samantha Irby





Bonus books:

Recipe for the Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams




25 December 2020

How is your reading challenge going?

Hello to you fellow readers!


 Here we are approaching the onset of winter. I am ok with winter as long as I have enough clothes to keep warm.  I love snow if it snows like it means it and not spit snow. I hate nothing more than snow that just messes up things and then leaves and you get nothing out of it (snowcream, snowman, or photos). 

Winter is the perfect weather to just grab a book, curl up in your favorite chair with your favorite cat, and spend the day in another world.  

 

I only did one reading challenge this year and it was the one I created.   I am not sure exactly why because usually I have three or four going at once.  Covid has changed so much this year and I guess this is just another thing that I let slip by during the quarantine, healthy at home, and all the jazz.  


My reading goal was 100 books read and as of today, December 21, 2020, I have read 124, so there is one goal complete!!! In the next week, I will compile my reading stats and share those with you, but for today you get my complete reading challenge.




Have you made new reading habits or completed a challenge in 2020?  Share here or on my Facebook page, Read with Michelle in 2020.   





 

 

21 December 2020

Read with Michelle first book pick(s) of 2021---a new classic and a new release

  The January book pick is On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.





In September 2009 I discovered this little book, basically because the cover gripped me the second I saw it sitting on the library shelf.  I took it home that day and finished it before I went to bed (September 20 according to my book journal).  The story was riveting and I may have shed a tear or two during my journey.  I have picked it up a few times since that first reading and every time I love it a tad more.  


It is the story of Henry Lee, a Chinese American man, who in present-day sees that inside the Panama Hotel are found trunks of belongings from families that were sent to internment camps during WWII.  He wonders if he knows anyone whose belongings are in that basement.  He flashes back on Keiko, a Japanese American girl that he loved.  During the war, Keiko and her family were sent to an internment camp in the USA, yes they existed here on American soil).  

In 2013, Jamie published a digital read called Middle, Lost and Found.  It is a little small work that talks more about the lunch lady (who is one of my favorite characters in OTCOB&S).  If you can find this, I highly recommend it to you also.  I met Jamie in 2014 and I had printed off this digital book (because he likes physical books) and bound it for him.  Actually, I made two, one for him as a gift and one I wanted him to autograph for me.  My autographed Jamie Ford books are some of my prized possessions.  

In 2015, my husband and I went to Seattle and we both looked and looked for the Panama Hotel. I know we were close, but my husband got sick (drat that Norwalk virus) and we had to abort the plans, I went to the first Starbucks instead.  


Please don't stop with this book, Jamie has other books that are simply divine.  Songs of Willow Frost and my second favorite of his, Love and Other Consolation Prizes.  Also, there is a movie being filmed, or maybe has completed and Covid has screwed up its release too (stay tuned).  



I also want to give you a currently published book in case you have read this or only want to read new releases.  I have not read this one, but I have read every book by the author and she has never let me down.  So the bonus January pick is Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson.  I admit I have no idea what this one is about...I just know that I will read it because (as I said I love all of her books) she is a fantastic writer.  I actually was granted the right just today to read it before it was published so stay tuned.  







Review: A Promised Land

A Promised Land A Promised Land by Barack Obama
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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17 December 2020

Book Journal System---Michelle Style

 I have kept a paper book journal since 1996 (and a digital one for stat purposes since 2011), and I have edited it a lot over the last 25 years.  At the bottom of this post, you will find the actual log that I have used for about five years.    I finally think I have found a formula that works perfectly for me, so much so that I had a rubber stamp printed with exactly this text on it so that I could stamp it in a Moleskin journal (they are my favorite journal books).  While I did not create the original layout, I have had added to it, changed it, and made it my own.  I am sharing it with you today in case you want to use this version or get inspired to create your dream reading log too.  Maybe you just want to keep a Moleskin (I am telling you they are the BEST) with just the title and the dates read. My 1996 journal looks exactly like that, a title and a date, nothing else.  That little pet postage stamp journal has been tortured over the last 25 years as I perfected what I wanted to retain in a reading journal.  


I would love to know how you keep a log of your reading life. Please don't hesitate to reach out and let me know.  


My reading journal page can be found here.  Below you will have a snippet of what you will find on the download (there are three entries on a page with the download).  



Kelly's 2021 Reading Challenge




 If you follow or know me at all, you probably know Kelly is one of my very good friends.  She is a librarian and the host of a book club/Facebook group called Bookworms (she is also part of the reason my TBR list is about 100 books long).   

Kelly and I both like to get folks to read more books and almost at the same time we told each other "I am working on a reading challenge".  I shared mine with you a few weeks ago (but if you missed it go here) and today I am sharing Kelly's.  


It is a fabulous challenge!!  Her goal is to read a book a week, but you can do it as you like.  There are some good categories here, and I think you will have a good time with this.  Remember reading challenges are to inspire you not overwhelm you.  You do you, but have fun and hopefully, our challenges will inspire you to read more.  


Kelly's Reading Challenge



Review: The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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15 December 2020

14 December 2020

2021 Read with Michelle Book Challenge

 Good day to you all.  I hope this finds all of you doing great and planning out those 2021 reads.


Every year I do multiple challenges and create my own too, but for the first time ever I am sharing my challenge with you.  There is only one rule....... you do what you want to do.  While I do hope you like some of the categories I have chosen, my goal is to help you be the reader you want to be. If you don't like a category, feel free to change it.  If you fill there are too many, mark out six of them.  If you want one book for each category, on one book to cover multiple categories, all of that is fine. You are in charge of your reading challenge.  I am hoping my challenge ignites that spark in you, and I would love your feedback too!!


You can download the form here.  




Missed the 2020 challenge?  Click here to download.  


12 December 2020

Thankful for you

 I am so thankful for those of you that started following me this year.  You have challenged me in so many ways and I am just so grateful. I hope that you will continue to follow me in 2021. I have high expectations for us in so many ways....the first is to get rid of covid19 and start living and being friends again.  The second is I hope to challenge myself (and hopefully you too) to a new reading journey.  While there may be some new releases that I just MUST share with you, I am going to try and focus most of our monthly books on backlisted titles.  I have already picked out January's book and in a few days, I hope to share it with you.  Before I share it I have a reading challenge that will go up on Monday morning.  Woo hoo!!!  


Thank you for everything and if you didn't already get this end of year gift (book journal page) please download it and post your end of the year "books read" on my Facebook page, I would also LOVE to see your reading stats for 2020.  I know some of you that have played along this year have read some awesome titles.  



Review: The Wildest Sun