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Top Ten Tuesday – Classics I’ve Read and Liked

Today’s Topic: Books Written Before I Was Born (These can be books you’ve read or want to read!)

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

Let’s be honest, how many of us read books written before we were born, other than classics? I know I don’t.  And aside from the required reading in high school and university, I hadn’t even read that many classics until recent years.  I’ve written of my prejudice against the classics before, but I am working to change that. Here are a few that I’ve read (mostly recently) and enjoyed. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Classics I’ve Read and Liked”

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Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I Discovered in 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020 (If you didn’t read 10 new authors, that’s fine! Just do what you can.)

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

As I mentioned in my book wrap-up for last year, I explored more new authors than ever in 2020. In fact, over half of the books I read were by authors who were new to me. And for the most part, I liked them all. Here are just a few. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I Discovered in 2020”

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Book Review – Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner

SUMMARY

While competing on a national cooking show, the well-liked Southern chef Hadley Beckett has several bad experiences with bad-boy  star chef Maxwell Cavanaugh who has a very public melt-down.

Months later, Hadley is the culinary world’s most popular super-star and Max is persona non-grata when the two are paired together for a new series. Continue reading “Book Review – Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner”

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t

Today’s Topic: Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To (You could take this opportunity to tell us what’s left on your seasonal TBRs from last year. Or books you were super excited about and then you didn’t get to them.)

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

Like most readers, my TBR list is out of control. With each new year and it’s new releases, I add to it with books I’m excited about. But of course, I don’t have enough time to read every new addition despite the best of intentions. So this list falls short of ALL the books I meant to read last year. It only names the top priority books I failed to find time for. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t”

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2020 Film Year in Review

There is no need to reiterate what kind of a year 2020 was. Needless to say, it was one that had me searching for comfort, familiarity and security.  As usual, I often found escape in  entertainment which is why I watched over 300 titles this year. And that is also why I found myself re-watching over seventy old film favorites, which is much  more than the normal number.   These included old Disney features like That Darn Cat, Pollyanna, Snowball Express and The Apple Dumpling Gang,  I also decided to tackle a few Shakespeare adaptations  such as As You Like It, Henry V, Hamlet, and Love’s Labour Lost, before needing a break from the grandiose language of the Bard. Continue reading “2020 Film Year in Review”

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2020 Book Year in Review

After last year’s experience, I lowered my reading goal for 2020. Though I slightly exceeded last year’s numbers, it wasn’t by much. Goodreads says I’ve read eighty books, but I don’t actually record every book I read there nor do I include re-reads.

All that to say, I met my reading goal for the year, which I am happy about. This year being what it was, I didn’t attempt any non-fiction. I needed the escape a good novel provides, not to mention the mental focus I need for non-fiction just wasn’t there. As much as I dislike to, I also DNF’d a few books (which shall remain nameless). Quite unintentionally, I read multiple books by a couple of authors. I read three each by Mimi Matthews and Becky Wade and two each by new to me authors Jaimie Admans, Melanie Summers and Jessica Kate. Continue reading “2020 Book Year in Review”

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Top Ten Tuesday -Books I’m Most Looking Forward to in the First Half of 2021

Today’s Topic: Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2021

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

As my reading time continues to dwindle thanks to real life commitments and obligations, I have become pickier about what I read. There are many me exciting new releases coming the first half of this year, but I know realistically, I won’t be able to get to all of them. So,  I’ve narrowed it down to my absolute must-reads. And every one of these was chosen because I loved the authors’ previous work(s). Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday -Books I’m Most Looking Forward to in the First Half of 2021”