10 of My Favorite National Parks

Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share a non-book freebie this week. “Choose your own topic that’s not related to books!…Take this time to let your readers get to know you a little!” So I decided to list ten of my favorite national parks. Unless otherwise noted, all images © Jennifer G. […]

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Weekly Update for April 16, 2023

Welcome to my weekly update for April 16, 2023! We went up to Catalina Island and spent one night last weekend. It has a couple of tiny little towns but we only visited the bigger one, Avalon, named after King Arthur’s Avalon in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, Idylls of the King. It’s a beautiful island, […]

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Punching Bag by Rex Ogle: Book Review

4 Stars. Rex Ogle’s mother and stepfather physically and emotionally abused him when he was a child. In his second memoir, Punching Bag, he describes unimaginable incidents that are a terrible reality for far too many children. An alcoholic stepfather who continues the cycle of abuse that he experienced as a child himself […]

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From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry by Paula Yoo: Book Review

4 Stars. I find this review hard to write for some reason but I just found my notes so I’m going to basically just list my bullet point thoughts. The description of the beating death of Vincent Chin gave me nightmares. It felt too graphic (And as I write this I’m hip deep in my annual monthlong horror fest, so I’m not exactly a […]

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Weekly Update for April 9, 2023

Welcome to my weekly update for April 9, 2023! Happy Easter, Happy Passover, or Ramadan Mubarak to those who celebrate! I’ve been an affiliate of Malaprop’s Bookstore in my hometown of Asheville, NC for years now. I link to their website for books I haven’t reviewed yet. I’m keeping that relationship because I love my […]

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Artificial Condition by Martha Wells: Book Review

4 Stars. These novellas read like engrossing episodes of your favorite science fiction TV show and I inhale them like popcorn. Murderbot is an unexpected, understated delight and its dry sense of humor keeps me smiling. Its observations of humanity are on point and hilarious. It’s teamed up with ART (short for Asshole Research […]

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Series I Haven’t Finished Yet

Ten Book Series I Haven't Finished

Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share our top ten indie/self-published books this week, a topic suggested by Nicole at BookWyrm Knits. I don’t pay any attention to publishers, etc. so I wasn’t sure where to even start. I know The Martian by Andy Weir (which I like but never reviewed) was […]

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Weekly Update for April 2, 2023

Welcome to my weekly update for April 2, 2023! We spent last weekend with my husband’s cousin and his wife in San Diego, celebrating the cousin’s birthday. We ate way too much and had a great time with them, as we always do. On Monday, we caught a break in the rain and drove back […]

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The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer: Story Review

4 Stars. I just finished Artificial Condition, the second book in the Murderbot Diaries series, and really liked it. Greg at Book Haven noted my excitement and recommended this short story to me. “The Secret Life of Bots” is not related to Murderbot in any way but they do have a similar feel. There’s a…not entirely compliant […]

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All Systems Red by Martha Wells: Book Review

4 Stars. My husband isn’t much of a reader. He usually has a book on his Kindle (which I bought him) but he takes his time with it and usually only reads a handful of books each year. I thought he would enjoy this series and the way that the author mostly just plunges into the action. So I downloaded the audiobook and made him […]

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