Sunday, May 28, 2017

Sunday Post (90) / It's Monday, What Are You Reading



The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next.

Happy Memorial Day! Can't believe we are at the end of May already. I am excited for summer though. I have a feeling it will go by in a flash.

After an unplanned blogging break, I have a lot of reviews to catch up on and hopefully I can use some of this long weekend to do that. I also need to finish my book for my book discussion group and figure out what books to suggest for July. 



This past week was the 40th anniversary of the movie release of Star Wars. Hard to believe isn't it? At my library I showed the movie all day and put together some book displays and had a trivia quiz that patrons could fill out to win a DQ gift card. There were supposed to be cookies to give out too but the bakery did a really bad job decorating them (Darth Vader was especially unrecognizable and moldy looking) so the staff ended up eating them. The children's department also put out some coloring and activity sheets for kids but in spite of our efforts, it wasn't very popular (perhaps because of the timing--right before the last day of school, graduation and Memorial Day weekend). I did see that a few of the books got checked out though. *I love that Princess Leia standee. I will have to take a picture standing next to it. I was surprised that Carrie Fisher wasn't that much taller than me!*


This coming week will be all about finalizing my plans for our summer reading program (still need to buy all the stuff for the grand prize gift basket) and getting ready for my rock painting craft night. So far I've forgotten to submit a purchase order to buy some necessary craft materials and my director is on vacation till the day of the program. I'm sure it'll work out somehow, right? I did buy a StoryHero book sleeve from Becky at Stories and Sweeties to give away as a prize at our Comic Con. It is so cute! If I didn't read almost exclusively on my Kindle, I'd buy one for myself too!



Books read:


When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

I thought this was a fun book. Dimple is thrilled that her parents are letting her go to coding camp but what she doesn't know is that Rishi, the son of her parents' friends, will be there too and the families are hoping they will get married. Rishi thinks Dimple is interested in an arranged marriage down the road and she has no idea who he is so of course things don't go smoothly. 


The Vicar's Daughter by Josi S. Kilpack

While there is a romance involved, the story focuses on character development and family relationships first. Cassie hates that she has to wait till her older sister Lenora gets married before she can be presented to society. Lenora is already in her late 20s and she is painfully shy and suffers from anxiety so after several seasons she is still single. Cassie decides to help bolster Lenora's confidence and when Lenora meets a nice gentleman, Cassie starts writing to him in her sister's name. Then she falls in love with him herself. 


The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

I thought this was pretty good. I connected with the main character and thought the author did a good job of portraying what it's like to be a conservative Christian teen.


Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon

This is my afternoon book group's selection for May. I didn't really know much about the Hindenburg disaster and I found it to be a fascinating story. There is also a bit of mystery/suspense and the author presents her take on what caused the disaster.


The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Michael's dad is the leader of an anti-immigrant group and at a protest, he sees a beautiful Muslim girl protesting in favor of the refugees. Then Mina shows up at his school as a new student and they are partnered on a project. Gradually he starts to see things from a different perspective as he and Mina spend more time together but then her family's business is targeted and Michael has to decide what he believes.


Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

One of my coworkers jokingly asked if this book is like Fifty Shades--it is not! Nikki gets a job teaching what she believes will be a creative writing class at the Sikh community center but when she arrives, she realizes that her students (all Punjabi widows) are barely literate. She tries to teach them to read and write anyway but they decide that they want to tell erotic stories which she transcribes even though they could get in serious trouble from the strict men who police the  Sikh community.  Nikki gets to know the women in her class and realizes that though society marginalizes them, they are still full of life and have much to teach her.


Lost and Found Sisters by Jill Shalvis

This is Jill Shalvis's first "women's fiction" novel but I thought it was pretty heavy on the romance with lots of steamy scenes. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as Kristan Higgins's novels in that genre.


Books listened to:





I am glad I listened to these radio dramas and I enjoyed the narration of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker but I didn't care for the actress who portrayed Princess Leia. She could be pretty whiny and seemed helpless at times--something Carrie Fisher's Leia never was. I did like the addition of Billy Dee Williams in the second one and I enjoyed the incorporation of sound effects and the movie scores. 



Currently reading:



Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

This is my evening book group's May selection. So far I like it. The protagonist worked in advertising for Macy's back in the 1920s and was also a published poet. I do wish the book had better pacing like Flight of Dreams though.



On my TBR pile:



The Summer House by Hannah McKinnon





In This Moment by Karma Brown


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid



New books received:



The Summer House by Hannah McKinnon (for review)

In This Moment by Karma Brown (for review)


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (for review)

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn (library book)

Saints for All Occasions by Courtney J. Sullivan (library book)


20 comments:

  1. Love that Star Wars display! Hard to believe it's been 40 years? I was just at Barnes and Noble today and saw the new Beth Revis Star Wars book on the shelves- the Rogue One tie-in. I had forgotten that was coming out. I need to get it. :)

    Those Star Wars radio dramas look fun. And I liked the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid that I read- hope that one (and all your new books) are good. Have a great weekend!

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  2. I love that book sleeve! Especially because I'm re watching Doctor Who! Have a good week, and happy reading! :)

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  3. I have my book for my book discussion group to read this week too, I'm always last minute with it! Every single time! You've lots of great books. I'm glad you enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi and The Names They Gave Us as both are on my TBR.

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  4. Haha, that's really funny about those Darth Vader cookies :D and the Princess Leia looks so good!
    You have some really good books here, the one about the Punjabi Widdows seems quite interesting, actually!

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  5. Star wars is something I have never for into but I know
    loads of people who love it. I want to read When dimple meet rishi it looks so good. I also really want to read the name they have us but am not in a YA contemporary mood at the moment. Have a good week.

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  6. Your library has the best programs. I wish I lived closer than I could come bother you and check out all the fun activities. I saw Becky's Book Sleeves. They are so cute! I love them. I hope to read Dimple Met Rishi sometime this summer. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. I hope you enjoy the Summer House. I ended up giving it 4.5 stars. I loved it! I thought it was her best novel to date. It really tugged on my heartstrings and it wasn't perfect by any means, but it was a perfect beach read, if that makes sense. I also loved Evelyn Hugo. I gave that book 5 stars---fantastic! I also look forward to your thoughts on Saints for All Occasions. I want to read that one! Have a great holiday weekend!

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  7. Sounds like a great library feature. I would love to work in a library - maybe when I retire I can snag a part time job, but that will be some time. I really want to read that Jill Shavis book. It's not my usual genre but I'm a sucker for anything with dogs on the cover. I agree, summer will fly by before we know it and then we'll have to plan for Christmas. It's true, the older you get, the faster time flies. Hope you have a wonderful week.

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  8. I love that your library did Star Wars displays and activities. I want to read The Names They Gave Us. I lived in a Evangelical household from seven years old until I was fourteen, and it was extremely difficult time for me. I love the cover of the Lillian Boxfish book. It also sounds interesting. I will be looking out for your thoughts on it. Have a wonderful week. :)

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  9. Awesome Star Wars display! Have a great week!

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  10. So many books but I'm mostly way too excited for Dimple!

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  11. Emery Lord is coming to Nashville for an author signing in a couple weeks, and I really want to read her book before then! Glad to hear she did a good job with the characters!


    Hope you have a great week!
    https://daniereadsbooks.wordpress.com/2017/05/28/the-sunday-post-2/

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  12. What a great library feature and so many fun reads for the summer. Hard to believe it's been years since Star Wars began. I remember watching the first movie at the drive-in theatre!

    My Sunday Post

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  13. I'm ready for Star Wars to stop being a thing. I know, it's an unpopular opinion but I've never been a fan.

    I'm getting ready for Armchair BEA this week. Come see what I'm reading.

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  14. I enjoyed Flight of Dreams last year and learned a good bit about the Hindenburg disaster. Liked it. The Jaswal story sounds like a good read and fun.

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  15. I've got When Dimple met Rishi to read. Have a nice week.

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  16. What a fun event for Star Wars!

    Lost & Found Sisters looks tempting, and so does The Summer House. I enjoyed Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.

    Thanks for sharing and enjoy...and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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  17. Glad you enjoyed Dimple since I have that to read next. I really like Emery Lord's writing, especially where there is a lot of emphasis on character development and the romance, though sweet and adorable, takes a backseat.

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  18. I so adored When Dimple Met Rishi! It made me so happy. I am a solid fan of Shalvis' romances, so I will probably be happy with her new release. Enjoy all your new books. I see quite a few I want there.
    Sam @ WLABB

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  19. I think summer will go by fast for me too this year. It's the first summer my daughter is school age, and we've got a busy summer planned with family visits and the like. I don't know if I'm ready for it yet, but it's nearly here--so I had better get ready!

    That is so neat the way your library celebrated the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. I wish I could have been a part of it.

    Flight of Dreams is high on my list to read. I do not know much about the Hindenburg either, but I love reading about that time period.

    Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal is one I have been really curious about.

    I hope you have a great week, Christina! Enjoy your new books.

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  20. The Vicar's Daughter looks good!

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