The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter (Book Review)

The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter (Book Review)


Bobby had it all, he lived a life anyone would envy. Upon graduating from med school, his best friend Eddie was offered a great opportunity to start a pediatric practice and Eddie recruited Bobby. Together success came easy and rapidly. Eddie was always the untamable friend, Bobby was much more sensible. Bobby watched Eddie date girl after girl. Bobby on the other hand soon married Ava, the girl he fell in love with in college. When the time was right, they welcomed a healthy baby boy and brought him home to a large, beautiful, polished Beverly Hills home. One quick moment, one quick lapse in judgment, and Bobby lost everything. He lost his wife, child, and best friend. He literally had nothing left. Bobby's life swiftly unraveled through a series of unpredictable events. Some may say- simple mistakes. The successful doctor soon found himself living on the streets in a tent bought by Eddie for a rugged, masculine weekend trip. Bobby slipped in and out of reality. His mental health was clearly struggling. His money was quickly beginning to be squandered, and his solace was found in a concoction of pills and alcohol. One man's hiccup turns into a whirlwind downward spiral.

Book Review: Reason to Breath by Rebecca Donovan

Book Review: Reason to Breath by Rebecca Donovan


Emma Thomson has a big secret, her best friend Sara knows a little bit about what’s going on, but Emma tries to not burden her with the details. Emma keeps her focus on school, sports, and extracurricular activities, she's an overachiever and will do anything to protect her secret. Her home life is the problem. She has two adorable cousins, an uncle who barely notices she’s home, and an aunt who will beat her with anything she can get her hands on. Emma’s father has passed away, and her mother is not in her life. Her aunt Carol doesn’t hesitate to spew hateful comments at Emma every chance she gets. George has chosen to ignore the situation, and blame Emma for provoking Carol. The children don’t really know what is going on, and Emma doesn’t want to be the one to take away their mother. When a new student named Evan Matthews shows up, Emma is no longer invisible and she starts to let her guard down. 

Book Haul | Stacking the Shelves 3

 

Book Haul | Stacking the Shelves 3

This week I purchased 5 books, and one of my library holds came in which I'm currently reading. I had a good reading week, the weather has turned colder and I'm getting ready to go out of town for two weeks. My fall vacation is always my favorite because I usually have a  chance to relax and read and just enjoy fall. 

Stacking My Shelves is a meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's all about sharing the new books that have been added to your shelves either physical books, ebooks, borrowed books and/or audiobooks. Let's get into the books. 

Six Books You Won't Want To Put Down

Six Books You Won't Want To Put Down (Jar of Hearts, The Marrow Thieves, Scarborough, It Ends With Us, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Hate You Give)


Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier (Amazon Purchase)

I devoured this book, couldn’t put it down, and rated it 5 stars. A story of three best friends; one goes missing, one thought she got away with murder, and one is now a detective. As teenagers, the most popular girl in school went missing, and no one suspected her best friend. 14 years later, her body is uncovered and the truth starts to come out. Georgia killed her best friend alongside her then-boyfriend Calvin. Calvin fourteen years later is a serial killer and Kaiser is a detective trying to piece together what happened when they were teens.



Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (Book Review)

eminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (Book Review)

As a reader, I'm sure you've heard of Colleen Hoover. She has a ton of fans and while I do enjoy her books; they've been hit or miss for me. However, Reminders of Him was my absolute favorite Colleen Hoover book I've read so far. I could not put it down, I cried- multiple times and I'm not a crier. This is the book to pick up when you're ready for an emotional read and you have a day to binge a book. 

Book Haul | Stacking The Shelves 2

Book Haul | Stacking The Shelves 2

One of the ways that I save money on books is by constantly watching the ebook sales. I like to put books on my wishlist and keep checking for sale prices. More often than not those books will come on sale and I will save a significant amount of money. I also like to check Kobo's daily ebook sale and they send out emails for new sales weekly. I very rarely purchase ebooks at full price, which normally only happens for any pre-ordered books because I don't want to wait for an author's new release. Occasionally, I'll want to read a book and the library doesn't have it available so I will purchase it at full price too. I'm a mood reader, and I blame full-price books on that personality trait of mine. As for Kindle Unlimited, I am finding quite a few books that I want to read. I'm still using my 2 month trial but it does seem like something that would be worth it. I would need to make sure that I'm prioritizing reading some of those books each month.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (Beartown, Sequel) (Book Review)

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (Beartown, Sequel) (Book Review)



Us Against You is the sequel in the Beartown series, the third book "The Winners" will release in September 2022. Set in a small Swedish community, where the hockey team is a huge part of the town identity, Backman creates a strong and diverse cast of characters. Us Against You picks up pretty quickly after Beartown ends. The community is still reeling from a rape that happened last hockey season. The star hockey player accused by the general manager's daughter. Emotions are still high, the town has started to fall apart and many members have jumped ship for the neighboring community in Hed creating an ever bigger rivalry. How does a team and a community move on when so many people picked a side? How does a community move on when their team is threatened to be disbanded when their funding falls through? As a result of the controversy; the team is on the verge of bankruptcy and the general manager, Peter has to figure out if he can keep the team together and at what expense will it be. 

Top 10 Books From Gilmore Girls (Book List)

Top 10 Books From Gilmore Girls (Book List) Little Corner of Mine Blog

Fall is in season and that always means Gilmore Girls and reading to me. A warm drink, a blanket and a book you won't want to put down. I grew up watching Gilmore Girls on the WB, buying the dvd's when they were released and I've watched the episodes countless times. When Rory finished high school and went o college, I was in those same milestones. If you've been a Gilmore Girls fan, I'm sure you've heard of the reading list for Gilmore Girls. I decided to take my top 10 recommendations and create a list. I believe a great book stays with you long after you've finished. These books have all had a lasting impact on me and I can remember where I was in my life when reading these books.


Here is the list:

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (Purchase)

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Goodreads Description: "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

So begins the Pulitzer Prize winning memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy—exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling—does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank's survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig's head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors—yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness.

Angela's Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.

Stacking the Shelves (1) Book Haul

 

Stacking the Shelves (1) Book Haul

Stacking My Shelves is a meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's all about sharing the new books that have been added to your shelves either physical books, ebooks, borrowed books and/or audiobooks. 


It's been years now that I no longer read physical books, I prefer my ereaders. I own both Kobo and Kindle and I plan to break down what I'm adding to each ereader. I'm currently testing out a two-month free trial for a Kindle Unlimited Subscription and will note which books I'm adding to my Kindle. Kindle has some exclusive books which is why I own both ereaders. 


Let's get into the new books I've added to my ereaders.

Running Down A Dream by Candy Palmater [Book Review]

Running Down A Dream by Candy Palmater

 Candy often introduced herself as "a gay, Native, recovered-lawyer-turned feminist comic." She had a vibrant career that included national television, radio, speaking engagements, and comedy shows. I found Candy through her Youtube channel and I watched her channel for many years. She inspired me as an Indigenous woman, a woman who loved beauty products, loved reading, and someone who was clearly a storyteller. When Candy passed away on December 25th, 2021, the world lost a shining star. When she passed, I knew her memoir was being released. I had already pre-ordered it and I couldn't wait to read it. I was ecstatic when I received an advanced copy for review purposes. Running Down a Dream is now a posthumous memoir, and one that I'm so happy Candy had a chance to complete before she passed. Releasing October, 18th, 2022 from Harper Collins Canada. If you're a fan of Candy's, you'll want to read this book.

The Inheritance Games, Hawthorne Legacy, The Final Gambit [Book Series Review]

The Inheritance Games, Hawthorne Legacy, The Final Gambit [Book Series Review]




If you've heard about this series and haven't read it, read it. If you're curious about this series and you haven't read it- read it. If I haven't been clear enough; I highly recommend this series. This was a fast-paced, entertaining read that I couldn't put down until all three books were read.


The Inheritance Games follows Avery Grambs. She is seventeen years old, living with her sister after her mother passes away and life is looking bleak. Avery and Libby share the same father who is non-existent in their lives, they don't know each other that well but Avery knows Libby has a heart of gold and didn't have to take her in. Avery has to figure out her future though. Her plan is to survive high school, get a scholarship and find a steady job in a safe career. When Avery is called to the office and told that she must come to the reading of Tobias Hawthorne's will, she is very confused and has no idea who this man is. After looking him up and realizing he's worth billions, yes billions, she decides she has to go and see what this is about. Did this man know her mother? When Tobias Hawthorne leaves the majority of his fortune to Avery, she has no clue why. She’s shocked and very bewildered. Tobias Hawthorne's four grandsons and daughters are not exactly excited to be practically disinherited and want to know what Avery did to trick Mr. Hawthorne into giving it all to her. Avery has one condition; she has to live at Hawthorns House for one year before inheriting the billions, and the extended family will continue living there as well. Awkward? Yes. Filled with tension? Yes. Safe? To be determined.


Magnolia Parks by Jesse Hastings [Book Review]


Magnolia Parks is a complicated book, my friends. One that will make you want to toss the book aside, you’ll wonder why so many readers are obsessing over it, but one that you’ll keep thinking about and one that you’ll want to discuss with someone. If you’re a Gilmore Girls fan, this book will immediately remind you of Logan Huntzberger and his circle of friends. Wealthy kids who are always in the same social circles just because of who they are and the connections they have. 

Let's Chat; personal thoughts. January 2022.

 

Let's Chat, Little Corner of Mine, Personal Thoughts

As January is coming to a close, I look back at this month and I'm ready for it to be over. We go into the new year with resolutions and hopes for the year but I did none of that for 2022. January was hard. We were at the height of our latest Covid wave, we had to transition to a week and a half of virtual school and then we sent our kids back to school with no idea how the next few weeks would play out. My provincial government restricted PCR testing, moved to rapid tests (very difficult to get ahold of) and we are no longer going to be told if there's a positive case in the classroom until 60% are absent. 60%...yes that's correct. It felt very uncertain, no new measures were put into place. It felt less "safe" than before the Christmas break. I'm happy to say my husband and I were able to receive our booster vaccines and my son was able to get his second vaccination. So, all in all, I know we've done our best and I can only pray that if we do get Covid, it shouldn't require us to be hospitalized. I am thankful to have rapid tests on hand since the school has been distributing them to elementary-age children. It's been frustrating, scary, and overwhelming but I'm trying to look for positives where I can find them.