Sunday, December 1, 2019

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post



Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

Welcome December! I cannot believe there is only one more month left in the year. Wow! It sure went by quickly. I am dreading the new year, with my longer work days, but hopefully something good will happen for me too.

It's been nice having my daughter with me for a week. These longer visits always make it harder to say goodbye, but Christmas is right around the corner. Yesterday, we went to see Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and it was wonderful.

Other than that, we did Thanksgiving and relaxed. I take my days off very seriously, and when I say serious, I mean I do almost nothing. I also noticed, that I only featured reviews of library books this week. Not an ARC in sight. Strange, but true.






Let's Discuss!
  • AJ tells us how blogging changed her reading habits
  • Dani guides us through the 6 stages of a bad reading experience
  • Wendy shares why she is going to stop giving out star ratings


On the Blog:
  • Monday: #AmReading - 10 Blind Dates, Racing Savannah
  • Tuesday: TTT - Family Ties
  • Wednesday: CWW - The Iron Will of Genie Lo, First & Then
  • Thursday: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
  • Friday: Nutshells - Our Wayward Fate, Maybe This Time

STACKING THE SHELVES

Bought


Edelweiss/NetGalley


What I Read Last Week

I wasn't sure how this week was going to shake out. I started with the greatness that is the newest Emma Mills book, but then I had a DNF. I felt like everything else would pale comparison, but my subsequent books were also very good after that one little wobble.

Books

Audiobooks



What I Am Currently Reading


What I Plan to Read

How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!

48 comments:

  1. Cinderella is my favorite princess story, so I'm a little jealous that you got to see it live!
    And that hamster is my hero... I saw that post on Twitter and shared it there as well.

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    1. I love that the hamster found the easiest route. Too funny. My daughter loved the movie adaption with Brandy and Whitney Houston back in the day, and we also saw this version on Broadway, when she was in high school. It was a good production. They had done Ever After a few years back, too, which was another fantastic version of the Cinderella story.

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  2. I'm also surprised about it being December already. Time keeps flying!!! Sadly, it goes by so fast that I don't seem to be enjoying it... Happy to hear you and your daughter had a lovely time. :)

    Happy readings! ;)
    Tânia @MyLovelySecret

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    1. There never seems to be enough time for everything, which is why I try to take pleasure in the small things.

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  3. Haha, that hamster is awesome. I also take my days off seriously. I mostly just read and sleep. Have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I am all about the stay-cation. I do one vacation a year, and it's great, but I can only afford the one vacation day. Unfortunately, the days, when my daughter is here are only awarded via lottery at work. I would love to have more days to do things with her, but gotta work, therefore, I will just burn my days.

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  4. OMG Sam that bunny is too cute! And yay for spending the week with your daughter! Have a great week ;-)

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    1. I never knew bunnies were such leaf fans. The child leaves tomorrow. *sad face* BUT, will be back at the end of the month for the holiday, which is nice.

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  5. Your Thankgiving sounds amazing!! My relaxing was derailed, but that's how things go. :)

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    1. Did you host the holiday? I get to relax, because I just eat at someone else's house.

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  6. Oh nice! Sounds like a good way to spend the holiday!

    Nice new reads too! All new to me ones but I hope you enjoy them all!


    Here's my StS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  7. I'm glad you had a great visit with your daughter! I definitely had a couple days this weekend where I did pretty much nothing except read!

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    1. You just described just about all my weekends there.

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  8. I can't believe we're in December either! Good to hear you had a nice visit with your daughter, and yes, Christmas is just right around the corner, so you'll get to see her again soon. Thanksgiving was later than it usually is this year.

    Yay for getting Undercover Bromance! I'm so happy for you, Sam! :)

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    1. Everyone keeps saying that about Thanksgiving, but the 28th is my friend's birthday, and it was usually around Thanksgiving every year. I was super happy about Undercover Bromance. I think it became available to request soon after everyone was getting the print ARCs. I may have done a happy dance.

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  9. It's crazy that there are only 31 days left in the year! This time of year zooms by SO fast, I can hardly keep up.

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    1. This year flew by, but at least I didn't have any major setbacks.

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  10. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving! And yes days off are very important. :) I can't believe we're almost to 2020 either- wow.

    Ha love that first video! Busted!!! The bunny's adorable too.

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  11. Glad to hear you had a nice Thanksgiving!

    The hamster maze video and the bunny had me giggling and smiling. Two examples of why I like the internet more than dislike it right there. :)

    Awk-Weird sounds like a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to reading that one.

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    1. Awk-weird is really fun. I liked the first book in the series, but I probably like this one even more.

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  12. That hamster!!! And the dog with the stove grate could be one of my dogs. Too funny! I'm glad you got to have some time with your daughter! Thats great! Have a great week!

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    1. That hamster was such a boss. That dog would make a terrible career criminal.

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  13. Yay for relaxing holidays and for spending time with your daughter. And double yay for Undercover Bromance! I requested it but didn't notice it was available for request until today so I think I was late to the party. Fingers crossed though.

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    1. I was waiting and waiting for Undercover Bromance to come available. Everyone was already posting it on their STS, and I couldn't even request it. I was extremely happy about the approval. Mack intrigues me, and I am excited to read his story

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  14. I need to start looking at my breaks from work like you do and do less so that I can actually relax. I had my daughter home for a week as well so I know how nice it is just to catch up. This year seems to really be flying by! Have a great week, Sam!

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    1. I go on vacation once a year. My days off are usually to go to an appointment or just recharge. It's a great way to help me keep my sanity

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  15. I hope you will have an amazing December and end to the year <3 Yay for getting a full week with your daughter. That must have been so much fun. And I love the cover to Undercover Bromance. It sounds so wonderful to me :3

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    1. It's nice to see her every night, even if we just sit in silence together. The first Bromance book was so, so good. I am so eager to read the next one.

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  16. Time flies way too quickly, I can't believe it's December already!
    I can't wait to hear what you think of Loveboat, Taipei. I'm currently reading it and really enjoying it :)
    Have a wonderful week <3

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    1. Loveboat was really, really good. The author did a great job making it fun, while also incorporating hot button issues.

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  17. I'm glad you had a nice Thanksgiving and visit with your daughter, and yes, it's almost Christmas!!! It's crazy that it's December though. This year seriously flew by.
    I read Sloppy Firsts years ago and always meant to read the others. Might need to someday.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I am failing at Christmas. The gift cards are calling. My eLibrary only had the third Jessica Darling book, so when the first one went on sale, I thought, why not? I love those dairy style books, where we get to see the character grow and change over the entirety of high school.

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  18. thanks for the laughs. loved those videos.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  19. I know! This year is ridiculous with how it's flown by. It sucks that you're going to be working those longer hours come the new year but at least you can make the most of this month. And hopefully it won't be as bad as you think (I'm trying to be positive for you).

    I'm glad I'm not the only who likes to take some time off of work to relax rather than being rushed off your feet. And how cool you only reviewed library books. I'm never that good. I feel like you usually read a lot of ARCs so it's a nice change.

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    1. I have been getting better about requesting less ARCs, but the beginning of the year is always heavier than the end with ARCs and releases. I started only featuring books that earn 4 or more stars at some point this year, and if I can't get that via ARCs on my TBR, I can fill it in with a non-review book I enjoyed. I am actually really happy with the mix.

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  20. I finally have a day off today and plan on getting some decorating done. That rabbit video is so cute.

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    1. Good luck with the decorating. It's a lot of work, but so nice to just take it, when it's all done.

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  21. Looks like a great reading month! I'm really looking forward to Lucky Caller.

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    1. Lucky Caller was fabulous! I love Emma Mills more and more with each book

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  22. I can't believe it's the last month either, this year has flown by so fast! Especially since it feels like Halloween was just two weeks ago, I can't keep track of time lately. Thanks for sharing the dog thief video! He probably thought he was so sneaky lol. My husband's parent's dog took a sandwich off of the counter and didn't get caught besides her licking her lips. And then another time she just went up to my sister's boyfriend at the time and took the hamburger out of his hands. He was terrified of dogs and just let her, he didn't even say no 😅🙈.
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

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    1. Dog's are too cute. They have no idea how to hide their guilt (or the evidence). My dog was a food thief too. They just can't resist our human morsels. That's one bold dog in your family, but I think all my dog's were exactly the same way

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  23. 2019 has been an absolute blur. Crazy to think it's almost over. Hooray for having your daughter home for Thanksgiving. I hope she's able to stay a while over Christmas. I get happy every time I see McCafferty's Jessica Darling series. I don't know why it never got more attention. I was so involved in Jessica and Marcus's story. I really enjoyed Something Like Normal. My heart hurt for Travis.

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    1. My daughter is coming in a bit before Christmas for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary, and is leaving the 28th. A perk of being a consultant is that they always have off from Christmas through New Year's. I adore those diary style books, and I have had my eye on the Jessica Darling books for a while. I am really looking forward to reading them. I LOVED Travis. I was disappointed in him at the beginning. That ex was just, no, but the way he grew and changed from his time in the service and the way he was with him mom, just won me over.

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  24. "I take my days off very seriously, and when I say serious, I mean I do almost nothing."
    That's the spirit! I mean, I can't exactly do that, because my home situation is a bit peculiar, so I have to rely on the WEs for getting certain things done...but I always end up doing most of my blogging on the Saturdays and Sundays as well. And I refuse to do more than wash the dishes and sweep the floors on national public holidays and on my birthday. Especially on my birthday 😎.

    Enjoy your daughter's company to the fullest when she comes back for Christmas! Also, you ladies know how entertain yourself, don't you? You always seem to do something special together.

    The dog was fun and the rabbit was cute, but the hamster was hilarious!

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    1. The past two years have been nice, because I have been on vacation on my birthday, and the tradition continues in 2020. It's nice of my child to indulge me this way. I blog so much on the weekend, but I mix it up with some chores and whatnot too. I try to do something with the kid, when she visits. It worked out, that we could switch our tickets for the show.

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