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
Here we are - the last Sunday of January. This month went fast! It was brutal cold, so I am not sad to say goodbye.
Last week, we had the holiday on Monday which means I had to switch my in-office days around to make the three day requirement. I was going to do Tuesday - Thursday, but when I was checking the weather Wednesday morning, it was 5 degrees. I couldn't do it. Maybe 12 doesn't sound much better, but it's technically warmer. I saw a 30 degree morning in the forecast this week - HEAT WAVE!
It was a lot of the same old, same old for me. Work, clean, read.
For people who read on Kindle, did your "return to library" option disappear? Mine did. I found a post where the "remove from library" takes its place. I have not tried it. I have just been returning the books from my Amazon account, but I was curious if this has happened to anyone else. It seems to be a thing on newer Kindles because my daughter still have the "return to library" option.
On the Blog
- Monday: Reviews - If Tomorrow Never Comes, Wreck My Plans
- Tuesday: TTT - New Additions
- Wednesday: CWW - Life Hacks for a Little Alien, The Memo
- Thursday: Reviews - The Housekeeper and the Professor, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
- Friday: Spell the Month in Books - January 2025
- Saturday: Five on My TBR - Starts with "D"
Stacking the Shelves
I am overwhelmed with invites this week, and some are books from my TBR which is great. I have to check my numbers because so many months are already maxed out (8 ARCs), but I really want some of these. Decisions, decisions.
I clicked a bunch of free books this week. Obviously, I had to have the book with the cats on the cover, and I clicked two of the Moo U books. I have read a few of those but wasn't going to download them all. I like Snowe and Snowballed sounded good to me.
Netgalley/Edelweiss
- Where You're Planted by Melanie Sweeney
Invites
- Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
- My Train Leaves at Three by Natalie Guerrero
- Fan Service by Rosie Danan
- For the Record by Emma Lord
- 91-Day Sanction by George Veck
- Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo
- Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein
Purchased/Free
- Zen Wisdom From Cats: The Tao of Purrs by Nala Bronte
- Holdout by Jacqueline Snowe
- Snowballed by Melanie Ting
Read Last Week
I was worried about my TBR this week as some of the books had some lower ratings, but I liked them all.
I almost DNFed You Between the Lines because the character kept raging about "straight white males" and "white male authors". I just have a thing about white people raging about white people. But then something happened. She stopped doing that, and the story was great.
My favorite of the week was The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen. This was a really lovely story about grief, loss, and remembering our dearly departed. As with a lot of the Asian Lit I have been enjoying, this story episodic with a touch of magic. All the stories were touching, but the last two had me in tears. They went above and beyond and really hit me in my feels.
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon - ★★★★ 1/2
- Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters - ★★★★
- The Memo by Rachel Dodes, Lauren Mechling - ★★★★
- The Curious Kitten at Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi - ★★★★★
- The Crescent Moon Tea Room by Stacy Sivinski - ★★★★
Audiobooks
- The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows - ★★★★
Currently Reading
- Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey
- Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
To Be Read
- Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia
- The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
- One Night, Two Holidays by Ali Brady
- Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley
Let us know in the comments!
"I saw a 30 degree morning in the forecast this week - HEAT WAVE!"
ReplyDeleteFor sure! 🤣
There's no shortage of cat books, is there? You must be in heaven.
Isn't it amazing how many books I have found with cats on the covers? And they have all been great, too.
DeleteIt was crazy cold here on Wednesday as well, and Friday it was 24 degrees in the morning and I was like "wow its really nice today". WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? This winter has been brutal.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how we just need to experience those tundra conditions to think 24 is nice.
DeleteOMG Sam that's so cold! Also I haven't noticed the "return to the library" but you are probably right. And that video with the goats ahd me laughing so hard! Poor goats!
ReplyDeleteFainting goats never get old. Their defense mechanism is unreal.
DeleteYeah that is cold. I don't mind the cold that we have been getting. I haven't clicked on any ARC's lately. I have 100 Kindle books to read right now. There are always so many freebies that I click on and then they sit on my Kindle.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough waiting outside at 4:30 in the morning, in the dark and wind and it's that cold.
DeleteThat cold sounds miserable! I'd have switched to the 12 degree day instead of 5 degree, too! I haven't noticed "the return to library" feature being gone on my Kindle, but I usually return my library books on the app so maybe that's why. I got an invite for Maine Characters, too. I'm mulling it over. I usually wait until closer to the release date so it doesn't mess with my feedback ratio on Netgalley.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a LOT warmer this week. In the 30s in the AM - heat wave for sure. We cannot return library loans on Libby any longer, so I have to go to Amazon and do the returns. It's annoying. I wait to click the widgets too. It's been hit or miss for me with Ornstein, but Maine sounds really good.
DeleteIt's funny how 30 feels good after a few days of near zero temps! It was awful here too. I can't believe it's almost February either. The only good thing about it is winter is sort of moving fast...
ReplyDeleteThe Teller of Small Fortunes... I LOVE that cover. Maybe In Another Life was my first TJR.
I hope you've been well!
I bet you would have been fine here with all you MI weather training. I cried at the end of Maybe in Another Life. Both paths seemed so great.
DeleteI hope that the weather gets warmer for you this week, Sam! While I miss living somewhere with cold weather, I do remember how painful it can be to get up out of a warm bed and get the day started when it's freezing! No fun. 🥶 I still haven't read any of the MooU books but since they were free it was too hard to resist and I added quite a few of them to my Kindle. 🤭 Looks like you have lots of great reads to look forward to—yay for more Mazey Eddings and Rosie Danan!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I could handle the heat where you are, but I still hate the cold. I read a few MooU, the ones from authors I know. They were all good for when I was in the mood for a fun new adult romance. Hope you get to check some of them out.
DeleteMaybe in Another Life - my favorite TJR book! I hope you're loving it. It's supposed to be 50 degrees on day this week, what a difference!
ReplyDeleteLife was great. I was sobbing at the end, just so overwhelmed by how things worked out in both possible lives.
DeleteI didn’t even realize it was the last Sunday of January! Time is moving so fast already in 2025. Yes, books with cats on the cover are mandatory. You have a lot of great books on your list. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHow am I expected to resist a cat cover???
DeleteI'll have to check my kindle - I hadn't noticed. I'm - well - curious about the Curious Kitten book.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Curious Kitten. It's very much like a lot of the Asian Lit I have been reading. These are usually quieter stories but really heartwarming and meaningful.
Delete