I've been reading for a long time, and I love it.
I love keeping track of the books I read, and for a few years now, I've been keeping a "Book Jar": every time I finish a book, I add it to the jar. Usually, it's around 50 books a year. But recently I decided that I should do more than that –more than just writing the title in a piece of paper and storing it away– if I have the opportunity of sharing this experience, why don't I?
Thus, the creation of this blog.
My goal is to read as much as I can in my lifetime, and hopefully my bookshelf ends up being as varied as possible. I know so far my reads have been mainly in English and of occidental origin (mainly classics, YA Lit, and some Latin American books sprinkled here and there) but I want to change that soon enough. Fiction has always been my first choice, but this year I have begun to read more science and not-fiction books too.
This blog is kind of a test drive, so I don't know if anyone will see or read this. Anyway, if you do, I hope you enjoy this journey too!

I finally took a close enough look at my LibraryThing data to figure out why my "Owned but not yet read" collection wasn't properly sorting things by total number of pages. I've finally cleaned it all up (and am shuddering, thinking about how many more incorrect dropdowns I've probably missed in the rest of my data). I have 11 more works I have to read in order to meet my reading goal for the year, and it's all going to be short stories, novellas, and graphic novels/manga until I'm done.

I finished Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee and it took me over a week (which is a long time for me) and I don’t really know how I feel about it. I absolutely love To Kill a Mockingbird and in no way did Go Set a Watchman change that- it actually enforced it. I know have a deeper appreciation for TKaM and its underlying narrative, issues, symbolism, and overall feeling. I’ve read TKaM over and over (at least 5 times) and each time I find something new/different to enjoy. GSaW is NOT a sequel, in the truest sense, to TKaM- yes it takes place after TKaM, Scout is grown up and the characters have evolved with the times but it’s a drastically different story. I had a hard time keeping the two separate- I didn’t want to compare them, TKaM is wonderful and I don’t think GSaW could ever truly compete with it. The biggest issue I had with GSaW is the time jumps, the entire book is set within a week (or less) but there are flashbacks to Scout’s childhood. The flashbacks got so confusing because there was no indication of when then were happening- I could only tell because Jem was alive. I struggled with how many stars to give this book- 3 or 4? Three because I enjoyed it  but I probably won’t read again anytime soon. Four because I love TKaM and Harper Lee. I ultimately settled on four because I love TKaM.

Overall: 3/5 for the book, 4/5 because I love Harper Lee  

SRP Goal: 12/20

Short review today...


I fell in love with the TNT tv series- Rizzoli and Isles, I’ve watched every episode and can’t wait for more. So naturally, I decided to read the books that inspired the tv show (why I didn’t read them first, I don’t know- that is so un-librarian of me). I read the first in the series, The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen and was surprised by how different it was (though I guess I shouldn’t have been- it’s a trend Hollywood tends to follow). I enjoyed the book once I got over expecting to read the plot of the tv series in book form.


Book Rizzoli (BKR) was a minor character compared to TV Rizzoli (TVR)- she was timid and unsure of her place in the Boston Police Department. She wasn’t the strong, independent, forceful, woman that she is on TNT- but that means she has room to grow throughout the book series. Maura Isles isn’t even in the first book (sadly, she’s one of my favorite characters) but according to the synopsis for the second in the series, I’ll meet her soon! I definitely enjoyed the backstory to Hoyt and how he “learned” his signature serial-killer ways. He plays such an integral part to the TV series and while they give you enough history to understand his mentality and issues, you never truly learn how he came to be “The Surgeon.” I think I will continue reading the series (this was a fast read- I finished it in two days)- I really want to see how Rizzoli becomes “Rizzoli” and I really want to meet Dr. Isles!

Overall: 3/5

SRP Goal: 11/20

I want to know who decides how to market books because sometimes they are right on the nose and other times they aren’t even in the same universe….


I just finished Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and it is marketed as crime-fiction, thriller, suspense, mystery, “the next Gone Girl or Girl on the Train” and while yes it does have a crime in it and have some horrific moments, a small mystery and a bit of suspense- it’s not exactly the same (at least in my opinion). No two books will be exactly the same, there may (and will) be some similarities and I don’t see very many between Luckiest Girl Alive and GG/GotT. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like Luckiest Girl Alive- I did but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I not been expecting something along the lines of Girl on the Train. Luckiest Girl Alive was a coming of age-dealing with your past-accepting yourself for who you are type of story- not a thriller.


Ani (TifAni FaNelli) reinvents herself after a horrible (and I mean horrible) high school experience. She’s engaged to one of New Yorks wealthiest men and is working as a writer/editor for a magazine- a far cry from the “poor” girl of high school. A TV studio approached her about producing a documentary about her high school experience- she says yes, much to the dismay of her fiance. Through flashbacks (the novel is told entirely from Ani’s POV) we find out what exactly happened to her during high school. Her fiance doesn’t support/believe/care/trust/want his “image” damaged by her past so he tries to get her to hide certain aspects of what happen from the producers/public. All of this drama culminates (not a very big climax in terms of plot but more along the lines of personal growth) for Ani and she ultimately has to decide how much of her past deserves to be heard.


At first I found Ani an annoying bitch- she judged people based on looks and how much money she thought they had but after learning/reading about her past, it became obvious to me that that was the only way she knew how to deal with people who were “better” than her. As the novel progressed, she didn’t grow or have an “ah-ha” moment where she realized she shouldn’t judge people for what they look like but she did realize that she should stop punishing herself for things she had no control over and that ultimately is what she’s judging people on- the things they/she can control: looks, money.


After writing this review, I think I will reread this book and, now that I know not to expect GotT, I might actually enjoy it a lot more than I did initially.


Overall: 4/5


SRP Goal: 10/20 (half-way there!)