Hello & happy Sunday my bookish friends!
Did everyone have a good week(end)?! Anything exciting happen?
As for me, something very exciting happened for my family this week! Read on to find out…
(I know you are totally curious)
*Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly post where I feature what posts were published on the blog for the past week, any bookish/blog happenings, what I recently finished reading, what I am currently reading, what I will be reading next, noteworthy posts around the bookish blogosphere, and any interesting bookish articles I came across.
We are under contract for a new home, and will be closing this Tuesday the 25th! We have been in the market for a new home for a while now, but we live in a small community where homes sell like hotcakes & often go above asking price. Homes will often come on the market and will sell a few hours later with multiple offers above asking price. To say this process has been frustrating is an understatement. It has also been harder for us to find a home because we were looking for a fixer-upper. My husband flips houses for a living, so we knew we wanted a home to completely renovate to our tastes, but finding a fixer-upper at a good price also proved to be a challenge. I am happy to report that the right home came along and with a little luck and great timing, we were able to snag it at a great price. It will be a few months before we will be able to move in because of the renovations, but we hope to be in before Christmas. This is a HUGE project, and I know it will take time away from blogging & reading, BUT I know once everything is complete we will be very happy in our new home 🙂
Monday 7/17
Kids’ Corner: Diverse Middle Grade Books in Review (July 2017) #DiverseKidLit
Wednesday 7/19
Book Review: The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
Friday 7/21
Book Review: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
*Book titles link to Goodreads
Recently finished reading:
» This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
3.5 Stars
Feelings in a few thoughts: gorgeous writing as per expected with Schwab; what makes someone a “monster”?; liked how Kate was rough around the edges; a few YA tropes & clichés; didn’t connect to the story like I did with Schwab’s Shades of Magic series; definitely think this book is leaps and bounds above many of the YA books out there
» Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Feelings in a few thoughts: One of my top reads of 2017; completely mesmerized by this story; Lazlo Strange is my new book boyfriend; unique & fantastical; moral questions; what makes someone a hero? a monster?; NOT a fan of the insta-love but this was my only issue with the book; the ending! how will I wait for the second book?!
Currently reading:
» The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Status: 18%
» Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend
Status: 15% → pleasantly surprised thus far!
On deck:
» The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller
In this story for readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Man Called Ove, when all seems lost, he finds what matters most.
Walter Lavender Jr. is a master of finding. A wearer of high-tops. A maker of croissants. A son keeping vigil, twelve years counting.
But he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Silenced by his motor speech disorder, Walter’s life gets lonely. Fortunately, he has The Lavenders—his mother’s enchanted dessert shop, where marzipan dragons breathe actual fire. He also has a knack for tracking down any missing thing—except for his lost father.
So when the Book at the root of the bakery’s magic vanishes, Walter, accompanied by his overweight golden retriever, journeys through New York City to find it—along the way encountering an unforgettable cast of lost souls.
Steeped in nostalgic wonder, The Luster of Lost Things explores the depths of our capacity for kindness and our ability to heal. A lyrical meditation on why we become lost and how we are found, from the bright, broken heart of a boy who knows where to look for everyone but himself.
» Em @Keystroke Blog talks about reading slumps → The Dreaded Book Slump: Why they happen and how to beat them
» Chelsea @The Suspense is Thrilling Me announces a new online book club collaboration with Sam @Clues and Reviews called Suspenseful Clues and Thrilling Reviews! →Exciting Announcement!
» CW @ReadThinkPonder shares some book recs → Book Recs: SFF Books with LGBT Protagonists
» Fadwa @Word Wonders talks about content (trigger) warnings → Content Warnings are Necessary
» 10 Timeless Love Stories to Get Lost in This Summer
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
Have a wonderful week, and happy reading
cover2covermom.wordpress.com 
AHHHH this is such an amazing project with your new home, I’m excited for you. It will be so great to make this place entirely yours and I hope it will be tons of fun to put together for sure. Exhausting probably, but also I’m sure you’ll be proud of what you accomplished by December 😀 ❤
I'm so glad to hear you loved Strange The Dreamer! I haven't read that one yet but…everyone loves it so much, I should get to it someday soon 🙂
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Thank you!!! We finally get the keys next week, then demo begins! I am both excited & nervous for this little project lol I think I just need to keep in mind that there will be set backs, and not everything is going to go smoothly… Fingers crossed this won’t be a total disaster.
I really loved Strange the Dreamer! I loved the story, the characters, the writing…. so good! This is one of those cases where the hype is totally accurate 🙂
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OH I’m sure it won’t be a disaster! Of course, there’ll be little set backs here and there but I’m sure you’ll make everything work okay. It will be an awesome project for sure, and in the end, you’ll be so proud 🙂
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Congratulations on finding the right home! Best of luck with renovations and moving.
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Thank you! We get the keys next week, then demo begins! I am both excited and terrified lol
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I felt the exact same way about This Savage Song! I think maybe if I had read it before adsom I could have loved it more but it was just missing the magic that is adsom and the complexity of the characters. It’s still an amazing series it’s only when I compare it to adsom that it loses some of it’s hype for me.
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Whew! I thought people were going to throw rocks at me for that one lol Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good book, BUT it didn’t have the same “spark” that the Shades of Magic series did for me. I think I am going to stick to her adult books… Have you read Vicious?! If so, what did you think about that one?
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I really loved Vicious solid 4/5 and a great premise, all the character are anti heros and there’s no right in the story. I think you’ll enjoy it, it’s more sciencey – people giving themselves powers and abusing them then fantasy, maybe it’d be counted under urban si fi fantasy? Either way I think you’ll like it. A line from it actually inspired the Savage Song books so that’s pretty cool 🙂
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!! MAZEL TOV! My parents have been trying to find a new house in Worthington, Ohio and it’s been a nightmare for them. The housing market in the Ohio city-suburbs is just insane right now. I hope that you’ll give us updates on the blog as your family makes progress on this new home. I’m so excited for you all!!
Everyone has fallen in love with Strange the Dreamer! I feel like there is so much hype I need to leave it alone for now. I don’t want to over-hype it. I’m currently reading Janesville: An American Story following a handful of families in Janesville, WI as they cope with the closing of a General Motors plant and the recession coupled with the rise of Paul Ryan. As a Wisconsinite, this is really interesting. It’s also super accessible reading. That said, I can’t wait to jump into some adorable MG novels once this non-fiction is done. 🙂
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Thank you Jackie! The housing market in Ohio is CRAZY right now, which is good for my husband’s business, BUT not so much for people who are in the market to buy. We’ve been looking for over a year for a fixer upper where we live, which hasn’t been easy since it is a small town with very good schools, therefore a very desirable area. If a fixer upper did become available, it was typically too high of a price point for us to completely renovate it. Generally, homes here go on the market in the morning, and there will be multiple above asking offers by the afternoon… We got very lucky with this house. It happens to need more work than most people are willing to attempt. We get the keys next week, then demo begins! I am both excited and terrified at the same time lol
I really loved Strange the Dreamer… I think this is one of those books where it is definitely worth all the hype. I really do think you would like it Jackie, and hope you do give it a go in the future!
Ooooo Janesville: An American Story sounds fascinating, especially since it is about a city in the state you live in. Do you live close to Janesville?
Which MG books are you planning on reading next?!
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Wow– do you plan on doing a complete reno? Did you go into buying this house having an idea of what you want your end dream home to look like, or are you adjusting based on the bones you found?
I live about 45 minutes NW of Janesville. I have to drive through it every time I drive back to Columbus (at least three times a year). It’s also really fascinating to me since it covers the years 2008-2012. I moved to Madison in 2010 and I was involved in a lot of the issues discussed. Such as the governor recall and reelection, Obama and Romney’s stops on their election tour, and most memorably, the protests at the state Capitol building. I just finished the book last night and I have SO MANY THOUGHTS. I can’t wait to write my review. In fact, I’m prioritizing it up sooner on my list because of that. I am soooo far behind on my reviews.
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I don’t think any home we would have bought would have been our “perfect home” but this house had so many of our wants off our check list. Basically we live in a small ranch style house now with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. We were looking for a house first and foremost with a basement for the kids and a bigger master bedroom with a master bath & a walk in closet. Those were our “must haves” and this house has them! It is 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It also has a 3 seasons room and a great deck & big backyard. I wouldn’t consider this my “dream house’ only because the location isn’t exactly what we were looking for – it’s on a busier road – but we can’t have it all right?
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Exactly. It’s so hard to find everything we want. But, if you have a basement and a big backyard you won’t have to worry about the busier road and your children’s safety, I hope! This is a huge upgrade for you guys. I hope that the reno goes smoothly and cheaply. I feel like everything David and I want to improve something on the house is costs twice was much in the end, plus we went to Menards/Home Depot waaaay more often that we would have liked.
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Oh! Also– I have so many MG books on my list. Wonder by Palacio, The Egypt Game by Snyder, The Thief by Turner, When You Reach Me by Stead, Brown Girl Dreaming by Woodson… so many books, so little time.
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My son LOVED Wonder which is saying a lot since he is a reluctant reader. I read The Egypt Game when I was in grade school and remember loving it…. I should probably re-read it since its been 20 years ((wow I feel old now))
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The Egypt Game is a 1968 Newbery Honor book. It’s definitely on my TBR. I might have read it in grade-school, but I can’t recall. There are quite a few books like that. Particularly from the Newbery list! I’ve also recently learned that Wonder is being turned into a film soon– I should read it before the world spoils the book for me! 😉 Thanks for the recommendations.
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