Hello bookworms!
It feels so great to type those words. You cannot imagine how tough it has been on me these past few weeks to be on a blogging hiatus…
How about a little update?
In case you missed it, earlier this month I announced that I would be on a blogging hiatus for the unforeseeable future. You can read the original post here → Weekly Wrap-Up: 7/31 – 8/6/17 + Blogging Hiatus. Basically the gist of the situation is that we bought a new home that needs a complete renovation, so I am very overwhelmed with the new house remolding AND getting our current home ready to put on the market. Let’s just say I am in bed by 9pm these days 🙂
For those interested in where we are in the renovation process (if not you should skip this paragraph lol), the house has been completely gutted inside and out. Currently we are working on the “rough-in” process with the electric & plumbing. Next week we hope to get started with drywall. We decided on a new kitchen layout/design (such a pain in the ass) and have our kitchen cabinets ordered. We also finalized all of our flooring this week. I met with our paint rep to decide interior & exterior paint colors this week as well. Slowly everything is starting to come together 🙂 As far as our current house goes, I’ve been purging our home of all nonessential possessions. You never realize how much crap you’ve been hoarding until its time to move. We also have painted the main living areas (living room, kitchen, dinning room, and bathroom) a more neutral color. Whew!
Despite this crazy project we have begun, it hasn’t really slowed down my reading. I owe this all to audiobooks! They really have saved my sanity over these past few weeks of painting, decluttering, packing, making renovation decisions, etc. etc. HOWEVER this past month without blogging has been much harder on me than I ever imagined. I have decided that I simply cannot go another month without blogging. That’s right my friends, I will be back in September! If this means posting only once or twice a week, then so be it. I will also be back to blog hopping as much as I can. I cannot wait to play a little catch up this weekend and see what all my blogger friends have been up to while I’ve been gone 🙂
Oh yeah. I almost forgot, this happened while on my hiatus…
I hit 500 WordPress followers on Cover2CoverMom! Thank you to everyone who has hit that follow button.
*Book titles link to Goodreads
» The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller
Feelings in a few thoughts: magic realism ¤ journey where MC discovers their inner strength ¤ MC with motor speech disorder ¤ recommend to food lovers, dog lovers, and NY lovers ¤ heartwarming & sweet read ¤ struggled a bit with some of the magical realism elements at first – this was probably more because I didn’t read the book description prior to reading the book
» The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Feelings in a few thoughts: WWII Poland under German occupation ¤ loved learning about Jan and Antonina Zabinski & how the helped save hundreds of lives ¤ interesting perspective of life living at a zoo ¤ would recommend to animal lovers ¤ felt like the author went off on tangents ¤ wonderfully narrated audiobook ¤ not sure I would have gotten through it in print form – my mind wandered a bit during the “tangents”
» The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
Feelings in a few thoughts: short story ¤ fairytale retelling – Snow White/Sleeping Beauty mash up ¤ Zombies? ¤ LOVED the twist! ¤ short & sweet book to read between books ¤ audiobook well done with full cast
» The Ship Beyond Time (The Girl From Everywhere #2) by Heidi Heilig
Feelings in a few thoughts: I still love this unique concept: time travel through maps ¤ loved seeing Kash’s POV ¤ really like the history & mythology woven throughout ¤ Slate felt off ¤ wanted a little more world building in regards to the mythical utopia ¤ despite some of my other issues, I still love this book & this series
» Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
Feelings in a few thoughts: this book takes the award for “most f***ed up book” I’ve read this year ¤ lots of triggering content ¤ many aspects were a little too farfetched ¤ great pacing – a real page turner ¤ not for the faint of heart ¤ audiobook well narrated
» The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin
Feelings in a few thoughts: had a hard time wrapping my mind around this world at first, I was often confused about what was going on in the first half of the book ¤ I’ve never read a POV in 2nd person before ¤ slower paced novel ¤ this book captured my attention in the second half ¤ the way the author weaves this tale is very clever ¤ very unique concept – fresh take on post apocalyptic fiction ¤ will continue on with series
» Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
Feelings in a few thoughts: #DiverseKidLit: Muslim main character ¤ beautiful middle grade book ¤ tackles some heavy topics in a very appropriate way ¤ adored the themes: friendship, community, faith, and self discovery ¤ really enjoyed learning more about Muslim culture & customs ¤ adored how the author brought different religions together in this book – religious tones uplifting and not preachy ¤ I feel like most children will be able to relate to Amina in one way or another ¤ wonderful book for the classroom setting
» Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Green Gables #4) by L.M. Montgomery
Feelings in a few thoughts: my least favorite Anne of Green Gables book thus far ¤ beloved characters absent from this book almost completely (Marilla, Diana, etc. etc.) ¤ format felt off – changing from letters from Anne to Gilbert to 3rd person ¤ too much “fluff” and not enough “meat” to the plotline
» The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Feelings in a few thoughts: despite the title, this book is not only about Ava Lavender, but also about those she descends from – we don’t meet Ava until much later in the book ¤ magic realism ¤ “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows” portion of the title is spot on – there is definitely something strange and beautiful about this book ¤ definitely not a light hearted read – this book is filled with tragedy ¤ contains triggering content ¤ I cannot put my finger on what it was about this book, but it has a very whimsical feel that entranced me
I am already above the number of total books I read in 2016 (82 books), and will hit my 2017 reading goal of 90 books in September most likely. Will 2017 be the year I break 100 books read in one year?
Since I was on hiatus this month, I obviously didn’t get much up on the blog.
Kids’ Corner: Story Writing Activity for Kids Via Education.Com
eBooks:
» The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni #1) by Helene Wecker
» A Thousand Pieces of You by (Firebird #1) by Claudia Gray
» The Thousandth Floor (The Thousandth Floor #1) by Katharine McGee
Because I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had the time to buy many books this month! My wallet & bookshelves are thankful for this 🙂
Which books did you read this month?
Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month? If so, what did you think?
Did you buy any books? If so, which ones?
Comment below and let me know 🙂
cover2covermom.wordpress.com 
Glad you will be back! The are many weeks when I only post one review per week, and no one complains! Think about what takes you a long time to do and ease up on that (unless it bring you great joy). I quit doing the top ten posts, for example, years ago because it took forever to think of content, write them, and find images. Your cover if Anne is the most gorgeous I’ve seen! No fears; book 5 is amazing.
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Good to be back! I will be “taking it easy” around here for a while, but I’ll be around as much as I can be. I am so relieved to hear you say book 5 is amazing! I think this should be the book Anne gets married correct? Eek! I am ready for an Anne wedding 🙂
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Her wedding is super fast, but then you get right to setting up house!
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I completely agree with you about a the Zookeepers Wife! The author went on way too many tangents and I feel like she lost sight of what the story was about!
Congrats on 500 followers! That’s amazing!
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I actually was not aware it was a nonfiction book before beginning 😦 I would have much rather preferred a fictionalized account of this story…. I do think the author did a great job of conveying the emotion of the story, but the tangents messed up the reading flow. Have you seen the movie yet? I really need to watch that next.
Thank you!
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How exciting with the new house! I have missed a lot during my month long break. Sounds like you are making progress though. Maybe some pics in the future 😉 The Spindle and the Sleeper was a great read. I may have to pick up audio since you mentioned it boasts a full cast!
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At least you didn’t miss much around my blog because I was on hiatus too lol Yes, I will have some progress pictures at some point. I really need to take some before pictures before drywall starts!
Yes, The Spindle and the Sleeper was an excellent audiobook! Loved the narrating cast! I love when NG narrates his own work, but they selected excellent narrators in his stead.
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I have heard he narrates a lot of his audio editions. I have yet to score one. I need to look into picking up a title. Any recs?
Will be excited to see the house pics! Looks like August was a busy month for both of us 😉
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Congratulations on 500 followers and your new home!! 🎉 I hope all goes well with your renovation and selling of your old home.
Best of luck in September!
-Ashley
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Thank you so much Ashley! Slowly things are starting to come together with both houses. I keep reminding myself that this will all be worth it in the end. By the end of the year we should be completely settled in our new home. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!
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Congrats to such a milestone!!! And how exciting your life must be at the moment. Even though it brings a lot of work, a remodel also brings a new start and a chance to implement your own dreams. I’m such a Pinterest whore, I could spend hours finding ideas for a dream home, kitchen, bathroom. And I’m astonished by the amount of books you were able to read!! Go girl!!!
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Thank you so much! Yes, I’ve spent far too much time on pinterest getting ideas on how to decorate our new home. I am going for a modern farmhouse look, so there is a plethora of ideas. Let’s hope I don’t bite off more than I can chew with décor lol
Many of the books I read were in audiobook format, as I was able to get things done while I read. They were a life savor this month!
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Wow – I love how modern farmhouses look sounds – very envious right now.:D Happy remodeling and reading!!
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Glad to see you back here – and wow, you managed to read tons of books despite being busy with the new home and everything! I agree, you don’t realize how much crap you have until you move, speaking from experience ahah. Hope everything will go smoothly! ❤
Congratulations on 500 followers, Amanda! This is SO GREAT and obviously so well deserved just as well, you're such a dedicated blogger, always thoughtful and I love reading your blog posts. ❤
I'm glad you loved The Ship Beyond Time! I read the first book in the series and enjoyed it, I think I will continue with this one then, given that you loved it! 🙂
Amina's voice sounds so great. I really want to read that one. ❤
Hope you'll have a great September, Amanda! Sending you love xxx
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Thank you so much Marie! I did mange to read a lot despite my crazy life. I owe it all to audiobooks! They were a life savor this month. I also read a few print books because by the end of the day, I was too exhausted to do much except read a few chapters and go to bed lol
Thank you! What a way to return from hiatus! With the notification that I hit 500 followers. It was a pleasant surprise 🙂
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I can imagine…but there no better way to end a long, exhausting day ❤
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Welcome baaaaaaaaack!!! It’s so great to “hear” your lovely voice again. The blogosphere has not been the same without you. I kid you not.
CONGRATS on 500 followers! Wow! That’s a huge deal. AND you did it without writing a single post. #Slay You are on fire! I’m glad that you guys have made great progress on the house, but it’s important to recognize what brings you joy and make time for it. Now you can be there for that slew of new followers! 😉
I adore audiobooks. I’m so glad that they helped you keep reading! How do you elect to consume your audiobooks? And how did you end up choosing the ones you chose? They can be a very personal form of reading– I’d love to know which ones you really connected to due to the audiobook format.
I listened to the audiobook version of The Sleeper and the Spindle last February and I adore it. Because, as we all know, ❤ Gaiman. I also obviously read Anne of Windy Poplars as you saw. I’m glad we’re on a similar page there. And I also read The Fifth Season recently– I ADORE NK Jemisin’s work. I will be reading the final two books the next two months for a buddy read, too. I am super excited to find out how it ends.
Both The Golem and the Jinni and The Ship Beyond Time are on my TBR. I can’t wait to read both! What inspired you to pick up your haul books?
Whew! That was a lot. I obviously missed you. 😉
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OKAY SO LIKE YOU’RE GOING TO READ A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU LIKE NOW? YES? GOOD.
Duude congrats on the 500!!! *readies confetti canons* Also wow to your reading progress for this year! I’m sitting at 23 books read which makes my heart momentarily stop every time I see it. I’m never disappearing for 6 months again – TWENTY THREE BOOKS MY ARSE. Ahem.
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Congrats on 500 followers!
Glad you’re back!
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