Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To
January 23, 2024 By 65 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
There are a lot of them this week!
The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White
Holly by Stephen King
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldreee
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
If you’ve read any of these books, would you recommend them?
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 17, 2024
January 17, 2024 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: New Words I’ve Learned Recently and Their Meanings
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024
January 16, 2024 By 63 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I’m going to be repeating a few of my goals from last year and then adding in some new ones.
1. Whittle down my TBR list. Sometimes I swear they grow by themselves overnight!
2. Visit nearby physical branches of my local library more often. I’ve read that being a librarian can be a stressful job at times, so I’d like to give them some friendly in-person experiences if I can. Also, not every book is available in digital form, so borrowing some of those paper books would help with my TBR list for sure.
3. Play more literary or bookish games on my phone.
4. Read short stories regularly. I need a break from the long (but good) novels I read last autumn and at the beginning of this winter.
5. Read more cozy mysteries. I tend go in spurts with this genre, and it’s been a while since I last visited it.
6. Take reading breaks. I am not always good at this, but it’s refreshing to step away for a little while and do something else. Maybe the spring will be a good time to do it if there aren’t too many forest fires and the weather is decent then?
7. Take a break from the fantasy genre. I’m a longtime fan of it, but I think I need to read other genres for a while. I’m finding it too repetitive, but I think it’s because I’m so well-versed in what typically happens in this genre.
8. Visit indie bookstores. I miss them so much.
9. Find cool people on Bookstagram who talk about science fiction, ghost stories, psychological horror, or other similar things.
10. Run away and go live in the woods. Or at least that’s what I’ve been threatening to do in order to have more quiet reading time. 😀 Fellow introverts, how do you carve out time to read?
Suggestions for how to accomplish any or all of these goals are quite welcomed!
Book of the Year 2023
January 15, 2024 By 6 Comments
These books all won our Book of the Month in 2023.
Now they’re vying for the 2023 Book of the Year!
Poll runs from January 15 – January 21, 2023.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 10, 2024
January 10, 2024 By 4 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: A Celebrity I’d Like to Meet
Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2024
January 9, 2024 By 68 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I do not have any witty commentary for you all today. I’m simply feeling grateful for how many different options we all have when deciding what to read next.
Here are ten books I’m looking forward to checking out over the next several months.
1. Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké–Íyímídé
Why I’m Interested: I like romances that include a lot of other plot lines, too. This one sounds like it has plenty going on with the story!
2. In Utero by Chris Gooch
Release Date: January 23
Why I’m Interested: One word – aliens.
3. The Unquiet Bones by Loreth Anne White
Release Date: March 5
Why I’m Interested: There’s something to be said for digging up bones buried in the wrong place and hopefully solving the mystery of how that person died.
4. Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa
Release Date: April 9
Why I’m Interested: High school romances can be so much fun to read about.
5.Pretty Furious by E.K. Johnston
Release Date: April 16
Why I’m Interested: Do I advocate seeking revenge in real life? Of course not! Reading about fictional characters getting revenge sounds awesome, though.
6. Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhou
Release Date: May 7
Why I’m Interested: This sounds really scary, and maybe too scary for me to actually read. If I do find my courage, it will be interesting to see how the main character escapes from the house where she is trapped.
7. The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
Release Date: May 14
Why I’m Interested: The fairytale aesthetic. Imagine being cursed to never fall in love again! I mean, I know some people never fall in love even once in their lives and are perfectly happy that way, but it’s quite a different thought for those of us who have had that experience.
8. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
Release Date: May 21
Why I’m Interested: The attention-grabbing title. A society without murder sounds appealing, but I’ll bet the catch to living there is going to be a big one.
9.Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
Release Date: May 21
Why I’m Interested: This could be a nice refresher after some of the horror and other darker works on this list.
10.Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans by Sammy Lisel
Release Date: May 28
Why I’m Interested: It sounds interesting.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 3, 2024
January 3, 2024 By 1 Comment
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: Hobbies I Used to Enjoy
January Book of the Month Poll ~ Which book do you think is best based on the review?
December 31, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ The Day Before Tomorrow by Monique Britten
December 31, 2023 By 6 Comments
The Day Before Tomorrow by Monique Britten
Publisher: Tellwell Publishing
Genre: Historical Literary Fiction
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose
Juliette and George Morgan know all about Living the Good Life. As the town’s newest ‘it’ couple, they succeed in transforming the otherwise sleepy farming community of Rickshaw into a hotbed for musical talent and social enterprise. A poignant and beautifully layered tale, the Day Before Tomorrow is a portrayal of an era once removed, yet not forgotten – from the early to late seventies – with much of the story taking place within the Morgan family’s domestic locus and the community in which they live. Relationships become so intricately woven, adult and adolescent lines become blurred and an illicit connection between teacher and student builds into hidden, often disturbing scenes of love, secrets and human experience. When the Morgan’s future essentially falls down in mid-flight, the family is forced to cope with not only trauma, but coming of age and ultimately moving away from their safe haven of Rickshaw. An indictment of survival, shattered innocence, death, love and optimism, this tale is one that will transport your mind, speak to your heart and stay in both long after you have closed the cover.
