TBR: Books I'm Hoping to Read/Finish in 2017

Hello dear readers. After reading a few posts and challenges floating around the blogosphere, I've decided to put in writing my own little To Be Read list of books I'd really like to read/finish in 2017, which should help to reduce my TBR pile *ahem* room a bit... So without further ado, and in no particular order, the books I would like to read in 2017 are as follows:

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - I'm planning to do a read-with-me challenge through a website I stumbled across, which will go through the whole series, plus a biography if L.M. Montgomery, and watch movies/TV shows, over the course of the year. I am a pretty big fan of the Anne of Green Gables miniseries (starring Megan Follows), but recently realized that I've never actually read the books (*shock and awe*), so it is beyond time that I did! And it just so happens that I found the box set at the thrift store this fall for a whopping $1!
2. Flawed by Cecelia Ahern - There are so many OwlCrate books which will appear on this list after this, but this one is a definite must (April 2016)! I've been wanting to read it for a couple months, but my bestie and I were hoping to read it together and compare notes, but we haven't been at a point yet where we could both read it at the same time. Hopefully early January...
3. Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott - the second OwlCrate book I received (December 2015). I liked the other items in the box, but this book held absolutely no appeal to me. I'm still not that into it, but I'd like to try to read it before getting rid of it.
4. The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry - another OwlCrate book (February 2016). I've seen a few good reviews about this one, so I'm hoping it will be good.
5. Everland by Wendy Spinale - this is another OwlCrate book (May 2016) that I didn't have much interest in. It came in the Steampunk themed box, and I was kind of overall disappointed with the box's contents. The synopsis of the book is intriguing, I'm just a bit concerned that it will miss the mark.
6. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - this one came in the July 2016 OwlCrate Good vs. Evil box. I've heard really good things about this book and Victoria Schwab in general, so I kind of have high expectations for this book...
7. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West - I'm such a terrible person, but I absolutely judge books by their covers, and this one did not appeal to me in the slightest. The title and cover make it seem like the epitome of teenage high school romance, which I am very much over. But I will do my best to get through it before getting rid of it.
8. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - from the September 2016 OwlCrate box. It sounds like a good read, I just haven't got around to reading it yet, so hopefully next year!
9. Heartless by Marissa Meyer - from the November 2016 OwlCrate. I enjoyed the Lunar Chronicles, so I'm hoping this one lives up to Marissa's reputation. It's also a great synopsis, so... *fingers crossed*
10. Winter by Marissa Meyer - speaking of the Lunar Chronicles, I started reading this one in January 2016 and could not force myself through it. I'd like to give it another shot. Depending how I feel at the end of it will determine whether or not I will look for Fairest and Stars Above.
11. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - I ordered this one through Indigo early in the summer because I'd seen it around a bit, the cover intrigued me, and let's be honest, the outline? A floating bookshop with a bookseller who "prescribes" books to his clients? Sounds perfect!! It is nothing as I imagined and I've been picking away at it for months. I'd like to finish it and be done with it. I could just DNF it (Did Not Finish) but my momma didn't raise no quitter! Unless I really can't force my way through it and just hate it, then I may give in and quit.
12. The Ingenious Edgar Jones by Elizabeth Garner - This is another book that I started early in the year but wasn't all that into so I never ended up finishing it. I'd like to finally get through and move on. :)
13. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - Yet another book which I started this past year but didn't make it through. I want to read it simply because it is by J.K. Rowling, but I didn't like the writing all that much. I'm willing to give it a second chance, though.
14. United As One by Pittacus Lore - I finally picked up this final book of the Lorien Legacies (thank you, Indigo's Boxing Week sale), so I'm hoping to get through it next year as well, and finally put the series to rest. I haven't read the numerous complementary Lost Files, and don't really have any desire to at this point.
  

So anyway, wish me luck! I am planning to set a Goodreads goal of 40. I've read 29 so far this year (still need to double-check that there aren't a couple more I forgot to add), hopefully I will finish my current read in the next couple days. So I think that 40 is a reasonable and achievable goal (especially because I have achieved 52 in previous years, so I know I can do it!). Hopefully I will get caught up with 2016's reviews, and continue to review the books I read in 2017.

Edit: I did finish my book and therefore had a total of 30 books read in 2016. In the end, I decided to set my Goodreads goal at 35 for 2017. I will still aim for 40, but this gives me more wiggle room for those weeks and months where I don't feel like (or have time for) reading.

Unboxing: November 2016 "Wonderland" OwlCrate

Whoops! I just came across this post and realized I never published it! I guess I was waiting to try to get some good pictures of the individual items. But seeing as I am now anticipating the December box and will be posting an unboxing of that soon enough, I thought I had better go ahead and publish this one! If you'd like to see photos of the individual items, just let me know!

Hey guys! I'm so excited to share this unboxing with you, it's one of my fave OwlCrate boxes so far! First off, the back story. I've been subscribed to OwlCrate for about a year now (have skipped a couple months). In September they started doing a Five Day Photo Challenge on Facebook and Instagram. A winner was chosen on each site, for each photo prompt, and the prizes were a free month's subscription, so that means ten free boxes! I participated in the September challenge and won (woot!), and decided to get my November box free since I wanted it anyway, and had already paid for the October box!

So, now that we know where the box came from, I have got to say that I love Alice in Wonderland, although, admittedly, I have never read the books (shame on me, I know!). The quirky characters, the dream-world, the magic, it all appeals to me, so I was very much anticipating this box, and I am pretty happy with it!

The hints we were given was that there was an exclusive tea blend from Riddle's Tea Shoppe, and an item from Authored Adornments, and everything is inspired by, obviously, Alice in Wonderland. Squeee! Now, let's see what's inside...

The first thing I saw upon opening the box, of course, was the reveal postcard, which I always set aside 'til later. Next I could see the tea tin. I obviously knew there would be tea in the box, and I don't like tea, so I knew I wasn't going to like that item. Last December there was tea from the same company and the smell was so strong and perfume-y I could hardly stand to have the unsealed tin in my room, and wouldn't dream of drinking the stuff, so I was pretty leery about this box for that reason... However, the tea actually smells quite pleasant and I may even be tempted to try it (but I know I won't like it, so why waste it? I'd like to sell it or give it away, but I really want to keep the tin...).

The next item was actually attached to the tea tin, which I didn't realize until I had finished unpacking the rest of the contents. It is a really cool Alice inspired magnet from Evie Bookish, which has the Cheshire cat's quote "Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." I love the art, and the quote, so I was really happy with that.

Next I found the clip bookmark from Authored Adornments, which has an Alice quote as well. I don't know if they're all the same or not, but mine quotes the part where Alice famously exclaims "Curiouser and curiouser!" :) It's beautiful, but I don't honestly use clip bookmarks. I find them a bit too bulky and top-heavy to be practical, but it really is beautiful. So I'm not sure what I'll do with it, other than perhaps use it as a photo prop...

Next I found the collectible pin which matches the reveal postcard, depicting Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I really love these collectible pins, but I still haven't found a use for them yet.

By now I had pulled the paper squiggles out to reveal the most beautiful and playful (exclusive) cover I've ever seen of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and matching bookmark, from Rock Paper Books. It's gorgeous! I'm fairly certain I have a copy of this book somewhere, but I don't know where so I can't say for certain. So I am super stoked to have a copy, and this one is just beautiful!

And, last but not least, the featured book was Heartless by Marissa Meyer, with another exclusive cover! I was pretty excited about this mostly because I have only recognized one other author that's been featured in the OwlCrate boxes, and so this is only the second book that I would have actually gone out and bought for myself. And I didn't realize that Heartless is a sort of retelling of Alice in Wonderland, in the sense that it's the story of how the Queen of Hearts became the person Alice met. (I wonder if it will be anything like the snippet of her story we got from last year's movie Alice Through the Looking Glass?)

I can't say which item is my favourite, I really love them all.

Bib-li-o-phile Friday: Holiday Wish List

I've been participating on and off in a few weekly memes. Bib-li-o-phile Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Aurora & Louise on Goodreads, and today's theme is Holiday Wish List. We are to pick out five books we hope to get this year for Christmas, or plan on buying for ourselves. I'll try to avoid books I've mentioned in previous posts as much as possible. This was the list I gave my mom a few weeks back(as always, in no particular order):

1. The Thousandth Floor - Katharine McGee
2. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows - Alan Bradley
3. Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
4. Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
5. The Magician's Lie - Greer Macallister

I know which one she bought, because she used my Indigo.ca account to buy it so that I would also accumulate points. So, no surprises, but I get a book I wanted and points to someday buy another book, so that's ok. I will leave it at that for now, instead of writing a description about one of these, and wait to gush about the one I got after Christmas. ;)

Top Ten Tuesday: Things I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

This week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) is all about what we want to see under the tree this Christmas! The prompt was "Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree (or non-book bookworm items)" and so I will be going halfsies and doing 5 of each.

5 Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

1. The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee - Because I've heard good things about it.
2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst - Because the cover... and it sounds really awesome. :)
3. I am Half-sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley - I've read the first two books of the Flavia de Luce series, and own the third, so having the next one (or two) would be great!
4. Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin - Because it sounds so awesome! I've seen it floating around Facebook and Instagram and I'm just so intrigued.
5. Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs - I haven't read Miss Peregrine's yet, and I don't know if you would have to have read them first to read this one, but I just like the idea of the short stories.

5 Non-book Bookish Items

1. Library card socks from Out of Print - So fun! Available in grey, yellow, and blue.
2. Magnetic bookmarks from Happy Hello on Etsy - There are way too many cute designs to choose from! I love the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beast themed ones, and I think I saw an Anne of Green Gables one as well!
3. Jewelry from Authored Adornments on Etsy - Her necklace pendants are particularly gorgeous, and she has a Sherlock ring. *thumbs up* I like all the Alice in Wonderland goodies.
4. Harry Potter Monopoly! Because how fun would that be?? Unfortunately there is no official game, only fan recreated ones. I wish I had more local bookish friends to have game nights and Harry Potter parties with which would warrant me making my own...
5. Customized bookplates or stamps from Etsy - There are tons on Etsy and they are so fun! I love the idea, but don't actually like writing/sticking things in books, so I'm not sure I'd actually use them...

Book Review: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

Hello again reader(s). It's been a long time coming, but finally, another book review for you (and me)! :) Today I will be reviewing The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. I bought this book from Indigo-Chapters this past year. I picked it out because it sounded a lot like The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which I really enjoyed. I kind of get a kick out of stories about older people discovering themselves late in life, taking adventures, having fun. It inspires me and gives me hope for my future. ;)



An eccentric yet absolutely lovable widower embarks on a life-changing journey to undercover the secrets his wife left behind, in this poignant and curiously charming novel.
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden.

But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met—a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.

Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a joyous celebration of life’s infinite possibilities.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a fun and adventurous read. It's about self discovery and learning to enjoy life. Arthur lives for routine. He has had the same daily routine for years, with only a few slight alterations over the last year since his wife, Miriam, passed away. On the anniversary of her death, he decides to do a little tidying up and get rid of some of Miriam's things which he wasn't ready to part with previously. In rummaging through her closet he discovers a box with a charm bracelet inside. It doesn't look like anything Miriam would have worn, the charms mean nothing to him, and yet who else could it have belonged to? Thus begins Arthur's journey.

One of the charms is an elephant with an emerald on it's back, with an international phone number engraved on the back. Curiosity gets the better of Arthur and he decides to call the number, regardless of what it might cost, to see if he might find some answers to this unfamiliar piece of jewelry. The number belongs to a home in India, and he speaks to a gentleman who did, indeed, know Miriam in the past, before she met and married Arthur. They have a very interesting conversation and the man extends an invitation to Arthur to come visit any time. Arthur, still in shock to have discovered that Miriam had a secret former life, now begins to look into the other charms and what they could mean.

Miriam and her charms lead him on a journey around the world, making new friends, breaking his routines and habits, learning new things, and discovering a whole new world. In the process, he learns things about Miriam he wishes he hadn't known and probably the reason she hid her past from him. He also mends his relationships with his children and neighbours, and becomes a completely different person.

It's a really heart-warming and inspiring story. I hope to lead the kind of life that Miriam led in her youth which will inspire someone else to change their way of life and discover a new world. Not the secrecy and "bad" things, but just the adventures, of course. :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Looking Forward To For The First Half Of 2017

Hello Reader(s)! So, I'm really not the type of person who looks up upcoming book releases. I just hear about books through friends, see things online and in stores, and read about books online (whether they be new releases or not). So I can't honestly say that I knew about any of these books before doing some research specifically for this post, but they do honestly sound like amazing reads. I won't be lining up at the door to buy them when they are released, but someday I'd like to read them.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday meme, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is "Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to For the First Half of 2017." Enjoy!

1. Caraval by Stephanie Garber - expected publication: January 2017. The cover is fantastic, and this line alone in the blurb on Goodreads is enough for me "Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game." It sounds like it might be a perfect magical mix of The Night Circus, The Hunger Games, and the Lunar Chronicles.

2. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones - expected publication: February 2017. This sounds quite intriguing. Possibly a Beauty and the Beast retelling? Not sure. If it isn't meant to be a retelling, it seems like it could be considered one.

3. Hunted by Meagan Spooner - expected publication: March 2017. This one is actually a Beauty & the Beast retelling, so that should be good. And, again, the cover is gorgeous. :)

4. By Your Side by Kasie West - expected publication: Jnauary 2017. This just looks like a cute YA romance. I feel like I may have read other books by Kasie West, but I'm not sure...

5. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller - expected publication: February 2017. A romance about pirates! Sounds like a good time!

6. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - expected publication: January 2017. This blurb on Goodreads says it's for readers who loved The Night Circus. You know that The Night Circus is one of my all-time favourite books, right? So anything advertised as being similar to that is going to be on my radar! It's also a retelling of Vasilisa from Russian folklore, which Vassa in the Night also was, and I enjoyed that as well. So it should be good!

7. Gem & Dixie by Sara Zarr - expected publication: April 2017. A story about sisters from a dysfunctional family... I like it.

8. The Elementalist by V.V. Mont - expected publication: June 2017. Someone who can control the elements, and gets exiled for being a freak... yeah, I could get into that.

9. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth - expected publication: January 2017. I love Veronica Roth's Divergent series, so I'll be all over this first book in her new duology, yes I will.

10. Wait For Me by Caroline Leech - expected publication: January 2017. Just another sweet YA romance, but this one is historical. Basically sounds like a tragic war-time love story. I could get into that. I bawled my eyes out watching Cold Mountain (Civil War; but still, tragic love story set in a war).

Book Review: After You - Jojo Moyes

**SPOILER ALERT**

Do not read if you have not yet read Me Before You!

 

 

Earlier this year I read Me Before You, the prequel to this book, about our main character, Louisa Clark, who becomes the caregiver for a quadriplegic man, Will Traynor, and their tragic love story. I enjoyed that story. Tears were shed, frustrations abounded, twists appeared to add a bit of hope to an otherwise depressingly predictable ending... And now comes After You, a continuation of Lou's story, one year later.

 

The book starts off dramatically enough, with Lou being terribly depressed after the events of the last year, stuck in a horrible dead-end job, and then she falls off the roof of her apartment building. Of course, one's immediate reaction would be to wonder if Lou will also end up a quadriplegic, like Will, and history will repeat itself. Amazingly, she survives the fall with minimal injuries. After spending some weeks/months back at home with her family while she recovers, she goes back to her London flat, promising her father that she will attend grief counseling.

 

The story at that point slows down and tends to drag on a bit. A new character comes into the picture, a 16 year old girl called Lily Houghton-Miller, who claims to be Will's estranged daughter. Louisa takes it upon herself to take the girl in, helping her meet & be accepted by her new family, etc. Lily brings a lot of stress and upset to Louisa's life, to the point where Louisa can take no more, which leads to more drama and a somewhat intense search.

 

There is, of course, a new love interest for Louisa, and near the end of the book, trauma strikes again, adding more action & intensity, and did cause some tears to be shed.

 

The last few chapters I personally found to be a bit choppy and confusing. Honestly, that was probably the point, but it felt a bit unnatural compared to the rest of the story.

 

The book could most certainly be read as a stand-alone novel. There is enough of the previous book mentioned to know what has happened and not necessarily need to have read it first. I enjoyed how certain issues were resolved in this book that were left "hanging" in Me Before You, such as Lou's relationship with her family.

 

As seems to be Jojo Moyes writing style, there were several small twists thrown in, which were just enough to make you think that the somewhat predictable ending will be different than you thought... but turns out to be exactly what you thought. However, she always manages to make you feel hopeful and satisfied in the end.

I enjoyed this book a lot, possibly more than the first (not quite so sad), and would definitely recommend it.

Bib-li-o-phile Friday: 5 disabled character

Hi! I'm really loving, but not really succeeding in participating in, all these great weekly memes! Anyway... Apparently December 2nd was National (U.S.) Special Education Day, so last week's Bib-li-o-phile Friday (hosted by Whoo Gives a Hoot and Foxes and Fairy Tales), which I missed!, was to list five books featuring characters with disabilities, and give a more in-depth description or overview of one of them. I have to admit that this was a bit of a challenge for me... But the goal was to find books that feature disabled characters, so that means they don't have to be the main character, right? And it says characters with disabilities, which could be physical as well as mental, right? That's what I'm going with, to make this easier. ;) Ok, here goes...

1. The Girls by Lori Lansens
This book is about a set of conjoined twins, Rose and Ruby, joined at the head. Rose has a perfect and healthy body, but her face is disfigured where they are connected. Ruby has a beautiful face, but a small and sickly body, which her sister has to carry on her hip.

2. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
First off, the title of this book is extremely misleading. The disabled character in this story is Phoebe, who has Down's Syndrome. Her biological father, who delivered her, had his nurse take her away when he realized her disability, and told his wife the child had died. The nurse couldn't bear the thought of leaving the baby at the orphanage/disabled home, so she ran away with her and raised her as her own.

3. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
This story is about main character Alice, and her journey through the discovery and progression of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. It is incredibly touching and scary (realism), and by all accounts I've read, quite an accurate description of the early stages of Alzheimer's.

4. The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
The story is about two patients at an institution called the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded; Lynnie, who has developmental disabilities, and Homan, a deaf African-American man. They fall in love, Lynnie becomes pregnant, and they run away together to start their family. Plans don't work out quite the way they would have liked (Homan on the run and Lynnie back in the institution), but the baby is born in secret and raised outside of the institution.

5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
The main character, Christopher, is Autistic. He believes his neighbour's dog was murdered, and sets out to solve the mystery using the tactics of his favourite detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Feature: The Girls by Lori Lansens

“We’ve been called many things: freaks, horrors, monsters, devils, witches, retards, wonders, marvels. To most, we’re a curiosity. In small-town Leaford, where we live and work, we’re just ‘The Girls.’” 

Rose and Ruby Darlen are closer than most twin sisters. Indeed, they have spent their twenty-nine years on earth joined at the head. Given that they share a web of essential veins, there is no possibility that they can be separated in their lifetime. 

Born in a small town in the midst of a tornado, the sisters are abandoned by their frightened teenaged mother and create a circus-like stir in the medical community. The attending nurse, however, sees their true beauty and decides to adopt them. Aunt Lovey is a warm-hearted, no-nonsense woman married to a gentle immigrant butcher, Uncle Stash. The middle-aged couple moves to a farm where the girls – “not hidden but unseen” – can live as normal a life as possible. 

For identical twins, Rose and Ruby are remarkably different both on the inside and out. Ruby has a beautiful face whereas Rose’s features are, in her own words, “misshapen and frankly grotesque.” And whereas Rose’s body is fully formed, Ruby’s bottom half is dwarfish – with her tiny thighs resting on Rose’s hip, she must be carried around like a small child or doll. The differences in their tastes are no less distinct. A poet and avid reader, Rose is also huge sports fan. Ruby, on the other hand, would sooner watch television than crack open a book – that is, anything but sports. They are rarely ready for bed at the same time and whereas Rose loves spicy food, Ruby has a “disturbing fondness for eggs.”  

On the eve of their thirtieth birthday, Rose sets out to write her autobiography. But because their lives have been so closely shared, Ruby insists on contributing the occasional chapter. And so, as Rose types away on her laptop, the technophobic Ruby scribbles longhand on a yellow legal pad. They’ve established one rule for their co-writing venture: neither is allowed to see what the other has written. Together, they tell the story of their lives as the world’s oldest surviving craniopagus twins – the literary Rose and straight-talking Ruby often seeing the same event in wildly different ways. Despite their extreme medical condition, the sisters express emotional truths that every reader will identify with: on losing a loved one, the hard lessons of compromise, the first stirrings of sexual desire, the pain of abandonment, and the transcendent power of love. 

Rose and Ruby Darlen of Baldoon County, Ontario, are two of the most extraordinary and unforgettable characters to spring into our literature. As Kirkus Reviews puts it, “The novel's power lies in the wonderful narrative voices of Rose and Ruby. Lansens has created a richly nuanced, totally believable sibling relationship... An unsentimental, heartwarming page-turner.” The National Post writes: “Lansens’s beautiful writing is so detailed that it is often easy to forget that the material is not based on a true story. She captures what it would be like never to sleep, bathe, go for a walk, or meet friends on your own.”

It's been a really long time since I read this book, a couple of years, and I'm not exactly sure where the book is at the moment (probably in a bin in the attic...), so the best I can do is paste the above synopsis from Indigo.ca and try my best to remember anything else I can... Which isn't much. You will remember that one of my main reasons for starting this blog was as a means for me to remember which books I've read, so... if it isn't already blogged here, there's a good chance I don't remember much about it.

I don't even honestly remember where I got this book from. I feel like it was a gift, but I can't remember who from, or what the occasion was... It was either a gift, or I picked it up (new) at my local new & used bookshop Black Cat Books, simply because it sounded interesting and the cover was pretty - this is often the way it goes with me and books. I do occasionally read books based on the recommendations of others, but for the most part I just pick up books that look & sound interesting and I buy them. *shrug*

I do remember that this story helped feed my fascination with twins and, in particular, identical twins. I don't have any particular fascination with conjoined twins, but it's always interesting just the same. I love how that identical twins have this super close bond that nobody else can really understand. How they can know what the other is thinking, finish their sentences, feel what they feel. It's amazing. Of course, conjoined twins is a completely different story, but still.

I don't remember everything that happened (aside from arguments and falling in love and heartbreak), but my overall feeling after reading it was good. It's written from the points of view of both girls, which is always fun. Reading about the same experience from two different points of view is always enlightening. Everyone remembers events differently, especially depending on how they felt during the event.

Even though I can't remember everything that happened in the book, I would recommend it. :)

Hello Again Thursday (Hello December!)

Hey guys, I just thought I'd follow up on last week's non-bookish post about my craft sale preparations...

The sale took place on Saturday, November 26th. It was a nice day: not too cold, a bit of rain & overcast, but no storm. The location was easy to find and seemed to have been advertised locally, so I was still optimistic, right up until 11am. When I found my table, I realized that the tables were packed way too close together. It made for awkward set up, and an even more awkward day as we tried not to bump into the other artisans beside and behind us. That wouldn't have been too bad, but I was also upstairs. I heard from some shoppers that it was the first time they had used this upstairs space for artisans for this event, so I feel like it's possible that people didn't even come up. There were shoppers, but not as many as I would have expected. Artisans were wandering around as well, so it was really hard to tell the shoppers from the organizers and artisans.

In the end, it was a long day. Not a bad day, but a long day. I shared the table with my mom (she had homemade Christmas cards for sale), and I think between both of us we sold around $60 worth of merchandise. It's not bad, but I have done much better at the sale I usually go to.

So, feeling a bit discouraged at the end of the day, I posted the leftover ornaments to my Facebook page, and sold another dozen right off - go figure! I still have some left, if ever anyone is interested. :)

Thanks for listening!