Saturday, April 2, 2016

March Wrap-Up


I am linking up to both the Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer and the Sunday Post @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

Well last month I was feeling kind of blah and this month wasn't really that different. I have had very little motivation. I even wrote a discussion post about it. But here's the weird thing: I swear that ten minutes after I published that post, I got a sudden burst of energy and proceeded to write three more posts and catch up on some blog comments. Maybe writing about it helped. I don't want to jinx it though so we will see what happens.

My husband and I went to Geneva, Switzerland for a short weekend. Geneva is an expensive city, but we both loved it. The food was amazing and I loved the scenery. We also took a day trip to Chamonix, France and went to the top of the mountain there for some stunning views of the French Alps. It is so hard to capture the beauty in pictures, but we tried. 

Here are a few:
In terms of reading, I had a much better month than last month. The quantity was about the same, but the quality was so much better. I didn't really feel like doing anything but reading and I managed to make quite the dent in my TBR. And I read so many amazing books. There were only a few that I didn't care for.

I read 22 books this month (plus a couple of unpublished manuscripts that I beta read for people):
Favorite book read this month:

So hard to choose! I read a lot of really amazing books this month. Naturally, I refuse to limit my best of the month to just one.
Most disappointing book read this month:

Sigh. I would like to say that I was expecting better things from Crippled America, but I wasn't. I don't talk a lot about politics and I won't start now. I won't mention who I support or who I voted for in the primaries. But I will say that I am not a Trump supporter. I got the book for free and decided to give it a shot. If you're interested, you can read my full review on Goodreads. Oh, and South of Sunshine freaking made me angry so I had to include it too.
Reviews Posted:

Finding Hope by Colleen Nelson
The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith
South of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
Nora and Kettle (Paper Stars #1) by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Alight (The Generations Trilogy #2) by Scott Sigler
Paperweight by Meg Haston
An ARC Review Catch-Up Post where I review Don't Get Caught, Every Heart A Doorway, Dear Nobody, and My Kind of Crazy

Top Ten Tuesday Posts:

Anyone In Need Of A Good Cry? 
Favorite Characters
Spring TBR
Best Books I Never Reviewed

Other Posts:

I created the Gilmore Girls Book Tag!
Discussion: The 5 Stages of ARC Rejection Grief
Discussion: Does a movie trailer make you want to read the book?
Discussion: Lack of Motivation


How was your month? What was your favorite book that you read this month? Have you read any of my favorites? If not, DO IT NOW!!

16 comments :

  1. Oh those pictures and all your traveling make me jealous!! The pictures are beautiful. Looks like a great reading month. And so happy you loved Bright Side!!!

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    1. Thanks so much Grace! So happy that you introduced me to it. I need to read the second one soon.

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  2. Great month for you, I'm impressed! I also loved your discussions! I still need to read Bright Side, I've heard nothing but amazing things!!

    My March Recap

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    1. Thanks so much Eva! Bright Side was so good. Be prepared for all the feels!

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  3. Your mountain photos are breathtaking!! So lucky!!
    Happy April!

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    1. Thanks! I certainly count my blessings every single day. :)

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  4. I love how you European people just have "weekends away" to another country. I AM SO JEALOUS. Australia is way too far away from anything :')

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    1. Loony Literate, oh that must be so frustrating! My favorite thing about Europe is that the travel possibilities are endless! I do need to visit Australia one day though. :)

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  5. Lucky you! You can travel to France or Switzerland at a moment's notice!

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/04/what-is-it-about-this-book-ten-reasons.html

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    1. Deb, oh yes I am very lucky that way! I love all the travel possibilities that come from living in Italy. :)

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  6. Oh wow. Switzerland! I would love to go there in my lifetime. Sigh. As for Trump, would I knowingly stick my fingers in a live socket? Not really, but you're brave! Lol.

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    1. Joy, Switzerland was pretty amazing. And so stunning! Yeah, I am still surprised I actually read the Trump book. I was kind of hoping there would be more substance than what he says to the media. Nope, not so much. Oh well. The more you know, right?

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  7. Gorgeous photos, Cynthia! I love how easy it is to travel without Europe (once you're already there). When my husband and I were in Germany last year we arranged as many day trips as possible and it's amazing how many places can be visited just a couple hours away. I just picked up The Way I Used To Be from the library over the weekend so I'm hoping to get to that one very soon. And Bright Side - it's been high on my TBR for ages. I really need to get to it soon! Everyone raves about it!

    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

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    1. Thanks Tanya! I love that too for sure! Ahhh, I just know you will enjoy The way I used to be and Bright Side. But here's a tip: keep the tissues handy. You will need them!

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  8. First off, I'm glad your slump seems to be letting up - hope it continues! I had to laugh when I saw that you read Crippled America since that was part of my April Fool's joke. Seems like you liked it about as much as I'd expect to. :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Thanks Nicole! Yeah, I kind of laughed at your post when you had that as one of the political books you would be reading. I was going to scream at you, "NOOOOOO!! DON'T DO IT!" Hahahahaha

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