Curl Up In Your Chair.....

Holiday Curl-Up-In-Your-Chair Books

Just popping in real quick....I promise to type up a post tomorrow on another holiday project.  I've had some ongoing things that have sucked my time the past 2 days but they're coming I promise. Today I'm off with my friends for a Holiday Tea at the Ritz...so looking forward to visiting, laughing and just some good times with my girly friends :)

I wanted to post a couple of Christmas Books that I thought you might enjoy.  These are a mix of brand new books and some oldies...and all are heartwarming, easy and light reads that will warm your soul!  Enjoy!

The Christmas Tin

The "Christmas Tin" is my BookEndz bookclub pick for the month.  It was my favorite holiday of the 14 I've read and its free if you are a Amazon Kindle Unlimited member...or $2.99 reg price. Worth every penny I swear.  If you want to see other bookclub picks or other book recommendations you can join our club on Facebook HERE...everyone is welcome.

The 13th Day of Christmas

There are not enough words to describe how I feel about this book...I enjoyed every moment and page and was sad to see it end. A real page turner that makes you smile all the way down to your feet.

The Christmas Diary

This is a good, one-sitting read while curled up next to the Christmas tree and enjoying a hot beverage. Page turning and heart-warming....

The Santa Letters

This is an oldie but a goodie...I found it on my bookshelf and wanted to mention it because I enjoyed it so much when I read it.  Its not available on Kindle but you can probably find it at your library.

This book showcases the true spirit and meaning of Christmas. I might've teared up a couple of times but don't let that deter you because its worth the read.  Filled with lots of love & Christmas joy too!

Mr. Miracle

And how can you forget a good & enjoyable read by Debbie Macomber?  This time she's written a Mr. Miracle story...if you are familiar with her Mrs. Miracle books then you will definitely want to read this one as well.

Enjoy your holiday reading!!

Read It!!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!  

Today I'm headed off to the Frederick, MD fair with the fam and my mom.  My mom and I are seeing Kip Moore in concert (2nd row, center) tonight while the boys eat their way through the fair LOL!  We lived in Frederick for 10 years & their fair is one of the state's better fairs to attend if you get a chance.  Not to mention the concert line up they usually have.  My mom is slightly in love with Kip Moore...hahahaha...so I know she's been looking forward to this. Feels funny to not have Alexa in concert mode with us though...boo!  The weather will be in low 70's so its perfect fair weather too!  Good time!

************

Anywho I thought I'd recommend a few good reads to everyone in case you need some books for the weekend!

An all around good read that will keep you turning pages to find the same answers as the main characters.  I really enjoyed this one a lot!

I'm a big fan of Cathy Lamb...all of her books have been incredibly enjoyable reads. And this one is no different...interesting story of a talented but troubled main character and a cast of unique & fun-loving friends to help her along the way.

A little bit of magic, a bit of drama, and an entirely engrossing story!

Love this one!

I'm not an overly religious person...meaning I don't believe in any one religion but I do believe in God.  Sometimes you read a book at just the right time in your life that does something for you that you didn't know you needed.  This book is an easy read, first in the series and just what I needed at the perfect time in my life

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Beach Reads!

GREAT SUMMER READS

When I go on vacation, I love nothing better than reading a GREAT book or two or three....well let's be honest sometimes its as many as 12 LOL!  And some of my favorite authors have books out or coming out which means my Kindle is really, really happy!

The Book of Life: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy) 

 First & foremost I cannot wait....I mean I'm ecstatically giddy about his book release.  Its the third and last in the series...and its tops on my list to read on vacation in July.  The "All Souls Trilogy" by Deborah Harkness and the last book is "The Book of Life".  I've already informed the family that I will be reading this like a madwoman during vacation evenings...I cannot wait!  If you haven't delved into this trilogy..well what are you waiting for...its sooooo amazingly good!

The Stories We Tell

I love most of the Southern women authors and their books...I have yet to read a bad one by any of these authors.  I'm saving this one for next week so I can't give a review yet but it sounds REALLY good and I'm sure its a page-turner like the rest of her books.

The Summer Wind (Lowcountry Summer)

This is the second book in the trilogy by Mary Alice Monroe. Her books always make me happy when reading them and they never fail to be great stories...usually about women, friendships and life in general.  The first book was the opener about 3 half sisters brought together to a beach house by their grandmother....it involved a dolphin named Delphine that of course made it more special.  I'm halfway through the second book and so far its as good as the first book.

Under a Summer Sky
All of Nan's books are great reads...usually family sagas that make you want to keep turning the page to read on.  I haven't delved into this one yet but its next on my to-read list so I'll let you know...but I'm sure it will be a good one too!  My fave book of hers (all were good) is "More Than You Know" and its on sale for only $2.99...that's a bargain for such a great read!

The Accidental Book Club
I just bought this book yesterday...I'm a sucker for books about book clubs hahaha...but it sounded good too.  Its on the to-read list as well!

Magnolia City
This is a sweeping saga set in the 1920's...I'm a sucker for historical based novels and a friend recommended this book to me.  Looking forward to reading this one!




So there ya go....a few great beach/vacation book reads to make your R&R even better!
Let me know if you read any of them and if you love them!
******

And join my cyber book club "BookEndz" on Facebook to get even more suggestions
and reviews!!

What's On My Kindle Lately?

If you have followed me through the years or even just over the past year of the Bitz of Me blog...you know I love to read.  Unfortunately during my surgery recovery I was on a LONG round of meds that made me foggy and unable to concentrate for very long...it took me 10 days to get through a book instead of being able to read 3-4 books a week. Grrrrrrr...its been really frustrating as reading is the one thing I like to do just for myself, late at night when no one needs me and my to-do list is semi-quiet.  Well I am happy to say that the past week I have read 4 books hahaha...so thankful to be able to focus and enjoy reading again..I really missed it.

So below are the books I just finished up including my BookEndz Book Club book (you can join our club on Facebook here if you would like)...and one I am currently reading now and enjoying!

*************

A Long Time Gone

I am a HUGE fan of Karen White's writings...I always pre-order her books as soon as they hit Amazon, maybe the second they hit. I follow her on Twitter, Facebook, her blog..yeah I'm a stalker hahaha..the good kind I promise.

Her Tradd Street books are such a great mix of mystery, suspense and page-turners. But I have YET to read a BAD book by her...its just not possible.  If you haven't read her yet I encourage you to try her books...they are all really good and usually set in the South.  The 'Lost Hours' and 'The Time Between' are probably my top 2 of her's but its so hard to choose.  Anywho the above book is her newest, it is excellent and I am halfway through. I'm telling everyone to read it and if you do let me know if you loved it too ok?

China Dolls

If you were a member of BookEndz since the beginning (4 years ago)...Lisa See's "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" was one of our first reads. A absolutely fascinating, sweeping, and cultural awakening of a story that not only educated me but made me want to read more.  Her new book above is no less than fantastic...a page turner, it educates, it makes you wonder, its just plain GOOD.  Definitely enjoyed this book a lot!

Family Secrets

I've read all of Nancy Thayer's...great reads each one of them. This book above is an older book that was just released on the Kindle and I hadn't read it yet...gasp...so when I saw it was released on Kindle I scooped it up. Starts off a little slow but the story is worthing sticking to, a for sure page-turner and you will want to know what happens to all 3 women by the end of the story!

The Memory Garden

There aren't really words for how much I loved this story, the book, the characters, the writing.

It was beautifully written and a book that will stay with me for a long time.

It's also the JUNE BookEndz selection this month...we will discuss it on the Facebook page at the end of the month too!  Enjoy!

Happy Reading Friends!!

Read A Book...or Two!

Need some good reads.....

While I have been recovering from surgery I haven't been able to read much.  The meds make me super foggy especially in the evenings and I just couldn't concentrate much.  However I have been increasing my reading time the past couple of weeks which is nice.  I've been reading the best series of books by a great author.  They aren't heavy or difficult reads but nice page-turners that make you feel good.
So I thought I would share both of the series with you all...in case you want to read them too!

A Single Thread

The series is called "The Cobbled Court Quilt Series" by Marie Bostwick.  There are 6 books in this series and I'm currently finishing up the last one that just came out.  I've thoroughly enjoyed them all and the first book in the series "A Single Thread" (linked above) is on sale for only $2.51 at Amazon!!

Up at Butternut Lake: A Novel

 And another book that will be part of a trilogy I finished up was "Up At Butternut Lake" by Mary McNear...really great read as well!  Again nothing too intense because I'm not up for intense books yet or too many story lines while I'm on meds LOL!  Definitely an easy light read for Spring/Summer.  The next book in the trilogy comes out in August too...as a head's up!

Happy Reading!

Tea Anyone?

Do you love, adore, obsess over all things Downton Abbey?  

The entire Dean family loves it...yup even the boys are into it!  We haven't watched the new season yet as we like to DVR them all and then watch them in batches.  Which is great for me while recovering from surgeries...its a good solid hour of excellent TV to watch.
Because you know when I'm ill I sometimes get desperate and watch weird stuff like "The Shahs of Sunset", "Naked & Afraid" and "The Kardashians"...GASP lawdy lawdy lawdy...but when you are stuck in bed and sometimes can't focus enough to read you are left with ugly TV LOL.
NOT to be confused with the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, NYC and Orange County. Those are shows I normally watch...hey we all gotta have some "fluff & fun" in our lives yes?

Anywho I digress......

 I've read some awesome books that are very "Downton Abbey-ish" that I really enjoyed.

Sometimes when I read I get carried away and read 20+ books with a certain time period or theme.  And I will raise my hand and say YES I did read all of these, one after another, and enjoyed each one immensely.  And now I'm sharing a FEW of them with you if you can't get enough of Lord Grantham, Lady Mary and the always hilarious Dowager Countess "Granny" :)

And a few fun quotes sprinkled in along the way....

Summerset Abbey Book Series by TJ Brown

I really enjoyed this series of 3 books....it swept me away and I was vested in the characters all the way through. I hope she does a fourth because...well...I just think there should be another (purely selfish reasons hahaha).

Summerset Abbey

Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter

Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening



Benedict Hall Series by Cate Campbell
Another great series yet this one is set in Seattle during the same time period. One of the main characters is a first-woman as doctor and its really fascinating to read about the struggles ALL women had in those days including creation of jobs. They also have a bit of a thriller storyline (very small) that revs things up a bit.  Definitely enjoyable reads!

Benedict Hall (A Benedict Hall Novel)

Hall of Secrets (A Benedict Hall Novel)

The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig
This one focuses on two women in two different eras, a bit of a mystery and lots of drama...of the good kind! I loved the view into Africa during this time period as well.

The Ashford Affair

The Lavender Garden
And my current BookEndz pick for this month is this particular book. I got swept away in the story which is a page-turner...brilliant in every way.  If you don't love this...well I'm not sure what to say LOL!  Just read it!

The Lavender Garden: A Novel

********

and I leave you with some more of the Dowager Countess ;)

Now go fix a pot of tea, snuggle up and enjoy some good reads!