Sunday, November 25, 2018

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post



Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

Excuse me while I dry my tears. It was tough dropping the kid off at the airport. I wish she didn't have to leave, but at least she will be back in one month for Christmas. My daughter brought some of her sloth family for a visit. It seems the grey one was going to be a gift for me, but then she became to attached to it.

I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We ate a lot, and my mother made us all play bingo - FYI, I lost EVERY round. I think it was fixed!

I didn't go out Black Friday shopping, because I was working, but perhaps some shoppers looked like this.
I was just talking about all the P&P retellings, spinoffs, and sequels, and then BAM! I see the next Hallmark movie is a P&P inspired story.
On the Blog:
  • Monday: One Old, One New - Love a la Mode, The Art of French Kissing
  • Tuesday: TTT - Let's Eat!
  • Wednesday: CWW - That's Not What I Heard by Stephanie Kate Strohm
  • Thursday: In a Nutshell - My Favorite Half-Night Stand, Best of Luck, The Accidental Beauty Queen
  • Friday: Discussion - Pride & Prejudice, What's the Fuss?
STACKING THE SHELVES

Edelweiss/NetGalley
What I Read Last Week

I read so many good books this weeks. A bunch of really satisfying sequels and some stellar middle grades books. I had so many almost-5-star reads, but I think my favorite was Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World. I found myself so swept up in Ivy and her family's situation, and Blake did such a stupendous job bringing me into Ivy's thoughts and wrapping me her emotions. It was a lovely story.

Books

Audiobooks
What I Am Currently Reading

What I Plan to Read

How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!

58 comments:

  1. Nice! That's a very cute sloth collection! I love when people have a collection like this and keep it up! I have them at times and it's sporadic when I add to them! Lol. I ended up taking Friday off otherwise I would've had to work. I didn't go out that much on Friday but I did go out Thursday night to score some good deals! Totally worth it and it wasn't as crazy as anticipated!

    Nice new reads too! All totally new to me ones! I hope you enjoy them all!

    Here's my STS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. She has many, many sloth, but this was crew she brought with her from Chicago. They limit the number of people, who may take off per day (it's only 2), so the rest of us had to work.

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  2. Haha, cute sloths. I went Black Friday shopping online, so I got my shopping done while avoiding the crowds. I’m glad you had a good Thanksgiving!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. You're an inspiration, because my shopping is not even started. Checks for everyone?

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  3. Love the sloths!!! Yay for a great reading week. Looks like you got some great books. Have a great week!!

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    1. I appreciate that my daughter always stays true to her brand. The Emma Scott books are gutting me, but I knew what I was getting myself into.

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  4. Aww! I can imagine it being really tough when she leaves. She must feel the same way too. Those sloths are ADORABLE! Very on theme with the blog! ;)
    Hope you have a good week ahead!

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    1. Me and your mom can have a crying club together for when our daughters leave us. 😭 This whole blog theme is from the mind of my daughter, and she has had a love affair with sloths for a very long time. You should see when she makes them pet me. It's a strange experience.

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  5. Congrats on such a great reading week! I really want to read Bruja Born, because I've heard so many good things about it. I'm also waiting to see if I get approved for Fumbled, fingers crossed I do because I'm really looking forward to it! I love Pride and Prejudice and Hallmark Christmas movies, so I'm excited to watch this new Christmas movie.

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    1. I love the Mortiz sisters, and there was a lot more family and community involvement in this book than the previous one. The P&P Hallmark film was cute. Those movies always make me smile. I hope you get Fumbled too. I really liked Martin's debut, and I loved the hero of Fumbled in the last book.

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  6. Cute Sloth Family. Enjoy all those books, too. I had two Thanksgiving lunches...and then went to a restaurant on Friday, where I ordered two stuffing sides with my turkey dinner...because I never get enough stuffing! LOL.

    Enjoy your week, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. The part of Thanksgiving dinner I enjoy are the sides, and we had some great ones: stuffing, Mac and cheese, roasted garlic truffle mashed potatoes, sweet potato and apple casserole, steamed green beans with garlic and almond slivers, and more. Some good stuff.

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  7. As I said I can't wait for your thoughts on Bring Down the Stars!! And I know that one day I'll be like you shedding some tears when my kids have to go back to college .... Happy Sunday Sam! Sophie @bewareofthereader

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    1. The end of Bring Down the Stars left me bawling. I am starting the second book today, because I have to know how that last bit panned out. I was better when my daughter was in college, because I used to be able to visit her. She was only 4 hours away. Now, she is halfway across the country and working full-time. I am being spoiled with this 3-month run, because I am not sure when I will be seeing her again after Christmas.

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  8. Aww what a cute sloth collection!! It will be Christmas break before you know it and the kid will be back! Hang in there!

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    1. She will be back for Christmas, but only a short time, since she is a full-time worker now. After December, I have no idea when she will be back.

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  9. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving! Lol about the bingo. I bought a couple things online... for myself... that was the extent of my Black Friday shopping lol.

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    1. My mom is obsessed with games. She plays bingo, mahjong, pokeno, rummy cube, and a bunch of others with all the local retirees. I have made no purchases, though I did bring my daughter for luggage last week. No back Friday shopping though

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  10. I had something similar happen to me. I was telling my son about the long running M.A.S.H. series and that very night someone mentioned the show in a movie. We looked at each other with raised brows! LOL My son still lives at home and I'm enjoying that while it lasts. Hang in there til Christmas:)

    My Sunday Post

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    1. M.A.S.H.! There's a show I haven't seen in forever. I thought my daughter would move back home after grad school, but all her job offers were out of state. Broke my heart.

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  11. Aw, those sloths are so cute!! I know you are looking forward to Christmas now.

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    1. I am looking forward to Christmas even more than normal this year.

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  12. Yay for the sloth squad haha! And glad you had a nice Thanksgiving.

    And yay for a good reading week! I think Dead Queens Club sounds intriguing...

    Here's hoping the time flies and your daughter is back home before you know it. :)

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    1. I was pretty happy to get the approval for Dead Queens, because it sounds quite interesting.

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  13. Those sloths are too cute! Glad you had some fun with your daughter even though you had to say goodbye. I think you need to keep an eye on your mom and her Bingo playing, lol.

    I so love Pride & Prejudice! My favorite has to be the A & E version. I have the dvd's and laugh so hard every time I watch it. I'm so looking up the Hallmark version!

    I don't shop in physical stores on Black Friday. I have no desire to deal with the chaos but I did a lot of online shopping today and right before. Also, on our way home from our vacation there was an outlet mall and we went to the Pottery Barn outlet, but it was early so not too crowded. Got a nice old-fashioned iron wine opener.

    I want to hear what you thought of Saving Francesca! I'm off to look at your review. :)

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    1. My mom was only the caller. I just couldn't hit the numbers. Bingo is all about luck and timing. I loved Saving Francesca. I will definitely be reading more of Marchetta's books.

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  14. Awww...glad that your daughter came for a visit! I hope you see her during Christmas!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays and Cover Spotlight!

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    1. She'll be home for Christmas, but then after that, I have no idea when I will see her again.

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  15. So glad you had a great visit with your daughter - Christmas will be here before you know it!

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  16. I love the sloths! How adorable. I have Bruja Born haven't read yet. I hope you enjoyed it. I also am interested in checking on the P&P on the Hallmark Channel, I have to check it out when it is on repeat as I have missed it on Friday. I guess everyone has had a super busy week with Thanksgiving. I would have the same luck with Bingo so don't feel bad. Have a wonderful week of reading!

    Mary

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    1. Hallmark always repeats. They will be playing the Christmas movies from now until January.

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  17. How funny that your daughter was planning to give you the sloth but then she got too attached to it! They are pretty adorable, I'll admit.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. That sort of thing happens all the time with her. Especially if she bought me something cute and fuzzy.

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  18. I hope the month flies by until Christmas! I hope you enjoy your new books. I really need to finally read The Thousandth Floor.

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    1. Not everyone liked the series, but I enjoyed The Thousandth Floor and was really happy with the ending.

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  19. airport visits are the best and the worst, I'm happy you had some quality time though!

    I'll have to watch that P&P Hallmark movie!

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    1. Airports can be very sad places, and then I missed my exit, but whatever. I got home eventually. The P&P movie was typical Hallmark - adorable. The one from the other night, with Tatyana Ali was so emotional. I could not stop crying.

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  20. Aww, I don't blame her for being attached to the sloth! They're so cute and adorable (and nice to cuddle with I'm sure). I didn't go Black Friday shopping either since there wasn't really anything to buy that I wanted (okay, I did want things, but they aren't needed and I don't have money to buy a Google Pixelbook on sale, lol). I did have to work though, so the Hedgehog might be me... in a different context, minus the shopping cart. 😂

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    1. I find that most people I know, who do Black Friday shopping, buy stuff for themselves. I hate crowds, so it would never be me.

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  21. The Sloth Squad are really cute! I think my DNA is part sloth...The Black Friday sales on Amazon were a huge disappointment-not even a 3 for £10 paperback offer! I got two books at £2 each and that was it for cut price books. Pathetic!

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    1. My daughter also claims to be part sloth, so you're in good company. Doesn't Amazon do more for Cyber Monday?

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  22. I love that there’s a whole sloth family! Maybe your daughter will give you visiting rights for the gray one. :) I hope to start that Emma Scott duet soon. I just need to shore up my emotions and invest in Kleenex. I’ll be ready! I’ll be interested to see what you think of Faking Normal. I had one big issue with it that I just couldn’t get past but I never see anybody mention it so... I guess it’s just me. (What’s new there? LOL)

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    1. I know the sloth will always visit me with her, because she is a new favorite of the kid's, and favorite friends always have traveling privileges. The diet was good, really good. So many feels. I totally understand if you were frustrated with the way they dealt with the rapist in Faking Normal (amirite?), but I loved the rest of the story so much.

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    2. Well yeah, that aspect was frustrating but that wasn’t my main issue. I really had a problem with how rape was defined in the book. I just couldn’t go along with the assumption of rape when Alexi’s recount of of the event did not constitute rape. (I told you, unpopular opinion here.) She never said no. She never said stop. She did not fight. She did not say she didn’t want this to happen. She may not have been a willing participant but outwardly she did nothing to make that known. And to make matters worse, when she was out with a guy who’d been drinking and the guy kissed her and made unwanted advances, again she did/said nothing. She didn’t say no, she didn’t say stop, I don’t want this, or attempt to get away. She even later admitted to herself that had they not been interrupted she would have allowed the boy to go all the way. The fact that she put herself in that position at all was almost beyond belief, but to again show such complacency? I couldn’t not call that rape. When it was finally revealed who the guy was, yes it put things in a different perspective (his age, their relationship), but I still couldn’t jibe with the term rape.

      Okay, hopping off soapbox now... *wink*

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    3. She never said no, but she never said yes either. I thought the freezing up was plausible, and he was definitely in more of a power position

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  23. We have the DVD set of the entire MASH series my daughter used to watch one of those every day over breakfast in high school.

    Your books have such gorgeous covers, especially Tiny Infinities and Bring Down the Stars. So glad you got some great reading.

    I also did online shopping and didn't go out all weekend. I worked retail the last 4 years (pharmacy) and worked almost every holiday. Here's to a more routine week ahead. Anne - Books of My Heart

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    1. I think I have seen every episode of MASH at some point in my life. I think I even saw the later episodes first run, but it's been a long time

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  24. Ahhhh that sloth squad, I love it so much they're adorable <3
    Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World sounds so good, I'm happy you enjoyed it! :) and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Robyn Schneider's books, I loved all of her books so far, have yet to read that one :)

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    1. Ivy was stupendous! I only have good things to say about it. I am living the Schneider book so far. I have already cried twice, so that's a good sign.

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  25. The Sloth Squad is adorable! I'm glad to hear you had a good visit with your daughter and that you'll get to see her again in a few short weeks.

    Wow, so many great reads this week. I love seeing all of those 4+ star ratings on books that are on my TBR, especially on Bruja Born.

    Hope you have a great week!

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    1. Seriously, I read so many good books last week. I love the Bruja series, and definitely no sophomore book slump here. I think this book was better than the last one.

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  26. I am glad you had a nice visit with your daughter. I think it is cute that she got attached to the sloth. You added a lot of great looking books this week. Enjoy!

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    1. The kid is always getting attached to some doll. I just think it's funny she told me it was for me, but I was never getting it.

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  27. I'm so glad you loved Bruja Born! I loved it too! That sloth family is just adorable. Hope you get to see your daughter again soon@! :)

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