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
Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a great week. Last Sunday, we went to The Melting Pot for Mother's Day. We only go there like once a year, but it's always great. For Mother's Day, they gave me and my mom a long stem rose, a card, and chocolate covered Oreos. I expected nothing, so it was nice.
I had so much drama on Monday. I needed cash to pay for my haircut, so I stopped at my bank (which is near the hairdresser), and I am told that the systems are down. They advised me to go to the TD over in the next TD (about 10 minutes away). The problem with going to Rahway is that it's considered a city. That means parking is horrendous. The lot was full, and after driving around for 10+ minutes, I finally could get near the ATM to find out it was down! I was forced to go to a random bank in order to make my appointment. It said I was being charged a fee of $3.50 (I got that reversed), but I was also charged a fee by the other bank of $3. Yes, I was charged $6.50 to take my money out via a machine. This is why I never really take money out and when I do, I always go to my bank.
Yeah, I was pretty salty about the bank thing, but my haircut came out good. My daughter left on Wednesday. Her flight was early, and I breezed to Newark Airport and back to the train station making my 4.58 am train. It all worked out.
On the Blog
Let's Discuss
- Beth talks about reading and identity
- The Orangutan Librarian discusses being an old blogger
Stacking the Shelves
I was so happy to receive approvals for the new Ballard and Layne books. They are two of my favorite authors, so I am always excited to read their books. I was surprised to see another book from Ballard this year, but hey! It's a happy treat for me. I got a bunch of invites, too. One for a book I already have and a bunch of others. I am thinking of downloading Morbidly Yours. It is interesting how many books like this are being released this year.
Netgalley/Edelweiss
- All I Want From You by Falon Ballard
- Miranda in Retrograde by Lauren Layne
Invites
- A Winter Wish by Emily Stone
- The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich
- Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
- Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams
- The Lies of Alma Blackwell by Amanda Glaze
Read Last Week
It was such a great week! I did have a DNF, but I also have a 5-star book and three 4.5-star books. Summer Romance was my favorite this week. I adore a comeback story, and this is about a woman emerging from the grief of losing her mother and the end of a marriage that was not so great. She was slowly finding her way back to herself when she connects with her best-friend's little brother. I loved everything! The romance, the setting, the kids, the comeback - it was all done so well.
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan - ★★★★★
- How to Read a Book by Monica Wood - ★★★★ 1/2
- Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter - ★★★★ 1/2
- Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson - ★★★★ 1/2
- Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne - ★★★
Audiobooks
- The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa - ★★★★
Currently Reading
- The Co-Op by Tarah Dewitt
- The Goodby Cat by Hiro Arikawa (audiobook)
To Be Read
- Once Upon a Leap Year by Anna Bell
- The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
- The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis
- The Year of What If by Pheadra Patrick
Let us know in the comments!
Glad you had a nice Mothers Day! That is annoying about the banks though.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Greg! Such a scam, right?
DeleteGetting hit with charges by *both* banks? Ugh. At least your bank was willing to reverse it. Guess you can't use a card for the haircut? It's the week of blue book covers! I love how all your additions are blue. :) Hooray for the 5 star read!
ReplyDeleteI specifically told them that I work for a complaints department for a bank. I have never taken money out of a non-TD bank in the over 20 years that I have been banking there either. There are a lot of blue covers. Look at that!
DeleteThe bank thing is a huge thing for me too! The fees are always insane even here where I live. At least you liked how your haircut came out! Summer Romance sounds so sweet! Going to check that out. :)
ReplyDeleteA fee for using an ATM is scam, I'm sorry. I would love to know more about the fee structure to understand why they feel the need to charge that fee (on both sides). Summer Romance was great for me. I hope you get a chance to check it out.
DeleteWow, drawing money sounds complicated! I think I take it for granted how easy it is to do here without getting charged... But I'm glad that the end result was a great haircut :) Looks like you've got lots of great books to read. I'm curious about some of these titles so I'll be keeping an eye out for your review. Have a great week ahead, Sam!
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous. I hardly use cash, but I do need it for few things.
DeleteYou get on the train everyday at 5 am?!? Holy Moly! I hate using cash any more. Its such a hassle! Thankfully, most of the places I go that don't take credit cards take venmo. Some still let you write checks (which is crazy to me because it seems like no one writes checks!). Glad you had a nice mother's day meal!
ReplyDeleteI get on before 5 am. The life of a commuter. I wrote a check for my chiropractor. Small business get hit with the swipe fees, and I don't like paying them on principle.
DeleteWhat a nice surprise for Mother's Day! I hate it when things go wrong when I'm trying to make an appointment on time! Glad it worked out even though they charged your twice to withdraw. Good you got some of it reversed.
ReplyDeleteThey are coming out with a lot of haunting romances! It's a trend I guess.
I usually get the money a day or more before my appointment, but we were out late for Mother's Day and the kid was there. It puts off my schedule. I have had good luck with the spooky romances, so I am here for it.
DeleteSo many banks here don't have ATM anymoe and it's extremely difficult to get cash!
ReplyDeleteReally? Wow. I am pretty sure they all have ATMs here, but the charge is such a scam.
DeleteIt always amazes me that we can be charged a fee to access our own money! We had crazy storms including tornadoes again this week. We had only just finished clearing all of the debris from the last round of storms, so I was very frustrated. Thankfully, we were spared the worst of the storms and only have some tree limbs to deal with. My MIL hasn't had power since Thursday, and they are estimating it won't be back on until Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteI want to understand what costs the bank incurs when I withdraw money from a machine? At least I understand the swipe fee. I have no idea why banks charge for withdrawals. Glad to hear you are all well. Power outages are the worst. Fingers crossed they get your MIL up and running ahead of schedule.
DeleteThey get you coming and going with those crazy fees at ATM's.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy! That's why I always go to my bank (or use my credit card)
DeleteWow that is a great reading week!! Thank you for sharing my post :D Really appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteThank you and you're welcome. Always love reading your posts.
DeleteOh yum, I love The Melting Pot! That's so annoying that you had to pay so much in fees to just to get some cash.
ReplyDeleteATM fees are a racket. We only have the one Melting Pot in NJ, so I need to enjoy it while it lasts.
DeleteGlad Mother's Day was a success! The bank thing is a shame. At least your hair came out good...
ReplyDeleteI take it NJ loves its clouds? 😂
It just seems like the clouds come any time you hope for clear skies.
DeleteSo many cute looking books up there! Looking forward to your reviews to see if there's any I can add to my TBR.
ReplyDeleteThis week is off to a strong start too. Lots of great books coming my way
DeleteThere were northern lights here, but of course I missed them because it was raining. I've never used an ATM because of the fees. I barely have money. I'm not paying more money to access my money. :)
ReplyDeleteThe weather never cooperates! That's a bucket list item for me. I don't usually use an ATM outside of my bank but circumstances pushed me that way. Never again
DeleteUgh. Double fees. I'm glad your bank at least took care of their end. That sounds like a frustrating situation. I love that your haircut turned out well! I need one of those, but my hairstylist is out on maternity leave for at least another few weeks and I don't want to see anyone else. I think you will love Layne's book. It leans more towards women's fiction, but the romance is cute.
ReplyDeleteI love my stylist, but I also like to keep my hair on the shorter side. I will go to anyone at my old salon. My daughter only lets our guy cut her hair and she lives 700 miles away. That's why he always works her in when she visits. You already read the new Layne? Glad you thought it was good. I will probably adore it for sure. Me and Layne have a good history.
DeleteIt sounds like you had a great Mother's Day and with a visit from your daughter, that's wonderful. So many great books upcoming and that you recently read. I love Emily Stone, but always have to wait and get them from my library. I'm really looking forward to Summer Romance. It's been amazing with all the things in the sky that we have been able to see. I am a week late reading this, so I hope you have had a great week, Sam.
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to see the kid. I am sure you can relate with your child so far away. Monaghan has yet to disappoint. I hope you love it when you read it.
Delete