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Yes! I’m still reading & reviewing, but largely on Instagram! Follow me there to see what I’m reading and get recommendaitons!

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2021 Reading Stats & Top Reads

2021 was a hell of a year.  We lost a beloved pet, my mother-in-law, and my sister.  While my reading habits were better than 2020, it wasn’t until the last several months of the year that I granted myself the freedom and time to read.  I’m making it a priority in 2022!

Before revealing my favorite books of 2021, I thought I’d start with some interesting stats first.  All of these were generated in StoryGraph, a wonderful independent alternative to GoodReads!  Follow me! 

  • Page length: Yep, I love my chunksters!
  • Genres: not at all surprising!
  • Reading method: Print has gone up a lot since 2020.  I know I grew tired of reading egalleys consistently and was drawn to reading more in print.
  • Theme in moods: Dark, mysterious, tense & emotional.  Yep, no surprises there!

 

And now, in no particular order, are my favorite books of 2021!  What were your favorite books of the year?

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2021 #ThankfullyReading Weekend Wrap-Up!

ThankfullyReading

 

While we still have a full day of reading ahead of us, we have come to the last day of  Thankfully Reading Weekend!  I’ve created this post to link your final post!  No Instagram or blog? Just share how you did in the comments!

We’re heading home to VA from WV today.  I’m hoping for a few hours of quality reading time on the drive!

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2021 Thankfully Reading Day 4: Small Business Saturday #thankfullyreading

 

ThankfullyReading

It’s Day Four of Thankfully Reading Weekend! Can you believe how quickly the time has flown by?

Today, I encourage you to take a small break from reading to participate in Small Business Saturday.  Have a local independent bookstore? Pay them a visit and let them know how much you appreciate them!  As the owner of my own small business, I do appreciate the importance of shopping local!

Since we’re traveling, I’ll be shopping our favorite independent bookstore, One More Page Books virtually today!  I have my eye on the new Louise Penny/Hillary Rodham Clinton book!

Today’s challenge is easy! Did you visit your local indie today? Share a pic of your purchases!  Include the post with pic or list of books you picked up in the link up  below!

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2021 Thankfully Reading Weekend: Day 3 #thankfullyreading

ThankfullyReading

 

Happy Day After Thankgiving! How did everyone do yesterday? Full stomachs, plenty of reading time…sounds like bliss to me! I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to a day of reading at home, avoiding the retail madness! Yesterday was a crazy chaotic day, so I’m looking forward to a relaxing day today!

For today’s challenge, I invite you to write about the book you are most thankful for this year. Is it a book written by one of your favorite authors or one you just happened to come upon? Tell us about it!  Include a link to your post below (or if you don’t have a blog, tell us about the book in the comments.

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2021 Thankfully Reading Weekend: Day Two #thankfullyreading

ThankfullyReading

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Tis the season for reuniting with family; we’re in WV at my parents’ house and we’re expecting 14 people in total!  Not a lot of time for reading today, but I’ll be sure to sneak in a little!

For today’s challenge, let’s talk about a “reading menu.” What makes a good menu to you?  What are your favorite genres, favorite books? Any tactics authors use that drives you crazy (like cliffhangers!?).

Feel free to answer in the comments or below! I’ve also added a Mr. Linky for those updating on their blogs!

 

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2021 Thankfully Reading Weekend Begins! #thankfullyreading

It’s time!!

This is the official kick off post for Thankfully Reading!  Instead of braving the crowds and shopping this weekend, we’re spending our time curled up with a book!

Feel free to link up your kick-off post below, as well as any update posts you have. Don’t have a blog? Don’t worry! You can keep us updated on your progress in the comments below, on Instagram, Twitter (use #thankfullyreading or make sure you tag me so I can see it!) or Facebook! Haven’t signed up yet to participate? Not to worry! There is still plenty of time!

If you don’t know what to post, here are some ideas. But remember there are no rules; feel free to post as little/as much as you like!

  • How will/did you celebrate Thanksgiving?
  • What’s in your TBR pile for the weekend?
  • How much time do you think you’ll have for reading?
  • What book are you starting out with?
  • Are you reading print, ebooks, or audio? Maybe a bit each?
  • What books will you be talking about during Thanksgiving dinner? Be sure to keep track of any recommendations you receive and share when you have the time. If you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, don’t worry, this is a weekend for everyone!
  • Pictures and/or vlogs are a great thing to add to your kick-off posts!

Throughout the weekend, feel free to post about your progress or even get some reviews up. Be sure to come back and link up your posts. Then take a break and check out everyone else’s posts. We’re looking forward to seeing how everyone else is celebrating Thankfully Reading Weekend.

Oh and don’t forget that some of your fellow readers will be on Twitter. You can search for Thankfully Reading Weekend tweets and hook up with others by using the hashtag #thankfullyreading.

On Sunday afternoon, we’ll post another link-up for your wrap-up post. Tell us how your Thankfully Reading Weekend went. You could give mini-reviews of your books, tell us how many books and which books you read, number of pages, number of hours, and so on. This is a rule-free, contest-free event, so you can wrap up the weekend however you’d like.

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*Save The Date* 2021 Thankfully Reading Weekend #thankfullyreading

2021, like the year before, has been a bit of a shit-show.  Slightly better than last year, but not nearly what I would have hoped it would be.   That said, I’m all about traditions and sticking to them, to the best of our ability.   What won’t the pandemic prevent us from doing? Reading!

I’m pleased to announce that I will once again be hosting Thankfully Reading Weekend, November 24-28 (Wednesday through Sunday)! I added on an extra day since it seemed many of us were ready to read early!

I’m hoping everyone will be staying home this holiday and avoiding the stores for the kick-off of holiday shopping. What better way to spend that time than reading?

New to Thankfully Reading Weekend? Here are the details:

There are no rules to the weekend, we’re simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for the year. We thought it’d be fun if we cheered each other on a bit. If you think you can join in, grab the logo  and add your sign up post to the link-up below. If you don’t have a blog, you can sign up the comments or sign up using a link to your Twitter account or Facebook page, or Instagram account!

Want to host a challenge? Email me directly at jennsbookshelf@gmail.com.

We’ll also be checking in on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #thankfullyreading. Join in for the weekend or for only a single day. No rules, no pressure!

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On Loss

I’ve been absent from this space for the last few weeks.  I missed the last few weeks of Murders, Monsters & Mayhem.

It wasn’t due to lack of interest, or laziness, but rather loss.

We lost my sister, Jessica, to melanoma on Friday.  It’s been a roller coaster of a few weeks; we only learned the cancer had returned a little over a month ago.  Just last week she was able to get her first immunotherapy treatment (melanoma doesn’t respond to chemotherapy or radiation treatment).    It was as though time slowed to a crawl, but also simultaneously sped by out of control.

I’m here. I’m healing.  I’m reading.  Hopefully one day soon I’ll be able to write about it all.

 

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Dewey’s October 2021 24-Hour #Readathon: Update Post

It’s here! Read-a-thon day!

I’ll be using Instagram to update my progress! You can follow me and/or check back for updates to the gallery below!

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