It’s been 3 months so here’s an update

Hi. My name is Kelli and for some reason it is hard for me to write (or in this case, type) my thoughts out. Especially when it comes to sharing them with the world.

I haven’t posted anything in 3 months so I thought I might write a little life update.

I feel like my whole personality here lately has been taking care of my mom’s dogs, reading and working. Sometimes I splash in some fun hobbies or activities.

My favorite hobby is reading. I have read 45 books so far this year. Last year and this year I have made time for reading. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember, but after high school I hadn’t made time for it.

I read my physical books, on my kindle and sometimes an audiobook. One of my goals for this year is to get through some of my physical TBR. I have over 200 unread books, but I have read 9 of them so far this year. I am hoping to get at least 6 more in. — which seems like a big jump, but if I put my energy into it instead of my kindle books then I can do it. Maybe. Of the books I have read, 3 of them are physical books that I borrowed from someone else. (Not included in the other 9 physical books I’ve read).

Two other hobbies I have is writing (for my book) and playing video games. I haven’t done much of either here lately. After work and taking care of my mom’s dogs, I have been so exhausted. I’ve been taking a lot of naps.

Although I do admit that some of why I haven’t been playing video games is because a roommate has taken over my office. For some reason I don’t really want to play my PC outside of that room.

We only have a roommate right now (and have for a couple months) because one of our friends can’t find a place to rent. I’m hoping he does find a place soon. I don’t really mind him at the house, but at the same time, I would like my space back.

I want to really get back into my book writing. I currently have two WIPs. A zombie apocalypse book and a biker romance are in the works. I am hoping to get back to it since my life is starting to calm down.

Taking care of my mom’s dogs has taken up a lot of my time. She has been on vacation for over a month. I’m not really happy about it, but she won’t listen. For a month and a half, she took two with her, but she left her two outside dogs. I’ve made one of them an inside dog. She did come back for like 12 hours, and now I have one of the inside dogs too which is fine because I missed her.

Other than all that, I’ve celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday, my birthday (28 🥳), my pa’s birthday, went on a trip to see family, and started working out again.

As of yesterday, I just started a new 30 day challenge where I walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Since I didn’t go on my walk yesterday, I had to jog in place for a while before going to bed last night. A month from now I plan on making a post where I’ve kept up with my steps every day and weekly weigh-ins/thoughts.

This is pretty much it for an update. I’ve been busy, but I feel like it’s the same things all the time. The holidays are coming up, and I am hoping to be able to go to a pumpkin patch, see some Halloween lights, eat some good thanksgiving food and enjoy Christmas time!

See you in the next post!

Book TBR [2024]

I have a goal of reading 50 books this year. I also have a goal of reading more physical books that I have already instead of only reading kindle books. In order for me to accomplish this, I made a list of books that I wanted to read this year with more than half of them being physical books.

  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
  • Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2) by Lauren Asher
  • Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires, #3) by Lauren Asher
  • The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic by British Library
  • World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
  • I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
  • Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You: Poems by Misha Collins
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  • The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
  • The Rainmaker by John Grisham
  • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
  • Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  • Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
  • Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
  • We Used to Live Here by Daniel Hurst
  • Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz
  • When Your Best Isn’t Good Enough: The Secret to Measuring Up by Kevin Leman
  • A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The One by John Marrs
  • Keep It in the Family by John Marrs
  • The Locked Door by Freida McFadden
  • The Inmate by Freida McFadden
  • The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
  • Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • The 8th Confession (Women’s Murder Club, #8) by James Patterson
  • The 9th Judgement (Women’s Murder Club, #9) by James Patterson
  • 10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club, #10) by James Patterson
  • Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross, #1) by James Patterson
  • Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
  • Stone Maidens (Stone Maidens, #1) by Lloyd Richards
  • Buy YourSelf the F*cling Lilies by Tara Schuster
  • The Invisible Life of Adie LaRue by Victoria Schwab
  • Will by Will Smith
  • The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
  • Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros
  • The New Girl (Fear Street, #1) by R. L. Stone
  • Mystery Ranch (The Boxcar Children, #4) by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Mike’s Mystery (The Boxcar Children, #5) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Out of these 50 books, I have read 22 of them and am currently reading 3 of them. According to Goodreads, I am 6 books behind schedule, but I think I will still be able to reach my goal by the end of the year. I know I will also eventually veer off of my TBR and read some shorter kindle books — especially during Christmas season… I am a sucker for some hallmark-quality Christmas books.

Have you read any of these? Do you want to read any of these?

Books Read in January & February

Hi! I am behind on my monthly book blog, but I am here now! In January and February, I have read 5 books in total. So far this year every book I have finished, I have throughly enjoyed! I recommend all 5 of these books.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is the first one I finished in 2024. I do have to say out of all of them this was my least favorite book, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I don’t really like how it would bounce between time periods, but at the same time, that’s part of what makes the book. It was a beautiful story.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a reread for me. I like to try and reread the Harry Potter series every so often. It has been a long time since I have done a full reread (I usually stop after book 4), but I hope to read through the rest of them this year. This one and the rest of the series always makes me cry so it’s hard to read them, but I love getting lost in the pages. The movies left out a lot of the story. Some of the most important parts in my opinion.

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am so glad that this book was recommended to me! It was a very interesting read. Fast paced – which I love. It’s about a guy who was put into prison for murdering his son… except he didn’t. We end up going on a journey with him as he breaks out of prison. This is the first time I’ve ever read a book by this author, but I will definitely read another.

We Used to Live Here by Daniel Hurst ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some people bought this house, and they were finding strange things while remodeling… I did not expect the ending of this book at all. To me it was definitely a twist that almost made me mad. The ending made me want more to the story.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to the audiobook of this one, and enjoyed it so much. It was a cute little read that’s like a hallmark movie cliche. It had the whole uptight person visiting a small town and falling in love.

Final note

I am very happy with what books I have read so far. For 2024, I have made the reading goal to read 50 books this year. According to my Goodreads, I am 3 books behind, but I think it will all workout in the end. Last year I started reading several books at once, and I usually finishing them all around the same time. In the next few weeks, I plan to post my 2024 tbr, which has 54 books on it. And yes, I know my goal is to read 50 books, but sometimes it’s hard to choose what books I want to read!

What book(s) are you reading right now? Have you read any of the ones I’ve read in January and February?

June Reads

In June, I had finished reading 8 books! That is the most that I have read in a month in a very long time. Four of those were books I had started in a pervious month but still. I wanted to start trying to do monthly book logs/reviews so here we go.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is the last book of a very good series. There are 7 books in the series – not counting some extra side books (I don’t remember what they’re called lol). I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. This series starts out about a woman who is an assassin, and she is totally badass. I don’t want to talk too much about the series because I don’t want to give anything away. My favorite thing about this series is that the little things in the books matter because in the end it will create a big picture.

Recipe for Love by Anna Malcom

I gave Recipe for Love 4 stars even though parts of it was a little bit cringe. However, it wasn’t so cringe I couldn’t finish it. It was a lovely fast read for me. I love the sunshine / grumpy trope so much.

Ignite by Melanie Harlow

I gave Ignite 4 stars. This was a really quick read for me. I am pretty sure I read this in one day. It was a good single dad romance. To be honest, the reason I had wanted to read it was just for the fact that he was a firefighter. There was some cringe parts in this, but it is mainly because I could not really relate to the girl main character all that much. Winnie falls in love very easily which is why a bet was made between her and her best friend that she couldn’t not fall in love for the rest of the year.

This is definitely not relatable to me because I have the opposite problem. It is hard for me to fall in love. Because of this, it blows my mind that there are actually people out there that do fall in love very easily.

Could not be me.

Savage Hearts by J. T. Geissinger

I gave Savage Hearts 3 stars. This book is part of a series, but one of those that is about different people each time just in the same setting (?). I read this in a day so it was a very fast read for me. The thing that put me off about it, and apparently the previous two books are also focused on, is that the girl(s) have MAJOR stockholm syndrome. Like – immediately. I’ve read some books where they got it, but those settings were normally where these girls were taken from a bad family and they warm up to the person that kidnapped them. This book was nothing like that. It was very fast paced. I thought they really needed to chill out. LOL

Spare by Prince Harry

Spare got 5 stars from me. I love memoirs. Even of people I don’t keep up with. Going into reading Spare, I did not know much about the royal family AT ALL. Since I had started reading it, one of my friends had talked to me about the whole Princess Diana being murdered thing, and I watched a movie about them. Other than that, I was pretty much reading without knowing anything the whole way through.

I’ve read reviews that people said the reason they did not like this book is because he was just “whiny”. I think those people just said that because for whatever reason they just don’t like him. A memoir is about telling a lot parts about yourself. Good and bad. I think reading from his point of view really made me understand things about him and the royal thing as a whole.

One of the main things I learned was you cannot trust what any news or tabloids say because they can and will post straight of lies. It made me so mad as I was reading how the paps were treating Harry and the people he cares about. They probably treat them like that still. They have no boundaries or a conscious.

Another thing that made me mad was the palace. There was so much that could have been straightened out if only they had said something.

I’m glad Prince Harry and Meghan got out of it.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander got a 3.5 stars out of me. Hear me out. My sister and I started this book at the end of last year, and the reason why it took me so long to read was because I was trying to read at the pace of my sister.

I did really enjoy reading this book most of the time, but it is one of those books I can’t have any distractions otherwise I would have to reread parts over and over.

I really liked some characters like Claire and Jamie, but then this book also made me really dislike some characters – which I think is a really good thing.

I think the main reason it was so hard to read is because I am an American woman so there were a lot of times I had to look up what something meant. Also I knew going into it that there was some scenes of sexual assault, and reading about that was really hard for me.

With that being said, I will probably read the rest of the series at some point. (I just have to wait in my sister to finish this one).

How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera

3 stars. I am on the journey of self-healing so this year I want to try to read more self- help books just to at least get some ideas on how to heal on my own. I believe this book helped me understand myself and my parents more. I will definitely take some of the “exercises” the book talked about and apply it to my life.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This got 4 stars. I loved Red, White & Royal Blue so much. Forbidden romance between a prince and the first son of the United States? SIGN. ME. UP.

THOUGHTS

I was very happy with my reads for this month. My favorite book I read was Kingdom of Ash. My least favorite was Savage Hearts.

What books did you read in June? What books are you wanting to read in July?

Books Read in June 2022

I really wanted to read 3 books this month, but I only got around to reading 2 books.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) by J.K. Rowling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This whole series will be a reread for me. I decided that this year I wanted to reread all 7 books, as I haven’t read all of them in a really long time. To be honest, this is probably my least favorite one of the whole series, but I still love it all the same. The main thing I got from reading is that I forgot how much of a a–hole Draco Malfoy was in the books. Some of that is definitely different than it is in the movie.

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I didn’t think I would enjoy it because it was completely about side characters — not about Aelin Galathynius. I still enjoyed Chaol, Yrene and Nesryn’s story. It was cool to see what was happening to them during the same time as book 5.

What books have you read this month? What are you going to read next book?

Books read in May 2022

This month I wanted to read four books, but I only ended up reading three – which is still good for me, honestly! This month I read two different series, and that actually puts me almost done with one of them (only two books left!) Below is my rating and my opinion!

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

On goodreads, I gave this book 5 stars, but I would really give it 4.5 stars. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I finally started getting into it I finished it fairly quickly. The thing I love most about Aelin Galathynius is that she does everything with purpose, and we never know why she does these little things until later. When the reveal happens, I just want to punch the air and go “good for her!” Sometimes… I may actually do that.

The 5th Horseman (Women’s Murder Club, #5) by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The women’s murder club series is the series I turn to when I need an easy read. I need breaks after reading books like the one above. Some people think it’s weird, but I cannot read a long series back to back. I have to read books in between, and this is one of them. I believe this series is really good. I’ve come to really love the character Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer (and her friends).

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think this book was the best one yet out of all of them. I love Aelin. I love Rowan. I love Aedion. I love Dorian. I love Lysandra. I love Manon. I love them all. Again, I love the way Aelin will have purpose for everything that she does. I know the others are mad that she doesn’t reveal her plans to everyone, but I do love the shock that they have when her plan unravels. This book left me with the hugest cliffhanger about her well-being and I KNOW that I won’t know anything until I read book 7 because book 6 is about Chaol. Pray for my mental well-being.

Also, I just want to note that I have now read 12 books this year. My goal is to read 22 books. If I reach my goal before December I will probably extend my goal.

Do you have a reading goal? What is it? What book are you reading right now?

Books I read in March (2022)

If I am able to read at least two books a month then I will more than likely makes these posts monthly instead of every other month. I have a book goal of reading 22 books, but I have almost 30 that I listed that I want to read. Click here to go to the post of the books I want to read this year (and books I have read so far that were not on that list).

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This assassin series is really good. This is the third book of the series. It has been a while since I read the last one, but it did not take me long to remember what had happened in the last book. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars is because it did take a little bit for me to actually get into reading the book. I think most of the books in this series are pretty big, and it is dragged out a little bit. I’ll read the next book next month.

4th of July (Women’s Murder Club, #4) by James Patterson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the fourth book of this series. I found this book to be really interesting. In this book, it had a trial and I found myself to be “on the edge of my seat” in anticipation to figure out how the whole trial was going to pan out. I did find myself guessing the murderer (mostly), but it did have a twist I did not see.