Review: The Little Wartime Library

Dangle a World War II set novel that features a bookstore or library in front of me and I am going to snap it up. We should all know that by now. So, it’s no surprise I was immediately drawn to Kate Thompson’s latest novel, The Little Wartime Library. I devoured it in a weekend!

Here’s the book’s description:

London, 1944 : Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city.
Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women's determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.

Some people may call this a dual narrative but there are only two chapters that take place in the present(ish) timeline so I wouldn’t necessarily categorize it as dual. That said, I really appreciated how Thompson introduced the characters in 2020 because it kept me curious about who, exactly, it was visiting the former underground library with her daughters. Having this time period briefly included also allows the readers a chance to connect this historical novel to their own lives, in today’s time. We’re losing more and more people who lived through WWII and books like Thompson’s allow their stories to live on and, with this one in particular, remind readers, and those who live in the Bethnal Green area, about a part of their history they may have forgotten or never known about it in the first place. I definitely had no idea there was a library in the underground during the war and I was fascinated, and a little heartbroken, at the lives of those who visited the library.

Now, I do have to say that this book was a little too long. It clocks in at 480 pages which is a lot for any book, let alone a historical fiction title. I think Thompson just had so much information she wanted to include in the story that it ended up being longer than it should have. I didn’t find too many info dumps, which I hate in historical fiction, and was swept away into the world and time period Thompson recreated for me with her story. I respect that she wanted to include the history of the Channel Islands, Jersey in particular, but I found myself rushing through those chapters to get back to the main story. I learned a lot though and applaud Thompson for the time and effort she put into making sure her story was as accurate as she could make it.

The novel’s chapters alternate between Clara and Ruby but the pair were together so often that I sometimes got a bit confused about who I was supposed to be following. The story is told in third person too so that didn’t always clear things up. I liked both women and by having them have different backgrounds (widow vs woman on the town) allowed Thompson to share even more history of the time and what it would have been like for women of the time.

I found, at times, that maybe Thompson was reaching a bit in an effort to compare the library then to libraries now but maybe I just don’t know enough about the history of libraries. The library boss was an atrocious little man who didn’t think women had brains and didn’t appreciate the novels being circulated by the library (educational reading only if he had his way). It was a strong parallel to the censorship issues libraries across the world are facing, particularly in the United States. And the reader couldn’t help but compare the rules faced by those living through the war to some of the restrictions we had to deal with at the start of the pandemic.

I may have had teeny issues with Kate Thompson’s novel but on the whole? I loved The Little Wartime Library. Those readers who like slightly quieter and understated historical fiction (think Genevieve Graham or Jennifer Robson) will also enjoy this one, especially those who love any novel that focuses on books and booklovers. I am going to do more reading on the Bethnal Green library and I’m so thankful Thompson chose to explore this little part of history in her novel.

*An egalley was provided via NetGalley by Forever and an ARC was provided by HBG Canada in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Messy Lives of Book People

Look at this cover! Is it any wonder I needed to read The Messy Lives of Book People? I hadn’t read any of Phaedra Patrick’s books before, but I was enchanted by the description, title, and, yes, the cover of her latest book. The story itself didn’t quite live up to my expectation but I enjoyed my time reading it.

Here’s the book’s description:

Have you ever wished you were someone else?
Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can't believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, megabestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship.
But when Essie dies suddenly, a devastated Liv is astonished to learn of her last wish: for Liv to complete Essie's final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie's shoes, and as Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women--one that will change Liv's own story forever...

The older I get, the more I appreciate reading about characters who aren’t twentysomething women. I’m not a mother, of course, but I’m also not fresh out of school and making my way in the world on my own for the first time. So, I appreciated reading Liv’s story even more because it wasn’t her first rodeo either. She had lived but she still had so many life experiences and changes ahead of her.

The premise of this was really intriguing – a booklover working for her favourite author? Who then tasks her to finish her novel? I couldn’t help but wonder how I would have handled that. Probably not much better than Liv, to be honest. Still, I found myself wondering what the hell Liv was thinking with some of her decisions. There was maybe a little too much reliance on secrets and not fully communicating with other characters that made it hard for me to really get behind some of Liv’s actions. I couldn’t understand the reason for all the secrecy or why she was refusing to talk to those close to her – it’s was like in romances when SO MUCH could have been avoided if the love interests had just TALKED to each other. Conflict for the sake of conflict, you know?

One of the things that kept me reading was, in fact, those secrets. There were a few that were hidden to the reader and revealed at the end and holy man I didn’t see it coming. Was it a bit too convenient? Oh, maybe. But it worked with the rest of the story and how kind of sort of unbelievable it was.

The Messy Lives of Book People didn’t thrill me but I was delighted enough that I’ll be searching out Phaedra Patrick’s backlist and next novel.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Bookshop on the Corner

As soon as I read about Jenny Colgan's latest novel, The Bookshop on the Corner, I knew I had to read it. It's a book about - and for - book lovers. How could I say no?

Here's the synopsis:

Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more. 
Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile—a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. 
From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

What I absolutely loved about this book is that it's a story of following your dreams no matter how crazy they may seem. That's a scary and hard thing to do and I love that Nina did it. She fought against some things (not wanting to stay in the small town with the van at first) but gradually came to realize that things were unfolding in a way that made perfect sense for her new venture and her new life.

The romance in this novel is pretty predictable (at least it was for me) but that's ok. It wasn't really the point of Nina's story. I think everything that happens to her (no spoilers here, folks!) is needed to make her realize that she is worthy of a great love and especially worthy of someone who treats her with respect.

The Bookshop on the Corner is funny with a healthy dash of silliness - in the best possible way. Nina gets herself into a few scrapes but she has so much heart. She's lovable, real, and so much fun to read. Plus, she's such a quiet, almost forgettable character at the beginning of the novel and it's so wonderful to see her changing into a strong woman.

Jenny Colgan is an author who has so many books on my TBR list and after reading The Bookshop on the Corner I'm definitely going to make time to read from her extensive backlist! I also wouldn't mind at all if Colgan decides to visit Nina and her friends again in another novel someday soon. I kind of miss them! PS Keep scrolling for an excerpt from this new book and a giveaway! (The giveaway is US only as per the publisher...sorry!)

About the Author

Jenny Colgan is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including Little Beach Street Bakery, Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop, and Christmas at the Cupcake Café, all international bestsellers. Jenny is married with three children and lives in London and Scotland.

Connect with Jenny Colgan

Website 

Twitter

Facebook

Excerpt from The Bookshop on the Corner:

The problem with good things that happen is that very often they disguise themselves as awful things. It would be lovely, wouldn’t it, whenever you’re going through something difficult, if someone could just tap you on the shoulder and say, “Don’t worry, it’s completely worth it. It seems like absolutely horrible crap now, but I promise it will all come good in the end,” and you could say, “Thank you, Fairy Godmother.” You might also say, “Will I also lose that seven pounds?” and they would say, “But of course, my child!”

            That would be useful, but it isn’t how it is, which is why we sometimes plow on too long with things that aren’t making us happy, or give up too quickly on something that might yet work itself out, and it is often difficult to tell precisely which is which.

            A life lived forward can be a really irritating thing. So Nina thought, at any rate. Nina Redmond, twenty-nine, was telling herself not to cry in public. If you have ever tried giving yourself a good talking-to, you’ll know it doesn’t work terribly well. She was at work, for goodness’ sake. You weren’t meant to cry at work.

            She wondered if anyone else ever did. Then she wondered if maybe everyone did, even Cathy Neeson, with her stiff too-blond hair, and her thin mouth and her spreadsheets, who was right at this moment standing in a corner, watching the room with folded arms and a grim expression, after delivering to the small team Nina was a member of a speech filled with jargon about how there were cutbacks all over, and Birmingham couldn’t afford to maintain all its libraries, and how austerity was something they just had to get used to.

            Nina reckoned probably not. Some people just didn’t have a tear in them.

            (What Nina didn’t know was that Cathy Neeson cried on the way to work, on the way home from work—after eight o’clock most nights—every time she laid someone off, every time she was asked to shave another few percent off an already skeleton budget, every time she was ordered to produce some new quality relevant paperwork, and every time her boss dumped a load of administrative work on her at four o’clock on a Friday afternoon on his way to a skiing vacation, of which he took many.

            Eventually she ditched the entire thing and went and worked in a National Trust gift shop for a fifth of the salary and half the hours and none of the tears. But this story is not about Cathy Neeson.)

            It was just, Nina thought, trying to squash down the lump in her throat . . . it was just that they had been such a little library.

            Children’s story time Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Early closing Wednesday afternoon. A shabby old-fashioned building with tatty linoleum floors. A little musty sometimes, it was true. The big dripping radiators could take a while to get going of a morning and then would become instantly too warm, with a bit of a fug, particularly off old Charlie Evans, who came in to keep warm and read the Morning Star cover to cover, very slowly. She wondered where the Charlie Evanses of the world would go now.

            Cathy Neeson had explained that they were going to compress the library services into the center of town, where they would become a “hub,” with a “multimedia experience zone” and a coffee shop and an “intersensory experience,” whatever that was, even though town was at least two bus trips too far for most of their elderly or strollered-up clientele.

            Their lovely, tatty, old pitched-roof premises were being sold off to become executive apartments that would be well beyond the reach of a librarian’s salary. And Nina Redmond, twenty-nine, bookworm, with her long tangle of auburn hair, her pale skin with freckles dotted here and there, and a shyness that made her blush—or want to burst into tears—at the most inopportune moments, was, she got the feeling, going to be thrown out into the cold winds of a world that was getting a lot of unemployed librarians on the market at the same time.

            “So,” Cathy Neeson had concluded, “you can pretty much get started on packing up the ‘books’ right away.”

            She said “books” like it was a word she found distasteful in her shiny new vision of Mediatech Services. All those grubby, awkward books.

—

Nina dragged herself into the back room with a heavy heart and a slight redness around her eyes. Fortunately, everyone else looked more or less the same way. Old Rita O’Leary, who should probably have retired about a decade ago but was so kind to their clientele that everyone overlooked the fact that she couldn’t see the numbers on the Dewey Decimal System anymore and filed more or less at random, had burst into floods, and Nina had been able to cover up her own sadness comforting her.

            “You know who else did this?” hissed her colleague Griffin through his straggly beard as she made her way through. Griffin was casting a wary look at Cathy Neeson, still out in the main area as he spoke. “The Nazis. They packed up all the books and threw them onto bonfires.”

            “They’re not throwing them onto bonfires!” said Nina. “They’re not actually Nazis.”

            “That’s what everyone thinks. Then before you know it, you’ve got Nazis.”

—

With breathtaking speed, there’d been a sale, of sorts, with most of their clientele leafing through old familiar favorites in the ten pence box and leaving the shinier, newer stock behind.

            Now, as the days went on, they were meant to be packing up the rest of the books to ship them to the central library, but Griffin’s normally sullen face was looking even darker than usual. He had a long, unpleasantly scrawny beard, and a scornful attitude toward people who didn’t read the books he liked. As the only books he liked were obscure 1950s out-of-print stories about frustrated young men who drank too much in Fitzrovia, that gave him a lot of time to hone his attitude. He was still talking about book burners.

            “They won’t get burned! They’ll go to the big place in town.”

            Nina couldn’t bring herself to even say Mediatech.

            Griffin snorted. “Have you seen the plans? Coffee, computers, DVDs, plants, admin offices, and people doing cost–benefit analysis and harassing the unemployed—sorry, running ‘mindfulness workshops.’ There isn’t room for a book in the whole damn place.” He gestured at the dozens of boxes. “This will be landfill. They’ll use it to make roads.”

            “They won’t!”

            “They will! That’s what they do with dead books, didn’t you know? Turn them into underlay for roads. So great big cars can roll over the top of centuries of thought and ideas and scholarship, metaphorically stamping a love of learning into the dust with their stupid big tires and blustering Top Gear idiots killing

the planet.”

            “You’re not in the best of moods this morning, are you, Griffin?”

            “Could you two hurry it along a bit over there?” said Cathy Neeson, bustling in, sounding anxious. They only had the budget for the collection trucks for one afternoon; if they didn’t manage to load everything up in time, she’d be in serious trouble.

            “Yes, Commandant Über-Führer,” said Griffin under his breath as she bustled out again, her blond bob still rigid. “God, that woman is so evil it’s unbelievable.”

            But Nina wasn’t listening. She was looking instead in despair at the thousands of volumes around her, so hopeful with their beautiful covers and optimistic blurbs. To condemn any of them to waste disposal seemed heartbreaking: these were books! To Nina it was like closing down an animal shelter. And there was no way they were going to get it all done today, no matter what Cathy Neeson thought.

            Which was how, six hours later, when Nina’s Mini Metro pulled up in front of the front door of her tiny shared house, it was completely and utterly stuffed with volumes.

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*An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins, in exchange for a review for a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own*

6th Annual End of Year Survey

Image from The Perpetual Page-Turner

I know, I know. 2016 is well underway. Why am I bothering with a recap of 2015 reading? Because I damn well want to, that's why. I adore Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner's End of Year Survey and I'm so glad I did take the time to work on it because it's rekindled my love of books, blogging, and reading, which took a bit of a hit last year due to all sorts of reasons. So, without further ado, I present my answers to the 2015 End of Year Survey. Jamie's survey can be found here.

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 110

Number of Re-Reads: 6 (the first six Anne of Green Gables books)

Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary (Some chick lit, women’s fiction, YA, NA)

Best In Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

I had a lot of favourites this year. You can check out my top ten list I did mid-December here. One book I keep mentioning as one of my favourites (might be number one) was The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (review, on Novel Escapes, the other blog I write for, is here).

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford. I don’t know why I didn’t love it but I just didn’t. It was one I was really excited about when I went to BEA and I managed to find an abandoned ARC just sitting on a table. I think part of the issue was I had only heard so-so things about it so I was negatively influenced. Ah well.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

I didn’t expect to like All Inclusive by Farzana Doctor as much as I did. The Canadian author wrote a great novel that I just couldn’t put down. Review is here.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I push every book that I love so it’s hard to say which one got the most pushing. I didn’t read it last year but I tried to get many library patrons to read Crazy Rich Asians (review) when I was working at a library this summer. At the Water’s Edge (review), The Lake House (review), and The Sisters of Versailles (review) all got pushed at the library, too.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

I finally read Jenny Han’s Summer series and am oh so glad I did. Loved them! And I thought the third book, We’ll Always Have Summer, was a perfect ending.

I also read the follow up to Meredith Schorr’s Blogger Girl (review) in ARC form and even though Novelista Girl (review) didn’t publish until 2016, it was probably the best sequel of the year. (Other than the manuscript of another book I read by Laura Chapman.)

I also devoured M.S. Force’s Quantum series. Seriously, I finished one and immediately picked up the next. I was that hooked. I’m so excited that the series isn’t actually over and she’s written another book about another couple from that world (Rapturous is out today!).

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

I found a bunch of new authors last year (some debut, some new to me) and put together a Top Ten Tuesday of all ten new to me authors a few weeks ago.

I think I’m most pleased I was able to get the chance to meet Sally Christie in July and cannot wait to dive into the ARC I have of her second book, The Rivals of Versailles.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Career of Evil was the third book in Robert Galbraith’s (aka J.K. Rowling) Cormoran Strike series. I don’t usually read straight mystery/suspense but I’m loving this series.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

See above :) Or any of K.A. Tucker’s books, especially the ones in the Burying Water series, I read in 2015 (Becoming Rain, Chasing River, Surviving Ice).

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

As I’m sure I mentioned last year, I don’t often reread books that close together. I usually like to wait at least a year before diving back into a particular world.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

Three way tie between three very different covers: Finding Audrey (review), Christmas at Lilac Cottage (review), and Leading Lines (review).  

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Ivy from Surviving Ice. I didn’t think I was going to love the last book in K.A. Tucker’s Burying Water series but Ivy worked her way into my heart and I loved reading about her kick ass self.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

I reread most of the Anne of Green Gables books this year and I forgot how exceptionally lovely they are.  

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

Oh man. I don’t think I really had any book totally change my life last year. #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso did give me a lot to think about though. I’m trying to read anything I can that will really help me find my focus and help me figure out what the hell I should be doing with my life.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?

Jenny Han’s Summer series, for sure.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

I am the worst at keeping track of quotes and I'm at a double disadvantage with not having my laptop working right now, so I can't easily access all my pictures. (I take a lot of pictures of pages with quotes on it I like. That's how I keep track. Not a great system lol) But this is one I posted on Instagram, so clearly it made an impact!

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Shortest was Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton (amazing graphic novel) at 166 pages.

Longest was Middlemarch by George Eliot at 904 pages. (Holy long and boring. Audiobook totally helped though.)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

I was shocked by the twist in November 9 (review) by Colleen Hoover but then I realized it reminded me too much of another NA book and then I was slightly annoyed.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Ben and Reese from Five Ways to Fall. I was surprised I loved this couple since Ben was always kind of a know-it-all pretty boy in my mind in the previous Ten Tiny Breaths series. But, I should know better than to doubt K.A. Tucker and I really grew to love Ben in this book.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Anne and Diana from Anne of Green Gables. Kindred spirits, bosom friends. (See above quote!) 

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Sarah Dessen finally had a new book out in 2015, Saint Anything. I love everything she does but this one was so much better than a few of her recent ones. Such an amazing novel.  

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Actually, Jamie was all about 99 Days by Kate Cotugno so I decided to read it. So. Good.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Brook from First & Goal by Laura Chapman. Swoon.  

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I’ve already talked about Sally Christie but I loved Avelynn (review) by Marissa Campbell too. Yay Canadians! Yay historical fiction!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan. The most outrageous thing about this book and it’s setting, among the filthy rich in Mainland China, is that it’s based on real life. Not the characters and their escapades, exactly, but people like Carlton and Astrid, and all the rest, actually exist. To have that kind of money…

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton. (Review) If you’re like me and hadn’t read any of her Hark, A Vagrant! comics, you need to rectify that situation immediately. I loved the mix of history, pop culture, humour, and feminism in this collection.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

I’m fairly certain Who Do You Love (review) by Jennifer Weiner made me cry. At the very least, I had crazy goosebumps as I read the scenes taking place on 9/11.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Marrying Type (review) by Laura Chapman. This was a really awesome novel that was a subtle nod to Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I adored it and wish others would give it a shot too!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Possibly Before We Were Strangers (review) by Renee Carlino. WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER?!? (This also has a jaw dropping twist moment.)

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis (review). This one ended up winning the Scotiabank Giller Prize and, shocker, I had read it before it was even nominated. Quick and dirty synopsis: Two gods (Hermes and Apollo) make a bet and give a group of dogs at a Toronto vet clinic human consciousness and language. It’s a little bit heartbreaking and a little bit weird, but a lot riveting.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
I already mentioned how Before We Were Strangers was a bit annoying because the two main characters just didn't converse with each other. So many problems could have been solved had they just talked to each other. His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay also drove me a bit batty...it's why I don't read a lot of "literature" because nothing happens and I get bored.

Your Blogging/Bookish Life

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?   

Every year I tell myself to make a list of the new blogs I find and every year I forget. Sigh. I can say that this year I fell in love with Alyssa’s photos on Instagram. She runs the blog Swept Away By Books and is on Instagram and Twitter as @alybabybooks. Her photos are gorgeous and she’s smart, funny, and Canadian.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?   

It was hard to pick a review I would call a favourite since I struggled a lot this year, but I decided to go with my review of The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster. Scott Wilbanks was a debut author and seemed so genuinely appreciative of my review. It was a really fun and riveting book too, which helped the writing and sharing process!

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

I didn’t have many non-review posts this year (hell, I didn’t have many posts at all). In a couple of questions you’ll see my posts on BEA, which were a lot of fun to write.

My favourite Top Ten Tuesday post was probably the one about bookish things I want to quit. It was good to take a look at my reading and blogging habits and figure out what really needs to be change.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?  

I had so much fun at Word on the Street this year with my blog (and very good) buddy, Natalie (Browsing Bookshelves). It was a beautiful day and we crossed paths with so many bloggers, including part the Ottawa Blogettes, which was such a great surprise.

I was also thrilled that the Ontario Blogger Meet Up was back this year. I hadn’t realized how much I missed getting together with my fellow bloggers. Being able to meet more authors (Sally Christie especially), say hi to another I’ve met before (lost my mind a little bit about being able to really chat with K.A. Tucker), and (re)connect with contacts in publishing is also great. And the amazing swag bags don’t hurt either!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

BookExpo America was, hands down, the best bookish event of 2015.This was the first time I had ever been to the event and the first time I had ever been to New York City. Needless to say, it was amazing. I got to meet some of my favourite authors (Catherine McKenzie - finally, K.A. Tucker - again, Meg Cabot) and hung out with some of my other faves at an amazing author dinner, after a fantastic event for Laura Dave’s latest novel (I love her and her book Eight Hundred Grapes - review) where I also got to meet Liz and Lisa, authors and defender of chick lit (amazing women).

My recaps (sans haul post because I suck): Planning and Travel, Day One Day, Day One Night, Day Two, Day Three, Touristing and Leaving.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I got really behind with blogging near the end of 2014 when I was working over an hour away from home (one way). The commute (and the job) sucked the life out of me and it was hard to focus on anything fun. I was still playing catch up but I was getting there...and then my laptop broke at the end of 2015. It’s been so frustrating trying to get it fixed. Also, because of falling behind, I feel like I’m also having to totally rebuild relationships with publishers. It was a really tough year.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog?   

One of my popular posts this year was about my Five Year Blogaversary. I still can’t believe I’ve been blogging for over five years now!

Another highly viewed post was my review of Clara Hughes’ book Open Heart, Open Mind.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?   

Probably my review of Dina Silver’s newest book, Whisper if You Need Me. I loved this book and I wish more people knew about it. It was her first YA novel and it was a damn good one. Definitely one for contemporary fans (especially those who love Sarah Dessen).

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? I'm sure there was something at BEA or Word on the Street that I hadn't heard of before but I'm drawing a blank. So, instead, I'll go with adult colouring books. I had heard about them way early on (thanks to constant Chapters browsing) and finally got myself one, Johanna Basford's The Enchanted Forest, right before said book sold out pretty much everywhere. Then it seemed like everyone and their sister was colouring! I have...well...a lot of them and I adore them. Yay adult colouring books!

These were just the three I got for Christmas!

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I wanted to read 100 books and I did. I made it to 110, a secondary goal I made once I hit 100. I’ve cut my number down to 75 because I don’t want to stress about hitting the goal (and I can’t not make one...it’s kind of fun to a point. We’ll see if I stick with it in 2017). I’m also hoping I’ll be working full time soon so that will cut into my reading time.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?     

It’s not that I didn’t get to it in 2015 or that I’ll make it a priority, but I really should finally read Me Before You before the movie is released and my imagination doesn’t get to have any fun creating characters.

I’ve also been saying for years I want to read Outlander. Maybe 2016 will be the year I finally read it.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?   

I am the worst at actually knowing what books are coming out, if you can believe it. Oh, I’ll know when it’s about a month out but that’s usually after it’s gotten a little bit of bookish press (which is before the average person would hear about it). Needless to say, I had to do some research for this (and the following) question.

The Austen Project has finally announced the date for probably the most anticipated Jane Austen update. Curtis Sittenfeld is taking on Pride and Prejudice and, surprisingly, they’ve actually changed the title. Does this mean the book will be more updated than the other ones have been? (Emma - review - and Sense & Sensibility - review - were such a disappointment but I did enjoy Northanger Abbey - review.) The new book, Eligible, will be released April 19.

I’m also so excited that Catherine McKenzie will have another new book this year. Circling October 4 on my calendar!

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?    

I’ve seen The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney pop up here and there and I am really intrigued. It's set to release in March.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

I’ve already mentioned it but I am so excited for The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie. My amazing friend who works at Simon and Schuster Canada snagged me an ARC right before Christmas. I could have kissed her when she delivered it. I probably would have if I hadn’t been working. I did squeal and do a dance. You're welcome, David's Tea customers.   

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

One thing I’d love to be able to do is go to Canada Reads and watch the debates in person. They’re in Toronto (an hour and a half away, ish) so that’s why I haven’t made it before now. Perhaps this year my schedule will allow for it!

I’ll also throw it out there to the Bookish Gods in the hopes they can help me get to Chicago for BEA this year...   

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone

I’ve only read two 2016 releases so far and one has already published. Novelista Girl by Meredith Schorr will be pushed on my chick lit girls (review) and He Will Be My Ruin by K.A. Tucker will be pushed on everyone else. Love those two women and their novels!