November 2022

If October was all craziness and cross-country then November was less craziness and all volleyball. Early morning practices, late practices, and two games a week. It was all consuming but also very fun! I loved watching Bryn progress and get better and better. 

Daylight savings time ended. It is one of my least favorite days of the year. I thought we were trying to end daylight savings time all together? Living in the north... I want it ended. Dusk at 3:30pm and darkness by 4 pm is horrible.

The college kids calmed down and settled in to a less dramatic life. Thank goodness! Ailey was still sick all month and that kind of slowed her roll. Probably a good thing. The kids still did some road tripping. Ailey, Elsa, and Miley all took a quick trip to Jackson Hole for Miley's birthday.

I basically went straight from Halloween to Christmas. Seriously. October 31st was Halloween and November 1st was Christmas. My month started out with a GIANT (basically the biggest and most stressful of the year) booth revamp wherein I transformed my booth into all things Christmas for our holiday open house which was the first weekend in November. This is such a big job for vendors that we had two vendor nights and the store closed on Friday for the transformation. When Midtown Market reopened for the Holiday Open House it opened to a Christmas wonderland! Bryn and Tyler came in both nights to help me. For the Open House photo booth, Midtown Market recreated the living room from Christmas Vacation. It was genius! My friends Jen and Rebecca came in to say hello on the big set-up day. It was fun to show them around. 

Everyone loved the photo booth! These two had to try it out!

The Open House was a big success! I had my highest sales ever!! Woohoo!! I was especially happy considering how bad the economy is right now. A windstorm even hit on the first day of the open house but people still showed up. Thank goodness there wasn't much damage and we didn't lose power and neither did the store. Reilly and Hunter were housesitting for her boss and they had some minimal damage there. We were lucky. I hate windstorms.

I started decorating for Christmas early. I had to do it in a few stages because I was so busy but it was completely done by November 15th. I had some trees up and most of the decorations out though by the end of the first week of November. I've become one of those people who needs early Christmas decorations. I've accepted and embraced it. I also helped Tyler put up the lights on the house. My first time ever. LOL. We are down to only one kid at home and she was busy and not able to help. She was not sad about that. Outside light helper is not one of the Johnson kids' favorite jobs. Let's just say that Tyler gets a bit *testy.* He wasn't too bad this year but maybe that was because he had a more *competent* helper. Ha ha! Our house looks so pretty all decked out in Christmas lights! I love it! Bryn and I started watching our Hallmark holiday movies even BEFORE December. (We missed Ailey!!) Did you know that they have Thanksgiving movies? They do! We started with Pumpkin Pie Wars and we never stopped all month long! LOL. Tyler joined us and napped through all of them.

We got our first snow on November 7th and it never stopped. We got about 4 inches that first snow. The trees in our yard never even had a chance to change colors or drop their leaves. Our Fall lasted about a week and then winter was here in full force. The roads were icy all month long. I was so glad that we got our studded snow tires put on at the end of October. We also got the call that our boat was winterized in the middle of all of the snow. Fabulous. I was so nervous that someone was going to rear end us while we were towing the boat. Thankfully we got the boat put away safe and sound for the winter. At the end of the month we got a huge storm that dumped about 15 inches at our house. Bryn got herself a snow day! Schools closed for only one day but the roads have been crappy all month long. The only good thing is that in between storms we have had a lot of sunshine and blue skies. We never get that here. Usually it is just gray day after gray day for months. The sunshine and blue skies made it *slightly* less terrible. 

Reilly turned 26 this month. 26!! Why is time suddenly at warp speed?

For her birthday she just wanted items for the baby. We were very happy to shop for that! She also wanted to go to Chaos Arcade and eat pizza. Chaos caters to a more adult crowd. More virtual reality games and adult beverages. There aren't a bunch of little kids running around everywhere. We had fun!

After that we went back to our house for cake and presents. Reilly requested my Mom's Mocha Brownie Torte as her birthday cake. I haven't made that in awhile. It is so good!

Happy Birthday Reilly Victoria!!

Two days later it was Kameron's 22nd Birthday!

I never got a birthday picture of Kam (despite requests) so I will insert this one here. LOL. We mailed him a package for his birthday and I venmoed him money to buy several quarts of ice cream for his cake. Ice cream is his favorite treat and he had just been telling us about how he has to budget buying ice cream. He can only afford it a few times a month. College life.  Ailey took him to lunch and he celebrated with his friends. One of his roommates has a birthday close to his so they celebrated together. Bryn was out of school for Veteran's Day (Kam's birthday) so Tyler took the day off too. We went to CDA and ate sushi to celebrate the glorious day of Kam's birth. LOL. We facetimed with him later that night.

Happy Birthday Kameron Tyler! Your birthday lunch was fabulous!!

This month Kameron tried to donate plasma with all of his roommates for some quick cash but his resting heart rate was too high and he was denied. This happened a few times. He called his cardiologist to see if this was something to be concerned about or if it was just part of his Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome. His cardiologist said that it was nothing to worry about and that his heart rate will be higher but that it is normal for him. Unfortunately it prevents him from donating plasma. His cardiologist said that it would be fine for him to donate but the plasma centers are very conservative and will keep denying him. Poor Kam. Ailey has also been denied donating plasma with her roommates because she was under weight. LOL.

There were a lot of hard things going on with people I care about this month. The husband of my BYU roomie and long time friend Carrie has been fighting brain cancer for the last year. He isn't doing well. Their youngest son has been out on his mission for the last 18 months and he just received permission to come home early so that he could see his dad. His mission president was SO supportive and wanted him to go home. My how times have changed. Thank goodness!! But it is absolutely heartbreaking for Carrie and her family. My BYU bestie and other roomie Tiffany and I are devastated. It is horrible feeling so completely helpless.

In happier news...Reilly had another ultrasound and her baby is a chunk! They decided against moving her due date up but if she goes full term he is projected to be about 10 lbs. Reilly was 7 lbs 8 oz and Hunter was a preemie born at 24 weeks so this is craziness! 

My month took an interesting turn...like I said in my last post... I contacted BYU about going back to school. It was terrifying. I don't know why it felt that way but it did. I knew that I was very close to graduating and would be a good candidate for their Bachelor of General Studies program. One day I just decided to make the call and find out where I stood. They confirmed that I only have about 3 more classes to take and then I could graduate. I had completed all of my generals and all of my classes for my psychology major. All I still need to take are three electives. They also had to look at my transcripts and my grade point average to see if I qualified for the program. I do. But since I had actually completed so much of my degree already I was an especially tricky case. They thought that I might still be able to graduate with a psychology degree rather than a bachelor of general studies with an emphasis in psychology. I had to set up a zoom meeting with an advisor in the psychology department. Also terrifying. She was awesome though and went above and beyond for me. Due to my complicated case status she had to talk to a lot of people at BYU including the dean to find out what could be done in my situation. Unfortunately because it had been more than seven years since I stopped taking classes I would need to apply to BYU and retake several of my psychology classes and one of those cannot be taken online so I would need to attend that class in person. Nope. Not interested in doing that.

My other option (the one I originally called about) is to apply to BYU and get accepted into their Bachelor of General Studies program. To receive this degree all I need to do is take those last three electives. Yes. That is the route that I am interested in. If I really wanted to do something in the psychology field I would look into going to school at EWU but I don't. All I want now is the personal satisfaction of graduating from college. There are a couple of other career fields that I am thinking about and am more interested in. Anyway... I started the application process. Exciting and scary!

I also had a lot going on with my church calling this month. We had a big Stake Primary training and appreciation night. We met with all of the Primary Presidencies in our stake. I spoke at the event and was also in charge of the Q & A session. It went well but I was really glad when it was over! Primary Program season continued. I attended multiple Primary Programs in several wards this month. All were wonderful! I especially loved attending the Swahili Branch.

I attended a refugee dinner/event for IRC Spokane. (International Rescue Committee)  This was fascinating. I really want to get more involved in helping the refugee population in our community which is quite large. The speaker was fantastic (she's in my stake). There are so many interesting ways to get involved. More hands on than just donating money and supplies. IRC is a refugee resettlement agency that provides support and housing for newly arrived refugees in the Spokane area. I am feeling a pull to get more involved in our local community.

So true!

Ailey continued to be sick throughout the month. Kameron had to run Ailey back to the doctor for another round of stronger antibiotics. Those finally seemed to do the trick and she started feeling a little bit of relief before Thanksgiving. Bryn got sick the week before Thanksgiving. She had a fever and respiratory symptoms. Bryn's Sunday School class stopped by with treats and a card for her. They were doing the rounds because so many kids in their class were out sick. Bryn was pretty miserable and missed a few days of school and a volleyball game but thankfully she started feeling better the day before Thanksgiving. Whew! 

Tyler got his third eyeball shot. Still terrible but his eye is looking good. Now he doesn't have to go back to the eye doctor for 6 months at which time they will check his eyes and see if he needs another round of shots. Tyler is thrilled to be done with those for awhile. I don't blame him!! At work he was asked to be on the Standards Committee. That was exciting! He will do a great job! He also had a speaking assignment this month for his stake calling and did great! 

The weather hasn't been conducive to getting outside all that much (the roads have been sheets of ice) so we have been putting our Peloton to good use. I am super glad that we have it! Bryn wants a gym membership for Christmas and that will be a good impetus in getting us back to the gym. I like having workout options but being outside is always my number one! Adding some serious weight training to my workout this upcoming year is a MAJOR priority. I started early by adding in a peloton weights workout when I use the peloton. It feels good. I like feeling STRONGER! We did squeeze in a couple of good park walks with our clip-on spikes to handle all of the ice and snow. It felt great! I hate being cooped up in the winter.

I love that frozen pond! It reminds me of the pond in Springdell.

Bryn got Beverly to go out in the snow whenever she could. Bev is NOT a fan of snow and refuses to go outside when it is cold and snowy.

Bryn had a fantastic month of volleyball! They have a really good team. So many of her friends are on her team and it is quite enjoyable to cheer them on. They had a great winning streak going until sickness hit. At the game that Bryn missed they only had four girls able to play. The rest were all sick and they had to call up players from the JV team to fill in. Bryn had so much fun and it has been great watching her skills improve. In one particularly memorable game this month she had the winning serve that won the game!! It was SO EXCITING!! The crowd went wild and her team went nuts! It was so fun! That experience pushed her to work even harder. Her volleyball schedule though is very demanding. Much more so than any other sport that she has participated in. It took a toll. She was exhausted every night and still had to stay up super late doing homework. She said it was worth it though. I hope so.

In random news of the month...the Acura started having issues. Tyler replaced the ignition coil. He had the part and did the work himself which was nice! Election Day rolled around and we voted. A lot was riding on this election in our state. Kam called us to see if we were following the Powerball lottery. We, of course, were not. He and his roomies were all buying Powerball tickets because the amount was up to 1.9 billion. Our family all bought multiple Powerball tickets from all kinds of random places for fun. Did we win? Of course not! Still it was fun seeing on our family group chat where everyone was buying their tickets from! It also got extra exciting because there was some kind of crazy problem with the lottery and it went down for several hours due to a situation in California. We all had to go to bed not knowing if we were potential billionaires! LOL! Speaking of our family group chat...it is one of my favorite things in the world. It gets pretty lively and never fails to be amusing!

We prepped for Thanksgiving! It came and went. It was wonderful!! It will be its own post.

Reilly had another appointment with her OB/GYN. This time her blood sugar was a little elevated. Her doctor wants her to do the 3 hour blood test in a few weeks. Other than that both she and the baby are doing well. Two sets of our good friends all became grandparents this month! All of our friends that are grandparents have grandsons. It's so funny! They have gotten us SO EXCITED to be grandparents in just a few short months!!

The day after Thanksgiving break a big snowstorm hit as I mentioned above. We got 15 inches in 24 hours. Tyler came home early from work. Midtown Market closed early. Tyler brought work home from the office so that he wouldn't have to go in the next day. Schools closed and we hunkered down. We had a Costco grocery delivery scheduled for that day. I felt so bad for the person who had to deliver it. He got a big tip!! The snow was crazy!! 

November ended with planning Reilly's upcoming baby shower, designing our Christmas cards, Christmas shopping, planning fun things to do over the holidays, and counting down the days until the college kids come home for Christmas Break! AND... we have SO MUCH SNOW!!!!

One Day Hour by Hour

Every year one of my favorite podcasters, Laura Tremaine, does a One Day HH Challenge. An hour by hour look at a random day in your life. I decided to participate but post it here rather than on social media. This year the day was Monday November 14, 2022.

Here's a look at my day on a Monday in November:

7 am:

My day began at 7am. I usually get up between 6:30 and 7am. Tyler leaves for work super early and gets to the office by 6am. Bryn comes in every morning to make sure that I am awake.

8 am:

Bryn had early morning volleyball practice.

9:00 am:

After dropping Bryn off at school I did my daily scripture study, prayer, and journaling. At 9 am I did some blogging.

10 am:

Ailey called and I talked to her for about an hour while she was in between classes and I was doing things around the house and working on Sisters Creed projects.

11:05 am:

I started decorating our family room for Christmas.

12:11pm:

I ate lunch. Today it was La Croix and a Luna bar.

1:19 pm:

I talked to my advisor at BYU about going back to school. Exciting and scary!

2:05 pm: 

Still decorating the family room.

3:08 pm:

Reilly came over after she got off of work and brought us a bunch of to-go hot cups that I ordered from her. Bryn likes to take hot chocolate with her early in the morning. Reilly also surprised me with a boba drink!

3:50 pm:

In the carpool lane picking Bryn up from school.

4:38 pm:

Tyler and I went walking at the park to try to catch the last rays of daylight. The pond had frozen over and everything looked so beautiful!

5:30pm: Dinner 

6:30 pm: Talked to Ailey again.

(I forgot to take pictures! It's harder than I thought to remember to take a picture every hour.)

7:25 pm:

Drove Bryn to piano lessons. She and another girl take late piano lessons to accommodate their sports schedules. Thea is at 7pm and Bryn is at 7:30pm. I am so grateful that my friend Jodi (Bryn's piano teacher) offers late lessons! 

8:20 pm:

Ran to the grocery store with Tyler to grab a few things that we needed.

Kameron called while we were at the store.  He told us to try the new holiday Redbull flavor. Fig Apple. Tyler and Kam like it and I don't. It tastes like neither an apple nor a fig. It tastes like black licorice to me. Disgusting.

9:34 pm:

Checking on Bryn who was still working on homework.

10 pm:

A quiet and semi-decorated house.

10:32 pm:

In bed. My face washed and skin care routine done. Vitamins taken and teeth brushed. Reading my book. Tyler was still up watching a show. He stays up later than me. I lasted about 10 minutes before I fell asleep.

One Day HH in the books. Not very exciting but an *almost* hour by hour glimpse of a random Monday in November.

Fall Book Reviews 2022

 1.) Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

This was my book club's pick for September 2022.  We've read a lot of nonfiction in my book club this year and most of it has been pretty heavy. Therefore I wasn't too excited to *dive* in to this nonfiction read. I think our book club needs to do a slightly better job of mixing up the genres next year.

From Goodreads:

For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was more than a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigating through wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships. But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones–all buried under decades of accumulated sediment. 
No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location. Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery.

This book was informative and full of interesting historical facts. I enjoyed learning more about deep wreck diving, the culture, and the community. It was fascinating and terrifying to read how the divers often put their lives in danger to retrieve artifacts (like dinner china) from underwater wrecks. I felt armchair anxiety reading about nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness, and all of the other ways to die underwater.

It was also interesting to learn more about German U-boats/submarines which were topics about which I had zero prior knowledge. I particularly liked the last third of the book as we learned more about the crew who were onboard that particular submarine.

Sometimes I felt like the book got a little bogged down. As the pace slowed and the detailed descriptions increased, my interest would sometimes wane. I kept reading to find out the identity of the wreck and the fates of divers Chatterton, Kohler, and Nagle. One of my favorite parts of the book was the post publication interview with Chatterton and Kohler that is included at the end of the audiobook. The author interviewed the divers to ask them some questions that he had wondered about since finishing the book. Very interesting.

My Rating: Okay. It's not my typical genre which makes it a perfect choice for a book club.

2.) The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo

This was the Spokane is Reading pick for 2022. Yay! Spokane is Reading is finally back after a long COVID hiatus! This year they picked a local Spokane writer...but still...it's back. Thank goodness!

From Goodreads:

Inspired by twenty-six fruits, essayist, poet, and pie lady Kate Lebo expertly blends natural, culinary, medical, and personal history.. In this work of unique invention, these and other difficult fruits serve as the central ingredients of twenty six lyrical essays (and recipes!) that range from deeply personal to botanical, from culinary to medical, from humorous to philosophical. The entries are associative, often poetic, taking unexpected turns and giving sideways insights into life, relationships, self-care, modern medicine, and more. What if the primary way you show love is to bake, but your partner suffers from celiac disease? Why leave in the pits for Willa Cather's Plum Jam? How can we rely on bodies as fragile as the fruits that nourish them?

This is a book of essays. A-Z essays...not my favorite essay format. And essays aren't for everyone. This book isn't for everyone. Some essays were more interesting than others. In this book the author weaves obscure facts about lesser known fruits with facts about her personal life. Two books in one. It's cookbook meets hipster memoir. Her writing is folksy at times and trying to be edgy at others. I'm not quite sure what this book was trying to be. A little bit of everything? There are also parts that are quite repetitive. We get it...pits have cyanide! Kate Lebo lives in my town and I very much enjoyed reading about local places and people. 

I had the opportunity to listen to her speak and do a reading from her book at an author event. I always enjoy listening to an author discuss their work and writing process. She did a very long reading on the Juniper chapter. It was interesting how she chose the particular fruits, the research that she did, and the parts about her family. I wanted more of her family story...the secret aunts...the famous musician boyfriend with celiac. I had questions. They weren't answered in the book nor in person, unfortunately.

I enjoy a food memoir and I often enjoy a book of essays but this was a little too all over the place for me. I did come away craving jam and wanting to try some of the more unusual and hard to find fruits. I also learned some interesting obscure fruit facts along the way.

My Rating: So-So.

3.) Book Lovers by Emily Henry

I enjoyed Emily Henry's previous book Beach Read. It was a romance novel with a little more substance. I was hoping that this book would be similar. It was even better.

From Goodreads:

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute. If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

This book was pure fun! I enjoyed Emily Henry's writing. It's smart and funny. The author good-naturedly pokes fun at romance novels, common romance tropes, and Hallmark-esque movies. I loved it! I especially enjoyed the witty fast-past banter between the two main characters. Emily Henry writes books that are a little more nuanced and realistic than your average romance novel and I appreciate that. Her characters are well developed and I was invested in their stories and their fates. I loved that the story takes place in the book publishing world. One character is a literary agent and the other is an editor. Then the book jumps to a small town in North Carolina. Even better! I delighted in all of the literary allusions and pop culture references that were sprinkled throughout the book. I found the novel to be charming and fresh. A welcome break from the other books I've read lately.

My Rating: I loved it! A fun rom-com that doesn't take itself too seriously.

4.) Verity by Colleen Hoover

I've seen this book everywhere. Everyone is reading Colleen Hoover. People rave about her. I've never read anything written by her so I decided to give a Colleen Hoover a try.

From Goodreads:

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

I loved the premise of this novel. I especially loved the story-within-a-story format. I was drawn right in and couldn't put it down. It was a super quick read. It was definitely page-turning and suspenseful but it was also disturbing. There are a lot of trigger warnings...child abuse, violence, gratuitous graphic sex. It was too much for me. I thought this was going to be a haunted house romance and it ended up being something darker. I also needed more character development from Lowen and Jeremy and less from Verity. Her dark twisted *sharing* made me nauseous. 

This is Hoover's first thriller. She normally writes romance novels. I liked the setting and thought that the plotting was okay but her writing was meh. The ending was polarizing (as everyone said it would be.) I thought it was disappointing and a cop out.

My Rating: Not great. I don't get the hype.

5.) The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

I actually started reading this book last winter just as we were heading into the holidays and while I liked it; I didn't finish it. I am a seasonal reader. I couldn't read what was clearly (to me) an autumn/Halloweenish book around Christmastime. I had a hard time getting in to it so I DNFed it and decided to wait until this fall. It was a great idea! I picked this book up again in October and it was the absolute perfect fall read!

From Goodreads:

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

This is the prequel to Practical Magic which I also enjoyed. Alice Hoffman does magical realism to perfection. Her first book Practical Magic is probably the weakest of the series. I loved being immersed in the world of the Owens family. The characters are rich and wonderful. The characters in Practical Magic are the weakest too. Each subsequent book just gets better and better as we learn about the other family members and their histories. I loved them all. Each member of the Owens family was interesting and complex. I rooted for all of them and wanted all of them to find lasting love and happiness. I cheered for them and my heart broke for them. I love this family of witches!

The writing is fantastic. It is very cinematic with beautiful descriptions. Hoffman's world building (over the course of all of her books in this series) is visually stunning. The experience of reading her work is magic in and of itself. 

This is a book about love that is told through the story of a multi-generational family of witches. Each with their own interesting histories of loves, losses, family drama, and learning to choose courage. Through the years the Owens family learns to accept themselves for who they are and come to realize that it is worth it to love others and that they are worthy of being loved in return. 

In this novel we follow the lives of Frannie, Jet, and Vincent as they come of age in New York City in the 1960s. We get the back story of the aunts from Practical Magic and I loved every minute of it! Despite being set in the 60s (not my favorite time period to read about) I couldn't put it down. The Owens family has such a sense of timelessness to them that I often forgot what decade I was reading about and just fell in love with the characters. There is one more installment in this series and I will be saving it for next fall. I don't want my time with the Owens family to end!

Brilliantly and poetically written I was mesmerized by this lovely book (and series) which has quickly risen to become one of my very favorite book series. 

My Rating: I loved it!

6.) Birthright by Timothy Alberino

I heard Timothy Alberino on a podcast and my curiosity was piqued. He is out there in many ways. This is his take on the Universe, its origins, and future happenings. 

From Goodreads:

The earth and distant extraterrestrial worlds are reeling in the wake of war and ruin. A powerful insubordinate prince, personified as the dragon, the devil, and satan, has mounted an unsuccessful insurrection against the kingdom of heaven in a battle of unimaginable destruction. The planets in our solar system, once teeming with life, have been laid waste and left to careen in their orbits, desolate and empty. After untold eons of inundated oblivion, the time has finally come to restore the terrestrial realm and appoint a new regent to govern it, Adam, the first man. This is the preamble to the story of mankind. The offspring of Adam have forgotten the patrimony and purpose of their race. Now faced with extinction at the hands of an alien adversary, it is high time for them to remember... Timothy Alberino retraces the pages and reveals the secrets of the greatest story ever told, the one in which we are all inescapably embroiled. From the galactic rebellion in the pre-Adamic past to the creation of mankind on Planet Earth; the fall of the watchers in the pre-Flood world to the machinations of Luciferian forces in modern times; the unveiling of the alien presence to the final battle at Armageddon; Alberino unpacks the synchronicity of these events with scholarly precision and leaves you breathless on the brink of a posthuman apocalypse.

This book is definitely out there! It got my imagination going looking through his lens at the Bible and his interpretation of scripture. To me it is a blend of his own brand of religious theory and sci-fi. Interesting and creepy. Perfect for October. I took it all with a large grain of salt! But it was definitely fun to discuss his theories with my spouse! I liked the first half of the book better than the last half. I enjoyed his theories about Adam more and was less into his theories about aliens.

My Rating: Out there... yet enjoyable.

7.) Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

This was my book club's selection for October 2022. It is a YA historical fiction/murder mystery told by dual timelines and two POVS.

From Goodreads: 

When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family’s property, she has no idea that investigating the brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about the past, the present, and herself. One hundred years earlier, a single violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a racial firestorm. In a country rife with violence against blacks and a hometown segregated by Jim Crow, Will must make hard choices on a painful journey towards self discovery and face his inner demons in order to do what’s right the night Tulsa burns.

I had no idea about the Tulsa race riots and massacre. "Following World War I, Tulsa was recognized nationally for its affluent African American community known as the Greenwood District. This thriving business district and surrounding residential area was referred to as “Black Wall Street." (Tulsa Historical Society) On June 1st, 1921 it was burned to the ground by a white mob. Hundreds died that day. It was heartbreaking to read about the events that transpired. As awful as it was to read, I am glad that this book is creating awareness and bringing attention to this terrible time in history.

This was a quick and propulsive read. The author does a great job of building tension. I worried nonstop about who the skeleton would turn out to be. The dual timeline was necessary for the mystery part of the novel although I much preferred the timeline in the past. The whole novel could have been based in the past and been just as effective and evocative. 

The character of Rowan was the weaker of the two narrators. Her character helped the reader to see how racism still exists and how far we still need to go. But I wish that Rowan had more depth. It would have also been interesting to learn more about Will's mother and her Osage heritage and the history (also terrible) which will follow the Osage people a few years later.

This is a great book to hand to any teenager or adult. It is an interesting story and brings to light a horrible little known piece of American history. Every American should know what happened on that terrible day in 1921.

My Rating: A heartbreaking and important read.

8.) The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

This was a fun Halloween rom-com. Think Hallmark holiday movie but it's Halloween instead of Christmas. I wanted something fun and seasonal for October and I don't love scary books so this fit the bill.

From Goodreads:

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two. That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

This was book was light, fluffy, and a little cheesy. There were witches, magic, ghosts, curses, and romance. Perfect Halloween vibes. It was also humorous and entertaining. I loved the setting of the small quaint town of Graves Glen and its love of Halloween. I liked the characters of Vivi and Rhys and the second chance trope. This is a romance so there are some steamy scenes. This isn't a deep and thoughtful read. Enjoy it for what it is, Halloween fluff!

My Rating: A quick fun Halloween read.

9.) This is A Book For People Who Love the Royals by Rebecca Stoeker

I do love the Royals (well some of them) so I thought this would be a fun entertaining read. It was.

From Goodreads:

From the line of succession to the Queen's corgis, this charming book is a perfect primer on the fascinating world of British royalty. Full of fun facts and surprising stories to delight longtime enthusiasts and new fans alike, This Is a Book for People Who Love the Royals, digs into all of the aspects of everyone's favorite monarchy. Uncover the history of British royalty and answers to common questions -- like how royal titles work, who is in the line of succession, and why the guards at Buckingham Palace never smile -- as well as deep dives into fashion, jewelry, and other palace perks. Profiles of popular family members, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and more, add personality to this irresistible celebration of the crown.

The book itself is super cute. I loved the size, color, and illustrations. I already knew most of the facts and royal trivia but I still enjoyed reading it. It was a cheery and charming guide to the royal family. It was amusing to read all of the little details about the royal residences, jewels, wedding dresses, and family pets. The book is now a bit dated with both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip having passed away and a new baby, Lilibet, joining Harry and Megan's family. 

My Rating: Good. A fun quirky book.

10.) Live Wire by Kelly Ripa

It's been a long time since I've watched Live with Kelly and Ryan on TV and an even longer time since I watched Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on All My Children. I've always liked Kelly Ripa but I wasn't sure what to expect from this collection of autobiographical essays. I seem to either love or hate celebrity memoirs/essays. The reviews for this book seem to lean that way too. There has also been some negative press about what she had to say about Regis. I went in thinking that it would probably be.. meh... at best. I was wrong. I LOVED it! 

From Goodreads:

In Live Wire, her first book, Kelly shows what really makes her tick. As a professional, as a wife, as a daughter and as a mother, she brings a hard-earned wisdom and an eye for the absurdity of life to every minute of every day. It is her relatability in all of these roles that has earned her fans worldwide and millions of followers on social media. Whether recounting how she and Mark really met, the level of chauvinism she experienced on set, how Jersey Pride follows her wherever she goes, and many, many moments of utter mortification (whence she proves that you cannot, in fact, die of embarrassment) Kelly always tells it like it is. Ms. Ripa takes no prisoners. Surprising, at times savage, a little shameless and always with humor... Live Wire shows Kelly as she really is offscreen--a very wise woman who has something to say

This was a really fun read! I laughed so hard. I enjoyed her writing style and self-deprecating tone. This is totally my brand of humor. I got a kick out of this "not a memoir". I would recommend it on audiobook. Kelly narrates it and Mark hilariously chimes in. I liked reading about her marriage to Mark, her family, and especially the part about sending kids off to college and being an empty-nester. This was the perfect palate cleanser after reading some darker more serious books. If you are in need of a book slump buster this would be a great one.

As far as the section about Regis...I didn't want it to be a big Regis bash. It wasn't. She did a decent job presenting her experience of working with Regis. I disagree that she was disrespectful. I think she explained her viewpoint in a way that wasn't salacious like the media would have you believe. I think Regis wanted things done Regis' way and I don't believe that he saw her as his equal. Not surprising for a man of his generation.

As this isn't a memoir there were some glaring omissions, hot topics, and stories that she doesn't share. I had hoped that she would address some of those and give additional insight and context. Maybe someday she will. I think Ripa is a great storyteller and this was a fun peek into her life and family. If she writes more, I will definitely read it. Sometimes after reading a celebrity book I end up liking them less; I am happy to report that this was not the case with Kelly Ripa.

My Rating: This was a fun 5-star read for me.

11.) The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

From Goodreads:

When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before—and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background shrouded in secrets, Hunter embraced the Sears family and never looked back. Now, Hunter is telling her that something can be done about her baby's heart. Something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Caroline has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage that Caroline never knew existed. Something that will mean a mind-bending leap of faith on Caroline's part. And all for the love of her unborn child.

This was my book club's pick for November 2022. I had no prior knowledge of the book nor of Diane Chamberlain. It was the perfect way to go into it. Zero expectations. I just started reading. I love a good time travel novel and this one didn't disappoint. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. It was an incredibly propulsive and engrossing read. 

For me, the best parts of the novel were all of the interesting characters. The main characters were well-developed and compelling. My heart ached for them as I rooted for their happiness and success. I was invested in their lives throughout the novel. The heartbreaking decisions that Carly had to make kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what she was going to do and if it would be the right decision. Sometimes I agreed with her and sometimes I didn't.

Chamberlain did a good job of keeping all of the different timelines rich and interesting. I enjoyed the setting/time periods of both North Carolina and New York. I especially loved that in this time travel novel there are jumps forward and not just backward. That doesn't happen all that often. I loved looking at New York through Carly's astonished eyes. I also liked that I couldn't predict the ending. It could've gone several different ways and it kept me turning the pages and hoping for the best while dreading the worst.

The Dream Daughter was a pleasant surprise. It is a beautifully written layered novel about relationships, family, love, loss, and the power of a mother's love. It will pull on your heart strings. I loved this book and think that most people will. 

My Rating: Excellent. A thoughtful and captivating book.