Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary and Realistic Fiction (with historical references), (mature) Middle Grade (6th grade +)/Young Adult/Adult, Own Voices, Chicago, Diverse Read, African American
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
My Summary:
Jerome is twelve and has been shot by the police because the officer thought he was holding a real gun and felt his life was in danger. The community is outraged. Jerome returns as a ghost and has a front-row seat to the grief of his parents and the trial proceedings. He is invisible to everyone except Sarah, the daughter of the officer. Jerome also meets other Ghost Boys from different historical times who suffered untimely and unjust deaths and continue to “bear witness.”
Bloggers and participants might be interested in a summary of results from my recent 5 Year Anniversary post!
Most respondents receive notification of blog posts via email (43%) or WP Reader (21%).
Most respondents enjoy reviews of new releases (58%) as opposed to backlist titles (41%). I do write more reviews of new releases, so it looks like I’m meeting your expectations here.
Most respondents can’t remember how they found my blog (46%), but I think it’s significant that 21% found my blog via a link from another blog. So…..keep shouting out your blogging friends. We really appreciate it!
32% of respondents have shared my blog on Twitter (which validates time spent there! www.twitter.com/ReadingLadiesBC) and 25% have shared my blog link with a friend! Thank you! Thank you!
100% of you found my blog easy to navigate! If you ever notice a glitch, please let me know! I’m indebted to Jennifer @ Tar Heel Reader for informing me early in my blogging venture that my twitter share option wasn’t working correctly, and she helped me troubleshoot the issue.
I asked this question twice (careless oversight) and respondents seem to enjoy Book Lists (34%, 29%), Book Reviews (31%, 35%), and Discussion Posts (24%, 31%).
65% of blog respondents have followed for more than one year (forever grateful!), 17% for less than a year (welcome!), and 17% faithfuls from the beginning! (I appreciate your loyal support!)
Thank you for indulging me in this survey request. This is my first survey, and I’m thrilled to have received actual results! Your kind feedback is appreciated! I look forward to our virtual blogging relationship for years to come! If you’re a frequent commenter or you’ve never commented before, I’d love to hear from you!
Happy Reading Everyone!
Let’s Get Social!
Thank you for visiting today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.
Genre/Categories: Children’s Contemporary Fiction, Middle Grade, Family Life, Diverse Read
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
My Summary:
Thanks #NetGalley @RandomHouse @CrownPublishing (Crown Books for Young Readers) for a complimentary e ARC of #IsaiahDunnSavesTheDay upon my request. All opinions are my own.
In this follow-up to Isaiah Dunn is My Hero, Isaiah and his sister and mom continue to live with Miz Rita. As Isaiah starts middle school, his home life is more stable, Mama is feeling better, his poetry business is growing, he continues to work at Rock’s barbershop, his best friend Sneaky has a new side hustle, he starts working with the Rockets Reach Back mentorship program, and he continues to rely on his dad’s journals for inspiration and guidance.
Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, WW11, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
My Summary:
Welcome to my stop on the Harlequin Trade Publishing 2022 Summer Blog Tour for Historical Fiction. Thank you #Netgalley @HarliquinBooks (Mira) @HTPBooks @BookClubbish for a complimentary e ARC of #TheCodebreakersSecret upon my request. All opinions are my own.
Set in 1943, The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman is a story about Isabel and the codebreakers who work in the “dungeon” at Station HYPO in Pearl Harbor. They are in a race to retrieve data from the airwaves to help bring down the enemy. Isabel is grieving the loss of her brother as she faces sexism and other difficult working conditions. Circumstances look a little brighter when she meets her brother’s best friend, a hotshot pilot. A second timeline takes place in 1965 as journalist Lu Freitas covers the grand opening of a glamourous Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and meets a veteran photographer. As a team, they uncover a secret from the war days.
July reading and blogging was interrupted by vacation, but I still read 9 books! Out of the 9 books completed, I had one 5-star read, two 4.5-star reads, three 4-star reads, and three 2-3.5-star reads.
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Titles are Amazon affiliate links or my linked reviews. ARC=Advanced Readers Copy (complimentary copy for review before pub date)
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.” ~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.” ~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.” ~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
Let’s Get Social!
Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.
In July, I reached a significant blogging milestone! FIVE YEARS! To celebrate I’m sharing data, tips, and a survey!
Stats:
Are you a stats nerd? I do like to analyze my data to make sure I’m on an upward trend. I only compete with myself and you may find these stats dismal or intimidating depending on where you are in your blogging journey. For beginning bloggers, I think it’s helpful to have a realistic picture of what can be achieved with consistency in posting and promoting over a period of time. Please scroll past if this is uninteresting!
After FIVE years of consistent blogging, here are a few current Blogging Stats:
Number of Followers: 3,672 (A huge shout out to each of my followers! I can’t do this without your support!)
Most Number of Referrals (this year) in order from most to least: Search Engines, WordPress Reader, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram (bookstagram)
If there’s anything else you’d like to know, ask me in the comments!
My BEST 5 Blogging TIPS:
Consistency (consistency in posting, content, comments, and promotion will grow your blog)
Connection (connection with other bloggers will grow your blog and be an important source of encouragement and support)
Find Your Voice (Let your personality shine! If you enjoy your content, others will as well!)
Maximize Your Time (use templates for routine posts like book reviews, memes, and discussions…,copy a past post and use the format to create new content but be careful to edit out old information)
Readability (If your content is fabulous but I feel overwhelmed by it, I’m not sticking around! Format for white space, subheadings, images, breaking-up text into short blocks, using bullets or numbered lists when applicable,) Readability is part of SEO (see this post for more information)
Survey Time!
I’d love it if you could help me out with a ten-question survey today! I promise that it will take only a few minutes! I treasure your feedback! I’ve never created a poll before (using the Block Editor in WordPress), so I hope it works!
Thank You Again, Everyone!
Blogging requires a great deal of effort, determination, persistence, and time…but I love Reading Ladies with my whole heart!
Thank you, Dear Readers and Followers, for supporting me with visits, likes, shares, comments, bookish conversation, and clicking affiliate links! I hope my reviews have encouraged you in your reading endeavors and have helped you find some great reads!
Genre/Categories/Setting: Adult Fiction, Women’s Fiction, San Francisco, Texas
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
My Summary:
Thanks #NetGalley @HarperCollins @WilliamMorrowBooks @WmMorrowBooks for a complimentary e ARC of #SugarAndSalt upon my request. All opinions are my own.
Margot, a BBQ master from Texas, desperately needs a fresh start and ends up in San Francisco where she opens her own BBQ restaurant. Located right across from The Lost and Found Bookshop, the restaurant shares a commercial kitchen with Jerome, a handsome baker. She names her restaurant Salt and the bakery next door is called Sugar. The right combination of salt and sugar is also the secret to her award-winning BBQ sauce, As Margot and Jerome become friends, Margot’s traumatic past in Texas comes back to haunt her.
***Because of needed content warnings, this review may contain spoilers.
Genre/Categories/Settings: Historical Fiction, WW11, Books About Books, Espionage, (Lisbon) Portugal, (Lyon) France
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
My Summary:
Welcome to my stop on the Harlequin Trade Publishing 2022 Summer Blog Tour for Historical Fiction. Thanks #NetGalley @HarlequinBooks @HTPBooks @Hanover_Square @BookClubbish for a complimentary e ARC of #TheLibrarianSpy by Madeline Martin upon my request. All opinions are my own.
Ava loves her quiet and routine job at the Library of Congress. One day, she receives an unexpected offer from the U.S. Military to pose as a librarian in Lisbon while working undercover to gather intelligence. In France, Elaine works as an apprentice for a printing press run by the Resistance. Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages in an attempt to help a Jewish family.
Today for the July #WhatsOnYourBookshelfChallenge I’m focusing on Memoirs.
The memoirs I love have something to say about LIFE. My favorite memoirs are not the simplistic and often self-indulgent recounting of a celebrity’s life, fascinating as that may be!
The titles listed are representative of memoirs I’ve loved (and not an exhaustive list). As usual with any genre, personal taste accounts for my favorites. Reviews links are included when available. Do we share any favorites?
***Titles in this post are links to my reviews or Amazon affiliate links.
Why: Although the detailed recounting of tennis matches could have been condensed, they actually help me understand the grueling (physical and mental) nature of the game. I really appreciate his reflections on the meaning of his life (any life) and his conclusions that helping/serving others is the secret ingredient of a fulfilling life. In my review (click title to follow link), I’ve included several poignant quotes.
Why: I really appreciate the glimpse into Trevor Noah’s childhood experiences and candid reflections on post-Apartheid racism in South Africa. I gained a new understanding of what it means to be “mixed race.” See my full review by clicking on the title. (FYI, there’s also a YA version of the book)
Why: I appreciate Bryan Stevenson’s reflections on racial injustice and learning about his own initiative. Click on the title to follow the link to my full review. (FYI, there’s a YA version of the book)
Why: Years and years ago, before I read so much in the historical fiction (WW11) genre, I read The Hiding Place. I would like to experience a reread and review it properly. I think it would be more interesting/meaningful now because I’ve read so many WW11 titles. Not reviewed. (Christian)
Why: I love the field of psychology, but at first, I wasn’t sure about this memoir. I wasn’t too sympathetic to a therapist who couldn’t handle a personal break-up. However, as I continued to read, I ended up loving the memoir.
Why: 1. I love Mitch Albom; and 2. I love “found family” and adoption. I appreciate how Albom tenderly and candidly shares his experiences of taking guardianship of a medically fragile child. His reflections on what makes a family are thoughtful and poignant. My review can be found by clicking on the title.
Why: Well,….it was a case of FOMO but I am intrigued by a complicated family drama. I appreciate the example of an individual who grows up in a dysfunctional family and can escape and create a healthier life for herself. See my review by following the title link.
Why: I love this look into Woodson’s childhood experiences. It encourages understanding and compassion for children in similar circumstances. Read my review by clicking on the title link.
Why: I appreciate the exposure to a culture I didn’t grow up in, and I found a great deal in here that applied to the student population I served at the time. Read my full review by clicking on the title.
Why: After reading a great deal of WW11 historical fiction, I greatly appreciate reading about the life of a veteran and his experiences before, during, and after the war. Although this isn’t technically a memoir, it comes across as one because of the author’s extensive interviews. I read this before I started blogging….so no formal review.
Why: Actually my grandson recommended this to me as he was reading it for a high school class. Like Educated, it’s a remarkable story of dysfunctional family, resilience, and survival. Click on the title for my review.
Why: When I taught 5th grade, the special education teacher recommended this memoir to me. I loved that it was a diverse read and I bought copies for my classroom. Several students enjoyed reading about these three kids who made a pact to support each other in school and pursue their dreams in the medical field. As adults, these three doctors have a foundation to help students like themselves. Not reviewed.
Why: I love this inspiring memoir of a man who dedicates his life to providing intervention, work, community, and hope for gang members in Los Angeles, California. Not reviewed.
QOTD:
Do you have a favorite memoir to share?
In your opinion, what makes a memoir memorable?
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.” ~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.” ~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.” ~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
Let’s Get Social!
Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.
Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m sharing a special book I read years ago but have never reviewed on the blog, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris.
“Kathleen Norris invites readers to experience rich moments of prayer and presence in Dakota, a timeless tribute to a place in the American landscape that is at once desolate and sublime, harsh and forgiving, steeped in history and myth. In thoughtful, discerning prose, she explores how we come to inhabit the world we see, and how that world also inhabits us. Her voice is a steady assurance that we can, and do, chart our spiritual geography wherever we go.”
My Thoughts:
As this post is published, I’m on a plane heading for a family reunion in rural, northeastern South Dakota! This book captures many of my feelings about my home state. I have the fondest memories of corn fields, 360-degree views of the horizon, rolling hills, pastures, cows, chickens (and my grandmother chasing them around the farmyard to wring a neck, chop off a head, pluck feathers, and cook one for dinner), barn cats, eating peas directly from the pod in my grandma’s garden, blizzards (and making homemade ice cream), endless skies, wind, kick the can (in a dark farmyard!), small-town life (including “going to town” on Saturday nights), dark nights, starry skies, isolation, thunderstorms, corn fields, friendly/nice people, windmills, afternoons at the lake, fishing, taking my dad lunch in the fields, and country roads.
Do you love reading books that mention your home state or towns and locations with which you are familiar? Personal connections make the reading experience so much more enjoyable!
Even if you’re not from the Dakotas, you might appreciate this memoir if you love rural life, beautiful prose, and spiritual reflections.
QOTD:
What is one book with which you have a deep personal connection?
