Category Archives: Reading/Books

Updated Book Club Planning

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I run a book club called Women, Wine, and Crime in the Denver, CO area, open to women interested in murder mystery and true crime books. I took over this book club in August of 2020, we read fiction and non-fiction, a new book every (roughly) 6 weeks. I find that six weeks, along with some other parameters I’ve fine-tuned, has increased attendance and more members have fished a larger portion of the book. Here’s a list of past, present, and potential books we’ve read.

I started doing a book every 6 weeks or so last year and it really improved attendance; people had more time to read and more fodder for conversation. We go to different places each time and I initially hadn’t kept track. A few favorites are now closed and I’ve been getting more recommendations from members so I started a sheet that has locations, if they’re good, need to be re-vetted, or are a “no” with qulifiers of “closed” or “bad”; bad being either rudeness, group size difficulties, or parking issues.

I’ve made some changes and have explanded my GoogleSheets that I use plan and organize upcoming events and books.
“my GoogleSheets” is a hyperlink to the actual organizer for you to check out as inspo

Recently, memebers have been asking me for more events that are not necessarily book reviews. I’ve decided to comply with the masses and, sandwiched between evey other book, add some other activities. Since the book club is named Women, Wine, and Crime, I decided that the first two would be No Crime, Just Wine; just to get together. The third one will be a book exchange in July since the one in December went well. Essentially, it’s scheduled: book, six weeks, book, three weeks, event, three weeks, book, six weeks, book, etc. So we don’t have an event every three weeks which I think would run the members ragged. The first No Crime, Just Wine, is January 27th; I’ll let you guys know how it goes!

If you view the sheets, let me know if you have any recommendations to improve. I’m also always looking for book recommendations, for the book club or otherwise. If you run a book club, I hope this helps.

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Recent Book Reviews

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Here’s my ten most recent book reviews. To see more of my thoughts on books I’ve read, please find me on GoodReads. Message me, follow me, let’s talk books!

The Summer Children 5/5
The Collector #3
Gripping
I love this series and having read the third one now, I can’t wait to read the fourth!
The excerpts between done of the chapters helps break up the book while also mysteriously giving a backstory to an undefined character.
Love the team and their dynamic, the inclusion of previous victims for an update on where they are and how they are doing, and the emotions portrayed so well.

Ask for Andrea 2/5
Just, like my opinion man. Did not enjoy, skimmed most
It was really boring for most of it, giving extensive details about memories and the past that had no impact on the plot. These details did not help me to identify with the victims.
I enjoyed the plot and sections of the last few chapters.
This book may be great for some people, genuinely. I was not a fan.

The Every 4/5
Funny, dark, and beleiveably insane
I really enjoyed this book! Just crazy nonsense around every corner that you could truly see potentially, actually happening in the near future. The main character is loveable and can easily be identified with. Overall, I would recommend this book.

China Rich Girlfriend 5/5
Crazy Rich Asians #2
Wow!
This book had so many great plot lines and turns that intertwined in surprising and delightful ways. This was a great sequel and I couldn’t be more excited to read the next one!

A Marriage of Inconvenience: 5/5
The Persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama
Informative, sensational
This story is rooted in racism and segregation and the way this happened was sad and layered and I couldn’t believe I had never heard of this.
No spoilers just read it. It’s a little thick, and it needs to be.

A Serial Killer’s Daughter: 3/5
My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming
-No Title for Review-
Most of the book was interesting and well written. The juxtaposition of her dad and BTK was insightful. She questioned her faith, and I can understand that. For the last third/quarter of the book, it was repetitive and was pushing faith and quoting Bible verses excessively and a lot of talk about her kids and I didn’t enjoy it or learn anything from it.
I commend Kerri for writing this book, and I urge you to read it and to remember that the families of the perpetrators are due kindness and understanding.

The Lost Apothecary 4/5
-No Title for Review-
The subtle way the characters backstories are filled in, the emotions portrayed, and the overall character development for the main character was exceptionally done. The story seamlessly unfolded with flair and drama and twists. I felt I was in the city, on the adventure, and fighting alongside her for resolution of the complicated relationship. Would recommend.

The Collective 2/5
-No Title for Review-
I barely read this book. I couldn’t get into it. I read two chapters before I gave up. The style, language, and other core techniques were not for me. I marked it as two stars and moved on.

Nothing Is Strange with You: 3/5
The Life and Crimes of Gordon Stewart Northcott
-No Title for Review-
This was interesting, horrific, and dispicable. The story and background were worth reading this book. I gave it three stars because it was dry, dense, and occasionally confusing.

American Predator: 5/5
The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century
-No Title for Review-
Was shocked by this serial killer. I had never heard of these before. I don’t want to spoil too much so I’ll keep it vague; the plannning simultaneous with spontaneity, the variety in the victims he chose, the geographical range, and the way this ended was astonishing. Well written, easy to read and intriguing, would definitely recommend.

That’s 10; let me know if you’ve read these, if you agree with my reviews (be respectful) and if, based on these, you have recommendations that would be great!

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Updated TBR

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Here’s my original fall/winter TBR’s updated percentage complete and the books I’ve added for my new TBR and which books are on deck.

With six done, and having pulled the Gabriel Allon series for now, I have whittled down my TBR to:

I am prioritizing finishing any series that I have enjoyed so far, as long as there is a “mageable” nmber of them; I don’t know what constitutes manageable, but The Gabriel Allon series has 22. They are not quick reads for me, so I would like to clear more of my queue and have time to decide how best to approach this long series; one book per 5 book TBR? One every other currently reading book? TBD.

Two more down, three to go. Up next is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

I have decided not to add more books to my TBR. I set five as the (new) limit on my TBR and have five “On Deck“. I would also like to clear the TBR, then move on-decks into that list; with the exception being book club books as necessary. Here are my books on deck.

How many books do you have on your TBR? How do you decide which one(s) to read next? Do you keep a short-list of books you want to prioritize? How much of a series do you read in a row? Do you have a limit to how long a series can be before you commit to it?
Interested in your input to improve my lists, too!

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WWBC – True Crime Lovers

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Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate including a full list of topics for the year, please click here.

Given I run this book club, it’s safe to say True Crime is my jam. I read other genres, too. I also like to watch tv about true crime and to listen to True Crime podcasts. That being said, I’ve tried at least four true crime podcasts and I find the hosts go off topic and can sometimes be, well, annoying or unfocused and I can’t stand the podcast. If you have podcast reccommendations, I’m all ears. I won’t share which ones I didn’t enjoy, because it’s just my preference and opinion. I can reccommend most of the podcasts under the Wondery umbrella and Behind the Bastards. As far as TV, my most recent favorites are How to Become a Tyrant and How to Become a Cult Leader; both are on Netflix.

There you have it. I’m into True Crime and I’m open to suggestions!

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Updated TBR

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Here’s my last TBR’s updated percentage complete and the books I’ve added for my new TBR and which books are on deck.

With 4 done, I have whittled down my TBR to:

I have decided not to add more books to my TBR. I have/keep 5 as the (new) limit on my TBR and have 5 “On Deck“. I would also like to clear the TBR, then move on decks into that list. With the exception being book club books as necessary. Here are my books on deck.

I am prioritizing finish any series that I have enjoyed so far, as long as there is a “mageable” nmber of them; I don’t know what constitutes manageable, but The Gabriel Allon series has 22. They are not quick reads for me, so I would like to clear more of my queue and have time to decide how best to approach this long series; one book per 5 book TBR? One every other currently reading book? TBD.

How many books do you have on your TBR? How do you decide which one(s) to read next? Do you keep a short-list of books you want to prioritize? Interested in your input to improve my lists, too!

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Percent Complete – Fall/Winter TBR List

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Here’s where I’m at

That’s 3 done! Now I’m focusing on The Every; it’s over 500 pages so hopefully I can finish in the next couple of weeks. I’ll probably finish it then focus on Ask For Andrea so I’m done in time for book club. If you’ve read these, have any book recommendations, please drop them in the comments!

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Books on my Nightstand

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The Witch and the Beast, Vol. 1 by Kousuke Satake: I just barely started this one. I’ve not read very many comics or manga and I didn’t realize how long I’d be spending trying to soak in everything in the images, or how difficult it would be for me to know what order to read in on a page. I am still very excited to read this, I just need to wait ’til after the wedding when I can sit with less chaos.

The Tudors by G.J. Meyer: The full title of this book is The Tudors The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty. I got it from an ARC Thrift store for less than two dollars and it’s in great condition. I love nonfiction historical books. Quick tidbit, I don’t have the best memory, so sometimes I can pull from previously read knowledge and other times it’s like my first time hearing about something. Specifically for the Tudors, I have read three (or four) other books on the subject including how they came to power and about the royalty. Like many others, I also watched the tv show The Tudors which is not suitable for children. But I’ve had an interest in this, and surrounding, era for about as long as I can remember.

The Every, The Circle #2 by Dave Eggers: I really need to buckle down and prioritize this book. I’m about a quarter of the way through and feel like I’ve read a chapter every few months. I think it’s partially because I don’t bring it with me and it’s just faster and easier to read on my Kindle. I also prioritize book club books, even ones that were for past events that I had a co-leader cover, just so I can assure members of my investment in the group.

The Black Jewels Trilogy The Black Jewels #1-3 by Anne Bishop: This book is comfort food for me. I have read it numerous times and it’s my favorite book, period, number one (well, number 1-3). It’s the main books, three, in the series; Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness. Bishop goes on the write many spinoffs of the book, which I have read most of. If you haven’t read this, I highly recommend (as long as you are okay with a multi-view book (like Game of Thrones) and are able to read some R rated scenes including sex, rape, killing, and gruesome characters and scenes.

What books are on your nightstand? What book(s) are you currently reading and what’s next? Have you read any of these, what did you think?

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Recently Added to My TBR

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I keep my TBR fairly organized and have recently added a few books to the list. Other than my book club’s upcoming books, here are a few of my most recent additions in no particular order.

  • The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
    • “Sadie Revelare has always believed that the curse of four heartbreaks that accompanies her magic would be worth the price. – Sadie faces the last of her heartbreaks, and she has to decide: is love more important than magic?”
  • The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
    • “In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. – When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community-heaven and earth-that sustain us.”
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
    • “Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him – not the racism inherent in the classical music world.[H]e makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. [W]ith the international Tchaikovsky Competition – fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. – With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see his beloved violin again?”
  • Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
    • “- [A] woman is at a work reunion dinner with former colleagues- [o]n her way back, she runs into a former boyfriend. And then another. And . . . another. Nothing is quite what it seems as the city becomes awash with ghosts of heartbreaks past. – Memories of the past swirl and converge in ways both comic and eerie, as Lola is forced to decide if she will surrender herself to the conspiring of one very contemporary cult.”
  • The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
    • “The one thing [Patricia] has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. – But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club’s meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. – [W]hen some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. – What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she-and her book club-are the only people standing between the monster they’ve invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.”
  • Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen
    • “Stella Park is elated to celebrate her best friend’s wedding in the Italian countryside—and maybe she also needs this escape from her personal and her professional life. [S]he runs into the ex she hasn’t seen since she broke his heart ten years ago. – When Stella and Samuel keep getting pushed together during a weekend filled with – food – and wedding traditions, – she attempts to ignore that maybe he really was the one that got away. But maybe Samuel is worth the risk—and perhaps some love stories just need more time to marinate.”
  • The Village Healer’s Book of Cures by Jennifer Sherman Roberts
    • “In 17th-century England, Mary Fawcett refines the healing recipes she’s inherited from [the] Fawcett women before her – [w]hen witchfinder Matthew Hopkins arrives in her small village, – he sees – the devil at work. Soon, the husband of one of Mary’s patients is found murdered, his body carved with strange symbols. When the – village turns against her, Mary dares to trust – an enigmatic alchemist- who knows the dead man’s secrets. – Mary must save her life and the lives of those she loves.”
  • The Summer Children by Dot Hutchison
    • The Collector #3
      “When Agent Ramirez finds an abused young boy on her porch, covered in blood and clutching a teddy bear, – he tells her a chilling tale: an angel killed his parents and then brought him here so she could keep him safe. [This murder was] a rage kill like no one on the Crimes Against Children team had seen before. [As] more children arrive at Mercedes’s door with the same horror story. Each one a traumatized survivor of an abusive home.”
  • The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith
    • The Vine Witch #3
      Sidra didn’t murder her husband. Determined to prove her innocence, she returns to her adopted home- where [her] true destiny awaits.- On her trail is Jamra, another jinni, who’s after more than revenge for the murder of his brother. When he learns an ancient relic capable of unleashing chaos on the world- is in the hands of his murderous sister-in-law, he vows to destroy her to get it. Sidra defends herself using the village’s greatest asset: its perfume. But is it enough for Sidra to protect herself and those she loves from powers yet to be released?
  • Hospital by Han Song, Michael Berry (Translator)
    • “When Yang Wei travels to C City for work, he expects nothing more than a standard business trip. A bottle of mineral water from the hotel minibar results in – unconsciousness. When he wakes three days later, things – get worse. -[T]he hotel forcibly sends him to a hospital for examination. There, he receives no diagnosis, no discharge date…just a diligent guide to the labyrinthine medical system he’s now circulating through. As he seeks escape and answers, one man’s illness takes him on a quest through a corrupt system and his own troubled mind.”

Some of these are Amazon Kindle First Reads.
If you have an Amazon membership and are not taking advantage of Kindle First Reads, I urge you to do so; you get 1-2 free books per month. If you aren’t a Prime member, you can still sign up and get books for $1.99 each month.

These are all being moved, if they aren’t already in, my On Deck folder. Some are earmarked in Libby, which I highly recommend.
Libby is an e-book library that you can rent books from once you enter your library card information. Get a library card, get Libby, and get to reading.

Any books from my list you’ve read? Any not on my list that you think is a must-read?
Let me know what’s on your mind!

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Upcoming Book Club Books

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So for those of you that don’t know, I run a book club in Colorado called “Women, Wine, and Crime“. I try to book events out pretty far so that people have plenty of time to read, coordinate their schedule, and just generally plan. Here’s the next books that are coming up:

1/6 – Ask for Andrea by Noelle Ihli | This was a recommendation by one of the book club members, which always entices me

2/18 – Killer on the Road by Ginger Strand | I sing the praises of this book every chance I get and if you haven’t read it, please do. While other true crime books focus on one killer, this focuses on how the highway system created opportunities for would-be murderers and how the infrastructure and mapping tore through flourishing minority communities turning them into disenfranchised slums.

3/31 – Man-Eater by Ryan Green | The full title of this book is “Man-Eater: The Terrifying True Story of Cannibal Killer Katherine Knight”. I love a true-crime about a woman, and I am interested in a female cannibal which [I think] is pretty rare.

5/18 – The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison | This was one of my top ten books in 2019. Since then I’ve worked the rest of the Collector Series into my TBR list and have one more to go. I think this will be my third time reading this book; I read it once on my own, once I assigned it as a book club read, and since we’ve gained so many members I’m adding it into the rotation again.

6/23 – The Angel Makers by Patti McCracken | The full title of this book is “The Angel Makers: The True Story of the Most Astonishing Murder Ring in History”. Here’s a quote from the description of the book which sums up why I’m so intrigued by this book “Nagyrev, Hungary, 1929. Over 160 mysterious deaths. A group of local wives conspiring together, and one woman at the centre of it all.”.

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Organizing My TBR

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Like many of you, I have an exceptionally long long list of books that I want to read. For those of you who don’t know, a TBR is a To Be Read list, essentially books owned or that we would like to own or borrow from a library that we would like to read at any point in the future. The question is, how to decide what to read next and how to keep track of these books?

On my Kindle, the books that I have purchased, reserved on my Kindle Membership, or that I have received for free from Kindle First Reads, are organized into folders. I have the typical folders: fiction, nonfiction, thriller, self-help. I also have two folders which keep me on track, I have a “currently reading” and an “on deck”. I read multiple books at once, especially because one of them is a daily journal prompt and I like to switch between books so I have time to digest one. My on deck is exactly what it sounds like, it’s so that I can prioritize what I want to read next without having to go through my TBR, plus it gives me a chance to think about it. I can add books, remove books, and then move them into my “currently reading” when I’m ready.
If you have an Amazon membership and are not taking advantage of Kindle First Reads, I urge you to do so; you get 1-2 free books per month. If you aren’t a Prime member, you can still sign up and get books for $1.99 each month.

I also have physical, hardcover and softcover, books. I keep a comfort book, two “currently reading”, and an “on deck” book on my nightstand. You may be asking, “does she read really read four-ish books at once”, yes I do. Usually it’s fine, like watching an episode, or five, of one show and then watching a different tv show. But once I was reading two “spy novels” at once and those almost burred together, I made it through though.

How do you organize your TBR? Do you read multiple books at once? Any tips for me?

*If you enjoyed any part of this post, please consider liking it. If you loved it, please consider following me on WordPress. I also love comments including questions, advice, or a review of the post itself. Thank you for reading and best of luck in your adventures.*