Sunday Funday!!!!!!!

What does that entail for you? For me it means binging Netflix and reading, all while snuggled up on my couch with Baxter! I’ve got salads and rotisserie chicken prepped to grab a healthy meal, and leftovers from the Tex Mex chicken burrito bowl I made earlier this week. Pre-prepped meals make for ideal reading. Less time preparing food and more time for reading! 😄 I deserve a day like this after working 6 days in a row, and yesterday being a double at the restaurant. I’m not going to lie, I am exhausted but it’s worth the extra income. So the plan is relax and read!

Today I’ve picked two shorter books to read, that I will most likely finish both Today. My picks are, The Witches by Roald Dahl and The Mist by Stephen King. One is a reread from childhood and the King book is a new read for me. The first book I’m going to start is The Mist, as I am a huge Stephen King fan and want to see how much better the book is from the movie.

At some point today I’ll have to run to the store to get dog food and some wrapping supplies for an upcoming 3rd Birthday party for my nephew. That will happen between reading though 😂 or tomorrow. There is reading to be done! Time for a cup of coffee and to dive into a book. Happy Reading! 🤓

I feel like it’s been forever since I wrote my last blog post! I’m still here and I’m still reading!!! I’ve also been cooking. Last night was breakfast for dinner, a fav of mine when I have no clue what to cook. Lunch was a simple but delicious salad of romaine, beets, and low fat shredded mozzarella cheese drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar!

Dinner tonight is a Southwest Ground Chicken burrito bowl! My lord this is delectable!!! I cooked my rice while I browned the ground chicken with some onion. Then, while the rice was finishing up I added a little organic vegetable broth, black beans, diced tomato, chili powder and cumin to the dish. When that was heating up I added the finished rice, mixed together and let it heat for a few minutes longer. Then serve in a bowl topped with cheese, salsa and guac! 😋 Delish!!

I’ve finished three books recently, Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums by Jamie Davis, The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson and The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. All three books were fantastic! Some spooky haunted locations, a creepy serial killer, and WWII concentration camp horrors.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe is a Young Adult Non-Fiction book written about the life and remembered events of Dita Kraus during her years in the concentration camps Auschwitz-Birkenau and lastly Bergen-Belsen. Her story is a story of a survivor full of hope, tragedy, and the despicable crimes committed against the Jewish during WWII. I learned so much about the conditions and treatment of prisoners inside concentration camps, but also of what the events leading up to the imprisonment and after the liberation were. I cried with Dita, and I cried for Dita and everyone else who had to go through that. What an amazing story of pure horror and hope! This book was definitely one of the best books, during this time period, that I’ve ever read. In fact, this book is making my top 10 best books I’ve read so far this year! It was not dry at all, and the story sucks you in. I highly recommend to all who love reading about the WWII era or the Holocaust. Five stars!! ⭐️

Next up on the reading agenda is continuing to read IT by Stephen King and Carry the Wind by Terry C Johnston, and start Norman : The Doll That Needed to Be Locked Away by Stephen Lancaster. Continuing my pile of books that I pre- selected for my October Spooky reads! I’m hoping to get through all of them, but I’m finding that I may have chose too many.😂 Oh well, that’s the life of a book nerd for ya!

Happy Reading 🤓

I’ve just finished reading the winner for the October Spooky read for a Facebook read-along group that I help run, Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn. This is a YA Horror, mental health book that was written based partially on real life experiences from the author.

Two main characters, Emilie a current day modern rockstar who suffers from bipolar disorder and severe depression with manic episodes causing periods of time where reality isn’t easily discernible for her, and a Victorian girl named Emily who was sold to a despicable wealthy society man for personal desires, of whom she tries to escape and ends up attempting suicide. Then Emily is reported for her attempted suicide by the same man and committed to the local Asylum. Throughout the book Emilie finds these letters from Victorian Emily narrating her stay in the Asylum and documenting the horrid, poor living conditions and the atrocities and nightmarish experiments/treatments performed on the unfortunate inmates of the Asylum, regardless of whether they are certifiably crazy or not. As the two girl’s worlds collide, you’re given the experience of what it was like to live back during the Victorian era with the first mental institutions and shown what it is like in modern day for someone with mental health disorders and the current treatment. We’ve come leaps and bounds, but so much is still unknown. Sad, so sad.

I am left with a myriad of emotions after reading this book, which will most likely stick with me for a while. There were moments of terror, moments of spooky happenings, and eye opening passages providing an insightful glance into what it’s like living with mental illness. I’m so glad that this book proved to fulfill our Spooky October read, but still allow readers to learn from it. I do not recommend this book to those who are very emotionally sensitive, or for those faint of heart as it is a tough story to swallow and there are some very graphic and disturbing situations. If you can tough it out, you won’t be disappointed. I gave this book 3/5 stars not because it was a story that was lacking, but because the switching of characters was hard to track in the beginning and because the ending felt a little rushed but then dragged out with the journal entries. I understand their purpose, as they played an important part to helping us understand what it is like inside the mind of someone with a mental illness, but I feel the very end wasn’t the best place for them. All in all, a good read.

Hey y’all! I’m super excited to have Columbus Day off and get a 3 day weekend to relax and read! Yesterday (Saturday) I went to a friend’s house to do a fall craft activity and enjoy a fantastic meal of Autumn harvest soup while we watched classic Halloween movies. I had such a lovely time and our fall wreaths that we made are beautiful! It was a great start to my three day weekend.

My plan for the next two days of my long weekend is to read, and maybe do a little baking! I currently have five books in progress. I know, I know….. FIVE BOOKS?!?!?!? 😎 Yes, that’s right… five books and no I don’t get their stories mixed up. I have an audiobook, a kindle book and three print books.

My plan is to finish Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn, which I am reading on my Kindle and am very intrigued by the treatment of both characters during their stays in each of their mental institutions. I also plan on reading about 130 pages of Carry The Wind by Terry C. Johnston. I love the story of these Mountain Men and the depiction of the true struggles of society back then during the taming of the wild frontier. The characters are very entertaining and memorable, and the storyline flows really well. The two other books I hope to make some progress on are my other print books, IT by Stephen King and The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. I’m doing the October challenge on Twitter called #ITober, where you read a certain set of pages each day and finish this monster of a horror novel by the end of the month. Needless to say I have a ton of reading in my future but I’m well prepared with my coffee and my stack of books!

I’ll post updates with my reading progress and some food pics throughout the rest of the weekend. I’m practically doing my own Readathon! 😄 Time for me to unplug for a while! Happy Reading! 🤓

So, I just finished reading Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums by Jamie Davis and Samuel Queen. For those of you who don’t know me all to well yet, I am a huge fan of ghost hunting and the paranormal! I regularly watch all new episodes of Ghost Adventures and Dead Files on the Travel Channel. I’ve been on a ghost tour/public hunt at Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, NY and absolutely loved it! Planning a return visit soon.

I found the writing style of Jamie to be very conversational, yet informative and captivating. I loved that Sam added his part at the end of each chapter, as sometimes his experiences differed from Jamie’s or corroborated her experiences and feelings. The pictures are fabulous, and I had a feeling about some of them before I even read the chapters. Talk about give you the chills! Creepy but very cool is how I’d describe this book! I loved learning about each location and think it’s helpful that the contact and tour information for each location is provided. As an amateur ghost hunter I appreciate this, as well as the recommended questions and tips, as I want to try whatever I can (in a safe manner) to capture evidence for myself to truly believe.

This book was the best first read for my October filled of Spooky reads! I highly recommend this book to all who want to learn a little more about American history and get a little scare whether it be your imagination running wild as you read the pages late at night, or if you take their advice and visit these locations. 😜👻

On to continue with my other October read, Librarian of Auschwitz. Happy Reading! 🤓

We are wrapping up the last few days of September and into October we roll! I can’t believe it has been about two weeks since my Birthday! I’m not really sure where time has gone, other than I know it hasn’t really gone towards reading. My last book that I completed really put me into a reading slump. Plus I had been recovering from a bad cold and working two jobs took a lot of energy. I also started catching up on some of the shows I had been watching. I usually do a yearly binge of True Blood, American Horror Story and Once Upon a Time. Those are some of my favorite shows.

I finally decided what I wanted to buy from Barnes & Noble with my Birthday gift card from a dear friend. I decided on two books from a childhood favorite author of mine, and a newly released YA Horror novel that I’d been eyeing. I’ve never actually read Matilda, so I am extremely excited to dive into that book!

Recently the pages have been flying by a little quicker again. I decided to balance two books and an audiobook at the same time, as audio books seem to keep me in the mood to read more than when I just have two print books going. There is something about listening to the story while I’m driving that gets me wanting for more by the time I’m home and inside my apartment. My current audio book is called Golden Age by James Maxwell and it is the first book in the Shifting Tides series, of which there are currently four books. My two print edition books that I’m reading are a Western called Carry the Wind by Terry C. Johnston, which is about a young man named Josiah Paddock who decides to run away from his past in St. Louis and he crosses the path of a mountain man named ‘Ol Scratch as the story follows their survival in the wilderness surrounding the Grand Tetons. I’ve always loved a good western, especially with mountain men in them as they always have unique and burly personalities. The other print edition book I’m reading is one of the October group reads for a Facebook group I help run, and it is called The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. This story is a true story based on the accounts of Dita Kraus, who was a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camp called Auschwitz-Birkenau. A famous camp known as a death camp where the majority of the Jewish victims of WWII were put to death in gas chambers. Dita’s story of how she was in charge of handling and hiding the smuggled books is a gripping one so far and almost too hard to believe. I’m about 100 pages into that book at the moment and am absolutely loving it, as it is a YA Non-Fiction novel that has been translated from Spanish to English.

Coming up in the world of reading for me…. Horror!!! Lots of Horror! 👻🎃 Some of the books I plan to read are the new YA Horror novel pictured above. I will also be reading with my group on Facebook a book called The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn, and on my own for my local book club I’loved be reading a True Crime book called Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, Whig is about the Manson murders and cult. If I get through those three I’d love to read Dracula and reread Stephen King’s The Shining, as I feel those would be great Halloween spooky reads. As long as I’m reading something I’m happy, so if I don’t get to everything then that’s ok!

Well one of my current reads is calling me back. Until next time, Happy Reading!! 🤓

Howdy friends! I know it’s been a while and boy have I been busy! In the past two weeks I’ve started a part time job waiting table at a local wing joint called Duff’s. I love it and I’m making decent tips, which I plan on saving to buy a house in the next year or two. Also, the 13th was my 29th Birthday so I had to live it up a little! Some of my dearest friends met me out for some drinks at Jeremiah’s Tavern and we had a blast! I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends celebrate with me. The bad news was I came down with a rotten cold, so yes I was sick for my Birthday! 😩 I still made the best of it! I’m lucky my friends know me so well, as they helped me feed my obsession with books and everything sugar skull! Check out how my best friend went a little overboard with sugar skull stuff! 😂😍

I really do have the best friends anyone could ever want.

Saturday and Sunday I had a 36 hour readathon that I had planned on participating in. My how quickly plans change! I ended up resting and watching Star Wars movies Saturday and cleaning/grocery shopping Sunday. I had a culinary adventure however, and made my own Fish Fry!! It was delicious and can’t wait to finish it tonight!

I never thought homemade fish fry would be so easy or taste so good! 😋 I bought two fillets of Wild Caught Cod, battered them and baked them at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes (until crispy). Delish!

My reading adventures lately brought me to a book that will be among my favorite books of all time, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Ove is a stubborn man who is cut from a different cloth than most younger, modern men. He was raised on strong old fashioned values and finds it difficult to assimilate to the modern times. He reminds me a lot of the old man in the movie UP! Throughout the book you start to really connect with Ove from the way the author reveals pieces of his past and connects them to the current events in Ove’s life. The outcome couldn’t be any better, and you better be prepared with a box of tissues nearby for the last few chapters. This story really speaks to the heart and is such an endearing book! I gave it 5/5 Stars 🌟 and implore you to give it a try if you haven’t already! 😊

I’m off to have some more adventures! Happy Reading! 🤓

As I’m sitting here reading my current book and drinking coffee, I’ve decided that Saturday mornings are my favorite. On this particular Saturday morning it’s 64 degrees with a strong breeze and some rain clouds filling the sky. I have a hot cup of breakfast blend and I’m reading A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman while Baxter is sound asleep next to me on the couch. What more could I possibly need? Nothing! This is perfect, life in this moment is perfect! Yes, I do have to go to work at my second job later this afternoon, but that’s then and this is now.

My other current read is Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. I seem to always have a Psychological Thriller on hand, probably because they are exciting to read. My plan this weekend between working at Duff’s, is to finish my two current reads and start two more! Not going to rush myself. I’m just excited to have a weekend!

For October, I plan to read a bunch of spooky books. What they are? Well I can’t tell you that yet! 🎃 👻 Stay tuned though, the list of Spooky Reads will be released in the next couple weeks! I’ll give you a hint, there might be a Stephen King book or two. 😉 Do you like to read spooky books, or watch horror movies in October? I’m slightly obsessed with the paranormal and horror genre.

Well my coffee is getting cold and Baxter is whining at me to get on my lap and snuggle. So I’ll leave you to it and hope you have a fantastic Saturday! Happy Reading!

I cannot believe that it is September already! Time flies! This month is my favorite month of the whole year, regardless that it’s my Birthday month! 🎂 In eleven days I’ll enter my final year of my twenties and I’m sad to see them go but excited for what’s to come. This weekend I am visiting my parents for a long weekend. So far we’ve been shopping, had an impromptu dinner party at my brother’s house, and we took a drive to our lake house so I could finally see the new build before it gets finished. 😍😍 The new lake house is going to be a slice of heaven and I am absolutely over the moon about it. Hoping it will be completed and ready to move in end of Fall, either way ready for next summer!!

I finished How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue and it was absolutely adorable! I loved the different stories that were going on and how they all converged at the end. I felt the ending was a little rushed, as I would have liked to see what happens with Annie and her father, as well as her new romantic interest. Overall I give it a 4/5 star rating! Now I’ve moved on to reading more of An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena. The pages seem to melt away so quickly with this one that it won’t last another two days before I’ve finished it! Can’t wait to find out who dunnit! 😃

What’s your favorite thing about September? What are you currently reading? Drop your answers in the comments below! ☺️⬇️ Happy Reading!!

Almost halfway through the week! Yippee!! So I did not finish the two books I wanted to over the weekend but that’s ok. I spent some much needed time with one of my dearest friends on Sunday. We went out to lunch at Aladdin’s in Pittsford, NY right on the Erie Canal. It was a gorgeous day with sun and a nice breeze. We enjoyed our spanakopita and fresh falafels, she had a chicken salad and I had a chicken pita. The food was delicious, as always! Aladdin’s is one of my favorite places to get fantastic Mediterranean food. Oh and Saturday night at Silk O’Loughlin’s Irish pub right on Lake Ontario’s waterway Saturday night was a blast! Some coworkers met me out for drinks and a bite while we listened to my friend AJ’s band JAWS play some classic rock and popular 80’s and 90’s tunes. They sounded amazing and it was a beautiful night on the lake.

Sometimes you can’t sit home all weekend and read! 😂

Ok let’s get down to the nitty gritty of Past, Current, Future Reads! I think this will be my new Tuesday tradition. So my past read was The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll, which I gave 3 out of 5 stars. This book was mildly entertaining, about five young millennial women who are hyper-successful and agree to do a reality tv show called Goal Diggers. The three main women that the story bounces between are Brett, Kelly and Stephanie. Brett and Kelly are sisters, so typical sister drama there which gets hyped even more when Kelly and her 12 yr old daughter get brought onto the show for the newest season. Stephanie was Brett’s “best friend” but they are currently fighting, which is the main storyline. I felt confused at times because it jumps between Kelly int he current day doing an interview about her sister’s death, and the events leading up to it. Just felt a little choppy, and like I was reading the equivalent of watching real housewives reality tv. Needless to say, not my cup of tea. I did do this book on audio, and the narrators were fantastic.

My current read is How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue, and so far about 100 pages in and it is an adorable story that makes me want to eat all the cupcakes! I can’t wait to continue with this one and see how the deflated friendship between Julia and Annie turns out. Will starting their cupcakery together rekindle their childhood relationship to be inseparable again, or will they never settle their differences? Also, I NEED to know what this horrible secret is that Julia is keeping from her fiancé, Wes. To be continued…..

Future reads, well now I have a few! I’ve joined two group reads starting September first and those books are 1) A Man Called Ove by Frederick Bachman and 2) An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena. I’m extremely excited to read both of these, as they seem to have excellent reviews across multiple sources. I also plan to read two more of my Library books (at the same time as the other books) which are The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig and Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell which is a highly rated new Psychological Thriller that released April 2018. Then She Was Gone is on my Kindle on loan through my Library from the Libby app. It’s due back in 15 days so I’ll be reading that one at a quicker pace, or at least trying to!

What are you currently reading? What are you looking forward to reading next? Have you read some of my books mentioned? Please feel free to post a comment and you can always follow my instagram that is full of books and my dog Baxter, @lkelsen913. Until next time, Happy Reading! 🤓