Stacking the Shelves #2: April 2018 Wrap Up

I’m back with another wrap up post for the books I’ve read and purchased in the past month. I went a little crazy with the book purchases so I’m going to be a lot better this month. On the bright side, a few of them were purchased either second hand or from one of those overstock sellers so the books are super cheap, so money wise it wasn’t too bad. I haven’t purchased any fabric this year so far so the money I’ve saved there has gone into books.

My goal this month is to do a lot of decluttering so I will stop myself from buying more than 2 or 3 books. I’m hoping this summer to purchase a couple bookcases so I can finally unpack the rest of the books but I also need to declutter so that I have room for said bookcases.

I decided (like two days ago!) to create a new Instagram profile just for my book and tarot posts. You can find that new one here: luluandceleste.bookish. I was feeling they didn’t quite mesh with my art and photo posts (which didn’t mesh at all with my sewing posts). On the one hand I feel weird about having so many different profiles but on the other hand I’ve noticed a trend where everytime I would share a non-sewing related post on my main IG profile (luluandceleste) that I would lose lots of followers. I get it, sewing people just want to see sewing stuff. Ha, so I decided that I would just post book and tarot related stuff on one profile (they seem to flow together ok), and keep my art and photo challenge posts (luluceleste.artnstuff) on the second profile. They’re still all me, but I do go through phases where I’m really into art or really into photography or really into books, so I’m not feeling overwhelmed at multiple profiles. I’m just more wondering if people will think I’m crazy, lol.

Completely off topic: Does anyone watch Riverdale?? Who do you think is the Black Hood?!? And more importantly, Cheryl better be ok! Argh… I hate having to wait until next week!!

And now back to the wrap up!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. All affiliate links are marked with an *. All opinions are 100% my own though.
BOOKS ADDED IN April:

april books purchased

Purchased:

Clearly I went a little book crazy this month! On the bright side I haven’t bought any fabric this year, so there’s that.

 

 

 

 Borrowed:

BOOKS READ IN April:

(links to Goodreads)

Total books read for Goodreads challenge: 25/45 …I upped my book goal (you can see my “Read in 2018” shelf on Goodreads here)

BOOKS IN MY CURRENTLY READING PILE:
Book Reviews posted:

Stacking the Shelves #1 (March 2018)

I have been reading so so much lately that it’s only natural that I start sharing what I’ve been reading. I can’t justify having a separate blog right now for just book reviews (designing a new blog would just take away from my reading and sewing time!) so for now they’ll both be on here. Perhaps in the future I’ll separate them but for now this is how it’ll be. I will continue to keep my two Instagram profiles separate though. For mainly sewing and sometimes craft related it’s on @luluandceleste and for everything else (kid’s crafts, art, tarot, books) it’s @luluceleste.artnstuff. I’m aiming for 2-3 book reviews per month with at least one being craft related, and a monthly round up of the books I’ve added to my shelves (ie Stacking the Shelves).

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries (or friends/family), purchased in store or online or downloaded onto their e-reader.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. All affiliate links are marked with an *. All opinions are 100% my own though.
Books added in March:

Purchased:

 Borrowed:

For Review:
I joined NetGalley in March and received the following eARC’s for review.

Books read in March:
  • High Dive
  • The Rules of Magic
  • Today I’ll be a Unicorn  (not included in my reading challenge on Goodreads)
  • A Newfoundlander in Canada
  • The Virgin Suicides
  • Bridge to Terabithia
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Total books read for Goodreads challenge: 17/35 (you can see my “Read in 2018” shelf on Goodreads here)

I don’t include the books I read to my daughters in my total count for my Goodreads reading challenge.

Books in my currently reading pile:

Seems like a lot but the first is in French (so I can’t read it on the bus since I need to be able to focus more), the second is a book of essays (I’ll read one or two per night), the third is a book of poetry (I’ll read a few per night, I don’t read poetry often and feel this is the best method for me), the fourth is fiction (and will make the trip with me on public transit to and from work) and the fifth is a book I’ve read already and I’ll read a few chapters of it in between books I’ve borrowed from the library (or in place of the one from the library if I don’t like it). The fiction one is the one that gets finished the quickest and switched out. Hope to finish these all by the end of April though.

Books Read: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

MeBeforeYou02

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. All affiliate links are marked with an asterisk *. If you purchase something after clicking one of my links I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this blog!

Have you ever watched a movie before you read the book?

As much as possible I try to avoid doing that. Unless it’s one of the dozens of adaptations based on Emma or Pride and Prejudice; in which case I’m sorry to say I had seen at least one movie adaptation before reading either one of those books. (My favourite Emma adaptation being Clueless.)

I picked up ‘Me Before You*‘ after stopping at a little corner store on my way to work one morning. I had heard there was some controversy surrounding the movie and I wanted to know what the fuss was all about so I bought the book. (And partly because I wasn’t interested in any of the other books they had). I added the book to my to-read pile as I was still in the middle of another one.

The following week I met up with a friend of mine for one of our regular lunch and movie dates and we decided to watch Me Before You. I’m a sucker for tearjerker type movies and I cry at everything. If that’s not you, you may not enjoy this one. [SPOILER ALERT]: Even though the movie didn’t end the way I would have liked, I mean it would have been nice if Will had changed his mind and he and Lou lived happily ever after, I still enjoyed the movie and started reading the book the following day.

So what’s Me Before You about?

Louisa Clarke is in her mid 20s, just lost her job and is looking for a new one. Will Trainor, in his mid-30s, is paralysed from the chest down after being an accident a couple years before and needs a caregiver. Even though Louisa has no experience being a caregiver she is hired by Will’s mother. Louisa discovers that Will wishes to end his life and sets about trying to change his mind.

In the movie Louisa came off as being fun and kind of silly but I didn’t get that sense in the first half of the book. I really couldn’t see Will falling in love with her in the beginning. I felt connected to the characters in the movie, and I kept holding out hope that I would eventually like the characters in the book as well. Halfway through the book I started to like them and in the end the book still made me cry. I’m fairly certain that had I not previously watched the movie I would not have liked the book as much. 

What’s the deal with this book?

This book is surrounded by controversy due to the topic. Some people have the impression that the book is saying that people with disabilities should choose assisted suicide. I disagree, although since the character chooses to do that I can see how they would get that impression. This is a fictional story about one person who winds up in a wheelchair after becoming paralysed due to an accident. Everyone experiences life differently. Not everyone can “see the light at the end of the tunnel”. There are probably people out there whose experiences are reflected in the book. Just as there are people whose experiences are not. The topic was not necessarily handled well in the book, but I didn’t get the impression after reading the book that society suddenly needs to send all the people with disabilities out to be euthanized.

And seriously, half the time the disabled character can suddenly walk at the end of the movie or book. Is that better?

So who knows? I felt meh about the characters for most of the book but it still made me laugh and cry AND I’m still putting ‘After You’ (Me Before You book #2) on my to-read list. Not sure what that really says about me.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s fairly well-written and a good time-waster. I doubt it will change your life though. Buy it* if you want, or just borrow it from your local library.

Quote from the book I enjoyed:

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

This is one of the books I read as part of my 2016 reading challenge. You can see the prompts I’m using to choose my books (and a list of all the books I’ve read so far) by clicking the pic below to get to the post.readingchallengefeature

 

You can see all the other books I’ve read in the past by following me on Goodreads, or on my Books Read Pinterest board.

Lulu&Celeste signature

Book Review: Secret Garden coloring book by Johanna Basford

secret garden cover

I’ve been hearing lots lately about this latest trend of colouring books for adults. Apparently they now top the best sellers lists on Amazon! I like all things creative and I like to colour (although I’m kinda crappy at drawing but I do love doodling) so I thought I would take the plunge and purchase one of the colouring books I had been hearing so much about.

Continue reading “Book Review: Secret Garden coloring book by Johanna Basford” →