Mini Book Reviews: May 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Shopgirls, All the Mothers, The Boy From the Sea, Aftertaste, Food Person, and Dreaming of Home from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

When life gives you bad weather, you read a lot of books. At least I did. I had a lot of downtime this month, due to the never-ending cloudy, rainy, cool days. The only upside was that I had 6 Netgalley reads due this month, plus a few library holds that I didn't want to miss out on. It's not a bad problem to have. It's hard to pick a favorite read, but I have 2: The Boy From the Sea and Aftertaste, which came out of nowhere. Aftertaste was one of those last minute Netgalley offerings, and it sounded intriguing, so I jumped on it. I'm so glad, because the story blew me away. I'm not alone--out of everything I read, this was the highest ranked book on Goodreads this month. I hope it gets some momentum. The Boy from the Sea was a classic family drama, set in Ireland. Just so, so beautiful.

Mini Book Reviews: February 2025

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of A Forty Year Kiss, Like Mother, Like Mother, Show Don't Tell, and Propaganda Girls from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. 

February may be a short month, but I still did plenty of reading. It helped that I was stuck inside most of the time due to the extended polar vortex that wouldn't blow away. A silver lining of sorts, I suppose.

Four of my books were NetGalley pre-releases, and they were all winners. The other two were books I had my eye on. Homeseeking, which had great pre-release press and is also a GMA book club pick, was on my list. The wait from the library was long, but miraculously, my hold came in quickly! I vowed to dig into my backlist this year, and Home is Where the Bodies Are was a fun, quirky thriller that I'm glad I picked up. I also read books from a couple of repeat authors, Nickolas Butler and Curtis Sittenfeld. 

I can't wait to dig into my March books!

Mini Book Reviews: January 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of The Three Lives of Cate Kay, All the Water in the World, and Good Dirt from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links. 

Oh my goodness! Such a great month of reading for me. I love when I have some good new releases that I can recommend--my favorite was Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson. If you read her last book, Black Cake, you know what a good writer she is. Cross My Heart was a really fun thriller and I couldn't put it down. Liane Moriarity never disappoints and Here One Moment is ready for Nicole Kidman to make into a mini-series. You really can't go wrong with any of the books I'm sharing this month. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

2024 Holiday Shopping Guide for Runners

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Once again, it's time for my annual gift list for the runner in your life! I am sharing 10 of my favorite things--I've tried and tested everything here except the last item on the list, but it is just so cute I had to include it. I hope you find something here you might want to gift--or purchase for yourself! Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Happy Shopping!

Mini Book Reviews: December 2023

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

What a great finish to a great year of reading! As I read my final book of the year, Strange Sallly Diamond, I couldn't help but notice some of the themes of the books I read this month overlapped. I read two books with quirky characters, The Mystery Guest and Strange Sally Diamond. Questionable adoptions were the themes in The Berry Pickers and Strange Sally Diamond. I couldn't help but make comparisons between the books. In All That is Mine, I Carry With Me, and Strange Sally Diamond, you have themes of misogyny and victimization of women. Don't let that deter you from any of these books--they were all good reads!

This year I read 70 books and DNF'd 3. My top 10 books were; Demon Copperhead, Hello Beautiful, Adelaide, The Great Believers, Last Summer on State Street, The Collected Regrets of Clover, Shark Heart, Birdie and Harlow, The Berry Pickers, and Strange Sally Diamond. There were many other good ones as well, so if you don't follow me on Goodreads, please do so you can check them out! 

Mini Book Reviews: Nonfiction November 2023

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in An American City from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my review. This post contains affiliate links.

After reading another 'highly-rated' fiction book that I struggled to get through, I decided to jump into non-fiction November again this year. I was inspired by fellow blogger Liz Dexter who cohosts a non-fiction November linkup. I'm so glad I did. To kick off the month, I dug into my library's new releases and was stunned to find Britney Spears' memoir available. Sorry, not sorry, I was curious and it was a surprisingly good read. The Meth Lunches and Hidden Valley Road were both interesting and eye-opening, but very socially relevant. If you didn't love Dolly Parton before, you will after you read Sarah Smarsh's portrayal in She Come By It Natural. For followers of Anthony Bourdain, World Travel makes an excellent supplement to his shows. And what to say about Birdie and Harlow except to warn you to have a box of tissues nearby. What a sweet sweet story!

Mini Book Reviews: September 2023

 Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a copy of Penelope in Retrograde from Amazon First Reads in exchange for my honest review.

It's been a busy month for me, as I shared in my Weekly Rundown, but I always find time to read! I read an interesting variety of books, but my hands-down favorite was Shark Heart. I think this would be such a good book club book--the story is unusual and there's a lot to think about. I also loved Mile Marker Zero--having visited Key West in the 1980s before big money and tourism changed the island vibe-- and it kind of made me sad to see it lose its free-spirited feeling.

Coffee Talk

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? Today, I'm sipping on Dunkin! For nurses' week back in May, I was given a gift card to Dunkin' and bought a pound of beans. Only $11! Such a bargain and oh so tasty. Of course, I have the usual scoop of collagen and splash of half and half to top it off. Old habits die hard...

What would you tell me over coffee? 

I Didn't Have an Apocalypse on My Summer Running Bingo Card and Other Runfessions

This is a pretty dramatic title, right?

Just when it became safe to go outside without a mask--thank you Covid--people are donning masks again because the air quality is so poor in areas affected by the Canadian wildfires. That includes the Chicago area, where I live. Earlier this week, our air quality was so poor, it was the worst in the world. A few weeks ago, it was the East Coast that was affected. It's almost apocalyptic, viewing the landscape through a smoky haze. And it feels wrong being stuck inside during the best time of year. 

Life has not been dull these past couple of years, has it? Thank goodness for running.

Ok. it's time to runfess! On the last Friday of the month, Marcia opens up the runfessional and we are all invited to share our running transgressions. You know I always have a few. Let's get right to it, shall we?

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? Currently, I'm drinking Philz Coffee Ecstatic blend with my usual scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half.  It's just delicious!

What would you tell me over coffee?

Let's Runfess

Disclaimer: I runfess that this post contains a few affiliate links. 

Here we are again at the end of the month, which means it's time to runfess! Do you runfess? On the last Friday of the month, Marcia opens the Runfessional where runners can cleanse their soles. And their souls. Long-time blog readers know that I always have plenty of things to runfess. In fact, this month, I had so much to runfess that I had to let a few things go. Don't hold it against me. 

Let's get to it, so I can start June with a clean slate!

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? Today I'm drinking Metropolitan Red Line, a local Chicago blend. It's dark and roasty. And so good! As always, I have it with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half.

What would you tell me over coffee?

Trail Runfessions (mostly)

Well, here we are again at the Runfessional for that chance to clear our souls and our soles. Do you runfess? On the last Friday of every month, Marcia opens up the runfessional for those of us who may have strayed from the trail. There's no penance, just that feeling of cleansing and starting the next month with a fresh pair of running shoes. 

I poolrunfess... earlier this month, I went to the pool, dark and early, for my weekly pre-work pool sesh. I greeted the other 2 pool runners already tethered in and chattering away and started my workout. Not even 10 minutes later, my headphones warned me about 'low battery' and then shut off. Dammit. I left the pool to the locker room to get my backup pair but alas, they were also dead. I set my phone on the side of the pool and turned it up all the way but I could barely hear it over the racket next to me. Seriously, where's a shark when you need one?

I runfess... I have mixed feelings about trail races advertising a certain distance for a race, which may or may not be the actual distance you run. Case in point: my most recent trail race, the Earth Day 15 miler, was actually 15.76 miles when I crossed the finish line. I get it, the whole trail vibe thing is loose with the rules but still...this runner likes to know how far she has to plan for. And doesn't it kind of suck the life out of you when you think you're going to be finished at a certain distance, but when that number comes up on your watch, you don't know how much farther you have to go?

I runfess.... the ageism directed at us 'seasoned' runners by some younger runners is kind of rough. We get comments about how easy it is to BQ at our age. Or how there are so few runners in our old lady age group, that it's easy to get an AG award. An older woman in my trail race last Saturday told me the worst one yet: last year when she won her AG, a younger runner told her that she got the 'pity' award. 

I runfess... that I have to DNS my plan to pace a friend at an ultramarathon this weekend. She's doing a 50 mile race at 'my' preserve and I was supposed to run 3 loops (12 miles with her). Since I run there all the time, it was a no-brainer. But instead, it was no bueno. On Wednesday's shakeout run on the course, my left hip let me know it was not happy with the idea. Luckily, she found a replacement almost immediately. I'll be there to see her cross the finish line!

Now that the snow has melted, I've noticed the ridiculous amount of dog poop bags scattered around the preserve. I runfess... this makes me steam like a freshly dropped turd. If you're going to take the time to bag your dog's poop, then carry it out. You don't want to carry it out? Make your dog carry it out. Do what I do and tie the bag to the leash. But please DON'T leave it by the side of the trail or fling it into the woods. 

What do you have to runfess? What do you do when your headphone batteries die? How do you handle inaccurate race distances? Older runners: have you experienced ageism from younger runners? What to do about the dog poop problem?

I'm linking up with Marcia for Runfessions and with the ladies of Fit Five Friday: Darlene, Michelle, Jenn, Renee, and Zenaida.

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over coffee!! What are you having? I'm sipping on my favorite, Colectivo Co-Optiva with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. It never gets old. 

What would you tell me over coffee? 

Iconic Runfessions

After all these years of blogging and runfessing, you'd think I'd run out of things to runfess. Shouldn't I have my act together by now? Well, what can I say? Thank you to Marcia for opening the runfessional every month and letting us clear our soles and souls.  I always say it's painless, save for the embarrassment of sharing things that I probably shouldn't. But isn't that what runfessing is all about? Am I the only one? Probably not. You know you have things to share too...

Let's get to it!

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Let's catch up over a cup of coffee! What are you having? Today I'm enjoying a cup of Dark Matter Westown Bakery Blend that I picked up last week while meeting up with Deborah. Freshly roasted, it is just perfection with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. My new coffee maker has made me love coffee even more if that is possible! It's fun to try all the different local roasts.  

What would you tell me over coffee?

Intense Runfessions

Can you believe it's already time to runfess? Since February is the shortest month, it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is how many runfessions I came up with for such a short month! Oh well..when you gotta runfess, you gotta runfess! Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional so we can cleanse our soles and start fresh at the beginning of a new month.

What do you have to runfess?

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm having some Colectivo Bucky Badger blend that we picked up in Madison last week. Since it's Colectivo, it's as good as you'd expect it to be. Add a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half and it's heaven in a coffee mug. 

What would you tell me over coffee?

January Runfessions

Here we are at the first Runfessions of 2023! Do you runfess? Every month, Marcia opens the runfessional to allow us all to cleanse our souls and soles. Oddly enough, I always have things to runfess. So let's get to it and let the absolution begin!

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over a cup of coffee! What are you having? I'm drinking a cup of Philz Julie's Ultimate, a new-to-me brand that the hubs gifted me for Christmas. With a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half, it's like heaven in a coffee mug. 

What would you tell me over coffee?