Photo Challenge Day 5: Book and a Selfie

#ReadSoulLit Day 27: A Book to Cozy Up With

2018 #ReadSoulLit Read Along

Accepting The Challenge

2018 Reading Goals (Well, sorta...)

Instagram Giveaway! CLOSED

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2017

(Photo credit: CasaQ) #BalloonFiesta2017

Books Adaptations:Getting Myself Together

(Photo Credit: Ava DuVernay)

Reading Withdrawal & Living in Limbo

Farewell to the Obamas

Monica's 2017 Reading Goals

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Merry Christmas Ya'll! I hope that you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. Being part of a military family myself, I know that being near family isn't always possible, so if you are able to reach out to others who may not have immediate family nearby, please do. It always means so much to feel a part of a community during the holiday season. I also hope that you find time to sneak away and do a little quiet reading during this fun, hectic, and sometimes stressful time of year. 

My postings will be a little sporadic over the next week or so, but I'll be back to normal after the new year. Enjoy the season and take care of yourselves!

Happy Reading!
Monica

Book Cataloging App Help Needed!

Bookish friends I need your help! I need to know how you conveniently keep track of what you have on your physical book shelf. I would like to use a book app on my phone so that I always have my catalog with me, but I need recommendations on which apps are really user friendly and have helpful features. While glorying in my latest grab of book bargains yesterday, I discovered that I really need to have a way of cataloging the books that I own so that I don't double buy. Since I am trying to rebuild my physical library I have accidentally purchased the same book twice several times because while standing with a fifty cents book in my hand I figure it's better to err on the side of caution than not have a book that I've been wanting. I'm not being a good bargain shopper if I'm purchasing more than I need, right? Anyhoo, I found a box of books that I had stuck away, forgotten about, and rediscovered yesterday. And of course, I now have doubles again! (Don't judge!) I really need to keep this from happening again, it's redundant and ridiculous I know! I know that there are apps out there that allow you to scan your books and that's exactly what I would like. I'm going to download a few apps this weekend and give them a try, but I would love to know what you use and what you like and dislike about the app. 

Thanks in advance!
Monica

Banned Book Week 2016

What Caught My Eye

What Caught My Eye will be a new feature that can be found here on the sidebar. A book friend of mine, Marcia over at Bookswagger, gently (HA!) pointed out to me the other day that my sidebar is a bit tired. (Don't you love it when your friends are honest with you?!) But, unfortunately, she is absolutely right! Sometimes real life and shiny things distract me from my very best intentions of reading books in a neat and organized manner. Therefore, instead of having my upcoming reads sitting for MONTHS on my sidebar and allowing everyone to witness my book shame, I am changing it out for What Caught My Eye. Now this won't be hard at all for me to keep fresh and rotated out! I am constantly seeing books, both new and old, that look like book goodness to me. I will feature around five books on the sidebar that look shiny and interesting, and I will attempt to change them out every couple of weeks, and maybe more frequently, as the mood strikes. I hope that you all enjoy this little tweak to the blog! I'll still have a couple of upcoming reads listed, but hopefully it'll be a little more realistic!

Happy Reading!
Monica

Monica's Music Moment & A Special Shout Out

Nonfiction Goodness

Brown Like Me-What Diversity In Romance Means To Me

On Monday I had the privilege of guest blogging over at Musings of A Romance Junkie's blog. Patrice is an awesome blogger who a unique and distinctive voice. She focuses on romance reads that feature black women as the heroine. I head over to her blog every Monday to check out her Monday Musings and she always delivers a musing on a topic that is timely and thought provoking. Patrice's book reviews are always entertaining and she holds no punches. If you haven't checked her out yet you really should! I wanted to share here a version of what I shared on Monday. Feel free to comment on what diversity means to you, what got you hooked on romance in general, or simply leave your thoughts on the whole thing!

A Few Changes Coming

I Love A Good Book List!

I'm a list maker from way back and there are few lists better than a good book list! In honor of summer being at it's peak reading lists abound right now. Here are a few links to some reading lists that I have enjoyed.  I like to compare my already read and want to read lists to the lists that come out from some of my favorite sources. Enjoy!

Happy Reading!
Monica