Sunday Post 21

Hi, everyone!

How's everyone doing? Will you be watching the Oscars? Do you have any favorites you hope to win? The only nominee for Best Picture that I've seen is Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was a really great movie, so I hope it wins in this category. I have not seen The Fabelmans, but I definitely want to whether it wins or not. I requested it at the library, but there are over 100 people ahead of me. The library does have multiple copies of it, but it will still be a couple months before I can watch it. I may watch Avatar 2: The Way of Water, but I'll wait until it's on Disney+. I will not be watching the Oscars tonight (way past my bedtime!), but I'll be interested in finding out who and what won tomorrow.

I am happy to report that I have had a very productive week! One of my favorite sentences each year is, "Taxes are done!" and I can say that is the case this year! I finished them and sent them off last week. Woohoo!!! 

In addition to getting my taxes done, I also had a great week of reading. I finished some books I had been reading for a while and I started some other ones. Let's see what they all are.

I am once again linking with Reading Reality, who hosts Stacking the Shelves and The Book Date, who hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Since I'm including a children's book this week, I am also linking with Unleashing Readers who has a focus on children's literature. (These second two are posted on Mondays, so be sure to check the links then.)  On all of these blogs you will be able to see links to the posts from others who are participating in these blog hops, and if you're a blogger you can join too! 

To see how I'm doing with my bookish challenges, click on 2023 Bookish Challenges on the right sidebar.

RECENTLY FINISHED

On March 12, 1990, disabled activists crawled and climbed up the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., demonstrating the need for a law that protects people with disabilities. This led to the Americans with Disabilities Act being signed into law a few months later. All the Way to the Top, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, with a foreword by Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins,  is the true story of an eight-year-old girl (Jennifer Keelan) who participated in what became known as The Capitol Crawl. I was going to give this book five stars until I saw the timeline at the end of it was missing one major event - the 26-day nationwide sit-in in 1977 that  led to regulations for Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 being signed. But overall, I highly recommend this book for children. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Ah, yes. I finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling. I believe I'm one of the few people who like the movie more than the book. I did enjoy the book, too, though, except for some of the things that happened in the beginning. Once Harry got to Platform 9¾, I was all in. I gave it 4/5 stars. I am planning to read the second book. I requested it from the library. I'm currently number 3 on the waiting list. In the meantime, I'll re-watch the first movie and I'll also watch the second one.

I wish I could say I liked this book more than I did. It was okay, but not great. I didn't walk away with anything new I can put into practice. It had no clear direction to me. At times it read like a memoir and other times it read like a self-help book. I also felt like her audience would be high school or college graduates, as at times it felt like a commencement speech. If it was solely a memoir, I would have enjoyed it much more. Reading about her life as First Lady and before then were the most interesting parts of the book for me. Sometimes she tried to translate her experiences into practical strategies for her audience. Sometimes it worked, but mostly, it didn't. In fact, there were times when she said something to the effect of  "this works for me, but it may not work for you". The book needed one focus - to be a memoir. I have not read her book, Becoming, but based on reviews, I think I would enjoy that one more. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, by Michelle Obama, earned 3/5 stars from me.

IN PROGRESS

How We Roll, by Natasha Friend is a book I borrowed from a "Blind Date with a Book" event my local library had around Valentine's Day. It's a YA romance novel about two people with different disabilities who become friends and start dating. I was a little discouraged by some of the reviews I read, but so far none of the negative reviews are noticeable to me. Some parts are more graphic than what I prefer to read, but otherwise, it's not a bad book in my opinion. This should be a pretty quick read.

I said I wasn't going to listen to audiobooks anytime soon, but I was missing my cozies. So I decided to listen to A Potion to Die For (Magic Potion Mystery 1), by Heather Blake. Apart from the cursing...ugh the cursing...I am enjoying the story. Cursing never feels cozy to me, but I can appreciate the mystery and the magic.

UP NEXT

I will be reading the e-book version of Murder in a Scottish Shire (Scottish Shire Mystery 1), by Traci Hall, this week. I would have preferred to read the print version, but my local library does not have it. This is the March pick for The Cozy Mystery Book Club. Isn't that cover simply adorable and so cozy?!

I was looking for a book to read for St. Patrick's Day and I came across Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl 1), by Eoin Colfer. How am I only now discovering this apparently gem of a book?! The cover alone makes me want to read it! It's got magic, it's got mystery, and it's got fairies!! I am thrilled more than words can say that my library has this book and I picked it up today! I cannot wait to dive into it this week! I thought about watching the movie, but decided not to when I saw how poor the reviews are. I watched the trailer, which further confirmed my decision not to watch it. But the book! I'm so excited to read it!!

I am also participating in another blog hop today - Sunday Post, hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. With this blog hop, I'll recap what I've recently posted. If you missed a post you want to read, just click on the link below. 

• Sunday Post 03/05 - What I've been reading and watching
• Monday Review 03/06 - Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe (2016)
• Top Ten (and More) Tuesday  03/07 - February Caboodle of Movies
• Felines and Fill-ins 03/10 - - Bookish question, weekly fill-ins, and feline fun
• Puzzle 03/11 - Cozy clock theme

I watched two movies this past week. One was The Love Club: Nicole's Pen Pal. I enjoyed it, but can we please stop the lying? I know we  need a conflict, but it seems Hallmark is heavy on the lying. Surely they can think of many more ideas for a conflict. I did like the twists and turns in this movie, though. It was fun to watch.

I also finally watched Mystery 101: The Pilot. I am planning to post my review this week. From now on, my reviews will be on Wednesdays, not Mondays.

Did you see any of the movies or read or listen to any of the books I mentioned? If so, what are your thoughts on them?