These books aren’t just going to make you smile… they will make you laugh out loud. From the absurd to darkly humorous, there’s something for everyone on this list. Have you read any of these books? Which one is your favourite? Kill the Farm Boy Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir Hyperbole and a Half Dear Committee Members The Eyre Affair Where’d You Go, Bernadette The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) A Man Called Ove The Colour of Magic What book made you laugh out loud? Top Ten Tue ..read more

I don’t always get a chance to sit down and read an entire book in one sitting, but if I’m really into a book I’ll pretty much ignore everything else going on and just dive in (Hello, ADHD hyperfocus, my old friend.) Sometimes it’s a nice short book, but sometimes it’s a beast of a novel like House of Earth and Blood. It’s just whatever really snags my interest at the perfect time. The Jane Austen Project The Bromance Book Club House of Earth and Blood The Galaxy, and the Ground Within Sick Kids in Love The Female of the Species The Authenticity Project Several People Are Typing The Booki ..read more

I Just Finished Reading We got a big box of arcs at the bookstore last week and Several People Are Typing looked so interesting, I just had to grab it. It’s written entirely in Slack messages, so it takes a minute to get used to, but it was really good. I like odd stories with a lot of weird twists. Several People Are Typing Wrong Side of the Paw Booking the Crook What I’m Reading Now An arc of The Last Chance Library showed up at the bookstore last week and I knew it was meant for me. I’m in an easy summer reading mood and this has all the right vibes. Synopsis: Lonely librarian June Jones ..read more

Photo by Chris Goodwin on Pexels.com Q: What is your least favorite type of character to read about? (submitted by Julie @ JadeSky) A: I really don’t like the “spoiled rich kid” character. My brain just can’t get over the entitlement. “Oh no… my personal chef made waffles for breakfast when he should know that I only eat orange slices dipped in gold! How embarrassing!” This is probably why I couldn’t appreciate ‘We Were Liars’ like so many others have. I just disliked all the characters. Okay, great, your dad is literally offering to take you on a trip to Rome for the summer and you are u ..read more

I absolutely loved the Caraval series, so Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a logical first “Can’t Wait Wednesday” for me. That series continued to grow in strength with each book, and the characters really developed so much. I am curious if this is a spin-off series, since the character of the Prince of Hearts seems somewhat similar to the male lead in Caraval. I’m hopeful that the story isn’t too close, since that would be a bummer. Synopsis: Evangeline Fox was raised in her beloved father’s curiosity shop, where she grew up on legends about immortals, like the tragic Pri ..read more

This week’s Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge prompt is “Favourite holiday (with recipe)” and at first I had a hard time choosing one. I’m not the kind of person who decorates and dresses up, but I do love a good gift swap. So I decided that Christmas is my favourite holiday. Finding meaningful gifts to give to my friends and family makes me so happy. I’ve also done some personal reading challenges specifically to do with Christmas-themed books, which is something I haven’t done for any other holiday Meat Pie (Tourtiere) Bake the potato until done, 30 – 45 minutes in a preheated 400 degree ..read more

Why I want to read it: I’ve had an ARC of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn sitting on my shelf for ages, and I really do want to read it, I just haven’t felt like reading a historical fiction title lately. Whenever a customer buys it at the store I am reminded that I need to get to it some day. Synopsis: Set in World War II, this is the story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park who were once closer than sisters but have been ripped apart by betrayal and misunderstanding. Osla, Mab and Beth are forced together to solve one last puzzle, with the country’s security hanging in the bal ..read more

Wow… this week’s prompt was HARD! I don’t know a lot of books with question titles. I truly wonder how many people are going to manage to get a total of 10. Of course, they could pick books they have never read, but I guess I like to make it hard on myself. Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple Bernadette Fox has vanished and her daughter Bee has decided to use the various letters, emails, notes, and some conversations to figure out where she is, and why she left. Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket Drawing on events that took place during a period of his youth ..read more

The great contemporary YA read-a-thon continues this week. I might have to stop for a bit just to read something else so that I don’t get burnt out on one genre. Does this happen to you? I tend to jump around a bit just to keep things fresh. Books I Just Finished You Say It First by Katie Cotugno This book took me longer to finish than I was expecting. Both main characters, Meg and Colby, have some serious issues that they basically refuse to deal with. They tend to blame the other people in their lives for all of their problems, and their growth only comes once they are forced to face the tr ..read more

Photo by Ekrulila on Pexels.com Q: Where do you post your reviews? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews)  A: I don’t do a lot of reviewing these days, but when I do, it’s here at The Literary Counsellor. If I feel like I really want to share something with a wider audience, for whatever reason, I might post on Goodreads, but that’s it. I never review anything I buy on company websites. I totally use reviews by other people to help determine if I might want to buy something, so I know their value, and yet I just don’t feel compelled to do it. Book Blogger Hop is a weekly ..read more