This week’s prompt is “Books I Love So Much I Bought a Personal Copy for my Library.” My library isn’t huge, but it isn’t small either. A lot of the books I have are ones I haven’t even read yet. LOL. However, there are quite a few that I bought because I loved them so much. Here are my top ten choices:
What about you? Which books did you love so much you had to buy a copy for your library? Do we have any in common?
I’m feeling worn out. My PTSD therapy has been brutal. I’m reliving my trauma by listening to myself describe what happened in as much detail as possible over and over everyday. This is called exposure therapy.
The reason people have PTSD is because they subconsciously suppress their fear and panic by avoiding things that exacerbate their fear (i.e., reminders of their trauma (e.g., sounds, smells, people, places, situations)). If they gradually expose themselves to the memory of the trauma and anything that causes them to panic or feel fear, they’ll slowly get used to the memory and the things that exacerbate their fear will no longer cause an intense reaction. This doesn’t mean they won’t ever feel fear when they think of their trauma or do something that used to cause an intense reaction, but they will be able to tolerate it without a meltdown.
There are two steps to the exposure therapy process. The first one is called imaginal exposure, which is what I’m doing when I listen to myself describe what happened. The second one is called in vivo exposure, which is slowly exposing themselves to things that exacerbate their fear. For me, this includes 1) talking to my family, 2) saying or writing “Swann” over and over, and 3) having sex with Corey.
I’ll explain why I’m doing those particular things:
Now that you know way more about me than you probably ever wanted to, let’s move on.
This week on the blog:
I read, finished, and reviewed a book this week! I read THE GOOD SISTER by Sally Hepworth this week. You can click the link above to read my review if you want.
I also started listening to HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. I thought it was time to finish my reread of the series that I started in 2020. I also started reading SOME OF IT WAS REAL by Nan Fischer. I’m not far enough in to determine my feelings yet. I hope I can get it done by Wednesday so I can start MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS by Louise Hare.
I learned in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
I’ve been listening to some K-pop this week. Thanks to my friend Suey (It’s All About Books), I’ve listened to a lot of new bands this year. I’m going to share an “oldie,” however. It was one of the very first K-pop songs I listened to and it became and still is my favorite. It’s called “Fantastic” by Henry.
Corey and I rewatched the Daniel Craig Bond movies this week. I still think NO TIME TO DIE is the best Bond movie ever and Daniel Craig is the best Bond so far.
We also discovered the reboot of PASSWORD on Hulu. It’s hosted by Keke Palmer and stars Jimmy Fallon. I’m really enjoying it. I would’ve been mad, though, if I was a contestant on the episode with Meghan Trainor as the celebrity guest. She kind of sucked at the game.
Friday night we started watching THE HUNGER GAMES series. Every time I watch these movies, I love them more. All four movies are all-time my favorite book-to-movie adaptations.
I love this blogging community so much. I love how nice everyone is and how much everyone wants to read and comment on each other’s posts. I love the camaraderie and the interaction. I consider many of you friends now.
I started book blogging back in 2010. I found a group of book bloggers who live very close to me. We’re still friends IRL. I’m the only one who seems to be blogging anymore. Other than this group of friends, it always seemed hard back then to get others to comment on your blog unless you were one of the BIG ones. I do miss a lot of bloggers from yesteryear (), and I’m glad the community has morphed into what it is now.
I want a fresh peach shake from one of the local restaurants. Their fresh peach and fresh strawberry shakes are the best!
I need to get some sleep. My eyes aren’t working today (Saturday) because I didn’t sleep a wink Friday night. It’s due to coming off of Seroquel, which is an anti-depressant that makes you drowsy and sleep really well. My body has grown dependent on it for sleep, making it hard to come off. I also started taking Phentermine, which is a stimulant.
Hopefully, I’ll sleep tonight. Depending on how much sleep I get, I may be responding to comments and blog hopping on Monday instead of today.
Phentermine is the safe half of what was Fen-Phen. Fen-Phen was made from a combination of two drugs and the “Fen” part caused a lot of health issues. I’m taking Phentermine as an appetite suppressant. I have no trouble eating healthy. I just eat a lot because I’m always hungry. My weight has been a struggle for the last 15 years especially. I’ll lose weight and then gain it back plus some. My hope is that with a healthy diet and exercise, Phentermine will help me not be hungry all the time so I eat less and lose weight.
How was your week? Anything exciting happen?
I’m a day late in posting, but better late than never, right?
How do you keep track of books you want to read? Do you have a lot of books on your TBR? Is there any order or organization within all the books you want to read? Does your TBR ever feel overwhelming?
I keep track of the books I want to read on an Excel spreadsheet and on Goodreads. I used to use Shelfari too, which I preferred way more than Goodreads, but Amazon shut it down. The reason I do both a spreadsheet and Goodreads instead of just Goodreads is because Goodreads doesn’t keep track of everything I want to track and the filtering capabilities in Excel are so much more robust than what Goodreads can do. (Hmmm, can I say Goodreads again? )
Do I have a lot of books on my TBR? Um, yes. My TBR has over 1400 books on it and it grows faster than I can read them. My TBR has EVERY book I want to read on it, not just the books I own in physical or electronic form. I do cull my list once or twice a year and remove the books I’m no longer interested in reading.
My main worksheet is alphabetical by author and I can mark whether I own a book, it’s on my wishlist, it’s signed, when it’s due for release, and if I’ve read it. It also shows if I consider the book a favorite and how many times I’ve read it. Below is a screenshot showing a section of my main worksheet. (I haven’t updated it for a while; I need to reconcile it with what I’ve added to my Goodreads “to-read” shelf in the last six months. I’ve been putting it off because it’s going to take hours.) You can see that I have several worksheets in my workbook. Those other worksheets are just more things I like to keep track of.
My TBR can feel very overwhelming at times. I know I only have a finite amount of time to read as many books as I possibly can. With how fast my TBR grows, I won’t make a dent in it before I die. I’m currently 44 and the average lifespan of a woman in good health in the United States is around 79. I’ve read an average of 26 books each year since 2007. I have 35-ish years left to read. I’ll probably read no more than 1000 books (not counting rereads) between now and when I die unless I can kick my reading speed up a notch. Even though I know I won’t get to every book, I still want to keep a list of all the books I might be interested in.
How about you?
Title: The Good Sister
Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights, and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be ... dangerous.
I was really excited to read THE GOOD SISTER because my IRL friend Jenny recommended it to our book club and I usually enjoy the same type of thrillers she does. We decided to read it as September’s book and I’m glad we did so I’d read it sooner rather than later.
I loved THE GOOD SISTER. It was a fantastic story that kept me reading until I was done with the book. I saw the big twist coming a mile away; it didn’t ruin the suspense or story for me, though, because I still wanted to know how everything would play out. I wasn’t disappointed.
I really liked the characters in THE GOOD SISTER. I liked that even though I guessed the twist, I still kept wondering if I was right. I also loved that a couple of the main characters were neurodivergent. I have sensory issues, not to the extent Fern does, though. I really connected with that aspect of Fern’s character.
Angry is just a pen name for sad…. In my experience, nine times out of ten if you are kind to the angry person, you will calm them down and find out what is really going on with them.
I would’ve given THE GOOD SISTER 4 stars, except near the end Hepworth perpetuated the stigma that people diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are violent psychopaths. BPD’s misunderstood even among the psychological community. Those trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) understand BPD the most. I simply wish she had talked to a DBT-trained psychologist or someone who’s diagnosed with BPD before she used BPD as one of the reasons why the antagonist did what they did.
I don’t think cancelling someone is the right answer, though, because it takes away from what’s important—educating as many people as possible to help break the stigma surrounding BPD and other mental illness. Because of this, I’ll continue to read and, most likely, enjoy Hepworth’s novels.
Have you read THE GOOD SISTER? If so, what did you think?
There is a trigger warning for sexual assault, loss of a child, and loss of a parent.
I didn’t read much this month because I got LASIK on the 2nd and my eyesight has been wonky ever since. It’s okay, though, because it’s to be expected and my eyesight should be less wonky after my eyes heal completely. Because I’ve missed reading SOOO much, I have extremely lofty goals for September.
I did start three books this month: A DRESS OF VIOLET TAFFETA by Tessa Arlen, LINES OF COURAGE by Jennifer A Nielsen, and THE GOOD SISTER by Sally Hepworth. I decided to table A DRESS OF VIOLET TAFFETA for now. I know I’ll like it; I just realized I wasn’t in the mood for it when I started it. I was enjoying LINES OF COURAGE and would’ve completed it, but my due date for THE GOOD SISTER was looming and I really wanted to read it before I took it back to the library.
I don’t really have a favorite or least favorite book this month … obviously.
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 309
Average Rating: 3.0
Books Read: 26
Pages Read: 8,272
Average Rating: 3.98
How did your August go? What are your plans for September?
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