Are you someone who wants to read more books? Whether it’s just one book a month or 200 books a year, I am going to share today how I work towards my reading goals.

Now, I don’t want you to think that by tomorrow, you’ll be able to read 100 books this year. Like anything, you have to train yourself to do this. It’s like weight loss. You can’t lose 100 pounds by next week. Over time, if you keep on chipping away at that goal, you’ll reach your goal.

How I Went from a Book a Month to Over 100 Books a Year

I always wanted to read more books, but I thought I was a slow reader. In high school, my friend would get through an entire Danielle Steele novel in a day. That feat would take me a month!

I read a lot growing up. I was never without a book. The shorter books could take a week or two. Longer books I just stayed away from. By college, I was lucky if I was able to even read 3 pages of my assignment before the next class. So trust me, reading more was a struggle, even though I was always reading.

I was in my 30s when I started to create goals. I decided I wanted to read one book a week. That equates to 52 books a year, a feat that would end up taking me two years to accomplish.

The year I finally reached my goal, my secret was reading more YA books. I found that I could breeze through a 400 page book, because I was completely engrossed in the story. But I did not want to read only kids books, so I made sure to add in one classic a month. I chose short ones and one long one that I could read a little bit at a time before bed. It might take 6 months to complete, but I was reading that big book.

When I finally hit the 52 books mark two years in a row, I decided to push my goal to 100 books. This one took three years to reach. Last year, I did not just hit the 100 books mark for the very first time, but I also surpassed it by reading 114 books.

So this year, I decided to push my goal to 150 books. In January, I completed 16 books. I am on track to completing over 150 books this year.

Diversify Your Reading Materials

January 2020 was a bit of a record for me. Sixteen books are six books more than what I usually read each month. The trick this month wasn’t in YA books. It was actually in the method I consumed the book.

I vowed this year to always be reading somehow, so I added audiobooks and pushed myself to read books on my phone and tablet. When I walk, I listen to a book. When I sit down on the train or the bus, I read a paper book. While I am waiting in line, I read a book on my phone. During the work day, I listen to an audiobook or have a book up on one of my screens and read a little here and there. Before bed, I spend an hour reading a paper book (no devices).

During the weekends, I try to binge read, but that doesn’t always work out, so while I’m doing chores, I have Alexa read a book to me. Yes, she can read books from your Amazon library.

Now, you’re probably thinking – I only read on my Kindle or I only read paper. If you want to read more, you should diversify. It is weird to try something new, but after you diversify more, it becomes easier to switch between the three ways to read.

Another way to diversify reading is to not discriminate other genres. I generally read almost everything. My friend’s daughter taught me a little something about reading. She only wants to read comics, because she’s not ready to give up the pictures in books. I thought about it and realized that we should never discriminate against the type of reading material. If it takes comics to get a child to read, then we should encourage them to read more comic books.

I started reading graphic novels because of that little girl. It’s not something that takes 10 minutes to read. Try a few hours. There are a few series I’ve fallen for, because it’s not just the story. The artwork is phenomenal.

Monstress is one of the most amazing series I’ve ever encountered. When you look closely at the intricate artwork, it looks like it took days to complete.

And guess what? Reading graphic novels counts towards your reading goal. So do children’s books.

Because I never want to fall too much into one category, I also make sure to include one classic novel and a book challenge each month. This year, my challenge is to read all of Toni Morrison’s novels. I have to say that reading her books has taught me so much.

The important thing when it comes to reading is to always make sure you are challenging yourself with better reads. Explore other genres and never discriminate against the different types of literature out there. Try them all.

Set Goals

A little something I learned from Marc Berger, Director of the Securities Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office: challenge yourself by setting goals.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll notice that every Wednesday, I release a new list of seven books I’m working through. Did I finish all of the books the previous week? NO. But each week, I push harder to finish the current week’s seven, PLUS go back to the previous weeks to finish up what I was reading.

This is last week’s seven. I made it through four out of the seven books. It took a few weeks to push myself to complete four out of seven scheduled books.

You have to create challenges for yourself that may seem absolutely insane, but you know it would be awesome if you could finally be able to complete that task. You keep pushing yourself and pushing yourself until you’ve surpassed that goal and the goal feels easy to accomplish every single time you repeat it.

The only way you can become better is by creating challenges for yourself and plug away at it until you’ve accomplished your goal. In a way, you are creating a system to perfect a certain outcome every single time.

The way Marc taught me was that you put the problem in the corner of a box. At the exact opposite corner from the box, you put your desired result. You put the tools into the box and you figure out ways to get from point A (the problem) to point B (the outcome you want).

For me, that means looking at the seven books I want to complete (Point A). The tools I use break down each book. I create visuals to monitor my progress. I list all of my books for the week followed by the author, publisher and page number. For ebooks and audiobooks, I create 10 boxes. For every 10% I complete, I fill in a box with a colored pen. For paper books, I create boxes for every 25 pages in the book. So a 300 page book will have 12 boxes. Every 25 pages I read in that book, I color in.

I do this so I can visually track my progress that week. I have a weekly chart, as well as a monthly chart.

I also share my progress on Goodreads, because sometimes it is good to inspire others and to be inspired by others doing far better than you.

How to decide how much to read per day? I try to create a mix of audio, ebook and paper books. This makes it easier to accomplish the goal. I find that if I want to complete all books in time, I have to read at least 15% from each ebook/audiobook every single day. For the paper books, I have to divide the book up by seven to know how much I need to read each day in order to meet my goal.

That’s a lot of pages, right? I started off reading 25 pages a day. That was my goal way back when I started my 52 books a year. Then I bumped it up to 50 pages per day. Now, I read between 200-300 pages a day and climbing. It took years to reach this. Just remember that it’s all about taking one step at a time and challenging yourself to read more. Once you’ve mastered your challenge, you create a bigger challenge, and then a bigger one.

If you can’t tell, my goal is to actually read a book a day. That’s 365 books a year. I don’t think I can surpass 365 book a year, but who knows? Maybe I’ll join the 400 book club some day.

Ways I Trick My Numbers

So you may have noticed a couple of tricks up my sleeves are children’s books and graphic novels. I usually aim to read no less than 3 books a week. Last year, I learned that the way to do this (which I actually don’t do now) was to have one short book a week.

Poetry books are a good way to get in an extra book. Books with 200 pages or less are another way to add to your numbers. YA books are definitely the way to go, too.

There are some classic novels that are less than 160 pages that you’ve heard of. H. G. Wells’s “The Time Machine” and “The Invisible Man” are short and sweet. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the story of “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” are all super short reads.

THEY COUNT.

I highly encourage all of you who are trying to read more to add short books to your weekly list, because we all need to feel a sense of accomplishment that comes when we finish reading a book. I know I feel like I’m the master of the friggin universe when I finish a classic novel (no matter how many pages it was). Don’t you want to feel good about accomplishing your goals? This is how you do it.

Also, I might have to explain why I don’t do this little trick anymore…the seven. That’s why. I have seven books to get through. That does not even include the other books I’m reading on top of those seven books.

Speed Reading

I highly recommend learning how to speed read. There are apps that you can use to try to challenge yourself to read faster. There are even books that teach the different methods.

I’ve done both the apps and the books. Both have helped me learn how to read faster. I apply their tricks to push myself to read faster. After you put this into practice every time you read, it helps you to read even faster.

I also recommend reading Unlimited Memory by Kevin Horsley. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited. He teaches you how to retain a lot of what you are reading. It really helps when you are speed reading.

Reward Yourself

In order to reach my goal and to keep myself going, I started a reward system. For each book I read, I paid myself. For the books I really wanted to challenge myself to read (like classics), I paid myself more. I saved all of that money up to buy what I wanted at year end.

Usually, it was a shopping spree which entailed some major designer handbag. This year, my goal is to buy an Hermes Birkin bag.

I recommend rewarding yourself according to what you can afford to pay yourself. It could be $1 or $5 per book. If you want to read more classics, give yourself $25 or $50.

You can also add in rules if you are trying to save money or have other goals you want to meet, like getting through your own library or backlist without buying more books. For instance, I pay myself $50 per Toni Morrison book. In previous years, if I bought the book that year and I was trying not to buy books, I subtracted how much I paid from the reward money I’d already saved up. I treated it as if I was dipping into the fund to buy what I wanted…a book. It is really meant to be a deterrent from buying more books.

The goal though is to save up the money for the entire year based on how many books you challenged yourself to read that year.

My rewards this year are: $10 per book; $25 per ARC or backlist; $50 per Toni Morrison book; $100 per classic. As you can see, if I want to save more money, I’ll read more classics.

The higher amounts are more aligned with the goals I’ve set to encourage myself to read more of a certain type of book. I am not subtracting the cost of new books this year, because my goal this year is to buy more books. I receive so many ARCs, so it is only fair to go out and buy books to help the book industry.

I recommend revisiting this reward system every year to make sure it aligns with whatever your reading and financial goals are for the year. If you want to save for a vacation, a new purse or a new kitchen, this is a good way to align your goals together. It worked very well for me, because it encouraged me to read more and more so I could earn more than enough reward money for my desired purchases.

It is because of this system I was able to amass a closet full of couture handbags.

Takeaways

The number one thing in this process is to not punish yourself. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It took me a few years to reach each goal I created for myself. Never punish yourself if you don’t reach your goal at year end. Just look back at what you accomplished for that year. You may even find that you read more books than you did the previous year and that is definitely worth celebrating.

At the end of the year, you still get to use that money however you want, even if you didn’t reach your ultimate reading goal that year. This is your reward for trying really hard to accomplish something big.

At year end, re-evaluate what worked that year for you, what didn’t work, and what you should try in the next year to accomplish your goal.

The thing about that box Marc used to have me create is that I had to sit there and really go through the entire process to figure out how to make it work seamlessly every single time to reach the desired goal. I mean, he was really making me use my brain. I really had to strategize how I was going to reach the outcome I wanted. I didn’t just do this on my own. I asked others how I could perfect this process. They helped me fine tune things to where I am able to reach the desired outcome perfectly every single time.

I am still working on my current challenge of seven books a week. I apply different methods each week to see what is working and what is not working. I am constantly re-evaluating my approach to that box every single week. How do I get to that seven?

I’ve shared how I got to 52 and then 100. The ultimate goal for me right now is a book a day. The question for me is how am I going to get to point B in this challenge?

One last takeaway before I close, the reason why I share this method of creating challenges for yourself is because of this…Marc made me fall in love with my job after he taught me about challenging myself to be better than I was before. It was the challenge part that made me excited to come to work every single day. It made work fun for me.

By applying this process to reading, it makes it more fun for me and not so much of a job or a chore to get as many books reviewed as possible. I think a lot of people would think that this is just too much work for them just to read. But there are a lot of people out there that want to challenge themselves to read more. This is for them.

If at any time in this process reading books stops being fun, you’re doing it wrong. Take a step back and re-evaluate that box of yours. What made you stop having fun? That becomes a question you’ll have to answer to fix the process of getting from point A to point B.

I find that the only way we will ever better ourselves is if we are constantly challenged to be better than we were yesterday.

“Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me” is by far my favorite Julie Wright book yet. I really loved this book, mainly because I relate a lot to the story. There’s that writer who dreams of being published, but then in order to truly be that bestselling author, you have to be a certain online persona. Welcome to the world of books, PR, marketing and social media. Oh, and try to have a personal life somewhere in there.

For writers, there are a lot of good pick me ups throughout this book that helps you focus on your craft, like being true to yourself.

To create.
To be who I am with no apologies given.
Write something for you.
Whatever you choose – if it’s what you want – then it won’t be wrong.

What Lettie goes through after she hires a PR firm to change her online image is basically what every person on Instagram that’s trying to sell something, promote something, or become an influencer with a shipload of followers goes through every single day. This is the world of fakestagram and the lie sells.

Here is the Goodreads.com synopsis:

When aspiring author Charlotte Kingsley finally gets published, she thinks all her dreams have come true. But the trouble begins when her publicity firm reinvents her quirky online presence into a perfectly curated dream life. Gone are the days of sweatpant posts and ice cream binges with her best friend, Anders, replaced instead with beautiful clothes, orchestrated selfies, and no boyfriend. Only, that carefully curated fairy tale life is ruining her self-esteem and making her feel like a fraud.

When a bestselling author takes Charlotte under her wing—almost like a fairy godmother—she helps Charlotte see the beautiful person she already is and the worth of being authentic. But is it too late to save her relationship with Anders? The clock is quickly ticking towards midnight, and Charlotte must decide between her fairy tale life and the man she loves, before he’s gone forever.

– Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me

When her new life as an author conflicts with her personal life, this is where things take a bad turn. I did not like what Anders did. I was just as mad as Lettie was. My stomach literally dropped in disappointment. I kept thinking, “How could he?” What made me even more mad was his inability to understand how this whole thing harms her and her career. It’s like he didn’t even care. This reminds me of a quote that I saw on Instagram recently, “Even the people you think “nah they’d never do me like that” will do you like that.”

What she ends up doing in the end is not what I would have done. I would have been like…I am done. Finito. No going back. I don’t think there would have been a single friend that would tell me to rethink this. So maybe what she decides to do in the end is the fairy tale. BUT even though I did not like her decision, I did like the way the book ended.

I highly recommend this book for writers, book reviewers, and bookstagrammers. I will warn you that if you are like me, you will fairy godmother up some ice cream for your freezer and phone in some Thai curry for dinner. All of this talk about ice cream and Thai food made me stock the freezer and order Thai curry.

Crazy thing is…I am still craving Thai curry. I’ve had it every day this week.

What You Need to Know

Julie Wright is the author of “Lies Jane Austen Told Me,” “Lies, Love, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Happily Ever After,” and many other romance novels.

“Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me” is a Cinderella retelling. The author dives into the question of what happens at midnight when the magic disappears.

This story explores the concept of Cinderella, the peasant servant girl and the fairy tale princess. Even though there may be two sides to the girl, she is still both of those girls.

The fairy godmother appears as the “stereotypical magical makeover character” and the grown-up version of the “wise mentor.” The quote about fairy godmothering ice cream into your freezer is now a quote my friends and I are using, because there is so much truth to it. As women, we must ALWAYS have ice cream in our freezer and a bottle of wine nearby. From now on, that is my house rule.

Proper Romance is clean, so there are no content warnings for this book. For those who are looking for clean romance books, Proper Romance from Shadow Mountain Publishing provides an array of titles that are befitting religious households and grandma (or people like me who prefer clean romance). I’ve loved every single title I’ve read from Proper Romance. They were the ones who finally got me to like romance stories.

[Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. This post contains affiliate links.]

You can order your copy at any of PW’s preferred retailers:

BOOK REVIEW: Serpent & Dove is an incredible new series debut from author Shelby Mahurin. This YA tale about witches and the church will leave you wanting to get your hands on the next book.

The author begins this story in 17th century France detailing how society views witches and how witches view society. Their views are completely black and white with no room for gray areas.

She introduces us to our heroine, a young woman named Lou(ise). She and her friend Coco are witches from rival clans surviving together as thieves in Cesarine. Even though the church and witches see the world in black and white, Lou and Coco are the gray areas.

Yet, they are not the only ones who live in the gray areas of this black and white world. Those like them are afraid to do anything, or just don’t know what to do to change the good versus evil mentality.

For the church and the witches, each side has their own version of who the good guy is, and it is always themselves. Evil is always the enemy, the person that does not believe or live the way they do. And that, right there, is what Shelby Mahurin tries to dispel as she works her way through this novel. There are people on both sides that don’t believe what their society believes. There has to be another way to create peace between the two sides.

The author also explores the many different facets of love throughout this book. The characters all seem to struggle with loss, abandonment, and neglect, especially when it concerns their parents. Some children are thrown away. Others are hated by their parents. Some parents search for their lost child and when found, they struggle to make amends (or even reveal the truth). Some children come to terms with the fact they have a lot of illegitimate brothers and sisters out there.

Mahurin did an excellent job exploring the many facets of love through the characters. In a way, one must wonder if perhaps she is working out the issues going on in her own life. There is that sense of abandonment repeated throughout with the main characters. There are strained relationships with mothers (or mother figures). But more importantly, our main characters learn to love each other for who they are, even if it is everything they are taught to hate.

“Beyond forcing me to examine my own perceptions, these characters also helped me rediscover the spark I’d lost-that essence of self we so often sacrifice to others. They took me on a journey of self-discovery while they ate sticky buns and battled witches, and for this reason alone, they’ll always hold a special place in my heart.” – Shelby Mahurin

In the battle between good and evil, in the end, it is love that matters. Love is the only thing that should matter. The question is how can they bridge that gap when they’ve spent centuries learning to hate each other?

Book Review: Serpent & Dove

This is one of those stories where I could not put the book down. I love really good witchy stories and this one definitely delivered. This book is a long read, but definitely worth it. It is not slow moving at any point, because of all the adventure, romance, and conflict.

I love the main character Lou(ise). Her banter and humor at the most awkward moments cracked me up. I was on the train reading a graphic love scene when she said something so inappropriate I actually laughed out loud. All I could think was, “God, I love her.”

This is by no means a scary tale. The book is more a great adventure than it is a romance.

This is the first book in a new series that strives to learn how a divided world can live together in harmony. In a black and white world, only what we believe in is right and everyone else is wrong. In a world filled with color, we live in peace with each other. We understand there are differences in beliefs, but that is not worth punishing those who do not believe the way you do.

In our current political climate, this book is a bit like George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World in that our world needs a new satire to explain the world we live in…and somehow find a way out of it. The other two satires were warnings of things to come. Serpent & Dove is about taking this world we live in and finding a way to fix it.

You can pick up Serpent & Dove at any of these preferred PW retailers:

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links.]

This month, I am reading up a storm. Ironically, I noticed a theme. A lot of the books I am reading are by women of Asian descent. Today, I am going to discuss two such female writers who wrote “Searching for Sylvie Lee” and “The Night Tiger,” two very different books set on opposite sides of the world.

Searching for Sylvie Lee

You’ve probably heard of this book. It was Jenna Bush Hager’s book club choice for June 2019. It was also the book club pick for The Book Club Girl.

The great thing about Jean Kwok’s book being featured in different book clubs is that it gives the readers a chance to connect and interact with her.

Personally, I love this book. This mystery takes place between New York (Queens) and The Netherlands, two places the author has called home.

Synopsis

Destination: New York City and The Netherlands

From Goodreads:

A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women—two sisters and their mother—in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears, and a series of family secrets emerge, from the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes.

Amy, the sheltered baby of the Lee family, is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place, and didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine. Timid and shy, Amy has always looked up to her sister, the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love.

But what happened to Sylvie? Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it’s Amy’s turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister’s movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen. But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth. Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets . . . secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family—and herself—than she ever could have imagined.

A deeply moving story of family, secrets, identity, and longing, Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family. It is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone—especially those we love. 

Review

So. Ummm. Wow. The ending is intense! I had such a mixture of emotions. I was screaming, going, “WHAT?!” Yet, I was also sad. But I don’t know if I was sad for what happened, or if I was sad because I saw myself as Sylvie Lee.

There are a lot of things that Asian Americans, or frankly any Asian immigrant, go through that is hard to explain to a culture that will never know what it is like to not be white. I think that is one of the most important statements made in this story.

Add to that discrimination, what it is like to be a woman in a man’s world. The struggle to be accepted as an equal and not a piece of meat…I mean, can anybody win if they are not male and white?

Jean Kwok does an excellent job explaining why some Asian Americans work so hard to be perfect. We are trying to be accepted in a culture that will not accept us. From the good grades to the perfect schools to the perfect jobs and husbands…it is all about trying to be accepted and loved in a world that rejects us. In so many ways, Sylvie Lee is me. And maybe that is the part that made me sad. I could see her in me and it made me feel that maybe I, too, want to be free. [Jean Kwok, you are killing me here!]

My site is called Perfectionist Wannabe. I think Sylvie Lee explained to me exactly what I could not explain to myself, maybe even why I settled on this site’s title.

The story is deep. Way too deep.

Mind you, everyone takes different things from stories. For me, it was the profound messages I could relate to. Someone who does not know what it is like to be an Asian woman will not take the same message from this story. Yet, that is kind of the point Jean Kwok is making.

An excellent read. This is a must for everyone.

[Side Note: Couscous. I love that Jean included her cat in the story. I think I’m going to have to write Matthew Lucifer into my book.]

The Night Tiger

I chose this book as my Book of the Month a few months ago. Like Pachinko, I kept thinking…I will get to this eventually. I finally forced myself to pick it up and then I thought, “I should not have waited so long to read this.”

Synopsis

Destination: Malaysia

From Goodreads:

A sweeping historical novel about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.

When 11-year-old Ren’s master dies, he makes one last request of his Chinese houseboy: that Ren find his severed finger, lost years ago in an accident, and reunite it with his body. Ren has 49 days, or else his master’s soul will roam the earth, unable to rest in peace.

Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. Secretly, though, Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother’s Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin’s dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.

As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren’s lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined. Propulsive and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores colonialism and independence, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and first love. Braided through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order.

Review

Loved this story from start to finish.

I learned a lot about the mysticism of Malaya. I love stories like this because you learn a lot about superstitions and the culture of the people. This really appealed to the anthropologist/archaeologist in me.

My favorite character is definitely Ren. Here’s this 10 year old orphan boy who is so smart and more in tune to his intuition and the universe than anyone else in the book. He is the one who has suffered the most loss, but doesn’t let it weigh him down. Here he is saving people’s lives, and has the biggest heart of all of them. He cares about everyone more than they care about themselves.

I wish we were all like Ren.

In “The Night Tiger,” I had just finished the part where she references “The Ghost Bride.” I was not even aware of the author’s other titles until someone posted a picture of her book “The Ghost Bride.” Absolutely love when there’s a hint to a previous title. That book is queued up to be my next read.

The story is very enjoyable. I definitely recommend it.

Final Thoughts

This month was definitely a great month for literature by women of Asian descent. After I read these two books, I ended up reading a graphic novel series written by two Asian women. Then I took a look at my recent purchases over the last few months. The majority of the books I purchased are written by Asian women. I kept thinking it is about time there were more female Asian writers on the market.

When I was first discovering my Asian roots (something my mother never discussed), I was in college. In the mid-90’s, I only had Amy Tan. “The Joy Luck Club” was the first Asian American film I ever saw. It became my window into a world that made me feel like I was not alone. I absorbed every single Amy Tan book I could get my hands on.

Since then, books written by Asian women became sparse. The only other author I knew of was Adeline Yen Mah. Now, we see more and more Asian women writing incredible stories.

I think over the last few years, I am drawn more towards choosing books by Asian women. I don’t do this purposely. The titles and the stories are what draw me in. When I check my shelves later, I see a theme. I am drawn to Asian women telling their stories; and they are incredible stories.

The stories that really stay with me are the ones written by Asian women. From Kim Thuy who wrote “Ru” and “Man” to Lisa See and Min Jin Lee, the stories are incredible. Maybe it’s that Sylvie Lee in all of us that inspires them to work hard to be perfect in what they are creating that explains why I have not read a bad book from an Asian woman. Everything has been 5 stars across the board.

Maybe that Sylvie Lee in us all is the reason why women of Asian descent write better books. And that is probably the reason why I freak out all of the time as I write my book…that need to be perfect in order to be loved and accepted by a culture that will never understand what it is like to be us.

Part of me does not know if that desire is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it is a bad thing, but at the same time, these women are making something extraordinary. It is not mediocre. It is exceptional. If we did not strive for that level of perfectionism, we would be like everybody else.

In an odd way, maybe we are just trying to prove we are better than that culture that does not accept us. These women are definitely proving that we are.

[Side Note: Shout out to all the book lovers who have fur babies. There seems to be a direct correlation between book lovers and animal lovers.]

Since I announced I will no longer be sending book sales to Amazon, [Amazon is Selling Counterfeit Books] I reached out to other retailers to see if we could form a partnership. Barnes & Noble is one of my new partners.

Each week, I will be showcasing each new partnership. After all of the new partnerships are introduced, I will be pooling all of the Book Deals I can find from each of the different retailers to share with you each week.

I am also working on a master list of online booksellers for people to use. This will include those retailers that ship internationally (for those of you who are outside of the US).

This week, I am highlighting Barnes & Noble and their sales for July.

Black Friday in July

July 12-16:

Black Friday in July! Get 20% Off Your Order with code JULYREADS

20% Off the NOOK GlowLight 3 eReader! Limited Time Only

40% Off 100 Books of Summer For Adults, Kids, and Teens!

June 18-August 24

50% Off Beach Reads

July 2-August 5

Viz Manga: Buy 2, Get the 3rd Free

But here is the deal I like going on this weekend: Select Books are only $2 with purchase of $35 or more. Here are a few of the offerings (price does not always reflect complete discount):

So for those still on the fence with whether to buy at Amazon versus another retailer, I highly recommend taking advantage of the sales you will find on other sites.  Those sales with other booksellers are sometimes better than Amazon.  Every now and again, you can even get free books.  Amazon usually only does free ebooks.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a buy 2 get, the third book free at Amazon.  Have you?

I recommend doing what I do. Create a list of books you want to purchase. When I peruse sales, I look to see if that book has made their clearance or sale section. When the sale is too good to be true, that’s when I know it’s time to buy it.

I mean, you do want to save money, right?

I usually find the month following the Book Expo to be the time when I read more books than I normally would read. June was no exception.

I decided to do something a little different. You can thank a 10 year old girl for this. I usually pick up some books for my friend’s twin daughters every summer before they go away to their dad’s house. One daughter devours books. The other one is a comic book reader.

While her mother prefers that she read books, her daughter responded that she was not ready to give up picture books yet. This made me think…if comics and graphic novels are what it takes to get her to read, far be it for me to judge her. I should be encouraging her to read by any means she enjoys.

Which means that I am now reviewing comics and graphic novels. To my surprise, my male readers actually cheered when they heard this.

So far, I’ve picked up some great graphic novels and comics and I can’t wait to share this with you.

Adult Fiction

[usr 4] Next Year in Havana was a Read It Forward Facebook Book Club Pick.

This was a really good book. I enjoyed the story, but after page 280, the political stuff got to be too much. It’s a great book to understand the history of Cuba, what led up to the revolution, and the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. It also shares what life has been like since Fidel Castro came to power. 

We follow the story of Marisol (present day) and her grandmother Elisa (late 1950s). Elisa has passed away and Marisol has returned to Cuba to spread her grandmother’s ashes. As a reporter, she is looking to write a piece on tourism, while trying to find the right spot to release Elisa’s ashes. What she was not in store for was a box of letters her grandmother wanted her to have. 

The letters tell a much bigger story, as well as Elisa’s biggest secret. Marisol realizes she must find the answers in order to determine where the best place would be to lay her grandmother to rest. While she searches for answers, the regime follows her around. She could be seen as a spy if she doesn’t watch her step, because the questions she is asking will lead to trouble.

GOOD NEWS: As of this post’s publication date, you can get the eBook from Barnes & Noble for $1.99.

[usr 5] Daisies and Devotion. If you love Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, you will enjoy the latest novel from Josi S. Kilpack. “Daisies and Devotion” is the second book in the Mayfield Family Series.

It may be a little slow getting into, but once that dance happens, you will have a hard time putting the book down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I really enjoy Josi S. Kilpack’s books. They are G-rated. Believe me when I say that sometimes the best love stories are the ones without all the sex and heavy petting. When it comes to real love, you have to talk about matters of the heart, not the lust. Josi’s focus is telling the stories that go on from the heart.

We read about the fear that goes on inside of their minds and the self-doubt. There are the lies we tell ourselves that we are not good enough, pretty enough, or desirable. There are even the stories we tell ourselves that someone doesn’t like us, we are not their type. Or that we may have misunderstood what was happening, so we break our own hearts and move forward in life…and when they try to tell us we were right, we refuse to believe them.

Kilpack does an excellent job of delving into the issues of love and learning how to love. She examines it, dissects it, learns from it and issues out the truths, no matter how difficult it is to accept. Seriously, where were these books 20 years ago? I could have used them then!

For the full review, click HERE.

[Content Warning: Book contains situations involving death, miscarriage.]

[usr 5] Pachinko. Wow. Absolutely incredible.

This book begins in Korea, before there was a north or a south, and then ends in Japan. We begin in 1910 and end in 1989, following the lineage of one family as they move from poverty to riches. 

There are two quotes that sum up Pachinko: 

“A woman’s lot is to suffer.”

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

As we follow Sunja’s life, a miracle that she was to be born, we see how the evil of the world tries to take advantage of such an innocent creature and shape her to make decisions that would lead her from Korea to Japan. She suffers greatly over and over again, but isn’t that life? Her children are her saving grace, but even the sins of her past can destroy her happiness.

This book is beautifully written, detailed and well done. Each character is developed so well that we watch them grow from infancy to old age. 

It is shocking to me the prejudices that Koreans had to endure. It is rather sad that they are looked down upon by the Japanese, even if they were born there, as well as their fathers. They are still not granted citizenship and can be deported at any time. It was really heartbreaking to read this and how evil Japanese people are to the Koreans. It really makes you look at what happens in America and see that it happens everywhere. There is always one race that thinks they are better than another.

There are content warnings for this book. The following elements are present that may present triggers for those sensitive to these subject matters: abuse, death/dying, strong language, miscarriage, abortion, sexual situations, self-harm, violence and suicide. 

Overall, this book is a must read.

[usr 5] Salvage the Bones. Jesmyn Ward is an incredible writer, probably one of the best living American writers today. “Salvage the Bones” is just another example of her extraordinary talent.

This book really helps you understand the conditions of living in the Bayou of New Orleans. Here, we enter into one household just days before Hurricane Katrina hits. One thing I cannot stop thinking about is the phone call everyone receives from the State right before any major hurricane. Evacuate or you risk your own life. No one is coming to save you.

But how do people living in extreme poverty evacuate? Where do they go? How do they get to a safe place? For the State to give out that warning, it’s a bit classist if you truly think about it. That warning is for people who can afford to leave. For everyone else, they have to wait out the storm.

For those who remember, when the levees broke, it flooded much of the impoverished areas. It literally wiped out many neighborhoods. 

One of the things Ward discusses that I remember hearing about when Tarboro, North Carolina (another black impoverished town) was flooded in 1999, were the dead bodies from the cemetery floating by. Her depiction and detail is the same as it was there. The similarities between the flooding of both areas are haunting. There was no warning for either place.

I can’t stress how well written this book is. Jesmyn reminds me so much of a Mark Twain or a Charles Dickens with the way she describes the life of humans along with their use of language. She is an incredible writer. You walk away from her books feeling so much more complete because you now understand something far greater than you ever did before.

[usr 4] The Strange Case of Finley Jayne. For those looking for a quick read, this little novella is only 84 pages. It is the prequel to The Steampunk Chronicles.

What I loved about this book is that Finley Jayne is a bit of a kickass, no nonsense woman. She is a great daughter and friend. She protects the innocent and is smart enough to trust her instincts when things seem awry. She investigates questionable people even before she’s asked to do it. She is the one saving the day, even before she knows it. 

Some superheroes are heroes because it is the right thing to do. Finley Jayne is a hero because it is who she is. She is not trying to be a hero. She just is. 

Great story. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

GOOD NEWS: This title is only $0.99 at Barnes & Noble.

[usr 5] The Starless Sea. I wish I could give this book a gazillion stars. It is literally a masterpiece. It has been eight years since Erin Morgenstern released her debut The Night Circus. I was talking to someone from Doubleday Books when a couple of women walked up asking for a copy. I had apparently picked up the last one. The look on their faces as they looked at my book. I could feel something crazy in the air, so I turned to the publicist and said, “I think I am going to hide this away before a mob scene breaks out.” She responded, “I think that would be wise.”

In other words, this book was THE MOST COVETED BOOK at the Book Expo.

This book is not set to be released until November 5, 2019, so make sure you pre-order it now. Before you do that though, I recommend that you read my review first. This book is only for certain types of individuals. It was not created for everyone. I only tell you to read the review first, because I don’t want anyone leaving bad reviews for something they did not understand completely. You can read the entire review (no spoilers) HERE.

[usr 2] Moonlight Travellers. I have been trying to remember where I picked this book up from. I guess it was when I was wandering around W.W. Norton, looking at their shelves. I probably thought…oh, this will be a light and easy read. Well, I was correct about that.

I did not rate this highly, because I had a problem with Will Self’s narrative. I don’t think the narrative matched the artwork appropriately. It read like this was a letter to someone…a specific someone. It was too personal and not something that should have been shared with everyone else. Those words belonged to one person…the intended.

While those words were beautiful, I felt like I had read something that did not belong to me. The artwork is interesting and entertaining as you go through each one, you’ll notice that the artwork alone is telling its own story.

[usr 2] Raw Thoughts. Well, I actually gave this poetry book a higher rating on Goodreads. 3 stars. But I am going to change that.

I created the posting for this, because the system had not been updated. I went to double check my rating and saw it was 3 stars, but strangely enough, it says 4 stars at the top. I think…who in the world rated it higher than 3 stars?

The author did. He gave it 5 stars. Ummm…note to all authors out there…don’t do that. I understand you want your book to sell, but don’t do that. I am not even going to link this book for people to buy it.

I am going to explain why I originally gave this book 3 stars…I wanted to be fair. I did not like it, because the first 3/4 of the book is depressing and suicidal. The photos are mediocre. The best of the bunch is definitely the cover photo. There were two poems that I did like at the end.

I know that John Casey’s aim was to help people who are in complete sorrow/depression relate to the poems. The ending was supposed to be a light out of that pit, but I don’t think there was enough light to do that. The 3 stars was for the effort in trying to do something good, but failing to do so.

I mean, he made me depressed reading this book.

Graphic Novels

[usr 5] Victor LaValle’s Destroyer. Absolutely loved this. What a great way to introduce the youth to Frankenstein.

It’s the old Frankenstein meets new Frankenstein. The new Frankenstein is created by an angry black mother. Akai was shot down by the police on his way home from his little league game. Someone called in a report that an 18-20 year old black male was walking around with a rifle. He was 12 years old, wearing a baseball uniform, carrying a baseball bat. 

Out of her anger at being seen as monsters because of their skin color, Dr. Baker decides to bring her son back to life using nanobots along with Victor Frankenstein’s notes. All the while, Frankenstein himself, the original creature, is hunting her down and destroying all humans in his path.

LaValle decided to bring Frankenstein and a major societal issue in America together to create “Destroyer.”

[usr 5] Teen Titans: Raven.
I really enjoyed reading Raven’s back story. Unlike the TV show/movie, this graphic novel is not funny. It’s rather serious and sad as we begin to see who Raven really is and where she came from.

After being involved in a car accident that kills her adoptive mother, Raven is sent to New Orleans to live with her adoptive mother’s sister and niece. The only issue is that Raven has amnesia. She has no idea who she is or what her past is. 

With the help of her aunt and cousin, their voodoo protects her as she starts to remember who she is.

What I love about this the most is that a woman wrote this. We need more women’s voices in comics.

[usr 4] The Magicians: Alice’s Story. I am a big fan of the television series on SyFy. This graphic novel is sort of the condensed version of Alice’s story. The characters do not look like the TV characters. While the show has diverse people playing the roles, the comic does not. It is whitewashed. 

Beyond that aspect, I decided to give this title 4 stars because it helped me understand Alice a little better and what ended up happening to her. It is sad to a point, but in a way, freeing to understand what happened to her, as well as the relationship she had with Quentin. 

I always believed that Quentin thought he loved Alice. Never thought for once that he actually did. I still think that, even after reading this graphic novel. Perhaps talking about love between Magicians is not realistic, because of the cold harshness of the subject matter of magic. It’s kind of something they want, but never really do attain. 

This graphic novel is for mature audiences only.

[Content Warning. These elements are present: death, strong language, sexual situations, nudity and violence.]

Children & YA

[usr 4] A Place to Land. This was an interesting tale of why King decided to do the “I Have a Dream” speech that day on the Mall. Apparently, it wasn’t the speech he prepared for that day.

The advance copy I received did not have the speech in it. I am unsure if the finished copy will have the speech in it.

Either way, I definitely learned something from this children’s book.

The artwork is well done. It’s a short read, but a very interesting take on that day. It gives this little piece of history a more in depth look behind that day.

[usr 4] Doc and the Detective in Graveyard Treasure. What a great mystery for kids. I think what I liked most about this is that you learn a little bit about the Choctaw Nation and the Trail of Tears. While you are getting a little bit of a history lesson about this Native American group, you’re also learning about caring for those with Alzheimer’s and learning to respect seniors, all the while, drawn into a mystery.

When seniors start complaining that their things are going missing, people assume they are just forgetful or they don’t know what they’re talking about. They are not taken seriously, until one day, Timmy and his neighbor, Dr. Moore, see a flower pot for sale that looks exactly like the one his daughter gave to him that went missing. When they see who is selling it, they realize a much bigger situation is going on. 

With the help of the local police, Timmy with his family and his friends, help uncover a ring of thieves that are taking advantage of the elderly. But the lessons here go far beyond just the adventure.

A great read for children 8-12 years of age.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of A Place to Land, Victor LaValle’s Destroyer, Teen Titans: Raven, Daisies and Devotion, The Magicians: Alice’s Story, Pachinko, Doc and the Detective, The Starless Sea, Moonlight Travellers, and Raw Thoughts from publishers in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.]

I am a bit late getting this book review of “Daisies and Devotion” up. I do have a reason why. Last month, I won the most coveted award at my office, along with my team, for most outstanding work. While that’s all great, what goes with being “most outstanding” is triple the workload the very next day. What adds to this was the type of work I was doing was not fun or pleasant because I had to read about child sexual abuse. 300 cases. So being able to completely focus on a book review was just out of the question.

Since I haven’t had to read a case in the last two weeks, I can refocus on reviewing books. So let’s get to this story.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of an unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links.]

Synopsis

Content Warning: D, M.

If you love Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, you will enjoy the latest novel from Josi S. Kilpack. “Daisies and Devotion” is the second book in the Mayfield Family Series. The first book in the series is “Promises and Primroses.”

You can read “Daisies and Devotion” without having read the first book, but all I can say is…WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT???? You would be missing out on such an incredible *sigh* worthy book!

Another reason why you should read the first book is that it goes more into detail with the marriage challenge being presented to the Mayfield siblings. It was first presented in the first book and it ended up working out very well, because Peter Mayfield found love. In book two, Timothy Mayfield’s response to his brother finding love before marriage is that it is simply unheard of. Imagine how modern the concept of love before marriage is!

Some elements of Book One are brought into the second book, but the book is written where even if you do not read the first book, you will be ok.

In “Daisies and Devotion,” Maryann Morrington has entered the London season looking for a husband. Her entrance into the season was delayed a few years because she was helping her mother while she was ill. Before her mother passed away, her sister married and later miscarried a child. Deborah moves to London with her husband, Lucas, and sponsors Maryann (now 22) while she is in London.

After her mother’s passing, Maryann comes into her very lucrative inheritance. With that information becoming public knowledge in London, the majority of men that knock on her door are only interested in her because of her money.

Deborah and Lucas decide to introduce Maryann to Lucas’s childhood friend, Timothy Mayfield. He is up front about his reasons for courting her – he needs a woman with a fortune. Oddly enough, Maryann appreciates his brutal honesty and begins to fall for him.

When Timothy’s uncle puts forth the marriage challenge proposal, guaranteeing a well off livelihood, he no longer needs to look for a wife with a fortune. He now has the freedom to marry any woman he chooses.

When he informs Maryann he is no longer obligated to find a wife with money, he tells her of his list for a perfect woman and it is everything she is not. She tells him this list is foolish, there is no such thing as a perfect woman. But Timothy insists on finding this kind of woman.

Brokenhearted, she parts ways with him after they have harsh words with each other. He does not even understand what he did, but feels remorseful he hurt her feelings, so he sends her daisies he picked himself, her favorite flowers.

The two finally come to an accord, agreeing to be just friends. Then they agree to help each other find the right match. Timothy introduces her to Colonel Berkins and she introduces him to Miss Shaw (the woman who is literally Timothy’s list).

The only issue is that Colonel Berkins is courting Maryann under false pretenses. When Maryann discovers the reasons behind his courtship, she decides to leave London and go back home. She is done with the season and the idea of looking for a husband.

This announcement shocks Timothy. Yet, it takes one dance to make the situation as clear as day for him.

Review

Like all of the titles from Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance, this was another sigh worthy book. It may be a little slow getting into, but once that dance happens, you will have a hard time putting the book down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I swear, this book was like looking into my own past and seeing the similarities, dissecting each issue to better understand it. Luckily for Maryann, when she ran, deciding to give up on love and move on with life, love followed her. It wasn’t ready to give up on her. Love was willing to fight for her…and that is what makes you sigh.

Part of me wishes that we still had London type seasons where if you are looking for a spouse, you attend all of these gatherings hosted by the same group of people who help people find matches. Everyone attends the same dinners, dances, events, etc. There are certain rules involved in getting to know people, as well as a certain decorum in how men and women should act towards each other.

I really enjoy Josi S. Kilpack’s books. They are G-rated. Believe me when I say that sometimes the best love stories are the ones without all the sex and heavy petting. When it comes to real love, you have to talk about matters of the heart, not the lust. Josi’s focus is telling the stories that go on from the heart.

We read about the fear that goes on inside of their minds and the self-doubt. There are the lies we tell ourselves that we are not good enough, pretty enough, or desirable. There are even the stories we tell ourselves that someone doesn’t like us, we are not their type. Or that we may have misunderstood what was happening, so we break our own hearts and move forward in life…and when they try to tell us we were right, we refuse to believe them.

Kilpack does an excellent job of delving into the issues of love and learning how to love. She examines it, dissects it, learns from it and issues out the truths, no matter how difficult it is to accept. Seriously, where were these books 20 years ago? I could have used them then!

Rating: A-