Bookish Soliloquies

Happy Wednesday! I took a few days off of IG. It wasn't planned, but it was what I needed. I highly recommend not doing things that you don't have to when you don't want to do them, whether it's taking time off from doing a hobby you enjoy to focus on other things or even to not doing social acts because others expect it! Always honor yourself and your needs first, no one else is going to! 💜✨ Over this past weekend, I enjoyed The Ex Hex. I found it to be humorous and sexy. It was such a cozy Autumnal read and a wonderful way to say goodbye to my favorite season. 🍁🍂 I'm working on winding up the semester, so it will be lots of grading for the next week! Good thing I have some audiobooks to keep me company. 😍🎧 QOTD - What is the last book you finished? 💜✨ https://www.instagram.com/p/CXgf-BRrqsn/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Saturday! I hope you are all doing well! I am sharing some of my bookmail from the last month or so. Many thanks to the tagged individuals, book tour groups, and publishers for some of these incredible books & candles! Remember, you can use my code BEKKA10 to save on items from @birthdateco. 📚🕯️💜 Books featured: ~To All the Dogs I've Loved Before ~How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents ~In the Time of Butterflies ~On Bread Loaf Mountain ~Once More with Chutzpah ~And They Lived Happily Ever After ~Fat Chance, Charlie Vega ~Crushing ~Raising a Demon ~The Wolf and the Woodsman ~Hicotea ~Puzzle Odyssey ~The Tea Dragon Society ~The Tea Dragon Festival ~The Tea Dragon Tapestry QOTD - Are any of these books on your radar? 💜📚💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/CXWqNzYL5oP/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Monday! QOTD - Have you/ will you read (be reading) a book by a Jewish author this month? If so, what book? 📘 I didn't intend to take the whole weekend off from posting, but I am glad I did. Chanukah ends tonight at sundown. I hope that everyone who celebrates had a wonderful holiday! I also hope that everyone will be adding a book by a Jewish author to their December TBR. Just because Chanukah is ending doesn't mean you can't still read about it! In fact, I plan on getting to the Matzah Ball later this week. 📘 A few quick thoughts on An Open Heart: This was a really cute and cozy Jewish historical fiction romance. If you are looking for a quick read, definitely consider picking this novella up! Synopsis: "An Open Heart presents two people who don't celebrate the same holiday as the other folk at a Regency house party. Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people. It is 1812, and Chanukah fell the month before she arrives at the Duchess of Haverford's house party. She's open to what the house party might bring. Tradition is important, but Esther also wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well? Adam Halevy prospered under the tutelage of his distant cousin, powerful banker Nathaniel Baumann. He's ready to find a suitable wife, someone who understands a woman's role, and will make a traditional home. Why is Baumann's outspoken, independent daughter the one woman who haunts his nights? When a business trip forces him to open his mind to new ideas and he arrives home to find Esther gone, what can he do? He follows her to the Duchess's ball unannounced." https://www.instagram.com/bekkabergamot/p/CXJnGEirZkR/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Tuesday! I haven't made a monthly TBR for a while, but I made one for December! 📚 At the top of my TBR pile is my new @birthdateco book that my husband gifted me for Chanukah. Of course I already spilled coffee on my birth chart 🤦🏻‍♀️. This is why we can't have nice things! Despite being a hot mess, I am having a blast reading about my birth chart and finding out more beyond the sun sign I have always focused on in the past. The book and/or one of their candles makes an excellent gift foe yourself or someone else & today is the last day of their sale. Shop it in the affiliate link in my linktree! 🕯️✨ TBR: ~The Matzah Ball ~The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane ~No Ordinary Christmas ~The Ex Hex ~An Open Heart ~The Twelve Dates of Christmas ~Eight Perfect Hours ~Within These Wicked Walls ~Instructions for Dancing ~The Once and Future Witches QOTD: Are any of these books on your radar? 📚 https://www.instagram.com/p/CW6LeqjL6KU/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Monday! This is a picture of a book I read and didn't love. Have you DNF'd a book or read a book you wish you have DNF'd recently? https://www.instagram.com/p/CW31B6xranu/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Wednesday! QOTD - What is a cover that made you want to read a book recently? Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle and @eccobooks for sending me this stunning book! Published: November 16, 2021. SYNOPSIS: "An exhilarating, provocative novel of motherhood in extremis. Tiny is pregnant. Her husband is delighted. “You think this baby is going to be like you, but it’s not like you at all,” she warns him. “This baby is an owl-baby.” When Chouette is born small and broken-winged, Tiny works around the clock to meet her daughter’s needs. Left on her own to care for a child who seems more predatory bird than baby, Tiny vows to raise Chouette to be her authentic self. Even in those times when Chouette’s behaviors grow violent and strange, Tiny’s loving commitment to her daughter is unwavering. When she discovers that her husband is on an obsessive and increasingly dangerous quest to find a “cure” for their daughter, Tiny must decide whether Chouette should be raised to fit in or to be herself—and learn what it truly means to be a mother. Arresting, darkly funny, and unsettling, Chouette is a brilliant exploration of ambition, sacrifice, perceptions of ability, and the ferocity of motherly love." The beautiful and haunting cover absolutely drew me in to this book, but the plot description has me so excited to read this magical realism story. 🦉🍂 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWqx7i1rjnb/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Tuesday! QOTD - What is the last book that kept you up reading past your bedtime? I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning the other day listening to this book. I couldn't out it down until I knew how things ended. This is the second book in The Friend Zone series. Our main female character for The Happy Ever After Playlist is introduced in book 1, The Friend Zone. The plot of this book is a big spoiler for book 2, so I won't go into it. I will say that now having read two of Abby Jimenez's books I now know to expect them to bring me so very high that I am laughing or squirming with the giddiness of watching two (fictional) people fall in love and then so low that I am hysterically ugly crying and feeling like my heart it being broken open. I recommend these books for readers who enjoy real life situations with their love stories. TW's for both books: death/ loss of a loved one TW for this book: addiction, stalking https://www.instagram.com/p/CWoGCCvrnDi/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Monday, all! If you are in the US, I hope you are looking forward to a short work week like I am. I am also looking forward to trying to finish up my holiday shopping this week with sale shopping. @candelles is going to be having some amazing sales that I will be sharing in my stories. They emailed us affiliates that the biggest sale will be for the early bird shoppers from 12 - 6 AM on 12/26. Set your alarms now & remember to shop my affiliate link! 🤩 Today I will be talking about The Girl from Widow Hills. Synopsis: "Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors and rescue workers, set up search parties and held vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found, alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps, and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye. Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She’s managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Soon Olivia feels like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even waking outside her home. Until late one night she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet is the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life, as Arden Maynor." TBH, I am in the middle with this one. I didn't hate it, but neither did I love it. I will admit that I didn't see the ending coming, but I also wasn't very emotionally invested. I will be giving this one a ⭐⭐⭐ rating. QOTD - What was your last read that you gave 3 or less stars to? https://www.instagram.com/p/CWlNtOZrEKo/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Sunday! This weekend went quickly. I've been fighting off a cold and I have to spend tonight grading, but I have my husband and little girl with me so it's all alright. However you spent your weekend, I hope it was a good one! Lots of love from Coraline & I! 💜🧡💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWjMa0cr6Y1/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Friday! QOTD - How do you normally edit your pictures for IG? I used to individually edit each picture based on aesthetics, the mood I wanted to convey in the image, the time of the year, and more but I don't have time gor that these days & I am so glad I finally started using a recipe or a preset! It's made my life so much easier!!!! I take the pictures on my phone, do simple edits in my Google Photos app and then use a recipe (preset) I made in Foodie. I am going to be making a seasonal preset from here on out. I really feel like it's made my Autumn pictures look more cohesive. Although my Autumn pictures normally are my most cohesive with more shared props and colors. 📘 Time! The Christmas Village is the second book in Annie Rains new Somerset Lake series. I do think the first book should be read first, but in a pinch this can be read as a standalone. Many thanks to @readforeverpub for sending me this sweet and seasonal love story by Annie Rains (one of my favorite feel good authors 🥰)! I really enjoyed this one and love seeing how the characters in Annie Rains' books all interconnect with each other. Her books are so cozy! 😍 Synopsis: Lucy Hannigan has inherited her mother's bulldog, Bella, and her childhood home, the only pink house on Gingerbread Lane. With the holidays coming up, the pressure is on to decorate the house for the annual lights competition and maintain her parent's winning streak. But Lucy already has her hands full as a midwife and a new landlord-to her ex-fiance. When Miles Bruno is suddenly asked to move out of his rental home, he's grateful to Lucy for taking him on as a tenant. But their broken-off engagement doesn't make it easy to live next door. Sparks still fly between them, and he'd give anything to get back in Lucy's good graces. But to do that will take much more than just tree trimming and house decorating and contest winning. Will one wildly grand romantic gesture on Christmas Eve finally soften her heart? 🎄 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWdrU1QLlbU/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Thursday! QOTD - What is something that you are afraid of & would never read a book about? TBH, I am not a fan of clowns -- one time one flipped me off when I was driving & didn't take the turn at the light in front of him fast enough, it was a jarring experience -- and I never expected to read a book about them, but I did read It several years ago. Sadly, it lives rent free in my brain and terrorizes me for many reasons to this day. Good news: there is not a clown in this book! With my active imagination once I have a frightening thought or image in my mind it can resurface at any time, but I like horror books. The solution to this seems to be middle grade horror, it's just the right level of spookiness for me. 😂 Yesterday, I shared the first book in the Fright Watch series and today I am sharing the second book, The Collectors. The Collectors starts off two months after The Stitchers ends. Now it is September and Quinn, Mike, and their friends are starting up school. Quinn and Mike succeeded in getting rid of their creepy neighbors at the end of book 1 only to have four mysterious women show up to buy their homes. Now one of Quinn's best friend's has become obsessed with this strange cohort and Quinn is determined to prove that once again something is very wrong on her block. I really enjoyed this book too. It was nice to learn more about Quinn's posse and family. It was also really cute to see her relationship with Mike developing. I really enjoyed @lorienlawrence's writing and am so grateful that @abramskids sent me a copy of this book for the @storygramkids tour I participated in a few weeks back. https://www.instagram.com/p/CWbg76prWvT/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Wednesday! QOTD - What is a book that surprised you in a good way recently? 📘 I read both of the Fright Watch books by @lorienlawrence last week and enjoyed them both tremendously! Today I am going to talk about the first book in the series, The Stitchers. This middle grade horror book follows thirteen-year-old Quinn Parker as she convinces her neighbor and schoolmate Mike to help her spy on the rest of their neighborhood block. Quinn and her late father believe that there is something unnatural going on and Quinn is determined to get to the bottom of it, even if she puts herself in danger to do so! Compared to R. L. Stine's series, Fright Watch combines youthful horror with humor and the scariness that comes from the real world and its own griefs and responsibilities. I strongly recommend this to any lovers of middle grade horror. There are some unsettling moments that I think any brave reader can face, but I will mention a trigger warning for loss of a loved one (father). Not only did I really enjoy this story, but I am blown away by the beautiful cover art to these books and the overall quality in the book bindings. They just feel good and if anyone will understand what I mean it's you lot (ie. really nice paper and the feel of the cover -- it's all good)! Fun fact: I couldn't read or watch Goosebumps when I was a kid because of my overactive imagination, but I grew up to be a woman capable of reading Stephen King books. I still find MG horror to be more of my comfort zone though. 😂📚 Paired with this book are some of my amazing pumpkin flavored teas from @tearunners. I strongly suggest gifting someone a monthly (or longer) gift membership where they can curate their own gift box(es). I know at least one special someone's who will be getting one from me this holiday season. 🤩 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWZLeeirXXL/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Tuesday! Oh, what a day! I am looking forward to the work part of it ending soon. I am working on having a more distinct separation between when I work and don't work since I work from home and am generally either working or feeling guilty about not working. It's a work in progress! 🤦🏻‍♀️ My bestie got me this cute t-shirt for my birthday and I have been meaning to share it with y'all. It's pretty much my life these days: dogs, books, and coffee (and work). It goes so well with my Annie Rains book as all of her books always include a sweet pet or more! The Summer Cottage is the first in a new series by Annie Rains. It contains a character from her first series Sweetwater Springs. I do recommend reading that series first, but you definitely don't have to. In The Summer Cottage, Trisha Langly (who we met in the last Sweetwater Springs book) moves her son from Sweetwater Springs to Somerset Lake. Trisha is hoping that the two hours distance from her home town will give her the opportunity to start over and hide from her past. Yet, Trisha discovers that the grandson of her new employer, Jake Fletcher, is going to push his way into her history and then her heart. This was a cute second chance at love story for both Trisha and Jake. These books are saccharine sweet which I actually do enjoy. They are fast reads and offer an easy distraction (something I have been in need of more than ever the last few years). I didn't enjoy this book or the first book in the Sweetwater Springs series as much as the other books in the series; the reason being that these love stories are also community driven, so I enjoy how the characters in each book relate to each other and storylines are expanded upon. I already read the second book in the Somerset Lake series and did find that I really enjoyed it more. With all that said though, this is an enjoyable book and I do recommend Annie Rains books to lovers of romance. 💜 Swipe to see Coraline doing her darnedest not to lick the book I posed her with. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂🐶 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWWd6rKLEUl/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Monday! I hope this week is whatever you need it to be, for me my main goal is productivity. I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week and then Chanukah Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @har be starting shortly after on my mom's birthday of all days. QOTD - What part of history do you want to learn more about? Today I am sharing this fascinating book. I absolutely need to get the first volume!!!! Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial SYNOPSIS: This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution—when humans fell into a trap we’ve yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns. What if humanity’s major woes—war, plague, famine and inequality—originated 12,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers, in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency? What if by seeking to control plants and animals, humans ended up being controlled by kings, priests, and Kafkaesque bureaucracy? Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History–The Pillars of Civilizationexplores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution. This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war, plague, famine, and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition. Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2 is a radical, witty and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for adults and young adults, and can be read on its own or in sequence with Volume I. https://www.instagram.com/p/CWT6XsyrpQT/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Thursday! 🧡 QOTD - How old were you the first time you left home for more than a trip or sleepover? Ie. Did you go to sleep away camp or was it college when you left home for the first time? I went to sleep away camp when I was 13 & it was not the best experience for me. College was the other story -- college allowed me to break out of my shell and to start building my life how I wanted it to be. @abigailhingwen's Loveboat, Taipei had me thinking about my freshman year of undergrad quite a bit with the move to a new city, the drama, and the discoveries. In Loveboat, Taipei, Ever Wong, a recent high school graduate, is sent to Taipei for a summer program for students. While the program is renowned for the excellent students it attracts, Ever is surprised to discover that the kids don't take it as seriously as their parents do and most are using it as a way to let off some steam or find love. I was really captivated by the story because it went through a range of topics: 1) The difficulty of being first generation American. Ever deals with the disconnect between her parents and herself, as well as her community and herself as one of the few Asian Americans in her section of Ohio. 2) Coming of age story: parts of this book are dramatic and messy, but that rings true for someone Ever's age. 3) A complex love pentagon? Honestly, I am not sure how many sides were attached to it, but again these things do happen. 4) Embracing one's passion & setting a course for oneself. See coming of age story. 5) A unique (to me) setting. I loved Taipei as a back drop for the story. I also loved how it helped Ever celebrate her identity more. I really feel like this book deserves more fanfare than it received. If you are looking for a coming of age story definitely pick this one up! https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJdNnvrKkt/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Tuesday! I am sharing my October wrap up today. October was another month where I didn't read as much as I normally do and I have one word for why: Coraline. 😂 She's worth it though! And already this month has been showing to be more promising in terms of reading! 😍 Books: 🎧The Friend Zone ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📘 A Darker Shade of Magic ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🎧 A Lot Like Adíos ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📘 Infamous ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🎧 The Whisper Man ⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.instagram.com/p/CWD5YXHLW7j/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Sunday! I unboxed this @authenticbooks box in my stories last week, but it's such an awesome box I had to share it in a more permanent manner. I am so excited to read The Ex Hex, which seemed to be the "it" book this Autumn. This was my first box from Authentic Books and I am blown away by the lovely touches and amazing goodies. My reading this month is a mix of Summer and Autumnal reads. I am trying to clear some of the decks before December comes along and tempts me into Winter reads. Basically, I am all over the place, but I am having fun and that's all that matters! 😍 QOTD - Do you read books strictly by season or do you read a mix like me year round? 📚 https://www.instagram.com/p/CV-0vPwL2uV/?utm_medium=tumblr