Dr. Bonnie Henry Book

Our Provincial Health Office, Dr. Bonnie Henry, wrote another book. Apparently, during the pandemic, she took a small vacation... in the summer months, she took 6 days off. Six. In the whole of the pandemic since February, I don't think she's taken any more than those 6 days off. So you know what she did? She wrote a book with her sister. Yup. She takes 6 days off in the middle of a pandemic and writes a book!?! What a freakin' over achiever, right? But I love her to death anyways! My new challenge to myself is, "If Dr. Bonnie can write a book in six days, than what can I accomplish?"

I preordered my copy today.

More cleaning

I did some more cleaning, and decided to let go of a few more books...

They are currently in my car, awaiting a trip to the used book store where I get a small credit for them. To buy more books of course!

Book give away

Let it be known... I gave away some books today.

I was cleaning out my closet, and organizing my TBR pile, and I had these set aside as items to give away. But when my parents came by for a visit today, I ended up giving them to my Mom. The fact that I gave away books (some of which I have not yet read), is still a foreign feeling for me. But I do think it's a good step.

Used Bookstore

Today, I had an appointment at lunchtime, that took me close to a used book store. I decided to stop in on my way back to the office.

I don't usually visit used book stores. I know that sounds strange coming from a self-professed book lover. But, I prefer my books new, and clean, and unread. But sometimes you just can't get a book you want because it's out of print and no longer being carried by the new book stores. I also have a few books that I want to get rid of, and this place will apparently take used books for store credit. So, I stopped in to take a look, and chat with the owner a bit. I didn't snap any pics inside, but the place seriously looked like this...

I could have wandered around the aisles for hours and hours. Interesting to note, the owner just sold 250 boxes of hardcover books to a movie set, so she kept apologizing that the shelves were so bare! Meanwhile, I was looking around wondering how on earth another 250 BOXES of books would even fit in the store! In the end, I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked there because I had to get back to work. So, I left with a promise that I would be back, and the start of a little dream that I might want to own a used bookstore when I retire.

Birthday presents

Hubby paid for my car repairs last week, so this week, he told me that instead of paying him back, I could just go and spend the money on whatever I wanted. So, I took a trip to Starbucks, Chapters/Indigo, and Grandview Corners. This resulted in the following presents... 2 tops, 1 puzzle, 4 books, and 1 journal...

Most of it was on sale, and 2 of the books were in the discount bin, so it was just slightly over budget. Overall, I think I made out pretty good!

PBS The Great American Read

PBS had a series of shows on for the last few weeks going through their pick of 100 books called "The Great American Read". Everyone was encouraged to vote on which book was their favourite out of the 100. Each week they previewed a few of the books on their show.

Watching the show each week, not only got me excited about being a reader, but also got me thinking that I need to read more, and gave me a few ideas of new books to try. Out of the 100 books chosen, the winner was announced today...

I'm not surprised by the first choice, but was surprised by the second choice - The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. I haven't read the Outlander series, but know that she has a huge following. Just one of the many suggestions of the 100 that I might try to read.
For more information check out www.pbs.org - the shows can be watched online until November 20th.

Powell Books

I'm off to Portland in the morning for another 2 day trip for work. I know I won't have the time to do this, but I so want to stop at the Powell Bookstore downtown in Portland.

Not that I need any more books. It's just that I've heard great things about their flagship store, and I love the fact that they are still an independent bookstore. I often shop at Indigo because it's the closest to me, but I do frequent independent stores as much as I can.

Finished

2 of the books that I picked up recently at the Indigo Marine Drive closing down sale, I've read already. I finished "Sharp Objects" last weekend...

and finished "Dark Places" this weekend...

Both books written by Gillian Flynn, who wrote "Gone Girl". And both books were similar in that they were both "who-dunnit" type stories with similar styles. I did however guess the ending for the first book (Sharp Objects), so it was quite anti-climatic for me. And I didn't really like the ending for the second book (Dark Places). So, I give both books 2 stars out of 5.
Meanwhile, I haven't actually read Gone Girl, but I did see the movie. So, knowing the ending of that who-dunnit, makes me think that I won't enjoy the book so much.

More Books

With Chapters/Indigo on Marine Drive closing this weekend, I decided to go back and stock up on some older books that I've been meaning to pick up. All at 25% off. Some of them were even in the discount pile, so I got them for 80% off.

I'm glad I got so many older ones on sale, but I'm going to miss hanging out here.

Sad Day

I was having a bad day at work, so I decided to skip out at lunchtime and go to my favourite book store - the one close to work. But when I got there, I found out that the store is closing!

It had been some time since I had been there - I tend to go to the Park Royal location instead. But, it was my favourite place to go to de-stress from work, as it was close to the office. They also had lots of couches and places upstairs to sit around and read a book. I'm going to miss the location for sure. But, I managed to pick up some books at 25% off!
And, apparently Indigo is opening a new flagship store downtown. A new 29,000 square foot store on Robson Street located where the Forever 21 store was formally located at 1033 Robson Street. I might have to go check it out!

Book Review

I recently finished another book, this one being one of non-fiction... The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson...

I have to admit, I started the book with great expectations, as I had heard a lot of good things about it. But, in the end, it really just turned out to be a disjointed mish-mash of ideas and stories. Anyone in their 40s and 50s will have already pretty much adopted the ideals put forth in this book -- aka: the older you get the less you care what other people think. For me, there was no new or enlightening ideas here.

Grip Lit

I recently picked up a copy of The Woman in the Window. A couple of weeks ago, I finished it.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed it. A who-dunnit kind of book that had you guessing to the end and made it hard to put down. After reading it, I looked at some of the reviews online, and was surprised to realize that A.J. Finn is actually a male author. I thought the opposite, because the female lead character was so well defined in this book. Secondly, I came across a term for these type of books that I hadn't heard before -- "Grip Lit" -- supposedly meaning Gripping Literature or psychological thrillers. And yes, I guess I am a fan of grip lit, as those are the types of books I tend to enjoy the most.

Book Obsession

I have a problem. I buy books.

I want to read so many of them, but I usually end up buying more than I should. I don't ever pay full price for books - I always get them on sale. And I have a discount card with two of my favourite book stores. So, money is not the problem.

The problem is that I usually buy more than I can comfortably read, and then I find myself trying to get through them all. I end up staying up too late on a work night, because I want to finish just one more chapter. At work, I will stay in at lunchtime to read, instead of getting out and going for a walk. I will read all weekend, instead of doing housework. My house is starting to look like this...

Ok, maybe not that bad. But this year I told myself I wouldn't go to the bookstore as often as I have in the past. I have successfully stayed away and not bought any books since my birthday last year! But today, was the day I caved! I've heard so many good reviews about this one...

... so, I picked it up today because it was on sale!

Tsundoku

I found a new word today. It came from a book I'm reading. And it is a Japanese word:
Tsundoku is the phrase for acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them.
I have to admit. I'm suffering from Tsundoku. Or I have Tsundoku. I'm not sure of the correct way to use this word yet. But it does offer a new way to explain the fact that this year I have purchased way more books than I can possibly read in a year.

In the past, every time I moved I gave away my collection of books. (And there have been many that I wish I had kept over the years!) But I haven't moved for a number of years now. And I haven't given away a lot of books lately. Also, I seem to be on a bit of a buying spree. I tell myself I'm stocking up for retirement. But that is quite a few years away, so it's really not a great excuse. Meanwhile, my collection (while not as bad as these photos) is growing.

 One day, I'll own a library big enough to hold all my books and then some...

Well, I can dream, can't I?

Stephen King

How many Stephen King novels have you read?
That was the question today. We were watching "Thinner" on TV. It's a movie based on one of Stephen King's novels that he wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. And during the movie, a commercial came on for another movie based on a Stephen King novel called "Gerald's Game". So, it got me to thinking about how many novels of Stephen King's that I've actually read.
Turns out, it's 29 out of 60. And that doesn't count the novels written as Richard Bachman. I would like to read the rest of his collection, but to be honest, I'm scared to try. His books kind of freak me out!

Book Buddy

When you buy as many books as I do, both hardcover and e-books, it's sometimes easy to forget just what I have, what I've read, and what I still want to buy. So, how do I do it?
Bookbuddy!

It's an app from iTunes, and I'm able to add all the books I buy either by searching online, or by simply scanning the bar code from the back of the book. It keeps track of each book, when I bought it, when I started reading it, when I finished reading it, and my rating and any notes about it. I can put books into different categories, and attach any book to multiple tags. I love my book buddy!

More Books?

What happens when you walk into Indigo/Chapters at lunchtime, and see this sign?

That's right! You walk out with 4 new books to read!

New Book

So I got my new book in the mail today...

Although it's not really a new book. It doesn't have a bar code or ISBN number anywhere on it (which means I had to manually add it to my Book Buddy app instead of scanning it in). And it actually says "Bound Manuscript" on it. So, I guess it's not really a "book". Not that it matters. Yes, I've already started it. And, so far, so good!

New books by email

I got an email the other day from Chapters/Indigo loyalty department. At first, I thought the email was a scam...

But, I called Chapters/Indigo, and they told me it was legitimate. So, I emailed them back, and wow!! I get a free book. It will be delivered in the next few weeks.

Me Before You

Last summer, I read the book, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. And this week, the movie version was On Demand on my cable package, so I watched it.

The movie was actually pretty good. Very similar to the book. And I am actually surprised by the performance of Emilia Clarke. For Game of Throne fans, she plays Daenerys Targaryen. But, she looks so much different as a brunette, and plays such a different role, you would be excused if you didn't recognize her.