Nibbles & Bits, Vol. 1

Bite size book nibbles (reviews) along with a few interesting bookish bits

Hi readers,

Happy week before Memorial Day weekend; I hope you have some fun plans ahead for what most people in the US consider the “official” beginning of summer. School is finished for the year across much of the country, and vacations will soon be happening for many throughout the summer. I hope you have something fun planned for your summer too. A great book, and the beach is my favorite summer vacation place; hence, the picture above.

I’m on vacation this week, and I’ve finished two books so far; I hope to knock out a few more before my time off work ends. It’s been fun staying up late reading since I don’t have to wake up before the birds every day. I’ve also discovered a renewed enthusiasm for this newsletter after spending a lot of time thus far brainstorming new topics and ideas that I think readers might like. Nibble & Bits is the first of these new ideas where I write a short review of a book I’ve just read along with a few interesting bits of bookish goodness that you might just want to know more about.

I watched a story on Bookstagram where the person held up a book and said, “Wow, just wow! It didn’t change my reading life any, but it sure took me on a ride.” That book is Unmissing by Minka Kent, and I found it in my unread NetGalley ARC’s (oops), located it on my kindle, started reading it, and didn’t stop until I had finished it 250 pages later. It begins ten years ago with Lydia’s abduction and continues back and forth between then and the present, with twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. The chapters are short, the twists keep coming, and you’ll find yourself turning the page backward to make sure you read what you think you just read. I agree that it doesn’t change your reading life any, but it keeps you turning the pages, and just when you think you have it figured out, the author throws in another twist you weren’t expecting. Unfortunately, this book is probably not available at your library or through Libby/Hoopla, etc., as it is from Amazon imprint Thomas & Mercer, but it is on Kindle Unlimited for free if you subscribe to that, or you can purchase the e-book from Amazon for less than $5.

I hope the first Nibbles piqued your interest; now, let’s move on to the

A book deal that authors would give most anything for and this Duchess has it. I’m interested to read her YA books.

Because you don’t already have enough to read this summer, check out this Summer Reading Guide that was published yesterday.

If you are a foodie, be sure to watch the HBO Max series Julia, and read about this food stylist’s work on the show.

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I’ve struggled the last few months with creating content for the newsletter, and I chalked it up to tax season and working way too many hours. I discovered through my brainstorming process that a good bit of the content problem was that it was taking me the majority of Sunday (6-7 hours) to put together Tuesday’s newsletter. While I’ll still have some in-depth features, I’m going to focus more on newsletters that require less time to create and certainly less time for you to read. I think we both win when I accomplish this.

Have a great holiday weekend; maybe a BBQ with friends and family is on your horizon, and be sure to get lost in a good book for an hour or two. Happy reading!

Some of the links in this newsletter may be affiliate links. That means that if you click through and purchase anything, I may earn a small commission. This costs you nothing and helps me feed my voracious reading habit, and for that, I thank you.