Review: Winter’s Curse

Winter's Curse
Winter’s Curse by Mary Stone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

#2 was a little less interesting for me for some reason but still enough for me to keep reading more! 🙂

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Review: Winter’s Mourn

Winter's Mourn
Winter’s Mourn by Mary Stone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.

this series is new to me and i discovered it from an email recommendation. i liked the main character and the pacing, will keep reading them!

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Review: Good People

Good People
Good People by Patmeena Sabit
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an unusual way to tell a story. This was a very thought-provoking story. Even though in its root I don’t think the story was really novel, the way the author told the story was really compelling and kept me interested. I did have to give up worrying about keeping track since that was really hard in the beginning. Totally worth the read and would make a great discussion.

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Review: The Top of the World

The Top of the World
The Top of the World by Ethan Joella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ethan Joella writes the exact kind of stories that I love to read. His stories are character-driven, quiet and deep. I always end up falling in love with his characters and thinking about them well after I’m done with the book because they are so real and so well developed.

This is the story of Maggie and Chip who work at the same hotel for a summer a year apart. Maggie’s brother Chip has since died from cancer and she’s trying to learn about Chip and how he spent his last summer. The chapters alternate between Maggie and Chip at the same place, a year apart.

It’s wonderful, life-affirming and exactly the type of stories I want to be reading right now. Thank you Ethan Joella for making life more beautiful with your stories.

with gratitude to netgalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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2026 – Onward – Feb 9

First week of February was a mixed bag. In some areas I got more done than I’d intended and in others I just gave up before I even started.

Big Goal: I did the first round on the taxes. Several of my forms don’t come out until Feb 21 so I won’t be able to finish it until then but I’ve done most of the work I can on the rest. I have one more task I can do between now and 21st so I will see if I can work on that this week.

  • Progress on the big five:
    • Y: Good news on this one. I got the sketches, asked for a small change but hoping it’s almost ready to be submitted for approval.
    • G: Done done done. Now to find movers and space.
    • S: Went through one appointment, feeling good about the plan so far. Next step is blood tests and the second appointment towards the end of the month.
    • Sa: no progress here, i think this will have to wait a bit.
    • D: nothing for this one for now either.
  • Three Medium goals:
    • art: I think 5-8 is going to be too many unless we count parts, if so I am 2 in but this will go slowly
    • cook: honestly not sure i have bandwidth for this one right now, got the one but who knows if any more
    • peloton: yea, nothing happening here. the other work is my exercise atm.
    • insta: honestly haven’t been tracking this one, but not doing terribly most days
  • Start: i am taking longer walks but not as long as i wished
  • Stop: yea not doing this
  • Continue: so so on this one, working but not as consistently.
  • Brave: trip coming up!
  • Other things I need to do this week: Our trip is coming up so I just have to prep.

I’m proud of all the progress I’ve made. Things are moving. Slowly but consistently.

Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.

Review: The Midnight Train

The Midnight Train
The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The thing with Matt Haig is that he knows how to weave a story that gets to the heart of the matter and knows how to remind us what actually matters. In this story of Wilbur getting to visit the major moments of his life after he passes away, he (and we) gets to see where he made the wrong choices that lead to outcome of a life he wasn’t happy with in the end. A reminder that we can say what we value but unless we actively choose what we value and make those choices intentional, what we say doesn’t matter. And next thing we know, we’ve lost the thing we value the most and end up with a life we didn’t actually want.

Alas.

For those of us who are still living, it’s not too late to change the choices we make.

with gratitude to Viking and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: It Should Have Been You

It Should Have Been You
It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

i liked this one, it’s a bit of a different story in that it shows you how something seemingly inconsequential can cause unexpected amounts of harm

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Review: What Happened to Nina?

What Happened to Nina?
What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

interesting story where it’s less about who did it but more about the impact on the two families.

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Review: Head Cases

Head Cases
Head Cases by John McMahon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed the main characters in this one. Looking forward to more of the series!

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Review: It’s Not Her

It's Not Her
It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. Good mystery that kept my interest. If you’re a Kubica fan, you will like this fine!

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2026 – February Onward

Ok month two, here we go. This is a weird month for me cause I already have some existing commitments and then will be taking a trip in the middle of the month and also have my kiddo coming to visit. So not super consistent schedule the whole month. I will still do the best I can to take some steps onward.

Big Goal: Taxes is going to be the big one here. I have to start working on taxes. If i am lucky, I can finish too but rarely do I get so lucky. I still need to work hard to make a meaningful dent here otherwise March will be really challenging.

  • Progress on the big five:
    • Y: For this one, my hope is that the HOA work is submitted and, if I am really lucky, approved. If I am really really lucky, work can begin in February, too.
    • G: Ok the Feburary goal here is to pack the other 8+ boxes, hire someone to finish the packing so I can rent the space and someone to deliver in March.
    • S: The goal here is hair plan and medicine plan.
    • Sa: For this one, I really really would like to come up with a plan I like that I can do.
    • D: Not sure what new to take on here for Feb. Not ready to rent yet so maybe just do pickup at SFO?
  • Three Medium goals: (have 4 this month)
    • art: 5-8 food paintings
    • cook: 5 dishes that are vegetable heavy that I can redo often
    • peloton: do ten classes a week
    • insta: no insta after 7pm (too much anxiety before bed)
  • Start: taking long walks with Sadie (ideally 20+ mins)
  • Stop: no liquid after 8pm except water / herbal
  • Continue: keeping some sort of good skin regimen. It’s something I can do even when on the road.
  • Brave: Not sure about this one yet. Going on this trip will be brave. Can we have that be it for Feb?

Here’s to another month. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.

2026 – Onward – January Review

So here we are. The longest month of the year is over. What a terrifying and anxiety-inducing month in the world. It’s been a lot and I am finding myself struggling with understanding how to live in this type of world and the dissonance of the horrifying big and the insignificant-seeming daily life.

For my personal plans, January was a good month, I worked hard to do as much as I could. I had some significant progress and other areas that didn’t move much.

One Big Goal: I did okay on the food this month. Not as well as I would have liked, but not nothing. I found a few vegetable-heavy meals I loved and plan to cook again. I expect this will be an ongoing journey, but at least dipped my toe in.

  • Progress on the big five:
    • Y: Lots of progress here, picked one, waiting for them to prep for hoa.
    • G: progress here too, packed a little and have a plan.
    • S: progress here with multiple appointments in February.
    • Sa: so totally did nothing on this one.
    • D: did TWO trips to the airport!
  • Three Medium goals:
    • Started basic skin regimen, not super regular but working on it.
    • Sort of made an art plan but also signed up for a class.
    • Did no dance class
  • Start: Started Stanford class and the Preamble
  • Stop: Stopped eating in Bed, but not back down to one snapple
  • Continue: did a little more on the list for trust but not enough
  • Brave: Sent the email!

I am super proud of all that I did. Good job moving onward, Karen.