I was one of those weirdos that enjoyed school for the learning aspect. With the exception of my roommates, my favorite part about college was time in the classrooms. I loved taking notes, writing stories/essays, and learning new things.

I did NOT love how little time I had for pleasure reading. I’m very grateful to be out of school and free of the obligatory text book reading. Bring on the fun books 🙂

This month I only finished 2 books. We had some crazy travel & work weeks. Linking up for Show Us Your Books with Steph & Jana!

Not So Nice Guy by R.S. Grey
★★★/5 
Sam & Ian are co-workers, teachers, best friends, and NOT dating. But when all the teachers find out that Ian and Sam are both on the market, their relationship becomes a little more complicated.
Ehh… This was more like a 2.5 star book but I round up. I won’t lie- the END of romance novels are usually the best part. Or at least the last third of the book. It’s where the sparks typically fly & catch everything on fire. I actually enjoyed the first half of this book WAY more than the second half. The romance was weird and almost too friendly-to-lovey. And that’s coming from someone whose own romance went from friends to lovers. Ian wasn’t appealing to me at all. He was moody and touchy (personality-wise, not physically). I didn’t like that. Also, Sam was kind of tough on herself appearance-wise when it came to Ian’s amazing awesome attractiveness. *eyeroll* Girl- if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Don’t worry about being in his sex appeal shadow- move out the shade and soak in that sun. But I digress.
Should you read it? I would say no… It’s not my cup of tea romance-wise. If you’re a HUGE friends-to-lovers fan then maybe.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
★★★★★/5 
Days before Harry enters his third year at Hogwarts, the notorious Sirius Black escapes Azkaban prison. Everyone’s worried that he’s after Harry but Harry just wants to pass his classes and win the Quidditch cup.
This has always been my very favorite HP book. While Jo definitely ties books 1 & 2 into the whole series, I feel like we really start to get into the history and core story with this book. I love the introduction of Sirius and Remus with this book. When you’ve read this story before, I feel like you find a large chunk of the book frustrating. Oh well- deep, strong feelings are what makes the world of HP wonderful. What’s your favorite HP book? I’m really really loving my journey of rereading the illustrated versions as they’re released. They’re SO beautiful!
Should you read it? Duh, but only after you’ve finished the first two books!

*On Thursday I will share my Thoughts While Rereading HP & the PoA!

|5 points| Freebie: One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake
|10 points| Starts with the letter N: Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen
|10 points| Has a mostly orange color: A Tyranny of Petticoats by various authors
|15 points| A book with an unlikable character: An Act of Villainy by Ashley Weaver*
|20 points| From 100 books PBS calls “The Great American Read”– HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban (illustrated version) by J.K. Rowling
|20 points| Related to water in the title: On A Cold Dark Sea by Elizabeth Blackwell
|25 points| Owned/TBR the longest (GoodReads): The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
|30 points| An emotion word in the title: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
|30 points| Each word in the title begins with the same letter: After Alice by Gregory Maguire
|35 points| A book featuring a character who shares your profession or similar one (i.e. does the same kind of thing as you do day to day): The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

I have 130 points out of 200.
*I changed this selection. It was The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.

What did you read this month?

It feels weird to post today and not mention September 11th… I think it’s called Patriot Day now. I know exactly where I was 17 years ago when I got the news. Today my thoughts are with the loved ones of the innocent people who died at the hands of hatred and fear, as well as those who mourn the loss of a friend or family member that’s since fought the terror in our world.