Backlist Books Archives - Novel Visits

BACKLIST BOOKSMy Favorites Read in 2020

Susie — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:00:40 +0000

Backlist books have a big advantage when it comes to how much I end up liking them. Their ratings from me are almost always high for a few of reasons. First, I feel no pressure to stay with a backlist book if it doesn’t grab me because I have no obligation attached to it, so mainly finish books that are working for me. Second, I’m most often picking up a backlist book because I’ve hear great things about it from others. And finally, I turn to some backlist books because I’ve read other books from that author, and feel confident her/his other books will be equally as good. I don’t generally read a lot of backlist books, but this year was a little higher than normal with 15 titles. Interestingly, I listened to 9 out of ten of these books. That was a BIG surprise, even to me. No matter the format, these or my ten favorites! (In order of original publication date.)…

The post BACKLIST BOOKS
My Favorites Read in 2020 appeared first on Novel Visits.

My Week in Books for 11/9/20

Susie — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 11:00:09 +0000

Oh happy day! Finally, 2020 does something right. I am so thrilled to see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris heading to the White House. I know half the country doesn’t feel this way, and I feel for them, but perhaps with a little more calm in out government both sides can once again learn to work together. I keep reassuring my adult children that compromise used to work in our country. We can only hope. Additionally, I’m thrilled that my young granddaughters will grow up seeing the first of many women leading at the top levels of our country. Go, Kamala!

Now, onto books! My reading has been on the slow side, thanks to hours spent watching election coverage, but I finished my last ARC of the year last week. (Not including some that I ended up taking a pass on.) I’ve now moved into a sort of impulse reading phase. It’s sort of free reading, but not very organized and completely dictated by mood…the only way to go right now!

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Last Week’s Reads

…

The post My Week in Books for 11/9/20 appeared first on Novel Visits.

My Week in Books for 11/2/20 | More

Susie — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 11:00:19 +0000

I’m going to start off today by wishing my sister and amazing friend, Lori (AKA Recipe Girl), a very Happy Birthday! So, the week is starting out on a high note, but we’ll see where it goes from there???

I hope all is right in your world and that you’ve been lucky enough to be reading some wonderful books. My own reading was s little slow last week, as my workload was high between catching up from being gone for 8 days and holding 25 virtual conferences. I really liked doing the conferences virtually, and definitely feel like that’s something we can keep from this time of online learning. So, with that I only managed to finish one book, and get well into another. The book I’m reading right now is my final ARC for 2020 and then I plan on going back and picking up books I missed along the way. Freestyle reading!

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Last Week’s Read

…

The post My Week in Books for 11/2/20 | More appeared first on Novel Visits.

My Week in Books for 7/6/20 | More

Susie — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 10:00:59 +0000

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July, even if it is a very strange year! Mine was much quieter than I’d expected. I thought I’d be in Montana with my family, but that trip was cut incredibly short. The same day I arrived, we got word that my granddaughter Olivia may have been exposed to COVID. Because I have an underlying health condition that puts me at risk, and because getting testing done in their small town was going to be slow, we made the difficult decision that I should not stay. It was painful and there were a lot of tears. The good news now is that she did not get COVID and the bad news is I wish I’d stayed. It’s been a very difficult week. Hopefully, I can try again in a few weeks, though the way this country is looking right now is not very promising. I did get a lot of extra audiobooks in on the drive, so I guess that counts as a bright spot!

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Last 2 Week’s Reads

…

The post My Week in Books for 7/6/20 | More appeared first on Novel Visits.

Beach Bag Books 2020 | More

Susie — Wed, 13 May 2020 10:00:15 +0000

There’s no denying it. This is an insane year! With many of us still under stay-at-home orders and many more still social distancing, lots of vacations just won’t happen this year. We’d all love to head to a dreamy beach destination, but that might have to be a little sand and your kids’ blow up pool! No matter what your summer might look like, I hope summer books and reading will be a part of your plan.

I’ve managed to round up 20 books that could make for some great summer reading. The first 15 are all from 2020 and include three categories: Mystery & Thrillers, Loving Literary, and Delightfully Different. The final 5 are all recent Backlist Beauties that I hadn’t yet read when putting together last year’s Beach Bag Books.

Most exciting, I’ll be talking about many of these books today on Sarah’s Book Shelves Live! Download the episode and I guarantee your beach bag will be overflowing with summer reading options….

The post Beach Bag Books 2020 | More appeared first on Novel Visits.

Beach Bag Books: 20 Perfect Books for Any Summer Vacation….or Even a Staycation

Susie — Thu, 23 May 2019 10:00:45 +0000

With Memorial Day weekend about to begin, we mark the unofficial start of summer. What could be better than that? Whether your summer plans involve a trip abroad, a family reunion, long weekends at a camp ground, road trips, or just enjoying the comfort of your own front porch, I hope the pleasure of great beach bag books will be part of your summer fun.

Today, I’m happy to be sharing 20 books to tuck into your beach bag, backpack, purse or pocket. The first 15 books are all from 2019 and I’ve divided those into three categories that I hope will have something perfect for everyone. The final 5 books are all older books that have been among my very favorites from summers gone by. Happy reading!…

The post Beach Bag Books: 20 Perfect Books for Any Summer Vacation….or Even a Staycation appeared first on Novel Visits.

Looking Back: The First 12 Books I Ever Reviewed

Susie — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 10:00:10 +0000

What a fun topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, “The First 10 Books I Ever Reviewed.” For me this is a perfect opportunity to share a little bit about how I got into book blogging in the first place. I’d always been a voracious reader, and kept detailed journals about the books I’d read. I’d often recommend books to others, including my sister, Lori. Lori also happens to be known as Recipe Girl and has a big following in the world of food blogs. Occasionally. she does posts on other topics like travel, home design, and books. She began asking me to do some multi-book reviews for her site and people really liked them. After doing a few, I got the itch to start my own book review blog and eventually Novel Visits was born.

That first set of reviews, the first 12 reviews I ever did, appeared on Recipe Girl in June of 2015, titled 12 Books Recommended for Summer Reading. I’ve recreated that original post below. Looking back I’m amazed at how many great books I was reading that year!

(As an added bonus on this Top Ten Tuesday topic, I’ll be getting in mini-reviews of 12 backlist books I often talk about!)…

The post Looking Back: The First 12 Books I Ever Reviewed appeared first on Novel Visits.

My Week in Books 12/3/18 | More

Susie — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 11:00:51 +0000

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Ready or not, it’s here! I went to my first holiday party of the season on Saturday night and had a fun time with neighbors and friends. Love those parties where the journey is only one house away. What a welcome respite from the mind numbingly boring way I spent Friday night and ALL day Saturday: at a retirement seminar that I’ve successfully avoided going to for years. I’m still a few years out, and did takeaway a couple things I was unaware of, but mostly learned that I’ve done a good job getting all my ducks in a row. It was a lot of time to give up for reassurance! Because the end of the week was so busy, I’ve read about 12 pages in the last three days. Hopefully, this week will be a little quieter.

Last Week’s Reads

This isn’t quite the accomplishment it looks like. The first two books I was almost finished with when the week began and the third was very short. …

The post My Week in Books 12/3/18 | More appeared first on Novel Visits.

Every Last One & Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen | Double Review

Susie — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 10:00:13 +0000

Up until just a few weeks ago, I’d never read anything by Anna Quindlen, but had been told by many that I was missing out. So when I secured an early copy of Alternate Side I was delighted, only to soon hear rumors that it may not be Quindlen at her best. Sarah from Sarah’s Bookshelves convinced me that I really needed to start with Every Last One and I decided to take her advice. I chose to listen to that one and wanting to be perfectly fair to Alternate Side, I also listened to it. What follows is my attempt to look at the many good aspects both books shared, as well as a few final thoughts on each….

The post Every Last One & Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen | Double Review appeared first on Novel Visits.