Café Con Monica

Books: January TBR

After blowing my reading goal out of the water last year I realized that I don’t need to set an overall reading goal because I read a ton anyway. What I do need is a way to get more books I don’t usually read and non-fiction books onto my TBR lists!

I started the Girly Book Club chapter for Austin (More on this another day) so that right there gets me 12 books that I will read that were not chosen by me. Easy.

I thought I would Share some of my TBR List for January and why!

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekannen

This book is the GBC book for January. It has actually been on my TBR list for about a year now so I was super excited to kind of get forced into reading it now, plus it was free! Yay for free books!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

This book. Guys it has been on hold at the library for the ebook for about 4 months now. Not even kidding. When I first put it on hold I was #358 of 15 copies. It took forever!! Then I keep seeing it everywhere and people reviewing it and I am like COME ON! So now I finally get to read it!

The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I tried a book subscription book for a couple months last year and didn’t particularly like it. I might try another one soon but this book came in the second box.

I found #TheUnreadShelfProject on Instagram and decided to this could be an awesome way to get some of the books I haven’t read off my shelves or off my kindle! The premise if that if you don’t finish the book you pick before the month is over it has to go. So that being said this book was on my shelf and for January we can pick any unread book.

By the By…my Kindle now has over 1000 books on it. Damn you Bookbub and your free ebooks!

I’d Rather be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel

I am a fan of Modern Mrs. Darcy and have been following her for awhile. This is her book! How exciting right? I picked it because the title is real life for me and also this counts as my non-fiction book for the month!

I will definitely read more than these 4. I usually average about 10-11 books a month but I wanted to share some of what I am reading!

What’s on your TBR this month? Are you participating in any reading challenges??

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Great Places to Eat in Austin: Part Quatro!

I love food. If you have been following me for awhile then you know that. Combine my love of food and exploring where I live and BAM we got a post about great places to eat in Austin!

You can see my other Posts about places to eat in Austin here.

This week I am sharing two new places we tried that really enjoyed!

I am rarely in the mood for Italian outside home. Being lactose intolerant kind of kills the buzz when you know that half the plates will be smothered in some kind of dairy plus I legit am just a spaghetti and meatball person. Anyway, I wanted Italian. So we looked at our Google Maps lists and found I had saved just the place!

Red Ash Italia 

Left to right: Hot & Crispy Country Italian Bread, Bruschetta of Wood Roasted, Wood Roasted Meatballs, Roast Pork & Veal Ravioli and Rigatoni alla Campagnola

We actually got there relatively early and ended up just making it for Happy Hour which meant that all the Apps were $9 and the small pasta plates were $8. Turned out to be one of our cheapest meals plus it delicious and the atmosphere was so cute! Check out this back wall

Gloria’s Latin Cuisine

We live right across the street from The Domain which is a big outdoor mall with lots of restaurants/bars/shopping. So it isn’t unusual for us to wander over in search of a food when we don’t feel like driving. We wandered into this place for brunch on a random Sunday before running errands.

Left to right: Brisket Sope, Brisket Tostones Stack & Plantanos maduros

They had $2 mimosas and $3 bloody marys….and they were delicious!! I had a Mango Mimosa and a bloody and I think AJS got like 3 Bloodys. I thought the food was good, not amazing but definitely a good choice for latin food near where I live. I’d go back for those drink specials though!

So there you have two new Austin places to try!! If you are ever in the area feel free to reach out and I can give you some recommendations for places to visit and foods to eat!!

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Show Us Your Books & 2019 Book Goals!

It’s that time again! Linking up with Jana Says & Life According to Steph for the last SUYB of 2018! 

OOh I am always so excited for SUYB but love that it is the first of 2019!! I had planned to do a book goals post but I realized I wanted to share them at the same time as I shared my December books!

For 2019 my Book Goals are….

  • Read at least 25 Books that I don’t choose
  • Read 12 non-fiction books
  • Take more photos, post more about books & reviews

I never have a problem hitting a high number of books. I read 142 books last year. What I do have a problem with is letting other people choose the books I read. I often miss book club meetings if they don’t pick a book I want them to pick (sounds bratty I know) or let a book I am gifted sit on my shelf forever since I didn’t pick the book. So for 2019 I really want to make an effort to branch out!

I started the Austin Chapter of Girly Book Club so right there are 12 books this year that I will not choose!

Now….Let’s talk about what I read in December!

Tainted Accords Series (****) – This series hooked me right away, I loved not knowing what the veil was hiding. I am a sucker for fantasy, romance, YA and this pretty much hits all three.

Reaper at the Gates (****) If you are like me you have been waiting for this book from the library for what feels like forever. I was mad when 3/4 of the way through the book I realized that I would have to wait for another book. I hate it. I still give it 4 stars but there were some parts in this book that felt like filler for the next book. A way to keep you just engaged enough that you want to know whats going to happen.

An American Marriage (****) Even though this book was on everyone’s posts the last few months I still didn’t really know what it was really about so when I started to read it I wasn’t sure it was going to be for me. I thought it was very interesting, especially when they got to letters back and forth. I am still not sure how I felt about the ending which makes me like it even more.

The Hate U Give (****) Like I mentioned in my review it took me a long time to finally read this book because I knew that from the topics it covered that a lot of people would claim the book was amazing simply not to look racist. The book was good. Not amazingly written but still a good book. It covers some real s**t that is not easy to swallow if you have zero experience with it. It hit home for me having grown up going to a school that was 95% Caucasian being that I and my family are not.

High Tide Club (***) I am a Mary Kay Andrews fan so I was surprised that this one wasn’t a big hit for me. Even though there was a slight surprise that I didn’t expect the rest felt very made for tv movie if that makes sense? I wouldn’t say it was bad but it isn’t one of her books I’d recommend to someone.

Some notable mentions….

  • Something Strange & Deadly it was a fun filler read while waiting for another book but I probably won’t bother with the 2nd book.
  • A Cotswold Christmas It felt so much like everything other holiday book that I was a bit sad. I was hoping it wouldn’t be that easy.

What have you been reading? Have you read any of these??

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