books to read Archives | Lucky To Be In First

December 15, 2018 1 Comment

Books to Read This Winter Break!

It is no secret that I love to read! But it’s hard to squeeze in reading during the school year. Winter Break is the perfect time to make time to read. Grab your Kindle, a cup of tea and get reading!

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Books to Read This Winter! Snuggle up with a good book this winter! Check out my must-reads for the holidays!

I know everyone loves a good Hallmark Christmas movie, but I’ll take a holiday book any day. And most of the books on this list can be read in about the same time it takes to watch one of those movies!

Here’s a list of my favorite Christmas books to read that you can easily rip through during your Winter Break!

Years ago, I read Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews and it’s simply a delightful book! I still find myself thinking about the characters. Does anyone else feel like characters become their friends and you’re sad when a book ends? Well, I’m not sure how it took me so long to realize this is a series but I am thrilled to jump into the rest. Can’t wait for a catch-up with Weezie and Bebe!

You know my guilty pleasure is a good Lauren Layne book! An Ex for Christmas is a super-duper fun book that you can read in an afternoon by the fire sipping cocoa! I found myself grinning and giggling throughout.

Okay, grab your tissues for The Christmas Shoes. You guys…I never cry and this book gets me every.single.time. I love to re-read this book each year. It’s a wonderful story and it has a few sequels, too. And for those of you who love a good movie…good news! Rob Lowe stars in The Christmas Shoes Movie so at least when you’re sobbing you have something good to look at 🙂

A few years back Elin Hildebrand {one of my top-three authors!} started writing a Winter series about a family on Nantucket. Well, I love everything about Nantucket, so I was hooked immediately! She’s written four books in the series so make sure to start with Winter Street. This book will introduce you to everyone in the Quinn family. It’s always fun to catch up with old friends!

This year, Elin wrote Winter in Paradise – a standalone holiday book. It doesn’t take place in Nantucket, but it’s still an excellent winter read! I got my copy in my Book of the Month box, but of course, it’s available on Amazon, too!

Looking for other book suggestions?

Check out my Must-Reads from 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Do you have any suggestions for my list?

August 9, 2017 Leave a Comment

Summer Lovin’ – Summer Must Have List

Oh Summer…how I love you so!
I’ve spent my summer reading books, relaxing, working out from time to time, and relaxing some more.
Isn’t it the dreamiest of all the seasons?

Amazon Music

I’ve told you before how much I love my Amazon Echo! Well, recently, I upgraded to Amazon Prime Music Unlimited and it’s THE best money I’ve spent! It gives you access to more songs than you can ever listen to! And what I love most about Prime Music is that you can type in a song…and that song plays!! Not something like that song – the ACTUAL song! Totally worth the money!

Native Deodorant

So I mentioned on Instagram a few months ago that I have a serious fragrance allergy and it’s horrendous! I can hardly use any products found at CVS or Sephora…and it’s a huge bummer!

I switched to using stuff that truly has no smell and now I have no smell! I’ve had ups & downs finding products that I love {very few and far between} and products that are terrible {too many to list!}

One product that my dermatologist gave me the go-ahead on is Native Deodorant. I LOVE it! I use the unscented because that’s just how I roll these days, but my niece & sister have used the Coconut & Vanilla {AMAZING!} and Lavender & Rose {not my favorite scent in life!}

Do yourself a favor and ditch the drugstore deodorant that is filled with horrible stuff! I promise this will keep you just as protected!

#bookstagram

You already know I’m a huge book nerd, so it’s no surprise that I love to follow along with fellow readers over on Instagram! Here are a few of my favorite accounts to follow!

So this is incredibly ambitious for August, but I hope to read all of these beauties this month. It will help that I will be without a TV for a few weeks, so I think it’s doable. 💕 ••• Are you excited to read any of these books?

A post shared by Laci Long 💁🏻🐱🍷📚 | Boston, MA (@bookpairings) on Aug 2, 2017 at 4:34am PDT

When you get up early to read, you know the book is good! I CANNOT put this one down. I’m exactly halfway through, and I am absolutely loving it. I’m so nervous about the ending though because a lot of y’all have warned me. So far, this is a top 5 favorite for 2017. I may have to take back this statement if I don’t like the ending though! Ahhh! I just want to figure out what happens!!! 😬😬😬😬😬 #books #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #goodreads #thelightwelost #jillsantopolo #putman @putnambooks

A post shared by LaLa Life Book Club (@lalalifebookclub) on Aug 2, 2017 at 4:27am PDT

For the record, The Light We Lost is a FABULOUS book. You can totally read it in one sitting!

Here’s my TBR shelf #btatshelfie for today’s @booktubeathon instagram challenge 💗 I can’t believe today’s the last day!

A post shared by L A L A (@booksandlala) on Jul 30, 2017 at 5:24pm PDT

How gorgeous is this photo? Her entire feed is this beautiful! Want to know what I’m reading these days? Find me on Goodreads {and I’ll follow you back!}

Quip Toothbrush

I’ll be honest, I was a bit skeptical when I first came across the Quip Toothbrush. It’s just so pretty that I figured it couldn’t brush my teeth very well!

I am a big Sonicare fan and have been for ages. But, I got tired of lugging that giant toothbrush with me on vacation and then always having that charger out on the counter to charge it! So, I figured I’d give Quip a try.

You guys…it’s perfect! It’s slim, sticks to the mirror and has a cover to protect it from bathroom nastiness! The best part? They send you refills every three months, so you’re guaranteed to change out your toothbrush {something I bet we’re all guilty of forgetting!} I opted to skip their toothpaste because I’m #crestforlife.

Give it a try – they have a 30-day money back guarantee if you don’t love it!

Stapler Remover

So this is a random thing to add to a summer list, but since I’ve started to slowwwwwly work my way back into the school year, I’ve had to remove a few staples here and there from the classroom. I had a great stapler remover – and it got up and walked away from my classroom this past year.

I splurged on this Bostitch bad boy this summer and it’s awesome! {Man, you know you’re getting old when a stapler remover brings you joy!}

Frank Sommerville’s Facebook Page

And I’ll leave you with one more kinda random one here. I live in the Bay Area and Frank Sommerville is a local newscaster. He always posts THE BEST content on his Facebook page! It ranges from uplifting to insightful to hilarious. Even if you’re not a Bay Area local, you should follow it!

Slainte!

June 23, 2017 2 Comments

Summer Reading List 2017

Okay everyone, I’m back with this year’s MUST READ list! My Kindle is charged up and I am absolutely ready to burn through my list of books!

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on these sites using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase {which helps me buy even more books!} For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link.

For the past two years {2015 and 2016}, I’ve created a list of books that I was reading and books that you should read! I’m back with another list for 2017!

Last summer, I signed up for Kindle Unlimited. For just $9.99 a month, you get unlimited access to millions of books and unlimited audible files, too! The best part – the first month is FREE! I’ve discovered some fun “summer reads” last year {Everything We Keep by Kerry Longsdale was my fave!}! You can cancel anytime, so it’s definitely worth a try – even if just for the summer!

Over the past year, I’ve read close to 80 books, so it was very hard to pick for this list! But, here are my MUST reads for the summer of 2017!

Books You Should Read…

The Total Package is a super fun read. I absolutely love Stephanie Evanovich’s books!

The Light We Lost is so much like One Day {which I cried my eyes out over a few years ago!}

Hollywood Dirt is such a juicy, guilty pleasure beach read. ALL of Alessandra Torre’s books are fantastic. Start reading them and you will fill up your summer with some fun reads! Bonus: this book is being turned into a movie!

Lauren Layne is another go-to author these days for some light reading! Everything is so happy in her books! She has a bunch of series that make it fun to follow the characters throughout the book. You should totally start with From This Day Forward. It’s the first in the Wedding Belles series and it’s guaranteed to make you smile!

Do you like suspense {but not terrifyingly-scary?}? You MUST read The Marriage Lie,Behind Closed Doors, The Couple Next Door. You guys…you will not be able to put these two books down!!! {Read this book in a day – couldn’t put it down!}

A few of years ago, I read Colleen Hoover’s Maybe Someday and it was such a sweet story. This past year, I discovered even more of her books and they are simply fabulous. You honestly feel every single emotion the characters go through. You should definitely pick up November 9 and It Ends with Us. Make sure to grab your tissues, you guys.

Have you ever picked up anything from Taylor Jenkins Reid? She is definitely in my Top 5 authors these days! This past year, I read everything she has and simply loved it all! Pick up any of her books and you’ll fall in love! I started with One True Loves and it was perfect! You’ll see her latest book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, on my To Be Read list below.

Another fun beach read is The Hating Game.

I love some good ‘ol Southern’ books {I feel like if it weren’t for the heat, I could totally live there!} Southernmost is a perfect book for a lazy summer day.

And my final pick for the “must read” list is Swear on This Life. It’s a wonderful story about friendship.

Books I want to Read…

I love everything from Mary Alice Monroe, so I can’t wait to dig into The Beach House!

Same Beach, Next Year. I love a good beach read, can you tell?

The Identicals by Elin Hildebrand {Nantucket – swoon!}

Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer {another fabulous Nantucket author!}

The Party {Takes place in San Francisco, so I love a book set where I live!}

According to a Source – this just looks juicy!I definitely have more on my list, but I’m trying to be realistic since we just moved and I am too exhausted to read three pages of a book these days!

Want to share what you’re reading or what we must read? Link up!

Grab the images below, add the book covers and link up! I’m always looking for some great books to read & can’t wait to hear more suggestions!

Have a book you think I MUST read? Leave the title in the comments and I’ll check it out!

If you like some of these suggestions, make sure to follow me on Instagram. I often share the books I read using the hashtag #luckyreads. Are you on Goodreads? Let’s be friends!