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Saturday, December 31, 2016

First Book of the Year - 2017





















Today I'm linking up with Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer for the Sunday Post and Kathryn over at Book Date for What Are You Reading?  I'm also super excited to be linking up with Sheila over at Book Journey for her First Book of the Year.

Every year I spend a lot of time coming up with the perfect first book to read.  I go back and forth between taking a risk and reading something that seems safe that I know I'll enjoy.  That backfired on me a little bit last year as the travel memoir that focused on following Agatha Christie's Orient Express turned out to be a DNF.  This year I'm going a bit safer!  I've read two books by this author and loved them both plus I do love a foodie memoir!

So this year I'm going with Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn
I'm excited about this one as it's been on my TBR for years and somehow I just never got around to reading it.  I loved Flinn's Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good which talked about her family and how their culinary influence as well as Flinn's first book The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry which definitely showed me that I really never wanted to go to culinary school.  I'm hoping for a good read and maybe to pick up a few new tips and tricks!

And because I'm never reading just one book here's what other first books I'll be tackling.

What's On My Kindle:

My first book on my Kindle is a sadly neglected review book.  I loved Come Hell or Highball by Maia Chance when I read it in 2015.  It's a fun cozy set in the 1920s about a society wife who is suddenly a widow and suddenly broke.  It's full of quirky characters and set around a solid mystery.  I was thrilled when I got the 2nd book from the publisher but somehow it slipped down my TBR.  So my first Kindle book will be Teetotaled by Maia Chance.

What I'm Listening To:

For the first week or two while the Tornado is still on Christmas break I'll be listening to podcasts exclusively.  Some of my favorites are:
Happier with Gretchen Rubin 
Super Serials -where they talk about Middle Grade series books like Babysitter's Club
What Should I Read Next - from the Modern Mrs. Darcy 
The History Chicks - which is about women in history
Read It and Weep - where they talk about mostly bad movies, tv shows, or books and is my current favorite 
True Crime Garage 
Thinking Sideways - which is mostly about crime but also about other unexplained mysteries
The Vanished -which is about missing people.

When school starts back and we start getting back into our routine I'm going to be listening to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce.  I loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and it's one of the things that inspired me to start reading the James Bond books as they're both by Ian Fleming.  I'm a little worried about this one since the author is different and that can frequently be disastrous but the amazing David Tennant is the narrator so I figure it can't be too bad!

That's how I'm starting my year in reading!  What are you going to be reading?

35 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! Hope you had a great one. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang looks fun hopefully the author change doesn't hurt, at least Tennant is narrating.

    I need to catch up on Super serials- the ones I listened to cracked me up! :)

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  2. Happy New Year. I just have to look up that podcast Read it and Weep. I listen to the Happier one and the Mrs Darcy one. Hope your first book this year will be perfect, loved seeing you and the book!

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  3. Sounds like you have some great reading (and listening) ahead of you, Katherine. I hope you have a Happy New Year!

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  4. I hope you have a better experience with your first book of the year, Katherine! Enjoy! I hope you have a very happy new year, and many great reads greet you!

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  5. Happy new year. Here's to a good 2017. Hope you enjoy your choice more than last year x

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  6. Happy New Year! I've haven't heard from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for awhile now! I hope you enjoy it!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays!

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  7. Great choice for your First Book! I bought that one at a library sale on Cape Cod last fall and will read it sometime this year :)

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  8. That's a nice list you have there. I think I will start with Stir by Jessica Fechtor. It will be for one of my reading challenges too.

    That's a great photo of you! Happy new year, my reading buddy!

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  9. Happy new year, Katherine! I also read Chance's first book in 2016 and wasn't aware the second one is available. I'll be adding it to my 2017 list. Hope you enjoy it.

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  10. I honestly have no idea what I plan to start 2017 off with. I took a reading break for the end of 2016 and then had technical issues that meant no audios, either... That was unplanned. Hopefully 2017 starts off well with the books!

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  11. Happy New Year! I am probably starting this new year with a memoir. I want to read more books I already own. I hope it turns out okay. Good call on reading a "safe" first read. I hope you love all the books you are reading now.

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  12. I'm with you on picking the tried and true authors for First Book. I've done it for the past three years with one series. Mystery that doesn't bring me down. Fun.

    Enjoy your pick and your other new reads. Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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  13. Yay to books that have been in the TBR pile for a long time! I really hope you like your first pick!

    Vonnie's First Book

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  14. Enjoy your first reads of 2017!

    I'm sharing my first book at Brooke Blogs.

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  15. Hau'oli makahiki hou. That sounds like a good book. I need to go through my TBR and find those food memoirs to add them to my 2017 shelves.

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  16. Happy New Year Katherine! I hope you enjoy your first book this year...it's not one I'm familiar with. Happy Reading!!!

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  17. Happy New Year! Great choice, and great pic! I know how much you love recipes and foodie books, so this is a perfect one for you. I didn't know the author of James Bond wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! I saw that movie two times in the theater as a youngster-- wow! And I'm dating myself because that is an old movie, ha. You're starting the year off right, so enjoy!

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  18. Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy your first reads of the year! I loved listening to the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang audio that I listened to but it wasn't this one by a different author though David Tennant narrated it as well, so I am sure this one will be a blast!

    Happy reading
    Stormi

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  19. Yeah, I tend to tackle several books at once too. My kids and I LOVED Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when they were younger. Hope you love your first book and that you have a wonderful reading year in 2017!

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  20. Happy New Year!! I'll need to check out some of those podcasts, I am always on the lookout for something to listen too!

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  21. Happy New Year! Haven't started my reading year yet but there's not rush, right?

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  22. I would put those books in the horror category...but then I have a hate-hate relationship with my kitchen! *lol* (I can still sing half the songs from the movie of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!)

    Here's my First Book post.

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  23. I love taking my time to decide what my first book of the year should be. This year I actually have an ARC I must get to, so I didn't get to decide, but I hope Kitchen Counter Cooking School turns out to be a fantastic read for you. Have a happy New Year!

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  24. I always try to start the year off with a book that I am pretty sure that I will love. I hope you love your first read of the new year. I listen to a lot of audiobooks but have never listened to a podcast - maybe I will this year!

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  25. Happy New Year!! Enjoy your first book of the year!! I am in the middl of two now but I am not sure what the first one I will start in 2017 will be yet.

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  26. Happy New Year! Your first reads for 2017 sound really good and I love your picture! I'm currently reading Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst to prepare me for the second book in the series that I received on Netgalley. So far it's a really good series. I hope you enjoy your books and have a great week!

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  27. Okay, well I see some new podcasts I need to start listening to and a couple my criminal justice student daughter needs to listen to!

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  28. I hope you enjoy your first book as much as I did. Love the What Should I Read Next podcast.

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  29. Happy New Year!! I have Kitchen Counter Cooking School on my list for this month too!

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  30. I'm going to have to check out the Flinn book! I loved "Burnt Toast"!

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  31. Thanks for a great list of podcasts to check out! I hope you have a great first week of reading in 2017. :)

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  32. Nice book and photo.

    Happy Reading!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My It's Monday, What Are You Reading

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  33. Happy New Year, Katherine! I hope you enjoy all your first books. The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sequel sounds charming (and who can go wrong with David Tennant?!) Your podcasts sound interesting, too. But I am kind of swamped with podcasts already. :-) 99% Invisible, Imaginary Worlds, Invisibilia, RadioLab, and Writing Excuses are all podcasts I want to either start or continue this year.

    Have a wonderful year! And I hope Paul is doing well. Did you get to see him over the holidays?

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  34. Oo interesting first read! Hope you're having a great 2017 so far!

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