I don't know why I was browsing Netgalley's "read now" books before I fell asleep last night, but I'm glad I did! I love Snoopy and this is the perfect way to end the year. In this one, we spend a lot of time with Sally as she crushes on her sweet babboo and with Peppermint Patty as she struggles in school. And of course, with that lovable beagle, Snoopy, and his cute little friend, Woodstock, as they fight with the cat next door. A fun way to spend an afternoon for young and old alike!  Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC. 5/5.

The year was 1928. The Great War was over. America was optimistic. What better time to launch an expedition to Antarctica? Not a whole lot was known about the planet's final frontier. Almost everybody wanted to join Admiral Byrd on his journey, even the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts begged to be taken on as mess boys. Young Billy Gawronski was no different. The skinny New York City high-schooler begged his father to sign the paper to let him go, but it wasn't happening. Billy didn't want to go into the upholstery business with his father. So he did the only thing he could think of that might work - he jumped into the Hudson River and snuck aboard.  I would love to go to Antarctica. But not as much as Billy because there's no way I'd do what he did. I admired his tenacity. Nothing deterred this young man from getting what he so desperately wanted which was a place alongside Richard Byrd on his exciting and highly publicized expedition to Antarctica. This doesn't r

If you've ever wondered if a certain animal farts, look no further. There's sea cucumbers, unicorns and lots in between. Even if an animal doesn't fart, we learn why not and what takes place instead. We also learn about their diets and why their farts smell and sound the way they do, and if their farts are a defense mechanism or not. There's a glossary, illustrations, and a surprising amount of information. A quick and interesting read. Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Books for an ARC. 4/5.

Elsie is a young waitress at the Betsy Ross Diner. She hopes her nickel and dime tips will take her away from her small town of Waterbury, Connecticut. Instead, she becomes pregnant to Bashkim - a married man from Albania who works at the Diner as a line cook. Elsie doesn't quite know what's going to happen once the baby comes. Will Bashkim stay or will he go back to his wife? Fast forward seventeen years and we have headstrong, independent Luljeta who has just received a rejection letter from NYU and her first ever suspension from school both on the same day. She desperately wanted a new life in New York but she's stuck in Connecticut with her mother. Now she's determined to uncover the truth about the father she never knew.  The chapters alternate between Elsie when she was younger, and her daughter, Luljeta, when she's almost the same age. I really enjoyed the writing. The author has the ability to transform a mundane sentence into something mesmerizing. Sadly, a

Emma Hazelton has just buried her grandfather. And she buried her son on the same day one year earlier. She's still grieving her little boy who passed away due to a rare genetic disease and she feels as though her husband wants to move on, to try to have another baby even though there's a 1-in-4 chance that baby will have Canavan's. Emma decides to get out of the house. She needs time and space to think. While going through her grandfather's things, she begins to untangle the web of her family's past and dig into the roots of her son's disease. And she learns that it isn't blood that connects a family, it's love. I won a copy of her debut novel (Root, Petal, Thorn) and it was really good and, like this one, it has a beautiful cover. So when I saw this as a "read now" on Netgalley I had to click the button. But I couldn't get into it then and I tried over the months but it just wasn't holding my attention. I knew it was going to be a g

Take a trip across Canada with Taggart and Torrens as they share their tales from the road, their observations and their best places to eat, drink and hang out in each province. They take us on a stroll down memory lane as they share their lists of top bands, tv shows and athletes from this great country. I really enjoyed reading about Jeremy's father's antics and Jonathan's embarrassing moments (sorry!) but everything in between was interesting too. I'm a proud Canadian and I always love hearing/reading about all the great people that came from here and what they've achieved. They don't even have to be famous - I loved the story about people helping others when the Fort McMurray wildfire took over. I grew up listening to Our Lady Peace and, of course, J-Roc is my favourite on Trailer Park Boys so it was cool to meet these two and find out they're just a couple of down-to-earth bahds. Great book! 5/5.

Martin Reese is a family man, but he has a dark secret - he's obsessed with murder and has been for years. He's been illegally buying police files on serial killers. He studies these files in depth and uses them as guides to find the missing bodies. He never takes anything except pictures that he stores on an old laptop. He calls the police and tells them where to look and he does it anonymously. When a crooked cop goes missing Detective Sandra Whittal zeroes in on the mysterious caller. She doesn't see the caller as helpful. She knows he isn't the killer, but she believes he'll start killing sooner rather than later. While on his latest dig, Martin digs himself into a hole that he may not be able to get himself out of. I love the cover. This book gripped me from the very first page and didn't let go until the very end. The concept is interesting - a husband and father leaves home for a bit every now and then to dig up bodies of missing women that the cops nev

Ship of Theseus is the final book written by V. M. Straka and published in 1949. It's about a man who has no idea about his past or who he is. He's shanghaied onto a strange ship with a strange crew and thrown onto a perilous journey. The writer himself, Straka, is enigmatic. Nobody knows what he looks like or exactly who he is. Even his translator had never seen him face-to-face. When a young woman named Jen picks up this book, left behind by a stranger, she discovers margin notes. She, too, becomes entranced by the story and responds with notes of her own and leaves the book for its owner. While Jen is a college senior, Eric, the owner of the book, is a disgraced grad student. But they're both facing crucial decisions about who they are and who they want to be. And how much they're willing to trust another person. And they're both trying their hardest to figure out the hidden secrets of Ship of Theseus. Oh. My. God. This book was so good. It's easy to be intim

James Whitehouse is a loving father. He's handsome, charismatic, and he's a successful public figure. But he's been accused of a terrible crime. His wife, Sophie, is convinced he's innocent and will do anything to keep their family from being torn apart by lies. But Kate Woodcroft, the lawyer hired to prosecute the case, is certain that he's guilty and determined to make him pay for his crimes. I was looking forward to reading this one and was excited to get an early copy. Unfortunately, I hated everything about this book. I didn't like it from the very beginning, but I figured it would turn into something really good later on. I was wrong. I found it very boring and repetitious. I didn't like the characters or the writing. Even the twist didn't do anything for me. Around the halfway mark I started skimming. This one was a big disappointment. Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC. 1/5.