Author Archives: Heather Shoberg

About Heather Shoberg

I'm many things... I'm a wife, a mother, a book lover, a movie lover, a photography lover, a music lover, a coffee lover, and a chocolate lover. I have cute aggression and I'm an introvert. I love mangoes and my favorite flower is the sunflower. I got married in Converse sneakers and love fairy lights. I love the mountains and when I was little I wanted to be an astronaut.

Book Review – My Grandmother…

So I’m trying something new… partly because I have a difficult time remembering what I’ve read, and I also like hearing what people thing about books I may want to read. I am no great critic and I make no promises that my reviews will astound you in anyway, but here goes. I do need to get better about taking notes whilst reading, though.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry

by Fredrick Backman

I have mixed feelings about this book. In the beginning I wasn’t even sure I’d keep reading it because it didn’t grab me in the way I want to be grabbed (more like a creepy too delicate hug when you want a passionate embrace). It was a slow burn with an occasional pop and crackle that would just keep my interest enough that I stuck with it, assuming that eventually there would be a burst of flames.

It’s a unique story in the way that it’s told, but I felt like the imaginative world often overshadowed reality too much at times and it wasn’t until a little over halfway through the book that I actually started to get into it and wanted to know what happened next. The imaginary world of Miamas is complex and in the beginning I became a little bored with it quite frankly. Eventually it made more sense and the way the real world and Miamas were weaved together became more enjoyable and I appreciated it more for what it was.

Ultimately, I did end up enjoying it. Maybe I was even in the wrong frame of my mind when I began it and only appreciated it in the end because I persevered and my mood changed? I think I may read it again to see… maybe next year.

The synopsis from Goodreads:

From the author of the internationally bestselling A Man Called Ove, a novel about a young girl whose grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales.

Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones, but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

Honest Parenting

I see a lot of posts by other bloggers with titles like “If we were to meet for coffee…” and think it would be fun to do one of those, but let’s face it… I think I’d rather meet for a big ole glass of wine to unwind from the chaos of everyday parenting. I’m not a SAHM, but parenting isn’t any easier when you work full-time.

So, let’s pretend the kids are in bed, and we’ve each got our feet up and are sipping a delicious glass of relaxation and chatting about our day/week.

I’d tell you…

This week has been one for the books. The biggest upset being dealing with lice. It happens, I get it, but it is such a pain to deal with. Our dryer has been worked over time and we’ve had bags of stuff sitting outside in the cold. After shelling out a bunch of money to get professionally treated (after not getting them all ourselves), I am crossing my fingers that we’ve contained it all.
This week we have lived through an array of tantrums courtesy of our 3 year old. The drama has been extra heavy around here lately. On Monday she melted down because she only wanted me to go to the living room with her (not her brother) and proceeded to lay down in the hallway with her hoodie (of all things) and weep and wail. I think we’ve entered the age of bad dreams too… almost every night she wakes up crying and gets really, really upset when I’m not there. Good thing I’m not giving up wine this year. Maybe I should really look into yoga this year for relaxation, however…
I am done with Tattling. So done. They bicker and pester each other and then tattle on each other relentlessly (especially Enzo). I’m really trying to nip the Tattling in the bud because it is beyond frustrating. Yeah, I saw what your sister did, I was standing RIGHT HERE. There are days when I miss the time when they couldn’t speak.

Don’t be fooled by their supposed closeness and adorability!!

Okay, it’s not always hard, but on the days when it is… well, you other moms know what I mean. I adore my kids, but it’s amazing to me how much you can simultaneously love someone so much and also be driven so crazy by them.

Week In Review – Get Schtuff Done

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another Week in Review!

Let’s see if I can remember this past week… I was all together and took notes and everything only to have Word/Google Drive not sync and now all those notes are gone, so…

I started things off getting organized. I got a new planner this week (thanks to coveting Meghan’s awesome planner and fantastic stickers.

I also have been working on reorganizing my office (yet again) and maybe, just maybe it will be done by December 31, 2017. It’s still a disaster, but it’s slowly coming together.

Finally took the kids to get their hair cut only to have the stylist find nits in Phoebe’s hair. Not what I wanted to hear as we’ve never had lice before and it definitely put a damper on plans I had for the weekend. Thankfully there weren’t many, but it has not been fun and even though we’ve all been using special sprays and shampoo, I still feel itchy. It’s actually amazing Josh didn’t find anything in my hair since Phoebe typically shares my pillow every night.

So much laundry. I am extremely grateful it was really cold this weekend, though, because we were able to put a ton of stuff in garbage bags outside, otherwise there’s no way our dryer could have handled it all. I had grand plans for the weekend that simply didn’t happen, but oh well. I also had a heck of a time getting our water baby out of the tub and had to keep adding hot water to the tub while she insisted on watching Moana videos on my phone.

We’ll see how this week goes, whether or not it goes to plan. Lots planned including my company’s holiday party and a little solo mini road trip for me!!

Have a great week!

2016 Book Survey

I filled this out last year thanks to Jamie and now I’m joining in again! I think this year I need to keep better notes so it’s easier to fill out.

Here goes!

Number Of Books You Read: 53
Number of Re-Reads: 0
Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary Fiction

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

So hard, but I’m going to say The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I love her books, but this one just fell kind of flat for me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with this book and it did end up surprising me in a sort of eery and creepy way.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Hmm… I can’t think of just one book I really “pushed” on anyone this year… maybe The Name of the Wind?

5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?

Best Series – Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

Best Sequel – Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Best Series Ender – Winter by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

E. Schwab (Shades of Magic)

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I didn’t really go outside my comfort zone this year. Something to remedy in 2017!

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.

9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

With so many books to read I don’t know that I’ll re-read any that I read this year, to be honest.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?

Saga – Volume 1

11. Most memorable character of 2016?

I spent a lot of time with Clare and Jamie Fraser this year, so I’m going to say that they tie. Ha!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?

I cannot choose… Diana Gabaldon is so good with words.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero I think I actually need to re-read this and remind myself again.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read?

All of the Outlander books!!!

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?

How can you pick just one???

“Imagine what our world would be like if everyone loved themselves so much that they weren’t threatened by other people’s opinions or skin colors or sexual preferences or talents or education or possessions or lack of possessions or religious beliefs or customs or their general tendency to just be whoever the hell they are.”
― Jen Sincero, You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (Shortest)

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (Longest)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

I’m struggling to answer this one… I can’t think of one that really left me with this feeling, though. Bad, Blogger!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

I’m so bad at these… I have no idea.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Ian and Rollo from the Outlander series.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously.

Can I just say anything in the Outlander series because those are my favorite reads this year. I promise 2017 won’t be all things Outlander. 😉

21. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Everyone kept talking about it and I doubted it, but ended up reading the whole series.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?

Malachi from the Irin Chronicles.

23. Best 2016 debut you read?

Oh wow… I apparently only read four books from 2016 in 2016 and only one was a debut. Ha! I’m going with The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Okay, I won’t go with my obvious choice here and will branch out. The Throne of Glass series is really well described, but I’m actually also going to go with The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. She paints a very vivid picture with her words.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Even when they aren’t the best, I’ve been reading the Shopaholic books since the beginning and even when it’s over the top ridiculous, I always smile, so… Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I feel like anything good I read isn’t a hidden gem. I could tell you the potential pieces of poo to avoid, however. 😉

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

The Goldfinch brought out a lot of emotion and at times anger, as well as sadness and frustration. I won’t lie, it was a tad depressing.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2016 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?

There’s actually a large stack of these that I will attempt to get through, but I should warn you now… 2017 is the year of all things Tolkien. I’m re-reading The Hobbit and LOTR, but also going to be reading other Tolkien books as well and getting ready for Tol-Con 2017 in November!!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut)?

Definitely Throne of Glass Book 6 by Sarah J. Maas.

3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I’m actually looking forward to Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2017?

The last Throne of Glass book!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?

I want to be better about reviewing books and keeping track of them. There are a few books where I can’t remember anything about them and yet I know I read them. Books and related geekdom are going to be a huge part of my 2017, though, so we’ll see what happens!

2016 Year In Review

Well, another year in the books with lots of ups and downs and ins and outs that are typical of most years. Rather than bore you with a long written post of reflection about all of the eye-opening things I’ve learned about myself and the resolutions I want to make, I’m going to do my standard year in review in pictures because I’m a visual person and enjoy looking back over the year.