• Books

    My Book Rating System

    I finished my first two reads of 2025 last week and started to post my reviews when I realized that I’d updated my rating system and hadn’t shared it with you all. But before I go into detail, let me preface this by saying reading and rating books is very subjective. I’ve read reviews where people have deducted points because they were reading outside of their usual genre {and out of their comfort zone}, and didn’t “get” the subject matter. I try really hard not to do that. My goal is to read and rate each book on its individual merit {unless it’s series, then you have consider continuity between…

  • Fun Stuff

    {Audiobook Review} Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for providing me with a free audio version of this book for review.  BOOK DETAILS Title: Untethered Author: Angela Jackson-Brown Narrator: Karen Murray Publisher: HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse Publication Date: 3 December 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Multicultural Focus, Family Drama Format: Audiobook Listening Time: 10 hours, 51…

  • About Me

    Life Lately

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. I know, I know, it has been a minute. Y’all, life has been lifing lately and I haven’t really felt like doing much more than the bare necessity to make it day-to-day. But I think I’m back. Or, at least, I hope I’m back. Some of the challenges of the past few months have either eased up or…

  • Style

    {Audiobook Review} The American Queen by Vanessa Miller

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free audio version of this book for review.  BOOK DETAILS Title: The American Queen Author: Vanessa Miller Narrator: Angel Pean Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publication Date: 30 January 2024 Genre: Christian, Women’s Literature, American History, African American Literature Format: Audiobook Listening Time: 9 hours and 53 minutes…

  • Books

    {Audiobook Review} You’ll Never Know I’m Here by Kiersten Modglin

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio version of this book for review.  I chose to review this book for two reasons: I’ve listened to a book by Kiersten Modglin before and totally enjoyed it. It’s about a group of book bloggers who meet IRL for a weekend get together. How could I not? And,…

  • Books

    {Audiobook Review} Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book for review.  I chose to review this book because the book blurb caught my attention. I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers and I thought this might be an interesting story to listen to while driving between campuses. I wasn’t wrong. BOOK DETAILS Title: Bye, Baby Author:…

  • Books

    Audiobook Review: The Women by Kristin Hannah

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book for review.  This is it, my last audiobook review of 2023. And, y’all, I don’t think I could’ve chosen a better book. I felt connected to the characters in this novel in a way that I haven’t felt in a long time. I’m a veteran of the…

  • Books

    Audiobook Review: 60 Songs That Explain the 90s by Rob Harvilla

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book for review.  I spent most of the ’90s raising babies and driving them to and from appointments, that means I spent a lot of time car dancing. It was the wave of nostalgia that caused me to request this title. I miss my babies being little. I…

  • Books

    Audiobook Review: The List by Kiersten Modglin

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book for review.  Are you a fan of suspense novels? I’ve read a few, but it has been a long time since I’ve picked one up. This one was a heartbreaker. BOOK DETAILS Title: The List Author: Kiersten Modglin Narrators: Jennifer Jill Araya, David Bendena, and Michael Crouch…

  • Fun Stuff

    Audiobook Review: The Space Between by Sarah Ready

    As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book for review.  If you’ve read my review of Seven Days in June, you know how deeply I believe in the power of first love, that’s part of what drew me to this story. The other was that it was a “Listen Now” option on NetGalley, which meant…