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Review: Pathological

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Pathological by Henry Cordes, Todd Cooper
Published by WildBlue Press Genres: True Crime, Non-Fiction
Pages: 260
Source: NetGalley
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

A Brutal Serial Killer Was Stalking Omaha. But Who Could Kill With Such Precision?

Detective Derek Mois wasn’t sure what he was dealing with when in March 2008 he walked into a home in an affluent Omaha neighborhood and was confronted with the bodies of an 11-year-old boy and the housekeeper. Both had been murdered with kitchen knives plunged into their throats. Who would do something so vile, and why? Lacking answers, Mois and other detectives working the case were stumped.Five years later, a strikingly similar crime occurred in which two more victims were brutally murdered with knives expertly thrust into their jugular veins. The modus operandi of the murders pointed Mois and a special task force in the direction of looking for a serial killer. But no one could have anticipated that path would lead to the Department of Pathology at Creighton University.

In PATHOLOGICAL: The Murderous Rage Of Dr. Anthony Garcia, authors Henry J. Cordes and Todd Cooper, who covered the story for the Omaha World-Herald, recount the dramatic tale of deep-seated revenge, determined detectives, and the sensational trial of the doctor-turned-serial killer.

It’s a universal truth that the mind of a serial killer is a complex place to be. Pathological is a true crime tale about the misdeeds and mental state of Dr. Anthony Garcia. More importantly, it outlines the events leading up to the murders he committed and how the exceptional detectives were finally able to track him down and put him where he belongs.

The pace of the book is incredibly quick while still allowing the reader to easily follow along the timeline of events. The authors actually covered the story for the Omaha World-Herald and were able to take the information they had and weave it into an entertaining, albeit tragic story. without sensationalizing it any further.

In many true crime books, the victims are briefly mentioned but the authors do a wonderful job in telling their stories and those of their grief stricken families. I was so touched by the feelings of respect and duty shown by the involved detectives who truly took this case to heart.

Pathological is a great book for true crime lovers who want something they can quickly get through while still getting all of those gory facts that we love!

Pinterest Traffic Secrets Revealed!

This post contains affiliate links and if you purchase using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Thank you for supporting Pages and Pekoe!

One of the things that I am learning from my recent reader survey is that people want me to talk about blogging this year. Which is great! I love blogging and it’s always fun to talk shop with other bloggers.

I’m not an expert on the topic by any stretch of the imagination. This isn’t my first blog and I’m sure it won’t be the last! The knowledge that I can share is based on the experiences that I’ve had so far and I am always happy to share whatever I can. Keep in mind here that algorithms and things are always changing so you never know if this will work a year from now!

Pinterest Secrets Revealed | Pages and Pekoe

One of the things that people have expressed an interest in working on is Pinterest and I’m more than happy to spill my secrets here. Pinterest is my biggest driver of traffic by far and it’s easy for me to pinpoint why that is.

There are a few reasons. The first and most important is Tailwind. I don’t exaggerate when I say that. I started my Pages and Pekoe Pinterest account when I started the blog a little over a year ago, however I only just started actively using Tailwind scheduling and tribes in December. You’ll be able to tell exactly when by looking at this image!

Scheduling with Tailwind

The first benefit to using Tailwind to up your Pinterest game is the ability to schedule your pins well in advance to post throughout the day. While I do manually pin sometimes, the majority of my pins are pre-scheduled. And using the Smart Schedule, it will choose the times when your followers are most active so your pins are more likely to be seen. Pretty handy!

Tailwind Tribes

Tailwind tribes are the second biggest reason to use the service. I always fill my pinning queue with pins from my tribes first before I even log into Pinterest itself. Think of it kind of like post sharing groups on Facebook. Not only have I found lots of amazing pins to share, I have also found some great bloggers to follow from my tribes. Win-win!

Now, I’m not saying you have to use Tailwind in order to be successful on Pinterest. It’s just something that has worked really well for me. If something works for you, keep doing what you’re doing!

Another huge part of my Pinterest success have been Christina’s courses from OrganizeYour.Biz, beginning with the Pinterest 101 course. She has some amazing paid courses that are well worth it (I’ve taken them) but this one is free and is fantastic for someone just getting familiar with the platform.

One thing that I purposely left out of this post is creating graphics for Pinterest. That’s another post for another day!

Leave me your secrets in the comments! Preferably about Pinterest 😉

January Reader Survey

I definitely want to blog better in 2019 which means that I need to give the people what they want. Let them eat cake and all that. Not that you’re all peasants … I just like the quote .

If you wouldn’t mind, I would love it if you would answer 3 quick questions to give me a better idea of what to write about this year. Feel free to use the “other” field to give suggestions or leave them here in the comments.

Create your own user feedback survey

Thanks for your help!

2019 Reading and Blog Goals

This post contains affiliate links and if you purchase using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Thank you for supporting Pages and Pekoe!

Happy New Year, folks! I love a good goals post so here I am with mine! New year, new me … and all that. Just kidding, I’m going to be the same asshole in 2019 that I always have been, don’t you worry! If you want to have a giggle, take a look and my reading goals post for 2018 and you’ll see how far I’ve come graphics wise alone!

I learned a long time ago that I’m not a resolutions kind of girl. I don’t like to lock myself into anything. Goals sounds like a much friendlier and more gentle word. Semantics? Maybe. I never claimed to make sense!

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Let’s get into these goals, shall we?

Reading Goals

Complete 2019 Goodreads Challenge (40 books) – Since I didn’t make it this year, I’m keeping the same goal for 2019 in the hopes that I’ll be even more motivated. 40 is definitely a reasonable number.
PopSugar and Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenges. I’ll probably dabble in others but I really want to finish these two.
Be more diligent in keeping track of ARCs, review requests, etc.
Keep a more organized reading journal.
Give annotating a try!

Blog Goals

Create a more organized social media posting schedule.
Pre-schedule posts and actually make use of the editorial calendar! Stop posting on the fly and have a plan, dammit!
Grow Instagram followers to 1500
Grow Pinterest followers to 500
Finally finish Elite Blog Academy!! I always see improvements when I work on it so I need to complete it!
Improve my photography. I recently took the Create, Capture, Conquer course on better phone photography from Ivory Mix. It has been a game changer and has taught me how to actually make use of my phone camera resulting in better photos. I want to continue to use the things I learned and I may even go through it again!
Be more involved in the bookish community and make more bloggy friends!

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There are lots of other things I know that I’ll think of along the way so it may be a good idea for me to do monthly goals posts throughout the year. I’ll have a post coming up very soon with a reader questionnaire so that I can better tailor my content to what you’d like to see!

For now, my hope is that you had a safe and happy New Year’s Eve and I wish you and yours all the very best in 2019. Cheers to good books, good drinks, and good friends!

Goodreads Stats 2018

I’m such a nerd for reading statistics. I have been loving all of your Goodreads stats for the year too so keep posting them and leave me a comment so I can check out yours! If you’re interested, you can check out my stats from 2017 too.

Goodreads does a fantastic job of keeping track of your reading statistics throughout the year. Now if you’re really into diving deep into the numbers, I definitely recommend checking out Kaleena’s spreadsheet from Reader Voracious. It’s much more in depth and has tabs that will be helpful for bloggers too.

None of the numbers surprised me other than my average rating of 3.6 stars. I had thought that I usually lean on the higher side for my star ratings but this number makes me think otherwise! Other than that, I was really happy with what I read in 2018.

I’ll go ahead and let these images speak for themselves!

While I’m really disappointed in myself for not reaching my reading goal this year, I know that it was probably a reach based on what was happening in our lives this year. I have higher hopes for myself in 2019 and I’m excited to get going!

Have you posted your Goodreads Stats 2018? Let me know!

Tea Talk 3

You guys! How is it almost Christmas already? Thankfully, I’m all ready to roll and I’m not running around at the last minute this year. Last year all 4 of us were very sick on Christmas Day so keep your fingers crossed for us this year. That’s been my biggest fear leading up to this point.

I know that this time of year can be very hard and lonely for some people so if you’re one of those, I’ll be thinking about you and am sending my love!

Just Released

I’m not going to lie. The only reason I chose this book as my favorite new release is for the title. It certainly makes me want to read it just to see what it’s all about!

Cover Story

How fun is this cover?! This book has been recommended for fans of the cult classic TV show Firefly so this nerdy girl is definitely intrigued. YA books always have the best covers!

In My Cup

I’m getting caught up on my 24 Days of Tea advent calendar from David’s Tea today and right now, I’ve got the delicious Zest Wishes in my cup. If you are a fan of Juicy Orange you’ll love this one too. Such a nice orange flavor!

Posts of Note

As usual, I read some fantastic blog posts this week. You guys are all killing the blogging game and I bow to your greatness! I always love a good yearly recap post and there were some awesome ones in there too.

Here are some of my favorites! I totally could have kept going!

Many Things Bookish – My Goodreads’ Year in Books 2018

Meeghan reads and bakes – Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests Read-a-thon ’18-19

The Uncorked Librarian – Winter Drinks to Warm Up Your European Travels

Lili’s Blissful Pages – Best Book Covers of 2018

Bionic Book Worm – My Year in Books – 2018 Wrap Up Metaphors and Moonlight – Cover Characteristics: Best Book Covers from Books I Read in 2018

I hope you all have a lovely week ahead and enjoy the holiday time with your loved ones!

From my home to yours, Merry Christmas my friends!

14 Ways to Use Your Local Library

I think it’s obvious by now that I love books. I love reading physical books, e-books, and I am even finding myself getting into audiobooks. While I love to shop for books, sometimes I think something that is really underused is the ultimate bookish resource, the library!

Here are 14 fantastic ways to make use of your local library … and I didn’t even mention the usual borrowing books! Just so that you’re aware some of the links below are affiliate links which don’t cost you any extra but help to fund my book addiction!

Make sure to hit up the comments to let me know how you use your library.

14 Ways to Use Your Local Library | Pages and Pekoe

Try another format

Physical books aren’t the only things you can get from the library! E-books, audiobooks, magazines, movies, and more are available or course BUT did you know that some libraries will let you try out e-readers? This would be a great way to kick your reading slump that I wrote about before! Check with your local library to see if they have some on hand as a sort of “try before you buy” experiment if you’re thinking or buying a Kindle or Kobo.

Shop for less

We all love a good sale! Especially when books are involved. My local library always has a cart of books for sale and some libraries do a yearly sale. The first reason this is great because it brings in a little bit more money for the library but also, the prices are deeply discounted so you get to keep a little bit more money in YOUR pocket! While I love shopping Book Outlet , sometimes I like that physical shopping feeling too.

Activities for Kids

Did you know that many libraries have scheduled activities and events for children? It’s amazing. Someone else will entertain your kids FOR free! FREE!! Now if only I could convince them to provide wine for the parents at the same time. Also for free.

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Take a Class

We can all stand to learn a new skill. I sure can at least! Many libraries offer single classes or even whole courses and most of the time they’re free. Are you seeing a trend here? I like things that are free. It’s my second favorite F word!

Go Down a Rabbit Hole

The beautiful thing about being in a library is that, just like in a bookstore, there are sections for anything and everything. You want to learn to knit? See above point … or just check out the Crafting section. My library has a whole section of local history books and references. This is great for when you want to read about something in particular and also great for when you want to keep reading things about that because now you’re down that rabbit hole.

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Place Holds from Home

You don’t even have to put on a bra and leave the house for this one so that’s a real bonus! If you already know what you’re looking for, you can go onto your library’s website and have it set aside for you so it’s ready to pick up and you don’t even have to search.

Hold a Meeting

Sometimes being a blogger (or anyone who is self employed) can be lonely. Want to meet with your peeps? Lots of libraries actually have multipurpose rooms that you can book. A few years ago some mom friends and I got together and had a Halloween party with all of our kids at our local library. We had fun and nobody had to make their house presentable!

See a Movie

If you’re in the mood for some cheap entertainment, check the library’s schedule! My local library screens movies twice a week and yours might too! There’s usually an evening movie through the week and a children’s movie on weekends. Sometimes they’re seasonal and sometimes they’re just random. Every so often my library does Disney movie marathon days of classic Disney movies!

Get Your Game On

Lots of libraries have board games to play and some even have video games consoles! When I took the kids to the library the other day, there were a few kids there on the computers playing Minecraft which is great because now all my 5 year old wants to do is play Minecraft. Thanks library …

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Explore Your History

Don’t want to pay for your own Ancestry account? No problem! Make use of the computers at the library and use theirs! Not only that, but there are a whole host of resources to choose from when doing genealogy and family historical research. Your library should also be able to point you in the right direction for whatever information you’re looking for.

Let the Kids Play

Want to know what my favorite thing to do when I just need to get out of the house with the kids is? We go to the library and they just play! On the way, I’ll grab a fancy drink at the drive-thru so I can sit and enjoy a hot beverage while the kids enjoy playing with fun toys at the library! Our library often has crafts and things set up for the little ones if that’s something they like too!

Learn a Language

This is in line with taking a class but I know that my local library offers conversational french once a week and yours would probably have something similar. I am in New Brunswick which is Canada’s only officially bilingual province so lots of anglophones want to take the opportunity to brush up on their francais from time to time. I should probably do that myself!

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Create Something

My library has something fantastic called Makerspace. They’ve got sewing machines, tools, Photoshop, video editing software, and even 3D printers! If you can dream it up, you can probably create it there. How cool is that?

Play in the Past

We’ve already talked about genealogy but what if you want to learn some local history from the source? Scour through old newspapers and microfilm. I always find it so cool to look at old public records like passenger manifests from ships on microfilm because there’s something so personal about seeing someone’s handwriting from the past.

And there you go! There are 14 great ways that you can make good use out of your local library!

Tea Talk 2

Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you’ve had a great week and you’re getting into the holiday spirit!

It usually takes me well into December before I start to get those Christmasy feelings. My sister’s birthday is on the 12th and growing up, we would always wait until we celebrated her birthday before any holiday hoopla invaded our house. Now that I have a home and family of my own, we do start a bit earlier than that … sorry, Kate!

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A post shared by Kim // Pages and Pekoe (@pagesandpekoe) on Dec 7, 2018 at 6:27pm PST

You might have seen some photos in my Instagram feed from a fun event called Uptown Sparkles that happens in Saint John every year. It’s such a great evening of shopping, snacks and a few boozy beverages too! It gets better and better each year!

Just Released

So as I was looking at the new releases this week, nothing super exciting stood out to me. But what it did make me want to do is revisit an old favorite author, Nora Roberts. I went through a serious Nora & J.D. Robb kick for years and devoured everything she wrote. Her romance novels were pretty much the only ones I could tolerate for a very long time, haha! She’s got a new books out called Of Blood and Bone which is actually the second book in the Chronicles of The One … so you might want to read that one first if you’re interested!

Cover Story

When I chose this cover as my favorite of the week’s new releases, it tells me that I’m basic AF and I’m drawn to sparkly things. I’m not mad about, merely an observation. Like in last week’s Tea Talk, I know nothing about this book. It could very well be terrible. I just like the cover because SHINY!

In My Cup

If you’ve been following along on my Instagram stories, you’ll probably already know which tea I’m drinking today! Day 9 of the 24 Days of Tea calendar is White Cranberry Bark which is a limited edition holiday flavor an it is delish! Love me some cranberry anything!

As I have for the past few years, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my 24 Days of Tea calendar. For someone like me who loves to try and enjoy different teas, this is the ideal advent calendar.

Posts of Note

Fictionophile – Discussion Post: Blog Comments

Pages Unbound Reviews – 7 YA Books with Clean Romances

Birdie Bookworm – Birdie’s Pre-list for Beat the Backlist 2019

The Biblio Blonde – Holiday Gift Guide: Pop Culture Gifts

Novelties – Beyond the Blurb | What Should Readers/Bloggers Do When Authors Are on the Attack?

What were you up to this week? Are you in the holiday spirit?

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Review: Girl Wash Your Face

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
Published by Thomas Nelson on February 6, 2018
Genres: Self Help, Non-Fiction, Christian
Pages: 241
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

three-stars

With wry wit and hard-earned wisdom, popular online personality and founder of TheChicSite.com founder Rachel Hollis helps readers break free from the lies keeping them from the joy-filled and exuberant life they are meant to have.

Founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Chic Media, Rachel Hollis has created an online fan base of hundreds of thousands of fans by sharing tips for living a better life while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own. Now comes her highly anticipated first book featuring her signature combination of honesty, humor, and direct, no-nonsense advice.

Each chapter of Girl, Wash Your Face begins with a specific lie Hollis once believed that left her feeling overwhelmed, unworthy, or ready to give up. As a working mother, a former foster parent, and a woman who has dealt with insecurities about her body and relationships, she speaks with the insight and kindness of a BFF, helping women unpack the limiting mind-sets that destroy their self-confidence and keep them from moving forward.

From her temporary obsession with marrying Matt Damon to a daydream involving hypnotic iguanas to her son’s request that she buy a necklace to “be like the other moms,” Hollis holds nothing back. With unflinching faith and tenacity, Hollis spurs other women to live with passion and hustle and to awaken their slumbering goals.

I want to start this one off by saying that I wanted to love this book because of the buzz around it. That, and because I always want to support other bloggers and the author of Girl, Wash Your Face is a blogger. We’ve gotta stick together and support each other!

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Don’t get me wrong I did like it, I just didn’t love it.

I get what she was trying to do here and I am with her on the overall message. She talks about the lies we tell ourselves and how to overcome the issues with them. I think a lot of these things are very important. Believing in yourself and your worth, doing things that make you happy, giving yourself a break sometimes, taking care of your mental health. All great messages, especially for a young woman who is struggling to find herself.

At times I loved the tone. It often felt like I was sitting with a friend because of the informal language. Other times it felt patronizing and almost condescending. Sometimes I couldn’t decide which. I also wasn’t aware that it was an overly Christian book but it definitely is. That’s fine, it just would have been good to know ahead of time. I wouldn’t have read it had I known how preachy it would be.

I appreciate the spirit in which this book was written. I know that Girl, Wash Your Face was truly intended to help women find their voice, passion or purpose and learn to love themselves. I just feel like it missed the mark a little. It was written from the perspective of an affluent white woman so it can really alienate women from other walks of life. At times she seems arrogant and self absorbed, however I can imagine that this is in part due to the self-love that she preaches.

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While the intent was totally there, the execution was off. I do think that this book would be helpful and uplifting for the right person, I just wasn’t that person.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Tea Talk – New Weekly Feature!

I love a good, predictable, blog series! I enjoy reading them because they don’t feel rushed or forced. They are a way to share thoughts and observations from the week without needing to have an end game in mind or something to sell. They feel like home.

I was inspired by Jen from Simple Local Life who writes her Sunday Morning Coffee posts each week without fail. She spoke about it in her session at BlogJam Atlantic this year and it’s one of those posts on her blog that I always enjoy reading. While I don’t live near to her (although I’m not too far away), I love checking out the weekly real estate feature that she gives. I’m a sucker for a good listing!

Anyway, she’s inspired me to create my own series each week to share some of the things that I’ve come across and I think are fun. They will be structured largely the same every week and I hope they will become a regular staple for you to read and enjoy with me! I also hope that you will be able to get to know me better through the series and that you’ll share some of your favorite things with me too.

Now for our inaugural Tea Talk!

Just released

There were some interesting books released this week, but my inner 90’s kid is screaming about Mel B’s memoir, Brutally Honest. Any other Spice Girls lovers here? Please tell me I’m not the only one!

I saw her interview on Ellen during her press tour for the book and was in awe of her personal strength to talk so openly about some of the things she does in the book. She describes her abusive marriage, addiction, along with stories from behind the scenes and what it was like to be a global girl group phenomenon. Can’t wait to read the book! GIRL POWER!

Cover Story

I love a good book cover and I am definitely guilty of buying a book just because I find the cover art appealing. I don’t know what it is about this one that speaks to me so much but I love the look of the navy and orange on the cover of Amber & Dusk. Maybe it’s the stone in the middle or the little diamonds falling from the sky! I enjoy the mix of textures with the mesh, smooth silver lettering, and glittering gems. So elegant!

In My Cup

What am I drinking? I’m glad you asked! Yesterday marked the beginning of the 24 Days of Tea calendar from David’s Tea which gives me LIFE every year. Never before have I enjoyed an advent calendar this much. Today’s tea is Organic Cinnamon Rooibos Chai which is just as delicious as it sounds. I actually have a tin of it because I can’t get enough of the spicy sweet yumminess! It’s a personal favorite for any time of the year. I’m doing daily Instastories doing a quick review of the teas in the calendar so come follow along if you haven’t already!