Star Ratings in the Book Community Explained

The point is… how do you know how to rate a book? How do you understand what others feel when they rate books? It’s difficult to know across the board, but at Beguiled By Books, here’s what the Star Ratings mean.

Book UpdatesBeguiled By BooksFebruary 1, 2024book choices, Five Stars, current events, books

The House Witch Series by Delemhach

You only need to look up to see the best proof of endless possibilities.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 30, 2024Fantasy, favorites, magic, series

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 25, 2024recommended, informative, Philosophy, Psychology

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Perhaps the most accurate term for happiness, then, is the one Aristotle used: eudaimonia, which translates not directly to “happiness” but to “human flourishing.”

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 23, 2024Business, Leadership, not recommended

Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg

They subtly reflected shifts in other people’s moods and attitudes.

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 18, 2024informative, Psychology, ARC, Business, Leadership

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Have been unavoidably detained by the world. Expect us when you see us.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 16, 2024Fantasy, favorites, magic, short story, magical realism

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton

Two sisters - one flighty, one responsible - find themselves tangled in a mysterious cult-like community when the flighty one disappears.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 11, 2024new releases, Family, debut novel

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

When reenacting Iron Age living gets a bit too realistic…

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 9, 2024Contemporary fiction, short story, Women

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Women can be heroes, too.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksJanuary 4, 2024new releases, historical fiction, Women, ARC

2023 Best Books and Reading Wrap Up

2023 was a busy, fun, and exciting year at Beguiled By Books. Check out all the stats from reading this year and see the best books I read in 2023.

Book UpdatesBeguiled By BooksJanuary 2, 2024favorites, fiction, recommended, books

The Timeless Ones + A Necessary Darkness by Susan Catalano

The world he thought he knew had become an odd thing, twisting time and purpose. But it had remained an unfair universe in the end.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksDecember 22, 2023magic, series, historical fiction

Eat a Peach by David Chang

NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING, SO DO WHAT YOU WANT.

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksDecember 19, 2023recommended, informative, memoir, Business

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

… many folk obey ancient laws of hospitality and cannot simply come charging into one’s home to murder guests.”

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksDecember 15, 2023Fantasy, favorites, magic, series, new releases

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Gatherings crackle and flourish when real thought goes into them, when (often invisible) structure is baked into them, and when a host has the curiosity, willingness, and generosity of spirit to try.

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksDecember 12, 2023recommended, informative, Psychology, Business

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

People don’t need wild gods any more when they’re fat and rich and comfortable. Gods don’t take kindly to being forgotten.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksDecember 8, 2023Fantasy, magic, series, new releases

The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell

It’s a story about the toxic brew of confirmation bias, fuzzy math, and hubris. It’s a story about what people will do when they are allowed to spend other people’s money with minimal oversight.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

The magic is not in the analyzing or the understanding. The magic lives in the wonder of what we do not know.

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksDecember 1, 2023recommended, informative, Philosophy, Psychology, Creativity

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

Whether wicked or well-intentioned, language is a way to get members of a community on the same ideological page. To help them feel like they belong to something big

Nonfiction BooksBeguiled By BooksNovember 28, 2023recommended, informative, Psychology, Leadership, culture

Thank You 2023

What a ride and we’re not done yet!

PersonalBeguiled By BooksNovember 21, 2023

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between.

Fiction BooksBeguiled By BooksNovember 16, 2023new releases, Contemporary fiction, classic