#that one was on my goodreads tbr before I finally bought a copy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lisajuliareads · 3 years

Text

A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

My rating: 4

Pages: 499

I have to be honest, I’m currently a little too lazy and tired to write a new review, so I copied the review I wrote for Goodreads. I’m also using my laptop, normally I use my phone for Tumblr, so this review looks a bit different than my other reviews.

Wow. What a ride this book was. This August I'm using a 'jar tbr' to decide what I read this month. I was very excited when I grabbed a paper with this title written on it. I've wanted to read this ever since I first found it, but even after I finally bought it, I didn't pick it up because big books scare me. Once you start, it can feel like the book will never end. Even though I might say some negative things, overall I really did enjoy this book and will definitely be excited to read the sequel when it is released. This is definitely a book I would recommend... ... though, if you're fairly new to the whole 'faeries' thing with books, I would recommend reading some other books with these themes first. 'Cause wow this got confusing sometimes. I've only read a few books with faeries before, and none were as complicated and confusing as this one. From the beginning there are many different terms thrown around, some get explained, some don't. But even with explanation, at the end of the book they still kinda confused me. In this book we have: - immortal beings - mortal beings - faeries - fae - unseelie court for all seasons - seelie court for all seasons - lesidhe fae - sidhe fae - gods - furies - the wild hunt - titans - and all different kinds of other beings, that I don't know whether they're fae or faerie in this book. They made vampires a kind of faerie (or fae, I don't remember, I'm not used to these two terms being different terms). But fox spirits are also mentioned. And trolls and goblins and all kinds of faerie beings. So yeah, if this is your first go at faerie/fae stories, be aware. I kinda wished there was some kind of dictionary or whatever included to explain these terms to people who don't know what they mean. I was surprised - in a good way - when I saw a trigger/content warning in the beginning of the book. I hope more books will do this! I'm not one who usually needs this, the only things that freak me out are sexual scenes and even mention of an animal being hurt, which thankfully doesn't happen that much in Young Adult. But for people who do need it, this is very handy. This is a book where you have to pay 100% of your attention. Even a second of distraction, and chances are you'd have to reread a whole passage. I'm easily distracted, so many times I had to reread a few pages. But even when I gave this book my full attention, I had to reread some parts because I just couldn't understand what the hell was happening. But besides rereading sentences, I also skipped some. Cause wow everything had so much details. Every character got a handful of sentences, even characters who only appeared once. And every room got full details. The floors, the walls, the ceiling. For me, sometimes so much details that I didn't care and skipped the 4 sentences to go back to what was happening. Don't get me wrong, detail is important and good, but too much detail... well, for me it was too much anyways, but I've read some reviews who agree with me. Here and there I noticed some possible mistakes, like something being mentioned twice but with the opposite description or one person says something, but later someone says that someone else said that. But those are human mistakes that would definitely happen to me if I ever end up writing that book that's been in my head for years, so I'm not going to remove any points for this in my review, but I still felt like mentioning it. We have four main characters, however two of these actually don't appear that much. Most of these chapters are from Arlo's point of view, and don't get me wrong I don't mind that all because I really enjoy reading from her perspective. Nausicaä also had some chapters from her point of view, but the other two, Vehan and Aurelian, only had a few, and I kept forgetting they were in this book until they finally, after more than half of the book, met Arlo and Nausicaä. I kinda wished, even though I loved reading from Arlo's point of view, that there was more of an equal amount of chapters with the point of views. I felt like I barely got to know Vehan and Aurelian the way we got to know the other two main character. Hell, I feel like we got to know some side character better than those two. Again, I did really enjoy this book. Even if it sometimes felt really long and a bit exhausting to read, and I feel like it could've been a little shorter without all the extra details. It's a good book with a promising story, an interesting world building and characters with potential. It also has a lot of representation for the lgbtq+ community. "A sidhe prince, a lesidhe guard, an ironborn girl, and a former fury - they seemed less like a serious investigation team and more like the lead-in to some terrible joke." TL;DR + A lot of lgbtq+ rep + interesting worl building + I really liked Arlo + Also, not mentioned before, but I loved her scenes with her cousins + Characters with potential + interesting story + A content/trigger warning! Yes! + I definitely enjoyed reading this - if you get distracted reading, there's a possibility you have to read some sentences - sometimes I had to reread some things even if I didn't get distracted - so many terms are used, it got really confusing sometimes - even though they're main characters Vehan and Aurelian don't have a lot of point of view chapters - so many details that I skipped because I didn't care what this random character who never again appeared looked like and what he was doing and what the room he was standing in looked like even though the room would never again be mentioned

#a dark and hollow star #ashley shuttleworth #books #book reviews #fantasy books

8 notes · View notes

bookscoffeejesus · 3 years

Photo

3.28.2021

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted any reviews! It’s taken me longer to get through the book pictured above because I’ve been working on reading/listening to another, much longer book (Les Mis, which I will hopefully finish by the end of the month if I binge listen to it tomorrow). Somehow, between all the volunteering and socializing I’ve done this weekend, I was finally able to finish reading The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.

I came across this book while browsing at 2nd & Charles earlier this year. The title had caught my attention because it sounded familiar even though I had sworn I had never seen the book before in my life. Turns out one of my friends on Goodreads had read it last year and that’s why it sounded familiar!

I absolutely loved this book! It’s really a book about a book character, Alice Three Times, who was stolen from her fairy tale world/story and brought into our world. The book follows as Alice and her (boy)friend Finch find a way to get her back to her world, thinking that the Hinterland had taken her mother there, and then breaking her out of her story so that she could come back and live in our world with her mother without the Hinterland chasing them down.

I loved this book so much that, while browsing Barnes & Noble with one of my friends after lunch today, I bought book #2 AND the only copy my local B&N had of Tales of the Hinterland. The plan is to finish this series later this year, but we’ll see if that will really happen between all the other series I have started and all the rather large books I’m planning to read this year. 🤷🏼‍♀️

PopSugar Advanced: The book on your TBR with the prettiest cover

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#the hazel wood #melissa albert #book #books #book review #book blog #blog #alice three times #books coffee jesus #popsugar reading challenge #fiction #fantasy #young adult book #young adult books #ya books #ya book #ya book review #young adult book review #2nd and Charles

7 notes · View notes

jellybeanbeing · 5 years

Text

History of My Bookshelf Challenge

Created by the amazing Emmmabooks!

1. The oldest book on your shelf - An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This is the first physical book I’ve ever gotten and still have. Yes, I only purchased it in 2018 but it’s been about two years so it counts because the other books I have, I got after.

2. A book you read in 2013 (adjust for however many years you like!) - Divergent by Veronica Roth

I’m like, 85% sure I read this in 2013. I think I read it because the movie was coming out and I wanted to read the book first so I could judge the movie, but it’s been like five years and I still haven’t seen it.

3. A book you read in 2014 - Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I only remember reading this book during this year because I was sitting at a teacher’s desk when someone came up to me and asked me why I was reading the book when it was going to be required reading in the near future. Other than that, I remember liking the book, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t today.

4. A book you read in 2015 - Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Again, this is one I’m 85% sure I read in 2015. This whole book was a fever dream to me and I kind of want to read it again.

5. A book you read in 2016 - The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

The one thing that makes me sure I read this in 2016 was because I had made a new friend that year and the characters in the book had the same names as her brothers and I messaged her about it.

6. A book you read in 2017 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

2017 was a good reading year for me. Before 2017, I read a lot of YA romantic contemporaries and I wasn’t going to change that until my friend lent me ACOTAR. I was reluctant at first because fantasy isn’t my favorite genre but I gave it a try and I really liked it. I ended up finishing the series and moving to other popular fantasy and otherworldly books.

7. A book you read in 2018 - The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

This is the year I finally started tracking the books I read. I read about 52 books this year and I’m choosing this one because my experience with it is a semi-interesting one. So I read Frankenstein in class that year and hated it. Found out this book was coming out and showed it to my English teacher who preceded to buy the book, read it, and lent it to me. Said I would probably like it better than the original (because I was open about my feelings of hatred towards the book in class) and turns out, I did! I loved what Kiersten White did with the story and the characters. I was engaged and actually really cared about the characters.

8. A book you read in 2019 - On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

I’m obviously going to talk about this one so here it goes: I honestly don’t know what made me put this book on my TBR but it ended up there somehow (I think Goodreads recommended it to me???? But I’m not too sure). Anyways, I was watching a video from Jessethereader where he deciphers emojis into book titles and one of them was “On the Jellicoe Road” so I took that as a sign to read the book. I read it, was confused for a bit, but then fell head over heels for the story and the characters and everything about it. It’s one of my all-time favorite books now and I’m going to reread it again soon. I’ll try to make a review for it.

9. A book you’ve read more than once - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stievater

Is this a surprise? No. Well, kind of. I’ve only read this book (and series) twice but I’m already planning on rereading it soon and every year after that. It’s my all-time favorite book series and that’s not gonna change for a while. I love the books, I love the characters, I love the story, I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. And it’s funny because it took me so long just to read The Raven Boys because I kept DNFing it. I picked it up in 2016, read the first three chapters, put it down, and forgot about it. A couple months after that, I picked it up again, read the first three chapters, and decided this book wasn’t for me. Around 2018, I got the sudden urge to read the books and thought “fuck it, I’m reading it and I’m gonna finish the book.” I finished the series and mildly liked it. I got another sudden urge to read the series again this 2019 year and IT BLEW MY FREAKING MIND WITH HOW GOOD IT WAS. I just have so much appreciation for this book and Maggie Stiefvater now, and I love it.

10. A book you waited over a year to be published - A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

This is honestly the only book I’ve waited over a year to come out. I finished Torch in 2016 and I had to wait until 2018 to read Reaper. It was torture. And it’s still torture because we’re all waiting for Ember 4.

11. A book you read on vacation/away from home - Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya

I read this for school and I remember going to California for a dance competition and not having a phone or something to entertain me so I took the book with me. For about a week, I read bits and pieces of it before going to bed. One moment I remember so vividly is reading the book on the plane ride back and it being dark and someone telling me to turn off my light because they were trying to sleep. I then proceeded to turn off my light and stare into the darkness because I wasn’t tired and I couldn't read my book. And if you’re wondering, it was one of those planes that didn’t have a TV at every seat.

12. A book you got from someplace special (anything that’s not your local bookstore/online retailer) - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

My English teacher was retiring and giving away some of his books, and so I decided to rummage through his book and found a special edition of Madame Bovary with gold spray painted edges. It was gorgeous, but I gave it away.

13. A book that made you cry - Mosquitoland by David Arnold

I didn’t cry while reading this book at first, but I went back to read a few passages before giving it away and I don’t know what struck a chord in me but I was crying my eyes out over the book. The passage I had read just resonated with me in that moment and I couldn't help but cry. I read the book before some problems in my life occurred so I guess when I went to read the few parts of the book again, it all hit me real hard.

14. A book you read in one sitting - My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

This one is a fun one (my experience with the book, not the book itself). So, I was, I think 12 or 13 or 14 years old when I read this. At this particular age, I was a firecracker when reading books. I would finish a book, A FULL 300 PAGE BOOK, in one night. I did this a lot. I’m not exaggerating. I think it’s about more than 20 books that this “finishing in one night” happened. This one though, was crazy. I started this book one night at around 7/8pm and finished it around maybe 12am? I then proceeded to pick up another 300 page book right after AND FINISH IT THAT VERY NIGHT, or morning, whatever you think. My reading energy was off the fucking charts at that age. I can’t do this anymore, by the way. It will literally take me a whole month to finish a 200 page book.

15. A book that was a gift - A Conjuring of Light by V.E Schwab

I had already gotten the book for myself but a friend of mine bought me the book and I couldn’t say no so I took the book and now I have two paperback copies of ACOL, and I’m not mad about it.

16. A book you read before owning (library, borrowed from a friend) - Sula by Toni Morrison

I read for school, and let me tell you, it’s the only book I’ve read for school that I liked and was memorable for a good reason. Right from the first page, it captured my attention and kept it through out the book. I’m planning on rereading it and hopefully I’ll still like it as much as I first did.

17. A book you lent to someone else - Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows is a popular YA series but do you know how hard it was to make one of my friends read this and actually finish it? I gave it to like three of my friends and they all ended up telling me they couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. But I finally got one of my friends to read the duology and finish it and love it as much as I did. I finally have a friend I can talk to about the books.

18. A book that has been damaged - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

I tend to keep my books in pretty good condition, but I also have butter fingers, so that’s something. Anyways, the amount of times that I have dropped this book and bent the covers is truly astonishing. And it’s bizarre, because whenever I dropped TRB or TDT or BLLB, the covers didn’t bend but when I drop TRK, the cover ALWAYS bends and it’s a whole mess but I still love it. I almost forgot to mention that I got it already fucked up so maybe it’s meant to be.

19. A book you got on sale/discounted - An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Yes, I’m using this book again because, why not? Anyways, I got this at a thrift store and I was so psyched. I saw this book on the shelf and was so appalled because who would thrift such a good book? (If you didn’t like the book, great. That’s your opinion.) So I decided that this was my chance to finally own a book after years of not owning one, and have it be one of my favorite books.

20. A book you read with someone else (buddy read/read with a book club) - The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

I take this question to also include books I have read as required reading in class because technically, I did read it with my class. I had such a fun time picking at this book. It was not my favorite book, though I really liked the first story. My English teacher had us write commentary and I loved it. There was no literary analysis whatsoever in my notes, and I think that’s what I loved the most. I reread my notes for that book recently and they are gems.

21. A book you associate with a song - A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

When the Party’s Over by Billie Eilish is just a song that I associated with Charlotte Holmes, and that’s never gonna change.

22. A book you associate with a food - Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

It’s not a specific food but more of school lunch for me. I just remember that QOAAD had come out and I was carrying that hunk of a book around and it didn’t fit in my backpack so I carried it in my arms. I was reading the book while my friend was eating her lunch beside me. After she finished eating, I had told her that there were pictures in the book and I wanted to be surprise but she wasn’t gonna read it so she flipped through the book and looked at the pictures.

23. A book you got years ago that you probably wouldn’t buy now - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I got this book in Chicago this 2019 year around May only so it’ s not years ago, but I was a different person in May 2019, alright? I honestly wouldn’t get this book now because I’ve learned that I’m not a big history fan.

24. A book you associate with a specific time in your life - Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I was first introduced to this book a long time ago, around the age of 9, I think? My sister had a stack of books from school and I decided to look through it. I read a book called Hushi(?) and I literally, for the life of me, cannot remember who the author was but I really liked that book. Anyways, after reading that, I read bits and pieces of Speak and I vividly remember the day being a bright and sunny day, and reading the attack scene and being so shocked by it. I didn’t really understand it at the time, but every time I read that book or see it, it brings me back to when I was nine.

25. A book you used to like, but don’t anymore - The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

I talked about this book in another post of mine but it reiterate what I said: this book was a favorite of mine in 2018 but then I reread it again and didn't love it as much. It wasn’t a book that fully captured my attention or kept me intrigued.

26. The newest book on your shelf - Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

LAST QUESTION! Call Down the Hawk came out recently and you know I had to buy it. I’m currently reading it right now, and I’m already loving it. I’m so excited for what’s in store for the characters. I am, however, feeling a little bit sad because we won’t get to see the whole Gangsey together again (or for a while). Reading CDTH is also making me realize that those who haven’t read The Raven Cycle aren’t going to know the Ronan and Adam and Gansey and Blue that those who have read TRC know them. I don’t say this to be offensive or “you’re not a true fan because you didn’t read TRC”. No, I’m not trying to say that. It’s just like you meeting someone when you’re both 30 as opposed to 14. People are different people at different ages, and Ronan and Adam are different characters in CDTH than TRC and so some people who haven't read TRC series won’t know that version of them. And also, I mean different as in they’ve grown and certain aspects of them have changed.

13 notes · View notes

little-bookshelf-dragon · 5 years

Text

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

1. Best Book of the Year So Far

Okay, I'm probably going to mention both of these again later in this post, but Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo are my favorite books so far this year.

2. Best Sequel of the Year So Far

...what sequels have I read this year...?

Legendary by Stephanie Garber. I still haven’t read Finale but it’s on my TBR for this season, so. SOON.

(I also want to say Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor, but I’m not sure if this question only applies to the second book in a series? Technically, it’s still a sequel...)

3. A New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

Both Finale by Stephanie Garber and Again, But Better by Christine Riccio. Also, I think Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins is recent enough to count. (Is Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee a new release?)

4. Most Anticipated Release for Rest of Year

This one is actually fairly easy. I can't WAIT for Wayward Son to come out in September. Also the second book in the Girls of Paper and Fire series.

5. Biggest Disappointment

Oh boy. I have three (FOUR, I have four) for this one.

I reread one of my favorite childhood books, Bad Moonlight by RL Stine, back in March for the rereadathon I took part in. ...it was so bad... Let's say it's one of the lowest ratings I've given this year.

New reads that I was disappointed in were The Upside of Unrequited and Leah on the Offbeat. I was looking forward to them so much after reading Simon, but ended up feeling pretty meh about both.

I also just remembered I read Echo, which was a sequel to a book I read and really loved, but Echo was just... it was bad...

6. Biggest Surprise

...There’s a story behind this one. I was browsing through Goodreads’ list of books with asexual characters (because I am ace) and came across The Alpha and His Ace by Ana J. Phoenix. Despite the summary and author bio making me...hesitant... I was curious about how the book was going to work out, and since it was either free or pretty cheap on Kindle, I decided to give it a go. And was actually pleasantly surprised. I’ll share my Goodreads review below:

It's always nice to end up liking a book when you weren't sure you were going to. I ended up loving it. I thought the story was really cute, and as someone who identifies as asexual, I really connected with Aidan. Not to say that there weren't a few problems I had while reading, but none of them were major enough for me to stop reading, and I ended up enjoying it enough to read the sequel as well.

7. New Favorite Author

I finally read some of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s books and I totally get the hype! I loved them!

8. Your Newest Favorite Character

...This is an unfair question. I’m going to go with the entire crew from Red, White, and Royal Blue. And Kady Grant and Hanna Donelly from the Illuminae Files. (This is probably going to come back to bite me but I really liked AIDAN, too...)

9. Your Newest Fictional Crush

I...don't really get fictional crushes? At least, not anymore. I used to, but not for a while.

10. Book that Made You Cry

I think I already answered this question on another tag so I want to use a different answer this time...

Oh! The Poet X had me SOBBING by the end because I related so much to Xiomara and what she was going through. I loved that she got an ending where everything worked out for her.

11. Book That Made You Happy

RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE. I honestly can’t remember the last time a book made me this happy.

12. Most Beautiful Book of the Year So Far

...Are we talking cover or content here...?

I usually try to avoid buying physical copies of books in series, but I went out and bought a copy of Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan just because I loved the cover so much.

13. Some Books You Need to Read Before 2019 Ends

See #3 (and #4) for some specific titles. Add in my current library books, Gemina and Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Other than that, my goal is half (about 7) of the unread books on my shelf, and... let's say a quarter (about 20) of the unread books on my Nook (which actually includes 2/3 of the books mentioned in #3).

...might be a little ambitious there, Moony.

14. Favorite Book to Movie Adaptation

Um. Um?

I don't know if I've actually seen any movie adaptions this year. Unless... Comic books? Does it count if I haven't read them?

...I really loved the Captain Marvel movie.

#booklr #Book tag #mid-year book freakout #june 2019 #2019 posts #bookish posts #moony rambles

1 note · View note

nbiblioholic · 6 years

Link

Down the TBR Hole was originally created by Lost in a Story! The point of it is to help cull your reading lists down, or maybe push higher anticipated releases up on your TBR! And maybe you all can help me along the way, and tell me if you’ve loved or hated any of these! How it works: ➽ Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf. ➽ Order on ascending date added. ➽ Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books ➽ Read the synopses of the books ➽ Decide: keep it or should it go? A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas Avg rating: 4.27/Release: May 5, 2015 I've got this entire series sitting on my bookshelves. It's been sitting there for a while now. I've bought each book as it released and still haven't started it. Why? Because I haven't stopped signing up for ARCs. After all of the hype this series and author has received, I really hope this story lives up to my expectations. To say they're high would be an understatement. Verdict: Keep Images Eternal (The Shoalman Chronicles #1) by Toni Decker Avg rating: 4.28/Release: September 15, 2014 New-to-me author! I actually don't remember adding this to my to-read list. However, after reading the blurb and realizing that many of my GR friends recommended it, I'm interested. I'm a little scared because it's a new adult romance, but with the paranormal flavor, I'm hoping the story won't annoy me. Verdict: Keep #TripleX by Christine Zolendz & Angelisa Stone Avg rating: 4.19/Release: January 17, 2015 Every book I've read from Christine Zolendz has earned five stars from me so I have no doubt that I'll love this story too. I haven't read from her co-author, but I'm not worried. It's romcom and from what I can tell, I'm in for more laughs than I know what to do with. Verdict: Keep

Roman Crazy (Broads Abroad #1) by Alice Clayton & Nina Bocci Avg rating: 3.84/Release: September 13, 2016 Nina Bocci is a new-to-me author but I've loved everything I've read from Alice Clayton. Laugh-out-loud fun! I saw this book available on Book Outlet, but hesitated about buying it because I don't have a strong motivation to read it. Maybe I'll get it and know that when I'm ready I have it there. Verdict: Keep

Step Bride (Barone Crime Family #1) by B.B. Hamel Avg rating: 3.79/Release: February 4, 2016 I'm not sure how this one ended up on my TBR. This author's books constantly pop up in my recommendations. The books are usually only 99 cents or FREE in Kindle Unlimited. I usually get KU for a couple of months a year, so maybe I'll grab this when I subscribe again. Or maybe I won't. I just don't think it needs to stay on my list as a reminder. Verdict: Delete Embracing Silence (Project Alpha #1) by N.J. Walters Avg rating: 3.64/Release: August 21, 2009 New-to-me author! Another book that ended up on my list without reason. However, I've recently found my love for sci-fi stories again, especially in the romance genre, so I look forward to reading this. It looks like a dystopian, forbidden romance which sounds right up my alley. Verdict: Keep Stolen Breaths (Stolen Breaths #1) by Pamela Sparkman Avg rating: 3.71/Release: January 29, 2014 New-to-me author! Again, how did this book end up on my TBR? Ah well, after reading the blurb, it's a true love story that follows the classic romance recipe. Not exactly my cup of tea. Verdict: Delete Overexposed: Volume 1 by Rae Lynn Blaise Avg rating: 3.63/Release: July 26, 2016 New-to-me author! I don't know what was happening in my life during this period of time, but I added a bunch of books I don't remember. At all! I think this one was a referral by one of my good GR friends because I just saw that she was the only one I know who left a review. She says it's smut and that's enough for me. Verdict: Keep The Found (Crow City #2) by Cole McCade Avg rating: 3.98/Release: August 22, 2016 New-to-me author! This book has been recommended to me by quite a few of my GR friends. Looks like a dark romance and everyone knows how much I like those. When I finally get around to it, I'll be sure to start this series from the beginning. Verdict: Keep Covet (Deceptive Desires 0.5) by Amarie Avant Avg rating: 4.15/Release: August 21, 2016 New-to-me author! This book keeps popping up on Amazon as a free read and after getting it highly recommended by a GR reviewer I trust implicitly, I added it. However, I'm not all that interested in it anymore. If it remains free once I'm interested again, I'll read it. Verdict: Delete You (You #1) by Caroline Kepnes Avg rating: 3.85/Release: September 30, 2014 New-to-me author! I think everyone and their mama has read this book. Everyone but me. After seeing that it's made it to the screen, I'm even more interested in diving into this story. A stalker who kills because he's possessive over his obsession? Sounds like my kind of story! Verdict: Keep For Better or Worse (The Wedding Belles #2) by Lauren Layne Avg rating: 4.13/Release: August 30, 2016 After reading the first book of this series and enjoying it, I immediately added the next book so I could continue to see how love played out for the first couple and see how the other characters would find themselves in love. Although this author is pretty hit-or-miss for me, I have faith that this will be a winner. Verdict: Keep The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz Avg rating: 4.10/Release: June 28, 2016 New-to-me author! I know, I know. How is it possible that I haven't read any of her books yet? I figured since this one centers around a revenge plot and I find it hard to resist those, that this would be a good introduction to her work. Verdict: Keep Author Anonymous by E.K. Blair Avg rating: 4.18/Release: August 29, 2016 I immediately added this book when everyone reviewed it and gave it 4 and 5 stars. Seriously, with those results, how could I not want to read it?! It must be amazing, right? It must tick every one of my boxes, right? But then I really took the idea of this story in. A truly contemptible heroine whose a cheater. So basically I need to go in knowing that I'm going to thoroughly hate the witch. All from an author I'm not familiar with AND it's a true story. I'll pass. Verdict: Delete Disruptor by Sonya Clark Avg rating: 3.67/Release: September 19, 2016 New-to-me author! A sci-fi romance about a street girl who's suffers scientific experimentation and becomes a superhero. Do I really need to say more? I don't remember who recommended this book, but I'm hoping in the end that I will be glad they did. Verdict: Keep Wonderfully Wicked (The Dreamcaster Series #1) by C.J. Burright Avg rating: 3.82/Release: May 13, 2014 New-to-me author! This sounds like an interesting fantasy romance. It's about a girl whose nightmares come to life. I've been warned that I'm probably going to be extremely annoyed by the heroine and I hope it's not too bad. Verdict: Keep The Hating Game by Sally Thorne Avg rating: 4.22/Release: August 9, 2016 New-to-me author! I remember really looking forward to this book after some of my friends reviewed an advance copy. I love a great enemies-to-lovers romance and this one seems too cute to pass up. Verdict: Keep Retrieval (The Retrieval Duet #1) by Aly Martinez Avg rating: 4.30/Release: September 13, 2016 I don't think there's been an Aly Martinez book I didn't love. Her stories are emotional, evocative stories that I can re-read over and over again. This one got tons of 5-star ratings by my GR friends and I can't wait to join the masses in fan-girling over this story. Verdict: Keep Just Friends (Friends #1) by Monica Murphy Avg rating: 3.29/Release: September 13, 2016 I've really enjoyed some of the books I've read from this author. She's pretty hit-or-miss with me because while I do enjoy YA romance, I don't always love the way they're portrayed. I can't always relate because I was a bit different from what these stories characterize as normal. Way too much angst. I hope this one doesn't have too much drama and nonsense for me. Verdict: Keep Unsuitable (Unsuitable #1) by Samantha Towle Avg rating: 3.88/Release: October 1, 2016 It's been a hot minute since I've read anything from this author. She's another one who delivers stories that don't always turn out to be winners for me. It's gotten some mixed reviews from my friends but I'm willing to test it out for myself. Fingers crossed that I love it! Verdict: Keep So many new-to-me authors on this list! Have you read from them before? Am I on the right track by keeping/deleting them? Have any of these books made it to your list and were they winners for you? That's it for this edition of keeping it real with my TBR. I hope your TBR remains long and fruitful!! Happy reading!! xoxo

#book challenge #book blog #blogger #down the tbr hole

1 note · View note

curlyhairbibliophile · 4 years

Text

Wow, we are officially half way through 2020 (thank god)! My reading this year hasn’t been too bad because I am officially half way through my Goodreads goal! I’ve read a total of 21 books this year, and I’m hoping to keep this energy up through the rest of the summer and the fall. Today, I’m going to be doing the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag to talk about some of my book-related opinions of the year!

Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2020?

#gallery-0-28 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-28 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-28 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-28 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Is anyone truly surprised by this answer? It took me so long to read Six of Crows, and I am SO GLAD I finally did! Six of Crows was the first fantasy I’ve read in a long while, and I totally fell in love with Leigh Bardugo’s world building abilities and characters. I can’t stop gushing about this one. The second one is everyone’s old favorite: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I actually had not read this book until this year, and it’s really surprising that it took me THIS LONG to read it.

Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2020?

I actually haven’t read any sequels yet this year! I will be reading Crooked Kingdom in the next few weeks, and I have a feeling that that will be the best sequel of the reading year.

New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

#gallery-0-29 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-29 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-29 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-29 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

There are SO many new releases I’m excited to read, but I would say that All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson are the two I am THE most pumped for! I already own You Should See Me In A Crown, so I really have no excuse not to pick it up soon! Sadly, I’m waiting on my audiobook copy of All Boys Aren’t Blue to come in from the library so I hope it comes in soon!

Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2020?

#gallery-0-30 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-30 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-30 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-30 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I decided to break the mold a little for this one and do FOUR books I am pumped for. After reading Daris The Great Is Not Okay earlier this year (which I’ll talk about in a bit), I can’t wait for the next book Darius The Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram! I also can’t wait for Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas because everyone and their mothers have not stopped RAVING about this book! Also, I talked about why I’m hyped about Never Look Back and Every Body Looking in a recent post if you want to check it out!

Biggest Disappointment?

#gallery-0-31 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-31 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-31 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-31 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I picked up an ARC of The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys last year at ALA, and I was so excited for this one because I’ve only loved all of Ruta’s previous books. However, this one fell a little flat for me. It was a slow read until about half way through, and then it picked up a bit. I still rated it three stars because I loved the history behind it, but the characters and plot felt too jumbled for me.

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord was personally my BIGGEST disappointment. I have had this book on my shelf since 2017, and I finally picked it up this year after drawing it from my TBR jar. It was really cringey for me, especially after only reading diverse contemporaries with strong characters. I DNFed about 70 pages into it.

Biggest Surprise?

#gallery-0-32 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-32 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-32 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-32 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I wouldn’t say these two were exactly surprises, but I would say I went into both of these with ‘meh’ expectations only for them to BLOW ME AWAY! Darius The Great Is Not Okay is a quiet contemporary that made me absolutely fall in love with the characters. Adib Khorram definitely became an auto-buy author for me after this.

I read Dear Martin by Nic Stone forever ago, so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect with Jackpot. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Jackpot! It was a lot more fun than I expected it to be, but it was also one of the first books I read with a main character who wasn’t affluent/middle class. It fully reminded me how much I loved Nic Stone and how I need to pick up her other books in the future!

Favorite New Author?

#gallery-0-33 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-33 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-33 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-33 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Well, y’all could probably guess by what I’ve said so far that Leigh Bardugo would be one of the answers for this one! My other answer for this one would have to be Brandy Colbert, author of Little & Lion! I recently finished this one as an audiobook, and I genuinely enjoyed Brandy’s writing style and characterization. I’m super excited to dive in more to her other books (especially The Voting Booth)!

Newest Fictional Crush

This should go without saying, but I’d say my newest fictional crush is Kaz Brekker. There are SO MANY reasons why I’ve fallen in love with him, but I’m sure if you’ve been anywhere in the online book community you already know all about him.

Newest Favorite Character

Much like the one above, this is also Six of Crows related. The ENTIRE Six of Crows crew is what I’m going to count as my new favorite character. Again, you probably know why, but I talk about them more in my Six of Crows post.

Book That Made You Cry?

I haven’t actually cried in a book yet this year! However, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagiharais on my TBR in the future so we’ll see what happens!

Book That Made You Happy?

#gallery-0-34 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-34 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-34 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-34 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I read Yes No Maybe So in late February right before the pandemic hit and I had to leave college, so reflecting on my reading so far I just remember how genuinely happy it made me. I love Becky Albertalli so much, so I was also super happy to finally be reading a new book of hers. I also listened to the audio book of George by Alex Gino recently, and it made me SO HAPPY. It’s a middle grade novel about a trans main character, and it dealt with super important while still being super light-hearted. I fell in love!

Most Beautiful Book You Bought So Far This Year?

#gallery-0-35 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-35 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-35 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-35 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Would it truly be a Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag without talking about Elizabeth Acevedo? I purchased With The Fire On High and Clap When You Land this year, and these are arguably the most beautiful books (both on the inside and the outside). If you have not read Elizabeth Acevedo, you are missing out.

What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year?

#gallery-0-36 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-36 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-36 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-36 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

SO MANY BOOKS! Here are a few of the ones I’m hoping to read by the end of 2020:

Who Do I Tag?

Zoe @ SunnyChapterone

Shelby @ ShelbyCReads

Claire @ Clairefy

Kayla @ BooksAndFirstLooks

Marie @ snarkandsquee

Jackie @ BookishCoffeeBlog

Lelia @ A Page Out of My Book

Victoria @ V.E. Reads

Rc @ Nekuthebooklock

And YOU! If you have not done it yet, I officially tag you!

Welp, those are all the questions! I’ve had a pretty good reading year so far, and I can’t wait to see what new favorites emerge in the next few months! Do we have any books in common? What was your favorite book I’ve listed? If you’ve already done the tag, drop the link! I’d love to read/watch.

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag Wow, we are officially half way through 2020 (thank god)! My reading this year hasn't been too bad because I am officially half way through my Goodreads goal!

0 notes

daniellethamasa · 4 years

Text

Hey all, Dani here.

We’re halfway to the weekend. Woohoo! I guess that means that it’s time for my mid-week wrap up of everything I’ve done and read and watched, as well as a sneak peek at what I’m hoping to get into next.

I guess I’ll start off with talking about video games…or rather not really talking about them, because I haven’t played much. I think I did like 10-15 minutes of Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on my Switch, but I’ve been pretty busy so playing video games has been pushed on the backburner. I do think that I’ll take my Switch with me this weekend, just in case I want to do a little bit of gaming while we’re at the cabin.

Okay, next let’s talk about watches. We finished our re-watch of “Legend of Korra,” and man, that is still such a good show. It is different from “Avatar: the Last Airbender,” yes, but they are both still excellent shows that still hold up all these years later. And then Damian and I finally picked Season 4 of “The Legends of Tomorrow” up again. We had watched like 3 episodes and then set it aside for no real reason, but jumping back into the Legends adventures reminds us of why we enjoy their amazingly ridiculous shenanigans. This is a show that isn’t afraid to make fun of itself, and that’s great. Oh, we also watched “Sonic the Hedgehog” again. That’s like the third time this year or something; I don’t know; we really like the movie, okay? Let’s be honest, we’re probably going to watch “Onward” again at some point very soon. Damian actually bought himself Barley’s shirt and vest from Hot Topic so he can do a Barley cosplay. It’s pretty great.

Now we’re to the book portion of things.

So…I went on a little bit of an e-book buying binge this afternoon. There were a couple of books I wanted by black authors, just in case I wanted to read them this weekend. But then I started browsing and I found a free book to pick up. And then I decided to download the first book in a quintet by R.A. Salvatore set in the Forgotten Realms and following a cleric. Finally I decided to pick up all of the released books in the Soulwood series by Faith Hunter, because I only own the first book, and I’m on the blog tour for the upcoming fifth book’s release at the end of July…so I need to read them so I’m ready for book five.

Oh, and I guess I should mention that A Song Below Water and All American Boys were purchased as part of #BlackoutBestsellerList and #Blackpublishingpower initiative. They encouraged purchasing any two books by Black writers between Sunday June 14-Saturday June 20. With the addition of these two books I think I am now up to 10 books purchased this week. I sincerely hope it helps. I would love to see the bestseller lists filled with all of these amazing authors’ books.

#gallery-0-17 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-17 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-0-17 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-17 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Now, before you get excited about how much I’ve read in the past week, let me point out that 6 of the 9 books are single issue comics that come in at like 24 pages each, so they don’t take much effort to read. I have not gotten to read as much as I would have liked in the past week, but I’m going to make up for that this weekend, so it’ll be fine. Overall though, I guess I still did have a pretty good reading week, which I’m happy with. I did end up increasing my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal, since I’m at like 140 books read, which definitely surpasses my original goal of 125.

Basically I wanted to re-read the first 5 issues of the second series of the Vox Machina Origins comics so I could read the recently released sixth issue. It was well worth the re-read, because the first issue came out in August 2019. Then I flew through a couple of contemporary stories by black authors, both of which I’ll be reviewing soon, and can definitely say that I enjoyed. I actually almost picked up the next book in Jasmine Guillory’s series when I was at Barnes & Noble over the weekend because I want to read more, but I talked myself out of it because I already had a pretty big stack of books. Now I’m kind of regretting that decision. So…do I see if my library has it available? Do I buy the e-book for book two even though I have the paperback of book one? Or do I wait and get the paperback next time I go book shopping?

All right, now there’s the books I’m currently reading. I’ve had my copy of We Set the Dark On Fire for a few months now and was just waiting to be in the right mood to read it. Well, it’s Pride month, and this book is apparently focused on rebellion, which seems pretty appropriate and accurate right now. Hopefully it ends up being as great as its cover.

I’ll be honest: I picked up The Gilded Ones because I thought it still had an early July release, and I wanted to get it read and reviewed before release day…well that’s definitely going to be true. The pub date has been pushed back to Feb 2021. I’ll probably have my review up next month.

I’m at work as I’m writing this, so I don’t exactly remember all of the books I’ve packed up for the cabin getaway this weekend, but I’m pretty sure these books are all in it. Then there’s the fact that I’m thinking about taking some manga volumes with me so I can read some more of those as well. I’m thinking maybe Fairy Tail, maybe Edens Zero, maybe Akame Ga Kill or possibly That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime. We have so many options for me to choose from.

#gallery-0-20 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-20 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 20%; } #gallery-0-20 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-20 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Anyway, most of the books I have packed are continuing with my reading for GLBT Book Month and my reading of books by black authors. But there’s some other books I’ve also had on my TBR for a little while and I’d like to read them too. And then there’s so very many e-books that I’ll have access to as well, since I’m taking my new NOOK Tablet with me to the cabin as well. There are so many books to read, and not nearly as much time as I would like to read them all and then gush about a vast majority of them.

Oh well.

That’s all for today. Let me know what books you’re excited to read soon in the comments below. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Weekly Wrap-Up (69) Hey all, Dani here. We're halfway to the weekend. Woohoo! I guess that means that it's time for my mid-week wrap up of everything I've done and read and watched, as well as a sneak peek at what I'm hoping to get into next.

#Anime #ARC #Blog Tour #Book Releases #Books!#Diverse Reads #GLBT Book Month #Manga #Movies #Reading #Reading Challenge #Video Game

0 notes

booksbakingandblogging · 5 years

Text

Happy New Year, everybody! I often get a little stressed around New Year’s because of all of the “new year, new me” things you see everywhere. This time, though, I decided to just not make a big deal of it at all. There’s one thing I am very excited about and that is starting a new reading year! Last year, I made a list of ten books I wanted to read in 2019, which was a great way for me to read a bunch of books that had been on my shelves for a long time already. I managed to read all of them (along with 45 other books) and it made me feel very accomplished and satisfied, so I’m going to do the same thing for 2020 as well!

At first, I figured I’d make a list of 20 books I want to read in 2020 (because, you know, it sounds cool) but after looking at my list of 20 books, I felt more overwhelmed than excited, so I dialed it back down to ten books. There are many more books I’d still like to read very much, but I’m not putting them on my list. 2020 is the year of not putting unnecessary pressure on myself! The following ten books are ones that I’m challenging myself to have read at the end of the year, and as for the rest of the 40 books I hope to read… We’ll see!

(Clicking on the titles of the books will take you to their Goodreads page)

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I’ve been intrigued by this novel for such a long time but for some reason, it’s never been the book I pick up for my next read. Adding it to this list means I will definitely pick it up, though! I’m excited to finally sink my teeth into it.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer: I absolutely loved The Lunar Chronicles by this author, which is a series of sci-fi retellings of fairy tales. Heartless was the first book Marissa Meyer released (in 2016) after finishing the Lunar Chronicles and I was excited to read it right away, but it has sat unread on my shelves ever since. That’s about to change!

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fellowship of the Ring was on my list of 10 books to read last year and I read that and then later in the year I read The Two Towers as well, so only one more book to go in the trilogy! Truth be told, I’m not loving it, but it is pretty exciting to finally read The Lord of the Rings.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: This book hasn’t been on my TBR for that long. I’ve always known about Isabel Allende as an author, but I never really knew what her books are about. Then, in 2019, I watched all of Jane the Virgin (a TV show) and there’s at least one episode in which Allende is mentioned. It was only then that I learned that she’s pretty much the master of magical realism, which is one of my favourite genres. I found a copy of The House of the Spirits at a second-hand book sale so that felt like fate. I’m very excited to read it this year!

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli: This is one of those books that I was very excited about when I bought it but since then never really felt like picking up. I’m not terribly excited about reading it, but it’s become a matter of pride now. I am reading this in 2020 and hopefully, I will end up actually loving it!

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett: I’ve heard incredibly mixed things about this novel which made me come to the conclusion that the humour in Good Omens either works for you, or it doesn’t. My boyfriend loved it, which makes me hopeful. He also wants me to read it soon so we can finally start watching the TV show that was released in 2019. If I’m being honest, I’m more excited about the show than the book, but I definitely want to have read it beforehand! Plus, it gives me a chance to finally read something by Terry Pratchett.

Normal People by Sally Rooney: Everybody seemed to love this book last year, and I bought a copy to find out if I’d love it, too, but of course I didn’t get around to it yet. That’s it. No particular anecdote – I just really want to read this one.

Het Achterhuis by Anne Frank: International readers will be more familiar with the title The Diary of a Young Girl, but since I’m Dutch, I’m going to read this book in the language that it was written in. I’m quite embarrassed to admit that I’ve never read Anne Frank’s diary. I think I got it out of the library once when I was little, but I didn’t actually read it. High time to change that, I reckon.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden: This is a graphic novel that I bought in 2019 and was determined to read that year. What the cover doesn’t tell you, though, is that this is a really big book. It’s pretty huge, which intimidated me, so I haven’t picked it up yet. It is, however, very gorgeous and I’m looking forward to reading it a lot!

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo: Evaristo made the news in 2019 because her novel won the Man Booker Prize, which made her the first woman of colour to ever win the prize. She also had to share it with Margaret Atwood, though, which was the first time the Booker Prize ever went to two people. This made me (along with a lot of other people) pretty angry and I picked up Girl, Woman, Other the next day. I have to say that I hadn’t heard of it before it won the Booker Prize, but it sounds really interesting and cool, so I’m excited to read it.

Are there any books that you definitely want to get to in 2020? Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments so we can chat about it!

These are the books I definitely want to have read by the end of 2020! Happy New Year, everybody! I often get a little stressed around New Year's because of all of the "new year, new me" things you see everywhere.

#2020 #Books #Lists #Novels #Reading #TBR

0 notes

televinita · 4 years

Text

Books Read In 2020: The Why

In a tradition I accidentally started for myself in 2016 and now quite enjoy, at the end of the year I look back at my reading list and answer the question, why did you read this particular book?

Below, my 100 reads of 2020 are split into groups by target readership age, plus nonfiction at the end, now with a bonus note about how I heard of it. Which I probably won’t continue to do next year, but it was fun to try.

ADULT FICTION

I read each of these books because...

A Glitter of Gold - Liz Johnson. 2019. It had me at "her pirate tour business," but between the shipwreck & the museum-director love interest it was like BLOOD & TREASURE ROMANCE AU LET'S GOOO.

How I heard of it: a book blog

The Last Woman in the Forest - Diane Les Becquets. 2019. Recommended by a dog lover; I'm down for a thriller about a woman who has a dream dog-inclusive job like this.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. 1990. I really enjoyed the miniseries and wanted to see if the book everyone loved so much was as good (for the record: it was not. at least not if you’ve seen the miniseries first; otherwise they are probably equal).

This Is Home - Lisa Duffy. 2019. Attractive cover + I flipped it open to a random page and just liked the writing style.

How I heard of it: library

Dear Mr. Knightley - Katherine Reay. 2013. I'd had this on the back burner for a while because the MC sounded like me, and one day I got sick of not being able to find any fluffy contemporary romances with beta male heroes and decided Matthew Gray Gubler was gonna star in this one. (spoiler alert: it is a good book but that did not work)

How I heard of it: a book blog

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer. 2013. Criminal Minds sent me into a tailspin so I went hunting for books to cast Spencer Reid in again; the Asperger's/case-solving/difficult relationship with mother combo sounded promising. (spoiler alert: the med-student element + his social cluelessness proved too strong and I was only able to picture the kid from The Good Doctor)

How I heard of it: Googling keywords

The Swiss Affair - Emylia Hall. 2013. I got a random hankering for a student/teacher novel, and after scrutinizing the library catalog this was the only one that fit my parameters for gender, lack of adultery, and focus on romance over sex.

How I heard of it: library

Love At First Bark - Debbie Burns. 2019. I was trying to cast Wes/Jules [Dollface] in a romance novel, so I browsed through a Goodreads friend's "dog-romance" shelf and accidentally landed in a Jeid AU [Criminal Minds]. Which may or may not have been a large part of what turned me into a Jeid shipper (outside canon only).

The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid. 1995. One final attempt to cast Reid in a novel -- a user in a Reddit post asking for this very thing suggested this, and "profiler with idiosyncracies" certainly fit.

The Wire in the Blood [and 9 subsequent novels] - Val McDermid, spanning 1997-2019. Turns out aside from being British, Reid paints onto Tony Hill EXCEPTIONALLY well, and I accidentally found myself with a little Jeid AU in the process, so obviously I read the entire series. Good crime-solving fun and all that.

Horse - Talley English. 2018. Random library pull because I connected with the writing style and it appeared to actually focus on horses.

How I heard of it: library

A Sparkle of Silver - Liz Johnson. 2018. I liked the author's other book and this was pretty much a remix of the same story, but now with a cool mansion/estate setting.

How I heard of it: looking up other books by this author

Everyone Is Beautiful - Katherine Center. 2009. Went looking for stories about strong marriages, found this on a Goodreads list of "second chance marriage" books, tripped into something like a season 9 Jim/Pam scenario. How I heard of it: Googling keywords

The Lost Husband - Katherine Center. 2013. Loved the previous book of hers I read, and the "starting life over on a goat farm" angle sounded like an ideal life to try on.

How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Shadow Year - Hannah Richell. 2013. Fixing up an old house?? I am THERE. Doing this in two timelines, one of which involves off-the-grid homesteading, is even better.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Mandrake Root - Janet Diebold. 1946. I needed a non-library book to bring on vacation, and after spinning in circles over what I thought would appeal to my mood in that setting, my brain randomly said "reread this one."

How I heard of it: estate sale

Path of the Jaguar - Vickie Britton & Loretta Jackson. 1989. Bought cheap for cheap thrills: a Yucatan adventure/mystery. Read now so I could get rid of it. How I heard of it: library sale

Burying Water - K.A. Tucker. 2014. The library didn't have The Simple Wild, but they DID have a book w/ an equally pretty cover that talked about a badly beaten young amnesiac (!) recovering on a horse farm (!!). What is: my top romance trope (hurt/comfort, bonus points for animals and rural setting).

How I heard of it: library

Happiness for Beginners - Katherine Center. Established quality author + summertime hiking inspiration.

How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Visitors - Simon Sylvester. Cool cover + setting, and a teenage protagonist usually makes adult fiction more accessible. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Becoming Rain - K.A. Tucker. 2014. I was in this companion novel solely for mentions of Alex and any people by the last name of Wells, but figured I might as well read all of it to ensure I didn't miss any. How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Guest List - Lucy Foley. 2020. Honestly, it just sounded like a cool thriller (and cool setting). How I heard of it: a book blog

You Deserve Nothing - Alexander Maksik. 2011. Fell down a Will/Rachel [Glee] rabbit hole and ravaged the student/teacher keyword in my library catalog again to scratch the itch.

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson. 1959. Mom's been trying to get me to read this for years, and this time when it came up in conversation it was the right time of year, so I randomly decided to give it a shot. How I heard of it: Mom

The Walker in Shadows - Barbara Michaels. 1979. Gothic ghost story + beautiful architectural details in a historic house = yeah!

How I heard of it: Goodwill

YOUNG ADULT

People Like Us - Dane Mele. 2018. Needed an audiobook; a girls' boarding school murder mystery seemed most likely to hold my attention of the limited options. How I heard of it: Library

The Possibility of Now - Kim Culbertson. 2016. I will read anything by this author, and girl having a meltdown over a test = me. How I heard of it: looking up other books by this author

Rob&Sara.com - P.J. Petersen & Ivy Ruckman. 2004. Mostly I wanted to go back to my high school days and enjoy the format of a novel written in emails, but also, I like Ruckman. How I heard of it: used book sale

For Real - Alison Cherry. 2014. Fictional Amazing Race!! + awesome summery cover + sisters How I heard of it: library sale

The Summer After You + Me - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski. 2015. The awesome summery cover, mostly. How I heard of it: a book blog

You'd Be Mine - Erin Hahn. 2019. Gorgeous cover + the chance to vicariously follow a budding young country music star on tour for the summer.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Juniors - Kaui Hart Hemmings. 2015. The neat setting(s): a live-in guest on a wealthy estate in Hawaii. How I heard of it: Dollar store

Lion Boy's White Brother - Alden G. Stevens. 1951. Bought cheap because vintage juvenile book in a unique setting. Read now to see if I could get rid of it (NOPE).

How I heard of it: used bookstore

The O.C.: Spring Break - Aury Wallington. 2005. I keep meaning to finish this short series, and it was an easy title to count for my Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Echo Island - Edward Karlow. 2017. Bought cheap because of the beautiful summery cover; easy read for Mount TBR so I could get rid of it. How I heard of it: library sale

Confessions of a High School Disaster - Emma Chastain. 2017. Read because of THE SUPER CUTE SUMMERY COVER (and diary format).

How I heard of it: Dollar store

Kentucky Daughter - Carol J. Scott. 1985. Working my way down the “Inappropriate Student/Teacher Relationships in YA" list because I'm in that kind of mood this year; chose this because 80s books tend to deliver the subject best*, the character reminded me of the girl in Send No Blessings, and Open Library had it. *this one was just blatant sexual harassment, though, and belonged very literally on that list

How I heard of it: Goodreads

What They Always Tell Us - Martin Wilson. 2008. I sorted the library catalog to see the oldest contemporary YA novels they still have before they get weeded, and "loner being taken under the wing of his older brother's (male) friend and falling in love with him" hit a couple of good tropes. How I heard of it: library

Bobby's Watching - Ted Pickford. 1993. Browsing around on OpenLibrary and saw they FINALLY had a copy of this book that scared me too much to finish as a kid, and which I've wanted to revisit ever since I remembered what it's called (Interlibrary Loan doesn't have it and it's Not Cheap to buy).

How I heard of it: library

Powwow Summer - Nahanni Shingoose. 2019. Always interested in modern-day Indigenous girls connecting w/ their heritage, especially if they're from my home state's tribe.

How I heard of it: a book blog

The Princesses of Iowa - M. Molly Backes. 2012. Appealing cover + heft suggesting a solid Midwestern contemporary, plus I liked the student teacher element (without a slash this time, as in "college student who is almost a teacher")

How I heard of it: library

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares. 2001. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares. 2003.

Long-intended reread of a college fave because I wanted see Mike Vogel in the movie, and it was summer so the stars aligned. Continued because the first book was as good as I remembered. (I would have kept going but Life distracted me for a bit and by the time I was back on track, it was no longer summer) How I heard of it: I...can't remember. Am the worst!

The Distance From Me To You - Marina Gessner a.k.a. Nina de Gramont. 2015. Hiking inspiration + an appealing-sounding romance. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Where Have All the Tigers Gone? - Lynn Hall. 1989. Will read any of her books, but specifically read this one because it seemed fairly autobiographical, and I read it NOW because it seemed durable enough to take on vacation. How I heard of it: looking up books by this author

And Both Were Young - Madeline L'Engle. 1949 (text of 1983 edition w/ material from original manuscript added back). Something reminded me of its existence and I requested it because it was the only non-animal-focused vintage teen novel I could physically get my hands on before Interlibrary Loan opened back up, and I had a craving for just that.

How I heard of it: library

The Other Side of Lost - Jessi Kirby. 2018. Established quality author + throw me ALL the thru-hike novels!

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Vow - Jessica Martinez. 2013. Perfect scenario to run an Abed/Annie [Community] AU!

How I heard of it: I want to say...an article on a book website (not personal blog this time) back in 2013.

Moon and Me - Hadley Irwin. 1981. Was just in the mood to read an 80s teen novel and this one helped me knock off a title for the Mount TBR challenge. From an author I like, w/ bonus horse content.

How I heard of it: used book sale.

Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls - Lynn Weingarten. 2015. I bought a blind bag at the library sale and this was one of the only contemporary YA novels in it; figured I might as well read it since I'd liked a previous book of hers.

How I heard of it: Library

History Is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera. 2016.

With the Glee rabbit hole came a Klaine spiral; this was my season 4 Tragic AU dream for them and I've been saving it for a Klainey day ever since it was published. (No I am not sorry for that horrid pun.)

How I heard of it: googling keywords

The Museum of Heartbreak - Meg Leder. 2016. The cool cover/concept of a "museum" of items reeled me in; I bought a copy a while ago 'cause the library didn't have it. Read now to see if I could get rid of it (NOPE).

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Me & Mr. J - Rachel McIntyre. 2015. Student/teacher novel that looked especially appealingly tame so I'd been saving it, but then Open Library notified me it was now only available in 1-hour increments, and I got paranoid it would disappear altogether (it's not cheap to buy or available via ILL), so I wanted it in my brain.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Dear Evan Hansen - Val Emmich w/ Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. 2018. Fell in love with the DEH soundtrack. Play's summary sounded good -- getting to experience it in YA novel form?? Amazing.

How I heard of it: Wikipedia

Saddle a Thunderbolt - Jo Sykes. 1967

Bought a while ago because vintage horse story. Read now specifically to alleviate my pre-homesickness about moving by imagining living in an even more beautiful place than home.

How I heard of it: either a used book sale or a used bookstore...

Learning to Breathe - Janice Lynn Mather. 2018. This was mentioned on a lost-book forum and "girl with unplanned pregnancy supports herself by getting a job cleaning" piqued my interest; the setting (Bahamas) and cover made it better.

How I heard of it: Reddit

Everglades Adventure - James Ralph Johnson. 1970. Standard vintage boys' adventure-in-nature story; I like those.

How I heard of it: Goodwill

CHILDREN’S/MIDDLE GRADE

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott. 1868. Seeing the new movie and falling head over heels was what it took to FINALLY convince me to reread this childhood fave.

How I heard of it: can't remember; I was a kid

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1905. I was perusing a lot of books about classic children's books and it started to bug me that I had skipped this appealing-sounding one as a kid.

How I heard of it: can't remember; I was a kid

Little Men - Louisa May Alcott. 1871. LW sparked a fandom revival and I wanted more detail about the Marches' adult lives (esp. Jo & Bhaer), even on the fringes.

How I heard of it: library

Lady and the Tramp - Ward Greene. I saw a quote from the new movie under a gifset on Tumblr that sounded like it came from a book, and upon Googling out that one existed, I obviously could not allow the book version of a beloved childhood animal-movie fave to go unread. Especially after finding out it was super rare so reading it would be a privilege.

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1910. Read for the same reason as A Little Princess. Can’t have one without the other, you know.

How I heard of it: was a kid; can't remember

The Mother-Daughter Book Club - Heather Vogel Fredericks. 2007. Much Ado About Anne - Heather Vogel Fredericks. 2008.

Always thought the series looked cute/reminded me of The Teashop Girls, but the fact that the first book they read is Little Women gave me the impetus to finally read this one. First book was darling so I continued to the next (but failed to continue beyond because COVID shut the library down until I was out of the mood).

How I heard of it: library

Nature Girl - Jane Kelley. 2010. I wanted walking inspiration.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

From You to Me - K.A. Holt. 2018. Mistook it for a similar-looking book I'd seen at the same time (See You On A Starry Night), but figured I'd give the 8th grade bucket list idea a shot once I had it. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Semiprecious - D. Anne Love. 2006. Cute cover + I'm starting to be a big fan of what I call "contemporary historical," for stories set mid-20th century.

How I heard of it: library

Dandy's Mountain - Thomas Fall. 1967. Vintage horse-inclusive children's book in a rural setting, I'm sold. Not to mention, love reading a summer setting in summer.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Littler Women: A Modern Retelling - Laura Schaefer. 2017. The only way to make the Little Women MORE magical is to make them younger, modern, and written by a proven quality author.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Behind The Attic Wall - Sylvia Cassedy. 315 pg/1983.

A Goodreads friend strongly recommended it as similar to but better than Mandy, and reading about it in 100 Best Books For Children sealed the deal. Read now for the Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Jigsaw Jungle - Kristin Levine. 2018. I am a COMPLETE sucker for books told in non-traditional/scrapbook-esque format.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Runt - Marion Dane Bauer. 2002. Wolf story by a quality author. Read now after owning it for a decade to see if I could get rid of it.

How I heard of it: used book sale

The King of the Cats - Rene Guillot. 1959. Bought cheap for a quick read because vintage animal story. Read now so I could get rid of it.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Just The Beginning - Betty Miles. 1976. Found cheap; always down to read a vintage book about an average girl (and I wanted to know how she'd cope with her mom being "a cleaning lady in a town full of classmates who HAVE cleaning ladies").

How I heard of it: used book sale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling. 1997. Been meaning to reread the series for a while now; finally got motivation to check out the illustrated edition 'cause Christmastime.

How I heard of it: originally Mom; a book blog for this edition

Echo Mountain - Lauren Wolk. 2020. Almost entirely because of the incredible clipart cover, promising me nature and a dog (and because I could get it as an e-audiobook from the library).

How I heard of it: a book blog

Knock Three Times - Cressida Cowell. 2019. I needed another audiobook for bedtime/walks and I know that David Tennant will provide.

How I heard of it: more by this author (more accurately, narrator)

NONFICTION

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming A Life Through The Pages Of A Lost Journal - Lily Koppel. 2008. I'm kind of obsessed with the concept of historical 5-year diaries -- and finding one like this is The Dream.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life - Anne Bogel. 2018. Attractive and compact book about the pleasures of being a reader? A headspace I want to be in.

How I heard of it: library

100 Best Books for Children - Anita Silvey. 2004. I'm big on looking at lists of books for children this year. These are the kind of books I know, love, and want to hear people talk about, now that I know books about these books exist.

How I heard of it: library

The Coming of Saska - Doreen Tovey Originally bought because it was cheap and featured animals, I needed a non-library book to bring on vacation, and this one is a durable ex-library copy in plastic wrap that featured a similar setting to where I was going, so: thematic.

Cats in the Belfry - Doreen Tovey. 1957. Wanted more of her books, and lo and behold the library had the first one.

How I heard of it: more by this author

Sorry Not Sorry - Naya Rivera. 2016. I'll read anything the Glee kids write, and this doubled as an easy number for the Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: entertainment news websites

Living Large in Our Little House - Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell. 2016. I love tiny houses. And this one specifically mentioned living with dogs. And had color photographs.

How I heard of it: used bookstore

I'm Your Biggest Fan: Awkward Encounters and Assorted Misadventures in Celebrity Journalism. - Kate Coyne. 2016. Found cheap at a library sale -- loved the chapter headings and the fact that they were all about celebrities I knew.

Adrift - Tami Oldham Ashcraft w/ Suesea McGearheart. 1998/2018 edition. The movie was so awesome that I couldn't wait for more details about the real story in her own words.

I'll Be Gone In The Dark [NF] - Michelle McNamara. 2018. Been reading a lot of true crime write-ups on Reddit lately; decided it was time to pick up this well-received one.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Dear Evan Hansen: Waving Through A Window - Steven Levenson. 2017. Much like The Grimmerie for Wicked, once I fell in love with the DEH soundtrack and looked up the plot summary, I wanted to read the musical's detailed background/behind the scenes story + libretto before I watched it.

How I heard of it: Wikipedia

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune - Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell. 2013. Love me a story about a mansion (or three). Or the reclusive and insanely wealth heiress who owns them, that works too.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

JUVENILE NONFICTION Mascots: Military Mascots from Ancient Egypt to Modern Korea - Fairfax Downey. 1954. Animal book from an author I like; read now to see if I could get rid of it (yes).

How I heard of it: secondhand bookstore

Come on, Seabiscuit - Ralph Moody. 1963. Bought because vintage kids' horse book; read now to see if I could get rid of it (and to count it towards my Mount TBR challenge 'cause it was short).

How I heard of it: secondhand bookstore

#why i read

4 notes · View notes

lostinastory · 7 years

Text

I’ve been wanting to make this post for weeks now but I got kind of anxious about it. Idk why. But I finally figured out which books I’ll be bringing on vacation and I’m going to talk about them!

In the past couple of months, I’ve read quite a few ARCs and I have bought a lot of books I wanted to read, but never got to actually read those. A lot of those backlist books I’ll be bringing with me, and I’m trying to read all my ARCs before I leave so I can write and schedule all the reviews.

In a couple of weeks, I will be away on vacation, and I do not know to what extent I will have access to internet so sorry in advance if I reply late to your email/comment/message. I will most likely not catch up with all your wonderful blogs, because that is just not doable (and it’s a vacation so it’s time to just relax and read). I will try to reply to all of the messages at least when I get home.

What I will do on vacation is hopefully read a lot of books! I’ll be going to Vienna and Budapest (and the rest of Hungary) with my parents and without the rest of my siblings, so that’s weird for me. But the pup is going so I won’t be lonely 😛

Be prepared for a long post!

What I’ll read before I leave

The Butterfly on Fire is a review request that has been waiting for me forever and it’s making me feel guilty that I haven’t read it yet.

I’m rereading Cinder with the YA Book Bloggers group on goodreads and I just started and I love this series so much!

Haven’t you heard me squeal about Girls Made of Snow and Glass yet?? I requested from the publisher AND THEY ACTUALLY SENT IT TO ME!! That’s huge because a) it’s my first physical ARC (except for one I won in a giveaway) and b) I’m an international blogger and most publishers don’t send out ARCs easily to internationals. But anyway, this book is a feministic retelling of Snow White and it has magic and it’s dark and I love it already!

What I’ll be bringing on my vacation

Contemporaries

Most of these books are ebooks and I don’t know why but I have the tendency to get ebooks of contemporaries and physical copies of fantasy and sci-fi books. Am I weird?

The Unexpected Everything has been high on my tbr since I read and loved Since You’ve Been Gone. I think that was the perfect summer read so my expectations of The Unexpected Everything are high!

Isla and the Happily Ever After I want to read so I can finish the trilogy. I liked the other two books a lot and they were really quick and fun reads for me so I’ll probably feel the same way about this one.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life has been recommended to me many times and I really enjoyed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe so I can’t wait to get into it!

Queens of Geek sounds so lovely, it’s diverse and sounds like a lot of fun. Plus, I’m a geek so I’ll probably enjoy this!

Let’s Get Lost has been on my shelves for a while but I’ve been saving it for my vacation because it’s a road trip book!

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

I have been anticipating reading all of these books for so long and I can’t believe I haven’t read them yet.

Today I went out and got the rest of the Darker Shades of Magic trilogy and now they’re all up on my shelf bugging me to read them and I can’t wait!

Crooked Kingdom, I LOVED Six of Crows and again, I can’t wait.

I had been anticipating Heartless from even before it came out and I’ve had it on my shelves for the longest time but I just haven’t picked it up yet… But what if I’m one of those people that love all Marissa Meyer’s other books and hates this one??? I don’t want to be part of that club!

A Million Worlds With You is the third book in the Firebird trilogy and it has become kind of a tradition to read those books on my vacation. The first one I read two years ago on vacation, the second last year, so now it’s time to the third!

I have heard so many good things about This Savage Song and I am finally going to read Schwab’s books and I think I will love them! (I hope)

Illuminae is one of the prettiest books I’ve ever seen and I’m 90% sure I’ll love it and pick up Gemina as soon as I get back home to continue the series.

The Bone Season I got for a large discount (because the cover was a little misprinted) and I heard great things about it, I don’t know what it’s about but I’d like to keep it that way!

This list is really long, but I do usually read a lot of books on my vacation. Usually, I bring about 10 books for a 3,5-week vacation and end up reading some of my little sister’s as well. It’s crazy. But without internet, I’m not distracted and I spend most of my mornings and evenings solely reading. It’s lovely.

I don’t know what I’m going to read when I return from my vacation but I’ll figure that out when I return in the second half of August!

How many books do you bring on your vacation? Any of these in your bag as well?

My Summer (Reading) Plans (aka my Summer TBR) I've been wanting to make this post for weeks now but I got kind of anxious about it.

#summer tbr #summer vacation #tbr

0 notes

cover2covermom · 7 years

Text

Happy Sunday bookworms!

As some of you may remember, I have been considering redesigning my blog for a while now. I am happy to report that I made a lot of progress with this over the weekend. My biggest hurdle was creating a blog header. After many long hours, I finally designed a new header that I absolutely love. And guess what? I am revealing it to you all today in my wrap-up…

Go on, you know you are dying to see what I’ve come up with…

*Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly post where I feature what posts were published on the blog for the past week, any bookish/blog happenings, what I recently finished reading, what I am currently reading, what I will be reading next, noteworthy posts around the bookish blogosphere, and any interesting bookish articles I came across.

This week on the blog:

Monday 4/3

April 2017 TBR

Wednesday 4/5

Top 5 Wednesday: Science Fiction Books On My TBR

Friday 4/7

Book Review: The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

Bookish/Blog happenings:

» I won a portion of The Bone Witch Blog Tour Giveaway hosted by Pink Polka Dot Books. I found out about this giveaway after reading a review on The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange, which you can read here →The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco (The Bone Witch #1). Now I didn’t win the grand prize which was an autographed copy of The Bone Witch :( BUT I did win a bottle cap necklace and a crochet Tea doll…. so this is totally a good excuse to go buy the book now right? ((right!))

» Yesterday I attended the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus, Ohio. I attended 4 wonderful panels and bought 6 books. ((I tried contain myself at this book festival because I have the SOKY Book Festival coming up in 2 weeks)) More details to come later this week :)

» I am currently working on redesigning my blog, and made a ton of progress this weekend. I finally created a new blog header that I absolutely love! Seriously guys, it is freaking awesome if I do say so myself. Without further adieu, I give you Cover2CoverMom’s new blog header:

What do you think?!?!? ((Please don’t crush my dreams because I worked for a LONG time on this and I love it lol))

I also decided on a new theme, a new section divider image, and new section title graphics. Huge thanks to Megan @bookslayer Reads for pointing me in the right direction with this. She was the one who suggested freepik.com to me, which is where I got most of my new graphics and the images I used to create my new blog header.

*I tried to switch my blog over to the new design last night, but every time I go into the customizer, WordPress crashes… Has anyone else had this problem? This has been an ongoing issue. I had created a “test blog” to figure out my new design (big thanks to Fadwa @WordWonders for that idea), and the customizer works fine for the test blog, but it will not work for my Cover2CoverMom blog…

What have I been reading?

*Book titles link to Goodreads

Recently finished reading:

» Every Single Second by Tricia Springstubb

*Part of my Ohioana Book Fest TBR

I’m really conflicted over this one. On one hand, there were many great aspects about this middle grade book, but on the other I think the author may have been a little too ambitious with all the “heavy topics” that she included in one book. This book includes topics like *highlight to see text ⇒ PTSD, drunk driving, a white man shooting a black man, racism, autism, the media frenzy, etc. etc ⇐ ((What I’ve hidden isn’t necessarily a spoiler, but I did want to hide it from those who like to go into a book not knowing much about the plot)) With all these “heavy topics” plus the alternating timeline, this book felt very busy to me. The author’s writing style was a little hard to get used to at first, but it did get easier over the course of the book. Most of all, I struggled with how the author handled the race relations within the book. It isn’t necessarily problematic, but I don’t necessarily think it was handled correctly either. In my opinion, it was very risky attempting a book that has this particular scenario *highlight to see spoiler ⇒ a white security guard shooting and killing an unarmed black man. The author gives both sides of the story, to show that it isn’t always so cut and dry. While I understand what the author was trying to do here, it rubbed me the wrong way. I can’t exactly explain it. Even though this was a race relations issue, racism was never fully addressed or acknowledged in the book? ⇐ I think if the author had left out the race relations, and focused on the other topics, then I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Don’t get me wrong, this book had some good things going for it: themes like friendship, family, and community. I also really liked the portrayal of growing up in a catholic school, as it brought me lots of nostalgia.

» The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

*Part of my Ohioana Book Fest TBR

I really adored this book. At the core, The Seventh Most Important Thing is about not judging others, but it is also a story of loss, grief, guilt, and friendship. I had no idea this book is based off of true events, though I won’t share which parts because it is better going in not knowing until the end like I did. *Highlight to see spoiler ⇒ This novel gives a fictionalized back story to the famous piece of art, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly by James Hampton. I had never heard about this piece of art before, but I really enjoyed how the author spun this tale around it. ⇐ I think this would be a wonderful book to use in a classroom setting. My only issue with this book would be the fact that it was set in the 1960’s, but I didn’t feel like I was in the 60’s while reading it. There were a few references of the past: a record player, pay phones, going to the library to use the encyclopedia, but when I read “historical fiction” I want to feel like I’m in that time. I wish the author would have spend a little more time “setting the scene.” Other than that, this was a very unique and delightful read.

Currently reading:

» The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett

*SOKY Book Fest TBR

I am about 65% through this audiobook and am enjoying it thus far. This is actually one of Ann Patchett’s lower rated books too. I think many people read the title and probably made assumptions about what the book is going to be, but then it doesn’t end up that way. The Magician’s Assistant is more about loss, grieving, and family secrets, and less about getting on stage and assisting a magician…

» Fates and Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth by Jennifer Chiaverini

*Part of my Ohioana Book Fest TBR

I am about 50% through Fates and Traitors and am really enjoying how the author chose to tell Booth’s story through the women in his life. This is definitely a different angle then I’ve ever read about John Wilkes Booth.

On deck:

For the next two weeks, I will continue on with my SOKY Book Fest TBR.

»The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron

» Pillage by Obert Sky

Around the bookish blogosphere:

» Cait @Paper Fury talks about #FangirlProblems →10 #FangirlProblems That Will Give You The Crisis You Always Knew You Needed

» Fadwa @Word Wonders asks where is the positive female friendships in YA? →Where are the Positive Female Friendships in YA?

» Gretchen @ChicNerdReads announces that her book love, and you is now available! →love, and you out now!

» Naz @Read Diverse Books posts the 2nd quarter link up for #ReadDiverse2017 → Read Diverse 2017 – 2nd Quarter

» Marie @Drizzle & Hurricane Books talks about blogging expectations vs. reality →On book blogging expectations vs. reality

» Amy @NovelGossip shares part 2 of her blogger guilt discussion →Blogger Guilt Part 2

» Millie @Milliebot Reads talks about managing your personal library→ Managing Your Hoard – Er – Library

» Jen @Reader in a Reverie shows what a star rating system would look like in FRIENDS gifs →Rating Books with F.R.I.E.N.D.S Gifs

» Megan @bookslayer Reads asks if it is ok to review a book you DNF? → DNF Reviews // Is it ok to review a book you didn’t finish?

» Danielle @Books, Vertigo & Tea shares another Pairing Teas & Reads feature →Pairing Teas & Reads

» Drew @The Tattooed Book Geek asks what makes a good book? → What Makes A Good Book???

Interesting bookish articles:

» Colorful Poetry: 22 Diverse Poetry Picture Books for Kids

» How to Make Reading Fun: 25 Ideas Kids Will Love

*Love these ideas!

» The Best Children’s and YA Books of April 2017

» Books Like Percy Jackson: 11 Super Series to Read Next

What are you currently reading?

What will you read next?

Have a wonderful week, and happy reading

See which #books I've been #reading AND I reveal my new #blog header... #BookBlogger Happy Sunday bookworms! As some of you may remember, I have been considering redesigning my blog for a while now.

#Am Reading #Bibliophile #book blog #book blogger #Book Blogging #Book Chat #Book Dragon #Book Nerd #Book Talk #Book Worm #Bookish #Books #Bookworm #Currently Reading #Reading #TBR #Wrap Up

0 notes

rathertoofondofbooks · 8 years

Text

This week has been a quiet one for the most part so I’ve been able to do lots of reading. I’m also in the middle of sorting through my books and trying to get rid of some. I wanted to reduce my TBR this year but I’m still acquiring books faster than I’m reading them! In the process of sorting out the books on my new Kindle last week I realised that I have a lot of unread books that I’ve owned for ages and I just don’t think I’m ever going to read them so I’ve been deleting some books. The flip side of this is that I also found some kindle books that I hadn’t listed on Goodreads (and therefore weren’t included in my TBR count at the start of the year) so this means my total TBR is going to be up and down for a little while as I both delete and add books. Sorting through my Kindle books led to me looking over my bookcases and picking out some books that I also don’t think are to my taste anymore. Hopefully this will get my TBR down to the books I really want to read, and also help to reduce it somewhat!

This week I’ve finished reading six books:

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

I’ve been struggling to get into this novel for a week or two but I finally made time to sit and read it in one sitting and I enjoyed it much more when I did that. It’s a very gentle novel, that has moments in it that took my breath away. There is one moment in particular point where the loss of parents is mentioned and it was such a small sentence but it turned the novel around for me and made me notice all the pain and beauty beneath the surface.

It’s All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliot

This is a review book so I will be reviewing it soon (hopefully) but I’ll say here that it’s a really simple book about mental health issues but some of the illustrations and points made are so powerful for being so simple. It’s a book I recommend.

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

This book is stunning! I read it in two sittings and I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m so happy that I won a proof of this in a giveaway and that I got a chance to read it now. It’s definitely one to add to your lists to buy once it’s published.

The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

This is another brilliant read that I read in just a day or two. I was enthralled in Sarah Gale’s story and couldn’t put the book down for wanting to know the truth of what happened. I didn’t realise when I was reading it that a lot of it was based on a true story so it really made me pause once I knew that.

The Good Immigrant ed. by Nikesh Shukla

I have mixed feelings about this book. I’m glad I read it and some of the essays are brilliant and really made me think about things. Unfortunately, there were a couple of essays that I found offensive due to what my own family have been through and I just couldn’t get passed how that made me feel. I would still recommend the book though because it does give an insight into what it is to be an immigrant in Britain.

Black Wood by SJI Holliday

I’ve had this book on my TBR since it was published and when I saw that the third book in the trilogy was now out I decided to pick this first one up. I read it in one sitting and really enjoyed it. I’m going to read the second book this week and I can’t wait!

This week I’ve blogged three times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up where I share all of my bookish, blogging and real life news from the last week

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday where I share what I’m currently reading, what I’ve recently read and what I plan to read next

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves where I share my accumalated book haul from the last seven days

This is what I’m currently reading:

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

I’ve had this book on my TBR since it was published and I have tried picking it up before but my mind wasn’t in the right place to read it. I’m reading a lot of non-fiction at the moment so decided to give this another go and I’m so glad I did. It’s such a tough subject to read about but Seierstad has clearly done a lot of research and it’s very well written.

The Escape by C.L. Taylor

I was offered a copy of this from the publisher but it never arrived so I requested, and was approved, on NetGalley. I am finding this a fast-paced, intriguing book and I’m very much enjoying it.

Forever Yours by Daniel Glattauer

I absolutely adored this author’s previous two books so was keen to read this one. It’s been on my TBR for ages so as I’m trying to read through my TBR this year I picked this one up. It’s not grabbing me in the way I hoped it would but it’s interesting and I am keen to see where the plot goes.

Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins

This is my husband’s latest audio book pick and I wasn’t that interested in listening to it but once it was playing I found myself laughing at some of the stories Phil Collins was telling and before I knew it we’d been listening for over two hours! We’re going to listen to the rest of it together so I’m looking forward to that.

#gallery-0-20 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-20 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-20 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-20 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Everything but the Truth by Gillian McAllister

I’m really enjoying this novel – it’s got an intriguing premise and I can’t wait to find out what, if any, secret Jack is keeping from his girlfriend!

Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolas Obregon

This is a slow-paced but beautifully written crime novel and I’m really enjoying it. I’m keen to find out what happened to the main character in the past.

H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald

This is such a lovely book to listen to on audio and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve not had much time to listen to audio books this week but as soon as I have time I will be putting this on.

And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany

I’ve read a couple more chapters of this since last week and am still finding it to be such an interesting and, at times, eye-opening read.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

I’m absolutely adoring the writing in this book and the only reason that I haven’t read it quicker is that it’s a hardback so I can only read when I can physically manage to hold it. I hope to be able to read more this week though.

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1912

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 13 (See the books I added this week in my Stacking the Shelves post)

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 6

Books I’m currently reading: 9

TBR Books culled this week: 55

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1862

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (26 Feb) This week has been a quiet one for the most part so I've been able to do lots of reading.

#Adrian Tempany #Anna Mazzola #Asne Seierstad #Books #C. L. Taylor #Daniel Glattauer #ebooks #Gillian McAllister #Helen Macdonald #Hiromi Kawakami #Nicolas Obregon #Nikesh Shukla #Phil Collins #Ruby Elliot #Sarah Schmidt #Sebastian Barry #SJI Holliday #Weekly Wrap Up

0 notes

daniellethamasa · 7 years

Text

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to November. Now, normally on the first day of the month I post my monthly wrap up and TBR post, but I’m trying to stick to certain schedules with serial posts. That means that I have my TBR purge today, and my book recommendation post tomorrow. My October Wrap Up and November TBR post will be up on Friday.

Oh, and I have an announcement in regards to these TBR posts. I was doing the calculations and trying to find a way to get all of the posts up by the end of the year. So, starting now and going until the end of 2017, I will have purge posts up on Saturday and Sunday.

And final announcement: I have all of my books out of boxes now, but I still need to organize some of them. My mass market paperbacks and all of my hardcovers are in order, but I need to go through all of the trade paperbacks. I will work on organizing them bit by bit over the course of November, and I think I’ll actually be able to post a library tour post in December, as well as finally getting around to the Book Scavenger Hunt tag.

Anyway, I think it’s time to jump into today’s TBR purge post.

Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine. I keep debating about if I want to read this one or not. For now I say pass.

The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa. I know, I’m a bad reader for not getting around to finishing this book, but it is the final Iron Fey book, and I just haven’t been ready to let the series go yet. I will read this. I promise.

Words Once Spoken by Carly Drake. Interesting concept and I own it in e-book, so pass for now, but I may re-evaluate later.

Chaos Bound by Rebekah Turner. The first book was all right, but it’s been some time since then and I’m not sure I want to reread it so I can pick up this one. Goodbye.

Grim Shadows by Jenn Bennett. I loved the first book in the trilogy and hope to get around to reading both this one and the third one soon.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while, but had heard that it was going to be a seven book series and that there might be a wait between books. So I made the decision to wait a little while before reading them, but I’m thinking I’ll pick up a copy soon enough.

Darkwalker by E.L. Tettensor. Hmm…own in e-book, and may still pick up at some point, but I’m really more into reading physical books right now. So long for now.

Independent Study and Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau. I enjoyed The Testing and imagine that someday I will pick these up (especially since I own them in e-book), but for now it’s a pass.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. I NEED to read this one soon. It sounds so intriguing.

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan. This is one I will get to eventually as I plan to restart the series from the beginning and read them all, but for now I can take it off the list.

The Omen Machine, The Third Kingdom, and The First Confessor by Terry Goodkind. The Sword of Truth series/Richard and Kahlan novels are ones I intend to read fully at some point, but as with most epic fantasy series, I know it will take time. I also know that seeing these books on my shelves all the time means I don’t need to see them on my Goodreads TBR.

Forged by Desire and Of Silk and Steam by Bec McMaster. Just yes, I need to read these.

Chaos by Sarah Fine. The first book was rather intriguing, and the second book was okay. Really, I should try and finish the trilogy, but I don’t know that I remember enough to make it a good reading experience. Goodbye for now.

Endless Knight by Kresley Cole. I’m just not feeling interested in this one right now.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin. Still might pick this up at some point, but for now it’s farewell.

Untitled (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas. Obviously I’m going to keep the final book in the series on my list.

Redshirts by John Scalzi. I’ve heard great things about this book, and I’d like to read more Scalzi.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I have heard great things about this author, and I believe I have this one on my bookshelves, but at the moment I’m not in the mood for it. Pass.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan. The concept of this series still sounds interesting to me. Keep.

A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede. When I was younger I really enjoyed Wrede’s books. That’s why I bought this in e-book. But I haven’t really thought about it in a couple years. Pass.

Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells. I loved the first book in this series. Keep.

Skin Game by Jim Butcher. I really just need to binge read the Dresden Files. Keep.

Entreat Me by Grace Draven. I have this in e-book and may pick it up if I’m in the mood in the future. For now, goodbye.

Archer’s Sin by Amy Raby. I read all the traditionally published books in this world/series, but haven’t read the self-published ones. Maybe someday, but for now it’s a no.

Red at Night by Katie McGarry. Actually I think I may have actually read this one. Either way, I’m taking it off my list.

Longbourn by Jo Baker. Pride & Prejudice from the POV of the servants. The concept intrigues me, especially since I’ve heard it compared to the show Upstairs, Downstairs. Keep.

—

Of the 30 books I went through this time, I am keeping 12 of them on my list. I love that I am seeing my Goodreads to-read list shrinking to a more manageable size.

12th TBR Purge Hey all, Dani here. Welcome to November. Now, normally on the first day of the month I post my monthly wrap up and TBR post, but I'm trying to stick to certain schedules with serial posts.

#Books!#TBR

0 notes