Month: August 2014

Liebster Award Nomination!

Posted August 24, 2014 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 8 Comments

This is exciting! I was nominated for the Liebster Award, which is for bloggers with under 200 followers – “new” bloggers – by Bibliophile Bliss! Now, I have to nominate 11 other bloggers and they can win the award by following the four general rules. Thanks so much for the nomination! xo Once you are nominated, you must follow these rules in order to get this award: 1. Link & Thank the blogger who nominated you 2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator gives you 3. Tag 11 other bloggers who have 200 or less followers 4. Ask the 11 bloggers you nominated 11 questions and let them know you nominated them! The 11 blogs I’m nominating: I apologize if you’ve already been nominated OR I nominated you and you have over 200 followers – sometimes it’s hard to tell! The Reader’s Roost Gwen & Kate’s Library A Librarian’s Library Under Review (Pucks and Paperbacks) Miss Rosie’s Reviews Kittens and Books Katherine’s Corner Footprints of an Opinionated Ginger Words We Heart Millions of Books and Way Too Much Coffee Contemporary Light Reads My 11 questions for the above tagged bloggers: What is the best book you’ve read this year? What is the worst book you’ve read this year? If you could recommend one author to me, who would you recommend and why? What is your favorite type of blog post to write? (Discussions, reviews, lists/recommendations, memes, etc.?) Tell me three random facts about you that are not reading related. What […]

30 Day Book Challenge – Day 24

Posted August 24, 2014 / Book Challenges, Features / 4 Comments

A book that you wish more people would’ve read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls This is a really moving memoir that I normally wouldn’t have been drawn to. I typically stay away from nonfiction, especially with such a sad plot, but I read this for extra credit in high school. A lot of people faked their way through the assignment to get their extra credit but didn’t actually read it. I grew up in a pretty wealthy and privileged Connecticut town where people tend to live in a bubble. This book shares a family’s plight with poverty, which would have really opened up some eyes. I wish more people gave it a chance instead of using the typical high school attitude against reading assignments. In general, I hope some other people in the blogging world also switch things up and read this one if they haven’t already!

30 Day Book Challenge – Day 23

Posted August 23, 2014 / Book Challenges, Features, Uncategorized / 1 Comment

A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t Dissonance by Erica O’Rourke I knew I wanted to read this book the moment I saw it. Granted, that was only about a month ago, but still. Parallel universes are my JAM. Anyone remember the episode of So Weird where this was the plot line? Every decision she made created an alternate universe – in the morning she chose OJ instead of grapefruit juice, and that led to this whole other world where she became a badass that skipped school. Eventually, somehow, the universes merged into one and she had to get rid of her alternate self. Sorry for the blow by blow but I always thought that concept was SO cool. This book is pretty much the same thing and I can’t wait to read it.

Review: Boomerang

Posted August 23, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

10% through Boomerang and already smiling to myself like an asshole. I love these characters already #boutofbooks — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 18, 2014 Review: Okay so this is EXACTLY what I want from a new adult book. This story was so funny and cute; I couldn’t get enough of it. You can tell from the cover and the description that it’s just going to be a fun, light read. I didn’t expect to find a whole lot of heavy shit in it and luckily that was true. (I read Dangerous Boys after this… maybe I should have switched the order). Like the plotline, the characters were so fun. The characters were very likable and believable. I found that they talked and acted like most people my age; it was refreshing. I related to them in so many ways. Both of them had past relationships that fucked with their heads in different ways. Mia was in a relationship where she was under-appreciated and used. (Been there) Ethan was in a long-term relationship with someone who was the wrong fit for them; eventually things got too boring and one of them cheated. (Been there, too) Aside from their relationships, the characters had so many interesting pieces to their personalities. Mia was the definition of a “cool girl” who could get along with the guys and not get too bent out of shape about the little things. She was an aspiring filmmaker who wanted to get out of her photographer mother’s shadow. Ethan was…a different […]

30 Day Book Challenge – Day 22

Posted August 22, 2014 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments

Favorite Villain from a Book Private by Kate Brian Noelle Lange is the ultimate villain because it’s never clear if she’s really a villain or not. She’s Reed’s best friend throughout the book, but schemes so much that Reed really never knows what shes up to. I’m not sure that she qualifies as villainous, but her character is so fun to watch and wonder. Noelle has such a crazy and unpredictable personality that she was the first person to come to mind for this one.

Friday Finds #5

Posted August 22, 2014 / Friday Finds, Weekly Memes / 4 Comments

Here are the books I’ve added to my to-read shelf or recently purchased/downloaded to read! It was a lighter week, compared to last weeks finds. As usual, the links bring you over to the Goodreads page for the book. Added to Goodreads: I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez Denton’s Little Deathdate by Lance Rubin The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno Born at Midnight by E.E. Hunter Hopeless by Colleen Hoover Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone Purchased: I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (purchased at my favorite little used book store in Wells, Maine – Annie’s Book Stop) Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski (another from Annie’s) Wish by Alexandra Bullen (Amazon hardcover on major sale) The Selection by Kiara Cass (on sale for Kindle) To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (currently reading) Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout (it was free so now I’m willing to try it out!) Downloaded from Publisher: Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little Looking forward to seeing your Friday Finds!

30 Day Book Challenge – Day 21

Posted August 21, 2014 / Book Challenges, Features / 2 Comments

Favorite Book from your Childhood The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Ugh how sad and perfect is this book? It’s funny reading the Goodreads reviews for this one because people complain about martyrdom and selfishness vs. selflessness…. Dude, it’s a children’s book. It makes kids sad and thus teaches them to respect their effing parents who give them everything while they whine and need more.

Review: Dangerous Boys

Posted August 21, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

If I highlight the first paragraph of a book… I can tell it's going to be good. @abbymcdonald #DangerousBoys #YES — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 19, 2014 Review: I’m certainly not the first person, and I won’t be the last person, to say HOLY SHIT this book was crazy. I’m not sure what I was expecting with this one, but based on other people’s reviews I was prepared for something absolutely wild and full of twists. This book delivered in very many of those ways. Unlike a lot of people, I couldn’t bring myself to give it five stars and I’m still kind of trying to figure out why. Lately, every thriller/mystery/suspense book I even THINK about reading is compared to Gone Girl. I couldn’t even come close to predicting the vast majority of twists in that book. That was a five star-worthy suspense book for me because it kept me guessing literally with every page. For the most part, Dangerous Boys did the same. I kept wondering who was the boy in the hospital, who did she pick, and what the fuck was generally going on. Primarily I was thinking – how the HELL is this book going to end? I was already disappointed in the ending of Gone Girl! The ending here didn’t disappoint. It made my mouth drop open. (I think I jumped the gun talking about the ending so early in the review but whatever – Abigail Haas can start her book at the end so I can start my […]

30 Day Book Challenge – Day 20

Posted August 20, 2014 / Book Challenges, Features, Uncategorized / 5 Comments

Favorite Romance Book Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella I normally don’t read romance books, at least not in the traditional sense. I like YA contemporary romance or sometimes romantic chick lit. This is the closest I’ll come to “romance” books. This is the story of a girl who spills all of her secrets on an airplane, when she thinks they’re all going to die, only to discover that the man in question is her new boss. She’s struggling in her extremely comfortable relationship with her boyfriend and comes to realize what her life could and should be. It was a cute chick lit book, like Sophie Kinsella’s generally are, and I would definitely recommend it.

Mini Reviews: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and Ajax Penumbra 1969

Posted August 20, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

I read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore a few months ago for my Book Club. I saw it in the store and was intrigued by the story, and then I had the excuse to push it higher on my list for the meeting. I really enjoyed it; the concept was beyond what I normally read. When I saw that there was a prequel, I was definitely interested in reading it eventually too. I saw it on Audible recently and it was only an hour and 45 minutes long. Without further ado, here are my MINI REVIEWS for both books! Mini Review: Who wouldn’t want a 24-hour bookstore, with high ceilings and infinite shelves of books? The summary Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore immediately grabbed me. Clay begins working in this peculiar store when he loses his job within advertising. He has the late, overnight shift and makes crappy money. He wonders how the bookstore stays open when there are so few actual customers. The only people who really enter the shop are not even buying books – they’re taking them out as if it were a library. He becomes curious about the old books he needs to climb up to the ceiling to get. Clay and his friends slowly uncover the mysteries of the bookstore and its clientele. Clay begins cataloging the books and the store’s clients, when he starts to notice some odd patterns. He eventually learns the secrets of Mr. Penumbra’s store and what the readers are looking to achieve. This book […]