Month: February 2015

Bookmark Lit Bulletin – February 2015

Posted February 28, 2015 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 6 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin is a monthly feature where I look back on everything I did and everything I plan to do next. I’ll also be updating my challenge progress here each month and linking up wherever I need to. This month’s bulletin is taking place of what would usually be a Five on Friday post. My life isn’t the most eventful, so it’d be overkill to have those posts two days in a row 😉 SNOW DAYS. So many snow days. I actually didn’t have a full week of work in February until this past week, between all of the snow days and the holiday. It was glorious. Working from home for me is a VERY loose term, which is nice… I spent a lot of time jerking around, watching TV, and reading. We did a good job of hanging out with some friends this month, which happens kind of rarely for us. We had my friend’s birthday trip to Foxwoods at the beginning of the month, a SuperBowl party with Chris’s friends, and a surprise party for another friend a week ago. It’s nice to get out of the apartment sometimes and see people other than each other. Valentine’s Day weekend was so much fun. Chris and I went to Providence that day, right as the snow was starting, to join up with another couple I went to college with. The four of us love hanging out and have a lot of fun together, so we figured we’d […]

Book Buddies Review: Just One Day

Posted February 27, 2015 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Book Buddies is a discussion-style review that takes place with one of my two buddies. (Learn more and see past reviews here) We both read the book and then have a private discussion about it. We post our discussion as a review on the last Wednesday of each month. You’ll be able to see our similar/different opinions on the overall book, characters, writing style, etc. – just like a regular review. The first half our discussion will take place right here, and the second half will be on Cristina’s blog! (Link at the bottom) What made you initially add this one to your TBR and what were you expecting from it? Did it meet your expectations? Lauren: I read If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman and was really captivated by her writing style. I liked the second book in the duology better than the first, but regardless enjoyed her style. I was honestly not THAT interested in Just One Day when I initially heard of it, but there were so many bloggers who said it was pretty life-changing. I ended up asking for it for Christmas and my dad came through. I was expecting the same beautiful writing as I’ve previously experienced from Gayle, but wasn’t sure of much else! She seems to write a lot of different kinds of stories, so it’s hard to draw parallels between all of her work. Overall this book completely exceeded any expectations I did have. I couldn’t believe how swept up I was in the […]

Read-Bait: “Parallel Universe”

Posted February 26, 2015 / Book Lists, Features / 9 Comments

Here’s another post in a new series here at the blog: Read-Bait! Over the coming weeks, I’ll be featuring different words or phrases that catch my eye in book descriptions, the books I’ve read under those categories, and the books I plan on reading. I hope it shares some insight about my reading preferences and interests. As always, feel free to recommend any books you’d think I like! You know how it goes: you’re browsing Goodreads, clicking on books that look interesting, and checking out their summaries. All of a sudden you see a certain word or phrase in the synopsis that triggers an automatic reaction to click that “Want to Read” button. I call this “read-bait” – any word(s) that make you instantly think that you MUST read this book. One example for me is… I joined in with Andi and some others on a feature called Parallel Time Loop, where we featured our favorite books about time travel and parallel universes. I have been fascinated with this topic for as long as I can remember and chose Just Like Fate for my book. My post over there about my background and experience with parallel universes and how every decision shapes our lives in some way. ANYWAYS, that book was really my first foray into the genre and I loved it. It was a parallel life book, where one decision that Caroline makes alters the path of her life forever. It asks the question: do we end up in the same […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #30: Heroines

Posted February 24, 2015 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 18 Comments

Favorite Book Heroines Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we make lists of our top ten books based on that week’s prompt… and then we stalk other people’s answers to add a million books to our TBR. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. I’m not sure of the exact definition of heroine when it comes to books, but I’m going to loosely use it as “main female character.” I don’t read a lot of books where there’s a badass heroine kicking butt… because most books I like are contemporaries. There are some great heroines in fantasy books so you can be sure I didn’t leave any of them out 😉 Em was one of the first characters that came to mind for this one. The character development in this story was just like no other. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t read it, but I couldn’t believe how much Em matured and grew up compared to her former self. Del was a character who was probably hit or miss for some people, because she was kind of reckless, but I liked that about her! She did whatever she wanted and really didn’t let anything or anyone stand in her way. Sure, it caused some problems, but it still was entertaining to read. Hazel was pretty damn fearless in her countless interactions with fae people. She definitely didn’t obey the rules by any means, but she […]

ARC Review: When Joss Met Matt

Posted February 23, 2015 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Alright I am a big new adult fan lately, but this one definitely lends itself more towards the young adult side. Don’t get too excited about lots of graphic sexytimes, because it’s not gonna happen. This one is purely classified as new adult because of the age range. Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you how freakin cute this book was. I love Liz Czukas (here writing as Ellie Cahill) so I requested this one immediately when I saw it. It’s been sitting on my Kindle since October and I finally decided to dive in. I’m so glad I did because February is my big lame Valentines Day contemporary binge month, and this one fit right in. I absolutely loved the way this story was put together. It alternates between present day and some of their experiences during college. You essentially get to travel back in time throughout the various times they’ve called each other for some sorbet sex. It’s a bit unorthodox, though, to learn about all of their other relationships while you’re just kind of anxiously waiting for them to get together. It works for a lot of reasons, but mostly because you get to see how wrong everyone else is for them. It would have been cool to see Matt’s perspective throughout the book, but it definitely would have involved too much switching around (between people and timeframes). I found myself wishing it was from Matt’s POV a lot of the time because […]

2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: High Five

Posted February 22, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 8 Comments

The Love-A-Thon is hosted by the wonderful Alexa at Alexa Loves Books! You can learn all about what we’re doing at the previous link, but basically it’s a two day event to spread love and kindness to the book blogging community! It seems like something everyone needs right about now. Mini Challenge: High Fives! This challenge is to share your top five that have been making you happy lately – a book, author, blogger, genre, and bookish site! Here are my latest favorites. Book A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: This was the last book that really knocked my socks off. I was so impressed by the world-building, writing, and entire story. If you haven’t read an ARC of this yet, I highly suggest a preorder. You need this in your life ASAP! Genre YA Contemporary Romance: This is the best genre to read in February! I went crazy with Fantasy books in January, so I switched it up to some Contemporaries in February. Author Kasie West: I loved The Distance Between Us when I read it last year and finally read On the Fence this year. I also finished Pivot Point earlier this year and plan to get to Split Second as soon as possible. I love her writing and the fact that she can write both contemporaries and sci-fi/paranormal books with ease. Such a great author! Blogger Cristina from Girl in the Pages: I’ve loved getting to know Cristina over the past year. She’s a […]

2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: Snapshots

Posted February 22, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: Quotes

Posted February 21, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 15 Comments

The Love-A-Thon is hosted by the wonderful Alexa at Alexa Loves Books! You can learn all about what we’re doing at the previous link, but basically it’s a two day event to spread love and kindness to the book blogging community! It seems like something everyone needs right about now. Mini Challenge: Love and Friendship Quotes “What are you working on?” I ask. “The last page.” He gestures towards the table, where a pencilled sketch is being turned into inked brushstrokes. It’s a drawing of us, in this café, in this moment. I smile up at him “It’s beautiful. But what comes next?” “The best part.” And he pulls me back into his arms. “The happily ever after.” ― Stephanie Perkins, Isla and the Happily Ever After “Point is, maybe some people wouldn’t want to be around me all day, but there are people out there who would. And they’re smart and funny. And they like some of the same things I like and hate some of the things I hate, but they also introduce me to all kinds of new things. That’s as close to ‘meant to be’ as I can imagine.” ― Lauren Morrill, Meant to Be “No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater…The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the […]

2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: Valentines

Posted February 21, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 12 Comments

The Love-A-Thon is hosted by the wonderful Alexa at Alexa Loves Books! You can learn all about what we’re doing at the previous link, but basically it’s a two day event to spread love and kindness to the book blogging community! It seems like something everyone needs right about now. Mini Challenge: Book Boyfriend Valentines Xander, you may just be my favorite book boyfriend. I don’t know what it is about you. The way you put up with Caymen’s sarcasm, while giving it right back to her, just made me smile nonstop. I wish my time with you never ended. “I love you,” I whisper. “What was that? I didn’t hear you.” “Don’t push me.” “I love you, too,” he says. He puts his cheek against mine. “So much.” ― Kasie West, The Distance Between Us Cricket, even though you were in my “least favorite” companion book of the three, you were my favorite boy. Maybe I’m a sucker for the boy next door trope, or maybe you’re just super adorable. You never gave up, you gave her the time she needed, and you won my heart at the same time. “So do you believe in second chances?” I bite my lip. “Second, third, fourth. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. If the person is right,” he adds. “If the person is… Lola?” This time, he holds my gaze. “Only if the other person is Cricket.” ― Stephanie Perkins, Lola and the Boy Next Door St. Clair, you were a […]

2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: Intro & Questionnaire

Posted February 21, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 20 Comments

The Love-A-Thon is hosted by the wonderful Alexa at Alexa Loves Books! You can learn all about what we’re doing at the previous link, but basically it’s a two day event to spread love and kindness to the book blogging community! It seems like something everyone needs right about now. Introductory Questionnaire: Learn About Me! What’s your name? Lauren! I also go by Lumby (thanks to my boyfriend), L, Laur, Lee, Bean, and Beeps. Don’t ask. But really, most people just call me Lauren 😉 Where in the world are you blogging from? I moved from one boring small town in Connecticut to another one, right after attending college in a small boring town in Rhode Island. What am I doing with my life?? How did you get into blogging in the first place? I’ve started more blogs, online journals, and diaries than I could count. This one finally stuck when I realized I could blog about something I’ve always loved: reading. I go through brief phases where I’m obsessed with other things (beauty, clothing, etc.) and therefore those blogs never stick. I basically dreamt up with blog without realizing there was a whole community waiting for me. It’s been about eight months since I’ve started and honestly I’m surprised at the fact that I’ve stuck with it! How did you come up with your blog name? I spent literally a whole day googling book-related puns for my blog title. Somehow “bookmark it” randomly came to me as a book-related […]