The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my life happenings, book haul, books I read and reviewed, posts I shared, challenge updates, and more from the previous month. I also let you know what may be coming up on the blog in the coming month. You can read past bulletins here and learn more about the feature here.
I don’t know what was going on at the beginning of the month, but I couldn’t stop reading! I read quite a few addicting ebooks in a row and just never let up for the first half of January. I did try to slow it down a little towards the end of the month because my resolutions told me to!
16 books read this month
(13 new reads, 1 reread, 0 DNFs)
Hardcover: 6 | Paperback: 1 | eBook: 2
eARC: 4 | ARC: 2 | Audio: 0 | Mixed: 2
6 books for review and 10 books for me
16 books read this year
(13 new reads, 1 reread, 0 DNFs)
Goodreads goal: 160 | 10% completed
8 new releases and 8 backlist titles
53% books in series and 47% standalones
Average rating for books read in January: 4.12 stars
Highlights of the best and worst…
Best of the Best | Pleasantly Surprised | Disappointed
All of the books read this month:
- [4 Jan] Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn ★★★★½
- [8 Jan] This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp ★★★★
- [9 Jan] I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, Kali Ciesemier ★★★
- [13 Jan] The Mistake by Elle Kennedy ★★★½
- [16 Jan] The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt ★★★★
- [18 Jan] Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta ★★½
- [20 Jan] The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine ★★★★
- [21 Jan] Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari, Eric Klinenberg ★★★★
- [23 Jan] Call Me, Maybe by Ellie Cahill ★★★½
- [27 Jan] The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith ★★★½
- [28 Jan] The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★
- [29 Jan] Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan ★★★★½
Top Ten Tuesdays
Resolutions for 2016
2015 Releases I Didn’t Get To
Recently Added to my TBR
FREEBIE: Owned Backlist Books to Read
Inside & Out
Monica | Tomes Project
Erica | Novel Ink
End-of-Year
2015 Bookish Statistics Survey
End-of-Year BL Bulletin / Wrap-Up
Discussions & Personal
Why I Love Reading Challenges
Organization Part 3: Planners
12×12 in 2015 (Memories & Books)
Organization Part 4: Reading Notes
Features
Five on Fridays
Cover Colors: The Imposter Queen
Challenges
Must Read in 2016 Challenge
Bout of Books Wrap-Up
Secret Sister Project
The last fabulous package from my Secret Sister came this month. She also revealed herself to me – Ashley from The Quiet Concert! She’s done such an amazing job of surprising me each month and really getting things I’d love. This package was no exception – two books I’ve been really wanting for a long time, actually – Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella and The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg. She also got some fuzzy socks, an ornament shaped like an L, cupcake liners, two Lego base plates (Chris quickly stole these from me), one of my favorite candies (Sour Punch Straws), coffee-themed bookmarks, Harry Potter planner stickers from my wishlist, and a Q&A journal that you fill in for five years. Everything was so thoughtful and perfect and I can’t believe this round is coming to an end! 🙁 Thank you so much Ashley, for making me smile when I needed it!
Books acquired
ARCs from ALA Midwinter | Recap is here, if you’re curious! I also talk about it a little elsewhere in this post. The books are here on this Goodreads shelf. Some of the older ones are from BEA, so you can ignore those… I’m just too lazy to type them all here 🙂 /// Purchased at B&N | Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn (couldn’t resist the cover change) /// Uppercase Box | Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
eBooks from Amazon sales and a couple of preorders| We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Score by Elle Kennedy, The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt, Angelfall by Susan Ee /// Audiobook from Scribd | The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
$19.95 for a total of 5 books | 1 paperback, 4 eBooks
MY TEAM IS GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL FOLKS. If you asked me a month or two ago if I thought they would be headed there… well, I would have said yes. I plan on getting into my love for the Panthers within the next couple of weeks (either right before or after the big game), so I won’t give you anything yet. JUST KNOW HOW EXCITED I AM. That’s absolutely the biggest event that happened in January. But before I get ahead of myself, I’ll take you back in time to the beginning of the month. New Years is not a holiday Chris and I generally care about, but we had SO much fun with my college roommates at one of their apartments. We stayed up too late, danced multiple times to Hotline Bling, and played games. Such a blast! We kept it low-key the rest of the weekend because we were wiped out and had football to watch. (Are you sensing a theme for my weekends?) We also went to see Star Wars with my dad, stepmom, and sister. IT WAS PERFECT. Chris and I have LOTS of theories about who’s related to who and what might happen next. Ugh, so good. The following weekend, I went to ALA Midwinter. I just went Saturday for the day because Boston is only an hour and a half from me. I found a new garage to park at and T to take into the city, so I’m excited to make that process easier going forward. For my full recap, you can check it out here! It was so much fun to see all my people and spend more time with Brittany, Amy, and Alyssa. It was a loooong day, but I’m so happy I went. The following weekend involved some shopping, eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and hanging out. We decided to skip the Lego meeting this month because nothing as fun was happening. Nothing too crazy. It finally snowed last weekend, so we were able to hibernate quite a bit during the storm. We were planning on going to visit Chris’s sister at her new apartment in Maine, but decided to avoid the snow and stay home. We’ve obviously done a lot of football-watching because of the playoffs. There were some great games (and definitely some boring ones)! This weekend, we’re hoping to go skiing/snowboarding for Chris’s dad’s birthday. I got new ski stuff – jacket, gloves, snow pants, and goggles – so I can hopefully get back out there. I may even be skiing as your read this post 😉 I’ve been getting more into planning since the end of last year and spend way too much money on stickers. I like to keep my layouts simpler than most people to save stickers and money. I usually take some time on Sunday nights to decorate for the week.
So I may be one of the very few book bloggers who never read the Mortal Instruments series, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to see Shadowhunters! I was very tempted by it, so I figured why not add another show to my lineup? I enjoyed the first couple of episodes and will keep watching.
Younger is back!! I’m so excited. If you’re bookish and you are interested in publishing at all, you really should be watching and loving this one. PLUS Hilary Duff is in it. Come on. Wins everywhere!
We’re working our way through all of the Marvel movies and TV shows in order (for the most part). Agent Carter is the first one we started with, as it happens way back in the day (aka the time period Cap is originally from). WE LOVE IT SO FAR. I want to kiss Peggy on the mouth.
I started binge-watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia back in college but stopped sometime in Season 4. I decided to watch a few episodes one night this month and haven’t looked back. They’re all such TERRIBLE people, it’s too funny. I watched while Chris was sleeping and am surprised he didn’t wake up from me shaking the bed laughing.
I signed up for five challenges in 2016, plus I’m hosting a super casual link-up challenge. Want to know why I chose these? Check it out here. The Contemporary Romance challenge also hosts a monthly topic to discuss, so I’ll be including that in my Bookmark Lit Bulletin posts. [January]
During this Month
Bout of Books 15| Goal: 5 books | 3 completed, 2 started| 60% complete
You can see my wrap-up here. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to ALA over the weekend, so I definitely set my goal a bit too high. I did successfully read or start reading a total of 5 books, so that counts right? I finished THE FIXER, SEE HOW THEY RUN, and HEX HALL.
Year-Long
Debut Author | Goal: 12 books | 6 read in January | 29% complete
- FIRSTS by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
- LIARS AND LOSERS LIKE US by Ami Allen-Vath
- THE DISTANCE FROM A TO Z by Natalie Blitt
- ARROWS by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
- DREAMOLOGY by Lucy Keating
Backlist Books | Goal: 20 books | 3 read in January | 15% complete
- HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins
- SAGA #3 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
- THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Stiefvater
Flights of Fantasy | Goal: 20 books | 3 read in January | 15% complete
- HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS by JK Rowling
- THE IMPOSTER QUEEN by Sarah Fine
- REIGN OF SHADOWS by Sophie Jordan
Rock My TBR | Goal: 21+ books | 2 read in January | 8% complete
- SAGA #3 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
- THE WRONG SIDE OF RIGHT by Jenn Marie Moore
Contemporary Romance | Goal: 21+ books | 7 read in January | 33% complete
- FIRSTS by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
- LIARS AND LOSERS LIKE US by Ami Allen-Vath
- THE DISTANCE FROM A TO Z by Natalie Blitt
- THE SCORE by Elle Kennedy
- ARROWS by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
- DREAMOLOGY by Lucy Keating
- THE WRONG SIDE OF RIGHT by Jenn Marie Moore
Monthly Contemporary Romance Challenge Topic:
Ten Most Anticipated Romances for First Half of 2016
Seasonal
Holiday Bingo Card | Hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews
I’m almost done! I realized after making the graphic that I accidentally counted a book twice, so I’ll either be moving Perks of Being a Wallflower to Award Winner or keeping it at Epistolary, depending on what else I manage to read.
Multi POV: Faking It – Cora Carmack
Time travel
Award winner:
2016 debut: Firsts – Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Snow on cover: Icing on the Lake – Catherine Clark
Series finale: HP and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
Friend’s fave: Parallel – Lauren Miller
Black author
Graphic novel: Saga #3 – Brian K. Vaughan
Translated
Fantasy: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
White cover: The Mistake – Elle Kennedy
Series starter: Christmas at the Lilac Cottage – Holly Martin
Holiday theme: Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses – Jenny Hale
Pink cover: Dreamology – Lucy Keating
Thriller: See How They Run – Ally Carter
Gifted book: Stuff White People Like – Christian Lander
Royalty: Fairest – Marissa Meyer
Epistolary: The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
2015 release: It’s a Wonderful Death – Sarah J. Schmitt
One word title: Bossypants – Tina Fey
Retelling: Arrows – Melissa Gorzelanczyk
Blue cover: Call Me Maybe – Ellie Cahill
So I currently have all my reviews scheduled for February, but that’s about it. Yikes! I have some discussion posts about how I organize my Goodreads (as part of my Organization Series) and rating books. I’ve talked about it quite a bit on my blog, but this is a new twist on the topic. (I’ve essentially streamlined my rating process so I don’t struggle as much with rating books as I used to!) I’m taking part in the blog tour for Arrows and did one of my Color Covers posts for it. I love the way it came out! I have soooo many posts in my drafts, so I’m sure that you’ll see more discussions. ALSO, my final Inside & Out post will be posted, before the hiatus. I just wanted to free up some space on my blog for other things so I’ll hold off on opening up sign-ups for a couple of months.
Anyone surprised to hear that, yes, like most holidays, we don’t care much about Valentine’s Day? In years past, we’ve done some fun things and had sushi to commemorate our first date… but that’s really it. We like to grab food, hang out, maybe go to a museum. Nothing too exciting. I don’t even remember what we did last year, so that tells you how much we care. Otherwise? Not much in February. We’re hoping to get some more skiing/snowboarding time in before the snow is gone. It basically is already, but oh well. What else? Oh yeah, my Panther babies playing in the SUPER BOWL. Excuse me while I flail yet again.
I don’t like to get too crazy with TBRs because I never follow them, but it is one of my general resolutions to get better with them. I hate having NO idea what to read next, so at least this puts thoughts in my mind. Up for February might be…
I’ve been hardcore thinking about rereading the Gossip Girl series for some reason. There’s a huge chance this happens for my Nostalgia Project. We’ll see! I also have a couple of books in the Hex Hall trilogy to read, in order to finish that off. Thanks, library! I’ve had an eARC of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend for a very long time now, and I’ve seen people enjoy it lately. I hope to get to this one soon! And yet another eARC that should be read: The Prophecy of Shadows.
Ah yes, another eARC to get to – Bookishly Ever After. I’m trying to catch up on some of the ARCs that are publishing soon, but I can’t resist the idea of reading When We Collided riiiiight away. To be honest, I’m surprised I’ve had it for a month and haven’t read it yet. The Smell of Other People’s Houses and Kill the Boy Band are two other books I grabbed at ALA and are released in February. Even though The Epidemic isn’t out until April, I will be reading it super soon. It’s another one I can’t believe I haven’t read yet! I’ve been wanting to tackle more of my physical TBR shelves and The Wrong Side of Right will definitely meet a few of my challenges for 2016! I know Cristina will be happy to hear I’m reading this one 😉 | EDIT: I ended up reading the last book here in one day on the 30th, so that’s already done 😉
You read 16 books this month?! What a great way to start off the year. 😀 I never read The Mortal Instruments series either and I am not sure I plan to. I will probably watch the tv show at some point. I am glad you are enjoying it.
Thank you! I enjoyed the first two episodes but feel like it’s getting a little crazy. Not sure how I feel!
It looks like you got ahead of yourself and already finished the wrong side of right! 😉 Your monthly recap is so in-depth, you always seem to have so much going on! Also, I am so impressed that you’ve already read 16 books this year…what’s your secret!?
I realized that after posting LOL the one thing I forgot to edit! I’ll have to write a post up about reading lots of books and share my secrets 😉
Wow! You’ve read HEAPS. Man, I wish I was as productive as you!! 😀 Teach me your skilllssss pleasee! It looks like you had loads of fun too – ALA Midwinter sounds like it was great 😀 Hope Feb treats you even better~!
Haha thank you! I’ll post about it soon! 😉
I really want to start watching Younger! Hillary Duff has always been my favorite Disney star of that era and I’ve been meaning to find somewhere that has it to stream. Agent Carter has been AMAZING, as always. And I loved Gossip Girl so much when I was in high school! I even read all of the spinoff series The IT Girl and the second GG series, The Carlyles (which was not anywhere near as good). I wonder if they hold up!
I’m not sure how many episodes of Younger are on there, but the TV Land app lets you watch some! I’ve been using it on my iPad 🙂
YAY PANTHERS! I’m rooting for them in this year’s Superbowl, and I can only imagine how excited and happy you are <3 Also, I'm so glad I got to see you at ALA Midwinter, even if it was only for a brief moment! AND I'm so thrilled you read some awesome fantasy reads this month 🙂
I AM SO HAPPPPY I appreciate the support for them <33 And YES more fantasy reads to come soon I hope!
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