Month: January 2016

ARC Review: This Is Where It Ends

Posted January 8, 2016 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments

Whew, this book was not easy. I raced through it in one sitting on a Saturday night and was desperate to see how it all ended. Heartbreaking, terrifying, and real. This won’t be an easy review. I’m a Connecticut resident and live about an hour from Sandy Hook… plus I have a friend who is a teacher in that town. Needless to say, this book hit entirely too close to home (literally). School shootings are something that really scare me more than I can express. When I was younger I read books about Columbine and in high school I read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I don’t know why, but these stories have always grabbed me. Maybe because it feels like your biggest fear realized. Aside from my personal connection and “interest,” this book was incredibly well-written and well-done. I sat on my couch and finished it within a couple of hours; I couldn’t stop. The book centers around an hour long period, from when the shooting starts until it ends. There are four main characters whose POVs get alternated between: Sylvia, Autumn, Tomas, and Claire. I won’t get too much into their relationships to each other and how they related to the shooter, but they were all definitely connected. I was nervous about all of these characters and their relationships at first, but I finally got the hang of it. Despite the constant POV changes, I really felt like I knew these characters. Maybe it’s because in your moments […]

Organization Part Three: My Planner(s)

Posted January 7, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 13 Comments

Inspired by my recent organizational acquisitions (and posts by Hannah), I wanted to share some information about how I keep myself organized – primarily for blogging and reading, but also a little about my personal organization, too. Part Three: Finding a Planning Rhythm OH HEY, remember this series? I previously talked about my Traveler’s Notebook and Book Bag last year, but I’m here again to update you on some planning-related THINGS. First thing’s first, a little update about my previous two posts in this series… because some things have changed. Updates! On my book bag → I don’t really carry all that shit around to work anymore. To be frank, I got lazy. That’s really all it comes down to. I started sleeping later and now give myself less time to jerk around in the morning. I started realizing that I really don’t give myself time at work to plan or read during my lunch breaks anymore. So why lug it around? On my notebooks/foxy dori → I still use this… in general. I’ve become terrible at taking bookish notes these days (and I feel like my reviews reflect that. Whoops!). I just don’t feel like dealing with it. I still love my Foxy Dori but need to find a better use for some of those notebooks. I like holding my bookmarks in there and recording quotes, but I don’t fully use it like I used to. I still love the idea, but just need to re-evaluate how I’m using it. My Planner-Related Timeline of Failures […]

Why I Join and Love Reading Challenges

Posted January 6, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 14 Comments

I love the beginning of one year and end of another, primarily for the wrap-up posts and surveys everyone shares. Creeping on books is the best! But, another reason I love it is because of READING CHALLENGES. I know there are countless people out there who have opinions on reading challenges, and I think they generally fall into one of two camps: GIVE ME ALL THE CHALLENGES. I love them and they’re fun and motivating! GIVE ME NO CHALLENGES. I hate the pressure, regardless of the goal I set. No thanks. It goes without saying that both of these outlooks are F-I-N-E to have. I obviously happen to fall into the first bucket of people because I generally loooove challenges and readathons and readalongs. I just think they’re fun and they tend to motivate me. Even though it looks like I over-do it and go willy-nilly on the sign-ups, there’s a method to my madness. Today let’s talk a bit about reading challenges and why I like them! When I hit my first full year of blogging, I made sure to sign up for a lot of yearly challenges. I finally could! I started blogging in July 2014, so I kept waiting and waiting for 2015 to hit. I ended up signing up for a total of 9 challenges that happened during most or all of the year. You’ve all probably seen my wrap-up posts and surveys, so you may already know that I completed every challenge except for one. That’s pretty solid, […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #71: 2016 Resolutions

Posted January 5, 2016 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 28 Comments

Bookish and Personal Resolutions for 2016 Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’m not a huge fan of celebrating New Years and making resolutions. I like staying up and spending time with friends, but the idea of a new year as a fresh start just doesn’t resonate with me. Maybe I’m just cynical or something, but it’s just how I feel! I’m not knocking it if you put stock in it – believe me! I like the idea of setting goals in January because it gives you a concrete timeline of when to finish them. So with that in mind, here are some things I hope to do or maintain in 2016! Check back tomorrow to see some reading challenge-related goals! Read less… and give myself time to focus on other hobbies /// Not a lot of people have “read less” as a goal for the upcoming year, but I do. I would love to read the same amount because I WANT to read, and because I feel a balance between my other hobbies and reading. I know that if I make the same goal as 2015 (which was 175 books, and I got to 180), I’ll feel the same pressure to read nonstop. I set my goal […]

Review: Firsts

Posted January 4, 2016 / Book Reviews / 11 Comments

This book was definitely one of the ones I was most looking forward to for 2016. I saw countless early reviews of people who said “this book doesn’t sound like something I’d normally like,” but it sounded right up my alley. I like tougher topics in YA, especially if it tackles sex and slut-shaming and all that other realistic stuff. So, when I went to The Strand last week and saw an early copy on the shelf, I bought it immediately! And, of course, I read it immediately. I wanted to post this review also immediately because I figured I may as well treat it like an ARC and try to beef up the buzz for it right before it actually comes out this week. This book was everything I was hoping it would be, and more. The concept itself was really refreshing and different, and the execution was nearly perfect. A lot of things could have gone wrong with this plotline, but Flynn made it so easy to relate to this girl (that most people usually wouldn’t relate to). Mercedes’s actions made you feel more sympathetic to her than judgmental. There was definitely a sense of foreboding throughout – a sticky feeling that made you uncomfortable and nervous for when everyone inevitably finds out what she’s been doing. There were really a lot of different factors that probably impacted Mercedes into making this choice – a teaching service for virgins, to make sure their girlfriends have way better first times […]

Must Read in 2016 (Link-Up + Giveaway)

Posted January 3, 2016 / Book Challenges, Features / 28 Comments

At the end of ever year, I think about all of the books I didn’t get around to reading. Some books I was SO EXCITED for and maybe even preordered, but didn’t read them. Sometimes other books get in the way or my mood isn’t right. Sometimes I genuinely have no idea why I didn’t read the book yet. I tweeted this the other day and I wish I had a dollar for every person who agreed or related. THEN AN IDEA WAS BORN. There are other challenges out there that aim to get your TBR pile down (backlist books and/or books you already own) that I plan on partaking in. There are some readathons coming up that can help you wipe the slate clean for 2016 as well (more info later in the post!). But what I wanted was a super casual link-up where you just decide I’M GOING TO READ THESE BOOKS OR ELSE. Introducing… There are really no rules for this. I almost wanted to just call this a book tag because it really only involves writing ONE POST. Here’s what I’m thinking for this ridiculously easy and (can I just say the word again?) CASUAL challengey link-up: 1. Write a blog post or create a Goodreads shelf that shows what books you were HYPED for last year but somehow never got around to. It doesn’t have to be 2015 releases – just any book you discovered and got excited about, but never read. (PSSST, […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin – December 2015, Year-End, and Countdown Survey

Posted January 2, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 9 Comments

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. Special things in this month’s bulletin: (Links will jump to their section on this long-ass post!) 2015 Wrap-Up | stats, breakdowns, favorites, numbers, etc. December 2015 Wrap-Up | the standard BL Bulletin stuff Countdown Survey | hosted by Novel Ink, counting down faves For some more 2015 wrap-up posts, you can see my End of Year Survey and Statistics Survey! For a full list of challenges and more specific goals, check here! 105 Challenge – Completed Goal: Read 105 books based on the prompts I selected ahead of time. I can’t believe I finished this one. Honestly, I expected to bail on it… but when I started analyzing the kinds of books I had left, it motivated me to finish up! Reread Challenge – Not Completed Goal: Reread the 17 books I selected ahead of time. (Harry Potter series, John Green’s books, a few by Sarah Dessen, etc.) I was able to finish over half of the AMOUNT of books needed, but didn’t focus on the books I selected themselves. It’s alright. This was the ONEEE challenge I didn’t finish! Library Challenge – Completed Goal: Read 28 or […]

2015 Statistics Survey

Posted January 1, 2016 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 2 Comments

I had so much fun participating in the Statistics Survey last year, so I knew I needed to join in again this year. I have an obsession with end-of-year surveys and this one focuses on fun statistics about books read during the year. Using Crini’s amazing book spreadsheet has made this whole endeavor a LOT easier this year. Without further ado, here are my stats! Number of books read… Under 250 pages (not including novellas): 16 Between 400-449 pages: 22 Between 450-499 pages: 2 Over 500 pages: 6 Over 1000 pages: 0 Number of… Audiobooks: 40 Re-reads: 10 DNFs (did not finish): 4 Number of books rated… Five Stars: 25 One/Two Stars: 12 (including 2.5 stars) Number of authors met in 2015: One! I met Leigh Bardugo at BEA in May. Number of book events attended in 2015: Just BEA again. Number of books you read in one day: 18 (some are novellas!) Number of books that made you cry: 4 Number of 2016 books you have on pre-order: 2 Book read furthest away from home (vacation reads?): The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes was read while I was in Charlotte, Even in Paradise was read in Chicago! Lots of pages in those were also read waaaay above the sky on an airplane. Book that took you the longest to read: I’d have to say Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. It basically took me from September to October, because I was reading it occasionally through September, took a break, and then started the audio in October after it was released. Book that you […]