Month: March 2017

Lauren Lately | March 2017

Posted March 16, 2017 / Features, Lauren Lately, Wrap-Ups / 8 Comments

Because my Bookmark Lit Bulletin wrap-ups got out of hand, I wanted to break up my monthly wrap-ups into two posts: one personal and one bookish/bloggy. I created Lauren Lately here to highlight all of the personal happenings in my life: events, activities, shows I’m addicted to, things I’m obsessing over, recipes I’ve loved, and goals for the next month. I decided to space them out so this wrap-up happens around the mid-point of the month and the bookish one happens at the end of the month. ✨ Check out my most recent bookish and bloggy wrap-up HERE ✨ Skiing | As usual, more skiing this month! It’s nearing the end of the season (which is obvious in the last picture, where half of the ground is dirt instead of snow) so we tried to fit in a few more days. The conditions were terrible one weekend at Ski Sundown, then completely perfect the following weekend. We’ve pretty much been able to go weekly since February! New hair | I usually just get highlights done over my roots, but I was sick of how it looked when it grew out (see the before and after above). One of my best friends is my hairdresser and she’s perfect at knowing exactly what I want. I showed her a few pictures and she made this masterpiece! Some of her coworkers said it’s one of the best color jobs she’s done before. This new color combo has me curling my hair with a new curling […]

Blog Tour Cover Colors | Chloe Snow’s Diary: Confessions of a High School Disaster

Posted March 15, 2017 / Book Reviews, Cover Colors, Features / 0 Comments

Hello friends! I’m here today for my stop on the blog tour for Chloe Snow’s Diary: Confessions of a High School Disaster! I read the book in one afternoon and couldn’t put it down. I loved Chloe so much; she reminded me of myself in my freshman year of high school. Below you’ll see my Color Covers post for the book’s cover, as well as the outfit I made for Chloe that represents various aspects of the book. I also included a small review down below, near all of the blog tour information. Hope you enjoy and want to read the book ASAP 😉 It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with book covers. I love the colors, the typography, the different designs that cover artists can create. I even have a guest post feature where people share their favorite book covers and bookmarks! I decided to start up this random feature where I draw color inspiration from my favorite book covers. I may create an outfit, pick out some nail polish, or design a quote graphic. Today’s cover is… Chloe Snow’s Diary: Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain I have to say, this outfit below was probably one of the most fun to make! I put it together almost immediately after finishing the book so everything was super fresh in my mind. You’ll see a lot of different details below that directly correspond to things Chloe does, sees, wears, and receives. Some examples: the copy of Sense and Sensibility from Christmas […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #130: Spring TBR

Posted March 14, 2017 / TBR Lists, Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 18 Comments

Ten Books on my Spring TBR 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. As much as I love participating in TTT, it was nice to have a breather for two weeks while the meme was on hiatus! I think I’ve done one every single week since starting my blog? Maybe? So this was a fun break to regroup and focus on other posts. Without further ado, this week’s refreshed TTT – top ten books on my spring TBR list! I’ve been doing a lot of monthly TBRs on the blog but this is fun to highlight upcoming releases I really want to read this spring. Blacklist by Alyson Noel • Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl Literally by Lucy Keating • Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han All of these books have been featured on BL multiple times, because clearly I’m too excited. They have release dates between April and May, so I hope to read them ASAP once they’re out! I have a few preordered already and will probably buy more as they come out. Eeek! Gimme! Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Along for the Ride is one of my top Dessen favorites and I’ve […]

Standalone or Series?

Posted March 13, 2017 / Discussions, Features / 19 Comments

I don’t think I’ve ever really had this classic discussion on my blog before. Maybe I’ve referenced it somewhere else, but nothing dedicated. So here we go – do you (or I) prefer reading books in a series or standalone books? I’m going to include companion novels in the “series” category here, FYI. My Numbers I was curious to see how my reading has broken down over the past few years, between series and standalones. I only started tracking my reading extensively in 2015, so I do have some series/standalone-related stats from both 2015 and 2016. Before that… I think I’d have to say I read mostly series? This is mostly because I was obsessed with super-long series about rich people or teens solving murder mysteries. Think: Gossip Girl, Private, Pretty Little Liars, The A-List… All of those had SO many books, so I can only imagine what the breakdown was back then. I don’t even know which standalones I liked at that point in my life. Apparently my numbers are almost even. I read approximately 50% series and 50% standalones, give or take a percentage or two. I read more series than standalones in 2016 but read more standalones than series in 2015. I’m not sure if this has to do with my genre breakdown? But I feel like I read more duologies – which are counted as a series here – in 2016. I know that 2015 was also even more contemporary-oriented than 2016 was, so many of those […]

Recent Read-Bait: Carnivals, Disappearances, and Lottery/Riches

Posted March 10, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 12 Comments

You may remember my read-bait series from a long time ago, where I talked about certain keywords, phrases, and tropes that call my name. I planned to keep going with these posts because there are many, many topics that suck me right in. My two recent posts discussed reunions, memory loss, and boarding school, then fake dating, bucket lists, and family drama. Here I am today to talk about recent words that have grabbed me…I originally made up a whole post about circus-related books but I really couldn’t come up with enough content. I love the magical feel of the carnival (especially in books, because there’s usually real magic involved). Caraval by Stephanie Garber sealed the deal for me when I read it over the summer. I’ve added so many books to my TBR involving carnivals of some kind. I’m not one for mystery/thriller books usually because I get creeped out easily but I’ve been trying to expand my horizons. I thought The Leaving by Tara Altebrando was super interesting – not perfect – and it made me want to add more to my TBR. There are quite a few books in this “disappearance” category. Something about a person going away/being kidnapped and, in some cases, coming back, really intrigue me because I’m left wondering what happened in the interim! And finally, this makes an appearance again as an old, resurfaced favorite: rich people. I used to read all the classic rich, boarding school stories when I was younger. In this […]

Major Reorganization Goals

Posted March 9, 2017 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 18 Comments

I know that we’re well-beyond the “new year, new me” goal-setting attitude, but I still have a lot I hope to accomplish soon. There are quite a few things I want to accomplish over the course of the next few months. I will be moving out of my apartment around June, so many of these things (especially the “home” section) need to get done before the middle part of the year. Books Unhaul books I don’t want and bring them to used book stores and donation bins Organize my shelves in a way that actually makes sense and store some books in the closet Move books out of my apartment and into my parents’ houses for later use, hopefully Goodreads Audit shelves completely by making sure things are in the right spot (very general upkeep) Add books to shelves where they aren’t labeled correctly, by genre, etc. Remove unhauled books from my own-physical shelf on Goodreads Rotate through my consideration and want-to-read shelves to eliminate books each year Books get removed from “consideration” and off GR completely at the beginning of the year Books get added to the “consideration” shelf from the “want-to-read” shelf in July/August Create a system for series tracking using a group’s tracker or my own shelves Home Organize and get rid of paperwork (old bills, pay stubs, etc.) that I don’t need anymore File relevant paperwork into a new filing system that is more portable and smaller Declutter the apartment by getting rid of things I don’t need, using storage, etc. Clean out the garage by […]

Review Roundup | PS I Like You, The Forgetting, Kiss Cam, and Reunion

Posted March 8, 2017 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 6 Comments

Before the regularly scheduled programming… Happy International Women’s Day! In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 backlist books I’ve read or listened to recently. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I think you’re aware of the fact that I tend to hoard my favorite authors’ books so I always have at least one to read when I REALLY need it. Kasie West is one of those authors. Sometimes I just need to read her words because I know she won’t let me down. For PS I LIKE YOU, my sister had been hounding me to read it and lent me her copy. I went ahead and got the audiobook from Hoopla to crank it out and MAN do I love Kasie West still. I read it just as BY YOUR SIDE was coming out and I was borrowing LUCKY IN LOVE from a friend. So, it was safe to read this one finally ? The story was cute, albeit incredibly predictable. I don’t mind the formulaic nature of many YA books because it’s comforting to get that HEA at the end. I knew who the secret pen pal was literally within the first chapter or two of the book and the rest of the story was equally predictable from there. I know my romance tolerance is lower than usual, so I tried to not let it sway my opinion of this fluffy book by a favorite author. There was […]

The Secret Life of a Book Blogger Tag

Posted March 7, 2017 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 11 Comments

I was tagged by Lindsey at Bring My Books for The Secret Life of a Book Blogger Tag back in January and I’m finally getting around to posting it! I’m the worst. Here are some fun prompts about you as a book blogger and your process. I tag anyone reading this, as always! How long have you been a blogger? I started my blog in July 2014 and went crazy getting WAY too many posts up right away. I wrote reviews, participated in a billion memes, and made ridiculous graphics I cringe at now. I can’t believe I’m nearing the three year mark because I never thought I would actually be able to hold onto a hobby for this long. At what point will you stop blogging? I can’t see an end date as of right now. Even though I somehow haven’t quit this hobby yet, you never really know what could happen. I could see my blog venturing more toward a book + lifestyle blog at some point (including a rebrand and new name perhaps). I love writing more personal posts and non-bookish things. We’ll see what happens but long story short, I don’t see myself stopping with blogging anytime soon. What is the best thing about blogging? I love finding bookish people to talk with! I’ve developed some amazing friendships with people who get it. They understand the desire to read books and get lost in other stories. Many of my real life friends don’t feel that way, so this […]

ARC Review: Close Enough to Touch

Posted March 3, 2017 / Book Reviews / 8 Comments

Initial Excitement BEFORE I GO by Colleen Oakley had been on my TBR – I even own a copy – for a loooong time. I won it in a giveaway, saw amazing reviews, and was incredibly intrigued by the premise… but still it remains on my shelf. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. In any case, I was eager to request CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH, as if Oakley was a favorite author of mine without me even reading her books. I decided to make it one of my final reads of 2016 – the second to last read, to be precise – and I’m so glad I did. Quick Summary Jubilee has been living alone in her house for 9 years, with her extreme allergy to other humans evolving into agoraphobia. When her mother unexpectedly passes away and the money stops coming, she has to get a job and get out of her house for the first time in almost a decade. The other character (and POV, as this book alternates between the two) is Eric. He’s struggling with his adopted son, who lives with him, and his biological daughter, who lives with his ex-wife and refuses to speak with him. Storytelling, Setting, and Feels While I feel like not much happened, there was plenty of character development that kept the plot moving. I loved seeing how Jubilee reacted out in the world and slowly developed various relationships with people. The library setting was awesome; I’ve always loved stories […]

Book Buddies: The Young Wives Club

Posted March 2, 2017 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Book Buddies is a discussion-style “review” that takes place with Cristina from Girl in the Pages. (You can check out past posts here.) We both read the book, have a discussion, and post our conversation (plus other fun things sometimes!) here. Book Buddies is a seasonal feature that now happens four times per year. Be sure to check out the other half of our feature and discussion on Cristina’s blog (link below)! Check out Cristina’s post here! We’ve decided to bring some new elements into our Book Buddies posts, so it will be less Q&A discussion between the two of us, and more personal applications to the book. This is a really character-driven story, as each of the four girls is struggling with their relationships and marriages. One thing that never wavered was their friendship with one another. Even if one of them made a horrible decision, the rest of the girls were there for her. They didn’t really judge and only offered opinions. I liked that this wasn’t a book about struggling with friends; it’s about leaning on friends to get through everything else. Today, I’m including my Cover Colors feature to share the book cover and a few outfits (one for each girl). Cover Colors This is definitely one of my favorite book covers. I love the colors and obviously the cake. I like that it’s all bent out of shape, but still very pretty and pastel. It represents the book really well. Now, onto the outfits for each character! Some are based […]