Month: September 2017

Five Things

Posted September 29, 2017 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 12 Comments

In an effort to post more random, personal things, I wanted to hop on this “five on Friday” kind of post. I saw it here and she saw a spin on it here (just to give all credit where it’s due!). The lists are not in order, so the five favorite books this year aren’t listed from most to least favorite. Just figured I’d throw that out there! Five favorite books this year The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Five books I plan to read soon Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti The Key to Everything by Paula Stokes Five unreleased books I can’t wait for Ringer by Lauren Oliver Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin Life, Love, and the List by Kasie West The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand Five things I’ve eaten lately Cinnamon Apple Treats – not sure how to describe them but basically Chris and I had a LOT of these a couple of weeks ago when I bought apples. We just added cinnamon sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla ice cream and baked them Sheet Pan Meals – I’ve been a big fan of these easy dinners […]

October TBR

Posted September 28, 2017 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments

I recently started a monthly TBR feature, where I try to pin down which books I plan to read in the upcoming month. It also helps remind me throughout the month which books I’m supposed to be reading, for various reasons. I add a little poll at the bottom too, so you guys can vote and help me narrow down some of my options as well. Here are my top TBR choices for this month and how I did last month… September Progress Not too bad… Kinda. I mean, my goal was to read a few library books and a few physical books and I totally failed at that. But! I did manage to finish off a series and bring all 10 books home to CT. My shelf is freeeee! And, to be fair, I’m still reading THE CRUEL PRINCE, but it’s worth mentioning here that I’m at least working on it. I got totally distracted by the MARA DYER trilogy for my book club and binged those three in a row. Whoops? On Deck for October Read ALL Library Books Ash & Bramble and Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable I’m so annoyed with myself because I had a lot of great books checked out and let them fall by the wayside. I ended up having to return just about everything. I’m determined to read this fairytale retelling duo, plus one more summery book! Let’s see if I can pull it off before […]

All About My TV Shows Tag

Posted September 27, 2017 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 3 Comments

I’m coming to you with yet another tag today, because clearly I am uninspired at the moment. I saw this one on Books for a Delicate Eternity and am not sure who created it. This one is alllll about TV shows! 1) First TV show you ever watched My mom specifically remembers me falling in love with Elmo when he “appeared’ on The Frugal Gourmet when I was a baby. I quickly became obsessed with Elmo and started watching Sesame Street. I love that this show is still on (and keeping up with the times, in terms of showing diverse people and families). 2) All-time favorite TV show Maybe this isn’t an easy question for some people (like having to pick your all-time favorite book), but for me… There’s no question. I’ve talked about it before on the blog so I won’t repeat myself, but Friends will absolutely always be my #1. I’ve watched it when I’m happy or sad or anywhere in between and it’s done nothing but make me feel All The Things over the years. 3) Your character crush I don’t know why this is so tough for me! I feel like there are so many answers that I’m not even thinking about right now. I fell in love with Greek over the course of one summer, watching so many episodes every single day that I could. I LOVED Cappie so much that I pretty much have watched any show Scott Michael Foster has appeared in since then. 4) Favorite […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #151: Characters

Posted September 26, 2017 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 6 Comments

Ten Characters Who Could Be My Friend 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. This week’s TTT is about book that feature characters who [fill in the blank]! I decided to take a small spin on this one and do ten books with that feature main characters who I’d be friends with in real life. I may have done something like this at some point, but I can’t seem to locate it. I thought it’d be time for an update! As always, I have a Goodreads shelf for this kind of thing if you’re curious about the other books I didn’t feature here. Sarcastic, Funny, Real, and Fierce Ladies Emma from One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Starr from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas | Becca from Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland | Summer from Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick | Amber from The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cesari Jessie from Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum | Katie from My Not-So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella | Kaia from Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott | Dimple from When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon | Elle from Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Review Round Up | One of Us is Lying, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, and Always

Posted September 25, 2017 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 4 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I was REALLY excited for this book for a long time, so I immediately put in a library hold for it. The physical copy was taking forever so I ended up requesting the ebook from there. I put my TBR on hold and dove right in. My memory is terrible with books, so I was happy when Carrie and I started chatting via DM about the book while we both read (that way I have some record of my initial thoughts and reactions!). I kind of suspected everyone and no one at the same time. I didn’t initially think any of the characters were capable of murder, even though McManus gave us plenty of red herrings for just about all of them. They each had suspicious excuses for that day, on top of dirty laundry they were trying to cover up. The more I read, the more I KNEW none of them did it. It just wasn’t possible. I developed a few theories but, as you know, I’m really bad about predicting murderers/mystery things. I genuinely loved all of the characters in this one. They had the stereotypical qualities of different types of high school students, but still felt real and unique to me. Bronwyn was the […]

Review Round Up | Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Love & Gelato, and Finding It

Posted September 22, 2017 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments

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 had high expectations for this one since I’m a huge fan of Morgan Matson. I still need to read quite a few of her books and honestly wondered if I’d ever actually read AMY & ROGER. I love books about road trips and people who go on them together falling for each other, so it was actually right up my alley. I think I was afraid I’d be disappointed somehow. Yet again, my excellent book club was there to rescue me and force me to read things. Amy is dealing with the loss of her father when she embarks on a road trip with Roger, planned by her mom. They decide to take an ~epic detour~ to take care of business and sight see across the country. Her family has been in shambles since her dad died, with her mom moving to Connecticut (and making Amy move as well) and her brother in rehab in North Carolina. The story involves some really fun elements, like playlists, scrapbook pages, and other things they grabbed along the road. It was a nice touch for sure! The serious and sad elements were woven nicely throughout the story, between flashbacks and Amy finally opening up a little bit. I loved the different places that they decided to adventure to! […]

Bad Bookish Memory

Posted September 21, 2017 / Discussions, Features / 6 Comments

I know what you may be thinking… how can there be any pros to having a bad bookish memory?! Well, for me, there are surprisingly quite a few. It’s definitely annoying to forget details about your favorite books, especially when you’re trying to be a Harry Potter showoff to your friends (been there ??) It’s not a fun situation most of the time, but I’m going to try to be a little positive here. Because I know my memory is terrible, I have to write my reviews right away. This may sound like a con because I have to force myself to write reviews when I may not be in the mood, but it actually has way more benefits than drawbacks! I know that if I don’t write a review within the first 12 hours of finishing a book, so many of the details will shoot right out of my head. I always sit down to review the book soonafter finishing to I can ensure that my thoughts make it on paper pixels? Many of my blogger friends talk about hating reviews, not writing them early enough, and developing a backlog of read-not-reviewed books. This is just absolutely never an issue for me and I love it. Rereads are WAY better. I used to not bother rereading books because I figured I didn’t have time to read something that I already read. What’s the point when there are new books out there I can read instead?! Well, I definitely realized […]

ARC Review: A Short History of the Girl Next Door

Posted September 20, 2017 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Initial Excitement & Summary This book was added to my TBR the minute Laura announced it. I loved the premise and then, of course, the cover once it was released. Best-friends-to-more (especially if they were childhood friends and neighbors) is one of my favorite tropes. I was even more excited when I got approved on NetGalley for it and didn’t waste much time. (I read this back in July!) The synopsis shares that Matt has recently realized he’s in love with his best friend and neighbor, Tabby. This, of course, coincides with the time she finds an upperclassmen boyfriend instead. Matt’s still grappling with her new relationship and essentially pines after her for most of the novel. I can’t say much more, because spoiler city. Storytelling & Characters I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, because you assume the book may go two ways. Is there a happily-ever-after, where she realizes that Matt is the one for her? Or does he move on and this book isn’t considered ~romance~ at all? Well, I can’t really answer that question because spoilers. But let me tell you, it was a rough ride to get there. I did not see anything coming. And that’s all I’ll say on that. I really liked Matt as a character. I feel like everyone’s been in his shoes before, pining over someone who isn’t interested in you. He was really honest too; being in his head was refreshing. He would think of something fucked up […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #150: Fall TBR

Posted September 19, 2017 / TBR Lists, Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments

Top Books on my Fall 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. I love TBR posts. Can’t help it. I feel like I’ve made 10 in the last month alone, for various reasons, but I’m always happy to bring another one around. There are PLENTY of books I’ve been pushing off for no reason, plus the excellent new fall releases to start at some point. (I loved Cristina’s post the other day about falling into fantasy books because I do the same thing with fantasy in the autumn! You’ll see some “heavier” books here now that summer is over.) Here are ten-ish books on my fall TBR that I must read. See also: September TBR, Fall Bingo TBR, and End of Summer Reading Plans I’m definitely a seasonal reader – I prefer my heavier, fantasy, or somewhat-spooky reads to happen in the fall. I keep things much lighter in the summer for the beach, so you can bet that my fall feels happen the minute September starts. I hope to read some spookier books, like What Waits in the Woods and What Waits in the Water by Kieran Scott (second not pictured) and There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins. I think that Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather will be more […]

A New Bookmark Lit?

Posted September 18, 2017 / Discussions, Features, Personal / Information / Etc. / 23 Comments

My blog has gone through a lot of changes, appearance-wise, since I started back in 2014. My graphics were very… juvenile?… for a long time. I still have an addiction to using too many fonts in them, but I think I’ve cleaned things up a little bit 🙂 I’ve always focused this blog on books. I’ve done a few more personal posts within the last year or so, but the majority has been book-related: reviews, discussions, memes, wrap-ups… all about the books. I still plan on being bookish, obviously, so don’t worry. I talked about this a little bit in my “coming up for Bookmark Lit in 2017” post but hope to expand on it even more right now. I planned to… ✔️ Consolidate backlist reviews into round-up posts ✔️ Give ARC reviews solo treatment, for the most part ✖️ Post 4 times per week (sometimes more or less is okay) ✔️ Revamp memes and other features (add, delete, or continue) ✔️ More personal posts and ~lifestyle things~ I’ve done a decent job of these things but still feel burnt out when it comes to talking about book-related things all the time. I love reading and it’ll always be a huge priority for me – and the main focus of this blog – but I don’t have as many discussions as I’d like anymore. Instead of spending 90% of my posts on bookish things, you can expect to see more like 75%-80% starting soon. As you can tell, the vast majority of things will still be bookish. I toyed […]