Month: September 2020

October TBR

Posted September 30, 2020 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 1 Comment

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. ARCs I had WELL PLAYED and THE BLACK KIDS on here last month but good lord, my reading is so terrible. I have so many egalleys I’m behind on that I really need to get my shit together. I’m also adding TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW because I’ve been in the mood to finally pick it up. For the sake of variety, I’m adding SNAPPED, LOVE YOUR LIFE, and SORRY NOT SORRY as more ARC options for the month of October. All of these are adult contemporary or rom-coms so hopefully they’ll keep me going. Recent Releases – Owned I spoke about KISS MY CUPCAKE and SEX AND VANITY last month but didn’t get to them. I wasn’t sure if I would purchase MAJESTY, but I ended up snagging the ebook. Add it to the list of books I now own and need to read! Woof. Get a grip, Lauren! Recent Releases – To Buy/Borrow I know I want to read DEAR JUSTYCE as soon as possible because I loved DEAR MARTIN. I’m sure it’ll be quick and powerful at the same time. As for other somewhat recent releases that I hope to buy […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #307: Quotes

Posted September 29, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

Favorite Book Quotes Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, 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 used to be so good at recording or bookmarking quotes while reading but I’ve been pretty bad about it lately! I used to make fun graphics and happily share them when this TTT would come around again. In the interest of still sharing a TTT and being lazy, here are some I’ve made in the past that still hold true as my favorites!

Five on Fridays [9]

Posted September 25, 2020 / Five on Fridays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Five on Friday displays the the top five things that have been on my mind this week! It could be book-related, but it may be music, movies, TV, personal life, food, etc. I’ll generally be posting these biweekly and linking up with Friday Favorites (hosted by A Little Bit of Everything, Grace and Love, and Momfessionals). Previous posts can be found here! Birthday Week and Cape Cod Camping My birthday was on a Wednesday this year so I, as usual, took the day off to relax alone haha. I got my nails done and hung out with the dog all day before getting an early dinner with my mom on the patio. My friends all met up at our favorite brewery in the evening. It was a nice day overall! The next day, we headed out to go camping. I used to go to Dennis in Cape Cod every summer of my childhood, but hadn’t been back in over 15 years! It was my favorite place on earth. We decided this summer to go camping at a campground in Dennis, a few minutes from the cottage and beach I frequented as a kid. It was so fun to relax, play disc golf, get our pups together, and check out the area again as an adult. We hope to go back next year if things are normal and stay in a cottage or something. WW and Meal Prep/Planning I was attempting to calorie count again but really lost steam for some […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #306: Fall TBR

Posted September 22, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 3 Comments

Fall TBR Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, 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 back in a semi reading slump at this point. September is looking rough numbers-wise. I shouldn’t be surprised because it’s my busiest month in my personal life (birthday, anniversary, football starting, etc.). Either way, I love planning a TBR so I have something to reference when I DO pick up a book. Fall Pub Date Review Copies I’ve had a few of these for a while (looking at you, CHASING LUCKY), but have been so so lazy about reading books far in advance. I usually try to mix it up by reading books that allow me to schedule reviews months in advance but alas. WELL PLAYED and SNAPPED are sequels in companion series. SIMMER DOWN sold me with that super cute cover and food truck plot! And, of course, I don’t even know what LOVE YOUR LIFE is about but you know my fingers press “request” on every new Sophie Kinsella. Upcoming Fall Releases A few more sequels/companions here (LOVE & OLIVES, THE TEA DRAGON TAPESTRY, and DEAR JUSTYCE) that I’m super duper excited for! INSTANT KARMA is the first straight-up contemporary (okay, there’s a touch of magical realism) Marissa Meyer book […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #305: Covers

Posted September 15, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 5 Comments

Cover Freebie: Recent/New Covers I Love Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, 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 am ALWAYS here for a cover-related post. I actually haven’t shared my “cover love” shelf for a long time so I thought this cover freebie would be perfect for that. Here are some of my current favorite covers of recent or upcoming books.

Review Round Up | Good Girl Bad Blood, They Wish They Were Us, and The Inheritance Games

Posted September 10, 2020 / Book Reviews / 0 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! After finishing A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, I knew that I had to read the sequel as soon as humanly possible. I haven’t read a lot of books during this lockdown period (combined with the new puppy period in my own life), so I want to capture that addicted-to-reading feeling as much as possible. GOOD GIRL, BAD BLOOD lived up to that for me, and allowed me to finish a nice, quick, entertaining story in a few sittings after ordering the UK edition from Book Depository. The second installment in the series follows Pip as she tries to find her friend’s missing brother. She’s reluctant to work on another case because the first one fucked her up so badly, but she feels the pull to help her friend Connor and his family. I can’t get too much into the reasons this book isn’t a full five-stars for me, but mild spoiler to follow: you definitely won’t see the ending coming. There’s literally no way to predict it and it kind of comes from left field. This was good and bad – in some ways it felt a little cheap? But in other ways it was incredibly clever and impressive, I think. This was JUST as addicting […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #304: Younger Self

Posted September 8, 2020 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 5 Comments

Books for my Younger Self Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, 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 always say that 99 Days was pretty important for me to read when I did – I made some questionable choices in high school and really liked how this book involved an MC making mistakes or just being imperfect. I would have liked to read it back then! I was pretty annoying in high school and didn’t know anything about feminism. Realistically, I thought it was stupid and didn’t understand it. I took a class in college that completely changed my worldview and I’m SO thankful for that awakening. I would have learned a lot more from Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World back in high school if I had read it then. Similarly, We Should All Be Feminists was a great read in present day, but it certainly reads like an intro to feminism. Great for people who need to learn the basics and move forward with! I wasn’t exactly narrow-minded in high school (despite what I said above…), but I absolutely did not know anything about racial injustice. Literally almost nothing. My school was probably 90% white kids and the only people of color were Chris (my now-fiance), his sister, one […]

Would You Rather Book Tag

Posted September 7, 2020 / Uncategorized / 3 Comments

I saw this post over on Nick’s blog the other day and thought it would be a fun and quick post! Would you rather only read physical books for the rest of your life or only audiobooks? Definitely physical books! I adore a good audiobook but I don’t have as much listening time these days with working from home, not putting on a full face of makeup to get ready, no commute, etc. If I lived alone and/or didn’t have the pup I would listen more throughout the day in the background but I just don’t have the option. It’s easier for me to find pockets of time to sit down and read these days. Plus, I can be picky about audiobooks, and it would suck to have a favorite author’s books be narrated by someone terrible and never have the option of reading instead! Would you rather know all the spoilers before you start a book or never read the last chapter? Ooooh interesting. I guess I would have to say knowing all the spoilers? Ugh. It would be hard to get to the end of a really good book and not be able to get the necessary closure. Maybe books with short chapters wouldn’t make AS big of a difference but ones with longer chapters with a lot of final action? GAH. Being spoiled means at least I know what will happen by the time I’m done! Would you rather be stuck on a very long train/plane ride […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | August 2020

Posted September 3, 2020 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 1 Comment

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. I’m still behind on my challenge, but I read 6 books in August! That feels so significant to me at this point haha. I really started to feel like reading again. I just kept putting pressure on myself (before) to start my workday earlier while the puppy was sleeping before 9am, but I’ve realized that I need more balance than that. He’s getting into a better schedule, more toys/chews occupy him, and I’m able to get more work done while he’s awake now. The two-ish hours I read in the morning have been really helpful and necessary. 6 books read in August 6 new books • 0 rereads • 0 DNF Pages read: 2308 • Average rating: 3.75 stars Sources: 4 purchased, 1 review, 1 owned Formats: [Review] 2 egalleys and 0 physical ARCs 1 hardcover, 1 paperback, 1 ebook, 0 audio, 1 combo Genres: 3 mystery/thriller, 1 contemporary, 1 paranormal, 1 hist/retelling Age Target: 6 young adult Check out my 2020 challenge sign-up post for more details, goals, etc.! Popsugar Reading Challenge 1 read this month | 31/40 […]

September TBR

Posted September 2, 2020 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 1 Comment

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. ARCs I have a handful of egalleys I should read, but I think these are the ones I’m most likely to target. WELL PLAYED comes out soonish so it’d be good to be more on top of things lol. YOU HAVE A MATCH comes out next year, whoops, but I can’t wait much longer to read a new Emma Lord. And finally, THE BLACK KIDS came out last month and I want to get to it. Recent Releases – Owned I bought a lot of books over the last few months, which is different for me, but I hope to read them soon. KISS MY CUPCAKE is by a favorite author and I can’t wait to dive in! SEX AND VANITY is the latest from Kevin Kwan – I’ve been curious to read more since his first series. SUMMER AT LAKE HAVEN obviously continues the Haven Point series that I love so much. And lastly, I’m currently reading THE INHERITANCE GAMES. I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes and a friend helped me borrow an ARC of this one, so I’m reading it now. It just came out yesterday. Recent Releases – To Buy/Borrow […]