Category: Discussions

Fickle with Five Star Ratings

Posted November 3, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 15 Comments
Fickle with Five Star Ratings

I used to hand out five star ratings like candy on Halloween. If a book hit me particularly hard or really entertained the shit out of me, I just slapped it with the best rating. I was kind of under the impression that for a book to be considered a favorite, it needed the full five stars. Since then, though, I’ve kind of rethought my rating process and factors for determining what a favorite is. I talked about this recently with favorite authors and asked what makes an author one of your favorites. Most people agreed that if you LOVE a few of their books and then just LIKE a few others, they can certainly still be a favorite. Maybe a favorite author is just an auto-buy author. That’s generally how I see it. In any case, we all determined that just because they’re a “favorite” they don’t have to be PERFECT. You can love a book, call it a favorite, and still give it 4.5 stars. Conversely, I feel like you can really appreciate a fantastic book and give it five stars, but it doesn’t make it onto an all-time favorite list. Am I alone in this? I don’t know why I think this is true, but lately I just do. Some books I will scream about how much I love them but still have a few lingering ~negative feelings~ about certain aspects. Thus, they don’t get the perfect rating, but become a book I still yell about. This could […]

Drafts I Haven’t Finished & Published

Posted October 28, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 9 Comments
Drafts I Haven’t Finished & Published

I follow a lot of “lifestyle” blogs in addition to book blogs… especially if they involve sports/football. One of my favorites is Love, Fun, and Football. Erin wrote a post the other day that’s a part of a “Back to Blogging” link-up hosted by Alyssa Goes Bang. Phew, that’s quite an introduction for this post! Anyways, I liked the topic idea: blog post drafts I haven’t hit the publish button on yet. For me, they’re mostly book centered and they’re mostly incomplete… hence why I haven’t published them yet. There’s something that’s just preventing me from finishing them too. Which of these would you be interested in? Should I finally just POST them?! On Fandoms and Obsessions I made some observation on Twitter a few months ago about how I can tell my fandom “transitions” by going through my Tumblr page. I have a tendency of obsessing over something, posting a lot about it, then getting obsessed with the next thing and posting a lot about it… and so on. I can track how my fandoms change throughout the course of 2016 pretty easily. I made a post that goes from January through now and talks about each of those fandoms a little bit. I’m pretty sure none of them are book-related, so it would be a fun personal post to finally finish. I got through listing them all out but couldn’t decide how to flesh it out – GIFs, why I like(d) it so much, etc.? Get to Know Me Uncomfortably Well […]

Going Against the TBR

Posted October 5, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 18 Comments
Going Against the TBR

Do you ever just completely randomly choose your next read? I feel like I usually have a GENERAL idea about what books should or will be coming up next for me. I’ll mostly pick from that vague list in my head or on my Goodreads “up next” shelf I (sometimes) use. It could be a library book that’s almost due, an ARC I’ve been planning to get to, a recent release that I’ve been anticipating, or just some other random book I’ve been meaning to pick up. It’s just kind of in my head, waiting to be read next. Every time I reach for a new book, I have some kind of reason for picking it up, or at least the idea of it. There are obviously some exceptions to this. The moments where you’re sitting there with almost no idea what to read and suddenly pick something completely random to start next. Some of these books end up being great choices! Aaaand sometimes not so much. Lately I’ve noticed myself being a little more flexible with choosing my next read. I go with my mood but also keep my TBR in mind. I have some books that need to be returned or read soon for blog tours and buddy reads, but for the most part? I read what I want, whenever I want. I have to keep the hobby fun. Why I’ve chosen some of my random recent reads: Browsing for a new audiobook while in the mood for a specific type of […]

What Makes a Favorite Author?

Posted September 23, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 13 Comments
What Makes a Favorite Author?

I love finding new authors and reading books that I may not usually pick up… but there’s something comforting about reading a book by one of your all-time favorites. You know how exciting it is when you find out they’re releasing a new book! But I was thinking that I have so many authors I consider to be FAVORITES even though I may not have LOVED every single one of their books. Does this happen to anyone else?? I’ve read most of the books by my favorites but there are a few authors I’m quick to say “YES MY FAVE” but I actually didn’t love every one of their books. It makes me wonder what qualifications I have for determining who is a favorite. Didn’t Love Em All Miranda Kenneally Loved or really enjoyed these: Catching Jordan and Breathe, Annie, Breathe are my absolute favorites by MK. I could see myself rereading and revisiting them for sure. Jesse’s Girl and Defending Taylor come somewhat close behind. These stories are the ones that keep me reading the series without question. Didn’t like or felt meh about these: I have issues reading about religion in books, so Stealing Parker and Things I Can’t Forget were not favorites of mine. I didn’t mind Racing Savannah but it just didn’t have enough OOMPH for me to really love it, or want to move it to the other category. It was hard to read the first two here but I powered through because I love the series as a […]

Savoring a Favorite Author’s Books

Posted September 19, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 18 Comments
Savoring a Favorite Author’s Books

I feel like a poser when I think about my favorite authors and their books, because 9 times out of 10 I haven’t read ALL of their books. It’s a weird dichotomy: obviously I WANT to read all of their books… but I also don’t want to run out of their books. You know when you’re just really in the mood for one particular author and nothing else will satisfy you? I’m totally afraid that I’ll run out of books by that author and have nothing new to read from them. This has happened and/or is currently happening with nearly all of my favorite authors. Brittany talked about how there are distinct stages when you find out your favorite author is writing a new book and I think so much of that relates here – the fear and excitement and nervousness and GAH. All the emotions. Why do I wait and hoard the books? 1. I don’t want to run out of their books. I hate the idea that there isn’t a book by my favorite author waiting to be read. What do I do if I’m in the mood for their words but don’t feel like rereading? It’s just a nice comfortable feeling when I think that there’s still an unread book by them on my shelf and I know I can wait on reading it for the PERFECT moment. Kasie West, Morgan Matson, and Kody Keplinger are three of my favorites… yet, at the time of reading this post, I […]

Blogging Ebb and Flow

Posted September 12, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 8 Comments
Blogging Ebb and Flow

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that my blogging goes through a lot of ups and downs. There are some months where I have SO many ideas for posts and discussions that I find myself moving things around so I can post them all ASAP instead of waiting. I’m excited, eager, and creative. Then, there are some times where I wonder where that energy went. I look at my month and it only has a bunch of reviews from books I read forever ago, plus a few TTTs and wrap-up posts. These months make me loathe myself because I regret not pacing out some of my discussions a little better, and beefing up later months. I’m usually the person who has too many posts scheduled (especially because I always read ARCs super early then write and schedule my reviews as soon as possible). There is absolutely no in-between for me. My biggest issue in general is how much I schedule ahead. I read a book in April and wasn’t able to schedule the review post until June because of the amount of ARC reviews and other posts I packed in. I love having a full schedule because it means I don’t have to worry. I sit back and chill. AND THEN all of a sudden I look at the calendar and the next few weeks are empty. I don’t have much scheduled because I used it all up. It’s an endless cycle my friends. Sooo instead of continuing this […]

Gimme Some Recs! | Mystery / Suspense / Thrillers and Historical Fiction

Posted August 19, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 22 Comments
Gimme Some Recs! | Mystery / Suspense / Thrillers and Historical Fiction

I recently talked about how I feel like I’m a “fake” fantasy reader because I always say I like fantasy books, but barely read them. I don’t do well with high fantasy and tend to prefer lighter fantasy novels, if I read them at all. I sought out some recommendations based on some of the favorites I’ve actually read and you guys definitely delivered. I’m hoping for the same thing here today. I always add mystery/thriller and historical fiction novels to my TBR on Goodreads, but almost NEVER actually read them. I want to share a few historical and suspenseful books here so you know what I like, and then hopefully you can help me out with some recommendations! Which books should I actually read?! I tend to read more political books by Ally Carter or Jennifer Lynn Barnes, or books that fall on the “suspense” end of the spectrum (like Liane Moriarty). I don’t read a lot of hefty murder mysteries or legit thrillers, but have enjoyed some in the past. I find myself adding memory loss books to the TBR, as well as some YA murder mysteries or kidnappings. Check out my TBRs here or here if you’re curious for more I’m interested in! I also went into detail about things I don’t like about some YA mystery books too. Seeking: political thrillers, YA murder mysteries, shocking twists, memory loss, “suspense” classification instead of mystery/thriller This one can be really hit or miss for me. I love books that involve historical […]

A Half-Assed Series Binger

Posted July 22, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 18 Comments
A Half-Assed Series Binger

I love declaring that I’m going to binge a book series and then abandoning it halfway through. Not usually for lack of interest or anything, but just other books popping up and getting in the way! I make these grand plans and create my binge-filled review posts, then they sit in drafts forever because I don’t ACTUALLY binge the series. This has happened in more ways than I can count – physical book binges, audiobook binges, fantasy books, contemporary books, super-long series, super-short series, and everything in between. Unsuccessful Binges Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas Started: June 2016 /// Books read so far: 2 I randomly pressed play on the audiobook one morning and blitzed through book one, then moved on to the novella book afterwards. I don’t remember why I lost steam, but I remember just wanting to switch to a lighter audiobook afterwards. I definitely plan to get going on this one again really soon, but it’s not exactly the binge I had in mind. I have a review post drafted for the first three books and then will post one for the next three books in September, when Empire of Storms comes out. Then, I’ll read the final book with everyone else the following year! The Islanders series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant Started: June 2016 /// Books read so far: 1 I brought this one along on vacation with me and it took surprisingly long to read. It was honestly not super engaging for me, but […]

Reading & Rereading Harry Potter | Potterhead July

Posted July 21, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 19 Comments
Reading & Rereading Harry Potter | Potterhead July

When Aentee from Read at Midnight posted about Potterhead July, I knew I had to sign up. The main premise is essentially a blog hop with a bunch of Harry Potter-related topics throughout the month. I knew that I needed to discuss my Harry Potter reading and rereading experiences, since it’s something that will absolutely always be near and dear to my heart. Without further ado, here are my stories! Reading for the first time As a kid, I went to Cape Cod every summer for an expanse of maybe 10 years. We’d usually meet up with my mom’s best friend and her family for a few days within the week we were there. One of their daughters, who was a few years older than me, had brought along Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It had just been released the previous month and she started reading it aloud to us before bed. I had always been a reader so this story immediately captivated me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I was trying to sleep. Once we got home from the vacation, I made my mom call up her friend and find out what book that was. We immediately went to the bookstore and picked up the first book. It took me a while to finally sit down and read it for some reason… but I was hooked once I did, of course! Later that year (1999), I got both Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban for Christmas. I immediately continued […]

Audiobook Favorites

Posted July 15, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 17 Comments
Audiobook Favorites

I listen to a lot of audiobooks – usually about 3 or 4 a month, depending on their length. Oddly enough, I don’t really review or rate the audiobook element in my book reviews. I focus on the same things (plot, characters, pacing, etc.) and only mention the narration if it was BAD. I love when people share more information about the audiobooks specifically, so I’m not sure why I don’t. Hence the reason for today’s post! I want to share some of my favorite audiobooks and audio narrators that I’ve read since I started listening to audiobooks a couple of years ago. Tried-and-True Favorites Julia Whelan I’ve listened to the most audiobooks by Julia Whelan – with good reason! She’s done a great job with Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, in my opinion. I’ve listened to half of One True Loves and all of After I Do as audiobooks. She also narrated Tease and Of Beast and Beauty, which I generally enjoyed too. The only thing I don’t really like about her is her “male voice” impression. It sounds weirdly breathy or something. Tim Curry THE BEST. Second to only another guy on this list. I looooved his narration for the Series of Unfortunate Events. I did my whole reread of this series via audio. Some of the books were narrated by “Lemony Snicket” and most were done by Tim Curry. He was absolutely amazing and I loved every millisecond. Even Carmalita Spats. Will Patton I tried really hard to read this […]