Category: Features

2018 Mid-Year Reading Statistics & Goals

Posted July 2, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features, Wrap-Ups / 4 Comments

I love tracking my TBR and trying to see what else there is to accomplish by halfway through the year. I always hope it shocks me into completing challenges and really focusing in on my bookish goals. I decided to split this year’s check-in into two posts so I could really hone in on some specifics. Today’s post is about the usual stuff: what I’ve read and my goal progress. Wednesday’s post is about my challenges’ status and TBRs for the rest of the year. Check out last year’s post if you’re curious! As you see in my monthly wrap-ups, I keep my stats updated each time. The spreadsheet I use is definitely the reason for my organization. I use this time of year (in addition to the end of the year) to REALLY go all-out with my stats. It also helps me create new goals or update existing ones. I may decide I really should read more fantasy or more books from my own shelves. I’ll highlight all of the books I’ve read so far in general too. All of the Books Read So Far Random Fun Smallest book read: Home to Honeymoon Harbor (66) Largest book read: Obsidio (615) Most read author: RaeAnne Thayne (3) Books read 300 pages or under: 24% Books read over 300 pages: 76% Most pages / books in a month: 4,765 pages in January / 14 books in January Least pages / books in a month: 2,624 pages in April / 7 books in June At the beginning of the year, […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | June 2018

Posted June 29, 2018 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 4 Comments

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 don’t like to post these before the end of the month because I’m always afraid I’ll read/finish more books in between, but I know that won’t be the case here! Since we’re moving TOMORROW (holy crap), I knew I wouldn’t be reading today and tomorrow, most likely. If I do find a few minutes to read, I’m sure I won’t be finishing anything. In any case! June was a buuuuusy month but I still found myself reading in my spare time before bed or in the evening. We traveled to California, which involved me reading half of one book on the first flight and then binge-watching shows instead for the rest. I finished with two books this week though so I got back on track for the GR goal, thanks to reading a lot in May. All of the books read this month: Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge 4 read this month | 22 read total | 71% NG ratio Popsugar Reading Challenge 0 read this month | 25 read total | 63% complete None this month Modern Mrs. Darcy […]

July TBR

Posted June 28, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments

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. June Progress I kind of gave up on reading my own physical copies during the month of June. I knew I would have to pack them all up and bring them home anyways, so it’s not like there was much holding me to reading them. I also knew I didn’t want to bring any physical books to California last week, so my Kindle was my savior. I didn’t read all of my library books but I was comfortable with at least getting to SAM & ISLA. I also read the two books for blog tours. On Deck for July Blog Tours The Art of Inheriting Secrets by O’Neal | After Nightfall by Banner The Year of Living Awkwardly by Chastain I’ve been signing up for more adult fiction blog tours lately for a few reasons: the books have sounded really interesting, and I’m trying to switch my reading up a bit. I’ve been burnt out lately on certain books (YA contemps, pretty much), so anything that’s different (like these adult books with mystery elements involved) is appealing to me right now. I’m forcing myself to read something new instead. Upcoming […]

Blog Tour: Your Destination is on the Left

Posted June 22, 2018 / Book Reviews, Cover Colors, Features / 1 Comment

Review After traveling with her family in a caravan of RVs since seventh grade, Dessa is ready to figure out the next steps in her own life. The caravan makes decisions as a group by voting, instead of allowing individual voices to be heard. This works for a while, for most situations (like when and where to go next), but can be harder when someone wants to break free and carve their own path. Dessa is a great artist that, for some reason, didn’t get into any art schools. She’s surprised by her acceptance into an internship with a great artist in Santa Fe, NM, so the caravan heads there. I loved getting to know her grandmother and the artist, Fiona – they were two of my favorite characters. Many of the side characters, like her family and Cyrus, were hard for me. I understood that they needed and wanted to keep everyone together as a group, but it often felt like people were forced into things. Dessa knew what was right for her and no one wanted to let her do it. I appreciated that she fought for her independence and tried to make everyone understand that SHE deserved to make her own decisions. She’s old enough to decide what to do next. Cyrus was an okay love interest sometimes but I wasn’t really sold on the ship… which is weird, because friends-to-more is my jam usually! The two of them have been traveling together since they started and it seemed […]

Lauren Lately | June 2018

Posted June 15, 2018 / Features, Lauren Lately, Wrap-Ups / 5 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 ✨ June marks the super busy time for me! We’re moving at the end of the month and had soooo much to do in the interim. There’s more to come after this posts, where things get even busier. Here’s my life from mid-May to mid-June! Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor | I know I already did a full recap of this trip, but I wanted to include a few pictures here. Definitely read the whole thing if you want more details! It was so much fun. It’s genuinely the most beautiful place I’ve been. If you have a chance to go, please do. Victoria Mansion and food spots | We went to a Portland attraction, the Victoria Mansion, this month. It’s really cool because they kept most of it authentic to the time people lived there. We went to Highroller Lobster Company after, which was amazing. We split fries, a “lobby pop” (piece of lobster […]

Summer TBR Lists: Bingo and Beach Reads

Posted June 14, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 Comments

You know I’m a big-time seasonal reader. Light, fluffy, easy contemporary books throughout the summer, and the longer fantasy books during the fall and winter. I mix mysteries, thrillers, and sometimes sci-fi or paranormal in throughout the year whenever I need a break. This summer will be kind of weird, reading-wise, because I’m going to be moving and finally have all of my physical books in the same place as me! I wanted to sift through some books I plan on reading over the next few months that suit my bingo card, summertime beach reading, and some ARCs where they apply. Summer Bingo Books already read | Blue cover – The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan LGBT+ – Sam and Isla’s Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Science fiction – The Similars by Rebecca Hanover A book you’ve been putting off | Asian author | Illustrations I have been putting off a lot of books and ignoring my physical stack, so there are plenty of options here. I’m sticking SHE REGRETS NOTHING here as a placeholder. I want to read CRAZY RICH ASIANS before I see the movie, so I definitely hope to get on that one as soon as possible. EVERYTHING MUST GO has been sitting on my shelf since I bought it a few months back and I believe there are illustrations because it’s a journal-esque book? Reread | Set during wartime | Realistic fiction I’ve been wanting to reread GOSSIP GIRL for a couple of years […]

New Cover Love Additions

Posted June 11, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 5 Comments

Just use the search bar on the side if you’re looking for more cover-oriented posts because MAN do I post too many to even include links anymore! Today’s installment of Cover Love features some new covers I added to my Goodreads shelf. They’re most likely newer releases or upcoming releases, because I usually add to that shelf as soon as a gorgeous cover makes its appearance. Here are some recent/new/upcoming favorites!

Authors I Keep Adding to my TBR that I STILL Haven’t Read (Part 2)

Posted June 6, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 2 Comments

In case you couldn’t tell from last week’s post staying “part one” in the top, I clearly have a LOT of authors to include on this shameful list of mine. Here’s the recap and this week’s segment of the alphabet… I can’t be the only one who does this, right?! There are so many authors out there that keep writing books that sound AMAZING, so I add them to my TBR… and then never actually read those books. There are some authors on this list where their DEBUT was right up my alley, I was so pumped, and then never got to it… and now they have five books out and I keep adding them to my overflowing TBR list and still haven’t even read their first story. Here are some of those books and authors… even just to remind myself they exist and I NEED TO READ THEM. Leah Konen Do you have any books on your list where you don’t even realize who the author is, or make connections between their books? That definitely just happened here. I was scrolling through my TBR, looking for good books and authors to include, when I saw all these books in a row. I totally didn’t even connect that they were by the same author. All of them sound SO GOOD; hop to it, Lauren! Emily Henry This one is a little ridiculous, given how freakin excited I was for her debut. I lost some steam for a while but still hope […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | May 2018

Posted June 1, 2018 / 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 was definitely more in the mood to read this month, for once! I managed to get back over my reading hump and finish over 10 books. This keeps me ahead on my Goodreads challenge as well. You’ll see from the breakdown below that I was SUPER addicted to my Kindle. I almost never came up for air with that thing. I genuinely struggled to read physical copies after a while 🙁 All of the books read this month: Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge 6 read this month | 18 read total | 71% NG ratio Popsugar Reading Challenge 1 read this month | 25 read total | 63% complete Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge 1 read this month | 7 read total | 58% complete Seasonal Bingo Breakdown: 5 bought | 2 borrowed | 0 free/gifted | 6 for review Egalleys From Netgalley: Herons Landing by Ross, Dating Disasters of Emma Nash by Seager, The Art of Inheriting Secrets by O’Neal, The Summer List by Doan, The Impossibility of Us by Upperman, The Similars by Hanvoer Physical Copies Preordered: ACOFAS […]

June TBR

Posted May 31, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 Comments

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. May Progress I managed to read a few egalleys and my book club selection, but that’s about it. I didn’t manage to finish any books from my physical TBR but I’ve been slowly slogging through one of them without much success. I tried to prioritize some of the deadlines I had (and expiring PDF egalleys), so that was okay. On Deck for June Library Books Puddin by Murphy | I Have Lost My Way by Forman Sam & Isla’s Last Hurrah by Levithan/Cohn I have these final three library books from the Portland library that need to be read and/or returned before June 30th. I definitely think I’ll get to them… at least two out of three, most likely. I’ve been really excited about them so I hope that motivates me. I’m the worst. Blog Tours The Summer List by Doan | Your Destination is on the Left by Spieller I’m actually reading THE SUMMER LIST as we speak but had to put it on hold for my book club read. I have these two blog tours in June, on the 18th and 22nd respectively. One is YA and the […]