Category: Features

Blog Tour: Finding Felicity

Posted March 19, 2018 / Book Reviews, Cover Colors, Features / 8 Comments

I knew exactly what I wanted to do for a post when I saw this blog tour announced by the Fantastic Flying Book Club. Felicity is a show I’ve always wanted to watch. I was constantly watching Friends with my mom (when I was way too young to watch it), but I never saw Felicity because she didn’t watch it. I was only 7 years old when the show started so the college-aged main character fascinated me, but was out of my reach at the time. I loved the concept of Finding Felicity when I saw the book’s synopsis a long time ago, and vowed to watch the show before reading the book. As you might have guessed, my role in this fun blog tour is to watch Felicity for the first time and share my feelings before reading the book. I’m going to include a little late 90s outfit Polyvore collage with Cover Colors as well, because I can’t resist. A first time Felicity watcher binges the show The tour was announced at the beginning of March, so I knew I had a few weeks to get going on the show. I decided to keep my live-blogging to just the first episode because it would get out of hand for all the episodes (I learned this very quickly). I embarked on the binge the first weekend of the month when my boyfriend was working (and sleeping, due to his work schedule). Here are my thoughts on season one, starting with a live blog […]

Lauren Lately | March 2018

Posted March 15, 2018 / Features, Lauren Lately, Wrap-Ups / 12 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 ✨ Cooking, relaxing, reading, and coffee shops | The past month has actually been quiet. We went almost a month without skiing, which is weird at this time of year! I’ve been eating healthier and taking more care when choosing recipes/meals. I’ve read decent amount of books (and some really great ones). There’s a new coffee shop down the road (even closer than some of the others I’ve gone to!) and we walked down there on a really nice day before heading home for our February trip. I did a Day in the Life post about it too. February’s trip home | We stayed home from a Wednesday night to Friday night. We didn’t have a lot to do, aside from my book club and me needing to cover part of my boss’s vacation in the office. We went to this amazing soul food place for book club and discussed Renegades! I saw both of […]

How Moving Has Affected My Reading

Posted March 12, 2018 / Discussions, Features / 1 Comment

I’ve talked about this for a while in different spots, but thought it would be interesting to share all of the ways my reading habits have changed since we moved. (I talked a little about this when I explored where I was getting my books from.) Usually moving from one apartment to another wouldn’t exactly impact your reading habits (unless you moved 20 minutes away from work instead of 40 minutes and have less audiobook time, for example). When we picked up and moved to Maine in July 2017, I knew my reading habits would be changing quite a bit for a few reasons. This wasn’t like any other move. Reasons I anticipated the move would change my reading 1. I would be bringing only a handful of physical books with me, along with my Kindle. I was determined to bring around 10 books and rotate them in and out each month when I’d go home. I would read a handful during the month, bring them back to CT when we’d visit, and I’d replace them with the same amount of books. (More on that part later…) I obviously also had my Kindle for reading egalleys and ebooks, as well as my iPad for other book services (checking out library ebooks or Scribd). I would also have the option to check out physical books from my new library as well. 2. I would end up having two library cards (in two different locations/states) simultaneously. As I mentioned, I got a […]

Spring Bingo TBR Ideas

Posted March 7, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments

As you know by now, Bookish Bingo is one of my favorite challenges to participate in. I love completing the boards slowly and then learning what’s going to be on the new one! It’s always fun to see a fresh sheet. I usually do very well (either fill the board 100% or miss just a few spots). This one looks really possible to fill the board again and I’m determined to do it! Here are some TBR options (based on books I was planning to read). Reading, finished, and up next: Family: Legendary by Stephanie Garber Historical fiction: My Plain Jane by Meadows/Hand/Ashton Part of a series: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire CARAVAL is very family-oriented, as the whole book involves Scarlett looking for her sister, and LEGENDARY is similar. I don’t remember the synopsis so I won’t spoil anything and am too lazy to check… Let’s just say that the family theme definitely continues. MY PLAIN JANE is a historical fiction technically, but it’s not as historical fiction-y of a retelling (wow, what weird phrasing…) as MY LADY JANE. It’s based on a retelling of JANE EYRE but technically the plot happens back in the day, so it counts. The Wayward Children series continues with book two here, so that counts in a series (even though I guess it’s actually a prequel and not #2). Possible TBR: Ocean theme: No Filter by Orlagh Collins Unlikeable main character: She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlop Aussie author: Obsidio by […]

Behind the Screen: A Book Blogger Tag

Posted March 5, 2018 / Discussions, Features / 5 Comments

I caught this making its away across the blogosphere and was tempted to join in, but then Madalyn made my life easier and tagged me! This was created originally by Amber @ Du Livre. When did you start blogging and what was your first review? I started blogging on July 16, 2014 and my first review was for We Were Liars. I did not enjoy the book, to say the least! My first non-review post happened on the same day (because I was a bit intense when I got started) and was for my Top 10 Summer Reads. I think that’s pretty indicative of my reading preferences! Who/what inspired you to start blogging? I remember reading Before I Fall back in July 2014 for the first time and having so many thoughts about it. I was scrolling through some of the reviews on Goodreads (before finishing the book, whoops) and noticed a lot of people had links that said “for more thoughts, go to X blog here!” and I was intrigued. I always wanted to blog (I had so many failed ones back in the day) and it truly had never occurred to me that reading/books would be a blogging topic. It wasn’t my first review because I started the blog when I was in the middle of reading it, but still – this book and some of the Goodreads reviewers inspired me! What is a blog-related goal you have? I’m really not sure because my blog has changed so much over […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | February 2018

Posted March 1, 2018 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 2 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. February is/was a weird month. January felt like it took ten years to be over, but February was over in a blink. I know it’s partly because there are only 28 days. I read a few very large books that took me a while, but it’s mostly because I had to pause books to read other ones I didn’t give myself enough time for. I was reading MY PLAIN JANE when I got a book from an ARC tour, so I had to pause it. I went back to MPJ for a couple of days before realizing I had less than a week to read the 500+ page behemoth RENEGADES for my book club meeting, so I had to pause MPJ again. Trying to read those books took me most of the month because of start-stop-start-stop. I also made the mistake of randomly starting an ebook in between even though I didn’t really have time for it. Sigh. My reading has been all over the place this month. I slightly changed and simplified my BL Bulletin posts, in case you’re noticing […]

March TBR

Posted February 28, 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. February Progress I feel like I completely forgot the books I genuinely NEEDED to read in February when I made my TBR. There were at least three books I knew I was getting this past month and I just ignored putting them on my TBR. As a result, I didn’t do the BEST job of reading from my TBR (especially after January’s success)… On Deck for March Some Library Books The Chaos of Standing Still – Brody | Public Relations – Healey/Rebolini Down Among the Sticks/Bones – McGuire | The Wonder of Us – Culbertson Beneath the Sugar Sky – McGuire | Nice Try, Jane Sinner – Oelke I’ve had most of these guys out for a while and I’m going to prioritize reading the majority of them before the end of the month. I’m not going to fool myself into thinking I’ll read all of them, but my plan is to (a) read them by order of due date and (b) prioritize the small books by Seanan McGuire because I’ll bang them out. Done! Upcoming Egalleys No Filter by Orlagh Collins | Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett | Legendary by Stephanie Garber […]

On My List (4)

Posted February 26, 2018 / Features, On My List / 5 Comments

I love Jamie’s New to the Queue feature because it highlights new things she’s added to her different “to do/ read/ watch/ etc.” lists. This new random feature – called simply On My List – will show off the most recent books, movies, shows, podcasts, recipes, crafts, and other things to make it on my to-do list. Found on the Shelves of Target I don’t read a lot of adult fiction to begin with, but adult mystery/thrillers (aka really anything non-contemporary, honestly) haven’t been on my radar much. I’ve expanded into adding some on my TBR and hoooopefully I actually read them at some point. Sunburn by Laura Lippman | This book involves lying and someone dying and a lot of secrets, once two people meet one summer. Both people seem to have questionable paths and I’m curious about how the author keeps some secrets under wraps, as well as the general style of the book? The Widower’s Wife by Cate Holahan | There’s a real life story of a woman falling over the edge of cruise ship (or disappearing from it maybe?) and that story has kind of fascinated me. When I saw that was the general premise of this book, I added it to my TBR. The Party by Robyn Harding | This is one of two books on this list that remind me of Liane Moriarty. It’s a “domestic drama about a sweet sixteen birthday party that goes horribly awry, a wealthy family in San Francisco finds their picture-perfect life unraveling, their darkest secrets […]

Operation COYER and eBooks I Keep Forgetting

Posted February 21, 2018 / Book Lists, Discussions, Features / 2 Comments

I saw a few posts recently (Kristen and Jamie) about ebooks people forgot they owned. This happens to me ALL the time – I buy a book I’m excited to read (or even one I’m not as excited to read but hello Kindle sale) and then I completely forget about it until I’m scrolling through my Kindle, looking for my next read. I actually don’t do this super often because if I open up my Kindle, I have a book in mind. The other night before bed though, I did find myself flipping through and trying to see what I was in the mood for. I found so many gems that are just waiting to be read! I’m calling this Operation COYER based on the COYER (clean out your e-reads) Challenge. I’m not an official participant but I liked the wording, so I wanted to link over there. First, I’ll share a few books that I keep forgetting I have on my Kindle. Then, I’ll talk about how I plan to clean my ereader out and be a happier person. I hate that my Kindle is so damn slooooow. Top books I keep forgetting about Me, You, and Tiramisu by Charlotte Butterfield | I loved another one of this author’s books and immediately downloaded this other book because it was cheaper. These characters were minimally introduced in CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE and I love the whole bookstore idea. I wanted to read it soonafter but I’m bad […]

Degrees of Separation and Connections

Posted February 19, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 4 Comments

I’ve talked repeatedly on here about how I love books where random people come together over a shared event or traumatic experience – people who would otherwise never have met each other. Movies like Valentine’s Day, Love the Coopers, and New Years Eve always interested me too, where interconnected stories play out slowly throughout the movie and you wonder how the people you’ve met will end up knowing each other. There are a lot of topics that fall under this kind of “connection” category, like people meeting up during trips (traveling around the world, road tripping, etc.), being snowed in or stuck somewhere with someone, health-related connections (through organ donation, being in a hospital, etc.), working together for the summer or at a first job, or even being connected over time (where some of the story happens in the past and some happens in present day, but the characters’ stories are related). There are A LOT of flavors to this category that I love so much, but one thing remains true: these people would not know each other if it weren’t for the weird, extenuating circumstance that ends up binding them together. In my recent read-bait post, I talked about “travel meet cutes.” This is the kind of situation where someone meets a ~special person~ during their travels (road trip, airport, stuck on a train – the list goes on) and fall in love. I’ll talk about those books here a little, but I wanted to also expand into those […]