Category: Features

Weird-for-Me Covers I’m Inexplicably Loving

Posted April 17, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 15 Comments

In keeping up with my never-ending stream of book cover-related posts, here’s a different one for you. I have certain elements I LOVE about book covers (pretty colors, hearts, watercolor, typography… all of those items can be found here). Not ALL of my favorite book covers have those elements. Lately I’ve found myself more and more drawn to weirder book covers, or more unique ones at least. Here are some book covers that are out of MY normal range of favorites that I’m kind of obsessed with. In fact, there are quite a few books of the opposite design. I’m a fan of the pretty, colorful, upbeat covers with lots of intricacies (or beautiful text). Now, I’m adding a lot more plain, simple, and dark covers to my “cover love” shelf. Book cover feature I usually love: sunsets and sunrises Book cover feature I love lately: dark, outer space elements I usually love books set on earth (lol) with sunsets or sunrises. It makes for a beautiful, colorful background in the sky. There’s something so jarring about outer space covers; I can never look away from them. These two are really striking for some reason, with the small color elements and black background. Book cover feature I usually love: pretty and/or watercolor flowers or floral patterns Book cover feature I love lately: dead and/or creepy flowers As you can see everywhere on my blog, flowers are my THING. I love watercolor floral designs and pretty, living flowers on book covers. These two covers have very […]

Lauren Lately | April 2017

Posted April 14, 2017 / Features, Lauren Lately, Wrap-Ups / 7 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 ✨ New England weather | I’ve lived in this region my whole life so I’m very familiar with the saying “if you don’t like the weather today, wait until tomorrow.” This past month, it’s been so true! We had one weekend where it snowed and sleeted on Saturday, then was 60* and sunny the next day. We were able to squeak in skiing one more time and then went for a nice walk the next day. It’s crazy! Hiking and other outdoor activities | I already alluded to this but the weather finally stopped being back-and-forth, so now we’ve got some nice weather. Rain was in the forecast a little over the last week but there were some warm and sunny days too. I’ve been taking full advantage of reading on the porch as much as possible. We’ve also gone for a lot of walks around our apartment and on some new hiking trails. TV […]

Cover Colors: The Secret of a Heart Note

Posted April 12, 2017 / Cover Colors, Features / 11 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with book covers. I love the colors, the typography, the different designs that cover artists can create. I even have a guest post feature where people share their favorite book covers and bookmarks! I decided to start up this random feature where I draw color inspiration from my favorite book covers. I may create an outfit, pick out some nail polish, or design a quote graphic. Today’s cover is… The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee I love this cover so much. It made me INCREDIBLY excited for the book (of course the premise/summary didn’t hurt too!). I enjoyed it (a bit less than expected, but that’s probably my fault) and had to highlight it here. The cover is very springy with all of the flowers, so I couldn’t resist using the floral prints and colors in a few different outfits. Floral print is my FAVE. You can tell by the millions of things below. Secret of a Heart Note 1 by bookmarklit featuring a mini dress Secret of a Heart Note 2 by bookmarklit featuring a blue purse Secret of a Heart Note 3 by bookmarklit featuring Kevyn Aucoin A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Jan 1, 2017 at 7:23pm PST

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | March 2017

Posted April 1, 2017 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 8 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my book haul, books I read and reviewed, posts I shared, challenge updates, and more from the previous month. I also let you know what may be coming up on the blog in the coming month. You can read past bulletins here. I recently split out my personal posts into the Lauren Lately feature, so this is a bit shorter! I continued being ~in the mood~ to read quite often and didn’t usually push aside reading for TV. I guess there were a few days in February where I straight-up binged books in 1-2 days… and that didn’t really happen in March. I did, however, become addicted to a four book audio series and completed it within the month. Some solid reads overall and I’m excited! Average rating for books read in March: 3.79 stars Highlights & Lowlights All of the books from the month: Year-Long Contemporary Romance Challenge 12 this month | 25 read total | 119% complete Books read from the pre-planned TBR: 0 this month | 2 total Spring Bingo Challenge All the books: Magic: Zenn Diagram – Brant 2017 debut: What I Lost – Ballard Green cover: What to Say Next – Buxbaum Multi-POV: A Little Something Different – Hall Paranormal: The Best Kind of Magic – Cestari Spring release: Done Dirt Cheap – Lemon Just words on cover: Secrets of a Reluctant Princess – Griffin Series finale: Bounce – August Witches: […]

April TBR (Including A Very ARC-ish Readathon and Owned Book April)

Posted March 31, 2017 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 15 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… March Progress Another good month of TBR-related progress! I read or started SIX of the books I chose ahead of time. I am super proud of myself for this. Okay, one of them was a DNF, but still. I’m happy I at least got to six of them. A couple were disappointing and one (WHAT TO SAY NEXT) blew me away, so I suppose that’s not bad. And I banged out three Netgalley reviews out of these! On Deck for April Personal Challenge: Owned Book April This month I’m focusing on reading books I own physical copies of. This can definitely include ARCs (especially if the pub date has already passed) and other already-published physical copies I haven’t read yet. I came up with this idea before making my March TBR (which included a lot of borrowed books) so I decided to focus on it for April instead. My goal is to read 75% books I own. The other 25% can include ARC tour books that come in, audiobooks I listen to, […]

March Netflix and Books Challenge Check-In

Posted March 25, 2017 / Book Challenges, Features / 2 Comments

Erica from Diving Under the Cover and I introduced our Netflix and Books Challenge for 2017 as a way of making progress on books we want to read and TV shows we want to watch. The TBR lists were chosen by matching books up to various TV shows based on characters, plots, etc. You can learn all about the challenge and join in anytime here! Don’t forget, you can also still participate in our Netflix and Books Tag that we debuted in 2016; it’ll give you some points in this challenge too! Reading Progress No news to report here! I’m still in waiting mode for a few books to be released from my TBR. I also haven’t really been in the mood for my rereads on here either (The Great Gatsby and Gossip Girl). I’m afraid that GG will create a whoooole binge of the series and I have too many review copies to read instead haha. I wish I had those books in audio form… Completed books so far: January Book main character has the same name as a TV show MC: Book: Take the Key & Lock Her Up TV Show: Will & Grace Connection: MC named Grace February Still to read: TV Watching Progress LOL so yeah no progress here either. I just have been watching very few shows aka mostly Friends. We’ve watched some random other shows, plus Shameless as always, so we’ll see when these final get banged out. I think the most likely one will be Bob’s Burgers […]

Why I Love Goodreads

Posted March 23, 2017 / Discussions, Features / 21 Comments

Like the vast majority of bloggers I know, I LOVE Goodreads. I don’t think I’ve really ever sat here and explained why though. A while back Kate posted a list about this and I was inspired… then kept a post sitting in my drafts for months. I wanted to revisit it today because I wrote a few Goodreads-related posts back in January that people seemed to like, about how I get ahead on my goal for the year and why I reduce that goal each year. Reasons I’m Addicted to Goodreads 100% bookish things all the time This is definitely the biggest factor for me. I love other social networks for various reasons, but I can get bogged down and distracted very easily. I need to find a better way to balance staying up-to-date on current events and maintaining self-care. In any case, when I need to avoid other social network sites (like Twitter and Facebook when I team I absolutely despise wins the Super Bowl and countless fake fans in my region take to the internet to celebrate), I know I can stay in a happy bookish bubble on Goodreads. I still feel connected to my bloggers and reader-friends, but I won’t see things that will annoy me when I choose to avoid them. Adding books to my TBR and other shelves Keeping track of books is the sole purpose of Goodreads, really, aside from connecting with other book lovers. I aggressively use their shelving system to track books I want […]

Adult Fiction Reads on my Radar (2)

Posted March 22, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 8 Comments

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I have been reaching for the adult contemporary fiction books lately. I always used to add them to my TBR based on some of my favorite bloggers’ recs but I would never actually sit and read them. (Evidence of this? Since the last version of this post, I read a whopping ZERO of the books I highlighted, so please come punch me in the face.) Here are some adult fiction books I plan to read sometime! The Antiques by Kris D’Agostino /// The plot feels very similar to Reunion, but I hope it turns out a little better for me! I love learning about the different family dynamics and drama that happens when people reunite. I almost picked it up at the library a few weeks ago but I had a bad feeling it’d sit there unread. Forever is the Worst Long Time by Camille Pagan /// This title is a tongue twister, lol. This is a very love triangley book but I like the sound of it! Sometimes you can’t help how you feel about people and this book seems to explore what happens when certain lines get crossed. The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner /// I love books set on Cape Cod, so this book has that going for it right off the bat. When the MC’s life starts falling apart, a woman who is apparently her half-sister whisks her away to a B&B on the Cape. She meets new family members and […]

Library Love | March

Posted March 17, 2017 / Features, Library Love, Weekly Memes / 11 Comments

I’ve been wanting to share some library hauls on the blog, since I don’t include them in my monthly wrap-ups. I go through phases where I use the library A LOT and phases where I forget it exists somehow. Whenever the mood strikes, I’ll share what I’m working on from the library during any given month. I haven’t done one of these since November so I thought it was time… since I go crazy every time! Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair | I saw this one on the shelf and grabbed it without thinking. I first was confusing it with another book, but quickly realized this was also on my TBR! So, no harm, no foul. I’m obsessed with parallel life books in every single form, so you could say I’m excited to check this one out. My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella | I requested this book ASAP once I saw some great reviews roll in. I used to love Sophie Kinsella but haven’t read one of her books since like 2013 or 2014. I actually just finished this one (I started it the same day I picked it up from the library lol) and LOVED it. The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro | I really enjoyed the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series and have been anxiously awaiting this release! I hope it improves on the story and addresses some of the “issues” I had with the characters in book one. I’ve been really into mystery books […]

Lauren Lately | March 2017

Posted March 16, 2017 / Features, Lauren Lately, Wrap-Ups / 8 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 ✨ Skiing | As usual, more skiing this month! It’s nearing the end of the season (which is obvious in the last picture, where half of the ground is dirt instead of snow) so we tried to fit in a few more days. The conditions were terrible one weekend at Ski Sundown, then completely perfect the following weekend. We’ve pretty much been able to go weekly since February! New hair | I usually just get highlights done over my roots, but I was sick of how it looked when it grew out (see the before and after above). One of my best friends is my hairdresser and she’s perfect at knowing exactly what I want. I showed her a few pictures and she made this masterpiece! Some of her coworkers said it’s one of the best color jobs she’s done before. This new color combo has me curling my hair with a new curling […]