Category: Features

Bookmark Lit Bulletin – January 2016

Posted January 31, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 12 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my life happenings, 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 and learn more about the feature here. I don’t know what was going on at the beginning of the month, but I couldn’t stop reading! I read quite a few addicting ebooks in a row and just never let up for the first half of January. I did try to slow it down a little towards the end of the month because my resolutions told me to! Average rating for books read in January: 4.12 stars Highlights of the best and worst… Best of the Best | Pleasantly Surprised | Disappointed All of the books read this month: Average rating for books reviewed in January: 3.65 stars Secret Sister Project The last fabulous package from my Secret Sister came this month. She also revealed herself to me – Ashley from The Quiet Concert! She’s done such an amazing job of surprising me each month and really getting things I’d love. This package was no exception – two books I’ve been really wanting for a long time, actually – Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella and The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg. She also got some fuzzy socks, an ornament shaped like an L, cupcake […]

Inside & Out #23: Erica from Novel Ink

Posted January 25, 2016 / Features, Inside and Out / 9 Comments

Admiring book covers and bookmarks, shared by you! Welcome to INSIDE AND OUT. This feature includes two of my absolute favorite book-related things: bookmarks (inside) and book covers (out)! I’ve invited guest posters to share their favorite book covers and bookmarks here on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Sign-ups are always open (see bottom of post)! Check out past posts here. Erica from Novel Ink Twitter: @novelink_Erica| Instagram: @divingunderthecover Tell me a little about yourself: I’m Erica, 21, lover of books and anything chocolate…among many other things. I have been blogging for a year and it has been such an amazing experience. I love designing, re-organizing my bookshelves and binge watching Netflix (Grey’s Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer and One Tree Hill are my favorites)! Talk about your blog (what you blog about/kinds of books, features, etc.): I co-blog with my best friend whom I have never met (boo), Christy. She is amazing and we blog about our love for books. We love to discuss so whether it’s a review or a random discussion post it’ll be about books! We don’t have features right now, but 2016 will hold some amazing new things. Favorite genre: Contemporary Romance, but I’m really loving Fantasy. Three books you recommend most often and why: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – this book was gifted to me from my boyfriend and it is was brought me back into the reading world. Not only that, but it made me want to start blogging so it holds something true […]

Organization Part Four: Reading Notebooks

Posted January 22, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 11 Comments

Inspired by my recent organizational acquisitions (and posts by Hannah), I wanted to share some information about how I keep myself organized – primarily for blogging and reading, but also a little about my personal organization, too. Part Four: Revamping & Reorganizing Bookish Notebooks I realize that this is kind of a broad category because I plan to talk about how I take notes while reading as well as where all of my book-related notes exist. I’ve been trying to revamp my TBR creation methods and haven’t had a lot of success. Now that I changed over into a different method that actually helps me take better notes while reading, I revamped my Foxy Dori a little bit. Here’s how I’ve switched everything up lately. The Old Way A major Foxy Dori redo has occurred since you last learned about my traveler’s notebook. I shared how mine contained various sections to hold multiple notebooks and clear pockets to hold things. In case you forgot, here are some of the features of this wonderful invention: Dashboard, including clear pockets and pouch: basically a piece of laminated paper folded in half, to create a separate section inside of your traveler’s notebook – I keep my pockets, bookmarks, notepads, etc. in here. Book notes notebook: a place for me to write notes as I read (and reference later to write better reviews) – this is the biggest issue area for me, and the reason for this entire revamp. Post planning and other notes: a separate notebook that contains graph paper for […]

Blog Tour | Mini Review + Cover Colors: The Impostor Queen (Giveaway!)

Posted January 20, 2016 / Book Reviews, Cover Colors, Features / 23 Comments

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository 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 Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine This cover has some cool bright red and peachy tones, mixed with black and very light blue. I usually don’t go ALL out with the makeup aspect, but her makeup on the cover is too pretty to ignore! I thought it would be fun to show some similar colors to the ones she’s wearing on her face. I chose a dress to match the “Queen” font and some black and light blue accessories. The Imposter Queen by bookmarklit featuring a holiday nail polish Mini Review I have been trying to get better about reading more fantasy books. I always say how it’s one of my favorite genres, but I find that over half of the books I read every year are contemporaries. It’s one of my major goals of 2016 to have a better distribution of book genres, and THE IMPOSTOR QUEEN was the first fantasy book I read this year! (Well, aside from finishing up my […]

Inside & Out #22: Monica from Tomes Project

Posted January 11, 2016 / Features, Inside and Out / 2 Comments

Admiring book covers and bookmarks, shared by you! Welcome to INSIDE AND OUT. This feature includes two of my absolute favorite book-related things: bookmarks (inside) and book covers (out)! I’ve invited guest posters to share their favorite book covers and bookmarks here on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Sign-ups are always open (see bottom of post)! Check out past posts here. Monica from Tomes Project Twitter: @tomesproject| Instagram: @tomesproject| Goodreads Tell me a little about yourself: I am a freshman in college who drinks way too much coffee and buys way too many books (something I am trying to remedy). I am also an avid believer in libraries (literally it’s free books!) and spending too much time watching book videos (+ Zoella) on YouTube. Thirty second dance parties and Grey’s Anatomy have been essential to my mental health throughout the years, and I am learning to not be ashamed that I love Doctor Who. I think post-it notes and to-do lists are the two things that have saved me the most stress in my life. Current obsession in life: Halsey. Talk about your blog (what you blog about/kinds of books, features, etc.): I mostly blog about YA books, but I also try and dip my toes into adult fiction–something I have been doing a lot more as of recent–and middle grade. Since I am still a tiny little blogger, I don’t do reviews for publishers, but reviews are some of my favorite posts to write out! I try and make my reviews a little different […]

Bout of Books 15 Wrap-Up

Posted January 10, 2016 / Book Challenges, Features / 4 Comments

As usual, I had to sign up for my favorite readathon. If you don’t know, here are the details: The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team This is my favorite readathon because it just adds a little fun to your reading. I usually will read about 3 books in a 7 day span, so I chose to increase that number a little bit by including an extra book and maybe a graphic novel. Goal Read at least five books, including one graphic novel / novella if needed! Potential TBR I picked these ones because I was either already reading them, had them checked out from the library, or needed to read it for a blog tour. I also said I would potentially “cheat” and boost my number with a graphic novel, so I included the one I was aiming to read. Progress & Tracking Monday January 4th Started SEE HOW THEY RUN Continued HARRY POTTER #7 (audio & physical mix) Tuesday January 5th Continued HARRY POTTER #7 (audio & physical mix) […]

Organization Part Three: My Planner(s)

Posted January 7, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 13 Comments

Inspired by my recent organizational acquisitions (and posts by Hannah), I wanted to share some information about how I keep myself organized – primarily for blogging and reading, but also a little about my personal organization, too. Part Three: Finding a Planning Rhythm OH HEY, remember this series? I previously talked about my Traveler’s Notebook and Book Bag last year, but I’m here again to update you on some planning-related THINGS. First thing’s first, a little update about my previous two posts in this series… because some things have changed. Updates! On my book bag → I don’t really carry all that shit around to work anymore. To be frank, I got lazy. That’s really all it comes down to. I started sleeping later and now give myself less time to jerk around in the morning. I started realizing that I really don’t give myself time at work to plan or read during my lunch breaks anymore. So why lug it around? On my notebooks/foxy dori → I still use this… in general. I’ve become terrible at taking bookish notes these days (and I feel like my reviews reflect that. Whoops!). I just don’t feel like dealing with it. I still love my Foxy Dori but need to find a better use for some of those notebooks. I like holding my bookmarks in there and recording quotes, but I don’t fully use it like I used to. I still love the idea, but just need to re-evaluate how I’m using it. My Planner-Related Timeline of Failures […]

Why I Join and Love Reading Challenges

Posted January 6, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 14 Comments

I love the beginning of one year and end of another, primarily for the wrap-up posts and surveys everyone shares. Creeping on books is the best! But, another reason I love it is because of READING CHALLENGES. I know there are countless people out there who have opinions on reading challenges, and I think they generally fall into one of two camps: GIVE ME ALL THE CHALLENGES. I love them and they’re fun and motivating! GIVE ME NO CHALLENGES. I hate the pressure, regardless of the goal I set. No thanks. It goes without saying that both of these outlooks are F-I-N-E to have. I obviously happen to fall into the first bucket of people because I generally loooove challenges and readathons and readalongs. I just think they’re fun and they tend to motivate me. Even though it looks like I over-do it and go willy-nilly on the sign-ups, there’s a method to my madness. Today let’s talk a bit about reading challenges and why I like them! When I hit my first full year of blogging, I made sure to sign up for a lot of yearly challenges. I finally could! I started blogging in July 2014, so I kept waiting and waiting for 2015 to hit. I ended up signing up for a total of 9 challenges that happened during most or all of the year. You’ve all probably seen my wrap-up posts and surveys, so you may already know that I completed every challenge except for one. That’s pretty solid, […]

Must Read in 2016 (Link-Up + Giveaway)

Posted January 3, 2016 / Book Challenges, Features / 28 Comments

At the end of ever year, I think about all of the books I didn’t get around to reading. Some books I was SO EXCITED for and maybe even preordered, but didn’t read them. Sometimes other books get in the way or my mood isn’t right. Sometimes I genuinely have no idea why I didn’t read the book yet. I tweeted this the other day and I wish I had a dollar for every person who agreed or related. THEN AN IDEA WAS BORN. There are other challenges out there that aim to get your TBR pile down (backlist books and/or books you already own) that I plan on partaking in. There are some readathons coming up that can help you wipe the slate clean for 2016 as well (more info later in the post!). But what I wanted was a super casual link-up where you just decide I’M GOING TO READ THESE BOOKS OR ELSE. Introducing… There are really no rules for this. I almost wanted to just call this a book tag because it really only involves writing ONE POST. Here’s what I’m thinking for this ridiculously easy and (can I just say the word again?) CASUAL challengey link-up: 1. Write a blog post or create a Goodreads shelf that shows what books you were HYPED for last year but somehow never got around to. It doesn’t have to be 2015 releases – just any book you discovered and got excited about, but never read. (PSSST, […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin – December 2015, Year-End, and Countdown Survey

Posted January 2, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 9 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my life happenings, 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 and learn more about the feature here. Special things in this month’s bulletin: (Links will jump to their section on this long-ass post!) 2015 Wrap-Up | stats, breakdowns, favorites, numbers, etc. December 2015 Wrap-Up | the standard BL Bulletin stuff Countdown Survey | hosted by Novel Ink, counting down faves For some more 2015 wrap-up posts, you can see my End of Year Survey and Statistics Survey! For a full list of challenges and more specific goals, check here! 105 Challenge – Completed Goal: Read 105 books based on the prompts I selected ahead of time. I can’t believe I finished this one. Honestly, I expected to bail on it… but when I started analyzing the kinds of books I had left, it motivated me to finish up! Reread Challenge – Not Completed Goal: Reread the 17 books I selected ahead of time. (Harry Potter series, John Green’s books, a few by Sarah Dessen, etc.) I was able to finish over half of the AMOUNT of books needed, but didn’t focus on the books I selected themselves. It’s alright. This was the ONEEE challenge I didn’t finish! Library Challenge – Completed Goal: Read 28 or […]