In My Mailbox Week 10

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!

 

No mail this week! Not a single thing! I could have cried...but I'm enjoying doing these videos so much that I went ahead and did one anyway to show off the book I bought and the book I got from the library. 

 

Books mentioned:

Bought:

The Luxe by Anne Godbersen

Library:

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

What did you get in your mailbox?

In My Mailbox Week 5

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!  

This week in my mailbox, I got some swag that I won from Melissa over at Just One Opinion. Melissa is wicked-awesome, and if you don't already follow her blog, you really should! This was my first swag! Thank you Melissa! xo

*Overprotected bookmark, 2 magnets, and the theme song "Love Story" performed by Jennifer Joyce

*The Body Finder sticker

*Stakeout bookmark, signed by Bonnie J Doerr

Books for review, from author:

The Undertaker by William F. Brown {GoodReads || Amazon} 

From the Simon and Schuster Galley Grab Program:

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst {GoodReads || Amazon}

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez {GoodReads || Amazon}

 Library books:

Fallen by Lauren Kate {GoodReads || Amazon}

The Indie Author Guide by April L. Hamilton {GoodReads || Amazon}

So that's my loot for the week. What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Oh! While I have your attention lol...I'm just 3 followers away from 200 - a very exciting milestone for me. When I started this blog, I had no idea if anyone would even read it, but I've met some incredible people in the blogosphere, and I feel truly blessed. When I finally hit that 200 mark, I'm going to have a giveaway...I'm not sure what it will include yet, but I'm working on it! :-)

In My Mailbox Week 2

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!  Since I hardly ever buy books anymore because I can't afford to (*sobs*), I get most of my books from the library.

I still have a few library books from previous trips, but this week I picked up a few more, and received another book for review.

 

Library books:

Undead and Unworthy (Queen Betsy Book #7) by MaryJanice Davidson {Amazon ||  Good Reads}

 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness {Amazon || Good Reads}

Books received for review:

 That Day in September by Artie Van Why {Amazon || Good Reads}

What books did you buy, borrow, win or receive this week?

In My Mailbox Week 1

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!  This is my first week participating, and from now on, I'll be posting it on Sundays.  Since I hardly ever buy books anymore because I can't afford to (*sobs*), I get most of my books from the library.

This week, I have 8 books from the library and 2 e-books I was sent for review.

Library books:

*The Irish Princess by Karen Harper {Amazon ~ GoodReads}
*William and Catherine: Their Story by Andrew Morton {Amazon ~ GoodReads} 
*Such a Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb {Amazon ~ GoodReads}
*A Man in a Kilt by Sandy Blair {Amazon ~ GoodReads}
*The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean {Amazon ~ GoodReads}

*The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri {Amazon ~ GoodReads}
*Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols {Amazon ~ GoodReads}
*The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing: Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish, Promote and Sell Your Book by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier {Amazon ~ GoodReads}

Books received for review:

*Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter {Good Reads ~ The Katalina Playroom}
*Brightwing by Sullivan Lee {Amazon ~ Good Reads} 

What books did you receive this week? 

Library Loot June 25th - July 2nd

Library Loot is a weekly theme hosted by  Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library in my city, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

I'm still way behind on my library books, and was slowly catching up until yesterday when 3 new holds came in - books I've been waiting for for several weeks - ack!  I never seem to get below 10 library books.

Here are this week's books:

 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, Born at Midnight by CC Hunter, and What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, plus the movie Marie Antoinette

I'm looking forward to reading all three of these.  A Discovery of Witches is huge though and since it can't be renewed, I honestly don't know if I'll get around to it this time.  We'll see!  Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors, and this is her newest book, so I'm really excited about that one.

What are you reading this week?  What have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  Do you have any suggestions for my library loot picks next week?  I read just about any genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

WWW Wednesdays: Week 7

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  All you have to do is answer these 3 questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Simple right?  I love to read and love to know what other people are reading!

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What are you currently reading?

I'm about halfway through Across the Universe by Beth Revis.  It's really good - completely different from anything I've ever read and I'm really curious to find out what's going to happen.

What did you recently finish reading?

Recently, I've read Tithe - A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black (you can read my review here), The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, and The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (both of which I'm in the process of writing reviews for, and both of which received 5 stars from me). 

What do you think you'll read next?

Well, I still have about 10 library books, so I need to pick from those.  More and more books keep coming in on reserve - some that I've had reserved for weeks or even months - so I feel like I never make a dent in my pile before I'm adding more to it!

What are you reading this week?  Have you read any of the books on my list?  Have any suggestions?  I'd love to hear from you!

Library Loot June 18th - 25th

Library Loot is a weekly theme hosted by  Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library in my city, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

  

This week, I went to the library twice - Tuesday and Saturday.  Tuesday's trip was to accompany my 99-year-old Grama, who hasn't been able to get out of her nursing home for a year or two because of certain health issues, but who was encouraged to go on this trip since she loves to read.  Each month, the library sends bags of large print books to people who want them in the nursing home, and my Grama gets 5-8 books.  She was so excited to be out, to browse the stacks, and to meet the librarians, especially the one who chooses her books every month.  She was able to choose 5 books she wanted and the librarian chose another 3 for her.

The books I got this week were ones that had come in on reserve, otherwise, like last week, I wouldn't have picked any because I'm so far behind with my library books.  I currently have 11 books, and will probably only get through half because I'm so slow and it's going to be a busy week.

My old library picks that I've mentioned in other posts are:

Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen, From Notting Hill With Love - Actually by Ali McNamara, Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton, The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (which I'm currently reading), The Best Laid Plans by Lynn Schnurnberger, Delicious and Suspicious by Riley Adams and When It Happens by Susane Colasanti.

 

My new books this week are:

Immortal by Gillian Shields

I can't remember where or when I first heard about this book, but it sounds terrific, so I'm anxious to read it.

 

 

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

After re-discovering Sarah Dessen's books last month, I decided I'd slowly go back and read all the books I've missed over the last few years.  This just happened to be my first pick, no special reason, just chose it at random.

 

 

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

I saw this one reviewed on a on of blogs and was curious so put my name down for it.  The library just finally got it in, and I was first on the list, so I picked it up yesterday.

 

 

What are you reading this week?  What have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  Do you have any suggestions for my library loot picks next week?  I read just about any genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

Library Loot June 11th - June 18th

 

Library Loot is a weekly theme hosted by  Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library in my city, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

  

I wouldn't have gotten any books this week except a few came in that I'd been on the reserve list for.  Other than that, I'm still working away at last week's books.  I've been really busy this week, and it doesn't help that I'm such a slow reader!

Here are this week's selections:

From Notting Hill With Love...Actually by Ali McNamara

I can't remember how I discovered this book but the title caught my attention because Notting Hill and Love...Actually are two of my favorite movies.  Plus I love the cover!

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

I saw this book reviewed a lot over the last couple of months and was curious - even more so when I followed Sarah on Twitter and she followed me back. :-)  Again, love the cover - can't wait to read this one!

Phanton Evil by Heather Graham

I've mentioned several times before that Heather Graham used to be one of my favorite authors.  I love all of her older books but the last couple of years, they just haven't been as good as they used to be.  I keep trying - I actually just finished Night of the Vampires by her, which I'll be reviewing soon - and keep hoping that she'll go back to being the author whose books I used to devour. 

The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton

My cousin Bertha told me about this book a few weeks ago, so I requested it.  She started it and wasn't sure if she was going to like it - not sure if she continued or finished it, but I'll give it a shot.

 

 *The linked titles of the books lead to each book on Amazon.  I belong to Amazon Affiliates - anything that you buy from my blog through Amazon gets me a small commission, and as a struggling freelance writer, I can use every cent I can get!  If you're considering buying any of the books I mention on this blog, if you go to Amazon through the links on my blog to buy, it would really help me, and I'll be eternally grateful!*

What are you reading this week?  What have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  Do you have any suggestions for my library loot picks next week?  I read just about any genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

Library Loot: June 4th - 11th

 

Library Loot is a weekly theme hosted by  Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library in my city, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

  
This week, I was back to my usual style of picking more books than I could possibly read but that I was compelled to get anyway.  My choices were divided up between Tuesday's visit, and Saturday's.  Saturday was the library's 5th 'birthday' and they had a party to celebrate.  My mum, sister-in-law and 2 nephews went, had cake, and played in the children's section for awhile.

Here are this week's selections:

Delicious and Suspicious by Riley Adams.  A month or two ago, Elizabeth S Craig - aka Riley Adams - started following me on Twitter.  I couldn't believe it, I was so flattered.  I immediately checked out her books and added them to my list and finally just got around to picking up this one, which I can't wait to read.  Oh wait, did I mention this amazing woman also follows my blog?  How cool is that?  It doesn't take much to make me happy, but it's rare that I feel special, and that made me feel special!  Thank you Elizabeth!

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black.  Two faerie books - if you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I love faerie books, and that I have an idea for one of my own that I plan to start writing as soon as I'm done editing my current novel.  Besides just plain loving books about faeries, I figure reading them is research - it's good to see what's out there, what's been done, and what hasn't been done so that my story can be unique.
 

Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne - I can't remember where I saw this book or what made me add it to my list, whether someone mentioned it or reviewed it on a blog, or I came across it randomly, but anyway, I had it on my list and the reserve came in Saturday. 

When It Happens by Susane Colasanti - I saw a few of Susane's books in the library a couple weeks ago, wrote down her name to check her out (I always do that with authors that I'm unfamiliar with because so many books are part of a series these days that I don't like picking up books and then finding out they're mid-series).  I have a few other books by her on my list but this was the one I chose first.

*The linked titles of the books lead to each book on Amazon.  I belong to Amazon Affiliates - anything that you buy from my blog through Amazon gets me a small commission, and as a struggling freelance writer, I can use every cent I can get!  If you're considering buying any of the books I mention on this blog, if you go to Amazon through the links on my blog to buy, it would really help me, and I'll be eternally grateful!*

What are you reading this week?  What have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  Do you have any suggestions for my library loot picks next week?  I read just about any genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

Library Loot: May 28th - June 4th

 

Library Loot is a weekly theme hosted by  Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 

 

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library in my city, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

  
I'm finally getting caught up on books.  This week, I finished Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen and Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt (reviews to come soon, be sure to check back if you're interested), and just have 2 books left that I got a couple of weeks ago: Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot (which I started last night), and Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston.

I went to the library twice this week - Wednesday and yesterday.  I only got 2 new books because I always get more than I can read, and I've had a huge backlog of books the last few weeks that I'm just now getting caught up on.  I'm hoping that next weekend when I go to the library, I'll have a couple more books read so that I can do what I like best - choose a boatload of new books haha.  I also have a couple of books in transit that should be here mid-week. 

My two choices this week were: 

Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham
I discovered Heather Graham's books probably about 2-3 years ago.  I'd never really been one for mysteries, but it was her books that actually started my love of them.  I devoured almost everything she had written, loving each one of them, but then in the last year or so, her writing has sort of gone downhill.  I don't know what happened, but her books have just not been what they used to be.  I've heard a few other people say the same thing, so I know it's not just my imagination.  I continue to read them though, ever hopeful that she'll return to her former awesomeness.  

Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
I saw this book reviewed a number of times on blogs a few months ago, and kept seeing Sarah Pekkanen's name popping up on Twitter and Facebook, so I was curious.  When I found out the library had it, I bumped it up on my list.

 

I also got 4 movies this week: Made of Honor, My Boss's Daughter, Public Enemies, and Then She Found Me.  I figured with all my TV shows being over for the season, I'll have more time to watch movies...and more time to read and write, which is always a good thing! 

What are you reading this week?  What have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  Do you have any suggestions for my library loot picks next week?  I read just about any genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

Library Loot: May 21st - May 28th

 

Library Loot is a weekly theme hosted by  Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

This week I only got one book and that was because it was a reserve that I had to pick up.  I always get way too many books, and because I'm a slow reader, I end up taking books back and getting them again at a later date.  I wanted more new books this week but still have most of my books from last week, so this week's only new book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  I've had this book on my list for awhile, and my cousin reminded me about it recently when she said she was going to read it, so I requested it.

I finished Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin tonight, and really enjoyed it.  I'll be adding a book review for it sometime this coming week.  Last week's library loot that still needs to be read includes: Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot, Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt, Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston, and Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, which I started tonight.

I also got 2 movies: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, which I haven't seen since it was in theatres, and The King's Speech, which I've been dying to see.  Looking forward to watching both of those, and hopefully getting more books read this week.

What are you reading this week?  What have you read lately that you really enjoyed?  Do you have any suggestions for my library loot picks next week?  I read just about any genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

Library Loot: May 14th - May 21st

With the problems Blogger's been having, my last post, along with all the comments I received have disappeared, but they say they're working on getting all deleted posts restored, so here's hoping...and here's hoping this actually posts!

If you know me personally, or if you've read my blog before, you'll know that Saturdays are usually my library day.  I love the library, love books, love to read, love to wander the stacks, discover new authors, immerse myself in new worlds, etc, etc.  I was going to start my own library theme until Katy from A Few More Pages very nicely informed me that Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader have a weekly theme called Library Loot, so I'm going to participate.

Since I'm currently scraping by as a freelance writer, I unfortunately can't afford to buy books right now *insert sad face here* which I hate, but luckily I have an awesome library, so until I can have my own personal library filled with wall-to-wall books, the public library's the next best thing.

This week's selection of books (and movies)

Somehow this week, I ended up with all young adult novels, except for Something Borrowed.  Not sure how that happened, but I guess I'm on a bit of a YA kick since I'm writing a YA novel myself.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.  I've had Emily Giffin on my author list forever, but never got around to reading any of her books.  When I saw that Something Borrowed was coming out as a movie, I decided to read the book because I have a thing about reading the book before seeing the movie it's based on.

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot.  A book I've had on my list for quite awhile.  I read a couple of her Princess Dairies books back in the day and enjoyed them, and although I started one of her recent novels (I think it was Insatiable) and couldn't get into it, I thought I'd give her another try.

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt.  I saw this book reviewed on a few book blog sites awhile ago, and was curious.

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston.  I've been looking into YA books about faeries for awhile because I've had an idea for a faerie book for a few years, and I think it'll be my next project when I'm done writing my current novel.  I want to see what's out there, what's been done, and what hasn't been done so that I can do something fresh.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen.  I read a few of Sarah's books when I was in my teens, and her novel Someone Like You remains one of my all-time favorites to this day.  It's been a long time since I've read anything of hers, so I decided it was time to play catch-up.

Movies: Robin Hood and Killers.  I love tales of Robin Hood and one of my favorite movies ever is Disney's Robin Hood.  I know this will be a far cry from the Disney version, and I might end up traumatized (like when I saw King Arthur after loving Arthurian tales my entire life) but I'm curious, and having Russell Crowe as Robin doesn't hurt.  Killers was a movie I wanted to see in the theatre last year so I snatched it up when I saw the library had it.

It's been about a month since I've read anything that I loved.  I finished Wings by Aprilynne Pike tonight, and Nocturne by Syrie James yesterday, and I'll have book reviews for both of them posted in the next couple of days.  I'm hoping one of this week's selections will be a new favorite - it's about time!

Have you read any of the books I picked up this week?  Have any suggestions for next week?  I read just about every genre, and I'm always looking for suggestions!  What are you reading, or what have you read lately that you really enjoyed?