Tuesday, November 26, 2013

My Kind of Black Friday

I'm not a Grinch, I promise. I love the holidays as much as the next person, but here's the thing -- I like all the holidays, not just Christmas. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving almost as much as Christmas and I like to enjoy each and every one of them -- we only get them once a year, after all! I like to do holidays one at a time, but if you're the kind of person who likes to get into the Christmas spirit early, be my guest. Honestly, it's totally OK. What I don't think is OK is for the retail universe to smother people with advertisements and brainwash people to buy more, more, more! You see, I don't think the holidays are about buying a bunch of sh** we don't need. Did I like opening presents as a kid? Of course I did! I'm OK with kids getting excited for Santa and presents under the tree (within reason!), but I'm not a kid anymore. And even when I was a kid, I was also excited to visit Grandma's house, see my cousins, bake cookies with my mom, and watch Christmas movies. Christmas isn't just about stuff. Even as a kid I knew that. Trust me, I wasn't a perfectly selfless angel as a kid, but I still knew, I was taught, that Christmas is about much more than just stuff.

For me, the holidays are about family and friends. They're about tradition and appreciating and celebrating. And food. (What's a holiday without great food?) What the holidays are not about is stupid Black Friday. Black Friday which has turned into Black Thanksgiving. The idea of shopping on Thanksgiving kind of makes me sick. Why do I want to be in a store or a mall when I could be enjoying a second slice of pie and catching up with family I only see a few times a year? Why would I want to scramble for a place in line, out in the cold, when I could be warm and inside, laughing at my Dad's stories? (They're still funny even though I've heard them a million times, I swear.)

A few years ago, I decided I was not going to buy Christmas presents anymore. I was really into cooking and baking and had started getting more adventurous with trying new recipes. I decided I was going to learn how to make homemade chocolates and that was going to be my gift to everyone I care about. Honestly, it's one of the best decisions I ever made. I enjoy creating delicious treats in my kitchen and as I make the different varieties, I'm thinking about those people I care about. Aunt Barbara's favorite are the dark chocolate-covered pretzels. Aunt Susie likes the fruit & nut clusters. Grandma does not like the chocolate fudge. My brother loves the truffles. Unless they are all lying to me, this is a gift people seem to really appreciate. I do still buy a small gift for my cousin's daughter because she's still a little kid. But guess what I usually get her? A book! (Who's surprised, honestly?)

So if I'm not buying much in the way of presents, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I don't partake in the Black Friday madness. There is only one store I ever visit on Black Friday -- The Bookworm, my favorite little used bookstore ever. It's near my Grandma's house, so I only visit a few times a year. Instead of scrambling for discounted electronics, I choose to support a small, local business. A business that in turn supports literacy and love of the written word. Stepping into The Bookworm is such a different "retail" experience. Yes, they are selling stuff, but it couldn't be more different from any of the big box stores running ridiculous sales. I don't feel like I've sold my soul just by walking through the door. It's a little haven for book-lovers. It's a place where I can trade-in books I'm finished with and discover new ones, already gently used by another fellow book-lover -- recycling at its best!

Of all the material possessions a person could own, books are the only ones that hold any real appeal for me and when I do buy gifts, they are my very favorite thing to give. When you buy a book, you are getting more than just an object. You're are getting a journey, an adventure, maybe even a lesson -- a whole world tucked into those pages. A book is so much more than just another thing.

However you choose to spend Thanksgiving and Black Friday is up to you, but you know where I'll be.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

2013 Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge


I thought joining this challenge would be a fun way to get into the holiday spirit this year. While technically this challenge begins tomorrow, I refuse to start anything Christmas-related until after Thanksgiving. Writing this sign-up post and reserving a few books from the library are definitely the most Christmas-y things I will do until after turkey day. Seeing Christmas stuff everywhere I go since before Halloween is just irritating! One. Holiday. At. a. Time. People!

Goal: Christmas Tree level (5-6 books)

I've recently been on an audiobook kick and found a few great Christmas ones at my library. The last three I've read previously, but it's been so long, it'd be really nice to take a trip back down memory lane. Also, this is the time of year where my reading often flags because I get busy decorating and baking and making Christmas chocolates, so listening to some Christmas tales while doing these things seems pretty darn perfect. On the one hand 5-6 books feels very ambitious, but on the other hand, a lot of these are quite short, so I'll see how this goes!

Books I'd Like to Read:





Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A mix of reviews - YA & Adult stand-alone novels

Looking over my pile of un-reviewed books, I realized there are four books I read at the end of the summer/beginning of fall that I never shared here on the blog. They cover a fairly wide range of genres, so there just might be a little something here for everyone!

Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon
Series? No
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Date: Sept. 3, 2013
How did I get this book? free Advance Reader's Copy from the publisher via Shelf Awareness for my honest review
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

This one is a contemporary YA novel told from the perspective of a teenage guy dying of cancer. This theme has been done many times and it rarely fails to touch the heart, but this particular book really stands out as unique, if you ask me. While the premise is sad, this book is so full of life. I think it's a real accomplishment that Hollis Seamon has written a book in this genre that didn't make me cry and not because of any failing on her part, but because it somehow manages to be honest and real while also being laugh-out-loud funny. Rich may still be an immature teenager in many ways, but he still handles his situation better than I imagine most of us would. I'm very picky about contemporary YA books and there are many in the genre that don't appeal to me, but this was a real stand-out.
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The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
Series? No
Publisher: Doubleday
Date: July 9, 2013
How did I get this book? free Advance Reader's Copy from the publisher via Shelf Awareness for my honest review
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

This is the second book I've read by Chris Bohjalian and it has made me want to read all of his back-list titles. Like right now. A wonderfully written historical fiction novel that switches between the time periods during and after WWII as it takes the reader on an investigation into events during the war that are potentially fueling a serial killer's crimes. The combination of history, mystery, and intrigue was exquisite. This book kept me eagerly turning the pages and I look forward to more from this excellent writer.
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The Never List by Koethi Zan
Series? No
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books (a Penguin imprint)
Date: July 16, 2013
How did I get this book? free Advance Reader's Copy from the publisher via Shelf Awareness for my honest review
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

This debut novel is great example of a thriller and it truly gave me the creeps. That being said, the book's description led me to believe it might be even more terrifying than it truly was, but it definitely did not disappoint. 10 years after escaping imprisonment in a sadistic madman's basement, Sarah is still struggling to move on with her life and desperately wants to find the body of her best friend who was abducted with her. As with any book of this type, there are always times when you want to scream at the characters because you feel you are watching them head toward their doom, but what is a thriller without a few poor choices? Very suspenseful, and the ending threw me for a loop. Even with a few predictable spots, there's nothing like an ending you don't see coming.
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Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole
Series? No
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: July 9, 2013
How did I get this book? free Advance Reader's Copy from the publisher via Shelf Awareness for my honest review
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

A reclusive Scottish poet falls in love with an American student and the reader follows the journey of their illicit romance (the poet is married) through a series of letters written during WWI. The story also jumps forward to WWII and follows the story of the poet's daughter who is desperately trying to find out more about her mother's history which she is determined to keep a secret. While there are certain ethical and moral conundrums, I found myself falling in love with these characters and hoping against hope they would be able to find happiness. I haven't read many books in the epistolary style, but I have to say I really enjoyed this one. It was amazing to me to watch a love story unfold based almost entirely in letters - how stongly they could feel for each other before they ever even laid eyes on one another.

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These books count toward my reading goals for:
2013 ARC Reading Challenge

Thursday, November 14, 2013

This made my day!

A few months back, I was reading one of my best friend's book reviews on GoodReads and we had a conversation that started like this:
Me: By the way, after reading this review, I think you have a book blogger in there somewhere...can't honestly say I recommend it, as it takes a stupid amount of time to really keep up with, but you'd be good at it...just saying :)

Best Friend: haha, I've been debating putting together a blog, but I feel like I wouldn't keep up with it as much as I should. Also, I'd change what topic I want to talk about every week. "Let's talk books... no wine... no food... no..."
Well, I just found out yesterday that she decided to go for it! I've been swapping books with this chica since we were 6 years old, so I'm really, really excited by this news. (OK, maybe we weren't so into books quite that young, but you get the idea.) I know I've been envious of how fast this girl can read practically since we learned how to read. 

If you've ever read any of my posts in which I refer to "my best friend" (like this one), this is the girl -- so I am definitely biased, but I think you should go check her out! In addition to books, she writes about other fun stuff like recipes and things to do in NYC:

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And just 'cause I can, why not end with a Throwback Thursday picture? I said we liked books back then, I never said we were fashionable!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Cleaning up my GoodReads

I was on a bit of a blogging hiatus when the whole hullabaloo over GoodReads was at it's peak and if I'm perfectly honest, I've pretty much been ignoring the whole thing. I know there are problems and issues and things were not done in the way they should. I know there's some sketchy stuff going on in the background and I admit I have a love-hate relationship with Amazon as a company. I don't like everything Amazon does, but I still shop there. Not all the time, but I do. And let's be honest, if GoodReads wasn't the best site of it's kind, Amazon wouldn't have bought it. So if it's still the best book site (up for debate of course, but I think so), I just don't want to give it up darn it! If you're boycotting GoodReads that's fine by me, truly it is. If you don't want to read on, I will not be offended in the least. But truthfully, the rest of this post could apply to any of the various book sites out there...

Have you ever logged into your GoodReads (LibraryThing, BookLikes, Shelfari, etc., etc.) and wondered how exactly SO MANY books jumped onto your To-Read shelf? I made a separate Own-To-Read shelf to distinguish the books I actually have in my possession (a truly frightening number) from my "wish-list" To-Read shelf that (in theory) I use to keep track of interesting books I come across from reviews/recommendations/etc. that I might want to track down in the future. It's supposed to be a place to list books I don't want to forget about, but what it had actually become was a freakin' hot mess! Part of the problem was entering a lot of FirstReads giveaways and automatically adding the books to my To-Read shelf. What I was forgetting was just because a book looked interesting enough to throw my name in the hat for a possible free copy, doesn't mean that if I didn't win, it was a book I was really and truly interested in seeking out to buy (or borrow from the library).

About a week ago, I was trying to make a list of authors to look for at my local used bookstore (yea, I know, like I really needed more books...) and I was getting very frustrated with myself that I was sifting through so much clutter trying to find the books I was really  interested in. So what did I do this past Saturday afternoon? I culled that list down from almost 600 to 300 -- that is a LOT of books I felt meh about that just had to go -- and 300 is still a lot of books! And truth be told, I removed even more books than first meets the eye, because I also added a whole bunch that do belong on the list while I was at it. This little project didn't exactly fit in with my desire to spend less time on the computer, but it felt so necessary for my bookish organization and sanity. (And hopefully it will never get so out of control again!)

So going forward, I'm getting off "auto-add" mode and making sure I am more discerning in what I add to my shelf. I do sometimes add a random book by a particular author because I've heard good things about him/her and am not exactly sure which if his/her books I may actually want to read. I also sometimes look up authors I've read in the past and kind of "forgotten" about to see if they've written anything new and I'll add what I find as a reminder to explore further, but I'm OK with those scenarios. At least when I look at the shelf later on, the author's name will remind me why I put the book there in the first place!

So I'm curious, has this ever happened to any of you? How do you use book sites to keep track of an ever-expanding TBR list? I would love to know!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Books I Read on Vacation

A few weeks back, I asked for help choosing which books to bring on vacation. I didn't read as many as I would have liked, but it was so refreshing to read some favorite authors whose new books had been languishing on my shelves collecting dust. My first pick was The Secret Keeper and the other one I ended up reading was Requiem -- I just had to agree with everyone who said a "lighter" book was the way to go for travel reading. Thanks for all your suggestions and the others are still at the top of my TBR list, so hopefully I will get to them soon!

Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Series? Yes, Delirium #3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date: March 5, 2013
How did I get this book? purchased
My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

There have been extremely mixed reviews on this conclusion to the Delirium trilogy and I can understand both ends of the spectrum. First off, whenever a love triangle is involved, there will always be a group of people unhappy with the main character's final choice. Not much can be done about that, but I personally was at the point where I felt she could be happy with either person for different reasons, so it was interesting to see how things played out. A lot of people were also unhappy that this book had a bit of an open-ended ending. I can't argue with that, but I do think things were resolved enough to feel the series had concluded, so I'm OK with that as well. I'm a little tired of every dystopian trilogy having a big battle in it's final book, but I suppose that does make sense for the genre. It just may be time for me to take a break from dystopians though.
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Alex by Lauren Oliver
Series? Yes, Delirium #3.5 (short-story)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date: March 5, 2013
How did I get this book? purchased (printed at the back of Requiem)
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

Since we learn almost nothing about Alex's time in prison from the main trilogy, I was very happy with this bonus short story at the end of Requiem. It was a fascinating look into his experience that enhanced his character, but didn't take away from the main story nor was it essential to the story which I feel is important. I don't like when "bonus" stories change the perception or understanding of the main story, and this one did not fall prey to that gimmick.
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Delirium Stories by Lauren Oliver
Series? Yes, Delirium #0.5, #1.5, & #2.5 (short-stories)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date: March 5, 2013
How did I get this book? purchased
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

Admittedly, I read this after I returned from vacation, but this feels the best place to insert my thoughts, alongside the other Lauren Oliver selections. I had previously read the first story Hana, but the other two were new to me. Just like with Alex I like how they enhance the characters without taking away from the main trilogy. There are some things you might find out a little sooner if you read the stories in strict order, rather than after the fact, but there is nothing so essential as to call these required reading for the series. They are just as advertised, little "bonuses" for those wanted to delve a little deeper into the side/back stories. I enjoyed the final story Raven the most, but I have to admit reading it made me feel very foggy on some of the details I know I should have remembered from the trilogy!
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The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Series? No
Publisher: Atria Books
Date: Oct. 9, 2012
How did I get this book? purchased
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

In a word, AMAZING. Kate always ends her stories with a twist and even knowing the high likelihood of that happening with this one, I still could not figure it out! Once I got near the end of this book, I stayed up until 3AM one night because I just could not put it down. Once again, Kate has captured another time and place and crafted very memorable characters. Kate is not known for happy endings, but I love how her endings always seem "right." I'm never left cursing and grumbling that things ended unfairly or that the ending did not fit with the rest of the book. Things can't always be sunshine and rainbows, but I always finish a Kate Morton book with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing all the different threads have come magically together and been resolved as they should. A little bit gothic in style, this historical mystery is one not to miss. Kate Morton will forever be on my auto-buy list -- doesn't matter much to me what her future books may be about, I will want to read every single one!

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Change is in the air

I've started so many different posts trying to figure out what's been going on with me lately and what I want this blog to be going forward. I very nearly decided to throw the towel in completely, but while that idea sadly provides some sense of relief, it's not really and truly what I want. But I also don't want to go back to how things were. What it comes down to is the fact that so many book blogs post by a "formula," so when I started failing at the "formula" and life got busy, I stopped posting regularly (or at all, really.)

What exactly is this "formula" I speak of? Full length review posts at least once a week, a few regular memes, and discussion posts whenever inspiration strikes. And along with trying to "keep up" came pressure to stay on top of my review books and to post on a consistent basis. Don't get me wrong, this is a formula that works for a lot of people, but it just isn't working for me anymore.

I was also reading Jamie's post about feeling unbalanced and it really struck a chord. While she expressed feelings of books and reading taking over too much of her life, I have a slightly different concern. I feel like too much computer time has taken over my life. I'm on the computer a big chunk of the day for work and then I also spend an alarming amount of free time either attempting to update/freshen up this blog and various other time-suck activities (facebook, email, book shopping etc. etc.) and I'm starting to feel like my head is going to explode!

Now I don't want to give this up entirely, but I want to find a way to share my love of books while also cutting back on computer time. I've been seeing more and more blogs doing a monthly round-up type post like Christine has always done over on her blog Bookishly Boisterous and I'm wondering if something like that might work better for me. At the very least, I think I need to switch over to doing more mini-reviews and finding opportunities to share pre-blog books since I feel those really help define me as a lifelong reader. I have a TON of thoughts on my impossible-to-manage TBR pile and the incredible blessing/self-imposed curse that are ARCs, but I will save those for another day.

I really appreciate you lovely readers bearing with me through all this craziness. I'm hoping to find my way back to this corner of the internet, things just need to change and adjust. I think once I let go of how I "should be" doing things, it will all work out much better in the end.