Book Blogger Challenge (Day 6)

I am participating in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine!

Today is Day 6, Describe how you shop for books.

Welp, this is a problem for me in terms of purchasing habits! (I’m sure it is for all bookish people and bloggers.) 🙂

I rely heavily on recommendations from my Twitter friends! I ask about whatever I’m in the mood for, and they are awesome about responding. I do listen to the hype in the book universe because I do like to read books that I know others will be talking about. I get cover-love pretty easily and give a book with an interesting cover an extra look or a synopsis read. With New Adult in particular, I often use Amazon recommendations. If I like an author, I definitely read more from that author.

As a teacher/reviewer, I am registered on and utilize Net Galley and Edelweiss for e-galleys, which does save me money…except for when I love a book and then buy it for my book shelf. Also, having a Kindle changed the game a bit. Books are cheaper and a freaking touch or two away! So, I buy more compulsively (whatever I’m in the mood to read at that time). The bonus is that the books are more affordable, but again, I find myself buying a hard copy of a book I really enjoyed. 🙂

I live in Tacoma, which is a mere two hours from Portland, which contains the CITY OF BOOKS! Portland is a great place to visit and I’ve started to set limits for myself before a trip to Powell’s. (Last time I successfully purchased only two books, and one was for my 2 month old nephew!) You can order online, of course, but being in Powell’s is an experience. 🙂 I’m realizing I purchase almost exclusively from Powells. I’m rarely in a book store and purchasing based on what’s on a table or the shelf since Borders closed here a couple of years ago and I’m never in the neighboring towns with a Barnes and Noble.

What are your book buying habits?

I believe I’ll be taking tomorrow off! (Day 7: Talk about your blogging quirks) My blogging quirk is, for the record, that I go missing for long periods of time depending on what’s going on in real life. 🙂

Book Blogger Challenge (Day 5)

I am participating in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Today is Day 5, Recommend a tear jerker.

I have a feeling this will be very popular amongst the tear jerkers today, but THE tear jerker for me is The Fault in Our Stars. I have teared up with other books (mentioned below) but I legit cried with TFiOS. I participated in the YA Book Club with a post that is spoilery but you can read all about it if you’d like!

*Added 7/14: After perusing some other posts for the challenge, I remembered the first book that made me cry! In second grade my teacher made us read the end of Where the Red Fern Grows on our own, because she said it was too sad and would make her cry. As I read it silently in class, I totally teared up and I remember thinking my teacher was smart to have us read it on our own.

Other books that caused me to get teary:
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
*Added 7/14: Deadline by Chris Crutcher

What book has made you cry? (I need some recs!)  

Book Blogger Challenge (Day 4)

I am participating in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine.

Today is Day 4, What’s the last book you flung across the room?

I can’t really recall any extreme frustration with a book. I think I’m a pretty even-keeled reader and since I’m not really a book blogger, I select books I’m pretty sure I’m going to like. I chatted with Nikki at  Take Me Away: A Book Blog and she suggested talking about a book that wasn’t the Happily Ever After that I expected.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen – So much hype surrounds Dessen, which I DO understand, but I’ve only read one other Dessen book (Along for the Ride) which I really liked. I know that there’s a lot of die-hard Dessen fans out there and after two reads, I can’t say I’m one of them. Dessen liker, yes. Dessen lover, no. She’s awesome to follow on Twitter and I do have This Lullaby handy to read sometime, because I know that there’s “hype” for a reason. 🙂

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt- I expected this book to be a happily ever after YA contemp and while it was a YA contemp it was a gritty tale with a kind of stream-of-consciousness prose. That’s not really a style I flock to, and I think since my expectations were high/different, I was caught off guard.

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce – I wanted to really like this book. Fairy Tale retelling! Mermaids! Beautiful cover! Plus, Pearce is very personable and entertaining in real life and on Twitter. I haven’t read anything else from Pearce so maybe I would like one of her other novels more? I understand that the actual “little mermaid” fairy tale is quite dark and sad, and while I felt that in Pearce’s book, I didn’t feel like the characters were very rich and likable.

Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy – I’m always fascinated by girls/women who are friends with boys and I thought, a book about THEM–those kinds of girls! But, it really fell flat. I didn’t feel like the main focus WAS Charlotte’s friendships with Oliver and Trip, as there were many other mini-storylines. And of course, there’s a romantic relationship that develops and I just kept thinking that it wasn’t necessary if it was about friendships.

None of these books were BAD, they just weren’t for me.

How about you–ever fling a book in frustration? 

Book Blogger Challenge (Day 2 on Day 3)

I am participating in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine. Today is actually Day 3 of the challenge, but I don’t really have book blogger BFFs. 😉

Okay, I take that back. You should always follow/check-out/trust the recommendations of Katy Upperman and Jessica Love. Both are actually writers but have a fierce love for YA  and Kid Lit. They are both also Bookanistas. They are both also operatives at YA Confidential. They are both also AWESOME.

Today I’m covering Day 2, What’s Your Bedtime Reading Ritual?

My husband is a light sleeper. This means I cannot stay up until all hours of the night reading a hard copy book with the lamp on. However, my Kindle Paperwhite changed the whole game!

I am a night owl reader during the summer and other school vacations. I take that time that I have off and read like crazy. With the added activity of house renovation (Repair? Improvement?) I don’t have time to read during the day this summer, so I read fervently before bed. With my back-lit Kindle I can read in bed all night if I want, because the light isn’t too harsh for my husband. This is particularly handy when I can’t sleep–you know, when the mind is running and sleep just isn’t happening. I’ll read a couple of chapters from a manuscript or from the book I’m hooked to, so long as it’s on my Kindle.

I rarely, if ever, stop reading mid-chapter. I have to complete a chapter before I put a book down for the night. 🙂

During the school year I live a crazy life and go to bed at like 9/9:30 so I don’t typically read before bed, unless the husband does and I will read as long as he does.

What is your ritual for bedtime reading?