Book Blogger Hop (Nov 28 - Dec 4)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is: 

Do you visit the same blogs each week or do you branch out and try to find new blogs?

It really depends.

I follow a lot of book blogs via Bloglovin' and sometimes it will suggest other book blogs to follow and I do. I visit a lot of the same blogs that I've been following for years that I found through Tumblr, etc. and I do tend to search out my favorites.

But I do occasionally visit a new blog through some meme or other (think Top Ten Tuesday or Stacking the Shelves) and comment on their post and follow if their blog is new to me. I also visit and follow the blogs of people who leave comments and links on my TTT & STS posts. 

I actually love following new blogs because there are so many unique perspectives on different books and I love to read everyone's reviews. 

Stacking the Shelves #42

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by TYNGA'S REVIEWS that features the books we bought, borrowed, were gifted, and were given for review.

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Nothing in the mail this week but I grabbed a few Amazon freebies and good news, I just got a cheap tablet to download the Kindle app onto (yes, any actual Kindle is still way out of my budget, even with the Black Friday sales) so I'll actually be able to read some of the ebook freebies that I've accumulated over the past year or so! 

AMAZON FREEBIES

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
|Amazon|
(Cool story. I'm distantly related to this author. I also own about 3-4 physical copies of this book already but still haven't read it.)

The Crumbling Brick by Johannah Reardon
|Amazon|

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
|Amazon|
(I just started this a couple of days ago! I'm getting a head start just in case I don't have time to read it in December.)

Twas the Night Before Christmas
|Amazon|
(I'd much rather have a physical copy of this for my daughter but until then, the ebook will do.) 

Jake and the Gingerbread Wars by E.G. Foley
(The Gryphon Chronicles #3.5)
|Amazon|
(I grabbed up the first book in this series not too long ago. Hope I can get my hands on #2 & #3)

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Disclaimer: Yes, it's still November but I'm actually excited about Christmas for once! 

Top Ten Tuesday #38

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR

I don't plan on reading very much in the next few months, to be honest. I'm due with my baby girl any day now and I'm sure the winter months will be very busy. I do want to read a few books if I can squeeze them in, as well as read to my baby girl a little bit every day but who knows how things will work out. So most of this list is books I would read during the winter months if I had the time. 

CHRISTMAS THEMED BOOKS

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsberg

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

WINTER THEMED BOOKS

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

Book Blogger Hop (Nov 21 - 27)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is: 

Do you have any advice for new bloggers?

I'll be honest and say that I am not a 'successful' blogger. I've stuck with it for almost 2 years but I'm really bad at keeping up with reviews which was my original reason for starting a blog. I get so behind on reviews that I tend to just stop writing them at all. I blame the fact that I usually start a new book directly after finishing the last. In the future, I'll have less time to read so hopefully I can focus on writing on more reviews between reading. 

Advice? 

Don't allow blogging to overwhelm you. You don't have to do what everyone else is doing. You don't have to post every day. You don't have to visit and comment on every other blog in hopes that they will return the favor. Just blog for yourself when you feel like it and try not to get too crazy about the details. 

At least, that's the advice I'd give myself. Everyone is different and this advice might not help you at all. 

Stacking the Shelves #41

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by TYNGA'S REVIEWS that features the books we bought, borrowed, were gifted, and were given for review.

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{Covers link to Goodreads}

WON/GIFTED

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Many thanks to Rachel from The Rest Is Still Unwritten! 

AMAZON FREEBIES

Ireland Rose by Patricia Strefling

historical fiction

|Amazon|

Harvester by S.J. West

YA Science Fiction

|Amazon|

Angus MacBain and the Island of the Sleeping Kings

by Angela J.Townsend

YA Fantasy

|Amazon|

Coral & Bone by Tiffany Daune

YA Fantasy - Mermaids

|Amazon|

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What did you stack your shelves with this week? 

Top Ten Tuesday #37

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get


Some of these sequels already have sequels of their own coming out but I'm just going to list the sequels that I NEED/WANT to read next! 

Cress by Marissa Meyer
(The Lunar Chronicles #3)

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes
(Falling Kingdoms #3)

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice
(The Vampire Chronicles #11)

The Black Reckoning by John Stephens
(The Books of Beginning #3)

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
(Seraphina #2)

The Mark of Athena
(The Heroes of Olympus #3)

A Dance With Dragons
(A Song of Ice and Fire #5)

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Ok, so those are the sequels I can't wait to read! I've been trying my hardest not to start too many new series because I have so many to finish and so many more that I'm waiting on sequels for! It's a struggle to keep up! 

Stacking the Shelves #40

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by TYNGA'S REVIEWS that features the books we bought, borrowed, were gifted, and were given for review.

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{Covers link to Goodreads}

FOR REVIEW
(From Goodreads)

The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin
I'm eager to read this as the synopsis has a lot of dark intrigue. Vampires in Salem? Yes, I want to read more! 

WON

Talon by Julie Kagawa

This book is just GORGEOUS! I love the raised scales and the dragon icon artwork on the inside covers! I spent a while 'petting' this book like a weirdo. I just love it! 
Many thanks to Margie at Bumbles and Fairy-Tales

AMAZON FREEBIES

Flowers Fang by Madison Keller
{AMAZON}

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What did you add to your shelves this week?

Featured Freebie: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

FEATURED AMAZON FREEBIE

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

(The Darkest Minds #1)

SYNOPSIS:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities that they cannot control. 

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her - East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only change at a life worth living. 

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Goodreads rating: 4.32 out of 5 stars

Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

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GET IT FREE ON AMAZON

Book Blogger Hop (Nov 7 - 13)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is: 

Should book bloggers be doing more to support bookshops rather than just give links to Amazon or B&N as a place to buy the printed version of books they read?

I absolutely support the idea of doing more to support bookshops! Unfortunately, I have to drive over an hour to get to the nearest chain bookstore (a B&N) and there are no local bookstores or indie bookshops any closer than that. I buy my books from thrift stores. 

Blogging means reaching people all over the world so linking to my own personal local bookstore (if I had one) would not help the people looking at my blog unless they were also local and I doubt anyone from my area reads my blog, truthfully. Instead I link to sites that cater to a worldwide customer base. 

I do think I could link to more than just Amazon in the future, though. That would be a great idea.

I really wish I could take long trips to far off bookshops, buy a few books,  and blog about my experiences in hopes that someone else might take a long trip and also visit that bookshop. It's sad to think that physical bookstores might be a thing of the past for small towns.

Stacking the Shelves #39

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by TYNGA'S REVIEWS that features the books we bought, borrowed, were gifted, and were given for review.

{Covers link to Goodreads}

WON

Storm Siren by Mary Weber

A big thanks to Justin from A Bibliophile's Reverie!

Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

Many thanks to Sarah @ The Best Books Ever for this awesome signed copy! I LOVE both Poe and Stevenson and am eager to see how they tie together in this Gothic tale! 

FOR REVIEW

The Pollan Family Table Cookbook

(from Goodreads)

I'm excited to try some recipes from this book soon! The few cookbooks I own are from thrift stores and very outdated, dingy, and dusty and I don't like browsing through them anywhere near my kitchen. I've only glanced through this so far but there are a lot of great recipes that I want to try this winter and plenty more that I want to try in the spring with fresh veggies and herbs from my garden! :) 

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What did you add to your shelves this week? 

Top Ten Tuesday #36

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Books I Want To Re-Read

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

ALWAYS

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

(Like Harry Potter, this is one of my most re-read books and I'd re-read it again countless times)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

(I've yet to re-read this yet but I REALLY want to!)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

(I hated this book the first time I read it but realized later that it evoked more emotion out of me than almost any other book. I'd like to re-read it and see how I feel about it now.)

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

(I consider this one of my favorites but I haven't read it since I was a kid.)

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

(I was a big contributor to the early hype on this book long before news of the movie adaptation because I LOVED it! But my sister couldn't get into it and I want to re-read it to see if I'll see it differently after the hype and watching the movie.)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

(I grew up on the movie adaptation and only recently read it for the first time but I know it will be one of those books I'll keep coming back to.)

The Witches by Roald Dahl

(Another one that I saw the movie to first but I loved the book and would love to read it again soon.)

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

(I read this when it was first published and fell in love with it. I really need to read it and 'Red Seas Under Red Skies' again so I can continue the series since it's been 8 years!)

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What books are you dying to re-read?