Weekly Wrap Up & Book Haul

Hey, guys.  This has been a pretty relaxed week and I've certainly gotten back into the habit of blogging, which is very nice.  I only have two weeks left of school before a month and a half of winter break, so hopefully during that time I'll get a bunch of reading done.  As I'm writing this, I'm setting up a Harry Potter themed Halloween Party (Happy Halloween, everyone!), which I'm very excited for.  Doing anything for Halloween yourselves?

Friday 56: The Flux

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.  Click here to join in on the fun.

Rules: Grab a book, any book.

Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader.

Find a sentence, or a few, and post it.

DNF ARC Review: Noir (The Illumination Paradox, #2)

Author| Jacqueline E Garlick  Rating| DNF at 34%

Edition| eGalley courtesy of Netgalley  Release Date| August 18th, 2015

Related Reviews| Lumiere

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble

I received a copy of Noir from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Discussion: Blog Proud & How Did You Get Here?

So, this is part discussion and part story, but something I think is really important to talk about.  If you're interested in my past discussion posts, click here.  I do these every Thursday or so, and have a few more planned.  Once I get through all my ideas, though, I think I'll start discussion posts on particular books and see how those go.

Graphic Novel Review: Priceless (Angela: Asgard's Assassin, Vol. 1)

Authors| Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennet  Artists| Phil Jimenez and Stephanie Hans

Rating| 4.5 Stars  Edition| Paperback

Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble*/Book Depository

I was eager to see Angela's first headlining series before I even knew whether I'd like the character of the premise- it did not disappoint.

Waiting on Wednesday: A Criminal Magic

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.  Click here to join in on the fun.

Book Blogger Tag

I was tagged by the wonderful Christina at Books and Prejudice and if you're not following her blog, what's wrong with you?  Anyway, thanks Christina for the tag!

1. How many times do you check your email a day?

During the summer I checked about a billion times, but now that school has started up it's much less.  Whenever I'm walking to class I like to check and whenever I log onto my computer it immediately pops up, so I check then as well.  I have three email addresses, though, so if I don't check at least three times a day I end up overwhelmed with mail.

2. How many times are you on goodreads?

I don't really seek goodreads out.  I use the app, but only really update whenever I finish or start a book.  I do participate in some groups, but only spend time on them every once in a while.  I love goodreads, I just don't find that I spend that much time on it.

College Journey #5: The Challenge

This is part of a series of blog posts that I write about my college experience.  It's in part a way for me to talk about my own life, and in another part a way for me to give advice to incoming freshman.  While many of these posts will be tailored and full of details about the school I attend (Knox College, a small liberal arts college) some will also have general lessons about college.  Here are the previous posts in the series:

College Journey #1: Orientation

College Journey #2: My First Few Weeks as a Freshman

College Journey #3: Friends
College Journey #4: Food (On Campus)

If you ever have a topic you want me to cover, please let me know!

New to You Book Club: Announce November Book

Can I get a drum roll please....

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ARC Book Review: Lumiere (The Illumination Paradox, #1)

Author| Jacqueline E Garlick (Facebook/Twitter)  Rating| 2.5 Stars

Edition| eGalley courtesy of Netgalley  Release Date| December 12th, 2013

Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble

I received a copy of Lumiere from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday Comics

So, yes, I did read quite a bit more comics these last two weeks.  I was really out of sorts comic-wise, but with Marvel series' coming out and a sudden taste for X-Men (read: Angel) comics, I've begun to really love them again.  Sorry for the lack of pictures, they won't save correctly on my computer.  Hopefully the problem will be fixed soon.

Weekly Wrap Up and Book Haul

Okay, so Adele is releasing an album in a month and Panic! at the Disco in January.  You can be assured that I've already preordered both albums.  And, for all the singles released for both albums, I love them so very much.  Another preorder- my Star Wars: The Force Awakens tickets, which I order six minutes after they went on sale.  So, yes, I am going to the midnight premier.  My friend, Angel, unfortunately didn't get to buy his tickets until three days after they went on sale and found that they were sold out through Christmas.  I didn't know it would be such a dire thing, I'm just a freak about Star Wars and couldn't bear not going to the midnight premier!

Friday 56: The Martian

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.  Click here to join in on the fun.

Rules: Grab a book, any book.

Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader.

Find a sentence, or a few, and post it.

5 Star SPOILER Book Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4)

Author| Sarah J Maas (Twitter/Facebook)  Editions| Hardcover and Kindle eBook  Rating| 5 Stars

Related Reviews| Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository*

This review has SPOILERS for not only the first three books in the series, but also this book as well.  Major SPOILERS.  DO NOT READ unless you've already finished it, because, yes, I will be talking about the ending and the twists and everything.  So, SPOILERS!

Discussion: All These Women In Comics

Discussion posts are a new-ish thing for me.  I'm doing them every Thursday, and I have posts planned for the next month or so.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topics, so please comment!  If you're interested, my last few discussion posts were Get To Know Me, In Defense of Historical Romance, and A Real 5 Star Book vs. a Fake 5 Star Book.

Graphic Novel Review: Saga (Vol. 2)

Author| Brian K Vaughan  Artist| Fiona Staples  Rating| 4.5 Stars

Edition| Paperback
Related Reviews| Vol. 1
Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

This books picks up right where the last one left off.

Blogging Tips #1: So You Want to Start a Blog

So you're wondering what this is since it's a new, let me tell you.  I've been blogging for almost a year now, and one of my suite-mates here has been considering starting a blog.  So, it made me think, maybe other people want to start a blog, too.  So, here are some tips, and some pros and cons if you're considering.

New To You Book Club October: Voting for November Book

That's right, time to vote for next month's book!  I picked the October book since it was the first month, but now you guys get to vote.  Vote in the comments!  Here are the top choices that I pulled out:

Book Review: Rarity from the Hollow

Author| Robert Eggleton (Twitter)  Rating| 3.5 Stars

Edition| PDF Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

I received a copy of Rarity from the Hollow from the author, Robert Eggleton, in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you very much!

ARC Review: Flex ('Mancer, #1)

Author| Ferrett Steinmetz (Twitter)  Rating| 4.5 Stars

Edition| eGalley courtesy of Netgalley  Release Date| March 3rd, 2015
Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday TV

Sunday TV is something I do every other week to highlight the shows I've been watching lately.  I've been trying to stay afloat with all the shows I'm watching, but I'm not super caught up.  Well, I've put this off for a while today because I was writing an essay.  Here's what I've been watching:

Weekly Wrap Up and Book Haul

Hey guys, how has your week been?  Mine's been rather busy, what with mid-terms having come and gone and the professors expecting more from me now.  I'm settling into school quite well, though.  In bookish news, I'm really debating putting myself on a book buying ban.  I've been spending too much money on books I won't get to for a while.  So, we'll see.  Hopefully next week will be better, but I say that every week, don't I?

Graphic Novel Review: Saga (Vol. 1)

Author| Brian K Vaughan  Artist| Fiona Staples  Rating| 4.5 Stars

Edition| Paperback

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

This series is super popular on Booktube and I can see why.

Discussion: A Real 5 Star Book v A Fake 5 Star Book

Discussion posts are a new-ish thing for me.  I'm doing them every Thursday, and I have posts planned for the next month or so.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topics, so please comment!  If you're interested, my last two discussion posts were Get To Know Me and In Defense of Historical Romance.

5 Star Reread Review: Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)

Author| Sarah J Maas (Twitter/Facebook)  Edition| Hardcover  Rating| 5 Stars

Related Reviews| Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight

Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

For the record, I don't generally reread books that I didn't originally give five stars.

College Journey #4: Food (On Campus)

This is part of a series of blog posts that I write about my college experience.  It's in part a way for me to talk about my own life, and in another part a way for me to give advice to incoming freshman.  While many of these posts will be tailored and full of details about the school I attend (Knox College, a small liberal arts college) but will also have general lessons about college.  Here are the previous posts in the series:

College Journey #1: Orientation

College Journey #2: My First Few Weeks as a Freshman

College Journey #3: Friends

If you ever have a topic you want me to cover, please let me know!

New To You Book Club October: East of West Review

Author| Jonathan Hickman  Artist| Nick Dragotta  Rating| 4.75 Stars

Edition| Paperback  

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository 

East of West is the bookclub pick of the month for my New To You Graphic Novel Book Club.  If you're interested in joining, you have all month to read it and I'm super excited to talk to you guys about it.  You can find info in the tab at the top of the page.

Sunday Comics

Sunday Comics is an opportunity for me to highlight the comics I've been reading lately.  I've been in a lull, which is such a shame, so hopefully things will turn around.  With Marvel releasing their new lines of comics I think I'll get more comic reading done.  These past two weeks I've only managed to read two issues.

Weekly Wrap Up and Book Haul

So, last week in my wrap up I talked about how tough some aspects of blogging were getting (with my college load), particularly Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesdays.  And this week you may have noticed I didn't post as much as I normally do.  But I felt a bit empty not blogging each night and it's not as if I want to stop blogging- it's easily my favorite past time.  So, I think I've found a cure for this problem- I'll still be posting as many reviews as normal (since these are why I started blogging in the first place and what I love to write the most), but memes will be declining.  Every once in a while, when I have the time or have a book I really want to promote, I'll do them.  Friday 56's will probably be the most popular, honestly.  On days when I don't post anything, I'll still be hanging out around the blogosphere, whether on twitter or just browsing other book blogs.  I feel I don't do this enough as it is (I have many I love and so I follow them and hang out on them often) and it's a great way for me to stay connected without having to take a half-hour to hour preparing a post.

Book Review: Rook

Author| Sharon Cameron  Edition| Hardcover  Rating| 4.5 Stars

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

This is going to be a relatively short review, because I think this is a book better enjoyed when you don't know what you're getting into.

Discussion: Get to Know Me

So, I've started doing discussion posts every Thursday or so.  Most of the time they'll be book-related, but not today!  I've been blogging for almost a year, and I thought I'd just open up a little about myself.

New To You Book Club October: East of West GIVEAWAY

If you've poked around the blog a bit you may have noticed that I've got a book club starting.  For full information go here.  This post is mostly dedicated to information about the book we're reading and not the book club information, since I've talked about that quite a lot.

College Journey #3: Friends

So, this is part of a series of blog posts that I do.  I've just started attending college (Knox College, a small liberal arts school) and these posts are in part a way for me to talk about what's been going on, and, in part, a resource for people who are planning on going to college next year (or whenever, but it's meant to really help those who are close and worried about certain things).  Most of these posts will be specific to Knox College, but not all of them.  And the general wisdom of the posts is the same regardless of where you attend.

Sunday TV

Sunday TV is something I do every other week to highlight the shows I've been watching lately.  Fall TV has finally started to pick up (one of my favorite seasons of the year!) and so I've got a lot on my plate.  Keeping up on them all is going to be a bit difficult, but I like all the shows (with one exception) so I don't think it will actually end up being that hard.

5 Star Reread Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)

Author| Sarah J Maas (Twitter/Facebook)  Edition| Hardcover (Original Cover)  Rating| 5 Stars

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository
Related Reviews| Throne of Glass

I love this series so much.  If you missed me talking about it in a previous post, I actually reread these books every year in anticipation for the most recent to be released.  So I reread Crown of Midnight, for you counting at home, for the third time this year.

Weekly Wrap Up and Book Haul

I'm sorry everyone, but this last week or so has been tough.  I've been trying to stay on top of everything, but it may be obvious that I failed.  Several of the posts I wanted to get out just did not get out.  So I'm setting aside quite a bit of time today to make sure I get a bit ahead, and I'm also going to change the time that I usually blog.  Normally, I actively blog in the evening, but seeing as that's getting pushed later and later, I'm going to try and do it in the mornings before my classes.  This will mean that many of my posts will be prepared ahead of time, especially the reviews, but I'll be around, actively, then.  We'll see how this works- you probably won't even notice the difference.

I'm So Sorry Guys...

I've been so behind lately.  There are so many things I wanted to get up on the blog this week, and especially today, but I just fell behind.  Tomorrow I plan to get all caught up, but I am very sorry for being so behind.

5 Star Graphic Novel Review: Who Holds the Hammer? (Thor, Vol. 2)

Author| Jason Aaron  Artist| Russell Dauterman  Rating| 5 Stars

Edition| Hardcover

Related Reviews| Goddess of Thunder

Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository*

As everyone knows, I absolutely love this series, so the following review is more of me just saying that and not giving anything away because you really want to be surprised by this one.

Discussion: In Defense of Historical Romance

So I really like the idea of discussion posts and I'm a rather opinionated person, so I naturally have a lot I want to say.  Each week, for a month or so, I have discussion posts planned.  I don't know if I'll end up doing more than that or not, but I'm very pleased to welcome you to my first ever discussion post right now!