Goodreads Reading Challenge – March 2016

For my March Goodreads Reading Challenge, I was supposed to read (a) a book that’s a collection of novels and (b) a book type you don’t usually buy. I had a book I was really eager to read that didn’t fit with this challenge so I decided to jump around a bit and come back to the collection of novels at a later time. So, here is what I read in March:

A book type you don’t usually buy: For this I went with a hardcover book. I do actually have a lot of hardcovers but the majority of my book purchases nowadays are eBooks so I figure it still counts! I read The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner. It’s the true story of a girl growing up in a polygamous community in Mexico. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

A book in which the main character belongs to a minority: This particular topic doesn’t show up on my reading challenge list for a while but after winning an autographed bookmark, I thought I’d better read it! All of the main characters happen to be minorities – the main character is African-American, the love interest is biracial, etc. It’s a YA sci-fi romance. I believe this is the first book in a series and it’s only $0.99 on Amazon! I will definitely read the next book in this series when it’s released.

A book chosen for its cover: This is technically one of my April challenges but I finished the first two books and decided to keep going! I really did pick this book for its cover – so pretty! I will say that once I saw the cover, I also read the blurb, checked out a few reviews, etc. before I purchased it. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be and was a quick read.

For April, I have to read: the book on my TBR list that matches my age! What did you read this month?

Tuesday Talks: Specific Books or Browsing?

In an effort to blog more often, I’ve joined a few Goodreads groups. One is Top Five Wednesday and the other is Tuesday Talks. Both are open to anyone so click the links to join!

The Tuesday Talks this week: Do you shop for specific books or are you a browser?

For me, it’s a mix of both. If I’m at a bookstore (I still miss you, Borders!) then I am definitely a browser. I love strolling around bookstores and discovering new titles. I also browse Amazon pretty frequently. When I travel, I’m 100% a browser. I like to pick up a small paperback to read on the plane and they are usually books I’ve never heard of. On my last trip I grabbed In the Blood by Lisa Unger. Super creepy, by the way!

That being said, I also shop for specific books. I look for books by my favorite authors for sure. Working in a library, I have access to a lot of titles, so I have to narrow it down somehow! I just started reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. After seeing this on numerous must-read and bestseller lists, I looked for it specifically.

Do you all browse or know what you want when you book shop?

Top 5 Wednesday -Books I DNF

I recently joined the Goodreads group Top 5 Wednesday  The group was created by Lainey and I’m excited to participate! It’s open to anyone, just click the link to join 🙂 This week’s topic: Books you DNF.

If you don’t know, DNF stands for Did Not Finish. This was a hard topic for me because it’s very rare that I don’t finish a book. But I thought long and hard and came up with my top five:

1. Allegiant by Veronica Roth: This is the third book in the Divergent series. I really enjoyed the first book, Divergent. The second book, Insurgent, wasn’t quite as good but I still liked it. The third book? I didn’t care for it at all! I’d say I made it about 50% through before asking a friend about the ending, out of curiosity. DNF reason: boredom.

2. 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James: I wouldn’t normally read a book like this but it was so wildly popular that I had to! (Which is also why I read Twilight.) If I had to guess, I’d probably say I made it 25% through. Along with the character saying “oh my” every third paragraph, there were odd British quirks the main character had, despite being from the U.S. I later figured out that the author was from England but it was still distracting.DNF reason: annoyance.

3. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen: I’m sure this is an amazing book. It won a National Book Award for a reason, right? I’ve started this book numerous times but I simply can’t get interested in reading it. Maybe one day…DNF reason: just couldn’t get into it

4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville: I read this title for an English Lit class. If I recall correctly, we had to read around 11 books for this class and we started with Moby Dick. First, this book is loooong. There is so much detail. So much. It felt like a chore. But in the end, I DNF because I needed get to the next book and study for my other classes. DNF: time constraints.

5. Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis: This was another title read for the class mentioned above. I’d read other books by Ellis so I knew what to expect but…man, oh, man. This book is hands down the craziest book I’ve read. I did manage to skim through it but I’m counting it as a DNF because I skipped a lot. If you are looking for something totally different, though, give this a shot and let me know what you think! DNF: time constraints and confusion.

So that’s my first Top 5 Wednesday! Stop by next week for Top Five: Least Favorite Book in Your Favorite Series!

All about Loomis Park Press!

Around 4 months ago, when I first started blogging, I posted a short paragraph about Loomis Park Press. Now that we are up and running, I thought it would be a good idea to share some more info!

YA & NA Publisher We publish YA & NA fiction. There are no upfront fees and we provide: ISBNs, editing, eBook formatting, book covers, and more!

Submissions We are currently open for submissions! Simply email submissions@loomisparkpress.com with the title of your manuscript as the subject line. In the body of the email include a short summary or “blurb,” word count, and if the title is YA or NA. Below that, paste the first five pages of your manuscript!

We are excited to offer Fresh Reads! You can read advance copies of our publications for free in exchange for honest reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and/or your blog!

Every month, there is a different event happening. Sometimes it’s a book release (Outside & The Trouble with Family out now!) We had an event called Pair Me where we matched 60 people with critique partners and will do that again 1-2 more times this year. We are also hoping to launch a forum where people can find critique partners & beta readers, and chat about books. In the future we also plan to have writing contests and giveaways. To stay informed about our events, check out our eNewsletter The Owl launching this month!

The Owl is named after our cute purple mascot!)

Questions? Let me know! So far this has been a really fun adventure and we can’t wait to see where it takes us!

My favorite book sub boxes!

I happen to love subscription boxes (love.) The ones I typically try out are beauty or lifestyle-related (ipsy, birchbox, etc.) but did you know there are some great book-related subscription boxes out there as well? I don’t have room to list them all (there are a lot!) but here are my top three:

Book of the Month: I received an annual subscription to this as a Christmas gift and I’m absolutely loving it! Each month you choose between five titles. The books are chosen by various judges and there is usually a new guest judge each month (Mayim Bialik, David Sedaris, and Whoopi Goldberg have been past judges.) Every title you get is a hardcover!

Pros: You get to choose your book, you can add on extra books, you can skip a month if there is nothing that sounds interesting.

Cons: The forum to discuss books isn’t very active.

LitCube:This is a fun subscription for people that love all things book-related! Each month has a theme and the boxes come with books and goodies such as book-themed coffee mugs, jewelry, and snacks!

Pros: You get fun items in addition to your books, the themes are fun (past boxes include Home Sweet Oz, Royals, and Supernatural), and they have limited edition boxes as well – Gilmore Girls is up next!

Cons: Unlike Book of the Month, you do not get to choose your book titles.

Powell’s Indiespensable:This subscription is delivered every 6-8 weeks and features books from independent publishers. This is a great way to discover books you may not normally be aware of.

Pros: The books are often signed first editions! You also tend to get extras in the box including bookmarks and snacks.

Cons: I find that it’s often hard to get signed up for this box. They sell out quickly and you have to wait weeks until you can subscribe.

If you read a lot of YA, Owl Crate is also really popular, though haven’t tried it yet!

Do you get any book subscriptions? What is your favorite?

Just FYI, the above are not affiliate links, just adding them to be helpful 🙂