Week in Review - Week 41

Random Thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to my Canadian Friends! I am thankful for a 3 day weekend... lol And, books. And, blogging friends. Not to mention family, furry family, and all the other parts of life. Right now I am grateful for coffee and milk for said coffee. I ran to the grocery store last night, or it would have been coffee with no milk. I had these grand plans to have a reading weekend... Has not happened at all. I just cannot seem to dedicate a whole day to reading any more. I am late getting this post done and I still need to make pies for Thanksgiving dinner later today. I should probably be doing that right now, but I am not much of a baker and put that sort of stuff off as long as possible.

Graphic Novel Year

Star Wars: Chewbecca

A Game for Swallows

I Remember Beirut

Currently Reading

Audiobook

Weekly Reads

Star Wars: Chewbecca ~ Another fun Marvel comic set in the Star Wars universe. I am very impressed by how diverse Star Wars is getting. This is another series where there was Chewbecca, of course, and the other main character was a young female. I always minded how lacking the old movies were with women, they are starting to get that straightened out now! Recommended!

A Game for Swallows ~ This was recently added on Scribd so I decided to check it out. It was really good! It all takes place primarily in one evening, but it is enough time to recap the events that have come before and the situation that the characters find themselves in. It is about an aspect of history that I am not overly familiar with, so I learned from it as well. I also really liked the art! Recommended!

I Remember Beirut ~ I decided to follow it up with the sequel. This was good, I liked the art again, but it didn't blow me away or anything. I really don't even consider it all that necessary. So, I am glad I read it on Scribd and didn't rush out and buy a copy after loving A Game for Swallows, which I am sure people did... So, definitely read it if you can do it in a borrowing capacity, but A Game for Swallows is the superior read.

Brown Girl Dreaming ~ Finally, folks, I read an audio on Scribd. I have had Scribd for ages and because I can't speed up the audios on the Android app, it has just not worked for me. But, I decided to try again and I just don't listen when I am on the treadmill. I find the slower speed perfect for when I am cooking or cleaning, because if I get distracted for a moment, I don't miss a lot. I am starting with shorter stuff, but I am so happy I finally got a chance to read this book. I loved it. It has been years since I read Woodson. Strongly recommended!

Three Dark Crowns ~ I really liked Anna Dressed in Blood by Blake, so when this book started getting a lot of positive buzz, I knew I was going to have to check it out! So, I grabbed it with one of my birthday gift cards and started it last week. I didn't have as much time to read it as I would have liked, so I settled in yesterday morning and read the rest. It was so good and I cannot wait to see what happens next because the ending opened up so many possibilities! Strongly recommended!

New Additions

The Girl from Everywhere

The Natural Way of Things

The Kingdom of Gods

The Obelisk Gate

Bellweather Rhapsody

The Muse

How to Draw a Rhinoceros

Weekly Posts

Week in Review - Week 40

September in Review

Wordless Wednesday - Take 3

WWW Wednesday - On Thursday (1)

Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts

Saturday Snapshot - Take 4

Weekly Pictures

Saturday Snapshot - Take 4

This was the sunset on October 3rd when we went out for supper for my birthday. Pretty view!

Bookish (And Not so Bookish) Thoughts

1. | I was so excited with myself this year. I started using Canva and actually making buttons for my blog. Now, everything I used to use on there seems to cost money. It has taken the fun out of the button making because I spend forever trying to find something free. I use my own pictures, I just like the formatting is all ready done and I just change it to what I want to say...

2. | My birthday was an event this year. My maternal grandmother is still alive and she fell last week. So, she was in the hospital recuperating. She has a blood disorder, though, and some other things popped up on my birthday. So, it was a memorable birthday for a not so great reason. She seems to be on the mend again now, so we will see how it plays out.

3. | My grandmother always gives me money for books for my birthday. She was the first person to give me a book gift card ever because the rest of my family didn't seem to understand that books for gifts were fun for me. I had spent her gift this year before my birthday even happened and the books arrived on Wednesday. I am excited to read them all.

4. | I bought more books recently than I should have. I am not finding enough time to read, so everything is going very slowly! And then I have all these books calling to me. It is a struggle! I would like to read a lot of books before the year ends, but unless something really changes that is not looking too promising!

5. | I resurrected the cleaning schedule this week because my house was starting to get overwhelming again. I felt way better just after the first day when I tackled the living room and kitchen. It's just that things do not stay clean. I get really frustrated. I have an issue with Finn (the orange cat) where he throws litter everywhere. So, I clean it up and everything is clean and then come back out a bit later and it is everywhere again. I wish he would stop. He will for a long time and then start up again. It has just been really bad the last couple weeks.

6. | I am wondering when posting on Litsy and Instagram is going to get overwhelming. I have been doing a photo challenge list on Litsy, posting my finished reads, and joining in on theme days. Then, on Instagram I sometimes use the same pictures for other reasons, but typically have to take new pictures for the scavenger hunts I do and the fact that since it is getting back to the colder part of the year, I started doing photo a day again. It's fun, but time consuming!

7. | I am excited about the up-coming three day weekend. I have no idea what the plans will be, but it is a three day weekend. I am hoping to get some reading done because this week has been slow for it... I do know there will be Thanksgiving dinner and I agreed to make pie. Normally for these family events I volunteer myself for things that are all ready made, but I decided to branch out this year. And, if it fails the stores sell all ready made pie!

WWW Wednesday - On Thursday (1)

WWW Wednesday is a blog feature I discovered yesterday and decided to cheat and post today because I am trying to find posts that make blogging easier. This is hosted over at Taking on a World of Words and is a way to discuss what you are reading, recent reads, and what you hope to read next. I talk about this a bit on my week in review posts, but not in the same way. We will see how this goes!

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
~ I am currently in the midst of a few things. I am reading two of the books I received for my birthday, Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake and The Geek Feminist Revolution by Cameron Hurley. I have read Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood and really liked it. I was excited to see a new series by her with so much buzz, so had to grab a copy. I am really liking it so far, but just need to find some time to read more from it. Then, The Geek Feminist Revolution is my first time reading Hurley. This poor book has been in my shopping cart and then deleted several times this year, but I am excited to finally settle in with it. I have just been reading an essay here and there and it is really good so far. She has a really fun way of writing and I really need to read her fiction!

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY LISTENING TO?
~ I added this in because it made more sense to me than running on forever in question one. I actually am listening to 2 audiobooks. I have Scribd and I do not like the fact that you cannot speed up the audios on the Android app, so I have not really been listening to audios. I decided to see if some short audios would work to start getting my moneys worth from the app, so I went with Brown Girl Dreaming. I listen to it on my tablet while I am in the same room and I find that the slower speed works while I am doing other things, but I always find it too slow for the treadmill. I think the conversational way the book is written helps, too. I am so glad to finally be getting to this and really am enjoying it so far! Then, for my rest of the time audio I am reading The Last Days of Magic, which Beth Fish recommended to me on Twitter. I really like the narrator, but for some reason it took me a while to get into this book. It jumps around a bit and I got lost and had to start over, so now I am only listening when I am not distracted by other things... Which is why two audiobooks this week!

WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?
~ On Sunday I had a bit of a reading day and read Star Wars: Chewbecca, A Game for Swallows, and I Remember Beirut. A Game for Swallows was my favourite of the three, but I enjoyed them all. It was nice to get to some comics because I frankly have not been reading them like I normally do!

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL READ NEXT?
~ That is always the question, huh? I am the worst for not sticking to my plans when I say I am going to read such and such. I think my next audio will be Black Rabbit Hall and then on Scribd Another Brooklyn to check out Woodson's other new book. In print, I have received so many books recently that it is really hard to pick! I want to read everything, so we will see how it goes!

Wordless Wednesday - Take 3

Flowers for my Birthday

To see more Wordless Wednesday pictures, click here.

September in Review

Looking Back

After considering July and August my least favourite months of the year, I had higher hopes for September. My reading was more consistent and that was a huge relief. I will never get to all the books I want to get to this year, because look how quickly the year is winding down! But, I have been blogging consistently, so that is a step up over the last couple years. I don't really do review posts, but I talk about books in other ways. We can pretend that works. lol

They are calling for a bad winter, so in case that is a reality, we have to enjoy the nice weather as much as possible. The winter can feel really claustrophobic and cabin fever is a real thing! I mean, hopefully it will mean more free time to read and other hobbies, but at the same time I like being able to go for random drives and seeing places. It is where I get all my pictures for my week in review post! Otherwise, you will just see the cats and dog. And, likely books since I am trying to get into using Litsy now that is available to me! (bookishnerd in case you missed that.)

The Books

230. The Jewel and her Lapidary by Fran Wilde

231. Trigger Warnings: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman

232. The Builders by Daniel Polansky

233. Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, Book 1) by Jay Kristoff

234. City of the Lost (Casey Duncan Series, Book 1) by Kelley Armstrong

235. Alice in the Country of Hearts - Volume 1 by Quin Rose

236. One - Volume 1 by Vin Lee

237. Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson

238. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

239. Yotsuba&! - Volume 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma

240. Locke & Key by Joe Hill

241. Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassins Series, Book 4) by Jennifer Estep

242. Silk - Volume 1: Sinister by Robbie Thompson 

243. Deadpool - Volume 1: Millionaire with a Mouth by Gerry Duggan

244. Deadpool - Volume 2: End of an Error by Gerry Duggan

245. Batgirl - Volume 3: Mindfields by Cameron Stewart

246. The Bone Knife by Intisar Khanani

247. The Rook (The Checquy Files, Book 1) by Daniel O'Malley

248. Where Am I Now by Mara Wilson

249. Sunbolt (The Sunbolt Chronicles, Book 1) by Intisar Khanani

250. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Volume 1: BFF by Amy Reeder

251. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

252. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, Book 1) by N.K. Jemisin

The Source

E-Book - 5

Audible - 5

Bought - 1

Book Credit - 3

Scribd - 5

Marvel Unlimited - 4

Series Talk

Nevernight - 1/1

Casey Duncan - 1/1

Elemental Assasins - 4 out of a lot...

Batgirl - 3/3 Caught up!

The Checquy - 1/2

The Sunbolt Chronicles - 1/2

The Broken Earth - 1/2

Other Talk

Audiobooks continue to happen. YAY!!

This month they were:

Nevernight

Locke & Key

The Rook

Where Am I Now 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Books Added to the TBR

Supergirl - Volume 2: Breaking the Chain 
Batgirl - Volume 3 
Pretty Deadly - Volume 2: The Bear 
The Geek Feminist Revolution 
Three Dark Crowns 
Off the Bookshelf Colouring Book 
Life After Life Stars Above 
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Week in Review - Week 40

Random Thoughts

How is it October all ready? Tomorrow is my birthday... At least this year I am not spending it recovering from a broken ankle! If I look back on last year, it makes me see how much better my ankle is now. It is when I think about before I broke it compared to now that I get sad. Such is life, I guess. So, this year's birthday has been bookish and I am a bit embarrassed by how many books I have bought recently. Now to read them... And not buy anymore this year! We will see how that goes... I was reflecting on how different this year has been in terms of reading. I used to do review copies, so I was up on the new releases. But, last year I think I read like two books actually published in 2015. This year with preorders, good e-book sales, and Audible... I have read a lot of 2016 books (and own a bunch more). I hope the last three months of the year are good reading months for me. I need them! lol

Graphic Novel Year

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Volume 1: BFF

Currently Reading

Audiobook

Weekly Reads

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur ~ I have been curious about this since it came out and it was finally finished for the first volume on Marvel. Guys, while I did really like it... I didn't love it. And, that makes me sad. I am hoping it is just a case of the series getting better as it goes. I think my issue is that all of the new series centred around girls have the girls acting the same way. The sidekicks may be different, but the overall personality and lifestyle? Similar. I guess they don't feel like they are pushing envelope for me... So, while I recommend this, I am not as excited as I expected to be.

We Have Always Live in the Castle ~ A reread! Remember when I was doing well at rereading this year? It sort of fizzled... But, I had this on audio and was told it was a good performance. Plus, it is perfect for this time of the year. And, it was a really good audio. It is such a creepy, atmospheric book. I found that I remembered the larger story, but had forgotten a lot of the details. Shirley Jackson was a very gifted writer! Strongly recommended!

The Fifth Season ~ I grabbed this on a Kindle deal and then sat on it forever before finally starting it this week! I have read Jemisin in the past, but not in ages and only one book. I am so glad I read this! It was so good! There are so many wonderful fantasy novels out there! It takes a bit to get going, but that is only because it has to build up to awesome things that will totally make sense when they happen. And the ending! I want the sequel now, please! (It is on its way to me in the mail...) Strongly recommended!!

New Additions

The Geek Feminist Revolution

Three Dark Crowns

Off the Bookshelf Colouring Book

Life After Life

Stars Above

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Weekly Posts

Week in Review - Week 39

Music Munday - Idina Menzel (Week 1)

Top Ten Tuesday - Books on my Fall TBR List

Wordless Wednesday - Take 2

A Bookish Meme

Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts

Saturday Snapshot - Take 3

Weekly Pictures

Saturday Snapshot - Take 3

The cats have a perfectly good cat house that they never use. Instead they sleep in a litter box on top of a Gatorade box. They also use the Gatorade box as a scratching spot. Finn is in this box right now as I am posting this, too.