So, since my end-of-the-week post isn't just about what I got in my mailbox or on my Kindle each week -- though that is a big part of it, I won't lie -- I decided to change up the title and intro a bit. I might tweak the format a bit over the next few weeks, but for the most part, it'll contain the same stuff: stuff I got, stuff I did, and stuff that's coming up on the blog. Plus, I get to use the awesome GIF you see here and blow kisses to all the people who sent me lovely books and bookish things. Oh, and I've started linking up to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews since I'm not using a specific meme title anymore. April's also doing her own Stacking the Shelves posts on Sundays. Stop by and say hi! =)
Hope you all had a happy 4th!!! :D We didn't make the mistake of letting Katie drive around the neighborhood in her Barbie Jeep with a 3 minute smoke bomb attached to the back of it again this year, but we had fun nevertheless. :P Man, she fogged up the whole street! If I can find the video, I'll share it later. ;0) She did, however, end up with a ton of fireworks to shoot off, plus a ton of smoke bombs. Girl loves her smoke bombs. :)The garden is doing awesome this week, except that we found worms in the green beans. Boo! We also need to get out there and weed it. That's always been my least favorite aspect of gardening, but when I was a kid, my parents always made it a rule that if I was going to eat anything that came out of the garden, I had to help maintain it, so I'm trying to instill that same work ethic in Katie. Oddly enough, the kid loves weeding the garden...she's just not super good at it yet. :P Here's a pic of our first major harvest:
Not too shabby, right? :)
Anyway, here's what I scored this week:
For Review:
Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman - Hope this is as good and eerie as it sounds!
Madame Tussaud's Apprentice by Kathleen Benner Duble - Vive la révolution!
Defector by Susanne Winnacker - finished copy - Haven't read the first book so I'll probably give this away soon
Five Ways to Fall by K.A. Tucker - audiobook - Loved the previous books, so I can't wait for Ben's story!
The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien - The publicist for this book talked me into it and sent over an ARC. I hope it's as good as she made it out to be.
Purchases:
Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater - Isn't it ever so pretty?!? I have an ARC, too, but I just HAD to have this beautiful artwork, plus it's signed. I can continue to say that all of my Maggie books have been signed & doodled by the author herself....well, at least one version of each book, anyway. My ARC of Sinner isn't signed...boohoo. Guess I'll have to stalk the author some more. :P
So, that's my haul. How about you? What did you get this week?
The Week in Review:Reviews:
- The Stepsister's Tale (April)
- Life by Committee - audio (Jen)
- Paper Valentine - audio (Jen)
- The Assassin's Blade - audio (Jen)
- Boomerang (Jen)
- Torn Away (April)
- Wild (Jen)
Current Giveaways:
Look for new giveaways in the coming weeks, including my first ever Twitter-only contest and a giveaway of the complete Maze Runner series in anticipation of the new film!
- Takin' It Old School - Classics We've Read and Ones We Still Need to Read
- SYNC 2014 - Week 8 Books Up for Grabs - Torn from Troy & Peter and the Starcatchers
- Our Summer TBRs - Revisited - a recap on what we've read so far and what we still need to get to
Jen's Currently Reading/Listening To:
Since I finished my re-read/listen of the first two books and finally read the volume of novellas, I figured it was high time I give in to the temptation and read this before anyone spoils it for me. =)
This isn't particularly what I want to listen to right now, but I got it from the library and it's due back very soon and I can't renew it because there's someone on the waitlist. :( So, even though I already started Broken Hearts, Fences & Other Things to Mend, I'll have to wait to get back to it. Which pains me because it's Morgan Matson writing as Katie Finn, and I love Morgan Matson. :) But Catch a Falling Star is relatively cute, so it's not a bad listen.
(as in, within the next few weeks, lol)
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Aww smoke bombs on the back of her barbie jeep! Sounds like a good idea... I love the fireworks but I'm rather cheap on things that last for 5 seconds so I usually just go in my backyard and watch all my neighbors fireworks. I have one neighbor that does some nice ones but there is this one tree blocking my view! The Vault of Dreamers sounds interesting and everyone seems to be getting it all of a sudden. Oohh Sinner! I plan to go to her signing the 23rd. Those are some nice veggies too. We tried a few times and I feel like it's a lot of work for like 2 good veggies. LOL The only things that always come out nice without a lot of work are the hot peppers. I used one of those hanging thingies off the infomercial and they actually grew really nice in it. I forget the name of the thing now.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty cheap in that regard, too, but the kid LOVES them, and we're not in the habit of depriving her of these things when she's been so good. :) Yep, she's spoiled rotten but she's our only baby, so it's likely to stay that way, lol. Oh, yay, Maggie is super fun and personable...that'll be a fun signing. I attended one of hers last year for The Dream Thieves and it was probably the most fun signing I've been to. Flowers are not my forte, but for some reason, I have pretty good luck growing veggies. I've been wanting to try one of those Topsy Turvy things for tomatoes, just to save room in the garden, but it all worked out. Hope you had a nice 4th!
DeleteI totally got that copy of Sinner as well! I love love love the artwork! :)
ReplyDeleteI love it, too. It's so gorgeous...I wish she'd done that for the other covers in the series, too!
DeleteLove the garden haul! ;D And love that you're instilling the same work ethic!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy all of your lovely new books.
Stacking the Shelves #39
Aw, thanks...it's really important to us that she work hard but also enjoy the benefits of that hard work. And she does love her fresh pickles. :) Hope you had a nice 4th!
Deletebahaha! I need to see that video. And I'm so jealous of your bell peppers. We have yet to grow peppers that big. We need more sun up here, it's just too shaded unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI have the galley for The Vault of Dreamers! It sounds pretty good. Hopefully the publicist is right! :)
love that pic of Katie! <3
It was pretty spectacular. :) And don't be jealous of the peppers....I'm totally jealous that you can grow berries. My dad always tried blackberries and raspberries, but we only ever got a few berries off of them. It's just too hot here.
DeleteI hope Vault is good. I've never read a book by that author, even though I have the entire Birthmarked trilogy on my shelf...SIGNED.
I'm jealous of the signed copy of Sinner! Haha. I hope you enjoy all of the awesome books you got this week.
ReplyDeleteHere is my post: http://justin941bookblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/stacking-shelves-8.html
I live for signed/Maggie-doodled copies of her books. I always preorder them because of that. And thanks, I plan to. :)
DeleteOMG that cover art on SINNER. I'm soooo jealous. I don't suppose TBD will ever sell them like that so I won't get one, but they're SO STINKIN' AMAZING. XD I'm very excited to read Sinner! Haven't bought it yet, but it's my next pick. Hehe. And yay for awesome garden hauls!
ReplyDeleteMy Stacking the Shelves!
Right? It's pretty gorgeous in person, too. :) I'm not sure if her bookstore ships internationally, but it's something to look into for future Maggie-doodled books...like Blue Lily. I think it was like $11 last time I shipped you a book, so if you were willing to pay that plus the cost of the book, I'd be willing to help you out. But I've already preordered my copy of Blue Lily. :( And yes to the awesome garden hauls...less grocery shopping for me, lol. :)
DeleteWinterkill!! Great. I can't wait to read that book. It sounds good and it reminds me of Red Riding Hood. I'm also curious about The vault of dreamers. I love that edition from Sinner. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteMel@thedailyprophecy
Yes, Winterkill reminded me of Red Riding Hood, too! I thought it was just me, lol. I am kinda in love with my copy of Sinner. I have an ARC, too, but I HAD to have that Maggie-doodled/signed book.
DeleteNice veggies! That's a great harvest :-) I love fresh veggies--we should really get a garden going.
ReplyDeleteLove the newest books. I'm very curious about Winterkill. I hear you on struggling to write a review. I have several that are still being worked on (for weeks). Why is it so hard to review the ones we love? Have a great week Jen!
As soon as I took that picture, the pickles were devoured. Those don't last long in this house, lol. We had to wait till Katie outgrew some of her larger outdoor toys in oder to have a place to put the garden, but it was worth it. I'm hoping Winterkill is excellent and creepy and totally throws me for a loop. :) Yes...this. I think it's always harder to write the reviews for the books that we enjoyed the most...I'd much rather just re-read the book, lol. Hope you had a nice 4th and have a great week, too!
DeleteThanks, I'm sure I will. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome picture! Five Ways to Fall was awesome on audio, I think it's my favorite of the series. So many of these I want to read/listen to :)
ReplyDeleteEven Winterkill's cover looks creepy, which is great! Sinner's cover is gorgeous and I can't wait to see if the publicist was right about The Vault of Dreams.
ReplyDeleteHEIR OF FIRE!!!! As you know, I have this one and I'm terrified so...how is it so far?
Glad you had a fun 4th of July! Love the garden veggies. The Vault of Dreamers in one I look forward to getting at some point. Hope you enjoy your new books! Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteHere are my newest additions.
Vault of Dreamers looks SO good! I missed it in NY, but I have it on my with list. I hope it is a GREAt read for you!
ReplyDelete