This week’s TGIF! question: A Book Blogger is Born: What made you decide to start your very own book blog?
I started reading a lot – I mean, TONS – after reading Twilight in 2009. I started out on Goodreads, a site I found where I could keep track of all the books I was reading and those I owned, as well, since I started buying them faster than I could read them. I wasn’t really writing reviews at the time, but every now and then, a book would inspire a few words from me and I would include them. After reading and obsessing over The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, one day on her site I came across a link that read Mundie Moms. Now, this wasn’t the first time I had come across such a thing. I mean, I did obsess over Twilight and had found various blogs and fansites, so I was thrilled to find one dedicated to The Mortal Instruments.
Through them I discovered other blogs dedicated to their love of books. And I wanted to join in on the fun! I wanted to make friends with these lovely bookish people. So I started this blog. :) You can read eve more about my journey in my About Me page if you’d like!
This week’s Follow Friday featured blogs are:
Addicted to Heroines
Tribute Books Mama
This week’s Follow Friday question: Summer Break is upon us! What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading & relax?
Honestly. I want to spend it reading in my newly purchased home. :) That’s right! We just bought a house and I want to spend all my time there. That, and we don’t have money left for a vacation, lol. Wanna see a picture?? Go HERE!
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Publication Date: December 11th 2012 by Razorbill
In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:
Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.
Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.
Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.
Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword…
The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?
Uhm, only two words: Hell. YES!
A weekly feature hosted by GReads! where we showcase some good tunes! :)
I just heard this band on HBO’s show “Girls” and I fell in loooooove! Check out The Echo-Friendly!
Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon–when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach–an “outlander”–in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life…and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire…and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
Back in the spring of 2010—before I even started blogging—I bought a book that looked to be very popular. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon had been around for quite a while and I’m still not really sure what inspired me to buy it. It just called out to me, like a siren song. The blue cover and crown just ensnared me.
I will admit that the first 50 pages (first 2 chapters) or so did not completely hook me…but once she falls through those stones and back in time, I was unable to put it down! Just imagine being on holiday with your husband and accidentally thrusting yourself back in time 202 years! Into the middle of battle, no less! It was seriously unputdownable after that. I actually read the rest of the series in the upcoming months, back to back.
Probably my all time most favorite series, that’s my set of hardcovers. :) I also have the Kindle versions, for rereads, so these stay pristine.
And now I want to revisit this book with you guys. So, join us! You won’t regret it. :) AND! You’ll be able to finally say, “Outlander? Oh, yes! I’ve read that! I loved it!”
After a spontaneous Twitter conversation, the following six blogs decided to host this read-a-long. A special thanks to Jacinda (The Reading Housewives) for organizing the details and creating the fabulous graphic. :)
What do I have to do to participate?
- Write up a participation post and link to it in the linky below. This is the official way for you to sign-up. It’s a great way to spread the word to other readers. Feel free to tweet and share the Outlander read-a-long in other outlets as well. (The linky is the same on each host blog. You only need to enter your blog link once)
- Read Outlander with the group of us!
- Answer the discussion questions that will be posted (see schedule above) and post them on Mondays throughout the months of June and July. Go to the hosts blog, link up your post, and visit other posts to see their thoughts!
- and have fun!
- (My thanks to Jacinda for those bullet points. :))
Where Can I Get a Copy of Outlander?
It’s everywhere! You can either buy it, or check it out from the library. Just keep in mind that if you’re borrowing from the library, you’ll need to renew it a few times, as this read-a-long goes on for 6 weeks.
Here are links to where it can be purchased, both new and used: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | AbeBooks
What’s the Schedule?
June 11th – Questions for chapters 1-7 announced at Gone with the Words
June 18th – Questions for chapters 1-7 answered & questions announced for chapters 8-14 at Stalking the Bookshelves
June 25th – Questions for chapters 8-14 answered & questions announced for chapters 15-21 on Tangled up in Blue
July 2nd – Questions for chapters 15-21 answered & questions announced for chapters 22-28 on Into the Hall of Books
July 9th – Questions for chapters 22-28 answered & questions announced for chapters 29-35 on Logan E. Turner
July 16th – Questions for chapters 29-35 answered & questions announced for chapters 36-41 on The Reading Housewives
July 23rd – Questions for chapters 36-41 answered on Gone with the Words. The end.
Are You Ready? Link Up!
Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge was created by Amanda of On a Book Bender and Tara of 25 Hour Books to shamelessly plug each other, share the fantastic posts, giveaways, or whatever else they found and loved by other awesome bloggers (or authors!) during the week, and talk about the books they received that week and plan on reading in the coming week.
This week on Gone with the Words…
- Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Quotes From Books– Prepared to swoon!
- Waiting on Wednesday: Prodigy by Marie Lu – If you haven’t read Legend, DO IT!
- TGIF! Follow Friday {63} – Where I talk favorite secondary characters and literary mom/daughter relationships.
- Bout of Books 4.0 – See what I plan to read during this read-a-thon!
What’s the Word in Jess’s World…
If you haven’t seen me mention it on Twitter, my fiancé and I bought a house! Here’s a picture:
And moving has been a slow process that has take my energy and and my desire to read. Last night was the first time I read anything since May 1st! I’m hoping that slump is over.
ALSO! Once I’m all moved in I plan to start working out because I need to! I’m excited and nervous! I’ve bought a cardio workout that looks really extreme and fun:
(Click the picture to see youtube video of program)
Around the Blogosphere…
- Bout of Books 4.0 start at midnight!!– You can totally still sign up too! I have three books lined up to read and I can’t wait. (Check out my Goals post!)
- I was STALKED! – Amanda of On a Book Bender decided to feature me for her “Who Am I Stalking?” feature. :) There’s talk of Viagra. Don’t miss it!
- Armchair BEA Registration is now open!I signed up this year, after seeing it’s awesomeness last year.
- HELP WANTED! – Two popular blogs, The Bookish Brunette and Dark Faerie Tales, are looking for reviewers. Go check them out! :)
- Isalys of Book Soulmates posted a discussion post about Classifying Genres– It inspired me to write a very long comment, lol.
- Lisa of Read.Breathe.Relax. posted about some very useful book-related plugins on her blog. I will definitely be looking into some of those.
Search Terms…
*These are directly copied and pasted from my site stats page.
- leena beana sexy and leena beana twitter – I…just don’t know.
- gon with wrods – SO close!
- www.gone force sex – Uhhh. No, thank you?
- my gakaxy noe wont trthr – I wish I could help you with that, but I don’t speak…whatever that is.
- the jock look – Not my first choice, but sexy nonetheless.
- teen boys in jeans – They better be in jeans! I’m an adult!
Bookish Goodies!
I hope everyone’s had a great week! Here’s the books I got! What was in your mailbox?
(Listed as Pictured and by Pub Date)
From Publisher/Author for Review – Thank you, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, & St. Martin’s!
Big Sky Country (Swoon-Worthy Cowboys #1) by Linda Lael Miller (Pub. 5/29/12, HQN Books)
I Am Forbidden: A Novel by Anouk Markovits (Pub. 5/8/12, Hogarth)
The Kissing List by Stephanie Reents (Pub. 5/22/12, Hogarth)
The Watch: A Novel by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya (Pub. 6/5/12, Hogarth)
The Dead Do Not Improve by Jay Caspian Kang (Pub. 8/7/12, Hogarth)
Changeling (The Order of Darkness #1) by Philippa Gregory (Pub. 5/29/12, Simon Pulse) – ARC Sampler
Tangle of Need (Psy-Changeling #11) by Nalini Singh (Pub. 5/29/12, Berkley Sensation)
Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster (Pub. 6/5/12, St. Martin’s Press)
No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose (Pub. 6/5/12, Signet)
The King’s Concubine: A Novel of Alice Perrers by Anne O’Brien (Pub. 6/5/12, NAL)
NetGalley Titles – Thank you, St. Martin’s & Flux!
Glitch (Glitch #1) by Heather Anastasiu (Pub. 8/7/12, St. Martin’s Press)
Silver by Talia Vance (Pub. 9/8/12, Flux)
Bought – Hardcovers
City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare (Pub. 5/8/12, Margaret K. McElderry)
Bought – eBooks
Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley (Pub. 2/8/11, HarperCollins) – $2.99 for Kindle!
Pillow Talk by Freya North (Pub. 7/1/11, Sourcebooks Landmark) – It was free on Friday for Nook! :)
Love and Other Things I’m Bad At (Courtney Von Dragen Smith #3) by Catherine Clark (Pub. 7/26/11, HarperTeen) – $2.99 for Kindle!
It’s time for Bout of Books again!! And I can’t believe I’m doing it, considering I’ve been in a reading slump. But what better way to kick that to the curb! :) So here’s what I have planned. Oh, and if you need the details about this very awesome read-a-thon, go HERE. Also! I like Amanda’s layout for this post, so I always use it for my own post. Thank you, Amanda!!
PLEASE NOTE! This post will have ALL of my daily updates, so come back and check it out!
Time Devoted to Reading
I will read at every available moment, all. week. long. I will also listen to an audiobook during my commute and if possible, while working.
My Goals/Books to Read
I’m going to try and read 3 books and listen to 1 audiobook. And here they are:
Updates
As I mentioned before, I’ll be doing my updates here on this same post, so check back. (I’ll post a link at the top of my sidebar for easy access.) I will also update on Goodreads, which will send updates to Twitter, and also on Twitter itself, using both hashtags #boutofbooks and occasionally #insixwords.
| 5/14 Currently Reading: Summer Days Total number of pages read: 76 Listening To: Silence Total time listened to: 25 mins Today #insixwords: Monday, you have won this round. |
5/15 Currently Reading: Summer Days Books Completed: 0 Total number of pages read since last update: 99 Total pages read overall: 175 Listening To: Silence Total time listened to since last update: 52 mins Total time listened overall: 1 hr 17 mins Today #insixwords:Hooray for finally making some progress! |
| 5/16 Currently Reading: Summer Days Books Completed: 1 Total number of pages read since last update: 201 Total pages read overall: 376 Listening To: Silence Total time listened to since last update: 27 mins Total time listened overall: 1 hr 44 mins Today #insixwords: Oh yeah, I took down Wednesday! |
5/17 Currently Reading: Books Completed: Total number of pages read since last update: Total pages read overall: Listening To: Total time listened to since last update: Total time listened overall: Today #insixwords: |
| 5/18 Currently Reading: Books Completed: Total number of pages read since last update: Total pages read overall: Listening To: Total time listened to since last update: Total time listened overall: Today #insixwords: |
5/19 Currently Reading: Books Completed: Total number of pages read since last update: Total pages read overall: Listening To: Total time listened to since last update: Total time listened overall: Today #insixwords: |
The last update will be in my Wrap-Up post, so look out for that! :)
Lets do this! :)
That’s right!
My dear friend, Amanda of On a Book Bender decided to pick me as her latest stalking victim. Head on over to her blog and see what she was able to get out of me. :)
