Challenge: Summer 2015 COYER (Clean Out Your E-Reads)

I feel like participating in this earlier this year really helped me get through some e-books and e-galleys on my Nook, and I even found some that had been on there for awhile that I then really enjoyed and I found a new author to love.  So I decided to participate in the summer one as well.  There are three hosts this time, Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun, Michelle @ Because Reading, and Stormi at Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My!  This time it runs from June 20th until September 4th, and you can sign up HERE until August 8th.  This time there will be three different grand prize giveaways, one for the reviews, one for participating in the scavenger hunt activities, and one for being supportive of the other participants.

My goals:
I'll probably stick with my same goals as last time, although I will probably also try to read e-galleys that I got from Netgalley and were Kindle files that didn't expire, so I didn't rush to read them before they were published.  That should also help me to work on my percentage on Netgalley and help me out there as well.

• Read and review about 10 e-books, that's about one each week of the challenge.
• Comment on at least 3 other reviews every time I post a review on the linky.
• Since it is summer, I will try to participate in at least one read-a-thon if there is one.
• I will try to participate in at least one of the scavenger hunt challenges.
• And I WILL post a wrap up post.  I often get to the end of a challenge and then just fizzle out with the wrap up post.  I will not do that this time.  In fact, I'm probably going to go start a post and schedule it for the day after the challenge ends to put all my wrap up stuff in.

Those are my goals.  And I intend to stick to them, maybe go above them if I have time, and I should since it is summer.  Although I am trying to work more at the bookstore and I'm going in and working on inventory in the library so that is taking up some of my extra time at the moment.

If you're interested, go sign up and I'll look forward to reading your reviews as the challenge goes on!

Sunday Post #19 and Stacking the Shelves December 21st, 2014

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.  With Christmas this week, I'm off school, so thought I'd talk about things besides just what books I got.

Last week on the blog:

• It's Monday, what are you reading?
•  Review:  The Murder of Adam and Eve by William Dietrich
• Promo:  Lunar Passing by Rachel Deagan
•  Waiting on Wednesday:  Mania (The Night Walkers #3) by J.R. Johansson
•  Cover Characteristic:  Vintage
•  Book Blitz:  Insane by H.G. Lynch
• Review:  Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

 I had a lot to do on the blog this week.  I signed up for a couple promo type of posts. Then I had my two reviews that were my goal for the year, two a week.  I got a lot of books this week, so I'll be excited to share those later in this post.  

This week on the blog:

• Review:  Frostfire by Amanda Hocking
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Maybe Cover Characteristic
• Review:  Infected by Sophie Littlefield
• Maybe one of the Tag posts I've gotten tagged in lately
• ??? Another review ????

I'm expecting to get more than two books read this week, what with not having to work every day.  Plus I'll be working on my COYER - Clean out your e-reader  challenge, so some of the e-books may be shorter, especially if I end up DNFing any of them.  Christmas being this week may also mean I do some kind of fun Christmas GIF post.  We'll see how it goes.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  This was a pretty exciting week for me!  First I'll share a giveaway that I won

I won this awesome prize pack from Christy at The Reader Bee.  Can't wait to use the nail polish and get this book read so that I'll be ready for the sequel.  I loved this author's book Revolution, so I'm very excited to read this one as well. 

This is what I got from my other Secret Santa, Angela at My So Called Chaos.  I'll still need to read the 3rd book in the Megan Crewe series before I read Those Who Lived, but I'm glad to have my copy ready to go  now!  Thanks Angela! 

Physical Books won:

 The first one I won in the Indie Fall Fest.  I know the 2nd book was part of a big controversy.  But, I had won it like a week before all that got all crazy.  I hadn't received it yet though, so I emailed the blog I'd won it on, and told them I was still interested.  I do still want to read it.  I hope that doesn't offend anyone.  I know a lot of people were up in arms about it and the author.  And the last one I won from Traci at The Reading Geek's Blogoversary.  Don't you just love that cover?  I can't wait to read it!

Book from friend:

 

 I guess a student left this book at school last year and it had been in the lost and found for a long time.  One of our school secretaries had taken it out, and when I was in the office this week, she asked if I wanted it.  It was one I had wanted to read, so I said sure!

ARC from bookstore:

One of the managers saved it for me.  I did like If I Stay and Where She Went, so hopefully this will be good as well.

E-galleys from Edelweiss:

The first one is by the author of The Dark Between, a book that I liked.  The 2nd one I got just for any tips on working with my little boy dog that seems to like to pee in the house no matter what I do.

Free e-books:

The first two were free for my Kindle app.  The 2nd two were free on my Nook.  The last one is a set of 5 fantasy titles:  The Zombie Chronicles, Eternal Vow, Crush, Enchanted Castle, and Castaway.  Just more things to add to my COYER Challenge.  

So, that's a lot of things I got this week!  How about you?  What did you add to your bookshelves this week?

Stacking the Shelves December 7th, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.

Physical Books:

I won Fangirl  from Diana at Brilliantly Novel during the No Blog Left Behind Thanksgiving Giveaway.  I've wanted to read it for so long, I'm so excited to actually own it!  I gave in and went ahead and bout Diamonds in the Rough which I won a contest to have my name in it.  On page 347, Ms. Mandina is a science teacher, just like I was up until a year or so ago.

 E-galleys:

I got the first one from Netgalley, and the 2nd one off of Edelweiss.

Free e-books:

 Both were free on Amazon.

That's what I added to my shelves this week, how about you?  What new books do you have?

Challenge: Winter 2014-2015 COYER (Clean Out Your E-Reads)

 

I had talked about hosting my own challenge for the year to try to read through some of these e-books that I keep downloading for free.  And then I saw that I didn't need to do it on my own, because there already was one out there to participate in. It is hosted by Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun and Michelle @ Because Reading. It runs from December 20th 2014 – March 6th 2015 and you can sign up here until January 25th! Go check out the details and if you do sign up, be sure to indicate that I sent you on the linky, where it says “Who referred you?” so I can win $5 to Amazon!

My goals:

Hmm, I probably won't count a lot of my e-galleys, as I do try to read those in order of when they will expire or be published. 

• Read and review 10 e-books that meet the requirements. That's about one a week.
• Comment on at least 2 other reviews every time I post a review to the Linky
• I'm not a big read-a-thon person as I have things I need to read by certain times for reviews, but I will try to participate in one during this challenge.
• Depending on what the mini-challenges end up being, I may try to do one of those as well.

So those are the goals I'm starting with.  I may do more challenges or read-a-thons if I decide I can, and I may read more than 10 books, just depends on how my time goes.

So, what do you say? Will you join me? Don’t forget to list me when you sign up!

Sunday Post #15 and Stacking the Shelves November 9th, 2014

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.   With NaNoWriMo going on, I kind of like this so I can recap that as well as what I did on the blog during the week.

Last week on the blog:

• Sunday Post/Stacking the Shelves
•  Fatal Abduction by Julia Crane Release Day Blitz
•  Cover Reveal:  Between the Shadow and the Soul by Susanne Winnacker
•  Review:  Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3) by Robin LaFevers
•  Cover Reveal:  Salt and Storm (Fire and Flood #2) by Victoria Scott
•  Top 10 Tuesday (Thursday):  Ten Books I Want to Re-read
•  The Friday 56:  Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

 I didn't get enough books read this week to get in my 2 reviews a week goal.  But this is the first week all year that I think this has been an issue.  So I won't stress myself too much.  And part of the reason I won't stress myself is because I'm pretty much on track with my NaNoWriMo novel.  I've got over 13,000 words as of Saturday.  So I'm pretty much on track.  One of the books I was worried about expiring actually was a Kindle e-galley so it is still on my Nook, and I'm almost done with it.  But, I have a book to review as part of a tour on Monday, so I had to put Girl on a Wire aside till I finish it.

This week on the blog:

• Review of Shade by Cody Stewart
• Review:  Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Cover Characteristics
• Top 10 Tuesday (If time)
• Review:  ????  (Whatever book I pick after I finish the two above.

November is a seriously busy, crazy busy month.  I've still got to get in my NaNoWriMo writing to keep on track.  I will probably meet my writing buddy, author Michelle Sodaro on Tuesday and Friday nights for sure.  But the rest of the week will be on my own unless I have some time tomorrow.  Lots of excitement in the book world for me this week.  Monday night Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, and Tessa Gratton will be in town and I'm going to go see them again and get some more books autographed.  Then Thursday night Stephen King will be in town and I'm going to go watch him in a question and answer type event.  Unfortunately it won't be an autograph event.  Which makes me sad as he is an author on my bucket list of authors to meet.  Then deer hunting season (rifle) starts this weekend, so my step-dad, brother, and my aunt's husband will be heading out of town on Friday night.  That means that Saturday is our annual girls' shopping trip for my mom, my aunts, and myself.  And while I should be writing, or reading, I can't miss out on it!  I'm hoping to go to the Coach purse outlet and maybe get a new purse if I find one I like in my price range.  And then of course I'll be working at my part time job at Barnes and Noble Wednesday night and Sunday morning.  And on the 16th, we will have our annual holiday store meeting, which means I have to be there at 7 am!!!  No sleeping in for me until the 22nd of November.  :-(

 Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  Let me tell you, I have been on a winning streak for the last week or so.  So here is what I got this past week, and there will be more on the way!

Books won:

-->

The first two I won from a Clearing the Shelf giveaway at Book Briefs.   All the Rage I won from a Macmillan Teen giveaway in The School Library Journal.  I won The 100 and The 100: Day 21 from Jean BookNerd.  And the last one, Horrorstor I won from VVB32 in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop. 

Free e-books:

-->

So, there you go.  That's what I did last week, my plans for this week, and the books I added to shelves this past week. How about you?  What did you add to your shelves this week?

Stacking the Shelves - October 5th, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.   It was a kind of slow week on the actual physical book side, but I did get several e-galleys and e-books.

E-galleys:
-->
 Both of these are from Edelweiss. Both come out in March, so look for reviews closer to that time.

Free e-book:

 It's a prequel to a series, and I ordered it for free as part of entering a giveaway.

E-books purchased:
-->
I won a gift card from I Am a Reader and I bought some physical books, but I won't share those till they arrive.  These are the e-books I purchased with the gift card.

So that's all for me this week.  How about you?  What did you add to your shelves this week?

Sunday Post #13 and Stacking the Shelves September 14th, 2014 and #TackleTBR Read-A-Thon Update

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.  I have several things coming up this week, so decided to do this plus Stacking the Shelves today, as well as including an update for my Tackle My TBR Read-a-thon that I'm participating in.


Last week on the blog:

• It's Monday, What Are You Reading?
•  Review:  Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi
•  Waiting on Wednesday:  Unleashed (Uninvited #2) by Sophie Jordan
•  Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon Update
• The Friday 56 #11
•  Review:  H2O by Virginia Bergin

 Only 2 reviews this week, not great.  And I've really only got 1 book that has been on my TBR pile and it is the book I'm currently reading.  But I have completed one for my September is for Sequels Challenge.

This week on the blog:

I really must get going on my TBR pile.  I have many sequels that will fit both challenges.  I will have to take a break this week maybe from the e-galleys and get more TBR pile books done.  So that is my goal for this week.  I also have an e-book I need to get read before my stop on the Debut Authors tour next week.  Also, I won free passes to an early showing of The Maze Runner movie this Tuesday night, and so I'll probably talk about that as well!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  Lots to share this week!  So let's get started!

E-galley from Edelweiss:

This one doesn't have a cover photo yet, but it sounded really good.  It is Scripted by Maya Rock.  I did get denied an e-galley on Netgalley I believe, but I have since emailed the publisher and it seems like it might be possible they will give me a second chance.  I don't like how Netgalley won't let you change things.  Because I'm not a teacher anymore, I'm a school librarian, and I wish I could put that as my first qualification.

Free Nook books:

Okay, the first one is so not something I really read that much, but the synopsis sounded kind of fun, and it was free.  The second one I've seen around the blogosphere, again, free, so got it.  The last one I'd had marked on my Goodreads TBR for awhile, so I snatched it when I saw it free.

Gift:

You might remember me mentioning that I had to take the Praxis test for my library job last week.  Well, it was on a computer, and so I was able to get my results as soon as I was finished, and I passed!  My co-librarian surprised me with this as a gift on Friday.  She chose it because I'd talked about going to visit my sister in NYC and seeing Central Park.  It is a beautiful coffee table book with a lot of the history of Central Park.  I've of course paged through it, but will have to do more in depth reading eventually.

Stripped covers from bookstore:

-->

I explained about the strip covers in last week's Stacking the Shelves, but it was neat to get these two.  I just need the one in between them I think.

Borrowed:

As I mentioned earlier, I just finished Unravel Me so now I am so ready to read the final book!  Another perk at the bookstore where I work is being able to check out hardcover books from the store.  And that is what I did with this one.

Purchased:

The first is the sequel to a book by a friend of mine, Arianna's Honor.  I had to get a copy from her now that it has been published, and now that I had the money.  Can't wait to read on and see what happens next.  I'm also very excited that I've been getting to hang out with her a lot lately, and she's agreed to kind of be my writing partner during NaNoWriMo this year.  We had breakfast together this morning and did some brainstorming and suggestions for each other's ideas for November.  The 2nd book is one that I need to read for the Debut Author post next week, and it should be my only non-challenge book this coming week.

Okay, like I said, it's been a big week for new books, but not necessarily great for my challenges.  Hoping to get further this week on those!