Sunday Post #34 and Stacking the Shelves August 30th, 2015

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.  

Last week on the blog:

• Reviews:  Keepers of the Labyrinth by Erin E. Moulton and Diary of a Haunting by M. Verano
• Book Blitz and Giveaway:  Cage of Deceit by Jennifer Anne Davis
• Waiting on Wednesday:  Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas
• Cover Characteristic:  Bridges

 I actually finished 3 books this past week, but the beginning of the week was kind of busy and I didn't get a review posted on Tuesday, so one of the reviews will be put off till this week.   And it is the end of the  month, so I do need to do an update on my challenges, like my TBR challenge, but I'm going to wait until later this week for that as well.  Had a bit of an issue with a fellow blogger that felt something I suggested in a comment was a rude put-down, whereas I wasn't trying to be that way at all.  Sad face.

This week on the blog:

• Reviews:  Mirrored by Alex Flinn, A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
• Possible Reviews:  Hunter by Mercedes Lackey, Arianna's Destiny by Michelle Sodaro
• September is for Sequels Giveaway Hop begins on Monday
• Promo Post:  The Wanderers by Kate Ormand
• Promo Post/Interview:  Cage of Deceit by Jennifer Anne Davis
• Promo Post:  The Next Together by Lauren James
• Possible Cover Characteristic post

Lots planned this week.  I have had to make myself take a step back from signing up from tours as you can see I've got quite a few lined up this week.  I do hope to get a bunch set up for November so that I can do NaNoWriMo again this year.  Monday is also the last day you can enter to win the big prize for my 6th Blogoversary.  You can still join into my 4th Annual September is for Sequels Challenge HERE.  As I'm starting my challenge myself, that's what one of the reviews this week should be from, if I get it done hopefully.  I mentioned last week about trying to cut back on requesting egalleys, and while you'll see below that I did request a lot this past week, if you look at their publishing dates, I am keeping it down to only 1 or 2 review books a week, and that is basically what has been causing me issues.  For example, in my calendar for this coming week, I have 7 books that are published this Tuesday to review.  I'm working on one of them now, but don't know when I'll get to the others before they expire. Although two others I have physical ARCs of now.  

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  Another light week for physical books, and none were paid for by me, other than shipping in a books for trade!

Physical Books:

The first two were successful #booksfortrade on Twitter. The last one I won from Valerie at Stuck in Books.   I will probably go ahead and donate it to my school library for now, not sure how soon I'll get to it, and that way my students will have the chance to read it instead of it sitting on my shelf and not being read at all for a while.  

E-galleys:

 It felt like Christmas when I got on Edelweiss this week and saw all the new egalleys available!  Like I said though, I only took them if I really wanted them, and didn't have any other egalleys set up that week yet.  Most of them are coming out in 2016.  I still have one I requested that I haven't heard back about yet as well.

Free e-books:

The first four were all free on Amazon, the last one I got on Barnes and Noble.

So those are my additions to my shelves this week.  And my plans are listed above.  What did you add this week and do you have any exciting plans coming up?

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!

Stacking the Shelves - March 1st, 2015

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  It's a rather large haul this week.  Most free, but a few purchased.  I want to show you just why I probably don't need to be buying anymore books, which a picture of my bookcase that is just for books I haven't read yet.

That brown bookcase is full of books I haven't read yet.  Every single shelf.  And they are packed into the shelves.  And that's not all.  On my entertainment center in the living room are my ARCs that I'm trying to get read before they are published.  So, you can see why I need to stop getting new books.  But, once again, I failed miserable at that this week.  

Physical ARCs:

The first I got as part of a blog tour I'm going to be participating in.  The 2nd was at the bookstore where I work part time and I got my hands on it last night! So excited to read both of them!

Books won:

I won an autographed copy of the first one from Jessi at Novel Heartbeat.  I've already read it, but loved it, and so glad to have a copy of it!   The other two are books I've heard great things about and I won them from Mary at Bookhounds/BookhoundsYA. 

Physical books purchased:

The first one is a really cool book that I think I saw featured in Entertainment Weekly magazine awhile back, and I thought as a librarian it would be a good book to have.  Bone Season is one that I've heard a lot about, and I was so excited when I saw it in the bargain section of the bookstore where I work. The hardcover of the book for only $5.98, plus my employee 30% discount, well, I couldn't pass it up.  Same for the last book.  I am a huge Twilight fan, and this was on the bargain table for $9.98, and it was originally $39.99.  I couldn't pass up getting it to add to my collection of all things Twilight, again especially when I factored my 30% off that low price.

E-galleys:
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The first one is from Netgalley, and the other two are from Edelweiss.  I think I might have figured out a way to save myself on the Netgalley stats.  Not to download them till closer to when I'm going to actually read them. But I will still put them in my little book where I keep track of what egalleys I want to read when.  Maybe that will help?

Free ebooks:
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The first one just sounds like a cute, fun read. The 2nd one I downloaded for free as part of an entry into a giveaway on the author's blog.

So, that is what I added to both real and virtual shelves this week. What books joined your collection this week?

And while you're here, you should stop by and enter my giveaway for Bones and All  HERE.

Stacking the Shelves - December 28th, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  Christmas week turned out much better than planned in the bookish world.  I got some great e-galleys, as well as some awesome books through YA Book Exchange. 

Received as Christmas gifts:

Traded for on YA Book Exchange:

 I'm sooooo excited about finally having my hands on a copy of Ensnared.  Yes, it's only an ARC, but I'm a-okay with that!!  Echoes of Us is the third in a series that I have been waiting a while to read.  And while I have already read Ruby Red, I loved it, and needed to own a physical copy of it.  I got all these on a trade with Jane from Much Ado About Books.  

Stripped cover from work:

However I haven't read the first one yet, so guess I'd better check that out from the library soon.

E-galleys:

I don't know if I can express how awesome these two e-galleys are!!  The first one is the sequel to The Taking, which I loved! The 2nd one was on one of my top 10 books for 2015 lists.  I got both of these on Edelweiss.

Free e-book:

It was free and it sounded right up my alley, so I downloaded it.

So, that's my haul.  What did you pull in this past week?  Did you get a lot of books or bookish things for Christmas?  I did get a gift card to Barnes and Noble, and I'll probably get a cookbook I wanted with that.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - December 15th, 2014

This weekly meme is sponsored by Book Journey, and we talk about things we read last week, and our plans for what we'll read this coming week.

Last week:

My reading has just not been good lately!  No time it seems.  Too much going on.  Plus, I had started an egalley last week that I had trouble getting into and ended up DNFing, Unlovely by Celeste Conway.  I got 50 pages into it, and it still hadn't really grabbed me, so I set it down to read something else.  My goal is two reviews a week, so I did at least meet that.

• Suspicion by Alexandra Monir
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

  Currently Reading:

My current read is an e-galley that I'm not really pumped up about.  I'm waiting for something to pay off in the end.  I do intend to finish it before I go to bed tonight.  I'm ready to move on to my next read!  I had hoped to be done with this book last night, but I kept falling asleep and as I was holding my Nook up above my face as I was in bed reading, I kept hitting myself in the nose when it fell.  

This week:

So, I am getting around to an ARC that I have been so excited about ever since my manager at the bookstore where I work part time gave it to me.  And then I hope to get through some other e-galleys quickly.  So again, this is a tentative plan, although I'm sure the first two on the list I'll get at least one of them done and the other started by the end of the week for sure.

• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (ARC from work)
•  Frostfire (Kanin Chronicles #1) by Amanda Hocking (e-galley from Edelweiss)
• Infected by Sophie Littlefield (e-galley from Edelweiss)

 The last two are both ones that are published on January 6th I believe, which I have a bunch of e-galleys that will be published on that day that I need to get to!  So I may be reading two e-galleys for every physical book or ARC that I read until I get a bit more caught up on those e-galleys.  Plus, I'll be starting the COYER Challenge on Saturday, so that will fit in with that as well.

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?