I always plant daisies when it gets nice :)

Hi Everyone,

Happy April wrap up!  What a month. I can hardly believe that I am saying this, but I read 33 books this month. Thank you TONS of readathons for inspiring me to 'hit the books' hard this month. It has been a very VERY busy month. That said, I made some awesome progress on my reviews that needed to get done and I am so grateful. I think (knock on wood, I am actually caught up to May!)

I won’t link to the reviews directly, but if you head over to the side of my blog you can sort my posts by month.

Specifically, I read:
16 Books for Review (and ARCApril)
3 Books I Own
12 Library Books
2 New Releases!

They fell into the following groupings for my Challenges:
I love Libraries-12 Books
Mt. TBR-2 Books
#RockmyTBR-1 Book
Popsugar-2 books 
Read Harder-2 Book
(Some books overlap!)

Highlights of the month included:
Participating in a Buddy Read for #RockMyTBR
Participating in another Book Tour!
Meet in real life one of my blogger friends-jmillwanders!
Participating in the #BBTC and #BHP chats on Twitter
Participating in the #TBRTakeDown, #SpringCleansReads, Genrethon, and Dewey's
Connecting with new friends through twitter and other places!

I have to say, it turned out to be another busy month! But so much fun :)   I hope that you had a successful month of reading! What’s in your que for May?

Happy Reading!

Reading Recap

Hi Everyone,

Just stopping by with another quick reading recap. Here is a quick summary of a few books that I have finished for part of the #ARCApril reading challenge.

Liar
A dark memoir about a guy named Rob who learns that he is a dementia like sickness. In his sickness, he starts to develop memory loss. In an effort to preserve his thoughts and memories, he starts to recall them. The book jumps from memory to memory. Depending on the memory, there are number of them that are interesting reads. I think that the point is that sometimes you may recall things that happen one way but that maybe was not quite the whole truth. An interesting book.

The Path
A book that is full of wisdom from famous Chinese philosophers. I enjoyed this book because it is full of the teachings from the past and how they are still relevant today.  A major theme that I took away from this book was that related to the relationships around us. It is not by simple, passive acts that you can maintain them. If we can step up and make things a habit, they are more likely to succeed. A lot of interesting insight for this book.

I Know What I am Doing
In the newest book by Jen Kirkman, she is now experiencing a divorce. In this book, we get taken along for the ride as she copes with that situation and her attempts to find herself again. In a number of new experiences, we are provided with the opportunity to tag along in her personal life. I enjoyed this book and laughed at a few of the stories. A good book for those who are coping with something serious, but are looking for a new way of looking at the issue.

Where You’ll Find Me
In this book, we meet Anna whose world seems to be falling apart. Her bff Dani has recently said that she doesn’t want to be friends anymore, her mom and dad recently divorced, her new step-mom and baby are a handful, and the list goes on and on. In this finding your place in a chaotic world we are given the chance to go with Anna as she learns to cope with what is going on around her. Though it is not what she would expect it to be, it is an interesting adventure. I enjoyed reading this book.

The Stars of Summer
This book was so adorable! I know it is intended for younger audiences, but I loved it. In this book we are reacquainted with Gladys. I will be honest, I didn’t read the first book, but now I definitely want to. In this book, Gladys is continuing to keep her secret meanwhile attending summer camp. (No spoilers!) The book is cute and funny and right on point for those who enjoy food. I really enjoyed this book.

The Lost and Found Life of Rosy Bennett
Let me start off by saying that I should have read this book awhile ago. I was sent a copy, but unfortunately it kept getting put off. That said, I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. In this book, we meet Rosy who is coping with a number of challenges at home. We find her at a wits end. Just when you think that not much can be taken, things turn around. The book is a cute read with a little romance thrown in. I don’t want to say too much in efforts of not spoiling it.

Glory Over Everything
I read this book because I really enjoyed The Kitchen House. This book was of a similar fashion and had a familiar feel. Similar to TKH, this book was one in which we got to know the characters and the plot was well written. Slightly different, this one in my mind was more thriller than quest for freedom. It still had that theme, but the approach was different in my mind. There was a romance story line that was interesting, but tragic as well. A good, heart breaking read.

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Happy Reading! 

Bout of Books 16

Hi Everyone!

It is that time of year again...time for Bout of Books! I am signing up to participate and I hope that you will too.

In case you don't know what it is:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. 


I will update here, as it starts happening!

Updates

Monday 5/9/16
Books Started: 1
Books Finished:1 (All Four Stars)
Pages Read: 288 Pages

Tuesday 5/10/16
Books Started: 1
Books Finished: 2 (The Grand Tour)
Pages Read: 576

Wednesday 5/11/16
Books Started: 1
Books Finished: 3 (The Gotham Academy)
Pages Read: 736

Thursday 5/12/16
Books Started: 1
Books Finished: 4 (Amulet)
Pages Read: 928

Friday 5/13/16
Books Started: 0
Books Finished:0
Pages Read: 0

Saturday 5/14/16
Books Started: 0
Books Finished:0
Pages Read: 0

Sunday 5/15/16
Books Started: 1
Books Finished:5 (Even if the Sky Falls)
Pages Read: 1232
Happy Reading! 

This has been a fun week! I have finished 5 books and over 1200 pages! Thanks everyone for a fun event! :)   

Waiting on Wednesday: First Comes Love

Photo Credit: Amazon

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week I am excited to feature a book that I have already seen ARC's out in the world on twitter! (Que jealousy now!) This is also a author that will be coming to BEA. I hope that those of you going are able to go see her! 
I hope that I will get to see speak later on in DC this summer! 


First Comes Love
By Emily Giffin
Publish Date: June 28, 2016


Here are the details from Amazon:

In this dazzling new novel, Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of sisters who find themselves at a crossroads.

Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

Fifteen years later, Josie and Meredith are in their late thirties, following very different paths. Josie, a first grade teacher, is single—and this close to swearing off dating for good. What she wants more than the right guy, however, is to become a mother—a feeling that is heightened when her ex-boyfriend’s daughter ends up in her class. Determined to have the future she’s always wanted, Josie decides to take matters into her own hands.

On the outside, Meredith is the model daughter with the perfect life. A successful attorney, she’s married to a wonderful man, and together they’re raising a beautiful four-year-old daughter. Yet lately, Meredith feels dissatisfied and restless, secretly wondering if she chose the life that was expected of her rather than the one she truly desired.

As the anniversary of their tragedy looms and painful secrets from the past begin to surface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them, but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.

Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.

Happy Reading! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookworm Delights

Hi Everyone!

Just stopping by with another Top Ten Tuesday!  This week's topic is Top Ten Books That Are Bookworm Delights. For those of you who don't know what that means, it is about all of the things that you love about the book community and that make your book reading heart happy. 

Not going to lie, this was hard for me because there are WAYYYYYYYYYYYY more than 10 bookwork delights, but without further ado:

10) The Annual Release of Books by some of my favorite authors! I know that I am likely to get a new Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer book in June. I am so grateful and it gives me something to look forward to every year!

9) OTSP Secret Sister! This is new to me, but in early 2016 I got two penpals to write and discuss books with. It has been so much fun connecting with other people on book related topics!

8) Free Little Libraries. I get way too excited when I see one of them! I just love the idea of book people sharing books for free with others! So much fun!

7) Getting Book Mail. I wouldn't say that I get a ton of book mail, but I get some. I love that feeling of getting something new, the new adventure, the new untold story. The smell of new books. 

6) TBTB Santa. This was the exchange I did during the Holidays this last year. I had so much fun shopping for my person and the gift I got from mine was awesome!! 

5) Readathons. There are so many and they are so much fun! I love the idea of reading books with friends from around the world. I just did the #SpringCleanReads and it was awesome!

4) Making New Friends. Through this blog I have expanded my friend network immensely. I love that I connect with people to get new book recommendations! 

3) Twitter Chats. I have participated in a few different ones now and it is again so much fun to meet new people, hear new book recommendations, just spend time with other book people. I love it! Some of my faves have been #BHPChat, #BBTC, #RockMyTBR and #ARCApril. 

2) Visits to the physical library. Is it weird to wish I could live in the library? Seriously. It has to be my favorite place in the entire world. I love that there are so many available options and that you can learn so many new things! 

And my favorite delight....

1) Snuggles! I love that when I curl up with a book, I either get a cat or two, or even a 70 plus pound greyhound right next to me. Happiest are my days when they are snuggling me and I have a book in my hand! 

What are some of your bookworm delights?

Happy Reading!

ARMADA Paperback Release and Give Away!

 Hi Everyone!

Exciting News Today!! 

Armada, the new book by Ready Player One Author-Ernest Cline, is now available in paperback!! 

I am excited to be here and share with you the details. If you haven't read Ready Player One yet-- I insist that you do it NOW! It was amazing and for the rest of us slackers, now that Armada is out in paperback, we better get to it! (Yes, I said WE-I haven't read it yet either! But I hope to soon!) 

Without further ado, here is the information and your chance to win it! 


Armada: A Novel by Ernest Cline


Broadway Books • April 12, 2016 
• Price: $16.00 paperback 
384 pages • ISBN 978-0-8041-3727-0

Also available as an ebook and on audio from Penguin Random House  

• Visit www.CrownPublishing.com  
•  www.ErnestCline.com  

 •www.ArmadaBook.com

************************************** 

SELECT PRAISE FOR ARMADA:
“…a thrilling coming-of-age-story.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Ernest Cline’s follow-up to Ready Player One, proves he has the ability to blend popular culture with exciting stories that appeal to everyone...Cline’s voice for Zack makes the reader believe a high school senior with a love of video games and sci-fi television and films is narrating the story. And love of popular culture isn't necessary to enjoy this amazing novel.” —Associated Press

“Cline’s debut Ready Player One warmed the hearts of computer nerds everywhere, and similarly the newArmada mixes Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Independence Day and a really gnarly round of Space Invaders into a tasty sci-fi stew. What really pumps some heart into the book is the coming-of-age tale at its core, a story of a young boy curious about the dad he never had…Cline creates an exciting alternate history for this world, where games, movies and TV shows — and a surprising science celebrity — play a more important part in global events than most people realize.” —USA Today

“I loved . The geekery and the furiously paced plot from Ready Player One are still there, so I imagine it will please most of his existing fans. But I suspect that Armada will garner him an even larger group of fans than the formidable crew he’s already assembled...And that’s the crux of why my love for Armada runs deeply. It’s a joyous, rollicking read. But it’s also a sneaky discussion on xenophobia, miscommunication and what real courage is.” —Boing Boing

“Built like a summer blockbuster…Cline recombines the DNA of Ender’s Game, Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, and old-school arcade games like Asteroids into something that’s both familiar and unpredictable. It’s a mutant homage to sci-fi tropes past.” —Gawker

ABOUT ARMADA:

In 2011, writer Ernest Cline penned his wildly original, genre-busting debut novel, Ready Player One. Packed with irresistible ’80s nostalgia, this cinematic novel was immediately embraced by readers, bloggers, geeks, gamers, booksellers, and John Hughes fans everywhere. From the New York Times and Entertainment WeeklytoBoing Boing and Wired, the novel received rave reviews across the board, sold over a million copies in the U.S., and has been published in 40 countries. The book is now being made into a film by Warner Brothers and legendary director Steven Spielberg, set to debut in theaters in March of 2018.

Since Ready Player One’s publication, Cline’s fans were anxiously awaiting his next endeavor—and he delivered another inventive, heartwarming, and completely nerdtastic adventure with ARMADA (Broadway Books; April 12, 2016), his second New York Times bestseller, which is now in paperback.

ARMADA opens as high-school student Zack Lightman glances out his classroom window and spots a UFO. At first he thinks he’s going crazy. A minute later he’s sure of it, because the ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.

Zack is sure he’s lost his mind. But what he’s seeing is all too real, and his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save Earth from what’s about to befall it. Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack can’t help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows, and movies he grew up reading and watching, and wonder: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little too . . . familiar?

Called a “must-read summer blockbuster novel” by Mashable and a “a thrilling coming-of-agestory” byEntertainment Weekly, ARMADA is at once an adrenaline-fueled, surprising thriller, a classic teenage adventure, and an alien-invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with Cline’s trademark pop-culture savvy. The book is already being adapted into a film by Universal Studios, with the author himself writing the screenplay.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His two novels, Armada and Ready Player One, were both New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and Ready Player One is currently being adapted into a film by Warner Brothers and director Steven Spielberg. Ernest lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic videogames. You can find him online atwww.ernestcline.com, on Twitter @erniecline, and on Facebook at Ernest Cline.

  

Giveaway:

Armada Giveaway blog tour giveaway to include a signed of READY PLAYER ONE poster, a signed ARMADA poster AND a copy of ARMADA in paperback! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Reading!  

Book Review: The Lost & Found

Author: Katrina Leno

Review:
I am really glad that I had a chance to participate in another Around the WorldARC Tours with this book. I first was drawn this book by the cover, but I also really enjoyed the story.

In this book, we are introduced to Frannie and Louis who have met online. They are penpals who have commonalities but have never met in person. They start off not even knowing each other’s real names, despite revealing some of their deepest secrets to one another. Both characters have had some hard times in their lives and it has influenced the world around them.

When their two worlds overlap, they soon learn that they must reveal the true self and they meet. It is a book that has a road trip and an adventure to go with it. While trying to discover their past and despite feeling lost, they end up finding just what they are looking for.  The plot weaves together in a way that is meaningful.

While I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but imagine this as a movie. I thought that the plot would be interesting to be played on the big screen. I hope that will happen someday! This book was a cute read and I think if you enjoy John Green type stories (think Looking for Alaska) you would probably enjoy this one as well.

Happy Reading!