Sunday, November 29, 2015

Guest of the Month Club ~ Beyond the Blog



 
Welcome to the first ever Guest of the Month Club, hosted by Emily from Emily Reads Everything! This month the topic is Beyond the Blog, which is all about what we do besides blogging. This month I am excited to get to know MC from Blame it on the Books! Here she is!
 
Hi, everyone! I’m MC and I blog over at blameitonthebooks.com. I’m super excited for the first ever installment of the Guest of the Month Club and I want to say thank you to Lizzie for hosting me on her blog! This month’s topic is Beyond the Blog (things we do when we aren’t blogging) and believe it or not, this was actually a hard post for me to write. Mainly for two reasons - 1) blogging has become my number one hobby lately, and 2) I have pretty much made it a point not to share anything about my personal life on the Internet. But I guess it’s time for the world to learn a little bit more about me, so here we go!
 
Unfortunately, I graduated from college a few years ago, so I now have to pretend to be an adult and go to work every day (I am seriously jealous of all of you bloggers / readers who are still in school). I can’t tell you a ton about my job because of confidentiality mumbo jumbo, but I work in the wonderful world of ballroom dance. It’s a pretty cool job because I get to meet people from all over the world and lately I have been able to travel a lot for work. I am the only American and the only girl in my studio, so it’s definitely an interesting experience every day. The guys at work are like my brothers and I can’t imagine not having them around to drive me crazy. I also get to dance all day long, which is pretty darn awesome. In addition to reading, dance has always been a big hobby of mine, and now I get paid to do it every day.
 
The one downside to my job, however, is that it takes up A LOT of my time. I don’t actually end up with a lot of free time (even less now that I am travelling more for work), and since I am basically exercising for 40 hours a week, I tend to want to be pretty lazy during my time off. I think you can probably guess that reading is a big hobby of mine, so I spend most of my free time lounging around and reading. I have a cat named Meeko (after the raccoon in Pocahontas), and he is my snuggle buddy and best friend. We spend a decent amount of time curled up on the couch with a good book. I live in a pretty boring, small-town area of New England, so there really isn’t a ton of exciting stuff to do around here. But a lot of my friends live in Boston, so I try to go visit them whenever I can for a little excitement.

 
Well, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell - dance, books, friends, and my cat. That’s basically all you need to know! Blogging has also become a big part of my life, but the whole point of this post is to talk about what I do when I’m not blogging. So that’s me - just your average twenty-something starving artist. It’s been fun sharing my life with all of you! I can’t wait to learn a little bit more about everyone involved in this project as well! Thanks for having me, Lizzie! It’s been fun!

 
Thanks for being my feature for this month, MC! You can find her at her blog, Twitter, and Instagram!
 
Check back next month for the next topic!


Monday, November 23, 2015

Time to Clean Up My Bookshelf and My TBR

If you're anything like me, you buy a ton of books that sound amazing and you want to read right away, but then you set them on your bookshelf and they collect dust.


These actually aren't my shelves, and they aren't that bad, but I think you can get the idea. It's messy, not pretty to look at, and slightly anxiety inducing. So that's why I've decided to actually work on my shelves and read those books that have been collecting dust.

Starting in December, just a week away, I'm going to read at least one book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for more than 6 months each month. I always say I'm going to read them, but then I don't. So if I create this challenge for myself, that is totally doable, then I feel like I'll be more likely to complete it.

I might just choose one at random or one that I have been looking at for a while, or I might set up a poll, likely on Twitter, and let everyone else decide! That way if there's a book everyone thinks I should read, then I'll read it! I plan to create a list for myself, so that I have it and can cross off the books as I go along!

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday #26: "Truthwitch" by Susan Dennard

 

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) 

Title: "Truthwitch"
Author: Susan Dennard
Expected Publication: January 5, 2016

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

I feel like I talk about this book all the time, but I am SO EXCITED for this book! I was heartbroken when I found out the publication date was pushed back to 2016, but I can wait for this book! I loved Susan Dennard's other books, the Something Strange and Deadly series (review, review, review), and I know that this one will not disappoint! I mean, who doesn't want a book with a badass pair of best friends, amazing witcheries, a prince, and a terrifying mercenary? Sign me up! I'm (impatiently) waiting for this book! I'm just so excited to read this book!
 
Preorder
 
What are you waiting on?

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday #40: Quotes I Loved From Books I Read In The Past Year Or So

 
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
 
This Week's Topic:
Top Ten Quotes I Loved From Books I Read In The Past Year Or So
 
I actually don't pay much attention to quotes, meaning I don't remember them after finishing the book. So this was a hard topic for me.
 
1.
"I can still make a fist, and breath still burns in my chest. So look at my face. Look at my mortal soul, and remember it. You did not crush me, and you will have the rest of eternity to think on it."
 ~Susan Dennard, Strange and Ever After (*sobs*)
 
2.
"He held on to me like I was a rock, the only thing keeping him from drifting out with the tide of dark memories.
It was the first time I realized he need me too."
~Jodi Meadows, Incarnate (I regret not reading her work sooner)
 
3.
"It seems love is the most important thing. Someone who doesn't love us and uses us to hurt others was never worth our devotion."
~Jodi Meadows, Asunder (So beautiful.)
 
4.
"I was asking Cole to risk his life, again and again, for the boy I loved. And it wasn't him."
~Brodi Ashton, Everbound (COLE!!! Is it bad that I loved him?)
 
5.
"What's more frightening? The known or the unknown?"
~Jodi Meadows, Infinite (This trilogy was so amazing!)
 
6.
"If you won’t be my friend, you’ll regret being my enemy."
~Marie Rutkoski, The Winner's Crime (This book broke my heart into a million tiny pieces.)
 
7.
"The Darkling slumped back in his chair. 'Fine,' he said with a weary shrug. 'Make me your villain.'"
~Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone (Oh, Darkling. How I love you so.)
 
8. 
"Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy."
~Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses
 
9.
"'When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.'"
~Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm
 
10.
"'Oh, I see. I'm the wicked Grisha seductress. I have beguiled you with my Grisha wiles!'
She poked him in the chest.
'Stop that.'
'No. I'm beguiling you.'"
~Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows (I love Nina and Matthias' arguing!)
 
So I just went through all the books I've read this year, looked up the quotes, and chose some I liked. Maybe I should keep track of the quotes I like.
 
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Monday, November 16, 2015

The Shelfie Hop ~ Hosted by Bookiemoji and MyFriendsAreFiction

ShelfieHop
 
I'm so excited to be participating in this Shelfie Hop! Sadly, my shelves are pretty pathetic. Not because I don't have a lot of books, but because my shelves are tiny. I'm planning on getting a new bookcase soon, and I have one that I really want! It has little cubes that are different sizes instead of straight shelves. I love it.
 
Anyway, here are the shelves!
 
(Because of the placement of my furniture, I can't get a full picture. I also couldn't find my camera, so I had to use my iPod, resulting in a low quality picture.)
Very Top (Not visible)-Books I've borrowed from my dad and grandma, Russian and Norwegian dictionaries, library book I had to buy after causing water damage to, Piggy Bank
 1st Row-Sarah J. Maas, Susan Dennard, Leigh Bardugo, Jodi Meadows, Air Awakens (Elise Kova)
2nd Row-Jennifer L. Armentrout, Marissa Meyer
3rd Row-Tahereh Mafi, Megan Shepherd, A.C. Gaughen, Unearthly (UK edition, Cynthia Hand), Marie Rutkoski, Brodi Ashton, A Curious Tale of the In-Between, Vengeance Road (Erin Bowman), Walk on Earth a Stranger (Rae Carson)
4th Row-Deception (C.J. Redwine), Illuminae (Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman), Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, These Broken Stars (Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner), random books
 
Keep in mind that this is just a fraction of all the books I own. The rest are either sitting on top of my dresser or are in storage bins. But I'm planning on getting rid of some of them. I'm hoping that by getting a larger bookcase, I can display more books. I've also read most of these books, but I haven't read about a quarter of those in the picture, and they're mainly on the bottom row.
 
Make sure to visit the other blogs in the blog hop!