THE SUNDAY POST is a weekly feature hosted by Kimba at the Caffinated Book Reviewer (I have no idea why Blogger did that when I added the link). It is a chance to recap the previous week, share news, showcase books and/or bookish things we have received, and tell about what is coming up on our blog in the next week. You can view the rules, HERE.
MONDAY: A veteran blogger, Anna Reads, left book blogging behind on Monday because of all of the commercialism, and competition that has shrouded our community lately. She wrote a Tumblr post about it and I was going to add the link, but she seems to have taken it down. Later that day, I had an example of what all of this carnival barking has done to our corner of the blogosphere when I tried asking bloggers on Twitter if they had read this certain book. I had received an email about a Read Now eARC on Netgalley, but it was being published in only two days. I asked if anyone had read it, and many of the bloggers acted annoyed at first, until I explained that I only wanted to know if it was worth trying to get it read in such a quick turn around. I think they thought I was going to try and hype the book to them. I was upset because most of them should have known that was not what I am about. MONDAY POST- Cover reveal of The Infinite. View, HERE.
MONDAY: A veteran blogger, Anna Reads, left book blogging behind on Monday because of all of the commercialism, and competition that has shrouded our community lately. She wrote a Tumblr post about it and I was going to add the link, but she seems to have taken it down. Later that day, I had an example of what all of this carnival barking has done to our corner of the blogosphere when I tried asking bloggers on Twitter if they had read this certain book. I had received an email about a Read Now eARC on Netgalley, but it was being published in only two days. I asked if anyone had read it, and many of the bloggers acted annoyed at first, until I explained that I only wanted to know if it was worth trying to get it read in such a quick turn around. I think they thought I was going to try and hype the book to them. I was upset because most of them should have known that was not what I am about. MONDAY POST- Cover reveal of The Infinite. View, HERE.
TUESDAY: My feature Tell Me Tuesday. View, HERE.
WEDNESDAY: New "NON" feature... Whatever Wednesday, HERE.
THURSDAY: Sent out two Twitter RT giveaway prizes: Belzar ARC and The Jewel ARC.
FRIDAY: Did some catching up with commenting on others' blog posts and stumbled upon a tag that I want to do (and I usually loathe tags).
SATURDAY: I worked on my personal blog because I want to start posting to it more.
NEXT WEEK: I will be posting the book tag I found and doing my usual Tell Me Tuesday and The Sunday Post. I don't know what my Whatever Wednsday meme will be yet. I should be getting my copy of The Raven Boys from Of Spectacles and Books on Tuesday for my guest review on her blog. She is giving away books in return for guest reviews, so if you are interested shoot on over there and send her an email to see what books she has left. I should also be getting a review of Compulsion up because I am at 75% right now.
WHAT I GOT:
AUDIBLE- Brown Girl Dreaming w/ Audible credit from a three months for $3 Amazon deal.
GOODREADS FIRST READS PRIZE- Vitamins: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection.
ARC AUGUST PRIZE - The pre-order of Darkest Part of the Forest , that I won, arrived on Tuesday. I am giving it to my best blogging buddy, Brittersweet (it was part of her birthday gift), but she is going to let me read it first! I promised not to eat while reading., which is another reason I like ebooks; my Kindle wipes off nicely. :)
NETGALLEY- The Witch of Napoli ebook. It is described as Adult Historical Fiction with a paranormal twist. It was a Read Now.
EDELWEISS - Three different gardening books from the instant download list. One of them is about growing vegetables in hay bales. I'll let you know how that garening adventure turns out next fall. :)
*I am on a book buying ban, so there were no purchases.
Ha ha, but after I wrote that I bought a 99¢ book, The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon because I loved the cover (I am a sucker for cute little mice every time).
EDELWEISS - Three different gardening books from the instant download list. One of them is about growing vegetables in hay bales. I'll let you know how that garening adventure turns out next fall. :)
*I am on a book buying ban, so there were no purchases.
Ha ha, but after I wrote that I bought a 99¢ book, The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon because I loved the cover (I am a sucker for cute little mice every time).
GIVEAWAYS
From the Heart valentine + swag + handmade bookmark, HERE.
BlacK Raven Tea, HERE.
Do you listen to many audiobooks? Brown Girl Dreaming will be my first.
Drama ruins everything, even book blogging it seems :( Keeping my head buried in books and less among the gossipy bloggers tends to help.. :( Stick to those whose presence you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit! I will see hou soon. :)
DeleteThe cover to Press's book is adorable. I missed all the drama and feel bad whenever I hear a blogger shut down because of it. Too bad folks thought you were trying to push a book..is it the 140 characters on twitter? I bought Compulsion and hope to try it soon..interesting bout the no-no. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I have been staying off Twitter as much as possible the last few days. It really has gotten to be too much with the blasting and blitzing of books, and not as much friendly discussion like it was when I first started blogging. Thanks for the visit. :)
DeleteYeah the drama, I keep thinking I should be on Twitter more than I see tha tstuff. Maybe not. :) LOL. Seriously tho it is unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteIt has been productive being off Twitter more. I got a lot done on my personal blog and was able to get into the top five in my circle of Words With Friends (Strangers) opponents. :)
DeleteThere seems to be a lot of drama and blogs shutting down of late, it's a shame as everyone's input into the book blogging world is unique.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your new books and your week.
The drama is easy to steer clear off for me, but I have a difficult time with my feed being filled with those blind end tweets like "This book has the most outrageous sidekick ever.", or "Have you seen this breathtaking cover?" Once I get to their blog 95% of the time it is nothing I am interested in, wasting so much of my time. If you ask what book it is beefore you follow the link most times you will not get an answer because their intention is to get extra blog views.
DeleteBook buying bans suck but when you still have preorders arriving, it made a lil better!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a pity that people feel like they don't want to be part of the blogging community anymore, but it's also true that if they are burnt out and don't have the motivation for it, they have to do what's right for them, and maybe that should help the rest of us to take a look at what we're doing.
I have gotten zero of the blog tours I have signed up for even though I only requested the generic spotlights. I contacted two of the tour hosts asking what kind of numbers they were looking for in even just doing a spotlight, and the one that replied said that she, and most other tour hosts look at the blast and blitz history you have with them. She said it was so they can get to know you, but I personally don't believe that. The problem is... the books that are being blitzed and blasted are not books I would read and I will not promote a book I haven't read; plus, now that other bloggers are beginning to voice their opinions against those types of promotional practices, I won't consider doing them anyway.
DeleteI hate it when I am offered a book a few days before (unless it's one I covet). I am just so behind. This is my post! http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/2015/01/sun-jan-18.html
ReplyDeleteI downloaded it because the Goodreads page said it was publshed the week before, lol, so I don't know which date is correct. I really want to read it, so I figured if they are confused, it doesn't matter if I post the review a couple of weeks from now. :)
DeleteOh the drama. I try and steer clear of it as much as possible and just try and keep in mind that I'm doing this for myself and not everything else get to me. So far so good! The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon cover is adorable! Enjoy your reads and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMice, I love mice! I manage to steer clear of the drama, but the carnival barking of books and the blind-ended post links on Twitter ate starting to get to me. It seems Anna left more because of the hype machine effects than she did because of any author/blogger drama.
DeleteI missed all the fuss. Most of the time, I don't hang out there too much. I tweet my posts and others and, yes, the majority is about books, but I tweet whatever is posted when I visit blogs. I try to keep to bloggers I like and I am always looking for more interesting people. The mice are so darn cute. I see why you can't resist them. ^_^ Happy blogging and reading.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental Sherry's Shelves
I keep trying to post a comment to your Sunday Post, but WordPress keeps saying I am not logged in, but I am. I went to another blogger's page, who has WP, and I was able to comment with no problem. So I don't know what is wrong. Thank-you for the visit. I will try your blog again later. :)
DeleteOnly about a third of the people I follow on Twitter are book bloggers and only a few of those are bloggers I regularly see (thank you mute button) so I'm lucky in that I don't see nay of the nasty stuff. So sorry you got grief for asking a simple question. That's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteHere's to a drama free week xx
My Sunday Post & Shelf Stack
Ha ha, thanks. Drama free is always better. Thanks for dropping by..:)
DeleteLucky Bittersweet! I hear that book is so good!
ReplyDeleteI steer clear of drama and hardly commented on Twitter anymore. It seems like an innocent question like yours can spark some controversy when taken out of context. Seems like some people are just itching for that. I do tweet posts but hardly ever have chit chats anymore. Kind of sad:(
My Sunday Post - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/01/18/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-93-and-the-sunday-post/
I still have a core of tweet peeps that converse about the books instead of bark about them. I guess I should just mute everyone else. Lol. Brittersweet sent me Jackaby and Ruin and Rising for my birthday, so she certainly deserves it. :)
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad about all that mess going on around the book blogosphere! I kind of just do my own thing and not worry about others. I loved The Darkest Part of the Forest - I hope you enjoy the books when you read them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog! Have a fabulous week :)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Thanks, yeah, I haven't spent much time on Twitter the last couple of days and I feel much lighter, plus I have gotten more reading done. I have enjoyed reading your reviews for quite a while now because when you are the black sheep about a book, I usually am too. Thanks for the return visit.
DeleteI haven't read anything by Holly Black, but I own her short story collection and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. I've heard she's great, I really need to get to her soon. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on her newest book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by The Local Muse
I know the feeling. I have many "I really need to get to [author] soon" books, too!
DeleteThat cover was irresistible :) I completely missed the drama but am not sorry I did, I hate when things get carried away like this, everybody reacts on the spot and nobody gives it the time of reflexion. That's why I gave up Twitter. Enjoy your books and have a great week !
ReplyDeleteThanks! Some bloggers have started speaking out about the blind promoting of books. Hopefully it will calm some of the hype machine down.
Deleteafjdakfsd I LOVED THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST SO SO MUCH!! It's been my most favourite book of this year! That's sad that blogger left. :( I hear a lot of people saying blogging isn't what it used to be, but I guess I'm new (I've only been book blogging properly for about 1 and a half years) but I never really see that kind of attitude....I'm lucky I guess! I don't want the fun sucked out of blogging.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to find a empty time niche to cram DPotF into, so I can read it as soon as I possibly can. Twitter seems to be the spawning ground for all the "ugh". I ghink I am just going to start muting the bloggers who book spam.
DeleteI don't usually listen to a lot audiobooks but I definitely need to get into it. It's just that they tend to be so pricey and I don't get to the library very often, I suppose I need to suck it up and find some time. I did a post about the state of blogging now, because the very thing you just mentioned. Blogging should not be mean spirited, stressful, or clique oriented. (https://inlibrisveritas.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/reading-ranting-for-the-love-of-blogging/) If you are interested. I need to try to find a copy of Darkest Part.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely jump over and check out that post. I look for freebie audiobooks. I actually found Alice in Wonnderland and Through the Looking Glass in a bundle for free. My sister gets a ton of audiobooks from the library and listens to them in the car.
DeletePeople seriously got weird when you just asked about whether a book was worth trying to read in that short amount of time? That's so odd. I think things are changing and it's a bit frustrating as it doesn't feel quite as much like a community. It's like we have to be much more careful about what we say. It's almost best to just try to stick with our own people that we have already gotten to know and not really go outside that group cause you don't know how people will act. It's kind of ridiculous. I'm sorry you had that bad experience. I don't even try to chat on twitter anymore really, it's just gotten weird.
ReplyDeleteI'm so curious about The Darkest Part of the Forest!
Have a great week!
Some were weird when I only asked if they had read the book. They were okay after I explained about the time limit. I guess I should have added the particulars in the beginning, but it is a shame other bloggers automatically think someone is going to hype a book to them. I think I will be able to fit DpotF in after about three more books. Not too bad. Lol.
DeleteOh congrats for winning Darkest Part of the Forest! I want that too :)
ReplyDeleteWeeklyWrap@EverythingNyze
Now that I have promised it to my Children's blog reviewer's mother, I want one of my own. It looks very pretty on my bookshlves, lol. :)
DeleteBrown Girl Dreaming looks fantastic! I've heard so much love for that author.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading, love <33
I am planning Black History Month post, or even posts, for next month, so I will be listening to it soon. The author is narrating and I listened to the sample. She has a very soothing voice, so I hope she doesn't lull me to sleep when I am listening. :)
DeleteNOOOO GOOGLE DELETED MY COMMENT AGAIN! I really need to start remembering to copy my comments before I hit publish :(
ReplyDelete1. Is that Simon's Cat? I love Simon's cat! It's been ages since I saw any of the clips, I need to go watch them again!
2. I had no idea that was something people got touchy about! If I read a book and it makes me think of someone, I go ahead and tell them I think it might be something they'd be interested in, and I have a bookshelf on goodreads specifically for friend recs (especially because I'm pretty bad about getting to anything in a timely manner). I guess if people feel like they're being spammed with it, it can make people react that way to anything? I don't know. It's sad :( and now I'm going to be paranoid about recommending things lol
3. I LOVE Holly Black! I've read all of her books I think except this one, The Iron Trials, and her Spiderwick series. Speaking of recommending things...have you read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown? I know you stay away from YA vamps, but you might actually like this one. Gah I just realized we aren't goodreads friends! How can I stalk what books you've read!? I'll remedy this momentarily if I can find you. If you read a lot of Holly Black, you'll know she doesn't make her pretty people nice, and her vamps are no different in that one. But, if I'm wrong feel free to smack me!
4. Awww the mouse is so cute! I have a soft spot for cute mouse books too. Did you ever read the Redwall series? They pretty much defined my childhood, so I'm all about a good mouse book.
OH and I meant to say that until this year I was a total audiobook noob. I'd tried before, but dear GOD it takes so long to finish them! But now I have a half hour commute both ways (usually longer on the way back because there is NEVER ANY PARKING) a few days a week, so it's completely revolutionized my drives! If only I had a cd player/anything louder than my laptop speakers, I imagine they'd be great for cleaning too. Hopefully this audiobook works for you!
DeleteBlogger has only abracadabraed my posts on other blogs, but on Friday it poofed one of my own replys on my own blog post! I think blogger doesn't like long posts! Sometimes I think about writing my long responses on my notebook app, and then copy and pasting them. I have read nothing of Holly Black's, yet. I have The Iron Trial, but it is way down on my tbr. If I ever have a moments book peace I will try to get to The Coldest Girl. Omg... Redwall! My son was really into them. I think we must have read twelve of them. We have some in hardcover, so I am sure I will be completing the collection when I have grandchildren. I will be forced to crack my audiobook shell next month when I review Brown Girl Dreaming. My sister has to drive her boys around to a lot of different school things, and wait for them, so that is when she listens to her audiobooks, too. :)
DeleteI've gotten better about remembering to copy my comments before posting (but not usually before I've done it once). It only seems to happen on the work computers, and for the life f me I just don't know why!
DeleteI just started rereading Redwall because I had originally though I was going to let the 7 year old borrow it as if I wasn't his age when I started reading it, my brother definitely was...and holy cow this series is super violent! I mean I knew there were lots of battles and people died....but yeah...this is definitely too violent for most 7 year olds. On the upside though, it means I'm finally rereading it! I think I own 19 of the 22 books, but I might need to replace some of them (lost, damaged from the many, many rereads).
I cannot for the life of me remember when Sebastian started reading Redwall. I know he was still reading them when he was 12 because we bought one after we moved to this apartment. I think he probably started reading them at almost ten. I pre-read at least the begginings of all of the MGs he read just for those reasons.
Delete