Sunday, January 11, 2015

THE SUNDAY POST #TWO


THE SUNDAY POST is a weekly feature hosted by Kimba at the Caffinated Book Reviewer. 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: My ARC review of Ensnared, the last book in the Splintered trilogy by A.G. Howard, went up. The author thanked me personally and complimented my gif usage, so that pretty much made my week, well, month actually. Lol. You can view it, HERE. It has a small giveaway.Then the bad news came that my Tell Me Tuesday feature co-host was moving on. I still have my one follower, Pili from In Love With Handmade, so that's a good thing



TUESDAY: There was a lot of fanfare for the release of Ensnared. Eventhough I had the ARC, I was equally excited to see it come out because I have been dying to discuss the book's (and trilogy's) ending with my fellow Madlings! I posted my first solo Tell Me Tuesday. You can view that, HERE. I also decided to to challenge myself to do a read of all of Gregory Maguire's fairytale retellings this year, and do an author spotlight / body of work review blog post at the end of the year.

THURSDAY: I was supposed to be putting up my Super Secret Top Read of 2014 post, but I didn't have the time to put all of the finishing touches on it because I needed to put up my challenge declaration post, and a tag post. I will be (pinky swear) putting it up sometime in the next week. I have felt overly pressured with special blog posts during the holidays and kind of burned-out. Serendipitously I ran across this page for Blogging Without Obligation; it made me realize that posting it whenever, is just fine. I also joined BWO, HERE.



RANDOMNESS: Everyone seemed to be declaring their challenge participation this week so I will tell you I am doing my usual Goodreads Challenge because it is no extra pressure. I set it at 52, one book a week. I did an ARC August challege last year, and even though I won the giveaway, I was burned out. That is what has put me off to other challenges. I was also in a series challenge last year, but the blogger hosting it seems to have lost track of it. So, my resolution was only the GR challenge, but then I found out about the Netgalley challege, and someone suggested my Maguire challenge fits this other fairytale retelling challenge...so much for simplicity this year.

UPDATE: I did decide to do the Fairytale Challenge. You can view that post, HERE, and it has a sign-up link. The challenge linky is open until January 31st, the dealine was extended. Another blogger is also doing an informal challenge of books translated into English; one a month. I am going to join that one, too! I will let you know the details when she posts them.


BOOKISH MAIL: Zero.


These were my ebook deal finds of the week: The Thirteeth Unicorn was free and I saw there was a sequel, Black Dragon, for 99¢. I wanted to make sure I liked the writing before I bought the second book, so I started reading TTU and didn't want to put it down! I had to though because I have too many highly anticipated books I never got to from last year, and three from 2013!!

NEXT WEEK: There will be my regular features of Tell Me Tuesday and The Sunday Post, and I might be doing a quick cover reveal post for The Infinite (sequel to Gates of Thread and Stone), on Monday. I will also be posting the review of my top 2014 book.

GIVEAWAYS: There is my From the Heart giveaway for a Valentines Day card from me, with swag and tea. Ten winners will be chosen with two international winners. You can see it HERE. There is also a Black Raven Tea giveaway on the Ensnared review, HERE.


NOTE: I also wanted to add that I did a very poor job of getting to other Sunday Post linkers last week, maybe only six or seven, but I promise to spend more time this week. Plus, revisiting to see other posts during the week. I am a Bloggers Commenting Back member, so if you leave a comment here, I will absolutely give your blog a visit! 


25 comments:

  1. Keeping up some challenges is good to add a lil extra motivation but don't let the pressure get to you!
    And you're stuck with me for Tell Me Tuesdays since it's my fave Tuesday meme out there! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww... Pili, I want to give you a thousand *squishy hugs* for following TMT so faithfully!! Yeah, I think I'm done adding challenges. The translated to English one isn't to much because it is only one a month.

      Delete
  2. Visiting all bloggers participating in the Sunday post can be a full-day job lol ! BWO looks like a good thing, it's true that what started out as a pleasure should remain so. Have a great week ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think I will need to make a rotational list. Thanks for the visit. :)

      Delete
  3. 52 book in 2015 - Good Luck! I read 65 in 2014, but I was a mother of 1 and then on a 10 week maternity leave, so I had time. When I set my 2015 goal on Goodreads, I tried not over do it. I set it to 50. With two kids now, I'm not sure I will be able to get through even 50. Which makes me sad. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read 68 last year, but I am starting a new job which requires a lot of reading, so I am sure I won't want to be reading as much. I might not make my 52!! Good luck with your with your challenge, also.

      Delete
  4. It's hard to keep up with everything, so don't feel too bad. :) Your looks like a nice feature, it's good to see what folks are reading. Good luck with the challenges.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's great about the author comment! I have equal parts squealing and anxiety when I see I've had an author comment. Challenges seem to snowball on me. I didn't do so great in keeping track in 2014 so I decided to restructure for this year and only sign up for a few and than somehow it turned into 7! Good luck with yours!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is funny how we can be so determined not to do something, but then see our blogging friends posting all the shiny things, and then cave! Thanks for the visit. :)

      Delete
  6. I do visit all of the Sundap Posts but I do it in segements. I do about ten comments and take a break and visit the next day to make sure I catch them all. It does take a lot of time but I enjoy it and find great news and books!
    I'm doing three challenges and they all blend together so it should be less stress and more fun this year. Good luck with yours!

    My Sunday Post - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/01/11/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-92-and-the-sunday-post/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a great idea! I'll try it. I visited about ten this morning, so I am already on track. Same here with the challenges. I figured the GR, NetG, and fairytale challenges all blended pretty well; the translations are really the only extra. Thanks for dropping in. :)

      Delete
  7. Sorry about the typos. My fingers are faster than my brain this morning. Need for tea! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks like we read different genres completely. Just in to say hi from the Sunday Post. I'm here: http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/2015/01/sunday-2.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by. I will definitely give you a visit back.

      Delete
  9. My daughter loves the Splintered series and the covers have been gorgeous. It is so exciting when an author comments, tweets or acknowledges you and your review..awesome. Hope your week is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's so nice and refreshing when authors take the time to say thank you for reviewing their books. . . it's just so rewarding :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, A.G. is so thankful for her online supporters. She really makes us feel appreciated. Thanks for dropping by. :)

      Delete
  11. I had took the past two years off of challenges but signed up for a TON of them this year. I probably won't finish the majority of them but I just couldn't seem to resist. LOL! I hope that you have a great week filled with good books!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank-you. It is so tempting to join all the fun things! I guess the camaraderie of the challenges is the most important thing whether we hit our goal or not! Thanks for visiting. :)

      Delete
  12. I've got issues with the Splintered series but I'm eagerly waiting for Ensnared since it's Jeb on the cover. Hihi! I haven't join any challenges since I'm afraid I wouldn't meet it. My work schedule's crazy. I want to try though. Hope this week will be nothing but amazing for you!

    WeeklyWrap@EverythingNyze

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am Team Jeb, too!! The Ensnared cover is stellar. Have yourself an amazing week, too. Thanks for dropping by. :)

      Delete
  13. I've read most of Maguire's books and really like them, I only had issues with one of them but I really liked his spin on things. I only have three challenges this year other than my Goodreads one, though I might join one or two more because I like keeping a variety of things going on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Four challenges and adding more??? You are a brave soul. I am hoping that the rest of Maguire's Oz books will be as special to me as Wicked was! Thanks always, for the visits. :)

      Delete

Thank-you for dropping by! I love to chat, so comments get a lot of love.