Thursday, November 26, 2015

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams | Book Review

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  Please check out my post from Tuesday to see everything I'm thankful for.  What are you thankful for?

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, talking about Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.  Click on the cover image above to find out more!

*I own my copy of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

"When I'm Not Writing" With Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, hosting Lauren Smith for "When I'm Not Writing."  Click on the image above to read the post and to enter a giveaway for Amazon gift cards and free books!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a thankful freebie.  Here are ten things I'm thankful for, in no particular order!  They are all equally important to me.  :)

1. Family. Of course, I know this will top everyone's thankfulness list, but it bears repeating every time.  I have such a great support system.  I'm expecting, and I'm totally calm because I know that I have a whole big group of relatives (both by birth and by marriage) who will be by our sides as we tackle new-parenthood.

2. Friends.  Where would any of us be without friends?  Not only my close personal friends that I've had for a long time and will have for a long time to come, but also good work acquaintances.  Love them all!

3. My job.  I love, love, love going into work every day.  I'm Teen Library Services Specialist, which means that I get paid to have fun with teens.  Just today I spent a couple hours 3D printing with folks; tomorrow I'm going to play Giant Connect Four.  Can you believe I get paid for this?!

4. Resources to Pursue My Dreams.  My hubby is AWESOME and has ok'd us spending a chunk of our household income/resources on my further education.  I'm pursuing a Masters of Library and Information Science, and this is using money and my time.  Just last night he gave me his whole-hearted support to drive across state for a library conference for one of my classes!

5. The Hubby.  I suppose he's technically covered in "Family" but he deserves his own line.  He's super sweet and supportive (see #4) and a great leader of our little family.  I can be a bit *whimsical* at times; he brings me back to earth without crushing my dreams.  I'm sometimes overly enthusiastic about work; he's supportive of my crazy everywhere schedule.

6. Tucker.  Our dog.  He's a boxer, sweet, more loving than I sometimes deserve, a goofball, and total fun.  When I get home at the end of the day, he is literally beside himself with joy that I've returned.  (He does this whole wiggle-butt thing where he ends up curled nearly in half.)  He's even a joy just to watch; he has this fun habit of tossing an empty plastic bottle across the backyard and chasing it.  He's self-entertaining!

7. My Church.  My church truly is a church family.  I know without a doubt that if I ever needed anything at all, I could put out a call to our pastor and be overwhelmed with support.  And I love being able to give support in return.  Next week I'm signed up to take dinner to a family that just welcomed a brand new baby.  I get to help them celebrate that big event!  (And maybe get to hold the baby!)  Most of my closest friends are fellow members of my church.

8. My Childhood.  Working with urban youth, I am confronted every day with the very hard realities that they face, and it makes me grateful all over again that I had the happy childhood that I did.  My parents did so much for me and my sister.  From the little things, like Hawaiian Nights or Christmas-in-July, to the big things, like making sure that I never wanted for anything and never suffered, not even from a head cold.  I had an unbelievably good, positive childhood.

9. Books.  Would any bookish Top Ten be complete without this?  More than just my primary (and definitely my favorite) form of entertainment, I'm grateful that I live in a country that doesn't censor what books are available to me.  I can read anything I want!  I could go to my local Barnes & Noble and buy The Anarchist Cookbook if I wanted!  (I don't, but I like knowing that the FBI won't swoop in and arrest me to browsing it.)  I also love living in a nation with so many public libraries.  FOR FREE I have access to MILLIONS of books and materials!  And yes, I'm even more fortunate in having a job and the resources to own many books myself.

10. The Little Things That Make All the Difference.  I wake up each morning in a warm bed next to the man I love.  I have a fully stocked kitchen, with no fear that we'll run out of food.  I have a car to get me to and from work and the store.  I have an umbrella for when it rains.  Heck, I even have clean drinkable water out of numerous faucets in my house!  There are parts of the world where that's unheard of, and I nearly take it for granted.  Every day there are millions of reasons to thank God.

What are you thankful for?  Leave your link and I'll be sure to visit!  And have a happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow | Book Review


Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, talking about Little Brother and why everyone (everyone!) should read it.  Click on the cover image above to find out more!

*I checked out my copy of Little Brother from my local library.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

"When I'm Not Writing" with Lia Davis


Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, hosting Lia Davis for a special "When I'm Not Writing" post.  Great news: she's hosting a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway over there too!  Click on her image above to read the post, find out about her brand-new release, and enter the giveaway!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves

Today I'm hosting Stacking the Shelves at Tynga's Reviews!  Click on the image above to see what books I've brought home lately, and to join in the fun yourself!

Thursday, November 12, 2015

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North | Book Review

First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Claire North

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews talking about this great epic time-travelish book.  Very good!  Click on the book cover above to find out more.

*I received a copy of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.  Thank you!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Book to Movie Adaptations I'm Looking

Forward to Watching

(Some of these are yet to be released; some have already been released but I haven't seen them yet.)

The Martian (2015) Poster
1. The Martian (book by Andy Weir)

The Peanuts Movie (2015) Poster
2. The Peanuts Movie (by Charles Schulz) (this totally counts since it started in print)

Testament of Youth (2014) Poster
3. Testament of Youth (book by Vera Brittain)

A Walk in the Woods (2015) Poster
4. A Walk in the Woods (book by Bill Bryson)

The 5th Wave (2016) Poster
5. The 5th Wave (book by Rick Yancey)

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6. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (book by Ransom Riggs)

The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016) Poster
7. Allegiant (book by Veronica Roth)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) Poster
8. The Scorch Trials (book by James Dashner)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) Poster
9. Mockingjay (book by Suzanne Collins)

(no picture)
10. Let it Snow (book by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle)

And you?  What book-to-movie adaptations are you looking forward to?  Leave a link in the comments and I'll definitely visit.  As you can see, a lot of mine are YA, so I'll probably have to watch alone (the hubby isn't too into that); perhaps you have more grown-up suggestions for us to enjoy together?

Thursday, November 5, 2015

The A-Word by Joy Preble | Audiobook Review

The A-Word (Sweet Dead Life, #2)

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, talking about this fun sequel to The Sweet Dead Life.  Click on the image above to find out more!

*I checked out my copy of The A-Word from my local library.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Debut Authors Who Have Me Looking Forward to

Their Sophomore Novel

R C Lewis's picture
1. R.C. Lewis (author of Stitching Snow)

Tone Almhjell's picture
2. Tone Almhjell (author of The Twistrose Key)

Kit Alloway's picture
3. Kit Alloway (author of Dreamfire)

Image result for casey eanes
4. Seth Ervin and Casey Eanes (authors of The Red Deaths)

Amanda Sun's picture
5. Amanda Sun (author of Ink)  (yes, she has more books out now, but I've only read Ink, and am looking forward to the sequel!)

Andy Weir's picture
6. Andy Weir (author of The Martian)

Kelly Barson's picture
7. K.A. Barson (author of 45 Pounds (More or Less))  (another one who has a sequel out already, but I haven't read it)

Image result for leah rae miller
8. Leah Rae Miller (author of The Summer I Became a Nerd)

R J Palacio's picture
9. R.J. Palacio (author of Wonder)  (sequel is out, but unread by me... yet!)

Stephen Chbosky's picture
10. Stephen Chbosky (author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower)  (isn't EVERYONE waiting for his next book?)

What about you?  What debut authors do you love?  Leave a link in the comments and I'll definitely come visit!