What did I miss? is a feature here at The Grammarian’s Reviews showcasing weekly updates and highlights from both here and other bloggers. So let’s get on with the recap!
[review] The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa — I wasn’t sold on this at first, but OMG did it end up being wonderful!
Bout of Books mini challenge — It’s time to relocate those characters!
Whip it Up Mondays — Quick prep tips for handling onions and garlic.
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As you’ve probably already noticed, I didn’t post much this week. I blame both my laziness and the lack of action in the blogosphere. Seriously. WHERE IS EVERYBODY?
Meanwhile, in my world, I’m trying to enjoy my last few days home and pretending I don’t have to go back to school next week.
…School? What? What is that?
(See?)
*knock, knock* Anyone there?
No links this week. Sorry!
Today’s Bout of Books challenge is all about relocating.
I’m currently finishing up The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa, a story that takes place primarily in the mythical locations of the Nevernever, where all the fey and other mythical creatures reside.
….But not anymore!
Because I am officially relocating this cast to the Andes mountain range. And you know what that means. High altitudes. Cold temperatures. Uneven, thrilling landscapes. And snow!
How are these characters going to fare? Well, I think a lot less easier than they have it now. (Except maybe for the Winter Court. Watch your back.) I know the Iron Fey books tend to already be action-packed, but I think this relocation would only add to the suspense and drama. The Courts would be more chaotic than ever. Situations would be dire; there wouldn’t be nearly as much time to waste.
And really… who wouldn’t want to see Grimalkin have to traipse through the snow/cold? Plus, I sense the oncoming of an epic Ash/Puck snowball fight.
What book are you reading, where does it take place, and where is it going to relocate?
Leave a link or leave a comment!
What did I miss? is a feature here at The Grammarian’s Reviews showcasing weekly updates and highlights from both here and other bloggers. So let’s get on with the recap!
Midway Musings {1} — A new feature to highlight my thoughts midway through my current reads.
How to prep for a read-a-thon — I think this title speaks for itself.
A writing dilemma — How I feel about writing.
Whip it Up Mondays — homemade veggie burgers.
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I feel like the blogosphere got sucked into a vacuum without me knowing. Seriously. Where is everybody?
This week was horrible, as far as blogging goes. Barely read any posts, barely commented, barely tweeted, barely ANYTHING-ed. Likewise, there was barely any traffic coming through. I felt like I was a newbie blogger again, trying to get people to come check out my site. It was a bit….discouraging. It still is. These sorts of weeks are the toughest to get through.
In other news, I’m pretending school doesn’t exist and summer vacation doesn’t end.
Get your objectivity out of my reviews — Amanda discusses the differences between objectivity and subjectivity in reviewing.
What makes a good comment? — Anne talks about how commenting isn’t always easy.
Travel Tales — Elena lists the five places she’d like to visit in the world of Harry Potter.
With the start of Bout of Books 5.0 just around the corner, I figured this would be entirely appropriate. Especially because I’m horrible at read-a-thon prepping. (Procrastinator alert!)
1. Wake up early. Or late, depending on how you want to tackle this. I prefer to wake up early in order to start early. But I have known some to sleep late and start in the afternoon/evening.
2. Set aside a few hours of time, even if you have to do it in shifts. Just one hour won’t do it. If you’re really good, you’ll go all Harry Potter and block off an entire eight or so hours. (Of course I say this in reference to when the Harry Potter books were still being released and everyone would set aside an entire day for reading the latest release nonstop until they finished.)
3. Keep your books handy! If you finish one book and don’t have the next one all ready to go, you’re going to get up to look for it, get side-tracked, and end up…you know…not reading.
4. Have snacks and drinks handy! It’s no fun when you look up from the page of your book, snap out of your own little world/reading zone, and hear your stomach grumbling and feel like you haven’t had anything to drink for days.
5. Put your computer on lock-down because you will check Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and all the internet has to offer. Only go on when you want/need to update/track your read-a-thon progress or participate in scheduled read-a-thon chats.
6. Alternate between e-books and actual paper/hardbacks, if possible. Your eyes will thank you.
7. Don’t forget advil. Sounds crazy, right? But, if you’re anything like me, reading for hours on end and straining your eyes sometimes results in major headaches (or worse, migraines) that throw off your entire groove and pacing.
8. Don’t forget bookmarks. If you end up having to leave your reading spot while in the middle of a book, you’re going to need to mark your place. Even if you think you’ll remember the page number. (You’ll thank me when you end up being dragged away for a significant amount of time.)
9. Get comfortable. If you’re going to be reading for hours on end, you won’t want to be in a stiff, back breaking chair. Claim a spot and stay there. Or multiple spots and switch it up!
10. Most importantly, have fun! No stressing allowed. Read-a-thons are meant to be fun, not competitions. If you don’t meet your own goals, no biggie! If you end up chatting more than reading, who cares? It’s all about what you get out of it. Maybe you’ll read two, five, ten books – that’s good! Maybe you’ll meet two, five, ten new blogger/reader friends – that’s good, too! There’s no way to lose. You can only win.
- The book must feature a protagonist who is past the average age for graduation from high school (18 in most places). If they’re sitting on the fence at precisely age 18, then you can make the judgment call on whether it is more YA or New Adult. (If the majority of it is set in high school, I’d classify it as YA.) The protag should be younger than 30, just to give a maximum limit as well (otherwise we’re getting into Not-So-New Adult literature!)
- This does *not* mean the book must be of the contemporary genre. If it’s a fantasy or dystopian or something and there *is* no concept of “graduation” in that world, then just go by our world’s standards in deciding if it counts.
The levels:
- Just Graduated: read a minimum of 3 New Adult books
- Moving Out: read a minimum of 6 New Adult books
- Living On Your Own: read a minimum of 9 New Adult books
- Fully Independent: read every single New Adult book you can get your hands on
- 1 book. Yes. 1. It’ll be quite an accomplishment.
Books To Read
- The Daughter of Smoke and Bone
- Lola and the Boy Next Door
- Between Here and Forever (keep pushing it off!)
Updates
10/24
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Today #insixwords:
Books:
10/25
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:Today #insixwords:Books:
10/26
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Today #insixwords:
Books:
10/27
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Today #insixwords:
Books:
10/28
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Today #insixwords:
Books:
10/29
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Today #insixwords:
Books:
It’s a way for bloggers to celebrate the end of the week with a nice re-cap of their weekly posts and to answer a random question.
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.
8/23
Number of books I’ve read today: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.
8/24
Number of books I’ve read today: .75
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.
8/25
Number of books I’ve read today: 1.
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.
8/26
Number of books I’ve read today: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.
8/27
Number of books I’ve read today: .75
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.
8/28
Number of books I’ve read today: 2.
Total number of books I’ve read: 4.
All in all, I could’ve done much better. I blame my headaches and the hurricane. (Ever try to read an e-book with a headache? My advice: DON’T.)
But no worries! This just means I’ll push myself to do even better during my next read-a-thon. HUGE thanks to Amanda @ On a Book Bender for hosting and listening to me whine about my reading troubles.
Read as much as you can whenever you can between
- You must be signed up in order to enter any of the TEN super awesome giveaways.
- The sign up form for the read-a-thon will be open through Saturday 8/27.
- Find a list of everyone signed up to participate on the Bout of Books Master List page. Please say hi to your fellow readathoners! You may make new blogging friends.
- There’s a list on Twitter of everyone who indicated they’d be updating on Twitter. Use it for finding other Bout of Books Readathoners rather than staying updated on their progress.
- If you do want to track everyone’s progress run a search for #boutofbooks. Just don’t forget to use #boutofbooks yourself! It will be easier to keep track of everyone and cheer them on this way.
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.
8/23
Number of books I’ve read today: 1.5
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.
8/24
Number of books I’ve read today: 1.75
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.
8/25
Number of books I’ve read today: 1.
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.
8/26
Number of books I’ve read today: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.
8/27
Number of books I’ve read today: 2.
Total number of books I’ve read: 4.
