Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Holiday Hiatus

Just wanted to let you lovely readers know that #1 I am still alive, and #2 I'm gonna be taking a blog break until the new year.

It kills me that I didn't have anything scheduled for my blog for holiday reading and posting, and now I'm fully consumed trying to shop for gifts for what feels like every person I have ever met, decorate the interior and exterior of our house in hopes of making spirits bright, and somehow overall manage to make Christmas magical for my toddler.


So I'm wishing you all the happiest of holidays, with hopes that you have a chance to sit and relax and read a bit during the season, and I shall see you in the new year! xoxox

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Thankful for Books

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate!

I have so much to be thankful for - a wonderful husband, our amazing son, close family, good friends... But, as silly as it may sound to many people, I am also thankful for books.


1. Books introduced me to some of my first friends. Amelia Bedelia, Curious George, Amanda Pig, Arthur, Madeline, Spot, Paddington Bear... Too many to count! I learned to love books and reading by hearing my mom read to me about these characters and their adventures.

2. Books taught me to love reading. This sounds kind of obvious. But I'm talking about teaching me to love the intentional act of reading. Of picking out a book and finding the perfect place to enjoy it. Of settling in and losing yourself for hours within its pages. Of surfacing on the other side and being in a book haze for a while where you've got one foot in the real world and one in the fictional world you just left.

3. Books gave me Harry Potter. I mean, I can't not acknowledge this one. It was my first obsession, my first fandom. I was 12 when the first book came out and 21 when the last book came out. I grew up with Harry and all his friends and I still return to that world as often as I can.

4. Books give me worlds to escape to whenever I need to run. Wonderland. Neverland. Oz. Red London, Grey London, White London, Black London. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And there are always new worlds to discover.

5. Books help me slow down and unplug. If you're like me, you often feel over-scheduled, over-worked, and connected to social media more often than you would like. It's hard to find a moment to take a breath and regroup. But books help me do that. Whether it's downloading a brand new ebook instantly on my phone to read anywhere and anytime I have a spare moment, or putting in my headphones and sitting down to listen to someone tell me a story over an audiobook, or snuggling in somewhere comfy to crack open a hardcover and lose myself in the black text on white pages... books help me recenter myself and find a moment of quiet in a world that often feels to me too loud and demanding.

So thank you, books, for these and many other gifts you have given me. And thank you, authors, for creating these magical words and worlds that give me peace and happiness. I am so grateful.

Monday, November 12, 2018

{ Something Old, Something New } November 2018




{ Something Old, Something New } is a meant to help us focus on the new releases in our TBR piles and also hand-pick some older books that we've been meaning to read.




On my reading list for October 2018 was...

{ Something Old }
Of Monsters and Madness
by Jessica Verday

Publication date: September 9, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 277
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), horror, gothic, retelling



You can read my review here! (2 stars)



{ Something New }
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe

Publication date: August 28, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 405
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), short stories, witches, LGBTQ*



My review is coming soon! (spoiler alert: it was great!!)




On my reading list for November 2018 is...

{ Something Old }
A Great and Terrible Beauty
by Libba Bray

Publication date: December 9, 2003
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 277
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), historical fiction, gothic



First in the Gemma Doyle series. From Goodreads:
"It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls and their foray into the spiritual world's lead to?"

I'm in the mood for some historical fiction, and this one's been on my TBR for a long time. The spiritualism aspect really appeals to me - a reviewer described it as "gothic fantasy" and as soon as I read that I needed it in my hands. Like yesterday.


{ Something New }

The Wren Hunt

by Mary Watson

Publication date: November 6, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 432
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy



From Goodreads:
"Every Christmas, Wren is chased through the woods near her isolated village by her family's enemies—the Judges—and there’s nothing that she can do to stop it. Once her people, the Augurs, controlled a powerful magic. But now that power lies with the Judges, who are set on destroying her kind for good.

In a desperate bid to save her family, Wren takes a dangerous undercover assignment—as an intern to an influential Judge named Cassa Harkness. Cassa has spent her life researching a transformative spell, which could bring the war between the factions to its absolute end. Caught in a web of deceit, Wren must decide whether or not to gamble on the spell and seal the Augurs’ fate.
"

This synopsis sucked me right in because tbh I have no idea what is going on... but it sounds magical and complicated and I can't wait!



What's on your { Something Old, Something New} reading list for this month? Pick a book that you've been meaning to read but haven't yet (your Something Old) and a new release or soon-to-be-released book (your Something New), read and/or review them, and share a link to your posts here or tweet it at me @PidginPea! I'd love to share your books and reviews when I do my { Something Old, Something New } post at the start of each month. If you'd like to read/review more than 2 books, be my guest! I'm hoping I can do { Something Old, Something New } AND a "something borrowed" and a "something blue" in the future too!

Want to put a { Something Old, Something New } button on your blog? I'd love that! Just copy and paste the code in the box below. I made the button using DeviantArt stock resources from flameshaft, gimei, and spiritsighs-stock and fonts from dafont.com and kevinandamanda.com.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

{ The Sunday Post }: October 28, 2018

https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme

The Sunday Post is a weekly wrap-up meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week on our blogs, share new books we've received, and talk about what's coming up on our blogs for the week ahead.



{ New Books }

These last few weeks have been full of chaos and grown-up responsibilities, leaving me not a lot of time for blogging or reading (thus, the recent dead air on my blog... sorry about that). Buuuut that doesn't mean that I haven't been adding to my book stash... muahaha...

{ From NetGalley } :
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/143683https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/150590
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/141812https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/149815

Aquicorn Cove just looks so precious... A middle grade graphic novel about sea-unicorns? I had to request it. It called to my soul. :3

The Cottingley Fairies is a picture book - I think it's nonfiction, but there are some reviewers who say it's more of a fantasy version of the actual events in 1918 where two young girls claimed to have captured photographs of fairies. Either way, I'm excited to read it. The whole Cottingley fairies affair fascinates me. 

Enchantée is a young adult historical fantasy, set at the eve of the French Revolution - but with magic. Oh yes. I've already dipped into this one and I'm really liking it so far.

One Day, So Many Ways is a nonfiction picture book that I "wished" for - and hooray, my wish was granted! I love these types of books where you get to see what kids all over the world are doing in a 24-hour period.

 
{ From the library } :
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39983687-harry-potterhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25208271-maphttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27212449-the-time-traveler-s-handbook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35128511-lost-in-the-libraryhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38510042-national-parks-of-the-usahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38496748-pearl

Ahh, I am drooooling over all the great stuff I got this week...

Harry Potter: A History of Magic - The book that goes along with the British Museum's exhibit. Twenty years in and I still can't get enough Harry Potter in my life...

Map: Exploring the World - I love maps. Not sure why. I'm just a cartography kinda girl, I guess.

The Time Traveler's Handbook - This was one I grabbed up randomly on my wanderings through the stacks. A guidebook for time travelers! What a fun idea!

Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience & Fortitude
- A picture book about the lions, named Patience & Fortitude, that stand outside the New York Public Library. This looks adorable from the cover art alone!

National Parks of the U.S.A. - A nonfiction picture book about many of the US's National Parks. Personal story time! Gather round... One of my favorite jobs ever was an internship in environmental education. It's a passion of mine that has developed slowly, and I'm not sure where to go with it, but I'm thinking I might start doing some posts/reviews on nonfiction picture books that feature the environment & nature. A small step, but who knows where it might lead... :)

Pearl - I love Molly Idle's artwork, so every time she puts out a new picture book I just can't wait to get my hands on it. I'm so excited to read about this adorable tiny mermaid!


{ Latest Reviews }

None...




{ Currently... }

Reading: Mammoth by Jill Baguchinsky

Watching: Inception... it's one of my husband's favorites and I never got around to seeing it, so we're making it our stay-in date night movie.

Playing:  Rusty Lake Hotel - a really, REALLY bizarre point-and-click puzzle game with a kind of uncomfortable storyline (animals are staying at a hotel and each night you have to go into their rooms and murder one of them and then serve them for dinner?? to the other animal guests???), but I liked the puzzles. I just ... I mean, if you were an animal staying at this hotel, don't you think you'd notice if one fellow animal guest disappeared every night? And then you ate that same type of animal meat for dinner the next day?? And if you were the only animal left, would you really be like, "Hmm, I guess I'll stick around and see what's for dinner tomorrow..." ?!? ... This bothers me greatly. But I still played it all the way through, heh.


{ Last Week at the Book Nook }


{ Last Week's Goals }

For the blog...
  • Read and review at least 2 books.
  • - Nope :(
  • Participate in at least 1 new book blog meme.
  • - Nope :(
  • Post for Blogoween (?/13).
  • - This is a hard fail. I thought I could do 13 posts in the month of October... 31 days, 13 posts... that's not even one every other day! Piece of cake, right?? WRONG. Where has this month gone, I don't even... *deep breath* ... I still have a few days... I'm determined to get at least ONE Halloween-themed post in this year...

For real life...
  • Try at least 1 new recipe.
  • - ... We're going to a new restaurant tonight, does that count? :| 
  • Keep practicing mindfulness.
  • - Yeah, no. These past few weeks have been a stress-fest. Reeeally need to do better here. 
  • Take a little more time for self-care.
  • - Also a nope. I'm beyond burnt out. I know I need to do more relaxing for my own sake, and that of my poor husband and son who have to put up with me when I'm not at my best. (bahaha not even close right now) ... This is good, though... It's a weekend, I'm blogging while the little one naps (and the big one naps also, as hubby has a tendency to pass out on the couch whenever he sits down)... Baby steps...


{ Goals for This Week }

For the blog...
  • Read and review at least 2 books.
  • Participate in at least 1 new book blog meme.
  • Post SOMETHING for Blogoween. Just one thing. You can do this.

For real life...
  • Try at least 1 new *low-calorie* recipe.
  • - Gonna add an addendum to this one... I need to start watching my calories. I read that most people have no idea how many calories they take in everyday and IT'S SO TRUE. Holy crap, I counted one day I'm way over the 2000 calorie guideline... and that's without going out or bringing in fast food. I know everyone's calorie needs are different, but I know mine are not that high... I've had a hard time shedding baby weight and this is probably why. I know I'll probably never have the body I did before I was pregnant, but I do need to get healthier. I need to eat better and get more exercise. So here's step #1 towards that goal.
  • Keep practicing mindfulness.
  • Take a little more time for self-care.

That's it for me this week! How was your week? Link to your weekly wrap-up post in the comments - I'd love to come visit! :)

Friday, October 26, 2018

{ Spotted & Sampled }: Things that go bump in the Night, and a collection of kick-butt lady superheros/supervillains

Oh my goodness... October is almost OVER and I haven't yet posted a single Halloween thing! Or *any* thing!! I swear, it feels like I only skip a day or two of posting and all of a sudden I've missed 3 weeks! I'm sorry ... Sometimes being a mom, student, and blogger just don't all work together, and something has to go on the back burner... and unfortunately it has to be blogging. *sob*

But, getting back into it...


{ Spotted & Sampled } is a little weekly meme I started for myself to share books I've spotted that I'm excited about, and also books that I've been able to sample to get a taste of the plot and the author's writing style.

{ Spotted }


Beware the Night

by Jessika Fleck

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audioboook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Expected publication date: March 12, 2019
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 12-18), fantasy



From Goodreads:
"On the island of Bellona, life is peaceful--as long as the citizens dutifully worship the Sun, which protects them from all harm. Seventeen-year-old Veda knows that keeping the Sun happy will protect her and her grandfather from the Night, the dangerous people who snatch innocent citizens from their beds under the cover of darkness, never to be seen again. As long as Veda follows the rules, she will be safe.

But when Veda's grandfather is offered up as the next sacrificial offering to keep the Sun's favor, she starts to see that the safety she's been promised comes at a dangerous price. Maybe there is more to fear above than there is below.

With a mysterious young man, Dorian, at her side, Veda has to figure out if the scary bedtime stories she grew up hearing are real--or dangerous lies.
"

Reviewers are using phrases like "Roman society" and "plot twists" and "deception," and I couldn't be more ready to read this. I kind of love when a synopsis gives you just the smallest taste of what a book is about, but you can tell from the reviews that it is so. much. MORE. That sounds like what's going on here and I can't wait to get my hands on it!



{ Sampled }

DC Ink Sampler
by Mariko Tamaki, Lauren Myracle, Kami Garcia and Danielle Paige

Available as: paperback
Pages: 100
Publisher: DC Entertainment/DC Ink
Publication date: July 6, 2018
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy



From NetGalley:
"DC Ink is for readers 13 and up, and features coming-of-age stories that encourage teens to ask themselves who they are and how they relate to others. DC Ink features storytelling that focuses on real-world situations and relatable characters who are not perfect, but are nuanced and complex–just like our readers. "

Sampled from: NetGalley

This is a sampler of DC Ink titles coming out in 2019 featuring some amazing ladies who will go on to become the superheroes and supervillains that we know and love. (Or, for some - like me! - they will become the superheroes and supervillains that we are just now getting acquainted with, as we haven't read much in the way of DC comics before.) It has samples from Mera: Tidebreaker, Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, and Teen Titans: Raven.

That synopsis from NetGalley doesn't really say a lot about what's inside, but my e-version had full-color samples of Mera & Raven, black & white for Catwoman, and kind of a mix for Harley (mostly B&W but with some color highlights). It seems like it's giving you the first 20-ish pages of each book, as they all seem to start at the stories' beginnings.

This is my first time reading anything about these characters... gasp! what?? I know. I just wasn't ever really introduced to superhero comics. My comics as a kid were Archie, Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck, Little Mermaid, Barbie, etc. ... So you can see that I've missed out on a HUGE chunk of the world of comics. And therefore I am going into this with no knowledge of these characters' backstories or origin stories or, really, anything about them. So keep that in mind as you read my mini-review...

Here's my take on which ones I'm most excited to read (with #4 being "meh, I'll get there when I get there" and #1 being "I will be first in line when this comes out"), just based on this sampler:

4. Teen Titans: Raven - I'm not not excited to read this... it just was the least interesting for me out of the four. Raven's story starts with a traumatic event, leaving her with amnesia and a new family taking her in. Later she falls asleep, and there's a huge 6-eyed red demon-looking thing standing over her saying their fates are intertwined. This probably means something to people who know her story already, but to me, it was just kind of a "meh" introduction to her and her story. Also, at some points, the expressions on the characters' faces seemed to not match what the characters were saying, which bugged me a bit.

3. Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale - Again, this wasn't bad - it just didn't really tell much of Selina's story. It showed how she had to put up with all the guys her mom has dated as she was growing up - really terrible, disgusting, violent guys. Now there's Dernell, one of the worst, and her mom is clearly not going to stand up for her. I did like the ending - it kind of left me on a cliffhanger, showing that she's about to make a big move in her life, and it did leave me wanting to read more to see what happens. I also liked the art in this one, especially when it was showing some of the things she imagined doing and becoming.

2. Mera: Tidebreaker - I liked this one a lot. I had never even heard of Mera before I found this sampler, so she is completely new to me. The plot was a bit confusing for me as a newbie, but I gather that she's the daughter of the king, who used to rule an underwater kingdom called Xebel, but now the Atlanteans have come in and become the new rulers? Maybe? Anyway, Mera is running around vandalizing Atlantean stuff and escaping Atlantean guards with her water-powers ... but then she has to get ready for a ball, since she's the daughter of the king, and he clearly wants her to marry someone named Larken ... I mean, I'm completely lost, but I'm intrigued and I want to read more! I also really liked the blue-green color palette, with Mera's red hair standing out starkly against everything else.

1. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass - This was hands-down my favorite of the four. I loved everything about it!! The selection gives a great intro to Harley and what's going on in her story - she goes to live with her grandmother, but finds out she's dead, so she ends up staying with a gay man named Mama instead ... she starts at a new school, and meets a girl named *Ivy* (ok, even I know who that is!) ... I thought it gave a lot of detail in a short amount of pages, and it left me wishing the whole book was already out so I could just keep reading. The art style was also my favorite of the four - very detailed, and the characters' expressions and movements were spectacular. I usually prefer color to black & white, but I found that I didn't even notice the lack of color in this one. There are some panels that have a red/orange scheme, and I liked those too. Overall, definitely the strongest one for me! I can't wait to read it!



That's all for this week! Hope to see you next week for more spottings & samples!

Monday, October 1, 2018

{ Something Old, Something New } October 2018

Oh man, has it really been since APRIL that I did this last?? Gotta get this one going again!




{ Something Old, Something New } is a meant to help us focus on the new releases in our TBR piles and also hand-pick some older books that we've been meaning to read.




On my reading list for April 2018 was...

{ Something Old }

Caraval
by Stephanie Garber

Publication date: January 1, 2017
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 407
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy



You can read my review here! (3 stars)


{ Something New }

Legendary
by Stephanie Garber

Publication date: May 29, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy



You can read my review here! (2 stars)




On my reading list for October 2018 is...

{ Something Old }
Of Monsters and Madness
by Jessica Verday

Publication date: September 9, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 277
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), horror, gothic, retelling



First in the Of Monsters and Madness series. From Goodreads:
"A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.

Summoned to her father's home in 1820's Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which he might be implicated. She is torn romantically between her father's assistants-one kind and proper, one mysterious and brooding-who share a dark secret and may have more to do with the violent events than they're letting on.
"

I love Edgar Allan Poe's writing - all of it, but perhaps especially Annabel Lee. I wanted to read this one a while ago, but I never got it done. It's really hard to find near me (had to do an interlibrary loan!) but hopefully I can get my hands on it in time for Halloween.


{ Something New }
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe

Publication date: August 28, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 405
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), short stories, witches, LGBTQ*



From Goodreads:
"A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.

History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.

Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.

A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.

From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely--has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world.
Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored."

I've had this one on my TBR for a while, and now that Halloween is approaching, it feels like the perfect time to read it!



What's on your { Something Old, Something New} reading list for this month? Pick a book that you've been meaning to read but haven't yet (your Something Old) and a new release or soon-to-be-released book (your Something New), read and/or review them, and share a link to your posts here or tweet it at me @PidginPea! I'd love to share your books and reviews when I do my { Something Old, Something New } post at the start of each month. If you'd like to read/review more than 2 books, be my guest! I'm hoping I can do { Something Old, Something New } AND a "something borrowed" and a "something blue" in the future too!

Want to put a { Something Old, Something New } button on your blog? I'd love that! Just copy and paste the code in the box below. I made the button using DeviantArt stock resources from flameshaft, gimei, and spiritsighs-stock and fonts from dafont.com and kevinandamanda.com.



Sunday, September 30, 2018

{ The Sunday Post }: September 30, 2018

https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme

The Sunday Post is a weekly wrap-up meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week on our blogs, share new books we've received, and talk about what's coming up on our blogs for the week ahead.



{ New Books }

I didn't get a lot of new books this week - nothing from NetGalley since I need to catch up on reviewing what I've got - but I did get a few interesting things from library holds that came in...

{ From the library } :
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33966463-bizenghast-collectors-edition-v-1https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35888391-craft-a-life-you-love

I've had Bizenghast on my TBR for a while (because if it's tagged "gothic" it's almost guaranteed that I will want to read it... and this one is a gothic drama graphic novel so obviously YES), so this shiny new collector's edition called me.

I found Amy Tangerine in an art magazine one time and I liked her style - I'm interested to see what she has to say in Craft a Life You Love. The tagline "infusing creativity, fun, and intention into your everyday" appeals, so hopefully her ideas work for me. 


{ Latest Reviews }

None... *sob* ... it was a busy week!


{ Currently... }

Reading: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe

Watching: The Great British Baking Show (catching up on old episodes... thank you Netflix)

Playing:  Armikrog ... So I guess I'm a "gamer," but a really specific one. As in, only strategic board games and old school point-and-click computer games. No shooters. No MMORPGs. I need to feel like I'm solving a mystery or going on a quest or exploring something. I spent countless hours of my teen and preteen years playing Myst (and most of its sequels) and King's Quest V, VI, and VII. For a long time I didn't have a computer that could run games, but now I fiiiiinally do again and I'm constantly on Steam looking for games on sale. This week it was Armikrog, from the makers of the Neverhood. I played that one with my brother when we were younger and I don't remember much about it except that it was claymation-animated and bizarre and it made me laugh way too hard at some points. So my brother and I downloaded this new game and we're going to play it together (from afar... since we're both grown up with jobs and other real-life responsibilities now) and hope that it's as fun as the Neverhood...


{ Last Week at the Book Nook }
  • { Binge, Borrowed, Bargain }: Circuses, Wonderland, & Mermaids ... in which I binge-read a delightful little story about a girl in a traveling circus, borrowed a nonfiction picture book biography of Lewis Carroll, and got a bargain Kindle freebie about a girl turning into a mermaid.
  • I joined Blogoween! A book-blog-related Halloween party, basically, that runs all October long! I can't wait!!


{ Last Week's Goals }

  • Read and review at least 2 books.
  • - Nope :(
  • Participate in at least 1 new book blog meme.
  • - Nope :(
  • Join a reading challenge.
  • - Yes!! Blogoween counts, right??


{ Goals for This Week }

For the blog...
  • Read and review at least 2 books.
  • Participate in at least 1 new book blog meme.
  • Post for Blogoween (?/13).

For real life...
  • Try at least 1 new recipe.
  • - Getting real bored of our current meal rotation. :/
  • Keep practicing mindfulness.
  • - I've noticed that I either dwell on the past or focus on the future so much that I just stress out and obsess over things that I can't change anymore or that haven't even happened yet. I'm trying to just be happier in the here and now. That's easier said than done... but I'm working on it.
  • Take a little more time for self-care.
  • - This week I took my first bubble bath since my almost-2-year-old was born ... wow that's crazy!! I just need to make time for a little *me* time!

That's it for me this week! How was your week? Link to your weekly wrap-up post in the comments - I'd love to come visit! :)

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Blogoween!

Aha! I finally found something book-blog-related for Halloween!!

Have you heard of Blogoween, hosted by Book Dragons and others? It's all about Halloween or Autumn themed posts related to books, blogging and/or writing throughout October! THIS was what I was looking for when I started my Halloween Reading Challenge! (which I guess I'm keeping open, since I'm too embarrassed to take it all down now that I started it... lol... so feel free to join me in that too if you'd like!)

So this is my official sign-up post, and I'm choosing Level 1: 13 Days of Blogoween which means I post on any 13 days in October, including Halloween. I can post reviews, discussions, lists, tags, or use the prompts from the hosts.

I'm excited! Come on, October!!

Monday, September 24, 2018

{ Binge, Borrowed, Bargain }: Circuses, Wonderland, & Mermaids

Book Riot does a thing called Buy, Borrow, Bypass that I like, and I wanted to do something similar but in my own style. So in my version, I'll share something I have binged or am about to binge-read (the Binge, obviously), something that I have discovered at the library (the Borrowed... again, kind of self-explanatory), and something I have found for free on Amazon for my Kindle (the Bargain).


{ Binge }

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35593979-violette-around-the-world-vol-1?ac=1&from_search=trueViolette Around the World, Vol. 1: My Head in the Clouds!
by Teresa Radice


Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition
Pages: 48
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Publication date: March 20, 2018
Suggested tags: middle grade (ages 9-12), graphic novel, historical fiction, circus/carnival


From Goodreads:
"A 12-year-old girl travels the globe with her parents' circus, having adventures and learning to appreciate the joys of being different.

"My name is Violette Vermeer: Dutch father, French mother...citizen of the world! My house has a thousand rooms...one for every place we've passed through!"

Her name is Violette, like the flower in the spring, like the seventh color of the rainbow. She lives with the Circus of the Moon, where her mother is the stuntwoman and her father is the insect tamer. At the end of the 19th-century, Violette is a curious, happy 12-year-old who is fascinated by the beauty of the world around her: music, painting, drawing, nature, and much more. She shares adventures with her friend Samir (a budding trapeze artist), her unusual animal friends, and her father's trained insects!

This, the first of three books, takes place in Paris, where Violette has to balance her time between the freedom of the circus and her homework at school. But Paris is the city of beauty and art, and soon she will make an encounter with a very special person!
"

I grabbed this one just because I thought the cover was cute and I'm so glad I did! It's surpassing my expectations in every way - art, story, and charm. I love it so far, and I can't stop reading!


{ Borrowed }

One Fun Day with Lewis Carroll: A Celebration of Wordplay and a Girl Named Alice
by Kathleen Krull,& Júlia Sardà

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 32
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication date: January 9, 2018
Suggested tags: children's (ages 6-9), picture book, nonfiction, biography


From Goodreads:
"The wordsmith Lewis Carroll is famed for the freewheeling world of Wonderland in his beloved classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. In this gloriously illustrated picture book, Carroll's childlike love of life is showcased alongside his brilliance at creating and adapting playful words and phrases. From brillig and uglification to frumious and chortle, the award-winning author Kathleen Krull uses many of Carroll’s own words to tell the story of a man who wanted to make children laugh and whose legacy continues to entertain and delight."

I am a serious Wonderland fan... I love the original books, I love all kinds of retellings, I love nonfiction books about how Wonderland came to be. So when I saw this picture book biography about Lewis Carroll and his brilliant wordplay, I had to snag it.


{ Bargain }


How to be a Mermaid

by Erin Hayes

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 214
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication date: July 7, 2015
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy, mermaids



First in The Cotton Candy Quintet series. From Amazon:
"All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid.

So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe.

Everything's great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare -- she's turning into a mermaid herself. For real.

Yet when she returns to the sea to seek out Finn and reverse her transformation, she finds herself in the middle of an impending war between the land and sea. Tara may have always wanted to be a mermaid, but now it's sink or swim. In order to survive, she has to learn how to be one, too.
"

I'm a sucker for a pretty cover. And what girl hasn't dreamed of being a mermaid at some point in her life? So when I saw this one for free, I snagged it!

*** This Kindle book was free as of the publishing of this post... 
but please double-check the price before you buy! ***


That's all I've got for now! Enjoy your Kindle freebie and see you next week!

Sunday, September 23, 2018

{ The Sunday Post }: September 23, 2018

https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme

The Sunday Post is a weekly wrap-up meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week on our blogs, share new books we've received, and talk about what's coming up on our blogs for the week ahead.



{ New Books }

I got so many great books this week!! Isn't that the best feeling?... when your shelves are stocked with more books that you can realistically read at any given time... I don't know, it just makes me feel so happy and complete. lol.

{ From NetGalley } :
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35216519-the-wren-hunt
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41003728-an-egyptian-adventurehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39295743-time-for-bed-miyuki

First of all, that DC Ink sampler looks like it's full of amazing ladies and I can't wait to read it!! It has samples from Mera: Tidebreaker, Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, and Teen Titans: Raven.

I had The Wren Hunt on my Fall 2018 TBR list and requested it not really expecting to be approved... but SURPRISE, it is mine now and I'm so excited. :3

The Histronauts have a series of middle grade time travel adventures and I can't wait to check out ancient Egypt with them.

I am a little bummed though, because Time for Bed, Miyuki got archived literally RIGHT after I was approved for it, so I didn't get to download it. :/ I'll have to try to find it at the library or a bookstore because I really wanted to read it! It looks like a beautiful picture book!
 
{ From the library } :
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35593972-cluehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35012246-the-princess-bride-deluxe-edition#
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36750126-mightier-than-the-swordhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068747-mystery-in-the-mansion
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33596673-books-books-books-explore-the-amazing-collection-of-the-british-libra?ac=1&from_search=truehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35540349-howard-and-the-mummyhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32490676-magnificent-creatures

Ok, when I hit the library, I hit it hard. I take that "maximum items allowed" limit on my card as a challenge. And the moment the list of new books comes out each week, I am online placing holds on all the good stuff.

And look at all this good stuff that came in this week!! A CLUE GRAPHIC NOVEL. I am soooo excited to get to that!! There was a big beautiful new edition of The Princess Bride, which I unfortunately have not yet read but have had on my TBR for like forever. Hopefully I can get this version read before it's due back!

Some neat middle grade novels too - Mightier than the Sword is supposed to be interactive and put *you* in the story, and Mystery in the Mansion is a choose-your-own-adventure style mystery!

Rounding out my haul are some nonfiction picture books, which I'm really into lately. I love books (obviously) so I had to get that first one about the collection at the British Library. My undergrad degree was in Archaeology so I'm interested to read this picture book bio of Howard Carter (who discovered King Tut's tomb). And Magnificent Creatures has been getting rave reviews, so I had to see what the buzz was about.


{ Latest Reviews }



Archival Quality
by Ivy Noelle Weir & Steenz
Read my review here (2 stars)
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), graphic novel, mystery, ghosts, mental health







Spectacle, Vol. 1
by Megan Rose Gedris
Read my review here (4 stars)
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), graphic novel, mystery, ghosts, circus/carnival





{ Last Week at the Book Nook }
  • I started a 2018 Halloween Reading Challenge! Never hosted a challenge before, but I figured one of my favorite holidays was a good excuse to start! I loooove reading creepy books to get me in the spirit. You're welcome to join no matter what gets you in the mood for All Hallow's Eve - kidlit or adult, Halloween or Dia de los Muertos, fiction or nonfiction, horror, gothic, suspense, humor, romance... anything! You can sign up here!


{ Goals for This Week }

This is looking like a busy week for me, so I'm going to set my goals a little low... Hoping to kick it up next week!
  • Read and review at least 2 books.
  • Participate in at least 1 new book blog meme.
  • Join a reading challenge.

That's it for me this week! How did your week turn out? Link to your weekly wrap-up post in the comments - I'd love to come visit! :)

Friday, September 21, 2018

The 1st Annual Halloween Reading Challenge!

So I'm browsing some book blogs today, and I see some Christmas Reading Challenges... and I'm like "oh that's awesome, I'll have to get involved in that this year..." But then I thought, "wait, you know what I love reading more than Christmas books... Halloween books..."

Am I the only one who loves to read as many spooky stories as I can get my hands on during the month of October?? Why can I not find any Halloween Reading Challenges out there?

If they exist, please point me in their direction. If they don't exist... well, I'm about to start one. :D

http://pidginpeasbooknook.blogspot.com/p/2018-halloween-reading-challenge.html 


 { The Rules }

There aren't going to be a lot of rules, since I'm starting this so late into September... just an excuse to read some creepy books and have fun!

  1. Spread the word about the Halloween Reading Challenge! Blog it, tweet it, pin it, however you best like to spread info! We gotta get the word out since I'm starting this so close to October!
  2. Make a blog post about the books you intend to read for the challenge - you can find my list below. (You can of course read off-list... this is just a starting point.) Feel free to use the image above in your post if you'd like, but please be sure to link back to the Halloween Reading Challenge page so other bloggers can find the sign-up if they want to join in.
  3. Add your name and blog to the link-up here. Visit the other bloggers who signed up to see what they're reading too!
  4. You can link your reviews as you get them done, or you can link a wrap-up post. The last day to link up a post is November 2 (when Dia de los Muertos ends, in case you're wondering).
  5. Feel free to read whatever genres and subjects interest you - kidlit or adult, Halloween or Dia de los Muertos, fiction or nonfiction, horror, gothic, suspense, humor, romance... whatever gets you in the mood for All Hallow's Eve!
  6. Read as many or as few books as you want... just have fun!


Sign up here for the 2018 Halloween Reading Challenge!


Link to your reviews and/or wrap-up posts here: (coming soon... please stand by!)



 { My Halloween Reading List }

There's no way I'm going to get to read all of these this year, unfortunately. :/ Some of them are rereads, some are classics that I'm way overdue to read for the first time, some are new finds that I hadn't heard of until now... and I'm excited to read every one (eventually)!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66090.Boris_and_Bellahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10893214-the-cavendish-home-for-boys-and-girlshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39651050-christina-s-ghost
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/349188.Day_of_the_Deadhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25111002-ghostlyhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13316309-the-ghost-of-graylock
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38657049-ghoulia?ac=1&from_search=truehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2213661.The_Graveyard_Bookhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28114461-the-mesmerist?ac=1&from_search=true
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16057383-mi-familia-calaca-my-skeleton-familyhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6457229-the-monstrumologisthttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19507564-of-monsters-and-madness
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9607766-rosita-y-conchitahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611587-slasher-girls-monster-boyshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18782854-the-supernatural-enhancements
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18659623-through-the-woodshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3137945-wait-till-helen-comeshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89724.We_Have_Always_Lived_in_the_Castle