I’m Already Behind on New Releases

Sep 5

new releases

I’m Already Behind on New Releases LOL

Guys. I’m struggling right now. New releases have been both the savior and the bane of my life this year. So many great books came out that I was dying to read. I’m still dying to read them. Because I haven’t read them yet. What is life.

So, the other day I was looking at my TBR and I noticed a troubling thing: There were a TON of new releases on there that I was incredibly stoked to read. I thought to myself, “Ame. WTF. Are you even reading?” (I am.) So I decided to post about it, because if anyone else can understand my problem, it’s you guys.

Seven of these books (see the picture above) were on my Top Ten Tuesday post from earlier this year of my most anticipated books of early 2016. Three of them were on my Spring TBR Top Ten Tuesday. Two of them were also on my most anticipated debuts of 2016 list. (You should be noting that I haven’t said that this image contains ALL of the books I mentioned on those lists. AKA, there’s more books I’m not mentioning. These are just the ones that pop out at me as the most egregious for a number of reasons.) I own copies of all of these books in one format or another, except BLACKHEARTS even BLACKHEARTS, which I just got as part of my birthday gift from Brittany. I didn’t put THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS on here, although it’s a new release that I haven’t read, because the others are all way “older” and therefore somehow “worse.” All of those same books were ones I PREORDERED BECAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THEM. Some are sequels or concluding volumes of series I love. Some are by favorite authors of mine. Some are new authors that I’ve been really looking forward to reading. So, what’s the freaking deal, Amy?

Short answer: I have no idea. Long answer: I have no idea, but could make a few guesses.

I’ve been really slow with my reading this year, for some reason. Nothing specific I can point to. I’m just taking my time and reading just one book at a time for the most part, instead of three or sometimes four. That’s part of the reason why I’m so far behind on my Goodreads challenge. (The other reason is that I’m listening exclusively to the Outlander series on audio right now, and have been for most, if not all, of this year, and I’m only on book 6.)

I’m also not sticking to any kind of reading schedule whatsoever. I rarely do this anyway because I’m a very moody reader, but so far this year, my moods are…moodier, I guess. I find myself going to reread more things or picking up really random books or one of the ARCs I have. There has yet to be a book that I’ve stopped whatever I was doing to read the moment it came out (this will probably change when EMPIRE OF STORMS arrives tomorrow). For some reason, I’m not feeling the urgency.

Ever since I composed this list of books, I’ve been making a real concerted effort to get through these books. I did just finish THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER–YAY! But I’ve still got a long way to go, guys.

Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever feel the “new release” whelms? What 2016 release were you really excited about but haven’t read yet?

Filed Under: Randoms, Thoughts

Let’s Do This Thing, 2014

Jan 7

20142014: The Year of Doing Things

So, friends, here we are: A new year has begun, and our slates are wiped clean. I love this. The end of the year was pretty stressful for me at work and so my energy for blogging was all but sapped for a little while there, but I’m already feeling lighter and better and READY TO KILL IT in 2014.

I, as always, have big ideas for things in January that don’t always pan out as the year goes on, but I like having all the possibilities open to me. The hopefulness! It’s warm-fuzzy-licious!

There are a few things in particular that I’d like to do around the blog and with my reading and my books, and I figure that writing them down here and sharing them with you will hold me accountable. A little bit. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in with both feet! [Read more…]

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Secondary Character Love

Mar 29

Or, When the AAA Team Should Be Called Up to The Show

“Yeah, I was in The Show. I was in The Show for 21 days once – the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in The Show, somebody else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have brains and legs that go all the way up.”–Crash Davis, Bull Durham

(Sorry for the baseball metaphor, friends, but IT’S OPENING DAY ON MONDAY. #excitement.)

We all know how books are supposed to work: There’s a main character or two, they have a drama/thing/event/apocalypse/curse to fend off despite obstacles and possibly a love triangle. Whatever is going on with them directly is the main action. It’s what the book is supposed to be about. But there’s usually some other characters thrown into the mix, too: best friends, mentors, siblings, villains, frenemies. And SOMETIMES, even when I’m invested in the main character action, it’s these characters that stand out the most to me, that I wind up loving the most, who stick with me the most when I’m done reading.

This is a thing that happens quite often when I’m reading, but I feel like it’s been happening a lot lately, where I wind up finishing the book and saying to myself, “Well that was good. But HOT DAMN I want to read a WHOLE BOOK about (enter secondary character  name here). They were THE BOMB.” A good, well-developed, charismatic minor character can make an ordinary but good book better. For me, anyway. Here are a few of my recent–and one forever–favorites who I would love to have their chance to shine. Basically, they are the Crash Davis’s of my reading life who deserve their 21 days in The Show.

Also Known As by Robin Benway

Who: Roux is Maggie’s new best friend from school. She’s acerbic and sarcastic and hilarious.

Why: Umm, because Roux is the character who completely captured me while reading ALSO KNOWN AS. She’s got zest and personality and humor, even though she’s got a past that kind of sucks and parents who kind of suck more. I need more Roux in my life.

The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta

Who: Lady Beatriss and Trevanion, the Captain of the Guard, are the mother figure and the actual father of Finnikin of the Rock. They were beloved by their people and each other before the five days of the unspeakable, and were betrothed. Their romance is totally fraught and full of romance.

Why: These two provide so much of the emotional core of these books, for me. Melina Marchetta made their relationship so bittersweet and passionate and strong. Even when they are trying to ignore their feelings, you know that they are eventually going to fail. They love each other too much. I would read a book about these two and their relationship in a HEARTBEAT.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Who: Jeffrey!! Jeffrey Tifton is basically the Laurie to the Penderwick sisters’ Marches (there’s a little LITTLE WOMEN reference for ya). He’s the most outstanding boy there ever was.

Why: Calling Jeffrey a secondary character is technically true because the main characters in these books are without a doubt the Penderwick sisters, but Jeffrey plays a big role in their lives, even though he doesn’t really appear at all in book 2. If he doesn’t wind up married to one of them, I’ll be PISSED. I love Jeffrey, and I’d love to read more about him.

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Who: Princess Ariana–known as Ari to her best friend, cousin, and attempted assassin, Kyra–is the heir to the kingdom, and according to Kyra’s visions, the source of the downfall of their world. Hence the assassination attempt.

Why: THIS girl has got some spunk. She isn’t girly at all, she’s kind of brash and confident and tomboyish. I loved her banter with Fred and her camaraderie with Kyra. Ariana is another character whose personality really jumps out at you, and is just one of the reasons that I’m so incredibly sad that Bridget Zinn won’t be able to write any more about her. She was so important to my enjoyment of POISON.

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

Who: Reece Malcolm is the main character, Devan’s, mother, whom she has not ever seen or lived with until her father dies and she has no choice. Brad is her younger boyfriend.

Why: I found myself connecting a lot more to Reece and Brad in THE REECE MALCOLM LIST than I did with Devan (my review is coming soon). Reece is a famous writer, and she’s emotionally distant and sometimes prickly and was really young when she had Devan. Brad is significantly younger than her and British and is without a doubt, no contest my favorite character from this book. He’s flat-out AWESOME with Devan, and with Reece. I would read a book about the grown-ups from this book in a flash. A FLASH. Their relationship is full of great drama and the kind of love that maybe seems like a surprise at first.

So, those are some of my favorite secondary characters. How about you guys? What secondary character would YOU call up to The Show?

Filed Under: Randoms, Thoughts Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 5

Mar 10

Froi of the Exiles The Lumatere Chronicles

My Thoughts

I’m really getting into this readalong, friends. I’m so glad that we’ve made it to FROI OF THE EXILES!! Because while I enjoyed FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK a lot, I am already liking this book better. I am loving Froi, I’m loving the glimpses we got this week of Lumatere three years after Isaboe and Finnikin broke the curse, and I’m convinced that I’m going to love Lucian and Phaedra. Questions after the jump if you’ve read this week’s portion! (Or if you just like spoilers.)

[Read more…]

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The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 4

Mar 4

The Lumatere Chronicles

My Thoughts

I can’t believe we’ve read a whole book already!! It feels like such an accomplishment to finally read a book that’s been on my TBR for ages. The end of FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK was pretty satisfying, in a Melina Marchetta way. I haven’t read any of Melina Marchetta’s books before this one, but I feel like I already have a sense of her storytelling ways: She doesn’t spell things out for her readers, which I appreciate. And she doesn’t always tie things up in a super neat bow for everyone, either. The thing that I most appreciate–and the thing that also frustrates me the most–is that her characters ALWAYS seem to have qualities that I don’t like. Kind of prominent ones, too. But she always gives us hope for them to be people of great character anyway. You know, kind of like real human people. The end of this book had some of that, but lots of other things to talk about besides! I can’t wait to start FROI OF THE EXILES next week!!

[Read more…]

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The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 3

Feb 24

The Lumatere Chronicles Finnikin of the Rock

My Thoughts

SOOOOO much happened in this week’s reading!! One of the bigger reveals wasn’t really a surprise to me, though, as I had been thinking that very thing since week 1. Another bigger reveal was sad to me, but as always, the action keeps ramping up. More after the jump!

[Read more…]

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The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 2

Feb 16

My Thoughts

This week’s reading was filled with lots of action and perfectly paced developments, I thought. Characters are growing and becoming more complex, but things are also steadily moving towards some kind of resolution. Chats after the jump!

[Read more…]

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The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 1

Feb 9
Lumatere

Check out this week’s prompts over at Hannah’s blog!!

My Thoughts

So, I’m pretty much hooked on FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK so far, guys. I have to admit, it took me a few chapters to get a grasp on the who/what/where of this world (especially because I’m reading this book on my kindle so, even though there are maps, I can’t get to them easily while reading to orient myself). That usually happens for me in lots of fantasies I read. But I think Melina Marchetta has really created a great world with tons of political drama and dangerous magic and treachery. There’s so much at stake for these characters!

Speaking of characters, I love them all. Finnikin is kind of intense and prickly, but guys he has SO MUCH LOVE for his country. I really enjoy the deep connections that all of the characters still feel for Lumatere. And I’m completely intrigued by Evanjalin. I feel like I have a thought about who she might be but I don’t know. I’m oftentimes wrong when I postulate that way, so I’ll keep it under wraps for now. Just trust that she’s awesome, but a total unknown quantity.

Anywho, Hannah, our awesome hostess, has given us the following questions to hash out our thoughts on this week’s reading, which was all of Part One. More chatting after the jump!!

[Read more…]

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Dear 2013, Let’s Do This Thing

Jan 3

Resolutions for the New Year

There are so many things that I want to improve upon and accomplish this year in my reading and blogging, not to mention the things I would like to do in real life. (Mostly those involve eating healthier, losing weight, getting eyeglasses, and not spending so much money.) If you know me just a little bit, or have seen me mention it on Twitter, I’m generally bad at keeping to my to-do lists. I find that I write things down so that I can focus myself and plan and be all organized, but then the list CHAFES ME, friends, and I find myself taking sharp left and right turns off the list towards other things JUST BECAUSE. Primarily this applies to my reading schedule: I just can’t tell myself that I’m going to read these 10 books in the month of January and then expect myself to read more than 2 or 3. It’s like I have bookish ADD. But that doesn’t mean I can’t make the lists! It doesn’t mean I can’t try! So here are a few things that I want very much to do for my blog and my reading in 2013. My fingers are crossed!

1. Schedule posts

I need to work a little bit more on my time management, friends. I need to organize myself better, and I need to take away some of the feeling I often get of needing to read books faster and write my reviews immediately so that I have something to post. It’s a stressful way of doing something I enjoy, and I want to be able to forgo the former and keep the latter, if you feel me. Scheduling reviews ahead of time is a way to help because I do have books I can review. I have a handful right now this instant. They are all books that I’ve finished, in most cases, some time ago. None of them have reviews written. I’ve even slacked off on taking notes! I need to be better.

2. Read 100 books

I’m going to be posting about my specific reading goals and challenges tomorrow, but this is my main biggie challenge: 100 books. I was a little bummed that I didn’t meet my goal for this year, which started at 150, got lowered to 130, and ended at 123 books read. If I hadn’t started listening to audiobooks this year, the number would have been even smaller. But I can do 100 this year, guys. I WILL. I love reading too much to read much less. (Says the girl who does not believe in jinxing oneself.)

2a. Read at least 30 books that I already own

A corollary to number 2. Buying books is one of my biggest pleasure expenses that I allow myself. Other people spend their fun money on going out, or  the movies, or other things. I save my extra money for buying books. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to curb my itch to purchase books, but I certainly need to make more of an effort to actually READ the ones I do buy. I bought a TON of books this year; way too many of them remain unread. I need to make my money work for me, friends.

3. Reply to all of the comments on at least three posts a week

So I know that I’m kind of giving myself an out a little bit by not saying that I’m going to reply to ALL the comments, but the truth is that I just don’t know if I’ll be able to manage the time. Because commenting doesn’t take me 5 minutes. Or 10 even. I need at least a half an hour to do it right, and when I get home from work and finish dinner, it’s already 7:30, and it’s a contest between reading, writing posts, and doing other real life chores until 10 when I go to bed. So I don’t want to make a promise that I know will be asking too much, but I need to be better at doing this. So many awesome people comment on my blog and I need to find more time to reply to them and return the visit in kind. This one is really important to me, and I’m going to do my very best to stick to it.

4. Comment more!

See number 3. I need to focus more effort on sharing my thoughts and taking part in the community of bloggers I follow and the bloggers who visit me and new bloggers that I meet. I need to interact more and have conversations with you guys.

5. Start self-hosting my blog

Wanna know something a little pathetic? I actually have been paying for hosting services for about two months (it’s super cheap, but still), I just need to find some time and get my act together to move everything over and set everything up. It’s CRAZY daunting to me, and confusing, and I’m more than a little out of my element. But I need to do it. Sooner rather than later.

6. Limit myself to requesting no more than 2-3 books from NetGalley/Edelweiss per month

Ahh, NetGalley (and Edelweiss to a much lesser extent). You are crack to me. I need to take my foot off the pedal with this a little bit, and request ONLY books that I REALLY want to read. I sometimes feel like, because I don’t really get physical ARCs at all, in order to be reading the buzziest books–in order to keep up with the blogging Joneses, as it were–I need to use NetGalley hard core. But I’m overloaded and behind, and it makes me feel like a greedy tool. The only thing I can say is that I always intend to read the books! I just don’t always get to them. I need to get a better handle on my time.

7. Read and review at least 3 NetGalley/Edelweiss books per month

Friends, I need to uphold my end of the NetGalley/Edelweiss bargain a little bit better. Even saying that I’ll read and review 3 a month feels like I’m doing very little in the scheme of things. But this is part of the reason why I need to cool it when requesting books. I need to make the time to read the books I do get because that’s part of this blogging thing, too. It’s an obligation that I feel for myself, even if there really is no way the pubs can force bloggers to read and review their books from NetGalley. But I understand the give and take, and I agree to it every time I request an ARC. I feel like this answer straddles the issue of blogger obligations and what pubs can and should expect from us and what we as bloggers should be responsible for. To me, the answer to this is more of a personal manifesto kind of thing than a “written in stone” kind of thing. I appreciate that I’ve asked to read a book, and the pubs have agreed to let me read it early, as is their prerogative, with the understanding that I’ll do my level best to read and review it honestly, and so I feel like I need to stop dropping the ball as much. In Amyworld, it’s like an electronic gentleman’s agreement that I’m not honoring as well as I can. But seriously, I’m just doing me.

8. Take a breather when I feel like taking a breather

Honestly. I know it’s basically blogger cliche to say that my blog is supposed to be FUN and I should feel no worries nor have any qualms about shutting it down for a few days or a week or two if I’m feeling burned out or too busy or uninspired. But it’s really the truth. I don’t feel so worried about not posting every day as it is, mostly because I never really have, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t relish the little breaks I give myself. We all need to recharge the batteries, friends. It makes me feel fresher and better, and keeps me excited and eager.

BRING IT, 2013.

Filed Under: Thoughts Tagged With: , ,

You Picking Up What I’m Putting Down?

Dec 8

Really. It’s me. Or one of us. Or both of us.

In Which I Am Not a Finisher…Yet. Maybe.

Sometimes I pick up a book and KNOW immediately that we will be BFFs and I plow right through it (ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, LEGEND, THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE). Sometimes I pick up a book and I’m excited to start it, but our relationship needs some work, and it takes me a while to realize that this book is MORE than I ever thought it would be (THE RAVEN BOYS, THE RED PYRAMID). Sometimes I pick up and book, immediately get a bad vibe, and wind up putting it down because I can just tell that we are NOT meant to be. (IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin comes to mind right away. Also, OCTAVIAN NOTHING by M.T. Anderson.)

SOMETIMES, though, I know that I pick up a book and I feel like our timing is just off. Maybe something else came in that I’ve been DYING to read. Maybe I’m not in the mood to read something serious/big/light-hearted, etc. Maybe, and this is increasingly becoming the case, I just don’t have the time to devote to a book that NEEDS time to grow on me. These books I pick up, put down, and mentally note that we have a date in the future. THANK GOD. Otherwise I never would have read any of the Cassandra Clare‘s Mortal Instruments series, Cinda William’s Chima‘s Seven Realms series, or anything by Jane Austen, just to name a few.

But here’s a thing that I always struggle with: sometimes a book straddles a line between a forever-DNF and a “let’s take a break for a little while.” And, further, what’s the difference between the two in my own reading? Sure, there have been some books that I’ve taken a breather from and gone back to later and enjoyed, but there are way more that I’ve been intending to pick up again and give another shot that remain unfinished and un-revisited. At some point should I just consider those books DNFs for real and move on?

Meh. Probably not. Because I know what I like. Just like every reader does. I can tell when it’s me and not the book that’s creating problems. Like, I can feel it sometimes before I even finish a chapter or less: this isn’t going to grab me RIGHT NOW. But LATER, maybe. And I’m willing to give myself some time to get in the right mood to give what appears to be an otherwise good book another go.

I don’t have any problems with officially DNFing books. I don’t like doing it because it makes me feel like I’m deserting things, but I also don’t have the luxury of giving lots of chances to books that increasingly irritate me/bore me/drag on/don’t make sense/disappoint me, etc. Not when I have so many other things to read, both for pleasure and for this blog. But maybe this “come back to me later” business is just my wussy way of DNFing. To be honest, I can totally see myself acting that way, and I’d believe that a little bit more if I’d put CITY OF BONES on my “later, gator” shelf and left it there. But I didn’t. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this means there’s still hope for me and THE MISTS OF AVALON, JELLICOE ROAD, LITTLE WOMEN, THE VICIOUS DEEP, and more.

What is the point of this RAMBLE? Basically this: Sometimes it’s me. Sometimes it’s the book. I know the difference, most of the time. Mostly, though, I’m glad that I know myself and my reading well enough to say, “don’t force it” if it’s not working. And if I feel like going back to it later, I will. If I don’t, that’s fine too. I make the rules here!

How about you guys? Do you do this a lot, putting books down to come back to them later? Or do you just give them one shot and DNF right away? What are some books that you picked up at the wrong time?

Filed Under: Thoughts Tagged With: ,
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