Bibliophile's TBR and More for March

Okay, I know you can already see this list just there...*points to the pretty list off to the side of the blog*  However, I also like to put together a concise post of what I intend on reading each month.  Yes, before you say it, you will see five carry over books that is mainly because I have a slightly addictive relationship with my library card and it is a rarity that I can actually step foot into the library without coming out with a stack of books that usually take precedence over any books that I actually own (mainly because I have to give them back at the end of a twenty-one day period....or forty-two day period if I can actually renew them...though it rarely takes me longer than twenty-one days to read some of the books...).  

This Month's TBR is already somewhat daunting for me, as it includes the book that will be the longest book I've read so far this year.  So far, the longest is The Bone Season by Samantha Shanon at a comfortable 480 pages which surprisingly only took me 5-ish days to read.  This year I have been slightly more OCD about tracking my reading, and I have a spreadsheet in Google Docs that I am tracking a variety of things including the amount of page numbers I've read for the year.  At the end of February I have read a massive: 9414 pages worth of books. Once I finish the books I have listed in my spreadsheet (not all of them are on March's TBR list, but will probably be read throughout the month) I will have read 15525 pages worth of words so far in 2016.  

Anyway, here are the things I intend on getting read during the month of March 2016....

1. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira - Started 2/29/16 - 336 pgs

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Started 2/29/16 - 336 pgs

3. Trigger Warnings: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman - 310 pgs

4. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin - 355 pgs

5. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - 901 pgs

6. Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten - 336 pgs

7. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - 359 pgs

8. The Number 7 by Jessica Lidh - 272 pgs

9. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee - 278 pgs

10. The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdleh - 395 pgs

The following books will be supplemented to my TBR and may at times take precedence to those that are either from the library or those that I own, because they were given to me by authors to review: 

1. Assassin's Lament by Michael Cairns - 329 pgs

2. Ninja Zombie killers I by Michael Cairns - 242 pgs

3. Locked Inside by Annette Mori - 199 pgs

The following will also be supplemented and find places among this month's TBR because I'd lapsed in getting these read and reviews posted and I do owe it to the authors to finally get these reviews posted (and often it will require re-reading the book)...

1. Banished Love by Ramona Flightner - 289 pgs

.2. Death's Servant by C.J. Ellisson - 119 pgs

3. A Silent Prayer by Samreen Ahsan - 339 pgs

4. Darkness Watching by Emma L. Adams - 207 pgs

5. Just Beneath the Surface I by R.H. Ramsey - 217 pgs

6. Landon's Story by R.H. Ramsey - 292 pgs.

I have been slacking on my reviews, and I do hope to remedy that and ultimately catch up to the place where I have all the books that are listed in my Completed list, but lacking actual links are done.  So to do that, I am hoping to have on top of all the weekly fun posts throughout the month at least two to three reviews posted daily here on the blog.  I don't want to overwhelm, so they will be at staggered times throughout the day if I do more than three per day.  So, check back often for reviews and weekly goodies!  

BotW: 1/3-1/9: Welcome to 2016!

So, this week's book of the week has actually been in my possession since November I think.  I got it as an early Christmas gift, and well, have been saving it for 2016, as one of my first books of the year.  I will probably be starting it within the next 2-3 days after I finish the small stack I have from the library.  

I have greatly been looking forward to this book, and it was originally on the top of my wish list, but has now been removed at least in paperback copy (I'd kill for a hardback as well, simply because I'm like that).  Trust me, there will be a review on this one forth coming!  So, are you all curious yet? 

Here is this week's Book of the Week! 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

I am seriously, and one hundred percent anxious to read this book.  I am amazed at myself to have the willpower that I did to hold off on reading it for about 2 months!  Though, to be honest, I've had The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon in my hands for almost 7 months and haven't read it yet (don't judge me!).  

Seriously? Isn't this cover ABSOLUTELY amazing?! I am in love with the intricate detailing around the edges.  I also happen to adore the genre.  Contemporary has given me some serious feels as of late, and I have a feeling that this one will definitely require at least a momentary delve into my box of tissues.  

Here is a bit about this fantastic book if you've not heard anything about it (or have been living under a rock).  

1. Aristotle is an angry teen, whose brother is in prison. 
2. Dante is a know-it-all...with an unusual way of looking at the world. 
3. They are both loners. 
4. Absolutely wonderful things happen when these two loners start spending time with each other! 

Yeah, definitely starting this one very, very soon! 

December: To-be-read and Current Reads

Okay. 

Okay. 

I know it is December 10th, and I SHOULD have had this posted ten days ago.  I've been a touch busy, so shoot me! Also I'll be updating the list over there *points to the TBR list on the right* with all these books as well so don't get crazy on me! 

Anyway, as usual, my TBR pile for this month is quite long, as I intend on closing out the year with a BANG! Anyone surprised by this? Considering the amount of books I manage to read in a year?! Oh yeah, I'm working on that post to, along with a few other goodies for you guys! So, anyway...

This picture of course, does not include digital books, but those will be in the list below...I promise. 

1. I'll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson

2. The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

3. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

4. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

5. Etiquitte and Espionage by Gail Carriger

6. The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas by John Boyne 

7. The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

8. Destined by P.C. Cast & Kirstin Cast

9. Hidden by P.C. Cast & Kirstin Cast

10. Asylum by Madeline Roux (Kindle)

As per usual, I am reading more than one book at a time.  This, by now, should not surprise anyone.  One is usually digital, the other physical - right now, this is no exception. 

Current Reads include: 

1. Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

2. Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales edited by Marissa Marr & Tim Pratt

What are some awesome books on your TBR pile for the end of the year? 

What's On My Kindle: Unsorted Part 2

This week's What's on My Kindle? is venturing back into my unsorted categories (yes, since the last one this particular sorting location has multiplied...I blame my one-click addiction with freebies, and various gift cards for birthdays, Christmas, etc.)

I've been working hard in the last month and a half to break into some of these novels, short stories, erotic moments in the unsorted categories on my kindle, and ultimately get them sorted into categories (even if it is the challenge category for this year or any subsequent year).  For now, I will be showcasing a few more books from that category.  Enjoy!

1.) The Gingerbread Man - Maggie Shayne

When did I actually get this book...umm..*flees to check amazon purchase log...* August 15, 2013...Yup, it's been sitting on my kindle nearly 2 years...and have I read it? NOPE!  Never even cracked it open.  Will I?  Quite possibly in the near or not so near future, but it will get read at some point...just like everything else on my Kindle.

This is a mystery/thriller novel, that focuses around Detective Vincent O'Mally.  When he finds two missing children dead, the FBI has taken over the case and O'Mally takes time off going to upstate New York.  While he's there he meets a woman whose sister had been abducted and murdered.  O'Mally believes that death of Holly Newman's sister is tied to the two missing children that had been found and begins attempting to gain information from Holly.

2.) Quantum Shaman: Diary of a Nagual Woman by Della Van Hise

Another one that I'd purchased 2 years ago (though I think it might have fallen into a spree of one-click freebie purchases, I don't entirely remember!).  Purchase date is the same as The Gingerbread Man, and I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this title, other than the fact that it was free.  Though, now that I read over the blurb again, I originally had thought it interesting and perhaps it will be when I get around to reading it.

Diary of a Nagual Woman is the compelling story of one woman’s journey on the path with heart. A personal and chilling confrontation with the very nature of life and death, which brings the reader face to face with the shaman’s double: the immortal & mysterious Other who takes on a life of his own, & manifests the key to unlocking our own evolution of consciousness. 

3,) Choking on a Camel by Michal Anne McArthur

This one has officially been on my kindle for 2 years, and I've not cracked it open, or even considered cracking it open though the title does amuse me.  I am usually not a fan of Christian fiction/religious fiction in general, so what made me actually one-click this book I'm not entirely sure - though I think it may have been the title.

I've learned that some of the one-clicks are a hit-or-miss with the writing/story/etc.  So, I will be giving this one a try, and if I like it yay, if not then it will be time I cannot get back, but it will be another book read.

So, here is a bit of the blurb:

In the spring of 1969, Alex Ferguson’s fiancé breaks their engagement. A strong Calvinist, he’s stung by Alex’s sharp questions about predestination, determinism, and the eternal damnation of non-Christians, ideas that horrify Alex.
On June 20, 1969, Alex is forced to face her questions again when her atheist brother is killed in an accident. To think of her beloved younger brother in eternal torment is more than she can handle. Who is God, that He should predestine people to damnation? Her emotions start to unravel.
She returns for her senior year to her fundamentalist university in the heart of the smoldering, still largely segregated South, her mind burning with questions. She’s always been a devout believer, but now she’s not so sure she can continue in her faith. Under intense pressure from the school, outwardly she conforms, but inwardly, she’s seething. She lives a double life to cover up how she really feels. She wrestles with a God she wants to love, maybe hates, and definitely doesn’t understand.

4.) The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld by Christine Wiltz

Purchase date: May 12, 2013...Yup, another one sitting there for over 2 years.  This is why I cannot have nice things.  This is further proof that I will never, ever, ever get to the bottom of my TBR pile.  Seriously, I have a problem.  This I know.

However, I do know what drew me to this one.  I'm a sucker for a good memoir, a good biography.  This is just that.  This is the story of Nora Wallace who arrived in New Orleans in 1916 at age fifteen and had quickly gone from streetwalker to madam, and by 1920 had her own house of prostitution.  Clientele included governors, gangsters and movie stars.  She was arrested in 1962.   Christine Wiltz used the tapes recorded by Norma Wallace before her death in 1972, and her own research to write this thrilling account of the woman's life, as well as grants us another look into the social history of New Orleans.

5.) Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Purchase date: March 12, 2013...birthday gift card two years ago.  I am not entirely sure what else was purchased with that gift card and if I'd read the rest of the books that had been purchased...but this one apparently has been allowed to remain dormant in my unsorted category since I purchased it.  This one, I do have plans to start as soon as I am done with my current book, so it will soon be sorted!

I'd purchased this one because so many of my friends on Goodreads had provided rave reviews and had sent me countless recommendations for it.  So, once my gift card had come in for my birthday I made it one of my purchases and it got buried under everything else I'd read that year and the year after and apparently most of what I'd read this year so far. 

What books are on your TBR pile that you've not gotten to in a couple of years?

Book of the Week: May 31-June 6

Each week I will feature a book that I have read, that I want to read, that I own, or that I want to own (because face it, will I EVER be able to read all the books I own? Not likely).

The book of the week for May 31-June 6 is:

Yes, yes, I'm getting there!  Don't rush me...and no you can't talk to me while I'm reading it either! 

The 5th Wave (The Fifth Wave #1)- Rick Yancy

I have had this book on my Kindle for sometime (so long in fact that I forgot I owned it) and it has been sitting in my Unsorted category (the original unsorted one) and I think I might actually get to it this month since I've made it my mission for the rest of the year to read the books that are in my unsorted category and sort them - even if it means only sorting them into the 2015 Challenge category on my Kindle.  They will still be sorted! 

This book caught my interest because I've always had a soft spot for science fiction, and dystopian novels.  This covers pretty much ALL of that in one fell swoop.  So I am fairly certain that I will love every minute of this book, and because it's a book of the week I will do my best to actually get up a review of it once I get around to reading it.  

What's On My Kindle? Series Overload part 2

Welcome to the newest edition of What's On My Kindle?

Series, trilogies, and collections! Love them.  Can't get enough of them.  I enjoy them as much as I enjoy stand alone novels.  Here are some of the series that I wish to get to on my Kindle, some of which I have already read, but will be getting back to.   Like this month I will be re-reading The Hunger Games, I will be working to get my hands on the newest book in Veronica Roth's Divergent series (NO SPOILERS!), and may be starting something new, or returning to an old favorite epic fantasy, or finishing up the Black Dagger Brotherhood (through the ones that I have).

This month, I will be re-reading this series because Catching Fire premieres in theaters on the 23rd of this month and I want to see it! Seriously want to see it! This series is seriously one of my favorite and I will constantly be willing to going back to this series.  The interaction between the characters, the tension within the heroine and the villain. It is also one of those that will always make me cry at certain points.  I've seen the first movie, and I've read all three books, but as always I will re-read them before seeing Catching Fire.  

Okay, who doesn't want George R.R. Martin to write faster damn it? I am among those who are desperately waiting for him to release book number 6, The Winds of Winter.  I want to know what happens damn it, and the television series is already starting to pull from book five, which means soon they will not have enough material to ensure the series continues along with the books.  But, these are some of my favorite stories to read and despite the fact that Mister Martin happens to kill of everyone of his characters that I enjoy, I will always read it.  

Divergent, this series is a Young Adult Dystopian and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Seriously.  The stories spun by Veronica Roth are some of my absolute favorite.  All of it, I have not yet found anything not to love with this series.  I laugh, I cry, and I have the urge to pitch the books across the room.  I've not yet gotten my hands on book three in the series, as it just recently came out, but I will be getting my hands on a copy soon! I really, really will! 

What's On My Kindle? New Acquisitions Part 2

Welcome to the twelth installment of What's On My Kindle?

What exactly is What's On My Kindle?  This is my own little thing that I am going to be getting out every Sunday.  Within this post I'll list a few of the books that are currently on my TBR list on my Kindle.  Some are freebies (or were when I bought them), and others I paid for with gift cards, or had a few spare bucks to spend on a book.

All of them, I fully intend on getting to, at some point (and taking a massive chisel to my to-read list and hopefully hack it down to under 1000, again).

The newest book published by Michael Cargill, I have in both e-book format and in physical format.  Cargill is a fantastic author, and his blog is fantastic to read.  This British author is by far one of my favorites and I was lucky to receive a free copy of this book in paperback.  Currently he has the book available for free download on Smashwords.  You can find the coupon code on his current blog post.  I highly recommend this read, as well as anything else on his list that you can find! 

A Kindle freebie that is now waiting patiently on my Kindle to be read.  This will be the first Boshoff that I've read, so there will definitely be a review to follow once I finally get to it, and get it sorted to where it belongs.  

This new young adult dystopian novel by Scott Cramer is one that caught my attention, mainly by the cover.  It was a Kindle Freebie, and I am looking forward to reading it.  YA is one of my favorite genres to read and I am also a sucker for good dystopian novel.  This is also the first book in The Toucan Trilogy, so hopefully it will be a series that I will want to sink my teeth into and not let go.