Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's topic: Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR List.  So hard to know for sure what I'm going to read but this is my tentative list:

1.  Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness - I've been impatiently waiting for this book ever since I read the first book in this series!!

2.  The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - sometimes it's nice to read about the cold when it's sweltering!

3.  Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - I've heard lots of good things so I'm excited to read this!

4.  The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites - I need some historical fiction in my life!

5.  Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Btown Booksters next read!)

6.  Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen - the cover alone sold me :)

7.  The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman - recommended by Anne over at The Book Garden and I can't wait to read it!

8.  Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly - this one's been on my TBR for too long!

9.  Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop - recommended by the always reliable Jen at Introverted Reader.

10.  Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty - perfect for reading by the pool!

Chicago Funtimes!

View from the architecture tour!

Mini-Vacay!

Hey guys!  I'm heading out to spend some time with my family up in the suburbs of Chicago.  Then, later on in the week the hubs and I are meeting up with some friends downtown.  We're going to go to one of my fave restaurants, Greek Islands, for some amazing grub!  We're also gonna be touristy and do the Chicago architecture boat tour (which I've never done before).

We're finishing up the weekend festivities with some tailgating and a Chicago Fire game!!  I'll be kind of MIA on the blog for the rest of the week but I'll be sure to get lots of reading accomplished.  The hubs and I will be listening to Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened on the drive up (we've already put a sizeable dent in this audiobook and it is HILARIOUS)!  Also, I just received an advance copy of Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness via NetGalley which I'm soooo excited for and will definitely be reading!  Have a great rest of the week/weekend everyone!!

Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's topic: Top Ten Beach Reads.  I've already made a list of beach reads last year, so now I need to think of some new books that are perfect for reading out in the sun!

1.  For Austen fans who don't mind a bit of magic: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

2.  For contemporary YA lovers: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (or anything by Dessen for that matter).

3.  For people who want to towel-travel fantasy style:  Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

4.  For those who like to read a little romance by the pool: anything by Kristan Higgins (but especially All I Ever Wanted, Until There Was You, and Catch of the Day).

5.  For those who enjoy genre-benders: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (Sci-Fi/Historical/Comedy of Errors).

6.  For people who want a good chuckle: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

7.  For epic fantasty lovers: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

8.  For those who want to read an awesome book. Period.  The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

9.  For readers who want some adventure in their YA:  The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

10.  For people who want a fun series to read:  The Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine

Monday Memes

 

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  We share books that we've read over the past week and those we hope to read this week.  

Last Week:

Last week I finished the AMAZING Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and have slowly been making headway on Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.

This Week:
I would like to get to The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites, Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen and/or The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.  Yikes, LOTS of library books to get to this week!

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Mailbox Monday is a touring meme where book bloggers share their bookish acquisitions from the week prior.  It is hosted this month by Burton Book Review.  This week I received some really exciting books!

For Review:
Soulbound by Heather Brewer (ARC courtesy of Penguin)

Purchased:
The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher (yay for our Library's bookstore!)

A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin

Latest Review: Code Name Verity

Gahhhh!  Awesomely capable female heroines, WWII military bad-assery, PLUS twists and turns galore - Code Name Verity is a serious gem!

Goodreads Summary:
I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

My thoughts:  
Code Name Verity is another fave of 2012!  At first the book starts off a bit slow as you are reading the narrator "Queenie's" confession/story of her time working for the British War Effort.  After reading for a bit the reader realizes that they're missing something...Queenie's confession isn't quite what it seems.  I had several theories as to what I thought was going on and each of them was completely wrong!

The second half of the novel is written from a completely different perspective (that's all I'll say in order to keep this review unspoilery) and reveals all sorts of twists and turns.  Just as an FYI - you will shed a few tears (at least, I did) but they are well worth it! 

Recommended to those who enjoy well-researched historical fiction (especially WWII stories) and to those who like tales focusing on strong women and female friendship.  

4.5/5 stars

*Disclosure: received a copy from NetGalley for review.

BEA: Ask the Experts

This week in New York City the annual BEA is taking place!  For all the book bloggers who can't make the trip there is "Armchair BEA."  If you want to learn more about Armchair BEA head over to their website here.

 

Today's topic: Ask The Experts. "In your post, ask the visitors to your blog for blogging advice. What did you always want to know about blogging but were afraid to ask? Now is the time!"

Okay, my one question that I'm a bit hesitant to ask is: How do you guys get to all of your review books?  I don't really request very many ARCs yet I still have trouble getting to them along with all of the other books I want to read for the year.  Also, I see other bloggers with HUGE stacks of ARCs each week in their mailbox and think to myself "how in the world do they get to all of those?"  Do you actually read EVERY ARC you request or do some get left behind?  Do you guys have any tips for ensuring you get to your request books?  I was thinking maybe creating some sort of review schedule might be helpful.  Anyways, I had a lot of fun reading everyone's Armchair BEA posts and I hope that the bloggers that physically went to BEA had an amazing time!

Top Ten Tuesday: Foodie Fiction TBR

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's topic: (Choose your own) Foodie Fiction TBR. After talking about my Foodie Fiction February segment yesterday, I decided to make a list of potential foodie reads for next year's event!  I've read quite a bit of foodie fiction already but if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know!

1.  The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones

2.  Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood

3.  The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

4.  Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War by Annia Ciezadlo

5.  Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie

6.  Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber

7.  The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

8.  The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

9.  Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

10.  The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

Armchair BEA - Intro Post!

This week in New York City the annual BEA is taking place!  For all the book bloggers who can't make the trip there is "Armchair BEA."  This is the first time I'm taking part in this fun event and I'm super excited!  First up, bloggers must introduce themselves by answering several questions.  If you want to learn more about Armchair BEA head over to their website here.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

Hi y'all!  My name is Kat and I live in lovely Bloomington, IN (home of the IU Hoosiers!) with my tall, dark, and handsome hubby and two adorable pups.  I've been blogging since 2010 but only really got into book blogging since 2011.  I decided to start book blogging because I had finished up grad school in the spring of 2010 and wanted to get back to my love of reading.  I thought blogging about it would be a really fun adventure and so far I'm loving it!

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

My favorite book that I've read so far in 2012 is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.  It's a retelling of the Iliad that's a really well written page-turner.  Feel free to check out my review!

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

Hmmm...I feel like I've let quite a few tidbits of my life leak into my blog.  I've shared photos of my puppy, my husband, and even my crafts.  So, how about this:
My feet are ridiculously accident-prone. A piece of wood floor splintered into my foot while I was sliding across the floor (let this be a cautionary tale to all you floor-sliders). I have also stepped on a thorn, a nail, and a sewing needle.

What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?

I've always really enjoyed participating in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  Also, I had a really fun time creating Foodie Fiction February for my blog - I think I'll do it again next year!

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

Oh, absolutely!  I've been reading much more YA than I used to (as I follow some really great YA blogs that keep convincing me to add new books to my TBR list) and I also have been reading a bit more fantasy than I normally would (again thanks to recommendations from the blogging community).

To get introduced to more book bloggers be sure to stop by Armchair BEA!

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a touring meme where book bloggers share their bookish acquisitions from the week prior.  It is hosted this month by Sassy Brit.  This week I received some fantastic books!

For Review:
The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams - courtesy of Hyperion Voice

Purchased: 
The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman - I had to buy this one as it came highly recommended by Anne over at The Book Garden!

Jubilee Giveaway Blog Hop

I'm taking part in the Jubilee Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Curiosity Killed the Bookworm!  My giveaway is open internationally - so everyone join in the fun!

 

This giveaway ends on June 5th so hurry up and add your entry to the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post!  The winner will receive their choice of one title from the books I've read recently:

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Partials by Dan Wells

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TGIF!

Ginger over at GReads created this fantastic TGIF meme featuring a question and a weekly recap. 

This Friday's Question:

Issue Books: Which books have you found to be very rewarding when it comes to tackling tougher issues?  

When I saw this question, I immediately thought of the recent Btown Booksters read We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. 

This book dealt with some really tough issues and was increasingly difficult to read because of the creepy subject matter.  Still, it was a haunting novel filled with unforeseen twists that stays with you long after you finish the last page.  We Need to Talk About Kevin deals with issues of female identity and motherhood, parenting problems, conditional love, and atrocious acts of violence. 

Also, I recently finished Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews and it totally creeped me out.  For those who don't know, it's a book about parental neglect/abuse, greed, religious fervor, and incest.  It's considered a cult classic YA novel, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I've read books that have had elements of incest in them before (weird but true) but this one disturbed me a bit more...perhaps because it's a novel meant for teenagers?  I was actually okay with Flowers in the Attic after finishing it but curiosity lead me to seek out what happens in the subsequent books of the series (as I wasn't planning on continuing) and yikes!  Has anyone else read Flowers in the Attic?  What were your thoughts?

Anyways, I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend - I know I will since I'm a bridesmaid in the wedding of my two good friends on Saturday.  Yay, so excited!