Wrap Ups & Hauls

Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/14 – 11/20/16

Amanda @Cover2CoverMom

wwu11-20

Happy Sunday my bookish friends!

Winter like temperatures have finally come to Ohio.  If you want to know how crazy Ohio weather is, it was 75 degrees on Friday, but today it is 35 degrees out…my sinuses are not amused.

I had a great week both reading wise and blogging wise!  I managed to finish up 3 books and start on a few more.  I published my first ever discussion post (bookish babble), which is about the stereotypes of a bookworm.  I also posted my review of The Female of the Species, a 5 star YA read for me, which if you know me does NOT happen often.

Let’s see what else I had going on this week…

*Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly post where I feature what posts were published on the blog for the past week, any bookish/blog happenings, noteworthy posts around the bookish blogosphere, what I recently finished reading, what I am currently reading, and what I will be reading next.

This week on the blog:

Tuesday 11/15

tttbookstobigscreen

Top Ten Tuesday: Books to the Big Screen

Wednesday 11/16

jamesclydereview

Kids’ Corner: Book Review of James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra by Colm McElwain

Thursday 11/17

thefemofthespec

Book Review: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Friday 11/18

bbthestereotypicalbookwormBookish Babble: Bookworm Stereotypes

Bookish/Blog happenings:

I am excited to announce that I will be hosting my first ever giveaway here on the blog!  Stay tuned for a post with the details TOMORROW 11/21.  Unfortunately, this is going to be a U.S only giveaway 😦  I was looking into shipping costs to see if I was going to be able to do an international giveaway, but I had no idea the INSANE amount of money it would cost to ship a 1lb book internationally.  I mean, it would be cheaper for me to buy a plane ticket and just bring the book there myself!  Sorry to all my friends outside of the U.S, which is the majority of my friends…Please don’t hate me.

Around the blogosphere:

I decided that I am going to start highlighting noteworthy posts that I see around the blogosphere from my fellow book bloggers.  Here are a few posts that I read over the previous week or so that I felt were memorable…

» Kirstie @Upside-Down Books gives us a few gift ideas for the upcoming holidays → Upside-Down Book’s 2016 Christmas Gift Guide

» Reg @She Latitude shares some tips for managing your time as a blogger → Time Management for Bloggers

» Ashleigh @A Frolic Through Fiction suggests some rainy day reads → Rainy Day Reads: Recommendations of books to read when the weather is dismal & your inner bookworm can shine

» Drew @The Tattooed Book Geek  discusses annoying tropes in fantasy → Annoying Tropes in Fantasy: A humorous perusal of overused tropes in my favorite genre

» Fadwa @Word Wonders ponders why book reviews are the least popular posts → My Thesis on Review Unpopularity

» Megan @bookslayerReads shares some of the bloggers that inspire her → Bloggers I find Inspirational – Pt. 1

» Jackie @Death by Tsundoku writes a guest post about why indigenous authors of Hawaii are important → Shout Out and Shameless Plug

» Kirsty @Kirsty and the Cat Read creates an original new book tag → Mulan Book Tag

» Margot @Lectito discuses the pros and cons of managing your blogs mailing list → The Pros and Cons of Managing Your Blog’s Mailing List (And Is It Worth the Hassle?)

Recently finished reading:

» The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

theundergroundrailroadAmazon • Goodreads

5-Star Rating System

I can see why The Underground Railroad won the National Book Award for 2016.

» The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O’Brien

thevaultofdreamersAmazon • Goodreads

5-Star Rating System

*3.5 stars

This was actually a solid YA science fiction.   I thought the concept of “mining” dreams was absolutely fascinating.

» Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

aristotleanddanteAmazon • Goodreads

5-Star Rating System

*3.5/4 stars

I am on the fence between 3/4 stars.  Don’t get me wrong, I thought this was a beautiful book about self discovery, HOWEVER the pacing for the first 60% of the book was far too slow.

Currently reading:

» The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

thegirlfromeverywhere

Amazon • Goodreads

» The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

 theoceanattheendofthelaneAmazon • Goodreads

On deck:

» The Girls by Emma Cline

thegirlsAmazon • Goodreads

How was your week?

What are you currently reading?

What will you read next?

Have a wonderful week, and happy reading:)

Published by Amanda @Cover2CoverMom

Amanda is a 33 year-old who was born and bred in Ohio. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children aged 14 and 7. She is a part-time youth services librarian and currently pursuing her MLIS. When not juggling family, work, and grad school, she enjoys reading, being outdoors, and fitness.

38 thoughts on “Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/14 – 11/20/16”

  2. Wow, you had such a wonderful reading week, darling! =D Keep up with the good work! Despite what you think of me, I’ve only read 5 books this month thus far (and one was a 60 pages short story), haha! I think you’ll put me back on my human place this month, Amanda!! Also, loved the highlighted posts! ❤

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  4. Three books this week! That’s amazing! Thank you for the shout out! Be on the lookout for Part 2 of Bloggers I Find Inspirational. I’m excited for your giveaway! And yes, international shipping is insanely expensive. I didn’t realize that until I started blogging.

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      1. Hey, that’s better than my total for the whole month! Lol! Luckily, my reading slump is ending. Slowly but surely. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  5. For future giveaways, you may want to use The Book Depository or Wordery to ship internationally. But that requires you to buy the book from their website. So they’re not very useful if you want to ship a book you already own!
    Glad to hear you liked Underground Railroad. I will be sure to prioritize it in my early 2017 TBR.

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    1. Oooo thank you for the tip! The giveaway I am doing now is actually a book I got signed, so I am shipping it out. I think I may do another one around Christmas time, and I really want to include all my international friends, so using The Book Depository would be great!

      You would love The Underground Railroad Naz! It is very powerful. It is much more real then other accounts of slavery I’ve read before. I think every white person should read this book.

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  6. Hahaha Oh, international packages… So far, I’ve done them all international and it surprised me that it actually cost me less to send a book to the US than to somwhere in Europe. I didn’t understand why XD

    Anyway, happy week and great shoutout!!!

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    1. Thanks Annie! That is crazy! Aren’t you in Spain? It’s cheaper to send it over an entire ocean?

      I’m hoping to do an international giveaway during Christmas time ❤️ Sorry to leave you out of this one 😢

      Have a wonderful week too!!😘

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  8. Thanks for sharing my post, Amanda! And my feelings about Aristotle and Dante mirror yours somewhat: definitely a beautiful book, but the pacing (and the writing, in my case) didn’t really work. I also have The Girl from Everywhere on my TBR, but I’m currently reading The Serpent King and Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series! Hope you have a great week ahead. 🙂

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    1. I’m glad it wasn’t just me.

      I am really enjoying The Girl From Everywhere! Definitely a unique concept: time traveling by maps. It also has a great cast of diverse characters!

      I will be looking forward to your review of The Serpent King! I’ve seen rave reviews for it.

      Happy Reading 😊

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  9. Thanks for the shout out, Amanda! I really appreciate it. Now I’ll have to up my game and make certain I continue to be memorable. 😉
    I’m sorry Aristotle and Dante didn’t quite work for you. I can definitely understand how you might have experienced pacing issues. As we’ve discussed before, *when* you read a book is just as important as *what* you are reading.
    I also can’t wait for your review of The Underground Railroad! I haven’t read any reviews yet, which is a shame. But I definitely want to hear your take on it.

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    1. You are always memorable Jackie!

      I definitely enjoyed Aristotle and Dante. I’m sure this book was relatable to so many people. I haven’t had this particular internal struggle of self discovery, but I LOVED how it gave me an glimpse into this struggle. This story is so beautiful. I would say the first 60% of the book was a 3-star read for me, but the last 40% was a 5-star read… hence my struggle with a rating. When I’m writing my review is usually when I sort out my feelings better, so I’ll figure it out then lol

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  10. Besides the weather which btw is mirroring that of NYC…seems like you had a very productive week Amanda 😃💕 I loved your 1st discussion post & I’m definitely feeling motivated for mine whenever that will be lol. I’m looking forward to your thoughts on The Girls when you get to it 🙂

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  11. Sounds like you’ve been having a good time all round. Shipping books internationally is definitely a surprise! I certainly wouldn’t hold that against you – the last time I shipped a book to somebody I might as well have sent them the new book from the Book Depository!
    I’m currently reading The Wolf Road which is absolutely compelling.
    Lynn 😀

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    1. I think I’m going to do an international giveaway around Christmas time and just purchase the book through TBD… seems like the best option for everyone involved lol

      I look forward to your review then! I’ve seen great reviews for The Wolf Road!

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  13. Ah man, you’ve been reading a whole bunch of books that I really want to get around to soon. (Oh and don’t mind me popping in here almost a week late. NaNo has made me procrastinate quite literally every area of my life. I’m a terrible human being.)

    That’s so exciting that you’re doing a giveaway! I’ll try not to throw too many tomatoes at you for not doing it internationally (I’m kidding, shipping is hell incarnate. You should try living in Aus). And excuse me whilst I go and absolutely every one of those links because damn those posts sound interesting – I MEAN, THERE’S A MULAN BOOK TAG.

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  14. Pingback: Celebrating The Little Things Tag – Bookshelves and Biros

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