Hey everyone! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. Since it’s been so long since I’ve posted, and even longer since I’ve posted a Stacking the Shelves (since July — whaaaaat?!), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share the books I got as Christmas gifts. My friends and family know me well. 🙂 Bookworms are easy to buy for, after all.

SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys: Salt to the Sea ranks as my #1 favorite book I read this year. Ruta Sepetys books just get better and better. This book follows four European teenagers in 1945, as they all vie for passage aboard a ship that helps refugees escape. (I read the book through the first time while I was on a cruise. You could say the experience really came alive for me, haha!) Prepare to have your heart shredded to pieces and stomped all over. I already had a copy, but my mom got me a new *signed* copy. Be still my beating bookworm heart. Here’s hoping one day I can meet Ruta in person and have it personalized. 🙂 (Read my review here.)

PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG by Anne Blankman: AHHHHH this book. I read this last month, and can’t rave about it enough. This is a 1930’s murder mystery following Hitler’s “golden girl,” a fictional character named Gretchen who is one of Adolf Hitler (or as she calls him, “Uncle Dolf”)’s inner circle. Of course, once she falls in love with a Jewish reporter, her whole world flips upside down. The character development was flawless, plot twists were gut-wrenching, and character development was beautiful. READ IT. (Read my review here.)

THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE by Diane Ackerman: I first heard of this one when I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie. If you haven’t seen the previews, watch it and then go get your copy. I can’t wait to start reading it. The Zookeeper’s Wife is the true story of a woman who hid Jews in – you guessed it, a zoo – during WWII. Every time I re-watch the trailer I get more excited for it.

WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin: If you haven’t caught onto a pattern in these books yet, here’s a secret: this is another WWII book. Well, sort of. Wolf by Wolf begs the question: what if the Nazis had won the war? I read this last spring and was blown away. Yael is a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, part of a secret society in a 1950s alternate universe wherein Hitler still lives. This story (which is the first in a series) follows Yael as she uses her shape shifting abilities (thanks to Nazi experimentation) to get close enough to Adolf Hitler to kill him. Are you dying to read it yet? I’m itching to get the next book, which was just published last month, but went ahead and bought a paper back copy of the first one to look pretty on my shelf! (Read my review here.)

BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott: Okay, okay, this is not another WWII one. If you’re a writer and haven’t heard of Bird by Bird, you’re probably living under a large rock. I’ve been wanting to read it for years, but always wanted my own copy so I could make notes in the margins. (What’s a how-to/guide book if it doesn’t have notes? I’m addicted to my highlighters.) I’ve been reading the first few chapters, and I have mixed feelings about Lamott’s bluntness. Bird by Bird is different than other writing books I’ve read because it’s kind of dry and cynical about writing. I still want to write down every other sentence to remember though!

READER’S DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS, VOLUME 4 (1981): My cousin bought me a gorgeous 1981 edition of Reader’s Digest stories. Mostly it’s just to look pretty on my shelf (I mean, LOOK AT IT, ahh), but hopefully I’ll get around to reading the short stories inside soon.

JANE AUSTEN: FOUR CLASSIC NOVELS: I asked my mom for this copy, not because I didn’t already have individual copies of the four Jane Austen books in this edition, but because… again, LOOK AT IT. I was pretty much drooling in Barnes & Noble when I saw it. My bookshelf looks ten times prettier now, honest.

CHALLENGER DEEP by Neal Shusterman: To be honest, I really have no clue what this is about. But since Izel and Brooke picked it out for me, I’m positive it’s good. A few reviews I’ve read have told me that the book is about a boy with a mental illness, so half the book is the character’s real life and the other half is his imagination. The premise sounds extremely fascinating. The cover alone (which was designed by the author’s son – cool!) is enough to have my interest piqued.

Now, as I’m sure you’re all eagerly anticipating, it’s time for a GIVEAWAY! In celebration of the end of the year, and in thanks to all of you for sticking with my blog (seriously, talking to you readers makes my day. Even when I don’t post for weeks, I get messages from you guys all the time and appreciate every word you send me!), I’m giving away a hardback of my favorite book I read in 2016: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
1. You may enter the giveaway from December 27 2016 – January 10 2017.
2. I will email the winner to notify them that they have won. If they do not respond to the email within 48 hours, I will choose a different winner.
3. The giveaway is open to US residents only.
4. I reserve the right to disqualify any entry if I find that anyone is not following the rules accordingly or is cheating the system (rafflecopter.)
5. I am not responsible for stolen or lost packages.
6. I will require the winner’s address so I can ship the book.

Enter below! Go, go, go!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the giveaway! Love you guys,

So, this whole “reading” thing isn’t going well for me. I read two books in June. Both re-reads. *shields eyes in shame* For the past month, everything has just looked so unappealing. But! There is hope. I put three books on hold at the library and I’m very much looking forward to getting them. Fingers crossed they don’t disappoint. In the meantime, despite my lack of reading lately, acquiring books is a whole different story.

The majority of the stack are school-required books for my ninth grade year. (Next month! The summer flew by!) The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, Billy Bud, Sailor & Other Stories by Herman Melville, Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Born Again by Charles Colson. These are just a few, and I’m really excited to have so many classics to read this year. (Though I’m sure halfway through I’ll have a meltdown and get all stressed about finishing them in time. Yay, school… heh heh.)

The rest are free-time fun reads that I will *hopefully* finish in a timely manner and enjoy. I’m still waiting for my reading slump break-through…

MINIATURES AND MORALS: THE CHRISTIAN NOVELS OF JANE AUSTEN by Peter J. Leithart: I’m not too far in, but I am so enjoying this! Peter Leithart dissects Jane Austen’s writing in a truly fascinating and thoughtful way. This is from the synopsis: “From theological and literary angles, Leithart analyzes character and theme while summarizing each of Austen’s major works.” Jane is one of my favorite classic authors and this book really highlights the talent of her genius literature – beyond “bonnets and nineteenth-century romance.”

SECOND CHANCE SUMMER by Morgan Matson: If I had to recommend *one* contemporary romance perfect for summertime… it would be this. I’m a huge Morgan Matson fan (I’m meeting her in just a few weeks!) but this is definitely my favorite book of hers. I love the focus on Taylor’s family and the lakefront setting puts me in such a happy summery mood. And the romance. It’s clean, innocent, and so sweet you’ll get a cavity. Fair warning: the ending is bittersweet. Prepare yourself with tissues.

BLACK DOVE WHITE RAVEN by Elizabeth Wein: Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire are award-winning-classic-school-required-worthy-well-researched masterpieces. I can’t go on about them enough! Elizabeth Wein is an author worthy of having the phrase “It’s a Wein book and it’s flawless. But what did you expect?” become famous. But… I’m not feeling this one as much as I do CNV and RUF. Maybe it’s because her other two historical fictions are set in WWII, which I’m much more partial to. Maybe it’s because her characters in previous books were more relatable to me. I’m a hundred pages in and though the story line is good, I can’t help but feel a bit let down. After Code Name Verity, can she pull off another masterpiece?

PIPPI LONGSTOCKING by Astrid Lindgren: Well well well, what do we have here? Pippi Longstocking is a childhood favorite of mine; one I first read in the summertime, so it coincides a lot with my summer memories. I typically borrow this gem from the library every year around this time, and finally bought myself a copy. Isn’t this edition adorable?

I also got an e-book and audio book that I want to talk about before I forget!

THE CANDYMAKERS AND THE GREAT CHOCOLATE CASE by Wendy Mass: In elementary school, I was Wendy Mass’ biggest fan. I ate up The Candymakers (ha, ha) and now, six years later, she’s back with a sequel! It hits shelves August 2 and I was lucky enough to get an e-ARC. I’m thinking I’ll try to re-read the first since it’s been many years and then onto the sequel. Let’s hope it does ten-year-old Emily’s favorite stand alone book justice. 😉

OPEN ROAD SUMMER by Emery Lord: Yay for summery contemporaries! Confession: I only bought this audio book because Morgan Matson said she liked it. And Morgan Matson is queen of summery contemporaries so read it I shall. Two chapters in and the MC is a little annoying but we’ll see how it goes.

What books have you acquired recently? Read any of these? Any advice to push through my slump??

Apologies for the lack of posts and commenting lately! Life has been so crazy – the summer is set to be as well – but I’m here with a fabulous stack for you guys today. I’m really actually proud of it, because all of these books are supposed to be positively adorable and I’ve got a bad case of summer fever. (And what better cure than a contemporary romance? ALL THE FLUFF!)

Starting from the bottom up…

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir: If you haven’t heard of this book yet, I’m fairly certain you’re living under a very large rock. I’m honestly not sure if I’m going to get around to reading it since I’ve been having a hard time pushing through anything but a light contemporary (which this is most definitely not.) According to Goodreads, An Ember in the Ashes is a brutal dystopian/sci-fi adventure/heart-stopping/romance/war-torn world/all that happy jazz story inspired by ancient Rome and I’ve heard great things.

Okay now for the fluffy stuff. Seriously. so fluffy and light i’m gonna die.

SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE by Morgan Matson: Prepare yourself for alll the Morgan Matsons. She’s not the first author I’d pick up off a shelf but it’s summertime and Morgan is the queen of summery books. Since You’ve Been Gone includes scavenger hunts. and missing people. and cute boys. and a main character named Emily. (yes please.) Update: I has finished dis book. (Last night.) GUYS IT WAS ADORABLE. I could relate to the main character on so many levels (beyond our names, but that was a plus) and ahhhhh it couldn’t have ended better. Review coming soon!

THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING (also) by Morgan Matson: I finished this one in twenty-five hours and I am head-over-heels for, um… the love interest. HE’S NINETEEN. AND HE WRITES FANTASY NOVELS. AND IS A BOOKWORM. AND HE WAS HOME-SCHOOLED. And he’s awkward and nerdy and lovable and squishy and cute and I love him. This was fast-paced and just so naturally easy to fall right into. And come on, the cover features six PUPPIES. And ice cream. Does that not scream summer? Cons? Way too much PDA. Meh.

KISSING IN AMERICA by Margo Rabb: Doooon’t judge this by the title like I did. I’ve been told by many people that there actually *isn’t* that much kissing in this book. It’s a road trip featuring two best friends and the sisterly love that ensues. Don’t freak out on me. It’s a summer road trip. With a main character who is a hopeless romantic and, according to the blurb, cowboys, kudzu, and tiny towns. Yee-haw.

AMY & ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR byyyy Morgan Matson: I got maybe 2oo(ish) pages into this… give or take? … I’m pretty sure last summer. (I’m not good at remember the dates I DNF’d books.) I was in a slump at the time and it was taking too long to get going and I confess I was not a fan of the main character Amy’s actions. She just bothered me. But I’ve been coerced into giving this a second try. So I shall. Also this would make two road trip books, which is fun because I’m going to be in the car a lot this summer. So what better way to get me in the mood for that delightful smell of french fries and gas stations, hm? (I actually enjoy being in the car for long periods of times, and since I can read on road trips, it’s a win/win.)

Have you read any of these books? What have you been reading? I know I’m loading up on the contemporaries but if that’s what it’s going to take to catch up on my reading goal (I’m five books behind schedule – aye aye aye) then I’ll read all the fluff. Do you get in a certain reading mood during the summer (or any other seasons)? DISCUSS. go. shoo. talk. now.

P.S. Cait is hosting several bookish giveaways for FIVE years of blogging! (FIVE. She’s a super blogger, seriously. Go check her out!)

I’M GOING ON VACATION.

I know. I’m leaving you, how dare I. I will be in the middle of the ocean, far, far away in paradise… with no wi-fi. I will be back on May 9! I may pop in this Saturday with a stacking the shelves right before we leave, but I just wanted to let you know so you guys won’t be in the dark. 🙂

Now, I know what you’re thinking: no wi-fi! what kind of vacation is that?? But never fear. I think I’ll be content. And if all else fails, and Disney can’t sustain me (highly unlikely), I’ve got about a billion books left to read. Since I’m abandoning you for twelve long days, I thought I’d make a mini stacking the shelves of this before I go. (On a side note, if I get wi-fi at any of the ports or in a rare moment when something does load, I’ll update my books on Goodreads. So you’ll still be able to see what I’m reading.)

LOOK AT ALL THE POSSIBILITY. LOOK AT THE BEAUTY. 

am I dragging all of those books with me on the ship? well no. (after all, if we sunk, I couldn’t have all five of my lovelies drowning with me, now could I?) So this is where I need your help.

QUEEN OF HEARTS by Colleen Oakes: I won a free ARC. *hair toss* You totally should have been at my house when a mysteriously book-shaped package showed up on my doorstep from the infamous Epic Reads. (basically: screeching fangirl pterodactyl noises and jumping up and down.) Queen of Hearts is the first in an Alice in Wonderland retelling. (You couldn’t guess, could you?) It hits shelves May 3, and I am stoked to be able to have this.

SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys: I adore Ruta Sepetys and her books, but I’ve come to a dilemma. 1) I’ve been waiting ages and ages to read this. (not really; more like three weeks(ish), but it might as well be ages.) 2) I broke down and bought it because I wanted to own a Ruta Sepetys book in the first place and I have zero restraint. 3) here’s where it gets tricky. I’M GOING ON DA BOAT. And this is a WWII historical fiction featuring a large boat, its occupants, and a sinking. I’ve already been warned by Brooke not to read this on the ship, so I reeeallly need to exercise some strength here. BUT LOOK AT IT.

THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner: GUESS WHAT GUYS. Emily spoiled a death for herself! Like she is notoriously famous for doing. Dang you, Pinterest. Brooke and Izel were mad at me. There is hope, however, because I still don’t know how this character dies, and apparently it’s a huge deal. I’m listening to this on audio, so I will definitely have it with me. I’ll likely listen to a good portion in the car, since I can’t read anyway. Right now I’m around a hundred pages in and… ehh? There’s a boy with a death wish and these freaky monster things and a girl. I’m not a fan of the writing style either, but I’ve been told it gets better about halfway through. So I shall stick it out.

THE WINNER’S KISS by Marie Rutkoski: I’ve got around 170 pages left, so I’m hoping to finish this one either today or tomorrow. I am dying inside. Positively dying. Don’t ask me how Marie Rutkoski does this; you got me. But dear lord my heart. This is the third in The Winner’s Trilogy, so I won’t go into too much detail but… *melts* The writing is so poetic, and Kestrel and Arin are my babies. That is all. *sobs*

PASSENGER by Alexandra Bracken: This book was mega-hyped and I was so extremely happy when my library got it. I’m about halfway through. I love Alexandra Bracken’s writing style but at times, it can feel very over-detailed. His shiny brass buttons on the lip of his coat shone in the moonlight while his hair danced in the wind… for every sentence. That said, I love time-travel books and this is such a creative premise. So hopefully I can push through and finish. (Possibly on the ship?)

Have you read any of these books? Which ones do you recommend? And if you haven’t, do you want to read any of them? And most importantly: do you take books on vacation?? Do you find time to read them? Teach me your ways! Bon voyage, bookworms,

Hey everyone! This week’s stack is pretty small, but this time, when I say I’ve added books to the shelves, I literally mean I ADDED books to my shelves. Emily The Library Advocate *BOUGHT* two books this week! (My wallet’s feeling significantly less thick, but no regrets.) I did splurge and buy one full-price (gasp! Yes, I take after my mom in that department: never pay full-price for a thing) buuut I did save big on the other, so here are the books.

By now I’m preeetty sure you’ve heard of that top book: RUBY RED by Kerstin Gier.

Guys. Guys. Peoples, listen up. THIS SERIES IS AMAZING. It is a time travel novel with an EPIC plot, adorable romance… the plot only gets better and better as the series go on, AHHHH I was so in love with that ending. It’s huge in Germany, and it totally deserves more buzz in the US of A because hooooly canoly, it was awesome. Ruby Red is the first in a trilogy; there are two movies for the first two out so far, the third being filmed now. Unfortunately only the first movie can be found with English voice overs (the others are in German), but it was still pretty great nonetheless.

I borrowed Ruby Red and the other two books from the library, but I just had to own at least the first book. Soooo after procrastinating it for months, I finally ordered my first book from Thrift Books! This website is an online used bookstore, with only $1 shipping or free shipping with orders of $10 or more! (And for that, you could order 2-3 hardbacks with free shipping.) I love it and will definitely be ordering from them again!

The title in German is “Rubinrot.” 

SO: order from Thrift Books. Get Ruby Red. Somehow. Go to your local library, kids. Order it online. Steal it from a neighboring German. (Wait scratch that, we bookworms do have morals.) It’s amazing.

HELP HELP MY FEELINGS. Somebody read this series.

OKAY so the second book is one I’ve had my eye for a long time and finally splurged on: ENTWINED by Heather Dixon. I’ve decided to start it; I began All Fall Down by Ally Carter but just wasn’t in the mood for a dystopian. (Is it a dystopian? I was confused.) I’ll probably come back to AFD and love it, iiii just couldn’t get into it this week.

Entwined is really unique, so far. It’s a fairy tale retelling, but I love that it actually feels like a fairy tale style story. There are lots of fairy tale stories in YA… but they’re either fantasy or dystopia or sci-fi or contemporary. Which are great, but this one is told as an actual fairy tale and I like that. It’s new. It’s supposed to be a “Twelve Dancing Princesses” retelling, which rings a bell but I’m not really familiar with that one, so should be exciting.

So that’s this week’s books! But before I go, I did have a question for you all.

The amount of comments I get on each post has been really varying; sometimes I’ll get five or six and other times I’ll get none! The problem is, I can’t find a pattern for what the posts that do/don’t get many comments have in common. I know I did a survey back in December as a 2015 end-of-the-year thing, but I wanted to know if the comments has anything to do with the time of/which day it’s on… or the format of my posts. I can be either sarcastic and silly, or kind of serious and formal in my posts. (It really depends on my mood.) Which do you prefer? What kind of posts are you influenced to comment on? Thanks for your help!

what books did you get this week? have you read ruby red or entwined? do you want to? happy weekend!

HI GUYS. Emily here. (In case you didn’t know.) (And if you didn’t, well, Em’s the name, books are the game. So hi.) This week I have such a PURRTTY STACK. Basically: my world’s on fire, how bout yours? that’s the way I’ll like it and I’ll never get bored… because really. How could you be bored when there’s a library FIVE minutes down the road?! Sometimes I feel so bad for non-bookworms. They’re simply using less brain capacity than we do, hello.

SEE. What did I tell you?? so pretty! And this picture it totally worth the fact that my neighbor getting his mail was giving me strange looks. He must be new, ’cause all the others are probably used to me by now. You know, in my fuzzy pajamas taking a hundred shots in the same angle of books in my front yard. The ush.

SAPPHIRE BLUE by Kerstin Gier: This. Series. This series is KILLIN’ ME. I’m not going to go into too much detail about this one, because it is a sequel. I do have a review up on Goodreads here for the first book, Ruby Red, even though the review won’t be up on the blog until March. In a nutshell, this book is the second in a time travel trilogy set in London. The book was originally written in German and has two movies for books one and two out; but only the first movie can be watched with English voice-overs. The final movie comes out this summer, and if you live in Germany and/or speak German, go you. I hate you.

So if you haven’t read this series yet (it’s known as The Ruby Red Trilogy in some translations, the Precious Stone Trilogy in others; the first book is Ruby Red) WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!!! Go get it. Go. Now.

*I have finished Sapphire Blue and emotionally EXHAUSTED. I’m dying to get my hands on Emerald Green, so if your library happens to have these books GO PUT IT ON HOLD. (and then come back here & thank me. *hair flip*)

WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin: This is a new(ish) book, published late October of 2015. It sounds like a really interesting concept: 1956, Hitler won WWII (yikes), and our main character has some anger issues. (FOR GOOD REASON, OK? OK.) Apparently Yael (interesting name, let’s go with it) has survived cruel experimentation and a death camp and is out to get his wrath on Mr. Hitler himself. SOUNDS COOL, right?! Plus: the cover.

I mean, look at it.

THE GIVER QUARTET by Lois Lowry: pssssshhhh, you know this book. c’mon now. If ya don’t, I don’t know what rock you’ve been living under. (No offense to you though, really, because I am way behind on 98.7% of popular series. True calculations.) I actually already have all four books in one nice bind-up plus a paperback copy of the first one, but now I have each individual one in hardback, yay! (Thanks Grandma!) I’ve read the first Giver book, but not the others and now I have no excuse not to read them! (That one bind-up is ginormous and hurts my palms to hold, so there.) I think the next one is…. Gathering Blue? Yup, just double-checked. Gathering Blue, here I come!

GLASS SWORD by Victoria Aveyard: Oh, look, there goes Emily. You’re going to find her post hyperventilating in front of her computer. “She was a good girl, that Emily. Died doing what she loved…” *whispers* IT’S HERE. Glass Sword, sequel to Red Queen, hit shelves February 9! Noooow… I’m not the biggest fan of Red Queen; I gave it 3.5 stars…. buuut I like joining hype. And you know what? This series has so much possibility. The first book in a series is almost never my favorite, so I’m thrilled. And you mind getting all fangirly with me over the fact that I own a) a hardback SIGNED copy of Red Queen, heck yes!, b) a hardback copy of Glass Sword (matching hardbacks in a series FINALLY), and c) a beautiful poster for the Red Queen books?! LOOK AT IT.

Now, pay attention: if you haven’t snatched up your copy of Glass Sword yet, go to Barnes & Noble because their copy has some really neat stuff: a tear-out poster (which I think looks amazing!) featuring all of the different types of powers in the book and a guide to each superpower on the back, and a “deleted scene” – an alternate beginning to Glass Sword! I’m a lucky girl because my mom bought this copy as a Valentine’s gift, so thanks mom!

In other news, I’m back on Wattpad! *passes virtual cookies around* (someone please invent a way for me to just pass you a chocolate chip cookie through the screen okay? I mean obviously that could be a dangerous invention because of other stuff people might try to transport but I just wanna give my blog read readers a COOKIE.) I’ve been on Wattpad for about three years, that’s crazy. If you didn’t know it’s a website to publish stories you’ve written and share them with other writers like you. But as long as I have been on this website I never finish a stinkin’ story! So yeah. I put up something, you can read it if it floats your boat here. I’m not trying to write the best story in the world, I’m just trying to FINISH something fun in my free time, so there you are. 🙂 Follow me, shameless advertising!

what books did you get this week? have you read any listed above?

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY BOOKWORMS. Three books which I have been waiting a very long time for are HEEERE. And they almost weren’t even here because someone (that would be) left them on hold at the library for too long and they got put back on the shelves, my precious babies. But never fear, I have saved them.

RUBY RED by Kerstin Gier: First up on the stack is the book I am currently reading (or maybe just finished by the time you’re reading this) and I AM I LOOOOVEEE. I certainly hope the ending is as good as the middle (as of Wednesday, I am halfway through!) but I’ll let you know soon. (Follow me on Goodreads to see all of my updates!) I’m really happy to have this one! Fun fact: it was originally written in German and had been translated into English (one of sixteen other languages it’s been translated into!) I’ve never read a book that’s been translated so that’s cool. Also it takes place in London and this is SUPER captivating. I’ve been craving a time travel book because I think a premise like that is really interesting, and so far this one certainly is.

And did I mention it’s a movie?!! I *think* it has English voice overs or something, I don’t know, but anyway it was turned into a movie in 2013! You can bet I’m going to be renting sometime soon because the trailer looks awesome.

I also would like to add: please don’t judge the cover by our ugly American version.

The other version of the cover on the left is much more appealing, don’t you agree? Though it kind of reminds me a little (okay, a lot) of a Dear America book cover. Very pretty, though.

EDIT: Okay so now it’s Friday (yesterday for you, today for me, it’s madness, I know), and I have finished Ruby Red and seen the movie. Go get the book. Go get it. Right now. Stop whatever you’re doing and read it. It was AMAZING. And now I’m watching fan-made videos on Youtube and pinning fanart on Pinterest and I THINK I’M OBSESSED. Somebody pleeeaaase read this so we can talk about it. 🙂

A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray: SO much hype, so let’s see if this book deserves all the publicity, hmmm? There are two things I know about this book: 1) there are different dimensions, which gives me a Now That You’re Here vibe, though maybe that’s only because it’s the only “different world/dimension” theme I’ve read before. I loved Now That You’re Here but really thought the different world thing wasn’t for me. But I’m interested to see how it’s different in this book! And 2) there’s romance. Not much surprise there, huh? OH and this is the first book in a trilogy! So maybe I should go ahead and get the next one?

STITCHING SNOW by R.C. Lewis: Kay, so here’s what I know about this one: Snow White retelling. That’s got me hooked, because, let’s be real here, Snow White retellings are the best. All of my favorites are, after all. And I *thought* I saw someone I know review it at some point or another. (Has anyone read it before??) I’m also totally cover-judgy here because LOOK AT this beauty. And the title alone, really.

EDIT: Friday me again! I’m about 100 pages in and I’m getting a lot of LUNAR CHRONICLES VIBES. It’s a sci-fi fairy tale retelling, someone pinch me. The MC Essie reminds me a lot of Cinder, and there’s different planets and drones and space ships and other awesomeness! I definitely think fans of TLC would enjoy this. 🙂

In other bookish (not-so-bookish, actually) news, I made these chocolate chip cookie dough thingamabobs coated in chocolate and you absolutely MUST make them if you get a chance. If I could give you all a tin, I would! (Unless you’re allergic to peanut butter. Which would be bad.) Here’s the recipe. I ended up rolling them into balls instead of cutting them into heart shapes because they were much too sticky to be cut easily. I just wanted to add that they’re super yummy and pretty easy after the first go-round! 😉 (And the perfect reading snack, I have to tell you.)

what books did you get this week? and have you read ruby red, a thousand pieces of you, or stitching snow? (your first priority should be ruby red because holy canoly i LOVE IT. i’m a new fan i really am.)

P.S. Happy early Valentine’s Day! I have plans to watch a romantic movie or re-read a sweet book, devour lots of chocolate, and hang with my cats. How bout you? 🙂

BOOKWORMS. It’s the thirtieth stacking the shelves here on For the Bookish! Geez, that’s a lot of posts dedicated solely on the books I got each week. Wonder how many books I’ve talked about total in all thirty posts?

134. I just counted, because that’s the kind of person I am. I just have to know. By Stacking the Shelves #20, I’d gotten 77 books (that would be e-books, library books, and books I now own) and now at 30? 134.

SO anyway, the number will probably be crazy sky-rocketed by #50. Looking through every single one of my STS posts was kind of fun though – seeing what I thought about my soon-to-be favorite books was pretty neat. I was thinking “Oh, look at little innocent me, all naive not knowing that this book WILL DESTROY HER.”

So the books this week, yeah?

(Feat. part of my bed, which is my favorite thing in the world next to books basically.) (Kidding!) (Kind of.)

This week is a GOOD STACK. So many hyped books!

I’m starting from the top!

FLUNKED by Jen Calonita: This has been on my TBR for SO LONG. It just looks like an adorable story. I haven’t read just a simple, light fairy tale-ish MG book in quite some time. =)

WE ARE ALL MADE OF MOLECULES by Susin Nielsen: I really can’t remember how I found out about this one, but it’s also been on my want-to-read list for quite some time. (Although it couldn’t have been that long since it’s only been out since May 2015.) I’m not positive who recommended it to me, but it looks great and I really love the spine! (Because that’s how everyone should rate their books, duh. How it looks on your bookshelf is a big determining factor.) 😉 And who can beat 4 bucks for a hard back, hmmmm?

ONE by Sarah Crossan: Sarah Crossan is Queen. The two books of hers I’ve read – Apple and Rain and The Weight of Water – were amazing. This particular book, One, looks very interesting. The entire book is written in prose, or poetry. And it’s about sixteen-year-old conjoined twins. I’m in.

THE CONSPIRACY OF US by Maggie Hall: I haven’t heard about this one very much beforehand, but Trisha says it’s incredible, and as soon as she told me about it, I had it on hold at the library. I really have no idea what it’s about, but the cover looks fascinating so I’m gonna give it a go!

I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU by Ally Carter: That. Was a mouthful. To be perfectly honest, I probably never would have picked this book up were it not for Brooke. I specifically remember when I volunteered in my middle school library two years ago, this book was always being checked out. It was all the rage with the girls, but the cover and title just didn’t appeal to me. I’ve got two Ally Carter books borrowed right now – this one and All Fall Down, which I’m more excited for – but we’ll see. Should be interesting?

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher: I’ve heard and seen so much about this one, but… I just don’t know. I’m not sure about the content or the writing or if I’ll DNF or what. It seems a bit depressing – the main character’s best friend has just committed suicide – so I’m not sure if I’ll be in a funk when I finish or ANYTHING. I have no idea what to expect. The premise sounds like a tough topic to tackle, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the author approaches everything. I’m not sure if I’ll be a total emotional wreck or if I’ll not finish after a chapter or two, because I really have NO clue what it’s going to be like. Let’s try it?

GOODBYE STRANGER by Rebecca Stead: When I read When You Reach Me, also by Rebecca Stead, sometime in 2014, I was absolutely flabbergasted. (Don’t think I’ve used that word in a blog post before, but it’s the first thing that popped into my head and hey, first time for everything.) Unfortunately, because I didn’t write a review for it and though I have the memory of an elephant for everything else, if I don’t write a review for a book I tend not to remember it. I just know I LOVED it. (I should probably re-read it.) I’ve been waiting for Goodbye Stranger to hit shelves for months and months, and when it finally did I was too cheap to buy it. Isn’t the library handy?? This book sounds much lighter than the last; a fun middle grade novel will do the trick. 🙂

LEGEND by Marie Lu: Same deal with The Conspiracy of Us, actually. No idea what to expect, I’ve heard a lot of things about this series, the library book is falling apart (which I assume means it’s a loved copy?) annnnd I’m stoked! It’s nice and thick! Interesting cover, too.

THESE BROKEN STARS by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner: I’ve heard of this series for just about forever. It looks cheesy and a little weird: a girl and a boy survive after some space shuttle thingamabob (?) plummets onto their planet and now they’re searching all of space for help and – gasp! – there’s a romance. Soooo… eh? The whole synopsis sounds alright; not sure if it’s my thing but I’ve been proven wrong before. We’ll see.

Also on my Kindle as an ARC:

Isn’t the cover so pretttyyyyy?? I’ve also seen a slightly different version on the author’s blog, but this one was on Gooreads. It’s a WWII historical fiction, based on a true story. A man named Hans and his friend begin creating anti-Nazi leaflets in Germany, 1942. I’m currently reading it and LOVE it. You can get the book on February 22 by the lovely Emily Ann Putzke. Love her, love her name! (I’m not biased I’m really not.)

what are you reading this week? what books have you gotten? and have you read any on my stack?

Hi everyone! I’m sorry I missed my post yesterday; it’s been a busy week and I had a friend over yesterday. (Pizza, ice cream, and a marathon of Love Comes Softly movies, anyone?) But this week has been a fantastic week book-wise, and I’m excited to show you the ones I got! (A small stack, but an awesome stack nonetheless.)

From the bottom we have… *drum roll please*

JACKABY by Wiliam Ritter: Okay, I’m really not sure about this one. I thought it was a regular historical fiction, and then I realized it has something to with supernatural things and a detective. (?) It definitely looks interesting, and the cover is absolutely amazing, buuuut. I don’t know what to think of the synopsis. Is there anyone who has read it who can tell me a little more about it?

THE WINNER’S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski: Remember last week when I accidentally got the second book in the Winner’s trilogy, instead of the first? I GOT THE FIRST ONE! Yaaaaay. I’m excited to see what this is all about. The dresses on the cover look very enticing. PLUS: THESE PAGEEEEES. What do you call these?? I don’t even know, but I’d like to see books have them a lot more. I haven’t even seen a lot of people talk about them, but they’re SO BEAUTIFUL. anyway. did I mention I liked the pages?

ALL FALL DOWN by Ally Carter: AHHHH ALLY CARTER. I’ve heard so much about her and this series and I am thrilled to have this. I’ve been wanting to read it for almost a YEAR now I think.

SWIPE by Evan Angler: you guys keep talking & talking & talking & talking about this book and I WANT TO KNOW WHYYYY. (ok maybe that’s an exaggeration but my point is that I’ve heard it’s awesome and I don’t want to be left out of the awesomeness.)

Also — I wanted to talk about my 100-book challenge for 2016! How many books are you trying to read this year?? And how many have you read so far? I’ve read 4, so I’m on track but I would like to have read more… this past week I read Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (which was amazing by the way!) and Austenland by Shannon Hale.

what books did you read this week? which books did you get this week? tell me below!

OH. MY GOOOOSH. I have such a FABULOUS stack you guys I am ridiculously excited. Wait. No. No, that’s not even the word for it. I am downright GIDDY because ohhhh mah lordy at the hype. It’s a great stack, really.

ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff: You have no idea how many times this one’s popped up in my Goodreads feed. Seriously, I’ve seen nothing but good reviews and squeals for it! (Which exciting but also makes me a *teensie* bit worried because what if I don’t like it???) I haven’t read any books by these two authors – even though I want to! SOON! – this book looks so interesting. REAL cover love too. And the way the book is written in files and such, it looks so cool! Excited is an understatement.

MAGONIA by Maria Dahvana Headley: Another one I’ve heard so much about! I’m also *teensie* bit worried for this one but that doesn’t lessen my excitement! This cover is also absolutely gorgeous and intriguing… even the title is pretty-sounding. And the main character’s name! “Aza Ray.” All of it looks so good.

FINDING AUDREY by Sophie Kinsella: Another one I’m anxious for. I’ve heard a mixture of things about this one, so I’m excited to see what I think! Plus the main character, Audrey, is 14, which is exciting because like I said in my review for The Hired Girl, there aren’t a ton of 14-year-olds in YA. Though I’m interested to see how the romance pans out as the MC is so young. Eep!

AUSTENLAND by Shannon Hale: I have a confession to make: I have seen the movie for this but not read the book! IT’S NOT MY FAULT THOUGH I PROMISE. I watched the movie two years ago (I need to re-watch it ’cause it was hilarious, by the way) and didn’t even realize it was a book. When I did figure this out, I was stoked! It wasn’t until later that I realized this book is by Shannon Hale, author of The Princess Academy series! So I will be thoroughly enjoying this one, I’m sure. It’s pretty short, and if the movie is any indication, it should be a fun romance. 🙂 Plus: c’mon, it’s called Austenland. The MC is obsessive over Jane Austen. I’m into it already.

“I memorized the first three chapters of Pride & Prejudice when I was 13.” XD 

THE WINNER’S CRIME by Marie Rutkoski: ‘kay, picked this one up from the library, excited to start it because I recognize the cover… only to realize it is the SECOND in The Winner’s Trilogy, not the first. Oops. (Epic Read’s book nerd problems, anyone?) So I won’t be reading this one until the first book is on hold at the library for me, but hopefully soon? (I put it on hold Wednesday.) Thank goodness I didn’t start reading it!

SWIPE by Evan Angler: Brooke has raved about this book for so long and evidently whilst looking at the book on Goodreads, several of you have read it as well! Since so many of you that I trust loved it so much, I’m expecting good things from this one!

tell me about the books YOU got this week! and have you read any of the books in my stack?? i want to hear from you!

P.S. I’ve had some technical difficulties with my contact page – I know several of you have used it and I never got your emails – but my genius dad fixed the issue and you can contact me there now! (And this time, I WILL get your emails and I promise to answer them.) 🙂