Monthly Wrap-Up (May 2011)

I cannot believe that it is already June! We are half-way through the year but it feels like it has just started. The month of May was a pretty awesome month on the blog. I had the most posts in the month of May than I have ever had so far on the blog! (Woohoo!!!) Even though it was busy on the blog, I still managed to read some pretty awesome books this past month. So here’s what happened for the month of May:

Books I Read In May:

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Bone Dressing by Michelle L. Brooks

Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

*That is a total of 7 books for the month of May. I am 33% done with my goal of 100 books for the year. Een though I read my booty off I am still 8 books behind. I better step it up a notch!*

Books I Reviewed In May:

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. All I have to say about this one is that it is my all-time FAVORITE book, so you should probably go read the review. (beware, my review includes lots of gushing!)

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. As my second favorite Sarah Dessen book, This Lullaby is a story full of love, humor, and a totally goofy lead singer of a band!… (Hate Spinnerbait)

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. I adore this book. Both the lead character and her love interest are two characters that have totally captured my heart. I guess this one can be tied with This Lullaby as my second favorite Dessen book.

Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie. I love this book to pieces. It is an honest, gripping, heart breaking story but after it breaks your heart it makes sure to fill it with inspiration & hope.

Miscellaneous Things On The Blog In May:

I had quite a few AWESOME IMM’s this past month!

(Read my IMM posts here, here, here, and here)

I also had some great Tune-In and Teaser Tuesday posts this month!

(Read my Tune-in/Teaser Tuesday posts here, here, here, here, and here)

Were you beginning to wonder what was up with all the Sarah Dessen reads/reviews? Well Sarah Dessen Week took place the month of May!

(Read my Sarah Dessen Week Welcome post here)

On top of all the Sarah Dessen reviews I also made a list of authors with books similar to Sarah Dessen books!

(Read my For Fans of Sarah Dessen post here)

I also participated in another meme called TGIF. It is a lot of fun and I am so glad I joined in!

(Read my TGIF post here)

And to round off the month, I also started a new 7 week feature on the blog titled Warped Tour Weekend. I post a few bands that I will be seeing in concert in July and I ask you to vote for your favorite. It’s been lots of fun!

(Read my Warped Tour Weekend posts here and here)

Alright, there is the month of May all laid out for you. It turned out to be a pretty productive month but I am hoping to get a lot more done in June!

Monthly Wrap-Up (April 2011)

Another month gone, already!?! We have now entered our 5th month of 2011! The month of April included a family vacation, a few minor emergencies, about 500 college papers that needed to be written, and then final exams for my first year of college! I was super busy so not a whole lot got done this past month. As always I did read some pretty fabulous books and I did manage to squeeze in a few posts. Here is what happened on the blog for the month of April:

Books I Read In April:

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Act of Redemption by C.C. Cole

Vision by Beth Elisa Harris

Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie

*The total was 5 books for the month of April. I am now 26% done with my goal of 100 books. According to goodreads.com I am 7 books behind but I hope to make up for it next month!*

Books I Reviewed In April:

Chime by Franny Billingsley. I read this book for the 2011 Y.A. Historical Fiction Challenge. I fell in love with Franny’s style of writing!

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. This book is AMAZING! The prefect Y.A. contempt, love story.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton. This paranormal book was great! I love the awesome fighting scenes, the romance, and Will ;)

Act of Redemption by C.C. Cole. As the first in a series, this book blew me away! I loved the hard-core female lead character as well as all of the awesome fighting scenes!

Miscellaneous Things On The Blog In April:

I skipped out on a few IMM’s this past month but the one I did do was awesome!

(Read my IMM post here )

I did participate in a few Tune-In & Teaser Tuesdays. As always, they were a lot of fun!

(Read my posts here,  here, & here)

I was a featured blogger on Y.A. Booklover’s blog this month. She hosted a super awesome interview!

(Read my interview here)

There is my blog posts of April for you! Looking back at how lazy I truly was this past month, I am making a promise that May will be better!

Monthly Wrap-Up (March 2011)

Where did the month of March go? It seems like it just flew by! Since it is now April 1st, it’s time for monthly wrap-up again! At the end of each month (or if I’m running a little late like this month) I will post exactly what happened on my crazy little blog for that previous month. A lot happened (on the blog & in my life) during the month of March!

Books I Read In March:

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Love, Inc. by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Solid by Shelley Workinger

*That is a total of 5 books for the month of March. I am now 19% done with my goal of 100 books. I need to get reading!*

Books I Reviewed In March:

Gone by Lisa McMann. This was a great end to a fabulous series. I can’t wait to read more of Lisa’s work!

Love, Inc. by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout. This is a super cute story of love, heartbreak, revenge, and most importantly, friendship.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. LOVE this book! My review of it turned into a huge gush fest because it was just so good.

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers. This story is heart-wrenching, compelling, and a must read. I need to read more of Courtney’s writing ASAP!

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John. I love this fun, quirky book. A deaf girl managing a rock band; you can’t get much more unique than that!

Solid by Shelley Workinger. This is a great book! It is a little on the sci-fi side but Shelley’s ideas are young, interesting, and new.

Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund. This is a must-read! I love the whole series. You will be laughing your whole way through it!

Miscellaneous Things On The Blog In March

First, my blog got a makeover! Doesn’t it look just absolutely adorable? Feel free to answer that question with a yes!

I posted about why I was going to be missing from my blog for a week. I went on vacation!

(Read my post here!)

Once I got back from vacation I did a blog post featuring some of my favorite pictures of the trip. Most are goofy ones of me and Kati so it’s a pretty funny post.

(Read my vacation post here!)

I hosted my very first giveaway on the blog. As part of the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop, I gave away a copy of The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade. I love doing the contest (as soon as I’m rich again, I’ll do another one!)

Once the contest ended I posted my un-lucky story and the winner!

(Read my un-lucky story and winner post here!)

I continued with my “In My Mailbox” posts. I got some GREAT stuff the past month!

(Read my IMM posts here & here!)

I also started a few new memes this month! The first is “Tune-In Tuesday”! I love finding out about great music as well as spreading the word about some great bands that I know. This is a great way to do it!

(Read my Tune-In Tuesday posts here & here!)

I participated in the friday memes Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop so I combined them to one post. They ask fun questions; I had a good time participating!

(Read my Follow Friday/Book Blogger Hop post here!)

Last but not least for memes, I did another Teaser Tuesday post about a super awesome book!

(Read my Teaser Tuesday post here!)

So there you have it for the month of March! I had a good time this month but I hope to be even more productive in April! I will be on vacation (yes, another vacation for me!) the first week of April so my postings then will be a little sparse. I hope everyone has a very happy April Fools Day!

 

Monthly Wrap-Up (February 2011)

It’s that time again! Monthly Wrap-Up is a feature on my blog that I just started this year. At the end of each month I will post exactly what happened on my crazy little blog for that previous month. February is a short month; that is the excuse I am using to cover up my lack of reading/blogging this past month.

Books I Read In February

Rhymes With Cupid By Anna Humphrey

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Gone by Lisa McMann

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

*That is a total of 6 books read for the month of February. I am now 14% done with my goal of reading 100 books this year*

Books I Reviewed In February

Other Words For Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal. (Read my review here.) This is a fantastic 2011 Debut Novel that needs to be read by teenage girls everywhere. Love, heartbreak, and redemption are all included in this wonderful book!

 

Vixen by Jillian Larkin. (Read my review here.) This is a must read for anyone participating in Y.A. Bliss’ Historical Fiction Challenge. Revenge, love, drama, murder, lies, deceit, fashion; basically the norm for the Roaring 20’s.

 

Timeless by Alexandra Monir. (Read my review here.) Another fantastic 2011 Debut Novel! This one takes us all throughout history as the main character races through time to save the boy she loves.

 

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. (Read my review here.) Not a debut novel but an absolute must-read! This feel-good novel is about getting over heart-break, learning to love yourself, and not to mention, it features the wonderful Beatles!

*I feel that I should also mention that this book may or may not have been written about my best friend Kati and I*

 

Rhymes With Cupid by Anna Humphrey. (Read my review here.) This super cute, easy-loving novel is the perfect little book for Valentines Day, or really just for a time when you just need a love story to get you by.

 

Across The Universe by Beth Revis. (Read my review here.) 2011 Debut Authors must have been conspiring together to all write fantastic novels. Across The Universe is a book that will satisfy all readers regardless of what their favorite genre is. It is sci-fi, romance, thriller, mystery, just everything great rolled into one.

Miscellaneous Things On The Blog In February

I continued to participate in the weekly meme featured by The Story Siren, In My Mailbox. I got so many fantastic items this past month, I really couldn’t believe it!

(Read my IMM posts here, here, and here.)

I also joined a new meme this month hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading, called Teaser Tuesday. You pick a random page of a book you are currently reading, reveal 2 sentences, and tease all your readers. It is fun and I got a great response to it!

(Read my Teaser Tuesday post here.)

On one particular day, I was feeling generous and bored so I decided to post a few videos staring, made, and produced by my brother and neighbor. The creative little dudes love coming up with videos and also love the comments, so if you are feeling generous and bored as well, click the link below and drop them off a comment!

(To view my brother’s and neighbor’s videos click here.)

In other news, Leah Clifford’s book, A Touch Mortal came out this month! To enter her giveaway (which sadly, I did not win) I had to make a post regarding the craziest thing I have ever done. It features my spontaneous personality, clumsiness, and all-around bad luck.

(To view “The Craziest Thing I Have Ever Done” click here.)

Wrap Up

That is it for this month, I know it is sad and pathetic. I am not getting too much closer to my goal of books read in 2011, but I have a feeling March is going to be more productive! However, Kati and I will be taking a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, so if I am somehow swallowed up by the ocean (it’s happened once or twice before, who knows if it’ll happen again), you all will have to deal. Now back to the point, if you are interested in doing a monthly wrap-up, please do so! Post a link in the comments section, and I will check it out. I hope February was a great, love-filled month for everyone!

Monthly Wrap-Up (January 2011)

This is a new feature I decided to try out on my blog. At the end of each month I will post exactly what happened on my crazy little blog for that previous month. January has been an extremely busy month so there is a lot to cover!

Books I Read In January:

Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Fade by Lisa McMann (Book Club)

What Can’t Wait by Ashley Hope Perez (2011 Debut Author Challenge)

Girl v. Boy by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout

Faithful by Janet Fox (Y.A. Historical Fiction Challenge)

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (2011 Debut Author Challenge)

Other Words For Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal (2011 Debut Author Challenge)

* That is a total of 8 books for the month of January. I am only 8% done with my goal to read 100 books in 2011. I need to pick up the pace in February!*

Books I Reviewed In January:

Jane by April Lindner. (Read my review here.) This book was fantastic. It gives a new, modern-day twist to Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre.

Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols. (Read my review here.) I was lucky enough to win a signed copy of this book (a fact that is still super exciting to me). I am a HUGE fan of Jennifer Echols and Endless Summer just proved to be yet another great book (technically it is two books but still..) by Jennifer.

Beastly by Alex Flinn. (Read my review here.) I loved this book! First, it is a playoff of one of my favorite Disney stories. This is a  modern version of Beauty and the Beast told from the Beasts perspective. Second, it has been adapted for film! None other than uber cute Alex Pettyfer plays the beast in the movie version! (I included the movie trailer in that particular review; I am so excited!)

 What Can’t Wait by Ashley Hope Perez. (Read my review here.) I received this book through netgalley to read and review. I was so excited to start reading this 2011 debut novel! It really is a must read!

 Fade by Lisa McMann. (Read my review here.) This was the latest book we chose to read for book club. It has been great being able to read this series! I love it.

Faithful by Janet Fox. (Read my review here.) Because of this wonderful book, I am now obsessed with historical fiction. It is a beautifully written book full of great characters and imagery!

Girl v. Boy by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout. (Read my review here.) Loved this book! It is a super cute novel about Battle of the Sexes. I loved the constant arguing between the main character and her anonymous counterpart.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. (Read my review here.) Yet another great book by a 2011 Debut Author. This particular novel is about angels, my new obsession. I just loved it!

Miscellaneous Things On The Blog In January:

Like I said earlier the month of January was just crazy! I decided to jump on board with all the crazy bloggers who do In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren. It has been great so far! I am definitely spending way too much money still but I love being able to just hop from blog to blog and to be able to see what fellow book lovers are picking up to read.

(Read my IMM posts here, here, here, and here.)

I also happened to have a rough patch during the month of January. The loss of my job, the lack of sleep, and my dad’s wackiness caused me to make a blog post in which I complained a lot.

 (You can read my complaining post here.)

On the happier side of things, we got puppies this month! My dog Tipsy finally gave birth to five pups almost three weeks ago. So far all the puppies are healthy, hyper, and extremely adorable! It is going to be tough when we have to get rid of them in 5 weeks.

(You can see pictures of my adorable little puppies in my post right here.)

Back to the World Of Books for a second; I had my first ever Author Interview! I was (and still am) extremely excited and honored to be able to interview the lovely Ashley Hope Perez. Her novel, What Can’t Wait (an excellent book) is one of the books I read and reviewed in the month of January. I asked her 11 questions (11 questions for a 2011 debut author…do you get it???). Ashley was just awesome! She answered every single one. Thanks again to Ashley for that!

(Read my SUPER AWESOME interview here.)

And sticking in the World Of Books for a second, I joined yet another challenge. This one is hosted by Thoughts of a Book Junkie and it is called the A-Z Challenge. Throughout 2011, I will be reading one book per letter in the alphabet. It is an awesome challenge so you should check that out right here.

(Be sure to check out my A-Z Challenge list here.)

Wrap Up:

So that is it for the month of January. It has been an awesome month! Checked back in roughly 28 days to see how the month of February turns out!