Waiting on Wednesday #1

Hosted by Breaking The Spine

This week I'm waiting on:

Title:  One with You

Author:  Sylvia Day

Series:  Crossfire #5

Expected Publish Date:  April 5, 2016

Summary:

Gideon Cross. Falling in love with him was the easiest thing I've ever done. It happened instantly. Completely. Irrevocably.

Marrying him was a dream come true. Staying married to him is the fight of my life. Love transforms. Ours is both a refuge from the storm and the most violent of tempests. Two damaged souls entwined as one.

We have bared our deepest, ugliest secrets to one another. Gideon is the mirror that reflects all my flaws ... and all the beauty I couldn't see. He has given me everything. Now, I must prove I can be the rock, the shelter for him that he is for me. Together, we could stand against those who work so viciously to come between us.

But our greatest battle may lie within the very vows that give us strength. Committing to love was only the beginning. Fighting for it will either set us free ... or break us apart.

Heartbreakingly and seductively poignant, One with You is the breathlessly awaited finale to the Crossfire® saga, the searing love story that has captivated millions of readers worldwide.


What book are you anxiously waiting for to be released?

Blind Date With A Book

Blind Date!

I've seen the concept of a blind date with a book across the internet for a while now, but until now none of the libraries in my local system did it, until now!

A blind date with a book is when the library wraps up books and gives you either a brief description or a picture of some sort on the front to give you an indication of the themes of the book.  You check them out and try not to look at the titles on your receipt until you get home and can unwrap them.  It's  like a Christmas present to yourself that doesn't cost you anything.  

In my trek to my local library today I found a table of them!  Here are the two I selected, wrapped and then unwrapped when I got home:

 

The clues for this book was a mystery guy emoji, and elephant, and two chemistry vials.  The deciding factor for me was the elephant!  Turns out it was a book I've been meaning to read:

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

 

The clues for my second pic were two emojis, a sick face and a winky face.  The deciding factor for me was actually the random space picture on the newspaper they chose to wrap it in.  This book I've never heard of and turned out to be:

The End of Eve by Ariel Gore

So I shall read both of these books (along with the nine other I borrowed today) and let you guys know the results of my blind dates!

Has anyone else ever done a blind date with a book?

2016 Reading Challenge: A Book You Can Finish In A Day

A Book You Can Finish In A Day

Technically I didn't finish this book the same day I started, but that's only because I started it at about 10 pm, and finished it shortly after midnight the next day.  However, I'm counting that as a "day" because it was less than 24 hours by far.

I rather liked the book, and it is a Newbery Award winner:

The One and Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate

Summary:

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.

Top Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently That Weren't My Typical Genre

Presented by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently That Weren't My Typical Genre

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

I don't really do science fiction, pretty much ever.  If I delve into that side of literature I go towards fantasy, but this book was amazing.

2. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

I actually read this as a brand new book, that I requested through the library because it had been on the bestsellers lists (or at least the author had).  I don't typically read mainstream, new releases, but this was kind of hilarious.

3. Breakwater Bay by Shelley Nobel

Just a basic family drama/romance, not normally exciting for me.

4. Awesome Sh*t My Drill Sergeant Said by Dan Caddy

This was straight up hilarious, and nonfiction is not my favorite genre by far.

5. If You Feel Too Much by Jamie Tworkowski

Again, nonfiction, but it's from To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), so I had to because I love them, and I loved this.

6. Raising My Rainbow by Lori Duron

Blah memoirs usually, especially whiny ones about how someone is different and life is hard, but I found this rather inspiring.

7. American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Again, memoir, but war.  I love war movies, not typically books.  This was the best book I read in 2015 hands down.

8. Entwined With You by Sylvia Day

I normally find myself embarrassed by reading books that are known to be about sex and not much more, but this series has actual plot and Sylvia Day can actually write, so I make the exception for her.

9. Who Was Alfred Hitchcock? by Pamela D. Pollak

Need I say memoir again?  I'm starting to think I read these more than I think, but this was childrens level.  If you have a child and they don't like nonfiction, introduce them to this series of books, they'll love it.

10. The Terrorist's Son by Zak Ebrahim

Memoir!  Mostly I loved it because it was related to a Ted Talk, and if you don't know what Ted Talks are, then google it.  Now.  Seriously.

Review: The Martian

Title:  The Martian
Author:  Andy Weir
Rating:  6/5

Summary:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Review:

I cannot express how much I truly loved this book.  I would say it was my favorite this year, but considering it's only February, that is setting myself up for a year of shitty reading that couldn't compare.  Oddly enough I was given this book as a present on a first date (awesome, right?), and I started reading it that night.  It started off for me as a book I heard was highly recommended and I wanted to read it before I saw the movie (which now I'm not sure I want to see).  It ended up being amazing though!

Yes, sure, there was a lot of technical science talk, but the humor amidst it more than made up for parts I didn't understand.  I think I would have actually been satisfied if the only point of view the entire book was from Mark, but I did enjoy seeing NASA scramble in the aftermath.

So basically I'm recommending this book to absolutely anyone I can think of who reads and hasn't read it yet.  I've already converted a few people.  Even if you don't normally like science fiction (like me) you should read this!