After 2 Years... I'm Back!

Holy cow.  Two years.  That's insane.  I had no idea it had been that long since I'd posted on this blog. So you're wondering what happened to me eh?  Well, I've had a few pretty rough years to tell you the truth.  In some cases I wasn't reading at all.  Other times I was reading but not keeping track of what I was reading.  In rare cases I was reviewing books but only on Goodreads.  It all just depended on my mood I suppose.  If you want to know more about the whole "mood" thing check out my blog journal Rainy Writes.  If you want to see how I spent most of my non-reading time you can read my Sims stories on my other blog Rainy Gamez.

I'm currently blogging on WordPress for the other two blogs but I decided to keep this one on Blogger because it's the one everyone that used to follow me is familiar with.  If the format gets too annoying I might change my mind about that.

Soooo!  Let's see.  One exciting thing I learned about recently is Bookbub.  Like forever ago I participated in a challenge called Clean Out Your E-Reader.  Ummm yea.  Bookbub filled it back up in the first day.  Free books!  There are discounted books too but I haven't seen anything that made me want to shell out the cash.  The nice part is pretty much all of the books are either stand alone or the first in a series.  There's a liberation in knowing that if I don't like a book 10% in I can just stop reading.  When you read the free books authors give you to review you can't do that.  Or if you paid for it you feel obligated to continue reading because it's a waste of money if you don't.

I suppose I should peek at my "read" shelf on Goodreads and see what I've been reading the last 2 years eh?  I'll start with recent reading and work my way back.  It's starting the holidays so I've read a few Christmas books.  The problem is that all of them seem to start out so darned sad.  The main person always has some terrible thing happening in their lives.  I realize that it works out in the end but it's kind of depressing!  Let's see... before that I was on a major m/m binge.  I was trying to find some books I haven't read and read a m/m novella and loved it so I ended up reading a bunch of them including PsyCop, A Matter of Time, The Plumber's Mate, THIRDS, Cut & Run and The Administration.  I loved them all so much I would have a hard time picking a favorite!

Before my m/m stage I was re-reading some favorites including Half Moon Hollow/Jane Jameson, Dark Ones, Demonica/Lords of Deliverance, Night Huntress/Night Prince and Nightwalkers.  The problem with re-reading books is you can't really register the reading on Goodreads.  Some of them I barely remembered other than the main plot.  It was enjoyable. 

Rewind a year and I was reading Immortal Guardians, Glory St. Clair, Matrix of Destiny, Dragon Lords of Valdier, Kodiak Point, Dark Protectors, Celta's Heartmate's, Midnight Liaisons, Paranormal Dating Agency, Alpha Pack, Accidentals, Garnet Lacey and Outlander.  That year was pretty much all about the audiobooks because I was having a terrible side effect from my meds that prevented me from reading.  I wore myself out with all of those books so once my vision problems were fixed I avoided books for the first half of 2016.

I think I read some erotica in there somewhere too but for some reason I'm weird about putting those books on my read shelves.  Silly, I know.  I also read some of the newer books of favorite series that came out in that time like Argeneau, Half-Moon Hollow, Charley Davidson, Psy-Changling and Love at Stake.  I'm sure there's more but I skipped by everything that wasn't a series of a bunch of books when I was going through my read shelf.

You see!  I have been reading or listening to books in some form off and on over the last two years.  I just haven't kept up with the blog.  I think it started with the fact that I couldn't for most of 2015 because of that weird side effect and then I just didn't feel like it after I hadn't in so long.  Reviewing books is different than just reading them.  I'll highlight parts I want to remember to mention or quotes I want to use.  I'm usually writing the review in my head as I read and in some cases I might go as far as to start typing the review out as I read so I don't forget everything.  I don't have the luxury of just going on to the next book of a series when I finish the one before it.  I have to stop and write up the review first.  As much as I love it, it can be sort of a drag.  But, I miss it!  So look forward to hearing more from me soon.  I'm hoping to do 1-4 reviews a month to get back into the swing of it.  I've missed you all!  Comment and let me know what you've been reading.  I love to discover new books!

Long Absence

I haven't posted on this blog since May.  I'm extremely disappointed that I missed my blogoversary in September.  The truth is I just haven't felt like reading.  Nothing has been able to keep my attention.  I ended up playing a video game called The Sims instead.  I made a blog and tell stories and do challenges with the game.  I love it but I really miss reading and the reading blog community.  I don't think that I'll ever be able to go back to reading as many books as I used to read.  I averaged a book a day for about 2 years.  Now I'm lucky if I can get through a few pages.  I've put out a request for recommendations on Goodreads so hopefully I'll get some ideas of books to read from there.  What I had thought was a good idea was to re-read my favorite book.  I thought long and hard and truthfully I can't single out one book or series as my favorite!  I had all these challenges that I had planned to do this year and won't.  But on the bright side I plan to get this blog up and running again.  I'm hoping I can read a book a week.  If you have any ideas of great books please list your favorites in the comments section.  Despite having a huge to-read list on Goodreads I find recommendations are the best way to find books.  Thanks in advance!

~Rainy

My Decision on Goodreads vs BookLikes

After months of comparing Goodreads to BookLikes I have decided to stick with Goodreads.  For one thing copying everything to both is a chore.  I post my reviews on my blog, then Goodreads, then BookLikes and sometimes even Amazon.  It's a real pain.  So I stopped posting to BookLikes sometime in December.  I'm not sure when but I realized I had stopped posting there.  Also, I already have a blog so the blog format of BookLikes isn't really needed.  I know they are still working on their site but there are things that they don't have that I wish they did.  I don't like the format of the groups.  I love the way the Goodreads groups are set up.

So after giving it several months trial and using both I have decided to drop BookLikes.  I don't like how you can't really assign the format of a book without a real pain in the butt.  I don't like how the reviews aren't easy to find.  Truthfully I'm just not happy with much of anything.  What I do like is how I can read people's posts.  BUT this is very similar to Bloglovin' on my iPad so I'll use that and concentrate on Goodreads and blogs.  I know this post is random and not very organized but those are my thoughts and my decision.  If you have any thoughts on my decision please leave a comment.

Reading Slumps

In October I wrote a post on reading binges.  You can read that post here.  A reading binge is when I start reading a series and can't stop until I've read the entire series.  Or, I'll read one book and as soon as it's done I have to pick up another book immediately.  I might even read several books at once switching between the books.  Or one on audio, one on e-book and one in paperback.  Yea I'm that addicted to reading!

But lately I have the opposite problem.  I seem to be in a reading slump.  I pick up a book, read a few pages and put it down.  Try another book and the same thing happens.  I've tried different genres, audio and ebook  nothing helps. I used to have reading slumps that lasted months but now that I have a book blog I'm worried!  I have enough reviews lined up that I can manage for awhile but my gosh I hope this reading slump doesn't last like it used to.  Especially with all the pressure to read and review books for authors and NetGalley.

When my kids were young I would go months between books and it would take me a month just to read one book.  Now I normally average a book a day.  I can't just take a break from reading.  So help me out people!  How do you handle your reading slumps?

2014 Reading Challenges

2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I'm planning to read 50+ books for this challenge in 2014

1-10 - A Firm Handshake

11-20 - A Friendly Hug

21-30 - First Kiss

31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling

41-50 - Could this be love?

50+ - Married With Children

At first I was going to go with a smaller goal and work my way up but I figure I read over 200 books in 2013 I'm sure that I can manage to make it past that in 2014 and most will be older... 

According to my Goodreads "My Books" page I have 352 books in my to-read category.  Now, that may not sound like a lot to some of you but what you have to understand is when there is a series I only put the next book in the series in my to-read list.  Because, what if I hated book 4 and decided not to read book 5-8 of a series?  So keep that in mind while I do this challenge.  

There were several new books published in 2013 that I have not read yet.  I've become leary of reading a book I'm really looking forward to right away because I tend to set myself up for disappointment.  For example Allegiant.  If I had only waited and read reviews I could have saved myself that pain.  So, in addition to weedling down my ever growing to-be-read pile I would also like to read some of those 2013 new releases that I put off.

In addition to new releases I discovered many new authors this year that I'm dying to read.  Some of them I may not have added the books to my Goodreads to-read list yet.  But they are in my to-read list in my head!  During my experiment with reading Christmas books for 2 weeks this year I discovered some excellent new authors in the contemporary romance genre which I haven't read much of and am looking forward to exploring. 

2014 NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge

I'm planning to read 25 books for this challenge in 2014

Aluminum – 5 books

Bronze – 10 books

Silver – 25 books

Gold – 50 books

Platinum – 75 books

Diamond– 100 books

Last I checked my NetGalley percentage was exactly 80%.  That was before a bunch of books that I had requested months ago got approved.  Now I have all this catching up to do!  The other day I was bored and requested a bunch more books so if I get approved for those I'm in big trouble.  The idea of posting which books that I read each month sounds great.    As far as Edelweiss goes I have been planning to sign up but have been to busy to do so.  I spent like an hour reading about how to sign up and request books but that's as far as I've gotten.  So my Edelweiss part of the 2014 goal is to sign up and request a few books.  I'll get back to ya on the rest. 

I signed up for both the vampire and shifter challenges on:

Both challenges are to read 10+ books... vampires and shifters.  Which are my favorite types of books so I will have no problem hitting that goal at all.

Here are the Categories 

Classics are the new black – read a classic novel
It’s a serial thing – you’ve read the first in a series (or even three of them), it’s time to read another!
Lost in translation – time to read a book that was first written in another language and then translated.
It’s about time! – read a book that has been sitting on your shelf for at least two years! (and haven’t read it yet!)
By the numbers – read a book with a Number in the title
Weird Science! – read a book that features some form of science – and maybe discover an untapped passion.
I just love a good Duet – a book written by more than one author.
New Guy in Town – read a Debut book written by a new author.
Almost Human – read a book from the perspective of an animal – or an alien – or a robot! (at least feature an ‘almost human’)
Chunkster-time! – read a book that is longer 500 pages. (Time to dust off War and Peace)
Random Rescue – go to a used book store and RANDOMLY pick a book! (could even be from a grab-bag)
Under-Aged Writer – read a book by an author who is not yet 21. Here's a little help.
Time for exercise – read a book that is set in or around a sport or exercise activity (like yoga or baseball). This can be fiction or nonfiction!
Make-Believe - This category is just for YOU! (and anyone who wants to try it!) Here is your chance to let others know what would get you outside of your Comfort Zone!

Here are the levels

I plan to read 8-10 books for this challenge.

I’m a little Scared: 3-4 categories
It’s not so bad out here!: 5-7 categories
Look at me, outside my comfort zone!: 8-10 categories
Outside In!: 11-13 categories
No Box can Contain Me!: I did ALL 14!



I thought about posting lists of books that I will read for the challenges but I have decided to wait on that. I may add to this post with more details but I'm afraid I'll end up changing my mind as I always seem to do every time that I pick certain books to read within a time-line. So, that's it for now! I'll be tagging all of my TBR Pile Reading Challenge books so everyone can keep up with my progress. Have a great new year ya'll!

A Look Back at 2013

     I've decided to do a look back at 2013.  A lot has happened in 2013 as far as reading and reviewing books goes... for me at least.  I've read too many books in 2013 to show them all.  According to Goodreads, I read 229 books!  So here are some firsts and favorites as I look back on 2013:

• I discovered NetGalley
• Started this blog, a Facebook Page and a Twitter account
• Learned how to blog and all about social media
• Found Feature & Follow Friday
• Met lots of book bloggers and made some friends
• Compared BookLikes to Goodreads

Firsts-

     As odd as it may seem to some of you these genres are new to me.  I have read primarily fantasy, urban fantasy and paranormal romance for years.  So here's a few firsts in genres for me:  

• Time Travel Romance
• Contemporary Romance
• Christmas Books

New Favorite Series:

• Lux
• Guardians of Eternity
• The Infernal Devices
• Fantasyland
• Iron Druid
• Shifters Unbound
• Virgin River

New Favorite Authors:

• Jennifer Sage
• Rosanna Leo
• Kristen Ashley
• Mina Khan
• Bobbi Romans
• Peggy L. Henderson
• Dana Marie Bell
• Patrick Rothfuss

Favorite Books of 2013!

This was really difficult to pick and I'm sure later I'll think of some that missed the list.  Some that were on favorite series I didn't add to favorite books because I loved all the books such as Dana Marie Bell.  So, last but not least in this look back... my favorites! (In no particular order)

December is for Christmasy books!

I got the idea last month to read all Christmas themed books from December 1st leading up to Christmas.  I've gotten a few from Netgalley, some from the library and a few from book tours.  I even have one that I won off of Goodreads.  I'm really looking forward to using this to get into the Christmas spirit and explore some new authors!

Since I live in Florida it's a little harder to get into Christmas.  I usually spend the month before Christmas listening to Christmas music, watching holiday movies and baking cookies.  I thought I would start a new tradition this year and add reading Christmasy books to that.

Here's a list of the books that I plan to read so far:

Sick = Read-a-Thon?

So I haven't been feeling well lately.  I did manage to get in a few COYER reviews and such last week but other than that I've been pretty much AWOL from my blog, Goodreads, BookLikes, Twitter and Facebook.  I listened to 2 different series on audio and read another whole series on ebook.  So I have a lot of reviews to write and I'm not really sure how I'm going to do it.  I might just group them together for the blog by series.


I read from the Wild About You series (on audio) by Vicki Lewis Thompson: A Werewolf in Manhattan, Werewolf in the North Woods, Werewolf in Seattle and Werewolf in Denver. From the Mating Heat series (on audio) by Laurann Dohner: Mate Set and His Purrfect Mate.  Then from the Shifters Unbound series by Jennifer Ashley: Shifter Made, Pride Mates, Primal Bonds, Bodyguard, Wild Cat, Hard Mated, Mate Claimed, Unbound, Lone Wolf and Tiger Magic.  Whew!  Yes I know it's a lot but I basically did nothing but read for over a week.  So look for those reviews in the next few days.  I just realized they are all shifter books!  Too funny.

Is Reading Block Real?

     Right now I should be writing my review on Allegiant.  I'm not because I got halfway through the book and just couldn't read anymore.  I had a hard time getting that far actually.  I joked yesterday that I had "reader's block."  But then I was thinking, this isn't the first new book that this has happened to me with.  I had the same thing happen with the new Lux book Origin.  Except with that book I couldn't get through the first few pages.  I still haven't read it.  I recently reviewed Alice in Zombieland, that took me almost a year from the time I got the book until I read it!  I can understand having kindle freebies collecting dust in my iPad but new books from a series or author that I love?  It's very frustrating!

     I googled reader's block and it brought up a whole long list of results... mostly people complaining that they have it.  What makes no sense to me is that most people seem to just not be able to read any book period.  For me it seems to be only new books.  Is it the anticipation that creates the block?  It seems like perhaps I am so afraid that I will hate the book after I have looked forward to it and spent money on it that I just can't get through it.  I think after this debacle with Allegiant that I will stop pre-ordering new books!  If I can't get myself to read them until the hype is over than it's not worth it.  Now, if it was an Argeneau or Love at Stake or even a list of other books I'm sure I could have read it.  I just don't understand my own mind.

     The number of new books that I have been unable to read until months later seems to be growing.  If there is a ray of sunshine to every cloudy day (even if I am Rainy Dayz hehe) I'd like to find my ray of sunshine here.  Perhaps I'm better off exploring new authors and expanding the genres that I read.  I keep beating myself up over not reading these books, and it's not helping anything.  Luckily I'll have some motivation for that since I'm participating in the clean your e-reader challenge next month.  I've already started working on my list of books.  That should keep me busy for November.  For December I'm thinking of doing nothing but Christmasy type books... we'll see how that goes.
     

Reading Binge

     I haven't posted any reviews in the last few days.  This is due to a recent reading binge.  What is that you ask?  It's basically when you start reading something you like then finish that and start another book immediately.  In four days I finished five books, one novella and two short stories.  I feel completely wrung out.  But that might just be due to the completely emotional roller-coaster the last book put me through!

     I finished off Table For Three and decided I just wanted a nice easy romance to read.  I finished off all of the Halle Puma series that I hadn't read yet.  Now all I have left is the Pocono wolves and the Halle Shifters. Then I kept looking for something to read like the Argeneau books.  Despite the fact that there seems to be a lot of people who don't like those books it's one of my favorite series.  After giving up I decided to just re-read the first of the Argeneau books.  Then I finished off the Stormwalker audio.  Then I again felt like I couldn't find anything to read.  After looking through all my to-read for this month I decided on The Sea of Tranquility.  Whew what a book!

     So here I am.  Completely exhausted.  It's the first time I have finished a book in almost a week and not immediately felt the need to search out what to read next.  Mabye I'll watch some tv or something, lol.  So yes, I do have a lot of reviews to write but I think I will wait until tomorrow.  Anyone who has read The Sea of Tranquility will understand why.  I just feel totally wrung out after that book!  After this long reading binge and complete silence from me on my blog, facebook, twitter and even goodreads and booklikes I have a lot of catching up to do!

Is Grammar Dead?

     Everyone who knows me knows that I read a lot.  I have to admit lately I have gotten more and more picky about the grammar and punctuation in books.  In a way audiobooks are more relaxing because I can just listen.  Although if they pronounce something wrong I am just as bad.  For example some of the Dark Hunter  narrators pronounced Acheron incorrectly.  As I am reading I will rant and rave to my poor unsuspecting family.  I have gone as far as underlining all of the problems I find in books.  I have to force myself to step back and ignore it all in order to enjoy a book.

     What I wonder about is whether I should factor in the grammar and punctuation when reviewing a book.  Now, keep in mind when a book is an ARC I have just sent a personal note to the author about it and not mentioned it in the review.  It doesn't make sense if I am reading an unedited copy.  What I don't understand is how things can slip by repeatedly in a book?  For example using passed instead of past?  There are 3 ways of saying to, two and too.  I might not be great at punctuation and I'll be the first to admit that... but are they not teaching grammar anymore?  My kids assure me that they are.

     So please tell me your thoughts.  Should a review of an already edited copy include critiques of grammar or punctuation?  Or should we attempt to ignore it?  Does this bother anyone else as much as it bothers me? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

~Lacie
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