Tag Archives: books

Monthly Recap: May

  •  2 Comments

Books I Read

Freefall to Fly by Rebekah Lyons

The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (reread)

Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

I also listened to two non-fiction books on audio in May. I decided to try adding audiobooks in with my podcast routine to switch things up. I don’t like audiobooks quite as much as podcasts because it’s not conversational, but it’s still working out pretty well for me. It’s a good way to absorb information while doing something else. Right now I’m “re-reading” To Kill A Mockingbird on audio, though I’ve thought about abandoning the audiobook to finish reading it for myself since the narrator’s attempt at a Southern accent has grated on me a little. We’ll see.

 

Netflix

As you may have seen on my post about Anne with an E, I got a Netflix free trial after never having it before, and watched that entire series. Since then, I’ve watched a little of Girl Meets World (thanks to Annie) and my husband and I have started Sherlock. We’re planning to keep the service through the summer, until our shows come back on TV. If you have any other recs, send them my way!

#Bookstagram Image of the Month

Life Things

A few days before our anniversary, my husband and I made a somewhat last-minute decision to take a quick, one night trip to a nearby city, Chattanooga, a few days after our anniversary. It was a really great little trip! I have a future post planned where I will share a little more about it.

We also ordered our first set of living room furniture! For our first 8 years of marriage we have been using hand-me-down furniture, which has been great and we have been thankful for, but since we’ve gotten into our new house last year we have been ready to sort of really make it our own. It will be several weeks before we get the new furniture, but when we do we’ll move the old couch upstairs to our bonus room and probably get rid of our old chairs. It’s kind of crazy to think about as it’s just another thing that feels so “adult”!

Looking Forward to in June

I don’t really have big plans, which is nice. Just some family stuff, and hopefully just enjoy the beginning of summer. I’m also rooting for the Preds for the Stanley Cup; GO PREDS! I’ve been to one Preds game before (a couple of years ago) and I honestly didn’t love it (getting shut-out probably didn’t help…), but watching them advance through each round of the playoffs has been so exciting! They’re down in the series right now, but it’s been a year of comebacks so I haven’t lost faith yet!

Potential June TBR 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (reread)

Duels and Deceptions by Cindy Anstey

I’m still undecided on what else I want to read, but I’ll figure it out. 🙂 I also finished Better Off Friends already and really enjoyed it.

What are you looking forward to this month?

The Top 10 Books on my Summer TBR + Most Anticipated Releases of 2017

  •  6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Last week’s topic that I missed was Summer Reads Freebie, and this week’s topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half of 2017. So I thought I would sort of combine these two to share my summer TBR and releases I’m anticipating from the latter half of this year.

On my summer TBR…

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (reread)

As I continue my HP reread, I’m very excited to get started on my second favorite book of the series!

Duels and Deceptions by Cindy Anstey

I enjoyed Love, Lies & Spies last year, so I’m looking forward to Anstey’s follow-up!

These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

This wasn’t on my spring TBR I don’t know what you’re talking about…

Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal

The way something was handled in the previous Glamourist Histories book makes me not as eager to pick up this one, but I have it so I want to give it a fair shot. Hopefully what happened last time will be redeemed.

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

This is one of my many library holds and I’m hoping it’ll come through this summer. My husband and I just started the BBC Sherlock so it’s put me in the mood!

By Your Side by Kasie West

Another library hold I hope will come through soon. I know that this one has been generally less liked than West’s other works, but I still want to read it.

What I’m Anticipating From The Latter Half of This Year

Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill, Coming June 6

I thought All Our Yesterdays was fantastic, so I’m ready to read something new by Cristin!

Wonder Woman by Leigh Bardugo, Coming August 29

It’ll be interesting to read something by Leigh outside of the Grishaverse!

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo, Coming September 26

More Grisha!

Renegades by Marissa Meyer, Coming November 7

Confession: I felt burned by Heartless. I adored The Lunar Chronicles and Heartless was just way too much of a downer for me. I’m cautiously optimistic that Renegades could be better, but I’ll probably try to borrow from the library instead of buying it right away like I did Heartless. But the concept definitely sounds interesting!

What are you planning to read this summer? What releases coming later this year are you anticipating? 

Monthly Recap: April

  •  10 Comments

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!

Books I Read

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal

Only one of these is YA! I’m trying to broaden my horizons a bit. I enjoyed all these reads but Anne’s House of Dreams was my favorite (which was such a relief after Anne of Windy Poplars was a small let-down).

Movie of the Month

Beauty and the Beast! It was lovely! As much as I loved Emma Watson and the guy who played the Beast though, I kind of think Luke Evans as Gaston stole the show! He was spot-on.

My husband and I are also working our way through a Star Wars movies rewatch; only episodes VI and VII to go now!

#Bookstagram Images of the Month

Camp NaNoWriMo

I needed some serious time away from the project I have spent years on, so this month I dabbled on a new story idea that I am pretty sure now is going to be my next WIP, a contemporary about two teens competing for first chair sax. I completed my goal of 10,000 words, though they weren’t all exactly in order. Oops. Anyhow, I’m really loving it and hope I get to share it one day!

Looking Forward to in May

My husband and I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage and 13 years together on the 16th! Sometimes it seems so crazy it’s been that long, but sometimes it feels like it’s been longer (in a good way)! Sadly, we don’t get to go on a vacation this month around our anniversary like we usually do because I got sick so much this winter and used up my PTO, sigh… But I trust it’ll be a good month regardless. We have a local jazz festival I am looking forward to plus a few things lined up to do with friends.

Potential May TBR

The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (reread) by J.K. Rowling

These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

Paper Wishes by Lois Sephban

I also already finished one book after reading half of it on April 30 and finishing it the first day of May, but I’ll mention that in my recap next month. 🙂

How was your April? What are you looking forward to in May? 

*Edit May 29: I have closed comments due to an unusual amount of spam comments for this post.

My Top 10 Book Covers that Scream Summer

  •  9 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Cover Theme Freebie. I always anticipate summer, though sadly my vacation this year has been delayed until fall (curse you winter sickness!), but nonetheless, there are many summer-esque covers with which to celebrate the upcoming season. Here’s my list of my favorite covers that scream summer, in no particular order.

1. Lucky in Love by Kasie West

I don’t know why the fair makes me think of summer, especially since around here it’s usually more of a fall affair, but I’m gonna roll with it anyway.

2. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord (hardcover or paperback)

I super love this book and the hardback cover (which I own), but the paperback definitely has a fun summer vibe to it (which isn’t as fitting for the story but I still like it).

3. Wanderlost by Jen Malone

Summer traveling, yes please.

4. Love & Gelato by Jenni Evans Welch

I’ve loved this cover since I first saw it online, but just saw it in person recently and loved it even more. Seriously, just look at the cuteness of the gelato!

5. Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

String lights + movies + pool = sounds like a great summer to me!

6. It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

More string light love!

7. The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

I think the only thing that really makes this feel summery other than the name is the bright, saturated colors, but I’ve always been drawn to this cover.

8. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson also has a fun summer cover featuring ice cream (I’m sensing a theme), but I do like this one more.

9. The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee

All these flowers just make me think of spring and summer!

10. Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot

Dancing on the beach feels pretty quintessential summer to me.

Which of these summer covers are your favorite? 

Discussion: “Light” Contemporary YA

  •  3 Comments

Lately I’ve been on the hunt for more fun, clean contemporary YA, in part because my next story idea I want to get serious writing about falls into this category. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find much in this category outside of Kasie West, though I did recently finish Love & Gelato by Jenni Evans Welch that met the criteria and was an enjoyable read.

As you may have noticed, I have yet to use the word “fluffy” like many would, and that’s because I still want my fun contemporary YA to have substance, and I believe several of them do. The question is, how to insert it without suddenly making your book all about an issue? How do you achieve meaningful character growth when you want to avoid the death of a family member or some other catastrophe that feels more dramatic than what you are really going for? Yes, something needs to happen to make the character grow, but I don’t think it has to be BIG AND DRAMATIC.

I was thinking recently of how Jane Austen’s books were contemporary for her time. She was writing about people in her place and time, and yet her stories have endured. Maybe it’s because the romances felt more original than what we read now (since many rehash hers), I don’t really know. Perhaps it’s a tall order, but I want to figure out how to write a contemporary YA that is fairly light in nature (not an issue book like Thirteen Reasons Why, which has obviously seen enormous success for about a decade now) but can stand out and endure. I’m not expecting it to last hundreds of years necessarily, but I would hate to see anything I might publish one day basically blink out of oblivion within a year or two.

As I think of my adoration of The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, what comes to mind is how much I love the characters Paige and Max, and love how they come together. To me, it’s just perfect. And that’s the sort of story I strive to write – with characters so lovable that you root for them hardcore and are happy when it all works out in the end, and that in the end it feels like more than just a romance.

What are your thoughts? What are your favorite light YA contemporary reads, and what makes a great one in your opinion? (Please share recs too!) 

Copyright © 2022 Amy C. Shaw. All Rights Reserved.
Photos by Cassidy Jo Photography | Website by

View Full Site