The Weekly Update: 4/2/17

 
 

Good news! The headaches were in fact caused by the granola things I was eating! So I have had a blissfully headache-free week! Well, not entirely since I got a headache from fatigue one day, but that one went away after a night’s rest, so close enough.

Kristen’s life tip of the week: If you start feeling dehydrated despite drinking lots of water and can’t figure out why, make sure you’re not eating too much fiber because fiber draws in water, thus taking it away from your body.

By the way, do you any of you use alternative medicine, like herbs, essential oils, etc.? If so I would love to chat and find out what you use or if there’s anything you swear by to help with certain things. I have some stuff I use often, but I want to expand my arsenal and kind of don’t know where to start.


Blog/Bookish Updates:

Ok, wow, lots of good bookish stuff to talk about this week. First of all, there’s a still a little bit of time left to enter the giveaway for the first book in one of my favorite series!

Win a Signed Paperback of The Immortal Coil by J. Armand!

Second, I love my librarian or whoever it is that purchases the ebooks for my library! I requested the Captive Prince, and they got all three of those. Then last week I requested Vicious and Warm Bodies, and literally like two days later I got an email that they were purchased and on hold for me to borrow. I’m finally getting to read some of the books I’ve wanted to read for years but couldn’t afford!

In a similar thread, I also love Hoopla! They get the newest Saga volumes like as soon as they come out. Literally I borrowed Vol. 7 two days after the release date.

Even more good bookish news, I found out the third book in a series that I feared was abandoned (Real Vampires Don’t Sparkle) will be coming out in April! For like a year or more there have no social media updates, no website updates, nothing from the author at all and also nothing from the publisher about this particular series. But I loved the first two books and the second ended on a huge cliffhanger, so I’m so happy the next one will actually be coming out!

Lastly, I won a kindle ebook of The Breaking Light by Heather Hansen in a GR giveaway! They were giving away 100 copies so the odds were pretty good lol. And it’s got a gorgeous cover!

The Breaking Light by Heather Hansen
 
 

Books I Received for Review:

Nothin’! Aren’t you proud of me?

 

Books I Finished:

Inheritance by Lissa Kasey
Reclamation by Lissa Kasey
Conviction by Lissa Kasey
Ascendance by Lissa Kasey
Saga Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
 

I’m enjoying this Dominion series. (Also loving the covers.) They’re fairly quick, simple urban fantasy reads, but the characters have grown on me, and all the books included mental illness/disability, which was a complete surprise! (The MC has anxiety, depression, OCD, and panic attacks, and in Conviction, which was the POV of two other characters, one had eating disorders and the other had asthma.) The books started to feel kind of repetitive in a way by the fourth one, but I’d still like to continue. Saga Vol. 7 was good but still not quite as good to me as the first few volumes were.

 

Song of the Week:

Instead of a song, I have videos this week. These guys are such FIERCE dancers! I spent like an hour just watch a whole bunch of Yanis Marshall videos. And seriously I need some “How to Rock Heels 101” lessons from this guy because he dances better in heels than I can even stand in them. Not to mention if I tried to wear heels with sweatpants, I would look ridiculous, yet he somehow pulls it off.

Yanis Marshall Heels Choreography. “Buttons” Pussycat Dolls. (Go to 0:20 to get straight to the choreography)

 

Yanis Marshall Heels Choreography. “7/11” Beyonce. (Go to 0:13 to get straight to the choreography)

 

Yanis Marshall Choreography “Brite Lites” Lana Del Ray – I swear the beginning of this one is hypnotizing. I can’t stop watching. Someone help me o.0

 
 

In Case You Missed It:

– I shared book covers featuring Spaceships/UFOs.
– I reviewed The Heart of Arima (Les Corbeaux: The French Vampire Legend Book 2) by Emma V. Leech, an emotional UF/PNR with a drama-filled vampire-witch romance.
– I reviewed Stolen Ink (Ink Born Book 1) by Holly Evans, an urban fantasy about a tattoo magician.
– I reviewed Broken Mirror (Resonant Earth Book 1) by Cody Sisco, a cyberpunk/alternate history about a fictional mental illness w/ developed, flawed characters.

 

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

Once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer 🙂

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you found any great books, music, or videos recently?
Do you love *your* librarian?
Can you dance in heels?

 
 
[shared_counts]
 
 
 

Your Thoughts

 

62 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 4/2/17

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  1. Maureen Beatrice

    Glad to hear your headache is gone Kristen! I have headaches regularly and they really suck. I always have major concentration problems when I have a headache. Blegh..
    Those Dominion series covers do look great. I would definitely grab a copy if I saw one lying in the store.
    Congrats on winning ‘The Breaking Light’. That cover looks amazing.
    Have a great week and happy reading!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! Headaches do suck, especially when they stick around for long periods of time. And they’re debilitating sometimes because everything you do requires using your head!

      Those Dominion covers are so gorgeous! Definitely part of the reason I was drawn to the books lol.

      Thanks 🙂 You have a great week too!

  2. Greg

    Glad you figured out the headaches. That’s gotta be a relief. I tried to get Hoopla but my library doesn’t participate- isn’t that dumb? That’s one of the reasons I don’t use the library much- it’s smaller and they just don’t have a lot of the services. The larger library nearby is on a different system and I can check books out but not ebooks. whatever. Glad you’re getting a new Real Vamps Don’t Sparkle book. A cliffhanger is no way to end a series after all lol.

    Nice cover on The Breaking Light.

    That is seriously impressive heel dancing. Love that second video!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks, it was such a relief to finally have some headache-free days. It really does suck that your libraries don’t do Hoopla or ebooks :-/ I never check out physical books, so I wouldn’t even use the library if not for the ebooks. Seriously, I was so worried I’d never get an answer to that cliffhanger!

      I really do like that Breaking Light, and I am legit impressed by the dancing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone rock heels so well!

  3. Emma

    Glad you solved your headache issue. I do use natural remedies but am not an expert. Try a blog called Belle and Candle. I follow and there is lots of herbal remedies etc.

  4. Jackie

    Wow! I can barely even walk in heels, so I certainly wouldn’t be able to dance in them. LOL!
    I’m glad you found out the cause of your headaches.

  5. Lola

    That’s great you figured out where the headaches were coming from, although it is sad you can’t eat those granola things anymore now. But yay for an almost headache free week!

    That’s neat your librarian got the books you requested and you can read those now! That’s good news you got about that series that book three will be published after all as you enjoyed the first two books.

    You did much better than me with your new books. I got a whole bunch of them this week.

    Those covers for the Dominion series look great! You really got a lot read this week. I am looking forward to your reviews of those Dominion books. And that’s nice they even had some diversity. Have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah I’m bummed that I can’t eat the granola things because they were so good! But I’m more glad to just not have the headaches anymore.

      I was so happy about both the library and the series 🙂

      Technically I still got some new books since I bought all those Dominion ebooks, but no review copies at least, so nothing stressful. And the Dominion books were pretty short which is why I read so much lol. Thanks, you have a great week too!

  6. chucklesthescot

    I have books on alternative medicine and herbs and things but haven’t really had the time to sit and study any of it yet. I am interested in the subject but don’t really know anything much about it except that honey is an instant cure for burns and stops it from scarring. That and honey and ginger being good for stomach pains! I used to use essential oils in the bath but that was over ten years ago and I no longer have a bath! We had to get it removed for a walk-in shower.

    I never wear heels ever so I certainly wouldn’t want to dance in them as I’d break my ankles…

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m no expert, but I know a bit because I’ve done a shit ton of research on lots of health-related stuff since coming down with my illness six years ago. And I hate taking medicines or putting unnecessary chemicals in my body, so I usually look for natural things first when I have a problem. I’ve used a ginger oil mix for cramps before (rubbed onto the skin), but I don’t know if it really does much for me.

      Yeah, I’m lucky if I can just walk in heels lol.

  7. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Yay for being mostly headache free. I didn’t know that about having too much fibre in your diet dehydrating you. I will definitely be keeping an eye on that.

    I am totally jealous of your library, mine is less good about ordering in books for us but only because they have a limited budget for new books. Glad to see you’ve been getting some awesome new reads lately, though. Awesome getting a copy of Breaking Light, it was my Kindle first book last month although I’ve not started reading yet.

    Aren’t those Yanis Marshall videos awesome? He was actually on Britain’s Got Talent and that’s when I saw him. Him and the guys he danced with were amazing! I can’t even walk in heels let alone dance in them.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m so glad to have the headaches gone. I hadn’t known that either about fiber or I’d have been rid of my headaches a lot sooner!

      My library prob has a budget too, which is why I’m being choosy about what I request lol. And I kind of wonder if maybe I’m the only person requesting ebooks and maybe that’s why they’re listening to my requests, haha. I saw Breaking Light on your blog and that’s probably how I ended up on the GR page and saw the giveaway 😛 So thanks!

      Yanis is so amazing! I saw some of the Britain’s Got Talent videos. Seriously, I can’t even walk in heels, yet these guys can dance in them like nobody’s business. It’s impressive.

  8. Karen

    Whoa! that dancing! I can barely stand in heels lol I love that Lana Del Ray song too.

    Food can mess you up so bad. I have a digestive issue and trying to figure out what triggers it has been such a long road. One little thing throws you off. I’m glad you figured out the granola was bothering you. My SIL has CFS (I think that’s what you said you had in an earlier post). It’s really frustrating.

    For What It’s Worth

    1. Kristen Burns

      That dancing is amazing, right?! And I had never heard that Lana Del Ray song, but I listened to it for like an hour on repeat the other night because I’m loving it, haha.

      It’s crazy how something so little as a food can affect your body in such a big way. Even non-food things can affect your body too though. That’s why it’s always so hard to figure out the culprit when your body starts reacting and why it took me weeks to figure out the fiber thing. And yep, CFS is what I have, so I can somewhat understand your journey to figure out your triggers since I’ve had to figure out triggers for random symptoms too.

  9. sjhigbee

    Watching the dancing and seeing the men strut their stuff in heels makes me realise just how gendered the moves are! I love the cover for The Breaking Light, so I’ll be interested to see how you get on with it. The Dominion series looks fun – I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Have a great week, Kristen:)

    1. Kristen Burns

      It does really show how gendered some dance moves are, right? But I love how they’re wearing heels and doing more feminine moves, yet none of them actually look feminine. Breaking stereotypes! To be honest I’m a little concerned about The Breaking Light after reading some reviews lol, but I guess I’ll see how I feel whenever I read it. Thanks, you have a great week too!

  10. suzanna

    Glad you found out what was giving you headaches… even if you can’t eat the granola things any more.
    I read Warm Bodies before the film came out. It’s one of those rare times where I like the film better.
    Love the cover on The Breaking Light. And the dancing in heels was hilarious. I’m not good in heels so they did waaaay better than I could ha ha.
    Have a good week

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah I’m bummed because I really liked those granola things! But I’ll survive as long as it means not having those headaches 🙂

      Really? Huh, I’m at like 20% in Warm Bodies and was already thinking I can’t imagine the film would even remotely compare since to me the beauty of the book is in R’s thoughts and emotions.

      I couldn’t dance like that heels either, so you’re not alone! Thanks, you have a great week too 🙂

      1. suzanna

        Don’t get me wrong, I loved Warm Bodies but I felt the book rambled a bit whereas the film was more focused. Does that make sense? I keep meaning to pick up the sequel. Enjoy your reading 🙂

  11. Lampshade Reader

    So glad you figured out what was causing your headaches.

    I can’t dance period, let alone in heels! LOL Congrats on your win. 🙂

    Hope you have a great week! ~Aleen

  12. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    I can barely walk in heels! haha I’ve seen one of those videos before and that guy is just amazing! For real. lol

    Yay for a series you love finally coming out with a new book!

    I’m glad you figured out why you were getting headaches. And I’m curious about essential oils too. I don’t know a lot.

    -Lauren

    1. Kristen Burns

      Same here! Just walking looks awkward for me, haha. But that guy is legit amazing, I agree lol.

      I’m so excited about the series! And thanks about the headaches 🙂 I do use some essential oils and things, like peppermint and eucalyptus for headaches, but I’d like to try using more. There’s just so much out there it’s hard to know where to start.

  13. Jane @ Raincity Librarian

    Yay! Purchasing can actually be pretty challenging – you want to maintain a balanced collection that will appeal to everyone, and you want to try and be on top of the trends so you can have plenty of copies of the next big smash hits ready, but of course you typically have limited funds to do it all with. It can really be a guessing game sometimes!

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s why I’ve been requesting popular, well-known books, since I figured those are more likely to get purchased over an unknown indie or something. It must be cool to have that kinda power as a librarian, haha.

  14. Joanne

    Glad you figured out what’s causing your headaches. I’m trying to figure out what, in my diet’s, caused my pain issues to flair up again and trying to convince myself I like the taste of turmeric and tree of life drinks (that’s as close as I’ve gotten to alternatives – but not too much of a stretch since in the Caribbean, bush and root teas are a part of life). The Dominion series sounds interesting.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 🙂 Pretty sure I’ve read about turmeric but have yet to try it myself. I take a lot of liquid vitamins and sometimes herbs like echinacea and goldenseal, even apple cider vinegar sometimes, and I’ve found that mixing them into either fruit juice or water with Crystal Light and drinking quickly helps mask the awful taste for you have anything that can be mixed in a drink lol. The Dominion series has been pretty good so far!

  15. Christy LoveOfBooks

    Glad to hear you were able to solve the source of the headache and that you’re feel better. At least better than you were. Ohhhhh good job to the librarian for getting you Warm Bodies! I’ve seen one of those videos before, but you’re right, they’re mesmerizing. And not going to lie, but a guy in heels is sexy af. 😀

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 🙂 Haha I told you I was gonna request it, and I did! That last video is especially mesmerizing to me because of how the choreography matches with the music so perfectly and everything. I feel like there’s chance you might be joking? But I legit don’t understand why it’s not socially acceptable for men to wear heels! They make their legs look just as fantastic as they make women’s legs look!

  16. Barb (boxermommyreads)

    So glad you figured out what was causing most of your headaches. I felt sick all day yesterday on and off and can’t quite pinpoint what’s going on other than I may be fighting a stomach virus. You got quite a bit of reading done this week and yea! You’ll finally get to finish your series.

    I love wearing heels but there is no way I could do any of that in them. Thanks for sharing such awesome videos and I hope you have a wonderful week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 🙂 But aww, I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well :-/ Feel better! And yes, I’m so happy about that series!

      Seriously, I couldn’t do all that in heel either! Thanks, you too 🙂

  17. verushka

    Oh my goodness *fans self* That choreography is hot, heels and all! And I agree, he needs to give lessons, DAMN. (Ps got distracted by the videos, BReaking Light is gorgeous!)

    1. Kristen Burns

      I AGREE! And seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone rock heels quite like that, and I could use some lessons from him. And that cover is so gorgeous!

  18. Angela @ Simply Angela

    I’ve not read Warm Bodies but I did watch and enjoy the movie, which surprised me since I’m not a zombie person.

    I’m glad you figured out what was causing your headaches. I had a similar problem a few years ago. I couldn’t figure out what was giving me these horrific headaches and it turned out to be the Lipton blueberry green tea I was drinking. Apparently, they use some type of additive in their tea that I’m allergic to. So, I switched brands and I’ve not had any trouble.

    I’m a big fan of using alternative medicine. I use essential oils, herbs, and herbal teas daily. And, for me, they do help. Are you looking for anything in particular?

    1. Kristen Burns

      It’s one of those not-your-typical-zombie-book books. I haven’t seen the movie though.

      I’ve had other things give me awful headaches too, it’s always a pain (literally) trying to puzzle out what it is *this* time.

      Not really anything in particular, I just want to kind of stock up on useful stuff to use it more. Like, I have peppermint and eucalyptus oil to use topically for headaches. I’ve used ginger oil topically for cramps but don’t know if it really helped. And I’ve used echinacea, apple cider vinegar, and garlic for immune boosting. A couple other things for specific problems. But I feel like there are so many more uses, and every time I try to Google, I get overwhelmed because every site says a million things and everyone has different tips and gah! But for example I don’t have anything for nausea or for any sickness other than the three immune boosting things, idk if diffusing oils really does anything and if it’d be worth it to try that…

  19. Laurie @ Bark's Book Nonsense

    So glad you resolved your headaches. It took me years of migraines to realize I have an intolerance to MSG & Aspartame. Even a little gives me a migraine for days. So it’s all clean for me. And no review books in? You ARE good! I just can’t turn away audiobooks!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 🙂 Figuring out health stuff is so hard sometimes because there are like a thousand different things that can cause them, you know? Glad you figured yours out eventually! And haha, I’m always proud of myself when I get no new books 😛

  20. Cait @ Paper Fury

    Hooooow do they dance so well in HEELS. I wore heels once and I died and decided no thanks and never again.? (And it was literally the smallest heel in the world.) Ahem. Some people have talent. And balance!?

    And that’s great your headaches stopped!! Are you allergic to the granola do you think? Also omg I loooove how my library buys things I request. I get SO many new releases there. They’re so kind to me and I like to think I’m helping them get good new books on the shelves.?

    1. Kristen Burns

      I don’t know!!! I look awkward just walking in them. And it’s weird because I actually great balance when I’m *not* in heels since I used to be a gymnast lol.

      Thanks! No, it was that they had too fiber which dehydrated me because fiber draws in water. Yay, glad you have a great library too!

  21. Charlie

    Glad your headaches are gone! What a strange effect. I suffer from IBS-like effects (though the original doctor for my care scoffed when I suggested it and would not make a diagnosis of any kind) and it was recommended I not take additional fiber (like Metamucil). I’m also interested in essential oils. It would be cool to share a post of what you’ve learned!

    I could never dance in heels. I don’t even know if I could walk in them these days. I need comfy shoes. Somebody at your library loves you!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! Yeah, I never realized fiber could dehydrate you. And ugh, some doctors are just… ugh. As for the oils, I don’t think I’ve learned enough to share a post yet! But maybe one day 🙂

      Seriously, I haven’t actually worn heels anywhere in years, I’d be lucky if I could even walk in them now. Haha, well I love them back!

  22. S. J. Pajonas

    Glad your week was better and headache free! I caught some sort of virus and my week preceding that was not so good. Glad that’s behind me. I do like using essential oils but I don’t use them regularly enough, nor do I see them make a huge impact in my life when I do. Hmmm.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 🙂 And I’m glad you’re feeling better now! I don’t use essential oils as a daily thing, but I’ve found alternative things like oils and herbs to actually be really helpful, so I’d like to use more.

  23. La La in the Library

    I love the dancing vids, thanks for sharing those! High fives for no review books. I was doing really well, too, but Netgalley and Edelweiss exploded in my face this last week. A bunch of them I didn’t think I was getting because it was between a week and two weeks before they pubbed. Screw that, if they want to approve them that late in the game I read them when I can make the time. I ended up with nine eARCs, plus my Blogging For Books title arrived. ?

    I do some natural remedy stuff. Tea bags on rashes works really well, regular tea, not herbal. Really sour things work better for me than mint or ginger for nausea. The Altoids Sours are good so that, or sucking on a piece of lemon! Ha ha. I also feel the aromatherapies work, but… I think people need to tailor them to themselves. For instance lavender is supposed to help with headaches, but it GIVES me headaches. Vanilla is supposed to be calming, but I hate the smell unless it is emanating from a baked good. Heh heh. Chamomile fragrance calms me best. Mint is supposed to be invigorating, but lemon and grapefruit scents do that better for me. I think people should make their own personal aromatherapy charts. I also try to eat anti-inflamatory foods. I hope you have been having a great week. ☺

    1. Kristen Burns

      I could’ve sworn I already answered this, oops! Glad you like the videos 🙂 And lol, yeah, it always works that way, that all the sudden there are a whole bunch of books at once that you want.

      Huh, I never thought about the possibility that diff oils would work diff for diff people. But I hadn’t heard about the sour thing—I’ll definitely pick up some of those! I’ve tried ginger candies and gum but they’re awful and too spicy and don’t make me feel better. But Altoids would be easy to buy and keep around. And ugh, yes, I hate the smell of lavender! It gives me headaches too! I didn’t even know vanilla was supposedly calming. I love that smell, I’ll have to try that one. I’ll have to try experimenting and see what works for me, thanks for the tip!

  24. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    YES! I’m so glad you figured out that the granola was a huge cause of issues in your life. Who would have thought fibre could be such a beast!?

    Jeepers you finished a lot of books and I’m VERY proud (and kind of shocked) about the none for review! Good job!

    Hope you had a great week and I swear that I’ll be more organised this week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 🙂 And right? It’s crazy how these things can affect the body SO MUCH.

      Well the books were short and the last one was a graphic novel, so I didn’t read quite as much as it looks lol. And haha, thanks!

      Thanks, same to you 🙂

  25. Dragonfly @ Our Familiarium

    So happy to hear you found the source of your headaches and that your are now headache-free 🙂 I’ll keep that tip about fiber in mind! I use LOTSA of alternative medicine so let’s chat friend 😉
    I have to watch the videos as soon as I get home they look GOOD! look at those poses! Love them.

      1. Dragonfly

        I just watched them wow just wow and I’m jealous! And even a little pissed and envious! Why do guys dance are this good on heels?!! That was one thing I thought we girls had mastered over guys! Damn! Humph! It’s like enough already guys! The want to do everything better than us! Humph girl power? ??

        1. Kristen Burns

          Nah, I like it—it’s equality! I think more men should wear heels 😉 And then they can suffer with us! (And also be taller since I always feel too tall in heels lol.)