The Weekly Update: 8/14/16

 
 

Forget “real life” today, let’s talk Olympics!

For anyone who hasn’t been watching the gymnastics, I’ll fill you in. There were two injuries last week, which was unfortunate. A French male gymnast fractured his leg in two places on vault during the trials and couldn’t compete (which is just heartbreaking), and a British female gymnast fell on her head on floor during the trials but managed to do her two vaults after that and went on to compete. So she’s not seriously injured, but she’s probably in pain.

In actual competition news, the US women’s team dominated the team finals with Russia and China in 2nd and 3rd. The men’s team didn’t do quite so well and came in 5th in team finals with Japan, Russia, and China getting the top three spots.

The men’s individual all-around finals were fun to watch because Kohei Uchimura from Japan was expected to win, and he did, but Oleg Verniaiev from Ukraine was so close, less than a tenth of a point behind, and really gave him a run for his money. Max Whitlock (Great Britain) took bronze. As for the women’s, US gymnast Simone Biles took the gold, which is what everyone expected, Aly Raisman (US) took silver, and Aliya Mustafina (Russia) took bronze. (Also, I watched those online, and I kind of love Jonathan Horton as a commentator because he cracked me up, haha.)

Also, did anyone happen to watch the men’s synchronized diving on Monday evening? Because synchronized diving has become my new second favorite Olympic sport (well, I didn’t have a second favorite before, but I do now). For one thing, it’s a lot like gymnastics since they do all that flipping and twisting and it takes all that technique, skill, balance, flexibility, and air awareness. But I was also really moved by the friendship among the diving partners. I never thought about it before, but I can’t imagine having such a close friendship like that. I mean, they spend so much time together, they rely on each other, they bolster each up, they mentor each other. And hearing the way they talked about it in their interview things, seeing the way they embraced each other in excitement after seeing the final scores… call me crazy or sappy or whatever, but I thought it was really beautiful and touching. And the joy and emotion when the teams won was so infectious!

Anyway, I know that was a super long intro, but I couldn’t help myself. Now back to your regularly scheduled weekly update post!


Blog/Bookish Updates:

WHY IS EVERY WEBSITE CHANGING? You all obviously know about the GR changes. Netgalley also changed the way you submit reviews which confused me at first since it’s in two parts now. Bloglovin’ also changed the way your feed is shown, and I hate it because it’s confusing and cluttered and hard to see what blog each thing was posted from.

But anyway, GR has made even more changes. And I, for one, love the idea of being able to find all the things I highlighted right on GR. Of course, most of what I read nowadays is review copies which means I didn’t get them through Amazon which means the highlights won’t show up… but I have read plenty of books from Amazon in the past and still do occasionally. And every time I want to look for quotes, I have to get out my kindle and go hunting. This would be so much easier. Plus they’re automatically set to private, and you can pick and choose which highlights/notes, if any, you want to be public. Which is good since I wouldn’t want all my GR friends to see all the weird things my depraved mind highlights ๐Ÿ˜‰ I just like how this’ll make it easier for me to find quotes I’ve highlighted and maybe make it easier to share the ones I do want to share.

Also, I got this in my spam folder: “questions for you if itโ€™s okay. Is it simply me or”

Yes, it’s you. It’s not me, it’s you. We can still be friends though.

Books I Received for Review:

Letting Lier and Finding Pax by Harper Moon | reading, books
Brute by Kim Fielding | reading, books
Cages by Aidan Edwards | reading, books
 

Books I Finished:

Letting Lier and Finding Pax by Harper Moon | reading, books
 

Slow reading week for me. I think I’m in a bit of slump and haven’t felt much like reading :-/ I was also distracted by the Olympics. Anyway, Letting Lier and Finding Pax had some execution issues with the POVs but was otherwise pretty good.

Song of the Week:

No song this week.

In Case You Missed It:

– I did my first tag, the Olympic Book Tag.
– I reviewed Welcome to Deadland by Zachary Tyler Linville, a realistic and character-focused zombie apocalypse YA LGBT book.
– I discussed consistency in book series.
– I reviewed Captive by Jex Lane, a violent and sexy M/M urban fantasy with vampires and incubi.
– I reviewed The Hypnotic City by Andrea Berthot, a YA historical SFF-esque book with an amazing female MC.

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

Once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer ๐Ÿ™‚

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Did you find any good books or music last week?
Did you watch any of the gymnastics or synchronized diving?
Have you been watching any of the other Olympic sports?
Do you like the new Goodreads highlights/notes feature and the new Bloglovin' feed?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

48 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 8/14/16

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  1. roro

    Letting Lier and Finding Pax seems cute, Yes, say it. I ‘m not a fan of website changes. I’ll get use to it though, hopefully. I can imagine that friendships between diving partners must be deep. Have a great weekend, Kristen

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well, cute isn’t quite the word to describe that book lol, but I did think it had a good story and characters. Same here about the website changes. I grumble about them, but I always get used to them eventually. And yeah, those diving partner friendships just really touched me! You have a great week too ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Greg

    I saw the gymnast who fell on her head, that was awkward and it was nice to see her be able to go on. I didn’t catch a lot of the gymnastics but I did see some, especially the women’s and a bit of the men’s. That US team… man. I did see some of the synchro diving and that’s always fun. And the pool turned green… although I think that was on Tuesday.

    I knew Goodreads changed but I haven’t spent a lot of time there yet. Didn’t know about the highlights either- and Bloglovin I usually just scan my dail email so I missed the changes there too I guess! lol I’ll have to take a closer look.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, even a short fall onto your head can be bad. And that might’ve one of those types of injuries that probably hurts more the next day. But at least she was still able to keep competing. Seriously, the US women’s team is just phenomenal! And the synchro diving was so cool. But I didn’t hear about the pool turning green? I only saw the diving that one night.

      I do spend a fair amount of time on GR. I like some of the changes, some not so much. And I have as few things delivered to my email as possible lol, so I always go to Bloglovin’ to check out the new blog posts.

  3. Annemieke

    I’ve been watching the Olympics. I’m kind of glad I didn’t see the gymnast break his leg live because that just looked so scary and so painful.

    Spam comments are pure crack, haha.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I actually didn’t see the gymnast break his leg, I read about it, and yeah, I’m not sure I’d even want to see that on a screen.

      Spam comments are so weird lol. Sometimes I don’t even understand the point of them. Like, what exactly was that comment trying to accomplish? It wasn’t even selling me anything lol.

  4. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    I haven’t watched the Olympics as much as I used to do since I only had Spanish TV up until this weekend. I did watch the tennis yesterday, though, and I’ve watched some swimming as well.
    The Goodreads changes are mostly OK in my opinion, however, with their highlight to GR feature, I got e-mail notifications every time friends shared quotes that way… which means I got hundreds of e-mails the other day before I realized I had to opt out of e-mails for that feature. Which made me a bit mad, because I have opted out of ALL GR e-mails, and only get notifications. Anyway, I’ve opted out now, and all is well.
    Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m sure I’ll get used to the GR changes. I just always like to grumble in the beginning when things are changed lol. That does sound annoying about the emails though. I didn’t get any emails, so either none of my friends shared any quotes or I was somehow already opted out, I guess. Glad you got it sorted out!

      You have a wonderful week too ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Trish @ Between My Lines

    I don’t mind the GR changes at all, as I mostly use the app on my phone and so it doesn’t really affect me. But the Bloglovin’ layout hurts my eyes! I find it impossible to look at it quickly to check what posts I want to see. I hope enough people complain and they alter it back!
    I love the gymnastics but have seen very little of them this year. I did see photos of the French gymnast’s injury though. Not pretty!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m the opposite, I’ve never cared for the GR app, so I mostly use the actual website lol. But yes, it is so much harder to find what you’re looking for on Bloglovin’ now or even to figure out what you’re looking at. IT’s all disorganized! Ouch, I didn’t see photos, and I don’t want to see photos. I feel terrible for him though. But the gymnastics has been great!

  6. Lola

    Glad to hear you’re enjoying the Olympics so much! Your excitement almost makes me want to watch it, lol. It must be great to see the friendship between those synchronized divers. I hadn’t heard of that sport before.

    I like the new goodreads layout. And I noticed the netgalley changes this week. It was a bit confusing at first, but I don’t mind the change too much. I haven’t been on bloglovin for so long, so I haven’t seen the new layout yet.

    Only one book read this week, that does sound like a slow reading week for you, but it does sound like the book you read was a good one at least. I like the cover for that one. I am looking forward to your review. I hope you have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! And haha, yay, my excitement is contagious ๐Ÿ˜› I just loved the friendship, but the diving itself was also amazing. I would totally watch more if I knew when it was on.

      Yeah, the Netgalley changes aren’t really all that different, but it just confused me when I first saw it. Bloglovin’ is completely different though.

      One book really is a slow reading week for me. I usually average three. But, you know, Olympics. Also, I just haven’t felt like reading. I’ve been playing games on my kindle and whatnot instead of reading before bed. I don’t know that Letting Lier and Finding Pax would be your kind of book, but I LOVE that cover too! And I did enjoy it. You have a great week too!

  7. tonyalee

    I’ve always loved the synchronized diving! They make it look so easy and beautiful, ya know!?

    I was asked about Cages too, but haven’t decided if i want to read it yet. Are you reading it soon?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yes! The synchro diving was so gorgeous and awesome!

      I’m a mood reader, so I might read Cages next, or might not read it for four months :-/ So if you were hoping to see what I thought before deciding, I probably won’t be much help lol. But eh, if you like the genres, I say go for it! I skimmed the first few pages in the Amazon preview, and obviously you can’t tell how the story will be from that, but the writing seemed decent.

  8. Lauren

    Ok so I agree with you, I like GR’s new look. It seems more fun. Bloglovn not so much. I like being able to select whixh category of blog I follow to view. I don’t like the Pinterest look.

    And I can’t get enough of the Olympic gymnastics!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, I like Pinterest, but I don’t like the Pinterest look anywhere else lol. It’s too difficult and confusing for Bloglovin’.

      I love watching the gymnastics! It’s too bad it’s on TV so rarely.

  9. sjhigbee

    I didn’t read as much last week, either. Firstly because I was in granny mode and then once the niblets went home – I discovered the Olympics:)). I was busy screaming at the TV in the wee small hours as Mo fell over and STILL managed to win a gold medal. I’ll be glued to the tennis final tonight – if I can lever the tv controller from Himself who is cricket-mad and following the Pakistan vs England series. And as for that diving pool – yuk! Have a great Olympic week – or reading – whichever takes your fancy:)) My Sunday Post – https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/sunday-post-14th-august/

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, I think a lot of us have been distracted from reading by the Olympics lol, though I feel like I can’t blame it on that entirely. I just haven’t quite felt like reading for whatever reason. Lol, getting so into the sports that you scream at the TV is the best. Good luck getting that controller ๐Ÿ˜‰ I didn’t see anything about the diving pool. Are you talking about when the pool turned green? Greg mentioned that, but I didn’t see it. You have a great week too!

  10. Kim @ kimberlyfaye reads

    I, too, have been totally obsessed with the Olympics. My favorites are, of course, swimming and gymnastics… with volleyball (beach and court) coming in a very close third. I’ve enjoyed watching most of the different sports though. Some of which I never knew were even really a thing in the Olympics โ€“ย handball? table tennis? CRAZINESS. Also awesomeness.

    Have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I haven’t really watched the swimming or volleyball much, but I’m loving the gymnastics! I don’t even know what handball is though, and there’s table tennis? Huh, I didn’t know that either! You have a great week too!

  11. Samantha

    OH I watched the Girls gymnastics online as well and I loved the commentators. Jonathan was great!!
    And I loved seeing Boudia and Steele (diving partners) together. They were so humble and kind!
    Have a great week!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Jonathan is hilarious as a commentator, haha. I love that he’s just so honest about his own experiences with gymnastics and the Olympics. And all the diving partners were just so awesome to see together, and all the teams seemed like they were having fun. It was just a joy to watch. You have a great week too!

  12. Laura Thomas

    Those eys on the cover of Cages has got me curious. I think I’ll check it out. I’ve been enjoying the Olympics when I have time to watch them. I’m always amazed at what the human body can do and endure. Enjoy your new reads:)

    Laura’s Sunday Post

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m not entirely sure what Cages is even about? Lol but it was dystopian and seemed like it could be interesting, so I just went with it. It amazes me too what the human body can do. It always has! Thanks, same to you ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. Mareli Thalwitzer

    Hi Kristen! I thought about you soooooo much the past day. I had a terrible miss-hap with my blog and was so damn irritated. My husband asked me what I want and I said I want my blog to be as nice as Kristen’s!!!!! Alas….

    Nope, havn’t followed the Olympics very much. Only Facebook and SA athletes… Loved you Book Tag and wanted to do it yesterday, Will do it somewhere this week.

    Haven’t been on Goodreads much, so can’t say too much. But will look into it! Netgalley, haven’t been on there at all. Me and technology are not the best of friends.

    Hope your week will be great!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Ahahaha, well, if it makes you feel any better, you just made my day. I’m flattered that you think my blog is so nice ๐Ÿ˜€

      I’ve really only followed the gymnastics. You should definitely do the book tag though! It was fun.

      It does sound like you’re having some issues with technology. Netgalley really isn’t that different, it just confused me for a moment at first. But GR is totally different.

      Thanks, you have a great week too!

  14. Caitlin @ Words and Other Beasts

    I’m so glad someone else thinks the new Bloglovin layout is horrible! It’s so confusing and makes it look cluttered, like you said. But on a positive note, I love how excited you get about the Olympics at the beginning of this post haha! I’m really enjoying it, the Olympics always makes me happy, there’s just something about! And the gymnastics is definitely my favourite to watch. Happy reading!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Ugh yes, it’s a terrible layout for a site that is supposed to help us stay organized and not miss the posts we want to see. Haha, thanks! I used to be a gymnast, so I do get very enthused about the gymnastics lol. And the synchro diving was just amazing. The Olympics in general are such a great event, especially with the way they bring everyone together! Thanks!

  15. Tessa

    I love watching the Olympics! I especially love watching the gymnastics and swimming events. Most of the time swimming is not the most interesting sport to me, but watching Michael Phelps win his 21st gold medal almost had me in tears. USA has such a great swimming team this year and it is great to watch them all compete!
    Gymnastics is also one of my favorites. I adore Simone and Aly! I cannot wait to see how they do in the rest of the individual events, and my hopes are extremely high! Volleyball, especially beach volleyball, is also fun to watch for me. I love watching the teamwork and amazing saves that happen so quickly in a game.
    Anyways, my reading life has suffered a little bit due to the fact that I am constantly watching the Olympics. They only happen once every four years, so I like to get my time’s worth while I can. My blogging and commenting life is in a little slump as well, which I am blaming on the Olympics and the horrendous new setup for Bloglovin. The new organization (if you can even call it that) is so confusing and hard on the eyes. Sure more posts fit on one page which eliminates scrolling, but it is not as sleek.

    1. Kristen Burns

      It’s crazy how many medals Michael Phelps has won! But I really haven’t watched much swimming. I mostly stick to the gymnastics.

      Simone is incredible! And Aly did amazing too. But those poor two girls must be exhausted by now for the event finals. I’m sure they’ll still do great though! I saw a few minutes of volleyball, it was pretty cool too ๐Ÿ™‚

      I think all of our reading has suffered because of the Olympics lol. I agree! They’re on so rarely, whereas we can read anytime, so we shouldn’t worry about enjoying them! But ugh, yeah, the Bloglovin’ feed just makes it so hard to stay organized and see all the posts. You’re right, it’s not as sleek, that’s the perfect word.

  16. Literary Feline

    I felt terrible for the injured gymnasts. So sad. But those American women gymnasts! How awesome were they?! I didn’t get to see all of their events, unfortunately, but what I did see impressed the socks off me. I love synchronized diving. I missed most of the men compete, unfortunately. I really wish I could have taken these two weeks off to watch more. Or even at least a week . . . Why don’t I ever think about that until after? I was watching the women’s marathon today and they interviewed the American who came in 6th place. Of course she was disappointed, but I wanted to shake her and tell her how amazing she did. I mean, how many people could run that far in less than 2 1/2 hours? Yes, she didn’t win gold, but they are all so amazing.

    I haven’t seen the NetGalley review change yet, but I am sure I will find out shortly. Hopefully I won’t be too confused . . . Thanks for the head’s up!

    I hope you have a great week, Kristen!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I feel terrible for them too. They put in so much work and this is their once in a lifetime chance, and then they get injured right when they get to the Olympics. But yeah, the US women’s team is amazing! And the synchronized diving was also amazing, really. Of course getting 6th place in the Olympics is a fantastic feat! But I can still understand why she was upset. I mean, she made it all the way to Olympics and came so close to actually getting a medal!

      The NetGalley change isn’t that different, it just confused me for a moment at first. Don’t worry about it too much!

      You have a great week too!

  17. Jessica Samuelsen

    Thanks for the Olympics update. I haven’t been keeping up so it’s nice to see it. My blog is slow right now for receiving books. Which is nice it gives me time to catch up. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Kristen Burns

      No problem, I just get very enthusiastic about the gymnastics! It is nice to have some periods of time when you don’t get too many new books, gives you a chance to catch up and not be all stressed out about deadlines ๐Ÿ™‚

  18. Molly @ Molly's Book Nook

    I HATE how Bloglovin’ looks. I’m trying real hard to get used to it, but it almost reminds me of Pinterest which is just too chaotic for me. I feel like I’m missing out on blogs I follow…which defeats the purpose of following them! UGH. Websites….stop changing.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, I love Pinterest, but I don’t like that type of layout anywhere other than Pinterest lol. It’s terrible for a site that I’m using specifically to try and stay organized and not miss anything. But when it’s all scattered, I probably am missing things too. Seriously, all the websites need to chill!

  19. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I am totally with you with watching the gymnastics. It is basically all I have seen on TV all week. I had made a solemn vow to go to bed early when the men’s all around final was on (I’m in the UK so it was on until like 11pm and I have to be up at 6:30 and a girl needs her beauty sleep) but I ended up getting sucked in. Poor Max Whitlock looked so worried going first on the floor at the end and having to wait anxiously for everyone else to compete to see if he got that bronze! It was nail biting stuff for us Brits. And the women’s finals was awesome. Simone Biles is always amazing to watch but everyone else is just as impressive. I’ll be sad when there is no more gymnastics on TV but I’ll make the most of it whilst it’s on.

    And Netgalley has changed their website too? I actually quite like the Goodreads change, but I’ve been on the new homepage for a while now. It just looks cleaner. Netgalley, though, I’ve a review to submit this week so we’ll see how I like that one. I am very adverse to change I’m getting too old to learn new things… or I’m just lazy.

    1. Kristen Burns

      The men’s all around final was so much fun to watch because of all that nail-biting tension! Everyone else was so focused on Kohei and Oleg, but I can imagine that you all must’ve been holding your breath for Max! And psh, you can catch up on sleep next week ๐Ÿ˜‰ The summer Olympics only comes every four years! And yes, ALL the gymnasts are impressive, I agree. But Simone is crazy good.

      The Netgalley change is minuscule, but it still threw me off for a moment. The GR change is ok, I’m already getting more used to it. I always grumble about websites changing at first, but then I always get used to them lol.

      1. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

        It wasn, wasn’t it? I didn’t want to stop watching because I was just waiting to see how it was going to go. It was inevitable Kohei or Oleg were going to win it was just a matter of who was going to place where (I was really cheering for Oleg but he was very impressive even if he couldn’t get gold) but it was the battle for bronze which really kept me watching. I mean, I am just amazed at how well Max has done at these Olympics with his two golds yesterday! Simone has blown me away with her performance so far I’ve been completely shocked by her bronze in the beam (I think even she was). What I loved about the women’s beam final is that it was such a shock with who placed where. I loved the routine of Sanne, though. She deserved that gold.

        And it doesn’t how small the change we notice these things and get annoyed about it before slowly realising we like the change. I think we all like to complain about these things even if it’s a good change because we have to adapt and we don’t like it ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. Kristen Burns

          I couldn’t read your comment before now because I was behind on watching and wanted to avoid spoilers, haha. But yeah, Max did fantastic! I’m not shocked by Simone’s bronze though. That poor girl, everyone put SO MUCH pressure on her to win five gold medals, but it had to be stressful and tiring and sometimes falls and wobbles just happen. I think it’s pretty normal that out of all the routines she did, she did one less than perfectly. What’s amazing is that she got a bronze even WITH a fall! But I loved Sanne’s routine too! I definitely thought she deserved the gold. The men’s event finals were actually more fun for me though since most of them seemed to be such a surprise as to who was placing where.

          And haha, yes, change is stressful for most people I think, but somehow we all get used to it!

  20. Stormi Johnson

    It seems you are enjoying the Olympics, I am not really much of a watcher but I did catch a few swimming matches and watched Simone do her thing. All I could think of watching her do those flips and landing so hard is one day she is going to have knee problems…lol. ๐Ÿ™‚ I saw a highlight of the synchronized diving and it looked cool.

    Hope you have a good reading week this week!

    Stormi

    1. Kristen Burns

      I am definitely enjoying the Olympics! Gymnastics is very hard on the body, but, if it’s what you’re passionate about, it’s worth the extra aches and pains. The synchro diving was awesome! I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see more of it.

      Thanks, you have a great reading week too!

  21. S. J. Pajonas

    I’m late to this post. It’s been a busy week! But yeah, gymnastics has been awesome this Olympics. I missed the male gymnast who broke his leg on the vault, so I went to Youtube to watch it and …. gag. I wish I hadn’t! Omg, it was horrific. Anyway, I took a break from Olympics last night and will watch again tonight. Synchronized diving is a favorite of mine as is trampoline!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol no worries. I didn’t actually catch the gymnastics that night and also did not try to find it on YouTube. I don’t think I want to see someone break his leg. I read in an article though that the whole audience could hear the cracking sound or something :-/ The synchronized diving was so amazing! I never did catch any trampoline though.

  22. sherry fundin

    The Olympics have been very exciting and I will be watching the closing ceremonies. I manage to fit in reading and blogging while watching them, which is pretty much my normal.

    1. Kristen Burns

      The Olympics have been so much fun to watch! I probably won’t watch the closing ceremonies though. I didn’t get much blogging and reading done while watching though, I’m not so good at multitasking while watching gymnastics lol.