The Weekly Update: 2/12/17

 
 

Happy early Valentine’s Day, I guess? I can’t say I have any plans, but I do find it kind of interesting that the only people in my hall (granted there are only four apartments, or eight if you include the first floor) who have decorated for the holiday is the group of young guys. I feel like there’s this stereotype that it’s girls who like to decorate for holidays and whatnot, but these guys definitely break that stereotype. For Halloween, they had a light-up Halloween wreath on their door. For Christmas, they had a Christmas wreath and potted plants (poinsettias or some other red flower) on each side of the door, and now for Valentine’s Day they have a hanging decoration on their door and a special doormat with a heart on it.

What about you all, do you decorate for every holiday? And do you have any V Day plans? Or anti-V Day plans?


Blog/Bookish Updates:

***If you have trouble commenting, send me a tweet or something and let me know, please! One person mentioned having trouble, so I’m trying to figure out if it’s happening to a lot of people on my blog.***

In case you didn’t hear, Goodreads has added the ability to track rereads! When you add or edit the review for a book, you can now add multiple dates. I went back and added the books I’ve reread since I conveniently had a “reread” shelf, and it took a few days to update but is now showing correct numbers for all my challenges 🙂 It even includes when you read a book twice in the same year!

Also, I did a thing that I don’t think I’ve ever done before! I never buy physical books anymore without having read them first and knowing they’re worth the money. And I don’t think I’ve ever bought numerous in a series before even starting (I rarely even do that with ebooks, the exception being sales sometimes). But I bought the Six of Crows Duology! I was trying to figure out what to buy with the B&N gift cards I got for Christmas, and I’ve been wanting to read it and seeing such great reviews, and then I found out the page edges are red on one book and black on the other—RED AND BLACK! Plus it was only like $22 for the hardcover box set and I got 15% off. Considering all the other books I looked at were over $10 for a single paperback with even fewer pages, it seemed like a good deal. So I caved. It was the page edges, guys. I couldn’t resist. (By the way, I’m considering make a separate post just to show you all how pretty these books are.)

Six of Crows Duology

And then I decided to just spend all the gift card money in one go because I have this tendency to save all money and gift cards I get and I just wanted to actually enjoy this bit of spending money without agonizing over it. So I FINALLY bought Trailer Park Fae (because of my cover obsession), and I bought Steal the Light because it’s the first in one of my favorite series and I really want to own all the books.

Steal the Light & Trailer Park Fae

Books I Received for Review:

When Planets Fall by Abby J. Reed | reading, books
Stolen Ink by Holly Evans | reading, books
 

Honestly, if I had realized When Planets Fall would be a PDF, I probably wouldn’t have requested it. I read on my phone and my kindle. I can’t figure out any way to resize the text, so to read on my phone I’d have to increase the magnification and then scroll the page back and forth just to be able to read it. I also prefer to read with black background and white text as that’s easier on my eyes, especially when I read in the dark, which is how I do most of my reading on my kindle. Does anyone actually like reading books in PDF? I’ve only ever seen people complain about that, so why do authors and publishers keep giving books this way?

But anyway, When Planets Fall has lots of disability and Stolen Ink has tattoo magic, so both should be interesting!

Books I Finished:

Bleed Through by Adriana Arrington | reading, books
Chaos Station by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen | reading, books
 

Slow reading week for me. I just haven’t felt much like reading period for some reason. Anyway, Bleed Through was so much more intense than I was expecting, and I really liked it. I didn’t like that the schizophrenia had some paranormal aspects to it, but the emotional/family/life impact of it seemed pretty realistic. Chaos Station didn’t make me emotional like I wanted it to, but it was exactly the kind of angsty, struggle-filled relationship read I was looking for.

Song of the Week:

No song this week.

In Case You Missed It:

– I shared book covers with tentacles.
– I reviewed Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, and I talked all about how terrified I am of Peter.
– I discussed why magically cured and paranormal disabilities are so harmful in books.
– I reviewed Dead End by Stephen Osbourne, a fun LGBT urban fantasy.

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

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

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Did you find any good books or music last week?
Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?
Have you tried using the GR reread feature yet?
Do you have any books with colored page edges?

 
 
[shared_counts]
 
 
 

Your Thoughts

 

48 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 2/12/17

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  1. Greg

    Yeah for Trailer Park Fae. It just seems like you should own the book. 🙂 Nice pickup too with Six of Crows- I just won the second one in a giveaway but I’ll need to get the first one and read it so i know what’s going on! Love those red and black pages- how sweet is that?

    I don’t think I’ve ever read in PDF but that would bug me. And tattoo magic!!

    I think it’s awesome those guys are going to town w/ decorating Way to bust up the stereotype…. 😛

    1. Kristen Burns

      Right?! I finally have Trailer Park Fae! Now I just need Book 3, and I’ll have the whole series. And seriously, those Six of Crows books are gorgeous with the pages! But the books are, like, MASSIVE. Not just length, but the literal height and width.

      It’s definitely going to bug me and make it more stressful for me to get it read in time since I can’t read it on my phone. But yeah, tattoo magic sounds so cool!

      Lol I do think it’s awesome that they always decorate.

  2. chucklesthescot

    I noticed that Goodreads had added the new feature which a lot of people wanted but they seem to have messed with another couple of things they didn’t need to touch. I like coloured page edges…I’m so tempted by the new Harry Potter coloured books! I’ll maybe be posting about it this week! You already know how much I HATE crappy pdf copies of books-it’s why I’m not requesting any more Netgalley books. The printing is so tiny and faint that it kills your eyes and brings on headaches. I hope you are able to have some better reading time soon and enjoy a few books.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Hmmm I didn’t notice any other recent GR changes? Except that it shelved a book as “read” for me the other day, and Idk how long that’s been a feature since I haven’t read any Amazon bought books in about a month. It confused the crap out of me though, thought I must’ve shelved the book earlier and completely forgot that I did it and that I was losing my mind. Colored page edges are just so awesome! And yes, I know you hate PDFs lol. But see, that’s my point, no one likes them! This wasn’t from NG though. I’ve always either gotten a format I could use or had the send to kindle option on NG.

  3. Annemieke

    That is so great of the guys haha. I don’t think I can recally having seen anyone decorate for Valentine’s Day here though.

    Oh I was wondering if it would count a book twice in a year. Good to know. I’m not going to go back to readd but will happily use this feature in the future. 😀

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha, right? I don’t even decorate for V Day.

      Yep, it counts 🙂 I read a few books twice in 2015, and it has the correct number showing since I input the rereads.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I know what Calibre is, but I’m not sure what you mean by why it makes the PDFs unnecessary? But seriously, I don’t think anyone likes PDFs, so I don’t understand why people keep giving them. I’m really looking forward to Six of Crows though! Thanks, same to you!

      1. sjhigbee

        I was just wondering why anyone would want to turn a manuscript into a PDF document, given you can upload a Word manuscript onto Calibre which immediately turns it into an ebook, that’s all:)

        1. Kristen Burns

          Ah, ok, I see what you’re saying. Maybe they think PDFs are less likely to be pirated or something? All I know is that they’re super difficult to read which then affects the whole reading experience for that book :-/

  4. Wattle

    Is decorating for Valentine’s Day a thing? I thought just stores did that, to make everyone buy boxes of chocolate lol I must admit, I didn’t realise it was nearly the middle of February, I’ve been wondering why Valentine’s stuff is everywhere, oops! It’s not a day I pay attention to because it’s just another Hallmark Holiday 😛

    I’m SO pleased Goodreads have finally given us re-reading capabilities, usually I pick another edition (sometimes I am actually reading a different edition, so it works!)

    I hate pdf books. I got one for review once and it was such tiny text I could barely see it. As it was a book already released, I went and bought the Kindle version, I refuse to read books on my computer screen :/

    1. Kristen Burns

      Apparently it is! Lol. I think I decorated with some window stickies once when I lived in a dorm, but that was the only time I ever did V Day decorations.

      I never did the separate editions thing because then it separated the reviews, so I just had incorrect numbers for my challenges. But now my numbers get to be correct!

      Seriously, I don’t think anyone likes PDF books. This book won’t be released until after my review is due, so I can’t do that :-/

  5. Samantha

    I am loving the reread feature. I used to use different editions to mark rereads but I hated doing that! Glad you were able to get some great books with your gift card. Thats awesome! Have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I never did the different editions thing because then it separated the reviews, and I didn’t like that. So I’m also glad about the reread feature since now my challenges can have the correct numbers! Thanks! You have a great week too 🙂

  6. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I have never heard of anyone decorating for Valentine’s Day but especially not guys. I like that they’ve broken a stereotype and they get into the spirit of all the holidays. That’s quite cool really. My only plans for V Day are reading some as yet unnamed romance. I think that’s the only appropriate way to embrace it and a good excuse to read some more of my Kindle books which includes a lot of romance. Also, I heard about the new GR reread feature and I love it. It’s great that i can now count rereads towards my reading challenge and that I can remember when I last reread them without having to dig through my book spreadsheet. These are brave new times when GR finally includes a feature we’ve been wanting for years!

    I can’t say I’ve ever received a book as a pdf from a publisher before but I would hate it. You can format it right on a Kindle and it would be a nightmare on a phone. Couldn’t you check and see if they have an alternate format?

    Anyway, hope you have a good week and enjoy your new purchases. I know how fun it is having a book in your hands to read. I will wait to see your thoughts on the Six of Crows duology I’ve heard good things but haven’t read yet.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I think me and my roomies decorated once with some heart shaped gel things you put on windows/mirrors when I lived in a dorm, but that’s the only time I ever recall doing V Day decorations. But I love how these guys are breaking the stereotype! (It could just be, like, a girlfriend doing it or something, haha, but I like to think it’s the guys.) I won’t even be reading anything special, just whatever I happen to be reading (which, apparently will be a Chaos Station book since I’m currently in the middle of binge reading the series). And yes! I had incorrect numbers on my challenges, so I’m glad they’re correct now. And I also had to look through my book journal folder to find the right dates if I needed to know for some reason.

      Exactly, PDFs are only good for reading on a computer, and who wants to do that?? I got it from a blog tour company, and she always sends all the formats she gets which means she would’ve sent it if she had any others :-/

      Thanks!

  7. Tracy @ Cornerfolds

    How funny that the guys have decorated for Valentine’s Day! XD I saw that Goodreads is giving us the ability to track re-reads now! That’s such a needed feature! I hope you love all your new reads! I didn’t love Six of Crows as much as the Grisha trilogy, but I still enjoyed it. When Planets Fall looks really interesting too! Have a great week 😀

    1. Kristen Burns

      Right? Breaking stereotypes, haha. And the reread feature is awesome! And thanks! I didn’t read the Grisha Trilogy, it just didn’t interest me, but I’ve heard Six of Crows is still great even without reading Grisha, so I’m giving it a go 🙂 Thanks, you too!

  8. Brooke Banks

    Oh, those edges!! I haven’t read the duo logy either, but I would’ve snapped that opportunity up just the same. I will read it one day.

    I agree about PDF’s but I use Google Books and don’t zoom in so much I have to scroll back and forth. That’s impossible, props for getting through that!

    And omfg, finally someone else who likes white text and black background!! Everyone I around me acts like it’s the strangest thing and that I’m deluded for saying it helps me.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Right?! I never page edges could be so pretty, haha.

      I don’t have Google Books. I haven’t actually read the PDF one yet, but I definitely won’t be reading it on my phone since that would be maddening scrolling back and forth. I’ll have to read on my kindle or computer :-/

      Haha, I’ve never actually discussed it with anyone, so I didn’t realize it was such an uncommon thing. Why don’t other people like it? It’s so much easier on the eyes!

  9. S. J. Pajonas

    Nope. No V-Day plans here, but my kids love the holiday. All the little Valentine’s Day cards and the promise of candy. It doesn’t get any better than that for them! Lol. I love the Chaos Station cover, and all the covers in that series. They are going in my cover inspiration folder.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha yes, I probably liked it a lot more as a kid too. You know, I never really paid the Chaos Station covers much attention until you just pointed them out, but they are nice. I love how coherent they all are as a series too.

  10. Dina

    Kristen!
    I hope you enjoy the books you got! Have you read the Grisha trilogy first? I haven’t yet, but I have those books ready to go. Wow, that duology is beautiful. You definitely got a good deal there. It’d be lovely to hear your thoughts on the stuff you read. Also: I am loving the weekly updates. Will try to comment more often, promise!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! I haven’t read Grisha, but I’ve told it’s not necessary to enjoy Six of Crows. Which is good because I’m not interested in the Grisha Trilogy lol. And I was so excited to get such beautiful books for such a good price! Thank you! I like doing weekly updates and getting to talk about the random things going on or things on my mind, haha.

  11. Lola

    I never heard or seen of people decorating for valentine’s day until now. That’s interesting.

    I am also happy Goodreads added the re-read option. I don’t re-read a lot, but it’s so neat it’s possible now and if you re-read a book it still counts for your reading challenge. I know people have been asking about this for so many years, so it’s nice they listened.

    They do look very pretty! I usually only buy hardcopies when it’s either less expensive than e-copies, it’s a favorite author or I really want them in paperback for some reason. Sounds like you got both books for a good price and those colored page edges really are pretty! I don’t think I even own a book with edges like that!

    I never get why pdf review copies is a thing, they don’t read well on any device it seems, except maybe on a computer. Maybe you can ask the author/ publisher for another format? or try and convert it yourself. I usually just convert pdf’s to epub’s, which isn’t perfect, but at least then I can read it. I think I saw Stolen magic on netgalley, it does sound interesting. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

    I also had a slow reading week this week and only finished one book, but at least it was a good one. Chaos station does sound like a good read even though it didn’t make you emotional. I hope you’ll have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Me and my roomies decorated with some sticky things you put on windows once for V Day, I think, but that’s the only time I remember decorating.

      It is nice that GR listened finally! I do reread sometimes, I had like 15 rereads from 2015 and 2016, so I’m happy about it.

      I feel like you can’t beat two hardcovers for a total of like $20, especially when they’re like 500+ pages each and GIANT and have gorgeous colored edges! So it was worth it. And anyway, I only get my ebooks from Amazon, and the gift cards were B&N, so I had planned to use it for physical books.

      Seriously, don’t publishers and authors understand that our experience while reading affects our enjoyment? And so far everyone has said they hate PDF books. Exactly, they only work well on computers, and who wants to read on their computer? I tried converting it to all different formats. I even tried converting to a new PDF file so that maybe I could edit it to resize the text, but every conversion comes out awful. Yep, Stolen Ink was on NG. I have an auto approval from the company that posted it, so it was too tempting to not just grab it lol.

      One good book is better than a bunch of mediocre ones 😉 I’m on Book 2 of Chaos Station, and so far it’s actually got more emotion, so I’m enjoying 🙂

  12. Laura Thomas

    That’s some awesome books. I get the page colors. LOL I’m bad about a special edition getting me to spend my money. I really want to read Trailer Park Faye. Such a killer cover and I love the author.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol seriously, I’m 99% sure I wouldn’t have bought them if not for those colored edges. But, in my defense, I actually was planning to read the books this year (I was just going to borrow from the library instead of buying), so it wasn’t a total random buy. And yes, I’m glad you also love the Trailer Park Fae cover! I loved the book.

  13. Deborah

    I haven’t bought new books in ages – and same as you – the ones I’ve bought recently have been ones I’ve read elsewhere and wanted to own it. (One I’d listened to on audiobook for eg.)

    I’m doing nothing for V.Day. I’ve got a work trip on so will be tired when I get home I suspect. Plus am single, so there’s that!

    1. Kristen Burns

      It’s kind of liberating and exciting to actually buy a book I haven’t read yet after so long of not doing that!

      I’m not doing anything either. I’m also single, so it does make V Day plans a bit difficult 😛

  14. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    That’s awesome it’s the guys on your hall that decorate for holidays! I love that. I really like colored book edges too. They are so fun. I’m so excited for the HP 1 books coming out in June with the house colors.

    -Lauren

  15. Stephanie

    I decorate for Christmas, but not Valentine’s Day. In fact, I don’t think I know anyone who does–although I don’t go in that many people’s houses, admittedly! I would love to decorate for Halloween, but we don’t get any trick-or-treaters here because we’re on a main road and parents like to stick to neighborhoods these days.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, at my house growing up, Christmas was the only holiday we decorated for that I can remember. I think me and my roomies decorated for V Day once when I lived in a dorm, but that’s the only time I remember doing V Day decorations. But I’m more of an indoor decoration kinda person 😛

  16. Wren

    I’m really excited for the Goodreads re-read feature because there have been a few books that I’ve read that my perception of them was greatly influenced by my life situation at that time, and I want to see if I feel differently about them now. I was having trouble justifying potential re-reads because I was worried they wouldn’t be included in my challenge, but now I can re-read without worry 🙂

    Also this is kinda random but your talk of book prices made me think of it….. the prices of books seems to be going up! I mean I’ve been seeing YA hardcovers cost $35 when before the highest price I’d see was $20! Even the prices of books at the thrift store went up! I’m just a little frustrated over it

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I just reread books and didn’t worry about the past challenges, but it does make me happy to know that the numbers are actually correct now!

      $35 for one book??? That’s nuts! But I’ve seen paperbacks at the store that were like $16, and self-pub books are always more expensive. So I felt like $20 for two hardcovers was a great deal, and now I definitely think it was! That’s definitely frustrating if prices are going up :-/

  17. Dragonfly @ Our Familiarium

    I’m very happy about the new Goodreads rereads feature. Look at you so organized with your reread shelf. 🙂 Proud of you! I almost bought Six of Crows too! It’s sooo pretty with the page edges in red and black. I totally understand. Those page edges are irresistible! I always wonder why they didn’t print an image on tee page like a portion of a world map or something. Trailer Park Fae and Steal the Light are also very pretty! I still remember your review of Trailer Park Fae!

    Nope I can’t do PDF either!
    Talking about disability… I’m reading The Six now and I think it may be a great book for your list [another Netgalley ARC from last year]

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha I’m so unorganized in everything else, but when it comes to books and blogging, I am the organization master! Yes, Six of Crows was just way too pretty to resist! Well there’s two maps inside each book, so I’m happy with just the colors for the edges.

      Seriously, no one likes PDFs. Publishers and authors needs to stop with that.

  18. Literary Feline (Wendy)

    We haven’t put up our Valentine’s decorations this year (admittedly, what I have is pretty abysmal). I’m surprised my daughter hasn’t asked about it as she’s the one who usually makes me get the small box of decorations out. The Girl Scouts Troop are exchanging Valentine’s Day cards this evening. We have no special plans otherwise for Valentine’s Day. It’s work and school as usual.

    I am not a fan of reading books in PDF. They are just so much trouble!

    I hope you have a great week!l

    1. Kristen Burns

      My family was never a decorate-for-V-Day type lol. That’s cute that you guys have some decorations. The Girl Scout Valentine’s exchange sounds like fun! There’s really not much else to do for this holiday unless you’ve got a date to go on lol.

      Seriously, not a single person has said they like PDFs! I don’t understand why they keep giving them.

      Thanks, you too!

  19. Jane @ Raincity Librarian

    – I found a few good picture books last week for work, as well as a new-to-me Agatha Christie novel to read while getting over a nasty cold.
    – Nothing special for Valentines Day…..
    – I don’t really use GR – I must be an anomaly in the blogging community!
    – I don’t have any books with coloured page edges, but they sure do look nice!
    🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Aww, feel better! At least you’ve got a new book to pass the time while you’re resting 🙂

      No worries, I didn’t do anything for V Day either. I think you might be an anomaly though—I love GR! And these are the first books I’ve ever had with colored pages edges, but I totally want more now, haha.

  20. Bookworm Brandee

    Um, will you think less of me if I tell you the only holiday I decorate for is Christmas? Does that make me a bad mom?? I don’t. I’m lazy I suppose but I don’t decorate because it just means one more thing to do. And we don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day unless you count eating a heart-shaped pizza. That’s what I do for my kids. LOL
    Ahem, anyway…I love that you bought books! And I completely understand your “need” to purchase the Six of Crows books…those are books I wanted purely based on cover love although I’m sure they’re outstanding books. I *will* eventually read them. 😉
    I hope your having a good week so far, Kristen. I’ve been sick. I swear, I get on a good schedule and then something happens. *sigh* Anyway, I’m better now and back to visiting again. Happy reading!

    1. Kristen Burns

      The only holiday we ever decorated for in my family was Christmas, so no, I just think you’re normal lol. My parents didn’t even make heart-shaped pizza.

      Yes! I couldn’t help myself, they were too pretty. It’s not even the covers so much as just those damn page edges lol. And they’re actually on the list of books I plan to read *this year*.

      Aww, feel better! You get a pass for slipping up on your schedule when you’re not feeling well!

  21. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    You guys decorate for Valentine’s day?? Wow – that’s quite hectic. I think I struggle enough for Christmas ??

    The hubby and I did nothing for Valentine’s day but work. We did end up going out for a glass of wine and grabbing sushi to take home – but that was just for just. Oops. ?

    I love the new Goodreads re-reads count!!! It effected my read count last year because I reread a few books at the end of the year that I’d read at the beginning and they couldn’t count towards my total book count.

    I can’t wait to start Six of Crows soon and your copy of CK looks so beautiful!!

    Ugh, PDF is such a pain to read. I hear you loudly on that one. I’ve had a few and still get them in PDF. I think they’re almost ‘ready to print’ but haven’t yet been put into ePub, but really – it’s not that hard to produce an ePub….

    Hope you’re having a great week! Sorry I’m late (AGAIN!!!!)

    1. Kristen Burns

      Not me, the guys who live across the hall. I don’t even own V Day decorations lol. Just Christmas ones!

      I didn’t do anything for V Day, so you still did more than me 😛

      I love it too! It also affected my read count, especially for 2015 since I had also reread numerous books in that year and then in 2016 I reread others from 2015.

      Thanks! I’m so excited about the page edges, haha, but also about reading the books.

      Seriously, I don’t understand why they give PDFs?!

      Thanks, same to you!

  22. Maureen Beatrice

    I only really decorate with Christmas. We don’t celebrate Halloween here, but I always try to do something small. But Valentine’s day isn’t really celebrated in our home. Sometimes I buy a card for my BF, but most times we just forget about valentine’s day completely.
    I hadn’t heard about that addition on Goodreads. That’s so handy.
    Have a great week Kristen and happy reading!