The Weekly Update: 8/28/16

 
 

I don’t even know what to talk about this week. I spent my last two weekly updates talking about gymnastics, and now I got nothin’.

No, really, that’s it for the intro lol. You may proceed to the bookish stuff now!


Blog/Bookish Updates:

Seriously, if you haven’t already, everyone please check your spam. I’ve been getting comments from frequent visitors in my spam, almost all of my comments have been going to spam, and I’m not the only blogger who’s been having this problem recently. I think it might finally be getting sorted out and fixed, but check just in case.

In other news, I added sexual orientation tags to my book reviews. So now if anyone wants to find books with bisexual main characters, for example, you can. (By the way, if you’re curious what other tags and info I have for books, you can always find them here on the reviews page, or here on the site map, or you can see the ones for each individual review by clicking the different tabs in that box near the bottom where the blurb is.)

Also, is it just me, or has there been less blog activity this past week? I’ve been exhausted, so I’ve basically just returned visits to anyone who commented on my blog and didn’t get to many extra blogs… is everyone else just exhausted too? Or playing catch-up on life now that the Olympics have ended? Or busy because of the start of school? It’s weird because my visits don’t seem to have gone down, but I feel like I got less comments than usual.

On the bright side, I did get some very nice spam comments, like this one: “I am sure this paragraph has touched all the internet visitors, its really really fastidious piece of writing”

And this one: “A powerful share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit analysis on this. And he the truth is bought me breakfast because I found it for him . . . Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love studying more on this topic. If potential, as you grow to be expertise, would you thoughts updating your blog with more particulars?”

I have to say, I did not realize I had become the expert on book covers featuring zombies, but hey, I’m just glad I could help out his colleague who was doing analysis on the topic. After all, that is why I blog, to help all the zombie researchers out there.

Books I Received for Review:

Charm City by Ash Krafton | reading, books
The Moonlight Market by Aidee Ladnier | reading, books
Unleashed by Chani Lynn Feener | reading, books
Unbound by Chani Lynn Feener | reading, books
 

Books I Finished:

A Faerie's Curse by Rachel Morgan | reading, books
The Ghost Chronicles by Marlo Berliner | reading, books
Unhinged by Chani Lynn Feener | reading, books
 

Good news, A Faerie’s Curse got me out of my reading slump! Bad news, I did not get enough sleep on Sunday night and was feeling run down on Monday. Lol. It’s funny though, when I have a series I love, I almost always pre-order the next ebook and read it ASAP. This was the one time I didn’t because I just had too many ARCs. It worked out for the best though that I waited. As for The Ghost Chronicles, it was good in that I wanted to keep reading, but I had some issues, like unanswered questions and SERIOUSLY ANOTHER BOOK THAT GAVE ZERO INDICATION OF BEING PART OF A SERIES??? I know it has the word “chronicles,” and that confused me when I first saw it, but it’s just… the title. So that’s not an indication. But anyway, I really liked Unhinged and am so excited to have found a new trilogy that I can binge read that I have a feeling might get even better as it goes!

Song of the Week:

No song this week.

In Case You Missed It:

– I shared 10 amazing book quote about night, since I am a nyctophile and couldn’t help myself.
– I reviewed As Wings Unfurl by Arthur M. Doweyko, an action-packed sci-fi with aliens, yetis, and an amputee MC.
– I discussed whether or not spoilers can actually ruin well-written books.
– I reviewed Shatterproof by Xen Sanders, a M/M paranormal that delves into the topic of depression and suicide.

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?
What have you been occupying your time with since the Olympics ended?
Have you also been having a problem with comments going to spam?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

62 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 8/28/16

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  1. Deborah

    I tend to check my blog spam regularly Kristen just in case… I love some of the comments – particularly those that ALMOST make sense (but not quite).

    Or the ones that mention what an expert you are!

    I keep forgetting the school (etc) year starts in the US now… we do the boring old January – December school year (well, Feb to December).

    1. Kristen Burns

      I check my spam every so often too, but I think some people don’t. But yes, some of the comments are entertaining. This week I happened to get particularly flattering ones lol. I also love those ones that *almost* make sense.

      To be fair, it probably is far less confusing having school go from January – December. It was always so hard to keep track of dates and things the way we do it.

  2. Greg

    I know about the Olympics, right? I was all on about them for 2 weeks and now it’s like, what am I doing? lol And yeah I’ve noticed some bloggers have cut back a bit. Funny about the spam. I love the one about the zombies “analysis”. Okaaaay then lol. And the part about breakfast?!?

    The Faerie’s series by Morgan looks like something I might like, I’ve seen those covers before. I read a sample of the first book I think it was once and it had me really curious about her take on Faerie, so I should probably add those. I’ll have to take another look.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha seriously I don’t know what to do with myself or what to talk about now 😛 And ok, glad to see it’s not just me noticing less interaction. I actually looked at the stats, and my comments were practically cut in half from the usual this past week. But yeah, spam comments are too funny sometimes lol.

      You’ve definitely seen those covers because I recall you using one for a cover post. They’re not really evil fae like you love, but I think you might like them. The Faerie Guardian was actually the first faerie book I’d ever read.

      1. Greg

        Oh yeah I did didn’t I? I remember now that you mention it. Must be why that cover caught my eye. I’ve added those to my list because I’m curious- if i remember the first one starts in Faerie and there’s faerie portals and stuff. does that sound right? It’s been a while since I read the sample, but it looked like I would like. I’ve only read a few books actually set in Faerie or that go there, but the glimpse I got looked like it was a pretty detailed setting with its own landmarks and places, not just a nebulous faerie forest type place.

        1. Kristen Burns

          I only remember because it’s a series I really like lol. And yeah, there are “faerie paths” that they travel through, and in the first one the MC is on a mission when a human boy sees her and ends up going back to the faerie realm with her by accident. Most of the story in those books take place in the faerie realm. And if you don’t love it, the good news is that you can stop after three books and still get a complete story since the next three are about a different character (though the stories do connect).

  3. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    I’ve had a slow week, too, but that’s because it’s been fecking hot here! I just can’t even function right, I tell you!
    I’ve had a lot of comments in my spam-folder lately, too, and I just hope I haven’t missed any legit comments when I’ve gone through it… It’s very frustrating, and I hope you’re right about it being fixed soon.
    I have no new music to share, either… I’ve just been halfway zombie this week o.O
    Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, I’ve been feeling kind of zombie-ish too which is why I haven’t done a ton of commenting or gotten much done really in general. I can’t blame it on the heat though 😛

      The spam thing has been incredibly frustrating, but it seems like my comments have been actually getting posted on sites again, so… either it’s been fixed, or it’s coincidence lol.

      You have a great week too!

  4. Trish @ Between My Lines

    Yes, I’m having the same issue with spam! I wonder why, before comments would just go to pending but now some genuine ones are going straight to spam. It’s annoying as I hate to miss any.

    And LOL re the actual spam comments, they are so ridiculous!

  5. Kei @ The Lovely Pages Reviews

    I’m the worst at checking my spam box and yup, you where in it but it’s all good, I think I went to spam too – maybe it’s a blogging issue this week? And yes, it’s been a super slow blogging week, I blame the end of summer for that one.

    Now that you mentioned it, I’ve only read one main character who was bisexual and that was in a M/M book. It’s nice to have a little diversity – especially when it doesn’t happen intentionally to stand out from the norm. I’d love to see more “popular” books feature it but so far it doesn’t seem to be happening.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I check my spam every so often regardless, but I’ve been checking it more this past week since numerous comments were ending up there. I think it is some sort of wordpress issue or something, who knows. Glad to see it’s not just me who’s had a slow blogging week though.

      Yeah, that’s the thing about bisexual characters, they’re either dating a man or a woman usually and their sexual orientation isn’t really something that stands out, so they don’t really get the recognition for diversity. I mean, I almost never actually mention in my review when a character is bisexual, so I figured adding tags would help with that.

  6. sherry fundin

    I have been a bit busy doing a lot of yardwork, trying to get caught up from all the rain we had weeks ago and it was just too hot to work outside for very long. I also started my spring cleaning…don’t ask me why…it just happened. LOL

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m getting a lot of rain now, but yeah, it’s way too hot still to stay outside for long. I swear I’m getting a tan just from walking to and from my car when I go out during the day lol. And hey, I guess now’s as good as any time to start the cleaning? 😛

  7. Lola

    It felt like all my comments last Sunday went to spam and I had to remove some comments from my spam as well. Over the course of the week it seems it was getting better, but it’s a good reminder to check your spam folder now and then. I think that now things are back to normal again.

    I haven’t been around much this last week as I was busy with work and setting up my newsletter for authors, so I am only catching up now, so I haven’t noticed if it was quieter this week. It could be because end summer vacation, end Olympics and start school thing. I hope to stop by your two review posts from this week later today as I haven’t read those yet. And you really get the weirdest spam comments sometimes. I sometimes go through the spam to see if they are real comments there and it always surprises me what weird comments land there. I hope you’ll have a good week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, almost all my comments were going to spam, but it seems to have stopped now. I do check my spam every so often, but I feel like a lot of people don’t, especially if they get LOTS of spam.

      It definitely seemed quieter this week. It does seem like everyone was just kind of busy and tired and whatnot. And spam is so weird sometimes, right? Lol but also entertaining. You have a great week too!

  8. Samantha

    Oh I love those spam comments! I get a good share of those as well. Apparently I am an expert in a few things! Hahaha! Have a good week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol they’re so funny. Sometimes I don’t even know what they’re trying to sell or whatever, they’re just so flattering, haha. You have a great week too!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha we were all lost without the Olympics. I actually didn’t have my stats drop during the Olympics, kinda odd. My visits seem to have stayed steady, it’s just my comments that went way down this past week. Well at least your blog didn’t make me as spammy lol since lots of other blogs did. I check my spam every so often too though just in case. Thanks!

  9. Mareli Thalwitzer

    Hi Kristen! Glad you are now officially the go-to person for zombie covers… ! The only zombie book I’ve ever read was The Girl with all the gifts and I loved it. Watched World War Z, mewph. Okay, maybe not all that bad. I will check out your thoughts on the Ghost Chronicles. Hope your upcoming week will be great!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol right? Just call me the zombie cover guru 😉 I’ve actually gotten a lot more into zombie books this year not because of the zombies themselves really (though they can be fun when they’re more like paranormal creatures than mindless things) but because of how character-driven the books tend to be. I’ve heard about The Girl with all the Gifts but not read it. You have a great week too!

      1. Mareli Thalwitzer

        Sorry for the very late reply! I have a bit of family drama to sort out this week and the fact that I’ve dropped my phone in the toilet does not help AT ALL. You have to read The girl with all the gifts. It is so wonderfully written even I loved it!

        1. Kristen Burns

          Don’t worry about it! And yikes, dropping your phone in the toilet definitely sucks :-/ I’ve heard good things about that books, I make no promises lol, but I will consider it!

  10. Barb (boxermommyreads)

    You seem to be right, I think blog activity has decreased some. I think it’s because school has started back up and everyone is adjusting. Charm City looks really good. I hut a sort of slump this week o Curioddity and need to get my review written because I didn’t find it extremely memorable and I might forget some things.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, it seems like everyone’s just been more busy and tired than usual this past week. Sorry about your slump. I just got out of one, so I know how you feel! Those books you feel kind of meh about are usually the hardest to write reviews for. Probably a smart plan to write it soon since they do seem to be forgettable books.

  11. tonyalee

    I check my spam regularly since hotmail doesn’t like to listen to me when I say things AREN’T SPAM. I have about 10 blogs that always go to spam. But spam comments are always hilarious!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I always look at my comments within wordpress rather than having them sent to email, but comments have just been going to spam there too the past week. But yeah, legit spam comments are so funny sometimes lol.

  12. Tiffany @ I Was Angelized_1st

    I’ve been exhausted with the return of school. However, I did try to visit more as I’ve been kind of AWOL all summer. Maybe the return to school is responsible for your drop in comments. As people return to work and their normal day-to-day routine following summer. Don’t worry! I’m sure they’ll pick up once people get back into the swing of things.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, seems like everyone’s just been exhausted this past week lol. It does make sense that people would be busy with school starting. But thanks, I’m sure it will pick back up soon too 🙂

  13. kimbacaffeinate

    I accidently deleted a bunch of spam the other week when I optimized. This week I was careful and have found an unusually large number of folks in spam. -people with over 800 approved comments on my blog. I wish there was a way to whitelist people. Hey, sometimes having nothing to talk about is a good thing..lol

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, a lot of comments have just been going to spam from people who are regular visitors to blogs. Some sort of glitch or change in the filter or something. It would be nice to whitelist people so that that never happens. And yeah lol, sometimes no news is good news!

  14. Got My Book

    I don’t know if any of my comments have gone to spam, but some replies I received were there when I went looking for something else.

    I don’t know why, but I really like the cover for Charm City. I added the book to my list of Kindle Unlimited books.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I was noticing that my comments weren’t showing up on blogs where they normally did, and people have told me my comments were ending up in spam. Definitely something weird going on.

      Funny, I actually don’t like the cover for Charm City but liked the blurb. I always think it’s so interesting whenever anyone mentions they like a cover that I dislike though because it just goes to show how different everyone’s taste is! And it seems to happen to me often, so maybe I’m the odd one out, haha.

      1. Got My Book

        Actually, I often look at a cover that people are raving about and think that it is ugly or even down right hideous. So it is interesting that we all have such different tastes.

        1. Kristen Burns

          I never understand why people get so worked up sometimes when people have different taste about such little things. I really do find it more interesting than anything.

  15. Jane @ Raincity Librarian

    YAY for tagging posts! I’m actually doing some research for bisexuality awareness week for my provincial library association (I’m hoping to recommend some titles for library collections / reader’s advisory), so your tags are going to be very helpful!! 😀

    1. Kristen Burns

      That will be awesome if my tags can actually help you! Though I don’t actually know of *that* many books with bisexual characters. As soon as I find 10 good ones I want to make a recommendation post, but so far I still haven’t even found that many -_- At least not in the SFF genre.

  16. Cait @ Paper Fury

    Ahh, yes I’ve noticed a drop in blog interaction too actually! SADNESS. I think people are busy going back to school? and like maybe we’re all still blogging, but just struggling to get around to visiting/commenting. (Well I am not going back to school hahah, but I’m just guessing maybe that’s what’s up?) Anyway, I hope it all gets back to normal soon. I MISS PEOPLE. hehe.? Also aww, nice spam. :’) It’s always nice when spam decides to be complimenting. I’LL TAKE WHATEVER COMPLIMENTS IM’ NOT FUSSY WHEN IT COMES TO FLATTERY. ?

    1. Kristen Burns

      I think it is the school thing. Like, I’m happy people are apparently still visiting, but I like comments even more! And spam is just too funny. I think that’s the most oddly nicest I’ve ever gotten which is why I couldn’t resist sharing lol.

  17. Bookworm Brandee

    Hey Kristen! I hope you’re able to recover from your post-Olympics hangover this week. The gymnasts were pretty amazing. 😉 My kids are back in school…one over 1200 miles away…so I’ll be getting back to my regular schedule now. And that means I get to catch up with YOU! lol I’m sorry you were in a reading slump but happy Rachel Morgan could pull you out. (I’m especially happy about that since I have the same book on my shelf!) And congrats on being such a zombie cover expert!
    Happy Monday!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yay! I’m glad you’ll be back around the blogosphere now 🙂 The gymnasts were incredible, I really enjoyed the Olympics this year. And thanks, I’m also happy that Rachel Morgan got me out of my slump! I’ve really enjoyed that whole series so far. And lol, that’s me, total zombie cover expert 😉 Have a great week!

  18. S. J. Pajonas

    I didn’t blog this whole week because I was in Japan, so I wanted to take the week off. I did visit blogs, though, while I was gone because I had some down time while I was resting in my hotel room. 🙂 And I didn’t have to make dinner for my kids or anything, so I had extra time! I expect everything to pick up again in September.

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s great that you actually got some relaxation and down time on your vacation! I feel like most vacations actually just end up being stressful and exhausting lol. Hope you had a fun trip!

  19. Dena @ Batch of Books

    I hardly blogged at all last week. My kids went back to school today so last week was crazy busy with trying to fit in last minute excursions, shopping trips, and meet-the-teacher stuff. It was insane! But now they’re in school and the house is quiet. 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      It does seem that school was the big culprit in why there was less bloggy stuff going on last week. I remember how exhausting and stressful the first week of school always was when I was a student. But haha, yes, I’m sure the upside is that you now have the house to yourself!

  20. Jessica

    I haven’t had the spam problem. But I do look at my email spam box every day. I just finishing to The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I always check my comments on the blog, so I don’t know if the email is working better or not. I never did read The Da Vinci Code, but I know it was crazy popular! Hope you enjoyed the book!

  21. AngelErin

    Oh my, those spam comments really cracked me up. Spam comments can be so hilarious sometimes. I had a few weird ones, but once I switched to Discus I don’t think I’ve had any.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol you’re missing out on all the compliments 😉 But yeah, Disqus actually seems to have been unaffected by the recent issues. I think? I can’t even remember but it seemed like my comments on blogs with Disqus were working.

  22. Rowena

    Aren’t those spammy comments the best? Ha!

    The last week has been pretty brutal for me, especially at work. I’ve been pissed to high heaven at co workers that just refuse to get their crap together. So being pissed off during the day (when I do most of my blog hopping and blogging) hasn’t put me in the right mood to blog hop and comment. I’m playing catch up today.

    Hope you have a great week, Kristen!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Spam is just too funny sometimes!

      Aww, sorry about work :-/ When other people make things more difficult for you because of their laziness or incompetence, it’s always ridiculously aggravating. Probably a good idea not to blog hop while angry lol. You have a great week too!

  23. Karen Blue

    Oh, I thought it was just my filter, but your comment went to spam on my site too. I always check my spam to make sure I don’t “loose” anyone’s comments. I bet it is nice to have a week with no big things planned. Happy reading!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Nope, it’s a lot of people’s filters. I do check my spam every so often too, but I’m not sure that everyone does. I think some people probably get too much spam to bother most of the time. And yeah, having nothing to talk about it better than having bad things to complain about 😛 Thanks!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol yeah I’ve been slacking some too, but it’s like my brain has been on slow-mo, so that’s my excuse 😛 And yeah, spam comments are just too funny sometimes! You have a great week too!

  24. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    It does feel a bit strange reading this post without a running update of Olympics gymnastic news. I will have to adjust.

    I know what you mean about feeling like there’s less blog activity going on. For me I definitely feel like it’s because I’ve not been reading as many blog posts the past week because I haven’t had the motivation to even look at my blog feed. Every time I do it just seems to get longer! Why can’t bloggers just not blog for a day and give me chance to catch up? I think it’s probably partly the fact it’s the end of August and people are back in school etc. (I mean, they aren’t here in the UK but I think they they are in the US) or maybe it’s just the whole end of summer thing and people are feeling lazy. And those comments are perfect, my spam comments are just pathetic and illogical and don’t even make me crack a smile.

    I’m glad you’re out of your reading slump at least, even if you are run down now. Fingers crossed this week you get both a good amount of sleep and don’t get stuck in a reading rut (and I feel like that sentence is poorly structured and may need help being a proper english sentence but my brain cannot be bothered to figure it out right now so I take it as a sign my comment should end here).

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol your comments are always so entertaining, I love them. But seriously, I’m still suffering from my lack of gymnastics to talk about and don’t know what to write for any of my weekly updates.

      Haha, your feed gets longer every day? You don’t say 😉 Damn, bloggers, posting too much content. I totally get you, when you start procrastinating, it just piles up and gets overwhelming, so then you procrastinate more, so then it gets more overwhelming… I think the lack of interaction last week was because of school starting though, so I’m sure it’ll be back to normal soon. Also, I’m sorry you get lame spam lol.

      Yes, it would be great if I could get good books AND good sleep. So far I’m doing well on the good books thing. Not so much the good sleep thing. But what’s new there? And I think your sentence made enough sense, but don’t worry, sometimes I don’t even bother proofreading my comments because I know they don’t make any sense and I don’t even want to be bothered to try and fix them lol.

      1. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

        I wish I could offer advice but my weekly updates consist of I did nothing again because I lead a very dull life. You need to stage your Olympics to give you something to talk about… or hope gymnastics will become a big sport because everyone seemed to be enjoying it in the Olympics.

        And don’t talk sense at me, I know people post regularly so it’s the only logical progression for my feed but it would be considerate for like a day of no blogging being done so I can play catch up. That’s actually what I did yesterday (and Friday and probably Thursday as well). I do think procrastination may have been an issue with my ever growing feed. I just couldn’t be bothered because there would be so many words involved which I would have to read and then comments to write. This is why I procrastinate.

        Sleep and books combined together to both be good would be nice but we’ll have to stick with having one or the other (it’s when you’ve got neither you’ve got an issue).

        1. Kristen Burns

          Well that is basically what my updates consist of now too lol. It’s so weird, people do seem to LOVE the gymnastics more than anything when the Olympics comes around, but no one gives a crap the entire rest of the time -_-

          Lol this is my blog, I’ll talk sense at you all I want! But ugh, yes, words. That’s why I’ve been doing a crappy job of visiting other blogs lately too. My brain has been too tired for all the words and processing and forming coherent sentences in response.

          Haha “it’s when you’ve got neither you’ve got an issue” is cracking me up. Valid point!