Sunday Funday

Every Sunday, I hope to post a weekly recap where I'll chat about what's been going on from things that have happened in the past week from what I'm reading, watching, listening to, funny little anecdotes and things like that.

Most exciting news of the week, part 1: I won the grand prize at my local library's adult summer reading program! Woo! I received plenty of gift cards to keep me in movies, food, and most importantly books for quite a while!

Most exciting news of the week, part 2: I received a physical copy of Doubt (Among Us Trilogy #1) in the mail from the author, Anne-Rae Vasquez. More people should know about this series! If you like Supernatural, Fringe, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, you'll really want to check into this series!

Now, I love going to Goodwill, Ollie's, antique shops, yard sales - pretty much anywhere I can get a nice book for a good price. This week I went to Goodwill and I really hit the jackpot! I found Wither and Fever, the first two books in The Chemical Garden trilogy by Lauren DeStefano, The Luxe by Anna Godberson, ttfn by Lauren Myracle, Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, and Wake by Amanda Hocking. All of them except Gregor the Overlander look like they've never been opened let alone read whereas Gregor looks like he's had a little more love. This particular Goodwill store, my favorite of the local ones, lately, has had a pretty spectacular book selection within the past two months for both YA and newer titles. I've also seen quite a few ARC titles, some of which hadn't officially been published by the time they appeared in Goodwill. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open - who knows what I might find next! I also ordered and received Downfall by Rob Thurman - it's book nine in the spectacular Cal Leandros series. If you love watching Supernatural like me, you'll probably love this particular book series!

This week I finished a couple of titles. The first and most inspiring by far was Living a Life That Matters: From Nazi Nightmare to American Dream by Ben Lesser. I listened to the memoir on audiobook and Lesser's journey is truly stunning and powerful. The audiobook was actually a part of the last pair of books offered for free through YA Sync this summer. I also attempted to read The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker which sounded really promising and had great praise on the back cover. However, I gave up after 50 pages partly because the tone doesn't not fit the narrator and it really began to drag on like the apocalypse is just an excuse.

I'm currently working on Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson on audio cassette (my car has a cassette player so...) and it's a sci-fi cyberpunk novel, which I must say is awesome. Just listen to the opening about the Deliverator and you'll see what I mean - and it just keeps getting better. I seriously wish I still had my old cassette walkman just so I could listen to this audiobook because I've still got 6 hours worth of listening to go and it's killing me to only listen while I drive! :) Maybe I can scour Goodwill for something.  I'm also reading Blast of the Dragon's Fury (Andy Smithson #1) on my Kindle for PC which I received for free in exchange for an honest review. It's very good. A little weird, though, but in a good way. Take a present day 10 year old and stick him in a King Arthur and Merlin's Camelot-esque (but definitely not), mix in a lot of adventure, a curse, and a journey, plus a whole lot of fart jokes and you're getting pretty close to an accurate description of the story.

Best new show I've watched this week: the premier of Outlander. I don't have STARZ, but I watched it for free on YouTube. Based on that episode, I think it could be a pretty solid adaptation of the story!

Favorite new song: Riptide by Vance Joy. I've heard it multiple times on the radio and I've even watched the music video (and I usually don't watch those). In a way, the video reminds me of something by Wes Anderson, but that might just be me. :)

Best moment of the week: Actually getting to spend sometime with my extended family today which doesn't happen all that much any more what with my busy work schedule. It was so nice to get to see everyone this weekend!

Well, that's enough for now - until next time!