Always Me

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by  Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my current reads, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes  ( The Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins .  It is my final PopCulture Readathon book - I'm not sure if I'll manage to finish it in time.  Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to think about this one so far. Beginning: Coriolanus released the fistful of cabbage into the pot of boiling water and swore that one day it would never pass his lips again. 56: But who was he to feel superior? 50/50 Friday: Overrated/ Underrated Series Overrated - Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard - I definitely don't get the hype for this series.  The first book was an okay mashup of the X-Men meets The Hunger Games , but after that it went down hill.  I actually only read the first three books and never made it as far the finale.  I just couldn...

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today, I'm sharing my seventh progress update and set of mini reviews for the books I've completed since my  last update  for the  2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge .  I've completed 2 books since then, for a total of 42 of 50 books complete.  I've got 8 books left to go Without further ado, here we go in the order I read them in: ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋   ❋ I love the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett and Mort is easily one of my favorites.  I don't know why I put off reading the first installment of Death's subseries of novels because it is excellent.  Let's just say Death himself and Mort are quite a pair.  Yes, Death goes on a journey to take a much needed vacation and to find himself after he takes on Mort as his apprentice to take over his duties, and yes, Mort is actually pretty awful at like everything.  It's real comedy gold.  Plus, I love all the little tidbits that tie out into...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. Set in a dangerous post-apocalyptic, near-future Manhattan, The Black Sky ( The Perseverantia Trilogy #1) by Timothy D. Minneci tells the gripping story of a group of survivors, some living in a lawless wasteland, others safely inside a walled city, caught in the ticking clock adventure of an extraordinary mission to save one man, unlock the truth of humanity’s near extinction, and risk it all to save the ones they love - a thrilling debut novel that illuminates the power of family, survival against all odds, and hope in dark times. I'm so lucky to have had the opportunity to read an ARC of this sci-fi dystopian post-apocalyptic series opener from Mr. Minneci, a fellow Ohioan. I will say that with everything that's been going on so far this year reading a post-apocalyptic story just hits a little differently than it used to. I don't know about you, but any more when I read from this genre I ...

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I hope everyone's been staying healthy.  July has finally come to a close and that means I've now completed 14 out of 24 books of  Book Riot's 2020 Read Harder Challenge !  The tasks I completed required me to read a graphic memoir   and  a play by an author of color or a queer author and I selected  Tomboy  by Liz Prince  and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry  (I originally planned to read  Fences  ( The Century Cycle  #6) by August Wilson , but I was unable to get my hands on a copy) respectively.   Read on to see my mini reviews and what's next for August:  ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋   ❋ I've had  Tomboy  by Liz Prince  on my tbr for nearly six whole years. I couldn't quite tell you why I've been putting this graphic memoir off for so long, but I'm glad I finally had the chance to tick it off my list because it was brill...

Happy Wednesday everyone!   I'm very excited to welcome you all to my leg of the  Lies, Lies, Lies blog tour !   Today, you'll find the details and summary for this novel,  an excerpt from the prologue, and an about the author,  Adele Parks   .  Thanks for visiting my stop on this b log tour! Title:  Lies Lies Lies Author:  Adele Parks ISBN: 9780778360889 Publication Date: August 4, 2020   Publisher: MIRA Books Buy Links:  Harlequin ,   Barnes & Noble ,  Amazon ,  Books-A-Million ,  Powell’s Lies Lies Lies (MIRA Trade Paperback; August 4, 2020; $17.99) centers on the story of Simon and Daisy Barnes. To the outside world, Simon and Daisy look like they have a perfect life. They have jobs they love, an angelic, talented daughter, a tight group of friends... and they have secrets too. Secrets that will find their way to the light, one way or the other. Daisy and Simon spe...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is a freebie, so I'm sharing Urban Fantasy Books I Haven't Read Yet.  Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres and I've read or at least started quite a few of the popular series, but there are quite a few I haven't had the chance to try yet.  I'm hoping to read all of these series openers, and these are ones on my tbr that are at the top of my list.  Here we go, in alphabetical order by title: Charming ( Pax Arcana #1) by Elliott James Dirty Magic ( Prospero's War #1) by Jaye Wells Discount Armageddon ( InCryptid #1) by Seanan McGuire Generation V ( Generation V #1) by M.L. Brennan Guilty Pleasures ( Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton Ill Wind ( Weather Warden #1) by Rachel Caine Magic Bites ( Kate Daniels #1) by Ilona Andrews Something From the Nightside ( Nightside #1) by Simon R...

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url. Happy Monday and welcome to Music Monday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting a couple of my favorite moments from  Ocean's Eleven (1960) .  It's not exactly a favorite since it's pretty slow and boring even though it's a heist movie with such a great cast.  The characters don't really even begin to plan the heist until the...

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by  Freda's Voice , Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader , and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by  Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader  and  Laura @ Blue Eye Books . For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs. Happy Friday everyone!...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Book Events/Festivals I’d Love to Go to Someday (Real or Fictional. Submitted by Nandini @ Unputdownable Books), but I decided to change it up a bit this week and feature Fictional Bookstores & Libraries I'd Love To Visit.  Here we go, in alphabetical order by book title: A. Z. Fell and Co. from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett  - Sure, Aziraphale would probably try to run me off if I ever managed to get there while the store was open.  I could forget buying anything, but I'd love to browse his collection. The Great Library from Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine  - I mean, it's *the* Great Library after all even if it is corrupt! Monsieur Labisse’s bookshop from  The Invention of Hugo Cabret  by Brian Selznik  - His shop is just gorgeous.  Plus, Christopher Lee portrays him in the ...