Update: Life and Books (5/6/18)

 
 

Ummm…

*looks around the room*

*clears throat awkwardly*

*shuffles papers around*

*glances at chirping crickets and wonders how they got in here*

I got nothin’. No real life news to share this time.

*shrugs*

On to the bookish stuff!


Blog/Bookish Updates:

I got a few free books! From my mom’s coworker’s friend’s daughter. Lol. Most notably Shiver, Linger, and If I Stay. I wasn’t interested in any others but kept a few anyway in case I can use them for anything since I got rid of most of my old books when I moved. I didn’t snap any photos of those, but here are some other book photos from this week! (Links to Amazon will be below.)

The King's Sun by Isaac GrishamDjinn City by Saad Z. Hossain ARC

 

Books I Received for Review:

The King's Sun by Isaac Grisham
Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain
Spinning Silk by T. Cook
A Warden's Purpose by Jeffrey L. Kohanek
 

4/29/18: The King’s Sun is from the author. Djinn City is from Unnamed Press. Spinning Silk is from the author. All three are Asian mythology based—isn’t that awesome?!

5/6/18: A Warden’s Purpose is from the author.

 

Books I Finished:

Pack by Mike Bockoven
Cadaver & Queen by Alisa Kwitney
Dance with the Devil by Megan Derr
 

4/29/18: Still in a reading slump, so I didn’t manage to finish any books this week :-/

5/6/18: I finally started quenching my thirst for some werewolf books with Pack! It was good. I listened to the audio of Cadaver & Queen, and I really enjoyed it (both the book and the audio)! Dance with the Devil was good and easy to read, which was exactly what I needed.

 

What I’m Loving:

This week, what I’m loving is…

Suits

(The TV show, not the clothing.) I didn’t realize the latest season had started or continued or whatever in March, so I binged and got caught up.

The #Mermay Hashtag on Twitter

How are so many people such amazing artists?!?!?!

 

In Case You Missed It:

4/29/18:
– I reviewed Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a thought-provoking classic.
– I reviewed Argonauts by Kevin Knuepper, a creative yet problematic sci-fi retelling.

5/6/18:
– I interviewed Patrick Donovan about his recent urban fantasy, The Ledberg Runestone.
– I reviewed This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee, a touching Frankenstein retelling about brothers.
– I shared my thoughts on the portrayal of supernatural creatures.
– I reviewed Tusks: The Orc Dating Sim by Mitch Alexander, a visual novel about gay orcs.

 

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

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

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you found any good books lately?
Any TV show you're currently enjoying?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

73 thoughts on “Update: Life and Books (5/6/18)

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  1. Greg

    Djinn City looks interesting. I just read a book with a djinn in it (and an efret, which was a first). I’m liking the trend we’re seeing towards more Asian inspired stuff. And Pack- I feel like I need more werewolf stuff…

    Clearly I need to check out #mermay? I’m assuming this is all mer goodness? I love merfolk.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m reading it right now, and I love the portrayal of djinn so far! Ooh cool, what was the book you read with djinn? I also just bought my first anthology “The Djinn Falls in Love,” so I am in total djinn mode lol. I’m also in werewolf mode.

      Yes! Tons of mer goodness! You’ll love it!

      1. Greg

        The book was Menagerie by Rachel Vincent, and now I need the sequel because creatures. Although the djinn in it didn’t do a lot, but she had an efreeti servant and that was cool. Oh and it’s a traveling show/ carnival type deal so you might be interested? although they don’t do much with the circus elements unfortunately.

        Yes to werewolves! If you read a good one let me know, I want to read more werewolf stuff!

        1. Kristen Burns

          Yeah, I was interested when I first heard about it but then I realized it didn’t seem like they did much with the circus aspect, and I kinda lost interest. Glad you liked it though!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I was happy to get those cuz I do want to try that series! Although I will have to figure out how to get the third book lol. Thank you, you have a great week too 🙂

  2. Sam@WLABB

    I had watched Suits for many seasons, and liked it a lot. We had this outage, and I lost everything on my DVR, and that was really when I stopped watching a lot of shows. I had no clue where I was, and also had no time. Enjoy all your new books. I hope one pulls you from your slump soon.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Aww, that’s a bummer about the DVR and Suits. I always watch it online (you can watch online as long as your cable package gets the channel). Thank you, slumps are frustrating!

  3. Jennilyn V.

    Not familiar with any of your new books but Djinn City seems interesting.

    Now checking the #mermay hashtag and its gold, thanks for sharing.

    I see that you re-read (clicked on your review post) and reviewed Frankenstein. Is it because you have to read and review This Monstrous Thing, which is a re-telling? Haven’t read both books yet, btw. Sometimes I think that I’m not qualified to review a re-telling if I haven’t read the original, just wondering if it’s the same with you.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m reading Djinn City right now, and so far I like it!

      The #mermay artwork is amazing, glad you like it too.

      Ha, someone who gets me! I also like to read the original before I read retellings! But I actually reread Frankenstein just because I just felt like it, and then I decided I wanted retellings and ended up snagging a copy of This Monstrous Thing. But I don’t think you *need* to read the original before most retellings, definitely not before This Monstrous Thing, I just like to!

  4. suz

    Nice haul of books there. I loved the Shiver series and If I Stay – although I liked Where She Went better. – I don’t usually say that about sequels.
    Having no ‘real life’ stuff going on sounds like heaven to me. And ‘no news, is good news’. 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! I’m looking forward to trying both series, although I will have to get the remaining books in them that I unfortunately did not get for free!

      Yep, sometimes no news is good news 🙂

  5. sjhigbee

    You acquired some lovely books this week – the cover for The King’s Sun is gorgeous… And the fact that all three are based on Asian mythology is a major bonus:)). I hope you find this coming week an easier one reading-wise and that it is a more interesting week in general.

  6. Sophie

    OK first you got some amazing covers there seriously!! Now Suit is kickass. My daughter hooked me on this series 😉 How are the headaches? better I hope as you said nothing about them today. happy Sunday!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I know, right? I feel like I’m reading so many books with amazing covers this year! And yay, a fellow Suits fan! Aww, thank you for asking <3 I'm still trying to figure out the cause, but I figured everyone was tired of hearing about that lol. Maybe by the next post I'll have something figured out!

  7. Samantha

    My senior students read Frankenstein every year and I love it! We have such an interesting debate about who the real villain of the story is (I am firmly in the Victor is the worst camp; my students are usually split.).
    Hope you have a good week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! Tbh I’m not sure I’ve read any reviews for Spinning Silk, I just liked the blurb and the preview I read and went for it lol. Thanks, you too!

  8. Lola

    I hope that means you had a decent two weeks with how you had nothing to share. You do have some great bookish news. That’s awesome you got some books from your mom’s coworkers daughter. The title Djinn City makes me curious about the book. How fun 3 of the books you got are all Asian mythology based.

    Sorry to hear you had a reading slump, but that’s nice you read some good books the week after that.

    There is some amazing art with that mermay hashtag!

    I had two 5 star reads in the last 2 weeks so it seems my reading mood is improving :). I hope it stays that way. Have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      No, nothing bad. Still struggling to figure out what food is causing headaches, but I figured everyone was tired of hearing about that lol. I was excited to get those books, though it would’ve been even better if I had got the third book in that one series too. I’m so excited for all this Asian-based mythology!

      I’m loving the hashtag!

      Glad your reading mood is improving 🙂 Thanks, you too!

  9. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

    I really enjoyed If I Stay… and I loved the follow up, Where She Went, even more. Getting Adam’s POV was priceless. I can’t remember the last time I read a werewolf book but Pack sounds really good.

    1. Kristen Burns

      So far numerous people have said the same, that they enjoyed the second one even more! Unfortunately I didn’t get that one lol, so I’ll have to buy it or find somewhere to borrow it. I enjoyed Pack! I’m totally into werewolves at the moment.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I usually scrounge up something to talk about even though I never do much of anything, but I just really had nothing this week. Free books are great! Thanks, you too!

  10. karen

    All of those covers are amazing. I hope you enjoy your new reads. I gotta check out the #MerMay happenings on twitter. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week!

  11. Daniela Ark

    yay for free books!I like your mom’s coworker’s friend’s daughter. I’m very curious how you are going to like the Shiver series. I’ve found that writing style hard to get through. oh god the cover of Spinning Silk! I love that Asian Mythology is getting so much attention 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks 😛

      I love it too! It looks to me like shoulders at the bottom and then the head as a tornado? Idk if that’s actually what it is or what it means, but that’s what I see lol.

  12. Wren

    aw a reading slump? those are the worst. hopefully it ends soon. As for good books, I haven’t found anything extraordinary, but my reads have generally been alright. I haven’t been watching tv shows but I watched the Conjuring 2 and I thought it was pretty good.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Agreed!

      Yeah, probably cuz we’ve read so much that it’s hard to find things that impress or excite us anymore. You should try some werewolf stories!

      Thanks, you too 🙂

  13. Bookworm Brandee

    Hahaha I love it. You have nothing to report from real life. 🙂 Your bookish news was pretty exciting though. Shiver and Linger? Yay!! And I’m happy that Pack managed to pull you out of a little reading slump. I’ll have to check it out along with the other two you finished. You have me curious about Cadaver Queen and Dance with the Devil. Hope your week is going well!

  14. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    No real life news is not a bad thing. Sometimes not having anything to report can be good. It’s awesome you got a few free books, though. I love getting freebies and even if you don’t read them they don’t cost anything at least. I’m loving the cover for Djinn City, I’m excited for you to review that one. I totally need to binge watch Suits at some point but I just don’t get how it’s gonna work now, I think maybe I should stick with having fond memories of the show instead.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Agreed, no news is good news sometimes. Free books are definitely great! I love the cover for Djinn City too. Lol I guess it’s been so long since you watched that you’ve forgotten everything?

  15. Tizzy Brown

    Great haul! I love that there are more books about Asian mythology springing up. I haven’t seen Suits yet but everyone tells me I should watch it.

  16. Olivia Roach

    Sometimes we just have uneventful or really chill weeks! And that’s perfectly fine. Oh no. Shiver. I absolutely hated that book, I am afraid. One of the worst books I have ever read >.> I also have Linger (I got them for free, too) but I don’t know if I will ever actually read it haha xD I hope you enjoy them more than me though! I do love Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series so there is merit in her writing! The cover to Djinn City is beautiful DD:

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yep, it is fine! Oh no, sorry to hear you didn’t like it! But I have it free, and I want to try it, so hopefully I’ll like it 🙂 I also want to try Raven Cycle! I love the Djinn City cover too!

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