Stacking the Shelves (1)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Book Review to showcase the books you've gotten whether they be virtual or physical.

I was blessed with two books this week! The first is House of Gold by Natasha Solomons thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons. The second is The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles courtesy of Riverhead books. Massive thanks to both publishing companies for providing me with these copies for review purposes.

Life Currently:

My new sandals I got are featured as well! I fostered a dog for a couple days and within those few days she manages to chew my flip-flops up. Summer isn't over so I decided to go out and get more. They're super comfortable and they give me a little height to my short stature so I'm in love!

My friend Amanda moved in with me due to circumstances out of her control and she noticed how much I love incense. Her and her friend came back one night and handed me a massive pack of incense that smells amazing! I love when friends notice things about you you think is insignificant but end up showing you it's not. She's great!

I also went to Wal-Mart today with my fiance and I bought two bath bombs. I'm super excited to use them because they both smell absolutely amazing.

Nothing else to report here right now, so I hope you all have a good weekend! See you all on Monday. 

It's Friday! Have a great weekend!

Today I'm joining a few bloggers for some Friday book memes! Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader as a way to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading and share your thoughts about it. Feel free to check her blog out!

A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan

"Once upon a time, a little girl helplessly watches as liquid gold spun a web across her tiny frame, racing to wrap her up in an icy cocoon. Her mouth hung agape. Her limbs stayed outstretched toward a father she could not reach. Her legs refused to respond, to carry her far away. Only the sound of bones crackling, drying into rigid metal fossils, sliced through the night air."

This first paragraph had me hooked immediately. I've never read a re-telling of King Midas but I'm 177 pages in and I love it! It will be published on August 14, 2018 so be sure to add it to your TBR list because you're not going to want to miss this one.

I'm also joining Coffee Addicted Writer in her weekly meme. A weekly prompt is given featuring a question related to books. The point is to find new blogs to follow, a chance to learn about new books, make new friends, and get followers for you blog as well. It's all about growth and friendships, baby!

Today's prompt is below.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? A blogger's first name should be in a prominent place on his/hers blog.

I believe a blogger should run her or her blog the way they want. Sometimes a blogger may not put their name to protect their identity, even if it is just their first name.
I'm more likely to follow the person if they put their first name and a photo of themselves. I'll feel closer to them and want to read their posts more, but I can also understand wanting to remain anonymous on a blogging platform.

And last but not least I'm joining Freda's Voice for The Friday 56. In this one, you turn to page 56 in the book you're currently reading and share any sentence from the page you want to.

I'm sharing a sentence from A Touch of Gold as shown in the photo for the Book Beginnings meme.

"One time I had to climb up to the crow's nest naked and sing an ode to Poseidon after losing at a game of Drown the Cup."

This part cracked me up because Princess Kora immediately blushes after Aris says this. She's so pious and sweet it's adorable!

Well, that's all for today folks! I had fun joining on on three different memes today and I look forward to looking at what your answers are. Feel free to leave your link down below so I can visit your post as well!

Reading Quirks and Habits

I decided to make today's post a fun one! Readers have a lot in common, but there's a lot we don't have in common. Some people read "normally", others have quirks and habits that others don't. Below are a few of mine.

Where do you read?

I read one of two places, my bed or my recliner in my living room. I'll occasionally read if I'm out and about but I hate having to stop when someone wants to speak to me, so I tend to try to read only when I'm alone and at home.

What do you read?

I read a ton of different genres. As as book blogger I get a ton of books sent to me. They range from children's books to YA to popular fiction, to historical fiction or fantasy. I prefer YA books that deal with female teenage detectives, books that deal with circuses or carnivals, or murder mysteries.

How do you read?

My favorite thing to do when I'm reading is snack. I love pretzels or a massive bowl of cereal.

How many books are on your TBR list?

Too many! On my Goodreads it's telling me I have 437 books on my TBR list. And that's even after I cleaned the list up. Don't judge me on my own blog, okay?

Audio books, paper books, or e-readers?

I'm old-fashioned and love paper books. I love dog-earing books and highlighting them with my markers. The smells of books is superior to the smell of electronics.
E-readers are a close second, though. I despise audio books and can't pay attention to them when they're playing for some reason.

What trope makes you not want to finish a book?I hate the mass market romance paperbacks as well as "old lady erotica." Nothing against the people who read them, I just can't get into it!

What's your earliest memory of reading?I remember going into Wal-Mart with my dad and picking up a book when I was 4 or so. It had all the names for the body, cars, fruits and veggies, animals, numbers, colors. My mom was upset he bought it because we didn't have a lot of extra money at the time, but I read that books until it fell apart. Then my dad duct taped it back together and I read it after that. 19 years later and I still have the book. 

Who are three authors you have on auto-buy?I honestly only have Jodi Picoult and Brenda Novak on auto-buy. I haven't found a third favorite author yet.

What's your top three favorite bookish worlds?Harry Potter will be my first obvious choice. My favorite is fall time in the Harry Potter books. The second is The Night Court, and the third is Caraval.

Well, that's all folks. Leave me some love below if you're feeling up to it and I'll return the favor!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (1)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme held by BookDate where you've read or are currently reading over the last week. Don't forget to join in and meet up with some fellow bloggers and leave some love on their posts as well!

What I Read Last Week:

I read The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp last week. It was an ARC that I got ages ago but just now got around to reading. I'm happy I finally did as I logged it in as a 4 out of 5 star read. I'd recommend this one to anyone who likes thrillers, modern stories with social media as a major selling point, or characters with massive personalities. 

What I'm Reading Currently:

I got this ARC in the mail a few days ago. I liked the cover so I decided to immediately start reading even though I had no idea what it was about. I'm only on chapter 3 currently but I like it so far. It has an extremely unique premise and I'm loving Princess Cora and her personality already!

Up Next:

I really have no idea what I'm going to read next. I usually don't plan monthly TBR's because I never, ever stick to them. I just go out on a whim and pick a book that has a cover that draws me in and I read from there. :)

And that's it, folks! My first IMWAYR post! I'm headed on over to everyone who posted in the linky to get better acquainted with my fellow book bloggers. See you soon! 

Book Review: The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp

The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Author: Jason Arnopp
Publisher: Orbit

Published: July 28, 2016

Pages: 377

Format: Finished copy via publisher

Jack Sparks died while writing this book.
It was no secret that journalist Jack Sparks had been researching the occult for his new book. No stranger to controversy, he'd already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed.
Then there was that video: forty seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account.

Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed - until now.

Review:

This sure was one interesting book!

It starts off when Jack Sparks gets invited to observe an exorcism in Italy while he's writing his latest book "Jack Sparks on the Supernatural". Being an Atheist, he thinks the whole thing is a joke to trick him into believing in the supernatural and offends a very malevolent entity unbeknownst to him.  Little does he know, this exorcism is going to ultimately be the reason for his demise. That's not a spoiler, by the way. We are made aware of Jack's death right off the bat at the beginning of the book.

Shortly after Jack leaves the exorcism, he notices a video has been uploaded to his YouTube account. He didn't upload it himself, so who did? He makes it his goal to figure out who uploaded the video. His spiral down is a wild ride you won't be able to stop reading about.

Jack himself is a grade-A asshole. He seems to only care about himself and his self-obsession. His ego is massive. This is a major reason for his downfall.

I really like how witty the book is. Even though Jack is an asshole, it kept me reading because I couldn't imagine knowing someone who was as skeptical and self-absorbed as him. It was like a train-wreck I couldn't look away from. It's a horror book that slowly creeps up on you and takes hold of you before you realize what's happening!

There's a chapter titled six-six-six that made me giggle. All throughout the book there are dark witticisms, interviews based around people who knew Jack, and anecdotes (albeit unreliable) of Jack's life and the events leading up to his demise.
Jack Sparks was a well written character that made me want to choke him while he simultaneously managed to make me laugh. Authors who can create characters like that are always top notch to me!

Jack Sparks was a 4 star read. I didn't get through it as quick as I usually do other books. I have no idea why, maybe I've been in a reading slump, but it didn't hold my attention the whole time. Still worth a read if you're into supernatural thrillers with a modern-day character!