Unread Books in My Shelf {2}

In my feeble attempts to limit my book-buying, I thought it would be best if I actually knew what books are gathering dust in my shelf. This series of posts shall feature seven books each - now on to the first.

- The Lost Prince and The Iron Traitor were both impulse buys right after I'd read the original series. I should really get to these while I still remember what happened in the fourth book.

- I got Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, and Last Sacrifice for cheap from my good friend Nina @ The Bookish Confections around the time I watched the Vampire Academy movie and wanted to continue on with the series. Better get the fourth and fifth books while they're still available (I need them to match these, no matter how much I prefer the new covers. Sigh.)

- Madeleine Roux visited the Philippines back in 2014 for a book signing, and that's when I got Asylum. That was two years ago, god. I should make this one of my reads for November AKA Halloween season.

- And finally we have The Scorpio Races. I was so happy when the paperback came out with this beautiful cover because I can't even bear to look at the original cover. Eeek. However, I'm disappointed with this copy because it's one of those poor paperbacks, the ones that weren't bound so well and is kinda hard to open and read. Guess I have an excuse to buy the UK paperback lol.

Aaaand that's it for the second edition of Unread Books! Have you read any of these books? (I'm sure you have ;D) Tell me what you thought of them down below!

Unread Books in My Shelf {1}

In my feeble attempts to limit my book-buying, I thought it would be best if I actually knew what books are gathering dust in my shelf. This series of posts shall feature seven books each - now on to the first.

Recap + Haul {January}

January was a good month. I kept my book-buying to a minimum (although that could be because I channeled my spending to Funko Pop!s, my new addiction), and I'm ahead of my Goodreads reading challenge because I decided not to enroll in school this term since I'd only have three subjects if I did. Bummer. Work was also good, stressful as always, but thank heavens for my friends. On to the books!

Top 10 Series I Want to Start This Year

The moment I thought of making this list, I wanted to hit myself on the head with all of the books sitting unread on my shelf, but I can't help it! Like I said before, I self-harm with books, and God knows I have so little time as it is. Anyway, let's see which of these I get to read by year's end!

Bye 2015, Hello 2016!

 

2015 was a very good year for me except for two aspects in my life: reading- and blogging-wise. I read less books than I had in 2014 and posted infinitely less here on the blog, and I can blame it on work and school but I know that, more than that, it was because of my poor time management skills. I'm a big procrastinator, and oftentimes, I end up with a pile of new, unread books and sixteen hours of sleep. 

But this year, I resolve to making much better use of my time! No more playing Cooking Fever on my phone till I get dizzy! No more sleeping for longer than eight hours! No more countless hours of Suits and The Flash marathons! (Okay, maybe I'll give myself three hours during my days off.) But, still! I'll allot more time for reading even a few pages every day and blogging at least once a week. 

For now, I have this lame post to herald in the new year, but rest assured that there are more and better things to come from my blog. My book reviews will always be insufficient, though :P Happy New Year, friends!

P.S. Care to share with me any titles you're excited for? I sure need to add 2016 releases to my TBR list.

A Bookish Day: #KMRinPH

In case you don't know, #KMRinPH is the official hashtag for Katie Cotugno, Melissa Kantor, and Robyn Schneider's visit here in the Philippines, and yes, I did have an awesome time meeting them just this morning!

A Bookish Day: Leigh Bardugo in Manila!

Just yesterday, I met another author in my long list of favorite authors, but this lady's special because the books she's written are some of the titles I've been reading more thoroughly than usual as part of "learning" how to get my high fantasy WIP just right, so in a way, she's also kind of like a teacher to me. And yes, there were starry eyes involved in my part the entire time we were in the same room. I think I'm starstruck even as I type this recap. Jesus.

Another "I'm still alive" post. Sigh.

I've been chillin' the past few weeks - or as much as I can, anyway, because man, you haven't experienced summer if you've never felt the Philippine summer heat.

Let's start this catch-up post with cover reveals! I signed up for two in particular but I wasn't able to post on the assigned days because I was too lazy to fire up my laptop. I seriously need to replace this piece of crap.

Bounce is the third book in the Boomerang series by Noelle August. I've only read the first book, Boomerang, but I certainly plan on reading the rest.

 

Imagine my surprise when I got the email packet for the Every Last Breath cover reveal. Not only did it have the cover for said book, but new covers for the first three books in the series as well! I admit I'm not a huge fan of the original covers, but I sure prefer those over these new ones. Ugh.

Aside from work being stressful as always and trying to read as much as I can, I've also begun writing again. I do it on my phone with the ever-handy Inkpad Notepad app to save time and also so I can write whenever and wherever I want to. And this time I'm working on a YA contemporary that's been floating on my mind for ages. Let's just say it's every bookworm's dream on Valentine's Day ;)

Lastly, I am ending this post with an announcement. I have finally picked the winner for my giveaway! Check the rafflecopter widget to see who the lucky duck is. She's already replied to my email, so no chance of the prize going to another person, heh.

A Bookish Day: The Disreputable History of Liars

It's the first bookish event of the year - well, for me, that is! XD I was absent for the past couple of events and I missed a whole lot of incredible authors, but I'm trying to change that this year and I sure as hell wasn't going to miss E. Lockhart! She wrote two of the most intelligently-written books I've ever read (and I read them one after the other, which was double awesome) so I really looked forward to meeting her, even though I had to rush from the office for a quick shower and then leave again after twenty-four hours of no sleep. Plenty of time for sleep when I'm dead lol.

It's 2015! And yes, I'm still alive.

Soooo... *looks around* *shrugs* Well, guess who's back! And for good this time, I hope. I think I'm getting better at striking a balance between work, school, and reading, so let me try to get back to blogging, as well. Posts will be significantly lesser than they were before the slump, but they'll come ;D

Anyway, for my first post this 2015, I thought I'd look back on the previous year, book-wise. I horribly failed  my 2014 Goodreads reading challenge, which was a shame, but I'd rather read than dwell on that loss lol. But before I get back to my current read, let me present to you (in no particular order) my...

 

1) Kiss the Sky by K.B. Ritchie
       The Addicted series is one of my favorite NA series and this spin-off jst made me fall in love with the characters even more! I'm totally left behind because of the reading slump but the upside is that now, I have Hothouse Flower and Addicted After All to binge-read one after the other.

2) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
       Ah, this book. This book. I read it twice last year, which I'm pretty sure shows just how much I loved it. In fact, I will be reading it again some time this year because I need to review it!

3) Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
       And this one! Good lord. This is, without a doubt, my favorite Perkins book. I remember having my heart in my mouth the entire time I was reading this, and I certainly can't wait to revisit the story soon.

4) Melt by Selene Castrovilla
       Can someone please remind me to prepare myself before I start reading a Selene Castrovilla book? Maybe then my sanity would be ready for the devastation her words never fail to bring me.

5) The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
       So I finally got around to picking up Julie Kagawa's books and holy cow, what brilliance I'd been missing. The ending to this third book is epic enough to be a series-ender, but thank heavens it's not because I'm positive I'd have gone mad if it was.

6) The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
       Aaaand here comes the series-ender. (Although it's quite not because of the spin-off series lol whatevs)

7) Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
       This is my first Kelley Armstrong book, and it surely did not disappoint. Let's not even talk about that ending because I still can't even.

8) To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

       Two words: Peter Kavinsky.

9) Wings by Elizabeth Richards

       Thanks to this post, I'm now reminded that three of my favorite series ended last year. *sniff* Anyway, the Black City trilogy is something I'm planning to re-read because I feel like I rushed through all three books the first time around. 

10) Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

       W-what do you mean, no more Warner?! No!

11) Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

       And no more Aria/Perry?!?! Nooooooo!

12) Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

       Another year, another Dessen book that I loved so much, I couldn't review it. Ugh. I have a third book by her buried somewhere in my pile of books - I should get to that one soon.

13) Just One Day by Gayle Forman

      This is one book that needs to get the movie treatment. That'd be real awesome. I've also read Just One Year, but Just One Night is still sitting in my Kindle shelf, waiting to be opened.

14) White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

       Last but not the least, this baby. The sequel's been on my shelf for months since I borrowed it from the ever awesome Louisse but I've yet to read it (eeep so sorry I haven't returned it!)

And that's it! I'm looking forward to more great reads this year; I just hope I find more time for them. But what about you? What were your fave books from last year, and what titles are you excited for this 2015? Please do share them with me in the comments because God knows I need to add more books to my to-read list!

It's My Second Blogiversary!

Just like last year, I'm going to keep this short because, as you've noticed by the lack of posts recently, I am even busier this time around (and also because I'm still no good at the mushy stuff). First of all, thanks to my PH book blogger friends who I haven't seen since July! I miss you guys, and I'll see you next month ;D Second, thanks to the authors and publishers who make books possible. No matter how occupied I am, I will always be yearning for words, and you are the people who make sure my needs are met. The work you do is invaluable, so please continue being awesome. And lastly, thanks to you, for still being here and dropping by my blog. I am truly grateful.

And to complete this celebration, here are two giveaways!

{A Reader's Digest} July Recap!

Oh, July, what an exhausting and hectic month you were! I applied for a job on the 11th, signed a contract that very same day, and a week later I was in training. I'm a tech support rep in a call center and the account we'll handle is quite complex (for those of you in the US, if you have AT&T U-verse, you might be speaking to me in the near future! ;D), so the hours don't just take a toll on my body, but also on my brain. So. Many. Terms. And acronyms! *dies* But it's been fun because of my wavemates, despite a bit of drama. 

Anyway! I still go to college despite having a nine-hour job, so you can imagine how tired I get, therefore the horrible blogging rut I am in at the moment. Although I try to read every time my eyes aren't threatening to droop shut, it's not enough. Can you believe that I haven't finished a book in more than two weeks?! Jesus. I've somehow adjusted, and I'll try to finish Hollow City tomorrow. I swear I will.

Bloggy Stuff

I didn't realize I read 9 books this July! I seriously thought the number was around 4 o.o Okay, so one of them's a novella and one is a graphic novel, but I still count that as a victory! And that brings me up to 65/100 books this year. I doubt I'll be upping that goal, but we'll see. Lola and the Boy Next Door and Along for the Ride are two books that require re-reading before I'll be able to review them; they're that good <3

Reviews posted in July: More Than Music | Boomerang | Minutes Before Sunset | Perfected | Reboot | Teaching Roman

And the other stuff that went up on the blog: The Books & the Art {4} | A Bookish Day: Me and the Happily Ever After | Stacking the Shelves {26} | The Books & the Art {6}

Books to watch out for in August

I am particularly excited about Opposition because it's the last book of the Lux series (although I doubt I'll pick it up any time soon because I still don't want to leave Katy and Daemon and the rest of the gang T_T), and Girl from the Well because it was written by a fellow Filipino and it's about Sadako? A retelling of The Ring? I'm not sure, but I want it.

Discuss!

Talk to me about the books mentioned above or give me tips to better manage my time! Because I hate neglecting my blog :c

{A Reader's Digest} June Recap!

June has come and gone, and I'm quite relieved because blogging-wise, I didn't do so well this past month. And I wasn't even that busy! I just felt exhausted most of the time, and even reading books became such a chore that (I think) all I read were review/tour books. But! Right now that's not the case - sure hope this doesn't jinx it, though LOL - and my term break officially starts on Friday, so I plan to get a lot of reading done.

Bloggy Stuff

I read 8 books in June. Eight. Jesus. Anyway, that brings me to 56/100 books read this year. I am disappointed with myself. I did read two of my favorite YA contemps, though: To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Anna and the French Kiss, and oh my Lord I still cannot get over these two books. Where in the world is my Peter Kavinsky and/or Etienne St. Clair? Yeah, and/or. I'd totally keep them both.

Here are the reviews I posted in June: Don't Fall | Girl of Rage | Life in Outer Space | Twinmaker | MELT | Plus One | Say Her Name

And other stuff that went up on the blog: The Polaris Uprising | Beautiful People {1} | Stacking the Shelves {25} | A Bookish Day: Jenny Han in Manila

Books to watch out for in July

So. Many. Good books are coming out this month! Another reason why I want to find a part-time job - if only my family would agree already. Sigh.

Discuss!

Have you read/will you read any of these books? HAVE YOU FALLEN IN LOVE WITH PETER AND/OR ETIENNE YET?!

A Bookish Day: Jenny Han in Manila!

{A Reader's Digest} May Recap!

I've been wanting to start doing monthly recaps since January of this year but for some reason, I'm only getting to post one now! *glares at busy schedule mixed with procrastinating self* Aside from reading the books I'm supposed to read and review, I had to move into a tiny apartment with my siblings while our house is getting renovated and I'm still not done adjusting to the bathroom being the only place in the house where I can be alone. Seriously. This place is that tiny. And summer in the Philippines, you guys. It's like hell on Earth. When I get home from school, I'm so drained of energy that I barely manage to stay awake for the rest of the day. Ugh. It's also kind of been a sad month for my fangirl self because it's sunk in that I'll be missing the Taylor Swift and One Direction concerts that'll be held here in Manila. Sigh. Sobs. :c

#TwoAwesomeAuthorsAreComingToPH

National Book Store continues their being-bookish-and-lovely streak by bringing two more YA authors to the Philippines - if you don't know who they are, you need to get a smaller rock to hide under. Seriously.

Click on photos for full size.

First up is Jenny Han in June! I really enjoyed the Burn for Burn books which she co-authored so if you're new to her works, those are the ones I can suggest you start with.

Event Page | FAQ

And then in July, Stephanie Perkins will be gracing us with her presence! Anna and the French Kiss is still sitting untouched in my shelf because I'm still unprepared for Etienne St. Clair - I hear he's quite the amazing boy - but I guess I'll just have to pick it up soon!

Event Page | FAQ

I expect to see your lovely faces in the next two months, fellow Pinoy book nerds! ;D

A Bookish Day: #VTRinPH!

Guess who I met last Saturday? Yep, that's Ransom Riggs, Tahereh Mafi, and Veronica Rossi! *cue freakout* They're three of my favorite authors so you can imagine how ecstatic I was to be in the same room as them. I was lucky enough to be part of the bloggers forum and my question was for Tahereh:

A Bookish Day: Becca Fitzpatrick in Manila!

Last Saturday, I finally met Becca Fitzpatrick a.k.a. the creator of Patch Cipriano my babyyyy. Those of you who know me well are aware of my undying love for the Hush, Hush series so when I learned that Becca would be coming here, you can only imagine the amount of screaming and flailing involved.

A Bookish Day: Kate Evangelista's TIL DEATH Book Launch!

Yesterday, Kate Evangelista teamed up with National Bookstore for the launching of her newest book Til Death here in the Philippines! I've already read and reviewed the book here so you might want to check that out.

Kate answering questions from host and fellow author herself, Mina V. Esguerra. Kate shared lots of writing and publishing stories and advice, and hinted at the mayhem that will ensue in the Til Death sequel. She said that she prefers getting mixed feedback for her books because she wants to keep improving as an author, and all-positive reviews could hinder that. She also said that because Taste, Reaping Me Softly, and Til Death are the first books that she wrote, she's aware that those three have a few problems with regards to pacing and such, so she's addressed those in their respective sequels. 

A Bookish Day: Gayle Forman in Manila!

Last Saturday, I was lucky enough to meet Gayle Forman - author of soon-to-be-released-movie If I Stay, its sequel Where She Went, and two books I recently read and loved, Just One Day and Just One Year. Us Pinoy bookworms have National Bookstore to thank for this event ♥

Gayle answering questions during the blogger forum