Stacking the Shelves: BookExpo America & The BookCon 2016 Haul

Hi everyone! As I mentioned last month, I went to Chicago for BEA & BookCon 2016! It was simply a fantastic time. I met tons of authors that I love and admire, and I got nearly 200 books (not all of them are pictured below because some were sent out in the mail at the time. I also gave some away). 

I shared pics of my haul each day on twitter, but I realized I never officially posted about them here. I apologize for the photos' poor quality; they were taken with my camera phone on a hotel room floor. Not really #bookstagram material. If you'd like to see a list of most of the books I got, check out the Goodreads shelf I created.

Trying to motivate myself to go explore the city, but I just want to decompress. Anyway, here's my day 1 #BEA16 haul pic.twitter.com/ZCTXQ4ChPD

— Rosie Gutmann (@rkgutmann) May 11, 2016

Day 2 haul (forever known as the haul that gave me painful shoulder spasms all night) pic.twitter.com/pkzcXPuUYa

— Rosie Gutmann (@rkgutmann) May 13, 2016

Day 3 haul (forever known as the day I thought I was being more discerning of my choices but obv. wasn't) pic.twitter.com/LLBRDIKHN6

— Rosie Gutmann (@rkgutmann) May 14, 2016

BookCon 2016 haul. What a week! pic.twitter.com/PKGVvScPqi

— Rosie Gutmann (@rkgutmann) May 15, 2016

I still haven't read a single book from this haul yet. I attempted to read one, but I ended up hating the writing style, so I DNF'd it (more on that another time). I'm actually dealing with a terrible reading slump right now. I'm hoping that I can decide on a book to read soon and just settle in with it. In my experience, I just need to ride slumps out. 

Get any good books lately?

ARC August

My friend Octavia over at Read.Sleep.Repeat is hosting the third annual ARC August, and considering that this is the first August where I have found myself overwhelmed with ARCs, I figured, why not join in?

The entire goal of this challenge is to tackle your ARC TBR. Here are Octavia's rules from the sign up post: 

Rules:
The rules are very simple.

• It may be a physical ARC or eARC but it MUST be an ARC.
• Yes it can be an ARC that has already released; as long as it’s an ARC I’m not going to nit pick really
• HAVE FUN WITH THIS! Feeling like you are being “forced” to read is the best way turn a fun event into a yucky obligation.
• Update post! I personally will do a post for each Saturday in August but that’s just me. You can update once a week, every other week or once for the whole darn event. This update can be in the form of a blog/tumblr post, vlog, link to your “ARC August 2015″ shelf or even an instagram pic! I want to make this as easy and low pressure as possible for you.

My goal is to read five ARCs. This may seem low-key to some, but for me, it's huge considering that this summer, I've been going through possibly the worst reading slump I've ever had.

Here's my tentative list:

1. A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano
   Pub. Date: Sept. 1
2. Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
   Pub. Date: Sept. 1
3.  Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
   Pub. Date: Sept. 1
4. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
   Pub. Date: Sept. 1
5. Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr
   Pub. Date: July 14

As you can see, a lot of the ARCs I have are for books releasing the first of September, so I have a lot of reading and reviewing to do before then. I also missed the window on Stone Rider, but partaking in this challenge is my way of making up for it. Also, Octavia is holding ARC giveaways as prizes for the challenge, so it should be a lot of fun.

Are you joining in on the ARC August challenge?
Leave me your TBR in the comments!

ARC Giveaway

Hello, lovely bookish people. If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed I started another giveaway today. It's a simple Follow & RT, with a stack of ARCs as the prize.

• Hello, Goodbye, & Everything In Between by Jennifer E. Smith
• Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr
• The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Check out the original tweet below. The giveaway ends 12 a.m. EST 8/7 (US Only).

Good luck!

I got lucky and have doubles of some ARCs. RT & FOLLOW to win the stack! The #giveaway ends 12 a.m. EST 8/7 (US Only) pic.twitter.com/gchTrS4YXQ

— Rosie Gutmann (@rkgutmann) July 31, 2015

Stacking the Shelves: The Calm Before the BookCon

Several BookCon write-ups are in the works, including a recap, haul, and tips post. Until then, let me share with you the books I amassed during the two weeks before BookCon.

• Sharon Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn
  I've wanted to read this book for years-- ever since I fell down the high-fantasy rabbit hole. I loved Sharon Shinn's The Shape-Changer's Wife, which I waxed poetic about over on this post of yore. When the manfriend said I needed to add some items to an order he was making so he could qualify for free shipping, I jumped at the chance to snag this little gem.
• Sam Maggs' The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy
  I somehow talked the kind folks over at Quirk Books into giving me a copy of this gorgeous book so I could review it for Minerva Magazine-- you remember, it's the magazine I helped co-found. I'm reading the book now, and I'll cross-post my review here.
•  James M. Citrin's The Career Playbook
  I don't usually read non-fiction self-help books very often unless they really call to me or have  reached critical acclaim. Not so in the case of this book. It was available on a book review site, and I chose it merely because pickin's were slim. I hoped it would help me along my career path somehow. Spoiler alert: it doesn't. Full review forthcoming.
• Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine
  Another book courtesy of Jeff.
  

I was so excited about these books (and still am), but now I have to figure out a proper reviewing schedule for them, considering the tons of books (many of them ARCs) that I received and promised to review at BookCon. Like I said before, I'm currently reading The Fangirl's Guide, and I just finished The Career Playbook today. Since Summers at Castle Auburn and Griffin and Sabine have been around for quite some time now, they are going to have to take a backseat to all the pre-releases.

Linking up here and here.

Which books have you been stacking on your shelves? 
Any forgotten-but-amazing backlisted titles?

Bout of Books 13: Readathon TBR

Because I'm so very excited to participate in my first ever readathon, I couldn't sleep and thought a good use of my time would be drafting up a (probably unrealistic) TBR list.

I have quite a few ebooks downloaded from NetGalley that need to be read before they expire, so they get priority, and I don't think they should take too much time to read, so this list of six ARCs seems feasible:

• Shadow Show: Stories In Celebration of Ray Bradbury by Joe Hill and others
• Page Count: 128
• Spread: No Hope (Vol. 1) by Justin Jordan
• Page Count: 160
• Low: The Delirium of Hope (Vol. 1) by Rick Remender
• Page Count: 144
• Jupiter's Legacy (Vol. 1) by Mark Millar
• Page Count: 136
• Monster Motors by Brian Lynch
• Page Count:  86
• Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories by Nagumo
• Page Count: 120

Then, of course, there are the lovely physical books I own and have been meaning to read for ages. It will take much more time and effort to knock out these four:

• Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
• Page Count: 320
• Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
• Page Count: 240
• Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
• Page Count: 288
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Page Count: 352

This may just be a pipe dream, but I'd love to read all ten of these books this week for the readathon. That would bring me to an average of 282 pages a day over seven days, hitting a total page count of 1974 pages! Ow. 

Wish me luck!

Oops, I think I did it again...

Don't judge me, but I may have downloaded even more graphic novels off of NetGalley. They are just so easily and freely acquired, I couldn't help myself.

• Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag 
• C.O.W.L. Volume 1: Principles of Power by Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel, and Rod Reis
• The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie 
• Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen) Adapted by Stacy King 
• Orphan Blade by M. Nicholas Almand and Jake Myler 
• Shutter Volume 1: Wanderlost by Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca 

...I said don't judge me.

Linked up here and here.

Galleys and ARCs and Proofs, Oh My!

NetGalley must be the Book God's gift to us mere book-worshipping mortals.

I just signed up at the beginning of the month, and I've already been accepted to review several graphic novels. Don't get me wrong, I've been rejected for a bunch, too. But, behold the six beauties I get to feast on before the rest of the lowly book-reading world: 

• Scott McCloud's Sculptor, Pub. Date: 2/3/145
• Andi Watson's Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula, Pub. Date: 2/24/15
• James Kochalka's The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie, Pub. Date: 3/17/15
• Jay Hosler's Last of the Sandwalkers, Pub. Date: 4/7/15
• Penelope Bagieu's Exquisite Corpse, Pub. Date: 5/5/15
• Boaz Lavie's The Divine, Pub Date: 7/14/15

It's kind of ridiculous that I've been (intermittently) book blogging for almost three years, and I've only just jumped on the NetGalley train. What took me so long? I don't even want to imagine all of the ARCs I could have gotten my greedy little hands on.

Are you on NetGalley? What has your experience been like?

Linking up here, here, here, and here.

Book Review: Lauren Oliver's Rooms

*I won a physical ARC of this book from Ecco Books and HarperCollins Publishers through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

Image via Goodreads

  

Rooms is a cross between a ghost story and a mystery, alternating between first and third person point-of-views depending on which character is narrating. It's Oliver's first published Contemporary Adult fiction title. 

This is the first book I've read by Lauren Oliver. I can sum up my feelings about Rooms in 4 words: interesting premise, weak ending.  

I won't give away any specific details to spoil the end for you, but I feel like the storylines are wrapped up in a neat, little bow, which completely undermines where I think Oliver was trying to go with the concept of the book-- that life is messy and confusing and oftentimes grim.

One of my problems with the book is that the characters are simply unlikable. I get that Oliver is  trying to convey that everyone has a dark side and certain circumstances bring out the evil in all of us, but the majority of the characters are all so ugly (sometimes literally, physically ugly) that I had a hard time feeling for any of their plights.

I'm still willing to read another one of Oliver's books, however. I hear her YA novels are quite good, especially Before I Fall.

My Rating: 3 Stars 

Have you read Rooms by Lauren Oliver? What did you think?

Book Review: Philippa Rice's Soppy: A Love Story

Soppy: A Love Story by Philippa Rice

Image via Tumblr

 

*I received a free digital ARC of this title via NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What a charming, sweet, and understated graphic novel.

Mostly illustration, not a ton of text, the beauty of Soppy is in its subtleties. The illustration is deceptively simple in technique, and only three colors are used: black, white, and red. Even so, Soppy packs a major emotional punch.

Viewing the comic from the standpoint of being in a long-term, loving relationship, I find the content completely endearing. Rice depicts the tender, everyday, and sometimes under-appreciated moments between lovers. 

Image via Tumblr

Some scenes are so relatable that I laughed out loud: “I'll cook if you wash up. If you phone for the pizza I'll answer the door when it arrives.” & “Are you asleep? No. *both fall asleep*”

 

Having never read anything of Rice's before (even though she's kind of a big deal on Tumblr, apparently), I did not have any major expectations going in, and because I didn't have advanced knowledge of her work, I think I was able to enjoy Soppy all the more. It turned out to be such a delicious surprise.

I fully intend on purchasing a physical copy to add to my graphic novels shelf. 

My Rating: 5 Stars

Book Journal: In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim di Bartolo

Let's talk about how great this book is, shall we?

First, I should say that I won it as an ARC in a First Reads giveaway, but that has no bearing on the rave review I'm about to give it. In fact, when I win books, I generally have low expectations. This time was no different-- I wasn't expecting much. I was unfamiliar with both the author and the illustrator, and the title and cover didn't do much for me. They're a bit generic for the fantasy genre, but once I cracked the book open, I was completely smitten.

The artwork is phenomenal. Really dark and moody and powerful. At first, I was thrown off by the back-and-forth between the two storylines of illustration and text, but after a while, once the dichotomy of the two clicked for me, I really admired and appreciated the decision to keep them separate.

The plot is full of action and suspense, and despite its swift pace, the author also takes time to flesh out the five main characters. For such a short book, I was surprised by how quickly I was able to connect with and root for them, which is a real testament to Kiersten White's writing. Also-- the ending is perfection. I won't say anymore.

This book completely won me over and is a new favorite of mine, which so rarely happens these days. I would recommend it to all YA fantasy and graphic novel lovers. It's such a treat for the eyes and mind. READ IT!

You can also find my review on GoodReads.