Natflix&Books

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (120) A Week of Mondays

Wednesday, October 14, 2015 7:14 AM with 4 comments

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.

A Week of Mondays

Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: August 2, 2016

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When I made the wish, I just wanted a do-over. Another chance to make things right. I never, in a million years, thought it might actually come true... Sixteen-year-old Ellison Sparks is having a serious case of the Mondays. She gets a ticket for running a red light, she manages to take the world’s worst school picture, she bombs softball try-outs and her class election speech (note to self: never trust a cheerleader when she swears there are no nuts in her bake-sale banana bread), and to top it all off, Tristan, her gorgeous rocker boyfriend suddenly dumps her. For no good reason!

As far as Mondays go, it doesn’t get much worse than this. And Ellie is positive that if she could just do it all over again, she would get it right. So when she wakes up the next morning to find she’s reliving the exact same day, she knows what she has to do: stop her boyfriend from breaking up with her. But it seems no matter how many do-overs she gets or how hard Ellie tries to repair her relationship, Tristan always seems bent set on ending it. Will Ellie ever figure out how to fix this broken day? Or will she be stuck in this nightmare of a Monday forever?

From the author 52 Reasons to Hate My Father and The Unremembered trilogy comes a hilarious and heartwarming story about second (and third and fourth and fifth) chances. Because sometimes it takes a whole week of Mondays to figure out what you really want.

Why I'm excited:
So this is basically Groundhog's Day for YA...which sounds awesome. This seriously sounds adorable, and sometimes I just want a light fluffy book. I'm definitely keeping my eye open for this one.

What are you waiting for on this Wednesday? Link me up!

Hey lovely GFC and new followers, please follow me by Bloglovin. (I like to follow back, so please let me know if you're a new follower--and leave a link!) Thank you!!!

Weekly Rewind 10.10.15

Friday, October 9, 2015 8:42 PM with 9 comments

Weekly Rewind
The new books on my shelves and my week in a nutshell.

Since I started this blog I've participated in Stacking the Shelves, which is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and I'm going to continue linking to that meme. Throughout my student teaching semester I was using my weekend post as a way to let people know what's going on in my life, so I've decided to rename my weekend post because this feature is more personal than just what books I've received. The Weekly Rewind will be about what's going on with me and my blog, as well as about the books I've added to my shelves.

My Life and Blog

Life: Last weekend ended up being awesome. My husband and his mom got into town on Friday night, and Saturday ended up being mostly dry. Chilly, but dry. So we ended up doing the whole touristy thing after all. We got to see the White House, the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. It was all so amazing and cool. I was seriously in awe of how gorgeous everything was. If you ever get the chance to explore our nation's capital: Do it! It was so cool and humbling and just plain awesome. We had lunch at a pretty upscale restaurant about 3 blocks from the White House where I had the coolest brunch plate I've ever seen. (I was kicking myself for not taking a picture before digging in. I'm not a food photo taker, but I should have made an exception in this case).

I'm making the drive this weekend for a three-day weekend. Is it too early in the school year to really need a three-day weekend? If you're a teacher, you know the answer to that is: fuck, no. I love my job, but teaching 11 year-olds is exhausting. Beyond exhausting. I had to buy a toaster this week because my roommate didn't have one (and mine is back home), and cooking for me after a long day is seriously throwing a bagel into a toaster. Maybe, maybe, I'll heat up some soup in the microwave (or go though a drive-through). I can barely think after 4pm.

Blog and reading: Just a WoW this week. I'm in LOVE with this cover. I did finish two books this week, though. Yay! I finished Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling which was funny and charming, but frankly kind of forgettable. I also finished listening to The Silkworm which I enjoyed (I would never get through this series big-ass books if I wasn't listening to them), but I liked The Cuckoo's Calling better. I was, however, more surprised by The Silkworm's whodunit. I'm currently reading Velvet Undercover, Wolf by Wolf and The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray. I'm listening to The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farmboy which is the Star Wars: New Hope retelling by Alexandra Bracken.

New Books: I have some awesome titles to show you this week. So without further ado, I hope you are having fabulous weekends!

For Review

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

This book that takes place in a world where the Axis Powers won the war and is also about a motorcycle race! has been on the top of my TBR list for ages. The protagonist has entered the race with the intention of killing Hitler. I seriously hope this is as awesome as it sounds. I finally started it last night...but only got a few pages before passing out (not because it wasn't interesting, I promise. I was just tired).

Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown

I also recently started this book about a girl who has been offered the job of a spy during the first World War. Pretty interesting so far.

Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

The synopsis calls this an adorkable romance. To that I say: sold. I don't need to know anything else.

The Many Lives of John Stone by Linda Buckley-Archer

A teen finds set of journals all in the same hand that stretches over centuries. Sound intriguing.

Red Girl, Blue Girl by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Kids of opposing politicians (or script writers, maybe) fall for each other. I've not read any of the books in this "If Only" series, but they always sound pretty cute.

What I bought

Rook by Sharon Cameron

I've been wanting to read this book about two teens in the Sunken City that was once Paris--neither of whom are who the other believes them to be.

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

I probably got 30-40% of the way through the e-arc of this last winter, and then just never finished it. I can already say that this series will not in any way surpass my love of the Heist Society series, but I'm hoping that it was simply a case of last year being brutal and not the book. We'll see.

What I snagged from the library

Book:

Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius

This cover is just so flipping charming. For real.

Audio:

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

I listened to this author's debut Let's Pretend This Never Happened and loved it. I had to go the audio route for this one, too, and plan to start it this weekend after finishing the Star Wars book.

Movie:

Hot Pursuit starring Reese Witherspoon and Sophia Vergara

While I found the two star's love feast on social media pretty charming while they were filming this, I have to admit that my hopes aren't too high. A cop has to find and drag back a fugitive, and the two become friends. Yawn. I love Reese Witherspoon, though, and have followed her entire career, so of course I'm going to give it a try!

Well that's it for me this week. Feel free to leave a link to whatever weekend post you do (Stacking the Shelves, In My Mailbox, etc). I love to see what books people have recently snagged and especially enjoy hearing about my fellow bloggers' weeks. I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

Waiting on Wednesday (119) Cure for the Common Universe

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 10:39 PM with 4 comments

Cure for the Common Universe

Author: Christian McKay Heidicher
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: June 2016

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Jaxon is being committed to video game rehab . . .

ten minutes after he met a girl. A living, breathing girl named
Serena, who not only laughed at his jokes but actually kinda sorta
seemed excited when she agreed to go out with him.

Jaxon's first date. Ever.

In rehab, he can't blast his way through galaxies to reach her. He
can't slash through armies to kiss her sweet lips. Instead, he has
just four days to earn one million points by learning real-life
skills. And he'll do whatever it takes—lie, cheat, steal, even learn
how to cross-stitch—in order to make it to his date.

If all else fails, Jaxon will have to bare his soul to the other teens
in treatment, confront his mother's absence, and maybe admit that it's
more than video games that stand in the way of a real connection.

Prepare to be cured.

Why I'm excited:
How awesome is that cover? I cannot stopping looking at its bright, colorful nerdiness. This sounds fun and funny, albeit with some serious undertones. I love a witty, male protagonist, and something tells me Jaxon and I are going to be friends. WANT!

What are you waiting for on this Wednesday? Link me up!

Hey lovely GFC and new followers, please follow me by Bloglovin. (I like to follow back, so please let me know if you're a new follower--and leave a link!) Thank you!!!

Weekly Rewind 10.3.15

Friday, October 2, 2015 9:20 PM with 11 comments

My Life and Blog

Life: Once again I'm typing my weekend post up on Thursday night (I think this will probably become the trend this year). My honey is coming down tomorrow with his mom. Hopefully they'll arrive about an hour after I get off work (I still need to vacuum out my car after driving with my two cats--there is cat hair all over--and my car looks like I've been living out of it...so I hope they don't get here right when I get off because my husband will yell at me if he sees the state my car is in. Lol). Have you ever seen the Jenna Marbles video of the stuff she doesn't have time for? That's how I feel about my car. I'm going to attach it. It's hilarious if you haven't ever watched it.

I'm a bit disappointed because our plan was to do the super touristy stuff in Washington DC that I haven't been able to do yet, like see the White House and the different memorials, but with the hurricane threatening the East Coast, it's supposed to be super crappy out. I think our plan now is to go to the Air and Space Museum or maybe the Smithsonian. Both would be awesome, but I was hoping for a nice weekend where we could walk around and see the sights. Oh, well. I'm just excited to see my husband...and to not have to do the 8 hour-round-trip this weekend.

School's swimming along. My students finished the poetry and figurative language unit yesterday. They are starting a "Slice of Life" unit now where they have to write a memoir essay about one specific moment in their life that changed their lives in some way or taught them a lesson. I read them the prologue to I am Malala, which was a great way to introduce the topic. I'm excited to read what they write. I have 75 tests and 75 poetry projects to grade over the next couple of days...which is going to translate into Sunday afternoon/night after my family leaves.

Blog and reading: This week was busy and tiring, so I didn't do much of either. I posted a WoW this week about a YA psychological thriller that looks awesome...and that's about it. I'm currently reading A Madness so Discreet, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Crown of Midnight, Why Not Me?, and am listening to The Silkworm. I'm enjoying all of them, but again, didn't get a whole lot of reading done. That's one reason I love audiobooks. My commute is about a half an hour each way, so I get in an hour of reading, at least.

New Books: I have some new books to show you. So without further ado, I hope you are all having fabulous weekends! For my fellow East Coasters: stay dry and safe!

For Review

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

So I haven't read The Young Elites yet, but I ordered it (weeks ago) from Amazon and am just waiting for it to come. I've heard nothing but good things, and am glad I can jump right into the sequel after I read the first book.

The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow

I'm not exactly sure what this is supposed to be about. I know that it has illustrations which is a huge selling point for me...and that it might have something to do with the devil literally which is...interesting. The blurb on the cover says: one of the most terrifying books of the year. I like being terrified, so.

Persephone Rising by Carol S. Pearson

The piece I've been working on for years focuses on Goddess archetypes, so I'm always happy when a new text comes out that I can study. I'm really excited for this one.

What I bought

The Martian by Andy Weir

I'm excited for this movie, but have to read the book first (of course!). There are so many holds for this at the library, so I just decided to buy it. I've heard it's amazing.

What I snagged from the library

Foxglove Killings by Tara Kelly

This is a mystery about a girl whose best friend/love interest disappears after being accused of a girl's murder. I read the first couple of chapters in the bath tonight and it is interesting so far.

Edgewater by Courtney Shienmel

A former rich girl tries to keep her family together years after her mom skipped town. I've heard this is really good, and I love the cover.

Movie

While We're Young with Ben Stiller and Adam Driver

An older couple starts hanging out with a hipster younger couple and begin to question their lives. This will definitely either be hit or miss. Ben Stiller often drives me crazy, and Adam Driver seems super type-cast. We'll see.

Waiting on Wednesday (118) The Killer in Me

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 9:24 PM with 4 comments

The Killer in Me

Authors: Margot Harrison
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: July , 2016

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Hasn't he lived long enough? Why not? I could take him like a thief in the night.

This is how the Thief thinks. He serves death, the vacuum, the unknown. He’s always waiting. Always there.

Seventeen-year-old Nina Barrows knows all about the Thief. She’s intimately familiar with his hunting methods: how he stalks and kills at random, how he disposes of his victims’ bodies in an abandoned mine in the deepest, most desolate part of a desert.

Now, for the first time, Nina has the chance to do something about the serial killer that no one else knows exists. With the help of her former best friend, Warren, she tracks the Thief two thousand miles, to his home turf—the deserts of New Mexico.

But the man she meets there seems nothing like the brutal sociopath with whom she’s had a disturbing connection her whole life. To anyone else, Dylan Shadwell is exactly what he appears to be: a young veteran committed to his girlfriend and her young daughter. As Nina spends more time with him, she begins to doubt the truth she once held as certain: Dylan Shadwell is the Thief. She even starts to wonder . . . what if there is no Thief?

From debut author Margot Harrison comes a brilliantly twisted psychological thriller that asks which is more terrifying: the possibility that your nightmares are real
. . . or the possibility that they begin and end with you?

Why I'm excited:
My ears perk up the minute I hear psychological thriller, and this one sounds beyond intriguing. I love a did he or didn't he story-line, and the deserts of New Mexico is an appropriately scary setting, imo. I will definitely be looking out for this one.

What are you waiting for on this Wednesday? Link me up!

Hey lovely GFC and new followers, please follow me by Bloglovin. (I like to follow back, so please let me know if you're a new follower--and leave a link!) Thank you!!!

Weekly Rewind 9.26.15

Friday, September 25, 2015 9:18 PM with 10 comments

My Life and Blog

Life: I'm drafting this on Thursday night again as I'm driving to PA tomorrow. My mother-in-law is in town, so my husband can't come down even though I was just there last weekend. I'm fine, though, I'm pretty caught up with everything at work, so I'll have very little grading or planning I'll need to do. In fact, all of my classes have an assembly tomorrow, so I just have to take roll and walk them to the auditorium (and watch them during the assembly, of course), but I should be able to get what little grading I do need to do while they are listening to the presentation. I'm ready for an easy day tomorrow after this week. For the most part, I have some great students, but I definitely have a couple of students that drain my energy and patience. It's just the way it is, I know. I'm in such a good school district, that having a couple of students who just won't shut up is about as good as it gets--and I know it.

My husband is thinking of bringing his mom down next weekend (she does his books, so will probably be there for a couple of weeks), which would be awesome because I'd like to do some of the touristy things that I haven't done yet. I've found some restaurants and shops in my new city (of course), but still haven't really explored like I would like to.

Blog and reading: This week I posted a TTT for my fall TBR list. I also posted a WoW for a book that sounds like a cross between Fangirl and Roomies. I'm currently reading Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis, The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy by Alexandra Braken, and Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich (yes, I'm reading five books, that's par for the course).

New books: I have a slew of pretty titles to share with you this weekend. So without further ado, I hope you are all having fabulous weekends!

For Review

A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

I've been so excited for this book for ages. I'm surprised I held off for as long as I did to start it. A historical novel of a girl thrown into an asylum for getting pregnant.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

A look at the rest of society in a world where superheroes exist. This sounds awesome.

Future Perfect by Jen Larsen

A girl's grandmother promises to pay for her college education (at Harvard, no less), if she loses some weight.

Ghostly edited by Audrey Niffenegger

A huge collection of stories by some amazing authors. This is one I'll probably have to buy a finished copy of, for my library and for my students' library.

We'll Never be Apart by Emiko JeanA

After a girl's boyfriend dies in a fire set by her sister, a girl swears to enact revenge. This sounds awesome.

An Inheritance of Ashes by Lisa Bobet

Per GR: "The strange war down south—with its rumors of gods and monsters—is over. And while sixteen-year-old Hallie and her sister wait to see who will return from the distant battlefield, they struggle to maintain their family farm." Sounds intriguing.
It's a Wonderful Death by Sarah Schmitt

A girl is accidently taken by a grim reaper and then gets involved in a feud between an archangel and Death. Sounds interesting, but it will have to be very well written to work, imo.

What I snagged from the library