Stacking the Shelves! (April in Review!)

Hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Stacking the Shelves is where all the booknerds can post about the lovely (or not so lovely) books that we've read, acquired, or discovered.

Hello, folks! So, the last time I did a stacking the shelves post was at the end of March. The reason it has been a while is simply that I have started skipping weeks for stacking the shelves because some weeks there honestly has not been much to report. I'm trying to find the right time to do stacking the shelves. I thought a monthly recap would work better, but now there's too much to report! I may need to start doing one every other week!

I started an internship this month which means that I have been reading a lot of manuscripts. Andrew Smith came to my hometown earlier in the month, so I went to that. Camp NaNoWriMo was this month and I actually did a pretty good job of writing a little bit every day, better than I had in the past. My goal was a small goal at 20,000, but I was trying to get in the habit of writing every day. I did reach my goal and I found a nice writing routine (handwriting when drafting and staying away from the internet. I also listened to cassette tapes while writing to help time myself). So, a lot of reading and a lot of writing this month.

Books Read

My favorite books this month were Long Way Down, Rayne & Delilah, and A Thousand Perfect Notes. My least favorite was Catching Jordan which was actually a DNF. I know it is a really popular book on the blogosphere, but I was really bothered by it because, for a book that was supposed to be about a strong girl, it was really sexist. There was a lot of negativity towards girls in the book, and this was from the perspective of a girl narrator. I don't post DNF reviews on my blog, but if you really want to know why I had an issue with this book, I wrote some of my feelings on Goodreads. 

Books Bought

I went to two library sales this month. At both sales, it was about $5 per bag, so I went home with a lot of books. The only books above that I did not get from the sale are the first four books, which I ordered online with gift cards.

Trade

Books Reviewed

Short & Simple

New Discoveries

I DID NOT RECEIVE OR BUY THESE BOOKS. I only added them to my TBR list.

Ones without covers:
This is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio, The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park, Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer, Fragile Remedy by Maria Ingrande Mora, The Darkened Lands of the Earth by Leila Siddiqui, and The Wide Starlight by Nicole Lesperance.

How was your April?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: My Diminishing Interest in ARCs

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

ARC, or Advanced Reader's Copies. When I first joined the online book community it did not take long for me to find out about ARCs. The idea of reading books before they even came out sounded amazing to me! I used to faithfully watch Epic Reads unbox all of the HaperTeen ARCs during their ARC Parties and hoped that I would be one of the lucky viewers that would win an ARC.

Then I started my book blog and realized that many of my fellow book bloggers would receive ARCs for review. I would stare longingly at their stacks of ARC copies that received for review and would dream about getting my own ARC copies in the mail. Unless I won an ARC, found one at a book convention, or a used book sale, that never did happen. I did not quite do enough to warrant physical ARC copies. I was able to get ARCs on Netgalley and, very rarely, Edelweiss, but I still got so excited to read those ARC copies!

What is my point in all of this? I've been thinking about ARCs lately and realized that they don't really interest me anymore. As much as I was dying before to get my hands on an ARC, I'm now fine with waiting. Part of this comes from my extra long hiatus. I wasn't exactly getting ARC copies or books for review when I was away from my blog, but it also comes from just looking at my TBR. 

As of writing this post, I own 724 books that I haven't read. There are 722 books on my to-read list (that I don't own). I also have 450 ebooks that I own but haven't read. Oh, and the 185 books on my come-out-already shelf, let's not forget those.

That's a lot of books and just looking at some of these books, how many of these did I desperately want? There's no telling the number, but I know there are books I preordered because I really really wanted to read them, yet they are still sitting on my shelf.  Also, while I have sooooo many new releases on my to-read list (that's what happens when I am interested in almost every genre), sometimes the older releases don't get enough love and maybe I need to focus on those. 

I still get tempted by those ARCs, but I remember that with those ARCs there is pressure for a review. Nowadays I review what I want to review. I don't review everything I read because I'm already a ball of stress and I don't need any more stress!

Anyway, right now I'm content to read the books I have. I can still read the newer books, but I can preorder those or put them on hold at my library. I can read the early reviews from you guys. Right now, I'm okay with waiting. 

How do you feel about ARCs?

Cover vs Cover: Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

This week's pick is...

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend

VS.  

Original                        Redesign
Both covers fit the genre of the book, but I gravitate more towards the original. The redesign just has too much pink, I don't like the messy font (that takes up majority off the space!), and the lollypop is too cheesy for me.  The original cover does not wow me, but the font is a lot nicer and there is more on the cover besides pink and a cheesy lollypop.

Final Verdict: Original

What do you think? Give me your thoughts on which cover is the best!

RECENT COVER REVEALS: April 2019 Round-Up

Here is all the cover reveals I have come across this past month!

(Click on the cover to see the book on Goodreads!)

Do you have a favorite?

Waiting on Wednesday: The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

Waiting on Wednesday (or Can't Wait Wednesday) is a weekly meme, hosted by Wishful Endings, where you talk about whatever book you are IMPATIENTLY WAITING for!

This week I am waiting for...

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

Release Date: November 6th, 2019

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Why am I waiting?

I love Cynthia Hand's books, so I've had this on my list before I even knew what it was about, but I love the premise of this book and I want to know more about both of these girls.
 What book are you waiting for this week?