This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
My oldest turned 16 on Monday! We celebrated Jade’s and my nieces’ and nephew’s birthdays on the 4th (my twin nieces were born 10 hours after Jade and my nephew is three years younger, but he was born on the 11th). My sister-in-law got a cake that said, “Happy birthday Jade, Krista, Molly, America, and Spencer.” It was pretty funny.
I’ve been working on updating my rating system this week. (If you’re wondering why, read about it HERE.) Since I’ve been using worded ratings instead of star ratings, I added a little key to my sidebar. I’ve also been working on removing reviews that are three stars or less. It’s a pretty complicated process, actually, because of my bite-sized reviews. Of course I have to remove the review itself, but I also have to change all the graphics, remove the book from UBB (and then all of the info again in another part of UBB), and change the post title. Plus, I realized I often write something like “I have four reviews today,” and I had to change all of those too. I’m also removing the star ratings, which I apparently felt the need to write again at the end of every post. Sigh. At any rate, it’s slow-going, but it’s worth it.
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog since my last Sunday Post:
- June 2018 Wrap-Up & Best of the Bunch
- A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews: Review & Giveaway – Still time to enter to win a copy of the book!
- May/June Wrap-Up Round-Up “Make Me Read It” Giveaway – Enter the giveaway and make me read a book!
Book Blogger Birthdays and Blogoversaries:
Here are the birthdays and blogoversaries for last week AND next week! (Since I missed a Sunday Post.) I hope you’ll go wish these bloggers well on their special days! Make sure you check out the calendar to see what you might have just missed or what’s coming up. (If you want to be added to the calendar, it’s easy! Just fill out the birthday/blogoversary form.)
- July 8th – Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books‘ Birthday
- July 13th – Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews‘ Birthday
- July 14th – TeacherofYA’s Book Blog‘s Blogoversary
From NetGalley/Edelweiss:
I apparently forgot to look at my ebooks the past few weeks. I’ve gotten quite a few! (So my month-end report that said I was ahead on review books was dead wrong. Instead of being four ahead, I was actually two behind!! Oops!)
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings is a collection of short stories that explore folklore and mythology of East and South Asia. I can’t believe I forgot this one. I’m jumping into it today! The Mermaid is a unique Little Mermaid retelling. Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales raved so much about A Spark of White Fire that I just had to pick it up.
Unwritten is a cute MG fairy tale story—I finished this one yesterday at my daughter’s swim meet! Umbertouched is the sequel to Rosemarked—I can’t wait for this one!! Finally, Nyxia Unleashed is another sequel I’ve been looking forward to. I’ve joined the tour for this one, so watch for my review coming about a week.
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- I wrote a guest post about using Tweetdeck that went up over at Avalinah’s Books this week!
- Olivia over @ Books in Blankets packed so much into her very short story: “Immediate Patch Required”
- Mindy McGinnis shares 6 Ways To Support Writers Without Spending A Dime
- Lindsi over @ Do You Dog-Ear submitted her book Even a Broken Heart Will Bleed to Swoon Reads. I’m reading it right now, and you should too!
Pre-Order Deals:
Listed in order of release date. Any new deals that I just added to the list this week will be denoted with a *** so you can easily find them!
Please note: Almost all pre-order giveaways run “while supplies last,” so I can’t guarantee that they’ll be open until the date listed. Pre-0rder early for your best chance to get all the goodies!
- Pre-order THE BRINK OF DARKNESS by Jeff Giles to receive an exclusive enamel pin! (Open to some INTL) (ends 7/9)
- Pre-order SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik to receive a special edition foil jacket cover. (US)(ends 7/10)
- Pre-order THE DARKEST LEGACY by Alexandra Bracken to receive an enamel pin. (INTL)(ends 7/11)
- Pre-order ARCHENEMIES by Marissa Meyer to get your name printed in the back of the Renegades paperback! You will also be added to the list to receive the Renegades Trilogy Character Art poster this fall. (US)(ends 7/13)
- Pre-order ALL YOUR PERFECTS by Colleen Hoover for a chance to win a signed bookplate! (US)(ends 7/14)
- Pre-order NYXIA UNLEASHED by Scott Reintgen to receive a signed postcard featuring one of four favorite characters from the Nyxia series. (US, CAN Only)(ends 7/16)
- Pre-order KILL THE FARM BOY by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne to receive a themed 4 button set! (US Only)(ends 7/16)
- Pre-order CONTAGION by Erin Bowman to receive a bookmark, signed bookplate, 2 stickers, an art print, and the Kate & Jesse e-novella. Plus a chance to win the grand prize. (INT)(ends 7/23)
- Pre-order SANCTUARY by Caryn Lix to receive a digital download of an Omnistellar Concepts wallpaper and a short story about two of Sanctuary’s most popular characters. Plus, you’ll be entered to win the grand prize! (INT)(ends 7/23)
- ***Pre-order THRAWN: ALLIANCES by Timothy Zahn to receive an autographed bookplate, sticker & a paperback edition of the book. (US only)(ends 7/23)
- Pre-order ENDLESS WATER, STARLESS SKY by Rosamund Hodge to receive a signed bookplate, and a print of one a portrait of one of the four main characters. (INTL)(ends 7/24)
- Pre-order THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF US by Katy Upperman to receive a signed bookmark, a sticker with a quote from the story, and a signed, personalized bookplate. (INT)(ends 7/30)
- ***Pre-order GRACE AND FURY by Tracy Banghart to receive an enamel pin, a postcard with a hand-lettered quote, a book map poster & a signed bookplate. (US only)(ends 7/30)
- Pre-order VENGEFUL by V.E. Schwab to receive your choice of a VENGEFUL or VICIOUS tote. (US, District of Columbia, Canada)(ends 7/31)
- Pre-order THE LAND OF YESTERDAY by K.A. Reynolds to win one of several prizes. (INT)(ends 7/31)
- Pre-order THE CHEERLEADERS by Kara Thomas to receive a creepy but cute iron-on patch! (US Only)(ends 7/31)
- ***Pre-order HOSTILE TAKEOVER by Cristelle Comby to receive a copy of the prequel novelette Redemption Road, a signed digital high-res poster of the book cover, a secret link to read the first 3 chapters of the book and a chance to win a signed copy of the paperback. (INT)(ends 7/31)
- ***Pre-order #MURDERTRENDING by Gretchen McNeil (or request a hold at your local library) to receive an official “Killing It With Words” signed bookplate, and a bookmark, sticker, & button. (INT)(ends 8/6)
- Pre-order DANCE OF THIEVES by Mary E. Pearson to receive a special, die-cut bookmark. And one grand prize winner (and a guest) will be able to attend Texas Teen Book Festival this October, where Mary is a featured author. (US)(ends 8/6)
- Pre-order CATWOMAN: SOULSTEALER by Sarah J. Maas to receive a cat-tastic PopSocket! (US Only)(ends 8/6)
- Pre-order CATWOMAN: SOULSTEALER by Sarah J. Maas to receive a limited edition cosmetic bag! (UK/ROI Only)(ends 8/8)
- Pre-order CITY OF GHOSTS by Victoria Schwab for a chance to win a signed copy of the book, a book themed necklace/pendant, and a secret treat from Edinburgh. (INT)(ends 8/27)
- Pre-order MIRAGE by Somaiya Daud to receive a set of Mirage-inspired nail polishes and a signed bookplate. (US Only)(ends 8/27)
- ***Pre-order A SPARK OF WHITE FIRE by Sangu Mandanna to receive an exclusive short story set in Esmae’s world and a chance to win a grand prize. (INT)(ends 9/3)
- ***Pre-order IGNITE THE STARS by Maura Milan to receive an enamel pin. (US only)(ends 9/3)
- Pre-order UNCHARTED by Erin Cashman to receive a bookmark, signed bookplate, 3 stickers and a card. Plus you’ll be entered to win even more! (INT)(ends 9/3)
- Pre-order LEADERSHIP IN TURBULENT TIMES by Doris Kearns Goodwin to receive a signed bookplate. (US Only)(ends 9/17)
- Pre-order GRIM LOVELIES by Megan Shepherd to receive a branded tote bag. You’ll also be entered to win the grand prize! (US Only)(ends 10/1)
- Pre-order BRIDGE OF CLAY by Markus Zusak to receive a book club kit containing a Collectible Print, a
Book Thief/Bridge of Clay Discussion Guide , 6 Coasters, a Debossed Notebook and 6 Pens. (US Only)(ends 10/9) - Pre-order ALL THE WANDERING LIGHT by Heather Fawcett to receive an exclusive world map, a signed bookplate, a bookmark and two stickers. (INTL)(ends 12/3)
- Pre-order THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by Samantha Shannon to receive an exclusive signed poster. (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand)(ends 2/25)
More Awesome Giveaways:
- Lots of blogs participating in the July New Release/Of Books Giveaway Hop
- And lots participating in the Just Couldn’t Put It Down July Giveaway Hop
- In preparation for the release of Circle of Shadows, Evelyn Sky is giving away a Kichona-inspired silk scarf
- Head over to Angel’s Guilty Pleasures for a chance to win a Book of your choice! Plus, every Wednesday, she does a Win It Wednesday giveaway.
- Head over to Dreamwalks for a chance to win a signed copy of LOVELY, DARK & DEEP
- Head over to Pink Polka Dot Book Blog for a chance to win one of 3 copies of The Year of Living Awkwardly by Emma Chastain
- Head over to Here’s to Happy Endings for a chance to win one of 3 finished copies of WILLA OF THE WOOD or one of 5 copies of DIVE SMACK by Demetra Brodsky
- Head over to Two Chicks on Books for a chance to win one of 3 copies BRIGHT WE BURN
- Louise @ Foxes and Fairytales is celebrating her birthday with a giveaway!
- Head over to Brittany’s Book Rambles for a chance to win a King of Scars Sampler!
- Head over to YA Books Central for a chance to win Heroine by Mindy McGinnis
- Head over to Batch of Books for a chance to win a Drawn Together Prize Pack
- Head over to Bookish for LOTS of giveaways!
- Anne @ Books of My Heart is doing a Read-Along of the Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series and she’s giving away a Signed print copy of Magic Triumphs (US only) or an Amazon digital copy (INT). She also has several other giveaways going on with the event as well, so check them out in her sidebar!
- Teen Reads is giving away a Beach Bag of Books!
- Enter Read It Forward’s weekly giveaway! This one is: Our House by Louise Candlish
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
Why did you decide to remove your 3 star and less reviews? I don’t do stars or any kind of rating and I try to do balanced reviews (even if I don’t like the book, I try to find positive aspects to highlight as well as why the book didn’t work for me).
I should have linked to the post where I talked about why (I updated that now). You can find that post here, but it comes down to the fact that I’m about to start querying the book I wrote, and as an author there’s a conflict of interest with posting negative (or even neutral) reviews. I certainly don’t think every blogger should have this policy, though!
I figured you had mentioned why before so thanks for answering my question anyway. It has been an ongoing debate among reviewers whether or not to post 3 and lower starred reviews so I was curious to your thoughts. (In my early days, reviewers were removing their lower starred reviews because of nasty authors/fans). Good luck with your book.
No problem. Yeah, my reasons had nothing to do with anyone being unpleasant!
I really, really appreciate your explanation of your new ratings. I really only like to feature books I really liked too. I had a 3 star review last week, but I only posted to GR. I want to save the space for books I really enjoyed. It’s a great idea.
Yeah, I just finished a 3-star book that I plan to only review on Goodreads (without a star rating). It gets complicated when NetGalley is involved because I have to post feedback SOMEWHERE, so I think this will work.
That is a lot of birthdays. Happy birthday to all of them! Good luck with updating the ratings, and have a great week.
Thanks, AJ!
I really like what you’ve done with your rating system, especially with the new key in place. It’s positive but still offers constructive criticism as needed, and I especially love how it ties in to your blog title 🙂
I had a bit of fun creating it! 🙂
The changes to your rating system makes total sense as you are now an author. I try not to write negative reviews very often, and most of the time it’s when everybody else is raving about the book.
Good luck with your new book.
Reading is a very subjective business. Any book you’re not crazy about, someone else is sure to love!
I really like the new key you’ve posted! Even besides your reasons as an AUTHOR (!) I find that when you read a lot, you get pretty good at picking books you’ll like, so to have that level of description for the nuances of 4 and 5 star books makes a lot of sense.
My sister’s family has an “Everybody but Rachel” party in June, as it’s her birthday, father’s day, and her son’s birthday within one week, and only her daughter isn’t in on it. (To be clear, her kids are over 30 now–I don’t think they called it that when they were little!)
An “everybody but” party would be hilarious!
Oh wow. That sounds busy and complicated! Wish you the best of luck in getting that all completed!
And wow! Lots of new reads! Some familiar looking one and some new to me ones I still need to read The Mermaid myself! It was a goodreads win from a few months ago that I entered whimsical like but still haven’t gotten to reading yet, though I want to!
Hope you enjoy all your new reads!!
Here’s my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
Yeah, I kind of dropped the ball with The Mermaid—I should have read it by now.
I decided to reformat my posts after only a couple months of blogging, and it felt like even those few posts took forever to edit…sending lots of good vibes your way during your own, *much* longer revision process! I loved your guest post on Evelina’s blog. I already use TweetDeck for some basic scheduling functions, but I’m excited to explore more of the features you went into 🙂 Hope you have a great week!
Yeah, it’s definitely eating up a lot of my blogging time, but it will be worth it.
I don’t usually post reviews lower than 3 stars on my blog. It’s for sharing books I enjoyed and would recommend.Sounds like lots of birthday celebrating. And turning sixteen. That’s a big one. They sure do grow up fast.
I didn’t have many under three stars anyway, so I don’t think it will be a huge change.
Happy Birthday to your oldest! And best of luck on your querying your book! I’ve been meaning to go back and format some of my old reviews and I did start but then I just let it slide. One of my goals this year is to actually finish that and revamp completely.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
I did send out my first queries this week. We shall see! (I’m preparing myself for rejections, of course, but I don’t want to be completely negative.)
Oh gosh, I can’t even imagine going back and fixing all those old reviews. LOL Good for you though! Happy Birthday to Jade – and the others in your family. Hope you all had a nice celebration. 🙂 I recently bought a copy of The Mermaid that I hope to read soon.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
It’s a HUGE undertaking. But I think it will be worth it in the end.
Happy birthday to Jade and your nieces/ nephews too. 🙂 A Thousand Beginnings and endings has me so curious because of the Asian theme of the anthology. I really want to give that one a try.
The Asian theme is what drew me to it. I’ve only read one story so far, but I enjoyed it!
I love these posts! Thank you so much for taking the time to compile this info. I’ve already entered the Dance of Thieves one 😀
I’m really glad you appreciate them! This reminds me that I have to pre-order Dance of Thieves myself!
Love the shared cake and how America was included. Too cute. 🙂 What a huge undertaking to remove all the lower ratings… and kind of a domino effect considering you may then have to alter wording, graphics, etc. Ack! The Mermaid sounds so interesting. I’ll have to check it out. Hope you have a great week, Nicole!
Yeah, it’s a big job, and it’s taking time away from my other blogging, but I do think it will be worth it.
I completely understand you switching your reviewing. You’ll notice that I don’t post any reviews on my website. I only talk about books I’ve read and loved in my Book Chat. No one sees the pile of DNF books that I hated. I also stopped using Goodreads about five years ago and deleted all my reviews and ratings off of there, and I haven’t gone back to Goodreads AT ALL in almost two years. It’s a place I don’t want to be anymore as an author. I know it’s a lot of work, but I think you’re making the right decision.
Yes, I’ve definitely noticed that. It’s a bit awkward going from being a blogger and then working toward being an author—I’d honestly given up the dream of writing for years and I didn’t expect to pick it back up again! I don’t think I had the maturity to follow through on a book when I was younger. I’m in awe of people who manage it at such young ages!
Thank you for the mention! You’ve been so lovely and sweet getting the word out about my book on Swoon Reads. I’m so nervous and excited about it being out there, but I’m looking forward to everyone’s constructive criticism so I can make it better! I know there are probably a lot of things I can do to improve upon the story and the characters, and I believe outside perspectives are crucial to that process.
I’m really looking forward to A Thousand Beginnings and Endings and The Mermaid! They’re both on my list, so I cannot wait to see what you think. <3
16th birthday?! Wow! I'm not ready for my kids to grow up. 🙁
L @ Do You Dog-ear?
It can be really nerve-wracking to put your work out there. I am excited to be able to read it!
See, I hate that a 3 star seems bad. To me a 3 star rating is still good. It means it might not be one I’d go back and reread, but it wasn’t a waste of my time to read, and I’d buy it for my students to read, or recommend to others. Four stars means I liked it a lot usually, it was better than just good. And 5 stars means I loved it, it is one of my favorites. But I like your new rating system. I can’t believe you’re actually going back to all your reviews! Wow! Of course for the longest time I don’t think I actually put the stars on my blog, only over on Goodreads.
I agree that three stars definitely isn’t bad, but I’m just focusing on books that I really enjoyed. That way I don’t have to debate stars with anyone OR worry that someone might be offended/disappointed (even if I don’t think they should be).
That makes sense.
🙂
Congrats to your oldest!
Thanks!
Happy Birthday to your oldest. Great book haul and I enjoyed your post on why you are chasing your star rating. Thank you for featuring the giveaways I’ve got going on my blog too. Have a great day and Happy Reading!
Thanks, Angela!!