This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
I spent my blogging time this week mostly catching up on replying to comments and commenting back (“catching up” is a relative term here—I just checked and I’m back up to 65 un-replied comments. I’m trying, though!). I’ve also been reading some discussions and year-end wrap-ups. So, I didn’t have much time to actually write posts this week (but at least the one post I did put up was fun!).
I’ve also STILL been updating my Master List of 2019 Reading Challenges because more keep popping up. Next year, I’m going to update it every Sunday and add red asterisks in front of the new ones (like I do the list of pre-orders in this post) so it will be easier to find new entries.
We’ve been continuing our winter clean-up as well. I’ve been further inspired by the new Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, which I’d seen mentioned on a few different blogs (I’ve read about both the book and the show, but I’ve only watched the show so far). While I’m finding that the show is more about family dynamics than tidying up in a lot of ways, it’s still inspired me. I really want to read the book now too. It is incredible the number of bags of trash I’ve hauled out of my house. Donations too, but the trash is what really astounds me—the stuff that just really isn’t good enough to even donate. How do we hold onto so much stuff!?
On the writing side of things, I’ll confess I didn’t get far this week since I’ve been focused on the clean-up. I did finish up critiquing a chapter for my CP (critique partner), though. 🙂
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog since my last Sunday Post:
Book Blogger Birthdays and Blogoversaries:
Here are the birthdays and blogoversaries for this week! 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.)
- January 13th – Girl of 1000 Wonders’ Blogoversary
- January 15th – The Blacksheep Reader‘s Blogoversary
- January 16th – The Book Sage‘s Blogoversary
- January 17th – Books & Tea‘s Blogoversary
- January 18th – Author S.J. Pajonas‘s Birthday
- January 18th – Quite the Novel Idea‘s Blogoversary
For Review:
My contact at Disney moved over to Simon & Schuster, so I received The Simple Art of Flying from them. Thanks, S&S! (Hoping I’ll still manage to get books from Disney as well—we shall see).
Purchased:
I was so excited to see that there is a new Indie bookstore less than ten minutes from me! Barbara’s Bookstore actually opened back at the end of November, but apparently I’m oblivious and it took me a while to realize it was there (in my defense, they just got the sign up in front of the building). Anyway, I had to go check the place out and of course make a purchase to support it. While I was there, I ended up chatting with the manager, and she was super excited to hear that I’m a blogger and had all sorts of ideas about how I could partner with the bookstore. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Anyway, I picked up Sadie while I was there, because everyone around the blogosphere raved about it when it came out!
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- Charlie @ Girl of 1000 Wonders tells us about Starting a New Bullet Journal
- Lili @ Utopia State of Mind gives us 13 Anticipated Releases by Asian (American) Authors
- Tanya @ GirlXOXO shares her amazing Free 2019 Reading Challenges Tracker
- Bookish shares The Bigger, Badder 2019 Book Tracking Spreadsheet, which helps you track all the books you read! (I’m using this one, and I adapted it to work with my reading challenges).
Pre-order Incentives
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 PRETTY IN PUNXATAWNEY by Laurie Boyle Crompton to receive a digital poster with the theme of the book: Today is what you make it! (ends 1/14)
- Pre-order LOLA DUTCH: WHEN I GROW UP by Kenneth Wright to receive a PDF “Curiosity Kit” which will include activities, games, lesson plans, arts and crafts and other fun interactive play for children to enjoy alongside the book! (INTL)(ends 1/14)
- Pre-order ECHO NORTH by Joanna Ruth Meyer to receive a bookmark, sticker, magnet, postcard with original artwork, and a signed bookplate. (US only)(ends 1/14)
- Pre-order STAIN by A.G. Howard to receive the “Alice the Absent” short story, a rose enamel pin, and a signed bookplate. (US only)(ends 1/14)
- Pre-order OUR YEAR OF MAYBE by Rachel Lynn Solomon to receive a bookmark, signed bookplate, vinyl sticker, and adorable dandelion enamel pin! (INT)(ends 1/14)
- Pre-order SONG OF THE DEAD by Sarah Glenn Marsh to receive a signed bookmark, an 11×17 beautiful map of the world of the Reign of the Fallen series (art by Jessica Khoury), and four new character cards including everyone’s favorite bear, Lysander! (art by Jo Painter) (INTL)(ends 1/21)
- Pre-order THE BIRDS, THE BEES, AND YOU AND ME by Olivia Hinebaugh to receive an enamel pin. (US Only)(ends 1/21)
- Pre-order THE KINGDOM OF COPPER by S.A. Chakraborty to receive a short story that takes place between this and the first book in the series. (INT)(ends 1/21)
- Pre-order CIRCLE OF SHADOWS by Evelyn Skye to receive a set of Limited Edition character art and a chance to win a $1,000 VISA gift card! (US only)(ends 1/21)
- Pre-order DEATH PREFERS BLONDES by Caleb Roehrig to receive a bookmark, an art card, a signed bookplate, and an original digital short story (emailed as a pdf). (INT)(ends 1/28)
- Pre-order THE FINAL SUMMONS by the New England Speculative Writers to receive cell phone and computer backgrounds as well as a Sci-Fi and Fantasy story collection by the group. (INT)(ends 1/28)
- Pre-order THE LOVE AND LIES OF RUKHSANA ALI by Sabina Khan to receive a bookmark, a signed bookplate, and two postcards. You’ll also be entered to win a grand prize giveaway! Request your library order it to receive a bookmark and postcard. (INT)(ends 1/28)
- Pre-order A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY by Brigid Kemmerer to receive exclusive bonus content and the chance to win a Cozy Winter Reading Box! (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and India)(ends 1/28)
- Pre-order KING OF SCARS by Leigh Bardugo to receive an enamel pin! (US only)(ends 1/28)
- Pre-order ONLY A BREATH APART by Katie McGarry to receive two exclusive original eNovellas from the author e-mailed to you! (US & CAN only)(ends 1/28)
- Pre-order THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee OR request it from your local library to receive a signed bookplate, a bookmark, a sticker, a flair pin (US only), and character art cards. (INT)(ends 1/31 for pre-orders, 2/28 for library requests)
- Pre-order LOVE SUGAR MAGIC: A SPRINKLE OF SPIRITS by Anna Meriano to receive stickers, pins and more! (ends 2/4)
- Pre-order THE LAST LIFE OF PRINCE ALASTOR by Alexandra Bracken to receive three character art prints. (INT)(ends 2/4)
- Pre-order VORTEX VISIONS by Elise Kova to receive a signed postcard, and you’ll be entered to win a grand prize. (INT)(ends 2/4)
- Pre-order CRAB CAKE by Andrea Tsurumi (from Indiebound or B&N) to receive a signed print of sea lion, a signed bookplate, a sticker, and the chance for a signed original drawing of Moray Eel. (ends 2/4)
- Pre-order THE WEIGHT OF OUR SKY by Hanna Alkaf to receive an enamel pin, a bookmark, a signed bookplate illustrated by the author, and a pop-up card featuring scenes of old-school Malaysia. (INT)(ends 2/4)
- Pre-order ENCHANTÉE by Gita Trelease to receive an exclusive hot air balloon print. (US only)(ends 2/4)
- Pre-order THE DECEIVERS by Kristen Simmons to receive an enamel pin. (US & CAN)(ends 2/4)
- Pre-order COURTING DARKNESS by Robin LeFevers to receive a notebook, enamel pin, bookmark, temporary tattoo, and stickers. (US only)(ends 2/5)
- Pre-order BLOODWITCH by Susan Dennard to receive two exclusive Witchlands creature enamel pins! (US & CAN)(ends 2/11)
- Pre-order WATCH US RISE by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan to receive an exclusive and inspiring poetry poster featuring excerpts from the book! (US & CAN)(ends 2/14)
- Pre-order IMMORAL CODE by Lillian Clark OR request it at your library for a chance to win one of three tote bags and annotated ARCs! (INT)(ends 2/19)
- Pre-order THE LAST LETTER by Rebecca Yaros to receive a FREE signed & personalized paperback of GIRL IN LOVE, an upcoming, exclusive release co-written by Jay Crownover and Rebecca Yarros as well as a signed, personalized, The Last Letter bookplate. Open to the first 300 submissions. (US only)(ends 2/25)
- 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)
- Pre-order FOUR DEAD QUEENS by Astrid Scholte to receive an exclusive Welcome to Quadara Pin from your favorite region. (US only)(ends 2/25)
- Pre-order AN AFFAIR OF POISONS by Addie Thorley OR request that your library purchase it OR let her know you are a teen reader who cannot pre-order to receive a bookmark, a signed bookplate, and 3 limited edition character art cards. (INT)(ends 2/25)
- ***Pre-order YOU ASKED FOR PERFECT by Laura Silverman to receive one of four different magnetic bookmarks designed as the characters. (INT)(ends 3/4)
- ***Pre-order THE SHADOWGLASS by Rin Chupeco to receive a limited edition tea sticker and a Bone Witch series pin. (INT)(ends 3/4)
- Pre-order THE FAIREST KIND OF LOVE by Crystal Cesari to receive a bookmark featuring a quote, a sticker set featuring logos from the series, a cover-art postcard, and a signed bookplate. (INT)(ends3/4)
- Pre-order A QUESTION OF HOLMES by a signed, personalized copy, plus an exclusive illustrated print. (INT)(ends 3/5)
- Pre-order BEWARE THE NIGHT by Jessica Fleck OR or request it from your local library to receive a signed bookmark, a sticker with quote, and a glass fish. Plus a chance to win more! (INT)(ends 3/11)
- Pre-order TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber to receive an email download including a labyrinth maze, a playlist, bookish Rhen Paper Doll, and a new STORM SIREN NOVELLA ebook. (INT)(ends 3/18)
- Pre-order THE NEXT TO LAST MISTAKE by Amalie Jahn OR request it at your local library to receive a bookmark and a signed bookplate (first 25). After those first 25, there will be giveaways! (US only)(ends 3/18)
- Pre-order DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by Joan He to receive 3 swag items (they won’t be all paper-made–actual items TBD closer to release date). (INT)(ends 4/1)
- Pre-order THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracey Garvis Graves to receive a signed bookplate. (US/CAN only)(ends 4/1)
- Pre-order AN ANATOMY OF BEASTS by Olivia A. Cole to receive an enamel “who’s the beast” pin. More goodies are available if you order the first book as well or if you order from an independent bookstore. (ends 4/15)
- Pre-order BRIEF CHRONICLE OF ANOTHER STUPID HEARTBREAK by Adi Alsaid to receive a personalized, autographed postcard from the author’s travels. (ends 4/30)
- Pre-order SPIN THE DAWN by Elizabeth Lim to receive exclusive art, an official bookmark and a signed bookplate. (INT)(ends 7/29)
More Awesome Giveaways:
- Twitter Giveaways:
- @ShootingStarMag is giving away a book of your choice!
- @carliesorosiak is giving away a pre-order of one of her most anticipated MG books of 2019.
- @adriennetooley is giving away one of her most anticipated f/f YA releases of 2019
- @esmooglereads is giving away any 2019 pre-order you choose
- @tonyaleeh is giving away your choice of book from her 2018 READ SHELF!
- @mybookishsecret is giving away any book you wish!
- On my blog, you can enter the giveaway for the December (& Year-End) Wrap-Up Round-Up and the January 2019 Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway.
- Head over to It Starts at Midnight for a chance to win a signed copy of OUR YEAR OF MAYBE by Rachel Lynn Solomon.
- Head over to Do You Dog-Ear? for a chance to win one of 3 finished copies of TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET
- Lots of blogs participating in the January New Release Giveaway Hop!
- Enter the #ShelfQueens Sweepstakes!
- Head over to Here’s to Happy Endings for a chance to win Pretty In Punxsutawney and Lady Smoke.
- Austine from Novel Knight is having an Epic Giveaway for her 8th Blogoversary!
- Alexandra @ Milky Way of Books is celebrating her blogoversary with a giveaway for a Big Swag Pack for fans of Sarah J. Maas
- Katie McGarry is giving away an Advanced Reviewer Copy of Only a Breath Apart, a fairy necklace, an Only a Breath Apart Poster plus signed copies of the Thunder Road series and Say You’ll Remember Me
- If you’re an (adult) sci-fi fan and you haven’t read S.J. Pajonas’s Nojiku Series yet, she announced on her website that it will now be free! Fans of manga and anime would be especially interested because her books all have a Japanese-based setting.
- Holly @ The Fox’s Hideaway is celebrating 6 years of blogging with multiple giveaways! (One of them is still running!)
- Enter Penguin’s Cozy Up with Jane Austen Sweepstakes!
- Read It Forward does a weekly giveaway. This week you can enter to win Daisy Jones & The Six
- Head over to Bookish for LOTS of giveaways!
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
I do love purging, but haven’t done a major one in a while. I’ll watch the show before starting it, I think.
Sadly, I tried to love Sadie, but after 117 pages, had to give up. Not feeling it. Why 117 pages? That was where I decided to stop. LOL.
Enjoy your week, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
There’s just such a feeling of satisfaction when you get rid of clutter in your life.
I have been wanting to clean out this house for quite some time. I am actually hoping to give the house a much needed makeover. The only problem is we haven’t decided if we want to move yet. So I don’t want to do it twice.
I love your challenge list and it is a HUGE job. I think your idea will make it much better for you.
You just reminded me my blogoversary is coming up in a few weeks. I need to make a post lol
Have a great week, Nicole! Happy Reading!
It would be hard to do major projects around the house if you think you might be moving. I can totally understand that.
I know all about trying to comment back and failing. Or at least not befor you have a delay of two to three days! I love when people comment but I confess that it’s sometimes hard to reply the same day what with work kids and all! Have a great Sunday!
A day or two would be nothing. Sometimes I get backlogged a couple of weeks! I try hard to stay on top of replying, but I tend to fall behind while I catch up with something else … and then the cycle continues. Yikes!
I loved Sadie and purging always makes me feel good. As for the comments and replying. When I unplug I let those comments go, otherwise I would never catch up and the guilt would eat at me. I’ve come along way from the years where I took my laptop on vacation so I didn’t miss replying back..lol
I have a plugin to show me comments not yet replied to, which I LOVE because it means I never miss people’s comments, but it also means that I always have a running count of comments that I haven’t replied to. I really wish there was a way to dismiss a comment without replying, but that’s not an option (I keep thinking I should team up with someone to make a better version of this, but then I remember that I can’t code to save my life).
Nice! Cleaning up does feel nice! Getting rid of stuff you no longer need is reliving in some ways! Hope the rest of the cleanup goes well!
Nice new reads! Seen Sadie around a lot! Hope you enjoy it too!
Here’s my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
Yes, it’s a good feeling to get things organized!
I am even further behind when it comes to comments and the like! But it’s great that you’ve made some time this past week to work on getting on top of all the blogging things. I might have to take a week to do that too 😀 Also, I love the idea about partnering with a bookstore!! So cool. Can’t wait to hear more about it. Sadie is one I am hearing brilliant things about as well, so I do hope you enjoy it too x
Well, I promptly fell behind again, so don’t be too proud. :-0
I love that my blog gets tons of comments, but it’s so hard to keep up! I try to comment back to everyone. It doesn’t always happen. Good luck with the clean-up. Have a great week.
It can be really hard to keep up with it all, that’s for sure! I catch up and then fall right back behind again. I do my best though!
Catching up with comments is tough, which is why I tend to just comment BACK on people’s blogs instead of replying on my blog. I know not everyone likes that, but I write back if I have something specific to say or someone asks a question and that’s about all I can manage I think. LOL Though I LOVE all the comments and hearing from people. I email people back sometimes too, if I don’t comment back on the blog.
I really want to read Sadie! Hope you enjoy it.
-lauren
I think that makes good sense. I have a plugin on my blog that tells me which comments I haven’t yet replied to, which I love because it means I never miss comments, but it can be obnoxious when I don’t have much to say back.
I am hearing so much about Marie Kondo now- I think maybe I need to consider what I can get rid of or donate. It’s always a good feeling to streamline. 🙂
And yay for the new bookstore. How exciting!
I’ve been finding her inspiring for sure. In this week’s Sunday Post I shared some pics from my (in progress) tidying!
Being a writer myself at Wowriters.co (https://wowriters.com/), I am firmly in favor of your thoughts that persistence pays off in writing. A great book.
Yes, persistence is certainly key.
Clean up projects are important. They keep us from being hoarders! Good luck catching up with comments. I feel your pain. The Simple Art of Flying is on my TBR. Can’t wait to see what you think.
Considering that my dad is pretty much a hoarder, this is a real concern for me!
I haven’t watched the show yet but I have been cleaning. I agree I have had lots of trash. Not stuff to even donate. It’s crazy!! Have a great week!
Yes, I couldn’t believe that part. It was hard to imagine how we’d accumulated so much stuff that wasn’t even worth donating—and why were we holding onto it? I actually started the cleaning before we watched the show, but then I heard about it and figured the timing was perfect. Kondo’s show definitely inspired me to do more, and I got some great ideas for how to organize things.
We did a great big purge when we moved last September and it was astounding how much *stuff* we’d been storing. And not even stuff we used. It felt great to lighten the load (figuratively and literally). I’ve heard amazing things about Sadie.
Yes, I was so shocked that we had so much stuff that was so useless. You tend to save weird things “just in case.” Or the things you hold onto for sentimental value that really aren’t even all that sentimental once you think about it for a few minutes.
In the past month, we have been doing some clean up around the house and it’s amazing the amount of stuff that we keep without needing – also, it’s amazing how we keep filling bags with donations and stuff that needs to be throw into the trash and there’s still a lot more to go. I’m feeling like a hoarder… I wish I had a bookshop ten minutes away from my home. I hope you and the bookshop end up partnering – it sounds so exciting!
Happy readings! 😉
Tânia @MyLovelySecret
I know, it is so amazing how much stuff we have when we really start to look at it! So often, we hold onto things for ridiculous reasons (or no reason at all—it just gets set aside). I’m trying hard to keep things more organized and not just set items aside to be dealt with “later”—later doesn’t come for a long time!
I know exactly what you mean about “catching up” since I’m like a month behind in responding! UGH! Comment, post, update blog? Comment, post, update blog?… the eternal dilemma!
I didn’t know there was a Tidying Up show! I DNF Marie Kondo’s book but now I want to try the show! Thank you for bring it to my attention.
I haven’t read the book, and I can’t decide if I want to, but the show is very accessible. It’s a great way to get some of her ideas and inspiration!
I watched all the Marie Kondo videos and then I was so bummed when they were over. I so enjoyed the stories and seeing how she made changes in their lives. <3
I wasn’t so sure about the very first episode because it focused a lot more on the people’s lives than the organizing (and I was already on a cleaning binge and was looking for inspiration). Plus, that very first episode felt a little uncomfortable to me because it seemed to me that the couple’s marriage was sort of falling apart, and I’m not too sure organizing is all they needed to fix that. But after that first episode, I really loved all the others!!
I need to utilize my indie more. I just found one near me! My blogoversary was this week too! 6 years. 😛
I was really excited to find out about an indie so close to me! Congrats again on six years of blogging, by the way. I think you got taken off my calendar when your old blog disappeared, but I’ve added you back on!
I have been doing a deep cleaning of the house as well. I mainly touched just my room and my kids room. My mother in law and I are going to start working on the garage soon. I’m sure we have a ton of things to toss out. The whole cleaning thing made me fall behind in blog hopping and commenting back. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Yes, it’s definitely hard to keep up with cleaning AND blogging AND everything else that we have going on!
I read Kondo’s book and am excited to watch the show. I am always trying to declutter!
It’s nice to have some inspiration.
I watched a few episodes of the Marie Kondo show on netflix last night… I was both inspired and going ‘nope!’ lol.
Have a good week!
Ha! Yeah, you kind of have to be in the right mindset to do it. I was already starting to declutter when I heard about the show, so it was perfect timing for me.
I haven’t been here to visit you in such a long time! Happy New Year Nicole! I hope 2019 will be a great year for you and your family in every way.
I have Sadie, too… It’s been on my shelf since BookExpo last year… And it’s sitting there, just being pretty 🙂
Oh, I have some books like that from past conferences. You have the best of intentions when you pick them up, but it’s just so hard to keep up with them all! I actually skipped conferences in 2018 partially for that reason.
This is my worst week for getting around to all the blogs. It’s Saturday night and I won’t get to everyone. Well tomorrow starts another week. I hope you have a good one!
Oh, trust me, I completely understand.
Yay you for your winter cleaning and purging! So I feel like I’m the last person on the planet, but I finally have Netflix. I’m currently going through Fuller House lol but I’m looking forward to watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo! And that’s awesome you have an Indie bookstore by you, I wish we had the same, it would be amazing!
Netflix is a beautiful thing. We don’t have cable anymore—just Netflix and Hulu.