The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on my blog and share news about what’s coming up in the week ahead.
This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
- My pre-order list was featured on Bookshop.org’s Literature and Fiction homepage this week. They also want to feature me on social media in May, so I decided to go ahead and create some more lists for my “storefront.” Check out my lists for some of my favorite MG, YA fantasy, and YA contemps! I’ve actually made a small affiliate commission from them, so I thought expanding wouldn’t hurt.
- More college research. My younger daughter is trying to figure out what she wants to major in, and it’s not a simple process. At first she thought she’d love wildlife biology or some kind of ecology, but after doing more research we discovered that permanent jobs are very hard to come by once you graduate–you have to be happy to take temporary jobs for years (for very low pay) and move often around the country (or the world). Even some people with Master’s and PHD’s have a hard time finding permanent jobs! My husband and I have been encouraging her toward landscape architecture because she loves horticulture and artistic endeavors, but she’s not completely convinced because it’s hard for her to envision what the job would be like and she’s not confident in her design abilities. She is seriously considering secondary (high school) education, possibly majoring in biology with a minor in education (which is the way it works, at least at the best public university here in IL). The benefit of that major is that she’s seen it in action throughout her high school career. But, yeah, we’ve spent lots of time looking into schools and majors and career paths.
- Training with the underground fence. Well, my oldest dog, Snickers, is already pretty sure she wants to go nowhere near the flags in our yard (we actually turned her collar down to the lowest setting for a small dog, even though she is most decidedly not one—we put the collar in our own hand and tried it on the medium dog setting, and it felt like being tickled, but she reacted like she was being attacked by coyotes!). The other two dogs haven’t seemed to notice the correction at all yet, so we’re still working on finding a setting that works for them (you can’t just keep going up and up, so it can take many days to find the right setting). I hope it will work for them!
- What I Read:
- I continued listening to The Burning Shadow by Jennifer Armentrout.
- I read Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter.
- TV We Watched:
- Shark Tank. This has been our go-to TV this week.
- The Wilds. Based on Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight’s recommendation, I watched the first episode and really liked it. I want to watch more, but I think my daughter will like it too, so I’ve been waiting till we can watch it together. That time has not yet come.
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog since my last Sunday Post:
- Oh, wait, this week happened? Apparently, I missed it. (I actually spent my blogging time this week creating those lists on Bookshop.)
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.)
- 4/12 – Gayathri @ Elgee Writes‘ Birthday
- 4/12 – Nighttime Reading Center‘s Blogoversary
- 4/13 – Julie @ Chapter Break‘s Birthday
- 4/14 – Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out‘s Birthday
- 4/14 – Whispering Chapters‘ Blogoversary
- 4/15 – Aeriko @ The Reading Armchair‘s Birthday
- 4/15 – Laura @ Daydreaming Dragons‘ Birthday
Book Haul:
I don’t have time for pics (too many pre-order campaigns to update!), so I’ll add them next week.
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- AJ @ Read All the Things amuses by telling us why she’s The Worst Book Cover Designer Ever
- Gayathri @ Elgee Writes gives us 120+ Hashtags for bookstagram to boost your reach right now!
NEW Pre-order Campaigns
Head over to my new Pre-Order Campaigns Page to see ALL of the pre-order deals, including pictures!!
Here’s the list of all the pre-order campaigns that I just added to the list this week:
Pre-order THE NATURE OF WITCHES by Rachel Griffin to receive a signed bookplate and an art print. Plus, for every preorder, one tree will be planted! The first-edition of the book will feature a limited-edition printed case. Pre-orders from Third Place Books can be signed and personalized, and pre-orders from select indie bookstores will receive a sticker sheet! (INT)(Ends 5/31)
Pre-order QUEEN OF ALL by Anya Josephs OR request it from your local library to receive an exclusive signed bookplate. Plus, you’ll be entered to win fabulous prizes! (Ends 5/1)
Pre-order RISING LIKE A STORM by Tanaz Bhathena to receive three signed character postcards. Plus, you’ll be entered to win more! (INT)(Ends 6/22)
Pre-order THE POWER OF STYLE by Christian Allaire from an indie bookstore to be entered to win an original scarf by Jamie Okuma. (Ends 4/26)
Pre-order THE WILD WORLD HANDBOOK: HABITATS by Andrea Debbink, illustrated by Asia Orlando OR request it from your local library to receive early access to a downloadable Wild World Activity Kit, plus an excerpt from THE WILD WORLD HANDBOOK: CREATURES. (US only)(Ends 6/1)
Pre-order A WILDER MAGIC by Juliana Brandt OR request it from your local library to receive a signed bookplate, a sticker, and an official bookmark. (US only)(Ends 5/3)
Pre-order IN THE RAVENOUS DARK by A.M. Strickland OR request it from your local library to receive a 5 x 7 portrait of the main character and her two love interests, 2 double-sided bookmarks, and a signed sticker. (US/CAN only)(Ends 5/18)
Pre-order SHIPPED by Meredith Tate OR request it from your local library to receive a Warship Seven character art sticker, a handwritten thank you note from the author, and bonus content featuring all Warship Seven script chapters and interviews. (Ends 5/18)
Awesome Giveaways:
(Make sure you scroll to see them all!)
- Twitter Giveaways:
- @meganefreeman is giving away ALONE & STARFISH!
- @FinneganBegin is giving away WE COULD BE HEROES (ends 4/12)
- On my blog, you can enter the giveaway for the April 2021 Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway and the or March Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up & Giveaway.
- The Reinvented Reader is celebrating her brand new blog by giving 5 people a Kindle Book of Choice
- Enter for a chance to win all five paw-some books in the #1 bestselling Dog Diaries series.
- Head over to Lisa Loves Literature for a chance to win 3 books from Lisa’s ARC pile.
- Head over to KidLit411 for a chance to win CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS, THE STAR FESTIVAL, Hot British Boyfriend, and Watercress.
- Head over to The Children’s Book Review for a chance to win A Goodnight Shadow, I Can Believe in Myself, Billy Miller Makes a Wish and The Year of Billy Miller, a Go the Distance Prize Pack, a set of the Greystone Secrets books, Mesopo and a feather dip quill pen writing set, a set of two True Stories of Animal Heroes books, an I Am the Shark Prize Pack, and a Jane Austen-themed picnic basket of goodies.
- Head over to BookHounds YA for a chance to win The Other Side of Magic, DO YOUR BEST EVERY DAY TO DO YOUR BEST by John Cena, YOU WERE MADE FOR ME, WHAT BEAUTY THERE IS, and more! (Check their site’s sidebar.)
- Lots of blogs participating in the April 2021 Of Books Giveaway Hop!
- Book Riot has lots of giveaways, including $100 TO SPEND ON COMICS!
- Read It Forward does a monthly giveaway. This month you can enter to win their Favorite April Books!
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
Congratulations on the feature!
Having just been through the process with my own daughter I know how difficult choosing a major can be, I hope she finds a path.
Wishing you a great reading week
Yeah, the process can definitely be stressful!
I wanted to major in biology until I discovered that I would have to get a PhD to get a good job. So I went with Environmental Engineering. Good luck with the major search.
I’ll have to pick your brain sometime about Environmental Engineering. I have no idea what that career area entails!
I attended MTU and the program is excellent.
I hope you can get the settings right for the underground fence. Sounds like it could work great.
I’m really hoping. Lots of people have them and love them, so hopefully we’ll figure it out.
Landscape architecture is such an interesting field. I am not creative enough for such things, but I think it’s a wonderful field of study. I am all excited here. I have to give a lot of credit to your daughter for being realistic. My kid went though the same thing when she was an undergrad. That’s why she had a BFA and Masters in Analytics. I checked out that storefront, and that is a fantastic list of contemporaries. Nice picks!
I think it sounds really interesting too. Right now, I think Danielle’s leaning toward education, but that’s only been since yesterday, so we shall see. LOL!
It wasn’t easy for my daughter to figure out what to take in uni as well, but she ended up doing Computer Science. She’s in her second year and just hoping that things will go back to normal soon. It’s all been correspondence classes for her since Covid hit.
Good luck to your daughter!
Happy reading.
My older daughter is at Illinois Tech majoring in AI, but she’s been doing school from home since second semester. We’re really hoping next year will be back to normal.
Omg dude that is awesome about Bookshop! I have made zero dollars bwhaha but I am very happy for you! (And a little jealous but mostly excited ?) Congrats!! Ugh I feel the struggle with your daughter. If it helps at all, I wish I had kept my major as Spanish and Secondary Ed (my school was like hers- the major isn’t education). Actually- I wish I had changed it to History, but my parents wouldn’t let me, which explains a lot about… everything. Just don’t let her major in sports management because she wants to be a swim coach, yeah? (Not that you wouldn’t “let” her like my parents, but you know what I mean hah.)
So glad you liked The Wilds! I bet she’d love it, so that is a great plan, to watch together! Let me know what you think!
I’m not fond of collar-based fences (a wooden fence is my preference, tbh) – but good on you for testing them on yourself first! If you’re gonna use that type of method, you have to be prepared to experience it for yourself, that’s the only way to be sure that it’s OK to use.
Congrats on being featured and getting a commission! I’m still debating if I should become a bookshop.org affiliate. Good luck to your daughter. Choosing a major is hard. I work at a state park, and we don’t have degree requirements for our temporary workers. You just have to be 18+ and pass a background check. If your state parks are the same, maybe your daughter could get a temporary job next summer and see if she’s still interested in wildlife after a summer of dealing with nonstop chaos.
Good luck with the college major search and the dog fence training. Both things may be time-consuming and at times frustrating but worthwhile.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
There is so much to consider with majors and picking schools and deciding courses of study! We’re going through some of that too. Good luck with her decisions! I hope it goes well. 🙂
Figuring out what you want to major in before going off to school is so tough! I have no idea what my kids are going to pick.
Yay for being featured on bookshop.org! I love their website. And the search for university can be quite difficult, as well as knowing what you want to do in the future. I love that as a parent you’re so involved and doing all you can to help with the decision making process. I hope you all manage to settle on just the right thing for your daughter soon ^^
Congrats on being featured – that’s so cool. You’ll have to share all the links once it goes up!!! I do love your pre-order page – it’s very handy. 🙂
Man, figuring out your major can be tough for college. You just never know what will be beneficial, but you want to enjoy it too.
-Lauren
Congratulations for having your pre-order list featured, that’s so exciting! And I can’t wait to hear what you think of The Burning Shadow! Also, college is so hard. I was kind of undecided too, I don’t remember if I shared this, but I went to our local community college in Santa Rosa after graduating HS. It was the best decision ever. I was thinking I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. First semester I took general ed and a class in early education. That class put me in a Kindergarten class one day a week during class time. I realized that was NOT what I wanted to do lol. Next semester I thought possibly psychology since I loved helping friends, so I took a class in that area. Nope lol. Third semester I was frustrated and my dad said hey why don’t you try an advertising class for business. Oh my gosh, I fell in love. I then worked on completing my undergraduate and business classes and transferred to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo which had a fabulous business program and so much of their motto is learn by doing. I got to work with so many companies during my schooling and graduated with 5 job offers. It takes a while to figure out where to go and what to do but you guys will get there, hugs hugs hugs.