March: From Favorite Books of 2018 to Vlogging to a Very Late Spring!


  

I am a book DRAGON!


I was really good at reading the books I said I'd read this month. Usually, I waver a LOT. This month, I made a list of what I really SHOULD read and gave myself rewards if I read them all. I read all but TWO. And then I had to slip in a couple of early April tour books that I'd forgotten about, so now my treats come next week. BUT YAY TREATS. Do you treat yourself if you've caught up on your review stack? Granted, CAUGHT UP is relative. I'll never catch up! But on the most pressing titles, anyway! My treats are FURYBORN by Claire Legrand, LEGENDARY by Stephanie Garber, DANCE OF THIEVES by Mary E. Pearson, and possibly LISTEN TO YOUR HEART by Kasie West. I did slip a couple of books that weren't on "my list" into my March pile, but they were contemporary titles that read fast. You can't easily slip in high fantasy, especially if you know a book hangover is coming!

I'm still proud of what I read this month, though. 13 novels, 2 novellas, 1 graphic novel, and 1 picture book! More on that below...I even filmed about what I read for once. Should I do it again or nah?

The Return of Spring???

Happy Spring! (Or autumn, depending on where you live!) For us on the east coast, USA, it's still very much winter. We had snow just this morning (Check out the beginning of the YouTube video I just posted or the one I posted on Instagram if you need proof, lol!)

We might get a storm this coming weekend, too. I just CAN'T anymore with winter!

I remember last year. It went from COLD to HOT and there was very little JUST RIGHT weather. I'm so afraid that's going to happen again this year. Plus, how will our flowers/trees/etc. thrive with the weather constantly freezing them out just as they decide to start growing!?

YouTube Goals:

I recently talked about how I wanted to vlog more frequently, what was stopping me, and have more than just a couple random YouTube videos here and there. This past month, I posted 8 videos. I know that isn't a lot, but it averages out to about 2 a week (Okay, and they were pretty much  all in, like, the last 2 weeks...). Half were unboxings, but I found an old design vlog to upload, reviewed a picture book, and added a new type of video where I do a mini summary/review of what I read that month. (Which is also great because I don't always get to review everything I read, especially if I don't write the review right after reading and forget the details by the book's launch!).

So I'm doing better so far. Let's hope I can keep it up!

What kind of videos would you want to see? Design vlogs are still my favorites!



March Book Haul!


I had a really great haul this month! Most of my "purchased" books came from book subscription boxes. Two of my favorite books of 2018, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE and TO KILL A KINGDOM came out this month, and I was so excited to get my hands on a physical copy! I found last year's National Book Award Winner FAR FROM THE TREE by Robin Benway at the library for sale...a mere 25 cents!--and it was the UK edition! I received some amazing ARCs this past month, including two of my most highly-anticipated titles of 2018, DANCE OF THIEVES by Mary E. Pearson and LISTEN TO YOUR HEART by Kasie West!

Here's my haul for March:






MUSIC 🎶

I picked up the Broadway Cast Recording for Once on this Island, which I got to see last year. It was incredible! I also picked up The Band's Visit because iTunes had it on sale for $4.99. I haven't seen it yet, but it's gotten a lot of buzz and people are saying it may win the Tony for Best Musical this year, so I do want to check it out! I've also been enjoying Disney's music drops on YouTube each week for "Frozen Friday." I especially love the song "Monster" and look forward to seeing the Broadway production of Frozen later this year!

Ohh, and I'm still watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. So all of that music, too!


MOVIES AND TV

This month, I rented a lot of movies that were in theaters during the holiday season. The library was AWESOME about having new releases right away! I've seen The Shape of Water, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Pitch Perfect 3. I haven't dived into Downsizing yet, but I have that to watch as well! Ohh, and Thor: Ragnarok came out, and I've been itching to watch that again since first seeing it at the theater!

We've still been watching Once Upon a Time and The Gifted, too. I watched a few more episodes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and I still have to check out Rise. Oooh, and I DVRed last night's Jesus Chrisst Superstar: Live! but haven't watched it yet....


That was my March.

How was yours???

Here's a look at everything that happened this past month!
 

ONGOING GIVEAWAYS:

*SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young (Ends May 1st)


Check out the April Blog Tour Schedule for more upcoming giveaways!
APRIL BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE
(Most blog tour stops feature giveaways as well!)

*SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young {4/1; guest post}
*BENEATH by Maureen A. Miller {4/4; spotlight}
*ISLE OF BLOOD & STONE by Makiia Lucier {4/5; interview}
*THE WINDOW by Amelia Brunskill {4/6; review}
*TRACING SHADOWS by Alex Lidell {4/10; review}
*ASH PRINCESS by Laura Sebastian {4/19; review}

 

READING NOW:
{All links to Goodreads!}

*THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL by Maureen Goo

PLANNING TO READ IN APRIL:



*TRACING SHADOWS by Alex Lidell
*OLIVIA TWIST by Lorie Langdon
*LIMELIGHT by Amy Poeppel
*LEGENDARY by Stephanie Garber
*FURYBORN by Claire Legrand
*DANCE OF THIEVES by Mary E. Pearson
*LISTEN TO YOUR HEART by Kasie West
*SHADOWSONG by S. Jae-Jones
*WINDWITCH by Susan Dennard
*MY LADY JANE by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows


  
[link to my GoodReads account so you can see my blurb feed as I read]
READ IN MARCH:
{All links to Goodreads!}

TOTAL: 13 novels; 1 graphic novel; 2 novellas; 1 picture book


Here are some thoughts about each of these books:
(Below times link straight to that part of the video if you only want to hear what I thought about select titles! ^.~)


(1:32) MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs {YA} (1:58) SHATTER ME, DESTROY ME, UNRAVEL ME, FRACTURE ME, IGNITE ME, all by Tahereh Mafi {Upper YA} (3:05) ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME by Roshani Chokshi {MG} (3:53) LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren {Adult} (4:47) SWEET GIRL by Cristin Harber {Adult} (5:47) THE KISS QUOTIENT by Helen Hoang {Adult} (7:01) EMERGENCY CONTACT by Mary H.K. Choi {Upper YA} (8:40) WHERE I LIVE by Brenda Rufener {YA} (9:47) WE DON'T EAT OUR CLASSMATES by Ryan T. Higgins {Picture Book} (11:15) THE SCULPTOR by Scott McCloud {Adult Graphic Novel} (12:16) OVER RAGING TIDES by Jennifer Ellision {YA} (13:37) ELEMENTALS: ICE WOLVES by Amie Kaufman {MG} (14:44) SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young {YA} And a sneak peek at the first book I've started reading already this month.... (16:07) THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL by Maureen Goo {YA}



REVIEWED IN MARCH:
{All link to our reviews!}

*TO KILL A KINGDOM by Alexandra Christo {YA} 
*CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi {YA} 
*LOLA DUTCH by Kenneth and Sarah Jane Wright {Picture Book}[Vlog]
*EMERGENCY CONTACT by Mary H.K. Choi {Upper YA}
*OVER RAGING TIDES by Jennifer Ellision {YA}


REVIEWED AT BROADWAY WORLD...so you may have missed it!

*Check out everything I reviewed at Broadway World this past month in Saturday's wrap-up!

FEATURES IN MARCH:

* BLACKSCI-FI.COM PRESENTS, OUR TIME TO WRINKLE: CELEBRATING GIRLS AND STEM [Happening in Philadelphia, PA!]
*Rounding up all my Feb. 2018 posts over at BroadwayWorld: From Award Winners to Cover Reveals to Author Interviews and more!
*February: From Book Signings to Acquiring Highly Anticipated ARCs to the Return of the Olympics! {+TBR Haul Video!}
*{Cover Art Revealed} ECHOES by Alice Reeds
*Top 10...Books That Surprised Us!
*Why I don't YouTube nearly as much as I should, & sharing a Cover/Interior Design Vlog featuring ROSEBLOOD by A.G. Howard
*One of the best fan-made productions of The Little Mermaid I have EVER seen!!! Come watch it now!
*Unboxing the "Rise Up" Illumicrate featuring Hamilton, Sabaa Tahir, The Lunar Chronicles, Harry Potter, & more!
*Top (30!) Books on our Spring TBR!
*Jenny Han's Best Selling Series TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE to premiere Summer 2018 on Netflix!
*TWO unboxing videos because my OwlCrate AND my Fairy Loot arrived yesterday and THEY ARE BOTH FANTASTIC!
*Top 5...Books That Make Me Miss Japan!
*Interviewing Roshani Chokshi, author of ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME!
*TWO unboxings featuring my FAVORITE book of 2018, TO KILL A KINGDOM!
*Rounding up all my March 2018 posts over at BroadwayWorld: From Movie News & Best Selling Author Interviews to Cover Reveals & the Best Books So Far This Year!



Comments