The Monday Update

Updates
→ I think the best and most vital news is that I am pretty much over my cold, so hooray! I still have the nagging cough, but that will probably stay around for a while.
→ The best thing to take out of the above is that I am alive again, which means I can finally catch up on this blog.
→ Unfortunately for me, I'm going out of town tomorrow... so that means all of my catching up has to be done t-o-d-a-y.
→ I have also figured out that I have been living under a rock and just discovered that NetworkedBlogs on Facebook is pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread. Really, if you're a blogger and on FB, you NEED NetworkedBlogs. It syncs up your FB account/page, blog and Twitter so that when you publish a post on your blog, it updates on the FB page AND Twitter. I can't believe I've been doing all of that stuff manually of all of this time!


Books
→ Insatiable, by Meg Cabot: I got the new paperback for review, so that should be coming up soon... after the catch-up.
→ I haven't decided what I'm reading yet.. but it looks like I'll be taking Luminous, The Night Circus, and The Witches of East End all with me out of town. Whichever I choose, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

The Monday Update

I want to start by reiterating what today is truly about. Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have fallen and have been wounded in battle while serving the USA. Without their sacrifices, we wouldn't have all of the freedoms that we have today. And also let's remember those who are still serving our country and say a little prayer to keep them safe.

With that said, it's time for the Monday Update! I haven't done one of these in a while, so my TBR list has changed and shifted several times. I won't bore you with all the details, but I will tell you that I have updated my reading challenge on Goodreads from 100 books to 125. It's not even June yet and I have managed to read 76+ books. I say more than that because there for a while at the beginning, I didn't know that you were supposed to add a book to "Currently Reading" before rating so it would be added to the list of books on your reading challenge. 76 is the number that I have since I realized this.

Also, I'm going to be out of town for most of the week starting tomorrow. I have a bunch of scheduled posts, but in the off chance that Blogger decides to rebel against me and not publish my posts... well, just don't give up on me. I'll be back late Friday or early Saturday.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Monday, Monday!

Updates
» Author Profiles: Posts will start going up soon!
» Before & After: Features are starting up again this week for the February debut authors!
» Blog Construction: I'll be tweaking the site, so apologies ahead of time for unnecessary posts.
» Blog Roll: This page will go live this week. It will feature links to other book bloggers that I follow. If you want to be included, just e-mail me or comment on this post.
» Facebook: Starting this month, I'll be posting YA Releases for each month that will be indexed in photo albums by month and year. Each pic will include release date, publisher, and synopsis information. If you haven't seen the fan page for this blog, go here.

Reads
Last Week...
» Born At Midnight, by C.C. Hunter
» Nightshade, by Michelle Rowen
» Through Her Eyes, by Jennifer Archer
» Wynter Chelsea: The Legacy, by Becca Ritchie

This Week...
» Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys
» Fade to Blue, by Sean Beaudoin
» Love Ya Like A Sister, by Tom Kepler
» Miles From Ordinary, by Carol Lynch Williams
» She Said / She Saw, by Norah McClintock

Monday, Monday!

Mondays always come entirely too soon, don't they? Nevertheless, it's here ... so, what can you do? I got some reading done this weekend, which made me extremely happy. The husband wanted to catch up on his gaming, so I caught up on my TBR pile. It's still massive, but I did put a dent in it. All of my review books for February are done! Now, I'll have a few days to do some pleasure reading as well as catching up on author and blogger e-mails.

Last Week...
The Demon Trapper's Daughter, by Jana Oliver
Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale, by Ramona Wray
Deadly, by Julie Chibbaro
In The Company of Vampires, by Katie MacAlister
Casanova: Actor, Lover, Priest, Spy, by Ian Kelly

This Week...
Warped, by Maurissa Guibord
Overprotected, by Jennifer Laurens
Evercrossed, by Elizabeth Chandler
Once in a Full Moon, by Ellen Schreiber
Angelfire, by Courtney Allison Moulton
Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand

Things To Note...
- The international contest for a copy of Savita Kalhan's The Long Weekend is still open. Go here.
- My giveaway for a book from one of January's Before & After authors is still open until the end of this month. Click here to go to the post.
- Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale's review is scheduled for next week, along with an interview with author Ramona Wray... as well as a giveaway for a copy of the book. So be on the lookout for that!

Monday Update!

While not having internet this weekend, I contemplated things I could do to put more information on this blog about authors and their books. I know I have the Before & After feature, but that only covers 2011 debut authors. So, I've decided that I'm going to start doing author profiles! It won't be anything complex - just a post for each author with a pic, bio, books by them and some links. I don't know how many I'm going to do and they'll be no rhyme or reason to who I pick and why, but I'm going to try to schedule them to post late at night to save your Google Readers throughout the day. Eventually, I'll have enough to start a master post to keep up with links and work from there. I'm pretty excited about this. =)

Besides daydreaming about my blog (I have it bad), I've also been reading up a storm again. I needed to get on top of some author requests, and I'm happy to report that I finished most of those books. Reviews will be popping up randomly throughout the next week or so.

Books Finished Last Week
American Vampire, by Jennifer Armintrout
Anna And The French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
Fall For Anything, by Courtney Summers
The Mind Readers, by Lori Brighton
Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric History, by Allan Richard Shickman
Zan-Gah and The Beautiful Country, by Allan Richard Shickman

Books On The List This Week
Awakened, by PC & Kristin Cast
Burned, by PC & Kristin Cast
Right Side Talking, by Bonnie Rozanski
The Amanda Project, by Stella Lennon, Melissa Kantor
... and more, hopefully. These are the ones I have down for sure!

Monday Update!

Hosted By: Book Journey

First off... it's going to be one of THOSE Mondays. I just found out that one of my packages to a contest winner was lost in the mail - so, I'm going to have to find a way to replace that. This would be a good time to note that if you have been a winner of one of my past contests and have not received your prize by now, PLEASE let me know. I'll do whatever I can in my power to make it up to you!

Last Week...

[Reads]
Cryer's Cross, by Lisa McMann
Darkness Becomes Her, by Kelly Keaton
Haven, by Kristi Cook
Slice of Cherry, by Dia Reeves
The Liar Society, by Lisa & Laure Roecker

[Reviews]
Cryer's Cross
Haven


This Week...

Divergent, by Veronica Roth
The Girl Who Became A Beatle, by Greg Taylor
Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric History, by Allan Richard Shickman
Zan-Gah and The Beautiful Country, by Allan Richard Shickman
Wake Unto Me, by Lisa Cach
XVI, by Julia Karr

New 2011 Features!

I am interrupting Monday's typical posting of "Monday Readings" for some very exciting news. I have two reasons for doing this: (1) My reading schedule this week is based on review books I've yet to receive, so it's a little up in the air, and (2) I'm bouncing in my seat to share this information with you guys!

It's that time, guys! I told you all that I would share what I have in store for 2011 on this blog as soon as I knew more. Well, I know more!

Here are some of the confirmed features that I will have active on Missy's Reads & Reviews for the year 2011.


After Hours

I read a lot of books, which is no secret. The part that may amaze you is that I read about as many non-YA books as I do YA books. However, my blog has pretty much been YA-based – so all you see is the couple of reviews I do per week for Young Adult books. I still want this blog to be more about YA, but I think it's doing an injustice to all of the other books I read to not review them as well. So, one of my ideas was After Hours, which will be what I call for non-YA books that I read. However, they'll be scheduled differently than YA. Where YA is scheduled to post in the mornings, After Hours book reviews will be posted after 8pm EST.

There will also be reviews for more adult-oriented books that I read (Lords of the Underworld being the first one off the top of my head), so they'll be posted with an "Mature" warning as well - along with scheduled posts more on the weekends.

Before & After

I'm exceptionally excited about this because it will be a feature including a nice number of 2011 debut authors! This feature is a more personal look at the authors behind our most anticipated debut books for the year. Before & After is a showcase of how an author feels before and after their big debut release. I have been researching and e-mailing like crazy … and so far, the response has been wonderful.

First Line Fridays

This one is pretty much self-explanatory. On Fridays, I'll be starting a meme where I post the first lines to some random reads – whether they are some of my favorite reads, current reads, anticipated reads, or whatever I may feel like posting.

Self-Published Saturdays

I get requests from authors that are self-published every now and then. Since I don't post much on Saturdays, I've decided to reserve these reviews for these days.

Then & Now

This is a companion feature to Before & After, though it will feature 2010 debut authors. The point of this is about the same as Before & After – but authors will share how they felt THEN (last year before they were published) and what they're working on NOW. I'm still working out the kinks on this one, so it may make it's debut in February or March.

So, there they are. Some of the new 2011 features for my blog. What do you think?

Edit: You'll also notice an increase in random posts on policies and other things within the next few days. Please excuse them. I'm prepping for a better 2011 - and part of that is the nitty, gritty posts that are a necessity!

Monday, Monday!

Hosted By: Book Journey

Last Week...
Of Bees and Mist, by Erick Setiawan (review)

This Week...
Vixen (The Flappers #1), by Jillian Larkin
The Bloodlight Chronicles: Reconciliation, by Steve Stanton

Future News...

Next week on Missy's Reads & Reviews, the entire week will be dedicated to Kate Kaynak's wonderful Ganzfield series! There will be reviews for the first two books coming out, themed memes, an interview with the wonderful author, and a giveaway at the end! Be sure to drop by and check it out!!

Hosted By: Should Be Reading

Do you have any special reading that you do as it gets closer to Christmas? If so, tell us about it! And, if not, tell us why not!

Like Halloween, there are certain traditions that I do during the Christmas holiday season. I do like to read some of the children's classics, as well as watch some of the shows. But when it comes to serious Christmas readings, I always do two things: I typically write short stories of my own to make me get into that whimsical mood, and I also concentrate on Christmas crafts and decorations. I'm all about some homemade gifts and decorations (and food!) when it comes to Christmas, so I try to concentrate on that more than themed readings. Plus, with all of the books I have lined up for reviewing, I don't think I'll have time for that!

Monday, Monday!

It's Monday again! They always seem to come around entirely too fast! So, what's new with me? I went to Asheville this weekend, which is why you guys got some Follow Friday responses late. Sorry! I caught some type of bug while up there, so I'm not 100%. However, not 100% gives me a day or two of recoup, which means extra time online to catch up! Good, right? I also posted a few non-YA book reviews to books that I read for authors. I'm going to try and stick to the trend of keeping these type reviews for the weekend and make the week mostly all about YA, since it seems to be what I'm tending to lean toward the most.

Books I've Read Last Week...

Gothic!, by Various Authors

Maps of the Imagination: The Writer As Cartographer, by Peter Turchi

Mozan and The Return of Magic, by Stephan Davied

Revelations, by Melissa de la Cruz

Books on This Week's Agenda...

Dracula In Love, by Karen Essex

Museum of Thieves, by Lian Tanner

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson

Special Notes...

My 27th Birthday Celebration is still active and going strong! 70+ entries so far! Contest ends October 16th, so be sure to enter!

Kate Kaynak, author of Minder, has contacted me about reviewing her books. Along with the reviews, she has been generous enough to offer a signed copy of its sequel Adversary for a giveaway! Coming soon!!

Monday, Monday!

After my week to myself, my house, and my personal business ... I am BACK! I still have a lot to do, but I'm caught up enough to where everything's not so overwhelming - which helps a lot!

What's New?

As some of you may have seen, I have decided to throw a contest for my birthday. It just seemed with everything so slow around here, I owed you guys a little something for being faithful to me. So, enter my contest! Be sure to include your top ten books on your wish list. On October 18th, I'll choose 2-5 winners - the grand prize winner receiving 2-7 books from their wish list. So, be sure to fill out the form and celebrate my upcoming 27th birthday with me!

Books I've Read...

Back to the Homeplace, by William Smith - It wasn't YA, but it was a review request from the author. Honestly, it was awesome. You'll see the review this weekend.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer - This is part of my epic re-read that will be going on throughout the year. I also read some of it to my mom - who's never read the books, but has watched the movie so much my disc now has skips!

Books I'm Reading...

Mozan and The Return of Magic, by Stephan Davied - I won it, so I'm reading it for a review. It looks pretty interesting, though the big names are confusing!

Dracula in Love, by Karen Essex - I cannot WAIT to get to this book. Dracula = Love.

Blog Plans?

It's going to be back to your regularly scheduled posts this week, along with a lot more reviews. I'll also be busy with scheduling a lot of posts for these upcoming weeks, as I'll be out of town a lot painting my godfather's house for him.

FELLOW BLOGGERS! If you'd like to guest post on here (anything relative, or a promo post for your blog), please e-mail me and let me know! I'd love to start having more guest bloggers on here to spice things up a little!

Monday, Monday!

I just had the most relaxing weekend that I think I've ever had at my house this weekend! Unfortunately I think it may be the last that I have for a while with some projects coming up in my parents' hometown and a weekend trip up to see one of my nearest and dearest friends.

Accomplishments
BlogFest 2010 was this weekend. I managed to do all of my rounds, finding fabulous new blogs to follow and spectacular giveaways to enter. I regret not signing up to participate, but there's always next time!

While Nick was catching up on his video games, I did a Vampire Diaries marathon in which I re-watched the complete first season and first episode to the new season. I think I actually appreciated the show more this time around than last - if that was even possible.

Aside from BlogFest and visiting some blogs on the Hop I tried to steer clear of all things blog- and book-related. However, my conscience got the best of me and I did manage to finish a book I received from an author for an honest review.

Week-Long Goals
I don't know if you guys have noticed the subtle changes I'm making around on my blog. I've changed my header just a tiny bit (okay, I changed the annoying curly-q font), and I'm customizing some graphics to use on my posts. Nothing big, just trying to make this blog a little more personal.

I have received four books in the mail this past week and I'm hoping to get them read and possibly reviewed. I don't have any review deadlines this time around, so I may continue posting some back-up reviews I've been meaning to get to. I also think I'm going to post most of my reviews Monday through Thursday, with more adult-oriented reviews on the weekend.

Besides the usual house chores I'll be doing this week, Nick has given me one mission: Be sure to pick up Halo Reach for him from the game store as soon as they open. I don't play the Halo games, but I'm thinking about cheating and practicing on this one while he's at work. That way, I can kick his butt when he gets home. =)