1. #RestrictedSection Book Club – Summer Reads!

    June 9, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, YouTube videos by Kristina Horner

    I have a book club called The Restricted Section, and these are the 4 books we’re planning to tackle this summer. Interested? You should join!

    Leave a comment!
  2. May Reading Wrap Up!

    June 5, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, YouTube videos by Kristina Horner

    This month I managed to read *9* books over the course of the month, including a number of brand new releases (like Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen, The Heir by Kiera Cass and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir).

    Watch this video to find out what I thought, and to see what I’m hoping to read in June!

    Leave a comment!
  3. May Book Haul | YouTube

    June 3, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, YouTube videos by Kristina Horner

    I’ve been so busy with BEA and BookCon I completely forgot to post some of my new videos over here on my blog! I promise not to neglect you again. I can change.

    This is my May Book haul. It’s a little deceiving, since I filmed this BEFORE I went to NYC and packed a suitcase full of ARCs, but that will be its own video in a couple of days. I had such a wonderful time in New York, but that’s a story for another day. For now, I give you the books (and new vlogging camera!) I acquired in May. Enjoy!

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  4. A Review of ‘The Heir’ by Kiera Cass

    May 22, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, Kristina Reviews Things, YouTube videos by Kristina Horner

    Here’s my review of ‘The Heir’ by Kiera Cass. It’s a big long… but I had a lot to say. Thanks to my good friend Jenn for both buddy-reading ‘The Heir’ with me, and for agreeing to be in this video!

    And trust me, we didn’t hold back. This is less of a review and more of a rant, but what can I say? The Selection was a lot of fun, and I think this book had a lot to live up to. I don’t really think it succeeded.

    What did you think of ‘The Heir’? Will you be reading the next book in the series?

    Leave a comment!
  5. Bout of Books – Day 4 Update

    May 14, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, Geek Events, Journal by Kristina Horner

    Whew! I could not have picked a crazier week to attempt a readathon – I’ve had to squeeze reading into the nooks and crannies of my schedule, but I’ve still managed to find a bit of time each day, which is important to me. I even managed to read on my lunch break twice, which I’m sure made me look anti-social but luckily I could not care less about coming across as the weird book-reading girl. Literally everyone who works at Microsoft is a nerd in some way. I’m in good company.

    I’ve also shifted up my TBR a little bit. I’ve read way too many amazing reviews of An Ember in the Ashes in the past week or so to ignore it any longer, so it’s earned a spot in the stack of books I am trying to finish for this readathon. In fact, it’s almost replaced everything else, since it’s so long.

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    My goal is to read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (TGWCFIASOHOM, if you will) first and then to power through An Ember in the Ashes this weekend. If I can do all of that, I will be 100% satisfied with myself. If I can’t, well… that’s okay too.

    I haven’t actually read anything yet today, but I didn’t get home from work until almost 8pm and then I decided to go running because I had pent-up ‘i just sat through a five hour meeting’ energy. I needed to relax a bit by writing this blog post (because working relaxes me, yes, I’m strange) and then I’ll start reading.

    Current progress overall:

    Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: Done! (323 pages)
    The 100 by Kass Morgan: Done! (323 pages – weird, they’re the exact same length)
    Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins: Put on hold.
    The Utterly Unintersting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant: Listened to 2 hours of the audio book
    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland: Just started.

    Why are all of my book titles so long? These are abnormally long.

    Leave a comment!
  6. Bout of Books 13 – Day 3 Update

    May 13, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, Geek Events by Kristina Horner

    I decided to participate in my own challenge, even though I obviously can’t win. Today I had the honor of hosting the Bout of Books challenge, and I have a fantastic time reading all the book haikus people sent in over the course of the day. It was a lot of fun, and now I want to do it too. I literally just finished reading Attachments by Rainbow Rowell and I’m a big goopy mess on account of how great it was – but there is no time for book hangovers in a readathon. So I am affording myself enough time to write this blog update before diving into Rebel Belle before bed.

    Rebel Belle

    My haiku about Attachments by Rainbow Rowell:

    Beth and Jennifer
    write extremely long emails.
    So, when do they work?

    I’m a little bummed it took me 3 days to finish this book, but I can’t even really be annoyed because I loved it so much. If I don’t read all five of the books on my TBR, well, life goes on. I’ll replace them with a few graphic novels on Sunday so I still hit the number. Yolo!

    Here’s my day 3 update:

    Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: Done! (323 pages)
    The 100 by Kass Morgan: Listened to 6 hours out of 7
    Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins: Just started.

    Hope everyone else is doing well with their readathons – please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know how you’re doing, or send in more book haikus! Go nuts! I love them.

    Leave a comment!
  7. Bout of Books 13 Challenge – Day 3 – Book Haiku!

    May 12, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, Geek Events by Kristina Horner

    Today’s blog post is going to be a little bit different, because today… I am hosting a challenge for Bout of Books 13! To find out more about this read-a-thon, check out their website and consider joining in! Because – good news! If you catch this blog post in the next 2 hours – there’s still time to sign up! But if it’s already Wednesday where you live… you’re probably too late. I’m sorry! 🙁

    This challenge is only for participants, so if you’re feeling left out, you should consider doing it next time!

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    For those of you specifically here for the challenge, here it is: Write a haiku about whatever book you’re reading right now.

    Here’s one I’ve written about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, as an example/a bit of inspiration:

    Boy Wizard. Harry.
    His school is cooler than yours.
    But no internet.

    Feel free to tweet your haikus as well, to share them with the world!

    And of course, it wouldn’t be a proper challenge without a prize, would it? The winner of this challenge may choose a book up to $15 from Book Depository and I will get it for you! 

    If you’re participating in the read-a-thon, good luck! And if not… what are you doing?! Grab a book anyway!

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Leave a comment!
  8. Bout of Books 13 – Day 1

    May 11, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, Geek Events by Kristina Horner

    I don’t know if I’ll be writing blog posts about every single day of this readathon, but I will be updating here and there, especially if the challenge for the day makes sense to write a blog post!

    I think today, the first day, is my busiest day of the readathon. Not the best way to hit the ground running, but I will manage. I had to work today (9-5) and have a writing workshop that begins in 45 minutes. I’m writing this from the cafe where we meet, before anyone else has gotten here. In the small breaks I’ve had today, this is what I’ve managed to accomplish:

    The 100 by Kass Morgan: Listened to 1 hour out of 7
    Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: Read 57 pages

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    I plan to go home and read a bit more of Attachments tonight, but I also have a video to edit, so I’m not sure how much more I’ll get done. I’m still feeling confident about the rest of the week, though!

    Today’s challenge is by Writing My Own Fairytale – Bookish Survey.

    1. How do you organize your shelves? There is very little rhyme or reason to my shelves right now. I have two – a big one and a smaller one. The smaller one has mostly my favorite books, organized mostly by author and whatever seems aesthetically pleasing. The bottom shelf of this one is entirely Harry Potter and its companion novels. The large shelf goes (from top to bottom) 2 shelves of books I haven’t read yet, arranged mostly by size and by hardback vs. paperback, then a single shelf of books I plan to read soon, then the next one down is comics and graphic novels, then the bottom is childhood books and older books in a state of disarray.
    2. What is one of your favorite books that’s not in one of your favorite genres? Hmmm. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix. I don’t read much horror but I really loved that book.
    3. What is the last 5 star book you read? I believe it was Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. That or Saga Vol. 4.
    4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon? I am dying to read Vicious by V.E. Schwab. I’m purposefully reading it last, to use as motivation.
    5. What book do you recommend the most? Recently? Probably either Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs or Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I’m a pusher.

    That’s it for today! How are your readathons going? Remember you can still participate in Bout of Books 13 if you sign up by Tuesday night (at midnight, I think).

    Leave a comment!
  9. Bout of Books 13 + #CrushYourTBR

    May 10, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, Geek Events by Kristina Horner

    I am participating in not one but TWO readathons this week, and I wanted to let you know what they are in case you want to join in!

    The first one is called Bout of Books, which runs from Monday the 11th to Sunday the 17th. This one has pretty loose rules; you basically set your own goal and then can participate in the challenges along the way if you so choose. I’m actually hosting Wednesday’s challenge here on my blog, so make sure to stop back and see what it is!

    Then on Friday the 15th – Sunday the 17th (it overlaps, which is actually kind of nice – double motivation!) I’ll also be participating in #CrushYourTBR, which is also a pretty casual TBR meant to encourage people to get through the books on their shelves at a quicker rate than normal. It’s great.

    I’ve got a pretty over-ambitious TBR for the week, but I plan to start bringing a book to work and reading on my lunch break, which will help. I might not get through all of these, but by george I’m going to try.

    BoBphoto

    I’ll likely be tweeting about the readathon experience over the course of the week, so make sure you’re following me on Twitter if you want to see my updates. It should be a lot of fun, and I’m dying to start. There are some books in that stack I’ve been meaning to read for months, so it should be great.

    Let me know if you’re participating, and what you’re hoping to accomplish. Happy reading!

    Leave a comment!
  10. Free Comic Book Day ’15

    May 8, 2015 ♥ Posted in: Books, YouTube videos by Kristina Horner

    Free Comic Book Day has been a favorite event of mine for years now, and 2015 was no exception. In fact, this was hands down my best Free Comic Book Day yet! I picked up all the standard free comics that looked amazing, but I also happened upon some crazy deals and scored some finds you totally won’t believe. It was wonderful. I went a little nuts, but I have no regrets. 😀

    Did you check out Free Comic Book Day in your own town? What was the best thing you picked up?

    Leave a comment!