RAK: April Sign-Up

Okay, so it's been a while since I've actually participated in RAK, but things are starting to settle back into some kind of a groove, so I'm definitely going to be able to send at least one book out this month!  I'm really glad for this, because Random Acts of Kindness, hosted by the ladies over at Book Soulmates, is a fantastic monthly event.  Basically, you pick someone from the list and send them something from their wishlist, and someone else might send you something from yours!  Yes, there are months where you might end up not receiving anything, but it still doesn't hurt to brighten someone else's day and rack up some bookish karma!  It's also a great way to check out some other blogs and maybe make some new bookish friends in the community. So stop by and sign up!

December 2011 Wrap-Up

Okay, I know December isn't technically over yet, but I'm ready for it to be over, and we're pretty close!  So here goes:

My Bookworm Santa was a Secret Santa event hosted by Michelle at Book Briefs and Bree at The Magic Attic.  Much like any Secret Santa, our lovely co-hosts assigned each participant as another participant's Bookworm Santa.  The idea was to anonymously send your recipient an item from their wishlist, and then reveal yourself after 25 December.  It was a lot of fun!

I actually got to be Santa to two participants!  I don't want to reveal who they were, though, or what I sent, because I'm not sure whether they've been received yet.  Once I'm sure, I'll update this post. :)

As for what I received?  I got a copy of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, along with a few other goodies - you can check them out in my last post for In My Mailbox.  I don't know who my Santa was yet, but whoever you are - thank you again, so much!  I've been really wanting this book, and I love the journal and bookmark, and the little planner should come in handy.

I had also signed up to participate in RAK this month, an awesome feature hosted by the ladies of Book Soulmates.  I ended up not being able to send anything out for RAK, but I didn't receive anything either, so I don't feel as bad about that, haha.  This month ended up being more hectic than I anticipated, and has been a little more stressful financially than I anticipated, also.  Next month should be better, though.  :)

I'm hoping that January goes a little more smoothly for me, and I've got a lot going on for 2012 with the blog - lots of reading challenges to keep me busy!  I hope everyone had a happy holiday this winter, whether you observe a specific holiday, or whether you just enjoyed some time off from work and/or school.

RAK: November Wrap-Up, December Sign-Up

November:

I had a very quiet month for RAK - I didn't receive anything, but that's okay.  I had a great haul in October, and I did win a few excellent giveaways in November, so I was definitely still getting books!  

I only got to send one book out this month.  I sent The Prestige by Christopher Priest to Hanna at Booking in Heels.  I didn't get a response to the email I sent her, so I had no idea whether she'd received it or not, but when I went to check her blog so I could make the link on this post, I saw that she did get the book.  So I am very happy for that!  I was really worried it may not have gotten to her.  By the way, you should definitely check out her review for it - if you read mine, you know that while I didn't NOT like the book, I also wasn't too crazy about it, but she definitely got more into it than I did!  So go and get another opinion on it. =)

December:

If you haven't done RAK before, and you aren't sure yet what it is, it stands for Random Acts of Kindness.  It's a really wonderful monthly program hosted by the lovely ladies of Book Soulmates, where you can post a link to your wishlist for all to see, and someone may send you something from it!  

Of course, it's not about trying to get a ton of free books - if you want to receive, you should be willing to give a little, too.  So if you sign up, you should browse through the other wishlists and make someone else's day!  If you sign up, please post the RAK button on your blog so others who would like to participate can easily find their way.  Then, at the end of the month, make a post (like this one) to share what you've given and what you've received.

Click here to sign up!

Winding Down October

It's Halloween, which means October is very close to being over.  Which means it's time for a wrap-up post!

This month, I participated in the Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge, hosted by Marie at Ramblings of a Daydreamer.  Basically, to participate, you just had to read and post a review of at least three paranormal-themed books throughout the month of October.  And bonus, there is to be a giveaway once the challenge has officially closed!  Anyway, for this challenge, I read:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters and Jane Austen, and The Better To Hold You by Alisa Sheckley.

In My Mailbox #3

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. I was trying to post this meme the same day each week, but it's coming a little late this time, because on Sunday I went to the Half Price Books Warehouse Clearance in Farmers Branch! HUGE thanks to follower Coren for giving me the heads up about this fantastic event! Basically, you walk in the door to the warehouse, and are handed a giant tote bag. The idea is you fill up the tote bag as much as possible, and you get the bag and its contents for $10 total. Need more bags? The deal applies to each bag you fill up. I only did one bag, though! I mostly got a TON of fantasy novels, and most of those are Dungeons & Dragons. There are so many, I'm not going to post them all here, but you will see them eventually! I found individual copies of R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy books, and also an individual copy of The Crystal Shard, so I've swapped out cover images on my reviews for those books.

The non-fantasy books I got were: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold; The Choice by Nicholas Sparks; The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares; The Lake House by James Patterson; The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.

In My Mailbox #2

Another week has gone by, and that means it is time for another round of In My Mailbox, a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's kind of a show-and-tell of anything bookish you've bought/borrowed/won/received for review over the past week.

This is my second post for In My Mailbox, and I've seen that many bloggers have made their own buttons for the meme, and I decided to do the same. I found the photo on Google Images, from a website called NV Fingerprinting. I just added the text on top and cropped the photo a bit to make it a shorter height.

Anyway! On to the books. :)

The first thing I received in the mail this past week was another RAK gift! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. A big thanks to Tena over at The Crazy Book Slut! Random Acts of Kindness is a fantastic event hosted by Book Soulmates - go check it out, if you haven't already! This is the second item I've received so far from my wishlist, and I've sent out a couple things this month so far as well. It's a lot of fun! I was so excited when I opened this and saw that Tena had tied a little string around the book, like an old-fashioned brown-paper package. It was really cute! I wish I'd thought to take a photo. As you can see from my sidebar, I'm currently reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, and so far it's pretty interesting, so I can't wait to read this one!

In My Mailbox

Happy Sunday, everyone! My parents and I were going to have the second part of a yard sale today, but it's raining outside, so that is being postponed. I'm glad for the rain, though!

Anyway, I'm really excited because I get to do my first In My Mailbox post today! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren - it's about sharing any books you've received in the past week, and it's fun to see what everyone else is getting, too. :) You don't have to have gotten them in the mail, though - if you bought them, borrowed them, etc., that's fine too.

This week I got a copy of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr from the also lovely Arianne, through Random Acts of Kindness (hosted by Book Soulmates)!

Wicked Lovely is gorgeous, and I am so excited to read it, so a BIG thanks to Arianne! The only other books I got this week came from my university's library, and they're all for a couple of research projects I'm doing for my phonology class - so I'm thinking those would not be so interesting. :P

What's in your mailbox? Let me know in the comments, and feel free to post a link to your In My Mailbox as well!

Happy October!

I don't know about you, but October is my favourite month! And even if it's not yours, it can still be a lot of fun - to celebrate the season coming into its full glory and to celebrate one of the best holidays of the year, I'm participating in some great blog events this month! I'm posting to give you all a heads up so you can check them out if you haven't yet, but may want to participate as well. :)

First, Random Acts of Kindness, hosted by the lovely ladies at Book Soulmates. RAK is SUCH a great idea, so if you are not already signed up to participate, I think you should! Basically, you submit your name, email, and a link to your wishlist (and your blog URL if you have one), and can list a top 5 from your wishlist as well. You can brighten someone's day by sending them something from their wishlist, and you just may get some items from yours!

Next up here is the 2011 Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge, hosted by Marie at Ramblings of a Daydreamer. She's using a fairly loose definition of "paranormal" here for the purposes of the challenge, so it doesn't have to be just ghosts, vampires, and werewolves...anything spooky will do, so you can feel free to include your faeries, mermaids, and aliens too! All you have to do is read and review at least three books falling under this category between 1 October and 31 October.
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There's a bonus to participating, too - a giveaway at the end of the challenge! This will be my first reading challenge, so I hope I manage to make it, haha.

There is also the Zompocalypse 2011 Halloween Hop, hosted by Paranormal Wastelands. This sounds like it is going to be a TON of fun, and I am really looking forward to the 28th so it can start! I will be participating by hosting a Trick or Treat Giveaway for the hop. There will be many others, so make sure to stay tuned! So far, it looks like 37 other bloggers are signed up to participate, and the form is up on the page, so if you haven't already, and you want to participate, go check it out and sign up!

I haven't worked out yet exactly what I'm going to do for this giveaway, but regardless, the whole thing sounds like it will be a blast.

I also want to take this moment to remind everyone that tonight at midnight, entries will be closed for my Banned Books Giveaway and my It's My Birthday! Giveaway. If you want to be considered, make sure you get your entry in today, because I will be randomly selecting and announcing the winner for both giveaways tomorrow, 2 October. Good luck to everyone who has entered so far! If you win, but do not respond within 48 hours of my email to you, a new winner will be selected for that particular giveaway.

Are you doing anything fun for your blog this month? If you don't have a blog, are you doing anything special for October, in general? Reading anything creepy?