2014 Year End Post

Well another year has come and gone. While not everything was great, I at least had a better reading year. I still have not made my Goodreads goal of 150 books but got much closer this year.

Total Books Read: 136
Total Pages: 44649
Five Star Reads: 9
First Book Read: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Last Book Read: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones
Longest Book: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin; 761 pages

Some Favorite Covers (books I read)

End of Year Week ~ Favorites Books 2014

I'm not sure if it is because I am getting pickier in what I read but the majority of my read books for 2014 are marked as 4 stars on Goodreads. Since they do not have half stars some of these fall into the 3 1/2 category. These are some of my favorites that I read, whether they were released this year or in a previous year.

Snow Like Ashes (Goodreads / review)
by Sara Raasch
released: October 14, 2014
rating: 4.5

Fortune's Pawn (Goodreads)
by Rachel Bach
released: November 5, 2013
Rating: 5 stars

Stolen Songbird (Goodreads / review)
by Danielle L Jensen
released: April 1, 2014
rating: 5

Written in Red and Murder of Crows (Goodreads)
by Anne Bishop
released: March 5 2013
rating: 5 and 4

Chicagoland Vampires, read books 1-8 (Goodreads / review)
by Chloe Neill
rating: all 4 or better

Warrior (Goodreads / review)
by Marie Brennan
released: August 1, 2008
rating: 4

End of Year Week ~ Looking Forward 2015

I'm starting my end of year posts by looking forward. These are some of the books I'm most looking forward to in the coming year. I'm sure there are many obvious ones that I'm missing.

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Goodreads)
by Sarah J Maas
published by Bloomsbury Children's
expected release: May 5, 2015

The Heir (Goodreads)
by Kiera Cass
published by Harper Teen
expected release: May 5, 2015

Red Queen (Goodreads)
by Victoria Aveyard
published by Orion
expected release: February 10, 2015

Ensnared (Goodreads)
by A.G. Howard
published by Amulet Books
expected release: January 6, 2015

Shadow Study (Goodreads)
by Maria V Snyder
published by Mira
expected release: February 24, 2015

The Orphan Queen (Goodreads)
by Jodi Meadows
published by Katherine Tegen Books
expected release: March 10, 2015

Vision in Silver (Goodreads)
by Anne Bishop
published by Roc
expected release: March 3, 2015

Instinct (Goodreads)
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
published by St Martin's Griffin
expected release: March 31, 2015

Prudence (Goodreads)
by Gail Carriger
published by Orbit
expected release: March 17, 2015

An Ember in the Ashes (Goodreads)
by Sabaa Tahir
published by Razorbill
expected release: April 28, 2015

Armchair BEA 2014 ~ Beyond the Borders

*Find out more about Armchair BEA here

Today's prompt: Tell us about the books that transported you to a different world, taught you about a different culture, and/or helped you step into the shoes of someone different from you. What impacted you the most about this book? What books would you recommend to others who are ready or not ready to step over the line? In essence, let’s start the conversation about diversity and keep it going!

For me the first books that jumped into thought when I read this were The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Even though I usually don't venture into contemporary for my reading time, I really enjoyed these books. There was just something about them that grabbed my attention and even when I found them uncomfortable I had to continue reading.

On the lighter side, I've always enjoyed reading books set in Ireland. From many Nora Roberts books (romance or PNR) to Karen Marie Moning's Fever and Highlander series, I love the settings almost as much as the stories themselves.
Another set I enjoyed was Eon and Eona by Alison Goodman. They are fantasy but based on and in Asian astrology.

I know there are others I'm forgetting and will probably see them as I'm visiting other blogs today but here are just a few of the ones I've read.

Armchair BEA 2014 ~ Novellas/ Short Stories

*Find out more about Armchair BEA here.

Today's prompt: What is a short story or novella that doesn't get the attention that it deserves? Recommend to readers what shorts you would recommend they start with. How about listing some short story anthologies based upon genres or authors?

~ I've got to admit I'm a sucker for a good anthology, especially if it has some names attached that are already my favorites to read. For me, writing style has a lot to do with my enjoyment of a book and reading a short story or novella gives me an idea of their particular style and if it is something that I would like in a longer book format.
As you can see over to the side, I'm currently reading Dark Bites. It is a collection of almost all Sherrilyn Kenyon's shorts connected to her Dark Hunter world. I have most of the anthologies that they were originally published in but I'm finding several I haven't gotten around to reading yet.
Jim Butcher (Side Jobs features shorts from Dresden Files series) and J.D. Robb (In Death series)are two others that I often will pick up any anthology that they have a story in.
I'm not sure of other genres but Urban Fantasy and Paranormal has an abundance of anthologies many of which are part of larger series.

Armchair BEA 2014 ~ More Than Just Words

*You can find out more about Armchair BEA here.

During this week of Armchair BEA there will be a couple of writing prompts. Today's prompt is More Than Just Words. On this day, we will be talking about those books and formats that move beyond just the words and use other ways to experience a story. Which books stand out to you in these different formats?

** I really just started reading graphic novels in the past year. I started with the ones associated with series that I already read. I've found the problem with that (as in movies made) is that the characters don't always look as I've got them in my head and it leaves me feeling disconnected.
Some GN I've read from series are Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Patricia Briggs' Alpha and Omega, Mercy Thompson.

I'm really enjoying the Fables series by Bill Willingham. It's a re-telling/ re-imagining of favorite fairy-tale characters in modern setting.

I'm always looking for new great graphic novels to check out. I look through the shelves at my local library and pick up ones that catch my eye. Pleased to say more of them work than don't.

Armchair BEA 2014 ~ Introductions

*You can find out more about Armchair BEA here.

1)Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from?
 a: Hello, I'm Kristina from MI, USA. I've been blogging for a few years now and mostly do it as a hobby. I originally started to vent about a book I had just finished that I just wanted to get out of my system.

2)Describe your blog in just one sentence. Then, list your social details -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. -- so we can connect more online.
 a: Multi-Genre blog about all the different types of books I read.
     Twitter: https://twitter.com/KristinaD77
     Tumblr:  http://newborrowedused.tumblr.com/
     Bloglovin: http://www.bloglovin.com/kristinad

3)What genre do you read the most? I love to read because ___________________ .
 a: It depends on my mood. I read a lot of paranormal whether it's PNR or UF. I also enjoy mysteries, historicals, etc. Only thing I don't really read is contemporary.

4)What was your favorite book read last year? What’s your favorite book so far this year?
 a: 2013-Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon (review), The Rook by Daniel O'Malley     2014- Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen (review)

5)What does your favorite/ideal reading space look like? (Pinterest encouraged!)
 a: I love the look of window nooks but prefer a big comfy chair to stretch out in.

6)What is your favorite blogging resource?
 a: probably Goodreads. I use it for summaries, covers, etc. I also use FictFact and NetGalley a lot as well.

7)Share your favorite book or reading related quote.
 a: there are so many but I'm going to share 2 today.
     “Some people are like Slinkies.They aren't really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to my face when I push them down a flight of stairs.”
― Patricia Briggs, Iron Kissed
    “Follow me,” Myrnin said. “And do stay together. And by the way, this is the last time I go anywhere with you people. You are all insane.”
― Rachel Caine, Bite Club

9)What book would you love to see as a movie?
 a: This is another I'm not sure on. I tend to read a lot of paranormal and they either do really well (LOTR, Harry Potter) or really bad (Percy Jackson, plus many more). I'm interested in seeing what they do with Sherrilyn Kenyon's books but at the same time worried they are going to ruin one of my favorite series.

Some Thursday Randomness

These are a few things I've seen around lately and decided to share.

*I sometimes like the villains in the Disney movies better than the Princesses. This was my favorite fairy tale growing up and I am really looking forward to this movie based on the trailers I've seen.



*I am not only a book junkie I am also a tv junkie. I always worry that the clips you see for new shows are the only good parts of the show. The trailer for the Gotham series on Fox looks really good and I'm hoping the show lives up to it.



*Lastly, some true randomness (from Jimmy Fallon) that just made me smile.

Happy Holiday Weekend!

by  kotorikurama

For all my followers that celebrate... Have a Happy and Safe Easter weekend.

by RobbVision

Blog Update ~ Arctic Mess

I'm sure you're all aware of the cold and snow that has come down from the North Pole and crippled many places including Michigan where I am. I've been dealing with frozen pipes and no water for three days now hoping the plumber actually makes it here soon.
The kids are finally going back to school and hopefully I can get everything back in order. I'm going to try and get another post up this week but if not everything should be on schedule for next week.

Happy Reading and Stay Warm!