Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.
My Week in Review
I was more busy than I like to be this weekend. I had a haircut appointment scheduled for Saturday. I am all about supporting my stylist in his new business. I mean, we have known him for almost 20 years, but it's over a half hour drive each way. It's a bigger time commitment than when he was at the local salon. I don't mind making it my one thing for the weekend. BUT I ordered this stuff online, and I thought it was the same as I had picked up in the store, and it wasn't. SOOOO, now I have to drive to the store today to return it (I have issues with return by mail), and the closest store is about a half hour away. It's at a mall I have not been to since prom dress shopping with my kid in 2013. This is way too much activity for me in one weekend.
Has anyone seen the Goodreads beta? Thoughts?
Let's Discuss!
On the Blog:
STACKING THE SHELVES
Remember when I had that massive rejection pile on EW? This week I had a massive approval pile. It was weird, because I had already been approved for many of the books on NG (a long time ago), and one was a book I read back in March of 2020. BUT some were books I was waiting on and very happy to get approved for.
Bought
I was very excited, when I saw a few books up on my eLibrary. I had to jump on them! Not disappointed at all as Holly Jackson delivered another 5-star GG book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Shalvis novella as well. That was a hold that finally came though, and I was able to squeeze it in. My backlog book was also a huge hit for me. I really enjoy Elston's storytelling, even when it's not cute and fluffy.
Books
I don't know how many are still playing Animal Crossing, but the Super Mario Brothers stuff is fantastic. I go on every day just to buy my five items. I hope to do something with them when I have some time off.
Let's Discuss!
- AJ delighted me with this look at fictional jobs
- RAnn wonders about blog repair
- Mar tells us why it's important to read about nature
On the Blog:
- Monday: #AmReading YA - Once Upon a Quinceañera, I Think I Love You
- Tuesday: TTT - Workin' for a Livin'
- Wednesday: CWW - Take Three Girls, The Lying Woods
- Thursday: One Old, One New - Float Plan, Where the Stars Still Shine
- Friday: Five Star Friday - February 2021
STACKING THE SHELVES
Remember when I had that massive rejection pile on EW? This week I had a massive approval pile. It was weird, because I had already been approved for many of the books on NG (a long time ago), and one was a book I read back in March of 2020. BUT some were books I was waiting on and very happy to get approved for.
Bought
- Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli
- Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro
- Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
- Kind of Sort of Fine by Spencer Hall
- The Mythic Koda Rose by Jennifer Nissley
- Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy
What I Read Last Week
I was very excited, when I saw a few books up on my eLibrary. I had to jump on them! Not disappointed at all as Holly Jackson delivered another 5-star GG book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Shalvis novella as well. That was a hold that finally came though, and I was able to squeeze it in. My backlog book was also a huge hit for me. I really enjoy Elston's storytelling, even when it's not cute and fluffy.
My audiobook listening was scant this week due to training, and I ended up DNFing one I spent a few hours on. You have to understand, it takes a lot for me to give up on an audiobook, but what I was hearing was fully supporting all the negative things you hear about NA romance.
Books
- Five Ways to Fall Out of Love by Emily Martin - ★★★★
- The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan - ★★★★ 1/2
- The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston - ★★★★★
- American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajukar - ★★★★
- Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson - ★★★★★
- Mistletoe in Paradise by Jill Shalvis - ★★★★ 1/2
- Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett - ★★★★★
- My Heart to Touch by SB Alexander - ★★★
What I Am Currently Reading
- Prom Theory by Ann LaBar
- Dear Reader by Mary O'Connell (audiobook)
What I Plan to Read
- Between the Bliss and Me by Lizzy Mason
- Rain is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith
- You Were Made for Me by Jenna Guillaume
- Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro
How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
After all that time in lockdown, I’m not surprised half an hour seems like a long drive!
ReplyDeleteI’m glad to learn your new position is working out well.
Hopefully you won’t be too busy to read all those great new approvals.
Wishing you a great reading week
I live right in the middle of things and have a mall right across the street from me. All those everyday type places are under 10 minutes from me.
DeleteI'm sure that, with a little help from your teammates, you'll adjust in no time!
ReplyDeleteNew Goodreads beta? What now? 😖 Seriously, I guess I'll be one of the last people to see it, what with being in Italy. Did they mess it some more? 😂
The book pages look different. My first impression was that it was very large. It was better when I changed my browser view to zoom out more, but then I have to adjust it for other pages.
DeleteI still haven't seen it, but what a bummer. And here I thought they did something useful for a while instead of messing it EVEN MORE 🙄.
DeleteI mean, it's cleaner looking, and the reviews scroll better, but I couldn't pick the edition of the book. Like all things, I will get used to it.
DeleteI had my own bit of chaos with work this week and it was not fun! It sounds like you might have fared better than me though! Lol. Hope things continue to go well with your new position! I have not seen the new Goodreads and just your mentioning it has me feeling anxious already! I still argue with the new Blogger on a regular basis, so yeah, not exactly thrilled to hear this! Lol.
ReplyDeleteNice new reads! Those are all new to me ones but I hope you enjoy them all!
Here's my StS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I am not getting a full case load, so work should be fine. I hope things slow down a bit for you. New GR is large. I liked the way it scrolled, but I had to zoom out.
DeleteIt's nice to know that your new. They made it up last week's rejections with an approval pile this week. haha. I hope you enjoy all your new reads! I've been intrigued by Holly Jackson's first book just because of the title. hahaha
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great week, Sam!
I am such a fan of Jackson's series. The second was a bit darker. Pip is going through some stuff in that book. I really enjoyed both books immensely
DeleteThe Intimacy Experiment is a book I can't wait to read! And yes I have seen the beta Goodreads and I really like it! It looks more modern.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll get to meet your new team in person soon Sam. I can't wait to see my colleague again either! And to go back to the hairdresser too!
Have a great week!
The GR's beta is a bit cleaner, but it's big. Had to zoom out to see it properly. I think it looks more like a mobile app too. You can't go to the hairdresser? Our salons opened back up a while ago. All these "suites" started popping up. My stylist rents a suite and it's one customer at a time. It's kind of nice and private.
DeletePanda in a pirate hat is too cute!!! Hope things at the new position get less stressful soon. I need to get on Animal Crossing-I played a lot when we had a week and a half of snow days, but not much since then!
ReplyDeleteThe job stress is really because I couldn't get into the system. People were nice screen sharing and looking stuff up for me, but I like finding answers on my own as much as possible.
DeleteI hope next week is calmer! Training can definitely be exhausting. I haven't seen the new Goodreads yet and now I'm scared! XD Hurray for some great reads this week! The Lying Woods is one I've been interested in.
ReplyDeleteI hope to have less going on this week, because I am off for 8 days. Our cases are time sensitive, so I probably won't get much on Friday, I'm thinking. I really enjoy Elston's books. I may even buy her other duology. All hits for me.
DeleteCongrats on surviving your first week! I saw screenshots of the new Goodreads on Twitter, but I don’t have access to it yet.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thanks! One more week and then vacation
DeleteYeah, that sounds like a busy weekend. I like to stay at home on the weekend, and return things on my way back home from work during the week, but that's not always possible. Nice that you're supporting your hairstylist as I know many have had a tough time of things with the pandemic shutting them down.
ReplyDeleteI loved Starry Eyes! I just downloaded a library copy of Misteloe in Paradise. I've seen it around and wanted to read it but forgot all about it.
I only leave the house on the weekend unless I have an appointment, which I try not to have. I really enjoyed Mistletoe. It was very sweet story. I hope you like it. It's short and sweet, but still packs a good emotional punch.
DeleteCongrats on finishing the first week in your new position!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's was an interesting week.
DeleteI really want to see the new Goodreads. I saw people talking about it on Twitter!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
It's not bad, just different and large.
DeleteCongrats on the new position being a week in. and yes training can be so mentally taxing- at least for me haha!
ReplyDeleteI love Mario Bros! :) And I love the look of your books too. starry eyes reminds me I wanted to read that. The Lying Woods looks really good too.
Happy Monday!!!
Lying Woods was sooo good. I am surprised how much I enjoy Elston's mysteries. That was my second pass at Starry Eyes, and I still love it. You should check it out.
DeleteCongrats on finishing your first week in your new position. It really is amazing how draining sitting in trainings all day can be. I always dread them, lol. I have not seen the Goodreads beta so you have me very curious about that.
ReplyDeleteIt was tricky with the training, because I was still working of stuff that I had been doing when I was a "helper".
DeleteSorry you had a busier weekend than you prefer. I'm glad the new position is going well, even if training has been a lot. Having good co-workers is always a plus.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
It would have been fine had my system access not been revoked. I was really hoping it would be back today, but nope, still struggling.
DeleteProm Theory is a new one for me! But it looks good! I didn't know Goodreads was doing something new. My biggest complaint with them right now is when I go to click on something before the huge ad at the top of the page loads and then I end up accidentally clicking on the ad. My hair stylist is a bit of a drive for me, I'd like to find someone closer, but I also have never had a bad haircut from her, so I won't give her up. Although I haven't been since last fall or summer? I probably need to go. Lots of good books this week it seems.
ReplyDeleteProm Theory was cute. I feel like the things I thought were interesting also hampered the story, if that makes any sense. OMG! I end up in that click position all the time. So annoying.
DeleteOh that's right - they're updating Goodreads. I saw a few peopel talking about it but mine is the same old GR.
ReplyDeleteI like tog et out but I have a very small window of activity. If I do more than that it drains me. Like we ventured to Portland and went to Powell's for the first time. It's a huge deal because we haven't doen anything like that since COVID started. Then went to a new take out window for lunch. Then when we got home we really needed to take the dogs on a loooong walk. Well, we were WIPED OUT for the rest of the weekend. lol
Hope you get to regroup and this week is better at work Sam!
Karen @ For What It's Worth
Right? I gotta spread out the outings. Quarantine has fit in well with my lifestyle. Mostly staying in and all. It is nice that you got out to the bookstore though.
DeleteSo glad the training is going well and you like your new teammates. I always feel like I need another weekend to recuperate when I have a busy weekend like that. I'm reading The Intimacy Experiment now. Only a little ways into it so still getting to know the characters.
ReplyDeleteYou understand that busy for me is like two things. I managed to make my mall trip easier, but convincing my mother she wanted to eat dinner there. I didn't have to drive, I returned my stuff, AND I got dinner. I hope you enjoy meeting Naomi and Ethan. I know I did.
Delete