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
So, remember how I was lamenting about my daughter's Christmas gift? Well, it seems disputing a charge really lights a fire under some vendor's bottoms. I got a quick response from the company, and the person I dealt with was 1000 times better than who I initially spoke with, and IT CAME! They even threw in a piece of the court from 2003, when SU won the championship for the trouble.
no sled ? no problem !
— Humor And Animals (@humorandanimals) December 25, 2020
(Rozarka - sankujici pes FB) pic.twitter.com/EtfIJnmMiN
Let's Discuss!
- Laura shares what makes a 5-star read for her
- Belle shares some thoughts from blogging over the years
- AJ wants to know if these books deserve the hype
On the Blog:
- Monday: #AmReading YA - The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss, The Meet-Cute Project
- Tuesday: TTT -Eagerly Anticipating!
- Wednesday: CWW - Once Upon a QuinceaƱera, Jersey Tomatoes are the Best
- Thursday: Isn't It Romantic? - Enjoy the View, Shipped
- Friday: Discussion - Challenge Accepted
STACKING THE SHELVES
I was really excited with the approvals that came rolling in this week. Lots of love from Harper and the new CLo! Very excited about all these titles. I also got an approval for a book I already got approved from on Edelweiss. I started tracking my NG books. I usually hover between 90% - 91%, but don't we all aspire to get that ratio up? I had 5 new approvals with 4 reviews submitted, so not in the right direction for me, but not terrible.
Edelweiss/NetGalley
- If You, Then Me by Yvonne Woon
- Not My Problem by Ciara Symth
- Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June
- The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
What I Read Last Week
Books
- Runaway Road by Devney Perry - ★★★★
- Love in English by Maria E. Andreu - ★★★★
- Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado - ★★★★
- Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon - ★★★★
- Jersey Tomatoes are the Best by Maria Padian - ★★★★ 1/2
- On the Line by Victoria Denault - ★★★★
- The Switch by Beth O'Leary - ★★★★
- Esperanza Rising by Pam MuƱoz Ryan - ★★★★
- Foreplayer by Kate Meader - ★★★★
- The Trade by Meghan Quinn - ★★★★
- K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee - ★★★★
What I Am Currently Reading
Loner is a book, that I know I will have difficulty explaining. There are so many times I related to the main character, Lona, who seems to be an introvert with social anxiety, and currently, adrift in her life. It's funny, emotional, and biting all at the same time. I am all in on this one.
Because I only get 10 Hoopla borrows a month, I am trying to find some long series that the library has. Why not listen to PLL? I liked the show back in the day. I remember this narrator from another book I listened to. Her voice is a bit too "little girl" for me, but I can tolerate it.
- Loner by Georgina Young
- Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (audiobook)
What I Plan to Read
- Much Ado About You by Samantha Young
- A Pho Love Story by Loan Le
- Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce
- Girl Defective by Simmone Howell
How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
I’m glad the gift finally arrived!
ReplyDeleteYou read a lot in the past week and with four stars all round it seems like you made some great choices!
Wishing you a great reading week
I have been pretty lucky with my books. I wasn't sure how the Menon book would be. I have been seeing some low ratings for it, but I liked it. It was the only one I was a bit worried about.
DeleteHappy Sunday! Glad the situation worked out with the vendor- that kind of thing can be a real pain. Your books look fun. I love all those awesome covers!
ReplyDeleteCute videos as usual. :) A smile is always needed!
I hate to pull the dispute card, but I waited a week, with no response to my call or email. Had to be done, but all is well.
DeleteI am so glad that you were able to straighten out the issue with your daughter's gift. It is sad that you had to file a dispute to get things rectified. I have to pace myself at my job most weeks or I will run out of work. It is a strange place to be in and I know that it is largely because of the fact that I am really fast at what I do. You read so many books and your NetGalley ratio is amazing! I hope you have a great week, Sam!
ReplyDeleteThe person who called me from the company was very nice, and my daughter is happy. All's good. In my normal role, I was good at pacing myself, but the volumes dropping so drastically took me by surprise. Being home, though, means I have access to my my computer and internet. I use the downtime wisely. I have accepted that my ratio will never be 100%, because there are books I no longer have any interest in reading, but I try to stay 90% and above. I think I have found some balance and it's really working well for me.
DeleteOh wow! That's great that the gift finally arrived! Sadly, my mail issues seem to be more USPS related and I know they're still backed up. Though I am worried greatly about my November package. I don't think that one is ever going to come. Trying to be more positive about my Fairy Loot one. Sigh...it's just a giant headache of worry.
ReplyDeleteNice new reads though! Those are new to me ones! I hope you enjoy them all!
Thanks for visiting my StS!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
The thing is we are relying on the delivery person being honest. I don't think that first package was ever delivered to my daughter, even if they marked it as so. It was odd for USPS not to use their key and leave the package inside (they say they left it on the steps) and it was never noted in her Informed Delivery. Fingers crossed they find your package or send a replacement.
DeleteYay! I’m glad the Christmas gift got to you. Now you get to celebrate second Christmas. That’s what I did when some of my gifts came late. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love the concept. Was there eggnog and cookies at second Christmas?
DeleteAhh, I'm so glad you were able to get your daughter's gift straightened out!
ReplyDeleteI hated to flex like that, but it worked.
DeleteIn the past month, I finish my work real quick that I usually ran out of things to do and get an off day. But over the holidays, my boss sent me a lot of stuff to do so I ended up being more busy than usual during the past week.
ReplyDeleteThe way you talk about Loner really makes me want to go pick up a copy. I checked it on Amazon when I saw it on your goodreads and had to add it to my wishlist. gonna wait for the price to drop a little. hahaha. I'm stingy when it comes to purchasing ebooks.
I like being busy. The day goes so much faster. Though, I must admit, it's not as bad being less busy working from home than when in the office. I remember staring at the walls. It was painful. Loner was such an interesting book. It's that transition from young adult to adult that is sometimes hard, because we just weren't prepared for it. The writing style was interesting too, but it fit so well. I still owe you a book!
DeleteI'm glad you got your daughter's present situation all worked out!! And yay for a great book haul! I didn't even know about that upcoming CL book. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThe dog "sledding" is too cute!
I am grateful that CLo have been churning out the books. They never fail to delight me.
DeleteIt finally came???? Squeeee! I should probably complain more often Sam LOL Now these videos with the animals always make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteI hate that it came to disputing the charge, but at least everything is settled now.
DeleteI mean...they sent you the plate along with a handwritten, torn notebook page? So classy LOL. Well, at least it came...
ReplyDeleteThose pics/vids always bring a smile to my face. The dog and the duck are hilarious LOL.
It's a piece of the basketball court from 2003, when SU won the championship. My daughter was pretty happy about it. It was nice of her to write a note. I didn't expect anything extra, but I am happy the kid finally has her Christmas gift. That duck was really patient. Impressed me
DeleteIt sounds like your work has been going well! It must be such a relief to have a decrease in volume like that. I hope you enjoy all your new reads! I loved the Pretty Little Liars show (until the time jump) so I hope the book is just as good!
ReplyDeleteI like a happy medium - not overwhelmed, but not bored. Life never seems to work out that way. I think I stopped watching PLL before that, because I used to watch with the kid and she was gone by 2013.
DeleteGlad the gift finally came! I started Much Ado About You this week as I waited on some other e-galleys to get sent. So now that they've arrived, it is on hold till closer to time. Hope you have a good week coming up!
ReplyDeleteLisa Loves Literature
I am really enjoying Much Ado. Hope you like it when you pick it back up
DeleteI'm glad you got your issue with the vendor taken care of. That's no fun.
ReplyDeleteI hate confrontation too, so it was awkward when they called, but yeah. glad it's been handled.
DeleteGlad you got your gift issue resolved! I have Much Ado About You as well. I hope we both love it. I want Fore Player and I'm thinking of downloading The Soulmate Equation too.
ReplyDeleteI will always say yes to a CLo book. Even the ones that weren't my faves were good. Much Ado is great so far. I am about 60% in and liking it a lot
DeleteThank goodness the gift finally arrived. It’s a shame it took disputing the charge to finally make it happen, though. I hope she loves it! I’m excited for the next CLo book. Can’t wait to see what you make of it.
ReplyDeleteThe person who called me was nothing like the first person I spoke to. I hate that nothing happened when I first reached out, but it's done now. I would order from them again. It's not a secret that USPS is struggling with the volumes. The kid is very happy with all her new SU memorabilia. I am always happy when I read a CLo book, so I am sure I will enjoy this one too.
DeleteI am so happy to hear you were able to get the issue with that gift worked out, Such a pain though to deal with. I do keep my NG rating around 90% or above, but I do want to get to 100%. That is one of my goals for this year if I can. Hope you have a good week.
ReplyDeleteMy NG ratio will never be 100%. There's some books I know I will never read. A few are ones I don't even remember "wishing" for, which probably explains why I am not interested in them. Good luck with clearing your shelf.
DeleteI have a review copy of Loner which I'm planning to read soon as well, so really interested to see what you think of it Sam. It sounds wonderfully complex. So glad your daughter's present arrived, it's a shame you needed to chase up the vendor though. What a brilliant week of reading Sam, I hope you're enjoying your current reads and find a few new favourites this week!
ReplyDeleteLoner didn't feel YA to me, but I loved it. It had like no plot, but it was engrossing. I wanted to keep seeing what Lona would do next, where this journey would take her. If the ending had been a bit more definitive, I would have rated it higher. Hope you enjoy it!
DeleteSo glad your daughter got her present!! Hope you enjoy your Hoopla listens!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Like AJ said, second Christmas for the kid.
DeleteIts good to know the issue with your daughter's gift was rectified. Lovely book haul, happy reading.
ReplyDeleteIt was resolved a lot less painfully than I expected. I was happy
DeleteOoh I really want to read Jay's Gay Agenda and Much Ado About You. Hope you love them.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a good phone call with your boss. And I'm glad your daughter's gift got all worked out!
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I really liked Much Ado. I was looking at reviews where they felt it was angsty, and that's something I am not crazy about, and didn't really feel there was too much. *shrug* Made me laugh and smile.
DeleteI'll have to check out the new CLo. Their books are hit or miss for me but when they hit they hit big!
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
They seem to work for me. Even the ones I didn't love, I liked.
DeleteI'm so glad they were able to get the gift sent out finally! We've officially had winter blow in with cold air, rain, ice, and even some snow last night! This Texas boy wasn't ready for that kind of weather haha.
ReplyDeleteI saw that the gulf coast got hit. Hope you have electricity. It's odd, because I am used to but not used to it, if that makes any sense. I grew up in the Northeast and I feel like we get every kind of weather, but not too much to get used to it.
DeleteYay for finally getting your daughter's gift! It has been a quiet week here too. Just work for me and virtual school for my son. I also got approved for the new CLo and was over the moon about that. It was probably the high point of my week, lol.
ReplyDeleteI always get nervous that I won't get approved when authors get too hyped, so yeah, I was right there on the moon with you when I got that CLo approval
DeleteYAY for the present finally showing up! I'm so happy for you, your daughter and that the issue was finally resolved! I'm so sorry you had to get to that level to have it resolved but I'm so glad it's here. Ohhhh I can't wait to see what you think of The Soulmate Equation!
ReplyDeleteJen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog
I hate confrontation too (which is why me and teaching didn't work out), so it was incredibly awkward for me. But it all worked out. I am super excited about the CLo. Science and that duo could be amazing for me
DeleteI'm glad you got the vendor sorted out and the Christmas present had finally arrived! I hate it when things like that happen but at least it resolved well. :)
ReplyDeleteStill wondering what happened with USPS, but glad the vendor honored the purchase.
Delete