Twelve Books in My TBR Pile that I’ve Been Meaning to Read for a While

March 7, 2018March 4, 2018 / saraletourneau / 23 Comments

How about a fun post today? As much as I’m grateful for writing last week’s tribute to the late Ursula K. Le Guin, I feel the need to do something lighter this week. Oddly enough, I know which topic to choose. Three of my book-blogger friends (Mogsy @ Bibliosanctum, Nandini @ Unputdownable Books, and Zezee @ Zezee With Books) recently posted Top Ten Tuesday posts featuring ten books that have been in their TBR piles for a while. I enjoyed reading their lists so much that I decided to do my own – and go figure, I came up with twelve books instead. 😉

So, in alphabetical order, here are the twelve books that have been waiting longest for me to read them. Let’s start with…

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Recent Reads: April 2016

May 3, 2016May 2, 2016 / saraletourneau / 34 Comments

Recent Reads is a monthly reading wrap-up, with mini-reviews of all the books I finished in the past month. I’ll also share what I’m currently reading and any other books that are in the pipeline. Want to share your bookish happenings, too? Feel free to do so in the Comments section at the end!

I’d never describe myself as a fast reader, since I know plenty of people who read more books per year than I do. But as of the end of April, I’ve already read 18 books so far in 2016. That means I’m on track to read at least 50 books this year, topping last year’s total of 43. Nice!

As for April itself, it was a pretty good month for reading. I wrote reviews for four of the five books I read – and I may have found a strong contender for Favorite New Book of 2016. 😉 Let’s jump to that one first!
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Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 24: March 2016 Haul, Part 1

March 12, 2016March 10, 2016 / saraletourneau / 28 Comments

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga’s Reviews that shares the books (both physical and virtual) that you recently purchased, borrowed from a fellow reader or the library, won from a giveaway, or received as gifts. Stacking The Shelves will post on Saturdays as new books are added to my shelves.

This is getting embarrassing – to the point where, apart from new releases, I might have to institute a temporary “book-buying” ban. (*blushes*) Not to mention this was going to be one installment of Stacking The Shelves. Next week I’ll explain why I split it in two.

For now, here’s Batch #1, a mix of 2016 books with the latest additions to my ongoing “market research” project on fairy novels. Let’s have a look:

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Recent Reads: February 2016

March 3, 2016March 2, 2016 / saraletourneau / 14 Comments

Well, February was an… interesting month of reading. It was super-productive (I finished six books – wow!); but out of those six, I enjoyed two, thought two more were OK, and was too disappointed by the other two to review them. But when you do “market research” projects on certain kinds of novels, you’re bound to read stories that don’t appeal to you as much.

Thankfully the month ended on an upswing, because my Read of the Month was the most recent book I finished. You’ll find out which one it is shortly!

Also, a good chunk of the following books (minus the Read of the Month) focused on romance. Coincidence? Hmmmm….
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Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 23: Mermaids, Fairies, and Magic Galore

February 13, 2016February 8, 2016 / saraletourneau / 35 Comments

I bet I know what some of you might be thinking: “Huh? She bought MORE books?? Especially after that big haul a few weeks ago?!”

Yep. My bedroom will look like this pretty soon!

I know. (*blushes*) But this new haul is relatively small; and as I’d said in January, my reading priorities for 2016 are newly published books and any novels that will help with my two “market research” projects. With that in mind, here are the latest additions to my (still overstuffed) shelves.

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Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 18: The Birthday Haul, Part 2

September 19, 2015September 13, 2015 / saraletourneau / 27 Comments

Last Saturday I mentioned that I’d split my birthday haul of books into two Stacking The Shelves posts. If you missed Part 1, you can check it out here. Otherwise, it’s time for these three additions to my bookshelves!

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Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 17: The Birthday Haul, Part 1

September 12, 2015September 9, 2015 / saraletourneau / 25 Comments

Some of you know my birthday was last weekend; and apart from other presents I was happy to receive (bed linens, an indoor-outdoor thermometer, a beach umbrella), I got MORE BOOKS. 😀 A couple more arrived after I finished preparing this post, so that’s why this is Part 1. (Part 2 could be up as early as next Saturday.) In the meantime, here’s what I’ve got so far:

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Recent Reads: “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor

June 8, 2015June 4, 2015 / saraletourneau / 43 Comments

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, Book #1)
Laini Taylor
Fantasy / Young Adult
418 pages (paperback)

Synopsis:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grow dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself? Continue reading →