Wednesday Chatter #3: On ARCs and why I'm giving them up

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

You know, when I first started blogging about books I thought ARCs were like mythical treasures and all the bloggers who got them were almost equals to the ancient Greek heroes. I actually think I looked like this when I got my first ARC:

I love getting ARCs. Who doesn't? Whenever I receive one I feel like it's my birthday all over again, especially if it's for a book I've been dying to read for what seems like an eternity. It's always a happy day when I get a "Yes" in my inbox to a request for an e-galley and it's also a humbling experience, since it means that someone, somewhere actually gives a damn over my opinion. Which always makes me feel really important and cool. 

But here's the thing. Besides the responsibility tied to an ARC (writing a review on time, posting regularly on your blog and more) I find that it takes me away from other books that I already own and that have been sitting on my shelves for months and I never opened them. EVER. I know, I should've figured it out when I first requested those galleys, right?

I actually looked on my Goodreads account the other day and I saw I have over 1000 books on my TBR pile. That's more than just insane. Of course, I haven't yet bought all those books, otherwise I'd need to buy a house just for them, but still, it's a huge list. And I'd like to read them sometimes during this lifetime. I'm not complaining over getting ARCs, don't get me wrong. I'm just complaining over all those books I haven't yet read and I want to do it.

I sort of had this heart to heart with myself (it's a good thing I can't contradict myself all that much, you know?) so I decided that after I finish reading the galleys I already have now, I'll stop requesting them. I figure I need to take some time off from ARCs and read random books I pick at the bookstore and the books I already own. There is only one book I'll request if it ever comes up on Netgalley next year (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one, since all the other books in the series where on Netgalley). 

Also, as you might have noticed, I haven't been very active lately. That's because I'm studying and I'm starting to work on my dissertation, which turns out to be a huge pain in the ass.

Also, requesting ARCs (and receiving them) are starting to make blogging look like a job. I started book blogging for fun. I wasn't looking for a job, but for a way to express my feelings over the books I'm reading. And since I don't exactly want to join a book club (the idea of synchronized read-alongs of a specific book just doesn't do it for me) this blog is the only way I can actually do that.

So. Bottom line: I'm giving up ARCs. I'll probably do a little of this when it sinks in and I see all the cool books that will pop up on Netgalley and Edelweiss once I publish this post:

But I'll be taking a deep breath, look at the pretty covers, add the books on my TBR pile and just wait until I can read them. No pressure, right?

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Everything You Know by Mary Beth Bass

Everything You Know

by Mary Beth Bass

Release Date: 09/27/13

Summary from Goodreads:

A dark forest, a screaming woman and blood. These are the images that haunt seventeen year old Emma from the moment she meets Joe Castlellaw. And so much more awaits.

Emma Mathews never believed she was like everyone else, but neither did she think herself crazy. Meeting Joe Castlellaw, Henry Dearborn High’s newest student, was like waking on a cold rock in a strange place, the world bathed in liquid moonlight. Everything is different now…and fraught. Visions of a dark forest, a screaming woman and blood have begun to haunt Emma’s dreams, and not only at night. But Joe’s lonely beauty makes her float on air, and she would follow him anywhere—out of high school and through the great tree, to a world of poetry and political savagery, of magic and murder, to a life that is entirely theirs and yet unlike anything they have ever known.

Excerpt:

The orange sun burst between two buildings, blinding Joe for a second. He shaded his eyes and looked around. The detainee tower was straight ahead, just to the right of the setting sun. If he stayed reasonably clear of it he’d be able to avoid the Masevo, he hoped, and if he kept it in his sightline he wouldn’t get lost. Emma was somewhere in the city. He was sure of it. And he was sure the vision in the water meant he had to reunite her with her family, wherever they were. He just had to find the tunnel and Emma before the Masevo. 

Joe’s clothes and shoes had dried in the wind and his jeans had shrunk until they were uncomfortably tight. The air was getting cooler as the sun sank lower. He wished he had a jacket. 

The outskirts of the city were dotted with small houses fronted by little walled gardens. The architecture was a strangely appealing mix of modern and medieval, as if Frank Gehry had designed house-sized castles made of steel and stone. A few gardens had flowering vines that climbed over white walls. Joe heard laughing. He saw a few winged kids flying and playing above their yards…

About the Author

More than a little obsessed with Keats and MOBY DICK and fueled by loud music and cold grey days, Mary Beth Bass is the author of young adult fantasy and romantic women’s fiction. Her debut paranormal-women’s fiction hybrid, FOLLOW ME received the Book Buyers Best Award for Time Travel, Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance. 

An occasional travel writer, Mary Beth has written about Paris, Bordeaux, and Yorkshire, where she hiked the moors to the legendary setting for WUTHERING HEIGHTS and stood breathless in the parsonage room where Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Bronte talked out their stories with each other.

And if I seem a little strange, well that’s because I am.
Also loves octopuses. 

***Author Links***

  

GIVEAWAY
3 ebook copies of Everything You Know (INT)
1-prize pack of C. C. Hunter Shadow Falls series: Born at Midnight, Awake at Dawn, Taken at Dusk, Whispers at Moonrise, and Chosen at Nightfall (US)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

Book Blitz: Angus MacBain by Angela Townsend

Angus MacBain

By Angela Townsend

Release Date: 09/27/13

Book Summary:

Angus MacBain is unaware that his ancestral roots hail from an ancient sect of Scottish kings. When his dying grandfather gives him a dragon pendant, thirteen-year-old Angus learns of a legacy that will take him across an ocean to the island of Iona and thrust him into a heritage he did not know he had. 

He soon discovers that his mother, whom he had believed dead, is really a seal fairy, in hiding from a dangerous enemy. To save her, Angus must undergo a perilous journey of destiny and power to battle an evil Dacian knight and those who serve him. With only his family shield and the advice of a wizened vampire hunter to protect him, Angus must navigate dangerous terrain and dark enemies, in a land where the past and the present mingle, and sleeping kings wake.

Available from:

About the Author

Angela Townsend was born in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Missoula, Montana. As a child, Angela grew up listening to stories told by her grandparents, ancient tales and legends of faraway places. Influenced by her Irish and Scottish heritage, Angela became an avid research historian, specializing in Celtic mythology. Her gift for storytelling finally led her to a full time career in historical research and writing. A writer in local community circulations, Angela is also a published genealogical and historical resource writer who has taught numerous research seminars. Currently, Angela divides her time between writing, playing Celtic music on her fiddle, and Irish dancing. She resides on a ranch, in rural Northwestern Montana, with her two children Levi and Grant.

***Author Links***

  

GIVEAWAY

One Angus MacBain necklace plus swag shown below (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz organized by:

Follow Friday #19

Welcome to Follow Friday hosted this week by Parajunkee and Alison!
The main idea behind FF is just to go see a bunch of new blogs you may never have seen before, and follow the ones you like (and they’ll follow you back!) It’s a total win/win, so take a peek around!


This week’s question is:

What book (or TV show or movie) have you not read that seemingly everyone else has?

Book: Aside from the obvious Twilight, the book I haven't yet read that I believe everyone on this planet has (and I have a suspicion they've heard about it on some other planets as well) is Divergent. 

TV Show: Game Of Thrones. There, I said it. I tried to watch it, can't say I enjoyed it that much (I haven't read the books, but ever since True Blood, I'm a bit weary of books turned tv shows for HBO)

Movie: Um... There are a lot of movies that everyone has seen that I haven't. Right now the one that comes to mind is Spider-Man 3. I must admit that since I'm not a huge fan of spiders in general, Spider Man is my least favorite superhero. 

What about you? 

Mini Review: Deeper We Fall by Chelsea M. Cameron

Author: Chelsea M. Cameron
Series: Fall and Rise #1
Publisher: All Night Reads
Release Date: January 12th 2013
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: NetGalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Two years after her best friend was involved in a car accident that caused a traumatic brain injury, Lottie Anders is ready to start her freshman year of college. Ready to move on. Ready to start forgetting the night that ripped her life apart.

Her plans come to a screeching halt when not one, but both brothers responsible for the accident end up back in her life again.

Zack is cruel, selfish and constantly rubbing what happened to her friend in Lottie's face.

Zan is different. He listens to her awkward ramblings. He loves "To Kill a Mockingbird" as much as she does, and his dark eyes are irresistible. His words are few and far between, but when he does speak, she can't help but listen.

The trouble is, Zan was the driver in the accident, and now Lottie's discovered he lied to her about what happened that night. Now she must decide if trusting him again will lead to real forgiveness, or deeper heartache.

This was a very surprising book. It made me want to cry and punch something at the same time.

I found myself liking Zan even though, like Lottie, I tried not to. He has a lot of pain, though you can understand why when you get to the end of the book.

I was so sad for Lottie. She was really struggling to move forward with her life, but at the same time she couldn't let go of her friend, Lexie. She also felt guilty a lot. I think she needed to move on and I can imagine how difficult it was to accept that the one person who could help her do that was Zan.

I hated Zack and I wanted to hit him many times throughout the book.

There were a few things that confused me a little, like Zan's willingness to protect his brother, but in the ned I think it was a great read and I'll definitely read the next book in the series.

Mini Review: The Edge Of Never by J.A. Redmerski

Author: J.A. Redmerski
Series: The Edge of Never #1
Publisher: Createspace
Release Date: November 15th 2012
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source: NetGalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

Oh boy! This is one of those books that stick with you long after you've finished reading it.

I fell in love with Andrew. He has a great sense of humor, he's an amazing friend and he has great taste in music. I actually squeed a little when I read about what music he likes. (You could call it insta-love, if you want *giggles*)

Cam was great too. I felt like she was way more mature by the end of the book, happier and more comfortable with herself. Of course, I don't think I would've trusted a guy I just met on a bus (I'm a little more paranoid than it should be allowed).

The only thing that I didn't particularly like was the ending. It was great, but it felt completely rushed. The novel had a great pace, but at the end of it I felt like I took a wrong turn and got to the end before I was ready for it.

I did however love the book and I'm ready for another dose of Andrew. I mean, I'm ready for the next book *whistling*