Blogging Extravaganza #1: Interview With Myself

Hey guys! Last week I saw Rachel's post for this challenge and I thought I'd sign up. As you probably noticed, I've been pretty absent lately, since I started my internship. This is because I've been a lazy human, basically. However, since I am a responsible adult *snorts*, I've decided to do something to improve my blogging skills. That and I want to join in, because this sounds lice fun. And because I also love talking and rambling (in case you missed that!). So here we are. The first challenge is to interview yourself. Here we go!

Q: Hello, self! What's your name?
A: Hello! I'm Ruby.

Q: Nice to talk to you, Ruby! What's the last book you read that absolutely loved?
A: Stronger Than Fear by Marc Levy. I loved the fact that after reading that book, I'm not sure if the plot unfolded completely in one character's imagination, because he was in a coma, or if those things actually happened.
Awesome! Errr...Next question!

Q: A bookish pet peeve.
A: What kind of questions are these, self? *long sigh* Dog-eared corners. Why is that even a thing? It shouldn't be done!

Q: Wow, don't be so touchy! You are talking to yourself here! A song you currently have on repeat?
A: Huh, I guess that's true! I See Fire by Ed Sheeran. I actually have Ed Sheeran on repeat in general right now.
Good choice, self!

Q: Latest TV show obsession?
A: Ha! That's a long answer. Second Chance, The 100, Strike Back, Blindspot, Supernatural, How To Get Away With Murder, NCIS, Quantico, Once Upon A Time, Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, Arrow, The Flash, and these are just a few.

Q: Coffee or tea?
A: Both. It depends a lot on my mood. And how hot it is outside.

Q: Favorite ice cream flavor?
A: Mint chocolate chip. Although coffee ice cream is also really tasty!
Yes it is!

Q: What's the funniest book you've ever read?
A: Probably Can You Keep A Secret by Sophie Kinsella. I still giggle whenever I remember the scene when Emma thinks a drawing of a tree, I think, was actually a drawing of a uterus. Because that was the funniest thing ever!

Q: What's one theme you never thought you'd enjoy watching or reading about?
A: Time travel. The idea of landing somewhere in the past or in the future freaks me out for some reason. Either I know absolutely nothing about the world, or I'm used to certain stuff that I wouldn't have access to in earlier centuries. Can we say toilets and hot water?? And yet, I did enjoy watching Outlander. I haven't finished watching the entire season, because I want to read the book first. But as far as I got (I think episode...3?) I enjoyed it. And Claire is a smart woman, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. Okay, and Jamie too.

Q: Is it strange having your interview taken?
A: By myself you mean? Yes, because apparently I have no imagination when it comes to asking questions! Although that last question was pretty good, if I may say so!

Q: Well, it was nice talking to...myself.
A: Yes it was. As it says in that Facebook meme (that I can't find right now, for some reason), sometimes you need some expert advice, and who better to give it than yourself?

That's it for the first post of the Blogging Extravaganza. I hope you had fun and I can't wait to read your posts too!

The 15 Weird Questions Tag

Yesterday I saw that Jen @ The Starry Eyed Revue answered 15 weird questions and since it looks very fun and since I'm super weird, I decided to answer them as well. Here we go

1. A nickname that you get called

It used to be Tweety up until a few years ago. These days I'm called by my name, which is kinda good. Makes me feel slightly normal, which is a nice feeling :))

2. A weird habit

My habits aren't weird, they're just unique. Before I get out of the house, I triple check everything, from the stove, to the windows, to the doors. EVERYTHING. If I don't do that, I will be bothered by the idea that I may have forgotten to check something all day long. That sounds OCD-ish, doesn't it?

3. A weird phobia

Spiders are disgusting. I am also terrified of the times when I need to get up on a chair to reach something in my upper kitchen cabinets.

4. A song you are ashamed to like so you blast it in private

I'm not ashamed to like any songs, really. I do make sure I'm not surrounded by minors if I blast some hip hop because you know... curse words.

5. A pet peeve


"A" pet peeve? I like how this one is phrased. Like I have just one. The biggest one...it's... Look. I have sensitive hearing. I hate repetitive noises. Like people who click a ballpoint pen on and off. WHY THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT???? WHY? After 5 minutes spent in the company of those people I wanna smack them. Hard.


6. A nervous habit

Cracking my knuckles, bouncing my feet, tapping my fingers. You know, signs of a well-adjusted individual *laughs nervously*

7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?

The middle. I have a big-ass bed, so I get to sleep in the middle.

8. The name of your first stuffed animal.

Benny. It was a pink bunny that has somehow survived for nearly 3 decades (gosh, I'm old!). I still have it today and he sometimes makes himself noticed in some of my Instagram photos. But he's a shy bunny, so he doesn't let me take photos of him every day.

9. What do you buy at Starbucks?

I live in Italy, so no Starbucks, at least not in my town. But I usually get espresso when I go to cafeterias. On rare occasions, I'll drink cappuccinos, which are delicious, but not strong enough :)) I've also discovered ginseng coffee recently. It's not bad, and the coffee fiend in my appreciates it, but again I need something stronger.

10. Beauty rule

Whatever you decide to do, try out a new haircut, put on makeup, dress in fancy clothes or comfy clothes or whatever, do it for yourself. Because you need to like yourself, regardless of what other people think of you.

11. Which way do you face in the shower?

Ummm...I...rotate? I mean... Damn, I never thought of that. I usually stay with my back to the shower, because I need my back to be warm, otherwise I don't enjoy my shower. Does that make me weirder?

12. A weird body skill

I'm flexible which in my case is a negative thing. I can bend my left thumb backwards to touch my forearm. I can bend my toes and keep them in a "fist" for long periods of time. I'm too flexible, which can create problems and in fact has created some problems in the past for me.

13. Comfort food

Chocolate. I eat chocolate when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I'm feeling crappy because of my period (TMI there, I know), when I feel like I need to reward myself after managing a full week of healthy diet. Chocolate is very versatile for me :D

14. A word or phrase that you say all the time

Do curse words count? Hell, I say hell a lot.

15. What do you sleep in?

A t-shirt. Or sometimes, if I'm really cold, I'll sleep in a PJ shirt.

This was fun! I might do more tags soon. If you want to do it, go ahead. Let me know so I can check your answers :D

Sunday Book Soundtrack #20: Firstlife by Gena Showalter

Sunday Book Soundtrack is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books, where I share some of my bookish soundtracks. Since I discovered my passion for reading years ago, I've discovered that more and more of the songs I loved remind me of certain books. So I thought I'd share my playlists with you. If you want to listen to the songs, I'll post a link to a Youtube videos for each and every title. No copyright infringement intended! I'll try to find the official videos for each song. There's no set number for each playlist, sometimes I might have 10, sometimes 5, sometimes if I'm one of my moods I'll have 15. If you want to read more about this feature, click the "show more" button below. 

I read with music. If there's no music, I can't read. And not just read, but almost anything, like studying of cooking or doing chores around the house. The only time I don't have music is when I sleep. And during exams, but that's a different story.

Sometimes it happens that a certain song and a book or a scene from the book I'm reading sort of... click. It's like they were made for each other. At least for me. And so I will almost always think of that particular book when hearing that song. I thought I'd share my book soundtracks with you.

Keep in mind that I have a very... weird taste in music. You'll find mostly rock music, country or the 80s-early 90s music in these lists. I might use some "contemporary" songs from now and then, but don't bet on it being something other than those particular genres. Also, not always the songs will be in English. If I have a link to a translation for the lyrics, I'll post it. If you like a song I'm using, that's fine. If not, that's fine too, just don't say I didn't warn you.

The songs aren't always on a book's playlist for their lyrics. Sometimes they're there for an instrument or for a feeling I get when hearing them. Also, I won't always mention what scene I used them for. If it's not a spoiler, I'll share the scene, if it is a spoiler, I'll let you guess.

Anyway, I hope you like my playlists :)

Hey guys! I've discovered the magical place called Spotify, which means I get to make bookish playlists so much easier. I'm also thinking about uploading my old Sunday Book Soundtrack playlists there soom. Thank you Kara @ Great Imaginations to recommend it to me *sends hugs and kisses*

This week's playlist is inspired by Firstlife by Gena Showalter. I loved this book so much and I had fun creating this playlist. I hope you enjoy it. Also, if you want to check out my review, click here.

Obsessed With Covers #33: 5 to 1, Rebel of the Sands, Mind Games

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

This week's edition of Obsessed With Covers is inspired by Zentangle. I recently discovered the pleasures of Zentangle and of making something out of my random doodles and these covers are way too pretty not to resemble some of the best doodle art I've seen so far.

I've always been fascinated by the art of henna tattoos. They look absolutely gorgeous and I always get curious to know if the designs mean anything, either spiritually or just if they have a hidden meaning for each person that wears them. It's no wonder that the cover of 5 to 1 caught my eye. Just looking at the cover, however, I don't really get a sense of what the connection between the cover art and the title is. I did read the blurb, so that helped me understand that connection a bit more. I also love the different colors used to make the drawings pop.






5 to 1 - Holly Bodger

That's a lion, right? I'm not the only one who sees it, right? Having recently watched Aladdin, it is very easy for me to make the connection between the cover art and the entrance to the Cave of Wonders from the movie. And that is such a cool thing, because it makes me instantly interested in reading the story. I love how the mane was drawn. I love how the rider is so small, making it seem like the viewer shouldn't see him, like he (or is it she?) should've managed to get out of the frame unseen, undetected. I also love the sand dune and the sand lines overlapping most of the photo, almost as much as I love the silhouette of the palace.

Rebel of the Sands - Alwyn Hamilton

I love how simple this cover is, and yet it really makes the title make sense. I really like the placement of the words. It's almost as if the mind games refer to what you see, not what you think. Does that make sense? That's the idea that I get from the cover. I am very curious about this book, based only on the cover. I wish the paperback version were embossed, though. I feel like that would be such a cool thing, for the cover to be embossed. Or maybe the background is matte? All I know is that I can't wait to get out of my book buying ban to get my hands on this pretty :D







Mind Games - Teri Terry

Wednesday Chatter #13: Does it matter if you don't connect with characters?

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!

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! Today I want to talk to you about characters. I said this in a comment for a blog post a few weeks ago (if I find the post, I'll share!), but for me a lot of times the characters are more important than the plot itself. It's good to read about a good story, but most of the time how I relate to characters, how I feel about them, influence my reading experience.

When I was in school, I used to not enjoy most of the books that we had to read for Literature class. And that's due in part to the fact that they were classic novels, which bore me, but also to the fact that I really didn't care about the characters. The books that I did enjoy were the books that made me give a damn if a character lives or dies.

So this got me thinking. Of all the books I end up DNFing, how many of those are influenced by my lack of connection with the characters? The answer is about 70%, which is a lot. But seriously, most of the books I love are books that made me feel something for those characters.

I usually struggle the most with books written from one character's POV. If I hate that character, or if I don't understand their reasoning, chances are I won't like the book. My problem however doesn't stem from not relating to the character. This probably is due to either my brain being wired differently, or to the fact that my day-to-day job is as a psychologist, but I don't believe I need to relate to a character or to know what they're going through in order to understand their story or to like it. My problem usually involves those characters that I can't stand. Or those characters I can't understand, the ones that make me roll my eyes so hard, I get dizzy and get a headache over they're actions.

What about you? Do you care if you don't have any feelings, positive or negative, towards a character? Is it a deal breaker for you and does it make you DNF a book faster than a book with a not-so-good plot?

Book Review: Dead in the Water by Hailey Edwards

Author: Hailey Edwards
Series: Gemini #1
Publisher: CrushStar Multimedia LLC
Release Date: January 30th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Camille Ellis is the Earthen Conclave’s golden girl. Her peculiar talent solves cases with a touch. She isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty, but every bright star casts a shadow, and her deepest scars lurk just beneath the skin.

A routine consultation goes sideways when a victim’s brother gets involved in the investigation. Riding the edge of grief, the warg will go to any lengths to avenge his sister’s death. Even if it means ensuring Cam’s cooperation at the jaws of his wolf.

When the killer strikes again, Cam is caught between a warg and a hard place. To save the next victim, she must embrace her past. Even if it means dragging her darkest secrets into the light of day.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and CrushStar Multimedia LLC in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

It's always a pleasure going back to a favorite author, if for no other reason than knowing I'm going to enjoy reading their book. So it shouldn't surprise you when I'll say that I adored the newest book by Hailey Edwards.

Urban fantasy, with a kick-ass heroine, a hot hero and a dangerous mission? Yes, please and thank you! I started reading this book not realizing that it was connected to two other series. I found that little detail a few days ago, on the author's website. The thing that surprised me a lot, though, was the fact that reading the book, there isn't a sense of something missing or of confusion. Which is such a great thing, because it is really easy to get me confused if I read books out of order. This just felt like I was getting little pieces out of a giant puzzle, that make sense separately, but that when put together they make up a giant picture. So I'm definitely going to check out the other books.

My heart broke for Cam the entire time I read this book. During the entire story it seems like she's on a mission to redeem herself, all the while punishing herself. It was sad and heartbreaking. To add to her pain, her boss is horrible to her. I do want to know more about Cam's powers, because they're very interesting and unique. I also want to know what else she can do.

Graeson is a very hot warg, let me start with that! The poor guy went through a difficult time in this book, which is probably why Cam was able to relate to him so much. I respect his sense of duty. Even though he was in pain, he managed to overcome his need for revenge and try to do the right thing. I can't wait to learn more about him and about his role in the warg pack.

There's a secondary character that I absolutely adored, named Harlow. She was absolutely hilarious at times and I loved her a lot. I can't help but keep my fingers crossed that she'll one day get her own series, because this lady deserves it. Plus, it would be highly fascinating to be in her head for a while.

I have to talk about the ending as well. It killed me. One moment I'm reading and turning the pages on my app, the next thing I know, it's like I'm watching a two-part tv show episode and they say "Tune in next week to learn how this story ends". WHAAAt? This book ends on a major cliffhanger and I was shocked by it. However, I have to say, this makes me even more curious to see how the story ends, if the good guys win, if the bad guy is caught, if the bad guy turns out to be who I think he/she is, and all that.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book a lot and I can't wait for more.