Taste the Books: Review Morsels #42 Jen Wilde, Laura Ruby, T. Kingfisher

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Tell Me Something Tuesday: If You Could Go Back and Change One Thing About Your Life, What Would It Be?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

It's no secret that I've made a number of bad choices in my life...or more like, non-choices - letting myself be lulled by the waves and waiting to see if they would transport me to a better place, because I didn't know how (and where) to swim. One of the worst (rare) decisions I've ever made was knock on the local radio stations' doors (two of them - the first one shut up shop after a few months, the second left me unemployed after 20 years). Once I entered those doors, my life freeze-framed. When I realised that there wasn't enough money and recognition to be had, ever (I said recognition, not fame - like from my boss, for instance 😬), I was already too old, too tired and too unskilled in everything else to look for a different job. So I didn't leave the place...until the place left me.

But as bitter as I am about my radio stunt, my very first/biggest mistake predated it - even, for all purposes, was responsible for my trading a hobby for a (dead-end) job - and that's the one thing I really, really wish I could go back and undo (where are you Doctor? 😭): my choice of schools.

Tell Me Something Tuesday: What Were Your Expectations When You Started Blogging?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WHAT WERE YOUR EXPECTATIONS WHEN YOU STARTED BLOGGING?

I started blogging in October 2012, with the mission of giving exposure to all those books (mainly YA) that fell under the radar - the ones that got less recognition because they weren't backed by bigwig publishers and didn't get a strong marketing boost. While I DID hope I would be able to steer the right type of reader towards some of them (and get followers in the process), it's not like I had great expectations, blogging-wise. The very nature of the books I was recommending made it unlikely that I would become a very popular blogger...not to mention that I've never believed in posting like a madwoman - and I've never had the time and energy anyway. So, basically, I hoped to leave a small mark on the bloggiverse, but I had no illusions about getting successful...and this has spared me a lot of heartache and inferiority complexes 😂. On the other hand, blogging has fulfilled a lot of dreams I didn't know I had - working with authors as a beta-reader, getting to read a number of new books for free, and first and foremost, finding my happy place inside a lovely community of other readers. So, by not expecting anything, I gained everything 💚.

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #41 Seanan McGuire: "InCryptid" Series #5-8

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Tell Me Something Tuesday: What Are Some of Your Favourite Indie/Small Pub Authors/Books?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE INDIE/SMALL PUB AUTHORS/BOOKS?

When I suggested this week's topic, I knew in advance that it would be scheduled for April (Indie Month), but what I didn't know was that I'd get the chance to use it to promote a series that I love just a few weeks prior to its last installment's release. What timing, uh? 😃

So...I think you all know by now that I have a thing for Dead Girl Books. And back when I started blogging (almost 10 years and a half ago now 👀), I stumbled upon a book titled, go figure, Deadgirl, by debut author B.C. (Bobby) Johnson. And it was fresh and different and engaging, and I loved it, and I messaged the author on Goodreads, and he replied...and we're still mutuals 10+ years and 3 books later. (Please note: we follow each other and we occasionally talk and I've proof/beta-read for Bobby in the past and I still get ARCs from him, but I'm not implying that we are friends in the strict sense of the word. I try to maintain a reader/author relationship with the writers I happen to work with or to talk to more often, even if it's obviously a lot friendlier than the one I have with most).

Now, Deadgirl (original cover below) was initially printed by a small publisher that shut up shop shortly after its release.

Offbeat Offline: March 2023

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? Same old, same old. March was pretty uneventful, which isn’t as good a thing as it sounds, because neither my husband’s leg nor my eye is making progress. I'm bored and tired. I got a few ARCs, but I'm struggling with reviews. I'm perpetually behind with comments. The house is a dumpster fire and I can't muster the energy to care. (Sorry for the negativity).