So, it's the week of Christmas, and I am SO excited about that! This has always been my favorite time of the year, whether I'm in a country that's blustery and cold or in one that's warm and tropical. My favorite parts always include spending time with the people I love, consuming lots of good food at all the parties and exchanging presents with others.
This year, Christmas is extra special. Want to know why? My family is here in New York City! Even though I won't have the husband for our first Christmas married, I get to have my dad, my mom and my baby sister here with me and my little sister for the first time in THREE years. Isn't that awesome? We're going to be playing tourist and making new holiday traditions together, and I can't wait to share our adventures with all of you.
Anyway, I hope your days are merry and bright and filled with lots of joy, laughter and love. An advanced Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (and yes, that's an NSYNC reference) to one and all!
This year, Christmas is extra special. Want to know why? My family is here in New York City! Even though I won't have the husband for our first Christmas married, I get to have my dad, my mom and my baby sister here with me and my little sister for the first time in THREE years. Isn't that awesome? We're going to be playing tourist and making new holiday traditions together, and I can't wait to share our adventures with all of you.
Anyway, I hope your days are merry and bright and filled with lots of joy, laughter and love. An advanced Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (and yes, that's an NSYNC reference) to one and all!
LINKS TO CHECK OUT
1. I've been waiting a long time for this post! Betty finally shares her natural hair product recommendations. I've always been particular about my hair, but I'm definitely going to look into these and maybe give them a try.
2. Magan put together a gift pack inspired by Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian -- and it's so perfect. I love pretty much everything in this post (which I guess means I should read this book...?). I also love Estelle's gift exchange between the characters in My Life In Outer Space by Melissa Keil, because I'd rock all of Camilla's gifts!
3. It was really interesting to hear about life as a publishing sales rep, as shared by Vanessa Di Gregorio. I'm actually surprised to discover that being in sales is a bit different from what I thought it was, particularly the part about being an extrovert. Very insightful!
4. Thanks to the team at Bloomsbury USA, I've discovered this pretty cool site where you can find a critique partner! I think that my writing buddies and aspiring writers will definitely appreciate this.
5. These 31 book-lover stereotypes are pretty darn accurate! I was pretty much nodding my head as I read this article. (Thanks Steph!)
6. I might not read a lot of science fiction, but I think I'm going to have to start doing so. Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman talk about why science fiction is very important, and it's definitely gotten me thinking!
7. This collection of quirky non-book gifts for booklovers compiled by Chrys is pretty adorable! I can definitely tell you that I want the earrings and the shot glasses.
8. I'm currently job hunting, so reading about book-related jobs in this advice column Book Riot article was pretty interesting (and just plain fun). Who among us wouldn't want to work with books?
9. As a Harry Potter fan, every single new development or reprint of this series fascinates me. What do you think of them publishing a fully-illustrated version?
10. Elena shared this gorgeousness on her Twitter the other day, and I just wanted to drop everything to go and visit. How AMAZING is this? It's something I'd want to see one day!
11. Katie McGarry shared about her books pushing the boundaries of YA over on RT Book Reviews. I love her books, and it was fun to learn a little more about how she felt writing Pushing the Limits.
12. I loved Amy Spalding's take on having a job and having a dream. It's pretty darn inspiring to read, mostly because she's one of the authors who also manages to have a separate day job! (Thanks Katherine!)
13. My friend Gillian is so incredibly talented. Check out her amazing YA-inspired work over on The Art of Young Adult! (And yes, you can be jealous of her mad skills with me.)
14. If someone were to buy me this Harry Potter sweatshirt (and the other HP merchandise), I would be most grateful. (Thanks Erin!)
15. I've always been of the mind that everyone has their own style of blogging. What works for me might not necessarily work for someone else. I've been thinking about this ever since I read Betty's thoughts on being a "messy blogger".
16. Melissa wrote about genre trends (including her prediction for what's next). I found it very fascinating because I hadn't really thought about it before, but it makes so much sense.
17. #RBWL (Reader/Blogger Wish List) is a pretty awesome thing. Readers and bloggers were chiming in about the books that they would want to read -- and it was so cool! Shae and Jess have compiled most of the tweets on Tumblr, so you can browse there for more.
18. I know it's almost Christmas so everyone probably already got their gifts for people, but I loved Ginger's wanderlust-themed gift guide and her sweet treats-themed gift guide! I wanted EVERYTHING in these posts, seriously. The same goes for Jen's gift guide inspired by Little House on the Prairie! I also liked Sharon's book gift guide for this year, and Betty's post (actually, the Baby Bettys) for children's books to gift. (You can also check out Shae's holiday celebrity gift guide for awesome book gift suggestions!)
19. Looking for a Christmasy read? Jana compiled a collection of them, and they're sure to get you into the holiday spirit even more.
20. Elena has Morgan Matson sharing her favorite Christmas movies. I actually haven't watched a lot of these (yikes), but I intend to remedy that!
21. I might be a wee bit obsessed with Sharon's Christmas playlist. It's a wonderful collection of songs, some I knew already and some I didn't, and I think you all should give it a listen.
22. Jamie got some of her friends in publishing to talk about their favorite 2013 reads. (Pssst, there's also a pretty darn epic giveaway!)
23. Even though I'm a Potterhead, I'd not heard of the Harry Potter Alliance until Alyssa mentioned it. It sounds like a great initiative, and I'm loving the goodies in the shop too!
24. Speaking of Harry Potter, I loved Gillian's take on 20 signs that you're from the Harry Potter Generation because they're so TRUE. Potterheads, REPRESENT!
25. If you're looking for writing music, check out Susan Dennard's favorites of 2013. I love Lindsey Stirling (who is SO talented), and I'm definitely keeping these other suggestions from Susan in mind!
2. Magan put together a gift pack inspired by Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian -- and it's so perfect. I love pretty much everything in this post (which I guess means I should read this book...?). I also love Estelle's gift exchange between the characters in My Life In Outer Space by Melissa Keil, because I'd rock all of Camilla's gifts!
3. It was really interesting to hear about life as a publishing sales rep, as shared by Vanessa Di Gregorio. I'm actually surprised to discover that being in sales is a bit different from what I thought it was, particularly the part about being an extrovert. Very insightful!
4. Thanks to the team at Bloomsbury USA, I've discovered this pretty cool site where you can find a critique partner! I think that my writing buddies and aspiring writers will definitely appreciate this.
5. These 31 book-lover stereotypes are pretty darn accurate! I was pretty much nodding my head as I read this article. (Thanks Steph!)
6. I might not read a lot of science fiction, but I think I'm going to have to start doing so. Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman talk about why science fiction is very important, and it's definitely gotten me thinking!
7. This collection of quirky non-book gifts for booklovers compiled by Chrys is pretty adorable! I can definitely tell you that I want the earrings and the shot glasses.
8. I'm currently job hunting, so reading about book-related jobs in this advice column Book Riot article was pretty interesting (and just plain fun). Who among us wouldn't want to work with books?
9. As a Harry Potter fan, every single new development or reprint of this series fascinates me. What do you think of them publishing a fully-illustrated version?
10. Elena shared this gorgeousness on her Twitter the other day, and I just wanted to drop everything to go and visit. How AMAZING is this? It's something I'd want to see one day!
11. Katie McGarry shared about her books pushing the boundaries of YA over on RT Book Reviews. I love her books, and it was fun to learn a little more about how she felt writing Pushing the Limits.
12. I loved Amy Spalding's take on having a job and having a dream. It's pretty darn inspiring to read, mostly because she's one of the authors who also manages to have a separate day job! (Thanks Katherine!)
13. My friend Gillian is so incredibly talented. Check out her amazing YA-inspired work over on The Art of Young Adult! (And yes, you can be jealous of her mad skills with me.)
14. If someone were to buy me this Harry Potter sweatshirt (and the other HP merchandise), I would be most grateful. (Thanks Erin!)
15. I've always been of the mind that everyone has their own style of blogging. What works for me might not necessarily work for someone else. I've been thinking about this ever since I read Betty's thoughts on being a "messy blogger".
16. Melissa wrote about genre trends (including her prediction for what's next). I found it very fascinating because I hadn't really thought about it before, but it makes so much sense.
17. #RBWL (Reader/Blogger Wish List) is a pretty awesome thing. Readers and bloggers were chiming in about the books that they would want to read -- and it was so cool! Shae and Jess have compiled most of the tweets on Tumblr, so you can browse there for more.
18. I know it's almost Christmas so everyone probably already got their gifts for people, but I loved Ginger's wanderlust-themed gift guide and her sweet treats-themed gift guide! I wanted EVERYTHING in these posts, seriously. The same goes for Jen's gift guide inspired by Little House on the Prairie! I also liked Sharon's book gift guide for this year, and Betty's post (actually, the Baby Bettys) for children's books to gift. (You can also check out Shae's holiday celebrity gift guide for awesome book gift suggestions!)
19. Looking for a Christmasy read? Jana compiled a collection of them, and they're sure to get you into the holiday spirit even more.
20. Elena has Morgan Matson sharing her favorite Christmas movies. I actually haven't watched a lot of these (yikes), but I intend to remedy that!
21. I might be a wee bit obsessed with Sharon's Christmas playlist. It's a wonderful collection of songs, some I knew already and some I didn't, and I think you all should give it a listen.
22. Jamie got some of her friends in publishing to talk about their favorite 2013 reads. (Pssst, there's also a pretty darn epic giveaway!)
23. Even though I'm a Potterhead, I'd not heard of the Harry Potter Alliance until Alyssa mentioned it. It sounds like a great initiative, and I'm loving the goodies in the shop too!
24. Speaking of Harry Potter, I loved Gillian's take on 20 signs that you're from the Harry Potter Generation because they're so TRUE. Potterheads, REPRESENT!
25. If you're looking for writing music, check out Susan Dennard's favorites of 2013. I love Lindsey Stirling (who is SO talented), and I'm definitely keeping these other suggestions from Susan in mind!
RECAP OF MY POSTS
I reviewed These Broken Stars (sci-fi + romance + beautiful writing = awesome!), Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer (a strange, weird, yet entertaining read), The Hero (a great addition to the Thunder Point series), So Tough to Tame (a fun adult contemporary romance), The Geek's Guide to Dating (a dating advice book with a twist), and Pawn (an interesting starter to a new dystopian series).
I shared my gift wish list with you guys, and was also lucky enough to be able to interview the awesome Kat Zhang. I filled out the 4th Annual End of Year Book Survey, so you can find out what my favorite books, blogs, events and posts are! It was a struggle to narrow things down, but in the end, I think I managed well enough.
I hope you enjoy reading these posts as much as I did! Now it's YOUR turn - are there any posts (on your blog or other blogs) from last week that I missed out on? Please feel free to share links in the comments and I'll try to check them out.
AWWW, THANK YOU FOR THE DOUBLE LINK LOVE, ALEXA! You're the best! :D I love your Monday Mixes SO much. Such a great chance to catch up on all the posts I missed this week! Thank you for including me. I feel honored!
ReplyDeleteWoman, you are amazingly talented and you so deserved to be a part of this week's Monday Mix! I can't wait to feature more of your awesome posts <333
DeleteThanks for mentioning me, Alexa! :) I love some of the posts you linked to, especially the book lover stereotypes. So fun!
ReplyDeleteOf course, Jana! I'm glad you enjoyed these posts :)
DeleteI love when you do these posts! Always brings new posts to my attention :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad! That's definitely the reason I enjoy doing these posts :)
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