The Sunday Mix (13)

I seriously cannot wrap my brain around the fact that August is over this week. How is this year flying by so fast? How did my birthday month fly by so fast? It's crazy to me, particularly because it means bidding summer goodbye soon - though I'm not averse to beautiful, cool autumn coming in. The last two weeks have been interesting. I pulled my shoulder two weeks ago, which meant excruciating pain on my upper right side until I got on pain medication; thankfully, that's better now. Other than that, I've been chilling a lot with Macky at home (#homebodies) and preparing for my in-laws to arrive in town in September!

WHAT I READ

• Wendy talks about meeting authors and getting books signed. We share the same attitude about it, which is that we both consider the book a reminder of the occasion where we got to meet our favorite authors and fangirl over their books. 
• I love that the team over at Publishing Crawl talk about villains! Personally, I love it when a villain is active and well-rounded; complexity and vulnerability are two of the things that have me appreciating a villain in any form of media.
• Lauren shares her thoughts on writing reviews. I'm always fascinated to read about how other bloggers feel about writing their reviews, and how they do it. Personally, Lauren and I have a lot of things in common (prepping drafts beforehand and scheduling), but we differ in that I generally wait until I have four or five to work on, then do a bulk review writing day.
• Holly talks about how she guards her five star ratings. We're actually very similar on how we treat our 4.5 rounded up/5 star books! I used to give them out like candy, but now, I'm a little more critical about what I'll give that elusive 5 star rating to.
• Josephine gives readers her tips on how to prevent cracked spines for paperbacks. Her process is fascinating to me, and I'm tempted to give it a try when I read a paperback and remember to do it! For the most part, I read hardcovers, so this doesn't quite apply to me, but it's still something I think y'all should check out.
• Rachel Seigel wrote a thoughtful personal reflection on moral ambiguity in YA fiction. Is a villain truly just a paragon of evil? Is a hero simply good all the time? Some of my favorite YA novels have demonstrated that it's not always so black and white; it can often be grayer than expected, depending on intentions and character knowledge. Biljana Likic also talks villains, listing down some of the cheap ways villains can be killed off.
• Lisa talks about her personal experience culling her physical and virtual shelves. I personally find there are a lot of benefits to culling, and I love that Lisa shares her thoughts on the entire process. (P.S. If you want more ideas, check out my Picky Pledge posts and Hannah's Picky Pledge posts!)
• Grace discusses why she finishes all her reads. I'll admit that it used to be hard for me to set aside a novel and mark it as a DNF. But because my reading style and quirks are very different from the ones Grace mentions she has, being open to the concept of DNF has worked for me. I really enjoyed reading her post though!
• Brittany shared her personal take on blogging statistics. I definitely share the same attitude - it's most important to me that I enjoy doing what I do, and that I produce content that makes me happy and proud. There's a lot of food for thought in Brittany's post, and I hope you let her perspective challenge you to rethink yours!  

WHAT I ACQUIRED

All I have to say about this haul is that I am one very lucky girl. I have the absolute BEST friends ever, and I managed to snag some pretty dang good deals on some collectible items too!

from publishers (Thanks St. Martin's Press, Bloomsbury & Harper Collins!)

physical: Cut Both Ways by Carrie Mesrobian + Queen of Shadows buttons

e-galley: The Wild One by Gemma Burgess / The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore / Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan / The Shadow Queen by CJ Redwine / Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers / The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig / The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins / Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie / Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan

from friends (Thanks Hannah, Kelly, Rachel & my On the Same Page Secret Sister!)

physical: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys / I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith / The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm edited by Noel Daniel / Ransom by Julie Garwood / The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas / Something True by Kieran Scott / Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

other things: Mulan / Once Upon a Time buttons

bought & borrowed

physical: Perrault's Fairy Tales (Folio Society edition) / Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales (Folio Society edition) / Chantress Fury by Amy Butler Greenfield / All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry / Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead / Civil War by Stuart Moore / Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham / Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis

I was also really lucky to have received a free Uppercase Box for review in August! I love the idea of a bookish subscription box, and I'm so grateful to Lisa for giving me a chance to try it out. This month's box came with a hardcover copy of Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson, a signed bookplate, a bookmark, a Swoon Reads notebook and a Litographs tattoo all wrapped up in Uppercase branded packaging. I seriously loved how the package came together so cohesively! The curators are really thoughtful in making sure the box works as a whole, and I'm really excited about the contents of the package. I'd definitely recommend checking out Uppercase Box if you're interested in getting a YA monthly book subscription box of your own!