Welcome to August’s Monthly Minutes at Midnight!
Here’s the deal: I’ll share the books I’ve obtained, posts of interest from others, giveaways I have happening, and just general random shenanigans. You know I love a shenanigan. Also, covers all link to Goodreads, because I am awesome.
The Books
For Review/From Publishers:
When Elephants Fly by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Imprison the Sky by A.C. Gaughen
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Huge thanks to Abrams, Bloomsbury, and St Martin! (Also, better pictures forthcoming, promise!)
eARCs:
Huge thanks to Harper, Tor, & Entangled for the review copies!
Purchased:
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Obviously I am not letting a Lauren Nicolle Taylor book release without pre-ordering it! And I suppose technically my mom bought me Legendary, oops, no one told her though. And I found The Immortalists on quite a sale. And fine, I just bought Record of a Spaceborn Few cause I needed it, and that is a terrible reason, but have you seen the inside? I stand by this life choice.
Won/Gifted/Other:
Thanks toThe Book Bratz for Four Dead Queens!! And thanks toCJ @ Sarcasm & Lemonsfor sending me the rest of my ALA haul!!
Shenanigans Since Last Time:
I read 15 books this month, yay!
The best part here is that they were, by and large, awesome. In July, my highest rating was a 3.5. Here, my lowest was a 3. And there was only one of them. Honestly, a pretty epic month if you ask me! And I needed it haha.
Giveaways: Click Here, or on Sidebar
Blogosphere Bulletin
Here are some of the loveliest/most entertaining/super helpful/just plain interesting posts I found this month!
- Greg @ Book Haven shares some thoughts on book blogging
- Tracy @ Cornerfolds talks about how YA genres have changed over time
- Sam @ We Live and Breathe Books wants more specifics when it comes to book review negatives
- Annemieke @ A Dance With Books examines whether she reads the books she hauls
- Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction discusses her love for purple prose (ah, no wonder we’re book twinsies!)
- AJ @ Read All the Things! tells us about all the useless mythical creatures she wants to read about
- Nick @ The Infinite Limits of Love shares some awesome design resources for bloggers and other humans
- Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books gives her favorite backlist books some love
- Mikky @ Nocturnal Predators Reviews wants to know how you feel about long-winded descriptions
- Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books needs to discuss some spoilery stuff
Fancy & New Since Last I Saw You!
I love looking at pretty covers! So here are some new ones that I have fallen in love with since our last update!
ARC August Results
The lovelies at Read.Sleep.Repeat are again doing their annual ARC August Challenge! I have finished my challenge by reading 14 ARCs and tbh, that’s pretty awesome. I think I only planned on 11- and I wasn’t holding myself to that, either! Here’s what I ended up reading:
AND I did really well with the Bingo! Let’s be real, I was never going to get a cover-all because of the darn DNF square. I cannot, okay? Even if this weren’t a fabulous reading month!
Things we need to talk about at this juncture:
- I am currently in mourning because The 100 is on hiatus. The good news is, Season 6 has already started filming, so it won’t take long to get new info. And I will have a wrap up of some kind happening. You can catch up on the awesome finale here. Now if I could just find a convention to attend whose ticket sales I didn’t miss by literal minutes… ?
- If you have children and they sleep, I need you to tell me your secrets. Like I assumed by ages 7 and almost 5 they’d actually sleep sometimes, but I was wrong. And friends, I am tired.
- How is it back-to-school time already!? Honestly, doesn’t seem possible. I see ads for pumpkin shit already, and guys. No. It is still 90°, let’s save the pumpkins til at least next month, yeah? Summer went too fast, sad.
Sherwood looks awesome and Rogue Protocol was the bomb- just finished it. Record of a Spaceborn Few finally arrived too, and it’s a beautiful hardcover (of course). Definitely a good life choice. 🙂
Ooh your ALA stuff arrived. Looks like some good stuff there. And oh did you like Caraval? Maybe you reviewed it and I’m drawing a blank, but i go back and forth on those.
Not bad on the bingo! I like yelling bingo. My grandparents used to take me to their bingo games at the Moose hall or Knights of Columbus or whatever. My grandma even had a bingo “kit” she took with her to carry her supplies- you know snacks, medicines, knitting. I don’t even know what all was in there. I’d have like 2 cards trying to keep up and she’s play like 30. Crazy.
Thanks for linking my post!
Seriously- especially since the hardcover was $3 LESS than the paperback. Now if I could just read book 2 and THEN book 3 hahahah.
This means I can finally send you some of the crap from ALA hahah. I DID like Caraval! I was actually surprised that I did- it was hyped, it’s magic, etc. But I LOVED it tbh. I didn’t review it but I probably will someday hahah.
OMG my grandma (actually BOTH grandmas!) had the bingo kit! My one is SUUUUPER obsessed though, she even plays now in the nursing home! And omg right, HOW did the grandmas play all those cards?! I couldn’t keep up with the 2 either, like you said! It was always fun though- I remember being little and dragging along troll dolls which were supposed to be good luck hahah.
Honestly why don’t small children sleep??? Like I want ALL the sleep (although insomnia usually stops me from getting it looool *sobs*) but like IF I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FOR NAPS, I WOULD TAKE THAT. Children these days. Smh. (This is me directly back from spending 2 weeks with 4 kids who should sleep more. ??)
Anyway. THOSE COVER REVEALS! Too gorgeous! And yay for getting so much reading done this month AND having them being mostly all good! I was like this wild pendulum for August and it was like 4+ stars or … 1 star.?I swear I’ve barely had any 2 stars this year?! I think I’m just all wildly extreme opinions haha.
DUDE RIGHT!?!?! Like I would actually KILL for sleep and this people are just over here saying “nah” and waking up at 4am. I am almost glad to hear that mine arent complete freaks and that your sister’s spawn are also miserable sleepers. But also, your sister has my condolences especially since she has TWICE the number of unsleeping humans.
UGHH one stars. I haven’t had an actual one-star in a while so I guess that’s good (but sad for entertainment purposes hahah) I think extreme opinions are good though- except that you cannot properly snark anymore which is SAD.
Ooh, you’ll have to tell me if Sherwood is any good! And I am IMPRESSED by that reading month! No lower than a 3? Wow. That is awesome! I still haven’t properly caught up on The 100, but I finally have a TV in the new place, and I think I might finally be getting out of that headspace where I can only watch silly things (or Gaskell’s North and South apparently). We’ll see! And children sleeping? Um…I don’t know that they ever do, but my folks always said in bed with closed door at X time; don’t care if you sleep, but you’ll be in bed “resting.” I think I stole that one in my babysitting days. ^^ Good luck!
Right!? I mean, August kind of owed me cause July was so gross hah. And omg YAY I am so excited for you to catch up on The 100! Where are you at now?! HA I don’t think they ever do either! And I’d be totally fine if, like you said, they just entertained themselves! I don’t care WHAT they do as long as they let ME sleep- but alas, these ones seem extra needy ?
Just barely started, but I’ll keep you updated!
Congrats on reading 15 books! It looks like you had an excellent reading month. Sorry about the kids not sleeping. That’s one of the many reasons why I don’t have kids. If I don’t get enough sleep, I turn into a raging psychopath. No one wants that.
Aw thanks! It really was quite a good one! And seriously, I am pretty close to psychopath status. Kids are… interesting ha.
Lots accomplished this month! And plenty of reading done too. 🙂 I have no words on getting your kids to sleep more. I basically taught mine to just leave me be if they get up early in the morning. This way, at least I can get some sleep! Even if they’re not.
Thanks, it really was a good one! That is the thing- like just entertain yourselves, that is all I am asking! Obviously I cannot force them into unconsciousness but letting ME be there would be very much good enough ?
Yay for a great reading month in August! You read a couple books I loved, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Check, Please! I think I audibly gasped when I saw the cover of The Lost Coast– Amy Rose Capetta is one of my favorite authors, and I can’t wait til that one is in my hands! Oh man, I hope both your kids and you are able to get some sleep soon! Good luck with back-to-school, and have an awesome September! <3
So glad you had a great reading month! I feel like my ratings have been all over the map this year. Ooh, you got an ARC of The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein??? Lucky you! How did you like it?
Your kids aren’t sleeping yet, ugh, you’re not making me excited for this whole reproducing thing Shannon!
I think I have The Immortalists on a book club reading list. You’ll have to let me know how it is!
I also bought Legendary but I’m not sure when I’ll get to it. Blerg.
August (and all of summer) went by way too fast. You did great on your reading this month. See what I read at Girl Who Reads
I have had a busy month and getting ready for football to start. My beginning of the month was eventful and the rest is that I am still missing my little boy (Pumpkin) – cat. If you have pets you will understand. If you like you can read my post here https://nrcbooks.blogspot.com/2018/08/in-memory-of-my-precious-loving-baby.html and check out my wrap up here https://nrcbooks.blogspot.com/2018/08/monthly-wrap-up-august.html. I see you had lots of books read. Anyway to have my “In Memory Of ” post linked up in your wrap up next month? Happy September.
Excellent reading month! I see so many of my must reads pictured in your August book haul–The Belles, Resistance, and Sadie are just a few. Hope your September is very bookish!
Awesome job with ARC August. I have been more or less only reading ARCs, because I fell behind. I feel like I have no words left for reviews right now, and I apologize to these lovely books for the mediocre reviews I have written for them. My daughter slept through the night at 2 weeks old, and she still places sleep above all things. So, I have no advice. My problem was the opposite, I could never wake her up. I am looking up every Fancy & New right now. Those covers are beautiful!
Yay for the excellent reading month! I can’t believe summer is over either – it went ridiculously quickly! 🙁
Oh, I want to read Here and Now and Then! I look forward to seeing what you think of it. 🙂 You got so many great new books, too!
I have a seven-year-old minion myself. She sleeps, but we also started training her at, like, six months of age. xD She’s had a regular bedtime and routine since then, so she’s used to the schedule by now. That and some magic and a whole lot of luck haha. Now that she’s older, she gets ready a half hour before bed and has her choice of what she wants to do, whether it’s playing a game with Daddy or reading with me or whatever, and she doesn’t give us a hassle over bedtime.
Good luck with back to school, and I agree. No pumpkins. Just … no. It’s too early. This is apple season, okay? Get your pumpkins out of my apple time.
Yeay for reading 15 books and well done on arc august!
What is sleep? Seriously they go through the weirdest sleep periods. I hope yours will get the taste of sleep again soon. Maybe it is just nerves for the start of the year?
Oh wait, the newest Becky Chambers is out? I’ve got to get it!! I guess I zoned out, but it was my vacation.. Time mostly stops during vacation 😀
That does sound like an epic month 🙂
I wholeheartedly agree about the pumpkins 😀
YAY I am so happy you had such an amazing reading month – and yay for reading Impostors, I am so excited about this book 😀 I’m also spotting The Similars and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix in your haul and ahhhhh I am SO impatient to read these books, I hope you’ll love them both 😀
I hope you’ll have a fantastic September, Shannon! <3
Looks like you had a really busy month with all that reading! Great job – Hope Sept is a good one for you!
I would like to know the secrets to getting a seven year old to sleep too. My day starts extremely early (I wake up at 4:40 to be at work by 6:30, and she won’t let me get enough sleep ever. Your new books all look drool-worthy. I’m really curious about Sherwood. And yay for such a good reading month–especially one in which you loved most everything you read. I need to go back and watch the beginning of the 100 again. I tried to jump back into it at season three and am so lost. I hope you have a wonderful September!
So many reads! So many new books to enjoy! I just put in my request for the Mike Chen novel so fingers crossed I get it! I also hope you liked Sadie. I really want to read that one because it sounds all revengeful and also really deep at the same time. Also, if you are up for another buddy read I also have Sherwood 😛 I’m always on Instagram!!
I know right? Time flies. I hope your kiddies get to sleep real soon, or that school tires them out enough in the day so you can get a full night!