For What It's Worth


Monday, May 1, 2017

monday musings…May TBR pile


‘Sup, nerds?

Behold my May reading pile. I’m both intimidated and excited by this one. It’s a bigger TBR pile than usual – so intimidated, but it’s my final big arc pile – so excited. After this, I only have one or two arc’s per month for the next few months. I’m not going to ALA or BEA this year so I will be free and clear to tackle my older books and that’s been my reading goal for 2017.

MayReading


Let’s take a closer look at the books shall we?

*Title links lead to Goodreads
*Quoted summaries from Goodreads
*All books were either provided by the publisher/or via ALA

~ The Truth About Happily Ever After by Karole Cozzo  Chin up, Princess, or the crown will slip.
A theme park princess must put her life back together after her happily ever after falls apart in this contemporary YA romance from Karole Cozzo, author of How to Keep Rolling After a Fall and How to Say I Love You Out Loud.”


Sounds like a lighter, fun read

~ Grit by Gillian French  His presence beside me is like heat, like weight, something I’ve carried around on my back too long.
Raw and moving, this contemporary realistic debut novel will leave readers of E. Lockhart and Gayle Forman breathless as it unflinchingly unfolds the tragic secrets being kept in a small, deceptively idyllic Maine town.”

I’m not too sure about this on TBH but what the hell – I’ll give it a go.

~ I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo “Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She's for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years…”

I’m super excited for this one. It just sounds like an adorable summer read.

~ Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon “two girls are stronger than the circumstances that brought them together, and their resilience defines the friendship at the heart of this powerful debut novel.”

The reviews for this one are *best book ever* or *dnf* It sounds fairly dark – a mom in prison, biker clubs, lawyers that don’t respect the law – it could go either way for me I guess but I’m trying to take more chances with my reading so we’ll see.

~ Noteworthy by Riley Redgate It’s the start of Jordan Sun’s junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she’s an Alto 2, which—in the musical theatre world—is sort of like being a vulture in the wild: She has a spot in the ecosystem, but nobody’s falling over themselves to express their appreciation. So it’s no surprise when she gets shut out of the fall musical for the third year straight.
Then the school gets a mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington’s elite a cappella octet. Worshiped ... revered ... all male. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for.”


Ok – I admit I fell for the cover for this one and had no idea what it was about lol I was happy to see my favorite reviewer – Jen from YA romantics - review on Goodreads saying that she loved it so whoop!

~ When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon “A laugh-out-loud, heartfelt YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be married.”

This is the book that I’m looking forward to reading the most. *please be good…please be good…*

April reading:

I cleared all 5 books from the April TBR pile. The Upside of Unrequited was my fave, What Light was meh, Alex & Eliza wasn’t quite what I expected but still enjoyable, I DNF’d Black Widow because you really need to have read book #1 and I haven’t, I’m just finishing up Holding Up the Universe – so far it’s pretty good but I’m not blown away.

I read a total of 20 books for the month   

And I’m 23 books ahead on my Goodreads reading challenge:
  

2017 Reading Challenge

2017 Reading Challenge
Karen has read 62 books toward her goal of 120 books.
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view books        

If you like the nerd socks in the picture, check out Blue Q Socks. They have a great variety of socks and other items. I bought mine at our local health food grocery story but online they have a bigger NSFW selection that I'm definitely going to be buying 😏

41 comments:

  1. Quote:
    " small, deceptively idyllic Maine town".

    Of course. It's always Maine, isn't it? The un-safer state in the US. Stephen King put a black label on it :D.

    Go girl, you're on track now LOL.

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    1. Sorry...un-safest. Damn hurry.

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    2. There's a lot about that blurb that makes me roll my eyes lol We'll see.

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  2. This socks are brilliant and I've been on the site, is it weird to want to start a massive sock collection? Because I do. There are some good books on your list, I have When Dimple Met Rishi on my TBR and I am so jealous of I Believe In A Thing Called Love, I may just have to preorder me a copy as I need it in my life. Done Dirt Cheap is a good read, I found it a touch confusing but the writing was really good. Enjoy you're reading.

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    1. OMG - I bought those in my local health food store but when I looked at their website I almost bought ALL THE SOCKS! lol

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  3. Congrats on knocking out your goals. I hope you do well with your challenges. I have a stack on my nightstand and I need to get through them.

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    1. I only have the one challenge because I suck at them lol

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  4. Great looking books are waiting for you. You are SO lucky. I hope you enjoy them all. I'm curious about Done Dirt Cheap. It sounds unconventional. MINE. ;)
    Have a wonderful week. :)

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  5. Congrats on reading so much in April!! I really need to get a copy of The Upside of Unrequited. Good luck with your May TBR. I really hope you like When Dimple Met Rishi - I've heard mixed things, but it looks so cute!! I'm hoping to get ahead on ARCS this month so that I can spend more time reading my own books over the summer.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I've been averaging about 20 books per month so we'll see if that's something I can keep up. I have to be in the mood to read though. Some months it's only 6 books lol

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  6. I love those socks!!! Need. Want. :)

    Those look like you have some good books waiting for you! I think you caught my eye on a couple. Give it back. ;) <- see one eye! Yea, I need more sleep. LOL

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    1. They're from Blue Q. Go to the website. They have SO MANY!

      *hands you eye back. I only need the two* Ba da bum!

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  7. Can't wait to see your thoughts on these. And I'm also loving the socks lol

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    1. Thanks! I'm probably going to go on a sock shopping spree there soon.

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  8. Gah amazing TBR!! I have three of those to get to myself. I really want to get When Dimple Met Rishi!! I agree What Light was meh. Happy reading!

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  9. There are some great sounding books here!! What a great TBR for May. And, those socks are so cute. I hope you enjoy them all. (:

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    1. I hope so too! They all sound pretty interesting.

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  10. Ohh interesting reading list! Looking forward to reading your thoughts on these. I also need to create my TBR list for the month of May but I'm trying to ease my way back into reading and blogging slowly.

    Have a great month, Karen!

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    1. I think I have the reading slump kicked. Still struggling with blogging. Good luck to you!

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  11. Grit has me really curious with the small town secrets thing. I may have to get that one. :)

    Happy Monday!!

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    1. I'm curious about it because of the author comparisons. Do they mean emotionally intense (Forman) or unreliable narrator (Lockhart)?

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  12. Those socks are awesome! I don't think that I have heard too much of any of the books in this months pile. I hope you enjoy all of them! Have a great May!

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  13. Hurray! Here's to successfully tackling your ARC TBR! Honestly, I have heard absolutely nothing about any of those books. I guess I've been living under a rock. But I'll be curious to see some of your thoughts to know which ones to look out for. 20 books read for the month is GREAT, btw!

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    1. I've been wanting to do this for years but then I go to BEA and get overwhelmed again lol

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  14. Great pile of books and good job with getting those books read!

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    1. I think it will be a good reading month!

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  15. Oo happy reading! And yay socks! My feet don't look nearly as cute in socks. lol

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    1. Ha! Everyone's feet look cute in socks!

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  16. Your socks made me snort, that means I need them in my life. YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE. I AM DYING FOR IT.

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  17. I read Grit last week and loved it. It was a bit different than my usual reads but it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I hope you end up enjoying it.

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    1. I'm starting it tonight. I hope I like it too.

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  18. I'm dying to read When Dimple Met Rishi! So many of my blogger friends have loved it, and it sounds like all the things I like in a fluffy YA contemporary plus diversity. What's not to love? :)

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