Sunday, July 2, 2017

June Monthly Wrap Up!




Hello everyone!  June has been a slow month for me in regarding reading books since I've only read 5 books this month, but the best thing about this month was that I was able to read some books from my ARC pile and I'm planning on doing the same for July!  I have also noticed that I only had one 5 star read this month, which is unusual since I usually have more 5 star reads in every month, but I guess the books this month have just been good.


Books Read this Month:




1.  Lio: Making Friends by Mark Tatulli and Henry and the Hidden Treasure by B.C.R. Fegan (ARC)
2.  The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro (NETGALLEY)
3.  In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
4.  Hola! Let's Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends! by Judy Martialay (ARC)





Other Reviews and Activities Completed this Month: 




MISCELLANEOUS




GUEST POSTS





BLOG TOURS





BOOK MEMES


4. [Sunday Post]  The Sunday Post Meme (89)
5. [Sunday Post]  The Sunday Post Meme (90)
6. [Sunday Post]  The Sunday Post Meme (91)
7. [Sunday Post]  The Sunday Post Meme (92)
8. [Book Photo Sundays]  Book Photo Sundays #32: June 4, 2017
9. [Book Photo Sundays]  Book Photo Sundays #33: June 11, 2017
10. [Book Photo Sundays]  Book Photo Sundays #34: June 18, 2017
11. [Book Photo Sundays]  Book Photo Sundays #35: June 25, 2017
12. [Stacking the Shelves]  Stacking the Shelves #20: June 10, 2017
16. [Cover Characteristic]  Cover Characteristic #9: Footprints

 


DISCUSSIONS






OLD BOOK REVIEWS


1. [Old Book Review]  Fly Homer Fly by Bill Peet
3. [Old Book Review]  Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
4. [Old Book Review]  No, David! by David Shannon



READING CHALLENGE UPDATES


1. Bookish Bingo: Summer 2017 : 0/25
2. Alphabet Soup Challenge 2017 : 5/26
3. Comic Book Bingo Challenge 2017 : 5/25
4. Picture Book Reading Challenge 2017 : 20/102
5. Full House Reading Challenge 2017 : 5/25
6. Banned / Challenged Books Challenge 2017 : 1/6
7. Pages Read Challenge 2017 : 2,003/12,000 pages
8. Color Coded Challenge 2017 : 4/9
9. Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge 2017 : 1/5
10. NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2017 : 10/25
11. 10th Annual Graphic Novel and Manga Reading Challenge 2017 : 10/52
12. Library Love Challenge 2017 : 21/36
13. Discussion Challenge 2017 : 9/20
14. Horror Reading Challenge: 1


 Book Stats for June:
Total Number of Books Read: 5
Children's Books: 3
Graphic Novels: 2
NetGalley Books: 1
ARC Books: 2
5 Star Reads: 1
4.5 Star Reads: 3
4 Star Reads: 1
Average Rating: 4.5
Male Authors: 4
Female Authors: 1
Series: 2
Stand Alone: 3
Total NetGalley Books for the Year: 10
Total ARC Books for the Year: 2
Total Number of Books Read for the Year: 35



Blog Stats for June:


Most Viewed Post: The Sunday Post Meme (90) - 96 views
Most Commented Post: The Sunday Post Meme (90) - 30 comments


POST SPOTLIGHT:




BEST OF THE MONTH: Lio: Making Friends by Mark Tatulli







July TBR:






This will be linked to The Book Date's Month in Review and A Cocoon of Books Best of the Bunch! 





Posted by at 18 comments:
Labels: , ,

[ARC REVIEW] Hola! Let's Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends! by Judy Martialay (@judyruth10)








Title:  Hola!  Let's Learn Spanish:  Visit New Places and Make New Friends!

Author: Judy Martialay

Genre:  Mexico / Foreign Language / Educational / Party

Year Published: 2015

Year Read:  2017

Publisher: PoliglotKidz Press

 Source:  eARC (Author)

 Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Nothing Objectionable)

 Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads





I would like to thank the author Judy Martialay for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.



Now, I have read many children’s books that dealt with teaching children about foreign languages, but I had never read a children’s book where a term would be phrased in English and then be translated into Spanish in the same sentence and author Judy Martialay has certainly created an intriguing story that combines both Spanish and English terms in her book “Hola! Let’s Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends!”


Basically, this book teaches children about Mexico and its culture and language, which their language is Spanish. There is also a story woven in this book that stars a small Mexican jumping bean named Panchito who wanted to find new friends that he could play with and he ends up journeying through the marketplace and winds up at a piñata party!

What will Panchito discover at the piñata party?

Read this book to find out!


Judy Martialay has done an excellent job at creating a book that would help children understand not only about the language of Mexico, but about its culture as well and I have always enjoyed children’s books that try to teach children about foreign cultures and how to pronounce their languages at the same time.  I had a lot of fun in trying to pronounce the Spanish verses for the English verses, such as “Hola” meaning “hello” in Spanish and “Los Frijoles” meaning “beans” in Spanish and I loved the way that Judy Martialay had the English verse being spoken first and then the Spanish translation for that verse coming right after the verse such as this phrase “Look! Miren!” as it helps children see how that English verse is translated into Spanish.  Judy Martialay’s artwork is extremely cute to look at as the characters are rendered in scratchy and simple outlines and I enjoyed the images of Panchito himself as he is shown as a jumping bean who has stick like legs and a small hat that he wears in each panel.


The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit too slow at times and I sort of wished that the story moved at a faster pace in introducing us to the world of Mexico.


Overall, “Hola! Let's Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends!” is a great book for children in learning about Mexico and their language Spanish and would be a great book in helping children understand foreign languages! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book and the Spanish language is introduced in a way that would be easy for smaller children to understand.


You might also like:







Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Sunday Post Meme (93)




Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer!The goal of this meme is to share news you have  on various books and things you’ve read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog! Book hauls can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books and you can share these finds with other book bloggers!

Hello everyone!  Now that I am back on the internet, I have a lot of posts for this week and I'm glad that I'm caught up now!  Meanwhile, I'm starting to read through most of my ARCs which makes me really happy and I'm hoping to catch up on some more of my ARCs!  Also, I just completed the Blog Ahead challenge and I'm happy that I've managed to get in 15 posts for the challenge despite my computer acting up a few weeks ago. I hope everyone has a nice 4th of July!






★Book Reviews☆



★Miscellaneous☆




  

Book Photo Sundays Meme!

 

Looking for New Guest Posts! 

 

My TBR List!

 

  

Comic Book Bingo Challenge 2017 Sign Up! 







One Word: INDEPENDENCE!!!

 



★  Check out Rabid Reads' discussion on Bookfessional: Life Imitates Art
☆ Check out Darlene's Book Nook's Goodreads Spring 2017 Seasonal Scavenger Challenge - Spring Has Sprung: Wrap-up Post

★ Check out Happy Indulgence's discussion on FIVE MOST DISLIKED CONTEMPORARY TROPES

☆  Check out Fuonlyknew's Tag Team Review and Giveaway ~ Dinosaur Lake IV by Kathryn Meyer Griffith




Well, that's the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various books I've read in the near future!



Posted on Sunday, July 2, 2017.

Posted by at 16 comments:
Labels: , ,

Book Photo Sundays #36: July 2, 2017



Hello everyone! Welcome to "Book Photo Sundays" where you get the chance to showcase photos of your books, bookshelves and book conventions you have gone to!  The goal of this book meme is to basically just post up a photo of the various books you have read or your book hauls on your blog and link back here so that way everyone can check out your wonderful book photos!  You can get your book photos through your Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Iphone or any other account where you can get your photos!



#bookphotosundays




So let's get started!


Here's my book haul this past weekend!  It includes:

1. When Dimple Met Rishi

2. Absolutely, Positively

3. Lady Midnight Book 1

4. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy









Posted by at 7 comments:
Labels: , ,

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Stacking the Shelves #21: July 1, 2017


Stacking The Shelves is a book meme created by Tynga's Reviews and it is about sharing books that you are adding to your shelves, whether it's physical or virtual.  This means including books that you bought from the store or online, books you borrowed from friends or from the library, books you've reviewed, gifts and ebooks!

Hello everyone! It's been a peaceful last few days for me as not much has happened besides the fact that I've managed to see "Wonder Woman" last Saturday and I really enjoyed that movie!  Meanwhile, I have been doing a lot of shopping for books for the past two weeks and I'm so excited to be reading these books very soon!




Books Bought:



From Ollie's Bargain Outlet: 












From Wal-Mart: 









Posted by at 29 comments:
Labels: , ,

Mini Blog Ahead (June 15 - 30) Wrap Up!



Well, even though I wasn't able to reach 30 posts like I wanted to, I still managed to get 15 posts completed!!!  Impressive since I had computer issues during this whole challenge and I'm so happy that I've managed to reach 15 posts anyway despite the computer issues!

Mini Blog (June 15th - June 30th) Updates:

1. JUNE 15th, 2017 : [Miscellaneous] Mini Blog Ahead (June 15 - 30) Sign Up!
2. JUNE 16th, 2017 : [Book Memes] The Friday 56 #8: Golden Son by Pierce Brown
3. JUNE 17th, 2017 : [Book Reviews] Lio: Making Friends by Mark Tatulli and Henry and the Hidden Treasure by B.C.R. Fegan
4. JUNE 18th, 2017 : [Book Memes] Book Photo Sundays #34: June 18, 2017
5. JUNE 18th, 2017 : [Book Memes] The Sunday Post Meme (91)
JUNE 19th, 2017 : COMPUTER TROUBLE!!!!
JUNE 20th, 2017 : COMPUTER TROUBLE!!!!
JUNE 21st, 2017 : COMPUTER TROUBLE!!!!
6. JUNE 22nd, 2017 : [Book Review] No, David! by David Shannon
JUNE 23rd, 2017 : COMPUTER TROUBLE!!!!
JUNE 24th, 2017 : COMPUTER TROUBLE!!!!
7. JUNE 25th, 2017 : [Book Memes] Book Photo Sundays #35: June 25, 2017
8. JUNE 25th, 2017 : [Book Memes]  The Sunday Post Meme (92)
9. JUNE 25th, 2017 : [Book Review] In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
10. JUNE 25th, 2017 : [Book Memes] New Releases on the Horizon #23: June 25, 2017 - July 1, 2017
11. JUNE 25th, 2017 : [Book Memes] Cover Characteristic #10: Face in the Sky
12. JUNE 27th, 2017 : [Book Memes] Top Ten Tuesday #51: Top 10 Best Books I've Read So Far in 2017!
13. JUNE 28th, 2017 : [Book Memes] Waiting on Wednesday #45: What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum
14. JUNE 28th, 2017 : [Book Review] Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper by Marcia Brown
15. JUNE 29th, 2017 : [Guest Post] Guest Post: Bloggers I Would Include on my Conference Panel! (@ eventbrite)


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Guest Post: Bloggers I Would Include on my Conference Panel! (@eventbrite)



Hello everyone!  I was asked by Eventbrite to do a little post on which bloggers I would like to feature on my conference panel?  There are so many great things to talk about when talking about books and I have made acquaintances with many awesome book bloggers over the years!  So, here's a list of book bloggers that I would like to include in my conference panel!



1. Cait @ Paper Fury : Cait from Paper Fury would bring an element of fun to the conference table as her comments regarding reading are full of humor and wit and would help anyone who is interested in checking some books by her witty comments alone!

2. Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer: Due to being the host of the popular book meme "The Sunday Post," Kimba would be great in attracting readers from around the web to discuss about various books!

3. Rabid Reads:  This blog has a great collaboration between Jessica, Carmel, Lorna and Melanie and they would be great in giving out group opinions about the books being discussed on the panel.

4. Yvo @ It's All About Books: Yvo is very committed to reading as many books as she can and she would be a great speaker for giving out advice on how to read your favorite books fast!

5. Alyssa @ The Eater of Books: Alyssa is very good at generating conversations with many book bloggers and she would be able to start up a conversation about books very easily!

6. Bonnie @ For the Love of Words: Bonnie reads many audiobooks and she would be a great person to spread the word about audiobooks during the panel!

7. Emily May and Brandi @ The Book Geek: Both Emily May and Brandi are very passionate about the books they read that they would be interesting to have in the panel as they explain about how they are able to take such excellent photos of the books they've read!

8. Jeann @ Happy Indulgence: Jeann and the crew from Happy Indulgence also do Youtube videos about the books they have read and they would be a great addition to the panel about discussing about Booktube!

9. Sarah Elizabeth @ Sarah Elizabeth's Bookshelf: Sarah Elizabeth is another book blogger who reads a large amount of books in a short time and would be great in discussing about reading multiple books at one time!

10. Greg @ Book Haven: Greg is excellent at starting up conversations about books while also detailing his personal life, so he would be a great addition to the panel!


Questions asked during Conference Panel:

1. What are your favorite books?
2. For anyone who reads multiple books at one time, how do you manage to read many books at one time without getting too mixed up on what you are reading?
3. What unknown books do you think everyone should read?
4. What was your most hated book?
5. How do we get more people to read?



Where will it take place?

If I were to have a conference panel, I probably would choose a book event to attend such as BookExpo, so that way we can meet many people at the same time!



Are you interested ?

Are you interested in doing this topic? What book bloggers would you like to include in your panel?  What questions will you ask? Who will moderate your panel? Where would you hold the panel?




Posted by at 8 comments:
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)