Updates from the Lair 3/30/14

Updates from the Lair

Updates from the Lair is my weekly wrap-up post that includes what happened in my real life, what I’ve been reading, my posts from the week, my book haul for the week, books I added to my wish-list (sort of like Waiting on Wednesday), and what I’m thinking about reading next week (and would love your advice on!).

Life has continued to be crazy on the work/school front with deadlines ALL OVER THE PLACE, so I feel like I’m horribly behind on blogging and reading, boo! You probably haven’t noticed (but I have!) that I’m down to only four reviews scheduled for the future *faints*. I keep telling myself that I’ll take a day off to read, but then I realize that I have packed deadlines through April sooooo… yeah. I will be traveling a bunch in April though and hopefully I’ll be able to read on the plane ;-). All of this is to say that I might *gasp* have a day or two without posts here and there until summer, though I also have some more discussion posts planned if I have energy to write them, haha.

My Week

As requested by a couple of you last week, I read Earth Girl this week :D. It’s a really awesome sci-fi that also deals with how people with a handicap are treated. Basically, in the future most people can take teleports all over the known universe to settled planets, but one in a thousand babies are born somehow allergic to planets other than Earth. These people are trapped on Earth and called Handicaps because of it. Jarra is a spunky MC who happens to be Handicapped but wants to prove to all the “exos” that Handicapped people aren’t “apes” as so many like to say. Earth Girl does a great job of showing the difficulties people with a handicap go through while also portraying an amazing futuristic universe (complete with futuristic slang!). Review to come in a week or so ;-).

I’m listening to The School for Good and Evil on audio and really enjoying it. The narration is excellent and the concepts are just so cute and funny. I’m really intrigued with where this one is going to go since the “moral” seems to be quite up in the air currently. I have high hopes that my brain is going to be blown by the end, haha. But seriously, one of my new favorite narrators right here!

Someone else suggested I read Stolen Songbird next, so that’s my other current read! I’m really excited for this one since so many people have been enjoying it :D. I’m about 150 pages in I think and hoping to make some more progress this weekend. I’m slightly annoyed with my ARC since its spine is so stiff and hard for my old eyes to see into the middle, but I’m just going to give up on being gentle and break this spine I’m afraid. If I love it enough, I’ll buy a hardcover ;-).

And in case you missed it, these were my posts this week:

Reports from Other Lairs

Check out Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday for the reviews and discussions I found this week!

Spoils and Tribute

Spoils and Tribute is a feature of On Starships and Dragonwings where I tell you about the books I’ve bought and received recently. I promise that I paid for all my spoils and I’m not letting the “tribute” go to my head ;-). I’ve decided to include it in my weekly updates since it’s part of the week. This is basically my version of Tynga’s Stacking the Shelves.

Spoils

Yey, I love this stack so much even though I failed at taking a decent picture, haha.

Where the Rock Splits the Sky – I loooooved this one and was so excited that they kept the ARC cover (since there had been a weird blue one popping up and I was worried), so I had to buy a hardcover :D

The Mark of the Dragonfly – I also adored this one (review coming!) and the hardcover is so pretty and shiny :D

New Kindle! – That silly black box sitting in the middle is for my new Kindle Paperwhite. I had tried using a Kobo Glo and it was all glitchy so I finally gave in and got what I really wanted. I haven’t actually used it much yet since I’m trying to get through physical ARCs, but I’m excited to have something I’m much more confident will work.

Signed copies of Scarlet and Lady Thief! – I completely forgot to take a picture of the signatures, but the wonderful Kel from Book Til Tuesday went to a signing with A. C. Gaughen and got my copies signed :D. It was a bit of an adventure in hoping that USPS didn’t lose anything, but it worked!

Grave Mercy – I’ve already read Grave Mercy, but it was a library copy and then I saw a pristine used copy for like $5! So I obviously had to buy it ;-). I now feel the need to get a hardcover of Dark Triumph to match >.>.

Tribute

I got a whole slew of unsolicited finished copies this week, exciting! I think my apartment office manager thinks I’m a weirdo now though, haha. I was going in every morning to pick up more packages, I’m relieved that they finally have someone working regular hours there again though, since otherwise it would have been days between grabbing them D:. Thanks to Tor and Scholastic!!

Shipstar by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven – looks like this one is a sequel, though Goodreads is not all that forthcoming. Anyone know anything?

The Cracks in the Kingdom – This one is the sequel to A Corner of White and is apparently magical realism :D. I’m tempted by this series just because I want to figure out this whole magical realism thing, hehe.

Lockstep by Karl Schroeder – I saw this one on NetGalley and managed to resist because my March is already so packed, but look at it!

The Pilgrims by Will Elliott - Looks like this one is a rerelease? Anyone read it?

These two I knew were on their way and I’m so excited to read them :D. Thanks MacMillan and Random House :D.

Hungry by H. A. Swain – Food is no longer needed until the MC suddenly starts feeling hungry :D. This one sounds really intriguing and a fresh spin on the futuristic thriller trend ;-).

The Adjacent by Christopher Priest – I got emailed about this one being released in the US and it’s from the same author who wrote The Prestige! I must admit that I haven’t read The Prestige, but I loved the movie and it looks like from the UK reviews that this one has the same cool plot twists ;-).

I got presents! Kelley from Oh, the Books! heard that I was experimenting with coffee and sent me some to try from Belize! I just brewed it this morning and it’s so good, it smells wonderful also ;-). Then my blogger bestie Pabkins from My Shelf Confessions made me this adorable painting of me with some adorable green dragons :D and a little hanging adorable guy to decorate my office! *dies of adorableness* There was also candy but it might be all gone already >.> *noms*

Planning to Pillage

(i.e. the books I added to my wishlist this week)

I’m not 100% sold on the cover, but I am really excited for the sequel to The 5th Wave :D. My review will finally be coming next week I think for The 5th Wave since it kept getting pushed back, haha.

I’m intrigued by this cover! Witches and I only sometimes get along and the whole evil twin thing is a bit of a red flag, but I’m really hopeful for this one, thoughts?

Next Week’s Reading

I’m kind of giving up on trying to keep up with my physical ARCs (let’s not even talk about the March eARCs…), but I think I’m going to really try to read The Ring and the Crown this coming week since Disney was so nice to send it to me. Then Pabs wants to read The Ophelia Prophecy and I love buddy reading with her! But I’m starting to think that I need to say screw the schedule and read a couple of the Harper ARCs that I’m so excited for to get back into reading mode. Thoughts?

Happy Reading!

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings – Anya