Why Having a Bookish Penpal is the best

I’m baaackkkk! I have been super busy in my store lately. I have filled over  200 orders since the beginning of my store plus rep packages and freebies I have sent as giveaway awards and what not. With my classes this summer I got so busy and just had no time for anything else.

Tonight, I had a lightbulb go off about something I should write about though!

So here are the reasons Why Having a Bookish Penpal is the Best 

1. SNAIL MAIL
   
   Who doesn’t like to get snail mail? I LOVE it. Getting the mail is something I look forward to every single time I leave work and am driving home. I love stamps, stationary, and handwritten letters. I also collect postcards. Also I order lots of stuff and love getting packages.
2. TALKING ABOUT BOOKS
   
   I mean no one else but a fellow book lover is going to understand you love of sniffing books, an ever growing TBR pile, and the fact that you refer to yourself as a book dragon. We have our blogs and instagrams and we occasionally chat about books with our followers, but having a pen pal gives you the platform to write pages about your passion of reading.
3. SENDING BOOKISH GOODIES
   
   Now I am not talking about receiving bookish goodies, I am talking about sending them. I love picking out presents for people. In fact I start shopping for Christmas in October because I love gift giving so much. The thought of getting to pick out a new bookmark for a friend who loves Jon Snow as much as I do would be super fun for me.
   
4. FRIENDSHIP
   
   I don’t know about y’all but the best part of having Bookstagram or a blog is for the friendships you develop along the way with your followers. Being someones penpal is an even more special bond to strengthen your internet friendship.

 

If you are interested in a bookish penpal let me know!! You can message me here or on my Instagram: @erinthebookdragon.

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September 13, 2017September 13, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: UncategorizedTags: bibliophile, book blog, bookblogger, bookish, books, bookworm, friendship, librarians, literature, novels, penpals, reader, reading, writing Leave a comment

Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List

The Broke and the Bookish are taking a break until August 15th for TTT until August 15th so I thought I would take this time to do some of their old prompts that I missed out on.

Summer is my favorite time of year because no school and little or no work so naturally  I get a lot of reading done. My literature class this summer is taking up all my reading time which is not a bad thing but I am definitely not working on my TBR pile like I normally would. I also haven’t been traveling so no car or airplane time to binge read during. 

So here are the top ten books on my summer TBR list that will more than likely remain on my TBR into the fall.

1. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
   
   I absolutely adored Between Shades of Grey by Sepetys so I will no doubt love this book. And that cover is just so pretty.
2. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
   
   Cait at PaperFury just raves about all Victoria Schwab books and this one really intrigues me because I played the violin for 9 years. Also how gorgeous is this cover??
3. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
   
   Okay, I admit. This was a total and complete cover buy. (I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL)
4. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
   This is a book about two worlds colliding, friendship, magic, and the word ‘blades’ is mentioned more than once in the blurb. What book isn’t good where ‘blades’ is a word in the blurb? (YAS WOMEN WIELDING BLADES)
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
   I almost always tackle a classic or two during the summer. This is one of those books I am deeply ashamed I have not read yet.
6. Cinder by Melissa Meyer
   
   I have had so many recommendations for this book and have not picked it up yet. I want to read it so bad. CURSE YOU MASTER’S CLASSES
   
7. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
   
   This duo has also come highly recommended to me and seems right up my alley with the crime and outcasts. Also, my reps are begging me for Six of Crows bookmarks so I need to get on that.
8. The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
   
   I absolutely loved the first book in the series. It was a laugh out loud kind of funny. I did get this around the time it came out but have yet to read it…
9. My Lady Jane by Multiple Authors
   
   My Lady Jane was recommended by one of my other favorite bloggers, Miss Leslie Ann. I originally followed her because of her classroom blog and discovered how much I adored her as a human being and I follow her lifestyle blog and instagram as well.
10. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
    Actually this whole picture is pretty much in my TBR pile. However, I love these tortured love stories and “not all is as it seems” plots.

 

What is on your summer TBR list?

 

July 5, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: TTTTags: bibliophile, book blog, book blogger, book series, bookish, books, bookstagram, bookworm, librarians, literature, novels, reader, reading, TBR, TTT Leave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday – Best Books of 2017

Okay these are not in any particular order because it is hard enough to pick 10 great books I have read this year.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses Series (I am going to lump these together so it doesn’t take up 3 spots…) 
2. My reread of The Fruits Basket Manga
3. Everything, Everything 
4. Three Dark Crowns 
5. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover 
6. King’s Cage 
7. The Shack 
8. Wicked 
9. The Hidden Oracle
   
10. Thirteen Reasons Why
    

 

*Strangely I did not have any pictures I could find of these 4 books.

June 27, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme brought to you by the lovely blog The Broke and the Bookish 

 

This week their Top Ten is *drumroll please*

THE TOP TEN SERIES YOU HAVE BEEN MEANING TO START BUT HAVEN’T

1. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
   
   Okay I read most of The Mortal Instruments but after City of Glass the series started falling short for me, so I never read book 6, and then I never picked up this series. Even though I have heard Book 6 is good and this series is better. I guess I got Cassandra Clare burn out. Someday Clockwork Angel, someday.
2. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
   
   I have heard nothing but amazing things about this series. I actually have the first 2 books that I got with one of my classroom Scholastic orders. I tend to purchase books for myself from their YA catalog when my orders are close to being to the next reward level. This is actually quite dangerous for me as then I get over excited and tend to push to the next next level and spend over $50 on books that I never intended to spend. I never did actually read them though.
3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
   
   I am about an hour away from finishing ACOWAR and Throne of Glass is coming in the mail tomorrow, so tomorrow I will most likely start this series. I cannot get enough of Sarah J. Maas. I know I am going to be in a serious book slump after I am done with this series and have no more Sarah J. Maas books to read.
   
4. Legend Series by Marie Lu
   
   I don’t know why I haven’t read this. They have amazing reviews, good covers, an interesting plot blurb. I have seen them so many times in the store. I have picked Legend up and then returned it to the shelf when I see something I want more. Maybe one day.
5. Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan
   
   Okay. HELLO. This is a lot of books. with a lot of pages. 15 books with nearly 12,000 pages. That is a large commitment. Plus there are companion books and novella e-books. It’s a lot. I am scared of these books TBH.
6. Blue Blood Series by Melissa de la Cruz
   
   I have all of this series in beautiful hardback that I got for $1 a book at HPB 2 years ago. Except for book 1. That’s why I haven’t read these.
7. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
   
   I can’t find the first book in a store. Plain and simple as that. I know I could order off Amazon but I have priorities on Amazon. I have a whole wishlist of priorities. Someday maybe this will be one of them. I will die next to a pile of books.
   
   
8. The Book of Ember Series
   
   This series of books has made me a hypocrite on many occasion because I actually have recommended this series to a lot of students without actually having read a single one of these books. I am all, “Oh yeah this series is GREAT. You would love this. Here check it out.” Actually personally I have no idea how good they are. I have only ever read reviews.
   
9. The Unbecoming of Maya Dyer Series
   
   I keep hearing mixed things about this trilogy which is why I haven’t read it. From what I know book 1 is great and the rest sucks. So I haven’t bought it.
10. DiscWorld By Terry Prachett
    
    This is another huge undertaking like Wheel of Time. There are 41 full length books and several short stories. Plus the order in which to read these is so confusing that there are MULTIPLE charts and websites dedicated online to tell you how to read these. Just. What?

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

My DSLR camera came in. I haven’t figured it all out but I have taken some pics on it. My favorites are the portraits of my dog.

ISN’T HE JUST BEAUTIFUL. My little kitty floofball won’t let me take his picture. Typical cat.

June 21, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: TTTTags: bibliophile, book series, bookblogger, bookdragon, bookish, books, bookstagram, bookworm, librarians, literature, novels, photos, reader, reading, TTT Leave a comment

Children’s Lit Week One

I am taking a children’s lit course this summer for my Master’s in Library Science. I have to read three books each week and review them for the course. I thought I might review them on here as well with my MORE honest opinions because my reviews for my class are all uplifting when in reality most kids I know would not appreciate the books like adults do.

Okay so for this week I had to read a Classic (list was given), a book by Mo Willems, and a Caldecott Medal Winner or Nominee.

I already had Kitten’s First Full Moon from an animal unit I did at the beginning of last year in my 3rd grade class. I also had Pigeon Finds a Hotdog but I have no earthly idea why. I had to order Millions of Cats as it was the only book on the Classics list that I don’t remember reading. Knowing my mother though I probably did read this as a kid. I have lots of fond memories of being in the library as a child and looking through the shelves and shelves of picture books. My mom always brought this giant pink beach bag with us to the library and between her and my sister and I we would fill the bag up every week. I wish that when I was a kid I had tracking apps like Goodreads so I could know just how many books I have read in my lifetime.

My favorite of the three was The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog. Mo Willems is a genius. If you are a parent of small children you should go check out his books. All of them. Right now. Go. Run. Seriously.  I can’t imagine better books for reluctant readers. Pigeon is 100% hilarious. The drawings make it that much better. Mo Willems definitely has the facial expressions down.

Kitten’s First Full Moon is a cute book. There are some repetitive phrases for the younger audience. Repetition is essential for beginner readers. The story of the kitten chasing the moon is innocent and sweet. The pictures are all black and white but they are paneled on every other page sort of like a graphic book which makes them more interesting.

Millions of Cats is one of those more ridiculous classic books. I can imagine an older audience found this book hysterical. Classics are classics for a reason and I appreciate the story and the thought behind it but as a kid I would have never picked this book up without an adult making it more enticing. It was originally published in 1928 so the pictures lack any color (hello, it was impossible to mass produce in color in 1928).

What are your favorite picture books?

 

 

 

 

June 18, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: Children's LitTags: book reviews, bookblogger, bookish, books, bookworm, childrens books, childrens literature, librarians, library classes, library science, literature, picture books, reader, reading 2 Comments

Society 6 and Etsy

So there are a billion things on Etsy that are bookish that I wish I had. At the top of my list is candles for sure.

I mean… have you seen A Court of Candles?

Anyways, My Etsy store has actually had some sales and I am so excited about it. Here is what is new in the store:

I am in love with the Rhysand bookmark

I also discovered Society 6 today. So. much. book. merch.

Also if you are any good at graphic design you should look into selling on here. All you do is upload an image and they can apply it on a ton of stuff and then they print it on the items and ship it to the customers. All you do is upload your JPEG file and they do the rest and you make $$. Cool.

Here is the link to my store:

https://society6.com/erinthebookdragon 

 

 

June 16, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: UncategorizedTags: book merch, book pillows, bookmarks, books, etsy, reading, society 6 2 Comments

Week in Review

This is a couple days late and I haven’t updated my Instagram this week. I am failing in my promise to myself to work on this stuff! I think I put this particular  post off because I only finished one book this week.

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

This is the story of Emi and her best friend Charlotte. These two girls are fresh out of high school, and deep into the film making process in Hollywood. Emi designs the sets for movies.  While extremely talented and artistic, Emi is not good at relationships, especially with her on-again, off-again girlfriend. Emi is left the keys to her brothers apartment for the summer to live with Charlotte on the promise that they will use it to do something amazing. Neither girl knows what they are going to do until they find a mysterious letter from an Estate Sale.

While the story was interesting, this wasn’t one of my favorites. I don’t really care about how films are created which is a huge secondary part of this story. I also found the plot overly predictable.

3 out of 5 stars

 

Coming Soon… 

So I am currently reading

Three Dark Crowns and Wuthering Heights 

I am also taking Children’s Literature for my library science class this summer so next week expect a post on Picture Books!

June 9, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: Weekly ReviewsTags: bibliophile, book blogger, book reviews, bookish, books, bookstagram, bookworm, childrens literature, LBGQT, LBGQT literature, librarians, reader, reading Leave a comment

Five on Friday Part 2 (On Saturday)

Okay, I was distracted yesterday because this is my birthday weekend!

My sister is in town for the weekend so I was cleaning and such.

Once again, in no particular order.

1. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
   
   This book is told from the perspective of Maddy, who is a who is sick with SCID. She watches the world pass before her outside her window which is how she meets Olly, the boy who moves in next door. While she is stuck inside her home at all times Olly gives her a sense of freedom and a friendship, something she has never had outside her mom and her nurse, Carla. This one definitely has a twist ending and is a page turner!
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
   Jane Eyre. Another classic and my favorite one. I love the story of Jane and Mr. Rochester. I have read this book a couple times and each time at a different time in my life. Since the book covers a wide span of Jane’s time periods, something new always speaks to me when I read it.
3. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
   
   This is the tragic story of Frank McCourt’s childhood. This is a must. read. in my book for everyone. Frank was born to two Irish immigrants during the depression era. His mother had a hard time feeding him and his father hardly worked because he was an alcoholic. His writing is beautiful and his childhood horrific. Unfortunately his other books Tis’ and Teacher Man do not have the same grabbing storytelling.
4. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
   So, my boyfriend delivers food as some part-time work. Sometimes, when I haven’t seen him in awhile, I will grab a book and travel around town with him when he delivers. This is how I read An Ember in the Ashes. I was actually glad when he would have to stand in line for 30 minutes to get the food or when we pulled up to a confusing apartment complex so I would have more uninterrupted reading time. This fantasy is about a slave named Laia and a soldier named Elias, neither of whom have any freedom – until they meet each other and plot a way out of their current lives.
5. This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl
   
   This is Esther Earl’s memoir. Esther was a teenager who was dying of cancer and she wrote in various journals, on blogs, and in IM chat rooms with her friends. She loved reading and Harry Potter fandom. She loved her family and they are the ones who took the pieces of her life she had written about, filled in the blanks, and put together this book that is also full of photos. I cried, I laughed, but most of all I felt like I knew Esther when I had finished reading this book.Another of my favorites! Happy Reading 🙂

June 3, 2017June 4, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: Five on Friday PostsTags: bibliophile, book reviews, bookblogger, bookdragon, bookish, books, bookworm, librarians, reader, reading Leave a comment

Weekly Review Tuesday

Hello 2nd Mini Series for my blog!

I am new to the whole writing reviews for books thing. So I am going to make it a little simpler on myself. I want to write reviews. I want to be good at writing reviews. I want people to read my reviews. So I  am going to write short reviews for books I have managed to finish each week. So here we go…

From May 24- May 30 I managed to finish 4 books (4.. in a week!)

Go me! So in order from when each book was finished.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
   
   A Court of Thorns and Roses is about a girl named Feyre who lives with her disabled father and 2 spoiled older sisters. After a bad investment her father had lost their family fortune and they fell from grace into poverty. Feyre is the only one who seems interested in helping her family survive the harsh winters of the land they live in. On the other side of “the wall” lives another kingdom of the faeries. These faeries have been known to hunt down and murder humans for sport, and so the humans have grown to fear and hate them. When Feyre is out hunting for her family’s survival she shoots a wolf in the head to protect the deer she is bringing home for supper. The wolf happened to be a faerie in disguise and soon his friends come knocking down Feyre’s door and wisk her away to the kingdom they live in. Here, her entire perspective on her life and theirs changes drastically.

   Sarah J. Maas brings to life this kingdom with rich metaphors and intricate details in her writing. She makes the reader feel as if they are living inside her world. Talk about a book hangover… I am surprised I moved on to other books this week.

   5/5 Stars and would recommend to any Fantasy lovers
   

2. We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman
   
   We Will Not Be Silent is a short middle grade book stocked full of photographs about the family and their friends who started the White Rose propaganda movement during World War II. Their story starts during the beginning of Hitler’s reign and talks about how even as young children they would not conform to the Nazi groups the way Hitler wanted them to. They resisted all rules put in front of them.

   The research and time that was taken into finding the photos that were included in this book must have been difficult as many of them seem like private family photos. This book made me gain a deeper understanding of some of the Germans during WWII that resisted what was happening in their country.

   3/5 total stars – 4/5 for a children’s book

3. When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffith
   
   I think when Paul was writing this novel he said, “Hmm. What are the 5 worst things that can happen to a 12 year old kid?” and then he made all five of them happen to Ben, the main character in this story.
   
   Ben is a middle school student who is a nerd and who is bullied heavily in this book. He loves reading science fiction and finds solace in the library (like most of us readers).  Ben spent a good amount of his childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home until he met his mom who is a widow. One day after leaving the library a small dog follows Ben home. He bonds with this dog instantly and the dog, Flip, helps him meet his best friend Hayley who happens to be the librarian’s daughter and his only source of comfort during the tough times he endures in the rest of the novel such as abuse, death of a parent, and homelessness.

   Disclaimer: I listened to this book on CD in the car on my way to and from work for the majority of the month of May (I live 10 minutes from work). By the end of this novel I had to pull over because I was crying so hard.
   

   5/5 because this book is both sad and funny. I enjoyed it and I know middle grade students in my library will enjoy it as well.

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling (The Screenplay)
   
   Okay, if you have seen the movie then you know this story basically word for word. No surprises or extra side stories that were left out. Or entire plots – like in Harry Potter… The only thing that the book added to the movie for me were some clarifications behind some of the looks exchanged between characters and how they were truly feeling in that moment. JK Rowling creates a world of fantasy for us all to live in and I think the Fantastic Beasts franchise is really just adding to the Harry Potter world. I don’t think anything will ever replace the love I have for Harry Potter in my heart though.

   Props to the fun pictures throughout the book of the creatures made with repeated imagery.

   4/5 because its Rowling, and I love magic. A great movie but not my favorite read. Maybe I just don’t enjoy screenplays…

   

May 31, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: Uncategorized, Weekly ReviewsTags: a court of thorns and roses, bibliophile, book reviews, bookblogger, bookdragon, bookish, books, bookworm, fantastic beasts, harry potter, librarians, reader, reading Leave a comment

#ShelfieSunday & Bookstagram &Bookmail This Week

Today I was looking at my bookshelves with affection and love and thought “Hmm. I should take some shelfies and share them online with annotations and captions.”

Ugh these pictures are super blurry and as soon as I get a new camera I will take new ones. My camera is 3 years old and point and shoot so I have to have PERFECT lighting to get a decent picture.

Ignore my messy desk.

So that is my mini office tour. I didn’t photograph my desk because it is so. messy. I have this problem where I clean it up completely and then start some project because its clean and I can and then I don’t clean up the project and I am back where I started. Maybe one day I can get a decent shot of that as well.

Bookstagram

Sundays are my photograph days. I am currently doing 3 challenges a month so that I can gain more followings on my account. (I want nothing more than to be a rep for some of those fantastic bookish companies.) Plus I love the photography and bookstagram community.

So this is what my hallway looks like during a photoshoot.

 I set up whatever I am photographing in front of my sliding doors where the light is good. You can see my box of props open in the background, and there are stacks of books I have already used up against the wall.

Chandler likes to help. This is the box from my

BOOKISH MAIL

Here is what I got from Bookoutlet this week. I stalked their clearance section and got these 14 books for less than $50. The Paper Towns is a signed copy as well which was not listed in the comments.

Last thing –  I got my first Melting Library Subsription box. This had an “Edibles” theme. I recieved 6 candles from favorite books and a chapstick and this adorable bookmark.

May 28, 2017 by erindecker13 Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment