Building the Book Pile #196

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

I was so productive this week! I was able to finish my Book Club book early in the week and then also another middle grade book, sadly it was not the book I was supposed to read in July. But reading is reading and I am working on content for August and it feels good to be semi-back into the swing of things. I spent my weekend listening to the audiobook of the last book I wanted to read in July - so I stayed productive.

I also went to go see The Secret Life of Pets on Friday and it was adorable! I may write a full review for it :) and I saw Finding Dory a few weeks ago so maybe that one too. I love kids/ animated movies.  

On Saturday, I ran errands and cleaned up my house a bit - it was much needed because I have been lazy during the week. Then we also played some mini golf with friends. So overall a fun weekend so far. 

 I  hope that all of YOU had a wonderful week!
 

  Giveaways on Cover2CoverBlog!

None right now, more coming soon   

 

Coming up on the Blog... 

Movie Monday: Review of Pixar's Finding Dory

Early Reader Review: The Jolley-Rogers and the Ghostly Galleon by Jonny Duddle (MG)
Waiting on Wednesday 
August 2016 TBR Pile

      

Books Received this Week 

No books this week

But I might go out today and get Harry Potter and the Cursed Child... we will see

 

Have you missed anything lately?

Week of July 24 - July 30

Review: Pop Manga Coloring Book by Camilla d'Errico (Adult Coloring Book)- 5 stars
Release Day Blast: Someone I Used to Know by Tessa Marie (YA)
Recent Reads: The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman (Adult)- 2 stars
Monthly Re-Cap: July 2016


  

Comment and leave me a link to your Round-up/ STS/ Weekly...anything, post and I will happily stop by and say hello!

 Happy Reading!

Monthly Re-Cap: July 2016

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

So July has been a very strange month. Big changes are happening in my life and I have been feeling very tired and so reading wasn't all that great this month. I am ok with that. Hopefully no one minds too much...

We spent the weekend of the 4th at home instead of going out of town, it provided some much needed rest and relaxation. Some other fun things we have been doing - I had a Brunch/ Coloring Party and even got a coloring book for review this month. We spent a lot of time with friends and I actually spent a lot of my weeknights laying around and watching Friends (I should have been reading- I know). Other than that - not too much excitement... 

How was your July? 

Link me up in the comments section! 

 

     ~~Books Read in July~~     

                
                         



How did I do on my July TBR?
I read 3 /4 books - but I am listening to the last one and I think I will have it finished this weekend :)

I also completed my Graphic Novel Challenge already and have read 24/24 Comics and Graphic Novels. I will keep reading more but I did hit my goal :) 

~~Links to Some Reviews~~

• Harley Quinn #29 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti (Comic) - 4 stars
•  Delilah Dusticle and the Cursed Tempest (Delilah Dusticle #3) by AJ York (MG) - 4 stars
• The Rising (Painted Maidens #1) by Terra Harmony (YA) - 4 stars
• The Berenstain Bears' Caring and Sharing Treasury by Jan and Mike Berenstain (Youth) - 4 stars 
• Empire of Sin by Gary Kirst (Adult) - DNF/ 3 stars 
• The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman (Adult) - 2 stars 
• Pop Manga Coloring Book by Camile d'Errico (Adult) - 5 stars

  

~~ Reviews Coming in August ~~ 

•  The Jolley-Rogers and the Ghostly Galleon (The Jolley-Rogers #1) by Jonny Duddle (MG)

Recent Reads: The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date:   August 2015

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Borrowed from the Library

Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things: a forbidden love story set on the tropical island of St. Thomas about the extraordinary woman who gave birth to painter Camille Pissarro; the Father of Impressionism.

Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel's mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel's salvation is their maid Adelle's belief in her strengths, and her deep, life-long friendship with Jestine, Adelle's daughter. But Rachel's life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father's business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Fréderick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France.

Building on the triumphs of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, set in a world of almost unimaginable beauty, The Marriage of Opposites showcases the beloved, bestselling Alice Hoffman at the height of her considerable powers. Once forgotten to history, the marriage of Rachel and Fréderick is a story that is as unforgettable as it is remarkable.

Review: 
This book seems to be getting great reviews and I am sad to say that even though I made my way through it, it was a struggle. This book was chosen for my book club by another member and voted as the book we should read and I think this book was just too far outside of my normal reading for me to really enjoy it. That being said, it was still an alright book.

The author uses wonderful detail to describe the island and the people to the point were I was impressed but also bored - there was a lot of detail. What I like to read most is interactions between characters and a lot of the book takes place as these descriptions or as someone's thoughts and feelings versus conversations.  So the lack of dialogue really bothered me.

The book was very interesting, I really got into reading Rachel's point of view and right when I was the author decided it was time for a change and lead us into another POV, it felt disjointed at times. I understand the need for all the views but I had a number of chapters with one person then was surprised to realize that it would be changing. And because of these changes I found the overall story fairly slow. I ended up reading it in more than a few sittings but I felt bogged down as I read it and had trouble really feeling the urge to pick it up.

So overall this was not my cup of tea (so to speak). I think readers of this genre probably loved the historical aspects of it and all the detail and thought put into it but I was not really feeling it. On the bright side, I made it all the way through without tossing it, so thus the 'it as ok'  rating versus a lower one. I am glad I am broadening my reading but I also am finding that I just really don't enjoy most books outside the YA/MG genres.

Release Day Blast: Someone I Used to Know by Tessa Marie

Someone I Used to Know

A Novella

By Tessa Marie

RELEASE DAY BLITZ

7/27/16

About the Book
Charlotte was not looking forward to Spring Break. No technology and a boy she can’t stand. But when she realizes the boy is actually a hot guy now, and wants to hang out with her (!) she cant help but think this break may turn into something pretty awesome. But, is he harboring a secret that will challenge their budding relationship?

BUY IT ON AMAZON

About the Author

Tessa Marie aka Theresa Paolo lives in the same town she grew up in on Long Island, NY with her long time boyfriend and their fish. Her debut novel (NEVER) AGAIN, a NA romance, released in Fall 2013 with Berkley (Penguin). (ONCE) AGAIN will release this summer. She is also the coauthor of the Amazon bestseller KING SIZED BEDS AND HAPPY TRAILS and BEACH SIDE BEDS AND SANDY PATHS, a YA contemporary series. She has a hard time accepting the fact she’s nearing thirty, and uses her characters to relive the best and worst years of her life. She put her love of writing on hold while she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Dowling College. When she’s not writing, she’s behind a camera, reading, or can be found on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

Review: Pop Manga Coloring Book by Camila d'Errico

Source: From Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Pop Manga Coloring Book: A surreal journey through a cute, curious, bizarre, and beautiful world by Camila d'Errico 

Publisher: Watson-Guptill 

Publication Date:  July 19, 2016

 

 

Format:  Paperback Coloring book

Rating: 

 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

Manga artist and Pop Surrealism superstar Camilla d Errico presents her first everadult coloring book, filled with portraits, patterns, and the stunning artwork her fans and collectors have come to love.
This one-of-a-kind book offers you the opportunity tocollaborate with d Errico, adding your colors to her gorgeous black and whitelinework. Featuring everything from haunting and surreal character portraitsto pages filled with patterns and designs all rendered in d Errico sinimitable style, "Pop Manga Coloring Book "is guaranteed toprovide hours of coloring fun and excitement."

 Review: 

This coloring book is beautiful. There was some confusion it seems, with there being both a coloring book and also a book about Pop Manga drawing and coloring. But this was in fact the coloring book and I was SUPER excited about it. I have been coloring as an adult since before the craze and I love that it is a 'thing' now. I have even hosted 'coloring parties'. I love it!

The images throughout are super detailed and whimsical and I love all of them. The pages are a wonderful thickness and the coloring book itself is great quality. I have been coloring with colored pencils but I think that markers might be ok as well - although I have not tried yet.

The artist is wonderful and I am loving using this coloring book to de-stress and have fun. She also prefaces the book with notes about coloring and drawing and even recommends copying pages to color in different ways, which I thought was a wonderfully fun idea for color palettes.

I think that some of the images might be a little disturbing for younger colorers. There are images of half human half monster/ animals and some that look pretty evil, but I love it and think that it is a very fun coloring book.