About


My name is Ardis and I am an avid reader and budding writer. I want to share my love of books with others. I work with kids and am interested in finding and creating books that will ignite the reader in everyone. Contact me at: ardis.atkins@gmail.com

Follow Me

Follow

Followers

Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

MsArdychan's bookshelf: read

I Owe You One
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Love, Hate & Other Filters
The Wartime Sisters
The Belles
The Gilded Wolves
Hey, Kiddo
Blackberry and Wild Rose
Queen of Air and Darkness
Firestarter
The Retribution of Mara Dyer
The Evolution of Mara Dyer


MsArdychan's favorite books »

Total Views

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Stacking The Shelves #90 & Sunday Post #53






I am combining two great blog hops:  Stacking The Shelves (a Saturday feature by Team Tynga's Reviews), and Sunday Post (a Sunday feature by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer).  Both of these features give people a chance to post about what books they received and also an opportunity to catch a glimpse of what others are excited about.  I really enjoy see everyone's version of these features! If you enjoy my blog, please consider following me via Bloglovin, Networked Blogs, GFC, or by email subscription.  If you leave a comment and tell me you are a new follower, I will follow you back! As always, all book cover images are linked to GoodReads so if you see a book you want to learn more about, just click away...


On The Blog:
 
 
 
I'm starting to get lots of email subscribers!  Thank you to all who follow me.  As you know, the more followers I have, the better my chances are of getting approved to review new books!
 
I almost signed up for a program called Bloggers For Books.  It is part of Random House and, at first, I thought it was a great program that would allow me to request more books from Random House.  However, as I was signing up, they asked for more and more information.  Plus they wanted me to sign up for a service called Klout.  I have never heard of this website before.  It kind of looked like Bloglovin, and it wanted me to add posts for my book reviews.  It made me nervous because it appeared that once I posted a review, they would be able to control it, which includes using it in promotions without seeking further permission from me.  This made me so uncomfortable that I cancelled both Bloggers For Books and Klout.
 
Are any of you signed up with Bloggers For Books or Klout?  They also said that they could control your Blogger posts and control your tweets on Twitter.  I felt that they were trying to control too much of the content that I create.  How comfortable are you with how they use your reviews?  
 
In Real Life:
Summer is winding down, and I am busy trying to get my son ready for his first semester at college!!!  He is excited and so am I.  There is so much to do, as he will attend two "boot camps" for Math and English.  These seem like great programs to review concepts so he is totally ready to roll once school starts. 
 
One of my other sons is busy practicing for his driving test!  I am taking him out to drive every day and I think he has improved tremendously.  Next Thursday is the big day. Yikes!!! 

New Books:
Won From Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28448287-replica?from_search=true


Apparently, people actually DO win Goodreads giveaways!  I have entered so many of them, and I finally won this lovely book!  Thank you, Harper Collins.
 
NetGalley:
 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35097384-artemis?from_search=true
 


I'm very excited to read this new book from Andy Weir!  I loved The Martian, so I have high hopes for this novel.
 
Thrift Store Buys:
 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256566.Everything_Is_Illuminated?ac=1&from_search=truehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17204.The_Friday_Night_Knitting_Club?from_search=true
 
Well, I went into the thrift store looking for a particular book for my daughter (Life Of Pi, she needs to read it for school).  Did I find that book?  Of course not! But I found these two books and they look really good, so I went ahead and spend $3.00. So much for my spending freeze.
 
What books did you get this week?  What is happening that you are excited about? Let me know in the comments.




SHARE ON: Share to Pinterest

32 comments :

  1. Oh yay, glad to see other people are getting Artemis! I have started it, but wasn't immediately hooked... I'll be interested to see what other people think. Hope you enjoy the new books!

    My STS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have high hopes for Artemis, as I loved The Martian. I hope his next book is wonderful. I got to meet him at the Silicon Valley ComicCon and he signed my copy of The Martian!

      Delete
  2. OOh nice! Yay for a Goodreads win!!! I think I've won 3 or maybe 4 of them ever since I joined back in 2010! I guess that's something! Lol! Can't remember what the first ones were but my most recent one from earlier this year was Scythe!

    Hope you enjoy all your lovely new reads!

    My STS will be up tomorrow, so be sure to stop by then if you can!

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel lucky to even win one book! Scythe looks great and it's on my TBR. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  3. I’ve been entering Goodreads giveaways since 2014 and have never won. So, it’s good to know that it IS possible. Good luck to your kids with their school/driving/book finding!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you AJ. The best part of my son getting his license (hopefully) is that I will have one less client for the Mom Taxi Cab!

      Delete
  4. Congratulations on your Goodreads win! I always enter them but I've never actually won anything. lol! I have more luck on giveaways on blogs, I guess. I hope everything continues to go well with your son's driving lessons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Julie. I hope he passes... Keep trying on the Goodreads giveaways. If I can win, anyone can!

      Delete
  5. Awesome haul of books this week. I hope you love all of your new books.

    Grace @ Books of Love

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Grace. I appreciate you stopping by!

      Delete
  6. I've been seeing that Andy Weir book around a lot. I bet it's amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frankly, I'm shocked I got approved! I hope it's wonderful...

      Delete
  7. I hope you enjoy Everything is Illuminated more than I did. It's one of very few books that I actually liked the movie better than the book.

    Otherwise it looks like you got a great haul this week! - Katie

    Here's my STS: http://justanothergirlandherbooks.blogspot.de/2017/07/stacking-shelves-22-july-2017.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember seeing the trailer for Everything is Illuminated (isn't it with Elijah Wood?). I like books where people are trying to learn about their family, so I think I will enjoy it. Thank for stopping by.

      Delete
  8. Ooh I liked Replica! And Artemis looks good too. And that whole Bloggers for Books thing would make me uncomfortable, I definitely wouldn't want them able to control my Blogger or Twitter activity at all or use my posts. I would have backed out too w/o knowing a lot more.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope I was just being paranoid, but the program did seem to want an awful lot of information. Then you had to earn a "score" in order to be approved for books. It seemed like a bunch of hoops to jump through. I would rather take my chances with NetGalley. Plus, I think I will try to cut down on the number of ARCs I review in the future. I have so many of them to read, that I never get to read the regular books on my TBR list. Then it feels too much like a chore.

      Delete
  9. I haven't signed up for Bloggers for Books. This is my tenth year as a blogger and, more and more, I'd rather follow my own book path!

    I am a new follow of your blog (Google).

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/07/what-heck-down-to-last-few-weeks-of.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Smart of you, Deb. I will check out your blog and follow you back. I really appreciate the follow. Have a great week.

      Delete
  10. I have never heard of bloggers for books but I did here about Klout a few years back. I don't think it's something that would interest me am happy enough just building contacts other ways with publishers. Hope you have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I came to the same conclusion after they kept wanting more and more information!!!

      Delete
  11. I once tried signing up for Bloggers For Books, and then found out I am not even remotely eligible, cause you have to have a US address (or maybe US or UK, neither of which I have)! If they're really that nosey about content and information, maybe it's good I wasn't even eligible.
    Congrats on winning the book on Goodreds! And congrats on Artemis! I wasn't approved, probably cause I'm out of region again.
    Have a great reading week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wasn't impressed with all the questions and jumping through hoops that Bloggers for Books wanted me to do. I'm not getting paid, yet I am being asked to do a BUNCH of things in order to be "eligible" to get books. I'll take me chances with NetGalley. I really hope that Artemis is great. There must be a huge amount of pressure on Andy Weir for this book.

      Delete
  12. Thank goodness I haven't signed up for Bloggers for Books yet. I don't want to give out too much information about myself than I have to. Glad you got Artemis!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ronyell. Privacy is important, plus keeping control of one's own content. There are other ways to ensure that people are serious bloggers (maybe have an intern check out the blog?) that are less intrusive. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  13. Congrats on the Goodreads giveaway win!!! Love the new additions and I hope you do too. Happy reading.

    Jenea's Book Obsession

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jenea. I now have faith that Goodreads giveaways are real!!! Have a great week.

      Delete
  14. I have never heard of Bloggers for Books but I agree-all that requirement would have made me uncomfortable as well. I would be curious to find anyone who actual is a part of the program to get the details!
    Enjoy your new books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, if I ever decide to sign up (doubtful, though), I will want to do more research. I like NetGalley. I have had good luck with them, but not so much with Edelweiss. I'm just happy to read a few things and review them. Have a wonderful week.

      Delete
  15. OMG winning Goodreads giveaways is like lassoing the moon! I've won one in the past year, I think. And I didn't even really want the book anymore! I had wanted it at the time, but after several months, I forgot all about it and lost interest. And of course, won the Goodreads giveaway. Love how that works!

    I signed up for Blogging For Books maybe a year ago? Less than that, but it's around that time frame. I've never gotten any books from it, probably because I didn't link to Klout. I've got enough social media and blog following accounts to manage. I definitely do not need another. o_o

    I hope you enjoy all of your new books! Have a fabulous week, Ardis. =)

    Check out my STS post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to know about Bloggers For Books. Klout seemed very invasive, and that's when I backed away... I did look at some of the books on Bloggers For Books, and wasn't interested in any of them. So no loss. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  16. That's too bad about Random House. I've never requested books for review, I did win one book on Goodreads and it was suggested that I write a review. I did not like the book and I hated the feelings I was having about posting a review by the publications date. I do much better without all the anxiety! I also won an author give-away on Goodreads and was so excited because she is my favorite author... I never received the book :(

    Enjoy all your new reads Ardis and have a great day :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. These Goodreads giveaways are a gamble to be sure! I actually enjoy writing reviews and having a deadline, particularly if I loved the book. Then I want to help promote it. The hardest part is writing a negative review. There is no joy in telling someone that you hated their book. Thankfully, I don't need to do that very often. Thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete

GoodReads

2022 Reading Challenge

2022 Reading Challenge
MsArdychan has read 7 books toward her goal of 96 books.
hide

Badges

80% 80% 200 Book Reviews 2016 NetGalley Challenge
clean sweep 2017

Popular Posts

Grab My Button

http://ponderingtheprose.blogspot.com
<a href=“http://ponderingtheprose.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="
http://ponderingtheprose.blogspot.com

Blogs I Follow

Search This Blog