Conquering the Book Stacks (#CTBS) 2014

conquering the book stacks

 

So last year, #ctbs was born. A group of us decided for a month that we would not buy new books, we’d try very hard to read only the books we had on the shelves and not give in to the temptation of the new books. As a group, last year- we did pretty good. Our results ranged- from just a few books read to more than 20- but any book off the shelf is a score! Most importantly- none of us perished from the not buying books for a month (even though it was tough at times!)

Since it worked out so great last year- it’s time to start this back up. Some of us have been discussing for months possible time frames of #ctbs, but it’s been hard to come to a consensus simply because everyone has wide and varied schedules. For me, I wanted to post this post the first of June, but due to BEA and the next weekend being out of town- time slipped away. So, thanks to Ivory Owl Reviews mentioning having 2 months of #ctbs- I decided that “why not?” Have the rest of June and all of July- and hopefully, that’ll work nicely. Continue reading

My #ctbs wrap-up!

conquering the book stacks

#ctbs = Conquering the Book Stacks

 

I had high hopes and lofty plans for CTBS. I was Icarus, flying too close to the sun. And like Icarus, well, things did not work out so well for me!

 

Here are my lofty goals and here is an update!

 

Books I read in August:

Pickle in Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler (review)

The Lake House by Marci Nault (review)

Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich (stacks)

The Lemon Orchard by Luanne Rice (review)

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Café by Mary Simses (review)

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (stacks)

The Never List by Koethi Zan (review)

Seed No Evil by Kate Collins (library)

The 9th Girl by Tami Hoag (library)

The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim (review)

Speak of the Devil by Allison Leotta (review)

Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall (review)

The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster (stacks)

The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers (stacks)

Hotshot by Julie Garwood (review)

You Knew Me When by Emily Liebert (review)

While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax (stacks)

The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (stacks)

A True History of the Captivation, Transport to Strange Lands, & Deliverance of Hannah Guttentag: A Novel by Josh Russell (stacks)

The Heist by Janet Evanovich (stacks)

The Mourning Hours by Paula Treick DeBoard (review)

Shut Up, You’re Welcome by Annie Choi (review)

 

22 books! Sounds good, right? Yes, but only 8 were from the stacks! 😦 Sigh…..

 

But at least I read 8 from over stacked shelves! There’s 1 positive! The other- I DID NOT BUY ANY BOOKS in August. I looked temptation in the eye and walked away like a winner!

 

How do you think I did? Room for improvement? Or A for effort?

Literary Friday ya’ll……

Happy Labor Day weekend!

 

1.  Deep South Magazine #literaryfriday is filled with mentions of Donna Tart, literary Iphone cases, and news about Southern Festival of Books. Plus many other things!

 

2. Next week on Traveling With T, I have a pretty awesome giveaway: book and nail polish 🙂 What more could a girl want?! Check back on Monday for more details!

 

3. THE PERFUME COLLECTOR discussion is still going on strong at She Reads. Come. Discuss. Talk to me about the book.

 

4. In more She Reads news: I’m soaking up and announcing my 15 minutes of fame to EVERYONE! Guess who is one of the people featured in The Blog Network Recommends? Come on guess! Oh you’ll never guess, so I’ll tell you: It’s ME! I recommended Erika Marks THE GUEST HOUSE (which if you remember I raved about it here first!) Pssst…. Even more good news: Get over to She Reads and comment for a chance to win ALL 3 BOOKS! Naturally, you’ll want to read the 1 I recommended first, right? 😉

 

5. My #fridayreads While We Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax, The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright, Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand and I’m considering adding another book to the rotation- suggestions? What are your #fridayreads?

 

6. Today is August 30th which means that #ctbs is almost over. For the unfamiliar, #ctbs is Conquering The Book Stacks. So far, August was not kind in my mission- but I’m hoping to knock another book out before August ends. However, I stood tall and strong and did not buy any books this August. I looked temptation in the eye and walked away. My bookshelves thank me.

 

7. Book Lovers Unite- Jen @ Booka-licious Mama has announced the September read in Ashtor Place Vintage. Before I hand the reigns over to her, though, I have 1 more surprise cooked up from our August Book Club Selection, The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers. Check the blog later today for the surprise! In related news, I’m hard at work for the October pick- and trying to decide if October should be spooky or not in our selection!

 

Happy Reading!

My #CTBS catch-up….

 

conquering the book stacks

It’s August 13th- and I’m just now posting about how I’m doing in  Conquering the Book Stacks!

 

I’m reading a lot- but due to the craziness that July was for me- I’m catching up on much reading from that month- so my stacks are not getting quite the attention I hoped. However, I still have over 2 weeks left in August- and hope that will change!

 

From my stacks:

The Heist by Janet Evanovich (which was perfect reading. Fun. Nick and Kate had incredible chemistry, the book was Ocean’s Eleven meets White Collar, with a dash of Miss Congeniality. Is it for everyone? Probably not- but if you enjoy Janet Evanovich- you won’t be disappointed.

 

Other reading:

The Lemon Orchard by Luanne Rice

Speak of the Devil by Allison Leotta

Pickle in the Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Café by Mary Simses

The Mourning Hours by Paula Treick DeBoard

Shut Up, You’re Welcome by Anne Choi

 

What’s next for the stacks? I’m thinking While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax!

 

 

 

Literary Friday ya’ll….

It’s the first Friday of August. Kids are headed back to school and summer is winding down. PS: Have you already started to see the Halloween stuff in stores? Ugh, I wanted to stomp my foot the other day and scream “It’s July, for Pete’s Sake! JULY!” I held back, tho, because I’m nice 😉

 

1. Deep South Magazine– chock full with good news this week for #literaryfriday: DBF news (Decatur Book Festival), giveaway for Beth Albright’s The Sassy Belles, 2013’s most talked about books, and Hemingway look alike’s!

 

2. Interviews this week on Traveling With T include: Amy Shearn where she talks about who make a perfect rusalka if The Mermaid of Brooklyn is made into a movie and Randy Susan Meyers where she tells about “the butter in the cookies” and a special surprise for book clubs that have selected The Comfort of Lies to read!

 

3. Author Spotlights this week on Traveling With T include: Amy Shearn where she confesses something that may get her Author Card revoked, her Pinterest obsession and her #literarycrush. Randy Susan Meyers tells her #literaryconfession- her confession is likely to cause raised eyes in the literary world!

 

4. Have you been seeing the #ctbs posts and wondering what that’s all about? #ctbs = Conquering the Book Stacks. Here is the info and here is my goals (which may get revised as I update weekly!)

 

5. Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club is back at Traveling With T- August’s Book Club Selection is: The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers. Here is the reading schedule and here is the opening thoughts. Discussion questions will be posted Aug 9th- so plenty of time to get the book!

 

6. Two reviews were posted on Traveling With T this week: Finding Colin Firth by Mia March and The Recipe Box by Sandra Lee.

 

7. Missed out on my Bloggers Made of AWESOME post? Here it is!

 

8. I haven’t picked my #fridayreads yet- need to look at my #ctbs list!

 

9. Want to win a copy of The Mermaid Collector by Erika Marks? Visit Goodreads!

 

Happy Reading!

My #CTBS goals: Conquering the Book Stacks

conquering the book stacks

Today is August 1. Which means for the next month, I’m not going to buy any more new books (EXCEPT for the pre-order I had from months ago & if I go to a book event- because it would be rude to not buy a book at a book signing).

Mostly for August, I’ll be reading books that I WANT to read. Books that have been on the shelf for a time- books that have been in stacks. Books that I have been longing to read- and yet, always found another book more important at the time.

I will still be reading a couple of review books ( need to honor my commitments) but mainly- I’ll be #ctbs- Conquering The Book Stacks.

These are some of the books I’m hoping to read during August:

The Heist by Janet Evanovich

The Painted Girls ( I did not finish during July 😦

Seed No Evil by Kate Collins

Snagged by Carol Higgins Clark

The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee

The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster

Overseas by Beatriz Williams

Jack and Jill by James Patterson

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

While We Were Watching Downton Abbey

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

 

These are just a few of the books I hope to read during August. I may not make it through the list, I may sub other books in. All I know is this: I’m going to work really hard to make a dent in the stacks of my books, to reclaim my stacks- to CONQUER the stacks!

Each week, I’ll post an update on how I’m doing- and if you are on Twitter- follow the hashtag #ctbs to see the group of us chatter on about our books.

Here’s hoping I survive to Sept 1 without buying new books (Barnes and Noble- I’m sorry, I won’t be perusing the bargain book section till Sept 1- please don’t put up any “Missing: Have You Seen this Book-aholic” posters)

 

Conquering The Book Stacks #ctbs

conquering the book stacks

A couple of months ago, I was chatting with my Twitter book-ish friends and the conversation was mostly about books- what we were reading, what we wanted to read, what books we’d bought and things of that nature.

Then… as the discussion went on, and we made several comments on being addicted to books & first world problems of book lovers- we realized how many books we have (or have been loaned)- books that have been sitting on our shelf for far too long, patiently waiting to be read.

So, it was decided then: August would be all about books on our shelves, books we’ve been meaning to read. And it would be known as Conquering the Book Stacks (#ctbs).

What does this mean? Basically, for the month of August- we aren’t buying new books. We are going to shine a spotlight on our book shelves and start crossing books of the TBR List. In doing so, we’ll be able to thin our shelves (in preparation for more books in future to add to TBR list 😉

So join us in August- read the books on your book shelf, the books your friends loaned you- heck go to the library and borrow books. Try really hard to take a break from the buying of new books- and read that stack of books you already own.

Suggestions:

Pick a theme (beach books, certain authors- whatever!)

Go Random- no plan, just read, read, read!

When #ctbs officially begins, I’ll post my plan for my books, my goals, and more.

Looking forward to a great month for August, for reading some of the books that have been on the TBR list for too long, and to introduce my readers to some of the fantastic book-ish folks who are going to encourage and celebrate our reading plans in August.

If you do the Twitter thing, when we talk about books we’re reading for August, we’re using the #ctbs hashtag. Join in. Meet some new book folks. Find out about other reads. Tell us how the not buying books for August is going. How many great books you have in the TBR list stack. If there are any duds. Books that are “meh”. Books that are over-rated or under-rated.

Happy Reading!