The Relentless Reader

Tuesday Mashup

#giveaway

I adore Giveaways! Ya’ll know that! What I adore almost as much as winning giveaways is letting you, my faithful readers of Traveling With T,  know about the amazing giveaways that other sites are having. I know that while I scour the websites, looking high, low and everywhere in between- that there are probably still hundreds upon hundreds I miss mentioning. But I’m trying!

Love at First Book is giving away 6 books! 3 winners will pick 2 each- and she has 9 to choose from: He’s Gone, The Last Camellia, The Explanation for Everything, The Girl You Left Behind, American Dervish, Girlchild and Shorecliff.

Books Speak Volumes is giving away 1 book- but letting you choose among her 3 favorites for 2013:  Burial Rites, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,  Life After Life (the Kate Atkinson version!)

Books Speak Volumes is also giving We Are Water by Wally Lamb!

Book-Alicious Mama is giving away Is This Tomorrow, Killer Image, Code Name Verity, Man in the Blue Moon, The Unknowns and The Husband’s Secret.

The Relentless Reader is giving away The Husband’s Secret as well.

River City Reading is giving away Rivers by Michael Farris Smith.

Just Another New Blog is giving away Harlequin Romance Holiday Pack– a collection of holiday romance books!

Chick List Is Not Dead is giving away The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch.

Traveling With T is giving away The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins (last day to enter!)

Traveling With T is also giving away Wyoming Bold by Diana Palmer.

Books in the Burbs is giving away The Preservationist by Justin Kramon- giveaway ends Nov 30th!

Other Bloggy Talk

Love At First Book and The Book Wheel are still talking about Orange is the New Black! Join in the fun!

Love at First Book has her Spread the Love Linky Party happening! Go. Visit. Spread the linky love!

Mom’s Small Victories is talking about Netgalley November Reading Goals!

Bloggers Made of AWESOME: Jen H @ The Relentless Reader

Jen @ The Relentless Reader- I have Allison @ The Book Wheel and Rebecca @ Love At First Book to thank for introducing me to Jen H.  Why is Jen @ The Relentless Reader AWESOME? She recommends good books, she’s funny on Twitter and she’s all about trying to make the blogger experience better for others (ex: she’s totally not a fan of CAPTCHA and presents good reasons why!)

Bloggers Made of AWESOME: Jen H @ The Relentless Reader

Jennifer- when did you begin blogging?

June 28, 2012. I recently celebrated my one year blogoversary!

How did you come up with the name The Relentless Reader? 

I considered SO many names (Wisconsin Word Nerd, etc.). I asked friends and family for advice and posted a HELP ME PICK A BLOG NAME status on my personal Facebook page. But now I can’t remember where in the world the name came from. It definitely fits my personality though.

What are your thoughts on blogging today in an ever-changing book-ish world? Are blogs helping other readers connect with good books? 

I certainly hope we are! I love helping people find a great book, it’s one of the reasons that I love to blog. I know that other bloggers help me find fab books to read. Thanks to them my tbr pile is ridiculous!

When you are not blogging (or reading!)- what do you like to do? 


I love spending time with my kids. They are 21, 15, & 13. Their favorite thing is avoiding their nerdy mother. So, the whole hanging out thing doesn’t happen often 😉

Also, I like to find a series on Netflix and watch it obsessively for 3 days in a row.

Do you have a #literarycrush?

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. SWOON!

In your opinion, what book has been the best book you have read (so far!) in 2013? 

Oh man, this is so hard to answer. 2013 has been packed with great books so far! One fiction that has stuck in my mind is A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Is it my favorite of the year? Perhaps! I’ve also read some incredible nonfiction including The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

You have a beach vacation planned. What are the 3 books that you must bring?

My summer reading doesn’t look much different from any other season. But if I HAD to pick just a few favorites they would be:

To Kill a Mockingbird (Have I mentioned how swoon-worthy Atticus is?)

The Catcher in the Rye (Yes, I love me some whiny teenage Holden)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

(This list is subject to change on a daily basis)

Are you an e-book or tree book lover? Or does it not matter? 

I think I’ll always like tree books better. With that said, I’m glad that I have a Kindle. I held out on buying one  for a long time with some misguided idea of SAVING REAL BOOKS.

How do you find other blogs to read? Recommendations of other bloggers? 

When I first started blogging I had a heck of a time finding bloggers with the same reading tastes and sensibilities as mine. I thought for sure that YA book blogs were the only ones that existed! They aren’t my thing. (No hate mail, please!) I finally found a few that I loved and then stalked their blogrolls like a crazy lady. Since then I’ve found the best blogs in the land. I don’t want to name favorites though, that’s like naming my favorite child! BAD IDEA.

Jen H @ The Relentless Reader: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.