This Week In A Snapshot {3}

Posted March 28, 2014 by Asheley in discussion, Uncategorized / 6 Comments


For the second time in a row, 
This Week In a Snapshot will actually be for several weeks
because I was a little under the weather stricken with illness last week. 
This picture (originally taken for Cassie from Books with Cass) will double as a
 PERFECT DEMONSTRATION OF MY EXCITEMENT ON 
FUNCTIONING AS AN UPRIGHT HUMAN AGAIN. 
Welcome back to the land of the living, Ash. 

It is a ridiculous picture but totally adequate for my current I-Feel-Better emotions. 

ANYWAY. 

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Since I’ve been sick, I’ve spent more hours than I want to admit listening to audiobooks while I followed along with the book. THIS IS MY WAY. Y’all know that. With the exception of one or two “bigger” titles (a couple of re-reads and one I’ll talk about in a second), I realized that I’ve been listening to/reading a ton of the free or on-sale Kindle books BECAUSE they very often have a very inexpensive Audible equivalent. Personally, when I’m not feeling well or when I’m really tired, I’m not always in the mood to keep up with super-detailed books, so I look to something more on the fun side and then it’s just BONUS CITY when someone can do that reading for me. 

Print + Audiobook FOREVER! 

That being said, I’m shocked and awed by how many of the $1.99-ish audiobooks I’ve listened to lately. The stories have ranged from pretty awesome to, um, entertaining. I’ve heard some of my favorite readers as well as some that shouldn’t really quit their day jobs. This is the beauty of the free-or-cheap ebook/on-sale audiobook combo: you don’t always know what you’re going to get (UNLESS you know the narrator, which is KEY). I don’t mind this a bit. I just want to be entertained. 

I wonder should I write up blog posts on these free/on-sale combos for you guys? Y’all know I have thoughts on them but sometimes a free or $.99 ebook is definitely worth grabbing PLUS I’ve noticed that some of you guys are MAKING ME DANCE FOR JOY when you read along with audio! If you have an opinion, let me know. 

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Certainly one of my favorite books I’ve read in the past few weeks has been Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes. No audiobook with this one – just me and the book. 

Now that I’m feeling better, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on this one soon. It was very Jojo Moyes-esque (if that makes any sense) and I enjoyed very much reading it along with a great reading friend! 

Also important: the obligatory cup of coffee that I had while reading one morning. 






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I’ve been branching out in my reading lately – particularly to include Inspirational/Christian Fiction and I also read a scary book (yes, I realize the irony there). I have always kind of been hesitant of Christian Fiction because I’ve found much of it cheesy (don’t hit me if you love it!) but lately, I’m really kind of liking it a lot. I recently read The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund as well as Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr and LOVED THEM BOTH. As of right now (writing this), both of these books are free for ebook download and while I’ve already shared my thoughts on Hearts Awakening, I haven’t written on The Preacher’s Bride yet. 

I ALSO STARTED THIS SERIES. 


Okay, so I just finished The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan and WHOA WHOA WHOA. I highly recommend the audiobook for these and MAN OH MAN I will be finishing them as soon as my heart rate comes back down to normal. I’ll audiobook the second and and third book as well because I really think I enjoyed it better than if I’d have just picked it up in print but I TELL YOU THE TRUTH when I say that my heart rate was up and my breathing was crazy more than a few times during this book. This isn’t generally my go-to genre/category (thriller, horror) but I really wanted to read these before the TV series begins airing this summer

So OF COURSE, after I overcame my afraid-of-thrillers complex long enough to get through The Strain (which was SO GOOD), I thought I’d try and tackle Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I grabbed both the print and the audiobook from my library and began the book but WHOA NELLY. One thriller at a time is all I can handle. I returned them the next day and will pick them back up later, I PROMISE. 

Moral to THAT story: 
I can, will, and love to read outside of my comfort zone. 
BUT LET’S NOT GET CRAZY WITH IT, M’KAY? 

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In less important-to-you but super-important-to-me news: 

1. My beloved hair straightener died. Yes, I said beloved. I have heard that when you have straight hair, you just want curly hair. BUT my experience is that my hair is so curly, I want to have straight hair like those supermodels that you see with the hair whipping back in the breeze, looking fabulous. SO! My straightener and I have been very close. When it stopped working WITH NO WARNING one day, of course I 1) flipped out 2) texted my sister who is my hair stylist for encouragement (haha) and 3) made an emergency run to grab another. We are bonding well and things are looking up most days in the land of the curly-hair and cowlick. 

2. I have depleted my stockpile of my favorite coffee, Starbucks CasiCielo, which is only available for a limited time yearly. I bought a ton, I drank it up, and I have bought a new blend. It’ll likely be an entire year before I experience the delicious goodness of CasiCielo (WEEP WEEP) but I did buy some of the Tribute Blend and am loving it hard. 

3. I found InstaQuote, which is an app for making those pictures what have words on them. I see a ton of inspirational quotes and stuff on Instagram, but I have been using it more for fun things that make me laugh – such a this photo. I’m not presumptuous – I just like to laugh at and with myself.


1. I’ve covered my cowlick with my unruly curls. Straighener, please!
2. TRIBUTE BLEND. Delish.

All in fun, you guys. All in fun. 
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I managed to eek out a few reviews in the past few weeks! 
Please stop by, read my thoughts, and let me know yours. 

Origin by Jessica Khoury – I’ve been trying to catch up with some of the authors that will be at the  #GirlsGoneSciFi event in Asheville, NC because I have a weekend getaway planned and am going to this!

A January Bride by Deborah Raney – this is one of the A Year of Weddings Series novellas and I am die-hard in love with them SO MUCH 

Sweet Ruin by Nazarea Andrews – this is a new adult title in a series that I love and WOW it had something in it I wasn’t expecting 

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart – this book & audiobook was flat-out fun for me, as I am the last person in the universe to have begun this series 

Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr – this is one of the free Kindle books that I read and really loved (it has a nice cover and I was attracted to that – good call, Ash!)

Unconditional by Melody Grace – I love this series by this author but this one can be read as a standalone!

Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles – I listened to this audiobook and read along. I found that it was exactly what I expected it to be and that I liked one character way more than the other!

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I am behind on EVERYTHING BOOKS, 
especially the books I have for review – but they’re coming. 

Stick with me! This is the first time I’ve turned my computer on in a week. I miss you guys. 

(Also watch for that #GirlsGoneSciFi recap, wink wink)



Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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6 responses to “This Week In A Snapshot {3}

  1. Being sick is the worst! I am just getting over an illness and I HATE IT. Like, I would rather not be laid out, thanks.

    Anyways.

    Boo to running out of good coffee.

    Yay for audiobooks on the cheap.

    Yay for branching out and trying new things!

    I hope you try Gone Girl again, that book is the best.

  2. I'm happy that you're feeling better! It's good to see your face again 🙂 Aaaand I'm thinking I might have to do an audio/print reread of Grave Mercy AND The Raven Boys later this year — I'm excited! 😀

  3. Phew what a post 🙂 Glad you're feeling better! Okay – you should definitely review 0.99 if you don't mind doing so. The price doesn't matter and even if it's free – no matter – maybe do an author to watch roundup or something like that.

    And of course, I'm adding The Strain to my reading list.

    Tanya Patrice
    Girlxoxo.com

  4. YAY FOR FEELING BETTER! haha unfortunately I think I'm beginning to come down with something – all weekend I've been sneezing and sniffling like crazy. Thank you, wackadoo weather!

    YES, Last Letter is very Moyes-esque! I don't want to say she has a formula..a distinct voice perhaps? Either way, you can tell when a book is a Moyes – and it's always fabulous!

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