Until Next Time, Contemporary Month!

Posted July 1, 2012 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 13 Comments


YOU GUYS. 
Contemporary Month is over.
*sniffles, sighs, takes a deep breath* 

Y’all know me. I have thoughts about Contemporary Month. 
I’d like to share them in the form of a list. 
  1. First of all, I want to thank Evie who is one of the most fabulous people I’ve never met in real life before. She is one of my favorite bloggers and her enthusiasm is completely contagious. When she asked me about doing this event with her, I was all for it. I’d also like to thank Bonnie, who is a new blogging pal. I met Bonnie through Evie and through this event, and that is super awesome. Co-Hosting an event like this was a FIRST for me, and these two gals made it super easy. 
  2. I also would like to thank all of the publishers who were and continue to be so generous to me as a book blogger. The publisher-blogger relationship is a precious one to me because this is the best hobby ever. (I wish I could have this as a job, you guys. It would be awesome.)  
  3. I cannot believe that so many of you came by the blog to read what I had to say. True, some of it was just fluffy and funny stuff, and there were some that were real review-like thoughts – but I still can’t believe that people even care what Asheley thinks! There are some of you that I’ve met this month that are super awesome commenters, and I am hoping to return the favor at least half as well as you guys did for me this month. 
  4. To my “regular” blogging friends – I normally am pretty good about visiting your blogs but this month I have really stunk at it, and I am sorry. I plan to jump right back in the saddle and make it up to you all ASAP. You all rock my world. 
  5. I will do my very best to never do two big blog events in one month again. Just, no. I haven’t been able to give a perfect 100% to either event, and that isn’t fair to either party. Or to myself! (It doesn’t mean that I haven’t been enjoying them both though!)
Contemporary YA is a group of books that I honestly didn’t read all that much before this event. I still don’t really consider myself “well-read” in the contemps, but WOW I feel like I have spent a lot of time on them in the past thirty days! I won’t lie when I say that I’m ready to jump back into my sci-fi/fantasy, dystopians, and paranormals, but I can absolutely appreciate why you all love this group of books so much. 

I have to admit, though, that the intense/issue books are not my very favorite in the group. I can take them every now and then, and I’ll keep on reading them and we can keep on discussing them in the comments, but I can’t read them back-to-back anymore. They just drain me! I have to read them mixed in with some good stuff – and by good stuff, I certainly do not mind romance contemps mixed with some issues along with all of the other genres.  

That being said, I did find a new instant-read author, a couple of new favorite books, and a few books that will likely make it to my Best-Of list at the end of the year. I would never have even given them a second glance without this event. That’s pretty amazing to me. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that with this being my first event, I think it went pretty well. What do you guys think, did it go well? I really hope so because I want to do it again in the future. I hope you guys enjoyed it. By the time this post publishes, a little over half of my giveaways will have ended and I wish you all good luck! I’ll be emailing the winners ASAP. 

Also, the books that didn’t make it into the schedule yet that I had planned on talking about during this event – they’ll be coming up shortly on the blog. No worries. I still have great contemps all over the place around here. 


June has been YA Contemporary Month at Into the Hall of Books. 
This event has been Co-Hosted by: 

Thank everybody for being so awesome about everything. 

Please keep stopping by and talking to me about books! 



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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13 responses to “Until Next Time, Contemporary Month!

  1. I think you did a wonderful job! It was so much fun to read all your thoughts on all the books you read, and I found some really interesting reads that I want to check out too. Congratulations!

  2. Ems

    I found some new ideas as well, so thank you for that!

    I got two contemps read (one YA that I didn't like and one adult that I loved), so that's a big thing for me. 😛 They weren't the 'issue' type because I don't really like those much. I have my own issues, thanks!

    I'm currently reading another contemp (look at me! Three in a row!) and really enjoying it. (Dante's Girl by Courtney Cole)

    • Yeah, these contemps are certainly a beast for those of us that are used to the other types of books. It was a labor of love, but I'm so glad I did it. I feel like I read a little of most everything – some things I liked more than others obviously, but I'm so glad I did it. I still have some contemps that I needed to fit in that I actually didn't get to…

  3. Asheley, I'm seriously so proud of you for having done this event! This wasn't one little thing, this was a HUGE month long event in a genre that isn't your forte, and I think you did an excellent job. I certainly moved a lot of books to or up my tbr as a result!

    • I agree with everything you said here, Heidi! It's no small thing to commit an entire month to reading out of your comfort zone. I don't know if I could do it. And now several books are in my queue that I would never have considered. Really hope you do something like this again! Whether it's contemporary or another genre.

      And 2 events at once is huge too. Hope things will settle down a bit for you, Asheley!

    • WOW gals!! This means SO MUCH coming from you two. You're right, Heidi, this isn't my forte but I'm so glad I did it. I found some really great ones that will probably be on or at least close to my top ten at the end of the year. Without this event, that wouldn't have happened.

      And Lauren, you were such an awesome support and great person to talk about these books with. Thank you so much. I'm glad you're reading a few of the ones that I read – like My Life Next Door, etc. I have more that I wish I could've fitted in, but maybe I'll do this again soon.

      Aah, two events. So exhausting.

  4. I totally agree with all the other comments: this was a big event and a big deal, and I think you pulled it off in a big way! And you know I love contemporaries so obviously I enjoyed the heck out it!

    Girl you were reviewing books like almost every day, I am still trying to catch up on reading all those reviews!, so I know that it took a lot of hard work and determination to see it through:)

    It sounds like it paid off and you discovered some great books and authors along the way. Nice job, Asheley:)

    • Actually, Heather, in that last two weeks, I feel AWFUL because my eyes got so tired that I couldn't focus on ANYTHING. Not TV, not BOOKS, not anything. So my posts became more spotty but I just couldn't make my eyes keep working that hard.

      I will work on being more prepared and a little more ahead of myself next time I do this. I definitely want to keep doing it!

  5. This event went SMASHINGLY! 🙂 I've really, really enjoyed it! I've found a load more books and authors to read, and I really enjoy your reviews. I look forward to being a faithful follower from here out. 🙂 Keep up the excellent work & thank you so much for co-hosting this!

    • Hey Randi!! I'm so glad I met you through this event. I enjoyed seeing you pop up on my blog so much!!

      I still have quite a few contemps that I didn't get fitted into the month, so stay tuned because they'll be coming up soon – along with some of my regular stuff. I like a good mixture!!

    • OOh, let me know what you think of Just Listen. I think on a re-read I'll probably like it much better because I'll know going into a Dessen that they are all issue-ish books. I was just thinking they'd all be fluffy and light and that was not the case. It wasn't the heaviest book I've ever read by any means, I just wasn't quite expecting the depth of what I read.

      Before the contemporary event, I didn't feel well-read in contemps at all. I don't still, but I feel much more able to carry on a conversation about them. I'm glad I did it and hope to do it again…in a while.

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