Week in Review: August 10th

Week in Review is a weekly post in which I wrap up what’s happening in my life, in books, and in blogging (inspired by Anna @ Anna Reads)!

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What I Did:

Sooo… my reading this week hasn’t been as gusto as I had hoped it could have been. I was at AP Art Camp every day this week from 8 in the morning to 12 noon drawing and believe it or not, it’s really tiring! But I won’t go on and list all of the excuses that I could for why I didn’t read as much as normal during my own read-a-thon.

It was my mom’s birthday this week so we went shopping, out to dinner and dessert and had a blast! Other than that there wasn’t much else notable in my week. It just went by so fast, kind of a blur, and it’s hard to remember everything.

Links I Loved:

• This is an older article, but with all of the If I Stay movie talk at the moment, this article came to my attention. I was thinking about writing a whole post refuting Chloë Grace Moretz’s statement about the YA genre, but I just decided to write about it here in a few words to her. Chloë, that statement didn’t expose the shallow YA books, but rather your shallowness. There are many books like what she describes in the YA genre, sure, but also in Adult, too. It doesn’t mean that the whole genre is like that. Did you wear blinders through The Fault in Our Stars? What about The Hunger Games? Sure, there’s a love triangle, but there’s much more to the story of THG than that. If you can’t see that, than maybe you should be rethinking that statement you made, because clearly you’re the one who is “pathetic,” as you described it.

Forman’s novel might occupy a certain part of the bookstore, but Moretz doesn’t love the “young adult” designation. She thinks it diminishes the book’s value. “What’s interesting about Gayle’s novel is that it’s not really that YA. It deals with issues that are much bigger…it’s much darker than I think most YA is,” says Moretz. “I want people to walk in and feel like they actually felt something, and learned something, and realized something different about life that’s more than just, ‘Oh, I saw this love triangle and it’s super sad because she chose the guy I didn’t like. And then the movie was over.’ And you’re like, ‘Okay, that’s pathetic.’ You want to watch something that actually means something and makes you feel and makes you want to be involved. That’s what I wanted to make and that’s what I strive to make.”

-Entertainment Weekly article

• Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books is looking for a co-blogger! She runs a fabulous blog so head on over if you think you may be interested. Or, head over just because her blog is awesome! 😉
• The Delirious Reader shared that she is a mood reader! I totally understand her frustration as I am a TOTAL mood reader. It definitely makes it a little more challenging to be a book reviewer.
• Rachel @ Confessions of a Book Geek did a second “Sharing the Bloggy Love” post featuring more bloggers! Go forth and discover new blogs!
• Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings started a new feature called “Flames to Embers” where she showcases books she requested but then lost interest in reader after a while. I think that’s such a great idea to narrow down the books that she may still want to pick up after other people’s comments!

Books I Added to My Shelves:

*thinks hard* Oh my gosh. I. Did. Not. Get. Any. More. Books. This. Week. AHHH! What an accomplishment! I restrained myself from requesting NetGalley or Edelweiss review copies! YAY! 😀

Recently Finished and Currently Reading:

I whizzed through Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, finishing it yesterday morning. I then veered away from my TBR for my #DustingofftheShelf read-a-thon to pick up Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. Still blowing the dust off of this one as I’ve had it for a while so I’m not cheating, promise! 😉

On My Blog:

• Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Top Ten Books for Wary Contemporary Readers
• Waiting on…The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
• Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

A lot less posts this week, but hopefully I’ll be back in full swing next week. Nothing planned so plenty of reading and blogging time! 😀

How was your week?! Let me know all about it in the comments!