Wrap Up|| June.

Posted on June 29, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

June is almost gone? I can’t believe we’ve gotten through half of 2018 already. At the beginning of the month I created this June TBR that featured mostly graphic novels and I was able to read almost every single one of those graphic novels on my list. I missed reading two. I was also able to read two of the regular novels on my TBR as well, then a couple random ones that weren’t listed. I mostly stuck to my TBR, which is amazing for me because I don’t usually. I actually read a lot this month (8 graphic novels & 4 other books) even with battling a slight reading slump toward the end of the month. The graphic novels helped get my book count high though!

I’m posting a couple days early, because I don’t see myself finishing anymore books this month. Now onto my June wrap up; it’s a lot you guys, so be prepared. 😛 Here are the books that I read in June and books I am still currently reading. You can find a full list of these books and the other books I read this year over here. All will be linked to Goodreads below and I will also link to individual blog posts if I did a review for them.

Physically Read Books:
These are the books that I read by myself (not audiobooks) throughout the month of June.

Only the Devil Tells the Truth by Jake Parent – 4 out of 5 stars.
Only the Devil Tells the Truth is about a recovering addict writing a book about his past and having to relive some of those things. It was a really good book and I enjoyed it. It was pretty sad at times too.

All Summer Long by Hope Larson – 4 out of 5 stars. – Review.
All Summer Long is a middle grade graphic novel. It was a really fun read and has great illustrations. Perfect for the summer. Even as an adult I really enjoyed it. Took me back to all those summers as a kid trying to figure out what I wanted to do all summer long. 😛 Feel free to check out my review for more.

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol – 4 out of 5 stars. – Review.
Another middle grade graphic novel. I really enjoyed Be Prepared. Summer camp vibes, but also a little sad at times. Really great story and illustrations. Even as an adult, this middle grade graphic novel was great. Feel free to check out my review for more.

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw – 4 out of 5 stars.
I’ve been dying to read The Wicked Deep and I finally go the chance. It was so good, omg! I really enjoyed it so much. Define creep factor as well. I am really looking forward to the Netflix movie now. It’ll be interesting seeing how they do it.

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed – 3 out of 5 stars.
Love, Hate & Other Filters was another book that I’ve been really wanting to read. I enjoyed the story and the characters, but it didn’t blow me away like I had hoped it would. I still really liked it though and would recommend.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang – 5 out of 5 stars
The Prince and the Dressmaker was so freaking good! I loved it. It’s a graphic novel as well, which was great. I loved all the illustrations. It’s about a Prince that loves to wear dresses and no one knows about it except two people. It’s more than just that though. I recommend checking it out! “A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.” It definitely stole my heart.

Wires and Nerve Vol. 1 by Marissa Meyer – 3 out of 5 stars.
I have been on the fence about reading Wires and Nerve, because I am not the biggest Lunar Chronicles fan. I honestly don’t understand the hype with that series, sorry! Wires and Nerve was good though. It didn’t blow me away, but neither did the Lunar Chronicles and all of those characters make appearances in this one. It was still enjoyable though and I liked it. It was nice catching up with the characters and seeing what they were doing. It takes place after Winter. I do want to read the next volume.

Garden of Fiends by Mark Matthews + Other Authors – 5 out of 5 stars.
Holy crap, the stories in Garden of Fiends were pretty freaking crazy! Addiction is real and so many people around the world have to live with it every single day. Some of these stories are completely crazy and so far out there, but the ideas and feelings behind them are so real. Addiction is a bitch. It’s a struggle every single day. I don’t know from experience, but I’ve read so many books and stories about addiction. I applaud anyone that has to live with this disease because it’s not an easy road (active or not). Recovery is just as hard, but you’re doing it and that counts for everything. “Until you’ve had your mind and soul hijacked by addiction, it is difficult to comprehend the craving for substances. In the throes of a craving, the desire to obtain and use substances equals the life force for survival itself. Imagine yourself drowning and being told not to swim to the surface for air.”

Saga, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan – 4 out of 5 stars.
Saga, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan – 4 out of 5 stars.
Saga, Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan – 4 out of 5 stars.
Saga, Vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan – 4 out of 5 stars.
I finally read more of the Saga series and it’s so freaking good! I am really enjoying it so much and I am dying to get my hands on the next volumes! I love the characters and the worlds. It’s so fun to read and so many damn feels, holy crap! All the illustrations are so awesome too. Crazy/weird/cool looking characters as well, but totally awesome.

Currently Reading Books:
These are the books that I started to read in the month of June, but didn’t get a chance to finish them yet.

I don’t like that I am reading three books at one time, because I never do this. But they are all three completely different, so that helps not mixing them up LOL. I also read them all at different times and depending on my mood, so that also helps. These are the books that I am currently reading.

Circe by Madeline Miller
I am still trying to finish Circe. It’s just not really holding my attention as much as I hoped it would. I like it, it’s good; but it’s not great. It has it’s really good moments, but then it has it’s really boring moments. I’m stuck in one of those boring moments, so it’s been hard for me to want to pick it up. I want to push through though, because I do like it and want to see how it ends. I”m about 60% into it currently, so I am getting there. Just not at the speed I had hoped.

Peter Darling by Austin Chant
I am also reading Peter Darling. I’ve been really wanting to read this one and my library finally got it. It’s a Peter Pan retelling (it’s also an LGBTQ+ book, which is awesome) and I am stoked. I’m about 20% into it and it’s pretty good so far. I am looking forward to reading more of it today.

Anatomy of Addiction by Howard Markel
I am also reading (three books, I know UGHH) An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug, Cocaine (the actual title is ridiculously long lol). I’m maybe 12% into it and it’s pretty interesting so far. This is my at home book (I have a book I read at home and books I read other places LOL), so I am looking forward to reading it all weekend.

What did you read in June? Have you read any of the books that in June? Feel free to link me to your wrap up posts, so I can check them out!

In case you missed it;
Book Haul|| June.
Travel|| Topeekeegee Yugnee (T.Y.) Park.
Book Tag|| Mid-Year Freak Out.

I hope you have a great Friday and weekend!

ashleyblack

Book Haul|| June.

Posted on June 28, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

I made it the entire month without buying any physical books! I’m not counting e-books, because sometimes I can’t control myself when it comes to those e-book deals LOL. Even though I didn’t buy any books, I did get some Fall ARCs from Fierce Reads and Little, Brown Books/The Novl in the mail this month. I didn’t get the chance to take pictures of my books for the blog and bookstagram, but I put the book covers from Goodreads below. You can check out all the books I own over here. There’s also links on that page to my Kindle books and my physical books. I need to update the lists, it’s been a couple months. Enough rambling, here is my June book haul.

Books from Fierce Reads:

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney (September 2018)
Wilder by Andrew Simonet (November 2018)
Black Wings Beating by Alex London (September 2018)
Unbroken by Marieke Nijkamp & Other Authors (September 2018)

I am really stoked that Fierce Reads sent me a package with some Fall ARCs, because I am really looking forward to these. They’ve all been high on my list of books that I want to read.

Books from The Novl:

Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert (August 2018)
The War Outside by Monica Hesse (September 2018)

I am also really excited that I was sent these two books from The Novl. I read Brandy Colbert and Monica Hesse’s other books and enjoyed them, so I can’t wait to read their new books. Finding Yvonne was signed too! There was a note included that said they appreciate me always sending in my reviews, so they wanted to give me a signed copy of Finding Yvonne. That was really cool!

Hopefully I’ll be reading all of these all soon and reviews to come. 🙂 I also have some ARCs from July that I will hopefully read ASAP and get those reviews posted as well. I need to play ARC catch up. Life has just gotten in the way these last couple months. I’m thinking of doing a post (or page on my blog) of all the ARCs and books that I need to read and review. I’ve posted about them in haul posts before, but I think it’ll be nice to have a post to go back to and check the books off of as I read and post the reviews for them.

E-Books:

Posted by John Davis Anderson
Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
To the Bridge by Nancy Rommelmann
The Temptation of Adam by Davis Connis
Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Top Ten by Katie Cotugno
Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West
All Out by Saundra Mitchell & Various Authors
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Okay, so there were a ton of e-books on sale this month that I’ve been really wanting to read. I couldn’t resist getting them. Like the Temptation of Adam, I have been dying for that book to go on sale. I already own a physical copy of Circe, but it was on sale so I decided to just get it because I feel like I’ll finally finish it if I have the e-book (weird logic, I know lol). My hold at the library was at like number 60 in line and I want to finally get it finished before the end of July. I own The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto too, but Mitch Albom is one of my favorite authors and I have all his books on e-book (and physical) so when I seen it on sale I couldn’t pass it up. 😛 I still haven’t read it either, which hopefully I will soon.

What books did you get this month? Have you read any of the ones that I got? Feel free to link me to your posts so I can check them out!

In case you missed it;
Travel|| Topeekeegee Yugnee (T.Y.) Park.
Friday Finds #73.
Book Tag|| Mid-Year Freak Out.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Travel|| Topeekeegee Yugnee (T.Y.) Park.

Posted on June 25, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

I am finally posting the pictures that I took when my sister and I went to a park down the street from my house. We had nothing else to do, so we decided to take my cameras around to see what we can take pictures of. Warning, it’s a post of a lot of trees. This park is FULL of trees, lol. I love these trees though, because they have leaves and vines growing on the branches and they look really neat.

My younger sister (Stephanie) came down to visit for the weekend a few weeks ago and we took my cameras out. I let her use my Nikon COOLPIX while I had my Nikon D3400. As you scroll, you’ll see a ton of trees like mentioned above. LOL.

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My sister took the bottom right corner picture of me. I didn’t know she was taking pictures of me, lol. I like it though.

We saw quite a few iguanas at the park, which is always neat. They are everywhere here in Florida. I have more iguana pictures, but I must have moved them off my phone already. I was also able to get a shot of this dragonfly too.

This park also has a water park in it, so these are two things from where the water park is. I love the different signs, especially the ones that say “the moon” and “going crazy”. They also have this really big chair outside of the water park too; it says “Castaway Island”, which is what the water park is called. I’ve only ever been to the water park once since living here and it’s pretty neat.

We took my lensballs with us to the park and took some pictures with those too. I got a few good shots. The above picture is a behind the scenes picture I took of my sister taking a picture of the lensballs with her phone. I edited it to only show color on her phone screen.

I already shared this one, but I am posting it again since it goes with this post. It’s a picture of me that my sister took. Me in the lensball taking a picture of her, lol. And below are a bunch of different lensballs pictures that I took.

The last four pictures are just some random pictures I took while at the park. No real explanation for them, but I thought they were cool.

The next day we went to visit my dad and went to another park. I’ll have those pictures coming soon. 🙂 I’ll also have a post of the pictures I’ve taken over the last 2.5 months that I haven’t been posting. Feel free to follow me on Instagram (heyyitsashley)! A lot of these haven’t been posted on my Instagram yet though, so you’re seeing them first! Eventually they’ll make their way on there. I take so many pictures and don’t want to post a million at one time, so I hoard pictures to post later, lol.

In case you missed it;
Friday Finds #73.
Random|| Life Update.
Book Tag|| Mid-Year Freak Out.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Friday Finds #73.

Posted on June 22, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

It’s been three months since I’ve done one of these posts and over the last few months I have added a TON of books to my Goodreads TBR shelves. Today I am sharing ten out of probably hundred of ones I added since my last post. LOL. 😛 I think I am going to start doing this post more frequently again, because I added so many and want to share them.

These are all books that I added to my good reads “TBR” shelf, but do not own (yet) or are not released yet. There won’t be book descriptions this time since I am posting ten books, but I will link them all to Goodreads, so you can check them out! You can see more of my TBR over on my Goodreads account over here and feel free to add me as a friend.

Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith
Dry by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Southernmost by Silas House
The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah) by Ann Hood
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
The Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson
Any Second by Kevin Emerson

Jeff Zentner has talked about Southernmost so much on social media, so I had to add it to my TBR. If Zentner loves it, then I need to be reading it. So far his recommendations haven’t failed me. A book about the Beatles (She Loves You) and a Frankenstein retelling (The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein), I’m here for it! These other books listed all sound so good and I am really stoked for them all.

Have you added any new books to your TBR? Feel free to link me to your posts if you have one or leave a comment letting me know what new books you added to your TBR.

Thank you for all the comments on my last post. I really needed to vent all of that out and I’m still working on what to do. I’ll reply back soon and catch up with your posts when I get some free time today. 🙂

In case you missed it;
Random|| Life Update.
Book Tag|| Mid-Year Freak Out.

I hope you have a great Friday and weekend!

ashleyblack

Random|| Life Update.

Posted on June 20, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

So I think I am battling a reading slump, which totally sucks! I was flying through books this month. I was making pretty big progress with my June TBR (check it out here). I read seven books (most were graphic novels) and then finished another that I had started in May. That’s eight books I read at the beginning of this month and I read them so fast too and I think I burned myself out, to be honest. My current read Love, Hate, and Other Filters goes back to the library in SIX DAYS and I am not anywhere near to finishing it, because I haven’t been in the mood to read. I am really enjoying it too and that makes it worse, in my opinion.

I also have things happening in my life that are taking over brain space. My mind is elsewhere. I’ve even neglected finishing some school stuff, ugh. I have a lot of things that need to happen in such a short amount of time. I try to stay composed though and realistically, I probably brush off a lot of important things. If things don’t make me happy or things I don’t want to do, then I tend to ignore doing those things for as long as possible. I also have this mindset that whatever happens, happens. I mean, that’s a pretty good mindset…to an extent. It’s good for things that are not really in your control. What’s happening now was totally in my control…

I am a huge procrastinator, not going to lie. Example: I’ve known I was going to be moving for probably almost a year now and I have done nothing to move the process along to make it go more smoothly. I have three months now and….I’m fucked? Everyday I procrastinate things and then things happen that are no longer in my control and my trusty (not full proof, by the way) motto pops into my head “whatever happens, happens”. So when I say my mind is elsewhere, it’s on what the heck am I going to do about moving?

Where? How? How much is this going to cost? Savings? What savings? Things come up and there goes the savings. What about all the crap the hubby and I own? We own so much damn stuff, ughhh. What happen to minimalism this year? I had plans to toss pretty much all our stuff this year… <— I put that idea to the side and decided i’d come back to it later the next day after thinking it. I have four animals, who’s going to rent to someone with three cats and a dog? I’m sure there is ways around this, but I get paranoid they’ll find out and then we’ll be screwed. BLEHHHH. Life.

What about work? I am socially awkward (hence my blog name) and I also have MAJOR social anxiety…so the fact that I have to talk to my boss about potentially moving away but still REALLY wanting to keep my job is freaking me the hell out. I have the type of job that I can do it from home if needed. I have panic attacks thinking about this. If he says no, then we have to stay here; in this expensive city that realistically we just can’t afford anymore. Or if my boss says no and we still move to the cheaper city that I really want to move to, what am I going to do about a job? I can’t talk to people. SOCIAL ANXIETY SUCKS. I can’t handle finding a new job. Even thinking this is a possibility is scary as hell!

So what do I do when I can’t handle things? I pretend this is all a non-existent thing in my life and go about my life; doing whatever it is that I want to do instead of what I NEED to do. Sometimes I like to think I work harder (maybe even better) under pressure or a deadline, because I literally have no other choice but to do the work now that there is no time to stall or that word again…procrastinate. That’s not a good way to go about life either, by the way. Everything is a lot easier when you give yourself time to actually do things instead of trying to do a million things in a short amount of time on top of your regular life stuff. It only drives you crazy.

I honestly had no intentions of this post to turn out like this. I was actually going to tell you guys I was in a reading slump and then post pictures that I took while at the park with my sister a couple weeks ago. I am so tired of adulting. Not that I really do much of it aside from pay my bills on time. That’s probably the only thing I got right as far as this adult thing goes. Sometimes I buy vegetables. I think I rambled way too much and I think I needed to just vent this all somewhere.

Anyway, this is part of why I’ve been so MIA on here. It’s also what kick-started this reading slump. I have so many things I need to figure out. I also need to figure out how to get over my fear of talking to my boss, because I really need to do it ASAP. The sooner the better, especially because we need to do know if we’re staying or going. Enough of that though. Here’s a lens ball picture of me that my sister took. I was taking a picture of her taking a picture of me through the lens balls, lol.

I’ll share all of my other pictures soon. I have some from when my sister and I went to a park. I also have some from when we visited our dad and we went to another park. And then a TON more from the last 2.5 months. I’m sorry if I continue to be a little less active for awhile. This post pretty much explains why and also what my life is going to be like the next few months trying to figure all of this out!

In case you missed it;
Book Tag|| Mid-Year Freak Out.
Thoughts|| Be Prepared.
Thoughts|| All Summer Long.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Book Tag|| Mid-Year Freak Out.

Posted on June 14, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

booktag

Hey!

I seen this tag over on Kelly’s (Another Book in the Wall) blog and decided to give it a go today. I usually do the mid-year freak out tag every year, so I am excited to do it once again!

1. Best Book You’ve Read This Year?

Definitely a tie between Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes and Inferno by Julie Kagawa. They are both series enders and OMG, they were amazing. The Falling Kingdoms and the Talon Saga forever hold pieces of my heart. They are my two favorite series of all-time now. I am so sad they are over, but holy crap were they everything I could ever hope for!

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read in 2018?

The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors and he has not disappointed with the Magnus Chase series. The sequel was perfect and I can’t wait to read the next book.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To?

SO. MANY. OMG. I’ll stick with books that I own and choose Puddin’ and Leah on the Offbeat. I bought those on their release dates and still haven’t had the chance to get to them yet. I am super stoked for them both.

4. Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half Of The Year?

I am so stoked for Patrick Ness’ new book And the Ocean Was Our Sky. I need to own and read everything Ness writes, because he is amazing. I can’t wait to get my hands on his new book in September.

5. Biggest Disappointment?

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp. I loved her first book so much and her new book sounded like it was going to be really good. It was a pretty big disappointment for me, because it was just way too weird for me and there were a lot of times where I was just beyond annoyed with everything happening. It also didn’t really make sense to me at times and left me more frustrated than anything. It wasn’t for me.

6. Biggest Surprise?

I’m going to choose Turtles All the Way Down by John Green for this one. It was a big surprise, because I honestly went into this book thinking that I wasn’t going to like it. John Green’s books are usually a hit or miss and mostly a miss for me. I absolutely loved Turtles All the Way Down though and I was completely shocked that I did! It was so amazing and I already want to reread it again.

7. Favorite New To You Or Debut Author?

Holly Black! I read The Cruel Prince and OMG it was amazing! I loved everything about it and I can’t wait to read her other books. I feel like I have been missing out!

8. Newest Fictional Crush?

Prince Cardan from The Cruel Prince. I loved his character. He’s wicked, he’s cruel, but there is more to him than meets the eye.

9. Newest Favorite Character?

Penny and Sam from Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi. They were such great characters and I love how they balanced each other out in the book. By the way, Emergency Contact was AMAZING. It was one of my highly anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. Loved it.

10. Book That Made You Cry?

your name. by Makoto Shinkai. HOLY CRAP, AMAZING. Also, the feels. So many feels. I was crying throughout, lol. So damn good though and the movie was even better.

11. Book That Made You Happy?

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. This book was so damn cute and had me smiling like crazy. Also, Rishi…ahhh, he is also a new fictional crush. LOL 😛

12. Favorite Book-To-Film Adaptation?

I just watched Every Day this week and the movie was so good. I loved the book by David Levithan so much when I read it back in 2015, so I was stoked when the movie came out. I can’t wait for third book in October.

13. Favorite Post You Have Done This Year?

Honestly, I’m not really sure about this one. I guess one of my picture posts. I posted a few travel ones that were fun to write and share pictures. Linked below:

Travel|| Biscayne National Park.
Travel|| Butterfly World.

14. Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year?

I am going to go with beautiful covers for this one. I am a sucker for beautiful book covers. Isn’t everyone? 😛 My top three that I bought this year so far is Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi. I love these covers so much! I still need to read these books too, haha.

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of the Year?

Again, SO MANY! I want to try to read more of my older books that have been on my shelves the longest. I actually made a list at the beginning of the year of all the older books on my shelves that I want to read this year. A couple being Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

I have a picture post in the works, but currently I am a bit overwhelmed with it because the last one I did was two months ago. So I have a TON of pictures I want to post on my blog and I also have a ton of pictures I still need to go through. It might just have to be multiple posts, because two months of pictures is A LOT! I also have to catch up with your posts and comments. I’ve been MIA this week, because I haven’t really been in the mood to blog and I have some other things going on, so I’ve been busy. I also feel a cold coming on. Thanks to my sister for getting me sick, ugh. I needed a little break. I’ll catch up soon! 🙂

In case you missed it;
Thoughts|| Be Prepared.
Thoughts|| All Summer Long.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Thoughts|| Be Prepared.

Posted on June 13, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

beprepared

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
4 out of 5 stars.

Goodreads Description: All Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there’s one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp. Vera is sure she’s found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the “cool girl” drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!

I was sent a copy of Be Prepared from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Release date was April of this year (2018).

Be Prepared is a middle grade graphic novel. For it being middle grade, I really enjoyed it a lot. I’ve always wanted to go to summer camp as a kid, but never had the chance to experience it. Vera gets the chance to finally go to a summer camp like all her friends get to do every year. She’s already having a hard time fitting in at home, so when she gets the chance to go to a Russian summer camp she is really stoked about it, but it ends up not being like she expected it to be.

Be Prepared is sort of like a true story, because it’s about the author’s time at summer camp from the bits and pieces that she can remember and piece together. I thought that was really cool. She even included real letters from her and her brother’s time at camp. The story itself was great. I really enjoyed the characters and there were a lot of funny moments. In a way it was also a bit sad, because Vera is trying to find her place at camp and it’s not that easy at the beginning. She doesn’t have the easiest time as her brother did.

Overall, I really liked this story and the characters. I loved the illustrations. It was fun and even some life lessons mixed into it. It’s a great summer read, especially for the younger crowd. I’m way past middle grade years, but it was still enjoyable as an adult as well. I would definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you have little ones. I think they would enjoy it. My nephew is perfect age for this one, so I will be passing this one along to him.

In case you missed it;
Thoughts|| All Summer Long.
Photo A Day|| June 1-5.
June TBR {Maybe}.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Thoughts|| All Summer Long.

Posted on June 11, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

allsummerlong

All Summer Long by Hope Larson
4 out of 5 stars.

Goodreads Description: Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he’s off to soccer camp for a month, and he’s been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it’s up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it’s a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin’s older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he’s acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.

I was sent a copy of All Summer Long from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Release date was May 1st of this year (2018)

I first want to point out that All Summer Long is a middle grade graphic novel. I don’t read a ton of middle grade books, but I do like reading them from time to time. I’ve been wanting to branch out to more graphic novels as well, so it was exciting that All Summer Long was a graphic novel. I really enjoyed this book and the illustrations were great. Bina’s best friend Austin went away to soccer camp so she has to figure out how she was going to spend her summer and how to have a fun summer without him. It’s a really quick read, but still such a fun book.

All Summer Long had me missing when I was a kid and had summer vacation from school. I really liked Bina and totally awesome that she plays guitar! I’ve always wanted to learn to play guitar. I love that she is so into music too, because I LOVE music. I could relate to her on that level and obsessing over my favorite bands. I was happy to see Bina bond with Austin’s sister, although at times I wasn’t his sister’s fan. There were a ton of fun (and funny) moments that happen throughout the story. Overall, I thought it was a quick, cute, and fun story. It’s perfect for summer. Even though it’s targeted for middle grade, I personally still thought it was a good book.

In case you missed it;
Photo A Day|| June 1-5.
June TBR {Maybe}.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Photo A Day|| June 1-5.

Posted on June 7, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

I’ve been taking part in monthly photo a day challenges on my Instagram account (heyyitsashley) and I’ve been having a lot of fun with them (when I don’t fall behind on pictures). I figured I would also cross post them to my blog as well. I think for the purpose of blogging, I will post 3-6 per blog post that I do throughout the month. That way I am not spamming my blog with a million photo a day posts back to back. You can follow me on Instagram (linked above) if you want to see them daily though! Some of these pictures will be taken with my Nikon. There will also be some taken with my iPhone.

June 1st-5th.

Instagram Caption: the target balls are mickey mouse today! 🎯 || photo a day • circle.
Camera: iPhone X.

I went to Target on Friday and noticed that the balls they have outside of the store were dressed like Mickey Mouse. I was pretty stoked about it, so I had to get a picture. I remember when Pokemon Go first came out, Target painted them to look like Pokeballs. I was curious why about the Mickey Mouse ears, but when I went inside I noticed they had a new section of the store dedicated to all things Mickey Mouse.

Instagram Caption: found a bunch of these guys munching on leaves at the beach today. 🐛🌿 || photo a day • snack.
Camera: Nikon D3400.

I went walking around the beach with my mom and aunt for a little bit and snapped some pictures. It finally stopped raining, so I was able to take my camera out. I seen a bunch of these caterpillars eating leaves. They look so fuzzy and a little creepy. 😛

Instagram Caption: beach day with @lingytm 🌊☀️✌🏼 || photo a day • i sat here.
Camera: iPhone X.

On Sunday, my cousin Michelle came to hangout and we went to the beach and then wen to grab some tacos from a taco place on the beach. It was just her and I, so that was cool. The sun wasn’t too bad when we first got there (we went really early around 9am). We ate lunch around 11am and then went back to my house. I got in the pool to get a lot of the sand off me and because the sun really came out while we ate lunch and it was pretty brutal having to walk so much back to the car in the sun and heat. Our beach has a lot of restaurants and bars on a little strip, so we walked a pretty far amount to the taco place. It was a lot farther than we both actually thought it was. Still a fun time!

Instagram Caption: “that dope ass beat in your heart, vibe to it.” || photo a day • this is so me! • i don’t know why, but i’m forever taking pictures of my shoes.
Camera: Nikon D3400.

Just a random picture. I don’t really have any explanation for it, lol. I tend to take a lot of pictures of my shoes for some reason. I’m not entirely sure why, but I guess it’s my thing. It was also perfect for the topic of “this is so me”, since it’s just something I always do.

Instagram Caption: forever heart eyes for this apartment building every time i see it at the beach. it’s so huge and so pretty. || photo a day • favourite.
Camera: Nikon D3400.

This is a huge apartment building on the beach. This picture isn’t even half of it. It’s also so pretty. It’s probably one of my favorite buildings along the beach, lol. I actually really love how this picture turned out too.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a regular picture/life update, so I may do that soon or at least at some point this month. I’ve taken a lot more pictures over the last couple months that are not a part of the photo a day challenge, so I want to post those on my blog as well. I have a few reviews that I need to do, so those may be coming next week.

In case you missed it;
June TBR {Maybe}.
Photo A Day|| May 25-31.
Wrap Up|| May.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

June TBR {Maybe}.

Posted on June 5, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

junetbr

Hey!

I am so bad with sticking to TBR lists, but I decided to make one for this month because I have a pretty good idea about what I want to read this month. I’m dedicating this month to a lot of graphic novels and hopefully will also have time for some other books as well. I have quite a few graphic novels that I own that I finally want to read.

Graphic Novels:

All Summer Long by Hope Larson
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer
Maus Vol 1 & 2 by Art Spiegelman (2 to read)
Saga Vol 2, 3, 4, 5 by Brian K. Vaughan (4 to read)

I already read Saga Vol 2 & 3 yesterday and I am currently reading All Summer Long right now. I was able to get volumes 4 & 5 of Saga from the library, but I will eventually be buying my own copies. I love the series so far. I’m nervous about Wires and Nerve, because I didn’t really like the Lunar Chronicles all that much.

Other books if I have time:

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (Library)
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw (Library)
Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (Library)
Circe by Madeline Miller

If I have some time this month, then I hope to read these four books and I also want to finish Circe as well. I still have the second half the book to read, but I ended up putting it on hold for now. I’m just not as into it as I thought I would be. I was able to get the e-books from my library, so hopefully I’ll get around to reading some of them before they get returned. The books on this list are books that I have been DYING to read, so I am hoping to get to at least a couple if not all.

This is a pretty big TBR, but I am hoping since I am reading a lot of graphic novels, I’ll be able to fly through them. I read Saga Vol 2 & 3 in one day and I probably could have read 4 & 5 yesterday as well if I hadn’t started something else. 😛 So we’ll see what happens!

What’s on your June TBR? Have you read any of the ones on my list? Any that you think I should read ASAP?

I hope to catch up with your posts and reply to comments later today or tomorrow if I don’t have time today. 😀

In case you missed it;
Photo A Day|| May 25-31.
Wrap Up|| May.
Book Haul|| May.

I hope you have a great day!

ashleyblack

Photo A Day|| May 25-31.

Posted on June 1, 2018 by ashley @ socially awkward bookworm

Hey!

Days 25-31 of May.

I did end up skipping of the days, but not sure which one since I don’t number the days on my IG account.

Instagram Caption: i am over this rain 😒☔️🌿 || photo a day • macro.
Camera: Nikon D3400.

I really love this picture, but it does look a little fuzzy to me because my camera lens kept fogging up. As soon as I wiped it away, I had only seconds to get a picture before it would fog up again. The humidity, plus taking my camera from a cold house to a really hot humid rainy outside resulted in my fogged up lens UGH. I took multiple shots and then just gave up, lol. This was the best one.

Instagram Caption: my mom has a little pineapple growing in her garden. 🍍 || photo a day • garden.
Camera: Nikon D3400.

My mom’s pineapple plant is going strong. It actually looked like it was pretty dead only a couple days before this picture. It came back to life though! It’s so pretty. I love when it gets pink and starts to get little purple flowers blooming out of it.

Instagram Caption: it stopped raining long enough for me to snap a few pictures outside today. || photo a day • make.
Camera: iPhone X.

OMG, it stopped raining for like a couple hours! I was able to take my camera around outside my house to snap a few pictures. I think the rain is finally going to stop for awhile though and I am stoked. I am hoping I can actually go somewhere this weekend. I’m tired of sitting at home every single weekend due to this stupid rain. This is a picture of my new Nikon D3400!

Instagram Caption: my girls ♡ || photo a day • silhouette.
Camera: iPhone X.

Leaf & October. I love these girls so much. They love to sit and look out of the sliding glass doors. There is also always cats that run around our backyard, so they like to watch them too.

Instagram Caption: a year ago today i walked around an entire city and then walked up 87 steps to hang with my dude, abraham lincoln. probably one of my all-time favorite moments in DC. 🇺🇸 || i need another vacation, ugh. || photo a day • temptation.
Camera: Nikon Cool Pix.

I ended up reposting two pictures from my honeymoon for this day. These are from when we went to Washington DC. I loved Washington DC so much. It’s probably one of my favorite cities that I’ve been to so far. We literally walked around the entire city and it was ridiculously hot outside too. The Lincoln Memorial was one of our last stops. Saved the best for last! After all the walking, we finally decided to catch a bus, and then a taxi to a pizza place. After we ate, we caught the metro back to Virginia. Such a fun day though! I still need to do my honeymoon post, ahh. It’s been a year since I’ve been wanting to do it.