Wrapping Up This Round of Bad Bloggers!

I think I was supposed to wrap up this round of Bad Bloggers a little while ago, but you know how things go...The books have been piling up though, so it was time to put a post up (past time really). I'm going to go ahead and announce the baddest blogger of them all at the end of this post and we'll start the next round from here :) I'll just make the next round last throughout the end of the year. That will be an easy date to remember!! So without further ado, here are the books that have come into the house since mid May, with appropriate blame given when applicable!

1. Soonchild by Russell Hoban - Here's a book that I read with a few blogging buddies of mine :) It wasn't a favorite of mine, though I didn't hate it either...still lots of thoughts to flesh out on this one! Definitely something very different from everything else out there though! (Bought it)

2. Wandering Son Volume 4 by Shimura Takako - I love this series SO MUCH!! Debi first told me about this series and I've been hooked ever since the first volume. I HATE waiting in between volumes. This one just came out and I breezed through it. I'll definitely bee reviewing this one soon and telling you more about it :) I have waaaaay too many books to review right now :/ (Bought it)

3. The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida - Here's a little book that's proof that picture books aren't just for children. I bought this book for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge for her Children's book themed month. And I'm blaming her for this and two other books that I bought as they were all her recommendations :p Review to come! Point to Bellezza! (Bought it)

4. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say - Here's another one for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge and yet another point for Bellezza :) (Bought it)

5. My Planet by Mary Roach - Look!! A book that you've likely never heard about by Mary Roach!! I say this because I had never heard about it either and I like to assume that others are as off of the radar as me :p But DEBI is more in the know than me and told me about this book making me want to read and was kind enough to pass it on to me :) But even though she gave me her copy, she's still getting the blame :p Point to Debs! (Gift from a friend)

6. Shipwrecked! by Rhoda Blumberg - Yet more proof that you can always learn more from children's books :) And yet another point for Bellezza! (Bought it)

 

7. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - Yeah...you can imagine how long this book went unread :p Not very long! Already read it, loved it, and reviewed it. Hope that you do the same! (Bought it)

8. Joyland by Stephen King - I can't wait to tell you all about this book!! I was expecting to like this one but it unexpectedly made me fall head over heels in love with it! Really great book. (Bought it)

9. The Constant Tower by Carole McDonnell - My dear friend Carole McDonnell has a new book out!!! I met Carole after reading her book Wind Follower years ago and I've been waiting for this book to be published ever since :) It's ashame that I haven't read it yet. But I'll fix that soon. The cover is just gorgeous and if it's even near as good as Wind Follower, it'll be a true gem of a read. And yes, she's taking the blame for a book she wrote :p Point to Carole! (Review Copy)

10. Between the Apple Blossom & the Water ed. by Pamela Norris - If you haven't visited Snowball's wonderful blog, Come, Sit By the Hearth, yet, you really should! It's always filled with wonderful poetry, inspiring quotes, sexy men in kilts, great little book reviews and she's started joining in Saturday Farmers Market lately and she's put up some of the most amazing posts! I asked her recently if she knew of any good poetry books that focus in particular on poetry about gardening and this book popped in her head which is just a collection of different women writers writing about gardening :) It's a lovely book! Point to Snowball! (Paperback Swap)

11. Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral - Now here's a book unlike anything else I've ever seen! Becky at One Literature Nut reviewed this one awhile ago and I knew I had to get my hands on it and I'm glad I did :) Quite the cool book. A mystery with hardly any words. Instead it relies on pictures, IMs, newspaper articles, etc. Point to Becky! (Bought it)

12. Ruined Landscapes by Ross Yockey - This is a gorgeous and heartbreaking book featuring paintings of the Balkan war zone accompanied by a history of the Balkan war that was highly educational and truly gripping as well. It's a topic I've recently become interested in, and thanks to Debi, I discovered this book that was just perfect to learn a little bit more about it. Point to Debs! (Paperback Swap)

13. The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy - It's a Simon book...anyone care to guess who gets the point for this one? Yep..it's Nancy the Bookfool :p Plus it just sounded too good to pass up! (Bought it)

14. Lucifer Vol. 1 by Mike Carey - I needed my Mike Carey fix while I'm waiting for the next volume of The Unwritten to come out (FEBRUARY T_T) Thankfully, there's some sort of spinoff of The Unwritten coming out called Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice coming out in September!! I've already preordered that one :p  (Bought it)

15. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - I've been hearing a lot about this book and I flipped through it the other day at Barnes and Noble and it really just looked fantastic! So I picked it up :) Looking forward to reading it :) (Bought it)

16. The Good Life Lab by Wendy Jehanara Tremayne - I don't have words for how cool this book looks! When I read the description I had to have it. The book is basically all about living as sustainable a life as possible and is BEAUTIFULLY designed with gorgeous artwork throughout. Can't wait to actually read this one :) (Bought it)

17. Kinfolk Volume 8 - This is easily my biggest splurge of the year, but I can easily say that it was worth it. You can call Kinfolk a magazine if you want, but it's really more like a journal or even a quarterly anthology. This is SUCH a gorgeous piece of journalism!! It's expensive yes, but when you look at each issue as the price of a book, it's suddenly not expensive at all. It's produced beautifully, the paper itself feels so nice, the photography, the design, the recipes, the crafts, the essays, the philosopy. I love it! I heard about it from a friend I've made through instagram who's name is Sara and you should definitely check out her beautiful photography :) So point to Sara! I'll have a review of this one coming up! (Bought it)

18. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - Well this is a book that I never thought I'd buy myself :p BUT as you know I like to collect my Penguins :p And since there's a Penguin Ink edition of this and I'm a completist, I had to have it of course :p And who knows, I may end up loving it! (Paperback Swap)

19. Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg - I just started this one the other night and fell in love with it instantly. I haven't laughed so hard in so long reading a book, but it's one of those books where I'll laugh really hard and then suddenly shut up over the reality of what's going on. I'll have a lot of thoughts on this one! (Bought it)

20. Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan - I've heard about this series of course for awhile now but it was Renay talking it about it on Tumblr the other day that finally pushed me over the edge and convinced me that I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!!! Can't wait to read it now! Point to Renay! (Bought it)

21. The Wild Trees by Richard Preston - I have been lusting over this one for farrrrr to long! Ever since Jeane reviewed it actually which was quite a while ago! And my turn has finally come up on Paperback Swap :) And it sounds like such a fantastic book! Point to Jeane! (Paperback Swap)

And now here are the breakdowns for the points!

Debi - 5
Bellezza - 3
Pat - 3
Jeane - 3
Beth F - 2
Kelly - 2
Jill - 2
Care - 2
Lu - 2
Becky - 2
Carole - 2
Sharon - 1
Andi - 1
Snowball - 1
Renay - 1
Darren - 1
Lenore - 1
Memory - 1
Nancy - 1
Sara - 1
Ante - 1
The Book Smugglers - 1
Amy - 1
Shelf Awareness - 1

That means that DEBI!!! You are the baddest blogger of all this round :D Which means that you are damned to take a book upon your already toppling shelves and you CANNOT say no!!!! Not allowed because as you can see, you've put FIVE books on my stacks. Just let me know which book you would like that I've reviewed and it's yours :) Any book that I've reviewed in the last 7 years is yours :)

Fresh start from here and the next baddest blogger will be announced at the end of the year!