February Wrap-Up

Here we are, another month over and I was not nearly as productive in February as I wanted to be which has put me behind in both knitting and reading. As always I have linked all the book titles to Good Reads (or Amazon if I can't find it on Good Reads).

On the plus side I obtained a lot fewer books than last month. But I still added five new ones. First up are the two that I actually purchased.First is The Longing in Me by Sheila Walsh. I bought this for the bible study I went to with a woman from my mother's church. I also bought the associated study guide. I haven't read it yet but the bible study was pretty good. I loaned the book to the woman at the church I went with since I'm quite behind on my reading. The other book I bought was yet another Leigh Bardugo book, this one is The Language of Thorns. It's part of the Grishaverse series and it's beautiful. As always I took pictures.
So we have the cover (plus dust jacket):

 The dust jacket is textured, all the design and lettering on it is raised and it feels rough, almost like cloth or something. Unlike other books that have plain covers, this one the naked hardcover is just as beautiful:

I mean look how pretty that is, I am in love with this book already and I haven't even read it yet. So this book is a little unusual too as it's illustrated. Every story has it's own illustration that starts out small in the corner of the pages and ends with a full page illustration at the end. For example this is the starting and ending illustration of the first story.
So the first story starts with this illustration of just a little castle tower in the upper right hand corner:

And it ends with this full page spread, notice the same little castle tower in the corner of it:

So yeah, completely in love with this book and its gorgeous illustrations. But those are the two books I bought this month.

In addition to these two books I also got three others in my book boxes this month. The first one was The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert that I received in my OwlCrate. It came with an exclusive cover and letter from the author. I've heard pretty mixed things on Booktube about this one but I'm still looking forward to reading it to make my own opinions. Next are the two I got in The Nocturnal Readers Box. The first one is S:ES by Koji Suzuki. It's the latest volume to be translated into English in The Ring saga which are the books the movie The Ring is based off of. The book was wonderfully macabre and I love it. The other book I got out of the box was Cast a Cold Eye by Alan Ryan. As always these are linked and if you want a better look at the books I have pictures of all of them in my unboxing posts.

As to my reading this month, I finished one book. Which is the book I started back in January: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. This was the second book in the Six of Crows duology. And I loved it. Seriously I cannot recommend these books enough. I love Leigh Bardugo's writing and if she ever runs across this, she can write more books featuring these characters any time now.

So for anyone keeping score my Good Reads Reading Challenge is set at 50 books. With the two I read in January and the one I read in February I have 47 books left to read in 10 months. That's 4.7 books a month. I'm not feeling very optimistic about this to be  honest but I'm planning on at least 5 books in March so we'll see.

Knitting projects are still plodding along. I got a couple more squares done on my Hue Shift Afghan for my brother and his fiancee. Honestly, it won't be done by March 31st so I'm shooting for their first anniversary.

So my to be read (TBR) pile for March has a bunch of books on it and I'm going to pick five books from it as I go. It has three horror books from the last two months of The Nocturnal Readers Box: S:ES by Koji Suzuki from February, Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall and Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester both from the January box. In addition to those three there's four YA books as well: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. I'm planning to read The Hazel Wood when the Official OwlCrate Book Club starts it's read along of it. The others are up in the air as to which ones I read in which order and they may get switched in and out with other books as I want. But for now the pile looks like this:

I think I'm going to start with the two on the far left (S:ES and A Court of Thorns and Roses) and see how it goes.

Anyway that was February. Here's to March!
-Emma and Richelle

February Nocturnal Reader's Box

Hi Again!
Richelle and Emma here with another bookish unboxing! This time we're unboxing The Nocturnal Reader's Box which can be found on Crate Joy just like OwlCrate. It's a horror themed bookish subscription box (as if I get any other kind of subscriptions). It costs $35 a month without shipping so I  pay right around $40 a month for it. Every box includes an enamel pin, two books (a new release and a previous release), an art print, a bookmark and some other bookish goodies, all horror themed. Recently they've started doing t-shirts fairly frequently but I've got so many t-shirts I have my account set up to receive tote bags instead of t-shirts.

So here's the outside of the box and the Nocturnal Reader's Box logo and then what you see when you open the box and remove the paper packing material to get to the actual items. That thing right there in the middle made me very excited because everything I've got packed like that is a glass and I LOVE glasses and mugs!

I was right! It is a pint glass. It says "Experience the Mayan Ruins" across the top and "Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico" across the bottom with a picture of one of the Mayan pyramids from Mexico. The spoiler card says it's from Scott Smith's The Ruins which sounds amazing and I might have to read it now. Regardless, the glass is awesome and I will use the crap out of it!

Next up is this months pin which according to the spoiler card is a WWI soldier in its final form from the book Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. This book also sounds really good and Dan Simmons is the author of one of my favorite books, The Terror, which I am currently rereading. It's a thriller based on the story of a real arctic expedition and ship called the HMS Terror that was lost in the arctic ice back in the 1800s but his telling of the doomed expedition has a dark twist. If you haven't read it, read it!

Next is a bandanna with art on it from Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones. Certainly not my favorite item I've received from them but it's pretty cool nonetheless. I don't know much about it but judging from the image on the bandanna and the synopsis on Good Reads I think it has kind of a Native American legend aspect to it which could be pretty cool.

Next is the tote bag (which is also the t-shirt design if you pick that option). It's a simple print with the most famous quote from The Amityville Horror which is a classic. I love it and I will certainly use it just like I use my NOS4A2 Christmasland one from December.

Then there's the art print for this month which is super creepy. I like the sketchy indefinite design to it and it will definitely go on my wall along with the rest of the horror art prints from these boxes. The spoiler card says this is from The Deep by Nick Cutter. Like most of the other things I get in this box I don't readily recognize it but the Good Reads page makes me think I'll like it with the plague aspect to the horror story (plague and disease based horror fiction is my favorite).

There's the bookmark that's pretty creepy. It's zombie-like bodies in a forest/swampy area. Black and white, super creepy. I love their bookmarks every time. They're small but very high quality and durable.

The first book I pulled out was the prior release which is Cast a Cold Eye by Alan Ryan. It's from Valancourt books and is an Irish ghost story with a ritualistic element to it. It's pretty short but sounds pretty good.

Finally I got to the last book which is the new release and it's a beauty. It's a hardcover with images on both the dust jacket and naked book on both the front and back. The book is S:ES by Koji Suzuki which is the 5th book in the Ring series. I've seen The Ring, never read the book, but I love the movie. I think it's wonderfully scary. According to the spoiler card The Ring series has related books but not necessarily books that are sequels so you can read them in whatever order you want which is good because I am so excited to read this book. So first up is the front and back of the dust jacket in that order.
Front:

And BACK:

And then the naked cover itself which also has printing on it (unlike most hardcovers).
FRONT:

And BACK

And then a close up of that little printed piece that's on the back of the book both on the dust jacket and the book itself.

This book looks and sounds so delightfully creepy. It has the same video tape related curse theme as The Ring but somehow creepier (there's a synopsis on the wikipedia page linked above, I couldn't find this book on Good Reads). Also disclaimer here, this book is considered a new release because the English translation was only released in December 2017. The book was released back in 2012 in Japan.

So that's the February Nocturnal Reader's Box. I think my favorite item is either the tote bag or the pint glass, but I do love the new release book.
Cheers and Happy Reading!

February OwlCrate Unboxing

Hello Everyone!
It's Richelle and Emma back again, this time for an unboxing of our very first OwlCrate! We're having a very busy week here. For Valentine's Day, Emma went to Richelle's work with her to meet the residents and get lots of cuddles. We're also helping plan a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law on Saturday. Plus extra shifts at work and killer migraines so it's been crazy. But today we received our very first OwlCrate subscription box. It's a box on Crate Joy. It's $29.99 a month and in each box you get a newly released YA hardcover book plus 3-5 other bookish goodies. Most of the swag in OwlCrate is exclusive and most (if not all) of the books have an OwlCrate exclusive cover and include things like signed copies, signed book plates and letters from the author so it's actually a pretty good value.

 So this is what the outside of the box looks like, which is super adorable with the OwlCrate logo. Second picture is what you see once you open the box (I removed the crinkle paper packing crap and put it straight in the garbage so it wouldn't get everywhere). At least this is what you kind of would see, I had to put everything back in the box after I dropped it while removing the packing materials so forgive everything being upside down.

So first things first, this is the spoiler card included in every box along with the matching pin, also included in every box. This month's theme was Hidden Worlds.The back of the card has all the items in the box along with what they're from and who made them. It's nice for references that I don't always get since I'm just now getting back into YA books.

First thing I pulled out was this little OwlCrate pouch and inside is a black necklace with a skeleton key with a top that looks like a button. I actually did know where this is from which is Neil Gaiman's Coraline, which if you haven't read it or seen the movie, do so immediately since it's absolutely awesome! It's a really nice necklace with a good heft to it, made out of metal. I will definitely wear it.

Next I pulled out the candle because I LOVE candles. This one is a soy candle by Books on Candles called Through the Wardrobe, which is a reference to the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. Emma really likes the scent and so do I. It's very wintry with kind of sweet notes to it. According to the spoiler card it's scented with pine, mint, and vanilla and I think it smells exactly like a magical forest in the winter would smell.

It

Then there's this zipper pouch which Emma was very interested to see into (spoiler, there's nothing in it). The pouch is a very nice heavy-duty vinyl with a metal zipper. It says 'We dreamed together of a world remade' which is a very cool quote even though I didn't know what it's from. The spoiler card says it's inspired by Daughter of Smoke and Bone which I've heard a lot about on booktube even if I haven't read it and I do intend to read it some time when I've gotten through my current to be read pile. The pouch was made by Risa Rodil and I will definitely use it, maybe for my knitting tools or the odds and ends in my purse/backpack.

Then there's this little sticker with Alice and the White Rabbit and cards and tea stuff from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I think it's absolutely adorable and it will definitely be going up on my bookcase along with all my other stickers. It was done by artist Naomi Lord and I love it.

The last item in the box (before the book) was this wall tapestry from Evie Bookish, whose stuff I absolutely adore. It's not from anything in particular but it has art of this girl falling into an open book and says "Books fall open, you fall in". I think it's absolutely stunning and it's very well made from a pretty heavy satiny fabric. The only problem is that it's HUGE. Like this picture of it is sitting on my twin-sized bed and it covers like 85% of it lengthwise and is just as wide as the bed. Like it's huge. I have NO IDEA where I'm going to put it but I'm going to find somewhere for it to go because it's beautiful.

 Last thing in the box was the book which comes wrapped in plastic with the other little items that go with the book. This month's book was The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. It's a YA fantasy novel about a girl named Alice who has lived her life on the run with her mother. After her grandmother dies, her mother is abducted by a dark figure who claims to be from the dark supernatural world of her grandmother's stories. So Alice teams up with a super fan of her grandmother's books to find her mother. It sounds really good (read the synopsis on Good Reads linked above because seriously I suck at summaries like this). My copy of The Hazel Wood came with an exclusive cover for OwlCrate. From the information included with the box it looks like the big difference is the primary color, the original is really dark like navy blue or black whereas the OwlCrate edition is a really nice forest green with gold printing. It also came with a letter from the author, a sheet of little stickers and the book itself was signed by the author which is one of the coolest things ever.

Consulting the spoiler card, it looks like the Coraline necklace, the Narnia candle, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone pouch, and the wall tapestry are all OwlCrate exclusive items, so the only thing not exclusive to OwlCrate is the Alice in Wonderland sticker. I really do love everything in this box, I'm really excited to read the book (I'll start it as soon as I finish Crooked Kingdom) and candles are pretty much my favorite things to get in subscription boxes.

The last things in the box is the little pamphlet which has an interview with the author of the book, a comparison of the exclusive cover and the original, a little word search related to the book, recommendations for other books like The Hazel Wood, an interview with the designer Risa Rodil who made the pouch, and a further sneak peak at the March box theme and the featured item.

Finally there's the card announcing March's theme which is Across the Galaxy. It's going to include an exclusive candle from Wick and Fable which I'm very excited about since I love candles and I love space/sci-fi things.

I think I'm going to put my Coffee and a Classic box on hold for a while in favor of OwlCrate just because the C&C box is the same price but I don't really enjoy or use the items that come with it. I keep wanting to like it more than I do but I just don't. So I'm going to keep an eye on C&C's facebook page to see what I'm missing out on and get OwlCrate for a while instead.

Anyway that was February 2018's OwlCrate: Hidden Worlds. I loved it so much.
Cheers,
Emma and Richelle

January Wrap-Up

So far we've failed at the blogging thing. February resolution is to do better. Anyway so here's a wrap up from January: what I read, what I got, what I'm knitting, just a general wrap-up post to start off February.

First of all I got a crap ton of new books. I had Christmas money from my grandmother that translated into new books. Plus three from my bookish subscription boxes, and a gift from the Pastor at my mother's church. So first up are the books I bought. The  first shipment were books I ordered with my Christmas money from Amazon. Most of them I chose based on books I've seen mentioned on booktube by some of the Booktubers I enjoy. They're all YA books. I'm looking to mellow out my reading list a little bit. I'm hoping to finish some books this year instead of just starting a whole bunch I never finish.

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo*
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber
• Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

So after finishing up the last book from last year I started Six of Crows first solely because it had the highest rating on goodreads. I loved it immediately. Honestly it's one of my favorite books. So I got halfway through the book and put in another order from Amazon to go a little crazy with Leigh Bardugo books. 

• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows Duology #2)
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Grishaverse Trilogy #1) 
• Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (Grishaverse Trilogy #2)
• Ruin and Rising  by Leigh Bardugo (Grishaverse Trilogy #3)

To round out the books I bought in January, I bought the first two DC Icons novels while at Costco in the middle of the month. I love DC comics, especially Wonder Woman and Batman so when I saw these two titles I had to buy them. The third book is coming out later this year and is a Catwoman one which I'm also very excited about. 

• Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo (DC Icons #1) 
• Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu (DC Icons #2)

So in addition to compulsively buying books, including nearly everything Leigh Bardugo has written, I also currently subscribe to two bookish subscription boxes. The first, Coffee and a Classic, is a monthly box that includes a book as well as something to sip (you can choose coffee, tea, cocoa, or random), a mug and other bookish goodies related to the theme. The second, The Nocturnal Readers Box, is a horror themed subscription box that includes a new release horror novel, a previous release horror novel, as well as an enamel pin, high quality art print, and other horror themed bookish goodies. 

My current subscription plan for Coffee and a Classic is the Nonfiction Light subscription with random beverage. It includes  a nonfiction book, something to drink (coffee, tea, or cocoa), two bookish goodies and a bookmark. This month the book was one I actual own and have read, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It included a sample bag of Espresso from Bones Coffee Company which was actually really good. It also included an1893 map of the Chicago World's Fair print, a Chicago pressed penny keychain, and a Ferris wheel metal bookmark. I gave the book to my brother's fiancee since she enjoys those types of books as well. I've liked my previous boxes but they seem a little lackluster for what I get in them so I'm going to skip a couple months and try out a couple different bookish boxes to decide whether I'd like to continue. 

The Nocturnal Readers Box is my favorite subscription box I've ever gotten. I put the art prints on my wall over my window and the books have always been ones I wouldn't pick up but I've enjoyed immensely. Every month it includes a new release as well as a previous release book so two books every month, along with a bunch of bookish goodies including an enamel pin and art print. This month I got a signed copy of the new release which was Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester. The previous release is Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall. The box also included a Bates Motel magnet from Psycho, a Poe-Bat-Cat pin, zombie Edgar Allan Poe coasters, Rosemary's Baby socks, a bookmark inspired by Brother by Ania Ahlborn, a key chain from Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn, and an 8x10 art print from Swan Song by Robert McCammon. This box continues to be one of my very favorites and I have yet to be disappointed by anything I've received in it. 

Finally I was gifted a copy of the devotional book Jesus Calling  by Sarah Young. I'm working my way through it since it was a very well meaning gift from my mother's pastor but I'm just not digging the daily devotional thing. 

I finished two books in January and started a third. The first book I finished was The Devil Crept In by Ania  Ahlborn. It's a horror novel that was previously included in a Nocturnal Readers Box. To tell you the truth I didn't exactly love it. I mean the book was good, it was well written and engaging but I really rather disliked the ending. It's a book with an ambiguous ending that you don't really know what to believe at the end. I'm not a fan of those kinds of endings but the book was still fairly good. I rated it a 3 stars on goodreads. The second book I finished was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo which I did absolutely love. The characters are relateable and even though the story can be very dark in places it's still humorous and light when it needs to be. I gave it a five stars on goodreads. Finally the book I started was of course the sequel to Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom also by Leigh Bardugo. I'm only a couple chapters into the book but I loved Six of Crows so I'm expecting to love this as well. 

Knitting is plodding along as it tends to. I'm working on a blanket for my brother and his fiancee for their wedding on March 31st. It's the Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence in the Decor Colorway. It's 4 sections of 25 mitred squares that all angle together towards a center point and is surrounded by a knit-on border. The colorway I chose is greens and blues and neutrals. Their wedding colors are blue and green and they helped pick out the colors. So far it's not going so well. I'm only about 3/4 of the way through the first quarter so I'll probably be done with it in time for their first anniversary. 

Anyway I hope to do better with the blogging in February and not all the posts will be this long. 

Cheers!

Emma and Richelle