What’s Up Buttercup • November Edition

What’s Up Buttercup is an overview of the past, present and future here on Words in a Teacup, posted around the middle of the month.

 

• WE MET ON NOVEMBER 1ST SO WE COULD GO AND SEE WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE IN HAMBURG AND IT WAS AMAZING (both the meeting and WTNV). We have photographic evidence too:
  

  There would’ve already been a post about it but some people on this blog are lazy butts.

• Ren made a list of Top Ten new series she wants to start. We’ll see how that goes for her!
• November’s Pick-For-Me is in full swing and while Isa’s not even midway through one of her picks, Ren has already finished one of hers! (Way to go, Ren, especially after you so steadfastly ignored the last couple of PFMs.)
• Ren also made a list of her Top Ten books she wants to re-read. It goes without saying that Know Not Why (you should all read that, btw, it’s awfully cute and fluffy) and Harry Potter made the list. They’re both all-time favourites of ours.
• The following week, we banded together and both contributed to the Top Ten Tuesday post! There are so many characters we wish would get their own books, it’s a miracle that we even like the books that they are only secondary characters in. Can you guess who wrote about which characters, though?
• In blog-unrelated news, Isa is almost through her probation period (two more weeks!!! I can do this!!) of her apprenticeship. She’s also fallen into a pit of Fleetwood Mac and can’t get out. (You haven’t had a religious experience yet unless you’ve seen Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham be awfully cozy together post-breakup. And look at that cute dancing… I might be suffering from emotions due to this. Similarly, seeing them perform Rhiannon is like watching an exorcism and it’s amazing. 10/10 would recommend on-stage exorcisms if they include Stevie Nicks.)

 

Recently Reviewed

 

 

Upcoming Reviews

That’s it for this month, buttercups. What’s going on with you? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Pick-For-Me • November

Pick-For-Me is a monthly feature where each of us picks two books for the other to read. Click here for details.




Isa: Those were some neat picks! Since I can barely manage to read one book per month these days, I opted for The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I liked it well enough, too!. Obviously I didn’t get around to Patrick Ness. Ren is not the first one to tell me to read it, so I swear I’m not going to just kick it off my TBR one day. It’s going to be read. I swear.

Ren: After last month’s picks were posted, I saw two or three reviews about Salt and Storm that were less than positive; in particular they said that the story was very romance-heavy, and since I was mostly interested in this book for the magic and the adventure, I’m not sure I’m going to read it any more. I did start The Kneebone Boy but unfortunately I’m not fond of the narrator so it’s slow reading. On a more positive note, though, I finally finished The Heiresses from August’s Pick-For-Me! It was hilariously terrible and I’m going to post a review soon!

Goodreads Links:
The Knife of Never Letting Go • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie • Salt & Storm • The Kneebone Boy




Ren for Isa

On Goodreads:
Witch For Hire • The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Ren: Since it was Halloween and all, I thought Isa might like a book about witches. And, er, one about wallflowers, which has nothing to do with Halloween at all. I only have a vague idea of what The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about, so I’m hoping Isa will read it and tell me. I hope those books are short enough that you’ll find the time to read one of them!



Isa for Ren

 

On Goodreads:
Moon Called • The Midwife’s Tale

Isa: Ren requested short books, so I picked these because they are short. Ish. They’re shortish, Rennie. I’ve been eyeing Moon Called for a while now, though not necessarily for myself, so I hope to get Ren’s opinion on it. The Midwife’s Tale I chose because midwives. I dunno why but I connect midwives with you now, Ren.


Are you also doing the pick-for-me challenge with a friend or over at Amy’s LJ community? What do you think of our picks this month? Let us know in the comments!

What’s Up Buttercup • October Edition

What’s Up Buttercup is an overview of the past, present and future here on Words in a Teacup, posted around the middle of the month.

 

• With the two of us working full time now, we still have to find a way to set aside time for reading and blogging! Some days we miss each other completely because Isa goes to bed before Ren gets home. :( However, we’re very excited about meeting up in a couple of weeks! We’re going to the Welcome To Night Vale live show… Expect a Random Ramble or two on the subject!
• Ren made a list of Top Ten Books on her Fall 2014 TBR List. She was a bit of a failure because she didn’t read any of the books on her summer list, but this time she’s trying to do better and she’s already read a book and a half.
• The PFM books for October were chosen, and Isa has already finished one of hers! Way to go! Sadly, Ren might DNF one of hers because of an annoying narrator.
• Ren listed Top Ten Books For Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels
• Tragedy struck when Isa’s Kindle broke for apparently no reason. To cope, she thought of several things you can do when your ereader breaks.

 

Recently Reviewed

 

 

Isa: No books this month (much like the previous months), but instead a new Kindle. Since, you know, my other one broke. Again. God. People should not give me technology. So far I am pretty happy with my new Kindle, which I’ve called Flora. It’s a bit different because I had a Kindle 4 before and now I have a Kindle 5, the main difference being touch! I still keep trying to move to the next page by pushing the buttons at the side, except that there are none. It takes a bit of getting used to but I really like it! It has some nice features too, like a vocabulary builder (oh my god I am in love right now) and Wikipedia integration and most importantly Goodreads integration, so despite the unexpected dent in my bank account, I am pretty happy with my new Kindle.

 

 

Upcoming Reviews

Looking Forward To

That’s it for this month, buttercups. What’s going on with you? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Pick-For-Me • October

Pick-For-Me is a monthly feature where each of us picks two books for the other to read. Click here for details.




Isa: Oh my god, I actually managed to read a book! Work and school and tiredness and all the stress are hell on my reading time (I would read more but I tend to fall asleep after half a page, so it’s a slow-going process these days), but yay I read a book! Out of Ren’s picks I opted for Rivers of London, because that one’s been on my TBR for ages. Well, not any longer! There were some really frustrating things about it, but I liked it all the same. I didn’t get around to Austenland, however. :( Sadface. Well, maybe some other time, right?

Ren: I’ve been a terrible reader this month. Out of the two picks, I only started The Princess Curse and I haven’t finished yet. A big part of it is that the book is very slow-moving, and since I’m familiar with the tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses that the book is based on, I already know what’s going on with the curse and there’s no suspense. Starting from next month I’ll have a long commute, though, which means a couple of hours every day just for reading. So I’m hopeful I’ll manage to finish a lot more books.

Goodreads Links:
Rivers of London • Austenland • A Thousand Pieces of You • The Princess Curse




Ren for Isa

On Goodreads:
The Knife of Never Letting Go • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Ren: A lot of bloggers seem to hold Patrick Ness in high esteem, but neither of us have read any of his books, so I’m curious as to what Isa’s opinion will be. Second… I’m sorry Isa for always picking mysteries for you, but you have so many in your TBR. I’m curious about this 11-year-old detective.



Isa for Ren

 

On Goodreads:
Salt & Storm • The Kneebone Boy

Isa: I very nearly chose Abhorsen since Clariel is coming out soon, but knowing you, you won’t even attempt to read my picks, so I don’t want to waste this one. ;) (I’m kidding. I know you’re trying very hard!) So instead I shall throw these two on you. The Kneebone Boy looks a bit like an Addams Family cover except that there are no shiny Wednesday braids. Sounds good, too! I hope you’ll enjoy it. And oh, I picked Salt & Storm because it has such a gorgeous cover, but also because witches!! Historical romance!! Sailors!! It should be right up your alley, amirite. (Well, obviously. You put it on your TBR, so there.)

Ren: That just makes me want to read Abhorsen instead… (Kidding, kidding. PFM is serious business.)


Are you also doing the pick-for-me challenge with a friend or over at Amy’s LJ community? What do you think of our picks this month? Let us know in the comments!

What’s Up Buttercup • September Edition

What’s Up Buttercup is an overview of the past, present and future here on Words in a Teacup, posted around the middle of the month.

 

• The good news: Ren finally found a job! She starts on October 1st and is very excited about finally becoming an actual adult with an actual salary. The bad news is that, with both bloggers working full time, posts will remain scarce in the foreseeable future. We’ll try to make it up by writing extra-interesting posts!
• Speaking of, Isa posted some of her thoughts about how she balances work & blogging.
• We’ve picked our choices for September Pick-For-Me. Isa is reading Rivers of London, while Ren plans to start The Princess Curse as soon as she’s done with her pile of ARCs.
• Ren listed ten books she wants to read but doesn’t own yet, either because the book isn’t out yet or because it’s old and hard to find.
• For the back to school theme, here’s ten characters who would be sitting at Ren’s lunch table.
• Usually when Ren finds a great new author she goes and reads all of their other books, but sometimes she can’t — or won’t. So here’s are ten authors Ren read only one book from but NEEDS to read more.
• Isa finally finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and she posted her thoughts on the last few chapters… and socks. Because socks are important!

 

Recently Reviewed

 

 

Ren: Usually when I get a review copy it’s an ebook, so I was pretty excited to get this one in the mail! It’s set in Oregon, and I’m already bummed because I just know it’ll make me want to go and take a walk along one of the suggested routes… which I can’t do because I’m, well, nowhere close to Oregon. But I hope the mystery will be fun! No other books for me this month, since I’m trying really hard to finish at least a few of the tons of books I have already.

Goodreads Links:
Scene of the Climb

 

 

Upcoming Reviews

Looking Forward To

That’s it for this month, buttercups. What’s going on with you? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Pick-For-Me • September

Pick-For-Me is a monthly feature where each of us picks two books for the other to read. Click here for details.




Isa: This month was so hectic with my new apprenticeship and everything that I only got around to reading one of Ren’s picks — The Little Lady Agency. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to writing a review and I probably won’t do so in the future either. Ren and I were going to review it together, because I really really liked it and Ren actually didn’t and we wanted to share our thoughts on it. However, time is just not on our side this month and it’s not going to happen. I did start reading her second pick as well but I’m not sure if I’m going to continue. It’s not some awful DNF but idk the main character isn’t very relatable and I don’t really like her or the others in the book. I think maybe Harris’ writing isn’t for me because I struggled similarly with the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Ren: Unfortunately, The Friday Society was a DNF for me. The first sentence is: “And then there was an explosion. It was loud. It was bright. It was very explosion-y.” The writing just goes downhill from there. It’s like the author tried too hard to be funny, and ended up with something that isn’t funny at all, and is actually painful to read. I don’t have a good excuse like Isa (I’m still unemployed and it’s not like I was job hunting this month because everything is closed down in August) but I haven’t finished reading the second book either. I’m slogging through it because the writing is kind of meh and the characters are just sitting around and angsting instead of getting anything done.

Goodreads Links:
Grave Sight • The Little Lady Agency • The Heiresses • The Friday Society




Ren for Isa

On Goodreads:
Rivers of London • Austenland

Ren: I’ve had my eye on Rivers of London for a while because the cover is absolutely gorgeous, so I’m curious if it’ll live up to the expectation. Austenland is Shannon Hale doing Jane Austen, and I’m hoping Isa will like it since she’s enjoying chick lit lately. Hopefully it’ll keep her mind away from work for a while!




Isa for Ren

 

On Goodreads:
A Thousand Pieces of You • The Princess Curse

Isa: As is often the case, I went by shiny covers. I know you like a bit of fantasy, so I hope The Princess Curse works in our favour on that one. As for the other one, I am really intrigued by the parallel universe bit of the summary, so I hope it’s good. :D




Are you also doing the pick-for-me challenge with a friend or over at Amy’s LJ community? What do you think of our picks this month? Let us know in the comments!

What’s Up Buttercup • August Edition

What’s Up Buttercup is an overview of the past, present and future here on Words in a Teacup, posted around the middle of the month.

 

• First, a quick housekeeping notice: our review policy has been updated with more details about what we will and what we won’t accept for review. We’re flattered by all the requests, but we can’t read everything and some requests are completely outside our interests. We apologize if you contacted us in the last couple of weeks and didn’t receive a reply, hopefully the new policy is much more clear and will save time for everyone.
• You might have noticed that we are not doing Thoughtful Thursday any more — Isa found it difficult to write for it every week, and her apprenticeship has crazy long hours (well, not so much long as bloody early… she gets up at 2:50am) so she’d rather be asleep in her spare time than thoughtful! We’re both thinking about new features to break the monotony of reviews, but for the time being the blog will be a little sparse.
• Isa started Harry Potter In A Teacup, a new feature in which she discusses her re-read of the Harry Potter series. So far she’s talked about being introduced to the series for the first time, about the way Hogwarts contacts students (which must be pretty confusing for Muggleborns!) and about her thoughts on the sorting process.
• Isa and Ren chose the books for this month’s Pick-For-Me and started reading at once! Isa really liked The Little Lady Agency so Ren also read it, but she wasn’t quite so enthusiastic about it, so there’s going to be a joint review in the future with split opinions. Ren unfortunately DNF’d one of the books but she’s reading the second book now, as is Isa.
• Ren posted about the authors she owns the most books from — she has a lot of books! But lest anyone think that she’s a serious bookworm, in the same post she also listed ten characters she’d bring with her on a deserted island, choosing purely based on the hotness factor.
• Prompted by a family friend, Ren listed ten books she’d give to kids who don’t like to read.
• Ren whined a lot about books she’s not sure she wants to read.

 

Recently Reviewed

 

 

Ren: I’ve got a bunch of review copies this month! Angela Misri asked us if we’d read her Sherlock Holmes-inspired books and of course I said yes — silhouette covers are my kryptonite. (Kidding. I liked the premise. But also I really liked the silhouette cover.) And I requested two books from NetGalley, because I thought one of the publishers would turn me down, but I got both books so the dilemma now is what do I start with??

Goodreads Links:
Jewel of the Thames • Circus of the Damned • Black Dog

Isa: I didn’t acquire anything lately aside from the constant feeling of zombieness due to my new job. The hours, you guys. I chose this but by god I’ve done four early shifts (which means I get up at 2:50am so I can be at work by 4:15) last week, four this week (tomorrow included) and then again on Monday. I just want to sleeeeeeeeeeeep forever. Thus the whole reading shindig is on ice for a bit. I barely get around to reading Harry Potter as it is, though I do wish I could read more. But by the time I get home I either have to go to bed after a late shift or really want to go to bed after my early shifts, but I can’t because naps are evil. (I love naps. If only they weren’t evil.)

 

 

Upcoming Reviews

That’s it for this month, buttercups. What’s going on with you? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Pick-For-Me • August

Pick-For-Me is a monthly feature where each of us picks two books for the other to read. Click here for details.




Isa: Ren was pretty lucky this month with her picks for me! I liked both books. :D In fact, I really loved Graceling which was very compelling and a super quick read for me despite the length. The Nightmare Affair wasn’t as awesome but still alright. The paranormal bits were pretty cool but I didn’t really dig the slights against ~nerds.

Ren: Isa wasn’t quite as lucky… I couldn’t get into Allegiant at all, the ~big plot revelations~ made no sense and the characters were boring. I did read quite a bit of it before giving up, though, so I’ll be posting my thoughts on it very soon. As for Havemercy, I’m still reading it. It’s slow going, because from the cover and the summary I was expecting MAGICAL MECHA DRAGONS and so far there isn’t any. The lack of magical mecha dragons is hampering my enjoyment of the book.

Goodreads Links:
The Nightmare Affair • Graceling • Allegiant • Havemercy




Ren for Isa

On Goodreads:
Grave Sight • The Little Lady Agency

Ren: The Little Lady Agency has such an interesting premise and glowing reviews that I’m tempted to read it myself. I hope it won’t disappoint! I’m not so sure about Grave Sight, paranormal romances have a good chance of being terrible, but the cover grabbed my eye and if the book is a trainwreck there’s always the chance that it’ll be an entertaining one.




Isa for Ren

 

On Goodreads:
The Heiresses • The Friday Society

Isa: New approach this time: I’ll just go by shiny covers that caught my eye, maybe that’ll bring you back from your reading slump, darling. The Friday Society looks very fab, I think. Kick-ass ladies? Yum! I hope you’ll enjoy it since you like historical fiction. And then I chose The Heiresses because the cover is very lovely. I love that font and I’ve read the first installment of Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars series, which I thought was very good but more teen than YA. So I hope you’ll like this one, since it seems a bit more mature.




Are you also doing the pick-for-me challenge with a friend or over at Amy’s LJ community? What do you think of our picks this month? Let us know in the comments!

What’s Up Buttercup • July Edition

What’s Up Buttercup is an overview of the past, present and future here on Words in a Teacup, posted around the middle of the month.




• We’ve been a bit afk lately due to real life obligations. On the upside: Isa finally signed an apprenticeship contract after four very long and unsuccessful years of searching and applying! Now she’s got a new car so she can get to work and plenty of nerves and jitters about her new career path. :D
• Sequel Spring is over! If you’re tired of us talking about it all the time — well, it’s all done now. There was a last round-up and then a closing post where we tried to link to everyone’s awesome reviews… or at least those who managed to post their reviews on time, unlike Ren. We might have a Sequel Spring Sequel next year, who knows!
• Our next big thing is going to be Harry Potter in a Teacup, in which Isa (and sometimes Ren) will re-(re-re-re-re-)read Harry Potter, share favourite passages from the book, and post discussions and opinions. Starting date? July 31st, of course!
• Moving on from Spring to Summer, we posted the Top Ten Books on our Summer 2014 TBR List. Isa is already making good progress on The Nightmare Affair.
• Isa talked about her crush on French lesbian inventors who own hat shops.
• Ren went on a bit of a rant about book cover trends: typography and silhouettes are good, photos and lens flare are bad!
• Isa doesn’t really have a book genre of choice.
• June’s Pick-For-Me was a bit of a failure, but we’re giving it another go in July! Isa is baffled because her protagonist hates geeks, while Ren is wondering where dragons are in her book about mecha dragons.
• Ren listed her Top Ten Favorite Classic Books By Women.
• Isa hijacked Top Ten Tuesday to talk about her Favorite Movies or TV Shows.

 

Recently Reviewed




Isa: Oh dear. One of my besties was weeding out her bookshelves again and asked people if they wanted to take some of her hands. Evidently I couldn’t resist and got eight shiny books, among them a German edition of three Christmas stories by Charles Dickens, a book on how to not spend your senior year (not quite my age range, but hey I’m going back to school twice a week come the end of August) and most importantly lesbians (though I shan’t lie, I gave Annie on my Mind a try before, some years back, and I couldn’t get into it then). :D

Goodreads Links:
Peter Pan • The Perks of Being a Wallflower • Drei Weihnachtsgeschichten • How Not to Spend Your Senior Year • Annie on My Mind • Whirligig • Her Fearful Symmetry • The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays




Upcoming Reviews

That’s it for this month, buttercups. What’s going on with you? Feel free to share in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Coming Soon: Harry Potter in a Teacup

 

We’re terribly excited to announce:

Harry Potter in a Teacup

 

Stay tuned for Isa and Ren’s in-depth re-read of Harry Potter starting July 31st! Among things like favourite bits and unpopular opinions there shall also be discussions about certain topics (such as sorting, characters, movie differences, translation issues, etc.) each week! (Stop side-eyeing us because the series is ~so done~. We love Harry Potter and at least one of us is overdue for a re-read.)

For a detailed calendar that will surely make you either a) cry, or b) pronounce certain people (Isa… this was all Isa’s terrible idea…) insane, please follow the spiders to our wonderful Google spreadsheet.

If you would like to see certain topics being talked about, please use the form below and we will take your suggestions under consideration!

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General Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prisoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince Deathly Hallows Other

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See you on July 31st!

 

*Incidentally this had nothing to do with the Harry Potter month hosted by the Student Spyglass, but you should definitely check that out nonetheless!