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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

What’s Up Buttercup • June 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.

 
 

• Sequel Spring is almost over! Only one week left, so make sure to check our fourth and fifth round-up posts. A last round-up will be posted tomorrow, and then a big closing post on the 20th, so make sure to submit your sequel reviews in the linky if you want to be included. We’ve been blown away by your participation and will be sad when it ends — though Isa will be glad she won’t have to do those huge round-ups any more!
• Isa took a break from books to ramble about her passion for Orphan Black, the brilliant tv drama in which Tatiana Maslany plays like 10 different clones.
• Isa talked about her Top Ten Books About Friendship. Harry Potter is in there somewhere, as well as the Gallagher Girls and the Lunar Chronicles.
• Ren listed six books she wanted more of, and four series that dragged on for too long.
• Isa talked about her favourite POV style. (Hint: it’s not 2nd person.)
• This month’s Pick-For-Me has spies and funerals and imaginary friends, oh my! Isa already reviewed one of her books, while Ren is slacking off and hasn’t read anything yet, bad Ren…
• Ren suggested Twelve Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag This Summer, choosing mystery and romance books because they’re the perfect summer reads, and also some young adult books.
• Isa mused about owning multiple editions of a book and told of her love/hate relationship with shiny Harry Potter editions.
• Ren listed the Top Ten Books Read So Far This Year — unsurprisingly, they’re the ones she’s been trying to cram in every other Top Ten Tuesday.
• Is it better to read a series that’s just one long story, or a series where each book can stand alone? Ren likes all kinds of series, as long as the author doesn’t look like they have no idea of where the story is going!

 

Recently Reviewed

 
 

Ren: I got an ARC of the Magic City anthology because it has a Scott Lynch story, and I’m slowly making my way through it. Anthology stories are hit and miss, but there are a couple of good ones in there, and the Patricia Briggs story definitely made me want to check out her novels. I also finally started Siege and Storm, since the third book is coming out, but I’m growing very frustrated with Alina and Mal and I’m afraid I’ll end up agreeing with Isa’s less-than-glowing review.

Goodreads Links:
Magic City: Recent Spells • Siege and Storm

Isa: I bought a German edition of The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley the other day. It was among a heap of somewhat damaged books that were on sale and the cover just looked so cute! Flavia looks almost like Wednesday Addams on the German covers and I was intrigued by this kid detective, negl. I’ll have to buy the first book though because I dislike reading series out of order and this is the second in the series. ;)

Goodreads Links:
The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

 
 

Upcoming Reviews

Looking Forward To

It’s a bit empty this time but there are just so many “old” books on our TBRs, we’re having a hard time focusing on new releases!

 
 

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!

What’s Up Buttercup • May 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.




• You may have noticed that our reviews slowed down in the past few weeks. We have both been busy with real life — Ren just graduated and got a temporary job and Isa keeps watching too much television (lies, all lies, there is no such thing as too much television, it’s only Orphan Black *cries*). Still, we find (well, at least Isa finds) that it’s nicer this way. Not as cluttered, you know? Gives the reader a chance to breathe when there’s not a new post each day. Isa We thinks we might continue with not posting each day of the week, since it also gives us some room to breathe. ;)
• May’s Pick-For-Me is going great so far! Isa read both books so far: one was good, the other not so good, but it provided a lot of unintended amusement. Ren has only read one of Isa’s picks so far but swears up and down that she’ll get around to the second one too — promise!
• Sequel Spring is still ongoing, and the linky is growing more and more every day! We’re almost at the end of the second month (doesn’t time fly?) so now is the time to get cracking on that sequel that you’ve been putting off. But remember that there are no set goals, we just want to read and discuss sequels together! If you need inspiration for what to read next, or if you want to read some fab reviews, check out our second Sequel Spring round-up.
• Thoughtful Thursday: What is one of the best changes in the literary/book world? Isa explains why the internet is really really great.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Characters Who Could (Not) Deal With Being A Clone Isa, high on Orphan Black feelings, wonders what would happen if Harry Potter or Veronica Mars found out that they were clones. (Hint: Her distaste for Holden Caulfield makes an appearance.)
• Thoughtful Thursday: Series reading order Ren explains her OCD about reading books in order and her abhorrence of spoilers.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books If You Like X tv show/movie/comic/play/etc Ren gives tips for fans of different shows, from Downton Abbey to Firefly to Glee.
• We talked a lot about book covers! Isa discussed what features she likes in a book cover?, while Ren listed ten (or rather twelve) book covers that she’d frame as works of art.
• Thoughtful Thursday: Have you ever continued to read a series, because you really liked the secondary characters but you didn’t like the protagonists very much? Isa says maybe.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Almost Put Down But Didn’t Ren lists some books that redeemed themselves… and some that didn’t.
• Pam asked whether or not we prefer certain genders in protagonists and authors. Isa most certainly does. (Because she’s a bit of a twat, really.)

Recently Reviewed




Ren: Guess who finally bought some dead tree books for the first time in forever! I really wanted a coy of Wreck This Journal because it sounded like a good way to de-stress — for those who don’t know, it’s a journal that tells you to do whacky things like cutting through pages, cracking the spine, doodling on it with your left hand… So far I haven’t done much with it, but I’ve thrown it down four flights of stairs and it felt incredibly fun. I’ll probably make some posts about it, I’m not very artistic (if you google Wreck This Journal you’ll see people who have done amazingly artsy things with theirs) but I have a box of crayons and coloured pens and I’m determined to have lots of stupid fun with it! The other book is To Be Or Not To Be, the choose-your-own-adventure inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I was a huge CYOA fan, I used to borrow the Lone Wolf books from the library in middle grade, so I just had to read this. The photo doesn’t do the book justice, it’s HUGE and the illustrations inside are gorgeous. So far I’ve played a handful of different routes as the ghost of Hamlet’s father and it’s ridiculous and hilarious, I can’t wait to play as Ophelia!

Goodreads Links:
Wreck This Journal • To Be or Not To Be




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!

What’s Up Buttercup • April 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.




• Ren did a bit of an overhaul of our review policy and added some explanations about our rating system.
• We’ve introduced badges to our reviews for easier visual representation of certain types of books! So far we’ve got badges for our Sequel Spring challenge reviews, Ren’s Avengers vs. X-Men challenge reviews, ARC reviews and our Pick-For-Me reviews:
  

  This book is part of our ongoing Pick-For-Me challenge. Every month Isa picks two books for Ren to read out of Ren’s TBR pile, and vice versa.	This book is part of the Avengers vs. X-Men challenge, in which Ren reads books with certain characteristics to recruit superheroes and defeat villains.
  This book is part of our Sequel Spring challenge, in which we try to do some spring cleaning in our TBR piles by reading lots of sequels between March 20th and June 20th.	This book was an ARC provided by the publisher (usually through NetGalley) in exchange for a fair review.

  The badges link to the respective tags that those books are tagged with. :)

• Speaking of challenges and the like, April’s Pick-For-Me went up! Each month we choose two books for the other one to read and review. This month Ren chose a fairytale retelling and a genre Isa likes, while Isa’s choices were mostly for selfish reasons (and also because Ren likes pirates).
• In addition to our own personal challenge between the two of us, the Sequel Spring challenge was met with more enthusiasm than we anticipated and we’re very glad to have all the lovely people on board with us. Check out our first round-up for an overview of what’s been read for Sequel Spring so far! There are some very interesting books on the list, if we do say so ourselves.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books on our Spring TBR lists. We divided the list into five each so we could both show off some of our spring TBRs!
• Thoughtful Thursday: How do you read series? Pam at Reading Is Fun Again asked how other people read book series – each book as it comes out, a marathon when it’s complete, rereading before a new one? Isa got a bit rambly in her answer, oops.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Things On My Bookish Bucket List. Ren doesn’t quite have and IRL bookish things she wants to have or do, so instead she listed the top ten things she’d want to do if she were a character in a fictional universe!
• Thoughtful Thursday: Do you DNF (do not finish) books? Isa likes to ramble, but in short: she does, despite often feeling some guilt over it.
• Top Ten Tuesday: “Gateway” Books or Authors In My Reading Journey. Isa had ~all the feels~ while reminiscing about some of the most influential books in her life. Literally nobody is surprised that Harry Potter made the list.
• Thoughtful Thursday: Do you need to like the protagonist to enjoy the book? Ren was quite open with her thoughts on this one!
• Top Ten Tuesday: Most Unique Books I’ve Read. It’s unsurprising really that Terry Pratchett made the list. Ren’s carrying a torch for him.
• Thoughtful Thursday: What do you do with the books that you have read? It appears we’ve got a book cannibal (bookibal?) in our midst!
• Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Things (That Aren’t Books) That I’d Like To Own. So. Many. Shiny. Things.

Recently Reviewed




Isa: I actually have more than enough books on my TBR and in my shelves and on my kindle, but I just can’t stay away! A couple of years ago some dear friends online got me to watch The Room with them (a truly terrible film) and last year Greg Sestero, who plays Mark in the film, released The Disaster Artist, which chronicles the making of said film and the years he spent getting to know Tommy Wiseau. I actually got this book shortly after our last Buttercup post and I’ve been slowly getting through it ever since. Still not finished, I’m afraid. Tommy Wiseau’s kind of crazy is a tad overwhelming and I need to take breaks between reading or I’ll go mad. But it’s oh so entertaining! (And slightly terrifying. Just how did Greg Sestero actually survive being Tommy’s friend?!) Other than that, I also stumbled across Witch for Hire by N.E. Conneely. I don’t even remember how I found it, but the summary sounds very interesting!

Goodreads Links:
The Disaster Artist • Witch for Hire

Ren: Like Isa, I already have more than enough books on my TBR but when I see new titles I can’t resist. I completely missed this when listing April released in last month’s Buttercup post, but Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins came out last week. I liked Hawkins’ Hex Hall series and so I picked this up without even looking at the reviews. It’s a Paranormal YA so I’ll either love it or hate it… let’s hope it’s the former! I also got Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan because I needed a fix of epic fantasy and the idea of a fantasy set in the Industrial Era instead of the usual Middle Ages appealed to me. Now I just need to make time and read them…

Goodreads Links:
Rebel Belle • Promise of Blood




Upcoming Reviews

Looking Forward To

(Does anybody else think that the cover for Deception’s Princess looks like Merida?)



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!

What’s Up Buttercup • March 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 have a new banner and a matching button, courtesy of Isa! Sorry about any confusion that may have overtaken your senses, we didn’t really intend to change things around.
• March’s Pick-For-Me went up! Each month we choose two books for the other one to read and review. Isa’s been terribly shallow this month and picked books with pretty covers, while Ren went for books with interesting summaries that she didn’t feel like reading herself.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Ren listed some of her favourite magical/boarding school reads.
• Thoughtful Thursday: Favourite Literary Tropes. Guess who lost an entire evening on tvtropes.

Recently Reviewed




Isa: I recently picked up (but haven’t finished yet, shame on me) The (im)perfect Girlfriend (Sarah Sargeant #2) by Lucy-Anne Holmes, which was sitting in my shelf ever since a friend of mine left it up for adoption because she didn’t really like it. Turns out that I do like it, and during a bout of sickness and frustration towards the world I ended up getting my hands on all the paperbacks by Lucy-Anne Holmes. Now I can’t wait to read (Un)like a Virgin, 50 Ways To Find A Lover (Sarah Sargeant #1) and Just A Girl Standing In Front Of A Boy (if you don’t understand what the title is referring to, I am side-eyeing you a little).

Goodreads Links:
(Un)like A Virgin • 50 Ways To Find A Lover • Just A Girl Standing In Front Of A Boy

Ren: Alas, I almost exclusively read ebooks so no fancy photo of the book haul from me. However I did get my hands (so to speak) on new books that I’m very excited about! First off there’s The Diviners by Libba Bray which I’ve had on my Kindle for months but only started a few days ago. So far it’s very intriguing and I like the atmosphere, but I just noticed it’s marked as the first book in a series and I really hope it’ll have a proper ending instead of a cliffhanger. I also picked up Alchemy and Meggy Swann because I loved Karen Cushman’s books as a kid, and I got the ARC of Peacemaker by Marianne de Pierres from Netgalley because I was intrigued by the blend of genres.

Goodreads Links:
The Diviners • Alchemy and Meggy Swann • Peacemaker




Upcoming Reviews

Looking Forward To

• Spring is almost upon us and we’re happy to announce that Sequel Spring is coming to Words in a Teacup really soon! Time for some spring cleaning in our TBR stashes…



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!