Books:
First up, the wonderful Stefani @ Caught Read Handed spoiled me for Belle’s EBE. I was the only UK blogger to take part, and it was a fabulous experience! I’ll be saving some pennies so I can do it again in 2015 as well as a few other exchanges! I would highly recommend more UK bloggers take part!
Then, my fabulous sister only went and got me a signed and personalised US edition of Maybe Someday by my favourite, Colleen Hoover, for Christmas! So few people in my real life understood the significance of this! I wanted someone, anyone, to scream and fangirl with me! Having seen the US cover in real life now too, we really are cheated with the UK covers, come on Simon & Schuster!! Give the Book Geeks what they want! I’m so hoping we get the released covers of Confess and Never Never, if not I will be buying the US versions on Book Depository, even if I have to wait longer to get them.
I was buying some books for friends and family as Christmas presents when I stumbled upon a couple of amazing deals I just couldn’t pass up… I got my hands on a hardcopy of The 5th Wave for just 81p(!), a hardcopy of Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult for £3.24, and a 10 book set by Harlan Coben for just £4.86, all with free shipping!
Movies and TV Shows:
Aside from watching lots of Christmas favourites like Mary Poppins, The Santa Clause and Home Alone, the only thing I can think of that I watched this month is David Attenborough documentaries. I know, I know. My sister and I have become obsessed with them (particularly watching Mountain Gorillas!) and spent hours watching the Life Story series. It’s emotional, it’s gruesome and it’s hilarious, all at once.
Wrappin’ It Up!
Posts I Bookmarked:
- Jackie @ She Reads, She Blogs did a great post on how to get your hands on signed books!
- Novel Novice wrote a fun piece called 5 pet peeves about books and publishing
- Maggie @ Just a Couple More Page did an annual wrap-up with a difference!
- Gaby & Lisa @ Bookish Broads did a fab post called I’m an Adult?
- Dana @ The Nerdy Journalist wrote a piece that hit home with me – I’m Terrified of People I Know in Real Life Finding My Blog
- Stephanie @ The Paper Hearts posted a discussion called The Seasonal Blogger and Misconceptions, which will strike a chord with everyone!
- Joy @ Joyous Reads did a post on Ten Things No One Should Know About Her
- The discovery that Zoella’s book was ghostwritten has caused quite a stir, Amber @ The Mile Long Bookshelf wrote about why that didn’t matter to her and Ashley @ Nose Graze argued that contrary to popular belief, Zoella did not out-sell JK Rowling
- Hannah @ So Obsessed With did an amazing job of recommending Fantasy reads!
- Joy @ Joyous Reads asks us not to judge her by the stars she gives
- Charnell @ Reviews From A Bookworm discusses Paperbacks Vs Hardbacks
- Amanda @ Book Badger discusses deal-finding when buying books
As always, I’m linking to the latest Oh, The Books! weekly recap post so you can find more amazing things to read!
In Case You Missed It:
I only reviewed one book in December. One! December was super busy for me, but I’ve already kicked 2015 off with a bang having finished Heir of Fire. Review to follow soon! Check out my review of Crown of Midnight (5/5).
Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books I’m Excited For In 2015 – Top Ten Authors New To Me In 2014 – Top Ten Favourite Books of 2014 – Top Ten Books On My Xmas Wishlist – Top Ten Blogging and Bookish Resolutions 2014
This month I also interviewed author Iris St. Clair, took part in the Bout This Blogger Tag, signed up to the Reread Challenge for 2015, was tagged for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award, and answered 20 questions on things (you probably didn’t know) about me. I also completed my very first End of Year Survey!
My most popular post in December (except for TTT posts) was my interview with Iris St. Clair! Also, don’t forget many of the discounts in my Exclusive Bookish Gift Discounts post are valid until the end of January 2015!
I’m looking forward to a great (and full) blogging year in 2015, with lots of reading and posting! Wish me luck! What did you get up to this month?
Confessions of a Book Geek 
Once again, thank you so much, Rachel. You are the sweetest. ❤
You still had quite a busy December even if you only managed to review one book (which you absolutely loved!). How awesome to receive a signed copy of a book from an author that you adore! And personalized to boot. 🙂
I wish you the best of 2015, Rachel, and looking forward to reading your posts. Happy New Year!
LikeLike
No problem, Joy, just keep feeding me great posts! 😀
True – I guessed I’d have got more reading and blogging done in December with the time off, but festivities kind of took over everything! The book is so much more special because we honestly NEVER get author tours here, so it’s hard for me to get my hands on signed copies let alone personalised ones. If CoHo ever comes here I’m taking a week off work and CAMPING outside whichever store she goes to!!
Thanks, Joy! Hope 2015 is good to you, Happy New Year! R x
LikeLike
Oh man. If I had the funds, I’d hunt down Melina Marchetta in Australia…or wherever she may be. Lol.
LikeLike
LOL I haven’t read her yet, but I’ve been meaning to! R x
LikeLike
Your sister is awesome for doing that!! So cool!!
I agree about most UK covers. Why are they always bad?!?
LikeLike
I know! 😀 We both teared up! I made her read Maybe Someday and Ugly Love this year. And I teared up even more when I made her read me the email she sent CoHo. Highlight of the year!
Lol – there are A LOT of UK covers that aren’t as good as US, I don’t know why publishers bother with different editions. Especially because Atria are owned by Simon & Schuster (which I didn’t know before), so don’t know why they can’t share covers. Sometimes ours are better, but not always. Have you seen the Mistborn series covers by Brandon Sanderson? (They’re so on my wishlist!) UK wins that one. I’ve only seen the US cover of Maybe Someday online before, but when I FELT it and realised it was textured, I could have cried!! Lol R x
LikeLike
I love David Attenborough shows and I could sit down and watch them all day. Life Story is fab. I love your Christmas hamper of bookish things too, I did’t realise that we actually could participate! I definitely want to join in next year. And I do a little inner squeal everytime I see your CoHo dedication, I’m so jealous! 🙂
LikeLike
Yay, another Docu-geek?! My sister and I literally lay in bed for like 5 hours on Boxing Day watching the entire Life Story series – we’re going to sponsor Mountain Gorillas in 2015 now too with WWF I think. Most of the bookswaps allow INT and UK peeps to enter, but in a couple of cases I was the only one. For one of them, no one else was willing to ship INT so I couldn’t take part, which was fine, and for one of them other participants were happy to do the INT thing. It did make it a little tricky for me price-wise, so I had to ship directly from Book Depository to the person and found a US based Etsy store for the other items, and they shipped directly to her as well. Doing that was great, but I was a bit sad I couldn’t gift-wrap and do as many goodies in the run up to Christmas as I’d have liked, so more INT and UK participants would be amazing! I love how my blogging friends never let me down with the fangirling!! As soon as I opened the book I said to my sister I need to post about this online so someone else can get excited with me! Lol R x
LikeLike