Sunday, March 28, 2021

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

 



Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

Happy Sunday! Sorry for the absence last week. I really thought I would find enough time to do my Sunday Post, but the vacation was jam packed.  I am so glad we decided to do the trip, because it was wonderful! I did a bunch of stuff I have never done before (and may never do again), and everything was just breathtaking! I am trying to throw a post together to show you guys what Sloth (and us) did, but until then, here's one snap from my trip. It's Kiersten and I at Teardrop Arch near Monument Valley. You can see some of the "monuments" behind us. 


I love going on vacation, but it's such a buzzkill coming back. We left our resort at 8 am Monday morning, and I arrived back home at about 11 pm. It was a long day. Trying to get back into the groove the next day for work (and this whole week) was tough, but I made it! 

I had mentioned that my mother was in a COVID vaccine trial. Well, they unblinded the participants this week, and my mother actually had a placebo. Once informed, they gave her the actual vaccine. So, now most of my immediate family is vaccinated. I heard I will be eligible by May or something like that. I think it's opening to 55 and over right now, which means we are inching closer to my age group. Here's hoping the vaccines bring the results we hope for, and we can resume more of our daily lives. I mean, there was an announcement about the 20th anniversary Bamboozle Festival, and I KNOW I will be getting tickets for that. One of my fave festivals. Fingers crossed they keep it very emo for me. 

I hope these animal shares bring you some joy, because they really look like they are living their best lives. 







Let's Discuss!
  • AJ was super creative with her TTT post, and I loved her book covers
  • The Orangutan Librarian talks about avoiding the hype/hate train
  • Nicole wants us to know that she is stalking our Goodreads


On the Blog:
  • Monday: #AmReading YA - Perfect on Paper, Things That Grow
  • Tuesday: TTT - Spring Reading
  • Wednesday: CWW - Better Than the Movies, What Happens Next
  • Thursday: Isn't It Romantic - Act Your Age, Eve Brown, Make It Sweet
  • Monday: #AmReading YA - With You All the Way, The Secret Recipe for Moving On
  • Tuesday: TTT - You're Quite Clever 
  • Wednesday: CWW - Cool for the Summer, It's the End of the World as I Know It
  • Thursday: Isn't It Romantic - Life's Too Short, The Intimacy Experiment


STACKING THE SHELVES

This was a rather wonderful bunch of approvals. It started with The Russian's book (YES!), and just got better and better from there. I don't usually go for anthologies, but have you seen the contributors for Battle of the Bands? It's like a list of my favorites PLUS the lead singer from Motion City Soundtrack has a story in there too. My love for him runs deeps, as his lyrics are incredible. Can't wait to read it!

Edelweiss/NetGalley
What I Read Last Week

I didn't get to read as much as I thought I would when I was on vacation. As I said, the days were packed, and they started early, which cut into my morning reading. What I read was pretty great though. Jimenez didn't disappoint. Once again she delivered joy and pain in equal amounts in Life's Too Short. I also loved the Take Three Girls collaboration. The authors did a great job of working in so many issues affecting young women, and the focus on friendship was wonderful. Hitchcock's book is not disappointing either. It's actually an anthology, where the stories have overlap including characters and events from other stories. I just love the way she spins a tale

Books
Audiobooks

What I Am Currently Reading




What I Plan to Read


How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!

38 comments:

  1. What a wonderful picture! I've always wanted to go to Monument Valley and it looks as amazing as I'd expect. Glad you had a great time. I'm glad too that your mom was able to get vaccinated. Hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel now.

    Such a colorful cover collage. Love all the bright colors in YA right now.

    The Key To You And Me looks good.

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    1. Since the Navajo Nation is closed due to COVID, we could not go into Monument Valley Park, but we could see them from the canyon where we were and the road as we proceeded to Moab. It was amazing!

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  2. Glad you had a nice trip! It is always hard trying to adjust back to normal after a week of vacation. You almost need another few days after a vacation to slowly adjust back to normal life! lol. I'm hoping to take a mini vacation to my aunt's in June for a festival that's actually occurring. Already looking forward to it since it's somewhere to go and do things and most likely have gorgeous weather!

    Nice new reads too! All new to me ones of course but I hope you enjoy them all!


    Here's my StS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. I hope you get to make your trip in June. It's exciting to hear about festivals being planned.

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  3. Glad your vacation was such a success! And...you wanted to read more? while on vacation????? You're hopeless LOL 😉. Looking forward to that post where you'll give us the chance to live vicariously...

    I'm also glad your immediate family got the vaccine and yours will come soon. Here, the vaccine situation is a disaster. We're still stuck on the 80+ y.o. category, and most of them still haven't gotten it yet (like my parents). Who knows when my turn will come...

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    1. Wow! I cannot believe the rollout is so slow by you. I hope they figure things out soon, though I did hear the EU were struggling with rollout.

      I guess I expected to read more, because we did spend quite a bit of time on the motor coach. We traveled over 1000 miles on land during the trip, but they organized games, crafts, and movies to keep us busy. No eating though, as we had to be masked the whole time.

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  4. I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip! The pictures were AMAZING! And yeah, going back to work after vacation is the worst!

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    1. I am still trying to catch up on things at home. So many reviews to write, cleaning, and laundry. Such a struggle. Work was actually ok, oddly enough

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  5. Sounds like a fun trip. I could use one. LOL I've missed a few Sunday Posts. Work had been hectic.

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    1. I hope you get a chance to take a break. You deserve it!

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  6. It is hard to read when you're enjoying your time out and about. Glad to hear you had a nice time. Going back to work is a bummer.

    Isn't It Bromantic and The Kindred Spirits Supper Club are on my list, too. Hope we both love them.

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    1. I am confident about Bromantic, but the author of Supper Club is new to me. I love the premise though, so fingers crossed that it's well executed.

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  7. I can't wait to read Bend in the Road! I love Sara Biren! I'm glad you had a great trip.

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    1. *high five* I LOVE her books! Happy to know there is another fan out there.

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  8. I'm so happy that you had a fantastic vacation! Those animal videos today are so awesome---I love them!!!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. It was surreal and wonderful being away from home. The national parks were poppin' too. So many beautiful places to see.

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  9. Glad you had a great vacay! I love the dog video-one of my dogs LOVES puddles in the yard, but he isn't as happy as that lab! Hope you can get your vaccine soon!

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    1. That dog was living his best life, but what a mess! The claim is that I should be vaccinated by summer. Who knows!

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  10. Vacations are great, but oh so hard to come home from. I'm glad you had a good time though. That's great most of your immediate family has the vaccine and i hope you can get yours ASAP! I went to Bamboozle twice before. The first time we drove all the way to New Jersey - from Ky so that's probably the furthest I've gone for a concert. That's crazy the 20th anniversary is coming up!! It would be fun to go again someday.

    I have not heard of Battle of the Bands but need to check that one out.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I live about 30 mins from both sites of the Bamboozle festival. It was one of my faves. So crazy that it's been 20 years!

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  11. I'm so glad to hear you had a great time on your trip. I loved all of the pics you shared on your instagram. And big yay for the approval on Isn't It Bromantic?! I woke up to an approval for it this morning and was so excited!

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    1. The best that Berkley is still showing me love as the fandom for this series grows. I KNOW we will love it

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  12. That picture is amazing! I'm so glad you had a wonderful holiday.
    I can't wait until holidays like this are an option for me again! I have travel envy, lol. We'll probably have to "keep it local" (aka the UK) until next year if the current gov. rumblings are accurate though. 😐

    Animals living their best lives are the best things on the internet... They always make me smile.

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    1. This was the trip that was supposed to be a Rhine riverboat cruise. Switching to a domestic trip ended up being a good choice. I really wanted to do the cruise for my birthday next year, but it still doesn't look promising for me.

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  13. That photo is awesome. I wish I was there. I hope you have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I actually traveled to three states during the trip. I only went to the airport in your state, but I can finally say I was there.

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  14. Love the pic of you and Kiersten! So glad you had a great time. But yeah, returning to real life is the pits. They've dropped the vaccination age to 50 here. So even if I hadn't already had my first dose, I would now qualify. I think they're dropping it to 40 and over starting next week. I sure hope they drop it to at least 50 there sooner than May!

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    1. I earned that picture. I had to climb up there and a few of the spots were scary. We got a communication from my company today, and they are trying to figure out if any of the employees can fit into the essential workers category. NJ is finally vaccinating those who have been working the entire pandemic (supermarket employees and such). I work for a bank, so the people in the banking centers had to go to work and certain lines of business were in office the whole time too. I would like them to have the option to be vaccinated. I am on the edge of 50, so I have a bit to go, but at least my parents are safer now.

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  15. I loved watching your pictures on IG Sam!

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    1. Thanks! Kiersten took so many, and they are all exquisite

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  16. I am so glad that you had a nice trip, Sam! You are right that coming home after vacation is a bit of a drag. It looks like you still got a lot of reading done even though you were busy. I hope that you are having a good week!

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    1. I am still trying to catch up. Glad I have off tomorrow.

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  17. I'm so glad to hear you had a lovely time on your trip! And thank you for sharing those animal pictures, they always make me happy <3 I hope you'll have a lovely week!

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  18. That vacation picture is awesome! Looks like such a nice time! I can't wait for a trip! We're already considering a trip to Disney in December. You got some great books to read as well as ones you've read! Hope you have a good week!
    Lisa Loves Literature

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    1. My sister is going to Disney in May. She is over lockdown. I guess it's nice that there are less people there, but my understanding is that they cut back on stuff in the park too (which has been a thing for the past few years).

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  19. It looked like you guys had a blast on your trip! I'm hoping to go to a national park one of these days soon, Matt just got his first shot and I'm struggling to find one even though I'm eligible. I'm happy your mom got the real-deal now!

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    1. It was amazing. I did so many things that I would not have planned for myself. That's why I do trips with Adventures by Disney. Apparently I have been eligible because of my asthma (who knew?). I hope you all can get vaccinated soon.

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