My Little Pocketbooks: March 2013 Wrap Up   
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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

March 2013 Wrap Up

I know everyone is in shock that March is OVER!  Done!  Moved on!  What happened?  Time just zipped on past.  That's what happens when you are caught in the grips of a great book.  I know I am not the only one that happens to.  You are reading and when you look up time, life and the day have just passed you by.  
March was Women's History Month and I planned (in my head) to post about books regarding great women in history.  Well I got one post up and other things came up along the way.  
Here is my one post.
Women's History Month: Politics
   
Here is my monthly wrap up post.  Bye Bye March I will miss you and thanks for all the fun and great reads.
  This month I bought
  0 books. (A total of 1 book so far this year.  Audiobooks and e-books don't count since they don't take up space on my bookcase.)

 Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga Reviews where we all can link up our post about the new books in our lives.  I also add my new pocketbooks too! 

Free from the author for review
by E. A. O'Neal
If you like the happy thought that the Caribbean is just sun, sand and smiling natives bearing coconuts full of fruity drinks, beware! Set on the fictional island of St. Crescens, the five stories in this collection will take you deep into the heart of an island society where poverty, corruption, greed and sex form a potent and explosive brew.
In 'The Dead Bishop' appearances are both deceptive and dangerous. Meanwhile, one woman's desire to transform her life has deadly consequences in the title story and, when greed meets desperation in 'Collision,' the body count rises. These and the other two stories will keep you guessing and leave you thinking!

Thank you Eugenia.  I am thrilled to be adding a new book by you to my library.  Thank you! 
  
Free from iBooks
by Patrick Ness
In this dramatic prequel to the award-winning Chaos Walking Trilogy, author Patrick Ness gives us a short story of Viola's journey to the New World.
I got the audiobook as well for Free from Audible.com.  I have no idea why I got both but at the time it was a wonderful idea.  LOL!  

Purchased audiobooks from Audible.com during their Spring Cleaning Sale
Wonder
by R.J. Palacio
I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.
August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
"Wonder is the best kids' book of the year," said Emily Bazelon, senior editor at Slate.com and author of Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” —indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.
I got this based off of all the reviews from so many bok bloggers thoughts and comments on it.  Yes! This is another hype book.  The last one was great so we will see about this one.

Spy Killer: Free Version
by L. Ron Hubbard
Kurt Reid may be innocent of the murder he's charged with (and of grand larceny, for that matter), but he's got no time to be thrown in jail and defend himself. Instead, Reid flees to pre-Communist China and Shanghai, the exotic city of mystery and death.
Reid takes refuge in a tea house where he meets a Russian woman, Varinka Savischna, whom he manages to rescue from certain death. As beautiful as she is smart, she recruits him in her crusade against Chinese intelligence services.
Unfortunately, Reid manages to get himself captured by the Chinese and blackmailed into pursuing and assassinating a Japanese spy. Now, Reid must enter the cloak-and-dagger world of espionage and intrigue, where everything and everyone is not who or what they appear to be.
I got this one for two reasons.  One it was free and two I wanted to get into a mystery book.  That's it!

Pharmacology
by Christopher Herz
1993. San Francisco. The digital and pharmaceutical industries are booming. They're looking for the young, the hip, and those on the counterculture fringe to be both the face and consumer of their new world order. Recruited by an advertising agency focused on targeting a new drug to her own age demographic, Sarah Striker is grateful for the steady income, but begins to question the side effects of the products she's pushing.
Sarah begins publishing an underground 'zine to expose the secrets behind the pharmaceutical industry's aims. Fulfilled by her quest to spread the truth, her new life seems to be working out perfectly--until she realizes that she herself is perilously close to becoming a victim of this new corporate world.
A kinetic, hyper-stylized jolt of pure energy, Herz delivers a strong follow up to his debut novel, The Last Block in Harlem. Full of vibrant characters and razor-sharp dialogue, Pharmacology captures the voice of the Internet generation with style, heart, and soul.
I bought this one for the narrator.  Kate Rudd read The Fault In Our Stars and I thought I would check out anther audiobook narrated by her.  She has a pretty big collection of work to pick from too!

Free with purchase from DSW 
I love shopping at DSW for all the little extras they give members.  With membership you get birthday coupons and free totes like this one (with purchase of course).  This is the first one I actually wanted.  Hello new work bag and running around town bag. 
 Review Recap
The Shoemaker's Wife
Places I Visited 
Los Angeles
Italy
New York
New Jersey
Minnesota
Alabama
Tennessee
Mississippi
Amsterdam
Atlanta  
Princeton University
Puerto Rico
 
Number of Books Completed
6
Blog Events

 I signed up to read books from my TBR pile and that is just what I did.  All (but two books) were from my TBR Pile. The audiobook pile, the e-book pile and the book book pile. But the Read-A-Thon portion of this event totally sucked for me.  Here see for yourself.
 
Take Control of My TBR Pile Read-A-Thon: Wrap Up!      
I totally rocked this first Bloggiesta of the year!!! All I have to say is check out my wrap post and read all about the goodies I completed.  OLE YA'LL!!!

Bloggiesta 2013 Wrap Up

Challenge Update
Here is a March Wrap Up of the number of books read and reviewed for the 11 Reading Challenges I signed up for. 
Off The Shelves Reading Challenge - 2 books
Audiobook Reading Challenge - 3 audiobooks
Anne Rice Reading Challenge - 0 books
Books by Women Reading Challenge - 4 books
TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 2 books
2013 Resolutions Reading Challenge - 0 resolutions
Dusty Bookshelf Reading Challenge - 1 books
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - 1 book
Genre Variety Reading Challenge - 3 books  
I completed this one and decided to increase the level from 6 genres to 12 genres. 
  Good Reads Reading Challenge - 5 books  
Reading Challenge Addict - 1 challenges  

Winners!  Winners! Winners!

This Blog is Cleaning House Again 2013
Winner is #28 Marlena F
Congrats Marlena your box of books is going in the mail this Saturday.


I think since I have started this physical book buying ban that my audiobook buying has jumped through the roof.  I use to get one a month now I have more than I can count.  I am going to have to start a list of audiobooks that "I Have to Listen To."  At one time I had nothing on my Audible.com bookshelf now there are 4 books collecting virtual dust and one in my audible.com shopping cart.  I also have 6 on my Overdrive account from last year I need to listen to.  I am going to try and slow down on the audiobooks for a month or two (buying them).  At least until I get 60% of these finished.  

And another thing...now that I have the iPad, I find myself looking at buying or getting FREE e-books.  There are so many! I gave myself a rule when I finish one e-book then I can get a new one.  I already have 5 e-books and I don't want to have more than that at one time.  I don't want it to start looking like my real bookshelf.  
 
How did you do on your reading challenges this month?  What books did you get this month?  Did you participate in any cool reading, blogging events this month?  How did you celebrate women's history month?

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