August Member of the Month!

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It's that time of the month again! Time to spotlight another one of our fabulous members, and their reading tastes. Like I said before, I love these posts! Giving you all the opportunity to get to know one another makes me happy :). I hope you love it too!

August's Member of the Month is Keri!

I was lucky enough to meet Keri through one of our mutual friends. Once we found out we were both bookworms? It was all over for us. It's like that moment when you find someone else who loves the same flavor pie as you. Bookish love makes you soul-mates for life.

ANYWAY, Keri is an eclectic reader like me. We both devour everything we can get our bookish little hands on. In fact, she's written up some thoughts on books before and then I've transferred them into reviews. When she has time, she's my "ghost reader" for my book blog, and she rocks at it :).

I hope you have a ton of fun getting to know her! My only regret is that you can't meet in her in person !

* If you had to describe yourself in just one word, what would it be?

Delightful

* Okay now that you have us in suspense, elaborate! Why did you pick that specific word?

By choosing delightful I also get its synonyms! All of which describe me wonderfully, if I do say so myself.
I am many things to many people, but I always try to be delightful.

* Inquiring minds want to know, why did you join Bookishly Delighted?

I joined this fantastic book club because my amazing friend, Jessica, asked me to. Plain and simple.

* What's your favorite type of book to get lost in?

My favorite genre seems to be fantasy. I'm not sure when that came to be, but it is what it is. I love magic, always have.

* Do you have any other bookish hobbies besides participating in the book club?

I don't have any other bookish hobbies, except maybe that I always try to find a used bookstore when I travel. I have certain books that I look for in every used book shop, and if I find them at an acceptable price, I always buy them, because I always keep spare copies to give away.

* Where might we find you reading?

I'm a bed reader. I love to read in bed with my cat.

* Who's your favorite male lead in a book? Your favorite female lead?
Favorite male lead? Are you kidding? Um, I don't have one, but if I have to single someone out, possibly Shadow from American Gods by Neil Gaiman, but I can't really tell you why.
I also don't have a "favorite" female lead, but I am partial to Thursday Next from the Jasper Fforde series. I would love to jump in and out of books, and interact with the characters like Thursday does!! 

* What are you reading right now?

Right now I am reading our book of the month, duh... I'm actively reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver,Tibetan Peach Pie by Tom Robbins, The Blight by Rachel E. Fisher, No and Me by Delphine De Vigan, The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr, Scourge by David H. Burton. I'm slowly reading (off and on) The Portable Dorothy Parker, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn, War and Peace by Tolstoy, The Social Contract by Rousseau, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente.

* Any final thoughts?

Final thoughts kind of remind me of Jerry Springer when he says things like, "It's just a show. It's not the end of Western Civilization. It's chewing gum."

Or Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey, "I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it."

Let it be known that I have no shame when it comes to messing up Keri's pictures ;). Do I look terrible? Probably. Is it hilarious? Definitely. Ha! Thanks Keri for letting us get to know you! Check back soon for her TBR recommendations!

Member of the Month - Tina Recommends...

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Yet another month is at an end, my friends. Isn't it crazy how fast time passes? That means it's time for us to say goodbye to Tina as our member of the month, but not before she gives you her book recommendations! What books does Tina think that you should absolutely add to your reading list?

Check them out!

For my "top 5" I had a reeeeeeally hard time narrowing it down. I love a lot of books and I tried to pick a few from different genres to keep it interesting though you'll notice most of them have a little romance mixed in. 

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CJ Lyons- Hart and Drake Series: I know it's not just one book but I enjoyed all of them. I have loved everything by this author. The books draw you in and keep you on your toes to the very end (which every good thriller does). I love that her female leads are always strong, independent and full of snarky comments. I would recommend these to anyone who enjoys thrillers. 

JK Rowling- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: I told you I was terrible at picking favorites. Every single book in this series would be on my top 5 list but since I have to pick one I would say Half Blood Prince was slightly in the lead as far as a favorite is concerned. I could read the whole series over and over again and never tire of finding new historical references and little nuances I hadn't noticed before. I even subscribe to the subreddit /r/harrypotter and enjoy all of the discussions on there. Characters are amazing and grow with the series, the plot development never fails to surprise and I feel like the Half Blood Prince is where Harry, Hermione and Ron really come into their own. They start making real decisions and taking on adult things. At the 16-17 age range is when many of us exerted our independence and these characters really came into their own.

Myra McEntire- Hourglass (Series): Yet again the first part a series (do you see a theme yet?), apparently one book is rarely enough for me. This one is a YA series with a bit of paranormal and a lot of twists and turns. The amazon description of the book sums it up pretty nicely "Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut." The author has a great cadence and builds an atmosphere that you can jump right into. I felt like I could be sitting with that group of characters chatting and fit right in. The character development and building plot throughout the entire series kept me hooked. I read all of the series in a weekend because I could not put it down. Would highly recommend it!

Caisey Quinn- Girl with Guitar (Kylie Ryans Series): Not going to lie, I love me some country music. When this popped up on a sale I had to snatch it up and immediately fell in love with the series. For you romance readers, this series has a little bit of everything. Stubborn girl meets stubborn boy....you know how it goes. I love the country music setting and the supporting characters make all of the difference. Caisey Quinn did a great job of making it a lil' bit country without taking away from the full story (so don't fret if you're not a country fan). I loved this series from start to finish and those sexy scenes could make a girl swoooooon. 

Natasha Boyd- Eversea: Sexy movie star, gorgeous part of the country, small town girl... this is the stuff I love in a romance novel. Eversea is one of those hard to believe it really happened but totally seems like it could type of reads for me. Any time you throw in a famous (insert anything here) things get complicated. I loved the romance and courtship and the female lead was not an instantly in love fan girl which I adored. This 2 book series (of course it's a series!) won my heart and left me feeling fully satisfied in all aspects. Angst, betrayal, romance, dreams and everything that goes with it.

July Member of the Month!

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Are you ready? I said, ARE YOU READY? I'll take that as a yes. It's time to meet another one of our awesome members, and I know you're excited about it!

July's Member of the Month is Tina!

Commence the embarrassment! 

I count the awesome Tina among some of my oldest friends. We weathered all types of things together: high school crushes, breakups, college procrastination, and the occasional day of cathartic romantic comedies that give you a good giggle/cry combo. We were in one another's wedding for heaven's sake. Yup, it's that kind of friendship.

She's also a fellow bookworm, and so I had to convince her to get her butt over here and into the book club. Despite the fact that she's probably very busy with her job, you'll see her pop in and to comment. That's the bookworm way. Gush ended.  Time for the interview!

* If you had to describe yourself in just one word, what would it be?
Sarcastic

* Okay now that you have us in suspense, elaborate! Why did you pick that specific word?
I asked my husband to describe me in one word, his responses included: dainty, forgetful, graceful, negative, irritable, lame, etc. You get the idea. One of the things we have in common is our love of sarcasm. It's a rare occasion that I don't have something to say and at least half of what comes out of my mouth is sarcasm. It's a great communication tool and leads to lots of laughter. 

* Inquiring minds want to know, why did you join Bookishly Delighted?
Because it was my suggestion to start it ;) jk I love Jessica and books and the idea of a book club has always interested me. It's also a great way to stay in touch with friends and make new ones since I have very few local friends.

* What's your favorite type of book to get lost in?
Mysteries/Thrillers. I've loved them as long as I've been reading. I collected the Nancy Drew series in early childhood and The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton was the first full novel I fell in love with. I love the who-done-it and the why's and how's of the criminal mind. It's all fascinating. 

* Do you have any other bookish hobbies besides participating in the book club?

Sadly no. I've had a livejournal/blog on and off for years but am terrible at keeping it up to date. I just enjoy reading.

* Where might we find you reading?

On my oversized round swivel chair with my 16lb long hair cat curled in my lap (or rubbing his face against my Kindle because I'm clearly not paying enough attention to him)

* Who's your favorite male lead in a book? Your favorite female lead?

This is a tough one, I really hate choosing favorites. For female lead I am going to have to go with Hermione from the Harry Potter series. I grew up with those books and looked forward to the new releases like Christmas morning. I felt a kinship with Hermione from the get go. The super smart girl who is a little awkward because she doesn't know when she's being condescending.....that's pretty much my life story. Her fierce loyalty and love for her friends is one of my favorite parts of the series. She is always prepared but doesn't always know how to approach matters of the heart. I love that she falls for her best friend.

For a male lead... hmmm. It's so hard to pick just one.Since you're making me choose one, today's would be Jack Kyser from the Dragonfly series by Leigh Talbert Moore. He's broken and stubborn and makes all kind of mistakes and I love him for it. I have a thing for the broken boys (ask me about that later). 

* What are you reading right now?

Mosaic by Leigh Talbert Moore. It's the final book in the Dragonfly series and I've been anxiously awaiting its official release on 6/30!

* Any final thoughts?
You may be right, I may be crazy, but it just may be a lunatic you're lookin' for.

Can you find Tina? She's just lucky I picked this photo ;). I have way WAY more embarrassing ones! Ah, the joys of a long friendship.

Thanks for stopping by to read about our newest member of the month! Stay tuned for her book recommendations that are coming up!

Member of the Month - Kari Recommends...

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Well it's the end of the month, and that means it's almost time for Kari's reign as our Bookishly Delighted Spotlight member to come to an end. If you missed her interview, don't forget to go visit and say hi!

That does mean it's time to choose someone new! I'll be sending out an email very soon. In the meantime, we'll round out the month by sharing Kari's favorite books with you! Here's hoping you find something new, and awesome, to read.

Five Favorite Books:
I'm going to cheat (I wouldn't cheat on the 1 word description, yet I cheat everywhere else. Oh, yeah.) and not include ones I've already mentioned in the interview, but the ones listed there are totally favorites too.

1. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult: One of the single most amazing and impacting books I have ever read, but I probably couldn't stand to reread it because it left me such a broken, emotional mess. It also really kick started my Jodi Picoult obsession and except her very first 2 books, I've now read every single title she has put out. But this one still takes the cake

2. In Honor by Jessi Kirby: Rusty pretty much made this book for me. He's kind of a jerk, but also pretty sexy, and just that right amount of broken that totally does it for me. There's so much awesome in this book, and such a big story told in a pretty short word count. It's impressive, actually.

3. Pivot Point by Kasie West: Technically, anything by this amazing woman, but we'll go with her debut for this list. The voice is stunning, the writing so smooth, and I even snuck pages at work I was so obsessed with this story. It's easy to fall into, and refuses to let you go. Actually, every Kasie book does that.

4. Honor Reclaimed by Tonya Burrows: SETH. Which might have no meaning to any of you, which means you should pick it up so you find out (bonus if you already read her books, or have read any of her Wilde brothers Brazen books, since you see Seth in those). But this man was an Afghanistan prisoner of war, that finally gets released. Now, he's trying to fix himself, get his head back on right, and he ends up being sent back to Afghanistan. I have a probably unhealthy love for broken guys, and he just might take the cake. This book has suspense, drama, action and adventure, plus a hefty dose of romance, passion and some dang hot sexy scenes. Unf.

5. The Program by Suzanne Young: Again, anything by this author is well worth it, but we'll target this title for right now. It's so insanely romantic, even while it's so depressing. But considering it's about a suicide epidemic and a Program that tries to "Treat" it, depressing goes with the territory. One of my favorite scenes ever is in this book, and if you read it, bonus points to you if you can guess which one. But it has so much between the lines, and it is one of those almost insane kind of love stories that really sort of rips your heart to shreds with how painful but beautiful it is.

Member of the Month!

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It's Wednesday! That means you've made it half way through the week, and you deserve a pat on the back. Or some chocolate. Definitely some chocolate.

I'm happy to announce our first Bookishly Delighted Spotlight member, the lovely Kari!

I'm going to embarrass the heck out of her for a second, and tell you that she's a hilarious and absolutely amazing person! We actually met on Twitter when our mutual love of books, and her love of promoting authors, led us to work together on a book tour website. The rest, as they say, is history!

We've never actually met in person, mind you. We do however chat on the phone as often as our crazy lives will allow, and Kari regales me with stories about her adorable (and totally manipulative... damn those eyes...) dog, Toby.

I'll shut up now and get to her interview. Later on in the month Kari has worked to orchestrate a surprise for you all, and then you'll see a list of some of her favorite books! Here on Bookishly Delighted, we love our members. It's the truth.

* If you had to describe yourself in just one word, what would it be?

Ridiculous.

* Okay now that you have us in suspense, elaborate! Why did you pick that specific word?

Because it seemed a little egotistical to simply say "Kari" even though that probably sums it up. And "Ab-addicted" seems like it's technically two words. Also, I really am my own brand of ridiculous. And I wonder where my dog gets it from. Huh.

* Inquiring minds want to know, why did you join Bookishly Delighted?

Jessica made me. No, not really. Well, probably kind of. But also, I'm a huge book nerd, and I always love to talk about books, especially ones I am really in to.

* What's your favorite type of book to get lost in?

Something that will rip my heart out. Funny and happy are great and all, but I really loved to be sucked in, so emotionally invested and probably almost in physical pain for what the character(s) are going through that I just can't walk away until I'm done. and even then usually I end up thinking about them for days after I'm done. Bonus points if the book makes me cry - I rarely do.

* Do you have any other bookish hobbies besides participating in the book club?

I'm an Assistant Editor for Heather Howland at Entangled Publishing. It's pretty much the best job ever. I get to read books by writers I love, and help shape them and make them better, and get paid for it. I edit YA, NA, and category romances (both Brazen - high heat woo! and the upcoming Lovestruck line). I also spend way too much time playing with and fighting with my dog, Toby, who is the cutest little brat on the face of the planet. He drives me crazy, but I can't imagine life without him. He's also almost 16, and has a huge spleen mass that will likely end up rupturing eventually, but I'm in denial about all that. 

* Where might we find you reading?

In my bed. Or in my recliner. Sometimes at my desk. 

* Who's your favorite male lead in a book? Your favorite female lead?

I think I'll have to go with Travis from Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. He's so freaky sexy to me, and there is something so honestly unfiltered about his mindset ("I'm harder than trigonometry", I mean come on, so awesome). He's also a little bit broken, a whole lot of loyal and determined, and a crazy mess of awesome. I'm going to cheat on this one and say a super close second is Nate from Tempted by the Solider by Nicolette Day. I should say I did help edit this one, but this book has such a special place in my heart, and that's very largely due to Nate. He's so broken and in pain and such a freaking mess you just root so dang hard for him to finally get his head together. Full disclosure, this book even made me tear up. 

As for female lead... most definitely Alice from Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy (let it be said, Harvey is also in the top male leads list). Alice is prickly, and not really all that nice of a person, but she is so determined, and has this crazy strength, and dang it she was given a really crappy hand and she actually does what so many of us only think about. I connected so hard to this girl, and had crazy respect for her, even when she was at her worst. (Which also means do not be shocked when this shows up in a future poll to pick the next month's book.)

* What are you reading right now?

2 submissions, and 1 manuscript to do first pass edit on - an upcoming Katee Robert book that I freaking love. I've got Beware the Wild by Natalie Parker cued up to read when I have some reading down time. 

* Any final thoughts?

I sadly don't get to participate as much as I'd like, since between my day job in medicine and the editing, I keep pretty busy. But if you follow me on twitter (@flamingo1325) I can promise a ridiculous amount of pictures of hot men (hey, I have to inspire my romance authors!), my crazy awesome adorable rotten dog, and the drunk cupcakes I regularly bake. Yes. Drunk cupcakes. Cupcakes with various kinds of alcohol in them. They are pretty awesome.

Toby says thanks for stopping by to read about Kari! 

Also he wants you to bring him treats. Lots and lots of treats.