Weekly Wrap Up (17)

This week I'm writing from ALA Midwinter in Chicago, where I'm both exhausted and exhilarated by all the bookish happenings. Conferences are exhausting because attendees have to carry books full of books and bookish swag (which, I know, is pointless to mention because we are choosing to pick up all these books and things), must slog through crowds and often wait in long lines (which is often emotionally and physically tiring for us bookish introverts), and sleep in weird and sometimes uncomfortable hotel lodgings. But - and it's a big BUT - conferences are also exhilarating because we get to meet authors we love, talk to publishing reps who are also super excited and passionate about books, and rub shoulders with our online book friends that we don't usually get to see IRL. In the end, I think the pros out weigh the cons. 

Because I was preparing for ALA this week, I didn't read as much as usual. The two novels I read, both adult nonfiction, were actually audios, which I listened to while preparing my apartment for my absence, packing, and driving. In between, I read picture books and one short graphic novel. Some weeks novels just don't fit into the schedule.

This week on the blog:

• Monday I shared some of my favorite new and notable picture books - Storytime
• Tuesday featured a roundup of books soon to be released in paperback that sport very different looks that than the hardcover versions - Covered
• Wednesday I turned back the clock to 2011, featuring a review of Maurissa Guibord's Warped - Rewind Review
• Thursday I showcased three upcoming releases that I've read and loved - Recently Read

Current Giveaways:

• Win a finished copy of The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski - here
• As always, don't miss out on the season Kids' Next List Challenge and Giveaway - here  

Read this week:

Lillian's Right to Vote by Jonah Winter, illus. by Shane W. Evans (Preorder / Goodreads)

Billy and Goat at the State Fair by Dan Yaccarino (Preorder / Goodreads)

Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten by Marc Brown (Preorder/ Goodreads)

Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky (Preorder / Goodreads)

Mad Scientist Academy: The Dinosaur Disaster by Matthew McElligott (Preorder/ Goodreads)

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (Purchase / Goodreads)

Bossypants by Tina Fey (Purchase / Goodreads)

Odds & Ends

• Order a copy of Marissa Meyer's Fairest from Brilliant Books and receive a limited edition poster & a hidden message pocket mirror. Free shipping anywhere in the US! Check it out here. 
• Signed copies of John Green's 10th Anniversary edition of Looking for Alaska are also available from Brilliant Books! Check it out here.

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What did you read this week? I love recommendations! Have you read any of my new reads this week - what did you think?