Category / Book Tags

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Blogger Recognition Award

Wow guys! I was nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award. How cool is that?!

Thank you to Proud Book Reviews for including me in their nominations! Go check out their blog for some great reviews.

Blogger Recognition Award Rules

  1. Thank the blogger for nominating you and give the link to their blog
  2. Write a blog post on your website showing the award
  3. Describe the story of why you started your blog
  4. Write two pieces of advice you have for new bloggers
  5. Nominate 15 more bloggers
  6. Notify each of your nominees that you have nominated them

How I started blogging…

Well, I like to read a lot. I talk about books a lot. It just so happened that a friend told me I should start a blog about books and share my thoughts/reviews with the world. This may have just been so they didn’t have to hear me ramble on to them about books. Trying to find me another outlet for my hysteria over books good and bad.

So I did start that blog almos 2 years ago and have absolutely loved it. I get to connect with so many like minded people and share thoughts. I have received so many free books from authors to read and review and am so grateful for them. I even made my way to Booktube and have been working with publishers so it has been a pretty great time.

Advice for new bloggers

  1. Don’t give up. It might seem hard at first if you have little to no engagement with the content you are creating but push through and keep working hard at it. If you really love the subject material, people will recognize your passion and take interest in what you have to say.
  2. Interact with other bloggers. This helped me get my start in the beginning because I talked with a bunch of different bloggers and learned from them. Some of them may even become your close online friends!

My Nominations!

I’m very curious to see if everyone participates and look forward to reading your posts. If you have already been tagged in this and have a post about it, no worries about making another one.

  1. The Bookworm Daydreamer
  2. Thoughts Stained With Ink
  3. Book Steff’s Bookish Blog
  4. Book Reviews For Bookish People
  5. Reading In Bed
  6. Storeys Of Stories
  7. Books And Munches
  8. Book Rambler

I only came up with 8 because a lot of them have already been nominated :P. I am very grateful for receiving this award and hope to see more awards/tags like this in the future. Talk to you later bookworms.

If you don’t know yet, I started a booktube so you should check it out! Here is one of my videos :).

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by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Top 5 Book Box Subscriptions

Hey bookworms, it has been a while since I have just sat down and taken the time to appreciate books and all they have to offer. Most of my posts involve a review or a highlight of some sort but today I wanted to talk about Book Subscription Boxes and where to find them. I believe they are becoming a huge part of the bookish community as they give us (the readers) a monthly dose of some good (or bad, depending on how you feel about it) literature with some fun/exciting book themed goodies.

I personally have collaborated with one and I have observed many others through my Instagram page and Twitter feed so I will list the ones that appeal to me and include links to their websites so you can check them out for yourself!

  1. Book Box LoveScreen Shot 2019-02-26 at 8.40.34 PM

Book Box Love was created to enjoy, celebrate and support incredible Canadian talent. I personally acquired a sponsored box from this company and only had good things to say about it. Each box includes:

  • The best new books by Canadian authors!
  • Hand-made, exclusive bookish gifts by local artists.
  • Treats.  Because you deserve it.

A monthly box goes for about $60 which I realize is a little expensive but it is because all the products come hand made from local Canadian vendors. We are giving back to Canada by supporting this box. *Insert Canadian Mountie chant for more maple syrup and poutine*.

2. LitJoy Crate

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LitJoy Crate is a simple, creative, and easy way to read more and more often! They offer products that create lifelong readers and foster a love of literature! Each box includes:

  • Receive a new release YA novel and 2-3 items directly related to the book every month
  • Perfect for any reader age 14 and up
  • Ships on the 20th of each month (except in December it ships on the 10th)

They have 2 options for this. One is the full bundle which costs $29.99 and then there is the box with just the YA book in it and this one is $18.99.

3. SweetReads Box

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Pour yourself a cup of tea, cozy up into your favorite chair and get ready for some well deserved ME time. This is another Canadian book box subscription. Each box includes:

  • Bestselling Fiction Novel
  • Beautifully Crafted Items
  • Artisan Drinks
  • Gourmet Goodies

Each of these boxes has quite a bit in them which is why this one goes for $58.99 + shipping. It is a little more expensive but well worth the cost for the value of items in it each month.

4. Unplugged Book Box

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Unplugged Book Box is a seasonally inspired monthly subscription box featuring one hardcover NEW RELEASE Young Adult or New Adult book (published within 2 months of shipment) + 4 to 6 bookish self-care goodies that help you focus on you.

Each of these boxes goes for $34.99 if you choose month to month. They have other options for 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month payments.

5. Totally Booked Crate

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They are always seeking to create the BEST box every month and are committed to offering you a great read. Their team will do all the necessary research or even read the book, to carefully select the one special book they know you, their reader, will enjoy and love. And they are dedicated to providing you with the perfect crate made with high-quality materials. Each box contains:

  • A new release book
  • 3-5 curated items
  • Book swag

This box goes for $29.99 a month. It also has the option for longer commitments.

And that wraps up my list! Let me know in the comments below if you agree and what you think! If you have any other recommendations, let me know!

There is a new book on the block that I am promoting. This one is called Justice Gone by Nick Lombardi. Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans. You can get it here: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1785358766/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_ca-20&linkCode=as2&camp=15121&creative=330641

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by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

TBR Piles and how to deal with them!

Hey there bookworms.

So I have these glaring TBR piles just sitting there staring me in the face and I have decided to try and tackle them head-on with a passion. I’m dedicating at least an hr and a half a day to reading and more if I am in the mood for it. It just gets difficult to set aside time to read when you work fulltime and then try to have a social life too.

Does anyone else have this problem where their TBR pile grows faster than their eyes can read :P? I’m trying to resist buying any more books until I am done this pile of beautiful books. A lot of these books were sent to me by authors and I owe it to them to give them my time to read these wonderful pieces of work that they put their time into creating. I love being a part of this community of book lovers and giving my opinions on the various books I read.

From now on, I will be giving myself book deadlines. This means that I will be treating the current book at hand like a school assignment where it is due at a certain date. It is still my hobby because I love reading and loved writing book reports in high school. But I am trying to up my pace at which I can read these bad boys and to finally quench the thirst of the authors that are longing to know my opinion on their masterpieces.

How do you bookworms handle your TBR piles? Let me know in the comments 🙂

Talk soon guys, have to get my nose back in this book!


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by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

I have been nominated for an award!

Hey book bloggers, guess what!?!? I have been nominated by Ari Augustine from Ravenous for Reads to win the 2017 Liebster award! If you get a chance, go check out her blog. She is an avid book blogger and does fantastic reviews along with interviews and content for writers. She has a book tube channel which is also really cool and something I hope to get to myself someday.

Now you may say, what is a Liebster? I am not too sure either but it sounds cool right? I checked it out and here is more info on the 2017 Liebster Award. I also grabbed the image from Ari’s blog because I didn’t know where else to find it but this is the official badge for the award.

Liebster

So in the rules, it tells me that I should write about my favourite blog/blogger. That would have to be Kathy @ Books & Munches because she basically started talking to me when I started blogging (which was only a month ago) and has made me laugh with her hilarious comments. She also takes the time to comment on almost all of my posts which was the whole reason I started blogging; to be able to talk to others about books and overall just geek out (plus review books for authors). She is a great book blogger and shares a lot about her reading lists, hosts contests and brings the book community together through conversations and even card exchanges 🙂

Alright so Ari left some questions for her nominees (the questions are in bold and my answers are italic):

  1. Do you judge a book by its cover or give the blurb the benefit of doubt? I tend to give the blurb the benefit of the doubt as I have read so many books that turned out to be fantastic even if they had a crappy cover. I do really enjoy a beautifully laid out book cover though 😛
  2. What are you reading at the moment? Right now, I am currently reading the last book in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series. It is called the Library of Souls.
  3. If you could only take one book with you, what would it be? Hmmm this is a tough one. If I had to choose one, it would be The Glass Castle as it shows and teaches you that no matter where you come from or what happens to you, you can always move forward and live a happy life if you make it for yourself. Pretty much look after yourself because you are who you live with for your whole life (if that doesn’t make sense then we have reached the inner workings of my mind and I have started to babble).
  4. This one is a two-part question: Favorite villain? Favorite hero?My favourite villain would have to be the Jackal from the red rising series and my favourite hero would have to be Daredevil (no making fun….unless you want to, I won’t be offended)
  5. What do you enjoy most about blogging? The part I enjoy most about blogging is the different conversations I get to have with likeminded people about books that we have read. Talking about books and their fictional worlds is so fun and you get to see how others interpreted something in a novel that you may have seen differently in your imagination.
  6. What’s your blogging routine like? My blogging routine is generally done at night as I work 9 to 5 as a web developer. I will write my posts between 10pm and 11:30pm to be published next day around 10am.
  7. When did you begin your blog and where do you hope to take it? I began my blog about a month ago and I plan to eventually get to a point where I am following a lot of book bloggers and have attained a following so that my reviews will be seen by many and maybe companies will approach me to represent them in the book blogging community.
  8. Tea, coffee, or cocoa? Coffee all the way but mix some cocoa in and you have yourself a Mocha.
  9. Hardback or paperback? Paperback (not as heavy and easier to read with one hand while brushing your teeth or cooking or whatnot)
  10. If you could visit anywhere in the universe, in or out of time, parallel or present, where would it be? This is going to sound lame but I would just go to Australia. It has been my dream to go there ever since I wrote a speech about the country in grade 4.
  11. You’re going on an epic adventure to save the world. Name two characters who would help you succeed. Katniss Everdeen because she is badass at rebellions and Gandalf because he proves his loyalty and is an excellent mentor/friend.
  12. What’s your favorite word? Potential.

 

My nominees for the award are as follows and you guys can answer the same questions that I did because I really liked them:

I hope you guys can participate by writing your own posts to keep the love going and I look forward to reading all of your posts!

To finish it off, it says to write 10 random facts about yourself so here you go:

  1. Chocolate Oranges are life in my eyes.
  2. I like music better on vinyl (nothing like that scratchy sound).
  3. People say my spirit animal is a giraffe (it’s because I slap people with my neck lol jk)
  4. I play a lot of League of Legends (if you play, my summoner name is Krundor so add me up)
  5. I eventually want to have a Golden Retriever and a Border Collie.
  6. My preferred beer of choice is Pabst Blue Ribbon.
  7. Scary movies and awesome.
  8. I am a huge comic book fanatic (ask me about my collection, I dare you)
  9. Arkells are a great band (take a listen, you will like them)
  10. My favourite movie of all time is Its A Wonderful Life.

And that’s all for now! Talk to you later book worms and I will be resuming with the book challenge tomorrow!

 

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

WWW Wednesday (Oct. 11th / 2017)

So I am trying out this new thing called WWW Wednesday. It is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and all you have to do is answers the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:

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So far this book is pretty good. It was sent to me by the author to read and review and it is my first romance novel unless you count twilight from when I was in high school. Not sure if this genre is my thing but I am giving it a shot. Synopsis below:

Tia had her whole life ahead of her, yet she felt lost. She was surrounded by people who loved her but she was still struggling with the aspect of loving herself. As she got ready to leave for Delhi, her body shivered. Would she collapse? Would she reach Delhi safely? How would she manage without her mother, Anita? The stream of questions kept flooding her brain.
Sameer loved the chat he had had with dreamy girl. He felt light after their interaction and even though he did not know exactly who she was, he was pleasantly surprised at how a stranger could make such a powerful impact on him. He brushed thoughts of her aside, reminding himself that he was wasting time thinking about a woman, and these kinds of emotions would just make him weak.
Will the paths of these two strangers intertwine? Will Tia be able to find herself again? And will Sameer ever realise how truly beautiful women are?

Recently finished reading:

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This was a great read for teenagers. It was exploration into another magical world with likeable characters and a basic good versus evil storyline. You can connect with the author on their twitter @SUZANNIO . Synopsis below:

Set in both the future and present day, Spellbound Chronicles is a fast-paced children’s story with twists and turns, good versus evil, set above and below ground. Spellbound Chronicles tells the story of Larna and Aron who, while geocaching in the ancient Sherwood Forest, find themselves reluctantly pulled through time into a Sherwood of the future. Faced with the task of fighting to save an enslaved and fast-mutating race from extinction, they set out with the formidable wizard, Balgaire, and his friends to take on the might of the fearsome warlock, Mordrog. A battle for wands, destruction and kidnapping ensues, with a hint of romance thrown in, in the form of underground shape shifter Cai. As the final epic battle takes place, will Larna and Aron survive the fight long enough to return unscathed to their own time and their own Sherwood..?

What I will read next:

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This is another book that has been sent to me by the author to review. It is classified as a thriller so I am really looking forward to this one as I am a huge fan of horror and thriller movies. I have only read one thriller novel before and it had me on my toes the whole time. Synopsis Below:

One of their number carries a dark and deadly secret from their past, and has murderous plans for a fellow ex-pat. Can any of the close- knit community discover the brutal plans before they are all put in mortal danger?

 

That’s my first WWW!! Let me know what you think in the comments below! I look forward to chatting with you fellow bookworms 🙂