2015 - My Year in Books

Hi friends,

Today I was thinking I'd write a couple book reviews for you all, but I realized it's been a while since I looked at my reading challenge for 2015.  Last January I challenged myself to read a book every week, 52 in all.  Along the way I also started working on an overlapping list of 52 specific kinds of books as shown further down in this post.  And the results are in:

2015 Reading Challenge!

Books Read:

(Click any link in the list to see my review!)

1. Fables Volume 19 Snow White
2. Fables Volume 20 Camelot
3. Fables Volume 21 Happily Ever After
4. Fables Volume 22 Farewell
5. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 3
6. Wren's War
7. Wren's Quest
8. Ms Marvel Volume 3
9. Hexomancy
10. Wayward Volume 1
11. Ghosted Volume 1
12. Figment Volume 1
13. A Brides Story Volume 6
14. Dead New World
15. The Torment of Rachel Ames
16. Alice in No-Man's-Land
17. Top 12 Places to Visit in Texas
18. Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West
19. The Master of Formalities
20. The Death and Life of Mal Evans
21. Spell or High Water
22. Off to Be The Wizard
23. Princess Ugg Volume 1
24. A Walk in The Woods
25. Velvet Volume 1
26. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 2
27. Lumberjanes Volume 1
28. Bride of the Water God Volume 2
29. Bride of the Water God Volume 1
30. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 1
31. Avengers & X-Men - Axis
32. Secret Wars
33. The Two Princesses of Bamarre
34. Wild Magic
35. Wolf Speaker
36. Emperor Mage
37. Wren to the Rescue
38. Captain Marvel Volume 3
39. Captain Marvel Volume 2
40. Captain Marvel Volume 1
41. Ms Marvel Volume 2
42. Batgirl Volume 1
43. Fuse
44. Burn
45. Gifts of the Blood
46. The Swap
47. Cipher
48. Waistcoats and Weaponry
49. Manifest Destiny Volume 1
50. Amulet Volume 2
51. Amulet Volume 1
52. Thor Goddess of Thunder Volume 1
53. The Sculptor
54. Rat Queens Volume 2
55. Rat Queens Volume 1
56. Celebromancy
57. Geekomancy
58. The Long Mars
59. The Long War
60. The Reluctant Midwife
61. Pride and Prejudice
62. Price and Prejudice and Zombies
63. The Weekend Homesteader
64. Call the Nurse
65. Paradise Lot
66. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
67. Injustice Gods Among Us Volume 2
68. Injustice Gods Among Us Volume 1
69. Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachians Mountains and Piedmont
70. Midnight in Austenland
71. The Permaculture Handbook
72. Unlocked
73. Lock In
74. Ms Marvel Volume 1
75. Landscaping with Fruit
76. The Johnstown Flood

I think this is the full list, I may be a missing a couple more recent books, but this accounts for everything I can remember from a good go of looking at my records.  76 is better than I thought I'd do, so I'm quite happy with how my challenge went.  And I'm only a tiny bit surprised that 35 of the titles are comics, manga, or graphic novels!  Thanks to Fight or Flight Comics for that.  They opened almost a year ago and Bryan and I have found our perfect local comic book store in them!

As for the more complex challenge here's the worksheet all filled out:

I didn't want to double count anything, though I did read some books that would count under more than one of the headings in the checklist.  And I may have even missed something that might count, but I spent a good half hour trying to figure out what I read that could be added, and that's plenty!  I feel pretty good about all I ended up reading and can't wait to see what I read this year.  I'm not following any particular challenge, but I'm excited to read things I've been meaning to for a long time or have been recommended multiple times.  So I've started off the year with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and have many more to come.  I'll try to get in a good book post at least once a month too keep you all posted about it too!

Favorite Reads

I kind of hate picking favorites, but I have to say that some of the books I enjoyed most from this past year would be Lock In by John Scalzi, a sci fi novel, The Ancient Magus Bride fantasy manga series by Kore Yamazaki, The Ms Marvel series featuring Kamala Khan by Willow G Wilson and a team of very talented artists, and Call the Nurse a memoir of a nurse working on a remote Scottish island in the 1970's by Mary J. MacLeod.  (Links above are affiliate links.)  I recommend all of them very strongly and I'm looking forward to all the great new picks this year will bring as well.

That's all for today.  Sorry I didn't get this post out sooner, but sometimes stomach viruses happen.  Yep....

But I'm ready to tackle a video unboxing for a great new subscription box, so be on the lookout for my review of the new Enchanted Beauty Box, the beauty box for Disney fans!  Have a great week!

Japan Crate Unboxing

Hello folks,

Today I'm sharing my unboxing of a new subscription box I'm trying called Japan Crate!  Bryan and I figured we'd try one month and see how we liked it.  They send out a mini, original, or premium sized box of Japanese snack to your door each month.  Ready for the delicious results?

Japan Crate

 Step one, receive box

 
Inside treats are tightly packed!

There's also a booklet with information on Japanese culture, a manga (not going to spoil the storyline by putting it in here, but it's really cute!), and guide to the contents of the box.

Here are all the snacks, so you can get an idea of what's in the premium box.  It's a ton!  Bryan and I would share an item or two each night and we rushed it a little because I was so excited about writing it and finished in about a week.  If you're single or not sharing it might last a lot longer!

There was also another cute item in its own little ball, an adorable "Food Dog Gashapon"  This little Boston Terrier looks like he's stuck inside some French toast!  And the example pup in the guide was a Jack Russell inside a sandwich. 

On to the Snacks!

Chocolate Mini Pancakes - This item was included in all three boxes, mini through premium.  Apparently Japanese people like a red bean version of filling, but I'm happy with the chocolate myself!  The pancakes were a bit spongy and the filling almost like the jelly balls you can sometimes get to go in bubble tea.  I feel like these are their version of our gummy burgers and other novelties in some ways.  Now for our ratings:

Bryan ***1/2
Lydia ****

Rum Raisin Soft Candy - Again this was an item included in all three box sizes.  These candies were creamy and surprisingly good in flavor.  They reminded us a little of Mentos when it came to the texture.  We really liked them, and want to try more.
Bryan ****1/2
Lydia ****

Grape Gummy Ribbon - These were included in the original and premium crates.  Inside the bag are the individually wrapped candies that can be pulled apart, though we didn't bother trying.  They have a less gummy feel, and kind of felt like gum, but instead of staying solid as you chewed it broke down some, so you won't mistake it for gum.  I really liked the grape flavor, but found the texture a little weird.
Bryan ***1/2
Lydia ***1/2

Poifull Soda Beans - These were in the original and premium crates.  They're jelly beans in Japanese soda flavors including cola, ramune, lemon squash, and cider.  The flavors were pretty good and even had a bit of fizz to them.

Bryan ***1/2

Lydia ***1/2

Chitto Soda DIY - This little kit allowed you to make your own ramune soda flavored mochi.  It was included in the original and premium boxes.  In the end you get a creation that's a cross between gummy candy and jello, which Bryan was less a fan of because he doesn't care for jello much.  It was fun to make, though at first I was a little nervous that I might mess it up.  I really liked the main pink part, but the blue glaze applied at the end was just ok.  I loved the flavor though!  There a couple more pictures below, with the finished version in the second shot.
Bryan **1/2
Lydia ****

Sour Fruit Gummies - These gummies were only in the premium box.  The flavor of these was good, but pretty typical, grape, peach, apple and orange.  I thought they were a little too chewy, but Bryan really enjoyed them.  They weren't very sour, just a little.

Bryan ***

Lydia **

Rich Cheese Scones - These are pretty much Cheetos, but with a sweeter creamy taste.  They came in the original and premium size boxes.  I thought they were good, and Bryan is less a fan of Cheetos overall, but liked the flavor so our ratings were:
Bryan ***
Lydia ***1/2

Gyutan Umaibo Stick - We got three of these corn sticks in our box, and they came in all the box sizes.  They're cow tongue flavored, which Bryan immediately thought was gross.  I was more openminded about them because I has some delicious cow tongue tacos while in Mexico a couple years ago because my friend Michael told me had tongue normally back in Australia where he was from and I'd like it.  I did, but this version not so much.  Bryan and I both thought they were overly spiced and Funyun like.  The smell seemed really strong to me, and it tended to linger.
Bryan *
Lydia *

Tohato Caramel Corn - These snacks were in all three box sizes.  They also had a texture like Cheetos, but a good caramel popcorn like flavor that was free of hulls.  They were supposed to be a peanut version, but there were only 5 actual nuts in our bag.  I enjoyed the flavor and so did Bryan, though again the texture was less to his liking.
Bryan ***
Lydia ****

Bireley's Orange  - Only the premium box includes a beverage, and this orange drink is what I got.  Bireley's was originally an American brand but took off when brought to Japan, and that's now the only place you can find it!  I really enjoyed this, it had a true orange juice flavor, but was less acidic and a little less intense.  It's not carbonated at all.  Bryan is less a fan of orange juice, hence his rating.
Bryan ***
Lydia ***1/2

Mysterious Soda Balls - This was another premium only item.  They felt like Skittles in terms of texture, but came in soda flavors - cola, pink lemonade, cider, grape, melon, lemon squash, and Calpis.  (Calpis is a milky, uncarbonated beverage that has a touch os acidic tang, a little like yogurt)  I thought some of the flavors were good and didn't like others as well.  My favorites with the Calpis, melon, pink lemonade, and lemon squash.
Bryan ***
Lydia ****

Vitamin C Lemon Drops - At first I thought I might like these, Bryan had figured he probably wouldn't because he's not very fond of citrus flavors.  However, I noted on the label that there's no actual sugar in them, just aspartame, which I tend to be sensitive to.  When we tried them they had a touch of menthol like buzz, but I found the aspartame overwhelming.  Bryan said he might have liked them in another flavor.

Bryan **

Lydia *

Overall I was really happy with this box, and would like to keep getting it.  Though we're on a tight budget right now, so it might be cut for a little while.  Hope you liked this review, and if you know of a subscription box you think I'd like or you'd like to see me review let me know in the comments below!

Love,
Lydia

Mixed Bag

Hi everyone,

So today's post is a bit of a mixed bag with a couple comics and other things in store.

First off there's news:

Bryan and I had been planning quietly to go to Texas for a little vacation, but we hit a snafu almost as soon as I announced it.  Because Bryan changed jobs in the last year he makes a little more, maybe 15% after taxes.  However when I sent in my income based repayment information so good old Sallie Mae, oh wait, I mean Navient (their sad rebranding to try to shed the image attached to their other name) I got the results in the last week of what our adjusted payments would be.  Somehow a 15% jump in income means we can suddenly afford double the payments each month.  I don't know how their system works, but it sure is confusing!  What this mean is we're giving Navient an extra round trip flight to Texas each month.  So only I will be able to go for the wedding, and I won't spend much extra time there.  Maybe I'll be able to do something fun while I'm there meeting new friends and seeing old ones, or perhaps Bryan and I can go on some other adventure closer to home.  Either way I'll still be working on the travel series, but it will just end up different than I initially thought it would be.  Overall it's a little disappointing, but not the end of the world.  It leaves plenty of other possibilities open closer to home.  I'll have the next part of my travel series up either September 21st or 28th, so be on the lookout for that!

Secondly I'm thinking about how I can keep moving towards having a more ethical wardrobe and habits in general.  I've been testing out Thred Up ($20 off for you in the link there!), a way to sell or buy second hand clothes online and plan to do a comparison for you all, since I think Poshmark is also a site you all might be interested in.  They do basically the same thing, but with Poshmark you do more of the work and make more profit.  We'll see if it's worth it.  I started comparing my summer wardrobe, which at best has about 5% as ethical.  I'd have to check tags to know for sure, but I'm lazy and haven't yet.  However, with my fall wardrobe there's at least 5%, maybe a little more.  So that's progress of a sort.  And as I look at buying anything new I'm trying to check options from my ethical clothing list first these days.  Then there's Etsy, which is a fantastic place for gifts as well as clothes.  (I start my Christmas shopping early!)  And I'd also like to visit local thrift stores more often, which may turn into a new goal if I can get my husband, Bryan, on board!  I really like the ideas for repurposing and glaming up thrift store finds in this video below:

I think this means I'll be featuring some more Pinterest and DIY projects here soon!  Also my studio is slowly starting to get unpacked.  Finally!  haha  That's been a long time coming, and I'm glad to have work space again.  I also have the challenge of decorating it, so decor DIY here I come!

And now for the book review of the week:

This week I picked up The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 2 by Kore Yamazaki and it was just as good as the first volume!  There are more secrets, depth, and character development packed in this volume.  Chise finished things in the town of cats and meets some new fae.  We see her learning magic and find out how it drains her.  And finally she begins to make allies of who we thought might be enemies before we get to the edge of your seat ending.  I'll be honest, I kind of wish I hadn't heard of this series until all the volumes are published, because now I have to wait until December to read more!  haha Really though it's a great series and I'll have another pick for you all next week.

Love,
Lydia