The Sunday Mix (21)

It is officially Christmas week, friends, and I am super excited! I love the holiday season (which I'm sure you guys already know by now, especially if you follow me on Twitter or on Snapchat [I'm the-lexicon on there!]). I've been celebrating with friends since the start of the month, and that continues this week. I'm excited about the day coming up, and I can't wait to have my friends open their presents (and hopefully love them), and I can't wait to celebrate with food and get-togethers with loved ones! The lightness of the holiday spirit will be taking over the blog, as from Monday to Friday you'll be seeing all sorts of fun posts here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them!

WHAT I READ

• Lili recounts her experience meeting Dwight Garner, a book reviewer for the New York Times. His candid advice for reviewers is really fascinating. Plus, his comments on YA and the necessity for more YA reviews in the NYT are really cool!
• On the hunt for 2016 challenges to sign up for? Here are a couple of suggestions for you. (Also, don't forget - Rachel & I are hosting the 2016 Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge. We'd love for you to join!) 
• 2016 A Series A Month Challenge
• (Fairytale) Retelling Challenge 2016
• Tamora Pierce Reading Challenge
• Re-Read Challenge 2016
• Bekka shares a list of reads that play with format, perspective + voice. I actually haven't read a ton of books like this, but her post makes me want to remedy that. Of all the categories she suggests, I'm most fond of epistolary style novels. I think it's because I love writing and sending letters in real life!
• Chachic suggests a clever trick for helping your friends buy you books as a Christmas present! It's a win-win situation for everyone involved, since your friend is guaranteed to give you something you want... and you get something you want. I might have to try this method with Macky, because I do want to get some books for Christmas.
• Hazel has designed a lovely 2016 Book Blog Planner printable. Her design aesthetic is so lovely, and I think there are a lot of bloggers who will benefit from using this! (It's especially true for those of that prefer paper planners.) 
• Estelle & Magan share their 2016 holiday mix! I've really enjoyed listening to these festive playlists, as they always include such perfect songs for the mood I'm in.  I'm going to miss seeing these in my blog reader in the years to come!
• Bekka muses on when it is best to post your ARC reviews. Personally, my ARC reviews are always up within a month before or after the book's release date. But now I'm curious to hear what YOU, my dear readers, think. Would you prefer I post after release date so you can buy the book right away? Or would you rather have it before release day so you know about it early? Or do you not mind either way as long as I keep talking about books? 
• Hannah shares lessons she's learned from NaNoWriMo. As someone who has successfully completed NaNo three times, I felt validated about how I choose to approach the stuff I've finished during the month of November. (P.S. - I'm still working on Swan Story, and hoping to finish by the end of the year!)
• Star Wars and writing insights... What could be better? Julie Eshbaugh and Stephanie Garber tell us some of the things they've learned from Star Wars that taught them something about writing. (I personally love the very last lesson included in the post!)
• I just really enjoyed this post highlighting 24 truths we readers know to be true. The GIFs are really great, and I definitely agreed with a whole bunch of these statements!
• Lauren talks about hype and asks for help dealing with it. As I said in the comment I left her, I generally just tend to avoid reading something when the hype is at its peak (I'm looking at you, Illuminae). I wait until I feel personally like I can go into it with no expectations whatsoever, and then I'll read it. 

WHAT I ACQUIRED

from the library: The Selection by Kiera Cass, In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Blackest Night by Geoff Johns

gift from Lili: My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Cynthia Hand + Brodi Ashton | won from Cassie: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain | for review from Viking/Penguin Books: The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee | from Edelweiss: A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye, Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes, Spark by Holly Schindler, Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman, Wanderlost by Jen Malone, Even if the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia, This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab, The Way Back to You by Michelle Andreani

bought: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken, Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas, The Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery | bought for Kindle: Dirty Deeds by Megan Erickson, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, Avalon by Mindee Arnett, Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer, Shadowland by Meg Cabot, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, The Deal by Elle Kennedy, The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows, Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Black Friday Book Outlet haul: Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie, Sunlight and Shadow by Cameron Dokey, The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn, Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey, The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder, The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn, Snow by Tracy Lynn, Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey, Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey, The Caller by Juliet Marillier

And I am so, so, so excited about this big ticket buy that I'm going to get to show you today! I would not have been able to purchase this one at a reasonable (in my mind) price, were it not for my wonderful, beautiful friend Hannah of So Obsessed With. Say hello to my pristine new editions of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien from Folio Society! I love the way they look and how they feel in my hands. (And I plan on curling up and rereading these at home next year.)

That's it for this week's edition of The Sunday Mix. The next time you'll see one of these is in 2016.

Now tell me - What interesting posts did you read this week? What did you acquire this week?