Bump Pictures!!!! And Books! And a surprise at the end!

So here it is, the long awaited bump! I took it on Saturday just before walking to have brunch in town with the hubs. So yes, I know, I'm not showered or cute or blahblahblah. Who cares. The belly is what matters!

I know it doesn't look like much, but I feel HUGE! And the top picture is my actual shopping list from yesterday. The whole pickles and ice cream thing truly was a complete accident. I guess that's what's on the brain! (Beneath "total accident" it says "preggers, maybe?" just in case you were wondering...I wrote that for Bradley, who was my grocery store buddy yesterday.)
In other terrible food news, our ONLY Taco Bell within 15 miles randomly closed this week, much to my surprise and chagrin. We discovered this surprise yesterday, when baby girl decided she wanted to try one of those Doritos tacos (NO JUDGING HERE, OK?!), SO we had to trek 2 towns over to get to the nearest Taco Bell. Good news is, 17 hours later, I still feel like I ate a live animal that is clawing to get out of my stomach. Now I won't want Taco Bell probably for the rest of my life. Which is great, because, you know, I don't have one anymore.

Now I FINALLY am going to do my book post! Hooray!
So, last November...no wait let me start earlier...Ok so a long time ago (2 1/2 years?) I read the Hunger Games. (yes, yes I know, didn't we all). Loved it, 5 stars, yaddayaddayadda. Bottom line, I really wanted more dystopian books to settle my "Hunger Games Hangover" (a popular phrase these days throughout the interwebs, I hear). So, when my mom handed me a book she picked up at CostCo by some Mormon English teacher that happened to be a post-apocalyptic, dystopian novel, I was all:

The book, called Matched, has accumulated quite a few readers, and it's not a bad first effort. It's no Harry Potter or Hunger Games or anything, but it's fun and engaging and creates a really cool world.

 

Not to mention the cool cover art! So yeah, read that one shortly after the Hunger Games, and then went on a reading hiatus, as I often do when I just cannot find ANYTHING to read anymore for a while. Well of course, this book is simply part one of a trilogy, because apparently, you're only allowed to write trilogies anymore. So. Last November, part II came out!

 

Naturally, I re-read part I, then proceeded with caution to part II, which was an improvement on the first, and a really good time. Only problem: I was hungover again! I had POST-post-apocalyptic dystopian blues. I needed recommendations, stat! Sooooo I reactivated the goodreads account! (My profile is here, in case you're curious. That's where all my opinions and reviews/ratings are for all these books). Then, the binge began. I thought I'd share my list from my last reading binge because I found some real gems that I feel are worth sharing. I won't share more than a quick line and a star rating because that's what goodreads is for. Duh. I've tried to link the pics of the books to their goodreads page; hopefully it works. So, here is my last reading binge list (they are pretty much all dystopian unless I mention otherwise):

Loved this one!!! 5 Stars! DareIsay better than Hunger Games...? Optioned for a movie in 2015, so read, read, read!

Part II just came out in May (the last book of my binge):

4 1/2 stars. Just couldn't top the first one. 

Not a fan. 2 Stars. (Not dystopian or anything, btw.) A lot of people LOVE this book. I didn't like some of what it was trying to say about relationships.

Ok this one was really fun, and super quick. 4 stars. Next one comes out next year sometime.

 

LOVED this one! Almost as good as Divergent. So so so so so so good. 4 1/2 - 5 stars. Couldn't decide. Honestly, you MUST read this if you're into future-y books. It's great. And part II is already out!

Almost as good as the first, DEFINITELY worth the read. Part III due sometime next year. 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

Meh this one was ok. Some people REALLY like it but I wasn't crazy about the protagonist and I thought it read a little too much like a romance novel. Still, couldn't put it down! 3 stars. Part II comes out next month, not sure if I'll pick it up.

This was another "meh". It was action-packed and fun, and it was really short and quick, but some things about it just rubbed me the wrong way. 2 1/2. I wouldn't say it wasn't worth the read though. That said, I haven't picked up the second one.

The caboose of the "meh" train. Not my favorite. 2 stars. I didn't pick up the sequel to this one either.

Not a Beatles book!. It's about SPACE!!! And man oh man is it cool. It was a bit predictable, but I didn't care because it was just so much fun! And it did have some surprises. Couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars. I picked up the second one IMMEDIATELY! I hope they do a movie of this one, it could be so neat.

Even better than the first. Great character development and world creating. 4 stars. Can't wait for part III next year!

I ran out of dystopian books/sequels to read so I dipped into regular YA fiction, and this book is an absolute treasure. I laughed, I cried, blahblahblah. Seriously though, this was so beautifully written. 4 1/2 stars; HIGHLY recommend this.

So! There you have it. My last book binge. I snuck some British Chick-Lit in there too (Little Lady Agency series? anyone? really cute books.) which was fun but not really relevant to my list. And of course I re-read the Hunger Games before the movie came out. My binge ended in May after I finished second installment of Divergent and my job got time-consuming enough that I didn't have time to read books I wasn't crazy about. I have yet to find a book since this list that I've been like "OOO I need to read this!" So, if you have any recommendations, please-oh-please leave them in the comments! Lucky for me, the next installment of Matched comes out this November, and then a slew of part IIs or IIIs are due for release, so another binge is in order here pretty soon. Annnnyyyywwwaaayyyy. I know this post was super-long, sorry, but I always like to know what my friends have been reading so I figured I'd share. Golden rule!
Until next time, enjoy this picture (linked to story) of the new and improved Furby toy released this past weekend; it's sure to freak you out even more than the first Furby.

note the new, creepy, pixelized, all-seeing eyes.

Ta-ta, my lovelies!