I am an avid lover of the e-reader and have been for almost a decade. I've mentioned it here before but my first e-reader was a Barnes & Noble Nook and it was only recently that I got on the Kindle bandwagon. I always liked the idea of supporting Barnes & Noble over Amazon so I figured buying my e-books from them was a good way to do it.

However, my Nook has gotten ignored in the past few years because the model I had was kind of old and I've been reading a lot of ARCs from Netgalley on the Kindle Paperwhite. I knew I had to eventually upgrade my Nook and I was waiting for the right model to come along. This summer I saw the Nook Glowlight 4 in person and I felt it was too small for my liking; it looked smaller than my Kindle so I didn't get it.

Thank goodness I waited because just a few weeks after I saw it in the store, Barnes & Noble announced that the Nook was getting a huge upgrade in the form of the Nook Glowlight 4 Plus - a bigger and better version of their e-reader...literally, bigger because it's about the size of my iPad mini but much thinner. 

I immediately pre-ordered it and thanks to my Barnes & Noble rewards membership, I got a little bit of a discount. *That's another reason I've been keen on B&N recently -- the $40 a year membership also got an upgrade and I'm able to get free shipping on every order, earn rewards, and get discounts on all items. It's such a good system.

I waited about two months for the Nook to arrive and it showed up on my doorstep in early September. Since then, I haven't read anything on my Kindle. This is my favorite e-reader ever, and one of my favorite tech gadgets of all time. 

I did my first Little Loves post a while back and never continued the series. I figured I'd do another one since it's been so long since my last.

There are things that I discover every day, whether they're new or something I've rediscovered in my collection, and I don't always get to share them with you. They may be included in monthly favorites or in a beauty post but sometimes things just don't fall into that category.

That's why I wanted to do a small roundup here.

Here are a few little loves that I've had lately!

Kate Spade Charm Bracelet: A few months ago I got a hankering for a charm bracelet. I don't know where it came from but I haven't had one in forever. I saw that Kate Spade had one and I quickly bought it along with a few adorable charms. I have a hashtag, a pair of glasses, and a champagne bottle. I've been wearing it nonstop the past few months and it's so nice. It doesn't make a lot of noise and doesn't feel annoying on your wrist, which is essential for me in a bracelet. It's definitely something I'd consider as a gift for someone else (or for yourself!). Below are some other charms that are super fun and cute.




Watches: Another piece of jewelry that I was never really on board with, watches. I have had a few in my lifetime but I never got much use out of them. Lately, though, I've been loving them, especially my new Rose Gold Metal Kate Spade watch. I bought mine off of Tradesy but here is a similar one. I always felt that metal watches were a little too manly for me but a smaller size, and in rose gold, is the perfect touch of feminity.





Babe Magnet Essential Oil: I recently got this essential oil from Evil Queen, my favorite candle company ever, and I'm obsessed. She had been teasing us for a while on Instagram that she was going to release rollerball oils so when she posted them online for pre-order, I got my hands on one immediately. Babe Magnet Potion (she calls them potions, how cute!) is made with Frankincense, Bergamot, Mandarin, and Apricot Oil. They all have their own little uses in the oil but basically, this potion is supposed to enhance your mood and I definitely feel like it works.

Barnes and Noble Nook E-Reader: I have been a lover of the e-reader ever since the first Nook was released in 2009. I had the first ever Nook and fell in love. I have to admit that I was against it at first but once I realized how much money I was spending and how much room my books took up, I warmed up to the idea. My first Nook broke and I got the Simple Touch shortly after because I couldn't be without it. After I got my iPad, my Nook took a backseat but I recently found it in my room and became obsessed. I love supporting Barnes and Noble, and I love that the Nook screen is not colored. It's black and white so I don't feel like I'm reading on a computer. I also love that there is no Internet so I don't get distracted by Twitter or any other app. My Nook is solely for reading and I love it. The Simple Touch doesn't exist anymore but the GlowLight is very similar.


What have you been loving lately?
xoxo
B

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Here we are again, trying out a new writing format. I have been reading/listening to too many books to do separate posts about them, and sometimes I find myself rambling in book review posts just to fill up space or get my point across.

I think rounding up the books in one short paragraph is much better than dedicated posts that don't make that much sense.

Let me know what you think!

I will preface this by saying that I didn't read any of these books -- I listened to them all on Audible, Amazon's audiobook companion. I've been addicted to Audible since April and have listened to too many books. You can read my initial thoughts on Audible here but clearly I love it.




Let's get started, shall we?

1. Primates of Park Avenue: This was a book that I had heard negative reviews on and didn't think I would want to read it, but it somehow drew me in. I listened to this after listening to a slew of nonfiction memoirs and wanted something a little fluffier but still not 100% fiction. It was really interesting to hear stories about the Upper East Side and how it truly is a different world with different rules. There was a lot of science and biology wrapped up into it and I think that made the book a little more credible. Also, the author was in no way similar to these women she talked about, which I think was a misunderstanding in the reviews I read. She wasn't bragging about the lifestyle, she was simply informing people of what goes on (she was just as shocked as the readers!) This was a pretty good book and I would recommend it if you want something light but not completely chick lit fiction.

2. The News Sorority: I had been lusting after this book for a good year and finally listened to it. I was weary of listening to it because I thought I would prefer to read a book like this but OMG, it was amazing. It takes you through the journey of three of the most famous women news anchors of our time and tells the stories of major events in the world, and their lives, and journalism in general. It sparked my nerd bug, big time. It was really long and those are my favorite books to listen too... and it was incredible. I was a journalism major in college and I'm a writer at heart (as you read my blog...duh) so it was wonderful to hear about Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour's lives & careers. It definitely made me crave a journalism career and it was inspiring. This was another book that didn't get great reviews but if you love news, journalism, and memoirs, I think you'd really like this.

3. Killing Monica: Written by Candace Bushnell, aka the writer of Sex and the City novel (yes it was a book before the tv show) and it was hilarious. The premiss is that a very successful NYC author who just got divorced is sick of writing about her famous character, Monica. Everyone LOVES Monica & can't get enough of her, but PJ Wallis is tired of living in Monica's shadow. She needs to do something but what happens isn't what she expects.

I was definitely annoyed by it at times, and it may have been because I listened to it instead of reading but it was really outlandish and funny. A fake death? A crazy actress? New York City? Sign me up! It was definitely fluff but there is a deeper meaning behind it. I read some reviews and articles about this and a lot of people thought Bushnell was talking about Carrie Bradshaw in the novel, and it was hard for me NOT to think of that but she assured critics that it isn't based off of real life. It was a great read and I listened to it pretty quickly.

4. Luckiest Girl Alive: I got into a mood where I really wanted to listen/read a thriller novel. This was one that I had begun seeing everywhere and I couldn't resist. Let me start off by saying that this definitely has that "Gone Girl" & "Girl On the Train" feel but not as insane or twisted. It takes place in NYC and the main character works at a magazine as a sex writer so it definitely has a more present day, glamorous feel. I definitely was surprised and pleased with the true storyline, it was really interesting and crazy, and it gave me the chills. It was shocking and intense and a little hard to listen to at times but it was incredible in my opinion. Is it as good as "Gone Girl?" -- no, of course not. I don't think anything will come close to that for a while. I feel like this is a book I'd listen to again, that's how much I really enjoyed it.

As you can tell, I don't care if a book got bad reviews. Never judge a book by it's cover...or a review. If something sparks your interest, always read it! You never know where your next favorite will come from.

What books have you been reading/listening to lately? What do you think I should read next?