Weekend in Review: Blog Swap, Readathon, and Thor: Ragnarok

Posted November 6, 2017 by shooting in Personal, TV/Movies / 37 Comments

Another Monday…but I have some fun things to share today, so hopefully it’s not too bad of a start to your week! The above photo is the box that my fall swap goodies came in! Isn’t it just adorable? It immediately made me excited to open it up! This fall swap was put on by Ashley and Dean and they do one for every season, so follow them to learn about the winter swap in a few months! My swap partner for the fall swap was Jennifer from The Unicorn’s Delight. I sent to her, and she sent to me, and these are the fun goodies that I got…

Unfortunately, a couple of the little pumpkins broke in transit but one was fine and the other can be gorilla glued together again, so I just lost one. Not too bad! I also got this cute pumpkin plate which is currently being used as decoration in the kitchen. I’m also holding on to that Cheryl’s cookie – they have some of the best, so I’ll be enjoying that soon! And look at that yoga dog notebook! Isn’t it adorable? I need to figure out something really fun to use it for because it must be put to good use! I was also sent some beautiful washi tape, a wooden Happy Fall decoration, some fun pens, and a few really cute notepads. Oh, and I also got some pumpkin magnetic bookmarks that are adorable! Thank you so much Jennifer!

Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting their annual HoHoHo Readathon from November 8 to November 15 (Wednesday to Wednesday). This is probably the second year I’ve taken part and I’m really excited to break into some Christmas/Winter themed reads. You can find more details here.

HoHoHo Readathon starts November 8 - get your holiday/winter reads in! #bookblogger Click To Tweet

Today, I’m going to share the books that I would like to get read during this festive week of reading! We’ll see what happens, but if I can get at least one book read, I’d call that a success!

  1. We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany
  2. A Family for Christmas by Jay Northcote
  3. A Christmas Kiss by Annabelle Jacobs
  4. Walking On Thin Ice by Jocelynn Drake

I own the first book on my list and it’s one I’ve been meaning to read for awhile (since it’s the second in a cozy mystery series and I loved the first) but I don’t have the other three. However, they should all be fairly well-priced if I buy the e-book so I’m going to purchase them and see what I can get read! I’ll read all of them this holiday season regardless, even if it’s not during the readathon. I have another Christmas themed cozy mystery that I’d love to read soon, but I feel like I’ll only have time for Delany’s read!

Anyway, let me know what you think of my book choices! Have you read any of these – and if so, what did you think?

Are you doing the readathon? I’d love to know your book choices!

I saw the movie Thor: Ragnarok this past Saturday and it’s another hit for the Marvel universe. It’s a bit of an explosion of the 80’s from the music to the neon and brightness. Basically, the latest Thor movie is a lot of fun! It brings Thor, Loki, and The Hulk/Bruce Banner together to defeat the Goddess of Death, Hela, from taking over their home planet and unleashing a war across others. Along with the three men mentioned before, a new character is introduced known as Valkyrie, wonderfully played by Tessa Thompson. I think I’ve found a new favorite Marvel character for sure! She has her demons, but she’s a fighter and downright bad ass.

Thor: Ragnarok movie review: a hilarious Marvel addition! #ThorRagnarok Click To Tweet

One of the best things about this movie, for me, is the humor. I like when action films have funny moments because it helps break up the action and suspense. Thor: Ragnarak does a great job of blending the overall story with plenty of humor and lots of heart too! In the past Avengers films, Tony Stark/Iron Man is usually the funniest character, but Thor gives Tony a run for his money in this one (not that Tony appears in Ragnarok). Hopefully in future Avengers films, Thor will keep his funny bone! Another fun aspect of the movie are the little cameos – one is a famous actor who is not normally in the Marvel films, another is a Marvel character we’ve seen before, and another new character is actually voiced by the director, Taika Waititi.

I definitely recommend this one! Nice start to the fall movie season.

37 responses to “Weekend in Review: Blog Swap, Readathon, and Thor: Ragnarok

  1. Yay, I’m doing the HoHoHo Readathon this week too. Should be a lot of fun πŸ™‚

    I’m glad to hear Thor: Ragnarok was so good. The theaters around here were packed for it this weekend so I didn’t try to see it, but really hope to next weekend.

  2. I love the idea of the swap? Not sure if it’s international, if it is, I want to check it out for next year! πŸ™‚

    The read-athon sounds really fun! I haven’t read a Christmas theme book in a long while.

    I hope you enjoy your week!

    Nina recently posted: Interview with...
  3. Love that pumpkin plate! How perfect for a Halloween or Thanksgiving table decoration or way to display a little appetizer!

    No reading challenges for me – but I have been plowing through books. Something about this cooler weather just makes me want to curl up under a blanket and read!

    Jessie @ The Acquired Sass recently posted: November 2017 Goals
  4. You got some fun goodies in the Fall swap! I love that swap, I can’t wait until the winter one! The book-a-thon sounds fun! And I’m glad you enjoyed Thor! I have to admit I really do like a lot of what Marvel is doing lately!

  5. I love the white pumpkin dish with the gold stem that you received. I really need to do one of these swaps sometime. I also love that you joined a Christmas reading group! I have just one Christmas book on my list to read this winter and that is about all I can get done! haha! Kudos to you!!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  6. Awesome review. Now, I really want to see Thor. Do you think it’s OK for an 8-year-old? I know it’s PG13, but he loves Marvel stuff. I haven’t read any of those books, so I’m anxious for your reviews. And I LOVE that pumpkin plate! What a great box of goodies.

  7. What a good swap, I’m loving that pumpkin dish, that was lovely and seasonally appropriate. And there’s a Christmas readathon? I love the idea even though I definitely don’t have the time to take part. Any books read for a readathon is a win really. I’m going to see Thor tomorrow and I can’t wait to see it, I’m even more excited after your mini review, it sounds awesome!

    • Hey Becky! I hope you enjoy Thor when you see it tomorrow. I’d love to hear your thoughts. πŸ™‚ Normally I don’t have time for readathons so I’m excited I can at least try my hand at this one! lol

      -Lauren

  8. What a fun swap! Love the little pumpkin plate. Swaps are so much fun when you have a good partner. Hope you enjoy your picks for readathon. Glad you enjoyed the movie. I doubt I’ll see it. I know *nothing* about comics/superheroes and action movies aren’t really a fave, sooo… πŸ™‚ Hope your week is off to a great start!

  9. You got some fun goodies in the swap–I love that pumpkin plate and the bookmarks sound so cool too. I’m heading over to check out the read a thon too!

  10. That fall box looks amazing – filled with so many lovely goodies! That plate is so cute and you can never have enough notepads πŸ™‚ What a fun idea!

  11. That pumpkin plate is so adorable and perfect fall decoration!! Looks like you got some great goodies in your swapbox πŸ™‚

    I’m not much of a comic book/sci-fi girl but I keep hearing about Thor and seems everyone is saying great things!

  12. Thor was so fun wasn’t it? I did have a couple of issues with it but it really did ram home the ‘fun’ aspect (Jeff Goldblum is my fave lol)

    I have had A Family for Christmas on my kindle since HoHoHoRAT last year ooops! I hope you enjoy all your reads!

    Also that pumpkin plate looks pretty amazing.

    Wattle recently posted: 2017 HoHoHo Readathon
  13. Love your Autumn swap package, so much cute stuff. I am going to do to HO HO HO but not start until this weekend as I am finishing up a big library book first. I have lost track of all the Marvel movies, but I have heard such great stuff about the new Thor movie. I need to see it.

  14. You got fab goodies in the fall swap. And I think We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany sounds fab! I must look it up, as it’s nice to mix up the cheese with some with more of an edge. Have fun reading all your festive books.

  15. The swap looks like so much fun! I would love to do one where you swap local items πŸ™‚ And Jocelynn Drake wrote another book? Ooo, I must check it out – I loved her vampire book from forever ago that I can’t even remember the name of πŸ™

    I want to see Ragnarok but movies are soooo long for my son so unfortunately, I might just have to wait until “video”. Is that the correct terminology??? Ugh..

    Have a great HoHoHo RaT!!!

  16. OH NO! Not smashed pumpkins!! I’m glad you were able to save one and enjoy another. Cheryl’s cookie- yum!
    I believe we’re going to go see Thor this weekend. My kiddos are HUGE Marvel fans, HUGE.
    Thank you so much for joining us, Lauren!
    xo

  17. […] Happy Thanksgiving Eve! And if you don’t celebrate, or don’t live in the U.S., Happy Wednesday! One of my family’s usual traditions for Thanksgiving is to go and see a movie. I know a lot of other people do this too – or you might be seeing something tonight or over the weekend -so I thought I’d do a couple mini reviews for movies that I’ve seen recently. I’ll be seeing Justice League tomorrow; would you like a review of that in the near future? Let me know! Also, I already reviewed Thor:Ragnarok so you can find that here. […]

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