Series I need to finish...

Fact: I have a problem finishing series.

. . . .

1. Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein.

Completed 1/3 books.

I loved The Hobbit. I loved The Fellowship of the Ring. But, for some reason, I cannot get into the second book. Multiple times I have found myself halfway through and bored, mostly because there are just too many words, too many pages, and too much information for me to process unless I am in the right mood. I would really, really like to finish this series, as I have been reading it (or trying to, anyway) since high school.

2. Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke.

Completed 1/3 books.

Like the previous set of books, I can only seem to get a little over halfway through the second (Inkspell) before setting it aside and finding something new. The third book in the trilogy, Inkdeath, has been on my TBR list for quite some time—several years, at least—and I am hoping to knuckle down one of these days and complete the series.

3. Chronicles of Narnia by Lewis Carol.

I have read multiple stories in this series over the years, and would love to finish the entire thing sometime soon. Perhaps this should be a 2015 reading goal?

4. Hush, Hush quartet by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Completed 2/4 books.

5. Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard.

Completed 6/16(?) books.

I need to be in the mood to read these books—there are so many of them!—and, unfortunately, I have not felt like picking them up in a while. Hopefully the TV show will inspire me to delve back into the series when it returns in June.

6. Razorland trilogy by Ann Aguirre.

Completed 1/3 books.

Enclave was boring, at best. Because of this, I am not in any hurry to pick up the next two.

7. The Goddess Test trilogy by Amée Carter

Completed 1/3 books (and 1/2 novellas).

8. Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi.

Completed 2/3 books (and 2/2 novellas).

The reason I have not yet finished the Shatter Me trilogy—currently one of my favorite trilogies—is because: 1.) the conclusion was spoiled for me and 2.) I JUST DON'T WANT THE BOOKS TO END. D:

9. Hourglass series (trilogy?) by Myra McEntire.

Completed 2/3(?) books.

10. Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness.

Completed 2/3 books (and 1/3 novellas).

THE FEELS. I do not want to say goodbye!

11. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.

Completed 1/6 books.

This series is not really a TBR priority right now.

12. Under the Never Sky trilogy by Veronica Rossi.

Completed 1/3 books.

13. The Selection trilogy by Kiera Cass.

Completed 2/3 books (and 1/2 novellas).

14. Monument 14 trilogy by Emmy Laybourne.

Completed 1/3 books.

15. Incarnate trilogy by Jodi Meadows.

Completed 1/3 books.

Incarnate was an average read; nothing too exceptional or different, and I doubt I will pick up the other books anytime soon.

Teaser Tuesday [May 20]

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. All you have to do is grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two teaser sentences (that don't give too much away).



Fact: I love circus books.

"Camel turns toward me, clears his throat, and speaks slowly, savoring each word. 'You didn't just jump a train, boy. You done jumped the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.'"

— Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (page 28)

Bout of Books 10: Day seven/wrap-up

☆☆☆☆





On day seven I began reading Six Earlier days, the prequel novella to Every Day by David Levithan.

After finishing Every Day, I was in the mood for more stories told from A's unique point-of-view. This novella was not very long, and was the only thing I read on the final day of the read-a-thon. Overall, I am pretty happy with my progress, considering there were two days in which I was too busy/exhausted to do much reading. I had a ton of fun participating in the challenges, getting to know the other members, and discovering new books that I would have otherwise put off reading, had it not been for this event. I deem this week a success!

» Progress...
 
▫ Began and completed Six Earlier Days by David Levithan (total books = 2.5)
▫ Read for about 1 hour (total = 17)
▫ Read 47 pages (total = 726)
▫ Completed the Retitle Your Current Read Challenge at Oh Magic Hour

» Challenges...
Retitle Your Current Read

In which we retitled the book(s) we were currently reading. Here is my entry:

"I am currently reading Every Day by David Levithan and I think I would rename it "Levithan Rips Your Heart Out and Dances on the Pieces," because really. However, a more serious choice might be: "The Dangers of Possibility," as What If?s and their potential to make or ruin a life and/or person played a huge part in this story."

. . . . 

Another Bout of Books has come and gone. How did you guys do? Discover any new books I should know about?

Bout of Books 10: Day six

☆☆☆☆

On day six, I knuckled down and finally finished Every Day by David Levithan.

This book ripped my heart out and tore it to pieces. And I loved it. The conclusion was definitely not what I was expecting—I tend to have a love/hate relationship with open-endings—but I really felt like it stayed true to the message(s) that Levithan was trying to convey about love, friendship and identifying oneself in the face of perpetual inconsistency.

» Progress...

▫ Completed Every Day by David Levithan (total books = 2)
▫ Read for about 4 hours (total = 16)
▫ Read 184 pages (total = 679)
▫ Completed the Show an Author Some Love Challenge at Doing Dewey

» Challenges...
Show an Author Some Love

For this challenge, we were asked to list some authors that we believe are deserving of a little more love on Twitter. Here were my choices:

"Alexandra Bracken: Even thought Bracken is already fairly popular online, she is extremely funny, quirky, real and down-to-earth, and I love seeing her tweets on my timeline. Definitely add her if you are a fan of her Darkest Minds trilogy.

Michelle Hodkin: If you love Hodkin's books, then you will definitely want to have her updates within reach. She is always answering questions, posting snippets and fanart and generally being a lovely person; completely deserving of ALL THE FOLLOWERS!

April Genevieve Tucholke: Tucholke's tweets reflect her writing: gothic and unconventional; qualities of which I am a HUGE fan. A relatively new author, her following is not quite as impressive as some of the others out there on the internet and, after reading Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, I definitely think she deserves some more recognition."

. . . .

Less than 24 hours until the end of Bout of Books 10. Good luck!!

Bout of Books 10: Days four & five

Author: David Levithan
Series: Every Day #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Pages: 322
Format: Paperback
Average Rating: 4.0



Unfortunately, day four did not see much progress, reading-wise. I began Every Day by David Levithan and only made it about thirty pages in before calling it quits and ending the day early. Day five was not much better. However, I did manage to complete one challenge!

Now that I am well-rested and have the entire weekend free for reading, I am hoping to finish Every Day and it's prequel novella, Six Earlier Days, before the end of the read-a-thon.

» Progress...

▫ Began reading Every Day by David Levithan
▫ Read for about 2.5 hours (total = 12)
▫ Read 138 pages (total = 495)
▫ Completed the Rainbow Book Challenge at Neon Yeti Reads

» Challenges...
Rainbow Book Challenge

For this challenge, we were asked to create a rainbow of books! Here was my entry:

◦ The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
◦ Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
◦ Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
◦ Wonder by R.J. Palacio
◦ Insurgent by Veronica Roth
◦ The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
◦ The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
◦ Half Bad by Sally Green
◦ The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Liz Baraswell

. . . . 

Two days left, guys. Happy reading!