Bout of Books 11

Bout of Books 11 is on the way and I will be participating!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

See you there?

Teaser Tuesday [July 29]

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).



This week's teaser:

"I like red—don't get me wrong. But I have a deep appreciation for anything that is willing to be totally and utterly itself. If you're going to be red, well, then, be red, goddammit. From your steering wheel to your hubcaps, be red."

— Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid (page 13)

Top Ten Tuesday [July 29]

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they update their blog with a list of ten things that have to do with a predetermined topic.

This week's topic is...

From which author do you own the most books?

BookTubeAThon 2014 [Wrap-up]

Another Read-A-Thon has come and gone, and I. Am. Exhausted.


[Monday July 14: Day One]




Books: Cress by Marissa Meyer
Pages: 550
Time: 9 hours
Challenges Completed: 2




[Tuesday July 15: Day Two]

Books: Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky, Glitches, The Little Android by Marissa Meyer
Pages: 70
Time: 2 hours
Challenges Completed: 0




[Wednesday July 16: Day Three]




Books: Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
Pages: 369
Time: 2 hours
Challenges Completed: 1




[Thursday July 17: Day Four]




Books: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (started)
Pages: 145
Time: 3 hours
Challenges Completed: 0




[Friday July 18: Day Five]




Books: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (finished)
Pages: 211
Time: 3 hours
Challenges Completed: 0




[Saturday July 19: Day Six]




Books: Wake by Lisa McMann
Pages: 216
Time: 3 hours
Challenges Completed: 1




[Sunday July 20: Day Seven]




Books: Fade, Gone by Lisa McMann
Pages: 467
Time: 6 hours
Challenges Completed: 1




[Final Tally]

Total # of Hours Read: 28
Total # of Pages Read: 2,028
Total # of Books and/or Stories Read: 9
Challenges Completed (5/7):

1. Read a Book with Pictures Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
2. Start and Finish a Series Dream Catcher trilogy by Lisa McMann
3. Read a Book with Red on the Cover Cress by Melissa Meyer
4. Read a Book Someone Else has Chosen for You
5. Read a Book f/t Genre You Have Read the Least This Year Cress by Melissa Meyer
6. Read a Book-to-Movie Adaptation
7. Read Seven Books/Stories

. . . .

I think I fared nicely, considering my TBR reservations. Overall, the week and challenges went pretty well; I managed to keep my page count up and completed six books and three novellas. I did diverge from the original list—picking up Shadow and Bone and the Dream Catcher trilogy instead of If I Stay—but by the end of the week, I did not really feel up to reading anything sad or emotional.

Did you guys participate? If so, what was your favorite book/challenge/memory of the BookTubeAThon 2014?

Top Ten Tuesday [July 22]

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they update their blog with a list of ten things that have to do with a predetermined topic.

This week's topic is...

Which ten fictional characters would you chose to be stranded with on a deserted island?

1. Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series: Percy can control water. We are stuck on a deserted island. All he has to do is conjure up a wave or summon a few of his father's sea creatures to give us a ride and we would be all set.

2. Kai from the Lunar Chronicles: If, for some reason, Percy is unable to rescue us from the island and we are forced to create our own society (of sorts) until help arrives, I feel like Kai would be our best bet as leader. He is very diplomatic, kind and reasonable.

3. Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games trilogy: She is a great hunter and won the Hunger Games twice. Who wouldn't want her on their team?

4. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series: It would probably work to our advantage to have someone as smart as Hermione stuck with us, as she probably has a plethora of information on the best place to make camp, what kind of wild creatures are indigenous to the area and which water is safe to drink. Plus, she's a witch.

5. Mackenzie Bishop from the Archived trilogy: Mackenzie is strong and unafraid, making her the perfect sort of warrior/fighter should we be attacked by pirates, aliens or the undead.

6. Leo Valdez from the Heroes of Olympus series: Leo would be a source of comic relief; making light of our unfortunate situation and keeping things upbeat. Also, he can make fire, which is sure to come in handy.

7. Liam from the Darkest Minds trilogy: When everyone else is freaking out and/or trying to strangle Leo one another, Liam would be the voice of reason. I would want someone like that around, especially if we are stuck on the island for some time.

8. Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings trilogy: I mean, if nothing else, he can tell us stories and conjure up some fireworks to keep us entertained. Who knows, maybe someone will see the display and send help.

9. Perry from the Under the Never Sky trilogy: Perry has proven himself to be resourceful on more than one occasion, and would be just level-headed enough to make himself useful. He could aid Katniss with her hunting and then come back and plan a way off of the island with Kai, Liam and Percy.

10. Luc from the Dispossessed series: He may be part gargoyle, but it would be nice to have a set of wings on the team. As insurance.

Teaser Tuesday [July 22]

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).



This week's teaser, brought to you by book two of The Dispossessed:

"Ingrid jerked back, stung, especially after the tender way he'd described her scent. 'If he's anything like you, he'll learn it's much easier to be heartless.'"

— The Lovely and the Lost by Page Morgan (page 87)

BookTubeAThon 2014 [Progress]

Instead of doing seven individual updates, I have decided to combine my progress from the week into one, convenient post:



[ Day One ]

▫ Began and finished reading Cress by Marissa Meyer
▫ Completed the Read a Book with Red on the Cover and Read a Book from the Genre You've Read the Least challenges

# of hours read on Day One: about 9 (total = 9)
# of pages read on Day One: 550 (total = 550)
# of books read on Day One: 1 (total = 1)
# of challenges completed on Day One: 2 (total = 2)


[ Day Two ]

▫ Began and finished reading Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky by Marissa Meyer
▫ Began and finished reading Glitches by Marissa Meyer
▫ Began and finished reading The Little Android by Marissa Meyer

# of hours read on Day Two:about 2 (total = 11)
# of pages read on Day Two: 70 (total = 620)
# of books read on Day Two: 3 novellas (total = 4)
# of challenges completed on Day Two: 0 (total = 2)


[ Day Three ]

▫ Began and finished reading Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
▫ Completed the Read a Book with Pictures challenge

# of hours read on Day Three: about 2 (total = 13)
# of pages read on Day Three: 369 (total = 989)
# of books read on Day Three: 1 (total = 5)
# of challenges completed on Day Three: 1 (total = 3)


[Day Four ]

▫ Began reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

# of hours read on Day Four: about 3 (total = 16)
# of pages read on Day Four: 145 (total = 1,134)
# of books read on Day Four: 0 (total = 5)
# of challenges completed on Day Four: 0 (total = 3)


[ Day Five ]

▫ Finished reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

# of hours read on Day Five: about 3 (total = 19)
# of pages read on Day Five: 211 (total = 1,345)
# of books read on Day Five: 1 (total = 6)
# of challenges completed on Day Five: 0 (total = 3)


[ Day Six ]

▫ Began and finished reading Wake by Lisa McMann
▫ Completed the Read Seven Books/Stories challenge

# of hours read on Day Six: about 3 (total = 22)
# of pages read on Day Six: 216 (total = 1,561)
# of books read on Day Six: 1 (total = 7)
# of challenges completed on Day Six: 1 (total = 4)


[ Day Seven ]

▫ Began and finished reading Fade by Lisa McMann
▫ Began and finished reading Gone by Lisa McMann
▫ Completed the Begin and Finish a Series challenge

# of hours read on Day Seven: about 6 (total = 28)
# of pages read on Day Seven: 467 (total = 2,028)
# of books read on Day Seven: 2 (total = 9)
# of challenges completed on Day Seven: 1 (total = 5)

BookTubeAThon 2014 [TBR]

The thought of an actual, planned TBR pile gives me anxiety. LOTS of anxiety. But read-a-thons are about challenging yourself, eh?

Here are the week's reading goals set by the BookTubeAThon's creator, Ariel Bissett:

1. Read a book with pictures:

It is a book. And it is made up of pictures. Challenge #1: check!

2. Start and finish a series:

As seems to be the trend, I am choosing a duology; both books a relatively quick read. I'm not sure how well this particular challenge will go; if, at the end of the week, I feel up to reading these two books, then I will. If not, I wont be disappointed.

3. Read a book with red on the cover:

Might I draw your attention to the red ribbon braided into her hair?

I am not in the habit of reading an unfinished series all at once—sidenote, in case you were unaware: I have recently completed Cinder and will be done with Scarlet tonight—but OH. MY. I am in love with this story.

4. Read a book someone else has chosen for you:

I will not be doing this challenge. It is difficult enough for me to plan ahead and possibly read something I may not be in the mood for. The added stress of reading something someone else has chosen for me is unnecessary.

5. Read a book from the genre you have read the least from this year:

Once again we have Cress by Marissa Meyer, counting toward two challenges this week. This book falls under the genre of Science Fiction and Steampunk.

6. Read a book-to-movie adaptation:

It is not a movie, but will be. That counts, right?

7. Read 7 books stories:

The original goal was to read seven books, but with how well my reading has been going this month and how anxious I am to be creating a TBR, I am afraid that saying I will read seven actual books may be pushing my luck - not to mention setting myself up for major disappointment (my average is 2-3 books a week). So, I have tweaked the challenge a bit; allowing novellas to count toward the final number as well.

And here they are:

▫ Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
▫ Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (The Lunar Chronicles #3.1) by Marissa Meyer
▫ Glitches (The Lunar Chronicles #0.5) by Marissa Meyer
▫ The Little Android (The Lunar Chronicles #0.6) by Marissa Meyer
▫ Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
▫ If I Stay by Gayle Forman
▫ Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by Gayle Forman

. . . .

And there you have it: my first ever, official TBR! Anyone else participating in the BookTubeAThon this year?

Teaser Tuesday [July 1]

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).



This week's, extremely ominous teaser:

"Leave now, Dusty. Paul's message read. It's dangerous. Don't talk to her. Don't do anything except get out."

— The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett (page 200)

June 2014 Wrap-up [spoiler free!]

June was fairly uneventful, reading-wise. After completing the Bout of Books read-a-thon in May, I entered the month in a reading slump of sorts and could not bring myself to sit still for very long. Thankfully, it ended after I indulged in a few of the more action-y books on my TBR shelf, but I still only managed to complete a handful of reads before the month's end.

☆☆☆☆☆

1. Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3) by Patrick Ness. This book was an emotional roller-coaster, and I loved every minute of it. After setting aside Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, I needed something fast-paced and action-packed, and Monsers of Men was the perfect fit. I absolutely adore this series, and the ending—while heartbreaking—was very fitting and emotional. Completing this book allowed me to check off two of my personal 2014 reading goals: to finish a series (progress = 1/10) and read a book that had been on my physical TBR shelf for longer than six months.

☆☆☆





2. Snowscape (Chaos Walking #3.5) by Patrick Ness. The last line was what did me in. Oh, my heart.

☆☆☆☆

3. The New World (Chaos Walking #0.5) by Patrick Ness. As far as prequel novellas go, The New World—while not at all what I was expecting—turned out to be very interesting and insightful. I was originally hoping for glimpses of Todd's parents; their struggle upon arriving in New World and how their ending came about, but Viola's past proved to be equally vital and I quite enjoyed reading from her POV before Todd and the Mayor.

☆☆☆☆





4. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. First of all: there's going to be a second book? YES, PLEASE. In truth, I was expecting this to be another cutesy contemporary, filled with fluff and happy endings. However, there were some powerful themes present that I was not expecting; the importance of family, friendship, first loves and how to move on. I quite enjoyed the fake boyfriend/girlfriend scheme and was vaguely reminded of The Duff (but better, obviously). There were a few things that I did not like, such as Laura Jean's babyish attitude and a few of the more annoying characters, but the writing was beautiful and I continually found myself far more emotionally invested in the story than I should have been. The cliffhanger ending was a perfect set-up for the second book and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. Hopefully it will also be written from Laura Jean's POV.

☆☆☆☆

5. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. The unnecessary/annoying family drama, cheesiness and lack of any real struggle or journey kept me from enjoying this book as much as I was hoping to. Oliver was definitely a favorite, but other than his character and the lovely writing—though, I am not really a fan of third-person POV—I found myself reading just to finish.

And the two books I began but did not finish this month were:

. . . . 

May Stats:

▫ Read 3 books (and 2 novellas)

▫ Read 1,591 pages

GR's 2014 Reading Challenge (Progress):

▫ Read 31 of 70 books

▫ Currently 3 books behind schedule

Upcoming Releases:

▫ Landline by Rainbow Rowell -- July 8, 2014

▫ Four by Veronica Roth -- July 8, 2014

▫ Lets Get Lost by Adi Alsaid -- July 29, 2014

Taking my awful, two+ week long reading slump, I think I did relatively well this month. Hopefully I can bring my Goodread's reading challenge number up during July.

The year is already half over! How are your goals coming along? Read anything good this month?