Bout of Books 17: Day Seven!

» Day Seven Recap: «

▫ What I read:

Refresh Refresh by Benjamin Percy

▫ Thoughts on the book so far:

I read this short story for my fiction writing class, so I am going to refrain from rating or commenting on it too much. It was definitely interesting!

▫ Challenges I participated in:

NONE

» Day Seven Stats: «

# of hours read: .5
# of pages read: 11
# of books completed: 1 (short story)
# of challenges completed: 0

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

▫ Total:

Hours: 15

Pages: 1.082

Books Completed: 3 (plus one short story)

Challenges Completed: 1

Bout of Books: Day Seven!

Another Bout of Books has come to an end. :(

» Day Seven Recap: «

▫ What I read:

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

▫ Thoughts on the book:

What is there to say, really, except I LOVED IT. I cannot believe I put off reading it for so long. Such an achingly beautiful, heart-wrenching, intense story.

▫ Challenges I participated in:

- NONE -

» Day Seven Stats: «

# of hours read: 1.5

# of pages read: 163

# of books completed: 1

# of challenges completed: 0

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

▫ Total:

Hours: 11

Pages: 741

Books Completed: 2

Challenges Completed: 4

» Wrap-up: «

▫ TBR:

✓ Read Just a Few Inches by Tara St. Pierre

✓ Finish Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

x Finish A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

▫ Final Thoughts:

Overall, I think I did pretty well, considering I had been suffering through a months-long reading slump right before Bout of Books began. I managed to complete Illuminae—which I fell in love with—as well as Just a Few Inches, a book I received for review. It was a good reading week and I managed to complete 2/3 books on my initial TBR, so I would call it a success!

BoB 14: What to Read Next

Today's Bout of Books challenge is "What to Read Next," hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much! For this, we must recommend three books that we have read this year; books that we feel other readers will enjoy.



1. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: This has been my favorite book of the year so far! With multiple Londons set in separate dimensions, magic, great characters and an interesting plot, this book provided a really fun (and intense) reading experience.

2. The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons: If you're looking for a new, Dystopian read, then this book is for you! In this society, women are treated as "stock;" being captured, groomed and sold to the male population. All of this—coupled with a fierce/stubborn main character—help to make the book extremely interesting and difficult to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed it, from beginning to end.

3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: TWO fantasy recommendations from me? Unheard of! Once again, I found myself impressed by a book from the fantasy genre. This one has a female assassin, a kingdom ruled by a crazy tyrant, magic, mystery and a deadly competition. Definitely a must read if you're into action and choices that could be the difference between life and death.

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 9.0: Day seven

× On day seven I was reading....

☆☆☆





Technically, I completed Timepiece the day after Bout of Books ended (a little after midnight), but am still counting it because I PLAY BY MY OWN RULES. This book was great, though a bit more confusing than the first one. Doctor Who/Star Wars references, FTW!

× Day Seven Progress:

▫ Finished reading Timepiece (Hourglass #2) by Myra McEntire (Total Books = 3)
▫ Read for: 4 hours (Total = 24)
▫ Read 198 pages (Total = 991)
▫ Completed the Bookish Wedding challenge at Harley Bear Book Blog


» Bookish Wedding Challenge:

For day seven's challenge, we were asked eleven questions; all dealing with a make-believe bookish wedding, featuring you and your fictional spouse, as well as your guests. Here were my answers:

1. Which fictional character would you marry? Will Herondale. Because... Will Herondale.

2. Who would be your Maid of Honor or Best Man? Cassie Sullivan as my Maid of Honor. We would be besties, no doubt.

3. Which fictional world would you want to get married in? Hogwarts. On the grounds, near the lake. And as far away from the Whomping Willow as possible...

4. Who would you pick to play the music at your wedding? Simon Lewis from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

5. Who would be your photographer? Lily Garcia from the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire.

6. Who would you sit at the singles table (and hope they'd fall in love)? Chubs from The Darkest Minds. I don't care who else is sitting there with him; I just want him to find lo-oooove.

7. Who would be your flower girl or ring bearer? I think Poppet and Widget Murray from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern would be adorable as the flower girl and ring bearer; with their red hair and general twin-ness.

8. Who would you want to plan the bachelorette/bachelor party? Magnus Bane. He throws some pretty awesome parties. Though I think I would have someone else supply the drinks...

9. At the wedding, who would be the first on the dance floor? Dexter from This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.

10. Who would give a speech or toast? I feel like Peeta would give a great speech. He's very in-tune to what people want to hear, and can be very heartfelt and honest.

11. Who would catch the bouquet or garter? I don't know why, but I imagine Madame Maxime tossing the competition out of her way and using her size as an advantage.

. . . . 

Another Bout of Books come and gone... How did you guys do? Did you make your goals? Despite not setting any of my own, I am pretty happy with my progress and overall achievements this time around. Until next time!

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Seven [wrap-up]

I planned to read an entire book on Sunday, I really did; but, unfortunately, I was too distracted by Jamie Campbell Bower's face to do anything remotely productive...



Because I did go and see the Mortal Instruments Sunday afternoon (as well as purchasing some new books that I definitely did not need from Barnes & Noble), I was not able to read as much as I would have liked to. But I did still begin a new book—one that I have been waiting forever to read—and got through about 82 pages before the evening ended. And that book was Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. It was released fairly recently, and I have been dying to get my hands on this baby for quite a while. And so far, I am enjoying it. Lots. Tucholke reminds me a bit of Brenna Yovanoff, in that their writing styles are quite similar. They both deal with paranormal contemporary, and I find that their works are very gritty and dark, and very, very gothic. Which is good, because I like that style. I am currently about halfway through the book right now (today is Monday), and am really looking forward to finishing this off and obsessing over how long I will have to wait for the second.


Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between #1
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 15, 2013
Pages: 360
Format: Hardcover
Average Rating: 3.87



Goals:

At the beginning of the week, I said that I would like to:

x 1. Read at least three books.

I ended up reading two books and about 1/3 of another. I did not complete this goal, but I'm not too upset about it, as I planned to take it easy this week and just kind of go with the flow (since it was my first time participating).

✔ 2. Complete a series.

This one I did do! I began and finished the final book of the Across the Universe trilogy, Shades of Earth, by Beth Revis. And it was AH-MAZING.

✔ 3. Read at least 3-3 1/2 hours a day.

I pretty much managed to complete this challenge as well. There were a few days where I fell a bit short, but, overall, I would say that this goal can be marked as accomplished



Overall, I would definitely call this Read-A-Thon a success; merely for the fact that I participated and had a TON of fun. I definitely plan on taking part again.

Challenges:

I did not complete any challenges on Sunday.

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 0
Number of Pages Read Today: 82
Number of Challenges Completed: 7
Total Number of Books: 2
Total Number of Pages: 668

Links:

Yesterday's post (complete w/ Saturday & Friday's challenges!)
Friday's post (complete w/ Thursday's challenges!)
Thursday's post (complete w/ Wednesday's challenges!)
Wednesday's post
Tuesday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

How did you guys do? Complete any goals you're super proud of?