Bout of Books 17: Day Two!

» Day Two Recap: «

▫ What I read:

▫ Thoughts on the book so far:

I completed The Titan's Curse on day two, and it was just as good as I remembered! This series will forever have a special place in my heart, and I love going back to read them over and over again. 5/5 stars. It was a very exciting, fast read. Though I had planned to pick up another books after TTC, I ended up picking up the next book in the series, The Battle of the Labyrinth instead.

▫ Challenges I participated in:

NONE

» Day Two Stats: «

# of hours read: 2.5
# of pages read: 175
# of books completed: 1
# of challenges completed: 0

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

▫ Total:

Hours: 4.5

Pages: 374

Books Completed: 1

Challenges Completed: 1

BoB 16: Day Two!

Day two has come to an end! Unfortunately, I have not been reading as much as I would like to—school and work have kept me pretty busy so far this week—but I have enjoyed seeing everyone else's updates. I should have more time to read these next few days, so here's hoping I make some progress and manage to finish something soon!

» Day Two Recap: «

▫ What I read:

Just a Few Inches by Tara St. Pierre

▫ Thoughts on the books so far:

Basically the same as yesterday. I'm still trucking through and am hoping to finish the book on day three! 

▫ Challenges I participated in:

1. Show off your shelves photo challenge.

» Day Two Stats: «

# of hours read: 1
# of pages read: 57
# of books completed: 0
# of challenges completed: 1

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

▫ Total:

Hours: 2

Pages: 104

Books Completed: 0

Challenges Completed: 2

Bout of Books 16: #shelfie

Today's challenge is to post some photos showing off your bookshelves!

- Some manga and my Alice in Wonderland collection.

- Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare shelves.


- Contemporary (and some adult stand-alones in the corner).

- Completed series.


- Completed series.


- Completed series, incomplete series, YA stand-alones.

- Classics and nonfiction.

- Sarah Shephard, Lemony Snicket and J.R.R. Tolkein novels, as well as some Middle grade books.

- My Harry Potter collection.

- TBR.

- TBR.

- TBR.

What's on your shelves?

BoB 15: Would You Rather?

Today's Bout of Books challenge is "Bookish Would You Rather," hosted by Writing My Own Fairytale! For this, we are playing a game of Would You Rather, but with books.



1. Would you rather lend books to someone who dog-ears pages or to someone who reads with cheesy, Cheetos fingers?

I would rather lend books to someone who dog-ears pages. As much as I hate dog-earing, I feel like Cheetos stains would be extremely annoying and difficult to get out.

2. Would you rather be able to meet one character or one author of your choice?

I would love to meet a fictional character! As for which one, there are too many to name! I'd probably go with one of my many book boyfriends, to be honest.

3. Would you rather never be allowed in a book store again, or a library?

A library. I haven't been to one in years, so not being allowed back wouldn't be a huge deal. I would much rather have access to a book store!

4. Would you rather have to choose one of your favorite characters to die or a favorite couple to break up in their book?

As much as my fangirl heart loves a good fictional couple, I think I would probably rather see one of my favorite pairs break up. I would never want to lose a character for good!

5. Would you rather be required to read Twilight or The Scarlet Letter once a year for the rest of your life?

Probably The Scarlet Letter. I've never read either of these two books, but I have absolutely no interest in picking up Twilight.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 2

Your Earliest Memory:

Growing up is to let things go – that embarrassing moment from middle school you thought you would never get over, your first crush, your first love, friends and moments that seemed to drift away without your realizing and, sometimes, the good memories that go along with them. You don’t mean to forget Christmases and birthdays, what your grandfather's face looked like, the name of your kindergarten teacher. It all disappears on its own – sometimes triggered back into your life at odd moments and sometimes not, but you still feel the absence of it; a great, wonderful Used To Be that is no more. I have a lot of “early memories” crammed into a corner of my mind I rarely visit, simply because attempting to sort through what actually happened and what my brain has conjured up in an attempt to fill these fuzzy holes within my memory is too great a task.

I have only lived three places my entire life; two houses and one trailer with my parents and our ever-growing family. We lived in a trailer park for the first two or three years of my life, moving out shortly after my brother was born. There wasn't a lot of room, but we didn't need it. I don't remember much from the time we spent there—I was pretty young—but I do recall a particularly fun Easter afternoon spent hunting colored eggs in our “backyard.” I relive the memory almost like an out-of-body experience; me, running through the grass in a cute Easter dress, trying to find the eggs before my cousins did. My twenty-five year old self does not find this memory particularly exciting or different (I have had many Easters since then), but, for some reason, this one sticks out in my mind.

I remember my laser-eye surgery (a very memorable experience for a three-year old), hiding on the staircase in an attempt to scare my cousin in our first house, dangling my legs out of our garage's second-story window with my father (despite my mother's protests), playing with my friends at school, threatening to run away over something silly, building my own, personal fort at the top of my closet in our second house, getting into trouble for jumping off of our deck onto a trampoline (my dad's idea), experiencing my first crush in seventh grade, cold, winter mornings in high school, playing bells at church, performing on stage with my school's choir and our backstage shenanigans during May Fiesta, our trip to Chicago, my first kiss... So many wonderful, dreadful, random memories came pouring out when I sat down to write today, and I was surprised by how fuzzy some of them have become; how difficult it was to tell reality apart from what I thought had happened. This is what you let go of when you get older – you forget the embarrassing stuff you never thought you would forget, the stuff that seemed important at the time, and hold on to things that you probably would have deemed unimportant. It's sad, but also kind of great, too. I hope there are many more of these “small” moments to come.

What is your earliest memory?

. . . .

I will be participating in the 30 day Writing challenge every day this month, but will not be posting all of them. If you're curious, you can view the list of challenges here.

BoB 14: Book Scavenger Hunt

Today's Bout of Books challenge is the "Book Scavenger Hunt," hosted by The Book Monsters! For this, we must hunt for books that match the criteria given by our host.



1. A book that begins with "B" (for Bout of Books):

(The) Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

2. A book you're planning to read/are currently reading for Bout of Books:

Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

3. Blue Book(s):

4. Books from your favorite genre:

Just ONE genre? No way, José; that is too difficult a choice!

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken [Dystopian]

Across the Universe by Beth Revis [Science Fiction]

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen [Historical Fiction]

5. A book on your TBR shelf/your TBR shelf:

Here is my TBR "shelf" in its entirety.

BoB 13: Character Face-Off Challenge

Today's Bout of Books challenge is a "Character Face-Off," hosted by LuLo Fangirl! We must pick two of our favorite characters and pit them against one another, listing their strengths and flaws, in an attempt to crown the grand champion of our own personal Favorite Fictional Characters list.



Because I don't necessarily want to compare my many, many book boyfriends (too cruel, that) and most of my favorite characters are labeled as my "favorite" for varying reasons, I am going to throw two, kick-ass females into the ring. Everyone knows I have a soft spot for girls who can kick butt and look good while doing it - all without assistance from the opposite sex - so I feel like this challenge will definitely live up to its title.

#1. In the first corner, we have Ruby Daly from Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds trilogy!

Pros:

— Extremely loyal
— Fights for what she believes is right and does not accept the "easy way out"
— Incredibly brave; will place herself in situations to further the cause and protect her friends
— Stubborn (in a good way)

Cons:

— Stubborn (in a bad way)
— Will keep quiet about things that she is afraid will hurt the people she cares about but, in the end, these secrets get everyone into more trouble


#2. And in the second corner, we have Tessa Gray from Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices trilogy!

Pros:

— Is not afraid to get her hands dirty, despite her upbringing (and lack of Shadowhunter experience).
— Does not let difficult decisions/situations get the better of her; she will keep her head and power through, even if it means certain death
— Loyal
— A visionary

Cons:

— She has a soft spot in her heart for friends and family and can be easily manipulated when they are involved.

. . . .

Winner: Tessa Gray

Why: Most of the time, Ruby Daly's decision-making skills are severely lacking and, despite her incredible bravery, she will sometimes land herself and her friends into situations that could have been avoided. Tessa, though a little too compassionate at times, does not allow herself to fall into traps or be pushed around without a fight. She may not necessarily be the strongest female protagonist out there, but she certainly holds her own and makes up for her lack of physical strength with a good head and heart.

. . . .

I was right. That was an incredibly difficult/painful process...

Bout of Books 10: Day two

Author: Victoria Schwab
Series: The Archived #2
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover
Average Rating: 4.43



On day two, I continued reading The Unbound by Victoria Schwab.

Once again, a meeting kept me from getting much reading done at work. However, I did manage to almost match my progress from day one, so I would not call the beginning of this week a total fail. :D


» Progress...
 
▫ Continued reading The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
▫ Read for about 3 hours (total = 6)
▫ Read 117 pages (total = 238)
▫ Completed the Books You're Looking Forward To challenge at River City Reading

» Challenges...

Books You're Looking Forward To

This challenge was also pretty self-explanatory. You list the books you are most looking forward to reading. Here is my entry:

"After much consideration—seriously, I did not realize just how many upcoming publications I am looking forward to—I have created a (painfully) short list of my to-be-released "Must Have"s:

1. The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
2. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
3. Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke
4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
5. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
6. In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

And here are a few that are currently on my physical TBR shelf that I would really, really like to pick up soon:

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
3. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness"

. . . . 

I definitely plan on finishing my first book tomorrow, on day three. How are you guys doing? Anyone finish anything yet?

Bout of Books 9.0: Day two

× On day two I was reading....

☆☆☆☆





Completing I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak means that I can now, successfully, cross off one of my 2014 reading goals while simultaneously achieving my first read of Bout of Books 9.0. I quite like this. Two birds with one stone, and all that.

× Day Two Progress:

▫ Finished reading I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak  (Total books = 1)
▫ Read for: 5 hours (Total = 8.5 hours)
▫ Read 234 pages (Total = 357)
▫ Completed the Reading Tactics challenge at Sarah Says Read


» Reading Tactics List Challenge:

For this challenge, we were asked how we find time to read during Bout of Books; the tips and tricks to completing those extra pages. My response:

"Admittedly, reading can be kind of tough for me during the week, and even on the weekends, because I have so much going on. Thankfully, I work at a daycare and am able to get a good 2+ hours of reading in while the toddlers are sleeping. Other than that, I try my best to avoid TV and other distractions; reading late and taking small breaks here and there so I do not get bored or tired. Because school started up again for me this week, it has proven a little difficult, but I am always willing to make time for reading whenever I get a spare minute."

. . . . 

I am already off to a better start than I was during the 8.0 read-a-thon. How are you guys doing? Reading any good books?

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Two

Tuesday was not very eventful, but I did manage to get through a few more pages than the previous day (nearly a hundred -- so close!). I am still currently reading (and loving!!!!) Shades of Earth; book three in the Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis, and am hoping to have that finished by Wednesday's post. :]



Challenges:

I did not complete any challenges on Tuesday.

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 0
Number of Pages Read Today: 98
Number of Challenges Completed: 2
Total Number of Books: 0
Total Number of Pages:186

Links:

Yesterday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

See you on day three!