Sunday, July 30, 2017

Summer TBR Wipeout Challenge Update #2


Since my last update I have managed to read one more book off my TBR list. I finished The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord and boy I loved this book so much. It was sad, but at the same time it was a fun summer read. I really think the main character Lucy grew so much over the course of this book. 

I finished Flame in the Mist this week for the biannual bibliothon. This book was not part of my summer tbr or my tbr at all, but I enjoyed this book and it left so many questions. The sequel needs to come soon. 


I'm currently reading Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey. I'm loving this book so far. I needed myself a good fairy tale retelling to take a break from contemporaries. This book is not on the list either, but the next book I'm planning on reading is on the list, so I will get another one checked off before the finale of TBR Wipeout. 














Monday, July 24, 2017

Make Me Read It Readathon Sign Up and Poll



The Make Me Read It Readathon is taking place from August 6th-August 13th. We are going to be on vacation again during this readathon, but I'm determined to make it work this year. I'm going to make a poll and you can vote for three. I will choose the one with the most votes to read.


Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Deal Me In/Fill In the Gaps 2 and 1/2 Year Update









   Sign Up                                                              Hosted by Bibliophilopolis


It has been 2 and 1/2 years since I started my Fill in the Gaps/ Deal Me In 5 year challenge. This was a personal challenge I set for myself to read 100 books that I picked off my TBR list in 5 years. I am officially at the halfway point. I thought this would be a good time to update you on how I think the challenge is going and my thoughts and feelings halfway through.


I recently just realized that I have not read very many books for the deal me in/fill in the gaps challenge this year. I thought well maybe I'm losing interest in the books I put on the list and they just aren't the type of books that interest me anymore. When I first made the list I was reading a lot of fairy tale retellings. While I still read that genre I often choose to read more contemporaries now days. I looked through the list and here is what I realized. The books I chose to be on this list are books I want to read. At this point in the road most of the books that didn't make the cut have already been weeded out and replaced by other books. The books that remain on the list have past the test of time with me. When I look at the list they are all books I want to read soon. When I made my coyer summer reading list many of the books that are apart of this challenge made it on the list because they are still books that I care about. I really think I did an amazing job with this list.

So far I have read 31 books off the list for 2015 and 2016 combined. At this point in the year I have read 3 books off the list. Here is what I realize that while I still want to read the books I'm not reaching for them as often as I was one or two years ago. Because this is a static list it does not keep up with the new releases, so the newer books are getting chosen over the backlist books. I still think that this challenge is reachable and I hope to have my total up to 45 books or more by the end of the year. I'm just going to have to remember to choose books from the list more often. So far I haven't had to play catch up and I don't want to start now.

I have also made a page in my bullet journal to help me remember what books I want to read by the end of the year to stay on track with this challenge.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

2017 Reading Assignment Challenge Quarter 2 Update

Hosted by Berls and Michelle @Because Reading

I managed a B for the 2nd Quarter of the 2017 Reading Assignment Challenge. I read PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han in April and How to Be Brave by Katherine E. Kottaras in June. I really enjoyed both of these books and I'm glad to have read both of them. I have 8 books left on my 2017 Reading Assignment Challenge. I'm hoping to complete all of them, but at the least I would like to complete 5 more books off the list, which is one book a month since I have already read my book for July. I'm excited that I get to pick a lot of new books for the list for this next year. 

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Summer TBR Wipeout Challenge Week 1 Update


I can't even tell you how excited I am that I finally read Clockwork Princess. I have been meaning to finish this series for a long time. I think Clockwork Princess took about 200 pages to get into, but once I got into this book I just flew through the remaider of the book and it was 560 pages long. It was wonderful and I so enjoyed the ending. I'm glad that I have finally accomplished this series. 












I'm currently reading The Names They Gave Us. This is a great book as well. I really have been enjoying this book by Emery Lord and I'm looking forward to finishing it sometime in this upcoming week. 




So far I have took one book off my beginning TBR List for this challenge and I have read 5 books off my COYER challenge list. 

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Summer TBR Wipeout Sign Up and TBR List


This is the 2nd year of the Summer TBR Wipeout. This is my last chance to get a lot of reading time in before I start teaching in the fall. Then I'm not sure how much time I will have to read. I'm hoping to read 6 books for this challenge as was my goal last year and I was really close. I'm currently participating in Coyer Summer Reading List, so that is the list I will post here to continue to check off books. I'm currently reading Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare and I'm at page 211 of 568. 





The books with stars over them are the books I have read so far for the challenge. I have checked off 6 books so far. 

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

I was not tagged by anybody specific just thought this would be a fun tag to do to share some of my favorite books I have read in 2017. 

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ YET IN 2017

Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks. This book was so wonderful and got me back into my reading mood. I love the daddy/daughter relationship and I think it was fun to have a guy as the main character. Nicholas Sparks still writes amazing romances even after his own divorce. 


I've only read sequels and none have been super great. I chose PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han. This book was not as good as the first book, but I did end up liking the book and I'm excited to read the last book of the series. 
   

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET BUT WANT TO

There are a lot of amazing new releases out this year. I chose The Name They Gave Us by Emery Lord. I loved her first book Open Road Summer and I need to catch up on her books. I hear this one is a tear jerker, so be prepared. 

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

Coming Up for Air is a netgalley book I got early and it is amazing. I just started it and I love it so much already. This is my second half of the year release I'm already reading. 

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

I bought this book because of the beautiful cover and it was a disapointment. It was a fairy tale retelling of beauty and the beast set in the desert. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the main character had a name. That is something I just couldn't get over. 

BIGGEST SURPRISE

The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradely was a totally unexpected favorite of this year. When I was doing my special education student teaching the teacher was reading this aloud to his class. I picked up the audiobook from the library and just loved it so much. I still think this book was awesome and think about it a lot. 

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR

Nicola Yoon is my new favorite author this year. I have read The Sun is Also a Star and Everything Everything by her so far. They have both been great books to read. 

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

I'm going to choose Olly from Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon and Levi from Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally. The boys in these books were both so caring and great boyfriend material. 


NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

Russell from Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks. I think he is the best single dad and he did amazing providing a life for his daughter while dealing with his own divorce. 

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

I do not have a book that made me cry this year so far, but I'm sure there will be one yet that will be a tear jerker. 

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

My Name is Rapunzel by KC Hilton is a book I have wanted to read for awhile and I'm glad I finally read it. I think it was a great book. It made me happy the way that the author followed the story of Rapunzel, but made changes to make it her own. I loved My Name is Rapunzel. 

FAVORITE BOOK TO FILM ADAPTATION

Everything Everything is my favorite film adaptation I have seen this year. Before I Fall is the only other book to movie I have seen this year. I just recently saw Everything Everything and I think it did a wonderful job following the book as well as making it interesting for the audience. I really enjoyed this book and movie. 
   

FAVORITE POST YOU HAVE DONE THIS YEAR

I love the Series post I do every January to track the series I want to start and ones I have finished in the past year. I think it is fun to see the progress. 

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR



Hands down this category goes to Wanderlost by Jen Malone. I have not read this book yet, but the cover is beautiful. 

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

I have so many books I would love to read this year. One I would love to have read by the end of the year is the last Lara Jean book. 


Thank You so much for joining me for the Mid Year Freak Out. I hope you enjoyed reading and if you have done this tag leave me a comment below with your link, so I can check it out!

Sunday, July 2, 2017

June Wrap Up and July TBR

June was a great month for reading. PS I Like You is my least favorite book by Kasie West so far, but I still enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the rest of the books I read this month. Everything Everything became a quick favorite for the year. I really enjoyed learning about Anna Kendrick and finally reading How to be Brave. It Started with Goodbye was a great 2017 release and I highly recommend it.


I read 2/7 books off my June TBR. I'm currently reading Clockwork Princess, so there will be another book off the list. The only new book I added this month is Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham, which I have checked out from the library as an audiobook. I'm planning on reading mostly books I own in July. I own Something in Between, The Name They Gave Us, and Windfall. I have Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross and By Your Side by Kasie West checked out from the library. I'm hoping for a good reading month.