Love for Book Read-a-Thon Sign Up

Hosted by Jessi @ Novel Hearbeat

I'm ready for another read-a-thon and I'm hoping to get a lot done during this one. I am trying to tackle all the library books I have taken out so I can read some books I own. Here are my choices.

Library Books:

Princess of Glass (currently reading)

Princess of the Silver Woods

Mr. Miracle

A Little House of their Own

Fairest

Books I Own:

Wonder

To All the Boys I Loved Before

Kindle Read:

Coralina 

So as you can see I have a lot of choices, so we will see what I get read. 

My To-Be Read List~ February 2015

Hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading

It is time for another round of the My TBR list meme. I finished Sold for Endless Rue by Madeleine E. Robins and Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George in January. I was able to knock two books off my list for fairy tale fortnight. I was really tempted to choose all fairy tale retellings again this month, but thought you guys could help me with my Winning at Reading Challenge. 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio has been on my TBR list since December 9th, 2014

You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

 My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. 

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

 But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

 Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

 Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, WONDER is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson has been on my TBR list since July 19th, 2014.

Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm has been on my TBR list since July 26th, 2014.

Mute, heartless, and tormented by auditory hallucinations, Madeleine Lavoie never questions why her family has hidden her from the world. But the night her brother casts her out, she learns the mysterious voice she thought existed only in her mind is no delusion, and no matter how hard she tries, she can never disobey it.

 Now Madeleine must find her own voice in a cacophony of powerful tyrants, monsters, and gods. If she fails, she will forfeit her life and the lives of everyone who loves her. But if she succeeds, she may finally gain the ability to love someone in return.

These are all going to be great books and since I own them they will get read at some point. I would love for any of these books to win.

Book Review: My True Love Gave to Me by Various Authors (no spoilers)

Book: My True Love Gave to Me
Author: Various
Publication: October 14th, 2014
Source: Local Library
Read: Dec 22nd, 2014- Jan 2nd, 2015

My Thoughts:

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

This was not my favorite story of the book. I found it hard to understand. It is was a midnight love story told over serveral year. It was a lot of random conversations and I don't think the story was able to be fleshed out as much as it could have been. Eventually everything came together.

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link

I liked this story, but the writing style did sometimes get in the way of the story. I was sometimes confused by this one also. The story involved ghosts of Christmas past, which was a interesting element. I think this story could have been better with a more clear writing style.

Angels in the Snow by Matt De La Pena

This story was about two college students who were snowed in during Christmas break. Shy is housesitting for the landlord of the apartment building, Mike. Haley's pipes break down and she asks Shy if he will fix them. He doesn't know the first thing about plumbing so Haley has to come down to Mike's apartment to shower and that is where their romance begins. I think this was my second favorite story of the book. I loved the writing style. It was so conversational and I really found a connection with the characters since they were both college students. I would have loved to see their romance blossom more.

Polaris is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han

I loved this story about Nattie who was adopted by Santa and living in the North Pole. It was fun watching Nattie fall in love with a boy she barely met and an elf she had known for a while. There were a few loose ends when the story finished. I thought this story was magical. I had a vivid picture of the north pole in my mind and fell in love with the characters.

It's A Yuletide Miracle Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

In classic Stephanie Perkins fashion she was able to craft a believable love story that happened in only a few hours. Marigold buys a Charlie Brown Christmas tree from a Christmas Tree Farm from a boy named North, but she needs help getting it home. So their love story begins. I found this story very sweet and I would have loved for it to keep going.

Your temporary Santa by David Levithan

This story was very short. I read the entire story before I got out of bed one morning. I thought it was sweet that a brother would go to great lengths to see his little sister Riley believe in Santa. I have often talk how Santa brings the magic of Christmas out for me. I love how the LGBTQ theme was worked into the novel. There wasn't too much substance to the story, but I did enjoy it. 

Krampuslauf by Holly Black

This story was strange. It was by far not my favorite of the book, but I still liked it. This was a New Year's story about Penny throwing a fancy New Year's party. I enjoyed the contemporary aspects, but some of the magical realism elements just didn't click with me. I still liked this story just didn't love it. 

What the Hell Have You Done Sophie Roth?  by Gayle Forman

Gayle Forman's story was really disappointing for me. I spent a good portion of the story confused and by the time I understood everything that was happening I did not have enough time to connect to the characters. What I did relate to was that Sophie was a college freshman and she was feel homesick during her first semester of college. That was me last year so I understand. Sophie was lucky enough to meet Russell who helped her celebrate Hanukkah. 

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

Vaughn Hatcher gets himself into a lot of trouble, but when he burns down the barn that houses the churches nativity scene. Vaughn has to do community service to rebuild the nativity scene in time for Christmas. There he is able to connect with his crush Gracie Robinson. It isn't long before sparks begin to fly. This story of a rebel and a pastor's daughter falling in love is familiar, but I really enjoyed this take of the story. 

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

Maria is a resentful teenager forced to work at her families Christmas themed diner for tips only. Maria also watches her friend Candy suffer from an abusive relationship. Then there is Ben, their new cook. Ben believes he can change people and help people through food. Maria and Ben form a special bond. This is my favorite story of the novel. I loved the feeling of hope I had at the end of this novel. This story was by far the longest and totally my favorite. There was a lot of time for development and happy endings. 

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter

This story was about a girl named Liddy who pretends to be an icelandic foreign exchange student who flies across the world to meet her boyfriend Ethan. I found this story interesting. I thought what the family did at the end was really sweet. I enjoyed this story. 

The Girl Who Work the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

This story did not have a story Christmas theme to it besides the advent calendar. I did enjoy the magical elements of this story as the girl talked about her dreams as it gets closer to Christmas. I think the idea of the Dreamer was cool. I think Laini Taylor created a good story, but I also wish it had more Christmas elements to the story. 

Overall I would recommend reading this anthology. I enjoyed the Christmas reads and all the new authors I got to experience. Kiersten White and Matt De La Pena are two authors I need to read more of.

Top Ten Fairy Tale Retellings I Haven't Read

Top Ten Tuesday is Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is to choose 10 books from a genre that you can't believe you haven't read. I chose fairy tale retellings. I'm pretty new to this genre still. I started reading fairy tale retellings when I started book blogging. I did pick out some staples I can't believe I haven't read, but also some newer releases I want to read. 

I'm trying to get ahead on Top Ten Tuesday posts so I'm writing this post on January 18th, 2015. 

1. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine- I have seen the movie and everybody says the book is 10 times better yet I have never read it. 

2. Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross- Since I'm going to focus on Snow White retellings this year I'm hoping I will get to this one soon. 

3. Cloaked by Alex Flinn- or any book by Flinn to be honest. I have almost picked up this book quite a few times, but have never read it due to get distracted by other books. 

4. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George- I have heard so much about this book. 

5. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier- Misty at the Book Rat raves about this one every fairy tale fortnight. I feel like I'm missing out. 

6. Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker- I now own this book and therefore have not excuse not to read it. 

7. Ophelia and the Marelous Boy by Karen Foxlee- This book came out last year, but I never got to it. 

8. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynnee Jones- another one that looks like a fairy tale retellings staple. 

9. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacy Jay- Everybody seems to love this book. 

10. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch- another one that came out in 2014 that I didn't get to. 

I read 16 fairy tale retellings out of my 69 books read, so about 23% of my total reading. As you can imagine it is hard to keep up when these are being published so quickly. Which one of these books should I get to first? Have you read any? 

January Wrap Up and February TBR

I can't believe the first month of 2015 is already over. January went by so fast. I read 6 books in January. I'm in the middle of Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, Fallen by Anne Hunter (kindle), and Cruel Beauty by Rosamond Hodge (overdrive). I will finish some of these books in February.

My first book of the year was My True Love Gave to Me by Various Authors. Then I read The Hunger Games and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. After that I read Sold for Endless Rue by Madeleine E. Robins, My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak, and Cinderella by Jenni James which were all inter-library loans.

January saw the 2nd crash of my desktop computer. I should get it back on Monday. I had to get a new hard drive. January was a pretty warm month for weather. I say that when today we are getting snow. I also started my 2nd semester of my sophomore year of college. So far my classes haven't been too bad. I just need to keep on top of them otherwise the homework will over take me.

• $1.00 for every week I swim twice a week 
• $1.00 for every week I exercise twice a week
• $.10 for every monthly keyword challenge book completed
• $.20 for every book I read that I own
• $.10 for every series finished
• $.10 for every library book read
• $.30 for every kindle ebook read
• $ .05 for every $10 saved using coupons
• $ .05 for every $1 saved in textbooks purchases.

Here is my book budget.
I managed to go swimming 2x/week for 3 weeks so that $3.00 earned.
I exercised at least 2x/week for 2 weeks  so that is $2.00 earned.
I managed to complete 2 monthly keyword books which is $.20 earned.
I read 0 books I owned in January.
I finished one series in January so that is $.10
I read 4 library books in January so that is $.40
I read 0 kindle books in January

I did not earn any money though coupons this month. I did manage to save $8.85, so I will have some money earned in February. I bought textbooks at the beginning of January and saved $161, so that is $8.05 earned. In total I earned $13.75. I spent $11.77 on books in January, so that means I currently have $1.98 to spend. I'm sure I will purchase a few books next week at the library books book sale.

I read 2/5 of the books I set on my January TBR. I'm 50% through Fallen so I have started that one. I'm hoping to read Princess of Glass and Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George, A Little House of Their Own by Celia Wilkins, Fairest by Marissa Meyer, To all the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han.