Tuesday, December 31, 2013

December 2013 Wrap-Up

Here's a summary of my book-related activity for December. Basically, I knew I wasn't going to complete most of my challenges, so I focused on completing the few that were still achievable. And I succeeded in that!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and I'll see you in the new year!

Books I read (linked to the reviews)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (free ebook)
Angel Omnibus by Christopher Golden, Joss Whedon, etc. (TBR pile)
Apocalyptic Organ Grinder by William Todd Rose (NetGalley)
Will O' the Wisp by Tom Hammock (NetGalley)
Basilisk by N. M. Browne (TBR pile)
Sworn (The Vampire Legends #1) by Emma Knight (free ebook)
The Price (A Selection Novella) by Kiera Cass (new book)

Books I bought at my friends' moving away sale


Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
The Plague
by Albert Camus



Books I bought with Christmas gift cards (ie. sequels I was so excited for!)


Insurgent (Divergent #2)
by Veronica Roth
The Elite (The Selection #2)
by Kiera Cass


The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner #2)
by James Dashner
The Ask and the Answer
(Chaos Walking #2)
by Patrick Ness


Ebooks I bought


The Prince (A Selection Novella)
by Kiera Cass


Progress on challenges



I completed the following letters for the A-Z Book Challenge: none

I read 2 books for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

I read 0 books for the Anne Rice Challenge.

I completed the following squares for the Book Bingo Challenge: read 4 books from your TBR pile, read 4 books everyone but you has read

I read 0 books for the Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge.

I read 1 book for the Dystopia Challenge.

I read 1 book written by women.

I read 0 books for the Seriously Series Challenge.

Progress on my TBR pile: I added 7 books to my to read list and removed 5, so my pile increased by 2 this month.

Challenge Completed: 2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge


Well, I was going for the whole board, but the two row and two columns that I did complete technically mean I got Bingo. :) Listed below are all the books I read for this challenge. For books everyone has read but me, I used a combination of books that are huge in the blogosphere these days (so it seems every other book blogger has read them) and older books that are hugely popular. Some of them I picked by sorting my to-read shelf on Goodreads by number of ratings.

read 1 book from your tbr pile: (finished January)
-Geomancer (The Well of Echoes #1) by Ian Irvine

read 2 books from your tbr pile: (finished April)
-The Witches by Roald Dahl
-Ghosts Beneath Our Feet by Betty Ren Wright

read 3 books from your tbr pile: (finished October)
-Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
-Taltos (The Mayfair Chronicles #3) by Anne Rice
-The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

read 4 books from your tbr pile: (finished December)
-The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate
-Haunted (Women of the Otherworld #5) by Kelley Armstrong
-Angel Omnibus by Christopher Golden, Joss Whedon, etc.
-Basilisk by N.M. Browne

read 5 books from your tbr pile: (finished April)
-The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
-Burnish Me Bright by Julia Cunningham
-The Ghost Witch by Betty Ren Wright
-Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic Version 5 by Bruce Buzbee
-The Host by Stephenie Meyer

read 1 book that is part of a series: (finished April)
-The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (An Eclipse Novella) by Stephenie Meyer

read 2 books that are part of a series: (finished January)
-The Secret (Animorphs #9) by K.A. Applegate
-Lasher (The Mayfair Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice

read 3 books that are part of a series: (finished in September)
-The Unknown (Animorphs #14) by K.A. Applegate
-The Show (Northwest Passage #3) by John A. Heldt
-Glitches (Lunar Chronicles #0.5) by Marissa Meyer

read 4 books that are part of a series: (finished February)
-The Android (Animorphs #10) by K.A. Applegate
-The Forgotten (Animorphs #11) by K.A. Applegate
-The Reaction (Animorphs #12) by K.A. Applegate
-Uglies: Cutters (Uglies: Graphic Novel #2) by Scott Westerfeld

read 5 books that are part of a series: (finished in June)
-The Change (Animorphs #13) by K.A. Applegate
-Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld #3) by Kelley Armstrong
-Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld #4) by Kelley Armstrong
-Lichgates (The Grimoire Saga #1) by S.M. Boyce
-The Dark Victorian: Bones (The Dark Victorian #2) by Elizabeth Watasin

read 1 book that is released in 2013: (finished in May)
-Angel on the Ropes by Jill Shultz

read 2 books that are released in 2013: (finished in July)
-Riding on a Beam of Light by Ramsey Dean
-Love Rehab by Jo Piazza

read 4 books that are released in 2013: (finished in August)
-Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
-The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
-Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa by Benjamin Constable
-The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

read 5 books that are released in 2013: (finished in May)
-The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab
-The Testing (The Testing #1) by Joelle Charbonneau
-Wars in Toyland by Joe Harris
-The Orphanage of Miracles by Amy Neftzger
-The Testing Guide (The Testing #0.5) by Joelle Charbonneau

read 1 book everyone but me has read: (finished in September)
-Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

read 2 books everyone but me has read: (finished in August)
-Mockingjay (Mockingjay #3) by Suzanne Collins
-Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

read 3 books everyone but me has read: (finished in October)
-This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
-Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
-Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

read 4 books everyone but me has read: (finished in December)
-The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness
-The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
-The Maze Runner (Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner
-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

re-read 1 book: (finished in May)
-The Andalite Chronicles by K.A. Applegate

reread 2 books: (finished in September)
-Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1) by Louise Rennison
-On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #2) by Louise Rennison

Monday, December 30, 2013

The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

Title: The Bookstore
Author: Deborah Meyler
Publication Date: August 20, 2013
Length: about 354 pages (ebook)

Esme is a young English woman, studying art history in New York City. She's pretty happy, even though her boyfriend, Mitchell, is the world's biggest douchebag. One day, she realises she's pregnant, and when she goes to tell Mitchell, he dumps her before she has the chance. Determined to stay in school and keep her scholarship, she gets a part-time job at a used bookstore.

The most frustrating thing about this whole book is that Mitchell is SO horrible and Esme never seems to quite understand that. Just when you think she's going to be happy without him and move on, he swoops in again and she just totally forgets what an idiot he is in favour of her mysterious attraction to him. Very annoying.

But other than that, I enjoyed this book, for the rather undefinable reason that it felt "real" to me. Even though all the other characters who worked in or frequented the bookstore kind of blended together and weren't very memorable, Esme herself really held my interest. And I found the book to be surprisingly feminist. Esme goes through the process of debating whether or not to have an abortion. She struggles with the realities of becoming a single mother, while her douchebag boyfriend offers her a rich and comfortable life as a decoration on his arm. Ultimately, despite having a depressing weakness for the jerk in her life, Esme is a strong, independent woman, and I enjoyed reading about her.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

New Year's Resolutions for 2014

The year is almost over, and when it comes to reading and blogging, the new year feels very much like a fresh start for me. In the last few months, my schedule has become so crazy and my reading time so limited. Combine that with overly-ambitious reading goals and too many review copies, and you have a less-than-ideal environment for actually enjoying recreational reading.

So, my main resolution for 2014 is to enjoy my reading more. I've already started taking steps to ensure that I follow through with this: I've signed up for reading challenges at lower levels for 2014, so that they're fun instead of unachievable, and I've hugely decreased the number of review copies I accept. I want to get back to where I can read what I feel like when I feel like it. I want to be able to read a 1000 page book without having to worry if I have time for it. And I even want to be able to take out library books without feeling too guilty about my towering pile. I feel a weight off my shoulders just thinking about it. So I'm going into 2014 feeling pretty darn good. :)

2014 New Year's Reading Resolutions:
  1. Have more fun reading by allowing myself more freedom in what I read and when.
  2. Keep review copies from overwhelming me by never allowing a backlog of more than 3.
  3. Start reading some of the Beyond Reality books of the month again (like I used to do way back in high school, in the pre-Goodreads days if you can believe that!).
  4. Write reviews soon after finishing a book, or at least start them. That way I won't be trying to remember details of a book I read 3 months ago, like has happened this year!
What are your reading resolutions for 2014? Share in the comments!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Publication Date: 1843
Length: about 76 pages (ebook)

We all know the story of this one. I've seen countless movie adaptations, but had never read the book until now. Scrooge, a grumpy old man who cares only for money, is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, who regrets the life he lived and the life Scrooge is still living, and tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future all visit Scrooge that night, teaching him the error of his ways.

I knew I loved the story, but I didn't know if I'd like the writing. I've heard so many mixed things about Dickens. But this story is beautifully written. Perhaps that explains why so many scenes are reproduced word-for-word in the various movies.

This is a wonderful story to read around the holiday season. Very heart-warming.

5 stars.

Monday, December 23, 2013

2014 Book Bingo Reading Challenge


Just when I thought I was done signing up for 2014 challenges, I discovered that the Book Bingo challenge has returned! And the board is different this year! In some ways, the new board adds new challenges for me (eg. requiring me to read a romance and a mystery if I want to complete the whole board), but in some ways it's also easier. I'm particularly glad that the confusing free square of last year has been replaced by free squares that can be filled by any book. There are also fewer total books that need to be read to fill the board. See the challenge page for full details and to sign up yourself!

Like last year (my final scorecard for 2013 will be posted soon, by the way!), I won't be aiming for any particular goals besides getting some kind of bingo, but I am hopeful that I'll be able to fill the card this year.


Challenge Completed: 2013 Dystopia Challenge


Success! With just over a week to spare, I have met my goal of reading 15 dystopian books in 2013. For the list of books I read, check out my challenge sign-up post.

When perusing the offerings of 2014 challenges, I did see another dystopian challenge happening, but I'll be skipping that one next year. Believe it or not, I actually read pretty much all of my dystopian books for this challenge! I only have one left on my TBR shelf, and maybe one or two I wouldn't mind rereading (I keep meaning to revisit 1984). So I read almost all of the ones I already owned and was planning to read, plus several review copies and one library book.

2014 Seriously Series Challenge


Yay! The Seriously Series Challenge is happening again! I had a great time with this challenge in 2013. It was difficult, but ultimately achievable. (Though I achieved it by completely changing my lists over the course of the year. I stuck with my original levels, though!) It's good times all around. Click on the image above for full details and to sign up.

Goals:
Series started before 2014: Seriously Serious (7 - 12 series)
Series started in 2014: Seriously Serious (7 - 12 series)
Series rereads: Semi-Serious (1 - 6 series)

Again, I'm trying to focus on finishing series that I've already started. Below is the list of series I'm hoping to read; it'll change throughout the year to reflect the series I actually do read.

Series started before 2014:
  • Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
    • Broken
    • No Humans Involved
    • Personal Demon
    • Living With the Dead
  • The Dwarves by Markus Heitz
    • The Fate of the Dwarves
  • Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
    • Love is a Many Trousered Thing
    • Stop in the Name of Pants!
    • Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
  • Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
    • Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
  • Northwest Passage by John A. Heldt
    • The Fire
  • Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
    • The Forest House
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth
    • Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story
    • Insurgent
  • The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
    • Cress
  • Archived by Victoria Schwab
    • The Unbound
  • Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness
    • The Ask and the Answer
    • Monsters of Men
Series started in 2014:
  • The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa
    • The Iron King
  • Trilogía Victoriana by Félix J. Palma
    • The Map of Time
    • The Map of the Sky
  • The Ravenscliffe by Geoffrey Huntington
    • Sorcerors of the Nightwing
  • Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
    • The Red Pyramid
  • Onyx Court by Marie Brennan
    • Midnight Never Come
  • Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
    • Under Heaven
    • River of Stars
  • Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black
    • Tithe
  • Serenity by Joss Whedon, et. al.
    • Those Left Behind
  • The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
    • The Hunt
  • Darkborn by Alison Sinclair
    • Darkborn
Series rereads:
  • Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
    • The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
    • The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
    • Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
  • Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
    • Away Laughing on a Fast Camel
    • Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers
    • Startled By His Furry Shorts

Friday, December 20, 2013

2014 Banned Books Challenge

Photo credit: Old Books by Petr Kratochvil

This is a new one for me this year, and I'm pretty excited about it! Buckling Bookshelves (great blog name, by the way) is hosting the Banned Books Challenge for the second year. Any book that has been banned or challenged counts towards this challenge.

In keeping with my over theme of aiming low in 2014 challenges so that reading challenges don't go from fun to stressful, I'll be starting with the lowest level, Making Waves, which only requires 1 to 2 banned books. But hopefully I'll find a bunch of awesome banned books and move up a level or two over the course of the year.

I'll list my banned books below as I read them, and link to the reviews as I write them.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

2014 Diversity on the Shelf Reading Challenge

My Little Pocketbooks

My Little Pocketbooks has started a new challenge, inspired by the POC Reading Challenge, called Diversity on the Shelf. The goal is to read books written by or about people of colour, thus diversifying our reading experiences and supporting diversity in the publishing industry.

This is a great challenge for me, because my reading experience is seriously lacking in diversity. The majority of the books I read are now written by women, and recently I have actively sought out books by LGBT authors, but I honestly can't think of a book I've read recently by an author who isn't white. That's a tad embarassing.

Since my book collection lacks in this area, I'll have to look beyond my own shelves for this one. As suggested on the challenge post, I'll be getting inspiration from the POC Reading Challenge blog. There are also plenty of Listopia lists on Goodreads that will give me ideas.

Since I'm trying to be more realistic with my challenge goals this year, I'll start with the lowest level, 1st Shelf: read 1 to 6 books. I'll list the books below as I read them, and link to the reviews as I write them.
  1. The Returned by Jason Mott
  2. The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publication Date: April 25, 2011
Length: 487 pages

Beatrice has grown up in the Abnegation faction, which values complete selflessness.Yet she's always struggled to be as selfless as her family. As a 16-year-old, Beatrice will soon have to decide which faction she'll spend the rest of her life with. While she doesn't want to leave her family and insult their values, she longs to join the Dauntless, the faction that values fearlessness.

After the Choosing ceremony, Beatrice (who soon rebrands herself as Tris) discovers that being accepted by a faction is no easy process. There are intense physical and psychological tests, and Tris must prove herself or wind up factionless. And through it all, she has to keep her secret, that's she's Divergent, which her society fears most of all.

It took some time for me to connect with Tris. I think that's mostly because there is no way I would ever choose Dauntless. It just seemed so unappealing to me. And I didn't like how some of the factions were so vilified, especially Erudite, the faction that values intelligence. I can't stand that they're portrayed as the bad guys! I totally would've chosen Erudite.

But, eventually Dauntless won me over. I still wouldn't choose it, but it gained my respect. Particularly the way Tris and Four view it. Also, this book gave me a strangely strong urge to get a tattoo.

Possibly my favourite thing in this novel was the fear landscapes. The idea of going into a holographic simulation that puts you through your worst fears is just so cool. Though I didn't really understand the process Tris went through to overcome each one. It makes me wonder what would be in my fear landscape. And how many fears I would have.

3 stars. Writing this review months later, I feel more positive about it and can't really remember why I gave it only 3 stars. But I always go with the rating I choose right after finishing. In any case, I'm looking forward to the second book!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

2014 Mount TBR Reading Challenge


Every year I aim for Mt. Ararat, and every year I fail. So, as much as I'd like to be reading more books off my TBR pile, I'd also like to succeed in this challenge for once. :) So, this year, I'll be aiming slightly lower, starting with Mt. Blanc. That means my goal is only 24 TBR pile books this year, which I surely can achieve. And if I finally start making real progress on my mountains of books, and reach this goal early, I can always upgrade to a taller peak.

I'll list the books I read for this challenge below as I read them, and link to the reviews as I write them.
  1. Insurgent (Divergent #1.5) by Veronica Roth
  2. Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs
  3. The Underground (Animorphs #17) by K.A. Applegate
  4. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, et. al.
  5. Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews
  6. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  7. Blind Date by R.L. Stine
  8. The Fate of the Dwarves (The Dwarves #4) by Markus Heitz
  9. Darkborn (Darkborn #1) by Alison Sinclair
  10. The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda
  11. The Philosopher's Apprentice by James Morrow
  12. Broken (Women of the Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong
  13. The Decision (Animorphs #18) by K.A. Applegate
  14. Twisted by R.L. Stine
  15. The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb by Ally Malinenko

Title: Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb
Author: Ally Malinenko
Publication Date: September 12, 2012
Length: about 207 pages (ebook)

As far as Lizzy Speare knows, she's just a normal girl, with a talent for writing and a love of Shakespeare. But when her father disappears, and Lizzy and her friend Sammy are kidnapped by a man named Jonathan Muse who claims to be protecting her, she discovers an amazing secret: she's a direct descendant of William Shakespeare. And Dmitri Marlowe, direct descendant of Christopher Marlowe, keeps telling her things that make her unsure who to trust. She doesn't know either of these men, and trusting the wrong one could be disastrous.

Lizzy often frustrated me with her questionable decision making, but she is a fun, strong-willed character. And it's certainly understandable that she doesn't whose side she's on, since everyone seems to be lying to her or hiding things from her all the time. Especially when no one seems to be doing much to help her find her father.

I liked the interactions between all the characters. The relationships between the muses and their artists was really interesting, and would be a great basis for stories all on its own. And of course there's nothing like a feud that has been going on between two families for centuries.

At times I did feel like this book had a bit too much going on, especially for a middle-grade novel. There's lots of interesting stuff in there, but I feel like a lot of it isn't explored as much as it could be, just because there's so much in there that there isn't time. This is especially true with all the mythological creatures who are introduced.

3 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the author.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

2014 Women Challenge


Peek-a-booK! is hosting the Women Challenge again in 2014. I liked how the 2013 Women Challenge made me more aware of the genders of the authors I was reading, and I was pleased to discover that the majority of the books I read were written by women!

So, I will again be going for the highest level: Wonder Woman. This level has been increased this year, to 20+ books written by women. I'll list my books below as I read them.
  1. Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent #1.5) by Veronica Roth
  2. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
  3. The Darkness of Shadows by Chris Little
  4. The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab
  5. The Underground (Animorphs #17) by K.A. Applegate
  6. Namesake by Sue MacLeod
  7. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #5) by Louise Rennison
  8. Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews
  9. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  10. Darkborn (Darkborn #1) by Alison Sinclair
  11. The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
  12. Broken (Women of the Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong
  13. The Decision (Animorphs #18) by K.A. Applegate
  14. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #6) by Louise Rennison
  15. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter
  16. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
  17. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
  18. In Beauty May She Walk: Hiking the Appalachian Trail at 60 by Leslie Mass
  19. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
  20. Binky: License to Scratch by Ashley Spires
  21. Mouseheart by Lisa Fiedler

2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge


 2013, when I went back to school again (and also planned a wedding!), was the first year since graduating university that I did not outdo myself reading. But the way I see it, my lower number in 2013 just makes it all the easier to outdo myself in 2014! :)

Since I'll still be in school for all of 2014 (and beyond), I'm going to start off aiming low, with the "getting my heart rate up" level: read 1 to 5 more books than last year. At the end of the year, when I know exactly how many books I've read in 2013, I'll update this post with my official goal.

Update: I read 84 books in 2013, so my minimum goal for 2014 is 85.

To keep track, all books I read in 2014 will be listed below.
  1. The Troop by Nick Cutter
  2. Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent #1.5) by Veronica Roth
  3. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
  4. Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs
  5. The Darkness of Shadows by Chris Little
  6. The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab
  7. The Returned by Jason Mott
  8. Canadian Government in Transition by Robert J. Jackson and Doreen Jackson
  9. The Underground (Animorphs #17) by K.A. Applegate
  10. Namesake by Sue MacLeod
  11. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #5) by Louise Rennison
  12. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, et. al.
  13. Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews
  14. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  15. Blind Date by R.L. Stine
  16. The Fire by John A. Heldt
  17. The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
  18. The Fate of the Dwarves (The Dwarves #4) by Markus Heitz
  19. Darkborn (Darkborn #1) by Alison Sinclair
  20. Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
  21. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
  22. Blackwater Lights by Michael M. Hughes
  23. The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
  24. The Philosopher's Apprentice by James Morrow
  25. Broken (Women of the Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong
  26. The Decision (Animorphs #18) by K.A. Applegate
  27. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #6) by Louise Rennison
  28. George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
  29. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter
  30. Twisted by R.L. Stine
  31. The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma
  32. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
  33. The Super Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell
  34. The Littlest Dinosaur by Michael Foreman
  35. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
  36. In Beauty May She Walk: Hiking the Appalachian Trail at 60 by Leslie Mass
  37. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
  38. Chickenhare by Chris Grine
  39. Binky: License to Scratch by Ashley Spires
  40. Mouseheart by Lisa Fiedler

Incomplete 2013 Challenges

I signed up for way too many challenges in 2013. It was a learning experience. They just all seemed so exciting! But my main problem was that I committed to unrealistic levels for all of them. I probably could have completed any one of them easily if I'd focused on it, but put them all together, and you have epic failure.

I did complete a few challenges this year, which will have their own posts. This post is to group together all my failed 2013 challenges.

First, as usual, I failed my own challenge, the Anne Rice Challenge. My goal was the Armand level, 11 to 15 books, and I read a whopping 2. Lasher and Taltos. That's it.

Next, the Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge. This one makes me sad, because this is the first year in a while that I haven't read more than the year before. Not only did I not reach my goal of reading 11 books more than in 2012, but I actually read less than in 2012. However, when I made this goal, I didn't realise I'd be going back to school this year! So I do have a good excuse. And I still read way more this year than any year that I was in university!

The Nerdy Non-Fiction Reading Challenge. I was aiming for the Dork level, 7 to 10 non-fiction books, and I read 3. Well, I'm in the middle of a few textbooks that would count, but it doesn't look like I'm going to get any of them done by the end of year. Alas. By the way, does anyone know what happened to the blog this challenge was hosted by, Bookmark to Blog? It seems to have disappeared.

The Mount TBR Reading Challenge. Again. Goal: 48 books. Read: 28 books. (That seems crazy to me. That means I read more than 50 books that I got this year!) In 2014 I'm finally going to be realistic and drop down a level.

Next, we have the A-Z Reading Challenge. I'm so sad that I didn't complete this one, as it's always one of my favourites. I completed it in 2012, and was very proud of that fact. This year I fell short by 5 letters: J, N, V, Y, and Z. And I totally have books that start with all those letters! I just never got to them. And this is another blog that appears to be gone, so I guess I won't get another chance to try this challenge, unless someone else picks it up.

The 2013 Why Buy the Cow? Challenge. I signed up for the lowest level, with a goal of reading 12 free ebooks, and I ended up reading 9. I kept meaning to squeeze in a few more kids' books, and then I just never got around to it.

Finally, the Mammoth Book Challenge. If only I hadn't signed up for the highest level! My goal was to read 12 books of more than 450 pages. I read 9, which is quite respectable.

*shrugs* OK, so I had some unrealistic goals. Live and learn! I won't make the same mistakes next year! I've just started picking out my 2014 challenges, and it's going to be slightly fewer than 2013, but most importantly I'll be signing up at lower levels. That'll make them more fun for me, by keeping them achievable.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Animorphs #15 - The Escape by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Escape (Animorphs #15)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: January 1998
Length: 163 pages

Warning: This is a review of a later book in the series and definitely contains a spoiler from at least one earlier book!

The Animorphs learn (from Erek, the android from Animorphs #10 - The Android) that Visser One has returned to Earth to oversee a secret project. (In case you'e forgotten, Visser One is Marco's mom, as only Marco and Jake currently know.) When they head underwater, to where the newest Yeerk facility is set up, they find sharks that are strangely focused and organised.

Marco doesn't want the others to know about his mother, since as the group comedian he doesn't want to be the object of pity. But he also doesn't want them to kill her if they get the chance, and how can he convince them of that without revealing the truth? This book is from Marco's perspective, so we see him thinking about this a lot throughout the story.

This book also brings us back to the competition between Vissers One and Three. Visser Three is always trying to make Visser One look bad, and vice versa. I'm interested in seeing how this plays out later in the series; so far it's always worked out well for the Animorphs, since when both Vissers are around the enemy doesn't present a united front.

5 stars.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

Title: On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #2)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2000
Length: 243 pages

Warning: This is a review of the second book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from the first book.

So, Georgia is finally dating the Sex God, but things never just go smoothly in Georgia's life. Her mom tells her they're going to New Zealand to visit her dad. Her cat, Angus, is driving the new neighbours crazy by flirting with their fancy cat, and before long Robbie breaks things off, saying that Georgia's too young for him (which is true, but try telling Georgia that). She decides that to get him back, she must practice maturiosity and glaciosity, and have a Red Herring, aka a poor innocent boy she pretends to like just to make Robbie jealous.

Georgia really is quite dreadful. It shows a lot in this book. Dave the Laugh is such a sweetheart, and I'm sure if it weren't for the Sex God she'd see that. But he's just a Red Herring to her, and it's so sad to see how she squanders a potentially great relationship in order to get back the boy who makes her weak at the knees, and yet seems to have no other good qualities. (OK, I'm not a Robbie fan. Is it obvious?)

OK, now that that's out of my system: this book is filled with hilariousity and fabulousity. Libby is such a hilarious character. She really is quite mad. Like whenever Georgia tells her not to do something, usually to prevent poo from getting everywhere, Libby just says "shh, bad boy!". And how she can like suck on Angus' nose, when he'll attack anyone else who touches him.

Also: Sven. I want more Sven in these books. Is it just me, or did he switch from Danish to Swedish since the first book? Maybe Georgia just doesn't understand northern European geoggers.

4 stars.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

November 2013 Wrap-Up

Here's a summary of my book-related activity for November. It was slow going. I had more hours at work, plus one of my courses wrapped up this month, so I had very little reading time. But what I did read, I really enjoyed!

Books I read (linked to the reviews)

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness (TBR pile)
The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass (new book)
Deadly Offer (The Vampire's Promise #1) by Caroline B. Cooney (NetGalley)
The Maze Runner (Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner (TBR pile)
Yoga for Living: Feel Confident by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli (TBR pile) (in progress)
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King (NetGalley) (in progress)

Books I bought (in this case, ebooks from Comic Con)


The Violet Fox by
Clare C. Marshall
Stars in Her Eyes
by Clare C. Marshall
Within by
Clare C. Marshall



Books I got as presents


Girl With a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier


Progress on challenges



I completed the following letters for the A-Z Book Challenge: Y

I read 3 books for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

I read 0 books for the Anne Rice Challenge.

I completed the following squares for the Book Bingo Challenge:

I read 2 books for the Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge.

I read 3 books for the Dystopia Challenge.

I read 3 books written by women.

I read 4 books for the Seriously Series Challenge.

Progress on my TBR pile: I added 4 books to my to read list and removed 6, so my pile decreased by 2 this month!

Friday, November 29, 2013

The Show (Northwest Passage #3) by John A. Heldt

Title: The Show (Northwest Passage #3)
Author: John A. Heldt
Publication Date: February 16, 2013
Length: about 290 pages (ebook)

The Show is the third book in the Northwest Passage series, but is a direct sequel to the first book, The Mine. Warning: This review will contain spoilers from The Mine.

The Show starts by backtracking a bit, giving us the end of The Mine from Grace's perspective. We follow her into the year 2000 and into her new life with Joel. Fast forward a few years, and Grace's newfound happiness is torn from her when she inadvertantly enters another time portal, this one sending her back to 1941. When it seems like the requirements for the portal to send her back will never happen again, Grace soon loses hope of returning to her life with Joel. She starts a new life, getting to know her parents as young adults, and befriends an injured army captain.

This story was so heartbreaking! I can't imagine suddenly being separated from my family and having to consider starting a new life. It's so sad to watch her with Captain Walker; he's so devoted to her, and I would want them to be together were it not for Joel, who I hoped all along she'd get back to. It really tore my heart in two! And as can be expected, whichever way the story turns out, it's both joyful and heartbreaking.

One thing I learned about Grace in this book is that she has no respect for the timeline! If this were Back to the Future, she'd be in big trouble. Luckily for her, John Heldt takes the other approach to time travel, where you can't really mess up your own past. Still, some of her actions are straight up crazy. She is led very much by her heart, though, so her illogical decisions are still always relatable.

5 stars. I can't get enough of this series!

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the author.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa by Benjamin Constable

Title: Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa
Author: Benjamin Constable
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Length: about 352 pages (ebook)

Ben Constable (who is not only the author but also the main character) receives a suicide note from his friend Tomomi "Butterfly" Ishikawa. Her strange note leads him on a strange quest, following clues she left for him in her laptop, which lead him to clues found hidden in public places. Soon he finds himself learning things about Tomomi he's not sure he wants to know, and realising he didn't know his friend as well as he'd thought.

Main impression: This book was weird. Like, really weird. It left me thinking, what just happened?

I really enjoyed Ben's quest, finding the clues, and meeting people who add to the mystery along the way. It was like nothing I'd ever read before. Aside from the more mysterious and disturbing aspects of the journey, I kind of wish someone would leave me clues hidden around the city that led to me figuring out a story! I feel like even reading a book like this set in my own city would be really cool.

But the end was... strange. I'm still not sure how I feel about the last chunk of the book. So much happens, none of which I can really talk about without major spoilers. I think it's one of those stories that's supposed to leave you wondering what really happened and what's really true, which, to be honest, has never really been my thing.

3 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

The Dark Victorian: Bones by Elizabeth Watasin

Title: The Dark Victorian Volume 2: Bones
Author: Elizabeth Watasin
Publication Date: January 23, 2013
Length: about 348 (ebook)

Warning: This is a review of the second book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from the first book. You can see my review of the first book here.

Bones picks up right where Risen left off. Right after solving their first case together, Art and Jim start searching for a black arts surgeon who is stealing the bones and organs of healthy, poor people to transplant into wealthy people with various diseases and disfigurements. As the surgeon searches for the skeleton of a woman over 6 feet tall, Art herself is in danger as they hurry to solve the case.

I loved the first book in this series, and I loved this one even more. It felt like it just had more of everything, in the best possible way. More of Art untangling her past, more of her relationship with Helia (and the other somewhat mysterious ladies in her life), and more of Victorian-era lesbians!

The story of the Bone Stealer is engrossing, the character development is satisfying yet simultaneously makes me want more more more, and the writing is absolutely gorgeous.

Oh and guess what! This blog is totally quoted in the critical acclaim section at the beginning!! *positively faints with excitement*

5 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the author.

Monday, November 18, 2013

The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic

Title: The First Rule of Swimming
Author: Courtney Angela Brkic
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Length: 336 pages

The First Rule of Swimming follows several members of a Croatian family across the world. Jadranka has disappeared after moving to America, and her sister Magdalena starts to worry. Finally, Magdalena leaves her island home and sets off for New York to track down her sister.

I really wish I'd known more (read: anything) about Croatian history before reading this book. I learned some along the way, from the story itself and from looking things up on Wikipedia when I was confused, but I feel like a more in-depth knowledge would have added a lot to my experience.

This is a rich story in so many ways. The various family members and their relationships are so complex, from the deep connection but huge differences between Magdalena and Jadranka, to their American cousin Caterina's spoiled life and jealousy of Jadranka's art. I would have liked to see more from Jadranka's point of view, since mostly all we see from her perspective is the part where she makes really terrible decisions, making me shake my head at her in disbelief. I feel like at other parts in the story she would have been a really interesting mind to be inside. But at the same time, seeing her through her very different sister's eyes also creates an interesting dynamic.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Red Moon by Benjamin Percy

Title: Red Moon
Author: Benjamin Percy
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Length: 531 pages

Red Moon follows a bunch of a different characters through their own, somewhat related, stories. There's Claire, a lycan (werewolf), who's on the run after a mysterious man broke into her home and killed her parents. Patrick is the only survivor of a lyncan killing spree on an airplane. There's also a politician who's pushing anti-lycan laws and a lycan gang that's fighting for lycan rights in a violent way, and throughout it all there's a war going on in the country the lycans formed for themselves, which is under US occupation.

There is a lot going on in this book. Having waited too long to write this review, I'm having trouble remembering a lot of it. There are so many story lines, which are kind of related, but still make you feel like you're jumping around a lot.

One thing that was perhaps overdone, but I liked overall, was the rewriting of history to include lycans. Historical events in US civil rights are mentioned, but in this world it was lycans, not black people, fighting for their rights. The present-day treatment of the lycans is an obvious parallel to present-day Islamophobia in the US: one lycan kills the passengers on a plane, and it sparks nationwide fear and hatred of lycans, even ones who have been living peaceful lives amongst their human neighbours.

Red Moon is well-written, and takes werewolves to a place I've never really seen before. It has a lot going on, but for the most part I was interested in each of the characters' stories.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

October 2013 Wrap-Up

Here's a summary of my book-related activity for October. I did Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, and just overall got a lot of reading done! I'm motivated by how close to the end of the year it is, and how far I still am from completing my challenges! So I'm at the point where I'm making piles of books based on completing my challenges, and setting lots of goals each month. It's only increased my husband's perception of me as a completely crazy person.

Books I read (linked to the reviews)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (TBR pile)
The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate (TBR pile)
Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison (reread)
The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate (TBR pile)
Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4) by Louise Rennison (reread)
Club Monstrosity (Monstrosity #1) by Jesse Petersen (NetGalley)
The Monsters in Your Neighborhood (Monstrosity #2) by Jesse Petersen (new book)
Haunted (Women of the Otherworld #5) by Kelley Armstrong (TBR pile)
Donuts by Julia Dweck (free ebook)
Pie-Rits by Julia Dweck (free ebook)
X-Men: Schism by Jason Aaron (borrowed from Jonathon)
Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer (new book)


Books I bought

The Monsters in Your
Neighborhood by Jesse Petersen


Books I've been approved for on NetGalley


Will O' the Wisp by
Tom Hammock
The Darkness of Shadows
by Chris Little



Books I got as gifts

Such a Long Journey
by Rohinton Mistry


Progress on challenges


I completed the following letters for the A-Z Book Challenge: K, P, X

I read 4 books for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

I read 0 books for the Anne Rice Challenge.

I completed the following squares for the Book Bingo Challenge: read 3 books from your tbr pile, read 3 books everyone but you has read

I read 0 books for the Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge.

I read 2 books for the Dystopia Challenge.

I read 10 books written by women.

I read 6 books for the Seriously Series Challenge.

Progress on my TBR pile: I added 4 books to my to read list and removed 7, so my pile decreased by 3 this month!

Challenge Abandoned: 2013 Debut Author Challenge


I've having more success with some of my challenges than with others, but I have utterly failed at the 2013 Debut Author Challenge. I thought that my review copies would cover this, but this year almost all of my review copies were from authors who have written other books before. So, I've read only one debut author book this year.

I therefore admit defeat, and will not let this challenge taunt me with its incompleteness anymore! On to the challenges I have a chance of completing!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Title: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 1999
Length: 247 pages

This is the first book in a series that takes the form of Georgia Nicolson's diaries. Georgia's a fairly typical teenage girl in that she's rather ridiculous, and often a dreadfully selfish person without even realising it.Yet Georgia and her friends manage to be delightful and hilarious to read about.

In this first installment, Georgia learns to kiss from a boy who gives lessons after school, becomes infatuated with Robbie (the Sex God), spends a lot of time trying to flatten her fringe, improve her complexion, and fit a yoga routine into her busy schedule, and worries that her mother might be having a passionate affair with the man who's decorating their living room. Meanwhile, her best friend Jas is falling for Robbie's younger brother Tom, her little sister Libby (who is quite mad) is always hitting people and saying "bad boy!", and her cat is terrorising the neighbour's poodle.

But it's not just the plot that makes this book so brilliant, it's the writing. Even when Georgia's talking about totally mundane aspects of her life, she's just SO FUNNY while doing it! I don't know how Louise Rennison writes so perfectly from the point of view of a teenager.

I maintain the 5 star rating I gave this book when I first read it back in high school.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Animorphs #14 - The Unknown by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Unknown (Animorphs #14)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: January 1998
Length: 166 pages

There's a rumour going around that the government has uncovered proof of alien life, and that they're hiding it on a top-secret base called Zone 91. The Animorphs know that the Yeerks will have to check it out, to find out if the government has found a piece of Yeerk technology, or if it's just a conspiracy theory.

Things I liked about this one include the Yeerks taking over the bodies of horses (and subsequently pooping and being embarassed about it, and also trying to dial phones with hooves), and when Rachel, Marco, and Cassie have to make up fake names, and Cassie comes up with Cindy Crawford, and gives the fake phone number 12345678, which is hilarious.

Things I liked less include Cassie thinking that the best morph to disguise herself in a stable is... a horse! So suddenly there's this extra horse in the stable; no one will find that suspicious at all! Throughout that scene, I was all "OMG morph a fly! MORPH A FLY!". Sigh.

Anywho. This one was funny and entertaining. A bit fluffy compared to other books in the series, though.

3 stars.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Read-a-Thon: End of Event Survey

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Er, most of them. Thanks to a recent lack of sleep and a busy day, I was pretty much exhausted throughout! Not my strongest read-a-thon!
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I read books from the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate and the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison, and both were excellent read-a-thon choices!
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope, I like it just the way it is!
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Umm, everything? (This survey tries to make me think at this point in the game; I'm already half asleep.)
  5. How many books did you read? I read 3 and a half books. That's about half what I usually accomplish, and I was away for nearly half the read-a-thon altogether, so I'm OK with that.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate, Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison, The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate, and half of Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4) by Louise Rennison.
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? I'd say they were pretty evenly matched this time.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? See previous answer.
  9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I was not.
  10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I'll definitely continue to return every read-a-thon, and hopefully next time I can be back to my more hardcore read-a-thoning self!

Read-a-Thon Hours 23 and 24: 5:00 - 7:00

What are you reading right now? Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4) by Louise Rennison

How's that going? Still great.

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate, Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison, and The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 62

Total pages read so far: 604

Food consumed this hour: None.

OK, so there was a fair bit of dozing near the end there, too. But hey, 604 pages, even with a wedding in there! Not too shabby!

Read-a-Thon Hours 21 and 22: 3:00 - 5:00

What are you reading right now? Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4) by Louise Rennison

How's that going? Filled with hilariosity.

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate and Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison

Pages read these hours: 105

Total pages read so far: 542

Food consumed this hour: None.

After accidentally having a bit of a snooze a while ago, I actually feel pretty awake, so I think I'll be finishing this read-a-thon off strongly!

Read-a-Thon Hours 13 to 20: 19:00 - 3:00

What are you reading right now? The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate

How's that going? This one's actually getting pretty intense!

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate and Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison

Pages read these hours: 44 (mostly in the last two hours, before which I was dancing the night away)

Total pages read so far: 437

Food consumed this hour: Social food (pickles, cheese, etc.) and a Monster energy drink.

OK, part of me thought that the dancing would make staying up for 24 hours easier. But I failed to realise that coming home from a social and NOT going straight to sleep is a very real challenge!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Read-a-Thon: Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? It was pretty bad for a while there, but I'm starting to feel a bit better now. It's now 7:00 pm here, and evening is when I thrive!
2) What have you finished reading? I've finished one Animorphs book and one Georgia Nicolson book, which is neary half of my original pile.
3) What is your favorite read so far? Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison
4) What about your favorite snacks? Actually, with all my out-and-aboutness today, I've pretty much just had normal meals instead of fun snacks. So nothing really stood out.
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! Er, not really. I always suck at the community thing durin. I pretty much just read the updates of the bloggers I already follow.

Read-a-Thon Hours 11 and 12: 17:00 - 19:00

What are you reading right now? The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate

How's that going? Pretty good. The Animorphs have one of their more stupid plans, which always make me roll my eyes a bit, but also there have been scary times in fly morph.

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate and Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison

Pages read these hours: 94

Total pages read so far: 393

Food consumed this hour: Cranberry ginger ale.

Soon I'll be leaving for the social, so I'll be away for a few hours. But then I'll be back to power through the last few hours!

Read-a-Thon Hours 9 and 10: 15:00 - 17:00

What are you reading right now? Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison

How's that going? Great. Oh Georgia, you make such bad decisions!

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 75

Total pages read so far: 299

Food consumed this hour: A sandwich from the Safeway deli.

OK, so apparently this tired thing isn't going away today. I constantly feel like I'm dozing off. I clearly need a vacation.

Read-a-Thon Hours 5 to 8: 11:00 - 15:00

What are you reading right now? Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison

How's that going? Hilarious!

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 61

Total pages read so far: 224

Food consumed this hour: Light lunch of the wedding, consisting of egg salad pinwheel sandwiches, cheese cubes, and some veggies and dip.

I'm back! All told, I've only missed about 3 hours of the read-a-thon so far. Now I can read for the next 5 hours or so, at which point we'll be heading to the social for some after-wedding partying!

Read-a-Thon Hours 3 and 4: 9:00 - 11:00

What are you reading right now? I'm just starting Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison.

How's that going? I'm literally just starting it. So it's too soon to tell. But I gave this book 5 stars when I read it in high school, and I'm confident that will stand the test of time.

Books finished so far: The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

Pages read these hours: 60

Total pages read so far: 163

Food consumed this hour: Toast with peanut butter, and more orange juice.

Definitely had some eyelid drooping! I'm having a heck of a time waking fully up. But in an hour I'll be leaving for the wedding, so hopefully that rejuvenates me!

Speaking of which, this'll be my last update for a while. I'm not sure exactly how my schedule's going to be, but I'm getting picked up in an hour to go to the wedding, which starts in two hours, and afterwards I'm less sure what I'm doing. But I'll bring a book with me so that I can make use of any downtime! Have fun while I'm gone, and I'll see you later today!

Read-a-Thon Hours 1 and 2: 7:00 - 9:00

What are you reading right now? The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

How's that going? Morphing fun times! Also morphing scary times! There are sharks in this one.

Books finished so far: None yet.

Pages read these hours: 103

Total pages read so far: 103 (yay math!)

Food consumed this hour: Orange juice.

I'm having a really difficult time keeping my eyes open. I haven't been getting enough rest lately, and getting up this morning was not fun. I'm going to grab some breakfast now and hope that that helps.

Read-a-Thon: Introductory Questionnaire

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I'm in the lovely Winnipeg, Manitoba, sometimes known as Winterpeg, but not right now because we haven't even had snow yet!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? They're pretty evenly matched this time around; most of the pile is the next couple Animorphs books and the next couple Georgia Nicolson books, all of which I'm sure I'll love.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Butternut squash soup! Om nom nom autumny goodness!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I recently returned to school to take library tech, and I just got married last month!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? Well, this is the first read-a-thon for which I won't be here the entire time, since I have a wedding to go to. I'm sad about missing part of the day, but I'm hoping it'll also make it easier, since the day will be more broken up, and also dancing energizes me.

See the rest of the Introductory Questionnaires here!

The 24 Hour Read-a-Thon Begins!


It's tiiiiiiiime! Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! My favourite biannual event! And the October one is close enough to the end of the year that it's perfect for helping me catch up on all my reading goals for the year. Unfortunately, for the first time ever, I won't be able to read non-stop throughout the event this time. My husband's aunt is getting married! So I'll be gone for several hours in early afternoon, and several more in the late evening. But I'll definitely be reading for the first 5 or 6 hours, the last 6 or so hours, and hopefully some in between!

In no particular order, here are the books I've got piled up for today:
  • The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate (163 pages)
  • The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate (146 pages)
  • Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3) by Louise Rennison (173 pages)
  • Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4) by Louise Rennison (206 pages)
  • Deadly Offer (Vampire's Promise #1) by Caroline B. Cooney (192 pages)
This makes a total of 880 pages, which is a fair bit lower than usual, which makes sense since I'll be gone for up to half of the event. Let's see how much of this I can still get through!

Happy reading, everyone! Please comment and let me know where you're participating so I can follow your progress throughout the day and cheer you on!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Love Rehab by Jo Piazza

Title: Love Rehab
Author: Jo Piazza
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Length: 230 pages

Sophie's boyfriend has dumped her for Floozy McSecretary (or at least that's how Sophie refers to her). She descends into a pathetic state of begging him to take her back and wallowing in her misery. When he accompanies her friend to an AA meeting, Sophie realises that women like her need the 12 steps, too. So she starts Love Rehab, for women who are addicted to love.

Love Rehab takes off, and all kinds of women start coming to the meetings, many of them moving into Sophie's large house. The many characters really make this story fun, because they all have such different stories, and have all done incredibly stupid things in their desperate attempts to keep their guys.

This book is also really funny, but some of the snark didn't quite do it for me. For example, when they were making fun of chick flicks, specifically When Harry Met Sally (which I must admit I LOVE), and they say that the nice, caring best friend guy is never "the one" because he's really gay. Which in one paragraph manages to stereotype gay men, deny straight men the right to be nice and caring, and suggest that women should just accept that they won't find a nice guy. So, bits like that took away from the book a bit for me. But overall I liked it.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Challenge Completed: 2013 Finishing the Series Challenge


I've finished a second 2013 challenge! I signed up for level 3 (finish 3 series) in the Finishing the Series Reading Challenge, hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. The series I finished this year are the Mockingjay series, the Twilight series, and the Mayfair Chronicles.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Ten Girls to Watch by Charity Shumway

Title: Ten Girls to Watch
Author: Charity Shumway
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Length: 353 pages

Dawn West is a recent graduate, trying to make her way in the world as a writer. So far, that consists of writing a lawn care advice column online, while she sits in her tiny, terrible New York apartment. When she gets a job tracking down past winners of Charm Magazine's Ten Girls to Watch contest and writing about their stories, she thinks this just might be her lucky break.

Right from the beginning, this book had me laughing out loud. There were moments when I could identify so much with Dawn, since I can totally relate to the position of being a university graduate with no career really coming of it. And she's just so witty! In these early pages I could hardly put the book down.

Once Dawn starts interviewing the TGTW winners, the story changes pace a bit, but is still really enjoyable. She meets all kinds of interesting women, who've done fascinating things with their lives. Sometimes she can't help but compare herself to them. As a result, this story is partly about Dawn coming to terms with her life and gaining some self-confidence.

I love that this book doesn't become about romance. Dawn has a crappy ex-boyfriend, and a promising new guy, and they both feature pretty prominently, but ultimately this book is about Dawn and her finding her path in life.

5 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.