November Wrap Up

Trying to get back on track this month. Let's see if I can meet all of my goals!

Books read this month:

• East of Eden by John Steinback. An interesting and in depth story.
• Shadow Magic by Patricia Wrede. Definitely an early novel by her; she was not nearly the writer she is now.
• The White Tiger by Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe. For the graphic novel part of my challenge. And strong, female super heroes written by TP? Count me in!
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I liked it, but feel as though I need to read it again to really understand and feel it out.
• P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. Sooo much teenage drama! If I didn't like the main family so much, I never would have continued after the first book.
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. A futuristic dystopia of sorts where nearly everyone lives out their lives in a virtual reality game. Bonus: the audiobook is read by Wil Wheaton for the full nerd experience.
• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. Loved the first book and now this one. I love the characters and am sad it's over.

Goals completed:

• A classic book: East of Eden
• A graphic novel: The White Tiger
• A book you should have read by now: Siddhartha
• A book that takes place in the future: Ready Player One
• A book from the end of a series: Crooked Kingdom (it's a duology, but I'm counting it)

Least favorite book read this month:
P.S. I Still Love You for sure. I loathed the ending and was not fond of the message it sends to young girls.

Favorite book read this month:
Ready Player One surprised me and I enjoyed it way more than I anticipated. Or Crooked Kingdom because I love it.

I only have 5 books left to complete my goal to read at least 75 books this year. For my 2016 reading challenge, I only have one left to complete. It looks like I might just make it! It seemed kind of iffy there for a while. I'm not really sure what I am going to do for 2017 yet, but I have a whole month to think about it. Anyone have particular reading goals or challenges for 2017 to share? I am also looking to maybe participate in a book-ish photo challenge in December if anyone has any good ones lying around.

I didn't by many books this month. Well, I bought several audiobooks, but I don't generally count those. Here is my book haul:

That's it for November! Thanks for reading!

October Wrap Up

Alright! Full reviews are posted on my book blog, as usual (except for The Graveyard Book because my review of that is on my Goodreads account).

All books read this month!

Spooky books read this month:

• Shiver by Maggie Steifvater. Like Twilight, but way better, and with werewolves instead of vampires. Also, much as I love Maggie Stiefvater, I feel like this book was before she really developed her writing voice (which comes across so very clearly in The Raven Cycle).
• A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. A twist on the Hansel and Gretel story. I was not a fan of the narration (I thought that maybe I was too old to read it, but I read books for younger ages all of the time, ie: Rick Riordan and Tamora Pierce and I love their stuff, so maybe it isn't just me).
• The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. Wow I love his books. I love these characters and the addition of Alex was a pleasant surprise.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Interesting, spooky carnival story.
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Kind of a fun story that explores some of the history of Halloween. Also, where the heck are all of the girls in his stories?? Is he only capable of writing men/boys??
• The Diviners by Libba Bray. Definitely a good, spooky Halloween read! Ghosts, monsters, people with special gifts, grisly murders; basically anything you could want in a spooky read.
• Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones. I randomly got this in an audible sale, not realizing it is part of a series. But it was pretty good, reminds me a bit of Janet Evanovich. I may go back and read the first seven books...
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I love this book so much. It wouldn't feel right to have an October without reading it. And I always cry at the end...
• Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton. Not sure why the additional author, but I think these books are fun to read around Halloween.

Favorite book read this month:
Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor or The Graveyard Book. The Diviners was great, too.

Least favorite book read this month:
A Tale Dark and Grimm

Challenges completed:

• A book you bought on a whim: Eighth Grave After Dark

Only one, sadly, but the point of this month was to read my spooky books, and I did manage to read everything on my list! Yay!

This month's book haul:

Not too many books this month

November doesn't have any special themes. I will try to get back on track to finish my 2016 reading challenge and to finish my Goodreads reading challenge, too. I am a couple of books behind schedule. I need to read twelve more books for my Goodreads challenge, but I only need six more to complete my 2016 challenge (and two are already in the works)!

I love October and Halloween so much. I'm sad that it's over. I already have a huge list of books to choose from for next year.

September Wrap Up

Ok! I read lots of books this month, so be prepared. As usual, review can be found on my book blog!

Books read this month:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. A story about a gang of boys and of friendship and family.
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Finally read the tale of Prospero for two reasons: to see where Prospero the Magician from The Night Circus took his name from, and to read Ariel's part as Colin Morgan recently played him in a London stage production of this play.
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. An audiobook re-read because I love this book...
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Decent, but my least favorite Brontë novel so far.
• This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. A book about monsters and good versus evil. So good!
• My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. Fun, alternate fantasy/history of Lady Jane Grey.
• A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. The story follows a dog through a few incarnations as he finds his purpose in life.
• The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. Re-read to prepare myself for the next book which comes out soon!

Challenges completed:

• A book that taught you something: The Outsiders
• A play: The Tempest
• A book with a very long title: Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)
• A book from somewhere you want to travel to: Wuthering Heights (Because I want to go back to England, I say it counts)
• A book with not enough hype: This Savage Song
• A book written by two or more authors: My Lady Jane
• A book with a non-human main character: A Dog's Purpose

Least favorite book read this month:
Wuthering Heights.

Favorite book read this month:
This Savage Song. Totally underrated. It gave me nightmares--it would have been a great October Halloween-y read! Plus, I loved the nursery rhyme:

 
Next month is October! Hooray! That means I stop reading everything I am currently reading (I tried really hard to get through everything, but I didn't quite make it...) to read Halloween-y books! Except for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It is about werewolves, so it is Halloween-y enough to continue.

Goals for October!
Finish:
     Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Read:      The Diviners by Libba Bray
     A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
     Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton
Listen to:
    The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
     Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
    Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones

If there is time, I will read or listen to my very favorite: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The exception:
I will also listen to The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan because his books usually come out in October and I am Rick Riordan trash. I can't wait a whole month! It comes out the 4th though, so I will finish it nice and early.

Anyone else have any exciting Halloween reads planned?

August Wrap Up

I've felt like a bit of a slacker lately when it comes to reading. I got back on track a little bit this month, but I keep setting aside Wuthering Heights to read other things. Like The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo. And to re-read Let's Pretend This Never Happened. I will get there eventually. Sometimes I just need things that are more light-hearted and funny.

Anyway, here is the line up this month. Full reviews are posted on my book blog.

Books read this month:

• Everland by Wendy Spinale. An interesting re-telling of Peter Pan, but steampunk.
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. Awesome feminist novel about a woman who leaves her abusive husband.
• Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce. An old favorite.
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne. The eighth Harry Potter tale, many years later.
• Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich. The Stephanie Plum antics continue.
• The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer. A collection of essays about her life.

Challenges completed:

• A book with a place name for a title: Everland (Does this count? I think it counts.)
• A book written before you were born: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
• A re-read: Shatterglass
• A best seller: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• A book with a boring cover: Smokin' Seventeen
• A feminist book: The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo

 Favorite book read this month: Hard to say. I always love Shatterglass. I really enjoyed The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo.

Least favorite book read this month: I liked Everland, but just not as much as I was hoping, I think.

August book haul:

Actually, The Savage Song was a book from last month, but I forgot to include it in July's wrap up. It sounds super good!

 

I have been trying to refrain from buying too many books because I have a vacation coming up as well as medical expenses. I've been pretty good. Though this doesn't include my audiobooks and I have bought a handful of those... Just ones that were on sale, though!

Otherwise, I am still dancing and recently started working out. Mostly because I can't do my dance routine. I can mostly do it, but I am not in good enough shape to do it correctly.

I broke up with the guy I was seeing. I was actually really sad and upset about it, but I think it was for the best. It's sad though, we had an awful lot of fun together. Plus, I've been having runs of sad days, lately (as you know if you read my last post). It's just been rough recently and I am trying really hard to keep myself distracted. Reading helps.

I suppose that is about it! Happy reading!

July Wrap Up

Ok, as usual, book updates first. I'm a bit behind on my reading challenges. I have 20 left to do of my 50 books challenge, which is fine. But I have only read 39 toward my goal of 75 books for the year. According to Goodreads, I am four books behind schedule. In my defense, I have been reading one book since May, but it is not very good, but I am more than halfway through, so I am struggling to finish it anyway. Ugh. I may need to drop it and move on. Anyhow...

Books read this month:

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (aka J.K. Rowling). Fun and silly.
• The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague by The Great Courses/Dorsey Armstrong. Super interesting and exciting if you love the plague like I do.
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by Josephine Leslie (aka R.A. Dick). An old favorite of mine.
• Wild Born by Brandon Mull. Fun story about people who have spirit animals and magic.
• The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. Interesting, vaguely dystopian story.

Challenges completed this month:

• A book under 100 pages: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• A history book: The Black Death
• A book turned into a movie: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
• A book that takes place in another world: Wild Born
• A book with a lot of hype: The Red Queen

Favorite book read this month:

The Black Death or The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Least favorite book read this month:

I guess Wild Born, not because it was bad, but just because I enjoyed the other books more.

I participated in an interesting book exchange this month. It was informal via Facebook and I saw that one of my high school teachers had posted it. The deal is that anyone who liked her status received a message with details. What happens is that the people who like your status send books two people back. So I didn't send a book to my teacher, but to her friend whose status my teacher liked. Then I posted the message in my status and people who liked my status (hopefully) sent a book to my teacher and so on and so forth. So I sent a copy of The Eyre Affair to my teacher's friend, who is an English teacher, so I hope she will like it. Anyway, that is a very convoluted story, but I received a couple of books which I was very excited about:

Here is my book haul for the month. I was bad and replaced my paperback copies of the Raven Cycle with hardback copies with signed bookplates to match my beautiful copy of the Raven King (which is not a new purchase, but I wanted to showcase here. Because these books and the artwork (by the author, mind you) are SOOOOO pretty!

I may have bought a few too many books this month. And this doesn't include my audiobook purchases. Oops... Oh well.

Otherwise, not much has been going on. I'm still dancing (and trying to get into better shape so that I can actually do my routine in October). I am still going on dates with the guy I've been seeing. We've done a few fun things, including a Dinner Detective Mystery Theater dinner, which was very entertaining. Here is the link if anyone is interested: The Dinner Detective. It was fun and interactive (which almost deterred me. And since my hair is rainbow colored, I drew attention and I did have to participate in front of everyone. Which I wasn't wild about, but it was still enjoyable). We also did an escape room. I had no idea what to expect, but that was actually very fun and I would definitely do it again. Here is the link to the place we went: Denver Escape Room.

The first part of this month was very rough for me. I am happy to say that I have officially made it through one year since the break up. While I felt that it destroyed me (and still does, sometimes), and my heart is sometimes still broken, I am proud that I have made it. And it sucked and it was hard and I never want to do it again. But it keeps getting easier and I know that I can make it. They say the first year is the hardest and I am glad that that is now behind me.

June Wrap Up

As usual, book reviews can be found on my book blog, if you are interested.

Alright, books read this month:

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern. The first installment of a young adult dystopian series.

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. Awesome and funny sequel to The Eyre Affair.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. A calssically-written story about restoring magic to England.

Challenges completed:

A book you recently bought: Flawed

A book that made you laugh: Lost in a Good Book
A book over 700 pages: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Favorite book read this month:
Lost in a Good Book

Least favorite book read this month:
Flawed

And my book haul for the month:

My copy of The Scorpio Races is signed by Maggie Stiefvater! So extra exciting.

And I feel like I need to defend myself for owning another book by Sarah J. Maas... I read (and seriously disliked) Throne of Glass. I hear that her books get better, but I was very skeptical and unwilling to read more to find out. Well, this copy came in a book box I subscribe to (The Best Damn Book Box) for last month's Beauty and the Beast themed box. So... there it is. I'm not sure if I will read it or not. It is very pretty. And maybe I can read it without reading any of the others? We will see. I don't have high hopes really.

I also bought a set of tarot cards that came with a book all made/written by Maggie Stiefvater, which is absolutely amazing! They are so pretty! I'm not sure if that counts in my book haul...

Anyway, I will leave it at that for this month.

Oh! And I dyed my hair rainbow colors! Which has been super fun and I am really enjoying it!

May Wrap Up

Books! So after I dropped everything to read The Raven King, the first Trials of Apollo book, The Hidden Oracle, by Rick Riordan came out. I left everything where I dropped it, more or less, to listen to that book. See where my priorities are? Apparently with The Raven Cycle and Rick Riordan's books... Sometimes I'm amazed that I make any progress on my TBR pile.

As usual, most of these have been reviewed on my book blog.

Books read this month:

• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. Oh my gosh. I am so in love with this series. I have no words. And Ronan and Adam's love story warms my heart.
• Demigods and Magicians by Rick Riordan. Collection of three short stories where Greek and Egyptian worlds collide.
• March by Geraldine Brooks. A take on Mr. March's story from the classic Little Women.
• The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan. New series starring mortal Apollo in all of his bisexual glorious-ness.
• Cress by Marissa Meyer. Took me forever to read, but really enjoyed it.
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Very good book set in the Grisha universe. Interesting characters.
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner. A book following three friends for their last year of high school--a much better read than I was expecting.
• The Selection by Kiera Cass. The story of 35 girls competing to win the hand of the crown prince.

Challenges completed this month:

• A book you've been highly anticipating: The Raven King
• A short story: Demigods and Magicians (it's three short stories, that counts right?)
• A stand alone book: March 
• A book someone recommended to you: Cress
• A book by an author from your country: The Hidden Oracle
• A book with multiple points of view: Six of Crows
• A book with a beautiful cover: The Selection

Favorite book read this month:
The Raven King, I just loved this series so much. 

Least favorite book read this month:
The Selection. I was less than impressed.

Book haul:

I was pretty good this month, only three books!

In other news, dance is going well, it is still fun and good exercise. I went on a couple of dates with one guy and I have been enjoying that. I trained in my new position at work and feel like an official lab tech now. Overall, things are pretty good!