March Wrap Up

Book stuff first. As always, actual reviews can be found on my book blog.

Books read this month:

• Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley. A twist on the story of the Brontë siblings.
• The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. A short twist on the Sleeping Beauty tale with lovely artwork by Chris Riddell.
• Blackveil by Kristen Britian. Fourth book in the Green Rider series.
• The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry. Feburary Owlcrate book that combines a love story and science fiction.
• The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater. The second in The Raven Cycle series. I didn't like it as much as the first. Which isn't saying much because I LOVED the first one. I am seriously enjoying this series.

Challenges completed:

• A book released this year: Worlds of Ink and Shadow
• A book with illustrations: The Sleeper and the Spindle
• A book that made you cry: The Love That Split the World

Favorite book read this month:
Torn between The Dream Thieves and The Love That Split the World

Least favorite book read this month:
Blackveil

I participated in a March book photo challenge under the tag #KeepBookMarching on Instagram. I only missed a couple days. It was a fun little challenge. Made my first #BookishRainbow, it's not great, but it was fun:

And here was my reading goal photo and I almost made it. I barely started March, and I didn't quite finish Cress. But I also re-read A Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones because I love it and I really wanted to. And I started Blue Lily, Lily Blue. So I call it a success.

Reading Goals

March Wrap Up

And non-book related things.

My counselor has been trying to encourage me to do more social things. Working nights has a very detrimental effect on my social life (aka: I don't have a social life). I have been meaning to be more physically active, but can't bring myself to care to make it to a gym. So this was our compromise: get back into ballroom dancing.

I started ballroom when I turned 16 and kept at it for 3 solid years. I did it a little on and off again for the next few years and then stopped altogether. When I showed up to my instructor's studio that first night, his greeting was so warm and welcoming that I immediately knew that I had made a good decision. I didn't know any of the other students and had never been to my instructor's new studio, but part of me still felt like I came home to something. And despite the many blisters on my feet (at least three on each foot) from not wearing my shoes for soooo many years, I am looking forward to going back.

I have been back a few times since that first lesson and started to feel like maybe I was getting a little piece of myself back. I guess my counselor was right.

That's about it for this month. Thanks for reading!

Halloween Reading List

Oh yes, it is that time of the year! My favorite time of the year! And I need a book list to go with it, obviously. So here is the run down:

• The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. Recommended by a friend.
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Because I have never read it. I know, shame on me.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker. Again, one I have never read. I plan to listen to this one.
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Another new one that I plan to listen to.
• Oh and The Sword of Summer, the new Magnus Chase book by Rick Riordan. Because I wait all year long for his books to come out. I don't care if it's Halloween-y or not. I will read it as soon as I can get it and you can't stop me!
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I always read this one in October, but I may not get to it this year with my other planned reads. 
• M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. This is a collection of stories I stumbled across more than a year ago and haven't read yet. I have it as an audiobook and will read it if I finish my others in time.
• And, if time allows, The Diviners by Libba Bray. New one that I have seen recommended by a couple of book blogs I follow. It sounds spooky, but not scary. Right up my alley.

It started to turn into a list of classics because last year I realized how few of these I had read. It's about time I fixed that.

I also decided to participate in this book challenge by purrfect.reads on Instagram:

If you would like to follow my progress, do so via my Instagram or my Tumblr.

Anyone else have spooky reads this year?

Day Three: LGBTQ Character

Tough one. My initial thought went straight to Niko DiAngelo from the Percy Jackson books because I love his character. However, I do not own any of the books where his homosexuality is revealed (except on audiobook), so I had to cross that off.

My next thought was of Lark and Rosethorn from the Circle Universe by Tamora Pierce. Their relationship is fairly subtle, but I love it. And this is one I could photo graph a text moment of:

From Briar's Book

They make me smile!

May Photo Challenge

Some of you may recall my April Photo Challenge that I did last year. I enjoyed it so much that I have been considering doing another photo challenge. I started searching through Pinterest, Google, and Tumblr and eventually found this:

This is from a neat book-themed Tumblr blog, Books & Cupcakes. The blogger does monthly photo challenges that are centered around books! One of my favorite things! Where's the bad?

Additionally, I have wanted to get more into blogging about books, so maybe this will provide the necessary inspiration.

It is a challenge that I should be able to do easily using my phone and Instagram. I think it will be interesting and fun. It might be more challenging to find all of my books since I am listening to more books these days than I am actually reading, but I will do my best!

Now we all have something to look forward to in May! (Or I do, anyway). I know many of my friends are avid readers and if you would like to join in the fun, that would be awesome! I will even include pictures (as I can) on my daily blog posts!