#January2022BookHaul

book-haul

Hey everyone, today I am bringing you my January book haul.  Listed below, you will find all the books that I acquired in January in the order that I acquired them.

Here’s what I got:
Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco (Nook Pre-Order)
Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman (Nook)
Kaleidoscope by Brian Selznick (Library)
The Beauty and the Beast (MinaLima Edtion) by Gabrielle-Suzanna Barbot de Villenueve (Barnes and Noble)
Magicorum Box Set by Christina Bauer (Nook)
Veil by Dylan Farrow (NetGalley)
After We Were Stolen by Brooke Beyfuss (NetGalley)
The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad by Natasha Deen (NetGalley)
Lore Olympus Season 1 by Rachel Smythe (WebToons)
Lore Olympus Season 2 pt. 1 by Rachel Smythe (WebToons)
Neon Gods by Katee Robert (Library)

I acquired 11 books in January.  Stay tuned tomorrow for my reading wrap-up.

#October19WrapUp

monthly-wrap-up

For the month of October, I read 11 books.  I completed a series and a trilogy.

As always books are listed in the order that I read them and are linked to my Goodreads reviews.  Screenshots are also from Goodreads.

Screen Shot 2019-11-06 at 5.24.49 PM

For the month of October I read:
Blood of Wonderland by Colleen Oakes: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2997885963

Bunnicula by James Howe: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3000421920

A Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3008954621

War of the Cards by Colleen Oakes: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3000423099

Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2290038722

A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2750131292

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2665951953

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2655650497

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2737091772

The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3027614881

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3028789186

Stats:
Pages read: 3,761
# of days that I read: 24

Weekly page stats:
Week of 9/27/19-10/3/19: 683
Week of 10/4/19-10/10/19: 620
Week of 10/11/19-9/17/19: 1,585
Week of 10/18/19-10/24/19: 448
Week of 10/25/19-10/31/19: 786

Book Haul:
Blood of Wonderland by Colleen Oakes- Library
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Illustrated Edition- Barnes and Noble
A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer- Library
War of the Cards by Colleen Oakes- Library
The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh- Library
The Magic Misfits: The Minor Third by Neil Patrick Harris- Library
A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney- Library
The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne- Library

#HowITrackMyReading

discussion-2

Today I am going to tell you how I track my reading.  I know a lot of people track their reading using a bullet journal, and that it works really well for them but bullet journals aren’t for me.  I do use a journal to track my reading, and it’s a journal that I’ve had since elementary school, I actually did a post about it a while back which you can find here.  While the set up is basically the same, my writing in my journal has gotten less messy.  I also started keeping track of how long I read each time I read, I use the Bookly app to do this.  My reading journal isn’t the only way that I keep track of my reading, I also use excel spreadsheets.  I use excel spreadsheets to keep track of how many books I read each month, where I get my books from, the number of pages I read each week, the number of pages I read each month, and the format that I read.  The way that I track how I read is the way that works best for me, and it helps me keep track of my goals.

#BetweenTwoBooks

discussion-2

Today’s short discussion is going to be about reading between two books. Right now I’m reading The Iliad and the Odyssey. I have the hardcover and eBook of Samuel Butler’s translation. I bought the eBook so I wouldn’t have to carry the hardcover around, it’s a heavy book. I previously did this with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. To read between two books, as in not two different books but the same book just in hardcover/paperback and eBook format is actually quite simple. Seeing as how I don’t use audiobooks, which could be a post for another day, I’m not going to include them.

Quite often you will find that page numbers between hardcover/paperback and eBooks don’t match up, but there is something that always matches up and it’s chapters if your book has chapters. This method only works if your book has chapters. In the case of my edition of The Iliad and the Odyssey, it is broken up into books, so this method also works with The Iliad and the Odyssey.

To read between two books, all you have to do is start on a chapter and end on a chapter.

#January18GoalUpdate

Fall_Winter Update Header

I thought it would be a good idea to update my followers on how I’m doing with my goals and challenges, and in a way, I feel like doing this holds me accountable.  You can find my 2018 Goals post here, it also includes links to the challenges that I will be doing.

Reading goals:
Books read: 5 out of 115 and 1 book ahead of schedule

Challenges:
Library Love Challenge: 2 out of 36 (I have quite a few eBooks on hold right now)
Beat the Backlist: 3 out of 28
Modern Mrs. Darcy: 3 of 12

#WhatShouldIRead?

readathon

I first saw this readathon last year, but by the time I found out about it, it was too late for me to sign up. Luckily this year, I saw some of my blogger friends post about it and this year I am actually going to participate. The Make Me Read It readathon is hosted by Ely at Tea and Titles and Val at The Innocent Smiley. The readathon runs from August 6th to August 13th.

Please select up to three books!

#qp_main1117850 .qp_btna:hover input {background:rgb(150,150,150)!important}

What should I read?

<form id=”qp_form1117850″ action=”//www.poll-maker.com/results1117850x7f4D4434-46″ method=”post” target=”_blank” style=”display:inline;margin:0px;padding:0px”>

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana
The Goldfinch by Donna Tart
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

</form>

//scripts.poll-maker.com/3012/scpolls.js

If the poll isn’t working here is another link: What should I read?

Please use the link provided as it will be much easier for me to see the results!

#FridayUpdate22

friday-update

If you are new to my blog, I recently decided to put Friday 56 on hiatus.  Friday Update is an update on what I read during the week, sometimes what I am currently reading, and what book/books I plan on starting over the weekend.  If anyone is confused as to how when I start my reading week, I start my reading week on Fridays!

What I read this week:
I finished Time of the Twins by Kendall and Kylie Jenner
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Henry IV Part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV Part II By William Shakespeare
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older– 198 Pages

Currently reading:
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older– I will be done with this book by the end of the day

Weekend plans:
The Haunting of the Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie
More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera

Bingo Update:

Spring Bingo-2
Completed squares:
Series finale: The Rose and the Dagger by Reneé Ahdieh
Adapted to TV/Movie: Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
Free Space: Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly
Over 500 Pages: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Muslim Main Character: The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi
Spring release: Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl
Magic: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Paranormal: The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters
2017 Debut: Girl out of Water by Laura Silverman
POC on the Cover: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Thriller: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Blue Cover: Henry IV Part I by William Shakespeare
Green Cover: Henry IV Part II By William Shakespeare
Sisters: Time of the Twins by Kendall and Kylie Jenner

Squares I still need to complete:
Dragons
Politics or GOV
Multi-POV
Historical
LGBT+ Main Character
Retelling
Just Words on Cover
Non-Fiction
Purple Cover
Scary
Witches
And no, I do not need recs for any of these squares!

April16 reading wrap-up

monthly-wrap-up

This month was a slow reading month, I only read two books and I’m not the happiest about it.  Below you will find the two books I read along with reviews.

Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas- I gave this five stars on Goodreads. This book was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe some of the things that I read in this book. There were things I learned that I found interesting, the most interesting was reading about all the scientific research that Dr. Omalu did in discovering CTE. One of the most important things that I found in the book, is how the NFL hired a team of doctors to form a committee. The committee would become the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee (MTBI). These doctors, hired by the NFL, had never seen or performed an autopsy of the brain, something Dr. Omalu specialized in. When Dr. Omalu discovered CTE in the brain of Mike Webster, he had the scientific research and evidence to back up his discovery. He wrote a scientific paper, had it published in a 2005 issue of Neurosurgery, the MTBI committee wanted the the paper retracted. This is no different than the NFL wanting a recent a recent story published by The New York Times retracted, the Times article found many flaws in the NFL’s concussion research. Here’s the thing, science and cold hard evidence never lie, yet it appears that the NFL refuses to listen to science. They didn’t want to listen to or believe Dr. Omalu. As a fan, I have lost trust in the NFL, especially when it comes to the safety of the players. Another important thing that I learned, is the NFL is nothing but a money hungry machine. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there were more lawsuits against the NFL. Until the NFL stops ignoring evidence and science, and starts listening, I will not believe anything the NFL says. This book and Dr. Omalu’s research are important pieces in understanding the science of concussions.

Skies Over Tomorrow: Constellation by Kelly B. Johnson

I received an eBook copy from the author for review.

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads. I normally don’t read books like this, however I was quite intrigued by the synopsis. There was a lot of military and space language that I didn’t understand at all, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the stories. I also felt that one of the stories, “Lords and Ladies” didn’t fit in with the rest of the stories. It was more like Romeo and Juliet. My favorite thing about the anthology, is the presence of strong female characters, and the writing style of the author. The author, Kelly B. Johnson wrote in a very descriptive way that showed rather than told. Show rather than tell is something that I always look for in books. I would definitely read more from this author. I was taken on an adventure.

Reading

Something that I love is reading. I try to find time everyday to read, because I find it relaxing. It’s something that I have always enjoyed. Recently, I have been reading a lot more historical fiction. With reading historical fiction, I have found that I’m thinking about and putting things in perspective in a different way. I also love how historical fiction looks at history differently and put things into context that may be easier to understand. I love reading books that make me think differently, no matter what the genre is. 

#T5W Hard Topics

top-5-wednesday

I haven’t read too many books that deal with hard/difficult topic.  However I was able to come up with four books.

Life Unaware by Cole Gibson- I chose the book because it deals with bullying. I feel like bullying is a hard topic because sometimes it is not dealt with properly. I also feel that some people don’t fully understand the many ways in which one can be bullied. The main character Regan, seems to have a perfect life, but that life gets turned upside down when every text, instant message and email gets printed and posted all over school. She ends up getting bullied by the people who, in her messages bullied herself. She also suffers from anxiety, but keeps it a secret. I could have focused on Regan’s anxiety, however I don’t know too much about anxiety, so I decided to go with bullying instead. Bullying is something that in recent years, has garnered more attention and zero tolerance policies have been established in schools.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green- This book deals with cancer and death, which are both difficult to talk about. However, it seems like almost everybody these days knows somebody who has cancer, has had cancer or has cancer themselves. There were a few really good lessons in this book. Hazel had an amazing support system around her, she had family, friends and the support group she went to. While the topics of cancer and death are hard to talk about, I feel like books like TFIOS, while fiction put things into perspective in a different way. Everyone deals with this subject matter differently, it’s important to listen, pay attention and be there for the people in your life going through it.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai- The hard topic in this book is violence against women. Malala was 15 years old when theTaliban shot her. She was shot because she was a female with a voice of her own, and she spoke out about her right to be educated. The shooting of Malala was a deliberate act of violence against women. Just because women have voices and opinions, it does not mean that they should be attacked for it, in any way shape or form, whether it be verbally or physically.

Beloved by Toni Morrison- The hard topic in this book is slavery. The main character Sethe escapes slavery, but even though she escapes to freedom, she is never really free. The memories of Sweet Home, the place where she escaped still haunt her memories. The house where she lives is haunted by the ghost of a daughter. I feel like slavery is a hard topic because it still exists, while some think slavery has been completely abolished, there are other forms of slavery that better fit the modern times. I had a difficult time reading this book, especially because of some of the subject matter. Slavery is a difficult thing to read about.