I'm taking part in Bout of Books!

This will be the fourth time I've taken part on Bout of Books and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great way to start the year off on the right note.  I'll post a TBR pile tomorrow.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Closing Survey

Closing Survey

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour Sixteen, I was just really struggling to concentrate.  Thankfully I got my second wind.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Morning Glories - These graphic novels are perfect for a RAT

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope, it was awesome

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Some great cheerleaders and wonderful hosts.  Personally having some graphic novels to read was great.

How many books did you read?

5, plus read a bit of one other

What were the names of the books you read?

Monument 14 Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne

Morning Glories Vol. 5 Tests by Nick Spencer

Morning Glories Vol. 6 Demerits by Nick Spencer

Morning Glories Vol. 7 Honors by Nick Spencer

Morning Glories Vol. 8 Rivals by Nick Spencer

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (Didn't finish)

Which book did you enjoy most?

Monument 14

Which did you enjoy least?

The Body Finder

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Oh I'll be there!  Probably as a reader but possibly as a cheerleader as well.

End of Hour Twenty-One

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 8 Rivals by Nick Spencer 43 pages - Finished It!

I read for 46 minutes

Total pages read: 602

Total minutes read: 656

Books Finished - 5

Woohoo!  Finished Morning Glories Vol 8 and that brings me up to date on the series.  I'm done reading and I'm very happy with my totals.

End of Hour Twenty

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 8 Rivals by Nick Spencer 39 pages

I read for 37 minutes

Total pages read: 513

Total minutes read: 610

Books Finished - 4

Of course this hour had to have all kinds of scientific stuff in the chapter...

End of Hour Nineteen

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 8 Rivals by Nick Spencer 28 pages

I read for 35 minutes

Total pages read: 474

Total minutes read: 573

Books Finished - 4

We went out for a late night run to Whataburger to get out second wind and some fries and shakes.

End of Hour Eighteen

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 7 Honors by Nick Spencer 17 pages - Finished It!

I read for 17 minutes

Total pages read: 446

Total minutes read: 538

Books Finished - 4

I liked this Vol much better than the last.

End of Hour Seventeen

Blueberry Pie - Dean Approved

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 7 Honors by Nick Spencer 58 pages

I read for 43 minutes

Total pages read: 429

Total minutes read: 521

Books Finished - 3

Got into Morning Glories 7 this hour....should finish it in the next one.

End of Hour Sixteen

No reading this hour.  I had some snacks and spent some time on the computer...finding it hard to concentrate.

End of Hour Fifteen

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 7 Honors by Nick Spencer 35 pages

I read for 40 minutes

Total pages read: 371

Total minutes read: 478

Books Finished - 3

Thank God for this series, as it's kept me reading this RAT.

Reading Rainbow Mini Challenge

I loved Reading Rainbow as a kid so I had to take part in this mini challenge.

"Have you ever loved a book so much you didn’t want the story to end? We feel that way about a LOT of books! So your Reading Rainbow mini-challenge, should you choose to accept it, is this:

Share a book that you didn’t want to end, and what you think the title of the sequel would be!"

The Outsiders made me a fangirl.  I would love to have a sequel.  As far as a title goes...Who We Became.

End of Hour Fourteen

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 6 Demerits by Nick Spencer 17 pages - Finished It!

I read for 14 minutes

Total pages read: 336

Total minutes read: 438

Books Finished - 3

I didn't love this Morning Glories as much as the last (There was animal violence, though just a small bit, but that's a big red flag for me.) but it was still good.  These books just get loopier and loopier.

Mid-Event Survey and End of Hour Thirteen

1. What are you reading right now?
Morning Glories Vol. 6 Demerits by Nick Spencer

2. How many books have you read so far?
Finished 2 and read bits of 2 others

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Finishing Morning Glories Vol 6

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
A few and have struggled to concentrate a bit.  Just tried to re-focus.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
How quickly it's going.

No eating this hour.  Dinner time.

End of Hour Twelve

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 6 Demerits by Nick Spencer 26 pages

I read for 21 minutes

Total pages read: 319

Total minutes read: 424

Books Finished - 2

Headed to Chili's for dinner this hour.

End of Hour Eleven

Our famous shoe shot

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 6 Demerits by Nick Spencer 42 pages

I read for 38 minutes

Total pages read: 293

Total minutes read: 403

Books Finished - 2

We've taken a picture of our shoes together every single RAT we've done together.  Just a quirky little thing we enjoy.

End of Hour Ten

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 6 Demerits by Nick Spencer - 46 pages

I read for 50 minutes

Total pages read: 251

Total minutes read: 327

Books Finished - 2

Back down the rabbit hole with Morning Glories!

End of Hour Nine

This hour I read:

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting - 16 pages

I read for 24 minutes

Total pages read: 205

Total minutes read: 277

Books Finished - 2

Starbucks time.  I read a little from The Body Finder but couldn't really get into it.  Moving onto my next Morning Glories for the next hour.

End of Hour Eight

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 5 Tests by Nick Spencer - 35 pages - Finished It!

I read for 25 minutes

Total pages read: 189

Total minutes read: 253

Books Finished - 2

Volume 5 of Morning Glories was crazy..as is this whole series.

End of Hour Seven

No reading this hour.  Lunch time!

End of Hour Six

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 5 Tests by Nick Spencer - 36 pages

I read for 33 minutes

Total pages read: 154

Total minutes read: 228

Books Finished - 1

This series is just so insane.  Lunch time this next hour.

End of Hour Five

This hour I read:

Morning Glories Vol. 5 Tests by Nick Spencer - 67 pages

I read for 44 minutes

Total pages read: 118

Total minutes read: 195

Books Finished - 1

I started the next Morning Glories this hour.  I just love this series! 

End of Hour Four

This hour I read:

Monument 14 Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne - 11 pages - Finished It!

I read for 27 minutes

Total pages read: 51

Total minutes read: 151

Books Finished - 1

Savage Drift wrapped up the Monument 14 series so well.  I loved it.

End of Hour Three

This hour I read:

Monument 14 Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne - 21 pages

I read for 43 minutes

Total pages read: 40

Total minutes read: 124

I spent part of this hour reading through tears, as this part of my book was quite emotional.  I should finish it next hour.

End of Hour Two

This hour I read:

Monument 14 Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne - 19 pages

I read for 38 minutes

Introductory Meme & End of Hour One

Introductory Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

The Woodlands, TX

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Monument 14 Savage Drift (Finishing it)

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Blueberry Pie from House of Pies

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm not a morning person (so snoozed through the first hour of the RAT) and people who are confuse me.
I love words.
I'm a Fangirl and proud of it.

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?

This is my 16th time participating.  Last time we had a soccer game to attend.  No game this time so I won't lose that big chunk of time.

My TBR pile for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

I'm getting ready for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon, which will be my 16th.  Cleaning, cooking, you name it, I'm doing it!  I've done really well on reading this year, meeting my yearly goal in August.  Then, I hit a little snag.  In September I somehow started writing fanfic, something I didn't plan on but it quickly became an obsession and since I started I've barely read anything.  Tomorrow will honestly be the first day I have really spent reading since I started writing.  I'm hoping for a good day.  I just need to finish off my first book (which I'm already close to finishing) and I'll have hit 50 books for the year.  Yae!  Just gotta keep focused and not give into the urge to write...

My TBR Pile

Z For Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien - This is on my checklist for the year and it's not too long so figured I would throw it in.

Monument 14 Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne - The last in the series and what a series it is!  I started this trilogy this year and it's just so good.  It's smart and interesting and the author is lovely. I have less than 100 pages to go so this will be the book I start with.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting - I started this book back in early September and only got a few chapters in.  Hoping to get back to it now.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- I have wanted to read this book for years and kept putting it off, intimidated by the size and topic.  I started it in August for a Time Consuming challenge and fell in love with it.  We are talking head over heels, tears in my eyes from the beauty of it, won't shut up about it love.  But then I took part in another reaidng challenge and set it aside and haven't gotten back to it.  I may just have to fall back in love with it tomorrow.

Morning Glories by Nick Spencer Vol 5-8 - I read the first Morning Glories back in May and have been hooked every since (and gotten a few others hooked as well.) It's a completely weird series, with shades of Lost in it. I bought these four for this weekend especially and am sure I'll read at least a few.

Happy Reading Y'all!

BookBuddyAThon Wrap Up

BookBuddyAThon was so much fun!  I got quite a bit of reading done.  I finished four books and read a tiny bit in one other (The Body Finder).  I also finished challenges 2, 3, 4 & 5.

My Finished Books.

Here's a breakdown of my reading:

Day 1: 117 pages read
Day 2: 82 pages read
Day 3: 64 pages read - First book finished!
Day 4: 83 pages read
Day 5: 92 pages read
Day 6: 69 pages read - Second book finished!
Day 7: 354 pages read - Third & Fourth book finished!

Total Pages read: 861

BookTubeAThon was definitely fun and I would love to do another one.

BookBuddyAthon

So since I obviously can't get enough of read-a-thons I'm taking part on another.  This one was discovered by Heather, who is going to be my book buddy.

Here's my TBR pile and the challenges the books match up with below.

The Challenges

1) Choose three books and get your buddy to pick one from them for you to read

Heather chose The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.  (The other two I had given her to choose from where Z is for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien and Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski). This book is one I chose for a Listopia challenge on GoodReads and I'm looking forward to it.

2) Buddy read a book with your buddy

We decided to read a book we both got for OwlCrate.  Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly was the latest one and we were both really interested in it, since they compared it to Veronica Mars.  I'm a mystery lover at heart so hopefully this is a good one.

3) Read a book with your buddy's favourite colour on

I chose Fables since red is Heather's favorite color.  I had just read about this graphic novel, it sounded interesting and the red color was perfect.

4) Read a book your buddy gave 5 stars

Heather has been obsessed with Saga since she read it for a RAT last month.  All the talk has gotten me intrigued enough that I wanted to check it out. 

5) Read a book that you want to... just because

I'm leaving this open so I can decide as the week goes on.  I do have the next Morning Glories waiting on my bookshelf but we'll just see how the week goes.  

I love the challenges in this RAT and can't wait to get started!

Casual Readathon August

This past week I took part in the third Casual Readathon.  Here's a breakdown of my reading:

Day 1: 54 pages read

Day 2: 70 pages read

Day 3: 110 pages read 

Day 4: 29  pages read 

Day 5: 204 pages read - First & Second book finished!

Day 6: 132 pages read 

Day 7: 150 pages read - Third book finished!

Day 8: 150 pages read - Fourth book finished!

Total Pages read: 899

I completed all the challenges.

Overall I finished four books (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Fray, Morning Glories Vol.3 and Runaways Vol. 3) and read parts of two others (Monument 14: Savage Drift & Runaways Vol. 4). 

I had so much fun doing this, taking part in sprints and completing the challenges.  I can't wait for the next one!

Bout of Books Update #7 & Wrap Up

Over the course of this Bout of Books I finished three books and read a total of 635 pages.  I also read some of Morning Glories Vol. 3, P.E. and Monument 14: Savage Drift.  I'm pretty happy with those results.  :)

Bout of Books #6

I read 204 pages and finished 2 books.  Woohoo!

What an amazing book!

Loads of fun!

Bout of Books Update #5

Today was a day out to lunch with my husband and soccer in the evening so I didn't have a lot of time to read.  I read 29 pages and am almost done with The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Bout of Books Update #4

I read 110 pages today.  Really making progress in The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Bout of Books Update #3

I'm really enjoying The Summer I Turned Pretty.  It wasn't quite what I expected it to be but it's really got me interested now.  I read 70 pages in it on Day 3 of Bout of Books.

Bout of Books Update #2

I started reading The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han and read 54 pages.  I was out all evening or I'm sure I would have read even more.  The book is not what I was expecting but I really like it.

Bout of Books Update #1

I finished my first book yesterday, which I was close to finishing to begin with.  This was not my favorite book, but in finishing it I completed my GoodReads challenge for the year.  Yae!

I read a total of 36 pages yesterday.

My Bout of Books TBR Pile

This is the TBR pile I have so far...I should be getting a few graphic novels from the library this week that I've placed holds on, but so far this is what I have to read.  I'm almost done with Secrets of my Hollywood Life and have started Fray so those should be easy to finish.  Morning Glories Vol. 3  I have been dieing to read and The Summer I Turned Pretty is supposed to be really good.  So hopefully this pile will get me going pretty well!

I'm taking part in Bout of Books!

This will be the third time I've taken part on Bout of Books and I'm really looking forward to it. Any excuse to read!  I'll post a TBR pile tomorrow.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

BookTube-A-Thon Wrap Up

Booktube-A-Thon is over!  I read some and had loads of fun watching people's videos and seeing what others were reading.  I

Here's my results:

Day 1: 45 pages read
Day 2: 41 pages read
Day 3: 71 pages read
Day 4: 82 pages read - First book finished
Day 5: 144 pages read - Second book finished
Day 6: 56 pages read
Day 7: 30 pages read

Total Pages Read: 469
I finished challenges 1 (Blue cover) 5 & 6 (Read a book without letting go of it and a book you really want to read).

I never get as much reading done as I think I will (though a RAT that's not during soccer season would be probably give me a better total) but I do get more read than I would without these RATs. I'm only one book away from making my yearly goal.  Woohoo!

BookTube-A-Thon

I'm taking part in Booktube-A-Thon for the first time.  It runs from August 3 - August 9. I don't have a youtube channel so I'll just be using Twitter.  #BOOKTUBEATHON

The challenges are:
1. Read a book with blue on the cover - The Fault In Our Stars
2. Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name - The Elite
3. Read someone else’s favorite book - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
4. Read the last book you acquired - The Elite
5. Finish a book without letting go of it - Lazarus #3
6. Read a book you really want to read - The Elite
7. Read seven books - Not even trying this one!  lol

I know I won't get through all of these but I'm excited to see just how much I can get read.  Maybe 464 pages?  ;)

#TBRTakedown 2.0 Wrap Up

#TBRTakedown 2.0 was so much fun!

Here's a breakdown of my reading:

Day 1 : 67 pages read
Day 2:  86 pages read
Day 3:  48 pages read
Day 4:  88 pages read - First book finished
Day 5:  23 pages read
Day 6:  44 pages read
Day 7:  106 pages read - Second book finished

Total pages read: 463

I finished challenges 1 & 2 and started 3.

I also took part in all five daily challenges and had loads of fun.

#TBRTakedown 2.0

#TBRTakedown 2.0 (July 25th - July 31st)

I'm so excited to be taking part in #TBRTakedown 2.0 on Twitter!  I've become slightly addicted to taking part in RAT's on Twitter and anything that helps me get more books read is a good thing in my book.

There are some challenges for this RAT which helped me pick my reading list.

#1 First book in a series 
#2 Sequel book in a series 
#3 Out of your comfort zone (genre, author, reviews, etc)
#4 On your shelf over a year (or the longest)
#5 Most recently hauled book

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass - I started this at the end of Casual Readathon 2 and it fits this category perfectly.  It's a series I've wanted to read for awhile and my husband was wonderful enough to buy me the first for Christmas.

2. Death of a Snob by M.C. Beaton - I love this series.  It's quick moving and easy to read plus I've learned a whole lot about Scotland from it.

3. They Call Me Naughty Lola - David Rose - No idea what this book is going to be like but it's totally different than anything else I own.

4. Loves Music, Loves To Dance by Mary Higgins Clark - This book has been on my shelf for over five years.  I bought it when we were still living in NC.  About time I read it!

5. Son by Lois Lowry - The final book in The Giver series.  Richard and I went out and bought it last week as we were reading Messenger.

I know I wont get them all read but I'll hopefully get through quite a bit of them.  I can't wait to get started!!

Casual Readathon July

This past week I took part in the second Casual Readathon via Twitter.  I went in thinking I would just get some extra reading done.  I never expected to enjoy myself as much as I did.  Between the great people running it to the fun participants and the excellent people I personally did the RAT with I had an incredible time.  Here's a breakdown of my reading:

Day 1 : 57 pages read
Day 2:  26 pages read
Day 3:  67 pages read - First book finished!
Day 4:  29 pages read
Day 5:  31 pages read
Day 6:  84 pages read
Day 7:  78 pages read
Day 8:  91 pages read - Second book finished!

Total pages read: 463

I also completed challenges 2, 3, 4, and 7.

Over all I finished 2 books (Messenger & Pretty Little Liars) and started a new one (The Selection) yesterday.

All in all I loved taking part in the Casual Read-A-Thon and I will definitely be taking part next month!

Bout of Books Update #7 & Wrap Up

I did it!  I finished all five graphic novels I had checked out from the library.  Woohoo!

Yesterday I finished off my fifth graphic novel (Morning Glories, Vol. 2: All will be free) and read a little bit in Landline as well.  I am totally obsessed with the Morning Glories series.  It's just so good.

I read a total of 158 pages yesterday.

I read a total of 727 pages over the course of Bout of Books.
I finished a total of 5 books.

I blew my last BoB total out of the water.  Interesting since last time Richard had the whole week off and this time he only had one day off.  We had a busy week but I made sure I made at least a little time to read each day and that made a huge difference.  I really enjoyed this round of BoB.

Bout of Books Update #6

I finished my fourth graphic novel yesterday (Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a better future) which I loved, loved, loved!  Oh wow is it dark and twisted but I love it.  I started the second in the series (Morning Glories, Vol. 2: All will be free) as well.  I'm really hoping to finish this one by the end of Bout of Books.  Fingers crossed!

I read a total of 88 pages today for a total of 569 pages.

Bout of Book Update #5

I didn't finish a book today but I read in both Morning Glories and Landline by Rainbow Rowell, a book I had started awhile back and have been reading off and on.

I read a total of 122 pages today for a total of 481 pages.

Bout of Books Update #4

I finished my third graphic novel yesterday (The Woods) and I liked it a lot more than I thought it would.  It wasn't my normal kind of book and I almost gave up on it in the first few pages.  I'm glad I didn't as it was a perfect book to get lost in just when I needed it most.  I also started another graphic novel, Morning Glories, and finished the first volume.

I read a total of 101 pages today for a total of 359.

Bout of Books Update #3

We had a baseball game to go to tonight (Giants vs Astros) so didn't have much time to read.  I managed to read the second volume in The Woods.

I read 26 pages today for a total of 258 pages so far.

Bout of Books Update #2

I finished my second graphic novel yesterday (Blue Bloods) and I really liked it.  I have the book and I think I'm more likely to read it now.  The graphics were lovely as well.  I also started another graphic novel, The Woods, and finished the first volume.

I read a total of 79 pages today for a total of 232.