My Most Anticipated Releases for February

There are loads of wonderful-looking books coming out next month. Here are all the ones that I'm excited about :)

FEBRUARY 6

By a Charm and a Curse // Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire // The Belles // Simon Thorn and the Shark's Cave
The Queen's Rising // Winterfolk // Your One and Only // All We Can Do Is Wait // The Last to Let Go

Top Ten Books I Really Liked But Can't Remember Anything About

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. More information here.

The following books all have something in common...they are the first book in a series that I have not picked up a sequel to. *awkward smile* All of the books, except for Shadow and Bone, were rated 5 stars - I may rate them differently now, but at the time, they were 5 star reads. They were all read between 2012 and 2014. I remember very vague details about each of them, but basically couldn't tell you character names of any more than like 2 characters or setting or plot at all. *shrugs* They may be books I look up synopses too or reread before picking up the rest of the series. I want to say most all of them are completed series now, so I'll definitely be able to binge them! So without further ado, here are my favorite but don't remember anything about books!

Winter Biannual Bibliothon [Reading List]

I'm excited to be participating in the Biannual Bibliothon once again. This one runs from January 20 to 26 with a liveshow on Saturday, January 27. The hosts are listed above in the banner, but you can find links to their channels on the main Bibib Youtube. I'm not doing any of the video challenges but I will definitely be trying some of these reading challenges, as well as, some of the blog challenges.

READING CHALLENGES:

1. Read the group book: Otherworld by Jason Segel & Kirsten Miller
2. Read a sequel: Where She Went by Gayle Forman
3. Read a book you've never heard of before: (I'm bending this to a book I hadn't heard of before I received it in an Owlcrate box) Daughter of a Pirate King by Trisha Levenseller
4. Read a book about mental illness: n/a
5. Read a book that was mentioned in another book/movie/show etc.: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (mentioned in Foolish Hearts)
6. Read a book under 200 pages: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
7. Read a backlist title: Daughter of a Pirate King by Trisha Levenseller

So there you have it! My reading list for the Winter Biannual Bibliothon. If you are joining in, let me know what you're reading! :)

Updated on 1/20: I finished A Midsummer Night's Dream earlier today but unfortunately got sidetracked with a very clingy almost 3 year old who I ended up taking to see the doctor in the early afternoon. We got home right before dinner after he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. We are both exhausted, so not sure how much more reading I will get done. 185 pages is pretty great for 1 day though!

Updated on 1/27: Despite having a rough week with another episode of SVT that required medical intervention, I finished FOUR books. Who am I?! This is precisely how I used to read and I am loving it. I finished Otherworld and Where She Went on Wednesday. I finished Daughter of the Pirate King within minutes to spare last night. Overall, I am so so happy.

Total books finished: 4

Total pages read: 863 pages + 5hr 18min listened

Book Review: Buzz Books 2018: Young Adult Spring/Summer by Publishers Lunch

Synopsis:
Welcome to Buzz Books 2018: Young Adult Spring/Summer. These substantial pre-publication excerpts reflect a broad spectrum of today’s young adult writing, from fantasy and romance to suspense and humor. You will discover debut writers to put on your radar, while enjoying early samples from some of the biggest authors in the field and even a memoir for younger readers.
 
Readers will be happy to see included Stephanie Garber’s sequel to her New York Times bestselling debut novel Caraval, a previous Buzz Books. Other fantasies are Furyborn by Claire Legrand, Fawkes by Nadine Brandes, and Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. 

Then come back to the present with Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein’s YA debut about a teen science whiz who tries to crack the chemical equation for lasting love or Buzzfeed writer Farrah Penn’s Twelve Steps to Normal, about a father’s recovery from alcoholism. Start reading the bestsellers of tomorrow right now to see why reviewers rave with comments like these:
 
Love Buzz Books! They are so helpful for librarians. This YA sampler is particularly great for any librarian with a sizable teen population. Some very interesting titles highlighted here, in a wide variety of genres.

Then spread the word: your friends and family can download this free edition of Buzz Books at any major ebookstore or at buzz.publishersmarketplace.com. For broader reading, check out Buzz Books 2018: Spring/Summer, also available now, for 40 excerpts from top forthcoming adult fiction and nonfiction titles.

Book Review: This Is What Goodbye Looks Like by Olivia Rivers

Publish Date: June 17, 2016
338 Pages [Kindle edition]
Published by Red Sparrow Press

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2018

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. More information here.

1. My main goal for 2018 is to read 52 books...again. I had a great reading year in 2017 and hit my goal of 52 books. One book a week seemed like an attainable goal and it was, so I figure I would continue that in 2018.
2. I want to read books set in 20 different states and 3 different countries (not including the US).
3. I need to finish at least 10 series. Need to. Why? Because I'm in too many series and I need to be finishing some.
4. I want to read and watch some movie/tv adaptations. The two biggest ones are A Monster Calls and Wonder. But there's a few in 2018 that I am eyeing too.
5. I'm super behind on Netgalley reviews and I'm determined to get some of those done too. Two a month for a total of 24 reviews finished.
6. I also want to read at least one Owlcrate book a month. I have 7 from last year still to read and will obviously get a dozen more in 2018.
7. I would like to try to not start too many books at once. One Kindle and one physical seems like plenty. I get myself into reading like 7 books but really I have started 7 and I'm only really reading one or two of them. Then I feel obligated into finishing them all before I start new ones and then feel guilty if I do start yet another new one.
8. I want to try and use the library regularly. Overdrive is new-to-me in December and I am loving it. I also want to take the kids at least two times a month.
9. Continue to mood read. This was by far my best decision of 2017. I used to set specific books for each month. Get irritated when I didn't stick to them. Not read books I was excited for because they weren't on my list and so on and so forth. In 2017, I just read the books I wanted to read and I think that contributed to me meeting and surpassing my goal!
10. I want to be more active in being a supportive member of the blogging community - I want to comment more and be more involved! :)

Book Review: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

Bout of Books 21 [Days 5-7 Progress + Finish Line]

Here is my progress for the last three days of the readathon plus my final thoughts. In the first four days, I've read and finished A Month of Mondays, started The Sun Is Also a Star and Warcross, and read a total of 632 pages. I'm still wanting to average about 100 pages per day, if I can. I know Saturday and Sunday will not be very big reading days.

[DAY 5 PROGRESS]
The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon - started at 65%, ended at 100% (~135 pages)
Warcross by Marie Lu - started at 176, ended at 353 (177 pages)
Gossip Girl: The Manga, Vol. 1 - started at 1, DNF'd at 62 (62 pages)
Wonder by RJ Palacio - started at 1, ended at 62 (62 pages)
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord - started at 0%, ended at 2% (~8 pages)

TOTAL: 444 pages // 3 books finished and 1 book DNF'd

READING UPDATE: I'm now halfway through Warcross and about 2/3rd of the way through The Sun, so I'm really happy about that. I would like to finish at least one of those today. *fingers crossed* // I finished 2 books today and started 3 more. I DNF'd Gossip Girl because it was just not great. So my current reads are Wonder and The Names They Gave Us. Very pleased with my progress so far.
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[DAY 6 PROGRESS]
Wonder by RJ Palacio - didn't read today
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord - started at 2%, ended at 23% (~84 pages)
This is What Goodbye Looks Like by Olivia Rivers - started at 0%, ended at 6% (~20 pages)

TOTAL: 104 pages // 3 books finished and 2 books DNF'd

READING UPDATE: I know today will probably be a low page count reading day and that's okay. Lots to do and I don't expect a lot of reading to happen.
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[DAY 7 PROGRESS]
Wonder by RJ Palacio - started at 62, ended at 70 (8 pages)
This is What Goodbye Looks Like by Olivia Rivers - didn't read today

TOTAL: 8 pages // 3 books finished and 2 books DNF'd

READING UPDATE: I ended up DNFing The Names They Gave Us after making it 23% into the book. I was going to put it down at 10% but wanted to give it a fair chance since it's been so hyped. It just wasn't for me. I started a new Netgalley book instead and I'm enjoying it so far. I know today will be another low page count reading day, but I do hope to read a little of each book :)
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[FINISH LINE]

TOTAL: 1188 pages // 3 books finished and 2 books DNF'd

FINAL THOUGHTS: I haven't done this well in a readathon or BOB readathon in I don't know how long. I'm so excited at how many pages I have read and even more excited to see 3 books finished. My goal is basically one per week for the whole year and I'm starting off with a bang because I've finished 6 books in 2 weeks. I hope this is indicative of my 2018 reading year because that would be fantastic.

December Book Haul

Check out what books I got in the month of December!

Book Review: A Month of Mondays by Joelle Anthony

Publish Date: March 7, 2017
200 Pages [Kindle edition]
Published by Second Story Press

Top Ten Books I Meant to Read in 2017 But Didn't Get To

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. More information here.

1. You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner: The story has a deaf MC and she is a graffiti artist and I'm so excited about it. Didn't read it in 2017.
2. Geekerella by Ashley Poston: I read an excerpt of this early on in the year and was eagerly anticipating the release...and as you may have guessed....never read it.
3. The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr: I also read an excerpt of this story early on in the year. Amnesia....SOLD! Literally that's all it takes. The excerpt was a tease and I needed the rest of the book ASAP and then I didn't pick it up when it released.
4. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon: I feel like everyone has read this and while initially there were tons of raves, there are now tons of rants. It seems very polarized, but I still want to read it.
5. Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody: I'm incredibly intrigued by the plot of this book: a girl who can create illusions and then suddenly an illusion gets killed. Plus the cover is gorgeous.
6. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo: I loved the only book of Leigh Bardugo's I've read and I've been very excited about the DC Icons stories period. I still am dying to read this book.
7. Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust: I have read an excerpt of this story as well and I was sucked in immediately. And then I didn't get it. UGH. I need to stop this haha
8. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera: This book was super hyped and I love the premise of knowing when you will die. I haven't read any of Silvera's books yet either and they were all books I meant to get to in 2017.
9. Warcross by Marie Lu: Not only have I read an excerpt, I have also purchased a copy of it. And yet it is unread :/
10. Renegades by Marissa Meyer: I thoroughly enjoy Marissa Meyer and she is one of those authors I know will write a book I'll gobble up. Renegades has also been hyped so much and I really want to read it. Badly.

Bout of Books 21 [Days 1-4 Progress]

Once again, I'm going to split up my readathon progress into two posts. This post will serve as my days 1-4 progress. I hope everyone has a great reading week. I'm hoping that I can continue my streak of reading more than 100 pages each day that started in December (when I read 11 books in one month compared to my typical 4).

I am an expert again, so I will be making rounds to encourage my fellow readers :) If you have any questions, let me know :)

[GOALS]
**Read a little every day
**Finish one book
**Participate in one Twitter chat
**Be a cheerleader!

[DAY 1 PROGRESS]
Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson - started at 114, ended at 128 (24 pages)
A Month of Mondays by Joelle Anthony - started at 8%, ended at 20% (~24 pages)


TOTAL: 48 pages

READING UPDATE: I have been doing this thing where I only read a chapter or two of Let's Pretend and I'll finish it eventually. There is something about it that I can't really sit and read it for an extended amount of time even though I am enjoying it. A Month of Mondays is only 200 pages long, so my hope is to make a pretty good dent in it today.

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[DAY 2 PROGRESS]
A Month of Mondays by Joelle Anthony - started at 20%, ended at 100% (~160 pages)
The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon - started at 0%, ended at 34% (~130 pages)
Warcross by Marie Lu - started at 0, ended at 4 (4 pages)

TOTAL: 294 pages // 1 book finished

READING UPDATE: Today is the first day back to school for my big kids, so it's just Mason and me. We have no plans today except for me to film a Plan With Me during naptime.
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[DAY 3 PROGRESS]
The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon - started at 34%, ended at 37% (~11 pages)
Warcross by Marie Lu - started at 4, ended at 99 (95 pages)

TOTAL: 106 pages // 1 book finished

READING UPDATE: Greatly looking forward to today's reading because I am already loving The Sun is Also a Star and I know I will love Warcross. I have a little blogging to get done this morning, but then I am pretty sure my day is free for the most part. // I'm updating at 8pm ET because I don't know how much more reading I will get done. Tonight is the night, I'm on reddit rewatching RuPauls' Drag Race and chatting, so no reading to be had.
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[DAY 4 PROGRESS]
The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon - started at 37%, ended at 65% (~107 pages)
Warcross by Marie Lu - started at 99, ended at 176 (77 pages)

TOTAL: 184 pages // 1 book finished

READING UPDATE: Today may be a lower page day because one of my cats has a vet appointment and this afternoon, my oldest has to build a sod house and we decided to do it out of Cocoa Krispies, so I am helping him with that. So I know my late morning and my afternoon will be full of activities. We'll see how the day goes :) I'm about a third of the way through both books, so I'm hoping I can finish both by the end of the readathon. Ambitious thoughts, no?!

Bout of Books 21 [Goals + TBR]

It's my 18th go-around for the Bout of Books readathon, aka my FAVORITE readathon ever. It is hosted by Amanda and Kelly. Bout of Books 21 begins tomorrow, January 8th, and runs through January 14th. I may update occasionally on Twitter and will definitely be updating frequently on my Goodreads. I'm going to be trying to finish any current reads and if not, I want to read one Owlcrate book, one Netgalley book, and one book I've been dying to read! I'm setting my goals fairly low because I have no clue what this week will bring!

Books I Read in December

It Started With Goodbye by Christina June - 5 stars (finished 12/10)
272 pages, Kindle, 2017, YA Contemporary
I was gifted an ebook via Netgalley.
Review: here.

Series Challenge - Update #4

It's time to do a final update for my progress in series in 2017. In 2018, I'm joining the 2018 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge hosted by Celebrity Readers. The following will be my totals for the whole year, not just the last quarter :) As you can see I read 12 books in a series in the last quarter.

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors in 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. More information here.

So basically, all I would say for each of these authors is that I appreciate their writing style. The book I read in 2017 was very readable and I loved it. They are not all the same obviously...Angie Thomas's writing style is different than Renee Adhieh. But I loved both of them so much. I'm interested in reading more from each of these authors. Some of them have multiple books out (and I'm late to the game) and others will have more in the future. Below I'm including the book that I read from each author and also cheating because one answer is actually three :)

January TBR + Challenges Update

It's a new year!! :) So excited for 2018 and ready to kick my TBR's butt. My 2017 final update will be included in my "Books I Read in December" post. In January, I will be participating in three readathons: #AYearAThon, Bout of Books, and Winter Biannual Bibliothon.

My Tentative TBR for January:

• Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 
• Otherworld by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

#AYearAThon [January TBR]

Each first full week of the month, a #AYearAThon readathon is held and there are themes and challenges for each month. In the month of January, the theme is HARRY POTTER with the extra challenge of reading adaptations. It runs from January 1 to 7.

I will be reading the illustrated versions of Harry Potter that I own throughout the month, but I'm tackling the challenge of adaptations for this readathon by trying to read 3 books that already have been made into movies.

Wonder // Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children // A Monster Calls

If I have time, I want to try and tackle any of these 2018 adaptations: Simon Vs. the Homosapiens, The Darkest Minds, and Crazy Rich Asians.

Updated on 1/7: I finished A Monster Calls on the 2nd and I am currently working on Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I am still waiting on Wonder and Simon at my library.
Updated on 1/8: I used a giftcard to order Wonder from Target, but I obviously won't have it in time to do anything for the readathon. I did however finish Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. So 2 books of my original 3. Not bad! :) I also read Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills during this time, but that didn't count towards the readathon.

Total books finished: 2

Total pages read: 224 + 352 = 576