Summer 2017 Biannual Bibliothon [Finish Line]

The Bibliothon has come to an end already. Tonight, there is a live show to discuss the group book, Flame in the Mist by Renee Adhieh at pm EST. Here is how I fared for the 7 reading challenges during the readathon.

1. GROUP BOOK: I got to page 204 in Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh on the last day of the readathon, but I did finish it first thing this morning!
2. READ FROM A HOST'S FAVORITE GENRE: I read The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli for Emma's favorite genre: diversity. There is loads of diverse characters in TUoU.
3. BANNED BOOK: I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot which was challenged here in Knoxville, my hometown, for its graphic nature.
4. THROWBACK CHALLENGE: I read Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia for the throwback challenge of reading a book with more than 300 pages. This one had 385 pages.
5. BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION: I counted The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for this challenge as well -- and I watched the tv movie starring Oprah. It was FANTASTIC.
6. READ A BOOK NOT FOUND FROM BOOKTUBE: I doubled up with Eliza and Her Monsters because I had not heard of this book at all prior to receiving it in an Owlcrate box.
7. LGBTQIA+: Doubled up with The Upside of Unrequited - again loads of diversity. It featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, and pansexual characters.

I finished 3 books for a total of 1235 pages read. I could not be more happy about it.

Summer Biannual Bibliothon [Day 7]

Today's blogger challenge is to write a letter to a character and is hosted by Dylan of Reading and Other Random Stuff. I decided to write a letter to a character of a nonfiction book I read this week: Henrietta Lacks of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Dear Mrs. Lacks,
After reading Rebecca Skoot's novel sharing your story and your family's story, I only have two words for you: I'm sorry. I'm sorry for humankind failing you and your family like they have so many others who have been taken advantage of, all in the name of the advancement of medicine. I'm sorry that you grew up in a time of segregation, a time where you didn't feel like you could speak up to doctor's about your own health. I'm sorry for the unbearable pain you had to endure in the last months of your life. Most of all, I'm sorry you were taken away from your kids and they didn't get to know what a wonderful human being you were. All the stories about you paint the picture of a loving, ridiculously selfless woman who cared about everyone, who took care of everyone. I'm sure that if you were asked, you would have given consent to use your cancerous tissue in research. In a perfect world, your family would have seen compensation for all the scientists selling your cells. They changed history and helped so many people. I know you would have been so proud of that, but I know you would have been as disappointed as your family in the manner that everything was handled. I'm so sorry.

READING UPDATE:
I finished another book! :) My 3rd book for the readathon and I started my fourth and got about a quarter of the way through it.

DAY 6 PROGRESS:
Eliza and Her Monsters [Physical] - 298 pages
Flame in the Mist [Physical] - 95 pages

TOTAL: 1157 pages    

Summer Biannual Bibliothon [Day 6]

Mary of Wolf Girl Reads is hosting today's challenge that is simply 25 Facts About Me.

1. I lived in a town in Minnesota with 350 people for 11 years - until I moved to Knoxville after my 5th grade school year.
2. Even though I'm rusty, I can play piano, flute, piccolo, oboe, and various percussion instruments. I've dabbled in a few others as well.
3. My favorite food is spaghetti.
4. I love to cook and bake and don't see it as a chore.
5. I originally was sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore, but when they updated the sorting hat quiz, I was placed into Ravenclaw. I was surprised both times. I always thought I was a Ravenclaw, but then I came to love being a Hufflepuff and was surprised when I was resorted.
6. I have never been on an airplane because I'm terrified of flying.
7. I lived in New York for 7 years and never went to NYC.
8. Although otters are my favorite animal, I am a crazy cat lady through and through.
9. I almost had my bachelor's degree in Education, Middle Grade Science, but ended up not being able to complete it after having Mason. Daycare is expensive. All I had left was student teaching.
10. I have dyed my hair various shades of blonde, brown, and red. Plus black, purple, and most recently tried teal, but it didn't turn out well. After stripping it, it's now green.
11. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and I'm trying to brush back up on it so maybe I can become bilingual.
12. I am learning German.
13. I was in accounting at a grocery store when I was 17. I loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
14. Speaking of, grocery shopping is my jam. 
15. I used to stay up until 3 or 4 am to read from a very young age (elementary school).
16. I have trouble falling asleep because I'm not a huge fan of the dark or super still quietness.
17. I used to watch too much reality tv shows but then I stopped for a while. Now I'm back to watching too many *shrugs*
18. I wish someone IRL that I know watched RuPaul's Drag Race because it's my current obsession.
19. My favorite flowers are daffodils.
20. I have never broken a bone.
21. The first thing I do when I get a new book is smell the pages.
22. I had my first child when I was 18.
23. There is an age gap of 11 months between my first and second kiddos and then 7 years between second and third.
24. Twilight got me back into reading while I was pregnant with my second child.
25. I hate eye contact, but try and make a point to making it because I know it's important.

READING UPDATE:
I didn't do so well reading yesterday. In fact, the most I had read all day was in bed after 10pm. I'm a third of the way through Eliza right now. My goal is to finish it today and then read Flame in the Mist tomorrow. *fingers crossed* I'd be over the moon if I was able to read all 4 books laid out for this readathon, but honestly I'm already so proud I've finished two!

DAY 5 PROGRESS:
Eliza and Her Monsters [Physical] - 87 pages

TOTAL: 764 pages    

Summer Biannual Bibliothon [Day 5]

Today's blog challenge is hosted by Ashley of Inside My Minds. Ashley is challenging us to talk about Character Connections, a character we connected with on a more personal level. Then pick a situation they were in and discuss what they should have done differently.

Honestly, it's probably an easy choice, but the first character who came to mind was Hermione Granger...frizzy hair, big teeth, insufferable know-it-all, perfectionist, teacher's pet...that's me. I loved Hermione when I was 12 and reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the first time. I loved everything about her. I'm trying to think back to a time I think Hermione could have handled a situation better and my thoughts went to her petrifying Neville. I feel like she (really the whole trio) should have explained to Neville what was happening. They were all pretty hysterical and I'm sure it was a lot of that fight-or-flight type of adrenaline response, but I feel like Hermione could have been more respectful to Neville and mediated the situation better.

READING UPDATE:
I finished 2 books yesterday and I'm so proud of doing that! Just in 4 days, I've read almost as much as I do in a month :)

DAY 4 PROGRESS:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks [Kindle] - done (~127 pages read)
The Upside of Unrequited [Physical] - done (298 pages read)
Eliza and Her Monsters [Physical] - 32 pages

TOTAL: 677 pages   

Summer Biannual Bibliothon [Day 4]

Today's blogger challenge is hosted by Amy of Bursting with Books and we are talking about a book we've rated 3 stars or less.

The last book I finished that I rated 3 stars or less was Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke. I rated it at 2.5 stars.

This is the 19th book in the Hannah Swensen series. I have loved this mystery series for a really long time, but the last couple of books have definitely gotten really awful. The story has had a love triangle from like book 1. Suddenly a third guy comes waltzing in and he is a manipulative person. I don't know if it's meant to come off that way in the story or if it's something I'm side-eying, but I hope that the author is setting him up to be the manipulative jerk that eventually goes away. The plot seemed very forced and the recipes took over. In the first book, there were 7 recipes. This installment had 20.

For me, 3 stars is an okay rating. It's not bad and it's not good. It's meh. Once you go to 1 or 2 stars, it's different. 1 star is a book I didn't finish or one that was so awful that it caused me to be annoyed, irritated, or pissed off. 2 stars is a less than okay. It's not ridiculously awful, but it wasn't a meh read. I definitely didn't like the book.

READING UPDATE:
I'm determined to have a really good reading day for day 4. Day 3 wasn't the worst, but I could've done better. I kept getting distracted by the internet.

DAY 3 PROGRESS:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks [Kindle] - 59% (~96 pages read)
The Upside of Unrequited [Physical] - didn't read

TOTAL: 220 pages