Bout of Books Mini-Challenge: Cover Color

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, please visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

 

Tressa @ Wishful Endings has challenged us to come up with four books of ours that have covers with the same color or colors.  I chose to go with sky blue:

2015-05-15 11.50.38

  • Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  • The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  • So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Dresden decided he wanted to help me.  Either that or he felt an urge to check out the So You Want to be a Wizard book.  His namesake is a wizard, after all.

Bout of Books 13: Day 4 Progress

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, please visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
Why is it that when I want to read, I find myself with a to-do list a mile long full of chores and errands that must be handled?  Actually, I know why.  It’s because I kept putting things off in order to finish up the semester and study for Finals.  The laundry monster reared its ugly head, my car desperately needed an oil change, and many things were forgotten on the last trip to the store.  Also, since I was no longer eyeballs deep into research papers and textbooks, the Boyfriend decided to take me out to a fancier restaurant for Date Night to celebrate my victory over the most difficult semester I’ve had so far.  I swear I’m not doing anything for the rest of the week except reading and blogging.
  • Pages Read: 90
  • Total Number of Books Read: 2

The House of Spirits Read-Along: Final Recap

House

Below is the chapter breakdown, with links to all the previous recaps.  I’ll do an overall review of the book tomorrow.

This final recap is for Chapters 13 and 14 and the Epilogue.  If you’re a little behind, that’s ok!  I’ll clearly mark any spoilers.

This week’s chapters put everything that happened previously into perspective; however, a handful of sentences in Chapter 13 made me so angry that I almost didn’t finish the book.

*Spoilers* A military coup takes place, and once they’ve seized power, they decide not to let it go.  Jaime is killed along with other supporters of the government, and from that point forward, people are regularly arrested and tortured.  Esteban helps Blanca and Pedro Tercero flee to Canada after he becomes disillusioned by the new regime.  The military eventually arrests Alba for associating with Miguel and helping people on the government blacklists to escape the country. She is tortured and raped by Colonel Esteban García, the son of Esteban Trueba’s and Pancha Garcia’s illegitimate son, and his men.  Alba decides she wants to die but changes her mind when she’s visited by Clara’s spirit.  Esteban gets Alba freed with the help of Miguel and Tránsito Soto, and after helping Alba write their memoir, he dies.  Alba explains that she will not seek revenge on Esteban Garcia and his men in the hopes of ending the cycle of hate. *End Spoilers*

I’m still too angry to discuss exactly why I feel that way as well as all the other problems I have with this book, so I will leave that for tomorrow’s review, in which I will also include the quote that angered me so much.  Suffice it to say that I’m glad I’m done with this book, and since it’s a physical copy, I can now put it in my book box to be sent to the used bookstore, the funds of which will go towards The Outlandish Companion, Vol. 2 by Diana Gabaldon when it comes out this October.  I can also cross it off my Classics Club list and add it to several of the challenges I’m participating in this year.  Silver lining.

What did you think of these final chapters?  All comments about the book are welcome, but please mark any spoilers.

Bout of Books 13: Day 3 Progress

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, please visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
I spent most of the day feeling exhausted from this semester and Finals, so I didn’t get much reading done.  However, I did sleep and enjoy being lazy.
  • Pages Read: 80
  • Total Number of Books Read: 2

Bout of Books 13: Day 2 Progress

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, please visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
As I figured would happen, due to my last Final exam of the semester, I didn’t get much reading done, but at least I’m managing to finish books that I’ve been reading for awhile, even if they aren’t the ones on my goal list.
  • Books Read: The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
  • Total Number of Books Read: 2

#FitReaders Check-In #19

Geeky Bloggers Book Blog
  • This check-in is for May 4th – 10th.  I did a couple thousand more steps this week than last.  So far, the gradual increase in steps is still working and my back is still pain-free.  I hope that continues as I increase my steps.
  • If you’d like to add me as a friend on FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Steps: 32,066
  • Distance: 13.17 miles
  • Flights of stairs: 60
  • Total Money Donated: $1.50

Bout of Books 13: Day 1 Progress

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  It’s a week long read-a-thon that begins May 11th and runs through May 17th.  For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, please visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
Unfortunately, due to the Final exam I had yesterday, I didn’t get much reading done.  I’m not likely to do any better today since I have my final Final exam to do, but after that, I should pick up steam.
  • Books Finished: The Coffee Legacy by Katharina Bordet
  • Total Number of Books Read: 1
  • Mini-challenges: Bookish Survey

The House of Spirits Read-Along: Week 5 Recap

House

Below is the chapter breakdown that will take us all the way to May 15th.  There’s only one more recap to go, which I’ll be doing on the 15th, and then I’ll do an overall review of the book on the 16th.

This week’s recap is for Chapters 10, 11, and 12.  If you’re a little behind, that’s ok!  I’ll clearly mark any spoilers.

This week’s chapters were a little better than last weeks.

*Spoilers* Esteban kicks Nicolás out of the house and Nicolás supposedly moves to North America.  Blanca continues to secretly see Pedro.  Alba is sent to a British style girl’s school, and after that, she continues on to university, where she meets and falls in love with Miguel.  The two of them join a protest that the police manage to break up, but not before Alba begins bleeding heavily, gets returned home, and Miguel finds out that she’s Esteban’s granddaughter.  Later, the Socialist party wins the election, and the country is thrown into chaos as those on the Conservative side believe that the Soviets are going to show up any minute.  They begin clearing out bank accounts and fleeing the country.  Esteban and several others begin planning ways to bring down the government, which eventually leads to them deciding to use military force.  Alba is told by one of the Mora sisters that she should escape the country in order survive violent events in the future. *End Spoilers*

I’m really beginning to wonder what the point or message of this book is unless Allende is trying to tell us that men during this time, except maybe Socialists like Pedro or Jaime, were horrible? I find any story that tries to imply that a particular belief system automatically makes someone better than another to be suspect at best, and blatant propaganda at its worst.  So, I’m really not sure how I feel about this book altogether, but as of right now, I’m a bit irritated.

What do you think of the story so far?  All comments about the book are welcome, but please mark any spoilers.

Bout of Books Mini-Challenge: Bookish Survey

Bout of Books
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 May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
Today’s mini-challenge, a Bookish Survey, is from Lori @ Writing My Own Fairy Tale.

 

The Questions: 

1. How do you organize your shelves?  I organize my shelves by hardcover to mass market paperback and by height.  So, my tallest hardcovers are on the left side of the top shelf and my shortest paperbacks are on the bottom shelf (I have a lot so they’ve got their own shelf)  I try to keep books by an author together, but sometimes that’s impossible, and I also keep series together as long as I own them in the same size/type of book.
2. What is one of your favorite books that isn’t in one of your favorite genres?  I don’t have one; every single one of my favorite books has come from my favorite genres.
3. What is the last five-star book you read? The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon? I really want to finish The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon.
5. What book do you recommend the most?  That greatly depends on who I’m recommending a book to.  Sometimes it’s Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, other times it’s The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, still other times it’s The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Bout of Books 13: It’s Time to Read, Read, Read!

Bout of Books
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, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th 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 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

It’s that time again!  I’m super excited about this Bout of Books because, with the exception of two Final exams, I’ve got the whole week to read, read, read!

My Goals

  • finish off whatever books I’m currently reading.
  • Read at least one new book off of my TBR shelf.
  • I want to be able to finish at least 3 books, but I’m really hoping I’ll be able to finish 4.

Books to Read

This list has changed a bit since my sign up post:

  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
  • A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall
  • Daughters of Shadow and Blood – Book I: Yasamin by J. Matthew Saunders

Updates

I will be updating with one post each day with the number of books I’ve read that day, the titles of the books I’ve finished, and the total number of books read.  If I wasn’t able to finish a book that day, I’ll put the number of pages read instead.  I’ll also list any mini-challenges I participated in.