The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th 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 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
I just started a new job last week, so I’m really not sure how much reading I’ll accomplish for this Bout of Books. I do know that I’ll get in some audiobook listening during my commute, but other than that and reading before bed, it’s all up in the air.
My Goals
Read. Read. Read.
Finish at least one of the books I’m currently reading.
Finish one more book from my TBR.
Books to Read
Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit
The Outsider by Stephen King
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Updates
I will be posting an update each day with the amount of time I read, the number of pages read that day and the titles of any of the books I’ve finished.
Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
How it works:
Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.
My TBR pile is down one book from last week to 711. It’s been a bit of a crazy week thanks to starting a new job and everything that comes along with that (figuring out my commute, lunches, etc). I’m hoping to spend quite a lot of time this weekend reading, but for now, let’s take a ride down the TBR hole!
This week’s five books:
Boundary Crossed by Melissa F. Olson – KEEP. I’m extremely skeptical of this one, but I’m willing to give it the 50 page test because the MC is a Veteran and I want to see how the author portrays that, since Olson is not a Veteran herself.
Scarlet and the Keepers of Light by Brandon Charles West – KEEP. This looks like it might be a fun Middle-Grade Fantasy, so I’ll keep it for now.
Child of the Mist by Kathleen Morgan- KEEP. This book is Historical Fiction set in the Highlands of Scotland. Enough said.
Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James – KEEP. This is a YA retelling of my all-time favorite fairy tale; of course I’ll give it a try.
Truth Teller by Kurt Chambers – KEEP. I’m pretty sure I’m going to wind up feeling disappointed with this one. Why do so many main characters have to have “the greatest power of all?” Especially when they’ve spent their lives believing they’re just an ordinary person living an unremarkable life? It’s probably one of the most used Fantasy tropes. However, I still want to find out if this book is good or not. It’s worth the 50 page test.
My to-read shelf remains at 711 books. I thought for sure I’d get rid of most of this week’s books. Maybe they’ll end up failing my arbitrary 50 page test, but what if they don’t?!
I didn’t workout on Thursday thanks to my apartment building’s fire alarms going off at around 4 am. It ended up being a malfunctioning sensor, so no damage to anything other than everyone’s precious sleep. It also happened to be my first day of work, so I slept in as long as I could before I needed to get ready and out the door.
Total books for the year: 62 of 90. I’m pretty sure I’m going to use Artemis as my ‘A’ grade for the Muggle Studies NEWT, but I’m not sure where Big Mushy Happy Lump will fit, if anywhere. What I do know is that I’m not doing well with the NEWTs Readathon, and that’s not likely to change with me starting my new job on Thursday. Then again, Bout of Books is coming up next week so maybe I’ll surprise myself.
Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
How it works:
Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.
My TBR pile is still sitting at 715 books, despite finishing a book and starting two others, because of course I found more books I want to read!
This week’s five books:
That Risen Snow by Rob E. Boley – KEEP. How could I get rid of a book that is a horror retelling of Snow White?!
The Marenon Chronicles by Jason D. Morrow – GO. I’m so tired of the “nearing the brink of war” trope in Fantasy, along with the “MC being the center of a difficult to decipher prophecy” trope. What makes this one worse is that the only way to get to Marenon, according to the synopsis, is to die. No thanks.
True Calling by Siobhan Davis – GO. You know what I’m also tired of seeing? YA Romance thinly veiled as Dystopian Sci-Fi, especially when it sounds like a horrible copy of The Hunger Games.
Wolves: I Bring the Fire Part 1 by C. Gockel- KEEP. I don’t think I read the synopsis when I got this ebook. I love wolves, and Loki is mentioned at the beginning of the synopsis so I’m pretty sure that was my only reasoning to get it besides it being free to download. I’m a little skeptical after finally reading what this book is about (it’s not about wolves), but I do like the idea of the trickster god saving the day, or at least attempting it.
Evensong by Krista Walsh – GO. That is a beautiful cover, which is probably why I downloaded the book (another freebie). It’s yet another trope-filled Fantasy that I’m not interested in bothering to try out.
My to-read shelf is down to 712 books. Looking at a few of the upcoming books on my TBR for the next “Down the TBR Hole” post, I think that number will continue to decline. I seem to be in the part of my TBR that consists mostly of ebooks I got because they just happened to be Sci-Fi or Fantasy and didn’t cost me anything.
I’ve been working on getting back to the number of reps for each exercise of my workouts that I had been doing prior to last week, and I achieved that this morning (and a little more)! I can now do 12 regular push ups and 3 modified ones along with 15 reps each of the other exercises and a full minute plank.
I missed a workout this week due to another interview, but I can happily say that I was offered the job yesterday! 🙂
Total books for the year: 60 of 90. This past week was rough. I spent the first couple of days sick and the rest going to an appointment and doing two job interviews while also trying to catch up on everything I didn’t get done while I was sick. My head just was not in a place where I could concentrate on what I was reading until the weekend when I could finally relax.
Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
How it works:
Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.
Its been a couple of weeks since my last “Down the TBR Hole” post, thanks to TWO amazing readathons, the #24in48 and the #ReverseReadathon. My TBR pile is just a little bit lighter at 717 books.
This week’s five books:
Aster Wood and the Lost Maps of Almara by J.B. Cantwell – KEEP. I’m a little skeptical about this one. The synopsis makes me feel like the story will be full of some of Fantasy’s most ridiculous tropes. However, I’m a sucker for Middle-Grade Fantasy, so I’ll give it a chance.
The Last Dragon Slayer by Martyn Stanley – KEEP. This is another one making me feel a bit skeptical, but what made me decide to keep it is this line from the synopsis: “…he sets out with two…dock-workers and a homeless dwarf.” That makes me think it will either be hilarious or horrible; either way, I need to find out.
Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher – GO. The synopsis consists of 5 short sentences that are full of suspense and don’t give anything away. Sometimes that can be a great thing, but sometimes that signals a disaster of a story from page one. Since this would be the 3rd book in a row I feel iffy about, I decided to read some of the reviews. I’m glad I did. Apparently the story isn’t much of a story at all, but a giant cliff-hanger. I seriously can’t stand that sort of thing unless it’s a comic or very specifically labeled as a serial.
The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley- KEEP. A Robin Hood retelling by Robin McKinley?! Yes, please and thank you!
The Bogside Boys by Eoin Dempsey – GO. The synopsis tells the entire story and also gives me the impression of a book that is trying too hard. I got it because I haven’t read much about life in Northern Ireland during the 1970’s and I would love to know more. If you have any recommendations, please let me know in the comments, because I don’t think this book is what I’m looking for.
My to-read shelf is down to 715 books. With the NEWTs Readathon going on this month, along with Bout of Books, I might just break 700 by September.
I was sick earlier this week and had a job interview yesterday. I’ve also had quite a bit of trouble sleeping lately. So, I’m a little surprised that I managed to get in 4 workouts this week along with 308 active minutes!
Starting tomorrow, August 1st through the 31st, those of us joining Gintare over at Book Roastwill be taking our N.E.W.T.s. I spent quite a bit of time planning out a tentative TBR based on the requirements for each subject that I will be trying to complete on my path to becoming a Librarian. I couldn’t find anything about the necessary grades to become a Librarian, but since most of the magical careers require at least an ‘E’ for “Exceeds Expectations” in most, if not all of the required subjects, that’s what I’m going to try for first. However, I have to achieve an ‘O’ for Outstanding in at least one subject to pass my N.E.W.T.s in general. That means, at a minimum, I’ll be attempting to read 11 books in August!
