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, May 14th and runs through Sunday, May 20th 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 22 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
Updated TBR
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
I read a decent amount of Big Magic and listened to a bit of Strange the Dreamer. Not bad for the 1st day.
“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted. Currently Reading:
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright
DNF:
Year One by Nora Roberts
Finished:
The Cozy Life by Pia Edberg
Blue by Abigail Padgett
Total pages read this week: 778 Total books for the year: 36 of 90. It’s time for another Bout of Books!
What are you reading this week?
Image: hjl 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 up to 730 books. I continue to find more books to add to my wish list!
This week’s five books:
Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip – KEEP. An orphan found and raised by a palace librarian? Yes, please and thank you! Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh – KEEP. I have wanted to read this book ever since I saw the movie well over a decade ago. Why I haven’t read it yet, I don’t know. Cassette From My Ex by Jason Bitner – KEEP. I love music, mix-tapes/play lists, and books about both. The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker – KEEP. I have attempted to read this brick twice now since starting this blog. The first time, I was distracted by so many other books, and the second time, I was into it until I suddenly wasn’t. I will give it one more try at some point, so it’s staying on my shelf for now. The Vanishing Children of Paris by Arlette Farge and Jacques Revel – GO. I picked this one up from a History book sale while I was in college. It seemed interesting at the time, but after rereading the synopsis, the only thing interesting about it is that it’s about Paris, and that’s just not enough for me anymore.
My to-read shelf is down one to 729 books. Let’s hope it doesn’t get any bigger by next week when I start with book #161.
“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted. Currently Reading:
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Year One by Nora Roberts
Finished:
Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
Total pages read this week: 575 Total books for the year: 33 of 90. I haven’t picked up any of my own books this week due to having checked out 3 books from the library that I really want to get read by the time they’re due. I finished Spoonbenders last night, and immediately started Year One before I went to sleep.
What are you reading this week?
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, May 14th and runs through Sunday, May 20th 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 22 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
I’m hoping I’ll have the apartment completely finished by the 14th since the Boyfriend promised me a week’s vacation before I start looking for work.
My Goals
Read. Read. Read.
Finish the books I’m currently reading.
Finish at least one more book from my TBR.
Books to Read
One or two of these might already be finished by the 14th.
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
Image: hjl 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 back up to 726 books. Though I read quite a bit last week during the #readathon, I added more than 10 books to my wish list thanks to a combination of TBR posts and loving what I was reading so much that I want to read everything else by that author (I’m looking at you Jim C. Hines).
This week’s five books:
Hiking Alone by Mary Beath – KEEP. I found this book in the gift shop of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM while on a road trip back in 2011. I vaguely remember that I started reading it while I continued on my way through New Mexico, but I got distracted by other books while in Utah. I will be picking this up again, hopefully soon. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson – KEEP. Normally, I would pass on a story about a favorite character from another author, but this one was authorized by L.M. Montgomery’s heirs for the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables. I’ll wait to read it after I’ve finished re-reading the rest of the original series, but I will give this one a chance. This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson – KEEP. Y’all know by now how much I love books about books, libraries, librarians, etc. So obviously this one is not leaving my shelf. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – KEEP. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve either read or been told that I need to read this book. After reading the synopsis, I’m a bit concerned that it will trigger all sorts of bad memories, but I’m hoping it will be healing in the way that Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro were for me. The Salinger Contract by Adam Langer – KEEP. I briefly picked this one up and read a few pages while I was in the process of going through everything I owned and deciding whether or not I wanted to keep it. I chose to keep this one, and I still stand by that decision, but I want to read something by J.D. Salinger before picking it back up. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments.
My to-read shelf remains at 726 books. See you next Saturday when I start with book #156.
I found a group on Meetup to go walking with around Lake Merritt on Tuesday. I also found an independent bookstore nearby, Walden Pond Books. Welp, there went my spending money, but at least I got over 12K steps that day!
The Boyfriend gave me the go-ahead to order the remaining pieces of furniture we need for the apartment. So, next week will be all about putting together nightstands and a yet another bookshelf along with some other odds and ends.
“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted. Currently Reading:
Total pages read this week: 1322 Total books for the year: 32 of 90. I managed to finish 75% of the OWLs. I finished the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL on Thursday, Astronomy and History of Magic on Saturday during the #readathon, and just barely finished Charms on Sunday, the final day of the challenge. My goal was to finish all 12 OWLs, like Hermione. Even though that didn’t happen, I still got an Outstanding and I now have 9 subjects to choose from for the NEWTs. I will, of course, focus on the subjects I need to become a Librarian. Now, I need to catch up on Les Misérables.
What are you reading this week?
Which hour was most daunting for you? Midnight (Hour 20) when the combination of sugar and tiredness made my dermatillomania kick in with a vengeance and the Boyfriend had to put band-aids on all of my fingers to help me stop doing anymore damage.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.
Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the Readathon next year? Nope, I only have ideas for improving it for myself. Next time, I will avoid the sugar.
What do you think worked well in this year’s Readathon? Having all of the mini-challenges open for the full 24 hours.
How many books did you read? 2, but I also read a good chunk of The Lightning Thief.
What were the names of the books you read? Bohemian Gospel and Day 21 by Kass Morgan.
Which book did you enjoy most? Bohemian Gospel
Which did you enjoy least?Day 21
How likely are you to participate in the Readathon again? I will definitely be participating again.
Due to my fingers being in band-aids, I went to bed not longer after Midnight. I’m determined to read for a large chunk of Sunday, though, to make up for bailing out with less than 5 hours to go. I know I shouldn’t feel bad about that, but I do. I was having a lot of fun.
