artsy musings of a bibliophile

read-a-thon

Bout of Books 13.0

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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 12:01 am 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

If you don’t know, Bout of Books is an amazing read-a-thon because it’s super casual and the chats are awesome. Also, the extra motivation to read doesn’t hurt (especially if you’re five books behind on your challenge like I am).

GOALS

My goal is to take part in the chats which means having a  fun, casual reading week. That’s it, really. (I might also start Melina Marchetta’s Saving Francesca to freak Ellis out).

I also plan to comment on other participating blogs and tweet about my reading progress!

PROGRESS

MONDAY
Number of pages: 339
Books: Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa, More Than This by Patrick Ness

TUESDAY
Number of pages: 151
Books: More Than This by Patrick Ness
WEDNESDAY
Number of pages: 129
Books: More Than This by Patrick Ness

THURSDAY
Number of pages: 320
Books: All Fall Down by Ally Carter
FRIDAY
Number of pages: 17
Books: All Fall Down by Ally Carter, The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
SATURDAY
Number of pages: 112
Books: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
SUNDAY
Number of pages: 304
Books: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

VERDICT

Total number of pages: 1,372
Books read: 4

Whoa, I thought I wouldn’t be able to read more than two and I read four books. See, this is why read-a-thons rock.

Are you taking part in it? Let’s get our reading on together!

Bout of Books 10.0

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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 12:01 am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I thought I wouldn’t be able to take part in this Bout of Books because of various reasons but I suddenly wanted to. I’ve managed to finish only one book in May and could certainly use the motivation to finish books instead of just starting them. This would be my third Bout of Books and I’m more than ready for it to begin.

GOALS

My main goal is to read at least four books from the ones below. I just started Corey Ann Haydu’s Life by Committee today and I hope I can finish it today, too but we never know, right?

I also plan to comment on blogs, complete a couple of challenges, and tweet about my progress.

PROGRESS

MONDAY
Number of pages: 253 + 37 = 290
Books: Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu, Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

TUESDAY
Number of pages: 121
Books: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
WEDNESDAY
Number of pages: 200 + 50 = 250
Books: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord, Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
THURSDAY
Number of pages: 252
Books: Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
FRIDAY
Number of pages:162 + 15 = 177
Books: Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff
SATURDAY
Number of pages: 4…
Books: Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff
SUNDAY
Number of pages: 13
Books: Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

VERDICT

Total number of pages: 1107
Books read: 3

So I managed to read more than a thousand pages in a week! That feels like a big accomplishment! I failed my challenge of reading four books since I’m not even a quarter into my fourth read. Still, I loved all of it, though. The chats were awesome and the books I read were awesome. Do you know why it isn’t called Awesome Bout of Books? ‘Cause the awesome is implied.

Are you taking part in it? Let’s get our reading on together!

Bout of Books 9.0

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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 12:01 am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books 9.0 team
This is my second time taking part in Bout of Books and it was a sudden decision because I’ve to tackle a couple of ARCs this week and I will need all the motivation I can get. I’ll also be traveling this week to another city to give my thesis defense in two weeks. Sounds like a good way to procrastinate, right? It’ll also help ease my nerves.

GOALS

My main goal is to read at least two books from the ones below. I just started Uninvited today which has been going great so far.

PROGRESS

MONDAY
Number of pages: 96
Books: Started reading Uninvited

TUESDAY
Number of pages: 149
Books: Finished Uninvited and started No One Else Can Have You
WEDNESDAY
Number of pages: 8 
Books: Still reading No One Else Can Have You
THURSDAY
Number of pages: 27
Books: Still reading No One Else Can Have You but also started The Scar Boys
FRIDAY
Number of pages: 15
Books: Still reading No One Else Can Have You
SATURDAY
Number of pages: 138
Books: Still reading No One Else Can Have You
SUNDAY
Number of pages: 70
Books: Finished No One Else Can Have You

VERDICT

Total number of pages: 503
Books read: 2

I reached my goal of finishing at least two books and for that I’m happy. I’d have read more but with travelling and going out, I really couldn’t. So there’s that but it was fun and that’s all that matters when it comes to Bout of Books.

#Novemberthon

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What happened 12 hours ago? Well, #Novemberthon kicked off! Amber has this brilliant idea to do one because we all need to catch up on our yearly challenges (or maybe that’s just me) and you can never get enough reading done. I’ve been fairly motivated to read but then it’s better to have twenty other people aiming for the same.
So from November 24th till the end of the month, there is going to be a lot of reading getting done. Follow #Novemberthon on Twitter to see our progress or just to wish us all good luck. Sign up here if you want to.
As I was already halfway done with Vicious, I’m aiming to finish it today. My goal is to finish at least four books out of these:
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Pawn by Aimee Carter

Roomies by Tara Altebrando and Sara Zarr

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Could be done, right? Right.

What are your planning to read before December ends?

Bout of Books 5.0: Goals and Updates

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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, August 13th and runs through Sunday, August 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 5.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books 5.0 team

Woohoo! This is my first ever read-a-thon and I literally jumped at the chance when I saw the post about it on Vicky’s blog Books, Biscuits, and Tea. Exciting Twitter chats, making new bookish friends and getting to read a lot, what’s not to like? It’s a wonder I never participated before.

GOALS

– Read more than 250 pages in a day; meaning a total of about 1800 pages in seven days.
– Finish my current reads (Crossed and The Accident Man) and read 4 more books (fingers crossed).
– Write reviews of books as I finish.
– Tweet updates on Twitter (#boutofbooks).
– Participate in the Twitter chats.
– Comment on other participating bloggers as much as I can.

I am including the books I want to finish, one of these might be left out.

Crossed (The Matched Trilogy, #2) by Ally Condie
The Accident Man (Samuel Carver, #1) by Tom Cain
Glitch (Glitch, #1) by Heather Anastasiu
Silver (Bandia, #1) by Talia Vance
Bad Boy by Olivia Goldsmith
Whatever It Takes by Adele Parks

PROGRESS

MONDAY
I found out about Bout of Books around 10:00 pm on my Monday night. Thus, in between creating my goals blogpost about the read-a-thon and then participating in the Twitter chat, it was after 12:00 am. So I didn’t get to read at all. But earlier in the day, I started Crossed so I am going to finish it as part of the Bout of Books read-a-thon.

Number of pages I’ve read today: 0
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Total number of books I’ve read: 0
Books: 0
Reviews: None
Blogs I commented on: 1
#BoutofBooks Twitter chat: Participated
Challenges completed: 0
 
TUESDAY
Today was a good day in terms of reading ’cause I managed to finish Crossed and start Silver just as 12:00 am struck. Also, I baked a cake, not from scratch, but a cake is a cake.

Number of pages I’ve read today: 322
Number of books I’ve read today: 2
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Books: Crossed by Ally Condie, Silver  by Talia Vance (8 pages in)
Reviews: None
Blogs I commented on: 21
Challenges completed: 1 out of 3

Curiosity Killed the Bookworm: Limericks

What book are you reading, where does it take place, and where is it going to relocate?
I am reading Crossed by Ally Condie which is set in the Outer Provinces and the Carving. I am going to relocate it to Holliss Pink Mansion in An Abundance of Katherines (John Green) and they will definitely fare better what with no shortage of food, plenty of paper and no risk of the Society ever catching up to them. Indie will probably scream but Eli would be a happy little guy. Ky would feel liberated and Cassia will have a field day with all that freedom.

Once Upon a Time: Character Interaction

WEDNESDAY
I continued Silver and then took a break from glaring into my laptop screen. I figured it would be a great thing to read an eBook along with a print book so I resumed my other current read, The Accident Man.

Number of pages I’ve read today: 252
Number of books I’ve read today: 2
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Books: Silver by Talia Vance, The Accident Man by Tom Cain
Reviews:
Blogs I commented on: 5
#BoutofBooks Twitter chat: Couldn’t participate as it was at my 6:00 am.
Challenges completed: 1 out of 2

The Musings of ALMYBNENR: Book Word Search
I did my best but some words were so hard to find.

The Busy Bibliophile: Match the Zombie Book Cover
It’s all about matching the cover with the title. I had so much fun!

THURSDAY
I read Glitch all day today and as it was a long-ish book, I am glad I finished it.

Number of pages I’ve read today: 371
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Total number of books I’ve read: 2
Books: Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
Reviews: Glitch
Blogs I commented on: 16
Challenges completed: 3 out of 3

Reading in Winter: A Book for Every Season
Choosing a perfect book for each season. These are some of the best books I have ever read and I think the fit the seasons pretty well.

Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

BookSmartie: Candy Challenge
I don’t usually snack but when I do, it’s a steaming mug of a perfectly brewed tea. Sometimes I have cookies or anything sweet to go with it. But there’s always a chance that I get lost in the story that my tea runs cold. It has happened quite a few times actually.

Books with Cass: Contemporary
My favorite contemporary of 2012 has to be Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, my favorite contemporary cover of 2012 is a tie between Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill and Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham and my biggest surprise contemporary book of this year is Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.

FRIDAY
Today, I managed to finish The Accident Man because I wanted to be done with the book and also, I also finished Silver, the book is unlike any other book I have ever read so I am still lost in its world.

Number of pages I’ve read today: 425
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Total number of books I’ve read: 3
Books: Silver by Talia Vance, The Accident Man by Tom Cain
Reviews: None
Blogs I commented on: 5
Challenges completed: 2 out of 2

BookGoonie: Book Spine Poetry
I had no idea there was such a thing as spine poetry and I am loving it! =D Here’s me feeble try at it:

Fever Damned,
The Curiosities Cursed,
Night Sky Crossed.
1
2

Q1. What book are you most looking forward to based on summary alone? Feel free to show off the summary!
The only thing worse than forgetting her past… is remembering it.
Yes, it’s just a snippet of the synopsis but I freakin’ cannot wait to read Unremembered by Jessica Brody.

Q2. What book are you most looking forward to based on cover art alone? Feel free to show off the beautiful cover art!
Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler. I can keep looking at the cover it’s so mesmerizing.

SATURDAY
I knew I wouldn’t get much reading done today but I will later in the evening.

Number of pages I’ve read today: 59
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Total number of books I’ve read: 4
Books: Bad Boy by Olivia Goldsmith
Reviews:
Blogs I commented on:
#BoutofBooks Twitter chat:
Challenges completed: 2 out of 3
My Not So Real Life: Music

My Seryniti: Page 99 Test
So I chose to read the 99 page of Beauty and the Bully and I think I’ll give this book a go.
Page 99 of Beauty and the Bully by Andy Behrens

Chapter 10

Duncan plopped down next to Stew at their usual lunch table.

“You’re not dining with Friends of the Beaver today?”

“They’re called TARTS,” said Duncan. “And no, I am not. No direct invitation was extended. But Carly is still being cool.”

Jessie slammed her fry-filled cafeteria tray down on the table directly across from Duncan. “Well, did you tell Stew all about him?” she asked, clearly thrilled. She dipped several fries into a pool of ketchup then stuffed them into her mouth.


“No, I haven’t yet,” Duncan said. “Stew was making beaver cracks again.”

“Did you tell me about who?” he asked.

“Abugh da poofeh buwwy!” said Jess, chewing, fry bits falling out of her mouth.

“Um, one more time, please,” said Stew.

Jess swallowed, then cleared her throat. “About the perfect bully,” she said. “What are you, deaf?”
What do you guys think?

Ex Libris: Virtual Travels
I chose Crossed as the book to travel virtually and in the book, the imaginary places are first the bunk area where Cassia sleeps on her assignment in Tana and then the Carving beyond the Outer Provinces.

Photo Credit
Photo Credit

So I think I did a pretty good job here visualizing the places.

SUNDAY

Number of pages I’ve read today:
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Total number of books I’ve read:
Books:
Reviews:
Blogs I commented on: 5
Challenges completed: 0 out of 2


VERDICT 

I finished 5 books, read 1777 pages, wrote 1 review, tweeted regularly, participated in 1 Twitter chat, took part in 10 challenges and commented on 70 blogs.