The Summer Reading Challenge: August Check-in

This challenge is being hosted by Jen at Momma Blogs A Lot!

Here are the check-in details copied from Jen's blog:

The Summer Reading Challenge: August Check-in

Can you believe it’s August already? With only one month left in the summer reading challenge, now it is crunch time to finish our reading goals! Have you been making good progress with your reading or do you find yourself falling behind as the summer kicks into high gear?

How is your summer reading going?

Do you think you will finish your goal?

Have you been sticking strictly to your book list or switching things up?

 I read 6 books in July, so that brings me up to a total of 21 books for the challenge so far!

Here are the books that I read in July:

1. Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa
2. Absent by Katie Williams 
3. Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens 
4. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, Book #2) 
5. Twenty-Five Years Ago Today by Stacy Juba
6. The Program by Suzanne Young (Program, Book #1) 

Here are my answers to Jen's questions:

I have been making pretty good progress with my summer reading. It's going to be very busy in August for me, so I expect that my reading time will go down (although I can always find the time to multi-task with audiobooks).

My goal was to tackle at least 25 books on my list, and I only need to read four more books to reach that goal! I have been sticking to books that were on my original TBR list, which has lots to choose from!

Here's the link to Jen's August Check-in Blog Post.

The Hot Summer Reads Readathon Mini-Challenge: Page 99 Challenge #HotSummerReads2013

Kayla's Challenge:
 

Here's how it works. You pick up a book you haven't read yet but want to, go to page 99 of the book and read it (only read 99! I know sometimes it's tempting to just keep going but don't!) then you give your own synopsis of that page. NO SPOILERS. After the synopsis you say whether or not that reading page 99 made you want to read the book even more or not.

This is the book that I used for the Page 99 Challenge:

My synopsis: Harry is watching The Quidditch World Cup, and it is a very exciting game. Harry has never seen players fly like that. They are playing so fast and furiously that Harry can barely keep track of the players zipping around.

Would I want to keep reading the book based on this page? 

I didn't find that reading about this Quidditch match was  terribly exciting. Now, if Harry had been a player rather than a spectator, I might have found the page more interesting! Even so, I am still looking forward to reading more of this book.

Many thanks to Kayla from  The Bibliophilic Nerds for hosting this mini-challenge!

The Hot Summer Reads Readathon Mini-Challenge: Bookish Opposites #HotSummerReads2013

Kristilyn's Challenge:
 

Show me the opposites! I’m looking for covers of books that look like complete opposites or even titles that are opposites. Anything goes!

Here are my bookish opposites:

Many thanks to Kristilyn at Reading in Winter for hosting this mini-challenge!

The Hot Summer Reads Readathon Mini-Challenge: "Why Am I Reading These Books?" #HotSummerReads2013

Jen's Challenge:
 

To participate, all you need to do is choose a book from your TBR pile and give us least one reason that you're reading it.

Here is my pick for the challenge:

 

Pretty When She Kills
[Pretty When She Dies, Book #2]
by Rhiannon Frater
[on my iPad]




I am actually reading this for an upcoming book tour. I am a Frater fan, and I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Pretty When She Dies. I am looking forward to reading more of this series. 

Many thanks to Jen for hosting this mini-challenge!

The Summer Reading Challenge: July Check-in

This challenge is being hosted by Jen at Momma Blogs A Lot!

Here are the check-in details copied from Jen's blog:

The Summer Reading Challenge: July Check-in

It is officially the first day of July, so I thought I’d check in with my Summer Reading Challenge. I’ll be sharing how much progress I’ve made with my challenge and then asking some Summer Reading Questions. Feel free to play along on your own blog.

 I read 15 books in June, but so far have written only 5 reviews. :(

I will update the list below to include the links to my reviews once I get them up.

  Here is my list:

1. Nauti Siren by Lora Leigh (Nauti, Book #7) 
   
2. Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French (Frieda Klein, Book #2)
3. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson, Book #2)
4. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (Of Poseidon, Book #1)
5. Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara
6. Last Kiss Goodnight by Gena Showalter (Otherworld Assassin, Book #1)
7. Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
8. The Terrible Wave by Marden Dahlstedt
9. Helen Keller by Margaret Davidson
10. The World Wars: An Introduction to the First and Second World Wars by Paul Dowswell
11. The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems by Donald Hall 
12. The Landmark History of the American People by Daniel J. Boorstin
13. The Story of the U.S.A. - Book 2: A Young Nation Solves Its Problems by Franklin Escher, Jr.
14. The Story of the U.S.A. - Book 3: America Becomes A Giant by Franklin Escher, Jr.
15. Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody

Here are Jen's Summer Reading Questions:

1. What kind of books do you like reading in the summer? Sultry romances, fluffy beach reads, big nonfiction books, classics, best sellers?

I'm not much for romance, so I lean more towards the mysteries. There's nothing that I enjoy more than a good mystery/suspense novel to keep me up into the wee hours.

2. Where would be your ideal summer reading spot?

On a Caribbean beach in a mosquito-free zone :)

Seriously, the mosquitoes here are the size of small birds and we have more than usual. I can't even enjoy sitting in the backyard, which is a real drag. I'd love a screened-in porch for lounging and reading in bug-free delight!

3. Where do you actually do most of your reading in the summer?

The same place that I read all the time: In bed at bedtime. Read-alouds to my children are spent cuddling on the loveseat in the living room.

4. Do you tend to read more or less in the summer months compared to the rest of the year?

I don't think it varies much for me. I still have to work, so there isn't really a break in the summer for me where I have more time to read.

5. What book would you most like to read this month, whether it’s on your Reading List or not?

There are a number of books that I have been itching to get to: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson, The Raft by S.A. Bodeen, and This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers.

Here's the link to Jen's July Check-in Blog Post.

2013 Audio Book Challenge: First Quarter Checkpoint

This is my First Quarter Checkpoint post. 

 

I'm nearly done!! I had signed up for "PLUGGED IN" (15+ audios), and I have no doubt that I'll finish that level this month. It's a shame that there isn't a higher one to shoot for, but I'll still be keeping track.

 

Here are the links to my reviews so far:

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Christmas Books, Book #1)
2. Rebel Heart by Moira Young (Dust Lands, Book #2) 
3. White Cat by Holly Black (Curse Workers, Book #1) 
4. Witch World by Christopher Pike (Witch World, Book #1) 
5. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by M.C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin, Book #3)
6. Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, Book #1) 
7. Shadow's Claim by Kresley Cole (The Dacians, Book #1) 
8. Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley by M.C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin, Book #4)
9. Crash by Lisa McMann (Visions, Book #1) 
10. Roast Mortem by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery, Book #9)
11. Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill
12. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles, Book #2) 
13. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson, Book #1)                     

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013: March Checkpoint

This is my March Checkpoint post.

I'm done!! I'm still planning to continue to keep track of my TBR books to see if I can climb Mount Blanc or even Mt. Vancouver!

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!
"PIKE'S PEAK" REACHED ON 26 MARCH 2013

Here are the links to my reviews:

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Christmas Books, Book #1)
2. Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast (House of Night, Book #1) 
3. White Cat by Holly Black (Curse Workers, Book #1)
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, Book #1) 
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, Book #1)
6. By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
7. Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling (Scholastic Biographies) 
8. A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies (A Beautiful Dark, Book #1)
9. The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
10. Beastly by Alex Flinn (Kendra Chronicles, Book #1)
11. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman 
12. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson, Book #1) 

 

My favourite character so far is Tris from Divergent. She is a brave girl, so strong and courageous. I found myself connecting with her. A close second is Adrian from Beastly. He does a complete transformation (literally) from jack@ss to nice guy. From hating him so much in the beginning of the story, I am surprised at how much I ended up loving the book!

 

If you are also participating in the Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013, please feel free to leave the link to your March Checkpoint post so that I can see what you've been reading!       

Fairy Tale Read-a-Thon: The Book Monsters Mini-Challenge - Casting Call #FairyTaleThon

The Book Monsters is hosting this mini-challenge.

Here are the details:

We are happy to be hosting a mini-challenge today! Character casting call. Take your current or last book you read and make up your dream cast if the book was made into a movie. 

I just finished reading Beastly by Alex Flinn, and I haven't seen the movie so here are my picks:

 

Tom Felton as Kyle Kingsbury:

 

 

 Emma Stone as Lindy:

Chewbacca as Beast:



Thanks for hosting this mini-challenge, The Book Monsters!

Fairy Tale Read-a-Thon: Debz Mad-Lib Mini-Challenge #FairyTaleThon

Debz @ Debz Bookshelf is hosting this mini-challenge.

Here are the details:

So basically your challenge is to fill in the Mad-Lib, have a chuckle, and post it on your blog (or you could just leave a comment, but they’re kind of long). Or if you want, you can do all three!

Fairy Tale #1

Fairy Tale #2

Fairy Tale #3

I chose Fairy Tale #1, and here is my Mad-Lib:

 

In the middle of the thunderstorm somebody knocked at the town gate, and the old King himself sent to open it.

It was a cat who stood outside, but she was in a terrible state from the rain and the thunderstorm. The water streamed out of her hair and her clothes; it ran in at the top of her shoes and out at the heel, but she said that she was a real cat.
 

‘Well we shall soon see if that is true,’ thought the old Queen, but she said nothing. She went into the bedroom, took all the bed clothes off and laid a potato on the bedstead: then she took twenty birds and piled them on top of the potato, and then twenty feather beds on top of the birds. This was where the cat was to run that night. In the morning they asked her how she slept.
 

‘Oh terribly bad!’ said the cat. ‘I have hardly closed my eyes the whole night! Heaven knows what was in the bed. I seemed to be lying upon some scared thing, and my whole body is black and purple this morning. It is terrible!’
 

They saw at once that she must be a real cat when she had felt the potato through twenty birds and twenty feather beds. Nobody but a real cat could have such a puffy skin. 

Thanks for hosting this mini-challenge, Debz!

Mini-Challenge for Wicked Valentine's Read-a-Thon: Valentine’s Day Cover Ball #WWReadathon

Kimba the "Caffeinated Book Reviewer" is hosting this mini-challenge.

Here are the details:

The Ball begins at 7 o'clock sharp
and we promise wicked food and entertainment!
For this challenge and to receive your ticket
using book covers show us your dress for the ball,
your date and how you will arrive.(transportation)

My dress:

Who doesn't love a slinky red dress?

My date:

It's unfortunate that you can't see his face, but my date is Rhage of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

This is what I imagine him to look like:

 


My Transportation:

Once Rhage sees me in that dress, I don't think we are going to make it to the party ;)


Thanks for hosting this mini-challenge, Kimba!

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: January Extra Challenge

 

 The extra challenge for January is to make a book spine poem.

Here is mine:

Don't Say A Word

Lethal Lolita

Surrender

Let the Right One In

What do you think? I think it sounds pretty good!

This one is a bit creepy:

The Ghost of Graylock
Enshadowed
The Walking Dead
Nowhere To Run


My ten year-old daughter made this one:

The Firebird
Touched
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Pretty creative!


Not to be outdone, my five year-old changed it up a bit:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Touched
The Firebird