It's Monday! What Are YOU Reading? #7

So I will be writing a Year in Review type post next week, most likely, but I just felt like I haven't been super active in the last couple weeks, so I thought I would write a quick Monday post!

One of the Facebook groups I'm in, called Life & Lit, has been doing different challenges and activities all month long, under the theme of Yule Ball (from the Harry Potter books/movies). One of the biggest challenges is the Yule Bingo. The bingo card is divided into 16 squares, with one column for each of the four houses (Griffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff), and each square is a character or major element from the Harry Potter stories, which represents a theme of a possible book (ex: Butterbeer is a for a sweet book, and Harry is for a book with the "chosen one" trope). You get one point for your house per square you block off, and if you block off the whole column for your house, you get a bingo, which means 5 points! It's a lot of fun!

So, I've been working away at the Yule Bingo. I have read five books so far this month for that. I need to read two more from the Ravenclaw column to get bingo, and then if I read just one more book after that, I will have reached my unofficial goal of 75 books! I think it's totally achievable! At the end of November I wasn't so sure I'd be able to make it, but I've been doing really well. Admittedly, a couple of the books I've read this month were shorter/kids' stories, but still!

I got into a bit of a slump over the weekend, but my current read is The Glass Spare by Lauren Destefano, which came in the November OwlCrate box. It sounds good, and what I've read so far has been good, but I just haven't felt like reading that much lately, and I had other stuff going on this weekend.

After I finish The Glass Spare, I intend to read Matchless: A Christmas Story by Gregory Maguire. It's a shorter one, so I should be able to finish it in a day, depending on what else is going on. And then I think I'd like to try to read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, before I give it to my nephew for his birthday on January first!

What are you guys reading this week? How have you done with your reading goals this year?

Progress Report - February 2017

A couple weeks ago I participated in the weekly meme called It's Monday! What are YOU reading? (read my post here) and mentioned that I would be publishing this post last week, but I didn't get around to it. Whoops! I am going to try to make a habit of posting updates every month to summarize my reading progress.

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I've set myself a Goodreads goal of 35, but am unofficially aiming to reach 40.

 

In January I read six books and had aimed, for February, to finish The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, a few OwlCrate books, and some of my more recent acquisitions. It wasn't noted, but understood, that I also intended to read Anne of Avonlea, for my online book club reading challenge. Partway through the month, OwlCrate introduced their first annual OwlCrate-a-Thon reading challenge, which was to help us get through some of our unread OwlCrate books, and I decided to participate. The requirements for the challenge were 1) to read at least three books, 2) read one fantasy and one contemporary, 3) the one you've had the longest. The challenge ran from March 11-25.

 

So, in February I ended up reading five books: Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth, The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (finally!), This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (OwlCrate 1: fantasy), P.S. I Like You by Kasie West (OwlCRate 2: contemporary), and The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry (OwlCrate 3: longest owned). I also listened to  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer. I didn't mention in my January post that I had also listened to The Woman Next Door by Barbara Delinsky.

 

I barely read any of Anne of Avonlea, which I felt pretty bad about, so in March I am hoping to burn through both that and Anne of the Island. I am currently reading Ever the Hunted, I would like to read Caraval and a few others, but I'm kind of leaving it open. There are always books I'd like to read, but then when it comes time to pick up a new book, I'm not in the mood for those. So, we shall see!


So, my total books read in 2017 at this point is 13 out of 35, which is 37% complete - 8 books ahead of schedule! At this rate, I could potentially read over 70 books by the end of the year. That would be awesome! Especially if I could come to terms with getting rid of the ones I didn't love out of those I've read... *wink, wink*

Progress Report - January 2017

I just felt like doing a little update on my reading progress, seeing as January has now come and gone.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I've set myself a Goodreads goal of 35, but will aim to reach 40.

So far, I have finished six books: Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (review here), The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister (the book I got for Christmas!), Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (which is part of an online book club reading challenge), Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (review here), Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott (review here), and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (review here).

For February, I'd like to finally finish The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - the book is nothing like what I imagined it would be, and I've had such a hard time getting over that. If I can't finish it in February, I think I will officially DNF that sucker and get it out of my life!

Aside from that, I will most likely tackle another OwlCrate book or two, as well as some of my more recent acquisitions, because there have been so many lately!! I'm almost embarrassed, but then I remember that I am far from the only one!

I do have quite a collection of books that I, honestly, will probably never read. I tend to pick up interesting looking/sounding used books everywhere (yard sales, rummage sales, used bookstores, thrift stores, hand-me-downs from relatives, dollar stores, etc. The supply is nearly endless!). However, the books I tend to pick up in loads like that tend not to be books that I will read. If I had nothing else to read, I suspect they would fit the bill and could be quite captivating, but there are just so many books, and not enough time! In my reading, I tend to lean more towards books that are more popular/well-known, or classical novels (to say I did), etc. In my foraging, I do occasionally find books that are on my wishlist, or by authors I recognize, but for the most part, those thrifty finds are usually just random books that have either a charming cover/title or a very intriguing synopsis. It seems that the prettier the cover and longer the title, the more likely I will be to buy the book; but the more well-known it is, the likelier I am of reading it.

Anyway, all that to say that I think I may need to attempt another purge of my book collection. The last time I tried I went through 3 bins and got rid of maybe 5 books. I am a collector by nature, it's difficult for me to leave interesting things behind at a store (I want it, therefore I need it!), and often even more difficult to let go of said things once they are in my possession. It probably comes from some underlying need/desire, but that's far too deep and philosophical for this post.

Suffice it to say that I will try again soon to purge my book collection, and I may be giving away (used) books on my bookstagram account or in the OwlCrate Society Facebook group, so keep an eye out!

Unboxing: December "Epic" OwlCrate

Hey again! Time for another OwlCrate unboxing! The theme for this month's box (December 2016) was EPIC. Thanks to OwlCrate's spoiler hints throughout the month, we knew that there would be items inspired by various "fandoms" (Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings), that the book was a new read featuring an LGBTQ+ character/theme, that one of the items in the box would be from Dark Horse Comics, and that one of the items was a Funko Mystery Mini.

I wasn't sure whether or not to get this box. The theme didn't particularly appeal to me, and the only fandom I'm into is Harry Potter, so I felt that there was a pretty big potential for there to be things I wouldn't like/relate to in the box. But in the end, my curiosity and (recent) love for all things Harry Potter won, so I got the box. I had hoped it would arrive before Christmas, but it didn't - only a few days later, though. :) And I nearly bought the book the day before it arrived, but then I thought I remembered seeing it in one of the spoiler photos I had seen on Instagram, so I left it there. Good thing!

So, what's in the box? I'll list each fandom's item, and then the book at the end (always save the best for last).

December 2016 OwlCrate "Epic": reveal postcard & collectible pin

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter item represented in the box was the Funko Mystery Mini. I didn't get the previous OwlCrate box that included a Mystery Mini, but I wasn't that disappointed because I don't really care for the Mystery Mini figures (at least as far as the Harry Potter collection goes). Anyway, after considering the options, I had hoped that my Mystery Mini would be one of the animals from the collection, preferable Hedwig or one of the cats. I ended up with Dobby. It's not the worst, but it's not the best. I had, however, just a day or two before been reading that part in The Deathly Hallows (you know the one I'm talking about!), and I was still reeling from that. So Dobby's definitely not the worst I could have gotten, at this time.

Game of Thrones

I really don't know anything about this series at all except that apparently everyone dies? Anyway, the Game of Thrones item was a set of 4 coasters from Dark Horse Comics representing the four houses in the series? I didn't open the package because I know for sure that I won't be keeping these. From the package and other photos I've seen, they are really nice, but the series just doesn't appeal to me.

Chronicles of Narnia

We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in school, but I've never had an interest in reading the books. Anyway, the item representing the Chronicles of Narnia in this box is a greeting card featuring a beautiful scene from the series, by @susanne_draws. It's definitely frame-worthy, but I haven't decided yet what I will be doing with it.

The Lord of the Rings

I am by no means a big fan, but I have read The Hobbit and have seen some of the movies, and I do like Lord of the Rings merch. This Lord of the Rings lapel pin by @jane_mount is pretty flippin' awesome.

A Darker Shade of Magic
I don't think this is such a well-known fandom, except among YA book-lovers (it's a book series by V.E. Schwab that hasn't got a movie/TV show to it's name yet), but since I've joined the OwlCrate Society, I have learned of and been intrigued by these books. It's definitely on my To Buy list. Anyway, the Darker Shade of Magic item in this box is a sticker by Miss Phi with the quote "I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still." I appreciate the sentiment, but can't wholeheartedly agree right now - one of my brother's friends recently tragically passed away while adventuring abroad, so it's a little too soon. :/

The Book

The December "Epic" OwlCrate book is *drum roll* Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. The cover is gorgeous, and the synopsis is intriguing. It's definitely being added to my TBR pile, and will probably be tackled pretty soon. Also included is a promotional bookmark, and (as always) a letter from the author.

Brief overview: it's about a magical princess who is betrothed to the prince of a neighouring kingdom that forbids magic, so she has to learn to keep her magic under wraps, and ends up working with (and falling for) her future sister-in-law.

So, there it is! I like the box overall. There are things that I won't be keeping, simply because I am not into those fandoms, and I may eventually sell/trade the Dobby, but that's another story!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this unboxing post. Someday I'd like to feel comfortable enough to actually film myself doing an unboxing, and share it publicly... but for now, photos and written descriptions will remain my platform.

TBR: Books I'm Hoping to Read/Finish in 2017

Hello dear readers. After reading a few posts and challenges floating around the blogosphere, I've decided to put in writing my own little To Be Read list of books I'd really like to read/finish in 2017, which should help to reduce my TBR pile *ahem* room a bit... So without further ado, and in no particular order, the books I would like to read in 2017 are as follows:

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - I'm planning to do a read-with-me challenge through a website I stumbled across, which will go through the whole series, plus a biography if L.M. Montgomery, and watch movies/TV shows, over the course of the year. I am a pretty big fan of the Anne of Green Gables miniseries (starring Megan Follows), but recently realized that I've never actually read the books (*shock and awe*), so it is beyond time that I did! And it just so happens that I found the box set at the thrift store this fall for a whopping $1!
2. Flawed by Cecelia Ahern - There are so many OwlCrate books which will appear on this list after this, but this one is a definite must (April 2016)! I've been wanting to read it for a couple months, but my bestie and I were hoping to read it together and compare notes, but we haven't been at a point yet where we could both read it at the same time. Hopefully early January...
3. Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott - the second OwlCrate book I received (December 2015). I liked the other items in the box, but this book held absolutely no appeal to me. I'm still not that into it, but I'd like to try to read it before getting rid of it.
4. The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry - another OwlCrate book (February 2016). I've seen a few good reviews about this one, so I'm hoping it will be good.
5. Everland by Wendy Spinale - this is another OwlCrate book (May 2016) that I didn't have much interest in. It came in the Steampunk themed box, and I was kind of overall disappointed with the box's contents. The synopsis of the book is intriguing, I'm just a bit concerned that it will miss the mark.
6. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - this one came in the July 2016 OwlCrate Good vs. Evil box. I've heard really good things about this book and Victoria Schwab in general, so I kind of have high expectations for this book...
7. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West - I'm such a terrible person, but I absolutely judge books by their covers, and this one did not appeal to me in the slightest. The title and cover make it seem like the epitome of teenage high school romance, which I am very much over. But I will do my best to get through it before getting rid of it.
8. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - from the September 2016 OwlCrate box. It sounds like a good read, I just haven't got around to reading it yet, so hopefully next year!
9. Heartless by Marissa Meyer - from the November 2016 OwlCrate. I enjoyed the Lunar Chronicles, so I'm hoping this one lives up to Marissa's reputation. It's also a great synopsis, so... *fingers crossed*
10. Winter by Marissa Meyer - speaking of the Lunar Chronicles, I started reading this one in January 2016 and could not force myself through it. I'd like to give it another shot. Depending how I feel at the end of it will determine whether or not I will look for Fairest and Stars Above.
11. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - I ordered this one through Indigo early in the summer because I'd seen it around a bit, the cover intrigued me, and let's be honest, the outline? A floating bookshop with a bookseller who "prescribes" books to his clients? Sounds perfect!! It is nothing as I imagined and I've been picking away at it for months. I'd like to finish it and be done with it. I could just DNF it (Did Not Finish) but my momma didn't raise no quitter! Unless I really can't force my way through it and just hate it, then I may give in and quit.
12. The Ingenious Edgar Jones by Elizabeth Garner - This is another book that I started early in the year but wasn't all that into so I never ended up finishing it. I'd like to finally get through and move on. :)
13. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - Yet another book which I started this past year but didn't make it through. I want to read it simply because it is by J.K. Rowling, but I didn't like the writing all that much. I'm willing to give it a second chance, though.
14. United As One by Pittacus Lore - I finally picked up this final book of the Lorien Legacies (thank you, Indigo's Boxing Week sale), so I'm hoping to get through it next year as well, and finally put the series to rest. I haven't read the numerous complementary Lost Files, and don't really have any desire to at this point.
  

So anyway, wish me luck! I am planning to set a Goodreads goal of 40. I've read 29 so far this year (still need to double-check that there aren't a couple more I forgot to add), hopefully I will finish my current read in the next couple days. So I think that 40 is a reasonable and achievable goal (especially because I have achieved 52 in previous years, so I know I can do it!). Hopefully I will get caught up with 2016's reviews, and continue to review the books I read in 2017.

Edit: I did finish my book and therefore had a total of 30 books read in 2016. In the end, I decided to set my Goodreads goal at 35 for 2017. I will still aim for 40, but this gives me more wiggle room for those weeks and months where I don't feel like (or have time for) reading.

The OwlCrate Society

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that I have been subscribed to OwlCrate for about a year, and it's been pretty awesome. I love being exposed to new books that I had not previously heard of, and would never have picked up on my own (because, honestly, there's only 1 out of the 12 I've received so far that I would have gone out and bought new). So it's been good for that, plus the book-related swag has been very cool. Some of it isn't necessarily useful or interesting to me, but I can re-gift those items. Most everything has been fun and interesting and I've also discovered new Etsy artisans along the way because of OwlCrate.

In addition to these discoveries, I've also fallen into a beautiful community of readers and writers who share my love of all things books, and OwlCrate! OwlCrate's creator Korrina Ede decided to start an official "book club" Facebook page called The OwlCrate Society where we can all share about books we're reading, deals & sales currently on, book hauls, TBR lists, OwlCrate stuff (of course), and several other topics. Not that I need to learn about or buy any more books, but it's so rewarding to see what other people are reading; to find out if that book that everyone's talking about is actually any good; to make suggestions of books I love to others; to have a sense of community that I don't necessarily have in my life otherwise.

Along with all the fabulous book talk, there are also several book bloggers in the group. It is through the sharing of their amazing blogs that I was inspired to re-establish my own blog. Not that mine will ever be anywhere near as in-depth or interesting as some of theirs, which I felt bad about for a minute... But then I remembered what I wrote in my "first" post, from early last month... That this blog is really just for me. If other people read and enjoy it at the same time, that would be so great!

I will not, however, let myself feel bad about not being a professional reader and blogger. I read a lot, compared to others in my circle, but I can not read several books in a week. I enjoy reading, but to read that much, it would almost be a chore. When I love a book, I can get through it in about a week, maybe a weekend if there's nothing else going on. But there have been very few books I've loved enough to do that, or very few weekends that have been slow enough to allow me to do that. And that's ok! I have other hobbies and interests to occupy my time, I don't need to read at every break in my day.

So anyway, I just wanted to share with you the spectacular-ness that is The OwlCrate Society. It is one of the most encouraging, accepting, and positive Facebook groups I have ever seen. Which just goes to show that book-lovers are the best people, amiright?