Progress Report: Summer 2017

Ok, so I know I say this every time, but seriously... This year is flying by! The summer was a blur... But there were some good times to be had! It wasn't exactly the summer I had anticipated, but I definitely kept busy and had some great adventures!

I'll quickly outline said adventures, for those of you who may be interested! If you are not, feel free to skip this part!

So July was a pretty chill month. Many of my colleagues took their vacations in July, and things were generally quiet on all fronts. I was gifted tickets (from work) for the opening night of a local festival (Festival du Lac des Nations), so my brother and I went to that and had front row seats to the fireworks show. We went on a few little driving adventures, and I had some crafty projects... just taking pleasure in the little things and generally enjoying the season.

August was super busy. My family went to Ontario for the second week of August, so of course the previous week was spent preparing for that. The week that we returned was full of busyness and preparations for the local county fair the following weekend, and my 30th birthday. I had one week to unwind after the fair, and then the next week I was preparing to go away again, this time to New Brunswick to spend an extra long Labour Day Weekend with my best friend! We had a lot of fun going whale watching, spending a day on PEI (visiting the Anne of Green Gables heritage site, L.M. Montgomery's grave, and walking the beach), and some shopping. So much fun!

September started off, of course, with the weekend in New Brunswick/PEI. Life got a bit crazy when I got back... Finances were needing attention, there was an incident at work that aggravated a growing problem, a friend asked me to help her make some decorations for a wedding cake, etc.

 So... with all the adventuring and busyness and personal affairs... I didn't read as much as I would have liked to this summer. I did, however, reach and exceed my Goodreads goal of 52! So, there is that. I decided not to increase it, and just see how many books I would end up reading by the end of the year. This way I won't feel pressured by a number or timing, I can just read to read! (Not that I really stress about the numbers, but I am disappointed when I don't reach a goal).

So, to summarize, in July I read 8 books, 4 in August, and 5 in September (I managed to finish one more before the weekend!).

JULY READS

Future Perfect by Jen Larsen ****

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli ****

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven *****

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller *****

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle ***

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell ****

All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps by Dave Isay ****

New World: Rising by Jennifer Wilson ****

 

AUGUST READS

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie ****

Everland by Wendy Spinale ****

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman *****

What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum *****

 
SEPTEMBER READS

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad **

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee *****

The Casual Vacancy (audio) by J.K. Rowling **

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater *****

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst ***

It's Monday! What are YOU reading? #4

Yeah, yeah. I know we're Tuesday, not Monday. Things happen. I had put off posting it because I thought I might add some photos, and then I forgot... but I still wanted to post it... so I am.

I think it's just about time for another It's Monday! post, don't you? (Hosted by The Book Date) It's been a while...

 

This Monday I am still reading the same two books I have been reading for a little over a week. I guess probably because I'm reading two books, it's taking a little longer. That, and I've been trying to get a bunch of cleaning and reorganizing done, so between actually doing that and procrastinating from doing that, I haven't been reading as much as I want.

 

So, the first book I am reading is The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (book #2 in the Raven Boys series). I borrowed it from the library, through the interlibrary exchange program, so I'm trying to make sure I finish it before the deadline, as I can't renew an interlibrary loan. It's pretty good! I'm actually finding it more interesting and easier to read than the other book I'm reading...

 

Which is Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. This one came in an OwlCrate box several months back, and at the time my best friend and I decided that when we got around to reading it, we would read it together (as we did with another OwlCrate book last year, and each wrote a review for the other's blog). It's kind of fun to be reading a book at the same time. We read at different paces, so we're not doing discussions along the way or anything, but just vague check-ins, and we will compare notes at the end! It's an ok read, so far. As I mentioned, The Dream Thieves is more interesting to me, which is kind of unfortunate. Of Fire and Stars was a book that I almost picked up on my own, so it did interest me. I wonder if I would have found it more interesting if I weren't reading something else at the same time? Guess I'll never know...

 

Anyway, so that's what I'm currently reading. I'm hoping to finish both of these this week. If I do, I think I'm going to jump right into One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake. I've been looking forward to this one for quite a few months, since I finished Three Dark Crowns.

 

Oh, and last week I finished the audiobook of The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I didn't particularly like it. I had tried reading the physical copy a year or more ago and couldn't get into it. When I saw the audiobook at the library, I thought I would give that a try. I liked the actor who read it, and there were parts of the story I liked, but overall... well I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads...

Book Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder

by R. J. Palacio

Source: Given to me by my cousin, in a pile of other books

Genre: Young adult, Middle grade, Fiction, Contemporary

Synopsis:

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Review:
I absolutely fell in love with Auggie! Such a sweet, endearing child character...

Born with a facial deformity, Auggie knows he's different. At 11 years old, he's going to school with other kids for the first time, and it is a big deal. Up until this point, he's been homeschooled by his mom, and has only had limited contact with other children (his two best friends, his sister, and her two best friends).

So many changes all at once for Auggie... Everyone knew Auggie would face challenges and teasing at his new school, and they tried to make the transition as easy as possible. The principle set up a meet-and-greet, before the school term began, for Auggie to meet some of the kids who would be in his grade. They were to show him around the school and generally be his first contacts. One of the boys turns out to be a bully, while another boy sticks up for Auggie and becomes his new best friend.

Auggie does endure some teasing and stares, but eventually he starts making friends and people start to get used to his appearance, and everything is going well, until *good boy* betrays him.

This is a great story for anybody, but should absolutely be required reading for middle school-aged children. It could be such a great teaching tool to show children the effects their words can have on others. Dealing with adversity, overcoming fears, bullying, coming-of-age are some of the issues touched on in this book. Highly recommended! But be sure to have your tissues ready...

My Goodreads rating:

Fall TBR List

This was yesterday's Top Ten Tuesday theme, which I missed. Again. Every time I miss a theme that I wanted to participate in, I feel really annoyed with myself. Anyway...

 

I'm going to write the post anyway, because, there's really no reason not to! So, without further ado, I present to you my fall TBR list, which does not include books that I am currently reading, because it's not fall yet. So there. :P And I could only come up with 9 books anyway.

 

1. One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake - Got this one in the mail last week, and I'm super pumped to read it. The first book left us all in such a state, I'm really anxious to find out what happens to the sisters. Who will win the crown?
2. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia - This was an OwlCrate book from a few months back. I've heard some really good things about it, so I'd like to give it a try.
3. The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson - Another OwlCrate book. This one actually piqued my interest because it is dystopian, and sounded like something I might have bought had I known anything about it prior to its release (which I did not). So I think I'd like to try this one.
4. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco - I've finally got my hands on this one! I got the e-version on sale through Google Play for, I think, $1.99 USD. I was stoked. Definitely want to dive into this one.
5. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro - I bought this one while on vacation! I had been lusting over it for ages, and while on vacation my bestie and I went to the bookstore, and it was on sale, so you know I couldn't leave without it! :)
6. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - People were raving about this one a while ago, and I found it at a big second-hand book sale (almost year ago!). I believe it was on my TBR for June or July, but I never got around to it. So I would definitely like to try to get to it this fall.
7. The Last Star  by Rick Yancey - I just really need to finish this series...
8. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han - Another one that I've heard lots of good things about, and I bought it a while back, and they're making it into a movie, so I need to get on to reading this and her other books!
9. Heartless by Marissa Meyer - This is another OwlCrate book. In all honesty, I should probably finish the Lunar Chronicles before reading this one, but maybe I don't care. We'll see... I just feel like I should finish up some more OwlCrate books.

So there you have it! We'll see how many of these I actually get through over the next couple of months. Reading is a very emotional thing for me, so it will totally depend on my mood, how tired I am, etc, which books I end up picking up. Hopefully at least a few of these, though!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That I Just Couldn't Care Enough About to Finish

Hello again! I'll be honest, I'm writing this a week before it's due, and I'm not sure that I will finish/post it on time...

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) is another freebie, about books we've had a hard time with (whether because it was a rough start, or because we couldn't get into at all, or whatever). I chose to go with books I simply could not care enough about to finish. Which is not to say that I won't go back to try to finish them again at a future date...