Bout of Books 10.0 Wrap Up

May 19, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
The Homeland Directive by Robert Venditti
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Legend by Marie Lu

Books started: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Total pages read: 2469

Thoughts/Notes: I am so sad that the read-a-thon has finished (though my body will probably love that I can now get a decent night sleep). I completed a bunch of awesome books this week, and I am so happy with the result! Though I read an additional book to what I read last week, my page count is slightly lower. I managed to keep up an average of 350 pages per day, and unlike last week I actually read a good chunk each and every day :)

How did you do in the Bout of Books read-a-thon? Are you proud of your achievements? (You should be no matter what!)

I will be filming a combined wrap up for both read-a-thons, and go into a little more detail about the experience and the books!

Bout of Books 10.0 Update | Day #6

May 18, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 6

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Legend by Marie Lu

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
- The Homeland Directive by Robert Venditti
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Pages read since last update: 374

Total pages read: 2164

Thoughts/Notes: I've reached the point where I've read the same number of books as I did for the #AYearAThon last week, though my page count isn't quite as high due to the novella, play and graphic novel I've read during the week. But I am super duper happy with this achievement, though! I just have one more day left! Hopefully I can finish Legend and get a good chunk of Inkdeath done :)

Bout of Books 10.0 Update | Day #5

May 17, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 5

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Pages read since last update: 380

Total pages read: 1790

Thoughts/Notes: Another book completed! I had a fairly busy day so I didn't think I would, but I managed to pull through :D I've also picked up a completely random book I hadn't intended on picking up, just to spice things up a little. I'm excited for lots of reading this weekend (hopefully!)

Bout of Books 10.0 Update | Day #4

May 16, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 4

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Pages read since last update: 381

Total pages read: 1410

Thoughts/Notes: Another book completed today! I started by TBR Jar pick for the month, The Thief Lord, and I had so much fun reading it! Before heading to bed I also made it a little way through City of Ashes, so I hope to finish it today or tomorrow!

Bout of Books 10.0 Update | Day #3

May 15, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 3

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pages read since last update: 208

Total pages read: 1029

Thoughts/Notes: I had a pretty busy day today, so not too much time spent reading, unfortunately. I stayed up late to finish reading Ignite Me and I am feeling it today! Might have a nap after my morning shift at work...

Bout of Books 10.0 Update | Day #2

May 14, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 2

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pages read since last update: 360

Total pages read: 821

Thoughts/Notes: Aside from the fact that I needed to do some reading for my university tutorial tomorrow (Macbeth, I struggle understanding Shakespeare), today was pretty awesome!

I went into the city and met up with Dylan from dylanbooks (YouTube) and we went book shopping - yay! Yes, I am on a ban, however I'm okay with making exceptions on special occasions such as this. It was awesome to meet an online friend in the flesh, and it was even better that we spent a few hours browsing the bookstore. There will of course be a book haul this month... I wasn't planning on having one, but oh well!

Moving on to my progress. I read the play Macbeth during my bus trips to and from the city, and I also finished Unite Me. It was a nice, short book - plus, I had previously read one of the included short stories, so I only had 90 pages of it left to read. I got through about half of Ignite Me before the end of the day, so all in all, it was pretty successful :)



One of today's challenges is to compile a list of books I am really looking forward to reading. I've put together a list of 10 books on my TBR pile that I want to get to ASAP!

1. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
2. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
4. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
5. Legend by Marie Lu
6. Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
7. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
8. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
9. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
10. The Diviners by Libba Bray!

Are there any on this list I should read first?

Bout of Books 10.0 Update | Day #1

May 13, 2014

Bout of Books
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, 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 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 1

Currently reading: 
- Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Books completed: 
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pages read since last update: 461

Total pages read: 461

Thoughts/Notes: A nice strong start to this read-a-thon! I started and completed Unravel Me today amongst my work routine, which was awesome. I am so excited to finish this series in the coming days! Day #2 is going to be an exciting one, I'll keep you updated!

#AYearAThon Wrap Up

May 12, 2014




Books completed: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
Into the Mist by Patrick Carman
Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman
The Tenth City by Patrick Carman
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Books started: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Total pages read: 2769

Thoughts/Notes: A super successful read-a-thon, I'd say! A total of eight books completed, with a ninth started. My TBR only consisted of 5 books, but I added a few into the mix just before it started. I read most of the books on my original TBR (the exception is the one I am in the middle of) as well as those three I added last minute. 

The last day of the read-a-thon was a bust. I think I read 26 pages... Considering I had work and it was mother's day, I didn't have a lot of time to spare. Even with one day of practically no reading, I managed to read so much more than I thought I would! 

How did you all do with the read-a-thon? I'd love to hear about your accomplishments!

#AYearAThon Update | Day #6

May 11, 2014



Day # 6

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Books completed: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
Into the Mist by Patrick Carman
Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman
The Tenth City by Patrick Carman
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Pages read since last update: 809

Total pages read: 2743

Thoughts/Notes: Read another two books today. Was a roller coaster ride for sure! Both made me cry at least a little..... I can't believe the read-a-thon is almost over! Just one more day of reading to go :D

#AYearAThon Update | Day #5

May 10, 2014



Day # 5

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Books completed: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
Into the Mist by Patrick Carman
Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

Pages read since last update: 249

Total pages read: 1934

Thoughts/Notes: Another book finished today. That makes 6 now! It was another shorter book of around 200 pages, but I continued on with a little more of Inkdeath before heading to bed for the night. I have all of tomorrow free for reading, so I am aiming high! Look forward to my day 6 update :D

#AYearAThon Update | Day #4

May 9, 2014



Day # 4

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

Books completed: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
Into the Mist by Patrick Carman

Pages read since last update: 291

Total pages read: 1695

Thoughts/Notes: I had fully intended on spending my afternoon reading and reading.... but I ended up falling asleep for half of it :( I still managed to finish another book, Into the Mist, though it is shorter and smaller in size than most of the others on my list. I felt like I needed to accomplish something today! I'm continuing on with another book from the Land of Elyon series, which I added to my TBR pile just before the read-a-thons began - because I TOTALLY needed more books stacked on the already towering pile... 

#AYearAThon Update | Day #3

May 8, 2014



Day # 3

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Books completed: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Infinite by Jodi Meadows

Pages read since last update: 627

Total pages read: 1404

Thoughts/Notes: I managed to finish another two books today! I am super happy with my progress so far :) I'm going to continue on with Inkdeath tomorrow, though I'm not sure what else I'll be picking up...

#AYearAThon Update | Day #2

May 7, 2014



Day # 2

Currently reading: 
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Books completed: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Pages read since last update: 563

Total pages read: 777

Thoughts/Notes:? Lots of reading accomplished today! I finished reading Harry Potter in the morning, then picked up Inkdeath. It took me quite a while to actually read the 100 pages of it I got through, so I've decided to put it down for a bit and just read from it a little each day.

#AYearAThon Update | Day #1

May 6, 2014



Day # 1

Currently reading: 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Books completed: 
None yet!

Pages read since last update: 214

Total pages read: 214

Thoughts/Notes:? I didn't have the chance to read a huge amount today due to work and the pre-release screening of The Fault in Our Stars movie I attended (yay!). I continued reading more of Harry Potter #6 since I had started it before the read-a-thon and it does help towards finishing a series ;)

May Read-a-Thons | #AYearAThon & Bout of Books 10.0

May 4, 2014

Two awesome and exciting weeks full of reading are happening this month, and I am SO excited! They are occurring back to back, so this will be intense! I've selected quite a few books for my TBR in both read-a-thons... it's going to be an interesting two weeks.


Finish/catch up on a series

The #AYearAThon read-a-thons occur during the first week of each month. Every read-a-thon has a different theme and this month is a really useful one. I have so many unfinished series! I've decided to try and finish 5 (for each I only have 1 more book to read).



TBR:
- Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
- Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
- Infinite by Jodi Meadows
- Allegiant by Veronica Roth


Bout of Books

"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, 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." 
- The Bout of Books Team



Although the Bout of Books read-a-thons don't have any themes, I have decided to carry over the one from #AYearAThon as I still have so many series waiting to be completed! I will also carry over any unread books from that TBR onto this one. 





TBR:
- Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Ignite Me by Taheref Mafi
- Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi 
- City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
- City of Glass by Cassandra Clare


Will you be partaking in either read-a-thon? If so, feel free to share your TBR piles/posts!

April Wrap Up | 2014

May 2, 2014

April went by so fast. Not much in the way of reviews or challenge additions, but I got some exciting stuff in the mail!


*****


Reviews
More Than This by Patrick Ness (video review)


Additions to Reading Challenges
NONE!?




I know there isn't any hardcover Shatter Me :( When I saw on Book Depository: "Shatter Me (Hardcover)" I freaked out and thought it would be like the others, but alas, I am mistaken :'''(

Books Acquired:
- Dangerous by Shannon Hale
- Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Unravel Me by Tahaereh Mafi
- Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi



Books Read:
- Transcendence by Shannon Hale
- More Than This by Patrick Ness
- No and Me by Delphine de Vigan
- Ransom by David Malouf
- Dangerous by Shannon Hale
- The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


/In Progress/
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
- Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm


April TBR:
- Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
- The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

I have 2 read-a-thon's coming up this month, which have their own TBR's. I will of course be posting those TBR videos and posts in the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled!

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

I received this book for free from BookWorld in exchange for an honest review.


Dangerous by Shannon Hale
Released: March 4th 2014
Pages: 400
Source: Sent for review | Bookworld
Buy it: The Book Depository | Book World
     - Both have free shipping worldwide

Maisie Danger Brown just wanted to get away from home for a bit, see something new. She never intended to fall in love. And she never imagined stumbling into a frightening plot that kills her friends and just might kill her, too. A plot that is already changing life on Earth as we know it. There's no going back. She is the only thing standing between danger and annihilation.




The Short
I went into Dangerous not knowing what I would expect but even still, I found myself confused and unsure of where this story would go. There were some strange turns I'm not sure how I feel about, yet I did find myself enjoying some of the high-tension action scenes which occurred towards the end of the book. As a whole, it was a little too unrealistic for my taste, with infrequent pacing and an infuriating romance.


The Long
I think this book could have benefitted from being a part of a series, or at least a duology. Things were too rushed, and there was a lack of world-building - particularly towards the beginning. There was so much potential to explore the elements of space and aliens more deeply, I feel like I was missing out! The first 100 or so pages could have been a book on its own. There is a pivotal point for the characters which was skimmed over, leaving me confused and unimpressed. I would have loved to see a stronger set-up with more character development and suspense - I feel like this would have made it more believable and exciting.

Maisie Danger Brown is our main character. At the start of Dangerous, I really liked her. She was witty and intelligent, and never let her disability slow her down. She comes out with some hilarious remarks, though at some points it was a little inappropriate for the situation. Nevertheless, I liked the humour and clever dialogue that was attributed not only to her, but a few of our other characters as well. In particular, her father was known for his love of puns and bad jokes.

Enter the boy, or rather, boy #2. Wilder. This is where things start to go downhill with our main character. There is a bit of a love triangle, which I wasn't a huge fan of, but what I found particularly irritating, was that we had a little heartbreak within the span of about 30 pages:

Page 15 - introduced to the boy
Page 36 - le kiss.
Page 39 - now an almost couple? "Are you checking out my girl?"
Page 47 - S**t goes down - Wilder walks off with arm draped around some ditzy girl.

All of this happened during a two-three week period in the story, though it was crammed together in those 30 pages. I found this a little frustrating and overwhelming, having so much happen so quickly (this wasn't just restricted to the romance, though, everything was rushed during that first part). The romance constantly fluctuates like this for almost the entire remainder of the book, with a little added frustration later on from boy #1 - the best friend.

In terms of our side characters, they didn't have much depth. I don't remember much about them, to be honest. This is where I think expanding the story whilst in the space camp would have been beneficial. I would have loved to get to know these characters a little more. Not only that, but there was so much potential to go wild and have some fun with that camp. Maisie breezes over some of the training and activities they do. It would have been awesome to actually have experienced that a little more.

Overall, I was left feeling underwhelmed and slightly irritated. I would have loved to experience more epic-ness in the space camp, and some of the proceeding events definitely could have been approached more realistically and believably. Some things just seemed to happen on a whim, which was bizarre in such a scientific and dangerous environment. That being said, it wasn't a terrible book. There were some things I liked, but on the whole I feel like there were quiet a few things needing improvement. It definitely had the potential to be awesome!


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