Bout of Books Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt

As I stated in my previous post, I have signed up for Bout of Books! It started at 12:01 am and since I am in Italy (six hours ahead of the Eastern Coast in the States), my day started a bit earlier than everyone else. Also, I couldn't sleep last night. Woke up at 12:30 am, had insomnia and stayed up reading until 3am. Now I am so tired! Oh well, almost done with my first book!

Stefani at Caught Red Handed has hosted one of the challenges for Bout of Books: a bookshelf scavenger hunt!

Here are my tasks:

1. Find an author with the same initials as you.

--- okay, wasn't able to find one that fit this criteria. My initials are CP so that is a tough order.

2. Find a book with the color yellow on it.

Conversion by Katherine Howe

3. Find an author's name with the letter "S" in it.

My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews

4. Find a book with a female protagonist.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

5. Find the longest book you own.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace - 1079 pages!!! I am trying to read this one, but it will take a while.

6. Find a book with a map in it or on it.

Lonely Planet's Guide to Italy - has quite a few maps inside

7. Find a book with a face on it (photographed or illustrated).

Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Bonus: Find something on your shelf that isn't a book.

My necklace and charms my husband got me for Christmas!

Anyone else participating in Bout of Books 12?

Bout of Books Read-A-Thon Final Update!

This is my final update for Bout of Books! I have had so much fun and met some new bloggers.

So how did I do on my goals?

• read at least 5 books - check and check! My final tally for the week was nine!
• update the blog every day - check!
• do some challenges - check! 
• participate in at least one Twitter chat - check!
• spend at least 30 minutes a day reading blogs and commenting on them - check!
• ENJOY reading!!!! I will NOT read a book I am not excited about. If I start one and can't get into it, I may just set it aside until after the read-a-thon. But I do not want reading to be a chore! - check! Well kind of. I wasn't a huge fan of Sweetness# 9, but I enjoyed everything else.

Here are my totals for the week:

Total Books Read: 9
Total Pages Read: 3030
Total Hours Reading: about 31 1/2 (so much!)
Total Challenges: 5 (I did the Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt, the Synopsis Challenge, the Book in Pictures Challenge, the In Six Words Challenge, and the Literary Quote Challenge.)

Total Twitter Chats: 1

You can see my progress from day to day below. This was a really fun challenge and I knocked some great books off my TBR! The next Bout of Books starts May 11. I hope you guys can join me on the next one!

Progress:

Monday

Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 1
Pages read: 504

Hours Read: 5.8 hours

Notes: I got a lot of reading done today because of insomnia. Read from about 12:30 am until after almost 3:00 am.

Tuesday

Books Read: 2
Total Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 620

Hours Read: a little over 5 hours

Notes: Woke up at the crazy hour of 5:00 am and couldn't get back to sleep. More time to read, right? I read for almost the same amount of time as yesterday, but I read more pages. Probably because yesterday I was struggling with Sweetness #9. It was taking me forever to read it! So glad I am done with that one though.

Wednesday

Books Read: 2
Total Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 656

Hours Read: over 7 1/2 hours

Notes: So much reading today. Started reading You: A Novel and could NOT put it down. 

Thursday

Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 220

Hours Read: 3 1/2 hours

Notes: I spent way less time reading because I was so tired! I had stayed up way too late last night reading You (worth it). Still managed to finish a book though, mainly because it was a short one.

Friday

Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 7
Pages Read: 404

Hours Read: 4

Notes: My husband came back from his trip today. I love him, but my reading time may go down a little.

Saturday
Books Read: 2
Total Books Read: 9
Pages Read: 576
Hours Read: Just short of 5 hours
Notes: I didn't mean to stay up late reading All the Bright Places, but it just kind of happened.

Sunday
Books Read: 0
Total Books Read: 9
Pages Read: 50
Hours Read: less than an hour (maybe 30 minutes)
Notes: I hardly read at all today. I think it was because I was so emotionally drained from All The Bright Places. I needed a break. I am still happy with what I have done this week though.

Books I have read during Bout of Books:

1.  The Chocolate Temptation by Laura Florand
2.  Sweetness #9 by Stephan Eirik Clark (click here for my review)

3.  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

4.  Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall (click here for my review)
5.  You: A Novel by Caroline Klepnes (click here for my review)
6.  Meet Me in Venice: A Chinese Immigrant's Journey from the Far East to the Faraway West by
Suzanne Ma (click here for my review)
7. Infinity + One by Amy Harmon
8. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (click here for my review)
9. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (click here for my review)


How did you do with the Read-A-Thon?

My dog loves to read too!

On this lazy Sunday afternoon, my dog decided she wanted to read a little too. She is reading Charlotte's Web and Shakespeare. She is a very well read dog!

Happy Sunday everyone!! 

BOOK REVIEW: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This is a review for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. This was the first book I read this year! I am using this one for my Banned Book Challenge hosted by Buckling Bookshelves.

I cannot believe that I had never read this book! I loved the Disney film so much as a child, but for some reason it just slipped through my list of must read books. I think I had a very deprived life as a child. Ha. I am sure that it seems weird for me to be reading a children's book, but I feel like I need to embrace my inner child. And this was a great book to start off the new year!

I know that I don't have to repeat the basic plot because everyone (even those who haven't read it) should be familiar with it. Alice falls asleep during her lessons, follows a white rabbit and falls down a rabbit hole and gets into some crazy shenanigans while interacting with some crazy characters. Seriously, the characters she met were insane. I really loved the Cheshire Cat. And the mock turtle. And the Queen. I loved everyone! I think this is the funnest thing I have read in a long time. There was so much humor and the riddles confused me as much as they did Alice. As Alice would say, "Curioser and cruiser!" I think I may start saying that in daily conversation. I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. I just kept thinking that it was madness; utter, utter madness. But it was madness that I was happy to be a part of. It is so entreating and magical and I really, really need to read Through the Looking Glass!

I give this book a 4/5.

Friday Finds

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!!

Friday Finds is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. I know it's a week late, but I thought I could use this week's Friday Finds to share a few goodies that I got this year for Christmas. I was a very lucky girl.

I didn't receive any books, but that's okay. I received two Amazon gift cards (totaling $85!) and an AMEX gift card as well. The AMEX gift card came from my in-laws, who also gave me my first Kindle a few years ago. They are pretty much the best in-laws ever.

With my AMEX gift card, I bought this wonderful new iPhone case.

I love that so much!! If you want to buy that for yourself, you could go here.

I also bought a new Kindle case.

I got The Secret Garden case. I love that book and the artwork on the case is beautiful. You could buy one for yourself here.

Then I decided to take my eight year old niece and ten year old nephew to the bookstore for some quality family time. I helped them pick out a book and spread the gift card wealth by buying one for each of them. I absolutely love going to a bookstore and it was so nice to spread that joy to them. I think I have found a new favorite Christmas tradition!

Along with their books, I bought one for myself: a nice hardbound copy of Charlotte's Web!

I have never read this book before but I really want to. I am reading to my inner child!

And now I saved the BEST for last. My husband did an amazing job with my gift.

He purchased seven different charms from an Etsy shop. On one side of each charm is a letter from my name with a Scrabble tile (a game that I love!). On the other side of each charm is a different quote about reading or something that is special to the two of us.

Here is what is on each of the charms: The book was better, I always read past my bedtime, Forget the beast. I'll take his library, Sssh I'm reading, I'd rather be reading, a map of Paris (that is where we spent our honeymoon) and I love you . . . I know. And of course he got me a necklace to wear my charms on. I am so happy that my husband loves me enough to put so much thought in his gift.

Now I just have to think about what to get with my Amazon gift card.

Did you get any bookish things for Christmas?

2015 New to You Reading Challenge!

Well I did it. I have signed up for my fourth (and yes, I mean it this time, FINAL) challenge for the year. Herding Cats and Burning Soup is hosting a New to You Reading Challenge.

What does it involve, you ask? It is actually pretty flexible. You can read anything new to you in 2015 and review it. This can mean:

• a debut author
• a brand new to you author
• an old favorite "debut" book
• a new series
• a first time reading a new genre
• or any other new that crosses your path

I am going to be doing Level 2, which is 12 "new to you's"

Even though I am already doing three challenges, I still couldn't resist this one. One of my primary goals for 2015 is to diversify my reading. I feel like I read a lot of one genre and mostly one type of author. I want to branch out to different genres and authors. I know there are books I am reading in other challenges that will fit in this one so I don't imagine it will be too difficult to complete!

Here are possible books I will read for this challenge (they may change!):

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (new series)
2. The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison (debut author)
3. The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan (new to me author)
4. Prelude to Bruise by Saeed Jones (new to me genre - poetry)
5. Above Us Only Sky by Michele Young-Stone (new to me author)
6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (debut author)
7. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (new series)
8. no title selected yet, but I will use the audiobook I read for the Reading Harder Challenge (new to me genre)
9. no title selected yet, but I will use the graphic novel I read for the Reading Harder Challenge (new to me genre)
10. no title selected yet
11. no title selected yet
12. no title selected yet

If you want to sign up for the challenge, click here!

First Book of the Year!!

Happy New Year!!

Join Sheila from Book Journey along with some fellow book bloggers as we feature our first book read in 2015. For me that will be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

I love this movie so I can't believe I have never read the book. And it will be the first book I read as part of the Banned Book Challenge hosted by Buckling Bookshelves.

What will your first book of 2015 be?