#BoutofBooks 13 Master Post and Goals

I’m usually not someone who dislikes Mondays, but today is starting off a bit rough. Insomnia kicked in last night and I didn’t get much sleep. One of the best things about today is that it’s the first day of the Bout of Books read-a-thon, a week-long reading event where participants read as much or as little as they want.

I don’t often participate in this event, but I haven’t finished a book since Dewey’s Read-a-thon. It’s time for me to get my butt into gear and read instead of playing Candy Crush Saga.

I plan on picking my reading pile as I go, but three books that I definitely plan on getting to this week are:

March Book Two by John Lewis and Nate Powell (Thanks for the reminder, Sarah!)
Rat Queens Vol. 2 by Kurtis I. Wiebe
No Matter the Wreckage: Poems by Sarah Kay (A leftover from Dewey’s read-a-thon)

My goal is to read for at least one hour every day and to stay offline when I can. We’ll see how it goes.

Are you participating in Bout of Books 13? Do you have any tips for a newbie like me?

Monday update

It’s only 6 p.m., but I’m going to write an update now because I’m exhausted!

Read: Rat Queens Vol. 2, “The Six Swans” and “The Almond Tree” by the Brothers Grimm.

Thoughts: The short stories were creepy and Rat Queens was pretty good.

Pages read: 143

Tuesday Update

Allergies have been kicking our asses over here, so the only reading I was able to get done was children’s books with my youngest, Avram. My poor baby boy. He’s absolutely miserable, but it seems like reading to him calms him somewhat. That and Benadryl. We read:

• Blue on Blue by Dianne White
• The Bear’s Sea Escape by Benjamin Chaud
• The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan
• The Backwards Birthday Party by Tom Chapin
• In Mary’s Garden by Tina Kugler

Blue on Blue and The Backwards Birthday Party were our favorites.

Next up: I’m not sure. We left the house briefly to go to the library and returned with a ton of books, including YA and anime for my daughter and graphic novels and picture books for the rest of us.

How are you guys doing? Read anything interesting?

Bout of Books 13

I did pretty well with Dewey’s Readathon and now I’ve decided to participate in Bout of Books, the week-long readathon. Hopefully, it’ll help me get through May’s tbr pile. Want to know more about the event?

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 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Are you going to sign up?

Bout of Books 10 and Update Post

Bout of Books have officially started. I’m typing this on Sunday night since Mondays are always busy with meetings, homeschooling, and errands. Don’t worry, I’m taking my reads to the beach with me Monday afternoon since summer has pretty much hit Southern California. (I’m not bragging. I actually wish it was winter here.)

I’m starting the read-a-thon off with two books that aren’t on my original list: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton and For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu. I also plan on using this post to update my progress as I go.

Enjoy your Monday!

What are you looking forward to reading/doing this week?

Monday’s Update

Monday was fantastic! I started and finished The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. It was filled with beautiful writing and though I didn’t really get attached to any of the characters, it was still a nice book to read.

• Books finished: 1
• Pages read: 320

Now I just need to figure out what to read today (Tuesday). Any suggestions?

Tuesday’s Update

Tuesday was a total reading disaster. I couldn’t figure out what to read so I didn’t do any reading. Plus, this heat was so bad that all I wanted to do was sleep yesterday. Ugh.  Today (Wednesday) it’s suppose to be 98 degrees. I can’t hibernate since I have a ton of things to do. Today’s book will either be There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff (a reread) or The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld.

Day 3 Mini-Challenge

Today’s mini-challenge is from My Overstuffed Books. B.o.B. participates are to pair a book with something.

My pairing is The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton and probably French bread.  In the book, the main character’s grandmother owns the bakery in their small town and believes bread helps to heal almost anything. I love that idea.

 

 

Bout of Books 10

After reading Candiss’s goals for Bout of Books, I decided to join the event. Bout of Books has been going strong for a few years but this will be my first time joining.

 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

 My goals for Bout of Books are:

• To read for at least two hours a day. I need to get back into the habit of sitting down to just read again. I already finished my homework for the next two weeks, so I can find some time to read.

• To review 90% of the books I read during the event.
• To read at least four books.

 I have a ton of books that I would like to finish in the next few months, so my pile comes from that stack. My pile of possibilities:

The Namesake by Jhumpi Lahiri.

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Ariana Huffington

A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip by Kevin Brockmeier

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

I’ll Be Right There by Kyung-Sook Shin

Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok

The Book of Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Are you participating for the event? If so, what’s on your reading?

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

As I type this, it’s Saturday night, hours before the readathon’s 5 am start date in Southern California. I’m not getting up that early to start reading but I still wanted to make sure my post was up.

The start of the readathon is always exciting. The house is quiet at 5 am and the only sounds to be heard are the ones coming from the coffee pot. I always tell my family that the readathon is my Christmas; it’s the day that I get to sit back, ignore most of the errands and chores that need to be done, and do something I really enjoy: reading.

My reading stack includes:

Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman

Midwinter Blood – Marcus Sedgwick

Running Like a Girl – Alexandra Heninsley

Noggin – Corey Haley

A Snicker of Magic – Natalie Lloyd

When the Emperor was Divine – Julie Otsuka

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

Ella Enchanted – Gail Levine

Today I Am a Boy – Kim Fu

Cress – Marissa Meyer (already started)

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons – Sam Kean (already started)

Usually, I have graphic novels, children’s books, and a bit of poetry in my stack but I was unable to get to the library in time. What I have should keep me busy as the books are in a variety of genres from fantasy to dystopian, nonfiction to young adult.

Readathoning along with me is my twelve year-old daughter, Piper. Her stack includes a ton of manga and hopefully Cress for school. The boys may join but I’m not holding my breath.

What books are in your stack?

First Update

I’m up! I’m up! It’s hour one of the readathon and I finally woke up. Piper, on the other hand, has been up for hours reading. Now she’s asleep. Hee hee! I should take a picture of her with her beauty mask on, but I want to live.

Intro Meme

1. We’re reading from Southern California.

2. I love my stack of books so I’m excited about everything I end up reading. I think Piper feels the same way.

3.  The snack I’m looking forward to reading is actually a meal. I’m making red beans and rice for dinner early this morning.  I can’t wait.

4. Telling you something about myself is always hard. I never know what to say. I’m a mother of three lovely kids, my favorite thing to do besides reading is to ride my men’s beach cruiser named Dorothy. She’s red. 😉 Piper is a 12 year-old girl who loves anime, baking, and riding on her roller skates. Her dream is to go to school in Paris to become a pastry chef.

 5.  I  participated in the last readathon. I know to just have fun and keep the pressure low.

Hour 8 Update

Since my last update, I have:

• read more pages in Cress
• started making dinner (red beans and rice)
• took a break to do some cheerleading

Piper has finally woken up and she’s eating lunch.

Oliver (my 10 year-old) has joined the readathon and is currently reading a Lego comic.

Food consumed: Special K, coffee, and some water.

Back to reading.