treesofreverie read-a-thon September 2014 - Wrap-Up

Another treesofreverie read-a-thon has come and gone. I'm going to list all my final stats, the books I read, reading challenges completed. I wasn't very involved on the social media and such side this time around, I guess I just wasn't really feeling it. It's been a weird, strange month, but I did get a ton of reading done during it.

Anyway - this is definitely a read-a-thon I'd recommend. It's very laid back and everyones very nice, of course, and Sarah's great. I don't know if there's going to be on in october, but her blog will tell you when it's decided.  (Read-a-thon tab)


Number of Books Read: 13

Number of Pages Read: 4,105

The Books:
The Battle of the Labrynth (Percy Jackson #4) by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5) by Rick Riordan
Revolver by Marcus Sedwick
Single by Saturday (Weekday Brides #4) by Catherine Bybee
Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides #5) by Catherine Bybee
Opal Fire (A Stacy Justice Mystery #1) by Barbra Annino
Not Quite Dating (Not Quite #1) by Catherine Bybee
Not Quite Mine (Not Quite #2) by Catherine Bybee
Purity in Death (In Death #15) by J.D. Robb
Portrait in Death (In Death #16) by J.D. Robb
The Little World of Liz Climo by Liz Climo
Girl on Tour (Kylie Ryans #2) by Caisey Quinn
Imitation in Death (In Death #17) by J.D. Robb

Challenges Completed:
Finish an entire book in ONE day
Read a book by an author you haven’t read before
Read out loud (read a minimum of one full page!)
Finish a book in a series you’ve not yet completed

Read a book in the fantasy genre

Read a book in the contemporary genre

Take pictures of your reading progress

Show off your books by taking more pictures

Read a book you’ve heard a lot of good things about

Read a book you’ve never heard of before

Read a book from your Goodreads to-read shelf

Re-read one of your favourite books

Pick up a book that looks like a fun/light read

Read a book you’ve been meaning to read

Read a book you’ve been avoiding

Series Review: The Mortal Instrument (by Cassandra Clare)

Series Name: The Mortal Instruments
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fanasy
Overall Series Rating: 4/5
Books:
City of Bones (3/5)*
City of Ashes (4/5)
City of Glass (4/5)
City of Fallen Angels (4/5)
City of Lost Souls (5/5)
City of Heavenly Fire (5/5)

Book One Synopsis (from Goodreads):
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

My Background (with the series):
I feel like this is important for understanding my feelings about the series, and I promise to keep it short. I started this series before the third book was out in middle school (yes, I had to wait for the third book - and we didn't know some stuff that's pretty common knowledge now. It was torture). And, honestly, I don't know if I had just first read them now, if I would of enjoyed them as much as I did.

Series Thoughts:
First off, I think that the reading order for this series and The Infernal Devices should be, either publication order - or read the original trilogy of these, ID, and then the last three of this. And I don't think you have to of read Infernal Devices to finish this series, but it will kind of ruin the ending of that series and you won't be able to appreciate everything.

I have a few problems with this series and, at some points for another series, they would of been enough to make me want to not continue with the series - but these books are so easy to read and they're fun, that I kept reading them. But I didn't care about the characters, really at all, and definitely not as much as I ended up caring for the characters in The Infernal Devices.

And I think I know why - these characters grow, but not a lot, not as much as they could have, maybe even should have, but I think it's because it takes place over such a small amount of time. This series is six books long and takes place in a few months - a few months, that boggled my mind when I first realized it, but it explained a lot. They're still very, very young - throughout the whole series - but I'm not sure that can excuse my next problem: bad, awful, teenager decisions. It does get better in later books, but not too much better.

That's what I'm calling it, because that's what I feel these are. Sometimes the characters make informed... ish decisions, but most of the time I can't understand why they're doing what they're doing. Sometimes this works out in their favor, sometimes it doesn't and you want to shake them, but either way - it's infuriating.

That being said, with those problems a few more, I do really enjoy this series. It's a lot of fun, easy to read, the world is kind of awesome (it's not too intricate or hard to follow, but it also doesn't really feel flat or underdeveloped, for the most part). Clare's writing isn't amazing, but I like the humor woven in, though it's not for everyone.

* ratings on these books are from my rereading them (if I'd read them previously, of course).
The Infernal Devices series review

September 2014 Read-A-Thons Update Post (treesofreverie) (3)

This is part three of my September read-a-thon update posts. Whew, that's a mouth full. It's been a great month so far! And the treesofreverie read-a-thon pretty much finishes out the month (ending the 28th). Tackle Your TBR is officially over, sadly. (Wrap-up post here) There's some overlapping for books for these two read-a-thons, because they did overlap.

Sunday, September 21st

Number Of Books Read Today: 1

Total Number of Books Read (treesofreverie): 9

Pages Read Today: 355

Total Number of Pages Read (trees): 2,951

Books(today):

Purity in Death (In Death #15) by J.D. Robb (started and finished - 355 pages)

Notes:
I finally got back to the In Death series - I really like this series, mostly for the characters, but also the plots are always really interesting in every book that I've read so far. Which is impressive for the number, also I'm told they stay fantastic - there are like 40 books in this series (no, really).

Monday, September 22nd

Number Of Books Read Today: 0

Total Number of Books Read (treesofreverie): 9

Pages Read Today: 80

Total Number of Pages Read (trees): 3,031

Books(today):
Portrait in Death (In Death #16) by J.D. Robb (started - 80 pages)

Notes:

It wasn't a great day for reading or really anything - I had a headache that I just couldn't shape. Anyway, I'm enjoying this so far, I don't know what'll happen tomorrow. Hopefully no headache.

Tuesday, September 23rd

Didn't get anything read but a few page, which I'm just going to count for tomorrow since it was less then ten. I hope you all day better reading days, and day in general (I didn't read much before I had a headache, such).

Wednesday, September 24th

Number Of Books Read Today: 2

Total Number of Books Read (treesofreverie): 11

Pages Read Today: 427

Total Number of Pages Read (trees): 3,458

Books(today):
Portrait in Death (In Death #16) by J.D. Robb (finished - 267 pages)
The Little World of Liz Climo by Liz Climo (started and finished - 160)

Notes: 
I'm so glad I'm back into the In Death books, even though it's completely thrown off my plan for the last week of the month. I'd missed these characters, a lot more then I thought. Portrait in Death was fantastic, possibly my favorite so far but there have been some really good ones before.

The Little World of Liz Climo is really just a book compiling all of her adorable, awesome illustrations. She has a Tumblr - it's adorable and full of her stuff, you should  check it out (unless you have something to do right now, you might want to save it for later, you'll get lost).

Thursday, September 25th

Number Of Books Read Today: 1

Total Number of Books Read (treesofreverie): 12

Pages Read Today: 181

Total Number of Pages Read (trees): 3,639

Books(today):
Girl on Tour (Kylie Ryan #2) by Caisey Quinn (started and finished - 181)

Notes:
4am, when probably a good 85% of bad decisions, if not more, are made. I couldn't sleep, so I picked this up. I forget when I read the first one, but I hadn't been planning on continuing the series. I haven't found many New Adult books I enjoy, and I don't really understand the genre (it's - it's just romance). Anyway - this was... whatever. I gave it 2/5 stars, read it in probably an hour and a half, maybe two. I'll probably read the last one at some point just to finish it, we'll see.

I think I might be able to get to 200 books for 2014 this month? It seems insane to me. This has been such a strange year, but wonderful for reading.

Friday, September 26th

I didn't read anything today - I meant to, I went to, but I got completely distracted by 

Saturday, September 27th

Number Of Books Read Today: 1

Total Number of Books Read (treesofreverie): 13

Pages Read Today: 342

Total Number of Pages Read (trees): 3,981

Books(today):

Imitation in Death (In Death #17) by J.D. Robb

Notes:
This book was so good. This series is just - really good. It can be cheesy at points and eye roll inducing at others - but mostly I just love the characters too much so I just love those moments. It's great fun, I promise.

Sunday, September 28th

Number Of Books Read Today: 0

Total Number of Books Read (treesofreverie): 13

Pages Read Today: 124

Total Number of Pages Read (trees): 4,105

Books(today):

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Notes:
Ah - Sanderson. If you follow me at all, or have seen just about any post from me, you might know of my obsession with Brandon Sanderson. I haven't finished really all of his currently published works, I'm making my way through the list, but I just keep loving them all. So much goodness. I'd suggest giving him a try, start anywhere, read everything.

And, uh, I kind of forgot this was the last day of the read-a-thon. My sleep has been a bit messed up, insomnia has been kicking my ass, so that's what I'm blaming because I didn't sleep and then slept late. And there was something else I wanted to add and promptly forgot, so I guess I'm going to leave it there.

Anyway - read-a-thon complete. I'm think I'll post a full wrap-up in a few days, probably. I'm quite happy with what I read, anyway, and I hope you had fun if you participated. Or, at least, had a good week.

Series Review: The Infernal Devices (by Cassandra Clare)

Series: The Infernal Devices
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult - Historical Fantasy
Overall Series Rating: 5/5
Books:
Clockwork Angel (4/5)
Clockwork Prince (5/5)
Clockwork Princess (5/5)

Book One Synopsis (Goodreads):
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

My Background (with the series):
I started this series right when it first came out - because it was new Clare in the shadowhunter world and it looked like it'd be steampunk-esque (it does have those elements, but not heavily, just tidbits), and I thought the first book was - alright, on that first readthrough, it was fun and interesting. I read the second book, also, when it first came out. And then procrastinated the third because that's, apparently, what I tend to do for trilogies.

And then this year I read the whole thing, in a short period of time (I read this series and most of The Mortal Instruments series such a short period of time it was probably unhealthy), and it changed my opinion on them. The first one, I still think, is just an introduction - and then the next to destroy your heart.

Review:
I love these books - I love these books so much. If you haven't read this series, then you need to read it, because so good oh my god.

Now to try and be coherent, because I hear that's important. My hands down, favorite thing, about this book series is the characters. I just connected to all of them in a way I didn't really the TMI characters. Maybe it was the way things were written, how they spoke to each other (specifically this for the boys), and how everything was described. And these characters are definitely more mature, probably due to the time period it's set it, I feel like a lot of stuff is because of that.

The main trio in this book - Tessa, Will, and Jem - are a fantastic set and I never really thought of them as a love triangle until it hit me that they technically were that, but I didn't mind them as that because it was perfect. I don't know what it was, but these three were perfect together. Will and Jem were just fantastic - parabati (this brotherly, fighting bond) and so ridiculously close from that.

And their relationship was why I loved this book so much, also them with Tessa (and Henry, Charlotte, the Lightwood boys, Sophie - all the characters were fantastic), but specifically the boys. It was one of the reasons I didn't mind their love triangle thing because the boys weren't jealous of each other, didn't want to hurt the other, loved each other. It was - ridiculous and painfully beautiful, which sounds ridiculous but that's the only way I can think to describe it. The time period that this is set it - made it so that their exchanges, the things they could say to each other that present day guys wouldn't was probably what made their friendship (brothership?) so perfect to me.

There's a series arc about automatons and stuff going down, which is also awesome, and parts of it can be completely ridiculous (the worm scene in Clockwork Princess, what was that?), but it was a ton of fun. And definitely a series to read for the characters - and all of the characters, like I said, not just the main three.

I think, to get the most out of this series and The Mortal Instruments - that you should read this series before you read books four to six of TMI, definitely before you read the last one because you'll miss things/not understand them, and it'll ruin the ending of this series for you.

The Mortal Instruments series review

Tackle Your TBR Wrap-Up

This was a read-a-thon run by Wishful Endings (read-a-thon announcement post here). And it ran from September 8th to the 20th. I got quite a bit of reading done and I enjoyed keeping up with other peoples progress through various social medias,

And now - onto the wrapping up of the read-a-thon. I got quite a bit of reading done, though, I wasn't feeling very well at the beginning and, on top of that, was still trying to recover from the severe book hangover that happened after finishing the Mistborn series.

I think this might count as my weekly wrap-ups this week - I'm just been feeling pretty burnt out the last few days (any guesses why?) and those weekly wrap-ups take a lot.

Final Page Count: 4,419

Final Book Count: 14

The Books:
The Merciless by Danielle Vega
Tinder by Sally Gardner
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz #1) by Brandon Sanderson
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson #3) by Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labrynth (Percy Jackson #4) by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5) by Rick Riordan
Revolver by Marcus Sedwick
Single by Saturday (Weekday Brides #4) by Catherine Bybee
Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides #5) by Catherine Bybee
Opal Fire (A Stacy Justice Mystery #1) by Barbra Annino
Not Quite Dating (Not Quite #1) by Catherine Bybee
Not Quite Mine (Not Quite #2) by Catherine Bybee

The only one I started but didn't finish was Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, which I stalled in for some reason.

Sadly, I didn't end up taking part in any of the challenges that happened and, from what i saw, there were a lot of them and they looked like a ton of fun. Challenges just aren't really my thing, unless they're check box type things, but I always kind of regret not doing them. I tend to just try and focus on the reading during a read-a-thon, though, and, depending on my mood, commenting on blogs.


September 2014 Read-A-Thons Update Post (Tackle Your TBR) (1)

September 2014 Read-A-Thons Update Post (Tackle Your TBR & treesofreverie) (2)

So how did your Tackle Your TBR read-a-thon go? Or just how has your month been so far for reading?

Banned Books Week! (September 21st - 27th)

I feel like banned book week is important - because I still can't believe banning books. I understand not wanting to have certain books in school libraries, especially if it's a middle school, but to ban books seems extreme. And books get challenged and banned for all kinds of things, some that is obviously people grasping at straws and some are their own prejudices.

Very quickly - challenged means someone is attempting to remove the book because of it's contents. Banned means the material (the book) is removed/restricted. Most books are only challenged - librarians and teachers work to try and keep the books in the library/curriculum. (Still confused? Check out the link down below called: About banned/challenged books).

I could write about the books I've loved that have challenged/banned, or the books I want to read, but just haven't had the time to get to yet (so many books, so little time). And I do want to highlight some books that I think are important, too important to be made unavailable. There's books about growing up that could help kids, or about something bad happening, or about grief. They might not be happy books, but that doesn't mean kids need to be protected from them - kids are much more resilient then anyone else, and reading can help.

First off - Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Okay, I'm biased, because I adore this series. However - I found this article, from earlier this month, on Scientific American titled Why Everyone Should Read Harry Potter - it's about how Harry Potter apparently makes people nicer.

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison, on a slightly more serious note, I haven't read this book but I've heard amazing things. That it's heartbreaking but important. And I can definitely see it's importance:

The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change- in painful, devastating ways.
What its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Tony Morrisons's most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction.
 (GR link)

1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell. There's irony in 1984 being challenged/banned a lot. I haven't read it yet - and I have read Animal Farm, but I was too young to appreciate it, I think, and it wasn't explained well to me at all, but I'm planning on rereading it soon. I'm sure probably everyone knows the plots behinds these books, they're well known classics.

And there are books that might not be able to, really, like these, but are still important. The Giver, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Flies, Lolita, The Grapes of Wrath, Brave New World, The Sun Also Rises, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Lord of the Rings, The Awakening, A Wrinkle in Time, The Handmaid's Tale, Flowers for Algernon, and a ton more.

What is your favorite book that's been challenged/banned? Do you have any related stories? What are you doing for Banned Books Week?

Some Banned Books Week Links:
About banned/challenged books
About Banned Books Week
Frequently challenged books
List of frequently banned/challenged classics

Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon! (October 18th, 2014)

Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon is an even that takes place twice a year (April and October) and is, of course, a 24 hour read-a-thon. This year the October read-a-thon is taking place from 8am Eastern time - this is a read-a-thon where the time is specific (times here).

I've participated a few times before, I don't remember how many off the top of my head, but it's always a ton of fun. There are cheerleaders going around, who normally help you keep reading for the full twenty four hours (last year, one convinced me to try to get just a little more done). And everyone's lovely and fantastic.

So I'd suggest canceling all plans for the 18th and 19th and finding the shortest books you own and doing this. It's fun and you'll get more read in the short amount of time then you ever expected, I always seem to.

I'll be posting my TBR much closer to the event, as it's just under a month away now. Are you planning on participating? Have you in the past? What's your start time for your time zone?

Official Site
Start Times

Update: It turns out I'm not going to be able to participate as I will not be home and everything is hectic and crazy. And I'm going to very much miss it, the next one definitely, and I hope you all have a fantastic time! Read a book for me and have fun.

Book and Audio Review: The Name of the Wind (Kindkiller Chronicles #1)

Title: The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles #1)
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: High Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 722 (mass market)
Publication Date: March 27th, 2007

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Innkeeper Kote narrates most of his tale to the Chronicler. Kvothe, when his family troupe of traveling players is massacred, spends years starving, beaten beyond count, in a crime-ridden city, then daringly enters a legendary school of magic.

Review:
I started this book one day by randomly starting to listen to the audiobook and got completely sucked in. I have a lot of problems with audiobooks, normally I can't focus on them to save my life - but there are just certain narrators who suck me in. This one, Nick Podhel, was amazing, completely fantastic. His voice and Rothfuss' words were perfect together.

I half-read, half-listened (I think more towards physical), and I kind of wished I'd been able to listen to more of it, but I enjoyed it in both forms a lot. Even though it took me forever to finish - because I was enjoying it and it was really, really good, but it's dense and long. It's beautifully written, poetic and beautiful, but it makes it a slow read. Although, I don't think that's a bad thing because I enjoyed being able to take my time with this, not rush through it, just - enjoy it and relax.

The story itself is incredible - the characters, the plot, the storytelling - and I found myself not sure if I wanted Kvothe to keep telling his story or if I wanted to read about him and Bast and Chronicler in 'present times.'

Overall thoughts? Read this book. My physical copy has one of my favorite stories behind it* and it's a fantastic and fantastical book, and I don't think you should know more then that.

*we were in Portland, in Powells in 2013 (LeakyCon) and there was this guy trying to get a girl to buy Ready Player One. And, as we were walking by, I added (as did Haley) that it was a fantastic book and she should read it. And he immediately turned and went "have you read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss?" and I told him no. And he told me to go and read it and I wouldn't regret it because it was phenomenal. So... I did, my copy has the Powells price sticker on the back. Thank you, random book recommending stranger.

Waiting on Wednesday (7)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. And it's where people share their most anticipated reads that are to be released.

This week I want to talk about two books that are coming out in October on the same day: October 7th. You might already suspect it (or you can see the covers already, too), but one is the end to a series that I love and the other is the first book in a new series that sounds incredible and has been getting good reviews.

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan
So this is happening. This book. It's happening. I'm terrified. If you don't know this is the last book in the Heroes of Olympus series which is a companion series to Percy Jackson, kind of a continuation with added new characters. It's fantastic - the whole bundle, and this is the end and I've been reading this series for so long and Percy Jackson and I'm not ready for it to be over. I'm not going to put any of the synopsis, incase you haven't read any of these, but you should read Percy Jackson and the Olympians and then this series and fall in love.

This book is really close now and I'm kind of planning on rereading both series in preparation for it - October 7th cannot come fast enough.




The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) by Marie Lu
I haven't read her other series, though it sounds good and I own the first one. This book sounds incredible, the full synopsis is very long but I suggest checking it out(Goodreads link). A lot of people seem to be highly anticipating this book and from what I've heard/seen of people reading it early - everyone has loved it.

I've pre-ordered it and, like I said, I'm excited - but I'm also kind iffy of what looks like it's going to be a love triangle. But I trust the five stars I've seen from some people, so we'll see. I've pre-ordered this one, and of course The Blood of Olympus as well, and I hope to get to it relatively soon after I get it.

What are you excited for this week? Are you excited for either of these releases?

September 2014 Read-A-Thons Update Post (Tackle Your TBR & treesofreverie) (2)

Have you guys realized my read-a-thon addiction? It's getting pretty series, this is the second time I've done two read-a-thons at the same time and it's technically more then that. Anyway, the Tackle Your TBR read-a-thon goes until the 20th, while the treesofreverie read-a-thon takes place from the 14th to the 28th (15 days in total).

Sunday, September 14th:
Number of Books Read Today: 1
Total Number of Books(Tackle Your TBR): 7
Total Number of Books(treesofreverie): 1
Pages Read Today: 583
Total Number of Pages(TBR): 2,409
Books(today):
The Battle of the Labyrinth (PJ #4) by Rick Riordan (started and finished - 368 pages)
The Last Olympian (PJ#5) by Rick Riordan (started - 215 pages)

Notes:
I didn't actually mean to binge read all five of these books in a row, but shit happens. I'd totally forgotten how big of a Percy/Annabeth shipper I am. Also - how just plain thick Percy is at points is eye roll inducing.

I seriously love this series, though. So sad, but excited, for the companion series to draw to a close early next month.

Monday, September 15th:
Number of Books Read Today: 2
Total Number of Books(Tackle Your TBR): 9
Total Number of Books(treesofreverie): 3
Pages Read Today: 412
Total Number of Pages(TBR): 2,821
Total Number of Pages(trees): 995
Books(today):
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #3) by Rick Riordan (finished - 168 pages)
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (started and finished - 204 pages)
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan (started 40 pages)

Notes:
I am really glad I reread the Percy Jackson series now. I'd really like to read all the short stories (and Percy Jackson's Greek Gods) and then reread the Heroes of Olympus series before the last one comes out, and they're fun. So far - Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is making Greek mythology seem even more ridiculous, which is pretty impressive.

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick was surprising and very good. I'm not sure what I was expecting, I just knew it was probably going to be tense - and it was and I really enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more of is stuff.

Tuesday, September 16th:
Number of Books Read Today: 1
Total Number of Books(Tackle Your TBR): 10
Total Number of Books(treesofreverie): 4
Pages Read Today: 457
Total Number of Pages(TBR): 3,275
Total Number of Pages(trees): 1,452
Books(today):
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan (continued - 142 pages)
Single by Saturday (Weekday Brides #4) by Catherine Bybee (started and finished - 315 pages)

Notes:
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is a ridiculous amount of fun - mostly because some (most) of the Greek myths are a little ridiculous and in Percy's voice they become very more ridiculous. Basically I'm loving it and I highly recommend it for fans of the Percy Jackson series - just be warned the book is the actual size of my torso.

The Weekday Brides series is romance fluff and, apparently, I am addicted. I really like the characters, and it's the same group over and over and then getting together with people and then random serious things happening. I have no idea why I can devour them in one sitting, but they're perfect for breaks, even though I'm surrounded by books I currently really want to read, that in itself can be slightly frightening. (And I definitely have a cold and some fun fluff is good for that, I think, and not having to think too hard, mostly).

Saying all that - they're not bad books, by a long shot. I'd probably give the series a solid 3/5 stars - liked it, but nothing that made me head over heels for it, I've got one left of the out books.

Wednesday, September 17th:
Number of Books Read Today: 1
Total Number of Books(Tackle Your TBR): 11
Total Number of Books(treesofreverie): 5
Pages Read Today: 308
Total Number of Pages(TBR): 3,583
Total Number of Pages(trees): 1,760
Books(today):
Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides series #5) by Catherine Bybee (started and finished - 308 pages)

Notes:
It was not a good reading day - I had a severe case of kind of panicing about all the books I wanted to / could be reading. And just ended up procrastinating and not really getting anything done until I forced myself to get off my laptop and read something.

Thursday, September 18th:
I honestly didn't read a single page today. Stuff happened, but I did manage to work out for the first time in over a year! And ow, but it happened, hopefully it continues to happen just maybe not tomorrow, depending on my soreness. Anyway - I hope you had a better reading day then I did or just a good day in general! What are you currently reading?

Friday, September 18th:
Number of Books Read Today: 1
Total Number of Books(Tackle Your TBR): 12
Total Number of Books(treesofreverie): 6
Pages Read Today: 276
Total Number of Pages(TBR): 3,859
Total Number of Pages(trees): 2,036
Books(today):
Opal Fire (A Stacy Justice Mystery #1) by Barbra Annino (started and finished - 276 pages)

Notes:
This week I've, apparently, been really using Kindle Unlimited, it is nice to not have to buy all the kindle books I buy. Or try and find them on Overdrive. Anyway - I only gave Opal Fire 2 stars. I almost DNFed it after 25 pages, but ended up finishing it. I'll admit I skimmed parts of it, and I don't think I'll be continuing with the series, sadly, but at least it was something that was quick to read to try and pull me out of this funk I've fallen into.

Saturday, September 20th:
Number of Books Read Today: 2
Total Number of Books(Tackle Your TBR): 14
Total Number of Books(treesofreverie): 8
Pages Read Today: 560
Total Number of Pages(TBR): 4,419
Total Number of Pages(trees): 2,596
Books(today):
Not Quite Dating (Not Quite #1) by Catherine Bybee
Not Quite Mine (Not Quite #2) by Catherine Bybee

Notes:
I might of been up until 3am accidentally reading Not Quite Dating - I don't know what it is about this authors books. You just get invested fast, well I do, and then her series are with the same group of characters and, apparently, I'm a sucker for that. I don't know if I'd really recommend them, though I did enjoy and live them and gave them three stars.

And, with that, it's the end of part two of my September read-a-thon updates posts. Part three will contain the remaining of the Trees of Reverie read-a-thon (link will be here when posted, could be a few days).

And I'll be posting a wrap-up of all the books I read for the Tackle Your TBR read-a-thon and my final stats for it and thoughts. I hope you're having a great day and month, in general and in reading.

It's Monday! What are you reading? (Weekly wrap-up) (2)

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme that was created by BookJourney. I'm not sure I'll keep using this meme to do weekly wrap-ups, just because I feel like this is really suppose to be just reading themed - what do you think? Stay with it? Just call it a weekly wrap-up? Any ideas?

Anyway - onto the actual post where I'm going to talk about the past week and what I read, what I watched, and blog posts I've liked.

Reading: (finished this week, actively currently-reading)
I read quite a bit this week as the Tackle Your TBR read-a-thon started (official post, my announcement post, my updates (1)), and next week I'll be taking part in the treesofreverie read-a-thon again, while this one is still going on. Simultaneous read-a-thon shenanigans. Anyway - what I've read since last Sunday.

The Merciless by Danielle Vega (3/5 stars)
I liked this more then I expected. For some reason, I just didn't expect to like it. Even though the loved the whole design, even though pink isn't my favorite color, that didn't stop me from giggling when I saw everything on that cover. It's not really scary, at least I didn't find it, but it is a bit gore-y at points. Still - fun. And I enjoyed the ending.

Tinder by Sally Gardner (3/5)
I was really loving this at first - because it was strange and weird and quirky, and the art was awesome. But it dragged and dragged - maybe I shouldn't of read it in such a short period of time, I should of just put it down when I wanted to and got back to it later. But: read-a-thon. Also, there was a point where I just wanted to finish it. Don't get me wrong - I liked it, I enjoyed it, but it definitely dragged. I'd still recommend checking out if it sounds interesting to you.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz #1) by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
A Sanderson book so my brain wasn't so deep in Sanderson (I had a dream about Mistborns and that world the other night, it was so stressful and so freaking awesome, I want to do it again). Anyway - this book, right. This book was hilarious and witty and smart. It's technically middle grade, I think, but I've always kind of enjoyed middle grade, especially smart middle grade. It's Sanderson, it takes place in our world (I'm not going to say slightly altered, trust me, our world, you'll get it), and really you shouldn't need anymore convince to read his books.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan (5/5)
This was a reread for me, and the third or so time I've read this book. I have this hope to reread this whole series and the Heroes of Olympus series before the final one comes out October 7th. Considering how easy and quick these books are and how much I love them - it shouldn't be hard. And, yes, I do love these books. They're good middle grade: Greek gods, heroes, best friends, quests - who doesn't like all those things? Especially quests! And Greek gods! Highly recommended - I might do a full series review after I reread them.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan (5/5)
This book feels so weirdly short for all the things that go down - loving this reread.

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson #3) by Rick Riordan (5/5)
The reread continues! I'd forgotten about Zoe, I do like her. And, for some reason, I remember completely adoring Nico. I mean, I still do, but it's not like he's there a lot, or does much.

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson #4) by Rick Riordan (5/5)
This one has some fantastic scenes, I mean they all have scenes I just really love, and I think Titan's Curse is my favorite for that - but still.

I'm also currently reading The Last Olympian and will definitely finish it Monday, unless something goes wrong. I'm not really actively reading anything else, though I'd eyeing too many books to read next.

What I've Been Watching:
I'm still trying to catch up on Scandal, but with read-a-thoning, it's a little slow going and I don't want it to end (I really like Mellie. Which might seem like a strange character, and she's not my favorite, but she's been through a lot of shit and I just kind of love her? I'm not even sorry). Anyway - besides Scandal...

I've mostly been watching Sponser Cut videos from RoosterTeeth (mostly gaming, but they're also just kind of a hilarious group of people, I'd highly suggest checking them out if you like games at all or humor - mostly stupid humor, but still).

Talkin' New Comic Releases with Amy Dallen - Amy is a Geek and Sundry vlogger (this is on that channel) and I thought this video was super interesting. She owns/runs (I think she owns it, now I'm not sure) a comic book store. And this video she talks about just how many new things come out every week and she highlights just a small amount of the weeks releases.

My First Book Haul - my friend Jenny (MagicCatJenny) has started into the world of BookTube. You should check her out and tell her how she did for her first book haul, send her some love and such. She's awesome and she also blogs here. She blogs about crafts, cosplay, traveling, and much more!

PeruseProject's Ask Regan video - she might be my favorite BookTuber I've been watching pretty much since I really started getting into the YouTube side of things. And it's mostly because I feel like we have similar tastes in book - read kind of everything, but with a specific love for fantasy. So you should check her out.

Spectacular September Book Haul [28 books], Lindsey Rey - I mentioned her last week also, because I found her last week. And I am still really enjoying her videos and this is an epic book haul! I don't care what anyone says, I love book hauls (obviously. And I think they're a way to learn people's tastes and such, and it's just fun. Though it does add books to my never ending TBR pile). So many books.

And, a video very close to my heart and that almost made me cry: Happy Esther Day! - it's a video of midnight at LeakyCon (we're not talking about the rebranding here yet, LeakyCon). (If you don't know what Esther Day is, it's explained in the video).

Blog Posts I've Liked:
I really like BlogLovin' - I mean I still haven't found something as good as what Google Reader use to be, but I really like BlogLovin'. And it makes liking posts so I can remember about them really easy (I also end up emailing myself a lot, when I'm on my phone). Anyway - onto some blog posts.

The Perpetual Page Turner, Jamie, put up two posts recently I really enjoyed. A kind of book talk style post inspired/about Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer, which was really interesting and I loved it. And she links to another post of hers, at the very beginning, about hanging up her book reviewer hat. And I thought it was interesting. I don't review a lot of the books I read, probably a small amount of them actually, but normally because I either have too little to say or because I just want to spew all my feelings about it. Maybe I'll start seeing if I can figure out a discussion post format. Mmh...

I also found a really helpful looking post with a ton of resources for Book Bloggers - old, new, wanting to start out.

Also a post about: How do you read ALL the blogs? Which - is interesting, because I've been really trying this year to keep up with the community and the blogs I follow. And holy hell is it hard, especially since they're not all in the same place. How do you do it?

On The Blog:
Monday Musings (5): Read-A-Thons
September Read-A-Thons Update Post (Tackle Your TBR) (1)
2014: Book Reviews (11)
Book Review: Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest

Book Review: Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest

Title: Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest
Author: A. Lee Martinez
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Humor
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 368 (paperback)
Publication Date: July 16th, 2013

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Witness the epic battle of the cyclops!

Visit the endangered dragon preserve! Please, no slaying.

Solve the mystery of The Mystery Cottage, if you dare!

Buy some knick knacks from The Fates! They might come in handy later.

On a road trip across an enchanted America, Helen and Troy will discover all this and more. If the curse placed upon them by an ancient god doesn't kill them or the pack of reluctant orc assassins don't catch up to them, Helen and Troy might reach the end their journey in one piece, where they might just end up destroying the world. Or at least a state or two.

A minotaur girl, an all-American boy, a three-legged dog, and a classic car are on the road to adventure, where every exit leads to adventure. Whether they like it or not

Review:
This book wasn't amazing, it didn't blow me away However - it was a lot of fun, sometimes ridiculous, but fun. The synopsis up there gives you the basics, but I wanted to add more.

This book is about these two teenagers who happen to half-witness / half-almost be sacrificed and it makes them wind up on this strange quest for a god. And one of my favorites parts of this book is the world they live in, because their parents just wish them luck and wave as they drive away. Quest? Everyday happenstance!

Helen, as you get from the synopsis, in a minotaur - and that was interesting and different. And Troy, all around American honestly good guy (seriously, I bet his teeth sparkle when he smiled), who I obviously liked because I couldn't find a reason to not like him. And they're a great pair, they set out on their quest/road trip and hope for the best.

This book is really about them - even through the strange cyclopes battles and dragon forests - it's really about them. And, also, a bit about these bikers who are also Orcs, who have kind of been sent on a mission by their god to kill these two kids.

It's insane, basically, and it's not really well written (though it's not terrible), but it's fun and the characters have something that makes them feel real. I'd probably mostly recommend this to people who like mythology, mostly Greek but it jumbles a bit at points, or people who like road quests trips.

2014: Book Reviews (11)

Part eleven - I'm still behind, I was almost caught up and then I didn't post 10 or write this and fell way, way behind again. Maybe I can catch up this month... (wishful thinking never actually hurt anyone, right?) Anyway - this is a series I do where I write a few sentences, or even less, about every book I've read this month (or, if I put up a full review, I link to that with a few words). I don't review everything I read, I only fully review a few things, so I wanted to start doing this somehow.

The Inventor's Secret (The Inventor's Secret #1) by Andrea Cremer (4/5)
I really enjoyed this book. I've tried about five times to write a full review of this one, but I can only ever write a few lines. This book is just a ton of fun - it's very light, I rolled my eyes a time or two, but I also just kind of really loved it,  even though it was slightly cheesy or whatever at points. I'm a sucker for the steampunk/alt history thing, I guess.

The Fear Trials (The Murder Complex #0.5) by Lindsey Cummings (3/5)
This is a prequel novella to The Murder Complex and - I guess I kind of expected more. And I don't know what I mean by more, but this novella felt like it was missing something and I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. I still haven't read The Murder Complex - we'll see.

Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus by P.C. Martin (3/5)
This was a reward for a Kickstarter that I got in the mail years ago, it's been a while, but I finally got around to reading it. It was a lot of fun and very reminiscent of a classic Sherlock Holmes story without feeling like it was outright coping it. And it has illustrations, it's steampunk, Mycroft is a women - I mean it's a bit awesome.

Sea of Shadow (Age of Legends #1) by Kelly Armstrong (5/5)
I wrote up a full review here - but, to sum it up, I really enjoyed this book: the plot, the characters, the writing. I'm excited to be able to pick up more of Kelly's books, and for the rest of this series.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (5/5)
This is the second time I've reread this book. Obviously I completely adore this book - all of the gaming stuff makes me happy and the '80's references are plentiful, awesome, and a tad ridiculous. The characters, the world, the plot - I mean, can I live in the OASIS? Check it out, if you haven't!

Burn for Burn (Burn for Burn #1) by Siobhan Vivan, Jenny Han (3/5)
I had - some problems with this book. I haven't reviewed it because most of my problems would be considered "spoiler," but theres one scene that I had a lot of problems with how one of the girls reacted - as in she kind of barely did? It was mostly just - light, fun, but the more I think about it, the more problems I find. I'm going to continue on to, at least, book two (because I got it for $2), and I guess we'll see from there.

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord (5/5)
I have a full review here! Basically, though, this book is fantastic. It's light and fun but not just light and fun. And it focuses a lot on the two girls, who are best friends, and their friendship - maybe even slightly more then the love interest, though that is obviously a major thing as well. I just haven't read a lot of contemporary where the girls friendships are valued as so important, which annoys me because they are.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan (3/5)
It was - fun, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought as I've loved all of David's book, haven't read anything of Rachel's besides this. I guess I expected more and, while this was mostly entertaining, I skimmed some because I just didn't care - about the characters or what would happen next.

Rock On by Denise Vega (4/5)
This was - a little eye roll inducing, but mostly kind of just a lot of fun and cute. I'd recommend it to people who like contemporaries about bands, high school bands, and brothers. (Also - the whole rockstar syndrome thing made me laugh, mostly because of the how true it is).

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (4/5)
Okay - so this book was a little ridiculous, but it was so much fun that I didn't care. I'm a huge sucker for the normal person dating a famous person troupe (but I always want to see more that they don't show - though this one showed more then I expected). I'd recommend this, if one keeps in mind that it's a little ridiculous, but a ton of fun and perfect for summer.

And there we go - ten more books down. Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What's your favorite book you've read so far this week/month?

September 2014 Read-A-Thons Update Post (Tackle Your TBR) (1)

Tackle Your TBR is a read-a-thon being hosted by Wishful Endings (direct to read-a-thon post). This is going to my daily update post for the first part of the read-a-thon, instead of the daily separate posts I do for things like Bout of Books, just because I don't think I'm going to get that level of reading done.

Monday, September 8th:
Number of books Read Today: 1
Pages Read Today: 279
Books(today):
The Merciless by Danielle Vega (started and finished - 279 pages)

Notes:
I was really in the mood for horror, especially after doing research for that RIP read-a-thon thing (my post about it here), and this was much better then I expected. I think I kind of pre-judged it based on the bright pink cover, but I do love the design. And the contents was pretty awesome, too, I gave it 4/5 stars.

Tuesday, September 9th:
Number of Books Read Today: 0
Total Number of Books: 1
Pages Read Today: 75
Total Number of Pages: 354
Books(today):
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan (started - 75 pages)

Notes:
I decided to start rereading The Lightning Thief. I didn't feel good all day - so I finally got to read stuff just before bed, and then passed out.

Wednesday, September 10th:
Number of Books Read Today: 0
Total Number of Books: 1
Pages Read Today: 106
Total Number of Pages: 460
Books(today):
Tinder by Sally Gardner (started - 106 pages)

Notes:

I think not feeling so well, therefore not being able to focus very well, had definitely thrown me into a bit of a reading slump. I'm going to try and read more tomorrow, though, and not get completely distracted.

Thursday, September 11th:

Number of Books Read Today: 2
Total Number of Books: 3
Pages Read Today: 458
Total Number of Pages: 918
Books(today):
Tinder by Sally Garner (finished - 150 pages)
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz #1) by Brandon Sanderson (started and finished - 308 pages).

Notes:
Today was definitely a pretty good reading day. I got my bind-up of Alcatraz in the mail today and decided to give the first book a short and accidentally finished it. Sanderson hangover cured? Maybe? Anyway - I cured the page count for that first book from the separate book instead of my bind-up, it equals the same stuff read, anyway, and it was some great books. Seriously - a ton of fun to read, totally ridiculous, and very original.

Friday, September 12th:

Number of Books Read Today: 1
Total Number of Books: 4
Pages Read Today: 448
Total Number of Pages: 1,366
Books(today):
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan (finished - 300 pages)
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan (started - 148 pages)

Notes:
Ah - rereading Percy Jackson. I'd forgotten a lot, or hadn't thought about some of the campers/characters in a long time. I miss them, for multiple reasons, but it's fun to be back. I don't think I'll marathon all five in a row, I also want to reread 1-4 of Heroes of Olympus before October 7th, too. It's going to be fun, I think, and I want everything fresh in my mind.

I hope you all had great days, I am feeling a bit better then I have been, I was starting to feel a bit better yesterday, too. If you're participating / if you're just reading - link me to your update post / blog.

Saturday, September 13th:

Number of Books Read Today: 2
Total Number of Books: 6
Pages Read Today: 460
Total Number of Pages: 1,826
Books(today):
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan (finished - 140 pages)
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson #3) by Rick Riordan (started and finished - 320 pages)

Notes:

I - whatever, it was a weird day. Anyway, obviously I really, really loved these books. They're a reread and I'd forgotten so much in the three+ years it's been - seriously I'd forgotten so much.

Alright and now I'm going to start a part two for this Sepember read-a-thon thing - same set up, it'll probably be up Monday, and I'll link it here!

It's Monday! What are you reading? (1)

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme that was created by BookJourney. I've always considering doing a weekly wrap up, and I've liked WWW Wednesday, and I love that - but I don't like how it happens in the middle of the week (because it's great sometimes, but most of the time I can't make it work, which is why you don't see more of those).

And this year I've definitely been reading enough to do a weekly wrap-up and for them to actually contain things. That being said - some weeks I don't read a lot. I can go a whole week without picking up a book and then read like 10 in a week. My brain is very strange - but, of course, I won't be putting up a weekly wrap-up on the weeks there is nothing to, well, wrap-up.

So I've investigated a bunch of blogs - some I follow, but I also investigated past that - to see what they did for this. Their set up, what they wrapped up  - that kind of thing. And I think I have a vague idea of how I want to do this, which will probably change slightly every week (depending on what I want to talk about / what there is to talk about).

First up: books I've finished this week!
The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
I don't know if I have any coherent thoughts about this lovely book. Besides that it was incredible and the last 100 pages broke me.

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
Yes - I kind of immediately picked this book up. It was - freaking incredible. I don't know if it was better then the first, there's just something about The Final Empire and the introduction into that world, but I still loved this book. It takes place a year after the end of the first one, which I thought was good, even though I would of liked to hear how some of these conversations we missed went.

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanders (5/5)
I cannot even. This whole book was insane and stressful as hell at multiple points. And - holy hell was it freaking fantastic.

I read these books in less them a week (finishing this one Friday night, the 5th, while I'd finished the first one on the first, Monday). And then I kind of haven't read since then (though that's changing today Monday, the first day of a new read-a-thon!), but I had a bit of a book hangover/mourning period.

What I've Been Watching:
I don't know what this is going to be every week, but I wanted to do something like this - maybe my favorite YouTube videos and what I've been watching in relation to TV.

So I haven't sat down for a weekly show in a while, everything is currently off that I'm really into / I keep getting annoyed with the writing of shows I did like. However - I recently started season 3 of Scandal (I'd marathoned the first two season and loved them, even though it's totally not what I'd normally be watching), but it's so good, I'm not disappointed so far by a long shot. (All three seasons are on Netflix, if you want to give it a a shot! Political intrigue, fantastic actors, complicated stories at points).

And then two BookTube videos / BookTubers. I just found Lindsey Rey this past week, about, and (I think her most recent) video is the A to Z Survey she reads a lot and I kind of really like watching people who read about as much as I do.

And then InkBonesBooks has fantastic videos - most recently was her September TBR where she talks about #SeptemberofRadiance (reading Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson in September - and you all know how I feel about this author by now right? And I need to reread WoK and then read this).

Blog Posts I've Liked:
I haven't been keeping track of these, because I didn't think about it (I will do better next week!) so there's only really one I want to talk about. There were books involved... did a blog post called How Do You Write Your Reviews? and it talks about how she has trouble just sitting down and writing reviews. And I definitely have that same problem, even just throwing words down so I can get a general idea (a first draft is what I call the spewing of thoughts), but it's so difficult. How do you guys write reviews? Can you just sit down and crank them out? How do you do that, if you do? Share your secrets!

On the Blog:
August Wrap-Up
September TBR
Waiting on Wednesday (6)
2014: Book Reviews (10)
Read-a-thon and a Read-a-Long (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX & The Raven Cycle ReadALong)
September Read-a-Thon(s) (Tackle your TBR & treesofreverie)

Musing Mondays (5): Read-A-Thons

A meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week:

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).

• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

You've probably noticed, if you've seen my blog at all before this post, that I really like read-a-thons. It's probably unhealthy how much I like read-a-thons, if I'm being honest, but I can't stop - if there is a read-a-thon, I must do it, I have some weird, unhealthy addiction. I mean, I need breaks in between them to recharge and do other things, but when there is a read-a-thon - I will devote as much time to it as is humanly possible for me. 

I have two main favorites, as far as ones that happen more then once a year: Bout of Books and Dewey's 24 hour Read-A-Thon.

Bout of Books takes place three times a year: January, May, August - it's a weeklong read-a-thon that a ton of people take part in. There are so many people and it's a ridiculous amount of fun with the twitter chats and challenges and reading people's updates everyday and commenting. It's probably my favorite.

Dewey's 24 hours read-a-thon takes place twice a year and runs for 24 hours. So it's quick and a ton of fun and super stressful. I tend to have a lot of fun with something like this - high stress, high goals, limited time. (See: NaNoWriMo overachieving, I hit 300k last November). Dewey's takes place in April and October (this Octobers is October 18th!)

I've taken part in a lot of other read-a-thons, though. Some seem to be one time things, some it's their second or more year, and some happen more frequently. People decide to do a read-a-thon the day before. Maybe I should start my own... No - that's a ton of work. 

So far this year, I've taken part in seven read-a-thons: Bout of Books 9 (January), Dewey's 24 hour (April), Bout of Books 10 (May), BookTubeAThon (July), treesofreverie (July), Bout of Books 11 (August), Beat the Heat (August).

What read-a-thons have you taken part in? Do you have a favorite? Or are they not your thing (tell me why!)?

Most recent read-a-thon (final updates)

Bout of Books 11 Day Seven and Final Wrap-Up

Beat the Hear: Update Post (2)

September Read-a-Thon(s) (Tackle Your TBR & treesofreverie)

Read-a-thons are fun, I like read-a-thons (you've probably realized this if you've seen, really, anything of my blog) and I said in my September TBR that I didn't think there were any read-a-thons going on. And then I found like all of them? 

And I didn't want to make separate posts for everything, but I split them into two posts,* because that would be a lot of posts and annoying if you don't care about read-a-thons. So theres the Tackle Your TBR read-a-thon from September 8th to September 20th and the treesofreverie read-a-thon from September 14th to September 28th. Go to the treeofreverie announcement post to find out out to officially sign up. I don't think you have to officially sign up, but it's not too complicated. 

Since Tackle Your TBR actually starts, well, tomorrow as this is going up - then I feel like I can actually even try and make up a possible list of books I might read, though I have honestly no idea what I'm going to be reading.

• The Girl of Fire and Thorn by Rae Carson (I really want to read this, and I splurged for the rest of the series, so I could binge read the whole thing)
• Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan (This book is huge - in size and it's like 300 pages, but I want to at least start it next week).
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
• Saint City Sinner by Lilith Saintcrow (I'd like to eventually freaking finish this book - also The Queen of the Tearling).
• Something Sanderson - I just read Mistborn, I need more (I haven't read The Alloy of Law, maybe that?)

And as for what I'd like to get done for this read-a-thon, I'm currently in a really reading mood, but also I haven't gotten to play a lot of the Sims 4. So these two overlap a little - so I'm going to do the first part of the Tackle Your TBR in one post, and then when these two start to overlap, a separate post, a wrap-up for Tackle, and then finishing out with trees. Did that make sense? I think so (if you're confused, I'm sorry, but I can try and make it better if you want?)

If you're participating in any of these read-a-thons - let me know with a link to your blog so I can see what you're reading/up to!

*I divided the two posts into two groups. This one is the shorter read-a-thons - while the other one is The Raven Cycle read-a-long and R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX. My post about them.

Read-a-thon and a Read-a-Long (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX & The Raven Cycle ReadALong)

So these are two very different things - well, I guess not really, but whatever. R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX is a read-a-thon run by Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings and runs from September 1st to October 31st, and is all about reading books that are horror, suspense, thriller, mystery, dark fantasy, gothic, ect. And I really love that idea, I haven't been reading enough of any of those genres, considering my early teen years.

Can we also just talk about how gorgeous this is?

Honestly, I'm not sure if I should be calling this a "read-a-thon" it seems to be more like a nice stroll (through a dark forest at midnight), but it's more relaxed, it seems.

Quoting from Carl's kick-off post:

As time has wound on I’ve honed this event down to two simple rules:
1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

And I feel like that is a perfect idea. You can also pick a peril, meaning what you'd like to read/watch for this relaxed read-a-thon. Peril the First is to read four books that one feels fits R.I.P literature. And there are others like that - but also ones related to short stories or TV/movies.

There's also a group read going on (of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I don't think I'm going to participate in this, though I have the book, I'm such a mood reader that it's hard to say for certain, but I also really enjoy being a mood reader.

And for which Peril I'm going to aim for - probably the Second or Third, just because I don't want to push myself to read things I don't want to read or whatever. Also I will definitely be watching scary movies as soon as we hit October, because they're all over TV and it's fantastic. (I'm technically a few days late for this - but it's a long, pretty relaxed one).

The Raven Cycle (re)Readathon - a readathon about The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, reading it for the first time or rereading it with a group. I'll be reading them for the first time (and am actually behind as I haven't started yet! But I'll probably binge read them in one sitting). I've been really looking forward to getting to these books and I'm annoyed at myself that I haven't yet, and I thought the third one was the last one, but I think it's going to be a four book series.

Anyway - rambling. It's being run by two bloggers: Books of Amber & Readers in Wonderland.

2014: Book Reviews (10)

Another part of this lovely adventure, it's been an insane reading year for me and I never expected this series to go as far as it seems to be going. To look at past ones, full reviews, or all the books I've read this year - 2014 reading challenge post.

Maus Vol 1 + 2 by Art Spiegelman (both - 5/5)
I loved these two graphic novels. They felt very real and very raw, and I really liked the way he used the animals thing. It wasn't overdone and it wasn't jarring at any point.

Locke and Key: Vols 1, 2, + 3 by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (all - 5/5)
These first three in the series were fantastic. I love the story and the characters, and the third is probably the one that's the darkest, but they're all pretty dark and intense. And I loved every minute and cannot wait to get my hands on more, highly recommended.

Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery #1) by Kim Harrison (4/5)
This was good, fun, and quick. And I have a full review here.

Elusive Memories (The Hunted #1) by Amanda Shofner (5/5)
Really liked this, it was interesting from the start and I really liked the characters. And am super looking forward to the next one!

What In God's Name by Simon Rich (5/5)
I don't know what I expected from this book, but it wasn't what I got. And what I got was amazing. It was ridiculous and amazing and I just really loved it to pieces. A fantastic, quick read that had me laughing out loud way too many times.

Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons (4/5)
This took me longer to read then I expected - I slogged through it at points, it could get a little overly wordy, but that isn't to say I didn't enjoy - I really did. I guess my expectations were a little high after everything I'd heard, but it was still good.

Coffin Hill, Vol 1 by Caitlin Kitteredge (4/5)
Super interesting and weird and bloody and weird - I weirdly really enjoyed it. A lot. If you haven't looked into it, you should.

Fruits Basket Vol 1 - 23 by Natsuki Takaya (5/5)
Yes - I read all 23 volumes of Fruits Basket in a ridiculous, and probably unhealthy, short amount of time (reread, actually). (I finished the first one on the 2nd of June, and the last one on the 6th). Obviously I really, really love this series. It's just - so good. The anime and the manga, I first watched and read it years ago and just - so good. It's silly, hilarious, fun, ridiculous, makes fun of itself - check it out.

Fire and Flood (Fire and Flood #1) by Victoria Scott (4/5)
I have a full review up Basically - really enjoyed, fast paced.

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (5/5)
I have a full review up. I adored this book, go and read it, it's gorgeous and breathtaking and just so freaking good.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony (3/5)
It was a cool concept and interesting - but I think it should of been longer, or that there needed to be more then just a few snippets of IMs between them, I didn't really care about the characters, didn't feel connected to them, and it made no real sense why it was in pictures, to me at least.

Waiting on Wednesday (6)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. And it's where people share their most anticipated reads that are to be released.

This week I want to spotlight a few books that come out this very month that I'm highly anticipating, and have been for a while. I haven't been able to one of these in a while, so I feel a little behind, but I still want to spotlight these books even though they're so close now.



Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White (Release Date: September 9th)
I've liked what I've read from Kiersten White and this sounds really interesting and really good. I haven't heard much, just some pretty good reviews and thoughts from people I've friends with on Goodreads. And all I've read of the synopsis in the first part, which I'm going to share because it sounds fun. (From Goodreads):

Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.
“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have."

Get Even (Don't Get Mad #1) by Gretchen McNeil (Release Date: September 16th)
I'd really like to read one of her other books, as I own two and haven't read one yet - all of them sound interesting - this one also sounds interesting and fun. All about revenge - these girls, I'm assuming who are in high school, because they're getting revenge on high school bullies. The beginning of the Goodreads synopsis says this:

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld  (Release Date: September 23rd)
What I've read of Scott's - I've really enjoyed. I've read two series, and haven't yet gotten to his Uglies series, but I plan to. This is a standalone, though, and I'm sure everyone has already heard about it. It's so interesting sounding. It sounds strange and weird and complex - and I'm excited, but hesitant, to read it. It seems a little daunting and confusing, but I've preordered it, so we'll see what happens. Goodreads synopsis (in full):

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings…  

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack. But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

September 2014 TBR

I'm not really sure, for September, what I'm going to be reading or if I'll be reading a lot just because of what I'd like to read. However - I'm also a total mood reader, as you probably know if you've seen any of my posts, so it all depends on that. There aren't any read-a-thons this month, at least that I know of yet, so I might take the month to reread The Way of Kings and such - I'd like to finish The Final Empire. It might be my Sanderson month.

I'd also like to read The Raven Boys and, probably, The Dream Thieves because the third book comes out at the end of October and while it's going to be a four book series (I believe), I'd still like to catch up because I've heard pretty much all good, if not great. Also there's a read-a-long/thon type thing happening for it hosted by Books of Amber & Readers in Wonderland - both direct links to the read-a-long posts - and it sounds like fun to read-a-long with everyone.

I'll definitely read more then that, at least I hope so, but at the moment I've no idea what that might be. The Sims 4 does come out at the very beginning of the month, so we'll see how that and no read-a-thon hinder my reading for the month, I guess. I am just currently looking around me and I'm literally surrounded by books I want to / need to read, pretty much all of them are books I've been dying to get to and just haven't had the time to yet.

For example, I could read/do all this (no guarentees, obviously, but if you've read any of this, let me know your thoughts!):

• Otherbound by Corrinne Duyvis
• More Than This by Patrick Ness (Oh, and Monsters of Men)
• Sin City graphic novels (I have 1 - 4, but I might save them for a read-a-thon. Specifically Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon in October).
• There's a ton of books in this box from a BookOutlet order (there was that $20 off thing or whatever - I couldn't refuse!
• The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman (I've started this, just barely, but it already seems incredible - such a different, unique world and it has an surprisingly few number of reviews on Goodreads).
• Finish some of my longstanding currently-reading books. The Queen of the Tearling? Hello? I've been reading this book for months and months now, since like a month or something before it released. This book is amazing and fantastic, I don't know why I haven't finished it yet.
• I've been feeling really in a classics / 'literary fiction' type of mood the last few days - so maybe I'll get around to a classic or whatever or two.

And now with that super vague TBR list of just random things spewed on the page... What are you planning to read this month? What are you most excited to read this month? Any releases you're looking forward to? (Link me your own September TBR post!)