Bout-of-Books: A Read-A-Thon

Bout of Books is a week long read-a-thon where you try to read more then normal. I signed up for it right after I finished Dewey's read-a-thon just because I loved it so very much. Reading is something that I always feel like I can do more of just because you can't get sick of it, because if you're sick on one genre, you can just put that book down for now and pick up another, which I do more then I'd like.

If you're interested in this read-a-thon, there's a link right here to bring you to the blog and from there you can sign up/follow them on Twitter and whatever you could possibly want to.

All my updates for each day will be posted on this post so there isn't a new post everyday, just keep checking back to this one. And if you're doing this read-a-thon, you should post your update post in the comments so I can check it out!

That's not the point of this post, the point of this post is to tell you my goal for this read-a-thon. Onto the actual goal:

My Goals:

• Read more books then normal for me. (I normally only read a couple books a week, 2-3)
• Overall, I'd like to read 4-5 books, but I'm going to try and read as many as I can while still keeping up with school.

Books To Read:
I 'm not much of a planner when it comes to my reading, so here's just a few I MIGHT read. I just kind of go with what I'm feeling at the time.

• Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman
• The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm
• Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Updates:

5/14:
Number of books I've read today: .5? (Didn't finish any, but read from 2 different ones.
Total number of books: 0
Books:
Good Omens (unfinished)
The Gunslinger (unfinished)
Time spent reading: 2:25 (just for today, I'm not going to keep keeping track of it, it's a lot of work).
Pages Read: 141 (This isn't really needed, but I kind of like keeping track of how much I'm reading, so I'm going to keep doing this).

5/15:
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total number of books: 1
Books:
The Walking Dead: Book One
Good Omens (unfinished)
Pages Read(today): 324
Pages Read(overall): 465

5/16:
Total number of books I've read today: .2
Total number of books: 1
Books:
Good Omens (unfinished)
Pages Read(today): 19
Pages read(overall): 504

Notes:
I got a bit sidetracked today and was way too tired to read by the end of the day. I've been working out, doing school work, writing, and working on something blog related everyday. And, of course, reading, though, not as much as I'd like to be. I think that I'm going to make it priority tomorrow, since I need to take a rest from the working out.

5/17:
Total number of books I've read today: 1
Total number of books: 2
Books:
The Gunslinger (finished)
Pages Read(today): 249
Pages read(overall): 753

Notes:
I finished The Gunslinger today and I don't even know what that book was, I think I need to let it sink it. I just... wow. Just wow. I don't know how much reading I'm going to get done tomorrow, but I'm going to try to get as much done as possible.



5/18:


Notes:
I got almost no reading done today. I think I got about 3 pages read, but I am going to try and read before I pass out. I hung out with a friend, saw a movie, and then just watched the season finale of Supernatural and I'm too emotionally exhausted to even move. But all weekend, I'm reading. So I will read my goal if it kills me.



5/19:

Total number of books I've read today: 0
Total number of books: 2
Books:
Good Omens (unfinished)
Pages Read(today): 66
Pages read(overall): 819

Notes:
I did not get as much reading today as I wanted to, however, before I sleep I'm going to read some. I can't seem to get through Neil Gaiman books quickly. I know it's largely because I just don't want it to end, but also they're just so good. So very good. Tomorrow, to give my brain a rest from the awesome, I'm going to read some Fruits Basket (which is also awesome, though), among exercising.



5/20:

Total Number of Books I've read Today: 2
Total Number of Books: 4
Books:
Good Omens (finished)
Fruits Basket V. 1 (finished)
Ender's Games (unfinished)
Pages Read (today): 363
Pages Read (overall): 1,182

Notes:
Whew! I did this even with food shopping. I still have a while until midnight, but I'm exhausted from the day of errands. I finished Good Omens today and it was amazing, I can't make any coherent thoughts about it yet.

Overall I Thought (On goals and experience)
I did pretty good on my goal, I didn't end up reading most of the books I was thinking of. I did get 4 books read, though, and I'm proud of it because of all the other stuff I was doing, too. Graceling is the next book on my list and I'm dying to dive into it tonight. Anyway, I've found that I love read-a-thons because for a little while I can put reading in front of pretty much everything, besides school work and sleep, and it's a lot of fun.

This week normal blog stuff will start reviews and such. I've got a WWW Wednesday in the works for this Wednesday.

Book Review: Grave Mercy

Book: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassins #1)
Author: Robin LaFevers
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Historical (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 549 (Hardcover)
Favorite Character: It might have to be Anne. I mean I loved Ismae, but I try not to pick the main character for this. And I really like Anne, she was young and smart and quick.

Plot: (from Goodreads)

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?


Review:
It took me a while to make my way through this book just because of it's length, but it was so worth it. This book is amazing for many reasons. And I'm going to try and tell you all of them now. In short, this book has lovable character, a writing style I loved, good world building, and an interesting and intricate plot.

I loved the world building in this story and that it does take place over a longer period of time then most. The world in this story is just amazing and I loved being able to read about it. Historical novels are one of my favorite to hear the world building and to dive into, because it's as close as I'll probably get to time travel.

The characters were amazing, you just can't help but love and root for some of them just because of everything that's happening. Ismae is who this books follows and she's a handmaiden of Death, an assassin, and I really loved her personality. I may have laughed a little every time she asked if she could kill someone or her hand automatically went to her knife or something like that.

I rated this book 5/5 stars because of all of those things. I just truly loved this book and I can't wait for the next one in the series. (Also, random fact I learned through Twitter about the cover, I'm sorry to say I can't remember from who - if it was you tell me -, that she's holding a real crossbow on the cover. Those things are heavy! It's a beautiful cover, though).

Book Review: The Selection

Book: The Selection (The Selection #1)
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 327 (Hardcover)
Favorite Character: Besides America, I think it would have to be Maxon.

Plot: (From Goodreads)

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.


Review:
The Selection is about a contest to become the next princess and then queen of this country. Our main character America enters it not because she wants to, but because a boy asks her to and her family could really use the money that is given to the contestants. I really liked America, I thought she was strong and stubborn in some aspects and sometimes sarcastic, but that's on of the reasons why I liked her so much. Some of her inner dialogue had me laughing out loud, how she said some things were just so funny to me. This might be because I, too, can be quite sarcastic. I feel like if America was real, we'd get along, which is probably one of the reasons I liked her character so much.

Also, I want to talk about the writing. Kiera is technically a debut author, but she has a self-published book called The Siren, that you should total check out here is the Goodreads page and a link to Amazon. Anyway, I knew I liked her writing style because I'd loved The Siren, but I'd forgotten just how much I enjoyed it and this book definitely reminded me of it.

I can't wait for the next book in the series! And let's just draw away from the actual story for one second to say: that cover is gorgeous, I love it so very much! And now that's taken care of, I love a good Dystopian and this is definitely one of them. Kiera's a debut and this is a way to enter in with a bang.

WWW Wednesday (3)

WWW Wednesday is a mean hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. And she asks that you answer these three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

I only do these every other week. I don't know when I decided this, but so far that's how I've been doing it and it's been working pretty well. With school I don't have as much time to read as I'd like to have, so I don't get as much reading done a week as I want to.


Currently-Reading:

The Knife of Letting Go by Patrick Ness
This one is good... I'm just barely into it, though, but the narration is weird, but it's interesting. I just wasn't in the mood for dystopian the day after I started this.

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
This one is interesting, I'm really loving it so far. I just love the writing and that there are these two completely different stories happening at the same time and they're trying to learn about these things that the other might be able to help them with, well, maybe only some things. That's not the point, though, I was just such in a high fantasy mood and I picked this one up and it was exactly what I was in the mood for!





Recently Finished Reading:

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassins #1) by Robin LaFevers (5/5)
I don't know why it took me so long to read this book, as soon as I got it, I wanted to devour it. I guess it might be because it is quite a thick book, but I did end up reading most of it in one sitting.

The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass (5/5)
I loved this book so very, very much. And I keep hearing the tag line that it's like The Hunger Games, but... it's not. I mean, it's dystopian and there's this contest thing, but they volunteer (I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE! Oh, sorry, continue) and there's no killing. I really just like this book, though, I love Kiera's writing and the characters and the plot and just loved it. It made me want to be a princess! (Well, kind of, I don't think I'd fit in very well, but you never know).

The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars #1) by Frank Beddor (4/5)
I've been wanting to start this series since I first saw it, but I was trying to wait and try and finish some series first. That did no work, obviously. I caved and read it and it was so very, very good. It was a little slow in the middle, but overall it was awesome. (Also, there are illustrations in this book and they are amazing and beautiful. I love illustrations in books, I think that there should be more of that happening).

The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles #2) by Rick Riordan (4/5)
I loved the first book in this series and this one was no different, I adored it. I didn't like some parts, but otherwise that was fine. I love the format of this series, though, the recordings thing. (If you read the front it gives this little warning about it being made from transcribed audio. Isn't that awesome? I love little things like that).

Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2) by Jim Beaver (4/5)
This one was different. I mean, I still really liked this book, but I'm still shocked that everyone isn't just dead! Anyway, this is the second book in the Dresden Files series, so I'm not going to go into details even though these are the kind of books that are kind of contained in the seperate books, plot-wise, at least mostly. I have a feeling that it'll probably branch out more, at least I'm hoping.







Want to Read Next:

Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm
I got this in the mail late last week and whenever I see it, I just kind of stare at it longingly for a couple seconds. I'm a big fan of gods and everything, seriously thats a huge hook for me, if something says gods, I will check it out. If it's Greek Myth based, I will probably read it right away. (I hope I can read this one really soon!)

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
I got it on Monday and have been dying to read it! I wish that reading could just be a job, because I never have enough time to read everything I want. Anyway, I've been with this series pretty much since the beginning, actually, from the beginning. I remember waiting for the second book to come out very anxiously. So this one will probably be read over the weekend, probably in just about 1 sitting.






Also, I got Insurgent which I'm waiting until I'm in the mood for or I won't enjoy it as much as I would if I was in the mood for it. Also, I've been dying to read Graceling and I just cannot wait to have time to read it! I don't think I said this up above but if you do one of these, then feel free to link me in the comments, I love checking out these.

Top Ten Tuesday - May 8th (1)

This is a feature that's run over at the Broke and the Bookish, which is an awesome blog. And it's a feature that occurs every Tuesday and I've been wanting to participate for a while and, apparently, today is the day. Mostly because today is about quotes and I love quotes. Specifically today's one is: Top Ten Favorite Quotes From Books. This is going to be hard, I love quotes. I'm going to make it smaller and say these are some of my favorite funny quotes. (Well, I find them funny, at least, I hope you will, too).

These are just some random funny quotes that make me smile/laugh. There aren't any real spoilers down there, but here's a list of the books that these quotes are from: The Titan's Curse, Paper Towns, City of Bones, City of Glass, Name of the Star, Changeless, The Lightning Thief, Darker Still, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Half-Blood Prince.

Favorite Quotes From Books(Humor/Funny):

1.

“Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."

Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

...

I started cracking up, and Thalia and Grover joined in, while Zoe just looked at me. "I do not understand."

"I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.

"And..." Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam t-shirt.” 

Rick Riordan, The Titan's Curse

2. 

Radar threw his books into his locker and shut it. Then the din of conversation around us quieted just as a bit as he turned his eyes towards the heavens and shouted, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT MY PARENTS OWN THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF BLACK SANTAS!"

John Green, Paper Towns

3.

"Don't order any of the faerie food," said Jace, looking at her over the top of his menu. "It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you're munching a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not," he added hastily, "that this has ever happened to me."

Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

4. 

"Patient, grasshopper," said Maia. "Good things come to those who wait."

"I always thought it was 'good things come to those who do the wave,'" said Simon. "No wonder I've been so confused all my life."

Cassandra Clare, City of Glass

5.

Welsh is actual, currently used language and our next-door neighbors Angela and Gaenor spoke it. It sounds like Wizard.

Maureen Johnson, The Name of the Star

6.

"Alexia," she hissed to her friend, "there are knees positively everywhere. What do I do?"

Gail Carriger, Changeless

7.

"How did you die?"

"We, er... drowned in a bathtub."

"All three of you?"
"it was a big bathtub."

Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

8.

"Coffee first. Schemes later."

Leanna Renee Hieber, Darker Still

(I feel like this should always be true).

9.

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

10.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying.

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

These aren't in any specific order and they're probably not all my favorite, favorite. I can think of tons more that I love, but these are the random ones I found going through the ones I'm 'liked' on Goodreads. (These are all from Goodreads, by the way, so if there's anything wrong with them, I'm truly sorry). Also, I haven't actually read the Restaurant at the End of the Universe yet, so there's that. Anyway, if you did a Top Ten Tuesday today or whenever, feel free to link me in the comments, I love theses kinds of things!

In My Mailbox/Book Haul (4)

So I bought some books this week. A lot of books came out and a couple came from The Book Deposity, so I'm not going to separate where they come from this time. And I'm going to tell you which ones I'm most excited about and what ones I'll be reading right away. If you do an IMM/Book Haul link me to it! I'm going to list them which I got the latest.

And here they are:
The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQueen
Lost Voices by Sarah Porter
Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelly Coriell
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan
Storm (Elemental Series) by Brigid Kemmerer
Aesop's Fables
Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
A Need so Beautiful by Suzanne Young

I haven't even read Graceling yet, but I know I'm going to love this series, so I preordered Bitterblue. I kind of wanted to have read at least part of Graceling by the time it came, but it seems not. Deadlocked. I don't know when I'm going to read it. The last Sookie Stackhouse novel made me kind of 'eh.' I mean, it was good and everything but just some of the character's choices. I won't spoil anything if you haven't gotten that far or whatever, it's a long series.

I think the next one I'm going to read is The Serpent's Shadow because I've been dying to figure out what happens next. I don't really want the series to end, though, it's going to be so sad! Also, I've been dying to read Titan Magic ever since I've been hearing some talk of it. It's a self-pub and I've learned to expect the unexpected!

April Wrap-Up

Happy May! Spring is here and... the rain, oh well, sun will soon be around, too. And summer! Which means conventions and seeing friends I haven't seen in much, MUCH too long. (Also, BEA is so close, I can smell it. It kind of has that book smell...)

Anywho. These are the books I was able to get through in April, though, I can never seem to be caught up with my goal of 100 books, but I'm slowly getting over that. Anyway, if there's a review already posted, it will be linked in the 'mini-review' that is there, which is basically just if I liked it or not.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (5/5)
I really enjoyed this book, it's about two teenagers who meet on a plane and how they fall in love over 24 hours. It's just, ugh, it's perfect. Full review can be found here.

The Lost Years (Merlin #1) by T.A. Barron (4/5)
This is about the early years of the well known wizard, Merlin, from the myths of King Arthur. It's just, oh, it's so good. I don't know what I liked so much about this book and some parts I was a little iffy on, but overall it's a really cute book. Full review can be found here.

The Lightning Thief: Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan (4/5)
I loved the whole Percy Jackson series and seeing The Lightning Thief in graphic novel form made me really excited and I can't wait to see the rest of the books in graphic novel form. Full review can be found here.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (5/5)
I still don't really know what to say about this book, I wrote a really long review of it here. But still my main thought, if it can be called a thought on this book is: uuggghhh. Perfection. SO GOOD. And that's not very helpful, well, I mean, it was really, really, really good...

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (5/5)
I really loved this mystery book and if you've read it, you know why. (It's the reason so many people as so frustrated when they finish reading it, it's my favorite part). And I haven't posted a full review of it and I don't think I'm going to just because it's so short and I don't want to give any of it away. It's not horror, it's mystery, so non horror fans should check it out!

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (4/5)
First book in the Dresden Files series and it was amazing. I love this world and these characters so much, I'm glad there are a lot more books for me to read! Full review should be coming soon-ish, if I can figure out why I liked it so much.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (5/5)
I love these stories, I read Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four in January, I think they were like the two first books I read this year, and I loved them. I've been wanting to read them for such a long time and I'm finally getting around to it and not regretting it at all. I'm trying to spread them out because I know I can reread them, but this is the first time I'm reading them and it feels so special!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (5/5)
I have even less coherent thoughts on this on at the moment. When my mom would interrupt me while i was reading this, or anyone, I would just go "assassin nuns!" and then go back to reading. Especially if I was at a stressful or dramatic scene. But, really, this book is about so much more then that (but, come on, that's an amazing tag line. Assassin nuns). Anyway, I also really loved this book. It was just so good and had so much depth and I love how strong these characters were, believable, and lovable also.

I'm currently 2 books behind in my book challenge. I hope to soon be caught up again and, if I can manage it, maybe a ahead for a little while. I have lots of books I want to read, am currently reading, or are coming out soon!