Saturday, January 21, 2017

#24n48 + #diverseathon

I meant to make this post at least a week ago but I've had eye strain for over two weeks now - it's pretty much better, which is how I'm currently able to type this out. It's been driving me insane, though. However - readathons, the best things ever.

24in48 is exactly what it sounds like - a readathon centered around trying to read for 24 hours within 48. Takes place between today and tomorrow (Saturday January 21st - Sunday January 22nd). I've never hit 24 hours, and I'm not sure I ever will just because of who I am as a person, but it's a lot of fun to try and get there. And I always read a lot, even if I don't quite get to 24 hours. Follow along on all social media platforms with #24in48.

(will probably end up taking part a lot with audiobooks so my eyes can mend up fully for the week to come)

#24in48 website
twitter

Diverseathon! This is the second time a handful of booktubers, this time with a blogger and instagrammer, are running this readathon. I'll link a few things below but: Christina Marie's video, mostly because I feel like it has the most information in it. Basically, they really want to focus on #ownvoices this time around - and also not trying to stretch books into fitting into a "diverse" category.

Stretch yourself, read things that might make you uncomfortable - it's only the only way we can learn and grow. Growing pains are called that for a reason. I'm thinking of posting some diverse book recommendations this week, we'll see how well my eyes hold up. If not this week, then in the next few months - there's quite a few posts I've been meaning to do but, alas, eyes. I might post a TBR tomorrow, but I might just post a pile on my instagram of my TBR of diverse books (#ownvoices and not, just the pile I've got in view to remind me).

Dates: January 22nd - 29th

#diverseathon on all social media, and the conversation is fantastic. If you need recs for #ownvoices books, specific or broad, hit up the hashtag or the hosts in particular.

Christina' video again
diverseathon twitter account

Monday, January 9, 2017

2017 | Weekly Wrap Up #1 (#BoutofBooks 18)

What is this? A weekly wrap up? I know, I haven't been here much, but the stress of 2016 is over. Well, mostly over. And so hopefully I'll be over here more often. I definitely want to actually do a full review at some point, there's more then a few books I'd like to but we'll see what one works out first.

This past week was Bout of Books, my update post is here, so if this is your first post of mine then you've probably seen most of this already but I really want to try and wrap up everything this year. I like putting everything together and such.

(Also I started at 1 again, instead of continuing the number like I did last time. This is mostly because I think it'll be easier for me, and also interesting to see how many I do in a year)

Reading: (finished this week and actively currently-reading)
Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Anderson (4/5)
I really enjoyed this one, related to some of the panels - I loved the illustrations and the sense of humor through out. (And also the bunny? Her bunny? Mind bunny? imaginary friend? I don't know, but I liked the bunny)

El Deafo by Cece Bell (4/5)
This was pretty much 80% adorable to me. And also really damn interesting, my grandmother on my moms side was hard of hearing - I think probably legally deaf? she could barely hear with hearing aids in - but I'd never seen/heard about how different it was before. It's a little incredible there even were hearing aids. (The teacher thing was so cool to me).

It did drag a bit, with the kid drama, but I think just because I wasn't fully in the mood for middle grade kid drama? I love middle grade stuff, no idea why it felt like it dragged for me there. Definitely recommend checking this one out.

Crush by Richard Siken (???)
I think I enjoyed this? A lot of his poetry is a little strange. Reading the intro, it's suppose to be obsessive, I guess, and I did enjoy certain ones a lot. I'm just not sure how I felt about the collection overall? I enjoyed it... I think?

Lumberjanes, Volume 5: Band Together by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis (5/5)
Lumberjanes is just so good, if you're not reading this series then honestly what are you doing with your life? It's adorable, got great messages, this one had mermaids. I mean, do I need to say more?

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co #1) by Jonathan Stroud (3.5/5)
This one kind of surprised me? I expected cute ghost mystery and I got that, but I also really loved our main three characters. Lucy is spunky, and George is kind of adorable, and Lockwood has all these mysteries about him (and is kind of manic, honestly, with the mood changes and the energy, I mean, he made me feel tired at some points). And the end was just kind of really awesome, but of course I won't say more on that. Already have the next book on my kindle (thanks, Overdrive!)

The Virgin (Original Sinners #7) by Tiffany Reisz (5/5)
My reread is, sadly, almost over of this series. I love this series, a whole hell of a lot, and mostly because of how much I completely adore all of these characters. Like literally all of them. I'd list them but you might get spoiled. (This series is definitely not for the faint of heart. I've talked about it here numerous times but I feel like I always have to mention it. Check into it first before reading).

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (5/5)
I kind of accidentally reread this? It's adorable and amazing and I love it a whole hell of a lot. Honestly, I want like all of the queer - literally including everyone - contemporaries, romance or not. As long as they're cute and happy. (if you have any recs for that, don't be shy). Anyway, this had a lot of buzz when it came out, so you've probably heard of it, but if you haven't checked it out yet then you should. (And buy oreos before you start reading, I'm still craving them).

Sex Object: A Memoir by Jessica Valenti (4/5)
I half listened, half read this one. And it's read by the author. I really enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I could fully put together into words - at leas at the moment - why I enjoyed it so much. I mean it has a lot of shit in it that made me kind of nauseous, because of things done to her not because of her, but even then... maybe it's just because of the way she writes, how honesty everything felt. I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.

The Summer Palace by C.S. Pacat (4/5)
Super cute - problematic series, but I really damn like these characters - and this was literally just thirty pages of a fluff epilogue.

The Secret Lives of Rockstars (Elfpunk series #1) by Suzanne Lazear (5/5)
It was so good, guys. I like was basically flailing alone in my apartment when it ended because I wanted to know what happened next. I think I might do a full review - well probably more like a full gush - because I loved it so much and more people need to know.

This week I read a total of 2,172 pages - and it took me 18 hours and 27 minutes to do it. I feel very, very good about that. Obviously this is an ridiculously extreme, really, reading week.

Stuff:
So. Has anyone else been watching/reading everyones Reading Resolution videos? I have been, even though I knew I already had my few goals set out - which I haven't posted about but there will be a post, actually two, hopefully coming out this week. I love New Years resolutions, and I always have. I like goals, they really help me, especially if they're high goals. But they have to be high, short term goals, I'm particular.

Honestly, there hasn't been much going on besides me reading this week, as I'm sure you've noticed from the reading section of this post.

And eye strain. Damn eye strain, it's the fucking worst.

On the blog:

Monday, January 2, 2017

Bout of Books 18 | Update Post

And time for another Bout of Books, my favorite readathon. Which, if you've seen my post before, you probably know. I don't know how much I'll be getting done reading but I'm hoping to get at least three books done to get ahead on my reading goal (New year, new reading goal, new spreadsheet to fill).

If you're participating let me know! (link me to your blog update post or your twitter, or whatever. I love seeing what everyones reading/up to during BoB)

My Goals

  • Read. Read. Read.
  • Take part in twitter chats
  • Try and get back into reading Words of Radiance (because honestly, self, you've got to just do it. You love this book, there's a lot of it but it's amazing)
  • Finish 3 books

Books to Read (who knows what this will looks like by the end of the week - won't take any off that I put up but will definitely add some):

  • The Virgin by Tiffany Reisz
  • The Queen by Tiffany Reisz
  • The God Engines by John Scalzi
  • My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros
  • Lumberjanes, Volume 5: Band Together by Noelle Stevenson, +
  • El Deafo by Cece Bell
  • Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Anderson
  • Crush by Richard Siken
  • The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co #1) by Jonathan Stroud
  • Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

(I'll add more to my TBR, but I haven't had time to think about this readathon because friends were here for New Years and it's been crazy)

Updates


Monday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Pages read: 129
Time Spent Reading: 26 minutes
Books:
Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Anderson (started and finished - 109 pages)
The God Engines by John Scalzi (started - 20 pages)

Notes:
It wasn't a great reading day for me, mostly because still recovering from New Years. Loved having friends over but we did not sleep a whole bunch, like bare minimumn of probably 4/5 hours a night (which some people are fine with, I am not, I need a good amount to function).

Adulthood is a Myth was adorable, fun, and too real. And, so far, The God Engines is strange and weird but enjoying it.


Tuesday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 2
Pages read: 367
Total # of pages: 496 
Time Spent Reading: 2:14
Total Time Spent Reading: 2:40 
Books:
El Deafo by Cece Bell (started and finished - 233 pages)
The Virgin (Original Sinners #7) by Tiffany Reisz (started - 136 pages)

Notes:
I didn't get as much reading done today as I wanted to, but I did get some other stuff done and it wasn't a bad reading day, either. I'm now very tired so updating this, then reading a little more, then sleep.

El Deafo was really good - I didn't rate it the full five stars, I rated it four, just because I just kind of got annoyed at the kid drama. I don't know why, I normally like it, but mostly it was the crush thing. I mean, I'm sure kids are actually like that but I never was, or am, so I guess I've got less patience for it. Especially when I'm grumpy.

Rereading Original Sinners was such a great decision since I'd already forgotten so much of it. Except for my love of Kingsley, which is now eternal. (and probably going to become a problem). This one is interesting considering the whole plot of it, which I won't talk about here even though I want to because book seven out of eight.

Wednesday
Number of books I've read today: 4
Total # of books I've read: 6
Pages read: 838
Total # of pages: 1,334 
Time Spent Reading: 6 hours, 46 minutes
Total Time Spent Reading: 9 hours, 26 minutes
Books:
Crush by Richard Siken (started and finished - 62 pages)
Lumberjanes, Volume 5 by Noelle Stevenson, + (started and finished - 112 pages)
The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co #1) by Jonathan Stroud (started and finished - 390 pages)
The Virgin (Original Sinners #7; White Years #3) by Tiffany Reisz (finished - 274 pages)

Notes:
Whew, it was a reading heavy day but that's what I was aiming for. I am still mulling over my feelings for Siken's collection and might need to reread to decide. However - I adored the Lumberjanes. Of course and always, if you're not reading Lumberjanes then honestly what are you doing with your life?

I really enjoyed The Screaming Staircase. I can't remember when I ended up checking out the audiobook but I think someone I follow somewhere was talking about it recently. And so I started listening to it today and quickly put aside the audiobook to read it on my own because I can read faster then that. And it was so good, not quite on the adorable side but almost?

The Virgin. Of course I adored it and am honestly a tad upset to be almost done with my Original Sinners reread. Originall (ha) I wasn't planning on rereading anything but the main books. However, I think I'll probably end up rereading The Confessions, as well. For fun.

Let me know what you read today, as always, and if you've read or are currently reading or want to read anything I read.

Thursday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 7
Pages read: 361
Total # of pages: 1,695 
Time Spent Reading: 3 hours, 27 minutes
Total Time Spent Reading: 12 hours, 53 minutes
Books:
The Queen (Original Sinners #7) by Tiffany Reisz (started - 58 pages)
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (started and finished - 303 pages)

Notes:
Simon vs was a reread, and I have had it on a pile to read soon and kept toying with when. And just ended up picking up up yesterday on a whim. I woke up with very minor eye strain yesterday so I ended up using a credit to get The Queen audiobook and laying with an eye mask on listening to that and some podcasts (mostly I listened to the new Get Booked podcast, as you do. *stacks more books onto my TBR* it's fine, everything is fine).

Friday
Number of books I've read today: 0
Total # of books I've read: 7
Pages read: 115
Total # of pages: 1,810 
Time Spent Reading: 1 hour, 23 minutes
Total Time Spent Reading: 14 hours, 16 minutes
Books:
The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co #2) by Jonathan Stroud (started - 55 pages)
Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties by Laurie Edwards (started 60 pages)

Notes:
I got the audio, thankfully, of the second Lockwood & Co book - I listened to some, read a few pages more. And then ended up reading more then I expected in one sitting of Life Disrupted, which I did not expect to arrive in the mail but was so excited when it did I just kind of started it.

Saturday
Number of books I've read today: 3
Total # of books I've read: 10
Pages read: 362
Total # of pages: 2,172
Time Spent Reading: 4 hours, 11 minutes
Total Time Spent Reading: 18 hours, 27 minutes
Books:
Sex Object: A Memoir by Jessica Valenti (started and finished - 204 pages)
The Summer Palace by C.S. Pacat (started and finished - 30 pages)
The Secret Lives of Rockstars by Suzanne Lazear (started and finished - 128 pages)

Notes:
I'm honestly hoping I won't get anything read Sunday because I want to try and get my eye strain under control. I woke up with it on Thursday and it still hasn't gone away yet. One, it can't be good for my eyes, and, two, it's annoying and painful. Hopefully it'll only take a day or two, last time I had it, it wouldn't go away until I got new glasses (but I just got new glasses a few months ago). Argh.

Anyway - a lot of good reading done today, short things. I half listened to Sex Object on audio and half read it physically, probably exactly. I couldn't stop listening/reading. It'd reach an end of a chapter and I'd go to stop it, but before I could she'd already be talking again and I'd already be sucked in again. Really, really good but definitely not for the faint of heart.

The Summer Palace was surprisingly cute and fluffy. And I knew I was going to like The Secret Lives of Rockstars, mostly because it sounded fucking awesome, but I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. It was amazing - and I think the first thing I read this year that I gave five stars that wasn't a reread. Highly recommended, and hoping, hoping there is still going to be a second one/a series.

Let me know what you read! (Might not respond right away because eyes, but I'll try to by Monday night/Tuesday. Hopefully)

Sunday
Number of books I've read today:
Total # of books I've read:
Pages read:
Total # of pages:
Time Spent Reading:
Total Time Spent Reading:
Books:


Notes: