Tag: book challenges

Monthly Wrap Up | October 2024

Posted October 31, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

October 2024 Wrap Up

October wasn’t a very good reading month for me; I had two DNFs and a few books I wasn’t quite satisfied with. I was in a general funk and sulking about the DNFs and sub-par books, and I spent a little too much time on the DNFs trying to decide if I should finish them or not. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now but it’s really not easy to let go! 😭

I did have a few great books though! And I’m choosing to focus on them. I read two Stephen Kings, which are always great! And I’m currently obsessed with the Super Powered series by Drew Hayes.

My October 2024 TBR Intentions

I think I’ve learned my lesson with setting my tbr intentions. The DNFs were kind of demotivating, but I need to learn to move on and focus on the books I loved.

  1. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
  2. The Shining by Stephen King
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. Never Whistle at Night by various authors – DNF
  5. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  7. I Fell in Love With Hope by Lancali – DNF

Books Read in October 2024

  1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  2. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  3. The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth
  4. Exhalation by Ted Chiang
  5. The Shining by Stephen King
  6. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 9 by Nagabe
  7. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 10 by Nagabe
  8. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 11 by Nagabe
  9. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes
  10. Super Powereds: Year 2 by Drew Hayes
  11. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
  12. The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Notable Books This Month

Super Powereds by Drew Hayes
This series was the highlight for me this month. Almost every other book I’ve read this month is either horror and/or have heavy themes, and I think this series was just so fun and enjoyable to read. The books are huge, and so many hours on audiobook, but they’re so entertaining and easy to get through. Once again, I have to comment on the amateurish writing because I don’t want to hype it up without giving this heads up, but it’s come to a point that I almost feel the writing is deliberate and becomes part of the fun of reading the books – you can have drinking games out of pointing out how many times the author uses a few particular phrases!

I also had three very good rereads:

  1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  2. The Shining by Stephen King
  3. Pet Sematary by Stephen King

I loved the Becky Chambers books the first time I read it and I feel like I got more out of it the second time around, especially reading it as a buddy read and seeing what other people thought about it and what stood out to them. I’m also planning to read the next books in the series again some time soon.

I had also read both Stephen King books some time ago and enjoyed them but it has been decades since I read them and they both hit differently this time. I’m paying more attention to some of the details this time even though I’m sure there’s still a lot I’m missing. I’m definitely noticing Stephen King’s genius a lot more this time.

Reading Challenges

I have finished every challenge I signed up for this year except two:

They are both related to finishing series and even though I don’t have very many to go, I have decided to let go of both these challenges because they no longer resonate. I have been reading many series this year, actually, and even finishing them(!), but they don’t count based on the parameters of these challenges and I realized that these challenges don’t work for what I originally wanted them for and it’s okay to let them go. I’ll be more mindful of the challenges I sign up for next year!

November 2024 TBR Intentions

Definitely wanting to continue with the rest of the Super Powered series, and I’m also looking forward to Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s good knowing that these two fun series are in there among the other heavier books.

  1. Super Powereds: Year 3 by Drew Hayes
  2. Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
  5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  7. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  8. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Even though many of these are heavy, I’m still excited to read them. Some of them have been on my TBR for ages!

How was your month in October? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful November with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | September 2024

Posted October 1, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

September 2024 Wrap Up

It was a pretty good reading month! I read from my September TBR, and I finished all my reading challenges except two! I’m not sure that I’ll finish the other two though; they’re both about finishing series, but series that we started before this year, and I’m currently embroiled in new series and I’m not sure what to do! 😅 I can’t resist the shiny new books!

My September 2024 TBR Intentions

I read all the books in my September TBR Intentions! Woot! I was kind of conservative with it with only five books on the list, and I do have more motivation when they are buddy reads and BOTMs, but still!

  1. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
  3. Cujo by Stephen King
  4. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  5. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I’m just realizing that all of them are darker-themed and there were several other dark books I read in September too. Setting up my intentions for next month, I’m going to try to get in more balance for the light and the dark. I know ahead of time there are some horror stuff coming because October is Halloween season, but I can definitely add more fun stuff to my book diet too!

Books Read in September 2024

  1. After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  2. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  3. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
  4. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. The Girl from Rawblood by Catriona Ward
  6. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
  7. The Girl from the Other Side Volume 8 by Nagabe
  8. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
  9. Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare
  10. Surrender of A Siren by Tessa Dare
  11. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
  12. Cujo by Stephen King
  13. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  14. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
  15. Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
  16. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
  17. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
  18. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Notable Books This Month

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I’m very proud of having finished this chonker! I’m not sure that I liked it, but at least I finished it!

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
This was amazing and might be my favorite book this month! I love listening to Trevor Noah’s stories and I love his humor and wisdom.

Cujo by Stephen King
This is a reread, and I think I got a lot more out of it this time around than I did the first time. I love the buildup of the story, and I love the insight we get into such different characters in the book. Stephen King is truly a master at his craft.

Reading Challenges

October 2024 TBR Intentions

It’s October and that means Halloween, and guess what? My irl bookclub’s BOTM is Pet Sematary by Stephen King. And my online bookclub’s BOTM is The Shining by Stephen King! I’m not complaining, because I love Stephen King!

  1. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
  2. The Shining by Stephen King
  3. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
  4. Never Whistle at Night by various authors
  5. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan
  6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  7. I Fell in Love With Hope by Lancali

I’ve got so many books I hope to read this October, some have been on my TBR for ages. Let’s hope I can get to them all!

How was your month in September? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful October with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | August 2024

Posted September 1, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 6 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

August 2024 Wrap Up

I completed The 52 Book Club’s 2024 Reading Challenge! Yayy! So proud of myself.

I finished the challenge relatively early in the month, so I tried to make a dent in my other reading challenges and I managed to complete my Classics challenge as well! Technically, The Classics Club challenge is reading 50 classics in 5 years, so I just decided to read 10 classics a year (which I just completed), but if I wanted to do more, I could! We’ll see.

My August 2024 TBR Intentions

My TBR Intentions for August was to knock out the 52 Book Club 2024 Reading Challenge, and I did that! I had five more prompts to go, which were:

  • 13. An academic thriller
  • 17. Nominated for the Booker Prize
  • 37. Palindrome on the cover
  • 42. Author debut in the second half of 2024
  • 48. The word “secret” in the title

And the books I planned for them were as listed below, but subject to change as long as they fit the prompts:

  • If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  • The Women by Kristin Hannah
  • Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I managed to finish the challenge, and the only book I switched out was The Secret Garden for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I still want to read it eventually but I was happy to read The Secret Garden too. I’m so happy the challenge is done!

Books Read in August 2024

  1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  2. The Women by Kristin Hannah
  3. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  4. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  5. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  6. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
  7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
  8. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
  9. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  10. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
  11. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 1-7 by Nagabe
  12. Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
  13. Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower
  14. Murder and Metaphors by Amanda Flower
  15. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
  16. Wordhunter by Stella Sands
  17. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
  18. Anne’s House of Dreams of L.M. Montgomery

Notable Books This Month

I loved The Women, Oryx and Crake, and Children of Time, but the highlights for me this month were the rereads.

Daddy-Long-Legs, and the Anne of Green Gables series were some of my favorite childhood books and I just love all the memories and vibes they brought back.

11/22/63 is also a reread, even though it’s more recent, but it’s such a great story and I love it so much more this time around because I think I got more out of it.

Reading Challenges

September 2024 TBR Intentions

Most of these are buddy reads I signed up for and bookclub books. The ones with end-of-September deadlines will take priority but I think I can finish most of them, even if I interperse them with other reads in between. I find I do a lot better sticking to my TBR intentions when I have buddy reads and deadlines, so let’s do this!

  1. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
  2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
  3. Cujo by Stephen King
  4. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  5. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

How was your month in August? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful September with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | July 2024

Posted July 31, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 10 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

July 2024 Wrap Up

July was another hectic month, but for positive reasons this time. June was hard and it made me realize I needed to change certain things and build better habits. Obviously, things don’t change overnight, but I think I made a good effort this July to get things started.

I started waking up at 6.30am in the mornings and go for a walk/run (alternating because I’m not quite in good shape yet). Some days are harder than others, but the important thing is that I showed up. I’m also looking into continuing education classes I can take and I’ve been doing some research and legwork on that. I’ve organized and reorganized my workspace and workflow, purged some things in my life that no longer served, and am trying to prioritizing the important stuff.

To be honest, I’m still floundering and some days I’m full of self-doubt and throw out everything I thought I was clear on the day before. We also had a heat-wave this month and some days were so bad I couldn’t bring myself to do anything except lie down on the cool floor and not move.

Still, it was a good month overall, even though I haven’t been very present here on the blog and in the blogosphere. I’ve missed visiting with all of you, and I’m trying to figure out how to manage my time better so I can still do the things I love.

My July 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  3. Feeling Good by David Burns
  4. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  5. Frequency by Penney Pierce
  6. The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

I only read two of my TBR intentions this month, but the good news is that my broader intentions were to read more nonfiction and books I own, and I did that! Out of the 12 books I read this month, five were nonfiction, and eight are books I own! So I did pretty good!

Books Read in July 2024

  1. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
  2. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  3. Network Effect by Martha Wells
  4. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
  5. Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
  6. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
  7. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
  8. Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
  9. The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher
  10. Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
  11. The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
  12. Braiding Sweetness by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Notable Books This Month

I got lucky again this month because almost every single book was great! The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was a bookclub read, and our bookclub went for a road trip to the Royal Tyrrell dinosaur museum after that, so it added to the experience. It was so much fun and I love spending time with these people!

The picture isn’t very good, unfortunately, but we couldn’t take too many because it was pretty crowded and there were other people wanting to take pictures too.

I also really loved Women in Science more than I expected. It features so many amazing women and their contributions in history, and all the important information is presented so interestingly and succinctly. I loved reading every single one of them.

Project Hail Mary was a reread – I read it a while ago on print, but I keep hearing about how it’s so good on audio, and I really wanted to experience that. I’d been listening to audiobooks through Libby and my library all this time, but PHM was only available through Audible so I finally signed up for it just for this book. That’s how they get you! But hey, so far it’s been worth it. I loved listening to PHM on audio, and I’m enjoying so many other audiobooks on the Audible Plus catalog as well.

As I said, I loved almost every book I read this month, but I’ll leave the rest of the gushing to reviews I’m planning to write for them!

Reading Challenges

I achieved a few of these challenges a couple of months ago, but instead of marking them done I upped the challenges instead. I’m now rethinking that decision, because I haven’t done well in some of the other challenges and I think I should focus on the unfinished ones instead of adding to the challenges I already finished.

August 2024 TBR Intentions

This month I’d like to try knocking out the 52 Book Club 2024 Reading Challenge. I only have five more prompts to go, and I’ve got a couple of books I’m excited to read that would fit the remaining challenges, so I think it would be very doable.

The prompts are:

  • 13. An academic thriller
  • 17. Nominated for the Booker Prize
  • 37. Palindrome on the cover
  • 42. Author debut in the second half of 2024
  • 48. The word “secret” in the title

I’m planning to read, respectively for each prompt, but subject to change:

  • If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  • The Women by Kristin Hannah
  • Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

I do have some other books in mind for some of these prompts so I might end up changing my mind, but the goal is to finish the challenge so as long as I read books that fit the prompts, I’m good!

How was your month in July? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful August with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | June 2024

Posted July 3, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

June 2024 Wrap Up

June was a difficult month for me for a few different reasons and I wasn’t able to do a lot on the blog. I didn’t read very many books compared to last month, but I did spend a lot of time escaping into books, which was good. I’ve been emotionally exhausted and haven’t wanted to post on the blog at all, but I get hesitant about reading more books if I’ve left a lot of books unreviewed. I also needed to get this monthly update done because I’d feel like something was missing if I didn’t!

I’m just doing the bare minimum for now, so please bear with me. I’m trying to sort myself out and I’ll be back to normal as soon as I can. Also, I know I have a lot of blog visiting to catch up on. I’m sorry!

My June 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
  2. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
  3. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  4. Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  5. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  6. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  7. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  8. Nina the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  9. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  11. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Books Read in June 2024

  1. Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
  2. Heartstopper 2 by Alice Oseman
  3. Heartstopper 3 by Alice Oseman
  4. Heartstopper 4 by Alice Oseman
  5. Heartstopper 5 by Alice Oseman
  6. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
  7. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  9. Far From You by Tess Sharpe
  10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  11. You Like It Darker by Stephen King
  12. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Voung

Notable Books This Month

Almost every single book I read this month was great!

I think my favorites were the Heartstopper books, which really surprised me because I didn’t think I’d be interested in reading about teenage boys, but it was the most wholesome, happy, cute book and I loved all the characters!

You Like It Darker by Stephen King was another favorite, but no surprise there, I knew I was going to love anything he wrote. Every single one of the stories were great, and I really just keep wanting more!

Another book that did surprise me is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. I went in not knowing much about it but ended up finishing the book in one day because it was just so lyrical and beautiful and I couldn’t stop listening.

Hello Stranger and David Copperfield were amazing too, but there were too many strong contenders this month! I think Hello Stranger is my favorite Katherine Center book so far, and David Copperfield is just so good especially after reading Demon Copperhead.

It’s not my intention to list every book I read this month, just the notable ones, but it’s not my fault that they were all so good!

Reading Challenges

July 2024 TBR Intentions

This month I want to try to make a dent on more nonfiction and books I own. I’ve neglected them for years, so I want to at least try to get some read!

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  3. Feeling Good by David Burns
  4. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  5. Frequency by Penney Pierce
  6. The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

I still want to read fiction and books I listed for last month’s TBR, but I want to try to prioritize these for the month.

How was your month in June? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful July with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | May 2024

Posted June 2, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 4 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

May 2024 Wrap Up

I read some really great books this month! Yayy! I managed to read 18 books, but only 3 of them were from my May TBR intentions. I got very, very sidetracked! I don’t expect to follow my TBR to the letter, of course, but I’d like to try to rein it in just a little so that I’m actually reading towards my challenges and goals!

My May 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  3. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTeirnan
  4. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  5. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  6. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
  7. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Books Read in May 2024

  1. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  2. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  4. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
  5. Funny Story by Emily Henry
  6. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  7. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  8. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
  9. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
  10. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
  11. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  12. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
  13. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
  14. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
  15. Maybe This Time by Cara Bostone
  16. Mad Love by Wendy Walker
  17. Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft
  18. Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Favorite Book(s) This Month

I should probably rethink this section and do a “Notable Books of the Month” rather than a favorite, because I don’t think I could ever just choose one!

The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie were amazing! I meant to binge through to the third book and write a collective review for the series in May, but I just only finished reading the final book in the series, Last Argument of Kings, today! So I guess it’ll be a June review.

Funny Story was another favorite, maybe my favorite Emily Henry so far! It was hilarious and made me laugh out loud so many times!

Carrie Soto is Back is also a favorite. I love TJR’s books, and I think Malibu Rising and this book is at the top of my favorite TJR books!

Reading Challenges

June 2024 TBR Intentions

I’m trying to be good and focus on the books I meant to read and/or that count towards my reading challenges and goals, but there are several books listed here that had been scheduled as buddy reads and bookclubs’ BOTM, so I’m just going to do my best!

  1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
  2. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
  3. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  4. Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  5. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  6. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  7. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  8. Nina the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  9. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  11. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

I’m most excited for the Dragonlance Chronicles because I’ve been wanting to reread them for ages, but I’m excited about the other books too!

How was your month in May? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful June with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | April 2024

Posted April 30, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 5 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

April 2024 Wrap Up

I finished 16 books this month and there were a lot of really good ones! A couple of them were books I started months ago and just happened to finish this month (The Count of Monte Cristo and Blitz). There were a couple of poetry, graphic novels, and short books.

I managed to finished four of my intended TBR, and there was one DNF, but overall I’m happy because I finished the ones with deadlines (book clubs/buddy reads/readalongs) and I can read the others later.

My April 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  2. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  3. A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (DNF)
  4. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  5. A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
  6. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
  7. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
  8. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
  9. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

Books Read in April 2024

  1. Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt
  2. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
  3. The Way Forward by Yung Pueblo
  4. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
  5. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
  6. Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent
  7. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
  8. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  9. Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
  10. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
  11. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  12. Slewfoot by Brom
  13. Blitz by Daniel O’Malley
  14. I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara
  15. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
  16. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

Favorite Book(s) This Month

Oh I don’t like this game anymore! I cannot choose one, there were so many amazing books this month! I’m gonna cheat and go with multiple books; The Way Forward, Bookshops & Bonedust, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Kite Runner!

On The Blog

Top Ten Tuesdays

Time Travel Thursdays

Sunday Posts

Reading Challenges

May 2024 TBR Intentions

I’ve already started on The Blade Itself, and Sea of Tranquility is for my in-person book club for May. Hopefully I’m able to finish as many of the other books as possible.

  1. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  3. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTeirnan
  4. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  5. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  6. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
  7. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

I’ve been anticipating some of them since the beginning of the year and I’m excited to get to them as soon as I can!

How was your month in April? What were your most memorable moments? I hope you have a wonderful May with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | March 2024

Posted April 3, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 4 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

March 2024 Wrap Up

I only read eight books this month, which isn’t bad at all, but last month I read a whole bunch so I had expected better for this month. I also had a couple of reading slumps, and I was reading a few really dense and thick books. I felt like I was slogging through molasses. Hopefully April will be better!

My March 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  2. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  3. A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
  4. A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
  5. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
  6. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
  7. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherworlds by Heather Fawcett

Books Read in March 2024

  1. A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
  2. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
  3. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
  4. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
  5. Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday
  6. Signal Moon by Kate Quinn
  7. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  8. Bear by Marian Engel

Favorite Book This Month

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo. The Sparrow was really amazing too and I’d say technically, it’s a better book than The Fox Wife, but it was a much more difficult read emotionally and so for that reason I enjoyed The Fox Wife more.

On The Blog

Top Ten Tuesdays

Time Travel Thursdays

Sunday Posts

Notes & Discussion Posts

Reading Challenges

2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge – 3/12
2024 Series Ender Reading Challenge – 1/5
2024 Finishing the Series Challenge – 2/4
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge – 4/12
2024 Bookish Books Challenge – 3/10
2024 Audiobook Challenge – 16/30
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge – 27/36

April 2024 TBR Intentions

I still want to read the books I didn’t get to in March, so I’m bringing them forward. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish all of these in April, but who knows. I should also probably add some nonfiction and classics in there for my reading challenges, but I figure since there are more diverse authors on this list, I could potentially knock out a few for my Diversity reading challenge, and then catch up to the other challenges later.

  1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  2. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
  3. A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
  4. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  5. A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
  6. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
  7. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
  8. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
  9. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

I’m looking forward to all of these!

How was your month in March? What were your most memorable moments? I hope you have a wonderful April with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | February 2024

Posted February 29, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 6 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

February 2024 Wrap Up

I had a pretty good reading month. I read 19 books, which is a lot more than my usual, but 11 of them were novellas/middle-grade/graphic novels so I got through them fast. I’m also very happy that I managed to read/cross-out several of my February TBR intentions, although I’m a bit disappointed because the two books I dnf’d were meant to count towards my Diversity Reading Challenge goal, and obviously they can’t count anymore. I also had a couple of books on the list meant to count towards my Nonfiction Reading Challenge, but I didn’t get to those either.

Fortunately, I did manage to read other books that counted towards those goals, so I’m not too disappointed! Here’s my February TBR list to recap, and then below are the books I actually read for February.

My February 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
  2. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
  3. Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley
  4. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherworlds by Heather Fawcett
  5. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
  6. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  7. The Way Forward by Yung Pueblo
  8. Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi (DNF)
  9. Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien (DNF)

Books Read in February 2024

  1. All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John
  2. Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley
  3. The Improbable Meet-Cute Series by various authors
    • The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
    • Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
    • Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
    • Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory
    • With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
    • Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
  4. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
  5. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
  6. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
  7. Happily Ever After by Debbie Tung
  8. Everything is OK by Debbie Tung
  9. The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
  10. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
  11. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
  12. The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
  13. The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz
  14. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Favorite Book This Month

I cannot decide on one because I loved them both so much, so I’ll have to make it a tie and award the title to both Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, and The Storyteller by Dave Grohl.

On The Blog

I didn’t write a lot of posts this month on the blog, other than book reviews (linked above) and Top Ten Tuesday posts.

Top Ten Tuesdays

Reading Challenges

2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge – 2/12
2024 Series Ender Reading Challenge – 1/5
2024 Finishing the Series Challenge – 2/4
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge – 3/12
2024 Bookish Books Challenge – 3/10
2024 Audiobook Challenge – 15/30
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge – 21/36

March 2024 TBR Intentions

I’ll do this every month as a sort of sticky-note to help remind me of the books I want to get to sooner rather than later. I don’t expect to stick to the list exactly, but it’s a great reminder for when I get distracted by new and shiny books!

  1. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (it’s my bookclub’s BOTM)
  2. Fairy Tale by Stephen King (I’ve read it, but there’s a readalong happening in March!)
  3. A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross (I’ve already started it)
  4. A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross (because it’s the sequel)
  5. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo (I’ve been anticipating it the most and I just got the book from the library!)
  6. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (because I loved Legends & Lattes)
  7. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherworlds by Heather Fawcett (because I loved Encyclopedia of Faeries)

Hmm… It looks like this list is more reactionary based on urgency, timing, and excitement, but that’s okay for now. I’ll do better after I finish the ones I’m excited about!

How was your month in February? What were your most memorable moments? I hope you have a wonderful March with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | January 2024

Posted February 1, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 4 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

January 2024 Wrap Up

I read 11 books in January, which I’m both happy and worried about. Happy because I can’t seem to separate my sense of accomplishment from reading quantity vs quality, and I love that I read more than I normally do in a month. Worried because my goal this year was to read more slowly, savor the books, and remember more details, and I’ve found myself rushing a bit towards the later part of the month. I need to remind myself to read slow!

And be more mindful in book choices as well. I have a lot of books I mean to read this year, but I keep adding more and more new books to the TBR and some I’m just too excited about to wait! Which is fine, but I’d like to try to read some of the books that have been on my shelves forever.

Books Read in January 2024

  1. Holly by Stephen King
  2. Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
  3. The September House by Carissa Orlando
  4. The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin
  5. Light Bringer by Pierce Brown
  6. The Switch by Beth O’Leary
  7. Don’t Call It A Cult by Sarah Berman
  8. The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
  9. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
  10. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
  11. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Favorite Book This Month

Oooh, tough choice. Reeaalllyy tough choice. I’m going with The September House by Carissa Orlando, but only by a hair. Holly by Stephen King is a close second.

On The Blog

In addition to the reviews I’ve written for books read in January. Here are some of my other notable posts in January.

Top Ten Tuesdays

Notes & Discussion Posts

Reading Challenges

2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge – 1/12
2024 Series Ender Reading Challenge – 1/5
2024 Finishing the Series Challenge – 2/4
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge – 0/12
2024 Bookish Books Challenge – 2/10
2024 Audiobook Challenge – 8/30
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge – 9/36

February 2024 TBR Intentions

This is a sort of TBR list for February 2024. I’m sure I won’t be able to stick to it exactly, but these are the books I anticipate I’ll be reading in February because of release dates, where I am on the library waitlists, being next in a series I’m reading, and other random reasons. It will also help remind me to stick to reading the books I initially wanted to read!

  1. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
  2. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
  3. Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley
  4. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherworlds by Heather Fawcett
  5. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
  6. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  7. The Way Forward by Yung Pueblo
  8. Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi
  9. Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien

How was your month in January? What were your most memorable moments? I hope you have a wonderful February with lots of great books!

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