Bout of Books 9.0 Day 5 update

Bout of Books Day 5 was pretty good. I'm please with my progress so far, as this is my first time participating in a read-a-thon of any kind. My cousin will be able to start Insurgent by Veronica Roth with me tomorrow, so I wanted to start something that I could finish in one day. That book turned out to be A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

What can I say about this book? This is one I couldn't have read eight years ago....or even five years ago. My mother passed away eight years ago after a brave and courageous seven year battle against two types of cancer. She beat the breast cancer, but the ovarian cancer was a stealthy bitch. It still took two and half years for the ovarian cancer to take her from me....in the end, she was tired and ready, me...well, I had to get there. My mother had been, and still is, my rock...the foundation that I was built upon. She will always be the strongest woman I have ever known.  Because of this, I could relate to the character of Conor...maybe a little too much. I was much older than the thirteen year old Conor, but like him, my father wasn't in the picture.

I thought I would breeze through this book. I read the paperback (but will be investing in the hardcover soon), and at only 225 pages in length with a larger font than a normal book, I figured I could read this in only a few hours. However, the memories of dealing with my Mom and her illness would creep into my thoughts as I was reading. This didn't take away from the experience, in fact it actually made it better. I wound up taking my time and savoring every word.

This was my first experience with Patrick Ness, and it won't be my last. I know this was a little rambly, and maybe it won't make sense to anyone other than me...but these are my thoughts on the book, as scattered as those may be.

FRIDAY'S TOTALS:

PAGES READ: 225

BOOKS COMPLETED: 

TOTAL BOOKS READ SO FAR: 

4 BOOKS AND 1 NOVELLA

TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR:

1,OO4


  NEXT BOOKS:

After being put through the emotional wringer with A Monster Calls, I need something a little light, fluffy, and a bit sexy. I love the Entangled Brazen line, and I recently picked this up for just .99 cents on my Kindle. 

I plan on reading How to Love and Insurgent at the same time. My cousin has finally finished Divergent, so we are going to read the second one together. 

The Newberry Reading Challenge 2014

As I was looking at other book blogs during Bout of Books, I stumbled upon Smiling Shelves and her Newberry Book Challenge. I thought this would be a great one for me to participate in since I teach the 4th grade. I'm always adding new books to my classroom library, and I'd love to revisit some books that I read as a child.

The guidelines are as follows:

Each book you read is worth points. You get:
3 points for a Newbery Medal Winner
2 points for a Newbery Honor Book
1 point for a Caldecott Medal Winner (Gotta give the picture books some love, too.)

In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:
 L'Engle: 15 - 29 points
Spinelli: 30 - 44 points
Avi: 45 - 59 points
Lowry: 60 - 74 points
 Konigsburg: 75+ points

Since I love to read Maniac Magee to my students every year, I'm going to aim for Spinelli.

If you think you might be interested, go check out Smiling Shelves and join in the fun.

Bout of Books 9.0 Day 4 Recap

After a bad reading day yesterday, I really caught up today. I picked up Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and that was all she wrote. I love Eleanor & Park, so when I saw this was out I immediately grabbed it up without a second thought. I'm so glad that I did. I enjoyed the story from the very beginning, but there was one chapter that simply reached into my chest and grabbed a tight hold on my heart. Now, I won't spoil it and tell you which chapter took this book from really good to OMG! YOU MUST READ THIS. But that chapter was awesome. So awesome in fact that after reading the last line, I immediately went back and read that chapter over. If you have Fangirl in your TBR pile...pick it up next. You won't regret it.

THURSDAY'S TOTALS:

PAGES READ: 350

BOOKS COMPLETED: 

TOTAL BOOKS READ SO FAR: 

3 BOOKS AND 1 NOVELLA

TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR:

779


  NEXT BOOK:

Really wishing I had found this in hardcover. If I love it, I will probably donate this one to my local Little Free Library and buy the hardcover later.

Bout of Books 9.0 Day 3 Recap

Today wasn't a great reading day. I came home from work to a waterfall caused by a busted water pipe...so much fun....not. Us Southerners aren't used to all this cold. Despite losing an hour and half of reading time, I still managed to complete a novella and start my next book.

WEDNESDAY'S TOTALS:

PAGES READ: 113

BOOKS COMPLETED: 

`   BOOKS STARTED:

 

TOTAL BOOKS READ SO FAR: 

2 BOOKS AND 1 NOVELLA

TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR:

429

Bout of Books 9.0 Day Two Update

 Two days into Bout of Books and I'm doing pretty good. I finished one book and started a second. I didn't have as much time to read today due to work, but I still managed to read a good bit. I even participated in one of the challenges.

TUESDAY'S TOTALS:

PAGES READ: 116

BOOKS COMPLETED: 

TOTAL BOOKS COMPLETED:

2

TO FINISH ON WEDNESDAY:

TO START ON WEDNESDAY:

Bout of Books 9.0 Monday Recap

 Today was a pretty good day reading wise. I couldn't sleep last night, so I picked up 172 Hours on the Moon and finished the last 56 pages after midnight. Then, I picked up the copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that I found a few weeks ago at my local Goodwill for only .39 cents. I plan on finishing Harry Potter and reading In Time by Alexandra Bracken. I also plan on starting Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I was going to read Insurgent next, but my cousin wants me to read it with her, so I'm waiting for her to finish Divergent.

MONDAY'S TOTALS:

PAGES READ: 200

BOOKS COMPLETED: 

TO READ ON TUESDAY:

Bout of Books 9.0

 If you have never heard of Bout of Books before, here is a little information: The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Time devoted to reading: 2 hours per day
My goals: Read 5 books.
Books to read:
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (I have the British edition) by J.K. Rowling

One of my reading goals this year is to read the complete Harry Potter series. Gasp....I know, I know....I think I'm one of the few people left on the planet who has not read the series.