{September Wrap-Up}

Books Read

Movies Seen

 

Songs I Had On Repeat

Vocabulary Learned

niggle -  to cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety

(from Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout)

chassis - the base frame of a motor vehicle or other wheeled conveyance
(from The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan)

Most Viewed Posts

Top 10 Authors I've Only Read One Book From, But NEED To Read More Of!

Where I've Read

Countdown Survey

Thoughts On September

Wow - I sure read a lot of books this month. In fact, I've just completed my goal of reading 52 books for the year! This is pretty awesome, considering I was in a big reading slump once summer started, and had been about 13 books or so behind in my reading goals. I feel like I cheated a bit, since the only reason I read so many books was because I had started the Lux and the Bloodlines series, both of which are impossible to stop once they've been started.

But one thing I'm disappointed about is that I'm still really behind on my reviews. I haven't written a book review in ages, and I'm actually in the process of tweaking how I write them. Normally, I just read a book and write the review afterwards, but I think that now I am either going to have to keep a notebook to write down my thoughts while I'm reading, or start using my voice recorder to record my thoughts vocally. I tend to have stronger thoughts while I'm actually reading the book then I do once I am finished with it, and I don't want to leave anything out in my reviews. If you have any tips, I'll be glad to hear them!

Also, OCTOBER STARTS TOMORROW!!! Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I will be on the lookout for any Halloween-related blog events I can find. If you know of any, please let me know - I'd love to check them out!

Falling for Autumn Read-a-thon

Today is the first day of the Falling for Autumn Read-a-thon, which is hosted by Ner @ A Cup of Coffee and a Book!!! For those of you who may not have noticed, I was in a major reading slump this year, which I managed to get out of after both starting The Jade Series by Allie Everhart and by finally going to the library and renewing my card (after so many years). So, since I've been back to devouring books lately, I figured, why not another read-a-thon?

Here's a look at what the official challenges for this read-a-thon are:

* Read a total of four (4) books
* Read at least 150 pages per day
* Read a book with an autumnal color on the cover (red, orange, brown, gold)
* Read a book with a male protagonist
* Read the first or last book in a series

   

The Lightning Thief and The Maze Runner both feature male protagonists and are the first in their respective series. Vampires in the Lemon Grove features fall colors by having a gold cover with a red-orange font on the front. And finally, Throne of Glass is the first in a series, and has been sitting on my shelf for a while despite being a library book (I should get to it soon.) These books may change, since usually when I start a series I will continue it immediately, but we shall see - I have a good feeling about finishing the first two, at least.

The Chocolate Book Tag

I saw this tag over at Chiachic's Book Nook and just new I had to participate! Rather than tag anyone in particular, Chiachic opened it up for any of her readers to join in, which is exactly what I decided to do. Here are my answers; 

Dark Chocolate

A Book That Covers A Dark Topic

 

White Chocolate

Your Favorite Light-Hearted/Humorous Read

 

Milk Chocolate

A Book With A Lot Of Hype That You're Dying To Read

 

Chocolate With A Caramel Center

A Book That Made You Feel All Gooey In The Middle While Reading

 

Wafer-Free KitKat

A Book That Surprised You Lately

 

Snickers

A Book That You Are Going Nuts About

 

Hot Chocolate w/ Cream & Marshmallows

A Book You Would Turn To For Comfort

 

Box Of Chocolates

A Series You Feel Has "A Little Something For Everyone"

 

Feel free to join in on the tag, and let me know if you do so that I can check out your answers!

{Waiting On Wednesday} An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier— and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.

Vow your blood and body to the empire.

Keep your heart for yourself.

Expected publication: April 28th 2015 by Razorbill

Why I Can't Wait To Read This

Because it sounds AMAZING, that's why! This is a debut, so I don't have anything else by the author to compare it to, but the fact that it's being published by Razorbill is already a good sign (Razorbill is the division of Penguin that released Vampire Academy and Bloodlines). So, I have high hopes. The ARC reviews & ratings on Goodreads are really good already, too!

But even if this novel was the first book being published by a completely unknown publisher, it sounds effing good! I just like the fact that the heroine is so dedicated to her family that she'll go against everything she knows to knows to keep her brother safe, while still obviously keeping her wits about her by going undercover. That, and Elias sounds like he'd make a good book boyfriend, doesn't he? We shall see...

What do you think?

And if you haven't done so already, feel free to join in by linking-up to your own Waiting on Wednesday post over at Breaking The Spine.

Top 10 Authors I've Only Read One Book From, But NEED To Read More Of!

A Meme By The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top 10 list focuses on authors you'd like to re-read. Granted, normally when I read something that I love, I will end up hunting down more books from that author to immediately devour, but my TBR list is so long that sometimes I don't get to them as soon as I'd like. The following list reflects the authors whom I have yet to continue reading, but promise to get to as soon as I am able:

I know, I know - I've only read one Stephen King novel, and it was Cujo. Sad but true. I think the next one I'll try will be It, because that movie is a Halloween tradition in my house, and it's sad that I can quote the movie, but have never read the book. Still, I have a feeling that the first author to get bumped off of this list will be Kelly Thompson, because I already have a copy of Storykiller on my shelf that is just begging for me to start it - I just can't start something new until I finish the Bloodlines series. I'm only on book 2! I just couldn't wait too long after Vampire Academy - I needed more Adrian!

Do you have any authors you've tried, and are dying to read more of? Let me know in the comments below - or leave a link to your own Top 10 list and I'll stop by!

R.I.P. IX

Guys, it's almost October!!! October is my favorite month of all time, thanks to the fact that not only are there the regular fall favorites (pumpkin spice lattes, fall leaves, cooler weather, etc.), but spooky things to do all month long thanks to Halloween! And yes, Halloween is my favorite holiday - I just love the atmosphere, the costumes, the haunted houses, and the scary movies!

As a kid, I used to start off October by indulging in Goosebumps novels while counting down the days until ABC Family's The 13 Nights of Halloween. Things haven't much changed for me since then, but instead of Goosebumps I now read regular YA & Adult horror/mystery novels, and I also have fun trying to find the latest and greatest scary movies.

It seemed only natural that I participate in a challenge that not only aided my love of reading, but of scary movies & television shows, as well. Thus, R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX seemed like the perfect challenge for me. I participated last year, and had some fun, so I knew it was something I'd want to do again. I like the fact that there are different categories for different mediums - it's a great way to keep track of what I read and watch! 

Check out my goals for this challenge below - since I've signed up earlier than I did last year, I plan on going all out and immersing myself in all things that go bump in the night. I've filled in some goals for what I'd like to read & watch, but as always, they aren't set in stone and are subject to change based on my whims, I'll cross things off if I complete them, though. Wish me luck!

"Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between."

Goal: Read At Least 4 Spooky Novels

1) Say Her Name by James Dawson
2) Afraid by Jack Kilborn
3) It by Stephen King

4) Bird Box by Josh Malerman

"This is for those of us that like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows or Midsomer Murders, or your favorite film."

Goal: Watch At Least 5 Scary Movies

1) 인형사 | The Doll Master (2004)

2) The Possession (2012)

3) The Purge (2013)

4) The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

5) Carrie (2013)

And if any of you know if there are any other reading challenges going on this month that are Halloween-related, please let me know so I can check them out!

Where I've Read

Tanya at Girlxoxo.com created this awesome reading map, which visually documents the settings of the books she has read using pins on Google Maps. I've always wanted to create a reading map myself, but just wasn't sure about the best way to go about doing so. It turns out, Google Maps was the answer that I was looking for all along!

Little by little I'll be filling out this map, starting with what I've read in 2012, since that was the year that I really started using Goodreads on a regular basis to track my reading. So far, I'm really liking the fact that I can color-code my pins - I've been using a different color for each year, and creating a new layer for each year, as well (so that I can filter them easier). I also like that I can include a picture of the book cover on each pin!

The only issue I've had so far is figuring out where some of the books I've read have taken place - not all of them list a setting on Goodreads or in their synopsis, and I don't exactly remember them all. If anyone knows of a good resource I can use to figure this out without having to go through the books again, please let me know!

In the meantime, you can check out the progress I've made on my map

>>HERE<<

Countdown Survey

Annie at The Runaway Reader participated in this fun survey, created by Christy at Christy's Book Addiction, and I thought I'd join in on the fun! I'm kind of a survey addict, so let me know if you decide to join in, too, so that I can check out your answers!

10 Books (Already Released) On Your Wishlist

The Novel Cure / The School for Good and Evil / The Wishing Spell / The General In His Labyrinth / The Princess Bride / Orange Is The New Black / Behind the Beautiful Forevers / The Journal of Jules Renard / Hunger / The Cuckoo's Calling

9 Favorite Covers

8 Books You Can't Wait For (Not Yet Released)

   

   

7 Auto-Buy Authors

Cassandra Rose Clarke / Dean Koontz / Jennifer L. Armentrout / John Green

Kelly Thompson / Neil Gaiman / Rainbow Rowell

6 Book Boyfriends

Daemon Black (Lux)

Dimitri Belikov (Vampire Academy)

Edward Cullen (Twilight)

Peregrine (Under The Never Sky)

Poe (Secret Society Girl)

Raffe (Penryn & the End of Days)

5 Books You Recommend The Most

Looking for Alaska / The Silver Linings Playbook / Eleanor & Park / Angelfall / The Hunger Games

4 Books You Thought You'd Like, But Didn't

   

3 Books That Made You Cry

  

2 Books You Never Plan On Reading

 

1 Current Favorite Genre

Paranormal Romance