Bout of Books 19 May 2017

Yay, it is time for Bout of Books again! 

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog." - From the Bout of Books team

I love this week long Readathon. This will be my fourth time doing it. I did Bout of Books 16, Bout of Books 17 and Bout of Books 18. This years readathon will be a little different since I now work all afternoon. But I am still looking forward to reading as much as I can. Check back here during the week for updates. I will also be posting on Goodreads, Instagram and Litsy (@ReadingSusan).

Monday

Happy first day of Bout of Books! I am going to try to get in some reading before I leave for work. The first challenge is to introduce yourself in six words: Photographer. Wife. Sister. Reader. Friend. Liberal. 

I am starting off with Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. I have been wanting to read this book ever since it came out. I got the audiobook from the library. Looking forward to diving into this one.

Well day one was pretty much a wash. I worked most of the day and then had a newspaper assignment all night. Better luck tomorrow. 

Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 81

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 58 minutes 

Books finished: 0

Tuesday

Tuesday was a little better reading day especially because its one of my shorter days at work but also I had a lot of photos to edit so I was able to listen to my audiobook while editing. 

I was quickly sucked into The Ex by Alafair Burke. It is a terrific mystery and I am dying to find out the solution. I hope to have time to finish it today.

I am still reading LaRose but I have to admit it is a struggle. I wouldn't say I am enjoying it necessarily. The writing is very good and the story is compelling enough to not DNF it. But the lack of quotation marks is infuriating!

I am still loving Z. I am about half way through. I really love the historical fiction books based on real peoples lives. 

I am going to attempt to finish a book today! And maybe read some of my graphic novels before I have to return them to the library. 

Tuesday Numbers:

Pages read: 205

Audiobook Time: 5 hours 36 minutes 

Books finished: 0

Wednesday

Half way through the week. I finally had the time to read a lot more. 

I am almost done with Z and it makes me so mad to see how she was treated. I hate that Scott insisted on putting his name on her stories. Infuriating!

I had to return LaRose to the library since I was out of renewals. I will pick it up again at some point but I am also not crying over having to return it.

I finished The Ex. Even though I guessed the ending I still enjoyed the twists and turns through the whole book. It was so fast paced and suspenseful.

I also read Twilight: The Graphic Novel. I was hoping that it would be better than the original books which I am not a fan of. But I guess I just don't like the whole concept. Bella is willing to give up her whole life and family for a guy. That's just not romantic to me. It's sad.

I started and finished Saga: Volume 5. Before Litsy I never would have been reading four or five graphic novels a month. Before this year I had only read the Buffy graphic novels and Lucy Knisley graphic memoir. Now I love all sorts of graphic novels like Paper Girls, Lumberjanes and Saga. This volume of Saga was so good and had a much anticipated moment. 

The next book I started was What Comes After. This book is SO sad. Don't read it if you are feeling down. Iris' story is pretty tragic and I am hoping this one has a happy ending.

Also, I just found out the new Anne of Green Gables adaption comes out on Netflix Friday so already anticipating that day to be a wash! 

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 725

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 53 minutes 

Books finished: 3

Thursday

Another busy day. If there is one thing I have learned from working outside the home again is that there is no time to do anything anymore especially read. So I just got a little bit of reading in, mainly audiobooks while editing photos.

Thursday Numbers:

Pages read: 383

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 3 minutes 

Books finished: 2

Friday

Another washed out reading day. I worked and had an after work event and then came home and watched the first episode of Anne with an E. And then I was so exhausted I went to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better reading day. I

Friday Numbers:

Pages read: 157

Audiobook Time: 0 

Books finished: 0

Saturday

Oh hello Saturday! So glad to see you! I had awesome day with lots of relaxing and reading. I am still trying to shake this strep throat so I needed a day of rest. 

The Woman Who Stole My Life is a hilarious book that flashes back and forth between the MC's past and present. It is so funny and I am really enjoying it 100 pages in. 

I finished the graphic novel, Locke & Key: Brain Games. I loved this volume! It was so crazy and fascinating. The detail in the drawings just amaze me. I can't wait to read the third volume!

Paperweight was such a hard book to read. It is about a seventeen year old with an eating disorder. Being in Stevie's mind can be a really uncomfortable experience. She views her body and the world through this warped lens and it so tragic. But this book is SO good. So well written. I highly recommend it but it is also difficult.

Wrecked was another heart wrenching book as it was about college rape. It was an interesting perspective as the main story wasn't from the POV of the victims or the accused. I was definitely left with some questions after the book was over which dropped it in my estimation. 

I started Hunted which is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story. I am a sucker for retelling of fairy tales stories! I am only 50 pages in but am enjoying it so far.

My husband and I also watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I loved it! It was so good. I loved how much more magic there was than in the HP movies. I can't wait until the next one!

Tomorrow is Mothers Day and I am hosting so I don't know how much reading I will get done. I probably won't finish any more books. I might dip into Game of Thrones again since I have been reading it since the last Bout of Books. I need to stop getting books from the library and read my own!

Saturday Numbers:

Pages read: 617

Audiobook Time:  0

Books finished: 3

Sunday

As expected I didn't get much reading done since it was a busy Mothers Day. When you aren't a mother on mothers day you have to do lots of non fun stuff like cook and clean for mothers ha ha. So my last day of Bout of Books was sad. I wish these reaadathons wouldn't coincide with events like this.

Sunday Numbers:

Pages read: 176

Audiobook Time: 0

Books finished: 0

Wrap Up

Definitely my worst Bout of Books yet. I used to be able to work just a little bit during this readathon since I was my own boss. So this was a quite an adjustment. I love this readathon but this time it just felt more stressful with work. So I don't know if I will do this again. It makes me sad.

Final Numbers:

Pages read: 2,344

Audiobook Time: 15 hours 30 minutes

Books finished: 8

Dewey's Readathon April 2017

Well it is that time of year again! Dewey's Readathon starts in a few days. I am so excited for it. I have made sure to block off the whole 24 hours and not planned anything else. I can't believe this is only my third Dewey's. You can check out my blog post for October 2016 and my first year in April 2016. 

This is my current pile of books to choose from. I always make sure to have lots of choices as that is what will keep me interested and awake. This year I made sure to get even more graphic novels. My goals this year is to stay awake for at least 22 hours and finish 3 books and 3 graphic novels.  

I have also stocked up on a lot of delicious snacks! Healthy and non healthy. 

I am so excited to get started! Let me know if you have read any of the above books and what you thought of them.  I will also be posting intermittently on Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram and Litsy (ReadingSusan).

Day Of!

Yay! It is finally here! Readathon day! The official start is about 20 minutes away so I thought I would go ahead and do the opening meme before I get started reading!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Georgia, U.S.A. 

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Gemina. Of course it's a long one so I don't know if I will be able to get through the whole thing. But I also think it looks longer than it is because of the formatting.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Cheese and chocolate!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself? My name is Susan. I am in my mid 30's. I am a photographer and part time adult programming librarian. I have two cats and a dog that will be keeping me company while I read today.

5) If you participated in the last readathon, what's the one thing you'll do different today? Try to  stay up longer and plan my nap better. I missed the end of RAT last time because I napped too late and just didn't want to get up. I feel myself getting sick so I hope that won't interfere with the readathon.

I plan to start out reading in my comfy chair in my sunroom. My dog won't be happy because he has pretty much claimed it for himself.

9:30 am

An hour and a half in to readathon and just stopping by for a quick update. I am already tired which is not a good sign. I woke up too early and couldn't go back to sleep. 

I started off with listening to A Man Called Ove audiobook as I did all my morning chores. I love how grumpy Ove is. I think I see where is this book is going.

I made my traditional readathon cinnamon rolls. Delicious. I started my first print book All American Boys. And wow its really heavy so far. It's early to already be getting emotional about a book. 

Well headed off to read some more. I will check in later. I hope everyone is enjoying the readathon so far!

Total pages read: 102
Total audiobook time: 46 minutes
Books finished: 0

1:30 pm

I had to take about an hour break to pick my MIL up from dialysis but then I was able to get back to reading. 

I finished All American Boys. I love how it is not only written from two different boys perspectives but how it was actually written by two men coming from different places. This was a very heavy book to start out the readathon with but I feel like it will be on my mind for weeks to come. It was very well written and thought provoking.

Next up is lunch and a graphic novel of Romeo and Juliet. I am so excited to read this!

Hours Spent Reading: 5 hours 8 minutes
Total Pages read: 366
Total Audiobook time: 1 hr 58 minutes
Books finished: 1

6:00 pm

What a good afternoon of reading! I finished Romeo and Juliet. I really enjoyed it. I like how he added some modern touches to the drawings and switched the race and religion of the characters. My cat, Gehrig finally emerged but refused to snuggle with me. Probably because it is so hot today.

Next, I read a book I have been wanting to read for a few months, I Am Your Biggest Fan by People editor Kate Coyne. I laughed, cringed and winced at her celeb encounters. It's very funny and you have to appreciate someone who tells embarrassing things she has done in front of celebrities. I also broke into my chocolate stash. As usual I bought too many snacks and haven't eaten that much today. Sitting around and reading isn't exactly the best way to be hungry ha ha

I am still listening to a Man Called Ove audiobook in between the other books or when I am doing a quick social media check. I am really loving this book. I am real worried about how this is going to end though.

I am getting a little sleepy so I probably need to go for a walk or something. I am thinking the chances of me staying up too late tonight is just not going to happen. Which is fine. I no longer have the luxury of being able to take a couple of days to recover from readathons. Ok back to reading.

Hours Spent Reading: 9 hours 36 minutes
Total Pages read: 696
Total Audiobook time: 2 hours 58 minutes
Books finished: 3

8:15 pm

I had a lovely walk around the neighborhood while listening to my audiobook. It was supposed to storm all day today but it has been beautiful all day! I sat outside and read the fourth volume of Lumberjanes. I love these graphic novels. They are so funny and I really love the artwork. The adventures of the Lumberjanes are always fun. What the junk!

I just ate dinner and it was so delicious. But very salty ha ha. I will be chugging water the rest of the night. I started Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here. I won this in a Goodreads giveaway a few months ago and I am loving it a few chapters in. 

Hours Spent Reading: 11 hours 49 minutes
Total Pages read: 846
Total Audiobook time: 3 hours 59 minutes
Books finished: 4

1:30 am

I was getting sleepy so I had half a Coke and some chocolate and got my second wind! I finished Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here. I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away or anything. It reminded me a lot of Fangirl.

I started and finished the third volume of Saga. So good! This was my favorite volume so far. It was action packed.

My household is all sleeping now and I am the sole person awake. Even the cats are sleeping under the bed. I am afraid if I try to nap that I won't want to wake up but I may try to nap from 2-4. We will see. Time for a bath and my next book!

Hours Spent Reading: 16 hours 47 minutes
Total Pages read: 1232
Total Audiobook time: 5 hours 16 minutes
Books finished: 6

5:00 am

Wow I just finished Things I Should Have Known. I won this during the 24 in 48 Readathon and I am just sorry that I didn't read it before. I really enjoyed the story. It was all about sibling bonds and the character development worked really well for me.

I can't believe I am still awake. I don't think I could go to sleep even if I wanted to. There are birds loudly tweeting outside. Its very annoying. I also am having to face the fact that what I have been dismissing this week as allergies is me being sick. I can't stop coughing. I may actually make it to 8 am. But hoping I will be able to go to sleep. I am going to start reading the next volume of Saga and hopefully I will get sleepier. I am chugging throat comfort tea too. Hoping that helps my throat.

Hours Spent Reading: 20 hours 24 minutes
Total Pages read: 1543
Total Audiobook time: 6 hours 16 minutes
Books finished: 7

Wrap Up!

Well I am super happy with how my third readathon went! I finished 8 books, including 4 graphic novels, one memoir and 3 YA books. The key for me this year was definitely sticking to shorter books so my interest didn't wane especially in the early morning hours. I also finished about 71% of my audiobook A Man Named Ove, All the books I read but one were a four or five star so that makes it extra successful! I also hit my reading goal in Goodreads of 100 books! I can't believe I made it to that even with my new job! I fell asleep before the official end of readathon but I am really pleased with my final numbers. Also, I went to the dr this morning and I just have really bad allergies so I am not sick. Yay!

Totals

Hours Spent Reading: 22 hours 3 minutes
Total Pages read: 1695
Total Audiobook time: 6 hours 49 minutes
Books finished: 8

I am already looking forward to October! Tell me in the comments how your Readathhon went and link to your blog if you have one.

April 2017 Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon stack completed 

24in48 Winter 2017 Readathon

I love the 24in48 Readathon! The premise of it is to read for at least 24 hours of a weekend. I enjoyed doing this last year. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do it this year due to other commitments but they all fell through so suddenly with one day before it starts I get to sign up! I have one photo session Saturday morning but other than that I plan to read, read, read. It is perfect timing as I want to escape from all coverage of the Darkest Day. I doubt I will be able to do 24 hours because of my photo session and I can't stay up all nigh but I will read as much as I can. I will keep this post updated throughout the readathon and I will also be updating on Litsy and Instagram at ReadingSusan. Not sure if I will venture back into Twitter but will definitely be on the other two. Happy reading everybody!

These are the books I am planning on choosing from during the readathon

Saturday

2:30 pm

Wow it has been a great day of reading so far. I sadly ended up having to cancel my photo session because of really bad weather. We were under a tornado watch but luckily didn't get any tornados. But that left me plenty of time to read as the wind and rain howled outside.

I finally finished Carve the Mark which I started reading before the readathon began and I know that there was some controversy about the book but I really enjoyed it. I definitely liked it better than the last Divergent book. 

I am also listening to the audiobook Shrill by Lindy West. Such a great book! And a perfect book to read today thinking about feminism and empowering women. 

I also started The Comeback Season by one of my favorite young adult authors. It's also about baseball so that is awesome! I have pretty much been reading the whole day only taking occasional breaks to go on Twitter and enjoy all the Women's March posts. Today is the most hope I have felt since the morning of November 8th! 

Totals for this time block

Reading time: 6 hours 17 minutes

Pages read: 243

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 

Books finished: 1

10:30 pm

I have been reading interspersed with breaks to check in on the different women's marches. So inspiring! It makes me so happy! I wish I could have participated. 

I finished The Comeback Season. It was good and I enjoyed it. I loved reading about the Cubs and the sadness of them never winning a World Series when they finally won last year. 

I started Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica. I always enjoy her books and this one seems like it is going to be another suspenseful one. I just wish the blurb on the front cover didn't give some of it away! I had a great evening reading and drinking a delicious rose while my husband made me dinner. I love weekends!

I also started reading Mandie and Holiday Surprise. As I said in My Bout of Books post a few weeks ago I have been rereading these holiday classics. It is amazing how I can remember whole passages from these books. I read them over and over as a child as they were one of the few series I owned. My cat Trixie (yes named after Trixie Belden!) has been extra snuggly today because she was so scared of the storm earlier. Looks like we will get more storms in the middle of the night and possible tornados. I hate this kind of weather.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 5 hours 2 minutes

Pages read: 271

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Just before midnight 

Well this is a quick update and Saturday wrap up. Since the last time I checked in  I finished my Mandie book and am close to finishing up the Shrill audiobook. I am also really starting to get into Don't You Cry although I feel like it took awhile to get the story going.  

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Pages read: 82

Audiobook Time: 19 minutes

Books finished: 1

I am pretty tired so I am not sure how much more I will read. We have strong storms on the way so if they fire up I may not be able to sleep. But hoping to get some sleep in before then. I was hoping to get at least 12 hours of reading in today and I got really close! I will check in tomorrow. 

Saturday Totals

Reading time: 11 hour 38 minutes

Pages read: 596

Audiobook Time: 4 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 3

Sunday

10:30 am

I didn't sleep great last night as violent storms kept coming through so I listened to a little of my audiobook throughout the night when I would wake up. I finished Shrill. Wow what an excellent book. The online harassment Lindy West has had to put up with is ridiculous. I hate the whole oh it's the internet what do you expect argument. When did we stop being concerned about being decent people?

This morning I started the audiobook Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac about a 16 year old girl who hits her head and can't remember her life past age 12. I am really enjoying it so far. My husband made me biscuits for breakfast this morning which were so good. I am also still reading Don't You Cry. I am losing interest in it a little. My audiobook is far more interesting at this point. I hope to get at least 13 reading hours in today. I also want to spend some time with my husband so I don't know if that will happen. We shall see. Off to read more! 

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 3 hours 1 minute

Pages read: 62

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 11 minutes

Books finished: 1

3:30 pm

I have had a terrific and relaxing afternoon reading! It is so great just to be able to push everything else aside and read. 

I finished Don't You Cry. It was such a disappointment. I feel like nothing happened until the very end and I had already figured out most of the plot twists. And it felt like it took me forever to finish those last 200 or so pages.

I am really loving the Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac audiobook. It is so good. I think I need to go do some yoga while listening because my back is starting to get sore from too much reading. I had to take a long hot bath this afternoon. I also started Boy Erased A Memoir. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time.

We are under a tornado watch right now which stinks. I have huge tornado paranoia and anxiety about them so I am hoping to use books to distract me until 8 when it expires. But I am sure I will be watching the radar the whole time.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Pages read: 149

Audiobook Time: 52 minutes

Books finished: 1

11:30 pm

Well it has been such an awesome day of reading! I started and finished the graphic novel Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Freefall. It was a great issue in that series. I really need the next one ASAP!

I also finished Folly's Bride #4 in the Brides of Montclair series. I love this series of books. I have been reading and rereading it since I was a teen. I made a delicious dinner of cracked pepper pork tenderloin and garlic green beans. 

Erased is a really hard book to read. It is terrible to read about gay conversion therapy. I thought I grew up in a really restrictive environment but the one in the book is way more extreme. I think this is a really important book to read.

Totals for this time block--

Reading time: 5 hours 44 minutes

Pages read: 493

Audiobook Time: 2 hours 43 minutes

Books finished: 2

Sunday Totals

Reading time:  12 hours  25 minutes

Pages read: 704

Audiobook Time:  5 hours  46 minutes

Books finished: 4

Wrap Up! 

I had a terrific weekend reading. I am so happy I was able to do this readathon at the last minute, I also really enjoyed interacting with the wonderful bookish community on Litsy. I just made it to 24 hours. I can't wait until the next readathon. 

Readathon Totals

Reading time:  24 hours   3 minutes

Pages read: 1,300

Audiobook Time:   10 hours  29 minutes

Books finished: 7

Bout of Books 18 January 2017

I love the Bout of Books read-a-thon. This is held twice a year. This will be my second time participating. 

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

I really enjoy this read-a-thon and am looking forward to a fun week. It will be a great way to ease back into post holiday work. I will be updating this post throughout the whole week!  I will also be on Twitter, Instagram and Litsy as Reading Susan!

Monday

The first day of Bout of Books I have been a little scattered and not done a lot of reading between storms (scared puppy), last day of vacation and setting up this lovely new blog home.

I was about 50 pages in on Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs so I finished that up this afternoon. It was an interesting installment in the series although it was set in summer and kind of threw me out of the story. I also enjoyed some of my delicious Christmas candy including this out of this world salt water taffy. 

After I was done with that I started A Necessary End which was a book I won through a Goodreads Giveaway. I am about halfway through now and this is one that is holding my attention mostly because I really want to find out what happens at the end. 

I started listening to audiobook Night by Elie Wiesel. Whew. 15 minutes in and it is intense. This may be one I can only listen to in small chunks. This is a book I have been wanting to read for years and I am glad I finally bought it. I enjoyed some tea tonight as its pouring down rain in my new Jane Austen mug. My sister got it for me for Christmas and it is so cute. I will have to take more close up photos tomorrow because I love all the quotes all over the mug.

Monday Numbers:

Pages read: 435

Audiobooks Time: 22 minutes 

Books finished: 1

Tuesday 

Today was my first day back to work after the holidays. I got a lot done and was super energized. I didn't get much reading time but I did finish one book and start reading Roses and Rot by Kat Howard. I am hoping to have more reading time tomorrow.

Tuesday Numbers:

Pages read: 224

Audiobooks Time: 2 hours 4 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Wednesday

Today was another busy day with working on sales tax and my (accounting) books. Numbers are not always my friend. I got a little more reading in today but still felt a little distracted. I am working on Sunday so I decided to take tomorrow off and just enjoy reading.

I finished Night. Wow was that a hard read. Very difficult to comprehend how much horror people went through at concentration camps. Also, terrible to think how much Elie Wiesel has had to put up with from Halocaust deniers. So awful. This book should be read by everyone. Never forget how quickly evil men can destroy the people with their hideousness. 

I also finished Roses and Rot. I liked it for its strangeness and some of those characters were really interesting. But I feel like it faltered in places. It could have been so much better and I didn't feel the story was developed as much as it could be.  

I started listening to the audiobook of The Man of My Dreams. I was so excited to see this on my library page. I love Curtis Sittenfeld and I thought I had read all of her books. 

I splurged and bought Heartless today so I started that next. I am super excited to read it. I love anything based off of fairy tales or other books and this is based off of Alice in Wonderland. I got some good kitty snuggles while reading tonight. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Wednesday Numbers:

Pages read: 326

Audiobooks Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

Books Finished: 2

Thursday

I had more time to read today, especially my audiobook. I didn't take the day off like I planned because I had to much to do. Lately I have been re-reading the Mandie books which are books I loved so much as a child. I started the tenth in that series today. They are quick reads so I finished it tonight. The forecast is calling for 3-4 inches of snow which is huge for here. I am super excited and hope it really happens.

Thursday Numbers:

Pages read: 332

Audiobooks Time:  6 hours 7 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Friday

How is it already Friday!? It is shocking to me how fast this week went by. I really feel like I didn't read much this week but that is only because I read for so many hours during vacation. Today I read a lot. We had a winter storm system forecasting today so I just huddled under blankets trying to stay warm, drinking wine, baking cookies and getting so excited for the snow. We hardly ever get any snow and some forecasters said we could get up to three inches which is so exciting for this area. I love snow sooo much. I was more excited the last couple of days about the snow then I was about Christmas. Well we got a whole lot of nothing! Absolutely no snow. All gross freezing rain. And now we will be stuck in the house all weekend because of the ice but no snow. Huge waste! So I am super down in the dumps about that.

I finished listening to the audiobook of The Man of My Dreams. It was an interesting book in places but overall was just kind of dullish. If you don't like unpleasant main characters definitely don't read it because Hannah is awful. 

I also finished Heartless. It seemed to take me forever to read. The premise of this book (the origin story of the Queen of Hearts) was so good. But the execution was just so so. There were parts I adored (like the things she would dream) and parts I hated (pretty much Jest). I think maybe that was a book I had been anticipating so much it could have never lived up to my expections. 

I started and finished You Know Me Well and it was so good. I loved how it was written by Nina LaCour and David Levithan and they each wrote parts of it. It really gave Mark and Kate such distinctive voices because it was! Terrific book and perfect since I want to read more diverse books in 2017. 

Friday Numbers

Pages read: 470

Audiobook time: 2 hours 23 minutes

Books finsished: 3 

Saturday  

I had such a great and relaxing day today. Although it did not snow it was icy so I just stayed in all day drinking tea, reading books, watching Sherlock, eating and listening to audiobooks and podcasts. It was glorious. 

I started reading All the Rage this morning and this book really did enrage me. Don't get me wrong it was a great book but it was a very difficult subject matter dealing with a teenage rape victim. The way she is treated is sickening and even though I know it's a fiction book I also know this is how people treat victims all the time. The rape culture we have is truly terrible and I hope in my lifetime I can see that go away. I did enjoy using my new teapot although I did take this photo before I read the book and realized it was such a  heavy topic.

I had to take a little break in reading books after I finished All the Rage since it was so upsetting but then I stated something a little lighter Yes Please by Amy Poehler. It's a really good and funny audiobook. I always enjoy when an author narrates their own book.

I also started The Sun Is Also a Star. I am about 100 pages in and absolutely loving it. I loved Nicola Yoon's first book and this one is so good so far. 

I also finally started the fourth Game of Thrones book. I only read these books when it's cold so I figured today's would be a perfect day for that. 

I can't believe tomorrow is the final day of Bout of Books! I have done a terrible job of interacting on social media and others blogs but I plan on doing that tomorrow. And doing lots of blog reading on Monday. 

Saturday Numbers 

Pages Read: 479

Audiobook Time: 50 minutes

Books finished: 1

Sunday

Well this was an even more leisurely day than yesterday. I spent more time watching TV than reading because I had a hard time concentrating on reading. I also didn't feel very good which meant that I was able to take a nap which I usually have a really hard time doing during the day.

I finished The Sun Is Also A Star. I really, really loved that book. I usually am not a fan of "instal-love" but this story went a little deeper than that and I liked the themes of immigration and race.

I am about half way through Yes Please and I highly recommend the audiobook version. Amy Poehler is so funny and I love listening to her read her book. She also brings in special guests like Seth Meyers and her mom. It is really funny.

A Feast for Crows is really good. I don't know why people were telling me that none of the main characters were in this book. I would have read it a long time ago if I knew that they were.

I also started an ebook The Last Anniversary which has been on my Kindle. It is really interesting and I can't wait to see what really happened. I have a mixed reaction to Liane Moriarty books. I either love them or hate them and I think this was one of her first books.

Sunday Numbers

Pages Read: 368

Audiobook Time: 3 hours 12 minutes

Books Finished: 1

Bout of Books Wrap Up

I had so much fun participating in this week of reading with the awesome book community. I am very happy with all the reading and relaxing I was able to get in. It was a great way to begin 2017! Thanks to Amanda, Kelly and all the other volunteers for making this such a great event!

Pages Read: 2,634

Audiobook Time: 16 hours

Books Finished: 10