Bout of Books 11.0 Goals & TBR

Wooo!! It's that time again! I'm going to participating in Bout of Books 11.0. If you don't know, this is a read-a-thon. It'll be going on from August 18-August 24 and everyone is invited to join in. You can make your own goals and turn the read-a-thon into whatever you want it to be. I'm so, so excited for this. I can't remember how well I did last time, but I know I've participated in Bout of Books once before. Here's some more information taken straight from the Bout of Books page which you can find HERE.

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, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th 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 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

For more information on my goals and my TBR, you can watch the video I made announcing my participating in the read-a-thon on my BookTube channel. I'll put that right here for you to easily check out.

PROGRESS:

Throughout the week, I'll be attempting to keep track of my progress here on this post. So, if you're interested in seeing what I've read each day and how well I'm doing you can come right back here and check it out! I'll also be posting an update video and wrapup video on my channel on Friday and Monday. See ya then!

Monday 8.18
Currently reading: Amity, Saga, Vol. 3
Pages read today: 144 Pages and 9% of Amity
Books completed today: 1 book
Notes: I should have took into account that Amity would be a scarier book. I read 9% of it earlier in the day and then switched to Saga... That was dumb of me because I'm too afraid to read Amity at night. So, there's that. Regardless, I'm proud of myself for having finished a book today.

Tuesday 8.19

Currently reading: 
Pages read today: 
Books completed today: 
Notes: 

Wednesday 8.20

Currently reading: 
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Thursday 8.21

Currently reading: 
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Friday 8.22

Currently reading: 
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Saturday 8.23

Currently reading: 
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Sunday 8.24

Currently reading: 
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Totals 

Pages read: 
Books completed: 

My First Bout of Books Read-A-Thon!

Ahhhhh! It's happening! I know I start, like, each and every event post that way, but I'M JUST SO EXCITED! I've never participated in a Bout of Books Read-A-Thon before and if you haven't figured it out yet.. I'm about to do just that! I had heard of Bout of Books before on Twitter and things like that, but I never really knew what it was. I don't know how I didn't know what it was since it's so popular.. I'm clearly super oblivious. Regardless, I'm beyond excited about this event and the fact that I'm finally going to be participating. The way it happened was actually so perfect. I literally went on my Twitter and tweeted about how I was really craving a read-a-thon (thinking that this one had already started.) Then I somehow ended up on the Bout of Books blog and realized it starts on May 12, so I could totally still join! EXCITEMENT! CAN YOU FEEL IT?

If you're oblivious like I am, I'm going to quickly explain to you what this is. It's your average read-a-thon, but 500x more cool! This read-a-thon is pretty widely known and definitely very popular. So popular, in fact, that this is the tenth time they've done it! Bout of Books has been happening ever since August 2011 and gains heaps and heaps of participants with each event they have. It's hosted by Amanda from On a Book Bender and Kelly from Reading The Paranormal. In order to explain a bit more (and probably just repeat everything I just said,) here's the blurb copied and pasted from the Bout of Books blog.

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, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th 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 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Alright! So, now to my specific goals and all that fun stuff. I intend to try and read at a higher rate than I typically would throughout the entire week. By that I mean, I will be reading the entire week of the event and attempting to really do a good job with this. My goals are just that; read more than I normally would. However, to get a bit more specific I'm going to make a list here of the books I'm hoping to read throughout the event. Many of these books are books I've already started. So, all of these books could be started, continued or completely finished during this week. Who knows what will happen? So, without further ado, here are my goal books.

• Nil by Lynne Matson
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (re-read)
• Killer Instinct by S.E. Green
• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (audio-book)
• Oblivion by Sasha Dawn
• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (graphic novel)
• Arabian Nights (and Days) by Bill Willingham (graphic novel)

This list is very, very rough and definitely not strict whatsoever. In the heat of the moment and during this event, I intend to read whatever I feel like reading at the time. This list is simply a guide and a rough TBR of the books I may or may not read over the next week. In addition to that, there's no way I'll ever be able to read ALL of these books, so please don't assume that that's what's going to happen.

PROGRESS:

Throughout the week, I'll be attempting to keep track of my progress here on this post. So, if you're interested in seeing what I've read each day and how well I'm doing you can come right back here and check it out!

Monday 5.12
Currently reading: Nil, Stargirl, The Fault In Our Stars, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days), Saga Vol. 1
Pages read today: 330 Pages
Time spent reading today: 4 Hours and 35 Minutes
Books completed today: 2 Books
Notes: I don't know why, but just before this read-a-thon I did this weird thing where I started a bunch of books. So, that's why my "currently reading" looks ridiculous. But, this is a good thing because it potentially means I can finish way more books since I've already started a bunch.

Tuesday 5.13
Currently reading: Stargirl, The Fault In Our Stars, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days)
Pages read today: 135 Pages
Time spent reading today: 2 Hours and 55 Minutes
Books completed today: 1 Book
Notes: I just finished TFIOS as I write this. I'm moved and I kind of didn't think I'd feel this intensely about it? I'll be reviewing that book in the near or distant future.. in other words, eventually. I didn't read as much as I would have liked. So, that was sad.. Haha.

Wednesday 5.14
Currently reading: Stargirl, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days)
Pages read today: 0...
Time spent reading today: None...
Books completed today: 0...
Notes: I just posted an explanation post (Today is Saturday) that explains why I've been MIA from Wednesday to Sunday. So.. womp womp womp. Bad things. I suck. I'm sorry. D':

Thursday 5.15
Currently reading: Stargirl, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days)
Pages read today: 0...
Time spent reading today: None...
Books completed today: 0...

Friday 5.16
Currently reading: Stargirl, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days)
Pages read today: 0...
Time spent reading today: None...
Books completed today: 0...

Saturday 5.17
Currently reading: Stargirl, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days)
Pages read today: 0...
Time spent reading today: None...
Books completed today: 0...

Sunday 5.18
Currently reading: Stargirl, Killer Instinct, Arabian Nights (and Days)
Pages read today: 0...
Time spent reading today: None...
Books completed today: 0...

Totals 
Pages read: 465 Pages
Time spent reading: 7 Hours and 30 Minutes
Books completed: 3 Books

Are you participating in the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon!? Let me know! I'm so excited to meet as many new people as I can and also read as many books as I can! Thanks for stopping by!

Ides of March Read-A-Thon || Challenges

If you didn't see my introduction post, I'm currently participating in the Ides of March Read-A-Thon hosted by Kimba at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. I've been having tons of fun and definitely appreciate this read-a-thon for getting me a little more motivated to read. I have a lot of books to get through in the next few weeks for various reasons and I'm grateful that I'm finally speeding up a bit. I'm also really sad because today was the Twitter chat and I totally forgot about it. But, it's alright because I'm going to jump right back into things by doing the challenges provided for this read-a-thon.

For this read-a-thon, other lovely book bloggers have graciously decided to host a few challenges. There are four all together and they can be done at any point during the read-a-thon (March 13 - 17) so I figured I would just cram all my challenges into one massive challenge post! So without further ado, let's bust out some challenges.

Book Spine Poetry

This Challenge is hosted by BookBriefs

For this challenge, you were to make a poem using mostly book titles. You can use some extra words, but only as many as the amount of books you use. So, if my poem uses 4 books, I get to use 4 extra words. You were also only supposed to use books from your TBR pile that were published before March 1, 2014. Make sense? Well, I'm not too great at things like this so don't get your hopes up.. But, here it is!

Across The Universe

There's a Hollow City,

Where the Extras Unwind,

And A Monster Calls.

The Darkest Minds are only

Shadow and Bone.

There they Wither

Under The Never Sky.

Cover Puzzle Challenge

This Challenge is hosted by GinsBookNotes

This Challenge has to be completed on the creators blog as it's literally two surprisingly fun puzzles of full moon related book covers (look outside! tonight's a full moon!) and I can't really show you them on my blog. However, when you finish the puzzles, the generator tells you your time. So, I can share that with you here.

First Puzzle Time: 3 minutes and 3 seconds

Second Puzzle Time: 2 minutes and 53 seconds

I think I did pretty darn well if I do say so myself. Go try out these great puzzles for yourself and comment below to tell me if you beat my times! I would love to know.

When In Rome Challenge

This Challenge is hosted by BackChattingBooks

This is a fairy simple, self explanatory challenge. Since the read-a-thon is called "Ides of March" Vilia wanted us to learn a little about Romans and really think about what the Ides of March is. If you head over to the link above you can check out her challenge post and read a bunch of fun facts about Rome and the Ides of March. For the challenge part of this post, she just wants participants to answer the question "When in Rome, what do the Romans do?" Which I think is actually adorable!

Being a HUGE fan of Greek and Roman mythology, I know a few things here and there that deal with the gods and goddesses of these ancient civilizations. So, I would say When in Rome, Romans worship Roman gods. When in Rome, Romans read Virgil's Aeneid. When in Rome, you often get confused with the Greeks. (That last one was meant to be funny, but it probably wasn't... Lol)

Six Words (Or Less!) Challenge

This Challenge is hosted by Bookish-Brunette

I actually really, really love this challenge idea. The Challenge is to give the synopsis of the book you're currently reading (or just finished) in six words or less! How fun is that?! I'm currently reading The Archived by Victoria Schwab, so here goes nothing!

Dead on shelves. Mysterious murders. - 5 Words

That's not too terrible, right? I did it in 5 words and I think that's a pretty good synopsis. Don't you? Anyways, that's the final challenge! I know. I'm sad as well. This was super fun and I'm so glad I participated in all these challenges. I want to thank Kimba (the read-a-thon host) and the four girls who hosted these challenges! You've all done a fabulous job.

Ides of March Read-A-Thon || Introduction

Oh gosh, you guys! I'm doing another read-a-thon! Granted, it's nothing too hardcore. The Ides of March Read-A-Thon is being hosted by The Caffinated Book Reviewer. To see her opening post and get all the specific information click HERE. There's definitely still time to join and I'm sure she'd appreciate your participation! Just remember to add yourself to her linky! This read-a-thon is taking place from March 13-17 and also going to include a Twitter chat, challenges and a giveaway! I LOVE challenges.

Alright, now for my goals. When it comes to goals, I'm not going to hope for too much. Last time I participated in a read-a-thon, I kind of let myself down by having a few slumpy days in the middle there. I've found that that's normal for me, so I'm not going to let myself become discouraged if I go a day without reading.

Currently, I'm 30something pages into The Archived by Victoria Schwab. I'm hoping to finish that book during this read-a-thon for sure. If you didn't know, there's a read-a-long for this book being hosted this month by JesseTheReader. Here's a link to that Goodreads group if you would like to participate in discussions of that book. In addition to The Archived, I would love to read Panic by Lauren Oliver. There's another read-a-long happening right now for Panic. This read-a-long is being hosted by a group of BookTubers who've adopted the name Booksplosion. To check out the Goodreads group for the #dontpanic read-a-long, you can click here. Gah! So many read-a-longs!!

Aside from The Archived and Panic, I'm slowly dipping into The Grim Anthology which was released recently. Since this is a compilation of short stories, I'm reading them slowly and whenever I don't feel like picking up whatever I'm reading at the time. I think as a general goal, those three books will consume the majority of my reading time during this read-a-thon and if I do pick up anything else, I'll be sure to mention it in a challenge post or something as a reading update.

Okay! Everything covered? Perfect! Check back to my blog and all the other participants to see all the awesome challenges and excitement that's planned for this read-a-thon. I hope you consider joining! This should be super fun! Thanks for stopping by!

Pssst. While you're here, don't forget to check out my BRAND NEW blog feature.

Love for Books Readathon || I'm doing it! OMG.

Guys. I'm joining my first ever ReadAThon! I know, it's insane. We have Pivot Book Reviews to thank for this. And, I think I'm joining at the end of day one.. *already failing* But, that's alright because I still read today, so whatever. Woo! Great start. Right on track. Haha. Anyways! Let's get down to the technical stuff.

Here's all the information taken from Novel Heart Beat and Confessions of a Bookie Monster's opening posts just so you know exactly what's happening:

• The Love for Books Readathon runs from Monday, February 17th at 12:01 am through Sunday, February 23rd at 11:59 pm. 
• We plan to have at least one mini challenge sometime during the week for you to participate in!
• There will be a giveaway at the end of the readathon for all participants.
• Sign up at Novel Heartbeat or Confessions of a Bookie Monster. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by February 18th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! 
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.
• Feel free to tweet your progress with the hashtag #LfBReadathon!

My Goals:

Since this is my first ReadAThon ever in the history of the world, I'm going to stick with three books as my goal. I hope to exceed that, but since I'm not a speedy reader and I'm not sure what to expect.. we'll see. Aim low and avoid disappointment.

My Progress:

Check back here to see me track my progress throughout the week. Woo! It's going to be very exciting.

Monday 2.17
Currently reading: Cinder, Insurgent, Fables Vol. 6
Pages read today: 189 Pages
Time spent reading today: Roughly 3 Hours and 15 Minutes
Books completed today: N/A
Notes: I started a day late so I didn't have the read-a-thon mindset today. Fingers crossed I read more than this tomorrow!

Tuesday 2.18
Currently reading: Cinder, Insurgent, Fables Vol. 6
Pages read today: 230 Pages
Time spent reading today: 3 hours and 20 minutes
Books completed today: 2 Books
Notes: I had already started the graphic novel a while before this readathon. Today just happened to be the day I plucked it off. So, that's why I've completed 2 books with only reading 230 pages today.

Wednesday 2.19
Currently reading: Player One, Insurgent
Pages read today: 9 Pages
Time spent reading today: 10 minutes
Books completed today: N/A

Notes: Alright, excuses time. As you can see.. today was my fail day. This will be the only day where I barely read. Pinky promise. However, I did receive Player One in the mail this morning (I'd been waiting weeks), so I cracked it open and started it but didn't have a lot of free time to read today. I'm going to try to finish it though tomorrow or the next day because it's reasonably short. I promise tomorrow will be better!!

Thursday 2.20
Currently reading: Player One, Insurgent
Pages read today: 121 Pages
Time spent reading today: 2 Hours and 40 Minutes
Books completed today: N/A
Notes: I wanted to finish Player One today since it's a relatively short (seeming) book, however I'm reading it slower than I had anticipated. I'll either finish it tonight (since it's 12:30am on Friday as I type this), or tomorrow (Friday) night.. If that makes sense.

Friday 2.21
Currently reading: Player One, Insurgent
Pages read today: 7 Pages
Time spent reading today: 10 Minutes
Books completed today: N/A 
Notes: Let's just be honest, this hasn't been my best reading week. I have a migraine as I type this (1am on Saturday morning) and I went out and did a lot of things today that kept me from reading. I'm going to stop making excuses and simply hope that tomorrow will be better.

Saturday 2.22
Currently reading: Player One, Insurgent
Pages read today: 0 Pages
Time spent reading today: 0 Minutes
Books completed today:  N/A
Notes: Let's just not even talk about it. I'm trying so hard, guys. I was busy today! This is all too stressful.

Sunday 2.23
Currently reading: Player One, Insurgent, Go Ask Alice
Pages read today: 167 Pages
Time spent reading today: 2 Hours and 30 Minutes
Books completed today: 1 Book

SUMMARY
Total # pages read: 723 Pages
Total time spent reading: 13 Hours and 5 Minutes
Books I completed: Cinder, Fables Vol. 5 (Homelands) and Player One