May 2018 Wrap-Up and Haul

I’m a little disappointed in how few books I read this month. This is the lowest book count I’ve had all year so far. We have been working on so many house projects lately that I haven’t had a lot of time outside of my lunch breaks to read. I am really happy about how our projects have been turning out though. The house is finally feeling like it is ours and not the house I grew up in.

Although I read fewer books than I usually do in a month, I still read some great books. Sure there was one DNF but I had one five star and the rest were all 4 stars. So I guess I should look on the bright side there 🙂  And in case you were wondering, the 5 star went to LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff! You all know he is one of my absolute faves but no bias here, this book was EPIC. That ending had me floored!

Wrap-Up

• The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
• A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
• Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
• Heartless by Marissa Meyer (DNF)
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeymi
• LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

May 2018 Books Read: 7 (including 1 DNF)

Total 2018 Books Read: 59 (including 2 DNF)

May 2018 Pages Read: 2,275 (not including DNF)

Total 2018 Pages Read: 20,644 (not including DNFs)

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Book Haul

• Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
• A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
• Small Country by Gael Faye
• Still Lives by Maria Hummel
• Saga vol. 2
• Saga vol. 3
• LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff (Aus and US editions)
• Aru Shah and the End of the World by Roshani Chokshi
• The Traitor’s Game by Jennifer A. Nielson
• Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All **oops! Forgot to add this one to the photo!**

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And today marks day 1 of the 20 Books of Summer Challenge!  Check out my TBR here! I’m planning on starting off the challenge with one of my non-fiction choices – The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner.

Happy reading!

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WWW Wednesday – May 30, 2018

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words.
Each week we answer the following three questions:
-What have you recently finished reading?
-What are you currently reading?
-What are you reading next?

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Last night I finished reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. It was pretty great, solid 4 stars, and I can’t wait to read the sequel. There were a few slow moments and admittedly a few eye rolls but overall it was really good.

After I finished CoBaB, I started reading LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff which was just released in the US! This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and so far it is living up to my expectations! Jay Kristoff is one of my absolute favorite authors so I’m really glad that this book is no exception so far.

I anticipate finishing LIFEL1K3 either later today or tomorrow so I will be starting off fresh on Friday for the start of 20 Books of Summer! I honestly don’t know which of the books I am going to pick first. I may already have to change up one of my genre TBRs since I just found out I will be getting a review copy of a book that is #3 in a series – Six Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir – that I own the first two books but haven’t read. Technically they could be read out of order but I generally like to stick with the order of things, even when it’s not absolutely necessary. On Friday I’ll be posting an updated TBR for the start of the challenge.

What have you been reading lately?

20 Books of Summer Challenge – 2018

How is it even possible that summer is almost here?! We didn’t get much of a spring in Minnesota this year. The weather seemed to go straight from winter to summer with MAYBE a few days of spring temperatures. Spring is my second favorite season so I feel a bit cheated. But with summer comes a new reading challenge. I’ve attempted this one at least once in the past and it didn’t go as I had planned.  I came up with what at the time felt like a great TBR, but then my moods quickly changed and I hardly read any of the books I had originally picked out.  I did manage to complete 20+ books though so I guess that was what really mattered.  This year is already starting out a bit rocky… I thought I have had my TBR set at least three times, but almost every book changes every time.  So before I can change my mind yet again, I want to throw my TBR out there and hope it sticks.

20 Books of Summer is a challenge that was created and hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books. Basically the goal is to come up with your TBR, read and review those books between June 1^st and September 3^rd.  Because I already know I will not be reviewing most of these books (just my nature), I am going to skip that part. I’m also going to say that if I end up not reading all of the books on my list but read different books that amount to 20, then I win. I am also trying to read more of a variety since lately my usual go-to tends to be fantasy novels so I picked out 7 genres that I want to spread my 20 books amongst. If I find myself no longer drawn to a few of my choices, I would like to at least replace them with a different book from the same genre.  Here are the books that I have chosen, fingers crossed I read them all! (links go to book’s Goodread page, book cover images from Goodreads)

Classics

     

Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon by Jane Austen

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

 

Contemporary

          

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

After You by Jojo Moyes

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

 

Fantasy

          

Circe by Madeline Miller

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

 

Historical Fiction

          

A Trail of Fire by Diana Gabaldon

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley

The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

 

Mystery/Thriller

          

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh

 

Non-fiction

          

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Missoula by Jon Krakauer

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner

 

Science Fiction

          

**This section is contingent upon my finishing LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff before the end of May. If I don’t, then that will be going here in the place of one of these books.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

American War by Omar El Assad

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

In each of my summer monthly recap posts I will have a section to show my progress on this challenge.  I’m really looking forward to reading all of these books.  Some, like The Passage, have been on my TBR for what feels like forever.

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What books are you planning to read this summer? Have you read any of these books or have them on your TBR?

WWW Wednesday – May 9, 2018

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words.
Each week we answer the following three questions:
-What have you recently finished reading?
-What are you currently reading?
-What are you reading next?

I am finally making more progress on The Plantagenet and Tudor novels series by Philippa Gregory. Years ago I had read The Other Boleyn Girl back when the movie with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson was coming out but I never really got around to reading the rest of the series even though I live for Tudor history.  I just finished book 3 in the series, The Red Queen, which is from Margaret Beaufort’s POV.  I thought it was really well written and definitely kept me intrigued from the very beginning.

I also finished A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas.  I had been looking forward to this one for ages.  It is one of my favorite series so I’m glad when it didn’t end with ACOWAR last year.  Really looking forward to reading the new novels as they are published.  What really surprised me about this book was the range of emotion.  It is a really short book, technically a novella, so it was really refreshing to feel such a wide range of emotions while reading it.  There were sad moments, anger, and so many bust-out-laughing moments.  I love the inner circle and their camaraderie so much!

Currently I am reading I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara.  I had been DYING to read this book ever since I heard about it. I really love reading books in the true crime genre and lately with all of the publicity about this killer finally being caught, I just needed to get a copy ASAP.  It’s really sad though that the author passed away in 2016 and wasn’t able to see all of her hard work pay off in helping direct information towards catching this killer. I started reading it last night and had to stop… My hubby went to bed early and requested that I use my booklight to read but it was just too creepy so I ended up putting the book down haha. This killer preyed on couples late at night in their beds so I was done for the night.  It is really interesting so far though!

Up next I am planning on choosing between these two books.  After reading I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, I may need something light and contemporary so I would go with Leah On The Offbeat by Becky Albertalli.  If I don’t need something lighter I may end up choosing Circe by Madeline Miller.  We shall see!

 

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What have you been reading lately?

May 2018 TBR

I think this is the first month where I really have a solid TBR that I plan to stick to.  Normally I have a hard time adhering to a TBR because I am a mood reader but there are so many books I’ve received lately or will be receiving this month that I am dying to read.  I’m keeping it about half of what I usually read in a month so I have plenty of room for other books that strike my fancy during the month.  I’ve put them in the order I plan to read them as it stands now but that could change. LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff will for sure be the last book of the month since it doesn’t release until the 29th.  I’m currently reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory but as soon as I finish that I plan to start A Court of Frost and Starlight right away. (Links go to book’s Goodreads page)

    

• A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas – I have been dying to read this one ever since I finished ACOWAR.  I have missed Feyre, Rhys, and the others so much! I can’t wait to see what they are up to.
• I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara – I love reading true crime books so I’ve been looking forward to reading this one for months. My library’s hold list is so long and I couldn’t wait any longer so I recently bought a copy.
• Lean on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli – I adored Simon Vs. so when I found out she was writing a sequel about Leah, I knew I needed it.

    

• Circe by Madeline Miller – I really enjoyed Song of Achilles and I love mythology so I’ve been really looking forward to reading this one!
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – Another one I’ve been waiting months to read. I wanted to let the hype die down a little bit before starting it for myself so I won’t have those opinions on my mind while reading.
• LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff – If you know me then you know I love Jay Kristoff so having this one on my list is a no brainer!  I can’t wait for this to FINALLY be released!

What books are you looking forward to reading this month?