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Monthly To Be Read List: August 2018

I’m having a hard time believing it’s already August. There’s less than a month until I’m back at work!! I saw an image on Instagram this morning by @letterfolk with a quote that said:

“How is it already August…
Tomorrow is basically September.
It’s already 2019.
Happy New Year.”

That pretty much sums up how I’m feeling. Time flies! I had a fantastic reading month in July, and I’m hoping to do the same this month, before work gets going again and I start my Master’s.

So, without further ado, here’s my August TBR.

A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas
How They Met – David Levithan
A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman
The Sky is Everywhere – Jandy Nelson
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo – Amy Schumer
Fierce Kingdom – Gin Phillips
The Boat People – Sharon Bala
Precious Cargo – Craig Davidson
Tarzan of the Apes – Edgar Rice Burroughs
A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
Hollow City – Ransom Riggs (I accidentally put Library of Souls, book 3, in the photo, but I haven’t read book 2 yet)
Lion – Saroo Brierley
P.S. I Still Love You – Jenny Han
The Fledgling – Jane Langton (The Hall Family Chronicles #4)
The Fragile Flag – Jane Langton (The Hall Family Chronicles #5)
The Time Bike – Jane Langton (The Hall Family Chronicles #6)
A Dance with Dragons – George R. R. Martin

How I chose

I decided to go for a huge stack so that I could mood read from it this month. Mood reading worked really well for me last month, even though I didn’t officially choose a TBR. I also wanted to diversify my list a bit more and read some Canadian Literature (CanLit).

Where I’m at, and what I’m looking forward to!

I started reading The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo on the last day of July, and I’m almost done. Andrew and I are heading to Seattle to see the Jays-Mariners series today, so I don’t know how much reading I’ll get done, but we’ll see!

I think I’m most excited to read the CanLit (The Boat People, Precious Cargo) and the diverse reads (A Thousand Splendid Suns, Lion) on this list.

My classic choice for the month

Since March, I’ve attempted to read one classic per month. This month I’ve chosen Tarzan of the Apes! Should be fun!

Even though it’s a purposely big TBR for mood reading…

I still think I have a pretty good chance of finishing these because I’m still off work for summer!

Time to finish my packing and choose my weekend book list!

Happy reading, book badgers!

– Paperback Patronus

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: July 2018

This July, I had my second best reading month of 2018 (and probably ever). In January, my best reading month, I read 23 books. This month, I read 21 hard copy books, and 1 audiobook!

Goodreads tells me that I’ve read 86 books so far this year. That’s 78% of my total target of 110 books for the year. Last year, my target was 100 books and I read 105, which is why I set my target at 110 this year. It’s looking like I’m going to smash everything out of the park! However, I am starting grad school in September so I have literally zero expectations for the last four months of this year.

So, here it is, my July Wrap-Up!

The 21 physical books I read. The audiobook was Crazy Rich Asians.

Crossroads and the Dominion of Four – C. Toni Graham  ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Vile Village – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Marrow Thieves – Cherie Dimaline ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Hostile Hospital – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Carnivorous Carnival – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Slippery Slope – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Grim Grotto – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Penultimate Peril – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The End – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The End of Oz – Danielle Paige ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Legendary – Stephanie Garber ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stars Above – Marissa Meyer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Traitor to the Throne – Alwyn Hamilton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ten Thousand Skies Above You – Claudia Gray ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
All the Bright Places – Jennifer Niven ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Diamond in the Window – Jane Langton ⭐⭐⭐
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hero at the Fall – Alwyn Hamilton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crazy Rich Asians (audiobook) – Kevin Kwan ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Swing in the Summerhouse – Jane Langton ⭐⭐⭐
The Woman in Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Astonishing Stereoscope – Jane Langton ⭐⭐⭐

Again, that’s a total of 22 books!

Did I Meet My TBR Expectations?

I actually didn’t set a TBR this month. From March – June this year I really slumped, so I decided just to mood read for July. I have to say, it went pretty well for me! But I’m definitely getting back on the TBR train for August. That will be my next post!

The Unread Shelf Project 2018 July Challenge

Over at theunreadshelf, the July challenge was called “Finish That Series.” I have a ton of unfinished series on my unread shelf, so I took that challenge to heart. The result was that only three books that I read this month were not a part of a series!

Notable Reads This Month

Overall, my favourite books of this month were Hero at the Fall, Legendary, and The Marrow Thieves. Shoutout to The Marrow Thieves for being awesome CanLit. I met Cherie Dimaline because she did an author talk at my work, and she’s rad. Plus, shoutout to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children for being really unique and creative, because I loved reading about Riggs’ project with the found photos that inspired the story.

As for ratings, this month was quite high!

What’s Next?

I’m off work for August just like I was for July, so I’m setting myself an ambitious TBR. I’m also planning to continue catching up on reviews, so look out for those on here!

Happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus

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July 2018 24in48 Readathon: TBR!

The 24in48 Readathon is a competition/challenge that occurs twice a year. It started in 2015, but I heard about it for the first time back in January, which is when I participated for the first time.

How does 24in28 work?

The basic premise is a challenge to read for a full 24 hours out of a 48-hour period. Officially, the readathon starts at 12:00 AM on Saturday, and ends at 11:59 pm on Sunday, EST. For me, that means official time starts at 9:00 PM on Friday, and ends at 8:59 PM on Sunday, as I’m on PST.

You can track your reading however you want, usually with a timer on your phone or another type of timing device. There’s no way for the hosts of the readathon to really check if you actually read the whole 24 hours, but us bibliophiles tend to be pretty honest characters, in my humble, rose-coloured glasses opinion.

But… Why?!

That’s a question many people have asked me, including my husband and friends.

My main answer is because it’s fun! I love an excuse to read all weekend long without feeling guilty for not doing anything else. Although I will be doing other things – I’ve got plans to meet a friend who’s in Vancouver for a visit with her baby, and the hubs and I have a standing weekend pitch & putt date. It’s good to take breaks and move your body!

Also…

The reason you need to time yourself (other than the excitement of a challenge, of course) is that if you manage to read for a full 24 hours, you’re eligible for prizes! Us bibliophiles also really love giveaways, including books, bookish merch, and credits to book stores. They also do photo challenges using the hashtag #24in48, which is super fun and helps you to stay engaged with the readathon all weekend long.

Another thing that I find helps me stay engaged with the readathon is to set a TBR. I choose a huge one, just like I do for my monthly TBRS. This helps me stay motivated, and it also gives me a lot of options to mood read from in the event that I get bored or that I am not enjoying a particular book. I do not expect to finish all these books.

So, without further ado, here’s my July 2018 24in24 Readathon TBR!

A photo, first:

Here’s the list:

  • Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
  • The Hall Family Chronicles, Books 1-6 (entire series) – Jane Langton
    • The Diamond in the Window
    • The Swing in the Summerhouse
    • The Astonishing Stereoscope
    • The Fledgling
    • The Fragile Flag
    • The Time Bike
  • Hero at the Fall – Alwyn Hamilton
  • Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs
  • P.S. I Still Love You – Jenny Han
  • A Court of Mist and Fury – Stephanie J. Maas
  • A Dance With Dragons – George R. R. Martin

Last, I’m going to give you a few explanations as to the choices I made in building this stack, as I chose it with a lot of intention and purpose.

My Classics Challenge

This was inspired by Whitney of The Unread Shelf Project 2018. She’s been the inspiration for a lot of my reading goals this year, and you’ll see another aspect of that later in this post.

Whitney suggested as a challenge during one month this year (March I think?) to choose a book that’s been on your unread shelf for a really long time with the target of finishing it by the end of the month, and to give it away if you don’t. So, I’ve been trying do this with my classics, because historically I struggle to read them. My goal is to read one per month, and if I don’t finish, I have to give it away. I set a page per day target to help keep me on track. This month’s classic is Northanger Abbey, which I’m already about 1/3 of the way through. I decided to add it to my TBR for the readathon to motivate me to finish it.

The Unread Shelf Project July Challenge: Finish That Series

Something that has helped me determine my TBR for July, and for the 24in28 readathon, is Whitney’s challenge for July, “Finish That Series.” I have a lot of unfinished series. I read 5 books that were part of series on my vacation to Calgary, and now I’ve added a bunch more to this TBR.

I read Traitor to the Throne (review upcoming) in Calgary, and this weekend I hope to finish the trilogy with Hero at the Fall. I’ve been majorly putting off finishing Game of Thrones, so that’s on there too. I read A Court of Thorns and Roses earlier this year and didn’t think it was that amazing, but I’ve heard the series gets way better as you go, so I picked A Court of Mist and Fury too.

I read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before last summer (incidentally, on my vacation to Calgary) and bought the sequel quite soon after but never got around to it. Now is the time! A bit of fluff as a spacer between some of my heavier choices.

I chose Miss Peregrine’s because I own the series but haven’t started it. Similarly, I chose The Hall Family Chronicles because I read at least the first two books when I was 13 or 14, and then never finished the series, and that cannot stand!

That’s it for now!

Let me know if you’re participating in the readathon in the comments. Make sure you sign up at the website I linked above to make sure you’re eligible for prizes! I’d love to hear what you’re planning to read!

Happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus

 

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: June 2018

In June, I finally started coming out of the most epic slump I think I’ve ever had. I set myself a huge and hopeful TBR for June, and didn’t come close to reading everything on it. I ended up reading 5 books. However, it was much better than May, in which I read one adult novel, one children’s book, and three graphic novels. And I’ve now gotten myself past the halfway mark of my 2018 Goodreads Challenge of 110 books. As of June 30, I was at 62 books.

So, here it is, my June Wrap-Up!

I Am Malala – Malala Yousafzai ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crossroads and the Dominion of Four – C. Toni Graham ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In Conclusion, Don’t Worry About It – Lauren Graham ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Ersatz Elevator – Lemony Snicket ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A total of five books, meaning I’m finally back on the upswing!

Did I Meet My TBR Expectations?

I once again didn’t read everything I had planned to. I didn’t get around to posting a June TBR here on the blog, but I did post a photo of it on Bookstagram, so here it is:

I put 12 books on my TBR and ended up reading 6 of them, so it was pretty good! Apparently I finished the first Crossroads book early in June and not in May as I previously thought. I’m still enjoying setting a huge TBR to see if I can meet a big goal, and to have lots of choices to mood read from.

Notable Reads This Month

Overall, my favourite book of this month was I Am Malala. It was so inspiring and taught me a lot about the culture, history, and geography of places I didn’t really know much about.

This month was pretty great in terms of ratings, too!

What’s Next?

Now that June is over, it’s now my teacher summer, so I plan to spend lots of time blogging and even more time reading! See you soon, and

Happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus

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Monthly To Be Read List: March 2018

It’s the third month of the @theunreadshelf Project 2018, and my reading month has started out… slowly. Especially considering that I read 13 books in February and 23 books in January. So far in March I’ve finished two books. Two. I’m not kidding. It’s the 12th.

This is partly why I’ve decided to still post my March TBR even though we’re already a third of the way through the month. I’m hoping it will give me some motivation to get out of my reading slump.

However, there is some good reason for my drastic slowdown:

  • report cards
  • report cards
  • report cards
  • report cards

You get the gist.

Also, I’ve committed to a couple of different reading challenges this month which I think are actually slowing me down and not keeping me motivated. The first is part of the Unread Shelf Project 2018 – Whitney, the creator, sets a challenge each month. This month, she challenged project participants to read a book that’s been on their unread shelf for a really long time, and if you don’t finish it by March 31st, you have to give it away.

I chose Robinson Crusoe for the March challenge.

I got it from my Mom as part of my 18th birthday gift of tons of books she loved alongside a bunch of classics. I’ve meant to read it for ages, so I figured no was as good a time as ever. However, it’s taking me a really long time to get into it, and I’m now about 50 pages in, so I’m fifty pages behind (my edition is ~300 pages and March is 31 days long).

I also decided to take part in my first readalong.

@theperksofbeingnoura is doing a March readalong for City of Bones, the first book in Cassandra Clare’s “The Mortal Instruments” series. I have meant to try this series for a while now, and I serendipitously picked it up at a used book store early in March and then saw the announcement about the readalong. It was perfect! The pace of the readathon is about 1 chapter per day, and as it’s YA, I can easily keep up with that.

However, between reading City of Bones and trying to keep up with Robinson Crusoe, I haven’t been reading anything else, except briefly reading The Bad Beginning, which didn’t take very long as it’s children’s lit. I find that I read a lot slower if I have to divide my attention between more than one book at once. Anyone else feel like that?

Hopefully, now that report cards are complete (good riddance!), I think I can get back on track. Plus, I’m going to Cuba with my mom for the last week of March and that’s pretty much going to be sand, sun, ocean, and reading!

So, without further ado, here’s my March TBR.

 

Where I’m at, and what I’m looking forward to!

The one book I’ve finished so far this month is The Sisters Brothers. It was the Breakfast Book Club pick for February, and we met on the first weekend of this month to talk about it. I really loved it!

I think I’m most excited to read Furiously Happy and The Female of the Species this month. Also, my most anticipated 2018 release, Obsidio,  comes out this month. It’s the last installment in the Illuminae trilogy. Oh, and by this month, I mean the 13th, TOMORROW! It’s so close I can taste it!

I highly doubt I’ll finish all these books, but…

I’ve really been enjoying setting huge TBRs and picking from them based on my mood. We’ll see how it goes moving forward!

Time to get cracking on some more reading and blogging!

Happy reading, book badgers!

– Paperback Patronus

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2018

My January Wrap-Up was probably my most amazing ever, and February had a lot to live up to. I ended up reading 13 3/4 books, which doesn’t come close to January’s 23. However, the month did have 3 fewer days and no weeks off work like I had in January. Either way, I’m still proud of reading more than my target of 10 books per month, because it means that I’m still on pace to achieve my 2018 reading goal of 110 books!

So, here it is, my February Wrap-Up!

Descender Volume 5 – Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Saga Volume 8 – Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Invention of Wings – Sue Monk Kidd ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mirror in the Sky – Aditi Khorana ⭐⭐
I’ll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Talking as Fast as I Can – Lauren Graham ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In a Dark, Dark, Wood – Ruth Ware ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Darker Shade of Magic – V. E. Schwab ⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fairest – Marissa Meyer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Winter – Marissa Meyer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Child Finder – Rene Denfeld ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Sisters Brothers – Patrick DeWitt ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (This book I didn’t quite finish, hence the 3/4).

Again, that’s a total of 13 3/4 books!

Did I Meet My TBR Expectations?

I once again didn’t read everything I had planned to. I didn’t get around to posting a February TBR here on the blog, but I did post a photo of it on Bookstagram, so here it is:

I put 17 books on my TBR and ended up reading 8 of them, so it was pretty good I think! I’ve started really enjoying setting a huge TBR not only to see if I can meet a big goal, but also because I like to have a lot of choices so that I can pick my next read by mood. It’s worked well for me so far.

The Unread Shelf Project 2018 February Challenge

Over at theunreadshelf, the February challenge was to look into the diversity of your unread shelf. I discovered, unsurprisingly, that most of the books I own, and the books on my unread shelf, are by white people. I hope to make it a focus to read more diversely in the future!

Notable Reads This Month

Overall, my favourite books of this month were Winter and I’ll Give You the Sun. Shoutout to The Invention of Wings for also being awesome and for being the second book by Monk Kidd that I’ve absolutely loved (I’m looking at you, The Secret Life of Bees). Shoutout also to The Child Finder for being absolutely haunting.

As for ratings, this month was a pretty mixed bag as well!

What’s Next?

I’m hoping to be back on the blogging train pretty solidly for the next couple of weeks, so expect some reviews ASAP! Plus, I’m headed to Cuba for the last week of March with my mom and I’ll have little to no internet access, so I’ve got to be ultra productive before I go! Hopefully, on April 1st when I get home, I’ll be posting an even more impressive wrap-up than I did in January, thanks to my two-week Spring Break away from work!

Happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus

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Monthly To Be Read List: January 2018

I got a lot of books during Black Friday sales that I’m really excited about, so I had a pretty ambitious To Be Read (TBR) stack for December, and I’m doing the same for January.

Without further ado, here’s it is, pictured with the beautiful book lamp my husband got me for christmas! It opens like a book and is insanely satisfying.

Harry Potter: A History of Magic – The British Library
The Invention of Wings – Sue Monk Kidd
Caraval  – Stephanie Garber
Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton
#GIRLBOSS – Sophia Amoruso
Lily and the Octopus – Steven Rowley
The Wonder – Emma Donoghue
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
Braving the Wilderness – Brené Brown
I’ll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson
The Graduate – Charles Webb
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
This Song Will Save Your Life – Leila Sales
Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls – Lynn Weingarten

Where I’m at, and what I’m looking forward to!

As it’s already January 6, I’ve finished three of these! I read Harry Potter: A History of Magic first, Caraval second, and Rebel of the Sands third. Reviews upcoming for all of them! Out of the three, I enjoyed Rebel of the Sands the most! I think my next read will be #GIRLBOSS! I’m feeling some non-fiction.  I think my most highly anticipated reads of this month are The Hate U Give and Station Eleven, which both come highly recommended from friends and Bookstagram alike.

It’s highly possible that you think there’s no way I’ll finish all of these…

You might be right, but I’ve already read three and I read 15 books in December! I’d bet on myself for this one.

Now that I’ve shared this with you, I’m off to keep working on all the reviews I need to post thanks to my warp-speed holiday break reading spree!

– Paperback Patronus

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Monthly To Be Read List: December 2017

This is my first blog To Be Read (TBR) post, so here’s the deal:

Bookstagram members are, once again, likely pretty familiar with these. For those of you who aren’t, on the first day of each month, many of us share a post detailing all the books we plan to read in the coming month!

Without further ado, here’s my December TBR, which I’m really excited about!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J. K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay
Turtles All the Way Down – John Green
Warcross – Marie Lu
Renegades – Marissa Meyer
I’ll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson
The Graduate – Charles Webb
Columbine – Dave Cullen
Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
Les fous de Bassan – Anne Hébert
The Silver Chair – C. S. Lewis
The Last Battle – C. S. Lewis
A Dance With Dragons – George R. R. Martin

The first book I’ll be reading (in fact, I’ve already started) is Renegades! I think my most highly anticipated reads of this month are Turtles All the Way Down and the illustrated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. John Green always writes such wonderfully unique books, and Jim Kay’s illustrations are absolutely gobsmacking.

Now, you might be thinking, this TBR list is bananas, how is she going to read all that in a month?!

Here’s a little history to explain why I think this is possible. I almost always try to make my TBR lists achievable and realistic, because it the feeling of accomplishment when you read everything is so nice. And this is achievable because…

Last year, I set myself a goal of reading one book per day of my Christmas holiday break from work (I’m a teacher). I came very close to achieving it, so I’ve decided to try it again! This year, our holiday spans the end of December and first week of January. 9 days of it are in December, so I chose 9 books plus some others that I will read until the holidays start.

Now that I’ve shared this with you, I’m off to continue reading Renegades!

– Paperback Patronus