This August, I had a bit of a slow reading month. I’m usually able to read a lot in the summer because as a teacher, I’m off work. However, my husband and I spent over half the month travelling, and I tend to read far less when I’m away on vacation. This month, I read 6 books. A Court of Mist and Fury was quite long, so just finishing that was an accomplishment I think!
Here it is, my August Wrap-Up!
I also read Precious Cargo, which I left in New Brunswick for my mom. I actually read Crazy Rich Asians in July, but I read it as an audiobook so I couldn’t picture it for my July Wrap-Up and ended up buying a physical copy this month!
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo – Amy Schumer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Precious Cargo – Craig Davidson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas ⭐⭐⭐⭐ P.S. I Still LoveYou – Jenny Han ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Princess Saves Herself in This One – Amanda Lovelace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ China Rich Girlfriend – Kevin Kwan ⭐⭐⭐⭐
That comes in at a total of 6 books 🙂
Did I Meet My TBR Expectations?
I set a giant August TBR, which I planned to mood read from. Then, I ended up having to make an Indigo order for a textbook for one of my grad school courses. Naturally, once the order came, I was more interested in those new books than in the ones I had put on my TBR. I also didn’t read as many books as I’d hoped, but that was mostly due to travelling, not motivation, thankfully.
The Unread Shelf Project 2018 July Challenge
Over at theunreadshelf, the July challenge was to have your friends on Bookstagram choose your first read of the month. The votes were overwhelmingly for A Court of Mist and Fury. I decided to finish reading The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, which I started at the end of July, first. Then I dove straight into ACOMAF!
Notable Reads This Month
Overall, my favourite book of this month was The Princess Saves Herself in This One. I always have a soft spot in my heart for poetry books, especially ones as creative and unique as this one. Shoutout to Precious Cargo for being awesome and for being CanLit.
As for ratings, they were all pretty great!
What’s Next?
I started grad school this week and it was also back to work (school). Things are quite busy, so I’m not sure how much reading I’ll get done. We’ll see!
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 MarrowThieves 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 Childrenfor 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!
This past weekend, I participated in the 24in48 Readathon. I posted about what the readathon is and how I was heading into it on Friday, before it started. If you’re interested in more details about the readathon, you can check out that post.
Here’s a little reminder of my TBR stack for the weekend.
I never intended to read all of them, because that would have been impossible, but I wanted to have a lot to choose from so I could mood read as I went.
So, how did it go?!
This is a wrap-up post, so of course it’s all about how the weekend went. Obviously, the overarching goal of the readathon is to read 24 out of 48 hours. Spoiler alert, I didn’t read for that long. But it was still an awesome weekend! So let’s get into it.
Duration and Quantity
In total from Friday at 9pm to Sunday at 9pm, I read for 17 hours and 27 minutes! During that time, I read 3.5 books. Here’s my stack, basking in this morning’s sun:
No idea what WordPress did to the quality of this photo, but if you want to see it in its full glory, you can visit my bookstagram @paperbackpatronus.
I was pretty happy with how long I managed to spend reading. I did the 24in48 Readathon for the first time in January, and I read for 13 hours. So I bested that time by 4.5 hours this go around!
A breakdown of the order of operations
I started the 24in48 weekend off by finishing the last 3/4 of Austen’s Northanger Abbey. I was only intending to read a chapter at a time, as I tend to do with classics, but I really got into it about halfway through and just kept going. I loved it, and there will be a review up soon!
Then I found myself inspired by a newfound Bookstagram friend and fellow ‘thonner, Kasturi (@bruadarachreads) to start Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which serendipitously also happened to be in his TBR stack. I finished that one on Saturday night and wanted something a bit lighter. So, I started with the children’s series and began The Diamond in the Window.
After finishing the children’s book on Sunday morning, I found myself really wanting to finish the Rebel of the Sands series, so I grabbed Hero at the Fall from my stack. I ended the ‘thon at 9pm Sunday having read almost exactly half of it.
Things that weren’t so great
I’ll start with these, so I can end the post on a more positive note.
First, I felt super sick on Sunday, so that was probably the low point of the readathon for me. It was also really hot in the apartment, so I was pretty uncomfortable all around. I was literally sitting on my chair on top of a towel, soaking through my clothes and feeling crappy. It made it hard to focus on reading, and I ended up watching a lot of rugby instead.
Also, I didn’t meet the 24-hour target. I hadn’t really been expecting to anyway, but I’m a super competitive person. I also didn’t win any door prizes, sad face. Again, not unexpected.
Finally, the 7s Rugby World Cup was a good and a bad thing. Going into this weekend, I was incredibly excited to have the weekend absolutely full of two of my most favourite things: reading and rugby. But looking back, I think I would have preferred having the two on separate weekends. I stopped reading completely to watch each of Canada’s games, which was fine and in the plan.
However, I had all the other games on in the background, and it meant that I wasn’t entirely focused on either rugby or reading. I think I would have finished more books if I hadn’t been watching rugby in the background, because I would have read faster. Oh well, it is what it is! I have no control over scheduling for either of these events, obviously. And I still really enjoyed both watching hours and hours of amazing rugby and reading for hours and hours. Which brings me to the great stuff!
Things that were awesome
First, I read 3.5 books in a weekend! In the summer, I generally try to read a book a day (unless I’ve got events or things going on) because I have so much free time. So to read almost double that was a great accomplishment for me.
I also got to make connections with a couple of awesome people through the readathon, Kaitlin (@bookedandready) and Kasturi (who I mentioned above). I have been virtual friends with Kaitlin through Bookstagram for a while now, and I discovered that she was also doing the readathon. Kasturi found me somehow on Bookstagram shortly before the ‘thon, and we decided to share in the experience together as well, with Kaitlin! It was totally organic and fantastic. We supported each other throughout the weekend, tagging each other in posts and stories, and generally motivating each other to keep going.
Last, I had a serendipitous reading moment. I posted about it on Bookstagram already, but it needs to be shared here too! On Saturday night, I finished Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and it was past my bedtime, but I really wanted to start the first few pages of a new book anyway. As I outlined above, I started The Diamond in the Window. As it turns out, both authors chose a Ralph Waldo Emerson poem for their epigraphs.
The epigraphs in “Miss Peregrine’s…” and “The Diamond in the Window.”
Also, Emerson features heavily in both books! How cool is that? I love book magic like this.
So that’s a wrap on 24in48 for 2018!
The next 24in48 Readathon is scheduled for January 26-27, 2019. I can’t wait!
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
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!
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!
In December my wrap-up was pretty impressive. I read 15 books, which I think was a record for me. Consider that record smashed, in fact, annihilated, this January. Again, I had a week off work just like I did in December, which helped. I also participated in my first read-a-thon, and several of the books were poetry anthologies, but I’m still very proud of coming in hot with 23 books read in the first month of 2018.
Without further ado, here’s my January Wrap-Up! Kicking ass and taking names!
In total, that’s 23 books! Also, I didn’t read everything I’d planned, as usual (see my January TBR). However, I did read far more books than I expected!
2018 Challenge:
This year I’ve set my Goodreads reading challenge goal to 110 books, 10 more than last year’s 100, which I beat by 5.
Overall, my favourite books of this month were Station Eleven and The Hate U Give. Shoutout to Lily and the Octopus for also being awesome and making me ugly cry.
Compared to last month, this one was a bit of a mixed bag as far as how much I enjoyed everything I read. It’s doing my string of 5-star reviews some good!
Stay tuned for some upcoming reviews, and finally, happy reading!
I’m pretty proud of my wrap-up for this month! I was off work for a week of it, which helped. I just love the holiday season – guilt-free reading at its best!
Without further ado, here’s my December Wrap-Up! I totally destroyed this month!
That’s 15 books! I didn’t read everything I’d planned (see my December TBR). However, I only planned to read 12 and ended up reading 15, so I’m proud of that.
2017 Challenge Wrap-Up:
I beat my Goodreads reading challenge goal of 100 books by 5, for a total of 105 books! If you’re interested in the Goodreads reading goal I’ve set for 2018, you can check out my upcoming January TBR post!
My favourite book of this month was Turtles All the Way Down, but I also read some other books in December that made my honourable mentions list for 2017. They are Renegades, the sun and her flowers, The Smell of Other People’s Houses, and Warcross! I also highly recommend the illustrated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it’s just gorgeous. It’s also updated from the original edition, and is quite funny.
As usual, I enjoyed almost all of what I read, but this month in particular seems to have been the month of the 5-star review. You win some, you lose some.
My next posts will be my review of Wonder, and then my January TBR so stay tuned to find out my 2018 reading goal and what I plan to read this month!
It’s the fifth day of 2018, and I’m ready to talk about my favourite reads of 2017!
This year was probably my best reading year ever.
I read 105 books, and I really enjoyed almost all of them. That made it difficult to choose favourites. So, I decided to pick one per month and then add some honourable mentions. I’ll also give each book a little blurb, because I didn’t start posting my reviews on here until November. I’ll link my review if there is one.
Here we go!
Title links take you to Amazon, and the links underneath are to my reviews, if applicable.
This is my favourite graphic novel of all time. It’s a stunning, true memoir of the author’s experience with Bipolar Disorder, medication for it, and her relationship with her psychiatrist.
This is the second book in the futuristic sci-fi saga called The Expanse. I recently wrote a review of Nemesis Games, the fifth book in the series. Clearly I’m enjoying it, having read four of them this year.
The Paper Magician was a really interesting, unique take on magic, and I’m hoping to read the second book in the series, The Glass Magician, this year!
A “The Breakfast Book Club” choice, On Beauty was a chuckle-worthy and deeply moving story of a multiracial family and their feud/relationships with another such family.
Illuminae is quite possibly the most original book format I’ve ever read. Pieced together from case files, text conversations, letters, reports, images, etc., it is an exciting story of futuristic political and physical battles, family, friendship, and love.
The fourth installment in the Game of Thrones series, A Feast for Crows was an excellent fantasy read. My only beef is that as the fifth book follows different characters, I will not get to follow along with these characters’ stories until Martin finally publishes book 6!
I have read everything John Green has written solo, and this is hands-down my favourite. A story exploring anxiety and the meaning of life. Check out my review if you’re interested.
Honourable Mentions!
Some books didn’t quite win out as best of each month, but they were awesome and I have to recommend them on here! In no particular order…
This was a really exciting story, similar to Ready Player One, but also with an interesting speculative fiction/warning feel. My review is also on the blog!
A fun superhero/sci-fi novel about family, revenge, and justice. I wrote a review for it in December.
Well, there you have it! My favourite reads of 2017. I hope you enjoyed this list and you take some inspiration from it for your next read (or several)!
This is my first blog Wrap-Up post, so here’s the deal:
Bookstagram members are likely pretty familiar with these. For those of you who aren’t, at the end of each month, many of us share a post detailing all the books we’ve read in the month with star reviews for each.
This will thus be a short post. Without further ado, here’s my November Wrap-Up, which I’m pretty proud of!
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C. S. Lewis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
North of Normal – Cea Sunrise Person ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Low Volume 4 – Remender, Tocchini, & McCaig ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Descender Volume 3 – Lemire & Nguyen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Descender Volume 4 – Lemire & Nguyen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Milk & Honey – Rupi Kaur ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nemesis Games – James S. A. Corey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Onward – Howard Schultz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another Day – David Levithan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Broken Moon – Sarah Beth Moore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
That’s 10 books! And I’ve already started another book, Renegades. I just won’t have it finished before December begins.
Also, I officially only have 9 books left to complete my 2017 Goodreads reading goal of 100 books. With two weeks off work starting on the 23rd, I imagine I won’t have any trouble achieving my goal. I read 100 books last year as well, so perhaps I’ll ramp it up for 2018! But that’s a story for another blog post.
I think my favourite books this month were Another Day and Onward (even though every time I picked it up I wanted to go to Starbucks to get a latte). It was also quite refreshing to read a book of poetry again for the first time in a while (Milk & Honey), and to get back to graphic novels (Low and Descender)! All in all, I really enjoyed everything I read this month. This is usually the case for me, as I very rarely encounter a book that I don’t enjoy reading, but this month was particularly good!
My December TBR will likely be my next post, so stay tuned to read what lofty goals I have for myself for the coming holiday month! I can’t wait to finish everything!
