Monday, February 8, 2016

2016 TBR Update #3

So it's been a (long) while since I've done one of these updates, but I'm going to try and do them on Mondays on a regular basis. Not only so you can stay up to date on my reading challenges, but also my TBR progress for the months.

So my February TBR has 10 official books. Out of those, I have completed 0 this week. But I did complete 1 more on my January TBR.
  • Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (4/5 strawberries)
I have 10 left to read:
  • A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
  • Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
  • Winter by Marissa Meyer
  • Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius
  • The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
  • Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  • Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
  • The Whispering Trees by J. A. White
I have also read:
  • The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (4/5 strawberries)
  • Red River Vol. 7 by Chie Shinohara (3/5 strawberries)
  • Red River Vol. 8 by Chie Shinohara (3/5 strawberries)
I am currently reading 3 books:
  • A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
  • Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead
  • The Whispering Trees by J. A. White
I have caught up on 0 series, and I have started 1 new series/trilogies/duologies (The Wrath and the Dawn).

So I sort of failed in last year's all-year-round challenge, but this year I'm doing another one just because I can! And I'm doing the 2016 Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge. Click the link to see detailed rules, but essentially each month there are a set of keywords, and I have to choose a book that adheres to one of those keywords in the title. For me, I'm going to try and select more than one keyword, because I like a challenge.

This month's keywords are: 
Veil, Kiss, Her, Break, Love, Stars
(Stars Above)


MAR: Game, Fire, Darkness, School, Like, Change

APR: Far, Life, Stay, One, War, Thorns

MAY: Cure, Trial, Family, Key, Thief, Bend

JUN: Moon, In, Only, Whisper, Sleep, Trap

JUL: Rose, Sun, Clock, Day, Angel, Unto

AUG: Prince, Boy, Glass, Heart, Lost, Now

SEP: Wind, Color, Touch, At, How, Sweet

OCT: Rock, Ghost, Fall, Away, Sky, Storm

NOV: Dream, Holiday, And, Of, Dawn, Beautiful

DEC: End, Promise, Everlasting, Ice, Snow, My

And because I feel like stressing myself out, I'm taking on a second reading challenge. The A-Z Reading Challenge. It's very simple: I have to read a book that begins with a letter from the alphabet, until I've gone through the entire alphabet! So this is my lineup!

A: Ann & Henry - Dawn Ius
B: Bad Beginning, The - Lemony Snicker
C: Castle in the Air - Diana Wynne Jones
D:
E:
F:
G: Girl on a Wire - Gwenda Bond
H: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling
I:
J:
K:
L:
M:
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R:
S: Sword of Summer, The - Rick Riordan
T:
U:
V:
W: Wrath and the Dawn, The - Renee Ahdieh
X:
Y:
Z:

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Hedgehog Life: 02.01.16 - 02.08.16


Happy February! Gosh, I apologize for my absence in January. I really did intend to get back into it all! But it just didn't happen. January was CRAZY!

This Week I Read:

So I'm officially up to 2/3 time at work, which is awesome. It does mean I'm working 8 hours every day, but provided I don't have any extra stuff to do, I usually get Fridays off! It's nice and I really, really enjoy my work.

On the reading front, I've actually been getting back into reading novels. I ran out of manga last week (sad face) and did an emergency trip to Barnes & Noble. But I actually ended up leaving with no manga and several new novels. Shortly after that trip, I got sick with a 48-hour cold over the weekend, so I spent that time reading Castle in the Air and then speeding my way through The Wrath and the Dawn. A friend and I are buddy reading it this month, but once I picked it up, I couldn't stop. And now I'm just craving novels. :)

On the writing front, my work on rewriting The Freelance Chronicles is going REALLY well. Hopefully I'll start posting them soon on the blog!

In daily news, life is steadying out. Now that I have work actually figured out - no more crazy schedule changes and stuff like that - I don't feel like things are quite as hectic. I'm back to cooking every Saturday night (and I've made some really awesome stuff lately! Like curry buns!) and dancing Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Yesterday several friends and I went on a big skiing trip. I didn't actually ski; I hung out in the lodge, people watching and reading. It was amazingly relaxing; exactly what I needed.

This upcoming week promises some more busyness. A friend and I are making a trip to Powell's, another friend's birthday celebration is coming up, there's Valentine's Day, President's Day, and at the end of the month, another friend and I are taking a weekend trip down to visit another friend at her college. Should be loads of fun.

Keep reading, my friends!