Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon – The Updates Post

The April 2017 Readathon is here!!! This is where I will be posting sporadic updates throughout the day. Remember, for every comment on this post, I will donate $o.25 to the Ada Jenkins Center.

You can read my Readathon TBR post here.

Wish me luck for a wonderful day of reading!

Hour 24

We made it! After falling asleep at midnight, I woke up at 7am to complete the final hour. So my total hours spent reading = 17! I’m quite proud of that. I finished 5 books, and started a 6th.

Pages Read: 873
Books finished: 5
Local Time: 8am
Hours spent  reading: 17
Books finished: 5

Closing Survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Around Hour 15-16, when I was really tired but wanted to stay up just a bit longer to finish the graphic novel I was reading.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a reader engaged for next year? Definitely graphic novels! A lot of people seemed to be reading Saga, including myself. Ms. Marvel was another good one. 
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season? Nothing other than the website problems – which are likely out of the control of the organizers. I couldn’t see the updates and links to mini-challenges after Hour 12.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved the Litsy and Twitter feeds! I didn’t spend that much time in the Goodreads group.
5. How many books did you read? 5, and started a 6th!
6. What were the names of the books you read? 1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson; 2. Ms. Marvel, Volume 6; 3. Milk and Honey; 4. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room; 5. Saga, Volume 4. 
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Will Grayson, Will Grayson
8. Which did you enjoy least? Saga, Volume 4. Nothing to do with the content, by I was having problems using Hoopla, and it took about 20 minutes to fix it and be able to open the book to read it. At almost 11pm at night, that was a little frustrating.
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Definitely will participate as a reader again, and would definitely consider hosting a mini-challenge in the future.

Hour 15

This will be my last update of the evening, as I am heading to bed, to read myself to sleep! Finished The Reptile Room, and switched back to graphic novels. I am currently reading Saga, Volume 4. I am hoping to wake up at 7am EST, to finish out the last hour of the readathon. See you on the other side!

Pages Read: 766
Books finished: 4
Up Next: Reading Saga, Volume 4, and then will either pick up Vol. 5 or 13 Reasons Why. It depends on how awake I am!

Hour 12

Whose having a great time! This book nerd is! I’m definitely slowing down, but still plugging away on Book 4! I finished Milk and Honey, and have moved on to A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room! Took a break for dinner, and to play basketball with M for a bit before the sun goes down. The whole night is ahead of us, and I am still excited!

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now? A Series of Unfortuante Events: The Reptile Room
2. How many books have you read so far? This is my 4th one.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I do actually plan on sleeping tonight, so my halfway point has come and gone, LOL. I may stick to graphic novels for the rest of the night, otherwise I’m looking forward to starting 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. If not for the readathon, then immediately after.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Only a few, but they were welcome interruptions! Mostly from my daughter and spouse.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? That I made it this far without falling asleep, considering I haven’t slept well in the past few nights! It’s definitely catching up to me now, though.

Pages Read: 556
Books finished: 3
Up Next: Currently reading The Reptile Room, not sure what I’ll pick up after that.

Hour 9

The last few hours have not been quite as productive. I am about 2/3 of the way through Milk and Honey. I just took a long walk to take a break and move around a bit. It is so humid outside, I think the walk made me sleepier than reading all day!

M bailed a few hours ago to go play at a friend’s house, but she read 5 books this morning before heading out the door!

Don’t forget, for every person that comments on this post, I will be donating $0.25 each to a wonderful community nonprofit, The Ada Jenkins Center!

Pages Read: 438
Books finished: 2
Up Next: Still reading Milk & Honey

Hour 6

The Ms. Marvel volumes keep getting better and better! I just polished off Volume 6 over lunch.

Hour 5 Mini-Challenge

Hosted by Estella’s Revenge. Create a six-word celebration of Dewey’s Read-a-Thon.

Here is my entry:

There is always something to read.

Pages Read: 300
Books finished: 2
Up Next: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Hour 4

Just finished Will Grayson, Will Grayson! A few interruptions this morning: a hungry, needy cat, a few phone calls, and a breakfast break, but I am satisfied with my current pace. LOVED this book, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative effort is hilarious, powerful, and just plain fantastic. TINY COOPER!!! I love him so much.

Pages Read: 164
Books finished: 1
Up Next: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 6

Opening Survey

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Chévre cheese with rosemary crackers, and my Chocolove Salted Almond Butter in Dark Chocolate bar.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I occasionally get insomnia, and have slept terribly the past two nights, so my readathon might not go as well as I had hoped!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? It’s my first readathon in a really long time! I’m looking forward to my daughter participating with me!

Book 1: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (starting at page 148).

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Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon TBR!!

I haven’t done Dewey’s 24 hour-readathon in years, and I am so excited to participate in the next one, which is coming up VERY soon on April 29, 2017! If you haven’t heard of Dewey’s Readathon, it is a book love fest where participants spend 24 hours reading books, talking about books, and posting about books on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Litsy, Instagram and more!

The first 24 Hour Readathon was hosted by Dewey at The Hidden Side of the Leaf in 2007. Sadly, she passed away in 2008 and the readathon was renamed in her honor. I last participated in the late 2010’s, and I am so excited to be back!

I live in the EST zone, so I will be starting at 8am in my time zone on Saturday, April 29.

My Readathon TBR Pile

I like to have a lot to choose from during a readathon, so I have a large stack of books that will be on hand:

• Ms. Marvel, Volume 6
• Saga, Volumes 4 -6
• Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (a re-read)
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
• Every Day by David Levithan
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
• The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket (a re-read)

I am hoping to polish off at least two books for the #DiversityBingo2017 Challenge!

Oh, But there is more…

Additionally, I am setting myself a philanthropic goal as well, and for this one, I will need your participation!! The Dewey Readathon’s emphasis is on philanthropy in addition to the social aspect, and I embrace that whole heartedly!

I will be donating $1 to The Ada Jenkins Center for every page that I read during the 24-hour readathon, up to a maximum of $500! And for every comment that is cheering me on during the readathon, I will donate another $0.25 per comment, per person, up to a maximum of $100! That is a total of $600 that could potentially be contributed to an organization that promotes the importance of education and equal opportunity for all citizens, and helps those in poverty break the cycle and gain economic independence.

I will be setting up one master post on the day of the readathon where I will be updating as the day goes on. All you have to do is send out some happy cheerleading vibes throughout the day by commenting on the post, and sharing it with others.

The reason I chose The Ada Jenkins Center is due to my first-hand experience of all the wonderful things they do in my local community. The Center is a model for other community centers across the country, as a resource hub, a one-stop shop for a wide variety of social services and support programs.

I am especially impressed by the Ada Jenkins LEARN Works Program:

Linking
Everyone to
Achievement
Resources
Now

The purpose of LEARN Works is to partner with families, schools and volunteers to support the academic progress of students and advance family engagement. The after-school program they provide is AMAZING, and no child is ever turned away because of an inability to pay.

Let me know if you plan on participating in Dewey’s 24 hour readathon! I will be updating here on this blog, as well as at:

Twitter: @abergsmanNC I will have a threat that I will be updating quite often!
Litsy: 4thhouseontheleft – I’m just starting out on Litsy, but plan to use it frequently during the readathon!
Instagram: 4thhouseontheleft

Please link to your platforms in the comments! If you haven’t signed up for the readathon yet, you can do so here!

Reading Challenges Update: Jan – March

Winter has come and gone…well, hopefully it is gone…and it is time to do a quarterly update of the three year-long reading challenge I am participating in this year!

My goal for NovelKnight’s Beat the Backlist challenge is to read at least 24 books off of my massive TBR list! I am not quite as far as I would like to be in this challenge, but I’m hoping to play catch-up in April and May.

This is what I have read for this challenge from Jan – March:

• The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
• The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
• George by Alex Gino
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
• Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub

Favorite: The Underground Railroad

Least Favorite: Year of No Sugar

Total Read: 6/24 books  – 25% Complete. ON SCHEDULE!

 

Diversity Bingo 2017

This is definitely my favorite challenge of the year! Here is what I read from Jan – March:

• MC of Color in SFF – Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.
• Black MC (Own Voices) – The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
• Indigenous MC (Own Voices) – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
• PoC on the Cover – Ms. Marvel, Volumes 2-5 by G. Willow Wilson.
• Practicing Jewish MC – Dawn by Elie Wiesel.
• Bisexual MC (Own Voices) – Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst.
• Book by Author of Color – The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
• D/dEAF/Hard of Hearing MC – El Deafo by Cece Bell.
• Own Voices (Transgender) – George by Alex Gino.

Favorite: The Hate U Give

Least Favorite: Of Fire and Stars

Total Read: 9/36 books – 25% Complete. ON SCHEDULE!

 

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2017

Popsugar always has a fun 52-week reading challenge that I like to do. Last year I failed miserably at completing the challenge, and I am hoping to do better in 2017! Here is my progress so far:

• A book that has been on your TBR list for way too long: Dawn by Elie Wiesel. 

• A book that is a story within a story: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. 

• An espionage thriller: The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

• A bestseller from a genre you don’t normally read: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

• A book with a subtitle: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family or Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance.

• A book that’s published in 2017: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab.

• A book about food: A Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub.

• A book with a red spine: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

• A book with a title that’s a character’s name: Ms. Marvel, Volumes 2 – 5.

• A book with an unreliable narrator: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda.

• A book with pictures: Why I March: Images from the Women’s March Around the World by Abrams Image, New York

• A book about a difficult topic: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. 

Favorite: A Conjuring of Light

Least Favorite: A Year of No Sugar

Total Read: 12/52 – 23% Complete. BEHIND SCHEDULE (but not by much!)

 

 

#DAReadaThon Wrap Up

This was such a fun readathon, and a great way to kick off a new year! Although I wasn’t able to read a book from each of the seven prompts – I never really thought I could read that much in two weeks, anyway – I am quite proud of the progress I made.

Thank you, Aentee @ReadatMidnight for hosting the Dumbledore’s Army Readathon!

 

I choose a story by Elie Wiesel since our family is Jewish. Review here.

This was the first time that I have read a fiction book featuring a transgender character. This was an excellent read. Review here.

I did not read a book for this category. Although almost all of the books that I selected could be considered #OwnVoices, with the exception of Ms. Marvel. I’m not sure if/how superhero books could be classified as #OwnVoices, but the writer is Muslim.

I hope this isn’t bending the rules, but since these comics were so short, I counted four of them towards one prompt. The Ms. Marvel series keeps getting better and better! Review here.

Reading a book from a teen boy’s perspective is definitely outside of my usual book choices, and I’m really glad I stepped outside of my “comfort zone” to read this one! Review here.

I don’t know about stunning the internet, but this Newbery Honor Book definitely lives up to the hype! Review here.

I did not read a book for this category.

Final Points:

• 1,251 pages = 125 house points
• 5 books completed = 25 house points
• 5 book reviews posted = 25 house points
• 4 tweets = 4 house points
• Total House Points: 179 house points for Ravenclaw!

Dumbledore’s Army Readathon #DAReadAThon

I am quite excited – and probably a bit overly optimistic – about the Dumbledore’s Army Readathon, hosted by Aentee @ReadatMidnight.

What: #DAReadAThon is a Harry Potter themed readathon, focusing on diverse (especially #ownvoices) books.

When: The readathon will begin Sunday 1st January and conclude Sunday 15th January, midnight to midnight – wherever in the world you’re based.

Who: Anyone can join, although it would be easier for you to write-up your reviews and sign up posts if you had a platform such as a blog or a booktube. If you have a twitter or instagram account, please join in on the #DAReadAThon hashtag! You don’t have to be familiar with Harry Potter to join, but the prompts will make more sense to you.

and here is my TBR list for the prompts!

I haven’t read any fiction stories featuring a trans character yet, and George has been on my shelf for months waiting to be read!

A memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, in graphic novel form!

At first, I was going to choose We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for this prompt. Then I realized that the books I already plan to read on our drive home from Florida after New Year’s Day would work for this one as well! Since they are relatively short, I am going to count Ms. Marvel, Volumes 2 – 5 for this category.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian also happens to be my book club’s pick for January!

I’m hoping to read Fangirl over the next few days – although that may be wishful thinking – and planned on following it up with this one!

So many to choose from!

Diversity Bingo 2017 Reading Challenge

#DiversityBingo2017 starts on January 1, 2017, and this is definitely the challenge I am looking forward to the most in the new year!

The goal of the challenge is to cover all of the squares during 2017. Although I don’t have books chosen for all of the categories yet – and some of my book selections might change categories – I do have a few in mind already.

My Progress

MC of Color in SFF – Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Review here.

Black MC (Own Voices) – The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Review here.

Indigenous MC (Own Voices) – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Review here.

PoC on the Cover – Ms. Marvel, Volumes 2 – 5 by G. Willow Wilson. Review here.

Practicing Jewish MC – Dawn by Elie Wiesel. Review here.

Bisexual MC (Own Voices) – Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. Review here.

Book by Author of Color – The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Review here.

D/dEAF/Hard of Hearing MC – El Deafo by Cece Bell. Review here.

Own Voices (Transgender) – George by Alex Gino. Review here.

MC W/an Under-represented Body  – Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Review here.

Free Choice: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur.

Diverse Reading Suggestions

MC of Color in SFF – An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

West Asian Setting – The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Non-Binary MC (Own Voices) – Every Day by David Levithan

Neuro-Diverse MC – Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Own Voices Latinx MC – The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

Diverse Non-fiction – Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

LGBTQIA+ MC of Color – Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo or Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Non-western real world setting – The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa

Book by Author of Color – Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Immigrants and Refugee MC – The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

MC W/Chronic Pain – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Contemporary World Arranged Marriage – When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Hijabi MC (Own Voices)  – Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

2017 TBR Challenges – Beat the Backlist!

I will be participating in NovelKnight’s Beat the Backlist Hogwarts House Challenge for 2017! In addition, each year I always participate in the TBR Group Challenge at Library Thing.

My minimum goal for 2017 is the first 24 books on this list. Quite a few of them are definitely large, chunky books…I’m looking at you George R.R. Martin and Ron Chernow!

I happen to have a few themes for 2017. The two biggest themes are Agatha Christie and Series reads. In 2017, I plan on starting my goal of reading all of Agatha Christie’s books in order of publication; I only listed the first 8 on this post, but consider all of them on my backlist (except for the 5-6 I have already read)!

My second theme of 2017 is to tackle a few series that I have been meaning to read for a while: Game of Thrones, Divergent, and Throne of Glass, to name a few.

I also have quite a few books on the list that further my goal of reading more diversely in 2017: George, Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, The Sympathizer, Timekeeper are just a few that fulfill that category.

And finally, quite a few books make an appearance by authors I have read in the past and loved, and want to read more of their work.  Jacqueline Winspear, Agatha Christie, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Neil Gaiman and Gregory Maguire all fit into that category.

As for the Hogwarts House Mini Challenge, I am a proud Ravenclaw!

The Top 24 TBR/Beat the Backlist Books:

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie – Review Coming Soon!
2. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
3. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
4. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
5. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
7. The Big Four by Agatha Christie
8. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
9. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
10. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
11. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
12. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
13. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin Review here.
14. Divergent by Veronica Roth
15. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
16. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
17. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
18. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
19. Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
20. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
21. John Adams by David McCullough
22. George by Alex Gino Review here.
23. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Review here.
24. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Extra Credit:

• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
• Landline by Rainbow Rowell
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
• Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
• Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
• Swallow by Sefi Atta
• Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub Review here.
• The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Native Son by Richard Wright
• Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
• Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
• A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
• Rising Strong by Brene Brown
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
• Vicious by VE Schwab
• Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
• A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
• Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven
• Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
• Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions by River and Joyce Higginbotham
• The White Goddess by Robert Graves
• The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
• An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
• Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear
• The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
• Timekeeper by Tara Sim
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Are you going to try the BTB challenge? What’s on your list?

2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge

I participated in POPSUGAR’S reading challenge this year purely for fun, without truly aiming to complete the challenge. I’m quite happy with how many categories I have been able to cross off; I will be posting my wrap-up closer to the end of the year.

I have already decided to participate in the POPSUGAR 2017 reading challenge, which they have made even more challenging by adding additional categories! For those who want to participate, there is also a very active Goodreads group dedicated to the challenge.

And here are just a few books I’m thinking about reading for this challenge:

• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – a book more than 800 pages
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi – a book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you
• The Whole30 by Melissa Hartwig – a book about food
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – a story within a story

I haven’t gotten any further than that so far!

Books Completed for the 2017 PopSugar Challenge

Total Completed: 18/52 (Last updated 2 April)

• A book recommended by a librarian:
• A book that has been on your TBR list for way too long: Dawn by Elie Wiesel. Review here.
• A book of letters:
• An audiobook: The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
• A book by a person of color: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur.
• A book with one of the four seasons in the title:
• A book that is a story within a story: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Review here.
• A book with multiple authors: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Review here.
• An espionage thriller: The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
• A book with a cat on the cover:
• A book by an author who uses a pseudonym: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket.
• A bestseller from a genre you don’t normally read: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Review here.
• A book by or about a person who has a disability: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia.
• A book involving travel: Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K Vaughan
• A book with a subtitle: Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class by Ian F. Haney-Lopez.
• A book that’s published in 2017: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab. Review here.
• A book involving a mythical creature: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
• A book you’ve read before that never fails to make you smile:
• A book about food: A Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub. Review here.
• A book with career advice:
• A book from a nonhuman perspective:
• A steampunk novel:
• A book with a red spine: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Review here.
• A book set in the wilderness:
• A book you loved as a child:
• A book by an author from a country you’ve never visited: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• A book with a title that’s a character’s name: Ms. Marvel, Volumes 2 – 5. Review here.
• A novel set during wartime:
• A book with an unreliable narrator: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. Review here.
• A book with pictures: Why I March: Images from the Women’s March Around the World by Abrams Image, New York
• A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
• A book about an interesting woman:
• A book set in two different time periods: Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
• A book with a month or day of the week in the title:
• A book set in a hotel: Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
• A book written by someone you admire: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
• A book that’s becoming a movie in 2017:
• A book set around a holiday other than Christmas
• The first book in a series you haven’t read before: Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan. Review here.
• A book you bought on a trip:

Advanced:

• A book recommended by an author you love:
• A bestseller from 2016: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family or Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. Review here.
• A book with a family-member term in the title:
• A book that takes place over a character’s lifespan:
• A book about an immigrant or refugee:
• A book from a genre/subgenre you have never heard of:
• A book with an eccentric character: The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie.
• A book that’s more than 800 pages: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Review here.
• A book you got from a used book sale: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• A book that’s been mentioned in another book:
• A book about a difficult topic: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Review here.
• A book based on mythology:

Do you plan on participating in the 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge? Do you have any recommendations for the reading prompts?

#DiversityDecBingo Challenge

Happy December 1st!! Oh wait…that ship has sailed, it’s already December 2nd! Happy December 2nd!!

If you can’t tell, my life is running a day or two behind schedule at the moment. And therefore, so are my blog posts!

 

I recently saw that Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks , as well as a few other bloggers, are hosting a Diversity December Bingo Reading Challenge, and I decided to participate!

This is how #DiversityDecBingo works: participants choose one line on the Bingo sheet – horizontal, vertical, or diagonal – and read one book from each category on that line. Once you finish your 5-book challenge, you are entered into a giveaway! You can follow the challenge by tracking the #DiversityDecBingo hashtag,

MY #DiversityDecBingo TBR

I have decided to do one of the vertical columns.

These are the books I have selected for the challenge:

• PoC Superheroes: Ms. Marvel, Volume 1 by G. Willow Wilson
• Diverse Non-fiction: The Algebra of Infinite Justice by Arundhati Roy
• #OwnVoices: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• SFF w/LGBTQIA+ Main Character: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova, or Timekeeper by Tara Sim.
• Neurodiversity: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

I hope you will consider joining myself and others on this fun literary challenge! It will be a month full of reading books by marginalized authors and/or marginalized characters.

Are you ready for Halloween? A read-a-thon update.

I happen to live in a country that celebrates Halloween, and it is one week away!! I love Halloween, and all of its creeptastic, spooky accompaniments. Halloween…and all the side dishes at a Thanksgiving feast, were the things I missed most when I have lived outside of America (sorry to my family and yes, I missed Halloween more than I missed you, LOL), and I embrace it wholeheartedly every year!

When I say we love Halloween, what I mean is we go so overboard on our Halloween decorations that our neighbors think it is freaking amazing. Or…they think we’re freaks but are too nice to say so. Either way, it’s a fun time.

Just take a look at my reading companion this morning…

I can tell him all about my reading adventures of the moment and he listens so sweetly. He’s a pro at the whole active listening thing. It’s just too bad that his brain found its way outside of his cranium…

With one week to go until the end of the month, I thought it would be a great time to update my progress on the Halloween Read-a-thon, hosted by Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews!

Update Time!

I am right about where I thought I would be for this challenge. I picked out six books, but I would be amazed if I finished six that fit into the theme. You can find my original challenge post right about here.

Costume Party: Read a Book with a Creepy Cover

• Original selection: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. While I have read a few selections from Scary Stories during read-aloud time with M, I have decided to substitute…
•  What I read: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. It was spooky and mysterious, and I will never look at forests around Asheville the same way again.

You can find my review here.

Haunted House: Read A Supernatural or Paranormal Book

• Original selection: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• What I read: Nothing yet. But Neil Gaiman’s graveyard mystery is up  next on my reading list, just as soon as I finish my ARC of The Gilded Cage by Vic James. Which I will hopefully wrap up today!

Urban Legends: Read a Horror or Thriller Book

• Original selection: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 
• What I read: I finally, finally got around to reading Jekyll and Hyde! This book has been on my TBR shelf for years. Dark secrets in the Victorian era? Yes, please!

You can find my review here.

Witching Hour: Read a Book After Sunset

• Original selection: Nothing, really. I was lazy. In my complete defense, lots of reading happens after sunset, anyway. Especially in the fall and winter!
• What I read: I am going to plug-in The Gilded Cage for this category. Mysterious, brooding aristocratic brothers with deep, dark family secrets? Alternate history and fantasy rolled into one? Yes, this fits the category!

You can find my review up on Wednesday or Thursday. And if you don’t read it, I will cast a spell on you! Mmmwwwwahahahahahaha!

Trick or Treat: Scary Book You’ve Been Putting Off or Treat: Free Choice of Any Genre

• Original selection: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It’s just not going to happen. I failed utterly and miserably. Back to the procrastination pile it goes. Till next October!
• What I read: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab. I read this on October 6, and I declare it a perfect match for this category. Woohoo for free choice!

You can find my review here.

All Hallow’s Eve: Read Six Books

• Original selection: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
• What I read: Yeah, this isn’t happening, either. It was tough to squeeze in six books with delicious, tantalizing, chilling fare. I did finish watching the first season of Stranger Things, which definitely fits all of the above adjectives. Does that count? Because the woman below…

Only Eleven could mess with her.

Are you reading any Halloween themed books this month? What books would you recommend for a spooky October read?