Booktube-A-Thon Wrap-Up

Well, Booktube-A-Thon is done. Has been done for 3 days now. I had fun but it left me pretty exhausted. I had not intended to take part in Booktube-A-Thon because it started so soon after TBR Takedown 2.0. Then, the night before Booktube-A-Thon started, I decided to take part and threw together my TBR. I kind of wish I had just done one or the other, because all of the self-imposed, required reading really took its toll on me. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't pressured myself to keep up with my reading TBR. I also really liked watching the challenges but didn't have the time to participate in any of them because of work. Work kept me from being able to read as much as I would have liked to as well. I also made a little mistake in timing that upped the stress of this readathon for me. I mistakenly thought it ended on Friday when it actually ended on Sunday. So, for all of Saturday I didn't read anything. Bummer. In total, I completed 5 challenges and read a total of 7 books. Actually, 6 books and 1 graphic novel, but I'm counting it!

The first book I read was The Visitor by K.A. Applegate, which I chose as my pick to total 7 books for challenge #7, which was the last challenge I completed.

There isn't much for me to say about this book. I love the Animorphs series, and this book is no exception. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

After this, I read a graphic novel, The Guild by Felicia Day and Jim Rugg.



I don't want to go too much into this graphic novel because, honestly, I hated it. I was really excited to read this comic. I mean, girl gamers!!!! But the story and characters were just bad. I gave this graphic novel 1 out of 5 stars.

Then I finished my second challenge, #6: Read a book you really want to read, for which I chose The Borrowers by Mary Norton.



 

I felt very conflicted about this book. I grew up watching, and loving, the Borrowers on film. I also remember watching a play about the Borrowers when I was younger. Then came the Miyazaki version of the story, which I also loved. After all that, reading the story was different. The characters were extremely different and the story was practically unrecognizable.  It's not that I didn't like the story. It was just so far removed from the other versions that I have already loved that I found it difficult to get in to this book. But at the end of the day, the story was good, so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I had decided, right after reading this book, to read the other four books in the series, but have since decided not to continue on.

 

The third challenge I completed was #5: Finish a book without letting go of it. My selection for this challenge was A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.

 

 

This is a book that I have been wanting to read for a very long time. I remember hearing about it when it first came out because it was in one of the Scholastic Book Fairs at my school (seriously, who didn't love those book fairs!). I ended up not buying it back then, but the title has stuck with me. Now that I've read it, I loved it! It was geared for elementary or middle grade but was not watered down at all. I loved the characters, especially Grandma Dowdel, but would have liked to see more of some of the secondary characters. I didn't realize this was a sequel until I was halfway through reading it, so now I have to go back and read the 1st and 3rd books. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

 

The next challenge I finished was #1: Read a book with blue on the cover. Originally I was going to read Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, but when it came time to pick it up I just wasn't feeling it. I was also a little burnt out on reading. So, I decided to re-read one of my go-to books, Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer.

 



 

I first read this book in February 2013 and have re-read it many times since. It is a Christian Historical Romance, which I love but might not be other's cup of tea. I like the growth that the characters go through during the story. I love Meredith and all of the Archer brothers because they come across as very genuine. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars when I first read it, and my rating is the same this time around too.

 

The last challenge I completed was #3: Read someone else's favorite book. My book choice for this challenge changed several times. First, I was going to read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, which is one of my cousin's favorite books. I decided not to read it simply because the page count was too high (I will be reading it sometime in the future though). My second choice for this challenge was going to be Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs, which is one of my friend Davina's favorite books. I ended up not being able to read this book because all of the copies were checked out from the library (I'm still 3rd in line for this book at the library). So, in a last ditch effort, I turned to twitter for recommendations. The only book recommended that I hadn't already read was Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers (recommended by Sarah Woodward, @Sarahbear9789). I started reading it, but only got through 1 chapter before I realized I loathed it. I immediately DNFed it. Following that last failure, I turned to a book that I have already read (and own) that just happens to be a favorite of one of my local librarians; A Tailor Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer.

 

 

Once again, this is one of my go-to re-reads. I first read this book in September 2013, on the recommendation from a librarian, and have re-read it many times since. One thing I like about this book is that the characters have flaws that they must learn to overcome. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

 

The last book I read was Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer.

 

 

This book did not fulfill any challenges, but I really just felt like re-reading it. I first read this book in October 2013. Its not my favorite novel by Karen Witemeyer. I thought the characters were kind of generic and the story is a little odd, but I still like it a lot. I also gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

 

 

How did you do? Did you complete all the challenges? Only some? What books did you read? I'd love to hear about your Booktube-A-Thon experience!