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!

TBR Takedown 2.0 Wrap-up & Weekend Reads for The Lunar Chronicles Readalong

The TBR Takedown 2.0 is the first readathon I have ever taken part in. There were a lot of aspects that I liked and a few I didn't like. I loved the feeling of comradery that reading with a whole group of people brought. I also really enjoyed taking part in and seeing the submissions for the various challenges. I had trouble with feeling rushed which might have been lessened if I had started the readathon at the beginning instead of in the middle. I also didn't like that I felt stuck with the books I had initially picked and felt guilty when I strayed to different books. This was a personal feeling that I now realize was kind of silly. The point of the readathon was to read; it doesn't matter what I read, it just matters that I read something! I also didn't complete the challenges in chronologic order, I jumped around a lot, which I think gave me more of a sense of freedom. So, I am going to review the books in the order I read them. But, I am definitely going to be participating again next time!

The first challenge I completed was #4: read a book that has been on your shelf for over a year. For this challenge, I read The Triumphant Cat: Verse, Prose, & Pictures; Gathered from the Ancient & Modern Authors; Selected & Edited by Marmaduke Skidmore, Esquire.

 

I picked this book up because I like cats and I thought it would be fun to read a bunch of different selections about cats. In the end though, I didn't love this book. The selections weren't bad but they didn't interest me at all and there was absolutely no structure to how they were put into the book. I would have preferred more of a topic or common theme structure (other than cats). I read this book in about an hour, so it was a quick read, and gave it 1 out of 5 stars.

The second challenge I completed was #1: read the first book in a series. Originally I had planned to read Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie, and I actually did start reading it! But I got caught up in the second chapter and found myself dragging through it. So, instead of forcing myself to read it, and quite possibly ending up hating it because of that, I put it aside to read for later and picked up the first book in the Animorphs series: The Invasion by K.A. Applegate.

 



I have been a long time fan of Animorphs. I first read the series when I was in middle school and recently started re-collecting the series. I now own most of the books but had not started reading them. I figured TBR Takedown 2.0 was the perfect time to start! The series is more middle grade and there are some dated references, but the book was no less fun and entertaining than it was when I first read it. My favorite characters are Jake and Tobias, but I love that the cast is so diverse (racially and socio-economically). I really cannot wait to finish reading this series! I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

 

The third challenge I completed was #2: read a book that is a sequel in a series. For this, I read my initial pick, Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne.

 

 



This is another series that I have recently been enjoying. This book is the third in the series. I enjoyed it almost as much as the first book and more than the second book. This book was a quick, fun read. I finished it in about 2.5 hours with frequent internet breaks. I did have a problem with some of the choices that the main character made, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book at all. This series reminds me of a fluffier, slightly less developed version of Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. So you should check out this series if you liked Blood and Chocolate. I gave Dark of the Moon 3 out of 5 stars.

 

The fourth challenge I completed was #5: read your most recently hauled book. Luckily, The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter came just in time for me to read it for TBR Takedown 2.0.

 

 

The Kneebone Boy started off on a high with a dash of fantasy, a pinch of mystery, and a healthy dose of quirk. The book had a definite Lemony Snicket/A Series of Unfortunate Events vibe, which I liked a lot, and is geared for middle grade. The characters themselves are kind of really interesting and draw you in to the story quickly. The problem I had was with the plot. Honestly, it was slow, but the first 99% of it was really interesting. There was just enough adventure and mystery to keep me on the edge of my seat. It's just that the last chapter didn't fit at all with the rest of the story. This makes it hard for me to rate the book. I didn't dislike it but I didn't love it. Ultimately, I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. I also have to say that I bought the book primarily for the cover and was super happy with the art.

 

The final challenge I completed was #3: read a book that is out of your comfort zone. This is the only challenge where I didn't read the book I had originally planned on reading. In this case, I had planned to read An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. It was the last day of the readathon when I had time to read my last book. By that time, I was dragging pretty heavily and just wasn't really wanting to read anything at all. I decided to leave An Ember in the Ashes for later and pick up something lighter and shorter that was still out of my comfort zone. So, I read Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Lemony Snicket instead.

 

 

This book was out of my comfort zone because of the fact that it is an autobiography. I have never had good luck with autobiographies or biographies. But, I'm a fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and decided to give this book a try. Honestly, I found this book confusing and not very interesting. I might have liked it more if I had recently read A Series of Unfortunate Events, but I doubt it. I gave this book 1 out of 5 stars.

 

TBR Takedown 2.0 ended on a Friday. Instead of picking up another book right away, I took a break from reading. My sister and I had gone home for the weekend and spent the majority of the time helping my parents clean out and reorganize their closets in anticipation of a (eventual) move. However, Saturday (August 1st) marked the beginning of The Lunar Chronicles Readalong, which is being hosted by Brittany S. of The Book Addicts Guide. The readalong is running from August through December (1 book per month) in a lead up to the release of Winter by Marissa Meyer, the fourth book in the Lunar Chronicles series. I did decide to start reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer, which is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles.

 

 

I had heard of this series many times on booktube but just wasn't interested in it. I'm not really a big fan of fairy tale re-tellings. But, I decided to give it a go when I heard about the readalong. When I started reading this book, I had planned to read only a couple of chapters per week so that I could drag it out over the whole month of August (which is the month allotted for this book). That way, if I didn't like it I could occupy myself with reading other books. I picked up the book and ended up finishing the whole thing in a little over 4 hours (it would have taken me less time but helping parents and going out to eat dinner got in the way of my reading). I am so sad that I didn't pick up this book before. It was a new and refreshing take on Cinderella! I loved that Cinder was tough and out of the ordinary. The only part of the book that I didn't love was that it was set in China. I didn't think the Chinese elements were worked into the story enough and would have been better off being left out altogether. But I loved this book so much, I don't think I can wait to read the other 3 books in the series! I gave this book a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars. If you've never read this series, or if you love the series, you should join in!

 

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Links:

The Book Addicts Guide Lunar Chronicles Readalong post: http://www.bookaddictsguide.com/2015/07/15/the-lunar-chronicles-reread-along-intro-sign-ups/

Booktubeathon 2015 TBR

Hot on the heels of TBR Takedown 2.0, I decided to participate in BookTube-A-Thon. Actually, we're already on Day 3 of BookTube-A-Thon, which runs from August 3rd to August 9th. I know I still need to do my wrap-up for TBR Takedown but between starting at my job and going to my parent's house for the weekend (where I don't get any internet) that post is late, but I wanted to go ahead and post my BookTube-A-Thon TBR anyway. The other post will be up a little later in the week.

 

1// Read a book with blue on the cover : Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

 

 

2// Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name: Gilded by Christina Farley

 

3// Read someone else's favorite book: Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

 

4// Read the last book you acquired: Babe in Boyland by Jody Gerhman

 

5// Finish a book without letting go of it: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

 

6// Read a book you really want to read: The Borrowers by Mary Norton

 

7// Read seven books: Animorphs 2 - The Visitor by K.A. Applegate

 

 

 

I've already finished The Borrowers by Mary Norton and The Visitor by K.A. Applegate. I'm excited to read the other books too. A quick bit about BookTube-A-Thon: besides the 7 challenges, there are also contests on the BookTube-A-Thon YouTube channel, contests and readalongs on the BookTube-A-Thon twitter account, and contests on the BookTube-A-Thon Instagram page. I'm also updating my progress more frequently on my twitter but I will post a wrap-up on Saturday.

 

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Links:

My Twitter (@verilyfranklin): https://twitter.com/verilyfranklin

BookTube-A-Thon YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZhmQgR4l0MMisH-OGO729Q

BookTube-A-Thon Twitter (@BookTubeAThon): https://twitter.com/BookTubeAThon

BookTube-A-Thon Instagram (@booktubeathon): https://instagram.com/booktubeathon/

Weekend Reads: Kiersten White and Jamie Mcguire

Between helping a friend move out at the last minute and going to a comedy club with another friend, this weekend has been kind of crazy. Regardless, I was able to get some reading done!

I started by reading In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo.

 

 

This book went back and forth between text and graphic novel. I had a really hard time getting in to this book. The first couple of text chapters jump between several characters and the graphic chapters don't seem to fit in the beginning which made understanding what was going on really hard for me. The theme of the story is also pretty dark which is something I wasn't really in the mood for. The writing and art is gorgeous but I just didn't enjoy the story and ended up giving it 2 out of 5 stars.

The second book I read was Beautiful Redemption Jamie McGuire.

 

I have been a fan of the Beautiful/Maddox Brothers series ever since I read the first book in 2013. I actually wasn't sure how much I would love this book for two reasons. First, while I love all three of the previous books in this series, the last one wasn't quite as good as the first two. Second, the main Maddox Brother, Thomas, made a cameo in the last book and I kind of didn't like him. But seeing things from his point of view, and the rest of his story, in this book changed my mind. I really loved the plot of this book because it felt new and intense when compared with the others. This is tied with Beautiful Disaster for my favorite Jamie McGuire book. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars because there were a few plot holes that I just couldn't get over.

 

After loving the last book so much, I decided to jump right in to Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire.

 

 



As with Beautiful Redemption, I was worried about how much I would like this book because the two main characters, Falyn and Taylor, had a cameo in the last book that made me dislike them. Unlike with Beautiful Redemption, this book did not make me change my mind. The plot was boring and Taylor just did not fit in with the Maddox Brother image. Additionally, I hated Falyn. I thought she was conniving and ugly spirited (if that makes sense). This is, so far, my least favorite addition to the Beautiful/Maddox Brothers series and I gave it a 1 out of 5 stars.

 

The last book I read this weekend was Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White.

 

 

Can I start off by saying that I absolutely adore this cover! I did find it a little misleading though because I think it looks more like a contemporary fantasy while the story is more historical fantasy. I really loved this book! Jessamin was a feisty, no-nonsense protagonist that really made you feel for her. Finn was an interesting male character and Eleanor is the type of side character that you want to pull off the pages and become friends with immediately. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would have given it 5 stars except for two problems. First, I felt that Kelen needed more development as a character. Second, there were two scenes in the book (when Jessamin and Finn first meet and when Finn is showing Jessamin around his house) that were exact copies of scenes from Howl's Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Dianna Wynne Jones. Still, the rest of the story was unique and I enjoyed it.

TBR Takedown 2.0: TBR

For those of you who don't know, a TBR is a To Be Read list and it gets longer the longer you're around. For me, I have two TBRs. I have the TBR that I actually own and are sitting on my shelf and I have a goodreads TBR that exists in the vastness of the internet but that I cannot complete until I purchase the book or borrow it from my library (this TBR numbers somewhere in the 2000s while the former is only a handful).

Many people have come up with different ways to shrink their TBR including getting rid of books and (the subject of this post) readathons. I decided to take part in the TBR Takedown 2.0 readathon which was started by Shannon of leaninglights. The dates are July 24th to July 31st, so I am several days late, but I am excited to give it a try. One part of readathons is the challenge or theme. This readathon has 5 challenges to complete. So, here are my selections for the TBR Takedown 2.0.

1. First Book in a Series
      For this challenge I will be reading Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie.

      I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and decided to just go ahead and read it for
      this (the second book, Thomas & January, is also out now). This is one of the books that has been
      on my goodreads TBR for some time (I added it in December of 2012) but I only acquired a copy
      last month.

2. Sequel Book in a Series
      I will be reading Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne.

 

      This is the third book in the Dark Guardian series. I absolutely loved the first two books

      [Moonlight (4.5 out of 5 stars) and Full Moon (3.5 out of 5 stars)] in the series and have been 

      wanting to read this one for a while, but I got sidetracked with other books.

 

3. Out of Your Comfort Zone

      The only book that I own that really fits this bill is An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

 

 

      This book is out of my comfort zone because of all the hype it has gotten on booktube. For some

      reason, the books that get a lot of attention on booktube are the books that I end up really

      disliking. I only purchased this book while I was on a trip to visit my cousin about 2 months ago

      but it seems like a book that will sit on my shelf for a long time if I don't just go ahead and read it.

      I did read the synopsis on goodreads and the book jacket, and it sounds like something I might

      like, so I'm just going to bite the bullet on this one and hope for the best.

 

4. On Your Shelf Over a Year

      I'm usually pretty good about reading the books on my shelf before they sit for too long, so I only

      had two books to choose from for this challenge. However, one of the books is a textbook that I

      picked up for personal reading. So, I'll be reading the other book, which is The Triumphant Cat:

      Verse, Prose, & Pictures; Gathered from the Ancient & Modern Authors; Selected & Edited by

      Marmaduke Skidmore, Esquire.

 

 

      I bought this book at a Library used book sale 2 or 3 years ago because I thought it looked cute,

      but just never got around to reading it.

 

5. Most Recently Hauled Book

      The book I chose for this challenge is from a haul so recent it hasn't even arrived at my house yet,

      The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter.

 

 

      This is another book that I have been wanting to read (I added it to my goodreads TBR in January

      of 2013) but only recently purchased. I'm looking forward to diving right into it when it gets here!

 

So there you have it, my selections for the TBR Takedown 2.0. I'd love to know if you are going to participate and what you are planning on reading if you do! Leave a list of your TBR or a link if you do a blog or vlog post. I'll do another blog post with my reviews/completion rate at the end of the readathon too.

 

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Links:

Shannon's TBR Takedown 2.0 vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PC06j9RsaM

Weekend Reads: J.K. Rowling, Gabrielle Zevin, and Katie M. Stout

Being a college student, weekends are the time when I am able to read the most. Some weekends I read more than others, depending on homework, sleeping patterns, and volunteering, but I always get my reading in. Therefore, I have decided to start a new series, Weekend Reads, that I will publish every Monday morning detailing all of the books I read during the weekend (Friday Night - Sunday Night).

J.K. Rowling gave the commencement speech at Harvard in 2008. Of course, videos of the speech have been making the internet rounds since then and quotes from the speech pop up just about everywhere. It seems only natural that they would turn this speech into something tangible and lasting, a book called Very Good Lives, which is the first book I read this past weekend.

 

 

This is the second commencement speech turned book I have read, the first being Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman, and I have to admit I was wary to start it. Based on my limited exposure, I believed that commencement books were less about conveying the speech to future generations than making a visually pleasing piece of memorabilia, all at the expense of readability. But Very Good Lives was not like that at all. While the book is visually pleasing, it is also simply designed with easy to read text. The book itself is very short (I read it during the 15 minute car ride from the library to my house) and very enjoyable. It goes without saying that this book was also very inspirational. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

The second book I read this past weekend was The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.



 

This book is not YA but that really doesn't matter because it is fantastic. I picked this book up because it was recommended by a booktuber I watch a lot, Regan from PeruseProject. The story itself is not full of roses, it's actually kind of angsty throughout most of the book. The characters weren't likeable either, which is actually what made me like them. The characters and the stories were human and gritty and real. The plot is like nothing I've read before and the fact that the story has closure while being circular is refreshing. I read this book in a couple of hours, it's not a big book by any means, and will definitely read it again! I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

 

The last book I read, tried to read, was Hello I Love You by Katie M. Stout.

 

 

 

I started reading this book because of the promise of hot Koreans and Kpop but I actually did not finish it because of some serious issues with the book. The main character, Grace, is the definition of a spoiled, rich snob. There isn't a single second where she doesn't give Americans a bad name. I cringed every time she spoke due to the sheer ignorance and borderline (sometimes outright) racism. Despite the fact that she continually professes she knows nothing about various subjects (including music and fishing), she acts superior to everyone and constantly tells them what they are doing wrong. There isn't a single second where she doesn't give Americans a bad name. I cringed every time she spoke due to the sheer ignorance and borderline (sometimes outright) racism. The Korean characters (all of them) were odd too. They were....jerks is really the only way to say it. The story itself was also very derogatory towards Kpop. Ultimately, I was only able to finish the first seven chapters but, given the overwhelmingly negative tone of the story and the unlikeable characters, I would probably have only given this story 1 or 2 out of 5 stars.

 



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Links:

Regan's vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fp8H5imGYM

Bookish Goodness: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

I am an equal opportunist when it comes to reading. I will read just about anything with words on it: books, menus, manuals, shampoo bottles, anything! More often than not though, I find myself reading YA. Now don't get me wrong, I love YA. YA is by far my favorite genre. But sometimes reading YA can get a little redundant. Especially lately, it seems that all of the books I read have the same general plot, the same types of characters, and the same endings. So, I have been branching out into other genres. My forays have not always been successful but I have read several very good books. My most recent kick has been reading books written by Japanese authors. I've read several that were okay and several that were not okay. One author that I had been looking forward to reading books by was Yoko Ogawa. I started by reading The Diving Pool: Three Novellas, and absolutely hated it. I was almost too scared to read another book by Ms. Ogawa but I decided to try reading the book that had originally piqued my interest and I fell in love after the first chapter. This book was The Housekeeper and the Professor.

 

Going into reading The Housekeeper and the Professor, I assumed that there would be romance. Actually, I assumed it would mainly be romance. I assumed that the professor would be younger and the housekeeper would be older. Neither of my assumptions were true, and it was a pleasant surprise. This story was extremely bittersweet. I love the bond between the Housekeeper and the Professor, the Housekeeper and the Son, the Son and the Professor, and all three of them! The progression from complete stranger to integral parts of each others' lives seemed so natural. Ultimately, the only character I didn't like was the sister-in-law (I disliked her from the very beginning) and I especially disliked her relationship with the Professor. I feel like her part in the story was completely unnecessary and even detracted from the feel of the novel in some instances.

 

One aspect of the book that I especially liked was the fact that Ms. Ogawa did not name her characters. Normally when characters are named, it gives stories an outside-looking-in feel. By leaving her characters nameless, Ms. Ogawa made her novel feel more intimate.

 

Ultimately, I could not put this book down. The Housekeeper and the Professor is a must read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars because even the parts I didn't like were still pretty good.