July ’17 Reading Challenges Recap

Once again I am posting an update of my reading challenges apart from my wrap-up post. This past month I made a lot of headway in a couple of the challenges I am taking part in and am feeling extra confident when it comes to completing them.

1. The 2017 Debut Author Challenge is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I added two more debut books (Ashley Poston’s Geekerella & Sarah Tolcser’s Song of the Current) to my current count regarding this challenge. Let’s be real, this challenge’s goal is basically in the bag.

• Challenge Goal: 12 books; Current Count: 11 books

2. Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2017 is hosted by Alexa Loves Books and Hello, Cherry. Hey now, I actually read a few books this past month toward this challenge which makes me feel loads better about reaching my goal. In July I read the following fantasy novels: Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown, Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns, and Sarah Tolcser’s Song of the Current.

• Challenge Goal: 20 books; Current Count: 12 books

3. Summer 2017 Bookish Bingo is hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews and runs June through August. The goal of this challenge is to get as many BINGOs as you can using the Bingo card below. I did better than expected with regard to reading books for this challenge. My Bingo card is looking so much better compared to last month and hey, I got a couple of bingos this month! I’m aiming for three more bingos by the end of August.

Books Read Toward This Challenge in July:

• Matilda by Roald Dahl (over 5 years old)
• The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (thriller)
• More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera (Latinx MC)
• Geekerella by Ashley Poston (book about fandom)
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (LGBT+)
• Lucky in Love by Kasie West (summer release)
• Three Dark Crown by Kendare Blake (royalty)
• Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser (book with a map)
• Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (author from another continent)

My August TBR for this challenge includes:

• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
• The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

How did you do with your reading challenges in July? Any challenges that you’re struggling with? Leave me a link to any reading challenges wrap-up post you do for July.

June ’17 Reading Challenges Recap

I normally include my reading challenges recap in my monthly wrap-up post, but since I am taking part in the Summer 2017 Bookish Bingo, I wanted to spend a little more time on a recap of it. This year I’ve signed up for three separate reading challenges. I like the idea of challenges, but they sometimes come with some added stress for those of us determined to achieve their end goals (me, I’m talking about me). I’m more or less feeling confident with the challenges below or at least trying to.

1. The 2017 Debut Author Challenge is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I’ve been doing some stellar reading when it comes to this challenge, but I think this is the first month where I haven’t actually picked up a debut novel. No sweat though, I think I’ll pretty easily meet this goal.

• Challenge Goal: 12 books; Current Count: 9 books

2. Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2017 is hosted by Alexa Loves Books and Hello, Cherry. I should be excelling at this challenge. Fantasy happens to be my favorite genre, but as of late, I’ve been picking up a lot more contemporary. Still, I have hope that I will succeed at this challenge by the end of the year. For June, I picked up Renée Ahdieh’s Flame in the Mist.

• Challenge Goal: 20 books; Current Count: 9 books

3. Summer 2017 Bookish Bingo is hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews and runs June through August. The goal of this challenge is to get as many BINGOs as you can using the Bingo card below. I did not get as much reading done for this challenge in June as I planned, but I didn’t pick up very many books to begin with. I have lofty plans for July. Below is an update of my card as well as books I’ve been eyeing for this challenge for July.

• A Sequel: The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman
• Name in the Title: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
• Flowers on the Cover: Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

My Ambitious July TBR for this challenge includes:

• More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
• Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
• Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• Geekerella by Ashley Poston
• Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee
• Lucky in Love by Kasie West

Are you participating in any of these challenges? How are you doing so far this year? Have any book recommendations for me for the 2017 Summer Bookish Bingo? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Summer 2017 Bookish Bingo

I’ve never participated in a bingo reading challenge before, but I’ve always found them to be really appealing. I think this challenge gives you a lot of room to work with and as a mood reader, this is really important to me. The Summer 2017 Bookish Bingo is hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews. It takes place June through August and the goal is to get as many BINGOs as possible using the card above. I’ll be including an updated bingo card in my monthly wrap-ups just so I can keep track of my progress. There’s still time to join the fun if you’re interested. Also, I want to give a shout-out to Morgan @ The Bookish Beagle for bringing this challenge to my attention (thank you again!).

Have you taken part in a bingo reading challenge? Do you have a favorite challenge? Any strategy you use in order to ensure you get as many BINGOs as possible? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Emma Readalong: Announcement & Invitation

One of my goals for this year is to participate in a couple of buddy reads. I haven’t done many since joining the community, but I find having someone to read with can be a great motivator when it comes to tackling those books you’ve been putting off. I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. I have far too many editions of her books and literally (okay, not literally) thrive off of adaptations. But strangely enough, I have never actually read her novel Emma. I’ve seen a number of adaptations and feel like I know the story quite well, but it is the only novel by her that I haven’t read.

Earlier this year I reached out to Jolien @ The Fictional Reader to see if she’d be interested in doing a buddy read and she said yes. Beginning March 10th, we’ll be reading Emma, but we’d also like to invite you to join us! If you’re a fan of Jane Austen like I am and would like to buddy read with us, we’d love to have you! If you haven’t read anything by her or are just trying to pick up more classics, you’d be a great addition to our buddy read as well!

The Details:

• Readalong will run from March 10th-March 31st
• Emma is divided into three volumes, so we’ll be tackling a volume a week
• Use the hastag #EmmaRAL to track your progress while you read
• We’ll be forming a DM group to have more in depth discussions regarding the book

If you are interested in joining us, you can leave a comment on this post or Jolien’s. Just leave us your Twitter handle, so we can add it to the group DM. You can also reach out to us on Twitter: Jolien @fictionalreader and Alicia @booknonsense. We look forward to you joining us for this readalong!

2017 Reading/Blogging Challenges

What’s the word for when you set a bunch of reading goals for yourself and accomplish none of them? Ah, that’s right, you pulled on Alicia. I had such high ambitions for myself last year and failed miserably when it came to actually tackling them. I did however do really well when it came to reading challenges hosted by other people. Maybe I’m only afraid of other people’s judgement. This year I’m limiting the number of challenges I participate in to the following and also including a few personal goals for myself (that I’m determined to actually accomplish!):

1. The 2017 Debut Author Challenge is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and will run from January 2017-December 2017. I participated in this challenge last year and really enjoyed most of the debuts I picked up. Among my favorites were Heidi Heilig’s The Girl From Everywhere and Destiny Soria’s Iron Cast. This year I’m really looking forward to a number of debuts including Lilliam Rivera’s The Education of Margot Sanchez, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, and Rhoda Belleza’s Empress of a Thousand Skies. Like last year, my goal for this challenge will be to pick up at least twelve debuts throughout the year.

2. The Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2017 is hosted by Alexa Loves Books and Hello, Chelly. This challenge also runs January – December. The goal is to read as many fantasy novels throughout the year as you so choose as well as participate in four book club reads. My goal for this challenge will be 20 fantasy novels. It’s not a high number and I’ll likely go over, but I feel that I’ve sort of been neglecting my favorite genre as of late, so I’m hoping this will help me dive back in.

3. The Winter 2017 Comment Challenge hosted by myself and Lonna @ FLYLēF . This challenge runs from January through March (though we may bring it back again during the summer) and is a really fun way to connect with new bloggers. Each month we’re pairing bloggers and encouraging them to get to know one another by commenting on each other’s blogs all month long. January sign-ups are currently closed, but you can sign-up for February here.

4. Participate in a buddy read or two. I already have a couple lined up, so hopefully I can accomplish this early in the year.

5. Listen to an audio book. I have never listened to an audio book before. I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without doing so. I’ve got a crochet project already lined up to help me accomplish this.

6. Read at least one graphic novel. Something else I’ve never done before. I have no excuse to read at least one this year. Always up for suggestions if you have any!

Are you participating in any of these challenges? What reading challenges are you most looking forward to? Do you have any personal goals you wish to accomplish in 2017?

4th Annual ARC August: Week Four Update

The 4th Annual ARC August is hosted by Read.Sleep.Repeat. Yes, this post is a little late. You may have noticed that I did not have an update for this challenge last week and that’s because I didn’t get a chance to pick up any ARCs. And this week I was actually sick, so I didn’t get a chance to finish putting this post together before the month ended. During the final week, I read two final ARCs. My goal for this challenge was originally three books with a soft six book goal if I found the time. I ended up reading five ARCs in totally which feels extremely satisfying (I now have only one NetGalley ARC I haven’t tackled yet). Here’s a quick look at the two ARCs I read this week. Scroll to the end of this post for links to my previous ARC August posts. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

ARC August Read #4:

Title: The Graces

Author: Laure Eve

Publication Date: September 6, 2016

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I was initially really excited about this novel. When I saw it on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to request it, but I kept seeing a lot of negative feedback on it in the weeks leading up to August. So I lowered my expectations and while this one didn’t complete suck, it could have been a lot better. I actually posted a full review of this one early this week, which you can read here.

ARC August Read #5:

Title: One Was Lost

Author: Natalie D. Richards

Publication Date: October 4, 2016

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I didn’t completely fall in love with Natalie D. Richards’ One Was Lost. It’s kind of hard to impress me when it comes to horror books, but this was a fairly entertaining read and I liked the lead characters in it. There were only a few times when I screamed at them that they were making terrible mistakes no one in a horror story should ever make. I’m actually thinking of hosting a giveaway for the ARC of this one come the beginning of October. It just seems like an appropriate time to share a few scares, right? Look for my full review and potential giveaway in October.

Other ARCs I Read This Month:

(Covers linked to my ARC August posts)

How did you do this month for the ARC August challenge? Do you have a favorite ARC you read in August? Let me know and leave a link to your own ARC August week two update post in the comments and I’ll be sure to visit.