Reader Rayna

Month: June 2015

  • June 2015 Wrap-Up

    Another month gone and we’re already half way through the year. Whoa.

    This month was an okay month for reading. I only read four books, gave up (kinda) on two, and am still in the process of reading one.

    Here are the books I read in June:

    I had ups and downs this month in terms of reading. Some books I really enjoyed, others not so much. And there were two I started but am having a hard time getting into the story for one reason: the main character. I’ll come back to them at some point, but for now I’m putting them down.

    And the one book I’m continuing to read in between all of these times is “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin. I am currently 40% of the way through it, so I’m slowly making progress!

    Also during the month I held several discussions, including a blog tour:

    • Blog Tour Interview with a Narrator. This was an interesting interview featuring the narrator for Keira Gillet’s novel, “Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest.”
    • Rayna Recommends: Dystopian. My second installment in my recommends series where I discussed some books and movies that feature a dystopia of some sort.
    • Cataloging Your Books. When you have too many books and you need to write them all down and see your progress (or lack thereof).
    • Over-Hyped Books. We all know they exist, but what about when they live up to their hype? I talk about a few books that did and didn’t for me.
    • Booktubers vs Book Bloggers. This was a big topic floating around and I felt the need to address it. We’re all part of the same community, guys, so let’s act like it.
    • Reading While Away. I was on a weekend getaway and I just wanted to relax and read the whole time. Do you ever feel that when away?
    • The Reading Experience. Sometimes the experiences we have while reading affects the way we actually enjoy the book.

    I also did a few read-a-thon related posts:

    • Springtime Readathons Wrap-Up. I participated in three readathons in May and this is my wrap-up of them.
    • Themeathon Announcement. I’m excited to let you know that I’ll be hosting a month long readathon throughout July where each week is a different theme.
    • Themeathon TBR. And here are the books I’m hoping to get to each week! This is also my TBR for next month.

    Overall it was a pretty productive month, but there was a lot of down time because I just started a new job and I’m trying to acclimate myself to my new schedule as a full-time teller. So, yeah, I’ve been hella busy, but at least I’m still finding time to read.

  • The Reading Experience

    I saw this discussion topic on Katytastic’s channel on YouTube and thought I might put in my own two cents about what exactly “the reading experience” is and how it can affect your enjoyment in books.

    When you read a book you pick it up expecting to enjoy it, right? Whether it be because of the characters or plot or the writing, you go in expecting to have that happy feeling sit in your belly as you read (or your heart or head or wherever).

    But when the experience and memories surrounding a book are less than ideal, things can get a little complicated.

    Say you’re reading a book you were highly anticipating and you have to go on a long car ride with your whole family: two parents, three loud siblings, your dog, and possibly even your cat. You’re enjoying the book because the characters are funny and the plot is dynamic, but your younger sister keeps throwing her snacks at you and the other two won’t stop arguing about who will do what when they get to your destination, and all the while your parents are in their own world.

    The experience behind the book is less than pleasant so it may affect how you actually like the book in the end. If you give it another go in a much quieter setting, like in your room after everything is done for the night where you can control the noise, lighting, etc, then it makes for a much more enjoyable experience and it can actually cause you to enjoy the book much more.

    I feel like I’ve had these experiences as well. I’m very much a mood reader, and so it can be a challenge to the right book to suit my mood at the time, but when I do I can usually fly through it if I’m enjoying it enough.

    But lately I’ve been stressed due to transitioning from a part-time job to a full-time job in similar, but completely different positions. So I haven’t read as much because of the high stress and exhaustion I’ve been under. One book I’ve tried picking up that I was initially excited for is dragging and so I put it down because the experience behind it is negative (and I’m also not enjoying the voice of the main character, but that’s not the point).

    Try reading during your peak times when you know you’ll enjoy that book you pick up. Don’t get me wrong, though: not every book you pick up will be enjoyable for its content, but the experience behind it can be a positive one.

    Have you had difficult or troubling reading experiences? How did you get through them? Let me know!

  • Reading While Away

    whenever you go on vacation or a getaway you usually have a plan to relax and just enjoy your time away from the hustle and bustle of the world, right? But do you ever bring books with you to read while you’re away?

    Reading can be a very relaxing way to unwind after a hectic day/week/month/year, and so when you go on vacation you might bring a book for the plane ride or for when you’re getting ready for bed.

    But when you’re away do you ever just stop what you’re doing, sit down, and read? You don’t do what you were going to do and you decide to continue to block out the world farther by jumping into a new world with new, colorful characters and a plot so rich that you couldn’t stop even if you wanted to.

    I think that’s something I want to explore more. To just get away from the world, the worries, the anxiety and just be.

    “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” –Stephen King

    If you are going away on vacation soon, what books do you plan on reading while you’re away, if any? What are your thoughts on reading while on vacation rather than doing some of the things you may have wanted to do before? Let me know!

  • Themeathon TBR

    Hey peeps, so today I’m going to share with you my TBR for Themeathon! If you don’t know what that is, check out my post here.

    So I just started a new full-time job, so I’m getting acclimated to that and trying to find time to read in the evenings and all that stuff, but I will still be participating! I mean, I am the host and I don’t want to be a bad hostess, so… Here’s my TBR!

    rebelspringWeek 1: July 1-8

    Theme: Daring Hero/ine

    My Pick: “Rebel Spring” by Morgan Rhodes

    Mini-Challenges: This book completes one of the challenges –> Multiple points of view

    thewrathandthedawnWeek 2: July 9-16

    Theme: Dangerous Love

    My Pick: “The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renee Ahdieh

    Mini-Challenges: Oh, I will be writing a poem about the main love interest. Count on it.

    harrypottergobletoffireWeek 3: July 17-24

    Theme: Villain You Love to Hate

    My Pick: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling

    Mini-Challenges: I’ll be sharing the story via emojis on Twitter, writing a haiku about Lord Voldemort, and probably watch the movie adaptation.

    thecoldestgirlincoldtownWeek 4: July 25-31

    Theme: Only Standalones

    My Pick: “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” by Holly Black

    Mini-Challenges: It’s not a contemporary, and it’s over 400 pages.

    And there you have it! You can use the mini-challenges in any way you want from reading one book per week or five, it’s up to you.

    Are you participating in Themeathon throughout July? Let me know and then let me know what you’ll be reading!

  • Top 5 Wednesday: Characters You Wish You Could Drown

    Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday, as hosted by the lovely gingerreadslainey over on YouTube. Today’s topic is all about the characters you wish you could drown. We all have these characters, the ones that frustrate you to no end and have little in the way of the story and plot and everything. Yeah, those characters. So here’s my short list:

    5. The King from The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas

    Does this king even have a name? I don’t know, but he’s Dorian’s father and he’s just really mean and heartless and cruel, and after the end of the third book I really, really don’t like him and wouldn’t mind sticking his head in something and… yeah…

    4. Adam from The Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

    He was really nice and stuff in the first book, a really whiny baby in the second book, and a GIGANTIC JERK in the third. So yeah, I wouldn’t mind drowning him for the way he treated Juliette in the third book (I have a mini-rant in my review if you want to check it out).

    3. Tris from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth

    Okay, I had to really think long and hard about this one. I don’t hate Tris’s character so much as hate the decisions she made in the long run. Many times she was an awesome, strong female character, but toward the end she just kind of became really frustrating and made a lot of stupid decisions that weren’t so much “sacrifices” as they were stupid decisions.

    2. Joffery from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

    Okay, I haven’t read far enough I don’t think to see him reign horribly in the books, but in the show? OMG I HATE HIM. Actually, no, he is just as horrible in the book early on. So yeah, I really, really want to have the pleasure of drowning him.

    1. Eadlyn Schreave from The Heir by Kiera Cass

    Oh my gosh, she’s such a freakin’ brat. And so clueless as to how to treat people. Like, was she not socialized as the next ruler of a country? I just… I don’t understand how she can be so… UGH. She’s just so frustrating. SO. FRUSTRATING. I wouldn’t mind seeing her suffer a little…

    Who are some of the characters you wish you could drown? Don’t worry, it’s all non-canon here. (maybe) Let me know!