Category Archives: TBR (To Be Read)

June 2015 Wrap-Up

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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.

Themeathon TBR

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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!

June 2015 TBR + #TBRTakedown Readathon

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Well, we’re half way through the year already (can you believe it?) and it’s time for another TBR challenge for the month. Whether or not I get to all of these books is up for debate, but I’m going to do my best.

BUT FIRST. Let’s start off with the #TBRTakedown Readathon hosted by Shannon of Leaning Lights over on YouTube (and here’s my video if you want to check it out).

This is another readathon that’s pretty relaxed, but she gave five challenges you can opt to try out during the week. And, well, I decided to try it out.

  1. A book that’s been on your shelf for at least a year. For this one I chose “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin. Now, I’m not going to attempt to read the rest of the book as I’m already 33% through it from when I stopped almost two years ago, but I am aiming for at least another 100-200 pages read.
  2. An unread sequel. Now, I’m not really cheating (but I kinda am) in that I’m going to finish “Unravel Me” by Tahereh Mafi. I didn’t get to finish it last month and I really want to, sooo, yeah.
  3. The first book in a series. For this one I chose “Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo. I’ve heard so many great things about it that I figured I’d definitely give it a go.
  4. A book that’s out of your comfort zone. Well, this can be either based on genre or content, and I chose content. I picked “Stolen” by Lucy Christopher, which is a book about kidnapping and since I’ve never read about that subject (nor am I fond of the subject) I figured it fit.
  5. A book from your most recent haul. And for this one I chose “Magonia” by Maria Dahvana Headley (since I already read all the other books from my latest haul). I think it’s going to be an interesting read and I hope to enjoy it.

Alrighty, so that’s all I hope to read throughout the week. Will I get to all of these books? Probably not, but it’s okay as long as I try to read what I can.

As for the rest of my TBR for the month, I plan on reading:

  • “Ignite Me” by Tahereh Mafi, this third and final book in the Shatter Me trilogy.
  • “Days of Blood and Starlight” by Laini Taylor. I’ve been dying to finish this trilogy and the third book will be coming out in paperback on July 7th, so it’s not too far away from now!
  • “The Final Empire” by Brandon Sanderson. I really want to start reading this trilogy and see what all the fuss is about. I don’t doubt that it’s a great book, I’m just interested to see how it goes and all that.

As for my TBR Jar Challenge for the month, it’s to read a book that won an award. Well, “Stolen” by Lucy Christopher won or was nominated the Pulitzer prize, so… killing two birds with one stone!

I think that’s enough books to last me the month, don’t you think? Maybe I’m being too ambitious, but I hope to at least start some of these books, if not finish them.

What are your reading plans for the month? Let me know!

May 2015 Wrap-Up

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Another month has come and gone and wow, I can’t believe we’re already going to be in June. It’s crazy.

So, this month wasn’t a horrible reading month as I read most of the books on my TBR for the month, and I completed my TBR Jar Challenge, which was to read a book that’s not a novel. So let’s go over what I read this month:

  • “City of Fallen Angels” by Cassandra Clare. This is the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series and it follows about two weeks after the events of the third book. I don’t want to give too much away, but we get a lot more Simon page time and we get to see a lot more of the darkness of the world and what’s in it. I did think Jace was super whiny in this book, and Clary wasn’t acting all that smart, either, but I really appreciated Simon and Isabelle. I’ll have a review of it up when I finish the last two books. I rated this 4/5 stars.
  • “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J Maas. This is the first book in a new trilogy by Sarah and it’s about a girl named Feyre who is a hunter for her family. When she accidentally kills a faerie in its beast form, another faerie comes seeking retribution for his friend’s death. But instead of killing her, he takes her back to his lands to live out the rest of their days. But there’s something going on in the Faerie Lands that’s making everything out of whack. I loved this book and rated it 5/5 stars. Read my review!
  • “The Heir” by Kiera Cass. This is the fourth book in the Selection series, but really it’s a companion story. It’s about Princess Eadlyn and how it’s her turn for a Selection to help ease some of the unrest of Illea. But Eadlyn is not for it and it makes things that much more difficult when the thirty-five suitors come to win her heart or the crown. I rated this 3.5/5 stars. Read my review!
  • “The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight” by Jennifer E. Smith. This is a contemporary YA book about a girl who has to go to her father’s second wedding in London, but when she misses her flight, she winds up on a plane next to a guy who is from England and he’s super sweet. When they meet, they really become close and it’s also about family issues and how to come together during a difficult time. I rated it 3.75/5 stars. Read my review!
  • “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir. This book was super hyped, and I personally think it deserved it. It follows the story of this girl named Laia and how she goes undercover with the help of the Resistance to help free her brother after he is arrested for being a traitor to the Empire. And it also follows Elias, a soldier of Blackcliff Academy, the best they’ve ever had, but he doesn’t want to be a Mask or a soldier and wants to run away. Eventually the two meet and things get complicated. This was definitely worth the read and I highly recommend it. I rated it 5/5 stars. Read my review!
  • “The Assassin’s Blade” by Sarah J Maas. Finally, FINALLY I finished this bind up of five novellas that follow Celaena Sardothian before the events of the first book. Each novella shows a different side of her and I loved how we got to see more of who she is and was before the events of Throne of Glass happened. I rated it 5/5 stars. Read my review!

The books I started this month but have yet to finish are:

  • “Sabriel” by Garth Nix. This book was super slow for me and hard to get into. The only parts I was really enjoying were the parts with Moggot because we actually had some interaction going on. I managed to get 100 pages in before giving up for now.
  • “Unravel Me” by Tahereh Mafi. This is the second book in the Shatter Me trilogy and I’m really enjoying it so far. I just couldn’t get through it at the time because I just wasn’t in the mood to read. This will probably be the first book I finish in June.

I also did a few discussions and fun things over the month:

  • Rayna Recommends – Romance – I finally started my own project! This is going to be a monthly (or bi-monthly, I haven’t decided yet) recommendation post where I list books, movies, and/or TV shows that fit the theme for that month. This past month was romance and I gave a list of about eight books, movies, and TV shows that I wanted to share with you all.
  • Shadowhunters Casting: Thoughts So Far – Shadowhunters is underway with filming the first episode right now, but I talked here about the first three main characters that were cast for the show and my thoughts and opinions on them so far. (spoiler: I’m impressed so far) [expect a second cast post soon]
  • #BoutofBooks & #CrushYourTBR Read-a-thons – These were my first ever read-a-thons that I’ve participated in and I had a lot of fun doing so. Though I didn’t get a ton of reading done, I did read some books that I’ve been wanting to get to and I’m excited to try more soon. These were pretty relaxed read-a-thons.
  • #RYBSAT Read-a-thon – Another read-a-thon that took place the week after the other two, it focuses more on picking a spot on your shelf and reading as many books as possible from that point on. I didn’t even get through the first book before giving up (life was kind of crappy that week).
  • Armchair BEA 2015 – Couldn’t attend BEA this year, so I settled for joining in on ABEA, which is essentially sitting at home and talking about books and things related to blogging. Very cool! This was just an introductory post.
  • ABEA Day 2: Social Media – I think that it’s important to incorporate social media platforms along with your blogging because it allows more readership connections and it broadens your network. I have a crap ton of social media pages, so check them out.
  • Reading Slumps & How Much They Suck – No seriously. They suck so much. Haaaaallllppp.
  • ABEA Day 3: Blogging Q&A – I give a bunch of advice about blogging, as well as talk about my journey and th importance of networking.
  • ABEA Day 4: Book-to-Movie Adaptations – They either make it or break it, and sometimes they just really shouldn’t have been made into one.

Suffice it to say, I had a busy month. I didn’t think I had been this busy on the blog this month, but lo and behold.

#RYBSAT Read-A-Thon

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Another read-a-thon!? Yup. I find these to be fun, even if life keeps deciding to not be so much. So I’ll be participating in #RYBSAT (Read Your BookShelf-A–Thon), a week long read-a-thon (May 18th-25th) where you pick a spot on your shelf and try to read as many books as possible on your shelf. If there is a series, you must read at least one book in said series before moving on to the next, or read the whole series.

This one sounds challenging, but I’m still excited for it! So since I have a lot of places to choose from, these are the books I picked:

IMG_1853I’m starting from the left of the shelf, so the books I hope to read during the week are:

I think that’s honestly all I’ll be able to get through in the week, if that. So those are my goals for the read-a-thon, for sure.

So many read-a-thons, so little time! I’m having fun joining in on these and I think they’re really helping me to broaden my reading choices and read books on my shelves I’ve had for months and months now. So I’m glad I came upon them for sure.

As always, don’t feel pressured to read everything you set out to read. Life happens, stories can become boring, and just the timing of it all might conflict with something else. Just remember to have fun if you decide to participate!

Do you plan on participating in #RYBSAT? What’s your TBR look like for this read-a-thon? Let me know!