2015 End of Year Survey

As always, thank you to Jamie of the Perpetual Page-Turner for creating this survey and link-up.  It is an annual tradition for me to fill it out– one of the only posts I manage to consistently put together every year and I love having them to look back on!

 

Number Of Books You Read:

81

Number of Re-Reads:

7

Genre You Read The Most From:

chick lit (of course)

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

I think I gotta go with Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith.  Just so, so, so good.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer… it sounded so up my alley, got tons of rave reviews, but was one of the worst books I read this year.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White– I never expected to like Kiersten White’s books as much as I do.  I was really surprised that this managed to be more than just fluffy, stereotypical YA paranormal romance.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Hmm.  Maybe the Cormoran Strike series, since I’m sort of obsessed with it?  I also completely nailed it by giving The Martian to my dad without having read it first… he has been talking about it all year!

 5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

Best series started: probably the Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben
Best sequel: Career of Evil, duh
Best series ender: Hmm, I finished out two series this year– His Fair Assassins and Paranormalcy– both Mortal Heart and Endlessly were my least favorite books in their series, so I guess a tie between them?

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

This one’s tough for me this year… I discovered some great new-to-me authors, but not really any that have set me on a mission to read their entire backlists OR ones that don’t have backlists.  I guess I will go with Harlan Coben since I binge-read the Myron Bolitar series this year.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I’m going to have to go with Brown Girl Dreaming.  I don’t usually read memoir, middle grade, or poetry and this was a really beautiful book.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

I hate to put Career of Evil down as the answer for every question, but… it was all these things.

 9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Unsticky because I have reread it annually since discovering it in 2013 and I have been itching for it to be 2016 so I can read it for a fourth time.  And while there are books I read this year that I’d like to reread, I don’t know that I will get back to any of them in 2016.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

 

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Krystal Weedon from The Casual Vacancy or Cormoran Strike from Career of Evil.  That Rowling, man, she writes some good characters.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

It would either be Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson or The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien… wowsers, such good writing in both of those.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

I’m going to go with Bottled Up by Suzanne Barston.  It was just the right book for me to read at the right time and helped me process the guilt and disappointment of not being able to breastfeed that I’ve been dealing with for almost 3 years now.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read? 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which has been on my TBR since 2011 and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien because I know I bought it after reading about it in one of my grad school classes in like 2009 or 2010.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015

“I take a sip of my beer, and it’s– I mean, it’s just astonishingly disgusting. I don’t think I was expecting it to taste like ice cream, but holy fucking hell. People lie and get fake IDs and sneak into bars, and for this? I honestly think I’d rather make out with Bieber. The dog. Or Justin. Anyways, it really makes you worry about all the hype surrounding sex.”  —Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“How can I explain to anyone that stories are like air to me, I breathe them in and let them out over and over again.” —Brown Girl Dreaming

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Neither of these is a traditional novel, but hey, I guess that’s why they are shortest and longest.

Shortest: Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl (61 page novella)
Longest: Blankets by Craig Thompson (592 page graphic novel)

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Three Simple Rules by Nikki Sloane… I don’t really read erotic romance and kind of stumbled upon this one accidentally and maybe I’m a bit prudish, but the things I went along with in this book sort of surprised me.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Well, I have to admit to shipping Strike and Robin pretty hard after finishing Career of Evil.  I realize this might be entirely futile, but I don’t even care.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I would have to say Simon’s relationships with his parents and sisters in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.  It’s so rare to see healthy and well-developed family relationships in YA and, at least for me, those were some of the most significant and longest-lasting relationships of my teen years.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Besides Career of Evil, of course?  It would probably have to be Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid… she pulled off a story I don’t think most authors could.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

I only read The DUFF because friends gave it good reviews and it was actually really really good.  I wish it had been around when I was a teen.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Oh gosh, that’d have to be Reiner Kulti from Kulti by Mariana Zapata.  I really love grumpy, damaged, arrogant love interests.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I’m usually bad about reading debuts, but I actually read four 2015 debuts this year, which I’m pretty sure is an improvement on previous years.  My favorite was probably Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Martian by Andy Weir had a very memorable and unique setting (Mars) and the setting played a huge part in the plot of the story.  I also want to highlight Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin in this category because her book was set in Fort Worth and was just the truest depiction of North Texas I have ever read.  And I can’t forget The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth– the Montana setting in that one was spectacular and I am a huge sucker for Western settings.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White… those books were all just cute and fun and fluffy.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

I never remember which books made me cry, though I know I cried at multiple books this year.  I am pretty sure Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid made me cry.  And if it didn’t, I’m just heartless.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Well, according to Goodreads, the least popular book I read this year was Bottled Up by Suzanne Barston.  That’s totally a niche read, but very worthwhile if breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding is a topic you care at all about.  For something I think that would appeal more widely, If You Lived Here, You’d be Home Now by Claire LaZebnik is a backlist title that I haven’t seen much of anything about (would never have found it if it wasn’t the favorite of a blogger friend) and it was one of the best books I read this year.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend by Sarra Manning.  I really love Sarra Manning for being willing to portray messy, flawed people, but in this one there was so much back and forth and the main character is a total pushover.  I was totally exhausted after finishing it.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson had a really unique writing style that I enjoyed.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

That would have to be Missoula by Jon Krakauer.  It was rather infuriating to see how women who report rape are treated by the criminal justice system and perhaps it was even more infuriating to see how the accused rapists were not only allowed to get away with their crimes, but actually received more sympathy and support than their alleged victims.

 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

I am actually not sure about this… keeping up with other blogs hasn’t happened the way I hoped it would in 2015.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

I’m going to have to go with my review of Bottled Up.  That was a deeply personal post to write, but I think it is the review that I have put the most into in all of my time blogging.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

Most of my non-review posts this year were update type of posts or challenge-related, which are kind of boring to share, so I’ll just skip this category.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I participated in a blogging event back in March called Day in the Life, where we all posted a run-down of an ordinary day in our lives.  That was one of the most fun blogging events I’ve ever participated in and it was fascinating to see how varied everyone’s day-to-day lives were.  I hope that this event will be repeated again in the future… I think it’s a good exercise to see how life looks for yourself at a certain point and to see what goes on in the busy lives of others.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

Probably completing the 2015 Read Harder Challenge… I didn’t really think I’d be able to commit to a challenge like that and I did and really challenged myself to read some stuff outside my comfort zone.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

This kind of surprises me, but it was my Top Ten Tuesday post about Diverse Books.  This was something I tried to more actively focus on this year, so I’m glad to see people enjoyed my recommendations.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

So, apparently my mini-reviews of books in verse only got one view?  I mean, it isn’t a spectacular feat of reviewing by any means, but those are a couple of diverse book picks that I’d highly recommend, so maybe check it out if you are looking for a novel in verse/diverse book to spice up your reading life!

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Ummm, my library implemented auto-renewals on books checked out without holds on them and I have been taking advantage of this to keep books out from the library way too long.  So, I discovered a way to be lazy and avoid monthly trips to the library?

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I had two reading goals for the year– to read 60 books as part of the Goodreads challenge and to complete the Book Riot Read Harder challenge.  I completed both of these goals by mid-October!  So,it was a very successful year in terms of goal-setting!

 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

I have been auto-filling this with Rebecca the last few years, but I actually read that one this year.  How about The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee?  That or The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a new book coming out this summer called One True Loves.  That promises to be a good one.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I actually have no 2016 debuts on my TBR yet, so… I guess I’ll wait until more reviews come in before deciding on this category.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

*crosses fingers for another Cormoran Strike novel in 2016*

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

Well, 2016 is already looking like it will be a crazy year… I start a new job on January 4 and am expecting a baby towards the end of January, so… I am just hoping to read some good books this year, stretch myself some, but mostly just to have fun with it all and do what I can/want to do.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

Not applicable.

October 2015 Roundup

I know that every month seems to go by in a blur at this point in adulthood, but October especially seems to have flown by this year.  I again read like the wind this month, especially on audio, finishing FIVE audiobooks this month out of a total of nine books.  I had some mixed luck with my reading this month– several REALLY awesome, book-hangover-inducing reads and a couple total duds, not a whole lot of middle ground.  My most anticipated read of the year came out– Career of Evil— and was totally awesome, so yay for expectations lived up to!

Blogging… eh, I posted a couple reviews this month and half-drafted some other posts that never went anywhere and will most likely end up in the virtual trash can.  I am just kind of glad I got something up, as I’ve been feeling equal parts busy and lazy lately.

Oh, hey, guess I should mention that I completed the Read Harder Challenge finally!  Woo!  I might put together a quick wrap up post before the end of the year as kind of a review of what I learned/would I do it again/here’s what I read.

As for other life stuff, October involved a lot of family time, a couple rainy weekends, and trick-or-treating with the child for the first time.  The weather has been nice enough to get out and about and we’ve spent a lot of time at the park.  I am seriously sad to say goodbye to weeknights at the park, as it is just too dark by the time I get home now that DST has ended.

I’ve also kind of hit the hugely pregnant stage (earlier and bigger and badder than last pregnancy) and have been dealing with the discomforts that brings.  We are slowly getting ready for this baby to come, but I have high hopes to get everything major done before New Year’s, so I guess we need to pick up the pace.  This second pregnancy has been a whole other beast for me than the first.  I kind of feel like they’re going to hand me this kid in a couple months and I’m going to be like, wait, where did this come from?  But at the same time, I’m so uncomfortable most of the time that it’s impossible to forget there’s a little person waiting to join our family.  Mostly, I’m just glad I’m so much less anxious than I was the first time around.  I’ve learned the real time to panic is when the baby is actually here (ha!).

Anyways, on to book stuff again…

Books Read in October:

After You by Jojo Moyes (audiobook)

Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch

The Final Detail by Harlan Coben

Burned by Ellen Hopkins (audiobook)

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (reread, audiobook)

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (audiobook)

Kulti by Mariana Zapata (audiobook)

In the Works: I am sort of between books at the moment.  I started Gillian Flynn’s short story, “The Grownup,” last night and while it’s definitely something you could read in one sitting, I did not.  I think after that I’ll be reading Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is loved by just about every reader I know and I somehow haven’t really had it on my radar.  It was on sale for Kindle, so yeah, time to get on it.  I’m stuck waiting for my next Audible credit and I don’t know what to spend it on quite yet, so no audiobook going right now.

I am hoping the rest of this month is very productive in terms of baby prep and just general pre-holiday craziness prep.  The only big plans are to do some furniture shuffling (I guess I’ll just be supervising this) and to go see the in-laws for Thanksgiving.  And hey, maybe I’ll actually blog a little bit, too.

How was your October?  Whatcha reading?

 

September 2015 Roundup

September was an insanely good reading month for me.  I read 11 books… I haven’t come close to that in a very long time.  Most of that was due to the fact that I was on a major binge read of the Myron Bolitar series and those are snappy little mysteries that I just blew through.  I forgot how much fun it is to binge read a series… it’s SO nice to not have to think about what to read next and to not have to reacquaint yourself with the characters or overarching plotlines.  Really, I should only ever read series back-to-back-to-back.

I also finished up 3 of my remaining Read Harder Challenge tasks (Sci-Fi, Author of the Opposite Sex, and Book Written before 1850) and only have 3 tasks left (all of which are toughies).  I might actually “win” this challenge after all!  And since I read at a ridiculous pace this month, the last book of September was my 60th book of the year, meaning I have completed my Goodreads challenge for the year, too.  This is actually the earliest I’ve ever finished up my book count goal, so I guess I grossly underestimated my reading speed this year.

Blogging didn’t quite go as I had hoped in September, but that is mostly because I became unexpectedly busy at work and because I read a bunch of books in genres that I don’t review very well (mystery, romance).  I keep hoping for more on this front, but hey, I do what I can.

Real life was lots of fun in September.  The weather was finally not blazing hot and I’ve been feeling more energetic, so one weekend we did a family trip to the zoo and another we stopped by the annual hot air balloon festival held in our town.  Both these things were tons of fun.  Lydia is at a great age to go out and do things with and we all seem a little happier getting out and about than being stuck inside all weekend.  I’ve also been doing prenatal yoga once a week with a friend who is also pregnant and that’s been a nice little me time to look forward to.  We’ve also been making some progress to getting the future nursery cleaned up.  Baby steps, but hey, it feels good to be doing something with it.

Books Read in September:

The Martian by Andy Weir (audiobook)

Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

Drop Shot by Harlan Coben

Fade Away by Harlan Coben

Back Spin by Harlan Coben

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

One False Move by Harlan Coben

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Flirting with Disaster by Victoria Dahl

Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl (novella)

A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan (audiobook)

In the Works: I am currently reading Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch (which is not turning out to be my thing, really) and listening to After You by Jojo Moyes (which is so totally my thing that I kind of want to read/listen to it all at once).

I am looking forward to October, as the weather should finally settle into comfortable temperatures, my friend will be having her baby, and I might actually get to participate in the Readathon on October 17 for a few hours, at least.  I imagine we’ll try to get out for some more family fun time, but we’ll see how that pans out between a visit from my mother-in-law and a work trip for my husband, not to mention Halloween.

What’s new with you?  Read anything good lately?  Looking forward to October with hearts in your eyes like I am?

 

August 2015 Roundup

August was a pretty good reading month, actually.  I worked on the backlists of authors I’ve been meaning to read all the books by (Liane Moriarty, Liza Palmer, Taylor Jenkins Reid), I ticked another book off my Read Harder Challenge checklist, and really, just seemed to have more enjoyment in my reading than I have in a couple of months.  I even wrote up a few reviews.

I did participate in my one annual book event tradition of going to the library book sale this month.  I only came home with one book for myself (My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick), which was super disappointing, but I did snag a few books for my daughter and spent only $5, so I guess I can’t complain too much.  I might have been more successful, but the weekend of the book sale was the hottest weekend of the summer and while it was indoors, I think the crowd/heat got to me and I started feeling like I was going to pass out, so my book-hunting adventure was cut a bit short.  Oh well, there’s always next year.

Let’s see, the other big thing is I announced on the blog that I’m pregnant again and spent a bit of time talking about some of the fears I have about having a second child and a little time getting more personal by discussing my struggle with breastfeeding.  I have been considering getting a little more personal on the blog (again), as it is helpful for me to put some of that out there and well, I don’t read or review quite as steadily as I used to.  We’ll see.  I have some ideas, it is just a matter of putting together coherent posts that hit the right tone and being courageous enough to put myself out there that way.

So, expect a couple of reviews this month and maybe a couple of personal posts and maybe some Top Ten Tuesdays (if I ever remember to draft the posts in advance) in the next month.  I always like to post more at the end of the year, so let’s hope that trend continues this year, as work quiets down some.

Books Read in August:

Bottled Up by Suzanne Barston

A Field Guide To Burying Your Parents by Liza Palmer

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Stiff by Mary Roach (audiobook)

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In the Works: I am currently reading Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben and listening to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Both of these books are for tasks for the Read Harder Challenge (author of the opposite sex and book published before 1850, respectively).  I am also giving serious consideration to joining in the RIP X event this year because well, I already tend to read mysteries/thrillers/spooky books at this time of year anyways (see above where I am reading a mystery and a gothic lit book about a reanimated corpse) and why the heck not make it an official thing?

I don’t really have any other big plans for September, other than enjoy the return of football (well, maybe… I’m not as keen on football as I once was) and the end of baseball (so that I can spend the next six months waiting for it to come back) and hope that maybe we get some weather that is good enough to where we can actually go do outdoor activities again before it gets cold (probably going to have to wait until next month for this, but a girl can dream).

How has your summer been?  What have you been reading lately?

 

July 2015 Roundup

I seem to have kind of settled back in to my average reading speed after a crazy start to the year, but I’m not complaining, I’m still on track to exceed my reading goal.  It’s been a hit or miss summer for me with books.  I’ve been reading a lot of 3 star books lately.  Good, but not great and really, nothing worth writing a review over.  I would just restate the premise and be like this is good, but not setting my world on fire, the end.  So.  I’m trying to jazz things up by reading stuff I think that I know I’ll super like and it kind of works, but I think my mood is as much contributing to my lack of enthusiasm for books than anything else.  I probably need to switch up the genres I’m reading or something just to shake up my attitude.

Anyways, I wrote a few posts in July.  Nothing spectacular, but slowly trying to get myself back in the game.  I really try not to stress over hit or miss posting, but there is something so sweet about having reviews scheduled out for weeks.  Maybe someday I’ll get back to that point.  Maybe.

Books Read in July:

Endlessly by Kiersten White

It’s Not Me,  It’s You by Mhairi McFarlane

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (audiobook)

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In the Works: I’m in a bit of a weird phase where I keep picking up books about death/dying/grief/dead bodies.  In that spirit I’m currently reading A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents by Liza Palmer and listening to Stiff by Mary Roach.  This upcoming weekend is my library’s book sale and I’m dying to go, but we’re supposed to have company and I am not sure how to fit a book sale into a visit with the in-laws.  We’ll see.  Other than that,  this month promises to be busy, as school starts back in less than three weeks and I will be back to fighting students for a parking space and a table to eat my lunch at.  The ever-so glamorous lifestyle of higher education staff, ya’ll.

I am kind of sporadically blogging when I can/feel like it and expect to remain hit or miss for at least this month.  I make no promises.

What’s going on in your reading/blogging/regular lives?

 

May/June 2015 Roundup

I’ve taken a month-long hiatus from the blog, sort of by accident.  Every now and then I get major blogging burn-out and I’ve been very meticulous about keeping up with my reviews in the last year and hit a point recently where I just could not make myself care.  But, as is always case, I end up missing blogging after a while and drag myself out of the funk to write something up.

May and June were not particularly incredible reading months, by any means, but I’ve been working on my Read Harder challenge and some of those books tend to be a bit on the slow side for me, as they require me to step outside my comfort zone.  Also, I’ve been enduring some rather frustrating toddler sleep struggles which have left me wiped out in the evenings and cut into a lot of my evening me time.  In any case, I’m hoping to get back on track with both reading and blogging as this summer continues, but we’ll see if life cooperates with me.

Books Read in May:

It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning (reread)

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend by Sarra Manning (audio)

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (audio)

Books Read in June:

All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenting by Jennifer Senior (audio)

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Trade Me by Courtney Milan

In the Works: I’m currently reading Endlessly by Kiersten White and listening to The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (I guess I’m having a YA paranormal moment).  Not sure what is up next, but I’ve got a bunch of stuff I’m looking forward to on hold from the library, so we’ll see what becomes available first.  Blogging-wise, I’ve got a ton of reviews to catch up on, so probably look for some mini (or mini-mini) reviews when I get around to writing them.  I also hope to do a mid-year recap of the Read Harder challenge as I’ve made some really awesome progress with it.  I also want to jump in on Top Ten Tuesdays when the topics are fun, but that is kind of my last priority, so we’ll see how it goes.

What’s going on in your reading/blogging/regular lives?

 

April 2015 Roundup

Well.  Life in April was hectic… I started my new job, took a family trip to San Antonio, had out-of-town company come to visit, and have spent free time on other hobbies besides reading and book blogging, namely watching baseball and working on a new cross stitch project.

I kind of predicted that April would be a down reading month for me and boy, was it ever.  I only read four books, which isn’t super terrible, but it is the lowest number of books I’ve read in a month since last May and even when I liked a book or recognized a book was good, I just didn’t find myself wowed by anything, which is always a disappointing place to be.  I also did absolutely no blogging and have been coasting by on reviews I wrote back in March.  I don’t anticipate the reading slump will last, but the blogging slump, I’m feeling less sure about.  We’ll see.

Books Read:

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (audio)

In the Works: I’m currently reading Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty and I’m listening to Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend by Sarra Manning on audio.  I have a couple more books checked out from the library that I hope to get to and maybe I will drag myself out of the reading blahs soon.

Blogging-wise I have reviews scheduled out for the next few weeks, but I haven’t really had time or inclination to get caught up on writing reviews or scheduling any other sort of posts.  (Even getting this one up has been challenging.)  I might take a break for a while, but I’m still thinking about it.

Other than that, I’d like to take May as a time to lay low for a while and catch up on some quiet time.  That might be a pipe dream, as the semester is ending which equals super crazy time in a household with one professor and one higher education professional.

What’s going on in your reading/blogging/regular lives?

 

March 2015 Roundup

March was a crazy month.  It started out with ice and snow and the college I work at being closed.  And then it was Spring Break, which I don’t actually get off work, but my spouse and child and sister do, so there were some family lunches that week.  And then it was my daughter’s second birthday, so we took the day off to take her out for a day of kid fun and there were also several grandparent visits surrounding that day.  And I started taking zumba classes once a week.  And work has gotten really busy.  And I was involved in organizing a canned food drive for my office.  And I found out yesterday that I got a promotion of sorts at work and will be starting in a new role come Monday.  So basically, life has been incredibly crazy.

But I’ve still been doing a lot of reading.  I hit a bit of a slump in late February/early March, but then discovered the super fun books of Kiersten White and devoured several of them and kicked myself out of my slump.  I also managed to have a fairly successful blogging month, getting caught up on reviews at one point (not so much any more) and participating in some fun link-ups like Top Ten Tuesday and A Day in the Life.  I’m kind of hopelessly behind on replying to comments/reading other blogs, but with everything else going on, I guess something has to give.

Books Read:

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Unsticky by Sarra Manning (reread)

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Lost & Found by Brooke Davis (audio)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Why Can’t I Be You by Allie Larkin (audio)

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

In the Works: I’m currently reading Before I Go by Colleen Oakley.  I have only read one chapter, but the writing is very readable, even if I’m already a little wary that it’s going to misrepresent academia (the character already said she’s writing a dissertation for her master’s degree in counseling… umm, no, we don’t call them that), which is kind of a pet peeve of mine since I’ve spent the last 12 years of my life either attending or working at a university, so I know the lingo and the experience pretty well.  I’m also listening to a non-fiction tome on audiobook called Debt: The First 5,000 Years, which is interesting, but requires a lot more brain power than I usually have when I’m listening to audiobooks.

I don’t really anticipate being good blogger (meaning I’ll continue to be behind on reviews and I will probably not do a whole lot of reading/commenting either) in the month of April since I will be learning a whole new job and probably helping out a bit with my old job tasks until they rehire the position.  Also, I have some travel and family obligations most weekends this month, so basically, I don’t see myself having a lot of free time to myself right now, unfortunately.  But I will be back at it eventually, I hope.

What’s going on in your reading lives?

 

February 2015 Roundup

February was a pretty good reading month, quantity-wise… I’m actually keeping on pace with my reading from 2012, the year I finished 100 books.  I did not expect that, but hey, it gives me a lot of room for a slump later in the year!  Many of my reads this month were a little disappointing, but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes.  I did pretty well in getting posts up for February, as well.  I also have been trying to keep up with reading/commenting, though, that varies greatly week from week.  I’m pretty happy where things are at blog-wise, so it’s just a matter of keeping things going as things get busy for me at work.

Books Read:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (audio)

The Smart One by Jennifer Close

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales (audio)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth

Curly Girl: The Handbook by Lorraine Massey

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (audio, reread)

Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer

In the Works: I’m currently reading Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai and listening to Lost & Found by Brooke Davis on audiobook.  I’m in a bit of a blah phase of reading at the moment, running into a lot of disappointments and having trouble deciding what I feel like reading next.  I think it might be time to do a few more rereads… but we’ll see.  I’m waiting on the haul from my library hold spree to come in and I’ll go from there.

I’d hoped to get caught up on my review backlog in February, but that didn’t happen.  So, it’s on my list for March, as well.  I plan on doing more mini-reviews… those are always good when I get behind.  I’m trying to keep up with Top Ten Tuesday, too, but some weeks I’m more inspired than others with the topics.

In non-book, non-blog news.  I’ve been doing yoga twice a week with the city since January… one class is pretty good, the other not so much.  The current session is almost over, and I signed up for a zumba class for the next session instead.  I’m pretty horrible at dance sorts of things, but thought it was worth a try.  In any case, I just want to stay active.  Other than that, March is an exciting month because my daughter’s second birthday is at the end of the month!  Work will be picking up a lot in the next month, so we’ll see just wait and see how reading/blogging goes in the face of that.

January 2015 Roundup

Every now and then I get on a serious reading/blogging kick and I’m just blowing through books and have reviews scheduled for weeks out.  That is where I’m at right now and it’s a nice feeling.  I read nine books in January which is the most I’ve read in a month since my daughter was born in 2013 and many were really good.  I’ve been working on the Read Harder challenge, too… I’ve already completed 6 of the 24 tasks (most of these are checking off the ones I do without really trying).  All that to say, I’m feeling good about where I am blogging/reading wise right now and hoping to ride this wave of enthusiasm for a while longer.

Books Read:

I’ll Give Your the Sun by Jandy Nelson

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (audio)

War Dances by Sherman Alexie (audio)

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

If You Lived Here, You’d Be Here Now by Claire LaZebnik

Here’s Looking at You by Mhairi McFarlane (audio)

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

In the Works: I’m currently reading The Smart One by Jennifer Close, whose debut I read last year and enjoyed.  I’m still deciding which audiobook to start next, as I just finished the one I was reading this morning.  I know my next ebook will be The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth because I have it checked out from the library already.  I’m on the library hold list for a bunch of other books right now, too, and I’m sure they will all come in at once.  In any case, I’ve got lots I want to read and will surely keep busy on that front.

One goal I have for the next month is to try to post some non-review content.  I’m trying to get back onto the Top Ten Tuesday bus, since that is a fun way to participate with the community and having a prompt helps me immensely.  Also, I have been reading faster than I can write reviews, so I’d like to take the time to catch up on my review backlog.

How was your January?  Read anything good?