Bout of Books 23 Day 3 Recap and Day 4 Challenge!

I didn't get much reading done yesterday!! I mainly spent my time (roughly 90 minutes) listening to an Audible original podcast title, Pen & Place hosted by Amy Standen and Michael Epstein. Each episode of Pen & Place is roughly 15 minutes and there are 6 episodes total. The focus of each episode of Pen & Place is an interview of one specific author talking about a geographical location and also about their writing. All of the podcasts were nicely done and I now have many new authors to explore.

I also began reading the young adult novel, Dear Martin by Nic Stone, last night and I am 18 pages into it at this moment in time. I am looking forward to seeing where this novel leads me.

Day 4 Bout of Books Challenge

Book Trip - I would love to visit several Asian countries.

Share books set in places you want to visit. Make a road trip of settings in the US or a dream vacation. Or you can think outside the box and choose fantasy, paranormal, historical, or sci-fi setting. Like Hogwarts!

1. Memoirs of a Geisha - Japan

2. Dream Jungle - Phillipines

3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - China

4. Jasmine Nights -Thailand

5. The Lotus Eaters - Vietnam

6. Miss Burma - Myanmar

7. The Vegetarian - Korea

Where do you want to visit?? 

Bout of Books 23 Day 2 Recap and Day 3 Challenge!

Yesterday, I finished reading Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. I really enjoyed this young adult novel! Click on my link above to read my review of it.

Not sure which book I'll be reading next... So many choices! I'll keep you posted.

Bout of Books 23, Day 3 Challenge

Literary Villain

Who are your favorite literary bad guys? Can be a villain, a not-so-good-guy, or anti-hero.

I pick Cathy Ames from East of Eden by John Steinbeck

as my favorite literary villain.

Wikipedia sums up Cathy Ames:

"Cathy Ames, later known as Kate Trask or Kate Albey, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden. She is the wife of main protagonist Adam Trask, and the mother of his twin sons, Caleb and Aron. Beneath her charming, attractive facade, she is an evil woman who manipulates and destroys people for her own amusement and profit. Steinbeck characterizes her as a 'psychic monster' with a 'malformed soul'"

Who is your favorite literary villain?

Bout of Books 23 Day 1 Update!!

Yippee, I completed Day 1 of Bout of Books 23 yesterday!! I read over 100 pages of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green yesterday and I hope to have this young adult novel finished later on today. I currently have 63 pages left to read of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green.

I also completed the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon Challenge, which was to describe yourself in six words... Something I found challenging to do as how do you define/describe yourself in six words???

I described myself as follows for the above challenge from Day 1: Love life, reading, knitting, and family!

Bout of Books 18 ~~ Day 5 Update + Read-A-Thon Challenge

Today, I continued reading more of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. I read 77 pages today.

Below are my recommendations for books! Happy reading!

If You Like This, Try This book recommendations:

If you like historical fiction set in ancient Rome, then try reading I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith. It's an awesome read!

If you like listening to historical fiction novels, then try listening to Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim and narrated by Bahni Turpin. I loved this novel and gave it a 5 star rating last year.

If you like sushi and are a foodie, then try reading The Story of Sushi by Trevor Corson.

If you like reading young adult trilogies, then I highly recommend reading the 'His Fair Assassin' Trilogy by Robin LaFevers. I loved reading Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart.

If you like nonfiction books about encounters with wildlife, specifically whales, then try reading Grayson by Lynne Cox.

If you like books with a dog as the main character, then try reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The Art of Racing in the Rain is told from the perspective of a dog named Enzo. It is a must read for all dog lovers.

If you like reading celebrity memoirs, then try reading Bryan Cranston's A Life In Parts. I was surprised at how much I liked his memoir.

Bout of Books 18 --- Update 2

I read for about two hours on the second day of Bout of Books 18. I was able to finish listening to the abridged audio version of The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly that I started on the first day of Bout of Books. Additionally, I was able to finish reading The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Mark Bittner, which I'd started last year and only had 15 pages left to read. Click on the links above to read my reviews!

I'm excited that I have finished reading two books so far and look forward to reading two more books before this read-a-thon is over with on Sunday!

I also participated in the read-a-thon challenge for day two titled 2017 In A Picture.

Bout of Books 18 Day 2 Read-A-Thon Challenge!!

Day 2 Read-A-Thon Challenge 2017 in a Picture
Share your goals/plans/etc. for 2017 with your fellow #boutofbooks-ers. These could be book goals, life goals, or goals for ANYTHING you're looking to tackle in 2017. Take a picture of the books you plan on reading this year! Share a vision board of what you're trying to accomplish! Use the hashtags #BoB2017Goals and #boutofbooks and let us cheer you on!

Book Related Goals for 2017:

I still haven't quite finished deciding all of my book related goals for 2017! However, I have formulated a few of my goals already as follows:

* I'd like to read 100 books during 2017. 
* I also plan to attend the Bay Area Book Festival once again this year in June. I've attended this awesome book festival in Berkeley, California the past two years and have enjoyed it immensely! It's a great place to hear authors give talks and sign books.
* Pair down how many books I purchase or receive for free from NetGalley, Amazon, & Goodreads and focus on reducing my massive 'to be read' pile.
* Keep making quality posts to my book blog on a regular basis.
* Participate in read-a-thons and other book memes that catch my interest throughout the year.

Personal Goals for 2017:

* Improve sleep quality is my number one goal to help improve my overall quality of life. I've been dealing with insomnia for more years than I care to recall.  Insomnia/lack of good quality sleep has been a huge disruption in my personal life and things need to change for the better asap. So, during 2017 I am making my number one personal goal to improve my sleep.
* Continue eating healthy, whole foods to nourish my body and maintain my current weight. I lost 40 pounds and have kept the weight off for almost 3.5 years now. I feel so much healthier now that I've lost weight and stopped eating crappy foods.
* Start walking again on a regular basis for exercise.... Versus sporadically walking whenever the urge to do so strikes my fancy. My excuse for not walking regularly is that I am too tired to walk due to lack of sleep or it's too hot/too cold/rainy outside to go for a walk... Or any other excuse I can come up with not to walk.
* Continue to improve my knitting skills!! Knitting is my other favorite hobby besides reading books. I would like to finally finish making my first cardigan sweater that I began last year and had to hope to complete by the end of 2016. Plus, try knitting other cool looking patterns as well.

I'm skipping on adding a photograph of all the books I plan to read this year. I only have four books planned to read during this week for the read-a-thon and to also finish reading six additional books I began reading last year or the year before. Otherwise, the remaining ninety books I plan to read during 2017 will be chosen at random from my 'to be read' pile.

BOUT OF BOOKS ~ BOOK TO MOVIE CHALLENGE!

I am participating in Bout of Books 17 and am excited about reading books during this event.

I've decided to participate in the following Bout of Books Read-A-Thon challenge hosted by Lori at Writing My Own Fairy Tale is hosting the BOOK TO MOVIE CHALLENGE!

The rules for this challenge are simple:

All I need you to do is share with us your favorite book-to-movie adaptation and your least favorite book-to-movie adaptation. You can give reasons for your answers or just names, it’s really up to you how much you share.

My favorite book to movie adaptation is Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. I thought the movie version of Red Dragon followed the novel fairly closely.

My least favorite book to movie adaptation is Hannibal by Thomas Harris. The movie version of Hannibal didn't do the novel justice. I also didn't like Julianne Moore's portrayal of Clarice Starling... I thought Jodie Foster did a much better job portraying Clarice Starling!

Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon Challenge ~~~ From Modern to Classic

Welcome to four of the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon! Today I look forward to participating in another fun read-a-thon challenge. Today's read-a-thon challenge is titled From Modern To Classic and is hosted by Ranty Runt of A Reader.

The rules for this challenge and how to enter are as follows:

THE CHALLENGE Share one book that you believe will be considered a classic in 100 years time. Simple? I do have a few caveats, the book must have been published in or after 2005 and you need to provide two reasons for why this book will be a classic. 

HOW TO ENTER You can enter this competition on any platform, including posts on your blog, on twitter, facebook, goodreads or in the comments of this blog post. Include a link to the entry in your comment. Also, make sure the post is public, so I can check out your awesome answers!

Below is my response for the From Modern to Classic read-a-thon challenge:

I've decided to be BOLD & DARING with my book selection for this read-a-thon challenge and nominate Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. 

Yes, I realize that Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee will not be published until July of this year, but my prediction is that it will become an instant classic that people will be reading a 100 years from now.

Why do I feel this way? 

The first reason is that To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is already a beloved American classic. I think people are going to want to continue reading this novel in the years to come. Readers will also want to read Harper Lee's second published novel to see what Scout is like as an adult. 

The second reason is that Harper Lee is an amazing writer, who has written about important political and societal topics that are still relevant today. For this reason I think that Go Set A Watchman will become a classic like To Kill A Mockingbird in 100 years.

What do your thoughts? Will Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee live up to the anticipated hype and become an instant classic or not?

Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon ~~~ Day 3 Update!!

Yesterday, was the third day of participation in the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon!! It was a great day of reading for me overall. I finished listening to and also reviewing Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann. At this point in the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon, I've listened to a total of two books so far!

I've also participated in two read-a-thon challenges at this point as well, the Bookish Survey hosted by Writing My Own Fairytale and the Book Haiku hosted by Kristina Horner.

Happy reading and I hope you're enjoying the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon too!

Bout of Books 13.0, Day 3 Read-A-Thon Challenge ~~~ Book Haiku!!

I'm excited about participating in the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon!! Today is day three of the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon and I've decided to participate in the read-a-thon challenge, which is to write a book haiku. The only rules for this challenge are to write a haiku about whatever book you’re reading currently and then share your haiku on the host's website.

I'm currently listening to an audiobook titled Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann. Below are my two Book Haikus for Hot Target:

Navy Seal, Cosmo

Is sent to guard producer,

Mercedes, from harm...

Will they fall in love?

Only time will tell if these

Two hotties connect

Thank you to Kristina Horner for hosting this particular read-a-thon challenge! 

Bookish Survey --- Bout of Books 13.0 Challenge #1

Yes, the first Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon has begun!!

I am really excited to be participating in this read-a-thon 

and also participating in the 1st Read-A-Thon Challenge!!

Thank you to Writing My Own Fairy Tale 

for hosting the Bookish Survey!!

Below is the Bookish Survey Rules and the Questions along

with my Answers to each of the Questions!!

Enjoy & Happy Reading!!

Bookish Survey

Today’s challenge is very easy and a great way to meet people and get to know your fellow readers! All you need to do for this challenge is answer the questions below on your blog, Twitter, YouTube, or wherever you happen to be updating your read-a-thon progress! Then come back and link up your answers (or answer, I know Twitter will be tricky with this so you can just link up one tweet here). It would be great if you visited other’s challenge answers and chatted with them, since part of this whole thing is creating a reading community, but it isn’t required.

The Questions: 

1. How do you organize your shelves?

Sadly, my books are not currently organized in any way, shape, or form at the moment. Most of my books are still in boxes from when we moved a year ago. The rest of them, with the exception of thirteen books, are stacked willy nilly around our spare bedroom. The remaining thirteen books are stacked on a side table waiting to be read by me.

2. What is one of your favorite books that’s not in one of your favorite genres?

I am not a huge horror genre fan. However, earlier this year I read a short story titled Peeler by Gord Rollo that was pretty creepy and horrific... It's a psychological thriller that made my stomach churn!! I am not sure that Peeler is my favorite horror read, but it definitely grabbed and kept my attention.

3. What is the last 5 star book you read?

I don't give out 5 star reviews very often!! Rain Gods by James Lee Burke comes the closest to a recent 5 star review.

Basically, I read a wide variety of books from most genres!

4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon?

I'm most excited about reading Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb during the read-a-thon.

5. What book do you recommend the most?

Oooo, that's a difficult question to answer as I recommend a lot of  books!! For fiction, I loved The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and have recommended it to others. For nonfiction, I really enjoyed reading Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin MD.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bout of Books 12 Challenge --- Top 10 Recommendations

Thank you Trees of Reverie for hosting a challenge for Day 2 of the Bout of Books 12.0 Read-A-Thon!! Today's challenge is titled Top Ten Recommends.

The Challenge: You’ve just started to work at a bookstore (or library) - what are your top ten go-to book recommendations? 

Prompts:

You may select any TEN BOOKS of your choice. These books can be from a specific genre, or you may like to choose a few books from various genres.

Make a list of the TEN BOOKS that you’ve selected. Make sure to include the title and author of each book.

The following ten books are my picks for young adults or middle school readers!

Firegirl by Tony Abbott 
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Witness by Karen Hesse
White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Incantation by Alice Hoffman

Which books would you recommend?

Bout of Books 12.0: New Year’s Resolution Challenge

Chaiann at The Book That... is hosting a mini challenge today on the first day of the Bout of Books 12.0 Read-A-Thon!!

This challenge is all about New Year's Resolutions. I want to make sure to keep my bookish related resolutions in 2015, so I'm up to completing this mini challenge!! The rules for this challenge are as follows:

New Year’s Resolutions:

Whether you have made reading resolutions or want to use general life resolutions you have made over the New Year holiday, pick books with titles that relate to each of your resolutions. You can post as many or as few as you would like.

Below are the book titles I selected for the New Year's Resolutions challenge:

Instant Temptation by Jill Shalvis: 

I have a massive 'to be read' pile... I'm sure this is an issue for many avid readers. My goal is to keep my 'to be read' pile from growing any larger than it already currently is by NOT buying any more books for myself during 2015. Instead, I want to focus on reading the books I already have on my bookshelves. I just need to be strong and not succumb to the temptation to buy more books this year!!

Room by Emma Donoghue: 

This novel represents my desire to incorporate reading more new to me authors in 2015. I have plenty of books on my shelves by authors that I have yet to read. So, now I need to make room to read more new to me authors in 2015.

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle: 

1. This novel's title is a reminder to make/carve out time to reach my goal of reading and/or listening to 100 books in 2015. 

2. This title also reminds me to make time to participate in the read-a-thons and reading challenges I've signed up for during the year and find more along the way to participate in in the months to come.

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner: 

This book's title represents several of my bookish related resolutions in 2015! 

1. Visit as many new to me indie bookstores around the San Francisco Bay and San Francisco's East Bay area as I can and blog about my experience visiting these indie bookstores. I enjoy promoting indie bookstores.

2. Visit the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California.

3. Visit the San Francisco Center For the Book

4. Attend as many local author signings and other literary events in the San Francisco Bay Area as I time and interest permits. I love attending author signings and literary events.

So as a recap, four book titles from my bookshelves represent eight of my bookish related resolutions for 2015. This is pretty awesome if you ask me.

If you participated in this challenge, leave me a link to your blog post. I'd like to read which books represented your 2015 New Year's Resolutions.

Bout of Books Day 7 ~~ 5 Book Challenge!!

Today is the last day of Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 11.0!! I've been having a blast with this read-a-thon. I've even finished my reading goals a day early and enjoyed participating in some of the challenges.

Today I'm excited about participating in the last challenge of Bout of Books 11.0 titled the 5 Book Challenge and is being hosted by Falling Down the Book Hole.

Here is the scenario and the rules for the 5 Book Challenge:

It is 11:00 PM on a Sunday night. You are laying in bed thinking about all of the things you must do the next day. Tasks of the coming days consume your thoughts and while your mind is somewhere else you are caught off guard by a flash in the sky that is followed by a large wailing screech that pierces the air and shatters your bedroom window. Slowly you move to the window and what you see catches your breathe and causes you to stumble back a few steps. The aliens (at least you think they are aliens) have began to enter the city and destroy everything that is in their path. Through the window your view is consumed with destruction, screaming people and large flames that are dancing across the city at a fast pace. You notice that the creatures are heading in your direction and you realize you probably have about fifteen minutes before they reach your home. That means you have only about ten minutes to gather your belongings and escape before you are caught in the attack from the aliens invading the city.


Given the short amount of time you are only able to take 5 books with you. What books would you pick to take with you as you escape and prepare for the end of the world. Would you choose books that would help you survive in the post-apocalyptic world, books for pleasure that would make you happy and take you to a fantasy reality or books that you can’t live without?

First off, I can't imagine only bringing 5 books with me!! There are so many different book titles I want to read... How do I select which ones to bring with me?? Well, here goes nothing! These are my book choices:

1. Gilt by Association by Tamar Myers --- I've been wanting to finish reading the Den of Antiquity series for sometime now and this is one of the three titles left for me to read in the series!

2. Baroque and Desperate by Tamar Myers --- I've been wanting to finish reading the Den of Antiquity series for sometime now and this is one of the three titles left for me to read in the series!

3. Death of a Rug Lord by Tamar Myers --- I've been wanting to finish reading the Den of Antiquity series for sometime now and this is one of the three titles left for me to read in the series!

4. The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov --- I read this novel years ago and loved it!! I've always wanted to reread it, so now is the time.

5. Pack of Two: The intricate bond between people and dogs by Caroline Knapp --- I love dogs!! The bond between dogs and humans is amazing so this book needs attention.

So, which five books would you bring along with you and why??

Bout of Books Day 4 ~~ Like This, Try This Challenge

Welcome to day 4 of the Bout of Books 11.0 Read-A-Thon!! Today I decided to take part in the Like This, Try This Challenge hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale.

The rules are for this challenge are as follows:

• You must recommend a book based on another book, movie, tv show, etc similar to this: “If you liked _____, you should try _____ because _____.”
• Any genre and reading level is fine and you may use any set-up you like, so long as you’re recommending a book based on something else and explaining why.
• Post your recommendation wherever you are posting your read-a-thon updates.
• The challenge and giveaway will be open for 24 hours from midnight CST to midnight CST Thursday, August 21.

Here's My 'Like This, Try This' Recommendation

If you liked reading Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez...

... Then you should try reading Spilt Milk by Chico Buarque because both books are written by amazingly talented South American authors!! Both books are also slim volumes, with each one being under 200 pages in length. And lastly, both books are told through the eyes of elderly male narrators at the end of their lives reflecting on some aspect of their lives.

As a suggestion, I recommend listening to the unabridged audio version of Spilt Milk, as Buck Schirner does a phenomenal job of narrating Spilt Milk.

I had a lot of fun with this creative challenge!

Bout of Books Day 3 ~~ Create A Sentence Challenge!!

Yippee, it's day three of the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon!! I'm having fun accomplishing my reading goals and participating in some of the daily challenges too. 

I've already finished Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote and am hoping to reach the halfway mark for The Son by Philipp Meyer later today.

Today's challenge is the Create A Sentence Challenge hosted by Book Reviews From A Christian Gal.

Here are the basic rules for the Create A Sentence Challenge from the host's website:

The challenge is my twist on the book spine sentence challenge. For this challenge, I want you to pick some awesome books out and make a sentence with the first two words from each of your books. I have tried this myself and it can be a little tricky because the lack of verbs in the first two words of the book. Therefore, you can add another word that is not from the first two words of the books if you wish. The more ridiculous, the better.

Here's my sentence:

It wasn't Aleksi Kullio, it was, I'd thought my name 'I am'.

For this sentence, I used the following six books:

Firegirl by Tony Abbott
The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr
Dr. Nightingale Rides the Elephant by Lydia Adamson
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist by Asumiko
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
The Tapping Cure by Roberta Temes

I had a lot fun with this creative challenge!!

Bout of Books 11.0, Day 2 ~~ One True Pairing Challenge!!

I not only enjoy participating in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon, but I also enjoy being creative by participating in some of the daily challenges!!

Today I chose to participate in the One True Pairing Challenge, which is being hosted by Infinite Ink.

Here's the rules for the One True Pairing Challenge:

~ Pick your favorite literary couple you love the most.

~ Share why you love this literary couple so much.

~ Share your thoughts in a comment on Infinite Ink's blog, a blog post, a tweet, on Facebook, etc, and then put the link into the Rafflecopter giveaway linky on Infinite Ink's post.

Easy right?? Not so easy as I'm trying to decide who my favorite literary 'one true pairing' couple is going to be!! There are several literary couples vying for the top spot, so who is it going to be?

Alas, I'm choosing Claire Randall Fraser & Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Even though I haven't read the entire Outlander series yet, I happen like and respect both of these characters immensely. Claire and Jamie are both well suited for each other. Both of them are smart, caring, passionate people who love each other and their family members deeply. That basically sums up how I feel about this literary powerhouse couple.

Who would you pick to be your favorite literary couple?

Bout of Books 11.0 ~~ Playlist Challenge!!!

I not only enjoy participating in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon, but I also enjoy being creative by participating in some of the daily challenges!!

Today I chose to participate in the Playlist Challenge!! Check out the details as follows.

The Playlist Challenge is hosted by LuLo FanGirl.

The Challenge:

• Make a playlist
• Make a playlist centered around at least ONE of the books you plan on reading during the read-a-thon
• One playlist per book (meaning: you cannot dedicate one playlist to two different books)
• Because this is a very simple challenge, you need to have at LEAST 5 songs on your playlist. Be as specific or as vague in your selections as you wish, but have FUN with it!

I'm currently listening to the unabridged audio version of Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote from Audible. So, I am choosing to make playlist for this read!

Here's my playlist for Breakfast At Tiffany's:

1. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something
2. Moon River by Andy Williams
3. I’m Like A Bird by Nelly Furtado
4. Just a Girl by No Doubt
5. Girls Just Want Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

What a fun and creative challenge!!