Thursday, March 31, 2016

Bookish Goals Status Update: March 2016


In an effort to help keep myself on track, I am going to post monthly status updates showing where I stand for each of my 2016 Goals.

  • Read and review at least 45 books 
    1. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
    2. First Family by David Baldacci
    3. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
    4. Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (39 Clues Book 1)
    5. I Survived Hurricane Katrina (I Survived #3)
    6. I Survived the Joplin Tornado (I Survived #12)
    7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer 
    8. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
  • I am once again participating in the New To You Challenge hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.  I'm going to aim for the "Dipping the Toes" level with 12 - 24 books that qualify. Any book over 80ish pages qualify as long as it is new to you.  New author, new genre, new series, etc.
    1. Confessions of a Shopaholic  - New series
    2. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - New author and New Series
    3. Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan - New series
    4. I Survived Hurricane Katrina - New author and New Series
  • Read at least 10 New Adult books (My definition of NA = protagonists are post high school, but under 30)
    1. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
    • Last year I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was the book that had been on my Goodreads TBR list the longest.  This year, I have 49 books that were all added on September 7, 2010 that would qualify.  I plan on reading at least 3 of them.
      1. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
    • Finish reading at least 5 series I have already started.  (I have several trilogies with final books I still need to read.

    • Attend a book convention
      • I'm registered for BEA in Chicago this May!!
    • I joined the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. My goal is to reach Mount Blanc level - Read 24 books in 2016 that I owned before January 1, 2016.  Ebooks that you own count, but you must own the book....No library books.
      1. First Family by David Baldacci
      2. Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (39 Clues #1)
      3. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
      • Achieve a Professional level in the 2016 Prequel and Sequel challenge with 76 - 100 points.  I finished last year with 82 points, so hopefully this year will be similar.  The sign up and description can be found at Novel Heartbeat. (Link Up Quarterly)
        1. First Family - King & Maxwell #4 - 2 points for a sequel 
        2. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - Lunar Chronicles #2 - 2 points for a sequel
        3. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Millennium series #2 - 2 points sequel
                                                          Total Points = 6
      • Complete 2 half marathons during 2016
        1. I am registered for the Glass City Half Marathon in Toledo, OH at the end of April
      • I joined the New Release Challenge hosted by Unconventional Book Views and Books, Movies, Reviews Oh My! My goal is to reach New Release Pro status with 16 new releases read/reviewed during 2016.  The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages.

      Monday, March 28, 2016

      Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

      Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)

      Scarlet is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series.  All four books have already been released, so I am trying to work my way through the series.  As a little added incentive, the Book Nerds were invited to a reception at BEA this May that Marissa Meyer is scheduled to attend!!  

      Cinder, the first book in the series, was based upon the Cinderella story and was told from Cinder's point of view.  This book picks up where the previous book left off, but we are now introduced to Scarlet Benoit.  Her grandmother was kidnapped and she is determined to find her.  She meets a stranger named "Wolf", who knows who may have taken her and why.  As you may have already guessed, this story is based upon Little Red Riding Hood.  There are a number of clever references throughout the book that tie this story back to the original.    

      While Cinder and Scarlet do not know each other prior to the start of this book, their pasts are linked.  They must work together if they are going to be able to save Emperor Kai, New Beijing, and the world as they know if from the Lunar Queen.  The story is told from alternating points of view, so we are able to keep tabs on Emperor Kai, Cinder, and Scarlet.

      I haven't looked ahead yet to see what fairy tale we will be reliving next, so it is going to be a complete surprise when I start reading Cress.  All of our favorite characters were left hanging in the balance at the end of Scarlet, so I don't think I will wait too long before continuing this series.  

      If you have already read Cress and Winter, I would love to hear your thought on the final two books.  Which book was your favorite in this series?

      Wednesday, March 2, 2016

      Review: I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005

      Hurricane Katrina, 2005 (I Survived, #3)

      My 5th grade son's teacher wanted him to delve into some fiction since he has been reading non-fiction the better part of the school year.  He read the first book in the 39 Clues series, which he really enjoyed.  He then decided to give historical fiction a try and selected this I Survived book.

      This was a quick read for him, but it gave him the opportunity to mix the non-fiction aspects he enjoys with some fictional characters and elements.  Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans when my son was only 6 months old, so this was a history lesson for him.  Seeing the events through the eyes of a boy the same age as him allowed him to relate to the story.

      What I enjoyed about this book is that it allows the child to feel the emotional aspects of the event.  He not only learned about Hurricane Katrina, but he could experience the fear and danger a child would have endured in order to survive this catastrophic event.

      This series is a great choice for elementary school children who enjoy Magic Tree House and the Who Is / Who Was books.