July Wrap Up and August TBR

So, July's over? Fine by me!!! Once again, I realize I'm not a fan of the heat, the doing nothing, the bathing suits and pools. I love back to school, colored leaves and hot sweet tea!

And although August may be everything but fall, my favorite time of year is still coming closer any day.

Even more reason to kick off this month with a serious commitment to reading, so that when September and October come around, I'll be back in the routine :)

Books I finished in July:

 

The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts (DAC, PRC)

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick (TBR, PRC)

Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick (TBR, PRC, Sequel C)

Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend by Loise Rozett (Sequel C)

Ink by Amanda Sun (DAC, PRC)

Hourglass by Myra McEntire (PRC, TBR)

Ten Things by Sarah Mlynowski (TBR)

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (Sequel C)

 

In addition to that I read one book for school which I do count, but not list on here, because it'd probably bore you guys to death :D

 

All in all, that's 9 books. A solid number, but I know I could have done better....

 

 

Books I plan to read in August:

 

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

34 Pieces of Me by Carmen Rodriguez

Heist Society (1,2,3) by Ally Carter

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Mediator 2,3,4 by Meg Cabot

 

That is...quite a lot. 12 books in total. I know that I can read 12 books a month - I'm not sure if I will :) With two Read-a-Thons on the way it shouldn't be too hard, though...I hope...

 

 

Which books have you read this month? And what are your goals for August?

By the way, do you already mourn the end of summer or can you - like me - not wait for the fall?

#BTHReadathon - Ready, Set, Go(als)!!!

 

Hey, fellow Read-a-thoners!

This is actually the first two-week Read-a-Thon I have ever encountered, so my goal list should be appropriately long, right?

OK, let's go for it!!!

 

 

These are the books I definitely want to finish this summer - preferably during BTH.

 

I already started Leigh Bardugo's Siege and Storm and Richelle Mead's Blood Promise.

 

The other novels are

 

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

34 Pieces of Me by Carmen Rodriguez

Luxe by Anna Godbersen

 

That's 7 novels, so I hope I can finish each of them in two days. Timewise, that'd be a goal of at least 2 1/2 hours of reading each day :)

 

MONDAY:

 

I did read approxamitely 90 minutes today (Siege and Storm), which was not my goal, but it's still okay considering I  had work today. I'm going to be working on Tuesday, too, but after that, I hope that I can really get into these books and catch up with my reading :)

 

Books Read:

Total:0

Today: I find myself halfway through Siege and Storm!

 

How are you guys doing???

 

 

A Peak Into My Pocket #2

 

Weekly Cuddlebuggery Hilariousness

 

Bookish and Bloggish Stuff

 

Four of the Best Blogging Tips Ever

 

Maybe This is Going to Get Me Over My Phobia

 

A Really Cool Project Involving Disney  Movies

 

Everything that made my Days this Week

 

It's The Little Adventures...

 

Show of Your Hands! They could be telling your story...

 

 

I Practically Freaked When I Saw This Trailer

 

Let's Beat the Heat - I'm reading a Marathon again :D

 

Hello, people of the internet!

 

Once again, I stumbled upon an amazing Read-a-Thon opportunity and could not say no. And why should any of us? It's summer, after all! Lots of free time, too much heat and too much sun to do anything but being lazy all day....sounds like the perfect time to seriously pick up some books again.

I'm super excited for this Read-a-Thon and I really hope, you are going to sign up, too!

 

 

Greetings,

 

the Booksmartie

 

Have you signed up for Beat the Heat, too? Or are you planning on doing it? Let me know in the comments!

2013 Bucket List Update

A few weeks back I saw a post over at I Solemnly Swear about the goals almost all of us made at the beginning of the year - and where they are now. I have to say, I didn't even remember most of them and now I seriously have to catch up! (Then again, that I did know before!)

1) Read 120 books.

I've mentioned more than enough that I'm failing terribly. I'm currently 8/9 books behind and I'm sure that if I don't get back on track this summer, I won't make my goal for the year, because the fall and winter time is going to be really stressful!

2) Read at least 12 books featuring paranormal creatures.

The Rules by Stacey Kade

Blue Moon/Shadowland by Alyson Noel

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Enticed by Jessica Shirvington

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Vortex/Tempest by Julie Cross
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Clockwork Angel/Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Ink by Amanda Sun

That's eleven and I didn't even count several books in series! That means that I only have to read 1more paranormal book in 2013...at least one goal is working out here :)

3) Finish open series.

Mehhh...this one didn't go all that well. I made some proress on the series I started, but...you know..

Mached Trilogy by Ally Condie (finished!)

Tempest Trilogy by Julie Cross (on track)

Under the Never Sky by Veronika Rossi (on track)

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (on track)

The Selection Trilogy by Kiera Cass (on track)

The Ashes Trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick (on track)

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard ( 4/5 behind)
Belles by Jen Calonita (2 behind)
Violet Eden Chapters by Jessica Shirvington (1 behind)
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (3 behind)
Pandemonium Trilogy (1 behind)
Shiver Trilogy (2 behind)
 

4) Don't buy books only because of the hype.Defiance *cough*

I really didn't go overboard with this one. I barely bought any books - and only a few hyped up new releases. Instead, I'm being a good girl, reading what's on my shelf and only choosing stories I'm genuinely interested in.

5) Stay away from dystopias if they don't sound really, really, really amazing and different. Oh, and if their title is not Fragments or Requiem.

This is pretty much the same as no.4. I have to say, though, that I still haven't read either Requiem or Fragments :) And the dystopians I did pick were really, really good!

6) Actually read Pandemonium. Because, you know, there is no such thing as the right time to read a book.

Yup, have actually read that one a while ago.

7) Read at least twelve debut novels.

I am FAILING! Big time. Plan on making it up with audiobooks, though. Isn't going too well, either.

8) Include some classics. Just..do it.

Nope. Hasn't happened. I'm determined to read The Great Gatsby, though.

9) Come back to Fantasy reads and Historical Fiction, because those have always been my favorite genres.

This one was difficult. I did look out for these genres, but it's pretty hard finding good historical fiction or fantasy...suggestions?

10) Dogear books. Because I hate that all my books look like they come straight from the store and have never been touched after that :)

As if, my dear readers. As if. Stopped after book two, because it looks TERRIBLE. And it hurts my bookish heart.

We Have to Save Ourselves

This post is different from pretty much every other one I've ever written for this blog - and that's because I don't usually have a thought and write. Usually, I think about something for weeks and weeks and then decide to share :) This time, though, I watched the Youtube video below and thought BAM, yes, she's right.

And this has got to be shared.

Up until now, I didn't even give this a thought. I mean, maybe I have. In the back of my mind where thoughts lure and voices talk that I simply do not want to listen to.

The good thing about the Internet is that we all get to have an outlet. A place where we can share and exchange thoughts and find and befriend people who care about the same things and go through similar phases in their lives.

I could go on and on about what good the Internet does for those who have trouble finding people they get along with. Blogs and Youtube channels build the icing of the cake, those are the big platforms where we talk and write about all the things that matter most to us. Meanwhile, Tumblr and Pinterest have strength in Pictures seeing as most of the things you see on those sites are images that express whatever the person posting feels passionate about.

And lastly, we have Twitter and (somehow) Facebook where real connections and conversations seem to come alive, where thousands of people unite, usually via hashtags.

I'm going to be honest with you: throughout the past year, the Internet has been my lifesaver. And, as this is the internet and a serious topic, I will correct myself and say that it has been a lifesaver in the metaphorical sense - not the literal one.

What I mean is that, instead of going to school, doing my homework and then getting lost behind the pages of a book, I got to put myself out there, talk about books with other people and have a feeling of company that I had been craving for a while.

Anyway, when it comes to the Internet, I think we all have to remember very clearly that it is - after all - a virtual world we live in. Not only virtual, but not real, either.

Before you start telling me in which ways the Internet is fueled by the thoughts and words, pictures and videos of real, living people - and therefore must be real as well as alive - let me get something out.

This virtual world we wander around is in many ways not that different from the fictional worlds most of us tend to spend our free time in.

Of course, we get to talk to people who really exist. But just like Harry Potter, many of them we will never meet. Just like we will never deal with Draco Malfoy at our real school, we will never experience a real fight through digital drama. Just because we had a lively discussion on Twitter about the ending of a book doesn't mean we could say the same arguments with the same amount of confidence in class.

I definitely love blogging. I love our little (hah, what? little!) virtual world here, I wouldn't want to miss any one of the seconds I spend in it.

I do think that it's important that we never try to replace something in our real worlds with the Internet more than just temporarily.

Having a blog is great, amazing! I always have something to say! I always have someone to say it to!

However, recently I just realized that we have to give our best in our real lives anyway. We have to take risks, we have to overcome fears, we have to make ourselves go out that door and talk to people and try to live the best lives we can.

Every day.

Sorry, But You're Just Not On The List! - Top Ten Tuesday

 

1) Vampires

Only exception: Clearly, we're not talking Vampire Academy here 'cause those books are amazing! But all other Vamps. Sorry, guys, but I really hate you!

2) Werewolves

I do not understand how someone could fall in love with a wolf. And it doesn't matter if said wolf is part human. It/He/She still has fur!!!

Only exception: Wolves of Mercy Falls. Still don't get the fur thing, but Stiefvater's writing is beautiful!

3) Paranormal Romance

You know that thing where two people can never be together because....

No exeption.

4) Adult

Only exception: All the Adult books I ever had to read. Because, admittedly, they were all amazing.

5) Animals

Only exception: Again, none. I'm not a big animal lover and the talking kind...no. Just no.

6) Mythology

Only exception: Everneath was really good, but most of them are too close to paranormal Romance for my taste.

7) Funny, Quirky Highschool Drama

Sad thing, I used to love this stuff. However, I find it gets old.

8) Quests

I hate books that don't have a certain setting. Quests and Journeys make the plot endless and dragging and boring most of the time.

Best example: Going Bovine by Libba Bray (clearly not my thing)

9) Religion and Spirituality

Count me OUT. Seriously, there's no exception. No matter which kind of religion/spirituality.

 

10) Anachronistic books

To everyone who was a Young Adult in the 90s, DO NOT hate me. It's in my blood (generation?). I can't read books that were contemporary novels but are older than say...2005. Why? Be aware, my reasoning is shallow. No Ipods, no Facebook, no Gossip Girl. A million Pop Culture references, yes, but none of them ones I understand!!!