Bout of Books Wrap Up

Last Monday I indicated I was going to participate in Bout of Books read-a-thon. I was a first time participant and it was fun!

My goals were:
Pages Read: 1500 (at least)
Read: 4 books
Participate: 2 Twitter chats
Participate: 4 challenges
Visit: 8 blogs that are participating in the challenge

Read:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn<
The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Vows to Kill by Mark Capell
Dark Persuasion by Vicki Hopkins

My actual stats were:
Pages read: 1443
Read: 4 books (the actual 4 I had planned)
Twitter chat: 1
Challenges completed: 7
Blogs visited: 32

In terms of my blog visits I was short 24. I need a better way of keeping track of the blogs I visit because I found myself a few times at the same place. I think working off the master list would be better and work my way down the list and noting where I stopped, that way I can easily pick up the next day.

As for the next Bout of Books round, I’m up for the challenge and hopefully be a little more organized in terms of how to tackle readings. One thing for sure is: read what you want. Overall I’m quite happy with my goals. I missed one Twitter chat because I had to run errands early that Saturday and by the time I checked the time, I missed out.

I met some great new bloggers and of course participated in some awesome challenges. Thanks to Amanda and Kelly for organizing this round and all the challenge hosts-you did a wonderful job coming up with creative challenges!

To see a complete list of my progress as well as which challenges I participated in see here.

Bookish Dress Up & My Book Crack

Our first mini challenge is hosted by Nyx Book Reviews: Bookish Dress Up. The challenge is: I would love to know which character you would dress differently, and how!

If I had to pick any character to dress up, I’d say Susan from Chelsea Cain’s Archie Sheridan / Gretchen Lowell series. Susan is often described as wearing nothing but jeans, t-shirts (such has her beloved The Pixies shirt), and combat boots. Susan in part dresses the way she does because she has a hippie mother. I’d like to see her wear more dresses and take pride in her looks, but not as a way to impress Archie. Susan also sports a different hair color in a each book, but I think if it were up to me, I’d have Susan sport her natural hair color for shock value.

The first three dresses are from Anthropologie and I think they can work for Susan and it provides a bit of a bohemian style for her and yet lets her look feminine. The last dress is ModCloth and I picture it as the dress Susan wears on a night out with Leo or maybe in the future one day with Archie (oh how I ship those two).

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Our second mini challenge is hosted by Bookgoonie: Name Your Book Crack. The challenge is: What is your Book Crack? What can you NOT SAY NO to? What bookish things make you blissful

Autographed Books
I can’t say no to signed books! I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about an author taking the time to sign a book. It doesn’t have to made out to me (although it make makes me all warm and fuzzy when it is), but a basic signature is fine. I wasn’t like this, but over the past few years it has become impossible for me to say no to a signed book. I admit I never was one to collect signed books from authors I read because I had no idea how to get them other than book signings, but living where I do it’s rare popular or well known authors stop by. A majority of my signed books were academic books by visiting scholars and I adore those, but I do love the books signed that friends have been able to get me.

Bookmarks
I also can’t say no to bookmarks, which is funny because I NEVER use them. Um yeah I’m known to dog ear my pages, but not all the time! The primary reason why I don’t use them is because I’ve made the switch to an e-reader (first Sony which still works just fine and still use and now for Christmas I received a Kindle Fire HD) and if I’m reading an e-book then the theory is I don’t need a bookmark. I do hate to see beautiful bookmarks go to waste so I do use them and the really pretty ones are kept hidden so they won’t get damaged.

Bargain Books
Last but not least, I can’t say no to bargain history books. As a Medievalist in training (meaning I’m still in grad school with a master’s, but no PhD yet), if I come across any bargain book on the Middle Ages or Ancient History I buy it. I’m also a fan of Regency / Victorian culture and I’ve been known to purchase guides to costume or period dress. My thinking always is, “as a professor one day, I could use a page or two for reference.” What I do like about bargain history books are the collection of essays and the illustrations. I bought a medieval warfare book a few years ago and recently discovered it was edited my former master’s thesis advisor!

Book Spine Poetry

This looked like too much fun to resist, so here’s my attempt at book spine poetry!

(I’m by no means a poet, so consider yourselves WARNED)

So much to be done
by a lady,
the captivating
woman in white.
Common sense
kidnapped
her (a) common life;
love and friendship
in this mountain
are now gone with the wind. ♦

 

Book Spine Poem

Escape Through the Pages is hosting this mini challenge for Bout of Books and here is my entry! It makes no sense, but this was fun.

Shadow of Night
A Keeper of Words
Effortless, Thoughtless
A Point of No Retreat
The Siren Calls
Sweetheart
Kill You Twice
It’s The Last Duel
A Death in the Small Hours

Bout of Books 2013 Read-a-thon

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 6.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books 6.0 team

Read-a-thon Goals:
Pages Read: 1500 (at least)
Read: 4 books
Participate: 2 Twitter chats
Participate: 4 challenges
Visit: 8 blogs that are participating in the challenge

^To Be Read Books:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Vows to Kill by Mark Capell
Dark Persuasion by Vicki Hopkins

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My Challenge Updates:
Monday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 plus 1 short (Dark Persuasion by *Vicki Hopkins & The Gift by Tiffany Reisz)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 359
Total number of books / pages I’ve read: 1 / 359

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Tuesday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 (started Girl Gone by Gillian Flynn)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 215 pages
Total number of books / pages I’ve read so far: 1.5 / 574

Challenges completed: 1 (guessed ALL of the covers on Never Too Fond of Books: Guess the Cover challenge and it was fun, but a few let me scratching my head. I’m happy to note I got the info correct).

Visited: 8 blogs as I planned.

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Wednesday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 (finished Girl Gone by *Gillian Flynn)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 217
Total number of books / pages I’ve read so far: 2 / 791

Challenges completed: 2 (page 48 challenge over at Booking In Heels):
* Turn to page 48 of your current book, or 48% if you’re using an e-reader.
* Take the first complete sentence on that page and copy it.
* Now you’re going to continue the story! Ignoring the real plot or anything else you know about that book, add four new sentences of your very own. You can morph the plot completely, kill everybody off or go off on a huge tanged – anything goes!

I’m reading Girl Gone by Gillian Flynn and here is my attempt:
It was a fifteen-minute drive, straight north along River Road. He wondered if it was possible to find out anything about his missing wife or maybe there was nothing to know. He continued to tap his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for the light to turn green. What if he went back straight home and said to hell with it all? Deep inside what worried him the most was, what if he never found Amy? What if Amy was gone forever and his own selfishness let it happen?

Visited: 8 blogs as I planned.
Twitter: participated in 1 chat as planned

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Thursday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 (started Vows to Kill by Mark Capell)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 58
Total number of books / pages I’ve read so far: 2 / 849

Challenges completed: 3 My book spine poem as hosted by Escape Through the Pages

Visited: 8 blogs as I planned.

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Friday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 (finished Vows to Kill by *Mark Capell)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 234
Total number of books / pages I’ve read so far: 2 / 1141

Challenges completed: 4 Rewrite the synopsis (hosted by A Dreamer’s Thoughts): Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to take any of the books that you have read for this read-a-thon (or plan to read over the last three days), and re-write the synopsis just from the books cover. The aim is to make it sounding completely different from the original synopsis!

Charlotte Gray and Patrick Rochester have a problem…they can’t stop looking at one another. Even though they aren’t married, they are happy to risk it all just so they can stare into other’s eyes; after all, the eyes are the window to the soul. Patrick’s friends think this is creepy, while Charlotte’s think it okay because let’s face it, Patrick is a Greek god. Secretly Charlotte wishes he would look away because she’s getting a crick in her neck from staring at him and wonders if it would be rude to offer him a mint (yup his breath reeks). On the other hand, Patrick is thinking of a way to tell Charlotte to eat the cakes offered at tea because she’s just a little too thin and men like curves. Who will look away first? Find out in this intriguing tale about two lovers who are destined to be together. (Original synopsis here)

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Saturday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 (started The Midwife by Jennifer Worth)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 150
Total number of books / pages I’ve read so far: 3.5 / 1291

Challenges completed: 6 Bookish Dress up & My Book Crack

Visited: 8 blogs as I planned.

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Sunday
Number of books I’ve read today: 1 (finished The Midwife by Jennifer Worth)
Number of pages I’ve read today: 152
Total number of books / pages I’ve read so far: 4 / 1443

Challenges completed: 7 Character New Years Resolutions (hosted by Ex Libris): Pick a book and choose one or several characters from it and make up what would be their New Year’s resolutions if they made any. No need to be realistic, the wilder the better! 😀

I picked characters from Chelsea Cain’s Archie / Gretchen series:
1. Archie: Put the past behind and realize that I’m not going to solve every crime no matter what. Also stop thinking of Gretchen so much.
2. Gretchen: Limit the amount of people I actually kill. Maybe take a break from it all since killing can be messy.
3. Susan: Stop dying my hair. No wait…stop liking unavailable men and that means Archie. No more Archie.
4. Henry: Stop worrying so much about Archie. He’s a grown man and can take care of himself. Also arrange for something to happen to Gretchen, bitch needs to fry for her crimes.
5. Bliss: Participate in more protests because the government is trying to limit our rights.

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Key:
* Review coming
^ Subject to Change

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I came across another fun reading challenge. I’m a big fan of historicals in general so this is right up my alley.

Here are the basics if you want to join in the fun (for full details and to link up, click on link above or below):
• everyone can participate, even those who don’t have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)
• add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)
• any kind of historical fiction is accepted (HF fantasy, HF young adult,…)

There are various levels to determine the number of books you’ve read. I’m going to for the Ancient History title:
20th century reader – 2 books
Victorian reader – 5 books
Renaissance Reader – 10 books
Medieval – 15 books
Ancient History -25+ books

If you have any questions about the way the challenge works, please visit: Historical Tapestry or click on the challenge banner above.

My Book List:
01. January: The Earl Claims His Wife by Cathy Maxwell (reviewed here)
02. January: Dark Persuasion by Vicki Hopkins (reviewed here)
03. January: The Reluctant Countess by Wendy Vella (reviewed here)
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Mystery / Crime Reading Challenge

I stumbled across this reading challenge and it looks fun and interesting. I’m already a fan of the mystery genre so this is prefect!

Here are the basics if you want to join in the fun (for full details and to join click the link above or below):
1. The challenge starts January 1, 2013 and ends December 31, 2013.
2. You can read any novel, short story or author just so that the genre is mystery/crime.
3. 1 novel counts as 1 novel( a novel is anything over 100 pages) of course but you will have to read 5 short stories to count as 1 novel.
4. There will be a monthly post for you to add a link or links to your post showing the progress that you have made so far. AND monthly drawings for those who link up.

She has various levels to determine the number of books you’ve read. I’m going to for the Sherlock Holmes title:
5 books= Detective
10 books = Sergeant
15 books = Lieutenant
20 books = Captain
25 books = Chief
30+ books = Sherlock Holmes

If you have any questions about the way the challenge works, please visit: The Crafty Book Nerd or click on the challenge banner above.

My Book List:
01. January: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (reviewed here)
02. January: Vows to Kill by Mark Capell (reviewed here)
03. January: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield (reviewed here)
04. February: Death on Dartmoor by Dara England (reviewed here)
05. February: Malicious Masquerade by Alan Cupp (reviewed here)
06. February: Front Page Fatality by LynDee Walker (reviewed here)
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