new challenges, new books

Happy New Year readers.

With the new year comes new reading challenges and new (to me) books. Bookworm Bitches on Goodreads has become my favorite group on the site. The mods really know how to make a challenge interesting.

I have books lined up for the Winter challenge and the 1st quarter challenge.

I wasn’t ready to read the 12th book in my to be read (TBR) list but now I have to . 🙂 My 12th book is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Other tasks are Read a book with a cold or winter setting.. I chose Beartown. Its set around hockey. Beartown is on both lists. The other challenge is listed under is for a Bookworm Bitches catch up selection . Its also On my Genre challenge list..lol

 

Read an atmospheric book… I had to look books up for this because these aren’t my type of books. The first book I though was The Martian, but I saw the movie , then my mind went blank . I couldn’t think of any others. A few people listed The Winter People as atmospheric. And I recently borrowed it from the library before the challenge was posted. hmm fate? I think so.

To name a few more, a book that was made into a tv show or a movie.. I chose A Simple Favor. the movie came out last year. A book with 500 plus pages, I chose The Time Travelers Wife. A book with less than 250 pages, I chose The Bell Jar.

I completed one task already for the 1st Quarter challenge… read a book that was published in 2018 or the most recent published book on your TBR list.. I chose IF by Randi Cooley Wilson. I loved it so much after reading it , I bought the ebook.

Another task from the 1st quarter challenge is read a book set nearby where you live. I live in Rhode Island so I chose Cracked Up To Be , which is set in Connecticut. This book is from the same author that wrote Sadie. So I am sure it will be good and that I will like it very much.

All my challenges can be found under Reading Challenges on the top of my blog. Just choose a challenge from the drop down menu.

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My Top 5 Books of 2018

My top favorite books I’ve read in 2018 and my top 3 dislikes.

Likes and Why

1. Ghosted by Rosie Walsh . Without giving anything away because WOW. I lost it . I didn’t want to read it when I first heard about it but I gave it a chance and here we are. Its a book where if you know what happens in the end you dont want to read it.

2. . Everything Everything. Nicola Yoon. A girl who is allergic to the world falls in love with the boy next door. This was an obsessive read. I finished it in one evening. I couldn’t but it down.

3. A Polaroid Guy in a Snapchat World by David Spade. Why I love this audio book, I love David Spade. He is so funny! This did not disappoint. He ‘performs’ the book so its like “seeing” his stand up act. I loved all the Chris Farley memories.

4. Me before You by Jojo Moyes. I already knew what was going to happen before I read this book from seeing the movie previews and putting  two and two together.  I cried almost non stop for half the book. Jojo makes you fall for  Louisa and Will, hard. I still have not watched the movie yet.

5. Sadie by Courtney Summers. This book broke my heart. Its gut wrenching and dark. I was not expecting it to be so. It pulls you in and you need to know what happens next.

Honorable Mentions:

In Her Skin, The Light We Lost, Bonfire, The Kiss Quotient , The Good Girl, The Woman in the Window, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,  The Wife Between Us, Then She Was Gone,  & The Cheerleaders.

Dislikes and Why

1. Suck it , Wonder Woman by Olivia Munn. I think I skipped a good chunk of it. I thought it would be funny.  Nope.

2. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick. Not much of a fan as I thought I was. Another one I skimmed. Too early in life/ career for an autobiography.

3.The Perfect Neighbors by Sarah Pekkanen . I really couldn’t get in to this book until the end. Too many characters to keep track of.

 

I plan to do book reviews in the near future ( like next month) . I dont want to spoil any books though. I hate that. I think I might start another blog for the reviews and post the link and a little snippet here.

Happy New Year!!

Until next time….

 

 

Genre Challenge

Yup , another reading challenge. I will be adding a Challenges page to the top of my blog so these will be easier to find and keep updated.

This challenge shall be fun. Books out of my norm. I’m not into Paranormal or horror books but I am willing to give them a try. For the love of reading!!

Genre Challenge – All Kinds of Everything

Start Date: 12/1/2018 (around this time)
Time Limit: 12 months
0/20 Complete

1. Biography -The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
2. Chick Lit – Bubbles Unbound
3. Classics – The Catcher in the Rye
4. Contemporary -Bear Town
5. Crime – I’m Watching You
6. Dystopian -1984
7. Fantasy – How to Stop Time
8. Historical -The Betrayal of Mary of Scots: Elizabeth I & her Great Rival……… OR…………Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates.
9. History Fiction– Paper Wife
10. Horror – You … or… The Winter People
11. Humor– The Unidentified Redhead
12. Memoir -A Girl walks into a bar
13. Mystery -Pieces of Her
14. Non-Fiction -Girl Squads
15. Paranormal – Jinx
16. Romance -Ghosted
17. Science Fiction -The Handmade’s Tale
18. Suspense – Sadie ( started 12/3/18)
19. Thriller -Girls Night Out
20. Young Adult– Paper Towns

1. Favorite genres before taking the challenge – YA, Humor, Romance, memoir, chic lit, bio, contemporary,suspense.
2. New genres read for challenge –
3. New genres I will read more of as a result of the challenge –
4. Genres I will still avoid after taking the challenge-

Second Update for 4th Quarter Challenge

Almost done with this challenge. 5 and 8 to go. I changed 5 to something else. This past month I finished The Perfect Neighbors, Say you’re Sorry and Your Suck.

1. Read the 17th oldest book on your TBR List

~~~~ The Perfect Neighbors by Sarah Pekkanen

2. Read a book by an author you love or an author you read within 2018
~~~~The Prelude of Ella and Micha(I love Jessica Sorensen) done.

3. Read a book published in the same year you joined Goodreads

~~~~(2012) The Secret of Ella and Micha. 

4. Read a book by an author you’ve never read before

~~~~ Say You’re Sorry( Morgan Dane #1)  by Melinda Leigh ( Changed from the Drowned Girls) 

5. Read a book set around a holiday or has a holiday themed cover

~~~~ Festivus: The Holiday for the rest of us. ***

 

6. Read a book with a Orange cover

~~~~ Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich

7. Read the next book in a series or start a new series

~~~~ You Suck by Christopher Moore. 

8. Catch up on a Bookworm Bitches selection or read a book you have been meaning to read for a long time

~~~~ Little Fire Everywhere*** 

***  = Currently Reading 

I really liked this challenge. Since I had a list I didn’t run around with my head cut off looking for my next book.

What I am taking away from this quarter is love for new authors . (Melinda Leigh and Celeste Ng . I already loved the others)

One Month Update: 4th Quarter Challenge

Its been a month since I posted the Bookworm Bitches 4th Quarter Challenge. And a month since I posted anything. October is always busy for me. Lots of Halloween orders . My free month of Kindle Unlimited went to waste.  I think I read one or two books. Neither book was from this list. 😦

Here’s a quick update..

1. Read the 17th oldest book on your TBR List

~~~~ The Perfect Neighbors by Sarah Pekkanen ***

2. Read a book by an author you love or an author you read within 2018
~~~~The Prelude of Ella and Micha(I love Jessica Sorensen) done.

3. Read a book published in the same year you joined Goodreads

~~~~(2012) The Secret of Ella and Micha. (I still might read A Walk Across the Sun for this challenge)

4. Read a book by an author you’ve never read before

~~~~ Say You’re Sorry( Morgan Dane #1)  by Melinda Leigh *** ( Changed from the Drowned Girls) 

5. Read a book set around a holiday or has a holiday themed cover

~~~~ Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

6. Read a book with a Orange cover

~~~~ Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich

7. Read the next book in a series or start a new series

~~~~ You Suck by Christopher Moore. ***

8. Catch up on a Bookworm Bitches selection or read a book you have been meaning to read for a long time

~~~~ What Alice Forgot or Little Fire Everywhere. 

***  = Currently Reading 

Reviews coming soon: Once I’m done with the Ella and Micha series ( The Secret ) I may do a review. I’m done with the Lizzy & Diesel series by Janet Evanovich ( Wicked Appetite, Wicked Business, Wicked Charms) so a review of the books is in the works. There doesn’t seem to be a 4th book coming out. Which is odd because the series is based on the 7 deadly sins. 

Whats Next: Little Fires Everywhere . I started it on audio during the summer. Didn’t like it. I found myself not paying attention. So I will be picking it up at the library this week since its available. I plan to save the Stephanie Plum series (by Janet Evanovich) until December. Book 8.5 is my #5 .