2015 Reading Challenges

As the year comes to an end, I am sure I am not the only one who has been thinking and considering which reading challenges to take part in for 2015. This year I started the blog in February, so that means I did come in late to all of the reading challenges. Because of this, it was not something that I spent a lot of time thinking or worrying about, and I certainly was not successful. Therefore, since I will get to start right away with the new year this time, I have been spending a lot of time deciding on which challenges I would be the most interested in; some are ones that I have found through other blogs, and some might be ones I just want to challenge myself to. Whatever the situation, I am going to share with you today the reading challenges I intend to take part in during 2015.

1. Goodreads Reading Challenge - Goal: 100 Books

I am sure that this is one that the majority of us will take part in. I like to push myself by using this challenge, but it's also handy to have a nice little list that keeps track of just what you have read during that current year. Like I talked about in my post here, I was successful with my first goal this year, but then after I made it higher it just didn't go as well for me. Because of this, I think that I am going to go back to setting my goal at 100 books for 2015, and then leave it there even once I surpass it. That way I have met my goal, and can just focus on how many more I can read from that point (trying to put a positive spin on things, since I'm not happy about the fact that I will be unsuccessful this year :/).

2. Finish that Series Challenge by Beth @ bethjune327 
Goal: Gold Badge (7-11 Series)

I have been a fan of Beth's booktube channel for awhile now. Since I started watching videos and found her channel, I pretty much watch everything she posts. (not pretty much, I do. I am loving the whole Vlogmas thing since it means she posts a daily video...I'm not a stalker, I swear). She did a video (watch it here) announcing the Finish that Series Challenge for 2015. It's pretty self-explanatory, and it's something that I really need to focus on. And if it's not a series I need to finish, then it's one I certainly need to start. I will share a list in my pages above soon, so keep an eye out for a "2015 Challenges" page to be added by the end of the week.

3. The Debut Author Challenge @ That Artsy Reader Girl
Goal : 12 Books

I always think that a Debut Author challenge is a great thing to try to complete for a year. I found this year during my start of blogging that it was wonderful to read books by so many authors I had not before, or perhaps did not even know of before. I am sure that there are a lot of challenges out there like this one, but this is the one that I came across and liked the organization of, so I am going to go for it.

4. 2015 Monthly Key Word Challenge @ Bookmark to Blog
Goal: 12 Books

I saw this challenge around last year, but once again as I was late to the game I decided that I would just hold off until the following year. Since it's one book a month and there are six different key words to choose from for each month, I think that I should find this one to be pretty easy. It seems like it will be a lot of fun too, so that definitely makes me look forward to it even more.

5. 2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge @ Bookish
Goal: Sweet Summer Fling (31-40 books)

This is another one that I attempted this year, but did not focus on it nearly as much as I should have. I currently have 251 books on my shelves (physical books only) and quite a few of them still need to be read. This is the year that I really plan on buying less and reading more, and hopefully I can stick to that.

6. A-Z Challenge @ Beneath the Jacket Reviews (Me :) 
Goal: 26 Books

This is one that I have just decided to do on my own, for fun, and to help get through that TBR Pile even more. I'm not going to do a link up or have any sort of rules, I'm just going to create a list of books, their titles A-Z, and attempt to read all 26 of those books throughout the year. Want to join in? Awesome, just comment telling me that you plan to so that we can motivate one another! Once again, the list of books I intend to read will show up on my "2015 Challenges" page.

There you have it, the challenges I intend to take part in during 2015. Six might seem like a lot, but a lot of them will go together and share the same books. I am really excited about participating and sticking to them. Let me know if you're doing any of the same ones!

2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge

[Quick side note before I begin this post. I usually do my Stacking the Shelves on Saturday, and then a post like this on Sunday. However, I am expecting one my shipments from Book Outlet's Black Friday sale to arrive today, so I will share those books in a STS post tomorrow.] 

I know that I am not alone in saying that I spend an insane amount of my computer time looking around on Goodreads. I knew of the site before I began blogging, and while I thought it was cool then, I did not realize just how awesome and helpful it was until I did start my blog. Along with starting my blog, came realizing that Goodreads allowed you to set a reading challenge for yourself in that current year. How many books could you read by the time the new year came around?

At the beginning of February when I started my blog, I decided to be extremely optimistic and set my goal for the year at 100 books. I had already enjoyed reading before, and did like to read in my spare time, but even I knew that this was probably extreme and unlikely. I wanted to actually challenge myself though, so I went with it. I had no idea that starting this blog would cause me to begin devouring books as much and as often as I could (of course, do note that a lot of this initially came from my requesting WAY too many books on Netgalley and signing up for WAY too many blog tours at the very beginning of my blog, because I thought I needed to. I've definitely chilled out with all of that.).

Due to those factors, it was mid-May when I completed my challenge of reading one hundred books. WHAT? I had been sure I was kidding myself at the beginning of the year when I set the goal, and then I completed it in less than half the year. After finishing, I felt great, but still had a lot of the year left so I had a couple of friends tell me that I should change my goal, challenge myself again. I decided that they were right, so I upped my number to 150, sure that it would probably be no problem after all of the reading I had already done so far throughout the year. Unfortunately, I was a bit wrong.

Over the past couple of months I hit a pretty severe reading slump. I read what I needed to for review and some books I wanted to read, but it was not nearly what I had been reading before. It happens to all of us, and I try to remind myself of that when I get really frustrated about it. I had always been ahead of the challenge, and suddenly I found myself getting more and more behind.

It is December 13th, and I am currently at 126 books read this year. That means I would have to read 24 books between now and December 31st in order to complete my goal. I think we all know that just is not going to happen. Am I disappointed that I won't complete it? Yes and no. I HAVE already finished one challenge of 100 books this year and I HAVE read 126 amazing books this year. But yes, defeat is a difficult thing to swallow.

Still, with half of December left, I have decided to challenge myself to get to 130 books before the end of the year. That, I feel, is a very obtainable goal. I have already picked the four books that I hope to finish before the end of the year as well, so I thought that I would share them with you. Two of them I have already begun, so that should make it quite a bit easier!

1. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by various authors

I am already through three of the stories in this anthology, and I loved all three of them. I am very excited to continue with them and see what else the book has to offer. I hope to finish this one by the end of this weekend.

2. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

I am at about page 200 in this one, so almost half way done. Like with Cinder, this one is a bit slow for me as of now, but I am hoping it will pick up like Cinder did pretty soon. I need to get through it so that I can get to Cress and be ready for the releases next year.

3. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

She is so funny, that I think I will be able to get through this one incredibly fast once I get started on it. I need to finish one of the others first, though.

4. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

I am ready to read the Throne of Glass series, and I have been told by a couple of people that I should start with the novellas, so that is what I intend to do. It seems like novellas might be easier to get through in my limited time frame as well.

So, there we have it. I am challenging myself to make it to 130 books read, and I intend to succeed. How are you guys doing with your Goodreads challenges? Have you already met your goal, or are you in the same boat as me? I would love to talk about it in the comments below!

#BookBlogWriMo | My Ratings System & My Favorite Book Blogging Things

Here goes day 14 & 15 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Yesterday's topic was:

My Ratings System

I have not really spent too much time thinking about this, if I am being honest. While I do give books ratings, I am not sure I have a set list in my head of what causes a book to be a certain number of stars. Should I have something like that? Yikes, I suppose I don't know... Honestly, the book has to be pretty close to perfect (in my eyes) to receive five stars. This means that I loved everything about the book; plot, characters, wording, ending. Sure, it might have some flaws, but they are not enough to make me take away a star.

Four stars is what I give most often. I know that some people hate bloggers like me (sorry) because I give a lot of books 4 stars. However, it is MY opinion, and it is MY decision. If I like a book, and it only has a few things wrong with it, then I see no problem with giving the book a four. If it kept me interested and everything made plenty of sense, then I think that it deserves that much. I know that everyone does not see that the same, though.

I would say that a three stars means that I just thought the book was okay. I was able to finish it, and I did not mind it too much, but I wasn't in love with it. Perhaps it took me awhile to get through it because I put it down, which means that it was not keeping me interested. Still, a three isn't bad, it's just not my favorite. Two stars is for a book that I really did not enjoy. I made it all the way through, but there were things about it that I did not like reading. Perhaps the plot or characters were not well put together, or not believable. Those are major issues for me, and would result in the book receiving a two.

The one star rating is mostly saved for those books that I did not finish, if I give them a rating. I feel that it at least deserves one star, because it has to have something good about it. More likely than not, it was just not a type of book that I really enjoy, and that is not the author's fault. Still, I can't really rate it higher than that if I was not even able to make it through the book.

Today's topic is: 

My Favorite Book Blogging Things

This seems like a really broad topic, so I am not sure what I am really supposed to talk about here...I suppose that I will just wing it and assume that I'm following the prompt! (There doesn't really seem to be a right or wrong answer, so win!)

1. Meeting other bloggers. This is probably my favorite thing about book blogging. I get to meet and talk to other book nerds, and that's pretty exciting! You guys get me, and think that I'm mostly normal for knowing more books titles and authors than anything else (that's normal, right?). It's fun to have a whole group of people that I can relate to and that are there with support when it's needed.

2. Booktube. Now, I have a booktube channel, but it's been ages since I've updated it. After the school year started I haven't had time between teaching, lesson planning, and my hour drive back and forth to work every day. I do, however, enjoy watching other booktuber's videos almost daily. Book hauls are really fun to watch, but I will watch pretty much any videos by my favorite booktubers.

3. BOOKS. I have to admit, one of the best things about book blogging is the books that can come along with it. I have read so many amazing books that I would not have read otherwise. I didn't know that the Indie book group was so huge until I started blogging, and quickly realized that I LOVED reading these books. I've even been able to be a beta reader! I would have never done that without my blog. 

4. Meeting/Talking to authors. To us, authors are our celebrities. It's like someone talking to their favorite actor when an author talks to us at a signing or replies back on Twitter or Instagram. Like I mentioned before, I was a beta reader because I became FRIENDS with the author and we messaged back and forth often on Goodreads. It's AMAZING to be able to talk to the people that write the books we love so much. And the fact that they genuinely love to talk to use is amazing.

#BookBlogWriMo | My Review Process

Here goes day 13 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

My Review Process

Yay for writing reviews! (something that I have been seriously slacking on lately...along with reading. I HATE reading slumps!). I really do enjoy writing reviews, probably more than any other type of post, but sometimes it does take some convincing and motivation to sit down and get started. Once I've started typing, then I'm golden. I suppose that my review process depends on three different circumstances; 1. If I am reading the book for a blog tour, 2. If I am reading the book for a publisher/author, 3. If I am reading the book just because I want to.

1. Books for blog tours - I tend to write these reviews pretty much right after I finish reading the book, and I try to have the book finished at least a week before my post date so that I do not have to rush the review. Since I have a date to post, I just set up the skeleton of the post and schedule it for that date. I take notes in a notebook as I read, and then write the review either the day of or the day after I finish reading. I want to make sure I do not forget anything about the book before I have a chance to write the review.

2. Books for publishers/authors - I usually try to schedule these on a certain day on my calendar so I can hold myself to a schedule, though I am not super strict about it as I obviously have to be with blog tours. Like with tours, I take notes about these books in a notebook as well. Sometimes these books will be read a little later if I have blog tour books I need to read or what not. After I finish reading, I usually write the review within the week, but I don't always do it right away since I don't have an official post date.

3. Books I choose - I am less likely to take wordy notes about the books I just choose on my own to read. I tend to get so focused on the book that I forget to write too much down since I know that I'm not reviewing for a tour or publisher. I do tend to write down quotes if I come across a line that I really, really enjoy. I usually just get to writing these reviews whenever I have the time and feel like it, and then I usually post them when I need a post for the blog on a certain day. Nothing specific or scheduled.

#BookBlogWriMo | Advice for Newbie Bloggers

Here goes day 12 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

As some of you may have realized, I did not complete yesterday's post (day 11). I sat down to do it, but could not figure out how to look at the number of views per post on Google Analytics, so I eventually just gave up and decided I was just going to skip one day. No big deal, right?

Today's topic is:

Advice for Newbie Bloggers

I have only been blogging for a little over nine months now, so I might still count as a bit of a newbie myself. I count myself as one, at least. Still, I suppose I have some advice based on my own experience as a recent newbie blogger. I am not sure how helpful it will be, but I will give it a go!

1. Just do it (yup, like Nike tells you to). If you are THINKING about creating a book blog, stop thinking about it and just do it. You are not going to regret it. I wasted several months wondering if I should go through with it, and those are months that I could have spent building my blog and writing posts. Sure, it might be a challenge at first, but it will get easier.

2. Don't sign up for EVERYTHING just so that you have things to post everyday. When I first started, I signed up for way too many blog tours so that I would have something to post about every day. That also meant I had a crazy amount of books I had to read in a fairly short amount of time. While I enjoyed almost all of the books, it was not worth the stress. Be picky about what blog tours you do; make sure that you are actually interested in the book, it will make it much easier to read the book in the time frame and write a review.

3. Be careful with Netgalley. Seriously, Netgalley is the best thing every, but it's also very jealous. I'm still trying to catch up on my books from when I decided to go a bit crazy and request too many things. Only request what you will actually be able to read so your rating is good when it comes time to request that book you REALLY, really want to read.

4. Talk to people. The only way to grow your blog is to talk to other people. Comment on blog posts, but make those comments meaningful. Don't just say that you're a new follower in hopes that they will follow you back. 

5. Get on social media. I know, I know, some people just really don't like social media. I was incredibly hesitant of Twitter, but it has become a wonderful way to talk to other bloggers and connect with authors. I do believe that it has helped grow my blog as well. If anything, it can be pretty fun.

#BookBlogWriMo | #Blogflow & Memes I Meme

Here goes day 9 and 10 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :] Obviously I missed yesterday (I'm failing at this), so I'm just going to combine the two today...because that's how I roll, obviously.

Yesterday's topic was:

My Blogging Workflow (#Blogflow) 

So, yeah, I'm not sure that I really have much of a blogging workflow. I definitely should, which would be a very good things to improve from this point forward. The first thing I do when I know I need/want to post something is to put it on my Google calendar. From that point, I try to spend the weekends prepping my posts for the week. That would be ideal, at least, I have been really bad about it the past couple of weeks, though. If I know I have reviews or blog tours that week that I'm not quite ready to type the review for, I will create a skeleton of the post. That means putting the book information and pictures up so that I just have to go back and add my review later.

Today's topic is:

Memes I Meme

This can vary a bit depending on the week and what I feel like doing, if I'm being completely honest. Sometimes I don't like the prompt, don't have enough to say, or just don't have the time to do it. On Monday's I do my own thing called Cover Concepts. I'm not sure it's actually a meme, but I'm going to count it. I tend to do Top Ten Tuesdays on occasion, but this is the one that really depends on the prompt and if I have time to create the post. Sometimes I don't have enough to say for a topic, so I skip that week. The one meme I do almost weekly is Stacking the Shelves because I love sharing about what books I picked up that week, and seeing what other people bought as well.

#BookBlogWriMo | My Blogging Toolkit

Welcome to Day 8 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

My Blogging Toolkit

I am not sure that I really have too many essential tools in my blogger toolkit, but I will share what I think counts. 

1. Laptop - I do everything for my blog on my laptop unless there is absolutely no way for me to do so. Sometimes I end up staying at my parents (they live close to the school I work at), and when I am there I will either borrow my mom's laptop or create the post on my phone if I can. Still, I prefer to use my laptop because I know where I have everything saved and I'm used to how it works.

2. Google Calendar - I am so grateful that someone told me about Google Calendar when I was so early into blogging because it is one of the best things ever. When I sign up to post a reveal or blog tour, I make sure to add it to the calendar so I do not forget. I also change the colors of the posts once I have typed them so I know what is done and what still needs to be typed up. If you don't already use this, I would highly recommend it.

3. Goodreads - honestly, I reference Goodreads in almost every post that I do. If I need a cover picture, I always look up the book on Goodreads and take the picture from there so I know that they are all the same size. I also use the site for publishing/author/release day info. It's also just fun to look around on the site daily to see about new books I might want to read.

4. Notebook - Even though I type everything on my laptop, I am still a huge fan of handwriting things in notebooks as well. I am just a fan of notebooks in general, really. I like to write things down, it's just how I've always been. I will usually keep notes as I read a book so I remember things to write in my reviews, plan out a blog post that I know I want to do, or maybe just brainstorm some possible future posts. I tend to always have a notebook with me.

I would say that those are my main tools for blogging. Nothing too exciting, but they definitely work for me.

#BookBlogWriMo | #FlashbackFriday - Blog's First Design

Welcome to Day 7 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :] (Sorry, late again. This week was crazy.)

Today's topic is:

#FlashbackFriday - Blog's First Design 

For this one, we were supposed to use WayBack Machine in order to take a screenshot of our first blog design. The site only had one capture of my blog, but luckily it was done before my design change. As most of you probably already know, I recently had a design made just for my blog, and I am thrilled with it. Before that, I only had one other design, and I just threw it together on my own. It was not the worst, but it certainly was not the best, either. I will leave you with the picture. :] 

#BookBlogWriMo | #TBT - Favorite Childhood Books

Welcome to Day 6 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

#TBT: Favorite Childhood Books

 

As I am typing this, I am sitting at my parent's house on my mom's laptop. Naturally, based on the topic, I asked my parents what some of my favorite books were as a child (honestly, I can't remember that far back!). Reading was something that I struggled with when I was younger, and even ended up taking a developmental class in elementary school in order to improve my reading skills because I was behind others my age. I am so relieved for that class, as I know I would not love to read as much as I do now if I still struggled that much with reading.

 

My mom tells me that I was a big fan of this Mother Goose nursery rhyme book that we had. As far as I remember, it just had tons of different nursery rhymes thrown together in it. As I got a bit older, I do know that I was a huge fan of the Junie B. Jones books, Nancy Drew, and The Babysitter's Club. I guess I was a fan of those kind of short, fun chapter books. Thinking back on these things was kind of fun; I enjoyed this prompt!

#BookBlogWriMo | Where I Blog

Welcome to Day 5 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

Where I Blog 

There is not much to tell when it comes to this prompt because I don't really switch up where I sit to type up blog posts (except for right now, as I am in bed ill and wanted to get these done). Typically, I do all of the typing for the blog on the couch. I use my laptop for everything, unless I take notes on notebook paper and use those for reference. I have a TV tray that I set my computer on and type like that. I always fear my computer is going to overheat if I keep it on my lap, thus using the TV tray. Besides, it's usually easier to type that was as well. See? Nothing too exciting. If I do know that I need/want to get some posts up on the blog soon, I will write them out in a notebook if I have a break or time at work to do so, that way the post is ready and I just have to type it up and post when I get home.

#BookBlogWriMo | Why I Blog

Welcome to Day 4 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! (Sorry, I know it's a day late! I ended up catching a stomach virus Monday, and I've done very little but lay around since then. Still not feeling great, but things must start to go on, I suppose.) Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

Why I Blog 

I am sure that many of us probably have the same reasons for blogging, at least here in the book community. Mostly, I started my blog because I loved to read but did not have too many people to talk to about the books I was reading. My husband is not a reader, and my mom does not read a lot of young adult stuff. My oldest brother reads a lot of the same things, but we live an hour apart and he has a baby girl now, so it does not leave him a lot of time to chat about books. Starting a blog seemed like the best way to fix that problem. Suddenly I had a whole community of people who wanted to talk about the books I was reading/wanting to read, and that was awesome.

Another reason why I blog is because I really like to write. It has been something that I have enjoyed for awhile, though I never really wrote for other people to read before. Sure, I did my papers for school and what not, but that is completely different. It was pretty scary when I first started blogging and realized people would be reading what I write (and that they might actually want to read it), but it has been great. I feel that blogging has a ton of benefits to it, and I have been really enjoying it thus far.

#BookBlogWriMo | Where I Read

Welcome to Day 3 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

Where I Read

I really am not picky about where I will read; generally when I have time to read I try to make use of said time no matter where I am. When I am at home, more likely than not I am ready on the couch. I don't tend to read in bed too often because it is more likely that I will fall asleep and forget what I read and where I am in the book. I am not completely opposed to it, though. I also like to read when I take a bubble bath; nice and relaxing.

Everyday at school I have a fifteen minute period in one of my classes were my students do silent reading (It's a school wide reading initiative), so I get to read during that time, too. It's not the most ideal reading time since I do have to break pretty consistently to make sure that my students are actually reading and not causing trouble, but I usually manage to get two or three chapters in on a good day.

I absolutely cannot read when I am in a car or on an airplane, though. I get motion sickness pretty easily, and when I try to read while I'm moving like that it just makes the whole thing that much worse. I do think that I need to get more into audio books though, since I do spend at least two hours of my week days driving to and from work.

#BookBlogWriMo | How I Read

Welcome to Day 2 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! It's not too late to join in and participate. :]

Today's topic is:

How I Read

Honestly, I do not think that I am too picky about how I read my books. Perhaps that is just me thinking that I'm not picky because I am biased, though. I guess I am not quite sure... Whenever given the possibility, I do prefer to read a physical book whenever I have the opportunity to do so. It is just easier for me to keep track of where I am when reading a physical book, and it is much easier to mark things when it is a physical copy as well. Unfortunately, physical copies are also more expensive. I love how hardcover books look on my shelf, but I tend to purchase books in paperback because of the cost. Ah, money ruins everything!

All this being said, I am not opposed to reading on an e-reader. I started out with a Nook when it first came out, but I was not thrilled with it. It was fine, but B&N was still fairly expensive when it came to ebooks. I checked out my husbands Kindle and found that I really did prefer it. Because of this, for Christmas a couple of years ago my husband got me a Kindle. While I used it a bit then, I really did not begin using it steadily until I began my blog about nine months ago. Since then I have read and reviewed several ebooks, something that I am fine with. The only disadvantages are making sure that it stays charged, fitting it in my purse, and marking things as I read.

When it comes to marking things, I am a little bit picky about how I do this. I am pretty unsure about marking in finished copies, so usually I was jot down the page number and quotes in a notebook so that I do not actually have to write in the book. When it comes to ARCs I will take notes and highlight right in the book because I know that if I enjoy the book that I will end up buying a finished copy anyway. I was recently a Beta Reader for an author, and I did write in that book a lot, and even dog-eared some pages, which is something that I rarely ever do in books. It was necessary, though. Overall, I am big on keeping notes in a notebook, though.

 

#BookBlogWriMo | The History of Beneath the Jacket Reviews

Welcome to Day 1 of the #BookBlogWriMo 2014 Challenge hosted by Book Bumblings! Go back to my introduction post in order to get more information about this challenge! I am just starting today, so I will be taking care of Day 1 AND Day 2 today. Let's start with Day 1.

The topic is:

The History of Beneath the Jacket Reviews

I have been reading some YA book blogs for a couple of years now. I have been a big fan of books and reading for awhile, so I would check out these books in order to find new books to read that I may not have heard of before. This was also around the time that I discovered Goodreads and realized just how addicting that could be. While I did enjoy writing as well, I was a bit unsure about starting my own blog. I worried that I would not be able to keep up with it, and that no one would want to read what I write (I feel that this is probably a pretty common fear for people when it comes to creating their blog).

I thought more and more about it as time passed, but it still took me awhile before I was ready to jump in and create a blog myself. It was in February of this year that I decided I was going to give it a go. What was the worst that could happen, after all? It took a couple of days to come up with a name, get it up and running, and have it looked pretty nice. It was on February 4th that my first post went live, and I was so excited about all of it.

Since then, I feel like my blog has evolved a lot. I jumped right into a ton of blog tours at first, and got myself completely overwhelmed with them. Then I was able to calm down on that, but I'm to a point now where I need to start signing up for a few more. I need to find a good in between on that still. I have enjoyed doing several weekly memes, and even coming up with my own weekly ideas. I have reviewed many books, most of which I have really enjoyed. Overall, I would say that my blogging experience has been great so far.

I don't spend too much time worrying about my blog stats at this point. I know that I'm still pretty early in, having about nine months under my belt, and more followers and views will come over time as I continue to post. Last month I did have a new blog design made, and I am thrilled with the visual change on the blog. Overall, I am very happy with where my blog has gone in the first nine months, and I cannot wait to see what happens with it in the future.

2014 ARC August - Goals

ARC August is a challenge hosted by Octavia of Read. Sleep. Repeat. that encourages readers to read some of their ARCs that are piling up. I have not heard much of this before, as it is my first year blogging, but I am very excited about participating this year. I have quite a few books on Netgalley that I am hoping to get read in the near future, so this seems like the perfect challenge!

Here are the NINE eARCS and THREE physical ARCs that I hope to read this August:

eARCs: 

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Since Forever Ago by Olivia Besse

Wickedpedia by Chris Van Etten

Just Like the Movies by Kelly Fiore

The Girl Who Was on Fire by Multiple Authors

Physical ARCs: 

Madame Tussaud's Apprentice by Kathleen Benner Duble

Jex Malone by C. L Gaber & V.C. Stanley

Wanted: Dead or In Love by Kym Brunner

Summer Surge Read-A-Thon: Spell It Out Challenge

I have been enjoying this read-a-thon so far. This week it is following along with the Booktubeathon, which I have not been as successful with that TBR list as I had hoped. Still, so far this week I have finished five books, and I feel like that is pretty good so far! Today is the first challenge for the Summer Surge Read-A-Thon, and I decided to participate. 

Spell It Out Challenge: 

Use the first letter of any book read so far this year to spell out a Summer themed word that is 5 letters or more. If the title begins with The, A or An, move into the following word. Letters Q, V, X, Z can be anywhere in the title. 

S - She is Not Invisible
U - Unbreakable
N - New Moon: The Graphic Novel
S - (the) Screaming Divas
H - Heart Shaped Rock
I - If I Stay
N - Naturals
E - Ex-Factor

*Edited: Didn't read carefully enough to see they were supposed to be books I've read this year, oops! It's been fixed now :] 

2014 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge

2014 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge:

This is one challenge that I really, REALLY need to do this year. I should have started it awhile ago, but better late than never, right? I feel like this might give me the motivation I need to get through that Netgalley TBR list. I have already started, and hopefully it continues to be as successful as it has been so far. Here is the information for the challenge from Falling for YA's blog: 

2014 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge!

Have you ever logged on to Edelweiss or Netgalley with the intention of "Just Looking" and then logging off  having requested 5 new titles even though your TBR is a mile long? Inspired by Netgalley November the 2014 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge will (hopefully) give you the incentive to tackle your review books, stumble upon new ones, and get your Netgalley percentage to the desired 80%!

Challenge Guidelines

• This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2014 – Dec 31, 2014.
• Anyone is welcome to join. You do not need to be a blogger, just post your reviews and come back every month to link them up. 
• Any genre, release date, request date, length, etc. counts so long as it came from Edelweiss or Netgalley.
• At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews.
• If you forget to link up one month it's not a problem just add your reviews next month.
• If you would like to move up or down levels that is completely fine and at your discretion
• Throughout the year there will be giveaways for Challenge participants, make sure to check in regularly and follow this blog so you don't miss any!
• If you have any questions tweet me @FallingForYA or e-mail Emisbookblog@aol.com

Levels

Aluminum – 5 books
Bronze – 10 books
Silver – 25 books
Gold – 50 books
Platinum – 75 books
Diamond– 100 books

 

As of now, I think that  I will go for the goal of Silver. I have about 30 books that I still need to read and review on Netgalley (I don't use Edelweiss because I find Netgalley so much easier to navigate); However, I have no doubt I will probably end up requesting more titles before the year is over (obviously). If I could get all of them done by the end of the summer that would be grand, but we will see how things go. I post all of this to say: I am taking part in this challenge AND you will be seeing a lot more Netgalley reviews on the blog.

2014 Series Challenge

I have decided to join in on the 2014 Series Challenge that is being hosted by Read, Sleep, Repeat. I already have plans to read quite a few series this year, so it seems like a fun way to keep track of all of it as I do so. Here are the guidelines from their blog:

• You have to FINISH the series
• If the series isn’t complete yet, or will not be completed before December 1st, 2014 read up to the most recent book in said series.
• Novellas count, but are optional.
• HAVE fun
• If you decide to break up with a series after book one, it does not count!
• You do not have to START the series in 2014, you just have to FINISH it in 2014
• Series that you started prior to 2014 are fine as long as you FINISH the series in 2014
• The series has to have at least 2 books out prior to December 1st, 2014
• Proof that you finished the book is required. It could be a full review, a mini review, or a rating with a few lines.
• DNF’s do not count. PERIOD.

More information can be found on their blog. Are you going to join in? 

Series I Have Read/Want to Read: 
Series Complete: 11

1. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (Re-Read) (7)
2. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (5)
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (3) - Complete 
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth (3) - Complete
5. Touch Series by Laurie Faria Stolarz
6. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
7. Immortal Sin by Julie Milillo (2) - Complete 
8. Stories About Melissa by Bethany Lopez (4) - Complete 
9. A Life, Forward by Tracy Hewitt Meyer (2) - Complete
10. The Lost Souls by Tiffany Truitt (3) - Complete
11. Within the Realm by Jillian Neal (3) - Complete 
12. The Yara Silva Trilogy by Lani Woodland (3) - Complete
13. Hive Queen Saga by Janine A. Southard (2) - Complete
14. Diamond Girls by Elisa Dane (2) - Complete
15. The Vortex Series by Janine Caldwell (3) - Complete 
16. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
17. Summer by Jenny Han
18. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (6)
19. Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore (3)
20. If I Stay by Gayle Forman (2)

2014 "Real" Book Challenge

I am very excited about finding this challenge! I know that I am taking part in several this year, but I think that they will help me stay committed and excited about reading. This one is all about reading the "real" physical books I own. This is something I have been bad about doing since I always just take my kindle with me everywhere to read books I'm reviewing and what not. I want to get through all of those books on my shelves, though!

Here are the guidelines, but you can find more information at the challenge page HERE.

Challenge Guidelines:

• *This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014.
• *The challenge is open to anyone! You don't have to be a blogger, as long as you have a place to post about the challenge. (Your blog, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, youtube, tumblr, etc.)
• *Any book counts. It can be any genre, any length, and as old or new as you want. If you can hold it in your hand and turn the pages yourself, it belongs here. (This includes Advanced Reader Copies.)
• *Feel free to list your books in your first post or wait until the end of the year and write them in a wrap-up post. Even if you list them, you can always make changes later.
• *Sign-ups will be open until Dec 1, 2014, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
• *When you sign up in the linky below, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2014 “Real” Book Challenge. (If you don't have a blog, post about it wherever you plan on making all your challenge posts this year!)
• *On the 1st of each month we will post a wrap-up post, on Swoony Boys Podcast and Fiction Fare. Every wrap-up will have a giveaway and place for you to link up your wrap-up posts for the month. Each book that you read in the month will get you one entry in our giveaway for the month. Prizes will vary, and winners will be announced the following month in our newsletter.
• *If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your books the next month. Don’t try to count a book twice, we’ll be watching!
• *December will be a wrap-up for the whole year. All the books you read January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a GRAND PRIZE giveaway.

Levels:

(The number of books you read for this challenge! We will have fun graphics for each level and as you progress up the list your accomplishments will appear in the newsletter!) 

1-10 - Real Book Newbie 
11-20 - Real Book Enthusiast 
21-30 - Real Book Snob 
31-40 - Real Book Aficionado 
41-50 - Real Book Hoarder 
50+ - Real Book Queen/King 

I really hope to get to at least  21-30 of these books, but I hope to go past that as well. 

The books I Have Read for this Challenge:
Book Count: 25

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
2. She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
3. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
4. Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
5. How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love by Ken Baker
6. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
7. Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
8. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
9. Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
10. Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell
11. This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl
12. The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
13. Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley
14. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
15. Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
16. Enclave by Ann Aguirre
17. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
18. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
19. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
20. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
21. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
22. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
23. Divergent by Veronica Roth
24. Readicide by Kelly Gallagher
25. My Story by Elizabeth Smart 

Bout of Books 10.0 Progress

This is where I am going to keep track of my progress this week for the Bout of Books 10.0 Read-a-thon. 

Monday:
Number of books I've read today: 1
Number of pages I've read today: 359
Total number of books I've read: 1
Books: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

Tuesday:
Number of books I've read today: 1 +
Number of pages I've read today: 160
Total number of books I've read: 2
Total number of pages I've read: 519
Books: Only With You by Cecilia Gray and started Burning Blue by Paul Griffin

Wednesday:
Number of books I've read today: 1
Number of pages I've read today: 160
Total number of books I've read: 3
Total number of pages I've read: 679
Books: Burning Blue by Paul Griffin

Thursday:
Number of books I've read today: 1
Number of pages I've read today: 355
Total number of books I've read: 4
Total number of pages I've read: 1,034
Books: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Friday:
Number of books I've read today: 1
Number of pages I've read today: 244
Total number of books I've read: 5
Total number of pages I've read: 1,278
Books: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Saturday:
Number of books I've read today: 2
Number of pages I've read today: 474
Total number of books I've read: 7
Total number of pages I've read: 1,752
Books: If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Transformed by EV Fairfall

Sunday:
Number of books I've read today:
Number of pages I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Books: