February 2018 Wrap-up

February's TBR Pile (23/28):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (iPad) ✓
2. TBR Pile: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins ✓
3. Reading Assignment: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (iPad) ✓
4. Book of the Month Club (December): The English Wife by Lauren Willig ✓
5. Book of the Month Club (January): As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
6. Book of the Month Club (February): The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller
7. Series Pick: The Stone Angel by Juliet Dark ✓
8. Series Pick: A Toxic Trousseau by Juliet Blackwell ✓
9. Series Pick: The Gunslinger by Stephen King ✓
10. Comics Pick: Saga Vol. 8 ✓
11. Comics Pick: Moonshine Vol. 1 ✓
12. Comics Pick: Forbidden brides of the faceless slaves in the secret house of the night of dread desire by Neil Gaiman ✓
13. Comics Pick: Low Vol. 1 ✓
14. Comics Pick: The Last Temptation
15. Comics Pick: Kingsman: The Secret Service ✓
16. Comics Pick: Monstress Vol. 2 ✓
17. Comics Pick: Revival Vol. 7 ✓
18. Comics Pick: House of Mystery: Room and Boredom
19. Comics Pick: Jane by Brosh McKenna ✓
20. Comics Pick: ApocalyptiGirl ✓
21. Romance Pick: A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh
22. Nonfiction Pick: Literary Wonderlands by Laura Miller ✓
23. Nonfiction Owned Pick: The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall ✓
24. Random Pick: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal ✓
25. Added: The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell by Mira Grant ✓
26. Added: Revival Vol. 4 ✓
27. Added: Revival Vol. 5 ✓
28. Added: Revival Vol. 6 ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 4617 pages
Pages Remaining: 689,131 pages

Current Read - As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (2) -- While on my weekend retreat, I picked up two books at the used book store. Really excited for both of these as I keep hearing them recommended on multiple podcasts.

March's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (not pictured)
2. TBR Pile: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
3. Reading Assignment: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
4. Book of the Month Club (February): The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller
5. Book of the Month Club (March): TBD
6. Series Pick: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
7. Series Pick: Spirit Bound by Rachel Hawkins
8. Series Pick: Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra by Anne Rice
9. Comics Pick: The Wicked + the Divine Vol. 6
10. Comics Pick: One Week in the Library by W. Prince, John Amor, and Frazer Irving
11. Romance Pick: A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh
12. Classics Pick: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
13. Nonfiction Pick: The Words We Live By by Linda Monk
14. Carryover Pick: As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

Movies watched

• Logan Lucky -- We usually enjoy Soderbergh's movies. 
• Mr. Right -- Hilarious! We do love Sam Rockwell in this house.
• Heavy Metal -- Wow! What the hell did I just watch?
• Murder on the Orient Express -- Really enjoyed this one, especially all of the blocking, camera angles, and use of glass.

TV Shows watched

• The Magicians S3 -- Excited to start the journey on the Muntjac.
• The Good Place S2 -- Holy cow that was a crazy season...
• People of Earth S2 -- I'm still loving this show.
• Last Week Tonight -- So glad it's back!

Comments - Another amazing month of reading! I have no idea how I read as much as I did, but I'm totally here for it. Let's hope I can keep this rolling into March...

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2018 Wrap-up

January's TBR Pile (18/20):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman ✓
2. TBR Pile: Nefertiti by Michelle Moran ✓
3. Reading Assignment: Arabian Nights ✓
4. Book of the Month Club (December shipped late): The English Wife by Lauren Willig
5. Book of the Month Club (January): As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
6. Series Pick: Spellcasting in Silk by Juliet Blackwell ✓
7. Series Pick: No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor ✓
8. Nonfiction Pick: The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels ✓
9. Classics Pick: The Bostonians by Henry James ✓
10. Comics: The Walking Dead Vol. 27 ✓
11. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 1 ✓
12. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 2 ✓
13. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 3 ✓
14. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 4 ✓
15. Comics: Wonder Woman Rebirth Vol. 1 ✓
16. Comics: Wonder Woman Rebirth Vol. 2 ✓
17. Romance Pick: The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky ✓
18. Romance Pick: The Daughter of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky ✓
19. Romance Pick: A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky ✓
20. Added: A Haunting is Brewing by Juliet Blackwell ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5561 pages
Pages Remaining: 693,748 pages

Current Read - The English Wife by Lauren Willig

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

February's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (iPad)
2. TBR Pile: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawksins
3. Reading Assignment: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (iPad)
4. Book of the Month Club (December): The English Wife by Lauren Willig
5. Book of the Month Club (January): As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
6. Book of the Month Club (February): TBD
7. Series Pick: The Stone Angel by Juliet Dark
8. Series Pick: A Toxic Trousseau by Juliet Blackwell
9. Series Pick: The Gunslinger by Stephen King
10. Comics Pick: Saga Vol. 8
11. Comics Pick: Moonshine Vol. 1
12. Comics Pick: Forbidden brides of the faceless slaves in the secret house of the night of dread desire by Neil Gaiman 
13. Comics Pick: Low Vol. 1
14. Comics Pick: The Last Temptation
15. Comics Pick: Kingsman: The Secret Service
16. Comics Pick: Monsters Vol. 2
17. Comics Pick: Revival Vol. 7
18. Comics Pick: House of Mystery: Room and Boredom
19. Comics Pick: Jane by Brosh McKenna
20. Comics Pick: ApocalyptiGirl
21. Romance Pick: A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh
22. Nonfiction Pick: Literary Wonderlands by Laura Miller
23. Nonfiction Owned Pick: The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall
24. Random Pick: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Movies watched

• Geostorm -- J downloaded this just for me and my love of disaster movies. Way too much talk and not enough crazy action sequences.
• Colossal -- This movie did not go where I thought it was going to... Interesting, just unexpected.
• The Big Sick -- Mom and I watched this before I left Indiana. So so good. 
• Blade Runner 2049 -- I really enjoyed this one. There were a few issues, but overall I think it was a very solid movie.
• Kong: Skull Island -- Haha! This was my silly pick. Love some giant animals and destruction.
• The Light Between Oceans -- I wanted to watch the movie ahead of last Sunday's book club discussion of the novel. Fairly accurate translation of the book to screen. 
• Thor: Ragnarok -- Oh so good! I laughed at loud at some many parts (the snake story!) but it was also a great examination of the characters. 

TV Shows watched

• The Bachelor -- Was excited to be at my mom's house when the season started. We love/hate The Bachelor!
• People of Earth S2 -- Such a weird and twisted show. We love it!
• The Good Place S2 -- Oh my, this show just keeps surprising me.
• Happy S1 -- J's new pick. Very dark and twisted, but with some great scenes.
• The Librarians S4 -- This season is a bit more sentimental than I would like, but it's our light-hearted show.

Comments - Wow! Check out those reading totals! I had no idea I would get so much reading done in January. A lot of the pages were read while still in Indiana before traveling back home. I know my reading pace will not continue, but it was nice to start the year off right. Looking forward to what February brings!

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2017 Wrap-up

December's TBR Pile (8/12):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (January meeting)
2. Series Pick: The Water Witch by Juliet Dark ✓
3. Nonfiction Pick: Goldilocks and the Water Bears by Louisa Preston
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor ✓
5. Carryover: Bonk by Mary Roach ✓
6. Currently Reading: A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell ✓
7. Carryover/Must Finish Read: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon ✓
8. Cozy Mystery: Spellcasting in Silk by Juliet Blackwell
9. Paranormal Fiction: The Stone Angel by Juliet Dark
10. Added: A Christmas to Remember by Lis Kleypas, Lorraine Heath, Megan Frampton, Vivienne Lorret ✓
11. Added: Christmas Magic by Ginny Baird ✓
12. Added: The Sometime Bride by Ginny Baird ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 3334 pages
Pages Remaining: 699.309 pages

Current Read - The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman; No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor; Wonder Woman Comics

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (2) -- Both came from my Broke and the Bookish Secret Santa.

• I, Jane by Diane Haeger
• Hand Lettering by Megan Wells

January's TBR Pile (no picture as I'm still in Indiana):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
2. TBR Pile: Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
3. Reading Assignment: Arabian Nights
4. Book of the Month Club December (my first one shipped late): The English Wife by Lauren Willig
5. Book of the Month Club (January): As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
6. Series Pick: Spellcasting in Silk by Juliet Blackwell
7. Series Pick: No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor
8. Nonfiction Pick: The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
9. Classics Pick: The Bostonians by Henry James
10. Comics: The Walking Dead Vol. 27
11. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 1
12. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 2
13. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 3
14. Comics: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 4
15. Comics: Wonder Woman Rebirth Vol. 1
16. Comics: Wonder Woman Rebirth Vol. 2
17. Romance Pick: The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky
18. Romance Pick: The Daughter of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky
19. Romance Pick: A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

Movies watched

• Christmas in the Smokies -- Love a good cheesy Christmas movie. Although this one suffered from an unneeded religious bent.
• A Christmas Prince -- My silly Netflix movie. Mildly entertaining while I addressed Christmas cards. 
• A Dogwalker’s Christmas Tale -- Silly stupid romantic comedy, but I do love my cheesy Christmas movies.
• Christmas Crush/Holiday High School Reunion -- Super silly movie, but I enjoyed it. Totally Mean Girls 10 years later and set at Christmas.
• My Santa --  Not my favorite. There was no chemistry between the leads.
• Christmas in the City -- Weird carryover from Christmas Crush, but this one was decent.
• Merry Kissmas -- Loved the Nutcracker theme of this one. 
• The Italian Job -- J was surprised that I had never watched this one. Very enjoyable 1960s action film.
• Naughty & Nice -- Except for the male lead's name (seriously Pepper?), I actually enjoyed this one.
• How Sarah Got Her Wings -- Tone was off on this one. Not a huge fan.
• La La Land -- I finally watched this one and completely fell into the movie. Love the entire look and feel of this one.
• A Princess for Christmas -- Definitely cheesy in places, but I liked this one.
• Christmas Inheritance -- This one was better than I thought it would be.
• Me Before You -- How did I miss seeing this movie? I loved the book when I read it a few years back. Definitely a tear-jerker.
• Bridget Jones's Baby -- I enjoyed the first two movies, I enjoyed this one. Love Colin Firth, not a huge fan of Renee but that's okay.
• Rough Night -- I was under the impression that this was a crazy comedy, but it was a lot darker than I was anticipating. Still pretty decent. 
• Maleficent -- I actually really liked this one. Maybe because Maleficent was always my favorite the Disney villains.
• Shin Godzilla -- Our New Year's Eve movie pick. The twins were a bit bored, but I really enjoyed it.

TV Shows watched

• People of Earth S1 -- We finished the first season before I left. Holy cow! That was good! Can't wait to start S2.
• Dirk Gently S2 -- J gets to watch the finale without me. Boo! Hope I can stream it here...
• Lizzie Borden Chronicles -- So campy! But I'm loving it!

Comments - For the crazy traveling and random childcare crap this month, my reading totals are very respectable. My last book of 2017 was finished on Dec. 22nd. From there I'm counting any reading for 2018 as I'm not likely to finish another book before the New Year. I'm also looking forward to all the new reading challenges. On the watched front, I knocked off a huge list of movies for the holidays. Byproduct of the kiddos not sleeping while here in Indiana. Oh well, at least I was fairly entertained.

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2017 Wrap-up

November's TBR Pile (14/20):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman ✓
2. MVPA Book Club Selection: Bonk by Mary Roach
3. Series Pick: In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured, library hold) ✓
4. Nonfiction Pick: 1776 by David McCullough
5. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Star of the Sea by Joseph O' Connor
6. Classics Pick: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton ✓
7. Currently Reading: Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell ✓
8. Currently Reading: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen ✓
9. Scary Pick: Omega Days by John Campbell ✓
10. Library random pick: Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen ✓
11. Extra: Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured, library hold) ✓
12. Extra: A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell
13. Extra: Spellcasting in Silk by Juliet Blackwell
14. Extra: A Toxic Trousseau by Juliet Blackwell
15. Added: A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner ✓
16. Added: The Coldest City by Antony Johnston ✓
17. Added: How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman ✓
18. Added: Saga Vol. 7 ✓
19. Added: East of West Vol. 7 ✓
20. Added: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 3643 pages
Pages Remaining: 702,643 pages

Current Read - Bonk by Mary Roach; A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

December's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (January meeting)
2. Series Pick: The Water Witch by Juliet Dark
3. Nonfiction Pick: Goldilocks and the Water Bears by Louisa Preston
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor
5. Classics Pick: ???
6. Carryover: Bonk by Mary Roach
7. Currently Reading: A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell
8. Carryover/Must Finish Read: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
9. Cozy Mystery: Spellcasting in Silk by Juliet Blackwell
10. Paranormal Fiction: The Stone Angel by Juliet Dark

Movies watched

• Get Hard -- Somewhat entertaining. 
• Sky High -- J was surprised I had never seen this one. It was way better than I thought it would be based off the description. 
• Hotel Transylvania -- Arthur's pick. Decent animated movie.
• Hotel Transylvania 2 -- And then Arthur had to watch the sequel.
• The Hitman's Bodyguard -- J's pick and a highly entertaining one at that. Loved it! We laughed so hard.
• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets -- I wanted some fun Luc Besson and this delivered. Plot holes, but it was entertaining.
• The House -- Definitely had entertaining parts. Love Raffi!
• Lost in La Mancha -- Wow! That film production was a train wreck!
• Hearts of Darkness -- Documentary kick last week... Pretty interesting
• Man of Steel -- J finally convinced me to watch this one (after an entire bottle of wine) and it was just as bad as I thought it was going to be. Ugh!
• Batman v Superman -- This movie was so boring! And 3 hours long! I'm amazed I made it through. Really the only parts I cared about where scenes featuring Alfred and Wonder Woman. Otherwise, didn't care. 
• Suicide Squad -- This one was just confusing. What was the tone? Did any character grow? What changed in the DC Universe after this movie? 

TV Shows watched

• Stranger Things S2 -- Holy cow! Still adore this show even though I felt like this season was a lot of set-up for season 3 instead of a contained storyline.
• Star Trek: Discovery -- Still sticking with this one even with the issues. We finished the first half of S1, but there were problems.
• Zapped -- Our current random British comedy. It has it's moments. 
• Stan vs. Evil S1 -- Oh my! This was way too funny!

Comments - November turned out to be a great reading month. I thought I was going to hit a slump after October's craziness, but I surprised myself. I read a ton of books and knocked out a few reading challenge slots. On the TV and movie front, we watched a fair amount. We even forced ourselves to watch the start of the DC Universe movies even though they were painful. We'll see what happens for December... 

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2017 Wrap-up

October's TBR Pile (12/20):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly √
2. Series Pick: Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured) √
3. Nonfiction Pick: Reading People by Anne Bogel √
4. Nonfiction Pick: The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick
5. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
6. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (iPad)
7. Scary Pick: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft
8. Scary Pick: The Gates by John Connolly √
9. Scary Pick: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff √
10. Scare Pick: 99 Coffins by David Wellington
11. Scary Pick: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
12. Scary Pick: 8.4 Peter Hernon √
13. Nonfiction Scary Pick: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen
14. Nonfiction Scary Pick: The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall
15. More Nonfiction: The Tea Reader edited by Katrina Avila Munichiello √
16. Food Pick: Voracious by Cara Nicoletti √
17. Cozy Mystery: A Cast-Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured; library hold) √
18. Added: The Mummy by Anne Rice (iPad) √
19. Added: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (not pictured) √
20. Added: Haunted Castles by Ray Russell √

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 3606  pages
Pages Remaining: 706,286 pages

Current Read - The Devil in the Shape of a Woman; Hexes and Hemlines

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

November's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
2. MVPA Book Club Selection: Bonk by Mary Roach
3. Series Pick: In a Witches Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured, library hold)
4. Nonfiction Pick: 1776 by David McCullough
5. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Star of the Sea by Joseph O' Connor
6. Classics Pick: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
7. Currently Reading: Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell
8. Currently Reading: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen
9. Scary Pick: Omega Days by John Campbell
10. Library random pick: Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen
11. Extra: Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured, library hold)
12. Extra: A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell
13. Extra: Spellcasting in Silk by Juliet Blackwell
14. Extra: A Toxic Trousseau by Juliet Blackwell

Movies watched

• Why Him -- Stupid, but it had it's moments.
• The Little Hours -- Fairly entertaining. Apparently we decided to go from one Franco to the other this month...
• Spiderman: Homecoming -- We finally saw this and really enjoed it. A good sueprhero movie that didn't dwell so much on the teenage angst. Thank goodness.
• Despicable Me 3 -- Mildly entertaining
• Crimson Peak -- Finally! It's been sitting on the server for so long and we finally watched it.
• The Haunting (1963) -- A very true adaptation of the book. The voice-over is weird, but I see what the filmakers were trying to do.
• The Haunting (1999) -- Such a bad movie. After reading the book, I understand just how bad it is...
• Baby Driver -- We're huge fans of Edgar Wright and this did not disappoint. And the soundtrack is amazing.

TV Shows watched

• Episodes S5 -- Sad this show is over, but it was oh so good! And I don't even mind the feel-good ending.
• Last Week Tonight -- Always a bit depressing, but we love it.
• Adam Ruins Everything -- Even Arthur enjoys this one.
• Avatar S3 -- Arthur and I finally finished this series. 
• Dirk Gently S2 -- Love this totally weirdo show!
• The Good Place S2 -- Every week we debate theories about what is going to happen. Love it!
• Star Trek: Discovery S1 -- We're still watching and have our theories, but still waiting for more philosophical discussions...
• Stranger Things S2 -- Oh my goodness!!!

Comments - I killed the FrighFall Readathon this month! 8 of my 12 books read were "scary" reads. And I passed 3500 pages for the month. November won't be this good for reading, but I'll take some entertaining reads.

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2017 Wrap-up

September's TBR Pile (7/10):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff √
2. Series Pick: Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine √
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (put in the sell pile; just not speaking to me anymore)
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: One Night for Love by Mary Balogh √
7. Comic Pick: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 5 √
8. Added: The Great Quake by Henry Fountain √
9. Added: The Lost City of Z by David Grann √
10. Added: Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine √

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 2320 pages
Pages Remaining: 709,892 pages

Current Read - The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick

Books I Gave Up On (1) -- Children of Eden by Joey Graceffa. A YA Dystopian novel that I just couldn't get into. I think this one would have grabbed me when I was 15. Alas, I am not 15 and consequently I am just bored by it.

Books bought/received (1) -- I ended up preordering Anne Bogel's Reading People. Because I preordered, I get the audio version read by Anne herself as a bonus. 

October's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
2. Series Pick: Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured; library hold)
3. Nonfiction Pick: Reading People by Anne Bogel
4. Nonfiction Pick: The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick
5. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
6. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (iPad)
7. Scary Pick: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft
8. Scary Pick: The Gates by John Connolly
9. Scary Pick: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
10. Scare Pick: 99 Coffins by David Wellington
11. Scary Pick: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
12. Scary Pick: 8.4 Peter Hernon
13. Nonfiction Scary Pick: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen
14. Nonfiction Scary Pick: The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall
15. More Nonfiction: The Tea Reader edited by Katrina Avila Munichiello
16. Food Pick: Voracious by Cara Nicoletti
17. Cozy Mystery: Cast-Off Coven by JUliet Blackwell (not pictured; library hold)
18. The Mummy by Anne Rice (iPad)

Movies watched

• Wonder Woman -- Finally! And it was so good. Sure, there are some issues, but I loved seeing a badass female superhero lead a movie!
• The Great Wall -- Our silly big blockbuster pick. We made an agreement to not pick on the historical inaccuracies. Otherwise we would have never made it through the movie.
• Hot Tub Time Machine -- We needed a good silly comedy one night. This is a go-to!
• The Island of Lost Souls (1932) -- A classic from our Science Fiction Top 100 list. Definitely better than the crazy remakes...
• Sausage Party -- J's pick. It was thoroughly stupid, 
• Boss Baby -- Arthur's pick. Actually a pretty decent animated movie. Alec Baldwin voicing the baby was perfect casting!
• The Lost City of Z -- Amazingly this movie did not make me as angry as I thought it would. Decent adaptation of a book based on a true story of exploration in the Amazon. I would watch it again... 
• The War of the Worlds (1953) -- It's been years since I watched this one. Part of the Top 100 Science Fiction Movies. We're making our way through the entire list, watching some for the first time and rewatching others.

TV Shows watched

• Ken Burns' The National Parks -- We finally got around to watching and it was beautiful. 
• Supernatural S2 -- Working our way through the series slowly, but surely...
• Rick and Morty S3!!! -- Woot woot!
• The Good Places S2 -- Oh man! The first two episodes were great. I can't wait to see where they go with this season.
• Star Trek: Discovery -- We're reserving judgement in the hopes that the show is more philosophical than action, but the first two episodes were pretty good at setting up the series.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender S3 -- J finally fixed the files (they were in Hebrew), so Arthur and I can finally finish the series.

Comments - So I didn't reach my pages read goal of 2500 pages this month, but I wouldn't call the month a failure. I knocked off some decent reads and one bad one (Fates and Furies). I read two more volumes in one my newest favorite series, The Great Library. We also watched a fair amount of movies and watched a fair amount of TV. October's TBR pile is very ambitious, but I'm hoping to knock out at least half of the books pictures> I would love a good showing for the FrightFall Readathon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2017 Wrap-up

August's TBR Pile (11/14):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby √
2. Series Pick: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare √
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James √
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh √
7. Young Adult Pick: Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel (DNF)
8. Added: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1 √
9. Added: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 2 √
10. Added: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 3 √
11. Added: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine √
12. Added: Simply Love by Mary Balogh √
13. Added: Simply Magic by Mary Balogh √
14. Added: Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh √

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 3861 pages
Pages Remaining: 712,212 pages

Current Read - One Night for Love by Mary Balogh; The Great Quake by Henry Fountain

Books I Gave Up On (1) -- Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel. I enjoyed the first book (Dearly, Departed), but could not get into this one at all. It was just boring me. After about 75 pages, I decided to let it go and move on to something I want to read.

Books bought/received (0)

September's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
2. Series Pick: Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Great Quake by Henry Fountain
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: One Night for Love by Mary Balogh
7. Comic Pick: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 5

Movies watched

• Westworld -- We figured we would watch the original movie before embarking on the tv show.
• Arrival -- I liked it, but not sure if the hype was worth it.
• True Grit -- J couldn't believe I hadn't seen either the old one or the remake. We watched the remake. Really good western.
• Fantastic Beasts -- Fun movie. Nothing earth shattering, but a fun movie.
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 -- Of course we enjoyed this one.
• King Arthur -- Way too much plot shoved into this one movie. 
• xXX: Return of Xander Cage -- Utter ridiculousness.

TV Shows watched

• Ken Burns National Parks
• Supernatural S1 -- We finally finished the first season and started S2!
• Last Week Tonight
• Full Frontal
• Episodes -- So so glad this one is back. We love it so much.
• Bachelor in Paradise -- My silly guilty pleasure

Comments - Getting sick did wonders for my reading totals this month. I don't imagine that September will be as good, but I am hoping for some good reads. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

July 2017 Wrap-up

July's TBR Pile (10/13):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty √
2. Series Pick: The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige √
3. Nonfiction Pick: 50 Great American Places √
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Fleming
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: ????
7. Carry over: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel √
8. Added: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare √
9. Added: Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor √
10. Added: Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige √
11. Added: Locke and Key Small World √
12. Added: The End of Oz by Danielle Paige √
13. Added: Dead Feminists by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring √

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 2944 pages
Pages Remaining: 716,073 pages

Current Read - We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

August's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
2. Series Pick: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh
7. Young Adult Pick: Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

Movies watched

• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil -- Showed this horror comedy to the twins. They really enjoyed the absurdity.
• Cockneys Vs. Zombies -- Holy hell that was funny! I love my zombie movies and this one was a joy.
• Oh Brother Where Art Thou? -- Don't think the twins fully appreciated this one as it was their first Coen Brothers and they haven't read The Odyssey. But they did like it.
• Empire Records -- J and I rewatched this one night. Love Rex Manning Day!
• Kubo and the Two Strings -- The twins didn't get to see this! Thankfully we have it on the server. Such a great movie.
• Paul -- Introduced the twins to this fun movie.
• Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World -- Alex requested to watch after reading the comics. Lots of fun!
• Escape from New York -- Some great cheese to share with the twins.
• Hidden Figures -- J and I finally got to watch it. Such a good movie. Now I need to read the book.
• Popstar -- Way funnier than it should have been! We seriously laughed too hard.

TV Shows watched

• Doctor Who S10 -- Oh my! What a season ender! 
• The Bachelorette -- I'm still watching...
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- Finally started watching this mini series. Love love love it! 
• Big Little Lies -- I finished the book for book club so I thought I would try and squeeze in the series before club. 
• Supernatural S1 -- J and I are making our way through the first season. Loving rewatching the episodes almost 12 years late.

Comments - Decent reading this month. I finished off the Dorothy Must Die series, started The Mortal Instruments and Gone with the Respiration. Plus, we managed to watch a decent amount of new (and old) movies. Added bonus, I finished the Big Little Lies TV adaptation. Very good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

June 2017 Wrap-up

June's TBR Pile (8/12):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah √
2. Series Pick: Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige √
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp √
7. Carry over: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
8. Short Stories: Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 3 by Danielle Paige √
9. Added: Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor √
10. Added: Wonder Woman The True Amazon by Jill Thompson √
11. Added: Zombies A Brief History of Decay by Olivier Peru √
12. Added: A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor √

Picture Book Roundup:

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 2034 pages
Pages Remaining: 719,017 pages

Current Read - The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

July's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
2. Series Pick: The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige
3. Nonfiction Pick: 50 Great American Places
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Fleming
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: ????
7. Carry over: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Movies watched

• The Man in the White Suit -- 1951 thriller starring Alec Guiness
• Destination Moon -- One of the Top 100 SciFi movies. I wanted a space movie and picked this one to watch. Robert Heinlein was a consultant on the film. Fairly realistic space movie for the 1950s.
• The Creature from the Black Lagoon -- Been years since I watched this. Definitely one of the better monster movies even with all the cheese.
• John Wick 2 -- Definitely not the level of the first one, but I still really enjoyed it.
• Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels -- Introduced this one to the twins. They loved it.
• Seven Samurai -- Introduced this masterpiece to the twins. They were bored initially, but really got into the second half.
• The Birds -- Introduced the twins to Hitchcock, starting with my favorite!
• Snatch -- Finished out the "sequel" to Lock, Stock. The boys enjoyed it more than Lock Stock.

TV Shows watched

• Supernatural S1 -- J and I are slowly plugging away at this one.
• Last Week Tonight
• The Bachelorette -- Finally on track wth watching and listening to my podcast (Here to Make Friends). I'm in agreement with the podcast ladies that the last four will be Peter, Dean, Bryan, and Eric. I'm pulling for Peter but I have a feeling that Bryan wins.
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- Started this mini series while J was gone one night. Read the book a few months back and have been meaning to watch. Episode 1 was really good.

Comments - Decent reading and media viewing this month. I didn't read quite as many pages as i would have liked, but I did knock off some good books from my TBR pile. And I finished my book club book with almost a week to spare!

Next up on the TBR pile:

May 2017 Wrap-up

May's TBR Pile (6/11):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: (Already read)
2. Series Pick: Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto √
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: The Hidden Heart by Candace Camp √
7. Carry over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
8. Added: Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton √
9. Added: Anno Dracula by Kim Newman √
10. Added: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige √
11. Added: Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 1 by Danielle Paige √

Picture Book Roundup:

1. Super Rawr! by Todd H. Doodler
2. Lost Cat by C. Roger Mader
3. Bear is Not Tired by Ciara Gavin
4. Hot Rod Hamster and the Wacky Whatever Race! by Cynthia Lord
5. Patrick's Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick
6. Teachers Rock! by Todd Parr
7. T. Rex and the Mother's Day Hug by Lois G. Grambling

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 2286 pages
Pages Remaining: 721,051 pages

Current Read - Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

June's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
2. Series Pick: Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp
7. Carry over: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
8. Short Stories: Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 3 by Danielle Paige

Movies watched

• Iron Eagle -- J made me watch it. Total 80s cheese. And for the life of me, I can't figure out the geography of the movie...
• The Hunger Games; Mockingjay Part 2 -- I finally finished the series. I liked a few of the sequences (the oil in the courtyard, so gross!), but overall I was disappointed. 
• Pete's Dragon -- Arthur and I watched this one night while J was out of town. Confused by the tone although the little kid that played Pete was great.
• Logan -- Finally! This has been on J and I's list since it came out (we're parents of tiny kiddos, no movies in theaters for us right now). Such a different X-men movie, but I loved loved loved it! And that little girl that played X-23 was amazing!
• Fire Birds -- Another J pick. This one was a complete Top Gun rip-off movie that was even worse than Iron Eagle. Didn't think that was possible!
• Brewster's Millions -- I haven't watched this movie in years. A nice rewatch for Memorial Day Weekend.

TV Shows watched

• Brooklyn 99 -- Since we finished 30 Rock, this has been J's go-to short fun show for lunch and random nights. I didn't watch every episode, but I did watch a fair amount of them. We are completely caught up with the series and man that finale was a killer!
• The Magicians S2 -- Holy cow was that a crazy season finale! Where are they going to go in Season 3?
• Elementary S5 -- J and I guessed the big Sherlock twist before it was revealed, but overall a solid series. 
• Doctor Who S10 -- We're watching this basically in real time. Love Peter Capaldi! And Pearl Mackie is pretty entertaining. Plus Michelle Gomez returns!

Comments - My reading just tanked this month. I was very busy and distracted and apparently just didn't prioritize much time for reading. I hope I get it back on track for June. I need some de-stressing...

Next up on the TBR pile:

April 2017 Wrap-up

April's TBR Pile (13/16):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie √
2. Series Pick: A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor √
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Bust Guide to the New World Order √
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Tuscany for Beginners by Imogen Edwards-Jones √
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: So Wild a Heart by Candace Camp √
7. Carry over: Dead Feminists by O'Leary
8. Carry over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
9. Carry over: Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates √
10. Added: Atlantia by Ally Condie √
11. Added: Saga Vol. 6 √
12. Added: East of West Vol. 5 √
13. Added; East of West Vol. 6 √
14. Added: The Walking Dead Vol. 25 √
15. Added: The Walking Dead Vol. 26 √
16. Added: Lady Killer by Joelle Jones √
17. Added: You're Doing a Great Job by Biz Ellis and Theresa Thorn √
     

Picture Book Roundup:

1. That's Not My Dragon
2. Hap-pea All Year by Keith Baker
3. Absolutely One Thing by Lauren Child
4. It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton
5. Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman
6. One, Two, Three, Mother Goose by Iona Opie
7. Monster Park by Annie Bach

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 3888 pages

Pages Remaining: 723,337 pages

Current Read - Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

May's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: (Already read)
2. Series Pick: Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Dante Club by Matthew Flaming
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: The Hidden Heart by Candace Camp
7. Carry over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Movies watched

• Godzilla (2014) -- Unintentional comedy. Seriously, who writes this stuff? My biggest pet peeve: the writers apparently do not know geography.
• Moana (2016) -- I finally got to watch this gem. So so good! And the music is amazing.

TV Shows watched

• Legion S1 -- Oh so good! We sped through this season. I can't wait to see what that they do for a second season!
• The Magicians S2 -- Very different from the book, but we love it.
• UnReal S2 -- One of my guilty pleasure shows.
• The 100 S4 -- Another guilty pleasure.
• 30 Rock S6-S7 -- Finally finished with this series. It was something fun to watch during a lunch or while the kids were running around playing. 
• Avatar S2 -- Arthur and I watch any episode with lunch some days.
• Rick and Morty S1-S3 -- J got me started watching this. How did I miss this show?

Comments - So my big blog transfer happened this month and was an obstacle to reading. I'm definitely okay with how much I read, but a bit disappointed at the amount of time I was dealing with blog stuff instead of reading. Hopefully May settles down (although I still have a ton of behind the scenes work to do for the new blogs).

March 2017 Wrap-up

March's TBR Pile (14/17):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey √
2. Series Pick: Fairest by Marissa Meyer √
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell √
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean √
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Carry over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
7. Short Stories: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer √
8. Comic Pick: Love Hurts by Kim Andersson √
9. Comic Pick: Monstress Vol. 1 √
10. Comic Pick: Pretty Deadly Vol. 1 √
11. Comic Pick: Pretty Deadly Vol. 2 √
12. Library Pick: Dead Feminists by O'Leary
13. Added: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton √
14. Added: Winter by Marissa Meyer √
15. Added: Hamilton The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter √
16. Added: When a Child is Born by Jodi Taylor √
17. Added: Unmentionable by Therese Oneill √
18. Added: Shitty Mom by Laurie Kilmartin (reread) √

Picture Book Roundup:

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 3966 pages

Pages Remaining: 727,225 pages

Current Read - Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

April's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
2. Series Pick: A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Bust Guide to the New World Order
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Tuscany for Beginners by Imogen Edwards-Jones
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: So Wild a Heart by Candace Camp
7. Carry over: Dead Feminists by O'Leary
8. Carry over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Movies watched

• The Huntsman: Winter's War -- Storyline not good at all, but those costumes were to die for!
• X-Men Apocalypse -- Not the worst X-Men movie, but definitely not the best. And about 30 minutes too long.
• Rogue One -- Finally got to see this one. Love love loved it!
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (RiffTrax version) -- J's birthday movie pick. RiffTrax made it almost watchable...

TV Shows watched

• UnReal S2
• Last Week Tonight (catching up)
• The Bachelor
• The Magicians S2
• Legion S1
• Emerald City S1
• Elementary (catching up)

February 2017 Wrap-up

February's TBR Pile (9/12):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: (already read)
2. Series Pick: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer √
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Carry-over: The Daily Show by Chris Smith √
6. Carry-over: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett √
7. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier √
8. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic
9. Added: A Study of Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas √
10. Added: The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor √
11. Added: Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs √
12. Added: Cress by Marissa Meyer √
13. Added: A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor √

Picture Book Roundup:

1. Frankie Stein by Lola M. Schaefer
2. Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
3. Funny Face, Sunny Face by Sally Symes
4. Animals by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins
5. Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins
6. I Wanna Go Home by Karen Kaufman Orloff

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 2989 pages

Pages Remaining: 731,191 pages

Current Read - The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

March's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
2. Series Pick: Fairest by Marissa Meyer
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Carry over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
7. Short Stories: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
8. Comic Pick: Love Hurts by Kim Anderson
9. Comic Pick: Monstress Vol. 1
10. Comic Pick: Pretty Deadly Vol. 1
11. Comic Pick: Pretty Deadly Vol. 2
12. Library Pick: Dead Feminists by O'Leary

Movies watched

• Allegiant
• Cinderella
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
• Love and Friendship
• Doctor Strange
• Bad Moms

TV Shows watched

• 30 Rock S2-4
• The Great British Baking Show S7
• Avatar S1 (rewatching this with Arthur)
• Broadchurch S1

Comments - For being the shortest month of the year, I killed it with my reading. I really tried to focus on reading in my spare time as opposed to always turn to tv. Seemed to have paid off!

January 2017 Wrap-up

January's TBR Pile (7/10):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling √
2. Series Pick: The Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
3. Nonfiction Pick: Buffering by Hannah Hart √
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Comic Pick: Revival Vol. 3 √
6. Comic Pick: The Runaways Complete Collection Vol. 1 √
7. Added: The Bargain by Jane Ashford √
8. Added: A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron √
9. Added: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
10. Added: Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor √

Picture Book Roundup: Finally getting back to the library for new-to-us picture books

1. Yellow Copter by Kersten Hamilton
2. Too Many Moose! by Lisa M. Bakos
3. A Poem in Your Pocket by Margaret McNamara
4. H.O.R.S.E. by Christopher Meyers
5. The Awful Aardvarks Shop for School by Reeve Lindbergh
6. Take Away the A by Michael Escoffier
7. Bike On, Bear! by Cynthea Liu
8. Curious George Discovers the Stars by Bethany V. Freitas
9. Never Play Music Next to the Zoo by John Lithgow
10. Zoo Zoom! by Candace Ryan
11. Meet Tracker by Geof Smith
12. The 329th Friends by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
13. The Sandman by William Joyce
14. Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems
15. My Pet Book  by Bob Staake
16. Half of an Elephant by Gusti
17. Miss Fox's Class Shapes Up by Eileen Spinelli

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 1793 pages

Pages Remaining: 734,180 pages

Current Read - Voyager by Diana Gabaldon; The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett; the Daily Show An Oral History by Christ Smith

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received

February's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: (already read)
2. Series Pick: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
3. Nonfiction Pick:
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Carry-over: The Daily Show by Chris Smith
6. Carry-over: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
7. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier
8. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic

Movies watched - See all the movies watch in January in my New Movie Posts here and here. We didn't make it to 31 movies this month, but we did watch a fair amount of new-to-me movies.

TV Shows watched

• UnReal S1 - Finally watched this show during break. A very intriguing soap opera.
• Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After? S1 - Haha! My mom made me watch this one. Those two are ridiculous.
• The Paradise S2 Episodes 2-3
• The Bachelor S21 - So far, I'm loving Nick as the Bachelor. So much more personality than the last bachelor, Ben. And my three picks, Vanessa, Rachel, and Danielle, are still in it!
• Sherlock S4 - J and finished this in the span of about a week.
• Gilmore Girls S6 and S7 - I finally finished so I can watch the mini series.
• Those Who Can't - J and sped through this series...
• Superstore - And this one...

December 2016 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

December's TBR Pile (8/11):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
2. MVPA Book Club Selection (February): Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris √
3. Series Pick: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
4. Nonfiction Pick: 13 by Nathan Lachenmeyer √
5. Carry-over: The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Montillo √
6. Jar Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
7. Jar Pick: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Added: Glitches by Marissa Meyer √
9. Added: The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer √
10. Added: The Little Android by Marissa Meyer √
11. Added: Bossypants by Tina Fey √
12. Added: High Rise by J.G. Ballard √

Picture Book Roundup:

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 1421 pages

Pages Remaining: 735,973 pages

Current Read - Voyager by Diana Gabaldon! Still plugging through it...

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed  - I finished out my 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge right at Christmas. Perfect timing... And I finished out the Book to Movie Challenge with my last book of 2016.

Books bought/received

2016 Total Spent: $21.25

Comments - Another month come and gone. December was definitely not my month when it came to lots of pages read, but I did manage to sneak in a few books here and there. Here's to starting 2017 off right with some great book picks!

January's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
2. Series Pick: The Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
3. Nonfiction Pick: Buffering by Hannah Hart
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Comic Pick: Revival Vol. 3
6. Comic Pick: The Runaways Complete Collection Vol. 1

November 2016 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

November’s TBR Pile (6/10):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
2. Series Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
3. Nonfiction Pick: Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink √
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Jar Pick: Wild by Cheryl Strayed √
6. Book Club Selection (December): Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
7. Added: The Last Honest Seamstress by Gina Robinson √
8. Added: Cinder by Marissa Meyer √
9. Added: Revival Vol. 1 √
10. Added: Revival Vol. 2 √

Picture Book Roundup:

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 2063 pages Pages Remaining: 737,394 pages

Current Read - The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Montillo

Books I Gave Up On 

Challenges Completed  

Books bought/received 

2016 Total Spent: $21.25

Comments – November's reading sucked majorly... Hoping to actually finish some books in December.

December’s TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
2. MVPA Book Club Selection (February): Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
3. Series Pick: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
4. Nonfiction Pick: ???
5. Carry-over: The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Montillo
6. Jar Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
7. Jar Pick: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

October 2016 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

October’s TBR Pile (10/13):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: (already read)
2. Series Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Jar Pick: The Motel Room by Alyssa Cooper √
6. Added: Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin √
7. Added: Chocolate Dreams at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin √
8. Added: Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin √
9. Added: The Obituary Society by Jessica L. Randall √
10. Added: The Stranger's Obituary by Jessica L. Randall √
11. Added: The Obituary Society's Last Stand by Jessica L. Randall √
12. Added: Rat Queens Vol. 3 √
13. Added: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger √
14. Added: Duke of a Gilded Age by Suzanne G. Rogers √

Picture Book Roundup:

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 1894 pages Pages Remaining: 739,457 pages

Current Read – Slowly slowly making my way through Voyager by Diana Gabaldon. I can't read it during night time feedings because the book is too large and my day time reading has gone down due to baby and toddler needs. I'm also reading a historical romance during the night feedings.

Books I Gave Up On 

Challenges Completed  -- I finished reading 20 different women fiction writers. Always love to complete this challenge. I would have finished it sooner, but I tend to read multiple books by the same women authors and decided to only count one book from each women author for the challenge. I also knocked out my Read My Damn Books challenge of 40 fiction books from my shelves.

Books bought/received 

From Amazon ($5.98)

• The Stranger's Obituary by Jessica L. Randall
• The Obituary Society's Last Stand by Jessica L. Randall

2016 Total Spent: $21.25

Comments – Decent showing for what I knew was going to be a slow reading month. Knocked out two more challenges and many challenges spots. Also finished a few series including The Finishing School by Gail Carriger that was started back in August. Looking forward to November's reading.

November’s TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
2. Series Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
3. Nonfiction Pick: Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Jar Pick: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
6. Book Club Selection (December): Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

September 2016 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

September's TBR Pile (6/10):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio √
2. Series Pick: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower √
4. Carry-over: High Rise by J.G. Ballard
5. Carry-over: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger
6. Jar Pick: Where the Girls Are by Susan Douglas (DNF)
7. Added: The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh √
8. Added: Founding Myths by Ray Raphael √
9. Added: Let's Talk About Video Games by Ian Bogost √
10. Added: Circling the Sun by Paula McClain √

Picture Book Roundup:

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 2017 pages Pages Remaining: 741,351 pages

Current Read - Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Books I Gave Up On -- I ended up DNFing Where the Girls Are by Susan Douglas. I just couldn't get into the book at all. Probably not a bad book, just not what I wanted this month.

Challenges Completed  

Books bought/received 

2016 Total Spent: $15.27

Comments - Late pregnancy exhaustion left little time for reading. I'm really not super happy with my overall reading for September, but oh well. October's not going to be much better due to a new baby. Hopefully I can finish out the year strong with November and December.

October's TBR Pile: I'm going to keep my TBR pile super light because of baby Q arriving last week.

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: (already read)
2. Series Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
3. Nonfiction Pick: ???
4. Carry-over: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
5. Jar Pick: ????

August 2016 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

August's TBR Pile (12/15):

1. Book Club Selection: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng √
2. MVPA Book Club Selection: An Innocent, A Broad by Ann Leary √
3. Series Pick: Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger √
4. Nonfiction Pick: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
5. Jar Pick: Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick √
6. Jar Pick: Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger √
7. Series in August: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger
8. Carry-over: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke √
9. Carry-over: High Rise by J.G. Ballard (waiting on J to finish...)
10. Added: Rat Queens Vol. 1 √
11. Added: Rat Queens Vol. 2 √
12. Added: What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Cheated by Tevi Troy √
13. Added: Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade √
14. Added: More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh √
15. Added: No Man's Mistress by Mary Balogh √

Picture Book Roundup: Somehow I totally forgot to record any new books read with Arthur.

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 3443 pages Pages Remaining: 743,368 pages

Current Read - The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh

Books I Gave Up On (1) - First Bite by Bee Wilson. I was interested in the premise of the book, but it seemed super preachy and was pretty boring.

Challenges Completed  - Nonfiction Books. I finished at least 20 nonfiction books. Love me some good nonfiction!

Books bought/received 

2016 Total Spent: $15.27

Comments - Decent reading this month. Keeping my reading momentum leading up to the baby coming.

September's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio
2. Series Pick: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower
4. Carry-over: High Rise by J.G. Ballard
5. Carry-over: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger
6. Jar Pick: Where the Girls Are by Susan Douglas

July 2016 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

Hop on over to Booksessed to participate.

July's TBR Pile (11/15):

1. Book Club Selection:The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato √
2. MVPA Book Club Selection: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood √
3. Series Pick: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
4. Nonfiction Pick: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson √
5. Jar Pick: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
6. Jar Pick: The Lure of the Moonflower by Lauren Willig √
7. Additional: Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (review pending)
8. Additional: High Rise by J.G. Ballard (review pending)
9. Additional: Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick √
10. Added: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner √
11. Added: The Scorch Trials: The Graphic Novel Prelude √
12. Added: The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't... by Gail Carriger √
13. Added: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger √
14. Added: The Last Star by Rick Yancey √
15. Added: George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade √

Picture Book Roundup:

1. How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton
2. Dinosaur vs. Mommy by Bob Shea
3. Larry Gets Lost in Prehistoric Times by Andrew Fox
4. Froggy Goes to the Library by Jonathan London
5. Calling All Cars by Sue Fliess
6. Race Car Count by Rebecca Kai Dotich
7. Go-Go Gorillas by Julia Durango
8. Digger Dog by William Bee
9. Red Car, Blue Car by Jonathan Litton
10. Job Site by Nathan Clement
11. Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus by James Dean
12. The Little Shop of Monsters by R.L. Stine and Marc Brown
13. The Pirate Jamboree by Mark Teague
14. How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz
15. The Rise and Fall of Oscar the Magician by Matthew Porter
16. Let's Play by Herve Tullet
17. Ten Playful Tigers by Betty Schwartz and Lynn Seresin
18. Digger the Dinosaur by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
19. Listen to My Trumpet by Mo Willems
20. Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa Partners by Erica Silverman
21. The Toy Breaker by Geoffrey Hayes
22. Oliver, Amanda, and Grandmother Pig by Jean Van Leeuwen
23. Happy Pig Day by Mo Willems
24. Race Around the World by Susan Amerikaner
25. Peep and Ducky Rainy Day by David Martin
26. Tickle Monster by Edouard Manceau
27. The Find It Book by Margaret Wise Brown
28. One Bear Extraordinaire by Jayme McGowan
29. Elmer and Grandpa Eldo by David McKee
30. Billy and Goat at the Street Fair by Dan Yaccarino
31. I'm Cool by Kate & Jim McMullan

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 3407 pages Pages Remaining: 750,218 pages

Current Read - An Innocent, A Broad by Ann Leary

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed  - Perpetual Challenges: I knocked 20 books off my extremely long list of perpetual reading lists.

Books bought/received 

2016 Total Spent: $15.27

Comments -

August's TBR Pile:

1. Book Club Selection: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
2. MVPA Book Club Selection: An Innocent, A Broad by Ann Leary
3. Series Pick: Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
4. Nonfiction Pick: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
5. Jar Pick: Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick
6. Jar Pick: Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger
7. Series in August: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger
8. Carry-over: Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
9. Carry-over: High Rise by J.G. Ballard