High Summer Readathon Finish Line

Pages Read: 303 (Dearly, Beloved) + 124 (Dead Feminists) + 85 (We are Never Meeting in Real Life)

Pages Read Total: 1473

Book Read Total: 6

Comments: I didn't have high expectations for this readathon. Life with four kids in the house leaves limited time for reading. But i think I exceeded my expectations. I read a decent amount of pages and books. I knocked a few off of my never-ending TBR.

Goals:

Read three books √
Review all books read √
Read at least 1 hour a day √

TBR Pile:

Clockwork Princess
Clockwork Prince
Yellow Brick War √
The End of Oz √
50 Great American Places √
Dead Feminists √
The Kingdom of Ohio
Dearly, Departed √
Big Little Lies √

Next up on the TBR pile:

July 2017 Wrap-up

July's TBR Pile (10/13):

MVPA Book Club Selection: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty √
Series Pick: The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige √
Nonfiction Pick: 50 Great American Places √
Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Fleming
Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Romance Pick: ????
Carry over: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel √
Added: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare √
Added: Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor √
Added: Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige √
Added: Locke and Key Small World √
Added: The End of Oz by Danielle Paige √
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:

MVPA Book Club Selection: We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
Series Pick: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Nonfiction Pick: ???
Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Romance Pick: Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh
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:

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Title: Dearly, Departed

Author: Lia Habel

Publisher: Del Rey 2011

Genre: YA - Horror

Pages: 470

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; New Author

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the mores of an antique era. Sixteen-year-old Nora Dearly is far more interested in her country’s political unrest than in silly debutante balls. But the death of her beloved parents leaves Nora at the mercy of a social-climbing aunt who plans to marry off her niece for money. To Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. Now she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting a fatal virus that raises the dead. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and thoroughly deceased. But like the rest of his special undead unit, Bram has been enabled by luck and modern science to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

One of those books that's been on my shelf for way too long! I finally picked it up and was glad I did. I love a good zombie book and this one had some good twists on the mythos. We get good zombies and bad zombies. We get a future dystopian world (at least for the New Victorians). We get a good adventure story. I will admit that it took me about 100 pages to really get into it, but once I did, I sped through it. There's a companion novel that I had to put a hold on at the library.

Gone with the Respiration:

#1 Dearly, Departed
#2 Dearly, Beloved

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer 2017 Reading Update #2

8/22 Books Completed (36.4%)

Let's check in and see how I've done so far... I've made a short list of the books I want to tackle this summer:

Rest of Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige:
1. Stories Vol. 2 √
2. Stories Vol. 3 √
3. The Wicked Will Rise √
4. Yellow Brick War √
5. The End of Oz √
The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare (loaned from a friend):
1. Clockwork Angel √
2. Clockwork Prince
3. Clockwork Princess
The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (in progress)
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp √
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah √
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Simply series by Mary Balogh
1. Simply Unforgettable
2. Simply Love
3. Simply Magic
4. Simply Perfect

Along with my original 22 selections, I also added a few random books along the way:

Wonder Woman: The True Amazon by Jill Thompson √
Zombies: A Brief History of Decay by Olivier Peru √
A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor √
Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor √
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (July book club selection) √
Locke and Key Small World √
50 Great American Places √
Dead Feminists by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring √

Dead Feminists by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

Title: Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color

Author: Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

Publisher: Sasquatch Books 2016

Genre: Nonfiction - Women's History

Pages: 192

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd; Feminism); Popsugar - About an Interesting Woman(en)

Based on the beloved letterpress poster series of the same name, Dead Feminists interweaves intricate broadside art with archival photographs and ephemera. This book brings feminist history to life, profiling 27 unforgettable forebears of the modern women’s movement such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Gwendolyn Brooks, Rachel Carson, and more. Across eras and industries, passions and geographies, this collection of diverse, progressive, and perseverant women faced what looked like insurmountable odds and yet, still, they persisted.

Random grab at the library, although someone on some blog had mentioned it. I did not read the description before diving in. I assumed it was just a book of short biographies of extraordinary women (which I would have loved to read). Instead, we get short bigraphies and artisitc broadsides created specifically for each woman. I loved the biographies of these amazing ladies, but the real interest was in the art that was created. I loved how the authors included some explanations as to their choices for each broadside. They incorporated so many aspects of life from each woman. Fascinating work! I would love to own a few of these broadsides for my walls.

dc049a522d84b84f_PS16_JP_Living_2017ReadingChallenge_List_R2-259x1024.jpg

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer Videos

I can't wait until Halloween!

Loved the book, hope the movie is good!

Hell yeah!

Hope they don't screw this one up!

Beyond excited about this one!!!

Next up on the TBR pile:

High Summer Readathon Update #3

Pages Read: 167 (Dearly, Beloved) + 68 (Dead Feminists)

Pages Read Total: 961

Book Read Total: 4

Comments: I'm about 1/3 of the way through Dearly, Beloved and about 1/3 of the way through Dead Feminists. Hoping to finish both books within the next two days...

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Tuesday -- Queens of the Stone Age "The Way You Used to Do"

Next up on the TBR pile:

Quentin: 42-43 weeks / 10 months

Happy 10 months to my Quentin Deckard! Okay technically he'll be 10 months on Wednesday...

Likes: All the food! Arthur, his blanket, his ferris wheel, baths

Dislikes: Splash pads, not being able to walk yet, not being able to climb into the cabinets, dryer, dishwasher, etc

Demolished these strawberries at the park

Sleeping: A couple of random wakeups at night, but usually just a quick one to replace his paci. The bigger news is consistent napping! He goes down for anywhere from 1 1/2 - 3 hours in the afternoon. It is glorious! I can get some things done or read or play with Arthur or take a shower. The possibilities are endless. I'm loving Q napping.

Eating: All the things and especially anything that momma is eating. I can't eat anything around him without giving him some of it. He begs for food! He's slowly decreasing his formula intake as his ingests more food.

Playing: Lots of independent play and exploration. He's all around the downstairs checking out every nook and cranny. He loves exploring the playroom and all of Arthur's toys. He also likes looking at books. Sometimes he attempts to look at mine and gets very frustrated. I assume because mine don't have pictures.

The only way he would let mom finish a craft

Milestones:

Harder transitions between activities — Yep. He's reluctant to stop doing something he enjoys.
Disliking being confined — Not really. We stopped baby wearing months ago, but he's still in the stroller often. Doesn't seem to bother him.
Crying with loud noises, vacuum, etc — Nope. He finds the vacuum fascinating.
Object permanence — Check!
Responding to single-step commands — Not really. I can see that he's starting to understand more, but he doesn't really listen to commands yet.
Grinding teeth — I've caught him doing this once. Thankfully it hasn't been often.

Out and About: Lots of activities. We've been to the Mission in Fremont (Mission San Jose), Sonic Drive-in, Seven Seas Playground, Stinson Beach, San Francisco, and the Aquarium of the Bay.

Next up on the TBR Pile:

High Summer Readathon Update #2

Pages Read: 130 (50 Great American Places) + 309 (The End of Oz)

Pages Read Total: 726

Book Read Total: 4

Comments: Wow! I knocked out two more books from my TBR pile. I sped through both 50 Great American Places and The End of Oz. On to my next book!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #20

Totally forgot about this post today! I was so excited to go to book club and get away from the kids for a few hours that it slipped my mind...

As I look outside my window: Sun's starting to go down. Thankfully it's getting cooler. It was warm in our house today.

Right now I am: Relaxing after putting the boys to bed. I think we are going to watch a movie soon...

On my bedside table: We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby; Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

On my tv this week: J and I watched some Supernatural. I caught a few episodes of Big Little Lies. And we had a few movie nights with the twins (Escape from New York being the fun one).

Listening to: Randomly I heard the theme from Big Little Lies on The Spectrum and made a note. I downloaded the album (Michael Kiwanuka's Love & Hate). Really digging his soul sound. I have also been listening to Fitz & the Tantrums newest self-titled album. Lots of fun!

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Waffles, Sausage and Potatoes, Eggs
Tuesday - Chicken Parmesan
Wednesday - Grilled Cheese and Soup
Thursday - Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Friday - Smothered Pork Chops
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Pizza night

On my to do list: Happening this week:

Monday - Home day (lots of cleaning and chores)
Tuesday - Great America
Wednesday - Arcade for the teens; park playdate for the littles
Thursday - No idea, maybe library and park
Friday - Probably a home day
Saturday - ???
Sunday - ???

What I am creating: Absolutely nothing at the moment. I am not really inspired this week.

My simple pleasures: Dark chocolate covered walnuts. I grab a piece of two mid-afternoon. Oh so yummy!

Looking around the house: The downstairs is trashed. Good thing Monday is cleaning day.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The End of Oz by Danielle Paige

Title: The End of Oz (Dorothy Must Die #4)

Author: Danielle Page

Publisher: HarperCollins 2017

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 309

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I love Libraries

My name is Amy Gumm. You might remember me as the other girl from Kansas. When a tornado swept me away to the magical land of Oz, I was given a mission: Dorothy must die. That’s right, everyone’s favorite Wicked-Witch-slayer had let the magic of Oz corrupt her. She turned evil. So I killed her.

But just when we thought it was safe to start rebuilding the damaged land of Oz, we were betrayed. Now I’m following the Road of Yellow Brick as it helps me escape toward the mysterious land of Ev, where the Nome King rules a bleak and angry world. And what I’m about to find is shocking: My original mission may not have been successful.

I thought my job was over, but it’s only just beginning. And it’s up to me to foil Dorothy’s plans for revenge—and finally save the land I’ve come to love.

What an end to the series! I must admit that I was very worried when Paige re-ntroduced Madison in this volume. I couldn't see how she would fit into the storyline or with the characters. Thankfully Madison had a part to play in Amy's journey. I would have liked a bit more time in Oz proper and with the Order, but it was nice to get some new(ish) characters involved. The ending was a bit stilted, but I think it fits with the overall story. This was such a fun series. I'm going to miss Amy and Oz.

Dorothy Must Die

Next up on the TBR pile:

2017 Reading Challenges Update #2

At this point in the year, I would like to see all my reading challenges at least 50% complete. Let's see how I've done in the first half of 2017...

Total Challenges: 1/13 7.7%

Total Spots: 151/346 43.6%

Individual Challenge Progress:

Perpetual Reading Challenges 12/20 60%
Mount TBR 25/60 41.7%
Read Your Shelf 4/12 38.3%
Popsugar 20/40 50%
Fairytale Retelling 12/12 100%**
What’s in a Name 1/6 16.7%*
Discworld 1/12 8.3%*
Back to the Classics 1/12 8.3%*
New to Me 8/20 40%
Wired into Scifi 0/12 0%*
Graphic Novel 17/24 70.8%**
I Love Libraries 23/24 91.7%**
Picture Books 27/92 29.3%

**Successes: I've officially finished one challenge (Fairytale Retelling) and am getting close on a few others (I Love Libraries and Graphic Novel).

*Failures (Needs Improvement): Oh where do I start? I haven't even started the science fiction challenge and I've only read one book for three other challenges. I really need to get moving on those ones...

Next up on the TBR pile!

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Meal planning for 6 different palates is ridiculously difficult. Can I just say F it?
So looking forward to a little time away from all my kiddos for book club on Sunday. It's been forever since I had at least one with me.
I love back to school shopping. It's like a new beginning. Must resist buying all the pretty supplies for myself.
Laundry is piling up. Happens when I don't do a load for three days...
Looking forward to a day in San Francisco today. It's been awhile since I've been there.
Hoping to stop at the fudge shop in North Beach later today...

Next up on the TBR pile:

50 Great American Places by Brent D. Glass

Title: 50 Great American Places: Essential History Sites Across the U.S.

Author: Brent D. Glass

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2016

Genre: U.S. History

Pages: 292

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd); What's in a Name - Number in Numbers

A one-of-a-kind guide to fifty of the most important cultural and historic sites in the United States guaranteed to fascinate, educate, and entertain—selected and described by the former director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

I grabbed this one from the library new books shelf. I love a good history book and thought this would be fun little book where I could learn some new facts. Unfortunately for me, I knew 90% of the information presented. Sometimes it sucks to be a U.S. History major... I did enjoy the book and Glass highlights some interesting spots around the country. It's just not going to be on my favorite reads for the year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

High Summer Readathon Update #1

Pages Read: 73 (Yellow Brick War) + 52 (Big Little Lies) + 162 (50 Great American Places)

Pages Read Total: 287

Book Read Total: 2 2/3

Comments: I finished Yellow Brick War on Monday morning. I only had 73 pages left on Sunday night, but couldn't keep my eyes open to finish. No worry. We had a lazy Monday with some time in the morning for me to finish. I also finished the last bit of Big Little Lies. We're discussing at book club is on Sunday. Hoping to finish the tv series before then. I only have 3 episodes left. I'm almost finished with 50 Great American Places. Decent read although not a lot of new information for this history buff.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Title: Big Little Lies

Author: Liane Moriarty

Publisher: Berkley 2014

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Pages: 492

Rating: /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Becoming a movie in 2017; New to Me; I Love Libraries

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

TV Series: