Monday, December 30, 2013

What Countries Have I Visited 2014


What Countries Have I Visited 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Christian Novels


I loved doing it this year and was really hoping it would be going again for next year. When I saw the signup for it (just now) I was super happy and knew there was no question about my participation in it.

It's a no pressure challenge, you can use one book for multiple countries so it can be really easy if you get the right book(s). 

Last year I chose to read 30+ countries, which I'm still not done with but hope to be able to finish with the books I'm currently reading. That was definitely a stretch, so I'm going to lower my goal for the coming year and am choosing Adventurer-Visit 20 countries. I will keep track of my progress on my 2014 Reading Challenges page HERE.

If this challenge sounds fun to you, be sure to check out the full details and signup by going HERE.


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Reading Challenges I'm Joining in 2014

The reading challenges I'm joining for the coming year are listed below. I'll be keeping track of my progress for each of them HERE. To see more about any of the challenges just click on the photo to go to that challenge's post.



2014 Netgalley Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Ariel Avalon

This sounds like a very fun challenge. I have a lot of Netgalley books I've yet to read and hopefully this challenge will push me to get them read. I'm signing up for the hardcore level, to read 21+ Netgalley books.


2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Historical Tapestry

I LOVE reading historical fiction, it's my favorite genre, so there was no way I wasn't signing up for this challenge again. I'm SO happy that they've added another level to the challenge, Prehistoric - 50+ books, so that's the level I'm choosing. 



New Author Challenge 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Literary Escapism
#NewAuthorsRC2014

It's always so nice to find new authors you enjoy and that's the reason I love this challenge - it pushes you to try new-to-you authors. Last year I read over 100 new-to-me authors and, while I don't think I'll read that many again, I'm still going to go with the highest level of 50. 



2014 Audiobook Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: The Book Nympho & Hot Listens

I've recently gotten into listening to audiobooks, so when I came across this challenge I knew I'd have to join it. The level I'm choosing is Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20 audiobooks. 



2014 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Falling For YA

This is similar to the Netgalley challenge but it also includes Edelweiss and has harder levels, so I'm joining this one as well. The level I'm choosing is Diamond – 100 books.



2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Bookish

This challenge sounds like a lot of fun. Since you're allowed to move up a level but not down I'm going to choose to read 11-20 books (A Friendly Hug).



Dystopia Reading Challenge 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Blog of Erised

I enjoy reading Dystopian novels every once in awhile and when I saw this challenge I thought it would be fun. The level I'm choosing is Rebel (7 to 12 books).



2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Fiktshun and Phantasmic Reads
#RPRC2014

This is a challenge I need and am SO glad I found it! The level I'm choosing is Adept (40+ books).




Where Are You Reading? 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Book Journey

I love this challenge! It's always so much fun to see a map full of the places you've read at the end of the year, so I'm definitely doing this one again! 



2014 Chunkster Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

There are no levels from which to choose, you are supposed to pick a number that's a challenge for you, so I'm going to go with 5 books.



2014 Reading Challenge: Seriously Series
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

I read a lot of series so this sounds like it'd be a lot of fun! There are three categories, so here are the levels I'm choosing for each:
Series started before 2014 - Seriously Serious (7-12 series)
Series started in 2014 - Semi-Serious (1-6 series)
Series rereads - Semi-Serious (1-6 series)



Anne & Kristilyn’s 2014 Book Bingo Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

This challenge sounds difficult but also a lot of fun, so I had to join. 




2014 Full House Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Book Date

This is a completely different kind of challenge than I've ever done, it's a little similar to the Bingo but definitely different. It sounds like so much fun and I had to join!




2014 Rewind Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

This challenge looks like it will be very enjoyable and will push me to read books that have fallen by the wayside. There are no levels, you pick your own goals, so I'm challenging myself to read 25+ books.



2014 Everything YA Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

I love reading YA books so this challenge should be a lot of fun! The goal is to read as many YA books as you can, but I'm going to challenge myself to read 30+ YA books.



2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: The Book Vixen

I participated in this challenge last year and challenged myself to read 16+ more than I did. I read 172 books that were over 100 pages in 2012 and, so far, have read 192 books, with 100+ pages, this year. As much as I'd love to again challenge myself to outdo myself by 16+ books I'm not sure I could, so I'm challenging myself to the level: Out of breath (Read 6–10 more books). 



What's In A Name? 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: The Worm Hole

This sounds like a fun challenge.



2014 Men in Uniform Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: The Book Vixen

I've seen this challenge for a few years now but have never participated in it. It looks like fun and this year I'm giving it a go. I'm choosing the Sergeant level: Read 1–5 men in uniform novels.




The 2014 Ebook Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Workaday Reads

 Though I still prefer reading print books, I love the ease of reading on my Kindle and have been reading on it more and more. So I'm joining this challenge again. The level I'm choosing is Hard drive – 75 ebooks.



Romance Reading Challenge 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: ...the bookworm...

I love reading romances, as long as they're clean/sweet, so this challenge sounds like it will be great fun! 

My five books:
  1. Made to Last (Where Love Begins #1) by Melissa Tagg
  2. The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen
  3. Sushi for One? (Sushi #1) by Camy Tang
  4. No One to Trust (Hidden Identity #1) by Lynette Eason
  5. Love at Any Cost (The Heart of San Francisco #1) by Julie Lessman



2014 Series Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

Love reading series and this challenge should definitely push me to finish all the books out in the series I'm reading and the ones I'd like to start.



A Year in Re-Reading: a 2014 Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: caffeinatedlife.net

I used to reread books a lot, but ever since I started blogging the number has gone way down. I'm hoping to reread at least 5 books this year, so am choosing the level re-reading pro (5 – 9 books).



2014 Women Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Peek a Book

I'm choosing Level 4: WONDER WOMAN - read 20+ books written by a woman author. I read a lot of books by women authors so this shouldn't be too hard. :)



Book to Movie Challenge: The Sequel
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Doing Dewey

It's always interesting to compare the movie to the book, so this challenge should be a lot of fun! The level I'm choosing, for now, is Movie Fan - read 3 books and watch their movies.



2014 Prequel & Sequel Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Novel Heartbeat

This sounds like fun, and I have a lot of series to read, so the level I'm choosing is Amateur (25-50 points).



2014 Quick Fix Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Jessie's Book Place

The goal of this challenge is to read books under 300 pages. The level I'm choosing is Gorilla glue: 30+ books.



2014 Series Enders Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

This challenge is all about finishing the last book in a series. I think I may have more than this to read, but I'm not sure, so I'm going to start at level 1: 1-5 series enders.



Read It Again, Sam Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: My Reader's Block

I'm already doing a different challenge for rereading so this fits in perfectly with that. The level I'm choosing is Déjà vu: Reread 4 books.



2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Bookmark To Blog

Every month is a different challenge and it sounds both challenging and like a lot of fun.



2014 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

The level I'm choosing is Initiate: Read 1 – 5 Witchy Books.



2014 Fairy Tales Retold Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Debz Bookshelf

I love fairy tale retellings, but I'm not sure how many I'll be able to read in 2014. So, the level I'm choosing, for now, is Poor Cobbler: 1-3 books - but I'm hoping I'll be able to increase it! :)



Read Scotland 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014
Hosted by: Peggy Ann's Post

Sounds like a fun challenge. The level I'm choosing is Just A Keek (a little look): 1-4 books read.



Reading Challenge Addict 2014
January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014

My final challenge is the Reading Challenge Addict 2014. I am addicted to reading challenges, they are tremendous fun and whenever I see a new reading challenge I'm tempted to join. I've participated in this challenge before and it definitely helps me complete the challenges I join. The level I'm choosing is Out of This World: 16+ Challenges (Entered & Completed).

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

Last Minute Read-A-Thon: Remembering 2013


The challenge for today is to answer the following questions about the books I've read in 2013.

Best Book of 2013
This is a tough one, as I've read quite a few excellent books this year, but I'm going to go with The Dance (The Restoration Series #1) by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley. This book completely wowed me.

My review for The Dance can be found HERE.


Worst Book of 2013
This is super easy for me to decide. The worst book I've read this year was You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney. A lot of people seemed to love the book, but I just couldn't stand it. I found it to be very annoying and condescending.

My review for You Are Not So Smart can be found HERE.


Favorite New Author
This one is exceptionally tough, I've read over 100 new-to-me authors, so I'm going to list six of my favorites (alphabetically) along with the first book I read by them. 


Sandra Byrd (REVIEW), Jessica Dotta (REVIEW), 


Cara Lynn James (No review), Krista McGee (REVIEW), 


Serena B. Miller (REVIEW), and Kiersten White (REVIEW).


Book that surprised you
The book that surprised me the most, because I actually loved it, was Perfectly Matched (The Blue Willow Brides #3) by Maggie Brendan. I had read the first two books in the series, the first was okay but the second was terrible, and I wasn't expecting much at all with this one. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved reading Perfectly Matched.

My review of Perfectly Matched can be found HERE.


Book that disappointed you
The most disappointing book I've read would have to be Afloat by Erin Healy. I had read the books she wrote with Ted Dekker and very much enjoyed them, so I was expecting to enjoy this book - I didn't. In fact, thinking back on it, I could almost say I hated it. 

My review for Afloat can be found HERE.



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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Last Minute Read-A-Thon: Love It or Hate It Challenge

Hosted by Maria (A Night's Dream of Books) and Vonnie (Vonnie's Reading Corner).

Today's challenge is to post book covers that you love and hate, explaining why.


Here are the covers I love:

Review

This is one of my favorite covers, if not my absolute favorite. I love every thing about it (the colors, the flowers, the dress, that it matches the story). Not only is the front beautiful, but the back cover is gorgeous with items from the book on it and that makes it even more wonderful after you read it.


Review
I think this cover excellently portrays the story of the book. The book is about a husband and wife trying to mend their family after the husband has an affair. I love how the cover not only shows the man being remorseful but also shows that their marriage is suffering because of the husband, since his is the band that is cracked and breaking.


Review

I love how the cover of this looks like a Currier and Ives Christmas card. A perfect cover for a very sweet story.


Review

Even though this story wasn't a favorite, I still love this cover so much! The lighting is great and I love the buildings in the background.



I love all the covers of the Irish Brides trilogy. It's so nice how these covers all look as if they could be a specific scene in the book. I also loved how each had a ship on it, as that played a huge role in the overall story.


Review                                                                                                                        Review

I just love the covers for The Ruby Red trilogy. They just look so beautiful and when you are actually holding them you see all the exquisite detail. The stories are also great! :)


Here are the covers I dislike/hate:

Review

I actually really like this cover, think it's beautiful, but the only reason I slightly dislike it is that the model isn't wearing gloves. The book mentioned a few times how the main character always wore both a hat and gloves when going outside and the only time she didn't wear gloves was when she also wasn't wearing her hat. So that's the only reason I putting it on this list.


Review

I think this cover is kind of dull and not that interesting, but it's not terrible and is slightly pretty in an old world way - so if the book were historical I would like it more. The only reason I picked it up to read is because I read and enjoyed books by this author in the past. This cover also has a big discrepancy between the inn on the cover and the actual inn. In the book, the inn is a Georgian mansion with over 2,000 sq. ft of decks and balconies alone! Yet the cover shows a house that looks very much like a Victorian and doesn't seem anywhere near the size of the house in the story, which sounds huge as it has 15 bedroom suites.



I don't like this cover at all. The large writing over the person's face is just ugly in my opinion. I wouldn't have read this book if I hadn't needed an X book to complete a challenge, which would have been a shame as I ended up really enjoying the story.


Review

The story for this book is very touching, but this cover is not that good. I don't like the blurry picture of the child and the rest of the cover is pretty boring.


Review

I don't really know why I don't like this cover, but I just don't.


Review                                                         Review                                                            Review

The first book in this series was all right, I didn't really like it but it sort of fit the story, but the other two I think are terrible. I don't like the models or the lines and circles, it just is really boring.




PROGRESS SO FAR


I haven't read much at all since my last update. I started The Glassblower by Laurie Alice Eakes, read about 10 pages, and read a few more pages of Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1) by Laini Taylor. So not much at all! Hoping to get a lot more read this weekend.

  • Pages read: 131
  • Books finished: 1
 










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