#Emojiathon Week 4 Update | Spring 2018 Round

We're coming down to the end of it, y'all! We have roughly 2.5 days left of the month and 2.5 days left of #Emojiathon. I haven't gotten a BINGO yet, but I'm hoping I can squeeze a few more books in by 11:59PM on Saturday. My ultimate goal is to get two BINGOs, and in order to do that I'm going to focus on finishing three books: Blue Lily, Lily Blue (currently reading), The Foxhole Court (currently reading), and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I did some quick math, and that means I have to read 739 pages by the end of the day Saturday, which roughly averages out to 246 pages per day. GAHHHHH! Can I do it?! We shall see!

WEEK 4 STAT BREAKDOWN

Books completed this week...

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

80 pages

Completes the PHONE emoji: An eBook

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
435 pages
Completes the WIZARD emoji: A fantasy book

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

850 pages

Completes the HEADPHONES emoji: An audiobook

Books in progress...

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
156/391 pages
TWO DANCERS emoji: A buddy read

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
55/256 pages
BALL emoji: A book involving sports

TOTALS AFTER WEEK 4

Pages read: 4,587

Books completed: 10

Challenges completed: 10/22
*please note that these stats do not include the 3 books I read prior to the readathon

GOALS FOR WEEK 5

1. Finish Blue Lily, Lily Blue (TWO DANCERS, 235 pages remaining)
2. Finish The Foxhole Court (BALL, 201 pages remaining)
3. Read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (TALKING HEAD, 303 pages)

O.W.L.s (Oridinary Wizarding Levels) Readathon Plans

OMGGGGG THIS READATHON IS GENIUS!

As I was ~perusing~ Twitter the other day, I stumbled across @MagicalReadathn, a readathon that has different HP related themes every round, and for the first round they are putting on the O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) exams! I absolutely love this idea and I cannot wait to get started. Similar to Emojiathon, it is a month-long readathon (April 2-29, 2018) and there are different reading challenges that correspond to different "exams" you take. There are different grades you can get based on how many of the "exams" you complete, and they are as follows:

TROLL - Do not sit any exams

DREADFUL - Start exams, but don't pass any

POOR - Sit and pass 1 exam

ACCEPTABLE - Sit and pass 2 exams

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS - Sit and pass 3 exams

OUTSTANDING - Sit and pass 5 exams

Of course, I'm going to attempt to get through all of these exams and get an Outstanding on my O.W.L.s like the true Hermione I am.

I'm so excited for this readathon that I made a little report card graphic to track my progress! I've made some blank versions (available for you to save and use at the bottom of this post!), one for us Northern hemisphere folks in our Spring term, as well as one for folks in the Southern hemisphere folks who have just entered into Autumn. I hope you like them and I definitely encourage folks to use them! It's always fun to have a visual to see how you're doing throughout the readathon. Below you'll find my report card (which I will, of course, update throughout the exam period) as well as my plans for this readathon!

ANCIENT RUNES

A book with a symbol on the cover

The Rosie Project by Grahame Simsion

ARITHMANCY

A book with a number on the cover

Barefoot Gen, vol. 4: Out of the Ashes by Keiji Nakazawa

ASTRONOMY

A science fiction book

More Than This by Patrick Ness

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

A book that features magical creatures

The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

CHARMS

A fantasy book

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

A book that features a secret society

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan

DIVINATION

A book featuring prophesies

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

HERBOLOGY

A book with a nature related word in the title

Collecting Sticks by Joe Decie

HISTORY OF MAGIC

A historical fiction book

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton

MUGGLE STUDIES

A muggle non-fiction book

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

POTIONS

A book featuring alchemy

Fullmetal Alchemist, vol 1-3 by Hiromu Arakawa

TRANSFIGURATION

A book that deals with transfiguration/shape shifting

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Just like Emojiathon, I have books that I will be prioritizing and reaching for *first*, which I have noted with a yellow highlight. If I don't get through any other books, I hope to get through these books as they're part of my current 10 Book TBR or their part of a series read through that I'm working on. I'm planning to update my progress weekly here on the blog, and I'm planning to do another vlog-style reading wrap up for April so you'll get to see all of my thoughts on the books that I DO get to throughout the exam period. I am SO PUMPED for this readathon and I hope you decided to join in.

DOWNLOADABLE REPORT CARDS

Click the report card you'd like (Spring or Autumn) to pull up the full size, 

then right click, "Save image as...", then save! :)

Autumn                                                           Spring

O.W.L.s Readathon Plans Video

Readathon hosted by Book Roast! :)

#BookBuddyAThon 2018 TBR!

This year's round of Book BuddyAThon is quickly approaching and I am so excited to participate in another round! Michael and I are buddying up once again for this round, and we've made some *slight* changes to help fit our reading wants and needs. :P Since we're both fairly busy this upcoming month, we thought it would be a good idea to extend the readathon an extra week so we'll have more time to complete our picks. The actual readathon goes from April 9-15, 2018, but we're going to start on the 2nd (a week early) to give ourselves a bit more time!
We've also made up some of our own challenges to help us create our TBRs. These challenges were inspired by past Book BuddyAThon challenges that we really loved, so all the credit goes to Janet and Elena! I'll leave the challenges we're fulfilling down below, but be sure to check out Elena and Janet's announcement videos to see the official challenges for the readathon!
Buddy read a book Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Let your buddy pick a book off of your TBR for you American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
A book your buddy has already read Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab
A book with your buddy's initials in the title or author's name Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta
HOST ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEOS Elena Janet

Library Book Haul! {#004}

It has been far too long since I've done a library book haul! I got the itch to buy books the other day, and I just thought, "You know what, why don't I take out books from the library instead?" And so I did! I got 12 books in this haul and I'm so excited to get to them! If you'd like to hear more about each of these books, just hit play! 
Books Mentioned:
Collecting Sticks by Joe Decie The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler Touch by Courtney Maum Huck, Book One: All American by Mark Millar Faith by Jody Houser Coraline by Neil Gaiman Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, volume 1: BFF by Amy Reeder Autobiographical Comics by Andrew J. Kunka

#Emojiathon Week 3 Update | Spring 2018 Round

We're three weeks into #Emojiathon and I'm making some really great progress! This past week I read some INCREDIBLE books (one of them may even make it onto my favorite books of the year list!) and it's honestly making me feel so motivated to read. I'm also close to making some BINGOs on my Emojiathon board, and I have my fingers crossed that you'll see at least one by my next update! I hope everyone else's Emojiathon is continuing to go well, and I hope you all are able to finish strong in this remaining week and a half! (Can you believe March is almost over?!)

WEEK 3 STAT BREAKDOWN

Books completed this week...

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
465 pages
Completes the CAMERA emoji: A book that has been adapted

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
608 pages
Completes the ALIEN emoji: A science fiction book

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
453 pages
Completes the CAUTION emoji: A book you're cautious to start

Books in progress...

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

583/850 pages

HEADPHONES emoji: An audiobook

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

19/80 pages

PHONE emoji: An eBook

TOTALS AFTER WEEK 3

Pages read: 3,613

Books completed: 7

Challenges completed: 7/22
*please note that these stats do not include the 3 books I read prior to the readathon

GOALS FOR WEEK 4

Knock out the center column!

1. Finish Outlander (HEADPHONES, 267 pages remaining)
2. Finish The Hundred Dresses (61 pages remaining)

3. Read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (WIZARD, 435 pages)

4. Read Church of Marvels (BOOKS, 320 pages)
5. Read Blue Lily, Lily Blue (TWO DANCERS, 391 pages)

Harry Potter Re-Read & Re-Watch Reviews #2: Chamber of Secrets

Hooray! I'm finally here with the second installment of our Harry Potter Re-Read & Review Series! This month we're reviewing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - one of my least favorite stories in the series. :P We did have a blast revisiting the story, though, and talking it out in detail! Find out who we think is the secret villain and hero of the series, how this series probably should have ended at the second movie, and finding first evidence that J.K. Rowling is in fact Captain Hindsight. I hope you enjoy the second episode of this series and we will be back next month with our review of Prisoner of Azkaban!

Winter 2017-2018 Book Haul!

It's about time I did another book haul, don't you think? I have acquired quite the pile of books over the last few months. Most of these came from either Christmas gifts or Christmas money (because honestly, why WOULDN'T I blow all of my gift cards on books? Do you even know me?), audiobooks, Kindle eBooks, my Book of the Month selections for the last few months, and more! I hope you all enjoy this haul and definitely let me know if you think I should get to any of these books sooner than the others!

Christmas Gifts/Gift Card Purchases

The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

Giant Days, volume 3 by Jon Allison

Girls Like Me by Lola St. Vil

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Saga, volume 3 by Brian K. Vaugh & Fiona Staples

Maus, volume 2: And Here my Troubles Began by Art Speigelman

A Wrinkle in Time by Medeline L'Engle

Lumberjanes, volume 8: Stone Cold by Shannon Watters et. al.

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Sweet Tooth, volume 2: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanen McGuire

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alaire Saenz

Book of the Month Club Selections

January

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

February

The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert

March
Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs

Audiobook/Kindle eBooks

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Other

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Harry Potter Book Sleeve from Green Leaf Baby

#Emojiathon Week 2 Update | Spring 2018 Round

This week was significantly more successful for my #Emojiathon reading! I managed to complete 3 books and make some good progress on two others that I'm listening to on audiobook. I feel like I balanced my time a lot better this week when it comes to my reading life and my other responsibilities, and I'm feeling really motivated to get some more books completed in the coming week! I hope everyone else's Emojiathon is going well - we're nearly at the halfway mark!

WEEK 2 STAT BREAKDOWN

Books completed this week...

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
536 pages

Completes the HOURGLASS emoji: A book you're in the middle of

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

385 pages

Completes the BRAIN emoji: A mental illness book

Eat Only When You're Hungry by Lindsay Hunter
209 pages
Completes the CAR emoji: A book involving travel

Books in progress...

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
95/453 pages
CAUTION emoji: A book you're cautious to start

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

389/850 pages

HEADPHONES emoji: An audiobook

TOTALS AFTER WEEK 2

Pages read: 1,969

Books completed: 4

Challenges completed: 4/22
*please note that these stats do not include the 3 books I read prior to the readathon

GOALS FOR WEEK 3

1. Finish Jane Eyre (CAUTION, 358 pages remaining)

2. Read Big Little Lies (CAMERA, 458 pages)

3. Read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (WIZARD, 435 pages)

4. Read Blue Lily, Lily Blue (TWO DANCERS, 391 pages)

5. Start Obsidio (ALIEN, 608 pages)

Vlog: #ReadYourFaceOff 24 Hour Readathon | March 3-4, 2018

Last weekend I did another round of #ReadYourFaceOff! Becky, Michael, and I decided to do a bit of a buddy 24 hour readathon and it was REAL relaxed. It was a great time reading our books and chatting over Voxer together (even though we often got distracted by talking about trashy reality TV, our other true love) and it was an overall amazing experience! We may opt to do these on a monthly basis, so keep your eyes peeled for the next round! :)

#Emojiathon Week 1 Update | Spring 2018 Round

Week 1 of the #Emojiathon is over, so it's time for an update! This week I read a lot slower than I thought I would and I was absolutely exhausted over the weekend. I took part in another round of #ReadYourFaceOff with some of my bookish pals (vlog to be posted tomorrow!) but being as sleepy as I was made reading much more difficult than usual. It's okay, though, because we still have a whole month ahead of us and so many AWESOME books to get to! Woop woop! :D Anywho, here's my #Emojiathon progress thus far:

WEEK 1 STAT BREAKDOWN

Books completed this week...

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

355 pages

Completes the SHRUG emoji: A book you haven't read and you don't know why

Books in progress...

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

310/536 pages

HOURGLASS emoji: A book you're in the middle of

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

239/850 pages

HEADPHONES emoji: An audiobook

TOTALS AFTER WEEK 1

Pages read: 904

Books completed: 1

Challenges completed: 1/22
*please note that these stats do not include the 3 books I read prior to the readathon

GOALS FOR WEEK 2

1. Finish Crooked Kingdom (HOURGLASS, 214 pages remaining)

2. Read A Tale for the Time Being (PEACE SIGN, 422 pages)

3. Read Eliza and Her Monsters (BRAIN, 385 pages)

4. Start Jane Eyre (CAUTION, 453 pages)

Vlog: Youngstown Maravlog #1 | February 2018 Marathon Training

I'm bringing back MARAVLOGS! A few weeks ago I started training for my seventh marathon, the Youngstown Marathon in Youngstown, Ohio. I asked on Twitter if folks would be interested in seeing my training process and the majority of people said they would! So I'll be posting a vlog each month that shows a but of my marathon training leading up to Youngstown in June! If you all have any training/running questions or have any ideas of what you'd like to see in these vlogs, please let me know. I'd be happy to answer questions or show you the things related to training that you're interested in! :) Looking forward to a successful round of training and hopefully another successful marathon! :D

February 2018 Reading Wrap Up!

Time for another reading wrap up! *woop woop* I finished a total of 12 books in the month of February and while I could have snuck one more in by the end of the month, I made a really interesting realization. I feel like I'm so used to trying to cram as many books in by the end of the month and I mentioned in my Reading Plans video for 2018 that I really hated that I stressed myself out at the end of each and sacrificed social time for reading time just so I could finish one more book for the month. I really didn't want to do that this year, and yet I found myself at the end of February doing just that. 

There was one night where Brett asked if I wanted to watch a movie and I said "uhhhh well I really want to finish one more book by the end of February so I might just read tonight". That's when warning bells went off in my head and I realized how lame I was being. Why would I force myself to rush through a book (a book that I'm genuinely enjoying, no less) just so it can be finished by some arbitrary, made up deadline? So I put down that potential 13th book and hung out with Brett instead! I'm glad I was able to catch myself in the act and correct my priorities. Reading shouldn't be stressful or about numbers. I'll finish the book in March instead. ;)

READING STATS FOR FEBRUARY

Participated in 1 readathon (#ContemporaryAThon)

Completed 3/10 books from 10 Book TBR #1 (7/10 total)

Continued 3 series

4,277 pages read

12 books completed

BOOKS COMPLETED

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Physical copy, 4/5

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Physical copy, 2/5

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Physical copy (re-read), 5/5

Re-read pick from 10 Book TBR #1

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Physical copy, 3/5

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Physical copy, 4/5

With Malice by Eileen Cook

Physical copy, 4/5

Blog review

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash

Physical copy, 4/5

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking

Kindle eBook, 3/5

Kindle pick from 10 Book TBR #1

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Physical copy, 4/5

Book 2 of 4 of The Raven Cycle

Buddy read with Michael

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight

Audiobook, 3/5

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Physical copy (re-read), 5/5

Book 2 of 7 of the Harry Potter Series

Buddy read with Michael

Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Physical copy (re-read), 4/5

Book 2 of 3 of The Illuminae Files