Bout of Books Midway Update

Are we seriously on day 4 of Bout of Books?!  That happened so quickly.

How is everyone's readathon going?  Are you on par for the goals you have set?  Have you read any books that you absolutely loved?

The most important thing to remember is that this is NOT a competition.  Don't look at other people's progress and feel like a failure.  If you are reading, you are winning.

We all have different lives, different demands on our days.  And we all have different attention spans.  Not everyone can do a 3-hour reading sprint.  And that's ok.

This week isn't about numbers.  It's just about enjoying your reading and connecting with other people around the world who love words just as much as you do.

So, with that being said, here is my progress so far:

Monday

Books Read: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, vol. 10-14 by C.L.A.M.P.
Pages Read: 759
Hours Spent Reading: 2
Challenges Completed: Playlist Challenge and Scavenger Hunt Challenge (on Twitter)

Tuesday

Books Read: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronlices, vol. 15-28 by C.L.A.M.P.
Pages Read: 2,691
Hours Spent Reading: 6.45
Challenges Completed: Book Spine Poetry

Wednesday

Books Read: Siddartha by Herman Hesse; My Boyfriend is a Vampire, vol. 1-12 by Han Yu-Rang
Pages Read: 1,960
Hours Spent Reading: 4.5
Challenges Completed: None

Because I am busy preparing to leave Guam on Saturday, I don't have as much (or energy) to devote to reading as I normally do.  My solution to that has been to read a lot of manga and manhwa.  They are fast-paced, entertaining, and gorgeous to look at.

I had started Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles before Bout of Books started, and I finally finished it on Tuesday.  And...wow.  I can't even describe to you how I feel about this manga.  I understand why people say it's one of the most complicated mangas out there, but I still really enjoyed it.  I will write a full review of it as soon as I have my mind wrapped fully around everything that happened.

After finishing that series, I started Siddartha, one of my favorites, because I am leading a book club discussion on it in September.  It's been some years since I've read it, and I have so enjoyed rereading it.

However, with having to sort out all the details of my trip, as well as taking care of things here before I leave, my brain is exhausted.  So, I put Siddhartha down last night, but I still wanted to read.

I decided to try out My Boyfriend is a Vampire, a manhwa (Korean comic) that I've heard a lot about.  Fast forward to me three hours later, almost finishing the series.  It's not a deep comic at all, and it has all the predictable love triangles and complications that are popular in mangas and manhwas.  But the art is gorgeous, and the characters are entertaining so I just flew through it.

I have really been enjoying this Bout of Books.  I never devote so much time to reading comics, and I am loving pouring over the pictures and being able to just relax.

Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in my One True Pairing giveaway!  Reading all of your entries made me so happy.  There were so many couples that I was unfamiliar with and many surprising entrants.  Like, did you know that Lupin and Hermione are a pairing?  I was not aware of this.

I've been able to connect with a lot of awesome people this week, as well, and that is really what Bout of Books is about for me.  I read all the time, but being able to read people's tweets and blog posts and even chat about our favorite books and characters is what makes this week so special.

So, I hope that you are having an awesome Bout of Books!  Don't be too hard on yourself if you're not reading as much as you'd like to.  Reading should never be a task or a burden (unless it's for university).

Please tell me all about what you've read this week and how you're feeling!  I truly want to know!  Leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter.

Happy reading!