June Wrap-Up

I didn't get a great amount of reading in this month, but I'm accepting of this. Some months are just like that.

May Wrap-Up & June TBR

Hello June, and hello summer!  Now that I am officially on summer break, I look forward to much leisure reading.  In anticipation, I've put together a humble TBR list of books I know I'll be reading for read-a-longs.

Before I get into that, though, let's take a look at the books I finished in May.

April Wrap-Up and May TBR

How is it already May?  We're almost halfway through 2015, and I am feeling jet lagged.  How is it that time moves so slow when you're a child, but increasingly picks up speed as you age?

With the first of the month comes my wrap-up from last month.  And even though I don't normally do TBRs, I started a few books last month that I want to continue, and there are two books I already know I have to read, so I decided to do one.

March Haul & Wrap-Up

For most of you, April means the coming Spring and warm weather.  On Guam, it's always sunny, and the only weather fluctuation in weather is sunny and raining or not raining.  I still get Spring break from teaching, however, so I'm hoping to be able to get a good deal of reading in.  Before I start that, though, let's wrap up March.

February Haul & Wrap-Up

This month I'm combining my haul and wrap-up posts into one because I neither bought nor read many books.

I succeeded in cutting back on my purchasing, only adding five books to my shelves.  And instead of reading several short, light works, I finished two longer, complicated novels and one very heavy non-fiction work.

January Wrap-Up

January was an excellent month of reading for me, especially since the ending of 2014 was so pitiful.  This is mostly because Bout of Books motivated me so much, so I'm really really grateful for that readathon.

 Completed Reads

I read eight books and nine single issues of a comic in January.  Two of my books were classics, as well, so I'm really happy with that because one of my goals for the year was to read more classics.

August Wrap Up

August saw a LOT of reading activity from me.  I read 51 books in August!  Woot woot!  Reading party!

To be fair, however, 44 of those were volumes of manga, which are easy to get through quickly.  I had a manga marathon this month, and I loved it.

I also did 2 read-a-thons this month, #AYearAThon and Bout of Books.  I love being able to set aside weeks at a time to devote to reading.  Even though it seems like those are often my busiest weeks, I feel so encouraged by everyone else reading that I end up staying up until the sun comes up with my nose in a book.

I started out my month with the middlegrade themed #AYearAThon.  I finished three books during that week: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket, Coraline: A Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman with art by P. Craig Russell, Sabriel by Garth Nix, Boy by Roald Dahl, A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer and The Giver by Lois Lowry.  I've actually done a wrap-up post on those books, so you can check that out if you want to see my thoughts on them.

In between the two read-a-thons, I read Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, vol. 4-9, by CLAMP.

Going into Bout of Books, I decided my first order of business was to finish that manga series.  So, on Monday and Tuesday, I read Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, vol. 10-28. I wrote a review on the entire series, so be sure to check that out if you're interested in this manga.

After that, I started and completed the manhwa My Boyfriend is a Vampire, by Han Yu-Rang, reading all 14 volumes.  It was light and fun.  Definitely not something deep or thoughtful, but more like a snack.  I gave it 2.5 stars.

That was all I was able to finish during Bout of Books because I actually went away for a church conference toward the end of it.

On the way back to Guam, however, I read the entire xxxHolic series, by CLAMP.  This is a manga series that ties in to Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, and reading both of them actually gives the whole story.  I really enjoyed this manga, not only because it's so closely related to Tsubasa, but also as a stand-alone.  The main character, Watanuki, is wonderfully written.  He starts out being foolish, but as the story progresses and he meets new people and forms solid relationships, he grows up and changes.

The only squabble I have with this manga is the ending.  I felt like his most important relationship didn't get the ending or prominence that it should have, even though it had been built up throughout the entire series.

I gave this series 3.5 stars.

So, that's all I read for the month of August.  A whole lot of manga.  Sometimes I just need to take a break from mentally heavy reads and read something easier.

What did you read this month?  Can you give me any manga recommendations because I'd love to discover new series?  Leave some in the comments below!

God bless!

July Wrap-Up

July wasn't a bad month for me, but it wasn't amazing either. I was far busier than I intended to be and was only able to finish nine books.

Even though I've already finished my goal of reading 50 books this year, I want to push myself to spend the majority of my free time reading rather than mindlessly surfing the Internet.

I mildly failed on that front since I spent quite a bit of time watching anime. Watching an entire season in one night definitely breaks my rules, but sometimes you just have to relax and enjoy yourself.

I did manage to finish some good books this month, though, so let's get into my July wrap-up.

The first book I finished this month was Absent by Sherri Vanderveen. I've already written a full review and mentioned this book in other posts, so I'll just say that this was my favorite July read and the best novel I've read this year. I gave it a raving 5 stars.

Absent was a weighty read, so afterwards I wanted to indulge in lighter fair. I ended up choosing Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I really enjoyed it and finished it in one night.

If you want to see more of my thoughts on this and other books by her, be sure to check out my Rainbow Rowell spotlight post. This received  3.5 stars.

Next I continued going through the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles by CLAMP with volume 3. It was still good, but I'm starting to tire of the same plot repeated. They go to dimension, they save dimension, they find a feather. I know things start to get darker and change up further along, so I'm ready for that. I gave this volume 3 stars.

Around this time I participated in the #AYearAThon classics read-a-thon, and I wanted to finish three books, but I ended up ignoring the others in favor of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. 

When I was a kid, this was my least favorite of the series, and I actually hadn't reread it since that first time. As an adult, however, I appreciated it so much more.

I see how the events of this book mark the dramatic changes in, not only the wizarding world, but in Harry. I was to young to really understand that before, but now I love this one. It definitely gets 5 stars from me. 

I picked up Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell next and devoured it in one night. This is my favorite Rowell book to date. Cath is a really well written relatable character, whom I connected with in so many ways even though I'm much older than her. And all the rest of the characters were just as wonderful.

I especially appreciated her relationships with her parents. I don't think those dynamics are explored enough in YA, so it was a pleasure to read.

And, of course, the Simon Snow homage to Harry Potter was just the best. I want to read Cath's fan fic! 

Fangirl gets 4.5 stars. 

The next book is not a novel, but a photo book called Humans of New York,  shot by Brandon Stanton.

Basically, he wanted to document the different boroughs of New York, so he ran around with a camera, taking pictures of people and getting blurbs about their lives.

I actually follow his website, so I'd been wanting his book for quite some time. I really enjoyed it. He captures a variety of types of people, from the outwardly normal to the flamboyant to the homeless to the old money. I gave it 4 stars.

A lot of people claim Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events as their favorite childhood books.  I was already in high school by the time the series became really popular, so I missed out entirely.

I have finally decided to read them, though, and finished The Bad Beginning this month. It was imaginative, and Count Olaf is a fiend. I would have enjoyed this series as a child.

The only thing I can't decide is whether I like the way the author breaks up the story to input explanations to the reader, such as definitions to long words. When I was a kid, big words meant using a dictionary or looking at the word in context to figure it out for myself. I can't decide if having the author do this for the reader helps them learn or promotes intellectual laziness.

All in all, it was a fun read, and I gave it 3 stars.

Whilst reading these other books, I was labouring away at The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. This was my classics book club July pick, and I meant to start and finish it during the #AYearAThon, but I just couldn't.

Reading this book is like swimming through molasses. The language is so descriptive that it becomes cloying and slows the pace of the entire book.

Had this not been for a book club, I may have given up on it, but I wanted to discuss it. I also wanted to see if the ending justified the struggle.

It didn't, so I had to give this 2 stars.

The last book I read this month was a new release - Rainbow Rowell's new adult novel,  Landline.

I enjoy Rowell's writing, so I was awaiting the publication of this book. Plus, it covers the more adult themes of marriage and marital issues, so I was hoping that I would connect with it more than her other works.

This actually ended up being my least favorite of her books. I still enjoyed it and read it in one sitting, but I didn't care for the main character. Georgie was so selfish that I couldn't pity her at all. I thought she deserved every problem she had.

I also wish that the book focused more on the dissolution of their marriage and less on the magical realism. The magical phone was a cool concept, but it didn't provide enough substance to the book.

This one got 3 stars from me.

So those are all the books I finished in July. I also started a few that I'm hoping to finish in August.

August should be a more productive month for me with #AYearAThon doing a middlegrade read-a-thon and Bout of Books towards the end on the month. Be on the lookout for my TBRs for those.

What books did you read this month? Do you have any recommendations for next month's read-a-thons? Tell me in the comment section.

Happy reading!

June Wrap-Up

So, I went through a bit of a reading slump in June.  After doing two read-a-thons in a row, I just lost all motivation to pick up any books, and instead I read numerous pieces of Harry Potter fan fiction for the first two weeks.  And I don't regret a thing.

After I got over my bout of laziness, I managed to finish eight books and participate in the Rick Riordan themed #ayearathon.



The first books I finished this month were Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 1 and 2 by CLAMP.  This is a shōnen manga series that incorporates many other CLAMP worlds, particularly the xxxHOLIC universe.  And the whole series focuses on Syroan and Sakura, who are originally from the Cardcaptor Sakura shōjo series.  However, these two characters aren't just lifted from one universe and put into an alternate one; they are actually completely different people from their Cardcaptor counterparts.

Now, Syroan and Sakura are two of my favorite characters of all time, and I loved the Cardcaptor Sakura manga and anime.  I originally found out about this new series years ago, and I read the first three volumes, but then I left the States, and I kind of forgot about reading them.  But now I'm picking them up again and rereading the first three before I continue on with the series.  And I am loving them.

This is one of the prettiest mangas that probably exists.  I mean, look at how beautiful the illustrations are:

Even though it took awhile for me to return to it, I really enjoyed each volume - the story, the characters, the artwork - and I am excited to get through all 28.  I gave each volume 4 stars.

After that, I read The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, which are the first two books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  I read these for the #ayearathon read-a-thon, and I don't have too much to say about them.  I had already read The Lightning Thief once, but it was so long ago that I decided to reread it.  I enjoyed it, but I wasn't wowed by it.  I thought that the character development and world-building could have been stronger, but it still entertained me.  Sea of Monsters was much better, especially the pacing.  It was a much faster read, and even though I still couldn't relate to any of the characters, I thought the book was more entertaining.

What I do really appreciate about this series, however, is that Percy is not the average hero.  He has ADD and dyslexia, always gets into trouble at school, and very often fails, but all of his flaws are what make him unique and special.  I think that's a really important message for kids to be receiving, and I am glad that they have a character like Percy to admire.  I gave The Lightning Thief 3 stars and The Sea of Monsters 3.5 stars.

The #ayearathon really took effort to get through, as I was still feeling so unmotivated to read, so after finishing it, I picked up an old favorite, Something Under the Bed is Drooling, by Bill Watterson.  I have been reading Calvin and Hobbes comics for 20 years now, and they always remind me of being a kid and reading while stretched out on the carpet in the house I grew up in.  These are classics, and they will always hold a special place in my heart.  This gets 5 stars, all the way!

So, I had heard a lot of hype about Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks, on YouTube and on Goodreads, and I just got curious.  This is not the type of book I would normally pick up, but I wanted an easy, fun read, and I love mermaids, so I decided to check it out and just see.  I got exactly what I expected: an easy, fun, entertaining read that didn't try my brain or deeply affect me.  But, hey, there is nothing wrong with a light read!  The characters were eh, and the plot was ok, but I did really enjoy the building of mermaid mythology, which I've never experienced before.  I liked the book enough that I picked up the next in the trilogy, Of Triton, but that one is taking me much longer to finish as my interest has kind of petered out.  This got 3 stars because of how entertained I was by it.

After that, I read Jerusalem: A Family Portrait, which I wrote a full review on.  The final judgment: I loved it.  5 stars!

Finally, I ended my month with Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.  I had been wanting to read this for a long time, and I really enjoyed the movie, so I decided that this was the time to cross it off my TBR.  It took me much longer to read it then I expected because the pacing was so slow.  It just didn't engage me the way I thought it would.  I know that it's more of a love story than an action story, but there needed to be more happening.  I found myself getting bored and putting it down for the rest of the day.  I liked R, but I didn't feel much for Julie.  And I had a serious problem with the lack of world-building.  I ended up giving it 2.5 stars because it just didn't satisfy me.

So, this was a really light reading month for me.  I don't mean this in terms of numbers so much as content.  Except for Jerusalem, these were all easy books that were fun but not deep.  Yet, that was exactly what I needed to get me through my dry spell.

July promises to be more stimulating as the #ayearathon theme is classics, and I have several adult novels on my TBR that I suspect to be quite substantial.

What books did you read this month?  Let me know in the comments below.