Bout of Books: 1.5.15 - 1.11.15

Hi guys! I’ve decided to participate in the Bout of Books challenge this week because what better way to start the new year off right than with a challenge that’s all about reading as much as you can! Winning!

Check out the official blurb below:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

UPDATES (Idea thanks to Angela’s Anxious Life)

Monday
Number of books I've read today: 1/2
Name of book: Throne of Glass
Total number of books I've read: 130
Number of hours read: Lord knows

Tuesday
Number of books I've read today: some of one
Total number of books I've read: 1/2
Total pages: 160
Name of Book: Throne of Glass
Number of Hours I've read: ...?

Wednesday
Number of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read: 
Books: 
Number of Hours I've Read: 
What else I did:

Thursday
Number of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Books:
Number of Hours I've Read:
What else I did:

Friday
Number of books I've read today: 
Total number of books I've read: 
Books: 
Number of Hours I've Read: 
What else I did: 

Saturday
Number of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Books:
Number of Hours I Read: 
What else I did:

Sunday
Number of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Books:
Number of hours I read:
What else I did:

So…. are YOU guys participating too? If so, how many books do you plan on reading? I’m hoping to read three but we’ll see. :P

XO!

Bout of Books 6.0: The End

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This was my first Bout of Books and I had a great time!  I didn't quite accomplish as much as I had hoped but I'm going to tell myself that it's okay and that I'll do better next time.  Yes, there will be a next time :)

What I Accomplished

• I finished "The Statistical Probably of Love At First Sight" and "Drink Deep".  I also started "Just Breathe" but will finish it post-BoB.
• I managed to blog hop and comment on the posts of other Bout of Book-ers, although I couldn't tell you how many blogs I visited.
• I participated in 2 challenges.
• I participated in all 3 Twitter chats.
• I found some new fabulous blogs to follow and met some great new peeps!

A HUGE thank you to Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal for all their hard work in organizing this kick-ass event! 

Make sure you follow the Bout of Books blog for the latest and greatest info on Bout of Books and future events!

Bout of Books: Challenge Day 4

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So I hadn't planned on participating on any challenges because since this is my first BoB, I was afraid to overdo it. However, today's challenge question is too much fun to resist. 

One of today's challenge questions is hosted by The One with Rachel's Book.

Fang Love
WHO are your favourite vampires? And WHY??
We must pick one vampire dude and one vampire dudette.

To say that there are A LOT of vampires in popular culture, including books, is a pretty epic understatement!  Therefore, today's question is certainly a challenging one.

TNH - The Night Huntress Novels Fan Art (30809646) www.fanpop.com

Picking a favorite male vampire was easy for me. I know my answer isn't very original but BONES from Night Huntress is hands down my all-time fave vampire!

I hate sissy vamps (sorry Edward) but to be a vampire, you have to be a VAMPIRE!  Bones is completely unapologetic about who he is and where he came from. He's a total bad-ass with extra powers like flight and telepathy to boot!  The thing is, he's not a villain.  He's not out to get you unless you f*ck him with him and then it's game on!  He's ALL alpha and I love that in my book heroes.  He's about the sexiest damn vampire I've ever read *chapter 32 bitchez* and he's ENGLISH!  I swoon a little every time he says "kitten" or "luv".  Oh, and did I mention he kinda looks like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  DELICIOUS!

I really had to rack my brain to come up with a favorite female but I finally decided on SELENE from the Underworld series (movies).  She's a vampire warrior in the war against the Lycans (werewolves) whom she believed killed her family when she was human.  Even though she's aligned herself with the vamps, as she should because she is one, she did not allow her people to abuse their power!  She's pretty temperate but fearless as a Death Dealer! You do not mess with this chick!

She was played by Kate Beckinsale and even though I am strictly dickly, I can admit to her being one of my lady crushes!  She's gorgeous and rocks that leather outfit like it ain't nobody's business ;)

And those are MY favorite vamps! Who are yours?

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Published: Published January 2, 2012 by Poppy/Little Brown
Pages: Hardcover, 236 pages

Reviewed by: Isalys
Reason for Reading: Bout of Books 6.0 read-a-thon

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

My first book for Bout of Books 6.0 was the seriously cute and fluffy, The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight.  My goal for the read-a-thon was to choose books that would be fun that I can get through quickly and this book hit that mark.

Hadley is a teenage daughter scorned.  Still feeling hurt and resentful over her father leaving their family and moving half-way around the world, she is NOT looking forward to flying to London to watch him marry a woman she's never even met.  To make matters worse, she misses her flight and now has the added stress of trying to make it on time to the wedding she doesn't even want to go to in the first place.  The one saving grace is the boy that is cute, gallant, funny, English, and happens to be sitting in the same row.  Guess missing that first flight wasn't such a bad thing after all ;)

Hadley and Oliver are absolutely adorable together. Their instant chemistry and playful banter make their budding relationship so easy and fun to read.  Sometimes people just click and I love that you get that from them.  Hadley and Oliver each have some pretty heavy stuff on their minds, but when they're together, those things don't seem to matter...as much. Oliver has his own unhappy reasons for flying home to London which you find out later in the story.  Despite is own issues, he tries to help Hadley overcome the anger that she feels toward her dad.

While this story is a romance first, there's surprising depth to it in the form of familial strife.  The reunion between Hadley and her father is bittersweet at best.  You don't doubt that her father loves her dearly, but you can't blame Hadley for being angry at him, especially considering how it all happened *no spoilers here*.  Jennifer E. Smith did such a great job putting such complex feelings into words that I shared in Hadley's feelings, too.

Like every good love story, this one ends with a happy ending.  When they arrive in London, Hadley and Oliver know they must go their separate ways.  However, they know that they are better together than they are apart so they seek and find each other, more than once.  Hadley also manges repairs the relationship with her dad.  To be honest though, I don't think I would or could be as forgiving as Hadley was.  I understand the importance of mending fences and whatnot, but there was far too much hurt to be healed in just a matter of hours.  That was my only qualm with this story.

In the end, this was a really sweet story that takes place in a 24-hour period and still manages to be full of heart!

Bout of Books 6.0: Challenge 1

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So I hadn't planned on participating on any challenges because since this is my first BoB, I was afraid to overdo it. However, today's challenge question is too much fun to resist. 

Today's challenge question is hosted by The Book Barbies. 

Scientific Discovery

You have made a scientific discovery (who knew you were so good at science?!) on how to bring fictional characters to life. The problem? The method still isn't *perfect,* so you can only bring two people to life, and they must return to the land of fiction in 30 days. Who will you choose as your bestie and your love interest for that one splendid month? (Feel free to add pictures if you like, but they are not required.) 

I did say this question was fun, right? But it's also kind of a bitch because I've read so many books with awesome heroes and BFFs that it wasn't easy narrowing it down, lol.

Bestie: So for my new, temporary bestie I chose Merit from the Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill. She's smart, sarcastic, knows how to have fun and kick ass, and she's a vampire to boot which is totally cool.  She's the kind of gal that I can totally see myself kicking back, having a beer and laughing with about whatever randomness happens to be going on in our lives at that moment.  She's also been known to be very supportive of her other bestie, Mallory so I know she'd have my back.

Boy Toy: This one was a doozy because let's face it, there are some amazeballs book boyfriends out there.  Finally, after much contemplating, I settled on Drustan from Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning.  Dude, he's a highlander!  Yum!  More than that, he's sexy, brooding, funny, good with a sword *snort*, and protective.  I didn't want this book to end, but alas it did and I wished I could crawl into it and live it!

Bout of Books 6.0 Goals

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 So I have to amend my reading selection for Bout of Books 6.0.  This past weekend I went on a MISSION trying to find 2 of the 4 books that I wanted to read most, but no luck so I selected two others that were also pretty high on my wishlist.   

My New Goals

 

• Write a mini review for each
• Comment on at least 10 BoB posts daily 
• Participate in at least 1 Twitter chat

Time Devoted to Reading

I will be reading during lunch (all week), at night (all week), and over the weekend.

Updates

Monday, 1/7:

Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Books read: "The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight" by Jennifer E. Smith
Today #insixwords: Why'd it take me so long?
Challenges:  Scientific Discovery
Things I learned on Twitter: That ALL bloggers are made of awesome (but we actually already knew that), that I need to bake a very large cake with a nail file and/or a book inside for our Twitter-jailbirds, I found acceptance for being a bookslut, and the best part was that I found a co-conspirator to help execute our evil plans for world domination.

Tuesday, 1/8:

Total number of books I’ve read: Finished 1 and partway through another
Books read: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight (finished) and Just Breathe (started)
Today #insixwords: Too much work, not enough reading.
Challenges: None
Things I learned on Twitter: That in order to describe the #BestSixMinutesOfYourLife, I might have to break grammar rules - Oy!  I'm not the only one that didn't get a lot of reading done; strength in solidarity!  Stupid boys make you want to beat them and love on them, then rinse and repeat!

Wednesday, 1/9:
Total number of books I’ve read: Fudged my own rule and put book 2 down to jump ahead to book 3 so 1 finished and 2 others started total.
Books read: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight (finished), Just Breathe (started), Drink Deep (started)
Today #insixwords: Planning-schmaning, I'm gonna wing it!
Challenges: None
Things I learned on Twitter: That Twitter lies by telling me that I'm doing better than I actually am, lol.  I wuv you guys!  That Nutella is Nectar of the Gods (again, we knew this!).  Smut is good for the soul and there's nothing better than "a rake with a heart of gold who wants your skirt by your ears". #epictweet.  Leather is a requirement for UF heroines and my weapon of choice is a Machete...oh yeahhhh!  And that #boutofbooks is ALL about reading, shenanigans and friendship *aww*

Thursday, 1/10:
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read: 1 finished and 2 others started.
Books read: Same as the day before, lol
Today #insixwords:
Things I learned on Twitter:

Friday, 1/11:
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read: 1 finished and 2 others started.
Books read: Same as the day before, lol
Today #insixwords:
Things I learned on Twitter:

Saturday, 1/12:
Number of books I’ve read today: None
Total number of books I’ve read: 1 finished and 2 others started.
Books read:  Same as the day before, lol
Today #insixwords:
Things I learned on Twitter:

Sunday, 1/13:
Total number of books I’ve read: 2 Finished
Books read: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight (finished) and Drink Deep (finished). Started Just Breathe.
Today #insixwords:
Things I learned on Twitter: I wasn't on Twitter today...took a break from technology and spent the day with my friend at Ikea ;)

Bout of Books 6.0

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The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 6.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books 6.0 team

Important Links:
Getting Started | Sign-up | Goals | Twitter | Facebook

 So I think it's high time I participated in Bout of Books and get my read on, don't you think?  I'm a little intimidated because I don't know how many books I can squeeze in with my work schedule, but I'm excited and ready to give it the 'ol college try.

I'm a very moody reader and usually just grab a random book off my shelf based on my current mood.  However, Bout of Books 6.0 gives me the perfect excuse to finally read the books that I should have read forever ago.

Since this is Bout of Books 6.0, I've decided to pick 6 books (in no particular order).

Unfortunately, I don't already have all the books on my shelves so that means I'll need to make a pit stop at the library or Barnes & Noble.  I would be surprised if I can actually get through all six, but it'd be awesome if I did :)

In addition to reading, I'd like to:

• Write a mini review for each
• Comment on at least 10 BoB posts daily 
• Participate in at least 1 Twitter chat

There are bunches of BoB veterans who have all kinds of rad stuff going on (challenges, prizes, etc) so you guys should definitely check them out.  As for me, since this is my first time participating, I'm going to keep the bar kind of low!  What are YOUR goals?

Bout of Books 3.0 Plus Goals for the week

In the past, I’ve struggled a bit with completing my goals and it has frustrated me to no end. So, I’ve been throwing around the idea in my head of starting my own posts for Mondays outlining what I’d like to accomplish that week. I was talking to Isa about this and she suggested I look into ‘Bout of Books’. Now, I know this is a read-a-thon for this week only, but I figured since we have to outline our bookish goals for the week, why not throw in there my other goals and just combine everything together? So.. that’s what I’m doing. ‘Cause I’m a friggin’ rebel.

My Goals [Bookish & Bloggy]:

• Read 3 books. [This may not seem like a lot BUT I’m a bit rusty and I’ve been crazy busy lately so trust me, this may be pushing it lol.]
• Read/Delete all 7,000+ emails. If you’ve emailed and I haven’t answered, well, this is why and I’m truly sorry! My inbox is overwhelming!
• Tackle my RSS Feed. I know there are quite a few blogs out there on permanent hiatus so if I see some that are actually gone for good then I’ll delete those.
• Brainstorm bloggy ideas with Isalys. We’re in a bit of a rut, and although we’ve got ideas floating around it’d be nice to add to them.
• Write at least one review. Again, this may not seem like a lot, but if you’ve been a follower of this blog I’m sure you can remember all the times I’ve expressed my fear of writing a review. This is a big one for me.

Books To Read:

• Hex by Rhiannon Lassiter
• Shadows by Rhiannon Lassiter
• Ghosts by Rhiannon Lassiter

OR, if the first book doesn’t catch my attention, then I’ll read:

• Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
• and whatever else catches my eye :P

Updates:
1/9
Number of books I’ve read today: 0.5
Total number of books I’ve read: 0.5
Pages read: 206
Books: Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
Today #insixwords: Switched book I was originally reading <-- yayyy six words!
Bloggy tasks accomplished today: Went through emails! I'm down to 3,500 [down from 7000+] and updated this post lol.

1/10
Number of books I’ve read today: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Pages Read: 200
Books:  Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
Today #insixwords:   Pretty good day I must say :)
Bloggy tasks accomplished today: Cleaned up emails


1/11    
Number of books I’ve read today: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 1.5
Pages Read: 125
Books: Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter
Today #insixwords: Feeling pretty darn accomplished <-- ok not 6 words but whatevs
Bloggy tasks accomplished today: Cleared some more emails. Met up with Isalys and went over bloggy ideas while haning at our favorite spot B&N :D



1/12
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Pages Read:
Books:
Today #insixwords:
Bloggy tasks accomplished today:

1/13
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Pages Read:
Books:
Today #insixwords:
Bloggy tasks accomplished today:

1/14
Number of books I’ve read today:
Total number of books I’ve read:
Pages Read:
Books:
Today #insixwords:
Bloggy tasks accomplished today:

1/15
Number of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Pages Read:
Books:
Today #insixwords:
Bloggy tasks accomplished today:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon also has activities scheduled throughout the week:
Schedule:

Jan. 9th: Hannah: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: TBR Pile Picture and Search

Jan. 10th: Poison: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: Book to Movie

Jan. 11th: Celine: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: Guess the Cover

Jan. 12th: Shirley: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: Guess the Character

Jan. 13th: Jacinda: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: Picture
Twitter Chat: 3pm CST (UTC-6)

Jan. 14th: Kelly: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: Guess the Tagline

Jan 15th: Amber: Blog | Twitter
Challenge: Match the Heroine

Well … wish me good luck!
If you’re participating in Bout of Books hosted by Amanda @ On A Book Bender or have a post on your own personal goals then please share your link below or drop us comment!