Bout of Books 7.0

This is a sticky post, so that my progress through the readathon will be easily found.  After the readathon is over, I will “unsticky” it.
You guys, I’m so excited to be participating in Bout of Books.  It’s the very first time I’ve ever participated in any kind of read-a-thon.  I do have a semi-busy week during the read-a-thon, so I have to keep my goals realistic, but I still think I will be able to get a bit more reading done than any regular week.  This is my sign-up & goals post.

But first, here’s the details about this totally awesome event:

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, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th 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 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My Goals

On average, I read 3 books in a week.  Sometimes I read less, and sometimes more, but my average is about 3 books every week.  So my goal for this read-a-thon is to read 5 books, and if I read more (which I’m really hoping to) then that’s freaking awesome!

Time Devoted to Reading

So, how am I going to accomplish my goals?  Here’s my plan:

• Reading during my lunch break.  I usually never read during my lunch break, because it’s so hard to put my book down to head back to work.  But during the read-a-thon, I plan on reading 30 minutes (roughly) during my lunch break.
• Read 1.5-2 hours every day after work.
• I don’t watch a ton of TV that is new (current TV shows, etc), but this week, So You Think You Can Dance begins its new season so I’m totally watching that.  But, I plan on reading on all commercials.
• Listen to an audiobook while I’m getting ready in the morning.  I take my sweet time getting ready every morning (I love spending time on my makeup everyday).  So listening to an audiobook while I’m getting ready is perfect.
• Listen to an audiobook in the car.  I have a very short drive to work, but, hey, every minute counts.

What Will I Be Reading?

Okay, well, I’m not so good listing exactly what books I will read.  So I put together a list of books to pick from this week.

Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan
Losing It by Cora Carmack
If You Find Me by Emily Murdock
Tuck Everlasting Natalie Babbit
Liesl & P0 by Lauren Oliver
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
Over You by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
(not pictured above)
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Nantucket Blue by Leila Howard
The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

*I think this is a pretty good selection, but if some book comes across my desk, and I have to read it immediately, I’m allowing myself to read that one too*

Progress

Monday
Books Read: 2
Notes:  I got a great start on Bout of Books today.  I finished reading Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, read Sailor Moon, vol. 1, and listened to the first disc of Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot.  I’m off to an excellent start, which is great because I’m very busy towards the end of the week.  I need to get a head start.  Hopefully tomorrow will be just as productive!  :)

Tuesday
Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 3
Notes:  I had another productive day on Tuesday.  I listened to another 1.5 discs of Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot, and I’m loving it!  I’m a little more than half way through it, so far.  I was also able to read Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, which has been on my TBR list for ages.  I think tomorrow I’m going to try to tackle some Netgalley books.

Wednesday
Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 4
Notes:  I wasn’t quite as productive on Wednesday, I’m afraid.  But I did finish my audiobook, Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot.  It was so much fun and perfect for Bout of Books.  I started The Summer I Became a Nerd, but I’m not very far into it.  I think it will be a quick read, though.  I just need to read one more for my goal!

Thursday
Books Read: 0
Total Books Read: 4
Notes: I definitely did not get a ton of reading done on Thursday.  But I knew today wouldn’t be a huge reading day with so much work stuff going on.  But I did still manage to read about 30% more of The Summer I Became a Nerd, for a total of about 50%.  So yay!

Friday
Books Read:

Saturday
Books Read:
Notes:

Sunday
Books Read:
Notes:

Book Haul #2

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga’s Reviews.  The Sunday Post is a weekly event hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  Here we can share what new books we’ve picked up this past week as well as other interesting book news.

No vlog this week, guys.  I was at an all-day conference on Friday, and didn’t get home until 6 pm.  I know that isn’t late, but I was exhausted and just didn’t have the energy to think about putting together a vlog.  Besides I only picked up one book this week:

A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies
Since I got my hands on the  ARC of the third book in this series, I figured I should read the first two

Actually, I’m really glad that I only picked up one book, because the last few weeks I’ve brought home so many books.  Also, today, Saturday, I’m heading to the Rochester Teen Book Festival and will probably be picking up tons of books!

Feel Free To Enter My Just Because Giveaway!

Life Tidbits

• For anyone that’s participating in Bout of Books, how are you guys doing with your goals?  I was doing really well at the beginning of the week, but the last few days, I haven’t read a ton.  I was expecting that, but I sort of feel guilty.
• My pooches went to the groomers this week, and are looking super cute.  Daphne does look a little silly because her ears are all fluffed out, so the look thicker than her legs, but at the same time it makes her look adorable in a quirky way.  Ginger always looks beautiful
• All of a sudden, I’m nervous that I won’t be able to use a credit card at the Rochester Teen Book Festival, and I don’t have a ton of cash.  Here’s hoping they take credit cards or there is an ATM close by!

Feature and Follow Friday (37)

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by both Alison Can Read & Parakunkee’s View. The point of Feature & Follow Friday is to gain blog followers for book bloggers.  You can find more info about this meme here.

Q: School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book?

Well, I don’t really have a specific book that I love to read in the summer.  But I do tend to really love reading light, funny contemporary books particularly in the summer.  I mean, I like those kinds of books anytime of the year, but I actually crave contemps during Spring and Summer.  When Fall and Winter are here, I tend to crave more paranormal/fantasy books.

That’s not to say that I don’t read fantasy/paranormal books in the summer, because I do.  One book that I’m really looking forward to this summer is Invisible by Marni Bates.  Her books are super fun.

What do you guys like to read in the summer?

Feel Free to Enter My Just Because Giveaway!

Recent Posts on Quinn’s Book Nook

Book Haul #1
Bout of Books 7.0
Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Top Ten Books Dealing with Tough Subjects
Waiting on Invisible by Marni Bates
Review: Crash by Lisa McMann

Review: Crash by Lisa McMann

Crash
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: Teen
Source: Library
Good Reads  |  Amazon
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads:

If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Timesbestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode…and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more shesees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

Rating

3.75 out of 5

My Thoughts

Although I saw Crash on a number of blogs earlier this year, I never really thought about adding it to my already ridiculously long TBR list.  I mean, it looked interesting, but I already had so many other books I wanted to read.  But when I found out that Lisa McMann was going to be one (of the many!) YA authors at the Rochester Teen Book Festival, I thought I would give this book a try.  And let me tell you, I am so freakin’ glad that I did pick it up, because this book was fun.

I thought I would switch things up a bit, and just list, bullet style, my feelings on Crash.

• Wow, Crash grabs you immediately.  There are not wasted pages here, which is a good thing since it’s only around 232 pages.  It was actually the perfect length.
• I liked the suspense.  We, the readers, are trying to figure out what is going on right alongside Jules.
• I really like Jules, the MC, Trey and Rowan (siblings).  They were fun characters, and I loved seeing how they reacted with each other.  I love how close they are, but not unrealistically so.  As an only child, I always love reading about siblings that are close.  It does make me a little jealous, though.  :)
• Jules is very relatable.  I love that she does what she needs to do to do the right the thing.
• Although I liked Sawyer, I never really had a great understanding of who he was.  I wanted to know Sawyer a bit more.  What made him tick, and what were his thoughts about Jules.  I did like the backbone Sawyer displayed toward the end of Crash.  Go Sawyer!
• The whole novel has a Romeo and Juliet feel with the competing pizza places.
• The ending was a little “meh.”  It wasn’t bad by any means, but it wasn’t really amazing, either.
• I wasn’t a huge fan of the whole reveal about why Jules and Sawyer’s families didn’t get a long.  Something about that just didn’t sit well with me.  I don’t want to go into detail, because I don’t want to spoil it.  I didn’t hate it, I just couldn’t believe it 100%.  I do want to read the next book in the series.

So, what did you think of a review in list form?  I don’t think I will write many reviews this way, but it’s good to switch things up some, yes?

Be sure to check out my Just Because Giveaway!

Life Tidbits

• I’m off to a focus group today, a conference on Friday, and a teen book festival on Friday, so I might be a bit MIA for the next few days.  I’m hoping I have free wireless in my hotel room so I can do some blogging tonight, but we’ll see.  But I’ll definitely catch up on Sunday.
• I am loving participating in Bout of Books!  I am getting tons read, and it’s just fun to be doing this with a bunch of readers all together.
• Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore was released on Tuesday, and I want to read it sooooo badly, but no library in my system has it in yet!  I’m trying to not buy it, because I will be buying tons of books on Saturday at the book festival.  But I’m not sure I’m going to be able to hold out for long.
• Speaking of items my library system doesn’t have, I wanted the audiobooks of the second and third Queen of Babble books by Meg Cabot, but no library had it!  Grr.  I put in an ILL so hopefully another library system will lend them to me.  The first one was super fun!

Waiting on Invisible by Marni Bates

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine.  WoW gives us the opportunity to highlight an upcoming release that we are really excited about.

Invisible by Marni Bates
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Publisher: Kensington Teen

Summary from GoodReads:

Jane Smith has survived three years of high school without making a single
enemy, all by keeping a low profile. Not even her three best friends, Kenzie,
Corey and Isobel, can say the same. But with Corey dating the lead singer from
ReadySet and Kenzie in a relationship too, being invisible tends to be lonely.
But now she’s written an article for her school newspaper that has accidentally
snagged the attention of some celebrities. Turns out, people get really upset
when their innermost secrets are splashed all over the front page. And new her
well-ordered life is being blasted to hell, with results that are wildly
unexpected.

I thought I would participate in another WoW, because, you guys, I am so excited for this book.  Marni Bates is such a fun writer.  I absolutely adored Awkward, and thought Decked with Holly was super cute (the whole pregnant zombie scene was lol funny).  So of course I cannot wait to read Bates’ newest book, Invisible.  And it’s about Jane!  I loved Jane in Awkward.  Have you read any of Marni Bates’ books?  If you’re looking for something sweet and light, definitely give her books a try.

What are you guys waiting for?

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Okay . . . so I don’t read many issue books.  Sometimes I do, and the ones I’ve read, I’ve loved.  I get so emotional with them, though, that I actually try to keep them to a minimum and I definitely spread them out.  Anyway here is what I came up with.

In no particular order . . .

 

1.  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Tough subject: rape.  I actually didn’t read this book for years, because I was so afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle it.  I was wrong, though.  Although this is a seriously emotional read, the end is hopeful.  You know Melinda is going to survive and be happy.

2.  Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  Tough subject: teen suicide.  I just recently read this a few weeks ago.  Asher’s novel is very suspenseful, and works up slowly to the extremely emotional bits.  It’s a wonderful book, and it makes you think about how you treat people.

3.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  Tough subject: teens with cancer.  It’s John Green.  What else can you say?  Will you cry buckets – definitely.  Is it worth it – absolutely.

4.  The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay.  Tough subject: assault.  I don’t know if I think of this as an issue novel exactly, but it does have a lot to do with Nastya dealing with an event that changed the course of her life.

5.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  Tough subject: I can’t really thing of a specific subject or this one.  It’s about change, trying to better your life, even when it causes riffs with your best friend.  This book is really funny at times, and other times, it’s very sad.  Except read, though.  You all should read this one.

6.  Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.  Tough subject: death of a pet.  Anyone who has had a pet pass away can understand Jack’s saddness over this.  This is a children’s book, but I think it speaks to everyone.

7.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  Tough subject: being “different” from everyone else.  I loved this book so much.  I know a few people had some issues with it, but I thought it was amazing.  It follows Auggie as he starts public school for the first time as a fifth grader.

8.  The Friendship by Mildred D. Taylor.  Tough subject: racism.  This bad boy packs a lot of punch for its 50-page count.  This is the only book by Taylor I’ve read, but I really want to read her other books.  She’s a wonderful writer.

9.  The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo.  Tough subject: death of a parent.  This is a middle grade novel, and man oh man, I just wanted to jump into that book and hug Rob.

Ooookay, that’s all I can think of.  I know I do not read tons of issue novels.  In fact, I don’t think of a lot of these books as issue novels, but I think they still talk about big ideas.  I’m actually okay with not having read many of these types of books.

So what books are your faves that deal with tough subjects?

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Age Group: Teen
Source: Publisher through Netgalley
Good Reads  |  Amazon
Release Date: May 28, 2013

Summary from GoodReads:

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

Rating

4.5 out of 5

My Thoughts

For anyone who’s followed my blog for awhile, you have probably heard me state over and over again how much I loved Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry.  So of course I couldn’t wait to read McGarry’s next book, Dare You To, and I totally did a little happy dance when I was approved for it via Netgalley.  But all the same, I was still a little nervous about reading Dare You To.  It’s just that Beth wasn’t the most likable character in Pushing the Limits.  I was afraid that I wouldn’t like Beth, but, you guys, seriously, McGarry knows what’s she doing.  I had absolutely nothing to worry about!!

I loved what McGarry did with Beth’s character.  She has sooo many layers; that onion metaphor would work really well for our main character.  When we first meet her in Pushing the Limits, Beth is tough as nails.  She cusses like a sailor, parties hard, drinks hard, and does drugs.  And at the start of Dare You To, Beth is still that girl.  But when her circumstances change, we start to see another side to Beth.  McGarry does such a wonderful job of showing us that someone who’s so rough around the edges can also have many soft spots..  People aren’t all one thing or another, and Beth certainly isn’t.  I absolutely adored seeing Beth become a little flustered and blush at things Ryan would say.  She’s still Beth, but that doesn’t mean she can’t get embarrassed, especially by someone she kinda likes.

Okay, so those fans of Pushing the Limits, you might be a little sad to see that the love interest in Beth’s story isn’t Isaiah.  I love Isaiah, but I thought Ryan was absolutely perfect for Beth.  I think Beth needed some distance from that life, and being with Isaiah in that way wouldn’t have given that to her.  And I feel the same way about Isaiah.  I can’t wait for his story.

Okay, so let’s talk about Ryan, since half the story is from his point of view.  Yeah, he’s pretty darn amazing.  He life seems pretty perfect, but of course it isn’t.  He’s got some issues he’s working through, although I wouldn’t say they are quite as dire as Beth’s problems.  Ryan is an all-around good guy.  He’s not perfect (but who is) and he certainly makes mistakes (who hasn’t), but you just get this feeling that Ryan would have your back.  He’s the perfect compliment for Beth.

Dare You To is absolutely a YA romance, but what I love about McGarry’s books is that Beth and Ryan getting together doesn’t mean all their problems are solved.  They aren’t at all, and sometimes it causes a few more issues.  But their being together makes each of them a little bit better of a person, and helps them solve their own problems.

Of course all the secondary characters are as fleshed out, and interesting as Beth and Ryan.  I was really fascinated by Beth’s uncle, and I really liked Ryan’s friends (although Chris did get on my nerves at one point).  And we get to see glimpses of Noah and Echo which was totally awesome and made me want to reread Pushing the Limits.

Basically, if you like YA romance you need to check out Katie McGarry’s books.  If you liked Pushing the Limits, you will love Dare You To.  Even if you want Isaiah and Beth to get together, you should read Dare You To.  I do admit to liking Pushing the Limits more, but just by a hair’s breadth.  Dare You To is an amazing Sophmore novel by McGarry and she has become one of my auto-read authors.

Be sure to check out my Just Because Giveaway!

Life Tidbits

• Do you guys like the new blog design?  I LOVE it.  Nancy from Nancy’s Blog Designs did it.  She was great to work with, and had it installed in less than a week.
• Bout of Books starts today!  Woot, woot!  I’ll been reading, reading, reading.
• I can’t believe it is May 13th already.  How is that possible?  I feel like Christmas was yesterday.
• In less than a month I will be saying goodbye to my twenties.  It’s kind of a scary thought, turning 30.  But at the same time, it’s exciting.  It’s not like my twenties were all that great.  I’m hoping my thirties rock.