Bout of Books 9.0

Bout of Books couldn’t come at a better time!  I’m off all week for a stay-cation, and although I was planning on reading a lot, now I’m even more motivated to read, read, read.

Before I talk about my goals, 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, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th 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 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

My Goals

As I mentioned above, I’m on a break from work for the week, so I’m setting a higher reading goal.  So, my goal is to read 6 books this week.  I’m not 100% sure I’ll be able to do that, but I’m going to try my best.

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.

Pictured
Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Crash into You by Katie McGarry
Winger by Andrew Smith
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Season by Sarah MacLean
Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle

Not Pictured (ebooks)
Pushed by Corrine Jackson
I Only Have Eyes for You by Bella Andre
Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
Once Upon a Winter’s Eve by Tessa Dare
Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart by Sarah MacLean

*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: 1
Notes: Yesterday was a fantastic reading day for me.  I read Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey (super cute), listened a little bit to The Mark of Athena, and read 50 pages of another book (The Time Between Us).  Tuesday I’m going to try to finish The Time Between Us.

Tuesday
Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 2
Notes: It was another great reading day for me on Tuesday.  I finished The Time Between Us, and listened to a disc and a half of The Mark of Athena.  I think on Wednesday I’m going to read A Night to Surrender.  I like to switch up the types of books I’m reading, and I haven’t read any historical romance yet this week.  I’m so pleased with how many books I’ve read so far.  I really want to make a good dent in my reading pile.  I do have some things going on at the end of the week, though, so I’m trying to get ahead now.

Wednesday
Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 3
Notes: You guys, I am loving being off from work during Bout of Books.  I was already planning on reading a lot, but Bout of Books is really encouraging me to read like crazy.  So I read another book yesterday, A Night to Surrender, and I listened a little bit to The Mark of Athena.  I’m hoping to read another full book on Thursday, maybe Winger.

Thursday
Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 4
Notes: Holy cow, I’ve pretty much been reading a book a day for the last four days, which is totally awesome.  I’ve been loving just chilling out at home and read.  Anyway, I read The Season by Sarah MacLean today, a book I’ve been meaning to read forever.  I also listened to a little bit of The Mark of Athena.  Friday and Saturday I’ve got quite a few things going on, so I will probably be reading less.  But I’ve got three days, to read two more books to reach my goal of six.  I think I can do that 🙂

Friday
Books Read: 1
Total Books Read: 5
Notes: It was a much less productive day for me today.  I only read a novella, and listened to a little bit of A Mark of Athena.  But I had such a great day hanging out with my dad, that I don’t care.  And anyway, I’m still counting the novella as a full book read.  🙂

Saturday
Books Read: 0
Total Books Read: 5
Notes: Saturday was not a good reading day for me.  I did a lot of other things, which was awesome, so I didn’t spend much time at all reading.  I did listen to a disc of Mark of Athena, but I’m only a little past half way through.

Sunday
Books Read: 2
Total Books Read: 7
Notes: I was a reading machine today.  I started Hunting Lila at around midnight, and then, before I knew it, it was 6 AM.  I couldn’t believe how late I stayed up reading it.  The book isn’t perfect, but it was hard to put down.  Then later in the afternoon I started I Only Have Eyes for You by Bella Andre, and finished it at about 11 pm.

Final Thoughts on Bout of Books:  This was an incredibly success Bout of Books for me.  It helped that I was on stay-cation during the exact time of this readathon.  But still, having signed up for Bout of Books definitely helped me stay motivated to read, read, read.  I did end up reading books that I hadn’t originally included in my Bout of Books reading list, but that’s okay.  The point is to read, and I sure did that.  And now I have a huge head start for reviews for the year.  That makes me very happy.