March TBR

I feel like I was just coming up with my February TBR. How is it already March?

Here is what I have checked out from the library or on my shelf that I'd like to get to. A lot of new books on here. I'm also going to be participating in Middle Grade March readathon which extends throughout the whole month of March.

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

House of the Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Educated by Tara Westover
Sadness is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher







Here are the challenges and my choices for Middle Grade March:

1. An award winning book – Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

2. A book adapted into a movie or TV show --Inkheart by Corneila Funke

3. A childhood favorite – Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt or The Borrowers Mary Norton

4. A classic- The Secret Garden or A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 

5. A book with diversity of any kind- El Deafo by Cece Bell or George by Alex Gino

February Wrap Up

This week I read 3 books.

The first finished up my Time Hopathon with A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. I enjoyed this book but felt it was not as good as the first. While the previous book focused on an overarching task and getting to know several characters that become a found family, this one only focused on 2 characters. The plot did become apparent about 90% of the way through the book but the ending felt rushed. I much preferred the flashbacks helping us get to know Pepper and the enhanced humanity and wanted more time focused on that. Overall, I will read the third book and I gave this one 3.5 stars.


Next I picked up Speak: A Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. I did not read the novel that this was based on but I feel that was probably a better medium for this story. This is a story about a young girl being raped and the aftermath. How she deals with it, how her friendships and grades suffer as a result and how she gets justice were all discussed. The artwork was bleak which matched the tone of the story. Overall I enjoyed it but am not sure this weighty topic was fully explored like it could be in a traditional novel. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Lastly, I listened to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. I'm glad to finally wrap up my re-read of Harry Potter. Its been immensely enjoyable and I'm glad to come back to it. I gave it 5 stars.


While  I read a total of 17 books in the month of February, I did not follow my original TBR very well. I only crossed-off 7 books.

1. Beartown by Fredrik Bachman
2. Hunger by Roxanne Gay
3. Refuge by Dina Nayeri
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
5. My Name is Leon by Kit De Waal
6. How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
7. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
8. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
9. Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson
10. Blankets by Craig Thompson
11. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
12. The Unseen World by Liz Moore
13. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
14. Sold by Patricia McCormick
15. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
16. The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner

Third Week Wrap Up and another readathon

This week I read 3 books and started a new readathon.

The first book I read was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. This was a re-read for me, probably for the 4th or 5th time. It was awesome and I always rate HP books 5 stars.

Then I heard about the Time Hopathon readathon. It lasts one week from February 19-25. There are 3 challenges. To read a book set in the past, a book published in the present (2017-2018), and a book set in the future. I have completed two challenges and I'm working on the third.

I read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng which is set in the 1970's. From the first line, I was gripped. I loved this book and realized all the praise was well-deserved. I did find the parents to be a tad one-dimensional, but I understand the author's choice to emphasize those specific traits since they shaped Lydia so much. I gave this 4 stars and will definitely read her other books.

Then I picked up An American Marriage by Tayari Jones which was published February 6th, 2018. This is a novel told from 3 different points of view about a black man who was wrongfully convicted of rape and how his relationships are affected from his time in prison. His marriage was quite young at the time of his sentencing and so a strain is put upon it from separation. This was incredibly sad and the first third had me sobbing. I felt the characters were very believable; definitely flawed. I feel this book shed some light on not only innocent people in prison, but also how incredibly difficult it is to start over. Definitely worth a read. I gave it 4.5 stars.


For my book set in the future, I have chosen A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. This is the sequel to A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet which I adored. Hopefully it will be in my next wrap-up. I still have 3 days to read it before the readathon is over.

Weekly Wrap Up 2

I've read 4 books this week.

The first was a graphic novel called Descender by Jeff Lemire. It was a fun sci-fi but I felt there were too many storylines and it just didn't grip me. I won't be continuing. I gave it 2 stars.

The next was My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal. This was a highly anticipated read because I love family sagas and felt it was going to be perfect. It started off strong but kinda petered out at the end. I feel my high hopes were not met. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Then I read Bird Box by Josh Malerman. This is not my typical book since I hate scary books/movies/anything but I LOVED this. The suspense was awesome and the ending was quite shocking. I wanted to know more about the creatures though. I gave it 4 stars.

Lastly, I read Sold by Patrick McCormick. I found the movie on Amazon and wanted to watch it but decided to read the book first. It is a book about a young girl growing up in rural Nepal who is sold by her stepfather into prostitution. It is incredibly sad. I felt the ending was a little weak and therefore decided to give it 3 stars.

I was nervous after my stellar readathon that I would be burnt out but I felt like I still read a lot.

Weekly Wrap Up 1 and TBR Bustathon

This first week coincides with the readathon I'm doing. Technically there are two more days in the readathon, but I have finished all 7 challenges and will use these next two days as a break.

This week I read 7 books.

The first was Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire. I gave this 4 stars. It was enjoyable but it felt too short. The conclusion wrapped up a little too quickly.

Next I read Red Rising by Piece Brown. This was very exciting and I really enjoyed this. I finished it in 1 day, never wanting to put it down. It really reminded me of Hunger Games. The brutality, the competition among youths, the adult "protectors" which would help certain individuals all reminded me of that series. I gave this 4 stars.

The next 5 were for the TBR a thon.


I read The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. I couldn't believe this was a children's book. The grammar structure and the large words seemed way out of place for a children's book. But as an adult, I enjoyed the story quite a lot. I ended up giving it 3.5 stars. This fulfilled the challenge to read a popular book.

Then I read Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson. This was a haunting narrative about a child accused of murdering a baby. This was gripping and addictive read. I was a little disappointed by the ending. I gave it 4 stars. This fulfilled 2 challenges: Read a 400+ page book and read a YA contemporary.

Next I listened to How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. It was narrated by David Tennant whom I absolutely adore. This was a cute story which I enjoyed immensely. However, it was vastly different than the movie. I gave it 3 stars. This fulfilled the challenge to read a book with red and pink on the cover.

Then I read 1984 by George Orwell. This book starts off incredibly boring. I was about 2/3rds of the way in and was forcing myself to continue before it started to get interesting. The last third is so depressing, terrifying, and shocking that I'm struggling to describe it. Its definitely an important book. I gave it 3 stars. This fulfilled 2 challenges: Read a banned book and read a book that's been on my TBR for over 2 years.

Lastly I read The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani. This is described as a thriller. We find out in the first paragraph that the nanny killed the children and then go back in time to find out the events leading up to the murder. Unfortunately, this was not a thriller at all. You never really find out the motives. It is just random slices of life in the past year as nanny. There is no twist, nothing exciting keeping you turning the pages. Utterly boring and a waste of time. I gave it 1 star. This fulfilled the challenge to read a book published in the last 3 months. (Unfortunately, this was the only recent read on my TBR that was available and that I hadn't already read.)


Overall, I read a lot but a mixed bag with ratings.

TBR Bust-a-thon

I rarely take part in read a thons but I've decided to try this one. 

TBR Bust-a-thon will be from February 4 -10. There are seven reading challenges and you are allowed to double up, but not triple up.

The challenges:

Read a book that has been on your TBR pile more than 2 years 1984 by George Orwell

Read a banned book 1984 by George Orwell

Read a 400+ page book Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson

Read a YA Contemporary Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson

Read a book with pink and red on the cover Red Clocks by Leni Zumas OR The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner

Read a book released between Nov. 2017 and Jan. 2018  Red Clocks by Leni Zumas OR The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani

Read a popular book you haven’t read yet Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng OR My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal OR Everyone Sees the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson.  SO MANY CHOICES!

I am realistic and do not expect to read all 5 books in a week. In addition, I'm a mood reader so these could change. I have a hold on Red Clocks at my library and hope to get it in time so I can narrow this list down to four books.

TBR Jar 2nd Round

Last month I failed to read either of my two picks. I read the first 20-30 pages and realized they were not going to be to my liking. I will be donating them. This month I've chosen two more books out of my TBR jar. They are:

Brick Lane by Monica Ali   (Goodreads rating of 3.39)


I bought this book several years ago at a garage sale. It's definitely time to read it or get it off my shelf.


Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (Goodreads rating of 3.81)



I actually bought this within the last six months for $2 at a flea market. I've never seen the movie so if I like it, I'll probably watch the movie. Anyone who has seen it, is it any good?

February TBR

I know February is the month with Valentine's Day so some people might want to be reading sappy love stories but that's not for me. I sometimes can be in the mood for romance, but I haven't been lately. Because I recognize that I'm feeling less like reading, I am not going to push myself to read every book on this list. More its a guideline of what I'd like to read.

Here are the books I chose for February:

1. Beartown by Fredrik Bachman
2. Hunger by Roxanne Gay
3. Refuge by Dina Nayeri
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
5. My Name is Leon by Kit De Waal
6. How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
7. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
8. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
9. Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson
10. Blankets by Craig Thompson
11. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
12. The Unseen World by Liz Moore
13. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
14. Sold by Patricia McCormick
15. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
16. The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner

Beartown, Mistborn, Allegedly, The House on Mango Street, and How to Train your Dragon are all choices for my Popsugar Challenge. Refuge is for a book club.  I'm pretty sure I will listen to the audiobook of How to Train your Dragon since it is narrated by David Tennant and I lurve him!

Last week January Wrap Up

This week was definitely much slower. I finished 2 books. I picked up a few others but then put them down quickly (like after 3-30 pages later) just because I wasn't in the mood for anything.


I finished reading The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. This was one of my most highly anticipated books for 2018. Its about the 4 Gold siblings and they go to a fortune teller to find out the date of their death. Then each section focuses on one of the siblings and how the knowledge of when they will die affects their decisions. I loved the first section, felt the 2nd and 3rd perspectives were left slightly ambiguous, and the fourth person's perspective made me feel so sad. As a person who fears death, (more than others, I'm quite risk-averse.) the fourth person's focus on survival without focusing on living really resonated with me. Overall, this was very enjoyable and I will purchase it in the future. I gave it 4 stars.

Then I picked up the graphic novel Thornhill by Pam Smy. This was creepy and sad. It's different than most graphic novels because instead of boxes with pictures and dialogue, this was comprised of diary entries of text only followed by several pages of illustrations. The art style was bleak which fit the tone of the book well. Its about a teen girl who is being bullied in an orphanage. She leaves a diary to be found after some tragic circumstances. I gave it 4 stars.


So that wraps up the month. I did a pretty good job checking off a lot of my TBR books.

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
A Brief History of Time Lords by Steve Tribe
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park
I am Malala by Malala Youfasazai (DNF)
Bird Box by Josh Malerman 
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
How Green was my Valley by Richard Llewellyn
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Saga Volume 8 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples


Plus my 2 TBR JAR picks which I started but quickly lost interest in.